[18th Anniversary] Asus Black Pearl - P5k-Premium Testing Report

[Supertim0r]

SuperTimor what BIOS are you running? I'm running 0504 and wondering if it's the new bios

I've used bios 0404 and now 0504 (lastest bios)

older bios detect the cpu "guenine intel..."

[benniebeeker]

i got my black pearl about 2 weeks ago... no problems at all... im even using 3 western digital drives... 2 320aaks and a raptor... posts up to 527 fsb w/ a 6 multi... great board...

[dingmel]

i got my black pearl about 2 weeks ago... no problems at all... im even using 3 western digital drives... 2 320aaks and a raptor... posts up to 527 fsb w/ a 6 multi... great board...

hey there, how did you get yours past 500? i'm having problems poSting @ fsb speeds above 495. mind sharing your bios settings? thnx

[TI66ER]

Mines posted at 520 but dint get to windows,it do 500 benchable with my chip tho'.

[benniebeeker]

hey there, how did you get yours past 500? i'm having problems poSting @ fsb speeds above 495. mind sharing your bios settings? thnx

posts but doesn't boot... but yes i will share my settings when i get home tonight...

[dingmel]

posts but doesn't boot... but yes i will share my settings when i get home tonight...

ic. i'm able to boot at speeds up to 4.05g as long as my fsb doesn't go over 495, 495 seems to be the proc's fsb wall.. prolly explains why it refuses to boot at any higher a fsb.

[brenanh]

Finally got my E8200 reasonably stable at 525x8 (12 hours Orthos), but it takes quite a lot of voltage... Here are the settings I'm using:

BIOS: 0504
FSB Strap: Auto (found forcing 400 to reduce stability if anything)
Mem: 1:1
Static read control: Disabled
Transaction booster: Enabled-0 (Disabled-Relax-3 which is the lowest setting did not help max post fsb and I saw a review of the mobo that found Enabled >0 didn't help performance much)
vCore: 1.475 (gives actual 1.44v under load with 0.61x GTL, within Intel safety limits!)
vMem: 2.35 (obviously depends on your RAM)
vNB: 1.70 (bit high perhaps, but doesn't seem to get hot...)
FSB Termination: 1.3 (this helped max post fsb and stability)
CPU PLL: Auto (setting higher didn't seem to help max post fsb or stability)
CPU GTL: 0.61x
NB GTL: 0.61x (lowering these GTLs from 0.63x/0.67x stabilised the system at 525x8 with the rest of the settings above)

Highest post I got was 545, but that was barely stable enough to run the bios!

My old E6550 would post 515, but was unstable at anything above 500. Didn't push it quite as hard as this one though.

The board really seems to struggle above 500, which is a bit disappointing tbh as even a P5K vanilla can do that. I doubt it's my processor holding me back and I know it's not the RAM... The NB is rock solid at 500 with 1.40v, but needs 1.55v for 510 and 1.70v to do 525 properly, surely an indication of it struggling?

I might try 0404 to see if there's any difference, I know some people have had better luck with RAM on it and mine's not doing too well (for D9GMH) on that front.

[ReverendMaynard]

been running mine at the settings in my sig for a few months now, and the board has been nothing short of amazing. No double boot, no problems with my WD 250g SE. Love this board, and I plan on running it until the really good X48's come out. The Foxconn Black Ops looks too be a a beast. But that's another story...

[TI66ER]

I'm gonna give x48 a miss and wait and see whats next,i'm getting sick of changing boards every 5 mins.

[Supertim0r]

I'm running a brand new board...stuck @ pci-express 1x. I bet i'm the only one with this bug ?

[wa2000]

I'm running a brand new board...stuck @ pci-express 1x. I bet i'm the only one with this bug ?

Try to adjust the NB voltage. Set it to something other than "AUTO" or the highest numerical value. Also try to set the PCI-E freq to a value instead of AUTO.

