SN25P User's Guide

This is a good Guide. I for one am Holding off on the SN25P because of the Athlon X2 / USB 2.0 Issue. Hopefully their is a fix soon. Most people have a problem Because they all run XP 32 bit, i wonder if XP 64 bit causes the same problem?
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
This is a good Guide. I for one am Holding off on the SN25P because of the Athlon X2 / USB 2.0 Issue. Hopefully their is a fix soon. Most people have a problem Because they all run XP 32 bit, i wonder if XP 64 bit causes the same problem?

I'm running Windows XP 32bit and have 4 USB devices connected (Keyboard, Mouse, Wireless Network Adapter, and USB Controller). I have also used my USB 1.0GB memory stick which is 2.0 and has worked great as well.

I haven't had any freezes in regards to USB so I'm not quite sure either on why it's crashing for some. But, there's some Shuttle engineers working on it ;)

Ald
 
even without x2 procs, you should install the amd driver, so you get their powersaving junk in. Might as well have your cpu idle at 28c when you're doing nothing. ;-)
 
eastvillager said:
even without x2 procs, you should install the amd driver, so you get their powersaving junk in. Might as well have your cpu idle at 28c when you're doing nothing. ;-)

Ah, good call, I'll make sure to add that, thanks :p

Ald
 
Now that I know the 7800GTX will fit i'm definatley going to get one!
 
Thanks for the info. Helped me figure out why a lot of my downloads where always corrupted. Reinstalled the (6.53) nforce drivers without the Network Access Manager and it everything works perfectly.
 
Glad your corruption problems were solved!

Also, new update to the guide concerning the USB with X2 on the SN25P.

Ald
 
Damnit, Now I hear about the Sata Cable problem. countless hours.. trying to figure out what the problem was.. (took a long time before I actually swapped out the new cables)

Good Guide though. :cool:
 
Thanks for the awesome guide buddy! With this in mind I have complete confidence and utter excitement about my SN25P (which is on its way!)
 
Ya this looks great. :cool: You have some really miscellaneous questions in there that should be helpful for anyone with this barebone.
 
Updated: 08-05-2005

* Reorganized guide to better assist users.
* More information added to Audio within Install section.
* Keyboard/Mouse step is now labelled optional.

In Progress: Writing simple troubleshooting guide to help user's further diagnose problems.

Ald
 
Alright, one question that I have. I heard that PCI-X Was backwards compatible with PCI so can I stick an Audigy 2 ZS into the PCI-X slot of the shuttle? The main thing that concerns me is the fact that the PCI-X 1 slot is phyiscally so much smaller than the regular PCI slots. Thanks!
 
Jelic said:
Alright, one question that I have. I heard that PCI-X Was backwards compatible with PCI so can I stick an Audigy 2 ZS into the PCI-X slot of the shuttle? The main thing that concerns me is the fact that the PCI-X 1 slot is phyiscally so much smaller than the regular PCI slots. Thanks!

*Edit: PCI-X not Express mmm oops, I'll get back to you on that.

It seems like PCI-X is backward compatible with PCI, at least from the documentation which can be found at: http://www.pcisig.com/specifications/pcix_20/

I'm not too familiar with this new format in regards with Shuttle. And if you are looking into the SN25P, it has x1 PCI-E slot not a PCI-X.

Ald
 
I would like to suggest that someone add a write up for a procedure on how to use and set "Speedfan". The Shuttle SN25P's "Smartfan" doesn't seem to be the best thing to use. I just finished building a SN25P last night. I noticed that when using Smartfan my cpu ran idle at 55 C. When I change Smartfan to the half setting, it went down to 35 C. BTW the room was warm.

I'd like to use something better than Smartfan but don't know anything about Speedfan. So it would be useful to some people like me to have a setup guide for Speedfan. Thanks.
 
I am having issues with my SN25P and trying to figure out the issue. I am being kicked out of games such as Battlefield 2, Half-Life 2, while Battlefield 1942 runs perfectly. I am worried about my system temperature since it hovers at 60C when at full load and 49C at IDLE. The Athlon X2 4200+ stays around 35C idle and 45C on full load. Everything within my system is very hot to the touch after opening the case. I have changed my drivers to the Windows IDE Drivers and followed with your other recommendations for the installation. When I do get kicked out I sometimes get the messege "Runtime Error".


