# THE Asus Rampage Formula/Maximus Formula/P5E Deluxe/P5E Thread



## ericeod

As promised, I am now attempting to update this thread (well really just this first post for now)

*Sister threads:*

RPIJG's Asus Rampage Formula (X48) Thread

TheNix's Asus Maximus Information and Help area thread

JoshsPC's The "Official" ROG Asus Rampage Formula(X48) Club

*Mar 16, 2009*

Updated drivers and bios:
ASUS Download page or use ASUS ftp site main or ASUS ftp site alternate to download all the latest drivers and bios.

*Bios:*

Rampage Formula 0803 dated 2009/02/25

P5E Deluxe 0304 dated 2009/02/25

Maximus Formula 1302 dated 2008/12/10

P5E 1201 dated 2009/02/25

*Drivers:*

These are drivers/software for the SupremeFX II audio that are far superior then those available at ASUS (Courtesy of Chris Ihao)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
...Head down to http://www.arc.com/sonicfocus/support.html for better drivers for that card.

*Added March 27, 09:*
One thing I recently found out though. If I prevent the blackhawk part from loading, through msconfig, it works even better. The part to block from loading is "sonic focus effects". Should work well. The drivers are adjustable from the vista playback devices menu's. Eq and all. The graphical interface still is a bit bugged, even if its better than the ones you find on the asus homepage.


Updated Blackhawk Drivers

Quote:


Originally Posted by *advanceagent* 
ARC International was acquired by Virage Logic so the Blackhawk drivers have been moved to here. Eric can you update the link on the first page? Just in case someone is looking for it, like I was. Thanks


Intel 9.1.0.1007 Chipset Drivers XP/Vista 32/64

Intel RAID driver revision 7.8.0.1012 dated 11/25/2007 (these have been the most stable. The newer ones have been causing HDD issues)
32 bit
64 bit

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Must read links:*

Rampage Formula article at Anandtech:
ASUS ROG Rampage Formula: Why we were wrong about the Intel X48
Pages 3-9 of the article will prove to very useful to those wanting to know about specific bios settings, chipset strap, relationship between the NB and memory, as well as memory timings (both primary and sub).

Thread about degrading 45nm CPus due to high vcore:
Is your 45nm degrading?

XS thread debating Loadline Calibration and 45nm CPUs:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...5nm+LLC&page=2

XS Rampage Formula thread with reports of idle (but not during load) crashes with LLC enabled on 45nm CPUs:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...light=45nm+LLC

Here is the Intel paper were vdroop is specified
http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/designguide/313214.pdf

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Some of the advanced bios settings explained:*

These advanced Bios settings really helped me bring stability to the system: AnandTech

*FSB Strap to Northbridge*: Unlike older chipsets, performance hits of using the higher MHz Northbridge straps are virtually non-existent. Synthetic latency and read figures across any of the 266/333 or 400 straps are almost identical. There are small variances in overall stability, for quad processors running over 400FSB - the 333 and 400 straps worked better for us. For benching with dual-core CPUs, we found the 266 strap allowed us sufficient overhead to run the board up to 550 FSB. Between 550-575 FSB, we were limited to the 333 and 400 NB straps depending on memory timings. The 200 NB setting offers inadequate FSB potential to consider it worthy of use with Intel's latest processors.

*PCI-E Frequency*: If the ICH9R SATA ports are used then a setting around 115 MHz is safe, though scores do not seem affected by the minimal 15MHz overclock. We noticed anything over 118MHz would cause problems with the drives or even the POST routines. Benchmarkers as usual are best off using an IDE drive, turning off all the peripherals, and then trying to maximize the bus speed.

*NB Staps and Dividers*
266::: 4:5/2:3/1:2
333::: 1:1/5:6/5:8/1:2
400::: 1:1/3:4/1:2

*RAS To RAS Delay*: The BIOS generally defaults to 4 for this setting; for benchmarking, we have used 3. At high FSB speeds, a setting of 5 may provide more stability with the counter effect of a small loss in performance.

*Row Refresh Cycle Time - aka TRFC*: For benchmarking TRFC can be set as low as 45-50; if shooting for stability values of 60 and above are fine. A lower setting gives big gains in bandwidth and can affect benchmarking scores quite drastically.

*DRAM Static Read Control*: This function is best set to 'Disabled' for overclocking. We could not substantiate any significant memory bandwidth or latency gains using the 'Enabled' setting. Further, setting 'Enabled' may actually hinder overclock success.

*AI Clock Twister*: We recommend use of the "Strong" setting wherever possible. Setting "Weak" reduces overall bandwidth and access latency.

*Transaction Booster*: Ranges here are from 1-7 (1-3 are usable changes in BIOS), with either the "Enabled" or "Disabled" setting. A setting of 1 with "Enabled" selects the default tRD level for the NB strap and memory divider combination. Each digit increase to the Transaction Booster with the "Enabled" setting will subtract 1 from Performance Level, providing us with higher memory bandwidth and lower access latency. The "Disabled" function inreases tRD (tRD +1) and/or tRD phases with each additional digit over 1, meaning an upward scale increase or boost is less aggressive with Transaction Booster set to "Disabled".

*AI Clock Skew Channel A and Channel B*: Timing unison between both channels of memory is essential for stability. PCB trace length variance between Channel A and Channel B can lead to an offset of signaling between both Channels. Delaying Channel A or advancing Channel B may be required to realign clock timing at high memory speeds - thus improving stability. Generally, we used either a delay of 50-100ps on Channel A with Channel B set to "Normal". Alternately, we can advance Channel B by 50-100ps with Channel A set to "Normal". Users may need to experiment between various levels of "Skew" to find optimal settings.

_Voltages_

*CPU PLL Voltage*: Scale range is 1.5-3V in 0.02V increments. Stock is 1.5V, and although overvolting can bring increases to FSB limits, we do not recommend using past 1.75V for long-term use.

*FSB Termination Voltage*: Voltage scale runs from 1.2V-2V. Quad-core CPU overclocking is especially dependent upon VTT and GTL voltage ratios. The max is 1.50V. Update: 45nm CPUs need to keep this voltage below 1.4v.

*Loadline Calibration*: Available options are Auto, Disabled, and Enabled. Use enabled when OCing 65nm CPUs and Disabled when OCing 45nm CPUs. The 45nm CPUs can become unstable and even degrade if running LLC with the vcore near its max of 1.3625v. This function reduces Vcore voltage sag.

*CPU GTL Reference*: This setting is a derivative or ratio of the applied VTT voltage. A setting of 0.63x provides the most headroom for overclocking quad-core processors.

*Northbridge GTL Reference*: A value of .67x generally provides the best level of stability on this motherboard.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*65nm Quad core OC bios settings:* Q6700 at 423 FSB (RF bios)

_Note that I am able to run the ram undervolted at 1.8v. Many of you will be using ram that requires 2.1v to run at DDR2 1066 speeds._










Note there are different Transaction Booster settings for the X48 bios. So these settings are for the Rampage Formula and the P5E Deluxe bios. All voltages are universal throughout the X38 and X48 DDR2 line:










When dialing in the ram, start with 5-5-5-15-auto-65









Note when dialing in an OC, set the Transaction Booster to 10









This vcore and FSB Termination Voltage are for a 65nm quad. For 45nm quads, try to set vcore around 1.3625v (can go higher in bios as long as actual in windows is no higher the 1.3625v) and FSB termination voltage to 1.30v (1.4v and higher are considered dangerous for the CPU)









--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*65nm Dual core OC bios settings:* E6600 at 450 FSB (P5E bios)
Stable OC at 3.6GHz @ 1.384v vcore. I used an x8 multi with a 450 FSB.










Here are the bios settings I started with:














































I was able to get the board 7hrs stable Orthos at 515 FSB x7 multi at 3.6GHz with the ram 1:1. I needed to increase NB voltage to 1.43v (1.41 crashed after 4+ hrs). I set the ram to 5-5-5-15 2T, but have since run memtest stable at 5-4-4-14 2T.










---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*45nm Quad core OC bios settings:* Q9550 at 472 FSB (RF bios)
_Special thanks to rx7racer for these screen shots!_

Original post:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rx7racer* 
Well, I cn show you pics of my bios, how far you trying to go?





































You can see the affects the Pull-ins have on the Transaction Booster (tRD) Common level. They lower the tRD by 1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Nov 5th, 2008

airick13 and others have brought it to our attention that the Ballistix ram are not running very well with the ASUS boards, so consider this if you are having issues with your Ballistix, or are thinking of buying them.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *airick13* 
I flashed my Maximus Formula from bios 504 to 1207. It gave me the 5 seconds until reboot notification. Upon reboot it did not post. Only when I bought some new ram would it boot perfectly fine at the rated speed.

So I think it's safe to assume these are incompatible with Maximus Formula bios 1207. (I wouldn't use them on this board period. Just to be safe as I had problems getting them to run at 1066 as intended.)


*Note the following ram are giving these boards problems for many members on OCN:*
1. Crucial Ballistix 2x2Gb
2. 2x2Gb Dominator 1066
3. 2x1Gb Ballistix Double sided (some, not all are reporting booting issues with these)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Update April 02, 2008
Motherboard overvolting ram verified*

Special thanks to *Karl eller* for the post on vdimm points. I used my Fluke 177 digital meter and read the yellow and one of the blue marked readout point from his post.

When I set the vdimm in bios to 2.16v, I get a reading of 2.21v from the multi meter. Then, when I set the vdimm to 2.18v in bios, I get a reading of 2.238v on the meter. And finally, when I set vdimm to 2.2v in bios, I get a reading of 2.25v on the meter. This makes it very hard for those without a multimeter to know the true vdimm.

I did find that my 1.40v vcore set in bios, which loads into windows at 1.38v as shown in CPU-Z, actually is 1.376v when metered while running Orthos.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Update Mar 28, 2008
Please see this post were all credit
is given for this info. I just rewrote/organized it for clarity.*

_*Disclaimer: Attempt this at your own risk*_

*Flashing your P5E or Maximus to Rampage Formula*

First Copy down your bios settings. They will change their order in the new bios, so make sure to label the settings.

Quote:

1. First download the USB Boot drive creator "HPUSBFW"
2. Then download the boot files and extract them to a folder of your choice

3. Run the HPUSBFW program.










Select the correct USB device from the drop-down menu, set file system to FAT32 and check Create a DOS startup disk.

4. Then browse for the extracted boot files (now in the folder of your choice) and press start to begin formating it.

5. Once the device is done, Copy AFUDOS (note that this is the engineering version and must be used) and the latest bios you want to crossflash, and unzip it to the USB drive. Then rename the bios to *new.rom*

6. You will then restart and go into bios to load default bios options. Then set the ram voltage and reboot (plug in the USB drive into the back USB port at this time). Then, while the PC is booting up, press F8 to enter the boot option. Select the USB drive.

7. At the C: type *afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n*

8. The bios will then begin flashing. Dont do anything until the bios is finished flashing and you are instructed to reboot.

9. Finally, shut down and CLR CMOS.

If for any reason you want to revert back to the original bios, just copy your original bios to the USB drive, rename it to original.rom, and flash with
ie. *afudos /ioriginal.rom /pbnc /n*

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get all your OCing programs used in these screenshots at the Downloads section maintained by an amazing OCN member: mega_option101

CPU-Z
Prime95
RealTemp
CoreTemp
Everest Ultimate 4.6
Memtest

There are also many helpful files attached ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼


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## cerealk1ll3r

May I ask what BIOS you are currently using? Also, being new to overclocking and all, I wasn't quite sure which was the setting for the FSB







RAM divider. Do make sure to stay away from the 0405 BIOS though, as it messes with voltage settings.


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## XxSilent22xX

The P5E Is a Very Well rounded board and a very good one for the price infact! but with all things there are cons and one of them is the VDroop on this thing Which i will help you correct this

*1. Tools & Preparation*
- Pencil for the mod (Soft Pencil Is Preferred But #2 Works)
- Picture To Locate where to Place Mod
- Light (If you Cannot See)

*2. Step's For Mod*
- ***Turn Off PC!!!!*** I cannot Stress This enough as people have tried this while the pc is running!!
- Remove Side panel & Locate the Capacitor
- Once Located Draw a Line Across The Top **ONLY*!*
- 3-5 Pass(s) should Do The Trick To Fix Droop. (_More Or Less Strokes May Be Needed_)
- Replace Panel & Boot Pc.
- Check Cpu-z for Voltage If It Is Still Under Repeat Steps.
- Run A Stress Program And Check Voltage While Under Load You Do Not Want Voltage Going Past What You Have Manually Set In BIOS.
- If To Much Graphite Is Applied Wipe off with finger and try again.

*3. Tips & Recommendation*
- Like Stated Before You Do Not Want Voltage Going Above What Is Set In BIOS.
- Office Depot, Office Max, Arts & Craft's These are great stores to find a soft pencil.
- Be careful to not Press too hard on Compacitor (people Have Broken Them)
- Too Much Graphite Or Broken Off pieces can short the board!


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## ericeod

Edit: Aug 10, 2008
The ICH 9R/10R 64 bit drivers have been added to the first post.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
For those wanting to RAID with this board, attached are the drivers needed during OS installation. For Vista, you only need to put these on a USB drive or on a CD. If you have XP, you will need to either load these from a floppy, or slipstream them with the installation disk.

note: These are the RAID Drivers for Intel's ICH8R and ICH9R southbridge chip.

The Intel driver revision is:
7.8.0.1012 dated 11/25/2007


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## cerealk1ll3r

Has anybody tried using the 0502 BIOS? It seems to get good feedback from the guys at xtremesystems. I use the 0501, and for now, it seems to work fine, except I can no longer enable speedstep as that option has mysteriously disappeared from the BIOS.


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## yomama9388

ericeod finally got rid of his 680i? wow I never thought the day would come









I'm interested to see how that board performs because I am going with either a dfi lanparty or the asus p5e


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## cerealk1ll3r

I think that this board performs pretty good, but as I have not had any prior experience with P35, I cannot say whether or not it is a better overclocker. But if you do plan on going X38, the P5E is pretty much the cheapest board out there, and it is almost exactly like the Maximus Formula. So far, I've gotten to 3.6Ghz easily. The PCI 2.0 is a plus, however I have not taken the time to compare whether the full 32 lanes show an improvement in performance. If you feel like splurging a little bit, go spend the extra $20 and get the Maximus Formula.


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## XxSilent22xX

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cerealk1ll3r* 
Has anybody tried using the 0502 BIOS? It seems to get good feedback from the guys at xtremesystems. I use the 0501, and for now, it seems to work fine, except I can no longer enable speedstep as that option has mysteriously disappeared from the BIOS.

im also useing the 501 bios as the 502 bios is just 1. Finetune CPU temperature detection algorithm so if you badly need that then update to bios 502 unstill then bios 501 is working just fine and i suggest waiting for a update that is more important..

Quote:


Originally Posted by *yomama9388* 
ericeod finally got rid of his 680i? wow I never thought the day would come









I'm interested to see how that board performs because I am going with either a dfi lanparty or the asus p5e

Well me and ericeod are both working on this as we have the same board and proc so when we compile some good overclocking information on this board will post it up here for you and others


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## nitteo

I have this board as well and have a P5K and a P5K Deluxe Wifi/AP mobo to compare it too. Will post comparisons up.

Nice job Ericeod!


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## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *yomama9388* 
ericeod finally got rid of his 680i? wow I never thought the day would come









I'm interested to see how that board performs because I am going with either a dfi lanparty or the asus p5e


Yeah I decided to move when the 680i support for the quad 45nm was shot down. I never used SLI and I needed something that was future proof. But I like this ASUS board, I havent had that much time with it though.

I've only had it up for 3 days, and didnt really tweak it until last night. I literally spent all day on Friday reading evey forum and review on the board before I attempted my first OC. I was suprised how little voltage the FSB and northbridge needed to reach 450 FSB. At this point, I dont know what the X48 chipset will offer over this one.


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## ericeod

I've seen many posts asking the difference between the x38 and P35 chipsets, so here you go:

Source: X-bit labs










Quote:

The newer chipset acquired XMP (Extended Memory Profiles) technology support. It is somewhat similar to Nvidia EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles) Intel introduced for DDR3 SDRAM. In fact, it implies SPP extensions with information needed to use these memory modules for overclocking needs. Corresponding profiles added to the SPD bear the info on frequency, voltage and timings settings.

These are about the only differences between X38 and P35. However everything we have just mentioned turned out more than enough to require significant changes in the North Bridge of the new core logic. Of course, it affected the heat dissipation in the first place. The Intel X38 North Bridge features 36.5W typical heat dissipation, while the same characteristic for Intel P35 equals only 16W. Although the new chipset is manufactured using pretty up-to-date 65nm production process, the high TDP forced Intel to equip the chip with the same type of a heat-spreader lid that we have only seen on CPUs and server chipsets before.

Intel X38 chipset costs $50, which is about $20 more than the price of Intel P35.


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## JustMe2

3.4ghz on siggy rig, except Ballistix 6400 2x1
8x425, ram was 5-5-5-15 1021

I dont know how much moving from 2gigs to 4gigs is going to hender my oc. I'll prob have time to play with it Monday.

Edit: Using 0501


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## cerealk1ll3r

When I went from 2x1 to 4x1 Ballistix, for some reason I wasn't able to tweak out my RAM as much after that. I can't OC the ram past 975, and even touching the timings just ends in a BSOD. Anybody else have a similar problem?


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## Emmanuel

Similiar problems here with Lanfest, tweaking single timings results in errors in memtest, tweaking the voltage by setting it to 2.2v results in errors as well, have to leave it on auto...


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## ericeod

I'm running the 502 bios and havent had a problem with the ram yet. I've only tried running them at 900, but I'll crank them up for you guys and see what issues there are.

I will update this post with results.


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## cerealk1ll3r

Instead of increasing the speed, try tightening the timings. I can get my RAM to DDR2-1175 and it will post, but I leave all the timings on auto. Voltage is set to 2.2v. Even touching the clock twister or the boost thingy, I forgot the name, will not post.


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## XxSilent22xX

Well i set my ram at 1066 and set the timing's manually and set the voltage to 2.24 and i ran memtest and did 6 pass's and found 7 error's im still tweaking my ram i havnt had much time to with the holiday here but i dont know if the error's are the actual ram or what.. but im looking into my problem's and all of your's too for solutions and im hoping to find one.. but in the mean time hang with me and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! - XxSilent22xX


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## ericeod

I'm currently running testing at 500 FSB x7 multi = 3.5GHz with only 1.4v to the NB and my ram 1:1.

It is 2 hrs into Orthos, but I will update when I finish all tests. I'm also going to try and lower my chipset vlotage to see how low I can run it.


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## JustMe2

I'm currently testing 400FSB x8 multi=3.2. RAM 3-3-3-10 800 1:1. One hour prime stable.

Mine won't run 3.4 anymore, I'm sad. I can't get it prime stable. I've upped all the volts. Still a no go.


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## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *JustMe2*


I'm currently testing 400FSB x8 multi=3.2. RAM 3-3-3-10 800 1:1. One hour prime stable.

Mine won't run 3.4 anymore, I'm sad. I can't get it prime stable. I've upped all the volts. Still a no go.


I've got to run some errands, but when I get back I'll look at your settings. Post your voltages and FSB/ram settings.


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## JustMe2

Extreme Tweaker 
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual 
CPU Ratio Control : Manual 
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 8
FSB Frequency : 425
FSB Strap to North Bridge : AUTO 
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR2- 425 
DRAM Command Rate : 2t
DRAM Timing Control: Manual 
CAS# Latency : 4
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 4
RAS# Precharge : 4
RAS# ActivateTime : 12
RAS# to RAS# Delay : AUTO
Row Refresh Cycle Time : AUTO
Write Recovery Time : AUTO
Read to Precharge Time : AUTO

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (D) : AUTO
DRAM Static Read Control: AUTO
Ai Clock Twister : AUTO
Transaction Booster : AUTO

CPU Voltage : 1.55(highest I've tried)
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.8(highest I've tried)
North Bridge Voltage : 1.45(highest I've tried)
DRAM Voltage : 2.2v
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.5(max)
South Bridge Voltage : AUTO
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Reference : .63x
North Bridge GTL Reference : .67x
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled 
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled


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## ericeod

Try the below settings for 425 FSB x 8multi = 3.4GHz:

Extreme Tweaker 
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual 
CPU Ratio Control : Manual 
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 8
FSB Frequency : 425
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 400
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: 850
DRAM Command Rate : 2t
DRAM Timing Control: Manual 
CAS# Latency : 4
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 4
RAS# Precharge : 4
RAS# ActivateTime : 14
RAS# to RAS# Delay : AUTO
Row Refresh Cycle Time : AUTO
Write Recovery Time : AUTO
Read to Precharge Time : AUTO

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (D) : AUTO
DRAM Static Read Control: AUTO
Ai Clock Twister : Strong
Transaction Booster : Enabled
Boost Level :0
CPU Voltage : 1.55(highest I've tried)
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.58
North Bridge Voltage : 1.35
DRAM Voltage : 2.2v
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.38
South Bridge Voltage : AUTO
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Reference : .63x
North Bridge GTL Reference : .67x
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled 
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled


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## JustMe2

No-go, locks up about 20 minutes in Prime95.


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## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *JustMe2*


No-go, locks up about 20 minutes in Prime95.


Here is a really good thread that might help you get the quad stable:
Xtreme Systems

Quote:



For best stability, leave strap and RAM frequency to Auto, Disable both speed spectrum settings, Disable RAM Booster and relax to 0 (1~3 as needed for stability, when stable again), Set Ai Clock Twister to Auto or light (for now, avoid "strong", as it will add stress to memory system and become unstable, destracting OC test), Enable Static Read Control. Getting higher FSB out of a quad is gonna need some more PLL and FSB Termination V. Maybe up PLL to 1.712v and FSB Termination V to 1.504v is a good refference point.



Quote:



Each core is slightly different, and as such while a voltage may allow one core to work perfectly, the other core may be too high or too low. You need to find the sweetspot using a combination of vCore, vPLL, vNB and vFSBT...


A stable OC of a Q6600 G0:


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## JoBlo69

i have my quad running at 4.0Ghz stable in my maximus formula. its pretty much the same thing as the P5E.

I can post my bios config if anyone is interested...


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## hermit

what's FSB Strap to North Bridge? at what do i set it up if my FSB is 370?

thanks


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## cerealk1ll3r

FSB Strap determines what FSB







RAM dividers are available, I believe. If your FSB is set to 370, you want to set the strap so your ratio isn't 1:1, unless you like running underclocked RAM.


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## JoBlo69

i have my quad running at 4.0Ghz stable in my maximus formula. its pretty much the same thing as the P5E.

I can post my bios config if anyone is interested...


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## hermit

i thought it was sort of important to run FSB:RAM to 1:1. so right now, yes my RAM is a bit underclocked (740mhz).

so you're saying i should set the strap to 400?


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## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *JoBlo69*


i have my quad running at 4.0Ghz stable in my maximus formula. its pretty much the same thing as the P5E.

I can post my bios config if anyone is interested...


Yes, please post your settings. The votages (all of them) are very important since the GTL voltage can make or break a quad core OC.


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## cerealk1ll3r

When you set the strap, go back down to the RAM frequency, and there should be different settings to choose from. For example, if your strap is 400 then when you go to set the ram frequency you might see different options, like DDR2-800, 975, 1066, etc. Different straps allow for different settings. 400 isn't necessarily the one you need.


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## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *hermit*


i thought it was sort of important to run FSB:RAM to 1:1. so right now, yes my RAM is a bit underclocked (740mhz).

so you're saying i should set the strap to 400?


I would suggest if you are running the ram 1:1 under 400 FSB and underclocked, to tighten the timings for better performance. I dont know if you will get CAS3 out of them, bet you might be able to get 4-3-3-7 timings. I was able to with my old G.Skill underclocked to 760.

As for the strap, these settings are the chipsets latency (similar to ram latency). The higher straps will loosen their latency to allow for a more stable overclock. But I've found with some of the straps, the board will not post. Hopefully this will be worked out with future bios revisions. I tested it before attempting to OC my FSB OC of 515. I kept the FSB at 450 and tried to run the ram at 1066 on the 200, 266 and 333 strap. I basically tried to run the ram higher first to see if it would handle 1066. It wouldnt post, so I ened up using the 400 strap and was 100% stable at 515 FSB with ram 1:1.


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## JoBlo69

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Yes, please post your settings. The votages (all of them) are very important since the GTL voltage can make or break a quad core OC.

I'll get on it... My oc got all mest up when i swapped out my ram...

I need to get some DDR2 800 in my rig to get my save bios setting thing to load correctly... The ram i have in it now isn't cutting it... My board doesn't even post right most of the time... SUCK!!


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## JustMe2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JoBlo69* 
i have my quad running at 4.0Ghz stable in my maximus formula. its pretty much the same thing as the P5E.

I can post my bios config if anyone is interested...

Yes. please.

I got the next two days off i'll play with it some.


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## Q56_Monster

This is my Q6600 OC.

CPU Ratio 9
FSB Freq 400
Dram Freq 800
FSB Strap 400
Vcore 1.49375 (bios setting) Vdroop/Vdrop (1.384 load, 1.432 idle)
CPU ppl 1.62 (1.7 works too)
DramV 2.2
FSBV 1.34
nbV 1.37
sbV Auto
timing Auto

I have this going almost 7 hours too, but don't have a screen shot to show.
This board is an easy Oc'er. I also have the evga 680i mobo, which is very good, but not as easy oc'er as this x38 board.....but it is sli.

Anyway I like this board better. It's more stable and oc's without pulling jumpers, etc....just push start button and you're back in business.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Q56_Monster* 

Here is my Q6600 OC

cpu ratio 9
fbs freq 400
Dram freq 800
fsb strap 400
Vcore 1.4935 (bios) 1.432 idle, 1.384 load (Vdrop/Vdroop)
cpu ppl 1.62 (1.7 works too)
Dram V 2.2
fsbV 1.34
nbV 1.37
sbV auto

You should be able to set your ram to 4-4-4-12 timings. I can run my Ballistix to 4-4-4-14 at DDR2 900 speeds!


----------



## Q56_Monster

Here is my Q6600 OC

cpu ratio 9
fbs freq 400
Dram freq 800
fsb strap 400
Vcore 1.4935 (bios) 1.432 idle, 1.384 load (Vdrop/Vdroop)
cpu ppl 1.62 (1.7 works too)
Dram V 2.2
fsbV 1.34
nbV 1.37
sbV auto


----------



## Q56_Monster

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


You should be able to set your ram to 4-4-4-12 timings. I can run my Ballistix to 4-4-4-14 at DDR2 900 speeds!


Sorry for the 2x post, my wireless connection is slow tonight.

eric, I do run those tracers at their rated speeds/timings, but just not during my prime stability tests. Just learning how this mobo functions.. Will kick it up....

I also have the evga 680i mobo, soon to be the 780i upgrade.

I like this x38 board MUCH more than my 680i, as it OC's so easily.


----------



## Q56_Monster

Here's my P5E in action.


----------



## viceroy

E6420 @450x8 = 3.6 24/7 on my P5E
Ram at 901Mhz 4-4-4-12


----------



## x7337H

anybody use the AI Suite stuff? I tried setting the performance on the AI Gear3 to "Turbo" and it bluescreened my PC...i guess i'll leave it to "High Performance" and overclock manually...


----------



## Sikozu

I installed the AI suite soon after building my pc. However (running 64 bit vista) when the background processes were running, if I typed in any window it would cause the window/application to lock and force me to kill it in task manager. Killing the AI suite processes in task manager made everything right. Stupid buggy software.

I'm yet to overclock yet, sitting at stock but my cpu idle's at room temp pretty much (30) and then on full load its like 42 degrees centegrade.


----------



## cerealk1ll3r

After updating the BIOS, Asus AI Suite was completely unusable. Upon double clicking the application, I got a program error every time. No point using that, just overclock through the BIOS.


----------



## malik22

Hi guys I just got this board with these components
Q6600G0
Asus P5E X38
4gb 6400 800mhz 44412 of corsair
seagate 120gbHD
2 3870
PSU 700 TT Toughpower

To begin with I had problems starting up so I took out 2gb and installed vista 64 without a problem now I havent intsalled anything yet driver or windows update becuase im trying to get the full 4gb working 3gb work without problems but when I put a fourth stick in it doesnt matter which one I get no beep on startup everything else starts up but I just get a black screen I put dram voltage in bios to 2.1 but still a no go the board came stock with the 402 bios.And also another porblem Im having is a message saying no ide H.D.D detected on startup its not a big deal i just press F1 and its start but I would like to know what it is.


----------



## malik22

I fixed the 4gb problem but im still getting no ide H.D.D detected! on every startup any ides what the problem might be?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *malik22*


I fixed the 4gb problem but im still getting no ide H.D.D detected! on every startup any ides what the problem might be?



If you have a SATA HDD connected and not using the IDE on the motherboard, you need to disable the IDE. Just go into the bios and go to on board device configuration and disable the J-micron PATA controller.


----------



## malik22

I fixed that issue one last problem when I boot up from a shutoff pc the 120mm fan on my heatsink will turn on for 2 seconds then shutoff then turn back on like 2 secs after then the pc starts normally.Any Idesas what this could be?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *malik22*


I fixed that issue one last problem when I boot up from a shutoff pc the 120mm fan on my heatsink will turn on for 2 seconds then shutoff then turn back on like 2 secs after then the pc starts normally.Any Idesas what this could be?


I have the same issue. I just atributed it to how the PC starts up with POST.


----------



## malik22

The only issue I have left is no ide H.D.D detected on startup and it prompts me to press F1 any ideas to this problem?


----------



## cerealk1ll3r

Make sure it is one of the boot drives? Make sure all your connectors are secure?


----------



## ericeod

I am attaching the ASUS Update ver. 6.10.02, which is reported to allow backflashing to older bios. Unfortuantely I have no way to test since it doesnt let me load it with Vista 64. This is downloaded from ASUS website.


----------



## binormalkilla

I'm currently running
BIOS 0907
423x8
3.8 GHz
DDR2-1128 5-5-5-12
FSB Strap 400
VCore 1.5000V
VDIMM 2.18
If anyone else wants the rest PM me and I'll post a BIOS photo...can't remember the rest and I'd hate to put out incorrect data...
Another note:
Many of the dividers are unstable after 400 FSB....I have tested 333 and 400, and these are stable......

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I am attaching the ASUS Update ver. 6.10.02, which is reported to allow backflashing to older bios. Unfortuantely I have no way to test since it doesnt let me load it with Vista 64. This is downloaded from ASUS website.























Don't EVEN use that program man! Only flash in the BIOS using the EZ flash tool or use the bootable flash tool.....I've seen WAY too many people make their boards RMA-bound from this....I mean even flashing the BIOS using the non-OS methods still has a chance of a bad flash....something like %10 according to a statement from an ASUS rep I read at XtremeSystems forums....

Quote:


Originally Posted by *x7337H* 
anybody use the AI Suite stuff? I tried setting the performance on the AI Gear3 to "Turbo" and it bluescreened my PC...i guess i'll leave it to "High Performance" and overclock manually...


I would just uninstall it.....it's completely worthless and buggy. Only OC using the BIOS, and I've heard of several people having BSODs in XP and Vista alike from it....PC Probe works great though.


----------



## JustMe2

I cant get my x3220 past 3.2 stable. I've tried everything. Anyway do guys think it would be worth buying another CPU? The new CPU would be a Q9450.


----------



## malik22

Hi guys

I have 4gb of corsair ddr xms2 800mhz When I got my board It had the 402 bios and two stick keept on giving me errors so I updated to 502 same problem so I was about to rma two of the sticks when I found someone on another forum with the same ram and same problem he suggested to use the 107 bios.So I had to downgrade to that bios and since then never got an error in memtest.Now my problem the 4 stick pass memtest a 2.1 vdimm without problem all night I can reboot as many times as I want no problems in game or anything.But when I shut my pc off for the night everytime I try to boot in the morning I get a blackscreen I have to take out one stick its boots perfectley then go into the bios set vdimm to 2.2 shutoff pc put the last stick back in then boot again.Wondering if theres a solution to this problem I have every timing at default 55515 is there something I need to change in the ram settings a timing maybe so I dont have that problem everyday?


----------



## malik22

Well one of my stick is dead so im going to rma a pair but whats up with corsair xms2 ddr 800 and the later bioses on this board i still have 2gb and i get errors in memtest with every bios except the 107 is asus gonna fix this issue.I know its a bios problem since i tested them in an other board and like the 107 bios no errors all night.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *malik22*


Well one of my stick is dead so im going to rma a pair but whats up with corsair xms2 ddr 800 and the later bioses on this board i still have 2gb and i get errors in memtest with every bios except the 107 is asus gonna fix this issue.I know its a bios problem since i tested them in an other board and like the 107 bios no errors all night.


Unfortunately there are still some issues with the bios and ram compatibility. The 502 bios has been great for me. But the 107 is still considered the better of the bios availalble.


----------



## Emmanuel

I am running on BIOS 0502 and I have no errors in Memtest with my G-Skill. Make sure that every sticks is really working, I was tricked by a bad stick and thought my motherboard was bad, well, that stick turned out to deteriorate in the end, showing many errors in memtest, and this time, no matter what test I ran, it would get errors, bought G-Skills!


----------



## x2s3w4

Quote:



Originally Posted by *JustMe2*


I cant get my x3220 past 3.2 stable. I've tried everything. Anyway do guys think it would be worth buying another CPU? The new CPU would be a Q9450.


Have you tried enabling loadline calibration and taken CPU GTL voltage reference and NB GTL voltage reference off auto and set the voltage(.63 and .67)? You might be able to get stable above 3.2 using these.
When I did this I was able to lower my voltage from 1.45 to 1.41 which really helped temps.


----------



## JustMe2

Yes, I have done all that stuff. I got a digi cam, so i'll get bios pics afer work tomarrow.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *binormalkilla*























Don't EVEN use that program man! Only flash in the BIOS using the EZ flash tool or use the bootable flash tool.....I've seen WAY too many people make their boards RMA-bound from this....I mean even flashing the BIOS using the non-OS methods still has a chance of a bad flash....something like %10 according to a statement from an ASUS rep I read at XtremeSystems forums....


Unfortunately, the update utility posted above is the only way to backwards flash to an earlier bios. This is necessary when you flash to a bios that proves unstable for your system.


----------



## binormalkilla

Here I am with my sig rig:
I guess I'll go ahead and add my settings for 3.8 GHz on water with my sig rig:
I'll have some BIOS photos and screens later......

Quote:

Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
OC From CPU Level Up : AUTO
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 9
FSB Frequency : 425
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 400
PCI-E Frequency: 115
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-1133
DRAM Command Rate : 2T
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Precharge : 5
RAS# ActivateTime : 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay : AUTO
Row Refresh Cycle Time : AUTO
Write Recovery Time : AUTO
Read to Precharge Time : AUTO

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : 8
Write to Read Delay (S) : 3
Write to Read Delay (D) : 5
Read to Read Delay (S) : 4
Read to Read Delay (D) : 6
Write to Write Delay (S) : 4
Write to Write Delay (D) : 6
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister : Strong
Transaction Booster : disabled
Relax level: 2 (still testing....causes instability w clock twister ATM with dividers)

CPU Voltage : 1.5000 ( lower may be stable....going for 3.9 ATM )
CPU PLL Voltage : AUTO
North Bridge Voltage : 1.63 (lower may be stable)
DRAM Voltage : 2.16
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.50 (IIRC...)
South Bridge Voltage : auto
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Reference : 0.63X
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67X
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage : AUTO
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage : AUTO
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage : AUTO
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO


----------



## binormalkilla

If you guys have the 0907 BIOS on the Maximus Formula here is my EZ FLash BIOS back if you want it. That's running the above specs....

EDIT:
Yea those anandtech guys must have been smoking crack when they wrote the NBV section of their review......1.63V is WAAAAAAAAAAAY overkill......I bumped it down to 1.50V and it's fine so far.....I'm going to test lower.


----------



## binormalkilla

Ok BIOS screens as promised.....I wasn't too sure of my memory when I posted my settings yesterday...
Still testing lower FSB Term voltage and NBV.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Clock Twister doesn't like STRONG at 400 strap as you've discovered. I can run STRONG at 333 with Transaction Booster at DISABLED/0 or MODERATE at 400 also DISABLED/0.

Why is 0907 a bad BIOS? I'm nervous now! REP+ for the link...

Are you really running PC2-6400 Ballistix at 1128?


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


Clock Twister doesn't like STRONG at 400 strap as you've discovered. I can run STRONG at 333 with Transaction Booster at DISABLED/0 or MODERATE at 400 also DISABLED/0.

Why is 0907 a bad BIOS? I'm nervous now! REP+ for the link...

Are you really running PC2-6400 Ballistix at 1128?


Yea I sold my Ballistix, but I've run them and my Geil Esoteria at DDR2-1128 5-5-5-15 with trans booster set to disabled relax 1 and clock twister set to light. 
I can't run it at disabled 0 ATM.....I'm going to test with subtimings when my G Skill DDR2-1000 5-5-5-15 2x2Gb arrives today. I'll post results with memory benches, etc.

BTW I got the FSBTV down to 1.52V stable for 423 FSB.....any lower and I crash in Prime95 blended after 15 minutes. I am going to test NBV, but it isn't stable at DDR2-1128 with 1.50V. I think I'll end up having to run 1.58-1.60V NBV.........I'll keep everyone posted.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Yes, please let us know what you think about those G.Skills. I own the exact same pair and did some benchmarks (attached)...

Can you please tell me what's wrong with BIOS 0907? I'm currently running that revision and you got me worried by posting the roll-back flash file.


----------



## craptastic7

yeah binormal id like to see what you can do with your new memory. i have almost the same setup and wanna know what i can do to max out performance with this ram.


----------



## Carlitosway

Could someone please help me with some setting for 3.6GHZ


----------



## Emmanuel

400FSB 9x multiplier
Then you have to look for the voltage yourself, only benchmarking and stressing will tell,
also disable CPU Spread Spectrum and PCI Spread Spectrum, EIST, C1E enhanced halt...

I'm currently running my GSkill at DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 1T with transaction booster disabled (relax level to 0).


----------



## ericeod

Good news for P5E/Maximus owners. The board will post with the 45nm Wolfdales using the older 203 bios. This means you can order the P5E/Maximus knowing it will post:
ASUS P5E Forums

Quote:

I may have some good news for you. My p5-e that arrived yesterday from newegg had bios 203, but posted first try with my e8400. At post it gave an error message saying the proc needed the newest bios "to unleash its full potential", then went on to look for an OS. I flashed the bios to 502 from a cd ( it wouldn't recognize my flash drive ), ran memtest with no errors and installed windows. All is well.
Hope it goes as well for everyone else.


----------



## DarkStar189

hey guys Asus just released a new bios today, 0601, anybody give it a shot yet?
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...Language=en-us
i'm still running the bios my board came with, 0203 i think, do you guys think i should get the new version or just leave it alone?


----------



## tjharlow

I'm running 0502 with below system and it's perfect... don't know about 0601


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tjharlow* 
I'm running 0502 with below system and it's perfect... don't know about 0601

I was just going to say the same thing. I'm running 0502 and it is 100% stable. I will keep my eye on it though. I will probably wait for it to be released as a non beta first.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DarkStar189* 
hey guys Asus just released a new bios today, 0601, anybody give it a shot yet?
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...Language=en-us
i'm still running the bios my board came with, 0203 i think, do you guys think i should get the new version or just leave it alone?

Thanks for the ftp site link. I added it to the first post. rep+


----------



## ericeod

I cant find much info on the 601 bios other then a few comments at Xtreme Systems. The 601 bios seems to fix standby issues with the wolfdales:

Quote:



Bios update '0601' is to "Fix system fail to resume from S3 when using production version of Wolfdale CPU".


----------



## Carlitosway

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Emmanuel* 
400FSB 9x multiplier
Then you have to look for the voltage yourself, only benchmarking and stressing will tell,
also disable CPU Spread Spectrum and PCI Spread Spectrum, EIST, C1E enhanced halt...

I'm currently running my GSkill at DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 1T with transaction booster disabled (relax level to 0).


Hey thanks for help me but that settings didn't work for me i set all voltage on
vcore=1.40000
cpu pll=1.58
fsb T=1.38
dram=2.14(i try 2.0 didn't work)
north= 1.35
south= auto

i can run 3.2 no more

the error say error overclocking
may be i have to upgrade the bios my bios is 303
can you give me one more specific settings because im noob on this..PLEASE!!!


----------



## Carlitosway

Quote:



Originally Posted by *viceroy*


E6420 @450x8 = 3.6 24/7 on my P5E
Ram at 901Mhz 4-4-4-12


can i have u setting couse i have the same cpu..... and i can only run 3.2ghz 800mhz ram


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I cant find much info on the 601 bios other then a few comments at Xtreme Systems. The 601 bios seems to fix standby issues with the wolfdales:


il be the guinea pig when i get home


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Carlitosway*


Hey thanks for help me but that settings didn't work for me i set all voltage on
vcore=1.40000
cpu pll=1.58
fsb T=1.38
dram=2.14(i try 2.0 didn't work)
north= 1.35
south= auto

i can run 3.2 no more

the error say error overclocking
may be i have to upgrade the bios my bios is 303
can you give me one more specific settings because im noob on this..PLEASE!!!



I've found with motherboards that the chipsets can be unique, and as such require different voltages to run stable. I would recommend bumping the NB voltage to 1.4v, and if that doesnt work, try bumping the CPU voltage. Then once it is stable, try bringing the voltage on the other back down (whichever one you tried to bump first and didnt work).


----------



## gooddog

caution on other people's settings.
I noticed that I am chasing down what other people have done and found that I often can reproduce the results BUT not necessarily at Prime95 for a couple of hours. So when you see a great overclock and settings you should at least understand if this is stable (a) enough to post (b) enough for everyday casual use (c) enough to pass a prime95 or equivalent torture test.
I think the help here is terrific.


----------



## XxSilent22xX

So far iv been lead to believe the bios 601 is stable and is no longer a beta but i havnt heard anything bad about it so i posted a link to it in my post on the first page.


----------



## marsey99

do you guys think that the p5e would give me much of a boost over my current p5n, and if so how?

thanks.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

No, not on your sigged setup. The P5N-E is a good board for what you have. I had one running an E6750 with fantastic success.

If you upgrade to a quad on the other hand, you'll probably see some overclock benefits with the P5E.


----------



## Emmanuel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Carlitosway* 
Hey thanks for help me but that settings didn't work for me i set all voltage on
vcore=1.40000
cpu pll=1.58
fsb T=1.38
dram=2.14(i try 2.0 didn't work)
north= 1.35
south= auto

i can run 3.2 no more

the error say error overclocking
may be i have to upgrade the bios my bios is 303
can you give me one more specific settings because im noob on this..PLEASE!!!


Hey, those are my settings:
-FSB: 378
-CMOS Ratio: 9
-vCore: 1.38125
-FSB: 1.4v
-RAM: 908MHz
-Timings: 5-5-5-15 1T the rest on auto
-RAM voltage: 2.06v
-CPU PLL voltage: auto
-Loadline calibration enabled
-Transaction Booster: disabled with relax level set to 0
-North Bridge: auto
-South Bridge: auto

Also, I noticed that sometimes, the board will not post with some settings, the way around is to load your BIOS defaults, save, re-enter the BIOS setup and then try your settings again. Because for instance I couldn't run my RAM at DDR2 908 once, the PC would turn on, the fans will accelerate but nothing else. I would force it off, then I would get an overclocking failure upon starting up, and then would load BIOS defaults and enter my new settings.


----------



## Refresh

Anybody know what a safe North Bridge voltage would be for my board? So far its at 1.31, but I want to go higher.


----------



## Carlitosway

Finally i can run my overcklok stable on 3.2ghz ram 960mhz 4 4 4 12
my setting is:
FSB Frequebcy 400 x 8= 3.2ghz
Ram 961mhz 4 4 4 12
Ai clock twister =strong
T Booster=AUTO
Vcore=1.50000v.
cpu pll=1.78
Fsb v.=1.38
Dram v.=2.20
NB V.=1.43
SOUTH=AUTO
CPU GTL=0.63
NB=0.67
CPU AND PCIE spread disabled

run orthos for 7hrs stable
also play my games cod4 and bf2142 stable.
thanks a lot for the help im going to try another frequency later and i let u know guys... thanks again...

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=307208


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Refresh* 
Anybody know what a safe North Bridge voltage would be for my board? So far its at 1.31, but I want to go higher.

can run a 515 FSB at 1.43v to the NB. The board can also do 450 FSB with 1.35v. so I would recommend trying 1.35v and you wont have anything to worry about.


----------



## Refresh

Currently, I have 320FSB


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Refresh* 
Currently, I have 320FSB

Then I dont suspect your NB voltage to be the problem. Ypur instability could be due to ram running impropper timings/voltages, or your CPU vcore is not enough to run your OC. Did you set the load line calibration to minimize cdroop (the voltage drom when the CPU is under load)?


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Refresh* 
Anybody know what a safe North Bridge voltage would be for my board? So far its at 1.31, but I want to go higher.

As long as your temps are good, you can go up to 1.95V if you want. I called ASUS and asked for their info for Inte's specs on the X38 max voltage, and he said that they have 1.95V, which is quite insane.
He also mentioned that the temps will kill the NB.......so keep the temps below 50C and you're all good. Anything higher than that will most likely cause MCH instability.
I have a 120mm fan going over the memory and NB, angled and wedged between the 24-pin ATX PSU cable and my graphics card......

A little update on my settings. I'm stable at 470 FSB for SuperPi 32M (the memory was holding me back before).

I'm going to run Prime95 a little later, but I already ran it for 2 hours and it failed on two cores after 2h15m............but I think that was due to lack of NBV.

My NB is INSANELY voltage hungry, as many others whom I've spoken with at XS forums. I run 1.65V in the BIOS, and anything below that it unstable. I may even need 1.67V to keep stable over 2 hours in Prime blended.....this translates to 1.66V actual.

BTW the key to getting me stable at 470 FSB with my quad is running the AI Clock Twister at light and trans booster disabled, relax 2. This takes quite a bit of memory performance off, but it still ends up being much faster than 423x9 due to the increase in MCH performance through a higher FSB.

*ericeod*: I sure hope the next BIOS allows tRD fine tuning like the Rampage! That will save me from losing all this performance from trans booster relax...


----------



## Refresh

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Then I dont suspect your NB voltage to be the problem. Ypur instability could be due to ram running impropper timings/voltages, or your CPU vcore is not enough to run your OC. Did you set the load line calibration to minimize cdroop (the voltage drom when the CPU is under load)?

Yes, I did that.
Ram is 2.2v @ 1066MHz
E2200 is stable @ 3.18Ghz , not stable @ 3.2GHz


----------



## binormalkilla

Ok here we go 470 FSB rock solid with 1.63V NBV. Higher voltage will cause instability at this FSB, and I'm testing lower in the following days.....however I recall instability below 1.60V using higher memory frequencies with 4 DIMMs, so maybe it will be different with 2x2Gb.


----------



## gooddog

binormalkilla - thanks for all your posts here! I appreciate it!

What is the VID on your Q6600?

I assume that a lower VID is easier to OC? My VID I think is relatively high at 1.35 or so.


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gooddog* 
binormalkilla - thanks for all your posts here! I appreciate it!

What is the VID on your Q6600?

I assume that a lower VID is easier to OC? My VID I think is relatively high at 1.35 or so.

Well let me find out.......not sure, as CoreTemp doesn't work on Vista x64........I have to boot in non-driver signedmode.
You know of another app that shows the VID? I have everest.....sure that has it somewhere.....also SiSoftware SANDRA.....

EDIT:
Nevermind I just rebooted with driver signing disabled. my VID is 1.300V according to CoreTemp.


----------



## binormalkilla

Wow guys........I was playing around with my multimeter on the DIMM slots (haven't found the right pins to measure VDIMM yet) and I had to remove my 120mm fan that cools the memory/NB for a few minutes.
I touched the NB and noticed that it was HOT








So....I checked my temps in Everest and I was reading 51C! This is hotter than I get while running a full on CPU/Cache/memory stress test! I put the fan back on and the temps dropped back to 43C immediately! Needless to say I suggest putting a fan on it somehow.
Here is a pic of my fan. I have it propped up on the 24 pin ATX PSU cable and my graphics card.
I'll most likely have to shift it over a bit when my Xonar arrives back from RMA, as it's substantially longer than the onboard Soundmax riser card.









I'm sure this has a lot to do with being stable with my quad at this high FSB along with the high memory frequency.........that and killing my tRD by relaxing the trans booster setting.......gah we need those BIOS options from the X48 Rampage board ASUS!


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

@ Binormalkilla, go HERE to find the CoreTemp Vista x64 workaround.


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
@ Binormalkilla, go HERE to find the CoreTemp Vista x64 workaround.

Hey thanks man, I've seen that thread sometime, but I don't even use CoreTemp. I use Everest to monitor everything, as I have it going to my G15 keyboard's LCD screen.....


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Hey all, My WC Set-up is finally done so im gonna start to OC very Soon and ill post my results if you all are interested..


----------



## ericeod

I give all credit to TheLegend for this RAID *write caching* setting. To enable it, right click on the RAID volume and select "Write Caching on".

Here is my HD Tach with write catching off (by default):










And here it is with write catching on (as recommended by The Legend):










Again, thanks to TheLegend


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Well I have Came to a Stable OC With these Settings, My Board Seems to like Auto Rather Then What I Put into It Even with Working Settings From another Board But this is what i have..

-FSB: 400
-Multi: 9
-vCore: 1.520
-FSB: Auto
-RAM: 1066mhz
-Timings: 5-5-4-12 2T
-RAM voltage: 2.26v
-CPU PLL voltage: auto
-Loadline calibration enabled
-North Bridge: auto
-South Bridge: auto


----------



## tjharlow

1.52 seems really high for vCore... what are your temps??


----------



## off chops

is it just me or does everyone get massive vdroop. i mean i was expecting some but this is like bios value 1.58 everest value 1.52 then underload it drops to 1.46

i can get in and run cs:s at 3.9ghz (434x9) but i cant get through a 3dmk06 cpu test. ive got 3.6 stable. its all a learning game again lol, i just went from a 680i board this. give me time ppl. lol


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tjharlow* 
1.52 seems really high for vCore... what are your temps??

idle is 32C max load is 58C


----------



## off chops

well i got it to run the cpu test in 3dmk 06 @ 3.915ghz lol, at least its some progress. im gonna run orthos and see how stable it is.


----------



## JustMe2

First night... She's got some left in her.


----------



## Refresh

Nice wallpaper!


----------



## viceroy

I thought I'd just comment on my experiences so far with the 0601 bios.

firstly, I only updated from 0502 last night, but amazingly I'm now able to take my OCZ reapers to 1200Mhz 5-5-5-15 whereas before my system would refuse to post.

Otherwise, stability seems to be just as good as 0502, so I think I'm going to stay on 0601 at least until I find an issue.


----------



## off chops

i havnt had any problems with the standard 203 bios. accept when trying for 4 ghz it wont boot. i like this board


----------



## Boda

I am a first time overclocker but I have such a wonderful motherboard and setup that I want to give this rig a little boost. If anyone could help me with settings and/or advice on what to set bios settings to I would greatly appreciate it. I don't need anyhting that is pushing it's limits but I would like to raise my benchmark tests more. I tried most of these settings in this topic but I cant get them to be stable, so im guessing I have a little bit different setup maybe?

Here is my setup:

Motherboard: Asus P5E
Memory: Ballistix Tracer DDR2-1066 2gigs
CPU: E6850 Core2 Duo 3ghz
PSU: 600 watt
Stock air cooling (2 internal fans, stock cpu fan)

Any help would be greatly appreciated or to even point me in the right direction would be awesome.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Boda* 
I am a first time overclocker but I have such a wonderful motherboard and setup that I want to give this rig a little boost. If anyone could help me with settings and/or advice on what to set bios settings to I would greatly appreciate it. I don't need anyhting that is pushing it's limits but I would like to raise my benchmark tests more. I tried most of these settings in this topic but I cant get them to be stable, so im guessing I have a little bit different setup maybe?

Here is my setup:

Motherboard: Asus P5E
Memory: Ballistix Tracer DDR2-1066 2gigs
CPU: E6850 Core2 Duo 3ghz
PSU: 600 watt
Stock air cooling (2 internal fans, stock cpu fan)

Any help would be greatly appreciated or to even point me in the right direction would be awesome.


Just go to the first post of this thread. There you will find the settings used for a good OC. You can probably just run the multiplier for the CPU at x9 and try a 425 FSB instead of 450. This will give you an effective clock of 3.8GHz. As for the ram, set the FSB, then select the closest ram speed to 1066. Also make sure you have 2.18v going to the ram (the board overvolts slightly and your ram needs 2.2v to run).


----------



## Refresh

Does my mobo have FSB, or is it the same as FSB termination voltage?
Should I raise it at 3.8GHz?


----------



## Boda

Ok so im right now using 8 as the multiplier and 425 FSB thats giving me 3.8ghz when I look in system properties and 3.4 when looking in cpu-z (is that right?). The setting you gave me of 9 and 425 set my cpu at 2.4ghz







I havent gotten the dram working yet overclocked (its still all auto) but ill work on that next. what do you recommend to use to check stability and temperature? thank you for helping me with my first overclock experience!


----------



## Keller22

Ive just built my comp and i cant get it OC to 3.0 stable.Ive had my frineds help and im not to new to OCing but we cant get it.I was hoping one of you can post me a Bios shot of something stable someone elase has used to see if there anything im missing.
My Comp is:
Q6600 GO
Asus P5E X38
4 gb Crucial DDR2 1066 Ballistex
750 watt PCU

I have really good cooling so i know thats not it, im pretty sure its the Voltages i messing up.The ram is being really annoying as well.
ANY help will be very much app as ive spent many hours trying to get it stable.


----------



## hitaris*

First thing first, I stumbled on OCN last month while searching for an overclock guide and started to read some neat information about OCing and thought it would be good to see how my system run on stock with the help of some benchmark tools and I found out that my CPU Temp is way too high when Idle (same thing for when CPU usage goes up).

I took a look at the Temp. via the BIOS (v.0601) (same thing for when i was running on the 0402) and it was around 55c for no reason. I then installed Asus Probe II from the DVD that came with the P5E and it was still around 55c on Idle. I found out about the CoreTemp program at the same time and tried it, on Idle it says that my CPU run at 60c (view IMG). If I fire up Team Fortress 2 (didn't checked with other game/soft) it goes over 70c in ~1min (in CoreTemp). Keep in mind that i haven't OCed anything and that I and others checked if everything in my Case was properly installed. My case isn't blowing hot air and the ambient temp. is around 21c. (haven't opened the side panel to check the temp but I'm pretty sure it ain't "60c" hot)

I know there's a problem with the reading of CPU Temperature on the P5E but could it be that my stock cooler isn't installed correctly? (which i doubt) or ?

If you think the problem is the CPU Temp. reading, should I wait for an updated BIOS? (or downgrade to XXX) can I just RMA/change it for another one? (I've never RMA-ed anything to date). I kind of want to Oc my system a little but not until I get a legit Temp. reading (if that's the case).

Any help would be appreciated!

*Please forgive me for my poor grammar as I'm not a native english speaker*


----------



## tjharlow

I would reinstall the heatsink using AS5 just to rule that out. what heatsink are you using? Please dont' say stock


----------



## hitaris*

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tjharlow* 
I would reinstall the heatsink using AS5 just to rule that out. what heatsink are you using? Please dont' say stock

Yeah... I don't know why I didn't bought an after market heatsink...

Thing is I'm super broke, I won't be able to buy a heatsink before mid-march. I'll either go for a Zalman CNPS9700NT or Thermalright ULTRA-120 Extreme if someone have other suggestion for a HS go ahead..

I'll check if the stock heatsink is installed correctly tomorrow (read: lazy)


----------



## tjharlow

I use Tuniq Tower 120 and it's great. I think the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme performs even better and the Zalman 9700 is not as good as either of those. The stock fan is not idle for the Quad Core even at stock speeds.


----------



## hitaris*

Everything's fine in there, the stock heatsink is installed correctly, and nothing goes hot as I thought even tho Asus Probe II and CoreTemp register a high temperature as soon as I boot my system. That bring me back to my first post but now I know the problem isn't coming from the stock heatsink.

Any help would be appreciated!


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hitaris** 
Yeah... I don't know why I didn't bought an after market heatsink...

Thing is I'm super broke, I won't be able to buy a heatsink before mid-march. I'll either go for a Zalman CNPS9700NT or Thermalright ULTRA-120 Extreme if someone have other suggestion for a HS go ahead..

I'll check if the stock heatsink is installed correctly tomorrow (read: lazy)

Lol...Stock intel HSF. I started out my Q6600 G0 on the stock cooler, it actually stayed under 60C [email protected] 3.0GHz/1.30Vcore with ambient around 75F. I bought the Zalman 9700LED (I like copper) and my temps dropped 18C with the fan on full blast. I got my Vcore lowered to 1.22V @ 3.0GHz now, and the Zalman9700 keeps my quad nice and cool @ 47C on low fan. I hear the ultra120 slightly edges out the Zalman9700, but I don't think that small of a margin of performance is really needed unless you have a D8xx CPU.


----------



## bfgDennis

just got my q6600/maximus formula installed and was wondering where I can get the latest mobo drivers


----------



## XxSilent22xX

hitaris* - Is your Q6600 a B3? (Look in CPU-Z) and even though it is a stock intel heatsink that is too warm did you apply aftermarket past? or did you use the goop Crap it came with?

If that is the B3 your not gonna be able to overclock on the Stock Heatsink At All you could but I HIGHLY Recomend you dont, and if it is the GO Stepping Your Gonna Only be able to overclock it A Little even with aftermarket Past

My Advise is that you for now buy Some Artic Silver 5 and use it on your stock intel heatsink (they sell it at Circuit city where i got mine) apply that for now, then in mid march buy an aftermark Cooler Such as the Tuniq, i dont think a RMA is needed Quads Run Warm Especially on stock heat sink, so for now get some AS5 Then later Aftermarket HS


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bfgDennis* 
just got my q6600/maximus formula installed and was wondering where I can get the latest mobo drivers

Go Here
Fill it out motherboard lga775 maximus formula then click go and it will show you everything for that motherboard including bios updates utilities and other stuff.


----------



## Ravin

Ordered my Maximus Formula today. From what I can tell the only real differences on these boards is the heat sink and dual LAN on the Maximus vs. single on the P5E. Are there any other differences?


----------



## tjharlow

maximus has onboard power and cmos reset and I think has some onboard sensor attachments as well. in hindsight I wish i would have spent the extra 25~ or so and got that instead but the P5E runs like a champ if you don't need those extra features.


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Nope None Really if you take a P5E which is what i have you can take the P5E Sticker off and it says maxium Formula right under it








other than what you stated there is no real big diffrence other then price.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

I think they do that with all of their flagship boards.

In fact, some of the lesser boards can outperform the flagship: compare the P5N32-E with Striker. The former is considered superior, and - again - merely needs to have a sticker removed to "become" a Striker Extreme.

****EDIT: New BIOS for the Maximus: LINK


----------



## tjharlow

what is normal idle and load Northbridge temp readings for this board?

I'm reading the SYSTIN from CPUid's HWMonitor (Assuming thats the NB reading).

I'm idle at 35C and it gets up to 42C during gaming. Anyone know what it's rated for?


----------



## SpaceLover

Hey guys,
A P5E X38 is on it's way while I'm typing, but before I eventually test it:

Check my sig, but has anyone had any problems with the P5E mobo and any of my listed hardware?

thanks


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

No. Looks good. The only thing is you'll probably have to put the X-Fi above the video card if you have a fan on the HR-03+, because it doesn't leave much room on the last PCI slot. Hopefully, you don't have any other PCI cards.

I have very similar hardware, so you can check out my gallery to see how things might fit on your board (some photos are of my P5N32-E, so keep that in mind).


----------



## Refresh

Is the 0907 bios still Beta?


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

No. It's final. 1003 is beta.


----------



## Ravin

Got the board in, OS installed and updated, and BIOS flashed. Time for software installs, then......_OVERCLOCKING!!!!!!!!!!!_









Check out my Maximus Overhaul thread for pics/progress.


----------



## SidewaysBox

Would a ZT nirvana fit on one of these boards? I'm looking into buying a x38.


----------



## bfgDennis

is it possible to run 3.8 on air ?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bfgDennis* 
is it possible to run 3.8 on air ?

With a good cooler, so long as your temps are good. I'm able to stay under 60C at 1.5V 3.6/3.8GHz.


----------



## Refresh

For all you Maximus Formula users, I recommend, you DONT flash to the newest BIOS. Mine has many bugs and stability issues such as more BSODs and in Bios my temps are apparently -15C. Stick with the 0802


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

When you say the "new" BIOS, do you mean 1003 or 0907? I've been using the latter with no problems since December. 1003 is buggy overall, especially for 45nm chips. It does offer more tRFC options, though, allowing you looser timings for 4x1. It also mysteriously drops performance level (tRD) by one, making it almost impossible to POST at your profile settings without dropping transaction booster by one.

Since it's still beta, it doesn't come well recommended anyway. But I've had no problems with 0907 on my E8400 and my QX6700.


----------



## .Sup

Hi,
can i ask for some assistance here?
I increased frequency of my RAM (Corsair Dominator 8500) from 800mhz to 1069 and now i have a problem. When pressing power on, system starts up, then STOPS for about 3 seconds, then STARTS up again. It does this everytime I first turn the power on, then everything runs fine.
I would really like to run it at 1069 as my RAM supports it (1066). Help appreciated.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

.Sup, please fill out your full system specs HERE so we can help you better. Also, please let us know everything about your RAM (timings, voltage, quantity, AI twister level, transaction booster level) and your FSB (speed, voltage).

Assuming you have a P5E or a Maximus, it sounds like you're booting into the POST failure recovery mode, which is a normal symptom commonly associated with too aggressive an overclock or too little power.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
When you say the "new" BIOS, do you mean 1003 or 0907? ...
...Since it's still beta, it doesn't come well recommended anyway. But I've had no problems with 0907 on my E8400 and my QX6700.

I agree. 0907 seems fine to me, I like to stay away from Beta BIOS anyway.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *.Sup* 
Hi,
can i ask for some assistance here?
I increased frequency of my RAM (Corsair Dominator 8500) from 800mhz to 1069 and now i have a problem. When pressing power on, system starts up, then STOPS for about 3 seconds, then STARTS up again. It does this everytime I first turn the power on, then everything runs fine.
I would really like to run it at 1069 as my RAM supports it (1066). Help appreciated.

Make sure that your voltages are manually set. If you are on a Maximus, you may want to set Vdimm 0.05-0.08V low as most formula boards overvolt the Dimm and NB a little. Vdimm for 1066MHz should be in the 2.2-2.3V range. You may also want to check that your timings are set correctly, if not set them manually.

Also what is your FSB at? If your are pushing 400+MHz you will need to up your NB volts too...I need aroung 1.6V NB to be stable at 400x9


----------



## aleiro

I got a p5e with a q6600, everything is perfect except one thing: I have two nvidia cards and on the nvidia control panel it says card 1 is x16 and the other is x8. They are identical 7600GT cards and support x16. So am i missing something?
Thanks


----------



## .Sup

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
.Sup, please fill out your full system specs HERE so we can help you better. Also, please let us know everything about your RAM (timings, voltage, quantity, AI twister level, transaction booster level) and your FSB (speed, voltage).

Assuming you have a P5E or a Maximus, it sounds like you're booting into the POST failure recovery mode, which is a normal symptom commonly associated with too aggressive an overclock or too little power.

Thanks for reply. I filled my system specs, hope its enough cos i'm no expert. Well i powered my system up and it worked okay. Hopefully the problem disappeared (i didn't do anything).

But i still have couple issues. The post screen is searching for installed deviced really long. It looks like it freezes for about 20 seconds when its looking for USB devices (i have an external wd my book 500 gb).

The second problem is the core temps. They are both 45 at idle, dunno how many at load. I'm pretty sure I installed the cooler properly.

Thanks for any help.


----------



## Refresh

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
When you say the "new" BIOS, do you mean 1003 or 0907? I've been using the latter with no problems since December. 1003 is buggy overall, especially for 45nm chips. It does offer more tRFC options, though, allowing you looser timings for 4x1. It also mysteriously drops performance level (tRD) by one, making it almost impossible to POST at your profile settings without dropping transaction booster by one.

Since it's still beta, it doesn't come well recommended anyway. But I've had no problems with 0907 on my E8400 and my QX6700.

I liked the 0802 better. Would a reflash the 0907 help solve the problem?


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

.Sup, that sounds like a long time looking for USB devices. I do know that when I have any USB flash drives in, it takes a LITTLE longer, but not 20 seconds. Maybe you can try turning off legacy USB in BIOS. You'll have to turn it back on anytime you want to drop into Windows safe mode or access that menu, but you won't notice anything else other than that unless you have some really ancient devices.

What is the overclock on your E8400? That's not high unless you're still at stock.

Refresh, when flashing this board, you need to flash @ all default settings (don't worry, it won't overwrite your profile, but there are some minor things your profile doesn't save). If 0802 works for you, there's probably no urgency to move to 0907 unless you're having problems.


----------



## .Sup

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
.Sup, that sounds like a long time looking for USB devices. I do know that when I have any USB flash drives in, it takes a LITTLE longer, but not 20 seconds. Maybe you can try turning off legacy USB in BIOS. You'll have to turn it back on anytime you want to drop into Windows safe mode or access that menu, but you won't notice anything else other than that unless you have some really ancient devices.

What is the overclock on your E8400? That's not high unless you're still at stock.

Refresh, when flashing this board, you need to flash @ all default settings (don't worry, it won't overwrite your profile, but there are some minor things your profile doesn't save). If 0802 works for you, there's probably no urgency to move to 0907 unless you're having problems.

Thanks you my friend! I disabled usb legacy and it loads super fast. What is usb legacy actually for?

I havent OCed my proc yet since I'm a newbie at it and I might ask for some more help here when I do decide to OC it.









I think I'll stay with my current bios atm. Though one of my problems hasn't been solved yet.
My core temps are really high on idle (45*). As I said before I'm pretty sure I installed the cooler properly.

I also installed Vista 1 hour ago. Got an error message instantly and win update froze at 87%









Thank you again for your help, much appreciated!!


----------



## NCspecV81

I've managed to stabalize 525 on the formula, but word to the wise make sure its cool! and keep plenty of air on the NB!

Also I'm using the 0903 bios. the 0907 didn't seem to like my memory settings as much as the 0903 or lower!

here is a screenie with real time voltages. If anyone wants me to go in and lower my multi or whatever and adjust the voltages and upload the file let me know.

http://www.overclock.net/gallery/data/500/8x525135v.jpg


----------



## .Sup

NCspecV81 are those full load temps I see on that pic?


----------



## NCspecV81

Yes they are. I upped the voltage just one tick on the vcore to satisfy my paranoia

I done a quick one with Blend as well just now for 30mins. However, I did do an initial run of 6.5hrs that I have no screen capture of, so here's a short run for you guys. .SUP yes under load.


----------



## .Sup

Very nice then! Have you had any problems with temp reading when you still had the first bios?


----------



## NCspecV81

Quote:


Originally Posted by *.Sup* 
Very nice then! Have you had any problems with temp reading when you still had the first bios?


with the 8400? yes, I hardly pay attention to those readings b/c I idle at 44c on the cores which I KNOW can't be right.


----------



## binormalkilla

I have some new BIOS settings that allow me to run tighter latencies.....I get 9600 MB/s read. I'll post later or tomorrow......my apartment has swallowed my SD card









NVSPec: Great going on that OC man!


----------



## .Sup

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NCspecV81* 
with the 8400? yes, I hardly pay attention to those readings b/c I idle at 44c on the cores which I KNOW can't be right.

I idle at the same temps. And i haven't even OCed. So the new bios didn't help resolving this issue?


----------



## NCspecV81

Quote:


Originally Posted by *.Sup* 
I idle at the same temps. And i haven't even OCed. So the new bios didn't help resolving this issue?

nope none at all. e8400's have a bad dts so no bios in the world is going to fix that unfortunately.


----------



## NCspecV81

apparently these settings allow booting of 550fsb

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=322572

may lower to 6 and see what kinda FSB I can pull.


----------



## binormalkilla

Ok so I accidentally posted this in the new BIOS thread for v 1003 (which didn't really work for me.....)

Quote:

I installed ASUS Update and began to flash the BIOS, but it said that the date was newer on the 09070 BIOS (must lack some sort of official time stamp) even though it clearly shows 02/28 (or so).
I went and back flashed using EZ FLash. WOrked like a charm, but I had to clear my CMOS twice.
I didn't check tRFC, but I guess you guys are right. My modules require a high tRFC (52) for stability at high clocks, so leave it to auto and let the SPD do the work

Ok so here is my latest stability test. I'm stable at 3.8 (maybe even higher), however I want to run a higher FSB for the extra MCH performance. I would like to get 475 stable, but ATM it's hard.....


----------



## binormalkilla

Here's a Memory test suite along with the CPU Queen in Vista x64.


----------



## SpaceLover

Hi everyone!

I think I've found a fsb hole on my P5E-iX38. I can run fine @ 3.8Ghz (1.192v, 400fsb, 400fsbstrap, ramspeed 800Mhz 4-4-4-12:T, NB 1.43v) but as soon as I increase the fsb by 1-20 (401-420), Orthos fails within 3seconds - 90seconds and I'm forced to raise the vcore. I've tried raising the NB voltage, NB GTL Ref, CPU GTL Ref, SB 1.5v Voltage, loosening the ram timings and playing around with the strap but nothing helps. This sucks because now I can't find out how high this proc. will boot and stablize @ stock vcore volts









Does anyone have any tips to help me out of this situation?


----------



## Refresh

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
.Sup, that sounds like a long time looking for USB devices. I do know that when I have any USB flash drives in, it takes a LITTLE longer, but not 20 seconds. Maybe you can try turning off legacy USB in BIOS. You'll have to turn it back on anytime you want to drop into Windows safe mode or access that menu, but you won't notice anything else other than that unless you have some really ancient devices.

What is the overclock on your E8400? That's not high unless you're still at stock.

Refresh, when flashing this board, you need to flash @ all default settings (don't worry, it won't overwrite your profile, but there are some minor things your profile doesn't save). If 0802 works for you, there's probably no urgency to move to 0907 unless you're having problems.

I think my board has faulty temp sensors. With 0802, it would read temps insanely high. With the 0907, it would read temps extremely low.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *binormalkilla* 
Ok so I accidentally posted this in the new BIOS thread for v 1003 (which didn't really work for me.....)






ER....kinda dangerous Vdimm don't ya think...given this board OVs the dimms? I dunno about your board, but ming OVs .1-.12V....making your actual Vdimm...2.5Vish























How's your temps with that clock & Vcore since you have H2O?


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
ER....kinda dangerous Vdimm don't ya think...given this board OVs the dimms? I dunno about your board, but ming OVs .1-.12V....making your actual Vdimm...2.5Vish























How's your temps with that clock & Vcore since you have H2O?

My memory is warrantied for 2.5V, and the actual reading is well below that. I'm testing with lower VDIMM, but I have a 120mm fan on them so I think it will be fine.

BTW voltage sensors read a little high on this board, as I've seen people test the pin out with a DMM.
The hottest core got to 59C on the Everest stress above.......the bottom pic shows my min/max/average temps.


----------



## ericeod

*Update: Mar 02, 2008*
The 602 bios is causing issues with the video card. The problem is with the system accessing the video card's memory. So many are already backflashing to their previous bios.

Quote:

A day after updating to 602 bios, I got a black screen while playing a game. Event Viewer shows: "The driver nv4_disp for the display device DeviceVideo0 got stuck in an infinite loop"

Quote:

Same thing happened to me while playing BF2, driver quit responding, so i flashed back to 601, and issue is gone....

It also looks like the ASUS Bios are now backflashable (previous bios releases would not let you just reflash to an older bios):

Quote:

When I flashed back to 502 from 601 I put it on a USB drive and used the flash utility in the BIOS. Worked fine.

Quote:

Same thing for me,going back to 601 from 602 was not a issue
P5E owners:
Just a heads up, ASUS released the 602 Beta bios on Feb 28, 2008 and is available for download on their site. So it looks like the 601 Beta will never be a final release.


----------



## SpaceLover

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
P5E owners:
Just a heads up, ASUS released the 602 Beta bios on Feb 28, 2008 and is available for download on their site. So it looks like the 601 Beta will never be a final release.

Thanks for the info ericod! What does the bios fix in comparison to the 601 bios? I can't find that on their site..


----------



## ericeod

I honestly dont know what the bios fixes. Unfortunately I'm running Vista 64 and cant use the back-flash utility. So I have to wait until it is out of Beta before I can risk it.


----------



## ElMikeTheMike

Eric, how did you get HD Tach to run on Vista 64 bit? I can't get it to work at all.


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ElMikeTheMike* 
Eric, how did you get HD Tach to run on Vista 64 bit? I can't get it to work at all.

I use Vista x64, and you have to run it in SP2 compatibility mode.


----------



## .Sup

Alright i have a serious problem. When i turn on my PC, all vents start spinning but i don't get any picture and also my external HDD is not responding. I need to press and hold the power button and then turn it on and then it works. But always when i want to power it the first time it fails. I reseted cmos with no effect.
Please for some help.


----------



## ericeod

My board doesnt like to boot if an external HDD is connected and switched on. I dont know why it does this, but it is something I can easily avoid.


----------



## bfgDennis

Im having problems after upgrading bios to 907 my OC is not stable anymore as crysis crashes everytime now

what bios should I go back too, and do I need to boot to dos ?


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bfgDennis* 
Im having problems after upgrading bios to 907 my OC is not stable anymore as crysis crashes everytime now

what bios should I go back too, and do I need to boot to dos ?

Did you clear the CMOS after the BIOS flash? Also are you sure that your actual voltages are the same with the new BIOS?


----------



## aleiro

Is there some place i can look up and see what all the OCing functions do. Like traction boost.. The board is great I'm at 3.0ghz @ 1.21v on a Q6600 G0 stable.


----------



## binormalkilla

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
Is there some place i can look up and see what all the OCing functions do. Like traction boost.. The board is great I'm at 3.0ghz @ 1.21v on a Q6600 G0 stable.

Yep, right here


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
Is there some place i can look up and see what all the OCing functions do. Like traction boost.. The board is great I'm at 3.0ghz @ 1.21v on a Q6600 G0 stable.

Ditched that P5N-E SLI too eh?







3.6GHz was no sweat for me...it was as easy as 1.4000Vcore (400x9) DDR2/800 4-4-4-12, Vnb=1.61V, Vdimm=2.0V. Everything else set to auto.


----------



## aleiro

I was going to get the maximus but i got such a hookup on the P5E i had to get it. I was running 3.4 @ 1.31v but i am moving up slowly so i can learn all the new options

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Ditched that P5N-E SLI too eh?







3.6GHz was no sweat for me...it was as easy as 1.4000Vcore (400x9) DDR2/800 4-4-4-12, Vnb=1.61V, Vdimm=2.0V. Everything else set to auto.


----------



## .Sup

Guys hi, i have a problem. When i turn my pc on all i get is black screen. i cant even enter bios. Took the battery out and reseted cmos and it doesnt help. PLz i need your help!!
Solved (i hope so).
How do you delete messages?


----------



## x7337H

does anybody know about any changes with vdroop and dram overvoltaging in the 601 BIOS?....or any changes in general?


----------



## SpaceLover

Quote:



Originally Posted by *x7337H*


does anybody know about any changes with vdroop and dram overvoltaging in the 601 BIOS?....or any changes in general?


Both are still not fixed... although, the Load Line Calibration works a BIT better. I've never tried any of the other bios's so I can't help you out much there







.


----------



## savnac

Hi all, I just finished my system about a week ago. Since I'm running a 45nm CPU I went ahead and updated my BIOS to 0602 and haven't had any problems. I researched a lot about this Mobo before purchasing any RAM. I am happy to say that the G.Skill PC8000 2x2gb is running perfectly. Below is a preliminary screen shot, I think I still have some room to go (haven't even crashed my system yet).


----------



## CL3P20

Mine is soon to be in the mail on its way from CD! I will make sure to post some max stable FSB's and some suicide runs once it gets here. I am hoping for at least 575mhz FSB, shooting for an even 600mhz.


----------



## SpaceLover

** DON'T FORGET to reset the cmos by means of the switch on the board after updating the bios **

A couple of days ago, I made my first OC blunder. Was Orthos-testing my processor @ 4.5Ghz but didn't give it enough juice so the system rebooted and even the bios needed to recover itself. Afterwards, I entered the bios and immediately realized that I was missing a couple of USB options that were visible with the 0303 bios, and also I realized that my processor wasn't recieving 1.192v @ stock settings anymore, but 1.17v!!!
I get to start all over again testing and retesting my system! A difference of .02v may not sound like much but it gives one a little more OC room! Check this out: 4.1Ghz @ 1.34v!!!!!


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

@ SpaceLover:

I've never done that. At what point do you press it? After flash, the system restarts as normal... so do you press it before the OS loads? Or after? Or when?


----------



## .Sup

It seems there is a fix for E8400 reading wrong temps.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...78#post2809778
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/...7/RealTemp.zip


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

.Sup, good catch. Will try tonight. REP+


----------



## SpaceLover

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
@ SpaceLover:

I've never done that. At what point do you press it? After flash, the system restarts as normal... so do you press it before the OS loads? Or after? Or when?

Right after you flash the bios, reboot and enter bios. Then load default settings. Exit. And shut off computer completely. Remove the power cable, remove battery from mobo and press switch. Leave there 5 - 10 seconds, then press switch back. Replace battery, then power cable and reboot into bios (recommended) or OS.

And that should do it!


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Okay. The step I have a problem with"

After I load default BIOS settings and exit, the comp will reboot... so, how do I get it to stop rebooting?


----------



## .Sup

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
.Sup, good catch. Will try tonight. REP+

Thank you. I tried it and am so happy. It reads 33* at idle and before i had 45. So happy, now i can finally OC.


----------



## SpaceLover

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
Okay. The step I have a problem with"

After I load default BIOS settings and exit, the comp will reboot... so, how do I get it to stop rebooting?

Hold your power button in longer than 3 seconds.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Oh. THAT way. I was hoping you knew some secret way to shutdown from BIOS. Thanks all the same.


----------



## SpaceLover

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
Oh. THAT way. I was hoping you knew some secret way to shutdown from BIOS. Thanks all the same.










Was there a way to shutdown the system from bios!! Hope you also profit from resetting the bios!


----------



## bfgDennis

I was trying to follow the Anandtech article and wanted to see if I can achieve the same setup

here is the link

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3149&p=11

but on my system I can't get a stable 8 x 450fsb
the only stable OC I can achieve is 9 x 410fsb

Im running the 907 bios btw


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bfgDennis* 
I was trying to follow the Anandtech article and wanted to see if I can achieve the same setup

here is the link

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3149&p=11

but on my system I can't get a stable 8 x 450fsb
the only stable OC I can achieve is 9 x 410fsb

Im running the 907 bios btw

What voltages are you running to the NB chipset?


----------



## bfgDennis

CPU Voltage [1.43125v]
CPU PLL Voltage [Auto]
North Bridge Voltage [1.61v]
DRAM Voltage [2.16v]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.54v]
South Bridge Voltage [Auto]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Reference [0.63x]
North Bridge GTL Reference [0.67x]
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage [DDR2_REF]
SB 1.5V Voltage [Auto]


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bfgDennis* 
CPU Voltage [1.43125v]
CPU PLL Voltage [Auto]
North Bridge Voltage [1.61v]
DRAM Voltage [2.16v]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.54v]
South Bridge Voltage [Auto]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Reference [0.63x]
North Bridge GTL Reference [0.67x]
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage [DDR2_REF]
SB 1.5V Voltage [Auto]


Those voltages should work. I would check out Binormalkilla's post and see what his settings are.


----------



## CL3P20

anyone done any latency tests on the straps yet, to determine if there are any 'weak' FSB ranges?


----------



## aleiro

any one know if the thermal compound is any good under the NB SB heatsink? When I had a p5n-e i remounted the NB with antec silver and it dropped by 4-5c, just curious if i can get the same results. Current idle temp for the MB is 31c. I just dont want to rip apart my comp right now for no reason i am starting to hate taking it all apart and putting it all back together.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
any one know if the thermal compound is any good under the NB SB heatsink? When I had a p5n-e i remounted the NB with antec silver and it dropped by 4-5c, just curious if i can get the same results. Current idle temp for the MB is 31c. I just dont want to rip apart my comp right now for no reason i am starting to hate taking it all apart and putting it all back together.

The stock TIM on the Maximus is a bit better than on the P5N-E, but not as good as AS5 or Shin-Eitzu. Word of warning, the Maximus TIM is epoxy based, so it is pretty well stuck on the board. One guy pulled his X38 chip right off the board.

Also note, the heat sink is 2-piece. The top (NB/SB) is what's epoxied on. The bottom (VRMs) uses a non-conductive TIM tape pad. If you replace the TIM on the VRMs I suggest using non-conductive (Ceramique or Diamond) products- AS5 is conductive, and could short our VRM leads if it ends up somewhere unintended.

See my overhaul log for pics of the process and tips.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *CL3P20* 
anyone done any latency tests on the straps yet, to determine if there are any 'weak' FSB ranges?

The latencies are dependent on both your FSB and your DDR divider. Each strap will have different latencies for each combination of FSB-DDR ratio.


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
Word of warning, the Maximus TIM is epoxy based, so it is pretty well stuck on the board. One guy pulled his X38 chip right off the board.

why couldnt i have known this at the weekend as i have done the same







il get pics up soon as


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bitemarks and bloodstains* 
why couldnt i have known this at the weekend as i have done the same







il get pics up soon as

To top it off, I'm pretty sure that heat cures the epoxy, so if you have run your board it may be pretty difficult to remove. I did the teardown before first boot and it was still stuck on fairly well. I used *gentle* pressure with a flathead screwdriver with the DIMM slot as my fulcrum to *wiggle/pry* the HS off *(be careful not to damage the DIMM or PCB!!!!!!)*.

Some posters have reported easier removal by using cold (put the board in the freezer) or heat (hair dryer)- both of which could _potentially_ damage the board.


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
To top it off, I'm pretty sure that heat cures the epoxy, so if you have run your board it may be pretty difficult to remove. I did the teardown before first boot and it was still stuck on fairly well. I used *gentle* pressure with a flathead screwdriver with the DIMM slot as my fulcrum to *wiggle/pry* the HS off *(be careful not to damage the DIMM or PCB!!!!!!)*.

Some posters have reported easier removal by using cold (put the board in the freezer) or heat (hair dryer)- both of which could _potentially_ damage the board.

my board is dead now as i have fully ripped the X38 off the PCB but bnot to worry i have a DFI P35 Dark on its way


----------



## ericeod

It looks like I am finally getting a break from college (currently attend class 6 days a week) with this upcoming Spring break, so I will be able to do some testing this next week.

I decided to try out the new 2x2Gb Ballistix DDR2 800 Cas4 set. I will be comparing them to the $9 cheaper G.Skill DDR2 1000 Cas5 set I am currently running.










*VS*


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bitemarks and bloodstains* 
my board is dead now as i have fully ripped the X38 off the PCB but bnot to worry i have a DFI P35 Dark on its way









Something inside me just died....









The other guy who ripped his NB off the board used crazy glue and RMA to fix his board.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
It looks like I am finally getting a break from college (currently attend class 6 days a week) with this upcoming Spring break, so I will be able to do some testing this next week.

I decided to try out the new 2x2Gb

You are going to like those Crucials my friend, yes indeed.


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
Something inside me just died....









The other guy who ripped his NB off the board used crazy glue and RMA to fix his board.









You are going to like those Crucials my friend, yes indeed.









I could try that but im sure how far il get as all the copper for the traces is hanging out as well but i may give it a go.


----------



## mothow

Anyone know of a list of compatible Heastsinks for this board.I had a Thermalright Ultima 90 on my P5k-E but i cant fit it on my P5E becuse the heatpipe cooling blocks every mounting postion.I could mod the fins on the heatpipe but id rather not.Does anyone know if the Ultra 120 Extremes mounting device works on the Ultima 90. I think the Ultra 120 fits this board .I just bought a XIGMATEK HDT-S1283.I hope this fits and works as good as my Ultima 90.If so i guess ill be selling Ultima.But not here i dont have enough Rep..lol


----------



## tjharlow

I use the Tuniq Tower 120 and it works great, fits perfectly, barely, but perfectly.


----------



## mothow

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tjharlow*


I use the Tuniq Tower 120 and it works great, fits perfectly, barely, but perfectly.


Yeah i was looking at that to.If this XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 doesnt work out that will be my next choice even though i dont like the looks of the Tuniq


----------



## ericeod

With the new ram, I decide to check the votages:

Special thanks to *Karl eller* for the post on vdimm points. I used my Fluke 177 digital meter and read the yellow and one of the blue marked readout point from his post.

When I set the vdimm in bios to 2.16v, I get a reading of 2.21v from the multi meter. Then, when I set the vdimm to 2.18v in bios, I get a reading of 2.238v on the meter. And finally, when I set vdimm to 2.2v in bios, I get a reading of 2.25v on the meter. This makes it very hard for those without a multimeter to know the true vdimm.

I did find that my 1.40v vcore set in bios, which loads into windows at 1.38v as shown in CPU-Z, actually is 1.376v when metered while running Orthos.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mothow*


Yeah i was looking at that to.If this XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 doesnt work out that will be my next choice even though i dont like the looks of the Tuniq


The Tuniq works for me, although I had to bend the capacitors ever so slightly to fit the base. I know someone who uses a Tr120U with no issues. Also, the Zalman 9700 is a go... but I loves me my Tuniq!


----------



## ericeod

here is the latest P5E bios:

605


----------



## mothow

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
here is the latest P5E bios:

605

any word on what it improves


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mothow* 
any word on what it improves

I dont see any difference between it and the 602. But I updated it to check for any improvements to my ram OCing. So far it isnt any better/worse then 602.


----------



## mothow

Hmm im using 601 i didnt i lost a good bit overclocking with 602.I dont know why


----------



## aleiro

I have the P5E and my NB typically runs 31 idle and surfing the net and it has been as high as 36 during prime. Can a few people post there NB temps? The reason i ask is i was going to remount the NB cooler but i dont want to go through the trouble if it is only going to drop one C. 
Thanks


----------



## Refresh

The P5E doesnt have nb temperature sensor....
I get 25C idle 32C load with 1.55nbv


----------



## aleiro

i meant mb temp, it was late sorry

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Refresh*


The P5E doesnt have nb temperature sensor....
I get 25C idle 32C load with 1.55nbv


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

as promised pics of the dead P5E


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Oh, man... that makes for a bad, bad day...

Maybe you can superglue it back on and do an RMA!!!


----------



## tjharlow

yeah.. i hurt for you :-(


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Ouch!!!


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


Oh, man... that makes for a bad, bad day...

Maybe you can superglue it back on and do an RMA!!!


naw the boards already in the bin plus the heatpipe is split but i did that after i realised that there was no way in hell asus would take it back. im not bothered as it gave me a chance to get back to my roots with DFI and hopefully it will stop someone else making the same mistake


----------



## CL3P20

Ouch indeed. Was that removing the IHS on NB that this occured.. or attempting to remove the stock heatpipe assembly?


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

that was trying to remove the stock heatpipe so i could use thermalright gear instead but as you can see the the ihs is epoxied to the heatsink. i first ripped the whole chip off the pcb then i decided to see if i could actually get the heatpipe off but the chip came away from the ihs so much easier


----------



## CL3P20

wowzzers. That is a buzz kill for sure.

If it makes you feel any better, I blew up my ddr3 the 2nd day after I got it from CD.







benching is soo taxing on my hardware.


----------



## zlojack

Dude! That blows.

To get that stuff off of my Maximus Formula I left it in the freezer overnight and the next morning it popped off like nothing....


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

that is what i would have done if i knew it was epoxied, i thought it would have just been standard thermal paste but you live and learn


----------



## zlojack

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bitemarks and bloodstains* 
that is what i would have done if i knew it was epoxied, i thought it would have just been standard thermal paste but you live and learn

That, sir, is the truth!


----------



## Ignis

hi guys, 
I have been having some issues with my board and was wondering if you could help out. I recently put together my build and was running everything great! I installed Vista 64 bit and I had a modest overclock of 3.0Ghz on stock volts. I booted up yesterday and went try Crysis for the first time. I then proceeded to plug in a set of headphones to game. All of a sudden, my audio cut out and when I looked in the system tray, I had a red "x" on my sound. It said that I had "No audio output device installed." Sure enough, in device manager there was no card in my sound device controller section. BTW I was using the SupremeFX II card that comes with the board.


----------



## tjharlow

thats happened a few times with me also on this motherboard with vista64, except I didn't use the SuperFX card, I'm using X-Fi Xtremegamer. Reboot fixed my situation, but I thought it was odd also. Have you upgraded to Vista64 SP1 yet? Hasn't happened since I got the service pack.


----------



## Ignis

Yeah, I rebooted several times, not fix. I really thinks its a hardware issue, as well as the Asus tech who i talked to. I got an RMA and sent it back. I will try to do a clean Vista 64 install, and hopefully, everything will work. Either way, I'll be waiting with bated breath when I get the replacement.


----------



## ericeod

Well I felt like taking a huge chance tonight by flashing my P5E to the Rampage bios. It was actually a painless procedure that took about 5 min! The bios works so far without issues. I can tell you all that the chipset temps are not present, which means the sensors dont exist. But I have all the OCing features of the X48 Rampage. I found it strange that CPU-Z and Everest both detect the board as the P5E, but the bios is detected correctly with the 0219 Rampage bios string:










I did have to disable some of the temp sensor features to keep warning messages from posting about the non-existent sensors making false readings. But the other temps like CPU and MB temps are still working correctly.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Thanks! REP+ for sharing.

I'll probably do this soon since it looks like we won't get much more BIOS support on the Maximus now that the boards are discontinued (1004 might be all we ever get).


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Well I felt like taking a huge chance tonight by flashing my P5E to the Rampage bios. It was actually a painless procedure that took about 5 min! The bios works so far without issues. I can tell you all that the chipset temps are not present, which means the sensors dont exist. But I have all the OCing features of the X48 Rampage. I found it strange that CPU-Z and Everest both detect the board as the P5E, but the bios is detected correctly with the 0219 Rampage bios string:










I did have to disable some of the temp sensor features to keep warning messages from posting about the non-existent sensors making false readings. But the other temps like CPU and MB temps are still working correctly.


what is the benefit of the bios upgrade? I havent really been following the x48 area...


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


Thanks! REP+ for sharing.

I'll probably do this soon since it looks like we won't get much more BIOS support on the Maximus now that the boards are discontinued (1004 might be all we ever get).


did they discontinue the P5e as well?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
did they discontinue the P5e as well?

No not at all, the P5E is still alive and kicking. The real benefit is in the bios. You have the ability to tweak at least 2xs the amount of options as before. So instead of going out and buying the $300 Rampage, just upgrade your bios. it is also worth noteing that it is reversible!


----------



## aleiro

You are a pimp +rep

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
No not at all, the P5E is still alive and kicking. The real benefit is in the bios. You have the ability to tweak at least 2xs the amount of options as before. So instead of going out and buying the $300 Rampage, just upgrade your bios. it is also worth noteing that it is reversible!


----------



## ericeod

*Disclaimer: Attempt this at your own risk!*

Here is how I flashed my P5E with the Rampage bios:

I found out how to get the board to be recogniced as the P5E or the Rampage (your choice) while still running the Rampage bios. You just needed to addrun one of the 2 commands when flashing using afudos.

to keep the P5E board identitly:
*afudos /iRF0219.rom /n*

To change the board's identity to Rampage:
*afudos /iRF0219.rom /pbnc /n*

Here is the link I followed:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=1283

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gurusan* 
There's a thread here:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=179580

Basically, you just need to:

make a bootable USB stick
download this and unzip to usb stick http://rapidshare.com/files/10175302...229ES.zip.html
download this (Rampage 219 BIOS) and put on USB stick http://rapidshare.de/files/38917643/RF0219.rom.html
boot off usb stick using boot selector (f8)
type *afudos /iRF0219.rom /n* or *afudos /iRF0219.rom /pbnc /n* (added by ericeod)
reboot


First make a bootable USB device. Just follow the link at XtremeSystems. Also make sure to check out the link within that link on how to make the USB device.

I noticed when I made the boot device, the actual bootable files you load it with are not visible after making it bootable. What I mean is that after you make the device bootable, you will copy the 0219 Rampage bios and the afudos exe to the device, but will only see those files on it!

Then set your bios to default settings (with the exception of the ram voltage), restart with the USB drive in, and press F8 immediately to enter the boot menu. Then just select the USB drive to boot from and type the command I listed above. It then will tell you to restart your computer.

After that, CLR CMOS and go into the bios. Just make sure to disable the second Gigabit lan (since you only have one) and in Hardware monitor, disable the temp warnings for everything except the MB and CPU. So disable in BIOS the sensors OPT 1/2/3 and any hardware that is not present in P5E....

But everything else is functional in the bios!


----------



## Vitaminx

Woot just bought one should be here in a couple of days


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
Woot just bought one should be here in a couple of days









Make sure to let us know as soon as you get it!


----------



## Vitaminx

will do


----------



## Dolo001

You won't regret it


----------



## aleiro

See this is great, people would dont whine about the P5e you go over to the asus forum and BAM everyone is like "this board should OC itself" or why cant i do this that and the other...


----------



## aleiro

Anyone find using AHCI any better on the P5e than configuring an SATA drive as IDE. I didnt reinstall but i found the registry key you need to edit to force vista to install the drivers... anyway i am not sure how much faster it really is. Anyone use it?


----------



## Dolo001

I haven't tried on mine but im willing to


----------



## aleiro

check this out to edit your registry... i have been making windows search and it is ALOT faster...as always results may vary

http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=288


----------



## SpaceLover

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
No not at all, the P5E is still alive and kicking. The real benefit is in the bios. You have the ability to tweak at least 2xs the amount of options as before. So instead of going out and buying the $300 Rampage, just upgrade your bios. it is also worth noteing that it is reversible!

Man... 2x's the amount of options as before!!! And I'm still puzzling out the options in the 0605 bios


----------



## mothow

I need some help.On this board i cant get this board to OC my Quad past 3.2ghz stable.But on my PK5-E i was able to hit 3.6ghz 100% and on my Abit IP35 i could get 3.8 stable.But this board has so many bios setting that i cant seem to get them right .I dont really under stand all the PPL voltages and GTL voltage's.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mothow*


I need some help.On this board i cant get this board to OC my Quad past 3.2ghz stable.But on my PK5-E i was able to hit 3.6ghz 100% and on my Abit IP35 i could get 3.8 stable.But this board has so many bios setting that i cant seem to get them right .I dont really under stand all the PPL voltages and GTL voltage's.


Here are the bios settings that seem to work. Just note that the NB chipset might need more voltage. My NB needs unusually low voltage for high FSB clocks. Try 1.45v to the NB...



















These advanced Bios settings really helped me bring stability to the system: AnandTech

*CPU PLL Voltage*: Scale range is 1.5-3V in 0.02V increments. Stock is 1.5V, and although overvolting can bring increases to FSB limits, we do not recommend using past 1.75V for long-term use.

*FSB Termination Voltage*: Voltage scale runs from 1.2V-2V. Quad-core CPU overclocking is especially dependent upon VTT and GTL voltage ratios. The max is 1.50V.

*Loadline Calibration*: Available options are Auto, Disabled, and Enabled. Use "Enabled" for overclocking. This function reduces Vcore voltage sag.

*CPU GTL Reference*: This setting is a derivative or ratio of the applied VTT voltage. A setting of 0.63x provides the most headroom for overclocking quad-core processors.

*Northbridge GTL Reference*: A value of .67x generally provides the best level of stability on this motherboard.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Here are the bios settings that seem to work. Just note that the NB chipset might need more voltage. My NB needs unusually low voltage for high FSB clocks. Try 1.45v to the NB...



















These advanced Bios settings really helped me bring stability to the system: AnandTech

*CPU PLL Voltage*: Scale range is 1.5-3V in 0.02V increments. Stock is 1.5V, and although overvolting can bring increases to FSB limits, we do not recommend using past 1.75V for long-term use.

*FSB Termination Voltage*: Voltage scale runs from 1.2V-2V. Quad-core CPU overclocking is especially dependent upon VTT and GTL voltage ratios. The max is 1.50V.

*Loadline Calibration*: Available options are Auto, Disabled, and Enabled. Use "Enabled" for overclocking. This function reduces Vcore voltage sag.

*CPU GTL Reference*: This setting is a derivative or ratio of the applied VTT voltage. A setting of 0.63x provides the most headroom for overclocking quad-core processors.

*Northbridge GTL Reference*: A value of .67x generally provides the best level of stability on this motherboard.



I would like to note that this board overvolts the ram so you may need to install AIsuite to check the voltage. My G skill requires 2.1 to run @ 1000mhz and in the bios i set my voltage to 1.96 but in AI it said 2.1 exactly. I havent had a single problem with hangs because of undervolting. Also, i have read reports of burning up memory with this board


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


I would like to note that this board overvolts the ram so you may need to install AIsuite to check the voltage. My G skill requires 2.1 to run @ 1000mhz and in the bios i set my voltage to 1.96 but in AI it said 2.1 exactly. I havent had a single problem with hangs because of undervolting. Also, i have read reports of burning up memory with this board


Yes, I verified this with my Fluke digital meter with both the P5E bios and the Rampage bios, see post #204:

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


With the new ram, I decide to check the votages:

Special thanks to *Karl eller* for the post on vdimm points. I used my Fluke 177 digital meter and read the yellow and one of the blue marked readout point from his post.

When I set the vdimm in bios to 2.16v, I get a reading of 2.21v from the multi meter. Then, when I set the vdimm to 2.18v in bios, I get a reading of 2.238v on the meter. And finally, when I set vdimm to 2.2v in bios, I get a reading of 2.25v on the meter. This makes it very hard for those without a multimeter to know the true vdimm.

I did find that my 1.40v vcore set in bios, which loads into windows at 1.38v as shown in CPU-Z, actually is 1.376v when metered while running Orthos.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Thanks again, Ericeod. I can see why you have so many REP! Even though I saw the Rampage hack on XS first, I did refer to your post a bit for the colloquial version:

***EDIT: Is this the latest BIOS revision?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


Thanks again, Ericeod. I can see why you have so many REP! Even though I saw the Rampage hack on XS first, I did refer to your post a bit for the colloquial version:

***EDIT: Is this the latest BIOS revision?


No, the latest version is 0219. It has been shipping with the new Rampage Formulas. But 0207 is the latest bios listed on their site. The link in my post has the latest bios.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


No, the latest version is 0219. It has been shipping with the new Rampage Formulas. But 0207 is the latest bios listed on their site. The link in my post has the latest bios.


Oh, okay. Got it now. I made the mistake of not following your instructions to a T. Thanks again!

And ****EDIT: The latest build of Everest (4.5+) will bring back NB/SB temps (phew!)...


----------



## lumaform

I'm thinking of buying this motherboard for my new Q6600 cpu. I was thinking of going with Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme. I've browsed through this thread but haven't seen anyone listing it in their sig. Can I get someone to verify this? And also, are there any issues with the mounting process and etc.?

Thanks


----------



## mothow

It works with this board no problem.Im not using one now but i was.Ive used the Ultima 90 and it works to but you have to use the Ultra 120 extremes mounting.Or mod the ultima 90s

ericeod and aleiro thanks for the advice


----------



## lumaform

thanks mothow. I'll be purchasing this board pretty soon. I'll be sure to post my results here.


----------



## mothow

Yeah let us know how it works out for you


----------



## lumaform

fo sho, fo sho... I'm just having a ball with these deals that I'm getting.

As listed in my sig.:

$185 cpu
$55 psu
$49 ram
$52 case

this will be the cheapest quad build evah!


----------



## Ravin

Ok....So I finally pulled the trigger on the Rampage flash for my Maximus, however it looks like I may not get a good comparison between the two. Funny thing.....

I backed up all my files with the intent to re-install XP and prepped my USB drive for the flash. Click Start---Turn Off Computer--->Shutdown. Wait 30 seconds after power off. Push the power button. Maximus splash screen. Then it's stuck- with DET DRAM on the LCD poster. freak! I haven't even flashed yet!

Turns out my Crucials died. freak. These are the second pair of D9GMH IC modules that have died right at the 6 month mark. And they were run on stock voltage (2.2V) and underclocked with tight timings. Are the timings blowing my sticks? Oh well, there RMAd now, and I need a rig.....

So.....off to Fry's for a quick replacement. Hmmm....$100 for 2x1Gb PC2/8500 or 2x2Gb PC2/6400? Well, I did run my PC2/8000 mods at 800MHz, and a little extra RAM couln't hurt right? So I bought the 2x2Gb PC6400 XMS from corsair. Nice heat sink, hope it holds up to what I throw at it. I pray for overclockability and good timings. Especially good timings (at least good for 2x2Gb).

Stick in the new XMS and she fires right up. Check windows just to make sure I actually did save everything before my curcials died. All good. Back to reboot, clear CMOS , ran the cripple, flashed the bios, cleared CMOS, reset the BIOS to Mfgr stock spec sheet (I hate auto for stock even), reboot and.....Tada! Conversion complete. The OS was, so far as I could tell, not impacted, although I did re-install anyway.

I'm almost done updating software, got a few letters and e-mails to write, then off to tweaking.


----------



## trueg50

I apologize if this is a little off topic, but for the former owners of 680i's, is it worth the switch to a Maximus Formula?


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

I moved over from a P5N32-E, but only because I wanted to really OC my quad. Personally, with your C2D, I think there is very little incentive for your to switch. The P5N32-E remains probably one of the best C2D OC'ers that will ever hit the market.

Furthermore, the Maximus has been discontinued. It probably means fewer BIOS revisions. I think that alone should make you lean towards either a P5E or a Rampage Formula.

That said, the Maximus will offer you PCI-E 2.0 and some really good overclocking potential (especially with quads compared to the Nvidia chipsets as they exist today). To me, these are small points: PCI-E 2.0 offers mostly potential and not real bandwidth on today's cards (even including your PCI-E 2.0 8800GT). Quad OC is significantly better on the X38/X48, but again: if you're sticking with your C2D or if you're only interested in a mild OC on a quad, the P5N32-E is a great board.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
Ok....So I finally pulled the trigger on the Rampage flash for my Maximus, however it looks like I may not get a good comparison between the two. Funny thing.....

I backed up all my files with the intent to re-install XP and prepped my USB drive for the flash. Click Start---Turn Off Computer--->Shutdown. Wait 30 seconds after power off. Push the power button. Maximus splash screen. Then it's stuck- with DET DRAM on the LCD poster. freak! I haven't even flashed yet!

Turns out my Crucials died. freak. These are the second pair of D9GMH IC modules that have died right at the 6 month mark. And they were run on stock voltage (2.2V) and underclocked with tight timings. Are the timings blowing my sticks? Oh well, there RMAd now, and I need a rig.....

So.....off to Fry's for a quick replacement. Hmmm....$100 for 2x1Gb PC2/8500 or 2x2Gb PC2/6400? Well, I did run my PC2/8000 mods at 800MHz, and a little extra RAM couln't hurt right? So I bought the 2x2Gb PC6400 XMS from corsair. Nice heat sink, hope it holds up to what I throw at it. I pray for overclockability and good timings. Especially good timings (at least good for 2x2Gb).

Stick in the new XMS and she fires right up. Check windows just to make sure I actually did save everything before my curcials died. All good. Back to reboot, clear CMOS , ran the cripple, flashed the bios, cleared CMOS, reset the BIOS to Mfgr stock spec sheet (I hate auto for stock even), reboot and.....Tada! Conversion complete. The OS was, so far as I could tell, not impacted, although I did re-install anyway.

I'm almost done updating software, got a few letters and e-mails to write, then off to tweaking.


what voltage are you running... at least for the P5E it overvolts the ram ALOT so i run my g skill at 1.96v in the bios which in AISuite yields 2.1 on the nose. That may be the reason you are cooking them. Even when i put 2.1 in the bios, i checked AISuite and it said 2.36v! my two cents


----------



## fontman49

Can you flash back from the Rampage bios using the afudos method back to the P5E bios without a hitch? I successfully flashed to the Rampage, but I'd like to flash back to do some benchmarks. Thanks...


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fontman49* 
Can you flash back from the Rampage bios using the afudos method back to the P5E bios without a hitch? I successfully flashed to the Rampage, but I'd like to flash back to do some benchmarks. Thanks...

please post your findings because i downloaded it and have been turning it over in my head of whether i will see an improvement or not, oh and ya there are some posts a few pages back that said it was reverseable... sorry to who posted i forgot the author


----------



## fontman49

OK I'll do some benchmarks as time permits and try to get them up here. I never got a chance to try to flash back to P5E bios 201 (if I can) so I need to try that and bench that out, too...


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
what voltage are you running... at least for the P5E it overvolts the ram ALOT so i run my g skill at 1.96v in the bios which in AISuite yields 2.1 on the nose. That may be the reason you are cooking them. Even when i put 2.1 in the bios, i checked AISuite and it said 2.36v! my two cents

Lol, yea. that's 2.20V Fluke DMM verified (~2.08V bios). First boot at 2.1V I saw the ASUS probe reporting ~2.28V, and confirmed w/ my DMM.


----------



## trueg50

Thank you Ericeod and Dostoyevsky77.

I was on the line, couldn't decide, then I saw a Maximus Formula for $180 at newegg, so I quickly ordered it up.

Can't wait, I can finally overclock without massive headaches. Plus when I get a quad in a few months, I can finally try and strain my water cooling loop.


----------



## fontman49

Aleiro -

I'll post the actual Everest scores later (since I'm at work), but the Rampage bios actually underperformed the 201 P5E BIOS from the benchmarks that I did last night. The only interesting thing was that I had to bump up the voltage on my NB as well as CPU to achieve the same overclock that I had on the Rampage BIOS when using the P5E 201 BIOS. Once the voltages were upped and it was prime stable, the scores slightly edged the Rampage BIOS. Anyways, I'll post actual results soon.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

That seems odd. What performance level are you running and do you have any pull-ins enabled?


----------



## whe3ls

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


Thank you Ericeod and Dostoyevsky77.

I was on the line, couldn't decide, then I saw a Maximus Formula for $180 at newegg, so I quickly ordered it up.

Can't wait, I can finally overclock without massive headaches. Plus when I get a quad in a few months, I can finally try and strain my water cooling loop.


180 thats nothing i got one for 29.99


----------



## zlojack

From everything I've read so far, the Rampage bios takes more tweaking but eventually ends up outperforming the Maximus. Not sure if the same would apply here.


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *whe3ls*


180 thats nothing i got one for 29.99










How much did you pay for your RAM?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


How much did you pay for your RAM?










How very true. I got one of the Extremes for $29 as well, but I cant even afford ram!


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Bah my P5E doesn't like me, lol. how well does the P5E overclock Quads? Q9450 looks Tempting but the 8x multi will require a high fsb and the Q9650 wont be here untill Q3 which is too long to wait


----------



## Leepox

Does anyone here use q6600 with p5e? The memory problems are really annoying. Which bios gave you a stable system (and one that overclocks the q6600 like mad)?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Leepox*


Does anyone here use q6600 with p5e? The memory problems are really annoying. Which bios gave you a stable system (and one that overclocks the q6600 like mad)?


I just got my Q6600 and am working on the overclock. SO far the 605 bios seems the best IMO. But I recently switched to the Rampage Formula bios.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I just got my Q660 and am working on the over****. SO far the 605 bios seems the best IMO. But I recently switched to the Rampage Formula bios.


lol. You must have said "over c. o. c. k." The other day I used W. T. F. as in World Trade Federation and it got ***(blanked) out.

OT... getting ready to OVERC*L*OCK


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


lol. You must have said "over c. o. c. k." The other day I used W. T. F. as in World Trade Federation and it got ***(blanked) out.

OT... getting ready to OVERC*L*OCK



Thats too funny. Thats why I dont like typing on laptops!


----------



## fontman49

I have a Q6600 and I can get up to 3.6 (450*8 or 400*9), but the temps are going over 70C so I tend to run it at 3.4 (425*8)

Currently I'm on BIOS 201. It seems good so far, but I have yet to try 605 or 607.


----------



## Leepox

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I just got my Q6600 and am working on the overclock. SO far the 605 bios seems the best IMO. But I recently switched to the Rampage Formula bios.

do you think i can blame my memory modules as well? (Geil) I might try flashing the non standard rampage one... or even the maximus but too scared to screw it up.. but then again the bios on this one is screwed up enough already. Worse comes to worse ill RMA the damn thing and sell the replacement.


----------



## Leepox

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I just got my Q6600 and am working on the overclock. SO far the 605 bios seems the best IMO. But I recently switched to the Rampage Formula bios.

do you think i can blame my memory modules as well? (Geil) I might try flashing the non standard rampage one... or even the maximus but too scared to screw it up.. but then again the bios on this one is screwed up enough already. Worse comes to worse ill RMA the damn thing and sell the replacement.









I got so desperate i even bought crucial 8500+ tracer =/ then i found out that memory problems with this board isnt something rare


----------



## fontman49

Alright, here are the benchmarks from the latest Everest on my system. The system was at 3.4ghz (425*8) on each BIOS and memory was @ 5-5-5-18 CR2. These are with no tweaks to the BIOS settings with the exception of any needed voltage changes on CPU & NB. (BIOS 201 required highed voltage on CPU & NB. Rampage did not require as high of a voltage on CPU and no changes at all needed to be made to NB.) There really weren't any huge differences as you can see. Most scores were a little higher on the 201 BIOS. The system did "feel" faster and smoother while on the 201 BIOS, but that could all be in my head. Maybe the 1.5ns reduction in memory latency added to this, who knows. For some reason my WD Raptor 150 seemed louder on the Rampage BIOS as well - once again, maybe this was in my head, but it seemed like it wasn't working as well as on the 201 BIOS. Maybe there are tweaks just needed on the Rampage to correct both issues.

201:

Memory Read: 8427 MB/s
Memory Write: 7744 MB/s
Memory Copy: 8292 MB/s
Memory Latency: 62.5 ns
CPU Queen: 24484
CPU PhotoWorxx: 21661
CPU ZLib: 89638 KB/s
CPU AES: 25387
FPU Julia: 12633
FPU Mandel: 6225
FPU SinJulia: 3185

Rampage 219:

Memory Read: 8299 MB/s
Memory Write: 7706 MB/s
Memory Copy: 8243 MB/s
Memory Latency: 64.0 ns
CPU Queen: 24457
CPU PhotoWorxx: 21623
CPU ZLib: 89621 KB/s
CPU AES: 25384
FPU Julia: 12632
FPU Mandel: 6221
FPU SinJulia: 3185

I have since tweaked the 201 BIOS memory timing and the Everest scores have improved some, too. I can post those findings later if anyone is interested.


----------



## Ravin

Previously stable 400x9 settings not so stable yet with the Rampage 0207 BIOS. Still need to tinker a bit.

Edit: Just realized that I now have Vdroop! Before what I set in BIOS is what I got with my DMM. Now it's sagging 0.025V. I'm going to give it a little more V and run stability tests, but I think I just found my culprit.

In other observations I need much less VMCH than I did. I absolutely needed 1.63V to run a 400MHz FSB before, currently I'm at 1.49V, which makes me happy.


----------



## fontman49

Ravin, did you use AS5 on your 9700? If so, did you use the one single line of it going across the middle technique? I'm just curious because my temps are much higher than yours. Thanks...


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Previously stable 400x9 settings not so stable yet with the Rampage 0207 BIOS. Still need to tinker a bit.

Edit: Just realized that I now have Vdroop! Before what I set in BIOS is what I got with my DMM. Now it's sagging 0.025V. I'm going to give it a little more V and run stability tests, but I think I just found my culprit.

In other observations I need much less VMCH than I did. I absolutely needed 1.63V to run a 400MHz FSB before, currently I'm at 1.49V, which makes me happy.


Why arent you using the current 0219 Rampage bios? I have it linked in the first post of this thread.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

He probably did what I did and didn't listen to you like we should have!

Do you have a thread where you discuss your Ballistix? If you do or know of one, I'd love a linky. Otherwise, I'm probably going to have to PM you!







I'm curious how they OC.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
He probably did what I did and didn't listen to you like we should have!

Do you have a thread where you discuss your Ballistix? If you do or know of one, I'd love a linky. Otherwise, I'm probably going to have to PM you!







I'm curious how they OC.

The Ballistix can push 1000 without any trouble. I did try 1039 not to long ago, but the board didnt even post. I didnt try any tweaking other then 5-5-5-15 and all else on auto. But Benny99 has a thread on them.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Why arent you using the current 0219 Rampage bios? I have it linked in the first post of this thread.


Lol....I like to take it slow and repeat the mistakes of others so I can see for my self.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


He probably did what I did and didn't listen to you like we should have!


In a nutshell....yes.


----------



## XxSilent22xX

later tonight im gonna try to flash my bios to the rampage and see how that works..


----------



## Leepox

flashing to rampage doesnt allow you to revert to p5e bios right?


----------



## .Sup

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Leepox* 
flashing to rampage doesnt allow you to revert to p5e bios right?

Right.


----------



## Leepox

ah well im not doing it YET







If you have a conroe its better to get 02xx bios right? it seems like the current 06xx bios is meant for the new 45nm CPU's and im having stability issues with my conroe. Anybody havea similar experience?


----------



## zlojack

I know with the Maximus you can now flash back and forth.

Not sure about this board though.


----------



## Leepox

i just flashed from 0607 to 0605 so i think i should be able to go all the way back to 0201


----------



## Ravin

Updated with 0219 RAMPAGE, although I see little actual difference in my settings from 0207 besides increased TRC options. I still need 1.425Vcore for a stable 3.6GHz, where with the Maximus BIOS I only needed 1.400V. So much for lower voltage on my CPU. At least I have been able to drop my VNB by 0.15V, and may have some room to go down more.

The real difference I'm seeing is in the memory setting selections. Wow. I'm going to be spending a lot of time tweaking my subtimings I can tell.


----------



## Ravin

Preliminary findings @ 3.6GHz DDR800 4-4-4-12 (untweaked subtimings)

Maximus formula BIOS 0907; 2x1Gb DDR800 3-3-3-8 1T tweaked subtimings gave me about 8900MB/s bandwidth and rockin latency of about 49ns. 4-4-4-12 2T timings gave me 8400Mb/s 57ns latency. Default PL was 7.

My 2x1Gb RAM died during conversion, so I stuck in 2x2Gb DDR800 5-5-5-18 2T and tightened down the primary timings to 4-4-4-12.

BIOS 0207- Really crappy bandwidth only 6400MB/s. Outrageous latency of 79.9ns. Noted that I was able to increase the performance level, whereas on the Maximus BIOS it would not even post with the PL enabled.

BIOS 0219- Much, much better. Bandwidth increased to 8100Mb/s, latency decreased to 60.8ns. PL is disabled (12 by default). These numbers come in line with what my 2x1Gb sticks ran at DDR800 4-4-4-12 2T I think with just a bit of tweaking I can have nearly the bandwidth and latency of what my 2x1Gb sticks gave.


----------



## XxSilent22xX

So The Flash to Rampage isnt really worth it?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XxSilent22xX*


So The Flash to Rampage isnt really worth it?


Too early to tell, but I think that it will be.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Too early to tell, but I think that it will be.


Agreed. I am going to have to tweak the ram a bit.

