1st look on asus P5K-VM: G33 matx board (56K warning!)

[pvhk]

Asus has brings out at last its new g33 mb!
Will it performs like the top of the line Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R?

Some pics of the retail version of this mb:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/787/g71060copierls4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The bundle:
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/2848/g71063copierrf2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The mb:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6087/g71066copierky3.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g71066copierky3.jpg)

Full solids caps!

My rig:
x6800 + crucial ballistix 5300 + seasonic S12 II 380w + nvidia TNT 16Mo PCI:
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/148/g71072copierik8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A closer look to the motherboard:
back panel & Q connectors:
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2852/g71073copierxe6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Mofsets & capacitors around the socket:
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5738/g71077copiertb5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

PPL and bios eprom soldered to the mb:
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/1589/g71078copierop2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

ratio unlocked downward and also upward for x6800 (up to 13x)
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3240/g71094copierpe5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

vcore max 1.60v:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5079/g71088copieryo0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

vcore min 1.15v:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/1342/g71089copierxq0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

vddr up to 2.10v:
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/2074/g71090copierlb1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[pvhk]

The famous DRAM frequency!!! the same issue as the gigabyte?
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/2954/g71086copierqz7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

fsb set to @300:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/797/g71092copierrh9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

fsb set to @400:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2299/g71093copierji0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


fsb max @800:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9686/g71100copierog7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

onboard video can be disabled in bios!
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/986/g71095copierjm8.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g71095copierjm8.jpg)


update your bios easily and safely!
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8463/g71099copierzc9.jpg (http://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g71099copierzc9.jpg)

Go into windows:
fsb@300:
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4296/asusil8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

fsb@400:
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1043/400assuscm0.th.jpg (http://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=400assuscm0.jpg)


fsb@450:
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/8857/450asussc1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

So! this asus P5K-VM gives us at last this damned missing ratio 1:1 fsb/ram and performs like its rival the gigabyte (fsb@450 )

You won't be compelled to use those killing rams needed on the ga-g33-ds2r!

[Brother Esau]

Dude where did you get the savory Darth Vador Doll? I had one of those when it first came out in 1977:)

[N00B]

Dont forget to test the Intel GMA 3100 :up:

[tam2]

Nice pvhk, waiting 4 ur result
Especially the divider options

-tam2-

[pvhk]

The P5K-VM gives us at last the missing ratio 1:1

See above! :up:

[wa2000]

Thanks for your result pvhk.:up:

Can you test this mb with quad core?

[_G_]

The P5K-VM gives us at last the missing ratio 1:1

See above! :up:

nice:toast:

can you fit a 16x card in the open ended 4x slot or does the battery get in the way?

[tam2]

GJ pvhk :)
I think i might get this one too
ASUS FTW!!
But it'll still need good rams to reach 800-900 with 4-4-4-x timings coz of the limited vddr up to 2.1V only :|

-tam2-

[PENNYW!SE]

Where is that 1:1 option? Is it the "Auto" Option?

And did you have a 800MHz FSB CPU to test if the 1:1 divider is available for those CPUs too?

@tam2
The timings are not so powerful on intel system ... and 800-900mhz should as good as every memory make with max. 2.1V ...

The Asus seems to have the same high quality components like the Gigabyte, but i think i stay @ my DS2R yet :D

[pvhk]

Where is that 1:1 option? Is it the "Auto" Option?

And did you have a 800MHz FSB CPU to test if the 1:1 divider is available for those CPUs too?

@tam2
The timings are not so powerful on intel system ... and 800-900mhz should as good as every memory make with max. 2.1V ...

The Asus seems to have the same high quality components like the Gigabyte, but i think i stay @ my DS2R yet :D
You are blind man!! :D
Look at cpuz!
To have ratio 1:1 i had to set manually in bios "DDR 667"! I did not use "auto" setting....

And yes, i have an e4300 & 4400 on my other rigs....
will test later but i'm confident..
This mb rocks and behaves like the giga otherwise...

[PENNYW!SE]

I have seen that there IS an 1:1 divider, i mean the BIOS!

It doesnt make sense for me, you have a 1066mhz CPU and set DDR2-667, that means you have a 4:5 dividor, so why you have 1:1?


http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb261/pvhk/G71086copier.jpg

[hot_fifty]

maybe the setting unlocks at 300FSB or something

BTW what is the Transaction booster?

[tam2]

Availability? how much is it?
The last thing we all wanna see is the fsb clocking on quads
Thx for the quick review pvhk

-tam2-

[elec999]

Nice Little board.
Thanks

[pvhk]

Let the e4300 take place!
e4300@2.4Ghz
fsb@266 ram set to 667:
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/1365/4300nh5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


fsb@266, ram set to 800 in bios:
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/2121/2664300qh8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

fsb@266, ram set to 887 in bios:
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/918/887lg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

For those who want this ratio 1:1, see what dividers are unlocked when fsb is set to @333 with a c2d fsb800:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9646/g71108copierbl1.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g71108copierbl1.jpg):eek: :eek:

Boot under windows:

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/103/ratio11km0.th.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ratio11km0.jpg)

This motherboard really rocks!! :up:

[pvhk]

fsb@486:
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/8171/486fj9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[pvhk]

fsb@495
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/4700/495vk5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[pvhk]

fsb@500 ratio 6x:
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/8876/500bx0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb261/pvhk/500.jpg

[HamidFULL]

Price of P5K-VM?

[tam2]

Im soooo gonna buy this board

-tam2-

[hot_fifty]

the same price as the gigabyte ds2r here in Denmark:P

Remember it has no raid and max 2,1 vdimm!

[The Nemesis]

pvhk,

When you get an opportunity can you do an orthos blend test @ 450FSB or 475FSB. If that FSB is stable @ those speeds, then my E6400 B has just found a new home. DDR2-900 is no problem @2.1v with some G. SKill 6400 HZ's. Default voltage for DDR2-800 is 2.0v-2.1v. Anyplace have this board available in the states yet?

[MacClipper]

Does S3 sleep/resume work?

Thx.

[pvhk]

Does S3 sleep/resume work?

Thx.
Did not enabled it! will try....

[MacClipper]

From experience, S3 sleep/resume is most likely to work on Asus mobos more than any other makes.

Really sad cos I use S3 all the time.

[pvhk]

pvhk,

When you get an opportunity can you do an orthos blend test @ 450FSB or 475FSB. If that FSB is stable @ those speeds, then my E6400 B has just found a new home. DDR2-900 is no problem @2.1v with some G. SKill 6400 HZ's. Default voltage for DDR2-800 is 2.0v-2.1v. Anyplace have this board available in the states yet?
it will be done!

[pochoboy]

interesting, this is the 1st Asus P5K board that has a parallel LPT port on the rear panel.

Now i got 2 options the other being the Gigabyte mb, as I needed a mb with a parallel LPT port.

[caligula]

The price is comparable to gigabyte, but the lack of raid kills me :(
Will they release a matx mobo with ICH9R?

[TEDY]

130€ :(

[zert]

argh my eyes, its so ugly :(
will ASUS ever learn to use black PCB's on all there boards

[ziddey]

pencil vdimm mod should be easy, so 2.1v isn't issue really

any vnb/sb/ich adjustment?
what's max fsb 1:1 with conroe?

[Lestat]

that thing is cracka lackin

now you would tell us if you modded the board right ?

[pvhk]

pencil vdimm mod should be easy, so 2.1v isn't issue really

any vnb/sb/ich adjustment?
what's max fsb 1:1 with conroe?
no vfsb nore vmch like the gigabyte but in my case those options are useless cause it did not changes anything raising those voltages!
Did not try yet over fsb@500....

that thing is cracka lackin

now you would tell us if you modded the board right ?
My screens are fakes ones as usual! :D


Though laking esata & full raid (ICH9 not ICH9R), this board with it's ugly color (:ROTF: ) is by far better than my gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R in term of performance (max fsb, lots of ratio fsb/mem with c2d fsb800/1066)...

