Asus P5B (vanilla) Overview

[RickyG512]

wat u talking about vdimm only goes up to 2.1 not 2.45

also with the new i think its called 1102 bios when u load a OC profile then in jumperfree configorations u see a new voltage setting called VMCH or IHC or ICH or something like that but its da chipset one, not sure if its south or north but u have only 2 options, 1.0 and 1.25 (not very high V, how high does it go on the delux), but if u overclock normally dat setting is not there, it only appears if u flash new bios and load a OC profile

[ziddey]

Ricky, that's what I'm trying to say. I understand that normal p5b vanilla's only go up to 2.1v on the vdimm. Mine has settings up to 2.45v for some reason, although settings above 2.1v don't work. I'll take pictures sometime.

Also, that's interesting about vICH only showing up after you load an OC profile. I always have vICH (although the 1.0x volts and 1.2x volts). yes ich is southbridge.

I also have vmch (northbridge) that goes all the way up to 1.70v.

I've got a few more voltages too.

[RickyG512]

yea but when i did the ICH on 1.2 it doest boot and i have to reset cmos

but i dont have mch and 2.45 on dimm

[ziddey]

I've never changed vICH. Didn't see the point. However, I do have vMCH up at 1.55v, and it seems to be making a difference. The occasional cold boot bug is gone. PCIE is always at x16. I can get up to 466fsb easily (ram limited currently).

[TheMafioso]

Guys, I have a Asus p5b but i can't set the command rate
I can see the options to set memory timings but not command rate in BIOS, is there any such option in the BIOS, CPU-Z shows the RAMs running at 2T, i want to set it 1t..

Regards,

[RickyG512]

yea same here cpuz says 2T

ZIDDEY PLZ TELL US HOW U GOT vMCH voltage option

i can get vICH but it wont boot so i have to reset cmos

[Eldonko]

You cant set 1T with this board afaik.

[ziddey]

Ricky, unfortunately, I think it's because I've got a new revision of p5b vanilla and lucked out to have vmch.

[ziddey]

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=134157

It's not called vmch. It's called nb vcore. Same thing.

Also, I tested the vdimm settings on my p5b vanilla.

2.00v: 2.08v

2.05v, 2.10v, 2.15v: 2.12v

2.25, 2.30, 2.35, 2.40: 2.37v

2.45v: 2.55v.

[Xvys]

I loaded a saved profile in my bios but there were no new voltage options. Perhaps this is only available on some revisions?
--------------------------
Asus P5B (max. o/c)
E6300 @ 515FSB X 7 = 3600 GHz @ 1.38v
Crucial Ballistix PC6400 - 512 X 2
Seagate Barracuda 250G - 16mb cache
Connect3D X800 XL video
Cooler Master Elite case w/ 2 X 120mm fans
Thermalright MTT9775 cpu heatsink
Hec AcePower 420W power
Soundblaster Audigy SE
Samsung 19" 2.0dp crt

[Xvys]

Just an update: I have reached 520FSB with my P5B vanilla, which generates 3640MHz from my e6300. I ran the SuperPi Mod 1M in 15.985 sec. The Crucial PC6400 memory latencies are 4-5-5-12.

Attachment 56625

[RickyG512]

what i dont understand is my E6600 at like 3.3ghz and ddr 850 ant 4-5-5-12 can get like 14.999 seconds and ur 3.65 and ur ram is probably faster than mine gets in the high 15'teens

[ziddey]

you've got 2mb more cache on him

[Xvys]

yep, SuperPi likes the 4mb cache processors. The 520FSB was just a test and I ran a few programs, but it was too hot for everyday use @ 1.44 vCore, I believe. I have backed off to 470FSB @ 1.30v (3300MHz) and it runs much cooler, but the computer is 1.5 sec. slower in SuperPi 1M...

[ryandinan]

Is anyone running their P5B's with all 4 memory modules full?

