The Conroe865PE thread... for AGP users... stock and mod

[TRWOV]

Well 1.70 has an update for the microcode 6F7/66 which apparently is used by my QX6800 so you might be on the right track. Maybe next weekend, I'm somewhat tired plus dinner isn't going to make itself.

Anyway, I believe it was my RAM. I don't know what I did but I can't get it stable to 215 CL2.5 again. Still works fine at <200 (3:2). Or it could be that 1.60 is less tolerant to some RAM modules; I have another set of DDR500 RAM (OCZ too) and the board wouldn't boot up with them. Seems to like my DDR400 CL2.5 just fine though.

 

[TRWOV]

It seems to me that 1.60 is more unstable. The FSB jumps back and forth within a 1Mhz range (like 266.33, 266.58, 267.2, etc) even with SpeedStep disabled.

The increased memory bandwidth surely helps the CPU. It seems that the Quads are starving for bandwidth. With 3:2 the max I got was 3.27 in Cinebench @ 3.26Ghz, now the max is 3.61 at the same speed although it isn't very stable. I'm letting it at 3.24Ghz for the time being (270x12).

 

[Compurex1]

Windows 8

W8 works but has some rugged edges on this board. Haven't got BSODs but you can tell the system isn't performing 100%. Sometimes it takes a while for the system to acknowledge commands, like CTRl+ALt+Supr and startup times are longer than W7. I don't fault W8 for this though; it wasn't supposed to support such an old chipset.

As for your question I think more RAM is preferable to more speed.

W8 has actually worked very well on my system (a big improvement over XP). All my games are running fine. It's pretty amazing considering the vintage of the MB and the fact that the 865PE was never intended to run Conroe CPUs in the 1st place. I did have to disable Fast-Startup in the power settings because my system wouldn't power off at shutdown.

As far as my RAM is concerned, I think I'll go back to the 1.70 BIOS and slowly increment the FSB until I find my limit. I'm currently running at 270 FSB (180 RAM) and the RAM is still stable. W8 has a handy RAM diagnostic that's good for testing stability.

 

[TRWOV]

You could lurk on eBay and look for a cheap DDR400 2GB CL2 kit. I recently got one for 33 + shipping. Even though you won't be able to use the full 4GB you'll get about .4 GB more. 1GB kit won't cost you much less and you could sell your 1GB kit later to pad the cost.

 

[Compurex1]

You could lurk on eBay and look for a cheap DDR400 2GB CL2 kit. I recently got one for 33 + shipping. Even though you won't be able to use the full 4GB you'll get about .4 GB more. 1GB kit won't cost you much less and you could sell your 1GB kit later to pad the cost.

I'm not sure if the extra 0.5 GB of usable RAM would translate into any real-world performance improvement on W8. I thought the Corsair Platinum RAM was going to do the trick, however it was disingenuously marked as CL2 at DDR400 when it clearly isn't. I'm not sure I want to roll the dice on eBay again. I've found that dual-channel DDR400 kits are a little pricy (especially performance CL2).

 

[TRWOV]

Well I also see that it's kind of pointless to "invest" in this platform. The E6600 is a superb upgrade over your old Athlon and I'm sure you'll be well served by it but you need to consider a full system overhaul for next time. You don't need the latest and greatest but a first gen i5 quad core should be the minimum you ought to shot for.

Enjoy!

 

[_JP_]

Damn this thread. lol
Thanks to you guys, I almost bought a HD 2600 AGP on impulse to do some freaky sheet experients and projects.

 

[TRWOV]

Do it!

 

[_JP_]

I really can't afford to.














Plus, the only one I found had a ridiculous price. Even if it included the box and the accessories. The seller agreed to negotiate, but I cannot spend money on parts for projects I'm not even sure I'll be able to finish.

 

[TRWOV]

haha! I know. I'm littered with parts from half done projects. I intent to finish them, honest.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I know I said a couple weeks ago I was gonna rebuild this motherboard, but I had to put the project on hold. As littered as I am with all kinds of spare parts (Like TRWOV), I discovered the one thing I am missing is an extra PSU. So, once I do, I will post my progress. I'm glad there will be people here to share it with!

 

[rtwjunkie]

CPU Compatibility

OK, got my hands on an old Antec Truepower 550 I found in a pile of used parts in the garage. LOL, it even has the old style 20-pin pwer input that this board has. Anyway, I know the cpu list is really just Allendales and Conroes, but I'm interested in what has been added on these additional BIOS after 1.50. See, I got my hands on an e8300. Yes, I know it's 1333, but my reasoning is if it will run on the board, I could run the FSB at 800 and have plenty of O/C room. Will it recognize it you think?

 

[TRWOV]

I don't know. I've run a couple of "unsupported" CPUs (Q6700 G0, Pentium E5800) but no 1333 CPU. I'd say it wouldn't run but you never know.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Alright, thanks! Looks Like it's off to the auctions to find an e4600 like I used last time. The x12 multiplier made for a very easy 3Ghz.

I've even found some older SATA drives. Other than the $35 I will spend on the cpu, I might be able to completely patch this together with old parts! I decided on a copy of XP Pro-32 bit that I have, since the 865 chipset wont see above 4gb ram.

 

[TRWOV]

There's another limitation, RAM must maintain CL2.5 for Core 2 support. My OCZs get to 230 with voltage options on HIGH, after that it's CL3 for them and BSOD galore; I suppose your G.SKILL would perform about the same, so an E4600 could get up to 2760, unless I'm missing something. You could opt to run the RAM at 5:4 (select 333Mhz as RAM speed, DDR400 modules will run at 320Mhz), that would get you more headroom.

