A7N8X Deluxe problems crashing

[order]

I bought a couple of Items recently and am having problems. I've been reading through everyone's posts on this board so I've addressed a couple of issues up front.

Here's what I have

A7N8X Deluxe
XP 2100+ retail (am using fan that c/w)
256 Megs DDR 400
Asus GF4 8420 original with 29.40 driver
Enermax 300W single fan
Windows XP professional

OK... I got everything installed and now me, the useless newb that I can be can't figure out the settings, and the documentation that comes with isn't so hot. I really like ASUS gear but every time I mail them a question it takes days to come back, if the question has more than one part they only answer the first issue and it's written in very broken English to the point where I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing. So here I am begging for some helpl from the people that really know about this.

The memory speed comes up as 200 and doesn't give the option to pump it up to 400. How do I up the speed of the memory.

What are the best multiplyers for the setting up the processor?

The FSB on the board in BIOS says it's set at 200 but the jumper inside says it's set at the 266/333 level.

I then plunked in my ASUS GForce 4 8420 and loaded up the drivers that it came with. This works fine to view stuff, but then I tried running Battle Field 1942 (with the latest patch) and the thing crapped out as soon as the spawn map came up... meaning that it managed to render the back ground in 3d and all was fine but it kept crashing. I then loaded on the latest driver (which you can only get the Deluxe version of) and the thing completely crapped out and blue screened me. I went back to the original 29.40 driver and it was fine again. The GForce 4 was working fine in my old box but not in my new one.

Does anyone have any ideas on any of this, and how to fix any of these issues?

Thanks soooo much for everyone's help in advance.

 

[mechBgon]

You'll get best performance if, instead of upping the speed of the memory, you set memory clock to be 100% of the FSB speed, and then begin lowering the RAM timings to something fairly tight like 2-2-2-5, 1T Command so the RAM is responsive. Running the memory out-of-sync with the CPU's bus raises the latencies and will end up costing you performance even though the RAM is theoretically delivering more bandwidth. Remember, the dual-channel memory setup is already delivering twice as much bandwidth as an AthlonXP can use up by itself.

In the advanced chipset features menu, set the CPU to 133MHz external frequency and it will be running in spec.

 

[order]

yup, I set the CPU to 133 and it recognized the chip as a 2100+. I didn't change the RAM speed but left it set where it was. Given this

You said "you set memory clock to be 100% of the FSB speed, and then begin lowering the RAM timings to something fairly tight like 2-2-2-5, 1T Command "

not quite sure how you do that as a I'm not in front of the BIOS right now but I do recall that the RAM had a SYNC option. Would that not do the same thing?

I wasn't sure where to post all these questions beside the General forum, but seeing as most of these problems occured when I got the Mobo I figured this was the best place to do it. The rest of my questions were as follows:

1. The memory speed comes up as 200 and doesn't give the option to pump it up to 400. How do I up the speed of the memory. -- this is pretty much answered but I just need to verify one thing

2. What are the best multiplyers for the setting up the processor? -- anyone got the same sort of set up that can suggest the best multiplyers to run it at say 166 instead of 133?

3. The FSB on the board in BIOS says it's set at 200 but the jumper inside says it's set at the 266/333 level. -- why does the FSB say it's at 200?

4. I then plunked in my ASUS GForce 4 8420 and loaded up the drivers that it came with. This works fine to view stuff, but then I tried running an accelerated game, specifically "Battle Field 1942" (with the latest patch) and the thing crapped out as soon as the spawn map came up... meaning that it managed to render the back ground in 3d and all was fine but it kept crashing. I then loaded on the latest driver (which you can only get the Deluxe version of) and the thing completely crapped out and blue screened me. I went back to the original 29.40 driver and it was fine again. The GForce 4 was working fine in my old box but not in my new one. --- this last point might belong in the Video forum but this wasn't an issue with my A7V266 as long as I used the original driver and not the updated driver. As soon as I used the updated driver the card crashed. anyone have any thoughts on how to fix this?

 

[mechBgon]

The reports I'm hearing say that setting the RAM to "Sync" makes it sync to its own programmed top official speed. Setting it to run at 100% of CPU bus is the surefire solution to syncing it.

