ASUS Maximus II Formula - new P45 king?

[CL3P20]

no SS for you.. but on P5B-DLX+E6300/2x2Kingston/5770 Im getting avg- 91 and max of 111 in my desktop.. *using 10.2drivers btw

new 32mil for me last night on my MIIF... with better RAM, Im sure I can make sub-9min tweaking timings provides a small improvement in latency but worse for Read speeds..

[Sushi Warrior]

Do you guys figure this board is a worthy upgrade from a 680i LT for $150 CAD? I can't afford to go i5 but I would love a new mobo, and looks are very important for me.

[Starage]

This would be the only P45 board to get, hands down.

[Musho]

Do you guys figure this board is a worthy upgrade from a 680i LT for $150 CAD? I can't afford to go i5 but I would love a new mobo, and looks are very important for me.

Go with the EP45-UD3P from gigabyte instead. It overclocks far better and is getting way better bios support. The MIIF is an overpriced board with good looks, basicly

[CL3P20]

I must have bad luck with the UD3's.. I have yet to get 1x that will run +570FSB..Could just be I dont have the right RAM for the job, but I have no issue benching much higher on my MIIF... Just my experience with them though. The Giga is much much cheaper though.. and might handle +1200mhz RAM better than the MIIF.

[Sushi Warrior]

lol Gigabyte is never happening. They are some UGLY boards. I want something with black PCB at least.

My options are this for $150, a P5Q SE Turbo for $130, or a 750i for ~$120.

[humeyboy]

Do not buy a NForce.

The MFII is probably better for Duals but its a POS for Quads (OK a very few got 500FSB).

Added to fact its picky for Memory to reach 1200mhz when its lesser brothers can run it no problems (lower end Asus P45's).

[CryptiK]

Do you guys figure this board is a worthy upgrade from a 680i LT for $150 CAD? I can't afford to go i5 but I would love a new mobo, and looks are very important for me.

Why not find a second hand Rampage Extreme X48 - it looks basically the same as the Maximus II Formula, but it clocks dual cores way better (I actually got higher FSB stable on my quad too) and it's DDR3.

[Sushi Warrior]

Maybe I should make a new topic for this..... but one last thing, I have an E6850 and want to stick DDR2 as the upgrade to DDR3 is pretty expensive (for that price I could almost get a full CPU loop).

EDIT: Pulled the trigger on it, as I sold my 680i.

[al-]

lol Gigabyte is never happening. They are some UGLY boards. I want something with black PCB at least.

My options are this for $150, a P5Q SE Turbo for $130, or a 750i for ~$120.

I currently own both the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P and the Asus MIIF.

I like the looks of both boards, the UD3P is half the price of the MIIF->

[In-Fluence]

I'll would say both boards are good, but I wouldn't say the UD3P is nice-looking at all! The colour scheme is abysmal! Still, it's an ugly beast and manages to push chips further with it's measly 6 phase pwm, while the MIIF has trouble with quads near 500fsb with more than twice as many.
For your needs the MIIF should be more than enough and it's a nice comfortable board to work with with lots of fan headers, voltage and temp monitoring options, and once you get to know it and can be tweaked a fair bit to run nice low voltages.
I still have my MIIF and I loved the features and the look which is what sold it to me. Unfortunately I felt limited by the board in terms of getting the most out of my Q9650 (read way back in this thread), so I felt my only option was to try the UD3P which loves high fsb and DDR1200+ speeds. Might give the MIIF another try now I have my GSkill PI9600 but I probably wouldn't benefit a great deal. I'm kind of holding onto it as a backup, and I wouldn't be too disappointed if I had to go back, it's a good, nice looking board which should perform well.

[al-]

@In-Fluence

Well said...

I wasn't impressed by the UD3P color-scheme at first, but it's grown on me

al- (noob oc'r)

[CL3P20]

Why not find a second hand Rampage Extreme X48 - it looks basically the same as the Maximus II Formula, but it clocks dual cores way better (I actually got higher FSB stable on my quad too) and it's DDR3.

In your opinion, between the MIIF and the UD3, which are prone to better run 600+ ...? I ask, because.. I am 3D limited to 583fsb with my current bench setup due to RAM..and am wondering if investing in RAM to push 600+ will be a waster venture with this mobo. I have validation with 605fsb so far..just looking for more opinions/input..specifically related to 3D benching +600fsb.