The Article at AnandTech titled, "ASUS ROG Rampage Formula: Why we were wrong about the Intel X48", is a must read. The article explains all the additional bios memory settings and explains the science/match behind them.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

That is an excellent article, indeed. The tRD makes this flash well worth it, IMHO. Last night, for the first time ever I got over 1GB/s on R/W/C! These are almost DDR3 speeds.

Oh & keeping in mind this is 4x1.


----------



## Ravin

Turns out my system was not 100% stable. Perhaps my problem was not Vcore at all, but VNB instead. I bumped my VNB up to 1.55V and am testing now. This is still a major improvement, with the Maximus BIOS, I absolutely needed >1.6VNB just to post, where even with 1.49VNB on the rampage BIOS yields a mostly stable system- OCCT, Prime95, ORTHOS, MEMTEST86, and Sandra passed, but I got a BSOD while folding.

I think from here on in I could probably stick to folding as my stability check- it seems to be the pickiest software I run.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
"ASUS ROG Rampage Formula: Why we were wrong about the Intel X48", is a must read. The article explains all the additional bios memory settings and explains the science/match behind them.


Pretty similar to how I was calculating for subtimings- AnandTech really drives home the point of how tight timings CAN be of a huge benefit to Intel systems, like I've been trying to preach to the folding team. I'll take 45ns latency @ DDR 800 over 70ns latency @DDR 1150 any day- while benchmarks may yield higher bandwidth to DDR1150, I absolutely see a real workd difference between the two and better performance with less bandwidth.


----------



## Ravin

Hmm. Still having issues. I've eliminated voltage as the problem- I've gone both up and down to the extremes. Could be DRAM static read control- I've tried enabled and auto, testing disabled now.

Other than that, there are only 2 possibilities:
1) The Rampage BIOS is not stable on the Maximus I have. I highly doubt it, there are just too many folks at XS running it no problem.

2) My new XMS modules are not so hot. I think that my stability issues may be there, although none of my benchmark utilities catch any errors.

I still have a few days left to return my RAM to Frys, so I'm going to tweak it out and see what happens, although I think I'll end up exchanging it for something else even if I get it stable.

EDIT: DRAM static read isn't it. Raising tREF to 45 and up.


----------



## trueg50

How is the chipset cooler on this board?

Is there much of a need for aftermarket cooling?

Thanks again Ericeod for recommending this board, I pickup my board tomorrow, and oddly enough my old board (P5N32-E) just died.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


How is the chipset cooler on this board?

Is there much of a need for aftermarket cooling?

Thanks again Ericeod for recommending this board, I pickup my board tomorrow, and oddly enough my old board (P5N32-E) just died.


The stock IHS is pretty decent- perhaps the addition of a fan would help, but stock w/AS5 reseat works for me.

Replaced that Corsair XMS with 2x2Gb Patriot LLK sticks. We'll see how things roll.


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


The stock IHS is pretty decent- perhaps the addition of a fan would help, but stock w/AS5 reseat works for me.

Replaced that Corsair XMS with 2x2Gb Patriot LLK sticks. We'll see how things roll.


Sweet, keep us updated.

Personally, I just have come to notice that, while 10 gb/s is great bandwidth, I only use that kind of thing in the 10% of times I am using my computer (gaming), so I would just go with 4gb and overclock that, than go for 2 gb which might be faster.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


Sweet, keep us updated.

Personally, I just have come to notice that, while 10 gb/s is great bandwidth, I only use that kind of thing in the 10% of times I am using my computer (gaming), so I would just go with 4gb and overclock that, than go for 2 gb which might be faster.


I've been folding without error for about 2 hours now, with the XMS I could not even get more than a frame or two. I'm stichking with 4Gb, my only debate at the moment is 2x2 or 4x1. Since my RAM will likely only be run at 800 or 900 MHz, I may just go for the 4x1 and try for lower latencies than 2x2 offers.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


I've been folding without error for about 2 hours now, with the XMS I could not even get more than a frame or two. I'm stichking with 4Gb, my only debate at the moment is 2x2 or 4x1. Since my RAM will likely only be run at 800 or 900 MHz, I may just go for the 4x1 and try for lower latencies than 2x2 offers.


I've been running some benches today with my ram. While I do get a slight performance increase running my 2x2Gb Ballistix at 978 with 5-5-5-15, it is marginally better then the ram 1:1 at 780 4-3-3-10. My latency at 978 is 59.8 while at 780 it is 61.8 (I still havent fined tuned it yet at 780).


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I've been running some benches today with my ram. While I do get a slight performance increase running my 2x2Gb Ballistix at 978 with 5-5-5-15, it is marginally better then the ram 1:1 at 780 4-3-3-10. My latency at 978 is 59.8 while at 780 it is 61.8 (I still havent fined tuned it yet at 780).


Can't quite hit 400x9 or 450x8? I find that my best bandwidth/latency running 1:1 right in there. My D9GMH 2x1 sticks never could quite go past 1100, although they would get killer timings below 1000MHz. It's the main reason I run my memory @ 800MHz instead of higher.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Can't quite hit 400x9 or 450x8? I find that my best bandwidth/latency running 1:1 right in there. My D9GMH 2x1 sticks never could quite go past 1100, although they would get killer timings below 1000MHz. It's the main reason I run my memory @ 800MHz instead of higher.



If I go up to 400 FSB, I get BSOD after about 30 min is Prime95 with 1.48v vcore







. I would like to run at 400 or 450, but I dont think I can. I've tried the NB voltage from 1.43v to 1.65v, nothing helps. I think the comfortable max for this Q6600 is 3.5GHz with 1.44v vcore (I shouldnt complain, it is still a decent OC).


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


If I go up to 400 FSB, I get BSOD after about 30 min is Prime95 with 1.48v vcore







. I would like to run at 400 or 450, but I dont think I can. I've tried the NB voltage from 1.43v to 1.65v, nothing helps. I think the comfortable max for this Q6600 is 3.5GHz with 1.44v vcore (I shouldnt complain, it is still a decent OC).


Ouch man that kinsa sucks. I take it you have a fairly high VID?

In other news, I've hit my first error folding. It took much longer than before, and I think that it may be due to Vdimm being set very low, well below the stock voltage for my modules.

Here are voltages as currently set: Vcore=1.425V, droop=1.400V; VPLL=1.60V; VNB=1.49V; VDIMM=1.80V(OV to 1.92V); VFSBT=1.40V; VSB=1.050V; SB1.5V=1.5V; Loadline Calibration=ENABLE; CPUGTL= 0.67x; NBGTL=0.63x; DRAMREF=DDRREF. Since things are looking stable, I may just try see if I can lower my voltages some. Note DRAMREF should fall between 1.05 and 1.15V when monitored in windows.

Current RAM timings are stock 4-4-4-14 tRFC=40 2T @ 800MHz. This makes me pretty happy with these 2x2Gb sticks as stock voltage is 2.2V, and Irunning 1.92V, the lowest my board will go, yielded some pretty positive results.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Ouch man that kinsa sucks. I take it you have a fairly high VID?


Actually, the VID is 1.25v. It runs at 1.23v at stock...


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Actually, the VID is 1.25v. It runs at 1.23v at stock...











Got a multimeter? You really should be able to hit 3.6GHz under 1.45V, then again nothing's guaranteed once you OC.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*











Got a multimeter? You really should be able to hit 3.6GHz under 1.45V, then again nothing's guaranteed once you OC.


I must admit that the vcore I get on the mutimeter is lower then what CPU-Z shows. When I get 1.38v in CPU-Z, the actual reading on my fluke is 1.376v.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I must admit that the vcore I get on the mutimeter is lower then what CPU-Z shows. When I get 1.38v in CPU-Z, the actual realding on my fluke is 1.376v.


.004 is a nearly neglegible value. Just plain odd. Bummer that you did not have better luck. I wish you good luck on your next CPU purchase!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
.004 is a nearly neglegible value. Just plain odd. Bummer that you did not have better luck. I wish you good luck on your next CPU purchase!

Thanks Ravin,

Yeah I know, the vcore is marginal... I was planning on getting the Q6700 at the end of this month originally. So I will be selling this one for about $180 shipped.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Thanks Ravin,

Yeah I know, the vcore is marginal... I was planning on getting the Q6700 at the end of this month originally. So I will be selling this one for about $180 shipped.









10x multi









Ok initial Patriot benchies are in.

Stock 800MHz 4-4-4-12 2T tRFC=50, Static DRAM Read disabled, Clocktwister Auto, Pull ins disabled (12) gives me ~7200Mb/s Latency=78ns







(stable)

800MHz 4-4-4-12 2T tRfC=40, Static DRAM read ENABLED, Clocktwister AUTO, Pull ins DISABLED (7) gives ~8200Mb/s Latency=60.4ns








(not stability tested yet)

tRFC=35 gives ~8250Mb/s 59.9ns latency. tRFC=30 is a no post.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

I'm also at PL 7 with all pull-ins disabled, and 5-4-4-12-2T, tRFC at 25. The rest are AUTO, static read is disabled and Clock Twister is "strongest". R/W/C are all just over a GB and latency is 50.1.

I can POST PL 6 with 1.6+ vNB, but it's about as stable as a schizophrenic on Prozac.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


I'm also at PL 7 with all pull-ins disabled, and 5-4-4-12-2T, tRFC at 25. The rest are AUTO, static read is disabled and Clock Twister is "strongest". R/W/C are all just over a GB and latency is 50.1.

I can POST PL 6 with 1.6+ vNB, but it's about as stable as a schizophrenic on Prozac.


Well you are running @ 1128MHz! Gotta love those Ballistix- great OCers, fantastic timings, awesome latency. Just sad that so many are dying so quickly.

I've been at tRFC=35 for about 1.5 hours now, so far so good. I'm going to spit out a few WUs to be sure that I'm running stable, and because I've been down over a week. Probably won't try any more tweaking until my new 2x2Gb Patriot Viper PC8500 arrives.


----------



## Leepox

I have dumped my p5e since prime95 ran unstable on that... i got a new mobo (not a p5e sadly) and all of it seems to have gone away. This was my first ever board from asus and it didnt work too well







but i will get an asus sometime, not just this time tho...


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Leepox*


I have dumped my p5e since prime95 ran unstable on that... i got a new mobo (not a p5e sadly) and all of it seems to have gone away. This was my first ever board from asus and it didnt work too well







but i will get an asus sometime, not just this time tho...



Out of curiousity, what ram were you running?


----------



## lumaform

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Leepox*


I have dumped my p5e since prime95 ran unstable on that... i got a new mobo (not a p5e sadly) and all of it seems to have gone away. This was my first ever board from asus and it didnt work too well







but i will get an asus sometime, not just this time tho...


what did you get instead?


----------



## Leepox

i ran 3 different rams in it.... a crucial ballistix [email protected], geil [email protected], and corsair twinx. Honestly i bought the ballisitix in thought that my geil and my brothers corsair were not compatible (not defuective since i ran memtest on both mems on his system)... ballistix came but noooooooo didnt solve problems. Ran memtest its fine, but when i step into prime95 it would give errors mainly in large fft and blend. Hangs my super pi, crashes my games so i thought a bad processor.

So i took my brothers e4400 and my old e4400 for a run, same errors. So my NEW q6600 is not at fault. Cpu is not at fault, memory is not at fault... has got to be the motherboard. I spent 3 whole days sorting it out.. wasted time but ah well, im one of the unlucky ones. Got a new mobo from MSI and been running prime95 on the sysyem for 2 hours now without problems whilst asus gave me only 4mins of stability







.

Dont get me wrong ive got no beef with asus, my brothers mobo is an Asus 650i which i told him to get at that time as it was the cheapest option for an sli board. Although I just recently realised ASUS dont have an RMA contact address in the UK, MSI has one, Abit has one.. only a problem if youve got second hand hardware

Oh i got an MSI neo2-fr Great budget board... tbh this is the only one i can get since i have yet to send the asus back and get my money back.. but its a sexy board...


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Leepox* 
i ran 3 different rams in it.... a crucial ballistix [email protected], geil [email protected], and corsair twinx.

Some of the Micron ICs that were originally QVL for x38 motherboards were removed after some issue was found by intel. D9GMH was one of them, although I have used Ballistix with them on my Maximus, and the only problem was complete failure after 6 months of stock voltage, underclocked with tight timings.

I also bought the Corsair Twinx XMS 2x2Gb kit, it was not stable on my board at all, stock or underclocked- Memtest passed, but errors generated in folding.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I've been running some benches today with my ram. While I do get a slight performance increase running my 2x2Gb Ballistix at 978 with 5-5-5-15, it is marginally better then the ram 1:1 at 780 4-3-3-10. My latency at 978 is 59.8 while at 780 it is 61.8 (I still havent fined tuned it yet at 780).

Think you could squeeze CAS3 @ 780? something like 3-3-3-8 or 4-3-3-8, tRFC=<35?


----------



## Leepox

well, thats done and over with i guess... i might revert to the asus (RMA replacement - if i would get one lol) if this mobo does not oc as well as the x38. I tried OCing even tho unstable for a quick shot on the x38 and i was able to get 480FSB and i believed i could have gone even higher (memtest on my memroy modules were fine at this stage, passed all tests for 2 cycles) too bad...


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Think you could squeeze CAS3 @ 780? something like 3-3-3-8 or 4-3-3-8, tRFC=<35?



It wouldnt even boot with cas 3...

I ended up running memtest for 10 mours to see if I got errors and I did. So I set it back to 4-4-4-12 and ran it again for 10 hrs. I came back and saw I had 34 errors. It passes Orthos fine, and I know I'm not the only one getting errors with ram at cas 4. So I wonder if there is an issue with Memtest. Anyways, just to be sure I sent them back to newegg for replacement. I sold my Q6600 as well, so I will be running on my laptop until the Q6700 price drop.


----------



## ericeod

I am not one to push open boxed boards, but the P5E is available as an open box at newegg for $119. That is a great price. Worst case is you have to buy an I/O shield and audio card, both of which can be bought for $10/15 respectively.

Newegg link: P5E open box


----------



## XxSilent22xX

:O sold your Q6600?!?! i just purchased a QX9650 so it should arrive tomorrow (wednesday) or thursday









EDIT* Canceled The order, i gotta put front breaks on my car, so i guess im gonna just wait for the Q9650 for 500 Less.


----------



## zlojack

Quote:


Originally Posted by *XxSilent22xX* 
:O sold your Q6600?!?! i just purchased a QX9650 so it should arrive tomorrow (wednesday) or thursday









Hope it's a good batch! Let us know how it does!


----------



## XxSilent22xX

yea i hope its a good batch too others wise its going for a refund and suddenly i remembered that my board doesnt support 45nm









BIOS 607 Is no Longer Beta,Cick Here

EDIT* well i guess it still is beta, when i looked on the site it didnt say Beta


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


It passes Orthos fine, and I know I'm not the only one getting errors with ram at cas 4. So I wonder if there is an issue with Memtest.


Sometimes errors just are not caught, sometimes they are. The XMS RAM (Elpida IC) I had gave no errors at 4-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-18 (stock) at 800MHz in any stability test, yet generated errors in folding. The Patriot RAM I have now will fold at 4-4-4-12 800MHz and 5-5-5-15 1066MHz, yet generates errors in only in OCCT and Memtest at any speed other than 800MHz 4-4-4-12.

This leads me to believe that there is at least one of two problems, 1)bad RAM and/or 2)the MCH is not stable...maybe more volts are needed, but surely 1.65V is plenty. In my current situation I think that I'm pushing my RAM as hard as it can go already at stock, I've confirmed that I have Elpida ICs, although not which specific ones.

At any rate both Micron and Elpida list their 2x2Gb PC2/6400 rated chips as 800MHz 5-5-5-15 @ 1.8V, and 1.9V the reccomended maximum. Elpida's stance is that 2.1/2.3V is the maximum/"absolute" maximum before failure, where Micron states 2.2/2.5V. Note that the "absolute" maximum is measured referenced to DRAM_REF, which should be between 1.0-1.15V.

I'm hoping my 2.3V rated Patriot Viper actually does have Micron ICs.


----------



## Ravin

Since my RAM was bad during the whole BIOS conversion thing, I thought that I would try running a lower Vcore again to see if I'm stable (was running 1.425V). I reset to 1.400V BIOS/1.38V droop, and have been folding for 2 hours so far. I'm not calling it stable yet, but it does look promising.


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Anyone Try Flashing To The Rampage 207 Bios?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *XxSilent22xX* 
Anyone Try Flashing To The Rampage 207 Bios?

I went from MAXIMUS 0907 to RAMPAGE 0207 to RAMPAGE 0219. 0219 seems to be more stable for me and offers tRFC>60 in the settings, for those who have been having problems with their memory timings and stability and had to use "AUTO" for tRFC.


----------



## ChrisB17

I just got my P5E today. It really looks like a quality board. I hope it works good.


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChrisB17* 
I just got my P5E today. It really looks like a quality board. I hope it works good.

Congrats







yea it is a really good quality board and you'll love it


----------



## bfgDennis

What is a safe NB temp for a maximus formula?

currently my NB idles at 49c and during crysis gets as high as 60c
is that too hot?


----------



## trueg50

I just got my Maximus Formula, and..Wow... all I can say is .. Wow..

I love this board!!!

So with my old one (this is going by memtest by the way, not Everest or anything), at 4-4-4-12 1T and 900 mhz, I was getting 5600 mb/s. Now at the same speed 5-5-5-15, only 2T, I am at 5800 MB/s. So I just nocked the timings down to 4-4-4-12 2T 900 mhz, and I am at 6100 MB/s.

That is the same bandwidth I got on my P5N32-E SLI at 5-5-5-15 2T and 1100 mhz!.

All I did was look around a little at the Xtremesystems thread on the Maximus and set all my setup to match their settings for an 8x multi CPU, and according to memtest, my system seems stable enough to get into Windows and run Ortho's.

I love this board!

Heck, I at least was able to just post and run memtest for a bit at 3.8 ghz! Unstable, but that was because I underestimated the Vdroop, I guess I should get a conservative 3.6 down before shooting for 3.8 and above.


----------



## TnB= Gir

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bfgDennis* 
What is a safe NB temp for a maximus formula?

currently my NB idles at 49c and during crysis gets as high as 60c
is that too hot?

NB chips start to cause instability and start dying if kept higher than 60C for a prolonged period of time. No telling how long it will take to die, but it can certainly cause immediate instability.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

^ x2. What is your vNB? I have 4x1GB @ 1182 and need 1.59v, so that's about the highest you would probably need to go unless you have some mad RAM overclock going on. My temperatures (without reseating chipset) are about 40/42. Make sure you have plenty of air circulation and check your cable management.

There is also a chance that it's misreporting. That seems really high temps if you have a reasonable vNB (especially if it's green in BIOS).

*trueg50*, glad you're having fun with it. What will happen to your P5N32-E? Mine went into my wife's system. Little by little, she's ending up with my old system: just last week, she got my 8800GTX!


----------



## trueg50

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
*trueg50*, glad you're having fun with it. What will happen to your P5N32-E? Mine went into my wife's system. Little by little, she's ending up with my old system: just last week, she got my 8800GTX!

It will either be going into a new backup rig (possibly given to a friend) or it will be sold. I was actually going to call them and see about getting a different model board, as that was the third P5N32-E I have gone through.


----------



## ericeod

I just cheched out the P5E open bos (yes it is still up) and I saw that the Maximus Formula is now available for $129 as an open box! If it doesnt come with an I/O shield, you can get a Maximus Extreme I/O shield for $8.00, which only differs from the MF as it has 2 eSATA ports.


----------



## trueg50

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I just cheched out the P5E open bos (yes it is still up) and I saw that the Maximus Formula is now available for $129 as an open box! If it doesnt come with an I/O shield, you can get a Maximus Extreme I/O shield for $8.00, which only differs from the MF as it has 2 eSATA ports.

Does that item include the LCD poster?

Since my Open box maximus came with no LCD poster or Thermal probes, I am left with having to pay ~$5 a thermal probe, or wait til June for the Asus store to carry them.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Thermal probe? I didn't get any thermal probes with my retail board!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *trueg50* 
Does that item include the LCD poster?

Since my Open box maximus came with no LCD poster or Thermal probes, I am left with having to pay ~$5 a thermal probe, or wait til June for the Asus store to carry them.


No, It is the backlit I/O shield only and not the LCD poster.

And I would contact newegg about adjusting the price you paid, or at least ask for store credit!


----------



## zlojack

Anyone in here have the P5E3 Deluxe on water?

If so, what are you using on the NB?


----------



## TnB= Gir

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


Anyone in here have the P5E3 Deluxe on water?

If so, what are you using on the NB?


I just got my mcw30 waterblock from petrastechshop today, I'm going to be using it on my P5E. Eric used the same waterblock. I would recommend that if you're going to be watercooling it. The mcw30 is very cheap price wise, and compatible with a lot of different chipsets.


----------



## zlojack

Thanks for the replies...

After doing some more thinking and some cost analysis, I've decided to just stick with what I've got for now. Too much damn money for marginal gains.


----------



## Vitaminx

Woot! new build is complete


----------



## .Sup

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*


Woot! new build is complete


Gratz. Make sure you tell me the NB voltages when you OC the E8400.


----------



## TnB= Gir

I'm running rock stable at 3.8ghz on the Q6600 right now. Make sure you do the vdroop mod located here, it helps a ton. I've also found that this motherboard achieves a lot tighter memory timings than my P35 motherboards did. I'm lovin it.


----------



## x7337H

Quick question concerning which BIOS is the best for OCing:

Is the 605 better than the 502?

All help welcome...thanks.

EDIT: While I'm at it, I might as well ask a question that's been bothering me for some time:

If I wanted to achieve upwards of ~3.5-3.6Ghz, what's a reasonable NB voltage?

Also, what's the MAX voltage I can pump through my quad core Xeon?

I hear that 1.5v is the safe max for 65nm procs...thoughts?

I've also been wondering this: without doing the vdroop mod, is it possible to simply measure your approximate vdroop and correct for this? For example, I set my vcore for ~1.4125. CPUZ reads it IDLE @ 1.384. If I wanted to bring my voltage up to 1.4 in CPUZ, could I simply say "From BIOS to CPUZ My proc gets .0285v undervolted. Could I set My voltage to 1.4285 (.0285+1.4) in BIOS to get 1.4v (1.4285-0.0285) in CPUZ?"

I hope that's somewhat comprehensible. Thanks for trying to read it, and even more thanks for any help...


----------



## Imprint

I have a bios template that's 8 hours OCCT stable, 12 hours Orthos and 2 hours stable in MemTest 2.01. My only question is, is there anything I can do to this to make the timings/performance better? Any suggestions on why the Row Refresh Cycle Time hangs with anything lower then 45 and why I can't set the Transaction Booster to Manual? Other then that it's rock solid on my Maximus/Rampage!!

I got G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ and E8400 BTW..

MAXIMUS/RAMPAGE FORMULA 0308 BIOS.
Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
OC From CPU Level Up : AUTO
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 8 (change to 9 for 4.5ghz)
FSB Frequency : 500
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333
PCI-E Frequency: 110
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-1002
DRAM Command Rate : 2N
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A : Normal
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B : Normal
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Precharge : 5
RAS# ActivateTime : 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay : 3
Row Refresh Cycle Time : 45 (any lower and i get DET DRAM no matter what i do)
Write Recovery Time : 6
Read to Precharge Time : 3

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : 8
Write to Read Delay (S) : 3
Write to Read Delay (D) : 5
Read to Read Delay (S) : 4
Read to Read Delay (D) : 6
Write to Write Delay (S) : 4
Write to Write Delay (D) : 6

Write to PRE Delay : 14
Read to PRE Delay : 5
PRE to PRE Delay : 1
ALL PRE to ACT Delay : 5
ALL PRE to REF Delay : 5

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister : Stronger
Transaction Booster : Auto (setting this to manual gets DET DRAM no matter what i do)

CPU Voltage : 1.40625
CPU PLL Voltage : AUTO
North Bridge Voltage : 1.67
DRAM Voltage : 2.16 (set to 2.04 according to G.SKILL)
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.40
South Bridge Voltage : 1.050
SB 1.5V Voltage : 1.50
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Reference : 0.63X
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67X
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage : AUTO
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage : AUTO
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage : DDR2-REF

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled


----------



## zlojack

What's your performance level at in Memset?


----------



## Imprint

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zlojack* 
What's your performance level at in Memset?


It's set to 13 in Memset, what should it be at?


----------



## zlojack

That's pretty high. That will give you a hit on memory performance. I had the same issue trying to boot at 500 FSB with that memory. Check out the difference on an everest latency and bandwidth test with performance level at 13 vs. dropping down to 450 FSB and performance level at 8.

Read the Anandtech article about the performance level adjustment here.


----------



## Imprint

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


That's pretty high. That will give you a hit on memory performance. I had the same issue trying to boot at 500 FSB with that memory. Check out the difference on an everest latency and bandwidth test with performance level at 13 vs. dropping down to 450 FSB and performance level at 8.

Read the Anandtech article about the performance level adjustment here.


Will do man, thanks!! + rep!


----------



## trueg50

^_^

Looks like I am going to finally join the Quad core club, I just ordered an X3220 SLACT, which should be here before the weekend.

I will post results when I get it installed and start overclocking.

Also, what is the best BIOS for overclocking Quads? Would you be able to post the recommended BIOS on the first page, for newbies like me?


----------



## Imprint

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


^_^

Looks like I am going to finally join the Quad core club, I just ordered an X3220 SLACT, which should be here before the weekend.

I will post results when I get it installed and start overclocking.

Also, what is the best BIOS for overclocking Quads? Would you be able to post the recommended BIOS on the first page, for newbies like me?


I'm pretty sure most people use the 1004 BETA even for quads. It has been proven to be the fastest bios ASUS has made for the Maximus Formula but that is for 45nm Dual Cores. So if I am wrong about the best BIO's for Quads, please some one tell me, I hate giving wrong information. I know my E8400 screamed on that BIO's, but I made my board in to a Rampage Formula x38 and this BIO's (0308) slams my E8400, the results are amazing.


----------



## TnB= Gir

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


^_^

Looks like I am going to finally join the Quad core club, I just ordered an X3220 SLACT, which should be here before the weekend.

I will post results when I get it installed and start overclocking.

Also, what is the best BIOS for overclocking Quads? Would you be able to post the recommended BIOS on the first page, for newbies like me?


Here is a great review for you, and should give you a place to start as far as voltages go.


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir*


Here is a great review for you, and should give you a place to start as far as voltages go.


Thank you, it will probably be my bible this weekend.

Good luck with your Xeon overclocking adventure as well!


----------



## spacegoast

for some reason i cannot flash to the rampage 0219 bios. when i type in the prompt it says "ERROR cannot open ROM file."

is there another way to flash BIOS w/o using flash drive or am i doing something wrong?


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


for some reason i cannot flash to the rampage 0219 bios. when i type in the prompt it says "ERROR cannot open ROM file."

is there another way to flash BIOS w/o using flash drive or am i doing something wrong?


This is going to sound very stupid, but...

Did you make sure you have the rom name correct down to the capitalization? also did you make sure to add ".rom" after the rom name?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


This is going to sound very stupid, but...

Did you make sure you have the rom name correct down to the capitalization? also did you make sure to add ".rom" after the rom name?



lol, ya i had it all but i didnt have the spaces just before the backslashes









edit: i got it flashed though


----------



## Silviastud

So I have this P5E with the Rampage Bios and I can't figure out how to enable my fiber optic output... Anyone point me in the right direction?

Edit: The composite digital output works but I can't get the Fiber Optic one to work.


----------



## trueg50

Yay, Just got my X3220 today, and I love it!!

Thermal spec says it can take up to 85 degree's C, heck at 1.55 volts (3.4 ghz just to test for now, before lowering volts) I am only loading at a little under 70 C.

Tried a lot of the settings suggested in the Asus X38 thread and almost stable at 3.6 (9 x 400), 1.45 volts.

NB strap: 400 mhz

CPU Voltage (actual): 1.46
CPU PLL: Auto
NB: 1.63
FSB Term: 1.5
Load line calibration : Enabled
Static read control : Disabled
Clock twister: Strong
Transaction booster: 0

I imagine it is just a very hungry NB, so I might try bumping it up a little, along with the core voltage.

I tried using the Rampage BIOS, however I couldn't stabilize it for the life of me on my E6400, does it improve the overclocking of quads, or does it just have some nicer BIOS features (like tRD)?

Any one else have one? Share any results you have, these seem to be great chips, and pretty cheap too!


----------



## TnB= Gir

Put a little fan so that it blows on the north bridge. I'll be watercooling mine here in a week or two, but right now I have a fan blowing on the stock cooling. You also might want to remove the stock heatpipes and clean the crap that's gooped onto it. I dropped a good 10-15C from doing that. Just use a hair dryer to heat the north bridge heatsink and make sure you TWIST the heatsink (once all the screws and push pins are removed) Do NOT pull the heatsink up, you will take the nb core with it. Also, it only takes me ~1.51v to the nb to get 3.8ghz stable on my quad, so try to work that down once you remove the stock thermal epoxy and place a fan to blow on the north bridge.


----------



## trueg50

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir* 
Put a little fan so that it blows on the north bridge. I'll be watercooling mine here in a week or two, but right now I have a fan blowing on the stock cooling. You also might want to remove the stock heatpipes and clean the crap that's gooped onto it. I dropped a good 10-15C from doing that. Just use a hair dryer to heat the north bridge heatsink and make sure you TWIST the heatsink (once all the screws and push pins are removed) Do NOT pull the heatsink up, you will take the nb core with it. Also, it only takes me ~1.51v to the nb to get 3.8ghz stable on my quad, so try to work that down once you remove the stock thermal epoxy and place a fan to blow on the north bridge.

Thanks!

As soon as I got the board I popped the stock heatsink off and threw on some AS 5. I actually took a screwdriver and put it between the IHS and heatsink, and twisted it slightly, then twisted the heatsink a little, and repeated the process.

Now I have a TR HR-05 w/80mm fan on the NB and a small Intel chipset heatsink (off a crappy Dell GX240) for the SB.

I will also try dropping the NB voltage a bit, I just wanted to get the board stabilized at medium to high- voltages, then drop the voltages once it is stable.

The Quad at 3.8, is that your Q6600 or the x3220 I heard you had?

Any tips on voltage would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Vitaminx

I figured I'd post my specs since I just built my rig. E8400 @ 4005MHz, 445 FSB, 1:1, 1.304 Vcore on idle in CPU-Z, 1.49 North Bridge Voltage. I can probably take this higher but for now its good. Do you guys think I should be able to run this on a lower North Bridge Voltage though? I haven't tried yet because I dont want to run orthos again lol. BTW, you guys think I should be able to run my G.Skill at 5-4-4-12 timings at 890MHz?

All credit goes to ericeod because I had not the slightest idea how to even build a computer and on top of that overclock until I pm'd him


----------



## x7337H

Quote:


Originally Posted by *trueg50* 
I tried using the Rampage BIOS, however I couldn't stabilize it for the life of me on my E6400, does it improve the overclocking of quads, or does it just have some nicer BIOS features (like tRD)?

Any one else have one? Share any results you have, these seem to be great chips, and pretty cheap too!

X3220 in the house...great chips, basically cherry-picked/higher quality Q6600s, but you've probably already heard/know that







.

I am also wondering the benefits of the Rampage BIOS: better quad OCs, or just more options?

Also, what is the best P5E BIOS for OCing quads? I'm with the 502 right now, is the 605 (or whatever the latest stable one is) better?

Lastly, can someone walk me through the vdroop mod? I'm very cautious about performing surgery on my rig, but if its worth it (which I hear it is) could someone please create or refer me to a guide, not just for me but for everyone who wants to do it...


----------



## ericeod

The benefit of the rampage bios is with ram tweaking.

As for the bios, 605 is my favorite (607 is good too). I can say that 605 definitely ran better on my P5E with the G.Skill 1000 set becasue of the improved ram timing options.


----------



## x7337H

Does the 605 have any other advantages? Better quad OCing, more options (other than for RAM)? And, how much do the RAM options make a difference for amateur OCers?

On that note, can a BIOS help vdroop, or is it a problem with, more or less, the "hardware" of the motherboard? If so, does the 605 BIOS help with anything, especially vdroop?

P.S.
Still in dire need of the vdroop mod walk-through, please post a guide or reference. Please no PMs -- I want others to be able to use it as well.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *x7337H* 
P.S.
Still in dire need of the vdroop mod walk-through, please post a guide or reference. Please no PMs -- *I want others to be able to use it as well*.

No worries there, we already have a vdroop mod in the 3rd post of this thread. It has pictures and procedures...

At least update to the 605. Then if you feel confident with x2 more bios tweaks, go for the Rampage bios.


----------



## x7337H

thanks buckets eric


----------



## trueg50

So, thanks to everyones help, I have gotten my rig to be stable at 3.4 ghz (9 x 380), however I am having incredible amounts of trouble trying for 3.6 -3.8.

Here are my current settings that will almost get me into windows.

I know it cannot be my RAM as it can do

Quote:

Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 9
FSB Frequency : 420
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333 (400 won't even post)
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR2- 840
DRAM Command Rate : 2T
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Precharge : 5
RAS# ActivateTime : 15

REF cycle time : 60 clocks (I have to have it this high)

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister : Auto
AI Transaction Booster : Auto

CPU Voltage : 1.55
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.62
North Bridge Voltage : 1.65
DRAM Voltage : 2.26
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.58
South Bridge Voltage : 1.075
SB 1.5V Voltage : 1.60
Loadline Calibration : enabled
CPU GTL Reference : 0.67x
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67x
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage : DDR2_Ref
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage : DDR2_Ref
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage : DDR2_Ref

NB LED Selection : NB Volt
SB LED Selection : SB Volt
CPU LED Selection : CPU VOlt
Voltiminder LED :

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

Advanced CPU Configuration
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 9
C1E Suppport : Disabled
CPU TM Function : Disabled
Vanderpool Technology : Enabled
Execute Disable Bit : Enabled
Max CPUID Value Limit : Disabled

Right now I am trying combinations of lower NB voltage, and FSB term voltages.

Also, does this board require exact voltages when overclocking, or are higher then necessary voltages stable?


----------



## Bergdoktor

I've been following this thread for quite a while, thanks to all contributors who have helped me a lot to understand this motherboard.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
I figured I'd post my specs since I just built my rig. E8400 @ 4005MHz, 445 FSB, 1:1, 1.304 Vcore on idle in CPU-Z, 1.49 North Bridge Voltage. I can probably take this higher but for now its good. Do you guys think I should be able to run this on a lower North Bridge Voltage though?

never had to go beyond 1.39V (Bios) for the Northbridge with my P5E (rampage bios 308) and the E8400 @ 8x475mhz. Everest gives me 1.44V for the Northbridge.
I still envy you because my E8400 (Q802A492, 1.1125 VID) just won't do 4ghz with acceptable Vcore. Tried everything (9x445mhz, 8,5x470, even 8x500), did the Vdroop mod, flashed the rampage bios, etc.. Temps are fine. Guess I'll just have to settle with what I got now, I don't want to kill it by giving it too much Vcore (this rig is built to last). I've had this rig for about 2 weeks now, and soo far I'm more than happy with it, especially the almost fail-proof motherboard-bios (no more Clear CMOS).
I had my last rig (Athlon XP 2400+ @ 11x200mhz, 1GB Corsair PC-3200, Asus A7N8X Dlx., GF 6800GT) for almost 3 years. being my first (and only) overclock attempt so far I was surprised by the amount of extra performance you can squeeze out of a carefully assembled system by overclocking. I learnt a lot about the basics of overclocking back then (did the wire trick in the CPU-Socket to unlock the multipliers, replaced stock NB-Heatsink, etc.). compared to this overclocking nowadays is really hazzle-free.


----------



## Vitaminx

so you think i should test it at the settings listed and just drop the nb voltage to 1.43 then give it a go?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
so you think i should test it at the settings listed and just drop the nb voltage to 1.43 then give it a go?

you could put 1.6v on the NB and it would still be OK. increase it a little though and see what happens.

are you using the stock NB cooler? i would put an aftermarket cooler on their. the stock cooler gets very warm


----------



## Vitaminx

yes stock. how much of a difference are temps tho from 1.43v to say 1.49? very minimal?


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Yes, very minimal. I run at 1.55v because of 4x1, and there is no temperature difference compared to 1.49. Both are 41/42 idle/load.


----------



## XxSilent22xX

Ill Post My Spec's for my P5E (Rampage 308)

VCore - 1.4v for 1.37v 
Dram - 2.2v for 2.8v
Nb - 1.69v 
Sb - Auto

Ram is at 1128 @ 5-5-5-15
Cpu is @ 450x8 3.6ghz

Windows locks up and it takes about 5 boots to get into windows but when i do the system is completely stable, any idea's?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
Yes, very minimal. I run at 1.55v because of 4x1, and there is no temperature difference compared to 1.49. Both are 41/42 idle/load.

Are those 2(2x1GB) kits and are they double sided? I've got a bead on a 4x1Gb PC8500 HyperX kit from Kingston that I just may buy. Should be Micron D9s by looking at the Kingston Spec sheet, although there is never a guarantee.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

FYI: When trying to flash back from a Rampage upgrade to stock BIOS, it is necessary to have an ENGINEERING SAMPLE of AFUDOS, not an official release. Either of the links on the XS site will suffice. I don't know where I got a non-ES version, but it didn't work.

I need to RMA this board & that's the only reason I flashed back.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


FYI: When trying to flash back from a Rampage upgrade to stock BIOS, it is necessary to have an ENGINEERING SAMPLE of AFUDOS, not an official release. Either of the links on the XS site will suffice. I don't know where I got a non-ES version, but it didn't work.

I need to RMA this board & that's the only reason I flashed back.


Yeah, the one posted in the first link of this thread works. I tested it by flashing my P5E back before I posted the "Rampage Bios how to".
,


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

I don't know where I got mine from. It's weird. Anyway, I only had about a half hour of panic time when I thought I'd be stuck with this board forever.







:


----------



## scottath

Just wanted to check before i do this:

I cannot back flash from the rampage bios to the P5E but i can to the Maximus?(then to P5E?)
Should i do it [see sig for specs]
Any hints on overclocking my system? [want to get over 20k in 3dmark06 - up to 19600 cpu at 3.86, cards clocked faily high [cannot check the actual clocks atm]

EDIT: Also - what program do i use - follow ericeod's guide from the first page i guess:


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Just wanted to check before i do this:

I cannot back flash from the rampage bios to the P5E but i can to the Maximus?(then to P5E?)
Should i do it [see sig for specs]
Any hints on overclocking my system? [want to get over 20k in 3dmark06 - up to 19600 cpu at 3.86, cards clocked faily high [cannot check the actual clocks atm]

EDIT: Also - what program do i use - follow ericeod's guide from the first page i guess:



With the flash drive boot method described in the first post, you can flash the board to the Rampage or the P5E bios. The board will backflash from the Rampage back to the P5E. I tested it out before I posted how to do it.

As for OCing, the Rampage really shines with its ram settings.


----------



## scottath

Ok - thanks - i'll proably do it tonight then - anyone have any tips for me with my Q6600 overclocking? - Specs in sig


----------



## scottath

Ok - just flashed successfully.

Thanks for the walk through you provided ericeod.
Now i've just got to work out all the new options available [as if the original Bios wasn't enough - coming from a P35 Gigabyte board - no where near as many options there!]
Got my quad running at 3.9ghz and any higher i get the BSOD 0x00000124 - which is supposed to be sound related - disabled sound and still get it - have i reached my limit?
Any help in understanding and using the multitude of new options would be helpful


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fontman49* 
Ravin, did you use AS5 on your 9700? If so, did you use the one single line of it going across the middle technique? I'm just curious because my temps are much higher than yours. Thanks...

Yea, I used AS5. Everyone here is all about the method of drop, shape, and using just a dab. Me personally, have my own method- I put down a good sized bead, maybe an X on both the HS and CPU. Definitely way more than anyone else here woud dare do. Then I take a rubber kitchen spatula and spread it around evenly, and scrape away most of it. When I'm done, there is just a very thin layer of material, and you can actually almost see the metal. This method is great for new builds as when you are done with the first surface, there is a good bit of AS5 still on the spatula.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottath* 
Ok - just flashed successfully.

Thanks for the walk through you provided ericeod.
Now i've just got to work out all the new options available [as if the original Bios wasn't enough - coming from a P35 Gigabyte board - no where near as many options there!]
Got my quad running at 3.9ghz and any higher i get the BSOD 0x00000124 - which is supposed to be sound related - disabled sound and still get it - have i reached my limit?
Any help in understanding and using the multitude of new options would be helpful


I have edited the first post with links pertaining to the Rampage bios and its settings.


----------



## ericeod

All,
There is a new Rampage Formula bios on the ASUS FTP site:
401


----------



## Bindusar

Please pardon my ignorance here but about flashing the bios of either the P5E or Maximus to the Rampage, what is the benefit? Does this give access to more settings and thus allow greater tweaking or does it also open up functionality, i.e. increase ranges that were limited before?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Bindusar*


Please pardon my ignorance here but about flashing the bios of either the P5E or Maximus to the Rampage, what is the benefit? Does this give access to more settings and thus allow greater tweaking or does it also open up functionality, i.e. increase ranges that were limited before?


From what I've seen, the Rampage bios really shines with the memory tweaks. I was able to get near DDR3 speeds after tweaking the memory a bit (as have others using this bios). The P5E will not get any additional functionality (the sensors are either not there, or just dont work).

I did notice the tolerance range is different. For example, the green-yellow-red zones for NB voltage are much higher, which might lead you to a false sense of security when increasing the NB voltage. I think this is because the X48 chipset is higher binned and can handle more voltage. So I would recommend following the voltage scheme of the original P5E bios.


----------



## scottath

Anyone flashed it yet? What does it improve over the last one [which i'm using]


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Anyone flashed it yet? What does it improve over the last one [which i'm using]


It was literally added a few hours ago to the ASUS site. I just stumbled upon it while I was updating the first post with the FTP site info! I dont know of anyone who has flashed to it yet. I have a friends build I will be working on. It is based on a Maximus Formula board, so I will be flashing it to the 401 bios in about a week.


----------



## scottath

Any reason why it won't work on my P5E?
Maybe i'll wait to be sure though


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Any reason why it won't work on my P5E?
Maybe i'll wait to be sure though


I dont know why it wouldnt work. The other Rampage bios have worked fine. If I still had my P5E I would test it out, but I dont so I cant.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
All,
There is a new Rampage Formula bios on the ASUS FTP site:
401

Nicely done. REP+

There's a new MF BIOS out too: 1201.


----------



## cyborg939

What extra options do you get when you flash to the Rampage Formula BIOS?


----------



## scottath

HEAPS of memory related options - and you can go higher with voltages [P5E CPU maxes at 1.7v - rampage is about 3v from memory]


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *trueg50* 
So, thanks to everyones help, I have gotten my rig to be stable at 3.4 ghz (9 x 380), however I am having incredible amounts of trouble trying for 3.6 -3.8.

Here are my current settings that will almost get me into windows.

I know it cannot be my RAM as it can do

Right now I am trying combinations of lower NB voltage, and FSB term voltages.

Also, does this board require exact voltages when overclocking, or are higher then necessary voltages stable?

i read that if you disable load line cal. it actually helps. I understand its function but im just saying. Also, SB shouldnt it be 1.2v min spec.


----------



## aleiro

nevermind


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:



Originally Posted by *cyborg939*


What extra options do you get when you flash to the Rampage Formula BIOS?


The most important difference between the two is tRD or Performance Level. This is implicitly controlled in the MF BIOS through the transaction booster, but the RF not only gives direct control over this, but can allow phase "pull-ins", which basically allow you to run different RAM/FSB phases at the nominated performance level minus one. Using this added feature, many of us are able to run our RAM near DDR3 SPEEDS.

A very in-depth article explains the brute power of this additional flexibility. It begins on this page: AnandTech Article. It is recommended reading even if you don't flash Rampage because it really goes into fabulous detail about NB, RAM, and FSB. Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask, basically.


----------



## TwL

Posted just fine on 0402 Rev. v1.03GA when bought with Q9450 45nm Quad. Straight after update to 0605 with EZ boot BIOS updater..

Accidentally posted double post on this topic. Sorry about that. (couldn't find anyway to delete the post. however continue at here.

Quote:



Well, just bought it and did hit my right from the owen Q9450 in it and now all the suddently all voltages are lying like next tomorrow.

VCORE is jumping like a rabbit v1.200V HWMonitor reports some other Winbond having VCORE at 1.009V, etc etc..

here's a bit screen..










another funny thing is the ASUS AI Suite.. you hit there 2.100 Volts and BIOS states 1.94 Volts on RAM while there is absolutely no way to view it on windows/linux as far I can see. Everest, HWMonitor, SpeedFan all fails.

Don't really wanna overclock but would love to get the board stable with Stock speeds at least and see them.

BIOS is 0605 for these readings. Wasn't any better on 0402.



Quote:



Quote:



Originally Posted by ericeod View Post
Use CPU-Z to display vcore (enable Loadline Calibration in bios to stop vcore from dropping inder load) and RealTemp to display temps with the 45nm CPUs.


Will not work. I have tested near all tools I got and got alot. Real Temp even gives explian that Motherboard BIOS is jamming processors 2-3 Tempeature readings.

and about Loadline Calibration I actually heard that it should in all cases be disabled with 45nm.

Sorry if I created double post didn't see that earlier post there.

and yeah know CPU-Z will give v1.200-v1.208 but it doesn't read the other reading which is 1.009v according to Everest too.



-edit-

Well, there is someone on ASUS forums saying he got Q9450 from first batch to this board and he is saying that the Temps are stuck only as long as the tempeatures stays low.

So gonna heat this box up now around 70-75 degrees see what happens.

-edit2-

Don't work. Seems even 76 degrees on processor killed all fans on my box doesn't do anything.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TwL*


Posted just fine on 0402 Rev. v1.03GA when bought with Q9450 45nm Quad. Straight after update to 0605 with EZ boot BIOS updater..

Accidentally posted double post on this topic. Sorry about that. (couldn't find anyway to delete the post. however continue at here.

-edit-

Well, there is someone on ASUS forums saying he got Q9450 from first batch to this board and he is saying that the Temps are stuck only as long as the tempeatures stays low.

So gonna heat this box up now around 70-75 degrees see what happens.

-edit2-

Don't work. Seems even 76 degrees on processor killed all fans on my box doesn't do anything.


that looks like real temp. Is it? I used real temp with my p5e and q6600 and it was all messed up.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


that looks like real temp. Is it? I used real temp with my p5e and q6600 and it was all messed up.


No, that is HW Monitor from CPUID (they wrote CPU-Z).


----------



## TwL

Yeah that picture is from HW Monitor and nah, Real Temp (nor core temp, nor everest, nor Speedfan, nor any other tool I know...) don't do duck..









Real Temp when testing sensors states that BIOS has jammed the cores check new BIOS versions. and gives kinda same as Intel explained officially the temps of 45nm cores are a bit different they should show the tempeature left to TjMax and not the temperature of current heat, if my sources are correct.

but the 5th temperature reading sensor called 'P5E' is so so weird it's around 18 degrees and when ever on load it rises which makes it making absolutely no sense. Ofcourse I understand Penryn goes cool and using after market very good cooler solution, but still My processors can't be running on 18 degrees. Trust somehow more of the first 2 cores reading I still get which are around 32-42..

..

I think this 'Winbond W83791D' which shows 'who knows what' might be releated of the 8 pin connector working with the new 'EPU' system? As far I understood 4,8 power style it should drop power from somewhere so thinking maybe that's the second pin dropping by this system feature way below "normal".


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


...many of us are able to run our RAM near DDR3 SPEEDS.


Wow Dostoyevsky! Thats pretty sweet bandwith and latency. Check out what I hit with my current settings.....9500MB/s 52.7ns. Looks like that extra 20MHz on your wolfdale just edges me out.

Edit: Ha ha.... my L2 is faster!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Wow Dostoyevsky! Thats pretty sweet bandwith and latency. Check out what I hit with my current settings.....9500MB/s 52.7ns. Looks like that extra 20MHz on your wolfdale just edges me out.

Edit: Ha ha.... my L2 is faster!


Wow, those are some impressive scores. My DDR3 1600 (running at 600MHz) does 9200MB/s 55ns... I cant get them to run at their rated speeds of 800MHz in the Maximus Extreme board (I've tried almost everything).


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Wow, those are some impressive scores. My DDR3 1600 (running at 600MHz) does 9200MB/s 55ns... I cant get them to run at their rated speeds of 800MHz in the Maximus Extreme board (I've tried almost everything).










I'm sooooo glad I steered clear of DDR3 at launch. Hold on to those sticks though, I have a feeling Nehalem will unleash their true potential. BTW, you'll need one more stick- Nehalem will sport tri-channel DDR3.

Thanks!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 







I'm sooooo glad I steered clear of DDR3 at launch. Hold on to those sticks though, I have a feeling Nehalem will unleash their true potential. BTW, you'll need one more stick- Nehalem will sport tri-channel DDR3.

Thanks!









Yeah, thats why I got the DDR3 1600 sticks (future proof)! I only switched to DDR3 because I got the motherboard for $29.99 thanks to We3ls, and my brother bought me the ram since I am building him a Mac.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Yeah, thats why I got the DDR3 1600 sticks (future proof)! I only switched to DDR3 because I got the motherboard for $29.99 thanks to We3ls, and my brother bought me the ram since I am building him a Mac.

Don't ya love top shelf hardware at bargain bin prices...better yet free?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*









I'm sooooo glad I steered clear of DDR3 at launch. Hold on to those sticks though, I have a feeling Nehalem will unleash their true potential. BTW, you'll need one more stick- Nehalem will sport tri-channel DDR3.

Thanks!










Here is what I've got so far with my DDR3. I am by no means done tweaking it. But you really have to dig into the sub timings to squeeze more performance out of the modules. I have all my primary timings, as well as Command rate and tRFC set in bios. All other timings I set using memset. these settings are stable 9hrs Prime95. I cant wait for the X48 bios version of the Maximus Extreme (I think it is the Pinot Noir).


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Here is what I've got so far with my DDR3. I am by no means done tweaking it. But you really have to dig into the sub timings to squeeze more performance out of the modules. I have all my primary timings, as well as Command rate and tRFC set in bios. All other timings I set using memset. these settings are stable 9hrs Prime95. I cant wait for the X48 bios version of the Maximus Extreme (I think it is the Pinot Noir).










That's what I was afraid of when I saw the timings on DDR3. CAS 7-8 at 1600MHz (one clock=0.625ns) is nearly the same as CAS 6 at 1200ish (one clock=0.83ns) or CAS 5 at 1000ish. If you do the math, CAS 8 @1600 and CAS [email protected] 1200 are exactly the same....5.0ns.

Still though, you're getting over 10K read and under 60ns which ain't too shabby. I think with some serious work you could see up to 15% better performance- should you be able to break the 800MHz barrier. You can do it ...I know you can!


----------



## FwoGiZ

Hi, im new to this forum and newb to OCing too!!! i just ordered new hardwares and am about to build my new comp! im so eager! i made many researches to get the best gears for my budget (the gears are in my sig)
i wanted to know a few things about OCing with that motherboard
i would like to OC my e8400 and i think that if i set my FSB to 500mhz instead of 333 id be getting 4.5ghz stock and then i could OC it further by changing the voltage right??
at the same time, i should be able to use my 4x2gb 1000mhz(stock) RAM in dual channel right?
i am unsure on how to do all those things... so far, does that make sense??;p
changing FSB and voltage needs to be done in the BIOS right?
Tx for the help in advance!!!!!
FwoGiZ


----------



## platt63

Hi,
Hoping for some tips on my current bios settings.
Please with an explanation as I'm still in learning-mode. ;-)

Asus P5E(X38) BIOS v0605
Q9300 - 3.262 GHz
Kingston DChannel, 2x2Gb DDR2 PC2-6400
Scythe Infinity/Mugen CPU cooler
Antec P182

BIOS settings
Extreme Tweaker:

AI overclock tuner - Auto
CPU ratio setting - Auto
FSB freq - 435
FSB strap to north bridge - 400 MHz
PCIE freq - 100
DRAM freq - Auto
DRAM command rate - Auto
DRAM timing control - Auto
pri.info: 5-5-5-18-3-52-6-3
sec.info: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
DRAM static read control - Auto
AI clock twister - Auto
Transaction booster - Auto
Vcore voltage - 1.31875
CPU PLL voltage - Auto
FSB termination voltage - Auto
DRAM voltage - Auto
NB voltage - Auto
SB voltage - Auto
Load line calibration - Auto
CPU GTL ref - Auto
NB GTL ref - Auto
SB 1.5 voltage - Auto
CPU spread spectrum - Disabled
PCIE spread spectrum - Disabled

Advanced - CPU configuration

CPU ratio setting - Auto
C1E support - Enabled
CPU TM function - Enabled
Vanderpool - Disabled
Executable disable bit - Enabled
Max CPUID value limit - Disabled
Intel speedstep tech - Enabled


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *platt63*


Hi,
Hoping for some tips on my current bios settings.
Please with an explanation as I'm still in learning-mode. ;-)

*Vcore voltage - 1.31875
CPU PLL voltage - Auto
FSB termination voltage - Auto
DRAM voltage - Auto
NB voltage - Auto*


Definitely set all the voltages in bold to specified settings and not auto. Go to the Hardware monitor in bios and post the actual voltage for each of those (they are displayed beneath the temps), then we can go from there.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FwoGiZ*


Hi, im new to this forum and newb to OCing too!!! i just ordered new hardwares and am about to build my new comp! im so eager! i made many researches to get the best gears for my budget (the gears are in my sig)
i wanted to know a few things about OCing with that motherboard
i would like to OC my e8400 and i think that if i set my FSB to 500mhz instead of 333 id be getting 4.5ghz stock and then i could OC it further by changing the voltage right??
at the same time, i should be able to use my 4x2gb 1000mhz(stock) RAM in dual channel right?
i am unsure on how to do all those things... so far, does that make sense??;p
changing FSB and voltage needs to be done in the BIOS right?
Tx for the help in advance!!!!!
FwoGiZ


You need to first worry about getting 3.8GHz stable, then work your way up from there. I just helped Collateral with his 4.0GHz E8400 OC and we set the following:

FSB Strap: Auto
FSB: 
RAM speed: 9xx (cant remember becasue we ended up setting his Ballistix to 1102, but it is the next divider down)

Loadline Calibration: enabled (others are reporting to set it disabled on E8X00 chips, but he wanted to reduce vdroop)
CPU voltage: 1.328v
NB voltage: 1.49v
FSB Term voltage: 1.42v
PLL voltage: 1.52v

note: he also bumped it up to 500 x8 multi for the same 4.0GHz OC.

NB voltage: 1.55v
FSB Term voltage: 1.54v

Also, 1 or 2 of these might be off by 0.02v because i cant remember the exact settings, but they are def. close!

Hope this helps


----------



## Ravin

Just flashed from 0219 to 0401, nothing notably different yet.


----------



## platt63

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Definitely set all the voltages in bold to specified settings and not auto. Go to the Hardware monitor in bios and post the actual voltage for each of those (they are displayed beneath the temps), then we can go from there.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hi Eric,
I found the following in my bios:

Vcore - 1.288
3.3V volt - 3.232 V
5V volt - 4.896 V
12V volt - 12.376 V

Is this what you mean?

Just installed Asus Probe v1.04.49 and it gives almost the same values.
Vcore - 1.30V
+3.3 - 3.23V
+5 - 4.90
+12 - 12.43


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *platt63* 
Hi Eric,
I found the following in my bios:

Vcore - 1.288
3.3V volt - 3.232 V
5V volt - 4.896 V
12V volt - 12.376 V

Is this what you mean?

Just installed Asus Probe v1.04.49 and it gives almost the same values.
Vcore - 1.30V
+3.3 - 3.23V
+5 - 4.90
+12 - 12.43

I was hopeing it would give you the northbridge voltage. Well I would recommend setting the following voltage:

Vcore: 1.3v
NB Voltage: 1.45v
FSB Termination voltage: 1.36v (dont go over 1.4v)
PLL: 1.52v

Then see how high you can OC on those settings for now. Just make sure to set your NB Strap to 333 or 400 (for stability) and your ram to withing specs (by setting them ram manually to as close as you can to their rated speed).


----------



## platt63

Hi Eric,
I will try this tomorrow cause I'm away this evening.
Since I'm new to overclocking you could explain what you mean with "...and your ram to withing specs (by setting them ram manually to tas close as you can to their rated speed)"

gr. Philip


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *platt63* 
Hi Eric,
I will try this tomorrow cause I'm away this evening.
Since I'm new to overclocking you could explain what you mean with "...and your ram to withing specs (by setting them ram manually to tas close as you can to their rated speed)"

gr. Philip

I think he's saying to set your memory as close to the manufacturer's specifications as you can get. I see you have PC6400 memory, so it should be rated something like 800MHz 5-5-5-15 1.8V or 800MHz 4-4-4-12 2.1V

I'd reccomend trying getting 800MHz 5-5-5-15 on your RAM and OC your CPU only first (to find the limit), then do the opposite. Set your CPU to stock and try your RAM at 8xxMHz 4-4-4-12 or 3-3-3-8; 9xxMHz 4-4-4-12; then 1xxxMHz 4-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-15.

If you let me know which Kingston set you have, or if you happen to know which ICs they sport, I may be able to suggest some potentially reasonable stable settings for you.

Edit: Just saw you have 2Gb sticks so CAS3 is probably out of the question.


----------



## Ravin

New RAM OC


----------



## FwoGiZ

in order to "OC", all those modifications need to be done IN THE BIOS right??? or do i need some software? or to modifiy my hardware?
i absolutely have no idea... i just received all my hardware and am about to build and eager to OC all that rig!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FwoGiZ* 
in order to "OC", all those modifications need to be done IN THE BIOS right??? or do i need some software? or to modifiy my hardware?
i absolutely have no idea... i just received all my hardware and am about to build and eager to OC all that rig!


Yeah, they all have to be done in the bios. Just look through some of the screenshots for some decent settings. Just keep in mind what CPU and ram you have and understand their max voltages and tolerances.


----------



## platt63

Hi Eric,
I've done your parameters but Prime create a reboot within the second.

Below my current BIOS-settings:

My system:
Asus P5E(X38) BIOS v0605
Q9300 - 3.262 GHz
Kingston DChannel, 2x2Gb DDR2 PC2-6400
Scythe Infinity/Mugen CPU cooler
Antec P182

BIOS settings - Extreme Tweaker

AI overclock tuner - Auto
CPU ratio setting - Auto
FSB freq - 435
FSB strap to north bridge - 400 MHz
PCIE freq - 100
DRAM freq - Auto
DRAM command rate - Auto
DRAM timing control - Auto
pri.info: 5-5-5-18-3-52-6-3
sec.info: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
DRAM static read control - Auto
AI clock twister - Auto
Transaction booster - Auto
*Vcore voltage - 1.30000*
*CPU PLL voltage - 1.52*
*FSB termination voltage - 1.36*
DRAM voltage - Auto
*NB voltage - 1.45*
SB voltage - Auto
Load line calibration - Auto
CPU GTL ref - Auto
NB GTL ref - Auto
SB 1.5 voltage - Auto
CPU spread spectrum - Disabled
PCIE spread spectrum - Disabled

Advanced - CPU configuration

CPU ratio setting - Auto
C1E support - Enabled
CPU TM function - Enabled
Vanderpool - Disabled
Executable disable bit - Enabled
Max CPUID value limit - Disabled
Intel speedstep tech - Enabled

What to do now?

gr. Philip


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *platt63*


Hi Eric,
I've done your parameters but Prime create a reboot within the second.

Below my current BIOS-settings:

My system:
Asus P5E(X38) BIOS v0605
Q9300 â€" 3.262 GHz
Kingston DChannel, 2x2Gb DDR2 PC2-6400
Scythe Infinity/Mugen CPU cooler
Antec P182

BIOS settings - Extreme Tweaker

AI overclock tuner â€" Auto
CPU ratio setting â€" Auto
FSB freq â€" 435
FSB strap to north bridge â€" 400 MHz
PCIE freq â€" 100
DRAM freq â€" Auto
DRAM command rate â€" Auto
DRAM timing control â€" Auto
pri.info: 5-5-5-18-3-52-6-3
sec.info: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
DRAM static read control â€" Auto
AI clock twister â€" Auto
Transaction booster â€" Auto
*Vcore voltage â€" 1.30000*
*CPU PLL voltage â€" 1.52*
*FSB termination voltage â€" 1.36*
DRAM voltage â€" Auto
*NB voltage â€" 1.45*
SB voltage â€" Auto
Load line calibration â€" Auto
CPU GTL ref â€" Auto
NB GTL ref â€" Auto
SB 1.5 voltage â€" Auto
CPU spread spectrum â€" Disabled
PCIE spread spectrum â€" Disabled

Advanced â€" CPU configuration

CPU ratio setting â€" Auto
C1E support â€" Enabled
CPU TM function â€" Enabled
Vanderpool â€" Disabled
Executable disable bit â€" Enabled
Max CPUID value limit â€" Disabled
Intel speedstep tech - Enabled

What to do now?

gr. Philip


Try bumping your voltage up to 1.35v. What to set in bios doesnt actually give you that vcore in windows. Just look at the CPU-Z screen under the CPU tab, it probably shows your actual vcore at like 1.26v.


----------



## TwL

Hmm, that Vcore lies like next tomorrow would check on hardware screen what the actual vcore is after modifying and booting. the 1.300v isn't probably more than 1.25x volts and more than probably it's an memory issue (the 400Mhz NB ain't very stabile specially with Kingston blocks). Termination voltage should be close to NB voltage something like (NB) 1.38v & (FSB termination) 1.39v was stabile here on Q9450 with 3,4Ghz, if I am correct (Kinda new on intel boards myself), but if I understand them correctly.

3.262 Ghz should tho be lower voltage on vcore got here Q9450 running 3,2 Ghz with 1.168v (aka. 1.2250v on P5E BIOS). So can't be much more on Q9300 lets say 1.2750v on bios max (gives actual 1.214-1.220v)


----------



## Bergdoktor

ftp://ftp.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socke...-ASUS-0702.zip
bios 0702, haven't tried it yet (still fiddling with rampage bios 0401). couldn't find a changelog, so if anyone is willing to try it and share his opinion, go ahead


----------



## platt63

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bergdoktor* 
ftp://ftp.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socke...-ASUS-0702.zip
bios 0702, haven't tried it yet (still fiddling with rampage bios 0401). couldn't find a changelog, so if anyone is willing to try it and share his opinion, go ahead

Wow...that's brand new! Anyone willing to try?

found this at the asus forum:
"Just installed it. No problems so far.

One tiny peculiarity: Vista asked for reactivation!!! Online activation worked fine..."


----------



## platt63

Last night I flashed my P5E BIOS to v07.02 (I had 06.05)
Since no one knows what changed in this version, I didn't want to flash it...but I couldn't resist. ;-)
And on the ASUS forum i read two positive reactions.

Well, it works! Today I hope to find out what changed.
Is there anybody else who has V07.02 now?

gr. Philip


----------



## FwoGiZ

i just tried to change my fsb from 333 to 500 and set my ram from 800 to 1000 via that utility ASUS AI Suite....
my bios is 0203
now my monitor wont show anything anymore..... and the bios doesnt beep during boot up.. i dont even know if it actually boot up anymore
everything seems to be still working (fans, psu, etc)
i tried to clear RTC RAM by following the procedures on page 2-22 but it didnt work.. (i couldnt continue at step6 which is to setup the bios date back since my monitor still dont work..
any clue?


----------



## spacegoast

have you tried to clear CMOS yet? do not use the AI Suite to overclock. do that in the BIOS. did you increase the cpu voltage to accommodate the increase in FSB? you will also need to increase the NB voltage and maybe even the RAM voltage.


----------



## FwoGiZ

***my Bad... Double Post


----------



## FwoGiZ

yup i cleared the CMOS twice, during 1hour, with screwdriver and stuffs....
yup now i know NOT TO USE AI Suite.... its just that i saw so many screenshot with that program that i thought it was ok..... im total noob at OCing..
i didnt increase any voltage; i just changed the fsb from 333to500 and the ram freq from 800 to 1000, then i pressed APPLY, then it froze... i resetted it after a few min, and it never booted up again..


----------



## sixcore

Hey,

I have the following what I am not sure about.
I have the Asus P5E X38 motherboard.
I have a 4GB 2x GB 800mhz OCZ REAPER Kit.
I set the voltage to 2.1 volts. And memory is now running on 1077mhz.
What do i have to do with my motherboard. Do I have to change the
chip before i realy can use this extra mhzs? I also have a Asus nvidia 9600gt
and i overclocked it to 720mhz core 1800mhz shader and 2000mhz memory.
I have 2 WD raptors stripped and a 4x2400 Q6600 Quad core (not overclocked) how do i get best results out of this system.

Thanks already for who wants to help me out.

Steven


----------



## TwL

New BIOS is out doesn't read Beta..

version is 0702 dates.. 2008/05/16 update..

and

USA: http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/...-ASUS-0702.zip
European: http://dlsvr02.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/...-ASUS-0702.zip
China: http://dlsvr04.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/...-ASUS-0702.zip
Japan: http://dlsvr05.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/...-ASUS-0702.zip

-update-

Might as well act as test bunny as had some issues on this board. Although 0607 was quite good, but some weird hoax readings on it. Anyhow, went in with 'AFUDOS' just fine over '0607'. Can see that now I can boot with 400Mhz FSB / Strap 400Mhz NB & with G.skill DDR2 with 1066Mhz with 2.26V which is nice seems stabile according to MemTest+. Vista had some issues with this, but by quick reinstall to detect it good seems to be working stabile.

2.100v on RAM actually seems now to give 2.100v and not anything else which is REALLY welcome considering this was 2.2x volts on '0605' BIOS and worked on 1.94v at BIOS actually 2.1v as G.Skill standard 800Mhz with cl4-4-3-5 requires.

All in all seems working well, ps. don't be supriced of the second winbond heats on first start of the BIOS seems they report complete hoax as did 06xx BIOSes. and settles on next reboot.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FwoGiZ* 
yup i cleared the CMOS twice, during 1hour, with screwdriver and stuffs....
yup now i know NOT TO USE AI Suite.... its just that i saw so many screenshot with that program that i thought it was ok..... im total noob at OCing..
i didnt increase any voltage; i just changed the fsb from 333to500 and the ram freq from 800 to 1000, then i pressed APPLY, then it froze... i resetted it after a few min, and it never booted up again..

has it booted yet? if not, remove the battery and the clear the CMOS and see if that helps. when you getting running again you will have to maually set the voltages for the RAM, CPU, North Bridge and South Bridge.
For your CPU i would not go above 1.36v. i heard the e8400 does not like high voltages. Since you have the same RAM i do set it to 2.1 or 2.12v. you could probably set the FSB to 500 and use an 8x multiplier to get it to 4ghz. Increase the NB voltage to around 1.5-1.6v, not entirely sure. see what works. and increase SB voltage to around 1.6v as well.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sixcore* 
Hey,

I have the following what I am not sure about.
I have the Asus P5E X38 motherboard.
I have a 4GB 2x GB 800mhz OCZ REAPER Kit.
I set the voltage to 2.1 volts. And memory is now running on 1077mhz.
What do i have to do with my motherboard. Do I have to change the
chip before i realy can use this extra mhzs? I also have a Asus nvidia 9600gt
and i overclocked it to 720mhz core 1800mhz shader and 2000mhz memory.
I have 2 WD raptors stripped and a 4x2400 Q6600 Quad core (not overclocked) how do i get best results out of this system.

Thanks already for who wants to help me out.

Steven

look at the first post for some screen shots to refer to for what settings to use. once you set everything you are already using the extra mhz. well your PC is set to anyway. it just depends if you do something CPU or GPU intensive, then you will utilize the extra mhz from overclocking


----------



## FwoGiZ

it has not booted up yet at all and i tried many times clearing the cmos thingy
i fear something has busted








rma time=_=


----------



## ChrisB17

I dont know if its Ok to post here, but I will. A new edition P5E is out. Called the P5E deluxe. Its the same as the P5E just this has X48 instead of x38. Maybe we can flash the P5E x48 bios to our x38 P5E? Maybe?

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...19&modelmenu=1


----------



## Kazavana

Hey guys,
I just bought this MB with an E8400 and hoping to overclock to 4gz on air. I bought some G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit cause it was real cheap and an thermalright 120-ultra. My question is - is it possible? My main concern is maintaining the life of the cpu for as long as possible while getting the most out of it (2 years hopefully). I've read around the forums and noticed if you oc too hot the cpu will degrade (really want to avoid that) Everyone here is much more experienced than I am so any pointers, advice, valuable information you can provide is much appreciated. Thanks a lot guys and have a great memorial day weekend!


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

You can get it to 4GHz, no problem. Look for 445 on the FSB, and 1068 on RAM. This will put you in the 333 NB strap and 6:5, which seems like a sweet spot on this board. You should be able to hit 4.0 with around 1.38 vCore. If you have any problems, it's probably the RAM. It's good to 1000Mhz, no problem but it doesn't like to overclock much. I have the same RAM on my P5N32-E running at 1066, so you SHOULD be able to hit 1068. You'll need a little bit more than reference voltage, and keep in mind this board overvolts RAM by about .1v, so start a little over 2.00v and don't go higher than 2.12v (or 2.22v actual). This RAM gets kind of hot, so make sure it's getting good circulation or consider some aftermarket RAM sinks.

Take it with a grain of salt when people tell you the chip will "degrade" over time with too high an OC. This is undocumented, and if it DOES affect OC, it will take the lifespan from something far beyond normal use cycle to something slightly less than far beyond the normal use cycle. Like think 8 years instead of 10 or 15, for example. If you're still using this chip then, it's probably in granny's e-mail computer; y'know?


----------



## Kazavana

hey thanks a lot for the reply. Should I change the ram? Fortunately i can get any ram set up to $160 (its good to know someone in a computer store







) What would be recommended for this board to try and better the set up in any way? I also wanted to set up the board with two HDD on RAID 0. Will the board have any problems or is there anything that, again, i might need to do to get this set up just right? I thought i read somewhere people stating had a problem with setting up their RAID configuration. Thanks a lot again guy.s


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

You shouldn't have any problems with RAID. I haven't had any problems on the Maximus Formula (or on any of the Rampage BIOSes). I don't see any reason to change the RAM at this time. You should find out what they can do first.

By the way, you should add your system specs HERE. You should do this now.


----------



## TwL

Well, this is simply thinking of my, but clocked the box and happy with clocking around 445FSB 1:1 RAM cl4-4-3-5(or losened them just for total stability to 4-4-4-9) perfectly stabile with G.Skill.

*but wondering here as I turned all back to stock (was just testing what this board can do and happy with it now). That what is the use of overclocking anything this level of hardware.

There is literally no x264 codecs which would utilize SSE4.x levels or 4 cores "good" and Mainstream x264 isn't ready and there isn't an single game or software on market which would utilize any of new hardware out. Even SiSoftware which blames to support SSE4.1 is full of it. Go ahead benchmark SSE2 against SSE4.1 which is in reality near double speed in multimedia actually showing slower readings.* :lol:

So, where is the actual point? there's no speed gain for any direction. "Just for fun" sounds quite lame excuse would understand for like 3DMark benchmarking for speed but NONE of their benchmark even Vantage lags every single Intel support speed up just for equalize the AMD at SSE2 not to speak even about 3DMark06.


----------



## johnyy

I'm relatively inexperienced at o/c'ing. Iv'e checked this thread and been surprised not to find anyone reporting results with the combination of cpu and memory I'm using.

Iv'e clocked both my cpu and gpu relatively modestly so far and in the process raised my 3dmark06 score by 1,000. But I don't seem to be getting similar results to others with similar rig at 3dmark.

Perhaps because I haven't been able to clock the memory stably yet. Every time I change anything from auto windows either gives bsod or locks after a few minutes. I notice that the rampage screens differ from those shown at the beginning of this thread - some are slightly different order or wording. Also and it seems more importantly, the rampage bios only gives two dram frequencies - 972 and 1,2** MHz (can't remember exactly), whereas the original asus bios gave the option for 1,066 MHz. I have tried to implement the settings at the beginning but that was not stable. Heres the stuff I have changed so far in a hit and hope manner ie. my present settings.

CPU Ratio setting 07.00
FSB Strap to North Bridge 400 MHz
FSB frequency 486
PCI frequency 1000

DRAM frequency DDR2 - 972 MHz
DRAM command rate 2N

CPU voltage 1.4v
CPU PLL voltage 1.58v
North Bridge voltage 1.39v
DRAM voltage 2.14v
FSB termination voltage 1.38v

CPU GTL voltage reference 0.63x
NB voltage reference 0.67x

CPU spread spectrum disabled
PCIE spread spectrum disabled

Legacy USB support disabled

----------

CPU 
Stock: 2,600 
Overclocked: 3,401

Graphics Card - Core
Stock: 621
Overclocked: 702

Graphics Card - Memory
Stock: 720
Overclocked: 810

Benchmarks

3DMark06: 
Stock: 5,500 (approx)
Overclocked: 6,547
================
Any advice welcome


----------



## trueg50

At the very least, change the CPU ratio setting to 9. perhaps that could be whats causing your instability.

with your current FSB that would give you a CPU speed of 3.6 ghz (400 FSB x "CPU ratio, ie your multiplyer").


----------



## johnyy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


At the very least, change the CPU ratio setting to 9. perhaps that could be whats causing your instability.

with your current FSB that would give you a CPU speed of 3.6 ghz (400 FSB x "CPU ratio, ie your multiplyer").



Tried that. BIOS will only allow change to 08.00. Should have said Rampage BIOS is V.0219 03/05/08 - put that in system cp but it does not show

btw - fast answer. Thanks


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *johnyy*


Tried that. BIOS will only allow change to 08.00. Should have said Rampage BIOS is V.0219 03/05/08 - put that in system cp but it does not show

btw - fast answer. Thanks


Sorry, just realized my mistake, I was wrong, it should be 8 x that you set your multi to.

Intel has their FSB "quad pumped" so 400 x 4 = your FSB quad pumped.

Your chip has a stock FSB of 333, so CPU speed of 2660 mhz / 333 mhz = 8 x multi.

So set it to 8. Also some chips / boards don't like downward multi's (I know my E6400 / P5N32-E didn't like it.).


----------



## johnyy

I will give that a go when Iv'e done my chores. But will that then allow me a stable memory oc. And does the fact that I can't set it to 1066 affect anything?


----------



## johnyy

Seems stable at 8 x 450. Gave me a nasty 30 minutes. Would not post so mt'd the rtc. Still no boot. About to give up but left the power cable out for 5 minutes and then it came back. Now running at 3,600MHz and temps good.

So what would memory settings be for my kit please?


----------



## johnyy

Was not stable and windows crash and failed to start with bsd even in safe mode. But the weird thing is that not I am back to default settings the memory is showing it is set at 1066 whereas it was showing 900 before. Guess the memory auto setting works good

Would still welcome some memory tweak suggestions though


----------



## Bergdoktor

I don't own the same CPU as you do, as I just recently switched from my good old athlon xp 2400+ to a C2D E8400. I haven't been able to push it to 4Ghz+ as I didn't want to go above 1.35V under load (CPU-Z, set at 1.368V in the Bios) with my silent air-cooling. Vdroop-Mod worked like a charm for me, Vcore now doesn't drop under load, which is a reason for me to have CPU Loadline Calibration disabled in the bios, CPU PLL voltage at 1.52V in Bios (1.6V in Everest, afaik the P5E tends to overvolt it). Running a 45nm CPU myself, your 65nm CPU can handle a bit more Voltage on the CPU.
From what I've read regarding your memory-settings you might have to select the appropriate FSB Strap to get the right dividers for FSB/Memory frequency. (1:1, 3:4, 5:6 and so on). Some are only available on certain Straps, so you should give this a go. just change the strap from auto to 333 or 400 and you should be able to select different memory-frequencies. Regarding the timings (CAS, etc.) I can't give you any special advice, as I'm running another Brand and have no further experience with your kit. you might want to check the manufacturers website to get the recommended settings, but if you plan to run them at their default speed you should be fine with the stock SPD-Settings. according to some posts here and at xtremesys the board overvolts the VDimm for the memory by as much as 0.1V so personally I wouldn't go beyond 2.1V in the bios (check website for recommended voltage). I can only verify this by everest readings as I don't have a Multimeter around.
Upping FSB Termination voltage didn't do anything for my OC, so I actually have it set at the lowest voltage available in the bios (1.2V iirc), which still allowed me to run 475mhz FSB orthos-blend stable. according to reports, higher FSBT also seem to be a common reason for early death on 45nm CPUs like mine. you are running a 65nm CPU, so other peoples opinions might be more precise. A tad more (like 1.41V) on the NB Voltage could help you get stable at higher FSB-Speeds.
please excuse my english, it's pretty late around here and it's really tiring expressing my thoughts in another language. I hope atleast some pieces of my advice help you out in any way. Last but not least, If you still feel your board is holding you back, you might want to give the rampage-bios a try.


----------



## johnyy

Found 2 problems because I am a noob:

1. Set FSB strap to north bridge to 333. This I hadn't realised was the multiplier and as a result the memory is auto setting to 1,066 at 2T (was at 2N before - whatever N is)

2. But although this is running stable, the graphics card is overheating on stock settings. So that will need a lookat to see if its bunged up or the thermal paste replacing


----------



## Echo_1

i cant remember what a good north and south bridge voltage is. Can anybody help? trying to go for 3.6ghz, as my oc failed for first time the other night. on default 2.4 ghz right now.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Echo_1* 
i cant remember what a good north and south bridge voltage is. Can anybody help? trying to go for 3.6ghz, as my oc failed for first time the other night. on default 2.4 ghz right now.


what setting did you use? try going a little higher until things are stable. i am using 1.43v (NB) right now and SB is at stock


----------



## yobbo89

hey all .im new here so be nice..

im haveing trouble with my q9300-p5e.
i cant get 450 fsb to boot anymore. i can do 447. im not shure if its a ram issue.ive got the rampage bios.ive got 4x1gb giel ultra pc6400 sticks cas 4.

so far ive got it to boot at 450-455 once ,required around
1.71v nb
1.45v cpu
2.2 cpu pll
1.7v fsb termination
2.2v ram
ram 900mhz 4-4-4-12
(ram craps out anything loser then cas 5)

i dont know why it could actualy boot with these settings,its actualy a over kill in volts.
im thinking that it could be the ram and im woundering if i should go and buy some 1066mhz sticks.

ive had the sticks run at 960mhz cas 5 ,2.2v very well.but for the q9300 and 7.5 multi it could be the stress of the mobo/haveing 4 gigs of ram.

im at 3.3ghz 1.23 v 1.45nb . 25deg idle 37 load. stable.
this cpu is hard to oc and is getting to me .i had my q6600 b3 @ 3.75ghz wich was easy to do.

any suggestions.


----------



## scottath

I hope that the CPU PLL is a typo - that will kill it overnight - not having experience with the new cpu's i cannot comment, Just out of intrest - what settings did you use for your Q6600?


----------



## yobbo89

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Echo_1* 
i cant remember what a good north and south bridge voltage is. Can anybody help? trying to go for 3.6ghz, as my oc failed for first time the other night. on default 2.4 ghz right now.

I think 1.35-1.4 is good at 3.6ghz-dosnt need much volts


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *yobbo89* 
hey all .im new here so be nice..

im haveing trouble with my q9300-p5e.
i cant get 450 fsb to boot anymore. i can do 447. im not shure if its a ram issue.ive got the rampage bios.ive got 4x1gb giel ultra pc6400 sticks cas 4.

so far ive got it to boot at 450-455 once ,required around
1.71v nb
1.45v cpu
2.2 cpu pll
1.7v fsb termination
2.2v ram
ram 900mhz 4-4-4-12
(ram craps out anything loser then cas 5)

i dont know why it could actualy boot with these settings,its actualy a over kill in volts.
im thinking that it could be the ram and im woundering if i should go and buy some 1066mhz sticks.

ive had the sticks run at 960mhz cas 5 ,2.2v very well.but for the q9300 and 7.5 multi it could be the stress of the mobo/haveing 4 gigs of ram.

im at 3.3ghz 1.23 v 1.45nb . 25deg idle 37 load. stable.
this cpu is hard to oc and is getting to me .i had my q6600 b3 @ 3.75ghz wich was easy to do.

any suggestions.

your NB is too high and intel tech specs for cpu pll is 1.6v so you might of cooked it...


----------



## yobbo89

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottath* 
I hope that the CPU PLL is a typo - that will kill it overnight - not having experience with the new cpu's i cannot comment, Just out of intrest - what settings did you use for your Q6600?

http://s242.photobucket.com/albums/f...ent=375ghz.jpg

this is a screen of 3.73ghz .didnt have one at 3.75ghz

for 3.75ghz
49 deg idle 72 load.
1.45 nb
cpu pll auto
fsb termination auto
1.52v cpu

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/f...9/Image037.jpg
this is why i got a new cpu.lol the cores are solderd on the ihs! that suckd big time.

my q9300 @ 3.3ghz almost matchs my q6600 @ 3.75ghz in a bench

pointless for me to have a q9300 @ 3.3ghz when i could of got another q6600 (this time a GO wich i could oc even more)


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Echo_1* 
i cant remember what a good north and south bridge voltage is. Can anybody help? trying to go for 3.6ghz, as my oc failed for first time the other night. on default 2.4 ghz right now.

i would try NB at 1.45-1.54v, i would go no higher than 1.61v. And SB at auto or manually 1.2- 1.23v, SB controls the harddrives so you shouldnt need a lot of voltage to retain stability


----------



## yobbo89

i didnt cook it and the cpu isnt dammaged. the recomended specs are a little safe anyway.you can go past that and still not hurt the cpu.


----------



## scottath

Please tell me you have a better pic of the CPU








Sorry about your quad - i could have told you it was soldered on [i've seen someone else try it....]
If you can recall/wrotedown all the bios settings:
CPU Voltage :
CPU PLL Voltage :
North Bridge Voltage :
DRAM Voltage :
FSB Termination Voltage :
South Bridge Voltage :
Loadline Calibration :
CPU GTL Reference :
North Bridge GTL Reference :
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage :
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage :
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage :
SB 1.5V Voltage :

That was a nice chip - 3.7 on a B3 is brilliant
Obviously stock cooling going by the idle temp


----------



## yobbo89

the only thing you need to use is nb volts and cpu v core.
there is no need to use the other settings ie.fsb termination v,cpu pll, because 1600fsb-1650fsb isnt stressing the mobo much .

theres no need to go past 1.5 nb volts ,

you will need alot of cpu- volts. dont stress about haveing it at 1.5v
i found it safe,had this cpu well over 12 months and ocd 3.6ghz 3.8ghz

edit) actualy had it 3.8ghz but it was hot.and im using water cooling lol. for the people who have GO revisions,.... lucky for you.

80 deg is safe for a q6600 b3 . it will actualy bsod @ 84 deg. which is the limit for it. the fact people tell you to stay well under 65-70 deg is a load of poop.

before i got my q9300 i had a pentiume d 925 in it and oc it to 4.6ghz ..** was so bord lol. was hopeing to hit 5ghz.

and now i have a pos q9300 and there are people getting 3.5ghz (makes me sound like a no0b)

also a stock cooler will neva get you anything past 3.0ghz .


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *yobbo89*


1.7v fsb termination


I'm going to tell you right now your are running way to high of voltages on almost every setting! People have already warned you about the other voltages, but I wanted to point out your FSB termination voltage (VTT). The 45nm chips can be damaged by anything over 1.4v, so 1.7v is way too high.

Anandtech: Beware of VTT - it's a lurking time bomb...

Quote:



We will run high VTT voltages in short bursts to test the limits of the board and CPU. However, this is the first time we have tried anything over 1.45V on a 24+-hour basis to test application stability.

Let this be a warning - do not go over 1.4V maximum for 24/7 use! We are certain that the high VTT voltage and extended testing was the cause of death, as we made no other major or obvious changes within the BIOS that could have instigated a failure. Obviously, we tried to boot the processor in a number of other motherboards without success before we decided to post our results up.

This is our first 45nm Quad core processor we managed to kill outright during testing. We hope it is the last one too. The problem is that we also have a Q9300 that is on life support after experiencing a 36-hour run at 435FSB with VTT set to 1.45V. While our experiences might not represent results elsewhere, we thought our advice to just, "Say no to high VTT" is worth a quick post.


----------



## Page35

Hey guys,
I flashed my P5E to the Rampage bios (v.0403)!!! and am looking to max my RAM speed. Hopefully getting the most out of my bandwidth and lower latency
as well..

My current settings are:

CPU Ratio: 9.5
FSB strap to NB strap: auto
FSB Freq: 443
PCIE Frequency: 100

DRAM Freq: 1111Mhz
DRAM Command Rate: 2N
timings: 5-5-5-15 (all other timings are set to "AUTO" but read:
#RAS to #RAS delay: 3
REF Cycle Time: 42
WRITE Recovery Time: 6
READ to PRE Time: 3
READ to WRITE Delay (S/D): 8
WRITE to READ Delay (S): 3
WRITE to READ Delay (D): 5
READ to READ Delay (S):4
READ to READ Delay (D):6
WRITE to WRITE Delay (S):4
WRITE to WRITE Delay (D):6
WRITE to PRE Delay: 14
READ to PRE Delay: 5
PRE to PRE Delay: 1
ALL PRE to ACT Delay: 5
ALL PRE to REF Delay: 5
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled

CPU Voltage: 1.38750v
CPU Pll voltage: AUTO
NB Voltage: 1.37v (I have 4 Ram sticks)
DRAM Voltage: 2.14v
FSB Termination: AUTO
SB voltage: AUTO
SB 1.5v voltage: AUTO
Loadline Calibration: Enabled
CPU GTL voltage reference: AUTO
NB GTL voltage: AUTO
DRAM Controller Voltage REF: AUTO
DRAM Channel A (+B) Voltage REF: both at AUTO

CPU Sread spectrum: disabled
PCIE Spread spectrum: disabled

The next highest DRAM freq. is 1181Mhz which should be possible with these sticks although I have had no luck booting into Windows with the RAM set at 1181Mhz, even after raising the ram volts up to 2.2v in the bios (which reads 2.28v in hw monitor due to droop). I've also tried rasing the NB volts in the bios up to 1.49v.
Maybe my sticks just can't run at 1181Mhz, but then again I don't understand all the GTL, clock skew and timing settings. I've gotten this far, can anyone help out?

PS. And otherwise, can anyone help out with my current settings? I'd like the highest reachable bandwidth with the lowest latency possible from my sticks.

Current SiSoftware Sandra results:
Memory Bandwidth test-
Int Buff'd iSSE2 Memory Bandwidth: 7903MB/S
Float Buff'd iSSE2 Memory Bandwidth: 7984MB/s
Memory Latency test-
Memory (Random Access) Latency: 77ns
Speed Factor: 102.00

thanks


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

^ is problem that you not putting specs. What CPU? What RAM? Not psychic here. Anyone else not psychic?

You can put them here: FILL IN YOUR SPECS

Tanks.


----------



## Page35

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
^ is problem that you not putting specs. What CPU? What RAM? Not psychic here. Anyone else not psychic?

You can put them here: FILL IN YOUR SPECS

Tanks.

Sorry, I just filled m in


----------



## trueg50

Well I have very littler experience with Intel chipsets, and know that it could go either way, but I was wondering, which is better for games?

UPDATE: Finally got a nice quad, my Q6700 is running at 3.6ghz, 1.42 volts.

400mhz strap
RAM : 960 mhz
Timings : 5-5-5-15
NB - 1.58v
FSB - 1.45v
SB - 1.125v


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Page35*


Sorry, I just filled m in










Okay, cool! We have a similar setup. Not sure if you know this, but our RAM is supposed no longer supported on these boards. If the RAM works at the speeds you're posting at, you're probably okay. But I've tried some newer batches of Pc2-8500 ICs, and they won't even POST for me. I guess the moral of that story is that SOME batches work well.

Start out with what I have for my E8400. Take a look HERE. I find that with this RAM and chip, the 333 NB strap is rock solid. I see you have it on AUTO, but it's probably running in the 333 strap anyway. It's probably good to explicitly put that in. Then, look for the 6:5 divider. You should be able to mimic exactly my settings at the 9.5 multi for a nice, stable 4.465.

**EDIT: Nice Daft Punk reference!


----------



## Page35

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
Okay, cool! We have a similar setup. Not sure if you know this, but our RAM is supposed no longer supported on these boards. If the RAM works at the speeds you're posting at, you're probably okay. But I've tried some newer batches of Pc2-8500 ICs, and they won't even POST for me. I guess the moral of that story is that SOME batches work well.

Start out with what I have for my E8400. Take a look HERE. I find that with this RAM and chip, the 333 NB strap is rock solid. I see you have it on AUTO, but it's probably running in the 333 strap anyway. It's probably good to explicitly put that in. Then, look for the 6:5 divider. You should be able to mimic exactly my settings at the 9.5 multi for a nice, stable 4.465.

**EDIT: Nice Daft Punk reference!

Thanks for the link!! I copied everything over into my bios and upon rebooting it BSOD'd at the welcome screen. I think my proc needs more juice than 1.4v to run 4.485Ghz, but seeing as it is a 45nm it wouldn't be wise to take the chance. I otherwise need to decrease the speed of the proc. and thereby adjust a couple of settings, or just adjust a couple of settings and go for 4.485Ghz. What do ya think? Any tips (again







)?

**Daft Punk Rulez!!


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *yobbo89* 
the only thing you need to use is nb volts and cpu v core.
there is no need to use the other settings ie.fsb termination v,cpu pll, because 1600fsb-1650fsb isnt stressing the mobo much .

theres no need to go past 1.5 nb volts ,


untrue... i had to push the pll and termination voltages up after using the 400 strap. Mind you i only pushed the termination voltage to 1.24v and the pll to 1.52v but it smoothed everything out after that.


----------



## yobbo89

strange, i dont need to touch any other settings but v-core/nb v to get a q6600 @ 3.6ghz stable.

also ericeod i know every setting is to high and will kill the mobo/cpu at some point.

my point was that i could only boot at those super high volts .
only ran this once.im not stupid and will not do it again lol.

was trying figure out why/how it could boot at these settings.maybe ram....unknown


----------



## aleiro

Quick question: What Bios Version is everyone running? I have 0605 running 3.384mhz (376x9) 1.375v set in the bios but CPU-z said 1.328v idle and load 1.288v. It runs stable but as soon as i updated to 0702 bios it fails to resume from sleep with the same settings and i restart it says failed OC. This leads me to believe there is not enough voltage... Any thoughts? Like i said 0605 (which of course i am staying with) is rock stable.

oh and q6600


----------



## scottath

I'm running the 605 rampage bios on my P5E
No ideas about the sleep problem


----------



## Kazavana

hey guys im back after a few a little bit of work

I got my rig up and running - this is the first time I'm trying to overclock decently. I read the other threads on how to overclock and so began my quest to get a 4.0 oc on my e8400. So I began by just going into the bios and changing the FSB to 445, the NB strap to 333 and RAM voltage to 2.08 (as was guided to do so thanks to this forum, ty!). I left everything else on auto. I wanted to see how this would fair out as a first try. Well so far it seems that orthos runs fine, i've ran it for 1 hour so far without a problem. CPU - z shows the core speed at 4ghz, FSB at 445, rated fsb at 1780 with a core voltage of 1.28-1.336. I dont want to run the 24 hour stress test just yet as I want to get some feed back from you guys as to what steps i should take. Is it wrong to leave the options on auto? ANY advice or guidance would help thanks guys!


----------



## ericeod

Make sure not to leave your PLL or vcore voltages on auto. They tend to overvolt more then needed. Set the PLL to 1.6v, and the CPU voltage to 1.35v for now. You can then lower it as needed. Just try to stay under 1.3625v to be safe. This is the best/safest max vcore for the 45nm CPU.


----------



## Stixx

Hey guys...I just built my new system and need some help with overclocking. I went with the P5E and the Q9300 w/Corsair Dominator 1066(2x4Gb). I'm trying to get to 3-3.5Ghz but can't get the bios to keep my settings?









Does anyone out there have the same set up and if so...what stable bios settings are you using? Thanks


----------



## Stixx

I've read in here that some of you have flashed the P5E bios to Rampage? What's up with that and what are the advantages? Does it work?


----------



## trueg50

Hey Eric, would you be willing to share your settings (or just voltages) for your overclock?

In case it helps any body, here's mine, rock solid, and without any tweaking for decreased voltages.

Mutli: 10
FSB: 360
Strap 400
RAM 1000 (ish)

CPU volt: 1.45 (1.42 actual)
CPU PLL : auto (about 1.6)
NB : 1.58
FSB: 1.5
SB: 1.125

CPU GTL: .67


----------



## ericeod

Sure, here are my settings (keep in mind ram is different..DDR3):

Mutli: 10
FSB: 390
Strap: 400
RAM: 1540

CPU volt: 1.525v (1.5v actual)
CPU PLL : 1.52v
RAM: 1.86v
NB : 1.49v
FSB: 1.4v
SB: default

NB GTL: x63
CPU GTL: x67


----------



## scottath

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Stixx* 
I've read in here that some of you have flashed the P5E bios to Rampage? What's up with that and what are the advantages? Does it work?









It works - mine is flashed [see sig]
It gives you a HELL of a lot more overclocking options [mainly ram]
Guide is here: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...69&postcount=1 [scroll down a bit]


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Stixx*


I've read in here that some of you have flashed the P5E bios to Rampage? What's up with that and what are the advantages? Does it work?










The most important difference between the two is tRD or Performance Level. This is implicitly controlled in the MF BIOS through the transaction booster, but the RF not only gives direct control over this, but can allow phase "pull-ins", which basically allow you to run different RAM/FSB phases at the nominated performance level minus one. Using this added feature, many of us are able to run our RAM near DDR3 SPEEDS.

A very in-depth article explains the brute power of this additional flexibility. It begins on this page: AnandTech Article. It is recommended reading even if you don't flash Rampage because it really goes into fabulous detail about NB, RAM, and FSB. Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask, basically.


----------



## zlojack

Dostoyevsky, you seem to be pretty knowledgable about this. I've read everything I can find and I'm still trying to figure out what the Pull-ins do.

Care to enlighten me?


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

The pull-ins enable you to run at the nominated performance level minus one on the specified RAM phases. You will notice that the number of pull-ins vary by which NB strap you're in. If you read THIS AnandTech article, you will understand why. The effect of enabling all pull-ins at your performance level plus one will be exactly equal to running otimum performance with all pull-ins disabled. To the limit of my knowledge, there is no method to calculate which phases can be pulled-in before instability arises. To be honest, at maximum bandwidth for my sigged configuration, there is no stable combination of any pull-ins at PL7. However, I can pass POST with phase 3, 4, or 5 pulled-in, which suggests to me that the higher the phase, the less likely a pull-in will result in instability.

As always, take that with a grain of salt. My knowledge on this subject is based solely on the article I linked to and upon anecdotal evidence from those in the forums. If you haven't yet, you should stop by the XS MF/RF thread. There are a wide array of systems on which people have tried various PL/pull-in permutations.


----------



## zlojack

Thanks for the response.

I guess my understanding isn't that much far behind yours, but a couple of your points are indeed worth noting.

+rep


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Haha! Appreciated all the same.


----------



## TwL

Hmm, this transaction booster is the Performance level? Dunno, switched it to enable 0 and now for performance level according to memset at 5.

I am a bit trying to figure something here out. Got G.Skills here and these exactly same blocks did 40-45ns latencies on AMD Athlon X2 4600+ AM2 board M2N. So, now with all settings auto or memory EPP profiled it gives me 70ns on P5E.. If I hit this transaction booster to Enabled 0 it gives me 65.1ns latencies and 'Ai Clock twister' is at 'strong' and value 1 won't even POST.

That's pretty far away from 40-45ns. So am I missing here something? Setup is exactly identical on memory and memory latencies on bios are correct.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TwL*


Hmm, this transaction booster is the Performance level? Dunno, switched it to enable 0 and now for performance level according to memset at 5.

I am a bit trying to figure something here out. Got G.Skills here and these exactly same blocks did 40-45ms latencies on AMD Athlon X2 4600+ AM2 board M2N. So, now with all settings auto or memory EPP profiled it gives me 70ms on P5E.. If I hit this transaction booster to Enabled 0 it gives me 65.1ms latencies and value 1 won't even POST.

That's pretty far away from 40-45ms. So am I missing here something? Setup is exactly identical on memory and memory latencies on bios are correct.


I dont know what G.Skill modules you are talking about. There are many 2x1 and 2x2 GB kits, and at different speeds. You really need to be specific. I. nor anyone else here can really do much with that description you gave.

I know that the 2x2Gb DDR2 1000 kit has to be set at least to 52 tRFC or higher to run stable.


----------



## TwL

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I dont know what G.Skill modules you are talking about. There are many 2x1 and 2x2 GB kits, and at different speeds. You really need to be specific. I. nor anyone else here can really do much with that description you gave.

I know that the 2x2Gb DDR2 1000 kit has to be set at least to 52 tRFC or higher to run stable.


nah I have DDR2 800Mhz 4-4-3-5 sticks here from HK series (edit: that's 4x1Gb). they are setuped fine I am sure about that part using row 4-4-3-5-3-40-6-3 the row to row should be 3 but at bios I cannot set it below 4. won't post.. so they are 8-3-5-4-6-4-6 on second row and that 8 as in read to write cannot be changed to 6 either for some reason..

this '40' tRC on the blocks should be 21 or 24(24 = 60ns). How should this tRFC work? I can drop it stabile to 25 even now on 0702 bios.. but understood that 'tRFC' and 'tRC' are not the same. So kinda dropped my brains to floor how even EPP actually says by memset 3.5b that it should be 40..

Funny thing also is these are stabile on stock while at AM2 board they were stabile only at 4-4-3-10, but then again with those latencies on AM2 these could be clocked even to 1066Mhz. So assuming that being an earlier boards issue only. Hardly get 1062-1063Mhz on this new P5E with 4-4-4-12 which is idiotic.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TwL* 
nah I have DDR2 800Mhz 4-4-3-5 sticks here from HK series (edit: that's 4x1Gb). they are setuped fine I am sure about that part using row 4-4-3-5-3-40-6-3 the row to row should be 3 but at bios I cannot set it below 4. won't post.. so they are 8-3-5-4-6-4-6 on second row and that 8 as in read to write cannot be changed to 6 either for some reason..

this '40' tRC on the blocks should be 21 or 24(24 = 60ns). How should this tRFC work? I can drop it stabile to 25 even now on 0702 bios.. but understood that 'tRFC' and 'tRC' are not the same. So kinda dropped my brains to floor how even EPP actually says by memset 3.5b that it should be 40..

Funny thing also is these are stabile on stock while at AM2 board they were stabile only at 4-4-3-10, but then again with those latencies on AM2 these could be clocked even to 1066Mhz. So assuming that being an earlier boards issue only. Hardly get 1062-1063Mhz on this new P5E with 4-4-4-12 which is idiotic.


I cant answer all of your questions becasue I am on DDR3 ATM and cant really test out any of your timings (and to be honest, I'm not a ram guru), but the Intel chipset does not get as "tight of timings" as the AMD setups, or even the NVIDIA Intel setups. When I was running an eVGA 680i A1, I could run DDR2 1200 with stock vdimm and cas 5 timings on my Ballistix. But as soon as I switched to Intel, I couldnt even manage to get past 1066. But the compromise is worth it just to have a stable chipset to OC with.

I would recommend using memset to adjust your timings and to test for stability. Then go in and manually set the timings in bios.


----------



## TwL

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I cant answer all of your questions becasue I am on DDR3 ATM and cant really test out any of your timings (and to be honest, I'm not a ram guru), but the Intel chipset does not get as "tight of timings" as the AMD setups, or even the NVIDIA Intel setups. When I was running an eVGA 680i A1, I could run DDR2 1200 with stock vdimm and cas 5 timings on my Ballistix. But as soon as I switched to Intel, I couldnt even manage to get past 1066. But the compromise is worth it just to have a stable chipset to OC with.

I would recommend using memset to adjust your timings and to test for stability. Then go in and manually set the timings in bios.

Yeah, considered here myself that it's better to have stable, tight latencies and lower frequencies on Intel than have an higher hertz. If your memory goes around 7400MB/s on 800Mhz (which should/could be actually 6800MB/s max as in DDR2) comparing gain of something like 1000-1063Mhz to speed is nothing while comparing to stable & fast acting memory in use.

What I am saying is that speed isn't everything here components functioning 3 times better together is which is hilarious as phenom + nforce is few TIMES faster than Intel on this. Which kinda would speak against any benchmarks out there.


----------



## Kazavana

Hey guys,

So I know to oc well we all need patience. I'm honestly running out of it! I've read the articles on how to overclock and what to do and what not to do but ofcourse im still a novice. So I come back come back for the 3rd time to ask for your advice. This time i also want to ask if anyone here would be my personal mentor? I work in the natural science/lab setting so there are many parallels between that and OC'ing. A major one I recently discovered is that a student can achieve much more of his potential with a good mentor and with this i come to ask to see if anyone will keep in contact with me via email/aim/pm or w/e other method they choose to help me oc my sys (just a couple of minutes a day!) so here is the situation now:

Bios 0702

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio settingAuto
FSB Frequency445
FSB strap to north bridge333
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-1069mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlAuto
Pri. Information : 5-5-5-15-3-52-6-3
Sec. Information: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
Dram Static read controlAuto
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.4 (cpu-z, asus suite report 1.336 under load)
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.42
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.39
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationEnable
CPU GTL ReferenceAuto
North Bridge GTL ReferenceAuto
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable 
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable

I cannot run this stable for more than 10 minutes on orthos. As a matter of fact I cant run much of anything stable on orthos passed 10 minutes. My goal is a stable 4.0ghz oc. Can anyone help??? PLEASE!!! MUCH APPRECIATED THANKS!

Contact me @ [email protected] or aim: kazavana


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kazavana* 
Hey guys,

So I know to oc well we all need patience. I'm honestly running out of it! I've read the articles on how to overclock and what to do and what not to do but ofcourse im still a novice. So I come back come back for the 3rd time to ask for your advice. This time i also want to ask if anyone here would be my personal mentor? I work in the natural science/lab setting so there are many parallels between that and OC'ing. A major one I recently discovered is that a student can achieve much more of his potential with a good mentor and with this i come to ask to see if anyone will keep in contact with me via email/aim/pm or w/e other method they choose to help me oc my sys (just a couple of minutes a day!) so here is the situation now:

Bios 0702

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio settingAuto
FSB Frequency445
FSB strap to north bridge333
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-1069mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlAuto
Pri. Information : 5-5-5-15-3-52-6-3
Sec. Information: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
Dram Static read controlAuto
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.4 (cpu-z, asus suite report 1.336 under load)
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.42
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.39
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationEnable
CPU GTL ReferenceAuto
North Bridge GTL ReferenceAuto
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable

I cannot run this stable for more than 10 minutes on orthos. As a matter of fact I cant run much of anything stable on orthos passed 10 minutes. My goal is a stable 4.0ghz oc. Can anyone help??? PLEASE!!! MUCH APPRECIATED THANKS!

Contact me @ [email protected] or aim: kazavana

Lets see if the board is unstable, The ram, or if it is the CPU.
What you can do to test if it is the NB voltage being too low (which makes the board unstable and not the CPU), drop the CPU's multi to x8 and see how long Orthos runs.

Also try dropping the ram divider so it is only running at 900 MHz and run Orthos.

Finally increase your NB voltage to 1.45v. Then see what happens.

As for your settings, I see a couple of things I would change.

First of all, I would disable loadline calibration. From what I've read, it shouldnt be run with the 45nm CPUs. Just make sure your CPU stays below 1.2625v vcore.

Set your FSB Termination to 1.40v max. With the 45nm CPUs, anything over 1.40v 24/7 is bad.

Also, what is your tRFC running at? it needs to be set higher then 52. It is the second sub timing (second after the command rate I believe) you can change. it should be selectable from 30, 40 55 etc... basically in big numbers.

Edit: Here is some info on loadline. You will notice that the P5E is supposed to be clear of this, but many still report it as a problem.

XS Forums

Quote:


Originally Posted by *003* 
Ok, I'm sure you all know what Vdroop is. You know, that nasty little thing that causes your CPU's voltage to significantly drop when under load? I'm sure you all also know of the various motherboard modifications that people have devised to counter the effects of Vdroop, most notably the pencil mod. Some motherboards even have an option in their BIOS to disable Vdroop, the Rampage Formula is one such motherboard. However, it has a little known problem with its method of disabling Vdroop:
*If you use it with a 45nm CPU, your system will be fully prime stable, but it will crash and BSOD under absolutely no load.*

AnandTech was the first source to draw somewhat widespread attention to this issue. A quote from their writeup on the subject:

Here is a link to the whole writeup:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...spx?i=3184&p=5

When I first read the article, I disregarded it, and used LLC on my Rampage Formula with a Q9450. Things were great, fully prime stable, everything was going well. That is of course, everything but the random crashes and BSODs while the system was under absolutely zero load. It took me a while to figure out what was causing the crashes, as I was hoping it was not LLC, because it let me use a significantly lower voltage.

If you read deeply into that AnandTech writeup, they make it sound like Vdroop control is not possible to utilize on 45nm CPUs and remain stable due to technical reasons (even though their justifications are way off base). I was starting to believe that it actually might be true, until I found this:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...05#post3021605

Apparently, the LLC feature on the Asus P5E works perfectly with 45nm CPUs, but not on the Rampage Formula. Which is just as I thought: It is possible. I did some closer reading of the AnandTech article, and it says that the instability is caused by a sort of "reverse Vdroop", or in other words, the idle voltage is lower than the load voltage.

However, I have done some testing and it appears that the delta between idle and load is much smaller with LLC enabled than without, going by the CPU-z voltage readings (inaccurate, I know). With LLC enabled, I set voltage to ~1.36750 in the BIOS which resulted in an idle reading in CPU-z of 1.352v, and a load reading of 1.360v. With LLC disabled, I had to increase the BIOS voltage to 1.40625v to remain stable. The idle voltage reading in CPU-z was 1.400v, and the load is 1.352v, the same as the idle voltage with LLC. So, with apparently the same stable load voltage without LLC, the CPU is unstable with LLC at idle. I don't know why this is, but just to make sure, I set the BIOS voltage to 1.38v with LLC and the crashing/BSODs remained at idle. But to illustrate, the voltage delta with LLC is .008v (hardly anything), and .048v without (a lot), as well as the deltas being reversed.

Clearly, there is something flawed with the implementation of LLC on the Rampage Formula, and AnandTech is wrong about it not being compatible with 45nm CPU, regardless of their fancy looking graphs. Because now the fact stands that LLC works perfectly on 45nm CPUs with the Asus P5E, which is supposed to be an inferior motherboard.

We need to find a way to jointly contact Asus regarding this issue and have them work on it in a BIOS release. I have already sent two tickets regarding this issue and have not received any response. If many people do so, maybe they will do something.

Anyway, those with the Rampage Formula and a 45nm CPU, please test with LLC on your overclock; does the system crash when idle and remain stable under load? Please vote in the poll.


----------



## Kazavana

I Just ran Orthos blend test and it lasted for 31 mins 23 seconds. Vcore on cpu-z read 1.200 under stress and 1.208 when not. I changed the bios setting like you told me to (I think - please correct me if im wrong) but still unstable as you can see. What should be the next step?

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio setting8
FSB Frequency450
FSB strap to north bridge400
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-900mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlManual

CAS# latency5
RAS# to CAS# latency5
RAS# Precharge5
RAS# Active Time15
RAS# to RAS# DelayAuto
Row Refresh Cycle Time60
Write Recovery TimeAuto
Read to Precharge TimeAuto

Read to Write Delay (S/D)Auto
Write to Read Delay (S)Auto
Write to Read Delay (D)Auto
Read to Read Delay (S)Auto
Read to Read Delay (D)Auto
Write to write delay (S)Auto
Write to write delay (D)Auto

Dram Static read controlAuto
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.25625
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.38
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.45
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationDisable
CPU GTL ReferenceAuto
North Bridge GTL ReferenceAuto
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable 
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable


----------



## Kazavana

i forgot to add, orthos said cpu speed is 4045mhz while cpu-z read 3600mhz??? why the difference?


----------



## spacegoast

could be from EIST aka speedstep.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
could be from EIST aka speedstep.

One program is reading the FSB with the default multi (x9), and the other is reading the correct FSB and actual multi (x8). CPU-Z is correct.

It sounds like the board and or ram isnt stable. Try increasing the NB voltage to 1.5v and give it another run. Also make sure the ram is at DDR2 900 and the tRFC is at 60.


----------



## TwL

could someone give me an answer what is difference between AMD/Nforce tRC and Intel boards tRFC?

tRC is 'Row Cycle Time' and tRFC is 'Row Refresh Cycle Time' I understand that much and also that tRC on my board can be 16 stock around 21-24, but I cannot set this at X38 and there is only 'tRFC' which goes stabile at 25-40 easily.

I tryied google and probably every single explain there is on web none explains difference of these 2. So couple some intelligent fellow explain me what is the difference should I adjust this tRFC simlar or same as tRC???

Thanks for advance.

(edit: Also note that tRC and tRFC both seems to affect on full row usability and so those both will affect incredibly much on what is latencies specially when the latencies will be and are doubt to different (second) row of memories. I am also assuming this is core of all problems when we speak of 'single row' memory performing against 'dual row' memory setups.)

-update-

Well, testing here seems this tRFC has no affect at all on anything from 25 to 100 doesn't matter it seems. funny thing is also that tRAS has absolutely no affect, hehe..

But I did dig up the 'PCI Mapped Memory'/'Memory Remap feature' switch on second page. This switch will lose 1 GB of system physical memory from 4 Gigz. Funny, thing in this is that when you disable the mapping. your Latencies jump like 5-15ns lower also the memory speed seems to get rise from 7100MB/s to 7560MB/s reading.. Copying writing is simlar effect.


----------



## Kazavana

Ran orthos for 35 mins 2 seconds before it crashed on the following settings:

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio setting8
FSB Frequency450
FSB strap to north bridge400
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-900mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlManual

CAS# latency5
RAS# to CAS# latency5
RAS# Precharge5
RAS# Active Time15
RAS# to RAS# DelayAuto
Row Refresh Cycle Time60
Write Recovery TimeAuto
Read to Precharge TimeAuto

Read to Write Delay (S/D)Auto
Write to Read Delay (S)Auto
Write to Read Delay (D)Auto
Read to Read Delay (S)Auto
Read to Read Delay (D)Auto
Write to write delay (S)Auto
Write to write delay (D)Auto

Dram Static read controlAuto
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.25625
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.38
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.51
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationDisable
CPU GTL ReferenceAuto
North Bridge GTL ReferenceAuto
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable

I set the tRFC to 60, and the ram to DDR2 - 900. I turned off speedstepping and still have the discrepancy between cpu-z and orthos. Still seems like mobo/ram is unstable but I have no clue how to fix it. Thank guys


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kazavana*


Ran orthos for 35 mins 2 seconds before it crashed on the following settings:

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio setting8
FSB Frequency450
FSB strap to north bridge400
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-900mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlManual

CAS# latency5
RAS# to CAS# latency5
RAS# Precharge5
RAS# Active Time15
RAS# to RAS# DelayAuto
Row Refresh Cycle Time60
Write Recovery TimeAuto
Read to Precharge TimeAuto

Read to Write Delay (S/D)Auto
Write to Read Delay (S)Auto
Write to Read Delay (D)Auto
Read to Read Delay (S)Auto
Read to Read Delay (D)Auto
Write to write delay (S)Auto
Write to write delay (D)Auto

Dram Static read controlAuto
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.25625
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.38
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.51
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationDisable
CPU GTL ReferenceAuto
North Bridge GTL ReferenceAuto
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable 
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable

I set the tRFC to 60, and the ram to DDR2 - 900. I turned off speedstepping and still have the discrepancy between cpu-z and orthos. Still seems like mobo/ram is unstable but I have no clue how to fix it. Thank guys


Try setting the Dram Static read control to disable (allows for more ram stability) and set the Vcore to 1.325v. I would also try setting the CPU GTL Reference voltage to x63 and the NB GTL Reference voltage to x67 (this gives stability to quad cores, so give it a try with the dual core).


----------



## Kazavana

So far i've ran orthos for 1 hour 40 minutes and everything seems stable with the last few changes you advised. Here is the current bios set up.

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio setting8
FSB Frequency450
FSB strap to north bridge400
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-900mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlManual

CAS# latency5
RAS# to CAS# latency5
RAS# Precharge5
RAS# Active Time15
RAS# to RAS# DelayAuto
Row Refresh Cycle Time60
Write Recovery TimeAuto
Read to Precharge TimeAuto

Read to Write Delay (S/D)Auto
Write to Read Delay (S)Auto
Write to Read Delay (D)Auto
Read to Read Delay (S)Auto
Read to Read Delay (D)Auto
Write to write delay (S)Auto
Write to write delay (D)Auto

Dram Static read controlDisable
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.325
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.38
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.51
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationDisable
CPU GTL Referencex63
North Bridge GTL Referencex67
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable

In an attempt to learn, it is the motherboard/ram which was unstable from the beginning right?? I'm going to leave orthos running overnight for at least 8 hours and i will get back to you guys on how its doing tomorrow. Thanks a million so far!!


----------



## aznkorean

can the P5E only handle up to DDR2 1066? I know in the user guide it says you can get it up to 1066, but at newegg it says the memory standard is 1200. That's why I bought DDR2 1200 RAM.....either that or I fail at overclocking. Anyone able to get 1200?


----------



## brandon6199

I'm really considering buying this board along with my new build







What do you guys think? Can it push my Q6600 pretty far?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aznkorean*


can the P5E only handle up to DDR2 1066? I know in the user guide it says you can get it up to 1066, but at newegg it says the memory standard is 1200. That's why I bought DDR2 1200 RAM.....either that or I fail at overclocking. Anyone able to get 1200?


The board can handle higher clocking ram. You just need to get the recommended settings from the manufacturer. It took me a while to dial in my DDR3 OCZ ram with my Maximus Extreme board. But once I was in the ball park, and learned the specific ram settings, I was able to tweak it a lot farther!

Do me a favor and post your bios settings for the ram.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *brandon6199*


I'm really considering buying this board along with my new build







What do you guys think? Can it push my Q6600 pretty far?


These boards are really nice for overclocking quads. The Gigabyte X38 boards are great too. I've seen some great ocerclocks with both.


----------



## Moto101

Hi Guys, too many pages to search this thread but anyhow :

I bought a P5E from a friend for +-$90 (R 750), he flashed it to Rampage Formula and thereafter his LAN and SupremeFXII sound card didn't work, he then flashed it back to P5E and it still didn't work.

I get the Sound to pick up in windows as High Definition Audio on High Definition Audio Bus but the drivers don't work, but the LAN doesn't pick up at all, even in the bios when I go to AI NET 2 it doesn't show the network cable length status, theres no values or anything.

Can anyone possibly help me solve my problem?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Moto101*


Hi Guys, too many pages to search this thread but anyhow :

I bought a P5E from a friend for +-$90 (R 750), he flashed it to Rampage Formula and thereafter his LAN and SupremeFXII sound card didn't work, he then flashed it back to P5E and it still didn't work.

I get the Sound to pick up in windows as High Definition Audio on High Definition Audio Bus but the drivers don't work, but the LAN doesn't pick up at all, even in the bios when I go to AI NET 2 it doesn't show the network cable length status, theres no values or anything.

Can anyone possibly help me solve my problem?


