The Unofficial ASUS P5N-E SLI 650i Board Thread

[JustaGeek]

I would strongly recommend using the AWARD flash utility, either with a floppy or a bootable CD, as described here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=y&keyword1=award+bios

Good luck!

 

[Robohl]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
I would strongly recommend using the AWARD flash utility, either with a floppy or a bootable CD, as described here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=y&keyword1=award+bios

Good luck!

Thanks, I totally forgot about bootable CD even though I just went from 0608 back to 0401 last week by CD

 

[kscd]

Originally posted by: Robohl


Leaving the cards in or out shouldn't make a differents, but since you have irq issuse's leave them out during reflash and put one of them back in, with a boot to windoze to let it get configured and then the other card.
Put the X-FI in the bottom pci slot and the wifi card in the top one.

I don't think you can boot to windoze if there is no graphics card. Its seems more like you bios is somewhat courupt.

Hope this explains enough, just let me know if theres anything i missed or dont understand.

Thanks very much, I think I'm going to reflash version 0401 without the PCI cards in then.

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
I would strongly recommend using the AWARD flash utility, either with a floppy or a bootable CD, as described here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=y&keyword1=award+bios

Good luck!

That was a really helpful thread, bookmarked! I will do it the Floppy disk way as I'm more comfortable with that, and those extra commands look extremely useful.

So, before I do it, it IS possible to reflash to the same BIOS, and using the /CC command means that I won't have to switch the jumper or remove the CMOS battery?

Thanks for all your help so far Robohl and JustaGeek

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: kscd

Originally posted by: Robohl


Leaving the cards in or out shouldn't make a differents, but since you have irq issuse's leave them out during reflash and put one of them back in, with a boot to windoze to let it get configured and then the other card.
Put the X-FI in the bottom pci slot and the wifi card in the top one.

I don't think you can boot to windoze if there is no graphics card. Its seems more like you bios is somewhat courupt.

Hope this explains enough, just let me know if theres anything i missed or dont understand.

Thanks very much, I think I'm going to reflash version 0401 without the PCI cards in then.

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
I would strongly recommend using the AWARD flash utility, either with a floppy or a bootable CD, as described here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=y&keyword1=award+bios

Good luck!

That was a really helpful thread, bookmarked! I will do it the Floppy disk way as I'm more comfortable with that, and those extra commands look extremely useful.

So, before I do it, it IS possible to reflash to the same BIOS, and using the /CC command means that I won't have to switch the jumper or remove the CMOS battery?

Thanks for all your help so far Robohl and JustaGeek

I would still do a full CMOS reset with battery removal, 10-15 min wait and pressing the Power button to drain the capacitors within that 15 min wait.

Just to remove all the doubt in case of potential issues...

 

[kscd]

Brilliant thanks. So I remove the battery AFTER the BIOS has flashed successfully? Simply shutdown after flash, remove battery as you explained, then restart, edit settings in BIOS and bingo!...?

EDIT: I know this is real basic stuff now, but I'm having one of those days where you have a fuzzy head and you begin to question everything twice over. Being a student I really can't afford to screw up this Mobo!

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: kscd
Brilliant thanks. So I remove the battery AFTER the BIOS has flashed successfully? Simply shutdown after flash, remove battery as you explained, then restart, edit settings in BIOS and bingo!...?

EDIT: I know this is real basic stuff now, but I'm having one of those days where you have a fuzzy head and you begin to question everything twice over. Being a student I really can't afford to screw up this Mobo!

Correct.

1. Shut down after the flash and remove the power cord.
2. Remove the battery.
3. Move the jumper from pins 1-2 to pins 2-3.
4. Wait 10-15 min, press the power button a few times to clear the capacitors.
5. Move the jumper back to pins 1-2.
6. Re-install the battery, plug the power cord in, turn on the PSU (if applicable).
7. Turn the computer on, enter the BIOS, and do all the manual settings necessary.

Most important manual settings:

Memory voltage.
Memory timings - especially the command rate at 2T.

Set to Manual overclocking, Unlinked, and set the frequencies manually, e.g. 1066 CPU, 800 RAM.

Good luck!

 

[Umbriel]

I have a strange problem. I've been running my E6300 at 2.8GHz for a while, I thought it worked well in the beginning, but I get a freeze that can only be resolved by a hard reset after a few hours of (EverQuest 2) gaming.
So I put on some passive cooling on the (south or north?) bridge that didn't have any, no change.
So I tried to clock a little lower, here comes the strange thing, any lower setting than 2.8GHz makes my computer freeze at startup (when I log into my account, before messenger starts I believe) 2 out of 3 times or so, once I get it up and running everything is very stable and no problems whatsoever. But why does it freeze and make me restart sometimes?

 

[JustaGeek]

BIOS 0401 is the best one for your CPU. Flash it as described above.

