Welcome to PCForumz.com!
FAQFAQ   SearchSearch      ProfileProfile    Private MessagesPrivate Messages   Log in/Register/PasswordLog in/Register/Password

VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions

  
   Hardware Problem Solving Community! (Home) -> FIC RSS
Related Topics:
VA-503+ won't recognize D-Link network card - What's been your luck in getting the D-Link DWL-G510 wireless PCI netwoerk card to work in an FIC VA-503+ and Windows? I couldn't get Windows to recognize the card, no matter how I installed or the driver software, what PCI slot I used (other..

VIA C3 processor on FIC KA31 motherboard ??? - Has anyone tried the VIA C3 processor (on a slocket) on a KA31 I think I know where I can get my hands on an 800MHz processor for a price and wonder if it's worth trying. Maybe the BIOS doesn't support the processor - I don't..

hmmm... - I have a va503+ with a sb live card and a g-force 4 card. it's clocking 500 MHz with 384 Mb of ram running windows 2000. when I play a song with Windows media player, it plays great. but when I have the graphics turned on, such as the swirly ambient..

AGP Lock on AU13? - Hi It's been a while since I put a system together, and I ran into some problems inserting the AGP video card into my AU13. First, there wasn't enough clearance to insert the card; I had to loosen all of the MB screws and then was able to insert the..

PCI problem on a VA503+ - Hi there, I've got a VA503+ , flashed with the modified APM bios (I can't remember the version - you all know what one it is), with a K6-2 500 (5x100), 256meg PC-100 and WinXP Pro SP1 installed with the F6(?) 'Standard PC' option. I have the lastest VIA.
Author Message
Mikeluz

External


Since: Feb 17, 2006
Posts: 5



(Msg. 1) Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 3:33 pm
Post subject: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions
Archived from groups: alt>comp>periphs>mainboard>fic (more info?)
Hi!

First of all forgive me my lawzy english:)

I have some questions about the VA-503+. I've Googled the INET and the
NewsGroups and didn't find an accurate answer, so I hope some of you
maybe may had had the problems that I'll further describe.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've the folowing setup:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Mobo : FIC® VA503+ v1.2a with 1MB L2 cache (2 x 512Kb chips)

* BIOS : JE4333 BIOS

* CPU : AMD® K6-2 400 (CXT core)

* Memory : 1 x 256MB Infineon® PC133 CL3-3-3 @ PC100 CL 2-2-2

* VGA : ELSA® GF2MX AGP on AGP

* LAN : Realtek PCI 10/100 LAN card (RTL8139) on PCI #2

* Sound : SB128PCI (model CT4810) on PCI#3

* HDD : WD1200JB (yes, that's an abuse -- 120GB / 8MB / 7200rpm)

* Optical : LG52x32x52

* FDD : 1x Samsung 1.44Mb

*PSU : ATX 300W (fan silent modded by termistor)

*removable USB devices: #1 : DSL modem (500mA) ; #2 : Pen Disk TwinMOS
512Mb (100mA)


It's my old "silent PC": WD1200JB is nearly inaudible; 300W generic no
brand ATX PSU is "fan quiet modded by a termistor", very quiet; and CPU
Fan...well it's the "noisiest" component (CoolerMaster - ball
bearing) but I have an quieter replacement at another location


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've the following software:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm running XP Pro SP2 and W98SE (dual boot)

* On W98SE, I've installed
----------------------------------------
- VIA 4-in-1 v4.43 ( AGP + IRQ Routing + INF driver);
- DirectX 9.0c (way faster than the version 7a that came with NFSPU
game)
- Nvidia Detonator 45.23 for W9x (seems to be the fastest drivers I've
seen so far)
- Creative SB128PCI (model CT481x) drivers
- USB Filter Patch v1.10 (to fix VIA USB problems)
- PCI ZeroLatencyPatch (to fix "clicking" sound problems)
- Nero 6 with ImageDrive
- NFS PorscheUnleashed game Smile It's a bit heavy, but I can manage to
play it at 30-40FPS, with another opponent, on another PC:)

