The Unofficial ASUS P5N-E SLI 650i Board Thread

[Xyleene]

Hi all,

Long time lurker. I have to say, sifting thru this massive forum has helped me with my OC more than anything. Now I come to ask for some more help!

I've been stable at 3ghz for 2 months or so.. so I came back here to read what has happened since.. I got a little excited since my system has been so stable that I thought I'd give it an other go.

I kinda went overboard I think... 7x1600 @ 1.45v just to see if it would boot...... then... nothing!! It wouldn't boot with default settings after the hard reboot.. tried a bunch of times.. so I took the battery out after unplugging everything and restarted (which I assumed would reset the cmos). It seemed like it did but all I got was a frozen Asus boot screen (the one with the graphics showed up. I had it set previously to just show the post msg).. So I looked further into it and read in the manual how to actually reset the cmos... which I did. Same thing.

Also I tried to leave the reset jumpers there for 30 minutes.. no go.

So currently all I get is a frozen boot screen. Can someone shed some light or point me in the right direction please (even if the right direction is the Asus rma line ;-)
I do seem to vaguely remember some discussion about this problem here.. but I can't seem to get the search function to work properly.

Thanks in advance,

Xyleene

 

[Tuvoc]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
Tuvoc,

If you still have a problem with the memory (I understand that now all is going OK so far) try to increase the voltage, even if you have to go slightly above the maximum rating.

Yeah more memory voltage would surely have enabled me to stay at 4-4-4-12
I got an error from one core after 9 hrs of Prime95, so it's not 100%. Temps also got up to 75C on the smaller FFTs, so I'm going back to stock for now

 

[Shampoo]

Freezes at the boot screen?

I'm assuming you mean the post screen and not the windows boot screen?

If so then try to get into your BIOS and set your ram voltage.

I see you have 2GB of ram so it couldn't be the 4GB ram issue with ram speed holes.

If you've tried resetting your cmos and it didn't work then I dunno what else it could be.

Try one stick of ram?

I'm pretty confident in saying you haven't broken anything.

Are you sure you're resetting the CMOS correctly?

Take out the battery, then set the jumper to the reset position and leave her be for a little while. It doesn't have to be for a really long period of time, but if you must.

Then press your power button a few times to make sure all the capacitors have been drained.

Then replace the battery and set the jumper back to its default position.

Cross your fingers, power her up and start mashing that del button to get into the bios.

If you do manage to get into the bios then I'd suggest setting your ram voltage like I said above, but leave everything else and update your bios.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Shampoo]

Hey Tuvoc, how much did you pay for your cpu?

That's insane man.

I dunno why, but I just realized now what kind of cpu you have.

Also, since you have that beast why are you even trying for an overclock?

That thing in stock form will kick the arse out of any overclocked core2duo I've seen.

My overclocked system, according to sisoft sandra, is only 1% slower overall than the lowest Quad Core @ 1.83GHz.

Daaaaang.

 

[Tuvoc]

Originally posted by: Shampoo
Hey Tuvoc, how much did you pay for your cpu?
dunno why, but I just realized now what kind of cpu you have.

Also, since you have that beast why are you even trying for an overclock?

That thing in stock form will kick the arse out of any overclocked core2duo I've seen.

My overclocked system, according to sisoft sandra, is only 1% slower overall than the lowest Quad Core @ 1.83GHz.

Daaaaang.

Overclocking just for fun really just to see what's possible. Yes it's way fast enough already, I just want to see what it is capable of. For 24/7 operation on air, I leave it at stock

 

[Xyleene]

Originally posted by: Shampoo
Freezes at the boot screen?

I'm assuming you mean the post screen and not the windows boot screen?

Yes, my bad.

Originally posted by: Shampoo
Try one stick of ram?

OK, will do.

Originally posted by: Shampoo
Then press your power button a few times to make sure all the capacitors have been drained.

I'll also try this trick

Originally posted by: Shampoo
Then replace the battery and set the jumper back to its default position.

In this order? I've been setting the jumper back then replacing the battery.

Originally posted by: Shampoo
If you do manage to get into the bios then I'd suggest setting your ram voltage like I said above, but leave everything else and update your bios.

I'll be gravy if I can get into the bios ;-P


I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Xyleene

 

[JustaGeek]

Xyleene,

Set the jumper back FIRST, and then re-install th battery.

 

[JustaGeek]

I have just experienced weird problems that I believe have been caused by addressing the memory beyond the 2GB application barrier on a 32 bit OS.

As a result, I decided to remove my 2x512MB sticks - my XP cannot properly use it anyway, even with the /3GB switch in the boot.ini activated.

Please read this article:

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3034

And this thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...AR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

All that over and above our continuous struggle with our chipset's problems with 4 sticks of RAM...

UPDATE: Re-installed the 2x512MB, did not activate /3GB switch, will see what happens...

 

[Tuvoc]

Originally posted by: Shampoo
Hey Tuvoc, how much did you pay for your cpu?

That's insane man.