Load setup defaults and reflash to the latest bios. See if that fixes anything for you. I flashed my P5E to the Rampage Formula bios and never had any of those issues. If it still doesnt work, you might have to RMA the board.


----------



## Moto101

RMA is not an option, I'm just wondering if I can get it fixed without having to go and get a PCI Soundcard and Gb Ethernet card. anyways, I got it for a bargain, it does 580FSB.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Moto101* 
RMA is not an option, I'm just wondering if I can get it fixed without having to go and get a PCI Soundcard and Gb Ethernet card. anyways, I got it for a bargain, it does 580FSB.

What about reflashing? And why isnt RMA an option?


----------



## aznkorean

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


The board can handle higher clocking ram. You just need to get the recommended settings from the manufacturer. It took me a while to dial in my DDR3 OCZ ram with my Maximus Extreme board. But once I was in the ball park, and learned the specific ram settings, I was able to tweak it a lot farther!

Do me a favor and post your bios settings for the ram.


I tried running the DDR2 1200 at 266, 333, and 400 strap. RAM timings at 5-5-5-18.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aznkorean*


I tried running the DDR2 1200 at 266, 333, and 400 strap. RAM timings at 5-5-5-18.



what about these settings:

Dram frequency:
Dram Command Rate:
Dram Timing Control:
Pri. Information : 5-5-5-15-18-#-#-# 
Sec. Information: #-#-#-#-#-#-# 
Dram Static read control:
Ai clock twister:
Transaction booster:


----------



## keithdabeef

Hey Guys,

Has anyone tried the new Rampage bios 308 or the beta 401/403 ?


----------



## Kazavana

Hey guys,

Just went 24 hours on orthos with the following settings:

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio setting8
FSB Frequency450
FSB strap to north bridge400
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-900mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlManual

CAS# latency5
RAS# to CAS# latency5
RAS# Precharge5
RAS# Active Time15
RAS# to RAS# DelayAuto
Row Refresh Cycle Time60
Write Recovery TimeAuto
Read to Precharge TimeAuto

Read to Write Delay (S/D)Auto
Write to Read Delay (S)Auto
Write to Read Delay (D)Auto
Read to Read Delay (S)Auto
Read to Read Delay (D)Auto
Write to write delay (S)Auto
Write to write delay (D)Auto

Dram Static read controlDisable
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.325
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.38
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.51
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationDisable
CPU GTL Referencex63
North Bridge GTL Referencex67
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable

I just want to get your feedback on how exactly I should go about on oc'ing to 4ghz. I'm still not exactly sure on what is unstable @ 4ghz. Thankz guys.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kazavana* 
Hey guys,

Just went 24 hours on orthos with the following settings:

Ai overclock tunerManual
CPU ratio setting8
FSB Frequency450
FSB strap to north bridge400
PCIe Frequency110

Dram frequencyDDR2-900mhz
Dram Command RateAuto
Dram Timing ControlManual

CAS# latency5
RAS# to CAS# latency5
RAS# Precharge5
RAS# Active Time15
RAS# to RAS# DelayAuto
Row Refresh Cycle Time60
Write Recovery TimeAuto
Read to Precharge TimeAuto

Read to Write Delay (S/D)Auto
Write to Read Delay (S)Auto
Write to Read Delay (D)Auto
Read to Read Delay (S)Auto
Read to Read Delay (D)Auto
Write to write delay (S)Auto
Write to write delay (D)Auto

Dram Static read controlDisable
Ai clock twisterAuto
Transaction boosterAuto

Vcore voltage1.325
CPU PLL voltage1.52
FSB Termination Voltage1.38
Dram voltage2.08
North Bridge Voltage1.51
South Bridge VoltageAuto

Loadline calibrationDisable
CPU GTL Referencex63
North Bridge GTL Referencex67
SB 1.5v voltage Auto
CPU Spread SpectrumDisable
PCIe Spread SpectrumDisable

I just want to get your feedback on how exactly I should go about on oc'ing to 4ghz. I'm still not exactly sure on what is unstable @ 4ghz. Thankz guys.


Well you know the board and ram are stable at 450MHz. So now bump the multi up to x9 and see if you can pass stress testing with 1.35v vcore at 4.0GHz. Once it passes, you can start bringing your vcore down. If it doesnt pass, then you need more vcore (which I wouldnt try inf it was my CPU), or you need to drop down to a 445 FSB and work down until you are stable.


----------



## Kazavana

Would that be 1.35 cpu-z vcore or bios 1.35 vcore? Cause bios 1.35 is the equivalent of 1.296 cpu-z vcore and i always hear people saying that you shouldn't go above 1.36 vcore but i dont know if they mean cpu-z or bios. Thankz


----------



## aznkorean

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
what about these settings:

Dram frequency:
Dram Command Rate:
Dram Timing Control:
Pri. Information : 5-5-5-15-18-#-#-#
Sec. Information: #-#-#-#-#-#-#
Dram Static read control:
Ai clock twister:
Transaction booster:

For the Dram frequency, I modified it to fit the DDR2 1200 depending on what strap I was on, I'll get you details tomorrow, its kinda late.
Dram Command Rate: 2T
Dram Timing Control: manual?
Not sure about Sec. Information, I'll get it soon.
Dram Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Light
Transaction Booster: disabled, [0]


----------



## Bergdoktor

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kazavana* 
Hey guys,

Just went 24 hours on orthos with the following settings:

...

I just want to get your feedback on how exactly I should go about on oc'ing to 4ghz. I'm still not exactly sure on what is unstable @ 4ghz. Thankz guys.

same here for me. I decided I wouldn't go about 1.35V Vcore cpu-z under load, which corresponds to 1.3685 (!?) in Bios. I also did the Vdroop-Mod, so my Vcore doesn't drop under load.
with my CPU I couldn't reach 4Ghz stable(neither 9x445mhz nor 8,5x470mhz, with the latter I was able to boot in Windows), so I'm on 8x475mhz (3,8Ghz) with the Ram 1:1 (4GB GeiL Value PC-6400 @950mhz). I also didn't set my FSB Termination Voltage to anything above the minimum (1.2V iirc), since it didn't help me boost my overclock. Additionaly I'm running my Northbridge-Voltage @ 1.41V which seems more than sufficient for FSB up to 475mhz. Just give the lower Voltages a try to see if it's one of them which is holding you back.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bergdoktor* 
same here for me. I decided I wouldn't go about 1.35V Vcore cpu-z under load, which corresponds to 1.3685 (!?) in Bios. I also did the Vdroop-Mod, so my Vcore doesn't drop under load.
with my CPU I couldn't reach 4Ghz stable(neither 9x445mhz nor 8,5x470mhz, with the latter I was able to boot in Windows), so I'm on 8x475mhz (3,8Ghz) with the Ram 1:1 (4GB GeiL Value PC-6400 @950mhz). I also didn't set my FSB Termination Voltage to anything above the minimum (1.2V iirc), since it didn't help me boost my overclock. Additionaly I'm running my Northbridge-Voltage @ 1.41V which seems more than sufficient for FSB up to 475mhz. Just give the lower Voltages a try to see if it's one of them which is holding you back.

from my understanding, the higher FSB you use, the higher NB voltage has to be used as well. for 475FSB i would set the NB voltage to at least around 1.5v. Right now I am at 1.43v (NB) at 400FSB x8 (1.31vcore). summer is here now and its too hot for higher OC's







.


----------



## aznkorean

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aznkorean* 
For the Dram frequency, I modified it to fit the DDR2 1200 depending on what strap I was on, I'll get you details tomorrow, its kinda late.
Dram Command Rate: 2T
Dram Timing Control: manual?
Not sure about Sec. Information, I'll get it soon.
Dram Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Light
Transaction Booster: disabled, [0]

Ok, here is the rest of the information.

Pri. Information: 5-5-5-18-3-42-6-3
Sec. Information: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6

So, I tried running two different setups, with no success. These are the differences between the two setups.
The first one:
Multiplier: 9
FSB Frequency: 399
FSB Strap: 266

Second:
Multiplier: 8
FSB Frequency: 449
FSB Strap: 400

I haven't even been able to POST.


----------



## faria

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
from my understanding, the higher FSB you use, the higher NB voltage has to be used as well. for 475FSB i would set the NB voltage to at least around 1.5v. Right now I am at 1.43v (NB) at 400FSB x8 (1.31vcore). summer is here now and its too hot for higher OC's







.

i'm using 475FSB with dominator 2x2gb @1069mhz NB 1.43V stable


----------



## TwL

This is weird..

I well experimented DDR2 speeds also.. Cannot well get the 1066Mhz, but here's something interesting..

Normally X38 board is 333Mhz FSB / 333Mhz NB aka 4:3 or 6:5 FSB







RAM.. Well, seems that on P5E 0702 BIOS, if I set 1:1 ratios DDR2 writing speeds has an jump in them. Using G.Skill 4-4-3-5 4x1Gb sticks from HK-Series. If add as EPP(Profile 4-4-3-5) the memory write speeds (no matter how you setup them) will be 7100MB/s according to RightMark Multithreading memory test & Everest test. If I now change the NB Strap to 400Mhz and add 667Mhz(Still same EPP 4-4-3-5 Memory write speeds are still at 7100MB/s (Same as 800Mhz, hehe).

Now here's the fun part, if I go to BIOS OC FSB to 400Mhz and add NB Strap 400Mhz & Memory to 800Mhz (Still same EPP 4-4-3-5) the Memory write speeds jumps up by 1400MB/s up to 8500MB/s completly stabile. Here's screen of 3,2Ghz with stock 800Mhz Memory (even like latency raise to tRAS 10 up because of 4x1Gb sticks all slots full):









and all that is at stock memory speeds. Notice also the L1/L2 latencies.


----------



## Grinning Dog

New to OC and after getting some advice from friends gave things a go
When I run memtest it shows errors, *any advice what to try next.*

Here's my current profile:

CPU Ratio 9
FSB 400
FSB Strap to NB Auto
PCIE Freq 100
Dram Freq 1066
Dram CR 2T
Dram Timing Manual 5-5-5-15
Other Ram Timings on Auto
Dram Static Read Auto
AI Clock Twister Auto
Transaction Booster Auto
Vcore 1.3875
CPU PLL Auto
FSB Termination Auto
Dram Volt 2.2
NB Volt Auto
SB Volt Auto
Loadline Cal Enabled
CPU GTL Ref Auto
NB GTL Ref Auto
SB 1.5v Volt Auto
CPU Spread Spectrum Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum Disabled

I have tried the following but still get errors;
_Raised tRAS from 15 to 18
Rasied tRFC from Auto to 60
Raised Northbridge to 1.41/1.51/1.55 volts
Disabled Transaction Booster & set relax level to 1_

But still errors in Memtest


----------



## ericeod

Try setting:
Dram Static Read: Disabled

Dram Volt 2.2v (Know that these boards overvolt by +0.06v, so if the manufacturer recommends 2.2v, set it to 2.14v)
NB Volt: 1.49v
FSB Voltage: 1.4v max (dont go any higher with the wolfdales)
SB Volt Auto
Loadline Cal Disabled (issue with 45nm CPUs when enabled... look into vdroop mod)
CPU GTL Ref x.63
NB GTL Ref x.67


----------



## TnB= Gir

Interesting thing about the P5E, and the x38 chipset in general. When I had the north bridge on stock air cooling, it required 1.51v in order to get to 411fsb. Now that I have it on water, it only requires 1.35v for the same bus speed. Being cooler definitely helps it out.


----------



## Grinning Dog

Thanks for the advice *ericeod*

I have changed setting as per advised. Kept Dram at 2.2 as manufacturer recommends anything between 2.1 & 2.3 will be OK

Ram Memtest 3 times - no errors









I am now stable at 3.6 and 3.8 so my next project is the 4.0 barrier!
Any advice what to start with?

Keeping setting same as my 3.8 and just upping FSB to 445 I get BSOD when trying to boot into windows.
Should I go 9x445 or 10x400?

Anyone offer advice?


----------



## zlojack

445x9 theoretically should give you better memory bandwidth if you can get the dividers right and the memory's stable.


----------



## Dameaus

i have an E8400, P5E and OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2-1066 ram (timing is 5-5-5-18). anyone have any suggestions on settings to get a stable 3.4ghz OC (or higher)? i am really new to OCing, and kind of need some hand-holding. thanks.


----------



## zlojack

Dameus, depending on what CPU cooling you have, a lot of the E8400s are getting to 4GHz on air.


----------



## Dameaus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


Dameus, depending on what CPU cooling you have, a lot of the E8400s are getting to 4GHz on air.


im just using the stock cooler and fan that comes with the processor. not amazing i know, but i didnt order anything when i bought the CPU. i do plan on getting a better one soon. right now i just want to learn how to overclock, and would be happy with a very modest OC. 3.4-3.6ghz would be great.


----------



## zlojack

You should be able to get 3.6 on stock fairly easily.

Start by reading a lot. Once you've done reading about overclocking, then read some more. After that, read a bit more. Then start playing with your bios.


----------



## Dameaus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


You should be able to get 3.6 on stock fairly easily.

Start by reading a lot. Once you've done reading about overclocking, then read some more. After that, read a bit more. Then start playing with your bios.


i cant even find where to start... i have looked for how to guides, tutorials... things like that but am striking out.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

I would start by looking HERE at general overclocking definitions. Then, learn a BIT about RAM, and then learn MORE about RAM. When you think you have that down, read THIS article about NB strap and dividers. It applies to the Rampage Formula, but believe it or not that board is very similar to yours. Google whatever you don't understand. If you develop a reasonable understanding of these things, Ericeod's FIRST POST in this thread will make much more sense. Return with your full system specs filled in HERE, with specific overclocking objectives (FSB/RAM/vCore, et cetera), and your specific questions.

Good luck!


----------



## Grinning Dog

Trying to get the QX9650 stable at 4.0
Boots into Windows OK but not passing any stress tests yet.
Any Advice?

AI overclock tuner... Manual
CPU ratio setting...10
FSB Frequency... 400
FSB strap to north bridge...Auto
PCIe Frequency... 100

Dram Frequency...1066
Dram Command Rate...2T
Dram Timing Control...Manual

Timings:
Pri: 5-5-5-18-3-60-6-3
Sec: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6

Dram Static read control...Disable
Ai clock twister...Auto
Transaction booster...Auto

Vcore voltage...1.45
CPU PLL voltage... 1.6
FSB Termination Voltage...1.36
Dram voltage...2.22
North Bridge Voltage...1.55
South Bridge Voltage...Auto

Loadline calibration...Disable
CPU GTL Reference...x63
North Bridge GTL Reference...x67
SB 1.5v voltage...Auto
CPU Spread Spectrum...Disable
PCIe Spread Spectrum...Disable


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

^ Sent as a response to the same question received in PM:

I ran a QX6700 on this board for a short time, but that was my only exposure to quads. My advice might not be the best.

That said, you should be able to get 400FSB stable. Try 9x400 and see if that helps.

Your settings look pretty good, but there are a couple things:
1) You look very conservative on the RAM, which is great for troubleshooting, but you can tighten them in after you get stable.
2) Try running the RAM at 960MHz in the 333 strap. This will put you at 6:5 on the divider, which really seems to be this board's sweet spot. If that works out for you, maybe you can drop multi to 9 and slowly inch-up the FSB, bringing RAM up with it.
3) Try running AI Clock Twister at DISABLED for troubleshooting. Also, run Transaction Booster at DISABLED/1 for troubleshooting, then see if you can tighten it to DISABLED/0 after you get stable.
4) You can probably relax vPLL a bit. This board overvolts PLL and 1.6 is generally considered the max.
5) Maybe bring vFSB Termination to 1.4. That's where mine was on the QX6700.
6) vNB is way too high. I use 1.45, and that's only because I have all 4 DIMMs populated. I recommend staying closer to 1.4 until you can confirm you need a little bit more. What are your temperatures on the NB???
7) Considered the Rampage hack yet?


----------



## zlojack

Here's my response, also from the PM









Quote:

First thing I would do is back the RAM right down to 800MHz 1:1, just to take it out of the equation.

4 GHz is tough for any quad. You might want to try 3.8 (9.5x400) and see what you can get with that first. Mine was at 1.41 doing 4.0 GHz, but I backed it down to 1.36 for 3.825 at 425x9 (which also got me 1133 MHz on the RAM!). Sadly, I was hit by financial trouble and had to sell my quad...









Anyway, see how you do with the 3.8. That's nothing to shake a stick at for a quad, especially with the nice big cache.
I'll add do what Dostoyevsky said by saying that with this chip, I left the vPLL at 1.5 and the FSB Term at 1.34 (bios) which I think drooped to about 1.24.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zlojack* 
Here's my response, also from the PM









I'll add do what Dostoyevsky said by saying that with this chip, I left the vPLL at 1.5 and the FSB Term at 1.34 (bios) which I think drooped to about 1.24.

Sorry about your financial problems, but unless you had a QX9650, I honestly believe you're better-off with the E8400. I swapped out my QX6700 for this chip and saw FPS improve in Crysis. Maybe in the near future, games will take better advantage of four cores but right now, 2 cores at higher clocks do better than four at lower.

Incidentally, I was rocking my quad at 450FSB before I put it on mothballs. I think 400 should be realistic. This board did much better than my P5N32-E on the quad; the latter walled at 370.







REP for good advice!


----------



## zlojack

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
Sorry about your financial problems, but unless you had a QX9650, I honestly believe you're better-off with the E8400. I swapped out my QX6700 for this chip and saw FPS improve in Crysis. Maybe in the near future, games will take better advantage of four cores but right now, 2 cores at higher clocks do better than four at lower.

Incidentally, I was rocking my quad at 450FSB before I put it on mothballs. I think 400 should be realistic. This board did much better than my P5N32-E on the quad; the latter walled at 370.







REP for good advice!









I did have a QX9650









It sucked to sell it, but it brought in a good chunk of money which will really help me out. I've had Q6600, Q6700 and QX9650 as well as E8400 before and I decided that the E8400 was the best for me at this time for the use I get from my machine (that plus it was the cheapest option out of the three







)

Next time, I'll get an accountant to do my taxes instead of doing them myself!


----------



## aznkorean

Does anyone know what these are for:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/filt...0&submit=Go%21

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...llName=Windows Vista* Ultimate, 64-bit version&lang=eng

I'm not sure if I have to download them.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aznkorean* 
Does anyone know what these are for:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/filt...0&submit=Go%21

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...llName=Windows Vista* Ultimate, 64-bit version&lang=eng

I'm not sure if I have to download them.

you dont need them. the first link is for developers, as it states and the bottom even says what chipsets it is aimed for "This driver is written specifically for the IntelÂ® G31, G33, G35, Q33, Q35, G965, Q965, Q963 Express desktop chipsets and the GM965 Express mobile chipset, and will not function with any other product."

The p5e is X38 chipset, so you dont have to worry about it


----------



## A Russian :D

how bad is the Vdrop?


----------



## Grinning Dog

After adjusting various settings I feel my problems maybe CPU Temp. I have watercooling (not installed by myself) but get core temps, when running at a stable
3.6, of between 60-72c with 100 load. Increasing OC to 4.0 and OCCT (& Prime95) shuts downs due to CPU temps going through the roof. I am looking at getting better fans for the radiator and re-applying thermal paste.

Any advice of these temperatures?
What should I be aiming for?


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Grinning Dog* 
After adjusting various settings I feel my problems maybe CPU Temp. I have watercooling (not installed by myself) but get core temps, when running at a stable
3.6, of between 60-72c with 100 load. Increasing OC to 4.0 and OCCT (& Prime95) shuts downs due to CPU temps going through the roof. I am looking at getting better fans for the radiator and re-applying thermal paste.

Any advice of these temperatures?
What should I be aiming for?

^ Sent as a response to the same question received as a PM (I wish you would stop PM'ing me if you're going to ask the same question in-thread)...

Yikes, you're probably better off asking someone who has that chip. On the QX6700, I was running pretty hot: around 76 @ load, but that's 65nm. Your Yorkfield at 45nm should be running cooler.

Good luck.


----------



## zlojack

Grinning Dog, asking in one place is fine, plus, if we post the replies here, it might help other users as well.

I think you need to check the mounting of your waterblocks and thermal paste. What kind of rad/fans/pump/waterblock/tubing are you using and what's in the loop? More details will help us help you. Also, what's the temperature like in your room? That can affect things.

The first thing is a reseat of that CPU block, though. Make sure you use an absolute minimum amount of thermal paste.


----------



## Grinning Dog

Will reseat water block in next few days just ordered some Arctic Ceramique.
After reading some guides on Lapping may do that at same time.
I am using _CoreTemp_ to measure the temps, at 3.6 idle the lowest core temp is 25c on another is 38c so big difference seems to suggest you are right. Whoever seated the block in first place didnt do a good job.
Ambient temps are between 25-35c. The stacker case seems happy with *7 *Fans! but the water cooling may not be the best. It's a basic Asetek model just cooling cpu nothing else in loop. Basic tubing, single fan on radiator.
Currently runnning test on _OCCT _with OC at 3.8 and cores are:
1.69c
2.64c
3.69c
4.58c
stable but a little warm!

once I've reseated and possible Lapped (if I dare) will report findings
Thanks again

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


I think you need to check the mounting of your waterblocks and thermal paste. What kind of rad/fans/pump/waterblock/tubing are you using and what's in the loop? More details will help us help you. Also, what's the temperature like in your room? That can affect things.

The first thing is a reseat of that CPU block, though. Make sure you use an absolute minimum amount of thermal paste.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Try using RealTemp to monitor temps. CoreTemp assumes TjunctionMax is 105, which isn't true for Penryn. This can throw your temperatures off by as much as 10(c) at idle. Everest and CoreTemp read my Wolfdale exactly 10 degrees hotter than actual.

However, you should continue to take the steps you outlined. Those are always good things to do.


----------



## Robilar

Just picked up a P5E to go with a pair of HD4870's. So far it looks like a solid board.

Not to mention at $180, its the cheapest X38 I could find.


----------



## Grinning Dog

Thanks Dostoyevsky77

Realtemp shows lower temps just as you say... Tried Coretemp, Everest, OCCT, HWmonitor and they all show higher. So Realtemp is the most accurate monitor around???

off on a tangent slightly anyone one know whats the best cooler for HD3870x2 ??

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


Try using RealTemp to monitor temps. CoreTemp assumes TjunctionMax is 105, which isn't true for Penryn. This can throw your temperatures off by as much as 10(c) at idle. Everest and CoreTemp read my Wolfdale exactly 10 degrees hotter than actual.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


Just picked up a P5E to go with a pair of HD4870's. So far it looks like a solid board.

Not to mention at $180, its the cheapest X38 I could find.


Its nice to see Robilar picking up an ASUS X38 board. I look forward to your input!


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


Just picked up a P5E to go with a pair of HD4870's. So far it looks like a solid board.

Not to mention at $180, its the cheapest X38 I could find.


That's awesome! Congratulations. Are you going to try the Rampage hack? How is ATI working out for you?


----------



## Robilar

The ati cards are great. The board is a bit puzzling though.

with the evga 790i Ultra, I could do 4 ghz 9x445 with 1.42 vcore in bios (1.344 in windows) orthos stable with temps below 52c,

With this board 9x445 is not stable and my temps are much higher under load. I am going to try re-seating my cooler but temps at 3.6 are identical to what they were on my prior board.

the odd thing is 10x400 is stable where is wasn't on the EVGA board but temps climb to high 60's really quick with orthos.

I have loadline calibration disabled as apparently its not healthy for 45nm cpu's (as per the anandtech article). I may try it to see if I can use lower vcore (1.42 in bios gives me about 1.37 in windows with it disabled).


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

That does seem strange. Perhaps you can try with LLC enabled? I read the AnandTech article, but I can't get stable unless I'm pumping a lot more volts in BIOS to where actual is 3 hundredths of a volt higher after vDroop. A lot of users at the XS forum (LINK) use it enabled.

I got slightly lower temperatures and vCore going from the P5N32-E to this board on my QX6700. I know that's very different from an X9650 on 790i, but there it is.


----------



## Robilar

I tried it with llc as well.

Both ways I can get it stable at around 1.42 vcore in bios (which comes out to 1.37 or so in windows). The problem is the temps go up much faster than they did with the evga board.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
I tried it with llc as well.

Both ways I can get it stable at around 1.42 vcore in bios (which comes out to 1.37 or so in windows). The problem is the temps go up much faster than they did with the evga board.

Do you think it's a question of BIOS/sensor? I'm not sure what you're using to monitor temperatures, but as you probably already know, Penryn have TjunctionMax of 95 compared to Conroe at 105. If you use Core Temp, Everest, Speed Fan, et cetera, they all assume TjMax of 105, meaning they will read as much as 10(c) high @ load, and perhaps more inaccurate @ idle. AFAIK, only Real Temp (LINK) will compensate for this difference. Perhaps the 790i was clever enough to know the difference? I know that X38 does not. Just a thought.


----------



## Robilar

I use realtemp.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Sorry. I should have realized you were.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
Both ways I can get it stable at around 1.42 vcore in bios (which comes out to 1.37 or so in windows). The problem is the temps go up much faster than they did with the evga board.

I think that the difference in temps you're seeing may be related to heat being produced by the NB. The X38 is a pretty power hungry chip, especially as you begin to push FSB. While the stock cooler has a ton of surface area and is adequate for a stock system, it really needs a fan for more airflow.

I noted this when switching over from an nVidia board to my Maximus- my CPU temps were 6C higher, and the X38 was 15C higher than my 650i board. I added a fan pointed at the NB and both my CPU and NB temps dropped significantly.

I reccomend this fan to put in between your VGA#1 and audio PCIE slot. It'll sit pretty close to the NB HS and pull a good amount of air away from it, and is fairly quiet....at least compared to the rest of my fans. Just remember to up your intake fans as well- ideally you want slightly more blowing in than out.


----------



## Prince21

HI attempting my first overclock.

I upgraded the P5E bios to Rampage latest. I have not changed anything except inputted these values.

CPU Voltage - 1.3625v 
CPU PLL - 1.58v
NB voltage - 1.49v
DRAM Voltage 2.04v as ram rated at 2.1v
FSB Term Voltage - 1.4v 
SB - Auto
Loadline - diasble 
CPU GTL - x.63
NB GTL - x.67

I have left the CPU ratio at Auto and increaded FSB to 410.

Please see my CPU http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=383755

Firstl my ram is being reported as PC2 6400 but it is 8500. Sorry to be a noob but please check the settings must be something wrong Im doing with the ram. I know I can push this CPU more got tuniq tower on lowest fan setting.
CPU core 51/Core2 52 C

Please provide me with some advice and options that will help me keep tweaking I have just started so excise my newbie questions

Thank you all


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Prince21* 
HI attempting my first overclock.

I upgraded the P5E bios to Rampage latest. I have not changed anything except inputted these values.

CPU Voltage - 1.3625v
CPU PLL - 1.58v
NB voltage - 1.49v
DRAM Voltage 2.04v as ram rated at 2.1v
FSB Term Voltage - 1.4v
SB - Auto
Loadline - diasble
CPU GTL - x.63
NB GTL - x.67

I have left the CPU ratio at Auto and increaded FSB to 410.

Please see my CPU http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=383755

Firstl my ram is being reported as PC2 6400 but it is 8500. Sorry to be a noob but please check the settings must be something wrong Im doing with the ram. I know I can push this CPU more got tuniq tower on lowest fan setting.
CPU core 51/Core2 52 C

Please provide me with some advice and options that will help me keep tweaking I have just started so excise my newbie questions

Thank you all

To see what your ram is running at, open CPU-Z and see what it says for MHz in the memory tab. If it is running at least 533MHz, then it is running 8500 aka 1066. The ram speed will change as you adjust the FSB, so you will have to play with it by loosening the timings to find where it is stable. But when you are finding your overclock, you want tyo do the CPU, then the ram. So for now set the ram to the lowest divider and focus on the CPU.


----------



## Prince21

Thanks I didnt realise that the memory was changing automatically every time i adjusted the fsb, therefore I got keep changing it to the correct memory settings. I want to get least 4.2ghz I know 3.8 can be done just need keep tweaking.


----------



## zlojack

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Grinning Dog*


Thanks Dostoyevsky77

Realtemp shows lower temps just as you say... Tried Coretemp, Everest, OCCT, HWmonitor and they all show higher. So Realtemp is the most accurate monitor around???

off on a tangent slightly anyone one know whats the best cooler for HD3870x2 ??


RealTemp is the best for 45nm cpus.

I can certainly vouch for the EK Full Coverage Blocks but I'm not sure you could add more to your loop than you've already got.


----------



## randy_d4

To all P5E owners.Go and download latest beta build for EVEREST from here http://www.lavalys.com/beta/everestu...x6li7eqrfn.zip
Added support for All available voltages and tjmax adjustment.All tnx goes to Fiery(Everest developer)


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Wicked on TjMax adjustment. REP.


----------



## Kidem

whats the best Rampage BIOS for P5E 0219? i seen that ppl used but that was like a year ago is that still the one to use?


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

0403 is the latest and greatest. FTP HERE.


----------



## Kidem

Sweet thanks.... didnt know which one to use since most post im read are 1 year old talking about 0219... i got both so i will go with 0403 first.


----------



## Grinning Dog

*Multi Core temp differences*

Can anyone advise of how to solve the differences in my core temps.

On my 3.6 oc, idle core temps are as follows;
1. 32c
2. 26c
3. 35c
4. 16c

I have re-applied thermal paste _(Ceramique)_ a few times using different methods but temps _(Realtemp)_ always show about the same variance in cores.
Under load, although higher temps, still show large differences in each core.

I've not lapped cpu or water block yet as im leaving that as last resort.
Anything else to try first??


----------



## DuckieHo

Can the P5E do 465MHz+ with a quad-core? It currently looks like that's a no?

I want to run 3.7GHz (465*8) and a 6:5 divider for 1116MHz RAM.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
Can the P5E do 465MHz+ with a quad-core? It currently looks like that's a no?

I want to run 3.7GHz (465*8) and a 6:5 divider for 1116MHz RAM.

I've only seen the Gigabyte X38 DS4 push that high. Microman was able to get that on his anyways.


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I've only seen the Gigabyte X38 DS4 push that high. Microman was able to get that on his anyways.

Thanks Eric.... The 750i FTW can do it as well so it seems.

Oh well, I only lose a few MHz on the RAM at 1030MHz instead. What's the stock NB temps on this? Is it worth upgrading the cooling to a Thermalright HR-05 IFX?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
Can the P5E do 465MHz+ with a quad-core? It currently looks like that's a no?


Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I've only seen the Gigabyte X38 DS4 push that high. Microman was able to get that on his anyways.

IMO pushing a quad at that FSB is usually more CPU limited than NB/Mobo limited.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
Oh well, I only lose a few MHz on the RAM at 1030MHz instead. What's the stock NB temps on this? Is it worth upgrading the cooling to a Thermalright HR-05 IFX?

Any chance your ram can do 1089 or 1128? These are both an option at 450fsb with the Rampage BIOS.

I'm not to sure about "stock" temps, but with AS5 reseat on the stock IHS my Maximus' NB runs ~52C @ 1.50V, 450fsb.


----------



## TnB= Gir

I don't believe the HR-05s will work with the P5E duckie









Asus uses a different mounting system than normal. I had to use thermal epoxy to put my waterblock on.


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
IMO pushing a quad at that FSB is usually more CPU limited than NB/Mobo limited.

Any chance your ram can do 1089 or 1128? These are both an option at 450fsb with the Rampage BIOS.

I'm not to sure about "stock" temps, but with AS5 reseat on the stock IHS my Maximus' NB runs ~52C @ 1.50V, 450fsb.

I want my CPU at 3.7GHz... that means 410ish or 465ish FSB. I'll play with the dividers later.

I assume 52C is with the fan? Can the stupid cover plate on the SB HS be removed easy?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
I want my CPU at 3.7GHz... that means 410ish or 465ish FSB. I'll play with the dividers later.

I assume 52C is with the fan? Can the stupid cover plate on the SB HS be removed easy?

This is what the chipset cooler looks like. Notice the mosfet cooling is seperate. If you replace the NB, you will have to replace the SB:


----------



## TnB= Gir

Good picture eric. BTW, how in the hell did you mount the mcw30 on yours without using thermal epoxy?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir*


Good picture eric. BTW, how in the hell did you mount the mcw30 on yours without using thermal epoxy?



I was able to mount with the provided hardware.


----------



## TnB= Gir

DOH. I didn't think about mounting it like that as there would be less contact. I'm a noob ;(


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir* 
DOH. I didn't think about mounting it like that as there would be less contact. I'm a noob ;(

lol, a noob you are not!


----------



## Robilar

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
This is what the chipset cooler looks like. Notice the mosfet cooling is seperate. If you replace the NB, you will have to replace the SB:











What is housed under the grey fins?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
What is housed under the grey fins?

There is an adhesive pad that attaches to the mosfet cooler. In order to remove the cooler, I had to actually remove the push pins from the mosfets, lift it all off as one piece, then just apply gentle pressue to seperate the mosfet cooler from the chipset cooler.










Here you can see the mosfet heatsink with the chipset part removed


----------



## Dillinger

ok guys so i read over this whole thread.. lol i know 58 pages took me a while and i have a few questions that were not answered.

which bios is best for the maximus formula im at 3.0 9x333 and used to do 400x8 but its summer here in southern Ontario and its brutally hot so i backed off a bit.

im currently using 1201 and since using it i have noticed my mobo temps have gone up from 35-40 now sometimes over 50 north bridge is up a few degrees but it was always high 40s sometimes 50s after long gaming sessions.

i wonder if this newer bios is incorrectly reporting temps, or my old one was...

also are there any fans or have anyone tried to rig some type of fan to cool the nb?
someone posted this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835119065 EVERCOOL SB-F1 PCI Slot Case Cooler - Retail
and i think it may do what he said pulling some air away from the heatsink and blow it out the back of the case however my soundcard is in the pci-e 1x slot and i have no where to mount something like that

mobo is mounted in my antec 900 all fans are on the highest speed i have 1 hd cage empty at the top of my case trying to maximize airflow across the nb heat sink cpu area


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dillinger*


also are there any fans or have anyone tried to rig some type of fan to cool the nb?
someone posted this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835119065 EVERCOOL SB-F1 PCI Slot Case Cooler - Retail
and i think it may do what he said pulling some air away from the heatsink and blow it out the back of the case however my soundcard is in the pci-e 1x slot and i have no where to mount something like that

mobo is mounted in my antec 900 all fans are on the highest speed i have 1 hd cage empty at the top of my case trying to maximize airflow across the nb heat sink cpu area


im not sure about which BIOS is best but I have a Thermalright HR-05 SLI on my NB with a fan pointed right at it. not sure how much cooler it is than stock though, since there is no NB temp monitor for the P5E. but the NB temp in BIOS is around 32-35C, depending on how hot it is in my room.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DuckieHo*


I want my CPU at 3.7GHz... that means 410ish or 465ish FSB. I'll play with the dividers later.

I assume 52C is with the fan? Can the stupid cover plate on the SB HS be removed easy?


Ok if it's gotta be 3.7 @ 410 or 465 then so be it! Lemme know if you hit 465 stable- personally I haven't really made a real attempt at any higher than 450 myself.

Which fan? The POS Asus gave us with the board or the evercool PCI cooler? Either way, no 52C is completely passive on my board. The PCI cooler I suggested has not arrived yet- although I've used it in a couple of other builds and been happy with it for what it is- a fan for limited space/horizontal mount to clear air from around the PCI slots or NB.

The coverplate on the SB- you mean the sticker on the heat sink? Yea super easy to peel off- the only tool I needed was a fingernail, then you can mount a small fan directly to the SB heat sink
Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dillinger*


also are there any fans or have anyone tried to rig some type of fan to cool the nb?
someone posted this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835119065 EVERCOOL SB-F1 PCI Slot Case Cooler - Retail
and i think it may do what he said pulling some air away from the heatsink and blow it out the back of the case however my soundcard is in the pci-e 1x slot and i have no where to mount something like that


The one for my rig is on the way from the Egg- I'll be installing it in the PCI slot between the PCIe 1x (sound) and PCIe 16x (VGA) slot which should be sufficiently close to the NB to move air from the area.

While I have not used that fan in this rig (yet) I have used it in 3 other builds- with good results.


----------



## Kidem

OK im having trouble understanding Vdroop....

BIOS CPU is set to 1.3875 
CPUZ read 1.36 idle 1.352

So how much vdroop do i got? 0.0355


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kidem*


OK im having trouble understanding Vdroop....

BIOS CPU is set to 1.3875 
CPUZ read 1.36 idle 1.352

So how much vdroop do i got? 0.0355


for now, yes. but when you load the CPU (using Prime95 or Orthos), the vdroop is usually more. it could drop down to 1.32v.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kidem*


OK im having trouble understanding Vdroop....

BIOS CPU is set to 1.3875 
CPUZ read 1.36 idle 1.352

So how much vdroop do i got? 0.0355


What you are describing is vdrop (the difference between Bios and actual vcore). Vdroop is how much the vcore drops when you put a load on the CPU. So open CPU-Z, note vcore at idle, then run Orthos or Prime95 and see how much the vcore drops. You should be able to enable loadline calibration to minimize vdroop.


----------



## DuckieHo

So got my Open Box P5E from Newegg. However, it came with NOTHING except the motherboard. No I/O plate, no sound card, no fan.

Got it up and running for the most part. However, I am having an issue getting my previous clocks. The motherboard will not run my CPU at 3.7GHz and memory at 1066MHz. If I downclock one or the other, it boots fine... it just won't do both.

Any ideas why this is occuring? I've tried it with Ai Clock Twister at LIGHT and
Transaction Booster at 0. I've tried it with both of them off as well. My voltages:

CPU Voltage : 1.4875
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.4
North Bridge Voltage : 1.45
DRAM Voltage : 2.2v
FFB Termination Voltage : 1.5
South Bridge Voltage : AUTO
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Reference : .63x
North Bridge GTL Reference : .67x
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO

I'm going to do more testing but maybe someone can give me a pointer.

Everest isn't reading the CPU Tj... anyone else have this issue?


----------



## Kidem

did u Disable CPU spread spectrum? Also i recommend since it worked for me well using the rampage BIOS 0403 more options to OC seems stable too! For Air Cooling and stock cooling look at my system OC,







P5E


----------



## AceGoober

I've got a P5E 1.02G and I'll be darned if I can find the place to do the soft pencil vDroop mod. Can someone please post a pic of whereabouts on the board it is specifically located?

Thanks!


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kidem*


did u Disable CPU spread spectrum? Also i recommend since it worked for me well using the rampage BIOS 0403 more options to OC seems stable too! For Air Cooling and stock cooling look at my system OC,







P5E


Ofc.... I'm not working in a high EMI area.

So 0403 is more stable than the current 1201?

I'm running watercooling on my CPU and remounted the heatsinks for NB/SB.


----------



## Kidem

Not sure on that i went by post about using the rampage and ppl said 0403 worked im sure the other one does to.


----------



## spacegoast

Duckie, what kind of RAM are you using? Im using the ddr2 1000 PQ kit. CPU was stable at 3.78ghz and the RAM at 1008mhz, not quite 1066, but pretty close. Check my CPU-Z validiation in sig. Im using the 0402 BIOS too. Has been very stable for me thus far.


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Duckie, what kind of RAM are you using? Im using the ddr2 1000 PQ kit. CPU was stable at 3.78ghz and the RAM at 1008mhz, not quite 1066, but pretty close. Check my CPU-Z validiation in sig. Im using the 0402 BIOS too. Has been very stable for me thus far.

OCZ Reaper DDR2-1066.

Again, the RAM is table at 1066MHz and CPU is stable at 3.7GHz. This RAM is suppose to do 1120MHz fine. This CPU can do close to 3.8GHz. It isn't the CPU or RAM.

The issue is that the motherboard will not boot if the CPU is at 3.7GHz *and* RAM at 1030MHz.


----------



## icehot666

Just got this motherboard, and I'm quite impressed, it didn't like my memory to begin with until I entered all the settings manually (It would freeze on posting until I did that quite often), but once that was sorted, I ran it for a week at stock settings, then decided to overclock it, I now have 3.8GHz with only a slight voltage increase to 1.28v, all other voltages on stock, with a nice 400MHz FSB and a 1:1 memory mapping to my DDR2 800 modules ran prime95, superpi, and 3dmark all night long and sweet, it's rock solid


----------



## DuckieHo

On hte advice in this thread, I threw my P5E in the fridge for 30mins. Using a screwdriver and the DIMM slot as a fulcrum, the Heatsink popped right off without much effort. The cold did make the epoxy brittle.

Also, you can improve your SB temps by removing the stupid AILife coverplate. Just glue it back in case you ever need RMA


----------



## wolfy87

huh....60 pages......
I`m going to buy very first rig from my own money...I earned it hard, so I want everything as perfect as possible...I`m going for e7200/5200, an will oc it...

The biggest, in fact the only problem is motherboard choice...even after 60pages I have some doubts...
I was going for p5q-e, but my config should be in good condition for at least 3-4 years, so don`t want to have bandwith problems...
So I switched to Asus P5E. And now I hear about voltdrops and high NB temperatures, I won`t do any extreme OC'ing, but I want to buy normal board, the one I don`t have to fix on my own, pencilmods and all...
Can newer bios help here?
Is there a voltdrop with Maximus Formula?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *wolfy87*


huh....60 pages......
I`m going to buy very first rig from my own money...I earned it hard, so I want everything as perfect as possible...I`m going for e7200/5200, an will oc it...

The biggest, in fact the only problem is motherboard choice...even after 60pages I have some doubts...
I was going for p5q-e, but my config should be in good condition for at least 3-4 years, so don`t want to have bandwith problems...
So I switched to Asus P5E. And now I hear about voltdrops and high NB temperatures, I won`t do any extreme OC'ing, but I want to buy normal board, the one I don`t have to fix on my own, pencilmods and all...
Can newer bios help here?
Is there a voltdrop with Maximus Formula?



Yes there is a loadline calibration setting in the Maximus Formula. Just be aware that vdroop is a design feature built into all Intel based motherboards. Intel requires the droop to prevent damage to CPUs from overvoltage. Wether I agree with it or not isnt the issue, its up to each person if they want to push their CPU to the limit and "undo" vdroop.

The P5E, Maximus Formula and Ramapge Formula are all great boards built on the same platform. With the Maximus/Rampage Formula, you get an extra LAN, 3 pin fan headers and more temp sensors.


----------



## wolfy87

oh thanks eric...
so there is nothing wrong with asus P5E?
and for mild OC, like going from 2.6->3.2 it shouldn`t bring instability issues?
anyways, what are the cons of that vdrop feature?
I heard that loadline calibration isn`t very good...could damage components?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *wolfy87*


oh thanks eric...
so there is nothing wrong with asus P5E?
and for mild OC, like going from 2.6->3.2 it shouldn`t bring instability issues?
anyways, what are the cons of that vdrop feature?
I heard that loadline calibration isn`t very good...could damage components?


Cons with Vdroop, well for one the voltage may drop when you need it to remain stable. Sometimes you can set to 1.4v and it may drop as far as 1.3v (although most Vdroop is not this severe), resulting in instability/BSOD. Loadline Calibration is supposed to prevent Vdroop, and does a pretty good job at it. I havent heard of it damaging any components, but I heard it was bad for the 45nm CPU's (ie Q9450, E8400, E8500 etc.). Another way to prevent Vdroop though is to do the pencil mod, which is explained in one of the first posts.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *wolfy87*


oh thanks eric...
so there is nothing wrong with asus P5E?
and for mild OC, like going from 2.6->3.2 it shouldn`t bring instability issues?
anyways, what are the cons of that vdrop feature?
I heard that loadline calibration isn`t very good...could damage components?


There was a known stability issue with the 45nm CPUs and Loadline calibration. But I havent experienced it myself, and I've built a few 45nm systems. It also seems to only affect the Rampage/Maximus Formula ATM, and not the P5E.

What CPU are you going with? 3.2GHz is an easy overclock for the newer 65nm and 45nm CPUs. The P5E can easily push 500FSB with a dual core, and 450FSB with a quad. These arent extreme speeds at all for the chipset.


----------



## wolfy87

I`m going for E5200, based on my needs, and what is written on Tom`s about VGA-vs-CPU, it is more than enough... It would be my first OC expirience, so I won`t regret much it if so cheap CPU goes dead, hope I won`t do it to him...

I have my build plans here: http://www.overclock.net/intel-build...ld-4850-d.html
So feel free to comment, I would appreciate it very much, this is my first build, want everything to be perfect...


----------



## DuckieHo

Finally got my P5E working the way I wanted...

For some unknown reason, it won't boot at 401-450MHz using the lowest memory divider. However, using the next divider (4:3)... it works fine. Strange.

Anyways, my motherboard boots at 473MHz at 1.49v using a Q6600. Higher than I expected.


----------



## TnB= Gir

Now just update your sig rig noob


----------



## DuckieHo

I was thinking about getting some heatpipes and drilling some holes... What do you think? I do have Thermalright IFX as well... should I just use that for the X38?


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DuckieHo*


Finally got my P5E working the way I wanted...

For some unknown reason, it won't boot at 401-450MHz using the lowest memory divider. However, using the next divider (4:3)... it works fine. Strange.

Anyways, my motherboard boots at 473MHz at 1.49v using a Q6600. Higher than I expected.


It might have something to do with the timings on the NB.


----------



## coltsrock

Well guys, How far do you think this would push an E8500??

Im gonna pencil mod this biaatch and Ill probably set volts to around 1.325, should this be ok for 24/7/365?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Well guys, How far do you think this would push an E8500??

Im gonna pencil mod this biaatch and Ill probably set volts to around 1.325, should this be ok for 24/7/365?

Considering the E8500 has a 9.5 multi, and the P5E can easily push the FSB to 515 (I ran that with only 1.43v to the NB) with dual core at a reasonable voltage to the NB, you can run the E8500 as fast as it will let you go. I've seen others running 4.2GHz with their E8500.

Good luck


----------



## zlojack

^^^ You mean 9.5, but other than that, 100% right.


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
I was thinking about getting some heatpipes and drilling some holes... What do you think? I do have Thermalright IFX as well... should I just use that for the X38?

Changed my mine since I came into some parts.

Using a HR-03 IFX (non-SLI) for the SB, Enzo waterblock for the NB, and hoping to use a heatpipe for MOSFETs. Pics when I'm done...


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


^^^ You mean 9.5, but other than that, 100% right.


lol, yes I meant 9.5. edited post.


----------



## coltsrock

Ooooh, I can live with 4.2 GHz









especially coming from a 2.395 GHz A64 single core


----------



## coltsrock

Ordered the P5E today, got it for $200 shipped


----------



## rom0n

My system config is:

Q9300
P5E X38
4X1 GB Crucial Ballistix 8500
ASUS 4850
Arctic Cooling 7 Pro

I'm hoping to get 3.5 GHZ.

Right now, I have the Q9300 clocked at 400X7.5=3.0GHZ at 400 strap. Bios voltage set at 1.275 with an actual voltage of 1.256V idle and 1.224V load on CPU-Z.

When I try to increase Nbridge voltage or PLL, I can't boot at all. I read in a review once that this board got up to 500FSB on a quad without increasing any other voltages except CPU.

Would flashing this board to Rampage increase the OC?

I helped my friend get to 3.5GHZ on a P35 DS3R before, so I'm hoping to get the same or even better.

Any help would be appreciated.


----------



## coltsrock

bump because rom0n needs help


----------



## ericeod

The quads need more FSB voltage and NB volage. I've never heard of 500FSB without chipset voltage increase.

Try 1.43v to the NB and 1.34 v to the FSB Termination voltage.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rom0n*


My system config is:

Q9300
P5E X38
4X1 GB Crucial Ballistix 8500
ASUS 4850
Arctic Cooling 7 Pro

I'm hoping to get 3.5 GHZ.

Right now, I have the Q9300 clocked at 400X7.5=3.0GHZ at 400 strap. Bios voltage set at 1.275 with an actual voltage of 1.256V idle and 1.224V load on CPU-Z.

When I try to increase Nbridge voltage or PLL, I can't boot at all. I read in a review once that this board got up to 500FSB on a quad without increasing any other voltages except CPU.

Would flashing this board to Rampage increase the OC?

I helped my friend get to 3.5GHZ on a P35 DS3R before, so I'm hoping to get the same or even better.

Any help would be appreciated.


----------



## rom0n

I bumped up the FSB to 430, I can't pass Prime95 further than this.
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 7.5
FSB Frequency : 430
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: 1033
DRAM Command Rate : 2t
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Precharge : 5
RAS# ActivateTime : 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay : AUTO
Row Refresh Cycle Time : AUTO
Write Recovery Time : AUTO
Read to Precharge Time : AUTO

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (D) : AUTO
DRAM Static Read Control: AUTO
Ai Clock Twister : AUTO
Transaction Booster : AUTO
Boost Level :0
CPU Voltage : 1.300(highest I've tried)
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.56
North Bridge Voltage : 1.45
DRAM Voltage : 2.2v
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.32
South Bridge Voltage : AUTO
Loadline Calibration : Disabled
CPU GTL Reference : .0.63X
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67X
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

CPUID 1.275 idle and 1.24V load on CPU-Z.


----------



## rom0n

Should I leave PLL as default AUTO?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rom0n*


Should I leave PLL as default AUTO?


Leaving PLL on auto makes it run way to high. I would set it to 1.58v for now. I would think you need more NB voltage then 1.45v for the quad. Quads put a lot more strain on the chipset. Increasing the voltage to 1.52v might get you a little higher. Unfortunately with the P5E, there isnt any way to check the temps on the northbridge.


----------



## rom0n

Thanks. But I still can't get it stable. Perhaps a Bios flash would help?
Here is my current config:

Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual 
CPU Ratio Control : Manual 
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 7.5
FSB Frequency : 445
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 400
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: 890
DRAM Command Rate : 2t
DRAM Timing Control: Manual 
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Precharge : 5
RAS# ActivateTime : 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay : AUTO
Row Refresh Cycle Time : AUTO
Write Recovery Time : AUTO
Read to Precharge Time : AUTO

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (D) : AUTO
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister : AUTO
Transaction Booster : Disabled
Relax Level :3
CPU Voltage : 1.3375
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.58
North Bridge Voltage : 1.53
DRAM Voltage : 2.2v
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.36
South Bridge Voltage : AUTO
Loadline Calibration : Disabled
CPU GTL Reference : .0.63X
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67X
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled 
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

I forgot to add I have single sided RAM


----------



## ericeod

Do me a favor and drop the multi to x6 and see if it is stable or not. This will help determine if it is the CPU, or the motherboard (ie. chipset being unstable).


----------



## rom0n

it passed the loading screen (unlike before) but is frozen just before the vista home screen. When I drop the relax level of 3 to a boost level of 0, it failed the loading screen.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rom0n* 
it passed the loading screen (unlike before) but is frozen just before the vista home screen. When I drop the relax level of 3 to a boost level of 0, it failed the loading screen.

Do you have the newer Ballistix which are single sided modules (IC ram chips on only one side), or are they the older double sided ones? I ask becasue the new Ballistix are not running very well with the P35/P45 or the X38/X48 chipsets. This is a known issue and should be addressed with Crucial. If they are new, I would recommend returning them to the place of purchase and getting some G.Skill.

Besides that, try setting the NB to 1.59v and just see if it will boot. I cant remember, but is 1.59v in bios in red or is it yellow?


----------



## rom0n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Do you have the newer Ballistix which are single sided modules (IC ram chips on only one side), or are they the older double sided ones? I ask becasue the new Ballistix are not running very well with the P35/P45 or the X38/X48 chipsets. This is a known issue and should be addressed with Crucial. If they are new, I would recommend returning them to the place of purchase and getting some G.Skill.

Besides that, try setting the NB to 1.59v and just see if it will boot. I cant remember, but is 1.59v in bios in red or is it yellow?

Yes I have the new Ballistix. It'll probably require higher voltage than usual. I'll see if I can RMA it and get the double sided.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rom0n* 
Yes I have the new Ballistix. It'll probably require higher voltage than usual. I'll see if I can RMA it and get the double sided.

I think thats part of your problem. Do you have any other ram to test?


----------



## aznkorean

I've been holding off on this for awhile now, but I need help getting my ram to hit DDR2-1200. As you can see, they are suppose to run DDR2-1200 at stock, but I haven't been able to get them stable with my P5E.

Here's my settings:

Multiplyer: 9.0
FSB: 390
FSB Strap: 400
PCI-E Frequency: 100

DRAM Command Rate : 2t
DRAM Frequency: 1039MHz
5-5-5-15, everything else auto

DRAM Static Read Control: disabled
Ai Clock Twister : strong
Transaction Booster : enabled
Relax Level : 0

CPU Voltage : 1.38125(not actual voltage)
CPU PLL Voltage : auto
North Bridge Voltage : auto
DRAM Voltage : 2.2v
FSB Termination Voltage : auto
South Bridge Voltage : auto

Loadline Calibration : disabled
CPU GTL Reference : .0.63X
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67X
SB 1.5V Voltage : auto

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled 
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

I can run this stable, but once I try to mess around with FSB Strap and DRAM Frequency I can't boot higher than 1039MHz. BIOS version 702.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aznkorean*


I've been holding off on this for awhile now, but I need help getting my ram to hit DDR2-1200. As you can see, they are suppose to run DDR2-1200 at stock, but I haven't been able to get them stable with my P5E.

Here's my settings:

Multiplyer: 9.0
FSB: 390
FSB Strap: 400
PCI-E Frequency: 100

DRAM Command Rate : 2t
DRAM Frequency: 1039MHz
5-5-5-15, everything else auto

DRAM Static Read Control: disabled
Ai Clock Twister : strong
Transaction Booster : enabled
Relax Level : 0

CPU Voltage : 1.38125(not actual voltage)
CPU PLL Voltage : auto
North Bridge Voltage : auto
DRAM Voltage : 2.2v
FSB Termination Voltage : auto
South Bridge Voltage : auto

Loadline Calibration : disabled
CPU GTL Reference : .0.63X
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67X
SB 1.5V Voltage : auto

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled 
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

I can run this stable, but once I try to mess around with FSB Strap and DRAM Frequency I can't boot higher than 1039MHz. BIOS version 702.



Keep in mind the higher frequency you go, the more Nb voltage you will need. What strap are you trying to run exactly?


----------



## aznkorean

I'm not sure. I'm just trying to get as close to 1200 as possible.


----------



## aznkorean

Has anyone been able to get their DRAM Frequency to/near 1200?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aznkorean*


I'm not sure. I'm just trying to get as close to 1200 as possible.


have you tried an 8X multi with FSB around 430? . try using NB voltage of around 1.4v or 1.45v though, dont leave it on auto.

why dont you try overclocking your RAM first and set CPU speed to stock and try to work it out that way? just an idea


----------



## coltsrock

Hey what do you think I can get out of this CPU?


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Hey what do you think I can get out of this CPU?


why do you keep asking this question?.?. Ive seen it six times... unless you are getting that exact cpu wait till you see the VID on your chip. Note: this isnt the only determinate but it is the quickest rough indicator.


----------



## aznkorean

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
have you tried an 8X multi with FSB around 430? . try using NB voltage of around 1.4v or 1.45v though, dont leave it on auto.

why dont you try overclocking your RAM first and set CPU speed to stock and try to work it out that way? just an idea









I tried running 8x multiplyer, but I can't even post. Then I tried running everything on auto and having my RAM set at 1200 and that POSTs, but it gets bsod after loading up windows. I'm guessing I can't hit DDR2 1200....


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aznkorean* 
I tried running 8x multiplyer, but I can't even post. Then I tried running everything on auto and having my RAM set at 1200 and that POSTs, but it gets bsod after loading up windows. I'm guessing I can't hit DDR2 1200....

What is the reference voltage? I've found conflicting specifications, one saying 1.8v and the other saying 2.3v. What is your actual voltage? Why is your vNB on AUTO? Have you tried 1.4 or 1.45v? Have you tried a different strap? 6:5 in the 333 works really well. Even if it means underclocking your CPU, you should be able to test in this strap. On 4x1 Ballistix, I pass memtest at 1200MHz, so it's not a board limitation.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
why do you keep asking this question?.?. Ive seen it six times... unless you are getting that exact cpu wait till you see the VID on your chip. Note: this isnt the only determinate but it is the quickest rough indicator.

I am getting that exact CPU :swearing:



















EDIT: Do I have trun REMAP on if will be using 2x2GB sticks in Vista 64 bit?? In the manual it says i should


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
I am getting that exact CPU :swearing:

EDIT: Do I have trun REMAP on if will be using 2x2GB sticks in Vista 64 bit?? In the manual it says i should

ya... and i have found 0605 bios to be the most stable. high OCs and 0702 seems to reset itself on occasion


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
ya... and i have found 0605 bios to be the most stable. high OCs and 0702 seems to reset itself on occasion

Alright, how can I tell what version the BIOS is?


----------



## Robilar

go into the bios, start ez flash, it will tell you your version..


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
go into the bios, start ez flash, it will tell you your version..

Alright I will

I have to wait for everything else to show up


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
go into the bios, start ez flash, it will tell you your version..

Robilar, do you have any 3dm scores for your Crossfire rig? I am divided between SLI'd GTX280s on an EVGA 780i and some 4870 action on this board. What do you think?


----------



## trueg50

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
Changed my mine since I came into some parts.

Using a HR-03 IFX (non-SLI) for the SB, Enzo waterblock for the NB, and hoping to use a heatpipe for MOSFETs. Pics when I'm done...

How was that waterblock to mount? Is it working alright?

I am looking into getting a chipset waterblock, and probably GPU one as well and am a little torn between the Enzotech and MCW30.

I'm surprised you didn't flash to a Rampage BIOS, seemed a little more logical to work with, despite the massive amount of available options.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 

EDIT: Do I have trun REMAP on if will be using 2x2GB sticks in Vista 64 bit?? In the manual it says i should

No, I don't think you have to.

Make sure you have the 4gb RAM hotfix though; and if you are moving from a dual core there are some other special stuff you have to do. ("run" -> "msconfig" ->"boot" - > "Advanced options" "Detect HAL" -> reboot)


----------



## Robilar

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
Robilar, do you have any 3dm scores for your Crossfire rig? I am divided between SLI'd GTX280s on an EVGA 780i and some 4870 action on this board. What do you think?

Sure, here is a run with the cards at stock


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
Sure, here is a run with the cards at stock

Yeah, as far as basing your choice on 3DMark, I wouldnt, ATI doesnt do as well


----------



## Robilar

almost 23k in 3dmark06 with sub $300 cards is nothing to sneeze at. This is before overclocking them as well.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
almost 23k in 3dmark06 with sub $300 cards is nothing to sneeze at. This is before overclocking them as well.

True, but from what I've seen GTX260s and other cards do a little bit better in 3Dmark


----------



## phospholipid

Quick question for, anyone, can you flash the new P5E Deluxe X48 motherboard to the same Rampage formula bios the rest of you are flashing to with your X38's?


----------



## scottath

I think so - someone on another forums asked the same question and have;t heard back from them about it - only difference between the P5E and the Dlx version is the chipset
So it should be fine


----------



## phospholipid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


I think so - someone on another forums asked the same question and have;t heard back from them about it - only difference between the P5E and the Dlx version is the chipset
So it should be fine


Eff, i don't want to to bone a brand new motherboard the moment it comes in, you know?


----------



## Robilar

The guys at XS have done so.

I don't really see the point unless you are either a) having problems getting a stable overclock, or b) want to set up an extreme overclock.

If the board craps out with the flashed bios loaded, Asus will not warranty it....


----------



## phospholipid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


The guys at XS have done so.

I don't really see the point unless you are either a) having problems getting a stable overclock, or b) want to set up an extreme overclock.

If the board craps out with the flashed bios loaded, Asus will not warranty it....



Ah, gotcha. Well, I should be getting the X48 Deluxe [it was cheaper than the X38 believe it or not] today or monday, so I'll let you know how it goes. I just want to do 3.6 stable, with a tuniq.







! +Repped for the info.
Seriously, go check your reps.


----------



## Robilar

lol, 3.6 is fairly easy with any X48 board.

watch your nb temps and voltage though.

with my board, the auto nb was 1.6!. Temps were in the 61C range. I cranked it back to 1.27v (running at 3.6 myself day to day) perfectly stable.

I also pulled off the heatpipes and AS5'd the NB and SB and added cardboard risers to the nb screwmounts for more torque.

my nb now idles at 43C and loads at 49C. Much better


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


How was that waterblock to mount? Is it working alright?

I am looking into getting a chipset waterblock, and probably GPU one as well and am a little torn between the Enzotech and MCW30.

I'm surprised you didn't flash to a Rampage BIOS, seemed a little more logical to work with, despite the massive amount of available options.


I am using the Enzotech block which I bought from someone here. In retrospect, I would probably go with the MCW30 since it is less restrictive. I did some quick estimates on the cross-section of the EnzoTech block and it seemed a bit low.

Anyways, my X38 loaded temps with reapplied TIM, stock HS, and fan was around 50C. The temps with the waterblock is around 42C. More importantly, the area around the motherboard is much cooler.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DuckieHo*


I am using the Enzotech block which I bought from someone here. In retrospect, I would probably go with the MCW30 since it is less restrictive. I did some quick estimates on the cross-section of the EnzoTech block and it seemed a bit low.

Anyways, my X38 loaded temps with reapplied TIM, stock HS, and fan was around 50C. The temps with the waterblock is around 42C. More importantly, the area around the motherboard is much cooler.


I can say the MCW30 WB works great. With 1.49v to the NB and shin-etsu, it idles at 37Â°C and loads at 40Â°C. This is on the Rampage Formula, which is reported to run cooler then the X38. The MCW30 is the only NB WB I have ever run.


----------



## coltsrock

Do you guys think it would be necessary to pop off the heatpipe and apply some MX2 to it, do you think the temps would be much better? And is it a hssle to take off and put on?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Do you guys think it would be necessary to pop off the heatpipe and apply some MX2 to it, do you think the temps would be much better? And is it a hssle to take off and put on?

I think it is worth it IMO. I dont like the thermal paste they use. Just be careful, the stuff is on the NB like epoxy. After removing all the pushpins, I heated the NB with a hairdryer for a few minutes, and gently slid the HS sideways off the NB. I needed nail polish remover to clean the tim off.


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I think it is worth it IMO. I dont like the thermal paste they use. Just be careful, the stuff is on the NB like epoxy. After removing all the pushpins, I heated the NB with a hairdryer for a few minutes, and gently slid the HS sideways off the NB. I needed nail polish remover to clean the tim off.

Alternatively, throw it in the freezer for 30 mins. It will pop right off. Thermal epoxy becomes brittle in the cold. I've froze it to remove heatpipes epoxied on metal before as well. It is a known method of epoxy removal.


----------



## phospholipid

I'm excited now reading all this potential from the X38







! I was worried the asus would only get up to 3.2GHz, as I've had nothing but issues from asus. I love my DFI blood iron board, god it overclocks like no tomorrow on stock voltage, but I heard the X38/X48 motherboards from DFI are sheer failure, with no stable clocks.








X48 + 4870 = win!


----------



## TnB= Gir

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
lol, 3.6 is fairly easy with any X48 board.

watch your nb temps and voltage though.

with my board, the auto nb was 1.6!. Temps were in the 61C range. I cranked it back to 1.27v (running at 3.6 myself day to day) perfectly stable.

I also pulled off the heatpipes and AS5'd the NB and SB and added cardboard risers to the nb screwmounts for more torque.

my nb now idles at 43C and loads at 49C. Much better

How are you monitoring the NB temps?


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phospholipid* 
I'm excited now reading all this potential from the X38







! I was worried the asus would only get up to 3.2GHz, as I've had nothing but issues from asus. I love my DFI blood iron board, god it overclocks like no tomorrow on stock voltage, but I heard the X38/X48 motherboards from DFI are sheer failure, with no stable clocks.








X48 + 4870 = win!

My X38 can do 470MHz FSB with a Q6600.... not too bad.


----------



## coltsrock

ooh, guys the rig should be up by next week








The E8400 should be here tomorrow
The 4870 is due here Tuesday
Ill be ordering the rest from the Egg on Monday


----------



## justinp

i'm sorry if this has been asked a million times before, but i just recently bought the P5E motherboard along with a tuniq tower cpu cooler. the tuniq fan seems to be stuck at 2000rpm, i would like to lower that to about 1000rpm but i dont believe the fan is motherboard controllable. i installed the hardware fan controller in the back of my case but i haven't had any luck with it actually changing the speeds. does anyone know how to set up the fan controller can adjust the cpu fan speeds accordingly with this setup. any help is much appreciated.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *justinp* 
i'm sorry if this has been asked a million times before, but i just recently bought the P5E motherboard along with a tuniq tower cpu cooler. the tuniq fan seems to be stuck at 2000rpm, i would like to lower that to about 1000rpm but i dont believe the fan is motherboard controllable. i installed the hardware fan controller in the back of my case but i haven't had any luck with it actually changing the speeds. does anyone know how to set up the fan controller can adjust the cpu fan speeds accordingly with this setup. any help is much appreciated.

I believe you can adjust it with AiTuner


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
My X38 can do 470MHz FSB with a Q6600.... not too bad.

DuckieHo,
Can you please list you voltages, Ram speed and FSB Strap?

Thanks!


----------



## coltsrock

Yeah, whats with the hole FSB strap?? I read paul's FAQ on it but it didnt explain much, can anyone elaborate?


----------



## wolfy87

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckieHo* 
Alternatively, throw it in the freezer for 30 mins. It will pop right off. Thermal epoxy becomes brittle in the cold. I've froze it to remove heatpipes epoxied on metal before as well. It is a known method of epoxy removal.

Are you sure there won`t be the condensation?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir*


How are you monitoring the NB temps?



If I remember coorectly, Eric told me the Rampage Formula has a temp monitoring program that picks up the NB temp that is not bundled with the P5E software. I may be wrong though (my memory could be playing tricks on me







). We are SOL







on NB temps though. I would like to know what mine is as well. I have a Thermalright HR-05 SLI on my NB and have no way of telling how effective it is







.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
If I remember coorectly, Eric told me the Rampage Formula has a temp monitoring program that picks up the NB temp that is not bundled with the P5E software. I may be wrong though (my memory could be playing tricks on me







). We are SOL







on NB temps though. I would like to know what mine is as well. I have a Thermalright HR-05 SLI on my NB and have no way of telling how effective it is







.

The temp sensors are not there to give you the readings. I first suspected they just where not enabled in bios. But after flashing my old P5E to the Rampage Formula bios, I still didnt get any of the sensor readings.


----------



## scottath

If your brave enough, you could probably solder them on and they would work....

Anyone have a multimeter and a P5E running the Rampage bios?
Just wondering if the extra fan headers are working so i can solder on pins to them for extra mounts.....


----------



## Gradius

Guys, I just got this MB (P5E), I did read about pencil mod, etc, etc.

I want to know if is possible to archive *3.7GHz* with Q9450 on P5E.

I know on Gigabyte X48-DQ6 it was possible:









But currectly there is no X48-DQ6 here, so I got P5E instead.

Please, let me know.

Gradius


----------



## aleiro

i wonder if it was a safe voltage

also, i had to take my comp apart and replace a fan that was making noise. I pealed the metal sticker off the southbridge and the ASUS sticker off the NB. I have been doing some benching and it seems to be about 2C cooler. Just an idea, results may vary...


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


i wonder if it was a safe voltage


*Overclocked settings*:

*Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 9450 463 x 8 3.7GHz 
Sytem Memory:Mushkin Redline XP2 8000 2 x 2 GB 5-5-5-12 *

_3.2GHz on 1.175 volts was a promising start for this chip. Having a VID of 1.0625v was another plus in the quest to wring some additional performance from the newest from Intel. With the promising start I was very optimistic that the 9450 would be a great clocking chip. 450 x 8 came easily with 1.30 volts on the core and a tweak to the northbridge and FSB voltages to add some stability. Booting at 475 x 8 was possible but did not offer any stability, even with up to 1.75 on the chipset and 1.425v on the CPU core. That was kind of dissapointing, but nevertheless it gave a point to work down from. Lowering the clockspeed a bit at a time, *I reached stability at 463 x 8 with 1.360 volts to the core and 1.6 volts to the northbridge*. Not too shabby for a day's work! The temperatures did not seem to scale with the voltage like the QX9770 and Q6600s do, but the 9450 still gets a little warm. With 1.37 volts, I saw 64C with the less than optimum heatsink I used._

From:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...el_q9450/3.htm

Gradius


----------



## coltsrock

I assume redlines work on this board, Im hoping for about 470 FSB, and 5:6 memory ratio
has anyone pushed their memory this far? Is it doable on this board?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


I assume redlines work on this board, Im hoping for about 470 FSB, and 5:6 memory ratio
has anyone pushed their memory this far? Is it doable on this board?


With the dual core, you will easily break 500 FSB. Good luck with the OC, we all look forward to your results!


----------



## aznkorean

Well, my attempts at trying to run 1200MHz have failed. I'm getting perfect stability with 9 multi, 390fsb, 400 strap, 1039MHz. I tried running it with the fsb pushed up to 400 in order to get 1066MHz and that fails to POST. Whenever I try to push my memory, by using other straps, I don't even POST. This might just be a case of crappy memory or crappy overclocking skills.


----------



## Robilar

I'd suggest the memory. kingston makes good server and stock speed memory but their hyperX line is average at best. I have bought and returned a couple of kits over the years due to poor performance.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
I'd suggest the memory. kingston makes good server and stock speed memory but their hyperX line is average at best. I have bought and returned a couple of kits over the years due to poor performance.

Are your Dominators good for high frequencies?


----------



## Robilar

Not sure yet. They run 1066 fine but timings so far I'm testing. They will go higher than 1066 (had them just shy of 1200) but with very loose timings.

Its always a trade off between tighter timings and higher mhz with these kits.

They are definitiely better than kingston though (then again so is Mushkin, Team group and Gskill. OCZ is a mix).


----------



## scottath

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Anyone have a multimeter and a P5E running the Rampage bios?
Just wondering if the extra fan headers are working so i can solder on pins to them for extra mounts.....


Anyone know if they work?


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


Not sure yet. They run 1066 fine but timings so far I'm testing. They will go higher than 1066 (had them just shy of 1200) but with very loose timings.

Its always a trade off between tighter timings and higher mhz with these kits.

They are definitiely better than kingston though (then again so is Mushkin, Team group and Gskill. OCZ is a mix).


when you say loose, do you mean like 6-6-6-20


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *wolfy87*


Are you sure there won`t be the condensation?


Oh, remember to remove the BIOS batter before placing in the freezer.

There will be condensation when you take it out. Water on your motherboard doesn't matter as long it isn't on (shorting) or isn't on for a long time (rusting). Just pop off the heatsink and blow dry the motherboard. It works.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


I'd suggest the memory. kingston makes good server and stock speed memory but their hyperX line is average at best. I have bought and returned a couple of kits over the years due to poor performance.


I'm pretty happy with these. 1128MHz @CAS4 under 2.20V is nothing to sneeze at.


----------



## zlojack

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


Not sure yet. They run 1066 fine but timings so far I'm testing. They will go higher than 1066 (had them just shy of 1200) but with very loose timings.

Its always a trade off between tighter timings and higher mhz with these kits.

They are definitiely better than kingston though (then again so is Mushkin, Team group and Gskill. OCZ is a mix).


You should be able to get over 1100 MHz.


----------



## TnB= Gir

Has anyone else had the issue listed in my thread here?

Just wanna make sure it's not a motherboard issue, I need to know what to replace.


----------



## coltsrock

Well guys i ordered the DDR2 1000 G.Skill and when everything gets here thursday I will have a rig


----------



## ericeod

Well I'm back to DDR2 with a Rampage Formula motherboard. I wanted to see what the added ram options in the Rampage bios could do, so I ran some tests to see how they can help.

Here are the comparisons between my Rampage Formula with DDR2 1058 5-5-5-15 2T compared to my previous Maximus Extreme with DDR3 1520 7-7-7-24 2T:

Rampage Formula:










Maximus Extreme:










Before tweaking the ram with the Rampage bios, I was getting 64.3 latency, with 5-5-5-15, all else auto. But after dialing in the Ai Transaction booster, and setting it to 6, with all pull-ins enabled, and setting Ai Clock Twister to Moderate, I was able to get more performance. I also ran Memtest v2.01 for 4 complete passes.


----------



## TnB= Gir

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir*


Has anyone else had the issue listed in my thread here?

Just wanna make sure it's not a motherboard issue, I need to know what to replace.


Quoted for the new page. Please let me know if you guys have had this problem with an asus x38 board.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
(SNIP!) Before tweaking the ram with the Rampage bios, I was getting 64.3 latency, with 5-5-5-15, all else auto. But after dialing in the Ai Transaction booster, and setting it to 6, with all pull-ins enabled, and setting Ai Clock Twister to Moderate, I was able to get more performance. I also ran Memtest v2.01 for 4 complete passes.

Awesome! Can you do a bench at the same (lower) FSB on the RF and crank the memory as high as it can go? It's pretty neat that you were getting higher bandwidth on DDR3 with the lower FSB. Can you run transaction booster DISABLED/0?


----------



## coltsrock

Is your memory PK or PQ eric?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Is your memory PK or PQ eric?

im guessing pk. i dont think the pq's come in 1066, just 800 and 1000.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


im guessing pk. i dont think the pq's come in 1066, just 800 and 100.


They are actually the PK version with the Pi heatsinks (I got them because they where on sale). I really wanted these though:

Not only are they rated at DDR2 1100 (550Mhz) 5-5-5-15, but they run on 1.8v-1.9v vDimm! I have never seen these specs on any other DDR2 kit out there today.

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1100 (PC2 8800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Xtreme has reported DDR2 1200 with only 2.0v.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *G.S Technician*


nothing actually. only 5-5-5-15 and 2v on P5Q-D



The only drawback are the heat spreaders. They use the Pi heat spreaders which are unusually tall.


----------



## runquest

I'm currently at 3.3 GHz on my Q9300 / P5E.

BIOS (v.0702):
*FSB freq.: 440
VCore: 1.275 
NB volt.: 1.27
Loadline Cal.: Enabled
CPU GTL ref. 0.61x
NB GTL ref.: 0.63x*

Everything else is on auto..

Have only done a brief stress test (1h OCCT) for quick stability and to check temps which are stable around 50-55'C (RealTemp). Will do a thorough test tonight with Prime95.

Vdroop seems remarkable stable. Vdrop is 0.019 (after pencil mod, 1.256 in CPU-Z).

I was wondering whether there are any settings that would tweak my system's "health" considering I'm trying to have this clock 24/7. 
I've enabled *Loadline cal.* and bumped *CPU/NB GTL ref.* - just because the system rebooted immediately after starting Prime95 with the values on auto (took the settings in the first post -1). But I really don't know what any of these settings, or any of the other in bios, actually do









Should I just be happy with these settings if it turns out stable, or do you have any simple tweaks for care?

PS: My memory settings are also on auto;

CPU-Z:
440.1MHz 
1:1
5,5,5,18
2T

Thank you in advance!


----------



## coltsrock

Do I have to enable PCIE Graphics in BIOS or is automatically configured?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Do I have to enable PCIE Graphics in BIOS or is automatically configured?

It is auto configured, so you dont have to.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77* 
Awesome! Can you do a bench at the same (lower) FSB on the RF and crank the memory as high as it can go? It's pretty neat that you were getting higher bandwidth on DDR3 with the lower FSB. Can you run transaction booster DISABLED/0?

I'm out of town for a few days, so I'll do it for you this weekend.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Do I have to enable PCIE Graphics in BIOS or is automatically configured?

but you should config it for when you are booting... the option is pci or pce or something like that. I cant look cause im not home


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
but you should config it for when you are booting... the option is pci or pce or something like that. I cant look cause im not home

Thats for the primary boot device, which is fine to set to PCI-E, but it isnt necessary.


----------



## coltsrock

Do you guys have your SATA option set to AHCI or IDE??? In the manual it says AHCI allows for more performance


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Do you guys have your SATA option set to AHCI or IDE??? In the manual it says AHCI allows for more performance


if you are going to run raid set it to raid. If you have an sata drive that supports NCQ then set it to ahci and THEN install vista or xp


----------



## coltsrock

Well the raptor has NCQ so I will enable AHCI

Also, does it matter which slot the GPU goes in??? I want to put it in the one that doesnt cover up the CMOS
Thirdly, does anyone use the little fan ASUS included on the Chipset??


----------



## coltsrock

Does this really not have an Onboard power switch??!??!?!

So how do I run this without a case??? I dont want to install everything and have someting go wrong


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Does this really not have an Onboard power switch??!??!?!

So how do I run this without a case??? I dont want to install everything and have someting go wrong

It's the equivalent to shorting the jumpers with a ball point pen. It behaves the same way as pressing the power button on the case (when it's connected to the jumpers, obviously).

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Well the raptor has NCQ so I will enable AHCI

Also, does it matter which slot the GPU goes in??? I want to put it in the one that doesnt cover up the CMOS
Thirdly, does anyone use the little fan ASUS included on the Chipset??

If you want to enable AHCI, make sure you have the Intel chipset drivers (obviously). You don't enable write caching through the OS, instead you use the Intel disk management tool that gets installed with the drivers.

It doesn't matter what slot you put the GPU in, although the top is preferable for airflow.

The ASUS fan is intended for cooling the mosfet heatsinks if you have watercooling. You can use it however you want to, although I don't because it looks like an utterly worthless POS.


----------



## FusionFX

Does anyone know if it makes much of a difference if I stick two sticks of RAM in the DIMM2 and DIMM4 slots?

I read somewhere that with the P5Q P45 MB that it made a different somewhat.

I might have an issue with the size of the heatspeaders on the RAM that I am ordering and the size of my IFX-14 thus not allowing me to use the RAM in the DIMM1 and 3 slots.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Does this really not have an Onboard power switch??!??!?!

So how do I run this without a case??? I dont want to install everything and have someting go wrong


Just get a piece of metal (small flat head screwdriver) and then jump the two pins. Just touch it for a second and the system should power up. That is what the power switch on your case basically does.


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

No, there's no issue. At XS, there were some people recommending it on the MF. I benched 1/3 and 2/4 @ 2x1 and found no difference. That was on the Rampage BIOS, but I don't think that should matter since the MCH is still physically the same, right?


----------



## coltsrock

Alright guys, thanks for the heads up, I have the mobo with my 4870 and E8400 in it, I just need a PSU,Memory,Cooler,and Hard Drive


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


Awesome! Can you do a bench at the same (lower) FSB on the RF and crank the memory as high as it can go? It's pretty neat that you were getting higher bandwidth on DDR3 with the lower FSB. Can you run transaction booster DISABLED/0?


I'm working on your request.

Here the timings are all the same as my previous Rampage Formula, just a 380 FSB to match the ME:










will update later with the rest.


----------



## Drizzt5

I've got this board and love it.


----------



## coltsrock

Well guys, I am having a serve vDroop problem, I have it set to 1.3125 but in PC Probe and other apps it shows up as 1.10 Volts, whats up with this?


----------



## spacegoast

a serve droop problem, lol? have you tried using CPU-Z or HW Monitor to check the cpu voltage against the PC Probe readings? im not sure how accurate they all are compared to each other but i know HWMonitor and CPU-Z give the same voltage readings for me. there is a vdroop mod that is posted (in this thread) in the first couple of posts if not the first one. its just a quick pencil shading and easy to do. make sure your pc/psu is completely off though, as in unplug it.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
a serve droop problem, lol? have you tried using CPU-Z or HW Monitor to check the cpu voltage against the PC Probe readings? im not sure how accurate they all are compared to each other but i know HWMonitor and CPU-Z give the same voltage readings for me. there is a vdroop mod that is posted (in this thread) in the first couple of posts if not the first one. its just a quick pencil shading and easy to do. make sure your pc/psu is completely off though, as in unplug it.

Yeah, CPUZ says 1.096 so the volts are right, is anyone else having this problem?


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Well the raptor has NCQ so I will enable AHCI

Also, does it matter which slot the GPU goes in??? I want to put it in the one that doesnt cover up the CMOS
Thirdly, does anyone use the little fan ASUS included on the Chipset??

NCQ hurts hard drive performance for desktop users.

Intel actually recommends you enable RAID mode for best compatability.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Yeah, CPUZ says 1.096 so the volts are right, is anyone else having this problem?



from what i have seen, this mobo is pretty good with vdroop. i have my vcore set to 1.31v at 3.2ghz and at load it drops to 1.28-1.29v havent really seen anyone with severe problems as you are experiencing. isnt the loadline calibration feature supposed to help with vdroop? or is it just for the older 65nm cpu's?


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Well guys, I am having a serve vDroop problem, I have it set to 1.3125 but in PC Probe and other apps it shows up as 1.10 Volts, whats up with this?


chances are you have c1e or stepspeed enabled...


----------



## coltsrock

hmmm, I wen to CPU config and disabled the ones I thought I was supposed to. Ohhh I have spread spectrum enabled, would this cause it?
Also what is CPU TM function??


----------



## Robilar

spread spectrum won't do that.

with LLC disabled, vdroop should be much less.

run a program like orthos and leave the cpu-z tab open. watch what the vcore does.

you might want to flash to the 0702 bios. The board would not read my 45nm chip correctly until I did that.


----------



## scottath

What's better - P5E 702 bios or the 403 Rampage for my P5E? (Currently have the rampage)


----------



## Robilar

the rampage bios.

i ran it on my P5E. it provides a number of additional overclocking tweaks.

if you are only going for 3.6 with your cpu though, i'd stick with the P5E bios.


----------



## coltsrock

Well I dont really wanna flash BIOSes, but did anyone check my last post and think it could be those?


----------



## scottath

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


the rampage bios.

i ran it on my P5E. it provides a number of additional overclocking tweaks.

if you are only going for 3.6 with your cpu though, i'd stick with the P5E bios.


3.6ghz is the highest i go 24/7 - am trying to get stabel for benchmarking at around 4ghz - can do 3dmark at 3.96

Any help getting my quad there would be appreciated


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Well I dont really wanna flash BIOSes, but did anyone check my last post and think it could be those?


cpu tm is cpu thermal monitor. Do you have the cpu voltage set to auto? If so that is what you cpu runs at. Also, what bios are you running? If you are running a 45nm chip you have to flash. I prefer 0605 because it is more stable than 0702 and fixes all the memory issues. Also, enable load line calibration.


----------



## coltsrock

Im not sure what BIOS I have but i can find out, and I have CPU voltage set 3.125 IIRC


----------



## jackson53

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


CPU voltage set 3.125 IIRC


^ could you explain this


----------



## coltsrock

umm, I set my vCore in the BIOS to 1.325 Volts


----------



## nigel

for people having problems opening AI SUTE after bios upgrade from old p5e to> rampage..

find the shortcut to aisute> left click properties > go to compatibility tab>click on box that says run this program in compatibility mode> drop down menu to windows nt 4.0>

tick disable visual themes box>tick turn of advanced text services for this program box..

that's if you use it lol.









that woked for me.


----------



## coltsrock

Ok I enabled Loadline calibration and disabled CPU Spectrum, and it still says the same volts


----------



## coltsrock

It was set to 1.*1*325, I upped to 1.3 and now CPU-Z says 1.264


Also, I checked in BIOS and i have the 0702 version


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 







It was set to 1.*1*325, I upped to 1.3 and now CPU-Z says 1.264


Also, I checked in BIOS and i have the 0702 version

I dont want to be mean but maybe you need to break out that little book your mobo came with...


----------



## coltsrock

I did, I did


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


I did, I did


It is perfectly normal for the vcore to be lower then what you set in bios. You can go to your "Hardware Monitor" in bios to see the actual vcore the bios reports.

Anyways, if I where you and trying to overclock, I would set the CPU to the max generally accepted safe vcore of 1.3625v and see how high you can push it. Keep in mind that quads need a lot move northbridge voltage to overclock the FSB, so you might have to look into the NB voltage. My Rampage Formula needs 1.45v to run a 423 FSB.


----------



## Robilar

NB is a funny thing.

My quad needs 1.27 on the NB for 3.6. Anything higher than that and I have to escalate the voltages quite steeply.


----------



## coltsrock

Well I dont have a Quad :/ the lowest setting is 1.25Volts


----------



## dan4real

Hey dudes, I need some advice. This will be my first OC since my last build which was a 939 dual core system.... so I've been out of the loop for a bit...

I am building a p5e system with a Q6600 (SLACR) and 4g of Corsair Dominator 1033 Ram.

I have a couple questions for you folks who may have more experience with similar setups... I should mention that I have a Zalman 9700 and an antec 1200 case, so air cooling should be pretty good.

Here's my questions:
A) Should I flash to Rampage bios? - I have heard that vdrop/droop will be lessened or eliminated. I'd rather not flash if I don't have to, as I don't know if having the extra bios settings would be much help to me anyways...

B) What is a good fsb/multiplier setting for 1033 ram on a Q6600? I would like to run 1:1 if possible, but is this really necessary? Can anyone with a similar setup recommend me some initial settings to test? It would be sweet if I could get into the 3.4-3.6 ghz range as many of you have.

C) What CPU voltage levels are acceptable for this sort of overclock?

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated!


----------



## dan4real

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dan4real*


C) What CPU voltage levels are acceptable for this sort of overclock?


Ok I'll start by answering my own question... (Maybe I'm posting this in the wrong thread, I found some Q6600 threads in the CPU forum)

It seems that the highest rated cpu voltage according to intel is 1.5v, but most sane people won't recommend going over 1.45v on a 24/7 basis.

It will also depend on my VID rating which I don't know yet since I am still building. I'll have to get coretemp and check out my VID once I finish my build.

Still need answers to A) and B), I'll post back here if I find them elsewhere first...


----------



## ericeod

I would only recommend flashing to the Rampage bios if you want to get all the performance you can out of the ram. The vdroop is reduced when loadline calibration is enabled in bios, which the Rampage Formula has none when enabled. The P5E can be pencil modded (see first page of thread) to eliminate vdroop as well.

As for the ram, just pick a chipset strap or set to auto, then based on the FSB you are trying to run, pick the closest memory speed you can to the 1066. To be honest, just pick the strap that gets you the ram speed you want as they are all about the same in performance, if any difference at all.


----------



## coltsrock

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=398319


----------



## Robilar

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dan4real* 
Ok I'll start by answering my own question... (Maybe I'm posting this in the wrong thread, I found some Q6600 threads in the CPU forum)

It seems that the highest rated cpu voltage according to intel is 1.5v, but most sane people won't recommend going over 1.45v on a 24/7 basis.

It will also depend on my VID rating which I don't know yet since I am still building. I'll have to get coretemp and check out my VID once I finish my build.

Still need answers to A) and B), I'll post back here if I find them elsewhere first...

to do 3.6 with a Q6600 GO, you should put 1.5V in the bios (with LLC disabled for now). with vdroop, that should be around 1.44 in windows.

test stability (do 9x400 of course).

if it is stable with orthos (give it at least at hour) and the temps are acceptable, drop the vcore in the bios one notch and test again.

rinse , repeat... until you get lowest stable vcore.

once you have done that, write down vcore under load in windows (use cpu-z to monitor while running orthos).

then you can go into the bios and set vcore to that load vcore and enable LLC. it may work or you may have to up vcore one or two notches.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
to do 3.6 with a Q6600 GO, you should put 1.5V in the bios (with LLC disabled for now). with vdroop, that should be around 1.44 in windows.

test stability (do 9x400 of course).

if it is stable with orthos (give it at least at hour) and the temps are acceptable, drop the vcore in the bios one notch and test again.

rinse , repeat... until you get lowest stable vcore.

once you have done that, write down vcore under load in windows (use cpu-z to monitor while running orthos).

then you can go into the bios and set vcore to that load vcore and enable LLC. it may work or you may have to up vcore one or two notches.

You should use prime95 instead of orthos for a quad


----------



## runquest

I noticed my OC wasn't showing in cpu-z today, and when I restarted, a new start up image appears (Ai P5E flashy-something):










When I press TAB, the usual start up appears:










But all my settings have returned to standard. What could have caused this? The bios version appears the same (0702)...


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *runquest* 
I noticed my OC wasn't showing in cpu-z today, and when I restarted, a new start up image appears (Ai P5E flashy-something):

When I press TAB, the usual start up appears:

But all my settings have returned to standard. What could have caused this? The bios version appears the same (0702)...

i had the same problem with 0702. Your mobo probably reset itself, that would happen to me when i would restart and turn it on in the morning. I recommend 0605.


----------



## coltsrock

I personally love this board, I dont have to reset CMOS on a failed OC, I just reboot and it says you failed your OC, hit F1 for setup


----------



## dan4real

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
I personally love this board, I dont have to reset CMOS on a failed OC, I just reboot and it says you failed your OC, hit F1 for setup

What bios are you using?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
As for the ram, just pick a chipset strap or set to auto, then based on the FSB you are trying to run, pick the closest memory speed you can to the 1066. To be honest, just pick the strap that gets you the ram speed you want as they are all about the same in performance, if any difference at all.

Thanks for the tips, I'll be trying this tomorrow night. I'll post my results.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
then you can go into the bios and set vcore to that load vcore and enable LLC. it may work or you may have to up vcore one or two notches.

Is LLC (Loadline calibration?) available in Rampage bios only? Or can I use this setting with standard p5e bios as well? I'm assuming this reduces vdrop/droop somehow. Is pencil mod really necessary if this setting is employed?


----------



## coltsrock

I am using 0702, and loadlince calibration is in the Extreme tweaker menu, you have to scroll down to see it and it reducse vDroop

Also heres my new OC: http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=398691


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
I am using 0702, and loadlince calibration is in the Extreme tweaker menu, you have to scroll down to see it and it reducse vDroop

Also heres my new OC: http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=398691

Good job Coltsrock. Are you pretty much at the max, or is there room for more OCing? What vcore are you running and what is your vdroop with the P5E bios? Its been a while since i used a P5E, and I was curious how it compares to the Rampage bios.


----------



## coltsrock

Vcore is set to 1.3625 in BIOS, it reads 1.308 under load and 1.328 at idle

And Im gonna sit here for awhile, Im going to play some TF2 then fold overnight to make sure its stable here


----------



## aznkorean

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Vcore is set to 1.3625 in BIOS, it reads 1.308 under load and 1.328 at idle

And Im gonna sit here for awhile, Im going to play some TF2 then fold overnight to make sure its stable here

Look at one of the first posts, it has directions for getting rid of vdroop.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aznkorean* 
Look at one of the first posts, it has directions for getting rid of vdroop.

Not everyone like to get rid of vdroop as it is a built in safety mechanism by Intel. The vdroop prevents dangerous voltage spikes from damaging CPUs.


----------



## coltsrock

Can anyone give me so ratios for the memory settings??? I want to run a 4:5 memory ratio but cant figure out which setting it is?? Also is that the lowest memory divider besides 1:1???


----------



## spacegoast

an easy way would be to set fsb to 400 and mem to 500= 4:5. but you wont want it that low with an 8x multi.

edit: you can also run a 5:6 ratio, i have done that before


----------



## coltsrock

which mem setting is 5:6(IN BIOS they give mhz like 800HMz,1066MHz,etc.) ?? I have 467 FSB and want my memory to run around 1066


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


which mem setting is 5:6(IN BIOS they give mhz like 800HMz,1066MHz,etc.) ?? I have 467 FSB and want my memory to run around 1066


you will have to mess around with the mem strap to get it closest to what you want it at. you may have to settle for 1000 instead 1066. there really is no precise way to set it exaclty how you want it, with 467FSB and 1066 for memory. you have to get it as close to it as you can by adjusting the straps. its basically a process of elimination to see what you can get the memory to run at. this is how i set it anyway.

someone please correct me if there is a more precise way to set memory speeds.


----------



## coltsrock

Alright, Ill mess with them and report back tommorow


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Alright, Ill mess with them and report back tommorow


Just take your FSB and multiply it by 4/5... For example, if you set the FSB to 500, then multiply by 4/5 (which is 0.8), you get 400MHz, which in DDR2 terms is 800.


----------



## coltsrock

Ok, my memory booted up windows fine and I snapped a SS, but then it failed orthos blend after 5 seconds, Im wondering what is the problem, I used 2.1V 5-5-5-15, should I loosen timings or raise volts?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Ok, my memory booted up windows fine and I snapped a SS, but then it failed orthos blend after 5 seconds, Im wondering what is the problem, I used 2.1V 5-5-5-15, should I loosen timings or raise volts?

Considering you are running DDR2 1000 ram at DDR2 1120, that is most likely why Orthos failed. The PowerChip ICs do not benefit from increased voltage, so I would instead drop the divider down until your ram is stable.


----------



## coltsrock

Ok, RAm was stable at 1:1 and I orthos'ed for 8 hours no problems


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

New RF BIOS 0407 available: DOWNLOAD. BENCHMARKS.


----------



## Sun

Just so I can be clear, if I want to install a RAID 0 array for Vista 64 on my Maximus Formula, I first set up the array by changing some parameter in my BIOS to RAID instead of SATA. Then I boot and press Ctrl + i to set up the array (as RAID 0). Then I boot with the vista key, go through a few screen, load the drivers on the fourth post of this thread, and there I go?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sun*


Just so I can be clear, if I want to install a RAID 0 array for Vista 64 on my Maximus Formula, I first set up the array by changing some parameter in my BIOS to RAID instead of SATA. Then I boot and press Ctrl + i to set up the array (as RAID 0). Then I boot with the vista key, go through a few screen, load the drivers on the fourth post of this thread, and there I go?


Yeah, it is that easy. I would recommend using the newest ICH9R/10R 64 bit Raid drivers:

Ver:8.2.0.1001 Date:6/2/2008


----------



## ericeod

*Bios Flash P5E to P5E Deluxe Extremely Successful*

ChrisB17 has verified that the P5E deluxe bios improves the standard P5E in many respects.

The vdroop is all but eliminated for him:

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ChrisB17*

Ok I set the voltage to 1.32 in bios it only comes 1.296 in windows. At load is doesnt move an inch.


There are also the additonal pull-ins under Ai Transaction Booster previously only available with the Rampage Formula bios.

This seems to be just a straight shot to go from the P5E to the Deluxe, no disabling bios options as with the Rampage Formula.

here is the P5E Deluxe bios:
P5E-ASUS-Deluxe-0205.ROM


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
*Bios Flash P5E to P5E Deluxe Extremely Successful*

ChrisB17 has verified that the P5E deluxe bios improves the standard P5E in many respects.

The vdroop is all but eliminated for him:

There are also the additonal pull-ins under Ai Transaction Booster previously only available with the Rampage Formula bios.

This seems to be just a straight shot to go from the P5E to the Deluxe, no disabling bios options as with the Rampage Formula.

here is the P5E Deluxe bios:
P5E-ASUS-Deluxe-0105.ROM

very cool i might try... what about a flash back?

And is was that vdroop testing with a dual or quad core? cause the results will be different


----------



## Sun

After downloading the zip file from Intel, I simply unzipped the file into a folder, got something that looked like this:










And now all I do is copy that to a flash drive and I am good?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sun*


After downloading the zip file from Intel, I simply unzipped the file into a folder, got something that looked like this:

And now all I do is copy that to a flash drive and I am good?


That is correct. Copy the files to a flash drive. Then when you get to the point where you can select advanced options to install, select it, then select "Load Drivers". Put the USB drive in, then click browse. it will auto detect the drivers, so just double click or highlight and hit next. After that, just install like normal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


very cool i might try... what about a flash back?

And is was that vdroop testing with a dual or quad core? cause the results will be different



It was with a dual core E6600. His vdroop was more prominent with just the P5E bios.


----------



## Gradius

Last P5E deluxe BIOS:
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/so...eluxe-0205.zip

Gradius


----------



## coltsrock

Hmmm, I might try the P5E Lux BIOS, but can someone else try it first







I dont want to be the 2nd one to do it


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
Hmmm, I might try the P5E Lux BIOS, but can someone else try it first







I dont want to be the 2nd one to do it

It works great. You will have no problem, go for it!


----------



## dan4real

For some reason I can't seem to get rid of the "no master IDE HD detected" message every time I boot. I disabled the J-Micron PATA/Sata Controller and it made no difference. Any Ideas?


----------



## scottath

Do/should you still use Loadline calibration if you do the Vdroop mod?
Just 3 passes with a HB pencil all i need to do?
Is the 403 still the best rampage bios for quads? [as apparently there is a new bios out]


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Do/should you still use Loadline calibration if you do the Vdroop mod?
Just 3 passes with a HB pencil all i need to do?
Is the 403 still the best rampage bios for quads? [as apparently there is a new bios out]


i would and yes. I dont know about the bios 403


----------



## scottath

Ok - Thanks - ericeod or others - anything to add?


----------



## coltsrock

Always keep loadline calibration enabled, no matter what, I went from disable (3.5) to enabled (4.1) so definitely enable it


----------



## scottath

Ok thanks - i'm off to sleep now (1:47am here) - will mod mine tomorrow


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
i would and yes. I dont know about the bios 403

I am using 407 now with my Q6700. There are no negative effects, but it didnt help with ram OCing either. I've been trying to run my G.Skill 1066 ram at 1100, but they are still a no-go. But I am able to run them at 1.9v at 1066, instead of the rated 2.0v - 2.1v.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottath* 
Do/should you still use Loadline calibration if you do the Vdroop mod?
Just 3 passes with a HB pencil all i need to do?
Is the 403 still the best rampage bios for quads? [as apparently there is a new bios out]

As for loadline Calibration, if you have the pencil mod, there is no need to enable LLC. The pencil mod helps a lot, but I think the P5E Deluxe bios flash (for P5E) with LLC would be a better option.


----------



## dan4real

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dan4real* 
For some reason I can't seem to get rid of the "no master IDE HD detected" message every time I boot. I disabled the J-Micron PATA/Sata Controller and it made no difference. Any Ideas?

Just wanted to bump this as it got paged out.

Thanks.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dan4real*


Just wanted to bump this as it got paged out.

Thanks.


I've seen this happen a few times. it doesnt make sense at all. The only thing I can think of is that the bios is somehow not operating properly. So manybe try retoring system defaults, reboot, then reflash the bios.

I highly recommend flashing to the P5E Deluxe bios. Instructions are in the first post, as well as a link to the newest P5E Deluxe bios a few posts back (not my link, it is older).

Good Luck!


----------



## dan4real

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I highly recommend flashing to the P5E Deluxe bios. Instructions are in the first post, as well as a link to the newest P5E Deluxe bios a few posts back (not my link, it is older).

Good Luck!


So P5E Deluxe BIOS 0205 > Rampage Formula BIOS 0407 > P5E BIOS 0702

Generally Correct?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dan4real*


So P5E Deluxe BIOS 0205 > Rampage Formula BIOS 0407 > P5E BIOS 0702

Generally Correct?


IMO, the P5E deluxe bios has all the features you need out of the X48 bios. The Ramapge bios was mainly used becasue it was the only P5E crossflash to X48 prior to the Deluxe release. But with the Rampage bios you had to disable a few features to prevent bios messages telling you something was overheating (due to the absence of sensors, the bios would report 90Â°C+ temps with the Rampage bios). It was an easy fix, just requireing you to disable those sensor readings. But the P5E Deluxe is a straight shot. Just flash and go!


----------



## dan4real

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Just flash and go!


When using EZ flash utility from POST, when I try to flash to the 0205 P5E Deluxe bios I get an error after it reads the file. Something to the effect of "incompatible with current BIOS"

Will flashing using AFUDOS make a difference?


----------



## dan4real

Tried AFUDOS flash and no luck going from P5E 0702 BIOS to P5E Deluxe 0105BIOS.

In EZ flash: "ROM ID in the file is incompatible with existing BIOS!"

With AFUDOS: "ERROR: Unable to open ROM file"

Am I doing something wrong?


----------



## scottath

EZ Flash is only for upgrading the bios
Afudos is for the crossflashing that we are doing.

You have typed something wrong in the afudos command - file name correct etc


----------



## dan4real

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


EZ Flash is only for upgrading the bios
Afudos is for the crossflashing that we are doing.

You have typed something wrong in the afudos command - file name correct etc


I was typing: afudos /iP5E-ASUS-Deluxe-0105.rom /pbnc /n

Once I typed the abridged dos filename it worked:

afudos /iP5E-AS~1.rom /pbnc /n

Thanks for the help! Now on to overclocking....


----------



## scottath

Good luck - i'll be flashing my P5E from the rampage to the Deluxe sometime this weekend


----------



## dan4real

My initial results from flashing to P5E Deluxe 0105 Bios from P5E 0702 Bios are good. It seems to have reduced vdroop ( I haven't pencil modded) and I'm getting more stability with overclocks I couldn't even get past POST with before...

With my Q6600 I am currently running at 9 x 400 fsb with a 333 strap. I set my Vcore to 1.50000 in bios and it droops to about 1.44 - 1.46 in OS under load. Temps are good, staying in the 44-50 degrees C max.

Is this voltage too high for 24/7 use? Also, I've been testing stability in Prime 95 and all seems good until maybe 25-35 minutes I get BSOD. What can I do to get this overclock fully stable?

Here's my settings:

Ai Tweaker

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 9.0
FSB Frequency: 400
FSB Strap to North Bridge: 333
PCIE Frequency: 100

DRAM Frequency: DDR2-801mhz (I actually have 1033, so its underclocked)
DRAM Command Rate: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Auto (defaults to 5-5-5-15)
DRAM Static Read Control: Auto
Ai Clock Twister: Auto
Ai Transaction Booster: Auto
VCORE Voltage: 1.50000
CPU PLL Voltage: Auto
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 2.10 
North Bridge Voltage: Auto (Do I need to set this manually/increase it)
South Bridge Voltage: Auto

Loadline Calibration: Enabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference: Auto
NB GTL voltage Reference: Auto
SB 1.5V Voltage: Auto

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled

Advanced CPU Settings

CPU Ratio Setting: 9.0
C1E Support: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Disabled
Vanderpool Technology: Disabled
Execute Disable Bit: Disabled
Max CPU Value Limit: Disabled


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dan4real* 
Is this voltage too high for 24/7 use? Also, I've been testing stability in Prime 95 and all seems good until maybe 25-35 minutes I get BSOD. What can I do to get this overclock fully stable?

Try this:

VCORE Voltage: 1.50000v
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.58v
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.4v
DRAM Voltage: 2.10
North Bridge Voltage: 1.45v - 1.5v
South Bridge Voltage: Auto

Loadline Calibration: Enabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference: .63x
NB GTL voltage Reference: .67x

To answer your question about 24/7 use, you are fine up to 1.5v, so 1.46v in windows is not an issue at all:










Once you get the CPU stable, start testing out the ram. Try this:

Ai Clock Twister: Moderate
Ai Transaction Booster: Enabled
Mode: 7

all Pull-ins: enabled

If it doesnt boot after those memort settings, try Ai Clock Twister: Auto. If still not booting disable pull ins. It still not booting after that, set Ai Transaction Booster mode to 8

On the otherhand, if it does boot and passes memtest, start lowering the Ai transaction booster from 7 to 6 to 5.


----------



## dan4real

Wow thanks! I'll try this and post my results here


----------



## Jehan

I'm using one of these in my new build! It's exactly the same as a Maximus Formula apparently. Logan from TigerDirect peeled off a sticker which even revealed "Maximus Formula" on the motherboard.









What BIOS should I flash when I get it?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jehan* 
I'm using one of these in my new build! It's exactly the same as a Maximus Formula apparently. Logan from TigerDirect peeled off a sticker which even revealed "Maximus Formula" on the motherboard.









What BIOS should I flash when I get it?

Using the directions from the first post in this thread, I would recommend flashing it to a P5E Deluxe. Here is the new bios:
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/so...eluxe-0205.zip

You could flash to the Rampage Formula, but the P5E Deluxe has all the same features, but without you having to disable some of the features in bios notr available to the P5E board (mostly Temp sensors that will give you errors if they are enabled).


----------



## afiser

just thought i would pop in and say i flashed p5e deluxe bios 0102 to my p5e with no problem.


----------



## dan4real

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Once you get the CPU stable, start testing out the ram. Try this:

Ai Clock Twister: Moderate
Ai Transaction Booster: Enabled
Mode: 7

all Pull-ins: enabled


Got the CPU seemingly stable using your suggestions. Had to increase the Vcore slightly as well. It is now something like 1.518 in bios but reads 1.480 in OS and 1.456 under load in Prime 95.

The memory tweaks (Ai Clock Twister, transaction Booster, Pull-ins) didn't want to work at all. Couldn't boot with them. I figure its time to try some more aggressive memory timings since I'm running my 1066 memory at 1:1 with my 400 fsb..... Any thoughts on what I should try? (See my mem in my sig)

At any rate, CPU seems stable running 3.6ghz which is a big achievement!


----------



## coltsrock

I would go for 4-4-4-12 for memory timings


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
I would go for 4-4-4-12 for memory timings

There isnt a 2x2Gb kit out there that will run 4-4-4-12 at 1066 that I've seen.

I would try the Ai Transaction booster (with clock twister disabled) and see if it will boot at 8 or even 9. If it doesnt, forgoe Ai transaction booster and just try the Ai twister.


----------



## dan4real

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
I would go for 4-4-4-12 for memory timings

Worked well!


----------



## Robilar

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
There isnt a 2x2Gb kit out there that will run 4-4-4-12 at 1066 that I've seen.

I would try the Ai Transaction booster (with clock twister disabled) and see if it will boot at 8 or even 9. If it doesnt, forgoe Ai transaction booster and just try the Ai twister.

Agreed Eric.

4-4-4-12 is fine at 800mhz but anything over 900, and you need to loosen the timings significantly


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
There isnt a 2x2Gb kit out there that will run 4-4-4-12 at 1066 that I've seen.

I would try the Ai Transaction booster (with clock twister disabled) and see if it will boot at 8 or even 9. If it doesnt, forgoe Ai transaction booster and just try the Ai twister.

He was running 400 FSB at 1:1







(400x2=800)


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
He was running 400 FSB at 1:1







(400x2=800)

lol, missed that part.
I would try 1066 and see if you can squeeze more out of them. 1066 cas 5 yields me significant performance then 800 cas 4.


----------



## Gradius

Just flashed to P5E Deluxe, works great, going to try some OC to my old P560J processor while I don't get a Q9450 yet.

Gradius


----------



## coltsrock

WTH is a P560J??


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


WTH is a P560J??


LOL !

Here:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/det...px?sSpec=SL7Q2

Gradius


----------



## coltsrock

Ok, so its a P4


----------



## spacegoast

Flashed to P5E dlx 0205 BIOS and works great so far. thanks to all contributors.

coltsrock:
didnt notice it, but you have almost the exact same set up as I do, other than CPU and PSU


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Flashed to P5E dlx 0205 BIOS and works great so far. thanks to all contributors.

coltsrock:
didnt notice it, but you have almost the exact same set up as I do, other than CPU and PSU










Lol, can I see pics (or a thread) of the mods you did??


----------



## spacegoast

check the the links in my sig to see what i have done to my case. here is what my case looks like as of yesterday, though.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


check the the links in my sig to see what i have done to my case. here is what my case looks like as of yesterday, though.











Looks sexy, what do you run your fan's speed at?? I have mine set to medium and they are kind of loud

DOes anyone know how many DBA the fans are at medium?


----------



## ericeod

So I did some extensive testing last night with the Ai Transaction Booster (refered to as tRD in may online reviews).

It turns out the pull-ins are basically the same as setting the Transaction booster down a level (tighter) when enabled. They are there if you are running mixed ram, allowing to adjust each individual bank:

Enabling all the pull-ins with Transaction Booster at 7 is the same as leaving the pull-ins disabled and setting the Transaction Booster at 6.

I also found that each lower level of Transaction Booster I set (again tighter for performance) gave me a reduction in Everest Latency of approx. 2ns. For example, at level 8 I had a latency of 59.2Ns, but at 7 I had 56.9ns.

I couldnt determine anything on the Dram Static Read Control. The bios and other online forums tell you to disable it to allow for higher OCing of the ram. I saw nothing in terms of performance with it enabled or disabled. i ran prime 95 just fine with it enabled, so thats where I'm keeping it.

I also tweaked the Twister, but I could never run stron or stronger, just moderate. I tried everything, and it just wouldnt boot or it would hand memtest.

After all my testing, this is the best I could do with my memory divider and 2x2Gb G.Skill 1066 kit. I am happy with the fact I can run the ram at this speed with the minimum vdimm my board would set, 1.8v:


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Looks sexy, what do you run your fan's speed at?? I have mine set to medium and they are kind of loud

DOes anyone know how many DBA the fans are at medium?


im pretty sure it is 25dba. they run at 28dba on high and cant remember the low setting.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


im pretty sure it is 25dba. they run at 28dba on high and cant remember the low setting.


Ok, i was considering going watercooling and wondered what fans I would need


----------



## hornedfrog86

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dan4real*


My initial results from flashing to P5E Deluxe 0105 Bios from P5E 0702 Bios are good. It seems to have reduced vdroop ( I haven't pencil modded) and I'm getting more stability with overclocks I couldn't even get past POST with before...

With my Q6600 I am currently running at 9 x 400 fsb with a 333 strap. I set my Vcore to 1.50000 in bios and it droops to about 1.44 - 1.46 in OS under load. Temps are good, staying in the 44-50 degrees C max.

Is this voltage too high for 24/7 use? Also, I've been testing stability in Prime 95 and all seems good until maybe 25-35 minutes I get BSOD. What can I do to get this overclock fully stable?

Here's my settings:

Ai Tweaker

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 9.0
FSB Frequency: 400
FSB Strap to North Bridge: 333
PCIE Frequency: 100

DRAM Frequency: DDR2-801mhz (I actually have 1033, so its underclocked)
DRAM Command Rate: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Auto (defaults to 5-5-5-15)
DRAM Static Read Control: Auto
Ai Clock Twister: Auto
Ai Transaction Booster: Auto
VCORE Voltage: 1.50000
CPU PLL Voltage: Auto
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 2.10 
North Bridge Voltage: Auto (Do I need to set this manually/increase it)
South Bridge Voltage: Auto

Loadline Calibration: Enabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference: Auto
NB GTL voltage Reference: Auto
SB 1.5V Voltage: Auto

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled

Advanced CPU Settings

CPU Ratio Setting: 9.0
C1E Support: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Disabled
Vanderpool Technology: Disabled
Execute Disable Bit: Disabled
Max CPU Value Limit: Disabled



Thanks, did this BIOS flash improve your overclock?


----------



## coltsrock

does the FSB trap help any with OCing??


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
does the FSB trap help any with OCing??

do you mean strap? uh lol yes it basically sets the timing on your NB


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


does the FSB trap help any with OCing??


As far as which strap yields better performance, no. Previous generation boards did yield better performance on the lower straps since the chipset used a tighter latency (much like CAS timings in ram, where 4 is better then 5). But the newer boards, including the ASUS X38/X48 now have the Transaction Booster, AKA tRD, setting seperate from the strap, which gives a lot of control over the latency of the chipset. So basically just pick the strap that gets your ram close to the mark. Then adjust the Transaction Booster to tighten the chipset and increase performance.

All this information I gleaned from this article (and hours of testing):

ASUS ROG Rampage Formula: Why we were wrong about the Intel X48
Pages 6-10


----------



## hornedfrog86

I did it -- an easy way was to use the bootable CD to force flash. 
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=186538
Then upgrade the P5E Deluxe 0105 to 0205 with EZ Flash.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *hornedfrog86*


I did it -- an easy way was to use the bootable CD to force flash. 
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=186538
Then upgrade the P5E Deluxe 0105 to 0205 with EZ Flash.


let us know if it is worth the update and hassle of redoing my OC.

Has the p5e deluxe lowered anyones voltage on an OC from the original P5E bios?


----------



## ericeod

I did some more testing today and discovered how fine tuned the Ai Transaction Booster (tRD) actually can be.

I was trying to find a balance between CPU speed and ram performance. In doing so, I have discovered with my Rampage Formula, that at 423 FSB I can run a Transaction Booster mode of 6, with the ram on a 5:4 divider at DDR2 1058. My tFRC is at 45 and timings are at 5-5-5-12 with 1.8v. I get a nice latency of 54.9ns in everest. My NB voltage is 1.45v and CPU is 1.44v vcore.

But if I go even 1 MHz up in FSB to 424, I cant even boot with Transaction Booster at 6, even with the NB voltage at 1.55v, CPU vcore at 1.5v and tRFC at 70. I even set the ram timings to 5-5-5-15.

So I set the Transaction Booster to 7. I was able to bring everything down to the voltages I had before (except CPU, I left it just to make sure it wouldnt crash at 3.86GHz as it runs 3.9GHz at 1.5v). My everest latency this time was 57.6ns.

So it just shows how the Transaction Booster affects performance and is key to overclocking with the FSB and memory.

So for those trying to discover their highest CPU overclock, I recommend setting the Transaction Booster to 10 to keep it from hindering your overclock while you are dialing it in.


----------



## zlojack

ERic, you also might want to loosen tRFC as sometimes it can actually help improve performance. Mine is at 60 and my sticks are very happy.

That's with Performance Level 7
(I know it's a Maximus, not a P5E, but it's the same bios)


----------



## LTC

My friend an I, are going to build a system soon, just wanna know how the P5E Deluxe does with the E8400, am I aiming for 4Ghz, less, more? Gonna mix it with the XIGMATEK HDT-S1283









Regards
Jacob


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LTC*


My friend an I, are going to build a system soon, just wanna know how the P5E Deluxe does with the E8400, am I aiming for 4Ghz, less, more? Gonna mix it with the XIGMATEK HDT-S1283









Regards
Jacob


You should be able to get to 4.0 pretty easily.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


ERic, you also might want to loosen tRFC as sometimes it can actually help improve performance. Mine is at 60 and my sticks are very happy.

That's with Performance Level 7
(I know it's a Maximus, not a P5E, but it's the same bios)


Yeah, I tried tRFC at 80 and Transaction Booster (tRD) at 9 and it didnt make any difference. So I dropped it down as tight as I could get it witht he best performance possible and 45 was that setting.


----------



## LTC

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


You should be able to get to 4.0 pretty easily.


Cool








Do you know the maximum voltage for the E8400 that is safe?


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LTC*


Cool








Do you know the maximum voltage for the E8400 that is safe?










1.362v but i would stay under 1.36v before vdroop


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LTC*


Cool








Do you know the maximum voltage for the E8400 that is safe?










I heard *1.38v* was the *max safe voltage to run 24/7*, but personally I would not set my voltage over 1.36 as Aleir suggested ( if I had an E8400 anyway.)


----------



## Aleslammer

First post here, I've a E8500 waiting at home but I don't know if it's a C0 or E0, so I was wondering if anyone has been playing around with P5E0903. 
I'll fill in my system at home this weekend, P5E BIOS RF0403, Q6700 at 3.5, 4x1 Patriot PC29600 at 1120 5-5-5-15 , Air Cooled


----------



## Dostoyevsky77

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
I heard *1.38v* was the *max safe voltage to run 24/7*, but personally I would not set my voltage over 1.36 as Aleir suggested ( if I had an E8400 anyway.)

Actually, the Intel datasheet specifies 1.45v as maximum E8400 voltage. I have personally taken an E8400 to 1.5v on air for a suicide run, and I've seen others do the same. 1.40v is what I would recommend as a max if you have good aftermarket cooling (top air or liquid). I run 1.40v for 4.23GHz 24/7.

You can find the Intel datasheet HERE.

Cheers,

d


----------



## zlojack

I also run 1.408 for 4.3GHz 24/7


----------



## .Sup

Interesting. I was able to OC my E8400 to 4.3 with 1.38 vcore and I thought theres lots of room for higher OCs and low vcores. But when i wanted to go to 4.5 with vcore at 1.45 I was unable to load in Windows. Strange that you need such a higher vcore for 200Mhz higher frequency.


