AMD Sempron Processor 3100+ & ECS NFORCE3-A Motherboard for $80 at Outpost.com

[furballi]

Probably increase by a few Cs under the same condition (case and ambient temperature). I'm running a Zalman 7700Cu and Antec SLK3000B. Idles between 27 and 30C. Max heat under Prime95 is 46C. These CPUs are rated up to 70C. Therefore, an occasional pop up to 55 to 60C is perfectly okay.

High Vcore (above 1.55) is much more damaging than high working temperature.

Use Cool n Quiet to further lower the CPU temp. Remember that this is a value rig. You don't want to spend extra $ on bells and whistles. The CPU and MB are very stable. Just make sure you don't cram the stuffs into a tiny case with little ventilation. Most noobs try to compensate poor airflow with a fancy CPU cooler. If you start out with a well-vented case (dual front and rear 120mm fans), then you can use almost any stock cooler on the market.

A good case is the foundation for a cool and stable PC.

 

[gbuskirk]

Ordered a combo on Saturday, but was able to cancel/reorder by phone today (it hadn't shipped) at the lower price.
I ordered this same combo in January and built a system in February. After running about a month it died, outside of the return window. This new combo will be used to isolate the failure, and if it dies within the return window it's going back. Bet it does (;-P)

 

[furballi]

You could always return to the mfr for a fee. CPU has 1 yr warranty. So what happened to the 1st rig? Mine is approaching 2 months.

 

[gbuskirk]

Well, symptoms are: no video, no post beep, fans turn, electrical burnout odor, Nforce3 gets real hot. Son was plugging in a USB device when it died. Replaced P/S, disconnected all case cables but power switch, reset CMOS, and still fails. Contacted ECS, and have had some troubleshooting dialog but no RMA yet.

 

[Zap]

Does AMD/Intel even allow RMA of OEM chips? I thought OEM chips had to be RMA'd through reseller?

ECS does allow RMA to end user for a fee of around $25. :disgust:

 

[soflawill]

mine arrived today, got the paris core. well, for 90 bucks, can't complain a bit (well i could, but does anyone care?)

 

[furballi]

Someone mentioned $80 plus free shipping...true? The local Fry's has this combo for $90, and they will not price match.

 

[Zap]

Nah, $80 plus shipping AFAIK. Just looked at it, no mention of free shipping but the price is indeed $79.99 at Outpost. AFAIK Fry's doesn't pricematch.

 

[furballi]

I've also had USB detection issue with a particular MM keyboard. Not sure if it's related to your USB problem.

Let's see if others have encounted problem with the USB interface. I know that the USB port can only deliver up to about 2.5 watts. It is possible that the USB's power line rail is shorted out during the hot plug.

 

[Melectricus]

DAMM YOU ALL! You'll make me buy another. The old xp1200 was just fine sitting in the basement with its 120gb and 40gb, but nooo you have to drop it $10 and make me feel less than satisfied with a computer that has many, mannnnny years of unconditional service albiet only relegated to "storage" or even the lowly "back-up". When my girl has friends over and sleep in the 'lower level' you don't even cough running AOL Im.........but better is so, so inexpensive. I even sold my 2500 and mobo for a significant fraction of this cost. Suppose I'll be scrounging parts to put together another computer (the 1200) to give away...............soon.

Ps I'm running out of Grandmas, little nieces and nephews
;0

 

[qilin]

Speedfan reporting:
Temp1: 79C
Temp2: 127C
Temp3: 41C
HD0: 27C
HD1: 28C
Temp1: 40C

I know this is mentioned somewhere in this thread that should be ignored. What's Temp1 and Temp2 measuring? I touched the heatsinks, they are not even lukewarm. I know I won't return the mobo because of this reading ( people did ). I shouldn't be concerned right? just curious...