I just got a second pair of 2GB Corsair DDR800 and plan to install them tonight, which will make 4GB total. I was told by RAMGUY at corsair that running 4GB of memory at the default 800MHz would still be too much on the memory controller of the board, and he recommended that I lower the memory frequency if I attempt this.
Now, I am running my E6400 @ 400fsb (3.2GHz), which appears to be "moderate" for an overclock - at least compared to other users in this thread
Due to this overclock, I am already running my memory at the 1:1 divider - I wanted to keep my memory at default speed, as I was afraid of instability if I tried to go higher...hence, this nice round number of 400MHz FSB. I figured that the increase in FSB from 266 to 400 would be placing more strain on the memory subsystem anyway - why stress the modules as well, right?
Since I can't go any lower on the memory divider, should I be concerned that this will be too much stress? I've also heard of people complain that 4 full slots results in machines that won't even boot...

Thanks!

-Ryan

[ryandinan]

Ok, well, it looks like I can't run 4 sticks in this board. I emailed tech-support at Asus about the issue, and they say my board needs replacing
Hopefully the RMA process doesn't suck... Does anyone know if they will send you a new board before you need to send your original back to them? I asked, but have not yet gotten a reply... here's to hoping...

-Ryan

[Xvys]

I think your computer should work fine with 4 ram sticks, but I don't think you can o/c as high on the upper end. I would think 400FSB should be fine. There was a problem with Windows XP which couldn't handle 4GB or ram and would recognize only 3.2G or whatever. Vista solved that problem.

When you RMA an item, usually you have to contact the RMA dept and get an RMA number. Then you send them the item... then they either fix it, or send you back a new one.

[RickyG512]

how to i find out my chipset voltage, in bios i only have cpu temp and motherbaord temp, but i dont think dat is the chipset/northbridge temp

[ziddey]

http://www.wittekakker.be/projects/p5b/index.html
althoguh instead of using the top of the cap, I'd use a known ground.

[clon22]

Ricky, that's what I'm trying to say. I understand that normal p5b vanilla's only go up to 2.1v on the vdimm. Mine has settings up to 2.45v for some reason, although settings above 2.1v don't work. I'll take pictures sometime.

Also, that's interesting about vICH only showing up after you load an OC profile. I always have vICH (although the 1.0x volts and 1.2x volts). yes ich is southbridge.

I also have vmch (northbridge) that goes all the way up to 1.70v.

I've got a few more voltages too.

Yah, these r the newer revisions...
All these in my shop r the same.
They show vdimm up to 2.45v n have vMch adjustments..
But i dunno how good r they thou..

[RickyG512]

i have the first version with out extra voltage adjustment, but when u load an old profile from 0806 on a 1102 bios i get some new options

also anyone know how to find out chipset/northbridge temp, i got a motherbaord temp but dunno if its the same thing

[ziddey]

Yah, these r the newer revisions...
All these in my shop r the same.
They show vdimm up to 2.45v n have vMch adjustments..
But i dunno how good r they thou..

I made a different thread documenting my findings.

Basically, voltages above 2.1v do work, but not as you'd expect. Here's a brief summary of what I've found of my rev1.04g with extra vdimm, vmch, and other options.

2.10 and 2.15 settings both are the same, and I measured effective 2.12v. aisuite shows 2.10v, although it just shows bios setting instead of reading.

All further settings from 2.25 up to 2.40 are measured to be 2.37v. Then, the final setting of 2.45v is actually 2.55v. All settings above 2.15v result in aisuite crashing on load, because it doesn't know what the hell is going on.

Vmch, stock 1.25v actually gave me 1.30v. Then, the next option, 1.40v gave me 1.50v. Then, 1.55v gave me 1.60v. I didn't test 1.70v. That said, it seems that my p5b vanilla doesn't clock well at all, and doesn't like going much further than 450fsb stably. Extra vmch doesn't seem to help.

