NF7-S and Barton 2500+ wont OC!!

Ok, I have a NF7-S rev. 2, unlocked 2500, Kingston HyperX PC3200 Ram, Radeon 9800 NP, Fortron 530w, WD Raptor and an SLK-800.

I cant get this thing to run stable at 11x200 or anything X 200 for that matter. I have tried all the way down to 5X200. When I say stable I mean it cant run prime95 for more then like 8 tests. If I run it at 11x200 at stock voltage I get a few errors in memtest86 on test 7. I have tried running prime95 with the cpu at stock(333mhz) and the mem at spd(400mhz). I have tried running with vcore at 1.7, vdimm at 2.7, chipset at 1.7, 11x200, mem at 2.5,3,3,11 and it still errors out in prime95. I also confirmed that the errors in memtest go away if I up the vcore OR vdimm.

I decieded to try and push the multiplier. It ran fine at 12X166 but I didn't let it run for more then like 2 hours and then I tried 13X166 and got errors in prime95 at like 30 minutes.

What would cause this?!?! Is it processor, board or ram? I cant RMA the processor but I can still RMA the board and the ram. What is causing my problem? Bios 18 came with my board, would flashing to 20 maybe help?

keep in mind that the nf7 undervolts the cpu (from bios setting) by a fair amount. you can confirm this in cpu-z or MBM.
Some 2500+'s need a fair amount of voltage to even get to 3200+ speeds
i always like to use the latest bios, unless there's a modded bios

If memtest reports multiple errors in the same memory address then it's probably bad RAM. it's pc3200 so run it at 200 and use the by SPD RAM timings (put the timings to Optimal) and run memtest86. If your cooling can handle it then run the chip at 1.85Vcore and the chipset at 1.7 just to be sure they are not causing the problem. Like I said if you get multiple errors at the same address (when running the RAM at its rated speed/timings) then it's bad RAM, RMA it.

I just went through the same thing with my Corsair TwinX XMS3200 (BTW I have a 2500 now, not in sig yet), Prime would stop and windows kept rebooting. That RAM is on it's way back right now.

I already tried running it by SPD with default timings and voltages and it gives a bunch of errors in test 7. I tried running it at 1.8Vcore and chipset at 1.7 and got 2 errors in memtest on test 7. So ram is bad? I sure hope newegg still has some of this kingston hyperx pc3200 non-a stuff.

I remember seeing a post a while back about bios 18 not letting a certain user get over around 210fsb. He updated to 20 and it fixed the problem. Try this...or you can pm me for the 21 patch version which i use. Its different from the regular because of a stable sata bios.

Thats the key there. I would about be happy with 210fsb right now. I cant even get it to run 200fsb pretty much regardless of voltage. If I pump the voltage enough the memtest errors go away but prime95 still wont run stable. I suppose updating the bios is worth a try before I RMA this ram.

in order to run my barton 2500 at 3200 (11X200) i have to run my vcore at 1.8 volts. runs a bit hotter but very stable.

Is that 1.8 in the bios or actual 1.8 because like crimedog said this board seems to undervolt vcore?

Bois 21 is out on Abits site and there is already a bois 22 you can get for revision 2 boards.... here is an example (results differ on other chips) I have my CPU volt set at 1.85 in my bios (this is where it runs stable.... 1.875 and 1.825 do not) MBM5 reports it as 1.82 Volts. As for getting over a 200Mhz FSB its going to be tough with PC3200(400Mhz) memory. Im looking to upgrade to PC3500(433Mhz) FSB*2= Memory clock at a 1:1 Ratio ex. 200FSB*2= 400Mhz Memory / 216FSB*2= 432Mhz Memory. Hope this helps

Flashed to bios 20 and now I dont get errors in memtest at 11X200 at 1.8Vcore but Prime95 still fails in the first 20 minutes even at 1.85vcore. So is my ram bunk or is my cpu bunk? I'm at a loss here.

pay no attention to prime95, if everything else runs fine, prime95 probably stresses hardware in ways nothing else does. also hyperX really shouldnt be used for nf2 mobos as they dont like each other. corsair ram is much better. I got corsair VALUE pc3200 and I can do 220fsb no probs, in fact I think my mobos limiting me. I bought xms ram and when that ram comes, I may need a vdd mod to hit 240fsb, hope this helps

So if I can get it to loop 3dmarks2001 for 12+ hours I should just call it a day and say its stable?

Anyone have any links to posts about kingston ram having problems with NF7-S boards? Were they having the same problem as me?

Ok, I'm not buying it. I did some more tests and I just feel that I should be able to set this ram to run by SPD in my bios and have it pass memtest like that with stock voltages. I am going to RMA this stuff.