According to JEDEC standards, true DDR2-1066 is supposed to run at 1.8v. As I stated in my other response, you have to look at the label on your RAM...the specs should be printed on it. If not, check the Patriot website. I checked newegg & all the Patriot DDR2-1066 that they sell has specs of 5-5-5-15 at 2.1v. Mostly likely, your settings should be x5.33 with the voltage at +.3v "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

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""Driver IRQ Not less than or Equal"" "I have ran MemTest86 and it came up with 26 errors on my first module of RAM." Having actual BAD ram is rare. Both those things can be caused by a poor connection of the ram to it's slots. Also, check your mboard manual - you may need to install 1066mhz ram in certain ram slots. You can get the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error from many causes, but sometimes it can be just because the ram module contacts are not getting a good connection - this worked for me when I got that error: A common thing that can happen with ram, even ram that worked fine previously, is the ram has, or has developed, a poor connection in it's slot(s). This usually happens a long time after the ram was installed, but it can happen with new ram, or after moving the computer case from one place to another, and I've had even new modules that needed to have their contacts cleaned. See response 2 in this - try cleaning the contacts on the ram modules, and making sure the modules are properly seated: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... If you do a ram test, do that AFTER having tried cleaning the contacts and making sure the ram is seated properly - otherwise any errors found may be FALSE. If the ram is incompatible with the chipset, it will likely FAIL a ram test - that is NOT a true indication of the ram being faulty - there is probably nothing wrong with it, and it will pass the test if installed in a mboard it is compatible with. If you want to try a memory diagnostic utility that takes a lot less time to run a full pass than memtest86 does, this one is pretty good - Microsoft's Windows Memory Diagnostic: http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag... It can be toggled to do a standard or a more comprehensive set of tests - use the default 6 test one first - if it passes one pass of that, use the latter one. A few of the tests in the latter set are intentionally slower. "Thing is- they are not at the correct timing. They are at 800Mhz but they are rated at 1066. Problem is, the motherboard rates it at 800 by default, and last time I changed it my computer failed to POST." That's not the ram timing - that's the ram's speed. The ram timing is a set of 4 numbers. AM2+ mboards bios defaults probably set the ram speed to 800mhz by default if you have installed 800mhz or 1066mhz ram, and you probably must manually change that to 1066mhz when you have 1066mhz ram. "If I up it to 5.33 it turns to 1066Mhz, but that's when the system turns unstable..." However, some ram does not strictly adhere to the standard Jedec ram timing specs most bioses use, and if the 1066mhz ram won't work when you set the speed to 1066mhz with default settings, you need to adjust the ram timing in the mboard's bios Setup settings so they are the same as, or higher (slower) than the 4 numbers stated for the ram you are using. Those numbers may be printed on the label on the ram module - if not those 4 numbers are in the specs for the module, and possibly on the bill for the ram. "There is also "system voltage control" and under that there is a DDR2 Voltage Control [+.1V +.2V +.3 Volts]." The proper voltage is probably found automatically, especially if the default sets the ram to "by SPD" or similar.

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We had someone post who had the same mboard model and Patriot 1066mhz ram who had the same problem as you recently. Gigabyte does not list any Patriot 1066mhz ram in the list of modules tested with this model - GA-MA78GM-S2H . The ram configurator on the www.patriotmem.com web site does not list ram for this model (it doesn't list this model). It lists ram for similar Gigabyte AM2+ models with the 790 series chipsets, but no 1066mhz ram is listed for those either. Since 1066mhz ram is only supported by AM2+ mboards and the memory controller built into Phenom cpu's, Patriot's 1066mhz ram should work, but you make need to tweak the ram timing settings, and a lot less likely, the ram voltage setting.