[In-Fluence]

I got an old E8500 up to 614fsb on my MIIF ages ago but not tried on the UD3P, and I won't doubt that it could also do 600+FSB. I'm sure others in the UD3P thread have benches with one, and I know Jor3lbr holds a record tor two with one.

[humeyboy]

DDR3 is now cheaper than DDR2.

DDR2 prices are rising every week and 1200mhz kits are hard to find and very expensive.

You could buy a cheaper set 1333mhz or 1600mhz DDR3 and underclock it to run 1:1 with your FSB and tighten the timings really well like a review site showed about a year ago.

Could end up with 600FSB+1200mhz Memory (1:1) at 4/4/4/12 (pure example).

[SkOrPn]

Although Im from the US, I must disagree with this statement. A good DDR2 kit at 4GB is roughly around the $50 to $60 range, but in order to get a good DDR3 kit you have to pay around $100 plus here. If it is the other way around in Scotland than I apologize and wish it was that way here, lol...

[humeyboy]

Although Im from the US, I must disagree with this statement. A good DDR2 kit at 4GB is roughly around the $50 to $60 range, but in order to get a good DDR3 kit you have to pay around $100 plus here. If it is the other way around in Scotland than I apologize and wish it was that way here, lol...

DDR2 kits are going up and up, the 4GB Corsair Dominator are now £40+ more than a few months ago.

You do not really need a high end DDR3 kit to run 1:1 on C2D or CDQ, your MAX FSB will be about 500FSB-600FSB so 1000mhz-1200mhz Memory.

It was in the news other day, DDR and DDR2 will rise in cost and DDR3 will fall.

[SkOrPn]

DDR2 kits are going up and up, the 4GB Corsair Dominator are now £40+ more than a few months ago.

You do not really need a high end DDR3 kit to run 1:1 on C2D or CDQ, your MAX FSB will be about 500FSB-600FSB so 1000mhz-1200mhz Memory.

It was in the news other day, DDR and DDR2 will rise in cost and DDR3 will fall.

Yeah I know, but I still cant help remember I paid nearly $150 not too long ago for my G.Skill DDR2 and now the same exact kit is $99. That sure seems lower to me. Plus I would really like some good CORSAIR DOMINATOR DDR3 tripple channel kit so I can move on to i7 but I need to pay $230 in order to get it.

Im just saying I have to pay more for DDR3 no matter what I do, 4GB kit or a 6GB tripple channel kit, it costs more here still. Im not willing to own second rate memory, its the absolute best or nothing at all. But before long, maybe later this year the tables will finally be turned, lets hope...

[kagula323]

In your opinion, between the MIIF and the UD3, which are prone to better run 600+ ...? I ask, because.. I am 3D limited to 583fsb with my current bench setup due to RAM..and am wondering if investing in RAM to push 600+ will be a waster venture with this mobo. I have validation with 605fsb so far..just looking for more opinions/input..specifically related to 3D benching +600fsb.

between the MIIF and the UD3, prone to better run 600+ are the DFI LP DK P45T2RS Plus or Elite and they are also optimized for 2x2GB DDR2 kit's like G.SKILL PI 2x2GB DDR2 1200 ... only weakness of dfi p45 is overclocking with 4 memorii sticks

EDIT: other high fsb mobos for dual cores are BIOSTAR TPOWER I45 but i don't like about it the fact that after 1.3vcpu the increases in voltage are in 0.05 steps (like 1.35-1.4v) ... and ASUS Commando great one also.
My vote goes for 1.DFI and 2.Commando

[SkOrPn]

Hello again OC gurus. Just wondering if anyone has an idea why my MIIF passes Prime95 blend but fails IBT 2.4 standard? (Read Edit Below) Windows 7 runs great and games seem to be flawless. Below are my bios settings...

