does this sound like a MB problem??

[Agent666]

hi guys

building this system for my brother
1600xp
gigabyte 7vrxp
256mb Kingmax ddr2700
gf4 ti4200

I got it all set up and it is stable at 100mhz FSB but as soon as I flick it to 133 FSB it gets real flaky even with failsafe defaults loaded .... I though it might be the ram but @ 100fsb you can run it at 166MHz still and it seems fine running at this..........
Have tryed a GF2pro in it with the same results....
Also a 1.2gig tbird


I am open to suggestions as I have tried just about everything I can think of

[Humantuckshop]

Have you checked the Gigabyte web site out? Maybe there is a BIOS for XP's running stable @ 133Mhz FSB?

And as Wibber is currently online I won't be tempted to flame the Gigabyte brand. :p

[Agent666]

tried bioses f4 and f6 both with similiar results........... might go try my tbird in it again...........

[Agent666]

I read in the gigabyte section on this board from wibbler that there was a batch of these boards that didnt like running at 133 ..... I think I got one :(..........

[Agent666]

ok upped the ddr voltage to 2.7 from 2.5 and it seems to have made a huge difference in stability under winME.... . need to reinstall winXP to try that cos I have fubared the winXP intall at least 5 times when stuffing around with settings ;)

[KingJackal]

DO NOT under any circumstances let Wibber see this thread! :rolleyes: :D

VIA KT333

Well there ya go. Lol - nah, one of the reason you don't see many Abit/Asus boards based on the KT333 chipset( but DO see lots of cheaper *cough* Soltek *cough* brands using it ), is because it SUCKS royaly for overclocking with the wrong review ( the early ones ) of the KT333.

Can you take the heat-sink off the Northbridge and post a pic/type out the numbers? That should at least identify if it's just got a crap stepping chip.

( yeah, I know - "but it's got PCI dividors, it should be good". Unfortunately, there is a reason the big firms always lag the cheap firms by a month or two in mobo releases ;) )

[Humantuckshop]

Come on KJ - lets be pedantic: the KT333CD absolutely sucks for overclocking but the KT333CE is good.

[Agent666]

yeah this is the v1.1 of the board so it has the kt333CE onboard....

[Ragnor]

If it's CE then there's something wrong... double check all your bios settings and jumpers etc.. else RMA...

Aside:

yeah 333 CD sucks

TEH Via said they weren't going to release "a" revisions of their chipsets cause everyone was starting to wait for the "a" releases ...

This obviously didn't change the fundamental fact that the first revision to hit the market usually sucks. Testing in the lab will never result in an "a" or CE quality chipset revision. It's not till us good ole users get the board in our hands that the bugs and performance problems are found and thus corrected.

[Wibber]

it should be a CE, and the first batch were great 170mhz here (can't get /5 till I find a multimeter) second batch has power problems in 1/10 of boards, you can RMA it if you can be fu*ked, or up theVcpre/Vddr/Vagp by 0.1v and it sould run ok.. I will post my bios settings in GA section.

oh and HTS, before you flame GA, go check out the AMDMB forums, esp GA, Epox, ASUS and SolTek sections. alot of KT333 owners are having this problem. so flame VIA, not GA..
BTW the problem seems to be esp with enermax psu's. drains voltage bigtme

[Humantuckshop]

*Pats Wibber on head*

I didn't flame Gigabyte young Grasshopper. I said 'I won't be tempted to flame the Gigabyte brand'. :D

[Agent666]

thanks wibbler........... goes off to check motherboard section

yeah already upped the voltage on both AGP by .1V and ddr by .2v and it runs a **** load better......... are there any adverse effects from pumping these up........ used to sdram boards none of this ddr goodness..... just a simple lad :D

[KingJackal]

Originally posted by Wibber
it should be a CE, and the first batch were great 170mhz here (can't get /5 till I find a multimeter) second batch has power problems in 1/10 of boards, you can RMA it if you can be fu*ked, or up theVcpre/Vddr/Vagp by 0.1v and it sould run ok.. I will post my bios settings in GA section.


OMG - HAHAHAHAHHAHAAAAA :D
HEHEHEHHEEEEE :D
*breaths*
BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAAAHAHAAAA...... :D :p

Seriously man, 170MHz is SH*T! Even my KT266A mobo ( less PCI dividors ) can fly past 180MHz with the right RAM ( even does 180 with my PC2100 ). I reckon it should be good for 190-210ish.
( Abit, but I'll stay quiet )

If a KT333/KT333A/KTanythingmorethan266A can't do over 190MHz, then it SUCKS, ok? You don't expect newer chipsets which are supposed to support higher speeds to OC to LOWER speeds.

170? OMG, HAHHAHAHAAAAA :D :D :rolleyes:

[Humantuckshop]

Hehe, even my XP333 can do 186MHz FSB @ the least - my Kingmax PC2700 is holding it back tho.... :(

[Agent666]

ok just noticed this in motherboard monitor
.... the -12volt reading jumps around lots... from negative 6.6volts to negative 11.2 volts .... have no idea if this is normal or not????

[Agent666]

contacted ascent to send it back for an exchange (hopefully).......

tried your bios settings you posted in the motherboard section wibbler ....... and was no more stable than the settings I had figured out...... ie would make it through 3dmark 2000&2001 maybe 50% of the time with random lockups at other times

[Wibber]

:P @ KJ.. I canne get any higher captin, the warp neacells (raid controller) canne handle it!... and e got no 1/5 divisor.. Foo I had him post @ 180.. but the chip celing bout there as he dun like 5x for no reason..stuck with 7/11 ath the mo as current durrie dint unlock proply :P what was I talking bout?

[Antimatter]

What is the power output on the PSU?

[Agent666]

got a 300W aopen one....... from a HQ08 ....... so that shouldnt be a problem......

[Antimatter]

Do you have a multimeter for checking the PSU voltages?
The fluctuating -12V shouldn't make any difference as it's generally unused, but it could be a symptom of a faulty PSU.

[Agent666]

true..... no multimeter though

[Agent666]

I think it was maybe a bug in MBMonitor because with my KT7A-RAID in the same case now it doesnt even pick up the -12volt line ... reads 0 volts??