Testing / comparing : Intel D975XBX2 / Asus P5B DX ***56K WARNING***

[hotchoc]

Yeah. Ratz. It's a week 28B chip somemore.

Btw,

I keep failing my orthos tests usually at the 30 mins mark after going past the 333FSB mark. What does it mean ? What's the difference of failing an orthos test at say 1-2 mins and failing in 2-3 hrs later?

[Last Hegemon]

Hey guys, how would you partition a 320GB hard drive (yes only HD in the system)..and if I have 2GB of mem should I make a 3GB partition for the swap file or don't bother until I get a second physical hard drive and place it there?
Planning on installing XP but in 6 mos or so will do a fresh install of Vista; have read that it needs at least a 30 gig partition.
any opinions? thanks !

[minsc_tdp]

Hey guys, how would you partition a 320GB hard drive (yes only HD in the system)..and if I have 2GB of mem should I make a 3GB partition for the swap file or don't bother until I get a second physical hard drive and place it there?
Planning on installing XP but in 6 mos or so will do a fresh install of Vista; have read that it needs at least a 30 gig partition.
any opinions? thanks !

With 2 GB of RAM you will hardly ever touch your swap file anyway so it's not a big deal. Making a separate partition for the swap file probably won't add any performance even when you are hitting it, since it's all on one drive anyway.

If it's a gaming system, you might consider a Windows partition and a Game partition and use 64 KB clusters for the Game partition, assuming your games are mostly large files.

Vista can get away with 20 gig or so. You might want to make that partition now (or just leave the space unallocated).

Of course for real performance you should add another identical drive (or 3 more) and do RAID-0. It's SO much faster than a single drive.

[argylesocks]

Hey guys, how would you partition a 320GB hard drive (yes only HD in the system)..and if I have 2GB of mem should I make a 3GB partition for the swap file or don't bother until I get a second physical hard drive and place it there?
Planning on installing XP but in 6 mos or so will do a fresh install of Vista; have read that it needs at least a 30 gig partition.
any opinions? thanks !

i dont think a seperate partition on the same physical drive would make any differance. in fact, i put my page file on a seperate drive with a seperate partition (fat32) and i dont notice any difference at all...

[Chosen.]

A small swap partition does make sense, fragmentation-wise

[ChaosMinionX]

Looking for 400X9 mate. The best i've gone so far is
1.5 Vcore
1.4 vFsb
1.6 vMch
380X 9
Orthos fails in 19 mins though and my XP crashed
Ram ratios are 1:1 @ 266:533

Hmmm, is your ram the problem?

[aicjofs]

A small swap partition does make sense, fragmentation-wise

I 2nd that.

[Skerlnik]

I 2nd that.

Eh, no point in that. Once you set your pagefile max & min sizes to the same thing, it'll never fragment (since it's not resizing dynamically). Partitions are so 5 years ago

[hotchoc]

Hmmm, is your ram the problem?

how to check that? i doubt so but you never know.

memtest86+ ?

do i check with stock settings or OC settings ??

[jmpage2]

Does anyone have any experience running the Marvell SATA controller with eSATA devices under Windows Vista on the BX2?

I'm looking to use eSata as an external solution that is faster (much faster) than IEE1394 or USB2 but I am having some concerns about the Marvell drivers that I downloaded from Intel. It seems that to install the Marvell driver package for Vista you are forced to install Apache Web Server (what the hell???) and I really don't want to have to bog my machine down with extra services just to use a hard drive.

If anyone has any insight about above driver situation and/or comments on eSATA stability with the BX2 under Vista, please let me know. I bought a WD My Book 500GB and it's the slowest piece of I've ever used, I need something faster for backups.

Thanks!

[aicjofs]

Eh, no point in that. Once you set your pagefile max & min sizes to the same thing, it'll never fragment (since it's not resizing dynamically).

I wasn't talking about fragmentation of the pagefile I just quoted the whole sentence. I like a partition because you can place it on an inner track real easy at the end of the disk rather then going through a non-windows defragger to do it.

Partitions are so 5 years ago

Sure...

Back to the BX2...

So I got my response from Intel tech support about C1E, makes me laugh so I thought to share it. The "advice I got"...

Thank you once more for contacting Intel(R) Technical Support.

Regarding this situation with your Intel(R) Desktop Board D975XBX2, please try
the following:

- Go to Control Panel > Power Options.
- On the Power Scheme option, please choose 'Always On'.

This should disable the Enhanced Intel SpeedStep(R) Technology on OS level, and
should put the multiplier at the maximum value.

Please do not hesitate to contact us again if you need further assistance.

If you look back in this thread from the email I sent. The first 3 lines of my email.

Processor model: QX6700 (I'm at work can't see box, but its an 06 week 47 if
that helps)
EIST is disabled in BIOS, windows power management is set to always on.

Makes me laugh, no need to talk with Intel anymore they don't even read what I write.

