**OFFICIAL** Abit BD7-II (i845E) Thread

[helveteshovedkort]

Double post.....

 

[MIDIman]

mine did this when i overclocked it too high - i just resetted the CMOS and it was fine by switching the jumper to 2-3 with the power off, and then back to 1-2.

 

[helveteshovedkort]

Thanks, but as mentioned in my previous post, I already did just that at least twice....
And no, I was not overclocking at the moment, not for a long time (just tried it when finally got POST, early in the process, was not OC'd when installing Windows).

And no, still no POST, just black screen....

BTW ,why on earth do I need Win98 SECOND Edition to install the chipset drivers in Windows, any workaround here ? I need Win98(have 1st ed.) to play older games, but are planning to invest in XP (home?) over the summer.

 

[DocACE]

Has anyone gotten this board STABLE at say 150mhz with 2 DIMMS??? I want to get 1GB (512x2) of Samsung RAM.

I am concerned it will not be stable if more then 1 DIMM is used - anyone try this?

 

[Kakaru]

I'm also interested to know how the board do with 2 dimm.

 

[Rythan]

I've run it with two 512MB DIMMs at over 150 successfully. If you really want an exact number I can go back and check, I've got the second DIMM in another board now. BTW, they're Corsair XMS3200's

 

[Kakaru]

Originally posted by: Rythan
I've run it with two 512MB DIMMs at over 150 successfully. If you really want an exact number I can go back and check, I've got the second DIMM in another board now. BTW, they're Corsair XMS3200's

Thanks Rhythan. I'm getting one this Friday.

 

[Rythan]

OK, I think I've finally tweaked my BD7II system up completely.

System:

P4-2.26B (with voltage mod to 1.7V default)
BD7II-RAID
512MB Corsair XMS3200
MSI GF4-4400
WD 1200JB
Koolance PC2-C
Zalman 300W

Current settings:

FSB 175 (2.98GHz), 1:1 Memory ratio (DDR 350)
AGP/PCI locked at 75/37
CPU at 1.9V
Mem at 2.5V, 2.5-5-2-2, enhanced memory on (CAS2 just won't happen at this FSB with this memory.. it can just do CAS2 at 166, fails at 168)
GF4 at 300:640

Tests:

Prime95 for 8 hours - passed (failed after 1 hour at 177 FSB)

Sandra CPU: 5735/3733
Sandra Mem: 2708/2707
Sandra MM: 11858/14462

3DMark2001 SE: 13105

I've got a BG7 coming Monday or so, I'd like to see if I can swing the 4:5 ratio at 175... I've run this memory up to 217 (3:4 at 163), maybe the BG7's extra memory voltage setting will help. It would probably be worth backing down to 170 if necessary. I'll report then.

Edit:
Added AGP/PCI settings

 

[Kakaru]

Originally posted by: Rythan
OK, I think I've finally tweaked my BD7II system up completely.

Mem at 2.5V, 2.5-5-2-2, enhanced memory on (CAS2 just won't happen at this FSB with this memory.. it can just do CAS2 at 166, fails at 168)

No problem actually, like was demonstrated on Hardforums at ddr speeds>333 cas is less important than 1 aditional Mhz in FSB.

 

[1979]

What ive done with abit bd7II (non-raid)

This is the best Ive been able to attain with 100% stability:

2.26 @ 2.7
159fsb, ddr 318
corsair 3200 2-6-3-3
2.6 vmem
+5% cpu voltage

Temps read 43-45C when idle for a spell, and 73-75C under full load. Got as high as 80C. Idle after boot is 55C.

I have an alpha 8942 with sanyo 43cfm fan and as3 and was completely stressing over the temps.

Then I came to the conclusion that the winbond sensor chip is a malfunctioning POS and I take its reading with a grain of salt.

I can get much higher fsb's mid-high 170's but it isnt stable.

Cant seem to get past 159fsb without getting an error or a glitch.

I suspect I can do better stable but still working on it.

Ive messed a bit with the 3:4 ratio but havent been able to get that stable at even 150fsb so I decided to optimize 1:1 first and go from there.

 

[Rythan]

My temps are reported as 51C idle, and get up to 55-56 under Prime95. But I don't trust the onboard sensor at all. The Koolance coolant reads around 100 idle, and only gets up to 103 or so under load. I know the Koolance sensor and heatsink are in good thermal contact with the CPU because as soon as I start Prime95 I see the Koolance temp go up (and fans speed up), and 1 or 2 seconds after stopping they spin back down. In any case, it doesn't crash or glitch at all, so it's sort of irrelevant in the end.

 

[helveteshovedkort]

Regarding my 'big' problems with the board:

Finally found the culprit.....

Seems the board interprets my messing(puttin in xtra) with the memory as a failed 'overclocking' attempt, or something, resulting in the same errors as MIDIman points out.
BUT, clearing CMOS with moving the jumper just DOES NOT WORK..... what the ---- ?

Only option is to press 'Insert' at start up (when beeeeeping), as when too high overclock.
Oh well...

