ASUS P5W DH - Problems + Fixes Thread

[Ruud]

Hi

im soon going to be building a new rig and im using the Asus p5w and i understand the latest bios is version 2004 , if i have no problems with my new system with a older bios should i still bother to update to 2004?

Thanks

[LUCI5R]

Ave,

I was wondering if I can buy & install a Northbridge cooling for my P5W DH Deluxe? Is this something I can do? If so, can anyone suggest what I should get?

Thanks.

[lawrywild]

Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II unless you want to bodge on a HR-05 with dodgy clips

[GFORCE100]

Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II unless you want to bodge on a HR-05 with dodgy clips

I suppose one could use some screws instead of clips on the HR-05 along with some rubber washers for a firm and solid connection with the NB. I too am not a fan of the subpar plastic pegs they give us.

[~aoe~]

I suppose one could use some screws instead of clips on the HR-05 along with some rubber washers for a firm and solid connection with the NB. I too am not a fan of the subpar plastic pegs they give us.
The problem is that this board has 2 hooks and not 2 holes for fixing the NB heatsink. The retaining clip provided with the HR-05 doesn't work due to the hooks being positioned incorrectly (or the clips - depends how you look at it).

I finally got the Extreme Spirit II installed. Not the easiest to install, but does the job.

I would recommend checking the base for flatness before installing, however. I bought 2, and 1 is extremely concave. First noticed due to the reflection (lines of light radiating out from a central point) and then after installing on the SB - only the 4 corners of the SB ihs were in contact.

[bin20]

I have also this mobo, and I'm having problem when i shut down my pc ,if i touch
like the mouse or the keyboard or even cable unpluged The computer itself turns on :(

Dont know what is it ?

[~aoe~]

I have also this mobo, and I'm having problem when i shut down my pc ,if i touch
like the mouse or the keyboard or even cable unpluged it turns on :(

Dont know what is it ?
Are you using usb port 3 and/or 4 for your mouse/keyboard? (the 2 closest to the sound ports). These are used for the remote, and I've noticed that my pc will boot up if I unplug a mouse/keyboard plugged into either of these ports.

If you are using these ports, try using the other 2.

[bin20]

ok i will try what u said , i forgot to tell u I'm usin wirles keyboard and mouse, and the other ports for gamepad

[pH(x)]

I think my BIOS has been erased. It won't post but it will boot, HDD light is always on. Took out everything starting with memory, then GPU, and finally CPU. Cleared CMOS and still it doesn't post. It happened after trying to set my mem timings @ 3-2-2-5 2.35v at PC28500/1067MHz

Should I RMA it???

[lawrywild]

Use crashfree bios...

[pH(x)]

Use crashfree bios...
Yeah I tried booting with the Mobo CD inside the tray, and left on for all of 30 minutes before I powered down and started removing components. I will try again though, I've been looking for an excuse to try metal/metal contact with no thermal paste. So if this works I'll see how it's improved my temps -- if not it's a waste :(

[Locust]

I think my BIOS has been erased. It won't post but it will boot, HDD light is always on. Took out everything starting with memory, then GPU, and finally CPU. Cleared CMOS and still it doesn't post. It happened after trying to set my mem timings @ 3-2-2-5 2.35v at PC28500/1067MHz

Should I RMA it???

This happens when you try to overclock memory with setting too low steppings.(at least that's what I noticed). Most likely the reason is that the memory sticks you have need more than 2v for boot. Even after you reset CMOS the system will not boot.
Remove all memory and boot, shut off again, reset CMOS and put just 1 memory stick into B1 Socket. Boot. Adjust the memory voltage to required(most those 1066 sticks need 2.1v+). and restart again.
If that does not work, try using some older, lower voltage memory and try booting with it. once in the bios up the memory voltage, save and restart with faster memory in.
Hope this helps.

[markq4xprt]

can some one help me here

processor: e4300
P5W DH rev 1.04G
Team xtreem dark promos chips/ 4 4 4 12 as indicated on sticker 2.0-2.2v
cooling tuniq tower + delta fan triblade
north bridge hr 05 sli

---------------------
i cant seem pass to 380 fsb wall T_T vcore is almost 1.6 and the mch/fsb/ etc is set to auto


CPU Clock 3424.2 MHz (original: 1800 MHz, overclock: 90%)
CPU Multiplier 9.0x
Memory Bus 380.4 MHz
DRAM:FSB Ratio 1:1
Motherboard Chipset Intel Glenwood-DG i975X
Memory Timings 3-4-3-9 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)


Field Value
Sensor Properties
Sensor Type Winbond W83627DHG (ISA 290h)
Motherboard Name Asus P5W DH
Chassis Intrusion Detected No

Temperatures
Motherboard 37 °C (99 °F)
CPU 30 °C (86 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #1 33 °C (91 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #2 35 °C (95 °F)
WDC WD3200KS-00PFB0 35 °C (95 °F)

Cooling Fans
CPU 3409 RPM

Voltage Values
CPU Core 1.58 V
+3.3 V 3.31 V
+5 V 5.12 V
+12 V 12.25 V
+5 V Standby 4.97 V

[Phatriff]

This thread is 1 year old today and i've probably read every post. System is still running absolutely fine after 10months.

3.35ghz E6600 B2 1.435volts for 10 months

[lawrywild]

Holy crap it's been 1 year! wow didn't realise. This is the longest I've kept a piece of hardware lol

[roger_h99.nor]

Holy crap it's been 1 year! wow didn't realise. This is the longest I've kept a piece of hardware lol

Anniversary :clap:

Think I've read EVERY post in this thread. General imression is: despite of some shortcommings, this is a super mobo. (from a former owner of a P4C800 - E).

75% of the trouble reported in this thread are user-related. What realy bugs me is the lack of support for my X6800 in bioses after 1601.

Congrats lawry:toast:

[Harsh]

Yeah.. congo lawrywild!!

read every post of this thread and, will have to admit.. this is a very good motherboard.

[honam_gwj]

ok i will try what u said , i forgot to tell u I'm usin wirles keyboard and mouse, and the other ports for gamepad

which keyboard and mouse are you using? is it a logitech dinovo??

[marijtje]

which keyboard and mouse are you using? is it a logitech dinovo??

I"m sorry for hijackiing this thread but I have a similar problem and yes, I use the Logitech Dinovo keyboard (+MX Revolution mouse). Do you have any advice?
Thanks!

[bin20]

yeah it is logitech +mx laser mouse.

[UZ7]

Yeah I tried booting with the Mobo CD inside the tray, and left on for all of 30 minutes before I powered down and started removing components. I will try again though, I've been looking for an excuse to try metal/metal contact with no thermal paste. So if this works I'll see how it's improved my temps -- if not it's a waste :(

I had similar problems w/ 1901+ BIOSes...

For some reason the motherboard is picky on what ram I put in and if I put higher voltages in these ram it doesn't like it. I had a spare DDR2 512mb 1.8v stick and it boots up all the time, I swap it for these D9s and it wont boot, I go to my BIOS set the voltage to 2.1 then I swap the sticks and what happens? It boots up!

Though I'm having troubles trying to revert back to the old bios heh.. I dont have a floppy drive nor a flash drive on me and whenever I try to access DOS mode to change the bios my keyboard doesnt work (G15) lol and ASUS Update gives me that EEPROM Type error crap... This is because I don't have any spare parts with me cause I'm at college and 3 hours away from home lol...

[honam_gwj]

the dinovo comes with a usb dongle,and also a long extension cable/base thing, disconnect the base and use the usb dongle only,,, it solved my problems,,,,

[Eastcoasthandle]

How high can you go on the PCIe frequency (above 100) and, does it depend on bios version?

[lawrywild]

110 should be safe, over that and you're risking HDD corruption more easily.

[WeldZilla]

I have tried every PCI-e frequency from 100 to 115. I just run with 100.
I just can't find a real difference, or should I say improvement from running the higher frequencies.

Uh UZ7 I look at your sig and then look at your post and you tell me you can't afford another $7 for a floppy drive?
Woes me.

WZ

[M-XXXX]

I have 1707 bios, and I'm wondering if it is a big diference beetwen 1707 an 2004 bios?

[jimmsch]

Bios 1901 (I think...the one before 2004)

What to do with the following settings, which are found in the chipset section of BIOS? I have them all at auto right now.

PEG Buffer Length
Link Latency
PEG Root Control
PEG Link Mode
Slot Power

thanks -Jim

[lepbob]

Hi can ask a noob question about the wireless aerial for this board. The manual shows the aerial stuck to the side of a pc case but I was just wondering if the magnets will interfere with the components inside the case like the hdd the mobo or cpu? there seems to be something behind the aerial wherever you can put it on the case. Do you think it would interfere?

[UZ7]

Uh UZ7 I look at your sig and then look at your post and you tell me you can't afford another $7 for a floppy drive?
Woes me.

lol yeah, but my rig is one year old this month now and i didnt seem to feel the need for a floppy drive at the time.. till now ah well... as long as my rig is up and running well then im all good...

[dDub]

So nobody has heard of or had any issues with certain fan connectors not working?

I'm referring to my previous post (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2236129&postcount=5003) but to sum it up, only my Power fan connectors seem to work and i can't figure out why. Both Chassis and CPU don't seem to be functioning and the new fans i'm trying to install both work off of the Power connectors, so it seems to be a malfunction of the board or perhaps BIOS?

Any ideas?

[QuietRiot]

Bios 1901 (I think...the one before 2004)

What to do with the following settings, which are found in the chipset section of BIOS? I have them all at auto right now.

PEG Buffer Length
Link Latency
PEG Root Control
PEG Link Mode
Slot Power

PEG has to do with a 'feature' that Asus has been using that overclocks graphic cards. If I'm not mistaken, the PEG Link Mode is the one that controls that. The tricky thing is that the 'normal' mode is not exactly the 'off' setting.

I've looked around for this info on Asus's website is very hard to find anything and the little that can be found is not exactly explanatory of what it does.

[Eastcoasthandle]

Those peg features simply add more voltage to your video card to OC it through the pcie bus. The pci-e bus is rated at 75 watts. Once you start messing with PEG it's not clear what wattage turns into. However, the problem is that is not how you OC a video card. And, you can mess up your video card if you are not careful. From what I've seen posted around (maybe 1-2 years ago...not sure) the best you get out of it (if tweaked correctly) is <3 FPS. If memory serves correctly, messing with the slot power can mess up your video card. Light could add more current while heavy adds less or something like that for nvidia cards. Again, I am going by memory from long ago and things could have changed by now. Peg link is the overclocking portion of PEG (PCI-express Graphics) and should be disabled, especially if you manually overclock your card, as it is notoriously unstable. The only thing I've seen OC was the peg link mode (http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=248&pgno=0) on certain video cards.

[Liquid3D]

A year after it's introduction many issues have been resolve, none of which will fix the memory problems based on the FSB strap issues at least as far as I can tell. Using all types of memory there's simply no way to get this board to boot at 400FSB if the memory is run above 800MHz, below I used Crucial Tracer Ballistix PC2-5300 which to date gave me my highest mem and CPU speed simultaneously.

This has nothing ti do with this boar but the 975 chipset instead. f you want high FSB and high Memory speeds the P965 or P35 Bearlake are your only options.

If I'm wrong please correct me and do show me where I can find these specs?

EDIT: I forgot about eva2000's tests (http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=88306)some time ago using an E6600 and kit of Super Talent 6400, thses kits were essentially the exact sam modeuls and chips found on their PC2-8000 kits from my conversation with ST. I believe this type of memory performing as wella s it does may in fact the key to getting higher memory speeds while pushing the 400FSB limit.

[pH(x)]

Hi can ask a noob question about the wireless aerial for this board. The manual shows the aerial stuck to the side of a pc case but I was just wondering if the magnets will interfere with the components inside the case like the hdd the mobo or cpu? there seems to be something behind the aerial wherever you can put it on the case. Do you think it would interfere?
No you are perfectly fine anywhere outside of the case, the magnets in that unit are relatively very weak at a distance compared to the other (HDD, PSU) electromagnetic fields found inside of your case.

[Liquid3D]

I thought they supplied adhesive material? I don't have magnets? Just keep them away from anything with a micro-chip in it, but as pH(x) said if you mount it to the case exterior you'll be fine, so ong as your case isn't aluminum :)

[Ron]

I just don't see the 400FSB limit with this board. I can boot at 428 FSB, 856MHz memory, 1:1, E6400 428 x 8=3.424GHz Orthos and Memtest stable for 24hrs at 4-4-4-12 and 4-4-4-5, 2x1GB 6400 G. Skill HZ's, motherboard revision 1.03g, Bios 1503. I went thur all 200+ pages of the thread before I set up this motherboard and everything went well. I have not changed the subtimings with Memset, however Memset shows them as 16T-28-6-11-9-8-5-4-6 when memory is set manually. When using SPD the Trc is 36. I am not an expert on the matter, but it just seems to me that the HZ's are made or programed to handle the tight timings of the P5W. Cooling is with a Zalman 9500, Extreme Spirit ll on NB and the Enzio forged Cu heatsink on the SB with a high output 40mm fan.

[Dr.Dos]

First time poster here but long time reader. :)


I'm very satisfied with my P5W-DH as I'm one of the very few to reach 475 MHz FSB before it shuts down (still on my tried and trusted BIOS 1503). My everyday settings are 400 FSB / 400-4-4-4-12 RAM. I recently got ahold of Micron 9DGMHs that fly at 500-4-4-4-12 (2.1v) in the very first testrun so they may have quite a potential.

Anyway I'm not able to boot at 400 (4:5) 500-4-4-4-12, most probably due to just 1.8v during boot (default 4:5 tRFC and tRAS seem all right with these sticks).

Do you have any recommendations to make my GMHs perform the way they are meant to perform? Messing with Win32 apps after logon is not an option. Thanks. :)

[M-XXXX]

I have new problem: http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/8993/dsc00455sc1.th.jpg (http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00455sc1.jpg)
Do you think waranty will be OK? I'm thinking about new motherboard and I found Asus P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP Wold you recomended somethink else?

