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

[RjG]

Originally posted by: cool

Originally posted by: RjG
...Memtest only has a conflict with a single address AFTER the first pass...

The errors happen on my system the very second the test starts, that means when the first pass actually starts.
Edit: I reported this "issue" to the MSI Technical Support using the link you posted above, RjG.

Yes, there is a little group of sequential addresses that are mucked up on the first pass, then the same address over and over.
That's what I meant by "after", sorry...
I did get the exact same addresses, with 3 brands of Ram, in all different slots every time. No variation at all... which is what made me think it's Memtest reading "in use" locations rather that the board having issues with the Ram in general.

I ran a couple other low level memory testing utils that passed with flying colors, so I chose to ignore the Memtest85 weirdness and went with BIOS 3.20, and haven't had any issues at all

I sure wish I could find my post about this, it was very detailed. The forum search feature doesn't seem to work very well. Thanks for reporting it - a couple hundred more complaints and they might fix it

 

[imported_Marcm]

Thanks for the help with my resume from S3 issue - once i knew it was possible i was able to find a reg hack that fixed it - i can now resume from the remote.

I have more questions though I am afraid!

After a lot of issues with the realtek drivers not installing properly etc I finally got the rear and centre channels to work on the surround bracket (seems my pci tuner card was pressing on the connector - it's not the best place for it is it!) - only to find that my bracket has faulty wiring and unless i take it to pieces to reduce the strain on the wires I lose the left rear speaker. I've put in a replacement request with MSI. Interestingly although I have a rev 2.0 board the bracket i got did not have the Spdif connector that some have reported getting.

This question is perhaps slightly OT for a motherboard specific thread, but I hope that since may people will use this board as an htpc it is relevent. My question relates to what i should expect from 5.1 surround. I'm currently using MCE 2005, with 2 digital freeview tuners.
When i play a DVD movie - (just happen to have piates of the carribbean to hand) all seems good. I get voices only in the centre channel, background noises in the rear and the rest in the front. I assume that's the way it should work?

Watching TV is a different matter. Some programs just output as 2.1 only using the front speakers, yet others output to all speakers, but without the proper seperation of the channels - ie the rear speakers seem to output the same as the front.

I assume this is partly down to the digital tv stream not containing 5.1 sound information. Thats fair enough, but what should I be expriencing? As a surround sound noob I realy don't know what to expect and therefore whether it is working right ? Should 2.1 streams only play in the front speakers or should it be sending the signal to all speakers? should i get proper 5.1 surround from some uk digital tv feeds or not?

I have both the cyberlink power dvd 6 decoder and the nvidia purevideo. Both behave differently! I tend to stick with using the cyberlink one since the purevideo decoder still gives me video stuttering issues.

Thanks for the help!

Marc

 

[imported_Neo69]

renethx,

Go stands for Giga Octets. Would be GB for you
And IDE is a standard hard disk UDMA with with "old" flat cable, not a sata

I must say that i am really pleased with the booting speed of this board Would just like to be able to install Windows XP on it without having to resort to a previous installation of W2K...

 

[renethx]

Neo69,

Thanks. I learned a thing.

(octet < Greek word "okto" = EIGHT)

 

[renethx]

I uploaded beta BIOS v3.33 and v3.35 in AVS Forum:

Post #867 of Nvidia 6150 motherboards and htpc build questions/help

To download them, registration is required.

I tested with Memtest86 v3.2. BIOS settigns were defaults. In particular "USB Device Legacy Support" was Auto (= Enabled).

BIOS v3.33: Memtest86 2 passes, no error
BIOS v3.35: Memtest86 2 passes, no error

I also tested with "USB Device Legacy Support" Enabled.

BIOS v3.35: Memtest86 2 passes, no error

It seems that Memtest errors with BIOS v3.33/v3.35 occur not universally but only sporadically.

 

[cool]

BETA BIOS v3.35 + Memtest86 v3.2:
USB Legacy Support enabled: lots of errors at address 0000009b080
USB Legacy Support disabled: 2 passes, zero errors
No anomalies so far with the beta BIOS *keeping fingers crossed*

 

[pctwo]

Originally posted by: renethx
I uploaded beta BIOS v3.33 and v3.35 in AVS Forum:

Post #867 of Nvidia 6150 motherboards and htpc build questions/help

To download them, registration is required.

