ASUS P5N-E SLI Review ...

[NoobyDoo]

Review

However, the real reason we have chosen the ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboard for this article is because it is dead easy to overclock with. We were able to hit 3.60GHz with DDR2-800 memory and the only setting that required any attention was the FSB.

Using nothing more than the standard Intel box cooler, the E6400 was happy to run at 3.50GHz on the ASUS P5N-E SLI all day every day, with no voltage adjustments.

The ASUS P5N-E SLI is like a completely new motherboard with this updated BIOS revision.

 

[chizow]

What BIOS revision are they using? I'll ask em if they wanna swap a P5N-E SLI for a Striker Extreme + cash np since mine can't even break 400MHz FSB without crapping all over itself.

 

[NoobyDoo]

Originally posted by: chizow
What BIOS revision are they using?

According to the site forum "latest version being 0401".

 

[chrismr]

I have pretty much always regretted getting the e4300 instead of the e6400.... Oh well, will stick with it until the new cpu's come out in April and have a look at cost/performance. Although I probably won't upgrade CPU again until quad cores are cheap.

 

[NoobyDoo]

Slightly less complimentary review here.

First, we achieved such a high FSB frequency only after installing a fan on the North Bridge heatsink. Without that fan, the mainboard would freeze during the POST even at 450MHz FSB.
Second, tests suggest that there?s little sense in high FSB frequencies on the ASUS P5N-E SLI as well as on the ASUS Striker Extreme. The FSB strap is changed somewhere within the 400-450MHz range and leads to a catastrophic hit of memory performance, which is not always made up for well by the CPU frequency growth.
Third, we encountered a FSB hole with our ASUS P5N-E SLI. The mainboard was totally inoperable at FSB frequencies from 400 to 450MHz.
Besides that, the P5N-E SLI sets the voltages too low, which is typical of ASUS mainboards. Particularly, the real CPU voltage proves to be about 0.05V lower than the value you set in BIOS Setup. It also bottoms out by about 0.05V more at high CPU loads, which is within the Intel specifications, but irritates overclockers.


Highs:
Good performance
Can overclock the FSB almost to 500MHz
Can overclock system memory independently
Appealing price

Lows:
Chipset and the CPU voltage regulator are not cooled enough
A FSB hole from 400 to 450MHz
Faulty PCB design
Six-channel integrated audio

 

[ineedaname]

I've used the P5N-E SLI and i think its an awsome board for price/performance ratio.

It morbidly needs a vDroop mod because the vDroop on that board is crazy. A vDroop mod is so easy to do on that board tho.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: ineedaname
I've used the P5N-E SLI and i think its an awsome board for price/performance ratio.

It morbidly needs a vDroop mod because the vDroop on that board is crazy. A vDroop mod is so easy to do on that board tho.

I'd agree....if you didn't have to drop $30-50 on after-market coolers for the north and maybe the south bridge chips. At that price point though, you might as well spend on one of the $180-$200 650i or 680i boards that come with better chipset cooling and better ram/timing compatibility out of the box. They also have a few additional features, none of which are necessary but still nice to have.

The NB cooler on the P5N-E SLI is a joke though. Its flimsy and that 650i MCP gets crazy hot. I was 99% sure the NB was holding me back (weak 375MHz FSB OC) and confirmed it by adding an Antec Spot Fan over the NB. Got another 50MHz out of the FSB and 100MHz OC. I could probably get over 400MHz easy with a good chipset cooler but I may just get a different board (one that actually gets BIOS revisions).

 

[NoobyDoo]

'nother great review here :

[ with SpeedStep enabled and the E6300's default 7x multiplier ] We made it all the way up to 380MHz with the P5N-E before Windows became unstable. However, pushing the north bridge voltage up to 1.5V quickly resolved that problem, and we were able to get the P5N-E all the way up to a 470MHz front-side bus speed?stunning for a board that costs just $120. 480MHz wasn't stable, even with additional voltages all around.

For the most part, the board is every bit as fast as the Striker. You also get a decent array of BIOS options and just enough onboard peripherals.

And then there's the board's overclocking potential, which, if our sample is any indication, is simply jaw-dropping.

 

[Shimmishim]

IIRC, at higher resolutions, the 2 x 16 pci-e width should start to make some sort of difference.

http://www.vr-zone.com/index.php?i=4450&s=10

shows that at 2560 and with eye candy turned on, the 2 x 16 pulls ahead on a game such CoH.

so the 2 x 16 does make a difference but i guess only for those that have monitors that can support such high resolutions.

so i guess for the average joe-schmoe gamer who games at 1280 or 1600 should be fine with the p5n-e but if you have a 1920 or 2560 resolution monitor and want to play with all the eye candy, the 2 x 16 is recommended.

just my .02

 

[imported_gnatman]

I know enough about overclocking just to get myself in trouble. I used one of the guides that seemed to make the most sense. I am running a P5NE-SLI Asus, E5300 chip, standard cooling, DDR 6400C4 Corsair 2GB mem. I started off by dropping my multiplier to 6 and finding my FSB hole. turns out to be 1525. I went back to set my multiplier to stock 13 and work from there. But everytime I boot back up after a change it reverts back to factory setting for the chip, 800FSB, 13 multiplier linked. Anyone have any ideas why my board resets to chip defaults?? also I am running the 1404 BIOS

 

[Jayzbent]

This thread is old as dirt from 07.