[Supertim0r]

tried already, no luck

[sesdave]

tried already, no luck

This was posted on the NCIX forums - sound plausible. Worth trying a non G92 card and see if it run 16x. If so it appears to be a combo of your PSU and the G92.
'Problem has been solved.This person was having problems with his Antec psu and Antec say they have addressed the problem and have revised units."Okay a little more info... apparently it is a timing issue, when your computer first turns on the PSU sends power down each line and then backs off waiting for the computer to start the boot process. With the G92 cards they are expecting to see this at a different time than when they are actually getting the signal and it causes them to think they are underpowered so they clock themselves back"

If that doesnt work there is also this specific thread on it with suggestions. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=159176

[Supertim0r]

This was posted on the NCIX forums - sound plausible. Worth trying a non G92 card and see if it run 16x. If so it appears to be a combo of your PSU and the G92.
'Problem has been solved.This person was having problems with his Antec psu and Antec say they have addressed the problem and have revised units."Okay a little more info... apparently it is a timing issue, when your computer first turns on the PSU sends power down each line and then backs off waiting for the computer to start the boot process. With the G92 cards they are expecting to see this at a different time than when they are actually getting the signal and it causes them to think they are underpowered so they clock themselves back"

If that doesnt work there is also this specific thread on it with suggestions. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=159176

thanks a lot for the info

I've found that @ load default bios i'm running 16X but the moment i change my clock, stuck at 1x

the psu and all the other hardware were all perfect with my previous premium (died last week during a bios downgrade)

edit : everthing over 399fsb = pci-e 1x
vnb = auto to 1.55 (over that = no boot)

[sesdave]

thanks a lot for the info

I've found that @ load default bios i'm running 16X but the moment i change my clock, stuck at 1x

the psu and all the other hardware were all perfect with my previous premium (died last week during a bios downgrade)

edit : everthing over 399fsb = pci-e 1x
vnb = auto to 1.55 (over that = no boot)

Any joy with increasing PCI-E upto 118 as per the previous link suggestions. Seemed to fix it for a lot of people with the same problem. http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/3-post3.html . He also later states that in his forum that it can be lowered to to 100-101 after the PCI-E is back at 16x. I read all his MB tests as they are very good for information on MB quirks. Intrested to know in case I ever encounter it-lol!

[jonny_ftm]

Hi,

I got tired of my P5B deluxe unable to be fully stable with my quadcore above 390 FSB, so I chose to buy the P5K premium today.

I got it, it is a v2.00G, hope solving many issues (I'll post back)

My problem is:
I just removed the stock heatpipe from the ASUS P5K Premium.
I replaced the NB and PWM heatsinks with a HR-05 IFX and two HR-09 type 2 heatsinks. Now, I need a heatsink for my southbridge.

I got a Zalman ZM-NB47J, but hey, it won't go with the long and double slot 8800 GTS 512 VGA card. I can't find any low profile (really low, as the original) heatsink for that SB. Any help would be really appreciated

I know there's the HR-05 IFX-SLI that would fit, but cooling my SB with such an expensive cooler is a no go for me

[Pomal]

Finally got my E8200 reasonably stable at 525x8 (12 hours Orthos), but it takes quite a lot of voltage... Here are the settings I'm using:

BIOS: 0504
FSB Strap: Auto (found forcing 400 to reduce stability if anything)
Mem: 1:1
Static read control: Disabled
Transaction booster: Enabled-0 (Disabled-Relax-3 which is the lowest setting did not help max post fsb and I saw a review of the mobo that found Enabled >0 didn't help performance much)
vCore: 1.475 (gives actual 1.44v under load with 0.61x GTL, within Intel safety limits!)
vMem: 2.35 (obviously depends on your RAM)
vNB: 1.70 (bit high perhaps, but doesn't seem to get hot...)
FSB Termination: 1.3 (this helped max post fsb and stability)
CPU PLL: Auto (setting higher didn't seem to help max post fsb or stability)
CPU GTL: 0.61x
NB GTL: 0.61x (lowering these GTLs from 0.63x/0.67x stabilised the system at 525x8 with the rest of the settings above)

Highest post I got was 545, but that was barely stable enough to run the bios!

