*** Official ABIT NF7/S (nForce2) Thread ***

[Megatomic]

oldman420, I recommend the Zalman NB coolers. I've used both the 32J and the 47J and they both work great on NF7-S boards. The 47J is bigger and weighs more than the 32J so it should cool the NB better if you are a bigtime overclocker. I got mine for $9.90 shipped from SVC a month ago.

 

[MangoTBG]

I sifted through a couple pages to see if I could find my problem. Sorry if this has been answered or talked about before. I'm really happy with my new computer:

mobile 2200+ @ 2.2GHz (does 2.5)
NF7-S
2x256mb kingston valueram 3200
6800GT

Anyways, my problem is the sound. I have all my drivers setup and everything. The problem is that even with the overall volume level set at "Mute" anytime I move my mouse, drag something or click something I hear this buzzing sound as I do it. Like let's say I move the scrollbar up and down, up and down I'll hear "BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZZZt....etc etc" The weird thing is that I get that even when everything, except my speakers themselves, are on mute! This never happened with my Audigy2. I'd rather stick with the soundstorm but if you guys say there's no fix then I'll be forced to install it . I want to keep my PCI connections as free as possable...plus I hate the driver/programs of the Audigy.


Thanks in advance!

 

[Megatomic]

What nForce drivers are you using? What OS? Do you have your speakers attached via analog or digital link? What are your audio settings on the nForce control panel? What is your PCI Latency?

I can help you troubleshoot your buzzing but I need more infos. I've been using an NF7-S R2 for over a year now, I know the ins and outs pretty much.

 

[MangoTBG]

audio driver 5.10.2920.0 control panel version 1.00.00.0307
winxp pro
analog
equalizer enabled, 4 speakers, analog output, everything else was untouched
is this the 66mhz thing? I dunno what it is if it isn't, where do I find this out?

 

[Megatomic]

First off, those look like really old drivers. Those aren't from the 4.24 UDP are they? If not, get the 4.24 UDP and go with them. Use Driver Cleaner to get rid of all the previous driver files, too. You'll get your best results that way. There are newer leaked drivers available but I think the official 4.24 UDP would be best for you as you are already troubleshooting a problem and don't need to introduce any more uncertainty into the situation.

PCI Latency is a BIOS setting. It's found under Integrated Peripherals IIRC. If not, just poke around and you'll see it. Set it to 64 and see what happens.

I just thought of two more things for you:

1. What BIOS do you have installed? The newest one, version 24, is a great, stable BIOS. If you don't have that one installed, you should as soon as possible.

2. Do you have a passive cooler on your SB chip? Many, including myself, have reported that a SB cooler has helped with audio problems on many different boards with MCP-T. If you have a cooler and some thermal adhesive handy it might help you out to install it.

Good luck.

 

[Farvacola]

Just so everyone knows, I and many other home computers builders have had this particular motherboard and it has just plain not worked. We have sent it back many times, and when we got a new one, it was defective yet again. Just beware when you buy this motherboard.

 

[Megatomic]

Sucks for you, fortunately the majority of us here have not had similar issues. What board did you finally wind up using?

 

[pelikan]

Originally posted by: Farvacola
Just so everyone knows, I and many other home computers builders have had this particular motherboard and it has just plain not worked. We have sent it back many times, and when we got a new one, it was defective yet again. Just beware when you buy this motherboard.

Its funny you say that. I was just about to post about how happy I've been with this motherboard for the past year.
I've used two different ones, they both have run my cpu's at very high MHz, and have been 100% stable and reliable.

Edit: Since you are clearly in a very thin minority, I think your post should not be taken seriously by anyone considering buying this motherboard.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: pelikan
I've used two different ones, they both have run my cpu's at very high MHz, and have been 100% stable and reliable.

I have the same story. One of the older V2s and one of the newer V2s. Both excellent.

 

[PolaroidPaul]

Anyone know the real scoop on the new NF7-S2 boards?

They are cheaper than the NF7-S V2 at the good old 'egg but I have not seen any real comparison info.

 

[PolaroidPaul]

Duplicate - Sorry

 

[Megatomic]

They have integrated SATA (in the MCP chip) but there is no SoundStorm. Unless you have SATA drives it's not better than the old NF7-S R2. As a matter of fact, my two ATA133 drives were faster than the SATA150 I tried.

My recommendation is to get the NF7-S R2 and stick with PATA drives unless you have a/some Raptor/s.

 

[Tighr]

Originally posted by: pelikan

Originally posted by: Farvacola
Just so everyone knows, I and many other home computers builders have had this particular motherboard and it has just plain not worked. We have sent it back many times, and when we got a new one, it was defective yet again. Just beware when you buy this motherboard.

Its funny you say that. I was just about to post about how happy I've been with this motherboard for the past year.
I've used two different ones, they both have run my cpu's at very high MHz, and have been 100% stable and reliable.