Tried Everest Home:
CPU 41C
Aux 79C

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: qilin
Speedfan reporting:
Temp1: 79C
Temp2: 127C
Temp3: 41C
HD0: 27C
HD1: 28C
Temp1: 40C

I know this is mentioned somewhere in this thread that should be ignored. What's Temp1 and Temp2 measuring? I touched the heatsinks, they are not even lukewarm. I know I won't return the mobo because of this reading ( people did ). I shouldn't be concerned right? just curious...

aye don't worry, temp 1 stayed that way with my biostar mobo (same as the ECS) for almost a year. Trust me, you're doing okay lol @_@. My Aux temp never changed...78 C

 

[qilin]

For those who are interested, I picked up this memory for my second set up using this combo. 60 - 40 MIR = $20 + $6 shipping. I thought it's not bad. My first one is now also running on Ultra 1G 3200 from radioshack deal.

 

[furballi]

That RAM is not very good. Could barely hit 208MHz. Outpost has Corsair Value Select 2 x 512MB for $55 after rebate. Definitely worth the extra few bucks.

 

[furballi]

The HDD temps are valid. Same with CPU temp at 41C. Throw the other numbers out the window.

 

[freshspace]

Originally posted by: Zap
:disgust: I just got mine... could'a saved $10.

freshspace, the Cooler Master units are fine.

Zap, thanks for your answer, brother. I wanted to take advantage of saving the money on shipping and ordered the heatsink/fan from Outpost. It is good to know. Thanks again.

 

[freshspace]

Just a quick question. I have nice socket A copper heatsinks sitting around. Can I use them, with the retention clip that comes with the CoolerMaster heatsink/fan?

 

[furballi]

I switched to the MSFT natural keyboard 4000 and the USB detection problem disappeared. It is possible that this board is a little weak in pumping out the juice at the USB port. Old keyboard was pulling 400mA. New keyboard uses 100mA. If others are having USB issues with this board, then please post your comments here.

This el cheapo board is rock solid at 270MHz FSB at 5:6 memory divider and 2.5-3-3-6-1T timing. I've only had to reset the BIOS once after weeks of torture tests. I also like the ability to shutoff the CPU fan if the processor's temp is under 40C.

This combo will run 24/7 at 2.25GHz speed. That's equivalent to an A64 3200 for only $80 plus shipping.

 

[yukit]

Originally posted by: furballi
I switched to the MSFT natural keyboard 4000 and the USB detection problem disappeared. It is possible that this board is a little weak in pumping out the juice at the USB port. Old keyboard was pulling 400mA. New keyboard uses 100mA. If others are having USB issues with this board, then please post your comments here.

I have been running this system 24/7 over a month at 2.25GHz with MCE 2005.
I am also using several USB devices:
o Logitech BlueTooth transceiver for keyboard & mouse
o D-Link wireless network adapter
o ATI (X10) Remote
o Web Cam
o MP3 player

My mouse occasionally loses connection, but it may just be BlueTooth thing since the keyboard works fine.

I have to admit I connect my external hard drive through a firewire having read some potential issues with the USB & nforce here.

 

[furballi]

Looks like you didn't have much issue with the USB connection, even with all those devices connected to the board. Thanks!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: freshspace
Just a quick question. I have nice socket A copper heatsinks sitting around. Can I use them, with the retention clip that comes with the CoolerMaster heatsink/fan?

Don't bother trying unless the heatsink was exceptional. Reason is that socket 754 gives more room for heatsink, so typical heatsinks were made a bit bigger. Also, the heatsinks fit inside the plastic part so it won't shift around. If it were a high end unit, I suppose you can try it, but since you already have one coming, then I say don't bother. Besides, the Paris won't run as hot as Barton in most cases.

 

[KenSr]

I just bit, $87.58 shipped was just to good to pass up.
I also got the ebay heat sink for $11 shipped.

 

[mwallin]

Would this be faster than my xp 2600 with 512mb of pc3200 cl2 and a sata raptor with 9600xt video card? I would be moving all of this over to the new pc

 

[furballi]

Not enough to give you a huge boost in speed.

 

[Melectricus]

Originally posted by: qilin
For those who are interested, I picked up this memory for my second set up using this combo. 60 - 40 MIR = $20 + $6 shipping. I thought it's not bad. My first one is now also running on Ultra 1G 3200 from radioshack deal.

Could you please tell me what the spd timings are at 200mhz for the microcenter ultra through cpu-z or such.
Thanks