A7N8X The bomb diggity?

[waldox]

You know it.

At least that's the story with with mine. I read many of the not so favorable posts around here before ultimately buying one, and was a little scared I'd end up with a buggy system. I'm happy to report though, that it's running just fine.

I decided to make this post after remembering someone else say that no one ever bothers to post when it's good news. Well, now someone did.
-------------------------------------
For the technically minded.

Antec 480 Watt PS
A7N8X DLX
1GB Corsair Twin something or other ram. DDR333 CL2
PNY GForce4 TI 4400
AMD XP 1700+ (I know, gotta upgrade to 333 fsb soon)
Adaptec Raid Adapter (2 WD 80G 7200rpm 8mb ATA100 buffer HD's on RAID 0)

I didn't do much in the bios. Just the usualy stuff like changing the AGP aperature. The only thing I did performance wise was set the ram performance to aggresive.

Running WinXP Pro SP1

That's the system I put together together after much study at Toms's and I have absolutely no complaints.

Peace.

 

[Crashman]

That's to be expected, most problems people are having in here are dealing with very high memory speeds or memory speed not recognized by BIOS.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[chaotictech]

Get you a x1700 tbredB and oc it to 2g and you'll be smokin.
For 50 bucks you cant beat it.

If you ever stop learning, YOU'ER DEAD!!

 

[tRiXtA]

Yes. Definately the "bomb diggity" as one would say. Word, yo.

<b><font color=red>Nothin like a Pentium II furiously churning out a blistering 0.8 FPS on 3D Mark 2001!!!</font color=red></b>

 

[waldox]

"Get you a x1700 tbredB and oc it to 2g and you'll be smokin.
For 50 bucks you cant beat it."

That's actually the chip that I have, but I was going to buy a new AMD with the 333fsb for synchronous operation.

I've never overclocked before, so I'm a little scared of such activities. Is it really safe to overclock it by that much?

 

[CompSci]

Is it safe to overclock? - everybody has their opionion...
Check you CPU temp!!! I've never lost a CPU yet and goes all the way back to 8086 upgrage to a NEC v30 chip bumped up to 10 and 12 mhz... but i'm a modrate at it...

If your CPU temp is like 40C or below like most of these new 1700+'s( and newegg is even advertizing these new 1700+ at 333Fsb and 1833) 166 is No Problem...

If you have ddr 2700 memory, just leave it aggressive and set external freq at 166 and Enjoy...

But look at that CPU temp first... Heat kills!
Read the overclocking forum for more info...

 

[chaotictech]

Use wcpuid and if it reads
.Family 6 model 8 steping id 1
..........7..........8..............1

Then you have a tbred B core.
set the vcore to 1.7 or 1.75 and your fsb to 166.
Youll be running around 2.08ghz
You can change your multi to 10/fsb166 also if you just want to see if you like it and You'll have 1666mhz.
Of coarse if you dont feel like risking it then I dont blame you.
I'm running at 15x133=2000mhz solid as a rock on stock voltage, these tbredB's rock.



If you ever stop learning, YOU'ER DEAD!!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by chaotictech on 02/19/03 09:47 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[jolle]

So I tried a few tricks to overclock my A7N8X with XP 1700+, but to no avail. I have a tbred, but not B core. So I first pumped up the FSB to 166 (I have DDR333) and backed the multiplier down to 9.0 to check the system. No problems. I did boost the voltage up a bit. However, when I went to play Unreal Tournament, crashes every few seconds, and complete reboots on its own. So I boost the voltage a bit more. Temps seem to be OK, in the high 40's to low 50's C. Same result. Set the CPU back to original, but leave the memory running asynchronously at 166mhz. Still crashes in UT. Is it the memory or is it the whole deal??? I haven't messed much with overclocking but I've been building systems for quite some time. When I put it back to how it was originally I played fine for a bit in UT but it totally froze again after a while. Any suggestions??

 

[chaotictech]

It sounds like a memory problem. Wha speed and brand of ram are you using.

If you ever stop learning, YOU'ER DEAD!!

