680i SLI is too expensive? Asus as the solution : P5N32-E SLI PLUS

[Jultsu]

Goddammit. Back to square one. I've been benching with dual Prime95 and "max heat" -settings, temps have been under 50 for both cores. Well, I tried "max FPU stress" and the temps just skyrocketed! Funny, isn't it? So I'm back to 9x400 with 1.456 vcore, core temps 58 under load. Any more vcore and they would just get out of control. I NEED BETTER RADIATORS

[Leeghoofd]

I just ordered a D-Tek fuzion for my rig, according reviews it should knock down my current apogee with 4-5°C easily...

Temps with my E6600 632A at 8 x 450 at the moment 1.42 Vcore (under load) temps at 55°C-57°C under 100% folding load... ( but the AS5 needs to settle)

[Radical_53]

I really can't believe this. Today I got my second board, made it ready, fired it on... everything worked.
Then I flashed 803... and I got the exact same problem as with the first board. Tried numorous things like CMOS clears, different RAM, different CPU, nothing let's me get past the initial bios screen.
I really don't get it... is there anything else apart from taking out the battery + power cable, setting the jumper for a CMOS clear that I can do?

[Jultsu]

I really can't believe this. Today I got my second board, made it ready, fired it on... everything worked.
Then I flashed 803... and I got the exact same problem as with the first board. Tried numorous things like CMOS clears, different RAM, different CPU, nothing let's me get past the initial bios screen.
I really don't get it... is there anything else apart from taking out the battery + power cable, setting the jumper for a CMOS clear that I can do?

So you can enter BIOS? Try upping the voltages everywhere.

[Radical_53]

No, I can only see the screen before you enter bios, the initial post screen.
The funny thing is, I think I found the solution on the Asus forums.
It's my Razer mouse in combination with my keyboard. Don't ask me why an USB component can keep a system from booting, but that's just like the only thing I didn't try to remove (because I didn't see it could make any sense).
I'll have to try this out later today as I already had both boards "cleared" to ship them out for a RMA. Really strange problem.

[The Viper]

well guys, I hate to say it but I just bought a Abit IP35 Pro. For some reason this board just did not want to play nice with my new Crucial Ballastix 1066. If anyone is interested I will be selling this board.

[Jultsu]

*phew* that was close. I've had numerous leaks on my MB but this time I thought I had lost it forever. I would just not boot, no matter how many times i pushed the power button. I took the battery out and left it in cmos clear for 10 hours. I was so happy when it came back to life, just like nothing had happened. KUDOS Asus. I have faith in this board!


I installed new radiators (26 passive aluminium "tubes"), let's see what they can do...

[MAYHEM]

I have read most of this post, any I thank all of you for your efforts and intrest in the topic. This is by far the best forums i have ever seen, and will try to contribute where ever possible.

Has anyone tried this board with the Q6600 recently? With the current price drop I am looking at getting this board and proc. in the next few days. Overclocking is not a priority as a rairly go above 5 - 10% but reliabiltiy and SLI are. (sorry for my horrible spelling)

Any input would be great.

[shimmishim]

the eVGA 680i A1 would be a better choice for quad overclocking.

the asus p5n32-e sli, p5n32-e sli plus, striker extreme are all limited on the FSB for overclocking the quads.

[>GSXR<mrbusa]

Has anybody used this board to overclock a 1333MHz chip while using the new 0803 BIOS? The change log doesn't say how much extra capabilities it adds.

By the way, this is my first post. I've Been trolling for awhile and always had intentions of joining but you know how it is. Registering is one of my least favorite thing to do even though it only takes a minute.

[Snyxxx]

Just flashed Bios 801 and it solved the 4 X 1GB ram issue nicely. Now I can run all four sticks at 4-4-4-15 2T. Was running only 2 X 1GB at 4-4-4-15 1T.

[Leeghoofd]

the eVGA 680i A1 would be a better choice for quad overclocking.

the asus p5n32-e sli, p5n32-e sli plus, striker extreme are all limited on the FSB for overclocking the quads.

Striker boards have better quad overclockability with the latest 13XX biosses, I'm awaiting the GO version of the Q6600 here in Belgium as my vendors still have Batch F B3 in stock

[safan80]

the eVGA 680i A1 would be a better choice for quad overclocking.

not at the rate that they kill ram.

[>GSXR<mrbusa]

Striker boards have better quad overclockability with the latest 13XX biosses, I'm awaiting the GO version of the Q6600 here in Belgium as my vendors still have Batch F B3 in stock

I only have the cash for the quad and not a new board right now so I hope I can get some results from someone with the p5n32e plus and the new 0803 bios. Seeing how the striker and my board are so similar even your results will help me.

