Asus P5B (vanilla) Overview

[Timbosan]

Thanks for the great answers. Here is some info from Everest. I am looking at 3 different processors:

E6300
E6320
E6600

I will be doing a little of everything (some over clocking, Games, video editing etc.)

the e6600 is probably best for you if you can afford to pay that bit more. The e6300 can hit 3GHz + but you need nice ram to go with it. e6320 are nice due to extra cache, but again the ram would probably be your limiter.
With the 6600 you may hit ~3.6GHz, (9 x 400) and with the ram at 1:1 it would be running at 800 MHz. My 2c.

PS -- Good start with system, try running the ram closer to 1:1 (lower its divider & speed) and wind up the cpu it should do much more than that

[nownot]

i just got this mb from a friend v 1.01. my ram is 2.2v so im looking to possibly doing the vdimm mod if i can on this version, so looking for diagrams etc for that. also i have a e6300 on stock cooling running at 7*400 max temp is at 58c. orthos is running now, vcore at 1.3125 wondering what is the max i should put vcore up to on this board w/ the vdroop on stock cooling, aftermarket V1, or just all around number to not go past, or is it all Dependant on temp of cores. thanks for any help.

[MikeHunt79]

Could be ram, what speed and timings is your ram at? and no my lan port is fine im at FSB 486 MHz.

Hmm, I've set my ram timings really loose - 15-5-5-5

I'm gonna stick with 333FSB for now and tighten up my ram timings a little

currently 1hr orthos prime stable with 15-4-4-4-4 Vdimm 2.2v Vfsb1.4 1:1

Does anyone know a good guide on how to tweak mem timings?

[Timbosan]

i just got this mb from a friend v 1.01. my ram is 2.2v so im looking to possibly doing the vdimm mod if i can on this version, so looking for diagrams etc for that. also i have a e6300 on stock cooling running at 7*400 max temp is at 58c. orthos is running now, vcore at 1.3125 wondering what is the max i should put vcore up to on this board w/ the vdroop on stock cooling, aftermarket V1, or just all around number to not go past, or is it all Dependant on temp of cores. thanks for any help.

I have posted vdimm mod for rev 1.03G in post #551. Look at the same area on your mobo to see if they are the same.
Max vcore is dependent on max core temp, although i dont like exceeding 10% over standard. especially limiting you is the stock cooler.

Hmm, I've set my ram timings really loose - 15-5-5-5

I'm gonna stick with 333FSB for now and tighten up my ram timings a little

currently 1hr orthos prime stable with 15-4-4-4-4 Vdimm 2.2v Vfsb1.4 1:1

Does anyone know a good guide on how to tweak mem timings?

It depends what IC's your ram uses as to how tight the timings can go. Find that out, and learn what each ram timing setting means. Then just try altering settings until its tweaked nicely. Google ram timing theres some simple timing explanations.

[fscussel]

There´s a draw in the place where there should be a capacitor in the middle of the 4 ram banks (2 banks - middle - 2 banks), it´s possible to measure the vdimm there right? I have tried and it works fine there (1.81v here stock bios deafult).

Also, where´s is that place the pictures show?? I can´t find it it my P5B (this mod works in the P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi right? or is it only for the vanilla???)

[Timbosan]

vdimm mod area is directly below the ram slots, where the mem power IC and resistors are

[fscussel]

vdimm mod area is directly below the ram slots, where the mem power IC and resistors are

does it work to the Deluxe Wi-Fi version also???

what about my place to measure vdimm??

[elec999]

How do you guys change the vchip, in the bios. I can find it at all. only vmem, vfsb, vcore.
Thanks

[ziddey]

what is vchip? never heard that term before. voltage of cpu is vcore. voltage of northbridge is vnb.

[Timbosan]

How do you guys change the vchip, in the bios. I can find it at all. only vmem, vfsb, vcore.
Thanks

yeah do you mean chip as in chipset? If so thats vNB. VMCH is memory controller hub, vICH is southbridge voltage, vFSB is front side bus termination voltage, vdimm is ram voltage. If its not in your bios its not there.

Fcussel - see the thread on the deluxe model to find measure points and volt mods This thread's for the vanilla.

[ziddey]

ahhh right. I forgot that older revisions didn't have vnb control. you're going to have to do it by pencil mod or pot

[vascorama]

Just got my p5b and a e6550, a quick test(with a lousy cooler), 520fsb, and i believe it´s going to go further...i´ll try and post some screenshots once in while...no vmods.



i´m having a doubt here and maybe some of you can help me, in 3 diferent softwares(speedfan, everest and core temp), i have 3 temps regarding to cpu, one is cpu tem, the other two are core0 and core 1 temps.
In both 3 softwares i get this result while stressing:

cpu:60º
core0:20~22º
core1:20~22º

that´s kinda confusing, which temp is the one i should worry about? cpu(more real to me), or core´s(impossible i think, since ambiente here is at 27º~)
thks in advance.

ps:sorry for my poor english, i´ll try to improve.

[Timbosan]

if ambient is 27, idle should be ~15 hotter, so about 42*C would be realistic. I think you need to use coretemp 0.95 to correctly read your cpu's Tjunction and give correct temp. Asus probe should give you correct Tcase.