[gtj]

Does anyone have any experience running the Marvell SATA controller with eSATA devices under Windows Vista on the BX2?

I'm looking to use eSata as an external solution that is faster (much faster) than IEE1394 or USB2 but I am having some concerns about the Marvell drivers that I downloaded from Intel. It seems that to install the Marvell driver package for Vista you are forced to install Apache Web Server (what the hell???) and I really don't want to have to bog my machine down with extra services just to use a hard drive.

If anyone has any insight about above driver situation and/or comments on eSATA stability with the BX2 under Vista, please let me know. I bought a WD My Book 500GB and it's the slowest piece of I've ever used, I need something faster for backups.

Thanks!

One of the downloads from Intel is the F6 Driver diskette STOR_ALLOS_1.2.0.24_PV_F6FLPY_MARVELL.EXE. It has just the drivers without the management console stuff. Works fine under Vista. I've got a WD400 hooked up to it via the eSATA cable right now.

[ChaosMinionX]

how to check that? i doubt so but you never know.

memtest86+ ?

do i check with stock settings or OC settings ??

Check the settings your going to be using of course

[ArcticOC]

Forgot to mention that the Asetek Antarctica 775 water block has to be modded in order to fit the BadAxe. One of the cap`s nearest the I/O shield will come in conflict with the cooler unless you dremel away some copper.

I`m using a Zalman back plate to give support, this also has to be modded slightly in order to fit. 3 off the cap`s legs will come in conflict unless you cut them a litle shorter, I used a nail cutter to shorten them. The cap`s and chocke`s comes very close to the cpu-socket on the BadAxe

[uberwurst]

maybe, maybe not, but you could be one of the unlucky ones (like me) who will just never reach the 400x9 mark. my voltage needs increased like crazy after 345x9.... i too, was hoping for 3.6ghz.. but it just aint gonna happen for me. wish you luck.

decide what your max voltage that you are comfortable with, set it, and then work your fsb from there... you may be failing at 380x9.. but could be totally stable at 370x9 at that voltage... still a very good OC

I'm another one of those for whom 400 will always remain elusive.. I've gone through a RAM and motherboard RMA (one of each), and get the same results when I go 9x400: BSODs, crash before boot, etc.

I'm running 3.4ghz right now, 1.475v cpu, maxed VMCH and 2.32v on my memory, 3-4-4-9.

I've just accepted this and am quite content at this point.

[Chas_The_Man]

Watch Dog!

No, not another question on how to disable it. I read this entire thread over the last couple of days and I think that question was asked and answered about 100 times. Anyhow, I am trying to get stable Orthos overclocks and I have yet to have had watchdog throw an error where I was going to be Orthos stable so I'm thinking its kind of a neat feature. The only thing is it keeps resetting my RAM to 800MHZ. That puts my memory speed up over 1000 and whilst I can boot that way, I am not stable. So I have to reboot and lower it in the BIOS. Can we reprogram the SPD profile in the RAM and if we do will the BIOS use the lower frequency? I'm thinking probably.

[jmpage2]

One of the downloads from Intel is the F6 Driver diskette STOR_ALLOS_1.2.0.24_PV_F6FLPY_MARVELL.EXE. It has just the drivers without the management console stuff. Works fine under Vista. I've got a WD400 hooked up to it via the eSATA cable right now.

Sweeeeet.

Did it cause any other problems? I read another thread where someone indicated that setting it up after Windows Activation meant they had to call MS for a new activation key.

They also said it caused the PC to bluescreen and reboot when the eSata device was connected or disconnected.

[ChaosMinionX]

Just reseated my NB too with as5, lets see how that goes for lowering voltage and stability.

[minsc_tdp]

I wasn't talking about fragmentation of the pagefile I just quoted the whole sentence. I like a partition because you can place it on an inner track real easy at the end of the disk rather then going through a non-windows defragger to do it.

Hey speaking of that... I've been obsessed about this for a while but never got a good answer. What defragger will let you position stuff on the drive physically by folder? For example, I want all files for whatever game I'm playing at the moment to be at the start of the disk for fastest performance, and the swap file at the end is a really good idea too since it's rarely touched.

I should also mention, regarding my earlier suggestion: I made a second partition for games and tried 64 KB clusters just for the hell of it. Turns out the benefit of that simply isn't enough (even with a 4-disk RAID-0 with 128 KB strips) to outweigh the fact that the unused space on the first partition (Windows) pushes all the game files further toward the end of the disk, slowing them down. It's really hard to get a fair benchmark since you're usually moving things around in the process and things are changing a lot. You'd have to specifically set out to benchmark it and make sure the positioning remained untouched, then you'd also have to measure real game performance since nothing could really tell you how each game would react to it (other than estimating based on it's average file sizes and most common files accessed.)

I'd really love a defragger that let me manually position certain things and do whatever with the rest. One way I thought to do it was to hack up the layout.ini file since O&O has an option to defrag according to that. But I didn't want to screw anything up with my prefetching.

