Motherboard

 

Q:   How to use Dual Channel Memory ? ( MSI Motherboard as example )



2-Channel, one of the hottest topics these days in the motherboard world, is starting to draw people's attention. For example, in recent days, the nVIDIAR's nForce2 chipset (based on AMDR platform) has seen motherboard manufacturers working double-time! And, the E7205 chipset(Granite Bay) (based on IntelR P4 platform) is also ready to take over the advanced MB, server board and workstation markets. The Two Channel DDR structure uses Twin Bank mode, and requires two memory modules plugged into the appointed DIMM slots in order to enable 2 Channel DDR. Though E7205 only supports DDR266 memory, its 4.3GB/s memory bandwidth will still outperform the Single Channel in DDR400 in terms of performance.


To make it easier for users to identify systems with the 2 Channel feature, MSI has considerately chosen to colour the DIMM slots differently to better distinguish them from each other. Take GNB Max for example, the green DIMM1 and DIMM3 are Channel A, while the purple DIMM2 and DIMM4 are Channel B. In order for the user to enable the 2 Channel feature, two memory modules must be plugged in different channels--one in Channel A and another one in Channel B. In the following paragraphs, we will show you the difference between 2 Channel and Single Channel in performance as well as the correct way of integrating 2 Channel memory in the various models of MSI's motherboard.

IntelR P4 platform: GNB Max(MS-6565), 655 Max(MS-6730)
AMDR K7 platform: K7N2G(MS-6570)

  
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Q:   Which MSI Motherboard support AMD Athlon XP CPU

MODEL NAME PCB VERSION FSB MEMEORY SUPPORT BIOS
6330 K7T TURBO 3.0 266 PC100/133 SDRAM 3.0
6330 K7T TURBO 2 5.0 266 PC100/133 SDRAM 3.0
6330 K7T TURBO LIMITED 3.0E 266 PC100/133 SDRAM 3.0
6330LE3 - 3.0 266 PC100/133 SDRAM 3.0
6341 K7 MASTER 1.1 266 266MHz DDR SDRAM 1.3
6378 - 2.0 266 PC100/133 SDRAM 1.5
6380 K7T266 PRO 1.0A 266 266MHz DDR SDRAM 1.6
6380 K7T266 PRO2 2.0C 266 266MHz DDR SDRAM 3.1
6380LE - 1.0A 266 266MHz DDR SDRAM 1.6

  
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Q:   ATAPI2 IOMEGA ZIP-100 Driver will become very slow (look like hung-up) when format or copy big files under Windows 98.

A:   patch for VIA 686B compatibility problem with ATAPI2 IOMEGA ZIP-100 Drive.   

  
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Q:   After install the sound card driver for PC Parnter C964 i810
       Motherboard, Windows 98 SE cannot start and hangs with a
       blue screen.

A:   Wrong sound driver is installed.
        Go into SAVE mode by pressing the CTRL key during bootup.
        Remove all the device(s) under "Sound, Video and Game Controller"
        ( Device Manager of System Properties under   System of the Control Panel )
        Click "Cancel" to skip the auto detection of device when the system bootup.
        Click "Setup" under Intel Chipset products/i810/AC97Sound/Cs4299
        from the CD.

        Complete installation by following  the on screen instruction.
      

  
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Q:   After install the sound card driver for PC Parnter C964 i810
       Motherboard, MIDI files cannot play ?

A:   Roland MPU-401 is wrongly detected and installated.
        After installed the Direct X ,( www.microsoft.com/directx/download.asp )
        Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth can be selected. Midi File can be played.
 

  
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Q:    Can 694D Pro (MS-6321) support dual Intel Celeron FCPGA?

A:    Intel Celeron FCPGA CPU do not support dual CPU mode
         For dual CPU mode, Celeron PPGA & P-III FCPGA is supported

  
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Q:    On 694D Pro (MS-6321), how do you terminate the other Socket 370 if you are only using one Processor?

A:    MS-694D pro Ver. 10A motherboard already has terminator on board.

  
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Q:    On 694D Pro (MS-6321), after installing sound driver under Windows NT 4.0, no sound is heard.

A:    In Advanced CMOS Setup, set "MPS Version Control for OS" to "1.1". This is because the sound driver is written for this version.

  
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Q:   The following are the condition for MS-5169 supporting AMD K6-2 CPU

A:    This CPU come into increasing heat which can affect the reliable system operation. For supporting AMD K6-2 550 CPU, we strictly recommend that you take note of the following terms:
1. The motherboard version must be 4.0 or later.
2. BIOS version must be 3.4 or later.
3. At least 5000 RPM of the rotational speed of CPU FAN.
4. Use thermal paste or grease to attached the heat sink to the processor.
5. For thermal solution of K6 CPU family, please refer to the following link www1.amd.com/products.coq/thermals/

  
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Q:   ALL the PCI Devices are not detected when using MSI 6340VA163?

A:    You need to update the BIOS to ver.2.3 release
   http://www.msi.com.tw/Support/first.htm

  
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Q:   Using MSI 6163Pro, how come " System hardware abnormal " message comes up every time upon booting up?

A:    This might be due to the following reasons:
        1. The 3-pin CPU fan is not used (fan with a sensor pin).
        2. The 3-pin CPU fan is plugged into the PSFAN connector instead of the CPUFAN.
        3. PSFAN Detect is enabled in BIOS setup but no fan is connected it.

  
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Q:   Using MSI 5184, how to set the jumpers for AMD K6-2 450Mhz or 500Mhz?

A:   For 450Mhz, follow the settings as instructed in the motherboard manual but set the switch 7 of SW2 on. For 500Mhz, setting basically is same as 450Mhz but set the switch 6 of SW2 off.

Note: Please be aware of the Vcore voltage of the AMD CPU because there are 2 types: one is 2.2v, the other is 2.4v. It is important to make the appropriate setting according to the manual..

  
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Q:   I lost the user manual of my MSI motherboard, how do I configure the settings for the case connectors on the motherboard?

A:   There are 2 kinds of case connector designs for MSI motherboards. Please see the diagrams as follow:

case1.jpg (14807 bytes)                      case2.jpg (16305 bytes)

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