ASUS P5N-E SLI

schizo said:
Can anyone recommend cooling for the south and northbridge? I was thinking this to passively cool the southbridge (would it block anything?) and attaching something like this to the northbridge somehow. Not sure how, maybe by wedging in some screws or using zipties. Any suggestions?

The choice is between a p5b-deluxe non-wifi and this board, by the way... finally zeroing in on my c2d purchase after months of adding stuff to my newegg cart and going no, no, not yet... yeah I'm one of those guys.
Click to expand...

i ordered this http://www.jab-tech.com/Thermalright-HR-05-pr-3350.html to cool my northbridge so i dont have to add any more noisy fans. considering how big the current heatsink is, this should not impede anything.

i bought a similar looking heatsink as that zalman for the southbridge, also from jab-tech, but black for 5 bucks. dont think that would need anything more.

from looking at the board layout though, if you are going sli that southbridge heatsink will block the GC. i could care less about sli so it doesnt matter to me.

ill have my stuff on friday-monday so ill know then how it all fits, but im pretty sure it will be fine.
 
I'm planning on running the mobo at stock and bringing an e6400 to 3.2ghz. Did you run into any problems with heat when running an 800MHz fsb? If I have to go out and get after market parts to cool the board, that mitigates the excellent price point and makes pricier boards like the P5B Deluxe a better option given the richer feature set.
 
wolfhero said:
Also, most people don't even use the 2nd lan connection unless you use your computer as internet gateway or connection shairing. Really, what are the % of people using that?

Why waste money on the extra motherboard component?
Click to expand...

Seconded. I just can't see the utility of more than one LAN port on any workstation in any environment, business or home. ICS sucks, take the money you save on the motherboard without this "feature" and buy a SOHO router and you get a wireless access point as a free bonus!

If you are building a machine to use as a gateway or server (and really a gateway is just a specialized type of server) that's a different story, but then why buy an enthusiast motherboard in the first place?
 
Buyer beware. This board needs a BIOS upgrade.

The shipping BIOS is 0202, at this BIOS release it has all the stability of a bridge built on quicksand.

I bought 2 [2 systems to upgrade] and have spent the last couple of weeks on debugging. To see a journal of my trials look here

mb debug
 
damn it, if it had one more SATA port and an opitcal out port I would be all over this. Now its going to be a tough call...
 
isparkes said:
Buyer beware. This board needs a BIOS upgrade.

The shipping BIOS is 0202, at this BIOS release it has all the stability of a bridge built on quicksand.

I bought 2 [2 systems to upgrade] and have spent the last couple of weeks on debugging. To see a journal of my trials look here

mb debug
Click to expand...

So, the old review board secret BIOS sauce trick... ASUS had better get that 0403 out to the masses pronto...

P.S. I read your other thread link. Really, debugging a possible PSU problem by buying another video card? I understand what you were trying to do, but it's not a valid test. I've read the NewEgg reviews of the Sonata case with the included PSU and they all say the PSU is a piece of trash. You have to beg, borrow, or steal a different make/model of PSU and see if it changes anything.

If you have a Best Buy near you, do what I did once: Go in and buy one of their Antec Truepower (not Smartpower) PSUs, 480 watt or better, take it home and try it. If it doesn't work, take it back for a full refund. Just tell them it didn't solve your problem. I did that once when I was trying to fix what turned out to be a bad video card, they gave me a refund without batting an eye.
 
Did anyone ever try calling up Asus and asking for the Beta Bios?

I'm gonna do this tomorrow and see how far I get.

BTW what's the stock LDT multi supposed to be? 5x? And would that make the FSB 5 x 266 at stock?
Thanks!
 
If you call Asus tech support (bios department is 502-271-6975) they may be able to contact engineering to see if there is another bios available. As for the LDT, i'm not really sure. The Quad Data Rate (QDR)is 4 x 266 which i think is the FSB. If anyone could elaborate, that would be great. After looking around a bit, it seems it stands for "lightning data transport", the old name for hypertransport. Sounds like it has to do with PCIe link factors.

