Should i buy K8N Neo2? ur expriences

hello...im looking for a s939 mobo.. sofar ive set my eyes on the ASUS A8V (orAV8-cant remember) but ive recently read reviews that love this mobo....so im considering buying this instead.
i was wondering, is it adviseable to get the MSI K8N Neo2 motherboard?
are u having/did u have a good exprience with it?
what are the bad things about this mobo?
thank you
ps: the last time i was here was when i still owned a 865pe neo2... huh, i had a terrible time with that mobo.. im still abit terrified of MSI... how are they're mobos now?

I originally had the K8T Neo - loads of trouble - before that I had the K7N2-Delta - which was a spot onboard too.
I then deflected to Gigabyte's K8NSNXP - It wouldnt work with my memory (corsair twinx bling stuff) - I got seriously peeved waiting for BIOS updates to address the issue hence RMA's my board - got the K8N Neo2 - not a regret since.  PS - Its nearly £50 cheaper - I gots mysef a faster board and a logitech MX700 LOL!
Love U MSI  
I can honestly say I will NEVER purchase any other make of board - this board is soooo sweet - no trouble what so ever.
Would have to agree with thunder though - U may want to hang fire for either the new Nforce4 stuff or VIA's K8T890 chipset (both are PCI express) as they are the way forward.   - only just got my board! - it'll be out of date soon LOL

Similar Messages

  • Should I buy 865PE Neo2-LS???

    I must say. Buying a motherboard sure is not what it used to be. It seems no matter where you look, or what company you look too there are issues on every board. The price of all this integration perhaps??
    SO now my eye is on MSI. In paticular the neo2 LS.
    But this PAT, or MAT whatever it's called memory thing, does this board have it?!?!
    and should I even consider this board. I mean, I am not completely up to date on all my hardware, and would be using a geforce 3 ti500 with it for a while. ANd I have read issues on here that the board will not boot with one of these cards.
    Perhaps I am simply adding to my paranoia, and there are too many variables with too many people causing all these issues..
    But what I need is some straight forware, Yes or no, and why answers as to whether I should go MSI neo2 LS or NOT..
    It's inexpensive has the features I want.. But is it STABLE>.. WIll it work with dual DDR 400 when I upgrade to it..  Will IT WORK with newer AGP cards coming in the future..
    All replies are quite welcome. And thank you in advance.!
    IC

    You could read some input in this forum right now.
    the decision is yours in the end.
    http://www.msi.com.tw/program/service/forum/index.php?threadid=27990&boardid=10&styleid=1

  • Want to buy K8N Neo2 Platinum

    I want to build a new system and I want to buy this board. The problem is that the dealers from Romania DO NOT have this board and I don't know where to buy it from. (MSI shoul really have a talk to its dealer here - Flamingo Computers about this)
    The other problem is that I would like the nVidia NIC with its firewall and I think this board doesn't have it. I want to know if MSI will make such a board (I really want a MSI board) and if anyone knows how can I buy it. I can pay by credit card, e-gold, moneybookers but I don't think that the online shops will accept my credit card. (because it's from Romania...bla...bla) So, I can really pay but I don't have where to buy it from...
    Can anyone help me?! pls
    If you know a online shop that ships to romania and accepts e-gold or moneybookers (the credit card I'm quite sure they won't accept) pls tell me.
    thank you

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ They ship worldwide

  • K8N Neo2 Please Help!!!!

    I'm going to buy K8N Neo2 Platinum mainboard and I'm going to use it for Windows 2003 Enterprise Server.
    I want to know if the drivers which I get with the mainboard CD are also for Windows 2003 Enterprise Server? And if there is something alse that I need to know when using this mainboard with Windows 2003 Enterprise Server?
    Thanks.

    The CD - supplied drivers will work...some folks are running the BETA version of Windows64 and Server 2003 with them...when available, I don't see why they cannot also be updated!!!

