Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

did you install the AMD AGP 8151 driver?

No, there isn't one for windows 7... is there?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

I got it to run under linux and the ati via a fresh dvd (stable, not beta). Nvidia was a no go.

Ati has no current linux drivers for that card (at least without rolling back xorg) so it's more ofa proof of concept.

Is it possible that my PSU isn't up to par? (it gets very hot).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

This is the problem I had when using SATA, and why the board was unusable for me.

What OS?

[shovenose]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

I think the system might be a dud.

With the ATI card, it works until you install drivers, which after which the sytstem locks up within a few minutes of being logged in. Works fine in safe mode.

With the Nvidia 6600 card, it works for a few bootups then hangs on the welcome screen after logging in. Works fine in safe mode.

Linux doesn't work (kernel panic) on the ATI. The nvidia card did the same thing.

Any suggestions? Or Do I have an Eatx turd?

This is the problem I had when using SATA, and why the board was unusable for me.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

did you install the AMD AGP 8151 driver?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

I think the system might be a dud.

With the ATI card, it works until you install drivers, which after which the sytstem locks up within a few minutes of being logged in. Works fine in safe mode.

With the Nvidia 6600 card, it works for a few bootups then hangs on the welcome screen after logging in. Works fine in safe mode.

Linux doesn't work (kernel panic) on the ATI. The nvidia card did the same thing.

Any suggestions? Or Do I have an Eatx turd?

[Uranium-235]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

why do you need bootable USB ports?

I have your card ready to be tested, I just need a HD and CD drive, install XP...do probably a 3dmark 2003 test on it or something

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

there are some cards out there with 2.0 ports and a header for the front ports

I know; I have one on a belkin dual firewire/USB (3 internal USB).

However, they ain't bootable... and due to my cable routing design things work better if the header cables are kept to the leading edge of the mobo. And it's also a waste of USB ports (my new design is USB heavy).

[Uranium-235]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

Another facepalm... I was wondering why windows 7 kept b*tching about my USB ports only working at usb1.1... only to find that they really are USB1.1.

Sorry, but I'm calling epic fail. The thing is new enough to boot USB flash drives... but no usb 2.0? Really? Looks like I really need to grab that usb card then (and also dig out a usb.2.0 powered hub to reach the back).

there are some cards out there with 2.0 ports and a header for the front ports

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

Another facepalm... I was wondering why windows 7 kept b*tching about my USB ports only working at usb1.1... only to find that they really are USB1.1.

Sorry, but I'm calling epic fail. The thing is new enough to boot USB flash drives... but no usb 2.0? Really? Looks like I really need to grab that usb card then (and also dig out a usb.2.0 powered hub to reach the back).

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

Motherboard caps came in today... Recap of the 2nd board was a success.

I also found the issue with the 1st board... I accidentally replaced a 470uf 25V cap (NCC KMH, not bad) with a 1500uf 6.3V... it was slightly bulged too. No wonder I seemed to be a cap short last time (and why my amended cap list was one too many this time). I'll swap that cap later and keep the board as a spare.

System still was a tad unstable... I boiled it down to two issues:

1. The USB card was toast. I need to find another NEC card with a USB header (or at least the solder holes) on the front of the card, as my other NEC card has them further towards the back, which my card reader cable won't reach. I also have a Firewire/USB combo card, both NEC, and with the header in the right place... however, I already have firewire on the motherboard...

2. My really nice 1gb ATI/AMD Radeon hd4670 doesn't play well with this system... as soon as I installed the drivers, it would lock up after the next reboot/login... I tried all sorts of stuff... to no avail. However, it seems to like my Nvidia GEforce 6800gt, so I may find a decent Nvidia card for it (the DVI port on the 6800 is toast, missing Passive micro-choke). U-235, check your PM's.

(looks like V2 will be getting back the killer GPU... I also have a 1TB drive for it, so I'll have TWO killer worstations to play with... )

The PSU hasn't been recapped yet... apparently there was a miscommunication between topcat and I and as a result the PSU caps (and the caps for 3 LCDs) weren't in the order... my bad there. In the mean time, I re-did the SATA plugs on the PSU so one cable has 4 right angle plugs at half the original distance between plugs (for the HDDs), and the two straight plugs on the other cable (In case the PSU ever sees a newer board with SATA opticals). I also re-did the cable routing of the front USB/audio, so between that and the PSU mod, the wiring is a lot cleaner. Pics to come later (too busy/lazy to upload them now).