You may want to update using nVidia's version-2 unified driver package to see if that helps with BF1942: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

If your CPU is using the 133 bus then it's hitting its stock 1733MHz by using a multiplier of 13. 13 x 133MHz bus = 1733MHz total. You can try other multiplier/bus combinations depending on what multipliers you're allowed in the BIOS. Ideally, moving the memory to 400MHz and lowering the multiplier would be nice, so the CPU has a fat (and synchronous) pipe to the memory without going overboard on the total MHz.

 

[RideFree]

order,

A7N8X Deluxe, XP 2100+

Sounds like you and Ed Stroligo
at Overclockers Check out The CPU Is Willing, But The Mobo Is WeakInitial findings and thoughts... might be having similar problems...:frown:

 

[chizow]

The BIOS releases to date have issues, but nothing that can't be worked around. I've had this board since X-mas, and have had to answer numerous repetitive questions due to the BIOS' uncooperative nature (I really do pity a first time DIYer who has to deal with this board, the shipping BIOS is THAT bad). Mech knows what I'm talking about, he's answered even more ?'s I believe

Anyways, first thing you'll want to do is get a new BIOS. The shipping BIOS blows, and chances are it'll lock on you even if you underclock the board. Anything other than stock multi and 100mhz FSB seems to give it problems I've used both the 1001.E and 1002.001 BIOS with good results. I'll post a link when I find em.

You might wanna stick with the 1.16 UDA's from Asus' site. It says there that they are the latest for the A7N8X and the date confirms this. Also, if you want to use SoundStorm, the Nvidia 2.0's aren't compatible.

As for setting the FSB and memory frequency, I think you may be a bit confused here. When setting the FSB, the effective speed is 2x that b/c of the DDR memory. So 200mhz FSB/External frequency = 400mhz effective. Also, as Mech mentioned, you can run your memory at different speeds than your FSB, but run into issues with latency. Most users agree that running your FSB and memory synchronously yields the best results, but if you can't do that, 4:5 also yields good results. If you set your memory frequency to SPD (serial presence detect), your memory will default to "X"mhz over your FSB speed, which can lead to problems if your memory can't handle it. The problem lots of users was having was b/c they were jumping their FSB to 166mhz not realizing SPD would set their memory frequency into the 185+ category!!! Although the memory might have been able to handle this speed, it normally takes some tweaking (increasing Vdimm as well as relaxing RAM timings).

Your jumpers are fine at 266/333mhz. All this setting does is detect the default multipliers with chips that run at 266 or 333 by default. The 333mhz default doesn't come into play until the 2600+ and above chips that are set to 333mhz. Of course you can accomplish the same as long as your BIOS and chip are unlocked (both of which are, with the right BIOS). Just set the multiplier to 10.5 x 166mhz, and set your RAM speed to "100%" or "Sync". The two BIOS I listed above go with 100% IIRC. You may have to slightly increase your Vcore and Vdimm (no more than .1 V for either).

As for your video card having issues, have you tried the 40.xx dets? I had the best results with them and my GF4 Ti4200 turbo. Also make sure your BIOS options are correct (set to AGP as main video, 64MB AGP Aperture, disable FW if you have to, etc.).

Also, a big thing that Ed mentioned in his article and that I've mentioned in various threads is to make sure you "Save" before trying to "Save and Exit". If you don't do that, there's a good chance the changes won't take and you'll find yourself cold-booting. Hope this helps.

Chiz

1002.001 BIOS links

The 1001.E can be found on the Asus site.

 

[mechBgon]

Informative post, I'm going to re-read it! Thanks chizow

 

[niggles]

Wow chizow, your post is truly great!!!

I just need to check on something though. What does '40.xx dets' mean?

I get the rest of what you posted, but I'm not going to be able to apply any of this until tommorow night.

Let me know about that "40.xx dets" and I'll scarper till I try this all out.

 

[Tikerz]

He means 40.xx versions of the Nvidia Detonator video card drivers.

 

[order]

OK, I got the 40.xx drivers for the vid card and that's all dealt with.

I left the memory setting and it's just slow now.

