Exactly my thought too.. Yep the wierd 45-degree angle..

I thought about removing the silicone, but I would probberly scratch the surface too much in the process..!

Now I am getting hungry.. pasta it is

I ordered the i915GMm-HFS with a Pentium M 740. I was told by my reseller that a previous buyer had problems POSTing with this combination. Intel support claimed that it was due to the retail Pentium M 740 (BX80536GE1733FJ) being a Socket 478 chip vs. Socket 479. I had thought that all Pentium Ms were Socket 479, but Intel's website indicates otherwise .

http://processorfinder.intel.com/script ... CorSpd=ALL

Can those who have built systems using the i915GMm-HFS please comment on the CPU they have used? It seems to me that if this were indeed a problem, that more people would be talking about it. This sounds like Intel support trying to avoid an RMA.

Thanks!

Brett

Yeah they're talking crap. You'd think they'd know their own processors.

Have a look at this thread:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=27110

Thanks Quiet Riot for the link. My forum searching skills obviously need some work.

I am going to finalize the order. Thanks for the help!

Brett

Thx for the great review!

But I have 1 great problem with this Mobo. Can't seem to get the SP/DIF working with full 5.1 Dolby digital. When I connect the SP/DIF transformer connector to the orange minijack, and hook it up to my optical in on my Yamaha RV-750 reciver, the sound only comes out as 2 channel PCM sound. Have been checking soundsettings in windows, and theres no option for digital passtrough. Same in Realtek AVrack, there is no option to get SP/DIF enabled....

Any suggestions?

Any help would be most appreciated, as I have been trying to get my HTPC up and running for 2 months now..

BK

Norway

You've uncovered a VERY hairy topic, but it doesn't relate to the motherboard specifically; it's a problem for any SPDIF compatible PC. My recommendation: Check out this recent thread for more info as a starting point, and find an HTPC site if you need more info. Also, if you can, use Media Player Classic, as it tends not to bury the pass-through option so deeply.

Hi

I've got a question about the AOpen monitoring/overclocking utility that comes with this board. I've underclocked the Vcore in the BIOS to about 1.1v, but when I boot into Windows and start the AOpen utility, the hardware monitor tab shows the CPU Vcore as about 1.3v, which is the default. Has anyone else seen thus? Does anyone have any idea if it means that my CPU is getting 1.1v or 1.3v? I'm also trying to find out about this from AOpen, but I was just wondering if anyone else had noticed this.

Cheers

Neil

I still would like to hear or see something official about 478 vs 479. I just went on the quest today to answer this question and got jack. All I know is that there are supposedly socket 479 CPUs out there, and Asus makes an adaptor to put those in a 478 MB. What I can't find is reliable listings for 479 CPUs, major places like NewEgg only sell 478 CPUs. This is in direct contradiction to a system that sports a 479 MB if the chips are 478.

So, can anyone here verify they put a 478 CPU in an AOpen 479 MB or point to a site that says you can do this? The whole situation is driving me batty because manufacturers can't seem to give clear information.

You cannot use a standard desktop 478 processor into any 479 socket motherboard.

You cannot use a mobile 479 processor into any 478 socket motherboard.

Just don't do it!

How's that for plain and simple?

Forget what the resellers tell you. If Intel support comments came from the reseller, then don't buy that either.

That wasn't quite the question. I don't want to know about a P4 478 chip, I want to know about a Pentium M 478 chip in a board that has a Pentium M 479 socket. Forget desktop CPUs, this is all about the mobile CPU standard and it's ambiguous 478 and 479 iterations.

AFAIK, there is no such thing as a 478 Pentium M -- they are ALL 479. There are embedded versions of the Pentium M which are not available to anyone except corporate developer buyers -- it's possible these are 478. However, I know of no Pentium/Celeron Ms on the retail market that are socket 478.

My understanding is that the Pentium M and Pentium 4 chips all have 478 physical pins. The Pentium M socket meanwhile has 479 holes while the P4 socket has 478 holes.

Pentium M in general is associated with 479 so that it wont be associated with the many P4 478 chips/motherboards.

The AOPEN i915GMm-HFS is designed to work with a Pentium M 740, and Intel is giving you the runaround. Except for the BBG CPU's that Mike mentioned, the Pentium/Celeron M chips are designated as 479's, but that was to distinguish them from Pentium 4 with which they are pin incompatible. In fact, they have 478 pins. I don't have the AOPEN 915 board, but I do have their 855 board and several ASUS CT-479 systems, and all run Dothan chips just fine. Take a look at Ralf Hutter's review of your board, and you'll see that the problem with your combo is somewhere else.

Hi, I have this motherboard and want to follow the tip on running it on lower voltage. I have tried adjusting the voltage in the bios, but when I boot up the computer and run ThrottleWatch I see that it is still running at 1.356 volts. Is there a jumper I need to set to be able to adjust this?

I've been in contact with Aopen trying to get a replacement for the tiny useless heatsink. They told me that they do not replace the heatsink. The article should be edited according to this, because it is not true that Aopen replaces the heatsink for free or at all.

I've tried to find a reseller in Sweden for any replacement heatsink that will fit, but found none so far.

This is the last time I bought anything from Aopen, ever, period.

