Motherboard Replacement

[Will Rickards]

So I have an AMD x2 3800 - socket 939 in a GIGABYTE GA-K8N ULTRA-SLI.
But lately I've been getting lockups. I checked temps and that isn't it.
So it is probably a driver or software problem. I don't really want to diagnose.

This is a nforce4 chipset. I think I want to replace it with something not nvidia. Since I've had this motherboard I think I've either had a semi-flaky motherboard or just not liked the nforce chipset. So I've decided to replace the motherboard.
I want to install a new heatsink for the processor anyway because the temp gets too high for my liking under full load (63C).

So which 939 boards that are still around in a non-nvidia chipset would you recommend? No overclocking, SLI not required or even really wanted. Only one PCI slot needed. At least three usb headers on the motherboard are required. Firewire not necessary. Stability is key as I want to get this machine folding again.

 

[time]

I think you're whistling, Will.

 

[Mercutio]

That's a REALLY good board. I still have a couple of them and I certainly built quite a few systems with that board as well.
For what it's worth, I *have not* found them to be unstable, and that makes me think there might be something else going on with your config.

Basically, there aren't many good options with socket 939 CPUs. A lot of Via-based boards had a defect where they simply won't recognize a dual core CPU. Beyond Via... I guess there's ATI. I built a few systems with the MSI R200 board and they were OK if fairly vanilla.

 

[ddrueding]

I've built a bunch of systems with that board; including my own when it was S939. It's still the board I would recommend for S939.

 

[CougTek]

I used several (like in 20 to 30) A8N-VM/CSM Asus motherboards last year, all without issue. It has the GeForce 6150 chipset and the MCP430 south bridge. There's a DVI output for the integrated graphic and of course, a PCI-E 16X slot if you have a discret graphic card.

It has disappeared from the retail channels long ago.

I still have one s939 MSI motherboard with a Quadro NVS 210S chipset (almost same thing as the GeForce 6150). I don't need to let it go for cheap though (90U$).

Both use Nvidia chipsets. Nvidia shipped the most succesful (by far) chipsets for s939 motherboards. Avoiding it will be hard and probably won't do you much good. Maybe you simply have a bad motherboard. It happens to the best.

 

[Will Rickards]

I think you're whistling, Will.

I don't get this reference. Whistling in the wind? Wasting my time?

Everybody seems to like the board, maybe I just got unlucky.
I'll look at the choices on newegg and just pick one then.

 

[time]

Phrasal Verb: whistle for something
To expect it in vain.

http://www.allwords.com/word-whistle.html

Sorry, I did wonder if it was a colloquialism, but I believe "to whistle Dixie" has a similar meaning.

Good luck with your search.

 

[Will Rickards]

Why are all the Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe boards on ebay from Canada?

Anyway I've decided even a $60 939 board at this point is probably a waste of money. I can just swap out the motherboard, CPU and RAM. I'll wait till AMD releases their quad core to do that thought. But I should buy the RAM now right as it is going up in price?

But I want to put this processor and ram to good use in a new pc for my mom. So I still need a inexpensive non-flaky s939 board.

 

[ddrueding]

Does anyone know if AMD's quad-core will be Socket AM2 or something completely different?

 

[Will Rickards]

Bah all these DDR2 memory speeds. Seems 667 is cheap right now but 800 is a bit more pricey. Which speed do the core 2 duo's want? Which will the new AMD quad core (barcelona) want?

ddrueding,
I think it is AM2 with a bios upgrade but not supporting all the features.
See here: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2986&p=6

 

[LiamC]

Does anyone know if AMD's quad-core will be Socket AM2 or something completely different?

