Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (
More info?)
Paul:
Thanks. Valuable input that was. You're definitely ahead of me in this
particular area of knowledge.
I will certainly give the NVSU utility a try when I finally get a CPU
to try with the board. I've noticed some code for Linux- cpufreq-
that is supposed to be able to change FSB settings from within Linux.
I may try to run that if I get the chance.
As things stand, I'm not really comfortable with changing the board
itself, so I think other than the NVSU, I'll also try the Upgradeware
socket-I've come across one at a great price. That requires no changes
to the board and since I'm not going to use aggressive timings, it
should not void the warranty either.
I wish I knew why Asus decided to remove all timing settings from the
BIOS of this board. If they hadn't, it would be the perfect HTPC
board.
Let me know if you find out more about this issue-and I'll do the
same.
Brad
On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 20:28:19 -0400, nospam@needed.com (Paul) wrote:
>In article <ucv9q0lotli38rmgrfr4elohf5n1qitshp@4ax.com>,
>bkaral1@hotmail.com wrote:
>
>> Hi all:
>>
>> I'd like very much to run mobile Athlons on the A7N8X-VM/400 board I
>> have here.
>>
>> However, as many of you know, there are no clock/timing settings to
>> speak of in the BIOS setup utility. Because a mobile Athlon has no
>> lock on clock settings, if it is inserted into this board, it will
>> default to something ridiculously low, like for example, 600 MHz.
>>
>> After researching various methods of adjusting clock/timing settings
>> fo this board, I came up with only a couple which seemed safe.
>>
>> My first choice would be to try running NVSU-the nVidia System Utility
>> or nTune (newer, renamed version) on the board.
>>
>> Has anyone tried running either of these on the A7N8X-VM or VM/400?
>> Obviously it has some downsides.
>>
>> Alternatively, has anyone tried using an Upgradeware XP-TMC socket
>> adapter to change the multiplier setting?
>>
>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>> Brad
>
>Poking around this directory, I see the NVSU utility:
>
>ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/misc/utils/nf2/
>
>When you unzip NvidiaSU_v09.zip , the nvsysvals.ini contains:
>
> "[A7N8X-E ]
> cpu_min = 1.750
> cpu_max = 1.850
> cpu_increment_step=0.025
> agp_min = 1.5
> agp_max = 1.7
> agp_increment_step=0.1
> core_min = 1.5
> core_max = 1.7
> core_increment_step=0.1
> mem_min = 2.6
> mem_max = 2.8
> mem_increment_step=0.1
> aux_min = 1.6
> aux_max = 1.7
> aux_increment_step=0.1"
>
>That, at least, suggests SU must have glue in the code for
>each kind of motherboard being used, and if the multiplier
>bits don't have GPIO pins tied to them, then it would not
>be possible to use a SU like utility to do the job.
>
>If you want this bad enough, consider modding the bottom of
>the socket. The FSB pins, VID pins, and the multiplier pins
>are documented on the net, and you could use defroster paint
>or a similar conductive paint, to make connections. I looked
>at soldering to the bottom of my motherboard, and the
>through-hole sockets now being used, have hardly any lead
>length on the pins. If the pins were full length, it would be
>a piece of cake to wind shorting wires onto the pins, and make
>the connections that way. Since a socket is sensitive to
>soldering heat (you can melt and deform the plastic), I decided
>not to take a chance with soldering to them. The conductive paint
>remains as an alternative.
>
>This page gives hints on how to adjust stuff:
>http://www.ocinside.de/go_e.html?/html/workshop/pinmod/amd_pinmod.html
>
>This tells you what some of the adjustments can do:
>http://fab51.com/cpu/barton/athlon-e23.html
>
>You can crosscheck the info with page 66 of a Barton datasheet:
>http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/26237.PDF
>
>How do you plan on handling the issues with memory ? Are you
>going to run the FSB at 166MHz or 200MHz. The memory is only
>supposed to run to PC2700 rates, due to some kind of limit with
>the memory clock and operation of the built-in video. If the
>BIOS has no useful adjustment for the memory clock, then
>maybe you'll need a hacked BIOS or something ? Check on
>nforcershq.com, to see if anyone has a hacked BIOS. Are
>you using a separate video card ? That is supposed to allow
>the hardware to use a DDR400 memory rate, if you can figure out
>a way of getting the memory clock set to 200MHz.
>
>I'd sooner pick up a A7N8X-E, a cheap video card, and do all of
>this from the BIOS.
>
>HTH,
> Paul
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