The mobile Athlon 64 and motherboards

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: Quino
How, high canyou go on the Asrock?

I've gotten as high as 260 but ~245 is where I'd say realistically you can expect. Essentially, you need the 10x multi

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: dimasukr
Guys,
I also got burned with all the quirks of MSI K8N.
The last straw is that 1.25 beta BIOS doesn't work with mobiles.
So it is going back for sure.
The best board for me (I tried Asus K8V, Gigabytes K8N and K8NS, Chaintech VNF3 and finally MSI K8N Neo) is VNF3-250.
It does 280 (memory 1:1 - didn't try higher since didn't want to run at 5:6 mem) - just set AGP to 67.
The only problem is that it doesn't run mobile out of the box so need to have Fry's nearby or get another desktop CPU somehow to flash it to 05/07 beta BIOS.
The second small problem is that beta BIOS doesn't like my OCZ PC4400 512M when I put 2 of then in there (mem doesn't work at 1:1 divider)
So beta BIOS definitely has some problems with 2 sticks of double sided memory (how old production one doesn't have this problem but again it doesn't work with mobiles).

Sorry to hear. Unfortunately you're far from alone. The fact that the beta BIOS makes the situation worse only further confirms that this is not a board to be used with mobiles for anyone but those with too much time on their hands. MSI's reputation also doesn't help.

I liked the Chaintech but the RAM issues and the crappy realtek NIC keep it from being a solid choice with the mobiles.

 

[Quino]

dimasukr someone in anotherforum (I think it was pcperspective) said that if you slap a regular cpu after you flash your MSI to the beta bios and set the multiplier to 4 and then swap the mobile back on will work. I would try it myself but I am too lazy to take the watercooling (need to remove the board to do so). I have a regular 3200 and the mobile 2800 Bar81 I know. However I am running at 2.14 gigs so it is pretty good. I am going to wait a little bit longer for an official bios and then see how it goes. I do not have the money to buy another CPU right now Want to trade your mobile 3200

 

[Zebo]

How come no ones tried ABIT KV8Pro?

Seems very fast in benchmarks with the desktop chips, is cheap @105 and has locks.

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: Zebo
How come no ones tried ABIT KV8Pro?

Seems very fast in benchmarks with the desktop chips, is cheap @105 and has locks.

Besides the fact that it uses a VIA chipset? Because no Abit mobos work with the mobiles.

 

[Quino]

according to review and the forums it does not have a pci\agp lock and so it is not popular at all

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: Quino
dimasukr someone in anotherforum (I think it was pcperspective) said that if you slap a regular cpu after you flash your MSI to the beta bios and set the multiplier to 4 and then swap the mobile back on will work. I would try it myself but I am too lazy to take the watercooling (need to remove the board to do so). I have a regular 3200 and the mobile 2800 Bar81 I know. However I am running at 2.14 gigs so it is pretty good. I am going to wait a little bit longer for an official bios and then see how it goes. I do not have the money to buy another CPU right now Want to trade your mobile 3200

Yeah, someone was implying, I think, that they got a mobile working with the beta BIOS but didn't provide any details. I've got a 3200+ DTR I can sell ya

 

[imported_infinity9]

Like this? I posted that about setting the multi to 4 with a normal A64.

http://www.picgoo.com/uploads/mobile125.jpg

bah wont let me link..

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Bar81

Originally posted by: Zebo
How come no ones tried ABIT KV8Pro?

Seems very fast in benchmarks with the desktop chips, is cheap @105 and has locks.

Besides the fact that it uses a VIA chipset? Because no Abit mobos work with the mobiles.

I tend to take these so called bunk chipset arguments with a grain of salt. Just becasue Intel or Nvidia is'nt making it does'nt rule it out for me at least. Every reviewer likes the Via chipset faster, in fact every reviewer likes the sis chipset too which also has a bump rap for some reason.

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: infinity9
Like this? I posted that about setting the multi to 4 with a normal A64.

http://www.picgoo.com/uploads/mobile125.jpg

bah wont let me link..

So, you've got the new beta working with the MSI and a mobile?

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: Bar81

Originally posted by: Zebo
How come no ones tried ABIT KV8Pro?

Seems very fast in benchmarks with the desktop chips, is cheap @105 and has locks.

Besides the fact that it uses a VIA chipset? Because no Abit mobos work with the mobiles.

I tend to take these so called bunk chipset arguments with a grain of salt. Just becasue Intel or Nvidia is'nt making it does'nt rule it out for me at least. Every reviewer likes the Via chipset faster, in fact every reviewer likes the sis chipset too which also has a bump rap for some reason.

Well, I can tell you why sis gets a lot of crap; because they've made some crap in the past but since their latest generation chipsets (Socket A, Socket 462, and Socket 754/939) they're the best of the best. It takes time to shed a bad image. It's their fault but in time their chipsets will be too good to ignore.