According to the sources that I have read, the quad-cores willbe for Socket AM2+. AM2+ CPU's will run in AM2 motherboards but you miss out on:

* Independent core clocks/voltages (being abl;e to run one core flat out and the other/other three at minimum CPU speed/voltage—basically power saving state,
* Hypertransport 3.0. Since in a single socket system (nice alliteration) you are most unlikely to saturate a HT 1.0/1.1/2.0 link, this is really a non-isue.
* More virtualisation extensions

 

[LiamC]

Bah all these DDR2 memory speeds. Seems 667 is cheap right now but 800 is a bit more pricey. Which speed do the core 2 duo's want? Which will the new AMD quad core (barcelona) want?

ddrueding,
I think it is AM2 with a bios upgrade but not supporting all the features.
See here: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2986&p=6

C2d—half the front-side bus speed and there's your answer, e.g. 1067 = 2 x 533MHz

AMD, the faster the better. AMD CPUs are latency sensitive, so the faster the memory runs, the lower the system latency==a good thing.

 

[Will Rickards]

Shouldn't it be the same as the front side bus speed?
Anything change for the new intel P35 chipset?

 

[LiamC]

Shouldn't it be the same as the front side bus speed?
Anything change for the new intel P35 chipset?

Not unless it's changed to a 128-bit wide bus

64 bits = 8 bytes

8 * 1333 = 10 664 bytes/sec
8 * 1067 = 8 536 "

Memory channel(s) = 64 bits * 2

8 * 2 * 666.66 = 10 667 bytes/sec
8 * 2 * 533.33 = 8 533 "

Near enough to dead equal. In an Intel system, data flows

CPU <-> FSB <-> Memory

If you had more memory bandwidth, it would be wasted as the FSB couldn't transfer it to the CPU in any case. So you'd be paying for nothing.

This is a gross generalisation, and you could get some speed up using faster memory by shaving latency, but then you get clock synchronisation issues that would slow you down in corner cases, so it's not a hard and fast rule. Any speed up however would be in the order of a couple of percent at best.

 

[Will Rickards]

Memory Bought at DDR2 667, thanks Liam.

 

[Bozo]

System: Intel DG965SSCK (G965 chipset)
Core 2 Duo 6320 1066 FSB
Kingston KVR800D2N5K2 DDR2 800

The processor runs at 1066 FSB and the memory is running at 800 MHz according to CPU-Z

Bozo :joker:

 

[Will Rickards]

Okay my new computer plans just moved up a little.
My computer doesn't boot. When I push the power button nothing happens.
If I unplug it wait and then plug it back in, I get power lights for a brief second but it doesn't turn on. I assume this means I have a bad power supply?

I've tried other known good outlets.

 

[timwhit]

That would be the first thing I would check.

 

[Clocker]

Had the same symptoms in the past and it turned out to be the PSU. I believe your assumption is correct.

 

[Will Rickards]

Order the new case & PSU.
antec NSK2400.
No my board won't fit in it but I can temporarily use that psu while I wait for july 22nd to buy the motherboard and processor.

 

[Will Rickards]

I received it today (friday) and swapped the psu just now. Typing from the computer hooked up to the new psu. It's alive again!

 

[Will Rickards]

But it still hangs up. Left it on overnight with the backup running and it hung up. Blah!

 

[Clocker]

maybe the problem with your psu also caused damage to your m/b?

 

[Will Rickards]

So this old computer got passed to my father as his died... some other thread around here details that. And even with his install of XP it still locks up randomly. And sometimes won't cold boot. It hangs at the bios screen. The power supply is... I forget either the replaced version from the case it is in or the one that came with the NSK2400 case. Either way it should be a good PSU.

I told him he needs to get a new computer.
So I'm not really worried about fixing it.

But I'm curious about what is causing it.
I looked at all the caps from up top and they look fine.
Maybe I should look at their connections to the motherboard, but how?
I'm not sure what would cause this then.
I guess the motherboard is bad in some way.
But what specifically causes this problem on motherboards? Bad Caps? Weak solder?
Or do you think the PSU is bad again?

 

[Stereodude]

Sounds like bad caps. Those are the same symptoms my buddy had when his mobo assumed room temp.