----------



## zlojack

Sometimes you just hit a point where the clocks don't scale with voltage.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dostoyevsky77*


Actually, the Intel datasheet specifies 1.45v as maximum E8400 voltage. I have personally taken an E8400 to 1.5v on air for a suicide run, and I've seen others do the same. 1.40v is what I would recommend as a max if you have good aftermarket cooling (top air or liquid). I run 1.40v for 4.23GHz 24/7.
d



Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


I also run 1.408 for 4.3GHz 24/7


I know the spec sheet says it can go up to that, but wasnt 1.4v and above causing many E8400 chips to "kick the bucket" prematurely? Im not sure if there are newer chips out that can withstand higher voltages but from what I recall there were many people that were burnin chips. 
How long have you guys your had your CPU at 1.4v for 24/7?


----------



## zlojack

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
I know the spec sheet says it can go up to that, but wasnt 1.4v and above causing many E8400 chips to "kick the bucket" prematurely? Im not sure if there are newer chips out that can withstand higher voltages but from what I recall there were many people that were burnin chips.
How long have you guys your had your CPU at 1.4v for 24/7?

There was a lot of talk about the so-called "degradation" but a lot of people on XS did a lot of testing and found that it was more of a "burn-in" period. Also, people were going crazy with PLL voltage and FSB Term volts and stuff, when these chips don't need them to be that high.

My chip is actually a pretty early batch (_Q740A553)_. I haven't had mine for very long, because I just bought it, but the guy who had it before me was also running it with water cooling at pretty much the same volts 24/7.

Anyway, we'll see how long it lasts.


----------



## .Sup

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zlojack* 
There was a lot of talk about the so-called "degradation" but a lot of people on XS did a lot of testing and found that it was more of a "burn-in" period. Also, people were going crazy with PLL voltage and FSB Term volts and stuff, when these chips don't need them to be that high.

My chip is actually a pretty early batch (_Q740A553)_. I haven't had mine for very long, because I just bought it, but the guy who had it before me was also running it with water cooling at pretty much the same volts 24/7.

Anyway, we'll see how long it lasts.

My PLL voltage is at 1.5. Is that too much? Running an E8400 at 4GHz.


----------



## zlojack

From what I've read, it should be ok. I believe the limit is 1.6, but check in your monitors in bios, because my board overvolts PLL, not sure about the P5E.


----------



## hornedfrog86

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


let us know if it is worth the update and hassle of redoing my OC.

Has the p5e deluxe lowered anyones voltage on an OC from the original P5E bios?


I was able to get 3.8 GHz at 1.20 VCore in BIOS with the p5e deluxe 0205 -- better than my old P5E BIOS


----------



## scottath

When doing the pencil mod - what do i do......

Once Located Draw a Line Across The Top *ONLY*!
- 3-5 Pass(s) should Do The Trick To Fix Droop. (More Or Less Strokes May Be Needed)
- Replace Panel & Boot Pc.
- Check Cpu-z for Voltage If It Is Still Under Repeat Steps.
- Run A Stress Program And Check Voltage While Under Load You Do Not Want Voltage Going Past What You Have Manually Set In BIOS.
- If To Much Graphite Is Applied Wipe off with finger and try again.

right - once i've done that.......is the voltage suppose to be above bios set at idle but not at load? Or should the voltage not exceed the bios setting AT ALL? just wanted to check before i went ahead and modded my board

I'm also going to flash from the rampage to the P5E dlx bios before doing the mod


----------



## faria

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
check the the links in my sig to see what i have done to my case. here is what my case looks like as of yesterday, though.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *faria*












Odd looking 9800GX2


----------



## faria

HEY GUYS new bios for Asus P5E 0903 (ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/so...-ASUS-0903.zip) going to try it right now!


----------



## faria

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Odd looking 9800GX2



















this is not my pc.. just have seen it , and looks like yours!


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *faria*


this is not my pc.. just have seen it , and looks like yours!










you mean spacegoasts


----------



## trueg50

*Try this at your own risk, it seems to install just fine, but I haven't been able to test the actual connectivity*

Well, I don't know how many of you donwloaded the Asus drivers vs the actual site drivers (Marvell's site), but I found something interesting.

It seems that the Asus drivers leave out a bit of some good features such as cable testing (don't know how well it works) as well as the possibility to team your adaptors.

Head over to this link here (might be very slow to load) and choose your OS.

Grab the "Network Control Utility for aggregations and VLANS" for the primary tools, and the "VCT (Virtual CAble Tester)" for the testing utility.

After installing them both (I don't think a restart is needed), simply go into the "Device manager" and right click on either Marvell Yukon Gigabit ethernet controllers, and click "Properties" and there should be a whole host of new features and goodies.

This is generally what it will look like before:









And this is right about it will look like after:









I am at work, so I can't show actual screenshots of my Maximous, but the effect is very similar to the screenshots on another computer, the naming of the adaptors is the biggest difference.


----------



## Gradius

P5E cpu support on BIOS 0903:

Core 2 Duo E8600 (3.33GHz,1333FSB,L2:6MB,65W,rev.E0)
Core 2 Duo E8500 (3.16GHz,1333FSB,L2:6MB,65W,rev.E0)
Core 2 Duo E8400 (3.00GHz,1333FSB,L2:6MB,65W,rev.E0)

Doh, just 3 CPUs, waiting reports on stability (OC, Vdrop, etc), anyone ?

Hmm, it seems some memory are working fine now, so, better memory support.

Btw, P5E Deluxe BIOS 0205 adds all above plus:
Core 2 Quad Q9400 (rev.R0,2.66GHz,1333FSB,L2:12MB,4 cores)

Edit: they added Q9400 rev.R0 on P5E 0901.

Gradius


----------



## coltsrock

Hmm, my E8400 is already supported


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Hmm, my E8400 is already supported










Guess its better supported?

Here is a screenshot of what the extra's are. "Team" is combining both NIC's for redundancy or load balancing.


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Hmm, my E8400 is already supported










Not Rev.E0, is a new one (now with new BIOS is).

Gradius


----------



## trueg50

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gradius* 
Not Rev.E0, is a new one (now with new BIOS is).

Gradius

Ah, didn't spot the "E0" at the end of your post with the new CPU's.

Speaking of BIOS's, and one know if there are any good BIOS's for the Rampage, other than 0308?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


Ah, didn't spot the "E0" at the end of your post with the new CPU's.

Speaking of BIOS's, and one know if there are any good BIOS's for the Rampage, other than 0308?


I am on 0407 and am really happy with it. I can run tRFC 45 and Transaction Booster at 6 with my memory at 1058 and 1.8v. The bios seems to help a lot in the ram department.


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I am on 0407 and am really happy with it. I can run tRFC 45 and Transaction Booster at 6 with my memory at 1058 and 1.8v. The bios seems to help a lot in the ram department.


Thank you!

I was able to increase my memory speed from 950 to 1110, drop the timings from 5-5-5-18 to 5-5-5-16, and drop the tRD from 8 to 7, while also increasing my CPU speed from 3.6 to 3.7 ghz.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *trueg50* 
Thank you!

I was able to increase my memory speed from 950 to 1110, drop the timings from 5-5-5-18 to 5-5-5-16, and drop the tRD from 8 to 7, while also increasing my CPU speed from 3.6 to 3.7 ghz.

That is very impressive tweaking with just a bios update, great job!


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


That is very impressive tweaking with just a bios update, great job!


I'll have to try 0407 then (this was on 0403).


----------



## AceGoober

The new BIOS 0903 is playing havoc with my setup.

The Xeon 3350 won't go anything over stock speed no matter what voltage, multiplier or FSB I use.

The Corsair Dominator PC2-8888 which I have ran at 1200Mhz 24/7 (even hit 1300 with relaxed timings) won't go over 1066, even with extreme relaxed timings.

The other thing I noticed is the Northbridge is roughly 10c hotter than when using 0605 overclocked.

This could be due to a bad flash. I'm going to reflash it tonight via floppy when I get home. Hopefully this will straighten out the issues.


----------



## trueg50

You could go for the Rampage BIOS; that solved my issues.









Also be very careful when setting things in the BIOS; I noticed my board has a very nasty tendency to set the FSB voltage to 2.00! Fortunately it just sets it, and I change it to normal (1.5) before saving and applying the settings.


----------



## AceGoober

I'll probably flash the P5E Deluxe 0205 BIOS first since many people have been having great luck with it.

If that doesn't produce at least the same effects as the P5E 0605 then I'll hit the Rampage BIOS.

If neither one of them work then I'll go back to P5E 0605 where I know everything was running great.


----------



## Aleslammer

Some quick tests with BIOS 0903, previous BIOS RF0403

24/7 10X350, 5:8 1120 Post in Windows, Used these voltage settings all tests
10X350 3:5 1167 Post in Windows
10X300 1:2 1200 ran Aquamark & 32M Super Pi
10X360 3:5 1200 Post in Windows

The Transaction Booster subtracted 2 instead of 1 at enable 0 on my board
Everest scores a little less at 1120 than what I was getting with RF0403
No post, Clock Twister Strong at 10X350

Checking FSB
6X460 3:4 1227 Post in Windows
6X465 3:4 1239 Post No Windows
The FSB is the same that I had with RF0403

Checking RAM
8X414 2:3 1242 Post in Windows, 
8x417 2:3 1251 Post No Windows

Benching
8x460 3:4 1227, could set a PL of 6, Everest Latency 50.2ns, wouldn't finish 32M PI 
Here is a screen shot, 8x450 3:4 1200 5-5-5-15-5-42, PL6 with a 3dMark 06 & 32M PI run 
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=1672

I was going to post the screen shot here, but not use to the site yet.


----------



## spacegoast

i seem to be having trouble with the P5E Deluxe BIOS 0205. I cant hit 3.2ghz with it. I cant hit 3.03ghz just fine though. my settings:
FSB-380 using 266 strap and RAM at 1003mhz
8X multi
VCORE-1.35v
NB-1.45v
SB-auto
FSB Term Vol.-1.4
RAM Voltage-2.1
LLC-enabled
CPU GTL-.63
NB GTL-.67

it wont even boot at these settings. with the RF BIOS i could OC a lot easier and im not sure why. i hit 3.6 easy and now i cant even hit 3.2. any suggestions?


----------



## ericeod

spacegoast, what is Transaction Booster set to? Try setting it to 9 and see if you can overclock.


----------



## trueg50

Wow, I am loving this new 0403 BIOS.

I am now fully stable at 3.8 ghz.









Eric, Your settings a page or two back really helped, for some reason I was needing 1.55-1.6 volts with the old BIOS for the NB, now I only need 1.53 ish for a 20 mhz (80 mhzQDR) boost.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


spacegoast, what is Transaction Booster set to? Try setting it to 9 and see if you can overclock.


ok i set the transaction booster to 9 and i was able to boot at 3.6ghz (400x9)








. thanks eric. i will try setting to 8 and see if it boots. i didnt realize it has such an effect on overclocks if left on auto. thanks though


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


ok i set the transaction booster to 9 and i was able to boot at 3.6ghz (400x9)







. thanks eric. i will try setting to 8 and see if it boots. i didnt realize it has such an effect on overclocks if left on auto. thanks though


Did you run memtest though?

I can get plent of settings to boot, but getting them stable is very tough.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
ok i set the transaction booster to 9 and i was able to boot at 3.6ghz (400x9)







. thanks eric. i will try setting to 8 and see if it boots. i didnt realize it has such an effect on overclocks if left on auto. thanks though

The Transaction Booster (tRD) is very specific with these boards. I posted a few days ago aabout my findings. Like you, I never realized how important the setting is for a stable OC. But the tRD has just as much to do with the chipset as it does with the ram (latency of the chipset).

9 is a pretty loose setting, so keep trying to tighten it.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I did some more testing today and discovered how fine tuned the Ai Transaction Booster (tRD) actually can be.

I was trying to find a balance between CPU speed and ram performance. In doing so, I have discovered with my Rampage Formula, that at 423 FSB I can run a Transaction Booster mode of 6, with the ram on a 5:4 divider at DDR2 1058. My tFRC is at 45 and timings are at 5-5-5-12 with 1.8v. I get a nice latency of 54.9ns in everest. My NB voltage is 1.45v and CPU is 1.44v vcore.

But if I go even 1 MHz up in FSB to 424, I cant even boot with Transaction Booster at 6, even with the NB voltage at 1.55v, CPU vcore at 1.5v and tRFC at 70. I even set the ram timings to 5-5-5-15.

So I set the Transaction Booster to 7. I was able to bring everything down to the voltages I had before (except CPU, I left it just to make sure it wouldnt crash at 3.86GHz as it runs 3.9GHz at 1.5v). My everest latency this time was 57.6ns.

So it just shows how the Transaction Booster affects performance and is key to overclocking with the FSB and memory.

So for those trying to discover their highest CPU overclock, I recommend setting the Transaction Booster to 10 to keep it from hindering your overclock while you are dialing it in.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


The Transaction Booster (tRD) is very specific with these boards. I posted a few days ago aabout my findings. Like you, I never realized how important the setting is for a stable OC. But the tRD has just as much to do with the chipset as it does with the ram (latency of the chipset).

9 is a pretty loose setting, so keep trying to tighten it.


Ya I read that when you first posted it, but at that point in time I was sitting on 3.03ghz (and didnt refer back to it). I tried going to 3.2ghz and it wouldnt post. But right now I have it at 3.6ghz with the Transaction Booster at 7. I havent tried 6 yet. That will have to wait till later on tonight. We'll see what happens. Thanks again.


----------



## runquest

Just thought I'd share my (ghetto) modded NorthBridge cooling. A nice touch is that I can change the fan speed in hardware monitor. Too bad the board doesn't have a sensor - but it's cooler to touch.
Thought about different solutions attaching the 40mm 6m3 fan, but found this most effective.


----------



## scottath

What about my ghetto northbridge cooling - overkill but meh......


----------



## wolfy87

nice ones...it would be good to create some plastic foam and use one powerfull fan...


----------



## scottath

Just flash my board from the Rampage to the Dlx - [email protected] - 1.55 bios = 1.512 idle, 1.448 load (prime)

Looks like i still need to do a pencil mod then


----------



## Robilar

You know its odd, I had a 60mm fan on my nb too. When I took it off my temps actually got better. I figure the door fan helps but I also see those tiny fans as running in deadzones right above the video cards.


----------



## scottath

I cannot monitor temps on mine as there is no sensor....but the heatsink is cooler to touch.

Try setting the side panel fan to exhaust also
It is a little bit of a dead zone over there as you said....i have sold those 2 cards and am back to my Gainward 7900GS for a while till the HD4850x2 comes out - then depending on it's performance get it/a 4870.


----------



## scottath

just did the pencil mod - get just on the bios voltage all the way up to 1.7v [at 1.7v bios i get 1.704 though]

No idle to load change that i've seen yet and i can now every time boot at 4ghz with my quad - but open prime nad it's gone [bsod 0x00000124] - and thats with the full 1.7v - so i need to further mod my board to get 4ghz stable - but i'm not going to do that.


----------



## kathman

Has anyone here replace the nb/sb cooling on it? I'm thinking of replacing it with Artic Ceramiq till I get enough for something more decent. Any tips?


----------



## scottath

I replaced the stock TIM with AS5 - only tip - take your time......


----------



## runquest

Has anyone tried the latest bios v903?

What's new?

Could it fix the problems I'm having going into rest mode and back (etc.)?


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


just did the pencil mod - get just on the bios voltage all the way up to 1.7v [at 1.7v bios i get 1.704 though]

No idle to load change that i've seen yet and i can now every time boot at 4ghz with my quad - but open prime nad it's gone [bsod 0x00000124] - and thats with the full 1.7v - so i need to further mod my board to get 4ghz stable - but i'm not going to do that.


HOLY HELLL!!!! 1.7VOLTS!!!!!!

TURN IT DOWN TO TO LIKE 1.5 OR SOMETHING :swearing: YOUR CPU MIGHT EXPLODE if not using CASCADE/LN2/DICE


----------



## scottath

i know - it's under a TRUE - lapped with dual 110+CFM fans - i only tried it for long enough to get into windows and see what the droop was - then it was back to 1.45 (3.6ghz)

EDIT: I cannot afford any subzero cooling.....


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottath* 
i know - it's under a TRUE - lapped with dual 110+CFM fans - i only tried it for long enough to get into windows and see what the droop was - then it was back to 1.45 (3.6ghz)

EDIT: I cannot afford any subzero cooling.....









OK, thats good then








Not the edited part..


----------



## kathman

Ok about to do it now, just wondering how do you actually take it off/put it back on?? Never done it before







.


----------



## spacegoast

heat it with a hair dryer and twist it off. do not pull it straight up. or you can put it in the fridge (freezer, cant remember which one) for 30 minutes. i used a hair dryer and it is very easy


----------



## kathman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


heat it with a hair dryer and twist it off. do not pull it straight up. or you can put it in the fridge (freezer, cant remember which one) for 30 minutes. i used a hair dryer and it is very easy


Would running prime95 for an hour then quickly taking it off work? How exactly do you get it off? +rep for the help though, Google came up with nothing


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kathman*


Would running prime95 for an hour then quickly taking it off work? How exactly do you get it off? +rep for the help though, Google came up with nothing










i would remove the mobo completely and just hold a hair dryer to the NB heatsink and twist it off. to get it to twist initially though, may be a little tough because of the thermal paste kind of acts as an adhesive for the heatsink. but it should just twist off after heating it. twist it and then it should kind of slide right off.


----------



## kathman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


i would remove the mobo completely and just hold a hair dryer to the NB heatsink and twist it off. to get it to twist initially though, may be a little tough because of the thermal paste kind of acts as an adhesive for the heatsink. but it should just twist off after heating it. twist it and then it should kind of slide right off.


Sweet thanks







. Ok, wish me luck


----------



## scottath

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kathman* 
Would running prime95 for an hour then quickly taking it off work? How exactly do you get it off? +rep for the help though, Google came up with nothing









This is what i did - the p5e isn't stuck on so you can do this method.

Run prime [barbones system] then shutdown, disconnect everything and then undo all the push pins and slowly apply pressure to pull it off.


----------



## Gradius

Hi,

I just got my Q9450 today.









MB: P5E with P5E Deluxe 0205 + pencil modded. Temp: 26C

CPU: 1.360v (22C at Idle, 44C at Full Load)

MEM: 2.00v (5-5-5-12 2T @ 436MHz) 1:1

Clock: 3488.8MHz (FSB 1744.3MHz)

I'm disappointed, I could only manage to get 3.49GHz. :swearing:

I wanted at least 3.6GHz (450x8), I'm able to POST (3.6GHz), but cannot boot Winblows. I pushed everything I could find useful: NB, FSB, CPU, MEM, etc, and still no joy!

Anyone with another Q9450 and same MB managed to get a better OC ?

If so, please, let me know what you did (BIOS config).

Thanks,
Gradius


----------



## AceGoober

0903 is out the door. It sucks donkey tail. Not even stable at stock speeds and I've got a fresh load in.

P5E Deluxe BIOS will be flashed tonight.


----------



## scottath

I went from the Rampage to the P5E DLX but it seems much more unstable -im going to go back to the rampage personally


----------



## FusionFX

Has anyone had a problem using the USB ports on the P5E after flashing to Rampage?

When using the two USB ports above the ethernet jack I experience problems.

If I connect my G15 keyboard, mouse, or hub it does not get past the POST screen. It seems to just freeze when utilizing USB devices.

In order to boot and use these devices I have to use the USB ports which are next (to the left) to the ethernet jack. When they are connected to these USB ports I can boot without any issues.


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


I went from the Rampage to the P5E DLX but it seems much more unstable -im going to go back to the rampage personally


Really? Hmm, I might go with Rampage then. Which Rampage BIOS version is the best (stable) ?

Waiting on USB issue reported by FusionFX is confirmed or not.

Btw, I managed a little better OC (almost nothing), 436MHz (from 435. Edit: 436 wasn't 100% stable), and 5-4-4-12 (before 5-5-5-12).

It seems the BIOS or NB going gay on me (perhaps both).

Gradius


----------



## Gradius

Rampage Formula 0408 BIOS is out !

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/...rmula-0408.zip

Gradius


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FusionFX* 
Has anyone had a problem using the USB ports on the P5E after flashing to Rampage?

When using the two USB ports above the ethernet jack I experience problems.

If I connect my G15 keyboard, mouse, or hub it does not get past the POST screen. It seems to just freeze when utilizing USB devices.

In order to boot and use these devices I have to use the USB ports which are next (to the left) to the ethernet jack. When they are connected to these USB ports I can boot without any issues.

i used the RF BIOS for over 2 months and experieced no problems using any of the USB ports.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottath* 
I went from the Rampage to the P5E DLX but it seems much more unstable -im going to go back to the rampage personally

I thought the same thing when I went to the P5E Dlx bios too, but it works just as well. I lfound out that Transaction booster plays a big role in stability


----------



## Gradius

Tried Rampage BIOS. Still no joy after 435x8 sigh! (I can boot 450x8, but isn't stable on windows, anything >435 = not stable).

Going back to Deluxe 0205.

Gradius


----------



## runquest

Hello,

I'm trying to create the RAID driver disk (ICH9 RAID/AHCI driver) to set up RAID. When I use the MakeDisk, it can't find a floppy - probably because I haven't got one - but it won't find my USB flash drive either, even though Windows finds it and it works as normal. I've tried formatting it as well, with no luck.

What to do?
Is there a way to install the driver on my flash mem. manually (i.e. copy them)?
If I had to guess, I'd copy the files located @ %Drivers%Chipset%DOS%32bit/64bit ?









And if I copy them; will they work, seeing that the driver installer doesn't? 
Is there an update for this driver?

- thanks!


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gradius*


Tried Rampage BIOS. Still no joy after 435x8 sigh! (I can boot 450x8, but isn't stable on windows, anything >435 = not stable).

Going back to Deluxe 0205.

Gradius


List your settings so maybe we can get a better idea of needs adjusting.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *runquest*


Hello,

I'm trying to create the RAID driver disk (ICH9 RAID/AHCI driver) to set up RAID. When I use the MakeDisk, it can't find a floppy - probably because I haven't got one - but it won't find my USB flash drive either, even though Windows finds it and it works as normal. I've tried formatting it as well, with no luck.

What to do?
Is there a way to install the driver on my flash mem. manually (i.e. copy them)?
If I had to guess, I'd copy the files located @ %Drivers%Chipset%DOS%32bit/64bit ?









And if I copy them; will they work, seeing that the driver installer doesn't? 
Is there an update for this driver?

- thanks!


I already did the work for you. I created the floppy, then extracted them and zipped the files. See post #4 in this thread. From there you can download the zip file, copy them to your USB and then use the USB with drivers to "Load Drivers" when installing the OS.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...ml#post3135454


----------



## scottath

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I thought the same thing when I went to the P5E Dlx bios too, but it works just as well. I lfound out that Transaction booster plays a big role in stability


Can you elaborate on this a bit


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Can you elaborate on this a bit


Maybe this will help demonstrate how the Transaction Booster works (tRD)

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I did some more testing today and discovered how fine tuned the Ai Transaction Booster (tRD) actually can be.

I was trying to find a balance between CPU speed and ram performance. In doing so, I have discovered with my Rampage Formula, that at 423 FSB I can run a Transaction Booster mode of 6, with the ram on a 5:4 divider at DDR2 1058. My tFRC is at 45 and timings are at 5-5-5-12 with 1.8v. I get a nice latency of 54.9ns in everest. My NB voltage is 1.45v and CPU is 1.44v vcore.

But if I go even 1 MHz up in FSB to 424, I cant even boot with Transaction Booster at 6, even with the NB voltage at 1.55v, CPU vcore at 1.5v and tRFC at 70. I even set the ram timings to 5-5-5-15.

So I set the Transaction Booster to 7. I was able to bring everything down to the voltages I had before (except CPU, I left it just to make sure it wouldnt crash at 3.86GHz as it runs 3.9GHz at 1.5v). My everest latency this time was 57.6ns.

So it just shows how the Transaction Booster affects performance and is key to overclocking with the FSB and memory.

So for those trying to discover their highest CPU overclock, I recommend setting the Transaction Booster to 10 to keep it from hindering your overclock while you are dialing it in.



Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


As far as which strap yields better performance, no. Previous generation boards did yield better performance on the lower straps since the chipset used a tighter latency (much like CAS timings in ram, where 4 is better then 5). But the newer boards, including the ASUS X38/X48 now have the Transaction Booster, AKA tRD, setting seperate from the strap, which gives a lot of control over the latency of the chipset. So basically just pick the strap that gets your ram close to the mark. Then adjust the Transaction Booster to tighten the chipset and increase performance.

All this information I gleaned from this article (and hours of testing):

ASUS ROG Rampage Formula: Why we were wrong about the Intel X48
Pages 6-10


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Can you elaborate on this a bit


Look back at post #849 and #850 for more in depth coverage of the Transaction Booster and its effects. 
For me, I was unable to get a stable overclock of 3.2ghz (400x8) and I tried several voltage settings to no avail. Eric suggested I set Transaction Booster to 9 instead of auto and it worked. From there I tried setting it at 8 and gradually worked down to 6. Right now I am at 400x9 with Clock Twister set to Strong and Trans. Booster at 6. CPU-1.4v
RAM-2.08v
NB-1.41v
SB- Auto
FSB Strap-400
RAM running at 1066mhz
LLC-ENabled

edit: LOL, you beat me to it Eric.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Look back at post #849 and #850 for more in depth coverage of the Transaction Booster and its effects. 
For me, I was unable to get a stable overclock of 3.2ghz (400x8) and I tried several voltage settings to no avail. Eric suggested I set Transaction Booster to 9 instead of auto and it worked. From there I tried setting it at 8 and gradually worked down to 6. Right now I am at 400x9 with Clock Twister set to Strong and Trans. Booster at 6. CPU-1.4v
RAM-2.08v
NB-1.41v
SB- Auto
FSB Strap-400
RAM running at 1066mhz
LLC-ENabled

edit: LOL, you beat me to it Eric.



Ha, great minds think alike. We posted the same info (in a round-about way) at the same time.

edit to your edit: lol... it was a tie


----------



## runquest

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I already did the work for you. I created the floppy, then extracted them and zipped the files. See post #4 in this thread. From there you can download the zip file, copy them to your USB and then use the USB with drivers to "Load Drivers" when installing the OS.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...ml#post3135454


Great, thank you!

I just skimmed through the first post









Does Vista load the driver by default?

Is this the correct prosedure;
1. Install new HDDs (by connecting power and sata to the P5E)
2. Set uf IDE config.
3. Set up RAID (somewhere in bios)
4. Install new OS
5. Choose the ICH9R driver


----------



## scottath

Ok - i will try with the boosted settings then....if no success i can still go back to the rampage bios though......


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *runquest*


Great, thank you!

I just skimmed through the first post









Does Vista load the driver by default?

Is this the correct prosedure;
1. Install new HDDs (by connecting power and sata to the P5E)
2. Set uf IDE config.
3. Set up RAID (somewhere in bios)
4. Install new OS
5. Choose the ICH9R driver



1. Go into the bios and enable RAID for the SATA configuration, then save and exit.

2. After the Post screen, you will see the RAID Configuration utility. Hit [CTRL + I] to enter.

3. Create a Stripped (RAID 0) array and add both HDDs. Then set the stripe size to 128kb (works the best for me performance wise). Save and exit utility.

4. When booting, hit F8 to enter boot selection, then select CD/DVD to boot.

5. Once Vista begans to load and you have entered the install code, slect "Advanced Options". From here select "Load Drivers". Put the USB drive in, and hopefully they will be auto detected. If not, hit the browse button,. and just locate them manually on the USB (ICH9R RAID). Thewn hit next.

6. After that, install the OS as usual. I would recommend also installing the Intel Matrix Raid Drivers once windows is loaded. That way you can enable 'Write Back Caching". This feature is found by clicking Advanced features, then right clicking on the image of the RAID array and selecting write-back caching. *This feature will significantly increase HDD performance. Just make sure your hardware is stable, because crashes can corrupt the OS with this enabled. So dial in your OC first, then enable it.*


----------



## runquest

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


1. Go into the bios and enable RAID for the SATA configuration, then save and exit.

2. After the Post screen, you will see the RAID Configuration utility. Hit [CTRL + I] to enter.

3. Create a Stripped (RAID 0) array and add both HDDs. Then set the stripe size to 128kb (works the best for me performance wise). Save and exit utility.

4. When booting, hit F8 to enter boot selection, then select CD/DVD to boot.

5. Once Vista begans to load and you have entered the install code, slect "Advanced Options". From here select "Load Drivers". Put the USB drive in, and hopefully they will be auto detected. If not, hit the browse button,. and just locate them manually on the USB (ICH9R RAID). Thewn hit next.

6. After that, install the OS as usual. I would recommend also installing the Intel Matrix Raid Drivers once windows is loaded. That way you can enable 'Write Back Caching". This feature is found by clicking Advanced features, then right clicking on the image of the RAID array and selecting write-back caching. *This feature will significantly increase HDD performance. Just make sure your hardware is stable, because crashes can corrupt the OS with this enabled. So dial in your OC first, then enable it.*


That looks like a good guide for me to print when installing, hehe.

I'm planning on setting up 2x250 for the OS, and an extra 2x500 - both in RAID 0 - that'll work, right? (I won't be using either raid 5 or 0+1. I'm using an external drive for backing up pictures, videos etc. For the OS disk I'll just live with the risk.)

First, I'm going to set up the 2x500's, then, when I upgrade to Vista ultimate 64bit, I'll set up the 2x250's. Is there anything I need to consider for this setup? (i.e. when choosing the "slots" in the raid config.)


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *runquest*


That looks like a good guide for me to print when installing, hehe.

I'm planning on setting up 2x250 for the OS, and an extra 2x500 - both in RAID 0 - that'll work, right? (I won't be using either raid 5 or 0+1. I'm using an external drive for backing up pictures, videos etc. For the OS disk I'll just live with the risk.)

First, I'm going to set up the 2x500's, then, when I upgrade to Vista ultimate 64bit, I'll set up the 2x250's. Is there anything I need to consider for this setup? (i.e. when choosing the "slots" in the raid config.)


There are a couple things I've found to be a little tricky. First, try to keep the HDDs in order on the SATA connection (look in manual for SATA designations). Then in bios (I believe under booting) change the HDD boot order. I struggled with this for the longest time. I would set up RAID, then add a third HDD. Then the computer would give an error at boot saying, "Boot device not detected". What I learned later is the 3rd HDD took priority (along with the SATA DVD drive) ahead of the RAID disks. So all I had to do was set them as priority and all was OK again. As far as multiple RAID 0s, I think you can do it within the RAID Configuration utility [CTRL+I]. Just enter the utility, set up another RAID 0, and add the new drives to it.


----------



## runquest

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
There are a couple things I've found to be a little tricky. First, try to keep the HDDs in order on the SATA connection (look in manual for SATA designations). Then in bios (I believe under booting) change the HDD boot order. I struggled with this for the longest time. I would set up RAID, then add a third HDD. Then the computer would give an error at boot saying, "Boot device not detected". What I learned later is the 3rd HDD took priority (along with the SATA DVD drive) ahead of the RAID disks. So all I had to do was set them as priority and all was OK again. As far as multiple RAID 0s, I think you can do it within the RAID Configuration utility [CTRL+I]. Just enter the utility, set up another RAID 0, and add the new drives to it.

Well, a problem occurred..

- I installed the third hard drive,
- Chose RAID in SATA Configuration,
- Created a RAID array in the Matrix Storage Utility (choosing 2x500 WD in raid 0 - leaving the Seagate alone, saying "NON-RAID").

Windows won't boot with these settings. Now, in BIOS under BOOT Device, the Seagate still says RAID - even when it's not..
I have to choose IDE under SATA config. to boot up now..


----------



## runquest

SATA Config.:










Choosing HDDs in RAID:










Creating the RAID array:










The set-up:










HDDs:










BOOT Priority: (Why does this call the Seagate 250Gb disc as RAID?)


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


List your settings so maybe we can get a better idea of needs adjusting.


Hey,

I guess I managed 440x8, but I'm still testing.

CPU:









MB (using P5E Deluxe BIOS):









Memory (using a single module for OC tests):









SPD:









After 43min:









Before, a mere 436x8 would crash everything in couple seconds!









I'll post my BIOS config on next msg.

Gradius


----------



## Gradius

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 8.0
FSB Frequency: 440
FSB Strap to North Bridge: Auto
PCIE Frequency: 110

DRAM Frequency: DDR2-880MHz
DRAM Command Rate: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency: 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay: 4
RAS# Precharge: 4
RAS# Active Time: 12

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Strong
Ai Transacion Booster: Auto

VCORE Voltage: 1.325 (1.304V reported by CPU-Z)
CPU PPL Voltage: 1.60
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 1.98
North Bridge Voltage: 1.61
South Bridge Voltage: Auto

Loadline Calibration: Enabled
CPU GTL, NB GTL, SB 1.5V: All to Auto

CPU & PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled

----

Advanced:

CPU Ration Setting: 8.0
C1E Support: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Disabled
Vanderpool Technology: Enabled
Execute Disable Bit: Disabled
Max CPUID Value Limit: Disabled

Gradius


----------



## AceGoober

runquest:

The RAID before the 250GB drive means it is connected to a RAID controller. As such, the drive will need to be prepped for RAID operation and a driver installed into the OS to recognize the RAID controller.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gradius*


Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 8.0
FSB Frequency: 440
FSB Strap to North Bridge: Auto
PCIE Frequency: 110

DRAM Frequency: DDR2-880MHz
DRAM Command Rate: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency: 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay: 4
RAS# Precharge: 4
RAS# Active Time: 12

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Strong
Ai Transacion Booster: Auto

VCORE Voltage: 1.325 (1.304V reported by CPU-Z)
CPU PPL Voltage: 1.60
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 1.98
North Bridge Voltage: 1.61
South Bridge Voltage: Auto

Gradius


If you are still having trouble with stability, try setting the Transaction Booster to 8 or 9 and then stress test. Or even try setting the Clock twister to Light or Moderate.

NB voltage looks a little high though


----------



## AceGoober

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle...

My Windows XP Pro image had a java script virus in it. The virus was causing all my OCing woes. I've got 0903 still flashed with a fresh, virus free installation of Windows XP Pro and I'm able to get my previous OC's back. Live and learn...


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *runquest* 
HDDs:

BOOT Priority: (Why does this call the Seagate 250Gb disc as RAID?)










The first HDD in the RAID setup is listed. It is as it should be.


----------



## Gradius

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
If you are still having trouble with stability, try setting the Transaction Booster to 8 or 9 and then stress test. Or even try setting the Clock twister to Light or Moderate.

NB voltage looks a little high though

Thanks, I'll try that.

About NB, I know, but isn't stable if I go below, I'm still tweaking anyway.

Gradius


----------



## Gradius

3DMark05:









Not bad for a HD3870 with unappropriated cooler !

Gradius


----------



## runquest

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AceGoober* 
runquest:

The RAID before the 250GB drive means it is connected to a RAID controller. As such, the drive will need to be prepped for RAID operation and a driver installed into the OS to recognize the RAID controller.

So I won't be able to use the OS disk without formatting it and reinstall OS with the driver?
Guess I'll have to move a step faster and set up the seagate in raid as well. Was planning to wait until I upgrade to 64bit









EDIT: Found out I had to set up all disks in raid, which I did. Then I learned that the disks installed can not be randomly chosen in boot/HDD selection...








It's been a few hours, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.


----------



## runquest

Finally, the RAID project is up and running, and the performance is showing as well;

Thanks to those who helped


----------



## Gradius

Vista Ultimate SP1 x64 here:









Still limited to 5.9 ?























Gradius


----------



## bokbeng

got some problem. the multiplier always go down to x12..
but during the stress test, it's maintain at x17 can anybody help me?


----------



## scottath

Turn off all the options in the CPU Configuration - it would be speedstep or C1E or similar


----------



## bokbeng

just turn off the c1E? what that thing actually


----------



## scottath

i turn all of them off and set the multiplyer personally.

C1E is a powersaving thing - as with speedstep - lowers the CPU multiplyer to save power when not in use


----------



## bokbeng

i use the newest bios,, do you think i use flash the rampage bios to get better result?


----------



## scottath

possibly - all depends.....

Personally i have had better results on the rampage


----------



## malik22

Whats the best bios for the P5E the RF or the new P5E deluxe? and do they remove vdroop at all.


----------



## scottath

Many people have been saying the P5E DLX bios lately - but i tried it and i have better stabillity on the rampage....so i don't know.....

not sure with the vdroop - i did a pencil mod anyhow...


----------



## malik22

Quote:



Originally Posted by *scottath*


Many people have been saying the P5E DLX bios lately - but i tried it and i have better stabillity on the rampage....so i don't know.....

not sure with the vdroop - i did a pencil mod anyhow...



Thanks man I upgrading to a intel build with this mobo and 4800 series what size fan fits on the northbrdige with a thermalright ultra extreme cause I heard it gets hot.


----------



## bokbeng

i got another problem, when i am trying to boot up the pc, it will boot up, off and then boot up again, it about [email protected] second,,, can anyone explain?


----------



## bokbeng

just now, i have reset the seting to auto and did the intel burn test and the result is unstable,,,,,
whyyyyyy


----------



## bokbeng

sorry... does it mean, if u passes the linpack testing,, your computer has stable?


----------



## malik22

Do I use the same method for flashing to the P5E deluxe as posted on the first page for the Rampage?and can I rename the Deluxe bios from P5E-ASUS-Deluxe-0205.ROM to something like 0205.rom?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *malik22*


Do I use the same method for flashing to the P5E deluxe as posted on the first page for the Rampage?and can I rename the Deluxe bios from P5E-ASUS-Deluxe-0205.ROM to something like 0205.rom?


yes you use the same method for flashing the BIOS, and I find it easier to rename the files as well.


----------



## bokbeng

how about my question,, hehehe


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *bokbeng*


how about my question,, hehehe


Can you post your PC specs under the User CP heading? Also, if you could fill us in on the settings your using that is causing you instability.


----------



## Gradius

To me Deluxe 0205 BIOS is stable enough, I just cannot pass 435x8 using Q9450.









Gradius


----------



## bokbeng

my question is......
does it mean, if u passes the linpack testing,, your computer has stable?


----------



## AceGoober

Quote:



Originally Posted by *bokbeng*


my question is......
does it mean, if u passes the linpack testing,, your computer has stable?


In 99% of the instances I've seen, yes, your computer is stable when it passes Linpack testing.

There was one instance where the computer passed Linpack but wouldn't complete a pass of 3DMark06. As it turns out, he was using video card manufacturer drivers instead of the latest available. After upgrading, the system passed all testing.


----------



## Dragons_nl

I'm using the Rampage 0403 bios on my P5E and i'm just lovin'it.

The computer is very stable after i overclocked it to 3,75GHz, After booting up i was stressing my board with Linpack, Orthos and Prime95 just to be sure and all succesfull.

Still I can't get my E8400 stable on 4,0Ghz every time it crashes terrible.


----------



## teknoheadake

Hey guys, great thread - now time to ask for some help!

OK, this is my first OC, so I've been taking it a bit slow at first. So far I've gotten it up to 2.8 on a Q6600 with the P5E3 Deluxe. Some help getting this baby higher would be much appreciated. I'll detail my current settings, and then list some that refused to post...

*@2.8 and solid*
CPU Ratio Setting_______7
FSB Strap to NB________Auto
FSB Frequency_________400
PCIE Freq_____________Auto
DRAM Freq____________DDR3-1334 (Stock RAM is 1333)
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Auto
AI Transaction Boost____Auto
CPU Voltage___________Auto (Probe is telling me the Vcore is 1.44 in Win)
CPU PLL Volt___________1.5
FSB Termination Volt____1.2
DRAM Volt_____________1.7
NB Volt________________Auto
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

(Sorry about the annoying lines - I'm a webnoob and have no idea how to indent)

Other failed attempts where I basically changed only the CPU Ration and FSB:
CPU Ratio 7
FSB 430

CPU Ratio 7
FSB 420

CPU Ratio 8
FSB 375

CPU Ratio 8
FSB 350

CPU Ratio 9
FSB 333

I will be trying some more tomorrow, including upping voltages, but was hesitant to start messing with volts by more than a .02 adjustment. Regardless, any advice to help me get this going faster would be much appreciated. Thanks!

~TkH


----------



## spacegoast

first of all if you havent read through this thread, i would highly recommend that you do. it is very informative and it will help you in your overclocking if you understand exactly what your are doing. this is a good starter thread too: intel-overclocking-guide

i bet it is your voltages that are left on auto that are holding you back. you shouldnt leave your CPU and NB voltage on auto by the way. if you increase the FSB speed you also need to inreas your voltages, namely the NB and CPU. 
what is your VID? 
you can find this by using CoreTemp (which is a temperature monitoring app) and it will tell you. 
Try this:
CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________333
FSB Frequency_________400
PCIE Freq_____________100
DRAM Freq____________1332
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light or Moderate
AI Transaction Boost____9
CPU Voltage___________1.35V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.58
FSB Termination Volt____1.4
DRAM Volt_____________1.7
NB Volt________________1.39
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

See if these settings will work, should get you at 3.2ghz. if not back the FSB down to 375. its smarter to first try and overclock the CPU, and then work on the RAM afterwards, or vice versa; just not both at the same time. i never followed that rule







. but if you do run in to trouble you can underclock you RAM by selecting a FSB Strap to NB that make the DRAM frequency lower than stock, say at 1200mhz or so. if the settings work you adjust a few things such as the Transaction Booster and AI Clock Twister


----------



## teknoheadake

Thanks a lot for the advice! I have read through chunks of this thread, although its a hefty thread! hehe, so I'm slowly making my way through it. I've also read through the other thread you linked, and always have both of these threads open on my laptop when tinkering with my PC, hehe.

Anyways, I tried the settings you recommended, and both failed to post, good thing for that easy recall on these boards, hehe. As for my VID, when its OC'd to 2.8 Coretemp says that the VID is 1.3250. On a side note, I know I have everything setup for 2.8Ghz, and Coretemp says its at 2.8, but OCCT and CPU-z both say 2.4Ghz.... Have I made a mistake somewhere else?

Anyways, I'm going to start tinkering with smaller FSBs at CPU 8 mult, I'll let you guys know how that comes along. Thanks again!

~TkH

*Update* (so I dont keep making more posts)

Well.. I figured out the CPU-z display thing, it pops up to the proper multiplier when I run Prime, and assumably anything else that makes use of the system... so ignore that noob mistake.

Also, I managed to hit 3.2! Almost... hehe, Prime froze the computer after about 4 minutes...

I went with:
CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________Auto
FSB Frequency_________400
PCIE Freq_____________Auto
DRAM Freq____________1334
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light
AI Transaction Boost____Auto
CPU Voltage___________1.45V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.5
FSB Termination Volt____1.38
DRAM Volt_____________1.7
NB Volt________________1.35
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

So... I guess it needs more juice? Or should I pull back on the FSB?

~TkH


----------



## spacegoast

since you have a higher VID, you wil need a higher CPU coltage, maybe 1.375-1.4v to get 3.2ghz. the reason CPU-Z says 2.4ghz is because you have C1E enabled. it is intels speedstep feature that will throttle back performance when idling and then it kicks back in gear when you do something cpu intensive, such as running prime or gaming. you can disable this feature in your BIOS under CPU options, it is a separate screen from the OC features. increase your CPU voltage and try 1.4v for the NB.

try and use some the settings other users have posted in this thread just to get an idea of what settings to use. to get the same results you might need a little more voltage or less, it depends on the chip. there are a few that i have tried to get me to 3.4 and even 3.6. the highest i got was 3.78ghz.


----------



## teknoheadake

Thanks again Spaceghost, I've been browsing the thread a lot while waiting for Prime tests, I think I may have a solid 3.2 finally - although my RAM is underclocked, but no worries - there's plenty of time for adjustments. I ended up with a multi of 9x, with FSB at 356. I increased my Cpu voltage up to 1.45 and NB voltage up to 1.41, but I think knocking the FSB under 400 helped as well. So far I'm 20 minutes into a Prime test with steady temps of 60C and below. I'll let this run a while longer before going back to tweak and see if I can't get that higher









Thanks again for your help and encouragement, I needed that boost to start tweaking properly with some margin of confidence. I have the feeling I've stumbled upon another great way to suck up time... hehe, I'll post what I end up with in a day or so, after I muck around more!

~TkH


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *teknoheadake*


Thanks again Spaceghost, I've been browsing the thread a lot while waiting for Prime tests, I think I may have a solid 3.2 finally - although my RAM is underclocked, but no worries - there's plenty of time for adjustments. I ended up with a multi of 9x, with FSB at 356. I increased my Cpu voltage up to 1.45 and NB voltage up to 1.41, but I think knocking the FSB under 400 helped as well. So far I'm 20 minutes into a Prime test with steady temps of 60C and below. I'll let this run a while longer before going back to tweak and see if I can't get that higher









Thanks again for your help and encouragement, I needed that boost to start tweaking properly with some margin of confidence. I have the feeling I've stumbled upon another great way to suck up time... hehe, I'll post what I end up with in a day or so, after I muck around more!

~TkH


cool. glad to hear you got a stable overclock


----------



## teknoheadake

Thanks again Space, +Rep, although that goes without saying. Time to push it some more! hehehe

~TkH


----------



## ericeod

From my experience with my last board, being a Maximus Exteme, I found the chipset needed a lot more voltage to run the DDR3 ram at higher sppeds. At 380 FSB I was running 1.49v to the NB. It was a PITA and I eventually switched back to DDR2 with my current Rampage Formula.

I would suspect you could get more out of your ram with an increase in the NB voltage.

spacegoast... +rep


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *teknoheadake* 
Thanks a lot for the advice! I have read through chunks of this thread, although its a hefty thread! hehe, so I'm slowly making my way through it. I've also read through the other thread you linked, and always have both of these threads open on my laptop when tinkering with my PC, hehe.

Anyways, I tried the settings you recommended, and both failed to post, good thing for that easy recall on these boards, hehe. As for my VID, when its OC'd to 2.8 Coretemp says that the VID is 1.3250. On a side note, I know I have everything setup for 2.8Ghz, and Coretemp says its at 2.8, but OCCT and CPU-z both say 2.4Ghz.... Have I made a mistake somewhere else?

Anyways, I'm going to start tinkering with smaller FSBs at CPU 8 mult, I'll let you guys know how that comes along. Thanks again!

~TkH

*Update* (so I dont keep making more posts)

Well.. I figured out the CPU-z display thing, it pops up to the proper multiplier when I run Prime, and assumably anything else that makes use of the system... so ignore that noob mistake.

Also, I managed to hit 3.2! Almost... hehe, Prime froze the computer after about 4 minutes...

I went with:
CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________Auto
FSB Frequency_________400
PCIE Freq_____________Auto
DRAM Freq____________1334
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light
AI Transaction Boost____Auto
CPU Voltage___________1.45V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.5
FSB Termination Volt____1.38
DRAM Volt_____________1.7
NB Volt________________1.35
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

So... I guess it needs more juice? Or should I pull back on the FSB?

~TkH

A couple of things. i would suggest you use the multiplier 9 because you will get far better performance out of your processor. So set up your OC at 333 fsb and multi of 9, then increase you NB to 1.4 to get things stable. I dont know if you what speedstep and C1E on but if you want the multi to stay fixed you will need to disable both in the bios. Last I would turn off the clock twister until you get it stable

edit: I just want to add... i read where you got it stable like 5 years ago.. im sorry. Maybe i should read the entire thread before posting. lol


----------



## teknoheadake

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod*
From my experience with my last board, being a Maximus Exteme, I found the chipset needed a lot more voltage to run the DDR3 ram at higher sppeds. At 380 FSB I was running 1.49v to the NB. It was a PITA and I eventually switched back to DDR2 with my current Rampage Formula.

I would suspect you could get more out of your ram with an increase in the NB voltage.

Awesome, thanks for the heads up Ericeod, I was wondering what it was holding my board back... I've gotten it stable at 3.4 (9x380) now... but 3.5 is eluding me (9x390). It boots alright, but crashes/freezes in Prime after about 10 minutes. I'll try giving the NB more power, I was at 1.41, so hopefully 1.49 works out!

On another note, I noticed that for my particular setup a FSB Strap of 333 felt more stable than 400, so I've been avoiding setting the strap to 400 for the time being.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro*
A couple of things. i would suggest you use the multiplier 9 because you will get far better performance out of your processor. So set up your OC at 333 fsb and multi of 9, then increase you NB to 1.4 to get things stable. I dont know if you what speedstep and C1E on but if you want the multi to stay fixed you will need to disable both in the bios. Last I would turn off the clock twister until you get it stable

edit: I just want to add... i read where you got it stable like 5 years ago.. im sorry. Maybe i should read the entire thread before posting. lol

Thanks for the advice atleast Aleiro, its never a bad thing to try and help out! Now if you have suggestions for helping me get this to 3.6 stable... hehe









Well, thanks again for the great tips guys, time to fire up the PC, give it some more juice, and see what happens! I'll keep you posted









~TkH


----------



## spacegoast

Anyone know what the latest, or best working Rampage Formula BIOS is?


----------



## ericeod

I'm running 0410 ATM. I havent had time to mess with it, but its stable with all my previous settings. I've read that the 0308 is the best for ram performance (but is picky with some ram).

Here is 0410 (It was hard for me to find).


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I'm running 0410 ATM. I havent had time to mess with it, but its stable with all my previous settings. I've read that the 0308 is the best for ram performance (but is picky with some ram).

Here is 0410 (It was hard for me to find).

Ya, I flashed to the 0410 about an hour ago since it was the latest. I went straight to the Asus site and they were on there. Seems pretty stable so far. Havent done any major overclocks yet, still too hot in my room. Right now I am sweating just sitting in my chair , so I am sitting on 3.2ghz for the time being, until it gets cooler around here.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Ya, I flashed to the 0410 about an hour ago since it was the latest. I went straight to the Asus site and they were on there. Seems pretty stable so far. Havent done any major overclocks yet, still too hot in my room. Right now I am sweating just sitting in my chair , so I am sitting on 3.2ghz for the time being, until it gets cooler around here.

I swear 0410 wasnt there a few days ago LOL.

I read at XtremeSystems that the 0308 bios was the best for ram because after that, ASUS started loosening the ram settings to make it more compatible with other ram. So it might be worth a shot.


----------



## zlojack

0308 is great for RAM, the best bandwidth I could get, but unfortunately I had to update the bios when I got my E8600.


----------



## aleiro

I was looking at my ram voltages today cause I did some hardware upgrades. A little problem: Which program do i use? Everest 4.60 (states: 2.03v)or Asus AI suite (states: 2.15v) in the bios it is set to 1.95ish. The mobo temp on the AI suite says 211C which is wrong, but that only happens when you have both programs open. So what do you all think?


----------



## spacegoast

maybe you have a damaged temp sensor? or the sensor is just flipping out. is it still reading that high now? not sure about the voltage setting though. i always go by what i set it to in the BIOS.


----------



## kathman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
I was looking at my ram voltages today cause I did some hardware upgrades. A little problem: Which program do i use? Everest 4.60 (states: 2.03v)or Asus AI suite (states: 2.15v) in the bios it is set to 1.95ish. The mobo temp on the AI suite says 211C which is wrong, but that only happens when you have both programs open. So what do you all think?

Just to be on the safe side I would go with the higher one. Have you tried lowering the voltage and seeing if its still stable? if it was really at 2.15 and you only need like 2v then lowering it should effect stability much.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
I was looking at my ram voltages today cause I did some hardware upgrades. A little problem: Which program do i use? Everest 4.60 (states: 2.03v)or Asus AI suite (states: 2.15v) in the bios it is set to 1.95ish. The mobo temp on the AI suite says 211C which is wrong, but that only happens when you have both programs open. So what do you all think?

I used my Fluke multimeter and measured the voltages. I found that the motherboard overvolts the ram by ~+0.05v (it has been reported by many forums as being +0.06v). Here is a snip from my original post:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 

*Motherboard overvolting ram verified*

Special thanks to *Karl eller* for the post on vdimm points. I used my Fluke 177 digital meter and read the yellow and one of the blue marked readout point from his post.

When I set the vdimm in bios to 2.16v, I get a reading of 2.21v from the multi meter. Then, when I set the vdimm to 2.18v in bios, I get a reading of 2.238v on the meter. And finally, when I set vdimm to 2.2v in bios, I get a reading of 2.25v on the meter. This makes it very hard for those without a multimeter to know the true vdimm.

I did find that my 1.40v vcore set in bios, which loads into windows at 1.38v as shown in CPU-Z, actually is 1.376v when metered while running Orthos.


----------



## porky

guys , im running my QX9650 with a 10x multi with a FSB of 405.............

my Northbrdige voltage is 1.41v

my cpu voltage is 1.39125v (shows up as 1.288v under full load p95 small ftt's , any lower and it crashes)

Pll voltage is set to auto

FSB termination voltage is set as 1.26v

this good voltages???


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *porky* 
guys , im running my QX9650 with a 10x multi with a FSB of 405.............

my Northbrdige voltage is 1.41v

my cpu voltage is 1.39125v (shows up as 1.288v under full load p95 small ftt's , any lower and it crashes)

Pll voltage is set to auto

FSB termination voltage is set as 1.26v

this good voltages???


I would manually set the PLL to 1.52v. The board is known to overvolt it on auto.

Here are my voltages with my Q6700 setup (423 FSB):










BTW, did you flash to the P5E Deluxe bios yet?


----------



## porky

hey m8 , i have just downloaded the latest bios through Asus update , think its was the 09XXX something..............

if the bourd over-volts the PLL voltage , is that ok?...i prefer to keep it on auto , soo far my pc is 1 hour P95 stable......soo far soo good


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *porky* 
hey m8 , i have just downloaded the latest bios through Asus update , think its was the 09XXX something..............

if the bourd over-volts the PLL voltage , is that ok?...i prefer to keep it on auto , soo far my pc is 1 hour P95 stable......soo far soo good

Go to the hardware monitor in bios, it will show your PLL. There is no reason it should be over 1.6v. The PLL is the clock generator chip and you dont want to over-do it.

as for the bios, the P5E Deluxe offers much better Loadline Calibration for reducing vdroop, as well as better ram tweaks in bios for overall enhanced performance.

0205 is the latest P5E Deluxe bios:
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/so...eluxe-0205.zip


----------



## Aleslammer

My question concerns the Transaction Booster. With BIOS P5E0107 I could set an enable 0 and have my Performance Level in MenSet lowered by one, disable 0 added 1. With 201, 6xx, 702 and 903, enable 0 would subtract two, disable 0 would subtract one? I recently passed the 1200 mark with my ram BIOS 0903 and with the Booster on auto was in Windows, MemSet showing a P/L of 9 setting the Booster to enable 1, wouldn't post, setting enable 0, in Windows, MemSet showing a P/L of 6.

The only thing that has changed has been the ram speed, during the enable 0 -1 my ram was in the 1000s, -2 1100s and -3 1200s so has anyone seen a chart or has an idea of how this works. The FSB has been played with through out, ram speed being limited by the ram I was using or the stability of the BIOS.

I've also used the Rampage 207, 219, 308 and 403 BIOS and I'm thinking of trying 410 just to by-pass the weird behavior of the Booster setting, but the P5E0903 has been real good to me. At present E8500 9x458 1.32v â€" RAM 4:3, 1221, 5-5-5-15-3-45 tRD 6 at 2.18v, 4 hours OCCT mix stable, needs a little more testing,


----------



## malik22

Hi guys I just got my Asus P5E deluxe (X48 105bios) is there any point for me too flash to the rampage formula bios or even the latest bios for the P5E the 205?I dont have any issues right now.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *malik22* 
Hi guys I just got my Asus P5E deluxe (X48 105bios) is there any point for me too flash to the rampage formula bios or even the latest bios for the P5E the 205?I dont have any issues right now.

I wouldnt bother flashing to the Rampage Formula bios. Your bios has all the same features.

As for the 205, it isnt needed unless you have an E0 45nm CPU. I think the memory settings are a little looser for more compatibility. So if you are stable, dont worry about upgrading.


----------



## malik22

Thanks alot ericeod the only prob i got was I had to boot with 2gb of ram set dram voltage to 2.1 and then 4gb booted without prob.And is 2.1 in bios the actual voltage wouldnt want to overvolt my ram.And one last question I can use the settings in the first page to oce correct.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *malik22*


Thanks alot ericeod the only prob i got was I had to boot with 2gb of ram set dram voltage to 2.1 and then 4gb booted without prob.And is 2.1 in bios the actual voltage wouldnt want to overvolt my ram.And one last question I can use the settings in the first page to oce correct.


yes you can use those settings, although they are not guaranteed to work for everyone. they worked for me but i was able to use less voltage to the cpu. so you may have to experiment with some different settings. i would set the settings listed on the first page. if you are stable then go ahead and test for stability with lower voltages.

on side note, i have been having a wierd boot problem. every time i turn my PC off and then back on, it will load the logo screen, but then stop. i press del to enter the BIOS and nothing. it just freezes. when i press the reset button it will boot up just fine though.this happened with the P5E Dlx BIOS 0205 and now with the RF 0410 BIOS. I am currently running at:
375FSBx9
Vcore-1.4v
DRAM-2.1v at 5-5-5-15 (999 mhz)
FSB strap 333 (i think)
NB-1.45v
SB-auto
LLC-Enabled
AI Clock twister-moderate
TA Booster-8

What could be causing this?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *malik22* 
Thanks alot ericeod the only prob i got was I had to boot with 2gb of ram set dram voltage to 2.1 and then 4gb booted without prob.And is 2.1 in bios the actual voltage wouldnt want to overvolt my ram.And one last question I can use the settings in the first page to oce correct.

The P5E overvolts the ram by about +0.06v. So I would set it to 2.04v in bios.


----------



## malik22

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
yes you can use those settings, although they are not guaranteed to work for everyone. they worked for me but i was able to use less voltage to the cpu. so you may have to experiment with some different settings. i would set the settings listed on the first page. if you are stable then go ahead and test for stability with lower voltages.

on side note, i have been having a wierd boot problem. every time i turn my PC off and then back on, it will load the logo screen, but then stop. i press del to enter the BIOS and nothing. it just freezes. when i press the reset button it will boot up just fine though.this happened with the P5E Dlx BIOS 0205 and now with the RF 0903 BIOS. I am currently running at:
375FSBx9
Vcore-1.4v
DRAM-2.1v at 5-5-5-15 (999 mhz)
FSB strap 333 (i think)
NB-1.45v
SB-auto
LLC-Enabled
AI Clock twister-moderate
TA Booster-8

What could be causing this?


Thanks for the response I see your using 1.45 to nb is that a safer bet then 1.35 on the first page for quads.An why set the FSB strap to 33 instead of 400?

And ericeod i have the deluxe version X48 does this board also overvolt the ram?


----------



## malik22

sry double post


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *malik22*


Thanks for the response I see your using 1.45 to nb is that a safer bet then 1.35 on the first page for quads.An why set the FSB strap to 33 instead of 400?

And ericeod i have the deluxe version X48 does this board also overvolt the ram?


well the higher you set the FSB, the more voltage you will need on the NB. I set the FSB strap to 333 so I can run my RAM at 999mhz or 1021mhz, cant remember which one. My RAM runs at 1000 stock so that is close as i can get. if i run my FSB at 400, then i can set the FSB strap to 400 as well, i can run my RAM at 800mhz or1066mhz. so the RAM speed will vary depending on the FSB strap you select.


----------



## ericeod

also remember that the strap does not have as big an impact on performance since the Transaction Booster (tRD) controls the chipset strap's latency performance.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


also remember that the strap does not have as big an impact on performance since the Transaction Booster (tRD) controls the chipset strap's latency performance.


welcome to Transaction Booster 101







, lol


----------



## malik22

Thanks alot for your help guys very useful how about ericeod comment on overvoltage of ram does this apply to the P5E deluxe too or the regular P5E only?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *malik22* 
Thanks alot for your help guys very useful how about ericeod comment on overvoltage of ram does this apply to the P5E deluxe too or the regular P5E only?

I cant say for certain, but with the layout of the board being identical, I would consider it a very good possibility that they are the same. I would just set it to 2.04v and test for stability. My ram is rated for 2.1v and it runs at 1058 with only 1.8v (I cant set it any lower then that).


----------



## malik22

I primed my pc all night completly stable at 3.5ghz but im having trouble to get it stable at 3.6 ive raised nb voltage cpu vcore is there any other setting i should raise like cpu pll voltage or fsbterm?
im using the settings from the first page.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I did some more testing today and discovered how fine tuned the Ai Transaction Booster (tRD) actually can be.

I was trying to find a balance between CPU speed and ram performance. In doing so, I have discovered with my Rampage Formula, that at 423 FSB I can run a Transaction Booster mode of 6, with the ram on a 5:4 divider at DDR2 1058. My tFRC is at 45 and timings are at 5-5-5-12 with 1.8v. I get a nice latency of 54.9ns in everest. My NB voltage is 1.45v and CPU is 1.44v vcore.

But if I go even 1 MHz up in FSB to 424, I cant even boot with Transaction Booster at 6, even with the NB voltage at 1.55v, CPU vcore at 1.5v and tRFC at 70. I even set the ram timings to 5-5-5-15.

So I set the Transaction Booster to 7. I was able to bring everything down to the voltages I had before (except CPU, I left it just to make sure it wouldnt crash at 3.86GHz as it runs 3.9GHz at 1.5v). My everest latency this time was 57.6ns.

So it just shows how the Transaction Booster affects performance and is key to overclocking with the FSB and memory.

So for those trying to discover their highest CPU overclock, I recommend setting the Transaction Booster to 10 to keep it from hindering your overclock while you are dialing it in.


Read this post, especially the last sentence there.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *malik22*


I primed my pc all night completly stable at 3.5ghz but im having trouble to get it stable at 3.6 ive raised nb voltage cpu vcore is there any other setting i should raise like cpu pll voltage or fsbterm?
im using the settings from the first page.


Hopefully by setting the Transaction Booster to 9 or 10 you can get a stable overclock.


----------



## genetix

Just updated 0903 to ASUS-P5E..

indeed this now functions on 4:3.. I am running 3,2Ghz simply OC with 1066Mhz/NB 400 on G.Skill HK Series 4-4-5-13 at 2,14v (which is 2,035 volts on my board, funny thing If I add 2,20-2,26v to RAM this board automates that as 2,272v, lol).

Also seemed to this time POST up stable at 450 FSB (3,6Ghz Q9450) with 5-5-5-15 1066Mhz/NB 400.

--

I am wondering about the booster.. I used to get Absolute max bootable booster Enabled & value = 0..

Now, with the 0903 BIOS I can actually boot the booster Enabled (Performance level) & value = 1 or 2 even

--

that transaction booster to 2 got solved fast. Lol, asus ones again screwing customers as usual. at 0702 BIOS the Transaction Boosted Enabled 0 = Performance level = 7 or 6.. (sorry can't remember).. But this new BIOS 0903 booster = 1 = Performance Level = 8, Booster = 2 = Perf. Level = 7... Auto = Perf. Level= 10...

I had Performance Level 6 on my Memory before on 0 I think.. Here is what it looks like now on Booster at 2..


----------



## malik22

Hopefully by setting the Transaction Booster to 9 or 10 you can get a stable overclock.[/QUOTE]

I dont see that setting in the bios.


----------



## genetix

Quote:


Originally Posted by *malik22* 
Hopefully by setting the Transaction Booster to 9 or 10 you can get a stable overclock.

I dont see that setting in the bios.


You mean 0-3..

Performance level goes like 1-15 on MemSet tools. Transaction Booster goes either 0-3 (Disabled/Relax) or 0-3 (Enabled/lowers the Performance level).

I used to have Enabled 0 now on new 0903 BIOS it goes to Enabled 2 and that 2 is slower than 0 on 0702 BIOS..


----------



## spacegoast

so last night i was checking something in my BIOS and under th Hardware Monitor i noticed that my RAM voltage was a lot higher than whit i set it to. i had it at 2.1v and under the harware monitor it showed 2.19v. so i back it down to 2.0v and then it showed 2.09v. i dont have a volt meter so i dont know how off these numbers actually are. i read there is supposed to a small overvolt on this board, but is it this high?


----------



## Benny99

I just purchased the board very nice but yes the board does over volt ram.

I set it to 1.82 in bios 1.89 in windows.

Quite a big jump.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Benny99* 
I just purchased the board very nice but yes the board does over volt ram.

I set it to 1.82 in bios 1.89 in windows.

Quite a big jump.


So when are you going to flash it to the P5E Deluxe?

As for the overvolting, as long as we get the word out, it shouldnt be an issue.


----------



## Benny99

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
So when are you going to flash it to the P5E Deluxe?

As for the overvolting, as long as we get the word out, it shouldnt be an issue.

Soon









Another little problem is when i start my computer and the Internet is just standing at Local. But if i open a webpage it goes to local and internet.

The little icon on my task bar dosent show the blue dot between the 2 computers. When i open a web page it does..


----------



## Benny99

Reinstalled the network controller seemed to fix it.


----------



## Aleslammer

BIOS 0903 and the Transaction Booster

Code:



Code:


Memory----1:1------6:5----5:4----4:3----3:2----8:5----5:3---2:1

9.5x267--8,7,1----7,6,1--5,5,?--7,5,1--5,5,?--6,5,1----n---4,3,1
9.5x300--8,7,1----7,6,1--6,6,?--7,5,1--5,5,?--6,5,1----n---4,3,1
9.5x333--8,7,1----7,6,1---P,n---7,5,1--5,5,?--7,5,2--5,5,?---U
9.5x367--8,7,1----7,7,?----n----7,6,1--6,5,n--7,5,2--5,5,?---U
9.5x400--11,8,1---7,7,?----n----8,6,2--7,5,n--8,??-----U-----U
9.5x433--11,8,1---7,7,?--7,7,?--8,6,2----U------U------U-----U
9.0x467--11,10,1--7,7,?--7,7,?--9,6,3----U------U------U-----U
8.0X500--11,9,1---7,7,?--8,??-----U------U------U------U-----U

8,7,1
First number is Booster on Auto and Performance Level (tRD) read in MemSet.
Second number is the lowest tRD I could set with MemSet before system lockup or BSOD.
Third number is the amount subtracted from the first number with the Booster set to Enable 0.
? = Booster Enable 0 not tried.
P = Post
n = No Windows or No Post
?? = In Windows unstable.
U = Not tried or beyond my system components.
Memory Timings for all tests 5-5-5-15-3-45, Rest Auto

Using 3-3-3-9 were allowed should allow minus 2 from the second number.
Using 4-4-4-12 were allowed should allow minus 1 from the second number.
No test for stability were run.

No Post on Booster Auto
Made Windows @ 9.5x267 5:3 Booster Disable 1, tRD 4
Made Windows @ 9.5x300 5:3 Booster Disable 1, tRD 5
Made Windows @ 9.5x333 5:4 Booster Disable 0, tRD 6
Made Windows @ 9.5x367 5:4 Booster Disable 1, tRD 7
Made Windows @ 9.5x400 5:4 Booster Disable 1, tRD 7

No Post at Enable 0, Not Tested
9.5x367 3:2 should post at disable 0, tRD 4 (Should be 5)
9.5x400 3:2 should post at disable 1, tRD 5


----------



## genetix

Quote:

9.5x400----11,8,1--7,7,?------n-----8,6,2---7,5,n----8,??------U------U
8x400Mhz = 10,(memory dependable I can set this to 6), 2..

..

anyway, I am atm wondering could I boot up FSB 532, 266Mhz Strap 1066Mhz memory with 4-4-4-12 on Disable 2 on booster. That's rough 4,2 Ghz on Q9450, but only thing I can post with this P5E board seems like 480FSB.. anything over 500FSB says goodbye POST.. Yet haven't really tested this thing up.. Seems it might be possible to maybe boot up that setup (Although stability is another thing, but if it boot it can be worked on).

3,85Ghz went up pretty damn easily I mean.. It's like just stuff it there correctly and it works flawless and voltages ain't even nearly maxed out that thing runs on 1,23750 vcore, 1,39 NB, 1,38, giving RAM 2,12v & GTL's 0,63,0,67..


----------



## ericeod

I highly recommed those of you with P5E boards to cross flash to the P5E Deluxe bios so you can unleash the power of your ram! Seriously though, you gain additional tweak settings for the ram and Trans Booster (tRD).


----------



## Stianby

Hello you gorup of very talented overclockers!

I've had my P5E for about one yeat now, and recently started tuning the system.
After reading nearly all the posts in this thread, i feel enlightened, but still have a few questions. I'm sorry for the lack of detailed specks, but i'll mention the basics. Currently running at:

FSB: 400 Mhz
Multi: x8
Processor: 3200,01 !! Mhz
Vcore: 1.325 Bios, 1.295 in everest CPUID Why??
FSB voltage: 1.55 Bios 1.450 everest
PEG freq: 100 can it go higher, necessary?

Temps ar currently measured after 2 hours at prime95

CPU: 52 C
Core#1: 69
Core#2: 70
Core#3: 70
Core#4: 68

Never had any problems with system crashes etc. But I am slightly bothered by the fact that my system performs slightly below average for my setup.
The goal is to have as high a FSB as possible?? I've been at 475x8, but the temperatures skyrocketed, but no crash. Did it on the current voltages.
I've seen some figures indicating that 500+ is possible, but I haven't tried that yet.

I've rather cunningly disguised some questions at the top of the page, and here's the last one! i haven't red the specifics about BIOS versions, so wich one should i go for??
My current cpu cooler prevents me from running dualchannel RAM, conspiracy between the maxorb, and the huge Corsair cooling fins. Should i prioritize to mod the cooler and run dual??


----------



## Benny99

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Stianby* 
Hello you gorup of very talented overclockers!

I've had my P5E for about one yeat now, and recently started tuning the system.
After reading nearly all the posts in this thread, i feel enlightened, but still have a few questions. I'm sorry for the lack of detailed specks, but i'll mention the basics. Currently running at:

FSB: 400 Mhz
Multi: x8
Processor: 3200,01 !! Mhz
Vcore: 1.325 Bios, 1.295 in everest CPUID Why??
FSB voltage: 1.55 Bios 1.450 everest
PEG freq: 100 can it go higher, necessary?

Temps ar currently measured after 2 hours at prime95

CPU: 52 C
Core#1: 69
Core#2: 70
Core#3: 70
Core#4: 68

Never had any problems with system crashes etc. But I am slightly bothered by the fact that my system performs slightly below average for my setup.
The goal is to have as high a FSB as possible?? I've been at 475x8, but the temperatures skyrocketed, but no crash. Did it on the current voltages.
I've seen some figures indicating that 500+ is possible, but I haven't tried that yet.

I've rather cunningly disguised some questions at the top of the page, and here's the last one! i haven't red the specifics about BIOS versions, so wich one should i go for??
My current cpu cooler prevents me from running dualchannel RAM, conspiracy between the maxorb, and the huge Corsair cooling fins. Should i prioritize to mod the cooler and run dual??


Those temps are too hot to be running 24/7.

The temps set in the bios and in windows are different due to Vdrop. Vdrop is a occurrence amongst every Motherboard manufactured nothing to worry about.

And no the goal isnt to achieve the highest FSB.

Update to Bios 0903 .

How can you not be running dual channel lol ?

If your running single channel this is gonna slow your system down quite a bit.

My suggestion get a Better cooler .


----------



## Aleslammer

ericeod

Thanks, you made me check out the P5E Deluxe manual, looks like the Deluxe Booster acts like the Rampage Booster. Helped setup a Deluxe for my son-in-law and the BIOS looked the same as my P5E, didn't play around with the Booster, I should of, would have been using it already.

genetix

Guessing yes, with 3-3-3-9. If you read the review of the Rampage ROG, linked on the first page of this thread, it will explain how to calculate if a certain tRD will allow a post. I found it spot on up to 500mhz, above that, had to bump up one, haven't checked it against 903.


----------



## runquest

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I highly recommed those of you with P5E boards to cross flash to the P5E Deluxe bios so you can unleash the power of your ram! Seriously though, you gain additional tweak settings for the ram and Trans Booster (tRD).

What settings / advantages are we looking at? (bear in mind I have not looked into transaction booster at all yet).


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *runquest* 
What settings / advantages are we looking at? (bear in mind I have not looked into transaction booster at all yet).

It gives you more control over the Transaction booster as well as Pull-ins which are helpful when running 4 modules. The LLC seems to be much more effective as well.


----------



## runquest

Will the bios flash still be recommended as I've performed a pencil mod and eliminated vdroop, or will this result in an increased voltage?


----------



## spacegoast

i would still flash it anyway as the extra features enhance performance. the pencil mod should not pose a problem with Loadline Calibration enabled. you can disable it though if you have no vdroop problems. nothing to worry about there. and i seriously doubt it would overvolt the vcore.


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


but only thing I can post with this P5E board seems like 480FSB.. anything over 500FSB says goodbye POST.. Yet haven't really tested this thing up.. Seems it might be possible to maybe boot up that setup (Although stability is another thing, but if it boot it can be worked on).

3,85Ghz went up pretty damn easily I mean.. It's like just stuff it there correctly and it works flawless and voltages ain't even nearly maxed out that thing runs on 1,23750 vcore, 1,39 NB, 1,38, giving RAM 2,12v & GTL's 0,63,0,67..


I cannot believe you managed to get 3.85GHz with P5E and Q9450. Can you post the entire config please ?

The max I managed was 432x8 (3456MHz) stable, with P5E and Q9450. Perhaps P5E doesn't like my memory (Mushkin). I can POST 450x8 just fine, but it cannot run Windows (hang/crash on login screen or before that).

Btw, I can valid 435x8 just fine, but isn't stable (I'm using P5E Deluxe BIOS 0205):



Gradius


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gradius* 
I cannot believe you managed to get 3.85GHz with P5E and Q9450. Can you post the entire config please ?

The max I managed was 432x8 (3456MHz) stable, with P5E and Q9450. Perhaps P5E doesn't like my memory (Mushkin). I can POST 450x8 just fine, but it cannot run Windows (hang/crash on login screen or before that).

Btw, I can valid 435x8 just fine, but isn't stable (I'm using P5E Deluxe BIOS 0205):



Gradius


What are your transaction Booster settings set to? It makes a big difference as you increase the FSB. Sometimes increasing 1MHz in FSB will casue instability becasue of the trans booster.

Since you have the P5E Deluxe bios, try setting it to the highest (cant remember if it is 9 or 10) and try those higher FSB speeds again. Also watch the tRFC. increase it to 70+ while overclocking the ram, then bring it down.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
What are your transaction Booster settings set to? It makes a big difference as you increase the FSB. Sometimes increasing 1MHz in FSB will casue instability becasue of the trans booster.

Since you have the P5E Deluxe bios, try setting it to the highest (cant remember if it is 9 or 10) and try those higher FSB speeds again. Also watch the tRFC. increase it to 70+ while overclocking the ram, then bring it down.

tRFC left on auto is usually set to 52. and the Transaction Booster goes to 10.

As eric mentioned, the Transaction Booster makes a big difference when trying to achieve a stable overclock. By setting it higher (to 9 or 10) it will be easier to overclock. once stable, you can lower that to 7 or 8. I had mine at 6 with my RAM underclocked at 953mhz, but I have it at 7 right now. My RAM is not very good for overclocking







.


----------



## kathman

Whats better? The rampage bios or the deluxe bios?


----------



## spacegoast

i would say the deluxe bios (0205). it has most of the features the RF bios and supposedly Vdroop is minimized even more with Loadline Calibration enabled.


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


What are your transaction Booster settings set to? It makes a big difference as you increase the FSB. Sometimes increasing 1MHz in FSB will casue instability becasue of the trans booster.

Since you have the P5E Deluxe bios, try setting it to the highest (cant remember if it is 9 or 10) and try those higher FSB speeds again. Also watch the tRFC. increase it to 70+ while overclocking the ram, then bring it down.


435x8 was using 10 (not 100% stable). I'm also using "Loadline Calibration: Disabled", perhaps I should try to enable it.

With over 500MHz on memory (over 1000MHz effective) I was forced to go down to 425x8 (atm 510MHz/1020MHz on memory). For tRFC I'm using 60 atm.

Gradius


----------



## genetix

Anyone got any idea on 'DRAM Static Read Control'.. I compared it on everest there's absolutely no difference Enabled/Disabled. Only difference (which is kinda windy test) was 0.03ms latency bonus when disabled.. lol

Anyway would love to know what this is..

Also seems that this 0903 BIOS P3E on EPP gives Performance level 6 on Auto. While there's no way on Manual you can add booster to enabled 3 which in all sense would be 6 as value 2 is 7...

Using G-Skill HK-Series DDR2 4-4-3-5

---

hmm, to above comment. I just benchmarked on 0903 with 1066Mhz DDR2 (above mentioned model) at 8 x FSB 465Mhz.. 3720Mhz Q9450 was stable for 12 hours stressing. Also tested going higher on losing some memory latencies but seems there's like no way to pass 4256Mhz and even this is really unstabile where raising NB/PPL has no longer effect.

Anyway, here's nice screen:


--

couple voltage corrections on stock 0903 without mods. VCORE 1,2375v = 1,200v (it's -0.375v), Memory 1,98v = 2,096v (it's +0,98-1,00v) on manual set voltages. (NB voltage is just damn weird on Auto don't have reading to that yet.)


----------



## Boader

Hello guys I'm posting here because I canÂ´t get this motherboard work properly.

The main problem is when y accept and save changes in BIOS the mobo just shutdown, keeps down a few seconds and then restarts. Anybody else here has this issue? Also the computer is totally unstable, all applications hangs and sometimes get BSOD , even I can't record my voice in windows voice recorder









No overclock, all bios (903) in defaults settings . What's wrong?

My Specs:
CPU:INTEL Q6600
RAM:Mushkin 996580 DDR2 XP2-6400
GPU: ASUS EN9600GT
PSU:TARGAN 700W
OS: Windows XP SP2 Fresh installed twice.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Boader*


Hello guys I'm posting here because I canÂ´t get this motherboard work properly.

The main problem is when y accept and save changes in BIOS the mobo just shutdown, keeps down a few seconds and then restarts. Anybody else here has this issue? Also the computer is totally unstable, all applications hangs and sometimes get BSOD , even I can't record my voice in windows voice recorder









No overclock, all bios (903) in defaults settings . What's wrong?

My Specs: 
CPU:INTEL Q6600
RAM:Mushkin 996580 DDR2 XP2-6400
GPU: ASUS EN9600GT
PSU:TARGAN 700W
OS: Windows XP SP2 Fresh installed twice.


Mine shuts down too after I save changes in the BIOS. Not every time, but if you change the FSB speed or the vcore, it usually will shut it down. Other changes, such as selecting boot priority or disabling C1E wont cause it to restart.

As for your random hangs and BSOD's, what settings are the default settings at? I would go in to the BIOS and manually set everything. If left on auto, its possible that the settings arent stable. I would set the RAM timings and voltage, along with the CPU voltage to their default setting, not auto. Are you trying to overclock at all?


----------



## Boader

WOW! I think the shutdown before save settings was a very big problem. THANK YOU FOR POSTING MATE. I tried to overclock the PC but nothing changes. Are there some CPU settings that give me stability? (C1E, VanderPool..). Yes, I left all in auto mode, memory timmings (That matches the originals) volts.. etc. Can you give me a bios setup as good starting point?
I have seen you have the 205 Deluxe bios, it's the P5E DELUXE or it's another mobo?

Thanks again mate


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Boader*


WOW! I think the shutdown before save settings was a very big problem. THANK YOU FOR POSTING MATE. I tried to overclock the PC but nothing changes. Are there some CPU settings that give me stability? (C1E, VanderPool..). Yes, I left all in auto mode, memory timmings (That matches the originals) volts.. etc. Can you give me a bios setup as good starting point?
I have seen you have the 205 Deluxe bios, it's the P5E DELUXE or it's another mobo?

Thanks again mate










Yes I flashed my P5E mobo to the P5E Deluxe BIOS which is a newer mobo than what I have. look back to the 1st post of this thread for instructions on how to flash your BIOS. you can even flash it to the Rampage Formula. These other BIOS' just offer more overclocking features. Also if you look back through this thread there are posts of what settings people are using.

edit: Try these settings:

For 3.0ghz (you might need different strap if using DDR2 800 RAM, mine is DDR2 1000)

FSB-380 using 266 strap and RAM at 1003mhz
8X multi
VCORE-1.35v
NB-1.45v
SB-auto
FSB Term Vol.-1.4
RAM Voltage-2.1
LLC-enabled
CPU GTL-.63
NB GTL-.67

For 3.2ghz try:

CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________400
FSB Frequency_________400
PCIE Freq_____________100
DRAM Freq____________1066
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light or Moderate
AI Transaction Boost____9
CPU Voltage___________1.35V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.58
FSB Termination Volt____1.4
DRAM Volt_____________2.1v
NB Volt________________1.39
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled


----------



## Boader

THANK YOU, I'm going to try this settings now.


----------



## Gradius

Hmm, so P5E doesn't like my memory then. Impossible to get stable passing 432x8 (1:1) and 425x8 (5:6).

Sigh!

Gradius


----------



## Gradius

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


Also seems that this 0903 BIOS P3E on EPP gives Performance level 6 on Auto. While there's no way on Manual you can add booster to enabled 3 which in all sense would be 6 as value 2 is 7...

Using G-Skill HK-Series DDR2 4-4-3-5

hmm, to above comment. I just benchmarked on 0903 with 1066Mhz DDR2 (above mentioned model) at 8 x FSB 465Mhz.. 3720Mhz Q9450 was stable for 12 hours stressing. Also tested going higher on losing some memory latencies but seems there's like no way to pass 4256Mhz and even this is really unstabile where raising NB/PPL has no longer effect.

Anyway, here's nice screen:



You're doing something odd or strange, I'm running just at 425x8 (3.4GHz) and DDR2 @ 1020MHz (5:6) 5-5-5-15 and I got a lot better then you on memory part:










For display I'm running at 1280x1024 32-bit.

Gradius


----------



## genetix

Nah, memory is fine.. I'll get 38k.. that test screen just had bad results. what memory are ya running since that result is still quite huge in all aspects for DDR2. and are those like 2x2Gb or 4x1Gb.. Since that'll be huge difference.

...

Hmm, gonna run exact same set you are running now.. later today.. I too think the memory might be the cause, but I'll check 2 sticks in system can how my theory of amount of slots used matches. I should be able to get same result as you are getting there.

Plus consider you are running Vista & was really on edge hitting those scores on XP x64..


----------



## genetix

Okay tested the 1021Mhz memory on 5-5-5-15 and no this doesn't as your memory. I also determed the issue which is kinda funny as Crystalmark seems to do normal 'write' and that's for some reason same value always with my memory than read/write value.

I bet your Write is near same as read as in around 11000MB/s on that benchmark.

however, if I do this same benchmark on RightMark Memory threading tests I can see the issue quite clear.. normal WRITE goes near 4200MB/s (on 1020Mhz = ~5540MB/s) while WRITE NT goes to 8700MB/S (on 1020Mhz = 11000-11800MB/s)...

So, I don't honestly know is this now memory, the board simply not liking the memory or my own hallusination.


----------



## Gradius

My full config is on my sig (My System) below.


----------



## genetix

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gradius* 
My full config is on my sig (My System) below.


Yeah, I actually looked on CrystalMark pages and talked with G.Skill those memory values you have are weird. Also it is weird you cannot get pass 425FSB/438FSB since I can get to 469 Stable, but there ends the road.

I have exact same set as you do. Except for 0205 Deluxe BIOS (btw, what the heck does 'DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto' do I wonder). I wonder how is that affecting the Memory.. Since ALL P5E biosses flops the Write timings..

Take a look to this:


and look for the masked area also tWR should be 3 not 13.. So I am actually assuming that/those are the cause of bad memory performance. If you could copy me Everest similar screen would appreciate on 800Mhz stock speeds of 4-5-4-11 of those Mushkin blocks.

?

----

Gonna flash the Deluxe and see what happens.. It's only money after all..


----------



## error10

Perhaps way back somewhere in the thread is the answer to this question, but by page 35 my eyes have glazed over and if the answer was there, it probably went in one eye and out the other. Like I said, this thread needs its own guide.

I am told you can flash a P5E Deluxe (X48) with a Rampage Formula BIOS. So I attempted to do just that. But AFUDOS complained that the BIOS image didn't match my motherboard. Is there some different procedure or another tool or a secret switch or something that I've somehow missed?

If something goes horribly wrong, can I use a similar procedure, tool, or secret switch to restore the P5E Deluxe BIOS?

EDIT: OK, I'm really out of it. It was attached to the original post. Sorry.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *error10*


Perhaps way back somewhere in the thread is the answer to this question, but by page 35 my eyes have glazed over and if the answer was there, it probably went in one eye and out the other. Like I said, this thread needs its own guide.

I am told you can flash a P5E Deluxe (X48) with a Rampage Formula BIOS. So I attempted to do just that. But AFUDOS complained that the BIOS image didn't match my motherboard. Is there some different procedure or another tool or a secret switch or something that I've somehow missed?

If something goes horribly wrong, can I use a similar procedure, tool, or secret switch to restore the P5E Deluxe BIOS?

EDIT: OK, I'm really out of it. It was attached to the original post. Sorry.



I think I mentioned it before, but I will say this. I Inherited this thread and was able to have my post moved to the top. But I wasnt able to reserve a few spots at the top. So I will do my best to organize and move important info to the first page.


----------



## genetix

0205 Deluxe BIOS truly sucks on P5E.. wouldn't suggest to anyone here..

for one vcore 1.200v == actually 1.260v.. and yes it is dropping..
You will also lose all readings of other voltages by any applications.. and the 'extended' memory settings kinda drops you no where. OC is simply bad..

I'd stick on 0702 BIOS (or perhaps in RF BIOS, if good set going on) since I also tested the new 0903 and it seems even while it allows higher OC on memory & seems functioning while OC'ing better it is incredible unstable BIOS when you compare to 0702 (if you do update to 0903 you will want to reinstall your Windows Vista/XP also because you'll face blue screen hell for some reason tested this twice).

So there's my BIOS advice to everyone for now. v1.200 = v1.168.. that drops yes but something like v1.2350 = v1.208 which only drops to v1.188 on LOAD. So counting that while OC'ing is pretty good. Also if you got NB as 'Auto' I'd watch a bit anythin you OC will make ASUS-P5E to top notch all Voltages so Auto while OC = ~1,6v NB..









Memory 2.00v = ~2.108v (and memory goes pretty accurate exact 1.00v over the setupped value)


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *genetix* 
0205 Deluxe BIOS truly sucks on P5E.. wouldn't suggest to anyone here..

for one vcore 1.200v == actually 1.260v.. and yes it is dropping..
You will also lose all readings of other voltages by any applications.. and the 'extended' memory settings kinda drops you no where. OC is simply bad..

I'd stick on 0702 BIOS (or perhaps in RF BIOS, if good set going on) since I also tested the new 0903 and it seems even while it allows higher OC on memory & seems functioning while OC'ing better it is incredible unstable BIOS when you compare to 0702 (if you do update to 0903 you will want to reinstall your Windows Vista/XP also because you'll face blue screen hell for some reason tested this twice).

So there's my BIOS advice to everyone for now. v1.200 = v1.168.. that drops yes but something like v1.2350 = v1.208 which only drops to v1.188 on LOAD. So counting that while OC'ing is pretty good. Also if you got NB as 'Auto' I'd watch a bit anythin you OC will make ASUS-P5E to top notch all Voltages so Auto while OC = ~1,6v NB..









Memory 2.00v = ~2.108v (and memory goes pretty accurate exact 1.00v over the setupped value)

You are one of the only people I've seen (if not the only) claiming the 0205 Deluxe bios is bad for the P5E.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


0205 Deluxe BIOS truly sucks on P5E.. wouldn't suggest to anyone here..

for one vcore 1.200v == actually 1.260v.. and yes it is dropping.. 
You will also lose all readings of other voltages by any applications.. and the 'extended' memory settings kinda drops you no where. OC is simply bad..

I'd stick on 0702 BIOS (or perhaps in RF BIOS, if good set going on) since I also tested the new 0903 and it seems even while it allows higher OC on memory & seems functioning while OC'ing better it is incredible unstable BIOS when you compare to 0702 (if you do update to 0903 you will want to reinstall your Windows Vista/XP also because you'll face blue screen hell for some reason tested this twice).

So there's my BIOS advice to everyone for now. v1.200 = v1.168.. that drops yes but something like v1.2350 = v1.208 which only drops to v1.188 on LOAD. So counting that while OC'ing is pretty good. Also if you got NB as 'Auto' I'd watch a bit anythin you OC will make ASUS-P5E to top notch all Voltages so Auto while OC = ~1,6v NB..









Memory 2.00v = ~2.108v (and memory goes pretty accurate exact 1.00v over the setupped value)


Thats funny, I havent heard _anyone_ having problems with the P5E Deluxe BIOS. I find the 0205 BIOS to be very stable. My vdroop is not bad at all either. I have it set to 1.4v and it drops to 1.376v in BIOS (havent done the pencil mod yet). I have also used the Rampage Formula 0410 BIOS and never had any problems. I never had to reinstall my OS and I have flashed 7 or 8 times. Perhaps you are doing something wrong there.

Why would you leave NB voltage on "auto" in the first place?


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


You are one of the only people I've seen (if not the only) claiming the 0205 Deluxe bios is bad for the P5E.


After putting the Rampage Formula BIOS on the P5E Deluxe, I'd suggest that the 0205 Deluxe BIOS is bad for the P5E Deluxe.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *error10*


After putting the Rampage Formula BIOS on the P5E Deluxe, I'd suggest that the 0205 Deluxe BIOS is bad for the P5E Deluxe.











Are there any differences with settings besides those associated with the added features included with the Rampage Formula board itself? The Deluxe has all the same features as the Rampage Formula bios.

What specifically is better about the Rampage Formula bios?


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Are there any differences with settings besides those associated with the added features included with the Rampage Formula board itself? The Deluxe has all the same features as the Rampage Formula bios.

What specifically is better about the Rampage Formula bios?


I could not get 3.6GHz to anywhere near stable on the P5E Deluxe 0205 BIOS. It would crash almost the moment you put the CPU under load. On the RF 0410 BIOS, I'm using it under 100% load with temps around 65Â°C, almost no Vdroop, and I'm probably just a few slight tweaks away from getting it 24x7 stable.


----------



## genetix

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Thats funny, I havent heard _anyone_ having problems with the P5E Deluxe BIOS. I find the 0205 BIOS to be very stable. My vdroop is not bad at all either. I have it set to 1.4v and it drops to 1.376v in BIOS (havent done the pencil mod yet). I have also used the Rampage Formula 0410 BIOS and never had any problems. I never had to reinstall my OS and I have flashed 7 or 8 times. Perhaps you are doing something wrong there.

Why would leave NB voltage on "auto" in the first place?


So, does P5E original 0702 & 0903 drop is 1.4v to 1.376v or in my case it's 1.200v to 1.188v on load. Can you read your other voltage sensors?

I didn't either see any problem using it, but missing information, exact same quality on voltages & as bad OC with no advance on memory is in my opinion absolute waist of time to update.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


So, does P5E original 0702 & 0903 drop is 1.4v to 1.376v or in my case it's 1.200v to 1.188v on load. Can you read your other voltage sensors?

I didn't either see any problem using it, but missing information, exact same quality on voltages & as bad OC with no advance on memory is in my opinion absolute waist of time to update.


Have you changed the Transaction Booster (tRD) at all? That is the biggest change in the bios, and it gives you much more control over your Chipset and ram OC.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


So, does P5E original 0702 & 0903 drop is 1.4v to 1.376v or in my case it's 1.200v to 1.188v on load. Can you read your other voltage sensors?

I didn't either see any problem using it, but missing information, exact same quality on voltages & as bad OC with no advance on memory is in my opinion absolute waist of time to update.


I have not yet used the original P5E BIOS, only the Deluxe and the Rampage Formula. As Eric mentioned, what do you have your Transaction Booster set to? _It plays a big role in determining overclock stability._ I would recommend setting it to 9 or 10 when initially overclocking and then lowering it once stable. Lowest I can get mine to is 7 at 400x9 on 1.4375v, NB at 1.43v, RAM set to 2v (since overvolts by .09v) with timings of 5-5-5-15 and tRFC at 45.


----------



## veirge

whats the average fsb with this board using e8400?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *veirge* 
whats the average fsb with this board using e8400?

I dont know about average, But I easily churned out a 515 FSB with only 1.43v to the NB using the P5E and an E6600 (see my post on the first page of this thread).


----------



## genetix

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Have you changed the Transaction Booster (tRD) at all? That is the biggest change in the bios, and it gives you much more control over your Chipset and ram OC.


yeah it's enabled Performance level 6. (you can get this level on EPP profiles sadly on manual to OC best is Enabled 2 = Perf.Lev. 7). btw, I find those latencies of Write recovery and write in general very odd.

My board is as below said G.Skill base Memory speeds in stock speeds I get like 9200MB/s which is incredible good by simply latencies, 1:1 and FSB simply 400Mhz. I honestly think my Q9450 on 3,2Ghz is faster than 3,6Ghz I was also running 8-12 hours ORTHOS there stabile on 3720Mhz on 1.43 NB and alot higher VTT than yours on original post as at least my P5E BIOS drops VTT to actual 1,26v on 1.36v. So it needs to be much higher than NB to get stabile. Also your Memory voltage is incredible odd I don't know how your board functional on voltage but if I stick 2,14v on DDR it's close to 2,24v actual Perhaps 2.16v(on bios) even tho on 1066Mhz clean.

Also CPU voltage set as 'Auto' is interesting example as said before that CPU voltage is dropped from 1,2350v(bios) o actual 1.21v system now if you OC (This means you set ANY manual value to FSB) setting Auto actually maxes vCore automatically to 1.325v very very stable no drops on load. So this maybe could be used to actually find the maximum core performance around 4,256Ghz.

(Although your Q6700 is so incredible core considering the OC's on Q6600 G0 cores I've seen that should go over 4Ghz ""with eas.."")









Code:


Code:


Quick calc on performance level 0702/0903 BIOSes P5E:

( booster value = Performance Level )

Transaction Booster:
Auto = 10 or 11 depending on Static read I think. I get 10.
Disabled: 
7 = 1, 6 = 2, 5 = 3, 4 = 4, 3 = 5, 2 = 6, 1 = 7, 0 = 8
Enabled:
7 = 2, 6 = 3, 5 = 4, 4 = 5, 3 = 6?, 2 = 7, 1 = 8, 0 = 9

The 0205 so called advanced Performance level is just fine tuning the Performance levels by blocks so that kinda helps, but not by falsely detecting 6 blocks as 0205 does.

( Recommended setting to 9 or 10? hell anything above 7 is bad enough.. I hope manual could reach 6 on 1066Mhz, but only EPP profile usage reaches 6 for some reason otherwise it won't post. )

--

O and fail to mention..

0205 P5E-Deluxe BIOS Performance level = BIOS != Performance Level... Test it on 6-7 and you will see your performance level is not 6-7..


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


( Recommended setting to 9 or 10? hell anything above 7 is bad enough.. I hope manual could reach 6 on 1066Mhz, but only EPP profile usage reaches 6 for some reason otherwise it won't post. )...

...(Although your Q6700 is so incredible core considering the OC's on Q6600 G0 cores I've seen that should go over 4Ghz ""with eas.."")...

O and fail to mention..

0205 P5E-Deluxe BIOS Performance level = BIOS != Performance Level... Test it on 6-7 and you will see your performance level is not 6-7..


I dont know anyone with a Q6600 G0 core who has gotten over 4.0GHz with ease, so I'm confused about your comment.

The 9 or 10 setting is recommended while finding the CPU max overclock. The chipset will not operate at certain FSB speeds matched with an unusable tRD that is too low. So to take that out of the equation, you set to 9 or 10 (as recommended), then after the CPU and FSB speed is dialled in, you bring it back down... This follows the same train of thought of setting my Q6700 Multi to 7x to find the highest FSB. So I wouldnt actually keep it at 7x, I would bring it back up









Anandtech: ASUS ROG Rampage Formula: Why we were wrong about the Intel X48
Quote:



*The Rules of Working with tRD: What's Allowed and What Isn't*

We mentioned earlier that there are a few rules pertaining to the modification of the default tRD value for a particular memory subsystem configuration. These rules are actually more of a set of equations that we have derived in order to assist the user in pre-determining whether or not a system will POST and operate given the settings in question. They can also be used to explain after the fact why certain configurations refuse to function.

In actuality, there is only one requirement that must be satisfied when setting tRD: The MCH must have a minimum amount of time to complete the clock crossing procedure for each data bit translated from one clocking domain to the other. We have shown the equation below for those that care to know. Unfortunately it does not lend itself well to being solved as the input variables ("t0" and "tckxss") are not readily obtainable.


How to Choose an Appropriate Memory Configuration


----------



## Aleslammer

I flashed to the Deluxe 0205, setup my 24x7, 9x460 ram at 4:3, 1226 5-5-5-15-3-45 tRD 6, no post. Tried a tRD of 6,7,8,9,10 and Twister Light & Moderate, even added a little more CPU & NB voltage, never a post, flashed back to 0903. I wanted to use it because of the way the Transaction Booster works. My ram is not well liked by x38 boards, so add another to the dislike column.

As for FSB, when I was using a Q6700, 460-470 was my limit, this was the same with P5E0903 and RF0403 and four sticks of ram but I didn't push the voltages. With the E8500 I've posted at 533 but no Windows.
This is my best CPU Clock, http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=426766
This is my best FSB, http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=427024
No test for stability, ran Everest, CPU-Z and Memset, just seeing how far I could go.


----------



## genetix

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
The 9 or 10 setting is recommended while finding the CPU max overclock. The chipset will not operate at certain FSB speeds matched with an unusable tRD that is too low. So to take that out of the equation, you set to 9 or 10 (as recommended), then after the CPU and FSB speed is dialled in, you bring it back down... This follows the same train of thought of setting my Q6700 Multi to 7x to find the highest FSB. So I wouldnt actually keep it at 7x, I would bring it back up

would be incorrect. yes you have to lower it, but after you get FSB OC'd up you will have to get tRD correct also to boost up ram and the value you should know by now is 7 not 9 or 10... If I would do this I would actually relax/disable the boost would be ideal for OC..

and multipliear of Q6x00 cores as far I know is 9x.. that is 450Mhz higher than Q9450 in any case. the 4Ghz should go broken with very easy actually with 450FSB = 4050Mhz. there is no reason what so ever to drop multiplier down since you cannot reach such FSB's like 533Mhz with these boards and the 450FSB should be very stable as I et stable 465FSB on Q9450 8 hours save REAL stressing something like Everest and not like ORTHOS or Prime which doesn't prove a thing in the end as you need FULL stress not 35% per cores. So I have to disagree with many also benchmarking with these tools.

So, I have to disagree with you here quite a lot of things.

--edit--

Just had to come back.. I just was reading that 'Anandtech' topic and I disagree with them too. Their calculations are simply wrong. 400Mhz 1:1 800Mhz tRD = 7 not 6 by any DDR2 memory same with 450 and 1080.. and what the actual is 900Mhz DDR2 on 450FSB there's the only true value as far I can see on that table and probably 7 in that wouldn't be stable anylonger so that would actually also be false and be +1 as in 8.


----------



## FusionFX

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


and multipliear of Q6x00 cores as far I know is 9x.. that is 450Mhz higher than Q9450 in any case. the 4Ghz should go broken with very easy actually with 450FSB = 4050Mhz. there is no reason what so ever to drop multiplier down since you cannot reach such FSB's like 533Mhz with these boards and the 450FSB should be very stable as I et stable 465FSB on Q9450 8 hours save REAL stressing something like Everest and not like ORTHOS or Prime which doesn't prove a thing in the end as you need FULL stress not 35% per cores. So I have to disagree with many also benchmarking with these tools.

So, I have to disagree with you here quite a lot of things.


Just because a high multiplier is in place does not mean squat as far as if the CPU can break the 4GHz barrier. There are many G0s which simply cannot reach it even with insane voltage.

Lowing the multiplier to push FSB can be a plus. It can allow you to run your RAM at different speeds as well as increases your "rated FSB". In my case there has been various benchmarks by other users which run 450*8 and have shown increased performance in comparison to 400*9.

Stress testing with ORTHOS is a no-no with a Quad. Unless you run two instances which for the most part still does not work too well you will never max out 100% usage on all 4 cores.

The latest or at least later versions of PRIME95 work well with quad cores. The options of Small FFT to really stress the CPU and see the max temps or just the normal Blend work well. Small FFT usually maxes the cores within seconds while the Blend in Vista tends to take a few moments.


----------



## genetix

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FusionFX* 
Just because a high multiplier is in place does not mean squat as far as if the CPU can break the 4GHz barrier. There are many G0s which simply cannot reach it even with insane voltage.

Lowing the multiplier to push FSB can be a plus. It can allow you to run your RAM at different speeds as well as increases your "rated FSB". In my case there has been various benchmarks by other users which run 450*8 and have shown increased performance in comparison to 400*9.

Stress testing with ORTHOS is a no-no with a Quad. Unless you run two instances which for the most part still does not work too well you will never max out 100% usage on all 4 cores.

The latest or at least later versions of PRIME95 work well with quad cores. The options of Small FFT to really stress the CPU and see the max temps or just the normal Blend work well. Small FFT usually maxes the cores within seconds while the Blend in Vista tends to take a few moments.

Yeah, indeed although the 'SP2004.exe' OTHROS does detect all cores, but yet it fails to actually function as an test. New Prime95 indeed seems working which I see as miracle, but I have to say..

after I tested everest 1 single time. That is something else on Quad-Cores.. If the box doesn't drop there (or heat like incredibly high) nothing will dump it down stressing fuither with all parts simulates perfect near chaos situation where game/program would REALLY fail and/or really crash(x64/multi-threaded Video/Audio encoding) against the hardware on hand. So I have to say I'd stand behind Everest (or perhaps also Passmark BurnInTest tool).

Would love also 2 other tests which I simply have been absolutely unable to find any solution to test. Other is Harddrive Fill up (I would like test program which literally fills/writes hard drive partition with data to last byte). and second test would be RAM Fill test. I mean test which simply takes all the RAM which is simply can muster Paging included and fills it up as new free resources comes.

but good pointers there..


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *genetix* 
...

You seem to want to debate OCing techniques. I wont make this long, so just let me explain one simple method to my madness.

I personally like to know what voltages are required for certain FSB clocks. Now the smartest thing to do would be to take the CPU out of the equation by setting the multi to as low as possible. I also like to take the ram down to the lowest divider. Then as I OC the FSB. I can be pretty sure that any instability that occurs during that time is directly related to the NB. So if you disagree with my techniques, so be it. But I think it makes for "smart" OCing.

And a side note, I follow this method because not everyone has the same CPU with the same multi. So by doing this, I am able to help out as many people with an ASUS P5E board as I can.

But it seems you would rather flame me then help others in this thread.

no reply required...


----------



## genetix

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


You seem to want to debate OCing techniques. I wont make this long, so just let me explain one simple method to my madness.

I personally like to know what voltages are required for certain FSB clocks. Now the smartest thing to do would be to take the CPU out of the equation by setting the multi to as low as possible. I also like to take the ram down to the lowest divider. Then as I OC the FSB. I can be pretty sure that any instability that occurs during that time is directly related to the NB. So if you disagree with my techniques, so be it. But I think it makes for "smart" OCing.

And a side note, I follow this method because not everyone has the same CPU with the same multi. So by doing this, I am able to help out as many people with an ASUS P5E board as I can.

But it seems you would rather flame me then help others in this thread.


Yeah, that would be smart thing to do on a lot of different hardware in screen. I do agree with you there, I am talking about unique hardware and that's not the same. Wasn't about to make it sound like debate sorry about that.

Just saying my humble opinion of softwares and how to work with hardware as I go along with it. I can be wrong time after time on accusations of course what I say/said above, but the thing is I believe what I see on screen not by any network in the world could change my mind unless I would test and verify what they are saying and yet I would probably have my ow opinion about the matter.


----------



## genetix

@ericeod

Could you do me an favor and test that your 3,6Ghz (on first page) on Prime95 to be stable?

Prime95 v25.7:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/Prime-V_program_19638.html

..

I am here testing Q9450 on 465FSB and cannot get it stable no matter what I do on Prime95. First I though it was my Power since had AC power loss couple times, but then figured it's the RAM and raised DDR voltage to 2,26v and now I got very very near stable result, but somethings missing..

I am running now 0903 BIOS P5E, Actual voltages:
vCore: 1.25v (BIOS: 1.2750v)
CPU PLL: 1.58v (BIOS Value)(1.52v doesn't seem to suit to my setup)
RAM: 2.26v (BIOS: 2.14v)
FSB VTT: 1.33v (BIOS: 1.38v)
NB: 1.47v (BIOS: 1.43v)(I see no difference on 1.36v-1.47v, but since testing though to keep it higher)
GTL's: 0.63x, 0.67x


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I personally like to know what voltages are required for certain FSB clocks. Now the smartest thing to do would be to take the CPU out of the equation by setting the multi to as low as possible. I also like to take the ram down to the lowest divider. Then as I OC the FSB. I can be pretty sure that any instability that occurs during that time is directly related to the NB. So if you disagree with my techniques, so be it. But I think it makes for "smart" OCing.


This isnt the best method. Every chip will be different, a dual core will require less voltage on the NB than a quad regardless of the multi. And as you increase the multi and run the same fsb you will need more voltage on the nb. With the P5n-e, for example, there is a balancing act because as you draw more power (whether it be more ram, bigger cpu, single or dual graphics cards) This isnt as bad a problem on this board because of the 8 phase power on the cpu and dual phase on the ram, but the problem still exists. So I think you would be wasting your time...


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


@ericeod

Could you do me an favor and test that your 3,6Ghz (on first page) on Prime95 to be stable?

Prime95 v25.7:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/Prime-V_program_19638.html

..

I am here testing Q9450 on 465FSB and cannot get it stable no matter what I do on Prime95. First I though it was my Power since had AC power loss couple times, but then figured it's the RAM and raised DDR voltage to 2,26v and now I got very very near stable result, but somethings missing..

I am running now 0903 BIOS P5E, Actual voltages:
vCore: 1.25v (BIOS: 1.2750v)
CPU PLL: 1.58v (BIOS Value)(1.52v doesn't seem to suit to my setup)
RAM: 2.26v (BIOS: 2.14v)
FSB VTT: 1.33v (BIOS: 1.38v)
NB: 1.47v (BIOS: 1.43v)(I see no difference on 1.36v-1.47v, but since testing though to keep it higher)
GTL's: 0.63x, 0.67x


why dont you increase the vcore? Second I would lower the cpu pll 9 time out of 10 it doesnt help as much as you think it does.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
This isnt the best method. Every chip will be different, a dual core will require less voltage on the NB than a quad regardless of the multi. And as you increase the multi and run the same fsb you will need more voltage on the nb. With the P5n-e, for example, there is a balancing act because as you draw more power (whether it be more ram, bigger cpu, single or dual graphics cards) This isnt as bad a problem on this board because of the 8 phase power on the cpu and dual phase on the ram, but the problem still exists. So I think you would be wasting your time...


You are correct that a quad core requires more NB voltage then a dual core at the same FSB OC. The quad core puts more stress on the NB. But if you say this isnt the best method for finding the FSB to NB voltage balance, please provide a better method. Nothing is perfect, but this is the best method any of us have instead of straight guessing.

If all I cared about was my own OC with my CPU, motherboard and RAM, I wouldnt bother to test at all levels. I could just set the max acceptable NB voltage (with my MCW30 NB water block I could max it out) and the max vcore and just worry about my own OC and forget everyone elses.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *genetix* 
@ericeod

Could you do me an favor and test that your 3,6Ghz (on first page) on Prime95 to be stable?

Prime95 v25.7:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/Prime-V_program_19638.html

..

I am here testing Q9450 on 465FSB and cannot get it stable no matter what I do on Prime95. First I though it was my Power since had AC power loss couple times, but then figured it's the RAM and raised DDR voltage to 2,26v and now I got very very near stable result, but somethings missing..

I am running now 0903 BIOS P5E, Actual voltages:
vCore: 1.25v (BIOS: 1.2750v)
CPU PLL: 1.58v (BIOS Value)(1.52v doesn't seem to suit to my setup)
RAM: 2.26v (BIOS: 2.14v)
FSB VTT: 1.33v (BIOS: 1.38v)
NB: 1.47v (BIOS: 1.43v)(I see no difference on 1.36v-1.47v, but since testing though to keep it higher)
GTL's: 0.63x, 0.67x

The settings on the first page are from my E6600 dual core. I agree with aleiro you will need more NB voltage at 465 FSB. The chipset NB voltage seems to increase at an exponential rate as you go past 425 FSB. Here are my voltages for 423FSB Prime stable. Through previous testing on the o0219 bios, I was able to get 450FSB stable at 1.55v to the NB. I cant afford to test right now since my laptop just broke (replacing MB soon) and I need a 100% working PC for college. Here is a link to RPIJG's Rampage Formula thread. here is currently running a Q9650 above 4.0GHz:

Asus Rampage Formula (X48) Thread


----------



## Drizzt5

I have this mobo... Will flashing it to the rampage bios help me OC my ram/cpu better? I can get to 3.97ghz OCCT 2hours stable, but not intel burn test stable (idc about that) and I think the limited ram options on the board are holding me back and making my OC unstable sometimes.


----------



## spacegoast

I would do it. The Rampage Formula or the P5E Deluxe Bios both have almost the same features in terms of overclocking RAM. I have used both and personally I like the Deluxe BIOS better. The RF Bios has a few extra features, but I dont use them. Although the NB temp monitoring would be nice to have in the P5E Deluxe Bios. Either one will do.


----------



## Drizzt5

could you help me find the bios that you think I should use? I think I know how to flash it since I did it once with my 680i SE







crappiest mobo ever.


----------



## spacegoast

in the very first post of this thread is the P5E Deluxe Bios link, at the top.
here is the RF0410 link http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us

select your OS and it will pop up


----------



## genetix

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


why dont you increase the vcore? Second I would lower the cpu pll 9 time out of 10 it doesnt help as much as you think it does.


Yeah, I tested that the setting 'Auto' actually bumps maximum values out and gives the core 1.325v exact. but for some reason I cannot get it stable under Prime95 although it seems stable by everything else. Probably it goes stable with something like 1.65v NB and little more to memory 2.28-2.30v as 4 sticks takes a lot more voltage and with 2 sticks I got much longer time from Prime95.


----------



## runquest

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I would do it. The Rampage Formula or the P5E Deluxe Bios both have almost the same features in terms of overclocking RAM. I have used both and personally I like the Deluxe BIOS better. The RF Bios has a few extra features, but I dont use them. Although the NB temp monitoring would be nice to have in the P5E Deluxe Bios. Either one will do.


Are you saying that if I flash to the RF bios I'll be able to monitor my NB & SB's temperatures?

Will the led's light up, and reset button appear as well?









If the temps will appear I'll flash my bios, if anything, just to check my temps..


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *runquest*


Are you saying that if I flash to the RF bios I'll be able to monitor my NB & SB's temperatures?

Will the led's light up, and reset button appear as well?









If the temps will appear I'll flash my bios, if anything, just to check my temps..


Not exactly. There is no NB temp sensor on the P5E, so technically you cant. But when I flashed to the RF BIOS I was able to go in to the BIOS and under the Power tab, then check the Hardware Monitor tab the NB temp was in there and I could see how hot it was. Im not sure how accurate is it though. If I remember corectly my NB was around 38C or 39C. Im pretty sure the SB was their too. They can only be seen in the BIOS though, so no real benefit.


----------



## runquest

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Not exactly. There is no NB temp sensor so technically you cant. But when I flashed to the RF BIOS I was able to go in to the BIOS and under the Power tab, then check the Hardware Monitor tab the NB temp was in there and I could see how hot it was. Im not sure how accurate is it though. If I remember corectly my NB was around 38C or 39C. Im pretty sure the SB was their too. They can only be seen in the BIOS though, so no real benefit.


Think that will help me get an aspect of temperatures still. I've got 467 fsb and 1,51 NB volt (if i remember correctly). Although I've mounted a 40mm fan on the NB heatsink, so I should be ok?!


----------



## spacegoast

ya it should be somewhat accurate. at least in the same ball park. you should be fine though, plus you have a fan on there, so no real cause for worry.


----------



## jamjam11

Hi,,, Just found this site tonight, and because i have started over clocking, i thought i may get some more of your apions...

Wolfdale :: 2 duo E8400 @
RAM:::OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Reaper HPC Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2RPR10664GK)

Running on windows XP.. now i near sure that thats my ram, will look in tomorrow for sure... but any way,, i have over clocked the cpu to 3.6ghz and i am leads to belif that due to the catch being 6m.. that there is no point of clocking any more.. anyone share any light on this??

all i done was move the fsb to 400, and the pcie to 400
set the ai clock twister to moderate, and the transaction booster to 1.

Cpuz, tells me that the core speed is 2400.0mhz
and the rated fsb is 1600.0Mhz and the bus speed is 400.0mhz

I have the volts kept the same and its going great, i dont have a after market cooler,, yet... so what ever you can tell me will be kept tell i get one!!

My ram i do have to make sure thats the right 1066MHz, and at the moment i only have it set at 800mhz, to over clock the ram, what do you do?? move the volts up?? and set it higher than 1600Mhz?? I hear talk of changing the timings, but were or how do you come about knowing what timings to put in??









I have done no playing around with north bridge or south, or any volts for that matter. Thanks guys and girls.


----------



## spacegoast

What motherboard do you have? Please fill in your system spec under the User CP tab at the top of the page and Add System. 
When you say catch being 6m, do you mean cache, as in L2 cache? L2 cache really has no role in overclocking. PCIE to 400







? Does it even go that high?

CPU-Z is reading 2.4ghz because you have C1E enabled (aka speedstep). It will lower your multiplier and bring your overclock down when idling. It is good for saving power mainly. I usually disable it when trying to find a stable overclock, then turin it back on afterwards. 
To overclock your RAM you have to select the appropriate FSB Strap to set it at 1066. At 400 FSB, you have to use the 400 FSB strap to get it at 1066mhz. Start with the stock timings for now until you fully understand what you are getting in to. It sounds like you dont have a whole lot of experiance doing this so I would suggest reading up on everything you can







That way you know what is going on and how the changes in your BIOS will affect your PC performance. I would read through this thread to get an idea of what settings others are using for their overclocks.

edit: welcome to OCN!


----------



## jamjam11

Test to see if specks came up


----------



## jamjam11

Well that worked..
Sorry,,, pcie... 100... And yes i do mean L2 cache.. ok me learning,, what do you mean i have C1E enabled ,,, whats that short for?? Dont mind me,, when i want to learn something that i really want to learn, stupit questions will follow, give it a month and i will be up to speed.


----------



## spacegoast

C1E is a power saving feature on Intel cpu's. It stands for Enhanced CPU State 1 (not sure how, but it is). If you have your cpu overclocked to say, 3.6ghz, and C1E is enabled, and your PC is idling, it will drop the mulitplier and throttle back that oerclock automatically. Thats why CPU-Z was showing 2400mhz (2.4ghz) when you said you had it overclocked to 3.6ghz. If you do something, anything, cpu intensive (ie gaming, video enocding, etc.) it will go back to 3.6ghz. So it is a pretty handy feature to leave on, if you live on your own and have to pay your own bills







.