________________________________
Shuttle SN25P
Athlon X2 4200+
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250mb SATA-II
XFX GeForce 7800GTX
NEC 16x DL DVD-RW/+RW
 
RipTIDE77 said:
I am having issues with my SN25P and trying to figure out the issue. I am being kicked out of games such as Battlefield 2, Half-Life 2, while Battlefield 1942 runs perfectly. I am worried about my system temperature since it hovers at 60C when at full load and 49C at IDLE. The Athlon X2 4200+ stays around 35C idle and 45C on full load. Everything within my system is very hot to the touch after opening the case. I have changed my drivers to the Windows IDE Drivers and followed with your other recommendations for the installation. When I do get kicked out I sometimes get the messege "Runtime Error".

That is a tad bit hot for the system temperature, I would suggest trying to bundle up cables or reorganizing them for better airflow. Also, just to test if the crashes are really caused by simply the temperature of your SN25P, just take off the case and see if you still encounter the problem.

It sounds more like a nVidia video driver problem more than anything however. If you are running the 77.xx series, they are known to have some problems. If the first suggestion doesn't work, I would perhaps roll back to a more stable driver set.

Ald
 
Random BSOD pointing at the nv_disp in games such as HL2, Guild Wars. It just seems a lot of people has issues with them yet they do pretty well performance wise. You can find discussion concerning the latest 77.72 issues at:

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=52385

Or, if you want to see other version of the 77.xx version, you can find them here (might have to browse around to find what you are looking for):

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/for...ge=1&sort=lastpost&order=&pp=20&daysprune=100

Ald
 
Well things are getting more interesting. I have the system open and have installed 77.72, 77.76, and 77.69 drivers and both have failed Half Life 2 and 3Dmark 2005. I will continue to test the system with other games. I will see if FarCry has the same issue because so far its DirectX9 games that are not stable. The temperature can reach 50C for the system and the GPU can go upwards to 66C. When the system is closed the GPU can reaches 72C. I can not go to any earlier drivers because they dont support the 7800GTX. Even with the case open the Ram is still very hot in the system. Nothing in the system has been overclocked and I wonder if getting a fan on the inside could help. Is the power supply holding up to the demands of the GeForce? Or is there something else wrong in the machine?

________________________________
Shuttle SN25P
Athlon X2 4200+
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200 @ 2.5-3-3-6
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250mb SATA-II
XFX GeForce 7800GTX
NEC 16x DL DVD-RW/+RW
 
Hiya Rip,

I have a 7800GTX in my SN25P as well and mine temperature goes a bit higher for the GPU (70-82) on load. It is well below the throttle back temperature so yours is just fine. The power supply shouldn't be much of a problem as my configuration compared to yours is even more power hungry. I have recieved BSOD on HL2 once out of 6-7 times playing the single player missions while 0 times so far playing CS: Source. It is really the luck of the draw regarding that game.

I am currently running 77.72 and I haven't had any issues running 3DMark05 however. My RAM is also running very very hot, I can't keep my finger on it for more than 5 seconds :p But, so far, my system uptime since my last reboot has been about 20 days and this is using my computer pretty regularly (downloading, playing games, surfing, burning, all the good stuff! ;) ) Perhaps there is something else wrong with your system setup. If you can post what kind of drivers you have installed (nForce, sound, current video, SP2?) we can maybe see if there is something else that could be causing the problem.

Ald
 
I have nForce Drivers 6.53 without the IDE or Firewall drivers installed and nvidia 77.69 drivers installed that were available with my XFX cd. I also have the recent Envy drivers that you had on ur guide installed and those play fine within games and on XP. I currently have Windows XP SP2 installed. I have just recently tried FarCry and it runs without issues but I did try the new FEAR SP demo that is available. I was kicked out after 10min or less of play. Thats usually the same with HL2 and Battefield 2. I have been runnning nvidia monitor to check on temperatures now and then and my system idle with case open is 53C right now. The fan is running on the heatsink attached to the chipset at least but I probably will call shuttle to see if this temp is above normal. My room is airconditioned so its not hot enough to cause problems in that regard. This is the first computer I have built with these issues. The Ram timings are 2.5-3-3-6. I am doubting that that is the problem anymore. So its either the card or the chipset. I go with the chipset.
 
Knights of the Old Republic II was running fine but just lately crashed.. system temp at 61C. It has to be the system temperature. The GPU was at 73C and I know that can run at higher temps without issues.
 
Wow, your ambient temperature does seem to be a bit too high. Perhaps your hard drives are overheating and causing your applications to prematurely shutdown. I think to further your investigation in regards to see if your random crashes is related to your ambient temperature being too high is to just stick a regular fan (or you can always somehow place it next to the A/C vent :p ) on the side of your case and cool it down that way. It will at least narrow it down some more.

Another suggestion then I would have to solve your temperature issue is to use speedfan and manually crank up all the speeds of the fans in your system. Also, make sure you have managed your cables properly and not blocking airflow near the back on both the bottom and the top of the power supply. Keep us posted!

