ASRock 775Dual-VSTA

[vandeste]

homonculus - I have tried that and it prevented the computer from posting. Something interesting happened, though.

I had to do a clear CMOS to get the computer to post again - a whole bunch of Checksum errors came up, even the date and time was reset. After setting the system up with CPU at "Auto" the fsb was not at 266, but 253 or 25X. And the memory frequency was not correct either.

Ok, went back in BIOS, make sure that you set the CPU to Async - NOT Auto, and have your memory set to ddr400. Don't forget to check your DIMM's voltage setting.

Not to mention all of the other settings, I/O, Raid, AGP, etc.

Saved changes and restarted. Ran CPU-Z. Got that 4:3 for the FSBRAM ratio and 199.6 for the memory frequency. And proper speed for the processor.

So, to sum up. Clear your CMOS and reset everything in BIOS. CPU at "Async", DRAM at DDR400 (for those like you and me with DDR400), and double check all other settings in BIOS. Save changes and reboot.

Damn, simple troubleshooting. It's late/early - gotta get some sleep....

 

[vandeste]

Darn, double post...

 

[zaqzax]

my maximum stable setting:

- 285mhz fsb
- 713mhz ddr2 (10:8 on 667)
- agp and pci (100 and 33mhz default)
- flexibility disabled
- vlink - normal
- ide strength - normal
- spread spectrum - disabled
- default ram timings
- high voltage settings on agp and ram.
- pipeline drqctl auto.

on that settings i tested 2 times stability (2x9h) no errors.

when i change vlink to high or/and pipeline drqctl enable - prime errors after ~1h

i will test today on 290 and 295mhz fsb (first on above settings) - when i get error -> changing ram settings 667 to 533mhz, and i set agp to 117 (i dont know how it works O_O and for what).

 

[WT]

So with Abit's VT8 canceled, are there any vendors (other than Asrock) offering up a comparable board ? I already have an ASrock S939 board (which I love !) but I am looking at a C2D build after the new year and am once again finding Asrock to be the only game in town. I upgrade about every six months, so having AGP and DDR support on this board gives me the option in another year to either add more/faster components (DDR2 or DX10 card) or relegate this board to a backup and then put DDR and an AGP card in it. That's more important to me than bleeding edge fast any day.

 

[homonculus]

Is that a rhetorical question WT?

(Golden Member must refer to you age, really a Pink Floyd lyric sig! )

 

[WT]

No, just an explanation why I personally favor this board to others that are available. I was an Abit fan way back in the day (BH6 !!) and hoped to see another Abit board added to my PC arsenal here. My Asrock concern is mainly the memory choice for this board. Anyone care to offer a (cheap, but not suckage) DDR2 recommendation that this board will completely get along with ?

 

[homonculus]

DDR2 offers such an infinitesimal performance improvement with this board that you're as well sticking with your good 'ol DDR and spending the money on a nice new PCIe graphics card.

 

[Reckoner]

Would Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro be overkill on this board? I'll be using an E6600 with this board and I want to do a little overclocking.

 

[homonculus]

PaulNEPats, the stock cooler is more than good enough, I get about 40C idle and 45C under full load and that's an E6400 running faster than an E6600!

Just modded my 7800GS with a nice new cooling system, great results; 500/1400, 55C at full load. Gonna post the 'How To' in Videocard forum tomorrow.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: homonculus
PaulNEPats, the stock cooler is more than good enough, I get about 40C idle and 45C under full load and that's an E6400 running faster than an E6600!

Just modded my 7800GS with a nice new cooling system, great results; 500/1400, 55C at full load. Gonna post the 'How To' in Videocard forum tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[zaqzax]

i have Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 --- only for total quiet --> 980rpm with 39'C in idle and 43'C in load.

 

[Conky]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Would Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro be overkill on this board? I'll be using an E6600 with this board and I want to do a little overclocking.

I have a Freezer 7 Pro on my E6400 and frankly on this motherboard it doesn't make a difference other than keeping it cooler. This ASRock motherboard is still a very poor overclocking board. Chipset limitations are the roadblock with this board and not the heat as with most boards.

I got mine as high as 300fsb when I had an AGP card but ever since I've put in a PCI-E videocard and updated the BIOS to the latest version I can't go much beyond stock without issues.

I will be transitioning to a GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 motherboard later this month. The ASRock 775Dual-VSTA was a great board to get me from single core/DDR/AGP to a proper overclocking board like the DS3. At the very least it got my interest in overclocking back.:thumbsup: I will probably put this board and an E6300 in a family member's system that is long overdue for an upgrade.

