The *Official* MSI K8NGM2-FID GeForce 6150 Motherboard Thread

[Msquared]

I just bought this board and a 3800 X2 CPU, and they are on the way. I'm interested in quiet cooling for the CPU. I notice that the Zalman 7000 and 7700 fit, but also cover at least one RAM slot. I'd prefer to not have that interence, and would also prefer the fan's airflow to go across the board toward the case exhaust fans. I've looked at the Zalman CNPS9500 cooler and the Scythe Ninja. Has anyone tried either of these or any other across-the-board-airflow coolers with the K8NGM2? If so, how was the fitment? Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can provide.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: Msquared
I just bought this board and a 3800 X2 CPU, and they are on the way. I'm interested in quiet cooling for the CPU. I notice that the Zalman 7000 and 7700 fit, but also cover at least one RAM slot. I'd prefer to not have that interence, and would also prefer the fan's airflow to go across the board toward the case exhaust fans. I've looked at the Zalman CNPS9500 cooler and the Scythe Ninja. Has anyone tried either of these or any other across-the-board-airflow coolers with the K8NGM2? If so, how was the fitment? Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can provide.

I don't think you can say that the 7000 blocks the ram slots cause it barely goes a quarter over the first one see here

EDIT: if anyone is interested, notice the 30mm fan on the northbridge (it is hooked up to fanmate2 on the outside of the case)

 

[Msquared]

Originally posted by: avi85
I don't think you can say that the 7000 blocks the ram slots cause it barely goes a quarter over the first one see here

EDIT: if anyone is interested, notice the 30mm fan on the northbridge (it is hooked up to fanmate2 on the outside of the case)

Well in my book, if you can remove and install sticks in the #1 RAM slot, then it isn't covered. Per your picture, that seems to be feasible. Thanks for posting that. I'd still like to know about the other cooler types I mentioned if anybody can chime in, but this makes one option a pretty easy fallback.

PS - Yes, that's good to see your install of the NB fan as well. Thanks for that, too.

 

[chinna]

First hats off to renethx, for such great thread with detailed explanation of all the aspects of the board including comparisions. I have not seen such a detailed best written thread, frankly ever before.

I was tempted and bought this board and X2 3800 after X2 price came down. I will be receiving these tomorrow and plan on building on this weekend.
Now, I have few questions.( Though I built one similar system for my friend for a server 6 months ago).

I was wondering is it possible to Overclock and still have Cool & QUite feature enabled and working? Like I would to set HTT to 240 ( so 2400Mhz) and also keep quite and cool still working, like when there is no load( 5x at 1200Mhz). I heard some DFI boards do support that, ref silentpcreview forums. (I may also try to Undervolt using RMClock, which I have been using on my Turion laptop since last one year.)

second question is about Heatsink, I saw this Freezer Pro 64 for verygood price here http://www.provantage.com/arctic-acfzp64~7ARCT002.htm $21 including shipping. I heard good things about this heatsink ( eps low noise). Did anyone tried this on this MB? does it fit without any concerns? I do not want to spend fortune for the heatsink. BTW I bought quite few Items from this site before, shipping and service was pretty good.

I see few concerns about NB heatsink getting quite hot, do you guys think is it still a big concern as per the reliability. I do not mind it running it at 50c or 60c as long reliability is not a problem? I do not want install a 40mm fan as it will have high pitched whine. If it is a concern, then anyone tried any bigger passive heatsink?

For reference, my current case is Antec 1650B with Antec SmartPower 350watts, Case fan is replaced with Enermax 120mm with speed controller Fan running at around 1300RPM ( may be 30 to 40 CFM, is this flow enough?), and will have 1 SATA HDD, and one IDE drive and one DVD+RW, 1 TV Tuner, Card reader etc. Currently I am running P4 2.4B@3.0Ghz 1GB Corsair DDR400 ram, and MX440 AGP video card on ASUS P4P800, and cooling not been a problem, though I saw HDDs sometimes reach 40+.

 

[chinna]

Originally posted by: chinna

I see few concerns about NB heatsink getting quite hot, do you guys think is it still a big concern as per the reliability. I do not mind it running it at 50c or 60c as long reliability is not a problem? I do not want install a 40mm fan as it will have high pitched whine. If it is a concern, then anyone tried any bigger passive heatsink?

For reference, my current case is Antec 1650B with Antec SmartPower 350watts, Case fan is replaced with Enermax 120mm with speed controller Fan running at around 1300RPM ( may be 30 to 40 CFM, is this flow enough?), and will have 1 SATA HDD, and one IDE drive and one DVD+RW, 1 TV Tuner, Card reader etc. Currently I am running P4 2.4B@3.0Ghz 1GB Corsair DDR400 ram, and MX440 AGP video card on ASUS P4P800, and cooling not been a problem, though I saw HDDs sometimes reach 40+.

I think I found few answers when I searched in RAW Text mode. It looks like it should not be a concern.

