ASUS P5Q-E (P45) pre-view

[Seanie's Show]

I dont know why so many people seem to be having problems with this new bios from ASUS 1201 I am having zero issues with this bois, not having to add extra voltages, same stability, same temps ect., ASUS would not release an unstable bios, All I can think of for your issues is you are lashing your bioses with unstable and not fully tested systems.

The key to this is never ever flash your bios, no matter which method you use with an overclocked system, I always put the bios on a USB stick, then shut down the PC, clear the bios using the jumper on the board, then boot back into the bios, set the memory voltage to mid range of the rated, ie if its rated 2.2v-2.4v then I set 2.3v, save and exit, and then on restart hit Alt+F2 to start EZFlash, after flashing is finished, I follow exactly the same procedure again, clear the bios using the jumper on the board, and then enter again and set it all up, never had any problems with any of the bioses.

[Zeus]

I'm finally starting to like my board now that it no longer bluescreens on me time after time.

I was running 4.3GHz with just 1.2V which becomes 1.208V under load due to LLC and it did everything i threw at it, Orthos small fft's, blend, OCCT, memtest (both windows and dos version) 3dmark 06, Aquamark03, SuperPi 32M, you name it.

Then just upon booting into windows or just browsing the internet it bloody bluescreens!
I even got a bluescreen during windows install.

I've set every voltage to auto and raised Vcore only one step and all seems fine now.

Now i'm gonna set all voltages manually again, one by one, wish me luck.

[Zeus]

Okay, got rid of LCC, had to set Vcore a lot higher to actually get the same 1.208V under load.

LCC isn't just avoiding Vdroop, it also seem to help a great deal for Vdrop too it seems.

Now i'm trying to boot at 600FSB without luck, is there anyone out there that can boot 600FSB with a Wolfdale and bios 1201?

[Dee]

So Zeus, LLC disabled is the way to go?

[Zeus]

So Zeus, LLC disabled is the way to go?

For me it sure is.
It just kept bluescreening on me with little to no load on it while it did some heavy load flawless.

LLC seems to reverse the Vdroop, meaning the Vcore simply raises under load instead of going down.

Now i have to push a bit more Vcore but no more bluescreens, which is a relief i can tell you.

It's real frustrating having a fully stable rig that bluescreens every 15-30 minutes while just browsing the internet.

Now i have to find a way to make 600FSB possible.

[Dee]

Right, thanks man.

I just got my E8600 and P5Q-E today. I'm currently having a hard time keeping it stable at 3.93GHz, which should be damn easy for this board and CPU, but there are so many BIOS options I have no idea what half of them do. It's nice having the options available but also it can be frustrating. This is my first Asus board, first Intel chip, and first attempt at OCing it. Couple of things to note, though: I'm using the stock cooler because I'm broke. Maybe heat is the problem, but I have no clue as to what the actual temps are because every app I've tried (Everest, Real Temp, Asus Probe, and Core Temp 0.99.1) all report different numbers. I'm intending to purchase a Xigmatek s1283 soon. Also my RAM won't work in the yellow slots, only black. If I use both yellow's it won't post properly.

BIOS is 1201. Week # for CPU is 20 (Q820A670). I set Vcore to 1.25V. RAM normally does DDR1000 @ approx. 1.8V, so I can't see this being a problem right now.

If anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it.

[Leeghoofd]

Right, thanks man.

I just got my E8600 and P5Q-E today. Couple of things to note, though: I'm using the stock cooler because I'm broke. Maybe heat is the problem, but I have no clue as to what the actual temps are because every app I've tried (Everest, Real Temp, Asus Probe, and Core Temp 0.99.1) all report different numbers. I'm intending to purchase a Xigmatek s1283 soon. Also my RAM won't work in the yellow slots, only black. If I use both yellow's it won't post properly.

BIOS is 1201. Week # for CPU is 20 (820***). I set Vcore to 1.25V. RAM normally does DDR1000 @ approx. 1.8V, so I can't see this being a problem right now.

If anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it.

