*** Official ASUS P4C800/Deluxe (875P) Thread ***

[computer]

Thanks a bunch David and Jhites.

DDR Frequency - I have no idea what Auto does. I've used 1:1 since day one.

I assume you mean the "400" setting?

I went ahead and installed XP for the hell of it even though I didn't have video card on it I'm going to use. Just wanted to see if the HD would format OK, and it did....and I DID have to let XP format it! The NTLDR warning went away, and I DID finally get the single "confirm" POST "beep" after that, but it has disappeared again! Is this mobo supposed to "beep" once @POST always?

My DRAM Burst length was set to 4, and it's working ok so far so I'll guess I'll leave it at that.

I checked the 12v line on the power supply connectors to the periph's (like the drives) with a digital volt meter and it was 11.87v there and STABLE. Still shows 11.67v in the BIOS (sometimes 11.73 and 11.5), and that IS the 12v line of course. In the BIOS, there is 3.3v monitor, then below it the 5v, and below it the 12v monitoring. The 3.3 and 5v are fine @ 3.3xxx and 5.0xxxx, but it's the 12v line there that's showing 11.67v. My CPU Vcore is fluctuating a lot it would seem. It goes from 1.55x to 1.58x and back and forth. I have it manually set to 1.5625v.

Does anyone know what the "auto" setting is for "DRAM Idle Timer"? It's set to auto now, but I have no way of knowing if that is 8 or what.

This is how often the memory is cleared. I use 64uSec with 1Gb ram.

So what would "DRAM Refresh mode" be set to for 512mb RAM?

Yeah I remember now about that "Delayed transaction", I think that's left over from the ISA slot days and mobo makers are still using it!! I THINK it was supposed to delay the PCI/ISA 'communication' for the ISA slot, or something like that.

I'm still not clear on the USB ports. Ok, the primary ones are closest to the LAN, but which "numbers" are they? If you enable only 2 USB ports in the BIOS, is it those that are next to the LAN port? I only need and want two enabled to free up more IRQ's and I don't need anymore than that now anyway.

Thanks again guys....Clint

 

[DAVIDS]

Originally posted by: computer
I went ahead and installed XP for the hell of it even though I didn't have video card on it I'm going to use. Just wanted to see if the HD would format OK, and it did....and I DID have to let XP format it! The NTLDR warning went away, and I DID finally get the single "confirm" POST "beep" after that, but it has disappeared again! Is this mobo supposed to "beep" once @POST always?

The beeps indicate how many USB devices you have attached. If no devices are connected, you shouldn't hear any beeps. asus explanation

Glad to see you've straighten out some of the other problems.

 

[computer]

ok quick question for the experts I am satisfied with my performance \ OC with 512 (2x 256mb)of ocz pc4000 gold dual if I add another set of the same will performance suffer ?? I ask as I know single sided and double sided modules can affect this when 4 are used as opposed to 2 sticks

OCZ is I THINK double sided. From what the testing sites say, this mobo with 4 DS sticks will DISABLE PAT, so, using 4 DS sticks could hurt performance. Best setup FOR THIS MOBO, is 4 SS sticks. Unless someone can verify this mobo WILL run 4 DS sticks and you can still have PAT enabled. For other mobo's: the best performance is 4 DS sticks, followed by 4 SS sticks, followed by 2 DS sticks followed by 2 SS sticks. Actually the 4 SS sticks are about the same as 2 DS sticks. See details on this in the Anandtech memory roundup. It's either in Pt. 1 or Pt. 2. I THINK this was the page here, specifically here.