But I also found few complaints about static in the analog audio? is it specific case or it is for the all the boards. I can tolerate little less quality, but not static and interference. I had returned two ABIT IC7 max boards which had lot of interference in Audio, which was a design problem and can not be fixed. I used to hear static when ever I move mouse, scroll, IDE activity etc. Is it similar? http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?t=12382&highlight=Sound

Thanks

 

[subcodec]

@chinna

If your main use from the PC is as a media center, the stock heatsink on the NB should be just fine. If you do quite a bit of gaming, then a fan would help, but then you're probably better off getting a video card anyways.

Just wanted to also put my opinion in on using C N' Q while overclocking. Most boards do have stability issues with this, but it just doesn't make much sense to me either. I can understand an overclock if you do a lot of gaming and/or video editing, but for use as a HTPC or general internet/email use, there isn't hardly any gain.

Oh, and for a heatsink, one simple suggestion I have is to look for something like the stock cooler that comes with the opty. I've been quite impressed with it actually. It's quiet, fits on the board easily, and keeps the processor cool (32C-35C idle and 40C-45C under load depending on room temperature).

Added after 2nd post:
I don't use the analog outputs often, but I have never noticed any static.

 

[bumbarash]

My static problem is different. It occures only during DVD playback. MP3 or CD are fine.
I'm expecting it's nVidia Codec or Realtek driver

 

[chinna]

Originally posted by: subcodec
@chinna

If your main use from the PC is as a media center, the stock heatsink on the NB should be just fine. If you do quite a bit of gaming, then a fan would help, but then you're probably better off getting a video card anyways.

Just wanted to also put my opinion in on using C N' Q while overclocking. Most boards do have stability issues with this, but it just doesn't make much sense to me either. I can understand an overclock if you do a lot of gaming and/or video editing, but for use as a HTPC or general internet/email use, there isn't hardly any gain.

Oh, and for a heatsink, one simple suggestion I have is to look for something like the stock cooler that comes with the opty. I've been quite impressed with it actually. It's quiet, fits on the board easily, and keeps the processor cool (32C-35C idle and 40C-45C under load depending on room temperature).

Added after 2nd post:
I don't use the analog outputs often, but I have never noticed any static.

Thanks for quick reply. This is my main PC as well as HTPC. This will be connected to 32" LCD HDTV and my Onkyo Receiver vs Ditial out. I do reasonable amount of Video Editing, DVD Authoring, MP3 playback, very little gaming( hardly). I have setup with Built-in IR receiver in the case, which is configured to use with Harmony remote for TVR (like PVR), DVD Players, Media Player as well as Real Media.

So, I need to have good processing power, also I need to have quite system.

about Stock cooler, as I mentioned before I built exact same setup for a friend This MB with X2 3800 in Antec 640B case. Stock cooler cools well even at 2400Mhz, but for my taste it is still loud. Probably I will use SpeedFan, but still I like to have quite cooler even if the CPU fan is at full speed.

 

[grits]

That Arctic cooler looks like it will fit. The fan will be over the memory. Scaling off the drawing on Arctic's website, there is a clearance of about 1.6". Memory is about 1.3" high.

 

[chinna]

Guys, any definitive answers for questions about OverClocking with Cool n Quite? and also if anyone tried Freezer 64 Pro on this board?

 

[antistrange]

Ive been having the Unmountable_Boot_Volume problem when trying to install XP on the FID. I know it is a more general problem, but I havent been able to clear the error with chkdsk and I dont have a bootable cd like partition magic. Has anyone else had problems installing to SATA drives?

Unmountable_Boot_Volume
STOP:0x000000ED
(0x84F8D900, 0xC000014F, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

The 0xC000014F error seems fairly uncommon. Other similar errors have been cleared with chkdsk or fixboot, but this one just wont go away.

I am trying to install to the WD SATA 3Gbps 320GB 16MB KS model.

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: chinna
Guys, any definitive answers for questions about OverClocking with Cool n Quite? and also if anyone tried Freezer 64 Pro on this board?

Since I OCed my Opty I've been running Cool and Quiet just as I always have. I haven't noticed any issues at all.

 

[chinna]

Originally posted by: agent2099

Originally posted by: chinna
Guys, any definitive answers for questions about OverClocking with Cool n Quite? and also if anyone tried Freezer 64 Pro on this board?

Since I OCed my Opty I've been running Cool and Quiet just as I always have. I haven't noticed any issues at all.

Thanks for the confirmation. I know some MBs disable Cool N Quite once we up the HTT, that is the reason I want to have confirmation.

 

[RDeckard]

Any update about USB and PS2 still juiced after shutdown ?

Since BIOS 3.5, LAN is also on. I don't have any wake-on feature enabled in BIOS.
PS2 keyboard NumLock LED always lite on, USB IR receiver too and I can see on my switch that LAN is also activated.

Thx.

 

[CthulpiSS]

Originally posted by: Msquared I've looked at the Zalman CNPS9500 cooler and the Scythe Ninja. Has anyone tried either of these or any other across-the-board-airflow coolers with the K8NGM2? If so, how was the fitment?