Maximus II Formula Bios 2202
Processor:  E8600 E0
Ai Overclock Tuner: Manual
OC From CPU Level Up: Auto
Ratio CMOS Setting: 9
FSB Frequency: 500
CPU Clock Skew: Delay 300ps
NB Clock Skew: Delay 400ps
FSB Strap to North Bridge: 333
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-1000MHz

DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A1: Auto
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A2: Auto
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B1: Auto
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B2: Auto
DRAM Timing Control: Auto

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
DRAM Read Training: Disabled
MEM. OC Charger: Enabled
Ai Clock Twister: Auto
Ai Transaction Booster: Manual

Common Performance Level: 10
Pull-in of CHA PH1: Disabled
Pull-in of CHA PH2: Disabled
Pull-in of CHA PH3: Disabled
Pull-in of CHA PH4: Disabled
Pull-in of CHA PH5: Disabled
Pull-in of CHB PH1: Disabled
Pull-in of CHB PH2: Disabled
Pull-in of CHB PH3: Disabled
Pull-in of CHB PH4: Disabled
Pull-in of CHB PH5: Disabled

PCIE Frequency: 100

CPU Voltage: 1.344
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.55
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.16625
DRAM Voltage: 1.9
North Bridge Voltage: 1.35
South Bridge 1.5 Voltage: 1.54 
South Bridge 1.1 Voltage: 1.12 (I have Raid)

CPU GTL Reference (0): Auto
CPU GTL Reference (1):-30mv
CPU GTL Reference (2): Auto
CPU GTL Reference (3):-30mv
NB GTL Reference: Auto
DDR2 ChA Reference Voltage: Auto
DDR2 ChB Reference Voltage: Auto
North Bridge DDR Reference: Auto

CPU Configuration:

Ratio CMOS Setting: 9
C1E Support: Disabled
Max CPUID Value Limit: Disabled
Intel Virtualization Tech: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Disabled
Execute Disable Bit: Disabled

Load-Line Calibration: Enabled
CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled

Thanks in advance for any settings you think I should play with.

EDIT: Prime95 did fail worker thread #2 but it took over 2 hours to do it. I was sure it was going to pass Prime that I created this post before allowing prime to finish. IBT failed in under 30 seconds but prime took something like 2 hours and 33 minutes to fail. Going to look for other settings to try....

[SkOrPn]

Well back to a simple oc 8x500 for 24/7 use. Read somewhere that CPU PLL can kill a 45nm C2D, so Im not messing with that option. Anyone know if 41-42c is ok at idle for 4ghz? For having a good water cooling kit it sure seems high to me.

[Musho]

Well back to a simple oc 8x500 for 24/7 use. Read somewhere that CPU PLL can kill a 45nm C2D, so Im not messing with that option. Anyone know if 41-42c is ok at idle for 4ghz? For having a good water cooling kit it sure seems high to me.

Idle temps don't really matter all that much. What are your load temps running prime95 or linpack?

[SkOrPn]

Idle temps don't really matter all that much. What are your load temps running prime95 or linpack?

60-65'ish for Prime and 70-77'ish for linpack. I also read somewhere 77 was considered to be max acceptable. But I seen a quick 78 just for a split second but never saw it again. I wonder if its time to clean the loop now? Same loop and coolant for over a year now, lol...

EDIT: Just dawned on me that I have my coolant pump on the lowest setting it has. Been like that ever since I installed it as to keep noise down.

[Musho]

60-65'ish for Prime and 70-77'ish for linpack. I also read somewhere 77 was considered to be max acceptable. But I seen a quick 78 just for a split second but never saw it again. I wonder if its time to clean the loop now? Same loop and coolant for over a year now, lol...

EDIT: Just dawned on me that I have my coolant pump on the lowest setting it has. Been like that ever since I installed it as to keep noise down.

4ghz with a dual core running 77 degrees under load is quite hot for watercooling. Cleaning the loop might be a good idea indeed. If it's stable, and you don't want to push higher, it's perfectly safe though So nothing to worry about, really

[SkOrPn]

4ghz with a dual core running 77 degrees under load is quite hot for watercooling. Cleaning the loop might be a good idea indeed. If it's stable, and you don't want to push higher, it's perfectly safe though So nothing to worry about, really

Yeah its stable at 4ghz and nothing I do in real world ever pushes the temps that high. But still I think I will prepare to clean the loop next weekend and increase the pump speed to see what happens. Thanks...