*** Official ASUS P5B / P5B Deluxe Thread ***

[SFle]

@strife025: it is usually the bios. try the latest bios update, 1238 i blieve, on the asus website. or u can set the bios to an older version, 0711 or 1101 which had worked like a charm for various cpus.


one quick qs, is there a difference in using 4pin mobo connector and the 8pin connector? does the 8 pin deliver more juice to the cpu for overclocking?

i've tried to overclock my E6320 (yeah i know it's old, but i love this baby) to 3.5ghz using a 4pin mobo connector. it POSTed and worked fine up to windows logon. after several tests and prime95 runs, i couldnt stabilize it. ive max'd everything in BIOS with 1.4 vcore, 2.3 vram. i suspect the problem is either the 4/8 pin mobo connector or the ram (i have corsair value select ram 667mhz and managed to load it to windows at 1000mhz, loosen the timings to 5-5-5-18-5-42).

 

[rvwijk]

I have a problem with my ASUS p5B deluxe. Last week my PC stopped working and I detected that the power supply died. I bought myself a new Corsair TX650W and connected it to the P5B board. The board still didn't start up. Instead, the ASUS blue led on the board started flashing.
I tried to connect the board with an old power supply (not even supporting PCI16e power) and it was able to start booting. Question is: did I buy the wrong PSU or is the one I just received a dead on arrival?
the other question is: what does a flashing blue led mean?

I already did:
- remove battery
- executed a CLRTC w/ cable unplugged
- Removed all RAM and tried booting
- Removed all HD's and DVD drive and tried booting

Edit: I tried another PSU which for sure worked. It wasn't able to boot my mobo. Same characteristic: flashing blue light. Seems my mobo died :-(.....for some reason it detects a too low voltage and refuses to boot.

 

[Jawadali]

Hi guys, I have an issue with the ASUS P5B-E motherboard; I think its rev 1.01 (BIOS is latest non-beta as of March).

Windows XP 32-bit only sees 3GB (not 3.25GB like it should) when 4x1GB PC6400 is installed.

I found the Memory Remap feature in the BIOS and it was disabled. I enabled it and then restarted. BIOS now sees 4GB, but windows xp 32bit sees only 2GB.

When it's DISABLED, BIOS sees 3GB and windows sees 3GB..

Not sure what to do...

No luck with 3.25GB (for reference, my Dell can see 3.25GB with 4x1GB with XP 32-bit, and it has a G33 chipset).

Kind of bummed that the P5B-E cannot see as much as the Dell, although I know 256MB is not THAT much extra.

Is it at least running dual channel (It reports this on boot and in CPU-Z, but then again, CPU-Z shows 4096MB of RAM)?

Thanks.

 

[elconejito]

3.25GB is the average, some see less some see more. Do you have some insane number of peripherals? Or a video card with massive RAM?

Other than that, I'm out of ideas.

 

[sphincterAni]

Good afternoon.

I've had this P5B Deluxe for a little while and it's been okay with a wimpy cpu and some mediocre memory (4 x 1GB Corsair XMS2-6400).

Recently, I decided it was finally time to breathe some life into it with a new cpu and memory. So after researching the options and more
or less confirming everything should work out okay, I laid down the cash for a Q9650 and some Mushkin 2x2GB DDR2-1066 (996599).

Well, long story short: the quad core overclocks only modestly (3888 MHz is the best it can do at 1.4000 Vcore which is about the maximum
voltage I feel is safe for the chip) and I guess I'm okay with that. A little disappointing considering the price paid, but that's life as they say...

On the other hand, the memory has been no end of trouble. And that is my reason for being here today.

Would like to ask the P5B Deluxe community two questions:

1. Under the older BIOS 1215 I had access to the full memory installed (4096 MB) with memory remap enabled both at POST
and within the Linux OS. Prior to upgrading the hardware I loaded the BIOS default settings and saved them, then flashed
to BIOS 1238 which is required for the board to be able to handle the Q9650. Immediately upon rebooting (without changing
any hardware) I suddenly had only 3584 MB of memory available.

To repeat, when the box POSTed I re-configured the BIOS to the original settings including memory remap enabled. When
the box rebooted and POSTed, it showed only 3584 MB of memory available. Umm... what did Asus do with the other 512 MB
of my memory?

As the above was unsatisfactory, I thought I might try flashing back to the older BIOS 1236 (minimum required for Q9650) after
first clearing the RTC/CMOS. Results were disastrous; the system wouldn't even POST after that. I'll have to try to flash back
to BIOS 1238 tonight and hope no permanent damage has been done.

