shuttle an35n does not identify 1.4 athlon correctly...help!

[v0id]

hey- i've got a problem with my new shuttle an35n board. recently my old epox 8k7a died, so i replaced it with this board, and got a 256mb stick of samsung 2700 ddr ram (its the fastest my local shop had at the time - the ram was required since my old 256mb stick of crucial 2100 ddr was ECC/buffered, apparently, which was incompatible- didn't know this at the time). anyways, the board seems to work fine, except for it wants to identify my athlon 1.4 ghz as 1050 mhz. the multiplier for the cpu should be 10.5, which it is (i dont know if this cpu is multiplier unlocked but it doesnt seem to want to boot with other multipliers), but for some reason it defaults to 100 mhz bus. trying to set the bus to 133 (i havent even tried to go higher) results in a BSOD upon windows loading. memory is running at 333 mhz. trying to set it to 133x2 (i think what this cpu was designed for) does not make a difference. according to shuttles online docs, this cpu is fully supported. what is going on? i think my mainboard is good, although when my last mainboard went out it might have slightly melted the cpu or something. all the settings i've fiddled with in the bios don't seem to work. they either dont boot at all, or cant get into windows. anybody, help?

 

[njrich2]

I just got this motherboard and had the exact same problem, only my chip was the xp 1800+ which it read at 1050 also. IT appears that if the motherboard is confused, it resorts to safe settings. The first thing you should do is update the bios (very easy with the Shuttle download). Just make sure you read the on line directions (forget what the manual says). You have to hold down the insert key before turning it on and hittine delete to enter the CMOS setup.

At first, this didn't work for me and I thought I had to unlock the chip (their web site doesn't mention support for my chip). I unlocked it (took me about an hour or so), installed it, booted up and everything ran fine. For some reason though, I'm not sure the unlocking did it. I think letting it sit for a period of time idol did it. Good luck. Let us know how it goes. -njrich2

 

[v0id]

oh, i forgot to mention. first thing i did was update the bios. oh well : /
how does one unlock the chip?

 

[mechBgon]

If your old Tbird uses the 266MHz FSB, then setting the mobo for 133MHz is correct. I wonder if the BSOD's are occurring due to a marginal power supply. A recent 350W unit from a known quality maker like Enermax or Antec is a good idea if you're not certain how good your PSU is (makes you wonder about the death of your previous board, too).

I would also make sure the RAM is running at 133MHz so it's synchronized with the CPU, and try 2.7 volts on the RAM. You don't want the RAM running 333MHz when the CPU isn't.

 

[v0id]

as for the psu- its possible. its a 300w psu that came with a fong kai case, which was about $100 at the time (two years ago). dont know the psu manufacturer. i know the 12v rail is a little low, hovering around 11.77v i think. i'll try upping the ram voltage to 2.7v. thanks

 

[v0id]

ok, i've made sure ram and system bus are running at 133 (x2 for ram) mhz. ram timings are correct, and i tried upping the voltage on the ram to see if i could get into windows. this time, i got past the welcome screen, but it consistently locks up as windows is booting even with increased voltage. i could boot into safe mode, but prime95 barfs in about 1 second and i get weird flashes on the screen. definitely not good. right now the system is running at 10.5x100 mhz bus, with ram at 200 mhz. would increasing cpu voltage help? ack! with a 1.4 ghz processor, you miss 33mhz on the bus and 350 mhz on the cpu. help!

 

[mechBgon]

There's a pretty decent Enlight 360W power supply for $39 shipped at Newegg: link I heard good things about this one from Insane3D, so if you're looking for a solid unit at a good price, there ya go

 

[DAPUNISHER]

OK I think I'm confused about what you are saying Are you saying the ram is at 200mhz=400ddr or that it's at 100mhz 200ddr?

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
There's a pretty decent Enlight 360W power supply for $39 shipped at Newegg: link I heard good things about this one from Insane3D, so if you're looking for a solid unit at a good price, there ya go

Ohhh man! Whatever you do, don't listen to Insane3D....he doesn't know anything!

 

[v0id]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
OK I think I'm confused about what you are saying Are you saying the ram is at 200mhz=400ddr or that it's at 100mhz 200ddr?

the ram is pc2700 ddr 333 ram. right now, it is running at 100mhz (x2) as the system bus is also running at 100 mhz. these are the only stable settings that let me boot into windows. ddr 333, which normally runs at 166mhz, should be able to do 133mhz (the bus speed at which my cpu should run at) just fine...but the cpu doesn't want to cooperate at this speed.

alas, i don't really want to spend any more money on this computer. funds are limited, im getting a notebook soon, and i've already spent $130 upgrading the mainboard and memory.

would unlocking my cpu help?

 

[Jolt2]

Do you have the 12volt 4pin connector hooked up on this board? I have seen post of problems like you are having with this board if that connector is not hooked up.

 

[v0id]

the 12v connector is indeed securely connected. i've been playing with the 1mhz increments in the system bus, it seemed stable at 123 mhz, right now im going to let prime95 have at it at 128. thanks for all the help so far, everyone...

 

[nan0bug]

RTFM

Theres a jumper for 100/133.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: nan0bug
RTFM

Theres a jumper for 100/133.

Actually, no. There is only one jumper on the AN35 Ultra, and it is the Clear CMOS one.

 

[Copperpipe]

Let me ask an embarrassing question (sorry if I offend you but am just trying to help): in Advanced Chipset Features of the BIOS setup, is the Memory Frequency entry that you have entered 100% or 200%? It should be 100% to run synchronously w/ the CPU.

Maybe you could list all the settings that you've tried in this part of the BIOS setup to clarify the situation.

 

[njrich2]

Oh yeah, what are your memory settings. Opt, Agressive, Turbo, Expert. I've found my board (and possibly many nforce 2 boards) are more sensitive to memory settings. Try very relaxed settings first. -njrich2