abit NF-M2 nView

All about them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:59 pm

thumbs up for a successful burn with this mobo and the new SATA Liteon burner.

ugh, audio out on front panel is noisy though, can hear the hd once again, looks like x-fi on order will be used.

matt_garman
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 541
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 11:35 am
Location: Chicago, Ill., USA
Contact:

Post by matt_garman » Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:26 pm

How does this board compare to the Asus M2NPV-VM? I've seen a couple brief mentions in this thread (the Asus appears to run hotter), but nothing too detailed.

I want to upgrade my Linux HTPC (MythTV) to do HD.

I built a MythTV for my parents using the M2NPV-VM recently; it works great. Since their case is an Antec Sonata, I was able to use the Scythe Ninja. So one upside to the M2NPV is that the Ninja fits without any clearance problems at all.

But that's rather irrelevant, since I have the NSK2400 (Ninja won't fit regardless of board). :?

Thoughts?

Matt

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:34 pm

thony wrote:
Hey MC FLMJIC you make me cry :-(, I booted 3 time with 2 (120mm) fans in the case an huge Arctic Freezer 64 on top of the cpu and my cpu reached 90C° (readings bios and shutdown computer). When reading your config it seems unbelieveable.
Try removing and remounting it. Some Intel owners have reported super high temps and they remounted numerous times. Eventually they got it right, not that they ever did anything different or knew why.

And also - Who has successfully OC'd with an X2? Considering the 65W 3800+.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:15 pm

Have a moderate OC of 2.4 with a 65w @ 1.25. They undervolt great too. Don't need it so high but now that the Thermalright xp 120 arrived I can increase the V!

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:31 pm

It was running all that hot? How hot was the northbridge and where are the MOSFETs? Did you reduce that HTT divider?

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:04 am

Not hot at all. I have the stock fan at 7V (I think, might be 5v) and it is a tad noisy for me. A lot of people here feel comfy with their temps at high 50 and low 60 but not me. I guess I was "bought up" an OCer and I feel better with my temps low.

I have 1 120mm Loon exhaust out of an Antec NSK2400. SO there is very little airflow. I laso have an 7950GT with an Zalman 900 (Led) Vmodded at 5v but it is still a tad noisy. I'm thinking of running it passive. It really doesn't get hot at all. Maybe I'll duct a 80mm @5v pulling to the back area where the loon would exhaust.

Back on topic.
Right now idle @ 2.4Ghz it's in the low 30's. It is a tad chilly here today. No heat since yesterday was such a beauty. Not that it's cold in the room. Feels like a room with AC during summer months but it is not always like this. Priming right now and it's mid to high 50's. I don't like that.

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:48 am

Amusing post. I have no plans on OCing during heat waves myself.

The main thing I like about the cpu is I can do a major upgrade without buying video or even a hard drive. $300 would get the job done, and I would probably not even update my OS. Board, cpu, and memory, I'd scavenge the rest.

I'm considering the Rosewell cooler, copper and aluminum, holds a 92mm fan, a whopping $15. Whoohoo!

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:39 am

Just installed the Xp120. I'm using the Loon at 7v. If it sounds high I'll drop it to 5v.

On the XP I have the Antec that comes with the case @ 5V and the fan on medium. Silent. Even if you're 3 inches away. Loving it.

I'm going to try the 7950Gt Passive with the Zalman 900 and see how it fares.. Will play a game later on tonight or tomorrow.

I also covered almost all the holes with "filters". I HATE dust. I just installed it one month ago and saw some buildup. No, no!. I'll see how that work as well.

Well, let me finish. I put the Loon as intake by mistake. Also forgot to put Vmod of 7V. No wonder it wasn't silent. heh heh

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:54 am

How do you set the actual memory speed?

Also - I do not want to mess with speeds between the NB and the SB.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardw ... 2_x2_4200/

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:09 pm

Temporarily using a Raptor 36GB and it is quieter @ idle than my new WD 250GB :(

Couldn't run the 7950GT. I'm leaving it 5v mod for now.

I'm done for now.


The memory is set between the Divider and the FSB. Of course it also matter where you select the Memory speed at as well.

signal64
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 4:11 am

Post by signal64 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:28 pm

Anything special to do for 800mhz ddr2?

OCZ Gold Edition PC2 6400 OCZ28002048ELDCGE-K 1024 EL Dual Ch
5-5-5-12 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS)
2.0v 800Mhz

Nothing special but can't get them to work beyond first post on this board.

With one or two sticks installed in any slot:

Install, clear cmos, boot - can get into bios screen.
Save, reboot, get long beeps and no screen.

Clear cmos, boot - can get into bios screen.
Changed ddr2 volt to 2.0 and TRAS to 12 (defaulted at 15).
Save, reboot, get long beeps and no screen.