* On XP, I've installed
-------------------------------
(already installed : VIA 4-in-1 on XP SP2)
(already installed : DX9.0c on my distribution of XP SP2)
- Nvidia Detonator 45.23 for XP (seems to be the fastest drivers I've
seen so far)
- Creative SB128PCI (model CT481x) drivers
- PCI ZeroLatencyPatch (to fix "clicking" sound problems)
- Nero 6 with ImageDrive
- NFS PorscheUnleashed game Smile It's a bit heavy, but I can manage to
play it at 20-30FPS, with another opponent, on another PC:)
- NFSPU patch for XP

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem 1 (latest Nvidia drivers on XP)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 1
-------------------
After I install the latest Nvidia drivers (tried v81.98 and v71.22),
when I try to run NFSPU the computer halts with a BlueScreenOfDeath
(BSOD). If I install the v43.45 or the v45.23 that won't happen.

Any idea why this happens with the latest drivers?
How to correct this problem?
What Nvidia drivers are you using?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem 2.1 (USB Filter v1.10 on XP)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 2.1
-------------------
USB Filter v1.10 states on its README and on VIAArena that it's for
using on W98, ME, 2K and XP, but I can't manage to properly install it
on XP SP2! It stops the installation with the "Cannot update original
INF" message!

Maybe SP2 includes this FilterPatch and prevents it from being
"re-installed"?
Maybe VIAArena meant XP without no SP1 nor SP2?
* Anyway, the USB seems to work fine, if I connect ONLY one device at
the time

-------------------------------------------------
Problem 2.2 (USB devices on XP)
-------------------------------------------------
Question 2.2
-------------------
Can you connect 2 USB devices SIMULTANELY draining about 600mA on the 2
USB ports and still manage them to work? In W98SE I can do it, but on
XP I only can do that in a certain order, e.g., 1st the 100mA part,
then the 500mA part. On the reverse order (1st 500mA part then 100mA
part), the 1st device --a DSL USB modem-, will stop working! I guess
that XP when I 1st connect the 500mA part "recognizes" that there is no
more power on the 500mA hub and "prevents" and if any more devices will
be connected it will shutdown the 1st device? On W98SE that does not
happens, so i'll assume that XP is "smarter" and prevents "overcurrent"
of the USB hub? Or might be because I can't install USB Filter Patch on
XP? (Question 2.1)



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem 3 (Overclocking)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've an AMD K6-2 400 CPU (CXT core, that I suppose its very good
overclocker). I've got it @ 4x100=400MHz/2.2V.


Tried 4 x 112MHz = 448MHz @ 2,4V (I don't want to go above +10% default
Vcore).
@ 4 x 112MHz = 448MHz @ 2,4V the computer only starts reliable if I
disable the onboard L2 cache, so I gave up about the 112MHz setting

But I'm still thinking on a way to circunvent this, because:
- higher FSB = better perfomance,
- because the PCI cards seem to be OK at 1.12 x 33MHz = 37MHz (no
sound distortion),
- AGP card seems OK also at 74MHz (no visual artifacts)
, and the HDD seems also OK (no data corruption so far)

Question 3.1
-------------------
Is there any way to increment the L2 cache voltage? Any resistor mod
trick or something?Anyone knows what voltage feeds those L2 cache
chips? 3.3V? 5V?

Tried 4.5 x 100MHz = 450MHz @ 2.4V but BSOD sometimes on XP, so I guess
I'm stucked with 400MHz with stabilty and 450MHz with minor instability
(still I would prefer the 4 x112MHz setting)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem 4 (BIOS ...)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 4.1 ...and Standby
----------------------------------------------
On W98SE if I enter the mobo into "Standby mode" (via Shutdown menu >
Standby), it won't resume to desktop if I press the keyboard (event#1)
neither if I move the mouse(event#2), but on XP any of those events (#1
or #2) will resume the VA-503+ from Standby.