Try these Dee, but I would limit yaself to 9 multi, the stock cooler will be able to cope with that... for the temps plz use Realtemp or coretemp ( with a -10 Offset value)

ASUS P5Q DLX Template :

JumperFree Configuration Settings
AI Overclock tuner: MANUAL
CPU Ratio Setting: 9 -try 10 with a better cooler
FSB Strap to North Bridge: AUTO
FSB Frequency: 400
PCI-E Frequency: 101
DRAM Frequency: 1000
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A1: AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A2: AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B1: AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B2: AUTO
DRAM Timing Control: MANUAL

1st Information : 

CAS# Latency: manual 
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 5        
DRAM RAS# Precharge: 5
DRAM RAS# Activate to Precharge: 5
RAS# to RAS# Delay : 18
Row Refresh Cycle Time: AUTO
Write Recovery Time: 55
Read to Precharge Time: AUTO

DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
DRAM Read Training: AUTO
MEM. OC Charger: AUTO
AI Clock Twister: AUTO
AI Transaction Booster: AUTO

CPU Voltage: 1.2 - 1.35(with 10 multi)
CPU GTL Voltage Reference (0/2): AUTO
CPU GTL Voltage Reference (1/3): AUTO
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.56
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.26
DRAM Voltage: 1.92
NB Voltage: 1.26
NB GTL Reference: AUTO
SBridge Voltage: AUTO
PCIE SATA Voltage: AUTO

Load Line Calibration: Disabled
CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled
CPU Clock Skew : AUTO
NB Clock Skew : AUTO

Advance CPU Settings
CPU Ratio Setting: Manual
CPU VID: Default
C1E Suppport: Disabled
Max CPUID Value Limit: Disabled
Intel® Virtualization Tech: Disabled
Vanderpool Technology: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Disabled
Execute Disable Bit: Disabled 

[Dee]

Appreciated. I'll try your suggested setting.

[Dee]

OK, tried those settings and they worked fine, although I used 400 x 9 which is only 3.6GHz. After that, I pushed further to 400 x 10 but it took 1.325V to get stable in OCCT. CPU-Z reads 1.288V, and OCCT reads 1.26V. I have no clue which one is more accurate. OCCT is doing some weird stuff anyway, it says my 12V PSU line is 1.5V, one of the cores remains stuck at 58 degrees, and CPU voltage for core 1 is dropping down to 1.19V after a few minutes. I hope it's not too long until we see some apps to monitor temps and voltages a little more accurately. I am also hoping that I can push further once the Xigmatex s1283 is installed.

Overall I think my E8600 and P5Q-E is slightly disappointing, but on the other hand I can't expect much whilever I'm using the stock cooler. It's still the fastest thing I've owned that doesn't have wheels or legs! Coming from an AMD X2 4800+ @3GHz, this is a damn nice upgrade. It slaughters the 4800+. Was it worth the money? I'm not sure. I think I could have done the same thing with any E8*00, but let's see what happens with better cooling.

I'm still on the lookout for a detailed guide to OCing the P5Q-E that describes exactly what all the BIOS options actually do. I am hoping there's some settings which I can tweak to make it more stable using slightly less Vcore. However, my VID is pretty high, at 1.2500, so there's a chance I could have gotten a mediocre chip. That wouldn't be good. The last 3 processors I've bought have been pretty much average or below average. Why is it that everyone else gets the good ones? All I see nowadays is "damn, I just hit 14Ghz on 0.5V!"... etc.

[Dee]

Almost forgot, there's a new version of Core Temp available: http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

[exhausted mule]

with lower temps you should be able to run lower vcore.

the hotter your chip gets the more voltage you need to keep it stable... the hotter it gets...

and so on and so forth.

[Dee]

Yeah, that's what I was hoping, and indeed that's how it's always worked with my AMD CPU's. As this is my first Intel processor I'm not too sure of everything yet.

Thanks, I appreciate the reply.

[Leeghoofd]

Stick with 3.6Ghz Dee till you get a better cooling mate

[Dee]

OK sir, will do! Thanks for the advice.

Great avatar, btw!

[ochero]

i have a p5q-e bios 1103 + E7200 + 4GB DDR2 1000MHz+

i cant boot windows over 440FSB, it stops always @ windows loading bar
i've tried raising pll, nb, vsb, and other values without success, as well as straps
tried other bioses as well

I have a E6750 that has an FSB wall at around 460+ (it takes a LOT of volts to get it stable beyond that and it tops out at 475). Did you buy your CPU from ebay or likes? It's probably more than likely that the person who had the CPU before you noticed that it had a low FSB wall and sold it off.

Try lowering your multi to 6x (to rule out the cpu) and relax your mem timings (even try a PL of 10+) to isolate the board itself. What was your NB voltage range?

[TI66ER]

I had my 6750 to 4ghz(500fsb) at 1.56vcore.Are you sure the wall is on your 6750?

[siyah]

my max. results under air cooling Q6600@3,996ghz

Q6600@3,996ghz

[thehinge1]

I ended up staying with bios 1103 for now after a thorough reflash off a USB stick. I will now take back anything derogatory I may have said about this board earlier:

E7200@4.0GHz/DDR1200

[ReverendMaynard]

Think this is more end user related then board related... your best friend is a digital multimeter... some voltages have been adjusted apparently and need to be redialed to get stable again...

