Legit Reviews

Intel has updated their Supported Processors list for the XBX2. Looks like I'll have to buy an E6850 then soon

That is great news I didn't think they would. now I can purchase a E6850. Thanks for the Info

I went to the intel site and did not see the update. When is it going to happen?

Wooooooot!!!!!!! This is awesome news! Thanks for pointing this out!

vbironchef wrote:I went to the intel site and did not see the update. When is it going to happen?

All ready happened

2692 or greater

I think my next board is going to be Intel again!

.........wait, I don't see any quad core support @ 1333 ....snif

Question

1 - What happens with the 1333 MHz front side? Does the chipset actually operate at an increased frequency or is there some magic ?

I'd really like to know what happens from someone who actually put an E6850 on there.

I cry! My X6800 has become $350 bucks ;), it was fun for the 6 months I owned it and it was king though.

Ok ... has anyone tried an E6x50 on the D975XBX2 with all 4-DIMMs populated? I don't have an E6x50 yet, but my current E6600 won't POST @ Vstrap(REF)=333, with all 4 DIMMs installed.

My board: Intel D975XBX2 Rev-504 BIOS 2770
Leadtek PCI-e 7900GS 256MB
ATI TV Wonder 650 (PCI)
(Watchdog disabled)
(All default Voltages.)

On my E6600, if I set the REF=333Mhz (instead of the CPU-default 266MHz), I can't POST with 4 ECC/unbuffered DIMMs installed: Crucial 4 x 1GB DDR2-667 ECC. (Yeah, I'm using ECC-RAM. Unfortunately, as I don't believe in non-ECC RAM, I don't have any non-ECC DIMMs to check.) All other overclock settings are the same. I turn on the PC, and the boot-screen never even comes up -- hang at bootup!

If I take out 2 DIMMs, then the D975XBX2 POSTs fine. I've tried differed brand ECC DIMMs, different slots, etc. and the result is the same: with 2 ECC DIMMs installed (any pair of slots, any brand), the motherboard POSTs fine. With 4 DIMMs, the motherboard doesn't POST. Alternatively, if I downgrade REF=266MHz, then the board POSTs fine with all 4 ECC DIMMs installed. I can't figure it out -- I've been overclocking to 3.0GHz using REF=266 (and all 4 DIMMs installed), but then the forum says I should use REF=333 (if possible), but that doesn't work!

Anyway, I've checked the reported Mem/FSB/CPU frequencies in CPUz 1.4, for both REF=333 and REF=266 -- they are correct. (DDR2-667 running at 667MHz, FSB running at 1333MHz, CPU @ 3.0GHz.)

I have some generic 2 x 2 GB Infineon DDR2-667 ECC DIMMs, so I'm using them for now, for a total of 4GB RAM. But I really need to put in more than 4GB of RAM -- not just for bragging rights of course, but to do ... useful work, really.

My rig is running 4GB of DDR2 800 ECC RAM @ 5-5-5-15/16 (4 *1GB)
Kingston KVR800D2N5K2/2G

The sticks came with two different manufacturers:
ProMOS Memory - V59C1512804QBF25

Elpida- EBE11ED8AJWA-8E-E / EDE5108AJBG-8E-E / 800MHZ DDR2-800 (5-5-5) 240-pin DIMM


I did have to put the newer ProMOS memory in bank0 and the Elpida in bank1 for this to work.

False alarm. Support has been removed from the page. Thanks Intel I love it when ppl dick with me!

My rig is running 4GB of DDR2 800 ECC RAM @ 5-5-5-15/16 (4 *1GB)
Kingston KVR800D2N5K2/2G

Grr...I'm jealous because my ECC-RAM is only DDR2-667

Is your rig currently set to REF=333 MHz (FSB=1333)? Sporadic reports (at xtremesystems.org) of E6850 attempts (in the 975XBX2 motherboard) show some working systems, and others that don't make it past POST. I'm wondering if it's related to RAM, and/or motherboard revision.

I noticed Intel has updated the date on the processor-support list to August 26. Sadly, no E6x50 cpu-support.

Looking around xtremesystems.org and this forum, it seems SOME people have been able to boot with an E6x50 in their D975XBX2, and some haven't. Is it a random thing, or are there some commonalities? Someone needs to organize a survey!