  • Want comments on k8n neo2 platinum prior to buying it,

    hi people.
    im doing some research prior to buyng an amd64 motherboard and have been looking at this one.
    MSI K8N NEO2 Platinum-54G Moderkort S939 nForce3 250Ultra,SATA,GbLAN,ATX,Dual-DDR
    is the firewall good or bad ?
    is the motherboard easy to work with ?
    stable ?
    anyone tried the new 3000+ and 3200+ on it ?
    i would also want end user comments on it.
    Good Night.
    EDIT:
    im going to most of the hardware found in my signature.
    if the psu aint up to it i will use a second psu until i get money to buy a bigger one.

    Hi Raven, missed this thread till now!!  Congrats soon getting S-939 A64, that will be way less than 10lb shipping charge to mail you  
    My MSI K8N Neo2 NF3 250 Ultra has been stable from BIOS v1.0 upwards, no mis-fires, no overheats, no comm/USB/PS2 probs, smooth all the way, for me. Per reviews Gigabyte and Asus also good, MSI won Bmarks on reviewers reference boards.
    Peeps reporting probs with board here though, so check out this nVidia section. The BIOS updates helped some.
    -Zalman CNPS7000_ Al/Cu HSF screws right into the original backplate, keeps my FX53 at 34C Folding.
    -CNPS7000A or B are good, peeps say ya' need to use the backplate came with the HSF. The mobo backplate comes off pretty easy. Edit: re Hansh's mod Zalmans.
    -The stock AMD fan is fine at stock or low OC.
    -No HSF install pix I've seen, even the monster TT heatpipe cooler, have interfered with RAM, but there's always an exception.
    -Your Antec is prolly good enough, AMD rec's a reputable 350W or better. CPU uses ~90W (98?) Like ya say, if it isn't you always have the other one too
    -NB fan is small but works well so far. It's noise doesn't compete with the other 8 fans
    ps: Software only prob, Win XP doesn't like RAID 5 PCI cards at install.
    =--
    Hansh, Allreet!    

  • K8N Neo2 Platinum Ordered - Advice for a noob please

    Hi there,
                this seems like a great forum, was hoping someone could give me some advice - Im trying to pre-empt any major probs....
                I am a relative noob to building P.C's - done a few P4 based systems before but this will be my first Athlon based.  This systems primary use will be gaming.  I have the following on order (should be with me next week) : -
    a) MSI K8N NEO2 Platinum Edition SCK 939 Motherboad
    b) AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ 64bit SCK 939 Retail Inc Fan
    c) 160GB Maxtor Calypso 8mb Cache 7200 SATA DHH
    Components I have already
    a) Graphics Card - Nvidia 6800 GT
    b) Memory - Generic 2 X 512MB PC2700 DDR333 RAM
    c) Sound Card - Creative SB Live Value
    d) PSU - Jeantech 450W (22a on 12V Rail)
    e) Case - pretty generic full tower case - no fans attached
    f) CPU FAN - COOLERMASTER HYPER 48 SUPER SILENT HEATPIPE
    g) Spare Hard drive - 120GB Maxtor IDE Hard drive
    h) DVD Drives - 1 x Pioneeer 108 / 1 x Pioneer 104
    I) Monitors - Ilyama 17" TFT & Toshiba 32WL36P LCD
    I have some 'noobish' questions - apologies for my ignorance : -
    1) Memory - Will my memory be okay ?  Should I ditch it and buy some Corsair DDR400 (which everyone else seems to have!).  Will performance suffer if I stick with the DDR 333 ? Do I need to adjust settings in BIOS regarding memory timing ? (I only picked up on this from reading through other posts on this board, and am totally clueless on 'timing'- Ive never needed to adjust timing on any previous PC's....!)
    2) Sound Card - will I be better off sticking with the onboard sound on the MSI K8N neo 2 ? Or for best performance do I go with the SB LIve ? (god its a nightmare trying to get updated drivers for this card),  Would I get a noticable performance increase buying an Audigy 2?
    3) Vcore / other power issues - Reading this forum Im kinda scared by many posts along the lines of "..for stability I need to change my memory voltage to xx-V" or "...for a stable system I needed to change my Vcore to xx-V".  Will I need to change the Bios default values on this system just to get it to run stably??
    4) CPU FAN - Are AMD stock fans any good ?  My Hyper 48 is quite highly rated....
    5) Im completely new to SATA drives, but Ive printed off the very useful install guide on this site (which I intend to use).  Is there anything I need to look out for concerning adding my IDE drive also.
    I think thats about it just now - if anyone can see any other potential problems with my specs then please let me know.  Im really not trying to be negative / pessimistic - after all the reason I have went for this motherboard is that it is rated as one of the best.  Im just a bit paranoid that the dreaded B.S.O.D awaits me!
    On a more positive note - does anyone have similar system specs they use for gaming ?  How well does HL2 / Doom3 / Farcry etc fly J ? I cant wait !
    Thanks for the time