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I took out what I thought the bad module was and I ran the MemTest and it passed with flying colors. I boote into Windows and there was no problems for over 5 hours of various activity. I then took your suggestion to clean the bad stick so I did and I cleaned the socket, put everything back in and ran the test. still errors. I then bumped up the speed to the actuall 1066 like its supposed to run at (I did thus by using the 5.33 multiplier and upping the voltage to 2.1V. My RAM said 2.1V on the side). I thought maybe it would create problems if it wasn't at the correct speed but apparently I was wrong- still errors. One last chance, I removed both modules and put them in the two other sockets, thinking maybe that was just a bad socket, but all to no avail. Still errors. I looked into my motherboard manual and it said nothing of certain sockets with certain RAM speeds. At this point I am thinking it is an actual bad piece of RAM. Is this a good assumption? Thanks for your help!!!! AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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"At this point I am thinking it is an actual bad piece of RAM. Is this a good assumption?" If the two modules are identical, the timing settings were the same for all memory tests (the 4 numbers), and you tried installing the one that tested bad by itself, since you tried cleaning the contacts, yes, that's probably your case. If both modules had produced ram errors when installed by themselves, then that could be caused by the timing settings, less likely the ram voltage setting, not being right. If both modules had NOT produced ram errors when installed by themselves, but they did when both were installed, some ram module makers specify timing settings that only apply if one module is installed, and you must use slower timings (higher numbers) if more than one module is installed. If you DO have BAD ram, that most commonly shows up when you first install it. If ram errors show up after the ram has worked fine for a while, then it's probable a poor connection is causing the errors, or the ram has been damaged by some situation external to it, or the mboard has been damaged. It's extremely rare for there to be a problem with the ram slots.

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Now I've got quite the plot twister! I checked the "bad" piece of RAM that I thought was bad with MemTest, and it passed! So, each module BY ITSELF passes the test fine. However, as soon as they are together, that's when the problems start to occur. I know you said something about timings, and on the modules is reads 5-5-5-15. Here's a link if you'd like to check them out: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... I am combing through the BIOS but I cannot seem to find anything that mentions anything about changing timings or anything like that. I have found things like voltage, memory clock and "DCTs" mode but nothing else. (P.s. What exactly is that DCTs for?? Currently it is set at Unganged) How can I do this in my BIOS? Here's a link for my mobo in case I didn't mention it before: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Thanks again! AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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Ok so I found out how to get to the advanced chipset features (by pressing Ctrl-F1) and I was able to find "DRAM Configuration". So I went into there, and changed "DDRII Timing Items" to Manual. Here is my current configuration: CAS# Latency: 5T RAS to CAS R/W Delay: 5T Row Precharge Time: 5T Min. RAS Active Time: 15T I assumed this was supposed to equal the 5-5-5-15 on my memory modules so that's what I changed them to. However, I am still coming up with errors. There are a lot more settings in the same DRAM Config menu, but I have no idea what they are for. Do I need to change any of those?? AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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I assumed from what you had written before that you had run the memory test on each module individually. Are the modules identical? Did you get them in a matched set meant to be used in dual channel mode? If so, if you have more than 2 ram slots, they have to be in certain slots if you want them in dual channel mode, but that should not cause ram errors in any case. Normally, I would point you to some info that says ram that is not 100% compatible with your mboard chipset, or in the case of this mboard the cpu, since the memory controller is built into the cpu in Phenom (AM2+) and AM2 cpus (e.g. 64X2 6400+), may test fine in each and every ram slot by itself, but it may not work fine in combination with other modules being present. However, 1066mhz ram can only run at it's full speed in AM2+ mboards as far as I know, so the ram should work, at 5-5-5-15. BUT you may need to add .3v to the ram voltage as jam has suggested, if the bios has not done that automtically - somewhere in the bios you should be able to find what the current ram voltage is. According to jam's info it should be 2.1v. If that doesn't help..... Patriot is not a top rung module manufacturer. It could be they are one of the module manufacturers that rate the ram when only one module is installed in a mboard, rather than rate them when all the slots are filled in a mboard and test them in each model, like the major module makers do. You may need to use SLOWER ram timings than printed on the modules - higher numbers - in order for more than one of their modules to work properly in your mboard. If that doesn't help.... If your modules are identical, and/or a matched set, I have had the problem you are having only once in all my years of fiddling with computers, with a pair of Kingston 256mb PC133 modules a few months ago. They tested fine individually, but ram errors were produced when both were installed, in any of the ram slots. There's nothing wrong with the mboard I installed them in, and the module IDs are listed as compatible with that mboard, and another two mboards I have. The strange thing is another identical 256mb module with the same ID string I had on hand worked fine with either of the 2 modules in the subject mboard.