 

[CompSci]

Stability Rules!!! There's nothin worse than just about finishin something ya really neeed and getting an Aw Chit and loosin it! (Can ruin your day!)
Set it stock and be very moderate - the stability and reliabiality of Win 2k and Xp is such a great step forward it's not worh messin with...
Smooooooth's da Best.. If your box just does "Everything" its supposed to do at the speed it's supposed to do it - your way ahead of most!

 

[jolle]

I have OCZ PC2700 CL2 memory. I bought it a while back before I read many of the reviews about OCZ. However, I'm not trying to OC it, just run it at the speed its specified, but it keeps dying when I try to run a game. I heard on a different thread that its a mobo problem that ASUS needs to fix. ????

 

[CompSci]

I realy don't know the full realm of memory makers - I'm a software guy.
For SRRAM I'm usin PC150 CL2 Neutron Server Grade-PreTested(not available anymore but smokin stuff) outa somewhere in PA, and lately using a lot of Kingston (various ratings) and NEVER a problem...

I do have a drawer here with a quitea few Problem Child generic/house brands, 2 Infineons, 1 Samsumg, an a Micron that will put problems into anything I put em in!!!

People here really like Critical XMS - Salty(like twice the price)
Kingston (even the KingstonValueRAM) has been doing me vey well...
But memory ain't the place to be cheap for a reliable box!

On this a7n8x I'm usin Kingston DDR2700/(333) memory for the 1700+ TbredB and it runs 166/333 and then some... ( the memory is rated for it, and this particular processor seams to have no objections). Having been using Intel PIII's till this new 1700+, changing the multiplier is new stuff for me. I can bump my multiplier to 12*166(1992) and all runs fine everywhere (with AGP vidcard of course) at 40C or less... Killer, for a couple a days till I closed up the case - then with cpu temp goes up in mid 45C workin and I got a few occasional burps (explorer errored, did that "Do you want to report this Errorr" thing every now and then, and Power DVD poped a Program err box) - Oops - I think its the ole rule as temperature increases so does resistance!
I bumped the vcore to 1.625(just 1 bump) - and they seamed to go away... but,
Everything in Moderateration! - I set it back to default vcore and 11*166(1833)
This has got to be a "Rock Reliable" box! I ain't greedy.

I'm not overly impressed with the board - it gets just about the same Mem bandwidth nunbers as a SYS645DX chipset... and a ECS k7s5a and MSI 745 Ultra will push these 1770+B's the same speeds (just made acouple of those for family - thought I'd try this Asus for myself)

I don't think it's this mobo that's that good.
It's these sweet little 1700+Bs - that's the "Bomb Diggity"...

This A7n8x has two BIG drawbacks (that the others don't)
1. A7n8x "Does Not" meet(or function to) the PCI 2.1 Industry Standard!!!
2. Nvidia Nforce drivers "DO Not" fly the "Windows Logo" nor meet "Windows Testing Standards and Certification" for use with Win 2000 or XP!!

When installin the Nforce drovers I got that dialog that said the digital signature does not meet the "Windows Testing Standards or Ccertification"! -- Reject or Accept - Ya see what you gettin in to right here! From that point ya can't be complainin (and expect to he heard)...

(Hey, ya think WPA and activation's a bummer, wait till ya put on a service pack and Nforce2 dirvers won't load - and don't think it ain't commin...)

I don't think its Asus here - its NVIDA, could be the nforce2 chipset itself, but most certainly in the Drivers!!! As bittersweer as Micro$oft stuff is, Flyin the "Logo" and "Meeting Testing Standards" sure eliminate a whole lot a problems...

Yo on yo own with this board!

 

[waldox]

Actually, I am running XP wit SP1 installed and all other critical updates. My board has ran fine from the start and I've never had even one error while intalling ANY drivers. Including NForce and Detonator.

Also, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who responded. Since this was my first ever post here, I wasn't sure what kind of welcome I would get.

I think you guys are pretty cool. Makes me want to stick around and become a regular around here.

 

[paulj]

Did you lock the AGP bus at 66?

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>

 

[jolle]

Yes it was on 66. Is it supposed to be or not? I was thinking it might be related to the AGP because of the way it behaved in the game.

 

[paulj]

Yes it should be on 66 not "Auto".

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>