Duff Motherboard?
 

I have just attemped to assemble a new low end system using a syntax sv266a m'board and a duron 1.6. I have tried 2 PCI and 1 agp video card without getting any video output. Also tried two monitors. The processor fan starts ok but no activity from the speaker or FDD. Before I send it back to e-buyer is there any way I can tell if it is the M-board or processor which is duff?

Any suggestions?

The problem may be related to the setting of the Front Side Bus, which may be set to a different speed to your CPU. Changing the bus speed may solve the problem.

The old Duron had a clock speed of 200Mhz (100Mhz bus). You almost certainly have one of the newer Applebred 1.6 units (model number - DHD1600DLVC1) which are 266Mhz (133Mhz bus).

Make sure jumper 4 (JP 4) is set on pins 2 & 3 for 133/266Mhz.

heretic

Try a different processor with that board and/or a different board with that processor, if you see what I mean?

Are you getting any bleeps during post? Regardless of picture, you should 'hear' something. If not, I would be inclined to think MB probs as you can still hear beeps with dead CPU;also spend some time double checking the *little* things such as;
- CMOS jumper setting, if there is such a thing on your motherboard
- The LED connections from the case to the motherboard (most likely for me)
- Shorting of the motherboard to the case

bug

heretic

Duron 1600 is the Model 8 with the Applebred Core. Older Durons, 900 to 1300 are Model 7s with the Morgan Core. Syntax is remarkably lacking in BIOS Revision and CPU Compatibility information.

I cannot tell you if it can run the Model 8 Core without flashing to the latest BIOS:

SV266A BIOS 2003-0917

Or even run it at all.

Take Care,

Richard

Ta for all sugestions.
I have tried JP$ in all positions also the clear CMOS jumper. There are no beeps at all so not sure if is going through post as no video. I suspect not. Would wrongly connected LED's affect boot up? I would have thought that a m-board short to case would blow power supply fuse but voltages on the peripheral plugs seem OK. I notice that there is a later bios and there is a review on e-buyer suggesting that it is needed to support Duron 1.6 but I would have thought that I would get an error beep during post if that was the case.
Any other suggestios welcomed

heretic

Last time I had similar problems it was a faulty motherboard. BUT, in the last 3 years I have seen other 'dead' PC's with the following causes;

• incorrectly seated video card
• faulty motherboard
• fried cpu
• incorrectly positioned jumpers
• wrong BIOS
• motherboard shorting against case
• incompatable/faulty/incorrectly seated RAM

The easiest thing to do is unplug everything you don't need. Only keep the mobo, cpu (+heatsink/fan), ram and video card. See if you can get something on your screen with just that. If that doesn't work, remove one of the ram sticks (try them both seperately). Infact, just last week had a dead PC come to life with nothing more than remove and refit a stick of RAM

I guess this is not really answering your original query (think I answered that already), more trying to get it to work

bug

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Unfortunately I have no spare processor or m-board to swop so I guess the lack of error beeps would seem to indicate that it is a problem with the board and I will have to send it back.
:{

You could try removing all the non-essentials (including the graphic card) and see if it will get through the POST.

If you get beeps, put each component back in one at a time until you find one that stops it working.

Mind you, life isn't always that simple - if it isn't the motherboard, it might be a conflict between two components!

heretic

I am pretty sure your problem is the Model 8 with the Applebred Core. With the price of the AthlonXP 1800+ with the TBred Core, which easily overclocks to 2.2Ghz, why bother with the Duron at all?

The AthlonXP is give you great performance for the price and will work on your motherboard.

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. The AthlonXP 1800+ with the TBred Core runs around $50.00 in the U.S.

Naples

The 1800 XP runs about $74.00 here unfortunately and I am a bit reluctant to buy one if the problem is a dead m-board. Would you expect to get error beeps from the m-board if it is not able to accept the duron?

heretic

Where is here? (You do not list where you are living.)

The beeping of the mobo depends on if you wired up the speaker or not. I have not used Syntax Mobos, so I cannot say for sure.

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. What is the brand and specs on the power supply you are using? (The amps on the 3.3v RAIL and the Max Combined Wattage of the 3.3v + 5v RAILs is the info I am looking for.) The info is on the power supply's sticker.

http://images10.newegg.com/productim...103-920-05.JPG

Naples

Here is UK where prices seem to work on an exchange rate of 1 to 1. The +3.3 volt shows 28 amps and the combined +3.3v and +5v shows 220 watt. It doesnt show a makers name but the case is a JNC 5JA 60 Case with 400W PSU in Blue.

What is the differance between a palomino and a thoroughbred core? I guess my other option would be to return the Duron and get an Athlon XP.

Thanks for your help

Another thought. I have fitted it with one stick of Crucial 2100 DDR memory. Do both slots need to be populated?

PS I can confirm the speaker was connected and tests OK when you put a battery on it.

heretic

No both slots do not need to be used. However take out stick and reseat just in case! And put it in first slot, usually marked 0 (sorry if you know all this).
Did you get a manual with it? Here's one if you didn't,
http://www.syntaxusa.com/catalog/dow...ual_sv266a.pdf

bug

heretic

I have noticed that the prices between the U.S. and the U.K. seem to run $1 to £1.

Your Power Supply is more than adequate for your system.

The difference between the Palomino Core and the TBred Core is the size of the Dye. The TBred Core is a 0.13Micron Process and the Palomino Core is a 0.18Micron Process. The smaller the Process the faster the gates, the less voltage needed, the lower the heat, and higher the max theoretical operating frequency.

The Palomino Core ends at 1.73Ghz with a 266Mhz FSB and the TBred B Core ends at 2.25Ghz and was designed for a 333Mhz FSB.

The TBred AthlonXP 1800+ is a TBred B Core that was sold to fill the need for lower end processors. Since the Palomino was no longer made, they took the much faster TBred B and sold it as an AthlonXP 1800+, (but it was designed to be a 2800+ with a 333Mhz FSB running at 2.25Ghz).

Take Care,

Richard

Bug
I tried reseating and both slots. It came with a manual thanks.

Naples
Where does th duron applebred core fit into the scene then? I gave up in the end and pought a Gigabyte GA-7VKMP-P m-board and an Athlon XP 2000 thb. I tried the XP in the syntax without any joy so am sending it back. The gigabyte booted OK so I will try it with the Duron in due course.

Thanks for your help.

heretic

The Duron is still low end, no matter which core. The Level 2 Cache on the Durons is 64k. The AthlonXP TBreds have 256k and the AthlonXP Bartons have 512k. It really makes a difference having the extra Cache on the CPU dye.

Take Care,

Richard