TH7II + 1.6A Northy: worries and questions

[Arghuin]

Hi there!!

I am about to purchase a TH7II mobo (non-raid), P4 1.6A 'Northwood' and 2X128 MB Samsung RDRAM. After much reading around (n00b here ), it came to my attention that the original TH7II mobos did not support the Northwood processors (due to bios version).
Am I likely to encounter any difficulties here? If yes, how might I overcome them (all suggestions welcome apart from 'using a spare Willamette' which I've heard in the past.....I don't have ca$h flowing out of my pockets )

Another question would be how much 'juice' am I likely to get out of that system? Bear in mind that for the first few weeks, cooling of the CPU will be carried out by the Intel stock cooler (Volcano 7+ is not available in the UK yet ) and case will be a Chieftek Dragon one with 3-5 Thermaltake 80mm Smart fans (feel free to comment on fan choices as well) and Emermax 350W PSU.

How future-proof is this mobo (esp. seeing that 533 Northies and PC1066 RDRAM will be with us in a few weeks)?

Final question: what is the best way to flash the TH7II's bios and which would be the first (and most stable) BIOS to use from day 1?

Thx

 

[MrNatural]

In alot of cases places that sell the TH7IIs are not making sure the boards are flashed with the latest bios. I've heard of some boards that are being sold that still have the original bios from it's release still on it. That is a big problem for ppl who get it and a Woody. The system will no boot 99% of the time because the bios simply does not recognize the Woody. So what has to be done is you will have to find someone with a Willimette version of the P4 to boot from, then reflash the latest bios.

As for the 533 P4s and PC1066 RDRA, the TH7II is pretty safe along those lines. It's going to be longer than a few weeks before their release tho. Probably not till mid May. I am running PC1066 RDRAM on this board tho and it's does quite nicely at the rated speeds for the memory (ie 533/1066mhz)

 

[Arghuin]

Hey MrN cheers for the response

Guess the only chance would be to give the store a ring before buying the thing (it's an online UK one OC.uk if I can recall correctly) and see what the situation is with their TH7II boards.....if it doesn't support the Woody core, I'm in trouble (all of my m8s here at Uni have AXP's )

 

[batboy]

It is true that most TH7-II motherboards are being shipped with the "37" BIOS which does not officially support the Northwoods. There are some TH7-II being shipped with the "38" BIOS which does support the Northwoods. However, most people (including myself) had no problem getting the Northwood CPU to work with the older BIOS. It does report the speed incorrectly, but it usually works good enough to let you flash to the newer BIOS that does support the Northwoods. The only exception that I know of is the 1.6a P-4's. For some reason a lot of people are having trouble booting up the 1.6a with the older "37" BIOS. Check around on the forum, there are several posts here that pertain to this subject. Good luck.

 

[Arghuin]

I just sent an email to the store and I am waiting for a response

After reading through some of the posts in the forum, it occurred to me that another option would be to order a new bios from Abit (in case the TH7II's the store sells do indeed come with the 37 version).
However, being in the UK at the moment, I do not know how viable this second option would be

 

[Arghuin]

Well...contacted the store, and all of their TH7 and TH7II boards come with the .37 bios revision.....

I contacted Abit UK and specifically asked them about this (TH7II board with 1.6A Northy) and they responded saying that the thing should boot up without any problems and allow me to flash the bios of the mobo....

Any comments from you ppl?

 

[Cooler666]

well i'm in the UK and the guy doesn't know what he's talking about. If you remember his name at least now if you don't get the thing to boot up (if you'll get the 37 BIOS) you can complain to them and they'll send you a new BIOS chip for free.
Mine actually came with the 38 BIOS and the AC 2001, i guess i was just lucky.

 

[Arghuin]

Cheers for the response Cooler
I actually saved and kept his email address

Here's to hoping though

Where did you buy yours from btw?

 

[Cooler666]

I bought mine from some small company in Manchester which normally only supplies to companies. I suggest you buy it from the web, check out www.pricewatch.co.uk for the cheapest place.

 

[Arghuin]

Cheers m8

 

[ginfest]

Just to reiterate what Cooler666 said: I called Abit Tech. b/4 I tore down my old system so I would have a functioning system if the "37" BIOS/P4 1.6a wouldn't work. The tech assured me it would! It didn't, so I called back and he had me try different things, still no go!
He then conceded that I'd need a Willemette P4 to flash or a new BIOS. They sent the BIOS, no mention of cost, but it came COD!
As I was desperate to get my system running, I paid.
Still awaiting my refund.