[c_hegge]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

Just for c_hegge, a death adda:

image

At least it's not a sleeve bearing. They're the real "Death Adda" fans.

[Sweet & Spicy]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

Made some changes to the bios splash image; I haven't burnt it to the bios yet (just got done using AMI tools to make a new bios ROM).

New:



Much better, don't you think?

I have to agree. I like that much better.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

I pulled out the Su'scon caps on mine and they had surprisingly low ESR and the capacitance values were all in tolerance, but they're still Su'scon...

I'm curious to know how many watts that things pulls

According to a "quite shit" extreme PSU calculator, it should draw about 549W, with a recommended PSU of 599W (chcking the FB dimms? box made a slight difference). So yeah, maybe it's getting toasty because I'm drawing so many watts...

[Pentium4]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

I pulled out the Su'scon caps on mine and they had surprisingly low ESR and the capacitance values were all in tolerance, but they're still Su'scon...

I'm curious to know how many watts that things pulls

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

Made some changes to the bios splash image; I haven't burnt it to the bios yet (just got done using AMI tools to make a new bios ROM).

Here are the old and new splash screen images:

Old:



Full screen on an LCD it looks pretty crappy...

New:



Much better, don't you think?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

Found the cause of the stability issues... Corrupted BIOS.

I tried running it off the supermicro PSU to no avail... but I decided to use some old tricks I used on my EEE pc a few years back to hack the BIOS splash (the default tyan one is ugly). After making a new splash image (I'll attach it in a few posts), I slipped it into the most recent bios which supposedly my board was already flashed with. After some "uncompressed bitmap required" bull puckey (fixed by opening the image that was extracted form bios and pasting over it the new one), I made a new bios file. After some more bootable floppy bull puckey (ended up using the old reliable 98.iso slipstream n burn trick), I reflashed the bios... the screen didn't quite work (edges were cut off, my LCD was set wrong), but the unstableness and other quirks (like a bunch of gibberish in the boot order menu) are fixed. Well, were fixed, as the system locked up after a bit and resumed the crap. Maybe a bad BIOS chip?

I hope shovenose's board runs better than this... it's a bunch of if you ask me.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

First, some pictures of the PSU:

The guts:




The primary:



The secondary:



Just for Bigtroll, a good picture of one of the caps:



Just for chegge, a death adda:



The PSU label (not 100% true, it's AFAIK a single rail):



I think the caps may have dried up, as the instability has gotten worse with time and the PSU is putting out a lot of heat. I'd invoke the warranty but I honestly don't want to have to mail it back... so I'll just recap it and add the cost of caps to the ultimate PSU price. (Topcat, check your email...)

The PSU installed:



The HDD power bundle:



The cable management at the top:



I placed my zip tie buttons only on the PSU side, so the PSU can be removed w/o cutting ties.

Memtest:



As I said earlier, I suspect the culprit for the stability is the PSU... Stupid Su'scon...

edit- the cap values were a **** to get (lots of glue to remove), so for Pentium 4, the values:

3900uf 16V >10mm (did't caliper it)
2700uf 16V >10mm
1000uf 16V 8mm
3300uf 10V 10mm
2200uf 10V 10mm x2
1000uf 10V 8mm x3 (or use 3 additional of the 16v's)

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

PSU came in today. I'll upload naked (PSU) pics in my next post, but let's just say BigTroll would consider the caps Centerfold material.

Reason I post this is I put the PSU in, and did a test fire with the board to test the PSU... and I was slow to power it off... and suddenly I heard the FDD chirp to life! I then grabbed a keyboard and monitor, and what do you know, it's actually alive.

Apparently changing PSU's and CPU's did something... it's bootable. However, it was a tad unstable, locking up under the old V2 win7 boot (via the old 3 drive array) and doing the kernel-panic dance during a Usb linux boot, so I'm diagnosing that. Running an overnight memtest (6% ATM)... It could also be the LAN, since the LAN boot prompt popped up 4 or 5 times during the last POST.


In the mean time, Shovenose prepped his board to ship... only to find a popped KZG that was fine the last time he looked at it ( a few weeks back?). . Yeah, KZG super-sucks. I'm (under re-negotiated terms) taking the board anyway, as it would make a good spare board (and I need the I/O shield).

[severach]

Re: Ratdude's main rig V3, maybe

By then I bet M$ wouldn't give a ****

Won't care at all. Your first hit is free!