    you may find these helpful
    Overclockers Uk Power Supplies
    This Week Only Enermax Noisetaker 485W EG495AX-VE(G) SFMA ATX2.0 PSU (CA-007-EN) Might be tempting
    Scan International Power Supply

  • My K8n neo2 wont overclock at all!! plz help...

    Hi, I just build my new machine, and after much problems I finally have it up and running at stocks speeds just fine, the problem is that I spent a lot of money buying Top-Brand components so I could overclock a lot, (I like It) but I cant seem to go upweard of 205FSB!! anything above that and the board wont boot at all forcing me to clear the Cmos!! I find this completely unaceptable for this board, being that my last board (an Msi one with nforce2) could overclock and athlon XP 2500+ barton all the way up to a 2800+!! Im really dissapointed at this, if someone could give me a few pointers as to what tweak in the bios (Im using 1.3 right now) it will be very thankful!!  ok, my specs are below, thanks!!
    Athlon64 3500+ socket 939
    Msi k8N Neo2 Platinum with 1.3bios
    2+512mb Crucial Ballistix pc3200 cl2
    BFG Nvidia Geforce 6800Gt
    36gb Raptor Hdd
    Enermax 420W power supply
    Thanks!!!

    I think your problem is your power supply. Check what that MAX amp on your 12V rail.
    I have nearly the exact same setup as you do and was unable to overclock the memory without lowering the memory timings much earlier than I expected too. For me I'm able to raise my FSB up to 207 at 2-2-2 timings. The max overclock I achieved was 220 X11 at 2.5-3-3 for a speed of 2420mghz. But it was not completly stable (it would bout but would lock up while gamming).  I had expected much better results than this... I bought good memory (Ballistix pc4000) I had a good 480W power supply... my processors ceilling should be around 2.6ghz. After reading this review on Anand Tech I think I found the answer... Athlon 64 Memory: Rewriting the Rules
    On page 10 they make the remark that their Antec True Power 465W power suply was limiting their ability to overclock memory.... The Antec True Power is rated to supply 22A on the 12v rail. My power supply is only rated to supply 18A.  I bet your 420W is rated even less.
    After reading that I fiddled with async overclocking and was stable up to 230FSB... then my hard drive freaked out... I was using sata port 1. I moved the hard drive to SATA port 4, but haven't tried much overclocking since.  Maybe if they put out a bios revision that I can adjust the HT on I'll try again. Until them I'm settled for running at 2277mghz.

  • Desperate: K8N Neo2 Platinum won't work!!

