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Asus M2NPV-VM ram volt mod

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jopapa1267

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2004
Is there any way to increase the volts for ram on this mobo? I didnt know this stupid thing could only provide 1.9v. seriously, this board cant even use 1/2 the ram out there. thanks



m2npv-vm_2d_half.jpg
 
I was thinking of getting one of these, but project is on hold atm.
Have you guys made any progress on the ram voltage? Identified the voltage regulator yet?

I remember reading somewhere that the BIOS lets you select 1.8v or auto for the ram volts, and auto always means 1.9v, so when you think you have identified the regulator you should be able to check that it changes when you switch between the two in the BIOS.

My first guess would be the chip to the left of the memory slots B1&B2...
 
Are you running the latest BIOS?
Found this on another site:

"Everything came up without incident, and I updated the BIOS from 0303 to version 0603 without incident. At this early point, the thing runs like a champ. I will soon be adding 2 GB of DDR2-800 memory, and have been reading comments here/elsewhere on memory issues/sensitivity with great interest. From what I'm reading, it appears that memory modules which run at 1.8 - 1.9V are the ones to consider for this mobo/cpu configuration.

Looking at the BIOS setup menus, there is a screen for memory configuration that says "1.9V" or "AUTO". I'm using the AUTO setting for the single stick I have now, and am considering getting the GEIL 2GB memory kit since it runs at a stated 1.8V. Any constructive comments that anyone might offer on this would be most welcome."​

I think some of the older BIOS versions had no ram volt setting at all.
 
Cheator said:
I upgraded to that version and still have issues.

So then you should be able to get 1.9v, or not?

Do you have a multimeter so you can try to find the regulator mosfet, or do you prefer to wait for someone else to do it? (could be a long wait, I'm might get this board eventually, but not for a few months yet)
 
I don't know how to do that kind of stuff. And really, I don't think I want to. Its a nice enough HTPC mobo but its not good for much else.
 
Cheator said:
I don't know how to do that kind of stuff. And really, I don't think I want to. Its a nice enough HTPC mobo but its not good for much else.

Fair enough. I'd be using it for HTPC and some vmware appliances, so I need it to be stable, which will mean running the ram slow or getting the voltage up to 2.1 or so.
 
There is a shiny new BIOS out (0705) anyone want to give it a try and see if there is any more ramvolt settings?
 
hi

i got an m2npv-vm ,did a bios update ,and it does not solve the ddr Vmem setting
still got 1.9v max setting

so ended with the ultime solution of voltmod.

finally i identified the Vmem chip : the RT9214.
and the R3/R2 bridge.

at vmem measure sopts i got 1.85v (not 1.9v)
tried to pencil it but the Vmem did not change ,
anyone can help ?
thnx

1213182276b6b5f620dd.jpg
 
hi

i got an m2npv-vm ,did a bios update ,and it does not solve the ddr Vmem setting
still got 1.9v max setting

so ended with the ultime solution of voltmod.

finally i identified the Vmem chip : the RT9214.
and the R3/R2 bridge.

at vmem measure sopts i got 1.85v (not 1.9v)
tried to pencil it but the Vmem did not change ,
anyone can help ?
thnx
First measure the resistance between pin 6 and ground.
Then solder a 25 turn variable resistor (~20 times the resistance u measured) at maximum resistance to pin 6 (Feedback) and GND. Reduce the VR resistance to get more volts.
 
i tried to measure it ( the R2) and i ve got about 90 Ohms, i beleive it's not right, too low!

and in other hand i dont want to solder a VR on it : too tight ,and i dont have the precision tools , i may damage my mobo.
a pencil would be easier to put and remove if necessary.

the thing is the pencil marking seems not working : no volt change !!!
any help ,i may did it wrong
tnx
 
hi Guys,

i finally get it running, i increased the Vddr from 1.9V to 2.21V
first tests led to good results ,
i run my g.skill ddr800-HZ at cas 4-4-3-5-11 at FSB 245Mhz stable and at FSB 250Mhz unstable
instead of a cas 5-5-4-6-15
quite a nice OC for a start

the problem was 1st in the multimeter ( i a knew digital one , very accurate ;-) compare to oldy analog one )
and 2nd in the pencil ,it depend on the quality of the graphit.

i will post a complete How-to of modding the m2npv-vm with nice PICTURES since it's not widly spread across OC guru,and i had pain to get it right.