As a followup I figured out how to adjust the voltage using a piece of software I cant remember the name of just now. It seems Aopen have nerfed the Bios at some point where voltage settings are ignored for some reason.

The program I use has some nice options where you can adjust any parameter of how the Pentium M CPU should be run according to load etc.

There must be something seriously wrong with this supplied cooler. After running the CPU (1.7 GHz) for 3-4 hours, the temperature is idling at around 54 degrees. If I touch (or hold) the cooler I can feel that its not even body temperature, probably around 35 degrees! This must surely mean that the heatsink isnt really in contact with the CPU at all.

Btw, I have undervolted the CPU so its running at 1.1 volts. I had to do this to get load temperature around 62 degrees. At default voltage it easily passes 70 degrees (and hk alarm goes off as I have set it to 70 degrees).

Anyone have any experience with this? Do you have any heat at all on the heatsink after running it for a while?

There is no way a Pentium M should be idling at 54C @ 1.1V. The heatsink is making poor or non-existent contact with the CPU die. Replace the heatsink or try and re-seat your current one so that it makes firm contant with the the die. You may have to rig up a DIY solution to this.

Yes thats what I thought too. The AOpen heatsink it utterly useless. I might have to try to shorten the screws a bit or find some way that pressure is correctly applied to the die. It might be as you say that the heatsink is askew a bit so that the whole surface isnt in contact. Someone has also indicated that the heatsink is not even plane underneath and should be sanded down. Wish they had supplied a better one and a pure copper version. A motherboard at this cost should have a better cooler indeed.

For now I think I will be careful until I get the new Borg 479 heatpipe cooler that should hopefully solve this issue.

You're probably thinking of RMClock to undervolt the CPU - a really useful piece of software.

Regarding the heatsink, I've actually binned the standard sink and I'm now using a Zalman VF700-Cu. First you have to replace the northbridge heatsink with a Zalman ZM-NB32K, then make a couple of modifications to the VF700:

1. Bend some of the VF700 fins to fit in the gaps between the ZM-NB32K fins

2. Snip away a small amount of material from the underneath of some of the VF700 fins to clear the jumpers just to the left of the CPU socket. I used a very small pair of metal snips. You could probably grind the material away with a Dremel.

Then just mount it using the Zalman mounting parts, but leave off the back brace (it'll make sense if you try and do it). The short fins should go towards the power connector, the long fins towards the PCI slots.

It now idles at about 35 degrees if I leave the lid off the case, and about 45 degrees with the lid on (and the case has VERY poor airflow).

Hope this helps - I can post a pic of the heatsink in place if necessary.

Neil

Thank you, yes thats the tool I was thinking of. And yes, a very fine piece of software indeed.

As for the cooling, I am already using an mCubed hFX case which has these huge heatsinks on each side, specifically tailored for passive cooling using heatpipes. They also have made a CPU cooler specifically to fit this board and today I got the email that it was sent with DHL from Germany (home of the mCubed makers). I am quite sure this will suffice as cooling for my system.

I'm also adding a safety kit with a controller, sensor and fan which I can adjust so that in the case of overheating the fan can help out. The fan will be pretty close to the CPU so I am quite sure it will suck out the heat very easily then. If I have further problems I will most probably install a fan running at an ultralow speed all the time (SilentX fans).

Not to bring this back from the dead, but I've just gotten a setup working with this motherboard, and I was hoping to try and replace the stock heatsink. Even though it's the larger model, it just doesn't seem to be doing a very swell job. Idling in the BIOS, it settles around 45'C which seems ridiculous for a P-M 730.

Have you still got pics you can post, Neil? It would be appreciated!

Is the fan on the new heatsink 40 or 50mm?

40mm is printed in the original article, however "The new fan is the exact same 50mm x 10mm fan as supplied with the original Lilliputian heatsink." is printed in the postscript.

From measuring the new one, it's a 50mm fan - unfortunately, not a common size.

50mm is a not too uncommon size for here in sweden. Both adda and papst, and a few more manufacturers have fans in 40, 50, 60, 80, 90 and 120mm sizes. Even the local dealers has 50mm fans, however I have never seen any use for them ever, before this.

70mm is much harder to find.

Funny enough, I did find a 50mm fan at a local computer store. The one that came with the motherboard has a very annoying low pitched hum; I do not find it quiet at all. I'm not so sure that this replacement will be much better, but I don't think it could be any worse!

I've also got a VF700Cu lying around that I may try and modify to fit on the board. We'll see how it goes.

For now, the system idles in Windows XP, at 0.7V and 800MHz, at about 41'C. That's with the stock (larger) heatsink, and stock fan at 100%. That seems rather poor to me! I've verified that the spacer on the heatsink doesn't appear to be causing interference problems with the CPU.

Alright, I've had a modicum of success. I took the stock heatsick off last night, and saw that the stupid square foam pad had a big dent in it, where it had been contacting the screw-lock mechanism for the CPU retention! No wonder my temps were craptacular. That pad wasn't interfering with the CPU, as I'd said, but was still keeping the heatsink from making solid contact with the CPU die.

I re-jigged it and slapped it back on. Now, with the case all sealed up, the CPU will run completely passive at about 44'C when Speedstep has it idling at 800MHz/0.7V.

I find that much more reasonable, so I'll stick with that for now. Now I need a quiet 60mm fan for the case!