Edit: Since you are clearly in a very thin minority, I think your post should not be taken seriously by anyone considering buying this motherboard.

I have had the same problem with my new NF7-S from Newegg. After all the lauding of this motherboard here and at other forums, I became convinced that it was the board for me. I bought it at Newegg along with the rest of my new computer, and put it together. It booted into BIOS once, then I never saw anything ever again. It just wont post. Blank screen. Cleared CMOS, tried everything for three days. Finally I just sent it back to Abit for RMA (newegg said warranty only through mfctr). Its basically pissed me off that I've been without the new computer all week, and probably for another week while waiting for the RMA to come back.

I know that lots of people have had success with this board, but after I had this POST problem, I googled and found many others who also have had their Athlon XP boards (not just NF7-s, although some had this board too) that die after the first BIOS. I didn't try and overclock or anything. Oh well, I still believe you all that it is a good board, I just haven't been able to test it out for myself yet.

EDIT: I really don't like the Abit RMA process... I called Customer Service first to see if there was something I could do without sending it back, and I got a foreign speaking guy, and the line sounded bad, like a really low quality VoIP connection. Also, I couldn't get instant RMA like some other sites, I had to wait 24 hours for the RMA number to clear so I could send it. Also, I had found two different addresses for sending the board back, although both were in the same city. I'm just upset, but still. I bought something and paid good money for it, sucks that not only doesn't it work but I had to pay shipping (and wait two weeks) to get a new one back from Abit when others' work right away.

 

[Noid]

Originally posted by: Tighr

Originally posted by: pelikan

Originally posted by: Farvacola
Just so everyone knows, I and many other home computers builders have had this particular motherboard and it has just plain not worked. We have sent it back many times, and when we got a new one, it was defective yet again. Just beware when you buy this motherboard.

Its funny you say that. I was just about to post about how happy I've been with this motherboard for the past year.
I've used two different ones, they both have run my cpu's at very high MHz, and have been 100% stable and reliable.

Edit: Since you are clearly in a very thin minority, I think your post should not be taken seriously by anyone considering buying this motherboard.

I have had the same problem with my new NF7-S from Newegg. After all the lauding of this motherboard here and at other forums, I became convinced that it was the board for me. I bought it at Newegg along with the rest of my new computer, and put it together. It booted into BIOS once, then I never saw anything ever again. It just wont post. Blank screen. Cleared CMOS, tried everything for three days. Finally I just sent it back to Abit for RMA (newegg said warranty only through mfctr). Its basically pissed me off that I've been without the new computer all week, and probably for another week while waiting for the RMA to come back.

I know that lots of people have had success with this board, but after I had this POST problem, I googled and found many others who also have had their Athlon XP boards (not just NF7-s, although some had this board too) that die after the first BIOS. I didn't try and overclock or anything. Oh well, I still believe you all that it is a good board, I just haven't been able to test it out for myself yet.

EDIT: I really don't like the Abit RMA process... I called Customer Service first to see if there was something I could do without sending it back, and I got a foreign speaking guy, and the line sounded bad, like a really low quality VoIP connection. Also, I couldn't get instant RMA like some other sites, I had to wait 24 hours for the RMA number to clear so I could send it. Also, I had found two different addresses for sending the board back, although both were in the same city. I'm just upset, but still. I bought something and paid good money for it, sucks that not only doesn't it work but I had to pay shipping (and wait two weeks) to get a new one back from Abit when others' work right away.

I think I'm gonna *Cry* . . (hehe )

Welcome to the world of 'build your own'
You can complain here I guess... but, it does no good purpous other than 'flame bait' this thead

Your situation can happen with any manufacturer (I have my own stories)
NewEgg's RMA wouldnt get your new MB any faster... they take 10 days.
Be sure to 'read the fine print' when ordering parts...
(not all NewEgg parts are RMA with them,,, some are ,,, some are not,,, some are, and then are not)
NewEgg handles RMA good. Just read your 'risks'.

Gain back your composure ... and make the RMA... or whatever you need to do

Welcome to the forums.
(they are used for helping people ... not flaming products)

Try posting here ... Abit Online RMA
(try using a 'good attitude' when RMA anything, it helps)

 

[Tighr]

You misunderstand me. I'm already halfway through the RMA process wtih Abit... my board got back to Abit yesterday, and I'm expecting my new one back.

I know I sounded like I had a bad attitude, but thats only the frustration showing through. I was pleasant to the guy on the phone, and I knew that newegg said RMA through mftctr before I bought. I just wanted to say I bought the board because of all the success stories.