sooooon dudes
 
hi guys ,

i ve been too busy the last days,i couldnt post the mod in proper way

i seems that this forum do not have a storage area for pics , no time to search for one ;-)

so i decided to post it raw and please if some has time to re-post it with the pics in it ,that will be nice ,thanks
 
First of all i will start by introducing my little monster:
The motherboard (you already know it,it’s all about it ;-) ) :*Asus M2NPV-VM, you know the specs.
Processor: AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+, 90nm, original 2000 MHz, I think power enhanced (60watt conso)
Cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, max 2500 rpm
Memory: 2x1Gb DDR2 G.skill HK PC6400-800Mhz CAS 4-4-3-5 CR2, stock volt 2.0-2.1 V
Graphics: PALIT Ge9600 GT Sonic
HD: Hitachi 250 Gb SATA2
I added to this:
- a chassis fan Arctic Cooling 8cm, 2500 rpm ( I love this brand ,their fan are extremely silent)
- a chipset fan 4cm at 4500~5000 rpm,
I modified myself to fit over the north bridge chipset heat-sink, this is a must to be able to increase the core frequency,
You may know already about the overheat problem of this mobo( at stock freq it sometimes locks due to overheat of the north bridge)

And all this (dvd included) is powered by a standard 350 watts power supply
I wonder why people by 750 Watt power supply !!!

( pic : motherboard.pic )

Let us now come back to our chips ! ;)
I will explain step by step and be little bit verbose on how I ended to this mod, this to help newbies understand, create there own mods and post them like I do, since I spent too much time to find out my way.
Expert will be bored, sorry :) .
On the picture the green boxes are the one we will be interested in, the bleu ones are spots for further mods(Vcore , 5V, 12V , Vchipset … etc)

1 – Start point:
As I found in a forum start by identifying the chips in the neighbourhood of the ddr2 socket,
Write down the reference and go find the datasheet.

2 – Identify the chip:
The first I suspected to be responsible of volt regulation of ddr2 was the RT9173,
Further test showed that it seems to be attached to the 5V rail. So search again.
Dig into the forums led to the LM324 that sometimes is used for VR, but its output voltage was not the one I look for; 1.8 – 1.9V… Further research ended to the RT9214 chip

( pic : vddr circuit.jpg )

( pic : rt9214 typical.jpg )

And as you can see the onboard circuit shows a lot of similarities with the typical application circuit.
The red leg is the pin 6 (the feed back)
The green resistor is attached to GND so it’s our R2 (the one we have to pencil to reduce its resistance and therefore increase our Vddr)
The blue line could be an unsoldered capacitor.
The yellow resistors are to not be modified, since they are attached to Vout and in our case to a not soldered capacitor and then to the mosfet shown here next.


( pic : rt9214.jpg )

Vout and mosfet deliver little bit lower than the Vddr voltage rail (1.85V for a 1.9V and 2.0V for a 2.1V)
Measure of the equivalent resistor between leg 6 and GND gives a stock value of 512 Ohm

3 – The modding part:
Here comes the “Pencil Art” time, despite the fact that the area is not easy to access, choosing the right pencil is very important, HB pencil could do the job, but you need to choose the right one with enough lead concentration.

( pic : HB pencil diff.jpg )


As shown in the picture you can notice the difference between the two, I first used the green pencil, pencilled over R2 and in absence of digital multi-meter the result was a disaster, no Vddr increase at all.
Afterward I found out that R2 dropped to about 508 Ohm, not much!
And the best I could get with a lot of pain is a drop to 475 Ohm.
So I used the other, and surprise!! First attempt, couple of strikes and I’ve got a drop to 438 Ohms.
Great.

4 – Relation Ohm-volt:

I proceeded to different measurement and wrote down the results

R2(Ohm) + Vddr(Volt)
-----------+---------------
....512....+......1.89
....497....+......1.94
....475....+......2.03
....457....+......2.10
....450....+......2.14
....438....+......2.21
....429....+......2.23
-----------+--------------

that's it ,i hope this have been helpful for the M2N PV-VM owners

any more question please ask



bye

n.b. :
PICs uploaded in order

  1. hb pencil diff.jpg
  2. motherboard.jpg
  3. rt9214 typical.jpg
  4. rt9214jpg
  5. vddr circuit.jpg
 

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  • Vddr circuit.JPG
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