Try even 0202 if necessary.

Make sure that your memory voltage is set properly, increase slightly above specs if necessary.

If the freezes still occur, relax the memory timings to 5-5-5-15, make sure it is run at 2T command rate.

Good luck!

 

[kscd]

Flashed BIOS exactly as described, everything went fine.

Booting into windows with the two PCI cards removed gave me only once less error for PCI Slot 3, but still errors for slots 5, 6 and 7. Upon reinstalling the X-Fi and Wireless, all 4 errors are back.

Ah well, looks like its back to the drawing board! Really thought the BIOS upgrade would sort it. The comp is running solid at stock so will just keep it like that. It's just that nagging at the back of your mind that it isn't running perfectly that bugs me. Especially if i do need to overclock in the future. I'll continue to look for the solution though, just not as a priority

Oh well! Really appreciate the help everyone!

 

[JustaGeek]

I think it is the memory - if a case is well ventilated, and you have a fan on the Northbridge, increase the NB voltage to 1.56V and see if that helps.

Otherwise, try running only a single memory stick, and run Orthos for 1 hour on each single stick, possibly Memtest too.

Install a fan blowing on the memory modules - I have an 80 mm fan attached with the strap to the main PSU cable (the one with the 24-pin connector). This should eliminate the possible memory overheating issue.

Good luck!

 

[VirtualKnight]

I wonder why they go into trouble to publish new versions of the bios when they are actually worse than the previous ones.

 

[Robohl]

Originally posted by: VirtualKnight
I wonder why they go into trouble to publish new versions of the bios when they are actually worse than the previous ones.

I believe that if you have a new 1333Mhz Cpu or Vista hibernation problem or 4Gb Ram, the newer Bios might help.

But just like you I think it's a joke when such a International company cant get things right and are just worried about the newest mobo out.

I do understand business ethic's in the computer world, but support for older boards should still remain a priority to keep loyal customers confidence up.

 

[tvdang7]

does this board support the new 45nm cpus that come out next year or is that x38 only

 

[JBDan]

Just got this board and I love it. Very stable from the get go (BIOS 0703) and have done no OC'ing yet. Just wanted to give a tidbit of info if your using a G0 stepping E6X50 CPU. I have seen very little info on the web about default vcores for theses cpu's. I know most here are diehard oc'ers, but for those seeking silence and low temps the G0's run with very little Volts at their default speed. Currently my E6750 is @ 1.185V @ 2.66GHz. Temps run (core temp 0.95.4) 36C idle to 47C orthos load (ambient is 24C). Using a SI-128 SE with 900rpm fan. OK srry got off topic my question is: is the 0703 not the bios I want when I OC? Do I want 0608? Thanks in advance

 

[Robohl]

Originally posted by: JBDan
my question is: is the 0703 not the bios I want when I OC? Do I want 0608? Thanks in advance

Yes the 0608 is better than 0703 for OC'ing as 0703 has major problems but I'm not sure if 0608 supports E6750 fully.
If you check out Asus website and cpu support page it should tell you which bios has the required micro code update to run your CPU.

Ok, I just checked and you can use 0608 and above, so go the 0608 and push that proc hard

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: Robohl

Originally posted by: JBDan
my question is: is the 0703 not the bios I want when I OC? Do I want 0608? Thanks in advance

Yes the 0608 is better than 0703 for OC'ing as 0703 has major problems but I'm not sure if 0608 supports E6750 fully.
If you check out Asus website and cpu support page it should tell you which bios has the required micro code update to run your CPU.

Ok, I just checked and you can use 0608 and above, so go the 0608 and push that proc hard

Thank you so much! I shall push it!

 

[dac2u]

I've read through many, many, many posts trying to figure out an answer to why I'm unable to OC stably past 1000 FSB.

My specs:

Windows XP 32-bit
E2160 @ 2.25GHz
P5N-E SLI 0608 bios
1GB Patriot Extreme Performance 2x512MB 4-4-4-12 2T @ 2.17v
XFX 8800GTS 320MB
COOLER MASTER eXtreme 500W
Single SATA 320GB HDD
2xCD/DVD Drives

Everything runs stable at 1000 FSB and even the MEM is set to 1000 and it runs great, I've had some BSOD's earlier, but since I downgraded to BIOS 0608, I haven't seen a single BSOD. If I set my FSB to 1332 and my MEM to 800, a couple things can happen; it stalls at the Windows loading screen or it makes it into Windows, then freezes within 15 seconds. After a restart it tends to freeze up during the POST and even when I go into the BIOS, I usually have to turn the computer off for a couple minutes and quickly get into the BIOS to change the FSB back to a lower setting before it freezes on me. Or clear the CMOS.

