VDNKh wrote on 2023-06-19, 11:44:

if you go with an older one, you can avoid this bug

Hi do you know for certain such old bios versions for 775Dual or 4CoreDual?
For example, thanks to user Repo Man11 we know there are ones for Asus K8V SE Deluxe.

Bruno128 wrote on 2023-07-10, 22:08:

VDNKh wrote on 2023-06-19, 11:44:

if you go with an older one, you can avoid this bug

Hi do you know for certain such old bios versions for 775Dual or 4CoreDual?
For example, thanks to user Repo Man11 we know there are ones for Asus K8V SE Deluxe.

The very first driver for 775Dual-880Pro might not have the bug if they were introduced at around the same time. I've never encountered a PT880 without the AGP bug though so I can't say for sure.

Does the motherboard work with a GeForce GT 210 like ZT-20314-10L ? It should be PCI Express 1.1 compatible.

mrgreen wrote on 2023-07-20, 11:30:

Does the motherboard work with a GeForce GT 210 like ZT-20314-10L ? It should be PCI Express 1.1 compatible.

It does with GeForce models up at least to and including GTS 450.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2022-07-21, 13:10:

775Dual-VSTA can support quads with modding, so best CPU you can install is QX9650. It is important to have CPU with unlocked multiplier, because these boards are very limited with FSB clock, not even standard 1066 Mhz bus is possible with quad core. Should you do it? No, because 775Dual VSTA & Core4Dual have very weak VRM and unless you're planning a full recap with VRM modding - you're better off with dual core CPU, which doesn't stress VRM much.

Best dual cores you can install are Core 2 Duo E7500/E7600 and Core 2 Extreme X6800. Dual core Xeon are mostly not worth the hassle, because E7500/E7600 are readily available for peanuts. And X6800 just allows you to squeeze more mhz with unlocked multiplier. E8xxx and Xeon counterparts are useless for that board, due to 1333 Mhz bus with low multiplier, which is not possible to achieve without heavy hardware modding.

Hi Serpent Rider,

I just got my hands on a Core 2 Duo E7500 for 330 yen (Japan) and sitting at home is my 775Dual-VSTA. Do I need a particular BIOS version/Custom BIOS to properly support this chip?

Edit: I appear to have located the necessary BIOS here: https://soggi.org/motherboards/asrock.htm

Thanks for this awesome thread!

IcySon55 wrote on 2023-08-09, 16:40:

Core 2 Duo E7500

Yes you should use modded bios for that.
775Dual-VSTA.

Will GTX 580 fit in 775Dual-VSTA motherboard? By "fit in" I mean will it not cover IDE/ATA/PATA connectors on the motherboard? Because I want to use those connectors (1 for old IDE/ATA/PATA LG combo drive and 2nd for IDE-SATA converter).

Well, it will cover them, however you will still be able to plug IDE cables since they're usually have 90° bend.

Maybe there won't be problem with IDE cables. But there could be problem with IDE-SATA converter (it is small PCB coming straight out of IDE socket). So I guess GTX 580 is out of the picture. I haven't seen any short versions of GTX 580. But I know that short version of GTX 570 exist. I guess I will have to go with GTX 570 and find that short version.

You need an adapter which directly connects to SATA drive or female-to-male converter for your IDE cable.

GTX 570 or IDE connector extension cable? Will everything work correctly with IDE connector extension cable?

PCIe extension cable is also an option, but you need ATX case which have additional slots placements. For PATA you need cable converter: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/295897857886

Nothing other than PCIe 1.x/2.0 type GPUs will work in VIA's PCIe slot (you usually get no boot/black screen with anything else installed).
But, you can try USB 3.0 or PCIe Audio if you want (since I didn't tested those yet).

EDIT : Maybe M.2 SATA adapter might work (since it only needs power from slot) ?

I just acquired a "new to me" HIS HD3850 AGP card for the sole purpose of benching it in my 775Dual-VSTA. I'm running the modded 3.19a BIOS. When the card is installed, the system will not POST. All the fans come on, but the system hangs and has to be hard reset. I first believed the HD3850 to be dead; however, I can get it to POST in my 939Dual-Sata2 motherboard. So far, I've only tested that I can get into BIOS on that board. This gives me hope, but I don't know why the HD3850 won't POST on the 775Dual (assuming it's actually working).

If I leave the 8-pin PCI-e power disconnected when booting in the 775Dual, I do get the system to initialize enough to display the warning that the power is not connected. Once connected again, it hangs and will not POST while all the fans spin.

I am currently using an X6800 CPU at stock settings. I do have an E7600 at my disposal. I might try swapping to that if anyone thinks that my potentially fix the problem. I am just being lazy and don't want to unmount/remount the heatsink! HA I also want to use the X6800, not the E7600.

Any ideas?

baracoota wrote on 2023-10-01, 23:02:

the HD3850 won't POST on the 775Dual

That's a shame indeed.
I had 775Dual-VSTA not POST'ing with a known tested Radeon X600 Pro PCIe, a very modest card.
I had 775Dual-VSTA not POST'ing with a known tested GeForce GTS250, from 2009.
But then it worked just fine with much newer Radeon HD6670 1Gb in PCIe 2.0 x16 @ PCIe 1.0 x4 mode.

If you haven't played with AGP / PCIe BIOS settings yet, you might want to try a CMOS reset first. And try removing some RAM, leave the bare minimum.

I will try that as soon as I get a moment. I have tried the card with the 2.40, 3.10, and 3.19a BIOS's which were all set to defaults after flashing. The HD3850 did not POST with any of them.

A few things to note:

1) PS/2 ports do not work on my 775Dual, so I am forced to use USB. Any chance this is related?

2) I cannot get the X6800 unlocked multiplier setting to persist when changing the value in the BIOS. If I set it to 10, it will change back to 11 upon saving and rebooting.

3) I've already benched a bunch of other AGP cards . This system runs rock solid on Nvidia based cards (had some instability with an ATI 9700 Pro which is the only ATI card I tested). Works fine with TI4200, FX5900, 6800XT, 7600GT, and 7800GS.

Thanks. I'll report back later.

baracoota wrote on 2023-10-03, 17:07:

FX5900

775Dual-VSTA ran ok for me with AGP FX5200, FX5900 and Radeon 9550. Can confirm.

A few PS/2 keyboards definitely work with my 775Dual-VSTA.
I do however have a modern -ish PS/2 keyboard that only works with some motherboards but not the others.

Also, I noticed you have an Audigy installed. For the sake of testing would you temporarily remove all the expansion cards? And maybe switch the AGP memory and fast writes bios settings to disabled using a compatible card before trying HD3850 again.

I have a slight problem: my old 775Dual-VSTA did accept quad core CPUs (at least the Q6600 I tested), but after a few caps have gone bad, I switched to a "new" board, also 775Dual-VSTA, for some great AGP results.
But this one doesn't seem to work with quad core CPUs? I suspect the old one might just have had a different BIOS, but I can no longer check that.
So uh... how do I get my Q6600 running again?

Buy the cheapest 65nm/90nm Celeron/Pentum/Core 2 Duo CPU you can find and flash it.