A7n8x 400mhz DDR problem

[CompuGeek247]

Sup guys.

I have been trying to get my bored to go up to 400 mhz but it refuses to go up to that on the memory frequency.
I have the A7N8X asus motherboard. The deluxe one. Anyways ive been trying all different variations and it fails to overclock the memory. The memory i have is pc3200 400mhz ddr. So i know it isnt the memory. The size of the sticks are 512 and 512 to make one gig of ram.

I copied the bios info to see if you guys could help me.

CPU EXTERNAL FREQUENCY. (MHZ) (166 MHZ)
CPU FREQUENCY MULTIPLIER 13.0X
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE OPTIMAL
CPU INTERFACE BY SPEED
RESULTING MEMORY FREQUENCY 200MHZ
MEMORY TIMINGS OPTIMAL
SDRAM ACTIVE PRECHARGE DELAY 8
SDRAM RAS TO CAS DELAY 3
SDRAM CAS LATENCY 2.5T
FSB SPREAD SPECTRUM (0.50%]
AGP SPREAD SPECTRUM DISABLED
CPU VCORE SETTINGS AUTO
CPU VCORE 1.650
GRAPHICS APERTURE SIZE 64 MEG
AGP FREQUENCY AUTO
SYSTEM BIOS CACHEABLE (DISABLED)
VIDEO RAM CACHEABLE (DISABLED)
DDR REF VOLTAGE 2.6V
AGP VDDG VOLTAGE 1.5 V
AGP 8X SUPPORT
AGP FAST WRITE

Ive read up on everything but i still dont understand the sdram part but for the rest ive tried changing them around to get 400 mhz but it always says failed memory test and failed cpu overclocking. plz help im out of ideas. thanks again for your help guys

 

[MrGaribaldi]

I'm a bit confused about the following:

CPU EXTERNAL FREQUENCY. (MHZ) (166 MHZ)
RESULTING FREQUENCY 200MHZ

What speed is the FSB really? Is it 200?
If so, then you are runnning your RAM at 400Mhz DDR, as DDR ram "doubles" the throughput of the given Mhz...

If it's 166, what other options do you have?

 

[CompuGeek247]

my processor is 333 fsb
Ive tried changing it to 200mhz but it fails to start up instead it says cpu overclocking failed.
Ive also tried bring the multipliers all the way up to way the frequency of the memory is at 400 and that fails as well.

well if the 200 is doubled automatically i guess it was runnig at 400mhz then i dont have a problem. does it double automatically even though i see 200 mhz?

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Originally posted by CompuGeek247
well if the 200 is doubled automatically i guess it was runnig at 400mhz then i dont have a problem. does it double automatically even though i see 200 mhz?

Yes, as the system as such is only running at 200Mhz, but the memory is running at 400Mhz DDR...
Just like the CPU says it's running at 166, it's really running at 333...

Too bad most BIOS' only tell you the system Mhz, and not what each part is running at... But I guess this has to do with mobo makers thinking that people playing around in the BIOS knows everything there is to do...

This is a bit unfortunately, as I (and I guess others) often have a problem understanding exactly what each setting does, and there isn't too much info about it in the BIOS help...

Anyways, if you see that the system is running at 200Mhz, everything is fine and dandy, and you shouldn't have to do anything...

 

[Tarkus]

To get the best results you should run the ram synchronously with the FSB by setting RAM to 100%. To get your CPU up to the required 200 Mhz you're going to need to lower the multiplier and bring up the FSB. Say your CPU is running at 166 Mhz times a multiplier of 12 for 2000 Mhz. To get the same CPU speed at 200 Mhz you need to lower the multiplier to 10. As for getting your ram up to 200 Mhz, try increasing your DDR Voltage to 2.7 or 2.8

 

[pierrot]

Hi !
I read yor message and I had exactly the same problem with A7N8X Deluxe revision 2.0 and ATHLON XP 3000+.
I don't know how if the "memory speed 200 MHz" message at startup meens that memory really works at 400 MHz due to FSB factor.
I also downloaded the new BIOS 1007 and, despite the manual, the only CPU extarnal frequency are 100, 133, 166 and 200 MHz.
Does someone have the same problem ?
And what about usual temperatures for these kinds of processors ?