I tested with Memtest86 v3.2. BIOS settigns were defaults. In particular "USB Device Legacy Support" was Auto (= Enabled).

BIOS v3.33: Memtest86 2 passes, no error
BIOS v3.35: Memtest86 2 passes, no error

I also tested with "USB Device Legacy Support" Enabled.

BIOS v3.35: Memtest86 2 passes, no error

do you have the changelog for these? any new goodies in bios? any goodies taken away?

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: pctwo
do you have the changelog for these? any new goodies in bios? any goodies taken away?

No. I didn't notice any improvement (first of all, I have no problem with BIOS v3.2!). However if you have problems, it's worth trying.

 

[hendricksonet]

Hey, not sure if this has been mentioned earlier, but is there a way to modify the MSI S-Bracket to work with the MSI-K8NGM2FID ? The first post on this thread mentions that the S-Bracket will work for spidf out. The motherboard is looking for a 3 pin connector and the s-bracket has like an 11 pin.

Thanks!

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: hendricksonet
The first post on this thread mentions that the S-Bracket will work for spidf out.

Did I mention that the S-Bracket would work for spidf out? First I cannot find the word "S-bracket" in the first post.

 

[hendricksonet]

I swear it was there at one point! Never mind then, I thought it was on there maybe a few weeks ago.

 

[trooper11]

anyone have any suggestions on the cool'n'quiet settings in RMClock and the bios?

 

[RjG]

Originally posted by: renethx
I uploaded beta BIOS v3.33 and v3.35 in AVS Forum:

Post #867 of Nvidia 6150 motherboards and htpc build questions/help

To download them, registration is required.

I tested with Memtest86 v3.2. BIOS settigns were defaults. In particular "USB Device Legacy Support" was Auto (= Enabled).

BIOS v3.33: Memtest86 2 passes, no error
BIOS v3.35: Memtest86 2 passes, no error

I also tested with "USB Device Legacy Support" Enabled.

BIOS v3.35: Memtest86 2 passes, no error

It seems that Memtest errors with BIOS v3.33/v3.35 occur not universally but only sporadically.

Do you have a USB mouse and keyboard connected while doing this test renethx? Maybe that is why you don't get the errors when you turn legacy support on, if you don't have the device requiring emulation to PS/2 connected.

Somebody else posted many pages back, that removing his USB mouse also made the memtest86 issue go away.

 

[cool]

Originally posted by: RjG
Somebody else posted many pages back, that removing his USB mouse also made the memtest86 issue go away.

That's how I came up with the idea of deactivating the legacy support. I noticed that after turning on the system, the BIOS enumerates all connected USB devices if legacy support is set to "auto" or "enabled". If there are no USB devices connected, then legacy support set to "auto" behaves as if it's set to "disabled".

Edit: I'm using a USB mouse and a PS/2 keyboard, by the way.

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: RjG
Do you have a USB mouse and keyboard connected while doing this test renethx? Maybe that is why you don't get the errors when you turn legacy support on, if you don't have the device requiring emulation to PS/2 connected.

Somebody else posted many pages back, that removing his USB mouse also made the memtest86 issue go away.

As I am using a KVM, I switch to the other computer while Memtest86 is running. This has the same effect as removing USB kbd/mouse from the computer. I will test again.

 

[renethx]

I tested BIOS v3.35 with Memtest86 again. This time I removed the USB kbd/mouse from KVM and connected them directly to the computer. So USB kbd/mouse are always connected to the comupter. "USB Device Legacy Support" is Enabled. The other BIOS settings are default.

BIOS v3.35: Memtest86 3 passes, no error

I guess basically there is no Memtest error in any possible combination of various conditions in my system. So conclusion is the same as MSI Tech Support. Memtest errors with BIOS v3.33/v3.35 occur not universally but only sporadically. The problem is what percetange of users have Memtest errors. Perhaps even MSI does not know it. (I guess it is less than 5%.)

