The Unofficial ASUS P5N-E SLI 650i Board Thread

[Jeremyczu]

I Also have flashed my BIOS in windows! You guys rock!

For a while, I was getting scared that I would have to buy another board to run my new chip. Now the fun begins.....

By the way, if anyone is interested in seeing some benchmarks and/or overclocking results on the new 1333 bus chips, just leave a post on what you would like to see, and I'll give it a shot. I ordered mine on the first day the chips were available (standard newegg shipping)

 

[Lokan]

Good to hear. Enjoy the new processor. My trusty 6600 is doing just fine

Let us know how it runs!

 

[Shampoo]

I agree with you guys on the lower voltage giving lower temps, but I would have to disagree with you guys on lowering the voltage below factory defaults.

There's a reason why certain cpus have certain voltage ratings.

I know mobile processors clock down with speedstep and the voltage also decreases according to clock speeds, but trying to overclock while lowering your voltage isn't a good thing.

Your cpu needs the juice to function properly.

1.35v max Intel says for all recent Core 2 Duo's. Going below this is alright since it's a max, but trying to overclock and lower your voltage below factory defaults is the most likely reason why you are having boot issues.

I also always try to find the lowest possible voltage my cpu will run at, at any given overclock speed, but I don't try to overclock and lower my voltage.

Your cpu isn't getting enough juice.

 

[Tuvoc]

If your CPU has headroom to overclock without increasing the voltage, then chances are it also has the headroom to leave it at stock speed and undervolt it. It's a good tactic if you want an ultra-quiet system as heat is reduced and you can get away with very slow CPU and system fans

But agreed, I personally wouldn't be lowering the voltage AND overclocking at the same time. OK it would work up to a point, your mileage may vary....

 

[Feek]

My BIOS upgrade went well, but I'm still getting the problem of Vista locking up or blue screening on boot unless I let it go through the whole memory test when starting from cold

 

[Tuvoc]

When you say "go through the whole memory test" how long is that ? I don't recall mine doing that for more than a couple of seconds. Is there some sort of fast boot option in the BIOS - I can't remember

 

[JustaGeek]

BIOS 0202 would set the voltage of my overclocked (2.925GHz) CPU to 1.3V, and I had no issues whatsoever until I updated to 0608. It still works perfectly fine playing the most intensive and CPU consuming games.

If the machine performs perfectly stable, I cannot see what damage might occur to "undervolted" CPU.

See the specs for the "grandson" of E6600 - E6850 (9x266 versus 9x333)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...E16819115028&Tpk=e6850

Voltage: 0.962V-1.350V.


1.35V is not the standard - it is the maximum specified/allowed voltage.

 

[Lokan]

My BIOS upgrade went well, but I'm still getting the problem of Vista locking up or blue screening on boot unless I let it go through the whole memory test when starting from cold

Sounds like something has corrupted Vista. I know it's a silly question, but does the system boot into a safe mode? I've recently switched from Vista because I was tired of the "inconsistencies" of the OS, so I don't troubleshoot it nearly as much as I did XP.

 

[siraskalot]

Hello, This might be a nub question but.

I recently got a P5N-E SLI from a friend and I bought a 6750 the other day. It came across my mind that the bios might not be compatible with the CPU. If was to put the CPU in, would it even post or allow me to flash it with the new bios, Or would i have to purchase or borrow another processor to flash the bios.

Thanks in advance

 

[Leiw]

Originally posted by: siraskalot
Hello, This might be a nub question but.

I recently got a P5N-E SLI from a friend and I bought a 6750 the other day. It came across my mind that the bios might not be compatible with the CPU. If was to put the CPU in, would it even post or allow me to flash it with the new bios, Or would i have to purchase or borrow another processor to flash the bios.

Thanks in advance

Hello,

Yes you will be able to use the CPU correctly
I installed my 6550 with the first bios and it booted up.
However the bios showed my CPU as a 591 Mhz Core 2 Duo ^^
I installed a fresh copy of windows (it wasn't slow or anything) and updated with ASUSUpdate because I couldn't update from USB Stick
I suggest you upgrade to the latest bios asap so that the processor is detected correctly.