I dunno why, but I just realized now what kind of cpu you have.

Also, since you have that beast why are you even trying for an overclock?

That thing in stock form will kick the arse out of any overclocked core2duo I've seen.

My overclocked system, according to sisoft sandra, is only 1% slower overall than the lowest Quad Core @ 1.83GHz.

Daaaaang.

I should add - I bought the QX6700 almost as soon as they were released and paid a huge price, around £600. I did that knowing that cheaper quad cores would be out in a few months, but the few extra months use I got from getting it straight away was well worth the price. I have no complaints, I've had value for money. I can't put a price on that few month's usage.

As for this board - at that time, P965 boards would only support the quad core with a BIOS update. Since I didn't have a Core2 Duo to put in the board to flash the BIOS, I had to have a board that would guaranteed out of the box run the quad Core. So I got this board. I chose the ASUS because it is a name that I respect and have usually had good luck with. I also has no intention of overclocking, so in that respect almost any board would do.

As it turns out you can't help experimenting. But with 3-phase power, it's amazing this board runs a quad core CPU at all, let alone trying to overclock it. It does run fine at stock of course, but with horrible vdroop, however the droop is within spec for the processor so it runs fine. So it's performing exactly the role I intended - runs stable 24/7 at full load at stock speed. So can't complain on that score.

 

[Shampoo]

JustaGeek:

Yeah I read that article too.

I've read other articles and did some reading into 4GB usage on XP 32bit systems and well using the 3GB switch and modifying the registry are things I wouldn't recommend unless there is a specific reason for doing so to get a program working.

Just use your 3GB or 4GB of ram as is and your system will see 3.25GB PAE. Physical Address Extension.

That's the way my system is setup and everything is fine.

We will have to move to 64-bit OSes for full support of over 2GB of ram.

I really wish the transition would be smoother, but I guess not.

I can't wait to see how games written for 64-bit OSes will look in the near future.

 

[JustaGeek]

Future is the operative word here LOL.

That's why back in December 2006 I decided on my $270 7950GT as opposed to then $400+ 8800 series. I kinda felt that it might be a headache dealing with the brand new 650i chipset, and did not want to add dealing with the brand new GPU for the still non-existent (or limited) DX10 and (still today...) underdeveloped graphics drivers.

We are living in the "Great period of Total Transformation" - 64 bit OS', DX10, Multiple Core CPU's, DDR3 RAM, even more new chipsets...

And... actually all of the above are so limited in their full abilities, and so experimental in their design, that for the next few years I am planning to stick to the "tried, tested and true", as opposed to jumping to new products as soon as they appear.

All of us here, we are the testers, the "guinea pigs" for the industry...

 

[JustaGeek]

Another great article about using more than 2GB RAM I have picked up in another thread:

http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm

 

[Tuvoc]

Well I've read it before here and in reviews, about how hot the northbridge gets. Up until this point, I haven't touched mine. I just did that, and the stories are right - hold your finger on it for too long and it's so hot it will burn you !

Clearly ASUS have tested this, and consulted with NVidia, and that level of heat is within specification. (and indeed I've been running a few months 24/7 under full load with no issues).
HOWEVER I don't believe that long term this can be a good thing. So I've just suspended a low rpm 80mm fan over that area with a Zalman fan bracket

 

[JustaGeek]

Great idea, Tuvoc. I did the same about a week ago, leaving the Southbridge with the heatsink only - the SB is probably designed to work hotter anyway.

I also replaced the 120mm 1200 RPM exhaust fan in my case with a low noise 1800 RPM, and a side fan with the low noise 1800 RPM.

The temps decreased by about 3C to Core 1/2 idle ~42C, load 56C.

My Video Card would reach ~80C load (Far Cry) with the previous arrangement, it tops 68C now.

It just proves the importance of keeping a steady airflow around all the components, front to back.

 

[Tuvoc]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
Great idea, Tuvoc. I did the same about a week ago, leaving the Southbridge with the heatsink only - the SB is probably designed to work hotter anyway.

I also replaced the 120mm 1200 RPM exhaust fan in my case with a low noise 1800 RPM, and a side fan with the low noise 1800 RPM.

The temps decreased by about 3C to Core 1/2 idle ~42C, load 56C.

My Video Card would reach ~80C load (Far Cry) with the previous arrangement, it tops 68C now.

It just proves the importance of keeping a steady airflow around all the components, front to back.

Indeed. I have not done anything to the southbridge yet, but I have a nice short heatsink to go on there at some point (off the northbridge of an old MSI K7D master dual athlon board, but with the fan taken off the top). Just have to find some pins. Doubt I'll ever go SLI, but if I do this won't obstruct anything. I don't think it's really necessary to do anything with the southbridge, but if I have the heatsink here then why not.

I have very low rpm front and rear 120mm fans, which by themselves may not be adequate, but an 80mm blowhole fan at the top makes up for it - I can see by the dust around the grilles on the side of the case that plenty of fresh air is being sucked into the case...

