soltek 75FRN2-L

[Jimmy jim jim]

lol thanks honeycut well put.



I feel better i just emailed soltek for the power bios and am staying at the speed i am at with the 1024 ram. it runs fine anyways.

tsk tsk i don't need to got that fast today when there is always the next day.


2.12Ghz 2120MHZ 184fsb x2(368Mhz) 11.5 Multiplier 2X512= Pc3200 OCZ Ram

would love to be at 220 fsb stable tho lol

 

[huneycutt]

I envy you Jimmy. You're one of those that comes to mind when I think of the saying, "If you're not livin' on the edge you're not close enough, so move over!" You Sir are one of the folks that aren't happy with the way it is, you want to make it work better and faster and more effiecently and milk it for all it's worth until you have extraced all you can and have it working the best it possibly can. Truly an admirable quality, perhaps financially costly at times, but admirable. If it weren't for people like you there would be little progress and technological advances would slowly grind to a halt.

Thing that really warms this ole Geezers heart is when I read through the posts in the various OC'ers forums here I see a lot of people like you and that's good. My personality is such that I kick it up a notch or two and I'm happy with that and the following will bear witness to that.

Haven't even had it up a week yet and my new EPOX 8RGA+ with the Athalon 2100 is proving to be one honey of a board. Had the CPU OC'd to 2195MHz and about gave me a small stroke. I use the EverCool CUD725 cooler w/Arctic Silver so I don't have a really far-out cooler and as such I'm CPU heat conscious. I left it there for a couple hours and it was completely stable but I backed it off to 2025MHz and things cooled down a bit and that fulfills my need for speed.

At this point it would be difficult to chose the Soltek SL-75MRN-L or the EPOX as being better because they both are sweeeet. The AGP card I use on the EPOX is no big cagar, a modest PNY 64MB, and I think the on board video on the Soltek is just as good. No heavy gaming here or demanding applications where a whiz-bang AGP card would kick in and WOW me.

Not much I can add to ya'lls knowledge in the technology dept but at 62 I have some degree of wisdom and when I feel I can share lifes experiences I shall do so like I did with the "when you get angry back off" thing.

Have a great day and keep on pushin' closer to the edge, but don't fall off. OldBird

 

[Jimmy jim jim]

Well yeah hit me on the nose for sure!

I milk everything i can if i pay alot for the ram it better do it is all i can think of! And i dislike giving up so i have just recieved the "power bios" from soltek gonna do my first flash ever ohhhhhhhhh hehehehe this is gonna be a blast i think.

oh and from soltek this is what they put? Why would they tell me not to run aggressive they knwo i am going to try it i am thinking about it all day!

Dear customer:

Thank you for contacting Soltek.
Attached is specially BIOS of 75FRN2 for power user, please read "awd-how to
update" carefully before updating BIOS.
Please choose [Optimal] instead of [Aggressive] for CPU interface in Advanced
Chipset Features of BIOS while overclocking.


This betetr make the mobo do what i want oh and looking at a 1700 amd t bred they say they go 2.4Ghz? i am intrigued if this is so selling the 2100+ with retail heatsink for 90- canada bucks

 

[huneycutt]

Roger all that Jimmy.
Punch line is when you buy the retail boxed AMD version you get the heat sink and fan and THREE year AMD warranty. I KNOW AMD backs up their CPU's because I had a 1700 that died, called them and got an RMA number and from the time I sent back until I had a new one at my door was NINE days! Good on ya' AMD! Very confident in their customer service and will bear witness to that and they make a darn CPU to.

Now then, newegg had a bunch of 2100's that were downgrade 2700 T'bred core. A few months back when the downgrades were flowing like water I got two 2100/2700's. On my 75MRN-L all I have to do is set the FSB at 166 and the memory to Auto and I got a 2700 @ 2166Mhz out of the 2100 normal clock 1733MHz.
I'd say that's a lot of speed for the money. Think I paid like $72. for each. Took a 2100 on the EPOX 8RGA+ and fiddled with the multiplier and other settings (Expert) and got 2195MHz.
Yup, very gratifying good stuff and easy to do to.