[Lestat]

looks like its light years better overclocking wise

[PENNYW!SE]

I dont think the Asus is "far better", if GB give us more memory-dividors i think the same or maybe more fsb is possible (MCH/FSB voltages adjustable), and then its overall the better choice i think, damn GB support (yet) ...

[Lestat]

is this turning into the normal G33 chipset though? the lack of dividers ?

in reality, and you can't deny this if you have done performance tests and not memory benchmarks.

you will never see the difference performance/speed with high ram vs 950mhz ram
benchmarks are the only thing thats going to show it, you'll never see it in windows or anything else.

in reality the lack of dividers is fine, lower ram at tighter timings is the same as higher ram at looser timings and many times can be done with less voltage. or equal voltage.

gotta remember these are not real overclocking boards, i think they just put the overclocking in there to sell more.

[dogsx2]

Looks like a nice board but you have played this tune so many times I lost count. Was it an Asus board you first said was the one? LOL

Anyway, what it the highest MHz, prime for an hour stable, you can get with your 6800? Thanks.

[vlaanv]

I'm in need of an matx board. Thinking about this Asus P5K-VM or the GA-G33M-DS2R board. I want to insert a E4400 and overclock to 3Gz (any higher will heat up the case to much I-am afraid). I will use 2gig normal PC6400 800 Mhz memory.
In your expert opinion which one to chose. I believe the ASUS will reach the 3gz more easily without overclocking the ram. Is this correct?. I can live with the lack of raid on the asus. The 6 usb on the back are more important to my setup. Any advise on which board to take or maybe on a more suitable processor will be appreciated. Cheers

[Clint]

Very nice results!:up:

500 fsb on matx, who would think?:clap:

But it lacks Raid and has only 4 SATA.

If we gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R owners mailed GB these results and pointed out that the competition is providing 1:1 maybe we could get that as well...:D

[SaII]

o.o all the pictures are gone

[SunFlowerSeeds]

ASUS should use better colour on their PCB. Gigabyte look must better. :shakes:

[pvhk]

Maybe but giga has not those memory divider unlocked!
with a c2d fsb1066:

from 266 up to 292: 4 ratio

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/9753/g71136copierid2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/6303/g71137copiercs2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

from 293 up to 800: 7 ratio available!
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/8761/g71135copieruo2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/5312/g71134copierql9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[The Nemesis]

@pvhk

Have you got orthos stable for more than 12 hours @ 450FSB or greater yet?

[pvhk]

@pvhk

Have you got orthos stable for more than 12 hours @ 450FSB or greater yet?
No did not test for that duration!
only 30min for my personal use!
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/3439/orthos450pq2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/890/occt450bj9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Does S3 sleep/resume work?

Thx.

it works without a glitch fsb@450!

[bingo13]

Have you got orthos stable for more than 12 hours @ 450FSB or greater yet?


I have run 8x435 for 24 hours with an E6600 (anything higher crashes around six hours but have not tried an X6800 yet), Quad QX6700 is doing 9x420. Gigabyte is working on opening up the memory ratios in their next G33 BIOS. The performance oriented G35 boards will be completely unlocked, early sample is doing 8x500 (E6600) on the 1066 strap right now. ;)

[The Nemesis]

Thanks Bingo,

How far away are these "performance oriented" G35 boards? I'm looking to replace the Abit F-I90HD with a 450FSB capable m-atx board for Quakecon next month.

[PENNYW!SE]

I think between G33 and G35 are no differences except DX10 support ...

@bingo
Gigabyte is working on opening up the memory ratios in their next G33 BIOS.

How you know that?

[bingo13]

Thanks Bingo,

How far away are these "performance oriented" G35 boards? I'm looking to replace the Abit F-I90HD with a 450FSB capable m-atx board for Quakecon next month.

Late August, early September on the street... might see a couple of boards show up a little earlier from the usual suspects. ;)

[bingo13]

I think between G33 and G35 are no differences except DX10 support ...

@bingo


How you know that?

There are several other differences between the G35 and G33 besides the graphics core update, optimizations to the memory pipeline as an example.

I know about the Gigabyte BIOS because I am using it right now - release F4A adds these memory ratios:

FSB 1066: 1:1, 4:5, 2:3, 1:2
FSB 1333: 1:1, 5:6, 5:8

Overclocking is improved a little also.

[pvhk]

There are several other differences between the G35 and G33 besides the graphics core update, optimizations to the memory pipeline as an example.

I know about the Gigabyte BIOS because I am using it right now - release F4A adds these memory ratios:

FSB 1066: 1:1, 4:5, 2:3, 1:2
FSB 1333: 1:1, 5:6, 5:8

Overclocking is improved a little also.
Have you got some screens of those ratios?

[SoulsCollective]

Yegods, that PCB looks awful!

Nice results, though, I guess I could live with the eyesore for that FSB.

[PENNYW!SE]

Where you get it from? I have die GB too but have still F3 ... and i have FSB 800 CPU ...

[PENNYW!SE]

I see, its available in the HP but i cant dowload it ... can you upload it anywhere for us?

[The Nemesis]

Late August, early September on the street... might see a couple of boards show up a little earlier from the usual suspects. ;)

In that case I may as well buy a board now. So do you think the Gigabyte(with f4 bios) is better than the Asus? Have you done any orthos testing with the Gigabyte? It's instock everywhere I'll order it now if its 450FSB or greater stable.

[__Miguel_]

Those are AWESOME informations... The G33M from Gigabyte (who is severely memory limited thanks to the lack of dividers) recieving the "missing" 1:1 (500+ maybe?), G35 boards only one/two months away... Nice!

Btw, has anyone tried CrossFire with the G33? boards with the open-ended 4x slot? It should be the same thing as the P965 and P35 chipsets, it is the same configuration (except the shorter slot, but the secondary longer ones only give extra support on the P965/P35 boards...).

Cheers.

Miguel

[The Nemesis]

The P5K-VM is showing up instock here in the states now. Just can't decide what to do now. If the Gigabyte memory divider issues get fixed, it seems like a better buy. It actually comes with e-sata bracket & cable & I use e-sata alot.

[SoulsCollective]

I've worked with the G33M myself, and apart from the memory issues it's a sweet, sweet board.

[pvhk]

Bios F4A beta for gigabyte available for download (unlocking ratio 1:1) :
I got it!!! :)

http://tw.giga-byte.com/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=2534

[PENNYW!SE]

Can you send it to me?
Download doesnt work :(

[pvhk]

Can you send it to me?
Download doesnt work :(

here:
http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/Hardware/CPU-Mobo-Ram/topic-monter-c2d-sujet_760299_160.htm#t5626959

or:
http://asia.giga-byte.com/FileList/BIOS/motherboard_bios_ga-g33m-ds2r_f4a_beta.exe

[PENNYW!SE]

THX, i have it :D

But the GB-Link still doesnt work?!

[pvhk]

strange it works for me...

[The Nemesis]

Me too...

[PENNYW!SE]

Ive tried the new bios and no new memory-dividors for 800mhz cpus yet :(

But i think they will come soon, its just a beta ...

The GB-download works now ;)

[The Nemesis]

This board is now available @newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131187)for $119.99 + Shipping.

[pvhk]

This board is now available @newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131187)for $119.99 + Shipping.
good price indeed compared to europe ones!

[bingo13]

Ive tried the new bios and no new memory-dividors for 800mhz cpus yet :(

But i think they will come soon, its just a beta ...

The GB-download works now ;)

800MHz memory dividers might show up in F5, still have a lot of tuning left to do with the F4x right now. After speaking with Gigabyte today they let the F4a go public on their site so they will support it, fairly solid beta after several days of testing. ;)

[bingo13]

In that case I may as well buy a board now. So do you think the Gigabyte(with f4 bios) is better than the Asus? Have you done any orthos testing with the Gigabyte? It's instock everywhere I'll order it now if its 450FSB or greater stable.