On the other hand, VIA has never made anything but junk; the latest piece of evidence being the so-called AGP/PCI "lock" in their new A64 chipsets. I wouldn't listen to what reviewers say, they're bought and sold like everything else. I make up my mind by actually *trying* the different chipsets before I decide on one. For example, for my A64 system, I've checked out the VIA K8T800, nForce3 250, and SiS 755 and I can tell you which one is the best and which one is the worst and why. I can confirm that VIA has thoroughly earned its poor reputation.

 

[jkresh]

with the k8n-neo platinum and a dtr 3200 and a stick of corsair xms3200 in slot 1 (fails in 3, havent tried 2) i can get to an fsb of 240 (at multiplier of 10, hypertransport at 4, slk948 with vantec tornado running at 2300rpm) which runs stably under a saundra burn in test (will run prime overnight once i get the second stick working and the proper fan connectors). only problem (besides the 3rd memory slot) is I have to use clockgen to set the multiplier (reverts to 4 in bios, if i change it there it crashes). Seems like with a bios update this board could be pretty solid.

 

[imported_oralpain]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: Bar81

Originally posted by: Zebo
How come no ones tried ABIT KV8Pro?

Seems very fast in benchmarks with the desktop chips, is cheap @105 and has locks.

Besides the fact that it uses a VIA chipset? Because no Abit mobos work with the mobiles.

I tend to take these so called bunk chipset arguments with a grain of salt. Just becasue Intel or Nvidia is'nt making it does'nt rule it out for me at least. Every reviewer likes the Via chipset faster, in fact every reviewer likes the sis chipset too which also has a bump rap for some reason.

There are currently no baordsw ith VIA chipsets that have a working PCI/AGP lock. HardOCP has tested the ABit KV8Pro K8T800Pro board with an unrtealsed beta BIOS thathas the lock, but that is it. To overclock you NEED the lock. Without it you won't be going very far and a mobile will be nearly worthless in it. That is the primary reason peopel have been staying away from VIA. I have no problem with VIA chipsets other than this. I had an AK86-L with the orginal K8T800 chipset, it was an excelent baord, if you did not overclock, but I do and so will the vast majority of people looking to get a mobile.

Most people are well aware that the VIA chipset is slightly faster stock.

I will probably try a KV8Pro...after a BIOS that enables the locks is relased publicly.

 

[Zebo]

I did not know the ABit KV8Pro issues hav'nt been fixed yet.

You think K8T800pro is fast you should see this. http://www.ocworkbench.com/2004/sis/755FX/755FX-1.htm

 

[imported_oralpain]

Originally posted by: calam63
so which mobo is the best for just using a mobile a64 chip out of the box? i am thinking abou tthe asus k8v se deluxe? i am not really looking into lots of overclocking - maybe later on - but i am more looking into the chips really low wattage which means really low heat? would asus be fine?

I can't comment on the ASUS, but I can say that this AOpen AK89 MAX has very few issues with the mobiles, it would likely work quite well for you, if you have the newest BIOS for it. You would need a non mobile A64 to flash the bios, however.

The only problem I currently have is when the PC is shut down and cold booted, the clock generator defaults to 200Mhz, but it is a very minor problem and if you are running it stock it would not affect you at all.

 

[jkresh]

Ok with a dtr 3200 and the k8n-neo, I can get to 240 (with ht at 4), at stock voltage. I have to use clocgen to get from 4x to 10x (for the multiplier), and it works fine with 3 different memory sticks in the first slot. However, i cant get past a multiplier of 4 with memory in slots 2 or 3 (and not in 1, so it isint a multiple stick issue).

 

[tedinde]

Originally posted by: dimasukr
Guys,
I also got burned with all the quirks of MSI K8N.
The last straw is that 1.25 beta BIOS doesn't work with mobiles.
So it is going back for sure.
The best board for me (I tried Asus K8V, Gigabytes K8N and K8NS, Chaintech VNF3 and finally MSI K8N Neo) is VNF3-250.
It does 280 (memory 1:1 - didn't try higher since didn't want to run at 5:6 mem) - just set AGP to 67.
The only problem is that it doesn't run mobile out of the box so need to have Fry's nearby or get another desktop CPU somehow to flash it to 05/07 beta BIOS.
The second small problem is that beta BIOS doesn't like my OCZ PC4400 512M when I put 2 of then in there (mem doesn't work at 1:1 divider)
So beta BIOS definitely has some problems with 2 sticks of double sided memory (how old production one doesn't have this problem but again it doesn't work with mobiles).

Sorry about your bad luck. Im using 2 sticks of OCZ pc4200 and it works fine even with the beta bios. And im also have a double sided PC4000 adata it's working fine in.

I've got a 2nd MSI board here and a 3200+ mobile running stable @ almost 2.8ghz and a newcastle @ 2.9ghz. It's going to a friend overseas.

Starts getting fun in a thread i have running here

http://www.truextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32300&page=8&pp=20

Friends on XR forums cant get mobiles working with the epox board.

Everyone's mobile happy now, but the Newcastle can hold their own i've found. All the board manufacters will probably get the mobiles working eventually, even though they really dont have a responsibility to make them work, Cept for wanting to sell more which they would if the fixed what we want.

