DFI NFII Ultra Infinity PCI problems

Yes, good news Barry
Suggest when you install it back in the case, that you line up the screwholes (you can use that naughty word as long as it is a part of another word ) with the centre of the mobo holes and only tighten the screws enough that the board can be adjusted slightly for the other screws to located, using a criss-cross method from one side of the board to the other. (BTW, there are no extra "stand off'' pins left under the board space, are there?)

Sparrow, found some info. Yes the Barton is 512mb, the Thoroughbred was 256. http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/amd-barton

The setting suggestions Barry is concerned with is (from the ARS Techninic information):

Seems to say that the video RAM should be left for the card itself to deal with the data and not make the CPU/system RAM try to deal with it. The Radeon 9600XT has a memory clock of 600mhz. It would seem to be useful to enable it if you were using a (small?) PCI video card.

Shadowing, says here, http://arstechnica.com/guide/building/bios/bios-4.html , that it is unnecessary for Win95, NT or higher (and maybe dangerous during flashing) . Sandra tells me to shadow the BIOS...huh?? That's may be why I like to use mainly "default" settings.

Matt

 

mattman - not quite right. Some are, some aren't. 2500+ is and always has been.

 

This is a hard mobo to install. The top, with all the plug ins, is very hard to push towards the back of the case. I put in all those "fasteners" then did my best to get the board as straight as possible. It was still shorted with fiber washers on both sides of the board. The problem seems to be the bottom left hand corner "fastener." When I loosened it up, it worked. I may put in a larger washer, if I ever see a reason to take it out again. I tried to put in another PCI board to allow my son to connect his steering wheel, but every slot I put it in shorted the modem. I can tell when the modem will work, as the RAID comes up on setup. I guess there is a connections there (not that I am using S-ATA/RAID). There are no extra stand off pins. I only had 8 of them, though the board has holes for maybe 12.
The mobo is set up for Dual Channel DDR400. I notice that some PC3200 sticks are dual channel and some just say DDR. Will he notice a difference between the two, and is it worth the extra cost?

 

Barry:

If you have isolated your short and are still having problems, use a couple of nylon posts in the problem areas - you'll still be plenty secure. (don't have em' - any shop will have plenty - there are several different types too, so you should find something to do the trick) You should also be able to get larger composite or fiber washers at a local hardware store if necessary and I'd only place them under the board if at all. You have to be careful not to scratch any traces putting that board in (that may be your problem) and may find it easier to remove your CDRoms and hard drive if you're having trouble getting clearance to put it in smoothly. The board will angle in very easily if you go slow. Not that I'm aware of it with any of the newer DFI boards, but on some older boards, the metal around your post holes had to achieve metal contact because it served as a ground. This should not be required however for your board.



edit: Just re-read your post. I'd advise getting more stand-offs at a local shop and doing it right.

 

I'll get the extra stand-offs. There is plenty of room to get the mobo in easy. The problem is where all the jack outlets come out. The cover limits how far I can push it towards the back of the computer. DFI says that this grounding problem is common with this board. Sounds like a design flaw. I wasn't aware of the nylon posts. I think that will solve my problem.

 

Barry, look closely at that section of the board and where it fits through the case. The edge of the mobo may have to be slotted in under the rim of the case frame where the outlet connectors go through, which may mean you have to angle the board slightly as you locate it so that it slots in underneath. You may continue to have a lot of problems unless the mobo is in the right position (nylon posts/stand-offs should be a good insurance) .

Rockster, thanks for the information on the L2 cache, sure is hard to find details on the different models.

Matt