fry's sempron 2800+ and ecs 755-A2 $69

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: RickyBaby
I picked this up for $69 at Fry's in Tempe, Az. Was too good to pass up. The mobo and a sempie 2800. I think its a 32bit. Not a big deal since 64 bit doesn't work all that well anyway (drivers, etc). I want to see how this baby overclocks. They did a bunch of oc'ing tests at xbitlabs on sempies and had great luck. The code on my sempie is pretty strange. LBBIX. Date is 0533SPAW. I think its a 32bit based off of winchester but a google doesn't show much on that code. Most are CBBID or CBBLE. What's a LBBIX?

AkumaX, I sent you a private e-mail. Could you send me your modded bios that allows for increased processor voltage.

RB

how fast are you o/c your 2800 w/o any wire mods?

 

[hytek369]

not bad for a cheapo

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: cfb44
I got a 2600BA in last weeks combo in DFW - it is 64-bit...

How did you know that it's a 64 bit? Are all the chips designated 2600BA, 64 bit? I'm asking because that's what I got with my ECS NForce3-A board.

 

[SubCarrier]

From reading the AMD fourm, I *think* BA are 32 bits, BO are either and BX are 64 bits cpu. Every time I go there they end up giving me a BA chip no matter what the ads says.

 

[pdo]

I've just got an ECS NFORCE-A+Sempie 2800+ from Fry's for $69. It has a BA code, but when I ran AMD's utility. It said that 64 bit is enabled. Just format and install XP64 and it ran. So I suggest you guys download AMD's utility to see if 64 bit is enabled.

 

[SubCarrier]

Originally posted by: .paldo
I've just got an ECS NFORCE-A+Sempie 2800+ from Fry's for $69. It has a BA code, but when I ran AMD's utility. It said that 64 bit is enabled. Just format and install XP64 and it ran. So I suggest you guys download AMD's utility to see if 64 bit is enabled.

My box didn't mention anything about 64 bits or Cool N Quiet so I refund it without opening. Was it a retail package and did it actually say 64 bits on the box?

 

[pdo]

Originally posted by: SubCarrier

My box didn't mention anything about 64 bits or Cool N Quiet so I refund it without opening. Was it a retail package and did it actually say 64 bits on the box?

when I first got the Sempron I also thought that it was a 32 bit Sempron since it's a 2800BA and there isn't a sticker on the box mentioning 64 bit, but I came home and ran AMD's utility it is indeed 64 bit enabled.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: manly
ECS quality isn't necessarily better or worse than the next guy, but their RMA policy is pathetic.

QFT. They're more of a "traditional" motherboard company, meaning they have a warranty, but the warranty is good for original purchaser from ECS meaning the reseller. Problem is that many online resellers don't want to deal with RMAs so they say "manufacturer's warranty only." I had this problem earlier this year with an ECS board purchased from Newegg (needed an identical replacement to fix broken computer so that Windows doesn't barf). Board was DOA. Newegg says "manufacturer's warranty only." ECS said "vendor warranty only." I did get an email from someone at ECS saying they'll honor RMA but for a $20 service charge. Finally had to telephone Newegg and complain - they issued an RMA for me. Pretty irritating to have to go through that. I went through something similar for a Biostar motherboard purchased from Evertek (wholesale branch of Computer Geeks). Evertek said "go to manufacturer" and Biostar said "go to vendor, or pay us $40 processing fee." WTF, can almost buy a new board for that much?!?! A friend of mine had an Abit board die back in the day - was a BF6 or something purchased from Mwave. Mwave had a 30 day return period and no warranty service beyond that. At the time (this was a few years ago) Abit basically refused to warranty the 6 month old dead board because they insisted it be taken back to vendor. Highly disappointing.

BTW, for everyone who got these Fry's combos, how well does the ECS 755-A2 board overclock? I just picked up a combo recently and it came with the ECS NFORCE3-A board (typically $10 higher than 755-A2 combo) and was easily able to overclock to the maximum BIOS limit of 250MHz system clock. My 2600+ essentially became a 3300+.

 

[JEDI]

a sempron64 2600/2800 runs at 1.6ghz. (2600 has 128kb of L2 cache vs 256kb for 2800)

you should be able o/c that chip 50% to 2.4ghz (~sempron64 4000 :Q ). obviously, assuming the mobo can do it too (300MHz).

