New Biostar MB

[John H.]

I just built a system with a Biostar M7NCG 400 and have problems with XP
crashing. Anyone have experience with this board? I'm using the built in
audio/video/lan (NVidia NForce 2) and have installed the latest drivers and
bios update.

 

[Chris Stolworthy]

I just built a system with a Biostar M7NCG 400 and have problems with XP
crashing. Anyone have experience with this board? I'm using the built in
audio/video/lan (NVidia NForce 2) and have installed the latest drivers
and bios update.

Have you checked the RAM extensively using Memtest86? What
make/model/wattage is the powersupply?

-Chris

 

[John]

I just built a system with a Biostar M7NCG 400 and have problems with XP
crashing. Anyone have experience with this board? I'm using the built in
audio/video/lan (NVidia NForce 2) and have installed the latest drivers and
bios update.

Yeah one of the systems I built used it a refurb version of it I
think. They have a lot of similar model numbers - the one with the
nvdia nforce2 chipset with built in graphics right? It was really
bananas until I flashed it to the latest bios.

The word was with alot of the nvidia all in ones with graphics - you
cant run it at 200 FSB AND use the onboard graphics or it crashes.
Have no idea if you are doing that.

Some people say they have no problems but lots of people do report
problems - check the consumer feedback at Newegg and other places.

The claim is if you use some types of mem , it works for some people
so that may or may not be the solution IF thats your problem. I didnt
have any problems because I ran all the system I built at 333 or lower
cause I got the cheapest processor I could since the people who I
built the systems for were poor.Of course this could all be irrelevant
and you could be suffering from a variety of other problems.

 

[John]

The claim is if you use some types of mem , it works for some people
so that may or may not be the solution IF thats your problem. I didnt
have any problems because I ran all the system I built at 333 or lower
cause I got the cheapest processor I could since the people who I
built the systems for were poor.Of course this could all be irrelevant
and you could be suffering from a variety of other problems.

Also obviously if you use a graphics card --- its supposed to work
Forgot to add that.

 

[XThing]

I just built a system with a Biostar M7NCG 400 and have problems with XP
crashing. Anyone have experience with this board? I'm using the built in
audio/video/lan (NVidia NForce 2) and have installed the latest drivers and
bios update.

I use two of these mobos at home and have built some 20 more machines
for others, though they are sold here under a different brand name.
Within the limits of my personal experience, they're rock-steady. I
haven't had any problem except with one piece which had the IDE light
on all the time. My regular supplier sent me a replacement when I gave
them a call.

Since they're mostly for entry-level systems, and living in a remote
location (the nearest major city where I get my suppies from is 500km
away as the crow flies), I can't be too fussy about the brand of RAMs
I put in. I've used no-name sticks with Hynix chips, Kingston, etc.,
PC2100, 2700 or 3200. This board takes them all in its stride. A pair
of 256MB sticks did cause minor display corruption, and I got
replacements for those too - I had no time to test them on a different
mobo or with Memtest86.

I've used them with CPUs from a 1.1G Duron to an Athlon XP 2600+
333FSB. With Win98, ME, XP, dual-boot with 98-XP and ME-XP. No
stability problem at all. All in all, I think this mobo is very good
value for money. In fact, I'm using such a machine right now. The
built-in video is good enough for the casual gamer or for those who
simply cannot afford a higher system. I've also used them with FX5200
and 5600 cards.

I use the drivers on the CD and haven't bothered to update them or the
BIOS. No crashes, no BSOD. Without an XP SP, I can't install the USB 2
driver, so I just use the Win9x driver for XP too and it works.
Haven't benchmarked them though.

When copying large batches of mixed files between two machines
connected via the built-in LAN port using a crossover CAT5 cable, I
get *roughly* 5 MB/s average transfer speed (no accurate measurement
taken).

I've also used lots of more expensive nForce 2 mobos by Asus (A7N8X
series) and Leadtek (K7NCR18G series). Without accurate benchmarking,
I can't see where they have an advantage over the Biostar product.

- XThing

 

[John H.]