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Yes, I bought it as a Dual channel kit, the modules are identical. I ran another test, this time with the two sticks in, but not dual channel mode, but still errors. So I conclude the two sticks are conflicting with each other.I bought them a month ago, so I RMA'd them through Newegg today (the last day to do so) in order to buy myself some more time to fix it but also leave me room to send them back if it doesn't work. How slow should I set the timings? I will try that, after that I am going to give their Tech 800 number a shot, and if they are unable to help, back to Newegg they go. Which brings me to my next question: I am looking into getting a different set of RAM sticks so I am seeking some good advice on what brand speed, etc. Right now, I am looking at either Corsair or OCZ in speeds of DDR2 800 (cheaper). How much slower is the 800 to the 1066? Is it going to make a noticeable difference? Also, I was looking at lower timings as well, how much does that effect performance? One last thing- if I were to get 800, how difficult would it be to overclock it do 1066 (if even possible?)? And while we are on the topic, what exactly does dual channel mode do, and are there any disadvantages to it? Are there any particular models you would suggest? My only requirement is at least 4GB. Those are a lot of questions :p. Appreciate all the help you've given me! AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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"Yes, I bought it as a Dual channel kit, the modules are identical. I ran another test, this time with the two sticks in, but not dual channel mode, but still errors." You should not get any errors with a new set of modules, whatever slot you put them in, whether they are in the right slots for dual channel mode or not. I haven't had the default-bios-ram-timing-settings-and/or-ram-voltage-do-not match-that-of-the-module(s) problem, but it makes sense to me that if that is the problem you have, making sure the ram voltage is correct, and possibly using slightly slower ram timing settings - I dunno - 6-6-6-16? (whatever the next step higher is) - should allow the ram to work at 1066mhz without it producing errors. When ram is running slower, it is almost always capable of running with faster ram timing settings that at the max speed the module is rated to run at. With the ram timing set to 5-5-5-15, or slower, if the ram voltage is correct and the ram produces no errors when both modules are installed and the speed is set to 800mhz, there is nothing wrong with them and it's a matter of bios settings you have to tweak. It's extremely unlikely there is anything wrong with the mboard ram slots or their circuits. If each module works fine by itself in any slot there's no problem with that. Since you have a Phenom cpu, you should use 1066 ram for the best performance result. If the replacement ram modules work fine with both installed at 800mhz but not at 1066mhz no matter what you try, you need to get ram that IS listed as compatible with your mboard at 1066mhz. - If you go to the Gigabyte web site, there is a list of ram modules that have been tested with your model and are known to work fine at 1066mhz, probably with default bios settings. - Or for a lot more choice, you can go to the web site of a ram module manufacturer, or a major ram distributor, and look up the ram that is compatible by using your mboard make and model. If your mboard model isn't listed, another Gigabyte model that is AM2+ will probably do fine - if you don't know which one to look at, go elsewhere! Patriot does not list your model, and it doesn't list any 1066mhz ram for any similar Gigabyte mboard that is AM2+. E.g. www.kingston.com www.crucial.com www.corsair.com If it isn't obvious on the first page you see, look for a "ram configurator", or "which ram will work in my mboard" or similar. On some sites you can search using the model and get a resulting list, even if your specific model is not listed elsewhere on the site. I have bought Corsair DDR2 800mhz 2-1gb sets of ram three separate times, that happened to have a rebate available for them, for three different mboard models (2 AM2, one AM2+ mboards, 6000+ or 6400+ cpus), and they all tested fine with the bios settings set to defaults. There was OCZ and Mushkin ram that had similar rebates available, but I did not buy those because there was no listing for the mboard model on their web sites.