For the 755-A2 You can adjust the FSB frequency from 200 to 232MHz with 1MHz increment so it looks like the nforce3-a is better.

nforce3-a specs

 

[Salvador]

BTW, for everyone who got these Fry's combos, how well does the ECS 755-A2 board overclock? I just picked up a combo recently and it came with the ECS NFORCE3-A board (typically $10 higher than 755-A2 combo) and was easily able to overclock to the maximum BIOS limit of 250MHz system clock. My 2600+ essentially became a 3300+.

What are you using to overclock? Just settings in the system BIOS? What RAM are you using?

 

[Salvador]

Crap! Double post. :|

 

[cfb44]

Originally posted by: JEDI
a sempron64 2600/2800 runs at 1.6ghz. (2600 has 128kb of L2 cache vs 256kb for 2800)

you should be able o/c that chip 50% to 2.4ghz (~sempron64 4000 :Q ). obviously, assuming the mobo can do it too (300MHz).

For the 755-A2 You can adjust the FSB frequency from 200 to 232MHz with 1MHz increment so it looks like the nforce3-a is better.

nforce3-a specs

update the 755-A2 to the latest bios and you will be able to OC up to 255 - which is what I am running my 2600+ at...

 

[JEDI]

then what makes the nforce3-a better than the 755-a2, if any?

 

[Zap]

If the 755-A2 can go to 255MHz with a BIOS update... I'm gonna go check on BIOS updates for the NFORCE3-A...

 

[Vic]

I got 2.2 GHz with my Sempron64 2800+ w/ ECS Nforce3-A mobo using Clockgen to get a 276 HTT (max in BIOS is 250).
There are HTT multiplier adjustments in the BIOS (5x, 4x (default), 3x, etc.) and RAM dividers (listed as setting the speed at 200, 166, 133, etc., but are actually 1/1, 5/6, 2/3, etc.).
To go above 250 HTT, I had to set the HTT multiplier down to 3x.
I think my RAM is limiting me right now. Anything higher is not Prime95 stable. I have the memory at the 5/6 divider (166 in BIOS) running at 230MHz and that seems about as much as this Corsair ValueRAM wants to go. If I drop it to the 2/3 divider (133), for some reason it blue-screens just as I hit the desktop, so I an unable to find out for sure if the RAM is the issue.
The CPU voltage is maxed for the board at +5.1% (1.5v) but temps don't go over 40C with the stock HSF so I doubt heat is the issue. I think it's either the RAM or the board itself that at its limit.

I'm a little disappointed, as I had hoped for the 2.4+ GHz I had been hearing about, but at the same time I'm rather pleased. I haven't had a super-value overclocking rig to toy with like this in a long time. Brought back memories of an old Celeron 533a I could push above 900MHz on air with a slotket.

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: Vic
I got 2.2 GHz with my Sempron64 2800+ w/ ECS Nforce3-A mobo using Clockgen to get a 276 HTT (max in BIOS is 250).
There are HTT multiplier adjustments in the BIOS (5x, 4x (default), 3x, etc.) and RAM dividers (listed as setting the speed at 200, 166, 133, etc., but are actually 1/1, 5/6, 2/3, etc.).
To go above 250 HTT, I had to set the HTT multiplier down to 3x.
I think my RAM is limiting me right now. Anything higher is not Prime95 stable. I have the memory at the 5/6 divider (166 in BIOS) running at 230MHz and that seems about as much as this Corsair ValueRAM wants to go. If I drop it to the 2/3 divider (133), for some reason it blue-screens just as I hit the desktop, so I an unable to find out for sure if the RAM is the issue.
The CPU voltage is maxed for the board at +5.1% (1.5v) but temps don't go over 40C with the stock HSF so I doubt heat is the issue. I think it's either the RAM or the board itself that at its limit.

I'm a little disappointed, as I had hoped for the 2.4+ GHz I had been hearing about, but at the same time I'm rather pleased. I haven't had a super-value overclocking rig to toy with like this in a long time. Brought back memories of an old Celeron 533a I could push above 900MHz on air with a slotket.

What combination of Corsair ValueRAM are you using? One stick, two sticks and of what? What would you recommend for decent overclocking RAM? I need to buy more RAM anyway.

