Update: Noctua Nh-U12s has arrived, and the cpu runs in the low 20s at idle 😀

I've had a bit of of a mission getting this board working. Initially I was getting a USB over loaded error at boot, with the system having a count down timer and then powering itself off. After replacing the cmos battery and clearing the cmos the system would boot, but only with one of my two Corsair XMS sticks. Then eventually it wouldn't POST at all, and I found moving the single stick from slot A1 to A2 the system would post again, and then after a swapping the stick with the other and back again, the system wouldn't post at all! No stick in any slot would POST.

Thankfully I had a couple of 667 5-5-5-12 512MB sticks and the system boots without any issue (and in dual channel mode I might add)

Bit of a disappointment that the XMS sticks are not working...

I've also run into the dreaded AHCI install issue with Windows XP (a first for me), so currently trying to figure out how to get XP installed with a Nforce570 chipset on a SATA SSD. There is no option in the bios to set SATA to legacy mode. I've attempted to use WinSetupFromUSB but after the boot loader installs the nvata.sys drivers and entering text mode the system just sits at "Setup is inspecting your hardware configuration"...

stinkydiver wrote on 2025-08-23, 08:28:

I've had a bit of of a mission getting this board working. Initially I was getting a USB over loaded error at boot, with the system having a count down timer and then powering itself off. After replacing the cmos battery and clearing the cmos the system would boot, but only with one of my two Corsair XMS sticks. Then eventually it wouldn't POST at all, and I found moving the single stick from slot A1 to A2 the system would post again, and then after a swapping the stick with the other and back again, the system wouldn't post at all! No stick in any slot would POST.

Thankfully I had a couple of 667 5-5-5-12 512MB sticks and the system boots without any issue (and in dual channel mode I might add)

Bit of a disappointment that the XMS sticks are not working...

Seen this issue a lot with s939 asus boards i've used for recent build. If anyhing goes wrong, like memory has issues, they like to throw whole "usb overcurrent" thing. Asus really screwed this up...

stinkydiver wrote on 2025-08-23, 08:28:

I've also run into the dreaded AHCI install issue with Windows XP (a first for me), so currently trying to figure out how to get XP installed with a Nforce570 chipset on a SATA SSD. There is no option in the bios to set SATA to legacy mode. I've attempted to use WinSetupFromUSB but after the boot loader installs the nvata.sys drivers and entering text mode the system just sits at "Setup is inspecting your hardware configuration"...

One silly way i always do it is to use IDE-SATA adapter, install windows, install SATA drivers, move SSD to SATA. Though it is weird there is no IDE/AHCI switch in BIOS, this hardware should be by far old enough...

I've ordered a 2GB Kit (2x1GB) Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 PC2-6400U 4-4-4-12@2V KHX6400D2LLK2/2G for around $8 USD

Kingston appear to be in the approved vendor list in the motherboard manual (unlike Corsair). Fingers crossed these work.

As for a SATA to IDE adaptor, I do have one somewhere but can't seem to find it. So for the time being I am going to install Windows XP on a SD card via an IDE to SD adaptor.

stinkydiver wrote on Yesterday, 00:56:

As for a SATA to IDE adaptor, I do have one somewhere but can't seem to find it. So for the time being I am going to install Windows XP on a SD card via an IDE to SD adaptor.

I had that bug too on my Asus nForce 4 board with SATA ssd's, I got a new WD5000AZLX instead and combined that with a cheap m.2 PNY NVMe SDD and got no troubles since. Both WinXP and Tiny8.1 still boot very fast of a modern hdd.

I had the system running OK on some spinning rust, after installing XP on the SD card, the system does lock up a bit when doing file transfer operations (I assume DMA issues, i've had this before when using this adaptor, and I've set the primary IDE interface to PIO mode in windows but the issues persist)

Uninstalling the Nvidia IDE drivers and it seems the same. Guess I gotta hunt down that IDE to SATA adaptor

Check if you have warning for eventId 129 (Reset to device was issued) in event viewer.

I managed to find my Sata to IDE adaptor

I installed Windows XP, then the nforce chipset drivers, shutdown and connected the drive to the SATA port and rebooted. System came up and all is well 😀

3d mark 2006 breakdown, 1024x768, Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (Windsor), GeForce GTS 250 1GB, 1GB Samsung DDR2 @ 667 5-5-5-15

Return To Proxycon - 39fps
Firefly Forest - 41fps

Slightly lower than what AlexZ got in his results for a similar setup in the Any love for AM2? Thread:

Return To Proxycon - 42fps
Firefly Forest - 43fps

I wonder if I will see an improvement with the ram upgrade when it arrives.