[vascorama]

i´ll give a look at asus probe, thks for the help

[Timbosan]

I just flashed to the newest 1604 bios. It has no other options, and i cannot overclock any further.It states "memory compatability in 1333 fsb is enhanced" so i figured they have made changes to the memory controller operation. Then i figured i'd re-measure my vdimm, just to make sure they didnt alter it.....it was 0.03v lower! I had 2.16v at the coil with 1405 bios, immediately after flash, i get 2.13v! Now my ram is not totally game stable, it crashes out to desktop when going back to the main menu.
Im quite annoyed, i have a fixed resistance vdimm mod in place that gave me + 0.16 - 0.18v, and i dont want to run D9's at 2.2v 24/7, so i will have to re do the mod with a VR now or flash back, but honestly i think there's less chance of me stuffing my board by hard modding it for the second time than by flashing the bios using any asus utility. Cheers for that asus. So anyone thinking of upgrading to new bios -- if you have optimised timings for your ram voltage & youre satisfied, dont upgrade.

[vascorama]

i flashed mine to the latest bios ´cause it said in Asus site that in order to support the E6550 it had to be updated...
I´m kinda hitting a wall at 520fsb, but i can´t be sure if it´s due to ram(i´m using 1:1 divider, running ddr2-800@1040, gskill pk) or due to the board, i would like to know if someone have already gone up that fsb value and stood stable(running orthos).
Tks in advance.

[Timbosan]

Mine is stable at 490, flaky at 495, not anything stable at 500 and wont do more than 520. I dont know if this is due to the board or cpu either. Im only at 1.384v for 490 FSB.....ram is good for 1200 MHz 5-5-5-15 @ 2.1v (tested)........only thing i can think is the board is at its limit. I find it hard to believe ive hit my cpu's FSB wall with only 1.384v, and the ram has much more in it.

[vascorama]

Thank you! , i thought maybe i was doing something wrong, now i also believe it´s the mobo wall, even if it is the mobo wall, it´s not bad at all, a board that was designed(was it?) to do 1066 doing almost 2000 stable, can´t say it´s a bad mobo...
I´m also thinking on buying a p5k, maybe closer to christmas(new mobo and low ambient ), the perfect combination.
Keep it up!

[Eldonko]

Mine does 548-550 32M stable, I think more but that is CPU fsb wall. Here is a SS of 530, and can boot at this FSB np.

[vascorama]

are you WaterCooling the chipset?

[Eldonko]

Nope, stock cooling and the 120mm I have over the RAM cools it plenty. Board is full vmod but I only used 1.55 vmch for 550 which is why Im thinking it still has plenty of headroom.

[Timbosan]

Nope, stock cooling and the 120mm I have over the RAM cools it plenty. Board is full vmod but I only used 1.55 vmch for 550 which is why Im thinking it still has plenty of headroom.

What was its max FSB with stock vMCH? do you run vMCH 1.55v 24/7? What are NB temps like?

I had to find out if it was cpu or mobo:
I have just completed the vMCH (northbridge) voltage mod for my P5B using a 50K 25-turn VR. Im using the stock NB heatsink with AS5 and a 40mm fan @ 5v.
Intel states 1.375v as an absolute maximum, i am running it at 1.36v. Stock voltage was 1.29v. When benching it is warm to the touch, probably ~30 - 40*C. Im not stable at any higher FSB than i was before. I must be CPU limited.
However, it has allowed me to run static read control on 'faster' (memset says performance level = 10) and remain 100% stable @ 490 FSB. Before the mod it wouldnt even boot with those settings.
This got me about 65 MB/s more bandwidth & 0.6 ns lower ram latency, so ive gained something.

I´m kinda hitting a wall at 520fsb, but i can´t be sure if it´s due to ram(i´m using 1:1 divider, running ddr2-800@1040, gskill pk)

Your ram may be at its limit, it uses promos chips

[boshuter]

Mine does 548-550 32M stable, I think more but that is CPU fsb wall. Here is a SS of 530, and can boot at this FSB np.

If you can boot at 530fsb, how are you reaching 548-550? Did they finally find a way to oc this board in Windows? I gave up on mine and stuck it in the kids computer because there was no way to OC in Windows

[Eldonko]

If you can boot at 530fsb, how are you reaching 548-550? Did they finally find a way to oc this board in Windows? I gave up on mine and stuck it in the kids computer because there was no way to OC in Windows

Well I can boot up to 550, but above 540 it seems to only boot properly half the time. Just takes patience, and ya no clockgen is big time PITA.

What was its max FSB with stock vMCH? do you run vMCH 1.55v 24/7? What are NB temps like?

IIRC stock vmch was around 500 fsb. I think I was running 1.4vmch for 24/7, higher was not necessary. Remember that vmch is not just for more fsb, it supports memory and video buses, so u need a lil more for other oced components.1.55 was for benching only but I dunno about this intel 1.375 max.. I run some boards to 2.0vmch.

[vascorama]

Sorry for beeing a noob,

vMCH

is that north bridge voltage?
If it is, what´s the 24/7 voltage that you recomend me to set?
I´m using it´s stock cooler and i´ve kept it in auto because i´m not sure what value to put there...
Is there any software that allows me to check it´s temp?
Regards