Need advice and help troubleshooting

[miato]

Hi, I just got the ECS N2U400-A nforce2 Ultra m/b with boxed Barton 2500+ combo from Fry and a stick of K-byte 512Mb PC3200 memory. The system has a 430W p/s and use a Gforce 4200

My problem is I can't get it to run stable at more than 133 FSB aka 1900+ . If i try to run at 166 FSB as it is supposed to run under. Win98 is very unstable with 3Dmark 2001 and prime95 crashing.

I checked the processor and its' a new Barton 2500+ just out of a sealed box. AXDA2500DKV4D - AQZEA0341RPMW

I tried different timing and frequency and it just won't work as a 2500+.

FSB Memory Timing(ras,rcd,rp) Outcome
133 133 6-2-2-2 runs fine and stable under prime, seti and 3Dmark
166 166 8-3-3-3 no boot
166 166 7-3-3-3 unstable
166 166 7-3-3-2.5 no boot, windows protection error
166 166 7-4-4-3 unstable, registry error
166 166 6-2-2-2 no post
180 180 8-3-3-3 win98 locks up
200 200 8-3-3-3 win98 run, but Seti will crash after a while so does 3D and prime95
166 200 8-3-3-3 win98 run, Seti run, Prim95 will crash, 3Dmark crash

My question is. What does it looks like? memory ? motherboard? or CPU ?
I would love to overclock it but at this point just running it at stated speed will be fine.
I dont' know what's wrong. So i'm tempted to return the whole thing to Fry's and try the Gigabyte GA-VT600/Barton 2600+ combo (same price) or the cheapy ECS K7VTA3/2000+ combo or for $10 more try the albatron kx600/2600+ ?

Can I get some advice? Which option is best for me with overclocking in mind?

 

[Assimilator1]

Before you think about overclocking lets get your rig running nicely at default speed 1st! (btw good to see another SETI fan you in a team?)

Re the RAM timings ,just set them to SPD/Auto for now.
Double check that the HSF is properly installed
Deos your mbrd have hardware monitoring? ,if so report here the voltages & temps your getting (with FSB at 133,then 166)
Whats your vDIMM voltage set to? (if it can be altered)

Until we know more the problem could be anything

 

[o1die]

You didn't mention what brand of power supply you're using. Those boards can be picky about power supplies. Also, did you do a fresh install of windows? The ecs board won't overclock. I would also try the generic video driver off nvidia's website. I had trouble getting my old geforce2 to run stable, and switched to ati, and have had no problems since.

 

[miato]

Thanks guys,
The ECS m/b did oc a little bit, allowing FSB adjustment with AGP/PCI frequency lock. It is an NForce Ultra board. Only problem was that it didnt' allow for CPU voltage adjustment.

Anyway it turn out that the memory I bought from Fry's was the problem (512Mb K-Byte 3200 for $59 after rebate). I gave up and returned the whole thing to fry's and got the ALbatron KX600/Barton 2600+ combo for $10 more. and bought a Kingston 512Mb PC3200 for $105.
This new setup works like a charm. The barton i got is unlocked and the mobo allow just about EVERY single tweak possible.
I'm currently running stable at 2.2 Ghz (200FSB x 11) with memory at 200Mhz. 1.75V vcore and AGP at 2.7V
Seti@home is stable. Prime95 ran for a couple hours stable and i am getting a 1100+ score in 3Dmark with my oc Ti4200.

I'm a happy camper for being able to upgrade my PC for under $300. Doubling the score of every benchmark i tossed at it.

As for me being in a Seti Team. No i'm not. I just do it under my own user. 1364 units processed so far And a lot more coming with my new PC ! I was running an oc P3-600Mhz before.

 

[Assimilator1]

Glad to hear you got your PC sorted out,& not a bad overclock too

That should kick arse at SETI (about 2+hrs/WU ,setup right) ,btw there is a SETI Team Anandtech ,we'd love to have to have you join us,if your interested check out the 1st link in my sig &/or pop over to the Distributed Computing forum .Probably one of the most friendliest forum sections on the net!
Inccidently ,you don't lose your personally stats if you join a team.