The EPoX 4G4A+ seems very promising.

[jdogg707]

Another update, ok, I came downstairs to see how my prime was going, and my PC had crashed with the screensaver...woops, guess I should have cut that off? Anyway, Sandra recorded my highest temp as 45.5C during the tests and the prime log said it hit 10K and then it reported an error and then it restarted again and hit 10K...sooo question is should I be worried? Should I try and cut down the settings? Everything else seems to be ok...

 

[jdogg707]

Forgot to mention that after running all the tests at 2.55, I upped the FSB to 160 with a 4:5 memory divider hitting DDR400 perfectly and my CPU is runing at 2.72GHZ!!! This is the speed I ran the above test at...

 

[jleon]

Thanks for your help, my rig is up and running with clearing the cmos!

 

[gsethi]

Originally posted by: jdogg707
Another update, ok, I came downstairs to see how my prime was going, and my PC had crashed with the screensaver...woops, guess I should have cut that off? Anyway, Sandra recorded my highest temp as 45.5C during the tests and the prime log said it hit 10K and then it reported an error and then it restarted again and hit 10K...sooo question is should I be worried? Should I try and cut down the settings? Everything else seems to be ok...

If your system crashed......your machine is NOT Stable.....I repeat it is not 100% stable. you want your system to be 100% stable else it might start corrupting your files later on. you mentioned screen saver while running Prime 95 ? thats no load on it..... I play games, surf the web, install programs and do all kinda stuff while prime 95 is running to make sure that my system is 100% stable.

what to do now:
well, you can increase your CPU Vcore and/or Dram Voltage (Vmem) so that your system is stable. You need to increase voltages to get stability while overclocking. Or if you want to stay at default, lower down your throttle. I mean, decrease the FSB....go down on overclocking for complete stability.

You dont want your important files ruined because of that extra 100 or 200 Mhz.

btw....on the side note:
Regarding Intel inf drivers: You DONT need to install Intel INF drivers if you are using Windows XP as your Operating system. I found this on the intel website. Its your choice if you want to install the inf drivers or not. I decided to install the inf drivers though.

Thanks
gsethi

 

[Acer]

After saying I thought this board was a good buy, I am now taking it back! This board I have is going into the RMA pile. Here is whats wrong:

1. Onboard sound doesn't function if the you unlock the AGP/PCI bus. At 150 FSB (my maximum), the PCI bus is at 37.5 mhz. The AC97 chip totally disappears from XP's Device Manager. Cheap-o PCI sound card works just fine.

2. USB ports adjacent to the LAN and PS2 ports alternate from working to not working in Windows XP, with the AGP/PCI bus unlocked.

3. On a plain reboot with no failures, the FSB drops to 100 even though the cpu is a 2.4B 133 mhz bus cpu, and the AGP/PCI divider goes to 2/3 & 1/3 when it is unlocked. JP1 is set for CPU select and I even tried it in the OPEN position so it would force the 133 and the FSB still drops to 100 FSB.

Epox had their thinking caps on when they designed it but their bios code and chipsets are sure d*cked up.

 

[gsethi]

Originally posted by: Acer
After saying I thought this board was a good buy, I am now taking it back! This board I have is going into the RMA pile. Here is whats wrong:

1. Onboard sound doesn't function if the you unlock the AGP/PCI bus. At 150 FSB (my maximum), the PCI bus is at 37.5 mhz. The AC97 chip totally disappears from XP's Device Manager. Cheap-o PCI sound card works just fine.

2. USB ports adjacent to the LAN and PS2 ports alternate from working to not working in Windows XP, with the AGP/PCI bus unlocked.

3. On a plain reboot with no failures, the FSB drops to 100 even though the cpu is a 2.4B 133 mhz bus cpu, and the AGP/PCI divider goes to 2/3 & 1/3 when it is unlocked. JP1 is set for CPU select and I even tried it in the OPEN position so it would force the 133 and the FSB still drops to 100 FSB.

Epox had their thinking caps on when they designed it but their bios code and chipsets are sure d*cked up.

Here are some suggestions and possible solutions to your problem.

1) Why dont you lock the AGP/PCI bus at 33/66. you always want your bus to remain in spec. If you run your bus out of spec, there is a chance for data corruption on your HD too. Lock the bus and everything should be fine. Also, its not Epox fault that the AC97 chip doesnt works at 37.5 Mhz bus. Its the AC97 chipset and maybe the AC97 design doesn't works at that bus speed. dont blame Epox for that, sound has nothing to do with Epox....they just used their chipset.

