GA-7DPXDW-P - bus speed

[toxiczone]

Hi,

Here is my situation, I recently decided to upgrade my box so I purchased all the bits and pieces to do so. My setup:

Motherboard: GA-7DPXDW-P (Giga Byte)

Processors: AMD Palomino (MP) 1200 (two of them)

Memory:
- Dimm1 DDR PC2100 510Mb non-ecc (Viking)
- Dimm2 DDR PC2100 256Mb non-ecc (generic)

Toshiba DVD-R/DVD-RW/CD-R/CD-RW Model SD-R5112 IDE

Western Digital 40Gb 7200 RPM IDE drive

PS2 keyboard

USB mouse

So I managed to install the whole thing by using the "Promise On-Board" as the ATA controller (since the regular IDE IDE3&4 were making an unstable OS).

I installed from scratch windows XP Pro.

I cannot get the FSB to be at 133Mhz it runs only at 100Mhz, if I increase it at 115Mhz it starts to get unstable. and I get the blue screen. Same if it's during the installation. So I installed the OS at the FSB 100Mhz and I have no way to increase it without having it crash. The consequences is that my processors only run at about 900Mhz~1Ghz instead of 1.2Ghz.

If anybody has any idea about what it might be please let me know. I start to suspect that if I want to use the 133Mhz I should put ECC Ram but I'm not so sure about it to go ahead and spend $150 just for a guess.

Thank you.

TZ

[dr.robert]

I have the same board, same cpus and also non-ECC DDR RAM.
I have no problems with FSB-speed and -also- no problems with the regular IDE IDE3&4. (HD is connected to IDE3). I have shut down the RAID Controller (by Jumper2) cause I am not using two harddrives with Promise support.
I am using Windows 2K and the system is very stable.
I donĀ“t believe that "upgrading" to ECC Ram will correct your problem.
My advise: Look for correct position of the FSB Jumper 13 and RAID Jumper 02 on board. Try Win2K as OS.

[compsol]

The Dual Gigabyte GA-7DPXDW-p socks
Is is never stable under windows 2K server
Support told me to buy new heatsink.
I use Dual AMD Athalon 2000+
I have Volcano 11 now - Just a little better but can't work
more then one week without failur.

cpu0 is 53 Degree C
cpu1 is 55 Degree C

I use Termaltake Xaser II Aluminium Case.
I use Antec Thru 550W PS.


Don't use this Board as a tusted Server !!!!!

[toxiczone]

I got answer back from their tech support. This MB is not able to run at 133MHz FSB with non-ECC ram.

Regarding the keyboard issue. I deactivated all what I didn't need in the BIOS. Re-installed with a Microsoft Multimedia KB and all works.

Regarding IDE3&4

Dr. Robert might be right for IDE3&4 but the issue by using them is that you can only run ATA100 and not ATA133... Which I really need.

I would say that you can use it as a server board as long as you don't use XP and that you're ready to buy top components (ECC Ram etc....)

I wouldn't recommend this board for a high performance home use.... It was too problematic to install and get it to work, and the FSB at 100MHz when non-ecc ram is deceiving because they don't warn you anywhere in advance.

TZ

[KEGGER]

NIETHER ECC RAM OR REGISTERRED RAM ARE NEEDED ON THIS BOARD!

you only need that when you use more than 2 gig.

like the other poster said you need to set the front side bus
jumper to 133 on the board.

i am using standard 2100 ddr 2 sticks of 256
with 2 2200 xp's turned into mp's with no issues.

i have 3 different dual athlon setups
asus with 2200 xp's as mp's
tyan with 2000 xp's as mp's
and now the gigabite with 2200 xp's as mp's

and the only one that has to have ecc registered is the tyan.
2 of the systems run xp pro and the gigabyte runs 2003 server
with no issues.
the only thing i have is that the gigabyte board reads wrong temp

these dual boards are stable if you use 2 sticks of ram or less

[toxiczone]

Kegger,

if you want to use less that 1.5 Gb or RAM you can get away with ECC I agree with you.