Ok now to my setup

C2D 6550 2,33 Ghz (7x333)
Corsair CAS5-6400 Ram (5-5-5-18) 4-4-4-12 also works no problem
MSI Geforce 7900 GS
X-FI Gamer

For cooling I'm using a 9500 Zalman on the CPU
NB -> Zalman NBF47
SB -> Zalman NB47J



The Zalman on my CPU is running at full speed (max rpm) and I haven't found any option where I can set a fixed value (yes it's a 4-pin PWM fan)

Also I really seem to have some problems with getting it stable beyond any stock setting (maybe because of FSB Holes?)

Upped NB to 1,5, left cpu at 1,35
Tried this :
400x6 -> Freeze inside windows or not even booting
400x7 -> Same


Should I up the cpu voltage? Should I go for a higher FSB sicne some peopel reported that 400 didn't work for them?


Thanks for your help

 

[Lokan]

Originally posted by: siraskalot
The Zalman on my CPU is running at full speed (max rpm) and I haven't found any option where I can set a fixed value (yes it's a 4-pin PWM fan)

Also I really seem to have some problems with getting it stable beyond any stock setting (maybe because of FSB Holes?)

Upped NB to 1,5, left cpu at 1,35
Tried this :
400x6 -> Freeze inside windows or not even booting
400x7 -> Same


Should I up the cpu voltage? Should I go for a higher FSB sicne some peopel reported that 400 didn't work for them?


Thanks for your help

Short answer? Yes. If you're having stability problems like that and higher FSB settings won't work, you need to up the vcore on the cpu. Also, what do your ambient case temperatures look like? I really can't hear my 9500 over my 8800's fan when I game, but I don't believe its running 100% all of the time. Make sure the fan is plugged into the correct power pins on the motherboard. The closest pins (if the PCI-E slots on to the left when you're looking down) that are beneath the cpu and to the left aren't the CPU pins. The CPU power pins are to the right of the 775 slot.

 

[Leiw]

Hello Lokan, thanks for answering

Well it looks like it wasn't a stabilty issue after all, I put the vcore at 1.3525 and NB 1,5xx
With a FSB of 450 (1:1) the computer booted up and I ran Orthos for 1hour stable

I guess there really must be FSB holes
And sure dude there's only one 4pin connector on this board, can't miss it


Here are my temperatures in Everest when overclocked (3150 Mhz CPU 900 Mhz RAM)
(PC Wizard and Speedfan show pretty much the same):

Idle

MB 34°C/91°F
CPU 35°C/93°F (core 1 22° core 2 19°) ~65°F


Load

MB 38°
CPU 43° (core 1 36° core 2 33°)


Temperature inside my room are 20-25°C (there's always some fresh air coming inside)


I'm a bit scared that these values may be false ? Or can a Zalman really cool down the temperature to such a decent level? Especially Northbridge (that's what MB means?) since pretty much everybody said it would become damn hot.


Since you also have an 9500, do you simply "let it run" or are there any options you can configure in the bios? Like setting it to run at a fixed rpm value etc. Because I have the impression mine varies from 2000 rpm to 2500 rpm , and since I prefer a silent computer I'd like to set it <2000 rpm (it should only affect the cpu temperature by 2-3° other people reported)

 

[Lokan]

Leiw,

I don't personally trust Everest. It gives me incorrect readings in a couple of fields (of the many, but still). I've been using CoreTemp and/or Speedfan to gauge thermal levels and like the CoreTemp interface the best. As for the results being false, I wouldn't think so. If you look at my signature, my temps are lower than yours during idle (yet at load, mine are 5 degrees higher, maybe Video card?).

The Zalman is a great cooler; and to answer your questions, I just "let it run". With my case set up and the sheer amount of CFM's my fans are pushing/pulling, I don't believe silence would be a realistic goal. I'd check my NB temps for you but I'm currently in a new install of linux and haven't setup and thermal monitoring apps yet, sorry!

I would check a couple of different programs to ensure Everest is giving you the most accurate results. If all the apps are in agreement, then you appear to have the makings of a nice, stable overclock.

 

[paulbmurdaugh]

Problem:
When using two sticks of T800UB1GC4 (1GB each) in dual channel my box routinely hard freezes. Longest it has gone without freezing is about 48 hours. Have tried all voltage levels from Auto to 2.25. Have tried auto bios timings that put the memory at 5-5-5-25. Tried Default DDR-800 speed and many different 1:1 fsb speeds from 1333 to where I currently have it at 1424. Also could only get the Rated timmings of 4-4-3-8 to work at 2.01V and manually changing the TRC up by 1 tic from what the bios defaulted it at.

