GA-7DXR issues

[Guest]

Hey folks, hoping someone somewhere can help me out with this.

I just decided to upgrade my system. Here's what I now have:

Gigabyte GA-7DXR
AMD T-bird 1.4Ghz
512MB PC2100 DDR RAM (Crucial)
Enermax EG365P-VE(FC) power supply
PNY Technologies Verto nVidia GeForce2 Pro 64mb DDR
Soundblaster Live! Value
Intel Pro Managemenet 10/100+
WD 60GB UltraATA/100 7200rpm hdd

Everything seems to be working fine. However here are a few things I can't figure out:

-When booting up and in W2K or W98, the BIOS and OS report my processor as being 1050mhz. The processor worked fine in my old mobo (Iwill KK266). I can't for the life of me figure out why. I have the most up to date BIOS and motherboard drivers.

-Do I need to plug my hard drive into IDE3 (the first RAID/ATA100 slot) to get the benefits of ATA100? Using the tools that came with the hard drive, it's reporting the HDD as having 100 installed and ready to use, but the drive is only running at 66. Also, when I boot up, the Promise controller says "Ultra100 not installed because no drives are present."

-I noticed there are a lot of jumpers/connectors that are soldered over on the Motherboard such as FSB adjustment, etc. yet none of these are in the BIOS setup as a changeable option. It's like Gigabyte put the setting where they want, soldered it permanently, and never decided to give me an option to change it in the BIOS. I'm thinking this could be why my Processor is only being reported as 1050mhz.

If anyone has any ideas please let me know. I would also appreciate any other tips regarding this Motherboard.

If worse comes to worse, can anyone recommend a stable and highly configurable Motherboard that uses DDR RAM and supports the 1.4Ghz T-Bird and UltraATA/100?

Thanks in advance.

 

[troopr]

I dont have an answer to your problem but i have a comment and a question. First, I have a 7dxr 1.4 t-bird 512 MB PC2100, 80 GB seagate and it runs just fine. Dont give up on the DXR mobo.

My question is, what is the temp of your CPU running at when you check it from the BIOS?

Joe

 

[Guest]

56 degrees

Is that good? Apart from the Enermax power supply's enormous fans, I have an 18cfm blowing air out the back of the PC right above the PCI slots, a 35cfm fan in the bottom front of the case blowing air onto the MoBo, and an SK6 Pro Copper heatsink with 35cfm fan on the CPU. I have one side of the case open and a small fan angled so it's blowing onto the hard drives and back towards the rear of the PC.

I'm going to try closing up the case and seeing what the temperature reads to see if I should leave it open or closed.

Well I took W2K off the drive and installed 98. This time, before I installed the OS, I reserved IRQ's 5, 10, and 11. Once I installed the OS and setup the vid card, I went back into the BIOS and manually configured the Vid Card to use IRQ 11. Since it was reserved, nothing was using it so now only my vid card is using IRQ 11. Next, I put in the Nic in the 3rd slot, rebooted, installed, shut down, then in BIOS unreserved IRQ 10 and pointed it to the Nic. Same thing with the Soundcard. Now each of them are using their own IRQs.

I am still having trouble with the hard drive though. The Promise ATA100 driver is installed properly, but it still doesn't connect to any drives.

Does anyone know if I need to plug the hard drive into IDE3 (the first RAID slot) and then select 2nd boot device as IDE2 (IDE0 = IDE1, IDE1 = IDE2 in BIOS) to get it to work?

 

[troopr]

Yes 56 is good but, I have a suggestion; switch the fans around. 35cfm blowing air out the back and 18 cfm blowing air in. From my experience and from all the posts I'v read, it's more important to exhaust the heat. also, the more powerful fan in the rear will draw air in from any openings/slots in the case and front cover if the front fan doesnt push enuf air in. Get that heat outa there. It's better to close up your case, its designed to maximize airflow with the sides on.

Did you have any mounting problems with that SK-6 HSF ??? I thought the SK-6 was too big for the ZIF socket on the 7DXR?

BTW, im getting 67 celcius with stock AMD HSF and only 1 fan blowing air in the front. When I put a 7000 rpm 120V AC fan on the back of the case to draw air out, it lowered my CPU temp 9 degrees celcius. the AC fan is just temp. I just purchased a 39 cfm case fan (12V DC) to install in the rear.

Did you disable the promise technology controller in the BIOS?? You might get faster and more stable boot if you do since your not running any raid drives.
Sorry I cant help you with th stability probs.

 

[khha4113]

When booting up and in W2K or W98, the BIOS and OS report my processor as being 1050mhz. The processor worked fine in my old mobo (Iwill KK266). I can't for the life of me figure out why. I have the most up to date BIOS and motherboard drivers.

That's because it runs at 100MHz FSB (10.5*100=1050). You need to change its FSB to 133MHz (10.5*133=1400) by jumpers or in BIOS (I don't have GA-7DXR). Check your manual for instructions.

Do I need to plug my hard drive into IDE3 (the first RAID/ATA100 slot) to get the benefits of ATA100? Using the tools that came with the hard drive, it's reporting the HDD as having 100 installed and ready to use, but the drive is only running at 66. Also, when I boot up, the Promise controller says "Ultra100 not installed because no drives are present."

I believe your mobo has both ATA100 controllers (built-in and Promise), so it won't be neccessary.

It's like Gigabyte put the setting where they want, soldered it permanently, and never decided to give me an option to change it in the BIOS. I'm thinking this could be why my Processor is only being reported as 1050mhz.

Read your manual carefully. On <A HREF="http://www.giga-byte.com" target="_new">GigaByte website</A>, it clearly states <A HREF="http://www.giga-byte.com/products/7dxr.htm" target="_new"><font color=red><b><i>GA-7DXR</A></b></i></font color=red> can support both 100 and 133MHz DDR FSB (or 200/266).

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

 

[Guest]

>>>”Do I need to plug my hard drive into IDE3 (the first RAID/ATA100 slot) to get the benefits of ATA100?”

No. But there are some more issues involved with getting ata 100 to work. If you are still having problems after installing the latest 4 in 1’s and then reinstalling the HD plug and play drivers, then I will post some links about where to get this sorted.

>>>”Promise controller says "Ultra100 not installed because no drives are present."

If no drives are attached, then disable the Promise controller with the jumper on the board and that message will disappear – along with the long pause.

>>>”-I noticed there are a lot of jumpers/connectors that are soldered over on the Motherboard such as FSB adjustment, etc. yet none of these are in the BIOS setup as a changeable option “

You will notice the voltage adjuster lacks a dip switch, yet still has an option in the bios – although mine runs at the wrong voltage :/ Gigabyte says that as long as the setting is within 5% then there shouldnt be an issue – although I would rather mine be at 1.75 rather than 1.82 that it is currently. I havent seen any other options missing on the board that are relavant.

>>>“If anyone has any ideas please let me know. I would also appreciate any other tips regarding this Motherboard.”

Try lowering your memory timings to....
Argh – I cant find my old post to copy and paste from – I cant be arse to type them all out again – will post back if I find them.

>>>”My question is, what is the temp of your CPU running at when you check it from the BIOS?”

55.1 absolute max on my 1gig axia @ 1.31 – thats about right as my heatsink+fan combo is pretty poor. 56 is pretty high, but provided its below 60 and your machine is stable, then its unlikely to melt or anything.

>>>”You need to change its FSB to 133MHz (10.5*133=1400) by jumpers or in BIOS (I don't have GA-7DXR). Check your manual for instructions.”

If you are having trouble with what to set the jumpers too, post here what you have them currently set to and I will tell you whether that is right or not.