Relentless inaccuracy is my goal, how am i doing?
 
Yea I called them up tonight and the dude gave me a e-mail address into Engineering. I saw in another thread you were having trouble with the 0307 bios. Did you try clearing the CMOS before booting up after the upgrade? Can you post that Bios btw?
 
Commander Suzdal said:
P.S. I read your other thread link. Really, debugging a possible PSU problem by buying another video card? I understand what you were trying to do, but it's not a valid test. I've read the NewEgg reviews of the Sonata case with the included PSU and they all say the PSU is a piece of trash. You have to beg, borrow, or steal a different make/model of PSU and see if it changes anything.
Click to expand...

I understand that about the PSU might be better but the point was that by replacing the power hungry 7800 GS with it's own power connection, with a cheapo card. The power requirements for the system dropped significantly. Add that to a calculated need for around 280W, suggest that it isn't a PSU issue

The Case + PSU have been running the same Cards {Video+Audigy 2] for a year now. Changing to this MB and new CPU shouldn't change it that much, certainly at idle [or close to it] loadings. Old MB was Epox and an AMD 3700+ cpu. Case isn''t Sonata it's the SLK 3800B but that does have the Smartpower.

I looked at the reviews and some complain about DOA but seems to be ok if it works. To be honest I''ve had no failure problems with Antec PSUs for 4 years now and my systems run just about 24/7.

I needed the video anyway as will be using old MB as basis for fileserver
 
isparkes said:
I understand that about the PSU might be better but the point was that by replacing the power hungry 7800 GS with it's own power connection, with a cheapo card. The power requirements for the system dropped significantly. Add that to a calculated need for around 280W, suggest that it isn't a PSU issue.
Click to expand...

As I said above, I understand your thinking but it still isn't a valid test. The portion of the guts of a PSU that is stressed by feeding power to a video card is different from those that are stressed by feeding chipsets, slots, CPUs, etc. You are running an old PSU with a completely new motherboard/CPU architecture, with different demands and tolerances. If you lower the power draw from the video card but the problem is that your PSU isn't up to the demands of the northbridge or the CPU, you haven't solved anything. Total system power draw is composed of many different and unequal parts, any one of which may expose a previously hidden weakness in your PSU.

With all of that said, it is most likely a problem with the new motherboard itself. But changing the video card to validate the PSU doesn't work. It's like changing your spark plugs in order to diagnose your fuel injectors. The car may or may not run better, but if there's a problem with the injectors you haven't done anything to find or fix it.

Case isn''t Sonata it's the SLK 3800B but that does have the Smartpower.
Click to expand...

All right. I based that on this statement from your other thread: "I have a Antec Sonata case with a 400w supply in it."

To be honest I''ve had no failure problems with Antec PSUs for 4 years now and my systems run just about 24/7.
Click to expand...

Me too. I don't quite understand the anti-Antec tone on that other board, my PSU is a Truepower 430 and my impression from review sites has always been that they are a premium quality brand. But there does seem to be a spotty track record for the Smartpower series.

Bottom Line: Borrow a PSU from a retailer with a good return policy. It costs you nothing (unlike the video card) and you will know for sure what you're dealing with.

But that's just my opinion, and I'm only trying to help, so if you don't care to, peace...
 
JonDoms said:
Yea I called them up tonight and the dude gave me a e-mail address into Engineering. I saw in another thread you were having trouble with the 0307 bios. Did you try clearing the CMOS before booting up after the upgrade? Can you post that Bios btw?
Click to expand...

Well, it certainly was the most stubborn upgrade to date, complicated by the no boot issue. I cleared cmos and pulled the battery but it didnt come back to life until i unplugged the psup, removed the battery, moved cmos jumper, then normalized. Then it was happy to be 0202 again. I don't have the stomach to retry 0307 ATM. Dunno what the hell went wrong the first time. Lemme know if you have better luck.
 