[zsamz_]

save yourself the postage its an easy fix

[Cornel]

Okay, i've installed 4gb of crucial ram, and ofcoruse i only see 3200 mb in my vista 32bit.

I am gonna install 64bit vista now, but is there anyting else i need to do? before i install 64bit?

Some changes in bios?

i see in my bios that 896Mb of RAM are appropriated... what does that meen?

[M-XXXX]

save yourself the postage its an easy fix
I'm opened for solutions, but I want new mobo too and if I can get it for free why not!

[dDub]

In my continued efforts since my first post (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2236129&postcount=5003) to figure out why only my Power fan connectors work while Chassis and CPU do not, i've also noticed that PC Probe does not seem to work either - no monitor panels and no sensor readings. I've taken a screen shot of the error i get when i first try to open the program (and it doesn't appear subsequent times after first launch).

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l103/iamdw/probeError.gif

I did a search for this error but turned up only one page in German. I translated the page but there was nothing relevant. So again, does anyone have any idea what this error may mean and does it seem related to my fan connectors?

[bichi]

Okay, i've installed 4gb of crucial ram, and ofcoruse i only see 3200 mb in my vista 32bit.
I am gonna install 64bit vista now, but is there anyting else i need to do? before i install 64bit?
Some changes in bios?
i see in my bios that 896Mb of RAM are appropriated... what does that meen?

Following two previous posts might give you some clues:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2052878&postcount=4183
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2052882&postcount=4184

[sesdave]

In my continued efforts since my first post (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2236129&postcount=5003) to figure out why only my Power fan connectors work while Chassis and CPU do not, i've also noticed that PC Probe does not seem to work either - no monitor panels and no sensor readings. I've taken a screen shot of the error i get when i first try to open the program (and it doesn't appear subsequent times after first launch).

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l103/iamdw/probeError.gif

I did a search for this error but turned up only one page in German. I translated the page but there was nothing relevant. So again, does anyone have any idea what this error may mean and does it seem related to my fan connectors?

If you have checked the 24pin and 4pin 12v connections and have a good PSU it sounds more like a board fault. Have you checked that there is good standoff clearance and the board isnt touching the case anywhere . Might be worth trying it out of the case for test. Whats the wiring on you fan connectors 2 or 3 wires - check this out as it may explain why there is no monitoring. http://www.futurehardware.in/89002.htm . If you still cant get the fans to run I would RMA the board.

[riiaku]

what is the best recommended bios to use? i was using 2004 but got lots of problems, so i heard 1503 was the best and tried it. even worse problems. what do you reccommend and will give me a high overclock?

[sesdave]

what is the best recommended bios to use? i was using 2004 but got lots of problems, so i heard 1503 was the best and tried it. even worse problems. what do you reccommend and will give me a high overclock?

Check the thread - everyone has a different view. Personnally I use 1707 with winxp pro. Never had a problem and its doesnt get much bad press. A high overclock is down to how good is your CPU ,what memory u have, good cooling and the BIOS settings u use. Plenty get high overclocks with a wide range of BIOSes. What is your setup and what settings are u using?

[rkoubek]

Quick question off topic. I want to upgrade from 2 Gigs of RAM to 4 Gigs (2 more 1 gig sticks). Now I know there are two dual channels and I already have 2x 1gig - Corsair XMS2 DDR800. Should I get 2 gigs of the exact same or is it Ok to buy some newer and better to put in the other dual channel? Basically is it worth it? will they clock down to the older RAM? Will the computer know how to allocate game applications to the better RAM? You get the idea, thanks.

[TrancëJay]

Is it possible to use MBM with this MoBo?

[sesdave]

Is it possible to use MBM with this MoBo?

Yes - you need latest version 5.3.7.2 with coretemp plugins and you may have to calibrate the voltages. Check www.thetechrepository.com for detail as posted by freecableguy or do google search. If you get stiuck send your email and I will send you my zipped MBM5 directory. It also got the plufin for the NVIDIA card.

[TrancëJay]

Yes - you need latest version 5.3.7.2 with coretemp plugins and you may have to calibrate the voltages. Check www.thetechrepository.com for detail as posted by freecableguy or do google search. If you get stiuck send your email and I will send you my zipped MBM5 directory. It also got the plufin for the NVIDIA card.

found it!
http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=74&highlight=

thks

[Cornel]

Have anyone used all s-ata connectors on this board?
What controllers is the 2 orange s-ata connectors ?

[sesdave]

Have anyone used all s-ata connectors on this board?
What controllers is the 2 orange s-ata connectors ?

The disk specification for this board is as follows:
3 SATA300, RAID0,1,5 (Intel ICH7R)
1 SATA300 External (I/O panel), 1 SATA300, RAID0,1,JBOD (JMicron controller)
2 SATA300, RAID0,1. Also supports RAID 10 in conjunction with the Intel ICH7R southbridge (Silicon image 4723 controller)
1 x ATA100 (Intel ICH7R), 1 x ATA133 (JMicron controller)

EZ_Backup (Orange) are controlled by silicon image 4723 . http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2170227&postcount=4728
Try reading the P5W manual page 2-6 and 2-33 onwards for the associated controller and colour coding. If you search the thread there is a lot of posts with information on setting up and using sata for raid , using all ports etc. read the posts by FRITZSMAN on page 197 http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2215203&postcount=4914 if you want raid0 and 1 using only 2 disks. It long but really intresting and informative. If you want help in overclocking post your current specification and settings

[sesdave]

found it!
http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=74&highlight=

thks

This previous post may also help you when setting it up
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2122293&postcount=4462

[mikepaul]

My overheating issues seem to be resolved after spending $190 on a new case and heatsink. CM Stacker 810 case is roomy at the top for the down-the-road-a-bit liquid cooling, and without a case change the Thermaltake V1 wouldn't have fit. I now see that an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro can get dirty which may have killed its cooling potential, but once it is cleaned it can still be my spare...

http://www.mikepaul.com/V1.jpg

[Proendo]

I picked up the following to update my system a little

Intel E6420
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Corsair Dominator PC2-6400 XMS2 4-4-4-12
Antec 650 Watt True Power Trio

First thing I did was crank all the following to their max voltage values.

FSB Termination Voltage 1.50v
MCH Chipset Voltage 1.85v
ICH Chipset Voltage 1.20v

I then Gave the CPU 1.5v in the bios. And the Ram its 2.1v

I couldn't seem to get past 3400 ghz at 1:1 so I figured that must be my limit. Especially since I was hitting 70 at full load on air!

So I then set it to 3200 and then reduced all the voltages untill stable.

Everything is still on air. Full load is around 59-63. and idle is around 31.


I guess my question is, Am I missing anything ? Or is this a pretty good setup? I think I covered most of the bios settings to get everything manually set. Any suggestions?

Here are some pics.

[mikepaul]

Everything is still on air. Full load is around 59-63. and idle is around 31.
I keep wondering what causes different CPUs to run hotter or colder.

I can't beat my overclocked E6300 down below 44C, but it doesn't go past maybe 55C under Orthos stressing. I do only use Auto vCore, and so far that seems stable enough, but I can't help think that when an oddball crash happens, like my antivirus announcing that it needs to send off an error report, that it comes back to some of my BIOS decisions...

[Proendo]

I actually got the temps down a bit according to TAT I am at max load around 54


Ram is at 2.10v 4-4-4-12 now instead of 5-4-4-15
CPU 1.3875V bios
FSB 1.3v
MCH 1.55V
ICH 1.05v

Seems pretty stable at 3.2 ghz. and 4-4-4-12

[sesdave]

I keep wondering what causes different CPUs to run hotter or colder.

I can't beat my overclocked E6300 down below 44C, but it doesn't go past maybe 55C under Orthos stressing. I do only use Auto vCore, and so far that seems stable enough, but I can't help think that when an oddball crash happens, like my antivirus announcing that it needs to send off an error report, that it comes back to some of my BIOS decisions...

Its luck of the draw - my e6600 idles at 48c. Good cooling makes a big difference. What is your setup and BIOS settings. How long have u run orthios with current settings. If your memory is XMS rev2.1 same as mine it has promo chips and they dont clock much at all which may hold your CPU back 1:1 . If they are earlier the willbe microns and need more volts to go above ddr800. As you say it is probalbly BIOS settings causing spurious failures ..

[Speed4life]

My L706A499 E6600 is at 3.2Ghz. with default voltage. Voltage in Bios reads 1.30. My Corsair XMS2 4-4-4-12 is at 2.10 volts. I am running at a 1:1 ratio. I am using the 1904 Bios. Temps are 25 idle, and 42 under dual Orthos load.

[lawrywild]

1904 bios???

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

http://www.developerfood.com/asus-acpi-center/microsoft-public-windows-vista-general/e7f96549-b709-4186-8f4f-b5aca34d6a0d/article.aspx

haha another 'victim'

[sesdave]

My L706A499 E6600 is at 3.2Ghz. with default voltage. Voltage in Bios reads 1.30. My Corsair XMS2 4-4-4-12 is at 2.10 volts. I am running at a 1:1 ratio. I am using the 1904 Bios. Temps are 25 idle, and 42 under dual Orthos load.

So what is the purpose of your post - or are you just posting your signature?

[lawrywild]

I think he was referencing his cpu temps but those aren't coretemp temps..

[turbo]

to anyone who may know, should I be getting the same bandwidth with my 8800gts on the outer PCI express 16 slot as on the slot closer to the CPU? My system seems to be getting a lower 3D Mark than I was expecting. Thanks

[sesdave]

I think he was referencing his cpu temps but those aren't coretemp temps..

I see - obviously nearly all will get lower temps using default vcore(except your CPU of course ! Lol) but most want to clock the CPU and memory to the highest it will go. Speed4life has settled for what he can get on the default vcore - probably capable of more with higher volts and temps but if he is happy -fine..

[sesdave]

to anyone who may know, should I be getting the same bandwidth with my 8800gts on the outer PCI express 16 slot as on the slot closer to the CPU? My system seems to be getting a lower 3D Mark than I was expecting. Thanks

The 2nd PCI-E slot on the P5W DH only runs at 8x. Move it up to the top one.

[turbo]

Thanks for the reply. I'm looking forward to the extra performance. I'll report on the difference in 3d mark in a day or so.

[anzial]

Stupid board. Damn wireless died, appears to be working but there's no signal in AP mode and it doesn't find any networks either in networking mode. On top of that, the first memory slot is screwed up, I put any memory stick in it, which would work fine in any of the other three slots, and it gives me errors or hangs in memtest... Grrrrr, RMA time I guess... I had so many hopes for this board but it let me down... just like Abit in the past :(

[Liquid3D]

Don't give up folks I have just finished a review on the P5W DH which mentions this thread and may give everyone who has hit a FSB wall some hope.

It will be published at www.madshrimps.be probably within the next 48-hours if my Editor isn't too busy, the guy runs a website, helps 10-million people everyday, works fulltime and keeps his gf happy? Is he the Uberman? You decide.

Checkout where I've taken my P5W DH where I once thought 400FSB was my stable limit. I probably could have got the Memory speed higher but the 975chipset (not the P5W DH) bootstrap issue is holding everyon back. The 460FSB screensht below wasn't Orthos stable but only because of the H20 radiator fan-combo I'm using. In the review I benched 445FSB stable at 890MHz DDR2 and without any problems. If you water-cool the NB THAT is the key!!! I have a NB watercoole but she won't adapt or the review would be very different.
Still I attained these becnhark without any modifications on the NB which is the obstacle. The CPU which is watercooled with the Sub-Zero block by Cooled-cases.de

[mikepaul]

What is your setup and BIOS settings. How long have u run orthios with current settings. If your memory is XMS rev2.1 same as mine it has promo chips and they dont clock much at all which may hold your CPU back 1:1 . If they are earlier the willbe microns and need more volts to go above ddr800. As you say it is probalbly BIOS settings causing spurious failures ..
Well, I didn't pull the BIOS settings but a strange crash at lunch and a post-mortem popup from Microsoft blaming my RAM made me run Memtest for the first time in months, and it locked up solid each time I ran it: once after 110 minutes, once after 7. This is the same setup that did Orthos (blend) for 2 hours on Saturday with no hitches.

So I dug around and checked those suspect BIOS settings and noticed that while I can find what I think is understandable documentation on 4-4-4-12, I can't find specific settings for the fifth parameter in the BIOS, "Write Recovery Time". I had it set at 4, but with no guidelines and no memory of what it had been in less crashy times, I bumped it up to 5 and ran Memtest again. No lockup for two passes over 40 minutes, so I reran Orthos (blend) and again got 2 good hours.

So I'll wait and look for more crashes, and maybe track why things went south. I had thought Orthos was a good strain, but some of the crap I pull, like copying >4GB files while doing 5 other high-CPU things, have shown this machine really wasn't ready for Prime Time...

[Chrysalis]

ICH7 is faster !
The Silicon Image 4723 is a real hardware RAID controller. I takes one of the four ICH7 SATA ports and lets you connect 2 HDDs to it which can be run in hardware RAID0 or RAID1.

The Silicon Image 4723 is the reason you only get 3 ICH7 ports since the 4th port is hard-wired to Sil =)

I succesfully ran RAID1 and RAID0 on this controller with a recent -mm kernel. While the RAID worked just fine, it was very slow. I ran some tests and was dearly disapointed. If you want to run a RAID0 or RAID1 use Linux SoftwareRaid but stay away from EZ-BAckup!.

If you remove both EZ jumpers you can use the right EZ-Backup port as the 4th ICH7 port.

Thanks I was wondering what the hell ez backup was and if could be used in non raid.

So to disable it have to use jumpers? not enough to disable in bios? and one of the ports will then simply be a ICH7 port?

[Chrysalis]

I have 6 hard drives hooked up.

2 on jmicron PATA
3 on intel SATA - AHCI
1 on jmicron SATA - basic because when AHCI on jmicron PATA dont work.

The problem is with hd temp monitoring, SMART is enabled for all drives and only 3 of them are reporting temps/smart in any app. Both pata report and my raptor on the first Intel SATA port reports, so 2 on the intel sata controller dont report and the one on the Jmicron sata doesnt report.

