ASUS A8R-MX/DP Socket 939.

[Oldschool297]

I got hold of a vintage super computer at that time when it supported dual core processors and had SATA. Is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 suited for this board? I have read but i wanted to be sure. There may be some other more powerfull processors to. My processor right now is a little smaller https://www.techpowerup.com/cpu-specs/athlon-64-3000.c545

 

[eidairaman1]

This is the Closest Info i can find on that board.

https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/A8R-MVP.html

I got hold of a vintage super computer at that time when it supported dual core processors and had SATA. Is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 suited for this board? I have read but i wanted to be sure. There may be some other more powerfull processors to. My processor right now is a little smaller https://www.techpowerup.com/cpu-specs/athlon-64-3000.c545

 

[Oldschool297]

Thanks, seems like many models. I mostly find AD0 and not ADA

 

[eidairaman1]

Only way to know is try it.

 

[DR4G00N]

Must be a board from an Asus pre-built/barebones system, maybe this one? https://www.asus.com/supportonly/vintage-ah1/helpdesk/

I assume it would work but you'd really just have to try and see.

 

[eidairaman1]

Must be a board from an Asus pre-built/barebones system, maybe this one? https://www.asus.com/supportonly/vintage-ah1/helpdesk/

I assume it would work but you'd really just have to try and see.

It was Listed under the Asus Windows XP Compatiblity List and uses an ATi Chipset, but how Asus is they aren't posting support material for it.

 

[Tatty_Two]

The 939 socket boards will support you're CPU and some more powerful others, therefore the next question is, what Bios does your board have on it and what does that Bios support, unless of course you can find Bioses through the motherboard manufacturer to update it if needed, but as it stands, as others have said, at this point just try it .................

 

[eidairaman1]

The 939 socket boards will support you're CPU and some more powerful others, therefore the next question is, what Bios does your board have on it and what does that Bios support, unless of course you can find Bioses through the motherboard manufacturer to update it if needed, but as it stands, as others have said, at this point just try it .................

View attachment 300369

With it being related to the mvp it probably supports the opteron 165/185.

 

[natr0n]

Socket 939 was a good time.
Still have my boards.

 

[Oldschool297]

I will have to check the bios version. I do have a problem with the machine. I can't start the XP that already is installed, I tried Windows 7 64 and Vista but it only load the DVD and nothing more happens, the screen wents black. I don't even come to the installation setup. I can't install Xp either and it is a 64. The setup is loading but when it should load drivers before installation it stucks. I have tried 2 different harddrives and a new sata cable and another dvd-rw but the problem is still there. I have 2gb memory installed and i can't find any faults with the memory. It is the first time i have gotten this problem with a vintage computer.

 

[eidairaman1]

I will have to check the bios version. I do have a problem with the machine. I can't start the XP that already is installed, I tried Windows 7 64 and Vista but it only load the DVD and nothing more happens, the screen wents black. I don't even come to the installation setup. I can't install Xp either and it is a 64. The setup is loading but when it should load drivers before installation it stucks. I have tried 2 different harddrives and a new sata cable and another dvd-rw but the problem is still there. I have 2gb memory installed and i can't find any faults with the memory. It is the first time i have gotten this problem with a vintage computer.

Make sure the ram is installed in the correct slots, then change the cmos battery and do a bios reset. Either ram, motherboard or cpu or gpu maybe acting up.

 

[LabRat 891]

Due to age, check the capacitors. Bloated caps means a guaranteed-unstable system.

Also, as @DR4G00N mentioned, that model appears to be an Asus 1st-party OEM-build board.
(eventually, if you find the PRECISELY matching 'non-OEM' SKU, you might be able to flash its BIOS onto this board)

 

[eidairaman1]

Due to age, check the capacitors. Bloated caps means a guaranteed-unstable system.

Also, as @DR4G00N mentioned, that model appears to be an Asus 1st-party OEM-build board.
(eventually, if you find the PRECISELY matching 'non-OEM' SKU, you might be able to flash its BIOS onto this board)

Yup i rescued a 754 rig in 2016 where the caps were blowing their top

 

[Oldschool297]

I can take a high res photo of the board. The caps looks very very good. The cmos battery is allright. I am surprised because it was a sticker in the way for removing the panel. It seems like no one has opened it before. The battery can't have lasted since 2005? It shows the correct date and time. I have no pci graphic card. Only the one who is built in the board, radeon express 200. It seems to be DDR200 and 100mhz. I have higher. But the original two ones that is on 900mb works on 100mhz.

 

[LabRat 891]

I can take a high res photo of the board. The caps looks very very good. The cmos battery is allright. I am surprised because it was a sticker in the way for removing the panel. It seems like no one has opened it before. The battery can't have lasted since 2005? It shows the correct date and time. I have no pci graphic card. Only the one who is built in the board, radeon express 200. It seems to be DDR200 and 100mhz. I have higher. But the original two ones that is on 900mb works on 100mhz.

It's not common but you can find people w/ 2+decade old game carts, etc. that still work. However, you'll also find people w/ CMOS batteries arriving dead out of box or w/in a year or 2.

