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

[BaNzaiDags]

Originally posted by: 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.

link please?

 

[furballi]

http://www.outpost.com/product/3746086

You can also pickup the RAM at Fry's to save on shipping.

The ULTRA has no specs. My neighbor's stick auto detects at 3-3-3-8-2T.

 

[lsimpson50]

Question for you knowledgeable guys. I just received the combo and the Corsair Value Select kit mentioned above(VS1GBKIT400) 2 x 512.

The MB manual says that using 2 "double rank" dimms limits the speed to DDR333 even if it is DDR400 memory. (page 16) Only 1 or 2 singles or a combo of single/double will achieve PC400 speed.

The Corsair VS kit has two 512's and each 512 has 8 chips on each side (16 per 512 module). So I now think this DDR400 memory will not run at full speed.

Yes? No?

 

[Huntress]

Combo price is $79.99, OP should update title

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: lsimpson50
Question for you knowledgeable guys. I just received the combo and the Corsair Value Select kit mentioned above(VS1GBKIT400) 2 x 512.

The MB manual says that using 2 "double rank" dimms limits the speed to DDR333 even if it is DDR400 memory. (page 16) Only 1 or 2 singles or a combo of single/double will achieve PC400 speed.

The Corsair VS kit has two 512's and each 512 has 8 chips on each side (16 per 512 module). So I now think this DDR400 memory will not run at full speed.

Yes? No?

It should be able to run at full speed.

 

[MrToilet]

Anyone else notice that this combo is now down to $79.99? Damn good deal.

 

[lsimpson50]

"It should be able to run at full speed"

I have confirmed with Corsair tech support that VS1GBKIT400 is "double rank" 512 memory. Why do you say it will run full speed when the motherboard manual (page 16) says it won't?

 

[qilin]

Originally posted by: Melectricus

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

Haven't received yet. The 1G one from radioshack is 3.0-3-3-8 at 200 mhz per CPU-Z

 

[duhh]

Hey, I am kinda at a loss on what memory this supports
Sempron 3100 specs look like DDR266/DDR333/DDR400
Mboard looks like DDR333/DDR400
any clear answers?

CPU still runs at full clock, just slower bus on the crapier RAM right?

 

[furballi]

Should work at 266/333/400.

 

[furballi]

Corsair VS will run at DDR400 2.5-3-3-8-1T with 2 x 512MB. You can manually set the timing in the BIOS. Kingston Value RAM will only run at 2.5-3-3-8-2T with 2 x 512MB.

 

[Zap]

There are some board manufacturers who follow AMD's original specs on memory running at DDR333 if using two double-sided modules. If indeed the board refuses to run the memory at DDR400, then manually set it to DDR333 and set HTT to 240MHz, then you magically have DDR400.

 

[lldribbler]

Originally posted by: 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.

same problem here..... and did you notice the NB gets hot even though the board is not powered up (ie, power supply switch is on but the board has not been switched on)? .... and mine failed when i tried to connect to front usb port, back ports were ok.... i did buy two of these and the other is 100% ok

 

[furballi]

I've been lucky with four perfect builds.

 

[vick]

So I finally joined after lurking for years. I got the Outpost combo, plus the Corsair ram. I might mildly oc it, but I'm not after every last bit of speed. This combo will upgrade the kids old computer to use for homework and light games - things like Mavis Beacon and SeaWorld Tycoon. It will run XP. I am going to reuse most of their old components, including decent hard drives, dvd and lcd monitor, but their video card is just too sad. [PCI #9 with 4mb ram] Anyone have a recomendation for a cheap video card? Say under $50.

This has been a great thread. A bit long, but very informative. Thanks OP.

 

[ShOcKwAvE827]

I have a PSU that does not have a square 12V power cable. Will I still be able to run this board without that connection? I do plan on overclocking.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: ShOcKwAvE827
I have a PSU that does not have a square 12V power cable. Will I still be able to run this board without that connection? I do plan on overclocking.

No. Just buy a decent 300+W PSU from a good mfg, Antec, Enermax, Fortron (FSP), Sparkle. I'm going to try a 300W Fortron PSU with the 2800+ combo when my AGP comes in.

 

[wmansfield]

Ok this was too good of a price to pass up on... the board seems to have a flakey network adapter, but I can just put in a 3C90x from work. Hopefully I'll get a 90nm 3100 and not the old 130nm one...

Update - I got the 130nm variety... not too thrilled about that, but I don't think it will really make much difference in the end. I'm waiting on a few other parts to get this running, will see if it has any OC potential in it at all when they arrive.

 

[furballi]

Buy a new power supply. A $50 Fortron 400 watts unit will cost about $50.

 

[furballi]

You need to load the correct driver in the proper sequence. Look for instruction somewhere in this thread. The sound and network adapter works fine for me.

 

[digger44]

vick - welcome!

I've seen 9600's for ~$50. Newegg has one Here that's the mobility version... fanless.

I don't think you'd go wrong with a 9600 for that price.

 

[rvr2k3]

If I can run the 64 bit version of the ubuntu live cd, then I assume my Sempron is 64 bit enable. Is this a correct assumption?

 

[thetxstang]

Originally posted by: vick
So I finally joined after lurking for years. I got the Outpost combo, plus the Corsair ram. I might mildly oc it, but I'm not after every last bit of speed. This combo will upgrade the kids old computer to use for homework and light games - things like Mavis Beacon and SeaWorld Tycoon. It will run XP. I am going to reuse most of their old components, including decent hard drives, dvd and lcd monitor, but their video card is just too sad. [PCI #9 with 4mb ram] Anyone have a recomendation for a cheap video card? Say under $50.

This has been a great thread. A bit long, but very informative. Thanks OP.

Welcome aboard! For under $50 bones ($39 with $15 rebate, free shipping!), I highly recommend this eVGA GeForce FX 5500. I use it personally and can report that it works great. Gets great reviews, too, at Newegg.

Good luck on your system build.

 

[jumpr]

Price is now down to $80. A damn good deal. Does Outpost do price matching to previous purchases?

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: vick
So I finally joined after lurking for years. I got the Outpost combo, plus the Corsair ram. I might mildly oc it, but I'm not after every last bit of speed. This combo will upgrade the kids old computer to use for homework and light games - things like Mavis Beacon and SeaWorld Tycoon. It will run XP. I am going to reuse most of their old components, including decent hard drives, dvd and lcd monitor, but their video card is just too sad. [PCI #9 with 4mb ram] Anyone have a recomendation for a cheap video card? Say under $50.

This has been a great thread. A bit long, but very informative. Thanks OP.

If you want to buy used, buy a 9700 Pro. I just bought one off ebay for around $45.