Any ideas?

[sesdave]

Well, I didn't pull the BIOS settings but a strange crash at lunch and a post-mortem popup from Microsoft blaming my RAM made me run Memtest for the first time in months, and it locked up solid each time I ran it: once after 110 minutes, once after 7. This is the same setup that did Orthos (blend) for 2 hours on Saturday with no hitches.

So I dug around and checked those suspect BIOS settings and noticed that while I can find what I think is understandable documentation on 4-4-4-12, I can't find specific settings for the fifth parameter in the BIOS, "Write Recovery Time". I had it set at 4, but with no guidelines and no memory of what it had been in less crashy times, I bumped it up to 5 and ran Memtest again. No lockup for two passes over 40 minutes, so I reran Orthos (blend) and again got 2 good hours.

So I'll wait and look for more crashes, and maybe track why things went south. I had thought Orthos was a good strain, but some of the crap I pull, like copying >4GB files while doing 5 other high-CPU things, have shown this machine really wasn't ready for Prime Time...

May be able to get u running higher or more stable if you post all your BIOS settings. What BIOS u using. Is your memory rev 2.1 - mine runs fine with WRT=4 @ DDR800.

[sesdave]

Stupid board. Damn wireless died, appears to be working but there's no signal in AP mode and it doesn't find any networks either in networking mode. On top of that, the first memory slot is screwed up, I put any memory stick in it, which would work fine in any of the other three slots, and it gives me errors or hangs in memtest... Grrrrr, RMA time I guess... I had so many hopes for this board but it let me down... just like Abit in the past :(

Anzial - long time no hear. I initially couldnt get the wireless to run in AP mode but it was okay in station mode. Have u tried cleaning the memory slot out with an cotton bud soaked in CPU cleaner and some compressed air?- an erazer cleans the RAM connections up well.

[turbo]

If you were wondering going from the 8x PCI express slot to the 16x pci express slot got me a 13% boost in 3d mark 06. Thanks SESDAVE

[mikepaul]

May be able to get u running higher or more stable if you post all your BIOS settings. What BIOS u using. Is your memory rev 2.1 - mine runs fine with WRT=4 @ DDR800.
I'm no longer confident that any post-mortem message I get means much. It crashed again at lunch to the Blue Screen mentioning why Windows was shut down to prevent damage. The BIOS change for Write Recovery was apparently useless, as is running Orthos to see if my system is stable.

One point I discussed with a friend at lunch is the iffy power supply cable I had not been using much until this rebuild. It had been feeding only the floppy drive due to oddball things hapening when anything else was attached, but I've been feeding the extra case fans off it since the rebuild so the first thing I'll do when I get home is build a bigger octopus out of the one (apparently) trouble-free cable I do have and see what results: hopefully not a fire. No SATA-to-4PIN adapters in sight to make use of the other cables.

I do have a new modular Zalman ZM 600HP PSU on order from Amazon, but it's now delayed until an estimated July 10 ship date (originally May 26 or so). If it wasn't nearly $60 cheaper than NewEgg I'd have gone elsewhere long ago.

BIOS: 1707
CPU Freq: 410
DRAM freq: DDR2-820Mhz
Performance: Turbo
PCI-X Freq: 100
PCI Clock: 33.33Mhz
vCore: Auto
vFSB: 1.50V
vMCH: 1.55V
vICH: Auto

vRAM: 2.10V since I forgot where it fits into the list.

RAM details: Corsair TWIN2XP2048-6400C4
CAS: 4
RAS: 4
RAS to CAS: 4
RAS Activate to Precharge: 12
Write Recovery: soon to be 4 again since 5 didn't prevent crash.
Hyperpath: Disabled
DRAM throttling: Disabled
Remap: Disabled

Didn't write down anything else or get RAM specs from CPU-Z, but I'm not sure what else is critical...

[nicepun]

I'm no longer confident that any post-mortem message I get means much. It crashed again at lunch to the Blue Screen mentioning why Windows was shut down to prevent damage. The BIOS change for Write Recovery was apparently useless, as is running Orthos to see if my system is stable.

One point I discussed with a friend at lunch is the iffy power supply cable I had not been using much until this rebuild. It had been feeding only the floppy drive due to oddball things hapening when anything else was attached, but I've been feeding the extra case fans off it since the rebuild so the first thing I'll do when I get home is build a bigger octopus out of the one (apparently) trouble-free cable I do have and see what results: hopefully not a fire. No SATA-to-4PIN adapters in sight to make use of the other cables.

I do have a new modular Zalman ZM 600HP PSU on order from Amazon, but it's now delayed until an estimated July 10 ship date (originally May 26 or so). If it wasn't nearly $60 cheaper than NewEgg I'd have gone elsewhere long ago.

BIOS: 1707
CPU Freq: 410
DRAM freq: DDR2-820Mhz
Performance: Standard
PCI-X Freq: 105
PCI Clock: 33.33Mhz
vCore: Please change it
vFSB: 1.50V
vMCH: 1.65V or1.75V
vICH: MAX IT OUT

RAM details: Corsair TWIN2XP2048-6400C4
CAS: 4
RAS: 4
RAS to CAS: 4
RAS Activate to Precharge: 12
Write Recovery: soon to be 4 again since 5 didn't prevent crash.
Hyperpath: Disabled
DRAM throttling: Disabled
Remap: Disabled

Didn't write down anything else or get RAM specs from CPU-Z, but I'm not sure what else is critical...

Made a few changes for you. Please try to find a good vcore. Also, where you change your multiplier, everything should be disable except the Microcode Update.

[mikepaul]

Made a few changes for you. Please try to find a good vcore. Also, where you change your multiplier, everything should be disable except the Microcode Update.
Suggested changes made. Max vMCH available was 1.65V. vICH at 1.20V.

Also fixed power-related issue, and added extra 80MM fan to left side grill. More air seems better.

vCore never seemed to matter before, and at 1.325V I still have CPU-Z telling me it's bouncing around under that anyway. Orthos now seems a waste of time to validate vCore, so what might be better?

And 2:45:00 or so into Memtest I started after the lunch crash the machine locked up, so with these new parameters and the power fix maybe an unfailed Memtest is my new stability check...

[nicepun]

Suggested changes made. Max vMCH available was 1.65V. vICH at 1.20V.

Also fixed power-related issue, and added extra 80MM fan to left side grill. More air seems better.

vCore never seemed to matter before, and at 1.325V I still have CPU-Z telling me it's bouncing around under that anyway. Orthos now seems a waste of time to validate vCore, so what might be better?

And 2:45:00 or so into Memtest I started after the lunch crash the machine locked up, so with these new parameters and the power fix maybe an unfailed Memtest is my new stability check...

Hmmm, you must have a really hold mobo. Redo the vcore to 1.425 just to see if that's the issue. Do not use CPUZ for vcore, use AiBooster or even measuring it yourself with a multimeter. Good Luck.

[sesdave]

Suggested changes made. Max vMCH available was 1.65V. vICH at 1.20V.

Also fixed power-related issue, and added extra 80MM fan to left side grill. More air seems better.

vCore never seemed to matter before, and at 1.325V I still have CPU-Z telling me it's bouncing around under that anyway. Orthos now seems a waste of time to validate vCore, so what might be better?

And 2:45:00 or so into Memtest I started after the lunch crash the machine locked up, so with these new parameters and the power fix maybe an unfailed Memtest is my new stability check...

You have an early revision board which will only go to 1.65 on MCH. Most boards have a vdroop of approx .05v. Heres a link to some pencil volt mods if you want more http://sg.vr-zone.com/?i=3876 but 1.65 should be okay for upto 420-430 FSB. I run vFSb=1.3,MCH=1.65, VICH=1.2. I agree that you should up you vcore - Loosen the memory to 5,5,5,15 if you cant get stable,. If its rev 2.1 it wont clock much at all. If it is an earlier revision it will be micron D9 chips and that will fly If you up the volts to 2.2 and tighten the timmings. Disable anything in BIOS u dont recognise or use - follow this guide http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Core2Duo-Overclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html. Dont forget to diable any q fan control and virtulisation.
Best monitoring tool is MBM5 - I posted details recently on were to get latest vesion with coretemp plugin and how to set it up. I can send you zipped directory if you struggle. Orthos is by far the best tool for testing stability!

[yobi]

New bios

http://rapidshare.com/files/38681438/P5W-DH-ASUS-Deluxe-2103.rar

[nicepun]

New bios

http://rapidshare.com/files/38681438/P5W-DH-ASUS-Deluxe-2103.rar

Hmmm, I will give them a try later on. Any change log????

[-:[CC]:-]

New bios

http://rapidshare.com/files/38681438/P5W-DH-ASUS-Deluxe-2103.rar

Hey i see u use 4gb of ram, after i Flash my bios to 2004 to support Q6600 i only see 2800 mb so i just like to know what bios u are using atm

If other know a bios there support q6600 and 4gb ram Plz say so ;) Thx


-:[CC]:-

[nicepun]

:-;2269000']Hey i see u use 4gb of ram, after i Flash my bios to 2004 to support Q6600 i only see 2800 mb so i just like to know what bios u are using atm

If other know a bios there support q6600 and 4gb ram Plz say so ;) Thx


-:[CC]:-

You see 2800mb in BIOS or Windows?

[-:[CC]:-]

You see 2800mb in BIOS or Windows?


In bios its say install mem 4096 but its only count 2688mb

Its stand like this
-----------------
Old Bios Rev ? cant remember ;)
-----------------
System Memory
Total: 4096MB
Appropriated: 0MB
Available: 4096MB
-----------------
New Bios 2004
-----------------
System Memory:
Total: 4096MB
Appropriated: 1408MB
Available: 2688MB
-----------------
So as u see its only use the 2688mb ; /

[nicepun]

:-;2269055']In bios its say install mem 4096 but its only count 2688mb

Its stand like this
-----------------
Old Bios Rev ? cant remember ;)
-----------------
System Memory
Total: 4096MB
Appropriated: 0MB
Available: 4096MB
-----------------
New Bios 2004
-----------------
System Memory:
Total: 4096MB
Appropriated: 1408MB
Available: 2688MB
-----------------
So as u see its only use the 2688mb ; /

Hmmm, do this. Reflash with only 2gb, then add the other 2gb and see what happens.

[-:[CC]:-]

Hmmm, do this. Reflash with only 2gb, then add the other 2gb and see what happens.


Will try that but dont think its help ;)

Gona get back to here when i have try it


-:[CC]:-

[lawrywild]

Another mirror fpr 2103: http://rapidshare.com/files/38702028/P5W-DH-ASUS-Deluxe-2103.ROM

[GLENBOY]

hiya lawry do you know if the new 2103 bios has the unlocked multiplier for xtreme chips

[-:[CC]:-]

Hmmm, do this. Reflash with only 2gb, then add the other 2gb and see what happens.


Ok now i did what u sayed but dident help gona try the new 2103 bios and see what happens ;)


-:[CC]:-

Update:

I flash it with 2103 and it dident help ; /

Update:

Gona try with some old bios now

BTW i use AFUDOS to flash with can it have anything to do with that ?


-:[CC]:-

Update:

I Flash it all the way back to Bios 1901 dident help and i cant get older bios in its just say *This bios is to old ore for a other MB* anyone know how i can get it to flash my MB with a older bios that 1901 Thx

-:[CC]:-

[mikepaul]

Orthos is by far the best tool for testing stability!
Then I'm fairly sure my recent crash issues came from using that bad PSU cable. The floppy isn't in use enough to destabilize things but three fans must have set things up so a sudden increase like launching a program while lots of stuff was going on left the system power-starved. One reason I stopped using it was the blue light on a fan it was powering dimmed, and only when I plugged it into the other cable did the light come back to normal. Only sheer stupidity made me give that cable another chance.

Bit even with my old settings, Orthos had no issues for hours and hours. I've only been running it for 2 hours lately since learing from my 410Mhz setting that if my RAM is unhappy I only need a few minutes to have Orthos die. I've moved the vCore up to 1.375V just for the heck of it, but I don't expect any more problems. I believe I have the best early version of E6300, one that OCs like a champ, so issues with other versions and vCore don't seem to apply. I guess.

If I see no more stability issues, I'll be gradually lowering the vCore until I'm back to Auto. Until I replace my RAM with something that can go over 410, this version of the board will be fine.

Thanks to all for the input...

[lawrywild]

hiya lawry do you know if the new 2103 bios has the unlocked multiplier for xtreme chips

Don't have an extreme chip to test, sorry.

[TR1GG3R]

just when i thought there was not going to be any more bios for this tempermental m/b another leaks well i know i aint gona use this till its on the asus site learned from the beta 2004 bios :p

[nicepun]

Anyone given a try to these new BIOS yet? Are we still hoping for mem sub timing? They are probably just another cpu code update..... :(

[GLENBOY]

Anyone given a try to these new BIOS yet? Are we still hoping for mem sub timing? They are probably just another cpu code update..... :(

tried the 2103 bios and on extreme chips the multiplier is locked at a max 10 still with this bios and no extra sub timings for memory so basically i think they have just updated the cpu codes for the new intel celerons so imho not worth updating too

[Huigie]

Anyone given a try to these new BIOS yet? Are we still hoping for mem sub timing? They are probably just another cpu code update..... :(

Tried it, found nothing different to 2004 other than that I could no longer get my 4x1GB sticks stable at their usual settings. Back to 2004 for me...

[nicepun]

I can't remember if the "Digital Home Mode" was an option on previous BIOS but is there now, that's all I can see that's new.

[bichi]

BIOS 2103
- P5WDH Rev 1.02G/66MOAG
- QX6700 (wk 35) @ 3.0G; FSB: 300

Nothing new that I could see, compared to 2004.
- same benchmark results
- same memory bandwith
- same temps

Will leave it installed for now.....

I can't remember if the "Digital Home Mode" was an option on previous BIOS but is there now, that's all I can see that's new.