I like it better than the ASUS, mainly from an options viewpoint but Gigabyte is committed to tuning the board now, we might even get a couple of additional voltage options in F5. I have not been able to clock as high as the ASUS board but they are working on it now, might get another beta spin later this week.

[hot_fifty]

I run 378*9 in lownoise air with the MB. Really nice

[tam2]

Finally, got their attention to m-atx boards

-tam2-

[The Nemesis]

I don't like the no ps2 keyboard port of the ASUS P5K-VM:( There goes KVM switch support.

[pvhk]

I don't like the no ps2 keyboard port of the ASUS P5K-VM:( There goes KVM switch support.


no ps2 mouse port!!
the ps2 keyboard is still here!

[The Nemesis]

no ps2 mouse port!!
the ps2 keyboard is still here!

O I can fix that with one of those green usb-ps2 adaptors:) I ordered from cheifvalue. Used $5 off coupon & got it for $121.32 shipped:D

[SunFlowerSeeds]

My PS2 KB is working on P5K-VM... :confused:

E6420 running 3.0GHz on this baby. I adjusted the vcore from auto to 1.275v and it run much cooler. CT reported core temp of 50c at hot summer inside Silverstone SG01 EVO cooled with NT06.

I don't like the no ps2 keyboard port of the ASUS P5K-VM:( There goes KVM switch support.

[The Nemesis]

Are u using a usb mouse or do you have a converter on a ps2 one? I've got tracking #, but delivery date info not avail. yet.

[pvhk]

Are u using a usb mouse or do you have a converter on a ps2 one? I've got tracking #, but delivery date info not avail. yet.
usb mouse (logitech g3)! but ps2+converter also works (tested with an other mouse)!

[SunFlowerSeeds]

I am using USB mouse with PS2 keyboard. There is only one ps2 port.

[Tulatin]

The price is comparable to gigabyte, but the lack of raid kills me :(
Will they release a matx mobo with ICH9R?

The -ds2r variant of the gigabyte has it.

[MAValpha]

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I didn't see any clarification: are all of these OC results done using an add-in card, or integrated graphics?

[pvhk]

all tests were done using a pci nvidia TNT card and now a 7900gs!
onboard video always disabled!

[fallwind]

Does anyone have OC results on this board while using the onboard vodeo? Any quad results also?

[__Miguel_]

Does anyone have OC results on this board while using the onboard vodeo? Any quad results also?
X2, please!

Cheers.

Miguel

[The Nemesis]

E6400 L628B194 cooled w/Silverstone NT06(No Fan, airflow provided by PSU), Asus P5K-VM w/onboard graphics enabled, G. SKill 6400 HZ's, OCZ GameXtreme 700w. All installed in Silverstone SG03 w/stock case fan. 425 X 8 auto vcore 2.1v on ram. C1E, EIST, Speed Step, all enabled.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9107/12hoursorthose6400l628bnr2.th.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12hoursorthose6400l628bnr2.jpg)

Refit due in a couple days, I have the Zalman 8700 & Silverstone Crossflow Fan. I'll be trying it along with an Antec Neo 500 HE. I'm gonna stay with whichever yeilds the best temps.

[Breogan]

Does this motherboard have AHCI support on BIOS, or has it been removed as in the vanilla P5K?

[The Nemesis]

Does this motherboard have AHCI support on BIOS, or has it been removed as in the vanilla P5K?

Yes it has it. In bios, its under "Main" then "Ide Configuration". "SATA Configuration" must be set to something other than disable. Then under "Configure SATA AS" the options are "IDE" & "AHCI".

[__Miguel_]

E6400 L628B194 cooled w/Silverstone NT06(No Fan, airflow provided by PSU, Asus P5K-VM w/onboard graphics enabled, G. SKill 6400 HZ's, OCZ GameXtreme 700w. All installed in Silverstone SG03 w/stock case fan. 425 X 8 auto vcore 2.1v on ram. C1E, EIST, Speed Step, all enabled.

It seems finally the IGPs are becoming somewhat independent of FSB manipulation. Well, either that or Intel is being extremely conservative on the capabilities of its new IGP (which may be a very good thing for the G35 chipset...).

I mean, that speed is basically the same other users have been getting with this board. Could changing the northbridge cooler help with the OC? I guess the IGP can be generating some extra heat which the IGP can't handle...

Anyway, thank you for the update on overclocking with the IGP enabled. And thank you also for the info on NOT active cooling not being needed on these CPUs, only PSU.

Cheers.

Miguel

[The Nemesis]

I've not seen anyone post prime stable results of such length with or without onboard video in use. My board clocks well for Pi, but not orthos or OCCT. I believe the limitation lies in fact than you can't increase any voltages other than cpu or vdimm. I think after a few bios spins we'll get voltage adjustment as well as increased vdimm. Biggest draw back on this board is the 07v vdroop. Still I'm happy with this setup. I'm almost considering not tearing it down and trying the Zalman.

[fallwind]

Thanks for posting your results! :up:

[kenton]

I am setting up my P5K-VM system this weekend.

What sold me was the coaxial out + 6usb over the Gigabyte board.


Specs:

Microfly BX6 (the new good looking one w/o handle)
P5K-VM
E6400 (see sig for previous overclock results on current board)
Zalman 8000
4GB (4x1GB) G.Skill DDR2-800 "HZ" Micron D9
Hard drives in sig
One DVDRW in sig
X-Plosion PCI
Gigabyte 8800GTS 640MB

Basically I am selling my P5B Deluxe and Antec 900 and X1950XT to make my system into SFF for my large television.



What do you think of the system? Tomorrow the case arrives and Friday I will begin the build. Operating system is Windows XP MCE though I have Vista but I will not install it due to bad Auzen Vista drivers.



I currently have my processor at 3.4GHz 24hour orthos stable without any voltage tweaks except to processor (i.e. no MCH/SB/etc voltage increases) and I hope to achieve at least 3.2GHz in the small case.

[The Nemesis]

I am setting up my P5K-VM system this weekend.

What sold me was the coaxial out + 6usb over the Gigabyte board.


Specs:

Microfly BX6 (the new good looking one w/o handle)
P5K-VM
E6400 (see sig for previous overclock results on current board)
Zalman 8000
4GB (4x1GB) G.Skill DDR2-800 "HZ" Micron D9
Hard drives in sig
One DVDRW in sig
X-Plosion PCI
Gigabyte 8800GTS 640MB

Basically I am selling my P5B Deluxe and Antec 900 and X1950XT to make my system into SFF for my large television.



What do you think of the system? Tomorrow the case arrives and Friday I will begin the build. Operating system is Windows XP MCE though I have Vista but I will not install it due to bad Auzen Vista drivers.



I currently have my processor at 3.4GHz 24hour orthos stable without any voltage tweaks except to processor (i.e. no MCH/SB/etc voltage increases) and I hope to achieve at least 3.2GHz in the small case.

The Zalman 8000 just plain suxs. I haven't used mine in awhile. I doubt it will be able to cool you cpu oc to your satisfaction. I have the new Zalman 8700, but I'm so satisfied with the build I don't think I want to tear it down just to try the cooler. There are no voltage adjustments available other than ram and cpu. Ram only goes to 2.1v and vdroop is around .07v. Keep all this in mind as you plan your oc looks good though.

[PENNYW!SE]

Why just everybody says the Asus has more USB connectors than the Gigabyte? - thats wrong!

ALL G33 motherboards have 12 USB ports!

The Asus has "just" 2 more on the backpanel and the Gigabyte one more internal USB header.

EDIT: http://www.forumdeluxx.de/forum/showthread.php?t=352788

[pvhk]

except that on the asus, you won't be compelled to buy an extra bracket...
the zalman 8000 is not a good performer! the 8700 is a better choice for a low profil heatsink:
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4750/g7052copierah1.jpg

[kenton]

I currently use Arctic Cooling 7 Pro. Everyone say that that HSF does not preform so well.