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I looked at your manual - what it says about installing the ram is poor. This may have nothing to do with your ram errors, but.... Going by the pictures of your mboard, you have 4 ram slots, a pair of one color, a pair of another color. Pairs of dual channel ram should normally be installed in slots of the same color, if you want them to run in dual channel mode. However, in the list of ram compatible with your mboard Gigabyte has, there is a note in RED lettering that says something like this: due to AMD CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 memory module is supported by AM2+ CPU for one DIMM per channel only. I have seen similar notes for many AM2+ mboard models - that applies to all of them. What that means you have to do I'm not sure about. Install one 1066 module in each color of slot? Perhaps someone who has installed 1066mhz ram could tell you - I certainly didn't find the answer yet.

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I've tried a few things earlier today. I tried switching it to lower settings like you suggested, but that didn't work. Also, I have also tried using in different channels, that also didn't work. I also tried switching from "ganged" to "unganged" and vice versa, nothing worked :-/ I have sent an email to Patriot Tech support and have called them, but no one has responded yet. I'm going to take your advice and look at what RAM is compatible with my motherboard and purchase that Monday if Patriot hasn't gotten back to me. I am going to try one more thing- I am going to try them in a second computer to see if they work at the rated speeds and are stable. This will tell us if it is actually the RAM or if it just doesn't like my motherboard. I'm really hoping they do call me back because I'd really like to know what the solution (if there is one) is. I'll let you know Monday or Tuesday what happened. Till then, have a good weekend! AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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I don't think you have answered this: Did you get ram errors with both installed when the bios had the ram set to 800mhz? "I am going to try one more thing- I am going to try them in a second computer to see if they work at the rated speeds and are stable. This will tell us if it is actually the RAM or if it just doesn't like my motherboard." That would be valid if the other mboard were the same - otherwise you're comparing apples to oranges. In theory it should work on any AM2+ mboard with a Phenom cpu on it. I emailed Kingston's support a while back - they responded within two days. In general sometimes the support people respond only during regular hours on their end, and maybe not on weekends.