"Digital Home" has been an option for awhile

[Liquid3D]

If anyone is interested I finished an overclocking review on the board at;
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=508

[monza1412]

If anyone is interested I finished an overclocking review on the board at;
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=508

excellent review :up:


edit: I missed the MCH and FSB voltage in the overclocking test. Could you post them here?.
Also.. are you using SPD timings at the 400/445 fsb, or you manually set them?

[bichi]

BIOS 2103
- P5WDH on both ASUS Global site and FTP
- shows as "beta" with following description:

Version: 2103 - 2007/06/22 update
Description: P5W DH Deluxe Beta BIOS 2103
Latest beta BIOS.
File Size: 701.22 (KBytes)

GLOBAL: http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/2103.zip
FTP: ftp://dlsvr02.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe

[jmke]

excellent review :up:


edit: I missed the MCH and FSB voltage in the overclocking test. Could you post them here?.
Also.. are you using SPD timings at the 400/445 fsb, or you manually set them?

all voltages were kept at default value afaik

[miochza]

Can't wait for 2103 to be made official, with a changelog of "support for new CPU." :lol:

[nicepun]

Can't wait for 2103 to be made official, with a changelog of "support for new CPU." :lol:

E6850 here I come!!

[Liquid3D]

excellent review :up:


edit: I missed the MCH and FSB voltage in the overclocking test. Could you post them here?.
Also.. are you using SPD timings at the 400/445 fsb, or you manually set them?


At 400FSB you should be able to leave the chipset voltage on Auto or 1.65V this depends on the memory speed. If the memory speed is 1000MHz or greater (which will be very hard) 1.75 ~ 1.85V will be needed. You'll have to raise all the volatges to MAX (ICH etc.) at 445FSB with memory running on the 800strap or at 890MHz for 445FSB, I also raised the Vcore on my E6400 to 1.40V at that speed, but not because it needed it....

Now here's the weird thing. If I left the memory strap at 533FSB and overclocked as high as 440FSB, Vcore for my E6400 could be left at default? I was using the PCPower&Cooling silencer 750W so it had nothing to do with the PSU, BUT what I did mention in the review was the P/4-pin power connector?

For the 975X chipset this should be an 8-pin connector and I believe a major issue with this board may be the power cricuitry isn't given current in the correct configuration, even though it seems robust enough regarless with an 8-phase stage and the mosfett coolers. Asus may have thought Conroe wouldn't clock that high off the 975, at 445FSB the chip is running 150W. I'm sure this is taxing the power circuitry and then affects the NB MCH requiring more voltage.

[WeldZilla]

Nice article/review Liquid3D. I have built 14 systems on this board all have worked perfectly. All are set at 400fsb except for 2 one is set at 413,his cooling threshold and mine is set at 413 right now also As I am playing with 4 sticks of G.Skill 6400HZ running 1:1 timings set at 4-3-3-4. I have had this board for 1 year now and it is a great board. Clock for clock it will run with anything and out run most. My system resides in a case and functions 24/7.
I did not set out to build a bench machine, just an extremely fast stable benchable machine to earn it's keep in my room. It has done that every day since I bought it. First with a 950ES Presler running daily at 4800mhz to a 6400 Allendale running daily @3400 to my e6600 running daily at 3825mhz. All 3 systems were and are just smooth and flawless. I will be keeping my board for a long time to come. The bench numbers in my sig let you know it's fast but more importantly it is also rock steady. I love the damn thing.

WZ

[crazyheinz]

Does anyone know where the thread is about making the P5W ready for overclocking?
It was called 'preparing for the beast' or such, but can't find it...

[~aoe~]

Is this (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=106563) what you're looking for?

lol - it's in my sig too :)

[crazyheinz]

@~aoe~: indeed that one :p
@WeldZilla: have you done mods on your motherboard, or just stock.

[Family man 72]

Has anyone managed fsb 400 or over with 4x1GB sticks? With two sticks it's primestable 406 fsb (vfsb 1.40V,MCH max(1.65V),ICH Auto), but with 4 sticks cannot get primestable even 400. I'm using 1707 bios.

[cbell]

Can anyone recommend a good heatsink to replace the stock one on the NB of the DH Deluxe? I'm using a Big Typhoon for my CPU, and it has pretty good clearance. I don't need anything too amazing, just wanna be able to raise the vMCH a little without having to worry about it.

I like the Zalman ZM-NBF47, but I'm not sure if it will properly mount on my board, or if it will even make a significant improvement over the stock HS.

Also, can I simply cut the heatpipe that goes from the stock HS to the HS on top of the MOSFETs? Or is there some more elaborate way that I need to separate them?

[~aoe~]

I'm using the Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II as suggested by Lawrywild.

I tried the Thermalright HR-05, which is a superior heatsink, but the retaining bracket provided isn't suitable for this board.

Note that the Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II isn't really suitable for the SB if you're considering that - I found that the retaining screws were too high and prevented correct seating of the graphics card. HR-05 SLi works fine though (excessive for the SB i know...).

[LordXenu]

I think that my s. bridge is overheating, I've used some very complicated high-tech equipment (my finger), to measure the temp of the heat sink, and I've found that it's untouchable. Though, I can't find any software that measures the temp of the s. bridge. Does anyone know of one (that is preferably free)?

I need to be sure that it's overheating before I send it back because I've only had the board for two days and had to buy XP for it. If I get a replacement then I get to buy a new XP license. *yay*

[~aoe~]

I think that my s. bridge is overheating, I've used some very complicated high-tech equipment (my finger), to measure the temp of the heat sink, and I've found that it's untouchable. Though, I can't find any software that measures the temp of the s. bridge. Does anyone know of one (that is preferably free)?

I need to be sure that it's overheating before I send it back because I've only had the board for two days and had to buy XP for it. If I get a replacement then I get to buy a new XP license. *yay*

SpeedFan 4.32 (http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php) reports a number of temps from all the chips/sensors that it is able to read. On this board, it shows 3 temp readings from the Winbond W83627DHG chip, namely CPU, AUX and System.

Now, I could be totally wrong here, but I sort of assumed that the System temp referred to the SB.

I have noticed that the AUX sensor temp increases under load, whilst the System temp remains stable. That made me think that the AUX sensor was maybe the NB, and the System the SB.

I'm happy to be corrected if my assumptions are incorrect...

[~aoe~]

Also, can I simply cut the heatpipe that goes from the stock HS to the HS on top of the MOSFETs? Or is there some more elaborate way that I need to separate them?

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago :)

It is as simple as cutting the heatpipe. There should be a small amount of liquid in the pipes (most likely water), but nothing to worry about.

The inside of the pipes also contained a copper-coloured crystalline solid - not sure what it was (more copper maybe?). In order to avoid the risk of anything dropping onto the board from inside the pipe after installation, I chose to remount the MOSFET heatsink the opposite way round, so that the open ends were facing up (tower case).

[Luis_GT]

Anyone able to flash back to a older bios, I experimented with bios 2004and I want to switch back to 1601 (unlocked multi) and everytime I try to flash back, it says older bios detected, please download latest file from ASUS website.

HALP!

[LordXenu]

[URL="http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php"]
I have noticed that the AUX sensor temp increases under load, whilst the System temp remains stable. That made me think that the AUX sensor was maybe the NB, and the System the SB.

I'm happy to be corrected if my assumptions are incorrect...

I don't believe that is correct. The temp reading for the system is low, no where near the temp of the heat sink.

[cadaveca]

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago :)

It is as simple as cutting the heatpipe. There should be a small amount of liquid in the pipes (most likely water), but nothing to worry about.

The inside of the pipes also contained a copper-coloured crystalline solid - not sure what it was (more copper maybe?). In order to avoid the risk of anything dropping onto the board from inside the pipe after installation, I chose to remount the MOSFET heatsink the opposite way round, so that the open ends were facing up (tower case).

Better way is too place the chipset cooling assembly onto stove burner @ 75% heat for about 10 minutes. While hot, gently twist the mosfet part and it should come loose from heatpipe. then you are left with empty mosfet cooler, and intact heatpipe, should you decide to restore stock cooling!

Anyone able to flash back to a older bios, I experimented with bios 2004and I want to switch back to 1601 (unlocked multi) and everytime I try to flash back, it says older bios detected, please download latest file from ASUS website.

HALP!



You, my friend, must flash using a floppy, and afudos. using the proper switches, you can force the flash.

[Luis_GT]

You, my friend, must flash using a floppy, and afudos. using the proper switches, you can force the flash.

Telling me the switches would be helpfull,

What I've used so far Afudos /iP5WDH.Rom /pbnc /n and still won't work, yes, I renamed my Bios to P5WDH just to try the Alt + f2 Flashing.

[lawrywild]

Just use afudos 2.17 like the other people who asked this question about a billion times..

[Luis_GT]

Just use afudos 2.17 like the other people who asked this question about a billion times..

Thats the thing... I am using Afudos, I tried EZflash, I've tryed Alt + F2, non of them work. Hell, I'm even using FCG's Flash.bat and it won't work. Just a few months ago I flashed back from 1707 to 1601 with no problmes... I'm stumpt

[Luis_GT]

Ok, I finally flashed back, 2.21 and 2.17 didn't work, but I found Afudos 2.07 and that one worked.

[bichi]

Now, I could be totally wrong here, but I sort of assumed that the System temp referred to the SB.

I have noticed that the AUX sensor temp increases under load, whilst the System temp remains stable. That made me think that the AUX sensor was maybe the NB, and the System the SB.

I'm happy to be corrected if my assumptions are incorrect...

FYI:
- System/Motherboard temp sensor is NOT inside either of the bridges:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2052854#post2052854

- don't know when LawryPooPooHead is going to fix his "first page" - LOL!

[psy4fun]

Mine run 8 x 400 with four memory sticks. Prime and TAT stable. But not Orthos...

Has anyone managed fsb 400 or over with 4x1GB sticks? With two sticks it's primestable 406 fsb (vfsb 1.40V,MCH max(1.65V),ICH Auto), but with 4 sticks cannot get primestable even 400. I'm using 1707 bios.

[WeldZilla]

No mods on any of the boards I have built on. The boards are fine. I have replaced the dry crap under the NB heatsink with AS-5 that's it.
Hey cadaveca contrary to popular belief you can go home again...Think about it.......

WZ

[fairplay]

how can I make the esata working with my seagate esata hard drive? I have been unable to do it it works fine with usb 2.0. Thanks

[MacClipper]

Has anyone managed fsb 400 or over with 4x1GB sticks? With two sticks it's primestable 406 fsb (vfsb 1.40V,MCH max(1.65V),ICH Auto), but with 4 sticks cannot get primestable even 400. I'm using 1707 bios.
I needed to push vMCH to 1.75v on my mobo to keep Orthos happy with 4 x 1GB at 800 4-4-4-8.

[purecain]

now then people, i am having a problem upping my pcie bus above 120mhz. if i go to even 121 then the boot process misses out the hard drives and dvdwriter and then instead of the dual boot menu i have a message telling me to select a propper boot device in bios. this happened when i was only using 1 os also. the pci bus is locked of course and would just like to know what the motherboard is doing or not doing. i may then be able to figure out a work around. i have two hd2900xt's and they love the extra banwidth. the 3dmark06 world record was done using 167mhz on the pci express bus....


ok i worked it out, i think the sata-2 drives are on or connected to the pci-e bus and thats why they arnt recognised at boot. if anyone has any info please let me know... i've searched every link on google so far...

[cbell]

I love this thread... responses are fast and it fills up with new information so quickly.

Note that the Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II isn't really suitable for the SB if you're considering that - I found that the retaining screws were too high and prevented correct seating of the graphics card. HR-05 SLi works fine though (excessive for the SB i know...).

Thanks, I'll try this for my NB. I'm not overly concerned about my SB; I replaced the thermalpaste with AS5 and took off that weird metal cover over the heatsink.

It is as simple as cutting the heatpipe. There should be a small amount of liquid in the pipes (most likely water), but nothing to worry about.

Better way is too place the chipset cooling assembly onto stove burner @ 75% heat for about 10 minutes. While hot, gently twist the mosfet part and it should come loose from heatpipe. then you are left with empty mosfet cooler, and intact heatpipe, should you decide to restore stock cooling!

Thanks, sounds easy enough. Would you guys recommend that I upgrade my cooling if I only plan on upping the vMCH to 1.65? Or would stock cooling with AS5 be sufficient? I have my overclock turned off for the summer, so I'm planning ahead for fall right now.

[cmthomson]

I tried the Thermalright HR-05, which is a superior heatsink, but the retaining bracket provided isn't suitable for this board.

I'm surprised nobody responded before now to your many posts about mounting the HR-05 on the north bridge.

It's actually fairly simple: after removing the stock NB heat sink, pry its clip from the HS (it's held in place with friction by some folded metal), then use that clip on the HR-05.

Or, you can do what I did before realizing this trick: bend the s**t out of the supplied HR-05 clip so it slips under the hoops of the P5W, which are of course on the opposite corners to what Thermalright designed for...

[nerve007]

Can't wait for 2103 to be made official, with a changelog of "support for new CPU." :lol:

I've just seen a bunch of news about BIOS updates including microcode fixes for some Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, including the E6600. Does anyone know how to tell?

[TWY]

been looking thru the pages but can't seem to find much info on vMCH required for 400MHz FSB oc?

my 1.03G requires 1.65V to achieve 400MHz stable (default of 1.55V results in auto-reboot during loading of Windows).

wonder if the 1.04G can do it at 1.55V since it is using a 'newer' 975X?

[TWY]

Mine run 8 x 400 with four memory sticks. Prime and TAT stable. But not Orthos...

how much volts did u require for this (i'm thinking of going 4GB too)? and rev number of your board is? :)

[begundal]

mine wont boot when i plug my psu
the onboard green LED (SB_PWR) is blinking
is my mainboard faulty?

[sesdave]

been looking thru the pages but can't seem to find much info on vMCH required for 400MHz FSB oc?

my 1.03G requires 1.65V to achieve 400MHz stable (default of 1.55V results in auto-reboot during loading of Windows).

wonder if the 1.04G can do it at 1.55V since it is using a 'newer' 975X?

