ger113057
asked on
New Athlon 2200+ Processor
I purchased an Athlon 2200+ processor to upgrade my Duron 850.
My motherboard is a k7sem ver. 1.0. I went to the motherboard website and found that I could upgrade to an Athlon if I "flashed " my bios. I followed the instructions and the version on startup reads 1.2b. As far as I can tell this is the version I need.
I installed the new processor according to instructions with no real problems.
When the computer 1st booted I noticed the screen said Athlon 1500+........then the screen went black and never came up. I think my heart missed a beat.
Rechecking all my connections and thinking about what could be wrong I booted again and went into bios. There I went to the screen that sets the voltage and noticed it was set to default. After looking at the other choices I realized I need to change it to 133mhz/133mhz/33. This refers to CPU/RAM/fan voltage (I think).
Now I rebooted with with new new setting and the system came up!
I was a little disappointed that I couldn't really tell much improvement so I checked on some things. Sure enough, I discovered the computer now only shows 256mb of ram (8mb devoted to video). I have two sticks of memory installed 256MB each totaling 512MB.
Well my 1st thought went back to when I bought the computer. It came with a 256MB stick. I later added a 256MB stick. The stick I bought was a pc133. My thoughts were that the one that came with it was a pc100 and that was why the computer wasn't seeing it. ( remember my bios changes).
So I figured I was seeing no improvement due to my reduced ram and the solution would be to pull the old stick (pc100) and maybe go to a 512MB pc133. (I only have two slots)
Before I did that though I wanted to do some task on the computer to make sure that is all that is wrong.
Well problems started to crop up as soon as I opened windows media player. It would play for maybe ten minutes and then stick and completely freeze. Hmmmm....haven't seen that before. Went to RealPlayer and it froze after a few minutes. Don't remember that happening at 256MB ram when I 1st got it.
So I went to PCPitstop to let it anylyze my computer. I have gone to this site before and got some good tweaks to improve performance.
It froze the 1st 3 times. On the 4th it did anylyze the computer. Tried to print what it said but the system froze so what I am getting ready to write is from memory.
It said there was reduced performance on all drives. (I have C: partitioned into two (80GB) and one empty. (20GB).
Now I don't understand this so bear with me......it said the uncached test was 2.3 MB. and typical computers with my type configuration run 256MB. Now that is going into uncharted territory for me.
So there is my problem. System crashes after a processor upgrade. Sorry I went into so much detail but this way you will know what I have already done.
Hope someone can help me!
My motherboard is a k7sem ver. 1.0. I went to the motherboard website and found that I could upgrade to an Athlon if I "flashed " my bios. I followed the instructions and the version on startup reads 1.2b. As far as I can tell this is the version I need.
I installed the new processor according to instructions with no real problems.
When the computer 1st booted I noticed the screen said Athlon 1500+........then the screen went black and never came up. I think my heart missed a beat.
Rechecking all my connections and thinking about what could be wrong I booted again and went into bios. There I went to the screen that sets the voltage and noticed it was set to default. After looking at the other choices I realized I need to change it to 133mhz/133mhz/33. This refers to CPU/RAM/fan voltage (I think).
Now I rebooted with with new new setting and the system came up!
I was a little disappointed that I couldn't really tell much improvement so I checked on some things. Sure enough, I discovered the computer now only shows 256mb of ram (8mb devoted to video). I have two sticks of memory installed 256MB each totaling 512MB.
Well my 1st thought went back to when I bought the computer. It came with a 256MB stick. I later added a 256MB stick. The stick I bought was a pc133. My thoughts were that the one that came with it was a pc100 and that was why the computer wasn't seeing it. ( remember my bios changes).
So I figured I was seeing no improvement due to my reduced ram and the solution would be to pull the old stick (pc100) and maybe go to a 512MB pc133. (I only have two slots)
Before I did that though I wanted to do some task on the computer to make sure that is all that is wrong.
Well problems started to crop up as soon as I opened windows media player. It would play for maybe ten minutes and then stick and completely freeze. Hmmmm....haven't seen that before. Went to RealPlayer and it froze after a few minutes. Don't remember that happening at 256MB ram when I 1st got it.
