SICK OF THIS MOTHERBOARD(A7N8X Deluxe)

[Skiguy411]

Sorry, but Im just venting......

I have had nothing but trouble with this motherboard. When I first got it it would quit when it was loading XP. So I formatted my hard drive to see if that would fix it. It did the same thing. I formatted it again and finally it got through it. After that I start loading my drivers for the mobo and then all of the sudden I get a BSOD(blue screen of death). After it finished its error reporting, I tried installing them again it works. Then I tried surfing the web and about 5 minutes into it gave me another BSOD. I try running 3DMark2001SE and it just sends me back to the desktop just like with any other game. So Im sitting here with a "awesome" unstable computer. I have tried getting different ram(3 different kinds) and graphics. The only thing I havent tried is bringing it back to my dealer, which involves getting an RMA # and sending it back, which takes about a month. The only thing I can hope for is BIOS update. Thats what I want for christmas.....a BIOS update......


The system.....
Antec TruePower 380 watts
Asus A7N8x Deluxe nforce2 (1001.E BIOS)
AMD Athlon 2600+
2 sticks of generic brand 256 PC2700 DDR 333 (just bought 2 sticks of Corsair DDR400 PC3200;waiting for them to come)
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro with Catalyst 3.0 (DirectX 9) drivers
Western Digital 80 gb hd
Western Digital 20 gb hd
Benq 16x DVD

 

[Kingofcomputer]

2 sticks of generic brand 256 PC2700 DDR 333

That's why.

 

[Adul]

Originally posted by: Kingofcomputer

2 sticks of generic brand 256 PC2700 DDR 333

That's why.

 

[CraigRT]

Generic is good compared to junk like GEIL or OCZ
I use "Generic" in my Athlon rig (SpecTek) and that crap runs awesome... cheap memory, overclocks good and is totally stable.
it's a subsidiary of Micron I believe.. that could be why.

 

[TourGuide]

Ski,

What BIOS version are you running?

My first A7N8X was the version 1001c and it was awful. I actually think the board itself was DOA. Though I've read LOTS of posts regarding this particular version of the BIOS code having problems.

The board I have now has the 1001g bios and is trouble free for me.

 

[PlatinumGold]

i have bios 1017. does that sound weird to anyone?

 

[mechBgon]

I'm sick of this Corvette Z06! It stumbles and hesitates and I've tried TWO different types of low-octane gas in it! I haven't tried Premium yet...

Wait for the Corsair, friend.

You might want to try setting up your system with DirectX8.1B instead of Dx9, too.

 

[SFang]

Originally posted by: Yield
Generic is good compared to junk like GEIL or OCZ
I use "Generic" in my Athlon rig (SpecTek) and that crap runs awesome... cheap memory, overclocks good and is totally stable.
it's a subsidiary of Micron I believe.. that could be why.

Wait a minute, "SPECTEK" is never a generic brand. If you go to a retailer store, you might see more "SPECTEK" memory than Nanya, Samsung, or Micron. It is a Micron Company. And, the chips has been used on Corsair PC2100 DDR, Check review here. In case you are interested, they are the second best memory in the roundup next to Crucial.

 

[SFang]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
i have bios 1017. does that sound weird to anyone?

Do not use the Asus probe to check your bios version. Check it by typing "tab" at the first booting screen, and see if it is "1001c" or somthing else. In my Probe, it says 1017 beta 005, it is the same as 1001c. Weird, but true.

 

[SFang]

Originally posted by: Skiguy411
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro with Catalyst 3.0 (DirectX 9) drivers

I strongly suggest you update your Video card driver to the latest Catalyst 5.0 instead of using 3.0. I had tons of problem with 3.0, do a search on Rage3D.com, you will see what I am talking about. It is an old driver, might not be compatible with your new motherboard. I am using A7N8X Deluxe now, and have been very satisfied with the mb.

Edit: Catalyst 2.5 instead of 3.0, I mean.

 

[TourGuide]

have bios 1017. does that sound weird to anyone?

That sounds plenty wierd to me. I agree with SFang do not use ASUSProbe to check the BIOS version number, but you can use the ASUS Update utility to check and get accurate information.

 

[Skiguy411]

 

[Skiguy411]

I strongly suggest you update your Video card driver to the latest Catalyst 5.0 instead of using 3.0.

I have not heard of the latest Catalyst 5.0. I do not see it on rage3d.com. Do you have a link?

 

[Skiguy411]

Is it time to get a RMA # and get another board?

 

[mechBgon]

Don't you want to try the Corsair memory first?

 

[Skiguy411]

Well see thats the problem. I have until friday to get an RMA # for the mobo and I dont think the memory will be here by then. Also, could the new memory really solve the many BSODS and "send error report" messages that I have? ( Two have happen trying to write this) I can hardly get on the internet, use photoshop, or play any games without getting an error.

 

[mechBgon]

Your board has a three-year warranty from Asus themselves, and you can call them for an RMA during that time. I've had a couple of bad BIOS flashes with the ill-fated A7V333-R's (Asus made a bad BIOS-flash utility, evidently), and turnaround time is not delightful at ~3-4 weeks, but the process is not very hard. Granted, an RMA from your vendor is probably going to be quicker.

Asus phone numbers

I ordered an A7N8X-Deluxe and a 2200+ for one of our HR people at work, and will be building it soon. I decided to get the Corsair PC3200CL2 for its sterling reputation around here, and good backing by Corsair if there were a problem with their RAM. Kingston was also considered, since they're on Asus' Qualified Vendor List for PC3200. I wanted PC3200 so that I could drop a 400MHz-based Barton in there later if we wanted even more CPU power in a year or two, for voice-recognition software or video editing. So while I don't have any firsthand experience with the combo yet myself, I will soon, probably early next week.

