Asus P5PE-VM & conroe / core 2 duo anyone?

[Pharmdeity]

I've got an AGP ATI AIW board and Crucial Ballistix 500mhz that I'd really like to keep using. I don't do any gaming, just converting and burning of audio and video. I don't think I need the newer chipsets and DDRII memory.

I've read the anandtech articles focusing on ASROCK's via and Intel 865 boards. I think they'd be good options but I've read that the ASROCK 865 board limits FSB to 300mhz, and the via chipset won't run higher than 300mhz either. Plus if given the option of ASROCK or ASUS, I'd certainly take the ASUS route.

I plan on overclocking an E6300 or E6400, and figure I'll need more headroom that 300mhz.

I assume I can clock this ASUS P5PE-VM higher than 300. Does anyone have any overclocking experience with this board and the Core 2 duos?

Thanks

 

[butch84]

I would like an answer to this too. I have a 6800gt and 2gb of ddr 400. It seems a shame to drop these components, but I would like to move away from my old northwood 3ghz.

Anybody?

 

[Tyhr]

I'm somewhat in the same boat. I have the ATI AIW AGP and DDR400 mem.

Due to my budget, I'm more interested in re-using my DDR memory and using the money I saved on not buying new DDR2 towards a faster Core2 Duo or a better video card. From what I've read, the DDR400 memory holds it's own quite well against most DDR2 memory - enough for me to not be able to justify buying new DDR2 just yet. My next VC will be PCIe however - but I don't play games, mainly video editing/compositing/etc. (I'm 1 year cold turkey from my WoW addiction...still get the shakes, LoL)

I've been monitoring the ASROCK DuelVSTA board, and it looked like a hit, save for the limited OC'ing. Unfortunely, I've been reading (on this forum) multiple people having problems with this board at the moment. If I do go this route, I may wait a bit to ensure I don't get an older BIOS, as putting in an older chip to flash is not an option for me.

I prefer to have a board the runs right out of the box, and am just don't have the patience or time anymore to have a board that "needs" tweaking to work initially.

So I'm hoping either ASUS comes with a similar model, or more people start reporting success with their Asrock.

 

[Xvys]

I checked out the online user manual for the Asus P5PE-VM, and their dosen't seem to be any overclocking adjustments of any kind other than chipset values. I believe there is no FSB or voltage adjustment available on this m/b. But just getting your DDR400 to run at 266FSB to attain the 1.8MHZ speed of the C2D6300 may be challenge enough...especially with no voltage adj.

The AsRock i865GV version seems to have FSB adjustment, but no voltage adj. AsRock also has a Conroe-i865PE and a i865G models listed as Core2-ready, but I have not seem them for sale as of yet.

I would also strongly lean towards Asus, but am scared off a bit if as there seems to be no overclocking on this board. AsRock is a subsiduary of Asus so one would hope they use comparable manufacturing processes and parts which normally puts Asus out on top.

I currently have a Asus PE800-SE (Prescott 2.4/533) and was hoping just to slot in a similar m/b and C2D6300 and just plug in my existing WindowsXP pro on the HD and have it work without format/reloading OP and reloading dozens of software with their finely tuned settings. Cross my fingers that XP pro will recognize my new Dualcore processor and make the appropriate adjustments automatically, (or by running the Dualcore optimizer program?)

Asus could probably allow O/C with the P5PE-VM with a simple bios upgrade or perhaps one of the AsRock i865 Core2 boards is a better bet. My current PE800-SE has a easy O/C feature which adjusts all voltages automatically in 10-20-30% increments and also has a S-pdif digital audio out which I like. These new boards would unfortunately be a step down for me and perhaps I may wait until the new year to buy my Conroe when they will have this all sorted out...Then possibly plunking down some real money for a decent board (nforce 590?), DDR2 ram, PCI-E DX-10 gpu, new case, HD, ect, ect. (And possibly the C2D E4300 with the 800FSB??) Or buy the C2D6300 now with a compromised $50 m/b to hold me over till then???