Commander Suzdal said:
As I said above, I understand your thinking but it still isn't a valid test. The portion of the guts of a PSU that is stressed by feeding power to a video card is different from those that are stressed by feeding chipsets, slots, CPUs, etc. You are running an old PSU with a completely new motherboard/CPU architecture, with different demands and tolerances. If you lower the power draw from the video card but the problem is that your PSU isn't up to the demands of the northbridge or the CPU, you haven't solved anything. Total system power draw is composed of many different and unequal parts, any one of which may expose a previously hidden weakness in your PSU.
.
Click to expand...

Ok, now I understand, I wasn't trying to be contentious. I hadn't thought of that and I should have duh.

My main reason for thinking it wasn't a PSU issue [and not having one to test with] was that it was running just fine on the old setup. The new parts shouldn't change the power requirements that much, particularly at idle.

Have new MB [p965 based] arriving soon, will see if that works. If that has problems then I will bite the bullet and order new PSU
 
Bought this board as well...primarily because of the myriad of problems that currently plague the 680i. Have really never overclocked and was interested in what settings should be made in bios to reach ~3.0gHz. I have

e6600
p5n-E
2Gb PC2-6400 currently set to 4-4-4-12 2.1V
2x 7800GTX
XFI Extreme

I guess i'm interested in a laundry list of what to set (link/unlink memory..1:1? etc.)

I already have the memory set just don't know where to start on the CPU:confused:
 
helix said:
Bought this board as well...primarily because of the myriad of problems that currently plague the 680i. Have really never overclocked and was interested in what settings should be made in bios to reach ~3.0gHz. I have

e6600
p5n-E
2Gb PC2-6400 currently set to 4-4-4-12 2.1V
2x 7800GTX
XFI Extreme

I guess i'm interested in a laundry list of what to set (link/unlink memory..1:1? etc.)

I already have the memory set just don't know where to start on the CPU:confused:
Click to expand...

I will have the exact same setup with an 8800 GTX once I install my new p5n-e this weekend. I am very curious to see how well this board OC's. If anyone else is OCing this board could they post their bios setup to help us get dialed in. Tnx :)
 
On the asus forums for this board, http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N-E+SLI&board_id=1

There are a couple of good recommendations to set this board up. First off, we're all stuck with bios 0202 ATM (at least no update on the asus site) so the sli/epp profiles don't work yet. But you can set that up yourself.

First off - for dual channel memory, use the two black slots (not the yellow ones) This was recommended for stability - I'll vouche for that

Second- for ddr2 800 use the following settings (according to your memory) 4-4-4-12 2t OR 5-5-5-15-2t Everything else leave on auto - it is important at this stage in the bios revision you stick to these conventions despite what you memory is rated for.

I'm able to run a 2.66 core2 (e6700) easily to 3ghz at a 1333mhz FSB and the memory at 1000DDR (500mhz) This is accomplised by selecting the "linked" under the jumperfree options and running the NB at 1.39volts, cpu 1.325volts, and ddr2 at 2.2 (recommended settings from crucial). I was not successful in running these settings until I bumped the NB voltage to 1.39 - it is rumored that this board will support 1333mhz fsb when cpu's become available, so I left it in auto until I read the forums - then viola! As far as heat goes, the NB/CPU/Mobo temps aren't much different running at 1333fsb vs 1066.

