I have to run my Athlon 2800 at 2500

Adrian · 07-27-2004, 02:06 AM

As the title suggests I am having to run my Athlon 2800 processor at 2500. I have a Gigabyte GA 7N 400 Pro2 (Rev 2.0) motherboard with 1gb stick of memory in slot 3 as it won't work in slots 1 or 2. I think this is where the problem might lie. If I use the correct settings within the BIOS I get an unstable system as memtest86 shows some minor errors during test 5. When I drop the FSB from 166 to 150 everything is fine. Can anybody tell me why this happens? It can't be bad memory as it would be bad at any speed so if I turn down the FSB speed everything works fine. I paid for a 2800 and I want to have a 2800 not a 2500. Any advice is welcome.

Volt-Schwibe · 07-27-2004, 02:29 AM

ok, this is going to sound stupid, but here goes.

your 2800 is not made to run at 2.8 ghz...
it is meant to be equally as fast as a 2.8 ghz Intel.
it does this while running at 2.5 ghz.

they number them according to how fast of an intel it would take to match it.

alot of poeple are confused about this.

Adrian · 07-27-2004, 03:06 AM

That makes sense but when I select optimal default settings in the BIOS and select everything to auto detect, it takes the FSB speed to 166 which as I understand it is the normal level. The computer then detects the processor as a 2800 but what i'm saying is that i have to turn down the speed manually to get the stability.

Volt-Schwibe · 07-27-2004, 04:14 AM

well, then that does sound odd.

i'll have to step back and see what everyone else comes up with on this.

**numby** · 07-27-2004, 04:55 AM

Hi Adrian,
I found this in a review.

Quote:

Now a few words regarding the memory configuration. On board the Gigabyte 7NNXP there are four DIMM slots which unlike other boards based on the nForce II chipset are numbered in the traditional way: 1-4 starting from the socket. The first and second slots relate to the first memory channel, with the third and fourth to the second channel.
So it's better to fill the slots in the order they are colored. Reminding it that the nForce II is a dual-channel chipset, and to make the most of the performance the modules in the first and second channels must be there.
Now some bad points: it is about incompatibility of Gigabyte 7NNXP to Kingston's HyperX PC2700 memory modules. I started testing the board with the XP3200+ processor that runs at FSB=200 MHz. Of course, in so doing the memory was running in the dual-channel mode. Upon successful completion of the tests (stable operation both at 2-3-6-3 timings and at much lower 2-2-5-2 timings), I switched the system to FSB=166 MHz and tried to determine the available set of multipliers. But the system started running very unstably - I even was unable to boot Windows XP. As a result, having spent a lot of time searching for the source of the problem I replaced the HyperX memory with Kingston's PC2700 ValueRAM modules. As a result, the system started running stably. For the purity of experiment, I installed Corsair XMS PC3200 Platinum Series modules and set FSB to 166 MHz. The result is the same - a stable running system.
To all appearances, this problem is rooted in the board's BIOS (during the tests we used its latest version - F10) and may be eliminated in future. If you already have five HyperX PC2700 on hands, don't worry - set the FSB/MEM = 200/200 and get a stable running.
By the way, I did it on purpose mentioning that the problem rooted in PC2700 modules. It's quite probable with other HyperX memory modules (e.g., PC3200 or PC3500) there won't be any problems at all.

So it appears to me the problem steams from the memory...

Adrian · 07-27-2004, 05:49 AM

Thanks for that Numby. I will just have to leave it until I can save some more cash and fill the fist two slots. The description sounds about right to what I was expreiencing but I didn't want to go and spend more money if there was another fix within the BIOS and other settings.

07-27-2004, 02:06 AM	#1 (permalink)
Adrian Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Newcastle, England Posts: 68 OS: XP	I have to run my Athlon 2800 at 2500 As the title suggests I am having to run my Athlon 2800 processor at 2500. I have a Gigabyte GA 7N 400 Pro2 (Rev 2.0) motherboard with 1gb stick of memory in slot 3 as it won't work in slots 1 or 2. I think this is where the problem might lie. If I use the correct settings within the BIOS I get an unstable system as memtest86 shows some minor errors during test 5. When I drop the FSB from 166 to 150 everything is fine. Can anybody tell me why this happens? It can't be bad memory as it would be bad at any speed so if I turn down the FSB speed everything works fine. I paid for a 2800 and I want to have a 2800 not a 2500. Any advice is welcome.

07-27-2004, 02:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
Volt-Schwibe Asst. Manager, Automotive Forums; HJT Trainee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Behind you, watching you as you type. Posts: 7,352 OS: Click "My System" to view details My System	ok, this is going to sound stupid, but here goes. your 2800 is not made to run at 2.8 ghz... it is meant to be equally as fast as a 2.8 ghz Intel. it does this while running at 2.5 ghz. they number them according to how fast of an intel it would take to match it. alot of poeple are confused about this. __________________ <signature> TSF is funded by our Admin's pocket, care to help? Power Tip: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. New Members: Creating a single new thread in the correct section is the best way to assure your thread will receive a reply. </signature>

07-27-2004, 03:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
Adrian Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Newcastle, England Posts: 68 OS: XP	That makes sense but when I select optimal default settings in the BIOS and select everything to auto detect, it takes the FSB speed to 166 which as I understand it is the normal level. The computer then detects the processor as a 2800 but what i'm saying is that i have to turn down the speed manually to get the stability. Last edited by Adrian; 07-27-2004 at 03:12 AM.

07-27-2004, 04:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
Volt-Schwibe Asst. Manager, Automotive Forums; HJT Trainee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Behind you, watching you as you type. Posts: 7,352 OS: Click "My System" to view details My System	well, then that does sound odd. i'll have to step back and see what everyone else comes up with on this. __________________ <signature> TSF is funded by our Admin's pocket, care to help? Power Tip: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. New Members: Creating a single new thread in the correct section is the best way to assure your thread will receive a reply. </signature>

07-27-2004, 05:49 AM	#6 (permalink)
Adrian Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Newcastle, England Posts: 68 OS: XP	Thanks for that Numby. I will just have to leave it until I can save some more cash and fill the fist two slots. The description sounds about right to what I was expreiencing but I didn't want to go and spend more money if there was another fix within the BIOS and other settings.