Thanks for the previous answers given to CompuGeek247's questions.

 

[SubKamran]

Temperatures should not exceed 60 Cel. 36-48 are safe temps.

 

[erickdj]

I have the same motherboard, the A7N8X Deluxe. Like others said, if the memory spd is 200MHZ in the BIOS, the resulting frequency is 400MHZ, the BIOS for the A7N8X will never say 400MHZ mem speed, they (Asus) assume you know how they are working the math . If your cpu is designed for 333MHZ fsb, then run the memory at 100%, not 200MHZ. Also increase the voltage to 2.7V

 

[agissi]

Originally posted by SubKamran
Temperatures should not exceed 60 Cel. 36-48 are safe temps.

Are you kidding me, 48 = Safe temp??? 60 is safe!

A AthlonXP (any core) will take up to 80C, and trust me, my computer was running 75C idle for 1yr.

I'd just try to stick under or on ~70C.

 

[young&wild]

Safe temperature for an Athlon is anything below 80c for me. My XP2400+ have been at around 60c for months.

 

[wicka_wicka]

Originally posted by ---agissi---
Are you kidding me, 48 = Safe temp??? 60 is safe!

A AthlonXP (any core) will take up to 80C, and trust me, my computer was running 75C idle for 1yr.

I'd just try to stick under or on ~70C.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Running an Athlon at 60C, much less, 70C, is a BAD idea.

 

[Steg]

It notes on the top of every Athlon XP the maxium possible working temperature for the core (in the stepping code). The lowest is 85 degrees C with the highest being 105 degrees. With stock cooling my 2100+ palamino ran at over 65 degrees under load with no problems what so every. Just (as has been said) keep under 70 degrees and you will be fine what ever athlon you have.
As for memory speeds, you need to ensure that the memory is set to 100% [Sync]. Yes this means you will get 333 as your resulting memory frequency but nforce2 boards prefer the FSB and Memory clocks to be synced and work much faster that way.
Example
I personally have a 2100+ (266FSB) and DDR333 RAM, and the a7n8x deluxe. The memory bandwidth test in SiSoft Sandra reports a higher score with the memory set in DDR266 than it does in DDR333.
Hope that helps

Steg

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Originally posted by wicka_wicka
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Running an Athlon at 60C, much less, 70C, is a BAD idea.

Care to elaborate on that?

Because from personal use and reading (quite a lot) on the topic has shown me that there is no problem with the cpu being that hot...


So I'd really like to know what's so stupid about it...


Especially since AMD, in their Technical FAQ, says:

From AMD's Technical FAQ:
An approximation to the typical reading from a BIOS or an external software utility is
expected to be around 60ºC-65ºC or lower.

[EDIT]
Put in last paragraph
Spelling and code error
[/EDIT]

 

[JimShady23]

well the argument on temp comes from a man that also said that The Abit NF7-S does not unlock the multi on a locked cpu and that you need to to use the ol condutive ink trick even after many replies to the trend showing links with documentation that it was indeed true....

However running at that temp is not suggested I feel will give you less of a life out of your cpu.....I do however know that it can run stable at that temp.....

And for the main topic of this trend......raise your FSB up to 200 leave the muti alone reboot and see what happens.....You do not need to touch the memory clock cause it is already running @ 400mhz.....Now the one thing you might want to take into consideration and I am speaking from a personal experience is that When I set up my current rig, similar to yours I had the same problem...I have an Abit NF7-S...pretty comparable to your board and was running 2 512 Dimms of PC3200....Well when I trted to adjust the fsb to 200 and reboot it would beep out and not post...I tried everything, even a new PS but what it came down to was the memory....It was an off brand PC3200 and for some reason didnt like the overclock of the CPU to 200mhz fsb....So I had a couple PC2700 dimm's laying around, slapped um in and then raised the FSB up to 200 and she started right up.....

So I overclocked the PC2700 to 400 mhz and it took to that as wall and runs fine as can be

So before you go all ape try a different dimm and see if thats the problem.....You didnt say if it was a name brand so I dont know

 

[agissi]

JSR^^ lol

About my CPU temp I didnt just decide one day to run my CPU that hot. Thats just how hot it ran with what I had (no case fans + retail stock cooling).

