*** Official Soltek 75FRN-L/75FRN2-L (nForce2) Thread ***

DAPUNISHER

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EDIT: This is the Official Anandtech Golden Flame resource center for the Soltek SL-75FRN-L/SL-75FRN2-L and contains setup, installation, overclocking, and tweaking info. If you have difficulty finding what you need just post up and we'll do our best to help :)

The latest Audio drivers are the A3.43s located here
All you have to do is download the file , unzip it to your temp directory and run the set-up in the wdm folder.
No need to uninstall anything" I just tried them and they work great so give 'em a try! :wine:

*Basic Software Installation Notes*
The order I used for installing windows XP and other software and drivers on the Golden Flame is as follows-->
1.Install XP w/SP1 (if your copy does not have SP1 on it go to step 2)
2.install SP1
3.Install the Nvidia Unified Drivers either off the manufacturer's CD or download and install Unified Version 2.03
4.install the audio drivers
5.install the USB2.0 drivers
6.install the Vid card drivers
7.install DX9a (if desired)
8. Dealer's choice ;)

Links to Soltek SL-75FRN-L\FRN2 Reviews
SL-75FRN2-RL [email]review@bleedinEDGE.com[/email] This site is by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts and features some of AT's best overclocking/hardware Gurus so check it out :beer:
http://www.overclockers.co.nz
AthlonXP review
NinjaLane review
Digital-Daily Review
The Crucible-7 Nforce2 board shoot-out
Bunch of links to reviews
MaximumOC Review
LANaddict
3Dxtreme
motherboards.org
http://www.twistedmods.com
hardocp.com This is a definitive review that answers questions concerning audio quality, features, and CPU utilization, boot times, and even the performance of the integrated LAN :cool:
modsynergy
legionhardware.com
SL-75FRN-L wins best buy from BenchHouse.com in NF2 SPP shoot out
HarwareZone Review of SL-75FRN2-L 400 ULTRA This reviewer had an issue with the RAM but Soltek has sent them a bios update for it and I felt some of his conclusions where a bit odd such as saying you don't really need the 4pin power hooked up when user experiences around here have been that it helps stability and overclocking.

Big Thanx to mem for many of the reviews listed :beer:

Overclocking
Regardless of wether you intend to overclock or not I suggest you set the memory frequency at 100% so that it will run at the same speed as the FSB (Synchronous mode) as the Nforce2 performs best this way and suffers from a latency penalty when not at the same speed (Asynchronous mode)

If you have the SL-75FRN-L there's a tweaked 1.3L bios for accessing the chipset voltage A.K.A. vdd which gives you the selection of 1.6v-1.8v and it's available here. The purpose of increasing the vdd is to provide a greater fault tolerance the same as when you increase the CPU voltage. By increasing mine to 1.8v I was able to go from 190FSB stable to the full 211FSB stable. However I suggest refraining from increasing the vdd unless you have good case cooling and have added at least a passive cooler and Thermal compound to the Southbridge due to heat issues noted with the Nforce2 chipset.

When overclocking and going beyond 166fsb I suggest increasing the FSB in 5mhz increments as I "went for the throat" so to speak and the result was the need for a repair install due to HDD data corruption. Another potential issue with changing too many settings at once in the bios or overclocking too drastically is a scrambled bios chip. If you should nuke the BIOS chip another can be purchased from Soltek using the following procedure
If you would like to buy a BIOS, our price for it is US$10/piece (excluding shipping fee). Please send us your payment by cash. And write down your SOLTEK model number with the mail.

We'll send it to you as soon as possible after we receive your payment.

Our Address is
7F, No.306-3, Ta-Tung Rd.
Sec.1,Hsi-Chih,Taipei Hsien,
Taiwan, R.O.C.
Please also inform us your address, and contact information, so that we can send a BIOS to your address.[/quote]

A better option is to go to http://www.biosworld.com/ and order one as it will come programmed and ready to rock.

The 1.3L and CPGeek tweaked 1.3L bios allow you to adjust the multipliers on T-Breds which allows you to lower the multiplier and raise the FSB to attain 200mhz FSB speeds

Invest in adequate cooling if you plan to overclock substantially and raise vcore as it'll help ensure stability at higher clockspeeds. The Thermalright series of coolers are all top performing, excellent solutions in their price ranges and are nicely priced@[url="http://www.svcompucycle.com/soca4cool.html"]SVC[/url] ***IMPORTANT*** the Golden Flame does not have the holes for mounting bolt on coolers like the SLK-900
I use the Vantec AeroFlow which can be purchased for under $29 including S&H@Computergate
If you are overseas it is my understanding from speaking to AT members from several countries that the Thermaltake Volcano series coolers are the best choice for price/performance.