My old E6550 would post 515, but was unstable at anything above 500. Didn't push it quite as hard as this one though.

The board really seems to struggle above 500, which is a bit disappointing tbh as even a P5K vanilla can do that. I doubt it's my processor holding me back and I know it's not the RAM... The NB is rock solid at 500 with 1.40v, but needs 1.55v for 510 and 1.70v to do 525 properly, surely an indication of it struggling?

I might try 0404 to see if there's any difference, I know some people have had better luck with RAM on it and mine's not doing too well (for D9GMH) on that front.

Hy,
an information what is your bios configuration voltagge for 4Ghz ?
I have an E8400.
For overclock stability is better cpu voltagge ref 0,63 or 0,57 ?
clock over changing mode is better 700, 800, 900 or 1000mV ?
Grazie

[turtletrax]

I am also looking for a template from someone that has an E8400, but need settings for 4X1GB of D9 GMH.

Seem to be having a tough time getting 8x500 stable, which is my target OC for my HTPC. The chip does 4050 Mhz on my DFI with 1.265v. So I know I can get the Proc stable at low voltage, so it must be RAM releated.

Thanks in advance for any help


Edit: Put the new Zipang on the P5K premo, thought I should post a pic

[sesdave]

Hi,

I got tired of my P5B deluxe unable to be fully stable with my quadcore above 390 FSB, so I chose to buy the P5K premium today.

I got it, it is a v2.00G, hope solving many issues (I'll post back)

My problem is:
I just removed the stock heatpipe from the ASUS P5K Premium.
I replaced the NB and PWM heatsinks with a HR-05 IFX and two HR-09 type 2 heatsinks. Now, I need a heatsink for my southbridge.

I got a Zalman ZM-NB47J, but hey, it won't go with the long and double slot 8800 GTS 512 VGA card. I can't find any low profile (really low, as the original) heatsink for that SB. Any help would be really appreciated

I know there's the HR-05 IFX-SLI that would fit, but cooling my SB with such an expensive cooler is a no go for me

Stick the stock heatsink back on with some mx-2 or equivalant non conductive paste - the SB doesnt need any additional cooling.

[jonny_ftm]

Stick the stock heatsink back on with some mx-2 or equivalant non conductive paste - the SB doesnt need any additional cooling.

You mean I don't need the HR-05 IFX and the two HR-09 type 2 on the NB and mosfets?

I'm planning to overclock my Q6600 and RAM at a high FSB, so wondering if the NB and mosfets won't heat too much with stock cooler.

At worst, I'll cut the Zalman in height and stick it on the SB

[sesdave]

You mean I don't need the HR-05 IFX and the two HR-09 type 2 on the NB and mosfets?

I'm planning to overclock my Q6600 and RAM at a high FSB, so wondering if the NB and mosfets won't heat too much with stock cooler.

At worst, I'll cut the Zalman in height and stick it on the SB

The heatsink supplied as standard is suffiecient - SB can only raise it to 1.2v and it doesnt get hot. Better mofsets and NB HS wont do any harm but I think you will find that all on this thread are attempting or are running high FSB on this MB and mainly using the stock cooling setup - reseating with better quality thermal paste is about all I would do and maybe stick a 40mm fan on top of the NB. I didnt bother though - It overclocks very nicely with the stock setup and temps are fine.

[turtletrax]

I have the P5K-P rig listed in my sig and cannot get 4X1GB stable at all. I quickly removed the OCZ as they are older sticks to see if they were bad, but same errors in Memtset X86.

I have treid NB voltages up to 1.7v, Vdimm voltages upt to 2.25, relaxing to 3, 500x8 and 445x9 and memory speeds from 800 to 1067 with every timing I can think. I am on 0504 and thinking about downgrading to 0404.

Looking for a target OC of 4.0ghz on the Proc and I would like to be over 900 Mhz on my ram unless I can get tight timings. Anyone with successfull 4x1G settings would be helping me out bigtime if they posted a template for me to work from. Seems like I am getting nowhere with my approach, which makes me wonder if it is GTL releated as I banged into wall after wall with this chip in the DFI P35-T2R.