Plus, the guy I quoted was saying he had bought several bad ones, and the person who replied to him told people not to listen to him, he was clearly in the minority. I just wanted to make sure anyone who buys this board realizes that it is not the perfect board; even this board has problems. There is virtually no product out there that is 100% guaranteed to work out of the box. I just happened to get unlucky.

Anyway, I'm not flamebaiting, just sharing my experience. I'll be expecting my return board any day now, and I'm sure I'll have years of good times with it.

 

[Noid]

Sorry for misunderstanding. :/
He probably had a bad or weak PS.
(or any number of other possibilities)
Some users just dont know how to look elsewhere for the real problem.
(*ahem*)

 

[Megatomic]

Some new Abit NF7-S BIOS files are available. They are not on their main BIOS download pages yet nor does FlashMenu find them, but they are sitting on the Abit FTP server just waiting for you.

BIOS D25 for v2.0 boards

BIOS D26 for v1.x boards


I loaded the D25 on my NF7-S R2 and encountered no problems. All benchmarks are within statistical error, too (i.e. no loss or gain of performance). Here's what I found in the readme:

BIOS release 2.5 for NF7 2.0 / NF7-S 2.0 / NF7-V


Release information:

[ENGLISH]

1. Support new version Super IO.
2. BIOS compile date: 07/06/2004

From what I gather, Super IO is related to the FDD Controller. I must admit that my floppy doesn't seem to work right. Even after blowing out the dust bunnies it still only reads the disk intermittently. Maybe this BIOS fixed that... Only time will tell.

 

[Noid]

Beware of Abit 5.03 nForce drivers.

I had to use maunal install of audio.
(setup didnt install them)

And, the IDE drivers caused my bootup time 4 minutes.

My ordeal :::::

I ran the CP uninstall of ATi (reboot twice)
and nForce(reboot for Mixer, and reboot to Safe Mode after driver removal)
SafeMode and used DC3.2.
This hung my system, and upon reboot, gave me BSOD
(inaccessable boot device)

So, I couldnt Ghost back either (Ghost requires a proper NTFS shutdown to work)
I grabed my W2K disk and booted to CD, then ran CHKDSK.
Re-booted to Ghost and imaged back.

I then used Mwarhead Reset driver set. (reboot)
Ran DC again in SafeMode.
Rebooted.
Installed the 5.03's (with the 4.27 intl Ethernet), and got the 4 minute bootup.
Installed ATi CAT 4.7's
Found out sound wasnt working, and bootup is still 4 minutes.
Manually installed sound.
Installed the 4.27 IDE over the 5.03's IDE.

Back to normal.
(total 3.5 hrs)

 

[Megatomic]

I skipped 'em, I had my own remix based on the 4.24 UDP and the leaked 4.40 UDP. I'm sticking with it until an ALL NEW UDP is released officially.

And it's too bad our beloved Abit sticky thread is now unstickied along with all the others. It was fun while it lasted.

 

[3LEMENT0]

hmmm I'll wait for some feedback on the new bios..... just to be sure....

 

[Megatomic]

The new BIOS has been running fine on my system for days now. It's all good.

 

[Tighr]

I got my refurbished motherboard back from Abit after the RMA, and after a few hours got it up and running. Windows Update is running (I'm using my laptop to type this). It works, I'm glad. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this computer, and really hope that I get everything I can out of the Nf7-S!

Ugh. Two weeks without a computer I bought 3 weeks ago kind of sucks. But, I have it now, so all is well. Just gonna play it safe for a few days until I break in the board, then I can start messin with some bios settings.

 

[dweilbacher]

Since folks are talking RMA...

I've had to RMA several products over the years and it is never fun. Of the extremes, MSI has a nice process with web support and status updates via their web page. You know when the part arrives, when it is being investigated, when it is fixed and when it is shipped.

The DFI's process is very non-user friendly. In fact you can't find their process on their web page and they have no contact information for RMA'ing. I had to go to a user forum and obtain an email address in order to contact the RMA dept. They have no status report, you just sit back and hope the board shows up some day.

The only thing I can say about Abit is that I own 3 of their motherbaords and 2 of their video cards. None have ever failed, so I've not had to use their process...which is the best RMA process of all... <big grin>

 

[LeonarD26]

Just a quick question for everyone here...

I currently have 512mb RAM and just received a second 512mb stick of RAM from newegg. What is the best physical configuration for these 2 chips (dual channel)? I know I've seen this information before but I can't find it!

Thanks

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: LeonarD26
Just a quick question for everyone here...

I currently have 512mb RAM and just received a second 512mb stick of RAM from newegg. What is the best physical configuration for these 2 chips (dual channel)? I know I've seen this information before but I can't find it!

Thanks

For dual channel, stick them in the first and third slots. If the two sticks don't want to play nice in dual channel (lockups, crashes, etc.) then you can just use the first and second slots. Dual channel doesn't really do all that much for Athlon XPs without integrated graphics.