Orthos (and everything else including memtest) runs fine with out errors. But it will hard freeze in orthos (or anything else) or at idle at random times. Sometimes within a few minutes after a reboot and sometimes up to 48 hours after a reboot.

Temps. Mother Board 28C Idle. 30C Load
CPU 28C Idle. 37C Load
Core 1/2 28C Idle 46C Load
GPU 1 (8800 GTS) 51C Idle
GPU2 (7800 GT) 53C Idle.

I am certain it is a ram problem at this point. I RMA'D the ram at the request of SUPERTALENT after describing the problem to them. While watiing on the new sticks I used 2GB of low end SUPER TALENT RAM that is rated at DDR-800 5-5-5-15 and does not have heat spreaders. With this ram in (two weeks total) I never had a single hard freeze/reboot/blue screen etc.... And I was able to run this ram at 4-4-3-8 1T DDR 712. My only issue with the cheaper ram that was in there was that it had no head room for higher overclocks.

I now have the new paid of T800UB1GC4 (Note: this are the same as T800UX2GC4 but not a 'Matched Pair') installed and the freezing has returned. the Manufactor Date is week 27 2007. I had originaly received this ram from a Local Shop that sold me the ram/cpu/motherboard. This is why the second set is also not a "Matched Pair" because the original set was also not a matched pair.

My question is...
Is there a known Incompatibility between this ram and the P5N-E SLI? Could the problem be that it both sets were not matched pairs? (Note the low end Super Talent the loaned me until the RMA came back was also not an official matched pair but worked great)

Are there any known tweaks to the Sub Timings (Or any other settings) with this RAM to get it working without the Freeze ups?

 

[Lokan]

Paul,

Is this info correct from your sig?
"2x SUPERTALENT 4-4-3-8 2.2V T800UB1GC4 (running 1:1 4-4-3-8 1T) "

If so, try changing the "1T" to "2T". My windows was horribly unstable trying to use the 1T timing.

Also, what power supply are you using?

And finally, does it become unstable if you're NOT overclocking?

 

[drextremeops007]

I have just gotten this mobo as a combo with the c2d e6850. I am planning to run this with the 2GB of Crucial Ballistix RAM. Will there be any issues that I might have to face with?

rest of the pc specs if it matters
bgf geforce 7900
onboard sound
samsung 500 gb sata
samsung sata dvd burner

 

[paulbmurdaugh]

>> Is this info correct from your sig?
>> "2x SUPERTALENT 4-4-3-8 2.2V T800UB1GC4 (running 1:1 4-4-3-8 1T) "

Yes... This info is correct. It is however just one of many settings I have used with this ram. All having the same Lock up Problems. For the first two months of trying to figure out what the problem was I was using 2T Timmings. I didnt swtich to the 1T until I had the low end SUPERTALENT ram in the system and was seeing how far I could push them. Although I was able to push them to the point that Orthos would fail and memtest would fail I never once got a hard lock up with them like I do with the T800UB1GC4 sticks. This was the best setting I came up with for the Low end SUPERTALENT memory and it ran completly stable with no lockups or problems of any kind for the two weeks I was waiting for the replacement sticks. I tried setting this back to 2T with the T800UB1GC4 and got a hard freeze again 2 hours later. I am currently in the middle of a test where I noted all the subtimings in Everest and then went into the bios and added 1 to each one of them to see if it would still freeze. Been three hours since I did this so wont really know if this did fix the problem until at least 48 hours go by without a freeze as it has never under any settings made it longer then that with this RAM in it.



>> Also, what power supply are you using?

I am currently using a NEO HE 550. Prior to this power supply I was using an ANTEC True Power 480. I have also swapped the NEO HE 550 with another box I have that uses that same power supple but the Freezing problems stuck with this box. (Other box is an AMD X2 build).



>> And finally, does it become unstable if you're NOT overclocking?

I have also tried running NON OVERCLOCKED for a couple of weeks with the exact same lock up problems. Started with all auto settings witch put the CPU at FSB 266/ CPU@2.4 and the memory at DDR2-800 5-5-5-25. Everytime it would freeze I would change a setting. Starting with the Voltage. Moving from Auto to 2.25 one step at a time. 2.25 Caused blue screens as windows boots so was completly unusable. Other settings from 1.9 to 2.15 (ish) didnt seem to make any difference. Running the ram at its rated speed of DDR2-800 4-4-3-8 @2.2 is complety unstable. Had to back the voltage down and had to add 1 to the tRC subtiming to get it stable. But even then it would still randomly freeze up.

