Unofficial Soltek SL-K8AN2E-GR thread

[DoobieOnline]

Nah, you're exactly right about the 187.5MHz if you're running 10x225 on the CPU. A 10X CPU multiplier will give your RAM a 12 divider, so 2250/12 = 187.5MHz for your RAM.

I'm not an expert on the Hyper Transport and FSB terminology the A64 uses so I'll hold off on that and let someone else explain. I know CPU-Z uses the older terminology, but it should still display your settings correctly.

doobie

 

[Xout]

Hey Doobie,

I'm not a gamer. I just use my PC for burning DVD's and general computing stuff. I want to get a video card that I can transfer my VHS tapes to DVD. Any suggestions for that? I don't really need a super fast computer but I hate not to try to keep up with some of the newer, faster technology out there in case something comes along that I might need the speed. I want to get the most out of what I have without overclocking and frying something. I want 400 FSB with my 1Gig of ram, 3000+ CPU that runs stable.

 

[DoobieOnline]

How about a 9600XT All-In-Wonder? I don't have any experience with it, but it looks like a very capable VIVO card based on a couple of reviews I browsed. Monarch has it for $179 shipped here.

doobie

 

[krose]

Xout,

I tried several TV cards and a Radeon 9000 AIW. Currently using a Haupauge WinTV PVR250-MCE. It has a hardware MPEG encoder. I like to record TV shows and burn them to DVD. You can also convert VHS tapes as it has composite and S video inputs. Here is a snapshot from PowerDVD5 of a DVD I made from a VHS tape using the WinTV PVR250. It's not too bad. Keep in mind it's a compressed jpeg from the original bitmap file. You can get into esoteric hardware and software to convert VHS, but in the end you are only limited by the quality of the original tape. It works fine for my purposes. The video card you use really doesn't mean anything, you can use a cheap GF4 MX440 for that matter. I am still using my trusty GF4 4200.

Edit: I got mine here. It also has FM radio, but no remote.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

TTT^

 

[Gorrillasnot]

I've been researching a socket 754 board for an upgrade I'm doing for a friend. I was going to go with the MSI used in the midrange price guide here, but to save $30ish and reading some reviews I think I will go with the Soltek. My question is what CPU to use? 3200+ 1MB clawhammer or 3200+ Newcastle. If not overclocking and all things being equal which would be the faster of the 2?

thanks

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: phatTweaker
I've been researching a socket 754 board for an upgrade I'm doing for a friend. I was going to go with the MSI used in the midrange price guide here, but to save $30ish and reading some reviews I think I will go with the Soltek. My question is what CPU to use? 3200+ 1MB clawhammer or 3200+ Newcastle. If not overclocking and all things being equal which would be the faster of the 2?

thanks

At default speed, the Clawhammer should be faster. It has a 1mb L2 cache where as the newcastle has a 512k l2 cache.

 

[LocutusX]

3200+ NC will actually be faster in a NUMBER of benchmarks; many programs will favor the NC's higher mhz rather than the CH's larger cache.

 

[DoobieOnline]

It's also getting pretty hard to score a 3200+ 1MB chip from a reputable vendor. The 3200+ 512K chips are fairly abundant and there is usually more headroom for OC'ing if your buddy ever decided to give it a try.

doobie

 

[Gorrillasnot]

I'm still kind of confused on what CPU to get. Here's the situation..The first PC I built for him is a 1800+/nForce 220D (I think). He now is looking for something faster. He has a budget of $600, so instead of building a complete system I am going to do an upgrade. He has given me complete control on what parts to get. His only request is to make his PC as fast as possible for $600 and it has to be rock stable.
I put together a wishlist lemme know what you guys think or would change.
I was thinking of using a A64 3000+ on the Soltek board and trying to OC it to 2.2GHz to 2.4GHz.
If I go this route would the stock HSF be ok or should I go with an OEM CPU and a better HSF?
Or do you guys think I would be better off just going with either a non OC'd 3200+ newcastle or 3200+ 1MB hammer?

thanks

 

[overclock]

I pulled the trigger. I ordered this mobo and a 3200+ from Staples. I got the 3200+ for $187.06 after a PM to Newegg and a $30 coupon.

I have some Buffalo 512MB PC 3200 with Winbond CH-5 chips. It is double sided. Is this memory going to work? What if I put in two sticks would it work then? This memory is not available anymore. My in-laws have a stick in their computer and I could probably buy them another stick and trade them. Would I notice a difference? The main purpose of this machine will be video encoding.

 

[DoobieOnline]

phatTweaker - you have a very good chance of hitting 2.4GHz (or higher) with the latest 3000+ chips. I've never used the stock AMD cooler, but the Thermalright SLK-948U is great when paired with a good 92MM fan.

overclock - you should be fine with double-sided sticks, but you may have to run 6:5 (core/mem) if you're going to run a high FSB. Keep in mind the Soltek only goes up to 2.8 VDIMM and your CH-5 may need more voltage than that if you want to run it 1:1 with a high FSB. In my experience, 1x512MB (double-sided) isn't that much of a limiting factor for hitting high FSB with high-speed RAM. Running 2x512MB, 1:1, and high FSB is hit-or-miss with the A64, though.

doobie

 

[imported_orionbg]

Hi all

I'm wondering will it be a good thing to change my mobo (the one in the sig.) fot this Soltek??
It is the old VIA vs. nForce situation!!!

My Drives are in RAID and I'm very happy with the results but I'm of those that can't keep away from digging into the case all the time!