I had previously posted my score in 3dmark06, but now it's a tad better,
10,775 score
3Ghz core 2 (linked 1333mhz *9 / 1000 memory)
Crucial balistix pc8000 (1000ddr @ 5-5-5-15-2T)
8800GTX (evga)
Maxtor SATA 250gb
Silverstone 750watt SLI

Here is also a tidbit from nvidia's 600 series overclocking guide

Disable Limiting Features
Before you begin overclocking your system, you must first disable a few features
that would prevent your system from reaching its maximum potential. More
specifically, the following BIOS settings must be disabled:
q CPU Thermal Control
q C1E Enhance Halt State
q Intel Speedstep
Some motherboards have these disabled by default, but it is always good to double
check. The following procedure demonstrates how to disable these features:
1. Enter the BIOS by restarting your computer and pressing DEL during POST.
2. Navigate to the Advanced Chipset Features „ CPU Configuration menu.
3. Set CPU Thermal Control to Disable as shown in Figure 3.
4. Set C1E Enhanced Halt State to Disable as shown in Figure 3.

Hope this helped, check out the forum for some user experiences. I still love the board, despite some bios goofups on my part - needs improvement but there is a recipe for success.
 
So......... Is the bios in Morrys review available yet,and if not why ? A bios can make or break a good board,and it irks me a little,to know [H] reviewed it with a bios that is not available to the general public,after giving it a great review.No fault of [H] of course,but this does reflect badly on Asus for sure.
 
Manny Calavera said:
So......... Is the bios in Morrys review available yet,and if not why ? A bios can make or break a good board,and it irks me a little,to know [H] reviewed it with a bios that is not available to the general public,after giving it a great review.No fault of [H] of course,but this does reflect badly on Asus for sure.
Click to expand...



Agreed! Wassup [H]?
 
well my rig is kickin some ass about now.

i had a really weird xp setup problem where xp setup would not let me create an xp-worthy install partition. it would let me partition but htne tell me that the partition was not ready for xp.

after a bunch of tries to fix this with a suggested linux booting cd partion device that failed.

i threw an old ide drive in my old rig, made a 11gb ntfs partition on it - then threw it on my new rig and started up xp install (slipstreamed sp2) it installe dlike a charm. i am oc'ing this now, chillin at 3.2 with minimal adjustments. ill post specs later.

im lovin it now after 10 hours of being ticked off at bill gates and nvidia but i outsmarted that bastard..
 
Having a problem OCing. I have memory set to 4-4-4-12 2.2V and it appears rock solid.
Memory is also in the black slots.

However when i try setting the NB/CPU volt and then setting linked/1333FSB it can't post. I'm assuming this is because it is a E6600 and not a 6700. What kind of FSB should i try with a 6600. Would playing with the multiplier help?

Also should anything like spread spectrum be set for LDT/SATA? There are a whole host of settings that would be interesting to find out what they do and whether they are worth changing from the default.


helix




superfire said:
On the asus forums for this board, http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N-E+SLI&board_id=1

There are a couple of good recommendations to set this board up. First off, we're all stuck with bios 0202 ATM (at least no update on the asus site) so the sli/epp profiles don't work yet. But you can set that up yourself.

First off - for dual channel memory, use the two black slots (not the yellow ones) This was recommended for stability - I'll vouche for that

Second- for ddr2 800 use the following settings (according to your memory) 4-4-4-12 2t OR 5-5-5-15-2t Everything else leave on auto - it is important at this stage in the bios revision you stick to these conventions despite what you memory is rated for.

I'm able to run a 2.66 core2 (e6700) easily to 3ghz at a 1333mhz FSB and the memory at 1000DDR (500mhz) This is accomplised by selecting the "linked" under the jumperfree options and running the NB at 1.39volts, cpu 1.325volts, and ddr2 at 2.2 (recommended settings from crucial). I was not successful in running these settings until I bumped the NB voltage to 1.39 - it is rumored that this board will support 1333mhz fsb when cpu's become available, so I left it in auto until I read the forums - then viola! As far as heat goes, the NB/CPU/Mobo temps aren't much different running at 1333fsb vs 1066.