My questions are:

Is anyone else using BIOS 1238 on this board with 4GB of memory?
If so, how much is the motherboard making available/giving you access to?

2. The other memory issue is related to the board's use (or non-use in my situation) of memory SPD tables. The SPD tables
contain (among other information) timing parameters that your motherboard will use to configure the memory in the absence
of manually configured settings. The motherboard is supposed to honor/respect the SPD timings and use those when
"Configure DRAM Timing by SPD" is set to "Enable". I had seen multiple reports that the P5B Deluxe does indeed use the
SPD tables and, in fact, that was the primary reason for my purchase of the new memory.

You see, the P5B Deluxe has a maximum manual TRFC setting of 42. This is sufficient to run only up to about DDR2-1000
more or less. But by setting the BIOS to use the memory's SPD timings it should set the TRFC to 51 (in my case) which should
allow for higher memory speeds (albeit at looser timings).

In my case, my P5B Deluxe does not seem to want to use the SPD tables despite setting "Configure DRAM Timing by SPD"
to "Enable". Consequently, TRFC remains at 42 and higher memory speeds are unattainable.

All of this is confirmed through hours of tedious testing. Booting the system with "Configure DRAM Timing by SPD" set to
"Enable" always results in TRFC = 42 as shown by both memset and spdtool.

My questions are:

Has anyone been successful in getting their P5B Deluxe to use their memory's SPD parameters and obtain a TRFC of greater
than 42?

Thank you very, very, very much for your time!

 

[sphincterAni]

Hi there! Me again...

I guess it might also be useful to know (with respect to issue #2 listed above) if your P5B-D is using SPD, what
vendor/part_nbr memory are you using? Thanks!

Also, for those who might benefit from this information: the only way I could get the box to boot after flashing with
the 1236 BIOS was to remove one of the 2GB DIMMS. Once I did that I could boot into the BIOS and use the the
EZ Flash utility to flash back to 1238.

Thanks again!

 

[sphincterAni]

Me, me, me, me, me...

I just realized (I'm slow) that I guess it would be helpful to also know what BIOS version is used.

So to summarize:

- BIOS version
- memory vendor & model.part number
- whether or not BIOS uses SPD when "Configure DRAM Timing by SPD" is set to "Enable"

Thanks!

 

[elconejito]

if you'll go back a few pages (maybe 10 or less? I'm too lazy to look), the topic of 2GB sticks on this mobo was hashed about. Basically, you're right in that the mobo is supposed to get that pesky tRFC from the SPD. However, a combination of a) SPD not set properly by manufacturer or b) mobo doesn't properly recognize the SPD from some manufacturer/models. So you have to dig through a ton of forums posts (here and elsewhere) to find out which ones might work. Somebody here is using some mushkins on this board, you can probably find it in the thread (a few pages back). Otherwise you'll have to run them at slower that rated speed. I was stuck below 800Mhz...

Not sure about your BIOS issue, but it's currently running 4GB with memory remap enabled. It's been demoted to my parents house, so I can't tell you offhand which BIOS it is, but probably the latest BIOS before Christmas time. The full 4GB shows up on POST, and Vista 32-bit shows something less that that, maybe around 3.5GB.

 

[sphincterAni]

Thanks for the feedback, elconejito.

These are bugs in the 1238 BIOS. I filed a support request with ASUS, but they blew me off with a lame response
pretty much as I expected they would. Thanks, ASUS.

So, I'm just gonna have to live with 3584MB of memory instead of 4096MB. Whatever... I'll limp along.

Also, gonna just have to live with DDR2-1000 instead of DDR2-1066 (or better) due to BIOS ignoring memory SPD.
That's probably okay since the timings are tight and bandwidth is decent.

It seems the only way I'll be able to remedy these defects will be a new motherboard (which will definitely NOT be ASUS).

So, I've been eyeballing those Gigabyte p45 boards lately... How are you liking yours?

Thanks again!

 

[elconejito]

Unfortunately, the RAM issue prompted an upgrade from Q6600 on P5B -> Q6600 on P35-DS3L -> Q9650 on EP45-UD3R in the short span of a few months.

I'm loving the UD3R. I got to FSB 425 (3.8Ghz) with about 5mins of work. Right now I switch between 3.8Ghz and 4Ghz (FSB 450) depending on how hot I want the room to be My goal is 4.25 Ghz, but I think heat will eventually hold me back (A/C is not real efficient where I live) rather than the board. I give the UD3 series a big thumbs up.

 

[imported_reptile]

I'm having an issue with my P5B Deluxe/Wifi-AP. I was running bios 1004, upgraded recently to 1238 and still having the issue. Processor is E6600, power supply is SeaSonic S12-600 600W.