 

[WT]

homonculus, I had initially glossed over your reply to me about bypassing the DDR2 purchase and investing in a better PCIe card, but I didn't mention it at the time and I see you have modded yours as well. I have a Woot.com 7900GS that has been volt modded to 1.4 and I added a VF-900 as well, so that will be popped into the ASrock board, so no real need for a better PCIe card (yet), but I do have a need for DDR2 in that I can't keep buying DDR at the current prices and I see DDR2 as a necessary investment, so that was why I asked about good, cheap RAM for this board.

 

[Psym]

Heya all =)

i just got my VSTA and E6600 up and running my full setup is :

E 6600 2.4 ghz
2 gb Cellshock pc6400 ddr2 DC
asrock VSTA(1.80P Bios)
Gainward BLISS 7800 GS+ @ 617/1422

i got some questions to all you know it all ppl :

Im trying just to oc to around 300 fsb where the chipset gonna stop me but im wondering what this "IDE strength" in the BIOS does ?

atm my mhz on the ram is at 266 but when i set em up to 667 the bandwidth goes from 5.3 gb(on 266) to 3.1gb(on 333)!!!

ontop of that then i got problems with installing the serial ide controller cause the CD and the hyperion drivers don`t have the file i need it`s called xfile.sys somthing.

thanks for the reply if anyone can help me =)

 

[jshupp872]

I am slightly curious about the memory as well. I have been running an E6600 at stock with some old DDR 333 for about 2 months now. I have now found a need to put that memory back in an old computer and upgrade this box to 2 GB of DDR2 667 memory. I have just purchased a set of Patriot 1.8v 1 GB sticks. I am hoping that this will run well.

I have the board paired with an AGP x850xt (x800 before modding and unlocking all the pipelines).

I haven't tried to overclock this chip yet. Heck, I haven't overclocked anything since my old BP6 with dual Celeron 300As overclocked to 500mhz (ah, the good old days). My concern is stability, heat (slightly - currently getting 39c idle, 29c ambient), and need. I don't really game very much on the computer, not since the 360. I do some video encoding and a lot of multitasking. I am hoping the memory will help with that.

I have read a lot of people on different boards, even Newegg reviews, about how picky this board is with DDR2 memory. that is why I went with the 1.8v memory.

The above post concerns me. why would running the memory at a higher FSB reduce the bandwidth, unless the timings were increased significantly? What would be the best memory setting for me (once my memory arrives on Thursday?)

THanks for any help.

 

[zaqzax]

my memory tests on adata 2x512 ddr2-667

in everest:

533mhz (5-5-5-15 timings):

-7211pts (read)
-5086pts (write)

667mhz (4-4-4-12 timings):

-5744pts (read)
-5048pts (write)


i leave it on 533 (1:1 ratio to fsb)

 

[G i R a f f e]

will this board overclock well with a cpu with a low stock FSB speed?
eg. core2duo 4300 with 200mhz fsb?

coz normally this board isnt good for overclocking C2D's but it can handle 266FSB so the e4300 should be able to be raised to 266mhz and run at e6600 speeds?

 

[Mallet]

with the 9x multi on my e6600, it ran at x6800 speeds (2.93ghz) in this board at 325FSB x9 with a few mods and some tweaking.

 

[jshupp872]

Well, I got and installed my new memory. I am running the FSB @300 for an overclock to 2.7 (from stock 2.6 - E6600)

I am running 2x1 GB patriot @ 1:1 @ 300 mhz for DDR2 600

my timings are: 3-4-4-10

with a throughput of:

7630 (read) using Everest.

This was done with no modifications. I only installed the memory, and changed the FSB from auto to 300 Mhz. CPU-z shows the timings and the ratio.

my temps are 27 c ambient and 39 c CPU with the stock cooler.

All in all, I am pretty happy.

 

[Conky]

Well, I installed some new Corsair DDR2-800 PC-6400 RAM today and, as usual with this motherboard, it's hard to figure out exactly what the settings are actually running at when all the memory option are set to auto. CPUZ says 533, HWiNFO32 says 400, both say RAM timings of 4-3-3-9. 800 is not supported by the board but 533 and 667 are so I think its running at 533?

Corsair wasn't a lot of help either on their website. The RAM is supposed to be DDR800 and 5-5-5-15 but came marked 5-5-5-12 and the Corsair website says 2.1v for the RAM versus 1.9v from the place I bought it from(Newegg). There is no indication on the RAM or the package of the stock voltage. "PC Wizard 2006" says it's supposed to be 1.8v.