So I went to PCPitstop to let it anylyze my computer. I have gone to this site before and got some good tweaks to improve performance.
It froze the 1st 3 times. On the 4th it did anylyze the computer. Tried to print what it said but the system froze so what I am getting ready to write is from memory.
It said there was reduced performance on all drives. (I have C: partitioned into two (80GB) and one empty. (20GB).
Now I don't understand this so bear with me......it said the uncached test was 2.3 MB. and typical computers with my type configuration run 256MB. Now that is going into uncharted territory for me.
So there is my problem. System crashes after a processor upgrade. Sorry I went into so much detail but this way you will know what I have already done.
Hope someone can help me!
Did you make sure that you removed the plastic peice that covers the thermal pad on your Heatsink? Could very well be an over heating problem. The more and more I see it and think overheat.
here download this program and report back the temp.
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32
If doing the above has not helped then i would return the CPU.
here download this program and report back the temp.
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32
If doing the above has not helped then i would return the CPU.
ASKER
might be CPU/RAM/PCI or RAM/CPU/PCI most likely the first one.
........You are right it is the 1st one.
Are you sure you flashed the bios?
........Well there were 6 of them I did the 1st one and the last 2. The others did not seem to pertain to XP compatability. Think I should go back? The ones I did took effect I think. The rev. number on the startup screen definitely changed.
Have you tired taking the new 256 MB module out and seeing what happened? Not uncommon lately for new RAM to be bad.
.......I did take out each one and put it in one at the time. No change. The RAM is not new though I have run it for a while
report back the temp
.......The site was not in English I did go back to the BIOS and the pc health screen says the CPU temp is 41 degees C
Thanks for the help.....got any ideas?
........You are right it is the 1st one.
Are you sure you flashed the bios?
........Well there were 6 of them I did the 1st one and the last 2. The others did not seem to pertain to XP compatability. Think I should go back? The ones I did took effect I think. The rev. number on the startup screen definitely changed.
Have you tired taking the new 256 MB module out and seeing what happened? Not uncommon lately for new RAM to be bad.
.......I did take out each one and put it in one at the time. No change. The RAM is not new though I have run it for a while
report back the temp
.......The site was not in English I did go back to the BIOS and the pc health screen says the CPU temp is 41 degees C
Thanks for the help.....got any ideas?
ASKER
Did you make sure that you removed the plastic peice that covers the thermal pad on your Heatsink?
.......I did remove a plastic cover.....there was was soft gray material that I did not remove......I think it was supposed to stay on...right?
.......I did remove a plastic cover.....there was was soft gray material that I did not remove......I think it was supposed to stay on...right?
What is the rating for your P/S?
you will want to use the lastest revision for your MB.
you will want to use the lastest revision for your MB.
>......I think it was supposed to stay on...right?
you are correct
you are correct
ASKER
What is the rating for your P/S?
........if P/S is power supply it is 250w
you will want to use the lastest revision for your MB
........I have the latest revision
........if P/S is power supply it is 250w
you will want to use the lastest revision for your MB
........I have the latest revision
ASKER
Oh by the way Buckeyes33 since you said it shouldn't matter that one stick of memory is pc100 I put it back in and I now show 512MB of RAM but I still think all is not right. I went beack to PC Pitstop and it froze again.
>if P/S is power supply it is 250w
This is your problem. You need to have at least a 300 W P/S. You will just not be able to get away with a 250W. So you are going to want to get a new one. Ok what should you get. Well, you are going to want to get a HIGH quality one. Trust me on the fact that you will want to get one of quality, not cheap. Cheap is crap when it comes to P/S's. I am going to go find some that I would recommend, not to expensive.
This is your problem. You need to have at least a 300 W P/S. You will just not be able to get away with a 250W. So you are going to want to get a new one. Ok what should you get. Well, you are going to want to get a HIGH quality one. Trust me on the fact that you will want to get one of quality, not cheap. Cheap is crap when it comes to P/S's. I am going to go find some that I would recommend, not to expensive.
First, I have to say this isn't the first instance of ECS K7SEM not doing what somebody was told it would . . .
ECS are well-known as being a very 'bargain' motherboard, and you get what you pay for when buying it (no offense).