Basically, I have bought 4GB of RAM, 4x 1GB sticks, 2 retail packs of Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4. I can only get the system to boot with 2GB in the machine, and not in dual channel mode. The system will boot with 2 sticks closest to the CPU, so one in the black slot and one in the yellow. I had built this computer back in Dec of 2006 and it's been running swimmingly since then, albeit with 2GB of RAM only. No overclocking, running everything at default speeds.

Anyways, I saw that the latest BIOS upgrade said "Fix system hangs at POST while using certain 4GB memory and CPUs" so I figured it would be worth a try. Used EZ Flash in BIOS to upgrade to 1238, rebooted to verify everything was working fine, then shut down and tried putting all 4GB in again. First cold boot after that, got the blue Asus screen and it froze; after rebooting from that it wouldn't even post. Took the extra RAM out and booted as usual.

Any ideas? I thought I did my research at the time I bought everything and this combo should have worked fine together, but apparantly not. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[elconejito]

To fix the dual channel issue (but not the BSOD) the RAM pairs must be in the same colored slots. so both black or both yellow, not one back and one yellow.

It's possible you have a bad stick of RAM, have you tried memtest to see if it works?

Also (and actually I'd do this first), but did you reset the defaults in BIOS after updating? That is a frequent cause of odd behaviours...

 

[m1k30rz]

where exactly do you go to adjust the memory timings? i cant find it anywhere on my P5B Deluxe with latest BIOS

 

[m1k30rz]

also I have a E8400 on my P5B Deluxe, voltage is set to auto, but in CPUID it says 1.568 volts?? isn't that way too high? what should it be and how do I fix it?

 

[elconejito]

I don't recall where the setting is, but it's in the same place as the overclocking options like CPU multiplier and FSB speeds. You have to change it from auto to manual to get the settings available.

And yeah that voltage is very high. Use CPU-Z and see what it says the voltage is. Did you overclock the board and leave it at auto?

 

[m1k30rz]

HMm I didnt see it at all??

Yeha CPU-Z says the same, yeah overclocked and left at auto, hope it didnt damage it, I manuallay set it to 1.20 now

 

[Sider]

Hi all,

First timer here, though I've been browsing the threads for a few days. I'm having a major issue with my system. I apologize if any of it has been covered in this thread, but my search didn't turn up anything too similar to my scenario.

Here are the primary devices:

- Antec TruePower power supply (Need to check size, think 550W)
- ASUS P5B Motherboard
- 3 1GB Kingston DDR2
- ATI Radeon x1650 video card
- 150GB Western Digital Raptor (30gb partition for OS and system programs, 120gb for other files)
- Windows XP Media Center Edition

My wife has a virtually identical system (all of the stuff above is the same), which I've used for reference on some things like when I should get load screens.

Before all this happened, my system ran fine and had few (if any) problems. About a week ago, I got the Black Internet virus and tried a System Restore to get rid of it. Had little luck, but I hadn't heard of it potentially damaging anything (and still haven't). I soon tried a System Restore to go back a few days.

Tried it first on the 11th, going back to the 8th. No dice; when it tried to restore and restarted, it said that it couldn't complete the operation for some reason. I tried a restore from the 6th, and when it went to restart it froze right after POST. Thus, it began.

For the next day, I was experiencing frequent hangs on bootup. I was able to intermittently get into Windows, but only in Safe Mode, and I was never able to get the [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Windows[/COLOR][/COLOR] boot selection screen (F8) to load, since F8 would only trigger the motherboard to ask what device to boot from. About a day later, it stopped going into Windows entirely.

Next step was to try repairing/reinstalling Windows from the [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]boot [COLOR=blue ! important]disk[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]. No dice; it never even gave me the "press any key to continue" prompt. Wife's computer did have that come up with the same CD, so that's the first major disparity I saw.

Next, I tried to use both Windows and DOS boot disks to at least get into some version of an OS. For the DOS boot disk, I made a USB-made one as instructed on a variety of sites, and I'm fairly sure I did it correctly (I used the [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]HP[/COLOR][/COLOR] tool and tried it formatted for both FAT and FAT32). For each one, I'd make sure the device was recognized, then put it into the first boot position in the BIOS. Always the same result: after POST, which always goes fine, the screen simply goes black and stays black. I can choose any of the devices, but whether I boot from the HD, the USB (in various emulation states), or the DVD drive, it always goes black. There is one oddity...sometimes the system freezes fully and the keyboard stops responding, as in the Number/Caps/Scroll lock keys don't work. However, on most boots, those three particular keys DO respond, and upon pressing ENTER twice the [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]USB[/COLOR][/COLOR] starts flashing as if it's trying to load something. Wacky stuff.

