Wierd Freeze Up on New Computer

[Archer]

If I remember correctly AMD had a set to with board manufacturers on the prelaunce of the XP range of processors in that they wanted all future bios readings to indicate the XP rating at boot up not the true MHz as had previously been reported.
So in essense running my 1.4Ghz pre XP at 1.6Ghz would give me somewhere in the range of a 1900XP [bar the board speed].So unless I want DDR ram there is no real advantage in upgrading just yet till AMD introduce a 3GHz processor.
BTW just saw an advert yesterday for a 3GHz intel system by Time I think.

[confus-ed]

Originally posted by Orangeman
...I asked the seller how fast the processor was and he said "Duron 1200" I said 1.2GHz and he said "yes" He also said he sold alot of them. It wasn't doctored by the tech, but by ECS.

I'm glad you helped me clarify that Confused

Ahhhh! So they did lie then.... there is a 1200 duron, but no xp1200 duron?? This is different to what you/I said before. Your machine patently doesn't contain a 1.2 Mhz chip, flipping xp branding & equivalencies aside....

Send it back. Its not what they told you it was, they are guilty of mis-representation....

[Orangeman]

Actually BOTH of them are lying Confus-ed,

EGS is lying because they are deliberately naming their products '1200 xp+' in hopes that good natured customers like myself will believe that large multinational corporations that do hundreds of millions of dollars each year with the public would not deliberately and purposely mislead their customers just to make a few extra bucks and risk bad PR.

However that is the ONLY reason I can see for EGS naming its product "Duron 1200 XP+" 1200 has nothing to do with 1.2Ghz. How they get 8.5ghz our of 1200? I'll never know. What the two things have to do with one another I still don't understand.

It doesn't actual processor speed anywhere on the website:http://www.ecs.com.tw/products/k7sem_3x.htm or in the box or manual. Of course, I got the bundled version.

By the way, the AMD website calls "XP" EXTREME PERFORMANCE; which is different from the regular 1.2 Duron (1/4 faster) This is evidently only "ordinary" performance.

The tech who sold it to me is guilty of perpetuating the lie. Unfortunately my guarantee is with the Company (1 year).

Orangeman

[sethfp]

Originally posted by Orangeman
Hi,

Well I clocked it using a program called 'cpuinfo' from AMD's OWN website. The information I got was VERY interesting.

Evidently my 1.2 Duron XP is really a regular 'Genuine Duron' (TM) 892mhz!!!

I downloaded SISSOFTSANDRA and I got a speed of 893mhz + a 'Coprocessor FPU' reading that said 'built-in" Sandra does not list it as an XP.

I also ran DirectX diagnostic again and my result THIS TIME came out at 900mhz.

What is "coprocessor FPU?" Does that mean that it has a coprocessor built in that gives it that extra 300mhz?


Thanks,,
Orangeman

I have an 800Mhz Duron(non-XP) and use SissoftSandra. The CPU always clocks at 808Mhz on Sandra.

[Orangeman]

Hi Seth,
That's the point of the discussion. My processor says 1200 Duron XP+ on boot up. You would think that would mean 1.2Ghz. That is what the person who sold it to me said. However using DirectX, CPUInfo and Sandra I get a reading of 900mhz.

I wrote Elitegroup Systems, the manufacturer about it and they gave me a lot of mumbo-jumbo about how 1200 Durons were really 850's anyway.

IF you'd like to find out more about it read through the posts, There are 3 pages of them,

Good Luck,
Orangeman

[Idontknow]

Hi Orangeman,

I am curious also as to what AMD has to say about ECS. I worked with a shop that also sells a lot of this particular ECS board with the soldiered Duron chip. Apparently, he has no idea that it is actually an 850Mhz Duron. He sells retail. Manual does not mention 850 anywhere. His distributor insist that it is an 1.2Ghz duron. I wondered if ECS actually make his tweaking known to their distributor.

This is getting very interesting.

[Orangeman]

Thanks for your post.

Getting ahold of AMD technical support is next to impossible. If you click their website link for 'Ask Amd' or 'Contact AMD' you are directed to a series of faq's that do not allow you to send email.