Here is a link to simple pencil mods to increase all your voltages if you need to.
http://sg.vr-zone.com/?i=3876. I have a later revision but need MCH=1.65v for stability with FSB400 running memory 1:1 . Search the thread for more on 4x1GB setups.

[nbraker]

:-;2269148']Will try that but dont think its help ;)

Gona get back to here when i have try it


-:[CC]:-

CC, if you have 4Gb of main memory, only a 64 bit OS will allow you to change the BIOS setting which will address all 4Gb. If you are running 32 bit, most people are (doesn't matter if it's XP or Vista), you can only address the 2688 Gb.

Upgrade to a 64 bit OS (XP and Vista have 64 bit versions) and then you can safely change the BIOS option allowing your OS to see all 4Gb.

[Pixel Eater]

Hey guys. I can't install 64 bit operating systems with this board's Intel ICH7R/Matrix RAID enabled. It's always "setup cannot copy the file: iastor.sys". The drivers won't really install. Of course I have no problem running 32 bit OS's. Is there some BIOS setting I'm missing?

I'm running:
Intel e6600
2 GB of Super Talent RAM running 4-4-3-8
A variety of sata hdd's, especially two 150GB Raptors I'd like in RAID 0

I have tried:
Installing AHCI style and converting to RAID with utility
Multiple matrix drivers
Removing all non-vital hardware
Different versions of the BIOS
Different RAM
1 GB RAM
A wide variety of bios settings
Much more
A barrel roll

Again, if I pretend the drives are IDE, the installation works. However, I'm determined to have RAID 0.

I'm at my wits end. Any ideas? :shrug:

[lawrywild]

You downloaded the correct 64bit floppy drivers yeh?

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProductID=2101&DwnldID=13496&strOSs=150&OSFullName=Windows%20Vista*%2064&lang=eng

If it's Vista x64, then it already comes with drivers on the DVD so no need to use floppy.

[vladimirus]

Hi, my system is :
Case : Thermaltake Soprano DX, 12cm Front Fan , 14cm Rear Fan, 9cm Side Fan Scythe
Power Supply : Thermaltake 650 W
Mobo : ASUS P5W DH Deluxe WiFi, ASUS 6cm HeatSink Fan 6cm, BIOS 2004
CPU : Intel Core Duo E6700 with Thermaltake CL-P0371 TMG I1
RAM : 2 X 1 Gb Kingston DDR2 PC6400 533 5-5-5-15
Graphics Card: ASUS 8800 GTS 320 Mb HTDP
HD : 1X 150 Gb WD Raptor SATA, 3X 500 Gb WD SATA
Sound Card : Creative Sound blaster X-fi Platinum Fatl1ty Champion Series
OS : Vista Ultimate Greek

I tried to OC but I only get 3,06 Ghz with the 15% AI OC predefined profile.
With all the other auto options (30 % etc) I had no luck.
With 30 % (3,2 Ghz) after 5mins under ORTHOS priority 9 the pc freezes.
With some other options doesn't boot or windows doesn't start and after restart (sometimes) get bios message about high

voltage.
In CoreTemp I get at Idle 40-42 and at full load 49-51 C.
Can someone please give me a safe starting point for manual oc (voltage,timing etc) and any other options on BIOS setup

('cause I see much higher speeds than mine) ?
If any other infos needed,please let me know.

TIA

[sesdave]

Hi, my system is :
Case : Thermaltake Soprano DX, 12cm Front Fan , 14cm Rear Fan, 9cm Side Fan Scythe
Power Supply : Thermaltake 650 W
Mobo : ASUS P5W DH Deluxe WiFi, ASUS 6cm HeatSink Fan 6cm, BIOS 2004
CPU : Intel Core Duo E6700 with Thermaltake CL-P0371 TMG I1
RAM : 2 X 1 Gb Kingston DDR2 PC6400 533 5-5-5-15
Graphics Card: ASUS 8800 GTS 320 Mb HTDP
HD : 1X 150 Gb WD Raptor SATA, 3X 500 Gb WD SATA
Sound Card : Creative Sound blaster X-fi Platinum Fatl1ty Champion Series
OS : Vista Ultimate Greek

I tried to OC but I only get 3,06 Ghz with the 15% AI OC predefined profile.
With all the other auto options (30 % etc) I had no luck.
With 30 % (3,2 Ghz) after 5mins under ORTHOS priority 9 the pc freezes.
With some other options doesn't boot or windows doesn't start and after restart (sometimes) get bios message about high

voltage.
In CoreTemp I get at Idle 40-42 and at full load 49-51 C.
Can someone please give me a safe starting point for manual oc (voltage,timing etc) and any other options on BIOS setup

('cause I see much higher speeds than mine) ?
If any other infos needed,please let me know.

TIA

If you want to manually overclock you do not use AI. Follow this guide http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Core2Duo-Overclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html and read the first page of this thread. You can search this thread for answers to most problems you may encounter on the way.

[vladimirus]

If you want to manually overclock you do not use AI. Follow this guide http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Core2Duo-Overclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html and read the first page of this post. You can search this post for answers to most problems you may encounter on the way.

Sesdave thanks.
I'll try these settings and see what happens.

[chessman]

Regards for all the members.

Here is my question :
Finally is there a practical way to unlock the multiplier for a P5W DH Deluxe bios ?

I installed 2004 version, for a QX6700. I read that 2103 new bios also is locked to 6-10 limits (very similar to 2004 bios) and I don’t want to downgrade to 1601 or 1506 versions.
I find “a modded bios“ but I don’t know what exactly "modded bios" is. Have a look at http://forums.mydigitallife.info/showpost.php?p=4206&postcount=3515
I think that is very difficult for such modded bios to unlock the multiplier but really don’t know.
Also I couldn’t find a way to do this, from lawrywild’s post http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110193&page=198 , #4945
with AMI Tools. Very useful tools but not for unlocking the multi I think.
I also read the relative post http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2227324#post2227324 , #4984
Also I haven't tried the CPUID software and i 'm wondering if anybody succeeded to change the multi using this software to a quad or if anyone has tested RMClock 2.25 utility for that purpose ?
Finally do you have any recommendations about these “modded bios” use ?

[Severance]

Guys...something that I think is very odd just happend to me 5 min ago. I have not posted here for a very long time because I gave up on this board about 4 months ago. I just dusted off my old p5wdh mobo and started to build a second rig because I had some extra parts. I installed a E6600, a cheao nvidia pci graphics card, seagate 160gb hd, And a very good pair of ocz alpha vx1000 2gb kit. After installing vista 64bit i started to mess around and overclock. On default nb volts This thing is stable at 360x9 mem at 1080mhz:eek: I remember why i stopped using this board 4 months ago it was because of terrible memory overclocking. This board is rev 1.02g so its old one. I can post screens if its a special mem overclock. If it is not then sorry for this post i just foud it wierd. thanx

[Severance]

My overclock now.:eek: Stock Nb volts vdimm set to 2.25 in bios.

[lawrywild]

Regards for all the members.

Here is my question :
Finally is there a practical way to unlock the multiplier for a P5W DH Deluxe bios ?

I installed 2004 version, for a QX6700. I read that 2103 new bios also is locked to 6-10 limits (very similar to 2004 bios) and I don’t want to downgrade to 1601 or 1506 versions.
I find “a modded bios“ but I don’t know what exactly "modded bios" is. Have a look at http://forums.mydigitallife.info/showpost.php?p=4206&postcount=3515
I think that is very difficult for such modded bios to unlock the multiplier but really don’t know.
Also I couldn’t find a way to do this, from lawrywild’s post http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110193&page=198 , #4945
with AMI Tools. Very useful tools but not for unlocking the multi I think.
I also read the relative post http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2227324#post2227324 , #4984
Also I haven't tried the CPUID software and i 'm wondering if anybody succeeded to change the multi using this software to a quad or if anyone has tested RMClock 2.25 utility for that purpose ?
Finally do you have any recommendations about these “modded bios” use ?

Those modded bioses are to make the board appear to windows like an oem system, so you can activate certain versions of windows.

[Severance]

I decided to install an MCW20-K on the northbridge pumping 10c water through it and its much more stable now. I will let it run over night. Some pics of my ghetto rig i put together tonight:D

[Luis_GT]

Regards for all the members.

Here is my question :
Finally is there a practical way to unlock the multiplier for a P5W DH Deluxe bios ?

I installed 2004 version, for a QX6700. I read that 2103 new bios also is locked to 6-10 limits (very similar to 2004 bios) and I don’t want to downgrade to 1601 or 1506 versions.
I find “a modded bios“ but I don’t know what exactly "modded bios" is. Have a look at http://forums.mydigitallife.info/showpost.php?p=4206&postcount=3515
I think that is very difficult for such modded bios to unlock the multiplier but really don’t know.
Also I couldn’t find a way to do this, from lawrywild’s post http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110193&page=198 , #4945
with AMI Tools. Very useful tools but not for unlocking the multi I think.
I also read the relative post http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2227324#post2227324 , #4984
Also I haven't tried the CPUID software and i 'm wondering if anybody succeeded to change the multi using this software to a quad or if anyone has tested RMClock 2.25 utility for that purpose ?
Finally do you have any recommendations about these “modded bios” use ?


Why don't you want to use 1601... other than the bios misreading the temp, theres basically no difference.

[chessman]

Those modded bioses are to make the board appear to windows like an oem system, so you can activate certain versions of windows.

@lawrywild : Thank you for the answer. Also for this very useful thread.


Why don't you want to use 1601... other than the bios misreading the temp, theres basically no difference.

@Luis_GT : Bios 2004 is very stable for my rig. I ‘m afraid about “growing pains” with 1601 or others. Do you use 1601 with your qx6700 ? What about the multiplier ?

[Luis_GT]

Yep, I have 1601 and run a 12x multi just fine, I can get it up to 20.

What "growing pains" are you talking about exactly... I've had zero issues with it and I can oc my memory upwards of 1000mhz, which I could'nt before... oh and 2004 killed my bios chip for some reason, Did a few benchmarks under that bios, failed a OC and it never booted up again... and a hot flash didn't work.

[chessman]

Yep, I have 1601 and run a 12x multi just fine, I can get it up to 20.

What "growing pains" are you talking about exactly... I've had zero issues with it and I can oc my memory upwards of 1000mhz, which I could'nt before... oh and 2004 killed my bios chip for some reason, Did a few benchmarks under that bios, failed a OC and it never booted up again... and a hot flash didn't work.


Thank you very much for the answer.:)
I think I will give a try to 1601.

[phoenix.bits]

i am using p5wdh deluxe + e6400 2.13 ghz .......
i have installed vista ultimate .. and my bios version is 1305...
i am thinking to upgrade it...
please tell me.. which version is the best and also WHETHER there are any RISKS involved in bios updation ?
thanks in advance....

[sesdave]

Anyone running with G.skill 4GB (2x2GB) 6400c5 PQ - if so how do they perform. I cant find a decent review of them. I have just dual installed Vista x64 with winxp pro
and have ordered these sticks instead of 4x1gb ballistix 8500C5. I though they would be easier on the board memory controller from what I have read but I might regret it if they they wont run decent timings.

Edit 06/07 - Answer my own question. I got these sticks and found I could only post and boot to winxp pro with SPD enabled. Vista x64 hung on black screen after logo - I know there is a hot fix for 4GB problems but I think this is more board compatibility. I trired reducing to rated settings of 5,5,5,15 with memset and the system froze. This was running on my current settings for 3.6ghz. - fsb400 and ddr800 FSb=1.3v,MCH=1.65,ICH=1,2v. I tried memory at 1.8-2.0v and with MCH=1.75 with no joy . I also flashed to BIOS2103 in case there was a memory compatibility issue I had missed but no joy so I am going to change them for 4x1GB ballistx 8500C5's and see how I get on with them.

[sesdave]

i am using p5wdh deluxe + e6400 2.13 ghz .......
i have installed vista ultimate .. and my bios version is 1305...
i am thinking to upgrade it...
please tell me.. which version is the best and also WHETHER there are any RISKS involved in bios updation ?
thanks in advance....

I am running mutli boot winxp pro and vista x64 and have been running no problems with 1707 and dont see anything that makes me want a later version - not really much differences with later versions apart from support for other CPU's and so called memory compatibility. Search the thread or comments on each version and take your pick! You can always reflash older bios using afudos 2.11 or earlier and renaming the bios to be installed as P5WDH.ROM. Check the thread for more detail - there was a recent post on BIOS 2103. I and others have posted the detail numerous times.

[w2richwood]

well im hoping asus gives us a update so we can run the new go steppings chips

[lawrywild]

Apparently 2103 includes the updates for running G0 stepping cpus

I hope this includes e6750/e6850..

[w2richwood]

Apparently 2103 includes the updates for running G0 stepping cpus

I hope this includes e6750/e6850..

thanks lawry i do to im waiting for price cuts. 1901 update the 1333 fsb so guess we will see

[bern_viking]

OK, here's my tip to the "extremely slow booting" problem. I was also left staring at the POST screen for 40-50 seconds, and this is what helped:

If you don't have a fan, change it's BIOS setting to "Ignore". If it set to N/A, the mobo will search for it. N/A doesn't mean it's not there, just that the mobo can't find it, but it will look for it...

[chessman]

OK, here's my tip to the "extremely slow booting" problem. I was also left staring at the POST screen for 40-50 seconds, and this is what helped:

If you don't have a fan, change it's BIOS setting to "Ignore". If it set to N/A, the mobo will search for it. N/A doesn't mean it's not there, just that the mobo can't find it, but it will look for it...

Useful tip ! Thanks bern_viking :up:

[SKiLL3D]

mainly i came here because i found this in the official FTP
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/2205.zip
BIOS2205!

I really wish that ASUS would add changelog into their ZIPfiles like other Vendors...
Can any 6600-B2 User confirm Multichanges to 10+ with 1601BIOS?

iLL

[Peanuts]

2205 bios allow to go up and down with the multiplier of the Core 2 Extreme (at least for my QX6800)!!

No more need of 1601.

[chessman]

mainly i came here because i found this in the official FTP
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/2205.zip
BIOS2205!