What I found to work OK was

8x500 and DDR2 1000, 5-5-5-15-5-42-7-4-4

I relaxed to 2

CPU Vcore 1.2875
Dram 2.15
NB 1.55
GTL's set to x61%

But I cannot pass 32M of Prime and it usually crashes the program rather than getting an error in round or the like. And same thing happens at 9x445...

[Supertim0r]

I have the P5K-P rig listed in my sig and cannot get 4X1GB stable at all. I quickly removed the OCZ as they are older sticks to see if they were bad, but same errors in Memtset X86.

I have treid NB voltages up to 1.7v, Vdimm voltages upt to 2.25, relaxing to 3, 500x8 and 445x9 and memory speeds from 800 to 1067 with every timing I can think. I am on 0504 and thinking about downgrading to 0404.

Looking for a target OC of 4.0ghz on the Proc and I would like to be over 900 Mhz on my ram unless I can get tight timings. Anyone with successfull 4x1G settings would be helping me out bigtime if they posted a template for me to work from. Seems like I am getting nowhere with my approach, which makes me wonder if it is GTL releated as I banged into wall after wall with this chip in the DFI P35-T2R.

What I found to work OK was

8x500 and DDR2 1000, 5-5-5-15-5-42-7-4-4

I relaxed to 2

CPU Vcore 1.2875
Dram 2.15
NB 1.55
GTL's set to x61%

But I cannot pass 32M of Prime and it usually crashes the program rather than getting an error in round or the like. And same thing happens at 9x445...

start with vcore 1.35v (lower it if it's stable)
vdimm at 2-2.2v (ram 1:1)
load line enabled
dram static read control disable
strap auto
cpu/pci-e spectrum auto
everything (SB, NB, GTL... at auto)

[turtletrax]

So the plot thickens...

I have tried every voltage adjustment I can think of trying upto and including 1.4Vcore and Dram upto 2.3v and still cannot get through a 32m run od Pi. I have removed one set of GMh and ran my Ballistix that are good past 1200Mhz @ less than 900Mhz. Still no luck....

Last things I can think of is my OS is corrupted somehow, or my Raptor is the culprit. Does anyone think it could be my Raptor 150? I know these boards arent supposed to like them, but I am running out of ideas

[jonny_ftm]

The heatsink supplied as standard is suffiecient - SB can only raise it to 1.2v and it doesnt get hot. Better mofsets and NB HS wont do any harm but I think you will find that all on this thread are attempting or are running high FSB on this MB and mainly using the stock cooling setup - reseating with better quality thermal paste is about all I would do and maybe stick a 40mm fan on top of the NB. I didnt bother though - It overclocks very nicely with the stock setup and temps are fine.

Many thanks for your advice. In fact, it was a pain in the a55 to remove the stock cooler, and a much bigger pain to put the HR-05 IFX. The holes for the push pins are not secured like on my P5B deluxe, there are small electronic circuits less than 1mm from the holes
Also, the NB is too close to the RAM banks and PCI-E port, so the HR-05 wont fit unless in a diagonal way. Hopefully I'm on water with a low profile WB, otherwise, no way to cool the NB with the IFX and put a heatsink on the CPU

The DDR2 banks are also too close to the PCI-E slot: no way to mount a RAM cooler without some modding

Finally, the SATA ports are really misplaced: in the way of the PCI-E slot. My 8800 GTS 512 is too long and will cover the SATA ports 1&2. You need an angular SATA cable on these two ports to fit. So, the angle will cover SATA 3&4 ports rendered useless

The CD-analog input is in the path of my 8800 GTS 512 (double slot): it has to be removed or the mb could broke

And, to continue, teh PCI-E slot has a low design, that is, it is a bit more near to the MB edge than on my P5B deluxe. Reseating my pump on the case bottom was a tough thing

The layout is the worst I ever saw in a motherboard

Put you some shots later