If you have better luck than me let me know what they say. If you distributor says they are 1.2Ghz I would direct him to this Yahoo link and ask him if THAT is the mobo he is selling:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/4itech/ecsk7semv3wi.html

Thanks,
Orangeman

[Orangeman]

Originally posted by geoscomp
I don't know, but I emailed our AMD rep with all the info, so we'll find out what their stand is. Interesting that this is only possible because of AMD's decision to name their athlons with something other than ghz ratings though.

Hi Geoscomp,

Did you get a response from your AMD Rep yet?

Orangeman

[geoscomp]

Not yet, but i don't really expect to hear till next week at our usual sales call, so I'll let you know

[cookin chef]

www.overclockers.com had a little piece on this board.

"
Caveat Emptor
More Duron 1200s Email from CJ:

"It may interest you to know that ECS is also offering "Duron 1200+" combos based on SIS chipsets and a permanently installed Duron 850 at about 890 MHz for $79 or so. The heatsink has a warranty seal and the warranty is void if the heatsink is ever removed.

In my eyes it's a disposable board, aimed squarely at the low-low end of the budget market, integrated sound and video...it's a third revision K7SEM board with an 850 soldered in it and no options to set memory timings at all."

If you're interested, here's a link to the ECS K7SEM V3.0C which is the board mentioned and to the PC Chips mobo. (Email from Mike: "I have a Duron 1200+ from PCchips. It's an absolutely deplorable mobo, but it was cheap.")

I'm not sure who is labeling these as "Duron 1200+", but you can call it whatever you want as long as the specs indicate it's a Duron 850. Chris emailed AMD about it and received the following reply:

"We have recently been made aware of an issue with this motherboard/processor bundle. The cause is currently unknown, however we are looking into this issue. Please understand that this was not an AMD developed bundle and we do not have any information at this time. Please stay tuned to our website for more information." "

I was thinking of using this board to be used in a cheap router/file server or lan game server. It's low end and cheap as heck. But that's all I need.

[Orangeman]

That's an interesting article Chef,

Only the tech who installed it for me didn't charge the going rate. He charged twice as much. It was anything but cheap!!

The problem was that my other computer was fried. I had no alternative if I wanted to get it fixed quickly. Just goes to show people who need something RIGHT NOW pay for it.

I'll stay tuned to the AMD website,

Thanks,
Orangeman

[meatwad]

Just curious. What does the label on the CPU say it is?

[Orangeman]

HI MeatWad,

I can't get to the cpu. If I remove teh fan sink which was factory sealed, it voids the warranty.

Orangeman

[cookin chef]

As far as I know, this board was probably designed for use in a cheap upgrade package for customer's older computers or for an all in one value pc for office use or students or for those not good cheap s.o.b.'s.

I just picked up this board today for $145.00 Canadian (not including taxes) or Approx. $92.00 U.S.

This is what the Technician/Sales guy told me about this board.
I believe he is telling the truth.

ECS bought in bulk these discounted price surplus Duron 850's from AMD and incorporated them into an all in one solution board. To promote sales on this board, ECS decided to anti up the speed slightly and use AMD's cpu marketing strategy.

He doesn't know for sure if AMD was then or is currently aware of this. If AMD did know from the start, they don't care because ECS is responible for those durons now. Not AMD. ECS can do whatever they want with those cpus.
AMD just wanted to make a sale.

I'll check out this board tonight. I'll use 256 md pc 133 sdram, a 64 mb geforce 2 mx 400 agp v.c., 15 gig maxtor 5400 rpm, fd, generic cdrom, onboard sound and onboard nic, and load it up with win 2k pro.

Will let you know the results tonight or tomorrow.

Wish me luck!!!!!

[Orangeman]

Thanks Very Much Chef,

I'll be very interested in finding out what your results are. I am using the onboard sound and video with Win98SE. Other than the brand names our components are the same.

Could you also let me know if you get freeze-up problems (the mouse and system freezing up for several seconds at irregular internals) after its been idle for several hours?

That is what happened to me and what started this post.

Thanks Again,

Orangeman