I was very happy with it, though that might be the extra "airy" Antec 900 case.

The 8000 must be better than the Intel OEM HSF and in addition I do not believe the 8700 to fit because of how it sticks over the motherboard.

I already have the 8000 and it looks very nice. My goal is just to keep the processor under 65C at full load. I believe because my processor needs no additional voltage (at least on P5B-D) to achieve 3.2GHz I will have no issues.

My RAM is Micron D9GMH verified by removal of heatspreader

[serialk11r]

My 7900gs died, I'm selling the other one I have sometime, this board looks great. I'll be awaiting results with onboard video turned on too :) oh and when you do that, could you like touch the nb heatsink to feel how hot it is?

[pvhk]

upcoming test with the new e6850!
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/8063/g7copierlq7.th.jpg (http://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g7copierlq7.jpg)

[pvhk]

out of the box, fsb@400, ratio 9x vcore@1.35v
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9163/3600qe2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

This cpu really rocks, no heat issue with this new step G0! 32° idle on air (cnps8700)

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/2682/tatxl4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[pvhk]

e6850@3.8Ghz, vcore@1.38v, fsb@423 on air!
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9117/3800tq7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[tam2]

Nice!! Whats the highest stable clock pvhk?
G0s runs cool indeed, perfect for a quiet htpc in an SFF case

-tam2-

[pvhk]

Nice!! Whats the highest stable clock pvhk?
G0s runs cool indeed, perfect for a quiet htpc in an SFF case

-tam2-
max stable: 3.9Ghz
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7972/3900sl1.th.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3900sl1.jpg)

Max bench @4Ghz vcore@1.60v bios (1.49v under xp) on air (start to be really hot)
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9250/4mjo4.th.jpg (http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4mjo4.jpg)

[tam2]

Wow, that's sooo cool. What's the FPO/Batch numbers anyway? Thats one helluva chip
Also we're waiting for u to test it on GA mobo that u also have :)

-tam2-

[The Nemesis]

pvhk,

Is your board installed inside the case or are these open testbed tests. I'm just curious because of the cooler your using. I have the same one, but I haven't bothered to try it yet. It's looking good though:)

[pvhk]

yes ! case closed!
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7569/g7050copiervy5.th.jpg (http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g7050copiervy5.jpg)

But this cooler is clearly not sufficient to handle 4Ghz with stability (overheat)!
I will try the ultra120 on the giga g33 (the nsk3400 is compatible with this heatsink) with this cpu
on this screen : the utra90 with "bolt thru kit" fixation

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3091/g7068copieryl7.th.jpg (http://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g7068copieryl7.jpg)

[kenton]

http://kenton.org/orthos.JPG

[WoodButcher]

I could not resist any longer. I ordered from newegg 5 min ago. I love my matx case, Silverstone TJ08 (http://aloader.com/files/65/DSCF0696.JPG) lots of wet goodess in a little space, but limited OC. I'm hoping this is the answer. :worship: -P5K-VM

[SunFlowerSeeds]

very overclock friendly board with 1:1 memory divider. The PWMIC even though not as cool looking as the gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R, but it work extremely well on a 3GHz CPU.

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

im ordering one asap :D (with an e6850 of course)

[CyberDruid]

Got one in the cart :)

[dogsx2]

Got one last night. Using a 4300 with bsel mod. Boots in at 266 and shows 2.4 but when I try and oc in bios it always just stays at 266 when it boots.

Also I did a fresh install of XP pro and it will not just post. I have to hit reset and then it will post and boot. Wonder if it has anything to do with the bsel mod?

[dogsx2]

Took the bsel mod off and now works fine. It also caused the posting problem.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9048/1223tt2.th.jpg (http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1223tt2.jpg)

[ziddey]

how did bsel turn into bezel??

[__Miguel_]

lol I thought he was mentioning BSEL, but I was not sure. Seems I was right, after all...

Ok, apart from reiterating it is spelled "BSEL" (short for "bootstrap select", I guess- anyone can confirm this?), not bezel (which usually refers to the cover on drives or drive bays), I must tell you, dogsx2, that Gigabyte motherboards don't like BSEL mods. They usually don't even POST, much less boot. It was the very same thing with the GA-945GM-S2H (if I remember the model number correctly): BSEL mods would result in no POST.

Oh, and btw, very nice OC you have there. That 6x multi was the EIST kicking in, or you could't get it stable with higher multis? Also, are those stock voltages?

Cheers.

Miguel

[dogsx2]

Sorry, still had the bad day at work on my mind.:brick:

The Vcore is 1.325 set in bios with 9x. Case is a closed Microfly. I really like this board. It maybe the first Asus I ever really liked out of the few I have had. Just waiting for the Q6600 GO to arrive in numbers.

If the vDIMM to even 2.2v instead of 2.1v I would like it a lot more.




http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/750/p5kvmcr1.th.jpg (http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p5kvmcr1.jpg)

[tam2]

Nice, waiting for your quad result

-tam2-

[Eldonko]

Is there a clockgen program that works with this board?

[dogsx2]

I should never buy an Asus board as it seems I always have some dumb problem with them. On this board when I hit the power button to turn it off, windows shuts down and the LCD goes to sleep but the PSU and all fans keep running. If I hit reset it then boots back up. I end up using the switch on the PSU to turn the computer off. Not sure what's wrong. Never had this happen before. :(

[Neon Biker]

Looks like it goes into stand-by. Check the BIOS settings in the Power section. But why are you hitting the power button instead of shutting it down from within Windows?

[dogsx2]

Looks like it goes into stand-by. Check the BIOS settings in the Power section. But why are you hitting the power button instead of shutting it down from within Windows?

Quicker to hit power button. Same results either way power button or shutting down in windows.

[PENNYW!SE]

Hi all :)

We now have the following problem:
In the newest beta bios F4d the 1:1 dividor they gave us in F4a (only for 1066mhz cpus :() is deleted again :(
So its all like the begin, no new dividors except the "standard ones".

In the official german gigabyte forum i opened months ago (!) a thread with the dividor problem and since some weeks, one moderator: JZ tries to help the G33M-DS2R community ... he stands in direct contact to gigabyte germany and gigabyte taiwan.

Im not sure but i think the F4a is thx to him because it was published 2-3 weeks after he spoke to gb taiwan.

Today he told us, that it looks like GB taiwan doesnt want to give us the dividors because of the name of the board: DS2R (he and other GB contributors told us before that this is the "GB philosophy").
GB taiwan says, the 2 stands for: smart and save BUT NOT speed - so no overclocking ... only motherboards with a 3 or higher ...

But he wants to help us!
We have to send him our serialnumber of the motherbard and our name (first & last).
If he has enough user, he will send a accumulative complaint to GB taiwan, it seems this is last chance to change GB taiwans mind.

Here ist that thread in the german GB-support forum: http://62.109.81.232/cgi-bin/sbb/sbb.cgi?&a=show&forum=12&show=278&start=0

So, if you would send me your serialnumber with your name and country, we all got better chance to get our dividors (especially for 800mhz cpus!).
I will give them all to JZ!

[zoob]

Just picked up this board with an E2140.
Hitting an FSB wall @ 333 max. One higher and no post.

This chip is doing quite well, I lowered the voltage to 1.25V in BIOS. Currently testing with a crappy WinXP live CD that doesn't know what to do with two cores, but one core is Orthos'ing just fine. CoreTemp buggers out and gives me a BSOD and Intel TAT won't install. :shrug:

EDIT:

http://individual.utoronto.ca/bzhou/images/e2140-2667.jpg

Onboard video limits this board quite a bit. I switched to onboard from a TNT2 m64 and I had to point a fan at the NB sink otherwise the display would corrupt.

EDIT 2:

http://individual.utoronto.ca/bzhou/images/e2140-2667-1.2750.JPG
Needed to bump voltage a bit for it to be (somewhat?) Orthos stable. 1.2750 set in BIOS. CPU-Z reports 1.200V drooping to 1.168V at load.