 

[RjG]

Wow, that's bizzare... maybe the actual hardware comes into play too, like the brand of mouse or something.

 

[cool]

I'm using onboard video. Are you using it too, RjG?
There must be some sort of pattern...

 

[renethx]

I am doing Memtest using onboard video. So far there is no error. I am pretty sure there will be no error in 2 passes.

 

[RjG]

Onboard video as well. Renethx, the memtest errors are immediate, if you didn't get them right away, you won't get them.

 

[cool]

If the error doesn't happen the very same second the test starts, then it's highly unlikely that it'll come up at all. Unless RAM is really faulty, of course...
Like RjG pointed out in previous posts, all errors happen at the same memory address. I had like over 190 errors when the Test No. 4 started and I was still in the 1st pass...

 

[renethx]

There was no error in 2 passes with a LCD connected to onboard VGA and "Primary Graphic Adapter" Onboard.

 

[stevjaty]

Below is my newegg shopping cart. I had a few last minute questions:

1. I saw quite a few people with the QPack case from Aspire who were happy with it (alhtough not necessarily the psu). Is there a better case for the price that might look more like a stereo component? Not a big deal, but I could really do without the windows and lights.

2. Anyone have experience with this DVD drive. Good reviews on Newegg, but I did not know about for this board/case combo. Some people had trouble fitting a big DVD into this case.

3. Seems like value memory is OK. This one also had good reviews.

4. I have not yet decided on an HD yet, kind of looking for a sale. I assume SATA is the preferred way to go as the "new" technology?

This thread has been a real help and I am sure I will read it all again once I get the board and start trying to set up. Thank you all.

Steve J.

1 MSI K8NGM2-FID Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD
Motherboard - Retail
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813130529>
Model #:K8NGM2-FID


Add item to Cart Add this item to your cart
<http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Shopping/AddtoCart.asp?submit=ADD&I
temList=N82E16813130529|1>
$80.99 $80.99

ATX Computer Cases
<http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?Subcategory=7>

Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 ASPIRE X-QPACK-AL/420 Black/Silver Aluminum MicroATX Desktop
Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811144109>
Model #:X-QPACK-AL/420


Add item to Cart Add this item to your cart
<http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Shopping/AddtoCart.asp?submit=ADD&I
temList=N82E16811144109|1>
$84.99 -$10.00 Instant
$74.99

CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
<http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?Subcategory=5>

Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 LITE-ON 16X DVD?R DVD Burner Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHW160P6S04
- Retail
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106013>
Model #:SHW160P6S04


Add item to Cart Add this item to your cart
<http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Shopping/AddtoCart.asp?submit=ADD&I
temList=N82E16827106013|1>
$39.99 $39.99

Memory - System
<http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?Subcategory=147>

Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 G.SKILL Value 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered
System Memory Model F1-3200PHU1-1GBNT - Retail
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231036>
Model #:F1-3200PHU1-1GBNT

 

[sjschwinn]

Originally posted by: stevjaty
3. Seems like value memory is OK. This one also had good reviews.

4. I have not yet decided on an HD yet, kind of looking for a sale. I assume SATA is the preferred way to go as the "new" technology?

I'm using 1GBx2 Corsair Value Memory and have no issues with this board. In fact, I'm running it at 2.5-3-3-6-1T @ ~220MHz (DDR440) at standard voltage without any problems. (It's rated at 3-3-3-8 @ 200MHz/DDR400.)

No question that you should get a SATA drive. There is no reason to do PATA. Unless there is a significant cost savings, I'd also go with SATAII 3.0Gbps drives instead of SATA 1.5Gbps drives.

 

[pctwo]

I'm a little disappointed with HD component output of this board. I get wavy lines going up and down the scveen (1080i CRT RP), like interference on a poor feed. (I do not get this with my satellite set top boxes, where the picture is very clean; I'm also using components there).

For those using on board video components out, please tell me whether you get wavy lines going up and down the screen (please state what resolution and display you are using).

Also, if you have a separate video card with component out, how does it compare to the on board's component out? thanks