I tried Ninja - well.... yes - surely it's great cooler,
but installing it is tricky.
After attaching plastic basket it's impossible to mount Ninja - it's steel hooks won't fit because of condensators near the socket.
You have to make basket loose, attach Ninja, and then screw basket firmly, making the way for screwdriver jut near the cooler itself.
I would recommend Scythe Katana of AC Freezer 64 Pro instead.

 

[chinna]

Some good news!

Now MSI is including SPDIF digital out RCA plug in the audio bracket and also included is D-Bracket which has 2 ubs ports and Diagnostics LEDs. But there is no serial port bracket. The board says Rev 2.0. I received it just today from newegg.

Hmm where is the upload link!!? Here is a link for the photo

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chinna_n/...il?.dir=/1676&.dnm=625dscd.jpg&.src=ph

NEVERMIND, is it already mentioned in the first page about the SPDIF out bracket for boards after March 2006, not about D-Bracket though

 

[horseflesh]

This board has been working great for me except for some bluescreens. nv4_disp.dll is the culprit. Could this be a NB cooling issue?

 

[winguy]

Originally posted by: chinna
Some good news!

Now MSI is including SPDIF digital out RCA plug in the audio bracket and also included is D-Bracket which has 2 ubs ports and Diagnostics LEDs. But there is no serial port bracket. The board says Rev 2.0. I received it just today from newegg.

Hmm where is the upload link!!? Here is a link for the photo

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chinna_n/...il?.dir=/1676&.dnm=625dscd.jpg&.src=ph

Got a picture of where Rev 2.0 is located? Is this something new?

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: winguy

Originally posted by: chinna
Some good news!

Now MSI is including SPDIF digital out RCA plug in the audio bracket and also included is D-Bracket which has 2 ubs ports and Diagnostics LEDs. But there is no serial port bracket. The board says Rev 2.0. I received it just today from newegg.

Hmm where is the upload link!!? Here is a link for the photo

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chinna_n/...il?.dir=/1676&.dnm=625dscd.jpg&.src=ph

Got a picture of where Rev 2.0 is located? Is this something new?

see right below the PciE slot here

 

[chinna]

Originally posted by: avi85
see right below the PciE slot here

Haa, Looks like you also got the new bracket with Digital Out, then may be it is already mentioned before.

BTW did you got D-Bracket also? if you got it, where did you connect? I did not find any JPs ( or sockets) on the MB to connect that D-Bracket!!?

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: chinna

Originally posted by: avi85
see right below the PciE slot here

Haa, Looks like you also got the new bracket with Digital Out, then may be it is already mentioned before.

BTW did you got D-Bracket also? if you got it, where did you connect? I did not find any JPs ( or sockets) on the MB to connect that D-Bracket!!?

I did not get the D-bracket (i'm assuming that you are refering to the usb bracket) or the serial bracket but I did get an s-video and rca composite (w/ 3 rca plugs) bracket

 

[chinna]

I did not get the D-bracket (i'm assuming that you are refering to the usb bracket) or the serial bracket but I did get an s-video and rca composite (w/ 3 rca plugs) bracket

D-Bracket is similar to USB bracket, with two USB ports and also 4 diagnostics leds. It was very popular with MSI boards when they introduced few years ago.

I gave a link to Photo in my above post.

anyways Check this link on PC Club for D-Bracket

http://www.pcclub.com/product_details.cfm?itemno=A4854006#

I guess you did not get this bracket. May be they sent it because they are short on regular USB brackets!!

Also check this MSI support page with D-Bracket Diag codes

http://www.msicomputer.com/support/sup_tshoot.asp
in this page you have Section for D-Bracket diags.

 

[RjG]

Originally posted by: chinna

I did not get the D-bracket (i'm assuming that you are refering to the usb bracket) or the serial bracket but I did get an s-video and rca composite (w/ 3 rca plugs) bracket

D-Bracket is similar to USB bracket, with two USB ports and also 4 diagnostics leds. It was very popular with MSI boards when they introduced few years ago.

I gave a link to Photo in my above post.

anyways Check this link on PC Club for D-Bracket

http://www.pcclub.com/product_details.cfm?itemno=A4854006#

I guess you did not get this bracket. May be they sent it because they are short on regular USB brackets!!

Also check this MSI support page with D-Bracket Diag codes

http://www.msicomputer.com/support/sup_tshoot.asp
in this page you have Section for D-Bracket diags.

I don't see anywhere on my FID to plug diagnostic leds, is there?

 

[chinna]

I don't see anywhere on my FID to plug diagnostic leds, is there?

Yes, that is right, I too can not find any pin headers that matches D-Bracket. Few people mentioned same on MSI forums about this D-Bracket and there is no pin headers for that.
I guess, they just sent these as they do not have stock of regular USB bracket.

 

[darincm]

Is there a decent AM2 equivalent yet? I can't seem to find one