Any 965 Boards with Digital PWM?

[virtualrain]

Does anyone make a good overclocking P965 board with Digital PWM? If not, what is the best P965 board for Vcore stability and lack of Vdroop?

[EnJoY]

The new Asus P5B Commando P965 board has something like 8-phase D-PWM. But that doesn't change the fact that it has terrible v-droop. The voltage drooping issues on the intel chipsets as a whole aren't the fault of the boards, but the fault of Intel. It's a 'regulation' so to speak that Intel forces manufacturers to emply and if they don't, they get spanked.

[virtualrain]

I don't think the Commando uses D-PWM... it uses 8-Phase "Cap Less" which I think is still analog. I understand the new DFI RD600 employs D-PWM with virtually no Vdroop. I'm wondering if there is anything similar using the 965.

[Heidfirst]

the new abit AB9QuadGT has digital PWM

[EnJoY]

I don't think the Commando uses D-PWM... it uses 8-Phase "Cap Less" which I think is still analog. I understand the new DFI RD600 employs D-PWM with virtually no Vdroop. I'm wondering if there is anything similar using the 965.

Capless is Digital. So yes, the Commando uses Digital PWM.

And the reason the DFI RD600 has little to no droop is because it's RD600, not an Intel chipset. And this is not an engineering flaw or feat, it's about restrictions put on manufacturers.

[virtualrain]

Capless is Digital. So yes, the Commando uses Digital PWM.

I believe the Commando uses the same PWM solution as the Striker (8-phase capless) which is not digital according to Hardwarezone...

However, its PWM circuitry makes use of a different 'cap-less' design. This not the same as the digital PWM last seen on Foxconn's 975X7AB-8EKRS2H though, you can see the resistors surrounding the socket.

All of the boards I've seen advertising Digital PWM use a chip like this...



No ASUS board I'm aware of has this or advertises itself as having Digital PWM. I'm not sure how "cap-less" compares, but I don't think it's the same as this digital solution pictured above and I've never seen the word "digital" in the same sentence as "cap-less".

Having said all that, I hear what you are saying about Vdroop not necessarily having anything do to with the CPU power delivery solution. However, it seems odd to me that using a non-intel chipset allows you to violate the Vdroop specs for the CPU? Why would that be? Presumably the power delivery specs/requirements for the CPU would have nothing to do with the chipset.

[virtualrain]

the new abit AB9QuadGT has digital PWM

Thanks... that looks like a nice board.

[EnJoY]

It's has nothing to do with the cpu. Intel sets requirements for their chipset customers. Basically, Intel won't let everyone else make a better, more stable board using their chipset, than they can. So they make sure every board using their chipsets has a certain level of droop. You'll notice it isn't nearly as bad on the BadAxe2 is it?

[zert]

The new Asus P5B Commando P965 board has something like 8-phase D-PWM. But that doesn't change the fact that it has terrible v-droop. The voltage drooping issues on the intel chipsets as a whole aren't the fault of the boards, but the fault of Intel. It's a 'regulation' so to speak that Intel forces manufacturers to emply and if they don't, they get spanked.

not that i dont believe you, but how do you explain then how Abit board, DFI 975X etc... have little to no droop compared to virtually any ASUS board

[adamsleath]

not that i dont believe you, but how do you explain then how Abit board, DFI 975X etc... have little to no droop compared to virtually any ASUS board

i wood like an answer to that aswell...

intel asus ?

abit intel ?

[EnJoY]

not that i dont believe you, but how do you explain then how Abit board, DFI 975X etc... have little to no droop compared to virtually any ASUS board

Every 965/975 has a vdroop on the vcore especially, Asus just seems to go a bit overboard when meeting the regulations, and nobody quite knows why. Keep in mind, when I say regulations, I only mean that in it's simplest definition: rules. These regulations are not there for safety or longevity, or anything that makes sense. Don't ask me why they are there, ask Intel, but you won't get far.

[zert]

so correct me if i'm wrong, but Intel forces mobo makers to have droop on there Vcore. and ASUS if far worse in controlling that Intel oblidged droop that eg. Abit

[virtualrain]

I still believe that ASUS' lack of adoption of D-PWM power management may be a contributing factor in their inability to control Vdroop.

My experience with my current (albeit somewhat dated) ASUS motherboard and it's Vcore instability, and stories of massive Vdroop on current C2D boards, lead me to believe that ASUS simply hasn't invested much engineering in tackling Vcore stability and continues to spend their engineering resources on useless gimmicks (i.e. ROG crap).

Let's face it, one of the most important elements to any overclocking equation is Vcore - including setting options, stability, and lack of droop. It seems ASUS has only invested in the first and continues to ignore the last two.

At any rate, my next motherboard will probably have D-PWM and will therefore not likely be an ASUS motherboard.

[couppi]

I still believe that ASUS' lack of adoption of D-PWM power management may be a contributing factor in their inability to control Vdroop.

My experience with my current (albeit somewhat dated) ASUS motherboard and it's Vcore instability, and stories of massive Vdroop on current C2D boards, lead me to believe that ASUS simply hasn't invested much engineering in tackling Vcore stability and continues to spend their engineering resources on useless gimmicks (i.e. ROG crap).

Let's face it, one of the most important elements to any overclocking equation is Vcore - including setting options, stability, and lack of droop. It seems ASUS has only invested in the first and continues to ignore the last two.

At any rate, my next motherboard will probably have D-PWM and will therefore not likely be an ASUS motherboard.

Asus uses controllers that "sense" current and adjust the voltage accordingly. Apparently this is a power saving feature, and so you need to mod the board to get around this circuitry. D-PWM doesn't really do much for voltage stability.

I penciled the vdroop resistor on my P5B Deluxe and am now getting around .005v droop at load with 1.55v. I think that's pretty good.