Original IT7 runs out of gas at 2.8VDIMM???

I have the original IT7 (version 1). I am running the OEM BIOS (think it is April 2002). I find that the VDIMM doesn't seem to work over 2.8 volts. If I increase it, I get the same or more #5/#6 errors.

It's not the DDR as a stick of Corsair XMS3500 C2 has done DDR466, 2-3-2-6 (2.8 volts) and DDR472, 2-2-2-5 (3.0 volts) on other boards. It maxes out at DDR445, 2-3-3-7 at 2.8 volts on the IT7. Regardless of whether I relax timings or increase voltage to 3.2, it won't go over DDR445. I get the same amount of #5/#6 errors in Memtest.

Is the problem the BIOS?

I'm using a 400 watt Sparkle power supply with pots bumped, same unit that got me to those lofty DDR settings on a PX845PEV PRO and 4PEA+, so the board has enough juice.

you can try new bios files. they are different enough in there memory handling that some gave me different memtest errors then others. hope you find the solution

Phantom Publisher, what BIOS do you recommend? I need all the functionality of the OEM BIOS (I need my mouse in DOS).

try any of the stock abit bios or any the bios on my site on the it7max2 page. bt,av,d6 would be the first ones id try as those three give the widest range of diffences in memory performance while still solving the cold boot issue

It maxes out at DDR445, 2-3-3-7 at 2.8 volts on the IT7.

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Hmmm, that's funny. I have the IT7 Max2 v2.0 and I found out that my board also doesn't like anything over 2.8v's. I have tried bumping up the voltage to as much as 3.2v's using Phantom Punisher's VMEM mod but the extra volts actually hindered overclocking rather than helping so I undid the mod. Phanton Punisher had told me in an other post that the same was true of his board as well. Maybe this is a IT7/IT Max2 anomaly then? I am currently running my RAM at 4:5 ratio at 219*2=438Mhz with the strictest timings with no problem but I can't use the 3:4 ratio even with a much lower FSB than I am using right now.

For one thing, the 3:4 ratio seems to be more demanding on the memory controller than the 4:5 ratio as with the 3:4 ratio, I can't get the RAM to work at the same speed as it works with the 4:5 ratio. To give an example, the RAM will do 448Mhz with the strictest timings at 4:5 ratio but with the 3:4 ratio at a lower FSB, it will NOT do 448Mhz even with the most relaxed timings. Curious. As a note, I have the NorthBridge watercooled so I don't think heat is an issue here for the memory controller.

Initially I was thinking that the problem was with the RAM as I don't have another DDR board to test this RAM on but after discovering the problem with the 3:4 ratio on my board, reading your post and also reading some posts where people said that the 5ns Winbond chips the Corsair PC3500 has LIKED a lot of voltage (there is thread where a person is claming that he has been running his RAM at an insane 3.5V's for months with great results! If I remember right, this person said he was using Twinmos memory. Well, that might not be right BUT I do remember for sure that his RAM had the same 5ns Winbond chips we have on our Corsair PC3500) I decided that the problem is probably related to the mobo.

So, I wonder if my RAM would actually work faster on another mobo. Not that I'm complaining about this motherboard. I LOVE the IT7 max2 v2.0 as it is a kick-*** overclocking board. Well, who knows, maybe a different BIOS will address this RAM problem in the future...(I tried a whole bunch of BIOSes but got no different results for overclocking the RAM).

Black Paladin, thank you for the interesting comments! I was actually thinking of selling my IT7 and getting the Version 2. I had heard it runs faster CAS settings than the earlier IT7s and has the additional 4:5 ratio. Now I'm not sure.

Yes, the Corsair XMS3500 C2 will work wonders with extra voltage, but apparently different boards vary in actual ability to overvolt the ram. As I mentioned, the same stick that maxes out at DDR445 on the IT7 has done DDR472, 2-2-2-5 at 3.0 volts on a 4PEA+. I can probably do higher but I was CPU limited (177 fsb).

The same stick does DDR466, 2-3-2-6 on a PX845PEV PRO, but I am limited to 2.8 volts on that board. Have you tried 2-2-2-5 on the IT7? I can only do 180, 1:1 there. Same stick does DDR426, 2-2-2-5 on the Albatron board.