On W98SE the only way to "resume" from Standy is by pressing the
Soft_Off_(ATX PSU)_Power_Button, but althought I select the "Delay4Sec"
on BIOS this procedure "resume" the mobo to shutdown it

Did you notice this "strange" behavior on your motherboard, on any of
your current OS's?


Question 4.2 ...and RTC alarm resume
-------------------------------------------------------------
I can't manage to get the "RTC alarm resume" to work! Did you tried it
out? It won't Power Up the motherboard, althought I'm using a brand new
300W ATX PSU. I tried with the accurate date and time I would like the
mobo to Power Up, several tries, but it seems to be a "no go" for this
item.

Question 4.3
-------------------
Because of these problems I remembered why I want to reflash the JE4333
BIOS I want to see if on early BIOS versions the following items will
function correctly (or on another words, these are my "minor"
problems).
I'm looking for tecniques to "unsolder/desolder" (?) VA503+ BIOS chip
(don't know the exact word). That way, if I can unsolder the BIOS chip
I will put a socket to socket (duh) the BIOS chip. Then, case I flash
the BIOS wrong, I'll take BIOS chip off and replace it with a "good"
BIOS chip. But this opperation might be risky and maybe I can damage
the motherboar and the BIOS chip itself, because of the heat needed to
be applied to unsolder... Anyone tried this before?

Well that ALL folks! If you, by now, are not sleeping (because of this
long post)...well I hope to hear from you soon!

Kind regards,
Mikeluz

P.S: I understand your "nostalgia thing" about this board.. I'm
nostalgic also: 386SX16@20; P60@66MHz;P100@133, etc, etc

 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
farmuse10

External


Since: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 97



(Msg. 2) Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:09 pm
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Mikeluz,

Good to see another 503+ enthusiast. The one question I will try
to postulate an answer to would be question 1, the nVidia driver. I
would expect the newest drivers to not support such an old chipset. I
have not used the reference drivers with anything older like the 503+,
and the GF 2 is not the issue. For example, I installed a V770 TNT2 in a
BX motherboard the other day, and I just used the old Detonator drivers.
Works fine. Even if the newer graphics drivers worked okay I seriously
doubt they are still tweeking a GPU like the GF 2 anymore, so there
would no real benefit. Esp if you are not running any 3D apps.

Okay, now it's time for someone to reply to one of the other
questions. BTW I liked the very last line, and I thought I ran some old
stuff. Tell you the truth, I much prefer older hardware simply because
it still works great. There are other reasons, but that is the best.

John

 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
pigdos

External


Since: Dec 23, 2005
Posts: 86



(Msg. 3) Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:55 pm
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
You might want to re-consider your overclocking strategy. Overclocking the
FSB will also overclock the PCI bus which can lead to hard drive corruption.
Considering the VA503+ only supports UDMA mode 2, you're hard drive is going
to be running really slowly.

Personally, I've decided that once I upgrade to an Athlon 64 X2 based
system, my 503+ is headed for the scrapheap.

--
Doug
"Mikeluz" <lmlp74 RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140219222.329316.221820@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Hi!


* HDD : WD1200JB (yes, that's an abuse -- 120GB / 8MB / 7200rpm)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem 3 (Overclocking)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've an AMD K6-2 400 CPU (CXT core, that I suppose its very good
overclocker). I've got it @ 4x100=400MHz/2.2V.


Tried 4 x 112MHz = 448MHz @ 2,4V (I don't want to go above +10% default
Vcore).
@ 4 x 112MHz = 448MHz @ 2,4V the computer only starts reliable if I
disable the onboard L2 cache, so I gave up about the 112MHz setting

But I'm still thinking on a way to circunvent this, because:
- higher FSB = better perfomance,
- because the PCI cards seem to be OK at 1.12 x 33MHz = 37MHz (no
sound distortion),
- AGP card seems OK also at 74MHz (no visual artifacts)
, and the HDD seems also OK (no data corruption so far)

Question 3.1
-------------------
Is there any way to increment the L2 cache voltage? Any resistor mod
trick or something?Anyone knows what voltage feeds those L2 cache
chips? 3.3V? 5V?