1201 is rockstable on 2 E's and on the Dlx as well... all CPU's at 4000Mhz : 2 wolfies at (8 x 500) and one Qx9650 (at 10 x 400) on the dlx mobo. All rigs folding 24/7 at 100% and the quadcore is used as game platform too...

Really no hickups here

I just flashed to 1201 and I can say that it's pure crap. All of my settings that I used on the original bios (I think 0602...can't remember) for 450x9 and it won't boot, or it BSOD's at loading windows. My RAID1 is now in repair because of it.

Can I flash back using the EZ Bios utility?

EDIT: Alright, I flashed back to 0703, now I am at 1.45vcore (LLC disable vdrop to 1.416v, vdroop to 1.408) PLL at 1.6v (just testing it high to eliminate it) This is the lowest postable vcore that I've had since getting the board. Running Prime right now, and so far so good. Loading at 52C on both cores.

[ScottDaMan]

Well, this forum seems to have the most information on the P5Q-E that I've found, so I decided to register and ask a question. My hardware is in sig that is arriving Tuesday.

Anyway, I want to reach a modest 3.4Ghz on my Q9550 and P5Q-E. I know that is 8.5 x 400FSB. The question I have, is there a profile I need to follow for the right settings to overclock (disabling speedstep needed? etc) or can I use auto everything?

[Dee]

No need to disable Speedstep, I use it myself. You may be able to keep quite a few things on auto, but I think some people around here will tell you different. Regardless, here's some info I found on the net. It may be of some help. This is for the P5Q Pro, but many BIOS options are the same for all the PQ5 range.

P5Q Pro BIOS options explanation.


Some of the options in this guide may differ slightly depending on the CPU you are using and BIOS revision. This guide is based on the 1004 beta BIOS for the P5Q Pro and covers the "Ai Tweaker" section of the BIOS.

Ai Overclock Tuner - Options are Auto or Manual. Set to Manual to be able to start OCing.

CPU Ratio - Specifies the minimum and maximum CPU multiplier available to your CPU. Adjusting this value changes your CPU clockspeed accordingly.

FSB Frequency - The default value of this will vary depending on your CPU. Can be raised in 1MHz increments or a value can be keyed in directly.

PCI-E Frequency - This specifies the Peripheral Component Interconnect - Express frequency, default is 100MHz, maximum is 180MHz and can be raised in 1MHz increments.

FSB Strap to Northbridge - Specifies the NB strap to be used. Default value will vary between 200-400MHz. Changing this value also changes the dividers available for memory.

DRAM Frequency - Specifies the operating frequency of your memory. Default value will vary depending on your memory and CPU. Frequency will vary accordingly based on FSB and NB strap.

DRAM Timing Control - Allows you to manually specify timings for your memory. Setting these values too loose or too tight can cause your system to not POST, thus requiring a CMOS reset.

DRAM Static Read Control - Disabling this will in most cases enhance DRAM overclocking, best set to Disabled.

DRAM Read Training - Enables/Disables memory data optimisations. Disabling this might help increase memory OCs.

MEM. OC Charger - This is some kind of Asus thing I believe which they claim can help boost memory performance. Options are Auto, Enabled or Disabled. Probably best left Enabled, pick your poison for yourself based on your experiences with it enabled and disabled.

Ai Clock Twister - Specifies the DRAM data driving strength. Setting this to moderate is a good starting point. If your having memory related problems increasing/decreasing this value might help, or indeed solve your problem completely.

Ai Transaction Booster - Another Asus feature. Setting this to manual brings up the following sub-options for manual system performance configuration.

Common Performance Level - Options are 1-31. The higher the value the better compatibility with your DRAM will be (supposedly). Setting a lower level will (again, supposedly) enhance memory performance.

Pull-in of chan A/B - The number of these options that appear depend on DRAM frequency and NB strap. Enabling these supposedly "Enhances" DRAM on channels A and B. Beyond that I'm unsure as to what exactly these options are supposed to specifically do.

CPU Voltage - Min-Max values are 0.85000v to 2.1000v respectively in increments of 0.00625v. You can key in a value within this voltage rainge instead of having to hold "+" down until the desired voltage comes up.

CPU PLL Voltage - Values range from 1.5v to 2.78v in 0.02v increments. In a nutshell before anyone asks, a CPU PLL is a low voltage differential signal. Raising this may help stabilise high frequency FSBs on the CPU.

FSB Termination Voltage - Values are 1.2v to 1.9v in 0.02v increments. Essentially FSB termination sets the final line resistance in traces. Without this option there would be a lot of "noise" going on, increasing FSB termination can reduce this noise, better calibrating things within the traces when overclocking. This is a largely hit and miss approach as theres no way of knowing the specification for the circuit, so funnily enough the answer to if you should use this or not is play around, and use whatever works best.