AMD's site, and their 'recommended' list of motherboards for their XP 2200+ does not show that model, so AMD themselves don't recommend it for use with this cpu.
Now just to be sure of something: You've tried running with only the PC133 stick right? Because if, indeed, the first stick of RAM you had was only PC100, you can't run them both at 133MHz without expecting problems. If it runs fine with just the one stick, then the issue is the other stick of RAM.
Personally, I would bet the issue lies with the motherboard itself. When you've exhausted every other avenue . . . that's what most likely will remain.
ECS are well-known as being a very 'bargain' motherboard, and you get what you pay for when buying it (no offense).
AMD's site, and their 'recommended' list of motherboards for their XP 2200+ does not show that model, so AMD themselves don't recommend it for use with this cpu.
Now just to be sure of something: You've tried running with only the PC133 stick right? Because if, indeed, the first stick of RAM you had was only PC100, you can't run them both at 133MHz without expecting problems. If it runs fine with just the one stick, then the issue is the other stick of RAM.
Personally, I would bet the issue lies with the motherboard itself. When you've exhausted every other avenue . . . that's what most likely will remain.
ASKER
AMD's site, and their 'recommended' list of motherboards for their XP 2200+ does not show that model, so AMD themselves don't recommend it for use with this cpu.
........you may be right I think I might change the power supply before I change motherboard though....thanks for the comment
This is your problem. You need to have at least a 300 W P/S
I hope that is it....looking forward to your recomendation
........you may be right I think I might change the power supply before I change motherboard though....thanks for the comment
This is your problem. You need to have at least a 300 W P/S
I hope that is it....looking forward to your recomendation
for the ones that I would highly recommend. One of these two.
350 watt model
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=CS_EMX_EG365P_VE_FC
460 watt model
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=CS_EMX_EG465P_VE_FC
I recommend these b/c they are the only P/S on the market that have 32 Amp max pull on the 12V line. That is the most that anyone has made. They would allow for expansion in the future. Plus they are the quietest P/S that I have not heard.
for other ones that I would recommend
Any Antec that is larger than 300W
Aopen makes quality computer products not used a P/S though
you are going to want something with 300W + in order for your system to work.
personally I would recommend a 350 W or more P/S Why you ask. Well, If you want to do a little up date in the future you might not have to by a new P/S. For example new MB or another hard drive.
350 watt model
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=CS_EMX_EG365P_VE_FC
460 watt model
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/details.asp?PRDCODE=CS_EMX_EG465P_VE_FC
I recommend these b/c they are the only P/S on the market that have 32 Amp max pull on the 12V line. That is the most that anyone has made. They would allow for expansion in the future. Plus they are the quietest P/S that I have not heard.
for other ones that I would recommend
Any Antec that is larger than 300W
Aopen makes quality computer products not used a P/S though
you are going to want something with 300W + in order for your system to work.
personally I would recommend a 350 W or more P/S Why you ask. Well, If you want to do a little up date in the future you might not have to by a new P/S. For example new MB or another hard drive.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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I bought a $17 P/S - 460W - because I saw it as a deal and not a potential death for my motherboard. It killed my motherboard. I paid $115 for that and the place from where I bought it was robbed. How interesting.
Thank you,
Radomir Jordanovic
Thank you,
Radomir Jordanovic
radomirthegreat - thanks for the back up
No problem. Wish me luck.
Cheap power supplies SUCK. AMD used to approve power supplies as well, but I think it was just too much testing, so they stopped.
That being said however, you can get very good power supplies from the following manufacturers:
Antec
Codegen
Dynapower
Enermax
Enhance
Enlight
PC Power & Cooling
Seventeam
Sparkle Power
TTGI
I've been pleased with performance from any of the above. Some are of higher quality than others, but all have been on AMD's AthlonXP recommended Power Supply list, and all are readily available.
As for some idea of prices: they vary. Antec 350W is around $45 u.s, Codegen 350W is only $25, Enermax 350W is about $47, Enlight around $35 or so. All these prices include shipping and most of these power supplies are available on www.pricewatch.com . So there's a good power supply at every price, really.
