The *Official* MSI K8NGM2-FID GeForce 6150 Motherboard Thread

[avi85]

Originally posted by: avi85
I need a serial port bracket for this board and I was wondering if anyone got one that they don't use and would be willing to part with it for a reasonable price + shipping.

Anybody? I only need it sent to New Jersey...

 

[RDeckard]

I'm having some problems with HD and/or SATA Ctrl on a K8NGM2-FID (Bios 3.50).
Last evening, I was watching a movie when suddenly a BSOD appears. Talking about ftdisk.sys.
I reboot and go under DOS to restore a Ghost image.
But Ghost didn't find any HD. I insist and finally succeed in restoring the system.

The HD is a Samsung SpinPoint. I used Samsung HUTIL to check HD health. No problem (3h read scan).
I'm worry about SATA controller. Anybody here had the same issue ?
Thank you.

 

[grits]

Originally posted by: avi85

Originally posted by: avi85
I need a serial port bracket for this board and I was wondering if anyone got one that they don't use and would be willing to part with it for a reasonable price + shipping.

Anybody? I only need it sent to New Jersey...

I know a standard serial port connected to the mobo header doesn't work.

Easier to just get this for $14:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812156008

 

[blimey]

Originally posted by: grits
I know a standard serial port connected to the mobo header doesn't work.

Easier to just get this for $14:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812156008

The serial port cable attached to the motherboard header should have straight-through wiring. I wasn't aware of this, and purchased a cross-wired cable.

After noticing that the serial port wasn't working, I desoldered/resoldered my cable, undoing the cross-wired configuration and changing it to a straight-wired configuration - with the help of the diagrams and photos here. After the wiring was changed, the serial port functioned properly.

If the serial port on your motherboard doesn't work, you should check the type of cable that you have attached to the motherboard header.

 

[blimey]

[Why doesn't the serial port connected to the mobo header work?

 

[tempoct]

Originally posted by: tempoct
I got random reboot problem with my new CPU (A64 3700+).
It prime stable for 12 hrs and memtest stable 22 passes. I stop both test manually.
However, when I use the computer lightly (says browsing Internet). It reboot it self. No BSOD, just simply reboot.
Here's the config
MSI BIOS tried 3.40, 3.50 and 3.60 same result HT set at 800MHz.
A64 3700+ San Diego @ 2.365GHz (215x11) on Zalman 7700AlCu + Nexus fan (max 52c loaded, idle around high 30 or early 40)
Corsair XMS DDR-400 2x512MB @ 215MHz (3-3-3-8, 2.65v, anyone know default voltage of this ram?)
Onboard graphic
Airlink 101 802.11g Wifi
Samsung SP2504c
BenQ 1640
Seasonic S12-380

My previous CPU was A64 3200+ Venice. Runs stable @ 2.2GHz but also have 2 more sticks of Corsair ValueSelect 512MBx2 (so run at 2T and 333MHz)

Any thought?

I think I have fixed my stability issue. It is just simply not enough Vcore (since the board has no Vcore boost). After using RMClock to permanently supply 1.4v, the problem is gone.
I guess I was lucky when I was prime95ing.

 

[grits]

Originally posted by: blimey
[Why doesn't the serial port connected to the mobo header work?

Dunno. Pinouts in manual are standard. Somebody early in thread said a couple of them were swapped. I tried that too w/o success.

Wrote to MSI and their response used English words but was not understandable.

Gave up and went usb-serial.

 

[blimey]

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: blimey
Note the 'H' at the end of the model number; 6150K8MD-8EKRSH. The board without the H doesn't have DVI.

That's not correct. "H" means RoHS-compliant. "D" is the board revision with DVI out. Foxconn motherboard naming scheme is found in Core 2 (Conroe & Merom) Motherboards - A Complete List of, Section 3: Naming Rules of Motherboards.

Whoops, sorry - I stand corrected. My intent was to illustrate the difference between the 6150K8MA-8EKRS, which is readily available at Newegg but which lacks DVI out, and the 6150K8MD-8EKRSH (not at Newegg) which does have DVI out. But you're right, it's not about the 'H', it's about the 'D'. Although the Newegg board (6150K8MA-8EKRS) has neither "H" nor "D", and is considerably less similar to the K8NGM2-FID than the 6150K8MD-8EKRSH.