Remember the 6P's *Proper Planning Prevents Pi$$ Poor performance* ;)

***IMPORTANT*** The Power Supply is the heart of the system and will pay you back many times over for the investment you make in a high quality unit via higher overclocks and superior system stability at any speed!

I hope this proves useful to some of you and thanx go to BuckMaster for the idea to turn the intial post up into something semi-coherent that may help someone :) Thanx to BentValve as well for his extensive testing of the FRN&FRN2 and willingness to post screenshots of everything during the course of his tweaking, even some sweet system mods! :beer: Have fun and if you have a Golden Flame or a question about the Golden Flame post up! :beer: :beer: :beer:
 

GiveMeDeals

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I am very interested in this board because of it's appearance. Can you tell me more about it? Actually all I want to know is that what BIOS options are available in the BIOS?
Voltage options for CPU, chipset, memory, etc
2nd, would you be able to hit 200Mhz FSB outta box? and does the board have Soundstorm on it? How about Barton 400Mhz support? I am sure those are the same questions people will be asking, help us out please. :D

Nevermind, got all of my questions answered from the review over at AthlonXP.
 

DAPUNISHER

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***UPDATE:***Using the CPGeek edition bios which provides access to vdd voltage adjustments of 1.6v-1.8v [link provided by BentValve] I have been able to obtain 211fsb and so far stable by setting the value to 1.8v. The stress testing isn't finished but thus far it's passed looping 3Dmark2k1se for 1hr, Sandra burn-in for 1hr, and is presently running smooth with a GROMACS WU which can stress a CPU more heavily than P95TT which if it completes the GROMAC will be run for 5hrs then 11loops of memtest86 using Thugsrook's settings.

Here are some screenshots and pics of the current setup.

NOTE: *Stability testing still in progress*

arithmetic

multimedia

211FSB

Cpu-Z

This board is as good as.......well........Gold :p
 

DAPUNISHER

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The AthlonXP review is the worst one I've seen :disgust: Did he even use the1.3 bios? Why test an Nforce2 board with 1 stick of ram async? :confused: a couple points is made to look like one board spanked the other
rolleye.gif
The test setup caused it to be in a nearly dead heat with the KT400 board yet it gets the editor's choice award? :confused:

BentValve has gotten 200fsb with 2700DDR though not stable because of it. We are both waiting on Mushkin 3200DDR to get the 200fsb stability while running CPU&RAM synchronous question answered.

No soundstorm but very few Nforce2 boards offer it. It is rather "barebones" compared to some other boards so if you want/need all those features this board is not the best value, if you don't need that stuff it's a jewel.

With the 1.3L bios you have access to all the lower multipliers without a mod with the 2100+. The Vcore goes to 1.85v and the Vdimm 2.8v ( wouldn't put more than that through my RAM anyways) which is plenty for all but extreme overclocking.
 

Macro2

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Where is the Athon XP review?

Funny thing is I'm in the process of building the same computer. Same case, color, blue round cables etc. I was shocked when I saw your rig.
 

DAPUNISHER

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Cool! I actually had everything but the board, CPU, and Aeroflow already but you still have good taste :D Post back with some results once you have it up and running!
 

Bojax

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Soltek Athlon XP review


A special note for those that may be upgrading from older systems is to consider the power supply. Found along side the standard 20-pin ATX connector is the +12V connector which should be connected before powering the board up. Soltek strongly recommends, according to the manual, that an ATX v2.03 power supply be used with the SL-75FRN-L.

What exactly does this mean. I dont even know if I have this +12v connector on my Antec 300w power supply. Also, what is an ATX v2.03 power supply? Please educate me.

Thanks
 

DAPUNISHER

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If you look at the picture right above that special note you'll see a 4hole connector right next to the regular ATX power connector, that's used for the +12v feed for P4's but as you can see is now finding a home with some AMD boards due to the power needs of the processor and other components. If your PSU doesn't have the little 4 pin plug that fits that socket I don't believe you can use this board. If this is your PSU you're good to go.
 