    Bought myself a new motherboard, processor and memory and it just won't work!
    Searched this forum for a solution, but  haven't found one yet.
    Try to install Windows XP, but it just won't start.
    I now get an error code 0x80040507.
    Before that, it just rebooted again and again.
    My configuration:
    MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
    AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester core
    2x512 Corsair Twinx1024-3200
    Prim. master: HDD 40 Gb Seagate U100/72 ATA
    Prim. slave   : DVD-RW NEC ND-3500
    Sec. master  : HDD 160 Gb Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 9  ATA
    Sec. slave    : DVD-R from LG
    PSU: Antec 350W, model SL350P (+5V=35A, +12V=16A, +3,3V=28A, -5V=0,5A, -12V=0,8A, +5V=2.0A)
    Sapphire 9800 Atlantis Pro 128Mb
    PCI-1 : empty
    PCI-2 : Hauppauge WinTV PVR250
    PCI-3 : Linksys wireless network card (model WMP11)
    PCI-4 : Creative Soundcard SB Live 1024
    Do I need a new PSU?? or is there another problem?

    AMD recommends a PSU with atleast 24a on the 12v rail. This does not mean your PSU won't hack it, it just means that as a rule of thumb, it's not supposed to.
    Could your PSU be the cause of your problem? Possibly! You have a lot of components drawing power from your PSU. It would be wise to buy a beefier PSU with 12v/5v/3.3v amps all in the 32+ range (see my PSU in my signature or the enermax 460/465w whisper II)).
    The problem with not having a better PSU to work with is you could encounter an error, deem it as a result of something it's not, and think the PSU is good and something is bad when it's really the other way around. Moral to the story: get a new PSU.
    I tried searching microsoft's knowledge base for your error and nothing turned up that had anything to do with windows installation errors. Are you sure you copied the error down correctly?
    If so, the only recommendation I have for you is this. Try installing windows with minimal components installed (CPU, motherboard, videocard, single cdrom, single hard drive). Leave your SB Live! out. Leave your WinTV out. Leave your linksys card out. Leave your DVD-R from LG out. And if you are willing to conserve even more power. If you really want to conserve power, you can install windows with only one stick of ram installed.
    Next thing you want to do is check to make sure the memory is not faulty. Start by putting only one stick of memory in slot one and testing it using memtest86+ (i hope that link is correct). You're going to want to run a 1-4 hour standard loop of tests followed by a 12-24 hour loop of test 5. Then you will do the same thing with stick two in slot one. After this works, test to make sure there's nothing wrong with the motherboard by doing the exact same tests again one by one with the sticks in slot two this time around. After this is all done, do the tests again with both sticks in slots one and two. if it doesn't work like this, you could have faulty memory (but this should work). You can always run your memory in the same colored slots (single channel (slots one and three)) but this will cause you to take a hit in performance. Generally, for all instensive purposes, you should be able to run it in dual channel mode without any problems. I imagine you will be able to if the sticks are good.
    If they don't work in dual channel mode, to be completely honest, I don't know what you would consider the problem then... could be the PSU... could be a badly matched pair... could be the motherboard. All this is determined by how you handled the parts when installing them. There are a lot of unknowns when trying to help a user without knowing anything about their install.
    If all memtests' run successfully, you are now ready to install windows. If windows doesn't install correctly, you probably have a botched BIOS setting somewhere (like aggressive memory timings) or something similiar that's stopping you from successfully installing windows.
    Buy a new PSU  

  • NOOB -MSI K8N NEO2 Platinum questions

    Hi
    I coming from an Intel background but am now considering changing to AMD; i'd like to keep my agp x800xt pe card and get a MSI K8N NEO2 Platinum board but have got a few questions /concerns.
    I have looked on several forums including MSI's own forum and noticed people having problems with corsair value select memory modules.
    My questions which i'd be grateful for answers to are:
    1. Am gamer and planning to also purchase a 4000+ to put in it - will the board recognise it straight away or will I need to update BIOS..
    2. Want to transfer my current 4x512mb 3200 Corsair Value Select sticks to my new board - will there be any compatibility problems? (cannot afford to buy new memory)
    3. Will I be able to run the memory 200 + ? as heard the boards base clock for a 4000+ is 166
    4. If I can run these at 200 can i do this straight away or will i need to overclock them slowly to get to 200 (will the board see them as 3200 and start at 200?)
    5. Anything else I should know/look out for?
    Many thanks to all. My first post here so hello to everyone.