I'm using an AOpen case that comes with a 200W PS (all my stuff was
purchased from Newegg). Several of the reviewers are using processors that
are faster than the one I have (AMD XP 2000). I'm running Memtest86 right
now - if you have any other suggestions let me know. Thanks.

 

[Matt]

I'm using an AOpen case that comes with a 200W PS (all my stuff was
purchased from Newegg). Several of the reviewers are using processors that
are faster than the one I have (AMD XP 2000). I'm running Memtest86 right
now - if you have any other suggestions let me know. Thanks.

Don't wear yourself out. Good luck.

 

[kony]

I'm using an AOpen case that comes with a 200W PS (all my stuff was
purchased from Newegg). Several of the reviewers are using processors that
are faster than the one I have (AMD XP 2000). I'm running Memtest86 right
now - if you have any other suggestions let me know. Thanks.

If the XP2000 were a Palomino, it might use as much or more
power than someone else's XP2200, perhaps as much as a
mobile XP2600. Also consider that your motherboard uses 5V
for CPU power... while many older motherboards do too, many
if not most of the newer nForce2 chipset based boards use
12V for CPU power, changing the requirements of the power
supply. You might note the voltage readings to see if the
5V is dropping too much, OR if the 12V looks too high (an
attempt by PSU to compensate for high 5V load).

5V reading from software or bios might look a little low due
to trace resistance, it could be reading .2V or more, lower
than 5.0V with power supply actually outputting correctly,
which is another reason it's best to use a multimeter to
take voltage readings if you have one.

Another attempt to regain stability might be setting the FSB
& memory sync'd, usually labeled as "1:1" or "100%" in bios,
and if that doen't help, keep it set there and reduce FSB
speed. If your power supply had been larger it would seem
less likley the problem, but of the two I'd suspect memory
problems first.

 

[John]

Another attempt to regain stability might be setting the FSB
& memory sync'd, usually labeled as "1:1" or "100%" in bios,
and if that doen't help, keep it set there and reduce FSB
speed. If your power supply had been larger it would seem
less likley the problem, but of the two I'd suspect memory
problems first.

Frankly I dont see any 200 watt PSes anymore even in cheap cases in my
region. They are usually cheapo 300watters and once in a while youll
see a 250. Since its so low it does seem like that would be a possible
problem. I know lots of people as I keep posting with COMPUSA 300
watters etc which have worked without any major problems. Ive been
buying the Sparkle OEM 300 watters at Newegg for the systems I made
with the nforce2 boards like the poster has and they work great. They
were $20 or so a few months ago. Havent checked lately.

 

[kony]

Frankly I dont see any 200 watt PSes anymore even in cheap cases in my
region. They are usually cheapo 300watters and once in a while youll
see a 250. Since its so low it does seem like that would be a possible
problem. I know lots of people as I keep posting with COMPUSA 300
watters etc which have worked without any major problems. Ive been
buying the Sparkle OEM 300 watters at Newegg for the systems I made
with the nforce2 boards like the poster has and they work great. They
were $20 or so a few months ago. Havent checked lately.

AOpen has used Sparkle PSU for years now, it's probably a
mATX or miniATX case that's causing it to be only 200W PSU.

Name-brand 300W is sufficient for that board running XP2000,
but starts becoming marginal for heavy o'c on that board.
I had an Antec PP303X (300W w/ 180W 3V+5V rating) powering
that board with o'c CPU and the Antec was showing it's
weaknesses. Then again, it's not as good as their modern
Truepower line or a SParkle ATV series (opposed to the GT
series).

I did a slight mod to my M7NCG to lower 5V resistance,
added 12 ga. wire:
http://69.36.189.159/usr_1034/M7NCG_5V_Mod.jpg

.... but it should not be necessary for XP2000 at stock
speed.

 

[John H.]

Just for anyone using this board - it seems to be very picky when it comes
to memory. I swapped Samsung ram from my other PC for the Kingmax I
purchased and so far I am not getting any bluescreens. The Kingmax works
fine in my other system, even runs through Memtest86 for hours. Anyway
thanks to all those that responded.