DRAM Voltage - Options are 1.8v to 3.08v. Unless you happen to live in a sub-zero freezer setting voltages above 2.2v with passive cooling isn't a good idea, and going above 2.4v isn't such a smart move with a fan blowing over your memory, either.

NB Voltage - Options are 1.1v to 2.26v in 0.02v increments. No more than 1.4v should be required for FSBs in the range of 425 - 500MHz.

SB Voltage - Options are 1.1v to 1.4v in 0.02v incriments.

PCI-E/SATA Voltage - Options are 1.5v to 1.8v. Theres no reason to raise this value above default other than if your trying to overclock the PCI-E bus.

Load Line Calibration - Best set to Enabled, this option directly helps improve Vdroop.

CPU/PCI-E Spread Spectrum - Both options are best left Disabled. Setting them to enabled does nothing but help control EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference).

CPU/NB Clock Skew - A method for generating clock signals, its an effortless way to try and gain more stability without the need to adjust the signal integrity of individual hardware components.

CPU Margin Enhancement - Present as of the 1004 beta BIOS. This option may allow for higher FSB frequencies when set to "Compatibility" on certain CPUs.

If you're unsure, leave it alone! This is especially important for voltages.

TIP: Download MemSet and play with Performance Level. I find that Asus is very conservative with this at stock settings and I was able to gain a good boost in memory bandwidth by setting it to a lower number. My Ballistix memory works great with Performance Level at 6. Previously it was at 8. I checked the bandwidth using Everest memory benchmarks. In your BIOS, it's called AI Transaction Booster. When you find the most stable low number, set it to that number in BIOS.

The key to finding this number is to keep on lowering it one step at a time, testing each change with Everest . At some point Windows will freeze. Reboot by pressing the reset button on your case and use the last stable number before the freeze. For me, it froze at 5.

TIP: Download IntelBurnTest. Forget Prime95, Orthos, OCCT, and all those other programs. IntelBurnTest will tell you if an overclock is stable in a short time.

[ahmad]

• Just a note to everyone: auto or default volts are NOT DEFAULT AT ALL with this board. If you keep it at auto, the board will push it.
  
• Ex. 550MHz FSB with NB set to auto -> 1.35v-1.38v via DMM. vDDR is the same, goes up to 1.96v or so on auto @ 550MHz. So when testing, don't be surprised if it doesn't POST when you manually set 1.2v and think that thats what you been running at on AUTO.
  
• Overvolts NB and DDR by 0.04v (1.90v in bios is 1.94v real, 1.30v in bios is 1.34-1.35v real)
  
• Another thing, like its mentioned above, LLC doesn't seem to be doing much good for me either so avoid using it.

Here is the weird thing with the AUTO voltage settings: this board will not always boot with those settings increased as much as they are at other times, so its best you manually figure out how much volts you need to avoid times when you can't figure out why its stable and then suddenly unstable. Sometimes I have it boot with NB at 1.30v, sometimes 1.38v on AUTO. Bad

PLL and VTT readouts are painful to reach (especially with ultra 120 in the way), I wish there was a soft tool that could give me at least some number that I could use to figure out what this board sets them on auto and 4ghz CPU.

This board is almost identical to the other p5q boards (DDR2 only), so if you need to do more research, the P5Q thread should help you as well. Main difference is the 16phase power vs 8phase on the "E".

[ScottDaMan]

Dee, thanks for the post. I copied that one down and have read through it a bit (twice).

ahmad, I've been reading for days man and I can't seem to get a headway going. LOL.

I've seen this mentioned before as well about leaving things on auto. How do I know what the DEFAULT voltages are supposed to be to set them? Without hands on until Tuesday, I don't quite understand.

So far I somewhat understand CPU Voltage settings, I fully understand DRAM voltages (my purchased RAM spec is 2.0-2.1V which I believe 2.06V is what I need for 8GB for full clock). From there, overclocking is a bit of a mystery.

[ahmad]

Its pretty easy, the bios tells you what is default.

DDR Voltage: 1.8v
PLL: 1.5v
VTT (termination voltage): 1.10v for wolfdale
NB: 1.2v
CPU: Depends on your chip

The rest you can tweak (SB, GTLs) as you figure out your max oc.

[ScottDaMan]

Cool, it's nice to know that the bios tells defaults, that will help. I'm not looking to have an "xtreme" system (water cooling, maxed out, full throttle) per se, but I would like to reach what seems to be simple 3.4Ghz on my Q9550. I think that is a good medium that will last up to 3-5 years before the next computer build. My current system is an AMD 2800+ to give you an idea... I will be skipping the i7 generation.