I tried several times with the jumper at 133MHz for the FSB, and the computer was crashing during the install of XP Pro. However when I put the jumper to the 100MHz I could install it, afterward, in the BIOS, I set the FSB to 114 MHz (or something like that). Higher it was making the computer crash...

I have 1x256Mb and 1x512Mb, maybe it's the difference of size that makes it funky. I tried with each stick separately the system was unstable.

for the ECC and the FSB of 133Mhz I'm just repeating what their tech support told me. Since I don't really want to invest into ECC to see if they were right or not

for the processors as you could see, I use the MP 1200 maybe the problems comes from them since they are the slowest MPs but I don't really believe it.

What do you mean by wrong temperature? I'm interested, how did you check it? do you use sensors to check it yourself? My MB reads the temp at around 45 deg C.

[KEGGER]

sorry i didn't reply sooner i took my system apart to paint the case and make some clear panels.

my guess why they told you ecc and or registerred memory
because it is generally better quality memory.

it is possable the memory you have isn't quite up to snuff.
if you have other ram and only 1 stick at a time you might
want to try that.(just to figure out your problem)

if you have a different processor non mp to install into
the board and set the front side bus jumper to 133 (and only
use 1 cpu) you might be able to find out more about what you
have going on.

i'm not running mp's i'm running xp's turned into mp's (closed l5)
i've tried to find info on weather mp's have to have ecc/reg ram
and i don't believe they do.

if you set the bus jumper to 100 then turn up the front side bus
you are also overclocking the pci bus and agp that will make an
unstable system also.

about the temp thing the bios reads like 45 degrees celsius
as soon as i turn the system on then it heats up to 50-53
i've installed mother board monitor and the winbond hardware
doctor and they say i'm running 32 under full load also my
heatsinks aren't even warm.i'm running heatpipes with 8000rpm
fans.

i have also ran windows xp on this board with no issues either.

if you would like to call me at work 9-6 easter time i work at computer builders warehouse in michigan 586 756 2600 ext 106
i'd be glad to try to help you out.

[toxiczone]

Kegger,

First, I would like to thank you for your phone number and the support that you're giving me.

I think that you might be right about the top notch memory , you know budget wise.... I got the viking ones... there is one last thing, and I didn't check or couldn't (can't remember). The MB manual says that it's supposed to be 1.5V (or 2.5V can't remember either) RAM, and I believe that I might not have the appropriate voltage, I didn't believe that it would be an issue though....

For the temp, got it, I read things similar to this, like the bios doesn't give you an accurate temperature, but well, the case is already slapped with fans and the CPU have the volcano 7+ heatsink fan, really good CFM for this babies, the only thing is that the heatsinks are delicate to clip on because some condensators (? electronic gizmo things ) are right next to it.

Oh, BTW, don't worry about not replying earlier, you gotta have a life too I built a clear case too, with UV lights UV reacting cables etc..., geez it looks like a dance club for electrons in there

[KEGGER]

hey no problem i've had a little experience with these things
just figured i'd share.

ddr memory runs between 2.5 to 2.7 volt and i haven't seen any
issues yet with different voltage not working correctly on a board.

i just picked up 2 10,000rpm 36gig 8meg cache serial ata raptors
that i'm going to run on my serial ata raid controller in a stripe.
i can't wait to see them in action.

i'm going to get them running here shortly after installing 2 new
front case fans.

[toxiczone]

Cool well for now I have my box up and running, it's not at the top of the specs but the dual thing does the job pretty good anyway (video editing, sound mixing, 3d animation, and graphix).

I think the MB is alright, whenever the MP's go cheaper and that I have the green on the side I will upgrade it when needed for now I'm happy with it. But next time I might look for an easier MB.

By the way, which one do you think is the best MB for dual athlon? From the one you have or maybe the ones you checked into.

Let me know for the Serial ATA if you notice a big difference and if the money is worth it for it ;-) I just stuck to the ATA133 thinking that the serial ATA was not going to make that much of a difference to be worth the investment...

TZ