EDIT: heh a quick google turned up UltimateDefrag... any thoughts

[ChaosMinionX]

Hey speaking of that... I've been obsessed about this for a while but never got a good answer. What defragger will let you position stuff on the drive physically by folder? For example, I want all files for whatever game I'm playing at the moment to be at the start of the disk for fastest performance, and the swap file at the end is a really good idea too since it's rarely touched.

I should also mention, regarding my earlier suggestion: I made a second partition for games and tried 64 KB clusters just for the hell of it. Turns out the benefit of that simply isn't enough (even with a 4-disk RAID-0 with 128 KB strips) to outweigh the fact that the unused space on the first partition (Windows) pushes all the game files further toward the end of the disk, slowing them down. It's really hard to get a fair benchmark since you're usually moving things around in the process and things are changing a lot. You'd have to specifically set out to benchmark it and make sure the positioning remained untouched, then you'd also have to measure real game performance since nothing could really tell you how each game would react to it (other than estimating based on it's average file sizes and most common files accessed.)

I'd really love a defragger that let me manually position certain things and do whatever with the rest. One way I thought to do it was to hack up the layout.ini file since O&O has an option to defrag according to that. But I didn't want to screw anything up with my prefetching.

EDIT: heh a quick google turned up UltimateDefrag... any thoughts

O&O Defrag Pro 8.6 is what I use, Complete/Name is the best ive found.

[aicjofs]

Personally I have only used Ultimate Defrag so I can only comment on it, and can't really draw comparisions.

It allows you to move your files for games/programs etc where you want them, can offline defrag MFT. Suited my needs but there could easily be something more efficent or better out there.

[gtj]

Sweeeeet.

Did it cause any other problems? I read another thread where someone indicated that setting it up after Windows Activation meant they had to call MS for a new activation key.

They also said it caused the PC to bluescreen and reboot when the eSata device was connected or disconnected.

Haven't had a problem with either issue.

[Last Hegemon]

Thanks for your previous answers on the partitions!
2 more dumb questions:
A- the alternate front panel power led head (3 pins): what are its polarities? in the book it shows the ground(negative) as being towards the edge of the board and in the sticker they included, shows it being towards the inside (reversed from the book); well it's not a biggie because it won't short if I get this wrong
B- for those with P180 cases, did you install your PSU's with the fan down or up (upside down)...I got the Corsair 520hx

[jmpage2]

Haven't had a problem with either issue.

Thanks again for all the info.

It also seems (from posts on another forum) that you can connect an eSata header directly to the Intel SATA controller vs. using the Marvell one. I'm not sure what the advantages/disadvantages are but I might give it a go first seeing as it does not involve the installation of any other drivers and the Intel controller can do 3gb/s vs. only 1.5gb/s on the Marvell controller.

[Hooker]

I'm building this new rig (specs in signature) and I'm having loads of problems with it. I'm actually starting to think I may have a defective Mobo.

What happens is this:

Problem No1:
I can _NOT_ install Windows (Vista64, Vista32, XP) on the Intel Matrix RAID controller with my Raptors in RAID-0. I can only archieve a succesful OS installation when I use my Marvell RAID controller.

The reason why I can't use the Intel Matrix is due to the fact that the RAID drivers aren't recognised by the Windows install. It just gives an error saying that those drivers aren't meant for my RAID controller. This with the floppy's I got in the box. With the newest drivers from the Intel website (6.2.1 IIRC). It doesn't matter if I load them from the floppy, USB-stick or USB-HDD.

WinXP does load them, but BSOD's as soon as the file-copying is finished and windows tries to start up.

Problem No2:
Like I mentioned, if I use the Marvell controller I can install Windows (only tried Vista32 & Vista64). Everything seems to be in working order until I go and install drivers. The combination of the latest Audio drivers (Sigma something, the intergrated audio chip) and Catalyst (7.2, 7.3 with and without CCC) just gives me BSOD's till I drop. I haven't seen so many BSOD's since WinME, no trouble in safe mode though.

So I can either install the audio's latest drivers, and use the MS-supplied driver for the x1600. Or use the latest Catalyst, and use the default Vista32/64 audio driver.

The board is a rev.505, came with BIOS2333, but I upgraded it to the latest (2674) in hope of solving this. No luck though.

I haven't even got the chance of tweaking/OC'ing the hardware. I've got the QX6700 at 266FSB and 12X multiplier (3.20 GHz) and I'm running the 266/800 strap with 4-4-4-12 timings at 2.16/2.20V. I guess that's a small OC, never ran it at stock speeds hihi. I have disabled all watchdog-like features, although I can still see the multiplier go down in CPUZ when I'm doing nothing (the time I got it stable before updating the sound driver)

Now, my question. Is this something that more of you have experienced. Or is my mobo a lemon?

I tried to give as much info as possible (all by heart, at work now where there's a working computer at my disposal ) I hope some of you have some things I can try.