If I try just about anything above 1332, it won't even POST. I'm leaning towards the RAM as the problem, since it's not in Asus' QVL for this board. However, I've read about other people using similar memory and not having any trouble OC'ing. I've also thought about the PSU being the culprit to my lame OC's, but it runs two rails at 16A each and that seems to be more than enough for my simple setup. Is there a way to determine if my PSU is the problem?

I built this computer late last month and have been searching for answers almost daily since then for why I can't achieve comparable OC's to what everyone else seems able to get. Any ideas?

Here are some things I've tried so far:

Set timings manually, 4-4-4-12-2t and 5-5-5-15-2t @ 2.17v and 2.259v
I've tried setting my MEM speeds to 667MHz instead of 800.
I've tried different FSB speeds from 1000 all the way up to 1700 using 10-20 increments.
Also tried 1700 FSB and 850 MEM for a 1:1 ratio, doesn't post.
I've tried another PSU, it was a 430W ThermalTake, I know the wattage is low, so I disabled everything I wasn't using just to see if it would let me OC, no go.
Everything under CPU Configuration is disabled, Spread Spectrums are disabled.
I have a decent heatsink on the SB and a large fan pointed to the NB, the NB stays at 40C idle and goes up to around 47-48C under load. I have NB voltage set to 1.393 in the BIOS and have tried 1.5xx with no new results.
I let memtest86+ run through a few times and had 0 problems.

That's about it for now. Please help =)

 

[Robohl]

Hi dac2u

have you tried higher Cpu voltage?

Have you disabled all the things you don't need in bios?

try 1333 fsb unlinked 800 mem, cpu 1.3625V, NB auto and leave your ram at 2.17v 4-4-4-12-16 2T

you might need to use up to 1.45v for the cpu, my old E4300 needed 1.45v @ 3000Mhz.

My ram is not QVL so I don't rely on that, And if you have run memtest with no errors it shouldn't be the problem!

Also remember that not all CPU's are created equally regarding OC'ing, nothing's guaranteed

 

[dac2u]

It's amazing what a difference 1Mhz can make. So, I made the changes you suggested and the computer is now running at 3GHz, I'm running Orthos and haven't had any trouble for 26 minutes and counting. I'm gonna let this run while I watch Cable Guy, then I'll start playing some games on it. Thanks for your help. =D

One thing, you suggested I set my RAM timings to 4-4-4-12-16, where's the 16, the next option on my Memory config list only goes up to 15.

Again thanks for your help.

 

[Robohl]

Originally posted by: dac2u
One thing, you suggested I set my RAM timings to 4-4-4-12-16, where's the 16, the next option on my Memory config list only goes up to 15

Sorry, 16 is TRC. but if you've got it going you probably don't need to change it.
If you get a error in orthos just bump the cpu voltage up another notch.

Yeah this board is so quirky, I have tried everything possible to get above 3Ghz with both my old E4300 and my Quad but it's not happening

Glad to help, Good luck

 

[dac2u]

Thanks again, I'm now running my e2160 @3.0GHz and my ram at 1000MHz (200 over it's stock speed), I love Patriot memory. Anyway, I think I figured out what part of the problem was. Whenever I would change any settings, then save and exit, it would restart and not post. I found out that if I turned the power off, start it back up, go directly into the BIOS and save and exit again, it would restart and post correctly. It's strange, but it works. Hopefully, their next BIOS update will fix some of these issues.

 

[Robohl]

Good job to get the Ram to run at 1000Mhz, did you have to relax the timings to 5-5-5-18 ?
Must be micron d9 or similar chips.

Thats interesting with the power cycling, hopefully that might help me

 

[dac2u]

Nope, timings are still at 4-4-4-12-2t @ 2.179v

Tom's Hardware said they got it up to 1200 but they upped the voltage to 2.4. I don't want to push it too far and I don't want to keep powering off and on every 20 seconds, so I'm leaving it where it's at for now.

 

[Robohl]

Mate, great sticks alright.

I just tried the power off theory and I still can't get higher than 1333FSB

Just tried my Ram as well, managed 950Mhz @ 4-4-4-12 2.179v or 1100Mhz @ 5-5-5-18 2.179v but according to my everest scores 800Mhz is still better for me.

oh well it was worth a try

 

[AMelbye]

I'm currently running sync mode, having the FSB at 1600, and the RAM at 800. I know the computer is fairly stable at 2000FSB/800RAM, but it's not rock solid. It's also unstable at 1066/800 1333/800 etc. basically anything that's not sync mode causes random freezes, blue screens or reboots.

Now I've been trying 1700FSB/850RAM, but it crashes. 1800/900 crashes as well. this regardless of voltages, and even with very relaxed ram timings. Do you have any idea which frequencies might work? I've seen people taking this ram to 1GHz, and I don't really believe it can be crapping out at 850 with 2.3V, when it's stable at 800 with 1.9V.