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Hey, Just an update I have been working with their Tech Support and now I have seemed to freakin fry my mobo. I'm thinking it my fault because I accidentally missed a part of his instructions... Here is the email that he sent me: "On any AMD based motherboard, you need to change the CPU Freq. (FSB freq.) to 266 and put the multiplier to 10x. Make sure that mem frequency is set to 800, mem voltage to 2.1V and the timings are set. You might also need to overvolt the CPU to 1.45V or so. Also, remember for any AMD, that the HT -> NB link (or the CPU HT link… all motherboards have a different name) is set to 3x…. That should allow you to run the memory at 1066MHZ let me know if you have any other questions." I followed EVERY part of that except the "NB Link." If I changed everything else and missed that, I assuming it possible to burn up my rig? Because it did. I heard a few pops and a nice silicon smell. How could I miss that?!?! Anyway, now I'm set to buy a new motherboard. I also have a new set of Corsair sticks I'll use next time. AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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Did you get ram errors with both modules installed when the bios had the ram set to 800mhz? Recent mboards I've installed do not have to have anything tweaked from defaults in the bios Setup settings, other than possibly ram related settings, but I have not installed an AM2+ mboard yet. I have tried various timings and voltages of 800mhz DDR2 ram in several new AMD chipset, one NVidia chipset, AM2 mboards in the last while, and in all cases the bios automatically found the right ram settings, but I've seen mentions of them having to be tweaked for some ram in some cases, in mboard manuals, and in specs on the manufacturer's web site for the mboard models. I have noticed mentions of several AM2+ mboard bioses having to be manually set to 1066 for the ram when you install 1066 because the bios defaults to setting it to 800mhz . It is extremely unlikely any of the settings you made would fry anything, unless you set the cpu voltage or the ram voltage way too high somehow, and in both those cases there would probably be a short time after you did that before you woul hear or smell anything if you did. Cpus failing normally produce little or no smoke or smell, but ram failing certainly can. However, it is possible to install the ram module backwards in the slot by mistake, if you didn't make sure both latches at the ends of the slot were against the module before you tried to boot. In that case, when you try to boot, the module and the slot it is in will fry instantly, you may or may not not see or hear anything, but you will at least definately smell that something was burnt. In that case, if you look at the module that was backwards, and the ram slot it was in, you will see evidence of some of the contacts having been melted, some may be missing altogether (were vaporized), there are probably black carbon deposits, and evidence the plastic in the ram slot has been melted in places. If you did that, the mboard warranty does not cover you damaging the mboard by doing that. Rarely, you can have defective electrolytic capacitors on the mboard that will leak or even explode when they fail, and if they explode, make a popping sound and probably produce a smell when they do. If you find evidence of that, if it happens within the warranty period, they will replace the mboard, but if it happened once there's a much higher than normal possibilty it will happen again - the replacement mboard may have the same defective capacitor(s). Gigabyte mboards, and other maker's mboards, have had this problem in the past, but the faulty capacitors usually worked fine until long after the warranty expired, then they failed. This was the original bad capacitor problem - has some example pictures. History of why the exploding capacitors and which mboard makers were affected: http://members.datafast.net.au/~dft... What to look for, mboard symptoms, example pictures: http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5 Home page that site - what the problem is caused by - he says there are STILL bad capacitors on more recent mboards. http://www.badcaps.net/ Pictures of blown capacitors, other components, power supplies, Athlon cpu's, etc.: http://www.halfdone.com/Personal/Jo...

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I have carefully gone over my RAM and my motherboard, finding nada :-/ I'm assuming something fried because I did hear a few pops and that nice smell. I just don't know what and its super frustrating! I would really like to overclock my Phenom, but now I am super scared to ( I dont want to have to buy my fourth motherboard-its getting redundant!). I have a feeling it has something to do with that HTT Multiplier or CPU HT setting or something. If I can remember right, I did not change anything in the voltage. Though the email from Patriot told me to up the voltage on the CPU to 1.45V and I remember looking at that setting, so unless I unknowingly set it too high, I did not change any voltages (short of the 2.1V on the RAM which was already set) So, when I get get my third motherboard, I am going to try to remember what exactly all my settings were and I'll post them here. I'll also try to find what exactly that HTT Multiplier setting is. So, hopefully by Thursday night I'll post all of the settings I had changed, and hopefully we can go from there... Thanks for all the pictures, that is quite helpful. I did take everything a part and wasnt able to find anything. Whether it was RAM, or CPU, heat sink burn, or blown capacitors, I couldnt find anything. We'll see what happens when I get my new board I guess. AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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I have learned in the past week or so while looking at mboards for a friend that some of the mboards with the AMD 780 chipset series cannot support more than 95 watt Phenom cpus, despite the fact I found no indication they can't handle the 64X2 cpus that draw 125 watts (e.g. some 6000+, 6400+). The Phenom 9850BE draws 125 watts, at Nominal Voltage: 1.2-1.3 Volts. "Though the email from Patriot told me to up the voltage on the CPU to 1.45V: That may be WAY TOO HIGH for this cpu. You should NOT need to do that in any case - the cpu voltage has nothing to do with ram compatibility! Overclocked here using 1.392 volts, but they were probably using better non-stock cooling: http://www.amdzone.com/index.php/re... The Cpu support list for your model http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Moth... Says: 9950 - 140 watt - N.A. (NOT APPLICABLE!) 9950 - 125 watt - N.A. 9850 - 125 watt - N.A. However it says... 9750 - 125 watt - OK?? The standard 9750 core voltage max is a bit lower - 1.2 to 1.25v Maybe the others draw too much amperage?? You could email Gigabyte about that. It this article - The problem isn't that the chipset can't support it - it's that the mboard manufacturers installed MOSFETS that can't handle the power they need - typically the MOSFET blows up, not right away but after it has gotten too hot, often making a popping sound. The MOSFETS are flat rectangular components with three leads in the general area of the cpu socket, often intermingled with the capacitors. They may have tiny heat sinks on them. If it blows on the bottom side, you may not see anything but there may some sort of noticable scorching or other discoloration around it. - your model passed a 102 hour test with a 9850 on it, but they were using a non-stock heatsink and fan that in theory is capable of cooling the cpu and the components around it including the MOSFETS better: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc... AMD does not list any 780 chipset mboard supporting the 125 watt or 140 watt cpus because of this problem - e.g. for Gigabyte it only lists 790x chipset models: http://products.amd.com/en-us/Recom... Asus and MSI have lists of models inc. 780 chipset models that support up to and inc. 140 watt Phenoms. http://event.asus.com/mb/140w_suppo... http://global.msi.com.tw/html/popup... I have so far found nothing similar on the Gigabyte site(s). In the case of Asus, the 140 watt rating of most of the models, but not all of them, is obvious on the support pages for the model. E.g. I was looking for a AM2+ AMD chipset mboard with 3 PCI slots and serial port support - just bought an Asus MA378 Pro mboard - it has the 780g chipset and supports 140 watt Phenoms - so does the MA378 (770 chipset is essentially the same chipset without built in graphics).