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: blimey
Note the 'H' at the end of the model number; 6150K8MD-8EKRSH. The board without the H doesn't have DVI.

That's not correct. "H" means RoHS-compliant. "D" is the board revision with DVI out. Foxconn motherboard naming scheme is found in Core 2 (Conroe & Merom) Motherboards - A Complete List of, Section 3: Naming Rules of Motherboards.

 

[jedennings]

This is a great thread and a tremendous resource - so I'm going to jump in and seek some info and/or assistance.

I just updated an HTPC with this motherboard, and I've found that the northbridge heatsink is amazingly hot. I've gone through much of the topic thread and found a couple of generic references to the issue, but no detail. (And as a new AT forum memberI haven't figured out how to effectively search the entire thread at this point either...)

To quantify hot, I have the CPU thermal probe sitting in the middle of the heatsink and the thing reads out @ 68-72C sitting at idle and goes up from there. I added a video card to take the load off the northbridge and disabled the onboard video, and the idle temp actually went up! It's sitting @ 85C right now, and that just logically seems to be way too high.

Any data or pointers to nVidia resource data out there as to what the appropriate operational temps should be for this component? Or thoughts on reducing the heat or improving the dissipation? Thanks...

 

[blimey]

Originally posted by: jedennings
Or thoughts on reducing the heat or improving the dissipation? Thanks...

You can search this entire thread in raw text format.

I purchased the Swiftech MCX159-CU and the Zalman ZM-NB47J expecting that the NB on my motherboard would run hot, but I haven't installed them. The NB heatsink on my motherboard has never felt hot to the touch, even after hours under high load. I can keep my finger pressed up against it continuously and it barely feels warm. It doesn't seem loose either.

Some people have reported that the NB heatsink was loose or had too much (or poorly applied) heatsink compound. Perhaps that is the case with yours. Anyway, the Swiftech MCX159-CU that I have looks like it would be a good fit. It is all copper and has a decent quality fan.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: blimey

Originally posted by: jedennings
Or thoughts on reducing the heat or improving the dissipation? Thanks...

You can search this entire thread in raw text format.

I purchased the Swiftech MCX159-CU and the Zalman ZM-NB47J expecting that the NB on my motherboard would run hot, but I haven't installed them. The NB heatsink on my motherboard has never felt hot to the touch, even after hours under high load. I can keep my finger pressed up against it continuously and it barely feels warm. It doesn't seem loose either.

Some people have reported that the NB heatsink was loose or had too much (or poorly applied) heatsink compound. Perhaps that is the case with yours. Anyway, the Swiftech MCX159-CU that I have looks like it would be a good fit. It is all copper and has a decent quality fan.

"barely feeling warm" could be a sign that the thermal paste in the NB isn't making good contact, I would check that out, cause your chip could be burning up. I replaced the factory thermal paste with ceramiqe and actually noticed that the NB heatsink got a little hotter which means that more heat is now being dissipated from the NB chip itself (which is a good thing)

 

[blimey]

Originally posted by: avi85
"barely feeling warm" could be a sign that the thermal paste in the NB isn't making good contact, I would check that out, cause your chip could be burning up. I replaced the factory thermal paste with ceramiqe and actually noticed that the NB heatsink got a little hotter which means that more heat is now being dissipated from the NB chip itself (which is a good thing)

Yeah, I thought of that too. I plan to install the Swiftech heatsink the next time I take out the motherboard. I think the NB chip is ok though, at least if the nvidia monitorview utility is accurate at reporting the nForce temperature. At idle it is around 46C and it tops out around 53C.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: blimey

Originally posted by: avi85
"barely feeling warm" could be a sign that the thermal paste in the NB isn't making good contact, I would check that out, cause your chip could be burning up. I replaced the factory thermal paste with ceramiqe and actually noticed that the NB heatsink got a little hotter which means that more heat is now being dissipated from the NB chip itself (which is a good thing)

Yeah, I thought of that too. I plan to install the Swiftech heatsink the next time I take out the motherboard. I think the NB chip is ok though, at least if the nvidia monitorview utility is accurate at reporting the nForce temperature. At idle it is around 46C and it tops out around 53C.

I always wondered how to check the NB temp... mine is at 52 at load but with a 30mm fan@5v it drops to 46 and @12v it drops to 36.
I wish that I had known about this before, cause I would have compared the temps before and after I changed the thermal paste.