 

[kef7]

Not sure if this is true but I read over on owcforums that the 775i65G is for E6300 and up models while the conroe865GV will be for the E4xxx series of processors.

 

[Xvys]

Well, I bit the bullit today and bought the C2D6300 and the AsRock 775i65G m/b and put her together and bingo! When the WindowsXP "Welcome" screen came up, I was one real happy camper!! I didn't have to reload Windows or any software, other than the Audio and Lan drivers from the CD. She just booted right up!!!

The fan & heatskink on the 6300 is amazingly big, and amazingly quiet compared to my Prescott shrill "fan/grinder". I set the FSB to 300 (maximum) and it booted right up, again. I tested 3DMark2001se and it scored 17711, up from about 12000 with the Prescott, with the same Geforce5900xt GPU! My CPUZ reading is 349 fsb, 1397 bus speed, ram 233 (3:2) all this with Samsung DDR400 @ 2.5 3 3 8 ! I will try to lower the cas to the same 2-2-2-5 timings it was running with the Prescott/533, but I may be asking too much. Frankly, I think the Cpu-Z readings are incorrect... The 349 fsb & 1397 bus do not seem possible with an i865 with DDR400??

Anyways, so far a hearty thumbs up!!

 

[oboistuk]

I have just bought a ASUS P5PE-VM and a Core 2 Duo 6300.
I am updating from an old athlon xp 2600.
Everything seems to be running ok, except that the FSB is set to 800 Mhz and not 1066 which the CPU is supposed to be. Therefore it is running at about 1.4 Ghz rather than 1.89.
The motherboard box actually states that it supports 1066, 800 and 533 FSB.
Does anyone know how to change the FSB from 800 to 1066?
I am running 1GB of PC 2100 DDR and Windows XP SP2.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[jester700]

I think I read in the manual that you can ONLY get 1066 FSB if you have DDR400 memory - you might want to check your manual for that.

 

[nosliw]

I'm in the same boat of wanting to overclock an E6300 on this.

It suggests on page 58 of 80 (2-16) that you can unlock downward. On the right of a screenshot it says,
"Unlock locked CPU
and let it run at
lower multiplier
setting."

Is it only downward? Am I correct in remembering that Asus broke the lock and allowed upward changes on this same chipset (865). Or was that only the 865 on premium boards?

I'm very interested to know the other overclockability features of this board (if there are any).

Manual can be had at <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5PE-VM/e2609_p5pe-vm.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5PE-VM/e2609_p5pe-vm.pdf">ftp://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5PE-VM/e2609_p5pe-vm.pdf</a></a>

 

[Cenarius]

Originally posted by: jester700
I think I read in the manual that you can ONLY get 1066 FSB if you have DDR400 memory - you might want to check your manual for that.

It must be a limitation of the 865 chipset, because the ASRock boards based on that chipset also state that they require DDR400 for FSB1066.

Originally posted by: nosliw
Is it only downward? Am I correct in remembering that Asus broke the lock and allowed upward changes on this same chipset (865). Or was that only the 865 on premium boards?

I thought it was the premium P965 boards that allowed higher multipliers? Assuming a willing CPU.

 

[Cenarius]

Originally posted by: Xvys
I believe there is no FSB or voltage adjustment available on this m/b. But just getting your DDR400 to run at 266FSB to attain the 1.8MHZ speed of the C2D6300 may be challenge enough...especially with no voltage adj.

ASUS (and ASRock) are selling these 865 boards as Core 2 FSB1066 compatible, as long as DDR400 RAM is used, so this part isn?t the challenge. But, consider that the 865 is an old chipset originally designed for FSB800, and that it?s already getting a 33% overclock to run an E6xxx CPU. Anyone who reckons they?ll get another 50% on top of that is dreamin'. In any case, there?s probably a maximum FSB setting of around 300MHz.

On the up side, when the E4xxx CPUs come out, you?re pretty much guaranteed a 33% overclock on the same board! That?s what I?m planning on doing, getting an i865/E6300 combo now, with no overclock. Then in the new year, an i965 board and E4x00 CPU, and switching the CPUs around so as to overclock both. Works for me because I need two PCs.