 

[krose]

Originally posted by: orionbg
Hi all

I'm wondering will it be a good thing to change my mobo (the one in the sig.) fot this Soltek??
It is the old VIA vs. nForce situation!!!

My Drives are in RAID and I'm very happy with the results but I'm of those that can't keep away from digging into the case all the time!

I think you would be happy with the Soltek. I had RAID on a KT600 board with VIA 8237 and the NVRAID works just as well IMO. And the Soltek has AGP/PCI locks if you want to OC. So far it has been fast and stable for me. :thumbsup:

 

[LocutusX]

The Soltek is a great value-oriented board for any of the Newcastles, IMHO. The 1.55v Vcore limit won't have much of an impact since that is all most Newcastles need to hit their limit.

 

[imported_orionbg]

The problem is that I have ClawHammer CPU with 1MB Cache! But even on the ASUS K8V Dlx Ikan't get the system running stable over 220MHz HT!!! Not even tha 1.7v CPU Voltage helps! BTW I'm using ZALMAN 7000Cu.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: orionbg
The problem is that I have ClawHammer CPU with 1MB Cache! But even on the ASUS K8V Dlx Ikan't get the system running stable over 220MHz HT!!! Not even tha 1.7v CPU Voltage helps! BTW I'm using ZALMAN 7000Cu.

most likely having the NF3 250 chipset will help your overclocking out a bit

 

[imported_orionbg]

I hope so!
But I'll wait for a day or two because I need a buckup drive to store the data from the RAID massive!
It seams that the Promise 378 controller is not compatible with Soltek's RAID nor with nVidia's!!!

 

[DoobieOnline]

I finally figured out how to get 2x512MB stable at 10x250, 4X, and 1:1. I had to change memory timing from 1T to 2T and it fired right up with 2.5-3-10-3 settings. Benchmarks are about the same so I don't know if it's worth it or not to use 2T to get to 1:1. Doesn't hurt anything but doesn't seem to help much, either. Here's a comparison...

10x250, 4X, 1:1 (250 core, 250 mem), 2T-2.5-3-10-3
Super Pi (2M) - 85 seconds
Doom 3 - 88.4 fps
3DMark03 - 12,522

10x250, 4x, 6:5 (250 core, 208 mem), 1T-2-2-5-2
Super Pi (2M) - 85 seconds
Doom 3 - 88.8 fps
3DMark03 - 12,470

All the scores are within the margin of error, so it looks like it runs about the same with mem at high speed / relaxed timing or low speed / tight timing.

I'm still loving this board entirely too much. Soltek makes one heckuva great product and I hope they will eventually release a bios with FSB higher than 250.

doobie

 

[imported_orionbg]

I'm still loving this board entirely too much. Soltek makes one heckuva great product and I hope they will eventually release a bios with FSB higher than 250.

doobie

Why don't you use the "performance BIOS" that Soltek can send you? It goes to 300MHz HT!!
There is a link to the BIOS somewhere in the firs pages of this topic!

 

[krose]

Why don't you use the "performance BIOS" that Soltek can send you? It goes to 300MHz HT!!
There is a link to the BIOS somewhere in the firs pages of this topic!

Tried it, performance BIOS doesn't work above 250. Clockgen works great though.

 

[juggalojaS]

I need help guys!!!!!!!

I just installed this motherboard today, along with a 3000+. Now, I have 2 x 512 sticks of Corsair XMS pc3200 memory. I cannot get both sticks working at the same time! It will not post anything higher then 512. I have taken them both out and ran them each alone to see if they both work.. and they do. I just cannot get them running at the same time. WHY!!??? Is there something Im missing? Or could it be something wrong with my motherboard/bios? Its not that its unstable, just one stick wont show up at all!:frown:

plz help!
thanks

 

[DoobieOnline]

Sorry that it's giving you a rough time with 2 sticks installed. Have you tested each DIMM slot with only one stick installed? Try that first and make sure each of the slots is working properly. If you've already tried that, the only other thing I can think of is to install both sticks, go into bios and load optimized defaults, save & exit, and then see if it recognizes a gig. If that doesn't work and you have a buddy with a gig, install their RAM on the board and see if it will work. It could also be that you need 2.8V going through the RAM even at 200MHz so try that, too. If all of that fails, it's hard to say if it's the motherboard or a memory controller issue with the cpu. You may want to contact Soltek and see what they have to say. The A64 is very picky about RAM so it's hard to say exactly what the cause is at this point. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

doobie

 

[imported_kitty]

About NTLDR missing, you can link below website for more information.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;318728

If you want to boot from SATA RAID0, you can try to set below options in the BIOS.
Advanced BIOS Features --> First Boot Device --> SCSI

 

[juggalojaS]

I have tried each stick in each dimm slot, one at a time. Tried messing around with the bios till no end and am still stuck. So again, heres the ugly breakdown:

I have two sticks of 512mb Corsair XMS pc3200 link
Both sticks WORK, when only ONE is installed.
When both are installed together, only one gets recognized.
Both dimm slots work as well. I have tried each stick, by itself, in each of the dimm slots and they work.
So if both of the dimm slots work... and both sticks of my mem are good, why cant I run them together and have my gig!?!?

It really blows cuz if I am unbable to get it working, I wont know what to replace! The memory or the motherboard??:disgust:

I contacted soltek last night so hopefully I will hear from them soon. If anyone has some suggestions please help out!