ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe - Not! First Impressions

Thought I'd rant... Grab a cuppa joe....

OK, I'm no overclocker super tweaker, but I have built a good number of
functional, stable systems. I decided last week to do my bi-annual
upgrade, and noting the 939 socket systems were, though perhaps
attarctively priced, reaching their end of life, so I decided to splurge,
and go with a current (read new) generation board. I hopped online and
after some reading and very happy reports (prolly from shills) decided on
this board paired with a Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+.

I haven't been able to even get into the BIOS after 2 days. Many people
experiencing similar issues (mostly mem related = VERY FINICKY), but the
"forum" hosted on the ASUS sites has NO ASUS representation to help
gather facts and respond, thus, I head back to a real newsgroup.

The components for this system are (all new):

Antec Performance Case w/ 400W SmartPower PS
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Mobo
Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+
(2) x 1 GB Patriot Dual Channel DDR2 - PC2-5300 667 MHz CAS4
GigabYte GeForce 7600 GT SLI Ready 256MB GDDR3
Western Digital 7200 RPM 320 GB Sata2 HDD - Non-Raid

All fairly modern, higher end parts. The memory is not the best out
there, but it is supposed to work within the specs of this system.

The bottom line of most issues relating to inability to even get thru
post are memory related, and a Very Short list has been developed of
acceptable part nums exists. In mosts cases, the 800 Mhz memory doesnt
work at all, or needs to be throttled back manually in the BIOS, ie,
PITA. ASUS seems to indicate they know it is a BIOS issue, but hasn't
released any fixes.

If anyone has any words of encouragement, I would appreciate them. I have
been a loyal ASUS fan for a while, but this round has tried my patience.

Thanks for reading (and hopefully adding some hints!)

 

My words of encouragement would be - work incrementally.

1) Install a processor and HSF on the motherboard. Nothing else.
Connect power supply (main power cable plus 2x2 12V cable) and
a power switch to the PANEL header. Connect the computer case
speaker (the one that beeps). When you power up, do you hear
a beep pattern consistent with no memory being present ? The
beep means the processor has executed some BIOS code successfully.
If no repetitive beeps, then check BIOS revision is recent enough
to run the processor. Turn off and unplug before the next step.

2) Install _one_ stick of memory. You can try different slots,
but unless a slot or a channel is defective, all slots
should give the same response. Turn on the power. Do you
get a beep pattern consistent with "missing video card" ?
If you do, then the memory must have been recognized. If
the computer is silent, or beeps still with the memory beep
pattern, then yes, the BIOS is having trouble with the memory,
for whatever reason. Turn off and unplug before the next step.

3) Install the video card. Power up. Do you get the "bad video card"
beeps ? If the BIOS appears on the screen, you are in pretty
good shape...

4) You can now install the rest of a (minimal) setup, because
that is about the extent of help from the "beeps". If the
video card passes muster, any further errors or warnings
should show on the BIOS screen. Use your <pause> key to
read the screen, if it scrolls away too fast on you.

In one case, a motherboard with a "skew adjustment", needed
a non-auto value to be able to use a RAM. Many other boards
do not have that adjustment (and Auto should have worked anyway),
and an immature BIOS is to blame for the inability to start up.
There seems to be a chip brand preference, in terms of what
works and what does not work, but I would not necessarily blame
or praise the hardware at this point - the BIOS is the part
that is lacking. It sure would be nice to blame someone, but
you never know whether the memory BIOS code was written by AMD,
by AMI/Award/Phoenix, or modified by someone at Asus. (In the
case of Intel motherboards, the chipset company may also have
played their part.)

You would be what we call a "bleeding edge user". If you'd used
the S939 platform, you'd already be gaming on your new box

HTH,
Paul

 

Try turning off <disable> Legacy USB in the bios.

Bill

 

Hey Bill, did you miss the part where he said he can't get it to post?

I am having the same issue. I will call ASUS tomorrow and try to figure this out.

Nick

 

MB won't POST

Hey Superman,

Did you get anywhere with ASUS tech support? I would like to know if you have any insight into this issue with MB not posting.

Thanks,