 

[ChTI]

Originally posted by: Xvys
Well, I bit the bullit today and bought the C2D6300 and the AsRock 775i65G m/b and put her together and bingo! When the WindowsXP "Welcome" screen came up, I was one real happy camper!! I didn't have to reload Windows or any software, other than the Audio and Lan drivers from the CD. She just booted right up!!!

The fan & heatskink on the 6300 is amazingly big, and amazingly quiet compared to my Prescott shrill "fan/grinder". I set the FSB to 300 (maximum) and it booted right up, again. I tested 3DMark2001se and it scored 17711, up from about 12000 with the Prescott, with the same Geforce5900xt GPU! My CPUZ reading is 349 fsb, 1397 bus speed, ram 233 (3:2) all this with Samsung DDR400 @ 2.5 3 3 8 ! I will try to lower the cas to the same 2-2-2-5 timings it was running with the Prescott/533, but I may be asking too much. Frankly, I think the Cpu-Z readings are incorrect... The 349 fsb & 1397 bus do not seem possible with an i865 with DDR400??

Anyways, so far a hearty thumbs up!!

did you try to use software overclocking tools like ClockGen (http://www.cpuid.com/clockgen.php) for to try to achieve FSB over 300 Mhz?
If 300 is easily accesible and stable, real FSB potential can be higher.

 

[CupCak3]

please do try.. i'm quite interested to see

 

[nosliw]

Multiplier Unlock?
From the Asus site:

The P5PE-VM offers the CPU Lock Free feature, which allows you to adjust CPU multiplier to 14x. The reduction of multiplier value provides more flexibility for increasing external FSB frequency to raise memory bus bandwidth. CPU Lock Free boosts overall system performance by making synchronous modification possible. Enjoy better performance at the same CPU operation speed and improve your system without pushing the CPU to the limit.

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=0&model=1276&modelmenu=1

Applicable to all 775 CPUs including Conroe/Allendale?

If so, something like 300MHz FSB x 10 = 3.0 GHz might be nice and potentially reasonable. (with PC-3200 (DDR 400) memory running asynchronously at its stock 200)

Would LOVE to hear from someone who has experience with this board.

Ed

 

[CupCak3]

Originally posted by: nosliw
Multiplier Unlock?
From the Asus site:

The P5PE-VM offers the CPU Lock Free feature, which allows you to adjust CPU multiplier to 14x. The reduction of multiplier value provides more flexibility for increasing external FSB frequency to raise memory bus bandwidth. CPU Lock Free boosts overall system performance by making synchronous modification possible. Enjoy better performance at the same CPU operation speed and improve your system without pushing the CPU to the limit.

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=0&model=1276&modelmenu=1

Applicable to all 775 CPUs including Conroe/Allendale?

If so, something like 300MHz FSB x 10 = 3.0 GHz might be nice and potentially reasonable. (with PC-3200 (DDR 400) memory running asynchronously at its stock 200)

Would LOVE to hear from someone who has experience with this board.

Ed

If someone could get their chip up to 3 gig on this board i'd be all over if....

who's gonig to be the first to try?

 

[nosliw]

If the board really does unlock the multiplier up to 14 as advertised, even at the standard FSB of 266:
266 x 10 = 2.66 GHz =E6700 speed
266 x 11 = 2.93 GHz =X6800 speed - Intels top CPU at ~$1000.00 US
266 x 12 = 3.19 Ghz (a 72% overclock relative to E6300 stock of 1.86)

Here is one database that shows successful Conroe overclocks and suggests that the 3.15 range might not be all that uncommon, even with air cooling:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1075792 (A Conroe Overclock Database)

(I'll be happy with 2.93)

So, the potential of getting that kind of performance out of a currently $185 CPU on a $55 motherboard where I don't have to scrap my old ram and pricey AGP video card (AIW)sounds appealling. No gaming planned, just a bunch of video editing.

Any confirmation of ability to unlock Conroes with this P5PE-VM?

