Biostar P45 = WOW!

[dinos22]

Hi guys

A new toy has been taking away a lot of my attention recently that my Team.AU team mate Josh (moloko) left behind after our last benching session for me to check out

well i was a little curious and all and have now had a good play over a week or so and i must say that i am very surprised how good these boards are >>> from bios to the way they've been built


i won't bore you too much as i have been concentrating on SuperPi efficiency at 600+Mhz FSB for the moment and results will just speak for themselves

here are the settings which give me the best results so far

TESTING RIG:

M/B : BIOSTAR TP I45 (BIOS:626)
CPU : Core2 Duo E8500(Q740A497) great CPU this one
CPU cooling : TTBig Typhoon
Chipset Cooling : stock with extra fan
Mem : 2GB DDR2 PC10000 Corsair Dominator "dead" kit for CAS4 << still works eeek even it tons of errors in memtest heheh wow
VGA : PCI GFX Card
HDD : Samsung 160gb ide
OS : Windows XP SP3
USB wireless mouse and PS2 keyboard



SETTINGS
[BIOS SETUP] O.N.E
Over-Clocking Navigator [Manual OverClock]
Intel(R) SpeedStep(tm) : Disabled
Ratio CMOS Setting : ×6 (change higher for benching subzero obviously)
CPU Frequency Setting : 570(boot)
Over Clock Retry Count : 2
FSB Compensation: Enabled
FSB(Bsel) To NorthBridge Latch : 1333
DRAM Frequency : DDR2-1140
DDR2 Enhance Mode : Disabled

DRAM Timing Configuration
DDR2 RCOMP Configuration : 2
Static tREAD Value : AUTO
Configure DRAM Timing by SPD : Enabled
[EDIT] this will give you CAS5 clocks and PL10 past 600MHz FSB
for PL9 past 600MHz FSB you need to manually set CAS4 timings

Clock Gen Configuration
PCIE Frequency Setting : 100
CPU Clock Skew Control : 200ps
(G)MCH Clock Skew Control : 100ps
CPU Clock Driving Control : Auto

Voltage Configuration
CPU Voltage : SET WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR STABILITY AT MHZ YOU ARE BENCHING ON
DDR Voltage : +0.700v (use more depending on RAM)
Chipset Voltage : +0.600v
FSB Voltage : +0.40v
CPU Core1 GTL Ref Voltage : 0.63*VTT
CPU Core2 GTL Ref Voltage : 0.67*VTT
MCH GTL Ref Voltage : Auto
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.5v

i also disabled Multicore Computing under CPU section for max Superpi with single core otherwise enabled for 3D benching



after some trial and error i am now easily able to benchmark at 600+ MHz FSB in single core or dual core settings

check out the efficiency of this board (stable up to 611MHz FSB with these settings)

http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/9854/32msuperpi12m00063at362po5.png

these are not the only tweaks left....so with some more work 3.6GHz flat sub12m is definitely achievable :up:


I do have a major problem with the board. It does not run very well at all with a 9800GX2 even when i reset the bios for stock settins it has to power cycle to even start :(.................the way biostar engineers have been going i would not be surprised to see a new bios fix this very soon :)

when they fix that problem this board will be just WOOOOOOW

my MCH is clearly not as strong as some of the other benchmarkers with superhigh FSB but i must say even with what i am getting i am really really impressed right now :clap:

i hope some of the bios settings tips will save you guys a bit of time :up::up::up::up::up: and send you in the right direction :)

[Ace-a-Rue]

very nice, Dino!:up:

what happens when both cores are enabled and then you run SuperPI?

[dinos22]

very nice, Dino!:up:

what happens when both cores are enabled and then you run SuperPI?

hi mate
as mentioned already
i can do this with both single and dual core no probs :up:

[Ace-a-Rue]

i was looking at this board at newegg...hmmm...i might make the plunge!

BTW, what is the max MCH?

[Nasgul]

Well, that sure as hell ain't no nFarce chipset. :D

But no picture of the board itself?

What was the memory voltage at that speed/timings? looks sweet.

And Dominator V1.1 modules?

[dinos22]

i got some pics just need to upload them

but you can see tons of board pics around if you have a quick search :)

dominators....my little beauties :D

here

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3890/dsc04063wmlg5.jpg

[runmc]

hmm - sounds like I'm missing out on some fun. People are getting some major high fsb out of these boards. :up:

Nice dinos22

[dinos22]

they are pretty good
i was skeptical of course as FSB is one thing but performance efficiency is another

one thing i am concerned about is that these boards have some issues with certain GFX cards and apparently bios engineers are sayin they fixed the problems yet since 19 bios yet i am on 26 bios and i have major dramas with 9800GX2

i hope they can fix this ASAP

[Flip_Lx]

what kind of issues if you don't mind?

[Ace-a-Rue]

i see you are using +0.60 add for Vdimm and Chipset voltage...i guess that is equivalent to 2.1v for Vdimm and 1.85v for Chipset voltage.

[dinos22]

i see you are using +0.60 add for Vdimm and Chipset voltage...i guess that is equivalent to 2.1v for Vdimm and 1.85v for Chipset voltage.

no it's
2.59vdimm
1.58vNB

[dinos22]

what kind of issues if you don't mind?

mobo power cycles
then it boots
>go to bios
load optimal defaults
again power cycling with some weird error code .> can't recall now but i think it was something like 94 or similar

[Ace-a-Rue]

no it's
2.59vdimm
1.58vNB

right about the Vdimm since it is DDR2, except the default for DDR2 should be 1.80....add of +0.60 should put it around 2.4v.

the NB has to be higher than that...default NB (MCH) should be 1.25v with an add of +0.60 should equal 1.85v.

are you reading those voltages in the bios?