And just for the record, I did NOT overclock ! (....this time... )

Now, my P4-1600A (L209A703T) seems to work at 2480Mhz, 155 FSB, cpu:mem at 1:1, will try higher later.
Have two (yes 2!) 256 Samsung PC2700 DTL version, BUT only been in DOS so far, so stability etc. who knows...

Had to set the DRAM timings to 'manual', just so they would stay at the numbers shown (???). At Auto (or whatever, taking this from memory, mine ) it would not boot at 140 FSB. Timings at 2 6 3 3 ?, at the moment, +5% Vcore(1,48 - 1,50 readout), 2,6 Vmem, and the temps ...... what is up with those, where does the case/system temps get measured ? .... both CPU and syst at 43C, ambient is 23C..... =? Stock cooling so far, in an LianLi case.

Will now try to install Win98SE.....

 

[MIDIman]

Curious...has anyone had any trouble with installing the AC97 audio in Windows XP?

I have a professional Echo audiocard - I had both working fine in Win98se, but when I installed there, I had installed Win98 with nothing else on the motherboard (just barebones)...

When I reformatted and installed Windows XP instead, I had everything in there. This time around, the only driver present is the Echo WDM. I've tried reinstalling the AC97 legacy drivers - they go through just fine, but nothing shows up after reboot...no control in the control panel, no audio driver in Winamp, no nothing...

I've even tried uninstalling the Echo card's drivers and the legacy drivers, then only installing the legacy drivers...in this case there's no sound available at all.

Thx

 

[MIDIman]

Just received a reply from Abit - all the latest drivers for this board can be downloaded here.

Hopefully a newer version will fix the problem?

 

[Rythan]

Well, the BG7 and another 2.26B showed up yesterday. The results are mixed, at best. Strangely, at high FSB's (in the 170 range), Prime95 and Sandra run, but 3DMark crashes quite reliably until I've backed all the way down to an FSB of 160. It's almost like the onboard video has got some claws in the AGP bus.

On the plus side, the newer 2.26B needs less voltage than my previous one to hit 3GHz (this one's OK at 1.7V).

4:5 hasn't been working very well, either. My Corsairs don't want to go much above their rated 200 in this board (they hit 218 on the BD7II), despite the 2.8V memory setting. Stranger and stranger... well, back to playing.

 

[helveteshovedkort]

FYI: review at Hard|OCP... not so good news it seems, or they got a warped board....

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MzIxLDU=

 

[Rythan]

Originally posted by: helveteshovedkort
FYI: review at Hard|OCP... not so good news it seems, or they got a warped board....

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MzIxLDU=

No, they just didn't read the manual. Memory slots 2 and 3 share "sides", so you can only plug in single density modules to them if you use both simultaneously. Slot 1 doesn't cause any interference.

I haven't observed any of their rebooting symptoms at all, with the exception of erratic behavior if there's no airflow across the set of voltage regulators by the CPU at high FSBs.

 

[helveteshovedkort]

hmm, how exactly do you see if your DIMM is a 'single density module' ? mem chips on only one side of the pcb ? (guess not, but rather clueless here... ;P )

 

[Rythan]

No, you're right... 8 chips on a single side is single density (1 bank), 16 chips (8 per side) is double density (uses 2 banks). In any case, you're safe if you only use two DIMM slots on the BD7II.

 

[RamIt]

The bd72 has 4 banks for the memory.
Dimm 1 is bank 0 and 1.
Dimm 2 is bank 2 and 3.
Dimm 3 is bank 3 and 2.

If Kyle just read the manual he might have figured it out. It is a shame that Abit gives boards to reviewers that cant read the directions.

 

[Kakaru]

Just got mine early this morning. 2133 and 354 DDR from start.

 

[gmoss]

Hi All:

Quick question: Just put a BD7II-Raid system together. On power up every thing seems to power up but no video. Fans run and the master hard drive seems to be seeking. Tried disconnection the 2 drives, floppy and CDRW. No change. Reseated ram and ATI 8500DV video board, no change. I have reset the Cmos with the jumper. All I get is one green led (I think power on) and one red led ?? No beeping at all. The front panel Leds seem to be working. Where can I find out what the led's mean. Any ideas would be appreciated. Case is Antec 1080 with 430 watt supply. Ram is Google gear sonsond chips but a different cip board.

Thanks

Gary Moss

 

[helveteshovedkort]

What kind of monitor do you have ? (Nokia?)
Try turning the monitor on/off a few times during boot and/or later etc, then 'maybe'...
Had a similar problem during first boots after installation(or later, during bios fiddling), machine starts up fine, but no video...
Obviously you've checked the cable already (?)

 

[flipdon]

very succesful overclock here: 1.8A@2.4GHz on 133 clock; memory at 178MHz for DDR 354(or would it be 356?) all at default voltage.


one question i have is: where do i get the USB 2.0 drivers? teh Abit CD just has a link to a page saying that the drivers aren't out yet. but none of you are complaining about not being able to use USB, have you? i did a quick 'find' thru the threads and got nothing. can i do to the intel page and DL something? or does it have to come from Abit?

 

[l31itz]

i plan to use this board for a raid 0 setup as well. does anyone know if you have to format before installing windows xp?