That being said however, you can get very good power supplies from the following manufacturers:
Antec
Codegen
Dynapower
Enermax
Enhance
Enlight
PC Power & Cooling
Seventeam
Sparkle Power
TTGI
I've been pleased with performance from any of the above. Some are of higher quality than others, but all have been on AMD's AthlonXP recommended Power Supply list, and all are readily available.
As for some idea of prices: they vary. Antec 350W is around $45 u.s, Codegen 350W is only $25, Enermax 350W is about $47, Enlight around $35 or so. All these prices include shipping and most of these power supplies are available on www.pricewatch.com . So there's a good power supply at every price, really.
ASKER
Thanks for all the great input! I think I'll procede as follows.
1. Revisit the motherboard site and refalsh the board to make absolutley sure I have the current version.
2. If that doesn't help I will purchase a new P/S. As you guys say, it will be an upgrade that will help later on if I get into the 350w.
3. If none of that works I'll (sniff, sniff) get a new motherboard.
Will someone look at this page........http://www.ecsusa.com/support/table_amd.html does this say my motherboard will support an Athlon 2100+?
1. Revisit the motherboard site and refalsh the board to make absolutley sure I have the current version.
2. If that doesn't help I will purchase a new P/S. As you guys say, it will be an upgrade that will help later on if I get into the 350w.
3. If none of that works I'll (sniff, sniff) get a new motherboard.
Will someone look at this page........http://www.ecsusa.com/support/table_amd.html does this say my motherboard will support an Athlon 2100+?
The PCB revision of your mainboard must be at least 1.0+B1, if not, will not recognize the 2200+. T
or 2100+...T
not sure what the 'B1' refers to though. I saw that too. . .
Same here. I would guess that it is a different revision, but that is just stupid if one revision would support and the other one would not.
I would assume it's either a particular revision, or the 1.0 revision with a particular bios.
??
Either way, I still personally feel that because AMD doesn't list it on recommended, I wouldn't even bother trying.
You can get an Albatron KX18D Pro nForce2 motherboard for $59u.s. including shipping on www.newegg.com - It's a GREAT little board, runs 400MHz cpu's, overclocks well (if you're into that) and is vastly superior in quality to the ECS board you're running.
It's definitely worth considering. It's 'club overclocker recommended' (they gave it a 9.5/10), 'myworldhardware editors choice', who said "Throughout the time when I evaluate this board, I have to say that this is the most pleasant nForce 2 Ultra 400 board that I've ever tested.", and a 'pcstats.com editors choice award.'
It's a great board at a great price if you're considering a replacement.
??
Either way, I still personally feel that because AMD doesn't list it on recommended, I wouldn't even bother trying.
You can get an Albatron KX18D Pro nForce2 motherboard for $59u.s. including shipping on www.newegg.com - It's a GREAT little board, runs 400MHz cpu's, overclocks well (if you're into that) and is vastly superior in quality to the ECS board you're running.
It's definitely worth considering. It's 'club overclocker recommended' (they gave it a 9.5/10), 'myworldhardware editors choice', who said "Throughout the time when I evaluate this board, I have to say that this is the most pleasant nForce 2 Ultra 400 board that I've ever tested.", and a 'pcstats.com editors choice award.'
It's a great board at a great price if you're considering a replacement.
Would you recommend that over the Shuttle AN35N Ultra400? It's pretty much priced the same.
The only recommendation I have over the shuttle right now is that I've used both products, and in the past I had a higher rate of product returns on the shuttle. I've had excellent success with the albatron units, and have no returns with them yet. The distributor I get my Albatron products from started using them *instead* of shuttle for their less-expensive boards, and they've been extremely pleased with them.
Thank you.
welcome.
might be CPU/RAM/PCI or RAM/CPU/PCI most likely the first one.
Are you sure you flashed the bios? just a thought, not degrading you or anything
>So I figured I was seeing no improvement due to my reduced ram and the solution would be to pull the old stick (pc100) and maybe go to a 512MB pc133. (I only have two slots)
This should not matter. Your RAM speed would just run at 100 mhz rather than 133 mhz.
Have you tired taking the new 256 MB module out and seeing what happened? Not uncommon lately for new RAM to be bad.