 

[computer]

Ok, here's the exact text:
"The fastest configuration should be 4 Double-Bank DIMMs on the Intel 875 chipset motherboard. Our first efforts to test this configuration, with 4 x 256 DS OCZ 3700 GOLD modules did not show 4 DS DIMMs any faster than 2 DS DIMMs on the ASUS P4C800-E. This was a real puzzle considering that other predicted configurations were easily verified with Quake3, Super PI and other benchmarks. When we looked deeper, the problem became clear. In every configuration that we had tested with the ASUS P4C800-E, the Performance Mode showed ?enabled? but with 4 DS DIMMs at any FSB speed faster than 800, CPU-Z 1.18C shows Performance Mode ?disabled?. Our trial was failing here because we were comparing 2 DS DIMMs with PAT on to 4 DS DIMMs with PAT off. We have asked ASUS for the reason behind why PAT appears to be disabled at 4 DS DIMMs above 800FSB. "

 

[computer]

Thanks David, hmmm, that's odd. Never heard of that before! So I guess it was normal to have a beep with no HD, then the beep went away when the HD was connected.

 

[computer]

Does anyone have any Sandra bench's they can compare these to? I ran Sandra Pro 2003 for the heck of, NO DRIVERS INSTALLED, just SP1 installed on XP Pro. Device manager is full of yellow marks. NO Asus drivers were installed either, no video drivers, no IAA, nada. (Video card is a cheap Geforce2 MX, 400 I think).

I didn't write down the EXACT benches, those of you that run it will know them by their order. I just copied them down as they appeared in the results. CPU is 2.4C @ 3.0xGhz, 250mhz FSB, 1000mhz bus.....1:1 memory ratio. Memory is Geil Ultra Platinum PC4000 @2.5-4-4-7 @DDR500 which is what its specs are as well. I haven't tried to run them any faster yet. CPUz verifies all this. I haven't tried to O'clock the CPU any faster yet either.

"Memory Bandwidth Benchmark"
Buffered on:
Graph results at extreme top in the colored graph area:
5929
5833

Results in body:
1st group:
5802
5801
6053
6061

2nd group:
5739
5762
5898
5936

"Memory Bandwidth Benchmark"
NON buffered:
Graph results at extreme top in the colored graph area:
4395
4393

Results in body:
1st group:
4701
4607
4211
4150

2nd group:
4693
4609
4121
4152
============

"Cache & Memory Benchmark"
32495 mb/sec
32409
27154
24115
24376
23368
24773
22333
18745
2759
2800
2815
2802
2807
===============

"CPU Arithmetic Bench":
ALL boxes checked in module options.
Dhrystone ALU 9088
Whet 2606/5470
PPR6600

"CPU MultiMedia bench":
Integer - 13876
Floating point - 21701
================

A note on the voltages and the low 12v shown in the BIOS......in the "Mainboard info" module, Sandra shows the +12v @12.03v, and -12v @ -3.89v!! -5v is shown as -.38v!!! "Aux voltage" is show as 3.07v, I don't know what that is supposed to be. What's up with the - minus voltages??? Sandra screw up?

In an earlier post someone commented on CPU & board temps. As I suspected, once in Windows they dropped dramatically. I see this all the time, why it happens, why they are so much higher while in the BIOS, I do not know. They ARE INDEED hotter while in the BIOS because I can actually feel the difference. CPU temp now in windows is 77° and board temp is 71°. This going by the Asus Probe and Sandra.

 

[computer]

Now, a question about drivers. The inf chipset is a non-issue since what's on the CD is the same as what's at their website.

I assume the latest IAA (Intel application accelerator) should be installed, right? For the heck of it, I tried to install what's on the CD to see the version, and the SOB said the chipset is not supported!!!!!! What's up with that? The inf drivers have already been installed. I do NOT have the Promise chip enabled, it's disabled in the BIOS.

Also, where the hell is the USB 2.0 drivers!? The manual shows that entry on the CD's splash screen menu, yet I don't see it on MY CD. I seem to remember USB 2.0 "issues" with XP but I can't recall what I did before. I thought SP1 handled that, evidently not! I don't see a single USB driver at their website. Now I just browsed the CD and found the USB2 folder and the readme says SP1 already has the driver support for USB 2.0, so why is there a yellow mark in the device manager for the "Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller"???? Well, I clicked it and let it re-find the drivers automatically and it worked, got rid of the yellow mark. (I'm leaving all this text in here in case anyone else has this problem and reads this thread, then they'll know just to click the properties and "reinstall driver").