    Hello !!
    Let´s try to answer your questions...
    1. It depends on which Bios Version is installed out of the Box, i suggest version 1.8, if you are not using a Venice / Dual-Core or later CPU Core. The advantages of biosses later than version 1.8 are the new Steppings Support and some new Memory Timing Options available in Bios Setup.
    2. I do not know exactly, i think most corsair sticks are running well on this Board if you are not going to overclock. But it depends on which Chips are used your Corsair Modules. What could be a problem is that you are going to use 4 Ram Sticks, because with Winchester Cores you would not be able to run 4 Sticks in PC3200Dual Channel Mode (DDR333), even if your Ram would be 100% compatible with your MOBO. Venice and later Cores are able to handle 4 sticks at 400Mhz DDR clock. Except you own 4 single sided Ram Modules.
    3. Should be possible if your memory likes it.....
    4. No, the Bios will recognize your SPD Timings. So you will have to overclock them from a 166Mhz Memory Divider Base.
    5. Take a look here:
    http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46730
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=72024.0
    http://www.msi.com.tw/html/products/mainboard/testreport_pdf/7025/memory.pdf
    Good Luck
    Greetz MurdoK

  • MSI K8N Neo2 S939 recommended ram?

    I am considering buying the MSI K8N Neo2 S939 mobo, and would like to know if my current RAM will work well.
    I have Corsair PC3200 C2 TwinX (2x512) 2.5-3-3-6.
    Thanks in advance for all help.

    Quote
    Originally posted by 12au7
    I have the 3200LL running 2-3-2-11 just fine.
    Make sure you run at 2.75v or 2.8v and judgiung by the posts about the you should be fine. Corsair TwinX seems to work well in the Neo2
    ty.
    ok so i'll set 2.75 when i get my board.
    After updating to the latest bios, are there any other BIOS config matters I should be aware of?
    Thanks for all help

  • K8N Neo2 good for overclocking?

    I own a K8N Neo  Plainum, and much like most people here, im less than impressed  with it's overclocking ability.
    I Have been keeping an eye on these forums for some time, and trying the various beta bioses with little to no improvement. Unfortunately, i have 3 sata drives and have no choice but to use both controllers.
    In regards to the subject, i am really tired of waiting for the k8n neo  to do what i want it to do, so i have two options, get a k8n neo2 or get a  skt754/939 alternative brand board. My 3400 clawhammer is nice, but im just as happy to buy a socket 939 if the neo2 overclocks as well as the neo1 should have.
    So you people with neo2 boards, lets see your results, and complaints etc, before i buy it this time
    btw, the best i've achieved on this mobo is
    http://leet.customer.netspace.net.au/4006.JPG
    and no that's not stable, i can prime 215HTT at best approximately.
    For those people that are gonna ask my pc specs, here they are.
    K8N Neo Platinum
    Athlon 64 3400+ Clawhammer
    1Gb Corsair TwinX DDR500PRO
    1 x 36Gb raptor as boot drive and 2  x 200Gb sata in raid0
    i think that's all that's relevant.
    I look forward to your help guys

    Well i got my mobo doing 11 x 260 on my fx53 all day long it will do higher some peeps have had them up to 295 is the highest I have seen so they are ok if you can get over all the other problems

  • MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum power

    I am gonna buy the K8N Neo2 Platinum board and I was wondering if my current power supply could handle the new board and my 6800 ultra.  This is my current power supply:
    http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-153-006&depa=0
    If its not good enough, anyone have a suggestion on a new one?

    Quote
    Originally posted by vanish
    When you plan using a sata hdd you will have to get power adapter with your second sugestion.
    vanish
    Sata hdds use a different power plug?
    Thanks alot for the input guys.  Im still questioning whether or not I should upgrade cause im not sure how big of an improvement the new board and processor are gonna be over a p4 2.53.

