Need help with A7N8X BIOS settings

I once used one of these (actually I think it had the -X extension) to build a system for a friend; it was a very low-end system, having a Radeon 7000 compatible card for video. The memory was 1x512MB of the fast variety. I found out by trial and error, that the video card and the motherboard were incompatible: When I switched to an nVidia, it began to work, although the board+ATI Radeon compatible had been sold to the guy as 'definitely compatible, we've tested it here'.

I measured the board and found out that the timing was altered after addition of that video card so that the memory would not get sufficiently wide pulses for refresh (well that was the effect; the two were in wrong sync), thus causing the memory to fail.
The results were rather extreme, I got the same speed problem all the time and the whole thing would fail just after exiting from BIOS setup.

Try changing your video card to something else (not permanently, only to verify the cause), and test that first. If even that fails, take the CPU and memory speeds down drastically and try again. It might be that the 3D mode in your card alters the bus timing.

I've read about symptoms with the same board elsewhere too, so maybe it is just a board very susceptible to timing issues.

/R2

Hopefully a new board will fix your issues but I would like to add that ASUS is an awesome company and as far as a motherbaord goes for an Athlon XP chip, especially if you are going to overclock it at all, the A7N8X deluxe is a great choice.
I have had mine for a 1 1/2 years with rock solid performance even while overclocking and having my Vcore settings raised just a hair.

By default I think that the spread spectrums are enabled so if you haven't already double check them I would just to rule that out.  

Also how are you identifying your problem as a video error.

Good luck and my vote if for another ASUS board...lol

Joe

I've read a lot lately about many Asus boards having issues with a 400 MHz FSB.

A7N8X (both versions) Have a lots of "Issues" (The list I looked at had 23 to be exact) specifically with the BIOS and they are known to have voltage regulation problems. (The voltage regulators on the board itself.)

~ Asus used to mean quality but you now have to consider that Asus and PC-Chips are now partners. What comes from where?? Who knows!!

Here are some reported A7N8X issues that might be relivant to you::

4. Weak AGP drive output voltage at higher FSB's (GFX glitches/lock-ups/drop to desktop and system re-boots in 3D apps & games)

5. Insufficient chipset voltage. (PCB modification is the only fix at this time.)  *Can help with items 7, and 4*

7. Inadequate support for 200/400MHz Barton CPU. (Updated BIOS supposedly fixes but reports indicate it's un-successful in some cases.)

8. Board insatbility when using ASYNC memory settings + & -

13. BIOS not properly reading SPD's on latest official Intel/JEDEC DDR 400 memory modules (Confirmed by OCZ, Crucial and Corsair)

15. Case/Chassis temperature reported incorrectly (Often higher than the CPU temperature and/or much lower than the real temps.)

19. Data curruption when using built-in Sillicon Image SATA Controller *This is claimed to be fixed with BIOS 1005 for v2.xx (only) motherboards. It's not confirmed effective.

23. Spread Spectrum will not always disable when user selects 100/133/166/200MHz FSB's. Can cause instability in some systems if enabled.

~~ I know you don't wanna hear it but basically you have a glitchy board..

PCBONEZ
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