2) Did you remember to install the USB 2.0 drivers ? Again, AGP/PCI bus should be locked. You might be out of AGP/PCI specs.

3) See #1 and #2. LOCK THE DAMN BUS

comment: It might be one component of yours that doesnt like the AGP/PCI bus to be overclocked, hence the whole system is acting weird. I would recommend testing each component alone for this purpose.

Dont just blame Epox for nothing. Again i repeat myself, Overclocking is LUCK. A component that you have never even thought of might be holding back your whole system. In this case, it can be your sound card, modem, CPU, video card or even the motherboard or the quality of Silicon that is used into making in each of these products or millions of other things.

on a side note, AC97 is a cheap audio chipset, its not a high quality chipset, so it may not like high PCI bus speeds.

hope that helps
gsethi

 

[Acer]

GSETHI Hey bud you sound like a broken record. I've been around computers for years and I have been strong into o/cing. If the chip isn't designed for higher bus speed then don't put it on the board, and lets not forget that Epox gave us tools to o/c by allowing to unlock the bus, increase memory bandwidth and lets not forget, FSB increases to 200 mhz. Oh, did I forget to say Vcore, Vdimm and not at least, Vagp!.

And you missed in post that a cheap-o PCI sound card, which by the way worked to 210 FSB at 1/4 divider on another board, works JUST FINE at a measley 37.5 mhz on the PCI bus speed. I have a USB 2.0 card also in there right now working like champ at 37.5. You must think I a damn *&^%$#@^^%!!

Just about everbody here except for yourself is interested in o/cing and to get the maximum out of the board!! So please refrain yourself and put your hands underneath your can....WOULD YOU!!

 

[gsethi]

..

 

[Acer]

If you stop and think to not preach and just lay out your thoughts, it would have been better.

 

[gsethi]

regarding the PCI bus and the PCI cards and their relationship with NB......YES, they are supposed to behave exactly the same way BUT......they are NOT designed the same way. there is some difference in the hardware design.

as we speek here, i have my friend working on your problem. Currently he is running at a PCI/AGP bus of 40/80 and his mouse is working fine. he is checking the audio next....dont know whether audio will work or not though...

 

[Acer]

Take your mouse and forget it. You miss the whole point. You might build units but you really don't know jack and don't lay your acronyms like CSE major on us here in this forum. That just tells me you are just a college age student. If I missed the mark, please forgive me because you haven't shown me any medals or anything noteworthy that can validate you as a puter guru....I am waiting for your response!

 

[gsethi]

..

 

[Acer]

Now we see it all! You are a college guy who is really learning now. When you have ten years experience on YOUR OWN, SUPPORTING YOURSELF, then you have my respect. You see, I don't brag about myself except to know that I've been there.....you think, you know, by having all this elementary and HS training...good start stud, but the tough gets going as soon as you graduate. When you walk that isle with your degree/diploma and then come to find out that good old Dad and Mom are not going to support you, then, and only then, are you are on your own and you start earning my respect. So, book it, enjoy it, I do remember the good times! Drink the beer, go to the parties and emplant those good times in your mind because they will end and you will be out there on the street of reality after college, or, is there the Masters and Doctorates in the works!? hehehehe

 

[gsethi]

..

 

[Acer]

And, if you really want to see who I am, then I open my window of experience: MY HOME PAGE

 

[Sukhoi]

Acer, just lock the damn AGP/PCI bus and stop complaining. There is no reason to run your AGP/PCI speeds at anything other than 66/33 MHz when it is possible to lock them to that speed. The only reason people worry about components working at higher PCI/AGP speeds is from when motherboard couldn't lock the bus speeds and you had to use the dividers. Now that the bus speeds can be locked the dividers are pointless.

I'm curious why you went from quad engine 747 qualified (which IMHO would be the pinacle of commercial flying other than 777/Condorde) to a 737?

 

[gsethi]

..

 

[Acer]

Originally posted by: gsethi
regarding roaming on the streets, it depends on how you end up doing in college. I am getting job offers even right now that i have declined due to some personal reasons. Regarding support from parents, they have always supported me and will continue to support me throughout my life and so will i. I am in my 3rd year right now, future plans include atleast a MS and most probably PHD or MBA later on. Regarding enjoying my life, i dont think that there is room for enjoyment in my life right now. I dont drink alcohol or beer and rarely go to any parties. Reason: too much college load. I take more than full time load along with summer school and try to work on as many projects with professors as possible. I think only those walk down the aisle or wait in lines to get jobs who just hang around in college. Determined people always get what they have determined to get. oh yeah, the REAL good times come after you graduate from college, get a job and lead a happy life and those times last forever. and one last thing, IT is one industry where you cant know it all. No matter how much you study for no matter how long, you can never know it all in IT. Regarding the problem, i will personally test the problem once i get my video card. I am using integrated graphics right now and with that, you cant overclock high enough due to shared memory. highest i can boot with integrated graphics is 135 FSB...highest stable is 125 FSB for those who want to know these #s.