I had previously posted my score in 3dmark06, but now it's a tad better,
10,775 score
3Ghz core 2 (linked 1333mhz *9 / 1000 memory)
Crucial balistix pc8000 (1000ddr @ 5-5-5-15-2T)
8800GTX (evga)
Maxtor SATA 250gb
Silverstone 750watt SLI

Here is also a tidbit from nvidia's 600 series overclocking guide

Disable Limiting Features
Before you begin overclocking your system, you must first disable a few features
that would prevent your system from reaching its maximum potential. More
specifically, the following BIOS settings must be disabled:
q CPU Thermal Control
q C1E Enhance Halt State
q Intel Speedstep
Some motherboards have these disabled by default, but it is always good to double
check. The following procedure demonstrates how to disable these features:
1. Enter the BIOS by restarting your computer and pressing DEL during POST.
2. Navigate to the Advanced Chipset Features „ CPU Configuration menu.
3. Set CPU Thermal Control to Disable as shown in Figure 3.
4. Set C1E Enhanced Halt State to Disable as shown in Figure 3.

Hope this helped, check out the forum for some user experiences. I still love the board, despite some bios goofups on my part - needs improvement but there is a recipe for success.
Click to expand...
 
Good thread (and a good review [H])...I'm definately suscribing to this one. I've been planning out a possible new build which will commence, barring any financial issues, within the next few weeks. I was originally considering the DS3 for the motherboard until I read [H]'s review of the P5N-E Sli. I would have liked to go with a 680i board but I don't have that large of a budget. The 650i chipset seems to fit well. It has alot of the features of it's bigger brother but the pricepoint is much sweeter IMO. And, it gives me the option of Sli in the future if one 8800 series card (which I'm planning on for my build) doesn't cut it when DX10 games are in full swing.

I'm not too surprised that there are bios issues but hopefully they can get ironed out soon. Certainly it seems like the 650i chipset is having less issues than the 680i which has been out quite a bit longer... :rolleyes:
 
helix said:
Having a problem OCing. I have memory set to 4-4-4-12 2.2V and it appears rock solid.
Memory is also in the black slots.

However when i try setting the NB/CPU volt and then setting linked/1333FSB it can't post. I'm assuming this is because it is a E6600 and not a 6700. What kind of FSB should i try with a 6600. Would playing with the multiplier help?

Also should anything like spread spectrum be set for LDT/SATA? There are a whole host of settings that would be interesting to find out what they do and whether they are worth changing from the default.


helix
Click to expand...

One thing to keep in mind is that 1333 is the effective Quad Data Rate and the bus is actually 333mhz with a factor of four (4 x 333 = 1332)

Running at a 1333mhz fsb, the basic math for your clock speed would be:

[your cpu multiplier] x 333

In the case of an e6700 it would be 10 x 333 = 3330

In the case of an e6600 it would be (i think) 9 x 333 = 2997

So to sort out what's holding you up, I'd lower your cpu multi, to make sure 1333fsb is ok.

Also, I don't mean to confuse you or anyone, but I had stated that I selected "linked" with auto set for the fsb/mem ratio. So when I set 1333, the bios screen indicated that 999(ddr not mhz) was the resulting memory frequency BUT cpuz reported it was running at the normal 800 (despite the setup in bios reporting the resulting effective frequency would be 999). But no big deal, I selected unlinked and did 1333 for the fsb (333 x 4) and 1000 for the memory (memory rated for that) and it booted up and cpuz reflected my intended settings. So just to let you know, this is how I'm currently running my e6700 (the 6600 should be able to do the same)

e6700 @ 9 x 333 = 3ghz w/vcore at 1.35(I lowered my multi, my cooling is stock so I can't get nuts at this point)
FSB 1333 w/ NB voltage at 1.39
Mem 1000 w/ voltage at 2.25 Timings at 5-5-5-15-2t Black slots