1That's nice, just be aware that the chipset is very likely affected by bumpgate and may die at any moment. At least ensure good cooling. I'd probably replace the heatsink with something of decent size with a fan because this whole heatpipe thing which couples chipset to VRM is just silly. 

we had this too, i made a aluminium plate i put beneath the motherboard and chipset cooler with some isolation and used two screws with nuts and "clamped it"
works up to today.

The M2N is also affected by Capacitor Pest

stinkydiver wrote on Yesterday, 07:33:

I wonder if I will see an improvement with the ram upgrade when it arrives.

It is possible to get slightly higher score if you play with memory controller divisor and run memory at higher clock than DDR2 800. I did it in the thread. I would do it only in case you manage to find DDR2 1066 though.

matze79 wrote on Yesterday, 07:50:

we had this too, i made a aluminium plate i put beneath the motherboard and chipset cooler with some isolation and used two scr […]
Show full quote

Copy code to clipboard

1That's nice, just be aware that the chipset is very likely affected by bumpgate and may die at any moment. At least ensure good cooling. I'd probably replace the heatsink with something of decent size with a fan because this whole heatpipe thing which couples chipset to VRM is just silly. 

we had this too, i made a aluminium plate i put beneath the motherboard and chipset cooler with some isolation and used two screws with nuts and "clamped it"
works up to today.

The M2N is also affected by Capacitor Pest

Once I get it in a suitable case I will ensure good airflow, and I won't be using the computer for long sessions or super frequently, so I suspect it should last a good while without any mods. Since the motherboard is brand new the capacitors all appear to be healthy in appearance.

Found a good looking affordable case, a Cooler Master MasterBox E500L which has an optical drive bay (I really want one of these for it to be period correct)

https://www.coolermaster.com/en-global/produc … /?tab=tech_spec

However the max cpu cooler hight for this case is 157mm and my NH-U12S is 158mm. That is only 1mm difference, what are my chances of getting this to fit I wonder...

There are two versions of the case, one with a flat glass side panel and the other has a metal cover with a "protruding square" on both sides of the case.. there only appears to be the one cpu cooler hight measurement for both versions of the case, but clearly the metal side panel version would fit a bigger cooler because of that protruding bump..

UPDATE: After checking the datasheet for the non window version it says "CPU Cooler Clearance 172mm", woopie 😀

FarCry Benchmarking Utility results:
https://www.guru3d.com/download/farcry-benchmarking-utility/

Resolution: 1024×768
Ultra quality option, Direct3D renderer
Level: Pier, demo: 1.tmd
Pixel shader: default model
Antialising: From System×16
Anisotropic filtering: From System×16
HDR: disabled
Geometry Instancing: disabled
Normal-maps compression: disabled

Score = 95.15 FPS (Run 1)
Score = 95.95 FPS (Run 2)
Average score = 95.55 FPS

Resolution: 1280×1024
Ultra quality option, Direct3D renderer
Level: Pier, demo: 1.tmd
Pixel shader: default model
Antialising: From System×16
Anisotropic filtering: From System×16
HDR: disabled
Geometry Instancing: disabled
Normal-maps compression: disabled

Score = 93.78 FPS (Run 1)
Score = 94.13 FPS (Run 2)
Average score = 93.95 FPS'

Using HWinfo32 I can see my average GPU temp is 41c and max (so far) is 55c. CPU max is 33c with average is 24c. I'm pretty happy with those temps, though will be interesting to see how they increase once the system is installed in a case.

Try Farcry 2 benchmark "Demo Ranch" and "Action Scene" in 1600x1200. You probably aren't going to be playing in 1024x768, that is Windows 98 resolution. Temperatures without case have little meaning.

Max cooler height 157mm is definitely very small.

I will be going either with Zalman Z9 U3 (should support at least 160mm coolers, https://www.newegg.com/zalman-atx-mid-tower-s … 82E16811235036R) or Cooler Master N500 - Mid Tower (162mm max cooler height, https://www.newegg.com/cooler-master-atx-mid- … N82E16811119280). CPU cooler is going to be Scythe Ninja 5 (155mm height) or alternatively SilentiumPC Fera 3 (155mm height). Noctua coolers tend to have a bigger height.