 

[TRWOV]

775i65G R3.0??? WTF???

OK, this is bananas:

An 865G board released in 2012?!?!?

Apparently it's the same as the 775i65G R2.0 but with a black PCB, CPU support now includes Wolfdale although R2 3.30 bios also supported it but not officially. The thing that bothers me is that the bios is about 200KB less than R2 3.30. If I still had my old 775i65G R2 I would try it and see whats up.

Part (whole) of me is surprised though, is there really enough demand for a newly released AGP board? At least they updated the VRM section.

Now, if they'd come out with a Conroe865PE with updated VRMs... And an HD6670 AGP with GDDR5 please

 

[mediasorcerer]

I just got given one of these boards yesterday, it's an asrock dual channel conroe 865vg fsb800 presler conroe dual core cpu, it only has 512mb memory and no dedicated gpu but it seems to work, i managed to install win7 over xp but am having bootloader issues after running wei and web browser it froze, came with 320gb seagate 7200rpm so might use that for my proper rigg as storage and configure this thing with an old lappy hdrive in the mean time, funny i just saw this thread, what a coinkydink!!!Its in an older antec case, i can post some pics if anyone likes, i dont have much knowledge of this chipset, ive only been into computers since 2008 before that, never turned one on hehe.


What kind of dedicated gpu could i git for it, i think its got pcie 1 or something, not the same as my rog gpu slot anyhow.


Might go well in the loungeroom with the 40inch lcd maybe as media rigg say what?

 

[TRWOV]

The Conroe865GV (no to confuse with the godly Conroe865PE) has an AGI slot... which basically is a PCI slot with AGP form factor. I wouldn't put anything above a Radeon 9200 in there, won't do much good in games. VGA support list: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/ConRoe865GV/?cat=VGA

You'd be better off with a PCI card. Maybe a GT520 PCI? http://www.zotacusa.com/geforce-gt-520-zt-50610-10l.html Has HDMI out.

The freezing issues might have to do with RAM latencies. I don't know what sorcery Asrock used on these boards but Core 2 CPUs require CL2.5 RAM for some reason (might have to do with NB timings, PAT perhaps? dunno) . If your RAM isn't CL2.5 you can run it in Flexible Mode and will force them into 3:2 CL2.5.

 

[mediasorcerer]

Cheers mate, i might give the bastard away to someone i think, its exactly the same as the picture 3 posts above with 3 white pci-1 agp slots, the silver heatsink etc, anyone want it here? Has the cpu/heatsink etc, and seems to be working fine, 2 256mb ram stiks and 380w psu too,and cd drive, il keep the case i think hehe, its up for grabs anyone! you pay postage, il send and give, can post a pic if anyone likes,

 

[TRWOV]

Board in question:

specs: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/ConRoe865GV/

Would make a good office PC or FreeNAS server. What CPU does it come with?

 

[rtwjunkie]

There's another limitation, RAM must maintain CL2.5 for Core 2 support. My OCZs get to 230 with voltage options on HIGH, after that it's CL3 for them and BSOD galore; I suppose your G.SKILL would perform about the same, so an E4600 could get up to 2760, unless I'm missing something. You could opt to run the RAM at 5:4 (select 333Mhz as RAM speed, DDR400 modules will run at 320Mhz), that would get you more headroom.

Well, I'm hoping the G-Skills will pull 250, which will give me 3.0Hhz. I did it before with just a pair of Ultras which ran at CL 2.5. Admittedly I also did it with a pair of Mushkin xp-4000, but that doesn't make much of a case, since they were actually underclocked or at their spec. Sooo....... maybe with the extra pair causing a strain, you don't think it's possible? Is that too much strain on the NB? I only ever ran this board at 1:1.

Thoughts?

 

[rtwjunkie]

Actually, LOL, now that I think about it...It doesn't matter if I can only hit 2.7 or 2.8 with that chip. I don't need to overclock a huge amount, since the purpose of this thing is just to make it work again...and maybe find some light work for it to do in the home network. I already have a socket 775 project with an e8400 which is intended to see just how far I can overclock it and stay stable.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Part (whole) of me is surprised though, is there really enough demand for a newly released AGP board? At least they updated the VRM section.

Now, if they'd come out with a Conroe865PE with updated VRMs...

Hey TRWOV: IF you need something to cool the VRM's, these work great! They aren't big, but do a great job of cooling them down when stressed:


Enzotech MOS-C1 C1100 Forged Copper Heatsinks only

Pure copper, too!

 

[TRWOV]

I already have them and installed new capacitors on the board. What I'm looking for is a tower style northbridge heatsink, I currently have a cheap aluminum one with a 40mm fan over it.

I bought the Thermalright HR-55 but I don't know who tested it: if you use the hook mount, the heatsink actually blocks one of the sides of the mount so it tilts to one side since you can't adjust it

There's the Evercool Serpent but apparently the clip mount isn't solid. The HR-55 mounting mechanism is pretty sturdy but as I told you, you can't adjust it well.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I just went ahead and replaced the NB heatsink with the heavy copper heatsink that is also made by Enzotech (the taller one, not the shorter one, which is for the SB). I didnt bother with clips....I attached it permanently with the Arctic Silver adhesive. Good contact, and it's goin Nowhere!