All I know is that it's running stable at "normal" RAM voltage and isn't any slower than the older DDR RAM it replaced. I'll try some suggested timings and different settings later when I have time to tinker with it.

Looking forward to swapping all this newer stuff onto a Gigabyte DS3 later this month so I can get rid of some of the guesswork that comes with this board. This board is stable and it works but I'll be danged if I can figure out some of these settings and what they do since every hardware monitor program gives different readings. :laugh:

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: Beachboy
Well, I installed some new Corsair DDR2-800 PC-6400 RAM today and, as usual with this motherboard, it's hard to figure out exactly what the settings are actually running at when all the memory option are set to auto. CPUZ says 533, HWiNFO32 says 400, both say RAM timings of 4-3-3-9. 800 is not supported by the board but 533 and 667 are so I think its running at 533?

Corsair wasn't a lot of help either on their website. The RAM is supposed to be DDR800 and 5-5-5-15 but came marked 5-5-5-12 and the Corsair website says 2.1v for the RAM versus 1.9v from the place I bought it from(Newegg). There is no indication on the RAM or the package of the stock voltage. "PC Wizard 2006" says it's supposed to be 1.8v.

All I know is that it's running stable at "normal" RAM voltage and isn't any slower than the older DDR RAM it replaced. I'll try some suggested timings and different settings later when I have time to tinker with it.

Looking forward to swapping all this newer stuff onto a Gigabyte DS3 later this month so I can get rid of some of the guesswork that comes with this board. This board is stable and it works but I'll be danged if I can figure out some of these settings and what they do since every hardware monitor program gives different readings. :laugh:

Any noticeable performance increase after the memory swap?

 

[Conky]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: Beachboy
Well, I installed some new Corsair DDR2-800 PC-6400 RAM today and, as usual with this motherboard, it's hard to figure out exactly what the settings are actually running at when all the memory option are set to auto. CPUZ says 533, HWiNFO32 says 400, both say RAM timings of 4-3-3-9. 800 is not supported by the board but 533 and 667 are so I think its running at 533?

Corsair wasn't a lot of help either on their website. The RAM is supposed to be DDR800 and 5-5-5-15 but came marked 5-5-5-12 and the Corsair website says 2.1v for the RAM versus 1.9v from the place I bought it from(Newegg). There is no indication on the RAM or the package of the stock voltage. "PC Wizard 2006" says it's supposed to be 1.8v.

All I know is that it's running stable at "normal" RAM voltage and isn't any slower than the older DDR RAM it replaced. I'll try some suggested timings and different settings later when I have time to tinker with it.

Looking forward to swapping all this newer stuff onto a Gigabyte DS3 later this month so I can get rid of some of the guesswork that comes with this board. This board is stable and it works but I'll be danged if I can figure out some of these settings and what they do since every hardware monitor program gives different readings. :laugh:

Any noticeable performance increase after the memory swap?

I would say no difference at the current settings(all auto and T2) but I did have the DDR set at 400Mhz 2-3-3-6 and T1 timings. 3DMark006 was 4 points different which is nothing.

I'm hoping that when I have time to play with the settings a bit I can get at least a minor increase but right now all the benchmarks are so close it's as if the old RAM was still in there.

 

[Psym]

runs 4.3.3.8 2t with cellshock 2gb ddr2 pc6400 at 533. 667 is horrible setting bandwidth wise. Got 5.4 gb bandwidth with 533 and 3.1 with 667.

pc wizard are bad at readings.. says that both my cores are 58 degree though everything else says 42.

on another note. Im sitting here trying to oc this mobo and tops ived oced at is 290 fsb but when im in windows the whole thing freeze.

asynced,ram volt high,ide strength highest,v-link fast,auto spread off. Only thing ived haven`t messed with when ocing is the ram timing..and wondering if it`s the ram or something else that makes the whole thing freeze. 300 fsb makes my system fail and reboot in bootguard failure. Im using the P2.10 bios.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3596/bandrh0.jpg

 

[zaqzax]

i cant run sisoft sandra when i overclock

 

[jazza711]

can someone PLEASE help!!

Whenever my pc feels like it, it will start running unbelievably slow like all system resources are used up, and framerate in games like fear will drop from 130 to 30. it's driving me crazy. at first i thought it was faulty ram but i tested different ram and it still happens. Has anyone had this problem before? i really need help on this 1.

My specs are: this mobo, conroe e6400, 6800 gs agp 512, and 2xddr266 512mb