Tried 4.5 x 100MHz = 450MHz @ 2.4V but BSOD sometimes on XP, so I guess
I'm stucked with 400MHz with stabilty and 450MHz with minor instability
(still I would prefer the 4 x112MHz setting)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem 4 (BIOS ...)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 4.1 ...and Standby
----------------------------------------------
On W98SE if I enter the mobo into "Standby mode" (via Shutdown menu >
Standby), it won't resume to desktop if I press the keyboard (event#1)
neither if I move the mouse(event#2), but on XP any of those events (#1
or #2) will resume the VA-503+ from Standby.

On W98SE the only way to "resume" from Standy is by pressing the
Soft_Off_(ATX PSU)_Power_Button, but althought I select the "Delay4Sec"
on BIOS this procedure "resume" the mobo to shutdown it

Did you notice this "strange" behavior on your motherboard, on any of
your current OS's?


Question 4.2 ...and RTC alarm resume
-------------------------------------------------------------
I can't manage to get the "RTC alarm resume" to work! Did you tried it
out? It won't Power Up the motherboard, althought I'm using a brand new
300W ATX PSU. I tried with the accurate date and time I would like the
mobo to Power Up, several tries, but it seems to be a "no go" for this
item.

Question 4.3
-------------------
Because of these problems I remembered why I want to reflash the JE4333
BIOS I want to see if on early BIOS versions the following items will
function correctly (or on another words, these are my "minor"
problems).
I'm looking for tecniques to "unsolder/desolder" (?) VA503+ BIOS chip
(don't know the exact word). That way, if I can unsolder the BIOS chip
I will put a socket to socket (duh) the BIOS chip. Then, case I flash
the BIOS wrong, I'll take BIOS chip off and replace it with a "good"
BIOS chip. But this opperation might be risky and maybe I can damage
the motherboar and the BIOS chip itself, because of the heat needed to
be applied to unsolder... Anyone tried this before?

Well that ALL folks! If you, by now, are not sleeping (because of this
long post)...well I hope to hear from you soon!

Kind regards,
Mikeluz

P.S: I understand your "nostalgia thing" about this board.. I'm
nostalgic also: 386SX16@20; P60@66MHz;P100@133, etc, etc
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
farmuse

External


Since: Apr 14, 2005
Posts: 45



(Msg. 4) Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:55 am
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
pigdos wrote:
> You might want to re-consider your overclocking strategy. Overclocking the
> FSB will also overclock the PCI bus which can lead to hard drive corruption.
> Considering the VA503+ only supports UDMA mode 2, you're hard drive is going
> to be running really slowly.
>
> Personally, I've decided that once I upgrade to an Athlon 64 X2 based
> system, my 503+ is headed for the scrapheap.
>
sell it, somebody can still use it. personally I have no use for
newer computer hardware, with few exceptions they are really just
multimedia toys.

the other thing he could do to improve his hard drive UDMA is use a
controller card, Promise makes several good ones. He could also upgrade
to a K6 3+ since he has the correct BIOS. I have a similar configuration
and it runs very well.
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
Mikeluz

External


Since: Feb 17, 2006
Posts: 5



(Msg. 5) Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:43 am
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Pigdos:
-----------

I'm using 503+ at 100MHz...I'll leave that way... When oveclocking I
can't manage to use the 112 MHz FSB, so I'll leave it at 100MHz FSB...
By the way, when going from 4x100MHz=400MHz to 4.5x100MHz=450MHz, that
12% increment in CPU speed only increase about 1FPS/30FPS on NFSPU
(i.e. an 2-4% increase on FPS), so I'll leave the 400MHz setting --it's
more stable than 450MHz. That little increase on FPS would be
expectable since it's better to increase FSB rather than multiplier as
you probably know;)


I want to use the FIC VA503+ to play old (network) games.
Since I have coleagues at home occasionaly, I play with them, 1/2 hour
or so. It's only just for play from time to time, so I do not need to
purchase a dedicated (more expensive) solution
I've played on it NFSPU, althought on the low quality @ 640x480 on a
15'' CRT at about 30-80 FPS. Could have better quality, but FPS rate
decrease...to play ocasionally it's enough...