Both of my boards are stable @ 300fsb. I've noticed people either love the board or hate it no inbetween.

But good luck to all of you..

 

[Bar81]

Ugh, *another* quirk.

In more positive news, a new mobo has been added to the list.

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: tedinde

Originally posted by: dimasukr
Guys,
I also got burned with all the quirks of MSI K8N.
The last straw is that 1.25 beta BIOS doesn't work with mobiles.
So it is going back for sure.
The best board for me (I tried Asus K8V, Gigabytes K8N and K8NS, Chaintech VNF3 and finally MSI K8N Neo) is VNF3-250.
It does 280 (memory 1:1 - didn't try higher since didn't want to run at 5:6 mem) - just set AGP to 67.
The only problem is that it doesn't run mobile out of the box so need to have Fry's nearby or get another desktop CPU somehow to flash it to 05/07 beta BIOS.
The second small problem is that beta BIOS doesn't like my OCZ PC4400 512M when I put 2 of then in there (mem doesn't work at 1:1 divider)
So beta BIOS definitely has some problems with 2 sticks of double sided memory (how old production one doesn't have this problem but again it doesn't work with mobiles).

Sorry about your bad luck. Im using 2 sticks of OCZ pc4200 and it works fine even with the beta bios. And im also have a double sided PC4000 adata it's working fine in.

I've got a 2nd MSI board here and a 3200+ mobile running stable @ almost 2.8ghz and a newcastle @ 2.9ghz. It's going to a friend overseas.

Starts getting fun in a thread i have running here

http://www.truextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32300&page=8&pp=20

Friends on XR forums cant get mobiles working with the epox board.

Everyone's mobile happy now, but the Newcastle can hold their own i've found. All the board manufacters will probably get the mobiles working eventually, even though they really dont have a responsibility to make them work, Cept for wanting to sell more which they would if the fixed what we want.

Both of my boards are stable @ 300fsb. I've noticed people either love the board or hate it no inbetween.

But good luck to all of you..

Might just be a quality control issue; with MSI that's always a big possibility. Either way, if it was me, with all the problems people are having, I'd stay away (well, actually I already have) but I guess then it depends on your tolerance for quirks and whether you can afford/want to eat the possible RMA costs if you end up in the hardware hell most MSI K8N Neo + mobile owners seem to be in.

 

[jkresh]

what settings are you using tedinde? And can you set the proper multiplier in the bios or are you using clocgen?

 

[IonBlade]

Just made a post on this, but saw this thread right afterwards and realized I might have a better chance of finding someone with the board in this thread - I've got no way to get ahold of a desktop A64 processor to flash the AK89 Max with, but I could order a pre-flashed BIOS chip online. Could anyone with the board pull back the sticker on the BIOS chip and pm me or post the stuff printed on the BIOS chip so I can order a chip that already has the latest BIOS on it?

 

[Titan13]

I am considering upgrading to the Athlon 64 3200+ on the MSI K8T Neo board. I currently have a P4 2.6 system with 1GB of 2700 RAM. I want to re-use my current 2700 (333) RAM (2 sticks 512) in the new Athlon system. How much performance will I loose versus buying new 3200 RAM? I'm getting an X800 XT video card to go with the system. Thanks.

 

[jkresh]

Still having issues with the k8n-neo platinum, hoping a bios update comes soon, as it is giving me problems running at stock speed with ram in anything but the first slot. So if no bios update comes this week, or if it comes and still doesnt work, i may rma it and get the asus, assuming it actualy works wiht mobiles.

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: jkresh
Still having issues with the k8n-neo platinum, hoping a bios update comes soon, as it is giving me problems running at stock speed with ram in anything but the first slot. So if no bios update comes this week, or if it comes and still doesnt work, i may rma it and get the asus, assuming it actualy works wiht mobiles.

Well, let us know if you do as it's probably got the best chance to work properly.

 

[proneax]

Originally posted by: Diogenes2
Just the opposite.. The screws ( the tension bar ) need to travel further to make up for the missing IHS..

The Die on the mobiles is about 2mm lower than the IHS.. So for a
good fit, the posts on the Zalman need to be shaved about 2 mm ..

I did this to test a DTR a while back, and when I switched back to my 3200+ I added some spacers to bring the posts back up..

I assume you were using the cnps-7000(a)?

I'm thinking of getting a 3200 dtr and a zalman to cool it.

So, I have 2 questions. #One: where did you shave the 2mm off? Position 1 or 2 in this pic:
Look Here

Also thinking maybe you could take some off of the washer (labeled 3 in the pic) or even the backplate.

Anyway, one last thing, what should I be looking for as far as making sure I'm not overtightening? Thier website shows to stop when the clips become flat on both sides, but lets pretend that I shave too much off the 'nipples,' how can i make sure I don't overtighten?

Looked up the specs on the 'lidded' and 'non-lidded' 754 packages and the IHS adds between 2.2 and 2.54 mm (height off pcb- die height) in case anyone cares.