I really wish that ASUS would add changelog into their ZIPfiles like other Vendors...
Can any 6600-B2 User confirm Multichanges to 10+ with 1601BIOS?

iLL

I 'm waiting every day for a new bios. I will try it.
In any case Thanks a lot SKiLL3D !
Regards from Athens !

[chessman]

2205 bios allow to go up and down with the multiplier of the Core 2 Extreme (at least for my QX6800)!!

No more need of 1601.

Peanuts, is there any new option about tRFC, tRD etc ?
What about cpu temperature indication ?

edit : I saw ! No tRFC, no tRD, only change multiplier 6 - 20 (and cpu temp).

[lawrywild]

Rapid Mirror as usual:

http://rapidshare.com/files/41961174/P5W-DH-ASUS-Deluxe-2205.rar

[GLENBOY]

i can also concur with peanuts higher up that the 2205 bios allows multiplier changes on extreme chips i have a qx6700 and it works well, also first time ever ai booster shows the right cpu frequency

[lawrywild]

2205 is the worst bios ever for me

EIST does not work unless you turn C1E on too, multis screw around on my E6600, disabling onboard devices doesnt work, windows is telling me it's finding new devices.. 2103 f*cked up my rig, i have no idea how but it's unstable as f**k now, even after flashing back (too coincidental to NOT be 2103, after i just flashed to it 10 minutes earlier) and now 2205 is just SH*T.

WTF

[monza1412]

sorry to hear that Lawrywild. I dont upgrade bios since 1707. In this motherboard, unless you have a new cpu I think its pointless. At this time, TRD and TRFC its only a geeks wet dream. :shakes:

[lawrywild]

I know, I just wish I didn't upgrade bios from 2004 now :(

[mikepaul]

2103 f*cked up my rig, i have no idea how but it's unstable as f**k now, even after flashing back (too coincidental to NOT be 2103, after i just flashed to it 10 minutes earlier) and now 2205 is just SH*T.
Is there really a chance that a new BIOS flash can permanently affect the MB, even after flashing back?

While I'm at 1707 now, I tried some newer ones but kept being beaten back by the requirement that I hit F1 to accept defaults when it refused to correctly save my new settings. No amount of CMOS resets ever helped, like my revision of the MB isn't quite up to the specs of the ones around which they now design the BIOS...

[lawrywild]

I'm pretty sure there is yeh, I have two theories;

1. The bios itself fed too much voltage on first boot, or just had some dodgy setting or something that's damaged my ballistix or chipset (pretty sure cpu is fine).

2. There are still remains of the old bios that even afudos /pbnc /n won't flash over when flashing an old bios.

The second theory I thought about a long time ago, remember how everyone said they'd noticed a decrease in overclocks over time, well we were also all updating ours bioses too.

Some people experienced better overclocks with 2004 (I didn't) but it shows that the bioses can affect overclockability and hence my theories are a possibility (imo) :p:

[tentp0le]

2205 is the worst bios ever for me

EIST does not work unless you turn C1E on too, multis screw around on my E6600, disabling onboard devices doesnt work, windows is telling me it's finding new devices.. 2103 f*cked up my rig, i have no idea how but it's unstable as f**k now, even after flashing back (too coincidental to NOT be 2103, after i just flashed to it 10 minutes earlier) and now 2205 is just SH*T.

WTF

Id, there is something wrong with this bios. I just flashed to 2205, immediately after reboot, when I entered windows, it said: "Found new PCI-Device" - I was like "wtf?". I took me a while before i recognized it was one setting in bios that wouldn't be saved; more exactly "Disable onboard sound device". This is freakin' irritating, since I have X-Fi and don't want to use the onboard, it keeps popping up on every reboot. I haven't had any problems with anything else though, but this problem is extremely enoying.

I'm forced to just "disable" the yellow "?"(PCI-Device) in Device manager to keep it from popping up on every reboot. It helps, but I hate to have yellow "?" in my Device manager.

I have tried to revert back to 2004 - but I haven't figured out how to do it. When I try to flash back with Asus Update Utility(even with "Bios downgradable" enabled), It says: Warning! Bios date is older etc etc. Please use ASUS DOS. And when I use the Asus Ez Flash utility, it says the same; "Bios is older than current version" - and program ends back to main menu.

I really would like to flash back with AFUDOS, in DOS mode; however here comes my problem: How can I flash with a bootable floppy when the bios file is too large to fit on a floppy? I mean, I made a bootable floppy disc and copied AFUDOS on it - but the bios file is over 1 mb large, so there's no space for it?

If anyone could explain it for me, I would appreciate it - and surely try to revert back to 2004.

Hope someone is able to help =)

[chessman]

I really would like to flash back with AFUDOS, in DOS mode; however here comes my problem: How can I flash with a bootable floppy when the bios file is too large to fit on a floppy? I mean, I made a bootable floppy disc and copied AFUDOS on it - but the bios file is over 1 mb large, so there's no space for it?
If anyone could explain it for me, I would appreciate it - and surely try to revert back to 2004.
Hope someone is able to help =)

Not all the hidden files on the bootable diskette are necessary. Delete from the floppy the file named somewhat like “ Drvspace.bin” it’s about 68 Kb.
Use afudos 2.17 or 2.11. These versions doesn't check the date or/and the version of the bios, so you will be able to downgrade with the command “afudos /p5wdh.rom /pbnc /n“

[lawrywild]

Id, there is something wrong with this bios. I just flashed to 2205, immediately after reboot, when I entered windows, it said: "Found new PCI-Device" - I was like "wtf?". I took me a while before i recognized it was one setting in bios that wouldn't be saved; more exactly "Disable onboard sound device". This is freakin' irritating, since I have X-Fi and don't want to use the onboard, it keeps popping up on every reboot. I haven't had any problems with anything else though, but this problem is extremely enoying.

I'm forced to just "disable" the yellow "?"(PCI-Device) in Device manager to keep it from popping up on every reboot. It helps, but I hate to have yellow "?" in my Device manager.

I have tried to revert back to 2004 - but I haven't figured out how to do it. When I try to flash back with Asus Update Utility(even with "Bios downgradable" enabled), It says: Warning! Bios date is older etc etc. Please use ASUS DOS. And when I use the Asus Ez Flash utility, it says the same; "Bios is older than current version" - and program ends back to main menu.

I really would like to flash back with AFUDOS, in DOS mode; however here comes my problem: How can I flash with a bootable floppy when the bios file is too large to fit on a floppy? I mean, I made a bootable floppy disc and copied AFUDOS on it - but the bios file is over 1 mb large, so there's no space for it?

If anyone could explain it for me, I would appreciate it - and surely try to revert back to 2004.

Hope someone is able to help =)

Yes, and also for me it found pci modem (i assume the gigabit controller) which I had disabled in the bios. Just a seriously badly coded bios, nice one asus :clap:

edit: (as well as the onboard audio)

[roger_h99.nor]

Seems that this crappy little bugger has made it official..(Asus Web site).

Found this at Asus forums: (pay attention to the last paragraph!)
My system: E6600, 8800GTX, 4GB Corsair (dual), 640 Gb HDD, P5W DH Deluxe. Vista Ultimate.

I flashed 2103 several days ago and problems started. The system became totally unstable! PC hangs up even when I try to open file manager. In my E6600 core 1 is loaded for 5 - 7% and core2 - for 100%.
So it's no way to reboot or shut down the computer. Explorer stops responding completely
The rollback to bios 2004 does not help to solve the problem!
I've tried to tune the bios up in different ways - no chance to fix the bug!
BTW, Asus had already removed 2103 from ftp. I asked the support of Asus in my country about the problem but until now - no response.

Now I flashed 2205. Loading the defaults after flash procedure to apply the new bios was a problem - the defaults did not apply from the first time - I had to repeat it 3 times to make changes!!!

So - DO NOT FLASH to 2103!

Next thing:
How to get rid of existing 2205 bios.
Method 1.
Under Windows start AsusUpdate utility (from the original support CD)
Start flashing 2205 procedure. Straight after "Erase ROM" part is finished - kill the process with Task Manager or Process Explorer. That's it. You don't have any bloody bios at all.
Insert original motherboard CD to drive. Reboot. The system will start to recover bios from the CD. In my case I obtained finally bios ver. 0801.
Method 2.
Do the same without windows. Start AFUDOS.exe. Start flashing 2205. After it deletes the current ROM - just unplug the power from the outlet. The rest - is the same as above. Insert CD. Recover...

Link: http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20070709235237093&board_id=1&model=P5W+DH+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

[lawrywild]

Wow, so I'm not the only one, I'm seriously pissed off about this. That's a dodgy way to correct the issue, but I will probably end up trying it if I can get my rig stable again. Strange thing is, my pc goes through 18 hours orthos, 8 hours memtest and then crashes on MSN minesweeper and some media center service in the background.. :banana::banana::banana::banana:ing asus!

[tentp0le]

Next thing:
How to get rid of existing 2205 bios.
Method 1.
Under Windows start AsusUpdate utility (from the original support CD)
Start flashing 2205 procedure. Straight after "Erase ROM" part is finished - kill the process with Task Manager or Process Explorer. That's it. You don't have any bloody bios at all.
Insert original motherboard CD to drive. Reboot. The system will start to recover bios from the CD. In my case I obtained finally bios ver. 0801.
Method 2.
Do the same without windows. Start AFUDOS.exe. Start flashing 2205. After it deletes the current ROM - just unplug the power from the outlet. The rest - is the same as above. Insert CD. Recover...

O.O that sounds risky, isn't there any other way to revert back to an older bios?

[tentp0le]

Quote:
Next thing:
How to get rid of existing 2205 bios.
Method 1.
Under Windows start AsusUpdate utility (from the original support CD)
Start flashing 2205 procedure. Straight after "Erase ROM" part is finished - kill the process with Task Manager or Process Explorer. That's it. You don't have any bloody bios at all.
Insert original motherboard CD to drive. Reboot. The system will start to recover bios from the CD. In my case I obtained finally bios ver. 0801.
Method 2.
Do the same without windows. Start AFUDOS.exe. Start flashing 2205. After it deletes the current ROM - just unplug the power from the outlet. The rest - is the same as above. Insert CD. Recover...
O.O that sounds risky, isn't there any other way to revert back to an older bios?

CONFIRMED!

First I want to thank roger_h99.nor for sharing this with us.
I decided to try this solution #1, and can confirm it worked - I'm now at bios 2004 again (thank god), and everything is working 100%. I have rebooted, shut down the PC to check that everything is OK.

Just a little heads up!

I tried it because I have another PC next to me, I can do things on if my main rig fails; and in this situation I'm glad I had another PC.

My steps where as follows:
(Before I started, I made sure my boot priority where as follows: 1. CD/DVD-rom, 2. HDD)

-Started ASUS Update Utility (v.7.10.03), and loaded bios 2205 (from this site) In task manager it recognized it as "Update.exe", when you load the bios "from file" and push "flash", it changes to "WinFlash.exe" <- This is the task you need to kill after it's done with "Erase EPPROM"

-Loaded ASUS Recovery CD. When it rebooted it started "Bios recovery" immediately, however it couldn't find "P5WDH.ROM" as a valid file on the CD. I checked it on my other computer, and the file on my CD was named "P5WDHD.ROM", so first it wouldn't recover from CD. The bios recovery process goes in a loop between; "USB, CD-rom and floppy" until it finds the proper bios file on one of these units. Therefore I renamed bios 2004 to "P5WDH.ROM" (on my other computer) and copied it on a fresh floppy.

-Loaded the floppy to my main rig, and voíla - bios recovery flashed back to 2004.

Conclusion, before you do this, you should be prepared with the issues at hand, and make sure you got everything at hand. This worked great for me, and I'm thanking lord vader for that I have bios 2004 back again. My problem with "PCI-Device" popping up, and a bios that wouldn't save settings are history.

I will not be responsible for any damage done to your rig, by using my method - but I surely hope that it works for you that have had problems with bios 2103 and 2205.

Next time I will read a lot more about the bios before I flash again.

[w2richwood]

dont know if this helps any but im using bios 2103 no problems at all but i dont have a core 2 duo as im waiting for price using a 650 3.4. think that may make since. :confused:

[Huigie]

Sooo...why are these bioses still in the startpost? :confused:

[lawrywild]

Because I have my own pc to sort out, that's why

[lawrywild]

I did the crashfree bios method by crashing afudos. Crashfree bios did not work reading P5WDH.ROM from a usb drive, it gave me 2 beeps, then 5 more beeps. I copied the asus cd to a folder, replaced P5WDH.ROM with 1707 named the same and burnt to a disc labelled 'P5W DH Deluxe' in iso format. This worked straight away.

However, I don't know if this fixed my issues or not yet. We'll see I guess (since stress tests were passing before, even with the issues).

[scaramonga]

So - DO NOT FLASH to 2103!


Running BIOS 2103 for a week now and no problems to report whatsoever. Nothing different from 2004 either. :rolleyes:

I'll give 2205 a miss though! ;)

[lawrywild]

OH ONE MORE THING;

Are the people having the stability issues all using 4GB of ram? I am, and the dude on asus forums is, but no one else has sigs.

[tentp0le]

2 gb of memory here

[lawrywild]

2x1GB or 4x512?

[Huigie]

I have 4x1GB, flashed back to 2004 after 2103 stability issues.

[chessman]

Running BIOS 2205 for 2 days here and no problems to report !
I have 4 x 1 Gb (as in the signature)
Upgraded from bios 2004 with afudos 2.11

Edit : I installed "Intel Microcode update" before a month at bios 2004

[bichi]

no problems with 2103 since release, about 2.5 weeks ago.
- P5WDH; Rev 1.02g, 66M0A
- QX6700 @ 3.0g; B3
- OCZ OCZ2G11002GK @ 500mhz, 3:5, 2 or 4gB RAM, depending on which OS, XP SP2 Pro or Vista Ult 64b
- Microsoft KB936357 Microcode update installed: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=936357
- no "new devices" issues, except the occasional "config" device appearing, which past BIOS'es have also done

will try 2205 and report back later this evening....

