Guide: Yonah + Aopen i975Xa-YDG

My i975Xa & T2600 ES has just died on me :(
I was running Memtest to see how high my RAM would overclock and when errors started coming up I quit Memtest and haven’t been able to post since.
I’ve swapped out everything except the board and the chip so I’m assuming that one of these is the problem. I don’t have spare RAM, but the RAM works fine in a Core 2 Duo board that ran successfully all night with dual Prime95.

I have BIOS 1.06 and I was using a mild overclock to 1.83 to test the RAM. The RAM was set to 667 and the voltage 2.0, Vcore was 1.3. It was fully stable at 2.16 GHz with 1.15V, so 1.3V should have been fine.
I initially thought that the RAM was damaged, but then I wondered if the RAM slots were damaged, so I tried the other slots; clutching at straws I know.

I’ve cleared the CMOS a number of times and tried a different power supply but no joy. When I turn on the power, my power meter shows that it is consuming about 30W which is obviously too low for a system that is booting.

I can’t think of anything else to do, except to test the T2600 in my Dell laptop which has a T2300 in it. If the CPU works then I assume the board is dead. I can always test the board with the T2300 in it also.
It’s a hassle to do this and it may void the warranty on a 6 day old laptop so I’m reluctant to go this route. Any other suggestions?

I had an i975xa-ydg die on me also. Switched it off one night and it never worked again. No physical damage that I can see, shows no voltage at vcore readpoint, bout 3v at DDR readpoint, and something equally silly at VCCA readpoint (this is after I removed the mods). I suspect a / some mosfets died but I don't know enough about these things to confirm... just that prodding about shows voltage going into the pwm mosfets and none coming out. Accurate diagnosis or am I talking cobblers? Don't know :(

EDIT: The cpu/ram in my case was fine btw.

I've seen this happen with notebooks running Meroms. The problem was solved by removing the CMOS battery for several hours or just replacing it. You can give it a try.

Nice guide... :thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Noobified

I've seen this happen with notebooks running Meroms. The problem was solved by removing the CMOS battery for several hours or just replacing it. You can give it a try.

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Thanks, I gave it a go but no joy. I have a Gigabyte S479 board on the way which I'll use to test the chip with. I don't fancy pulling my Core Duo laptop apart right now.

I sure hope it's the motherboard that's dead, as the ES obviously has no warranty.

[Days later]
Well the T2600 lives and it is the board that died. Now I just need to try and RMA it which isn't proving easy as I have no receipt and there's no Aopen subsiduary in the UK. It looks as if it will have to take a trip to Holland, maan. :)

Will they do an RMA without receipt? I want to RMA mine because of some squealing from one of the inductors near the CPU.

yes they will take it

Cool. I filled out the RMA form and got a number.. It's so close, I wonder if I could just drive over and drop it off at the service centre :D

What would be really interesting if we could pool our brain matter and discover what the source of the problem is?

I wonder if the problem is in the motherboard power circuitry? Reading through Intel's VRM 9.1 DC-DC Converter Design Guidelines piqued my interest....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zoob

Cool. I filled out the RMA form and got a number.. It's so close, I wonder if I could just drive over and drop it off at the service centre :D

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Do you mean that you managed to get an RMA number without having a receipt?
If so, would you please tell me who you contacted as I’d like to try the same thing.
My board was bought from the US even though I’m in the UK, so hopefully I’ll get more joy with Aopen US than I managed with Aopen Europe. Cheers.

ftp://ftp.aopen.nl/pub/bios/i975xa-ydg/wica18.zip

anyone tried 1.08? ;)

I"ll install it this evening :D.

Dated 15th of August :)

1.06 bios works a charm with Merom's, no cold boot/bios issue either (well under SS at anyrate) bios sits at 0 deg and doesnt drop any further.
FSB cap is pretty crap as others have found, 245 is about the max at these temps - need DICE!

http://82.110.105.22/drunken-student...m/IMG_1083.JPG

http://82.110.105.22/drunken-student..._1m_15.859.JPG

Well I would like to know what dated 15th Aug does to already stable 1.6 :)

Never used 1.06 :D

Of 5 it´s of FatBody, Single works one in my Aopen :(

That it can be the cause?? :confused:

2x512 OCZ 4200 D9DQW = Fail
2x512 Corsar 5400UL 1.2 D9DQW = Perfect
2x512 Corsar 5400UL 1.2 D9DQW = Fail
2x512 OEM Micron 3200 D9DQW = Fail
2x1gb Crucial FatBody = Fail

(253x14) 4-3-2-1
http://img428.imageshack.us/img428/5196/13542qn5.th.jpg

(253x14) 4-3-2-1
http://img473.imageshack.us/img473/2...3542xe3.th.jpg
WaterCooled
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/2449/cpu3601kr9.png

Tester with bios 1.3C, 1,07, 1.08 (Without the other FatBody works :( )

Somebody with my same problem? :confused:

Bye

Had to rip out everything after installing 1.08. Not a beep, only the flashing boot led. Tried cmos reset, unplugging graphics, power, ide and sata, taking out the battery, over and over again. Well hey guess it´s not the first i975x board to die on someone... Even contacted a swedish distributor for a rma but after following aopens cheesy "before you rma us" guide step by step to the last point I somehow resurrected my totally dead mb. Works just fine now with my T2700...