The memory modules may just catch some air from the fan suspended over the northbridge, so that's good too

 

[Xyleene]

Originally posted by: Shampoo

Try one stick of ram?

LOL, I can't believe it but it worked! After removing a stick it booted with the 'your bios seems corrupt.. reverting back to factory defaults' message. And away we go.

Thanks for the advice I guess, based on half of the posts here referring to ram issues I should have tried this!

I suggest a 'new??' rule of thumb for the p5n-e:

"When in doubt, fiddle with the RAM"

Cheers,

Xyleene

EDIT: After it booted fine.. I put the second stick back in and everything seems a go.

 

[beatnut2]

Hi all! Been reading for a while but only just got the guts to join.

I need a bit of help

I'll start with my OC settings...

E6600 @ 3.2GHz
FSB - Memory Clock Mode = Unlinked
FSB (QDR) MHz = 1600
Mem (DDR) MHz = 800
Multiplier = 8

VCore Voltage = 1.4v
Mem Voltage = 2.013
NB Core Voltage = 1.393v
VCore offset Voltage = Auto

RAM @ 800MHz 4-4-4-12 2T

From what I've been reading 1:1 ratio is what should I trying to get, I'm happy with trying to get a stable 3.2GHz. So far things seem fine, stress tested with prime95, memtest86, and 3dmark. Temps under 100% load are:

CPU 36 °C (97 °F)
Core #1 42 °C (108 °F)
Core #2 41 °C (106 °F)

The problem is that in XP and Vista, 'System Properties' shows my CPU running at 3.6 GHz. So does Memtest86, Core Temp and 3dMark06. Core Temp shows the Frequency at 3600.11 MHz (450.01 x 8.0).
But the BIOS, CPU-Z, and Everest Ultimate show it correctly at 3.2 GHz. hmmmm... ????

Anyone know what the deal is, could it be my overclock settings or using the 8x multiplier?

Also I'd be greatful for a bit of help fine tuning my voltages and oc settings.

Thanks allot

 

[Blieb]

I've been stable for over a week now! woohooo!

The memory at 890 was the key I believe, since I'm running 4 sticks. I still have the Mushkin suggested ram settings ... voltages are all within manufacturer tolerances ... though set manually so I "know" what they are instead of leaving it to auto ...

Thanks a friggin' ton! I'm gonna keep checking to see how the board evolves ... hopefully they can get some things worked out in future bios releases ...

 

[Tuvoc]

Originally posted by: Blieb
I've been stable for over a week now! woohooo!

The memory at 890 was the key I believe, since I'm running 4 sticks. I still have the Mushkin suggested ram settings ... voltages are all within manufacturer tolerances ... though set manually so I "know" what they are instead of leaving it to auto ...

Thanks a friggin' ton! I'm gonna keep checking to see how the board evolves ... hopefully they can get some things worked out in future bios releases ...

Is that these settings at 890:

tCL 5
tRCD 4
tRP 4
tRAS 12
CMD 2 Clocks

tRRD 3
tRC 28
tWR 6
tWTR 11
tREF auto
tRD 5
tRFC 42 to 62
async latency auto
and memory voltage of just greater than 2.1V

 

[Blieb]

I'll check tonight and post bios settings ...

 

[Chabu]

I finally got my system fairly stable with the 0608 bios. I set my mem to 867 and hard set the timings (factory default) and it's voltage to 2.08. It would bsod and hardlock at 800. My only problem is that when I add another 2 sticks of the same RAM, Vista 64 crashes on boot. I have yet to get it to work in with a variety of bios and have all hotfixes installed. Any suggestions? Should I hard-set the northbridge voltage and , if so, to what setting?

 

[Tuvoc]

I run Vista x64 here with 4x1GB. You're aware of the memory hole between 723-838 where it won't boot with 4x1GB ? I run 711 at 4-4-4-12 but equally I have set it to 860 at 5-5-5-15 and it works fine also. My northbridge is at auto and memory 2.08. I'm not sure what to suggest - maybe try 667 or something and see what happens, and try to work up from there ?

 

[Chabu]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Ya, I'm kind of at a loss. I may try some other memory settings. I'm aware of the hole and decided to try the upper side (867) first and it was smooth with the 2 sticks installed. I made an assumption that it may be something else as I'm getting the same symptoms as before with 4 sticks installed. I've already swapped around the sticks and verified that they all are good via memtest. Perhaps, your memory has a bit more tolerance than my cheapo G.Skill...hmm. I'm open to any suggestions before ebaying the mem and buying more expensive mem.

 

[JustaGeek]

Chabu,

Try to increase the NB voltage to 1.56V. Also, set the memory voltage just 1 notch above, even if it is above the specs, e.g. 2.17V. You can try to set your CPU voltage manually, too - I run mine at 1.3V only.

Good luck!

 

[Chabu]

I was a little concerned raising the NB to 1.56v as it gets so darned hot. Are you running at that setting with stock cooling? I'm running unlinked as well, so that's why I left the cpu at auto but I'll give that a try too.

Thanks