[Leeghoofd]

that's why I posted this answer sir, when Asus releases a bios for the Striker the P5N32E plus follows shortly after, as both boards are quite indentical (no I did not say the same !! besides some mosfets and some bling) I think you will get better results too then that what some previous posts suggests, ofcourse it's a complete mix of all other hardware on the mobo...

I hope to have my GO Q6600 soon mate keep you posted

[Jultsu]

Well, I'm back, with a new 8800gtx (the old one gave graphic errors). I installed 2 radiators right after the cpu block, and tomorrow (maybe) i'm gonna slap the peltier back and see if the intercoolers did anything.

[obeseotron]

I only have the cash for the quad and not a new board right now so I hope I can get some results from someone with the p5n32e plus and the new 0803 bios. Seeing how the striker and my board are so similar even your results will help me.

I just recently got a q6600 and p5n32-e sli plus w/ 803. The results haven't been entirely pleasing. The board has never crashed on me, if an overclock makes it through POST it's generally pretty stable. 9x333=3.0 is pretty much rock solid, 9x350 seems stable in games and apps, but one or two prime95 threads fail. 9x360 won't post. I think tweaking my voltages a bit might get 3150 or 3100 stable, but I generally haven't been impressed. Also, above 333fsb I've had better luck running the memory linked.

[strange|ife]

i was using this board for a while. it still works, but slowly would not hold a stable overclock..worked fine for a while..at 3.6 or higher, then just wouldnt hold it at all. only under 3.2..i went ahead and got ht abit ip35 pro. Iam not running SLI anyway.

with the new bios the plus may work better , i dunno. If anyone wants to buy it from me, ill let it go for a fair price

[Jultsu]

OK, I'm running 9x400, as usual. I got hold of some lovely 1gig OCZ sticks (OCZ2P10002GEEK) and am currently benching them. I could not get the system stable at all. I tried 1.9-2.5 volts to memory, but it would always freeze after 2 minutes of prime. I went out on a limb and raised the NB voltage back to 1.65, and wouldn't you know it? The damn thing stabilized.
A bit strange, since I only needed 1.45v @ NB to run the old crap memory @ 266MHz 3-3-3-8 2T 1.9v. Now I'm running these at 533MHz 4-4-4-12 2T 2.320v.

I'm gonna order some OCZ FlexXLC ddr2-1150 watercooled sticks...let's see how they dance!

[strange|ife]

I tried CAS 3 and it worked, but only up to ~700MHz at ~2.2V. I didn't mind trying higher as I already killed lots of sticks with voltage.
I didn't try too high frequencies either as tighter timings seemed to be faster for my setup.
Btw., the correct sub-timings gave me the same boost in performance as switching from 800MHz 5-5-5 2T to 900MHz 4-4-4 1T. Quite noticable at least (~5% gain in SuperPi)

your memory is probably really binned from 6400 chips thats why, alot of stuff put out as say pc8500, starts it's life as 6400 and is improved somehow. Cs 3 is hard to push on any memory over 800mhz

[12Iceman]

Just flashed Bios 801 and it solved the 4 X 1GB ram issue nicely. Now I can run all four sticks at 4-4-4-15 2T. Was running only 2 X 1GB at 4-4-4-15 1T.

I was considering upgrading from 2GB to 4GB. Have you noticed any performance increase from running with 4GB of RAM vs. 2GB?

[Don_Dan]

I was considering upgrading from 2GB to 4GB. Have you noticed any performance increase from running with 4GB of RAM vs. 2GB?

Up to now, I have not noticed any real-world performance increase, because I could not clock them as high as my 2GB setup. Of course you can let programs like Folding@Home use more memory, but a real preformance increase... no. However, I haven't tested the latest BIOS yet.

[safan80]

i was using this board for a while. it still works, but slowly would not hold a stable overclock..worked fine for a while..at 3.6 or higher, then just wouldnt hold it at all. only under 3.2..i went ahead and got ht abit ip35 pro. Iam not running SLI anyway.

with the new bios the plus may work better , i dunno. If anyone wants to buy it from me, ill let it go for a fair price

how was it not holding 3.6Ghz? you must not have used enough voltage or maybe too much voltage.

[Jultsu]

well, I beat 15k points...

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8...9pongoaek2.jpg

(I'm testing 2* 8800GTX)

[safan80]

only 15k with SLI? I can do 13K with only one card and a quad but using the p5k deluxe. your pic doesn't show the indivdual scores, what are they?