EDIT 3:

I dropped in my E6700 and can run 9x400 no sweat.. so I guess my NBCC is too high. If I enable spread spectrum CPU and PCI-E, I can post but get a scrambled display (using onboard video). Looks like I'll head to RadioShack for a CircuitWriter. I want to see 3 ghz on this!!

[PENNYW!SE]

I made (and make) a online petition for more dividors!

So PLEASE EVERYONE who has the G33M-DS2R (whether needs more dividors or not) sign up!

Full name (first and last) and the serialnumber of the motherboard (found on motherboard itself and the box too) are only needed!

http://www.g33m-ds2r.de.vu

THX

PENNYW!SE

[Think]

I made (and make) a online petition for more dividors!

So PLEASE EVERYONE who has the G33M-DS2R (whether needs more dividors or not) sign up!

Full name (first and last) and the serialnumber of the motherboard (found on motherboard itself and the box too) are only needed!

http://www.g33m-ds2r.de.vu

THX

PENNYW!SE

I'm confused, I thought the divider issue was solved on the gigabyte mb?

[__Miguel_]

I'm confused, I thought the divider issue was solved on the gigabyte mb?
As far as I was able to understand from the last posts, it seems the dividers were added on one BIOS version, and now the latest BIOS dropped them again. Anyone care to confirm this?

Now, about the whole "well, it's not an OC'ers board" subject. Pardon my french, but that's the most idiotic excuse I've EVER heard (and I'm a lawyer, I hear plenty of them daily... :rofl:). So that motherboard is NOT for OC'ers... Hmmm, let's see...

- 800MHz FSB - the 1:1 ratio would give DDR2-400
- 1066MHz FSB - the 1:1 ratio would give DDR2-533
- 1333MHz-FSB - the 1:1 ratio would give DDR2-667

Instead, the owners of this "NOT OC oriented" and "semi-budget" board MUST use DDR2-533 for 800MHz FSB, DDR2-667 for 1066MHz FSB and DDR2-800 for 1333MHz FSB... Last time I checked, DDR2-533 was the cheapest RAM one could buy for a "budget" RAM stick, DDR2-667 being "semi-budget", DDR2-800 being upper-end, and anything above that is OC memory.

So, for a "semi-budget" system with a "semi-budget" 1333MHz FSB CPU (they do start below the €200 mark...), you MUST use upper-end DDR2-800 RAM... Or if, instead, I want to upgrade my rig, migrating my OEM DDR2-667 sticks, I'll either have to stick to first-gen C2Ds Does ANYONE besides me think this is, well, I don't know, maybe COMPLETELY ABSURD?

So, the lack of this feature is clearly not because of the "OC oriented issues". If that were the case, Gigabyte would NEVER have enabled them in ANY BIOS. Here in Portugal we call that behavior "stubborness" (as the very least). This board seems terrific in every department except the BIOS. Why Gigabyte is limiting its own market share with this approach is beyond me...

Cheers.

Miguel


P.S.: I am NOT a G33M-DS2R owner.

[kenofstephen]

not bad, however, I've done 503 FSB on air today.:cool: :cool: :cool:

another board

costing <$100 EURO

[Mphs]

yes ! case closed!
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7569/g7050copiervy5.th.jpg (http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=g7050copiervy5.jpg)
What Zalman you use?

And case?

[pvhk]

CNPS8700 in an asus vintage 3!
The CNPS will be replace by the thermalright ultima 90 in a few days!

[Mphs]

Nice!

I'm waiting Asus TM-551 case for my Asus P5K-VM.

I need to choose a cooler for E6420, maybe a Zalman or Ultima 90 i don't know.

I need to see the case and the prices! :D

[The Nemesis]

I'll be trying a q6600 with this board and the Silverstone NT-06 as well as the Zalman CNPS8700 this weekend.

[tam2]

I'll be trying a q6600 with this board and the Silverstone NT-06 as well as the Zalman CNPS8700 this weekend.
We'll be waiting....

-tam2-

[tasty]

I've tried Q6600 on G33M-DS2R build these days.
Fits great. G33M-DS2R can handle more than 200Watts going into the overclocked Q6600, which runs on 400 * 9.

but such heat can be only handled by water cool, which I have no time to build yet.

a light overclock to 3.0 Ghz or 3.2 Ghz is more recommended. the two frequencies both primed excellently on my rig.

Bios is F3

[tam2]

I've tried Q6600 on G33M-DS2R build these days.
Fits great. G33M-DS2R can handle more than 200Watts going into the overclocked Q6600, which runs on 400 * 9.

but such heat can be only handled by water cool, which I have no time to build yet.

a light overclock to 3.0 Ghz or 3.2 Ghz is more recommended. the two frequencies both primed excellently on my rig.

Bios is F3
Any Screenshot for that run?
Thanks

-tam2-

[pvhk]

Mounted the ultima90 in my matx case (asus vintage3) in place of the previous cnps8700!
Had to make some tweak in order to mount a papst 120mm :
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb261/pvhk/G7127copier.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb261/pvhk/G7129copier.jpg

[tasty]

Any Screenshot for that run?
Thanks

-tam2-

no, btw , a screen shot is not meaningful at all.
I have screen shots of 3200 & 3000 Mhz though.

I can tell you this board can handle that frequency easily, even higher.
The real question is, can you handle the super heated 200Watts Q6600 ?

why it generates so much heat is very understandable.
an overclocked E6600 can easily generate 130Watts.
Q6600 has two E6600's.

if you have some decent cooling maybe you can try to prime it for a few hours.

[Mphs]

pvhk, what's your MB temp in Asus Vintage 3 case?

[The Nemesis]

We'll be waiting....

-tam2-

My G0 suxs with this board, cooling, vdroop or onboard video use. I was able to get 335FSB stable with eist c1e speedstep etc enabled using auto vcore. But no more even with those options disabled and max vcore.

[pvhk]

pvhk, what's your MB temp in Asus Vintage 3 case?
mb temp is around 30°C thanks to the the zalman fan which cool down my sticks & the vrm memory...

[Mphs]

I think Zalman is better that Ultima 90 (not in performance) because Zalman refresh the board to and in this case (mini, low air flow) it's very important.

[dogsx2]

Got 4 days off and wanted to do some testing with the board. Dropped in a 6300 that will do 500 with ease and off we go. Microfly with sides and top off in 80F room. Cooler is not much better then stock. OC set to manual with everything auto except 2.1v for memory.

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/7676/500mhzp5kvmbf1.th.jpg (http://img66.imageshack.us/my.php?image=500mhzp5kvmbf1.jpg)

Remember the droop is terrible and with 4GB and only 2.1v I couldn't tighten up the timings. Needs a pencil mod bad.

This is a really good mATX board.

Got 6850 coming tomorrow and will try it.

[dogsx2]

Took mb out of case and put a TR 120 Ultra on it and did dual 32m at 7x500.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7056/p5kvmdual32m500mhzuq8.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p5kvmdual32m500mhzuq8.jpg)

Upped it a little more to 7x510. Board really surprises me. :D
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/634/p5kvm510mhzvr9.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p5kvm510mhzvr9.jpg)

[dogsx2]

Just got the 6850 and first results.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7104/68503915dz7.th.jpg (http://img406.imageshack.us/my.php?image=68503915dz7.jpg)

[pvhk]

with my bios 304 the max vcore real is 1.54v (1.60v bios)!
In your case, with bios 401, you seem to have less vdroop: vcore@1.56v! What is the vcore you setted in bios?

[The Nemesis]

Wish I had never flashed the 401 bios myself. You can't flash back to the 304 in windows and my build doesn't have a floppy.

[dogsx2]

with my bios 304 the max vcore real is 1.54v (1.60v bios)!
In your case, with bios 401, you seem to have less vdroop: vcore@1.56v! What is the vcore you setted in bios?

I am at the top 1.60v, there are 2 of them. My board came with the 401.

