Adding a graphic card to the Asus A7N266

[retro]

Does anyone have information on the issues of adding an AGP video card to the A7N266 board? I have been using one for several weeks, with the onboard video, with no issues.

However, I have talked with several others who have installed Nvidia cards and find the boards randomly shutdown and/or reboot for no reason. Asus refuses to answer any questions on this.

Also, I want to use a Matrox G400 video with this board for video editing (dual head) and the board trips the red warning LED and refuses to function. Asus indicated there is no problem with the Matrox, when I contacted them prior to buying the mb.

Can anyone enlighten me with their exprerience? Thanks

 

[uncleel]

Instuctions to disable the integrated vid-card

Installing a vid card, procedure? (Geforce4 MX-440)
http://www.3dspotlight.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=526

 

[Arris]

Sounds like a problem with the nForce implementation by Asus.
Its actually meant to disable the onboard graphics automatically from what I understand. I'll see what I can find out about it.
HardOCP report that the Asus boards built with the nForce chipset can be fussy about Ram.

From HardOCP :

The bottom line is this: Asus has put together a hell of a package and a great value with the A7N266-E. The Asus A7N266-E performed right up there with the best VIA KT266A boards and delivered more features for the dollar...if you need them. Watch your BIOS and chipset driver upgrades to make sure they are in sync, and remember that Ram configurations might need to be researched before jumping into your purchase. I have a good feeling about the A7N266-E, which is that if NVIDIA follows the tradition set by the VidCard driver team, there still might be a lot of performance potential in the nForce that we have not seen yet. We can only hope so, as free performance boosts from NVIDIA products have come to be expected.

But none of the big review/test sites seem to report any problems with the use of a AGP graphics card...

 

[uncleel]

Originally posted by Arris
Its actually meant to disable the onboard graphics automatically

CPUs, Chipsets and Mobos > NForce Chipset
http://www.3dspotlight.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=594&highlight=nForce

 

[retro]

When I tried to contact Asus about both the GForce and Matrox issues, they said (first call) they "never heard of the problem" and could offer no advice. The second call was more interesting when they said they could not talk about the problem. When I asked them if they were aware of it, they said "sure, but we aren't able to talk to you about it".

For a company with an excellent reputation, they sure don't seem to be ready to deal with this issue.

On the ram issue, I am aware of the problem with the third slot and am using Critical PC2100 512MB sticks (2).

Thanks for the answers. Hopefully someone has a answer to this problem

Retro

 

[Arris]

"Aren't allowed to talk about it".
That sounds very ominous.
If I find anything else out I'll post back.