[bichi]

FYI:
- have been researching correlation between recent new BIOS'es and Intel/Microsoft microcode release
- only reference is comparing dates, so far
- assuming "CPU Patch" includes a microcode update and not just new processor ID/VID codes
- also assuming corrective microcode was released to manufactures weeks ahead of press date, April 10, 2007
- all guesses and nothing verified, but seems like 2103 and 2205 are likely candidates
- from AMI "MM TOOL" under "CPU Patch"

NO. uCODE ID PLATFORM CPUID UPDATE REV DATE SIZE
2004 - June 19, 2007
18 0016F982 01 06F9 82 2006/09/03 00001000
19 00166115 01 0661 15 2006/11/08 00001000
2103 - June 23, 2007
20 00166115 01 06FB B3 2007/03/14 00001000
21 0106FBB3 10 06Fb B3 2007/03/14 00001000
22 01067106 10 0671 06 2007/03/29 00001000
23 01067106 10 0671 06 2007/03/29 00001000
2205 - June 29, 2007
24 00167106 01 0671 06 2007/03/29 00001000

NOTES:

A microcode reliability update is available that improves the reliability of systems that use Intel processors
Article ID : 936357
Release Date : June 11, 2007
Last Review : July 9, 2007
Revision : 2.0
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=936357

Frequently asked questions:

Q: What issues are fixed by the microcode reliability update?
A: The microcode reliability update fixes the following issues:
• A possible Intel processor marginality.
• A potential source of unpredictable system behavior.

Q: How do you know if the system needs the microcode reliability update?
A: Although these issues are uncommon, you may receive a Stop error, or you may experience unpredictable system behavior.

Q: What errors occur?
A: You may receive a Stop error, or you may experience unpredictable system behavior.

Q: Which Intel processors are affected?
A: Although these issues are uncommon, the following Intel processors may be affected:
• Mobile: Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor.
• Desktop: Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor, Intel Core 2 Quad desktop processor, and Intel Core 2 Extreme processor.
• Server: Intel Xeon processors 3000, 3200, 5100, and 5300 series.

Q: If you install the microcode reliability update, do you still require the latest BIOS update?
A: If you install the microcode reliability update, you do not require the latest BIOS update.

Q: Does the microcode reliability update have to be proactively installed?
A: Affected Intel processor users must use the microcode reliability update.

****************

Around April 10th, 2007, Intel released a microcode update (BIOS flash to the rest of us) so resolve several major issues with how Intel
Core 2 series processors operate. Intel has provided a microcode update as a critical software fix. This Intel microcode update addresses an improper Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) invalidation that may result in unpredictable system behavior such as system hangs or incorrect data. OEM's are making available a system BIOS upgrade that integrates a new version of this Intel microcode to address this potential but extremely rare issue. While the occurrence of this issue is extremely rare, OEM's strongly recommends upgrading the system BIOS to an updated version. Intel has indicated that the microcode update has no known measurable performance impact and provides a complete and comprehensive resolution to this issue.

The issues can affect any workstation that uses Intel Core2 Duo desktop processor E4000 and E6000 sequences, Intel Core2 Quad desktop
processor Q6600 and Intel Core2 Extreme processors X6800 and QX6700 processors. While the implications of the issue are difficult to quantify, any of the following symptoms can occur:

* The system may stop responding to keyboard or mouse input.
* A system operating in a Microsoft Windows environment may generate a blue screen.
* A system operating in a Linux environment may generate a kernel panic.

[lockeh]

i have installed a qx6700 cpu and it wont let me set the multiplyer past 10?

bios version 2004

[lawrywild]

Can't be that microsoft release. I actually installed that after I started getting the problems.

[GLENBOY]

re bios 2205 , same issues here as other people , if bios entered cpu volts reverts to auto, and pci modem and on board sound enabled even though disabled in bios , was stable enough though and allowed multiplier adjustment worked on my qx6700 but i am back to the old faithful 1601 bios and its back to normal

[tentp0le]

2x1GB or 4x512?

2x1 GB | Corsair Dominator TWIN2X8500C5DF 2048MB

[Grendel66]

Interesting, a new entry showed up in the P5W DH Del CPU support chart (http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5W%20DH%20Deluxe):

Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.33GHz,1333FSB,L2:4MB,rev.G0) ALL 2104
I ran 2103 & now 2205 w/o any problems :/ 1st gen P5W & E6600, 2x1GB GeIL

[Bloke]

I ran 2103 & now 2205 w/o any problems :/ 1st gen P5W & E6600, 2x1GB GeIL

I have the 1st gen P5WDH, too. E6600, DDR2-800 2x1gig Patriot PDC22G6400LLK . Installed 2103 and 2205 without any problems.

Also tried on P4 650, 2x1gig StarRAM 533 + 2x512mb Geil 533 kits. No problem on both BIOS.

I never do any overclocking though - because I'm sooo lame LOLz!

[Phoenix_TT]

I also have installed 2103 and 2205 and I don't appear to have any problems. From reading the posts of people that do have problems they seem to have disabled devices in the BIOS, but aren't disabled because Windows is discovering the new devices.

The amount of memory I'm not sure about, but I have 1 GB 2x512MB DDR2800

[lawrywild]

Core 2 Duo E6850 (3.00GHz,1333FSB,L2:4MB,rev.G0) ALL 2103

Well atleast that's some good news, but shame I can't even use that bios. I hope they release a good working bios (for everyone) for the e6850 before july22.

[cherrypik]

I can't get S3 to work with this MB and Vista Home Premium. Has anyone else had any luck?

[cherrypik]

please delete this duplicate.

[D_BRASCO]

No problem w/S3 here

Vista Ultimate

[bichi]

2205 installed without issues, from 2103 (early P5WDH; Rev 1.02g; 66MOAG)
- imaged XP SP2 OS drive, precautionary measure
- prepped AFUDOS v2.17 with 2004, renamed to "p5wdh.rom" on floppy, precautionary measure
- note: Microsoft KB936357 update is installed
- flashed with EZFlash 2 from USB thumbdrive
- cleared BIOS with jumper (10sec)
- set BIOS settings and rebooted
- no new "devices" appeared, except the usual "config" device
- no problems with onboard sound staying at "disabled"
- tested 4gB (4x1gB sticks), no issues
- memory speed, temps, OCCT v1.1.1-b4, etc., all nominal
- did not test "multi" capability
- did not test Vista Ultimate 64b

[eternaljammer]

I was having stability problems before 2205. Now all seems gravy.:)

[Striph]

Anyone else have the problem where your EZ Flash just doesn't work? I had mine stop responding after about bios 1701, it just hangs, never gets past turning the screen blue. Asus said I could buy a new bios chip to replace mine but had no real fix for it. :(

[nicepun]

I'm debating wether to flash to the latest betas. I've been running 2103 no problem.

[Chrysalis]

can someone please mirror the latest bios the rapidshare link in 1st post just gives me a upload file page.

thanks

[Bloke]

I also have installed 2103 and 2205 and I don't appear to have any problems. From reading the posts of people that do have problems they seem to have disabled devices in the BIOS, but aren't disabled because Windows is discovering the new devices.

The amount of memory I'm not sure about, but I have 1 GB 2x512MB DDR2800

Ok, I forgot to mention, I have the following disabled on both BIOS:

Onboard audio
Firewire
Jmicron

Settings can be saved without any problem. Though I did not touch the Jumperfree settings. Everything is set to default.

@Chrysalis
Here's the direct link from Asus for BETA BIOS 2205:

http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/2205.zip

[MacClipper]

I'm debating wether to flash to the latest betas. I've been running 2103 no problem.
2103 already supports G0, imo you can keep it unless you run into problems later.

[Chrysalis]

thanks Bloke.

I have been trying to fix a problem for a while now.

Basically I have an old amd 900 mhz that can play xvid files with ease no skipping etc. my amd64 also does this fine, this board however I get stuttering and I also get stuttering running zsnes a snes emulator, the stuttering happens without cpu saturation ie. low cpu usage.

I just spent an hour moving my 4th sata from the jmicron to the ich7 4th port hoping this would solve it due to bad things said about jmicron but now its actually worse, previously files played of that hd did not cause stuttering and now they do so I have concluded the ich7 sata controller is the culprit.

I have just upgraded to the latest intel storage matrix drivers which has helped slightly but not gone.

Drives all benchmark fine just below 150mbit burst etc. but they acting like as if they in pio mode so when accessed things stutter, in device manager the 2 drives still on the jmicron pata controller have write cache ticked, however my 4 sata drives that section is greyed out with no write cache option, the drive that used to be on the jmicron controller also had write cache on but now like the other 3 on the intel sata it is greyed out and I think disabled.

In the bios I have AHCI mode enabled is this my mistake?

2 gig of ram and the cpu is a 6420 clocked at 2.66ghz, have also tried at stock speed same problems.

[mikepaul]

Quick question to clarify the BIOS update posts: does it now seem important to use AFUDOS to install ANY BIOS because it does an erase before installing that doesn't happen otherwise?

I'm just wondering if I should stop using the USB flash method and stick with a floppy from now on...

[bichi]

Chrysalis,
- bummer. stuttering is a tough one to fix sometimes
- no stuttering here, either video nor audio, with ICH7 in AHCI mode (set for hotswapping HDs, write caching not used)
- fairly intensive video NLE apps used, editing MPEG, Xvid/Divx, H.264, etc., without issues
- media playback, DVD, MPEG, Xvid/Divx, etc., also normal
- opted not to use JMicron controller, instead, installed an Adaptec 1430SA PCIE controller for additional 4 SATAII ports)

A few things come to mind:
- check quality of codec(s) used for your particular media?
- video and audio card drivers?
- IRQ assignments?
- monitor processes to dectect any high usage?
- if Maxtor, then Google for SATA issues (remember seeing Maxtor issues recently)

FYI:
- Intel 82801G (ICH7) Ultra ATA Controller - driver v8.2.0.1011
- Intel 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI - driver v7.5.0.1017
- HDTach of 7200.10 250gB, connected to SATA3 port in AHCI mode, for comparison:
- Device Manager "Policy" showing cache setting:

mikepaul,
- have been lucky with EZFlash 2 and using USB flashdrive method
- I do recall seeing "BIOS erase" and "write bootcode" during flashing with above method
- only time I use AFUDOS is to revert back to earlier BIOS, if needed
- had only one mis-flash, where "Alt-F2" and floppy with 1701 renamed to "p5wdh.rom" was needed
- some will claim AFUDOS/Floppy is the safest method (I was one, prior to this board...)

[lawrywild]

I just reflashed 2103 from 1707 which I loaded straight from the Crashfree Bios 3 yesterday. I used Ez-Flash 2 this time, rather than afudos, and it works fine. I'm not risking the 2205 though, 2103 supports E6850, so that's the only reason I wanted it.

[w2richwood]

ok i just put 2205 oh my rig. but i only have 650 3.4 no c2d tell after the 22 of this mouth i have 2x1gb ram so i gues i'll see what happens. have seen any changes in anything

[Discoboy]

2205 installed without issues, from 2103 (early P5WDH; Rev 1.02g; 66MOAG) :)

- Used AFUDOS v2.17 with AFUDOS /i2205.ROM /pbnc /n flash command
- rebooted and loaded setup defaults
- setup BIOS settings
- no new "devices" appeared
- no problems with onboard sound staying at "disabled"
- tested 4gB (4x1gB sticks), no issues
- FSB @ 333Mhz
- running Vista Ultimate 32b

[roger_h99.nor]

2205 installed WITH issues.

- Afudos 2.21 from bios 1601 to 2205 (with switches)
- confirmed multiplier above default NOT WORKING on my X6800 (g..damn it)

back to 1601 - hopefully it will work :D

Otherwise, 2205 looks OK, no disabled devices popping up i device manager.
No new options in bios.
Not checked OC on this bios - too pissed off.

EDIT1: Mobo 68M0AG - ver. 1.02G
EDIT2: Afudos /i1601.rom /pbnc /n worked OK - back to 1601. (Afudos ver.2.11)
EDIT3: Strange - on first boot (after flash) MP is changeable above default, but not on second boot.

[Peanuts]

i have installed a qx6700 cpu and it wont let me set the multiplyer past 10?

bios version 2004
You need bios 1601 or 2205 in order to have multiplier past 10 for your CPU.

[Chrysalis]

Chrysalis,
- bummer. stuttering is a tough one to fix sometimes
- no stuttering here, either video nor audio, with ICH7 in AHCI mode (set for hotswapping HDs, write caching not used)
- fairly intensive video NLE apps used, editing MPEG, Xvid/Divx, H.264, etc., without issues
- media playback, DVD, MPEG, Xvid/Divx, etc., also normal
- opted not to use JMicron controller, instead, installed an Adaptec 1430SA PCIE controller for additional 4 SATAII ports)

A few things come to mind:
- check quality of codec(s) used for your particular media?
- video and audio card drivers?
- IRQ assignments?
- monitor processes to dectect any high usage?
- if Maxtor, then Google for SATA issues (remember seeing Maxtor issues recently)

FYI:
- Intel 82801G (ICH7) Ultra ATA Controller - driver v8.2.0.1011
- Intel 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI - driver v7.5.0.1017
- HDTach of 7200.10 250gB, connected to SATA3 port in AHCI mode, for comparison:
- Device Manager "Policy" showing cache setting:

mikepaul,
- have been lucky with EZFlash 2 and using USB flashdrive method
- I do recall seeing "BIOS erase" and "write bootcode" during flashing with above method
- only time I use AFUDOS is to revert back to earlier BIOS, if needed
- had only one mis-flash, where "Alt-F2" and floppy with 1701 renamed to "p5wdh.rom" was needed
- some will claim AFUDOS/Floppy is the safest method (I was one, prior to this board...)