Popped the OCZ back into an ASUS board, works fine.

Put back in the Kingston 667 in the NF M2 and works fine.

Any other ideas?

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:37 pm

signal64 wrote:Anything special to do for 800mhz ddr2?

OCZ Gold Edition PC2 6400 OCZ28002048ELDCGE-K 1024 EL Dual Ch
5-5-5-12 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS)
2.0v 800Mhz

Nothing special but can't get them to work beyond first post on this board.

With one or two sticks installed in any slot:

Install, clear cmos, boot - can get into bios screen.
Save, reboot, get long beeps and no screen.

Clear cmos, boot - can get into bios screen.
Changed ddr2 volt to 2.0 and TRAS to 12 (defaulted at 15).
Save, reboot, get long beeps and no screen.

Popped the OCZ back into an ASUS board, works fine.

Put back in the Kingston 667 in the NF M2 and works fine.

Any other ideas?
Try just one stick at a time.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:38 pm

Check the mem timings when in the Abit. Are they 5 5 5? Or something else?

signal64
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 4:11 am

Post by signal64 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:01 pm

aristide1
Try just one stick at a time.
Covered that in my post..
With one or two sticks installed in any slot:
MC FLMJIG
Check the mem timings when in the Abit. Are they 5 5 5? Or something else?
Yup, they came up 5-5-5-15 and the OCZ specs say 5-5-5-12.
Only thing I tried to change was tras to 12 and 2v for ddr2 (per ocz specs).

Anything else to look at?

matt_garman
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 541
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 11:35 am
Location: Chicago, Ill., USA
Contact:

Post by matt_garman » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:58 pm

matt_garman wrote:How does this board compare to the Asus M2NPV-VM? I've seen a couple brief mentions in this thread (the Asus appears to run hotter), but nothing too detailed.
A tad bit more research seems to suggest that the Abit is "better" than the Asus mainly due to its overclocking capabilities. Other than that, I haven't seen much mention as to how they compare.

I was hoping to find out if anyone knew anything about the boards' quality compares, e.g. quality of components, voltage regulation, etc.

Matt

matt_garman
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 541
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 11:35 am
Location: Chicago, Ill., USA
Contact:

Post by matt_garman » Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:02 pm

MC FLMJIG wrote:Just installed the Xp120. I'm using the Loon at 7v. If it sounds high I'll drop it to 5v.

On the XP I have the Antec that comes with the case @ 5V and the fan on medium. Silent. Even if you're 3 inches away. Loving it.
So you've got the Abit NF-M2 with an A64 X2 3800, cooled by the Thermalright XP-120, right? All of that is tucked away in the NSK2400.

One thing I don't quite understand: do you actually have a fan mounted directly to the XP-120? Or is the XP-120 running "passive", using only the case fans for air movement?

Finally, any reason you chose the XP-120 over the SI-120?

Any chance you could post some pics?

FWIW, I'm planning on building essentially the same rig as you. :)

Thanks!
Matt

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:38 am

I really like my NF-M2. I wish I knew how to get rid of the front panel connector interference in my Antec NSK3300 case.
As nice as I found the case initially, I don't like the case as much as I'd hoped--my X-Qpack is quieter and vibrates less. The Antec case vibrates quite a bit with the front panel being somewhat detached from the bulk of the case metal.

Temps on CPU are disappointing at the moment even with the two 120mm fans on full blast and I'm tempted to take it all out and try to figure out how to quieten/cool it on the cheap.

Maybe put on a Zalman 7000 instead of the Freezer 64 Pro PWM.

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:28 am

signal64 wrote:aristide1
Try just one stick at a time.
Covered that in my post..
With one or two sticks installed in any slot:
Yes you did, I missed that.


Anything else to look at?
There are many posts on newegg where memory that did not work on a mobo was resolved later with a BIOS update. If the BIOS is the issue no amount of tweaking on your part will make much of a difference.

But....

If you really want them to work, you could possibly look at every single DRAM setting on the board where they do work. If the setting is looser than the problem board you may try loosening the same setting on that board as well. But in general people just don't mess with anything other than the standard CAS latency settings. I'm not advising it, only stating it may be possible. Would I try? Not if a refund was still an option.

Seems I've heard more incompatibility stories about OCZ than anybody else. Kingston here I come.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:25 am

OCZ is garbage for compatibility and there's a reason it's always on sale and has rebates. I had a set of OCZ Platinum stuff 2 years ago and I had problems whereas I've never had issues with Corsair, Mushkin or Kingston.

rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:28 am

This is running too hot, 60 load too easily, 40 idle and it's the dead of a Canadian winter albeit against the wall in my small enclosed room.

I'm going to swap the Freezer 64 PWM out for a Zalman 7000B.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:13 am

Pics of what the XP inside? I will. Just waiting on a new piece. When that arrives I will re-open and take a pic.