If you go to newegg and read the user reviews on the 2100 Athalon they will tell you what they are getting because there is no guarantee you'll get a 2100 downgrade 2700. You order and roll the dice. However, you stand a better chance of getting a downgrade 2700 if you order the BOXED version 2100.

Young (Expert) feller' like you prolly' take one of them thar 2100's and OC it over 2.3 GHz, provided you go water cooling and all that jazz. Man, I want me one of them cases with the plexiglass side and some of them psychedilic fans and flashing lights so bad I can't stand it. (I'm an old Hippie, saw Jimi Hendrix in concert.) Only trouble is, the wife walks in and see me sittin' in front of the neon wonder and she'll know for shore I done gone and lost my old feeble mind. HeHeHeHe . . . We bad, we bad . . .

Go get 'em Jimmy, you and all the other young folks out there. Enjoy your youth, pursue your dreams, OC until you can't OC no more, push it to the limit, seek the ultimate for time passes so fast and youth is but a passing fancy in a midnight dream.

Yes, I too remember way back when . . . .

OldBird who loves you each and everyone.

 

[Jimmy jim jim]

That chip you talk about the 2100 sounds sweet.
Well the 1700 is all out of stock blahhhhhh
But i am still trying to flash this bios i am a bit scared from reading horror problems arising from flashing the bios on these boards.


Oh well i am trying to figure out if i can preserve the bios i ahve just incase...

 

[huneycutt]

BIOS flashing is not a thing to be entered into lightly.
You mess with the BIOS you messin' with de' man. Be careful.

Unless you have a really good reason to do the flash and a lot to gain I say leave well enough alone. I told you the Phoenix BIOS is common to the Soltek & the Epox and both work just fine as they came on the board. No reason for me to mess up a good thing . . . . .

Disretion is the better part of Valor. In other words, don't push blindly ahead and don't run off lookin' for better when you're doin'alright where you're at. (Behind the preposition.)
Not an exactly an explorer/adventurers philosophy, but conservative and somewhat trustworthy.

 

[Jimmy jim jim]

never done the bios flash before i have to do it.


I read in another forum board that has major soltek knowledge that guys are flashing thru all the bios's on the board they own?

I heard that if you had a say D1.2 and falshed back to the 1.1 you were screwed, i guess not. Maybe i will experince all the bios's and then figure out what one i will keep. But i hear the D1.1 is the one to have if you oc extreeeeme



The worst if it happens well whatever soltek mobo is on sale for 109 at local store. I will make sure this one goes up in smoke and video tape it LOL

 

[Jimmy jim jim]

http://www.amdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=246129

enjoy my knowledge guys if you are running anybios that is not these get them/ D1.1 or POwer bios/ Read the link to understand the pain and madness i went thru. hehehehe

 

[Puer Aeternus]

I dont want to thread Hijack but I have an oportunity to buy a Soltek 75frn2-L MOBO and so far have read 3 positive reviews and this thread is showing me you are haveing good experiences w/ this board. Any more feedback on this board? The price in Canadian Dollars is $105.00 and that is exactly w/ in my budget. My current board is a ECS K7S5A and it runs fine but I prefer a board w/ more O/C'ing features.

Feedback?

 

[huneycutt]

This is a board I have and I would go with over the Soltek.
Epox Motherboard for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors, Model# EP-8RGA+
Specifications:
CPU Supported: AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron processors
Chipset: nForce2
FSB: 333MHz Max
RAM: 3x DDR SDRAM PC3200, 3GB Max
IDE: 2x E/IDE Ultra DMA/133
Slots: 1x AGP(8X), 6x PCI(32-bit)
Ports: 2x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard, 2x Serial, 1x Parallel, 2x USB, 1x RJ-45, 2x IEEE 1394 (via Headers)
Onboard Video: Geforce4 MX Graphics
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650E 6-channel audio
Onboard LAN: Realtek RTL8201 PHY
Retail box $103. with free shipping at newegg.com