 

[Cooler666]

the cheapest i think in the UK for the TH7II-Raid is here:
www.overclockers.co.uk £146.41 Including VAT

 

[nigely]

take the bios chip out and use other computer to flash it

 

[dude]

Haha, Arghuin your and my system are the same down to the memory. I can not get this thing to boot. The little digital read out say code 29 when it stops.

1. Program CPU internal MTRR (P6 & PII) for 0-640K memory address
2. Initialize the APIC for Pentium class CPU
3.Program early chipset according to CMOS setup. Example: onboard IDE controller
4. Measure CPU speed
5. Invoke video BIOS

This is what code 29 says in the manual. What does any of this mean? Is this the same problem everyone else is having?

I'm kind of worried because when I opened the retail plastic packaging (It' kind of hard). I bent three pins on the processor. I bent them back, but I do not know if I caused anymore damage than just bent pins. I can probably find someone to lend me a old P4 if I have to.

Thanks

dude

 

[Dennis112]

I contacted Abit UK and specifically asked them about this (TH7II board with 1.6A Northy) and they responded saying that the thing should boot up without any problems and allow me to flash the bios of the mobo....

Any comments from you ppl?

Obvious the jerk doesn't read his own factory literature!

Need more ammo for a 1.6 bios problem? Then check out the ABIT FAQ (Question 7) on this page http://fae.abit.com.tw/eng/index.htm.

Abit in the US sent me a new chip for free since they ARE SUPPOSED to support the Northwoods.

 

[gipat]

Had a talk with Abit tech guy too when I first got my board, he told me the same story, u know, clear the cmos and it will boot(ya right). talked to bios department told them I wanted to buy a bios chip. They would not take my credit card and told me I had to mail them a check(for 12 dollars) ya maybe a credit card scheem. So instead I talked a friend into buying the same sys with bios 38 already flashed, This by far was easier then dealing with Abit, its a good thing they build good boards because I wouldn't buy one because of the good service(I live a thousand miles from nowhare)

 

[Arghuin]

Keep them posts coming

Unfortunately I have still been unable to find an Abit TH7II board with a bios revision>.37 in the UK....which has led me to 'second thoughts' about this setup....

Being in the US is well and nice if you receive a new bios chip in less than half a week, but unfortunately so far, with the exception of Epox, Coolermaster and a VERY limited number of other hardware companies, European support is less than stellar...

Dealing with research and reports (MRes perils), I can ill-afford to buy a system for which I will need half a month to setup up and use..

I am therefore going to make a last effort to find an Abit board in the UK with a bios version higher than the .37 one....if not, well, I am not going to dwell over it

Thx for your help and suggestions so far

Oh, and btw, dude, I think that you have this 'Northwood recognition' as it seems to be problem, and Cooler666, I have actually contacted overclockers (cheers for the link), and their immediate and extremely polite I must say response was that their TH7II/ RAID mobos ship with the .37 bios

 

[MrNatural]

Keep them posts coming

Unfortunately I have still been unable to find an Abit TH7II board with a bios revision>.37 in the UK....which has led me to 'second thoughts' about this setup....

Being in the US is well and nice if you receive a new bios chip in less than half a week, but unfortunately so far, with the exception of Epox, Coolermaster and a VERY limited number of other hardware companies, European support is less than stellar...

Dealing with research and reports (MRes perils), I can ill-afford to buy a system for which I will need half a month to setup up and use..

I am therefore going to make a last effort to find an Abit board in the UK with a bios version higher than the .37 one....if not, well, I am not going to dwell over it

Thx for your help and suggestions so far

Oh, and btw, dude, I think that you have this 'Northwood recognition' as it seems to be problem, and Cooler666, I have actually contacted overclockers (cheers for the link), and their immediate and extremely polite I must say response was that their TH7II/ RAID mobos ship with the .37 bios

If there is a local shop there in the UK that has these boards in then ask them if they would flash the new bios for you before you get it so that way you can have it to use with the Woody?

 

[Arghuin]

I 've just sent them an email MrN


I will probably have a response by late afternoon tomorrow or early morning the day after

I'll keep you posted

 

[dude]

Ok fixed my problem. I got my old manager at Office Depot to let me use a P4 from one of the flow modle for a couple of minutes while I flashed the new bios in. All problem solved after that. One place wanted to charge me $70 for five minutes of use. $70!!!!!!! Well right now im cruzing at [email protected]. Im not sure if it is 100% stable so I'm going to run some benchies and such.