 

[SpideyCU]

Also, could the new memory really solve the many BSODS and "send error report" messages that I have?

Short answer: Yes. They darn very well could.

 

[JonnyBalls]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Your board has a three-year warranty from Asus themselves, and you can call them for an RMA during that time. I've had a couple of bad BIOS flashes with the ill-fated A7V333-R's (Asus made a bad BIOS-flash utility, evidently), and turnaround time is not delightful at ~3-4 weeks, but the process is not very hard. Granted, an RMA from your vendor is probably going to be quicker.

Asus phone numbers

I ordered an A7N8X-Deluxe and a 2200+ for one of our HR people at work, and will be building it soon. I decided to get the Corsair PC3200CL2 for its sterling reputation around here, and good backing by Corsair if there were a problem with their RAM. Kingston was also considered, since they're on Asus' Qualified Vendor List for PC3200. I wanted PC3200 so that I could drop a 400MHz-based Barton in there later if we wanted even more CPU power in a year or two, for voice-recognition software or video editing. So while I don't have any firsthand experience with the combo yet myself, I will soon, probably early next week.

I have the a7n8x deluxe mobo
and 2 corsair pc3200 256mb modules, and i can;t even boot to bios!
other ram works on this mobo,
and the corsair ram works on other mobos, but this combination does not work, any ideas?
(2400+ processor) help?

 

[Skiguy411]

Originally posted by: JonnyBalls

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Your board has a three-year warranty from Asus themselves, and you can call them for an RMA during that time. I've had a couple of bad BIOS flashes with the ill-fated A7V333-R's (Asus made a bad BIOS-flash utility, evidently), and turnaround time is not delightful at ~3-4 weeks, but the process is not very hard. Granted, an RMA from your vendor is probably going to be quicker.

Asus phone numbers

I ordered an A7N8X-Deluxe and a 2200+ for one of our HR people at work, and will be building it soon. I decided to get the Corsair PC3200CL2 for its sterling reputation around here, and good backing by Corsair if there were a problem with their RAM. Kingston was also considered, since they're on Asus' Qualified Vendor List for PC3200. I wanted PC3200 so that I could drop a 400MHz-based Barton in there later if we wanted even more CPU power in a year or two, for voice-recognition software or video editing. So while I don't have any firsthand experience with the combo yet myself, I will soon, probably early next week.

I have the a7n8x deluxe mobo
and 2 corsair pc3200 256mb modules, and i can;t even boot to bios!
other ram works on this mobo,
and the corsair ram works on other mobos, but this combination does not work, any ideas?
(2400+ processor) help?

That cant be to promising....but thanks for your help guys, I greatly appreciate it.

Hopefully the new RAM will fix these problems

 

[BuckNaked]

Johnnyballs,
Check out the link... Corsair/A7N8X troubles. There is a known issue with your setup...

Dave

 

[mechBgon]

Having read up on that subject, here is the workaround that reportedly works, and remember that (according to Corsair's rep) the version 1.1 modules are not affected:

• Use a different stick of RAM, Crucial PC2100 in my case, and go into the BIOS
• Disable "By SPD" timing, and set the timings manually to something the temporary stick tolerates
• Save and exit BIOS
• Make sure the board completes the subsequent POST, so it knows that the timings are good
• Shut down, put in the Corsair, and you can go into the BIOS and tweak it from there

We ordered our Corsair from Newegg, and I expect they turn enough volume that I will get version 1.1 modules by now. If I don't, and there is an issue, that's my intended procedure. Not the most elegant solution, nope.

 

[mechBgon]

Incidentally, I clicked "See It!" at newegg and the sticker is shown and says v1.1 at the end of the model number, same as what Evan Leib evidently used in his shootout. Hopefully that is exactly what I will get

 

[chizow]

I got this board yesterday, and at first was also very frustrated with it. Turns out, it was because I didn't really know my way around the new and improved BIOS (I came from an 8KHA+). There's tons of settings on this board that can cause problems if not set correctly.

First thing I would do is to set everything in the BIOS to the bare minimum, like 133FSB, auto for multiplier and by SPD memory (or even SYNC).

Then go through the BIOS and disable *ANYTHING* you are not using or do not plan to use (Serial, Onboard Audio, Lan, USB, etc. etc.)

If you are coming from a different chipset mobo, you'll want to do a repair or fresh install, so have a boot disk or your WinXP CD handy.

If you haven't already, install SP1 and then the latest nForce2 unified drivers.

Once all your devices are installed/detected and you are running, reboot.

Go back into the BIOS and set them to the normal specs of the CPU and RAM. Leave the multi at auto, change the RAM to "SYNC".

Go back into Windows and run some benches and stresses to make sure it is stable.

After you have confirmed everything and are up and running, then worry about OCing and tweaking. Keep a close eye on the RAM speed as by SPD will indiscriminately add MHZ to your actual FSB for the final RAM speed. So if you ran 166mhz FSB default on a 2600+, your actual RAM speed will be like 187mhz!!! With generic ram, this may be causing the crashes. Set the RAM speed to "Sync" for 166mhz, but you may even want to try running it at like 80% to isolate the problem to see if its the RAM.

Chiz

 

[mechBgon]

You reminded me of something! :Q A7N8X owners, don't install the SATA software unless you have SATA drives!