ASUS P5B-E Up and running!

[ChiPCGuy]

Rev 1.01g. Don't let this concern you, though. The thing is stable and fast. I just ran it through 24 hours of Orthos and then launched SuperPI from time to time to really put the screws to it and there was not a hiccup. Setup as follows:

1. ASUS P5B-E with latest BIOS (flashed first thing)
2. E6700 (not overclocked)
3. Corsair XMS2 6400C4 at 2.1v and 4-4-4-12
4. Seagate 7200.10 320Gig hdd at SATA 3.0 Gig
5. GeCube X1950XTX
6. Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Music
7. Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro with stock TIM
8. NEC 7170A DVD-RAM burner
9. Samsung floppy
10. ATech 28-1 card reader
11. Corsair 520W modular PSU
12. Antec SLK-3000 case with 2 Scythe S-Flex 1200rpm SFDB fans

I did use MOSFET heatsinks from Frozencpu for all the MOSFETS. The machine booted immediately and after flashing I disabled on-board audio and legacy ports and set RAM timings/voltage manually. I had NO ISSUES AT ALL. Very uneventful install. Incredibly fast machine, and I am very happy with it. I did not need to use F6 to load any drivers during XP install and the JMICRON controller has caused no issues at all. There are no "unknown devices" in Device Manager and the optical drive is at UDMA4 automatically.

For those considering this board, rest assured it is a good pick.

 

[tpalik]

Hello ChiPCGuy,

Thanks for the update. I've been lurking for awhile watching to see who got one of the new rev boards. I even called NewEgg yesterday to see if they could tell me what was shipping.

I was planning to use Corsair 6400 but at 5-5-5-12 with an E6300 and do some OC'ing. I think therefore I would bump up against the upper limit on the DRAM voltage which would suggest I need to wait for 1.02g. Do you agree ?

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Originally posted by: tpalik
Hello ChiPCGuy,

Thanks for the update. I've been lurking for awhile watching to see who got one of the new rev boards. I even called NewEgg yesterday to see if they could tell me what was shipping.

I was planning to use Corsair 6400 but at 5-5-5-12 with an E6300 and do some OC'ing. I think therefore I would bump up against the upper limit on the DRAM voltage which would suggest I need to wait for 1.02g. Do you agree ?

You are welcome. It depends on far you want to take your OC. Some others have found that the Corsair XMS6400C4 overclocks well at 2.1v with relaxed timings or frequency. If you find yourself in a situation where you will OC past the point where 2.1v is adequate to retain stability, then yeah you would want to wait or opt for another mobo. Since I do not OC much, if at all, my primary concern was stock stability and hence the reason I bought a E6700 and spent $500 on it....

 

[you2]

Did you need to flash the bios? If so can you do so without windows ? Also - does did your board come with c1 or c2 ? (I have one arriving today )...

 

[tpalik]

you2, ChiPCGuy already stated this earlier. C1 = 1.01G, C2 = 1.02G. I know Anandtech tested a C2 on 1.01G board but that was pre=production.

Please update the board once you get your mobo.

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Correct, it is C1 stepping on the P965. You should ALWAYS flash the BIOS to the latest first thing before any OS install. You can flash inside the BIOS setup with a floppy or USB device.

 

[you2]

ok. I have my system setup. I have a couple of concerns. The cpu runs 41C in bios (fan is 1739rpm). Also I have two fans connected to the mb as fan1 and power but the rpm do not show up in the bios (I did NOT connec them to the psu - i only connected them to the mb so they are being driven off the mb (is this correct?). My cpu fan runs at 1730rpm -= again this is in bios - i haven't actually booted yet. I'm used to my amd system where you can set a target temp for the cpu (41 from the bios seems rather high - don't you agree?).

the rpm now show up for the other two fan - though I'm not sure what magic made them appear



I did a bios flash and I guess I'll try to install some software
oh - vcore is 1.28. mb temp is 37C chasis q-fan controller is disable - should i enable this ? also cpu qfan is disable - should I enable this ?

 

[tpalik]

you2, I don't have any answers for you but which rev did you get ?

 

[you2]

Hum. I didn't notice - what is the fastest way to check? I'm currently running prime95 (took me a whie to get linux up and running)

 

[tpalik]

I know of two ways : If you are using cpu-z it will identify the chipset as C2 stepping under the mainboard tab. You can also look for the rev next to the DIMM slots on the side closest to the processor.

 

[you2]

Ok will do so this afternoon. I hope chip can answer my other questions I'm also a bit concern because I can't get the nic to work but it might just be lack of support in linux.

 

[you2]

As you might expect I have the 1.01g

 

[Gary Key]

Originally posted by: tpalik
you2, ChiPCGuy already stated this earlier. C1 = 1.01G, C2 = 1.02G. I know Anandtech tested a C2 on 1.01G board but that was pre=production.

Please update the board once you get your mobo.

C1 or C2 on the 1.01G. Our latest production board is a C2. 1.02G will be named differently as we stated in the both articles.

 

[you2]

How do I check if it has c1 or c2 ? There is a heat sink on top of the chip

 

[tpalik]

Having re-read the C1/C2 comparison again per Gary's gentle suggestion, I think we could say the following :

Rev 1.01g - could be C1 or C2. Either way DRAM voltage of 2.1V MAX
Rev 1.02g - only C2 with max. DRAM voltage of 2.45v

You can still check the PCB markings as well as CPU-Z. If the above is correct you would actually need to do both to be sure.

 

[tpalik]

you2, did you manage to check your mobo ?

 

[you2]

cpu-z does not run on linux. How else can I check - i did not see any obvious markings on mb...

Not sure if this is accurate but linux thinks it is 965G

 

[tpalik]

Sorry about that. Have you tried looking along the edge of the DRAM slots on the same side as the CPU but closest to the edge of the PCB ? I believe it is written in italics.

 

[you2]

The revision is there (per earlier comment 1.01g but i do not see any markings indicating the north bridge version. I could could find no other markings near the ram slots. That chip sure runs hot. Not sure if it could actually burn my finger but I wouldn't want to leave it on there for more than a few minutes.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: you2
The revision is there (per earlier comment 1.01g but i do not see any markings indicating the north bridge version. I could could find no other markings near the ram slots. That chip sure runs hot. Not sure if it could actually burn my finger but I wouldn't want to leave it on there for more than a few minutes.

..does anybody know what's the latest rev.# for this board? vs what's being shipped from suppliers like newegg?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Rev 1.02G is reportedly shipping from newegg since the last week of january. I ordered one yesterday, I can verify in a couple of days.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Rev 1.02G is reportedly shipping from newegg since the last week of january. I ordered one yesterday, I can verify in a couple of days.

..please advise when it shows up. I wana build a conroe box non over clocked and this seems to be a good board. But want the new rev.to avoid some of the out of the box headaches indicated on newegg user comments listed for this board.