Turion in Desktop mobo problems: DFI K8M800-MLVF & MSI K8MM3-V

[Bookmage]

I posted this in the AMD mobo thread but haven't had many responses, so i'm hoping to get some feedback here.

I'm building a silent energy effecient SFF desktop based on the Turion cpu in a Microfly enclosure. I'll have pics later. I converted my AXP 2800+ to a server and moved all the key parts into this setup. Essentially the Audigy, the AGP vid card and 2GB of ram were used to cut down on cost. I prefer to keep these parts until good DX10 cards come out and SP1 for Vista comes out :-P The current plan for this system is to last about 18+months then convert it into an energy effecient storage server by dropping in 3 x PCI SATA controllers and a dozen hard drives.
After some research, I went with a DFI K8M800-MLVF mobo and a Turion MT-32 that I had lying around. The mobo POSTs and will boot into Linux/Windows, but it powers off if I do something intensive.
So I'm in diagnostic mode. I stripped it down to basics, pulled the cards and pulled the mobo out of the case and onto the box it came in. Current config is as follows:

DFI K8M800-MLVF
Turion MT32
Thermaltake Venus 12 Passive
1GB Patriot PC3200 DDR
Seasonic M12 500w

80GB IDE WD800JB
Generic 8X DVDRW
XFX 6800GT AGP w/dual DVI
SB Audigy
Ultra Microfly Black Window Case
2x Sony 23inch LCD

It boots into UBCD 4 Windows and Knoppix Live CD. So the mobo does work and recognize the CPU. I can change the CPU multiplier in the BIOS, but touching the voltages kills the mobo and I have to reset the CMOS. The BIOS has no monitoring of anything other than the battery voltage and the fan rpm. It does have overheat protection and will autoshutdown if it gets too hot.
Using AMDs cpu monitoring, CPUZ and WCPUID I can see the voltages being misreported. They range from .90 to 2.3v which seems to be consistent with other users experience found through google. So I can't touch the voltages and I am running it on default voltage settings. I have tested the CPU multiplier at all settings and the system will POST and boot into knoppix. I can sit on the desktop, surf the web and even listen to music. It will work. If I try to load up a game or enable visualisations or play cpu intensive videos, it will power off and the Power LED will blink at me in defiance. My hunch is the mobo overheat protection is kicking in and shutting down the board cuz it thinks its overheating. But I have no way of testing or proving that. I looked for a BIOS update, but the BIOS on my mobo is newer than the one on the DFI website. Aside from this major annoyance, the mobo is fine. It has all the basics and even firewire to boot.

After 5 days of playing with it, I ordered the MSI K8MM3-V from newegg hoping it would solve my problems. It has roughly the same specs and official? Turion support from the MSI website found here

Well I stuck the Turion in it and fired it up. Lights come on, and I see a brief glimpse of the starting BIOS, then the system powers off and the Power LED blinks @ me. I'm stunned and feeling cursed. I power off the PSU using the power button on the PSU, randomly count some numbers and power it back on.
Same thing. I try and retry this w/minor variations. New ram, AGP card, no card, even pulled a Turion ML cpu from my laptop. Same thing. I tested this for 2 days before giving up and using the DFI, which does POST and does boot into knoppix.

So I'm thinking the mobo is bad or not reading Turions correctly. If the mobo is bad, then I just have to RMA and get a new one from Newegg. If its not reading the Turion correctly, then I need another s754 cpu to update the bios or setup the mobo, and I don't have a spare s754 to test. So I would still need a new mobo.

So before I plop down another 50$ and RMA both these boards, I just wanted to see if anyone had any other ideas or has played with such a setup. Is there another mobo that has been tested to work out of the box without any playing fooling around w/other CPUs?
However, I prefer not having to swap out new ram or vid card due to cost concerns, but if I have to I shall. In which case, I'll have a nice agp vid card and 2GB of matched Patriot DDR Ram for sale. If no one has any other ideas, I'll just try another K8MM3 and hope this one was just a dud.

I'm hoping someone else has used either of these boards or played with a Turion cpu in a matx mobo.

 

[Bookmage]

So no one has any ideas, thoughts or suggestions? Did I stump someone? maybe I should just change the title to FREE BEER
An update for anyone who cares...

I headed over to the local Microcenter and picked up the only two s754 matx mobos they had. An ECS K8M800-M2 and a Mach Speed Venom64 K8M8MS. AFter playing w/both for several hours, I'm happy to report, they both boot and recognize the Turion MT-32 at the default 800Mhz speed. However they both kinda just shut down if I increase the multiplier with Crystal CPUID. I'm surprised by the various options and sensors offered by the Mach Speed. It allows me to change more options than the DFI and the ECS. Cant say anything about the MSI since that didn't boot at all.

The ECS boots into XP fine on the default 4 x 200Mhz. If I bump it to 5 on the default 1.0v it shuts down. It lasts longer if I run it at 5 x 200Mhz on 1.25. I installed the turion driver from the amd website, but I'm not sure that does anything. On the flip side, the system also works at 4 x 200Mhz @ .80v. But it doenst look like it saves much wattage according to my kill-a-watt.

The Mach Speed ran at 6 x 200Mhz @ 1.25v before shutting down. I'm gonna have to bench it w/some 3dmark and prime95 on both mobos before I turn it any higher.
I'm gonna play with them some more and see if I can get one to POST and boot @ the max 1900Mhz its supposed to be able to hit.

I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions on how to keep the system running @ higher speeds. Im hoping someone whos played w/the amd driver or turion cpu/mobos could give some insight on how to get the Turion Cool N Quiet to work w/either linux or win xp.

In the mean time, I'll keep playing w/them and see where I end up.

 

[sleepeeg3]

In three sentences or less, what is your question? Help me, help you....

 

[Steeeeve]

Have you tried keeping the default settings for the CPU and putting it under load then? Seems like you might be trying to OC something incorrectly or you are overheating your system. Is your CPU passivly cooled?

 

[Bookmage]

The default settings for the Turion work fine. However default settings for a Turion are 4 x 200Mhz @ 1.00v. Its being cooled w/the Thermaltake Volcano 12. Originally I planned on passively cooling it inside the Microfly, but while I've been testing it, it has an 80mm fan on top.
In short, All the systems work w/the default Turion speeds, but none will work at higher speeds or voltages. The Turion MT-32 should be able to function at 1900Mhz @ 1.25v, but none of the mobos work right. I've tried setting the speeds manually in teh BIOS and in windows using CrystalCPUID, but that just leads to system shut downs. I've tried implementing the Cool N Quiet function, but that doesn't seem to work right either.

So how do I get the Turion to function at default, low speeds and at max high speeds on either of these motherboards?