I know OCZ has won the <3's of many but they are so-so in my book. There companies that I really like and I feel almost confident that when I buy a product from them it is high quality.

Crucial, G.Skill, Thermalright, Abit are to name a few. I have bought a lot of stuff and those names almost NEVER let me down. OCZ was ok. Nothing bad. Nothing terribly good.

wiak
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:49 am

Post by wiak » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:52 am

what is the max output on dvi-d on this mb?, i whould love to know, am gonna build a htpc soon so, i whould like to output atleast 1920x1080p! :roll:
Last edited by wiak on Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

MC FLMJIG
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Post by MC FLMJIG » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:57 am

possible

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:07 pm


kurt65
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:42 am

Post by kurt65 » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:11 am

I am building a new system around this board, but cannot get the system to post.

Abit NF-M2 nView
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ 65W (retail)
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400PRO (XMS2 Pro Series)
Antec EarthWatts 80PLUS 380W

I get a long, endlessly repeating beep. I've reset CMOS and tried each memory stick individually in both banks. I'm pretty certain I'm getting the memory seated properly (the PRO series has 'activity LEDs' that light up when the system powers up).

This is my first DDR2 system, so I have no other RAM to test with. Neither do I have a video card the fits this board (I'm assuming that the onboard video is enabled by default). I dug up an old PS2 keyoard, just in case that was a problem.

The only connections are the 24-pin mainboard power, the 4-pin CPU power (no beep at all without this), and the stock 3-pin CPU fan is currently on SYS1.

Cannot post at all; no access to BIOS.

I bought all the parts locally, so I'll try to get the RAM tested next...

aristide1
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 4284
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:21 pm
Location: Undisclosed but sober in US

Post by aristide1 » Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:06 pm

Try one of the forums I listed for beep codes, even try to google beep codes for your brand of BIOS (Phoenix?) Actually count them if possible.

Google "Abit NF-M2 nView won't post". Eventually you'll hit something.

Check the feedback on NewEgg as well.

kurt65
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:42 am

Post by kurt65 » Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:12 pm

I decided that the sales guy oversold me on the RAM for a 4200+ CPU (that I'm not going to OC), and traded the 6400PRO modules in for 5400C4s (on sale).

No change; still won't post. Next suspect in line is the CPU, I suppose. I would think any Corsair XMS2 memory would work in this board. Would the motherboard be beeping at all if it was bad? I still feel weird trying to debug a posting problem with a videocard to swap in. :?

My google-fu failed to find another owner with the same problem on this board, and the long repeating beep seems like a generic "unknown error - something missing" message. In the past, that meant the holy trinity of CPU, RAM, or Video; I've mostly eliminated the RAM, Video is onboard, and what are the chances of a bad retail CPU right out of the box?

signal64
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 4:11 am

Post by signal64 » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:30 pm

kurt65 - I have the same issues with my OCZ mem.
There's a couple of folks on the Abit forum (and on one retail site) with the same problem as well.

I've since worked with OCZ quite a bit (even flashed new SPD timings) and actually got a human on the phone at Abit. To no avail with lots of tweaking, can't get them to work above 533.

Both compaines offered an RMA (had already exhanged the NFM2 once).
Unhappy that the hardware combination doesn't work but can't say the companies didn't give it a good effort.

Abit confirmed that the repeating long beeps are a "Memory Problem" which was frustrating because these sticks work on an ASUS board just fine.

Of course I pop in a generic Kingston 667 2Gig kit (5-5-5-15) and they work like a charm.

Some things to note in diagnosing mem problems on this board:

1. Always clear/reset the CMOS after installing new memory or diagnosing them.

When you reset CMOS, it'll force a 533Mhz 5-5-5-15 @ 1.8v setting no matter what you have plugged in. In theory it gives you a chance to get into BIOS and lets you make any tweaks necessary to the DDR2 voltage and memory timings (Abit confirmed this "feature").

I also found out the hard way that if you don't (reset CMOS) it won't necessarily auto detect the new settings for the mem.

The second boot after a CMOS reset will apply your settings or the detected ones.

2. If you have "performance" memory that needs more than 1.8v, give it just a knudge more than they spec.

Example: My OCZ spec says 2.0v for these DIMMs and handles a max of 2.4v

Abit suggested bumping the voltage up (to 2.1v in my case) as their lab tests shows they needed to do that for some Dimms. Of course keep it within the specs of your DIMMs!

Hope this helps.
Last edited by signal64 on Sat Jan 13, 2007 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

tempeteduson
Posts: 189
Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2004 12:56 pm
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Post by tempeteduson » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:47 pm


rei
Posts: 967
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:36 am

Post by rei » Mon Jan 15, 2007 5:34 pm

heck, i still avoid ocz from the ram scandal of a few years ago.

Post Reply