Asus P4P800 Deluxe motherboard and Prescott

[thermite88]

I have a 3 years old Asus P4P800 Deluxe motherboard (NOT the Asus P4P800-E Deluxe). I am interested in a low cost upgrade of process. Will a 3.0GHz Prescott CPU work with it with the latest BIOS update? Specifically,

Intel 3 GHz Prescott with 1M L2

If not, what is the best MB for this CPU?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

There are about three -- maybe even four -- revisions of that board. If you add the "Deluxe" model, then six.

There was a P4P800 "Standard" which I bought in December, '03. Held it in shrink-wrap box until I built "MOJO-One" in July '04. Dangerous, I know, because I wouldn't have been able to return it. I can say that I THOUGHT that board -- with BIOS revision -- was Prescott-ready -- but never tested it. You had best confirm with a an e-mail to ASUS tech-support.

The Deluxe models had a separate Southbridge controller -- possibly Promise-Tech, JMIcron or VIA. This was essentially the feature that separated "Standard" from Deluxe, and continued to be.

Eventually, the board revisions arrived as P4P800 SE and Deluxe. Again, the differences between the two variations were limited to the addition of the additional hard-drive controller. These boards I know to be abso-freakin-lutely Prescott ready -- up to and including the 3.2E processor.

For the 3.4E processor, you needed to have either P4P800 SE or Deluxe REVISION 2.0. "REV 2.0" should be printed in white ink between two PCI slots on the motherboard.

I guarantee that for Revision 2 of the P4P800 SE and its upscale Deluxe model, they are both 3.4E Prescott-ready.

Again -- for the earlier "Standard" board, check with ASUS tech-support, but I thought for sure the retail box was labeled "Prescott-ready."

 

[thermite88]

I got the 3GHz Prescott process, but have not had time to put it on my own P4P800 Deluxe MB yet. My rig is moving to a new Lian-Li case and more re-assembly needs to be done.

So I tried out 3GHz Prescott process on my daughter's leftover machine which has a MSI-6728 Neo2 board released on Mar 03. I updated the BIOS to version 2.5, which was the latest dated Nov 04. It is a drop-in upgrade and the BIOS recognized the Prescott, set the FSB to 200 MHz. I got the expected performance boost using simple minded SIS Sandra tests.

I hope that the Asus will be as painless too.

 

[tcsenter]

Man, I'm betting that motherboard companies never get these kind of inquiries. I wish motherboad companies would offer some kind of CPU support chart on their websites for those wanting to know this information.

DOH!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well, to some extent they do offer a compatibility list. And it is interesting that the confusion can derive from the board going through several revisions. For my P4P800 Standard, I'm almost sure the retail box said "Prescott-ready," but I can't confirm it. And I also know the later-generation P4P800 SE had to be revision 2.0 to accept a 3.4E Prescott -- but it was good to go with the 3.2E.