----------



## jamjam11

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


C1E is a power saving feature on Intel cpu's. It stands for Enhanced CPU State 1 (not sure how, but it is). If you have your cpu overclocked to say, 3.6ghz, and C1E is enabled, and your PC is idling, it will drop the mulitplier and throttle back that oerclock automatically. Thats why CPU-Z was showing 2400mhz (2.4ghz) when you said you had it overclocked to 3.6ghz. If you do something, anything, cpu intensive (ie gaming, video enocding, etc.) it will go back to 3.6ghz. So it is a pretty handy feature to leave on, if you live on your own and have to pay your own bills







.


HAAA.. SAYS the blind man, see what you mean, i drooped bf2 into the task bar, and brought up the cpuz.. it was dropping from 3600, to 2400mhz, nice one, so to turn it of ??? were do you start, not a clue what to look for even in the bios.. I would say the disable button is in there. 
And i will open case tomorrow and check that is my ram.. and post back..]]

Thanks for your help, easyer when someone points something out.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jamjam11*


were do you start, not a clue what to look for even in the bios.. I would say the disable button is in there. 
And i will open case tomorrow and check that is my ram.. and post back..]]

Thanks for your help, easyer when someone points something out.


Enter your BIOS. Go to the "Advanced" tab. Select the CPU Configuration and you will see "C1E Support" - Enabled. Just disable it and you should be good.


----------



## pluciorx

what about p5e3 mobo and it's results ? it's quite different due to DDR3 
I'm waiting for HS and will try to pull out some power from my E8400, (targer is 4,,0 )
Does someone have any experience with that mobo and 1333mhz mem?


----------



## wuzupfoo

Hey I just updated BIOS to rampage, it now hangs on the "Republic of Gamers" screen. I cant seem to interrupt it so I cant even get into the BIOS!!!









Any ideas on things I can try? I already removed the CMOS battery and hit the switch on the board. ...


----------



## spacegoast

just hit your reset button and the next time it should boot. mine does that too sometimes, not sure why though.


----------



## wuzupfoo

hmm what if it doesnt after several times... im gettin more and more scared I







it....

also does it make a difference if I used the latest file 0410 rather than the one posted on the front page... I thought the process went fine....


----------



## error10

Wait a few seconds before you hit DEL.


----------



## wuzupfoo

Well after trying a bunch of things I think I will have to speak to ASUS to see what they can do for me :\\ No matter what I do the machine will not get past the inital screen regardless of what is plugged into the mobo.

Just out of curiousity, I have a P5-E and tried to upgrade to Rampage, that is what some of you have done sucessfully right?? Im just the odd man out? Someone on another forum thought it was because I tried to run a X48 BIOS on a X38 chipset.. I know they are pretty much the same, but I wanted to know if everyone else was doing what I attempted...

Thanks,


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *wuzupfoo*


Well after trying a bunch of things I think I will have to speak to ASUS to see what they can do for me : No matter what I do the machine will not get past the inital screen regardless of what is plugged into the mobo.

Just out of curiousity, I have a P5-E and tried to upgrade to Rampage, that is what some of you have done sucessfully right?? Im just the odd man out? Someone on another forum thought it was because I tried to run a X48 BIOS on a X38 chipset.. I know they are pretty much the same, but I wanted to know if everyone else was doing what I attempted...

Thanks,


You are correct. I have personally run the Rampage Formula bios on a P5E, and have helpded a nadful of people flash their P5Es over PM. You didnt do anything wrong from your decription.

This has probably already been asked, but did you remember to flip the CLR CMOS switch after flashing?


----------



## Gradius

Well, I give up, the max I can get here is 432x8 (either 1:1 or 5:6) stable on Q9450.

Probably the MB doesn't like my RAM.









Above 435x8 doesn't even log on Windows.


----------



## ericeod

There is a Beta 501 Rampage Formula bios out:

It looks like a tradeoff. The voltages are not stable from previous bios and need to be bumped. But these are being attributed to the bios not overvolting as much. But it looks like add-in RAID cards are working.

Here are some of the results. LLC looks promising!
ASUS Forums

Quote:

Finaly got time to play a bit again, im seeing some amazing results with LLC disabled on my Q9450, already managed to reduce voltages quiet a lot, NB -0.1V, VTT -0.1, RAM -0.1V also CPU is working under load on ~1.272V (1.33 on idle), while before i needed 1.328V on load or idle to have it stable. Im sure i could reduce voltages even more... currently it survived 15 passes of linpack (~30 min runing time) and 2h of prime95, if it survives whole night of prime i can finaly try to break 450FSB barrier tomorrow hopefuly!

ASUS Forum

Quote:

More details on results running on the 0501 BIOS...

As I stated earlier, this BIOS has definitely resolved POST problems with my RocketRAID 3rd-party PCIe RAID controller. No more post problems at CPU INIT or VGA BIOS.

On the down side, the manual voltage settings I used within the 0308 BIOS for a 3.4Ghz overclock on a X3360 with 6GB of Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066Mhz RAM are not stable on 0501. On 0308, I could easily run Prime95 blend tests with 0 errors for 30+ hours. However, the CPU itself still tests rock solid on v0501 -- I can run Prime95 (v25.7 64-bit) Small FFT tests for days with 0 errors. Intel Burn Test is also just as solid, 100% success after more than 20 passes.

Prime95 blend test has been failing on larger FFTs after several hours of running, and I have been unable to find a stable NB/DDR/FSBT voltage that will allow the blend test to run for extended periods up to 24 hours. I've tried raising NB and DRAM voltages hoping that it would correct issues, but it has not. Memtest86+ passes my memory with no errors after a full day of running, so I know my memory is fine.

Volts have been set up as follows in the BIOS:
CPU: 1.30625V
CPU PLL: 1.50V
FSBT: 1.32V
NB: 1.41V
DRAM: 2.14V
SB: 1.075V
SB2: 1.50V

Just wondering if any others have run stability tests under 0501 to verify that their manual overclock settings work under the new BIOS. I remember Alien mentioning stability problems under the new BIOS (0410 settings weren't stable in 0501). I think the stability issues are related to the NB or DRAM volt settings, but it has been near impossible to find that "sweet spot" under this BIOS.


----------



## spacegoast

I am using the 0501 RF beta BIOS now. testing under Prime95. I set Vcore to 1.4v in BIOS (389 x 9 for 3.5ghz). in idle, Vcore was at 1.384 and now under load it is at 1.392v. so vdroop has been virtually eliminated with .008 off from what i set in BIOS. so far so good


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I am using the 0501 RF beta BIOS now. testing under Prime95. I set Vcore to 1.4v in BIOS (389 x 9 for 3.5ghz). in idle, Vcore was at 1.384 and now under load it is at 1.392v. so vdroop has been virtually eliminated with .008 off from what i set in BIOS. so far so good










When did you DL and update to it? Have you changed any other voltages in bios?


----------



## spacegoast

running Prime for 30 min , so still needs more testing. 
Vcore- 1.4v BIOS, 1.384 idle and 1.392 under load 
RAM-1.98v
NB-1.39v
SB-Auto
CPU PLL-1.54v
FSB Term.-1.4v

same settings i used on the RF 0410


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


running Prime for 30 min , so still needs more testing. 
RAM-1.98v
NB-1.39v
SB-Auto
CPU PLL-1.54v
FSB Term.-1.4v

same settings i used on the RF 0410


CPU voltage and VID?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *error10*


CPU voltage and VID?


Here is his CPU voltage:

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I am using the 0501 RF beta BIOS now. testing under Prime95. I set Vcore to 1.4v in BIOS (389 x 9 for 3.5ghz). in idle, Vcore was at 1.384 and now under load it is at 1.392v. so vdroop has been virtually eliminated with .008 off from what i set in BIOS. so far so good


----------



## error10

Either I can't read or that post just materialized out of nowhere.


----------



## spacegoast

VID is 1.2875 and Vcore is set to 1.4V


----------



## error10

Woohoo, I may have to try out this BIOS after my TRUE gets here.


----------



## pXuis

Hi guys,
This is my 1st post, but i have been following this thread for some time now.

Here's my problem. I can get my Q6600 G0 6FB stable at 3.4, the problem is, doesnt matter what i set my multiplier too, ppl voltages dram etc. i need to feed the cpu atleast 1.55v to get it through 3dmark, even 1.5250 = bsod

I have tried almost every combo posted here (for q6600) and if i go below 1.5v i cant even post.

I am using the p5e. tried newest bios, as well as the deluxe bios on 1st page.

Same problem. I do have a bit of a vdroop, but its still over 1.5 if i want it stable, any tips?


----------



## Stianby

1.55v what are yout temperatures like?? mine would boil if i had 1.55v on it!
Are you sure you're not adjusting the NB voltage?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *pXuis*


Hi guys, 
This is my 1st post, but i have been following this thread for some time now.

Here's my problem. I can get my Q6600 G0 6FB stable at 3.4, the problem is, doesnt matter what i set my multiplier too, ppl voltages dram etc. i need to feed the cpu atleast 1.55v to get it through 3dmark, even 1.5250 = bsod

I have tried almost every combo posted here (for q6600) and if i go below 1.5v i cant even post.

I am using the p5e. tried newest bios, as well as the deluxe bios on 1st page.

Same problem. I do have a bit of a vdroop, but its still over 1.5 if i want it stable, any tips?


Can you list your other settings?


----------



## pXuis

Hi, no its the real core, temps are 42-idle 59-load
Everest shows it at 1.525

anyway

All the usual disabled,

8 X 425
1:1

Strap 400
PCI 100

Dram at: 2.2
term fsb: ummm think its 1.52 cant remember
pll: 1.6 something
nb: like 1.37

i have tried with boosters on off
clocktwisters on off
Ram is auto (5-5-5-18)

ummm what else? gtl auto and enabled tried .63 cpu and .67 nb


----------



## spacegoast

Try setting the Transaction Booster to 9 or 10 and set Clock Twister to Light or Moderate.
Just so you know the P5E overvolts DRAM voltage. Mine does by .08. So when I set it to 1.98v in BIOS, it is 2.08v.
Increase the NB voltage a little too, try 1.41v or 1.43 even. what is your stock RAM timings? I wouldnt leave them on Auto, unless 5-5-5-18 is the stock timings of course.


----------



## pXuis

Just did all that and i still need a good 1.525v to load windows (1.55) in bios

those are my stock timings yes


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *pXuis*


Just did all that and i still need a good 1.525v to load windows (1.55) in bios

those are my stock timings yes


It could be the limit of your CPU. Not all CPUs OC the same unfortunately.


----------



## wuzupfoo

Thanks ericeod ... got it working and all is good. not exactly sure why it was hanging, but I used an old PCI graphics card and it booted right up like I was crazy... Anyways thanks for the advice. Now on to tinkering with this thing.


----------



## pXuis

i'm starting to think so aswell, i'm just gana run the bloody thing at 1.525 wait for it to die in a year or so and het a new chip.


----------



## Stianby

The Q6600 is a sturdy bastard, it's not easily killed off...... but if you're interested o know a guy, that know's a guy, specialized in making things melt....


----------



## pXuis

haha no fanx, mayB when i get some $$$ for a new cpu, but i just ordered another 4850 to crossfire.


----------



## Stianby

Quote:



haha no fanx, mayB when i get some $$$ for a new cpu, but i just ordered another 4850 to crossfire.


What are your temperatures at the moment? ?idle, load and things of that nature...


----------



## pXuis

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Stianby*


What are your temperatures at the moment? ?idle, load and things of that nature...


Idle 38, but i'm in south africa and its 36c outside , load is 58 tops


----------



## Archetype

Pxuis, wats your VID.? Im also from Sa, we're in the same boat, where and when did you buy your chip.? I think the new intel chips are made specifically not to have good oc potential. My G 0 Q6600 has a 1.325V VID, the max i could take it on stock cooling was 3105mhz with 1.45625v set in bios, 1.440v in cpu z idle and 1.448v load...after about 3hours of prime i was getting 83c...tried to take it higher but it wouldn't get stable with anything i tried. Got a Cm hyper 212 and a extra TT 79cmf fan to pull air off in a push pull config but its lying in my room still in the box, will install and check stable oc's after exams... Im writing on friday, never find my books yet and sadly procrastination is my speciality and OCN doesn't help...lol...


----------



## sizeak

Is it common for this board to need the power turning off after chaging the bios settings to get it to post?


----------



## spacegoast

Yes it happens to me too. If you change voltage or RAM speed it will turn off. If you change opther things such as disabling C1E or disabling spread spectrum, im oretty sure it wont need to turn off. But changing major settings it does


----------



## sizeak

kool, is a E6300 [email protected] with a 1:1 ratio on the mem good? Also what kinda temp should i be getting?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sizeak* 
kool, is a E6300 [email protected] with a 1:1 ratio on the mem good? Also what kinda temp should i be getting?

I would expect with only 1.22v vcore, your temps shouldnt be that high. I am guessing in the high 40Â°C to low 50Â°C under load. The CPU can handle 1.5v (as long as it is cooled enough to stay below 64Â°C under load). So you have more OCing to be done!


----------



## sizeak

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I would expect with only 1.22v vcore, your temps shouldnt be that high. I am guessing in the high 40Â°C to low 50Â°C under load. The CPU can handle 1.5v (as long as it is cooled enough to stay below 64Â°C under load). So you have more OCing to be done!

I hit 3.02Ghz last night, with 1.28-1.3vcore


----------



## andyman84

Hi! I got these parts:

Q6600
Corsair Dominator 2GB 5-5-5-15-2T 1066MHz

Now I want my CPU to run at 3.0GHz
And my memory 4-4-4-12

is that possible? What do I have to change in my BIOS?
Do I have to change any voltage in the bios, now everything is set to auto.


----------



## zlojack

Quote:


Originally Posted by *andyman84* 
Hi! I got these parts:

Q6600
Corsair Dominator 2GB 5-5-5-15-2T 1066MHz

Now I want my CPU to run at 3.0GHz
And my memory 4-4-4-12

is that possible? What do I have to change in my BIOS?
Do I have to change any voltage in the bios, now everything is set to auto.

You'd be better to run at 5-5-5-15 and 1066 with that RAM.

You can also get that RAM up over 1100MHz with this board and the same timings.

You should be able to get a nice boost that way, depending on how your CPU holds up. Maybe try a few different settings. I don't have my X38 board anymore, but there are some guys on here who can definitely tell you the settings.

Important settings are the Transaction Booster and tRFC.

You might want to try the following:
5-5-5-15-3-60
Transaction Booster Enabled 1

Get the FSB to 400 and the Multi to 9 and see if you can get 3.6 MHz. If not, you could up the FSB and drop the multi. You might be able to get 450 FSB with transaction booster Enabled 0 or Disabled 0 and you should see some nice bandwidth out of that RAM.

FSB strap at either 333 for 1066 or on the FSB of 450, try the 266 strap and 1128 MHz on the RAM. Those sticks can do that and more (I had mine at 1147MHz 24/7 stable).


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *andyman84*


Hi! I got these parts:

Q6600
Corsair Dominator 2GB 5-5-5-15-2T 1066MHz

Now I want my CPU to run at 3.0GHz
And my memory 4-4-4-12

is that possible? What do I have to change in my BIOS?
Do I have to change any voltage in the bios, now everything is set to auto.


What is the VID on your CPU? You can check using CPU-Z or Core Temp. 
Here is config for 3.2ghz I used:
For 3.2ghz try:

CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________400
FSB Frequency_________400
PCIE Freq_____________100
DRAM Freq____________1066
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light or Moderate
AI Transaction Boost____9
CPU Voltage___________1.35V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.58
FSB Termination Volt____1.4
DRAM Volt_____________2.1v
NB Volt________________1.39
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

Depending on your VID, you may need mroe or less voltage to the CPU. What ever you do, dont set the CPU voltage above 1.5v unless doing suicide runs or if you have water cooling. Hope these settings will work for you.


----------



## andyman84

My VID is 1.2625


----------



## dan4real

In response to pXuis and Archetype:

I too have a Q6600 G0 and my vid, like yours Archetype, is 1.3250. I have never been able to get over 3.2ghz despite my best efforts, I can boot at 3.6 with voltage in bios set to something like 1.5192 but I won't pass stability tests.

Also, I have a question. Just wondering if anyone else here has Corsair Dominator 8500 C5D 1066 Ram (2x2g). I haven't been able to get my ram up to its full potential 1066 rated speed. I have tried with it set to all rated specs (2.1 volts 5-5-5-15 timings) but to no avail.

I'm wondering if anyone has a solution, since I think there issues are common with this ram on the P5E. I have been running at ddr2 800 speeds to keep things nice and stable, but would like to be able to run at full rated 1066 speed...


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dan4real* 

Also, I have a question. Just wondering if anyone else here has Corsair Dominator 8500 C5D 1066 Ram (2x2g). I haven't been able to get my ram up to its full potential 1066 rated speed. I have tried with it set to all rated specs (2.1 volts 5-5-5-15 timings) but to no avail.

I'm wondering if anyone has a solution, since I think there issues are common with this ram on the P5E. I have been running at ddr2 800 speeds to keep things nice and stable, but would like to be able to run at full rated 1066 speed...

I have some Dominators on the way so I will be able to tell you tomorrow or Wed when I can install them. I have my current RAM running at 1066 when they are DDR2 1000. I dont see why they wouldnt work at stock speeds though.
Maybe your cpu is holding you back in your overclock with the bad VID and all. The newer Q6600's havent been oc'ing so well.


----------



## dan4real

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
I have some Dominators on the way so I will be able to tell you tomorrow or Wed when I can install them. I have my current RAM running at 1066 when they are DDR2 1000. I dont see why they wouldnt work at stock speeds though.
Maybe your cpu is holding you back in your overclock with the bad VID and all. The newer Q6600's havent been oc'ing so well.

Yeah let me know how you make out with the dominators. I just can't get stable at 1066 no matter what I try.

Any possible tips for transaction booster? I haven't really tinkered with those settings....


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dan4real* 
Yeah let me know how you make out with the dominators. I just can't get stable at 1066 no matter what I try.

Any possible tips for transaction booster? I haven't really tinkered with those settings....

TRy setting it to 9 or 10 to start, then dial it down once you have a stable OC. Set AI Clock Twister to light or Moderate too.


----------



## dan4real

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


TRy setting it to 9 or 10 to start, then dial it down once you have a stable OC. Set AI Clock Twister to light or Moderate too.


Ok, testing right now. So far here's my results:

Corsair Dominator 8500 C5D (2x2g)

800mhz 4-4-4-13 
2.1 volts
transaction booster: auto
Ai Clock Twister : auto
Stable

1066mhz 5-5-5-15
2.1 volts
transaction booster: auto
Ai Clock Twister: auto
Crash in 3dmark 06

1066mhz 5-5-5-15
2.1 volts
transaction booster: auto
Ai Clock Twister: light
Pass 3dmark 06
(17697 3d marks)

1066mhz 5-5-5-15
2.1 volts
transaction booster: auto
Ai Clock Twister: strong
Crash in 3dmark 06

I'll try moderate and possibly some transaction booster settings and let you know...


----------



## dan4real

1066mhz 5-5-5-15
2.1 volts
transaction booster: auto
Ai Clock Twister: moderate
Crash at the very end of the bench run in 3dmark 06


----------



## dan4real

Seems I can get better performance with these sticks at 800mhz with strong AI Twister:

800mhz 4-4-4-13
2.1 volts
transaction booster: auto
Ai Clock Twister: strong
Successful 3dmark 06 bench run
17913 3d marks


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dan4real*


Seems I can get better performance with these sticks at 800mhz with strong AI Twister:

800mhz 4-4-4-13
2.1 volts
transaction booster: auto
Ai Clock Twister: strong
Successful 3dmark 06 bench run
17913 3d marks


How is RAM peformance though at 800 and 1066 with the different timings? Do you have Everest to test that? Also, how high can you get your cpu?
Try tuning the RAM with the TransAction Booster a little. You will get better RAM performance throught use of the TAB


----------



## error10

Yep, the Transaction Booster is where it's at. It's probably one of the biggest things you can do to tune your RAM as it cuts your RAM's latency and it's VERY easy to tune. Just keep dropping the Common Performance Level until your system doesn't POST anymore. The lowest # that POSTed is what you go with. If you want to tweak further then you can play with the pull-ins.

Keep in mind you have to readjust the Transaction Booster anytime you change the FSB frequency, FSB strap or DRAM frequency.


----------



## spacegoast

Got my Corsair Dominators in running at 1066 right now at 400x9. Havent done any testing yet. Will report back tomorrow as I am of to watch the Lakers season opener


----------



## spacegoast

It seems my Dominators arent well likes by my P5E at all. With the Rampage Formula 0501 BIOS I couldnt boot in to anything over 1066. With the P5E Deluxe 0205 I can boot in to 1133 although it is not very stable. Im not sure if I want to keep this kit. I was hoping to hit around 1150 or 1200 stable, but if I cant even get 1133 stable, I wont have these very long.


----------



## error10

Is the 0501 BIOS officially released yet? The latest one I saw last night was 0410.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
Is the 0501 BIOS officially released yet? The latest one I saw last night was 0410.

Nope its Beta still


----------



## error10

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Nope its Beta still

Well I'm going to stick with what I've got. I don't want to screw up my 3.6 stable. Now if it can get me even higher with no extra CPU voltage then I could be convinced to try it out.


----------



## spacegoast

well Vdroop for me is virtually gone. the difference of my vcore voltage under load and idle has dropped to .008v. i had vcore at 1.4v (for 3.5ghz->389x9)and under load it was at 1.392v in cpu-z. thats very good. not sure if same voltages will alow for higher oc's though. im back on the P5E Deluxe bios right now. i flashed to see if there was a difference with my dominators


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


well Vdroop for me is virtually gone. the difference of my vcore voltage under load and idle has dropped to .008v. i had vcore at 1.4v (for 3.5ghz->389x9)and under load it was at 1.392v in cpu-z. thats very good. not sure if same voltages will alow for higher oc's though. im back on the P5E Deluxe bios right now. i flashed to see if there was a difference with my dominators


That's without Loadline calibration?!?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
That's without Loadline calibration?!?

LLC Enabled


----------



## Archetype

Guys i have some major problems. Ok let me start, I had problems before with non of my mice picking up picking up, it always said something about a surge on usb hub, i don't know if it was because of a usb 1.1 mouse in a usb 2.0 port but i tried 5mice and non worked, then i bought a new mouse, not sure if its usb 1.1 or 2.0 but it worked for a while. Then about a week ago i got my CM Hyper 212, installed it, and then poof, as soon as i put on my pc its giving me that error. I have my case usb and a card reader with a usb attached to my on board usb connections, my new mouse worked on both b4 but not on my board, now after i installed my cooler both ports aren't working and my mouse doesn't work when pluged into to ports at the back of the board...wat do you guys suggest.? I changed the usb connections that the case and card reader were on b4 if you guys think that might cause a problem...i have no clue how to sort this out...


----------



## Archetype

Im gonna start a thread, hopefully more ppl will reply but i know the only opinions worth considering are the guys who reply to this thread, for sum strange reason it seems all the experts on OCN are in hiding and don't reply to threads they're not subscribed to...please reply here or in the thread in gonna start, +rep for replies...thanks guys...


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Archetype* 
Im gonna start a thread, hopefully more ppl will reply but i know the only opinions worth considering are the guys who reply to this thread, for sum strange reason it seems all the experts on OCN are in hiding and don't reply to threads they're not subscribed to...please reply here or in the thread in gonna start, +rep for replies...thanks guys...

I've had a busy few weeks in college. This week alone I've had 3 exams and a paper to do.

Feel free to PM whenever you want.

As for your problem, I've seen this personally on a board I had a few years ago. I tried everything to get it working, but I never did. I would suspect there is something wrong with the board's USB ports at this point.

Just out of curiosity, did you notice any problems when you were installing the board's chipset drivers when you first loaded the OS and drivers?


----------



## error10

So on my new P5E build with a nice 500GB WD Caviar Black drive, everything went fine for the first few days, but now the system will not boot if SATA is set to AHCI mode in the BIOS. Instead it hangs (I let it sit overnight!) at "Detecting AHCI Port 1.."

If I set SATA back to IDE in the BIOS then it boots right up.

Now it worked fine initially. Why is it not working now?


----------



## spacegoast

Well I had a similar problem. If I leave my external hard drive is left in a USB port it will hang. When I have it unplugged when I boot, it will start up just fine. Others have had the same problem with leaving stuff in the USB ports while booting up and it hangs. I just hit the reset switch and then it will boot right up afterwards, but its a hassle. So I leave my external HDD unplugged since I rarely use it now. Not sure in your situation. Just leave it in IDE I guess.


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Well I had a similar problem. If I leave my external hard drive is left in a USB port it will hang. When I have it unplugged when I boot, it will start up just fine. Others have had the same problem with leaving stuff in the USB ports while booting up and it hangs. I just hit the reset switch and then it will boot right up afterwards, but its a hassle. So I leave my external HDD unplugged since I rarely use it now. Not sure in your situation. Just leave it in IDE I guess.


That could have something to do with it. I did an automated Vista installation from DVD with the configuration set on a USB stick. The first couple of boots into audit mode it went fine, but then after I booted from the OPK CD to capture the image, then it started exhibiting the problem, whether I had the USB stick in or not.

Come to think of it, that CD is still in there. I wonder what happens if I take it out...

I could leave it set to IDE, but I'm led to believe the performance will suffer as opposed to AHCI.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
That could have something to do with it. I did an automated Vista installation from DVD with the configuration set on a USB stick. The first couple of boots into audit mode it went fine, but then after I booted from the OPK CD to capture the image, then it started exhibiting the problem, whether I had the USB stick in or not.

Come to think of it, that CD is still in there. I wonder what happens if I take it out...

I could leave it set to IDE, but I'm led to believe the performance will suffer as opposed to AHCI.

There are 2 things I can think of.

First, make sure to go into the boot settings and rearrange your HDD priority, and I'm not talking about the boot order. There is actually a seperate section on HDD priority from the boot order itself. I had to do this to keep my USB "Ready Boost" drive from preventing a boot.

Secondly, can you try setting it to RAID mode? I was under the impression that AHCI also works on a single drive when the SATA is set to RAID.


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


There are 2 things I can think of.

First, make sure to go into the boot settings and rearrange your HDD priority, and I'm not talking about the boot order. There is actually a seperate section on HDD priority from the boot order itself. I had to do this to keep my USB "Ready Boost" drive from preventing a boot.

Secondly, can you try setting it to RAID mode? I was under the impression that AHCI also works on a single drive when the SATA is set to RAID.


Well, I formatted and reinstalled Vista (I had to erase it for other reasons) and AHCI is working again. I don't understand that a bit, but that's what I get for trying to use Windows, I guess.


----------



## FusionFX

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Well I had a similar problem. If I leave my external hard drive is left in a USB port it will hang. When I have it unplugged when I boot, it will start up just fine. Others have had the same problem with leaving stuff in the USB ports while booting up and it hangs. I just hit the reset switch and then it will boot right up afterwards, but its a hassle. So I leave my external HDD unplugged since I rarely use it now. Not sure in your situation. Just leave it in IDE I guess.


I pretty much had the same issue as you. If you remember, we even went back and forth about it...

For some reason when I installed an P5E Deluxe I/O Shield the problem went away. Not quite sure, maybe it was dust or a little piece of metal, but when I swapped out my old shield and installed the new one, my first two rear USB ports work fine. Seems odd since even when I had the MB outside of a case with nothing touching the rear of the board, it wouldn't boot with any active USB device in the first two rear ports.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Hi guys. Lovely to see such a humongously large thread for the P5E.

Well, getting my cpu cooler tomorrow (Thermalright ultra 120 extreme) tomorrow. I`ve read around about mobo settings, and have sort of tried to get into what each setting means. This is pretty new to me though (even if I have been an avid computer builder for the last 10 years or so), having only really overclocked gfx cards and ram before this.

As you can see I have a Intel Q9550. Core Temp shows my VID as 1.1625. I`m aiming at a simple 3.4-3.5 ghz oc (maybe at exactly 400 fsb). I guess the problem with vdroops and vdrops matters most to those aiming for high high high overclocks? If I dont have to, I would prefer not flashing my bios to the deluxe or maximus formula bios.

Could anyone please give me some numbers to start with here, especially when it comes to nb/sb and fsb termination voltage levels. Cpu pll I would preferably keep at 1.5 if I can. Also, I really dont want to risk much doing this. This system cost me too much already, so I dont want to lose big $ in the process.

Well, thanks for any input. I`ll look more into these forums myself too, but as I`ve seen so many different advices when it comes to bios voltage settings, I`d like to get a "professional" input on this. And you guys seem like that to me. Also, you already know this mobo well, so you should be able to give good advice.

Thanks for any input.

Ps: What IS the exact advantage of 1:1 fsb/mem ratios? Just stability?


----------



## Aaroman

Does anybody know of Realtek Drivers for the SupremeFX II? The SoundMAX ones are pretty crappy for me.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


Does anybody know of Realtek Drivers for the SupremeFX II? The SoundMAX ones are pretty crappy for me.


Hi man. Head down to http://www.sonicfocus.com/support.html for better drivers for that card.

Works like a charm for me now at least. The settings are saved properly for each "eq setting" or whatever its called (it forces native language on install







, the only negative thing about these drivers)

I actually found this myself by "accident", by searching for "sonic focus" which is written on a logo in the black hawk interface.

If you already have these, then sorry for wasting your time man







If not, hope they work for you.

Cheers!


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


Does anybody know of Realtek Drivers for the SupremeFX II? The SoundMAX ones are pretty crappy for me.


Oh, and btw. Remember to disable/enable relevant audio devices in vista up front. Then you can get the controls you want in the Blackhawk interface. Dont know if this applies to everybody, but for me with two audio cards in my system I had to do this to get the driver to properly detect the correct devices. You can then disable/enable whatever you want afterwards.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Could anyone please give me some numbers to start with here, especially when it comes to nb/sb and fsb termination voltage levels. Cpu pll I would preferably keep at 1.5 if I can. Also, I really dont want to risk much doing this. This system cost me too much already, so I dont want to lose big $ in the process.

Thanks for any input.

Ps: What IS the exact advantage of 1:1 fsb/mem ratios? Just stability?


Vcore: Max of 1.3625v
PLL: 1.54v (default is around 1.6v)
NB: 1.45v should be all you need up to 425 FSB
FSB Termination voltage: 1.26v - 1.32v (never go over 1.4v)
SB: auto is fine, or one notch increase

As for 1:1 ram, it is a little misleading. I would recommend keeping the NB Strap on Auto (to allow you to select from all the ram dividers), then set the ram to the lowest speed while OCing (1:1), then try increasing the speed of the ram for the max overclock once you already have the FSB and CPU dialled in.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Vcore: Max of 1.3625v
PLL: 1.54v (default is around 1.6v)
NB: 1.45v should be all you need up to 425 FSB
FSB Termination voltage: 1.26v - 1.32v (never go over 1.4v)
SB: auto is fine, or one notch increase

As for 1:1 ram, it is a little misleading. I would recommend keeping the NB Strap on Auto (to allow you to select from all the ram dividers), then set the ram to the lowest speed while OCing (1:1), then try increasing the speed of the ram for the max overclock once you already have the FSB and CPU dialled in.


Thanks. That should get me starting tomorrow.


----------



## Aaroman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Oh, and btw. Remember to disable/enable relevant audio devices in vista up front. Then you can get the controls you want in the Blackhawk interface. Dont know if this applies to everybody, but for me with two audio cards in my system I had to do this to get the driver to properly detect the correct devices. You can then disable/enable whatever you want afterwards.


Actually I am having terible issues with the jack recognition. It doesn't seem to know if i plugged sometging into the front or back. My front audio may be screwed up though cuz I couldn't get it to work on my last board at all. I might just unplug it and try the drivers you suggested.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


Actually I am having terible issues with the jack recognition. It doesn't seem to know if i plugged sometging into the front or back. My front audio may be screwed up though cuz I couldn't get it to work on my last board at all. I might just unplug it and try the drivers you suggested.


Ah. Ok. The driver should even popup a window to confirm that you have plugged in the right device, when you plug the jack in the front or back outputs. It COULD be a vista 64 issue though. I have no experience with this os, but you could lucky out and get a fix through this driver.

If you DO get it to work, make sure you deselect "activate audio dsp" or something similar in the preferences. Its just horribly annoying. Also you could try the separate headphones settings for good measure. Good luck anyways.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Here is config for 3.2ghz I used:

CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________400
FSB Frequency_________Auto
PCIE Freq_____________100
DRAM Freq____________800, 1066 or anything else in between








DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light or Moderate
AI Transaction Boost____8
CPU Voltage___________1.3V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.54
FSB Termination Volt____1.4
DRAM Volt_____________2.1v
NB Volt________________1.39
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

What ever you do, dont set the CPU voltage above 1.36v unless doing suicide runs.


At Chris Ihao
Try these settings for 3.2ghz, hope these settings will work for you. And another thing, the Corsair Dominators do not work well with the P5E board. Another member and I have tried several differnet settings in attempts to get them to run at 1066. I got them running at stock speeds but it wasnt very stable. I was also able to boot in to Windows at 1133 but it was very unstable. Its in post #1088 of this thread. I was hoping to hit 1150 or above but that doesnt look like its going to happen







. I was told you can underclock the Dominators and and tighten the timings to 4-4-4-12 and lower the voltage to 1.8. Here is a good read for the Dominators, some relevant info their: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/C...4096-8500C5DF/


----------



## error10

Hm, on my P5E Deluxe, when I plug in headphones up front, it doesn't cut audio to the rear speakers. I have no idea if this is normal or not or can be changed.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


Actually I am having terible issues with the jack recognition. It doesn't seem to know if i plugged sometging into the front or back. My front audio may be screwed up though cuz I couldn't get it to work on my last board at all. I might just unplug it and try the drivers you suggested.


Try opening the properties in the control panel and dissabling the "Front Audio Detection".


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
Hm, on my P5E Deluxe, when I plug in headphones up front, it doesn't cut audio to the rear speakers. I have no idea if this is normal or not or can be changed.

I just presume you are using the drivers for the soundmax II. Go into preferences for that driver, then be sure to deselect "use seperate headphones output" or something close to that line.

This makes the back speakers cut when you plug into the front. With that option selected you get seperated jack outputs that operates seperately from each other.


----------



## Rogerdoger45

Funny I have CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) and I can't get them to run at 800MhZ I have to run them at 667 which stinks because when I game it runs choppy but when I run them at 800 the game runs smoothâ€™s until I get blue screen of death. Has anyone been able to get there ram to run at 800MHz with no issues?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Rogerdoger45*


Funny I have CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) and I can't get them to run at 800MhZ I have to run them at 667 which stinks because when I game it runs choppy but when I run them at 800 the game runs smoothâ€™s until I get blue screen of death. Has anyone been able to get there ram to run at 800MHz with no issues?


I bought those when my Ballistix died several months ago. They did not pair well with my Maximus Rampage- would only run 800MHz stable at CAS6 and 2.3V. They were so hot I thought they were going to start glowing. I think I tried 3 different revisions of XMS 2X2Gb PC6400 kits all with the same problem.

I also had a similar problem with Patriot Viper memory- could not get them to run the rated PC8000 (1000MHz) or PC8500 (1066MHz). Later Patriot removed those from the QVL for all intel boards and rebadged them "only for nVidia 680i and 750i." Their non-Viper 800MHz modules worked as advertized but were hot enough to litteraly cause blisters.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
I bought those when my Ballistix died several months ago. They did not pair well with my Maximus Rampage- would only run 800MHz stable at CAS6 and 2.3V. They were so hot I thought they were going to start glowing. I think I tried 3 different revisions of XMS 2X2Gb PC6400 kits all with the same problem.

I also had a similar problem with Patriot Viper memory- could not get them to run the rated PC8000 (1000MHz) or PC8500 (1066MHz). Later Patriot removed those from the QVL for all intel boards and rebadged them "only for nVidia 680i and 750i." Their non-Viper 800MHz modules worked as advertized but were hot enough to litteraly cause blisters.

Sounds to me like these Asus (X38/48)boards dont like Corsair RAM as Dan4Real and myself have been having problems with the same Corsair Dominator kit. Neither of us can get 1066 stable. I was able to boot at 1133, but it was very unstable. I had such high hopes for this kit too


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
At Chris Ihao
Try these settings for 3.2ghz, hope these settings will work for you. And another thing, the Corsair Dominators do not work well with the P5E board. Another member and I have tried several differnet settings in attempts to get them to run at 1066. I got them running at stock speeds but it wasnt very stable. I was also able to boot in to Windows at 1133 but it was very unstable. Its in post #1088 of this thread. I was hoping to hit 1150 or above but that doesnt look like its going to happen







. I was told you can underclock the Dominators and and tighten the timings to 4-4-4-12 and lower the voltage to 1.8. Here is a good read for the Dominators, some relevant info their: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/C...4096-8500C5DF/

Ok. Thanks for the tip. I run at 1066 @ 2.1 volts now with no problems, but I guess it all starts to get out of whack when I do the fsb increase. Getting greedier in my head though, so I may go for a larger overclock on the cpu than intended. I'm a gamer at heart though, so I'll want to have 24/7 stability more than glory.







Isnt 1.4 fsb termination voltage a bit high btw? On the edge so to speak? Also the cpu and nb gtl value is right now a scary code of gibberish to me. What is this doing exactly?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Oh, and one more thing. Got these two fans for my Thermalright u 120 ex: http://www.microplex.no/aspx/produkt...spx?plid=46154 and http://www.microplex.no/aspx/produkt...spx?plid=34506.

What one to choose? The noctua is uglier, and has somewhat smaller blades, but the mist is maybe a tad less effective, even if I seriously doubt the 80 m3 airflow statement from noctua. No idea really. Just couldnt decide, so got them both


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Isnt 1.4 fsb termination voltage a bit high btw? On the edge so to speak? Also the cpu and nb gtl value is right now a scary code of gibberish to me. What is this doing exactly?

1.4v is ok. just dont go over. im sure you could get away with lower. Eric defines CPU & NB GTL nicely here : http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...reference.html

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Oh, and one more thing. Got these two fans for my Thermalright u 120 ex: http://www.microplex.no/aspx/produkt...spx?plid=46154 and http://www.microplex.no/aspx/produkt...spx?plid=34506.

What one to choose? The noctua is uglier, and has somewhat smaller blades, but the mist is maybe a tad less effective, even if I seriously doubt the 80 m3 airflow statement from noctua. No idea really. Just couldnt decide, so got them both









The Noctua is indeed uglier, but if you need a quiet fan, that would be the one to pick.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
1.4v is ok. just dont go over. im sure you could get away with lower. Eric defines CPU & NB GTL nicely here : http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...reference.html

The Noctua is indeed uglier, but if you need a quiet fan, that would be the one to pick.

Went with your advice Spacegoast, and the Noctua really IS quiet. With the advice I got through this thread I am now running my cpu at 3.4 ghz (basically using your setup for 3.2ghz), and have put my ram at 800 for the time being, just to be able to know what goes wrong where and why (thanks Ericeod).

The best part about it is that my freshly installed Thermalright u 120 ex cools my core temps down to a comfortable 57-53-52-55 or close, after having run large fft's in prime for some 40 minutes. It blows the hot air straight outta there, with good help from the Antec 1200's fans. Am I happy so far? YES.

I'm using 1.3 for cpu voltage right now. Should I step down on this, just to see if I can spare the chip some stress from the voltage, or would you guys recommend that I just keep it at this if it works ok? Like I said earlier, I'm really not up to squeezing out every inch (or micron) out of my hardware. I just want to have a really fine computer up and running









Thanks again guys for making this oc sooo much easier than it would otherwise have been. I guess I COULD go even further if this goes all well, but I'll just have to see about that. A 600 mhz increase (times four) is no small difference in itself. But then again, I'll have to run this test for some more hours before I can bring out the cake and firecrackers.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Went with your advice Spacegoast, and the Noctua really IS quiet. With the advice I got through this thread I am now running my cpu at 3.4 ghz (basically using your setup for 3.2ghz), and have put my ram at 800 for the time being, just to be able to know what goes wrong where and why (thanks Ericeod).

The best part about it is that my freshly installed Thermalright u 120 ex cools my core temps down to a comfortable 57-53-52-55 or close, after having run large fft's in prime for some 40 minutes. It blows the hot air straight outta there, with good help from the Antec 1200's fans. Am I happy so far? YES.

I'm using 1.3 for cpu voltage right now. Should I step down on this, just to see if I can spare the chip some stress from the voltage, or would you guys recommend that I just keep it at this if it works ok? Like I said earlier, I'm really not up to squeezing out every inch (or micron) out of my hardware. I just want to have a really fine computer up and running









Thanks again guys for making this oc sooo much easier than it would otherwise have been. I guess I COULD go even further if this goes all well, but I'll just have to see about that. A 600 mhz increase (times four) is no small difference in itself. But then again, I'll have to run this test for some more hours before I can bring out the cake and firecrackers.









Well you could try for lower cpu voltage, just to see what happens. If it is unstable just go back to what you had previously. Thats coll that you got it working though. Try to OC the RAM now that you got your chip overclocked. Pretty good temps woth the TRUE too. Nice job with that


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Well you could try for lower cpu voltage, just to see what happens. If it is unstable just go back to what you had previously. Thats coll that you got it working though. Try to OC the RAM now that you got your chip overclocked. Pretty good temps woth the TRUE too. Nice job with that









Thanks man. I'm up at 3.51 ghz now though, and its at 58 degrees running well so far. Crazy good cooler this Thermalright









Judging from cpu-z, the cpu volt is actually at 1.265 v under load now (due to vdroop). Also turned down fsb term volt to 1.32, as indicated by ericeod in his suggestion range.

Well, I'll just let it cook during the night and working hours tomorrow, and then I'll go for the ram after that. Its laaate here now, but no worries. I'm about as happy as a dodo (before they got extinct).

I'll drop in to let you know how it fares guys. I'll probably also drop by some pics of the bios, for reference to others with similar hardware. Have a nice day good, wise people


----------



## Dominatu

Hello all,

Just new to the forum and I have a question about overclocking a Q9400 on the P5E motherboard. I want to lift it up from stock clock (2.66Ghz) to 3.0Ghz (375FSBx8MP). So yesterday I went into the BIOS, tested 340, 350, 360, 365, 370 FSB. All worked just fine, but when I entered 375 FSB it didn't boot anymore. RAM at 5-5-5-15-2T @ 1066Mhz 2.2v.

Isn't it possible to get it to 3.0Ghz with just stock voltages etc? I know the Q6600 can from 2.4 to 3.0.

Could anyone help me get the Q9400 to 3.0Ghz or maybe even to 3.6Ghz?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dominatu* 
Hello all,

Just new to the forum and I have a question about overclocking a Q9400 on the P5E motherboard. I want to lift it up from stock clock (2.66Ghz) to 3.0Ghz (375FSBx8MP). So yesterday I went into the BIOS, tested 340, 350, 360, 365, 370 FSB. All worked just fine, but when I entered 375 FSB it didn't boot anymore. RAM at 5-5-5-15-2T @ 1066Mhz 2.2v.

Isn't it possible to get it to 3.0Ghz with just stock voltages etc? I know the Q6600 can from 2.4 to 3.0.

Could anyone help me get the Q9400 to 3.0Ghz or maybe even to 3.6Ghz?

As you raised your FSB, did you make sure your ram was running within spec? Remember as you increase the FSB, you are also increasing the ram speed and will have to lower the divider to maintain stable speeds. in your bios, just put the NB Strap to auto and select a ram speed that is as close to recommended specs as possible. it also wouldnt hurt to increase your NB voltage to 1.30v - 1.35v.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
As you raised your FSB, did you make sure your ram was running within spec? Remember as you increase the FSB, you are also increasing the ram speed and will have to lower the divider to maintain stable speeds. in your bios, just put the NB Strap to auto and select a ram speed that is as close to recommended specs as possible. it also wouldnt hurt to increase your NB voltage to 1.30v - 1.35v.

Hi ericeod. Just wondering. I'm now running the nb volt at 1.41, with an fsb termination voltage @ 1.4 to ensure that fsb is not the issue here. I see you operate with lower nb voltages than other ppl here. What would be your say in running the P5E @ an fsb of 413 (which I am trying out now).

Also, would you say that cpu-z shows fairly accurate cpu voltage values, or should I be cautious in believing it? I have put the cpu voltage @ 1.3625 in the bios, but cpu-z shows 1.296 or 1.306 under load here. At idle its about 1.320. Hope I will get it up at 3.51 ghz now. Looking better and better though.







Well, temps are really good for the cpu at least.

Thanks.


----------



## Dominatu

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
As you raised your FSB, did you make sure your ram was running within spec? Remember as you increase the FSB, you are also increasing the ram speed and will have to lower the divider to maintain stable speeds. in your bios, just put the NB Strap to auto and select a ram speed that is as close to recommended specs as possible. it also wouldnt hurt to increase your NB voltage to 1.30v - 1.35v.

Ah right, that could be the problem... I'll have a check when I get back home.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Hi ericeod. Just wondering. I'm now running the nb volt at 1.41, with an fsb termination voltage @ 1.4 to ensure that fsb is not the issue here. I see you operate with lower nb voltages than other ppl here. What would be your say in running the P5E @ an fsb of 413 (which I am trying out now).

Also, would you say that cpu-z shows fairly accurate cpu voltage values, or should I be cautious in believing it? I have put the cpu voltage @ 1.3625 in the bios, but cpu-z shows 1.296 or 1.306 under load here. At idle its about 1.320. Hope I will get it up at 3.51 ghz now. Looking better and better though.







Well, temps are really good for the cpu at least.

Thanks.


The reason I was running a lower NB voltage in the screenshots on the first page is because it was with a dual core. it just takes less votage compared to a quad because the quad puts more stress on the NB. On my current Rampage Formula board, I am running NB at 1.45v for a 423 FSB OC.

As for you Termination voltage, 1.32v - 1.34v will be the max you should ever need. I wouldnt leave it at 1.4v.

Here are my current voltages:


----------



## Dominatu

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dominatu* 
Ah right, that could be the problem... I'll have a check when I get back home.

There we go, working just fine now. Memory running @ DDR2-1000 now. Core voltage is at 1.2v... might get it lower, don't know. Going to stress a bit now and continue to 3.1 till 3.6 or 3.7Ghz.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
The reason I was running a lower NB voltage in the screenshots on the first page is because it was with a dual core. it just takes less votage compared to a quad because the quad puts more stress on the NB. On my current Rampage Formula board, I am running NB at 1.45v for a 423 FSB OC.

As for you Termination voltage, 1.32v - 1.34v will be the max you should ever need. I wouldnt leave it at 1.4v.

Ahh. Brilliant ericeod. That represents the last few missing pieces of the puzzle for me. I have now run prime95 for 4 hours with the last mentioned settings (@ 3.51ghz) for 4 hours without fail. Maxed out at a very acceptable 60 degrees on one core during these hours. Meanwhile, I have now put fsb term volt at 1.32, and it looks good so far. Guess I'm getting close to final goal.







I'll try to raise the nb one notch (to [email protected] fsb) if p95 fails during this "final" test with no ram oc. (and to think that I told everyone I'd never oc this cpu. never thought this would be SO exciting AND fun. hehe)


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dominatu*


Hello all,

Just new to the forum and I have a question about overclocking a Q9400 on the P5E motherboard. I want to lift it up from stock clock (2.66Ghz) to 3.0Ghz (375FSBx8MP). So yesterday I went into the BIOS, tested 340, 350, 360, 365, 370 FSB. All worked just fine, but when I entered 375 FSB it didn't boot anymore. RAM at 5-5-5-15-2T @ 1066Mhz 2.2v.

Isn't it possible to get it to 3.0Ghz with just stock voltages etc? I know the Q6600 can from 2.4 to 3.0.

Could anyone help me get the Q9400 to 3.0Ghz or maybe even to 3.6Ghz?


I'm no expert, but it may be wise to slack off the 2.2 volts on the ram, especially if you took the ram down to 1000. I've read several places that the P5E tends to overvolt the ram a tad. Between 0.05-0.08 to be more specific. I have no way to confirm this now though. Take it or leave it.


----------



## error10

You can confirm it easily enough. Go into the BIOS and look.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


I'm no expert, but it may be wise to slack off the 2.2 volts on the ram, especially if you took the ram down to 1000. I've read several places that the P5E tends to overvolt the ram a tad. Between 0.05-0.08 to be more specific. I have no way to confirm this now though. Take it or leave it.


........

Special thanks to *Karl eller* for the post on vdimm points. I used my Fluke 177 digital meter and read the yellow and one of the blue marked readout point from his post.

When I set the vdimm in bios to 2.16v, I get a reading of 2.21v from the multi meter. Then, when I set the vdimm to 2.18v in bios, I get a reading of 2.238v on the meter. And finally, when I set vdimm to 2.2v in bios, I get a reading of 2.25v on the meter.

I did find that my 1.40v vcore set in bios, which loads into windows at 1.38v as shown in CPU-Z, actually is 1.376v when metered while running Orthos.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
You can confirm it easily enough. Go into the BIOS and look.

Nope. I cant get any volt readings on ram in my original p5e (non-deluxe) bios, or any other way as far as I know (other than volt meters). Alternative bioses I havent really gotten into, but is there a sensor for this in the first place on normal p5e's? I was talking about the REAL volt levels here. I may have misunderstood your comment though.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
........

Special thanks to *Karl eller* for the post on vdimm points. I used my Fluke 177 digital meter and read the yellow and one of the blue marked readout point from his post.

When I set the vdimm in bios to 2.16v, I get a reading of 2.21v from the multi meter. Then, when I set the vdimm to 2.18v in bios, I get a reading of 2.238v on the meter. And finally, when I set vdimm to 2.2v in bios, I get a reading of 2.25v on the meter.

I did find that my 1.40v vcore set in bios, which loads into windows at 1.38v as shown in CPU-Z, actually is 1.376v when metered while running Orthos.

Ok. Great ericeod. As long as cpu-z doesnt underreport the voltage, I'm fine with it. Cpu-z is quite accurate then. When it comes to the ram, there IS overvolting going on at least, but maybe not as much as 0.08. More like 0.05, judging from your testing. This is helpful for me though.

I also now understand why people in this thread have pointed out that the P5E doesnt like the corsair dominators too much. I'm having troubles with getting to 1066 or above in my setup (actually 1033 is the closest I can select because of the dividers). 991 mhz is what I'm up at right now, and memtest accepted 2 runs on these settings. 1100 passed once, but started freaking out on the second run. I guess I can live with 991 if I have to though. Quite a lot faster than before due to the 413 fsb setting anyways. Hehe. Could one notch up on nb voltage theoretically help me get higher ddr frequency because of larger power requirements on the nb, or is this purely done by the ram volt setting in bios?

(btw. Not using the dominator fans, as the noise of the 3 tiny 5000 rpm fans freaks me out when audially compared to my other 120mm's and single 200mm. But, I've read that they really dont help that much. Maybe for longevity though







).


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Nope. I cant get any volt readings on ram in my original p5e (non-deluxe) bios, or any other way as far as I know (other than volt meters). Alternative bioses I havent really gotten into, but is there a sensor for this in the first place on normal p5e's? I was talking about the REAL volt levels here. I may have misunderstood your comment though.









Ok. Great ericeod. As long as cpu-z doesnt underreport the voltage, I'm fine with it. Cpu-z is quite accurate then. When it comes to the ram, there IS overvolting going on at least, but maybe not as much as 0.08. More like 0.05, judging from your testing. This is helpful for me though.

I also now understand why people in this thread have pointed out that the P5E doesnt like the corsair dominators too much. I'm having troubles with getting to 1066 or above in my setup (actually 1033 is the closest I can select because of the dividers). 991 mhz is what I'm up at right now, and memtest accepted 2 runs on these settings. 1100 passed once, but started freaking out on the second run. I guess I can live with 991 if I have to though. Quite a lot faster than before due to the 413 fsb setting anyways. Hehe. Could one notch up on nb voltage theoretically help me get higher ddr frequency because of larger power requirements on the nb, or is this purely done by the ram volt setting in bios?

(btw. Not using the dominator fans, as the noise of the 3 tiny 5000 rpm fans freaks me out when audially compared to my other 120mm's and single 200mm. But, I've read that they really dont help that much. Maybe for longevity though







).

Increasing the voltage might help. As long as you stay under 2.3v, I dont see you damaging the board at all. The ram on the other hand, I just dont know. I say give it a shot.


----------



## error10

I'd go back to the OP of this thread and follow the nice directions there to stick the Rampage Formula BIOS on there. Aside from the voltage monitors, you may get some extra stability at higher FSB. I did.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Sounds to me like these Asus (X38/48)boards dont like Corsair RAM as Dan4Real and myself have been having problems with the same Corsair Dominator kit. Neither of us can get 1066 stable. I was able to boot at 1133, but it was very unstable. I had such high hopes for this kit too










Try this 4x1Gb kit. It's what I run







. Hits 1128MHz CAS4 @2.10V, stable with no effort.

They don't do well with tight timings or more volts like the Micron D9's- higher clocks are possible with less voltage(2.25+ voltage on these actually seems to destabilize clocks)- although I have not been able to get CAS3 at any speed or CAS4 @ 1200+MHz


----------



## airick13

I flashed my Maximus Formula from bios 504 to 1207. It gave me the 5 seconds until reboot notification. Upon reboot it did not post. Only when I bought some new ram would it boot perfectly fine at the rated speed.

So I think it's safe to assume these are incompatible with Maximus Formula bios 1207. (I wouldn't use them on this board period. Just to be safe as I had problems getting them to run at 1066 as intended.)

On a side note, hopefully I can get an actual refund.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 

I also now understand why people in this thread have pointed out that the P5E doesnt like the corsair dominators too much. I'm having troubles with getting to 1066 or above in my setup (actually 1033 is the closest I can select because of the dividers). 991 mhz is what I'm up at right now, and memtest accepted 2 runs on these settings. 1100 passed once, but started freaking out on the second run. I guess I can live with 991 if I have to though. Quite a lot faster than before due to the 413 fsb setting anyways. Hehe. Could one notch up on nb voltage theoretically help me get higher ddr frequency because of larger power requirements on the nb, or is this purely done by the ram volt setting in bios?

I am gonna try the Dominators one last time with the RF 0410 BIOS and see if they will work at 1066. I only tried the P5E Dlx 0205 and RF 0501 BIOS. I have already tried upping the NB votlage and RAM voltage and nothing has worked so far. I'll let you know what happens later on though.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I am gonna try the Dominators one last time with the RF 0410 BIOS and see if they will work at 1066. I only tried the P5E Dlx 0205 and RF 0501 BIOS. I have already tried upping the NB votlage and RAM voltage and nothing has worked so far. I'll let you know what happens later on though.


Ok. Cool man. It would be very interesting to know how you eventually solve it. Are you actively cooling the ram in some manner? I have a feeling they are running quite hot at times, even if they are properly aircooled.

I'm actually preparing to stop here for now, just because it all seems to work very well so far at these settings. Then, after some while I might try to do something about the ram (even bios change perhaps).

I have now run prime95 blend test for 5 hours straight @ 3.511 ghz (413x8.5) with ram @ 991 mhz (5-5-5-15) 2.0 volts (2.05 v?) in a pretty warm room. Max temp on one core is 63, and the vcore volts on load are 1.296. Idle its at 1.362 v. These volts were only given after I put the nb voltage to 1.43, and the temp also rose by a degree or so.

I'll run the test for a few more hours, and if it checks out well I think I may be calling quits for now, and start enjoying the reason why I got it in the first place. Games







I'll probably run some more large fft stress tests before being completely sure. Still, it has to manage survive this night first. Thanks again for all help guys.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Ok. Cool man. It would be very interesting to know how you eventually solve it. Are you actively cooling the ram in some manner? I have a feeling they are running quite hot at times, even if they are properly aircooled.

I'm actually preparing to stop here for now, just because it all seems to work very well so far at these settings. Then, after some while I might try to do something about the ram (even bios change perhaps).

I have now run prime95 blend test for 5 hours straight @ 3.511 ghz (413x8.5) with ram @ 991 mhz (5-5-5-15) 2.0 volts (2.05 v?) in a pretty warm room. Max temp on one core is 63, and the vcore volts on load are 1.296. Idle its at 1.362 v. These volts were only given after I put the nb voltage to 1.43, and the temp also rose by a degree or so.

I'll run the test for a few more hours, and if it checks out well I think I may be calling quits for now, and start enjoying the reason why I got it in the first place. Games







I'll probably run some more large fft stress tests before being completely sure. Still, it has to manage survive this night first. Thanks again for all help guys.


Your next step is to start OCing that video card!


----------



## ericeod

*Hey I need everyone's help*. The thread is getting hard to sort through. So if you all can PM me with posts in this thread are note worthy, I will add them as quotes to the first page. I'm sorry this thread seems so disjointed, but I did not create it, but was given it to take over, and I only got the top slot. So I wasnt able to establish the layout...

*So help me get this thread organized!*

Dont post anything as it will just add to the clutter, just PM please...

note that I am going to a friend's Military retirement ceremony in Florida, and I wont be back until next Tuesday. But I will clear out my PM inbox.

Just put "P5E recomendations" in the title.


----------



## spacegoast

New BIOS available from Asus:
P5E 1003 Link

Rampage Formula 0601 Link

Havent tested either one out yet.


----------



## arjo_reich

*RE: RAM VDIMM ISSUES*

I'd just like to chime and say that I noticed this problem on my P5N32-E 680i when I first got the board a year ago. To get my Ballistix to their rated 2.2v I had to set the BIOS voltage to 2.125v instead.. and it would vary, occasionally, from one update to the next, so between EVEREST and my multimeter, I would occassionally have to tweak it up or down afterwards.

That being said, I'm about to request the second RMA fulfillment on that POS and i'm looking for recommendations for my Q6600 chipset. Obviously I'm asking the wrong question for the fanboy thread ;p but would you guys still recommend dropping another $200 on a P5EX38?


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *arjo_reich*


*RE: RAM VDIMM ISSUES*

I'd just like to chime and say that I noticed this problem on my P5N32-E 680i when I first got the board a year ago. To get my Ballistix to their rated 2.2v I had to set the BIOS voltage to 2.125v instead.. and it would vary, occasionally, from one update to the next, so between EVEREST and my multimeter, I would occassionally have to tweak it up or down afterwards.

That being said, I'm about to request the second RMA fulfillment on that POS and i'm looking for recommendations for my Q6600 chipset. Obviously I'm asking the wrong question for the fanboy thread ;p but would you guys still recommend dropping another $200 on a P5EX38?


As long as you're aware the board is doing it and set your DRAM voltage appropriately, then it's not really a problem. For my RAM rated at 2.1V, I set 2.02 in the BIOS and get 2.08 measured. Good enough for now.

And, no, I'd recommend you drop another $220 on a P5E Deluxe.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Your nest step is to start OCing that video card!


Ha ha ha! Good one







Well, I did that Ati X800 pro, reflash to xt bios, changing heatsink and then oc it routine at one time. I'm not up to doing anything close in near future. Hehe. I still remember the nervousness from doing the process, as it really cost some bucks at the time. I'll wait for the gtx280 to really start dropping in cost before I start playing around with it much. Also, its at 85 degrees now and pretty silent. Dont want to mess it up really, having read about unlucky owners of this great card with badly settled sinks. I dont regret getting tempted into oc'ing my q9550 though, more like the opposite.

Have a nice trip ericeod! See you.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Just wanted to say that I now consider my system pretty stable, after having run prime95 continoulsy for 20 hours plus on blend torture setting.

First aircooled cpu oc is quite a success I would say.









Edit: Above statement should be put in a trashcan. Seems like the corsairs do not like the fsb being at 413, even if prime95 have run for a day or so. I'm retreating back to 400 fsb, for a good enough 3.4 ghz cpu oc to see if I can get that working good. At least I have some hope to get the ram running at 1066 at these fsb speeds. Also, my q9550 is C1 stepping. Could be that which is messing with my ability to oc further somehow.

Well, it was fun while it lasted


----------



## genetix

Hmm, finally after several weeks,days endless hours.. 4,0Ghz Stable by Prime95 new edition, but trying to get a bit lower voltages and 3,6Ghz clean functioning for 24/7 run. However, I am trying to get it stable in lower volts, but I fail miserably on North Bridge Voltages.

Don't really mind does the board explode or shoot me with lightnings, but yet this seems little high..

I am using NB: 1,47v on bios which equels 1.50v.
FSB term.: 1.34v on bios which equels 1.265v..
and having killer 'Auto' set fro CPU to get the 1.3125v exact without vDrop.

Now I am a bit questioning the NB 1.50v.. but if I drop it even 0.04v prime will become unstable. So what do you think guys? just keep 1.50v or OC less? To say 2 years usage?


----------



## error10

I have the NB set at 1.49V in BIOS. Of course it's an X48.


----------



## genetix

Quote:



Originally Posted by *error10*


I have the NB set at 1.49V in BIOS. Of course it's an X48.


yeah, but does that scale the same as basically the Rampages doesn't.. As 1.49v would be in this system 1.54v and on incredible stress it's 1.53v..

Just wondering where's the limit.. Wouldn't like to find out hardway even while not minding the lightnings..









--

there's also really damn hilarious aspect on these voltages. As in ASUS 'Auto' Settings.. for example my Q9450 max suggested by Intel is 1.3125v.. However if I set FSB to anything else than stock ASUS 'auto' settings adds it to 1.376v, hehe.. Kinda same on NB here.. If I set on any OC the NB as 'Auto' the Voltage of NB is after that 1.65v.. So anyone using these settings just kinda warning of ASUS 'Auto'-settings.

ASUS 'Auto'-settings seems always be like in edge of limits.. Which kinda also raises question what actually is save, if asus thinks those settings are good well lost point there, but anyway..


----------



## error10

Green = safe. Yellow = probably safe. (Purple?!?!? Whose bright idea was that?) Red = Get some water to put out that fire!

The safe voltages are also listed in your manual.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *genetix* 
Hmm, finally after several weeks,days endless hours.. 4,0Ghz Stable by Prime95 new edition, but trying to get a bit lower voltages and 3,6Ghz clean functioning for 24/7 run. However, I am trying to get it stable in lower volts, but I fail miserably on North Bridge Voltages.

Don't really mind does the board explode or shoot me with lightnings, but yet this seems little high..

I am using NB: 1,47v on bios which equels 1.50v.
FSB term.: 1.34v on bios which equels 1.265v..
and having killer 'Auto' set fro CPU to get the 1.3125v exact without vDrop.

Now I am a bit questioning the NB 1.50v.. but if I drop it even 0.04v prime will become unstable. So what do you think guys? just keep 1.50v or OC less? To say 2 years usage?










I had a Foxconn Mars mobo (which was awesome) and I had NB votlage up to 1.65v. It worked without any problems. Just as long as you ahve adequate cooling on the NB you should be in good shape. If you have an extra 80mm fan I would point one right on the NB just in case. You should be ok though at 1.47v


----------



## genetix

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
I had a Foxconn Mars mobo (which was awesome) and I had NB votlage up to 1.65v. It worked without any problems. Just as long as you ahve adequate cooling on the NB you should be in good shape. If you have an extra 80mm fan I would point one right on the NB just in case. You should be ok though at 1.47v

Yeah I know.. Had old board here on something like G33 or something worked and still is working on huge voltages with no issues and the ASUS auto set 1.65v kinda doesn't feel too bad.

Got quite insane cooling system here of 4x120mm + 1x200mm + power + 3rd party processor. One 120mm on side spinning straight to nb so mobo reports temps of 35c on 1.65v and 33c on 1.55v 32c on lower voltages.

Just that there's no way to read it so that is a bit worrying.. 1.65v goes straight stable even to 4.0Ghz on 500FSB and that's prime95 stable. 3,6Ghz isn't stable on 1.50v stable on 1.55v<->1.59v and the sweet spot is somewhere 1.57<->1.65v just don't know where.

-edit-

Just found the issue on Blend Prime95 testing alot of memory. The memory tested is 1600MB meaning it goes across ASUS idiotic Timings I mentioned here even earlier the Read to write & row to row timings. I have like half the hell here running atm on same 1.50v Unstable 3,6Ghz and I just wanted to give a shot and added memory on same benchmark to 800 and it runs like flawless at least hour.

"think if I fix the secondary latencies on BIOS this might solve my unstability issue. which is nice since hopefully with 1 click higher latencies this board finally gives me stable result. for 24/7 and little lower voltages."


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


Just wondering where's the limit.. Wouldn't like to find out hardway even while not minding the lightnings..










Are you referring to the X38 max voltage? Intel specs that to be something around 1.38V. I run mine 1.5ish V 24/7 for 4x1Gb @ 450fsb, and have run it several months @ 1.7ish V to get CAS3 @ 400fsb on my old D9GMH stix.

IMHO the X38/X48 MCH is pretty sturdy- I'm willing to bet that you'll start to reach thermal limits (90C) before voltage limits if you're cooling with air.


----------



## error10

Speaking of air cooling, how do I mount a spot cooler on the northbridge? I'd prefer not to go TOO ghetto with it. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to me that a fan would just shake off zip ties eventually. Pics would be appreciated.


----------



## genetix

Well, just happened to buy heat sensors. I'll stick them with simply panel to NB and lets see when it starts boiling eggs.

Also kinda was on thinking state of mind on BIOS all the suddently happened to read what asus writes on NB helps.. on 1.75v or above better cooling is required, lol.. ;=)

Quote:



Speaking of air cooling, how do I mount a spot cooler on the northbridge? I'd prefer not to go TOO ghetto with it. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to me that a fan would just shake off zip ties eventually. Pics would be appreciated.


Sorry got no idea on this one.. As far I looked it my GPUs are like completely blocking the way. Would have to be done some how sideways air passthrough, but when again my example box front coolers are so powerful I don't think wanna do that ;P

*--edit1--*

btw, speaking of old issue.. the vCore drops.. Just happened to retest for fun since Original P5E bios drops so damn hard time to time on some voltages. the suggested P5E-Deluxe. Here's nice screen shot of it dropping 0.04 inside 15 second stress, hehe..



*--edit2--*

New Asus BIOS for P5E is out 1003:
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/...-ASUS-1003.zip

Quote:



Fix if use ECC RAM the POST time is too long


what ever that means...

*--edit3--*

Quick puncktuate the 1003 P5E new BIOS. Like 2-3 mins test on Prime95 + HWMonitor...



that's with settings 3,2Ghz only, 1.2350v(vcore), 1.34v(FSB Term.), 1.41v(NB), 2.06v(DDR2)... (So, drops & high like NB are still there, but I think the vCore is dropping a bit less actually. That 1.18 is right on edge switching 1.19 on load.)

Other notes: cores #2-3 are stuck on my Q9450.. So no worries on those..

ps. where's the lightnings all the shadeful colours like grey or black smoke..


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


Well, just happened to buy heat sensors. I'll stick them with simply panel to NB and lets see when it starts boiling eggs.

Also kinda was on thinking state of mind on BIOS all the suddently happened to read what asus writes on NB helps.. on 1.75v or above better cooling is required, lol.. ;=)

btw, speaking of old issue.. the vCore drops.. Just happened to retest for fun since Original P5E bios drops so damn hard time to time on some voltages. the suggested P5E-Deluxe. Here's nice screen shot of it dropping 0.04 inside 15 second stress, hehe..










*--edit2--*

New Asus BIOS for P5E is out 1003:
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/...-ASUS-1003.zip

what ever that means...

*--edit3--*

Quick puncktuate the 1003 P5E new BIOS. Like 2-3 mins test on Prime95 + HWMonitor...



that's with settings 3,2Ghz only, 1.2350v(vcore), 1.34v(FSB Term.), 1.41v(NB), 2.06v(DDR2)... (So, drops & high like NB are still there, but I think the vCore is dropping a bit less actually. That 1.18 is right on edge switching 1.19 on load.)

Other notes: cores #2-3 are stuck on my Q9450.. So no worries on those..

ps. where's the lightnings all the shadeful colours like grey or black smoke..


Just so you know, the P5E Deluxe 0205 BIOS virtually eliminates the vdroop you are experiencing, and almost every motherboard has it btw. I would recommend flashing to that if you can. I posted the new BIOS updates already too ( Post #1144). Just waiting for Eric to add it to the first post when he gets back. There is also a new one for the Rampage Formula that I would like to try out when I have time.

error10:
I think Antec sells a spot cooler. Just pop one in and point it toward the NB, or you can do what I did and just point an 80mm fan right on it. Its ghetto/cheap but keeps NB temps in check.


----------



## error10

Go to Loadline Calibration in your BIOS and then read the text on the right side. It's pretty clear: Disabled = Follow Intel Specification. Now go download your processor datasheet and you'll see a nice graph of the loadline. In other words, it's supposed to do that.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
I think Antec sells a spot cooler. Just pop one in and point it toward the NB, or you can do what I did and just point an 80mm fan right on it. Its ghetto/cheap but keeps NB temps in check.

Oh yeah, found it. And woohoo, they have it at Staples! I can get one tomorrow!


----------



## Stianby

Hi all!

need a quick pointer..... currently running the 0903 Bios for the P5E, and i've red some posts in this thread, and the question is:
Which bios is the best bios for this MB? 
For me the Rampage formula bootup logo screen looks good, would like to have that









On the other hand the system is currently running perfect at 3.6, i've found my sweetspot! Had some trouble back when i had the multiplier at 8x, but now at 9x, i've had it all the way up to 430x9, no issues at all!

But recommend me a bios, keep or change.....


----------



## error10

IF it's running fine then there's no need to change it. But the Rampage Formula will give you better options for tweaking out your RAM timings, among other things. For me, it got me some more stability too.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Stianby*


Hi all!

need a quick pointer..... currently running the 0903 Bios for the P5E, and i've red some posts in this thread, and the question is:
Which bios is the best bios for this MB? 
For me the Rampage formula bootup logo screen looks good, would like to have that









On the other hand the system is currently running perfect at 3.6, i've found my sweetspot! Had some trouble back when i had the multiplier at 8x, but now at 9x, i've had it all the way up to 430x9, no issues at all!

But recommend me a bios, keep or change.....


Like error10 said, if it runs great it is not absolutely necessary to flash BIOS. The P5E Deluxe 0205 BIOS is virtually the same as the P5E with better vdroop control. If you look back 2 or 3 pages in this thread there is discussion of this and how it affects CPU voltages under load. The Rampage Formula BIOS is also available and adds extra RAM tweaking abilities, allowing you to tweak your RAM. I would go with the P5E Dlx BIOS though, since it is nearly identical and should allow you the same overclocks. It worked great for me, but I thought I would try the Rampage Formula for its extra RAM settings.


----------



## error10

The way they have the transaction booster set up in the Rampage Formula BIOS is much better than the way it's laid out in the P5E/P5E Deluxe BIOS, and this I appreciate. So it may be worth cross-flashing for that alone.


----------



## genetix

Copied screenshot to my post on 0205 P5E-Deluxe BIOS which showed very clearly P5E-Deluxe BIOS doesn't actually eliminate anything. Sadly imageshack doesn't work it seems. Don't know about Rampage Formula BIOS should test that up also. btw, anyone happend to know what are the 6 slot PH values on 0201 Performance level options?

about Loadline Calibration, yeah been testing it here and got her Intel Datasheets reading them all the time, but for some reason doesn't exactly do what they say, heh..

Guess, simplest form is again just buy another core and mobo when the time comes. There's absolutely no question that it wouldn't be the motherboard faulting P5E. Since no component inside the box has an issue while OCing that I am now 100% sure of after weeks memtest, Prime95 etc etc..


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


Copied screenshot to my post on 0205 P5E-Deluxe BIOS which showed very clearly P5E-Deluxe BIOS doesn't actually eliminate anything. Sadly imageshack doesn't work it seems.


Well it has worked out very well for myself and other, in terms of eliminating vdroop. My vdroop was only .004v under load, which is quite good. Not exactly sure what you are referring to about LLC though, and I only saw a screenshot of your 2 min. test using the 1003 BIOS.


----------



## genetix

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Well it has worked out very well for myself and other, in terms of eliminating vdroop. My vdroop was only .004v under load, which is quite good. Not exactly sure what you are referring to about LLC though, and I only saw a screenshot of your 2 min. test using the 1003 BIOS.

It's even less than 0.04 of on P5E 1003 BIOS. which was my point it never was more than 0.04 on original 0702 or 0903 either. So kinda comment of 0205 P5E-Deluxe killing any vDroop is a bit off shooting.

Fixed the screenshot to earlier post and here's quick readd on 0205 P5E-Deluxe vdroop:


You can compare that to (1.18-1.19v(-0.02-0.03v) on 1003: (which is same 1.17(-0.04) in 0702, 0903 BIOSes):


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I am using the 0501 RF beta BIOS now. testing under Prime95. I set Vcore to 1.4v in BIOS (389 x 9 for 3.5ghz). in idle, Vcore was at 1.384 and now under load it is at 1.392v. so vdroop has been virtually eliminated with .008 off from what i set in BIOS. so far so good










My mistake, vdroop was actually .008, not .004 as I said earlier. It is still lower than the .04v you are referring to. I think you just misinterpreted the numbers. .004 is less then .04, big difference their, which is what I was pointing out. And this was with the RF BIOS, works with the Deluxe BIOS as well.


----------



## Archetype

How is the rf 501 bios working for you guys.? Currently on the rf403 and having a hectic problem with usb's, the headers and the ports at the back...


----------



## genetix

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


My mistake, vdroop was actually .008, not .004 as I said earlier. It is still lower than the .04v you are referring to. I think you just misinterpreted the numbers. .004 is less then .04, big difference their, which is what I was pointing out. And this was with the RF BIOS, works with the Deluxe BIOS as well.


Well not in my P5E. vdroop on 0205 s shown on screenshots is worst than on new 1003 BIOS to P5E. Don't know about RF 0501 which I am gonna be testing at some point, but P5E-Deluxe 0205 is surely even worst than P5E 0903 on my board.

anyway, 1003 BIOS seems to have some more than just.. voltage correction. Seems now you can drop latencies a bit at least on Corsairs & G.Skill it seems.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Hi guys. My recent oc'ing, which I so happily declared successful (@ 3.51) probably indeed WAS successful. Only problem was that my gtx280 somehow didnt like running vantage at all. Overheating gpu was the last thing I thought about, amongst all the volts and terms I never heard before, but I gradually found out that this instability in vantage was due to ram and the gtx280 in "warm" companionship. Oh well, I kind of like it here on 3.4 too. Lover nb volts and generally comfortable enough for gaming though. My dominators still doesnt like higher fsb's though, so I have to downclock a bit to get it running at 400fsb. Damned you corsair. You had to choose THIS card to be difficult with.

Anyways, probably a stoopid question, but does raising fsb's also affect the speed at which the pci-e gtx280 communicate with other components? Is it possible that this process could have somehow raised the card temps a bit, if you look beside neighbouring components? I actually think I had some throttling even before oc'ing, but I feel it was somehow less "fatal" to stability.

Finally I can actually get Crysis Warhead playable at 1680x1050, with 4xaa and most relevant settings at ultra.







(also got 13.300 in vantage performance and 8450 in high). Much higher than before the oc. Thanks once more for the help I got here.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Oookay. Decided to give my dominators one last go. Finally started listening to spacegoast and ericeod, and did that clock twister thing and transaction booster thing properly. Made it to 1066 now, and it DID help quite a lot


----------



## genetix

I just sticked Flat heat sensor on top of Northbridge X38 chip on ASUS-P5E.. atm running test run on Stock values. (That's 1.38v on NB voltage and 1.20v on FSB VTT). Will return what it is. Atm, (these are still really unreliable, but) stock seems to stay at 36,7 degrees. while Motherboard sensor from everest states 32 degrees so at least I know mobo sensor ain't anywhere near NB.

Anyway, more on this later as soon I know how accurate the reading is. The meter is +/-0.01 degrees accuracy, but I think I'll add my own calculations 5 degrees just in case. (Since been hearing some idiot on web got 70-75 degrees on 3,2Ghz).


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


I just sticked Flat heat sensor on top of Northbridge X38 chip on ASUS-P5E.. atm running test run on Stock values. (That's 1.38v on NB voltage and 1.20v on FSB VTT). Will return what it is. Atm, (these are still really unreliable, but) stock seems to stay at 36,7 degrees. while Motherboard sensor from everest states 32 degrees so at least I know mobo sensor ain't anywhere near NB.

Anyway, more on this later as soon I know how accurate the reading is. The meter is +/-0.01 degrees accuracy, but I think I'll add my own calculations 5 degrees just in case. (Since been hearing some idiot on web got 70-75 degrees on 3,2Ghz).


The stock NB voltage for the X38/X48 is 1.25v to the NB. Have you tried testing it at 1.25v to see how hot the chipset gets?


----------



## genetix

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
The stock NB voltage for the X38/X48 is 1.25v to the NB. Have you tried testing it at 1.25v to see how hot the chipset gets?

That is incorrect..

NB voltage in stock is 1.38v since I have atm Auto setting on ASUS-P5E on BIOS on all values.. > Under Windows Reported Voltage = 1.38v, and so is the meter for NB.

The NB voltage under BIOS 1.25v gives 0.04v higher so that would be 1.29v minimal, but I trust the 'Auto' setting on NB being more correct designed value, atm.

(That goes for ASUS-P5E, Deluxe & now finally got to test Rampage Formula BIOS best one atm seems to be 1003 P5E 'at least for my equipment' however only RF and Deluxe BIOSes will give 3rd memory Latency controls in cost of losing all Voltage sensor readings in windows.).


----------



## genetix

Removed


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *genetix* 
That is incorrect..

NB voltage in stock is 1.38v since I have atm Auto setting on ASUS-P5E on BIOS on all values.. > Under Windows Reported Voltage = 1.38v, and so is the meter for NB.

The NB voltage under BIOS 1.25v gives 0.04v higher so that would be 1.29v minimal, but I trust the 'Auto' setting on NB being more correct designed value, atm.

(That goes for ASUS-P5E, Deluxe & now finally got to test Rampage Formula BIOS best one atm seems to be 1003 P5E 'at least for my equipment' however only RF and Deluxe BIOSes will give 3rd memory Latency controls in cost of losing all Voltage sensor readings in windows.).


Please dont post incorrect voltage info. Auto is not stock (I dont think too many people trust *"Auto"* settings when it comes to voltages)... 1.25v is stock NB for X38/X48 and P35, while 1.10v is the stock NB for the P45. I just need to make sure people get the correct info in this thread.


----------



## genetix

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Please dont post incorrect voltage info. Auto is not stock (I dont think too many people trust *"Auto"* settings when it comes to voltages)... 1.25v is stock NB for X38/X48 and P35, while 1.10v is the stock NB for the P45. I just need to make sure people get the correct info in this thread.


I'd love to see you do that, hehe.. There's absolutely no way you will get 1.25 volts in these boards out and that's a fact as I said I will test 1.25v(1.29v).

What is stock voltage? some Datasheet or prosyre values from Intel? or actually what the box is when you boot it up? Just wonder the whole statement stock voltage when you boot P5E. (Stock = when you buy something = run it)


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


I'd love to see you do that, hehe.. There's absolutely no way you will get 1.25 volts in these boards out and that's a fact as I said I will test 1.25v(1.29v).

What is stock voltage? some Datasheet or prosyre values from Intel? or actually what the box is when you boot it up? Just wonder the whole statement stock voltage when you boot P5E. (Stock = when you buy something = run it)


Its not a debate, its just facts. I dont decide what stock voltages are, they are determined by Intel. If you want to run Auto votages, be my guest. But when I claim I am running stock votages, I make sure they are set to the manufacturer's specs.

I was only originally requesting that you test the stock voltages to see the temp of the NB according to your temp sensor. And since 1.25v is stock, thats what we would expect you to be running, not auto because you feel it is more accurate...


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *genetix*


I'd love to see you do that, hehe.. There's absolutely no way you will get 1.25 volts in these boards out *and that's a fact* as I said I will test 1.25v(1.29v).












If you dont have anything positive to contribute to this thread please dont post here.

Edit: Stock voltage does not mean setting to Auto and whatever it you see is the stock setting. Stock voltages are always specified values. A good example of this is CPU VID. My VID is 1.2875v. If I leave my CPU voltage on Auto and boot up at 1.26v, my stock voltage does not drop to 1.26, it will always remain 1.2875v.


----------



## Stianby

You lose voltage reading sensors with the RF bios for the P5E?


----------



## Dominatu

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dominatu* 
There we go, working just fine now. Memory running @ DDR2-1000 now. Core voltage is at 1.2v... might get it lower, don't know. Going to stress a bit now and continue to 3.1 till 3.6 or 3.7Ghz.

I'm back again. Reached 3.4Ghz yesterday (8x425FSB) with 1.25 vCore, DDR2 @ 1022Mhz 2.1v and NB at 1.31v. But when I increase the FSB to 450 it will POST but not boot XP. I clocked the DDR2 back to 800mhz, but still no luck.

Anyone know how to fix this? Already tried upping the NB voltage to 1.40 and the Vcore to 1.35v, but no luck.


----------



## Archetype

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Stianby* 
You lose voltage reading sensors with the RF bios for the P5E?

I'm not really sure but there are NB and SB temps that are going mad, into negative figures, only the CPU and MB temps seem to be ok. I think its coz theres no NB and SB sensors on the P5E. I might be wrong.


----------



## Stianby

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Archetype* 
I'm not really sure but there are NB and SB temps that are going mad, into negative figures, only the CPU and MB temps seem to be ok. I think its coz theres no NB and SB sensors on the P5E. I might be wrong.


There are temp sensors. The MB temp in everest is the Northbridge temp.
I also get the voltage for the northbridge. But the southbridge is absent.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Archetype* 
I'm not really sure but there are NB and SB temps that are going mad, into negative figures, only the CPU and MB temps seem to be ok. I think its coz theres no NB and SB sensors on the P5E. I might be wrong.

Thats because the P5E doesnt have those temp sensors. So the bios is looking for readings, and getting random values. The only temp sensor on the P5E is the CPU and motherboard. So after cross flashing to the Rampage Formula you will have to disable the NB and SB temp sensors in the bios. The P5E Deluxe is the same, no temp sensors. Thats why I have been cross flashing the P5E to the P5E Deluxe. You get the same bios features of the improved X48 and you dont have to worry about the temp sensors and extra lan.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Stianby* 
There are temp sensors. The MB temp in everest is the Northbridge temp.
I also get the voltage for the northbridge. But the southbridge is absent.

Be aware that the temp is not the NB. The P5E doesnt have chipset temp sensors. That is the only real drawback it has compared to the Maximus Formula.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Hi guys. Some days ago I said I would post some bios shots for other newbies to use as a reference when starting overclocking the p5e. Who knows, maybe someone who got specifically the q9550, dont want to crossflash and want to do a stable but not extreme oc, just like me?

For the record my actual cpu voltage in cpu-z is 1.336 on idle, and 1.296 or close on load. I guess I could go down just a tad from my bios set 1.3625 vcore, and still get it running fine at 400 fsb. Not by much though, as I've tested 1.300 (bios) and up some. Also, my VID is 1.1625v.

If you want to do SERIOUS overclocking though, listen to these other ppl and crossflash to another bios, due to vdroop and vdrop.

Edit (change from pictures): I took the dram voltage down in bios to 2.04. Ran 4 passes in memcheck and gamed for quite a bit tonight without issue. Remember that the P5E is quite a dram overvolter. Thanks to Spacegoast for recent input on this issue.

Edit2 (change from pictures: I also tuned down the bios vcore to 1.325. Its now 1.296v idle, and 1.264 at load. Now my cpu barely goes up to 58c with the TRUE cooler.

Anyways, here you go guys. Have a nice day!







(stock p5e 1003 bios):


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dominatu* 
I'm back again. Reached 3.4Ghz yesterday (8x425FSB) with 1.25 vCore, DDR2 @ 1022Mhz 2.1v and NB at 1.31v. But when I increase the FSB to 450 it will POST but not boot XP. I clocked the DDR2 back to 800mhz, but still no luck.

Anyone know how to fix this? Already tried upping the NB voltage to 1.40 and the Vcore to 1.35v, but no luck.










Past 425 FSB, the NB voltage doesnt scale the same at all (with quad cores). You will see much higher voltages needed to reach 450 FSB. Try 1.55v to the NB and see if windows will load.


----------



## Dominatu

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Past 425 FSB, the NB voltage doesnt scale the same at all (with quad cores). You will see much higher voltages needed to reach 450 FSB. Try 1.55v to the NB and see if windows will load.

Ok thank you. I will try it out today!


----------



## Dominatu

So I tried raising the NB voltage to 1.55v, but still no luck when booting up Windows XP. These are my settings at 3.4Ghz... the red markings are @ 3.6Ghz (!).

Ai Overclock Tuner - Manual
CPU Ratio Setting - Auto
FSB Frequency - 425 450
FSB Strap to North Bridge - Auto
PCIE Frequency - 100

Dram Frequency - DDR2 1020 MHz DDR2 900 MHz
Dram Command Rate - Manual

CAS# Latency - 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay - 5
RAS# Precharge - 5
RAS# Active Time - 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay - Auto
Row Refresh Cycle Time - Auto
Write Recovery Time - Auto
Read to Precharge Time - Auto

Read to Write Delay - auto
Write to Read Delay - auto
Write to Read Delay - auto
Read to Read Delay - auto
Read to Read Delay - auto
Write to Write delay - auto
write to write delay - auto
dram static read control - disabled
ai clock twister - disabled
transaction booster - disabled

VCORE Voltage - 1.225 1.30
CPU PLL Voltage - auto
FSB Termination Voltage - auto
Dram voltage - 2.10
north bridge voltage - 1.31 1.55
south bridge voltage - auto

Whats the next step to try?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dominatu* 
So I tried raising the NB voltage to 1.55v, but still no luck when booting up Windows XP. These are my settings at 3.4Ghz... the red markings are @ 3.6Ghz (!).

Ai Overclock Tuner - Manual
CPU Ratio Setting - Auto
FSB Frequency - 425 450
FSB Strap to North Bridge - Auto
PCIE Frequency - 100

Dram Frequency - DDR2 1020 MHz DDR2 900 MHz
Dram Command Rate - Manual

CAS# Latency - 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay - 5
RAS# Precharge - 5
RAS# Active Time - 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay - Auto
Row Refresh Cycle Time - Auto
Write Recovery Time - Auto
Read to Precharge Time - Auto

Read to Write Delay - auto
Write to Read Delay - auto
Write to Read Delay - auto
Read to Read Delay - auto
Read to Read Delay - auto
Write to Write delay - auto
write to write delay - auto
dram static read control - disabled
ai clock twister - disabled
transaction booster - disabled

VCORE Voltage - 1.225 1.30
CPU PLL Voltage - auto
FSB Termination Voltage - auto
Dram voltage - 2.10
north bridge voltage - 1.31 1.55
south bridge voltage - auto

Whats the next step to try?

Is that vcore voltage in red (1.30) the REAL value, or just bios settings? My cpu, while having a low vid value, needs quite a punch to run stable. 1.300 in bios wouldnt even run 3.4ghz for me.

Also, "transaction booster - disabled" in stock p5e bios doesnt actually turn off transaction booster, it just turns on a "timings loosener" of sorts, with values that can be raised to relax timings. Read on the right hand side of the screen, and see if it says something about this in your bios. I discovered this myself by accident.

My 50 cents would be that the ram cant handle the fsb speed properly, and that you MAY be able to tune this a bit by raising "transaction booster" numbers when set to "disabled". Larger numbers are looser timings methinks. Try it out at least, to see if this could help. Also, generally loosening the timings manually to 6-6-6-18 for instance would be an option to rule the ram out. Knowing this helped me a lot in the process of understanding the bios at least.

But then again, my or anyone elses 50 cents isn't neccessarily worth much in this game


----------



## Chris Ihao

Hmm. It seems a lot of people here refers to everest when giving voltage values and temperatures. For me, everest just gives me a lot of waaay wrong numbers. :swearing: Even those that SHOULD be read correctly. Any special settings in everest that need to be set?


----------



## Dominatu

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Is that vcore voltage in red (1.30) the REAL value, or just bios settings? My cpu, while having a low vid value, needs quite a punch to run stable. 1.300 in bios wouldnt even run 3.4ghz for me.

Also, "transaction booster - disabled" in stock p5e bios doesnt actually turn off transaction booster, it just turns on a "timings loosener" of sorts, with values that can be raised to relax timings. Read on the right hand side of the screen, and see if it says something about this in your bios. I discovered this myself by accident.

My 50 cents would be that the ram cant handle the fsb speed properly, and that you MAY be able to tune this a bit by raising "transaction booster" numbers when set to "disabled". Larger numbers are looser timings methinks. Try it out at least, to see if this could help. Also, generally loosening the timings manually to 6-6-6-18 for instance would be an option to rule the ram out. Knowing this helped me a lot in the process of understanding the bios at least.

But then again, my or anyone elses 50 cents isn't neccessarily worth much in this game









The red values are the BIOS settings. Tried loosening the timings to 6-6-6-18, but that didn't helped unfortunatly. But I think it's the voltages, because when I clocked the Q9400 back to 3.4Ghz it didn't boot XP either with just 1.2v Vcore in the BIOS. When I upped it to 1.225v it works just fine. Already tried 1.35v for 3.6Ghz, but no luck and I think that's about the limit for a 45nm CPU.

Gonna try 3.5Ghz and see at what voltages XP will boot.

EDIT: Running @ 3.52Ghz at the moment. Vcore at 1.275 and NB voltage at 1.41v in BIOS. Going to run Prime95 to look if it's stable...


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dominatu* 
The red values are the BIOS settings. Tried loosening the timings to 6-6-6-18, but that didn't helped unfortunatly. But I think it's the voltages, because when I clocked the Q9400 back to 3.4Ghz it didn't boot XP either with just 1.2v Vcore in the BIOS. When I upped it to 1.225v it works just fine. Already tried 1.35v for 3.6Ghz, but no luck and I think that's about the limit for a 45nm CPU.

Gonna try 3.5Ghz and see at what voltages XP will boot.

EDIT: Running @ 3.52Ghz at the moment. Vcore at 1.275 and NB voltage at 1.41v in BIOS. Going to run Prime95 to look if it's stable...

Cool. Thats a good cpu you got there. Is it E stepping or C stepping? Hope it goes well for you. I could run 3.52 at 1.362 vcore in bios (1.290 under load, 1.330 idle), and nb at 1.41 for 21 hours stable with prime. I downclocked anyways, as I prefer to stay on the safe side, and no game I'll play the next year or so will max out my 3.4 quad anyways







Its fun to do it though.

Btw: I think as long as you stay within the 0.85V â€" 1.3625V range, as stated by Intel, you should be fine. What does gpu-z show under load? I lose about .03 volts in idle, from what I set in bios. More at load. I guess you could push it a bit over in bios, staying within the limits still. Ericeod said that gpu-z actually seems to over report a bit too.


----------



## Dominatu

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Cool. Thats a good cpu you got there. Is it E stepping or C stepping? Hope it goes well for you. I could run 3.52 at 1.362 vcore in bios (1.290 under load, 1.330 idle), and nb at 1.41 for 21 hours stable with prime. I downclocked anyways, as I prefer to stay on the safe side, and no game I'll play the next year or so will max out my 3.4 quad anyways







Its fun to do it though.

Btw: I think as long as you stay within the 0.85V - 1.3625V range, as stated by Intel, you should be fine. What does gpu-z show under load? I lose about .03 volts in idle, from what I set in bios. More at load. I guess you could push it a bit over in bios, staying within the limits still. Ericeod said that gpu-z actually seems to over report a bit too.









Made a screenshot of it. The first settings weren't stable so went back to the BIOS and upped it to 1.3v Vcore and 1.45v NB. Looks and seems a lot better!

http://i34.tinypic.com/w9hc8i.jpg

EDIT: Ugh, can't get it stable at 3.52Ghz. Seems I just need to much voltage just to get 100-200mhz more. Rather keep ik at 3.4Ghz then! But I'll watch this thread time to time, so if anyone knows a solution or has some advice I'll look into it.


----------



## Stianby

Hi

I have 2gb's of memory, and recently upgraded to vista ultimate x64, and i just oredered Corsair dominator 4gb kit, of 2x2gb sticks. 
Can i use the memory sticks i allready have, which is identical, but 2x1gb.
And get a total of 6gb's of memory, and run dualchannel?


----------



## spacegoast

The Dominator 2x2GB DDR2 1066 RAM has not been working too well with this motherboard. Myself, and a few others have been experiencing quite a few problems with this RAM. I even went as far as returning my RAM because I was disappointed with its performance. It is hard enough just to run them at their rated specifications. It is mentioned on the last couple of pages in this thread, but I would advise against it. 
The highest I could get my RAM was 1133, but it was not stable at all. To get it to even running at 1066 I had to overvolt the RAM to 2.14V, and this motherboard overvolts the RAM already, so I was probably using 2.2V+ just to get it at 1066. I have heard good things with this kit on other mobo's, they just dont play nice with this one.

edit: Chris Ihao has his running at 1066 right now and seems to be pretty stable


----------



## zlojack

Wow, that's bizarre.

On my Maximus Formula, the best RAM of all that I tried was the Corsair.

I could run 8GB at 1133MHz stable!


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Stianby*


Hi

I have 2gb's of memory, and recently upgraded to vista ultimate x64, and i just oredered Corsair dominator 4gb kit, of 2x2gb sticks. 
Can i use the memory sticks i allready have, which is identical, but 2x1gb.
And get a total of 6gb's of memory, and run dualchannel?


Hi fellow norwegian









When it comes to dual ddr on this board, the manual says this:

"You may install varying memory sizes in Channel A and Channel B. The system maps the total size of the lower-sized channel for the for the dual-channel configuration. Any excess memory from the higher-sized channel is then mapped for single-channel operation."

So, you actually get only 4 gigs of dual channel, and the 2 gigs you have left is mapped for single. I would personally rather just get another 4 gigs if I had a 64 bits system









For reference, at 400fsb I run the 2x2gb dominators at 2.04 volts in bios, with "ai clock twister" set to "strong" and "transaction booster" set to "enabled" and "0" (zero). This is on 1066 speed. They get a tad overclocked from "stock 1066" by doing this, but not by much. At auto settings they wouldnt even post.

Hope this helps.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I'll get around to reading through this thread eventually, but I figure it would be faster to just come out and ask it: what is the best BIOS for my system? I currently have the Rampage Formula 0410 BIOS. I'm trying to reach 3.6GHz with my Q9450. I thought I had a Maximus Formula, but it turns out it's really a P5E. I don't know if this will hinder my overclocking potential or not.

I tried getting to 3.6GHz the last few days, but I got stuck at 3.52GHz. Then after further stability testing at 3.52, I found out it wasn't stable at all. Then I had trouble finding any stability so I decided to start from scratch. If a different BIOS will make things easier, I'd love to know.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## spacegoast

_Here is quick config for 3.2ghz I used:

CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________400
FSB Frequency_________Auto
PCIE Freq_____________100
DRAM Freq____________1066
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light or Moderate
AI Transaction Boost____9
CPU Voltage___________~1.3V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.54
FSB Termination Volt____1.30
DRAM Volt_____________2.0v
NB Volt________________1.39
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

What ever you do, dont set the CPU voltage above 1.36v unless doing suicide runs._
_If you want 3.4ghz, bump the FSB up to 425 and select an appropriate FSB strap. Also, on the P5E RAM has been known to be overvolted in most cases so set it a little lower than rated spec._


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I can get to 3.2GHz no sweat. It's 3.6GHz I want to reach, though. In fact, I don't think I needed that much voltage to hit 3.2GHz. I don't remember. I was working my way up 10 at a time until I couldn't do anything at 450.

I completely started over and I used the minimum voltage settings for everything under Extreme Tweaker except DRAM. I set that to 2.0. I know I shouldn't have to touch it the rest of the way.


----------



## spacegoast

for 450FSB and 8x multi, set NB to 1.45V. Set AI Clock Twister to Light and Transaction Booster to 9. Select A FSB strap that will have your RAM running closest to 1000mhz. Hopefully you can get it running.

The settings I posted were for my Q6600, the 45nm cpu's require less volts in just about all areas, so thats why you may hit 3.2ghz with tless than 1.3vcore.

edit: you may have to up the RAM voltage as well.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I tried booting with 1.3625V to CPU, 1.55V to NB, Common Performance Level (tRD) to 10 at 6x450 and no dice. I think I had 1.32V on VTT and 1.62V on PLL. I'm beginning to believe 450 just isn't possible for me.

EDIT: I'd like to know what to set my GTL references at. I read what they're supposed to mean and something about 0.8V being important so I tried calculating whatever I had to to end up with 0.8. Am I in the right school of thought or am I way off base?


----------



## Aaroman

my 3d mark 06 score. 11945. so close to 12k








http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=8881095


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chessmyantidrug*


I tried booting with 1.3625V to CPU, 1.55V to NB, Common Performance Level (tRD) to 10 at 6x450 and no dice. I think I had 1.32V on VTT and 1.62V on PLL. I'm beginning to believe 450 just isn't possible for me.

EDIT: I'd like to know what to set my GTL references at. I read what they're supposed to mean and something about 0.8V being important so I tried calculating whatever I had to to end up with 0.8. Am I in the right school of thought or am I way off base?


6x450? Or did you use 8? That 8x multi is killing your OC and the main reason why I didnt go with a Q9450. If you tried that much voltage to get it, then there is a good chance it wont happen, not on air anyway. I know that board can hit above 450FSB though.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I tried it with a 6x multi because I was sure I'd have a better shot at getting into Windows with the lower clock. It didn't work at 8x450, either. I should have tried 8x450 with my Q6600 before taking it out because I know it could hit 3.6GHz. I think my BIOS could be holding me back because I had a few issues when I went from the 0403 to 0410.

My next planned upgrade is a used Q9550 E0 that is a proven overclocker.


----------



## zlojack

Chess, if you've got the RF bios, have you tried messing with the GTLs and skews?

The X38 should be able to do 450 with a quad.

If you put a spot-cooler on it, don't be afraid to crank up the NB a bit more, either.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I have no idea what the GTLs and skews do so I haven't touched them. I've asked what they're all about and recommended settings, but no one has given me an answer. Everything I find with Google is too ambiguous.

My NB voltage in BIOS is currently 1.25. I started over from scratch with the minimums everywhere except RAM (2.0V). I'm currently up to 8x360 and CPU-Z reports a 1.088V on load. In BIOS, I have 1.15V on the CPU.

I also have no idea what CPU PLL and FSB termination voltages are for, I just know not to get crazy with them. I saw one source that said to keep FSB termination voltage under 1.45, I can't recall any limit for CPU PLL.


----------



## zlojack

Well, I won't tell you to raise volts beyond where you're comfortable, but to get your quad up to 450 you'll have to give your board some volts

Here's a great post on GTLs from XS

For skews, they can really help with stabilizing FSB speeds. Advancing or Delaying can make all the difference. I think it was at the OCZ Technology forums

This thread has some good info on skews.

I know it's about X48 and DDR3, but the concepts are the same.

If you want to squeeze the most out of your quad, I suggest you read up. I'm sure there's more left in the tank.

As for PLL and FSBTerm, it's a controversial subject. My take is the following: Anandtech killed a chip and suspected it was one of those two voltages, but there has been no proof. Meanwhile, BenchZowner at XS ran some tests (here) where he ran ridiculous voltages through his chips for extended periods and they didn't die.

I'm not saying a chip won't, I'm just saying that I don't think there's a hard and fast rule.

If it were my gear, I'd try 1.6v PLL and about 1.35v FSBTerm (but don't do it if your not comfortable as, while there's no hard proof it *will* fry your chip, there's also no hard proof it *won't* - welcome to the wonderful world of overclocking







). I'd also read up on skews and look around for more info on how to tweak them. Check the GTL thread as well. I bet you get more out of your beast!


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chessmyantidrug*


I have no idea what the GTLs and skews do so I haven't touched them. I've asked what they're all about and recommended settings, but no one has given me an answer. Everything I find with Google is too ambiguous.

My NB voltage in BIOS is currently 1.25. I started over from scratch with the minimums everywhere except RAM (2.0V). I'm currently up to 8x360 and CPU-Z reports a 1.088V on load. In BIOS, I have 1.15V on the CPU.

I also have no idea what CPU PLL and FSB termination voltages are for, I just know not to get crazy with them. I saw one source that said to keep FSB termination voltage under 1.45, I can't recall any limit for CPU PLL.


Check out this thread. Eric sheds some light on this mysterious GTL voltage: http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...reference.html


----------



## AndrewBEJ

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chessmyantidrug*


I have no idea what the GTLs and skews do so I haven't touched them. I've asked what they're all about and recommended settings, but no one has given me an answer. Everything I find with Google is too ambiguous.

My NB voltage in BIOS is currently 1.25. I started over from scratch with the minimums everywhere except RAM (2.0V). I'm currently up to 8x360 and CPU-Z reports a 1.088V on load. In BIOS, I have 1.15V on the CPU.

I also have no idea what CPU PLL and FSB termination voltages are for, I just know not to get crazy with them. I saw one source that said to keep FSB termination voltage under 1.45, I can't recall any limit for CPU PLL.


Try this :
_ CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________450
FSB Frequency_________Auto/400
PCIE Freq_____________110
DRAM Freq____________1066
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto/you can try advance 100-200 later
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto/__you can try advance 100-200 later_
_ DRAM Timing Control____5-5-5-15-55
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Stronger
AI Transaction Boost____7
CPU Voltage___________1.3-1.5V (depends on CPU)
CPU PLL Volt___________1.6
FSB Termination Volt____1.54
DRAM Volt_____________2.16V
NB Volt________________1.61-1.65
SB Volt________________1.6
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.67x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled
DRAM Controller Voltage reference: DDR_Ref
_


----------



## chessmyantidrug

All those voltages look high, especially VTT.

I did a little reading on skews. What I read said to delay channel A slightly or advance channel B slightly. The reasoning behind this is channel A is closer to the NB so doing one or the other would get them in sync. I'll toy with this more once I start to hit a wall.

I'm about to stress test 8x370 at 1.16875V in BIOS for a little over an hour. I think it'll show about 1.10V under load in CPU-Z. Each increase of 10 to the FSB has resulted in an increase in 0.01875 to my CPU voltage thus far. If this continues, I should need 1.225 when I reach 400.

I'll do more reading on the GTLs before I change anything. My system has done just fine with auto thus far.


----------



## zlojack

Auto works up to a certain point, but once you get more stress on the NB, then you have to start dialing them in.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I'll probably reach that point pretty soon. I just bumped things up to 8x380. I've raised my CPU voltage twice and I'm expecting Prime95 to fail again. I'm currently up to 1.18125 in BIOS, 1.112 under load in CPU-Z. I figure I'll start playing with NB voltage around 400.

And like clockwork, Prime95 failed. I expect it to show no errors after I bump core voltage up another notch. I'll run it for a little over an hour like I have been. Once I clear 400, I'll run it for considerably longer than that, unless I have to raise more than just core voltage between now and then.

And now I've experienced something unexpected. I went up three notches like the last three times I raised FSB 10, but I had an error in Prime95. I'll try raising core voltage once more before turning to NB.


----------



## ericeod

I could really use some 45nm Quad and Dual bios screen shots to enhance the first post in the thread. PM if you want to help!


----------



## chessmyantidrug

Should I flash the 0601 BIOS to my P5E?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chessmyantidrug* 
Should I flash the 0601 BIOS to my P5E?

The 410 is pretty stable. I would only flash if you are having bios issues.

Here is the main reason for the bios update:

Quote:

Fixed some RAID card does not be detected when plus it in PCIEX16_2


----------



## chessmyantidrug

Maybe I should go back to 0403 then. I had a few issues with my Q6600 after I switched, but I eventually found a stable 3.6GHz overclock with it. If there's a better BIOS for me to overclock with, let me know.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chessmyantidrug* 
Maybe I should go back to 0403 then. I had a few issues with my Q6600 after I switched, but I eventually found a stable 3.6GHz overclock with it. If there's a better BIOS for me to overclock with, let me know.

The P5E Deluxe 0205 is also works very well with the P5E. I used it and had the same settings I am using now and it was stable.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I think I'll see how far I can get with this BIOS before I switch so at least I'll have a benchmark to compare changes to.

I think I'm going to run Prime95 for 24 hours before making changes from now on. I had it running when I went to sleep, had an error two and a half hours in. I'm at 8x400 right now with 1.24375 on CPU and 1.29 on NB in BIOS. CPU-Z says 1.168V under load.


----------



## Stianby

Hello again!

I'm gettin a message when trying to flash my bios from 0903 P5E bios to the 06?? Rampage formula bios.
The bios rom is not compatible with the current bios rom version..... something like that.

Is there any way around this?

Using a bootable pendrive with the afudos 236....


----------



## error10

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Stianby* 
Hello again!

I'm gettin a message when trying to flash my bios from 0903 P5E bios to the 06?? Rampage formula bios.
The bios rom is not compatible with the current bios rom version..... something like that.

Is there any way around this?

Using a bootable pendrive with the afudos 236....

Follow the directions in the top post in this thread.


----------



## Rampage9

OK, I just registered and read through a good portion of this thread, a lot of great information here!

I was previously having difficulty achieving a stable overclock using the P5E bios, and just upgraded to the Rampage Formula 601 - immediately stable first go, and Vdroop is almost non existent now. Volts are still a little high, and I'm going to work on trying to slowly drop them down, now that I am stable.

_ericeod_, since you were looking for some 45nm Dual Core results, feel free to use these- I can post more details if needed.

*Bios Settings:*
CPU Ratio Setting_______9
FSB Strap to NB________445
FSB Frequency_________Auto
PCIE Freq_____________100

DRAM Freq____________Auto
DRAM Command Rate___Auto

DRAM Timing Control____Manual
*Set all options for my RAM

DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Auto
AI Transaction Boost____Auto
*For some reason changing this to anything but auto results in no POST ?

CPU Voltage___________1.39375V
CPU PLL Volt___________Auto
FSB Termination Volt____1.41
DRAM Volt_____________2.1v
NB Volt________________1.36
SB Volt________________Auto
SB 1.5V________________Auto

Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x


----------



## chessmyantidrug

You probably need to increase the Common Performance Level after you change Ai Transaction Booster to Manual. I had to increase mine from 6 to 7 for it to boot.


----------



## Darklol

Hey guys, i've read alot of posts on this thread and read alot of Error10 posts since he has a P5E Deluxe like I do.

So I'm having alot of problems of no post.

I don't wanna OC but I'm trying to run my RAM at 1066mhz

Specs:
- E8400 @ Stock Speed
- P5E Deluxe X48 Flashed with RF 0408
- GSkill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK 1066MHZ

So everytime I set anything in the Tweaker Section in the BIOS I get no POST, i'm probably doing something wrong.

Anyone has default BIOS settings I should use to work with ?

PS: I flashed to the RF 0408 because I though it would fix my No Post Reboots with the 0105 and 0205 Bios.

Thanks for your help.


----------



## Stianby

Quote:

Follow the directions in the top post in this thread.
I did that, and after executing afudos the following message appears:

ERROR: ROM file ROMID is not compatible with existing ROMID

After this message appears afudos aborts the flashing process


----------



## chessmyantidrug

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Darklol* 
Hey guys, i've read alot of posts on this thread and read alot of Error10 posts since he has a P5E Deluxe like I do.

So I'm having alot of problems of no post.

I don't wanna OC but I'm trying to run my RAM at 1066mhz

Specs:
- E8400 @ Stock Speed
- P5E Deluxe X48 Flashed with RF 0408
- GSkill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK 1066MHZ

So everytime I set anything in the Tweaker Section in the BIOS I get no POST, i'm probably doing something wrong.

Anyone has default BIOS settings I should use to work with ?

PS: I flashed to the RF 0408 because I though it would fix my No Post Reboots with the 0105 and 0205 Bios.

Thanks for your help.

In order to run your RAM at 1066 with a 333 FSB, you'll need the 8:5 divider. I'm not sure which strap this is in, but it shouldn't matter. Set that to Auto you should be able to select the speed you want.

Make sure you manually set your timings and set Ai Transaction Booster to Manual. You might need to raise your Common Performance Level to 6 or 7 in order to boot.


----------



## Stianby

Sorry about the bios flash hassle guys.....
turns out the problem was the version of afudos, older version works!

Up and running with RF bios.... HAPPY DAY!

Thanx to error10 for being the composed problemsolver in this case!


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I couldn't find my flash drive, so I put my ROM file on my BlackBerry and flashed it within the BIOS. I didn't use any special program.


----------



## Darklol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chessmyantidrug* 
In order to run your RAM at 1066 with a 333 FSB, you'll need the 8:5 divider. I'm not sure which strap this is in, but it shouldn't matter. Set that to Auto you should be able to select the speed you want.

Make sure you manually set your timings and set Ai Transaction Booster to Manual. You might need to raise your Common Performance Level to 6 or 7 in order to boot.

So I just tried without success.

FSB - 333MHZ
FSB Strap - 333MHZ (In order to have the DDR2-1066)

Dram Frequency - DDR2-1066
Dram Timing - Manual (5-5-5-15)
AI Transaction Booster - Manual
Common Performance Level - 6 -7 -10 (tried all 3)
Dram Voltage - 2.0 - 2.1

Everything else on AUTO

Still no POST. Can the loop reboots of no POST can damage the board or anything is it normal ? And what else should I try..


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I'm not sure what else the problem could be other than ensuring your memory is properly seated.


----------



## Darklol

Well it is, I'm running it right now but it only boots with default settings.

What I can change is like the boot priority devices (example) without problem but when it comes to the tweaker section the single thing I change makes the board to not POST.


----------



## error10

Leave the AI Transaction Booster at Auto until you have a 100% stable CPU OC. It has to be readjusted whenever you change your FSB strap, DRAM frequency, etc. Auto may be slightly slower, but it'll at least work.


----------



## Darklol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
Leave the AI Transaction Booster at Auto until you have a 100% stable CPU OC. It has to be readjusted whenever you change your FSB strap, DRAM frequency, etc. Auto may be slightly slower, but it'll at least work.

I'm not even trying to OC. I wanna run default stock speed of my E8400 but with my ram at 1066MHZ. So I'll try again with leaving the AI Transaction Booster at Auto. Ill be back in a few.

By the way, is it supposed to shutdown the PC when you save the BIOS settings ? Everytime I get a shutdown after modifying Tweaker Settings it restart with loop reboots and no post.


----------



## Darklol

Samething, PC shutdown after Saving BIOS setting and doesn't POST, keeps rebooting.

All I did is:

DRAM Frequency : DDR2-1066
DRAM Timing : Manual with 5-5-5-15
DRAM Voltage : 2.0 - 2.1 (Tried Both)

Everything else on Auto still no success.

PC Boots normally back when I resert CMOS and load default settings.

This is a real nightmare. Am I doing something wrong somewhere. Is there any revision made of the P5E Deluxe ?


----------



## error10

You could try updating the BIOS, you aren't running anywhere near the latest Rampage Formula BIOS.

But it sounds like your RAM won't run at its rated speed. Maybe you should leave IT at Auto for now, and see how CPU-Z identifies it.


----------



## Darklol

Thanks Error to take the time to post.

I'll try to flash to the same RF BIOS you have after this post and see that happens.

At everything Auto , cpuz says i'm running at PC2-6400 800MHZ so I want to get it to work at the rated speed even in the QVL the Gskill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK is listed.

So I'll be back in a few minutes after updating to the newest RF BIOS.

Should I keep trying with only the basics :
DRAM Frequency : DDR2-1066
DRAM Timing : Manual with 5-5-5-15
DRAM Voltage : 2.0 - 2.1 (Tried Both)

And leave the rest to Auto ?


----------



## error10

I don't understand why you're trying to OC the RAM at all? If you haven't OC'd the CPU yet then it's pointless. You will probably just have to redo it all later.

What I would do if I were you is to leave all the RAM settings on Auto (including the FSB Strap to Northbridge) and go OC your CPU. Once you get a solid CPU OC then you can worry about the RAM. Besides, you'll have to push your FSB past 400 before the RAM running below its rated speed even becomes an issue.

How far are you trying to push that E8400 anyway? I don't think I've ever heard of one at 4.5GHz on stock cooling or even on air, and you didn't specify your cooling.

P.S. If I were you I would RMA those G.skills and get something else, like some solid Mushkins. Mine are rated at DDR2-800 and have run perfectly at 1066 for the last couple of months, since I got them.


----------



## Darklol

Error i think you misunderstood what im trying to do.

I dont want to OC anything. I wanna run my E8400 at stock speed and run the GSKill at its default speed too whitch is 1066MHZ @ 5-5-5-15.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ture=G%2ESKILL

I would leave everything on Auto if the RAM would be auto-detected as 1066mhz and at 5-5-5-15 but its not the case.


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Darklol*


Error i think you misunderstood what im trying to do.

I dont want to OC anything. I wanna run my E8400 at stock speed and run the GSKill at its default speed too whitch is 1066MHZ @ 5-5-5-15.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ture=G%2ESKILL

I would leave everything on Auto if the RAM would be auto-detected as 1066mhz and at 5-5-5-15 but its not the case.


You should RMA it, then. It sounds like it won't run at its rated speed. In my book that makes it :turd:.

Though why you don't want to OC your E8400 is a total mystery. That's where you'll get the largest performance improvements right now. It's unlikely you'll even notice a difference between 800 and 1066 with the low FSB holding you back.

Edit: For everything you ever wanted to know about RAM, read this.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I think your RAM might be an epic fail. This almost makes me feel good for not listening to everyone and getting G. Skill. I hope you figure out whatever is wrong with your system.


----------



## Darklol

Error : I will OC my E8400 but not right now, I wanna change the stock Fan to something else and haven't check what would be the best one for the E8400.

I want at least my PC to be able to boot when I edit the Tweaker section in BIOS. So before RMA the RAM, what setting can I change in the Tweaker Section that won't affect anything, just to see if I can post when I edit something in that section.

chess : hopefully I wish that they will take it back I bought the RAM this friday.


----------



## Darklol

Update : Still No Post when setting the GSkill at 1066mhz even with the 0410 and the lastest 0601.

What Ram do you guys recommend at 1066mhz and what cooling should I get for the E8400 ?

How about the OCZ Reaper Hpc Edition PC2-8500 DDR2 ?


----------



## error10

Hm, after rereading that article again myself, it seems you may or may not even be able to run RAM at 1066 with a 333 FSB.

You can try this experiment, to see if it's the RAM, or an FSB strap problem:

Downclock your CPU to 400 FSB, 7x ratio (2.8 GHz), FSB Strap Auto, and reset your RAM settings to 1066 5-5-5-15 as rated, and set the DRAM voltage to 2.02. -- If this boots OK, the problem is the FSB strap, and you'll just have to wait until you can OC your CPU to get the full benefit out of your RAM (and run it at 800 while you're waiting to get your new CPU cooler). If it doesn't work, it's probably :turd: RAM and you should return it.


----------



## Darklol

Something is very strange, I tried what you did still no success.

But Could It be the board that is defective. Without touching the RAM leaving it at default and just by setting the AI Overclocker at Manual and saving the BIOS like that I still can't post. All I did is to thet AI Overclocker at Manual without touching any setting, just saved and No POST.

I'm thinking the board is faulty.


----------



## Darklol

UPDATE : I tried with some Kingston ValueRAM PC2-6400 and samething. Only by setting the AI Overclocker to Manual and F10 to save the BIOS and quit. The Pc shuts down and reboot in loops without POST.

Another thing I tried, leaving everything on AUTO and downclocking the Gskill at DDR2-800 , doesnt boot. Whatever I change in the Tweaker Section the PC refuses to boot unless I use default BIOS settings the PC never boots.


----------



## error10

You've definitely got something very strange going on. Try going over to the last menu and Load Setup Defaults. Then start from the beginning.


----------



## Darklol

Start from beginning you mean just trying to put :

DDR2-1066 + Timing + DRAM Voltage ?


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Darklol*


Start from beginning you mean just trying to put :

DDR2-1066 + Timing + DRAM Voltage ?


