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MSI K7N2 Delta ILSR
Okay, the parts of my new PC are arriving and either late today or tomorrow I'll be looking at throwing it together.
Anyone got any hints or tips concerning putting the thing together, and especially configuring the mobo?
I've checked out some guides, but was wondering if anyone had annything the usual guides don't include.
Anything to do or not do? Any particular order?
Oh and the thermal paste, since my cpu arrived first I took a look, I'm assuming I just put the paste on the small rectangle in the middle rather than the whole surface...or am I wrong?
Cheers.
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;) Can't really go wrong now the days of jumpers are behind us. Be sure to take usual precautions to ensure no static (touching radiators, inside of case etc). I'd say simply plug the CPU, apply a VERY thin layer of compound (yes small rectangle only), attach the HSF, plug in RAM and then mount the mobo inside the case. Ensure the power is off on switch at back of PSU or the plug on the wall. If you leave your power plug in it should ensure your case is earthed. Plug in your other bits (handle from the edges, avoid touching chips, gold connectors etc). Ensure Master/Slave settings are correct on HD/CD/DVD. Switch on and enter the BIOS to set things like FSB ... best to keep everyhting running stock while installing OS and ensuring everything works perfectly. Have fun!
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The days of jumpers are behind us?
Nice to know, all the guides I read all referenced jumpers. So it's all automatic then?
I'm assuming I make my HD master, and the CD-R/RW slave? And the floppy?
Thanks as always Austin.
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:) Well some mobos still use them but by far the most control is now found in the BIOS. You generally just get the CMOS/BIOS clear on the mobo. It's always best to check through the mobo manual and check the surface of the mobo before switching on.
:cool: If you have a HD and a CDRW it's best to put them both on as Primary on seperate channels (so use seperate leads). There's a little jumper on the back of HDs and CD/DVD drives to select between Master and Slave. I doubt you'll notice any perf defecit from using one lead and putting HD and CDRW on the same channel, but do put HD on as Master. The floppy drive uses a seperate 'less wide' cable. When you connect the cables note the red line on the cable which indicates pin1. For HDs it goes nearest the power input and floppy drives are usually marked with pin1.
PS. Before you power on do a final check for things like the HSF being plugged in just to make sure, most mobos have protection but it's def best to do a final check.
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My own MSN K7N2-L (pre 400 ultra board) really has a poor poor BIOS on it. So id suggest looking up the board in particular, as it may follow same trait.
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I've looked it up, and it has very good reviews from many
Oh, and it's sitting in my room at home now!
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I used to have the ILSR ... if you overclock and go too far its a real faf to get 133+ FSB back, theres a whole boot jumper change sequence, its in the manual I think!
BTW - What RAM did you buy, nothing TwinMOS, Crucial, Corsair I hope? (this board has ridiculose problems with nearly every type of RAM)
It was a good board - best for sound quality with the SoundStorm out of all the certifyed boards, lovely colour and quite small comparitively ... was gonna change as no 400FSB and same week I manage to fry it due to a surge on my PSU :(
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Now that you mention it, I went for Corsair.
Online.
Hoping I'll have no probs.
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I've had to RMA one of these boards - and was more careful with the replacement. The board has many problems with onboard sound and stability at high fsb. After many frustrating months of blaming drivers, and overheating northbridge and southbridge I managed to sort all my problems and now can consistently run the board at 223mhz fsb - they board booted fine at 228mhz, but something (probably my ram) flaked out during stability tests.
The solution to running this board at decent speed is to remove the stock hsf from the NB - you'll probably find that the goop between hsf and chipset is pretty poorly applied - about 1/3 of the chip was in contact with the HSF. Clean off existing goop and apply a LIBERAL amount of new stuff and replace the HSF. (it's never going to be a perfect contact cus the NB is slightly concave.
SOund issues are nearly solved with the latest unified driver set 3.13, although some people complain that rear channels are missing in certain instances - there are remixed drivers which use a newer sound driver and control panel - although I found these to be worse than 3.13. Finally but a chipset cooler on your southbridge - this may also help pops and crackles from the on-board soundstorm.
With a little patience this motherboard is proving to be extremely stable - despite many months of hair-ripping.