I still vote for '4 DIMMs == no boot at Reference_freq==333MHz'
(At least, that's the behavior I'm seeing on my E6600 @ 333MHz FSB, 4 x 1GB DDR2-667 ECC DIMMs. The only way I can boot at 333 MHz FSB, is if I take out 2 DDR2-667 ECC DIMMs.)

ecc8gb wrote:I noticed Intel has updated the date on the processor-support list to August 26. Sadly, no E6x50 cpu-support.

Looking around xtremesystems.org and this forum, it seems SOME people have been able to boot with an E6x50 in their D975XBX2, and some haven't. Is it a random thing, or are there some commonalities? Someone needs to organize a survey!

it seems to work for people with just 2 sticks of ram modules. as soon as there a 4 sticks in the system it doesn't work.

Ok, thanks to workplace, I have an Intel Core2 Duo E6850 for testing, on my D975XBX2 (rev 504, BIOS 2792) motherboard.

I previously had an E6600 ( 333 FSB, CPU overclocked to 3.0 GHz) in the motherboard, and 2 x 2GB Infineon DDR2-667 ECC DIMMs (4GB total). I swapped CPUs without bothering to clear CMOS. With the new E6850 in the motherboard, it booted successfully!:)

...but now for the "Intel BIOS hall of shame"
After my first successful boot, I decided to reset all my CPU/mem settings from manual to 'auto' (i.e., restore those settings to DEFAULT.) After doing so, system hangs at POST, doh! Fortunately, I moved the board jumper to "maintenance mode", and I was able to get into the BIOS-menu again, change those settings to MANUAL (333 REFERENCE FREQ, 667 MEMORY FREQ, CPU-freq = auto. Everything else, i.e. voltages, are at default.) With these settings, I once again can boot normally.

When I had the E6600 and 4 DIMMs in the motherboard, my D975XBX2 refused to POST @ REF-FREQ = 333MHz. If I took out 2 DIMMs, or set REF-FREQ = 266 (and MEM-FREQ=533, to ensure proper 1:1 mem/fsb operation), then the board would boot fine.

<update>
Well, I'm happy to report that I've just tried 4 DIMMs ( 2x 2GB Infineon DDR2/667 ECC, 2 x 2 Crucial 1GB DDR2/667 ECC) at BIOS-settings of ref-freq=266, mem-freq=533, cpu = 334 MHz. System POSTED fine into Windows XP/Pro (only 3.5GB is usable under the 32-bit O/S, of course! but CPUz 1.4 reports all 6144MB.) Yay, it works!

Note, I didn't try 4 DIMMs @ ref-req=333 (mem-freq=667). I suspect I'd get the stupid HANG. Since I already have 4 DIMMs working @ ref-freq=266 (mem-freq=533), I don't really feel like opening up the case again just to test this theory.

Someone else posted a report where his E6850 wouldn't even POST on a pair of DDR2/800 (non-ECC) RAM. He had an older pair of DDR2/667 DIMMs, and he was able to POST fine. I'm wondering if he had to manually set/override the reference-FSB and memory-FSB (like I did.) Could someone with DDR2/800 RAM try some experiments?

----

To recap so far:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 on Intel DBOX975XBX2 (rev 504, BIOS 2792)
CPU is *NOT* overclocked -- my target is a production server, so I will run at stock (3.0GHz) speed.

In the BIOS, the memory-freq and REF-FREQ settings must be MANUALLY set. Leaving them on AUTO caused my D975XBX2 to fail POST.
If I set the CPU-freq=DEFAULT, Reference-FSB=333, and MEM-FREQ=667: system boots fine with 2 (DDR2-667 ECC) DIMMs. (I did not test 4 DIMMs.) CPUZ 1.4 confirms 1:1 operation FSB/MEM relationship.

If I set the CPU-freq=DEFAULT, Reference-FSB=266, and MEM-FREQ=533: system boots fine with 2 (DDR2-667 ECC) DIMMs. However, now, the motherboard boots up at E6600 speed (2.40GHz), instead of the proper 3.0GHz. It appears the buggy BIOS uses the Reference-FSB doesn't auto-set the CPU-freq properly.

If I set the CPU-freq=334 (manual), Reference-FSB=266, and MEM-FREQ=533: system boots fine with 2 or 4 (DDR2-667 ECC) DIMMs. CPUz/Windows reports 3.0GHz when CPU is under load.

If I set the CPU-freq=334 (manual), Reference-FSB=266, and MEM-FREQ=533: system boots fine with 2 or 4 (DDR2-667 ECC) DIMMs. CPUz/Windows reports 3.0GHz when CPU is under load.

Sounds like speed step to me.