[dinos22]

right about the Vdimm since it is DDR2, except the default for DDR2 should be 1.80....add of +0.60 should put it around 2.4v.

the NB has to be higher than that...default NB (MCH) should be 1.25v with an add of +0.60 should equal 1.85v.

are you reading those voltages in the bios?

NB is measuring what health menu is reporting so that is actually correct

i actually had used as high as +0.7 for vdimm so i changed my first post >>> it was reading about 2.58-2.59

[Glow9]

I'm glad people are loving this board this is what I got my Biostar today if anyone cares: "Currently Biostar has no plans, but will look into the project if P45 is a good seller". This was regarding a x48 board so.... go buy more P45s lol

[runmc]

Do you have any updates on settings and killer 3DMark scores?? :D

[dinos22]

Pt1t is working with Biostar guys to solve my GX2 problems

i only have the board for a VERY short time so i hope they resolve it asap so i can test as i am planning on some LN2 action this weekend on dual rids

first P45+E8500 SuperPi and single GX2 and then 790i 8800GT SLI + 8800GTS SLI all on LN2 (my first 3xpot bench session on my own lol)

that's going to be a disaster hahaha

[ACE76]

What kind of power delivery system does this mobo have? Is it digital or analog? 4 phase, 6 phase, 8 phase? How is droop?

[dinos22]

4 phase analogue
no droop even at ultra high volts
but i only tested with dual cores and my tests were not that hard on the CPU...superpi etc

[ACE76]

4 phase analogue
no droop even at ultra high volts
but i only tested with dual cores and my tests were not that hard on the CPU...superpi etc

WoW...no droop with a 4 phase analog set-up!

[SoF]

these boards are true weapons, but isolate them well or you'll loose them :(
My last validation with the board before it died - 8x600
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=388578
I saw some water afterwards around the vcpu measuring point area...think somewhere there it's busted....think I need another one :D

[mrcape]

Bummer man. Well at least it's a less expensive board.

I'm going the try the soft eraser insulation on mine.

[mad_skills]

What impresses is that this thing is not even that expensive and it's an absolute peach of a mobo.:up:

[mrcape]

Hey guys, PL7 with CL4 timings is working with the 7/10 bios.

[SoF]

with my cellshock I could only do PL10 most of the time. not tested my other kit, board dead before :( Too bad it died before even doin' 5gig once :p:
price really makes it attractive. it's not funny but I can effort a second one ;)

[dinos22]

these boards are true weapons, but isolate them well or you'll loose them :(
My last validation with the board before it died - 8x600
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=388578
I saw some water afterwards around the vcpu measuring point area...think somewhere there it's busted....think I need another one :D

shame man :(

i knew this board sweats a lot so i went crazy with insulation and still not enough i think so i use lots of paper towels and i also coated the whole area around CPU socket and MCH with nail polish

[SoF]

think I will prepare the board for longer benching next time. no "on-the-fly" armaflex anymore, even it was enough the last few weeks for ~60kg dice and several boards ^^
think I'll go for some ground coating this time as well, I want to keep the next board for a longer time ;)

[Shadowmage]

Great results! :up:

Does anyone know how well the other Biostar Tforce P45 motherboards do compared to this monster? Specifically the TP45D2 ($105 newegg) and the TP45HP ($130 newegg).

[Gautam]

HP should be its equal I think.

[Nelly]

Seems to be different Bios updates on the Taiwan / USA websites:-

http://www.biostar-usa.com/app/en-us/t-power/bios.php?S_ID=365

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/t-power/bios.php?S_ID=365

P45AA710.BSP (http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Bios/P45AA710.BSP) - 10th July 2008 - Update BIOS source code. (with Biostar logo) (Taiwan Website)

P45AA708.BSP (http://www.biostar-usa.com/upload/Bios/P45AA708.BSP) - 8th July 2008 - Improved HDD compatibles. (Beta) (USA Website)

P45AA620.BSP (http://www.biostar-usa.com/upload/Bios/P45AA620.BSP) - 20th June 2008 - To support GF8800GT and GF9800 vga card. (with Biostar logo) (USA Website)

I do have a major problem with the board. It does not run very well at all with a 9800GX2 even when i reset the bios for stock settins it has to power cycle to even start .................the way biostar engineers have been going i would not be surprised to see a new bios fix this very soon :)Did they resolve the issues with the 9800GX2?

Anyone else using this board with the ATI HD4870 or the Nvidia GTX280 cards with any problems?? :)

[mrcape]

Go with 710, best mem performance.

Here's what I did tonight -

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=393252

Out of the two kits I tried max mem I could validate was 643mhz, and that was with 2.95v mem, 2.0vcore. I had an issue with my thermometer and one of my OS was missing drivers for the gpu I grabbed. Otherwise it was all good.

The guys above are right, it sweats. I did an extra solid insulating job and it still sweats out the side of the board near the socket. I did the Kingpin insulation method plus sealed the socket with the pliable eraser.

[DoObs]

Nicely done mrcape :D

These boards sure do have that extra kick for FSB, ampt to see how the P45 matures over the next few months.

[NormanABates]

man, hope this will be available soon in my country.

thanks for the effort @dinos22

[Marcam923]

Very nice work Dinos. I am sure these threads for the Tpower will not go away, and the more users actually using them, will only help resolve many issues. I hope to see some updates for bios so in a couple weeks when I pop mine in I can take my E8600 to new heights!! :up:

[dinos22]

:up::up:
i havent got a board now but i must say it was impressive in Superpi however it was terrbile with compatibility with high end cards which was very disappointing. i'm sure they would have resolved it by now though but there are now some other boards which are even better
i will be testing the new Gigabyte P45-UD3P which i hope to get results i have been trying to get with my gem E8600 recently due to lack of 630+ FSB stable in Xfire