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This... this is VERY interesting... I wonder- was me overclocking it by just a hair too much for the poor little MOSFETs? Maybe if they were already under too much stress, and when I bumped the speed up, it finally broke them? Is that possible to turn on the machine and have them immidiatly burn up? I would think it would take some time... But, when I get home I am going to unscrew my mobo and take a look at them from the top and the bottom views. I am VERY curios and actually kind of hopeful that that was the problem. That explains my first bad encounter as well, when I got my first board and upped it by 100Mhz, I think I fried that one as well. Well, Ill take a look at it tonight if I have a chance. I have quite the combo of mid terms coming up (Calc + Stats, yikes!) so we'll see if I can make some time for it. Too bad I had already ordered my third board from Newegg already... AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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I have done a bit more research and have found this: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc... It talks about in their my board in particular, where it would support the 125W Phenom, but upon overclocking it: "Trying to overclock these boards even slightly resulted in almost immediate board failure. The three-phase boards did not fare as well since we blew MOSFETS on power-up" Furthermore, "It [MY BOARD] lasted the longest of the boards we tested with either processor and will still power on, but it will no longer POST. Interestingly enough, Gigabyte has qualified the 125W TDP 6400/6000+ X2 processors on this board" So, in short, it would run fine at stock speeds, but as soon as they overclocked it, BOOM! Would still power on, but no POST. THAT IS WHAT I RAN INTO, TWICE!!! Wow. Unreal! I'll definitely check my board tonight, and email Gigabyte to see what they can do for me, if anything. Is this my fault? On newegg it said "Phenom Fx, Phenom, Athlon X2, etc,etc.Since I overclocked it, am I screwed? I guess I'll return the motherboard I'll get Thursday and buy a 790. Possibly with Crossfire, I've been thinking about it :p Thanks a ton for this, I don't know if I would have ever run into this by myself. Ill post what I found later tonight AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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"That explains my first bad encounter as well, when I got my first board and upped it by 100Mhz, I think I fried that one as well." The only cpus I have tried to overclock a bit so far are two types of K62-II 550s (K62-550 and K62-550+) and a K6-III 450. The effect of the cpu heating up more when I upped the speed at which they ran was a lot less than when I upped the cpu core voltage, so I think the latter is much more critical. (Of those three, the K62-550+, which uses a lower core voltage, runs no problem at 600mhz at the standard 2.1v core voltage, without getting all that much hotter. Since the + models have a L2 cache built into the cpu like a K6-III does, it's performance, according to Sysoft Sandra, is equivalent to a regular K62 at ~720 mhz). "Interestingly enough, Gigabyte has qualified the 125W TDP 6400/6000+ X2 processors on this board" There doesn't seem to be a problem with those. Perhaps because they use (a) different MOSFET(s), or simply that their cpu core voltage is higher, so there is less current running through the MOSFET(s). ..... I chose the Asus M3A78 Pro mboard formy freind because - I preffered to have 3 PCI slots because of existing cards she has, and for future possibilities - I preferred for the mboard to have a serial port, built in, or via a header, and a parallel port too but that was optional. - because of a bad experience trying to use a AIW X600 Pro card (ATI chipset) on an NVidia chipset mboard (Asus M2N-E SLI) , because of something in the NVidia main chipset drivers not allowing Catalyst to work properly, I did not want a NVdia main chipset mboard - I wanted an AMD main chipset mboard. The video card card I wanted to use on the mboard is a new Visiontek AIW card, AMD chipset. - that left me with 4 choices on the newegg.ca site - two Biostar mboards, and the Asus M3A78 Pro, 780g chipset, and the Asus M3A78, 770 chipset - for both the Asus mboards, though they have the 780g and 770 chipsets, they are rated to handle up to and inc 140 watt Phenoms. - she has a 6000+ 125 watt, but she wanted to be able to upgrade to a Phenom in the future. When I read the user reviews on the newegg site I found... - the two Biostar mboards have minor problems the Asus mboards don't have - normally I prefer mboards without onboard video, but M3A78 is a newer model than M3A78 Pro, there are far fewer user reviews though they are good ones, it's bios version /cpu support list doesn't support some of the Phenom models, and there are no bios updates for it yet.