JimShady (and the rest of you) you recon PC2700 will OC that easy? All the way up to 400MHz/PC3200 speeds? I'd be interested to know the results of anyone else who has/tryed to OC 2700 that high.

 

[young&wild]

Originally posted by wicka_wicka
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Running an Athlon at 60C, much less, 70C, is a BAD idea.

Care to give us some detail explanation? I seriously don't think its a BAD idea.

 

[wicka_wicka]

Temps at around 90C (I'm not sure about Bartons, 90C is about the limit for Palominos/Tbreds) can fry a chip. Anything around 50-60C (well not really 50, unless you run that for a long time) can shorten a CPU's life, and anything above 60C can REALLY shorten the processor's life and performance. I generally set my alarm temp at 75C.

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Originally posted by wicka_wicka
Temps at around 90C (I'm not sure about Bartons, 90C is about the limit for Palominos/Tbreds) can fry a chip. Anything around 50-60C (well not really 50, unless you run that for a long time) can shorten a CPU's life, and anything above 60C can REALLY shorten the processor's life and performance. I generally set my alarm temp at 75C.

Would you mind terribly to provide us with a link or two to support what you say?


Yes, I know that running a cpu at higher temperatures can shorten it's life, just like using a higher voltage will do the same...
But when the manufacturer says it's ok to run the cpu @ 60 - 65C, then you can pretty much take that to the bank...

Thus I find it quite hard to understand where you've learned that

anything above 60C can REALLY shorten the processor's life and performance.

.02$

 

[wicka_wicka]

How about this, where have YOU found that a proc at 60C is fine?!?

 

[pierrot]

So, I can go on with memory at 200 MHz (and why not leaving the argument to "by SPB" ? Why enforcing the 100% value ?). Thanks.
Does anyone know if it's a normal thing that, on startup, I get the message BIOS version 1007, instead of C1007 (as it should be for an A7N8X Deluxe PCB 2.0 motherboard) ?

Pierrot

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

If you want to argue about CPU temperatures, create a new thread for it. Then again, it's been discussed before many times, so you could also use the search feature.

pierrot:
Your memory is working correctly, it's Double Data Rate memory, hence 200 MHz * 2 = 400.

That 1007 is just fine. BIOSes don't always display everything about their versions.

 

[Steg]

Enforcing the 100% Memory Clock as opposed to 'by SPD' is the recommended way to run an nForce2 motherboard, it is generally faster and more stable. The choise is up to you, and there is no guarenty that i am right but i (and serveral others i know) have found that with an nforce2 100% CPU-Memory speed is the best way of running a board.

Hope that helps

Steg

 

[pierrot]

All right, Steg.
At the moment, I keep my tuning (because it's enough, I have 3000+ XP athlon on motherboard) : 13.5x166 (and maybe 200xsomething soon) and coefficient 120% for FSB but I'll remember your answer when I'll need to upgrade my speed.
Thanks a lot !

 

[JimShady23]

agissi

well there was not a problem in my case OC PC 2700 to 3200...I am not exactly sure what OC options the Asus A78X deluxe has in the bios but basically with my Abit N7F-S it gives you an
option for the (DRAM/CPU Clock ratio) I set it to 6/6 wich makes the timing the same as the FSB 400 mhz. Raised the voltage up to 2.7 to give it a lil more juice just in case it needed it. Like I said I dont know if the asus board has a similar setting but i heard they are pretty close to the same as far as overclockability goes...Im sure they have setting to OC memory also.

And also this is pretty cheap memory....I dont know if they have Sam's Club where you are at but thas were I got it from...The manufaturer is "Simple Tech" I am not sure what brand the memory chips are exactly but I am impressed. So I am sure that if you buy anything with samsung chips or equivilant you should do fine. It can be dont atleast with my Abit board and runs fine...

 

[StormBringer]

Originally posted by wicka_wicka
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Running an Athlon at 60C, much less, 70C, is a BAD idea.

umm... NO, you are indeed incorrect. While most people prefer to run cooler, me being among them, anything below 80C is withing acceptible temp range and should not cause any problems. That being said, cooler is better, but as long as you stay below 80 you should be ok as long as everything else is good as well.

As to you wanting proof, would you like me to get testimonials from most of my clients? As most of them don't have anything more than stock cooling and most are running 60-70C without problem.