What I hear from you makes you more down to earth. When you drop that shield of superiority, you are down right likeable! Listen, there are 3 groups of people on the streets today; street people, book people and then, the first two combined. You are obviously heading towards book smart but you need to grasp street smart to survive. It sounds like you have boundless oppurtunties ahead of you, but for you to enjoy that then the street smarts has to be garnered! I can't teach it to you and your professor can't teach it to you, but you can learn it by observing and listening from the elders of the street. I hope you understand Mr. gsethi!?

 

[gsethi]

..

 

[Acer]

Originally posted by: gsethi

Originally posted by: Acer And, if you really want to see who I am, then I open my window of experience: MY HOME PAGE

i already saw that before you posted the link. If you are smart enough to enable a log report for your website, you should be able to see my IP address on that log file. and one more thing, you are missing a "/" in your signature (there should be "/" between 911....like this 9/11) and there should be no "s" at the end of "freedom" AND "whom" should be "who"

Originally posted by: Sukhoi Acer, just lock the damn AGP/PCI bus and stop complaining. There is no reason to run your AGP/PCI speeds at anything other than 66/33 MHz when it is possible to lock them to that speed. The only reason people worry about components working at higher PCI/AGP speeds is from when motherboard couldn't lock the bus speeds and you had to use the dividers. Now that the bus speeds can be locked the dividers are pointless. I'm curious why you went from quad engine 747 qualified (which IMHO would be the pinacle of commercial flying other than 777/Condorde) to a 737?

Sukhoi, thats what i told him before to lock the bus and everything will be fine but......maybe he just wants to overclock his soundcard and his mouse ???? :Q. I was also wondering the same thing regarding Fokker, A320 and 737 being flown after 747....but now i dont wonder why btw, There are no problems with USB devices at 40/80.

The wonderments of college. What do they teach you at this higher education institution? Certainly not anything about real life decisions!

 

[gsethi]

..

 

[gsethi]

and i think that you mistook my tips as a joke.

yes, you can enable the log report for your website so that you can see who is accessing your website and for how long and monitor traffic to your site.

Also, increasing the PCI/AGP bus makes your system run a little faster. the higher you go, the faster your PCI cards work but you run the risk of corrupting your data on your Hard drive too. therefore you have to make sure that each and every component on your system is stable when your PCI/AGP is out of spec. I dont know how to determine the stability of individual compoenents though (i guess if its the combined system stability ?? ). Therefore, i prefer the LOCK feature.

I know some people would do this personally to get some more juice out of their video cards.

 

[Acer]

You see when you look at my home page you don't understand how life changes gears because I change from a B-747 to Fokker 100, then a Airbus 320 and then to a B-737 (700 series). I know you don't even know what it takes to study, to learn aircraft systems, land the aircraft in the darkest corner of the world and then save the gutless wonders like yourself! It just shows me your ability to not understand the street of hard knocks. You will be there, eventually, staring at it; and I will look back and just shake my head. I won't be laughing. I will just feel pity for you!

 

[nic949]

Could someone please tell me where to find the Old 4/24 BIOS for this board?

Thanks

 

[gsethi]

Acer, i take back everything i said. You WIN, I Loose. this thread is meant for the Epox motherboard, not our personal views. Therefore, i deleted everything that was not relevant to this thread and left the things that i seem would help others.

Go Ahead, RMA your board, i dont care. I just gave my reviews based on what i got from the board and what some of my friends got from this same board. As i type here, i know atleast 1 another person who is running his 1.6a @ 160 FSB using 4:5 ratio. I had mine running at 163 FSB using 3:4 ratio.....right now at 100 FSB...waiting for a new video card.

Guys......can you test your integrated components such as AC97 sound and USB ports while your PCI/AGP bus is not locked ? Use a divider to run it slightly higher than 33/66 (dont go over 40/80 else you might damage your components). CAUTION: Do this at your own risk. Do this only if you wish to see if the problem with integrated components exist at higher PCI/AGP Bus speeds.

thanks
gsethi