Are there any problems with the CSA LAN drivers and audio drivers on the CD, or should I use what's at their website? Do any Promise drivers need to be installed if the chip is disabled in the BIOS? If I only hook up ONE HD to the blue Promise IDE RAID connector, do the RAID drivers still have to be installed....and I guess then the chip has to be enabled in the BIOS?
Thanks.

 

[ScissorClaw]

Unfortunately, Intel does not make a "regular" IAA for the 875 and 865 chipsets. It is a RAID only version. Here is a link to the Intel website explaiing the method to their madness<a href="http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa_raid/raidonly.htm">

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa_raid/raidonly.htm</A>

 

[computer]

I'm lost. I've been seeing at this thread about the IAA and some using it. If it's on the CD, and mentioned in the manual for the P4C800-E Deluxe, then why is not applicable? Are you saying the IAA cannot be installed or must I do something (enable or disable) something in the BIOS to install it? I'm not using SATA RAID now, just one of the SATA connectors for the Raptor. I DO have ICH5R SATA Native RAID on the mobo, so why can't I install it? What about the one available at the Asus website, should that, could that, be installed? "Intel(R) Application Accelerator RAID Edition 3.5R for Windows 2000/XP".

Thanks.

 

[computer]

I don't understand this crap. What the hell are the Asus jerks doing putting that app in the downloads area specifically for this motherboard when the @#$%& won't install!!?????? Link Even the readme file says the chipset is supported! Something's not right here......I must have to have the RAID ENABLED for it to install because I know for a fact people are using the IAA on this mobo.

 

[computer]

Apparently, I was right in the assumption TWO drives in RAID MUST be used:

While installing Intel Application Accelerator driver for WinXP from driver CD that came with my P4C800-E Deluxe, a Window showing "Incompatible hardware. This software is not supported on this chipset." will pop up on the display. What is wrong?

Intel Application Accelerator driver is used to boost the performance of RAID 0 function of the ICH5R south bridge on P4C800-E Deluxe. To install Intel Application Accelerator driver, it is required to configure two SATA HDDs as one RAID drive in advance. If no RAID drive is present on SATA connectors, there is no need to install or use Intel Application Accelerator driver.

But this does not explain why I've been able to use the IAA for years with no RAID being used! The IAA is NOT only just for RAID, so why the hell do they make it out to be that way now??????? Can an older version be used in a non-RAID config?

 

[ScissorClaw]

Did you click and read the link I put up. I think ut should explain why you were able to use IAA for years without RAID, and why now you can't. My problem is that I have the P4C800Deluxe with only the ICH5 and not the ICH5R controller. That conroller doesn't supprt ANY RAID at all. I'm totally screwed, even with the RAID setup I have.

 

[computer]

Yeah I read it but I saw no explanation. It doesn't make sense either because on that linked page they said the 865 & 875 chipsets WON'T SUPPORT IT, when it most certainly does because Asus has it on the CD and at their website! You just have to have a RAID array installed to use it, ..........which again is totally senseless. I'd like to know if any of the users of this mobo NOT using SATA RAID or IDE RAID now, are using any version of the IAA.

I haven't slept, so I'm going to look into this more later on tonight.

 

[jhites]

Computer
The IAA only works on systems that contain the following Ultra ATA Controllers:
* Intel(R) 82801AA, 82801AB, 82801BA or 82801DB controllers
I am not using raid on my system and in device manager it shows 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controller. Raid or Non-Raid has nothing to do with the IAA. I did use it on my P4G8X E7205 Granite Bay but have not used it since moving to the i865/i875 chipsets. Won't install on these.

 

[ScissorClaw]

Actually from now on, it does matter if it is RAID or not. You can install the old IAA on older chipsets, ie your Graite Bay, but since the 865/875's came out, unless you are running RAID, forget it. So actually your statement above is somewhat incorrect. Run RAID and you can install IAA, don't run RAID and you have to rely on the drive accelerator built into windows. At least that is according the following link...<U><FONT color=#800080>

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa_raid/raidonly.htm</FONT></U>

 

[jhites]

Did not know about the new Raid Only IAA. I took the chipset supported information from the readme file in the IAA ver2.3 that I have. Thanks for the update. Fixed your linky for you.