Well I still think you should OC your CPU first since this isn't really going to buy you much. But yeah, it's your rig.


----------



## Darklol

Ok Error, I've done it without any success again. Even just setting the ram doesnt work and even downclocking the CPU doesnt work like you said 7x400.

Now I'm really thinking it's the board who has a problem because I tried another thing too. Here step by step what I did :

After doing what you told me to do, I had no post and I did a CMOS reset like usual.

Starting from there see whats next :

1. I booted and got asked to press F1 to enter Setup or F2 Load Setup and Continue.
2. I did F1 and went into the BIOS
3. I went to Exit Section and did Load Default Settings
4. After loading the default settings, I went to the Main Section
5. I went to the Floppy Device 1.44MB and changed the value to Disable (I don't have a floppy anyway)
6. Went back to Exit Section and choose Save & Exit 
7. Then a shutdown
8. PC Boots Up automaticly after the shutdown
9. After 3 seconds, Pc Shuts down again
10. PC Boots Up automaticly after the shutdown

If I don't turn off the Power Supply and reset CMOS, the pc can do that for hours and hours. Can't believe its the RAM who is doing this I havent touched it.


----------



## spacegoast

Darklol, have you tried switching RAM slots. Move your ram over to the unused dimms and see if that helps.

edit: I had a tough time getting some RAM I had running at 1066 too, I ended up returning it.


----------



## Darklol

Space : I'll try it now, but I can't believe just by changing the value of the Floppy to disable it doesnt make POST.

The only way to POST is to load default BIOS settings without touching to anything.


----------



## error10

Good point about the RAM. They should be in alternating slots, not in adjacent slots. I.e. DIMM, empty, DIMM, empty. And try the other two slots.

And you can try leaving the floppy enabled, it's harmless.


----------



## spacegoast

Leaving it set to Auto doesnt always guarantee it will work. Sometimes auto will set improper voltages or ram timings which dont always work. I would go in to the BIOS and manually set everything to run at their default settings, not auto. Thats the only sure way of getting stock settings in place.


----------



## Darklol

Ok I'm trying right now for the RAM

As for the floppy i know it doesnt change anything its just the fact that just by saving that change it makes the PC to not POST.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Darklol* 
Space : I'll try it now, but I can't believe just by changing the value of the Floppy to disable it doesnt make POST.

The only way to POST is to load default BIOS settings without touching to anything.

Settings are on auto, they are not on a set value. Values may _*automatically*_ change according to what the program thinks is adequate. It might not always boot up with Vcore of 1.3v or whatever voltage when vcore is on auto. Thats why I recommend setting your voltages and RAM timings, etc.


----------



## Darklol

Still no difference changing the RAM to the other slots.

What I did was to set the ram at DDR2-1066, Adjusted Timings and the DRAM Voltage to 2.1

All it does is reboots without POST


----------



## Narynan

Alright I am have also looked over at least 66% of this thread. I guess my main reason for posting is I want to see if I can get faster out of my 3.2 to 3.6.

I do not have my board flashed to the Rampage version. Is that something I should coinsider before trying tog et to that 3.6 area? Cause at this point I am pretty sure I can get there, the chip has a long way to go in the lines of temps.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Narynan* 
Alright I am have also looked over at least 66% of this thread. I guess my main reason for posting is I want to see if I can get faster out of my 3.2 to 3.6.

I do not have my board flashed to the Rampage version. Is that something I should coinsider before trying tog et to that 3.6 area? Cause at this point I am pretty sure I can get there, the chip has a long way to go in the lines of temps.

I would go for the RF or the P5E Deluxe BIOS. Both work well. I hit 3.8ghz with my Q6600 on air. Links to them are in the first post of this thread.

edit: What settings have you tried and what is your VID?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Darklol* 
Space : I'll try it now, but I can't believe just by changing the value of the Floppy to disable it doesnt make POST.

The only way to POST is to load default BIOS settings without touching to anything.

There are other important timings besides the 5-5-5-15. The board is also picky about the tRFC, which is called REF Cycle Time in bios. Set it to 70 and see if the board boots. Also note that higher ram speeds require addition NB voltage (this voltage is not just for FSB speeds). So set the NB voltage to 1.35v (1.25v is default). If it boots after those changes, go ahead and start lowering the tRFC. You should be able to bring it down to 55 at 1066 speeds.


----------



## Darklol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
There are other important timings besides the 5-5-5-15. The board is also picky about the tRFC, which is called REF Cycle Time in bios. Set it to 70 and see if the board boots. Also note that higher ram speeds require addition NB voltage (this voltage is not just for FSB speeds). So set the NB voltage to 1.35v (1.25v is default). If it boots after those changes, go ahead and start lowering the tRFC. You should be able to bring it down to 55 at 1066 speeds.

Thanks for your posts !

Still no success of booting even with the settings you gave me


----------



## ericeod

Try setting the Dram Static Read Control to Disabled, the Ai Clock Twister to light and the Ai Transaction Booster to 10 (It should be able to run at least 8). Then set the CPU PLL to 1.54v and the FSB Termination voltage to 1.26v (these shouldnt affect the RAM, but are good settings for stability).

Also, what is the closest setting you can run stable?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Narynan* 
Alright I am have also looked over at least 66% of this thread. I guess my main reason for posting is I want to see if I can get faster out of my 3.2 to 3.6.

I do not have my board flashed to the Rampage version. Is that something I should coinsider before trying tog et to that 3.6 area? Cause at this point I am pretty sure I can get there, the chip has a long way to go in the lines of temps.

I have my Q6700 running at the lower multi of 9x to match a Q6600. So if you check out the first post, I have the settings I need to run all the way up to 3.8GHz. So I would recommend trying the same settings (the voltages are all safe to use), but with a lower FSB setting to reach your target OC.

As for the bios, the Rampage Formula and P5E Deluxe bios both offer great control of your ram by the Transaction Booster settings. But you should be fine using the P5E bios. The only other benefit is the reduced vdroop with the improved X48 bios.


----------



## Darklol

Only way I can boot is using default Bios setting. When I change a single setting in the BIOS the PC wont POST.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Darklol* 
Only way I can boot is using default Bios setting. When I change a single setting in the BIOS the PC wont POST.

I would recommend changing the voltage settings. if any are on auto, it might be giving you problems. Try these (They are specific for your 45nm CPU):

CPU Voltage: 1.25v
CPU PLL: 1.54v
North Bridge Voltage: 1.35v
Dram Voltage: 2.06v
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.26V

Also set the CPU manually to default settings:
Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 09.0 (will have to use the + or - to adjust)
FSB Strap: Auto
FSB Frequency: 333
PCIE Frequency: 100


----------



## Darklol

Thanks with the first settings you gave me still no POST, had to reset CMOS and load default settings to boot.

So i'm trying the last ones you gave me


----------



## Darklol

Same result, ericeod ! With all the settings you gave me, pc shutdown when I save the setting and rebooting in loop until stop it and reset CMOS.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Darklol*


Same result, ericeod ! With all the settings you gave me, pc shutdown when I save the setting and rebooting in loop until stop it and reset CMOS.


Something does not seem right to me. Did you try all those settings with the ram at 800?


----------



## Darklol

No i tried the ram at 1066 with these settings. I'll give it a try at 800MHZ.


----------



## Darklol

No difference, even with all these settings and trying it at 800MHZ still no post.

I'm uploading pics and a video of what i've done. I'll post it when its done uploading.

Thanks for your help guys


----------



## Darklol

Here is the pics and video :

Video:
Copy and Paste in the browser (correct the space in HTTP) h ttp://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y290/Darklol/?action=view&current=HPIM3636.flv

Pics:


----------



## ericeod

in windows, run coretemp and report the vid. Also, go into the hardware monitor section of the bios and list the voltages It shows.

Edit: another recomendation: I had similar bios problems with a Maximus Extreme motherboard. I fixed it by loading bios defaults. Then reflashed the bios using the crossflash method.


----------



## Darklol

Hey ericeod, I'll try doing what you are saying in 30minutes because I'm at school right now. Hope this will work because I'm thinking the board is defective and I don't want to send it to Asus it will take a while to get it back. I've got this board for 2months now ....


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Darklol*


Hey ericeod, I'll try doing what you are saying in 30minutes because I'm at school right now. Hope this will work because I'm thinking the board is defective and I don't want to send it to Asus it will take a while to get it back. I've got this board for 2months now ....










(If you do have to send it back, be sure to put the P5E Deluxe BIOS back on it.)


----------



## Darklol

It's already on the P5E Deluxe 0105 that I reflashed last night to redo all the tests that we did on the RF Bios but on the 0105 BIOS. So now im going to test the load default setting and flashing bios with the crossflash method


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Darklol* 
It's already on the P5E Deluxe 0105 that I reflashed last night to redo all the tests that we did on the RF Bios but on the 0105 BIOS. So now im going to test the load default setting and flashing bios with the crossflash method

The intent isnt the way in which you flash (cross flash), it is just that you set system defaults and reflash the bios in general. I only recommended the crosflash method because I could not get the Maximus Extreme EZ-Flash to even work. The EZ Flash would lock up the bios and show in negative colors (it was really odd). But after reflashing, the bios was fine.

But I am really curious to see what voltgase the board runs with auto settings (shown in Hardware Monitor), and also what the vid of your CPU is.

And before RMAing your board, run memtst on the ram. Also see what happens when you run one stick at a time. Try one stick, then the other. It could be that one or both sticks of ram are bad.


----------



## Darklol

Here is the CoreTemp Screenshot :









And in hardware monitor : 
VCORE = 1.192V
3.3V = 3.248V
5V = 4.944V
12V = 12.264V

I'm going to run Memtest now !


----------



## chessmyantidrug

It sounds like your motherboard hates you.


----------



## spacegoast

Darklol:
I have the same G Skil PK kit coming to me tomorrow so I will let you guys know how well they work with the P5E. Hopefully I can get them stable at 1066.


----------



## Darklol

Thanks guys, do you guys think the reseller can give me a new board and send this one to Asus if I show them the problem and since I got this board for 2 months now ?

I don't know what to do seriously, I dont wanna lose the board for a few weeks or months to send it to Asus. I was thinking of working something out with the reseller or buy a new one and put this one in and send it back but I know it's not right to do that. Will Asus give me a brand new board ?...

What would you guys do ?

UPDATE: Memtest ran for 4hours and passed everything both sticks.
A guy at school has the same exact board with some OCZ Platinum 800MHZ 4-4-4-12 and he is able to leave everything on AUTO and just set the RAM frequency and timings. I'm coming to the point that my board is defective and can't save settings to the CMOS


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Darklol*


Thanks guys, do you guys think the reseller can give me a new board and send this one to Asus if I show them the problem and since I got this board for 2 months now ?

I don't know what to do seriously, I dont wanna lose the board for a few weeks or months to send it to Asus. I was thinking of working something out with the reseller or buy a new one and put this one in and send it back but I know it's not right to do that. Will Asus give me a brand new board ?...

What would you guys do ?

UPDATE: Memtest ran for 4hours and passed everything both sticks. 
A guy at school has the same exact board with some OCZ Platinum 800MHZ 4-4-4-12 and he is able to leave everything on AUTO and just set the RAM frequency and timings. I'm coming to the point that my board is defective and can't save settings to the CMOS


I dont know what to say about the board and RMAing it quickly. But you have tried everything you can with the board, and nothing is working. I hope you get it resolved quickly. Please keep us updated!


----------



## Darklol

Yes thanks for your help it was very appreciated, thank you everyone for giving alot of info on this thread. So I'll contact Asus tomorrow and I'll go see the store too.

I was thinking if I should get the Rampage Formula if I can work something out with the store I will pay more if the RF is more stable than the P5E Deluxe, What do you think ?

So i'll keep you guys in touch about whats going to happen !


----------



## spacegoast

I bet you it is just the board being picky with your RAM. Not all RAM kits are going to perform at the same level on every board. If you read through some of the previous pages there were a couple of us testing the Corsair Dominator kit and it was somewhat difficult to get it to work at its rated speed. I had to drop the Transaction Booster to 10 for those and I wasn't happy with their performance. I was hoping to hit 1125-1150 and I didn't come close. So I highly doubt your board is defective


----------



## Darklol

Well it's not only the fact that I can't run the RAM at rated speed. I can't even run it at lower speed. The problem is not the ram. If I leave the ram at AUTO and try just to set any setting in the BIOS when I save and quit my pc just shutdown and reboots without POSTing so I have to clear CMOS. Whatever I do in BIOS does that. Just changing the AI Overclock Tuner to Manual insted of Auto without modifying any other setting makes my board to not POST. Changing the Floppy to Disable makes my board to not POST.

So my problem is not the RAM not running at rated speed, its just I can't save any setting I configure in the BIOS because I get no POST and need to reset CMOS.


----------



## error10

RMA the motherboard, then. It is under warranty, after all.


----------



## chessmyantidrug

Speaking of tRD, I don't know what's up with my motherboard. I decided I'd play around with my memory settings last night and put it on the 1:1 divider for 860MHz and set my timings to 4-4-4-12 and tried booting with the Common Performance Level set to 6. No dice. I bumped it back up to 7. No dice. I relaxed my timings to 5-5-5-12. No dice. I might have to put more timings to auto (I have a value manually input for everything) in order to get it to work. Maybe later today.


----------



## Rampage9

I have now realized that my stable overclock seems to have a problem: I can't resume from standby - the system locks up immediately at the Vista user selection screen.

I don't know what is causing this. I reset everything back to stock to verify if it was something after I had flashed to the Rampage Formula bios, but at stock speed standby works perfectly.

Any ideas as to what is the cause?
RAM stability or a voltage issue?

I have run the computer almost the entire week performing CFD calculations, so its very stable under full load.


----------



## spacegoast

What standby level are you using? I think it should be the S3, not sure though


----------



## ericeod

With standby, the system suspends to ram. So it might be a RAM issue.


----------



## Rampage9

Yes, I am using S3 suspend to RAM

I double checked all of my RAM timing are OK, and proper voltage.
I am running Orthos blend test right now, and will run MemTest tonight.


----------



## Cobra652

Hello!
Is worth it to flash my p5e to Rampage Formula bios?
If yes,which Rampage bios do you recommend for my system?
Thx!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Cobra652*


Hello!
Is worth it to flash my p5e to Rampage Formula bios?
If yes,which Ramapge bios do you recommend for my system?
Thx!


If you flash to the Rampage Formula bios, you need to go into the Hardware Montor section and disable the OPT sensors and chipset sensors. The P5E doesnt have them, so the bios gets confused and gives grossly false reading (I've seen 190Â°C).

As for the best Rampage Formula bios, the 410 is my favorite. The 309 bios is considered the best performance, but it doesnt offer the same ram compatibility as the 410.

Also note that flashing to the P5E Deluxe is do-able. There are no settings to disable, it is just a straight flash.


----------



## Cobra652

Thx for info!
Which one are worth it better?
I have stable 3.8ghz,and now dont want to oc more...
Have better performance with rampage or p5e deluxe bios?
Thx!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Cobra652*


Thx for info!
Which one are worth it better?
I have stable 3.8ghz,and now dont want to oc more...
Have better performance with rampage or p5e deluxe bios?
Thx!


Reports still favor the Rampage Formula bios. So give it a shot.

But before you flash, make sure to restore bios defaults, then set the correct ram voltage. Then reboot and flash.


----------



## Cobra652

Okay thx i give it a try,but the performance is higher with Rampage formula bios on same clock?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cobra652* 
Okay thx i give it a try,but the performance is higher with Rampage formula bios on same clock?

It seems to offer more stability and definitely gives you more control over performance with the Transaction Booster settings. I was also able to get a higher OC on an E8400 for a friend when we flashed his Maximus Formula to the Rampage Formula bios. We went from 4.05GHz to 4.15GHz OC. It needed a slight vcore increase, but it was stable were as it wasnt before.


----------



## Rampage9

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Rampage9*


Yes, I am using S3 suspend to RAM

I double checked all of my RAM timing are OK, and proper voltage.
I am running Orthos blend test right now, and will run MemTest tonight.



Passed Orthos 4hrs, and MemTest 9.5hrs no errors

What about this Asus ACPI Center? It seems that this causes a lot of headaches for some people. Could this be the problem?


----------



## Rampage9

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Rampage9*


Passed Orthos 4hrs, and MemTest 9.5hrs no errors

What about this Asus ACPI Center? It seems that this causes a lot of headaches for some people. Could this be the problem?



Well that seemed to fix it! I disable all of the startup tasks under task scheduler.
Returns from standby no problem now.

From my understanding they have something to do with power conservation, but are they necessary for operation?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Rampage9*


Well that seemed to fix it! I disable all of the startup tasks under task scheduler.
Returns from standby no problem now.

From my understanding they have something to do with power conservation, but are they necessary for operation?


I wish I could help you, but I dont install the ASUS ACPI. With Vista, just running the windows update will load the drivers, but not any of the software.


----------



## Kimyy

Hello,

I can use some help. I have a Asus P5E board, in combination with a Intel c2d e6850, Kingston HyperX PC8500, 700 watt coolermaster realpower power supply, Zalman CNPS-9700LED and a Ati 2900XT videocard.

After installing Windows XP SP2 everythings works fine, I would overclock my cpu. (I know that this cpu runs at 4GHz with no problem (same memory, same cpu cooler, but on a diffirent board (the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4)).

I just cant overclock my cpu with this bord, I tried almost every setting in the bios, but anytime i enter 'save and exit' the computer resets and the screen keeps black. 'no signal'. When i reset the computer, it says 'overclocking failed'

I use the latest bios version, when i bought this bord 702 was installed.

I've been searching the web for any solutions, but anything ive treid didn't work.

Is there anything that could make my Intel c2d e6850 run on 3,6Ghz? or maybe even higher..

Thanks!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Kimyy*


Hello,

I can use some help. I have a Asus P5E board, in combination with a Intel c2d e6850, Kingston HyperX PC8500, 700 watt coolermaster realpower power supply, Zalman CNPS-9700LED and a Ati 2900XT videocard.

After installing Windows XP SP2 everythings works fine, I would overclock my cpu. (I know that this cpu runs at 4GHz with no problem (same memory, same cpu cooler, but on a diffirent board (the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4)).

I just cant overclock my cpu with this bord, I tried almost every setting in the bios, but anytime i enter 'save and exit' the computer resets and the screen keeps black. 'no signal'. When i reset the computer, it says 'overclocking failed'

I use the latest bios version, when i bought this bord 702 was installed.

I've been searching the web for any solutions, but anything ive treid didn't work.

Is there anything that could make my Intel c2d e6850 run on 3,6Ghz? or maybe even higher..

Thanks!


Can you give us the bios settings you tried running? Voltages are really important.


----------



## Kimyy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


an you give us the bios settings you tried running? Voltages are really important.


I tried several voltage settings, 1,375, 1,4.

Now I'm on 3,6Ghz 9x400, everything on auto, when i start 3dmark 2006 the systems reboots after the first test.


----------



## ericeod

Try these bios voltages for 3.6GHz:

Vcore: 1.425v
CPU PLL: 1.54v
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.38v
DRAM Voltgage: Set to manufacturer's spec (Dont know what you have, 2x1Gb, 2x2Gb.. Here are what newegg has available, which set do you have?) 
Northbridge Voltage: 1.35v - 1.4v
Sounthbridge Voltage: Auto
Loadline Calibration: Enable
CPU GTL Ref Voltage: .63x
NB GTL Ref Voltage: .67x

Also, what is your memory running at?


----------



## Kimyy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Try these bios voltages for 3.6GHz:

Vcore: 1.425v
CPU PLL: 1.54v
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.38v
DRAM Voltgage: Set to manufacturer's spec (Dont know what you have, 2x1Gb, 2x2Gb.. Here are what newegg has available, which set do you have?) 
Northbridge Voltage: 1.35v - 1.4v
Sounthbridge Voltage: Auto
Loadline Calibration: Enable
CPU GTL Ref Voltage: .63x
NB GTL Ref Voltage: .67x

Also, what is your memory running at?


I put those settings in the bios, and after i pressed 'save & exit', the screen keeps black, and the monitor give's me the 'no signal' message.

My memory is running in synce mode. for 3,6ghz the memory runs at 800.


----------



## ericeod

The board should run at those settings. What memory timings are you running? What do you have the Transaction Booster set to? What about Ref Cycle Time (tRFC), Dram Static Read Control, and Ai Clock Twister?


----------



## Kimyy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


The board should run at those settings. What memory timings are you running? What do you have the Transaction Booster set to? What about Ref Cycle Time (tRFC), Dram Static Read Control, and Ai Clock Twister?


The memory settings are on auto CL5 (5-5-5-15).

Booster, ref cycle etc. all on auto.

Ai Clock Twister on auto, tried all of the diffirent options, none off the has effect.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


_Here is quick config for 3.2ghz I used:

CPU Ratio Setting_______8
FSB Strap to NB________400
FSB Frequency_________Auto
PCIE Freq_____________100
DRAM Freq____________1066
DRAM Command Rate___2N
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.A___Auto
DRAM CLK Skew Ch.B___Auto
DRAM Timing Control____Auto
DRAM Static Read______Auto
DRAM Dynamic Write____Auto
AI Clock Twister________Light or Moderate
AI Transaction Boost____9
CPU Voltage___________~1.3V
CPU PLL Volt___________1.54
FSB Termination Volt____1.30
DRAM Volt_____________2.0v
NB Volt________________1.39
SB Volt________________Auto
Clock Over-Charging Volt_Auto
Load-Line Calibration_____Enabled
CPU GTL Volt Ref________.63x
NB GTL Volt Ref_________.67x
CPU Spread Spec________Disabled
PCIE Spread Spec_______Disabled

What ever you do, dont set the CPU voltage above 1.36v unless doing suicide runs._
_If you want 3.4ghz, bump the FSB up to 425 and select an appropriate FSB strap. Also, on the P5E RAM has been known to be overvolted in most cases so set it a little lower than rated spec. _


I'm digging through threads all over the place to try to resurrect OC on two systems (P5E + Q9450 Air-Cooled and P5Q-D Q9450 Water-Cooled). These settings, like many I have tried, cause the Air-Cooled system to not boot (Black screen, no POST).

Thoughts?

Oh, and I"m running 4x1GB OCZREAPER PC2-9200







. Waiting on a pair of Mushkin 2x2GB sticks to see if running 4x sticks is my problem.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

I'm frustrated, angry, and questioning my sanity. Clearly I've been overclocking for a while









I'm totally stumped. I had a great, stable OC that went to hell and after building TWO systems later, can't seem to make lightning strike again. I know I'm overlooking something. I have tried every vcore, REF, NBv, etc setting suggested on this forum.

Would love to see if you guys can figure this out.

*Long Story, Short:*
System "A": Water-cooled Q9450 on P5E w/ 4x1GB OCZ PC2-9200.
Was happy running 3.46GHz CPU and 1149MHz RAM from June to August.
3DMark Vantage: 14713. http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=200498
3DMark 2006: 19475. http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=7265587
In August, started doing this random shut-down. Triaged to the PSU.
Replaced PSU, but started seeing other problems (frequent no-Post).
Since then, rebuilt my test rigs with some bizarre results:
*Configurations:*
- System "A" is no more. Parted out to build Systems B and C.

* - System B: *
MB: ASUS P5Q Deluxe.
CPU: Q9450 @ 3.46GHz
RAM: 2x1GB OCZ Reaper PC2-9200 @ 1149MHz
Cooling: DangerDen Watercooling
Video: HD4870X2
Chassis & Power: CMStacker + Antec Truepower Quattro 850W
HDD: Velociraptor 300GB

*System C: *
MB: ASUS P5E.
CPU: Q9450 @ 2.66GHz
RAM: 4x1GB OCZ Reaper PC2-9200 @ 1066MHz
Cooling: CMSphere Heatsink/Fan
Video: HD4870X2
Chassis & Power: Antec 1200 + Antec TruePower Trio 650W
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 160GB.
*Problems:*
System B works great, except that it absolutely won't take any RAM but two-specific sticks of 1GB PC2-9200. It'll OC just fine to 431FSB to give me the 3.46GHz and 1149MHz. Stable, happy.

System C won't run Windows stable with any OC. However at stock CPU/FSB, it can run the 4x1GB sticks that System B will not even post with. System C can run Prime95 for days in this config (Weird!!!). This system will simply not accept even the tiniest OC w/o crashing Prime95 with a memory error and hard-locking or worse, random BSOD.
*Next Steps:*
Isolate RAM as root cause. Purchased 2x2GB Mushkin PC2-8500 Kit. Going to see if System B will maintain OC with 4GB and if System C will OC with the new RAM.

Isolate RAM as root cause. Test System B RAM in System C. Determine if I can find any combination to OC back to 3.46GHz.

Isolate RAM as root cause. OCZ Support told me to RMA the memory for the 3rd time: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...t=38515&page=2.

Eat bullet. I have a migraine for the first time in my life thanks to this.


----------



## spacegoast

For system A and C, you may need to run a higher NB voltage. When 4 sticks are used it puts stress on the mem controller and more voltage is needed to compensate.vAnd yes it very well could be your RAM. I had to purchase some more because my G Skill would not OC past 800 for some reason when they were rated for 1000. Still waiting on my Mushkin Redlines.


----------



## furian

Hey ,

just some questions from i guess a noobie.. (not really but to you guys i might be







have overclocked quite a few times with succes)

first let me start with my hardware:

e8400 @ 4.15ghz
p5e mobo with the Rampage Formula flashed on it..
2gb of ocz gold striker extreme pc6400 at 920 mhz

well.. the rest doesn't really matter i think..

now first of all.. the vdroop is almost completely gone after i flashed the new bios.. as long as i keep the loadline calibration on enabled..

but still .. what ever i do with my voltages.. i just cant seem to get it stable...

here is a short list of what i got.. (out of my mind..)

cpu volt: 1.4500
cpu pll: 1.68 (think)
ram: 2.10
cpu gtl: 0.63
north bridge gtl: 0.67
dram static reading control: enabled (cant be sure though)
ai clock twister: light
ai transaction booster: 10

can some1 tell me what i'm missing or at least give me hints and tips haha..

thnx for the reply..

greetz furian


----------



## KarmaKiller

I just saw these are going for $135 open box on egg..

Is it worth it?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *furian*


Hey ,

just some questions from i guess a noobie.. (not really but to you guys i might be







have overclocked quite a few times with succes)

first let me start with my hardware:

e8400 @ 4.15ghz
p5e mobo with the Rampage Formula flashed on it..
2gb of ocz gold striker extreme pc6400 at 920 mhz

well.. the rest doesn't really matter i think..

now first of all.. the vdroop is almost completely gone after i flashed the new bios.. as long as i keep the loadline calibration on enabled..

but still .. what ever i do with my voltages.. i just cant seem to get it stable...

here is a short list of what i got.. (out of my mind..)

cpu volt: 1.4500
cpu pll: 1.68 (think)
ram: 2.10
cpu gtl: 0.63
north bridge gtl: 0.67
dram static reading control: enabled (cant be sure though)
ai clock twister: light
ai transaction booster: 10

can some1 tell me what i'm missing or at least give me hints and tips haha..

thnx for the reply..

greetz furian


Whoa, 1.45vcore, thats a no-no with the 45nm cpu's, 1.36v is max. Perhaps you are shooting to high right off the bat. Your cpu might be way past it limits (most likely it isnt though, or you may have damaged it with high voltages). Shoot for stability at 3.6 or 3.8ghz and work your way up. You shouldnt need more than 1.6v on PLL. Your RAM could be an issue too. You may need faster RAM. There is a set of G Skill DDR2 1000 PQ (2x2GB) at newegg on sale right now for $45.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *KarmaKiller*


I just saw these are going for $135 open box on egg..

Is it worth it?


Yes they are worth it. I was lucky and got mine for $99 open box at the egg' too. It came with nothing but I purchased the IO shield from the Asus Estore for like 8 bucks not too long ago. Just make sure you have sata cables. You wont need the stock drivers as you will most likely update them to the newest drivers anyway. So, yes I think it is well worth it for that price.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Spacegoast, do you have a chance this lovely, rainy Turkey Day in Seattle to take a look at what I might have overlooked in my OC configuration?

Per the first reply, I've tested my NB voltage as high as 1.5v per some recommendations on this thread to feed the 4x1GB sticks, but never got anything except a blue screen or a hard-hang.

Go go NewEgg (4GB 5-5-5-15 Mushkin DDR2 for $99.99 w/ $30.00 rebate).


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FLY1NGSQU1RR3L* 
Spacegoast, do you have a chance this lovely, rainy Turkey Day in Seattle to take a look at what I might have overlooked in my OC configuration?

Per the first reply, I've tested my NB voltage as high as 1.5v per some recommendations on this thread to feed the 4x1GB sticks, but never got anything except a blue screen or a hard-hang.

Go go NewEgg (4GB 5-5-5-15 Mushkin DDR2 for $99.99 w/ $30.00 rebate).

With the speed you are trying to run the ram at, it is probably related to your Transaction Booster setting. You will probsbly have to run a looser setting. Also, there are known ram OC differences between the bios revisions. Maybe thew bios you were running happened to be better for your ram (running 1149), but the new board has a newer bios, and therefore not OCing the same.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

*Transaction Booster*
This is one setting which, if I do anything except Disable it, will force me to have to pull the video card and hit the CMOS reset switch on the @#%@#% P5E.

Also, I don't see the settings everyone else does - it only goes up to 7.

*RE: Loosening RAM Timings*
How loose do you think I need to go on my timings? Never sure what the step-up is when changing the timings.
5-5-5-15 --> 5-5-5-18?








Or more drastic like 6-6-6-18?
What if I want to run the ram at 1066, but crank the CPU up to 3.46. The only way I've ever done that is to up the FSB from 333 to 431, but that takes the RAM with it. Which setting on the P5E will uncouple those two? I keep hearing about how you can set the ratio 1:1, but that seems automatic on this board and cannot be changed.

*11 Hour Prime 95 Pass*
BTW, at my current settings, System B and System C just both finished 11 hours of Prime95, no errors.

Does that eliminate the possibility that the RAM is bad or does that just tell me virtually nothing except that at these settings, the RAM doesn't fail?

*BIOS*
P5Q: 1306 (8/20/2008)
P5E: 1003 (9/9/2008)
*VOLTAGES*
From what I've read on this thread, here are the voltages I should be modifying from "auto" since those usually don't seem to put the correct voltage in anyway, especially on ASUS boards:
CPU: Intel Q9450
VCORE: 1.36v
DRAM: 1.96v (OCZ Reapers rated at 2.10v).
NB: 1.45v (Dial back from there if I can get stable at 1.45v first)

Thanks for the responses btw. It's like being an addict, alone in the dark, finally finding someone to talk to (since my wife refuses to talk to me when I get twitchy about my computers).


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I'm not sure if your BIOS allows you to change Common Performance Level. If it does, you can try backing it down a notch or two. You might be trying to run it at 5 or 6 and need to be at 7 or 8.

I saw you had Loadline Calibration enabled. I suggest you disable it. I'm pretty sure that's what's recommended for 45nm chips. Having it enabled decreases the effect of Vdroop and Penryns like Vdroop. With it disabled, the value you set in BIOS is the maximum voltage spike your processor will see when going from load to idle. For what it's worth, I have my core voltage set to 1.325 in BIOS. My Q9450's VID is 1.25. I'm at 1.288V idle and 1.24V under load.

And has been said, utilizing all four RAM slots will stress the NB more so you'll need to supply more voltage there. My NB is at 1.41V. You'll probably need a slightly higher NB voltage. I would guess between 1.45V and 1.51V.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FLY1NGSQU1RR3L*


*Transaction Booster*
This is one setting which, if I do anything except Disable it, will force me to have to pull the video card and hit the CMOS reset switch on the @#%@#% P5E.

Also, I don't see the settings everyone else does - it only goes up to 7.

*RE: Loosening RAM Timings*
How loose do you think I need to go on my timings? Never sure what the step-up is when changing the timings.
5-5-5-15 --> 5-5-5-18?








Or more drastic like 6-6-6-18?
What if I want to run the ram at 1066, but crank the CPU up to 3.46. The only way I've ever done that is to up the FSB from 333 to 431, but that takes the RAM with it. Which setting on the P5E will uncouple those two? I keep hearing about how you can set the ratio 1:1, but that seems automatic on this board and cannot be changed.

*11 Hour Prime 95 Pass*
BTW, at my current settings, System B and System C just both finished 11 hours of Prime95, no errors.

Does that eliminate the possibility that the RAM is bad or does that just tell me virtually nothing except that at these settings, the RAM doesn't fail?

*BIOS*
P5Q: 1306 (8/20/2008)
P5E: 1003 (9/9/2008)
*VOLTAGES*
From what I've read on this thread, here are the voltages I should be modifying from "auto" since those usually don't seem to put the correct voltage in anyway, especially on ASUS boards:
CPU: Intel Q9450
VCORE: 1.36v
DRAM: 1.96v (OCZ Reapers rated at 2.10v).
NB: 1.45v (Dial back from there if I can get stable at 1.45v first)

Thanks for the responses btw. It's like being an addict, alone in the dark, finally finding someone to talk to (since my wife refuses to talk to me when I get twitchy about my computers).



Its because a majority of people have flashed their P5E boards to the Rampage Formula or P5E Deluxe bios, which are both X48 boards and have more control of the settings. For the P5E, I believe the common performance is selectable from 1-3 (dont relate to the RF bios settings).
Source

Quote:



Transaction Booster: Ranges here are from 1-7 (1-3 are usable changes in BIOS), with either the "Enabled" or "Disabled" setting. A setting of 1 with "Enabled" selects the default tRD level for the NB strap and memory divider combination. Each digit increase to the Transaction Booster with the "Enabled" setting will subtract 1 from Performance Level, providing us with higher memory bandwidth and lower access latency. The "Disabled" function inreases tRD (tRD +1) and/or tRD phases with each additional digit over 1, meaning an upward scale increase or boost is less aggressive with Transaction Booster set to "Disabled".


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

*Transaction Booster set to Disabled and [3]. System Boots + Passes 2hrs Prime95.*

(Swapped to Zalman 9700NT air cooler on 11/29, Test 3).

Here we go!!!









*ASUS P5E Base Test:*
Items in GREEN have been changed from Defaults and tested known-good.

*Base Results*

CPU: Q9450 @ 2.66GHz
RAM: 4x 1GB OCZ Reaper PC2-9200 @ 1066MHz
3DMark Vantage: 11389 (HD4870X2)
Idle Temp: 42C (Air Cool)
Load Temp: 61C
*Test 0 - PASS: Stable Extreme Tweaker Settings*

Ai Overclock Tuner: Auto
CPU Ratio Setting: Auto
FSB Strap to NB: Auto
DRAM Frequency: Auto (CPU-Z says 1066Mhz)
DRAM Command Rate: Auto (CPU-Z says 2T)
DRAM Timing Control: Auto (CPU-Z says 5-5-5-18)
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Light
Transaction Booster: Disabled
Relax Level: 3
VCore Voltage: 1.36250v
CPU PLL Voltage: Auto
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 1.96v
NB Voltage: 1.45v
SB Voltage: Auto

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled
*Test 1 - FAIL: Increase FSB from Auto (333) to 400*
CPU Increased to 3.21GHz
DRAM Unchanged @ 1066MHz

RESULT: Windows Boot Fail.

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual

FSB Frequency: 400
PCIE Frequency: 100
*Test 2 - FAIL: Attempt to fix via DRAM Timing*
CPU: 3.21GHz
DRAM @ 1066MHz

RESULT: Prime95 instant crash (Rounding was .5, expected less than .4).








DRAM Frequency: 1066
DRAM Command Rate: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
Row Refresh Cycle Time: Auto
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
*Test 3 - PASS: Set FSB:RAM Ratio to 1:1*
CPU @ 3.21GHz
DRAM @ 800Mhz
Idle: 44C
100% Load: 61C-64C

RESULT: *PASS. Prime95 ran for 3hrs, no errors*.
DRAM Frequency: 800Mhz
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
*Test 4 - Fail: Increase FSB to 431 w/ 1:1 FSB:RAM Ratio*
(CPU @ 3.46GHz, DRAM @ 862Mhz)

RESULT: *Prime95 instant fail.*
FSB Frequency: 431
DRAM Frequency: 862Mhz
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
*Test 5 - Pass: Regression Test Scenario #3 w/ CPU Ratio = 6*
CPU @ 2.41GHz
DRAM @ 800Mhz
Idle: 43C
100% Load: 60C

Result: *Pass. Prime95 for 1hr.* Dropped the CPU MHz down from 3.21 --> 2.41.
CPU Ratio: 6.0
FSB Frequency: 400
DRAM Frequency: 800Mhz
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
*Test 6 - Pass: Retest Scenario 4*
CPU @ 3.46GHz
DRAM @ 862Mhz
3DMark Vantage: 14164
Idle: 43C
100% Load: 67C

Result: *Pass. Prime95 for 1hr.*
CPU Ratio: Auto
FSB Frequency: 431
DRAM Frequency: 862Mhz
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
*Test 7 - Pass: Increase FSB Ratio from 862 to 1035 and attempt to eliminate failures by setting CPU Ratio = 6*
CPU @ 2.59GHz
DRAM @ 1035
Idle: 43C
100% Load: 67C

Result: *Fail. Boot failures and/or Prime95 instant failures (CPU Ratio had 0 impact on results)*
CPU Ratio: Auto or 6
FSB Frequency: 431
DRAM Frequency: 1035
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18

*Next Steps:*

Test 3 is our first failure attempting to overclock w/ an FSB ratio greater than 1:1. This supports comments that this RAM on this board (or in the 4x1GB combination) is unstable. Will verify against Mushkin 2x2GB kit soon.

Test 4 may have failed due to CPU heat (92C). Replacing the Coolermaster Sphere with a Zalman 9700NT.

Test 5 (as requested by ERICEOD) passed an hour of Prime95, with good temps, w/o indication it would fail over an extended period.

In Test 6 we resolved the heatsink issue (max temp 67C under 100% load) and passes both Prime95 (1hr+) and 3DMark Vantage (14164). Next test is to slowly increase FSB:RAM ratio.

Test 7 was an assortment of CPU speeds at FSB:RAM ratios > 1:1. All failed, even when setting CPU Ratio to 6.


----------



## ericeod

FLY1NGSQU1RR3L ,
Drop the CPU multi to x6 and see what the results are.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


FLY1NGSQU1RR3L ,
Drop the CPU multi to x6 and see what the results are.


Eric, which of these settings would directly change the CPU multi per your suggestion? I have most everything regarding the CPU set to auto right now.

Ai Overclock Tuner: Auto
CPU Ratio Setting: Auto
FSB Strap to NB: Auto
DRAM Frequency: Auto
DRAM Command Rate: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Auto
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Light
Transaction Booster: Disabled
Relax Level: 3
VCore Voltage: 1.36250v
CPU PLL Voltage: Auto
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 1.96v
NB Voltage: 1.45v
SB Voltage: Auto

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled


----------



## chessmyantidrug

It should be CPU Ratio Setting. Either type '6' or press the plus sign to change the value.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Thanks. I can almost taste victory. I'm almost ready to put this MB back in my water cooled chassis







and be running on 4GB OC with my Velociraptors and all of the rest of my main rig gear. This poor baby is limping along with the P5Q and 2GB RAM.

However, I like this ANTEC 1200 so much better than my old CMStacker, I might go through the trouble of putting another WC kit in this box...decisions decisions.

I'll have to troll the forum to see what the DIY watercooling champs are these days. I have an old Danger Den solution if that's any hint for the last time I bothered to look.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FLY1NGSQU1RR3L*


Thanks. I can almost taste victory. I'm almost ready to put this MB back in my water cooled chassis







and be running on 4GB OC with my Velociraptors and all of the rest of my main rig gear. This poor baby is limping along with the P5Q and 2GB RAM.

However, I like this ANTEC 1200 so much better than my old CMStacker, I might go through the trouble of putting another WC kit in this box...decisions decisions.

I'll have to troll the forum to see what the DIY watercooling champs are these days. I have an old Danger Den solution if that's any hint for the last time I bothered to look.


I just need you to take the CPU down to x6 to take it out of the equation. That way we can pinpoint that it is the motherboard/ram settings that are the cause of your problem.


----------



## error10

I think it's time to put the Rampage Formula BIOS on your board.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Seems strange to me that is an option


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I just need you to take the CPU down to x6 to take it out of the equation. That way we can pinpoint that it is the motherboard/ram settings that are the cause of your problem.


Done & Passed! Fixed the heatsink and am running 3.46GHz at FSB:RAM 1:1. Next step, creep the DRAM settings back up and see if I'm stuck with a strap problem or something else.

*Test 5 - Pass: Regression Test Scenario #3 w/ CPU Ratio = 6*
CPU @ 2.41GHz
DRAM @ 800Mhz
Idle: 43C
100% Load: 60C

Result: *Pass. Prime95 for 1hr.* Dropped the CPU MHz down from 3.21 --> 2.41.
CPU Ratio: 6.0
FSB Frequency: 400
DRAM Frequency: 800Mhz
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
*Test 6 - Pass: Retest Scenario 4*
CPU @ 3.46GHz
DRAM @ 862Mhz
Idle: 43C
100% Load: 67C

Result: *Pass. Prime95 for 1hr.*
CPU Ratio: Auto
FSB Frequency: 431
DRAM Frequency: 862Mhz
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Test 3 is our first failure attempting to overclock w/ an FSB ratio greater than 1:1. This supports comments that this RAM on this board (or in the 4x1GB combination) is unstable. Will verify against Mushkin 2x2GB kit soon.

Test 4 may have failed due to CPU heat (92C). Replacing the Coolermaster Sphere with a Zalman 9700NT.

Test 5 (as requested by ERICEOD) passed an hour of Prime95, with good temps, w/o indication it would fail over an extended period.

In Test 6 we resolved the heatsink issue (max temp 67C under 100% load) and passes both Prime95 (1hr+) and 3DMark Vantage (14164). Next test is to slowly increase FSB:RAM ratio.

Test 7 was an assortment of CPU speeds at FSB:RAM ratios > 1:1. All failed, even when setting CPU Ratio to 6. Failures ranged from boot failures (mem test failed on boot) to Prime95 failures and hard-hangs in Windows.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

*ASUS P5E Overclock New Settings*

*RESULTS:*
Increased CPU by 23.1%, 3DMark Vantage by 20.1%, at a cost of 10.45% increase in heat and decrease in DRAM speed of 24%.

P5E BIOS Version: 1003
Intel Q9450
4x1GB OCZ Reaper PC2-9200
ATI Radeon HD4870X2

Stock: 2.66GHz @ 333Mhz FSB/1066Mhz DRAM
3DMark Vantage: 11389
Prime95 15hrs...
Temps: 34C Idle, 60C 100% Load.

Last OC: 3.46GHz @ 431Mhz FSB/862Mhz DRAM (23.1% CPU Increase, 24% DRAM decrease)
3DMark Vantage: 14257 (20.1% Increase)
Prime95: 11hrs and counting...
Temps: 37C Idle, 71C 100% Load (10.45% Increase).

*BIOS Settings:*
Note 1: Failures during OC with FSB:RAM ratio > 1:1.
Note 2: Setting CPU Ratio = 6x does not fix current failures.

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio: Auto
FSB Frequency: 431
DRAM Frequency: 862
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
CPU Ratio Setting: Auto
FSB Strap to NB: Auto
DRAM Command Rate: Auto (CPU-Z says 2T)
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Light
Transaction Booster: Disabled
Relax Level: 3
VCore Voltage: 1.38v
CPU PLL Voltage: Auto
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 1.96v
NB Voltage: 1.45v
SB Voltage: Auto

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled
Thanks everyone for your help, this is huge progress from where I was at 2 days ago.

Just waiting for the new RAM to see if I can get past this FSB:RAM ratio problem.


----------



## jmal

Here is my most modest attempt at overclocking the P5E with Q6600. Prior to setting Dram Static Read Control to Disable it would fail P95 to blue screen after an hour or so. Since it didn't have to have a BIOS reset after the blue screen I figured it was a memory issue. After reading through this thread I tried disabling the Dram Static Read Control and it has passed P95 8 hours.Any thoughts on the blue screen would be appreciated.

Here are some screen shots of the OC





































So far I'm very happy with the Temps, haven't seen it go over 65c as of yet.


----------



## error10

Nice OC on a B3 stepping! You might even go for 3.4.

Looks like you haven't set your DRAM frequency. Take it off auto and set it to DDR2-1066. (It should come up that way already, but you don't usually want the board second guessing you.)


----------



## spacegoast

Jmal:
This should shed some light on DRAM Static Read and Transaction Booster:

DRAM Static Read Control along with Transaction Booster have a big effect in memory ( RAM ) bandwidth.
If you open up MemSet by FELIX, you'll see a setting named "Performance Level", in "general" it's a setting that has to do with some internal timings of the chipset ( the memory controller precisely ). The lower the Performance Level, the more RAM Bandwidth and better ( lower ) latency.

The Transaction booster works like an offset setting.
For example with Transaction Booster at "Enabled" with Boost Level at 0, and XXX FSB & RAM Divider you have 7 Performance Level ( e.g. )
If you set the Boost Level at 1 at the same settings, the performance level will be switched to 6 instead of 7.
At the same settings, if you set Transaction Booster to disabled and the Relax Level to 0 the performance level will get set to 8.
Relax level 1 will result in P.L. 9
etc

The performance level depends on the FSB Strap used, the DRAM Divider used and the Transaction Booster & DRAM Static Read Control settings.

Source-xtremesystems.org

Hopefully this will help some that are having problems with these particular settings.


----------



## error10

I wouldn't bother messing with the Transaction Booster until you have your CPU OC dialed in and stable. You'd just end up having to mess with it again every time you changed the FSB or DRAM speed anyway.

BTW, here is a detailed explanation of what the performance level is and what those pull-ins are for.


----------



## jmal

Thanks for the input, Error10 I set my DRAM frequencyt to DDR2-1066 like you suggested and all is good. I read the article on how the performance level works and decided to tinker with it a bit but my system didn't boot with any of the changes.

Basicly I reset Transaction Booster to "Enabled" with Boost Level at 0 and the system would not boot. Tried changing DRAM Static Read Control to enable with Boost Level at 0, still no boot. Then tried making some changes with AI Clock Twister still no go.

Think I'll reread the performance article, maybe a little easier to understand the second go around.


----------



## zlojack

Jmal, I suggest you try flashing the Rampage Formula bios.

It really does make tweaking the Performance Level easier (instead of messing with Transaction Booster, you just set a number).


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Hey O.C.'s,
I'm new to the forum, so hopefully not breaking any rules








Anyway, my new P5E Deluxe was running like a dawg until I flashed the BIOS to the Rampage Formula (0410). Never O.C.'d b4, but after a few tweaks and reading some of your excellent posts, my unit came to life (thank God!).
The main issue now is the RAM. What I'm using is on the P5E QVL and has been memtested etc, but is the part that causes blue-screening when trying to O.C. too much (process of elimination).
So, I need new RAM, but I don't know (given all the ASUS RAM problems out there) if I should be using the P5E QVL or the Rampage QVL? Also, the best specs e.g. OCZ 1066 cas 5.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers comrades


----------



## error10

I don't think those Kingstons are very good overclockers, and you need DDR2 > 800 memory if you want to push your FSB past 400. I personally swear by Mushkin. I have two kits of 996580 in my rig, one kit of which was in my backup rig, and they OC very easily to 1100 or more.

Now that you've seen the price tag, may I remind you that you get what you pay for.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Inclined to agree with Error 10 on the Mushkin.

I've gone back and forth between Mushkin and OCZ the past few years and should have stuck with Mushkin. I am going to have 4 sticks of OCZ PC2-9200 (1150) that may go unused except in non-overclocked systems if my new Muskin 2x2GB (DDR2-1066) kits can go beyond 1:1 on my current OC settings.


----------



## ericeod

I have had really good luck with the 2x2Gb G.Skill DDR2 1066. I can run them in 4Gb pairs at 1.8v at 1066, and all 8Gb with only 1.94v vdimm. They OC to about 1088 and non Pi set can be picked up from newegg for $59.99 with free shipping.


----------



## jmal

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zlojack*


Jmal, I suggest you try flashing the Rampage Formula bios.

It really does make tweaking the Performance Level easier (instead of messing with Transaction Booster, you just set a number).


They say updating bios can be dangerous, is it anymore dangerous updating to a different MB bios? Would I also need to use the Rampage Formula chipset. Is there anything else that would need to be done with a bios change like this?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jmal*


They say updating bios can be dangerous, is it anymore dangerous updating to a different MB bios? Would I also need to use the Rampage Formula chipset. Is there anything else that would need to be done with a bios change like this?


The only thing you need to do before updating any bios is to restore defaults (no OC) and set the correct ram voltage so the system is stable during the flashing process. There is nothing else that needs to be done to cross flash to the Rampage Formula bios.

Once you have flashed it, you will need to go into the Hardware Monitor section of the bios and disable all the OPT Temp sensors since the P5E physically doesnt have any. You also need to disable the chipset temp sensors as the P5E does not have them either. All it has is CPU and motherboard temp sensors. Otherwise the false readings you will get can cause system messages to pop uo telling you something is overheating.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
I don't think those Kingstons are very good overclockers, and you need DDR2 > 800 memory if you want to push your FSB past 400. I personally swear by Mushkin. I have two kits of 996580 in my rig, one kit of which was in my backup rig, and they OC very easily to 1100 or more.

Now that you've seen the price tag, may I remind you that you get what you pay for.









Yeah Gotcha buddy!! Probably sick of hearing that
phrase lately (go Alaska







). I appreciate the feedback. Had severe doubts on those Kingstons. Money wasn't the issue; just want to get it right and no-one other than on this forum has had a clue so far. Another forum member was good enough to recommend the Mushkins too, but I checked out yours and they were 800 rated, rather than 1066 as you wrote. Maybe I missed something? Also curious why no-one seems to have opted for 1200's and what the best latencies are?
Thanks error...


----------



## error10

Yep they're rated for 800, but I've run all 4 sticks between 1000-1100 from almost the moment I opened the box. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can go get some Redlines.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:



Originally Posted by *error10*


Yep they're rated for 800, but I've run all 4 sticks between 1000-1100 from almost the moment I opened the box. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can go get some Redlines.


That's mighty impressive mate. Think I'll go the Redlines anyway. Less skill to get more speed -


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *$SpEEdFreAk$*


That's mighty impressive mate. Think I'll go the Redlines anyway. Less skill to get more speed -










The Redlines are sweet







. Currently running a modest overclock to them at 1037. Using 389FSB x9 for 3.5ghz right now. Im going to try to get them as high as I can tonight or tomorrow morning and I will let you know what I get them at.


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *$SpEEdFreAk$*


That's mighty impressive mate. Think I'll go the Redlines anyway. Less skill to get more speed -










In theory they'll do 1200 if I loosen the timings to 5-5-5-18. I haven't needed to test the theory yet. Right now my NB is holding me back (!!!!) and so I had to go buy a new mobo.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


The Redlines are sweet







. Currently running a modest overclock to them at 1037. Using 389FSB x9 for 3.5ghz right now. Im going to try to get them as high as I can tonight or tomorrow morning and I will let you know what I get them at.


Thanks again. So good to see helpful characters like yourself and error10 online. Do keep me posted; keen to see how you get on. Just about to reformat though (joy







) so if I don't reply, it's not from lack of appreciation and interest. Now, time to get that back-up rig!!


----------



## chessmyantidrug

I still haven't pushed my Redlines. I should get around to it one of these days.


----------



## Ravin

I personally run these Kingston 4x1 sticks @ 1128MHz 4-5-5-15 @ 2.1V with a PL of 6. Both 1150 and 1200MHz are doable with 2.2V 5-5-5-15 and some finneagling with the DRAM skew, but I take a big hit on having to adjust the transaction booster to a much less agressive setting.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chessmyantidrug* 
I still haven't pushed my Redlines. I should get around to it one of these days.

I got my Redlines running at 5-5-5-12 for 1066mhz on 2.08V with 400FSB x 9 and 1.43Vcore ( I think?), Transaction Booster is set to 8 for now . I will try to get it lower as I didnt have enought time this morning. AI Clock Twister is set to Stronger.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I got my Redlines running at 5-5-5-12 for 1066mhz on 2.08V with 400FSB x 9 and 1.43Vcore ( I think?), Transaction Booster is set to 8 for now . I will try to get it lower as I didnt have enought time this morning. AI Clock Twister is set to Stronger.


With my G.Skill I am running a 423 FSB with the ram at 1058 and the transaction booster at 6. Try the same and lower the ram ever so slightly and see if you get the same results! Note I also have 4x2Gb of the Pi and I was able to maintain the tRD by increasing the NB from 1.45v to 1.49v while also increasing the ram from 1.8v (they are rated at 2.1v, but both ses of 4Gb run at only 1.8v) to 1.94v.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
With my G.Skill I am running a 423 FSB with the ram at 1058 and the transaction booster at 6. Try the same and lower the ram ever so slightly and see if you get the same results! Note I also have 4x2Gb of the Pi and I was able to maintain the tRD by increasing the NB from 1.45v to 1.49v while also increasing the ram from 1.8v (they are rated at 2.1v, but both ses of 4Gb run at only 1.8v) to 1.94v.


I will have to try this when I get off work tonight. Im pretty sure I wont be able to run 423x9 though, X8 will be easy. I tried 420x9 this morning and got BSOD during Windows loading. I can do 410 fairly easy though. I will have to mess around with it some more. I dont think I have ever ran Transaction Booster at 6, lowest I ever got was 7. Hopefully the Redlines will come through for me







.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
I personally run these Kingston 4x1 sticks @ 1128MHz 4-5-5-15 @ 2.1V with a PL of 6. Both 1150 and 1200MHz are doable with 2.2V 5-5-5-15 and some finneagling with the DRAM skew, but I take a big hit on having to adjust the transaction booster to a much less agressive setting.

Cool: 1st person to give the thumbs up to Kingston for this board etc. Thanks for the tip if it was directed to me. I ordered 2 x 2Gb of G.Skill 1066 PI's yesterday, so should be here soon.
They get the nod from plenty in the 'know', so I'm looking forward to ripping into them. 4 x 1 would probably have been better for addressing, but in the scheme of things, I think I'll be much happier replacing the Kingston slugs I've got atm...


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

*ASUS P5E Overclock Part III*

*Changes:*

Swapped out 4x1GB OCZ PC2-9200 for 2x2GB Mushkin PC2-8500
Memory now stable >1:1 for several hours on Prime95. Currently 3.49GHz @ 439FSB / 1045Mhz DRAM (5:6). Was also able to lower NB voltage from 1.45 back to 1.38.
Prime95 Failed using same BIOS settings as OCZ RAM. Setting to DRAM Timing to Auto fixed it (not sure why, but it did).

P5E BIOS Version: 1003
Intel Q9450
2x2GB Mushkin PC2-8500
ATI Radeon HD4870X2
*Previous BIOS Settings:*

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio: Auto
FSB Frequency: 431
DRAM Frequency: 862
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
DRAM Timing: 5-5-5-18
CPU Ratio Setting: Auto
FSB Strap to NB: Auto
DRAM Command Rate: Auto (CPU-Z says 2T)
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Light
Transaction Booster: Disabled
Relax Level: 3
VCore Voltage: 1.38v
CPU PLL Voltage: Auto
FSB Termination Voltage: Auto
DRAM Voltage: 1.96v
NB Voltage: 1.45v
SB Voltage: Auto

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled

*Test 8 - Fail: Replace 4x1GB OCZ PC2-9200 w/ Mushkin 2x2GB PC2-8500*

Result: Prime95 instant fail w/ above settings.

*Test 9 - Pass: Change DRAM Timings to Auto*

Result: Pass 1hr Prime95.
DRAM Timing Control: Auto

*Test 10 - Pass: Raise FSB from 431 to 439*

Result: Pass 1hr Prime95 @ 3.49GHz (Windows Boot Fail @ 440).
FSB Frequency: 439
*Test 11 - Pass: Raise FSB Ratio from 1:1 to 5:6*

Result: Pass 1hr Prime95 @ 3.49GHz / 1045MHz DRAM.
DRAM Frequency: 1045

*Questions:*

Not sure why there's much difference from 439FSB @ 5:6 vs. 440FSB @ 5:6, but I'm going to run this for a while before I try for more. 3.46 was my target anyway and I've exceeded it.

Also curious why "Auto" DRAM timings worked when manual did not (timing reported by CPU-Z was the same @ 5-5-5-18, Command Rate was the same, etc.

Oh well, I'm happy now


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FLY1NGSQU1RR3L* 
*Questions:*

Not sure why there's much difference from 439FSB @ 5:6 vs. 440FSB @ 5:6, but I'm going to run this for a while before I try for more. 3.46 was my target anyway and I've exceeded it.

Also curious why "Auto" DRAM timings worked when manual did not (timing reported by CPU-Z was the same @ 5-5-5-18, Command Rate was the same, etc.

Oh well, I'm happy now










The Transaction Booster (tRD), tRFC and Ai Clock Twister are very important settings on these boards. I can run 423 FSB with tRD of 6, TRFC of 45 and Ai Clock Twister of moderate and 5-5-5-12 timings. But as soon as I increase 1MHz to 424 FSB, I have to change tRD to 7, tRFC to 55 and Ai Clock Twister to Light just to run stable. I cant even boot with tRD of 6! Also make sure to set the Dram static read control to disable. I bet setting to auto changes those settings for you.

Also, why havent you switched to the Rampage Formula or P5E Deluxe bios? You will have much more control of your settings in bios.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Thanks for the info FLY1NGSQU1RR3L. Just waiting on G.Skill PI 5-5-5-15 4GB (2GB x 2) 1066 RAM to arrive. I'll no doubt have some fun tricking my rig as best as I can then. No doubt you know ericeod is the one to ask and I have to wonder about the same question i.e. not flashing your mobo to P5E Deluxe or Rampage. Personally, my P5E Deluxe was a total let down at 1st. Then I followed the Rampage flashing steps from ericeod at the beginning of this thread and man, what a difference! Can't wait until I get the tools I need to punch it good like a fast rig should!
*















*


----------



## Gradius

FLY1NGSQU1RR3L, you're having the same problem I got when I was OCing.

Can you post your full config for test 11 please? For DDR2 1045MHz, I need to setup FSB to 435.


----------



## jmal

Not having any success with changing the BIOS. "ROM ID is not compatible with existing BIOS" How are you guys doing this?


----------



## error10

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jmal* 
Not having any success with changing the BIOS. "ROM ID is not compatible with existing BIOS" How are you guys doing this?

You have to use the ES version of AFUDOS posted in the top post of this thread, and the special instructions there as well.


----------



## jmal

"ERROR: can't open ROM file" what would be stopping the rom file from opening when tring to change the BIOS?


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jmal* 
"ERROR: can't open ROM file" what would be stopping the rom file from opening when tring to change the BIOS?

As ericeod wrote from: http://www.overclock.net/intel-motherboards/269840-asus-p5e-x38-thread-141.html. I had the same problem until I followed the instructions from the 1st page properly. Especially:

"1. First download the USB Boot drive creator "HPUSBFW"
2. Then download the boot files and extract them to a folder of your choice

3. Run the HPUSBFW program.










Select the correct USB device from the drop-down menu, set file system to FAT32 and check Create a DOS startup disk.

4. Then browse for the extracted boot files (now in the folder of your choice) and press start to begin formatting it.

5. Once the device is done, Copy AFUDOS (note that this is the engineering version and must be used) and the latest bios you want to crossflash, and unzip it to the USB drive. Then rename the bios to *new.rom*

6. You will then restart and go into bios to load default bios options. Then set the ram voltage and reboot (plug in the USB drive into the back USB port at this time). Then, while the PC is booting up, press F8 to enter the boot option. Select the USB drive.

7. At the C: type *afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n*

8. The bios will then begin flashing. Don't do anything until the bios is finished flashing and you are instructed to reboot.

9. Finally, shut down and CLR CMOS."

I was as surprised as you might be when it actually 'took' so well.


----------



## Dominatu

Does anyone notice FSB Termination undervolting? I noticed a huge drop when I entered 1.4v in BIOS. With the Rampage BIOS you can check the voltages under Hardware Monitor. So, 1.4v entered and I get 1.32v actual. I can only get my 3.4Ghz OC stable when I put FSB Term on Auto.


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dominatu*


Does anyone notice FSB Termination undervolting? I noticed a huge drop when I entered 1.4v in BIOS. With the Rampage BIOS you can check the voltages under Hardware Monitor. So, 1.4v entered and I get 1.32v actual. I can only get my 3.4Ghz OC stable when I put FSB Term on Auto.


Yep it undervolts on my P5E Deluxe as well. I just take that into account.


----------



## jmal

Quote:



Originally Posted by *$SpEEdFreAk$*


As error10 said from: http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...hread-136.html. I had the same problem until I followed the instructions from the 1st page properly. Especially:






*Instructions for Flashing your P5E or Maximus to Rampage Formula*

1.First download the USB Boot drive creator "HPUSBFW"

2.Then download the boot files and extract them to a folder of your choice

3.Run the HPUSBFW program

4.Select the correct USB device from the drop-down menu, set file system to FAT32 and check Create a DOS startup disk.

5.Then browse for the extracted boot files (now in the folder of your choice) and press start to begin formating it.

6.Once the device is done, Copy AFUDOS (note that this is the engineering version and must be used) and the latest bios you want to crossflash, and unzip it to the USB drive. Then rename the bios to new.rom

7.You will then restart and go into bios to load default bios options. Then set the ram voltage and reboot (plug in the USB drive into the back USB port at this time). Then, while the PC is booting up, press F8 to enter the boot option. Select the USB drive.

8.At the C: type afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n

_This is where I am having trouble _*"ERROR:Unable to open ROM file"* _This is as far as it will go, it will not begin flashing. _

9.The bios will then begin flashing. Dont do anything until the bios is finished flashing and you are instructed to reboot.

10.Finally, shut down and CLR CMOS.

(All this can be found on page one of this thread about midway down under the Update Mar 28, 2008 heading)


----------



## spacegoast

regarding the FSB Termination undervolting, mine actually overvolts by .06v. I set 1.34v and it sets it to 1.4v, weird isnt it?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jmal* 
...

8.At the C: type afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n

_This is where I am having trouble_ *"ERROR:Unable to open ROM file"* _This is as far as it will go, it will not begin flashing._

Did you leave the bios file zipped? You have to unzip the bios .rom file and rename it to new (the .rom is file extension) and copy it to the USB drive.


----------



## allmEntal

Hey guys -- amazing thread! I've learned a ton, but I want to get some advice before I try overclocking my setup. First time overclocking but I have built a few systems in the past. My current rig has given me some issues (mainly in regards to corsair 1066 ram not posting) so I want to double check things before I knock my computer offline for a period, again. I tried to find a good baseline to go off in this thread but most people were going for much more aggressive OCs, and even though I think I have the cooling to possibly get to 4ghz that is not my current goal.

My goal here is to get to 1:1 by simply overclocking the fsb to 400, while manually setting my voltages so that I can get away from letting the p5e "auto" over-do everything.

I am fine with 400x9 for 3.6 or even 400x8 if that might produce a more consistent setup. Here are the settings I am prepared to try if I get the "ok" from you experts









Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 08.0 or 09.0
FSB Frequency: 400
FSB Strat to NB: 266-400 (333?)
PCIE Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-800MHz
DRAM Command rt: 2T
DRAM Timing: Manual 4-4-4-12 (should I loosen?)

VCore Voltage: 1.2-1.3 (auto is setting 3.0ghz at 1.200 so should I try 1.22 for this tiny OC?)

CPU PLL Voltage: 1.55-2.00 (What should I try here?)
FSB Termination Volt: 1.2-1.4 (?)
DRAM Voltage: 1.8-1.9 (set to auto currently)
North Bridge Voltage: 1.35 (?)
Loadline calibration: disabled
Northbridge GTL Ref: 0.67x

Should I leave AI Clock Twister and Transaction Booster Auto for now?

CIE: disabled
Vanderpool: disabled
CPU TM function: enabled
Exe disable bit: enabled
Speedstep: disabled

Thanks in advance guys...


----------



## ericeod

You are not the first person to have a problem with the 1066 Corsair Dominators!

As for your voltages, these will be just fine for your setup:
vcore: 1.30v (windows will load with much lower, like 1.25v after vdroop)
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.54v
FSB Termination Volt: 1.26v
DRAM Voltage: 1.9v (if thats what G.Skill rates them for)
North Bridge Voltage: 1.35v
Loadline calibration: disabled
Northbridge GTL Ref: x.67 (more important for quad core)
CPU GTL: x.63 (more important for quad core)

For ram:

tRFC (REF Cycle Time): 55
Dram Static Read control: disabled
Ai Clock Twister: light or moderate
Transaction booster: enabled
Common Performance: 0


----------



## allmEntal

thanks for the quick reply eric! I'll give those a shot right after I watch my seahawks get smashed again today


----------



## jmal

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Did you leave the bios file zipped? You have to unzip the bios .rom file and rename it to new (the .rom is file extension) and copy it to the USB drive.

Here is what is in my flash disk, everything look ok?


----------



## spacegoast

you must be doing something wrong. all you should see is the new.rom and the afudos. thats all i see on my flash drive anyway.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
you must be doing something wrong. all you should see is the new.rom and the afudos. thats all i see on my flash drive anyway.

Correct. When you use the HP utility, the dos files get added to the root directory and are not seen. So that might be the problem.


----------



## jmal

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
you must be doing something wrong. all you should see is the new.rom and the afudos. thats all i see on my flash drive anyway.

Show Hidden files was enabled. I turned Hidden files off and now no longer see them on the flash drive. What would keep a ROM file from being open? Could it be the old BIOS doesn't want to allow it? Or a corrupt file in the flash drive?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jmal*


Show Hidden files was enabled. I turned Hidden files off and now no longer see them on the flash drive. What would keep a ROM file from being open? Could it be the old BIOS doesn't want to allow it? Or a corrupt file in the flash drive?


Try using a different flash drive and also download all the files over again (Afudos, Boot files, HPUSBFW, your BIOS you want) and see if that helps.


----------



## 98silvz71

This has probably been answered already so excuse my impatience to read 138 pages. But what is the gain from flashing the bios from the regular P5E to the Maximus Extreme bios? Is it more stable or just better for OCing? Thanks


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *98silvz71*


This has probably been answered already so excuse my impatience to read 138 pages. But what is the gain from flashing the bios from the regular P5E to the Maximus Extreme bios? Is it more stable or just better for OCing? Thanks


It was answered in the top post:

You get better control over the RAM timings and some other things. For me it also got me more stability at higher OCs.


----------



## FLY1NGSQU1RR3L

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gradius* 
FLY1NGSQU1RR3L, you're having the same problem I got when I was OCing.

Can you post your full config for test 11 please? For DDR2 1045MHz, I need to setup FSB to 435.

If you start with my base base BIOS settings for FSB







RAM ratio = 1:1, then read the magenta posts from Test 9 - Test 11, you can step through the BIOS changes 1 by 1. I'm not happy with setting DRAM Timing to AUTO, but even when I manually set the recommended options, I'm still overlooking something that Auto is setting correctly.


----------



## jmal

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Try using a different flash drive and also download all the files over again (Afudos, Boot files, HPUSBFW, your BIOS you want) and see if that helps.



Way ahead of you spacegoast, Saturday I bought me a new PNY 2GB flash drive thinking the problem was the flash drive. So I don't think that is the problem. Do you think flashing my BIOS back to the first version then trying the Rampage BIOS again would be worth a try?

Could there be anything in Windows that could be interfering with the flash? I have turned off some Services, just thinking.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jmal* 
Way ahead of you spacegoast, Saturday I bought me a new PNY 2GB flash drive thinking the problem was the flash drive. So I don't think that is the problem. Do you think flashing my BIOS back to the first version then trying the Rampage BIOS again would be worth a try?

Could there be anything in Windows that could be interfering with the flash? I have turned off some Services, just thinking.

Jmal, did you try what I suggested in the PM I sent you?


----------



## jmal

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Jmal, did you try what I suggested in the PM I sent you?

Thanks ericeod and spacegoast, Good news! after a few well placed spaces I now have a Rampage BIOS


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jmal*


Thanks ericeod and spacegoat, Good news! after a few well placed spaces I now have a Rampage BIOS











Glad to hear it worked out for you







.


----------



## jmal

Good news bad news story, the good news is the Rampage BIOS got loaded after hours of jacking with it. For anyone else who tries changing the BIOS put spaces in the command. It will save you a big headache.

afudos (space)/inew.rom (space)/pbnc (space)/n

afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n

OK for the bad news, in the BIOS I don't have any available voltage settings. I tried doing a reflash to a lower version BIOS (0401) but same results. Here's a picture of the BIOS


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jmal*


Good news bad news story, the good news is the Rampage BIOS got loaded after hours of jacking with it. For anyone else who tries changing the BIOS put spaces in the command. It will save you a big headache.

afudos (space)/inew.rom (space)/pbnc (space)/n

afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n

OK for the bad news, in the BIOS I don't have any available voltage settings. I tried doing a reflash to a lower version BIOS (0401) but same results. Here's a picture of the BIOS











You weren't typing the spaces?!


















Anyway, you won't see voltage settings until you take it off of Auto. Change Ai Overclock Tuner to Manual and you will get more settings to play with.


----------



## jmal

Pretty funny error10







and thanks, got all my voltages. Got to do some reading on this new BIOS and all the settings and then I'll see what kinda OC'ing I can get. Thanks again everyone!


----------



## advanceagent

Hi,
I am sorry if this has already been mentioned. I have a P5E with Rampage Formula BIOS. I was browsing to see if there is a new audio driver. The official driver on ASUS is still 5.10.01.6110 for P5E. I tried the 5.10.1.6480 on Rampage Extreme and it works fine. Don't know if it's better or not. Thought this may be helpful for people always searching for the latest driver.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *advanceagent*


Hi,
I am sorry if this has already been mentioned. I have a P5E with Rampage Formula BIOS. I was browsing to see if there is a new audio driver. The official driver on ASUS is still 5.10.01.6110 for P5E. I tried the 5.10.1.6480 on Rampage Extreme and it works fine. Don't know if it's better or not. Thought this may be helpful for people always searching for the latest driver.


The first page of the thread has the Blackhawk drivers for the audio, which are only Vista drivers. So if you have Vista, you might want to give them a try! But all ASUS X38/X48 Supreme FX II drivers are the same. So they should be the same drivers.


----------



## advanceagent

Hi ericeod,

I tried the Blackhawk driver not realizing it was only for Vista. I have XP32. So that didn't work for me. The I believe that driver was dated 2007. The Rampage Extreme one was dated June 2008.

By the way, very nice thread. I learned alot reading this thread for P5E. Thank you.


----------



## Prong

Is there anyone here experiencing strange booting behaviours with their Asus P5E series mobo whenever you oc your cpu ?

I have Asus P5E3 mobo and although I've tried severeal different settings it just power ons like on-off-and then on again and boots into windows without any problems. Also when I try to restart it completely shuts down first and then comes back again. Not like a reset totally goes off and then on again.

It is 12h prime95 blend, 2h OOCT mix, 10h memtest86 stable with my settings below and only problem I have is this strange booting behaviour. I highly suspect its about some mobo spec. Maybe something like about safety that when you oc first it checks your oc settings in bios and then boots up.

So anyone out there ever experienced or still experiencing the same with Asus P5E ? What maybe the reason ?


----------



## savnac

So thanks to a bunch of you, I successfully flashed by P5e with the Maximus bios. I followed the instructions from this tread and it seams very stable so far. I have a new cpu cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper Z600, and I've been slowly getting back to 4ghz, right now 3.88ghz (stable).

In case anyone has noticed, Asus just updated their bios on Dec-10 for these boards. Looks like it is a fix for the 4870x2. Anyways, thought I would mention it and see if anyone has tried it.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *savnac*


So thanks to a bunch of you, I successfully flashed by P5e with the Maximus bios. I followed the instructions from this tread and it seams very stable so far. I have a new cpu cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper Z600, and I've been slowly getting back to 4ghz, right now 3.88ghz (stable).

In case anyone has noticed, Asus just updated their bios on Dec-10 for these boards. Looks like it is a fix for the 4870x2. Anyways, thought I would mention it and see if anyone has tried it.


Just have to ask, why didnt you flash to the Rampage formula bios? it is a much better bios then the Maximus Formula.


----------



## savnac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Just have to ask, why didnt you flash to the Rampage formula bios? it is a much better bios then the Maximus Formula.


Just because of ignorance, I thought Rampage was for x48. But I could, which one would you recommend?


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *savnac*


Just because of ignorance, I thought Rampage was for x48. But I could, which one would you recommend?


The X38 and X48 chips are pretty much identical from a BIOS programming standpoint. There's one bit in one register that tells the BIOS if it's an X38 or X48, other than that they act identically. As ericeod probably mentioned, the X48 is higher binned so it'll take a bit more abuse, but the X38 is nothing to sneeze at either.

So you may as well get the Rampage Formula BIOS.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
The X38 and X48 chips are pretty much identical from a BIOS programming standpoint. There's one bit in one register that tells the BIOS if it's an X38 or X48, other than that they act identically. As ericeod probably mentioned, the X48 is higher binned so it'll take a bit more abuse, but the X38 is nothing to sneeze at either.

So you may as well get the Rampage Formula BIOS.

Agreed. The Rampage Formula bios is a better choice. I was recommending the P5E Deluxe for a P5E alternative, but the bios has not been updated in a while.

The X38 and X48 are physically identical. The X48 is higher binned and tends to run cooler and achieve a higher OC with lower voltages, but still maxes out at about the same overall FSB speed.


----------



## Prong

Would flashing my Asus P5E3 bios (1201) to Rampage Formula bios help me get this thing stable at 3.6Ghz ? I really wonder now.


----------



## scottath

With my Q6600 - is it worth me upgrading the RF bios on my P5E to a later version - im pretty sure i have the 601RF on it.....


----------



## error10

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottath* 
With my Q6600 - is it worth me upgrading the RF bios on my P5E to a later version - im pretty sure i have the 601RF on it.....

If you've only taken that Q6600 BEAST to 3.6, then by all means do whatever it takes to go farther. Some in that batch have hit 4.0 on air!


----------



## scottath

So i have seen - a person on OCAU has the same batch on phase at ~4.25......
Have only got to 3.6 stable (havent tried further stable) can bench (3dmark06) at 3.96 though......

Also - my air cooling is fairly signifigant if you ahve seen any pictures of my system.....15 fans in it atm....and 5 are >100cfm and 120*38mm fans.....sounds like it will take off - so cooling isnt that much of a problem.

What bios would you recommend?


----------



## spacegoast

The 0601 is the latest Rampage Formula BIOS, but I think the 0410 overclocks higher for some reason. It just seems easier to get 3.6 stable, for me anyway.


----------



## ericeod

The Rampage Formula 701 bios has a fix for 4870x2 cards. I dont know if there is any significant changes to other aspects of the new bios, but to be honest 601 is very good. I wouldnt upgrade the bios just yet.


----------



## 98silvz71

I just flashed my P5E over to the Rampage Formula 701 bios. Seems a few of the easier OCing options are gone, but there are some handy new ones that I like. First time after reboot I god a BSOD and got freaked out but after that its working just fine. Thanks for the info.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *98silvz71* 
I just flashed my P5E over to the Rampage Formula 701 bios. Seems a few of the easier OCing options are gone, but there are some handy new ones that I like. First time after reboot I god a BSOD and got freaked out but after that its working just fine. Thanks for the info.

If you have any questions about the new settings, just post and we can help.


----------



## scottath

What settings (voltage probably) most effect the overclocking of the q6600?
I can get 3.6 stable and upto 3.8 almost from memory (has been a while since then...3.6 is usually fine) and can run 3dmark at 3.96 and have booted to windows once at 4.1ghz but that was a suiside run (1.75v bios etc)


----------



## Dominatu

Back again. Still having issues getting it to 3.6Ghz. These are my settings with the lowest voltages possible. Also flashed to the Rampage BIOS (0703) to get the 0.67x GTL for the CPU.

AI Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 08.0
FSB Strap to North Bridge: 333Mhz
FSB Frequency: 425
PCIE Frequency: 100

DRAM Frequency: DDR2-1021Mhz
DRAM Command Rate: 2T
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency: 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay: 5
RAS# PRE Time: 5
RAS# ACT Time: 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay: Auto
REF Cycle Time: Auto
Write Recovery Time: Auto
Read to PRE Time: Auto
(DRAM 2nd and 3rd information set to Auto)

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Light
Ai Transaction Booster: Auto

CPU Voltage: 1.25v
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.50v
North Bridge Voltage: 1.35v
DRAM Voltage: 2.10v
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.38v (Windows says 1.30v - nice underclocking here :S )
South Bridge Voltage: Auto
SB 1.5V Voltage: Auto
Loadline Calibration: Enabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference: 0.67x
NB GTL Voltage Reference: 0.67x

Any advice for 3.6Ghz?


----------



## error10

Give that poor Q6600 some voltage! You can go up to 1.5 on air if you can keep your temps reasonable.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *error10* 
Give that poor Q6600 some voltage! You can go up to 1.5 on air if you can keep your temps reasonable.

Dominatu is using a Q9400, lol. But yes, it still could use more voltage.

Dominatu:
Just dont above 1.36v on your CPU and you should be in the clear. ALso set Transaction Booster to Manual and set the Common Performance Level to 9 or 10. Set NB voltage to maybe 1.41v or 1.43v, more if you need. Hopefully this will net you 3.6ghz


----------



## Dominatu

Hi Spacegoast,

The thing is, I already tried that. Went up to the highest voltages possible and Common Performance Level up to 10. Also tried AI Booster to Lighter and Light but nothing gets me booted in Windows. Really weird, it just always freezes at the Windows XP logo.


----------



## Aleslammer

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Prong*


Would flashing my Asus P5E3 bios (1201) to Rampage Formula bios help me get this thing stable at 3.6Ghz ? I really wonder now.


Havn't seen any info for a P5E3 (DDR3) to RF (DDR2). nor have I seen anyone posting about a cross flash for your model board.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dominatu*


Hi Spacegoast,

The thing is, I already tried that. Went up to the highest voltages possible and Common Performance Level up to 10. Also tried AI Booster to Lighter and Light but nothing gets me booted in Windows. Really weird, it just always freezes at the Windows XP logo.


If its freezing up you need more NB voltage. I would use 1.42 and give it a go. Also, increase your vcore to atleast 1.30-1.32 for 3.6


----------



## Prong

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dominatu* 
Hi Spacegoast,

The thing is, I already tried that. Went up to the highest voltages possible and Common Performance Level up to 10. Also tried AI Booster to Lighter and Light but nothing gets me booted in Windows. Really weird, it just always freezes at the Windows XP logo.

Dominatu,

Try leaving AI Booster and transaction on Auto. Set your nb voltage to 1.49 and your vcore to 1.35v ( with llc disabled that meant 1.32v idle and 1.28v underload for me ), fsb term to 1.34v and cpu pll to 1.55v. Disable llc. Set cpu gtl to x0.67 and nb gtl to x0.67. Try these. Hope it helps. Those settings did the trick for me @3.6Ghz. I was 2h OCCT mix stable but had some other problems so still can't say %100 stable at 3.6Ghz. But hope with these settings you'll be able to boot into windows and have a chance to test your stability.

Although OCCT stable the problems I experienced was able to run Vantage and mark06 but couldn't managed to finish mark03 and mark05. More important than that temps under %100 load reached 60C from time to time which seemed very high to me.

Best,


----------



## Aaroman

what's up my fellow p5e overclockers. 
My overclock is prime 95 stable, but my rig has trouble cold booting sometimes. It sometimes will not post and other times will post but then tell me my mdr is corrupt (which is clearly isn't upon restart).

I can fix it by lowering the fsb down to 350 or so and the resetting my overclock after post.

what voltage should I bump to try to fix this?


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


what's up my fellow p5e overclockers. 
My overclock is prime 95 stable, but my rig has trouble cold booting sometimes. It sometimes will not post and other times will post but then tell me my mdr is corrupt (which is clearly isn't upon restart).

I can fix it by lowering the fsb down to 350 or so and the resetting my overclock after post.

what voltage should I bump to try to fix this?


what bios do you have? And I would increase you NB


----------



## pab.gran

d


----------



## Patjuh

I am new to this forum and I have the following system:

Asus P5E
Intel Core2Duo E8400
OCZ 2GB 1150MHz Reapers
XFX GTX260 Black Edition Core216
Xilence 700W

As I'm a complete noob to the whole situation, I was wondering how you could flash the P5E with an USB, what you should put on the USB and so on as I'm pretty done with the 'Unknown CPU Error' thing. Also, I'd like to go for some CPU overclocking but I figured it would be an excellent idea to first update the Bios.

My question is what version I should use, and how I should put it on the USB and how to use the EZ Flash then.

Thanks in advance, regards Patjuh.


----------



## error10

Welcome to OCN! BIOS flashing instructions are in the top post of this thread.


----------



## Patjuh

I'm getting the error 
'Bad command or file name'

IO have done exactly what's in the guide! Anyone can help me?


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Patjuh*


I'm getting the error 
'Bad command or file name'

IO have done exactly what's in the guide! Anyone can help me?


Looks like the exact same problem someone experienced before. If you've tried following the exact commands at the beginning of the thread, you may be missing the spaces in the command.
Try it out...


----------



## Patjuh

I'm sure I tried all possible combinations but I will AGAIN try it out!


----------



## Patjuh

Nvm I think I found the problem, forgotten to rename the Bios, sorry














Thanks for the help.

Edit: Still not working







lol


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Patjuh*


I'm sure I tried all possible combinations but I will AGAIN try it out!


The cred goes to ericeod on the 1st page. I found this the most useful when I initially couldn't flash. Also, make sure your flash drive is formatted with no partitions; MP3 players won't help:

As ericeod wrote from: http://www.overclock.net/intel-motherboards/269840-asus-p5e-x38-thread-142.html. I had the same problem until I followed the instructions from the 1st page properly. Especially:

"1. First download the USB Boot drive creator "HPUSBFW"
2. Then download the boot files and extract them to a folder of your choice

3. Run the HPUSBFW program.










Select the correct USB device from the drop-down menu, set file system to FAT32 and check Create a DOS startup disk.

4. Then browse for the extracted boot files (now in the folder of your choice) and press start to begin formatting it.

5. Once the device is done, Copy AFUDOS (note that this is the engineering version and must be used) and the latest bios you want to crossflash, and unzip it to the USB drive. Then rename the bios to *new.rom*

6. You will then restart and go into bios to load default bios options. Then set the ram voltage and reboot (plug in the USB drive into the back USB port at this time). Then, while the PC is booting up, press F8 to enter the boot option. Select the USB drive.

7. At the C: type *afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n*

8. The bios will then begin flashing. Don't do anything until the bios is finished flashing and you are instructed to reboot.

9. Finally, shut down and CLR CMOS."


----------



## Patjuh

Yes I read all of it. I will try it again. I do notice that with the HP USB Disk Storage format tool it only says FAT instead of FAT32. It's a normal USB key, not mp3 player or something. Might that be the problem?

Edit: Do I first unzip the AFUDOS or not?


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Patjuh*


Yes I read all of it. I will try it again. I do notice that with the HP USB Disk Storage format tool it only says FAT instead of FAT32. It's a normal USB key, not mp3 player or something. Might that be the problem?

Edit: Do I first unzip the AFUDOS or not?


Yep, try to do it exactly as written. Fat and Fat32 are different file systems, so for sure. And you need to extract the files so they can be read - ergo, unzip Afudos








Edit: the HP USB Disk Storage format tool will have a drop-down menu to change to FAT32


----------



## JadeMiner

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Patjuh* 
Yes I read all of it. I will try it again. I do notice that with the HP USB Disk Storage format tool it only says FAT instead of FAT32. It's a normal USB key, not mp3 player or something. Might that be the problem?

Edit: Do I first unzip the AFUDOS or not?

Fat is fine. Every system reads FAT. Make sure to install the boot files AND set your bios to boot from the USB flash drive. Not the CD or the hard drive.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JadeMiner* 
Fat is fine. Every system reads FAT. Make sure to install the boot files AND set your bios to boot from the USB flash drive. Not the CD or the hard drive.

My mistake


----------



## JadeMiner

Quote:


Originally Posted by *$SpEEdFreAk$* 
My mistake









It's ok. I think his problem is that he doesn't have the bios to boot from the USB stick. In which case it will simply pass it by.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JadeMiner* 
It's ok. I think his problem is that he doesn't have the bios to boot from the USB stick. In which case it will simply pass it by.

cool; just thought the more exact he is, the better chance of hitting it. I know FAT32 is a variation of FAT designed for cluster sizes etc; just didn't know if it would effect the process in this case. Anyway, no BIOS wouldn't help - lol - although he said he had forgot to rename it.
BTW - Awesome specs. My unit maxed at 3.99 (unstable) and doesn't seem to want to go over 3.8
Tried every O.C. setting I could, but just not flowing. Maxed the RAM out to close to 1400 which was odd, but think I'll wait until the next format with Raptors installed, new case and cooling on board. Someone else whacked in the thermal paste. I'll do it myself next time with Arctic Silver or something. Any suggestions?


----------



## Patjuh

You have to set in the Bios Boot order USB first?


----------



## Patjuh

Nevermind I flashed it







Thanks all


----------



## Patjuh

I am now running my mainboard at the latest P5E bios (1102 or so). Are there people who have the Rampage Formula bios running on their P5E and what does it take to do so? Kind regards


----------



## error10

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Patjuh* 
I am now running my mainboard at the latest P5E bios (1102 or so). Are there people who have the Rampage Formula bios running on their P5E and what does it take to do so? Kind regards

Yep, works great, more stable and higher OCs. Read the top post for flashing instructions.


----------



## Patjuh

I know how to flash now as I just flashed my P5E to the newerst version.

Just, what post do I have to look to because I can't figure it out really.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Patjuh* 
I am now running my mainboard at the latest P5E bios (1102 or so). Are there people who have the Rampage Formula bios running on their P5E and what does it take to do so? Kind regards

You flash the exact same way, except use the RF BIOS instead of the P5E. It allows for more precise RAM tweaks and higher/more stable overclocks. I found that I could get better overclocks with the same voltages and timings using the RF BIOS.I have used the RF BIOS for a good 6-8 months now. It has worked much better than the P5E BIOS, for me anyway.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Patjuh* 
I know how to flash now as I just flashed my P5E to the newerst version.

Just, what post do I have to look to because I can't figure it out really.

Go to the very first post in this thread, make your USB drive bootable, and copy the latest Rampage Formula bios to your desktop. Then extract the .rom file, rename it to *new* and save it to your USB drive (the full file name with extension should be "new.rom"). Then copy the AFUDOS program to the USB drive.

Then reboot, press F8 to select the USB as the boot device, then type:
afudos /*i*new.rom /pbnc /n


----------



## Patjuh

Yes I got that, but I also read something that because it's a P5E with Rampage Formula bios u shud disable some hardware functions of the board, is that correct? Or can I just flash it with the R.F. bios without needing to do anything else?

Just dont wanna mess up my board


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Patjuh* 
Yes I got that, but I also read something that because it's a P5E with Rampage Formula bios u shud disable some hardware functions of the board, is that correct? Or can I just flash it with the R.F. bios without needing to do anything else?

Just dont wanna mess up my board









All you have to disable is those temp sensors for the North Bridge and South Bridge, since the P5E doesnt have them. Nothing will happen if you dont anyway. You might see an error or something about NB temp being too high, but you dont have a temp sensor, so whatever it reports is obviously wrong. Other than that you shoudnt have any problems with anything else.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
All you have to disable is those temp sensors for the North Bridge and South Bridge, since the P5E doesnt have them. Nothing will happen if you dont anyway. You might see an error or something about NB temp being too high, but you dont have a temp sensor, so whatever it reports is obviously wrong. Other than that you shoudnt have any problems with anything else.


Exactly! And the OPT sensors (optional sensors) in the Hardware monitor section.


----------



## pab.gran

B


----------



## ericeod

All I can say is "Ouch" on that CPU voltage, and the fact that you have Loadline Calibration enabled with that high of a vcore. From my experience, I've found that vcore does not scale very well as you get closer to the max setting (which you surpassed... its 1.3625v). For example, I bet you can run 4.5GHz with only 1.40v vcore, and 4.4GHz with 1.325v vcore. So really, you would need a drastic vcore increase just to go a few MHz more.

One quick suggestion, set the FSB Termination voltage to 1.32v as auto can overvolt, and anything at 1.4v and higher is dangerous for the CPU. Secondly, set the PLL to 1.56v as auto also overvolts it.

I would also be concerned about your ram voltage. These boards have been known to overvolt the vdimm. Go to the hardware monitor section in the bios and see what the ram voltage is being reported as. It overvolts by ~ +0.06v, so if you want 2.2v, you should probably set it to 2.14v.

I personally cannot recommend you running any vcore higher then 1.3625v, but its your hardware and by all means, OC at your own risk. What I can do instead is help you dial in the other settings for better system performance.

With a 460 FSB, you will more then likely have to run a somewhat higher transaction booster. But I would recommend you try setting it to manual, then setting the level to 9, then see if you can run 8. I dont think you can run it at 7, but you can try. Then work on your Ai Clock Twister. Start with moderate and see if the system is stable. If it is, try strong, if it isnt , try lighter. Run memtest to check for stability.

As for your ram, if the system runs stable, and the kits run the same speeds and timings with the same voltage, you should be ok.


----------



## pab.gran

A


----------



## pooparat

I just found out that FSB Strap 333 work faster than 400 even if the CPU and Mem clock are higher. I test it with SuperPI.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pooparat* 
I just found out that FSB Strap 333 work faster than 400 even if the CPU and Mem clock are higher. I test it with SuperPI.

What about memory latency on the 333 strap? Use Everest for that.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
What about memory latency on the 333 strap? Use Everest for that.

Off Topic
Hi spaceghost,
Just got an Antec P182. Yet to transplant it, but have to say it's better in the flesh than I thought.
I went to your link to see what you did with your case and have to say,Nice Job! Looks awesome with the black interior etc.
Now, where's that spray can?


----------



## Gradius

Anyone tried P5E 1102 BIOS?

Any difference from Deluxe 0205 ?

Gradius


----------



## Rogerdoger45

Can someone tell which memory will work with my P5E MB ? I want to get 8 gigs at 1066 , right now I have 4 gigs of CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB which I can olny run at speeds 667 Mhz if I put them at 800 I get blue screen of death.

Thanks


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Rogerdoger45*


Can someone tell which memory will work with my P5E MB ? I want to get 8 gigs at 1066 , right now I have 4 gigs of CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB which I can olny run at speeds 667 Mhz if I put them at 800 I get blue screen of death.

Thanks


G SKill PI's will overclock easily to 1066 speeds. not much higher though. 
LINK

Here some others that have been good
LINK
I have the Mushkin Redlines which are pretty good. I hear the Mushkin Ascent can overclock very well too, and a lot of people say those OCZ Reapers have been great too. Hope this helps you decide.


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Rogerdoger45*


Can someone tell which memory will work with my P5E MB ? I want to get 8 gigs at 1066 , right now I have 4 gigs of CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB which I can olny run at speeds 667 Mhz if I put them at 800 I get blue screen of death.

Thanks


Increase your NB and memory voltages. The mobo should be able to do at least 800MHz with 4 DIMMs.


----------



## Rogerdoger45

I have try increasing NB 1.41 and memory to 2.1 won't run stable. I am looking for memorey with timing of 12-4-4-4 but I want to get 8gigs at 1066 speeds.


----------



## Rogerdoger45

I would like to know when I went into my BIOS and look at my FBS strap to north bridge was set to auto when I set it to manual it was reading 333 is that normal?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Rogerdoger45*


I would like to know when I went into my BIOS and look at my FBS strap to north bridge was set to auto when I set it to manual it was reading 333 is that normal?


Maybe the speed you selected was under that strap but Im not sure on this.Let me check mine

Edit: When I set my FSB strap tp Auto, I select my DRAM frequency to whatever speed. The FSB strap still remains on auto for me. You can change yours to another strap to get your DRAM frequency to whatever your RAM can handle. If I set my strap 400 with a FSB of 400 as well, I usually will run my DRAM at 1000 or 1066


----------



## 2tired

hi I have an Asus p5e and I lost the drivers disk. I want to download the drivers off the net but I'm not sure which ones I have to download. Some of it is like .pdf and there are a whole bunch of things to download. Do I have to download every single one? thanks.

this is the page
ftp://ftp.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5E/


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *2tired*


hi I have an Asus p5e and I lost the drivers disk. I want to download the drivers off the net but I'm not sure which ones I have to download. Some of it is like .pdf and there are a whole bunch of things to download. Do I have to download every single one? thanks.

this is the page
ftp://ftp.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5E/


Just download whichever drivers you want.

And anyway, those are just manuals and BIOS revisions. Go back to their web site to download drivers.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Rogerdoger45* 
I have try increasing NB 1.41 and memory to 2.1 won't run stable. I am looking for memorey with timing of 12-4-4-4 but I want to get 8gigs at 1066 speeds.

You may need more voltage on your NB. I recently was having stability problems running 4x1Gb @ 1128 4-5-5-15 PL6. I discovered that my VNB was still set to 1.40V from when it was really hot during the summer and I down clocked everything. Try running in the 1.45-1.49V range and see if this helps like it did for me.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Hello people,
looking for your ideas on a good CPU cooler for this mobo. I'll eventually get a quad, so it has to be suitable for that too. Just thinking a unit that fans the stock heatsink as well as the chipset might be an idea.
Looks like the Noctua NH-C12P looks good or maybe the Noctua NH-U12P.
I know there are plenty of TRUE fans out there, but a little large and heavy for my liking.
Thanks in advance


----------



## scottath

If going Quad....TRUE (with a good fan)
Other options.....: Thermaltake Big Typhoon (something like that) - has push pin design = CRAP (get a bolt through kit with it)
Xigametek rifle cooler (cannot remember model number - but quite similar to the TRUE)

Personally i prefer the TRUE...as i have one....PM me about it as your a fellow NSW aussie and i know some good stores....

scottath


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *$SpEEdFreAk$* 
Hello people,
looking for your ideas on a good CPU cooler for this mobo. I'll eventually get a quad, so it has to be suitable for that too. Just thinking a unit that fans the stock heatsink as well as the chipset might be an idea.
Looks like the Noctua NH-C12P looks good or maybe the Noctua NH-U12P.
I know there are plenty of TRUE fans out there, but a little large and heavy for my liking.
Thanks in advance









There are a few good ones out there. I am using the TRUE 120 which has been touted as the top air cooler. Then there is the OCZ Vendetta 2 (ugly to me), the Xigmatek HDT S-1283, Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer (or something like that, also ugly), and of course water cooling. Many people have been going with the Xigmatek ($36.99 before rebate) because it is much cheaper than the TRUE ($59.99)and comes bundled with a fan, whereas the TRUE does not come with a fan and costs $20 more. So I guess it comes down to price/performance and looks.


----------



## Rogerdoger45

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


You may need more voltage on your NB. I recently was having stability problems running 4x1Gb @ 1128 4-5-5-15 PL6. I discovered that my VNB was still set to 1.40V from when it was really hot during the summer and I down clocked everything. Try running in the 1.45-1.49V range and see if this helps like it did for me.



I have try setting my NB to 145 to 149 now I get a black screen I think I am going to RMA them.Thanks for your help.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
There are a few good ones out there. I am using the TRUE 120 which has been touted as the top air cooler. Then there is the OCZ Vendetta 2 (ugly to me), the Xigmatek HDT S-1283, Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer (or something like that, also ugly), and of course water cooling. Many people have been going with the Xigmatek ($36.99 before rebate) because it is much cheaper than the TRUE ($59.99)and comes bundled with a fan, whereas the TRUE does not come with a fan and costs $20 more. So I guess it comes down to price/performance and looks.

Thanks spacegoast. Won't be looking at it much (hopefully) so that's ok. It'd probably bother you even if you couldn't see it hey







? Just the size etc of the TRUE is a turn off like I said. Everyone seems to rave about it though, so it must be good. Also, no fans, so cooling the surrounding heatsink wouldn't come into play.
Noticed you ditched your P180 for a HAF. Don't know what the 180 was like for heat, but my P182 is definitely warmer than expected w/out extra fans...


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *$SpEEdFreAk$* 
Thanks spacegoast. Won't be looking at it much (hopefully) so that's ok. It'd probably bother you even if you couldn't see it hey








? Just the size etc of the TRUE is a turn off like I said. Everyone seems to rave about it though, so it must be good. Also, no fans, so cooling the surrounding heatsink wouldn't come into play.
Noticed you ditched your P180 for a HAF. Don't know what the 180 was like for heat, but my P182 is definitely warmer than expected w/out extra fans...


My









I get good performance out of the Zalman 9700. Even running full load @450x8, 1.40V on my quad the temps barely hit 50C with the fan on low, and 40C with it on "jet engine loud" full blast (ambient approx 70F). It's a little pricey, and the TRUE is a little better, I got mine because it looks good with all the other copper on my rig and I had some free $$$ at the Egg.


----------



## ericeod

I just upgraded to a Q9650, and so far I'm impressed. I managed 4.2GHz (467 x 9) with 1.296v at load (no LLC being used) with the Rampage Formula running bios 701. I had to increase the NB voltage to 1.65v, lower the Ai Clock Twister to Light (from moderate), and set the Transaction Booster to 9 (from 7). I found that if I ran 1.69v NB, I can manage Trans Booster of 8. I'm still testing, but I am Prime stable as of now.

Update

One core failed 6.5Hrs in, so I had to up the vcore to 1.304v vcore. here are the testing results:


----------



## spacegoast

nice. im thinking of picking up a q9650 too. what happened to the Q6700?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


nice. im thinking of picking up a q9650 too. what happened to the Q6700?


I sold it to an awesome member here on OCN for what I think was a really good price.


----------



## Bergdoktor

I can only recommend the Xigmatek hdt-s1283. It does a great job cooling my E8400 and the performance/price ratio is even better. I picked it up for ~28€ over here and have been satisfied ever since.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bergdoktor* 
I can only recommend the Xigmatek hdt-s1283. It does a great job cooling my E8400 and the performance/price ratio is even better. I picked it up for ~28€ over here and have been satisfied ever since.

Thanks for that and for all who gave suggestions. Sorry if I seemed to be off topic. Reality is I was really after something suitable for the board to which this thread applies









Edit - just googled E8500s and found loads of issues with the temps as compared to the E8400 and E8600s. About to RMA it (65c stock) and jump on the Q9650 wagon...


----------



## ericeod

There is a beta bios for the Rampage Formula. I was told it will not be released on the ASUS website, and is offered as requested by A-Grey at XS. The bios has allowed a 528FSB oc with quads. So this is kind of a big deal. I dont know if 528FSB is stable, but there are screenshots. So this will more then likely rival the UD3P if it is stable.
Here is the page at XS:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...181921&page=67










Here is the bios: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/525714/RA...rmula-0802.zip


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
There is a beta bios for the Rampage Formula. I was told it will not be released on the ASUS website, and is offered as requested by A-Grey at XS. The bios has allowed a 528FSB oc with quads. So this is kind of a big deal. I dont know if 528FSB is stable, but there are screenshots. So this will more then likely rival the UD3P if it is stable.
Here is the page at XS:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...181921&page=67










Here is the bios: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/525714/RA...rmula-0802.zip

This may be the BIOS I've been waiting for. I wonder if it helps out with the 65nm quads too.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
This may be the BIOS I've been waiting for. I wonder if it helps out with the 65nm quads too.

Yeah, this is really good news! I wonder how fast those $149 Open Box Rampage Formulas will go at newegg... They are 1/2 the price of retail!


----------



## spacegoast

I am eyeing that OB Rampage Extreme for $160


----------



## zlojack

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


I am eyeing that OB Rampage Extreme for $160


My suggestion is to give it a pass.

I had the Maximus Formula flashed to Rampage with some great RAM and when I went to the Rampage Extreme there was no increase in performance in anything. The very good DDR2 I had was getting me pretty much to the speeds I could get out of the DDR3 Rampage Extreme.

Of course this was a while ago, so the Extreme's bios has probably matured a bit since then.


----------



## Ravin

I would consider a real Rampage, that is if I had not just blew a big wad of $$$ on new HDDs. Oh well....these 7200.12's are smoking fast. Keep an eye in the hard drive section for benchies on these things....


----------



## ericeod

mikeyakame has a nice post on the new clock skews found in the new 802 bios.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...78#post3631378

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mikeyakame*


Well let me try and explain it easiest I can.

You have clock signals for each device on the bus, ie CPU, MCH, DRAM, GPU, SMBUS, CMOS, etc.

All the clock signals are driven from the Host Bus BCLK (base clock) and such it is used as a reference point.

Hardware such as CPU, Northbridge, Southbridge, etc all reference Host BCLK to drive their own internal clock signals. They sample certain reference points and values to best ascertain when they need to drive their own clock waves, and when they need to initiate both address and data strobes to communicate across the Host Bus. It's all about timing.

Now as the electrical traces between say CPU and Northbridge are a reasonable length, the data sent from Northbridge to CPU for example won't arrive instantaneously, it will arrive fractions of a nanosecond after it was sent which is picoseconds or PS. Now Intel gives out electrical design specs, and vendors are meant to follow them.

Within specification of the design we might know that minimum transit time will be 150ps when sending any data from MCH(NB) to CPU, so we compensate for the transit time by driving the CPU clock signal 150ps after the Host Bus BCLK voltage crossing point.
This is called skewing clocks. It's just using known data and making compensation adjustments to make sure that critical specs are within tolerance, and that commuincations between external devices on the common bus flow without incidence or get lost in transit.

The default skews are fine within AGTL+ FSB spec. Problem is AGTL+ (advanced gunning transceiver logic) has a design limitation of 400mhz BCLK (400mhz fsb) and past this it is impossible to keep within original spec and guarantee 100% reliable operation. The faster a clock frequency becomes, the smaller clock periods become. Now there is still minimum tolerances that have to be met, whether running 200Mhz FSB or 600Mhz FSB, and this is the kicker...the most critical tolerance called "Period Stability" which is basically the farthest apart two succesive clock signals are allowed to be before the system will hard lock. So whether you run 200 or 600, the Period Stability value, <= 150PS, still comes to play.

To give you an idea.
533Mhz FSB has a clock period of 1.86ns (1860ps)
466Mhz FSB has a clock period of 2.14ns (2140ps)
400Mhz FSB has a clock period of 2.5ns (2500ps)
333Mhz FSB has a clock period of 3.0ns (3000ps)

As clock period gets smaller with FSB frequency increase, the critical stability values don't change and become extremely problematic. You are trying to meet criteria designed around having two times as much time between successive clocks, with successive clocks being driven at double the speed. We've got alot less room for error or instability, so much so that even slight variations will crash or destabilize our system at least with default clock skews designed to be effective upto 400Mhz FSB, not taking into account vendor board design flaws, mass manufacturing variances, and so on.

So this brings me to where the money is









Intel realised this problem and of course secretly had a means of making post-manufacturing compensation through NB registers. So What are CPU and NB Clock Skew values you ask...

They are simply delay values that can be wound in on top of the skew values in the design. As we raise voltages and frequencies we get whats called Clock Jitter, it gets worse the farther you go beyond the electrical design limits of your particular board, also if your PSU can't keep up, and many other reasons. Clock jitter results in unstable clock signals, It could be as little as 50ps jitter, which means that when the clock signal is driven there is a 50ps max deviation from one driven clock wave to a successive clock wave or even between one driven many clock periods apart. It's just inconstent deviation, that's why its a huge problem. It may never deviate to the point it begins to destabilize things except once every 20 minutes or 2 hours. It may deviate farther than normal occasionally and this phenomenon if the system is idle probably won't be noticed, but if its under heavy load it may show up as a glitch, a pause, a brief hang, a random BSOD, or worst usually is a full hard system lock.

Now what the NB and CPU Clock Skew settings in bios are, is a means to manually compensate through "trial and error" for the most part since none of us own high priced Logic Analyzers to calculate these values with maths! by farther delaying when a clock is driven at the NB or CPU or even DRAM (we advance dram clocks sometimes depending on memory sticks to compensate for very short MCH read delay turnarounds and to obtain data validity), we can take into account the deviations from clock jitter and more importantly timing resolution (which is probably 50ps or so on the MCH, its too coarse for extremely high fsb but we can compensate with a combination of GTL References, Vtt, Vnb, Vcc, Clock Skews and other things) by eye and feel and response. It's no science it's a black art.









It takes time to get used to your particular hardware, and pay attention to the small details...how long it takes to POST, miniscule delays between BIOS POST codes on the LCD Poster, changes in OS response, even setup options being sluggish to select. There are so many things you can pick up on that believe it or not happen because of clock jitter and deviations. There will be FSB frequencies where you can have the bios and system tuned to respond amazingly fast, and others where no matter how hard you try the system is hit and miss. When this happens just go up or down a few mhz on FSB and try again, you might find a frequency that works better for your settings. Like I said up or down doesn't matter, BCLK drives FSB and its too high of a reference clock frequency so even going +-1mhz sometimes can completely destabilize settings you worked on for days to get right. Keep that in mind.


----------



## chuck-yeager

Sorry guys, it must be written somewhere but i didnt find this info !

Is there a memory kit that is working at 1066 MHz without problem on the P5E motherboard ?
It seems that after, reading the asus forum, everybody's complaining about BSOD on so off...


----------



## spacegoast

There are a few that will run at 1066. Here is a list I made that I know of will work LINK.
From this list, I have the first 2 blue skill kits and I know they will hit 1066. I had the Corsair Dominators, but they have been picky with the P5E and didnt get as high as I hoped. I am currently using the Mushkin Redline and oc'd them to 1066. The Mushkin Ascent are supposedly great overlockers but I have not tested them with the P5E. Other users have the Silver G Skill PI and those have been great for them. Also, the OCZ Reapers have been getting around that speed too.


----------



## error10

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chuck-yeager*


Sorry guys, it must be written somewhere but i didnt find this info !

Is there a memory kit that is working at 1066 MHz without problem on the P5E motherboard ?
It seems that after, reading the asus forum, everybody's complaining about BSOD on so off...


I ran 2x2GB Mushkin 996580 at 1066+ 5-5-5-15 on the P5E and P5E Deluxe with no issues whatsoever.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chuck-yeager*


Sorry guys, it must be written somewhere but i didnt find this info !

Is there a memory kit that is working at 1066 MHz without problem on the P5E motherboard ?
It seems that after, reading the asus forum, everybody's complaining about BSOD on so off...


Kingston Hyperx 4x1Gb 1066MHz 5-5-5-15 2.2V kit runs stock speed at 1.85V, and mine run 1128MHz 4-5-5-15 @2.1V


----------



## chuck-yeager

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


Kingston Hyperx 4x1Gb 1066MHz 5-5-5-15 2.2V kit runs stock speed at 1.85V, and mine run 1128MHz 4-5-5-15 @2.1V










Ok thanks, but you seem to have them running on a rampage maximus is it the same ?

I tried some tweaking, i'm far from an expert and it seems that any kind of literature i read on the subject of overclocking is like a story that i'll never grasp.
Nevertheless i was still able to come back to a normal situation by clearing the CMOS. But this time there's nothing i can do to make the 2x1 Go of my Crucial Ballistix to work in pair. It make me realize though that it seems to work at the same speed with only one module. Is this so called dual channel technology a kind of marketing argument more than a technical one ?
Can we expect a better overclocking with a single module of 2 Go in the channel A than with a module of 1 Go in channel A1 and 1 Go in channel B1 ?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chuck-yeager*


Ok thanks, but you seem to have them running on a rampage maximus is it the same ?

I tried some tweaking, i'm far from an expert and it seems that any kind of literature i read on the subject of overclocking is like a story that i'll never grasp.
Nevertheless i was still able to come back to a normal situation by clearing the CMOS. But this time there's nothing i can do to make the 2x1 Go of my Crucial Ballistix to work in pair. It make me realize though that it seems to work at the same speed with only one module. Is this so called dual channel technology a kind of marketing argument more than a technical one ?
Can we expect a better overclocking with a single module of 2 Go in the channel A than with a module of 1 Go in channel A1 and 1 Go in channel B1 ?


I physically have a Maximus Formula(x38), but am using the Rampage Formula(x48) BIOS. The Maximus Fomula and P5E are nearly identical- save for a few LEDs and sensors which the P5E does not have. If it works on the Maximus it _should_ work for the P5E and/or Rampage too.

You may be experiencing problems with your Crucials. My Maximus ate 6 sets of Micron D9GMH 2x1Gb kits. AFAIK Crucial does not have any "compatible" memory faster than PC5300 for the X38. Speculation has it that there is a problem with how the D9 handles ODT on some intel platforms.


----------



## FlatStanley

Hi all.

I'm a noob when it comes to building PCs, this is a tentative first post, seeking some sound advice.

I've just purchased a ASUS p5e with the x38 chipset, which i got for Â£30. Problem is, no i/o plate or cables. First clumsy question...
1) Are there a specific set of cables needed for this motherboard if not, what standard cables should I need?
2) Anything to be wary of when instaling?
3) What are the first things I should do after putting in motherboard
4) what memory would be bet suited for this, it's DDR3 - so will any suit?
5) Are there any CPUs to avoid with this board and chipset - I know sometimes, they just don't go, but I'm hoping to pick up a cheap core2duo or core2quad.
6) This supports SLI but should I get 1 large video card - say 1x512mb or 2 x 256mb for example?

Thanks all.


----------



## advanceagent

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


There are a few good ones out there. I am using the TRUE 120 which has been touted as the top air cooler. Then there is the OCZ Vendetta 2 (ugly to me), the Xigmatek HDT S-1283, Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer (or something like that, also ugly), and of course water cooling. Many people have been going with the Xigmatek ($36.99 before rebate) because it is much cheaper than the TRUE ($59.99)and comes bundled with a fan, whereas the TRUE does not come with a fan and costs $20 more. So I guess it comes down to price/performance and looks.


I just want to add my personal experience. Sunbeam's Core Contact Freezer will not fit P5E motherboard. This heat sink needs a braket for socket 775 and the motherboard heat sink fin for the MOSFET will interfere with the 775 clip if you want to orient the Freezer toward the rear case fan. I think it will be a tight fit, if at all, if you orient the Freezer upward too.


----------



## advanceagent

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlatStanley* 
Hi all.

I'm a noob when it comes to building PCs, this is a tentative first post, seeking some sound advice.

I've just purchased a ASUS p5e with the x38 chipset, which i got for Â£30. Problem is, no i/o plate or cables. First clumsy question...
1) Are there a specific set of cables needed for this motherboard if not, what standard cables should I need? *No specific cable needed. Use whatever cables you need to attached your peripherals.*
2) Anything to be wary of when instaling? *Can't think of anything except if you're installing non-Intel CPU heat sink. Make sure they will fit.*
3) What are the first things I should do after putting in motherboard *After attaching all everything. Check if it will boot up to BIOS. And upgrade your BIOS.*
4) what memory would be bet suited for this, it's DDR3 - so will any suit? *This mobo supports DDR2. I used OCZ 1066 personally, but there are other suggestions in previous posts.*
5) Are there any CPUs to avoid with this board and chipset - I know sometimes, they just don't go, but I'm hoping to pick up a cheap core2duo or core2quad. *I have used Q6700 & Q9550 personally without problems.*
6) This supports SLI but should I get 1 large video card - say 1x512mb or 2 x 256mb for example? *My suggestion: 1x512mb.*

Thanks all.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlatStanley*


Hi all.

I'm a noob when it comes to building PCs, this is a tentative first post, seeking some sound advice.

I've just purchased a ASUS p5e with the x38 chipset, which i got for Â£30. Problem is, no i/o plate or cables. First clumsy question...
1) Are there a specific set of cables needed for this motherboard if not, what standard cables should I need?As stated above, nothing special needed- SATA/PATA cables for your drives
2) Anything to be wary of when instaling?Don't drop the board, and touch something grounded before working with your gear
3) What are the first things I should do after putting in motherboardAs stated above BIOS update, maybe use the Rampage BIOS
4) what memory would be bet suited for this, it's DDR3 - so will any suit?As stated above, its DDR2. Avoid Micron D9 based ICs, although great RAM, many P5E/Maximus/Rampage users have reported early D9 RAM death even with less than 2.0V
5) Are there any CPUs to avoid with this board and chipset - I know sometimes, they just don't go, but I'm hoping to pick up a cheap core2duo or core2quad.Any LGA 775 CPU is good. other intel sockets or AMD will not work
6) This supports SLI but should I get 1 large video card - say 1x512mb or 2 x 256mb for example?Actually the board only supports Crossfire (ATI) One beefy VGA is a better option.

Thanks all.


----------



## INTREPID

I have a P5E / E8400 @ 4.0Ghz. with FSB Termination Voltage (VTT) set to AUTO in the bios.
The new version of Everest shows a FSB VTT of 1.38v.

I've noticed that if I overclock to only 3.6ghz, Everest shows 1.33v even though VTT is still set to Auto in the bios.

Is Everest accurate? Is this bios dynamically changing VTT?

Thanks!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *INTREPID* 
I have a P5E with FSB Termination Voltage (VTT) set to AUTO in the bios.
The new version of Everest shows a FSB VTT of 1.38v.

I've noticed that if I overclock to only 3.6ghz, Everest shows 1.33v even though VTT is still set to Auto in the bios.

Is Everest accurate? Is this bios dynamically changing VTT?

Thanks!

Dont set the FSB Termination to auto. The board will overvolt when you OC! Set it to 1.26v and you will be fine. I run my VTT woth a Q9650 at 4.2GHz at only 1.20v vtt.


----------



## INTREPID

Thanks.

When I set FSB VTT to 1.26 in the bios, Everest reads 1.18.
Should I increase it to about 1.3 in the bios? I'm running an e8400 at 4.0Ghz.

Thanks again.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *INTREPID* 
Thanks.

When I set FSB VTT to 1.26 in the bios, Everest reads 1.18.
Should I increase it to about 1.3 in the bios? I'm running an e8400 at 4.0Ghz.

Thanks again.

Mine does the same thing. You can do either. But I dont think with the dual core that you need more then 1.18v actual. But either will be safe. I just wanted to keep you from running over 1.3v since that is overkill, and can cause instability. People confuse increased voltage with power. its not the power, it is how it cleans up the signalling that helps stability. So even too much voltage can cause the signal to distort.


----------



## INTREPID

Thanks again. I appreciate the advice. I settled on 1.30v in the bios which reads 1.22v in Everest. I'm running Intel Linpack to make sure I'm still good.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *INTREPID* 
Thanks again. I appreciate the advice. I settled on 1.30v in the bios which reads 1.22v in Everest. I'm running Intel Linpack to make sure I'm still good.


No problem at all! Keep us posted, and dont be afraid to PM if you get stuck and nobody has replied.


----------



## Wadkiller

Hey guys.

I got a Asus P5E(with pencil vdroop mod) with my e8500 @ 4ghz (8*500) @ 1.275 vcore & NB @ 1.35 (if i remember correctly, or 1.34)

How do i go about lowering the timings of my mem? It's @ stock volts @ 5:5:5:15.

Thnx for any help!


----------



## Archetype

Hows it guys. Need some help and i think eric is the man with a plan. Anyway i posted in the os forum and it seems like all suggestions didn't help. Ok my pc doesn't shut down, it just restarts, do you guys think its a virus or bios.? I haf the rf403 bios before and it was rock solid now. I got the p5e 1003 bios. What do you guys think might be the problem.? I can only turn off my pc at the power switch and every time i do that it resets the cmos. I wana change this stupid 1003 bios. Which is the best/ most stable bios at the moment.? Help is highly appreciated.