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I just purchased a board similar to the one you are talking about, the Asus M3A78-T. It has the 790X chipset and I went onto the website to make sure it worked with 125W+ Phenoms! So I'm good to go now. First thing I am going to do is put her in tonight or tomorrow and overclock it by 50-100Mhz to make sure I don't pop anything at power up. I'm now convinced I didn't do anything wrong when I last overclocked it, due to the articles about blowing MOSFETs, so I am slightly more confident to overclock it. I took out the mobo last night, and to my best efforts, I could not find any evidence of anything, actually. I found what looked to be like the mosfets, but there were a ton of them scattered around the motherboard? They were small black squares, with three leads out of them. I turned the board around, and found nothing, though there is a shield underneath to CPU socket (on the other side of the board) I presume to support the heatsink. And can you believe this- Newegg refunded ALL the boards I burned out! I called them and my argument was that their site inaccurately states that my board supported all Phenoms, while in reality even Gigabyte's website stated it did not. I told them that it was fried due to that lack of information. They understood, refunded the second board (the one I just fried- I got the second board to replace the first board I fried) and refunded the third board I ordered earlier this week- all with no re-stocking fee and even paid for shipping! This is why I use Newegg, well, honestly they are the cheapest overall, but still- I am now a lifetime customer. But anyway, I'll put it in sometime soon and let you know how the overclocking turns out! I'm following this article to make sure I do it right too: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/ov... and this one: http://www.ocia.net/articles/k10ove... AMD Phenom X4 9850BE Gigabyte 780G 4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 ATI Radeon 4850 Barracuda 7200.11 500GB NZXT Tempest

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MOSFETS look very similar to voltage regulators - most of the ones you see outside of the general area of the cpu socket are the latter (the middle lead may not be connected). You can look up the model numbers to confirm which is which. If you wanted the fastest AMD cpu available, that's still the 64X2s, e.g. 6400+. Phenoms may never get to be that fast. Unless you have programs that are written to actually use more than one cpu core, whether you are using a single or dual or triple or quad core cpu, or two cpus on older mboards, you are only using one core. Server op systems and some recent games can do that, but other than that most software uses only one core.

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