I also tried loading up the ASUS CD that came with the mobo, to no avail.

Two other things I tried were connecting a 40-pin IDE DVD drive (didn't work) and a 40-pin IDE Hard Drive (also didn't work, though it may have tried to load since it gave me a blue screen instantly every time I loaded it. No blue screens at all other than with that hard drive).

At this point, I feared the worst for my motherboard, and tried to flash the BIOS using the EZ Flash 2 tool. Welp, guess what... upon starting the tool, the screen goes and stays black exactly as above, whether it's through ALT-F2 from POST or through the BIOS menu itself. The same goes for the O.C. Profile tool, which I had also tried. I tried reverting to defaults, which didn't do anything to help. I removed the battery and did the CPR routine, did the pin 1/2-2/3 procedure to flush the CMOS, etc. None of this helped the issue. I also tested the memory and didn't come up with any issues; it started each time, albeit with the pathetic startup I've been having anyway. All of the memory also registers during POST, so I'm thinking the memory isn't the issue.

So, as of right now, my computer will load the BIOS menu, and is completely fine up to and through POST. After POST, I can bring up the F8 menu to choose a boot drive, though the system still hangs regardless of my choice. Outside of the BIOS screen and the boot device screen, I cannot get my system to load anything. EZ Flash 2 and OC Profile don't load (they do load on wife's computer, without issue).

I also noticed that the JMicron screen pops on my wife's machine, but not on mine, whether I have JMicron enabled or not. I know I could check a few things by mixing devices from our two systems, but the last thing I want to do is damage her machine with whatever damaged mine (for multiple reasons, obviously).

BIOS settings are mostly defaults. The stuff that either isn't default or doesn't have a default is as follows:

[COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Hardware [COLOR=blue ! important]Profile[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] (after being on in the BIOS screen for a few minutes)

CPU Temp: 111F
MB Temp: 104F
CPU Fan Speed: 2008 RPM
CPU Fan Control: Disabled
Chassis Fan 1 Speed: 1730 RPM (This is swapped with Chassis Fan 2 on wife's machine... not significant, right?)
Chassis Fan 2 Speed: N/A (Speed appears here on wife's machine)
Chassis Fan Control: Disabled
Power Fan Speed: 727 RPM (Appears in red. Wife's fan speed is around 1050 RPM. Significant?)

VCORE Voltage: 1.304V (goes between 1.304 and 1.312 on various startups. Wife's is 1.312)
3.3V Voltage: 3.184V (Wife's is 3.264V)
5V Voltage: 4.966V (Wife's is 5.120V)
12V Voltage: 12.091V (Wife's is 12.144V)

USB menu: I changed Legacy USB and Port 64/60 Emulation to Enabled to try to use USB as a DOS boot disk, but it was equally useless with these settings or the defaults. Note that it DOES recognize the USB here, and I'm able to change the emulation. Tried every one multiple times.

HD Audio Controller: Enabled
Onboard PCIE LAN: Enabled
JMicron SATA/PATA Controller: Enabled (Tried disabling once, didn't do anything to help)
JMicron SATA Controller Mode: IDE (haven't messed with this)

I've tried every possible boot device configuration. I've also selected each one from the after-POST boot menu. Never seems to boot regardless.

The point where my computer always freezes is right before where my wife's system gets the JMicron screen, then loads Windows. My computer does not get the JMicron screen, though it does POST fully, and gives all of the extended data if I disable quick boot. Then it gives the 10 countdown with "Press ESC to boot," and when the countdown ends or I hit ESC the system freezes as I described above. Without the capability to even flash the BIOS, I have no idea what to do. To add insult to injury, my mobo is supposed to have the automatic BIOS flash utility if I start with a flash drive plugged in that has a BIOS rom within. I added the file, renamed it as per instructions, and no go. Think that has to do with the BIOS not registering as "corrupted" somehow.

If anyone needs more info to help me diagnose, I'm more than willing to provide it. I've been banging my head against this problem for days, and while I've learned a bit about the guts of my computer in the process, I'm still clueless as to the actual issue. Right now, my somewhat uneducated guess would be the BIOS Chip or Power Supply.

A virtual cookie factory (and a drink the next time you're in New York) to anyone who can help me diagnose this thing. Many, many thanks!

