HOT! Boxed AMD Duron @950mhz. Final cost $70 shipped

[gplracer]

note
I posted this here because this is the system many of you have and I thought someone might have a similar problem.

I am building a second computer. I have a problem. I installed the motherboard and hooked up the wires (hhd led, power, reset .....) I plugged in the duron processor. I also hooked up the video card(v5), hard drive and cd rom. When I start up the computer the green light in the front. I can also see the red light for the hard drive. But in the monitor there is no signal. Also I can not turn the computer off. To shut it down I have to pull the power. What could be the possible problems? I think the wires are hooked up correctly. I know the video card works. I am using munshin pc 133 athlon tested ram. The power supply is approved. I have another processor and I tried it. I also tried another video card, but I know the voodoo 5 works. It came from my other computer. Please help me this is very frustrating and I can not figure where I went wrong. Could it be a bad abit kt7 motherboard? thanks very much


Someone has now suggested that I should have nylon washer on top and below the motherboard where the screw mounts it to the case. They said it could be shorting the motherboard. Is this possible? Thanks

 

[VH2000]

Bohemian

If you're using the ABIT KT7 board, do not order the Golden Orb!
I was going to order it, but I was told that there is a clearance problem with it fitting on the KT7. I also saw that the results with other HS/Fans were only average.

A lot of places suggest the GlobalWin FOP32.
I'm going with an Alpha PAL6035 - about $30, but a very good unit!

gplracer

1) The hard drive light on all the time - just switch the hard drive wire (from the case to the motherboard) 180 degrees, flip it on the 2 pins, to reverse the polarity.

2) Most ATX cases that I've dealt with, you need to hold the power button in for about 3-4 secs and then power will shut off.

3) I don't believe that the motherboard is shorting out.
I haven't gotten my board yet, but some other boards I've dealt with, I had the exact same problem with turning it on & having no video - it's very frustrating!!
But I belive the fix for the other boards was simply a jumper. But, since I haven't seen one of the boards yet, I do not know for sure! Try checking out the ABIT website at www.abit-usa.com

Hope this helps!!

 

[Bohemian]

Thanks VH2000. I guess I'll go with the Gloalwin.

 

[zoiks]

gplracer...seems to me that you need to upgrade the bios of your motherboard. I had the same problem with a geforce sometime ago and couldnt figure it out until i flashed the bios.

 

[gplracer]

I can not flash the bios because I have no video. I have tried a voodoo 5 and a tnt, but both will not work. I really think that I have two mounts under the motherboard that I did not remove. Could this short the motherboard? I will have to check when I get home.

 

[SuperRob]

GPLRacer,

Try turning off the computer, leaving it off for about 10 seconds and powering it up again. If it doesn't come on again, do it again. My computer had the same problems, and usually only after a BIOS modification. Give that a try.

 

[Bohemian]

Make sure you have your slots set upi right. The AGP slot shares with the PCI slot right next to it. You cannot occupy both at once or NO VIDEO. Same thing goes with the ISA slot and the PCI slot next to it. Read the manual for the Mobo. Abit has excellent documentation.

 

[SuperRob]

Interesting. I've got my Hollywood+ DVD decoder in that slot, and it seems to be fine. Although, it could answer the no boot problems that I have on occasion. Funny, it worked OK in the BP6.

I'll check it out tonight.

 

[Xmenxmen]

Over the weekend, I was able to pick up 2 KT7 motherboard and pair it with the 2 Duron from buy.com. The first system came up just fine at 900 @1.65 after just 2 pencil drawing. But the second one took forever. Finally I was able to get it to work after maybe about 5 to 7 drawing. Was not stable until I bump it to 1.75. Still I got a single Explorer err.

Both of these are pair with Golden Orb, they are a pain in the rear to put on. Now I can say it's a piece of cake since I have taken it out more than 5 times, with each time more scarier than the last time since I have to tilt the 3 capacitor. The reason for the Golden Orb was because I didn't have time to order anything else online. Found them at the computer show for 15 bucks, so what the hack. SO IF YOU GO THE TIME AND MONEY, DON'T DO WHAT I DID, VERY RISKY!!! But if you like the challenge, go for it.

Tried oc the first on to 950 and it give me a CMOS checksum error. Might need to bump the voltage up or something. As for the second, I don't think I am going anywhere until I can get it completely stable first.

 

[Jugernot]

Well it seems anyone's order that hasn't shipped yet isn't going to. I just called and a CSR called for quantities and told me they won't recieve more till the end of Sept.

Ohhhh welll, Maybe I'll just go with a 650?

 

[jebus]

Why did everyone go for the 600 and not for the 650 say? Wouldn't the 650 be able to overclock higher than the 600?

 

[fxsts]

gplracer,

You might want to re-mount your motherboard. Although you do not need any of those spacers for today's motherboards, your motherboard might be touching something. I have had some problems with Abit boards before. You have to move the board a bit so that you have enough space between the board and the back panel of the case. Things like that also happen when you have a screw lost behind the board or you have an extra metal post which you forgot to remove.


Bohemian,

You can use AGP slot and PCI Slot 1 together as long as both of the cards support IRQ sharing, although I personally do not like my graphic card sharing IRQ with anything else. Most AGP cards work OK with IRQ sharing. If they do not work together, it's the PCI card which is not working with the sharing. Often soundcards do not like IRQ sharing. Some SCSI cards a;lso have problems.