Bojax

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Nope, I have an Antec 300W ATX Power Supply Model PP-303X. No 4 pin plug. I just bought a case and power supply for my daughters system. It has a Tigerpro 350 watt p/s and it does have that 4 pin plug. I guess I'll just have to swap p/s with her.
 

BentValve

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moving from another thread to this one:

Originally posted by: Wulfblod
Originally posted by: BentValve

Actually he obtained 250fsb on our board ...the SL-75FRN-RL is the same board but has raid. The new revision is not out yet and it will be called
the SL-75FRN2-L and RL .

So personally I would n0ot wait for the next revision , its clear that Soltek hit the mobo lotto with this board...can they hit it twice in a row? ....I doubt it.

Actually the SL-75FRN2-L is out now. I just received mine from GoogleGear a couple of days ago. $89, free 2-day shipping. Great deal, great board.

Regards,
A.

Cool but that is not the one that the guy got 250fsb on , he did it on the SL-75FRN-L/RL which is a limited edition board from what I understand.


Edit: I was just at Soltek's site and I see they have driver support up for the '2' version......one would be led to believe
that it is a revision since the used a '2' in the naming........


SL-75FRN, SL-75FRN-R, SL-75FRN-L, SL-75FRN-RL ,
BIOS C1.3L


SL-75FRN2 SL-75FRN2-R SL-75FRN2-L SL-75FRN2-RL
BIOS D1L


I am not sure why Soltek would come out with a new verison altogether so quickly...why not just make a RE-vison instead?

My guess is that since at some point they must have been spouting off that this was an LE board they had to stop making it
but they found it sold so well that they went ahead and came out with the '2' models so they can keep selling them.


 

BentValve

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Originally posted by: Bojax
Nope, I have an Antec 300W ATX Power Supply Model PP-303X. No 4 pin plug. I just bought a case and power supply for my daughters system. It has a Tigerpro 350 watt p/s and it does have that 4 pin plug. I guess I'll just have to swap p/s with her.

I would invest in a nice 350 or 400 watt Antec P4 ready PSU, it could save you alot of trouble in the long run.
 

BentValve

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Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Here are some screenshots and pics of the current setup.

NOTE: This config is 6hrsP95TT and 36hrs F@H rock solid stable

I'll update the screenshots&pics once I've tweaked and stability tested higher FSB and memory settings.

Pretty :D

case

Arithmetic

Hardware monitor

memory

Multimedia

I prefer pics to a bunch of numbers and these should be fairly 56k friendly.



Looking good. All you need now is a yellow cold cathode to go in the case and some gold trim for the outside of it. :)
 

BentValve

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I am trying to figure out how to utilize that cool bag that came with the mobo...it is by far the nicest looking packaging I have
seen on any motherboard ever.
 

ScrapSilicon

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Originally posted by: Bojax
Nope, I have an Antec 300W ATX Power Supply Model PP-303X. No 4 pin plug. I just bought a case and power supply for my daughters system. It has a Tigerpro 350 watt p/s and it does have that 4 pin plug. I guess I'll just have to swap p/s with her.
if you have any build issues...look there first
 

BentValve

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Yesterday night I finally ran into a batch of problems while OCing, I got a BSOD once and another time I got a constant beep and
some sort of BIOS floopy problem screen appeared.....that was scary. :)

Basically I cannot blame anything until I get the better ram but I am almost ready to blame the CPU for the problems I have having
rather than the ram.. here is why,

13x195 or 2535 almost boots up.(tried up to 1.85V)
13x190 or 2470 boots up but is instable ..got a BSOD after running Prime95 for less than 1 min (tried 1.7 and 1.85v)
14x166 or 2324 seems stable , ran Burn in Wizard overnight.
190x10.5 or 1995 , seems very stable running Prime 95 now. 1.6v


So it seems my CPU does not like to run much over 2300mhz ..bummer. BTW I wish I had more voltage available
because I think this is the problem , I tried the highest settings.

Edit: I mixed things up, I forgot that I had actually ran it at 2324 overnight.
2.34ghz
 

DAPUNISHER

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Nice BentValve! :D You can tell by your temps compared to mine that you are Washington and I'm in Central Florida where it's in the mid 80'sF now. I'm about to post my latest results BRB.
 