Ald
 
Update to this question and answer.

"Q: Can I fit the 7800GTX in a SN25P?

A: Yes, however people have either put it in with the card bending a little due to the air duct or people (like myself) have taken out the air duct altogether. Others went as far as to cut a little strip out of the air duct to fit the card. The bottomline is, the simple approach is to take the air duct off and it will fit with ease."

I was able to fit my BFG 7800 gtx in to the SN25P without any mod or bending of the card. However, I had to change the order of installing the vid card. Instead of installing the vid card last (as in the instructions), I installed it after the cpu/cooler step, before the air duct was replaced. The air duct slid down in to place without any problems. By doing this the air duct's vertical edge next to the vid card fit perfectly next to the capacitor on the end of the vid card.
 
Ah, that sure is interesting. There's is a good and a bad side to this. The good is that you are able to fit the 7800GTX with the fan duct and not have any bend, however the bad comes to the chance of you bumping off the capacitor as people with shaky hands. But, I'll be sure to mention this for the people who is willing to go through the trouble. Thanks! :p

Ald
 
It really wasn't that hard and the capacitor had enough clearance (but small). After installing the fan duct with the vid board already in place, the fit was like it was meant to be. The edge of the end of the vid card fit right up against the fan duct and made a nice seal with the vid card so the air coming in would be sucked in from outside. It may be that my vid card had things like the capacitor mounted "just right" so it fit so well...
 
Several major updates to the guide today.

Updated: 08-08-2005

* Updated question concerning the 7800GTX (Thanks to Ozoneman)
* Added new question and answer regarding Hard Drive LBA.
* Added new section to further troubleshoot common problems.
* Added another two new questions regarding blank screen and lag.
* Added new question relating to uninstallation of nForce drivers.

Enjoy!
Ald
 
Very good guide and very useful it seems. Its amazing how many people I see with issues with their sn25ps. I must have been lucky on my build. I am running a sn25p , 3200 64 venice , ocz plat rev 2 gig set memory, bfg 6800 gt, and a wd 160 gig sata 2 hd. At stock system is completly stable. Right now my system is at 270 fsb 1:1 ratio 2.5 3 3 7 and cpu is at 2.7 ghz and is rock stable. my comp is in my airconditioned room im idling at 29 degrees celsius and load is about 48 im guessing. My superpi 32mb max temp was 44. I havent had the chance to run prime95 yet but passes superpi 32mb , bf2 for hours of game play , 3dmark loops , and other benchmarks like cs:source test. Overall im extremely pleased in my new computer.
 
mine feels rock solid too. Make sure you install the power now driver if you want to keep your case temps cool.

I think many of the temp problems people have come from the less than intuitive fan options in the bios.

I've got two raptors, a 3rd hard drive, a plextor dvd burner, an fx-55, 2 gigs of pqi ram---sometimes a gig of twinx, and an x800xl. No heat issues for me. The fans get pretty loud during a gaming session, but I'm wearing headphones anyways and there isn't anybody else around to be bothered by fan noise.

I did put an artic silencer on the ati card, and trim the drive cage and cpu shroud so it would fit. Getting that hot air to exhaust out the back instead of over the chipset is probably helping me.
 
i think most people complain because they want their systems quiet yet they expect to get great temps. On high settings my cpu temp is 30 idle / 48 load and the sound doesnt bother me one bit but i guess others cant deal with it.
 
Ald

I have had the Fan set to Constant-Mid instead of Smart Fan but that doesnt affect the system temperature. I was running the machine with fans positioned toward it at full and enabled me to play Half Life 2 for 30-40min before a crash instead of 10. Something is causing an issue but stilll questionable on what it is. I called Shuttle and they believe it to be either the memory or the the PSU. I ran Memtest 86 that was recommended by them and it ran perfectly without issues for 1.5 hours. The only issue that I have is testing the PSU since it has a different connector than my standard Antec 430W Power supply that is used by my other computer. If the PSU is not the problem I know I will keep looking into the issue. The technician at Shuttle was pretty short on words on helping me because he was as clueless as I am. It is a strange issue and hopefully is easily fixed although he mentioned that 60C is ok for the system temperature. That one I am not so certain about.
 
Rip,

Do you have the NAM installed that comes with the nForce chipset drivers? If you do, please uninstall and see if that solves the problem. If it is already uninstalled, I'll need to think about other possibilities.

Ald
 
Ald,

Yeah I never installed the NAM. As many problems as you have pointed out I have stayed clear of that issue. I wish this issue could be easier to diagnose. It keeps looking more like a hardware issue than software.
 
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