Intel Application Accelerator (IAA) ver 3.5.2 09/18/2003
Intel® Application Accelerator RAID Edition provides support for Serial ATA RAID 0 & RAID 1 on select Intel® 865 and 875 chipset-based PCs with ICH5R.

 

[laggerez]

Does anyone know why this mobo wouldn't boot with an ATI Rage Fury Maxx?

this board only supports 1.5v and .08 v on the agp bus not 3.3volt which the maxx may be ( I have one around here somewhere but do not remember the voltage on it)

 

[gogoman]

Originally posted by: gogoman
"3dmark2003 with matched pair 512mb ocz gold pc 500 and ati 9700 pro = 5271... stable on prime95 ... cpuz output below shows the 2.4c ghz OC to 3.22ghz at relaxed timings "

laggerez,
What version prime95 are you using? Do you get some error after 16K passes?

Just found out the beta version has this error problem after 16K passes. I dowloaded the version 22(latest release version) and was able to run 2 instances for >24hrs.

 

[ScissorClaw]

Thanks for fixing my link man. Didn't even notice it was messed up. Call me super blind

 

[computer]

jhites, It's also for the 82801ER, that's in the readme file for the IAA 3.5R. That's the chipset on the E-Deluxe.

So, if RAID has to be enabled, then is it possible to enable it on the ICH5R with only ONE SATA drive, or MUST 2 be used? I ask because some RAID controllers can have only 1 drive on them.

The Rage Fury Maxx is 4x, so I would assume that's 1.5v. At least the one I have is 4x AGP.

So what about the benchmarks I posted guys, are they the norm, better, worse, etc? I ran memtest86 and that @#$% thing gave so many @#$%& errors I quit!!!!! Even got errors at 200mhz bus! How can these errors be interpreted, or can they? I don't know if it's the CPU, memory, or mobo that's causing them. It seems perfectly stable in XP, so I don't get all these errors. I don't understand how some are running it and getting no errors. I'm not familiar with the program, that's the first time I ever used it and I didn't configure anything. After I booted off the floppy it just said "Loading........." all by itself and started to run. So, everything was at the default settings.

Also, what about this:
A note on the voltages and the low 12v shown in the BIOS......in the "Mainboard info" module, Sandra shows the +12v @12.03v, and -12v @ -3.89v!! -5v is shown as -.38v!!! "Aux voltage" is show as 3.07v, I don't know what that is supposed to be. What's up with the - minus voltages??? Sandra screw up?

Something that I have sucks really bad. I can't get any higher than 250mhz bus out of this POS. I would guess it's this damn Costa Rican CPU.

 

[jhites]

Computer - I think your Sandra Benches look about right. I ran a couple of Sandra 2003 even though I don't put much faith in Sandra any longer. My system is P4C800-Dlx (older ICH5 ver - no R chip) with a 2.6C @ 262fsb and 2X512 HyperX @ DDR420 CL2-2-2-5 with Performance Mode Enabled.
CPU Arithmetic - 10568/3004/6335
CPU Multimedia - 15610/24502
Mem Buffered - 5796/5797
Mem Un-Buffered - 3004/3077

As for your error's in MemTest86, if you go to the MemTest86 download site there is information on what each test evaluates. There are 7 tests at the default setting and it does load and run automatically. The upper left corner of the test screen will also show information on the cpu and memory such as the Memory Bandwidth. By changing some of the memory timings in the bios you can actually see how the bandwidth increases or decreases. I personally run all 11 tests on all memory that I use. You can get to this when MemTest first starts by using the key C and then enable all tests. I think it is C-2-3-spacebar for the sequence of key strokes. I do not get any errors running this on my systems. I have actually returned memory modules that do not pass memtest at their rated speed and timings.

EDIT: You may want to check your settings for the Un-Buffered test. They seem pretty high. Even the tests that AT ran on several high end modules were not that high even at DDR560. Memory Test Comparison on AT Main Page

 

[computer]

Thanks for the bench's. I really don't know what to "Check into" for the Sandra memory settings, all boxes are checked for buffered test and the "buffered" boxes are unchecked for the unbuffered tests. I'm using 2x256 Geil Ultra Platinum PC4000 which is a rather high end module.....or WAS a few weeks ago!