  • K8N Neo2 Platinum MB + SATA Hard Disks

    Hi,
    I would like to use some additional disk in my PC and therefore buy SATA disks.
    The OS is WIN XP Pro and I want to keep my IDE configuration which is:
    C:\ = IDE hard disk Primary Master
    E:\ = IDE hard disk Prmary Slave
    D:\ = DVD Secondary Master
    F:\ = IDE hard disk secondary slave
    and to this I want to add just as data storage  SATA 300GB hard disks (¿ up to 4 ? is that possible ?)
    regards Rainer

    I am not familiar with K8N Neo2-F so consult your manual to confirm my answers to your questions:
    1- "Is this also the case for the SATA connectors on the K8N Neo2-F ??" Highly likely since your motherboard is a stripped down version of the Neo2 Platinum.
    2- "And do SATA 1&2 require different drivers than 3&4?"  For normal SATA operation these SATA drives are respectively contol by your NF3 chipset and you Realtek chipset. When you install or update your Nvidia & Realtek driver package you install all that is required to run normal SATA operation. Should you decide to use a RAID configuration with your SATA drive then another RAID specific driver would have to be installed at system level.
    3- "Also, is there a significant increase in performance when going from PATA to SATA on this series of mobos?" My answer does not take into account RAPTOR HDs which are in a super class of their own. Medium to High end latest PATA & first generation SATA HDs in the 7200 RPM class are promoted by their OEM as having respective top transfer speeds of 133 and 150 MB/s. Comparing my  Seagate 120 gigs PATA HD to my other two Seagate 200 gigs SATA HDs is not very scientific since  they are not all 200 Gigs. Therefore use discretion interpreting results.
    a. PATA - Peak transfer = low eighties ; Steady Transfer = high sixties
    b. SATA -  Peak transfer = mid nineties ; Steady Transfer = low eighties
    It has ben a while since I did these PATA/SATA test so I  am working from memory only. One thing that however sticks in my mind is that the delta between my PATA & SATA drives, for peak and steady performance, was very close to 12 MB/s in favor of first generation SATA. Could this be possibly related to (150-133), I do not know for sure.
    SATA II generation are now coming to market. These new generation SATA II drives will most likely widen the performance gap between them and older SATA I or PATA drive.
    Take good care,