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: blimey
I think the NB chip is ok though, at least if the nvidia monitorview utility is accurate at reporting the nForce temperature. At idle it is around 46C and it tops out around 53C.

What is "nvidia monitorview utility"? I don't think that GeForce 6150 has a buit-in temperature sensor.

 

[blimey]

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: blimey
I think the NB chip is ok though, at least if the nvidia monitorview utility is accurate at reporting the nForce temperature. At idle it is around 46C and it tops out around 53C.

What is "nvidia monitorview utility"? I don't think that GeForce 6150 has a buit-in temperature sensor.

It's part of the N-tune package. I also thought the 6150 had no temperature sensor, until I read this message a couple of months ago.

I still thought the info was wrong, but then I tested it by applying and removing extra cooling to the NB and SB chips on the K8NGM2-FID. During this testing, it seemed obvious that only cooling of the NB chip was proportionately reflected for the 'NForce' temperature in monitorview. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but in any case it seems to be a usable gauge in assessing the NB temperature.

 

[grits]

Speefan also shows the NB temp. At least using the config file I imported from almico.com.

41^C on mine. But the info screen says the chipset is nvidia 410, while the actual SB is 430.

[edit] Unplugged the fan on the NB and temps didn't change. So speedfan isn't monitoring it.

 

[jlharvison]

Thanks for the information on the nvidia monitorview utility!

Seems my NB chip is maxing out around 91*C. It has Artic Silver between it and the Heatsink. CPU was 52*C, Sys was 37*C. I have a 939 x2 4800+ with a Silverstone NT06. My room temperature was about 20 - 21*C. I have a Silverstone Sugo Evolution case, and these CPU and SYS temps are pretty much in line with others.

This was after leaving the computer on overnight @ 100% CPU load, and very high loading on the NB. Folding@Home running on one core, the game FlyFF running on the other, and using the onboard video.

I've been doing this for a while, and the system has never given me any problems.

I have been tossing the idea of a fan on the NB around. I may try it sometime. I do like silence though. I also plan to get a real video card in the next year, so that will offload some of the NB's work.

Comments?

 

[blimey]

Originally posted by: jlharvison
Thanks for the information on the nvidia monitorview utility!

Seems my NB chip is maxing out around 91*C.
<...>
Comments?

91C is at least slightly toasty, but it is within spec since standalone 6xxx series video cards usually have core shutdown at 125C.

What HSF are you using on the CPU? Read this thread at arstechnica which describes a K8NGM2-FID where the NB was running at 80C+ with a stock HSF, but dropped to 42C when a Zalman 7700cu HSF was installed on the CPU.

 

[jlharvison]

HSF on CPU is a Silverstone NT06. It uses the PSUs fan for cooling, so yes, the NB would be cooler with a CPU HSF that pushed air down onto the MB. The problem with that is that it would fight the PSU fan for air, as many including myself have found out.

Here're some links about using the NT06 in a Sugo if you're interested,

Nice Site

Another Build

NT06 User Experiences

Yes, I read Sudhian too! It was the best site I found for Sugo specific info.

I may try a fan on the NB heatsink if I get bored over the holidays, but since I'm having no stability problems, I'm not too worried about it. I bet the temp goes way down once I stop using the integrated video. If it fails, then that's just an excuse to buy new parts =)

EDIT:

First HSF I used (Yes, an Alpha)

Another Pic of 1st

2cd HSF (Yes, the AMD 4-pipe with a flipped fan. Doesn't work so good in that config)

NT06 Pic 1

NT06 Pic 2

 

[rei]

Anyone have unusual random/sporadic 'network cable disconnected' errors with the onboard nforce mcp nic?

 

[WillyTP]

Excuse me,
I saw from one of these post that there is a 1.18 BIOS for K9NGM2 motherboard.
Could somebody please send it to me?
Thank you!

 

[winguy]

Hi

Is there rpm sensing on the NBFAN1 connector? I hope there isn't else mine would be faulty.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: winguy
Hi

Is there rpm sensing on the NBFAN1 connector? I hope there isn't else mine would be faulty.

no

 

[defleprd]

I fear I have made a serious mistake. I accidentally disabled the Onchip VGA Frame Buffer Size and now I"m getting no signal to my monitor and can't see the BIOS settings to fix this. I had flashed to 3.50 previously but the safety recover function doesn't seem to work (still no VGA video signal).

Please help!