ECS GeForce6100PM-M2(V3.0) and Phenom IIx4 965 Problems

[rocksfan_1]

For my boss I got her this setup because her old x2 5000 went bad and we decided this would be the best bet. Newegg sold this mobo and cpu together as a bundle so I figured they would be compatible.

Everything seemed to go fine on installatiton until I realized that the cpu is only running at 800mhz...it should be at 3.4 for a starting point.

I installed the newest bios, using a 550w power supply. And no matter what I do this thing will not post with the stock settings.

Any suggestions? I am thinking about RMAing the board and chip both because I have no way of diagnosising what the true problem is because all of my builds are intel.

 

[ScottinIndy]

Have you checked to see if it is just running in the Cool n Quiet mode? If so it should ramp up as soon as you start some programs and stress the processor.

 

[theflyingrat]

From the looks of the ECS CPU support page for that motherboard, none of the 125W or 140W CPUs are supported on that board - and it so happens that every 965BE is a 125W or 140W part. The board uses a skimpy little 3-phase VRM for CPU power; even if you do get it running at stock speed, that board's power circuitry would be cooked in short order. To do so, you'd need to find the multiplier control for the CPU in BIOS and change it to its default setting (x17). But for right now, it's best to leave it and not cook anything.

Newegg is sometimes incredibly stupid with their combo deals. I've seen DDR2 memory sold in combos with AM3 motherboards before, and likewise, AM3 motherboards sold in combos with AM2/AM2+ CPUs. I've often wondered if the combos are put together by some sort of mathematical algorithm...

Short answer, though : that CPU can not and will not run properly in that motherboard. RMA the motherboard and get a proper AM2+ or AM3 motherboard for that 965, or RMA that 965 and pick something off the support list. Nearly all of the Athlon IIs (X2, X3, and X4) are supported on it, as are the 95W and lower Phenom II X3s and X2s. I'd pick the motherboard myself, as I'd really like to have that 965, but that's just a personal preference thing. There are plenty of sub-$80 motherboards out there that will run that chip without issue.

 

[trents]

Is it too late to RMA the stuff to Egg? That combo definitely is an incompatible one. Be sure to investigate the wattage rating of a motherboard when you are considering buying one to go with a high end CPU like that. A lot of those budget priced boards are limited to CPUs of 95W or less. When you start getting into boards with the 780/785/790 northbridge chipsets then you can use 125W/140W CPUs.