Really need more memory volts. The cheap Ballistix's really is good memory so it works ok but would like to tweak it more. Someone has to know where a pencil goes for the droop.

[Mphs]

What's the best BIOS for this board?

I have the 0401 version.

[dogsx2]

What's the best BIOS for this board?

I have the 0401 version.

Mine came with 401 and you can see what my results are. Maybe the old bios is better, only know if you try it. I'm happy with what I got and sometimes that's better then flashing to something else. If I had problems I would not hesitate but I don't.

[dogsx2]

Put my 6850 back in and the little mb is surprising me. If it just had more volts for cpu and memory it would be really great. G0 really runs cool with TR 120 Ultra.


http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7934/68503942p5kvmym0.th.jpg (http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=68503942p5kvmym0.jpg)

Vcore droop: 1.6v Bios (shows 1.54v in bios monitor)
1.56v Idle 1.52v Load

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/3286/p5kvmdrooptv7.th.jpg (http://img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p5kvmdrooptv7.jpg)

My favorite 3DMark: No LOD, like watching the pictures too much. :D

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/1627/68503942p5kvm3dmark01el9.th.jpg (http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=68503942p5kvm3dmark01el9.jpg)

[pvhk]

vdroop mod by allsop!
http://www.overclocking-masters.com/forum/vcore-ou-vdrop-mod-pour-asus-p5k-vm-,t6203.htm

Thxs a lot man! :)

I did it! it works...

[K.I.T.T.]

Anyone got a vDIMM mod for more than 2.1v (something like 2.3 - 2.4v) ? Then, I reckon this board will be the perfect mATX mobo :)

[ziddey]

You got any good pictures of the area? I'm a little lazy to search at the moment, sorry, but I can help

[damasko]

anyone has problem with usb ports align within i/o shield?
the two first usb ports on the left, under keyboard port, can't be used.
devices don't plug in, because i/o shield partially covers them.

http://www.pctuner.info/up/results/_200709/th_20070913101847_p5k-vmusb.JPG (http://www.pctuner.info/up/image.php?src=_200709/20070913101847_p5k-vmusb.JPG)

[pvhk]

no issue: i'm using an usb mouse (logitech G3)

[dogsx2]

anyone has problem with usb ports align within i/o shield?
the two first usb ports on the left, under keyboard port, can't be used.
devices don't plug in, because i/o shield partially covers them.

http://www.pctuner.info/up/results/_200709/th_20070913101847_p5k-vmusb.JPG (http://www.pctuner.info/up/image.php?src=_200709/20070913101847_p5k-vmusb.JPG)

It's tight but usable on mine.

[damasko]

is there any modded bios for p5k-vm?

[zoob]

Anyone having problems with the board throttling way to early?
Even at 60C in Coretemp it'll pull my mult down to 6X :|
This is on a B3 with a 100C TJunction. I disabled the TM2 feature for the time being. On my P5K DLX and P35-DS3R having TM2 enabled is no problem.

[zoob]

Scratch that. My motherboard just exploded. Pics to follow :|

http://individual.utoronto.ca/bzhou/images/p5k-exploded-1.jpg
http://individual.utoronto.ca/bzhou/images/p5k-exploded-2.jpg

[__Miguel_]

Please tell me you were squeezing the board to find its max OC. If not, then probably you had a bad one...

Btw, is it me or solid caps are becoming projectiles more and more often? I didn't remember hearing about so many exploding caps when everything was "non-solid". What gives?

Cheers.

Miguel

[zoob]

Please tell me you were squeezing the board to find its max OC. If not, then probably you had a bad one...

Btw, is it me or solid caps are becoming projectiles more and more often? I didn't remember hearing about so many exploding caps when everything was "non-solid". What gives?

Cheers.

Miguel

Q6600 B3 @ 356 x 9 = 3.2 GHz
1.525 Vcore set BIOS, massive vDrop and vDroop gave me 1.280 V loaded.
I was running Prime95, loading at a comfortable 60C and POOF. I'm thinking the people designing these budget boards don't expect people to use quads on them and make them "good enough" for dual cores. Nowhere on this P5K-VM box does it say anything about quads. Infact, I see a "Supports intel Core 2 Duo inside" logo on the front. :clap:

[Lestat]

1.525 Vcore set BIOS, massive vDrop and vDroop gave me 1.280 V loaded

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yup this follow suit with Asus's previous mATX boards just being a huge pile of sh|te

cripes even the Abit F-i90HD didnt do that.

looks to me like you guys arent getting any better fsb than the F-i90

the gigabyte G33 board was smoking from all the stuff i read about it.

[alpha0ne]

I'll stick with my Gigashat thanks :D

[The Nemesis]

I did the vdroop mod (http://www.overclocking-masters.com/forum/vcore-ou-vdrop-mod-pour-asus-p5k-vm-,t6203.htm)using a pencil. Idle & load voltages are within +/- .01v of each other. But if I set say 1.4v in bios, I get 1.34v in windows. A .06v difference from bios to windows is not favorable especially if your cpu needs more than 1.45v to achieve desired overclock. The board has been pretty solid for me. Of course my abit F-i90HD is still going strong too so I may just be lucky :)

[pvhk]

yes, the vdrop is important with the asus board!
selecting the vcore max 1.60v, gives 1.55v real (idle)
Now with the vdroop mod: in my case the vcore drops @1.50v on load insteed of 1.47v before. I need to pencil further to hit your excellent value!

And the fi90hd has still the better vcore value (up to 1.62v real) and the lower vdroop (0.01v) that enable my x6800 to hit max screen 3.9ghz on air (insteed 3.6ghz on the p5kvm)

[dogsx2]

Q6600 B3 @ 356 x 9 = 3.2 GHz
1.525 Vcore set BIOS, massive vDrop and vDroop gave me 1.280 V loaded.
I was running Prime95, loading at a comfortable 60C and POOF. I'm thinking the people designing these budget boards don't expect people to use quads on them and make them "good enough" for dual cores. Nowhere on this P5K-VM box does it say anything about quads. Infact, I see a "Supports intel Core 2 Duo inside" logo on the front. :clap:


:ROTF: Gave me a good laugh.
Look at the picture in the first post. My box doesn't say Visa but does say Quad.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6796/dscn0526fa4.th.jpg (http://img212.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn0526fa4.jpg)

[pvhk]

my box says both quad & vista ready!
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/148/g71072copierik8.jpg

[leifeinar]

been gooogeling all over, cant find any one that has tried crossfire on this MB. its supposed to be possible. silverstone did it on the gigabyte m.atx g33 MB, at comoputex.

a guy sendt a mail asking about this and they replied Hi, thank you for interesting in SilverStone.

The motherboard used in SG03 in Computex 2007 is Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Mother...me=GA-G33M-DS2R

There is a PCIEX16 and an unclosed PCIEX4 expansion slots and can be supported with crossfire.

The similar motherboard is ASUS P5K VM, which can be supported with crossfire, too.
.

Regards

Product and Marketing Dept. / ET Hong

[reswob]

I bought one today. The boxes are different now. It's a metallic blue color and on the box it states 45nm support along with C2D and C2Quad!

http://images.dr3vil.com//files3/113/p5kvm.JPG

[damasko]

do somebody use windows with sata hd configured in ahci mode?

[__Miguel_]

do somebody use windows with sata hd configured in ahci mode?
AFAIK, this board doesn't support AHCI mode. At least on SATA ports on the Southbridge, since the P5K-VM only uses ICH9 (which doesn't have AHCI or RAID modes).

As for the extra controller (I don't really know if it has the extra SATA ports the P5B Deluxe has), if you set it to AHCI, be prepared to install the drivers and, in case you're using it for your system drive (big mistake if you ask me, the southbridge controller has a more direct link), you have to F6 install drivers with XP (and pray they work, AHCI is a little messy with XP).

Cheers.

Miguel

[damasko]

but in bios there is the setting to enable ahci, how can be present while not supported?
maybe bios is not right?

