P5E3 NON DELUXE tips tricks results

[saaya]

I got this board by accident, i actually wanted the P5E3 deluxe but the 2 weeks of returning passed so i decided to just play with it before I sell it. And maybe it isnt bad and ill keep it, who knows :D

Please post your experiences with this board and Ill add them to this first post :)

ASUS P5E3 NON DELUXE

http://www.abload.de/img/p5e3cnu.jpg

overclocking options
Bus Speed: 200-800mhz in 1mhz steps
FSB Straps: 200 266 333 400
Memory Dividers: 1:2 3:5 5:8 3:4 2:3 4:5 5:6 1:1
CMD: 1T / 2T
PL/Trd: (clock twister) moderate light strong
Advanced Timings: tRRD tRFC tRW "read to preamble" tRTW(S/D) tWTR(S) tWTR(D) tRDRD(S) tRDRD(D) tWRWR(S) tWRWR(D)
PciE: 100-150Mhz in 1Mhz steps

overvolting options
Vcore: 0.85-1.70v* in 0.065v steps *undervolts 0.04v
Vdimm: 1.50-2.30v* in 0.02v steps
Vmch: 1.25v-1.75v in 0.02v steps
vPLL: 1.50v-2.78v in 0.02v steps
vFSB (VTT): 1.20v-1.50v* in 0.02v steps *above 1.40v there are no gains
CPU GTL: 0.57x 0.59x 0.61x 0.63x
NB GTL: 0.61x 0.67x* *NB GTL settings dont work (as of BIOS 0703)

periphals and features
PciE 16x: Slot1=8 Slot2=16
IDE: 1 Marvel ATA 133 slot
SATA: 6 SATA 150 slots
SATA raid: ?
eSATA: 1 slot
Firewire: 1 IEEE 1394A Agere
LAN: 1Gbit Marvel
Sound: realtec ALC850 8 channel

links
mainboard homepage: P5E3 (http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=572&l4=0&model=1874&modelmenu=1)
forum discussion: none so far (http://xtremesystems.org/forums/)
review #1: none so far (http://xtremesystems.org/forums/)
voltage reading spots: vcore, vpll, vfsb(vtt), cpu gtl, vmch, nb gtl, vfsb "swing", vdimm, vdimm vtt (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2623176)
vmods : none so far (http://xtremesystems.org/forums/)

pros
A lot of space between both pciE slots
High PLL voltage of 2.78v
Good Heatsink/Heatpipe system fastened with backplates and screws
Good FSB ocing results (560 max boot on air)
Good Mem ocing results (max 2025mhz semi stable)
Stable Vdimm
All Memory Dividers working
Shows current memory timings in BIOS
Remote Control

cons
Vdimm only up to 2.30v and not 2.78v as advertised!
Vmch only up to 1.75v and not 1.85v as advertised!
Vcore only up to 1.700v and undervolting 0.04v
Vcore OVP at 1.9v even with vcore mod
vFSB(VTT) only up to 1.40v (1.42v+ doesnt increase voltage)
NB GTL setting doesnt seem to work at all
Only a 4Pin 12v Plug, not 8Pin like the P5E3 Deluxe
No PciE voltage options
No Debug LEDs, No Debug Code Display, No Debug Speaker onboard

TIPS
WARNING! The Asus nb heatsink cap is only attached with tiny strips of sticky tape, remove it asap so it doesnt fall off and shorts your videocard!
WARNING! dont leave vdimm and other voltages on auto when ocing or the board increases volts automatically to very high levels
TIP: if the board doesnt post try the videocard in the lower pciE slot (weird bios bug)
TIP: vmch manual setting of 1.25 results in 1.45v! from 1.27v upwards vmch is set properly
TIP: dont leave memory timings at auto, depending on the strap and memory speed selected the board sets up to 10-10-10 timings

[SeLecT]

Nice Thread!

Thanks for the info about this board. Here some other infos from joe_cool:

http://www.awardfabrik.de/forum/showthread.php?t=2247&highlight=asus+p5e3

[JohnZS]

Big Bump :D
I have this board and I am sort of well not happy, I almost purchased the maximus extreme, but that had a lot of stuff on it I would not use (wireless etc).
Anyway I am doing ok with the P5E3 on BIOS 0703.
A general WARNING do not flash to BIOS 0808 as this busted support for my RAM. I had to set the speed down to 1066Mhz and flash back to 0703 via an old ASUS flash tool!
P5E3 does not support the Patriot 1600Mhz RAM properly....yet.
I am stuck @ 1333Mhz (4sticks) and am reasonably happy as I have informed ASUS of the issues I am having with the board and they assure me that a new BIOS should be out soon which adds more memory support and stability fixes for those of us using all 4 slots!

Now I have a questions.

My PSU is a Enermax Infiniti 720W, it has an 8Pin12V connector built in, which you can split into 2 4Pin connectors. Am I better off using this to connect to my 4Pin motherboard?

OR

connecting up the 4Pin ATX optional modular connector?

Thanks

John

[CERO]

Nice short evaluation of the board :up:

[JohnZS]

For those who have this board BIOS 0808 has a few quirks, when I first flashed to it from 0703 I could not get my system stable at all. I was a bit puzzled at it made no sense to me.

I flashed back to 0703 using an old version of ASUS flash and had a look at all the settings.

Turned out what I call "subtimings" which were all Auto, were actually quite important.

By subtimings I mean

"Read to Write Delay"
"Write to Read"
"Read to Read"

Those things. in 0703 the vaules are 8,5,6,4,7,4,7
But in 0808 they tightened one of the vaules to 8,4,6,4,7,4,7.

I punched in the values from 0703 into the 0808 BIOS, and at last I could boot Windows, but I was still not stable. I then pumped up the DRAM voltage from 1.88 (0703 stable) to 1.92 and that more or less resolved the issue, however I was still getting random hardlocks.

Switching from 1T to 2T sorted it out... and now I am up and running, strangely enough with similar RAM benches, so perhaps the 1T was not really working with the 0703 BIOS.

John

[HoriWanderFuLL]

I need Vcore mod for this board 1.687v Real is not good , has anyone tried as yet .

Cheers Hori

[HoriWanderFuLL]

Thanks to Joe cool i have got the vdroop Mod..this does not work with Pencil Resistance is 19.97k either way.Does this sound correct..19.97 un modded seems low resistance anyway ???/

Thanks Hori

[JohnZS]

I keep getting this annoying message on "Cold Booting", was wondering if anyone else got this?
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7149/p5e3bioserrorte6.jpg
John