So, while there's almost certainly causative factors in why some older Lithium Manganese Dioxide (LiMn02) primary cells seem to last decades, and others don't meet their specsheet...
I've not ran across a study* about it and would say "It's simply a crapshoot".

*

Spoiler: Warning: Tangential information ahead

(I *have* ran across many recent studies on NiCad 'memory effect'; it doesn't actually exist. Unironically, modern science would indicate there was a literal conspiracy to move away from Nickel Cadmium batteries; they're easily, cost-effectively, and environmentally responsibly recycled.)

 

[Oldschool297]

The caps looks little open. I tried a IDE/Pata disk but the result become the same, so it can't be something wrong with Sata/Ide. I tried with a single working 200mhz 1gb memory but i can't install either XP or Vista. I also tried to connect the old Samsung 160gb sata disk to a external and run chkdsk /r but no faults came up. With the xp disk i come to the first step when the drivers should be loaded and then it stucks, and with the vista 64 i only see Windows Vista is loading files and no installation windows come up. Only a black screen.

 

[eidairaman1]

The caps looks little open. I tried a IDE/Pata disk but the result become the same, so it can't be something wrong with Sata/Ide. I tried with a single working 200mhz 1gb memory but i can't install either XP or Vista. I also tried to connect the old Samsung 160gb sata disk to a external and run chkdsk /r but no faults came up. With the xp disk i come to the first step when the drivers should be loaded and then it stucks, and with the vista 64 i only see Windows Vista is loading files and no installation windows come up. Only a black screen.

Theres your problem, you will need the caps replaced.

 

[Oldschool297]

Yes it seems like 6. Is it hard to find them?

 

[LabRat 891]

The caps looks little open. I tried a IDE/Pata disk but the result become the same, so it can't be something wrong with Sata/Ide. I tried with a single working 200mhz 1gb memory but i can't install either XP or Vista. I also tried to connect the old Samsung 160gb sata disk to a external and run chkdsk /r but no faults came up. With the xp disk i come to the first step when the drivers should be loaded and then it stucks, and with the vista 64 i only see Windows Vista is loading files and no installation windows come up. Only a black screen.

Hot Diggity! That them-there are some very bad caps.

On the plus side, if you haven't done cap replacements before, these old boards aren't super-dense.

Yes it seems like 6. Is it hard to find them?

0 offense meant, I am speaking from my own (similar) experience: Asking this question is an indication of a lot more research needed on your part.
As far as difficulty in finding replacements: nah, usually easy. A (particularly skilled and cheap/desperate) person could salvage caps from other dead hardware, but Mouser and Digi-Key are top-tier sources for caps.
There are other places, but I'm not up-to-date on 'where's good' beyond the industry-suppliers. (eBay isn't a great choice for cap shopping, but it is 'there'.)

I'm not sure what-all guides are here on TPU for Cap sourcing, quality, and replacement, but there is an entire site and forum dedicated to the topic:

Badcaps.net Forums - Recapping Overview

Bad capacitors, capacitors, bad caps, badcaps, vp6, ka7, shuttle, computers, computer, failed caps, failed capacitors, tv repair, television repair, component level repair, electronics repair

badcaps.net

 

[Oldschool297]

Thanks for the help, i will look into it. Can bad caps cause so memory works wrong? So they get more power and failes. I doubt if i dare to change memory to more new with bad caps.

 

[xrror]

yea those caps are super dead lol.

My experience with recapping 754 and 939 boards is that they're super tolerant of using "whatever caps" which means they're a great beginning project for a re-cap!
I mean, obvs use caps that are rated for whatever voltage or more, equal or greater than capacitance and lower ESR probably better but... generally you don't have to be too picky with these - in that you can use whatever ebay/amazon caps and it will probably be fine. The nice thing about getting nicer caps is mostly that you're not doing a recap in 3 years again vs say another 10, but you might not care if it still works in 2033 ;p

BadCaps.net used to be the goto for getting mobo caps but I don't think they're selling caps as much anymore - but the forums there are still great place for guides and info on doing it.

 

[eidairaman1]

Thanks for the help, i will look into it. Can bad caps cause so memory works wrong? So they get more power and failes. I doubt if i dare to change memory to more new with bad caps.

Yes failed caps cause all kinds of havok

 

[Oldschool297]

I did a try with one memory inside a kingston 512mb but it shows up at 447mb and 200mhz, i have another exactly the same and when both are in the dimms it shows at 100mhz for both. So i took one out and now i come longer with the XP install. It now hangs when Windows Xp should start after loading the drivers.

 

[Bones]

Even caps that don't appear to be bad can still be a problem simply due to age, meaning they've gotten weak over time.
The ones in the pics are clearly bad but sometimes just taking a board and making it a recap project solves issues you otherwise woudn't be able to figure out based on how the caps look alone.


BTW.... Please and I mean please upload your pics directly to the site since it can host your pics too - Places like ImageShack, Photobucket and others are just LOADED with bugs (Spyware/Malware), this being long proven as fact by now.

 

[Oldschool297]

Does anyone knows what caps models there is on this board? The ones who needs to be replaced. It is so hard to see the text without removing the board. I will upload photos to the site from now. I did not see the buttom on my phone then.