[__Miguel_]

but in bios there is the setting to enable ahci, how can be present while not supported?
maybe bios is not right?
As I said, while the ICH9 southbridge doesn't support AHCI (only the ICH9R, ICH9DO and ICH9DH are AHCI and RAID-enabled), the same does not apply to the secondary PATA/SATA controller (from Promise, if memory serves me right). This one supports IDE, AHCI and RAID modes on the SATA ports, so if the P5K-VM has five or six SATA ports, the last two of them are from that controller, and you can use the advanced modes on them.

Cheers.

Miguel

[damasko]

but p5k-vm has not secondary sata controller, there are only 4 sata ports on sb.

[__Miguel_]

but p5k-vm has not secondary sata controller, there are only 4 sata ports on sb.
Then I'm lost. That AHCI mode should not be available on the BIOS unless the ICH9R or extra SATA ports were available on the board, from the Promise controller used on that board (which, btw, has one PATA and two SATA ports, though they might not be connected, which seems to be the case).

Ok, a wild guess here. Since you said the box is different, it may be a newer SKU, which might actually have the ICH9R southbridge. If this is true, the P5K-VM just became the best mATX motherboard on the market. That is, if it weren't for the BIOS battery blocking the open 4x PCI-E slot :rolleyes:; and, of course, the lack of a mouse port... :ROTF:

Let's just see how the P5E-VM HDMI behaves when it's lauched.

Can you check the box, the manual and, if you're feeling lucky, the southbridge itself? (That implies removing the southbridge heatsink, cleaning everything up and reading the southbridge itself; don't forget to re-paste it... hehehe)

Cheers.

Miguel

[damasko]

maybe my english is not good enough to understand you.
p5k-vm mounts ich9, and a secondary ide controller without extra sata ports.
in bios appears two possibilities for sata configuration: IDE or AHCI.
why asus put ahci setting if not supported by sb and if extra controller has not sata ports?

[__Miguel_]

maybe my english is not good enough to understand you.
p5k-vm mounts ich9, and a secondary ide controller without extra sata ports.
in bios appears two possibilities for sata configuration: IDE or AHCI.
why asus put ahci setting if not supported by sb and if extra controller has not sata ports?
That is exactly my point. That should NOT happen, unless something on the board (either the southbridge or the extra controller) had support for AHCI.

Since the extra controller on your board has no SATA ports, and the plain ICHx southbridges don't have ACHI capabilities (unless somehow Intel enabled it...), the only ways for that to happen would be 1) Intel enabling AHCI on plain ICHx (not a bad thing, though I don't think it's likely to happen, or even possible); 2) that board having in fact an ICH9R southbridge installed (for any reason, including new model revision); 3) Asus messing up the BIOS code.

Without more specific information (namely the actual information on the southbridge that particular mobo has - not the model, since slipups happen, and an ICH9R may have ended up in there), I'm guessing Asus messed up somehow.

As the box changed, try digging more information up (like using software to probe which SB is on the board, or info from the store you bought the board from - or Asus itself).

Cheers.

Miguel

[damasko]

i'll send an email to asus to clarify the question.
ps: my box is the old one :) but i'll read asap the sb installed on board.

[__Miguel_]

but in bios there is the setting to enable ahci, how can be present while not supported?
maybe bios is not right?
Ok, this issue has been bugging me since you first brought it up. I have been scavaging the Web for G33-based motherboards manuals to see how that could happen...

I think I cracked it. Finally! I knew I had read something about that a while back....

To my astonishment, MSI is actually good for something, and the manual for the G33M board (page 27 of the PDF) is pretty clear about this subject: the ICH9 base southbridge does in fact support AHCI and IDE modes. There are, however, a few quircks.

First one: AHCI mode is only available to Windows Vista. That's not really a problem, AHCI was never an option for XP, even since the ICH5R. I think it's an OS limitation.

Second one: ACHI mode is only partially available on ICH9 base. Meaning hot-plug (at least, and I'd assume hot swap too) is not possible using this chipset. So, in short, you only get NCQ and the (rather amazing, to be true, cached bursts go through the roof in Intel southbridges with ACHI/RAID enabled...) write caching option on the ICHx southbridges.

I hope this makes more sence to you, and that it actually helps.

Now, anyone can direct me to a good site explaining the ups and downs on NCQ? The reason for wanting a motherboard with an ICHxR southbridge was because of the advanced disk features, and since I don't need hot-plug or hot-swap, I'd be perfectly fine with only partial AHCI support (I'm planning to move to Vista, anyway...). Anyone knows if the ICH8 base southbridge also has this option?

Cheers.

Miguel


P.S.: Oh, just one thing I remembered: I found this (http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/DG33TL/index.htm) a few hours ago. Anyone knows how the BIOS fares? It seems a very decent board...


So, since I like being thorough, I stop by the Intel website and looked for the ICH8 and ICH9 datasheets. The ICH8 datasheet is blurry on the information about AHCI support, but it seems to imply the base southbridge can also be configured to work in AHCI mode; the ICH9 datasheet, on the other hand, is quite clear on this subject:
ICH9 Base provides hardware support for AHCI functionality when enabled by appropriate
system configuration and software driver.
So, there you have, AHCI IS available on ICH9 base, it just needs to be enabled by the motherboard manufacturer. Clearly Asus and MSI have enabled this one. Any news on the other manufacturers that use the ICH9 instead?

[reswob]

Can you use the P5K bios in the P5K-VM?

[damasko]

you wrote a wonderful post Miguel :)
looking for NCQ info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Command_Queuing
i found this:
For NCQ to be enabled, it must be supported and turned on in the SATA host bus adapter and in the hard drive itself. The appropriate driver must be loaded into the operating system to enable NCQ on the host bus adapter. Many newer chipsets support the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI), which should allow a generic driver supplied by the operating system to control them and enable NCQ. In fact, newer mainstream Linux kernels support AHCI natively.[5] Unfortunately, Windows XP requires the installation of a vendor-specific driver even if AHCI is present on the host bus adapter because Windows XP was released before Serial ATA was invented. Windows Vista corrects this situation by including a generic AHCI driver.
and last drivers for chipset by intel (downloaded from asus website) include ahci for all intel chips, also for ich9.
I've only to try switching from ide to ahci in bios settings :) asap

[__Miguel_]

and last drivers for chipset by intel (downloaded from asus website) include ahci for all intel chips, also for ich9.
I've only to try switching from ide to ahci in bios settings :) asap
First of all, thank you for the compliment. I'll have problems fitting through doors in the next couple of hours or so, but that's OK... :ROTF:

Now, for the AHCI on Windows XP... So far, I've had insane amounts of trouble trying making it to work on the secondary controller on my P5B Deluxe. On the southbridge there is no problem, but I go straight to RAID (same features and more mature, plus I can create arrays "on the fly" - sorta). The extra IDE/SATA controller is a pain, though... Drivers don't work, sometimes drives are not recognized, hot-plug and hot-swap don't work, etc., etc....

AFAIK, it is very difficult for AHCI to work correctly on XP, even with specific drivers. However, you can try. Do keep in mind, though, that you'll either need to do a clean Windows F6-install or jump through a lot of loops to get XP (installed on a SATA drive running on an IDE-mode controller) to run on a AHCI controller. The opposite is easy, since Windows recognizes the drives and controllers as standard IDE disks and installs the correct drivers, but IDE-to-AHCI mode is a MAJOR pain without a clean install.

Cheers.

Miguel

[damasko]

now I'm trying to use wake on lan, but in bios there is no item named clear as "wake on lan".
I see only:
wake on external modem
wake by pci event
wake by pcix event
which one is correct?
or this mobo doesn't support wake on lan? :(

the next step will be to get working wol in my usr 9105 router...
for sending packet through internet I found:
http://2noci.3dana.com/wol/wake.php
but I don't know if it works.

