visormiser

Just got an Athlon Xp 3000+, an Antec Aria case, a ECS 741GX-M mobo and a stick of 512 MB PC2700 Ram. Default settings on this crappy Phoenix bios program are CPU freq: 100 and DRAM Freq: 166 MHz.

when I try to adjust those settings upwards to optimal settings - say to make the CPU frequency match the DRAM FSB (so placing both at 166), it won't boot. I just get a black screen after it detects the hardware. when I set things back to their failsafe settings, Windows boots up just fine. when I set the fsb at 133, it also works ok, allowing the CPU to read at 1.7 mhz.

yes, I've tried clearing the bios with the jumpers, etc. And ECS's bios support page for this mobo has no updates that would appear to apply to this problem.

one thing, when I clear the bios, I get a CMS checksum error, which leads me to believe that the bios battery could be dying. But could that be the reason for my problem?

tx in advance

visormiser

my bios is saying my cpu temp is at a constant 70 degree centigrade, which seems awfully hot even for this little cramped aria case. I've only got one hd and one optical drive installed, and no video card. plus this thing has a huge 120mm fan and I've installed the extra exhaust blower that comes with this case. That's 70 degrees C with the top off of the case!

My fan is MicroFin's XP cooler, the one the came with the mobo/chip combo. It's rated for up to xp3200, so I don't see why it wouldn't work here.

any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

tx

Lowfat

first off, it that temp is correct, thats way to high. try reseating the heatsink, and reapply the thermalpaste.

A CMOS checksum error is normal when you clear the bios.

did you increase the voltage on the cpu and the voltage on the ram when overclocking?

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visormiser

ok this is really bizarre. so I did some more tweaking, and found that it accepted all CPU/FSB combos up to 160/160, but not 160/160. so, e.g., when I set it at 144/144, or 158/158, booted up fine. but the second I try to change it to 166/166, blank screen. what is going on here? it's not like I'm trying to overclock this thing for crying out loud, just trying to get out of it what I paid for.

any ideas?

visormiser

tulcakelume,

thanks for the reply. I will do as you suggested, though I don't have any more of the arctic silver paste that my buddy had at his place where we assembled this. I do, however, have some regular thermal paste lying around. would it do any harm to add that on top of the silver that's already there?

in answer to your question, I didn't increase the voltage on the cpu or the ram. If I wanted to bring it up to 166/166, what would I need to raise it to? on second thought, I don't' believe I can mess with the voltage on this mobo. that option appears to have been disabled on this crappy bios. maybe it's just a crappy board, I dunno.

The_Neon_Cowboy

You realize you CPU’s FSB is 333 MHz or 400MHz depending on the CPU you bought.

(Multiplier of 13 (derived from 133*X=1.729) and (13x166=2.158 aka 3000+) means you have a 333 MHz CPU

Have you updated to the latest bios?
Are you sure the ram is PC 2700?

“one thing, when I clear the bios, I get a CMS checksum error, which leads me to believe that the bios battery could be dying. But could that be the reason for my problem”

Rolf no it just mean you cleared your bios / CMOS.

After you save settings (fail safe defults), shut down the system, un hook the power cable, wait 10 second hook back up and restart if it says that then threes an issue with the battery.

70 degrees C ??? Improbable!…
@ Over 50C errors occur @ about 60C you have a dead CPU

Are you sure you not reading F?
If you’re reading 70C you have a serous heat issue….

I’d shut down and Re apply your heat sink and Thermal compound immediately

“My fan is MicroFin's XP cooler, the one the came with the mobo/chip combo. It's rated for up to xp3200, so I don't see why it wouldn't work here. “

Black fan?
Microfin XP Super Cooler XP 2200+

Green fan?
[color=white]Microfin XP Cooler 3200 XP+[/color]
[color=white] [/color][color=white] [/color]
[color=white]Btw. All Micro fin heat sinks really suck… that’s why they are DIRT cheap[/color]
buy a real cooler....

Also if you got everything assembled did you look at the CPU markings to make sure they didn't dick you....

“I did some more tweaking, and found that it accepted all CPU/FSB combos up to 160/160, but not 160/160. so, e.g., when I set it at 144/144, or 158/158, booted up fine. but the second I try to change it to 166/166, blank screen. what is going on here? it's not like I'm trying to overclock this thing for crying out loud, just trying to get out of it what I paid for.”

Well first thought would be that your setting the FSB in the wrong place and the board doesn’t have a “PCI lock” or it's off and you over clocking your PCI bus by upping you FSB in mhz increments. Just as if you were over clocking

ECS boards , SIS chipsets , Microfin Coolers
man what a combo me me guess you gat a "really good deal"

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The_Neon_Cowboy

YES it will do harm. You must remove the artic silver! useing a lint free cloth and rubbing compound....Also Missapplying themal compound to much or too little will couse issues!

YES, ECS boards SUCK! So do SIS chipsets in genral .

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visormiser

it is a 333ok. so I think we've established what sucks. thank you. can someone pls suggest (perhaps a specific model # and maker) for a good micro atx board?

i guess I need a diff. fan as well. any suggestions? I guess I don't understand how they can get away with selling these fans if they don't do the job as advertised?
\
>>Are you sure you not reading F?
If you’re reading 70C you have a serous heat issue…. <<
'
yes. it is correct. celcius. I have shut it down until I can figure out what to do next.

Vampyromaniac

This is the only one I could find on Newegg that has an nForce 2 chipset (which is what the great majority recommends.)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...152-024&depa=1

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The_Neon_Cowboy

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...150-045&depa=0

nforce2 ultra 400, made buy shuttle wich isnt that great but this boards
pretty popular on the value end....

(Asus, gigabyte, abit are were you find the best but also more pricey)

As for coolers... well known copper ones are best

but themalright makes the best... SLK800A
http://www.hardcorecooling.us/index....ROD&ProdID=395
or SLK800U are the best buys but you have to buy a fan to use seprate and have to make sure it fits the board you wish to use...

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visormiser

thank you guys for your suggestions. I am currently trying to diagnose the problem. I am trying to figure out whether the problem is with the chip (AMD Athlon 3000+, 333 fsb) or the motherboard (ECS 741GX-M).

I pulled the chip out and put it into another system that's running almost the exact same chip and memory settings. when I reconnected everything, the monitor would not turn on no matter what. very weird and frustrating.

I am wondering what my best option is? Do you guys think it's probably the motherboard instead of the chip (keep in mind not just the heat issue but also the inability to clock the chip up to where it is supposed to be 166/166).

I have a feeling that if I return the chip to BzBoyz and it's not defective they will charge me to ship it back and a fee for testing it. But then, probably same goes for the Mobo.

HELP!!!!

visormiser

btw, I am not terribly concerned about the fan. I don't think that's the culprit. I have the exact same fan in my other box which runs a Athlon AMD 3200+ and 1 gig 3200 DDR, and it stays at around 108-115 degrees F.

visormiser

neon, that mobo you suggested....http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-150-045&depa=0

won't fit in my antec aria case. I need a micro atx board