I didn't do vfsb measurements, but as I understand it, later bioses bring vfsb up to 1.45v, which is same as what this board offers.

i have the first version with out extra voltage adjustment, but when u load an old profile from 0806 on a 1102 bios i get some new options

also anyone know how to find out chipset/northbridge temp, i got a motherbaord temp but dunno if its the same thing

I don't believe there's a sensor integrated in the p965 chipset. So if you want a reading, get a diode to place near the core.





Also, I've looked at the p5b bios and do see options for all the voltages I have in there. I used amibcp latest version. My idea for you guys without such options is to use asusupdate to do a dump of the bios. Then use the latest amibcp to pull up the rom and see if the options are marked as hidden or not. Then again, in bioses I download straight from asus, they don't seem to be locked

[ryandinan]

I think your computer should work fine with 4 ram sticks, but I don't think you can o/c as high on the upper end. I would think 400FSB should be fine. There was a problem with Windows XP which couldn't handle 4GB or ram and would recognize only 3.2G or whatever. Vista solved that problem.

When you RMA an item, usually you have to contact the RMA dept and get an RMA number. Then you send them the item... then they either fix it, or send you back a new one.

Well, I initially was going to go through Asus's RMA department, but then realized that newegg has a 1 year replacement policy. I figured that would be much faster, as they send the replacement via next day air :-).
I also put a note in asking if they could give me the 1.04G revision as well, as that might help my success in running 4 sticks of RAM.

On the board I just in, I would get constant blue screens in Vista. As soon as I would go down to 2, it would work fine. I think it may have been a bad memory bank or a bad memory controller... who knows... I just hope the new board does not have the same problem.

BTW - since I have Vista64 Ultimate, will replacing the motherboard require me to re-activate? Or is the install tied to multiple pieces of hardware, and it only triggers the re-activation if several of those change?

Thanks guys! This forum is great!

-Ryan

[clon22]

I made a different thread documenting my findings.

Basically, voltages above 2.1v do work, but not as you'd expect. Here's a brief summary of what I've found of my rev1.04g with extra vdimm, vmch, and other options.

2.10 and 2.15 settings both are the same, and I measured effective 2.12v. aisuite shows 2.10v, although it just shows bios setting instead of reading.

All further settings from 2.25 up to 2.40 are measured to be 2.37v. Then, the final setting of 2.45v is actually 2.55v. All settings above 2.15v result in aisuite crashing on load, because it doesn't know what the hell is going on.

Vmch, stock 1.25v actually gave me 1.30v. Then, the next option, 1.40v gave me 1.50v. Then, 1.55v gave me 1.60v. I didn't test 1.70v. That said, it seems that my p5b vanilla doesn't clock well at all, and doesn't like going much further than 450fsb stably. Extra vmch doesn't seem to help.

I didn't do vfsb measurements, but as I understand it, later bioses bring vfsb up to 1.45v, which is same as what this board offers.




I don't believe there's a sensor integrated in the p965 chipset. So if you want a reading, get a diode to place near the core.





Also, I've looked at the p5b bios and do see options for all the voltages I have in there. I used amibcp latest version. My idea for you guys without such options is to use asusupdate to do a dump of the bios. Then use the latest amibcp to pull up the rom and see if the options are marked as hidden or not. Then again, in bioses I download straight from asus, they don't seem to be locked

Ahh.. I see...
Good info...
But i juz feel that the early revisions seem to be better...
I like the board... cheap n good...

[ziddey]

It looks like the circuitry in the p5b vanilla isn't all too good. I think there might be too much noise / leakage in my board (rev1.04g). I've found that despite what vmch I give it, it won't go stable past 460fsb. And at 460, it's stable at 1.25v (actual measured 1.30v). But beyond that, not even 1.60 would help.

Then I noticed that when I had vmch up at 1.60 and didn't have a fan connected to cpu1 header, aisuite would register 42rpm. If I have vmch down at 1.30v, it shows 0rpm.