 

[1Haplo]

I am running my P5B Deluxe WiFi/AP with a X3350(STOCK Speed) and 8 Gig of OCZ Platinum DDR2-1000 @ 667 Because It will error at anything over 680(340FSB) due to tRFC of 42. I set the RAM voltage to 2.0V I raised the NB a few steps and set the CPU Core V to 1.1500V (I used Realtemp to find the Core VID.)

The P5B does overvolt the 1333(333FSB) 45nm CPUs. You need to set to close the VID in BIOS.

My Rampage Formula died and I sent it to ASUS for RMA. So I hooked up My P5B and have had no problems at stock speed With 8 Gig of RAM at 667...... 6 more days then my (NEW? Different S/N)Rampage Formula will be home and then I can go back to 450FSB.

The reason about the Memory Remap will only show 3008 (disabled) and 2048 (enabled) with 4 Gig installed in a 32bit OS due to Chipset limitation (Thanks Intel)


Sider, Have you tried to boot with only 1 or 2 sticks of RAM? or Take 1 stick of RAM from the wifes computer and try that.

 

[Triggaaar]

Firstly, sorry for bumping such an old thread, but I assume it's best to keep P5B chat in here.

Did anyone succeed or fail to run a Q8200 or faster cpu on this board?

I'm in a very simillar position to the post below:

Upgrade to Q6600 or wait for Q9450?

I'm currently running a E6600 in my P5B deluxe and all is working well. I do a lot of 3d rendering that takes full advantage of quadcores so I would like to upgrade the cpu. My original plan was to get a Q6600, but with the Q9450 so close to release I am considering going that route instead.

I'd like to upgrade my E6600, but can't really afford a new MB as well, and with the price and speed of the Q8200 and Q8300, I'm very tempted. I don't want to overclock anything, other than have the FSB at 1333MHz I assume. I'm running Win7 64bit, with 4gb ram. I'd obviously update the bios, to 1238 I guess.

But has anyone got good reason to think this will/won't make for a stable system?

Many thanks

 

[Harvey]

Check the CPU Support List tab on Asus' spec page for your board. It lists Q2D CPU's up to an E8600 (3.33GHz,1333FSB,L2:6MB,65W,rev.E0) and the BIOS rev. you'll need to run the one you choose.

Hope that helps.

 

[Triggaaar]

Thanks for the reply Harvey. I had checked the Support List, and it's the fact that the CPUs I'd like are listed as Beta. I've never done any overclocking or using Beta chips, so I have no idea whether they are an option now that the MB is no longer receiving firmware. I thought my best chance of finding out would be if anyone here had used the chips on this MB for a long time. Searching the thread I saw a couple of people who were interested, but I didn't find any conclusions.

 

[Harvey]

Thanks for the reply Harvey. I had checked the Support List, and it's the fact that the CPUs I'd like are listed as Beta. I've never done any overclocking or using Beta chips, so I have no idea whether they are an option now that the MB is no longer receiving firmware.

From the way they're written, I don't think the listed BIOS revs refer to beta CPU's. It looks like they mean that support for the 1333 MHz FSB is a beta version. Two suggestions:

1. E-mail Asus' tech support to ask for more info.

2. Try flashing the BIOS with your current chip installed, and be sure to use the option to back up your current BIOS so you can re-flash it back. If it doesn't give you the option to back up your current BIOS before initiating the process, don't continue.

 

[Triggaaar]

Thanks

 

[Harvey]

YW. That's what friends and forums are for.

 

[MonkeyG0D]

sorry for necroing this thread, I'm having a bit of trouble getting my e6600 overclock stable and was wondering if there is an obvious problem.

I'm trying for a 3.2ghz overclock and have currently got it to a bootable state but it fails prime blend test almost immediatly on one core, guessing that vcore isn't high enough?

I'm currently running at 401mhz fsb with a multi of 8,
vcore 1.525
nb volts 1.45
memory volts 2.0 (timings 5-5-5-18-42)
fsbterm 1.3v

I've been playing around with the pcie frequency but that doesn't seem to improve stability, its currently at 100mhz though

my chip is a l637f009 rev b2, using an artic freezer 7 pro cooler

I vdroop modded as well and now get no vdroop from idle to load although there is still a difference between bios volts and those given in cpuz

It idles around 29-30 ºC but c1e, the highest i've attained under load is around 48-50ºc but as i say thats only 1 core underload :/

I have 4x1gb xms2 pc6400 sticks of ram installed with native timings of 5-5-5-18 @ 1.9v

if i leave my cpu volts at auto it sticks it up to about 1.58volts and that seems to make it stable in prime but i really don't want to run it that high!

anything i could try to improve? do i just have a shit chip?

Cheers