This is very weird, but I loaded up device manager to do you a screenshot since the enable write cache was missing on all my ich7 drives. Now it is there but was unticked and I have now ticked it (windows didnt need reboot so looks like a on the fly setting good)

Driver versions
7.5.0.1017 ich7 sata
8.2.1011 ich7 pata
1.17.20.3 jmicron pata and sata it uses same for both

codecs should be irrelevant I think since I use the exact same ones on all my pcs, if the codecs were a problem I would expect the problem on every pc, I have also tried setting cpu affinity to just one core to see if it was a SMP issue. But so you know I am using the feb 2007 ffdshow pack and zoomplayer 5 standard, zoom player 5 runs in above normal priority, also tried high priority. Tried vmr9 as well as standard overlay.

geforce 7600gt driver version 94.24
xi fi driver version 5.12.8.1201 this was actually updated only last week on windows update, made no difference tho.
the soundcard is sharing irq with nothing and is in bottom but 1 slot.
pci-e 7600gt sharing with a pci-e root device I guess thats normal.
nic also sharing with a pci-e root device since on pci-e bus I guess its normal.
jmicron sharing with pci-e root device
ich7 pata not sharing
ich7 sata not sharing

to save irqs serial,parallel and 6 out of 8 usb all disabled also have no floppy drive.

nothing using high cpu usage.

I have 2 maxtor drives 3 western digital one of which is a raptor (os drive) and a seagate.

I well get back to you later if any improvement after enabling write caching.

[ChronoDog]

Sorry for the offtopic question, didn't find anything about it in the thread:

The P5WDH's bios (v2004 here) disables QFan by default when the CPU speed exceeds 3ghz. Now the Asus PC Probe piece of crap allows you to enable it back from within windows, regardless of the CPU speed, the downsides of it being having to run the utility every time, enable the option, then close it, close the "aaCenter.exe" service and put the Wave volume all the way back up, since for whatever reason PCProbe sees it fit to reduce it to 0% whenever it starts :hm:

The question is simple - does anybody know an easier way to enable QFan at over 3ghz? :D

Thanks in advance.

[lawrywild]

Yes, Enable Digital Home Mode and then set the QFan to Optimal. That did it for me.

[ChronoDog]

Thanks lawrywild,that actually worked :)

Somehow I've never thought of that option in the first place...

[Chrysalis]

ok was unrarring a dvd whilst watching a music vid and there was a very large stutter followed by a BSOD. No driver references in the error on screen. So something is massively wrong, I have moved that hd now back to the jmicron controller but unfortenatly I still have to keep 3 hds on this problematic ich7 controller.

After the reboot I noticed also the raptor properties box looks like this. Initially the other 2 hds on the ich7 could be toggled on the write cache but now after I have loaded the browser they are also the same.

http://www.chrysalisnet.org/raptor.jpg

Not only that the raptor is feeling very sluggish right now apps loading slowly etc. The general tab which shows the location of the hd will normally say what bus its on etc. But it simply says location 0 for the raptor location 3 and 4 for the other 2 ich7 hds respectively.

[ChronoDog]

Chrysalis,

Pardon the noobish question, but have you tried a clean reinstall with the latest (v7.5.something) Intel Matrix driver? Because the problems that you're describing could easily be caused by various system file corruptions.

Also, verify that the Raptor is 100% functional, I've had similar trouble with my old Raptor, it stuttered here and there, annoyingly at times. Then it began suddenly turning off and back on in the middle of operation, causing file corruption. After 5 reinstalls I got fed up and simply RMAed it - no problems ever since.

[Chrysalis]

this is a more or less new install the time of installation was approx 2-3 weeks ago, I slipstreamed ahci drivers and these intel matrix are installed after, no drivers in between.

The raptor should be fine it is also fairly new (under 6 months old) and hasnt had any problems up until now. Also bear in mind the problem is with 3 different drives on the controller. Right now they all have write cache ghosted out.

I am considering putting the raptor on the jmicron and then reinstalling windows with it on that.

[lawrywild]

Jmicron's rubbish. Try standard IDE not AHCI

[Chrysalis]

Jmicron's rubbish. Try standard IDE not AHCI

Yes thats planned now, will do it within next 2 days.

Although the jmicron works for me just fine right now its the ich7 been bad, so if jmicron is usually considered poor my ich7 must be performing way below par.

[AndrewSh]

Hi, lawrywild!
Finally I'm able to post here (not only at Asus forums)
Concerning the BIOS 2103 and 2205 unstable system behavior: I found out that I got problems with Disk Management feature and also something's going wrong with shell extensions installed (mean some problems with right-click)....
At the moment I'm trying to detect the real reason of the processor marginality and system unstability.... Write as soon as I get the solution....
P.S. At the moment - system is stable for two days (2205). The detailed report - later...

[bithkits]

So is the 2205 BIOS stable or not? seems there is some controvercy...

Its a beta right? will there be a final release 2205 soon?

[uOpt]

My board doesn't seem to post with a B1 Conroe, although it works fine with a different CPU.

Is that a known problem and/or is it fixable? Getting really frustrated with this board :(

[lawrywild]

I 'think' they removed the ability to run ES cpus quite early on. Try an earlier bios, probably 0701 or something.

[bichi]

Chrysalis,
"...the soundcard is sharing irq with nothing and is in bottom but 1 slot..."

- not sure from your description, exactly where your audio card is installed, "bottom" vs., "Slot 1"
- P5WDH manual, page 2-23, PCI slot 1 is in the middle, closest to PCIE x16 slot
- "bottom," assuming the edge of the board, is Slot3, which is shared with ICH7 SATA controller
- my normal practice when installing new MB's is to map IRQ assignments and install cards appropriately
- lots of opinions about modern OS's assigning/sharing IRQs vs., MB assignments
- attached "IRQ" and "Device by Connection," XP Pro SP2, as sample references (JMicron enabled for clarity)

Secondly, I do remember playback stuttering, back when WPM 11 was released
- ripped out all codex and re-installed updated versions, Feb 2007'ish....
- never used any "codex packs," and reinstalling was a real PIA...

***

ADDITIONAL INFO:
- from notes at install time, Nov 2006:

Intel 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controller (P5WDH)
- IDE Primary
- Port0 SATA 1 (red) (LOC 0)
- Port1 (to SI4723 controller) (LOC 1)
- Port2 SATA 3 (black) (LOC 2)
- Port3 SATA 4 (black) (LOC 3)

Silicon Image SI4723
- EZ_RAID 1 (orange)
- EZ_RAID 2 (opange)

JMicron JMB383 (ICH7 PCI Express Port 27E0)
- EPATA IDE
- SATA RAID1
- External SATA Port

***

IRQ SHARED - (Page 2-23 of manual)

PCI1 - shared with 1394 FireWire <-- (where my Creative is installed, firewire disabled in BIOS)
PCI2 - shared with ICH7 IDE Controller
PCI3 - shared with ICH7 SATA Controller (edge of board)

Onboard IDE (JMicron) - shared with USB Controller 2
Onboard LAN1 - shared with USB Controller 4 and HD Audio
Onboard LAN2 - shared with PCIE x16 and one PCIE x1 slots

PCIE x1 - shared with USB Controller 4

USB 2.0 Controller - shared with USB Controller 1

***
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management

Governs the amount of memory set aside by the system for certain kernel processes. If it's set to 1 (allegedly improves performance on systems with more than 512MB of memory), can cause data corruption on some systems and produce "Delayed Write Failed" error. Try resetting it to 0 if it's been set to 1.

[uOpt]

I 'think' they removed the ability to run ES cpus quite early on. Try an earlier bios, probably 0701 or something.

Will that then work with a Celeron 440? Because if not then I don't have a CPU left to re-flash.

I shouldn't have trusted Asus :(

[Pied]

I 'think' they removed the ability to run ES cpus quite early on. Try an earlier bios, probably 0701 or something.

Which bios do you think this started on? I'm using 1701 right now with an ES chip.

[Chrysalis]

Chrysalis,
"...the soundcard is sharing irq with nothing and is in bottom but 1 slot..."

stripped

Ok sorry for the confusion from what you said my xi fi will be in pci 2 and according to the manual is sharing with ide but it isnt using irq 14 or irq 15. I also only have the dvd burner on the intel pata interface I use jmicron pata for pata hds.

I will move it to pci 1 as that seems the best port to use I agree with you there and I am now glad I couldnt manage to use pci3 as that would have been the worst slow. Strange how they still cant give each pci slot its own irq assignment still.

The question is tho as the bios assigns irqs on a apm/acpi basis ie. only up to irq 15, is the irq still been shared when windows APIC kicks in and irqs above 15 are been used?

see below

http://www.chrysalisnet.org/irqs.jpg
http://www.chrysalisnet.org/connection.jpg

[bichi]

Chrysalis,
"...The question is tho as the bios assigns irqs on a apm/acpi basis ie. only up to irq 15, is the irq still been shared when windows APIC kicks in and irqs above 15 are been used?..."

yes and no, and to make sense of why this is, some links below:
- as an example, from KB314086:
"...The Plug and Play operating system settings in the computer BIOS do not generally affect how Windows XP handles the hardware. However, Microsoft recommends that you set the Plug and Play operating system setting to No or Disabled in the computer BIOS. For information about viewing or modifying the computer BIOS settings, see the computer documentation, or contact the computer manufacturer..."

A general description of IRQ sharing in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314068

How to force a Hardware Abstraction Layer during an upgrade or an installation of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299340/

HAL options after Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Setup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309283/

[BulldogPO]

Dudes, I got real problem now.
I changed my old NEC AD-7170A IDE DVD+-RW drive to NEC AD-7173S S-ATA drive and I can´t get it work.
In post bios says Master drive - not ATAPI compatible.
Vista shows exclamation mark in devicemanager and says "Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)"

What can I do?

BTW Q6600 works fine in my board at 3.2GHz:
http://kotisivu.dnainternet.net/bulldog/images/P4/Q6600_SL9UM/Q6600@3.2GHz_Asus_Geforce_8800GTX_3D_Mark06_13038p ts.png

[uOpt]

Does anybody know whether BIOS 1701 will support a Celeron 440?

I need to flash bashwards to maybe support my Conroe, but if the Celeron 440 won't work afterwards I'm left without anything to flash with.

[lawrywild]

According to asus website, celeron 440 is supported in 2103 onwards. Can you borrow a celeron D or something to do it.

[jabski]

is there a bios that supports es qx6700 but with unlocked multi ??

[Luis_GT]

bios 1601

[jabski]

bios 1601

thanks :)

[BulldogPO]

There must be someone with S-ATA DVDRW drive and this mobo..

[bichi]

BulldogPO,
- might want to try CDFreaks, under NEC section, if noone here can answer
- only LiteOn PATA here....

http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=86

[Chrysalis]

another update and thanks to the guys spending time to help me.

The xifi is now in pci slot 1 the one near pci-e port, the stuttering seems to be significantly improved so although device manager says there was no irq conflict it appears there was, I think now the drive which still has some stuttering is on the jmicron pata controller so will move that to be slave to my burner on the ich7 pata to see if better or not.

I still am unable to toggle write cache on the ich7 although I want it disabled (have now disabled on all the jmicron drives) I think the fact it cant be toggled still seems to indicate a problem, using dskcache.exe a command line tool from microsooft confirms write cache is disabled but when trying to enable using the tool it is refused so is greyed out because the functionaility isnt available. I noticed in raid setups intels matrix tool allows it to be enabled but doesnt on AHCI non raid setups.

XP reinstall still not done this is because of me moving the xifi card.

to bichi, yeah I did try toggling that option in the bios but the irq assignments stayed the same I guess it makes no difference unless reinstalling the os, incidently my listed irq for the xifi is no 21 not 22.

[Chrysalis]

There must be someone with S-ATA DVDRW drive and this mobo..

I think if you using a SATA dvd drive then the controller needs to be in ide compatability mode not AHCI/RAID, if you already in ide mode then I have no idea sorry.

[astaris]

There must be someone with S-ATA DVDRW drive and this mobo..
I have a samsung sata DVDRW drive ant it works in AHCI mode. Never tried IDE mode.

[IcemaN22]

Today I changed my graphic card to 8800gtx and WD Raptor X HDD, but then 2 "small problems" showed up.

1: Mobo temperature raised about 15 deagrese! So now the temperature is 49-53 idle and 53-60 when i play games etc.. Isnt it to much?

2: Bios is lagging (fps drop :p: ) with any temperature. Why is that?

[lawrywild]

I think the bios issue with the 8800gtx is quite a common bug. Search the thread and ye shall find.

Perhaps mobo temperature raised because your case temperature raised. 8800s and Raptors put out quite a lot of heat afaik.

[IcemaN22]

I think the bios issue with the 8800gtx is quite a common bug. Search the thread and ye shall find.

Perhaps mobo temperature raised because your case temperature raised. 8800s and Raptors put out quite a lot of heat afaik.

Ok, should I not worry the high temperature on the mobo? What about buying new mobo with better cooling?

[sbinh]

Temp inside has nothing to do with mobo .... You need to have better airflow within your case ..... Look like you need to add fan to take hot air out of the case.

[AndrewSh]

Ok, should I not worry the high temperature on the mobo? What about buying new mobo with better cooling?

Your 8800 GTX is like an extremely hot baffle-plate straight in the middle of the case. What temperature do you expect? Did you try to touch the metal parts of the card with a finger? Try it!
If you afraid to make a fire - buy the case with big fan on side - I have the same.
I use GTX8800 from Asus for half a year and don't have any problems with local fire department :D
Just the advise - use the system with the case completely closed - the open case causes the temperature to rise up for 15-20 degrees.

[happ]

Your GTX blow hot air directly to mobo temperature sensor which is situated just below GTX fan. So the sensor is hot, not entire mobo. This is the same situation with my XFX GTS 320. My mobo temp is some 45 °C on idle.

[k0nsl]

I was stupid enough to update to the new beta (2205) and now its like this:

1. can't change vcore
2. new devices (a PCI-modem)

[EDIT]
New device issue solved. It "went away".

still can't change vcore :(

This is ------! :mad:

[phillydee]

Howdy. Been reading a lot on the P5WDH boards here at Xtreme Systems. Love the forums. I've just recently (yesterday) finally got a stable OC....

I'm running BiOS 2004 and never updated since. Also, I did see somewhere (if it was here in this thread or not) about folks' purposely corrupting the bios flashing, then re-installing the original bios, then updating that back to 2004....

Anyway, there's a way back out of this problem apparently.