I can't figure this out. my old machine was a 1700 with the same vid card and a a7v266... memory was slow and everything. Battlefield 1942 ran really nicely. Now everything looks even better but I'm dropping frames all over the place, it stutters and has once crashed.

I now have 1002 bios but am not sure what the best settings should be. Is there an AGP issue that I'm missing?

When I try and address the FSB spread spectrum from .50% to 1% it refuses the change and leaves it at .50%
AGP spread is the same.

Based on the info regarding the memory I have not changed the setting there, but have left it at by SPD and it populates the speed at 200Mhz. I'm not sure where to go now. Is there any write up that anyone knows about that explains the mother board set up and how to configure it any better than the manual that comes with the board, this thing stinks and I know it's not the board, it's me not knowing how to fix this.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[mechBgon]

You don't want the memory running at 200MHz if the CPU's at 133MHz. After reviewing what chizow said, it sounds like you want to set the RAM to Sync operation for starters. See what happens if you set it up like that, and then we can work on the other sub-timings.

 

[order]

the newer 1002.001 does not give you the option to Sync so I can't do that. You can pick a speed, you can Auto it, or you can go by SPD. Any thoughts?

 

[order]

It's me again, Ok... I get the following benchmark with 3dmark, it actually looks ok to me... I don't get it, but what ever the issue is I don't think it's the Motherboard now. Maybe I just need more RAM. Anyone have any thoughts?

System Configuration
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP

DirectX Version 8.1
Mobo Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Mobo Model A7N8X

AGP Rates (Current/Available) 4x / 1x 2x 4x
CPU AMD Athlon(tm) XP/MP/4 1731 MHz
FSB 133 MHz
Memory 256 MB
Graphics Chipset NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200
Driver Name NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200
Driver Version 6.13.10.4109
Video Memory 128 MB
Program Version 3DMark2001 SE
Resolution 1024x768 32bit
Texture Format Compressed
FSAA Disabled
Z-Buffer Depth 24bit
Frame Buffer Double
Rendering Pipeline D3D Pure Hardware T&L
Test Results
3DMark Score 10411 3D marks
Game 1 Car Chase - Low Detail 161.8 FPS
Game 1 Car Chase - High Detail 55.8 FPS
Game 2 Dragothic - Low Detail 177.8 FPS
Game 2 Dragothic - High Detail 100.2 FPS
Game 3 Lobby - Low Detail 141.9 FPS
Game 3 Lobby - High Detail 66.4 FPS
Game 4 Nature 57.4 FPS
Fill Rate (Single-Texturing) 807.8 MTexels/s
Fill Rate (Multi-Texturing) 1869.5 MTexels/s
High Polygon Count (1 light) 46.5 MTriangels/s
High Polygon Count (8 lights) 10.4 MTriangels/s
Environment Bump Mapping 131.4 FPS
DOT3 Bump Mapping 113.7 FPS
Vertex Shader 80.6 FPS
Pixel Shader 97.7 FPS
Advanced Pixel Shader 76.9 FPS
Point Sprite 23.1 MSprites/s

 

[mechBgon]

I bet you're right. Try this: run 3DMark2001 and then bring up Windows Task Manager (right-click taskbar > Task Manager) and see what the peak commit charge is, on the Performance tab, after you've run 3DMark. If it went over 256Mb then it's running out of RAM at times.

In Win2000, I can use up to 350Mb of RAM in Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries on the big missions like Tharkad Overlord, so for real-world stuff another 256Mb sounds like a sure bet with WinXP.

 

[order]

I'm going to throw another 256 Megs in tomorrow, but I'm still not sure about these two settings:

When I try and address the FSB spread spectrum from .50% to 1% it refuses the change and leaves it at .50%
AGP spread is the same.

Can anyone explain why these can't be changed even though it gives me the option to change them?

 

[mechBgon]

Not sure why it won't let you change it, but it's not something that you'd need to change... its purpose is to vary the frequencies in order to cut down on EMI interference. So no worries

 

[order]

..So what is your suggestion, leave it at .5% or disable both of them?

 

[mechBgon]

Personally, I disable SS on my boards but I don't think it makes a difference really.