I did the 2x prime 95 with large FFT's and ran the HDR ball demo thingy - No problems for eight hours strait.
Finishing temps were 57c on the cpu, 55 for the mobo according to PCProbe, 70c on the 8800gpu in a Lian Li v600
All stock cooling
 
if i want to break 400mhz on my FSB and run stable in windows i have to up my NB voltage to the 1.59 setting which even though i have the HR-05 on it i dont want to do. i ran it like that and i kept my hand on the heatsink for minutes while it ran orthos and it was quite warm but didnt burn my hand.

for now i have the following timings:

my memory is at 387.5FSB 1:1 ratio @ 4-4-4-12-1T . cpu speed is 3.1ghz.

my Trc in cpu-z shows 22 clocks. in bios it is under auto. can i kick that up a notch or is that ok.

ram is in black slots. v-core is at 1.35 but droops to 1.31 to 1.33. i dont even think i need this voltage really, im gonna try to go lower.

my NB is at 1.39v

orthos blend is fully stable for 30 minutes. im transferring files now so ill run more stability later.

oh and under full load it gets no hotter than 45 (cpu)
 
evilcartman said:
Good thread (and a good review [H])...I'm definately suscribing to this one. I've been planning out a possible new build which will commence, barring any financial issues, within the next few weeks. I was originally considering the DS3 for the motherboard until I read [H]'s review of the P5N-E Sli. I would have liked to go with a 680i board but I don't have that large of a budget. The 650i chipset seems to fit well. It has alot of the features of it's bigger brother but the pricepoint is much sweeter IMO. And, it gives me the option of Sli in the future if one 8800 series card (which I'm planning on for my build) doesn't cut it when DX10 games are in full swing.

I'm not too surprised that there are bios issues but hopefully they can get ironed out soon. Certainly it seems like the 650i chipset is having less issues than the 680i which has been out quite a bit longer... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


I haven't had any problems....installed and booted right up. I will probably upgrade to a 680i when their problems are fixed or (and i think this is more likely) a successor is released by nvidia...ala 690i :rolleyes:
 
Computer is running stable at 3200 with a 457 FSB with memory at 840 with 4-4-4-12-2t on e6300. I was cooling the cpu with arctic freezer 7 and now that I got my tuniq tower in, i'll probably push it past 3.4 tonight.

I had to set my vcore to the setting right about 1.4, and my nb to 1.5 setting with memory 2.2-3 .

I installed the zalman 47j heatsink cooler for my sb and it fit perfectly even though it was a pain in the ass to install. I also bought a 40mm scythe fan for the nb heatsink but I can not figure out how I am going to mount this onto the heatsink. anybody have any ideas?
 
Will screws work, maybe between the fins? Use two adjacent holes on the fan. I've done that before, not pretty but it works.
 
I recently purchased a Scythe Ninja Plus and ran into issues with the mount being obstructed by 2 capacitors. I ended up buying a $3.50 metal grinder and overcame that issue rather easily :)

Beware which way you situate the cooler as the pipes stick out more on one side and will touch your NB Heatsink..

This is the wrong way..


Right way.. sorry about the focus


The bloody capacitors are in the way!


Quick fix!


That will do..


No longer a problem


Finished, and added a Vantec cooler to the SB..
 
Nice work with the board. I'm thinking of stealing a SB cooler from a discarded a8n-sli. Let us know where that cooler gets you as far as OC's and temps. Dremel tools For the Win!
 
I was thinking about trying silicon screws to screw the fan onto the heatsink, that way the screws will be wedged inbetween the fins but they wouldnt actually cut into them.I was also considering the zalman fan mounts but I dont think they have one that fits 40mm fans.
 
i put a scythe ninja on this board with no issues at all. i also changed the nb heatsink to a TT HR-05, again with no problems.

not sure why yours didnt fit.
 
the hr05 doesnt get in the way of the heat pipes, the stock one does. I think the reason he had to modify it was because he had to rearrange the heatsink so the pipes dont touch the stock nb which is huge but doing that got the caps in the way.
thats all just speculation though.
 
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