  • I have constant K8N Neo2 problems advice needed. (long) Update

    I need some advice on what my problem might be and if I need to RMA the motherboard or power supply.
    I have a new Athlon 64 3500+ processor, MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum BIOS v1.3 motherboard, with 2 512MB DIMMs of Corsair Value Select Memory. I have had and am still having a series of crashes and lock-ups I will list below. FULL SYSTEM SPECS BELOW AT BOTTOM.
    I initially installed the motherboard with a SINGLE 120GB hard drive from the old machine and the installed the memory in memory slots 1 & 2 to try dual channel memory mode. I then formatted the C partition and did a clean install of Windows XP Professional with SP2, installed the MSI drivers on the installation CD that came with the motherboard (Nvidia nForce3 Version 5.03 System Drivers, Realtek gigabit ethernet driver, Realtek AC97 audio driver) & the GeForce v66.93 video driver. I then got my first blue screen "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" crash, I ignored this crash and rebooted. I shortly got a black screen crash which I also ignored.
    I then installed a new 200GB hard drive and a old 120GB so I could transfer the data from the old 120GB to the new 200GB drive. The data transfer went fine. As I was preparing to install some applications I then got my second blue screen "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" crash. Suspecting the Corsair Value Select Memory could not handle dual channel I ran Memtest-86 for 2 passes and got NO errors with the memory in dual channel mode, so I left it.
    With my data backed up on the 200GB new drive I removed the new 200GB and the second 120GB hard did another clean install of Windows XP Professional with SP2, this time with Nvidia’s nForce3 Version 5.10 system drivers, the Realtek gigabit ethernet driver and Realtek AC97 audio driver  from the motherboard installation CD & the GeForce v66.93 video driver. I downloaded the latest version of Core Center and installed it and got it working. CPU temperatures were showing a low of around 29C, average of about 44C, and spikes at full loads of about 55-57C. I then ran Ghost to back up the boot partition. I installed all my applications, reinstalled the 200GB and 120 GB hard drives moved some data around with no crashes.
    I then installed Rome Total War and played for about 2 hours and had one black screen crash after the reboot played for 4 more hours with no problems so I shut down and went to bed.
    In the morning I got up started the computer let it run for awhile the CPU temperatures were in the low 30Cs to low 40Cs I tried to copy some files from the D partition to desktop and the screen freezes I waited about 5 min. with no change and no drive light activity so I hit the reset button. Upon reboot I got a ‘no system disk found” error, I went into the BIOS and checked the drive set-ups and boot priority, everything was correct. I tried for a half hour to get the system to boot with on luck. I used the Ghost to restore the partition image I had made earlier and still no boot. I finally decided to reinstall XP again put in the installation CD and when I got to the screen where you decide where to install Windows I changed my mind quit and bingo the machine boots into the restored Ghost partition???? I started to reinstall my applications got one more blue screen"MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" crash and another screen freeze that I had to reset.
    So I decided to start from real scratch I removed the new 200GB and the second 120GB hard drive ran Killdisk on the boot drive, made a new clean 20GB C partition and did another clean install of Windows XP Professional with SP2, this time with Nvidia’s nForce3 Version 5.10 system drivers, the Realtek gigabit ethernet driver and Realtek AC97 audio driver from the motherboard installation CD & the GeForce v66.93 video driver. I installed the latest version of Core Center and installed it and got it working. CPU temps were as before.
    I tested the memory with Memtest-86 again 2 passes no errors. Just in case I then moved one of the memory DIMMs to memory slot 3 out of dual channel mode and to a slower speed and ran Memtest-86 for about 20 hours with 21 passes with no memory errors, so I think memory can be ruled out as the problem.
    Next I installed my applications I got one screen freeze that I had to reset. I reinstalled the other 200GB and 120GB hard drives. After I got all my applications install and Ghosted the boot partition. I have had one more one screen freeze that I had to reset.
    I have a problem I simply cannot figure out. The memory is obliviously fine. While I have seen CPU temperatures spikes as high as 57C the CPU temps as reported by Core Center averages in the high 30Cs or low 40Cs and most of crashes/lock-ups don’t seem to occur during high CPU load/temp. The power supply might be a little light for the system but many of the crashes have occurred with only one hard drive in the system. The fact after one for the lock-ups the system would not boot for awhile and then magically just booted gives me concern there might be a motherboard problem.
    Any solution ideas would be appreciated. Should I RMA the power supply, the motherboard, or both.
    Full system specs:
    Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+, Socket 939, 0.13 Micron, with retail heatsink and fan.
    Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum BIOS v1.3
    Memory: Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB (2 x 512MB DIMMs) Kit DDR400 PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory - one 512MB DIMM in memory slot 1 and one 512MB DIMM in memory slot 3 running at DDR333 speed.
    Video Card: Chaintech GeForce4 Ti 4600
    Drives:
    Maxtor 6Y120L0 120GB hard drive as master on IDE channel 1. 3 partitions C (boot partition), D, & E.
    Seagate ST3200822A 200GB hard drive as slave on IDE channel 1. Single partition.
    Maxtor 6Y120L0 120GB hard drive as master on IDE channel 2. Single partition.
    Sony DRU-500AX DVD-RW as slave on IDE channel 2.
    SATA disabled in BIOS.
    No PCI cards.
    Case: Antec SX 835
    4 80mm case fans (2 fans in front blowing in, 2 fans in rear of case blowing out).
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    Power Supply Specifications:
    Maximum Power: 420W
    PFC: Acitve
    Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
    Hold-up Time: > 16ms at Full Load
    Efficiency: > 65%
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    Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz
    Input Current: 8.0A
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    Quote
    I then installed Rome Total War and played for about 2 hours and had one black screen crash
    Great isn't it (although not without the occasional crash)
    Would you say it's better but not there yet ? or the same ?
    I thought the same as Ibn Quote
    Your PS unit is a little weak for that much hardware, but I doubt thats your problem as well
    re your PSU, given youv'e got a less hungry Graphic Card, thought it was at worse marginal, have seen worse.
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    It's a small thing but it may be slightly better to have both your maxtors together on IDE channel 1, given their identical.
    good luck - keeo us posted