BentValve

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BTW that last pic was pretty much realtime, I have been running this for awhile , I was running Prime95 just now and the temp got
as high as 31C, I quickly rebooted as to not let it cool down any and checked the ABS temp in the BIOS, it reads 43C...the CPU external
temp reads 30C so the Soltek HM is not reading the core temps as one would be led to believe.
 

DAPUNISHER

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I've got the Apacer 3200DDR working, just had to manually set the CAS to 3 which blows since it ran CAS2.5 in my P4PE no problemo@433DDR. Anyways, it looks like 190fsb is the sweet spot for now as anything higher regardless of multiplier/CPU frequency results in the video flicking on and off every 10seconds. The screen just goes blank for a moment then the video comes back, never had this issue with any system and overclocking before....evar! :confused: OK on to the screenshots

Soltek Monitor

Multimedia

Arithmetic

Memory

WCPUID

I'm going to order a heatsink for the SB as the NB one from the KT266A looked cheeserific so I didn't mount it :p

Hopefully the SB cooling and taking the CPU fan off the board header combined with the Mushkin will let me push through the FSB barrier I'm stuck on@the moment. BTW BentValve when you feel the SB don't just touch it for a moment, leave your finger there with a little pressure for 5-7seconds and you'll feel it transfering the heat to your finger like a sink and you will see it gets toasty, mine does anyways.
 

BentValve

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The Soltek HM is supposted to read the ABS 2 temps as well but I cannot figure out how to enable this.
 

DAPUNISHER

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Originally posted by: BentValve
BTW that last pic was pretty much realtime, I have been running this for awhile , I was running Prime95 just now and the temp got
as high as 31C, I quickly rebooted as to not let it cool down any and checked the ABS temp in the BIOS, it reads 43C...the CPU external
temp reads 30C so the Soltek HM is not reading the core temps as one would be led to believe.

The HW monitor in windows shows my temp the same as the bios and the ABS temp is only 2-3c higher, are you using the one that came with our board? Also, have you pulled the NB heatsink/fan off yet? I haven't because it looks like I'll have to yank the board out to remove it so I'll save that as a last resort, especially since Soltek uses thermal paste instead of tape or a pad like some others do. I can't see it making more than 1-2c difference tops what do you think?
 

BentValve

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BTW BentValve when you feel the SB don't just touch it for a moment, leave your finger there with a little pressure for 5-7seconds and you'll feel it transfering the heat to your finger like a sink and you will see it gets toasty, mine does anyways.


Well I have a 60mm fan blowing onto my SB, let me pull off the fan and see if it gets hot.


Does your get hot at 190x12? Because mine is running at that now and my SB is ice cold with a fan blowing onto it.
 

BentValve

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Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Originally posted by: BentValve
BTW that last pic was pretty much realtime, I have been running this for awhile , I was running Prime95 just now and the temp got
as high as 31C, I quickly rebooted as to not let it cool down any and checked the ABS temp in the BIOS, it reads 43C...the CPU external
temp reads 30C so the Soltek HM is not reading the core temps as one would be led to believe.

The HW monitor in windows shows my temp the same as the bios and the ABS temp is only 2-3c higher, are you using the one that came with our board? Also, have you pulled the NB heatsink/fan off yet? I haven't because it looks like I'll have to yank the board out to remove it so I'll save that as a last resort, especially since Soltek uses thermal paste instead of tape or a pad like some others do. I can't see it making more than 1-2c difference tops what do you think?



Weird.. Yeah my ABS temps are 43c when the HW reads 30c....I am using the one that came on the CD...let me unstall and reinstall
the program and see if that makes any difference.
 

BentValve

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Ok I uninstalled HM and reinstalled it , no change.

If you have some time , could you set your system to 12x190, 1.8V Core then go into the BIOS and read the temps?


Mine are:

12x190 vcore 1.8 (hm reads ~1.79)
ABS2 43C
System 22C
CPU external 28C

HM reads CPU Die 29C

Edit: also run Prime 95 torture test for a few min to warm it up before you go into the BIOS.
 

DAPUNISHER

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No fan on my SB :( time to order those sinks!

I read over@Sotek's site that's linked through the HW monitor for our board that the ABSII reads the thermal diode temp through the IC LM90 so perhaps the monitor just needs a new version to support it? I also read that RT2 only functions when there is a thermal cable plugged into the connector RT2 to sensor the device temperature. Is RT2 for the northbridge?