----------



## Archetype

To the guy above me. I'm no ram expert but i think the only way would be to lower timing 1 at a time and run mem test to check stability. Other than that i don't see any other way working.


----------



## Wadkiller

Hey Arch, good to see another South African here. Local forums aint tech savvy enough.

I'm also using bios 1003. Getting gr8 results with it. The only better bios would probably be one of the maximus formula bios'. I cross flashed a previous P5E, but that board wa defective (did'nt cold boot for 20 min, all started up fine, but nothing happened.) got my RMA back beginning January. Oh & the board was already cooked before the cross flash.


----------



## Archetype

That guy chris from asus rma mb division is a top o. He just swapped out my board when i went to jhb for the weekend. Thought my mb usb headers were gone, turned out it was my case usb header. But anyway atleast i ruled out it wasn't my board. But now i think my sound card is gone. Got a new set of zalman 5.1ch surround sound headphones and definitly one ear is different. I just don't know if its my sound card or head phones. Can't even test it coz i don't know anyone with a quality enough sound card to run my headphones at its full potential. But its good to see fellow sa's who waste their hard earned money on way over priced sa computer components. Where did you get your ram.? What price.? Whats the stock freq and cl.?


----------



## Archetype

Dude on sa forums we're the kings. I spend all my spare time which isn't much, reading stuff up on ocn. The guys here are really helpful. I never knew guys like eric ever existed. Eric knows everything upon everything and will do anything he can to help. If it wasn't for him and all the stuff he suggested in this thread il still be puzzling how to flash my bios and get a stable oc. But sadly now my pc is screwed. Think i should do a fresh install with windows 7. Heard its mad. I uninstalled vista after 1week. Didn't see the need for it if i had vista themes for xp. Now dx10, 64bit and 4gb of ram is calling my name in my sleep.


----------



## dan4real

Hey, haven't checked up on this thread in a while.... I'm still on the P5E Deluxe 0205 bios. Can someone fill me in on whether there's a better option now? Any improvements available? I've never been able to get my Corsair Dominators running at their full 1066 spec, it was a common issue for many, wondering if this may be fixed now? Also I run my Q6600 @ 3.2ghz, never really gotten it stable at 3.6ghz... but would be willing to try again if there's a new bios...

Thanks fellas!


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dan4real*


Hey, haven't checked up on this thread in a while.... I'm still on the P5E Deluxe 0205 bios. Can someone fill me in on whether there's a better option now? Any improvements available? I've never been able to get my Corsair Dominators running at their full 1066 spec, it was a common issue for many, wondering if this may be fixed now? Also I run my Q6600 @ 3.2ghz, never really gotten it stable at 3.6ghz... but would be willing to try again if there's a new bios...

Thanks fellas!


I highly reccomend using the Rampage Formula bios. I've stayed with 0401 because it works for me and is stable, but I hear good things about more current ones. There is also a RF beta bios floating around that has clock skews for the CPU and NB.


----------



## spacegoast

^ Agreed. I tried the P5E 1003 BIOS, after using some previous Rampage Formula BIOS' and hated it. The RF BIOS are a lot better and allow for more oc'ability.
Archetype and Wadkiller, I would also suggest you guys jump on the RF BIOS boat and cross flash to that. The 0701 is the latest "official" RF Bios while there is an un-official 0802 version out. However I find that with the 0802 Bios, I need to set higher voltages to get the same overclocks as I did with the 0701. So which ever one you go with is up to you.


----------



## Wadkiller

@ Arch - i bought my ram from prophecy. They're the sole importers of mushkin in SA, so they got the best prices (most of the time)

My mushkin XP 996599 2*2 1066 (2.1v 5-5-5-15) kit went for R1400. I saw they got them now for R1200. Landmarkpc got some g-skill kits for R1200 aswell.

@ spacegoast. I'm really not to keen to crossflash or even moving away from 1003. I've got no problems at all, so i don't see the need to.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Wadkiller* 
@ spacegoast. I'm really not to keen to crossflash or even moving away from 1003. I've got no problems at all, so i don't see the need to.

The Rampage Formula bios will give you direct control over your tRD- very powerful. Before cross flashing my Maximus I was getting ~7k Mb/s and 75ns latency on the RAM. After cross flash and adjusting the PL the same freq/timings got 9k mb/s and 52ns. Also allowed for a stable 450x8 OC.


----------



## Archetype

@spaceghost, thanks alot, il try the 701. Do you hav a link.? i had the rf403 and let me tell you, there's no comparison. Once you try it and go back to the p5e bios ul be crying to go back. And another big issue i get on the p5e bios is vdroop. Its mad. Have to set 1.5v to get 1.380v on load.with the rf bios i got like 0.02v vdrop and absolutely no vdroop. A very crucial difference in my opinion.


----------



## Archetype

Another thing. Do you guys think that my is just restarting and not shutting down because of the psu.?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Archetype*


@spaceghost, thanks alot, il try the 701. Do you hav a link.? i had the rf403 and let me tell you, there's no comparison. Once you try it and go back to the p5e bios ul be crying to go back. And another big issue i get on the p5e bios is vdroop. Its mad. Have to set 1.5v to get 1.380v on load.with the rf bios i got like 0.02v vdrop and absolutely no vdroop. A very crucial difference in my opinion.


Really? My vdrop is very miniscule. I set it to 1.39375v and it drops to 1.385 or somewhere around there, and under load it drops to 1.37v. So it is not an issue for me.

Have you tried the pencil mod? If not I would suggest you do so. It should be in the first post of this thread, as well as a link to the RF 0701 BIOS. Eric has this thread on point. Check out the first post if you havent yet







.

Edit: AS to your PC not shutting down, that is strange. Not sure why that would happen. Did you do some registry editing or anything like that?


----------



## Wadkiller

I also did the vdroop pencil mod & it's been gr8 ever since! Set @ 1.275 in bios - 1.256 idle in win - 1.248 load. I'm happy as is.

I'm not cross flashing unless there's a SUPER boost i can get on my oc, but i doubt. I'm getting 42 deg C full load with an ambient of 22C.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Wadkiller* 
I also did the vdroop pencil mod & it's been gr8 ever since! Set @ 1.275 in bios - 1.256 idle in win - 1.248 load. I'm happy as is.

I'm not cross flashing unless there's a SUPER boost i can get on my oc, but i doubt. I'm getting 42 deg C full load with an ambient of 22C.

That is a nice load temp of 42C. I only said to try the RF BIOS because it required lower voltages for the same overclocks. Lower voltage=lower temps=FTW







It may not be the same for everyone though.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


That is a nice load temp of 42C. I only said to try the RF BIOS because it required lower voltages for the same overclocks. Lower voltage=lower temps=FTW







It may not be the same for everyone though.


I need the same voltages except on the NB (1.59V---->1.45V), although the RF bios did open up my quad to 450fsb where I could not get over 400 on the MF bios. Other than the that the only advantage is direct control over tRD (a big one in my book).


----------



## INTREPID

You don't need the Rampage Formula bios to adjust tRD ("Performance Level"). The transaction booster in the bios already adjusts it (Enable then set boost Level).

Here is an excellent article about tRD and includes a chart showing what tRD will work with various FSB settings and Vdimm (VDDR) voltage ranges.

Here is a link directly to the chart, but read the entire article. It's very interesting.

*AnandTech: ASUS ROG Rampage Formula

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3208&p=9*

My Everest Results (Read, Write, Copy, Latency):

*tRD of 10:* 8197, 9354, 9052, *61.8ms*

*tRD of 07:* 8785, 9375, 9326, *54.8ms*


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *INTREPID*


Here is a link directly to the chart, but read the entire article. It's very interesting.

*AnandTech: ASUS ROG Rampage Formula

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3208&p=9*

My Everest Results (Read, Write, Copy, Latency):

*tRD of 10:* 8197, 9354, 9052, *61.8ms*

*tRD of 07:* 8785, 9375, 9326, *54.8ms*


Thats a great article, its been in the first post for months now.

The RF BIOS is just better in my opinion and to many others as well, thats why its has been recommended so much. But if people arent having problems with their current BIOS then there is no need to switch


----------



## INTREPID

I may try it on a rainy day. It's just project - reset all bios settings and then stability test again. Takes some time.


----------



## aleiro

hey, I havent been keeping up with this forum because I OCed and left it alone. I have 605 bios and was thinking of moving up to 11. Is there any benefit? Or am i good with what i have?

edit: and I have Load line calibration on. Its been on for about a year, is there any chance that if I turn it off i can get a better OC?

Thanks


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


hey, I havent been keeping up with this forum because I OCed and left it alone. I have 605 bios and was thinking of moving up to 11. Is there any benefit? Or am i good with what i have?

edit: and I have Load line calibration on. Its been on for about a year, is there any chance that if I turn it off i can get a better OC?

Thanks


Not to my knowledge. LLC is mainly for countering Vdrop/vdroop. From what I have heard, your chip will last longer with it turned off, but I am not entirely positive on the accuracy of that statement.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Not to my knowledge. LLC is mainly for countering Vdrop/vdroop. From what I have heard, your chip will last longer with it turned off, but I am not entirely positive on the accuracy of that statement.


I think the main problem with LLC people were having was using it with EIST/Speedstep enabled on 45nm chips. When going from idle--->load or vice versa there is the potential for voltage overshoot.

If you have a 65nm, run full load 24/7, or manually force Vcore (disable EIST/speedstep) LLC should not cause damage from overshoot and can be useful to counter Vdroop.


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
I think the main problem with LLC people were having was using it with EIST/Speedstep enabled on 45nm chips. When going from idle--->load or vice versa there is the potential for voltage overshoot.

If you have a 65nm, run full load 24/7, or manually force Vcore (disable EIST/speedstep) LLC should not cause damage from overshoot and can be useful to counter Vdroop.

I had read that it was hurting 45nm chips too. Just thought I would ask. Any takers on the bios question or does everyone run rampage on the p5e?


----------



## Wadkiller

Hey guys, Just a few questions.

I want to oc my e8500 a bit more. 4.25-4.5ghz

I'm currently sitting on 4ghz with a vcore of 1.275 & NB @ 1.35.

I disabled all the power saving features & that spread spectrums (i think thats what their called). I've read a few things of LLC, do i need to disable this with my 45nm cpu or not?

What vcore am i looking at? What other settings do i have to change? Getting this mobo to 500fsb & my e8500 to 4ghz is a breeze, but above that i'm lost.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wadkiller*


Hey guys, Just a few questions.

I want to oc my e8500 a bit more. 4.25-4.5ghz

I'm currently sitting on 4ghz with a vcore of 1.275 & NB @ 1.35.

I disabled all the power saving features & that spread spectrums (i think thats what their called). I've read a few things of LLC, do i need to disable this with my 45nm cpu or not?

What vcore am i looking at? What other settings do i have to change? Getting this mobo to 500fsb & my e8500 to 4ghz is a breeze, but above that i'm lost.


I would disable LLC, as it is not good for 45nm CPU's. Max voltage according to Intel is 1.3625v and probably a little more with water cooling, but I owuldnt go above it. With a high FSB speed you need to put more voltage to the NB, maybe 1.39v or 1.41v, possibly more. Try setting the Transaction Booster to 9 or 10 and AI Clock Twister to Light or Lighter. See what that nets you.


----------



## Wadkiller

Thanks Spacegoast.

If my rig were stable @ 500fsb (8*500) & i up my multi to 8.5 = 4.250ghz, will i have to adjust any other volts except the vcore? I'm asking because you said NB volts should be near 1.39/1.41, but i'm not increasing the fcb anymore.

I can't adjust the transaction booster above 7 (thats the max).


----------



## spacegoast

^ Really? What BIOS are you using? Well try increasing the NB voltage a little and see if that helps. 500 is already a pretty high FSB with the P5E board. Try 1.41v, if that doesnt work try 1.43v and then 1.45v if needed. Not many people are hitting 500FSB with the P5E. There are a bunch of posts throughout this thread where people post their entire BIOS list of settings. You should do some searching and see what others with your same config are running theirs at


----------



## Wadkiller

Yip







I'm using the P5E 1003 bios. 8*500 for 4 ghz with 1.275 vcore with a 1:1 divider. Mem timings @ 5:5:5:15 (i'm having trouble with this, because i have no idea where to start to get these timings lower)

NB volts @ 1.35
FSB Termination Volts @ 1.26
CPU PLL Volts @ 1.52

CPU & PCI Spread spectrums disabled
LLC Disabled
& everything else on auto.

I just wanna make sure that you understood what i asked. My rig is stable @ 500fsb, but i've tried running @ 8.5*500 with 1.316 vcore but get a BSOD after a few minutes with prime95. Thus i was wondering if i need more vcore or more NB volts.


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Wadkiller* 
Yip







I'm using the P5E 1003 bios. 8*500 for 4 ghz with 1.275 vcore with a 1:1 divider. Mem timings @ 5:5:5:15 (i'm having trouble with this, because i have no idea where to start to get these timings lower)

NB volts @ 1.35
FSB Termination Volts @ 1.26
CPU PLL Volts @ 1.52

CPU & PCI Spread spectrums disabled
LLC Disabled
& everything else on auto.

I just wanna make sure that you understood what i asked. My rig is stable @ 500fsb, but i've tried running @ 8.5*500 with 1.316 vcore but get a BSOD after a few minutes with prime95. Thus i was wondering if i need more vcore or more NB volts.

Little hard with what you have as most people are running Quads and the Rampage BIOS. I'm not a fan of my E8500, but you may have got a better batch than me.
Personally, 4GHz stable is pretty good with what you have. I know my performance picked right up when I cross-flashed. Maybe it's worth a try; you're sure to get a lot more info from this thread since that's what it's based on and you can always go back if you wanted to.
I've hit 4.38, but don't seem to be able to tweak the RAM at the same time, so can't advise on RAM timings.
Try the cross flash and check out the 1st page of the thread. Most developments thereafter tend to be aimed at the Quads; good reason to get one


----------



## Wadkiller

Well tbh, thats not a good reason @ all to get a quad. Even with my 8800gt i can still pretty much play everything there is to play, maybe not maxed out, but still with nice eye candy.

I will get me a quad core rig going next year this time (almsot B-day). I'll get me a 4890 or whatever fits my budget end of April this year & when i go the quad route i'll trade this P5E for a sli mobo & build me a sli folding rig (unless you can fold with crossfire? which yield the best results?). Unless i can trade my e8500 for a q9550 + cash difference but i think my Apogee will be inadequate to cool the quad, or am i wrong?


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Depends what you're after. Like I said, seems like you got one of the good Wolfdale batches. My temps are ridiculously high, so I am getting a cash back toward the Q9650. TRUE are touted as the best coolers, but it still comes down to what you're cooling.
Seems a little confusing. If you're happy with your results and don't want more, then happy days. Stick with it until you're ready to upgrade.
Point I was making is looking for better performance may be hard to get answers to on a thread that is designed for Rampage cross flashing to give more options, OC at lower temps more successfully and is full of Quads.
You can still get answers for 45nm units; just keep in mind most are Quads and near all are cross flashed.
If you aren't satisfied with your results using your current rig, ask someone savvy with what you have and be prepared to make changes.
Folding etc are other issues best answered by those who do it most and probably on another thread.


----------



## Aleslammer

Wadkiller, a link to my setting with my E8500, C0. The settings are with the RF0410 BIOS but were used with P5E0903, where applicable. For gaming I go for core speed over FSB and make up for it with memory speed and tRD. I'm using RF0802 at present and went from 4.7 to 4.9 on my core speed, nice surprise, have not checked max FSB at present.
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...Language=en-us

A post to validate some of my comments on this post and the Asus site.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/Forums/...postcount=1783

spacegoast is right you are going to need more NB voltage. Your 8x500 is a real good clock and nice voltages, but to venture above 4.1 you are going to have to start pouring a lot more voltage to the board.

New BIOS out for the Rampage, 0803 and P5E, 1201, per the Asus Site posts.









Ale


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Wadkiller* 

I just wanna make sure that you understood what i asked. My rig is stable @ 500fsb, but i've tried running @ 8.5*500 with 1.316 vcore but get a BSOD after a few minutes with prime95. Thus i was wondering if i need more vcore or more NB volts.


I ran a dual core in my P5E at 515 FSB with 1.43v NB.

But what you really need to do if you want to determine if it is the vcore or the NB (and other relevent voltages like PLL, VTT, etc) is to drop the CPU multi to x6 to take it out of the equation. Then bump the FSB and see if the board runs stable or not. If it does, then you need more vcore, if it doesnt, take the opportunity to start working on the NB voltages and get it stable before you bring the multi back up.


----------



## INTREPID

*P5E 1201 Bios Released.*

P5E 1201 Bios
Fixed use 2 pieces of ATI4870X2 VGA Card can't display from Primary slot display monitor

File: P5E-ASUS-1201.zip

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5E/


----------



## advanceagent

I did a test with RF 0802 BIOS and 0701. I achieved a stable oc with the 0802 first at 425x8.5. The below BIOS setting underwent IntelBurnTest(v1.9) Maximum stress x20 passes then ~16 hours Prime95(v259). I can not enter BIOS setting after loading the same settings under 0701. So for my P5E, 0802 seems to work better. CPU/NB Clock Skew setting is critical in making my 0802 oc stable. These two setting is not available under 0701.


----------



## Ravin

So....My Dell workstation gave me a BSOD just a while a go at the office. I called in the IT manager to let him know and show him. When we went to reboot the machine would not power on, and he said he would requistion me another computer. I asked him "care if I open the case and clear the CMOS first?" "sure" he says. 2 minutes later I'm up and traced the failure to one of the ECC DIMMS.

Now here's how it's relevant to this thread. He was impressed I would have even thougt about clearing CMOS and running Memtest, and asked what I knew about computers. I told him I like to build and OC. He told me that he was interested in overclocking but knew little about it and asked if I could help overclock his personal machine. So I said "sure, what do you have?" A P5E and a E6750.









Ha! No problem. So tomorrow I get to school our IT manager on the P5E and all of its great features.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ravin* 
So....My Dell workstation gave me a BSOD just a while a go at the office. I called in the IT manager to let him know and show him. When we went to reboot the machine would not power on, and he said he would requistion me another computer. I asked him "care if I open the case and clear the CMOS first?" "sure" he says. 2 minutes later I'm up and traced the failure to one of the ECC DIMMS.

Now here's how it's relevant to this thread. He was impressed I would have even thougt about clearing CMOS and running Memtest, and asked what I knew about computers. I told him I like to build and OC. He told me that he was interested in overclocking but knew little about it and asked if I could help overclock his personal machine. So I said "sure, what do you have?" A P5E and a E6750.









Ha! No problem. So tomorrow I get to school our IT manager on the P5E and all of its great features.









The overclockers dream, LOL.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


The overclockers dream, LOL.


We had a pretty good conversation. Currently we are running Dell workstations- but many of them are starting to die from what I suspect to be heat related deaths. (Read: 3.6GHz P4s w/ ECC RAM w/o spreaders in fanless cases)

Appearantly Dell lost the contract with my agency, and they are ready to pull the trigger on some HPs at a base price of $3000- no periphals at all, just a bare bones computer no monitor or anything.

So....I'm going to try to convince him to startup a pitch to his boss for us to assemble new computers in-house. Supposedly they used to do that, but haven't in a while. At any rate they are worried about warrantys and such- so I says EVGA and XFX lifetime warranty FTW problem solved!!!! Let's see Dell, Compaq, HP, or Gateway compete with that. And who needs tech support- we have our own IT software development team.


----------



## Aaroman

I'm running BIOS 0605 right now. I am having trouble running stable over 420 fsb. 
Can anyone sugest a BIOS that will help me get stable and be able to lower the voltage on the North Bridge?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aaroman* 
I'm running BIOS 0605 right now. I am having trouble running stable over 420 fsb.
Can anyone sugest a BIOS that will help me get stable and be able to lower the voltage on the North Bridge?

Crossflashing to the Rampage Formula 0401(what I have run for a while now) or higher has been helpful for many of us. There is also the RF beta 0802 (My next flash and attempt for 4.0+Ghz and/or 500MHz FSB)

See page 1 for cross flash instructions


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ravin*


We had a pretty good conversation. Currently we are running Dell workstations- but many of them are starting to die from what I suspect to be heat related deaths. (Read: 3.6GHz P4s w/ ECC RAM w/o spreaders in fanless cases)

Appearantly Dell lost the contract with my agency, and they are ready to pull the trigger on some HPs at a base price of $3000- no periphals at all, just a bare bones computer no monitor or anything.

So....I'm going to try to convince him to startup a pitch to his boss for us to assemble new computers in-house. Supposedly they used to do that, but haven't in a while. At any rate they are worried about warrantys and such- so I says EVGA and XFX lifetime warranty FTW problem solved!!!! Let's see Dell, Compaq, HP, or Gateway compete with that. And who needs tech support- we have our own IT software development team.


No offence, but you should really consider Dell for that.

As cool as it would be, if anything fails, I call Dell and a replacement is there in 1 or 2 days, not even EVGA's cross shipping will get you the part that fast.

Your boss requesting you teach him about overclocking is definitely cool, and probably every overclockers dream (the chance to show off a bit).


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


No offence, but you should really consider Dell for that.

As cool as it would be, if anything fails, I call Dell and a replacement is there in 1 or 2 days, not even EVGA's cross shipping will get you the part that fast.

Your boss requesting you teach him about overclocking is definitely cool, and probably every overclockers dream (the chance to show off a bit).


None taken, but Dells service and the lack of long term reliability is what lost them the contract (his words not mine, and technically a peer as I am not IT)







Probably why they are considering HP or the like- warranty and service issues.


----------



## MrChrumb

Just getting started to clock-out my new Q9650, and am stuck on getting to higher FSB's. Input is welcomed.


> Method:
> 1) Find highest FSB
> 2) Find highest stable cpu Freq
> 3) Tighten memory timing.


I'm using G.Skill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK memory, DDR2-1066 PC2-8500 2048x2, CL5-5-5-15 2.0-2.1V, normal fare memory.

For testing I'm leaving Vcore at 1.200v, stable at 3.6Ghz+... and using 7.0x multiplier.

At 400fsb, Vdimm (bios set) 1.8V, NB volt at 1.25V all auto, stable.
At 410fsb, same settings passed (Prime95 4-thread blend +1hr).
At 420fsb, same settings passed.
At 430fsb, Raise Vdimm 1.94 (reads 2.15v in AI Suite), NB V to 1.41v passed for while then failed, on retest failed immediately. Change NB bootstrap to 333 passed.
At 440fsb, failed. Tried static memory read disable, higher Vdimm & NB Voltages, no go.

Any suggestions?

MrChrumb

Few more details...

CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 7
FSB Frequency : 430
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333 (had to set at 430+ fsb to stabilize)
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-860
DRAM Command Rate : AUTO
DRAM Timing Control: AUTO
CAS# Latency : AUTO (all auto 5 5 5 15 2T)
DRAM Static Read Control: AUTO (tried disabled no improvement)
Ai Clock Twister : AUTO (tried lighter and wouldn't post)
Transaction Booster : AUTO (In Manual only 0-7 available)
CPU Voltage : 1.2 ( 3.6Ghz, 9x400 stable)
CPU PLL Voltage : AUTO 
North Bridge Voltage : 1.41 (tried up to 1.51v)
DRAM Voltage : 1.94 (reads 2.15v w/ AI Suite&#8230; tried up to 2.04v)
FSB Termination Voltage : AUTO
South Bridge Voltage : AUTO
Loadline Calibration : Disabled
CPU GTL Reference : 0.63x 
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67x 
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO


----------



## MrChrumb

Hey all,

Well higher NB voltage helps, at 1.51v it'll post but as soon as I start a test it locks up. Higher voltage doesn't help. Much lower, and it won't boot into Vista. Increase Vdimm doesn't work. Tried all of the other voltages (FSB,Cpu PLL) and didn't find anything that helped, even tried increasing the voltage on SB... no luck. More Vcore didn't seem to help either.

Best operating point seems to be 3.825Ghz, 9x425, Vcore 1.275, NB 1.41v, Vdimm 1.94v... I think I'll work on tightening the memory timings for now.

Anyone have any thoughts on getting to higher FSB?


----------



## advanceagent

Risk sounding repetitive. I highly recommend flushing your bios to Rampage Formula 0802. A link to the file was provided by Ravin a few post up. 0802 has allowed FSB of over 500Mhz. Here is what I believe the original post.


----------



## spacegoast

Mr Chrumb:

I also recommend using the RF BIOS. The 0803 is the latest release and it has just as good to me as the previous ones. It allows for further tweaking of RAM and should allow you to set Transaction Booster to 10, which may help you. Also, it looks like your board is overvolting your RAM by a pretty hefty amount. You shouldnt need to run it higher than 2.1v so set your RAM in BIOS accordingly.


----------



## aleiro

To anyone running the RF bios:
I am gonna do the switch this weekend. Does this bios still overvolt ram? I think this is more related to the board and voltage regulator but I wanted to send this out.


----------



## advanceagent

Yes, it does. I am using RF 0802. You will need to check under bios.


----------



## MrChrumb

Okay - I'll try the alternate RF BIOS, and post back.

Flashing to RF BIOS 0803 went without issue. Disabled alarms, and attempted to put in max stable settings. That didn't work







. Clearly the memory dimm voltage is different, seems to be reading consistent in BIOS and in AI suite 9x400 seems stable. I'll have to go back in and try and figure out what's causing the higher FSB to hang-up. Could easily be one of the auto voltages from before (FSB, or PLL). I'll report back once I've had a chance to experiment.


----------



## MrChrumb

Hey all,

Didn't have better OC success with the RF BIOS. I couldn't get 9x425 stable (even raising Vcore 1.325, Cpu Pll 1.52, FSB 1.38, NBV 1.51) failed out after a couple hours... and there was quiet a bit of heat (could be in my head







). It's possible with memory timing tweaking, or playing with clock twist, or even the offset that it could be stabilized...

I flashed back to the PE5, reset the values (DDR2 voltage dialed right back to 2.15v in Ai Suite, when set to 1.94v in BIOS... weird).

I may try again on a rainy day... but for now I'm tired of benching, and ready to do some gaming! THANKS FOR THE HELP - and the information on how to flash to the alternate bios... that's kind of cool.

I may also try to lift my FSB further after letting cpu break-in.

MrChrumb


----------



## advanceagent

Try testing the RAM at spec timing(5-5-5-15?-auto-65) with memtest to rule out RAM. I usually run 2 copies for at least 100% sweep. Correct me on this if I am doing wrong.

I would recommend raising your NB to 1.55v and test with IntelBurnTest(IBT). IBT will stress your CPU & memory more than Prime95 and it will also generate more heat. If you have sufficient cooling, I would recommend running IBT first becuase it's faster. 5 pass will only take less than 20 min. If it passes, then run Prime95 for a longer period to confirm.

Here is a discussion on the Q9650 voltage settings:

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...-settings.html


----------



## MrChrumb

Hey advanceagent,

First time running IntelBurnTestv1.9, interesting program.

I ran 5-test and passed with the P5E bios, NB 1.4v, Vcore 1.275v and 1.94Vdimm (2.15v in AI Suite), at 9x425 5-5-5-15. (Prime95 stable >4hrs)

With the RF bios it seems to take quiet a bit more voltage on the northbridge... but you're probably right with the -65 timing.... I didn't try that.

MrChrumb


----------



## advanceagent

Super. Those are some very nice voltages. If the P5E bios works for you, by all means use it. Use whichever bios get you to your desired oc.

9x425 is very good oc. I would recommend verifying this oc with more stress tests. My personal preference is at least 10 pass of IBT + Prime95 overnight(~8 hrs). Everyone has their own criteria for what is consider stable. Once your oc is stable, save it in the bios. Then you can experiment with more tweakings, but you will always have this stable oc to return to.

Nice job


----------



## Aaroman

I'm trying to crossflash to rf0802 and it says "unable to open rom file.

halp!

I am going to try to redownload the .rom


----------



## advanceagent

Did you use the AFUDOS program from the 1st post? Type in exactly including space "*afudos /inew.rom /pbnc /n*" ?

Where inew.rom = whatever you name your RF 0802 rom


----------



## ericeod

Just curious. All of you flashing to the 803 bios, does it have the CPU and NB Clock skews that the 802 beta bios has?

edit: I just flashed to the 0803 and it does have the clock skews. So 0803 is just the formal release of 0802.


----------



## Aaroman

bios is flashed now. I have no clue how to use the clock skew features. some help would be much appreciated


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


bios is flashed now. I have no clue how to use the clock skew features. some help would be much appreciated


It only helps when trying to push the limits of the FSB. The known best settings I've seen (and tested myself) is:

CPU Clock Skew: 100ps 
NB Clock Skew: Normal

or for really high FSB pushed to the max

CPU Clock Skew: 200ps
NB Clock Skew: 100ps


----------



## Jus'Chillin'

Hello people, just thought I'd put my







in. System didn't seem stable with last 2 BIOS flashes - 0603 and 0701; esp the 0701. Problems reformatting, settings changing, freezing etc.
However, last night flashed the 0803 and I can't believe the difference. Played around a bit with stock gear since my Q9650 is taking too much time and don't want the Xiggy in until I install everything.
Anyway, I adjusted the clock skews as mentioned and it was awesome. Easily pushed the unit pretty hard and got a high clock speed for stock cooling - never mind; I'll post when I have something really worth showing.
Moreover, the PC doesn't boot, stop and reboot from cold anymore; it just boots and runs very smoothly.
Had flashed different versions of previous BIOS models to alleviate corruption, but no cigar.
Highly recommend the latest 0803 based on what I've seen









Edit: should have mentioned and don't know how much if any difference it made, but I concurrently updated the chipset driver to V9001011 when I flashed the latest BIOS...


----------



## Chris Ihao

Hi guys. Just popping in to say hi to the guys in my favourite oc thread, ever expanding as it is. Especially hi to you Spacegoast and Ericeod









Anyways, I saw there was a new stock bios update from 25/02-09. Any reason to upgrade except if you have the ATI4870X2? More stable voltages or anything?

Honestly my modestly oc'ed system works so good now that I dont think I'll mess any more about with it if the difference is marginal. I'm going to get an Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme GTX280 for my gpu later this week though, so that should be exciting. Finally I'm going to take you up your challenge Ericeod. Hope I dont break anything in the process. Wish me luck.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Hi guys. Just popping in to say hi to the guys in my favourite oc thread, ever expanding as it is. Especially hi to you Spacegoast and Ericeod









Anyways, I saw there was a new stock bios update from 25/02-09. Any reason to upgrade except if you have the ATI4870X2? More stable voltages or anything?

Honestly my modestly oc'ed system works so good now that I dont think I'll mess any more about with it if the difference is marginal. I'm going to get an Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme GTX280 for my gpu later this week though, so that should be exciting. Finally I'm going to take you up your challenge Ericeod. Hope I dont break anything in the process. Wish me luck.


Ha ha, OC away my friend! Yeah the new 803 bios has CPU and NB clock skews which really help push the FSB (I should say "keep it stable"). I actually bought a Gigabyte UD3P to try to get more out of my Q9650. Then the beta 802 (which is now 803) bios was released, and the day the UD3P arrived, I flashed my Rampage Formula to the new bios. I was able to achieve a 490 FSB with the new bios, and at the same NB voltage I needed for 472 previously. So I gave the UD3P to a friend of mine who really needed it.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Hi guys. Just popping in to say hi to the guys in my favourite oc thread, ever expanding as it is. Especially hi to you Spacegoast and Ericeod









Anyways, I saw there was a new stock bios update from 25/02-09. Any reason to upgrade except if you have the ATI4870X2? More stable voltages or anything?

Honestly my modestly oc'ed system works so good now that I dont think I'll mess any more about with it if the difference is marginal. I'm going to get an Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme GTX280 for my gpu later this week though, so that should be exciting. Finally I'm going to take you up your challenge Ericeod. Hope I dont break anything in the process. Wish me luck.


I recently flashed to 0803 BIOS and it has worked pretty well for me so far. I am able to run 392x9 at 1.39375v in BIOS and 1.38v according to HWMonitor. So I have been able to get it a little higher using less voltage. I am also considering getting that Accelero Xtreme GTX280. That thing looks pretty sweet. There is a review for it on TPU: LINK, seems like it would drop temps nicely, especially with summer coming up, for us anyway. GL with your challenge though


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
I recently flashed to 0803 BIOS and it has worked pretty well for me so far. I am able to run 392x9 at 1.39375v in BIOS and 1.38v according to HWMonitor. So I have been able to get it a little higher using less voltage. I am also considering getting that Accelero Xtreme GTX280. That thing looks pretty sweet. There is a review for it on TPU: LINK, seems like it would drop temps nicely, especially with summer coming up, for us anyway. GL with your challenge though









Thanks man. The first part of the challenge is waiting to see if the cooler fits in the first place. I didnt bother with taking out the gtx280 and dismount the cooler to see if the "height restriction drawing" fits, so if I have a different pcb than nvidias reference, I should be in big trouble. Judging from these shots though it sure looks like its reference: http://en.hardspell.com/doc/showcont.asp?news_id=3669. I got a REALLY bad scare just a few moments ago when the text "Gainward's non-reference GTX280" seemed to pop up everywhere I googled, but that seems like its a special version of the card. Phu.

Oh well. Worst case I finally get to reseat the stock cooler properly with some decent goop instead of the "chalkish bad excuse for a thermal pad" that these cards come with.

They sent the cooler today, so I should be on it in two days or so. I'll let you guys know how it fares.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Yay. Finally got the that Accelero Xtreme GTX280 mounted on my 280, with some fuzzing about. It seems like Arctic Cooling did a bad job making the glue for two of the ram heatsinks, resulting in the possibility of them falling off at any time. I made haste right after work today to get the last tubes of arctic silver thermal adhesive (proxy) and got them stuck on forever. The backplate also was a hassle, but I bent it a little and got it to fit better. The compund have fastened it now I think.

I'm now running at 702 core, 1512 shader and 2592 memory (1296). Seems to work fine so far. Getting a vantage score of p15401. Running furmark 1680x1050 msaa: x8 for 10-15 minutes take the core temp up to 57 in a relatively hot room. Vantage maxed out at 51. Suspect I got a bit too eager putting on arctic silver though. Oh well, at least it should last some time.









Spacegoast, if you dont have thermal adhesive, get it just in case if your getting the cooler. Those ram chips are slippery ones of some reason. I've cleaned them really proper, but they still dont stick well when using the horrible factory glue (which you must really work to get off btw) its just not reliable. The results though are magnificent. I think I'll stay at this oc if it turns out to be stable, as reading around tells me that I wont get much farther anyway. I could probably turn up the core a bit, but I just dont know if its worth it.

Have a nice day folks! Happy happy ._-

Edit: Had to retreat on the shaders, but raised the others. So now I am doing 729/1458/1332 instead. Quite satisfied with this oc


----------



## Ravin

Yesterday was BIOS flashing day. Pulled the trigger on RF0803. Also flashed the 4870 with my own custom and ditched the ASUS TOP BIOS that I suspect was giving me driver problems, after multiple crashes trying the cat9.3s. Just got sick of running 8.09 and wanted to see if the 9.3 offered an improvement for FAH. Finally back up- 12 hours solid, if I can make it through the weekend without a hang or BSOD I'll call it good.

Also tired the CPU skew out- made me unstable at my current settings, although to be fair my current settings were stable before putting the ASUS TOP BIOS on my 4870. I'm gearing up for another push *next* weekend.....and shooting for 4GHz.


----------



## Drizzt5

http://www.arc.com/sonicfocus/support.html

^^
Those drivers are really better for sound then the ones that Asus has on there site?

I'm not sure if they will even work, but on my next reformat I'll install them.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Trust me. They do. There is a reason why they made that version. Look at the "soundmax" logo on your blackhawk graphical interface. Same guys, same mobo makers as targets.

One thing I recently found out though. If I prevent the blackhawk part from loading, through msconfig, it works even better. The part to block from loading is "sonic focus effects". Should work well.

The drivers are adjustable from the vista playback devices menu's. Eq and all.

Ps: Ericeod, this is maybe something to add to the front page. The graphical interface still is a bit bugged, even if its better than the ones you find on the asus homepage.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


http://www.arc.com/sonicfocus/support.html

^^ 
Those drivers are really better for sound then the ones that Asus has on there site?

I'm not sure if they will even work, but on my next reformat I'll install them.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Trust me. They do. There is a reason why they made that version. Look at the "soundmax" logo on your blackhawk graphical interface. Same guys, same mobo makers as targets.

One thing I recently found out though. If I prevent the blackhawk part from loading, through msconfig, it works even better. The part to block from loading is "sonic focus effects". Should work well.

The drivers are adjustable from the vista playback devices menu's. Eq and all.

Ps: Ericeod, this is maybe something to add to the front page. The graphical interface still is a bit bugged, even if its better than the ones you find on the asus homepage.


Thanks Chris Ihao, it has been added.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Just for the record. I finally got to 3.6 ghz!









Thanks to Ericeod again for his invaluable help.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Just for the record. I finally got to 3.6 ghz!









Thanks to Ericeod again for his invaluable help.


Do you think the RF bios is worth flashing to from your experience?


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Do you think the RF bios is worth flashing to from your experience?

Oh yes. Indeed. My Corsair Dominators, which are known to be troublesome with this mobo, worked flawlessly from the get go with the rf bios. The controls in this bios is much more logically laid out.

Also the addition of the bios voltage monitors made me much more comfortable in raising the bios set vcore voltages a bit over the recommended voltages, as I could see how much power was going into the vcore before even booting up windows.

A great bios all in all!


----------



## Drizzt5

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Trust me. They do. There is a reason why they made that version. Look at the "soundmax" logo on your blackhawk graphical interface. Same guys, same mobo makers as targets.

One thing I recently found out though. If I prevent the blackhawk part from loading, through msconfig, it works even better. The part to block from loading is "sonic focus effects". Should work well.

The drivers are adjustable from the vista playback devices menu's. Eq and all.

Ps: Ericeod, this is maybe something to add to the front page. The graphical interface still is a bit bugged, even if its better than the ones you find on the asus homepage.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Oh yes. Indeed. My Corsair Dominators, which are known to be troublesome with this mobo, worked flawlessly from the get go with the rf bios. The controls in this bios is much more logically laid out.

Also the addition of the bios voltage monitors made me much more comfortable in raising the bios set vcore voltages a bit over the recommended voltages, as I could see how much power was going into the vcore before even booting up windows.

A great bios all in all!

Ok a few things.

1. I just did a fresh new install of vista ultimate x64 and the sound drivers work great so far (haven't gamed yet though) I may try what you said about disabling something on startup (?) but Idk what you mean really.

2. If I flash my bios to the RF will it screw up my current Raid0 configuration as is? I mean how could it not?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


Ok a few things.

1. I just did a fresh new install of vista ultimate x64 and the sound drivers work great so far (haven't gamed yet though) I may try what you said about disabling something on startup (?) but Idk what you mean really.

2. If I flash my bios to the RF will it screw up my current Raid0 configuration as is? I mean how could it not?



It should have no affect on your RAID. The bios use the same RAID ROM. I have done it before and not had a problem. All I do is restore bios defaults, flash to the RF bios, CLR CMOS and enter the bios. Then just set the SATA controller th RAID and reboot. Then immediately enter the bios again, set the bios settings, set the HDD priority, then set the boot order. After rebooting, it should load to Windows off the RAID just fine.


----------



## Drizzt5

K, I've flashed to the latest p5e bios but I think I'll flash to RF.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


1. I just did a fresh new install of vista ultimate x64 and the sound drivers work great so far (haven't gamed yet though) I may try what you said about disabling something on startup (?) but Idk what you mean really.


You see that "blackhawk" icon in your system tray. When you click that you get a graphical interface. Thing is that you really dont need this graphical interface, as you can do all those things in the vista playback devices interface anyway (and it has some few bugs as well).

You need to go into msconfig.exe (just type it in in launch), select the "startup" tab and remove the check on "Sonic Focus effects". All done!

Now you have only removed the autolaunch of that "black hawk" interface, while your soundmax audio driver is doing its job like nothing ever happened.

Good luck with your RF flash! May the force be with you.


----------



## Drizzt5

I did what you said ^^ How does the sound card that I have compare to sound cards that you go out and buy btw?

and...









The force was with me.

I'll try out some new OC settings in a bit, but my first impressions just by looking around after the flash was...

1. More OC settings?
2. Bios layout looks better to me at least
3. The republic of gaming looks way cooler then the big AI









Maybe I can finally get 4ghz 24/7 stable with sane voltages....


----------



## ericeod

A dedicated sound card (the SupremeFX II still offloads to the CPU) like the ASUS Xonar is a lot better. I got rid of my X-Fi Fatality and used the FX II while I waited for my ASUS Xonar to arrive. I could detect a drop in quality from the X-Fi. But when I installed the Xonar, I couldn't believe the difference. I actually spent the rest of the night listening to my music. it was so much more enjoyable to listen to my music, I was really surprised!


----------



## Drizzt5

Is it really worth $90 though ?? _-_
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...SUS-_-29132006


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


Is it really worth $100 though ?? _-_


Only you can justify that. I use my PC to watch movies and listen to music, so for me it was worth it. But like I said, the sound difference is drastic. Its like watching normal cable. You never know what you are missing until you switch to HD TV.

edit: You might want to get the PCI version since you have a CF setup. The PCI-E slot you are currently running the Supreme FX II is proprietary and will only run the Supreme FX II.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829132007

So run it in the upper most PCI slot:


----------



## Drizzt5

K... How long does it take for sound cards to go out of date though? They don't go to **** as fast as gpu's right?
I might consider buying one when I have some more money.... but no rush. I watch movies, play games, and listen to music too.

I wish I could sample it ... -_-


----------



## ericeod

I know people still running X-Fi and audigy cards that have been around since 2006. The main reason sound cards go out of date is from OS upgrades when they are no longer supported.


----------



## Chris Ihao

I have my Esi Esp 1010 for finer pleasures, and my fxII for my gaming needs







I probably should use the esi for both though, but I'm sort of used to running an audigy for games instead of the esi


----------



## aleiro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Drizzt5* 
I did what you said ^^ How does the sound card that I have compare to sound cards that you go out and buy btw?

and...

The force was with me.

I'll try out some new OC settings in a bit, but my first impressions just by looking around after the flash was...

1. More OC settings?
2. Bios layout looks better to me at least
3. The republic of gaming looks way cooler then the big AI









Maybe I can finally get 4ghz 24/7 stable with sane voltages....

Im still on the fence about flashing to the rampage formula bios. Could you update us on whether you can run a lower vcore with the same OC?
Thanks


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


Im still on the fence about flashing to the rampage formula bios. Could you update us on whether you can run a lower vcore with the same OC?
Thanks


I have been able to set a lower vcore when switching from the P5E BIOS to the RF. It was only one notch lower, but it was lower nonetheless. I had my Q6600 had 389x9 for 3.51ghz and the RAM was at 1037. Vcore was set to 1.39375 or something like that. I flashed to the RF and I was able to run the same clocks at 1.3875v.


----------



## Wadkiller

I finally got my E8500 above 4ghz, busy priming though, Just past 7 hours now, 8hours is my lucky charm. Running it @ 4.25ghz can't remember what vcore, was one notch above 1.325







Max temp so far 47 degrees, still with the P5E bios.

I saw you guys were tlaking about sound cards. I'm also interested in getting me an Asus xonar. Is is a good choice? http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_I...Ot9&templete=2 Whats the difference between the Dx & the D1?

I'm using a Sony hi-fi to watch movies so not a high quality sound system & a Sharkoon Cosmic headset for games (not high quality aswell). Will the Xonar still give better sound quality?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Wadkiller* 
I finally got my E8500 above 4ghz, busy priming though, Just past 7 hours now, 8hours is my lucky charm. Running it @ 4.25ghz can't remember what vcore, was one notch above 1.325







Max temp so far 47 degrees, still with the P5E bios.

I saw you guys were tlaking about sound cards. I'm also interested in getting me an Asus xonar. Is is a good choice? http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_I...Ot9&templete=2 Whats the difference between the Dx & the D1?

I'm using a Sony hi-fi to watch movies so not a high quality sound system & a Sharkoon Cosmic headset for games (not high quality aswell). Will the Xonar still give better sound quality?

It is a great card. The only difference is the DX is PCI-E (a PCI wht a PCI-E bridge chip) while the D1 is just PCI. I would recommend getting the PCI (D1) since there is an available PCI slot above the primary PCI-E x16 video card slot.

The DX (PCI-E) also requires a power connector for the PCI-E bridge.


----------



## Wadkiller

Thanks dude, i also thought the D1 were the better option. Regarding the sound quality, is it even worth it to go for a better sound card if i don't really have the sound to back it up?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wadkiller*


Thanks dude, i also thought the D1 were the better option. Regarding the sound quality, is it even worth it to go for a better sound card if i don't really have the sound to back it up?


I personally think the sound quality is amazing over the FX II. But each person has different expectations/needs. So it is something you have to decide. I listen to music and watch movies on my PC, so for me it was worth it.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aleiro* 
Im still on the fence about flashing to the rampage formula bios. Could you update us on whether you can run a lower vcore with the same OC?
Thanks

I need the same Vcore, but drastically lower VNB (1.61V---->1.45V)


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wadkiller*


Thanks dude, i also thought the D1 were the better option. Regarding the sound quality, is it even worth it to go for a better sound card if i don't really have the sound to back it up?


Tip: Get better sound with time


----------



## Aaroman

hey guys, Update: I'm running the latest P5E deluxe x48 Bios now since my troubles with RF0802. I will try rf0803 this week I promise.

One question, what would you consider to be a high voltage for the NB. 1.5 is what i am trying to stay under right now.


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aaroman*


hey guys, update: I'm running the latest p5e deluxe x48 bios now since my troubles with rf0802. I will try rf0803 this week i promise.

One question, what would you consider to be a high voltage for the nb. 1.5 is what i am trying to stay under right now.


1.7(temp<70C)


----------



## Wadkiller

I finally managed to get my E8500 above 4ghz. Running @ 4.25ghz @ 1.33750vcore & max temp with P95 small fft's are 45 degrees. I tried for 4.5ghz, but i needed way more than just 1.385 to just boot into windows, so i guess i will need close to 4ghz to get it stable, tried upping the dram volts aswell as NB, no luck.

I don't feel comfortable with more than 1.364 volts, will some or other time try to up my fsb a bit to get close to 4.4ghz, i know my board is good for 525fsb, just don't know if it's a good idea to run it so close to the max?


----------



## spacegoast

well as long as temps are in check, you should be ok. thats an awesome overclock btw. i would keep it under 1.38v though, but thats just me. plus you have an H20 set up, so i think you squeeze out 4.3ghz, maybe a tad more.


----------



## Wadkiller

Thanks man. So i could'nt wait any longer. I wen i upped the FSB to 520*8.5 = 4335mhz. I just upped the vcore to 1.3750, NB to 1.39, dram to 2.14 running P95 already for 10min, max temp so far was 45 degrees. I forgot my fans on the rad were @ 1200rpm, set it to 1800rpm & temps vary between 42-43. Ambient wil still rise between 3-4 degrees, currently is 19.

Will check if it's stable for a few min then just start to decrease vcore till unstable & up till it's nice & cozy.

EDIT: i just got my first RAID array going yesterday, wil it affect it in any way if the pc crashes restarts while i'm trying to get the OC stable?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wadkiller*


Thanks man. So i could'nt wait any longer. I wen i upped the FSB to 520*8.5 = 4335mhz. I just upped the vcore to 1.3750, NB to 1.39, dram to 2.14 running P95 already for 10min, max temp so far was 45 degrees. I forgot my fans on the rad were @ 1200rpm, set it to 1800rpm & temps vary between 42-43. Ambient wil still rise between 3-4 degrees, currently is 19.

Will check if it's stable for a few min then just start to decrease vcore till unstable & up till it's nice & cozy.

EDIT: i just got my first RAID array going yesterday, wil it affect it in any way if the pc crashes restarts while i'm trying to get the OC stable?


I would disable write-back caching from within the Intel RAID Matrix Manager while testing. If the computer crashes (shuts down unexpectedly), you can corrupt your OS system files more easily since they are still running in cache.


----------



## Wadkiller

Thanks ericeod.

I'm trying for 4.4ghz now 518*8.5. vcore @ 1.3750, & one core failed after about 5 min, the same with 1.38125. Is that a sign of too low a vcore?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Wadkiller* 
Thanks ericeod.

I'm trying for 4.4ghz now 518*8.5. vcore @ 1.3750, & one core failed after about 5 min, the same with 1.38125. Is that a sign of too low a vcore?

The easiest way to test is to drop the CPU's multi and keep everything else the same (FSB speed, NB voltages, etc) and see if the core still fails. If it still fails, then you probably need to adjust the NB voltage, GTL Ref Voltage etc. But if it passes, then your board is stable at the FSB speed, however the CPU itself wasnt. So then you would have to add vcore when you bring the multi back up.


----------



## Wadkiller

How long do i have to check if it's stable @ the lower multi high fsb? Been running like that for almost an 1/2 hour


----------



## Wadkiller

Well, i saw it's stable @ that FSB for atleast an hour so i just upped the vore one more notch & it's been runnning for the last 1/2hour @ 4.4ghz. Vcore is 1.38750 (i think, one notch above 1,38150)


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wadkiller*


Well, i saw it's stable @ that FSB for atleast an hour so i just upped the vore one more notch & it's been runnning for the last 1/2hour @ 4.4ghz. Vcore is 1.38750 (i think, one notch above 1,38150)


Just curious, when you say the vcore is at 1.3875v, is that the bios setting or what CPU-Z reports the higherst vcore to be when the CPU is at idle?


----------



## Wadkiller

Sorry, i should've said what i was referring to. I only refer to the settings in my bios.

Could'nt get it stable @ 4.4ghz last night @ 1.38750. Went back to 4335mhz @ 1.3500 stable.

Just a quick question, do you guys also run the blend tests? I usually only run small fft's for 8 hours.


----------



## fonzye

nice


----------



## Dantesinferno

Hey guys, new to overclock.net. Nice forum.
Anyhow, I just recieved my P5E about 2 days ago and already flashed it to RF803. Now I'm just trying to lower the voltages. A lot of these settings were from auto.
Vcore: 1.296
FSB Strap : 400
LLC: Disabled
Cpu Pll: 1.728
FSB Term Volt.: 1.440
DRAM: 2.096
NB: 1.552
South Bridge - 1.088
SB 1.5V - 1.568
Idle Temps : 42 42 39 41
Any advice would be deeply appreciated.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dantesinferno*


Hey guys, new to overclock.net. Nice forum.
Anyhow, I just recieved my P5E about 2 days ago and already flashed it to RF803. Now I'm just trying to lower the voltages. A lot of these settings were from auto.
Vcore: 1.296
FSB Strap : 400
LLC: Disabled
Cpu Pll: 1.728
FSB Term Volt.: 1.440
DRAM: 2.096
NB: 1.552
South Bridge - 1.088
SB 1.5V - 1.568
Idle Temps : 42 42 39 41
Any advice would be deeply appreciated.


Hi. Are all these bios settings? If so:

The ram on the p5e overvolts quite a bit. Try 2.06 in bios. Should be a bit over 2.1 even at that setting. Test it though. If the system seems slow, put it at 2.08.

Cpu pll is FAR to high. Turn it down to 1.52 or 1.54 to see if that works.

Your fsb is at 450, right? You probably wont need as much as 1.552 volts on the nb. Try 1.43, 1.45 and upward.

Leave south bridge volts on auto. LLC: Disabled is correct. Put FSB Strap on auto to have greater freedom in selecting and testing dram speeds (this is the "divider" between the dram and fsb speed)

It may be that you need to turn up the cpu voltage (if 1.296 is the bios value), as there is usually quite a bit of vdroop going on. Who knows though. Maybe you got a lucky chip. Hehe.

Good luck owl. Have fun


----------



## Dantesinferno

thanks for the advice, though is the pll too high?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dantesinferno*


thanks for the advice, though is the pll too high?


Yes, PLL looks a little high. I set mine I think to 1.32v (which is over volted as well). Also RAM voltage seems a little high. I know mine over volts by about .08v. So if I set it to 1.96v it comes out as 2.04v. I usually set it to 1.94 or 1.96 and I can run my DDR2 1000 at 1066mhz no problems at all.

EDIT: Sorry, I was incorrect about my PLL voltage. I set mine to 1.52v and gets over volted to 1.6v (which is the default votlage I believe)


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Yes, PLL looks a little high. I set mine I think to 1.32v (which is over volted as well). Also RAM voltage seems a little high. I know mine over volts by about .08v. So if I set it to 1.96v it comes out as 2.04v. I usually set it to 1.94 or 1.96 and I can run my DDR2 1000 at 1066mhz no problems at all.

EDIT: Sorry, I was incorrect about my PLL voltage. I set mine to 1.52v and gets over volted to 1.6v (which is the default votlage I believe)


I was about to say that Space







Seemed a bit low alright.

Anyways dantesinferno, I updated my post on the previous page, and as you see I wrote 1.52 there as well. People claim that this value makes it easier to raise fsb speeds, but everywhere I look people got them ranging from 1.50 to 1.54. I personally use 1.50 now.


----------



## Dantesinferno

Nice! well, I redid my voltages except my PLL overvolts higher than yours 0_o
Vcore: 1.296
CPU PLL: 1.50 overvolted to 1.616
FSB term volt: 1.360
Ram: 1.936
NB 1.424
I think these are good voltages right?
and I still get 42 42 38 40 idle temps using a zalman 9700, the AS5 hasn't had much curing time yet though.

Edit: Actually I had to boost my Ram up a bit. My G. Skill ram are very volt hungry


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dantesinferno* 
Nice! well, I redid my voltages except my PLL overvolts higher than yours 0_o
Vcore: 1.296
CPU PLL: 1.50 overvolted to 1.616
FSB term volt: 1.360
Ram: 1.936
NB 1.424
I think these are good voltages right?
and I still get 42 42 38 40 idle temps using a zalman 9700, the AS5 hasn't had much curing time yet though.

Yeah. Those look very good. As long as the system works fine at these settings, you should be a-ok.









I need about 2.1v (actual volts) on my ram chips, but then again they are quite the bad overclockers.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dantesinferno*


Nice! well, I redid my voltages except my PLL overvolts higher than yours 0_o
Vcore: 1.296
CPU PLL: 1.50 overvolted to 1.616
FSB term volt: 1.360
Ram: 1.936
NB 1.424
I think these are good voltages right?
and I still get 42 42 38 40 idle temps using a zalman 9700, the AS5 hasn't had much curing time yet though.

Edit: Actually I had to boost my Ram up a bit. My G. Skill ram are very volt hungry


With a 400 FSB I dont think you need 1.42v on the NB, 1.37 should do. I know my NB voltage is also overvolted (by 0.4v)and I set mine to 1.35 or 1.37v, and it ups it to 1.39 or 1.41 respectively. So if yours also gets overvolted you could lower it little and see if it still works. If not then just use 1.42v as you had before.

Reducing heat output=WIN


----------



## Dantesinferno

I have a q9450 it's 450 x 8 = 3.6 ghz. Anyhow, it's stable for everything, movies, games, video editing/burning, multitasking with 10 programs open at one time. Yet almost fails after 15 seconds of prime95


----------



## Wadkiller

Well, if it's stable according to your standards then it's probably fine, but there is still a chance that it might BSOD on you @ any given time.

Most load test for atleast 8 hours. I'm one of them, if it's not hours stable smallfft's P95, then i'm not keeping the overclock. I can't risk losing work & i can't save every 5 seconds.

So what is the average overclock one can expect with a q9550 on the P5E with watercooling?


----------



## scottath

Just so you all know - i got my 2gb kit of Crucial Ballistix Tracers up to 1300mhz on the P5E (Rampage bios - latest - 80*).....

It's going great....


----------



## aleiro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dantesinferno*


I have a q9450 it's 450 x 8 = 3.6 ghz. Anyhow, it's stable for everything, movies, games, video editing/burning, multitasking with 10 programs open at one time. Yet almost fails after 15 seconds of prime95


Then its not stable. Running a few programs doesnt matter. you need the cpu stable at high loads, which is what prime will help you do


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dantesinferno*


I have a q9450 it's 450 x 8 = 3.6 ghz. Anyhow, it's stable for everything, movies, games, video editing/burning, multitasking with 10 programs open at one time. Yet almost fails after 15 seconds of prime95


I for one dont like the idea of my computer somehow being unstable. Crashing p95 after 15 seconds really isnt a good thing. I actually got up to 3.8 ghz in windows, doing normal stuff, but p95 also crashed really fast. Straight down to 3.6 for me at least. In my opinion I'd rather go with a stable 3.4 oc instead of having a fallible system.

Considering the NB voltages I felt I had to put it on 1.43 for my 3.6 oc (425 fsb) to work. I bet this varies greatly though, so Spacegoasts voltages could just as well work. As I speak I am currently testing if 1.424 (1.41 in bios) works for my 425 fsb. It could be that it was my core volt that was a tad too low the last time I went for the 3.6 oc with 1.41 nb dialed in.

Update: I can in fact run a 425 fsb on 1.41 nb volts. Ran a 14 hour small fft run in prime95 to confirm this.

Ericeod did recommend turning down the cpu multiplier though, so that you can check if purely the nb handles well on a given volt. This in next turn makes it easier to find the right core volt.


----------



## Wadkiller

Hey guys. Will this Absolute HD Supreme FX X-Fi work with my P5E? How does it compare to an Extreme Gamer?


----------



## Swiftes

Nice thread, just ordered a Maximus Formula myself!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Swiftes*


Nice thread, just ordered a Maximus Formula myself!


Nice choice! If you crossflash to the Rampage Formula 803 bios, you will get much more from the board. it is straight flash for you since the Maximus Formula has all the functionality of the Rampage board. With the 803 bios, the board is pushing 528 FSB with quads!


----------



## Swiftes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Nice choice! If you crossflash to the Rampage Formula 803 bios, you will get much more from the board. it is straight flash for you since the Maximus Formula has all the functionality of the Rampage board. With the 803 bios, the board is pushing 528 FSB with quads!


Wow!

I knew it was a good choice, but not that good.
Will I need to reformat? I have the X48 Drivers installed from my DS4 on XP X64.

Gonna cross flash when it arrives later


----------



## scottath

you will not need to format/do anything from the maximus/p5e crossflash to the rampage - but from your current board.....

It will probably have different audio/ethernet/firewire drivers - try it - if it BSOD on boot - well yo uwill need to


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Swiftes*


Wow!

I knew it was a good choice, but not that good.
Will I need to reformat? I have the X48 Drivers installed from my DS4 on XP X64.

Gonna cross flash when it arrives later










Chances are that you will need a reformat. I have never been able to transplant motherboards without one. Enjoy your Maximus Rampage.


----------



## ericeod

I would suggest uninstalling all the hardware drivers, then try the new board without reformatting. Jut prepare yourself incase it does not work. By that I mean you should still have a backup of all your important files.


----------



## Swiftes

Awesome, thanks guys!


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I would suggest uninstalling all the hardware drivers, then try the new board without reformatting. Jut prepare yourself incase it does not work. By that I mean you should still have a backup of all your important files.


Not a bad idea, and if it works saves quite a bit of time.


----------



## Dantesinferno

Bleh, I've been busy so I haven't been able to fix my overclock. T.T It's not truly stable at 3.6
Vcore: 1.32 - currently, I can run it much lower, just havent had the chance to mess with it
VTT: 1.38
NB : 1.49
PLL: 1.55
DRAM: 2.03


----------



## Dantesinferno

Alright, I have it system stable. Time to fine tune the voltages. Any Advice?
Vcore: set at 1.33 in bios, in windows it is 1.280
FSB VTT: 1.38
NB: 1.58
PLL: 1.55
Ram is at 2.02
Temps at 100% load is 62 58 57 60
8x 450
Its idling at like 48 49 44 48


----------



## Drizzt5

Anyone found a program that works with these mobo's for overclocking in windows?
Like set fsb or something. (maybe it works, I can't get it too though)

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=577553

4ghz, going for 24/7 stable. 40c's idle.

Bah... whenever I run prime95 it shuts down. Does anyone have any suggestions other then raising the fsb termination voltage and NB voltage. I did a complete run through of 3dmark06 and I can play cs:s and tf2 fine. But no prime95 or restart -_-


----------



## ericeod

What is your NB voltage set at? You sometimes need 1.59-1.63v NB for a 450+ FSB. What about your other voltages?


----------



## Swiftes

Well some updates from me!

I got a new G0 [1.2375VID] and have been toying around with the RF803 BIOS. I managed to get 3.6Ghz easily, and it is 100% stable at 1.4v CPU and I forgot the other voltages [I followed Anandtech's 450FSB, but with 400FSB]. Now I reckon I could get lower volts for 3.6Ghz, but my ram is a bad batch, will not do above 5-5-5-12 @ 800Mhz, even with 2.2v through it.

Who knows, I am gonna have another toy around with it though!

I will keep all posted and known.

Eric, what happened to your W5320?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Swiftes*


Eric, what happened to your W5320?


I felt I was missing out since the Xeon had some Locke bios settings. So I picked up a 920 D0. It does 4.0GHz at 1.20v prime stable. But I want another do with the W3520, so I sold my 920 D0 and just ordered the same batch Xeon!


----------



## Drizzt5

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


What is your NB voltage set at? You sometimes need 1.59-1.63v NB for a 450+ FSB. What about your other voltages?


ill take picz of the bios. I think the NB voltage might be 1.55 now.


----------



## Swiftes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I felt I was missing out since the Xeon had some Locke bios settings. So I picked up a 920 D0. It does 4.0GHz at 1.20v prime stable. But I want another do with the W3520, so I sold my 920 D0 and just ordered the same batch Xeon!

Haha, you will be feeling de-ja-vous soon!


----------



## ericeod

I felt I was missing out since the Xeon had some Locke bios settings. So I picked up a 920 D0. It does 4.0GHz at 1.20v prime stable. But I want another do with the W3520, so I sold my 920 D0 and just ordered the same batch Xeon!


----------



## spacegoast

New Rampage Formula 0902 Bios is out. It was released 05/04/2009. Guess no one has been checking on it. Added support to new CPU's.

Download 0902 here or from the official download page.


----------



## Swiftes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


New Rampage Formula 0902 Bios is out. It was released 05/04/2009. Guess no one has been checking on it. Added support to new CPU's.


They have but it isn't as good as 802


----------



## ericeod

I've heard the same thing about the 902 bios. I would like tyo see some more testing though.


----------



## spacegoast

Ya I was looking at the asus forum and they said the 0902 was not as good. I have not gotten around to flashing to it yet. Not sure I will though unless there is good reason to.


----------



## advanceagent

ericeod,

Intel has a newer chip set driver than the one you posted on the first page. Perhaps you can update it. It's 9.0.0.1008 and downloadable here

It's dated 6/2/2008 tough.

Thanks


----------



## ericeod

I will, thanks for the update! I would not recommend using a nwere RAID driver (I know the one I posted is older) as the newer ones have had issues.


----------



## advanceagent

Sorry ericeod, I made a bobo. Your posted driver is actually newer than mine. Mine is 9.*0*.0.1008 while yours is 9.*1*.0.1007

The installer gave me an error when I tried to install. Sorry for the misinformation.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *advanceagent*


Sorry ericeod, I made a bobo. Your posted driver is actually newer than mine. Mine is 9.*0*.0.1008 while yours is 9.*1*.0.1007

The installer gave me an error when I tried to install. Sorry for the misinformation.


Thats OK, you had the best of intentions! I make mistakes all the time too.


----------



## Drizzt5

My current bios is working great... I think it works better with my ram somehow.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


My current bios is working great... I think it works better with my ram somehow.


Yeah, the 803 bios is very solid!


----------



## corky dorkelson

Just bought a P5E from duckieho, what would be a good BIOS for 45nm quads (Q9400 or Q9550)

And wow, what a wealth of information on this thread!!!!


----------



## spacegoast

The 0803 BIOS is pretty good, Im still on it. There is a newer version out though, the 0902 that has been problemmatic for some. I havent tried that one yet.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


The 0803 BIOS is pretty good, Im still on it. There is a newer version out though, the 0902 that has been problemmatic for some. I havent tried that one yet.


Now, am I correct in assuming that this is a Rampage Formula BIOS? I have read that the bootable USB is the easiest way to flash...is that still the case?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *corky dorkelson*


Now, am I correct in assuming that this is a Rampage Formula BIOS? I have read that the bootable USB is the easiest way to flash...is that still the case?


My bad, I was not specific. Yup







it is the Rampage Formula BIOS. And USB is the best way to flash it. Eric left instructions on the first post of this thread on how to do so. Just make sure you have the spaces when you type in the command before you flash.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


My bad, I was not specific. Yup







it is the Rampage Formula BIOS. And USB is the best way to flash it. Eric left instructions on the first post of this thread on how to do so. Just make sure you have the spaces when you type in the command before you flash.


Great! I think I will give it a go when I get the board. What is my likely percentage of bricking my mobo?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *corky dorkelson*


Great! I think I will give it a go when I get the board. What is my likely percentage of bricking my mobo?











The directions Eric listed are spot on. So if you follow it step by step, it will be hard to mess it up. The only thing that I could see going wrong is a power outtage while flashing. I have flashed mine maybe 15-20 times, going back and forth from the P5e Deluxe BIOS and the Rampage Formula. The only time I needed assistance was the very first time. And for that I PM'd Eric and we got it flashed right away. So if you need further assistance, feel free to PM me.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


The directions Eric listed are spot on. So if you follow it step by step, it will be hard to mess it up. The only thing that I could see going wrong is a power outtage while flashing. I have flashed mine maybe 15-20 times, going back and forth from the P5e Deluxe BIOS and the Rampage Formula. The only time I needed assistance was the very first time. And for that I PM'd Eric and we got it flashed right away. So if you need further assistance, feel free to PM me.


Awesome dude. I repped you up for the help and you got a friend request inbound. Thanks again.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *corky dorkelson*


Awesome dude. I repped you up for the help and you got a friend request inbound. Thanks again.



No worries man, glad to be of assistance. Its good to see the P5E still being sought after. LOL. I think I will be keeping for a while longer







.


----------



## Swiftes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *corky dorkelson*


Awesome dude. I repped you up for the help and you got a friend request inbound. Thanks again.


Good luck with it mate, it is an awesome board, you will love it!


----------



## Wadkiller

Guys, i need some upgrading helping here.

My rig is running along smoothly, but you know, we always want more. I'm thinking it's time to venture into quadcore territory. My E8500 is the devil himself, got it up to 4892.5 the other day for a few pi runs & could go even higher.

So, do i rather keep the little bugger or look for a Q9550? What is the avg max FSB you guys think the P5E will be able to cope with? Or should i rather wait for i5?


----------



## spacegoast

^ I would hold off and wait it out. Unless you find a really good deal on a 9550 or 9650. I amhoping I can pick up a Q9650 sometime soon. Just waiting for the prices to go down a little. Although I have been seeing Q9550's around $220 BNIB, so if that is in your budget grab one.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


^ I would hold off and wait it out. Unless you find a really good deal on a 9550 or 9650. I amhoping I can pick up a Q9650 sometime soon. Just waiting for the prices to go down a little. Although I have been seeing Q9550's around $220 BNIB, so if that is in your budget grab one.


Yup. 9550 are only 230 shipped at the egg. And from reviews, it looks like they are sending strictly E0 now! I am ordering one after my honeymoon next week.


----------



## Wadkiller

I'd love to order from the egg, but i live in South Africa. I've decided to hold off a bit. Will maybe pick up anohter 4890 in a month or 2 from now.


----------



## Page35

Hi fellow OC'ers!
Jeez this thread has grown since I last looked







!! Nice to see that this board still attracts enough attention! Tons of new info and tips!!
!! Gz to the OP for the success and maintanance of the thread







!!

I've come back because I am going to replace the memory in my system with (G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 4GB [2x2GB] DDR2). These seem to be a better option for gaming than the 4x1Gb Ballistix pc-8500's. The rest of the system is staying the same. But because the memory is being replaced, that means that the whole OC process will have to be done again









Before placing the new ram in, are there any mobo settings in particular I should be aware of/take into consideration before memtesting the 2x2GB sticks (other than the obvious: mem-overvolting from the board, LLC, DRAM Static)? Example: Fsb>NB strap and Skews.

Thanks in advance, and I'll be sure to update you all as progress continues.

Page35


----------



## spacegoast

^ Same as before. I would reset CMOS though before you put them in and just start the OC over. I leave FSb->NB strap on AUTO, that way when you go to select DRAM frequency a little below it, you have more choices to set RAM to. If you select a particualr strap, I think DRAM will only have 4 options for each strap. If left on AUTO, all available will populate in DRAM Frequency. I dont mess with the skews either.


----------



## Vitaminx

Just wondering what bios is recommended for use with the Asus P5E X38? Currently running 0605 Bios and havent had a change since a year now.


----------



## Page35

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
Just wondering what bios is recommended for use with the Asus P5E X38? Currently running 0605 Bios and havent had a change since a year now.

Are you experiencing problems with the 0605 bios? If not, then why not stay with that?

Recomended bios for our mobo (P5E) is actually the Rampage Formula bios. It gives us/you more stability and more OC options. Current version is 0803.


----------



## Vitaminx

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Page35* 
Are you experiencing problems with the 0605 bios? If not, then why not stay with that?

Recomended bios for our mobo (P5E) is actually the Rampage Formula bios. It gives us/you more stability and more OC options. Current version is 0803.

Just figured I'd see whats more up to date and what everyone else is using. Is the Rampage bios really the recommended one for P5E? xD But I actually am having some little freezing up issues on browsers but thats probably something to do with my overclock I'd assume.


----------



## Page35

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*


Is the Rampage bios really the recommended one for P5E? xD


Yes, reading thru the thread, the Rampage Formula bios has been advised to almost all the OC'ers. I myself have been using the Rampage bios since 04xx version. At the time I had 4x1Gb Balistix pc-8500's and the Rampage bios gave me more OC stability with those sticks and my E8500 proc.

Although, depending on your OC wishes and system, you may have more advantage by using the P5E bios's instead of the Rampage's. 
Example: P5E bios may read cpu core at 1.15v (stock) and the Rampage's bios may read 1.2v (stock) or the other way around.
or
P5E may read dram at 2.1v (stock) and the rampage's at 2.2v (stock) or the other way around.

Only advice I could give you as a moderate OC'er would be (and this will take some time) to test every P5E version and see which lets you run your cpu/ram/NB (cpu and ram at stock settings) at the least most voltages, then try the Rampage's. OC both the best P5E and Rampage bios and compare the 2 results. That's really the only way to tell which bios is best for your system. And maybe someone else will come along shortly and let us know whick versions of both the P5E and Rampage bios's are proven to be the most stable thus far.

All in all, the Rampage has proven to give better results/stabilty/options amongst the users in this thread. I can OC my proc 5% more with the Rampage bios compared to tyhe P5E bios at 1.36x volt









Sorry for the long reply and hope this helps you somewhat


----------



## Vitaminx

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Page35*


Yes, reading thru the thread, the Rampage Formula bios has been advised to almost all the OC'ers. I myself have been using the Rampage bios since 04xx version. At the time I had 4x1Gb Balistix pc-8500's and the Rampage bios gave me more OC stability with those sticks and my E8500 proc.

Although, depending on your OC wishes and system, you may have more advantage by using the P5E bios's instead of the Rampage's. 
Example: P5E bios may read cpu core at 1.15v (stock) and the Rampage's bios may read 1.2v (stock) or the other way around.
or
P5E may read dram at 2.1v (stock) and the rampage's at 2.2v (stock) or the other way around.

Only advice I could give you as a moderate OC'er would be (and this will take some time) to test every P5E version and see which lets you run your cpu/ram/NB (cpu and ram at stock settings) at the least most voltages, then try the Rampage's. OC both the best P5E and Rampage bios and compare the 2 results. That's really the only way to tell which bios is best for your system. And maybe someone else will come along shortly and let us know whick versions of both the P5E and Rampage bios's are proven to be the most stable thus far.

All in all, the Rampage has proven to give better results/stabilty/options amongst the users in this thread. I can OC my proc 5% more with the Rampage bios compared to tyhe P5E bios at 1.36x volt









Sorry for the long reply and hope this helps you somewhat










It's good info. My question is how exactly do you flash to the Rampage bios? As I'm new to overclocking and I'd rather not attempt something that I could screw up xD.


----------



## Page35

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*


It's good info. My question is how exactly do you flash to the Rampage bios? As I'm new to overclocking and I'd rather not attempt something that I could screw up xD.


You can find the step by step in the first post on the first page of this thread.


----------



## Page35

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


^ Same as before. I would reset CMOS though before you put them in and just start the OC over. I leave FSb->NB strap on AUTO, that way when you go to select DRAM frequency a little below it, you have more choices to set RAM to. If you select a particualr strap, I think DRAM will only have 4 options for each strap. If left on AUTO, all available will populate in DRAM Frequency. I dont mess with the skews either.


Followed your advice, and both sticks individually passed memtest86+. They also passed in Dual Channel mode afterwards. Settings were:

cpu: (9.5 multi) 
fsb: 333
strap:266
dram speed:1002
timings: 5-5-5-15 (rest of timings were at auto)
dram voltage: 1.92 manually, 2.00 in hardware monitor
NB volt: auto, 1.36 in hardware monitor

Llc disabled, Dram static disabled, etc...

Guess the voltages could have been reduced a little and Memtested/Orthos'd to be sure of stability, but i'd rather leave more time over for OC'ing this weekend







. Thx for your tips so far, i'll get back later with more progress.


----------



## Page35

Hey guys, promised to update you all on progress. Well, here it is! Seem to have run into a wall with my ram. Upon raising the fsb by another 5, I recieve errors in the 5th test in memtest86+. Listed below are the highest working settings so far and this even passes 30 minutes of Small and Large FFT's in Orthos as well as Blend test, all with a priority of 8.

Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
CPU Ratio Setting : 9.5
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333
FSB Frequency :435
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency:1045
DRAM Command Rate :2n
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A: Auto
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
1st information: 5-5-5-15-3-52-6-3

CAS# Latency :5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Pre Time : 5
RAS# Act Time :15
RAS# to RAS# Delay : AUTO
Ref Cycle Time : AUTO
Write Recovery Time : AUTO
Read to Precharge Time : AUTO
2nd information:8-3-5-4-6-4-6

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (S) : AUTO
Read to Read Delay (D) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (S) : AUTO
Write to Write Delay (D) : AUTO
3rd information: 14-5-1-6-6

Write to PRE Delay : AUTO
READ to PRE Delay : AUTO
ALL PRE to ACT Delay : AUTO
ALL PRE to REF Delay :AUTO

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister : AUTO
Transaction Booster : AUTO

manual in Bios Hardware Monitor
CPU Voltage : 1.375 1.360
CPU PLL Voltage : AUTO 1.632
North Bridge Voltage : 1.35 1.376
DRAM Voltage : 1.92 2.000
FSB Termination Voltage : AUTO 1.392
South Bridge Voltage : AUTO 1.072
SB 1.5V Voltage: AUTO 1.52
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference : AUTO
NB GTL Voltage Reference : AUTO
DRAM Controller Voltage REF : AUTO 0.992
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF : AUTO
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF : AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled
CPU Clock Skew : AUTO
NB Clock Skew : AUTO

Does anyone have any tips how to stabalize the system so that a higher Dram frequency is achievable and possibly any tips what settings to change for better alround performance?

I've increased the dram volts up to 2.02 (2.1v in hardware monitor) and also increased the NB voltage up to 1.43 (1.456) but errors still appear in test 5 of memtest.

Any help is much appreciated


----------



## advanceagent

New Intel 9.1.1.1014 Chipset Software out. See my post here

It updated the following on my P5E:

High Precision Event Timer
Intel 82801 PCI Bridge -244E


----------



## Vitaminx

I tried OC'ing with the rampage formula bios 0803. I used these settings provided to me by someone else using the same board and bios and I tweaked them a bit.

Overclcok Tuner-Manual
CPU Ratio Setting- 9.0
FSB Strap to NB-Leave on Auto
FSB Frequency-450 MHz
DRAM Frequency-900 Mhz
DRAM Timing Control-Manual
DRAM Static Read Control-Disabled
AI Clock Twister-Strong
AI Transaction Booster-Manual
Common Performance Level-10
Pull In Channels-I enable all of these.
CPU Voltage- 1.35v
CPU PLL- 1.5v
NB Voltage- 1.49v
DRAM Voltage- 2.04v
FSB Termination Voltage-1.26
LLC-Disabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference- 0.63v
NB Voltage Reference- 0.67v
CPU Spread Spectrum- Disabled

Now everytime I've OC'd I've waited for the screen to load up after I saved and left the bios but never happened. Just stayed black. So I restart and it says OC failed so I go back into the bios raise the VCore some do it again. Still fails. Any suggestions? Also another pain is for some reason my damn F10 key works sometimes and doesn't which means sometimes I do a bunch of changes only for the damn key not to work so I have to restart and re-enter all the info in again. Can't believe the G15 would do this :|


----------



## spacegoast

Try setting AI Clock Twister to Lighter for now and then set Common Perf Level to 9 or 10. Maybe up the NB to 1.37v too.


----------



## Vitaminx

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Try setting AI Clock Twister to Lighter for now and then set Common Perf Level to 9 or 10. Maybe up the NB to 1.37v too.


Yep tried 10 with Strong 1.37v NB and 400 FSB. Worked. Now I'm just trying to find what settings I need to get 450 FSB and 9x multiplier stable.

Edit - Bumped the Vcore up to 1.33 and the NB to 1.45. I'll run Large FFTs in Prime for a little to see if it has any stability at all before I run it over night.

Edit 2 - It failed XD

Edit 3 - Trying 1.35 VCore with 1.47 NB. Looks to be the most stable so far with 450 FSB and 9x multiplier. I'll run Large FFTs on Prime95 over night to be sure.

Edit 4 - Failed after 30 minutes. Pretty sure the VCore is high enough. I'll raise the NB up .02 and try again.


----------



## Page35

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*


Also another pain is for some reason my damn F10 key works sometimes and doesn't which means sometimes I do a bunch of changes only for the damn key not to work so I have to restart and re-enter all the info in again. Can't believe the G15 would do this :|


Hehe, i also have that problem sometimes. Although you don't have to restart the system, just use the L/R arrow keys and that should switch tabs to the Exit tab: save and exit


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
Yep tried 10 with Strong 1.37v NB and 400 FSB. Worked. Now I'm just trying to find what settings I need to get 450 FSB and 9x multiplier stable.

Edit - Bumped the Vcore up to 1.33 and the NB to 1.45. I'll run Large FFTs in Prime for a little to see if it has any stability at all before I run it over night.

Edit 2 - It failed XD

Edit 3 - Trying 1.35 VCore with 1.47 NB. Looks to be the most stable so far with 450 FSB and 9x multiplier. I'll run Large FFTs on Prime95 over night to be sure.

Edit 4 - Failed after 30 minutes. Pretty sure the VCore is high enough. I'll raise the NB up .02 and try again.

Set AI Clock twister to Lighter to get it stable first. Then once you do get it stable, up it to Light, then Moderate, and so on. Whats your Ram running at with FSB at 450?


----------



## Vitaminx

I backed down the NB to 1.45 CPU PLL of 1.5 VCore 1.325 (In BIOS) 430 FSB 9x Multiplier and AI Clock Twister of Strong. Ran Large FFTs over night and it passed. The VCore as read in CPU-Z is 1.296v. Max temp of 61 Celsius. The CPU Speed is 3.87 GHz. wanted to back down a little and get it stable before moving on.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
The VCore as read in CPU-Z is 1.296v.

Is this during load or idle? You should be able to hit 4ghz though, there is room for higher vcore


----------



## Vitaminx

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Is this during load or idle? You should be able to hit 4ghz though, there is room for higher vcore









Yes this is with idle in the cpu-z. Good?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Vitaminx*


Yes this is with idle in the cpu-z. Good?










Your vdrop is not bad. Now check vdroop and see what vcore drops to while stress testing it. It is usually a little more but not always.


----------



## Vitaminx

I think its like 1.26 but I'll check soon.


----------



## NameUnknown

Do Asus P5E X38 mobos support Prescott chips?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
I think its like 1.26 but I'll check soon.

Maybe you should try the pencil mod listed on the first page of this thread. Especially since you have LLC disabled.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NameUnknown* 
Do Asus P5E X38 mobos support Prescott chips?

If it is socket 775 it should fit.


----------



## Vitaminx

Ok when running Large FFTs in Prime95 the VCore dips down to 1.272 and 1.264. Switching back and forth under full load. Normal Idle in CPU-Z is 1.296 and 1.288.


----------



## Artica

I have issues with RAID drivers on a P5Q3 Deluxe. Can I use the RAID drivers supplied at the beginning of the thread?


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Artica*


I have issues with RAID drivers on a P5Q3 Deluxe. Can I use the RAID drivers supplied at the beginning of the thread?


If it is a ICH9 or ICH10 SB then yes.


----------



## Artica

It's an ICH10R. SO it should work.
But I'm a real Noob with this, how do I install these drivers?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Artica* 
It's an ICH10R. SO it should work.
But I'm a real Noob with this, how do I install these drivers?

Unzip and put them on a USB stick. Then when you are loading Vista, you will fwt to a point (just after entering the product code) were you will be able to clock on "Advanced" Options. Then you can select "Load Drivers". At this time, insert the USB drive with the RAID drivers and select the Load Drivers option. Then you can browse to the USB driv's folder with the drivers. Select the drvier from the list and hit "Next". Then install Vista as you normally would. Then make sure to go to Intel's site and download the RAID Matrix Manager and install after you have installed the chipset drivers from within windows.


----------



## Artica

Ohh that's .... not great. Mwah. Thanks for the help


----------



## corky dorkelson

Hey guys, just had to pop in and say that my P5E to Rampage Formula flash went fine. I do however, have a weird issue with some temps in the BIOS. It is listing EXT1 EXT2 and EXT3 as all running over 90C. I am quite sure that it is a "false positive" since absolutely nothing on the board is even warm to the touch. I even pressed down very hard on each sink, and felt no heat. Oh well. I just disabled warnings for those 3 temps and moved on.

One quick question: Do I use rampage formula drivers or the standard P5E drivers when I put an OS on this thing?


----------



## scottath

rampage drivers and the P5E ones are the same. - use either

those temps (and some fan headers) will give very random values as there is no sensor connected to them - this is one of the reasons the P5E is cheaper than the rampage.

Also - in the bios - disable the 2nd Ethernet port - will just hamper things (bios will report as 2 ports - but OS will only be able to see one)


----------



## Swiftes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *corky dorkelson* 
Hey guys, just had to pop in and say that my P5E to Rampage Formula flash went fine. I do however, have a weird issue with some temps in the BIOS. It is listing EXT1 EXT2 and EXT3 as all running over 90C. I am quite sure that it is a "false positive" since absolutely nothing on the board is even warm to the touch. I even pressed down very hard on each sink, and felt no heat. Oh well. I just disabled warnings for those 3 temps and moved on.

One quick question: Do I use rampage formula drivers or the standard P5E drivers when I put an OS on this thing?

Just set them to ignored, as they are temp sensors on the Maximus/Rampage that aren't present with the P5E.

Nice to see you board is running fine, have fun with it!


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Swiftes* 
Just set them to ignored, as they are temp sensors on the Maximus/Rampage that aren't present with the P5E.

Nice to see you board is running fine, have fun with it!









Thanks for the tips, gents. I can't wait to see what my Q9550 can do!


----------



## Swiftes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *corky dorkelson* 
Thanks for the tips, gents. I can't wait to see what my Q9550 can do!

Best of luck with it mate, any issues etc, report back here. I reckon you can get 475FSB+


----------



## Aaroman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Swiftes* 
Best of luck with it mate, any issues etc, report back here. I reckon you can get 475FSB+

ya, this board rocks at high fsb (see sig rig for 460fsb sexyness)


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


ya, this board rocks at high fsb (see sig rig for 460fsb sexyness)


Great OC on the E7200, man! They usually need tons of volts to get past 3.6. Having that high FSB def helps. God I can't wait to see what my P5E does on my 9550. (I have not time to finish my build







)


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


ya, this board rocks at high fsb (see sig rig for 460fsb sexyness)



Yeah with my P5E I ran 1.43v NB for a 515 FSB OC with my E6600. The boards are very stable at higher FSB speeds!


----------



## aleiro

Anyone have 8gb of ram in the P5E? Can it run 8gb @ 1000mhz? I am going to upgrade regardless, just curious if any one has had a bad experience. Specs are in my Sig, I am more interested in whether I will have to adjust my OC. I havent changed it in a year or more.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


Anyone have 8gb of ram in the P5E? Can it run 8gb @ 1000mhz? I am going to upgrade regardless, just curious if any one has had a bad experience. Specs are in my Sig, I am more interested in whether I will have to adjust my OC. I havent changed it in a year or more.


I had no problems running 4x2Gb G.Skill DDR2 1100 Pi at 1124 with 1.9v vdimm and a slight bump in NB voltage.


----------



## Aokiji

Hi guys, im new here and would like some help









OK im trying to get my Q9300 stable @ 450FSB but can seem to do it

I have 2 x 2GB OCZ Flex 1200Mhz ram that cant even run @ 1200Mhz on the board lol, but keeps getting BSOD,hangs after a while on 450FSB

Any Help please?

Thanks


----------



## spacegoast

Try overclocking the CPU first and downclock the RAM to say 1066, just to see what you can get your CPU up to. Then run memtest on your RAM and see if they are stable.


----------



## Aokiji

ok will try that and see what happens thanks


----------



## Aokiji

no avail did downclock the ram to 1087 but pc still unstable @ 450, works fine @ 430x7.5 with nb volt on 1.43 and ram running @ 1150 Mhz


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aokiji*


no avail did downclock the ram to 1087 but pc still unstable @ 450, works fine @ 430x7.5 with nb volt on 1.43 and ram running @ 1150 Mhz


I dont see that chip getting much higher. It isnt the greatest chip for overclocking, but at the same time you dont really need it any higher.


----------



## cooper_inc1

Its been way too long since I have last over clocked. I overclocked and my board didn't even boot up. I have to refresh my memory on how to do it correctly.


----------



## Aaroman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I had no problems running 4x2Gb G.Skill DDR2 1100 Pi at 1124 with 1.9v vdimm and a slight bump in NB voltage.


Do you think I'll have trouble runnig 8GB at 2.1v? I can probably run them at 2.0v if I needed to.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aaroman*


Do you think I'll have trouble runnig 8GB at 2.1v? I can probably run them at 2.0v if I needed to.


You shouldnt have any problems. I ran 4x2Gb G.Skill 1100 PI at only 1.9v (I was able to run 2x2Gb kits at 1.84v). I did have to bump the NB 1 notch though.


----------



## skyline147

hi all,I'd like to know if the p5e deluxe can be flashed with the rampage formula bios.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skyline147* 
hi all,I'd like to know if the p5e deluxe can be flashed with the rampage formula bios.

















Yes sir. Just follow the instructions in the OP!!!! I saw a few other examples of people with the deluxe who got it to work, so you are fine!

The guide is great and it is way easier than you think. Good luck!!!


----------



## skyline147

Quote:



Originally Posted by *corky dorkelson*


Yes sir. Just follow the instructions in the OP!!!! I saw a few other examples of people with the deluxe who got it to work, so you are fine!

The guide is great and it is way easier than you think. Good luck!!!


Thanks sir.


----------



## aleiro

I upgraded to 8gb today and everything is fine. The comp has been on for a couple of hours and no issues. But I still want to test the ram. Is there a way to test all 8gb without having to run 8 instances of memtest? It tells me I can only alot 1024 per program, which is fine but Im wondering if there is an easier way to go about this.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aleiro*


I upgraded to 8gb today and everything is fine. The comp has been on for a couple of hours and no issues. But I still want to test the ram. Is there a way to test all 8gb without having to run 8 instances of memtest? It tells me I can only alot 1024 per program, which is fine but Im wondering if there is an easier way to go about this.


Just run Prime95 or Orthos and set it to test memory instead of blend. If it passes a long run on that (12+ hours) you should be good to go.


----------



## kostas_tio

Hello to everyone! My system is:

-CPU: Q6600 (2.4) @3.6 O.C (also using pencil mod!)
-MOBO: P5E (bios ver. 1003)

I want to ask if it is worth to flash the bios using rampage bios. What are the benefits? Will I see any difference at cpu stability or can I oc a little bit the cpu?

Thank you


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kostas_tio*


Hello to everyone! My system is:

-CPU: Q6600 (2.4) @3.6 O.C (also using pencil mod!)
-MOBO: P5E (bios ver. 1003)

I want to ask if it is worth to flash the bios using rampage bios. What are the benefits? Will I see any difference at cpu stability or can I oc a little bit the cpu?

Thank you


It is definitely worth it. The Rampage Formula has a much better OCing bios in my opinion. I really like the Transaction Booster adjustments compared to the P5E bios. In my opinion, the 803 Rampage Formula bios offers the best OCing and stability.


----------



## Drizzt5

What drivers should I use for my P5E X38 flashed to RF803 bios with windows7.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


What drivers should I use for my P5E X38 flashed to RF803 bios with windows7.


You can use either the P5E or the Rampage Formula drivers. I personally went with the P5E drivers. I think they are exactly the same, but I went with the P5E.


----------



## Drizzt5

I'm trying the win7 RF drivers off of asus sites (except I am using the audio listed in the OP).

Working fine so far........ hope it keeps working


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


What drivers should I use for my P5E X38 flashed to RF803 bios with windows7.


I recomend getting the Intel drivers straight from Intel and keep using the Blackhawk drivers you are currently using.


----------



## Narynan

Alright I am having a conversation with someone in another thread about this board. I am wondering if my P5E supports Xfire @ x16/x16, anf if my p5e has PCIE 2.0 slots on it?

The Asus site says yes on the x16/x16, but outside of a few offbeat retail sites, I cant find anything about them being 2.0 spec.

Thanks for the help!


----------



## coelacanth

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Narynan*


Alright I am having a conversation with someone in another thread about this board. I am wondering if my P5E supports Xfire @ x16/x16, anf if my p5e has PCIE 2.0 slots on it?

The Asus site says yes on the x16/x16, but outside of a few offbeat retail sites, I cant find anything about them being 2.0 spec.

Thanks for the help!


Yea Asus P5E (X38) is PCI-E 2.0 16x/16x.
Check it:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mai...sus-p5e_2.html


----------



## faria

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Vitaminx* 
Yep tried 10 with Strong 1.37v NB and 400 FSB. Worked. Now I'm just trying to find what settings I need to get 450 FSB and 9x multiplier stable.

Edit - Bumped the Vcore up to 1.33 and the NB to 1.45. I'll run Large FFTs in Prime for a little to see if it has any stability at all before I run it over night.

Edit 2 - It failed XD

Edit 3 - Trying 1.35 VCore with 1.47 NB. Looks to be the most stable so far with 450 FSB and 9x multiplier. I'll run Large FFTs on Prime95 over night to be sure.

Edit 4 - Failed after 30 minutes. Pretty sure the VCore is high enough. I'll raise the NB up .02 and try again.

1.47 V ?! lol.. for 445FSB i use only 1.31V


----------



## Benny99

Quote:


Originally Posted by *faria* 
1.47 V ?! lol.. for 445FSB i use only 1.31V

Yep same im only using 1.31V @ 463 FSB.


----------



## aleiro

I am thinking of installing the SLI patch. Has anyone done it with this board yet? Any issues?


----------



## Rody

Hi guys i have a problem with this board so i need your help over here.
I have a cold boot problem when turning the psu switch off and then back on, it reboots twice and then all my overclock settings are gone. Is this a common problem with the board???

Also i've flashed it to a Rampage formula.


----------



## spacegoast

Does it double boot when you dont turn off the PSU switch? Many mobo's have that problem on a cold boot. My current mobo does the same thing when I switch it off. But my settings remain.


----------



## Aznboy1993

I PMd you ericeod.


----------



## Rody

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Does it double boot when you dont turn off the PSU switch? Many mobo's have that problem on a cold boot. My current mobo does the same thing when I switch it off. But my settings remain.

No it doesn't double boot when the switch is on it works perfectly fine, it happens when i switch the psu completely off. I will lose my settings then. My bios is 0902 by the way.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aznboy1993*


I PMd you ericeod.


PM replied to. Just install the FXII drivers in compatibility mode for Windows 7. It should work.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Does it double boot when you dont turn off the PSU switch? Many mobo's have that problem on a cold boot. My current mobo does the same thing when I switch it off. But my settings remain.


Same here. Occasional double boot, no settings lost. I also have it on a surge protector that I switch off.


----------



## meticadpa

Yep, double boot here too.

I love this board btw... my overclock is pretty good, all things considered.

I'll try and push 526 FSB for a validation at 5GHz.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *meticadpa*


Yep, double boot here too.

I love this board btw... my overclock is pretty good, all things considered.

I'll try and push 526 FSB for a validation at 5GHz.










I still say the ASUS P5E/Maximus/Rampage Formula is my favorite board. I should have never sold my Rampage Formula and Q9650. But I wanted to learn something new, so I made the switch to i7 and the Rampage II Extreme.


----------



## xDave7

Hello everyone... I'm the new so please be patient









I've got simple question... I have Asus P5E - can I flash it to BIOS from Maximus Formula ?? There is a lot of tutorials how to flash BIOS from Rampage... but there is nothing about Maximus Formula... is there any possibility ?


----------



## advanceagent

welcome xDave7

Yes you can flash P5E to MF. There is tutorial on the first page of this thread. Just use MF's bios during flashing.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xDave7*


Hello everyone... I'm the new so please be patient









I've got simple question... I have Asus P5E - can I flash it to BIOS from Maximus Formula ?? There is a lot of tutorials how to flash BIOS from Rampage... but there is nothing about Maximus Formula... is there any possibility ?


I would still just use the RF BIOS as it is newer, and seems to be the best for the P5E. I personally have had a great time with this RF BIOS. I love it.


----------



## xDave7

Thanks a lot for info... I know that RF bios is better, but I don't need to 600 fsb and extremal OC performance for my E5200







Moreover - I pell of the sticker with "P5E" inscription so i have Maximus Formula
















Second thing is about buttons which are on Maximus Formula and whose aren't on P5E. Is there any possibility to solder some buttons to P5E for example in PWR_SW and RST_SW places ?


----------



## metalrulz

ok,quick question to anyone having a p5e deluxe and using G.SKILL DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK.Well i'm really just looking for stability at the normal stock setting for this ram right now at 1066 using 8 gigs with 4x 2 gig sticks and the p5e deluxe qvl says it's supported just not in all four slots,it said it actually supports one module inserted in any slot as Single-channel memory configuration and that's it.That qvl was dated over a year ago but when i look at the bios updates there aren't any memory compatibility improvements which leads me to believe i am going to run into issues next week after firing it up.The rf qvl doesn't support that memory in any way but has had 2 memory compatibility updates.so that tells me i may have to flash the rf bios.

Pretty much in short i want to know if anyone has had problems or no problems at all with that memory at 8gigsx4 sticks and the p5e deluxe be it with the original p5e bios or the rf bios.If you did how did you fix it?If you didn't what bios and settings are you using to make it work?

My parts are ordered and will be here by monday and it seems the only problem with this board has been memory compatibility issues and running the 1066 at 1066 with 4 gigs or more and not getting memtest error's.

I'm sure i sound like quite a noob and you would be quite right in that assumption because i am but i just want thing's to go as smooth as they possibly can for my first build.feel free to pm me if it's easier!


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *metalrulz*


ok,quick question to anyone having a p5e deluxe and using G.SKILL DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK.Well i'm really just looking for stability at the normal stock setting for this ram right now at 1066 using 8 gigs with 4x 2 gig sticks and the p5e deluxe qvl says it's supported just not in all four slots,it said it actually supports one module inserted in any slot as Single-channel memory configuration and that's it.That qvl was dated over a year ago but when i look at the bios updates there aren't any memory compatibility improvements which leads me to believe i am going to run into issues next week after firing it up.The rf qvl doesn't support that memory in any way but has had 2 memory compatibility updates.so that tells me i may have to flash the rf bios.

Pretty much in short i want to know if anyone has had problems or no problems at all with that memory at 8gigsx4 sticks and the p5e deluxe be it with the original p5e bios or the rf bios.If you did how did you fix it?If you didn't what bios and settings are you using to make it work?

My parts are ordered and will be here by monday and it seems the only problem with this board has been memory compatibility issues and running the 1066 at 1066 with 4 gigs or more and not getting memtest error's.

I'm sure i sound like quite a noob and you would be quite right in that assumption because i am but i just want thing's to go as smooth as they possibly can for my first build.feel free to pm me if it's easier!


It should work just fine. I havent heard of anyone having problems running 8gb's of the G SKills PK's. I had 2x2gb of the same set on my P5E with the RF and P5E Dlx BIOS and didnt have any problems with either one. So you should be in the clear.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *metalrulz*


Pretty much in short i want to know if anyone has had problems or no problems at all with that memory at 8gigsx4 sticks and the p5e deluxe be it with the original p5e bios or the rf bios.If you did how did you fix it?If you didn't what bios and settings are you using to make it work?


WhenI ran 4x2Gb G.Skill 1100 Pi in my Rampage Formula, I had to add a little more NB voltage (bumped 2 notches) and the vdimm (again, 2 notches) and it ran fine.


----------



## bEiJo

Hi!
Trying to overclock Q9550 revision C1
Now running stable at 3.6 GHz but cant get higher.
Is there something to change in BIOS:

Ai overclock tuner-----------Manual
CPU ratio setting------------Auto
FSB frequency---------------424
FSB strap to northbridge--Auto
PCIE frequency--------------100
DRAM frequency-------------DDR2 848MHz
DRAM command rate-------2T
DRAM timing control--------4-4-4-12
DRAM static read control--Auto
AI clock twister--------------Auto
Transcation booster-------Auto
Vcore voltage---------------1.240v
CPU PLL voltage------------1.54v
FSB termination voltage---1.34v
DRAM voltage----------------2.20v
Northbridge voltage--------1.45v
South bridge voltage-------Auto
Loadline calibration--------Disabled
CPU GTL reference-----------0.63x
North bridge GTL reference-0.67x
SB 1.5 voltage---------------Auto
CPU spread spectrum------Disabled
PCIE spread spectrum------Disabled

(Asus P5E | Q9550 | A-Data PC2-8000 Vitesta Extreme Edition)

Thanks!


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *bEiJo*


Hi!
Trying to overclock Q9550 revision C1
Now running stable at 3.6 GHz but cant get higher.
Is there something to change in BIOS:

Ai overclock tuner-----------Manual
CPU ratio setting------------Auto
FSB frequency---------------424
FSB strap to northbridge--Auto
PCIE frequency--------------100
DRAM frequency-------------DDR2 848MHz
DRAM command rate-------2T
DRAM timing control--------4-4-4-12
DRAM static read control--Auto
AI clock twister--------------Auto
Transcation booster-------Auto
Vcore voltage---------------1.240v
CPU PLL voltage------------1.54v
FSB termination voltage---1.34v
DRAM voltage----------------2.20v
Northbridge voltage--------1.45v
South bridge voltage-------Auto
Loadline calibration--------Disabled
CPU GTL reference-----------0.63x
North bridge GTL reference-0.67x
SB 1.5 voltage---------------Auto
CPU spread spectrum------Disabled
PCIE spread spectrum------Disabled

(Asus P5E | Q9550 | A-Data PC2-8000 Vitesta Extreme Edition)

Thanks!


It could be your RAM holding you back. In the mean time, try setting AI CLock Twister to Light or Lighter. Then set Transaction Booster to 9 or 10. I also used to disable DRAM static read control. Have you noticed your board overvolting at all?


----------



## pbsk8

Hello, I would like to get some help here:

I have a ASUS P5QC, C2Q9400 @ 2,66ghz and 4gb ddr2 800mhz kingston and trying to get a stable overclock. The most "durable" options I got were those:

Ai overclock tuner-----------Manual
CPU ratio setting------------Auto
FSB frequency---------------400
FSB strap to northbridge-----400
PCIE frequency--------------100
DRAM frequency-------------DDR2 801MHz
DRAM timing control--------5-5-5-15
DRAM static read control--disabled
Vcore voltage---------------1.35v
CPU PLL voltage------------1.56v
FSB termination voltage---1.36v
DRAM voltage----------------1.90v
Northbridge voltage--------1.32v
South bridge voltage-------Auto
Loadline calibration--------enabled
CPU spread spectrum------Disabled
PCIE spread spectrum------Disabled

The rest of the options are by default. What I meant "durable" was in case I was not even playing any game and it gets blue screen, pc freezes, etc. For test I am using ibt maximum for 26 loops. But never get a stable OC.

Can anybody help me please?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pbsk8* 
Hello, I would like to get some help here:

I have a ASUS P5QC, C2Q9400 @ 2,66ghz and 4gb ddr2 800mhz kingston and trying to get a stable overclock. The most "durable" options I got were those:

Ai overclock tuner-----------Manual
CPU ratio setting------------Auto
FSB frequency---------------400
FSB strap to northbridge-----400
PCIE frequency--------------100
DRAM frequency-------------DDR2 801MHz
DRAM timing control--------5-5-5-15
DRAM static read control--disabled
Vcore voltage---------------1.35v
CPU PLL voltage------------1.56v
FSB termination voltage---1.36v
DRAM voltage----------------1.90v
Northbridge voltage--------1.32v
South bridge voltage-------Auto
Loadline calibration--------enabled
CPU spread spectrum------Disabled
PCIE spread spectrum------Disabled

The rest of the options are by default. What I meant "durable" was in case I was not even playing any game and it gets blue screen, pc freezes, etc. For test I am using ibt maximum for 26 loops. But never get a stable OC.

Can anybody help me please?

Read my post above about AI Clock Twister and Transaction Booster. Also, your RAM voltage looks a little low at 1.9v. Most DDR2 kits are 2.1-2.2 volts. And you may want to try 1.35v-1.39v on the NB for a FSB of 400.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Read my post above about AI Clock Twister and Transaction Booster. Also, your RAM voltage looks a little low at 1.9v. Most DDR2 kits are 2.1-2.2 volts. And you may want to try 1.35v-1.39v on the NB for a FSB of 400.


Keep in mind the he has a P45 chipset, which is a 65nm chipset, has a default NB voltage of 1.10v and is rated for 400 FSB. The board he has also uses DDR3 memory.

I would recommend NB voltage be set to around 1.20v. I can push a Q9650 in a P45 board to a 445 FSB OC with 1.24v NB.


----------



## pbsk8

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


Keep in mind the he has a P45 chipset, which is a 65nm chipset, has a default NB voltage of 1.10v and is rated for 400 FSB. The board he has also uses DDR3 memory.

I would recommend NB voltage be set to around 1.20v. I can push a Q9650 in a P45 board to a 445 FSB OC with 1.24v NB.


So, for my case and my PC configuration, what option values would you recommend exactly for each of those?


----------



## NGX

Wow its nice to see you guys (ericeod and spacegoast) are still keeping up on this thread. I still have my P5E Deluxe flashed to 0401 atm, but after reading all 1700 posts *lol* it looks like I will be flashing to 0803. The reason I am doing this is that I have recently run into a prob with my ballistix tracer 1066 (4x1gb sticks). Ive read some places that this ram tends to go bad fast, and that this board doesnt like that ram. Any opinions or comments on that?

Also I will be setting up a raid for with my flash to 0803, can somebody help me with that or should i just follow the directions in the op? Thanks to all who have posted and helped in this thread as it has been SO extremely helpful to me, I got my e8400 past 5ghz with my current settings so I'm hoping to go a little further!


----------



## NGX

Oh and im running win7 64bit and plan to on my fresh install after raid setup (if I can get help to figure it out) and 0803 flash


----------



## ericeod

You can just follow the directions in the first post on crossflashing to the 803 Rampage Formula bios. As for the Ballistix, they do tend to go bad, but the 1Gb sticks seem to run ok on these boards, it is the 2Gb sticks that tend to not run well. I remember Crucial actually pulled the Intel X38/X48 chipset from their supported list. I dont know if they ever got this issue resolved though.


----------



## NGX

Thanks ericeod! That was quick







Any advice on the raid? Are the drivers and method listed in the op still legit? I am rdy to do this as we speak


----------



## ericeod

Actually, those drivers are old. You dont need any since windows 7 has them already. So just set the SATA controller to "RAID", reboot, go back into the bios and under the boot menu, select Hard Drive priority and set the RAID as the first device. Then go back one screen, select Boot priority, then set your RAID drive as the first device. Save and exit.

Then press [Cntrl + i] to enter the RAID utility, select the RAID type (RAID 0 striped), the block size (64k or 128k will be fine) and save an exit.

Then when you reboot to install the OS, just press F8 to enter the boot menu, select the DVD drive, and install the OS as you would a non RAID setup.


----------



## NGX

Alright! You have very helpful thanks again







As for the block size, what is the difference between 64 and 128? I will be flashing the bios to 0803, building the raid, installing my os and will hopefully be back to do some overclocking in the the next hour!


----------



## NGX

woot flash to 0803 worked flawlessly. To others doing the same, if you put the afudos utility in a folder the flash wont work. Afudos application has to be right on the drive, not in any sub folders. Same goes for the bios you are flashing to


----------



## NGX

Took a look here for stripe sizing


----------



## coelacanth

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dimodat*


Took a look here for stripe sizing


What size did you go with? The Tom's article suggests that for RAID 0 (with that setup) 128 is the way to go. I've always used 128 (when I had RAID 0 Raptors).


----------



## NGX

Yea I went 128


----------



## NGX

Have any of you installed asus utilities like ASUS EPU Driver, ASUS AI Suite, or ASUS PC Probe II? I have never but am wondering if I should?? Also if the epu driver is required or not


----------



## coelacanth

No the only mobo drivers I installed were the Intel X48 driver from the Intel site and the Marvell ethernet driver from the Marvell site.


----------



## NGX

What about the Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver?


----------



## coelacanth

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dimodat* 
What about the Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver?

Didn't install it, since I'm not RAIDed anymore.

I know you asked for info on the Asus apps, so I have to apologize for not being very helpful. I did go to the Asus website and look at the apps there for the mobo, but none of them really appealed to me.


----------



## NGX

Hmm think I should?

Note there has been problems with the later versions

"Intel RAID driver revision 7.8.0.1012 dated 11/25/2007 (these have been the most stable. The newer ones have been causing HDD issues)"


----------



## ericeod

Yes, install the Matrix RAID utility. You can use it with the Windows 7 RAID drivers.

As for the block size, I use 64k with my Raptor HDDs in RAID, but 128k was what I ran with my WD 640AAKS RAID.


----------



## NGX

It gave me the option to go all the way down to block size 4 lol. My system seems to respond very well right now, I will go ahead and dl the newest intel matrix storage manager drivers and finish updating all of my software then get to some overclocking


----------



## NGX

Ok guys so I did a little poking around an got some decent results. The problem is that my multi is set to 8 in bios, and reports 4.2 ghz on the bios post screen, but as soon as I get into windows everest and cpuz report my multi being 6...??? pics below.


Anybody have any suggestions on how to fix this or what is going on??


----------



## meticadpa

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dimodat* 
Ok guys so I did a little poking around an got some decent results. The problem is that my multi is set to 8 in bios, and reports 4.2 ghz on the bios post screen, but as soon as I get into windows everest and cpuz report my multi being 6...??? pics below.


Anybody have any suggestions on how to fix this or what is going on??

That's Intel Speedstep or C1E, I can't remember which.

Both are power saving features, and should be disabled in the BIOS; they can sometimes cause issues with an overclock.


----------



## coelacanth

Yea I'm pretty sure it's Speedstep or EIST. I have all the power-saving stuff turned on in my BIOS and when I'm idle my multi drops from 9 to 6. (3.6GHz to 2.4GHz).

Check out CPUZ while running Prime and I bet your clock will be at 4.2.


----------



## NGX

Yep that would be the prob, it jumps to 4.2 whenever there's a load. Thought I disabled that lol


----------



## spacegoast

I never had any problems with EIST on. I would leave it disabled just until I got a stable overclock, then turn it back on.


----------



## NGX

cool I prob wont turn it on, im not worried about power consumption


----------



## tanderson

hey guys saw the OP about the Asus rampage formula board, anyone give me some recent news on the board, any good up to date reviews and settings to get a good OC and how to manage it and input settings. im only use to my first board GA-P35-DS3L. so any help and further updated info on the board would be good! Thanks guys!


----------



## NGX

I am using an asus p5e-deluxe flashed to a rampage formula bios 0803 with a e8400 sitting at 4.2 ghz daily


----------



## Ravin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


You can just follow the directions in the first post on crossflashing to the 803 Rampage Formula bios. As for the Ballistix, they do tend to go bad, but the 1Gb sticks seem to run ok on these boards, it is the 2Gb sticks that tend to not run well. I remember Crucial actually pulled the Intel X38/X48 chipset from their supported list. I dont know if they ever got this issue resolved though.


My board ate 3 or 4 sets of 2x1Gb Ballistix, although they ran a blazing 800MHz 3-3-3-6 1T and 1066MHz 4-4-4-8 2T at the rated 2.20(measured)V for about a month before dying. The issue was never resolved-which was related to how D9G ICs handle ODT.


----------



## adadk

Flashed to RF0803 BIOS. E8400 C0 @ 4.0Ghz (9x445 / 1.36v) 12hrs Prime stable.

And look what just arrived in the mail....



























Looking forward to seeing what this thing can do. =)


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:


Originally Posted by *adadk* 
Flashed to RF0803 BIOS. E8400 C0 @ 4.0Ghz (9x445 / 1.36v) 12hrs Prime stable.

And look what just arrived in the mail....









Looking forward to seeing what this thing can do. =)

Wow!!! Put some fans on that northbridge and push that FSB to 550!!!!

I'm glad I am subbed to this thread already! Keep us posted!


----------



## adadk

The only thing that worries me is voltage. VID-voltage range for the E84-85-8600's is 0.85 to 1.3625, but for the 8700 it's 0.8625 to 1.25 only. (source)


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *adadk*


The only thing that worries me is voltage. VID-voltage range for the E84-85-8600's is 0.85 to 1.3625, but for the 8700 it's 0.8625 to 1.25 only. (source)


Keep in mind the vid range is just the voltage range, or tolerance, if you will. Intel's VID range is just the range the CPUs can be spec'ed to. I would assume since the core is still a wolfdale core, it is safe to OC with 1.3625v and still be within a very safe range.

If you look at the Wolfdale specs at Intel's site they list the VID range. But look at the Conroes (65nm), they actually list the max vcore. So i think the vid being accepted as the max vcore is a carry over from that.


----------



## adadk

Currently attempting to stabilize 4.6Ghz (10x460).
Prime (blend test) has failed at the 17 minute mark 6 times in a row.
If it fails again after this post, I'll take and post some BIOS shots. Really trying to nail this sucker down here.


----------



## adadk

As expected at 17 minutes, failed.


----------



## ericeod

Your voltages all look fine as for the motherboard and ram. But a sure fire way to tell if it is the CPU itself, or the motherboard and/or ram, is to just drop the CPU multi to x6 and run Prime with the same settings. If the test runs fine, then it is safe to assume the CPU needs more vcore to run 4.6GHz at the OC you previosuly attempted.


----------



## adadk

I ran Prime the other day testing 7x500. I had slightly lower volts on both CPU and NB. Went 6 hours without errors.

Temperatures seem good though for the volts I was giving it and it being air-cooled.
I'm normally an impatient man so this is taking some willpower.








Not sure if I should try sticking with the 10.5 multi and increasing FSB accordingly or go lower multi and higher FSB.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *adadk*


I ran Prime the other day testing 7x500. I had slightly lower volts on both CPU and NB. Went 6 hours without errors.

Temperatures seem good though for the volts I was giving it and it being air-cooled.
I'm normally an impatient man so this is taking some willpower.








Not sure if I should try sticking with the 10.5 multi and increasing FSB accordingly or go lower multi and higher FSB.


If you ran the setup stable with a 500 FSB, then I am pretty sure your main reason for not running 4.6GHz stable is vcore. Your other settings look right on.


----------



## adadk

Well I think I've pretty much hit the wall at 4.6Ghz. Even giving the chip a full 1.5v wouldn't get me a stable 4.7.


----------



## Yvese

Wow I'm happy this thread is still going strong. Question for you guys. My Q9550 is @ 3.8 on 1.28 voltages. If I try going to 4ghz I need to pump 1.6v NB just to get it to boot to windows. My NB right now is 1.51. I've tried setting my CPU voltage to 1.35, FSB to 1.36 but still doesn't work. My ram is Corsair 4GB 1066 so it shouldn't be the problem. I don't want to set too high FSB/CPU voltages since I plan on making it a 24/7 OC.

Perhaps I've hit an FSB wall? BIOS is latest on Asus site ( 1407 I think it was? ). Maybe I'm asking too much since I don't see much ppl running Q9550's @ 4ghz 24/7


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Yvese*


Wow I'm happy this thread is still going strong. Question for you guys. My Q9550 is @ 3.8 on 1.28 voltages. If I try going to 4ghz I need to pump 1.6v NB just to get it to boot to windows. My NB right now is 1.51. I've tried setting my CPU voltage to 1.35, FSB to 1.36 but still doesn't work. My ram is Corsair 4GB 1066 so it shouldn't be the problem. I don't want to set too high FSB/CPU voltages since I plan on making it a 24/7 OC.

Perhaps I've hit an FSB wall? BIOS is latest on Asus site ( 1407 I think it was? ). Maybe I'm asking too much since I don't see much ppl running Q9550's @ 4ghz 24/7










I recommend cross-flashing to the Rampage Formula 803 bios. The bios does give you some FSB headroom with the clock skews. I would also recommend changing the ram divider around (set the Northbrisge strap to auto to access all the dividers) and loosen the Transaction Booster. Those can prevent certain FSB from booting. For example, with Trans Boost of 7, the max I could boot was 426 FSB. But once I set the Trans Booster higher, i was able to keep pushing.


----------



## Yvese

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I recommend cross-flashing to the Rampage Formula 803 bios. The bios does give you some FSB headroom with the clock skews. I would also recommend changing the ram divider around (set the Northbrisge strap to auto to access all the dividers) and loosen the Transaction Booster. Those can prevent certain FSB from booting. For example, with Trans Boost of 7, the max I could boot was 426 FSB. But once I set the Trans Booster higher, i was able to keep pushing.


Tried that to no avail









This is weird. I remembered that there's a small boot monitor that comes with the motherboard that shows any errors if the board doesn't post. The monitor says DET DRAM when it fails to post. How can this be? I'd imagine Corsair Dominators would be capable of an OC like this..


----------



## Chris Ihao

Cheers ericeod.

Wow. Yeah. This thread is still going strong I see







Cool.

I'm trying to to get my audio workstation setup functioning properly right now and am considering going back to original bios (from the rampage formula one), but I guess that wont make any difference. I'm having problems running at high hz, as when I hit around 50 cpu use everything starts crackling and stuff at lower latencies.

I know, this isnt the right forum to ask about audio stuff, but COULD it possibly be some difference in how Win 7 64-bits utilize the cores, depending on the bios used? Audio work is quite picky about cpu cycles and stuff.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao* 
Cheers ericeod.

Wow. Yeah. This thread is still going strong I see







Cool.

I'm trying to to get my audio workstation setup functioning properly right now and am considering going back to original bios (from the rampage formula one), but I guess that wont make any difference. I'm having problems running at high hz, as when I hit around 50 cpu use everything starts crackling and stuff at lower latencies.

I know, this isnt the right forum to ask about audio stuff, but COULD it possibly be some difference in how Win 7 64-bits utilize the cores, depending on the bios used? Audio work is quite picky about cpu cycles and stuff.

