Recommendations for stable M7NCG 400 Athlon 2500+?

[Sohl]

I have had this N7NCG 400-based Athlon 2500+ system for three or four years now. Over time it seemed to develop some random rebooting issues in Windows 98SE (I put off upgrading because I had another WinXP machine). I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to XP, thinking the instability was due to software, but in doing so, the machine become much less stable. I tried different versions of the chipset and video drivers from the BIOSTAR USA and nVidia sites, but it was still very unstable.

Finally, seeing a blue screen with a memory error (most of the blue screens disappeared before I could read them), I decided to experiment with some of the BIOS settings. When I down-graded the FSB to 133 MHz, the system stabilized and seems solid so far (several hours of use), but I know I am giving up a good bit of performance this way.

Can anyone give me a good set of conservative BIOS settings that will keep this system rock solid but closer to its performance capability? My current setup...

Athalon 2500+ (Barton)
512 MB Ram (256MB x 2 generic DDR 333 modules)
Using the onboard IGP graphics

BIOS:
System Performance [OPTIMAL]
CPU RATIO Default (WinXP reports CPU freq. = 1.47 GHz)
FSB [133 MHz]
Memory Freq. Auto
Resulting Frequency Auto
Memory Timings Optimal
T(RAS) 6
T(RCD) 3
T(RP) 3
CAS Latency 2.0
FSB Spread Spectrum [0.50 %]
AGP Spread Spectrum [0.50 %]
Framebuffer [32 MB]
AGP Aperature [64 MB]
AGP 8x Support [ENABLED]
System BIOS Cacheable [DISABLED]

CPU Voltage Reg. [DEFAULT]
AGP Voltage [1.5 V]
DRAM Voltage [2.5 V]
IGP Voltage [1.6 V]

CPU Idle Temp (During BIOS Setup): 46 deg. C

The CPU frequency reported in Windows (1.47 GHz) with a FSB Frequency of 133 MHz means the multiplier ratio is 11. Maybe I could up that ratio to 12 with the slow FSB and keep stable? Or maybe I can return to a FSB of 166 MHz, but how could I change the memory timings to something more conservative that will run solid? Thanks for any guidance!
--
Sohl

[ashland_thunder]

I would loosen your timings on memory, probably try the tRAS at 8. Also might want to raise voltage a notch. I have 2 M7NCD Pros, so I'm not sure how similar the BIOS is. They've been rock solid for years, although they don't like running much over 200 FSB.

[uddarts]

could be a stick of ram gone bad.

http://www.memtest.org/

if they check good, then download your hd's diagnostics software from their web site and test it.


ud

[Sohl]

ashland_thunder, uddarts: Thanks for your comments. I tried a few different memory timings at 166 MHz frontside bus freq, but nothing was more stable and at least one combo would not POST at all. I've been rock solid at 133 MHz since my original post. Haven't tried the memtest programs yet, but I suspect that one or both sticks are getting marginal, at least the way the board is driving it. I've not tried to up the voltage yet. I've always avoided over-volting in the past. How risky is this?

UPDATE: I've run the MemTest86+ (v 1.70) utility. At 166 MHz FSB and default timings, I get a few hundred errors in test #8 (modulo-20 test? I don't quite recall). It looks like the errors are confined to the upper part of the lower-16bits of the test dwords (e.g. FFFFFFFF ->> FFFFDFFF). I tried to re-run with T(RAS) at 8 and 9, but got about the same result. Running with a FSB 133 MHz, I get through the whole set of tests (twice through the full cycle, once before the 166 MHz tests, and once more after going back to 133 MHz).

[uddarts]

try running memory86 with just stick of ram. if it passes, move it to another slot & then the third.

what does your 3.3v rail look like.

you could run the numbers off the ram and try to pin down what vdimm it requires.

a .1v bump won't hurt from the boards default of 2.5v

keep us up to date.


ud

[Sohl]

I tried running the DRAM at 2.6, then 2.7 volts.... same kind errors on test #8. Seems that these sticks of RAM don't want to run at DDR 333 any longer.. Thanks for the suggestions uddarts and ashland_thunder, but it looks like I'm stuck running this as a DDR 266 rig unless I change out my RAM someday.
--
Sohl

[jsouth]

Get some major brand memory. I have the same board and CPU and it is rock solid. For years I used Corsair (2 x 256MB) then bought Kingston (2 x 512MB) when I wanted more DRAM. Never a problem!

In fact, I am continually amazed that I have not yet been tempted to upgrade. I just don't have a reason to do so -- this thing keeps running quickly and flawlessly. I'm still using XP.