The 8RDA+ is also a fine board but doesn't have on board video.
Go to newgg.com and find the boards and read the user reviews, they are all great. This is a good link for MB ratings, click Features, Stability, Performance, etc at the top and see how they rate in each category. http://www.motherboards.org/rank/AMD/total/motherboard-rank.html

Thing that bothers me about Soltek is they pulled out of the US and if you need support you'll be talking to someone in Tiawan and I don't like that. I can't knock their boards but I want to business with a company that has support here in the US of A.

EPOX OC's very easy and has a lot of neat features and the way they flash the BIOS is so easy. Only thing I recommend is mounting a 40mm fan to the NForce chip HS but that's no trouble at all. Yup, go with EPOX and I feel you will be more than happy.
If you need more info just give a shout. OldCoot

 

[adelphia83]

I've owned and used both boards, and both are on par for top performance in the given price range.

The 8RDA and 8RDA+ do not have the Nvidia Ultra400 chipset, rather they use the first revision. It would be comparable to the Soltek 75-FRN-L, the first revision of the board we are talking about. The 8RDA(+) also does not have VDD voltage adjustment. Both features are a must for those seeking high FSB.

I do know that the 8RGA+ has a VDD adjustment, however I am unsure if this board uses the latest revision Nvidia chipset. Given the specs you had provided, I am almost certain this board uses the first revision as it does not officially support 200mhz FSB.

The 8RDA3+ is the only Epox board I know of that contains both these features (although the possibility exists that the 8RGA+ has both these features) that are present in the 90$ Soltek boards.

Tech support being in Tawain does not bother me. I normally only have to deal with tech-support if I need RMA, however I had to contact them once to aquire a BIOS which would allow the full-range of async memory / fsb frequencies to be used. I recieved a response in less than 24 hours, and I was provided with a power-user BIOS.

I'm sure with that level of customer support that I recieved, I would have no problems dealing with them for RMA or whatever issue I may have.

 

[InnerG]

Soltek 75frn2 I've got my xp 2500 to 2.4mhz right now on stock cooling with mods im running a 210 fsb with a 11.5 multi right now if you wanna know the trick to this board post again ill help you out

 

[InnerG]

Soltek 75frn2-rl xp 2500 running 420 fsb @ 2.4 mhz let me know who needs help with the Soltek Board

 

[huneycutt]

SL-75MRN-L

Athalon 2100 OC'd 2171MHz fsb 166 & memory set Auto.
That's all I do and that baby rocks on out. Not bad for a $72. retail boxed CPU with a $22.00 Evercool CUD725 air cooler including freight. Two 256 sticks, 512 MB's total Crucial 2100 RAM.

I see at newegg the P4 2.0 GHz is like $156.00
Pretty big difference between my total investment of $94. in my AMD.

OH, by the way, The first board I bought the RAM for was a Soltek 75MRN-L. I subsequently got an EPOX 8RDA and 8RGA+ and the Crucial RAM works fine in all three boards.

 

[huneycutt]

To Adelphia83

I bought mine before the 8RDA3+ came out but have to say couldn't be happier with the Soltek or EPOX's I own. I'm an old codger and this OC'ing thing has been a real learning experience for me and I love it. The way all the boards run is absolutely awesome for this OldBird and I'm happy to say I'm tickled with all three. (Especially since I got the 8RDA for $51. as a newegg refurb.) I have two 2100's B core downgrade 2700's and they have worked beautifully for me.

Got my eye on a 2500 Barton with the 512 cache and going to ask old Sandy Claw if he will bring me one for Cris'um. Man, those must be one awesome chip. Friend of mine had his up to 2.5 GHz but backed it off because he needs to get better cooling.

OK, got some errands to run and need to get my exercise to keep my old bones lubricated. Always good shootin' the breeze with ya'll and have a great day. OldBird