By the way i live on Portugal, and money it's not abundant here, so I
need to keep the budget tight Smile I've an main system, but it's giving
me troubles so I need to backup all files and to work on the 503+ if
necessary. Also it's nice to play with coleagues Wink

Farmuse:
--------------
This computer was offered to me by someone, so I don't intend to spend
money on it:) Altought you were right about the Promise controler. It's
a waste to have the WD1200JB on the 503+ *per se*, but I don't have any
smaller disk (nor quieter) to put on the 503+ *quiet* system, so I'll
leave it there.

I'm trying to squeeze the most from the computer spending the minimum
money:)

Unfortunelly there is not much more to squeeze... LOL

Do you know any more tweakings I could use to improve performance?

I noticed as increase of about 10FPS from the 20FPS NFSPU (NFS5) *on
XP* to the 30FPS *on W98SE*. Unfortunely I can't manage to play NFSHS
(NFS4) any faster than NFS5 on this system. Unless there are any more
tweak I can't use.

Kind regards
Mikeluz
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
farmuse10

External


Since: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 97



(Msg. 6) Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:52 pm
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Mikeluz,

Hmmm, really surprised to hear your game runs faster under XP.
The one thing you still have not mentioned is overclocking the GF 2
card. You could use powerstrip, and I am sure you can squeeze more fps
from that card. I believe the MX200 is 64 bit bus, but not too bad a
card really. Try overclocking the GPU first, then the memory. Of course
you must use active cooling, and a case with good cooling as well. Lower
room temps do help a lot. Other than that, the only other choice is to
rip the top off the K6 2, and mount a lapped heatsink directly to the
core. I bet you could get to 450 then. But is it worth it ? Or you could
just bump the voltage up to 2.4 and see if the 400 can overclock well.
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
Mikeluz

External


Since: Feb 17, 2006
Posts: 5



(Msg. 7) Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 6:37 am
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Farmuse

I suppose I don't explained myself well : NFSPU runs faster on W98SE
(30FPS) than on XP (20PFS)

With an GF4 Ti4200 AGP card the game (NFSPU) won't give me any more
FPS, it's CPU bottlenecked -- it's not entirely true, but I'll explain
below. I suppose that "car simulation/arcade games" are very CPU
demanding rather than GPU demanding, in general. Shoot'em up games from
the NFSPU era I suppose were less CPU demanding games...

I tell this because with a GF2MX, with game effects on medium, the FPS
rate don't change when I pass the screen resolution from 640x480 to
800x600, so it's the CPU the limiting factor at those resolutions --
this because game effects are CPU demanding;
At 1024x768 the FPS rates goes down -1~ -2FPS, so the GPU starts
becoming ALSO a limiting factor, and overclocking will do it the trick,
but on a slower system like this one, it won't give me real benefits,
because the CPU is the major bottleneck;)

I bumped the voltage to 2.4V @ 450MHz (I tried also @ 2,5V for
increased stability) but I found out, that for the games that I play
the most (NFS3, 4, 5) --on this system, well understood;)--, the FPS
increase of about 1FPS on every 25PFS won't make a real difference over
the * base FPS rate @ 400MHz* of 30FPS (i.e. an effective increase of 1
~2FPS), so I give up on the idea of overclocking by bumping the
multiplier from 4x to 4.5x... Case the L2 cache was up to the FSB
112MHz that would make a noticeable difference (about 10% increase)
over the mere 3% increase on FPS gived by bumping only the multiplier.

If anyone knows how to tweak L2 cache voltage or decrease L2 cache
latency, tell us! Maybe that will do the trick to use the 112MHz FSB.
Until then, I'll use the default setting (4x 100MHz @ 2.2V)

Kind regards,
Mikeluz
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
Mikeluz

External


Since: Feb 17, 2006
Posts: 5



(Msg. 8) Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:26 pm
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Hi Alex!