 

[Jeremyczu]

I have just gotten this mobo as a combo with the c2d e6850. I am planning to run this with the 2GB of Crucial Ballistix RAM. Will there be any issues that I might have to face with?

Other than jealousy, there shouldn't be any reason at all that you would have issues.

One suggestion though, save your time on trying to get a high overclock on your ram and enjoy!

By the way, I'm interested to see what kind of benchmarks you get with your setup- I'm getting the 6750 and I've got a 8500 gt 256MB card.

 

[JustaGeek]

For all those who had trouble using the AWARD BIOS flash utility, please read the following article - I think that I have just solved my cold boot issue by re-flashing the 0608 BIOS:

http://www.lejabeach.com/Guide/awardbios.html

I used the command line:

A:\AWDFLASH P5NESLI.BIN /py/sn/wb/cc/cp/cd


The only problem is that I renamed the 0608 file to P5NESLI.BIN in Windows. When I tried to use the AWDFLASH, it gave me an error "File not found".

I ran: A:\dir command, and it showed me the files AWDFLASH EXE and P5NES~2 BIN.

I used the "rename" command in DOS:

A:\ren P5NES~2.BIN P5NESLI.BIN

After that all went smoothly.

Why is it important to use that utility with the old-style floppy drive...? Because it has all these switches! Read what they do:

/CC - to clear CMOS after reflashing. This option comes in handy when there is a risk that the data arrays created by new BIOS version in CMOS may differ from those former ones. If so, then you are likely to have troubles with the mainboard startup. Clearing CMOS will let you avoid searching for Clear CMOS jumper on the board, which is really helpful if it isn't accompanied with a proper manual or is simply hard to access.

/CP - stands for clearing PnP (ESCD) Data matrix after BIOS reflashing. The information about PnP devices is stored in ESCD. The key /CP is an equivalent to Reset Configuration Data in PnP/PCI Configuration CMOS Setup. It makes sense to use /CP if you skip several versions of BIOS or if you have installed new PnP cards. If you don not update the ESCD, your board may suffer some startup problems.

/CD - stands for clearing DMI Data pool after reprogramming. Literally, DMI is a data base, containing all the information on the system as a whole. Clearing it may be fruitful in the above mentioned situations with /CP and /CC keys, as well as if some of the system components have been changed.

I hope that it using AWDFLASH has solved my startup problem, as described above. Haven't suffered boot failure since yesterday, but only time will tell...

 

[Tuvoc]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek

I used the command line:

A:\[/b]AWDLASH P5NESLI.BIN /py/sn/wb/cc/cp/cd

Yes, good tip
On one of my old Dual Athlon boards, the recommended flash command line ahd the following switches:

/sn/py/cc/cp/f

 

[JustaGeek]

Yup. The switches are the key.

There is more data to clear in BIOS than just the CMOS, and it is all important for proper functioning of the whole system.

 

[Feek]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
Yup. The switches are the key.

There is more data to clear in BIOS than just the CMOS, and it is all important for proper functioning of the whole system.

What were the startup problems you were having?

Ever since I got this board I've had problems of it not cold booting correctly. The OS would start to load and then either blue-screen or lock solid.

My solution was to turn off the quick boot to force a slow memory test, that seems to have worked but it's frustrating to have to wait for it to boot from cold.

I just flashed from 202 to 608 (I don't have a floppy drive so did it from within Vista) and still have the same problem.

 

[JustaGeek]

So you have the same problem I had, most likely with clearing PnP (ESCD) Data matrix (/cp) and clearing DMI Data pool (/cd).

There was a long time between 0202 and 0608.

I would recommend getting a Floppy Drive, or try to use the CD Drive.

http://www.lejabeach.com/rhcf/biosguide.htm

Good luck!

P.S. And remember to do all the settings manually, even the FSB and memory frequency (turn on the Manual Overclocking, even if you enter e.g. 1066 and 800), voltages, memory timings etc.

 

[Feek]

OK, I created a boot CD with the flash routine and the BIOS file on it and reflashed using the switches. I then reset the BIOS settings as they should be and will test it over the next couple of days, thanks

 

[JustaGeek]

Cool!

After clearing the CMOS remember to enter the BIOS and "Load Setup Defaults", "Save and Exit", and only then re-enter the BIOS and set everything manually.

Good luck!