[__Miguel_]

now I'm trying to use wake on lan, but in bios there is no item named clear as "wake on lan".
I see only:
wake on external modem
wake by pci event
wake by pcix event
which one is correct?
or this mobo doesn't support wake on lan? :(

the next step will be to get working wol in my usr 9105 router...
for sending packet through internet I found:
http://2noci.3dana.com/wol/wake.php
but I don't know if it works.
Ok, I happen to know something about WOL too, so hopefully I can help you there.

WOL has both hardware and software requirements. Nowadays, every NIC and motherboard support WOL, so that's not a problem.

As for the software part, that's more difficult, but the good thing is it's only a lenghty process, not an impossible one :p::

So, in the BIOS you only need to set the "wake by (bus) event" on, (bus) being the bus where your NIC sits. For PCI NICs, you set the PCI bus; for PCI-E NICs, the PCI-E bus. You can check that from your board manual (though I think on the P5K-VM the NIC is PCI-E based), or simply enable events on both buses and be done with it.

Then, the hard part. BIOS support isn't enough for WOL to work. You also need driver support and configuration. You'll have to dig through the Windows LAN configuration and driver pages to disable the "Allow the computer to deactivate this device to save energy" option AND enable the WOL capabilities of the NIC.

When enabling the WOL capabilities of the NIC, you have to be very carefull what option you choose: Magic Packet only is usually the best option to choose, else you'll effectivelly won't be able to shut down, hibernate or suspend your PC, because ANY packet recieved on the NIC will cause the PC to turn on. And believe me (learned that the worse way possible...), you don't want to have your PC turning on in the middle of the night just because any device on the network sent a multicast packet (which are rather common, by the way...)

With that out of the way, you just need to know your NIC's MAC address (run "ipconfig /all" on a command prompt), and configure the router to route the port you use for WOL (usually 6, though that can vary, or be changed with no problem, since WOL packets are multicast bursts anyway) for the non-routable IP adress your NIC uses (that's a router limitation, usually, since they don't allow Net-to-LAN multicasts, which means in fact the multicast will be recieved as a unicast on the PC you want to wake up alone - or it should, if my lessons on TCP/IP are correct... :p:)

Hope this helps. If you need anything, PM me.

Cheers.

Miguel



P.S.: I neve actually used WOL over the Internet, only over the LAN (and it ROCKS!). But I have some degree of expertise with (home) routers (including W2K3 RRAS) and port forwarding, so I think I'm not that far off on that part.

[damasko]

thanks Miguel! ;)
bios settings all enabled.
in driver I disabled "Allow the computer to deactivate this device to save energy" option and enabled the WOL capabilities of the NIC.
about my router, I NATted udp ports from 6 to 9.
unfortunately it doesn't have a dedicated menu for wol, but in arp table ip is correctly associated to nic mac address.
asap I'll retry to wake my pc and tell you if works ;)

[TRF-Inferno]

Has anybody tried the new BIOS 602?

[damasko]

no, because it only brings support to new cpus and no other improvements

[robbysca76]

Hi ...

I have this new little creature:

Asus P5K-VM
Intel e4500
2x1Gb Team Group Extreme Pc6400 Micron DGMH
8800GT512Mb

Iìd like to overclock the cpu but I don't Know which PLL could be right for this mobo using ClockGen or SetFSB.

Tnx

[Big.Wayne]

bump!

Is this still a good uATX motherboard choice for a dual-core or is there something better?

[__Miguel_]

You won't go wrong if you choose this one.

However, you might also want to check the competitors: the Asus P5E-VM HDMI and the Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R. The P5E-VM is the current "top-dog", AFAIK.

Cheers.

Miguel

[Big.Wayne]

check the competitors: the Asus P5E-VM HDMI and the Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2RHi Miguel, thanks for the reply, I did see a little about the P5E-VM HDMI but I didn't hear about the Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R?

The thing that puts me off the P5E-VM HDMI is it looks like it will run hot and use more power? At least thats what the full blown X38 chipsets are like, the heatsink on the northbridge looks like a monster!

HDMI onboard is a really nice thing, pity ASUS didn't do anything like that with the G33 chipset. . . . I wonder does any G33 based uATX chipset offer DVI or HDMI out?

The P5K-VM is selling for about £60 here in the UK which is a nice price for an all-singing-all-dancing uATX mobo, the P5E-VM HDMI sells at about £90-£100!!

I am thinking maybe stick with the G33 and add in a low powered *passive* graphics card to take care of the outputs and help with full HD viewing?

[__Miguel_]

Hi Miguel, thanks for the reply, I did see a little about the P5E-VM HDMI but I didn't hear about the Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R?
You're welcome, I'm glad to help.

There are HUGE threads about each of those boards here on XS, and also on [H], and they are usually on the top of the list of the most recently replied to threads (well, for the DS2R, more on [H] than here), a quick search will get you there.

The thing that puts me off the P5E-VM HDMI is it looks like it will run hot and use more power? At least thats what the full blown X38 chipsets are like, the heatsink on the northbridge looks like a monster!
Yes, the P5E-VM HDMI does in fact consume a little more power than G33-based motherboards, but that's because of the X3500 IGP, which is more power-hungry (but more performant, too). Do keep in mind, though, that the the P5E-VM does not use the X38 chipset (I wish), but rather the G35, a P35 derivative, so don't be scared by that big NB cooler.

HDMI onboard is a really nice thing, pity ASUS didn't do anything like that with the G33 chipset. . . . I wonder does any G33 based uATX chipset offer DVI or HDMI out?
Yes, there are. Gigabyte has three G33-based mATX motherboards, and I think the GA-G33M-S2L has HDMI out. There is, however, an ADD2 expansion card (at least for Gigabyte boards, but it should be able to work with other brands) which adds HDMI output.

The P5K-VM is selling for about £60 here in the UK which is a nice price for an all-singing-all-dancing uATX mobo, the P5E-VM HDMI sells at about £90-£100!!
Yep, the P5E-VM HDMI is very expensive. But it's the most recent top-notch mATX motherboard, and also very performant, so it's more expensive than it should be (though it has dropped in price around €30 already). If your budget is not that high, the GA-G33M-DS2R should be available for about the same price of the P5K-VM. Here in Portugal they are even cheaper (though less than €5).

I am thinking maybe stick with the G33 and add in a low powered *passive* graphics card to take care of the outputs and help with full HD viewing?
Well, unless you're using a very low-spec dual core CPU and 25Mbps+ HD playback, you can just stick to the G33 or G35 IGPs, since both of them have some HD offloading capabilities, and most dual cores should be able to handle all but the most intense HD processing stuff.

However, if you really want a dedicated GPU to handle HD video decoding, please do check a review on Tom's Hardware (or Anandtech, I can't remember correctly) a few months back (here (http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/26/avivo_hd_vs_purevideo/index.html)), which tested HD decoding with 8400, 8600, HD2400 and HD2600 cards.

I'll save you some reading: if drivers haven't evolved since then, every one of the cards will be able to assist on HD decoding, although the 8400GS and 2400Pro might have issues; ATI cards seem to be able to offload more of the decoding than NVIDIA ones; and at time of writing, only the HD2600XT had full support for HQV video processing on XP and Vista, the 8600GTS only partially working in Vista, and the slower cards not post-processing AT ALL (insuficient GPU power, I guess).

Cheers.

Miguel

[The Nemesis]

Though the Asus P5E-VM HDMI is said to clock 45nm Quads much better, anyone owning this board may wish to know 425FSB has proven stable with q9450. I was unable to get 450FSB stable so I dropped to 425FSB. Onboard video was enabled during the 425FSB run. I tried using a external videocard for 450FSB no luck. 450 will post, get into windows and run 3DMark06 but not prime or OCCT. I think the northbridge or vtt are @1.2v according to everest and occt sensors. Since neither is adjustable on this board I suspect we won't be seeing any stable high FSB with this board. Mine fails to post after 455FSB.

http://img.techpowerup.org/080526/Q9450 8hrs Prime 3.4ghz 1.24v.jpg