Alex: "In other words, when you first plug in any USB device, it will
act like
a low-power 100 mA device. Only after the device and the computer
"talk" to each other will it increase to 500 mA, if it is a high-power
device. It sounds like Win98 and WinXP do not "talk" in the same
manner!"

Yup, that's look like the problem. Still, W98SE will function with 2
USB devices (1x High Power (500mA DSL modem) and 1x Low Power ("pen
disk drive") draining 600mA from the 500mA hub, strange isn't it?
I would assume that XP driver is somewhat "bad" because it shouldn't
allow any more devices to function while one 500mA device is draining
the "maximum" allowed current from the 500mA USB1.1 hub... Never heard
of such problem before, at least I'm not aware of that.

It's a "bummer" the case when I'm surfing the INET (via USB DLS modem)
and this one gets "disabled" when I connect the USB pen disk... INET
goes down, and the only way to "reconnect" the modem (and to INET) is
by reseting computer and dettaching the pen disk.

I'll google the net a little bit more to see if someone is getting the
same problem.

And yes. it's true that 2x USB devices could be attached to a USB2.0
hub. I've verified that myself:)

Good to know about your sucessfull BIOS recoveries. That way the
"socketed-BIOS-project" goes directly to the drawer;)

Thank you!

Kind regards,
Mikeluz
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
Mikeluz

External


Since: Feb 17, 2006
Posts: 5



(Msg. 9) Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:14 am
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Hi Roger!

Thanks for replying!I

How did you unsoldered the BIOS chip from the mobo? Did you use a 40W
(or so) soldering iron? I was thinking of levering up the BIOS chip at
the same time I applied the heat to one row of pins.

I've tried this procedure first on a mobo with the BIOS chip socket
that I want. But I saw that this procedure was not to good in the first
place to harvest the socket so I gave up on that idea, because I don't
want to apply the same procedure on the BIOS chip itself and might ruin
it...

Did you follow some tutorial, or so? What technique did you use? By the
way, I'm recapping my P4 mobo and I was sucessfull so far, so I can say
that my soldering skills are good, though maybe my unsoldering
techniques are no so good.

Kind regards,
Mikeluz
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
Alex Zorrilla

External


Since: May 14, 2004
Posts: 183



(Msg. 10) Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:26 pm
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Hey, Mikeluz.

In Windows XP, look through the Device Manager for your USB DSL modem
(or any other USB device). Somewhere in the settings, there is a little
checkbox that says something like, "Allow Windows to turn this device
off to save power." Try unchecking this box. See if it makes any
difference.

--Alex



Mikeluz wrote:
> Hi Alex!
>
> Alex: "In other words, when you first plug in any USB device, it will
> act like
> a low-power 100 mA device. Only after the device and the computer
> "talk" to each other will it increase to 500 mA, if it is a high-power
> device. It sounds like Win98 and WinXP do not "talk" in the same
> manner!"
>
> Yup, that's look like the problem. Still, W98SE will function with 2
> USB devices (1x High Power (500mA DSL modem) and 1x Low Power ("pen
> disk drive") draining 600mA from the 500mA hub, strange isn't it?
> I would assume that XP driver is somewhat "bad" because it shouldn't
> allow any more devices to function while one 500mA device is draining
> the "maximum" allowed current from the 500mA USB1.1 hub... Never heard
> of such problem before, at least I'm not aware of that.
>
> It's a "bummer" the case when I'm surfing the INET (via USB DLS modem)
> and this one gets "disabled" when I connect the USB pen disk... INET
> goes down, and the only way to "reconnect" the modem (and to INET) is
> by reseting computer and dettaching the pen disk.
>
> I'll google the net a little bit more to see if someone is getting the
> same problem.
>
> And yes. it's true that 2x USB devices could be attached to a USB2.0
> hub. I've verified that myself:)
>
> Good to know about your sucessfull BIOS recoveries. That way the
> "socketed-BIOS-project" goes directly to the drawer;)
>
> Thank you!
>
> Kind regards,
> Mikeluz
>
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
Roger Hunt