I just picked up another Corsair 3500C2 Blk in Japan, this one used. It was mislabeled as XMS3200 (heh heh) and I got it for $93 U.S. (512 MB stick!). Darn thing does DDR450, 2-2-2-5 on the Albatron board! But won't go over DDR450 even on relaxed settings. Maybe that's why the guy sold the stick. It's valuable to me since now I can drop in that stick when I need to run 4:5 over 173 fsb and need to do 2-2-2-5 at DDR427-450.

I tried the TwinMOS 5-ns Winbond and it doesn't run as well as the Corsair in the IT7.

Black Paladin, thank you for the interesting comments! I was actually thinking of selling my IT7 and getting the Version 2. I had heard it runs faster CAS settings than the earlier IT7s and has the additional 4:5 ratio. Now I'm not sure.

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Clevor, I heard a lot of praises from several people about the original ABIT IT7s. From what I've been reading, the IT7s do not seem to be less overclockable boards than the IT7 MAX2s or the IT7 MAX2 V2.0s at all. I think that the original IT7 boards just don't have as many features as the IT7 MAX series (such as serial ATA) but other than that, they seem to be pretty much the same overclockingwise and they are the only truly legacy free motherboards ever produced. In terms of CAS settings, I could not really say without checking the CAS setting of original IT7's but I can tell you that my IT7 MAX2 V2.0 will let me change the mem timings to 1.5-5-2-2 as the lowest. (I never got CAS 1.5 to work though, no matter what FSB I tried it at!)

So, what I'm going to say here is that if I had an IT7, I personally wouldn't replace it with a IT7 MAX2 or an IT MAX2 V2.0 because there really isn't that much of a difference between these 3 boards to make upgrading from one to the other make much economical sense. If I were you, I would wait a little bit and then grab a dual-channel DDR mobo when ABIT comes out with one. Of course, needless to say, this is just my opinion.

As I mentioned, the same stick that maxes out at DDR445 on the IT7 has done DDR472, 2-2-2-5 at 3.0 volts on a 4PEA+. I can probably do higher but I was CPU limited (177 fsb).

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WOW, that is VERY impressive. Corsair does kick ***, doesn't it? I wish my Corsair would run at that speed on my MAX2 V2.0.

Have you tried 2-2-2-5 on the IT7? I can only do 180, 1:1 there. Same stick does DDR426, 2-2-2-5 on the Albatron board.

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Hmmm, I had done a lot of testing a little while ago but I honestly can't remember what the highest Mhz and timings I had found that this RAM could handle at the 4:5 ratio. I'll have to check again and report. Just like you, I am CPU limited too though.

I got it for $93 U.S. (512 MB stick!)

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MAAAAAN, then you paid LESS THAN HALF of what I paid for my 512mb sticks. I wish we had prices here like in Japan.

If I were you, I would wait a little bit and then grab a dual-channel DDR mobo when ABIT comes out with one.

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Actually, I have a Gigabyte 8INXP on the way from my vendor in Japan. I was waiting on a replacement P4T533 for one that died, but I told them I wanted a 2C- board. After 3 months of waiting, they told me they can't get a 2C- board but offered me either a refund, a 2B- board, or the 8INXP instead. My Gawd! The 8INXP is selling for $100 more than I paid for the P4T533 originally, so I opted for it.

Therein is the problem with the GB boards. If you think it is harder to do 3:4 than 4:5, I have found it harder to do 1:1 at fast CAS settings like 2-2-2-5. Of all the sticks I have, they only max out at around 170-175 at 1:1, 2-2-2-5 (I have C1s now so I know the CPU is stable). Yet they do up to DDR472, 2-2-2-5 using mem ratios. Not sure what is going on. Even on the IT7, I didn't have a C1 at the time so I tested 180 using a mem ratio (still it only managed that at 2-2-2-5). And with GB boards, you need two equal sticks. A bad one will pull the other down.

In any case, I'll see how this GB board fares to my RDRAM rigs.

And thanks - based on your experience - I will pass on the IT7-MAX, Version 2, as it is an expensive board.