  • MSI K8N Neo2 Plat. + Audigy2 woes

    Hi.
    I'm getting the dreaded Machine Check Exception(0000009c) on my rig and it seems no amount of tinkering can get this combo to play nicely, and as I know there are quite a few more of you with the same problem out there(and a lot who DON'T have this problem) I thought it could be interesting to find out a bit more about this.
    My box:
    A64 3500+(newcastle)
    MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
    2x512Mb (Kingston HyperX PC3000...old stuff from my KT333-mobo)
    Audigy 2 (SB0240)
    HIS 9800Pro Ice-Q
    +other stuff that  doesn't affect the problem
    Running WindowsXP SP2
    I've tried diff bioses (1.2,1.3,1.4b1), I've tried tweaking the pci-latency of the audigy(raising from 32 in steps of 8 to 96) with powerstrip. Tried moving the card to all available pci-slots(the audigy is the ONLY pci-card in my rig, its just the audigy and my 9800 in its agp-slot).
    Tried all different driver revs for the audigy, from the one on the included cd up to the latest. Tried changing that pci-clock setting in the bios(hidden setting), to no avail.
    I've run memtest86+,windows memory diagnostics and prime95 as well as a few other diagnostic tools from the UBCD for hours on end without any problems whatsoever.(at first I was inclined to believe that the psu might have something to do with this, but I don't believe that anymore, the problem seems to happen to people no matter WHAT psu they use.)
    Facts:
    1. With the audigy2 in place my machine WILL freeze with the 0000009c-error sooner or later(might take hours, might happen in 5 minutes). It does however seem to be related to using the soundcard(just sitting in windows without using the soundcard for ANY sounds keeps the box alive a lot longer than playing BF1942 and using teamspeak)
    2. When I remove the Audigy2 from my system and use the on-board sound the lock-ups stop, no more machine check exceptions.(this isn't a solution, its a workaround)
    3. Some people have the same problem while other people seem to be able to use audigys in their machines.
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    Quote
    Originally posted by MonarchX
    How do you know if its the SB0240 or SB0350?
    Model number on the box or the white sticker on top of the card.
    Same card here Audigy2 (SB0240).
    I don't remember the error message I got but it was something about a conflict with the nVidia RAID controller. It was right after updating the Creative drivers so I immediatly removed ALL Creative startup programs and services with msconfig. No more problems. It runs great. There is the occassional rare "burp" through the speakers but its no problem.
    In "msconfig" uncheck the following under the "Startup" tab.
    CTCMSgo
    CTDVDDet
    CTHelper
    CTsysVol
    SBDrvDet
    regsvr32 (no problem so far with unchecking this one. I noticed there's a copy of it in one of the Creative folders. regsvr32.exe is a command line program used to register and unregister object linking and embedding (OLE) controls such as dynamic-link library (DLL) or ActiveX Controls (OCX) files that are self-registerable. This may be necessary to troubleshoot some issues with Windows, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or other programs.
    Attention the same filename is used by some spyware programs.)
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    nvraidservice
    NvCpl
    zlclient  (ZoneAlarm)
    Next click the "Services" tab in msconfig - check "Hide All Microsoft Services" and uncheck "Creative Service for CD-Rom access".
    I guess it should also be added that a couple of days ago my system became extremely sluggish and had difficulty starting up. There were a couple of BSOD's. Pressing on the back of the case near the PCI slots caused the lights to flicker. Uh-Oh! Apparently the Audigy2 card was a little loose in its slot. Reseating the card seems to have solved that problem.
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