 

[kovert]

-if one of you lucky Fry are people plan to return your combo, let me know!

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Salvador
What combination of Corsair ValueRAM are you using? One stick, two sticks and of what? What would you recommend for decent overclocking RAM? I need to buy more RAM anyway.

2 x 512 matched set.

I honestly don't know what would be the best RAM to buy at this time.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Vic
I got 2.2 GHz with my Sempron64 2800+ w/ ECS Nforce3-A mobo using Clockgen to get a 276 HTT (max in BIOS is 250).

Brought back memories of an old Celeron 533a I could push above 900MHz on air with a slotket.

Cool deal. Nice to know your success with clockgen on this board - I do call it success because there are plenty of other budget boards unable to even get close to that.

Ahhh, the Celeron 533A. I bought one from Compuwiz back in the day pre-tested for default voltage at overclocked speeds.

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Salvador
What combination of Corsair ValueRAM are you using? One stick, two sticks and of what? What would you recommend for decent overclocking RAM? I need to buy more RAM anyway.

2 x 512 matched set.

I honestly don't know what would be the best RAM to buy at this time.

Is that dual channel RAM then? Is that what you mean by matched set?

Is this what you have?

If your system doesn't support dual channel, can you use dual channel RAM anyway?

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Salvador

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Salvador
What combination of Corsair ValueRAM are you using? One stick, two sticks and of what? What would you recommend for decent overclocking RAM? I need to buy more RAM anyway.

2 x 512 matched set.

I honestly don't know what would be the best RAM to buy at this time.

Is that dual channel RAM then? Is that what you mean by matched set?

Is this what you have?

If your system doesn't support dual channel, can you use dual channel RAM anyway?

AFAIK, dual channel kits don't really matter, it just means the sticks are identical. You can still use dual channel even if your mobo doesn't support dual channel. I believe it's all just marketing.
But yes, that's the type I have.

That's a really good price too. Looks like RAM prices are going back down again (when last I checked, a month or so ago, I thought they were going to go back up).

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Salvador

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Salvador
What combination of Corsair ValueRAM are you using? One stick, two sticks and of what? What would you recommend for decent overclocking RAM? I need to buy more RAM anyway.

2 x 512 matched set.

I honestly don't know what would be the best RAM to buy at this time.

Is that dual channel RAM then? Is that what you mean by matched set?

Is this what you have?

If your system doesn't support dual channel, can you use dual channel RAM anyway?

AFAIK, dual channel kits don't really matter, it just means the sticks are identical. You can still use dual channel even if your mobo doesn't support dual channel. I believe it's all just marketing.
But yes, that's the type I have.

That's a really good price too. Looks like RAM prices are going back down again (when last I checked, a month or so ago, I thought they were going to go back up).

Thanks! I just bought this kit for $75 shipped from Newegg. I'll use my 2 unmatched DDR333 512's in another system that I don't plan to try and OC.

 

[imported_RedDeViL]

Hello,
I am having trouble overclocking my Setup. I have the following:
ECS nforce3-a
AMD Sempron +2600
Corsair 1gb single channel module
160 gb WD HDD
500 ultra PSU

I can successfully overclock it through the BIOS up to 250mhz fsb. I am reading that u can OC it even more than that, but I am having trouble with Clockgen. Everytime I try setting my CPU any higher than 200mhz, my computer crashes. Everything just freezes on me.
ANY CLUES OR HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.... Thanks

 

[gsethi]

Originally posted by: RedDeViL
Hello,
I am having trouble overclocking my Setup. I have the following:
ECS nforce3-a
AMD Sempron +2600
Corsair 1gb single channel module
160 gb WD HDD
500 ultra PSU

I can successfully overclock it through the BIOS up to 250mhz fsb. I am reading that u can OC it even more than that, but I am having trouble with Clockgen. Everytime I try setting my CPU any higher than 200mhz, my computer crashes. Everything just freezes on me.
ANY CLUES OR HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.... Thanks

you might want to use memory dividers for the memory. I doubt that your memory can overclock well past 400.

 

[imported_RedDeViL]

I'm sry, I am not aware of what memory dividers are, please clarify/explain. I am very new to OC'ing and I dont wanna mess up anything. Even though that's the best way to learn, guess and check your errors, I am a college student on a budget. Thanks for your input!!!