Question which has flatout perplexed me. I am using the 1.06 bios. Where in the hell is an option to disable the RAID controller on this thing? It is absolutely killing my boot times and my patience. I have scanned every bios option and found nada.

EDIT: Figured it out finally. I really should have dropped the $ for the SATA drives. I will definitely do it in the future.

A very useful post, along with all the responses. :)

However, what about RAM: Has anyone tried the new Kingston 800MHz ECC RAM (part number KVR800D2E5K2/1G) in the i975Xa-YDG. Its advertised as suitable for use with AMD systems, which I understand have tighter memory timing requirements than Intel.

I have tried e-mailing Kingston a number of times with the question of whether this RAM works with the AOpen board, but they insist on pointing me to their memory configurator on their web-site. Their memory configurator does not include ANY ECC RAM parts, and they appear not to want to help further - how annoying!! :( no :mad:

So, has anyone got this new RAM & have they had success with it in the AOpen board?

Can't help you out with the RAm, soz.

But: there's a new BIOS out :D

ftp://ftp.aopen.nl/pub/bios/i975xa-ydg/

Thanks .. I am going to wait for some1 to try.. I mean dont want to go thru PAIN of RMA from here :D

Hi guys!
I saw, that T2300 is verry hard to get nice results(max oc nearly 2.2 ghz only ?). I want buy cheap chip and thinking about Celery M430(1.73-133fsb) vs T2300 (1.66-166 fsb). t2300 is maybe better for dual aplications and 2x calculate power. Maybe now low cost Celery and after will prices down some Merom upgrade? :)
How far is possible get M430 with air?
2. Which DDR 2 is good ? Im target on Gskill 2x512 6400 5-5-5-12, or can be slower 667?
3. Zalman 7000b is working good on this combo ?
Thx for help me

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GrahamT

A very useful post, along with all the responses. :)

However, what about RAM: Has anyone tried the new Kingston 800MHz ECC RAM (part number KVR800D2E5K2/1G) in the i975Xa-YDG. Its advertised as suitable for use with AMD systems, which I understand have tighter memory timing requirements than Intel.

I have tried e-mailing Kingston a number of times with the question of whether this RAM works with the AOpen board, but they insist on pointing me to their memory configurator on their web-site. Their memory configurator does not include ANY ECC RAM parts, and they appear not to want to help further - how annoying!! :( no :mad:

So, has anyone got this new RAM & have they had success with it in the AOpen board?

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Hi guys & gals,

I got another response from Kingston. :)

They think their new RAM (part number KVR800D2E5K2/1G) will probably work in the i975Xa-YDG, but they can't guarantee it.

I suppose that's better than before, but why the heck can't they just get off their backsides and check it out properly - after all, a major part of their business is in selling memory.

Anyway, as I asked before, anyone tried it yet?

Cheers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GrahamT

Hi guys & gals,

I got another response from Kingston. :)

They think their new RAM (part number KVR800D2E5K2/1G) will probably work in the i975Xa-YDG, but they can't guarantee it.

I suppose that's better than before, but why the heck can't they just get off their backsides and check it out properly - after all, a major part of their business is in selling memory.

Anyway, as I asked before, anyone tried it yet?

Cheers.

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Hi there again!

Well, I took the plunge & ordered the new Kingston 800MHz ECC RAM (part number KVR800D2E5K2/1G). It arrived a couple of days ago. :)

Fortunately, it does work. Phew :woot:

I've not run the system to its max yet, so I don't know the memory's limitations, but its no trouble at CPU clock of 200MHz (with what I presume is a fixed x4 RAM clock multiplier when on 667 MHz setting - anyone any comments?).

I'll post my results when I've got some.

Cheers.

I sort of took a plunge and got this RAM for the Aopen board. Does anyone know if this works or is this an overkill.. Can it be overclocked

GSKILL 2GB DDR2-800 CL4 F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ MEMORY

Brand G.SKILL
Model F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ
Type 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
Tech Spec
Capacity 2GB (2 x 1GB)
Speed DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Cas Latency 4
Timing 4-4-4-12
Voltage 2.0V-2.1V
ECC No
Registered/Unbuffered Unbuffered
Heat Spreader Yes
Warranty
Manufacturer Warranty Lifetime

This memory will run 44412 1000mhz or 34412 at 800... very fast memory.