That link you posted is new, and not to my surprise, you might have known as soon as I get my memory, MORE AND BETTER MEMORY IS OUT!!!! :disgust: :disgust: :disgust: :disgust: I see now that the new OCZ PC4200EL is out, and the damn Mushkin PC4000 is out!! CRAP!!!!!! I also see the damn price has dropped ~$50 on the OCZ 4000 memory!!! I'm SICK OF THIS $H!T!!!!! The new OCZ 4200EL is at their site, but I can't find it for sale yet. Can't find the Mushkin Black PC4000 either.

Actually the Geil PC4000 still stands up well in the "highest memory speed" tests, still coming in 2nd to only the OCZ 4000, (but now 3rd overall thanks to OCZ 4200) in all but the Sandra unbuff tests. However that's of no use to me since I have a crappy 2.4C that will only do 3ghz/250mhz bus! With this CPU only doing the DDR500 speeds, I'd be better off with the new Mushkin, new Corsair, and now the OCZ 4000 since it's had such a huge price reduction! The only reason I didn't get the OCZ 4000 Gold was due to the price of $230 at the time.

I'm getting 255mhz/1020mhz out of now, that's seem to be the limit of this CPU (2.4C). That increased the benchmarks by more than I expected. They're now 6017/6034 & 4470/4477 unbuff.

The problem with having to return memory due to memtest errors, it's the moronic 15% restocking fee all vendors have....or at least 99.x% of them. I used version 3, are you guys using v2.9 or 3?

I noticed a VR or FET between the BIOS chip and the memory banks that is about to melt. As the board is mounted in the case, it's right above the BIOS chip about .75" above it and slightly to the left and labeled "9915". It's a 3 lead, but one lead is cut so only two are soldered and it's about half the size of a typical FET, about .25" across. (Right above this target chip close to the memory banks is another that mounted in the identical way, looks the same but it has a different # on it). Can someone please feel this chip on your board and see if it's this hot?

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: computer
Thanks for the bench's. I really don't know what to "Check into" for the Sandra memory settings, all boxes are checked for buffered test and the "buffered" boxes are unchecked for the unbuffered tests.

For UnBuffered Test:
Un-check the eight boxes after Use 50% Memory Only.
Un-check Enable Buffering/Block-Prefetch
9 boxes to uncheck altogether.

 

[computer]

Yeah that made a HUGE difference, sucks now. 3010/3018. That's not only a lot lower than what I previously got, but it's significantly lower than the same setup tested @Anandtech, which I attribute to theirs being Double Sided and mine being SS. The 256mb sticks are SS and the 512mb is DS...which I did not know until I got it in. However my buffered results are higher than what they got. I don't understand that.......anyone know what that means; why my buffered would be higher? It's over 6000. If I had to guess I'd say that buffered results don't rely much on the density of the chips/modules, while the unbuffered does. Can anyone verify that?

(BTW, I was able to lower my timings lower than the spec. They are spec'd @2.5-4-4-7 and I can set them to 2.5-3-4-6 @250mhz/DDR500 and even @255mhz/DDR510 where my CPU dies out).

 

[Xeon]

Have any of you been doing any PCMark2002 Benchmarking?

If so could you provide your scoring?

Here are mine with the following settings:

Running in the OS background
-Two Lan connections
-ZoneAlarm
-AsusProbe
-SoundMax
-Creative Volume Control
-Winzip
-Two Printer connection monitors
-PC-cillin
-Intel Wired Connection App

PCMark2002 Scores

CPU score: 7630
Memory score: 8641
HDD score: 1099

This is with this box running:

-Asus P4C800-E Deluxe REV 2.00
-OCZ PC4000 2X512
-Intel 2.4C
-Nvidia Quadro4 - 400
-30% O'clocked
-Memory 3-4-4-8 @ 260 Mhz
-Turbo Mode ON
-PAT ON

If you have some scores please post them.