It could just be the limitations of the on-board audio. I would try checking for the latest drivers. And if that fails to fix it, I would recommend a dedicated sound card like an ASUS Xonar.


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


It could just be the limitations of the on-board audio. I would try checking for the latest drivers. And if that fails to fix it, I would recommend a dedicated sound card like an ASUS Xonar.


I werent really clear about this, but I'm using this baby for my audio stuff: http://www.esi-audio.com/products/esp1010/









I've discarded the idea about the bios however. Should have no effect whatsoever. I think its just the strain of running dozens of effects on different threads at high hz, combined with the uncanny tendency of Win7 to double my cpu usage when I merely move a window around. Its crazy really. Doesnt help to shut down Aero and the other tidbits either.

Edit: Oh, and I didnt notice before. You're a moderator now? Grats man


----------



## Chris Ihao

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Yvese*


Tried that to no avail









This is weird. I remembered that there's a small boot monitor that comes with the motherboard that shows any errors if the board doesn't post. The monitor says DET DRAM when it fails to post. How can this be? I'd imagine Corsair Dominators would be capable of an OC like this..


Sorry for not spotting your post in the first place. Well, I can tell you that the dominators seem to be very poor overclockers, both from my own experience and from other comments in just this thread a bit over a year ago.

Before Christmas I decided to go 64-bits and went ahead and bought another 4 gigs of corsair dominators. I had already struggled a bit getting the 4 to work properly, but after getting another 4 the s"#Â¤ hit the fan and I decided to retreat back to 1000mhz. Since I got them, the dominators have been acting really wimpy, and they actually would not work at normal fsb with default settings. I cant be bothered trying to get this up to speed again, as then I would probably have to use the transaction booster in such a manner that they wont perform any better anyways. Also, I'm just tired of wasting time on these.

Now, I do have a lower oc than you (recently stepped back from 3.6ghz due to me not bothering to clean the cabinet often enough) but like ericeod says your best bet would be to stabilize the ram by adjusting the transaction booster gradually. Also the AI clock twister should probably stay put at medium or less, not strong. I found that usually +/- 1 can make a great difference when it comes to the trans booster, so keep on trying.

Sorry for the bad news. No corsairs next time for me either.


----------



## Yvese

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chris Ihao*


Sorry for not spotting your post in the first place. Well, I can tell you that the dominators seem to be very poor overclockers, both from my own experience and from other comments in just this thread a bit over a year ago.

Before Christmas I decided to go 64-bits and went ahead and bought another 4 gigs of corsair dominators. I had already struggled a bit getting the 4 to work properly, but after getting another 4 the s"#Â¤ hit the fan and I decided to retreat back to 1000mhz. Since I got them, the dominators have been acting really wimpy, and they actually would not work at normal fsb with default settings. I cant be bothered trying to get this up to speed again, as then I would probably have to use the transaction booster in such a manner that they wont perform any better anyways. Also, I'm just tired of wasting time on these.

Now, I do have a lower oc than you (recently stepped back from 3.6ghz due to me not bothering to clean the cabinet often enough) but like ericeod says your best bet would be to stabilize the ram by adjusting the transaction booster gradually. Also the AI clock twister should probably stay put at medium or less, not strong. I found that usually +/- 1 can make a great difference when it comes to the trans booster, so keep on trying.

Sorry for the bad news. No corsairs next time for me either.


Well this is just great. I bought these literally 2 weeks ago from Microcenter and they don't accept refunds, only returns. I paid $170 for these since it was the version that came with fans









I'll try again with the clock twister and trans booster. If not, I'll stick with 3.8 as I only need 1.27 voltages which is very nice.


----------



## meticadpa

Hello.

I recently sold my motherboard (ASUS Maximus Formula, with the Rampage Formula BIOS) to a friend, and then tried to install it for him, with my E8500 CPU.

Every time we try and power on the rig, all the LED lights on the motherboard come on (red, orange and green), before it eventually restarts itself, and the chain continues.

Any ideas? We know the board itself is fine, since it works with his LGA 775 Pentium 4, but every time we try and use the E8500, nothing.

I know that the death of a CPU is very, very rare, so I'm somewhat hesitant to believe that it's that.

We've tried clearing the CMOS, but still nothing. No P.O.S.T.

Thanks.


----------



## ericeod

I actually had the same thing happen with the same board and a Q6600. The LED would turn on and the fan would spin for a few seconds, then the LED would go out and the fan would stop. it did this every 10 seconds until I pulled the power.

So I pulled the CPU, checked the pins, and fixed one that looked slightly tweaked. I reseated the CPU carefully into the socket, and the thing has bee solid ever since! Check the contact pads on the CPU itself too.

I've also seen this happen when not connecting the CPU 8-pin power and when the PSU just can't push the GPU.


----------



## adadk

Well I got 4.6Ghz stable...well as stable as I can see. Prime95 worker #2 failed at the 17-hour mark.

Definitely be investing in a WC setup (NB and CPU) in the next few weeks.


----------



## Ragsters

Tommorow I will be getting a new ssd drive. I will be installing a fresh copy of W7 64bit and wanted to know the best way to install the latest intel chipset drivers. Come someone show me step by step? I hear too many variations on how to do this.


----------



## Aleslammer

Thanks, this was my goto thread when I had my P5E, informative and well presented.








&








Ale


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ragsters*


Tommorow I will be getting a new ssd drive. I will be installing a fresh copy of W7 64bit and wanted to know the best way to install the latest intel chipset drivers. Come someone show me step by step? I hear too many variations on how to do this.


I recommend getting the latest Intel chipset drivers:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...18494&lang=eng

Then install the Intel storage matrix manager:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...17882&lang=eng

Then install the remaining drivers.

There are some SSD tweaks you will want to do to get the best performance out of it as well:
http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/wind...ed-tweaks.html

You can also try this SSD Tweak Utility:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...-Tweak-Utility


----------



## Ragsters

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I recommend getting the latest Intel chipset drivers:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...18494&lang=eng

Then install the Intel storage matrix manager:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...17882&lang=eng

Then install the remaining drivers.

There are some SSD tweaks you will want to do to get the best performance out of it as well:
http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/wind...ed-tweaks.html

You can also try this SSD Tweak Utility:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...-Tweak-Utility


Thanks! I was told not to install the matrix storage drivers because microsoft has the best drivers for sata to support trim.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ragsters*


Thanks! I was told not to install the matrix storage drivers because microsoft has the best drivers for sata to support trim.


I wasnt aware of that. That is something I will look into. I've omly got an SSD in my laptop, and it doesn't support TRIM, so I was unaware.


----------



## advanceagent

ARC International was acquired by Virage Logic so the Blackhawk drivers have been moved to here. Eric can you update the link on the first page? Just in case someone is looking for it, like I was. Thanks


----------



## adadk

ericeod, do you know if there are any FSB holes related to the P5E and/or the RF? I've been shooting for 4.7 (10*470) after getting 4.6 stable, and for the life of me cannot attain it. I've cranked the voltage all the way up as far as 1.55 BIOS (drops to 1.488 during Prime blend runs) and it keeps failing within a minute. 
Hell, even 4.65 (10*465) was failing even after bumping up my vcore 2 notches.
(1.45625 up to 1.46875)

Think maybe the vdroop pencil mod is the next thing to try? My vdroop is around 0.06.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *adadk*


ericeod, do you know if there are any FSB holes related to the P5E and/or the RF? I've been shooting for 4.7 (10*470) after getting 4.6 stable, and for the life of me cannot attain it. I've cranked the voltage all the way up as far as 1.55 BIOS (drops to 1.488 during Prime blend runs) and it keeps failing within a minute. 
Hell, even 4.65 (10*465) was failing even after bumping up my vcore 2 notches.
(1.45625 up to 1.46875)

Think maybe the vdroop pencil mod is the next thing to try? My vdroop is around 0.06.


FSB holes are only found on NVIDIA chipsets because of the chipset strap, chipset latency and the ram dividers used (yes even though you set the NVIDIA chipset to unlinked, it still uses a divider, which there are a lot of).

I have a feeling your CPU is just at it's limit.


----------



## mejobloggs

This thread is too long for me to read, so...

After I flash my P5E Deluxe x48 to Rampage Formula, what do I have to do?

I heard one thing I have to do is turn off the second lan port in the bios, since there is only 1 on the p5e.

Anything else?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mejobloggs*


This thread is too long for me to read, so...

After I flash my P5E Deluxe x48 to Rampage Formula, what do I have to do?

I heard one thing I have to do is turn off the second lan port in the bios, since there is only 1 on the p5e.

Anything else?


Also go into the bios and disable the optional and chipset temps. Since there are no temp sensors present, they will read either really high ir really low.


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mejobloggs* 
This thread is too long for me to read, so...

After I flash my P5E Deluxe x48 to Rampage Formula, what do I have to do?

I heard one thing I have to do is turn off the second lan port in the bios, since there is only 1 on the p5e.

Anything else?

Also, keep in mind that ram voltage needs to be set a bit LOWER than you would normally. If you set it at 2.0v it will actually be around 2.1v. You gotta be a bit more careful as you could overvolt your ram.


----------



## mejobloggs

Thanks ericeod and corky

Didn't know that about the ram voltage. Lucky you told me. Is there any way to verify what my actual ram voltage is? Or do I just stick it 0.1v lower and hope that's about right

I'm also wondering if the Forumula bios is giving me higher temperatures. Is that possible? When I got the board it had P5E deluxe 0205 bios or something, and I think the cpu temps were 10Â°C lower

I'll have to go back to P5E bios tonight to make sure


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mejobloggs* 
Thanks ericeod and corky

Didn't know that about the ram voltage. Lucky you told me. Is there any way to verify what my actual ram voltage is? Or do I just stick it 0.1v lower and hope that's about right

I'm also wondering if the Forumula bios is giving me higher temperatures. Is that possible? When I got the board it had P5E deluxe 0205 bios or something, and I think the cpu temps were 10Â°C lower

I'll have to go back to P5E bios tonight to make sure

I talked a little about it in my first post, but I used a Fluke Digital multimeter and was getting a reading of +0.06v higher on mem.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=1035

Quote:


Originally Posted by *karl_eller* 
Ok, so according to most of the results here, I should be looking at a ~0.05v overvolt on vDIMM compared to what's set in BIOS, except that isn't actually what I get. In BIOS, vDIMM is set to 1.9v, but if taking a reading off the pin that Cranox said, I get a vDIMM of 1.9v. I decided, just to satisfy my curiosity (and 'cause I have a new DMM that I wanted to play with :ROTF







, to try and see what the potential difference of some of the other pins on those chips are, and I noticed that two pins gave much more expected results, ie about 1.94v.

Can anyone who's bored and got a DMM have a poke at these two pins (marked in the attached image) and see what their voltages are relative to BIOS and what Cranox's pin says? Could just be a coincidence.

Also, does anybody know where I can measure vCore from on the P5E?

Eller

But I think if you go to votages and temps in the bios, you can see the actual voltages, and I think it shos the actual ram voltage (can't remember).


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mejobloggs* 
Thanks ericeod and corky

Didn't know that about the ram voltage. Lucky you told me. Is there any way to verify what my actual ram voltage is? Or do I just stick it 0.1v lower and hope that's about right

I'm also wondering if the Forumula bios is giving me higher temperatures. Is that possible? When I got the board it had P5E deluxe 0205 bios or something, and I think the cpu temps were 10Â°C lower

I'll have to go back to P5E bios tonight to make sure

My P5E overvolted all of my voltages (CPU, RAM, NB, etc). So be weary of those too, not just CPU voltage. My RAM voltage was actually overvolted by .08v, so if I set it to 1.98v in BIOS, it would read as 2.06v in Windows. Just something to keep an eye on.

I have never heard of higher temps with different BIOS. versions. Has anyone else reported this?


----------



## coltsrock

Anyone know if the P5E PCI-E slots are compatible with PCIE 2.0 or PCIE 2.1?? Im thinking of going for a 5 series now


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


Anyone know if the P5E PCI-E slots are compatible with PCIE 2.0 or PCIE 2.1?? Im thinking of going for a 5 series now


They are 2.0, but they will give you PLENTY of bandwidth for even the highest cards in the 5000 series. No worries there.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


My P5E overvolted all of my voltages (CPU, RAM, NB, etc). So be weary of those too, not just CPU voltage. My RAM voltage was actually overvolted by .08v, so if I set it to 1.98v in BIOS, it would read as 2.06v in Windows. Just something to keep an eye on.


That is odd. My Vcore seems to report much lower in windows than what I set in BIOS. I know some is Vdrop, but overall, windows reports much lower than what I set in the BIOS.


----------



## coltsrock

alright thanks corky, in that case i might just get a q9550/hd5850 and hold onto this rig for a lil while longer


----------



## XAslanX

I am having problems pushing my Q9300 past 3.2 with the RF 803 bios. I followed the recommended 45nm quad settings in the first post and am not having any luck. I have used fsb clocks from 3.3 - 3.8 and haven't been able to get it to post. Any suggestions on what to do?


----------



## ericeod

I would lower the CPU multi and first get the FSB stable at the range you want. I also recommend setting the Transaction Booster to a high setting of 11 if you are running the ram close to a 1:1 ratio. The transaction Booster has a direct effect on FSB clock speeds and ram divider used.


----------



## justcauseaguyreadscomics

hey, guys...
been following this thread here and there for a couple years now.
BIG question for you...

specs: intel q9450, p5e set at standard clock, ami bios 1201, vista 64bit ultimate

decided to clean out the box. 
i unseated my cpu fan/heatsink.
then, unseated my cpu.
reseated cpu.
reapplied arctic silver.
reseated fan/heatsink.

plugged everything back in.
booted up.
posted fine.
message read: new cpu, press F1 for settings.
did that. 
everything looked good 
EXCEPT for my cores.
it has that i'm running the correct processor.
however, BEFORE the cleaning...it stated that i had 4 cores/processors.

NOW...it says 2.
even during the boot up screen.

definitely said 4 before.

load up windows...
check device manager...has all four processors listed.
check cpuz...all four cores.
check speedfan...all four cores.

any ideas why at boot up, and in bios, only 2 cores are being shown?

thanks guys...


----------



## ericeod

I recommend resetting the bios by the CLR CMOS on the board and see if that fixes your issue.


----------



## smoggysky

hey guys..this is the only p5e thread still going. some of us still have our dinosaurs. here is my story. i have learned enough to oc my system i built 1.5 years ago.







i could never get it past 3.8ghz. with p5e3 premuim,qx9770,corsair ddr3-1600 pc12800ram(x8gbs).at these settings:
cpu ratio: 10.0
fsb strap to nb: 400
fsb freq: 380
pcie freq: 100
dram freq: ddr3-1680
dram cmd.rate 2n
dram timing ctrl manual
cas# lat. 7
ras#tocas#del. 7
ras#pretime 7
ras#act time 20
cpu vlt 1.35
cpugtlvltref(0/3) .62
cpugtlvltref(2/4) .62
cpu pll vlt 1.52
fsb term.vlt 1.36
dram vlt 2.00
nb vlt 1.57
nb glt vlt ref: .67
all other settings were auto. these settings would give me rock solid stability.24/7..
but i could never get past 3.95ghz without complete instability. until now.
i noticed that every attempt to go past 4.05ghz,when the dram freq. would exceed 1700mhz it would crash..i tested different vlts on cpu,nb,dramvlt. same result. finally it hit me, 1700mhz ceiling . so last week i bought 4gbs of cmg4gx3m2a2000c8,dominator-gt ram.just a shot in the dark. i know it was designed for i5's and i7's but the specs indicated it would run on the p5e3 premuim board.it worked







. it raised my ceiling.now look at my settings:
cpu ratio: 10.0
fsb strap to nb: 400
fsb freq: 420
pcie freq: 100
dram freq: 1680
dram cmd rate: 2n
cas# lat: 8
ras#tocas#del: 8
ras#pretime: 8
ras#act time: 24
ai clock twister strong
cpu vlt: 1.43125
cpu gtl vlt ref(0/2): .62
cpu gtl vlt ref(1/3): .62
cpu pll volt 1.50
fsb term vlt: 1.28
dram vlt: 1.60
nb vlt: 1.41
nb gtl vlt ref: .67
all other setting at auto, system now at: 4.23ghz stable 24/7 running prime95 and occt for hours..








i would like to go faster with stability.
all help would be appreciated


----------



## smoggysky

on page 130,there is a post referring to a anatech article on ram timings and over clocking. i adjusted some timings here they are:
cpu ratio: 10.0
fsb strap to nb: 400
fsb freq: 435
pcie freq: 100
dram freq: 1740mhz
dram cmd rate: 2n
dram timing ctrl: manual
cas#lat: 9
ras# to cas#del: 9
ras#pre time: 9
ras#act time: 24
ai clk twister: strong
cpu vlt: 1.43750
cpu gtl vlt ref(0/2): .62
cpu gtl vlt ref(1/3): .62
cpu pll vlt: 1.50
fsb term.vlt: 1.28
dram vlt: 1.80
nb vlt: 1.51
nb gtl vlt ref: .67
all other settings on auto
with these settings win7 64bit loaded very fast and smooth.
i ran 3dmark vantage got a score







19266
ran superpi mod @1m recorded a:11.326.
when i tried to run occt or prime95 both declared errors immediately
instead of working on stability, i tried faster.








i tried for 4.40ghz.
windows crashed twice,then i increased:
dram vlt to 1.90
nb vlt to 1.57
windows loaded fast. i ran super pi mod 1m and got:10.764
3dmarkvantage wouldnt run.i had very limited "instability"
next i tried uping the vcore to 1.44375.
system didnt stabilize. 
i guess i got greeding







seeing the progress with loosing the ram timings.i tried to run before i could walk..


----------



## ericeod

smoggysky, it sounds like you might be at the limit of the CPU. You can test this by dropping the multi and pushing the FSB (including the RAM and motherboard itself) and seeing if you can go higher. If you can push with the lower multi, then I am pretty sure your CPU is the limiting factor with your OC. But you do have a great OC!


----------



## smoggysky

thx for the reply,your the man..
if i drop the multi lets say 9.5 or 9.0 and raise the fsb to lets say 475..what would i want to go with for my ram and nb volts? these boards are "funny" when you get over 450 fsb freq. also the ram timings should i play with those? if so which way? i noticed stability when raising the timings to "9,9,9,"


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *smoggysky*


thx for the reply,your the man..
if i drop the multi lets say 9.5 or 9.0 and raise the fsb to lets say 475..what would i want to go with for my ram and nb volts? these boards are "funny" when you get over 450 fsb freq.


The real trick with these boards at about 470+ FSB is the Transaction Booster (only because you tend to run a lower memory divider to keep the ram stable... like running 1:1 means you need a really loose Transaction Booster, like 11), the NB voltage (especially with quads) and the clock skews. I needed 1.59v to my NB for a 472 FSB with my Q9650. And as for the clock skews, try CPU Clock Skew *Delay 100PS* and NB Clock Skew *Normal*. These always worked the best for me!

More on the clock skews:
http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...ml#post5514950


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


The real trick with these boards at about 470+ FSB is the Transaction Booster (only because you tend to run a lower memory divider to keep the ram stable... like running 1:1 means you need a really loose Transaction Booster, like 11), the NB voltage (especially with quads) and the clock skews. I needed 1.59v to my NB for a 472 FSB with my Q9650. And as for the clock skews, try CPU Clock Skew *Delay 100PS* and NB Clock Skew *Normal*. These always worked the best for me!

More on the clock skews:
http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...ml#post5514950


Good info. Thanks man. Going to try to push my 9550 a bit harder as I'm stuck at 3.6 (425 x 8.5 with mem 1:1) Pretty sure I already have trans boost at 11, but I might have the NB voltage too low.


----------



## abaris

Hello everyone. This forum is amazing and it helped me overclock my P5E/Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 to a very stable system at 3.2 ghz.

Now I have upgraded to an Intel E8400 and would like to know the overclock settings on the P5E to get this chip up to 3.5+. I have been poking around the forums and the Asus P5E mobo posts but I can't seem to find info on the Intel E8400 settings for the P5E mobo. If anyone knows I would appreciate it and thank you for your time!


----------



## Aaroman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *abaris*


Hello everyone. This forum is amazing and it helped me overclock my P5E/Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 to a very stable system at 3.2 ghz.

Now I have upgraded to an Intel E8400 and would like to know the overclock settings on the P5E to get this chip up to 3.5+. I have been poking around the forums and the Asus P5E mobo posts but I can't seem to find info on the Intel E8400 settings for the P5E mobo. If anyone knows I would appreciate it and thank you for your time!


cool. still got my p5e and e7200 chugging away in my family room


----------



## hogans

After adjusting settings I am finally getting my system stable at 4.2 Ghz.

I will be running Prime all night tonight to see for sure, but it is looking good so far.

Here are my Rampage Formula bios settings if anyone is interested

ASUS Rampage Formula BIOS 0803

*Extreme Tweaker*
Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [9]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [333]
FSB Frequency [468]
PCIE Frequency [100]

DRAM Frequency [DDR2-1124]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal A [Auto]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal B [Auto]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal A [Auto]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal B [Auto]

DRAM Timing Control [Manual]
1st Information
CAS# Latency [5]
RAS# to CAS# Delay [5]
RAS# PRE Time [5]
RAS# ACT Time [15]
RAS# to RAS# Delay [Auto]
REF Cycle Time [Auto]
WRITE Recovery Time [Auto]
READ to PRE Time [Auto]
2nd Information
READ to WRITE Delay (S/D) [Auto]
WRITE to READ Delay (S) [Auto]
WRITE to READ Delay (D) [Auto]
READ to READ Delay (S) [Auto]
READ to READ Delay (D) [Auto]
WRITE to WRITE Delay (S) [Auto]
WRITE to WRITE Dealy (D) [Auto]
3rd Information
WRITE to PRE Delay [Auto]
READ to PRE Delay [Auto]
PRE to PRE Delay [Auto]
ALL PRE to ACT Delay [Auto]
ALL PRE to REF Delay [Auto]

DRAM Static Read Control [Auto]
Ai Clock Twister [Strong]
Ai Transation Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Booster [7]

Pull-In of CHA PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH3 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH4 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH5 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH6 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH3 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH4 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH5 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH6 [Disabled]

CPU Voltage [1.475] (in Bios.)
CPU PLL Voltage [1.60]
Northbridge Voltage [1.53]
DRAM Voltage [2.20]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.4]
South Bridge Voltage [1.125]
SB 1,5V Voltage [1.60]
Loadline Calibration [0.63X]
CPU GTL Voltage Reference [0.67X]
NB GTL Voltage Reference [Auto]
DRAM Controller Voltage REF [Auto]
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF [Auto]
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF [Auto]

CPU LED Selection [CPU Voltage]
NB LED Selection [NB Voltage]
SB LED Selection [SB Voltage]
Voltiminder LED [Enabled]

CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spred Spectrum [Disabled]
CPU Clock Skew [Delay 100ps]
NB Clock Skew [Normal]

*Advanced settings*
CPU Ratio Setting [Manual]
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Enabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Disabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]









By hogans at 2010-03-29

Any tips, tricks and feedback are appreciated.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *abaris*


Hello everyone. This forum is amazing and it helped me overclock my P5E/Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 to a very stable system at 3.2 ghz.

Now I have upgraded to an Intel E8400 and would like to know the overclock settings on the P5E to get this chip up to 3.5+. I have been poking around the forums and the Asus P5E mobo posts but I can't seem to find info on the Intel E8400 settings for the P5E mobo. If anyone knows I would appreciate it and thank you for your time!


The settings are similar for the E8400 as for the E6600 except the vcore. Dont go over 1.3625v and you will be fine. The E8400 has no problem getting 4.0GHz with an above average CPU cooler. For a 4.0gHz OC (9x CPU multi with 445 FSB) you are looking at a 1.45v NB voltage and a FSB voltage of about 1.28v- 1.30v max. Your vcore is really going to be the challenge to figure out. Nobody can give you exact settings, so you will have to experiment.


----------



## abaris

Thank you so much everyone! I will reset my bios settings and see what happens







I appreciate your time.


----------



## mejobloggs

I have a p5e deluxe. Just found it has no eSata port 

I have an eSata addon adapter. The only place I could see to plug it into was a normal sata port.

So I plugged the adapter into the normal sata port, and plugged my eSata external hdd into the new eSata port.

It works fine, but there is no 'hotswap' ability. E.g Windows (7) recognizes it as a normal hdd, and not an external hdd. I get no option to safely remove the drive.

Is there somewhere else I'm meant to plug it in other than the normal sata port, or have I missed a step somewhere?


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mejobloggs*


I have a p5e deluxe. Just found it has no eSata port 

I have an eSata addon adapter. The only place I could see to plug it into was a normal sata port.

So I plugged the adapter into the normal sata port, and plugged my eSata external hdd into the new eSata port.

It works fine, but there is no 'hotswap' ability. E.g Windows (7) recognizes it as a normal hdd, and not an external hdd. I get no option to safely remove the drive.

Is there somewhere else I'm meant to plug it in other than the normal sata port, or have I missed a step somewhere?


The onboard controller on the P5E does not support hot-swapping. You are going to have to get a cheap PCI-e controller (about $15 on ebay) to get hot-swap ability.

I too was shocked that there was no e-sata port on mine. I think this is one of the few X38 boards that lack one.


----------



## mejobloggs

Aw that's lame

Seems to work ok just pluggin/unplugging external hdd's though. I'll just have to be careful about making sure it's not in use while unplugging


----------



## ericeod

Hot swapping will work if you have AHCI or RAID enabled on the ICH9R controller (SATA set to one of the above 2 modes). You then have to make sure you have the Intel drivers and Storage manager drivers installed for optimum performance.


----------



## mejobloggs

Hmm I already have it set to RAID and have the Storage Manager installed. What's the other intel driver you speak of?


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *abaris*


Thank you so much everyone! I will reset my bios settings and see what happens







I appreciate your time.


Im running the same mobo/CPU and have gotten up to 4.2 stable and 4.3 bootable on air, so if theres any help you need with settings, im here for ya


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mejobloggs* 
Hmm I already have it set to RAID and have the Storage Manager installed. What's the other intel driver you speak of?

If you have them installed, you should be able to remove the HDD, then plug it back in and have it be recognized. I have an Antec 2.5" bay adapter which works on the SATA connection. So when I install the 2.5" HDD drive, it is recognized via the onboard SATA controller.


----------



## Drizzt5

Hey guys,

It's like 80-90 out in NJ right now and I recently moved my comp to my room.
I can't take the heat... I've already put the q6600 back to stock for now till I can figure something out.

What I was wondering was if anyone had any experience or knew about any software so I could make my q6600 be undervolted and @ 2.4ghz or lower when surfing the web or idle or something, and then crank it back up to my 3.8ghz and the higher voltage when I want to play a game. I guess I am looking for overclocking profiles or something.

Otherwise I think I am going to bring my OC down to the highest I can get with 1.3v... or perhaps even just the stock voltage... which would be sufficient i guess.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Drizzt5* 
Hey guys,

It's like 80-90 out in NJ right now and I recently moved my comp to my room.
I can't take the heat... I've already put the q6600 back to stock for now till I can figure something out.

What I was wondering was if anyone had any experience or knew about any software so I could make my q6600 be undervolted and @ 2.4ghz or lower when surfing the web or idle or something, and then crank it back up to my 3.8ghz and the higher voltage when I want to play a game. I guess I am looking for overclocking profiles or something.

Otherwise I think I am going to bring my OC down to the highest I can get with 1.3v... or perhaps even just the stock voltage... which would be sufficient i guess.

All you need to do is go into the bios and enable speed step and C1E under the CPU menu. That will do exactly what you want.


----------



## SugarySnack

Hey guys, I am just wondering if my motherboard supports doing trim. I have a Rampage Formula, and I read from the specs that it has a JMicron JMB368 PATA controller. Will this effect anything at all? I have an Intel X25-V SSD which supports TRIM. I just want to make sure I have TRIM running so that I get the best performance out of my SSD. Thansk guys, I don't know much about the various southbridge models and what not.

SugarySnack

*edit* After a quick google session, I found out that the motherboard has no bearing on TRIM support. I did however read that it wont do it automatically if the motherboard doesn't support AHCI. Does the Rampage Formula support AHCI?


----------



## ericeod

Yes the motherboard does support AHCI, just set the SATA to AHCI mode in bios before installing the OS to the SSD. Until recently, you had to use the native windows 7 drivers, but Intel released chipset drivers and new "Rapid Storage" software which allows TRIM support.


----------



## SugarySnack

Awww, I just put my OS on yesterday without AHCI. Is it worth switching if I already use the Intel SSD Toolbox and do TRIM manually?

*edit* Will my other HDDs that don't have an OS on them work with AHCI if I just use my SSD for my OS? I am not familiar with AHCI.


----------



## ericeod

You can make a change to the registry to enable the AHCI drivers so you don't have to reinstall. Google "installing AHCI after Windows 7 install".


----------



## SugarySnack

Thanks. If I could rep you, I would! I have always just left hard drives alone in the past, which is why I am a noob in this area







. Been over a year since I tweaked anything on my desktop. Just rusty!


----------



## Drizzt5

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


All you need to do is go into the bios and enable speed step and C1E under the CPU menu. That will do exactly what you want.


But will it go below my VID of 1.225 down to the perfectly stable and even cooler voltage of 1.2?

I will try that though.


----------



## Heedehcheenuh

Can we add the R.O.G Commando to the list?







Just asking







...

Chuck D

Fold on...


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


But will it go below my VID of 1.225 down to the perfectly stable and even cooler voltage of 1.2?

I will try that though.


Yeh, with speedstep and C1E, your multiplier and vcore drops when you are just browsing.


----------



## Drizzt5

K i did it and its working pretty good so far, thanks. I always heard bad things about speedstep and C1E though, oh well I guess


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


K i did it and its working pretty good so far, thanks. I always heard bad things about speedstep and C1E though, oh well I guess










Peole just dont use it when OCing because they dont want their voltage and CPU multi to drop. But it does work as intended, and works well.


----------



## snowbank

Way back when I was following this thread, plenty of people did not get any better results using the RF bios. Has that thinking changed? Is the performance much better with the RF bios?

Thanks!


----------



## snowbank

I should add that it is just a p5e... plain vanilla and with an e8400.


----------



## marduke83

anyone else have clearance issues with CPU cooler brackets hitting the mosfet heatsink? My zalman cnps9900 bracket wont fit unless I bend the fins out of the way, and even then there is about half a mm clearance.
Awesome board though


----------



## corky dorkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *marduke83*


anyone else have clearance issues with CPU cooler brackets hitting the mosfet heatsink? My zalman cnps9900 bracket wont fit unless I bend the fins out of the way, and even then there is about half a mm clearance.
Awesome board though










Weird... I know my Noctua bracket was larger than that and I had no clearance issues.


----------



## marduke83

Yeah I thought it was weird too.. Ohwell 1 bent fin isn't going to affect much.


----------



## coltsrock

PIcking up a 5850 and using a suuuupe. Old BIOS, any need to update It forthe new card?


----------



## ericeod

I don't know of any bios issues with the board and ATI 5000 series cards. You should be fine.


----------



## coltsrock

Yupp got it installed and running







would updating my bios from 7005( I think that's the version. Have) to a newer one have any affect on OC or anything


----------



## willhub

Anyone know how likely the Rampage Formula is to hit over 450MHz FSB with a quad, like around 480-500fsb?


----------



## Ragsters

Quote:


Originally Posted by *willhub* 
Anyone know how likely the Rampage Formula is to hit over 450MHz FSB with a quad, like around 480-500fsb?

It is very likely that the board will hit over 450Mhz but not likely 480-500.
Read some of the threads at Asus Forum made by Alien Grey.
http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx...ge=1&count=828


----------



## willhub

So would it be a waste of my time removing this Asus P5Q-E in the hope I'd get 3.86GHz (480fsb) on the rampage formula? Driving me mad, I fiddle with the GTL's, it boots, but it won't get stable arrggghhhhhh.

If it won't do over 450 with this quad, I'll put it in my parents machine and see what it can do with an E8500.


----------



## Ragsters

Quote:


Originally Posted by *willhub* 
So would it be a waste of my time removing this Asus P5Q-E in the hope I'd get 3.86GHz (480fsb) on the rampage formula? Driving me mad, I fiddle with the GTL's, it boots, but it won't get stable arrggghhhhhh.

If it won't do over 450 with this quad, I'll put it in my parents machine and see what it can do with an E8500.

An E8500 will overclock like crazy with this board. Although you will get good overclocks with this board it is not the best out there for quads. Having said that I would still rather try with this board than the p5q-e.


----------



## willhub

Well I've just done 9 hours Prime 95 stable with 475fsb on this P5Q-E, so 3.8GHz, tempting to see if the rampage can better that.

What sort of settings should I try for an E8500 in the Rampage? I had it at 4GHz, 1.38V in the P5Q-E but never had the GTL Refs right so it was abit flakey.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *willhub* 
Well I've just done 9 hours Prime 95 stable with 475fsb on this P5Q-E, so 3.8GHz, tempting to see if the rampage can better that.

What sort of settings should I try for an E8500 in the Rampage? I had it at 4GHz, 1.38V in the P5Q-E but never had the GTL Refs right so it was abit flakey.

GTL ref for me is x.61 or .61 something, and it has my P5E running my e8400 at 4.1 GHz, with only 1.36 stable


----------



## ericeod

With the Rampage Formula 802 bios you can hit about 490, but you will need some NB voltage. The chipset can handle 1.65v, so it is capable of handling some high voltage. I've seen the board push 500+ FSB with quad cores, but my Q9650 seemed to be FSB limited and maxed out at 495 when I tried pushing it.


----------



## Banzai

No problem with 500fsb on rampage formula, my E8500 actually works on 500x9 1.32v stable, memory 4x1gb 1200cl5. Fsb voltage 1.12V and nb 1.33v (Everest).


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Banzai* 
No problem with 500fsb on rampage formula, my E8500 actually works on 500x9 1.32v stable, memory 4x1gb 1200cl5. Fsb voltage 1.12V and nb 1.33v (Everest).

Dual cores yes, but quad cores can't hit the same FSB as dual cores on all motherboards. For exqample, the UD3P (known for high FSB OCs) will push 600+ FSB with dual cores, but only 500+ FSB with quad.


----------



## coltsrock

how high can the P5E get on a Quad on average?? I am considering going Quad and am wondering if an 8x or 8.5x multi will be good enough to hit good clocks


----------



## spacegoast

I took my Q6600 up to 3.8ghz with a TRUE120 but ran it at 3.51ghz most of the time. I think it was at 389x9 or somewhere around there and it took 1.39vcore. That was with the 0803 RF bios, not sure which revision is most current now though. You would probably get best results with the Q9550 or Q9650 if you can find one for a good price.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
how high can the P5E get on a Quad on average?? I am considering going Quad and am wondering if an 8x or 8.5x multi will be good enough to hit good clocks

I was able to push my Q9650 to around 495 FSB, but I've seen some posts on XS up to 518 FSB with the 802 bios.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


I was able to push my Q9650 to around 495 FSB, but I've seen some posts on XS up to 518 FSB with the 802 bios.


ahh well then i might pick up a Q9400 this summer, or another Quad to be able to futureproof this bad boy for few more years


----------



## ericeod

The P5E is still my favorite motherboard! I actually bought one for my brother-in-law to replace a P5Q Deluxe because I thought it was a better board.


----------



## coltsrock

hah, i agree, if i throw a Q9550 in there, i'll be set for a good 2+ years









im ironing out details with the Q9550, so get ready for tons of questions eric


----------



## coltsrock

still no the dualie, got my e8400 up at 4.32, getting into windows but failing stress tests, got some questions, will the FSB / NB strap help with stability? and is there a pencil mod for the vdroop on this board?? I have it set to 1.41 in BIOS, its 1.368 Idle, and like 1.34 Load

EDIT: Thats with it set 1.42 in BIOS


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


still no the dualie, got my e8400 up at 4.32, getting into windows but failing stress tests, got some questions, will the FSB / NB strap help with stability? and is there a pencil mod for the vdroop on this board?? I have it set to 1.41 in BIOS, its 1.368 Idle, and like 1.34 Load

EDIT: Thats with it set 1.42 in BIOS


Yes the FSB/NB strap have a lot to do with it, as well as the memory divider. Read the Anandtech article linked in the first post for more info (start at page 6 and read to atleast 9).

Also note the NB might need some voltage increase.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


still no the dualie, got my e8400 up at 4.32, getting into windows but failing stress tests, got some questions, will the FSB / NB strap help with stability? and is there a pencil mod for the vdroop on this board?? I have it set to 1.41 in BIOS, its 1.368 Idle, and like 1.34 Load

EDIT: Thats with it set 1.42 in BIOS



Im pretty sure there was a pencil mod for this board...


----------



## Aleslammer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *coltsrock* 
is there a pencil mod for the vdroop on this board?? I have it set to 1.41 in BIOS, its 1.368 Idle, and like 1.34 Load


If you have not found it yet.
http://www.overclock.net/3134280-post3.html


----------



## coltsrock

hmm , well i decided to try and find max FSB with this board, i know my chip can do 467*9 stable. so i tried 480*8 and that worked. but i couldnt get 500*8. FSB Term-1.2 (bumped up to 1.3 and still no boot) nB volt- 1.25 (tried bumping to 1.27 and no boot). what voltages should i try for 500?? Im going to try and get 495*8.5 stable in the meantime

EDIT: Saw 1.4 volts was needed on the NB to get 500 FSB, would i need active cooling for this?


----------



## ericeod

NB volts need to be much higher then 1.25v. I needed 1.39v NB when I pushed 530 FSB. Dont be afraid, as long as the NB is cool, it can handle 1.65v.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


NB volts need to be much higher then 1.25v. I needed 1.39v NB when I pushed 530 FSB. Dont be afraid, as long as the NB is cool, it can handle 1.65v.


well, with the 0702 BIOS, i couldnt get into windows @ 490 FSB w/ 1.41 volts on the NB, testing 485 now. but did you have a fan on your NB when you used 1.39 and up?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


well, with the 0702 BIOS, i couldnt get into windows @ 490 FSB w/ 1.41 volts on the NB, testing 485 now. but did you have a fan on your NB when you used 1.39 and up?


I went all the way up to 1.59v on my NB, but I had a MCW60 waterblock on it.


----------



## coltsrock

ahh, well i just have the stok P5E heatsink, with good case airflow. Im at 1.43/ 490FSB and it passed 10 minutes of OCCT so its stable.


----------



## coltsrock

so i got a new hard drive, cloned it, everything runs fine, except when i first boot, it says no IDE Master detected, but then everything boots as normal. I looked through the BIOS for 15 minutes and couldnt find a setting to change from Slave to master (Its a Sata HDD btw, but in BIOS i have it set to IDE, instead of AHCI or whatever)


----------



## ericeod

It sounds like you have the IDE controller enabled in the bios. The IDE controller is not native to the chipset and is found under the same section as the integrated audio, so find it in the bios and disable it. It is most likely a Jmicron chip.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
It sounds like you have the IDE controller enabled in the bios. The IDE controller is not native to the chipset and is found under the same section as the integrated audio, so find it in the bios and disable it. It is most likely a Jmicron chip.

ahh alright, thanks for all your help eric


----------



## jackbrennan2008

I managed 500 FSB on my X48 Rampage Formula, here were the settings i used:

http://jack-brennan.com/oddpages/x48-bios.html

Summary:
CPU Voltage [1.4500]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.54]
Northbridge Voltage [1.77]
DRAM Voltage [2.16]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.78]
South Bridge Voltage [1.075]
SB 1,5V Voltage [1.50]


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jackbrennan2008* 
I managed 500 FSB on my X48 Rampage Formula, here were the settings i used:

http://jack-brennan.com/oddpages/x48-bios.html

Summary:
CPU Voltage [1.4500]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.54]
Northbridge Voltage [1.77]
DRAM Voltage [2.16]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.78]
South Bridge Voltage [1.075]
SB 1,5V Voltage [1.50]

Yeah it takes a lot of NB voltages. 1.77v is quite high!


----------



## jackbrennan2008

It's extremely high, it's only a few clicks away from the maximum voltage setting which is 1.8x something.


----------



## coltsrock

heh, well with much lower nB volts i've hit 490 and its been stable so im just sitting here









Also going to be going watercooling with this board and figured the nB didnt need it


----------



## wilhelmS

hi guys!

i was running my preselected e8400 for over 2 yrs on 4 to 4.7 ghz, up to 560 fsb on moderate voltages( i did 1,7v nb and much higher fsb,vcore too but only for vantage bench etc) together with crossfire( 2 x hd4830).

my board was VERY low quality manufactured so i had to tweak it with 2 thermalright chipsetcoolers(+ fans) and cut/partially remove the heatpipe to keep up oc AND crossfire.

this allowed me to oc the board @ air since today quite successfully.

my case , lian li pc p80 with 4x 140 mm fans in front, makes almost dangerous airflow for cats and other small animals around hehe

Half year ago I changed 2 gpu to one single hd5870 for much more power and no more mobo stressing crossfire,and i experienced that my dual gets on its limit in some situations,even on 4.5 ghz in bad company 2( level 47







)

My ram: ocz xtc platinum 1066 on 5-5-5-15 ,intel p/l 8,49 ns,strong.

SO i ordered Q9650 E0, not preselected and more expensive than preselected Ci7 LOL

>> according to a tweaking company in germany,that sells preselected cpu and bundles,q9650 and ci7 920/930 are roughly the same in GAMES.

SO what BIOS i should get now for quad oc please?

i still use stock bios !

My previous board was a dfi lanparty (S939,opteron) ,where i had a cd with over 100 bios on it,to change it on demand,and i had to change several times...

This board ran with stock bios so long time and so nice after tweaking it myself and loosing guarantee ,
so do i need a new bios for this Q9650 at all,beside the ascpect of compatibility for q9650?

My goal is 4 ghz,nthg below









i hope i ll get the q9650 on tuesday next week.

THX in advance for helpful replies and SORRY for maybe bad english, i am from austria,german speaking


----------



## citruspers

Thanks for the information guys, very helpful!
Hoping to get this quad to 4GHz (@3.6 already, RAM is the limiting factor at 800 MHZ)

EDIT: just flashed my P5E to a Rampage Formula. Money saved, features gained


----------



## coltsrock

so i installed watercooling and am now getting memory issues??? Its 1 long continous beep right after i hit the power button, weirdddd


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *coltsrock*


so i installed watercooling and am now getting memory issues??? Its 1 long continous beep right after i hit the power button, weirdddd


Make sure the CPU is seated correctly in the socket, and check for any bent pins. I would also try one stick of ram at a time to test them.


----------



## coltsrock

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Make sure the CPU is seated correctly in the socket, and check for any bent pins. I would also try one stick of ram at a time to test them.

didnt have the CPU block on right, back was touching and shorting the board, all is well now


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

well i am a lucky new owner of a Rampage Formula X48.
i have a few UD3P's but wanted to try this board out with some dual core's and maybe some P4's. 
the main reason to buy it was to run a few bench's on it with water and then do some folding on it. i have an E6750 and E6420 that i think will OC nicely on the X48

question for you guys though, any issues with patriot memory on these? i have 2 x 1GB PC2-9200's
and if i am doing a cpu only loop do i need to worry about NB temps?


----------



## spacegoast

I dont recall any issues with that RAM kit. The only kit I had trouble with was the Corsair Dominators.

As for NB voltage, I dont think you will see a problem unless you have it over 1.5v. Im pretty sure you can monitor the temps with the RF too, so you should have a temp read out for it.


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

thanks....

i was mainly concerned with high temps on the NB with high OC's. i parted with some of my Dry Ice equipment and decided on a single loop water instead. the rad will be getting a direct feed of cold 9-11c air from the window a/c unit so temps should be really low with water.


----------



## Grobinov.

Very nice then! Have you had any problems with temp reading when you still had the first bios?


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Grobinov.* 
Very nice then! Have you had any problems with temp reading when you still had the first bios?

still waiting for the board to be delivered. so don't have it yet. temps on my bench haven't really been an issue on air or DICE with a Tpower i45 and a UD3P but i am a noob to water cooling.


----------



## Grobinov.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *XtremeCuztoms* 
still waiting for the board to be delivered. so don't have it yet. temps on my bench haven't really been an issue on air or DICE with a Tpower i45 and a UD3P but i am a noob to water cooling.

Thank you XtremeCuztoms


----------



## kostas_tio

Hello! I have a Q6600 @ 3.6GHz (o.c) stable with a Asus P5E mobo (pencil mod fixed). I was wondering if I can o.c the cpu higher about 4.0GHz. My current cpu voltage is 1.3840. My RAM is KINGSTON KHX8500D2K2/4G DDR2 4GB. Also I am using Thermalright 120 Ultra cpu cooler. Please If someone has achieve it I would be grateful to write down the Bios settings. Thank you!!


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kostas_tio*


Hello! I have a Q6600 @ 3.6GHz (o.c) stable with a Asus P5E mobo (pencil mod fixed). I was wondering if I can o.c the cpu higher about 4.0GHz. My current cpu voltage is 1.3840. My RAM is KINGSTON KHX8500D2K2/4G DDR2 4GB. Also I am using Thermalright 120 Ultra cpu cooler. Please If someone has achieve it I would be grateful to write down the Bios settings. Thank you!!


I've not seen too many Q6600s OCed to 4.0GHz. it took a golden chip to get there, so I don't know what kind of response you will get. Good luck!


----------



## investinwaffles

Hello folks,

I just registered because I fried my Gigabyte X48-DS4 and decided to go with asus because that board was a POS









Anyway, I just got an Asus P5E Deluxe (Rev. 2.00 G) and I am very interested in flashing the Rampage Formula bios to it.

Few questions:
1. Should I install windows after installing the board, or update to the Rampage bios first, then install windows?

2. Which bios version should I use? Im using a Q6600 looking for 3.4-3.6ghz so nothing crazy. I notice that there is a version 1001 bios on the Ausus website for the Rampage Formula. Should I use the newest version or another one??

The gigabyte board Im coming from is such a PITA. All the measurements and voltages are not standard (lists voltage change, not actual voltage). Is there a "foolproof" settings list I can use to clock a Q6600 to anything decent? I tried and failed hard to get it over 3.0ghz with that X48-DS4 under reasonable voltages but it was never stable for more than 1 hour of prime 95.

I would appreciate any help!! Im kind of a noob trying to get my rig back together









EDIT:
Im also using OCZ Reaper 1066 DDR2, which Im sure will be a pain in the ass to get right. Any insight would be much appreciated


----------



## NGX

I would try flashing to the newest bios first, since it has been quite some time from the last post


----------



## investinwaffles

Oh my god massive failure (I always **** things up







)
Someone please help me!









I just shoehorned in the MOBO in my new system, and did a very rough config in the bios. All i did was set my memory timings and voltage. Then I decided to boot straight to my old windows partition to transfer all my data off my drive. During this, I notice that I get a keyboard missing error when I POST, but it still boots to windows. All is well, everything transfers over fine (using just the mouse at this point), and I plug in the USB drive that I configured to flash the RF bios to my P5E Deluxe. All the files are there so I tell the PC to shut down.

Piece of **** windows update had downloaded some updates so I let it finish installing and go to the bathroom.

When I get back, I unplug the flash drive to boot back into the bios to re-configure my USB settings but low and behold im getting a USB Overcurrent error!!

It is saying specifically:_
No keyboard detected (correct, nothing is plugged in)
CMOS checksum bad
USB device over current status detected
System will shut down after 15 seconds!!!_

It will NOT let me POST, even after changing the CMOS switch setting, and removing the battery for a few minutes. I completely pulled the mobo out and tried to get it to boot outside of the case to eliminate any shorting issues, to NO avail.

I have tried for nearly 2 hours to get this thing to boot and NOTHING. I just spent 150 on this board (that I barely had), and if I managed to brick it I think im going to quit computers.









Plz help









EDIT:
Also there are some pins near the top PCI slot that are just labeled as "bios" in the


----------



## investinwaffles

I stripped it down and it is still doing this








When I plug my USB keyboard in, the keyboard error goes away though.

Im so depressed right now, im praying this is some stupid error that is fixable


----------



## investinwaffles

EUREKA
I dropped the MOBO while testing it in the air, and it shorted out and turned off. Then, after freaking out and not getting it to do anything I put it back in my case and its now POSTing to the bios!
And its working! I have no idea how, but i am so releived. My stomach was doing triple somersaults moments ago.


----------



## NGX

lmao awesome technique. can u post that on youtube id like to use that on a few of my components.


----------



## investinwaffles

WOOT Flashed to newest rampage formula bios without any issues!
Windows is now installing


----------



## NGX

good luck man keep us posted


----------



## investinwaffles

And another woot, im booting at 3.6 no problems, using the config posted for the Q6700 in the first post.








Prime 95 testing as we speak...

The only i have is with my memory configuration. Im currently at 400mhz FSB, 9x multi, 1.4V (will step down when I find that its stable), and a 266mhz FSB







RAM Strap for a 4:5 Ratio. CPUZ reports that my memory is running at 500mhz instead of the max of 533 (for 1066 ddr2)

Does that look OK, What should I change from the first configuration to make it "optimized" For a Q6600 at 3.6ghz?? And Is my FSB







RAM ratio OK or is there a way to get the max rated speed out of the memory (if it even matters)??

And lastly, Im loading at 72*C on P95 on the first 2 cores (69 on the back 2). Is that safe? Remeber this is at 1.4v I dont think I will need that much to have it stable though (im shooting for anything under 1.38v but that may/may not be realistic).


----------



## investinwaffles

Had to abort my P95 run after I hit 73*C on the first two cores. TJ max is supposed to be 71* so I got scared and aborted.

I will try with 1.38v and see what happens.

EDIT:
Annddd its failing with 1.38v.

So what is max temp for these CPU's. 73*C is way above my comfort zone, should I back it down to 3.4ghz?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *investinwaffles*










Had to abort my P95 run after I hit 73*C on the first two cores. TJ max is supposed to be 71* so I got scared and aborted.

I will try with 1.38v and see what happens.

EDIT:
Annddd its failing with 1.38v.

So what is max temp for these CPU's. 73*C is way above my comfort zone, should I back it down to 3.4ghz?










You are fine, TJmax is 100Â°C, and the Intel stated max operating temp for the CPU is 71Â°C. It is ok to hover around 75Â°C when load testing, it won't hurt anything since your CPU should never see 100% load on all cores!


----------



## investinwaffles

Ok because im back at [email protected] now, testing and it is hovering right at 70 for cores 1 and 2, and 66*C for 3 and 4. I actually think i'm going to just level off at 3.4ghz so I can keep my temps down a little bit.









With 3.6 @ 1.4v it was at 73*C and very very sowly climbing (would probably level off at 75*c after a few hours). To me, its a little hot for my tastes and I am afraid to run intel burn test. Plus I really dont think 200mhz will make a perceivable difference to me (still running xfired 4850's). What do you think? Should I just go balls to the wall anyway?









Also, Windows is reporting that the processor is only running at 2.39ghz but CPUz and the BIOS report that it is at 3.4ghz (378*9), but Core Temp is claiming that it is only running an 8.5 multi for 3.2ghz???

I installed the most up-to-date drivers for the P5E Deluxe from Asus's website, ontop of the Rampage Formula 1001 bios and everything appears to be normal


----------



## ericeod

If you have the most current CPU-Z, go by it. As for Windows, it always reports the OC with the default multi. So if you changed the multi at all, it wont read it correctly.


----------



## investinwaffles

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


If you have the most current CPU-Z, go by it. As for Windows, it always reports the OC with the default multi. So if you changed the multi at all, it wont read it correctly.


Well, default multi is 9 so I dont see why it wouldnt read the correct speed








Oh well its not like it matters anyway









Also, What do you think I should do for voltages?

The first thing im concerned about is that my set ram voltage in the bios is 2.1v, and in Everest as well as Asus Probe it is showing up as 2.14-6v. I "undervolted" it to 2.08v in the bios and it is showing up as 2.11-3v now. Is that OK for Reaper 1066 DDR2?

I am also running the ram at 1132 at a 2:3 ratio. Should I step the ram speed down in favor of a lower ratio (1:1 ideally)? It seems to be working just fine now at that speed, and "2.08v".

I have the CPU set to 1.33v in the bios and dropping








But What should I set my FSB Termination voltage to? I currently have it at 1.32 just so it is lower, but I dont really understand this number.

Also, what should I set for Northbridge and Southbridge votages? I have the NB at 1.33, and SB on auto. Asus probe has been repeatedly flashing SB overvolt warnings at me so i'd like to get it set to a number instead of auto.


----------



## spacegoast

My P5E also overvolted my RAM, it is common for these boards. I used to set mine to 1.96v so it would operate at 2.04v in Windows. If you are shooting for a max overclock you should probably set RAM to stock settings or as close as possible. This way you can rule out RAM becoming unstable when going for a high FSB.

Your CPU voltage looks good too, I had to use 1.39v just for a 3.51ghz OC. So you are in good shape.

NB looks good at 1.33v. I wouldnt go above 1.5v and you are well below that. Looks like you have a little headroom for some overclocking though. I bet you could hit 3.8ghz with that chip.


----------



## investinwaffles

Yeah I was at 3.6 with zero problems, the temps are just too high for my tastes








And im heavily limited by my xfired 4850's anyway so I dont see any need for more than 3.4ghz. Now im just trying to get my voltages as low as possible.

What about the SB voltage? Does it really matter/does it matter if Asus Probe sometimes flashes SB overvoltage at me (when I rarely have the program running)?


----------



## spacegoast

SB voltage is not huge deal. I left it on AUTO and never had any problems. It usually defaulted at 1.5v and it always worked fine.


----------



## investinwaffles

Ok, last bothersome question (i promise!).

Is speedstep (C1E) worth it? I would like lower temps and lower power consumption but not if they will cause instability or shorten the life of the chip (constantly changing voltages and speeds, etc).
I currently have it disabled for stress testing. I think I will keep the processor at 1.29v as it seems to be very stable (only 2hrs on my current stress test, and the temp here dropped because it rained).
So upon reaching my lowest comfortable voltages, I am debating weather or not I should start stress testing with speedstep enabled. What do you guys think??


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *investinwaffles* 
Ok, last bothersome question (i promise!).

Is speedstep (C1E) worth it? I would like lower temps and lower power consumption but not if they will cause instability or shorten the life of the chip (constantly changing voltages and speeds, etc).
I currently have it disabled for stress testing. I think I will keep the processor at 1.29v as it seems to be very stable (only 2hrs on my current stress test, and the temp here dropped because it rained).
So upon reaching my lowest comfortable voltages, I am debating weather or not I should start stress testing with speedstep enabled. What do you guys think??

Most do not test with it enabled. Only enable it after you have found a stable overclock.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
My P5E also overvolted my RAM, it is common for these boards. I used to set mine to 1.96v so it would operate at 2.04v in Windows. If you are shooting for a max overclock you should probably set RAM to stock settings or as close as possible. This way you can rule out RAM becoming unstable when going for a high FSB.

Your CPU voltage looks good too, I had to use 1.39v just for a 3.51ghz OC. So you are in good shape.

NB looks good at 1.33v. I wouldnt go above 1.5v and you are well below that. Looks like you have a little headroom for some overclocking though. I bet you could hit 3.8ghz with that chip.

Yeah I addressed the overvoltage to the dimm because it is a common issue. it is easy to compensate for, just set the vdimm to like 1.96v:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
*Update April 02, 2008
Motherboard overvolting ram verified*

Special thanks to *Karl eller* for the post on vdimm points. I used my Fluke 177 digital meter and read the yellow and one of the blue marked readout point from his post.

When I set the vdimm in bios to 2.16v, I get a reading of 2.21v from the multi meter. Then, when I set the vdimm to 2.18v in bios, I get a reading of 2.238v on the meter. And finally, when I set vdimm to 2.2v in bios, I get a reading of 2.25v on the meter. This makes it very hard for those without a multimeter to know the true vdimm.

I did find that my 1.40v vcore set in bios, which loads into windows at 1.38v as shown in CPU-Z, actually is 1.376v when metered while running Orthos.


----------



## superj1977

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Most do not test with it enabled. Only enable it after you have found a stable overclock.

Whoa.... seriously? i can enable speedstep on my o/c chip?
I hope so as id love to let it run lower when its not needed,ima head of to bios now and find out.....

For some unknown reason i just always presumed speedstep had to be left disabled on an o/c,back soon....

EDIT:

1. Just realised this thread is not for my mobo,doh,sorry guys.

2. yes speedstep appears to work fine on my o/c cpu which is stable at 4.1ghz.

3.No point though as my vcore stays same so no gain in cooler temps and putting cpu on auto vcore obviously fails.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *superj1977* 
Whoa.... seriously? i can enable speedstep on my o/c chip?
I hope so as id love to let it run lower when its not needed,ima head of to bios now and find out.....

For some unknown reason i just always presumed speedstep had to be left disabled on an o/c,back soon....

EDIT:

1. Just realised this thread is not for my mobo,doh,sorry guys.

2. yes speedstep appears to work fine on my o/c cpu which is stable at 4.1ghz.

3.No point though as my vcore stays same so no gain in cooler temps and putting cpu on auto vcore obviously fails.

You will also have to enable C1E if you want to also lower the vcore. My board disables it though over a certain OC.


----------



## superj1977

Awesome my friend,thanks very much im of to bios right now,hopefully i can get some low temps now.

EDIT:

C1E was allready enabled i found.
Tried changing few cpu config settings but to no avail,no voltage drop acording to cpu-z but multi drops.
Its not a big thing anyway my iddle is 35 but if i can drop it more i would,thanks again.


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

my trusty Fluke is always near by when OC'ing..


----------



## investinwaffles

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


You will also have to enable C1E if you want to also lower the vcore. My board disables it though over a certain OC.


So with C1E enabled on this board will I see a voltage drop? Im only asking because im currently 7+hrs into a P95 run and I dont want to stop it to check









Also I am stress testing with C1E enabled currently but how do I actually test for the underclocking stability?

Currently im using:

378x9 = [email protected] 1.30v
C1E Enabled
1.29 NB voltage, 2.11v DIMM
35*C idle, 55*C load and 70*C load with only the H50 fans barely spinning, zero P95 errors so far (I have changed the thermal config a few times for one hour each to see what the temp would do).

So far this board has been an absolute dream


----------



## ericeod

The only way to check stability is to see what your system runs at idle, then set your bios to that voltage and lower the multi to x6. The stress test and see if it is stable at that lower state. The only real problem is there is no way to test stability as the system switches from the higher to lower state.


----------



## investinwaffles

Hmm your right. I will do some testing on my own and see which I like better. If it does not alter the voltages im not going to use it (I want power savings and less heat).

EDIT:
Thanks a million guys, you helped me finally overclock my CPU after 2 years of trying (turns out it was the ****ty gigabyte board I was using). But anyway, overclock.net is the ****


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

well finally got my rampage all setup on a tech bench with a cpu only loop. unsure of exact temps due to the temp sensors stuck dead at 40c on this E8500.

but taking reading from my infrared thermometer (Mac Tools ET7612) i see radiator temps of 11.9c, cpu base temps of 16.8c and water temps in the res of 15.1c

so i got the E8500 to 4335.16 MHz (510.02 * 8.5) but the memory settings are crazy, can't get em stable enough to boot at times, in auto now.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1335948

considering heat is not an issue, anyone got some good settings for an E8500 with Corsair Dominator 1142mhz 2x1gb 2.1V D9GMH ????


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XtremeCuztoms*


well finally got my rampage all setup on a tech bench with a cpu only loop. unsure of exact temps due to the temp sensors stuck dead at 40c on this E8500.

but taking reading from my infrared thermometer (Mac Tools ET7612) i see radiator temps of 11.9c, cpu base temps of 16.8c and water temps in the res of 15.1c

so i got the E8500 to 4335.16 MHz (510.02 * 8.5) but the memory settings are crazy, can't get em stable enough to boot at times, in auto now.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1335948

considering heat is not an issue, anyone got some good settings for an E8500 with Corsair Dominator 1142mhz 2x1gb 2.1V D9GMH ????


Can you post the settings you are currently using?


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
Can you post the settings you are currently using?

pics were easier then typing....









E8500
Dominator 1142mhz 2GB 2.1V D9GMH

right now everything seems stable @ 4.26


----------



## spacegoast

Try setting the AI CLock Twister to Light or Lighter and Transaction Booster 10. See if that helps any. Is that PCI Frequency set to 110? I dont think you need it that high.


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spacegoast*


Try setting the AI CLock Twister to Light or Lighter and Transaction Booster 10. See if that helps any. Is that PCI Frequency set to 110? I dont think you need it that high.


ok, i will check into that....

here was last validation.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1336438

i just think the memory is holding me back a little.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *XtremeCuztoms* 
ok, i will check into that....

here was last validation.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1336438

i just think the memory is holding me back a little.

That is an awesome OC there. Maybe try dropping the mem speed a little if you are shooting for a max overclock. If this is for 24/7 use you may need to drop it back a little though. I tried using Dominators with my P5E on the RF 0803 BIOS and it didnt work well at all. I couldnt even run stock speed of 1066 with it. There have been others here that have also had problems with Dominators, but there were a few that that didnt have any issues, so I guess its just a matter of luck...


----------



## XtremeCuztoms

ya, this isn't for 24/7 running.....

this is just for messing around for the weekend and testing the water setup. i am shooting for the highest OC i can get off this E8500 but for sure will tone it down and do some folding on it.

4636.41 MHz

at 489 i can boot into windows and i get a memory error for iexplorer and then it freezes.

i got some Patriot PC2 9200's but even with 1 stick in it wont boot.

Quote:



Maybe try dropping the mem speed a little if you are shooting for a max overclock.


hmm, but running the memory in auto your saying drop it from 333Mhz ?


----------



## opensesame

I am not sure this is the right place to post this, but I thought that the posters on this thread might have a better idea about this than anyone else.

I recently acquired a Rampage Formula without a backplate. I contacted ASUS to see if they could sell me one, but they were out of stock. They do have Maximus Extreme backplates with a backlight and I was wondering if that would work. From cursory inspection it looks like the only difference between the two boards' backplates is that the Maximus Extreme has two extra ESATA holes. Can anyone confirm this if they have both boards or have worked with them?

Maximus Extreme
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...131-235-04.jpg

Rampage Formula
http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/13-131-284-S02?$S640W$

I appreciate any help thanks!


----------



## NGX

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ericeod*


It is ok to hover around 75Â°C when load testing, it won't hurt anything since your CPU should never see 100% load on all cores!


Never say never







btw eric I recently moved to the phoenix area


----------



## NGX

opensesame the rampage formula backplate should do just fine, although Ive been running my P5E-Deluxe since I got it with no back plate


----------



## opensesame

Thanks actually found a I/O plate that fits. While we are on the topic does anyone know where I can get a factory NB/SB heatsink setup for these boards?


----------



## NGX

Not sure if they even sell those, but did you try Asus's site?


----------



## opensesame

I tried the ASUS site and phoned them, they don't carry it. I was hoping that someone on this forum either has one that they are not using because they have gone aftermarket or water or their board was fried and did not know what to do with it.


----------



## NGX

Ok so after opensesame brought me back to this damn thread, I have decided to pull out my P5E Deluxe flashed to Rampage Formula bios 0803 and get some overclocking done on my old e8400. Pics and bios settings soon to follow. Shooting for upwards of 5ghz....


----------



## NGX

Here's a teaser for ya









http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1358395

Oh and the only cooling I have is stock heatsinks on the motherboard and a Koolance 340 on the cpu hooked up to a pa120.3.


----------



## NGX

Ok so I can't get it any higher than 4.904ghz







I need better ram I think. Time to run some benchmarks and see what I come up with.


----------



## Aaroman

what voltage do you have on your NB?


----------



## NGX

1.5 effective. I'm only running it there for my CPU-Z runs, after that I bring it down to 1.4 for benching


----------



## Mailyfesux

What is the difference between p5e and p5e deluxe?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Mailyfesux*


What is the difference between p5e and p5e deluxe?


The P5E is the X38 chipset while the P5E Deluxe is the X48. The X48 is just a higher binned X38 chipset, and the only difference is the bios options (which cross-flashing corrects) and the tendency of the X48 to OC to a higher FSB with less voltage to the NB chipset itself.


----------



## NGX

Yep, which is vital to getting the last few mhz out of it. I bought my P5E-Deluxe open box from Newegg and it has worked great for me.


----------



## Valle79

Sooo...I've got a P5E3 with an E8400. And I'm wondering what I need to do to oc it up to, say, 3,6gHz...I've looked in the bios but there are just so goddamn many settings I'm not really sure which ones to change. Haven't oc'ed anything since way back when, when I was moving jumpers to oc my P100!

So uh...anyone that could gimme some pointers?


----------



## We Gone

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Valle79* 
So uh...anyone that could gimme some pointers?

start here.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...ed-guides.html

Than download Prime95, coretemp, realtemp, cpu-z, intelburn test. Or some pay programs, Everest, 3dmark06...just a few


----------



## Valle79

Thanks! Welp, that turned out to be easier than expected. As in I just upped the FSB and left everything else at its Auto setting. Mobo upped voltage itself and seems to be running fine. Running Prime95 Small FFT test for 30min now, guess I'll have it run for a few hours to see how it goes. I am slightly worried about my temperatures though...core temp claims 70-73C, but real temp with TJ Max at 95 says 65-68. Is this ok or will I be frying my cpu soon?

Added screenshot for some clarity.


----------



## We Gone

TJmax on your CPU should be set @ 100c, you may have hit your limit on OC until you get a better CPU cooler. Auto setting may set volts on the high side.


----------



## coelacanth

I just bought 2 ADATA S599 64GB SSDs (Sandforce 1200 controller, formware 3.1.0) and have been trying to install them in RAID 0 on my Asus P5E Deluxe. I finally got W7 installed on the SSD RAID array, but the array is not consistently recognized on boot.

After messing around for days, the Intel Matrix Storage Manager option ROM (v. 7.0.xxx something) does not consistently recognize the SSD RAID, which I've read is a common enough problem, due to the out-of-date Intel Matrix Storage Manager option ROM in the latest P5E Deluxe BIOS 0501.

In order to get a newer version of the Intel Matrix Storage Manager option ROM I was thinking of flashing my BIOS to Rampage Formula BIOS 1001, but have a few questions.

1) Will this work?
2) What is the version of the Intel Matrix Storage option ROM integrated into Rampage Formula Bios 1001?
3) I've read that people have problems flashing back to P5E Deluxe BIOS after flashing to Rampage Formula BIOS. Any info on backflashing I should know about?
4) I found a modded Rampage Formula BIOS 1001 that has an SLI Certificate integrated. Would it cause problems if I flashed to the modded BIOS with the SLIC?
Here's where I found the modded BIOS:
http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thr...ection/page398

Thanks!


----------



## spacegoast

I have used the RF, P5E Dlx and regular P5E bios at various times and never had any problems cross flashing back and forth between them.

Might want to defer to ericeod regarding the RAID set up. I never got in to RAID so I cant help you there.


----------



## ericeod

Yes you can flash to the Rampage Formula bios on the P5E Deluxe, just make sure to disable those physical componenets not on the board. You will need to disable the temp sensors to prevent incorrect readings.

As for the RIAD rom, I havent run RAID SSD on anything but X58, so I am really sorry I can't help there. But there are some new Rapid Intel Storage Technology (RIST) drivers as of 2 weeks ago that might help. I do not have a link, but found them at www.station-drivers.com .


----------



## Ragsters

Hey guys what is the latest PC Probe II for download?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ragsters* 
Hey guys what is the latest PC Probe II for download?

I know the Rampage Formula's lates download is 1.04.76, but major geeks has 1.04.88 listed:
http://majorgeeks.com/ASUS_PC_Probe_II_d3301.html


----------



## Ragsters

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
I know the Rampage Formula's lates download is 1.04.76, but major geeks has 1.04.88 listed:
http://majorgeeks.com/ASUS_PC_Probe_II_d3301.html

I installed the latest from major geeks and today when I went to boot up my computer I got the bsod. I know it can't be my overclock because I have had it stable for a long time. I went through the repair process that Windows takes you through and they uninstalled PC Probe because the computer was running fine before the installation.


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ragsters* 
I installed the latest from major geeks and today when I went to boot up my computer I got the bsod. I know it can't be my overclock because I have had it stable for a long time. I went through the repair process that Windows takes you through and they uninstalled PC Probe because the computer was running fine before the installation.

Try unistalling and just going with the latest at the ASUS download site:
http://support.asus.com/download/dow..._type=14&os=30


----------



## Ragsters

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ericeod* 
Try unistalling and just going with the latest at the ASUS download site:
http://support.asus.com/download/dow..._type=14&os=30

Thanks, I'll try that.


----------



## robbsen

im reading this thread quiete a while now and still have a lot to read.
many question repeat and you're replying them all for years now. thats just stunning. thanks for this thread.
i personally got some question i tried to find scanning this threat but i werent successful - there just are too many replies.

i got a p5e deluxe and yesterday i did the rampage flash. the benchmark was better with the p5e deluxe so i reverted the whole thing as the p5e deluxe already offered all the settings i needed to overclock like i want.

using:
p5e deluxe bios=0503
rampage formula bios=1001
e6600 with scythe infinity(mugen)

now i wonder if i just took the wrong bios. what bios would you recommend for those boards. what bios is the best for overclocking the p5e deluxe?

kind regards
robbsen

ps: i suggest to add this to your thread opening.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *robbsen* 
im reading this thread quiete a while now and still have a lot to read.
many question repeat and you're replying them all for years now. thats just stunning. thanks for this thread.
i personally got some question i tried to find scanning this threat but i werent successful - there just are too many replies.

i got a p5e deluxe and yesterday i did the rampage flash. the benchmark was better with the p5e deluxe so i reverted the whole thing as the p5e deluxe already offered all the settings i needed to overclock like i want.

using:
p5e deluxe bios=0503
rampage formula bios=1001
e6600 with scythe infinity(mugen)

now i wonder if i just took the wrong bios. what bios would you recommend for those boards. what bios is the best for overclocking the p5e deluxe?

kind regards
robbsen

ps: i suggest to add this to your thread opening.

I have tried cross flashing between all 3 bios but I found the Rampage Formula bios to work out the best for me and I think most would agree the same. The RF bios has a few more options available for tweaking memory settings, which could help with your overclock. At the same time it might get a little more complicated with so many settings to change.


----------



## robbsen

RF Bios=Rampage Formula Bios?
Which RF Bios to take? I see people using 803 posting in 2010 although newer bios releases already are available.


----------



## mike876

hey guys, i REALLY need ur help. i got the ASUS rampage formula, 4GB (2x2) corsair dominator ddr2 (1066) intel Q6700. Ok so here's the issue, my PC won't boot up (post) when i have both 2gb memory sticks in the board it only works with 2 gb any advice guys ?


----------



## Dantesinferno

Haha, I still have 803, since I haven't been on this site for a while. What are the pros of the newer Bios? Also, people may also want to reduce the chance of killing their bios by a bad flash.

@mike check what voltages your Dominator has to run at and change it in the Bios.


----------



## mike876

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dantesinferno* 
Haha, I still have 803, since I haven't been on this site for a while. What are the pros of the newer Bios? Also, people may also want to reduce the chance of killing their bios by a bad flash.

@mike check what voltages your Dominator has to run at and change it in the Bios.

Ok will do, ill let you kno how it turns out. anymore suggestions anyone ?


----------



## robbsen

Quote:

p95v2511.zip (991.6 KB, 7745 views)
p64v2511.zip (1.02 MB, 5755 views)
taking p64 for windows 7 64bit?

AND what's the difference between RealTemp.exe and RealTempGT.exe?
furthermore i'd like to know if i'm good using RealTemp only and CoreTemp not.


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *robbsen* 
RF Bios=Rampage Formula Bios?
Which RF Bios to take? I see people using 803 posting in 2010 although newer bios releases already are available.

Yes, RF=Rampage Formula. I found the 0803 bios to yield the best results. I was able to acheive the highest stable overclock with that one.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mike876* 
hey guys, i REALLY need ur help. i got the ASUS rampage formula, 4GB (2x2) corsair dominator ddr2 (1066) intel Q6700. Ok so here's the issue, my PC won't boot up (post) when i have both 2gb memory sticks in the board it only works with 2 gb any advice guys ?

I tried out the Dominators on my P5E flashed the the RF bios and I could not get them to run stable at 1066. No matter what I tried I could not get them working. I have heard other users also having problems with the Dominators as well. Seems like this kit is a little picky with this particular board.

Have you tried putting the same stick on each slot? Maybe you have a dead ram slot or it could be a dead memory stick.


----------



## robbsen

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mike876* 
Ok will do, ill let you kno how it turns out. anymore suggestions anyone ?

reading parts of this epic one thread i remember those RAMs causing problems for various overclockers.
if you have the chance get your hands on the F2-9600CL5D-4GBPI. i just got them today and they are good. and i mean good.


----------



## mike876

Thanks for all the help guys, i got to work. I just turned down the memory Frequency to 800MHz thats the only way it would work


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mike876* 
Thanks for all the help guys, i got to work. I just turned down the memory Frequency to 800MHz thats the only way it would work

That kind of defeats the purpose of having ram that is rated to run at 1066mhz though







. I returned mine as quickly as I could and I bought some Mushkin Redlines. That was a pretty good kit for me. I would try to get another kit if at all possible.


----------



## mike876

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spacegoast* 
That kind of defeats the purpose of having ram that is rated to run at 1066mhz though







. I returned mine as quickly as I could and I bought some Mushkin Redlines. That was a pretty good kit for me. I would try to get another kit if at all possible.

Yea dude i know but im jus gonna tough it out caz ill be upgrading soon.


----------



## Ragsters

Lately I have been getting random BSODS when powering on the computer in the morning. MY system has been stable for a long time and now out of no where I am getting blue screens. The first time it happened was after installing the latest PC Probe II. I followed the windows guide to restore previous settings that were stable and it decided to uninstall PC Probe II. Well today (5 days later) I got the blue screen again. I thought my overclock was stable. Here are my bios (version 0902).

•Main
-Legacy Diskette A [Disabled]
SATA Configuration
Configure SATA as [AHCI]
•Extreme Tweaker
-AI Overclock Tuner [Manual]
-CPU Ratio Setting [08.5]
-FSB Strap to NB [400Mhz]
-FSB Frequency [431]
-Dram Frequency [DDR2-1149MHz]
-Dram Command Rate [2N]
-Dram Timing Control [Manual]
Cas # Latency [5]
Ras # to Cas # Delay [5]
Ras # Pre Time [5]
Ras # Act Time [18]
-Dram Static Read Control [Disabled]
-Ai Clock Twister [Lighter]
-Ai Transaction Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Level [06]
-Cpu Voltage [1.20][1.17 Idle] [1.128 Load]
-Cpu PLL Voltage [1.50V][1.58V Real]
-NB Voltage [1.27][1.28 Real]
-Dram Voltage [1.80][1.84 Real]
-FSB Termination [1.20V][1.14 Real]
-SB Voltage [1.050][1.07 Real]
-SB 1.5V Voltage [1.50V][1.55V Real]
-Loadline Calibration [Disabled]
-CPU GTL Voltage Reference [0.63x]
-NB GTL Voltage Reference [0.67x]
-CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
-PCIE Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
-CPU Clock Skew [Delay 300ps]
-NB Clock Skew [Delay 200ps]
•Advanced
CPU Configuration
CPU Ratio Setting [08.5]
CIE Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Enabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Max CPU ID Value Limit [Disabled]
Onboard Device Configuration
High Definition Audio [Disabled]
J-Micron Pata/Sata Controller [Disabled]
Marvell GigaBit LAN 2 [Disabled]
VIA Firewire 1394 [Disabled]
LCD Poster Backlight (OS) [Turn On]
•Boot
Boot Device Priority
1st Boot Device [HDD: PO-INTEL SSDSA]
2nd Boot Device [CDROM: PS-TSST CORP]
3rd Boot Device [Disabled]

*Event Viewer Bsod Error

- EventData
BugcheckCode 59
BugcheckParameter1 0xc0000005
BugcheckParameter2 0xfffff960001816b7
BugcheckParameter3 0xfffff880027affb0
BugcheckParameter4 0x0
SleepInProgress false
PowerButtonTimestamp 0*


----------



## robbsen

[email protected], 400fsb, 266strap, ddr2 (5,5,5,15) 1203mhz, Performance Level 5

everest-benchmark with
P5E Deluxe 501: 9288, 7287, 8128, 55.3
RF803: 9096, 7291, 8087, 56.5

vdroop exactly the same.

any special rampage formula bios settings (the p5e deluxe doesnt have) i should try?


----------



## robbsen

only those skew settings come up to my mind.
for DUAL cores i just dont see any benefit 'upgrading' to the RF-bios.
if this is it, by all the love to this thread, i recommend to implement the information, gathered in the coolest asus thread ever, into this thread (opening post).
if you google, and find this thread, you're very happy. but still the OWNAGE post ever is the opening one by the thread creator informing the people about the important facts. and therefor it should be stated, that upgrading to the RF-bios isnt always (or never? for quad cores? in specific cases?) the best option. at the current state its mentioned like: upgrading to the rf-bios having a p5e deluxe board is always worth it.


----------



## PotbellyPig

Any tips or better yet settings for a QX9650 processor on an Asus P5E motherboard? Should I start with some of the settings on the first page of this thread for an intel 45nm quad processor? I have 4 gigs of Kingston PC2-6400. Looking at CPU-Z the timiings are:

DRAM 400.7 MHZ
FSB DRAM 5.6
CAS# Latency 5
RAS# to CAS$ Delay 5
RAS# Precharge 5
Cycle Time 18
Row Refresh Cycle Time: 42
Command Rate 2T

I am running at stock cooling (with the better 45nm extreme stock heatsink/fan combo) and am hoping to get 3.6 ghz without extra cooling. I also posted in the QX9650 specific thread but here may be more applicable since it seems settings are heavily motherboard dependent. Any help would be appreciated. With just playing with the clock and vcore settings I had to raise the vcore to 1.375 in bios (a bit less shows in CPU-Z) to get 3.6 ghz stable. I'm hoping to do it with less voltage if I apply the other settings correctly. Let me know if my approach and goals are feasible.


----------



## We Gone

That is a bit high on vcore for 3.6. What are your load temps? & what is you stock vid:? What is your ram running @?

I need 1.268v in bios (1.248v cpu-z) for 3.86, NB 1.39v, VTT 1.22v


----------



## PotbellyPig

Thanks for the quick reply! I've typed in my info from the Asus P5E BIOS below. Right now I am new at OCing so I don't think I have all the settings right. I notice my actual core voltage is less in CPU-Z (around 1.275-1.3). I am having Prime95 fail after a while so I definitely have some issues. I don't understand RAM that good so I need help in that too. I just have it set to Auto.

Intel QX6950 VID 1.2375
Asus p5E X38 Motherboard
4 GB of Kingston PC2-6400
Corsair 850HX PSU

Ai OverClock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [9.0]
FSB Frequency [400]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [Auto]
PCIE Frequency [100]

DRAM Frequency [Auto]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM Timing Control [Auto]
Pri. Information: 5-5-5-18-3-42-6-3
Sec. Information 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
DRAM Static Read Control [Auto]
Ai Clock Twister [Strong]
Transaction Booster [Enabled]
Boost Level [2]

VCORE Voltage [1.350]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.5]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.36]
DRAM Voltage [Auto]
North Bridge Voltage [1.43]
South Bridge Voltage [1.050]

Load Line Calibration [Auto]
CPU GTL Reference [0.63X]
North Bridge GTL Reference[0.67X]
SB 1.5 Voltage [Auto]
SPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Auto]

Advanced:

CPU Ratio Setting 9.0
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Enabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Enabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]


----------



## We Gone

If you take FSB Strap to North Bridge off auto it should give you 4 choices as you select them the DRAM Frequency will also give you choices (Ratios) as to what you need your ram to run at try and keep it 1:1 until you get a stable OC.

Under Advanced: I disable all, but you will need to read up on them for your chip. How are your temps?

My settings Vid:1.200v Q9550

Ai OverClock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [8.5]
FSB Frequency [454]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [333]
PCIE Frequency [100]

DRAM Frequency [1090]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM Timing Control [Auto]
Ai Clock Twister [auto]
Transaction Booster [auto]

VCORE Voltage [1.268]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.50]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.22]
DRAM Voltage [2.1]
North Bridge Voltage [1.39]
South Bridge Voltage [1.050]

Load Line Calibration [enable]
CPU GTL Reference [0.63X]
North Bridge GTL Reference[0.67X]
SB 1.5 Voltage [1.50]


----------



## PotbellyPig

The settings as they are now are below. My core temperature seems higher than what it should be with that better heak sink the extreme processors have. At normal speeds, I get like 47C idle and 70C under Prime95 torture test. Can the heatsink be bad (or thermal paste problem) or maybe my mid-size case be too hot?

I tried a few vcores 1.35, 1.3375, 1.325, 1.30. At 1.35 my temperatures were going over 90C under Prime95 so I stopped them. The next time I ran them at the same voltage I errored out with the last core in Prime 95 with a rounding error. The same thing happens consistently after abt a minute on 1.3375V, 1.325V, 1.30V. Always the last core. Note that my vcore drops in CPU-Z pretty significantly versus the bios, maybe up to .05 less if that matters. I don't know if going up in vcore above 1.35V will help much since I'm running stock cooler and it'll get too hot. Can it be something else like DRAM voltage(which I have at auto), NB, FSB, etc? It seems like the chip should be able to handle 3.6ghz at a decent voltage.

Intel QX6950 VID 1.2375
Asus p5E X38 Motherboard
4 GB of Kingston PC2-6400
Corsair 850HX PSU

Ai OverClock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [9.0]
FSB Frequency [400]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [400]
PCIE Frequency [100]

DRAM Frequency [DDR2-800]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM Timing Control [Manual]
Pri. Information: 5-5-5-15-3-42-6-3
CAS# Latency [5 DRAm Clocks]
RAS# to CAS# Latency [5 DRAM Clocks]
RAS# Precharge [5 DRAM Clocks]
RAS# Active Time [15 DRAM Clocks]
RAS# to RAS# Delay [Auto]
Row Refresh Cycle Time [Auto]
Write Recovery Time [Auto]
Read to Precharge Time [Auto]

Sec. Information 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
Read to Write Delay [S/D] [Auto]
write to Read Delay  [Auto]
Write to Read Delay [D] [Auto]
Read to Read Delay  [Auto]
Read to Read Delay [D] [Auto]
Write to Write Delay [Auto]
Write to Write Delay[D] [Auto]

DRAM Static Read Control [Auto]
Ai Clock Twister [Strong]
Transaction Booster [Enabled]
Boost Level [2]

VCORE Voltage [1.350]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.5]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.36]
DRAM Voltage [Auto]
North Bridge Voltage [1.43]
South Bridge Voltage [1.050]

Load Line Calibration [Auto]
ccvx cv cv CPU GTL Reference [0.63X]
North Bridge GTL Reference[0.67X]
SB 1.5 Voltage [Auto]
SPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Auto]

Advanced:

CPU Ratio Setting 9.0
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Disabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Disabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]


----------



## We Gone

90c is to hot, I would get a better cooler before you do a lot of OCing. My temps load @ 3.8 never go over 64c & the mid 70s if I OC to 4.0. Here are some great reads if you have not found them.

What you see in CPU-Z is Vdroop & Vdrop it is explained in these reads.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...ed-guides.html

If you look @ the top of the page see quick links.. fill in you system specks so it will show in your sig, it will help others help you.


----------



## PotbellyPig

I cleaned off the fan/heat sink since there was a lot of dust on it. It helped temps somewhat. My Vdroop is enormous. I put it 1.3625 and CPU-Z shows 1.264. But at that speed, the fourth core doesn't crap out immediately under Prime95. Seems a bit high for 3.6 ghz. Anything else I can try to lower it?

About the heatsink. Is there one that can fit in a mid-size case? Particularly without removing the motherboard since I'm not very handy. I see one called Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. I know it doesn't have a bracket on the back of the motherboard but I'm not sure if I can put it in a case without detaching the MB. I feel embarassed for being so inept.


----------



## We Gone

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PotbellyPig* 
My Vdroop is enormous. I put it 1.3625 and CPU-Z shows 1.264.
About the heatsink. Is there one that can fit in a mid-size case? Particularly without removing the motherboard since I'm not very handy.


That is a lot , take LLC off auto and enable it with LLC enabled I see none my system stays rock solid. In regards to a cooler look or post in the air cool section.


----------



## PotbellyPig

Thanks for all your help! It seems to be working with an in bios setting of 1.3625 vcore after vdroop goes to 1.272. One more question. My Asus p5e motherboard has an old bios. It is at version .0502.

1. Do you think upgrading to the latest version will help overclocking and the vdroop?

2. I see alot of people upgrade the P5E bios to the Rampage .0803 drivers? Is this a better option? Also if I do cross upgrade, will I have to re-install Windows 7 because it may think it is a different motherboard?


----------



## Dantesinferno

The Rampage Bios gives you better overclocking options. Just be sure to turn off the fan sensors as the P5E does not have them. In my experience, I don't remember having to reinstall though.


----------



## We Gone

You may want to do a search here on the best Bios for your MB I think tere are many posts at the start of this thread about it.. I would not think a bios change would require a reinstall of OS.

You can also go to the ASUS forum and check there.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx...Language=en-us


----------



## PotbellyPig

I installed the rampage bios and it does seem you can control the Vdroop more. I think I will have to set the vcore at 1.28 to get a vcore of 1.264 after Vdroop for 3.6ghz. Unfortunately, I can only test it for a a shortened period of time because my temps running Prime95 get too high after abt. 15 minutes (it hits 90C). The stock cooler isn't working too good for me combined with my midsize and crowded case. Does that temperature performance sound right under the stock cooler or should I remove the heat sink and reapply thermal paste? Otherwise I will have to look for a cpu cooler. Only thing is that my case is small so I will be limited in choices.


----------



## We Gone

Unfortunately a better cooler is a must for better OCs, not mention it will extend the life of your CPU with cooler temps. Just stay around 3.4 until you sort out the cooler. Good Luck


----------



## PotbellyPig

Can the P5E (or Rampage Formula since I upgraded to those bios) take a SATA DVD burner or a SATA bluray reader/burner? I'm asking since when these motherboards were first released, there were only PATA burners available. If I get a SATA burner, do I have to change any of the SATA options in bios?


----------



## spacegoast

SATA was available when this mobo was released. You wont have to adjust anything. Just plug it in and it should work.


----------



## Vitaminx

Is the RF 0803 BIOS still the best to flash to from the P5E board?


----------



## spacegoast

As far as I know yes, but then again I havent owned this board since Oct 2009.


----------



## coelacanth

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Vitaminx;11906235*
> Is the RF 0803 BIOS still the best to flash to from the P5E board?


This may not be that helpful to you, but FWIW I flashed my X48 P5E Deluxe to a RF 1001 BIOS that had a SLI certificate and everything was fine. I was only OCed to 3.6GHz with E8400 though, to nothing too extreme, though I really liked all of the voltage controls and voltage monitoring in the RF BIOS.

As far as "the best" BIOS for your board, I'm not sure.

If you'd like the RF 1001 BIOS w/ SLI cert, I can dig up the link or email you the ROM or something.


----------



## Vitaminx

Ok thanks for the information, I'll look into it. What sensors do the P5E X38 not have that the Rampage Formula has? I keep getting OPT1 Temp overheat issues when I boot up lately but I read that my board doesn't have a sensor for that. What else should I disable in hardware monitor?


----------



## spacegoast

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Vitaminx;11930939*
> Ok thanks for the information, I'll look into it. What sensors do the P5E X38 not have that the Rampage Formula has? I keep getting OPT1 Temp overheat issues when I boot up lately but I read that my board doesn't have a sensor for that. What else should I disable in hardware monitor?


Im almost positive it doesnt. It also does not have the NB and SB temp sensors. Just disable or ignore the OPT and NB/SB temps as those are useless for the P5E mobo.


----------



## advanceagent

RF0803 still the best BIOS to oc


----------



## DChat

Hey folks.. any of you know what is recommended for these boards for oc'ing:

high multiplier or high fsb?

I can run:
9.5 x 450fsb @ 1.46v for 4.275Ghz
or
9 x 475fsb @ 1.46v for 4.275Ghz
or
8.5 x 500fsb @ 1.45v for 4.250Ghz

All are stable if I adjust the NB voltage accordingly.


----------



## Aaroman

I ran 8.5x on a e7200 to get my most stable OC.


----------



## Ottoturbo

Does the vcore drop pencil mod work on the P5E Deluxe aswell? The vcore is lower than bios setting and is dropping under load.


----------



## suhbehgee

Looking for some help on getting my Q9450 to 3.6 (or higher)

Currently have it stable at 3.4 with the following settings:

Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
OC From CPU Level Up : AUTO
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 8
FSB Frequency : 425
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-1020
DRAM Command Rate : 2
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Precharge : 5
RAS# ActivateTime : 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay : A
Row Refresh Cycle Time :A
Write Recovery Time : A
Read to Precharge Time : A

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : a
Write to Read Delay (S) : a
Write to Read Delay (D) : a
Read to Read Delay (S) : a
Read to Read Delay (D) : a
Write to Write Delay (S) : a
Write to Write Delay (D) : a
DRAM Static Read Control:a
Ai Clock Twister : Light
Transaction Booster : A

CPU Voltage : 1.25
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.6
North Bridge Voltage : 1.53
DRAM Voltage : 2.10
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.6
South Bridge Voltage : 1.1
Loadline Calibration : E
CPU GTL Reference : .63
North Bridge GTL Reference : .67
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage : A
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage : A
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage : DDR2-REF
SB 1.5V Voltage : 1.55

NB LED Selection : NB Volt
SB LED Selection : SB Volt
CPU LED Selection : CPU VOlt
Voltiminder LED :

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

Advanced CPU Configuration
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 8
C1E Suppport : Disabled
CPU TM Function : Enabled
Vanderpool Technology : Disabled
Execute Disable Bit : Enabled
Max CPUID Value Limit : Disabled

USB Configuration
USB Functions: Enabled
Legacy USB Support : Enabled

I've tried boosting volts to red-line levels with no success. Best i could get was booting to windows XP splash screen before freeezing/rebooting/blue-screening. Have also tried different combos of GTL values (but not all).

The vcore is still low so i think the processor has more to give but at this point am unsure of what to try.

Hardware is in my sig.
Any help is appreciated.

Thanks


----------



## spacegoast

You could probably up the CPU voltage to 1.35v safely or even 1.4v if you wanted to and you will need to increase FSB to 450 to hit 3.6ghz. Maybe set the transaction booster to 9 or 10. Your CPU PLL and NB voltages look a little high for 3.4ghz though.


----------



## =wc=old_school

yes i am interested in your settings


----------



## petehap

My Q6600 is rock solid at 3.6 Ghz and 1.34 vCore
It also look's solid at 4.0 Ghz and 1.55 vCore

At 1.34 vCore, AIDA/Everest show power to be around 60 W







but
at 1.55 vCore, AIDA/Everest show power to be a whopping 280 W !!!









If that is true, it's just sick for such a small increase and not worth it in my opinion.

All that waste of power, not to mension all that noise (2x12cm~2500 vs
2x12cm~600) just for the cpu.

Could AIDA/Everest be wrong ?


----------



## cvtmih

Yeah I think the readings are wrong. I have the same







Can't be true.


----------



## Lt. Beef

Quick question that I hope someone can shed some light on.

My P5E has recently decided to give me issues by constantly rebooting itself on start up. I can turn the board on and after 4-5 seconds it just turns itself off and back on again. Here is a youtube video I found that shows exactly what is happening. Hope its ok to show it since its not mine..






The board started doing this just after I finished installing a PCI wireless card in the slot closest to the northbridge. I have managed to get it to boot up only twice since then out of more then 50 attempts. I have benched the board with a different CPU, PSU, RAM, and even a new CMOS battery, all of which I know work, in an effort to rule out those areas. So far everything is pointing to the board being kaput, but those two successful boots have me thinking that the board might still have life in it.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated.


----------



## KingT

The board is probably broken..

You have tested it with another CPU,RAM and PSU and nothing seemed to work..

Also I would try another graphic card just to rule it out as well..

CHEERS..


----------



## Lt. Beef

Yeah I tested it with my ol reliable 8800GT and it failed with it as well.

Kinda odd that putting in a simple Wireless card can kill my motherboard but I guess my luck is just that good.

Thanks for confirming anyhow.


----------



## davidzam

Hi.. i wan't to report the fallowing, i have MOBO MSI P45 Neo (oldie) I use to have an overclock af 3.8 ghz estable... have to raise V values such as as Northbrige and southbrige, to manage certain estability, i updated the bios yesterday and have to set all mi configuration to defaults values, for obvious reasons. But the extrangest thing happen, mi old values dind't work anymore, so i just simply raise the multiplier to 445 to achive 4ghz and every automated option, intel eist ect, disabled, and every other voltage left on automatic (VC, NB, SB, RAM all of them) to start from scratch (bummer!!!)... amazingly my PC restarted and manage to work on 4ghz, even better, my RAM's now work perfectly under a overclock of 1066... 10 °C more tough... but estable as hell... what a bios! 6 hours and still working, try it whit all my games DIRT3, COD Black Ops, F1 2010, Crisys II, and everything is working like a charm. is that posible? i also ran Prime for two hours no problem...

minimun temp: 45 °C
Max Temp: 85 °C

Gona have to change mi case, for better ventilation, couse my Armor is a bit crowdy...

Sorry for my english... Everything a said before is possible? simply by upgrading the BIOS... Thanks.


----------



## ericeod

Looks like I'll be updating this thread over the next week or two. I am doing a build for a friend and picked up a Rampage Formula from Geek deals for $45. It will be interesting to see how much has changed in the last year or two.

Build is as follows:
G.Skill 2x2Gb DDR2 900 cas 4 or Corsair 2x2Gb DDR2 800 cas 5
Q6600 (SLCR)
XFX 6850 w/ Arctic Cooler Twin Turbo Pro
1Tb Samsung F3 spinpoint


----------



## spacegoast

Got my old P5E with a Q6600 running in a friends HTPC right now. Still runs like a champ.


----------



## Wakizashis

Hello,
while I am stable q6600(ocz vendetta2+noiseblockers) on 3,4ghz with ok temp I would like to try more. Problem is, that known 9*400 is not stable here. in windows it is ok, but under stress test, it blows in few secs. I have read somewhere that he had problems with this setting and tried 8*450, which was stable for him. The problem is my P5e wont even post, when the rams are over 800 (and they must be because divider). Those are OCZ platinum 2x2GB and OCZ Reaper 2x2 cerfied 1000mhz with 2,1V. Bios of mobo is 1201 Ithink now. Any idea, where is the problem? I have tried NB on 1,5 max.


----------



## Intimidator

Oha, this thread is quiet old, guess it started when this boards came out. In my case the P5E is still here and running, its been so good that i've needed to upgrade yet.

Had a E8400 running at 3,6GHz and i only needed to change the FSB to 400MHz

Now i've a Q6600 on it and its running also at 3,6GHz but i had to change the Vcore to 1,40v, belive its stable but still testing, any advice on it?

The board is with the last bios, it updated itself to 1201

My Cooler is a Corsair H50 btw. with pushpull, for now from the inside of the case to the outside.

Will try and get to 4GHz but no idea if it will take it, any advice on those settings?


----------



## Aleslammer

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wakizashis*
> 
> Hello,
> while I am stable q6600(ocz vendetta2+noiseblockers) on 3,4ghz with ok temp I would like to try more. Problem is, that known 9*400 is not stable here. in windows it is ok, but under stress test, it blows in few secs. I have read somewhere that he had problems with this setting and tried 8*450, which was stable for him. The problem is my P5e wont even post, when the rams are over 800 (and they must be because divider). Those are OCZ platinum 2x2GB and OCZ Reaper 2x2 cerfied 1000mhz with 2,1V. Bios of mobo is 1201 Ithink now. Any idea, where is the problem? I have tried NB on 1,5 max.


Relax the transaction booster, board has problems with some menory straps not posting. Flash to the Rampage Formula BIOS.


----------



## Wakizashis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aleslammer*
> 
> Relax the transaction booster, board has problems with some menory straps not posting. Flash to the Rampage Formula BIOS.


Hello,
thanks for the tip, I have tried tr. boost with p5e bios and 0 settings and it did not help. When I flash it to Rampage, then I should do the same and change skew? Thanks.


----------



## ericeod

Can you please post your bios settings from the Extreme Tweaker section. Also, what is your "Common Performance Level" set to?


----------



## Wakizashis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> Can you please post your bios settings from the Extreme Tweaker section. Also, what is your "Common Performance Level" set to?


Hello,
was this refering to me, or the guy´s question above me?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wakizashis*
> 
> Hello,
> was this refering to me, or the guy´s question above me?


Sorry Wakizashis yes, I was referring to your post. Can you please list your settingsa. Also make sure the common performance is set loose, to like 10 or 11 for now, then tighten it back down and check for stability. I've found this particular setting to cause issues if people have it set too low.


----------



## Wakizashis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> Sorry Wakizashis yes, I was referring to your post. Can you please list your settingsa. Also make sure the common performance is set loose, to like 10 or 11 for now, then tighten it back down and check for stability. I've found this particular setting to cause issues if people have it set too low.


Hello and thanks. Here are few screens. Ram are certified for 2,[email protected] and you can see lower values for ram (though, I guess for that, even nominal of 1,8v would be ok for 800mhz), the mobo is overvolting RAM a bit for about 0,053v, if I remember well (but tried to reach 2,1v).

CPU_GTL is ,63, but from what I have read, it is more near to ,67 (which cannot be manually raised for the p5e)

I have also tried to raise NB for 1,5v, to have spreads disabled, and also LoadCali to have on (I have pencil modded board, so vDroop is non from Vdrop now)

Thanks for any tips =)

PS.: maybe you have ment RF bios. If yeah, I will gladly make them, so much more settings. i will try 803 bios today (people are saying it is probably the best)

set of p5e images
http://imageshack.us/g/809/pict0013m.jpg/

set of RF 803bios (i really could change the ram for 999 now and system is booting normal, thanks!)

Still, the core 3 error was detected with occt (small test) after about 20 minut, so any hints what should raised, changed?
http://imageshack.us/g/638/pict0017jn.jpg/

Edit: now I see that RF Bios has CPU GTL ,67 which is surely cool, I like also fast HW monitor check and more voltages but what really scares me is the amount of options for ram. and Extreme tweaking overall. Oh my...


----------



## ericeod

Your settings do look good in the bios. And getting 450 FSB shoud be reachable with your system without too high of NB voltage. If you look in the first post, I pushed 423 FSB with a Q6700 quad and only needed 1.45v to the NB. What I recommend you do is set your CPU multi down to the lowest (x6). Than work on pushing your FSB to 450 and see what voltages and GTL you need, as well as getitng the ram stable. What this does is takes the CPU clock speed out of the equation, and allows you to focus on dialing in and finind your max FSB (or at least reach a target FSB you already have in mind).

Here is a section from the first page of this thread showing my Q6700 OC:

Quote:


> 65nm Quad core OC bios settings: Q6700 at 423 FSB (RF bios)
> 
> Note that I am able to run the ram undervolted at 1.8v. Many of you will be using ram that requires 2.1v to run at DDR2 1066 speeds.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Note there are different Transaction Booster settings for the X48 bios. So these settings are for the Rampage Formula and the P5E Deluxe bios. All voltages are universal throughout the X38 and X48 DDR2 line:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When dialing in the ram, start with 5-5-5-15-auto-65
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Note when dialing in an OC, set the Transaction Booster to 10
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This vcore and FSB Termination Voltage are for a 65nm quad. For 45nm quads, try to set vcore around 1.3625v (can go higher in bios as long as actual in windows is no higher the 1.3625v) and FSB termination voltage to 1.30v (1.4v and higher are considered dangerous for the CPU)


----------



## Wakizashis

Hello,
thanks for the post. My q6600 G0 SLACR is 65nm, right? Was little confused, because I know I use bit higher volts for FSB term. 1.36 is safe max for 65nm, I think. 45nm cannot stand so much. Correct me, if I am wrong. I am using NB at 1,41 normally, so do you think 1,45 could be better? I thought it would be a best idea to have relatively high voltages on NB (1,5, GTL 1,36), so I could be quite sure, the limit is CPU. I am not very comfortable with volts of 1,5V into my cpu, even it is recommended max temp for air and my cooling is quite nice, I would say. Tr. Booster is set to 11 or 15 (not sure now). Ref Cycle is on auto, but in the system it shows 75, I think.

So that I have to try lower multiplicator and reach higher FSB for better V values for other circuits. All relations are noted in the table in start, right? Thank you for your time.

I would also like to ask you something. I see CPU voltage reference ,63 in your screen. Is that for 45nm cpu? So the ,67 I have set in RF bios for my quad is right one?

Thanks.


----------



## ericeod

The safe max for the Q6600 (it is 65nm) is 1.5v! These CPUs are like tanks:
http://ark.intel.com/products/29765/Intel-Core2-Quad-Processor-Q6600-(8M-Cache-2_40-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB)










As for the GTL, I was using 67 for quads. It always seemed to work for me, and there was a reason, I just can't remember... its been a while since I used a similar setup.


----------



## Wakizashis

Hello again,
thank you for nice info. I tried the way of lower multi, to get FSB wall, and I still cannot reach that 3,6... There should not be a problem with FSB as low multi and very high FSB was ok and stable. So I think I will be very happy for those 3,4 and more in future, when I buy ATI 79** or 78** or maybe 69**, not decided how much I will spend for GC.

Now I will slowly try to reduce voltages on some parts to lowet temps and have stable 3,4GHZ.

Also I would very like to thank you for the settings of Performace, so I am able to have my Rams with 1000MHZ or maybe more, but have not tried that. Thank you and wishing you all great Winter Holidays. =)


----------



## Ragsters

Can someone help me get my system stable. I recently aquired 2 more sticks of mushkin 1066Mhz ram and can not get my system stable with 4 sticks installed. Do I need to up my NB or maybe loosen my CPL? What settings usually need to be changed when going from 2 to 4 sticks?


----------



## Frozenclock

Hi, since this is such a huge thread I thought I should ask for some help here. I bought the P5E Deluxe about 1.5 years ago, brand new (rest of the system is in sig). Been running fine since then as my main rig. However, I've decided to upgrade my CPU to a Q9450 as I want more cores. Now I'm curious, what's most likely to hold me back when I'm aiming for max 24/7 CPU speed?

CPU FSB wall?
Motherboard FSB wall?
Vcore wall, ie more than 1.3625V not recommended?

Or something else? I know that with my current CPU, my RAM can do 1000 MHz @ 5-5-5-18 timings and 2.0 volts, which means I should be able to do 500 FSB without memory holding me back, correct? And I'm also curious to what speed the CPU might be able to do? And yes I know it varies from CPU to CPU but I mean what should I be expecting/aiming for? And is there any little things/tweaks I should know about?


----------



## ericeod

The max FSB will hold you back. The X48 chipset is only able to push the FSB so far, and it is a little more difficult with quad cores. You will find you need a lot of voltage to the northbridge to get a FSB above 470. With the latest Rampage Formula (bios can be cross flashed to the P5E Deluxe) I was able to push 490 FSB, but it still took a lot of voltage to the NB. The P45 was the magic chipset that really allowed high FSB speeds for quad core OCing. The Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3 series is an example of a great quad core OCing motherboard. You will see 525+ FSB OCs with it.

As for the DDR2 1000 memory, yes it will help you OC. They will allow you to thoretically reach 500 FSB.


----------



## Frozenclock

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> The max FSB will hold you back. The X48 chipset is only able to push the FSB so far, and it is a little more difficult with quad cores. You will find you need a lot of voltage to the northbridge to get a FSB above 470. With the latest Rampage Formula (bios can be cross flashed to the P5E Deluxe) I was able to push 490 FSB, but it still took a lot of voltage to the NB. The P45 was the magic chipset that really allowed high FSB speeds for quad core OCing. The Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3 series is an example of a great quad core OCing motherboard. You will see 525+ FSB OCs with it.
> As for the DDR2 1000 memory, yes it will help you OC. They will allow you to thoretically reach 500 FSB.


Thanks for the reply. What was the maximum safe NB Voltage again? And I mean for an aircooled 24/7 setup obviously, and the Fortress FT02 should provide really good cooling for the northbridge, don't you think?

But I'm surprised at your claim that the chipset will be the limting factor. Now I know I only use an old 65nm dual core and 45nm quads puts a much higher load on the chipset, but I can reach 500FSB with stock NB Voltage (1.25V), maybe even higher but that's something I can't verify because my memory doesn't go higher than 1000 MHz. Gonna try aiming higher tonight though, so we'll see but I doubt it will go any higher than that.

One last thing, how much higher can I go on the FSB if I flash in the RF BIOS?


----------



## ericeod

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Frozenclock*
> 
> Thanks for the reply. What was the maximum safe NB Voltage again? And I mean for an aircooled 24/7 setup obviously, and the Fortress FT02 should provide really good cooling for the northbridge, don't you think?
> But I'm surprised at your claim that the chipset will be the limting factor. Now I know I only use an old 65nm dual core and 45nm quads puts a much higher load on the chipset, but I can reach 500FSB with stock NB Voltage (1.25V), maybe even higher but that's something I can't verify because my memory doesn't go higher than 1000 MHz. Gonna try aiming higher tonight though, so we'll see but I doubt it will go any higher than that.
> One last thing, how much higher can I go on the FSB if I flash in the RF BIOS?


Dual core OCing and quad core OCing are 2 different animals. I used to believe the same as you that if a dual core could do 500+ FSB, so could a quad core. But it makes a huge difference. As for the NB voltage, I wouldnt try and push it past 1.55v with air. I think 1.65v is good for WCing though.

As for flashing to the RF bios, you will be able to tweak the ram much more, and you will have finer tunning of your bios settings.


----------



## Frozenclock

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> Dual coreOCing and quad core OCing are 2 different animals. I used to believe the same as you that id a dual core could do 500+ FSB, so could a quad core. But it makes a huge difference. As for the NB voltage, I wouldnt try and push it past 1.55v with air. I think 1.65v is good for WCing though.
> As for flasjing to the RF bios, you will be able to tweak the ram much more, and you will have finer tonning of your bios settings.


Thanks a lot. But I have some bigger problems at the moment unfortunately. I just installed the Q9450, but my temps were really weird, so I reinstalled the cooler. These are the temps I got.










Notice the max temps, I got those when I ran Intel Burn Test. This was with stock settings and auto vcore, with VID being 1.2375V according to Real Temp. I went into the BIOS and changed only the vcore to 1.3875V, I touched nothing else. Here are the results, using IBT to load the CPU once again.










So it looks like none of the temp sensors are working, right? So I don't have any kind info or reference point as to how hot I'm running









And also, I have no idea what I'm going to do with LLC. From your first post, I tried reading the links you posted to XS where some people were arguing about the subject, but I'm still uncertain about the issue as to whether or not LLC degrades the CPU. What would you (or anyone else reading this post) suggest, enabled or disabled?
And I would like to keep this CPU for maybe 2-4 years, can't really afford a new system atm.

BTW, I just ran a short test on IBT @ 400 FSB on stock NB voltage and it seems stable. Gonna keep the multi at 6 and try finding max FSB.


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## ericeod

It looks like you have stuck sensors. run prime 95 and see when the sensors start working. usually once the temps get above where it is stuck (in your case seems to be about 60°C), it will work accurately. As for LLC, you should be OK to use it as long as you dont have the vcore set near the absolute max. If you have a mild vcore OC, the LLC should not spike too high. And as for FSB, with the latest RF bios, I was able to push a Q9650 FSB to about 490 FSB. I had to give a lot of NB voltage, and I was WCing the NB though. You should aim for a 470 FSB.


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## Frozenclock

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> It looks like you have stuck sensors. run prime 95 and see when the sensors start working. usually once the temps get above where it is stuck (in your case seems to be about 60°C), it will work accurately. As for LLC, you should be OK to use it as long as you dont have the vcore set near the absolute max. If you have a mild vcore OC, the LLC should not spike too high. And as for FSB, with the latest RF bios, I was able to push a Q9650 FSB to about 490 FSB. I had to give a lot of NB voltage, and I was WCing the NB though. You should aim for a 470 FSB.


In both of the screenshots I posted above I ran IBT for a while, to see if the sensors would start moving. The difference between the screenshots is that in the above one, vcore was set to auto, meaning it should be 1.2375V since that's my VID according to RT. The second screenshot however was taken when running a vcore of 1.3875V, or that's what I set it to in the BIOS anyway. And as you can see if your looking at the maximum values, core 0 shows an increase of 3 degrees, core 1 shows 8 degrees and core 2 & 3 shows 1 degree increase. That doesn't sound correct to me considering the huge increase in voltage, does it?

Regarding the FSB, I got it stable at 458 x 7 using 1.45V on the NB, 1.70V CPU PLL, 1.36V FSB Termination voltage, although I might be able to go lower. So my next plan was to try and reach that same 458 FSB using a multi of 8. Settings so far:

Aiming for 413 x 8 here...

Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
CPU Ratio Control : auto
FSB Frequency : 413
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 400
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: 826
DRAM Command Rate : auto
DRAM Timing Control: auto

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister : Auto
Transaction Booster : Auto

CPU Voltage : 1.375
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.70
North Bridge Voltage : 1.45
DRAM Voltage : 1.8v
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.36
South Bridge Voltage : Minimum (1.5 maybe?)
Loadline Calibration : Disabled
CPU GTL Reference : .63x
North Bridge GTL Reference : .67x
SB 1.5V Voltage : AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

Those settings are stable. Next I tried 425 x 8, so I upped vcore to 1.3875 which gives me 1.368V @ idle according to CPU-Z. This was a no go, IBT freezed after 5 seconds. Tried different CPU and NB GTL settings including auto. Tried all different Ai Clock Twister settings, and NOTHING. Gonna try playing around with DRAM static read control and *maybe* LLC, although I really wouldn't want to since I found a recent thread about it on XS, and it seemed like a lot of people was against using it, saying that causes degradation.

If none of this works, I don't know what to do. Intel spec for the CPU clearly says max vcore = 1.3625 and I'm already slightly above it @ idle. Looks like the guy who sold the CPU had OC it quite a lot and has degraded as a result, even though he claimed he had never OC it before, and I asked him AFTER i bought it so I don't see the reason for him to lie.


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## ericeod

I bet the memory's "Common Performance Level" is not set correctly. The higher the number, the easier it is to get stable. And at the higher FSB speeds, you will need to set it from 9-11. I recommend setting it to 11 for now. Also, what is the actual vcore in windows under load as reported by CPU-Z?


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## Frozenclock

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> I bet the memory's "Common Performance Level" is not set correctly. The higher the number, the easier it is to get stable. And at the higher FSB speeds, you will need to set it from 9-11. I recommend setting it to 11 for now. Also, what is the actual vcore in windows under load as reported by CPU-Z?


The settings I posted above were correct except vcore which I set to 1.3875V in the BIOS. And tRD which was set to auto, is actually set at 11 as you suggested. Tried this today and it seems fairly stable, altough maybe not 100%. I don't think it's the chipset or memory holding me back, I think it's the CPU. Regarding the vcore, when I set it to 1.3875 in the BIOS with LLC disabled I get 1.368 @ idle in windows according to CPU-Z. At load using IBT it drops to 1.304...that's not too good is it?

It all seems so weird, like it works sometimes with one setting, and when I try the same setting an hour later, it crashes. Anyway, considering the vdroop I get I think I'm gonna try enabling LLC and lower the vcore to something which gives me something like 1.310 under load, maybe 1.33. How does that sound?


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## ericeod

Your LLC idea sounds good. I think the real issue with the dangerous spike which the voltage drop is designed to compensate for is when people are already maxed out on their vcore, and enable LLC. If you have a lower operating vcore like 1.325v for example, LLC should be fine.


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## Frozenclock

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> Your LLC idea sounds good. I think the real issue with the dangerous spike which the voltage drop is designed to compensate for is when people are already maxed out on their vcore, and enable LLC. If you have a lower operating vcore like 1.325v for example, LLC should be fine.


Well, I tried enabling LLC. Can't remember what voltage I set it to in the BIOS, but I was idling at 1.344 and under load it would drop to 1.312 most of the time and sometimes 1.304 so I would have to raise vcore even higher, but I don't think I will. Wanna keep this system as it is for a few years, which means I'm gonna back it down to a measly 3.2 GHz, which sucks








If I even can get that stable that is...

Currently in windows at 458 x 7 and I'm about to start stress testing, so we'll see how it goes. Gonna try recording temps since I lapped the CPU today, even though it doesn't seem like heat is the problem.

BTW, when I switched CPU I didn't reinstall Windows or anything, and I mean I did absolutely NOTHING. Just took out the old CPU, installed the new one and that's it. It can't be as simple as a software problem, can it?


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## ericeod

The system should have updated the CPU drivers (Device manager automatically does this). I would just check the task manager and make sure all 4 cores are working (click the Performance tab).


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## DChat

Sorry to revive this old thread, but this seems to be the place to ask questions about the P5E +Rampage bios









Tested with Prime95 x64 version 266

500 fsb x6, 6.5, 7 and 7.5 multiplier are all stable with these settings. Unfortunately, x8 isn't. Worker 2 fails after 6 minutes, but Worker 1 kept going through the night. Quite odd if you ask me.. hehe.

Anyone able to give their 2c's as to what could be causing Worker 2 to fail? I'd love to get this stable and then try for a x8.5 multiplier run.

Ai Tweaker

Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
CPU Ratio Setting: 8
FSB Frequency: 500
FSB Strap to North Bridge: 333
PCIE Frequency: 100

DRAM Frequency: 1000
DRAM Command Rate: 2n
DRAM Timing Control: manual (5-5-5-15-auto-45)
DRAM Static Read Control: disabled
Ai Clock Twister: Moderate
Ai Transaction Booster: Manual
Common Performace Level: 11

VCORE Voltage: 1.3875V
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.52V
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.36V
DRAM Voltage: 1.94V
North Bridge Voltage: 1.42
South Bridge Voltage: Auto

Loadline Calibration: Enabled
CPU GTL Voltage Reference: 0.63
NB GTL voltage Reference: 0.67
SB 1.5V Voltage: Auto

CPU Spread Spectrum: Enabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Enabled

Advanced CPU Settings

CPU Ratio Setting: 8
C1E Support: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Disabled
Vanderpool Technology: Disabled
Execute Disable Bit: Enabled
Max CPU Value Limit: Disabled


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## ericeod

It could be as simple as your CPU isn't stable at that speed and voltage. If you have been able to pass stability testing with 500 FSB at lower multis, the FSB should be stable at the higher multi. But the one factor is the increased clock speed. I would bump your vcore (assuming you are OK with going further past the 1.3625v vcore Intel lists as the max VID) and see if that helps stabalize the system. Your GTL, FSB Term and PLL look fine.


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## DChat

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericeod*
> 
> It could be as simple as your CPU isn't stable at that speed and voltage. If you have been able to pass stability testing with 500 FSB at lower multis, the FSB should be stable at the higher multi. But the one factor is the increased clock speed. I would bump your vcore (assuming you are OK with going further past the 1.3625v vcore Intel lists as the max VID) and see if that helps stabalize the system. Your GTL, FSB Term and PLL look fine.


Thanks Eric!
But even up to 1.4V didn't stable it out. So...
Set Vcore back to 1.38, raised PLL to 1.56 and NB to 1.45 and no errors what so ever last night!

Been trying all morning to get 4.26Ghz stable at 1.45V (1.462 in bios) but it's not happening. System will boot fine, doesn't feel sluggish at all, but Prime95 large FFT test stops after 2 minutes on both workers. Looks like I need more juice on the core but 1.45V was the highest i'd go for everyday use.


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