Power supply readings on Epox 8rda+ and boot problem

[TheOtherDave]

I am building up a system for a Epox 8rda+ but I am having some problems.

System
C1 board stepping
Antec 350 W power supply
Athlon XP barton 2500+
ATI Radeon 8500
Crucial pc3200 memory
WD 80 gig drive

Here is the problem.

When the system is booted from power off is sometimes will stop at 2b error code.

Also in Sandra and mother board monitor the +3.3 volt suppy to be at +2.74 volts.

Has anyone else seen this problem?

Is the +3.3 volt reading as low as I think it is?

If I remember correctly the 3.3 volts drives the I/O pins on the processor and chipset.

Thanks

Dave

 

[Insane3D]

Sandra is a horrible system monitor, and it doesn't even check things real time. What is happening is it's reading your DDR voltage as your 3.3v line. Your best bet would be to download somehting like Epox's USDM program, or Motherboard Monitor, or check the PC Health section of the bios to check on those voltage rails.

As far as the 2B code, I'm not sure what that means...did you check the error codes part of your manual for the description of that code?

 

[TheOtherDave]

Insane3D

I did download motherboard monitor and it says the +3.3 V line is at the same voltage.

The manual states that error code 2b is reserved.

If I look in the bios it doesn't even monitor +3.3 v.

It lists

Vdd 1.58 V
Vcore 1.66 V
Vdimm 2.75 V (which may be what sandra and MBM are stating is the +3.3V indicator)
+5v 4.89 V
+12V 12.86 V
-12 V -12.93 V
-5 V -5.09 V
Vbat 3.10 V (which I am assuming is the cmos bat)
5VSB 5.45 v

Thanks,

David

 

[Insane3D]

Hmm.. I wouldn't worry about it. If your 3.3v was that low, you would be having some issues. You might try the USDM program from Epox, I believe it does monitor your 3.3v rail.

As for the 2B code, I would shoot Epox Tech support an email and see what they say. They are usually top notch and will reply quickly.

 

[TheOtherDave]

Ok I went into the bios and adjusted the vdimm to 2.5 volts.

Now the +3.3 v sensor in sandra and MBM reads 2.5 v

So Insane3d was absolutely correct that this is the vdimm reading.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: TheOtherDave
Ok I went into the bios and adjusted the vdimm to 2.5 volts.

Now the +3.3 v sensor in sandra and MBM reads 2.5 v

So Insane3d was absolutely correct that this is the vdimm reading.

It's very common. Sandra, and to a lesser extent, MBM are not updated with the latest chipsets as fast as they come out, so often, it reads one reading as something else.

 

[TheOtherDave]

Insane3d,

It doesn't appear that the USDM program works on the 8rda board.

I searched the epox site found both versions but neither states that it will work
on this board.

Thanks again for the help.

David

 

[Insane3D]

Let me check when I get home Dave. I have two 8RDA+ based systems, and I am using the Epox USDM on one of them...and it works fine. I'll find out which one it is and shoot you a private message. I think the file is actually fairly small too, so I might be able to just send it to you via email or something.

 

[SpideyCU]

The program works fine for me on my 8RDA+ (in fact, it should've come with the CD in the box of the mobo).

However, I have an odd issue where USDM refuses to resize the window such that I can actually SEE all the values. It cuts many of them off. On a side note, I don't suppose anyone else has experienced that, have they?

 

[TheOtherDave]

I got usdm off the install cd.

SpideyCU I have the same problem as you. My bet is that your are using the large fonts (120%) the same as
me and that the program doesn't know how to compensate for it.

My guess is that the problem lies with the motherboard.

Just by the way it is acting no video and no boot beep my guess is that the 2b step is initializing
the AGP port and that the board is not initializing the 1.5 volts fast enough. Normally imediately after it
flashes 2b I get boot beep and video init.

During operation the power supply is not straining.

The power suppy is a brand new antec 350 watt one.

 

[SpideyCU]

Ha, yes, I am using large fonts (desktop is at 1280*1024 on a 19" monitor, so I like bigger fonts, heh).

Power supply sounds adequate, I agree that probably isn't the source of the problems.