External


Since: Feb 07, 2005
Posts: 36



(Msg. 11) Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:55 am
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006, Mikeluz typed this :
>Hi Roger!
>
>Thanks for replying!I
>
>How did you unsoldered the BIOS chip from the mobo? Did you use a 40W
>(or so) soldering iron? I was thinking of levering up the BIOS chip at
>the same time I applied the heat to one row of pins.
>
>I've tried this procedure first on a mobo with the BIOS chip socket
>that I want. But I saw that this procedure was not to good in the first
>place to harvest the socket so I gave up on that idea, because I don't
>want to apply the same procedure on the BIOS chip itself and might ruin
>it...
>
>Did you follow some tutorial, or so? What technique did you use? By the
>way, I'm recapping my P4 mobo and I was sucessfull so far, so I can say
>that my soldering skills are good, though maybe my unsoldering
>techniques are no so good.
>
You could either use solder wick, which is quite neat and tidy.
Or, it is possible to mask off the rest of the motherboard and use an
air duster aerosol to blast the solder out of the way.
This is very messy and carries a real risk of creating a short somewhere
if a bit of spatter lands in the wrong place, but it worked for me.

Have fun!
--
Roger Hunt
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
farmuse10

External


Since: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 97



(Msg. 12) Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:45 pm
Post subject: Re: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Ah yes, and my friends wonder why I would rather game under 98,
several reasons but it uses less system resources right ?

To be honest, I would still overclock that GF2, you might be
surprised. You won't really know until you try. If still no happiness
then save up for a K6 2 550 or a K 6 III plus and overclock that, they
can often reach 600 MHz. Then you would be happy.

Cheers from America, John


Mikeluz wrote:
> Farmuse
>
> I suppose I don't explained myself well : NFSPU runs faster on W98SE
> (30FPS) than on XP (20PFS)
>
> With an GF4 Ti4200 AGP card the game (NFSPU) won't give me any more
> FPS, it's CPU bottlenecked -- it's not entirely true, but I'll explain
> below. I suppose that "car simulation/arcade games" are very CPU
> demanding rather than GPU demanding, in general. Shoot'em up games from
> the NFSPU era I suppose were less CPU demanding games...
>
> I tell this because with a GF2MX, with game effects on medium, the FPS
> rate don't change when I pass the screen resolution from 640x480 to
> 800x600, so it's the CPU the limiting factor at those resolutions --
> this because game effects are CPU demanding;
> At 1024x768 the FPS rates goes down -1~ -2FPS, so the GPU starts
> becoming ALSO a limiting factor, and overclocking will do it the trick,
> but on a slower system like this one, it won't give me real benefits,
> because the CPU is the major bottleneck;)
>
> I bumped the voltage to 2.4V @ 450MHz (I tried also @ 2,5V for
> increased stability) but I found out, that for the games that I play
> the most (NFS3, 4, 5) --on this system, well understood;)--, the FPS
> increase of about 1FPS on every 25PFS won't make a real difference over
> the * base FPS rate @ 400MHz* of 30FPS (i.e. an effective increase of 1
> ~2FPS), so I give up on the idea of overclocking by bumping the
> multiplier from 4x to 4.5x... Case the L2 cache was up to the FSB
> 112MHz that would make a noticeable difference (about 10% increase)
> over the mere 3% increase on FPS gived by bumping only the multiplier.
>
> If anyone knows how to tweak L2 cache voltage or decrease L2 cache
> latency, tell us! Maybe that will do the trick to use the 112MHz FSB.
> Until then, I'll use the default setting (4x 100MHz @ 2.2V)
>
> Kind regards,
> Mikeluz
>
 >> Stay informed about: VA-503+ roundup questions and some New questions 
Back to top
Login to vote
Display posts from previous:   
   Hardware Problem Solving Community! (Home) -> FIC All times are: Pacific Time (US & Canada) (change)
Page 1 of 1

 
 You can post new topics in this forum
You can reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



[ Contact us | Terms of Service/Privacy Policy ]