 

[SuperRob]

Jebus, I hope you're joking. But in case you aren't ...

No, a 650 is not going to clock higher than a 600. It's simply more expensive.

 

[RobsTV]

There is a problem with week 31+ Duron's and KT7 motherboards.
Since I was one of the first to get one of these, and mine was
a week 29 unit, it's possible some of you will be getting a week 31.
This is corrected with a Bios update, but that is not so simple.
The following was taken from ABIT KT7 & KT7-RAID FAQ.
This site is GREAT for all of your KT7 info:

http://go.to/kt7faq
ABIT KT7 & KT7-RAID FAQ
or more specifically:
Why won't my Duron boot on my KT7


<< Why won't my Duron boot on my KT7?
This applies to BIOS TL only.

AMD changed the specification of some Duron processors manufactured after week 31, so that they require a core voltage of 1.6v rather than 1.5v. If your processor is a week 31 Duron or later it will include the characters &quot;AUT&quot; and &quot;0031&quot; or higher in the serial number.

ABIT modified the KT7 and KT7-RAID BIOS in version UL to reflect this change. However, if your motherboard shipped with BIOS TL and you have a week 31 Duron, your machine will fail to boot. To resolve this problem you need to upgrade to BIOS UL, but this is difficult if you can't get the machine to boot! You have three options:

Borrow another Slot A processor from a friend or shop, boot with this, flash to BIOS UL or later, and then reinsert your week 31 Duron
Take the motherboard or BIOS chip to your supplier, together with the latest BIOS and flash utilities on a floppy disk, and get the shop to flash the BIOS for you.
Use an HB, B or 2B pencil to close the 4th L7 bridge on the top of the CPU. This sets the voltage manually at 1.625v and allows the machine to boot. You can then flash to the later BIOS. (The graphite in the pencil is sufficient to make an electrical connection across the bridge). See Overclocking the Duron/Thunderbird for a detailed description of how these L7 bridges work so that you know what you are doing! This may void your warranty (if anyone notices). >>

 

[qball]

Just ordered a 650 for $80 thanks to the free shipping deal and adding a few little things to use the 20/100. Hopefully these are really in stock since the 600's are out for awhile. Guess I'll know by tomarrow.

-q

 

[SuperRob]

Boy, the hits keep on comin' with RobsTV. Great post, Rob!

 

[chmike]

For whoever it was who tried their processor w/o any fan:

AMD Duron Processor Recommended Cooling Solutions page
states explicitly:

WARNING: Any attempt to operate the AMD Duron? Processor without a suitable cooling solution will result in permanent damage to the processor and potentially other components within the system.

If you aren't sure what you're doing, post here, or better yet check out the OC forum here at Anandtech or various OC pages
(these are one's I've looked at, there are others):

www.amdzone.com
www.athelonoc.com

Unlocking Socket A CPU's
www.overclockers.com

are just a few.

 

[ube]

Umm I hope Im not asking a stupid Q here buy I have to ask. Does the HSF that comes with the duron come with thermal paste?
Bohemian, you using the HSF that came with the duron right and no probs at 900? no other colloing solutions at all?

Thanks

 

[gplracer]

Thanks for the help guys. It turns out there was a loose wire or something. Everything is fine now. All I have to do is flash the bios and then try to overclock

 

[brown234]

so what are the chances of getting an unlocked chip if I order now?

 

[SuperRob]

ube,

There is the tinyest amount of thermal adhesive under a removable sticker on the heatink. Just enough to do the job.

 

[Tedtalker1]

This was taken from Systemlogic.net -ONE MORE THING I'd like to run by you before I sign off for the night... I went to an AMD &quot;get together&quot; where they reviewed future product and told us something that FLOORED me. They stated that AMD absolutely DOES NOT recommend thermal grease and would rather one uses phase change thermal compound. Apparently the grease doesn't hold up under the heat and heatsink tension and will dissipate easily. SUCK! So much for telling people that they can run down to Radio Shack to get a tube of thermal grease! I've been telling people they can do this FOR YEARS! Bummer.

 

[Speedbump47]

After reading Jugernot's post, I called the CSR to check on the availability of the processor (Around 4:30 PT), since I had ordered today morning (~11 PT). Seems that they have plenty in stock, and mine actually shipped today .(From LA) Perhaps Jugernot just got a dumb CSR? You may want to check on your order and see if it now has a different status.

 

[sprog123]

Wow!! I must've lucked out. I ordered late Thursday night and my Durons shipped Friday night!! If buy.com isn't restocking until the end of the month, do you think that means all Durons that were sent out were part of the same initial batch and that most likely all of them are unlocked and easily overclockable to 900+ MHz? I should get my chips on Monday and I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. Also welcoming any offers to take the second CPU off my hands.

By the way, my Durons were shipped from Buy.com's Anaheim, CA warehouse, or somewhere around there (maybe Fullerton?). If anyone has any Durons from there, can you post when you ordered them and how much they are overclocking and at what voltage setting? Thanks!

 

[midnightrat]

Anyone just receive their durons? Hopefully they're still the week 29s. Hmm...I wonder has anyone not been able to oc their durons?



<< It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice >>


-scooter