Ed

 

[Nedder]

So if we have DDR400, does it run at 200mhz or 266 when running a 6300 at stock speed? Does the P5P have any ram dividers for asynchronous?

 

[Nedder]

So little info available for this combo. I checked Tom's forum, Hardocp and ocforums and only the last has a thread, though it's brand new too.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=473001

I don't wanna get this board and find I'm stuck at or near default clock. That would suck.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: nosliw
The P5PE-VM offers the CPU Lock Free feature, which allows you to adjust CPU multiplier to 14x. The reduction of multiplier value provides more flexibility for increasing external FSB frequency to raise memory bus bandwidth. CPU Lock Free boosts overall system performance by making synchronous modification possible. Enjoy better performance at the same CPU operation speed and improve your system without pushing the CPU to the limit.

This is for the Prescott/Presler/etc chips based on Netburst. All of them at 3GHz or over have two different multipliers, their default and 14x. 14x at 200MHz FSB actually equals 2.8GHz, which is what they throttle down to under certain conditions. Well, Asus made it so you can manually specify that in BIOS. A dubious "feature" IMO.

Changing Core 2 Duo multipliers is being talked about all over the place, but besides the unlocked Extreme version or any ES version, has anyone verified that some/any of these chips are unlocked upwards? So far it's all talk and rumors. I want proof, and I don't think I'll see it. I'm not talking about a rare chip here and there either - I want to see people buying these chips from Newegg and other vendors, and finding their chip unlocked upwards.

 

[nosliw]

Hey Nedder,
On the memory, to do it syncronous would require DDR-533. They would have to mention that. They say DDR 400, and so surely it is. It clearly does asynchnonous timings.
I've posted on that thread that you linked to, as well as in the Asus forums. I have an inquiry into Asus tech support asking questions 1, 3, 4 that I pose in OCforums. We'll see how that comes back.
If we don't get an answer in a day (buisiness day), I'm just going to order it, and I'll know within a week. I'll post back.
It's curious just how few Google results come back for P5PE and unlock, or P5PE and multiplier.
Ed

 

[CupCak3]

definately let us know how things go Ed!

i'm not sure how things are gonig to work out but i've got my fingers crossed!!!!

 

[Cenarius]

Originally posted by: nosliw
On the memory, to do it syncronous would require DDR-533. They would have to mention that. They say DDR 400, and so surely it is. It clearly does asynchnonous timings.

Here's what Gary Key wrote about the ASRock 775i65G, which also uses the i865G chipset.

ASRock 775i65G provides three DDR memory ratios although we could only get our DDR-400 memory modules to work at DDR-355 due to the front side bus ratios availability within the i865 BIOS. We are only testing this board at DDR-355 due to this issue.

 

[Nedder]

Originally posted by: nosliw
Hey Nedder,
On the memory, to do it syncronous would require DDR-533. They would have to mention that. They say DDR 400, and so surely it is. It clearly does asynchnonous timings.
I've posted on that thread that you linked to, as well as in the Asus forums. I have an inquiry into Asus tech support asking questions 1, 3, 4 that I pose in OCforums. We'll see how that comes back.
If we don't get an answer in a day (buisiness day), I'm just going to order it, and I'll know within a week. I'll post back.
It's curious just how few Google results come back for P5PE and unlock, or P5PE and multiplier.
Ed

I downloaded the p5pe-vm manual pdf and it doesn't show ratio settings for the ram, though the manual only shows when ram speed is set to auto. Maybe when you set it to manual it becomes available. On my P4c800 the ram divider is set by picking ddr 266/333/400 which creates 1:1, 5:4 and 3:2.

I'm ready to run out the door and buy a 6300+P5PE but we need info on overclocking first. If it's going to be stuck at 1.8ghz it's not such a great buy even if you get to salvage AGP+DDR parts.

I think we all see the value in going with a maker like Asus rather than Asrock.

 

[nosliw]

What zap said about the 14x on the netburst processors makes an awful lot of sense. (thanks Zap). I have a strong feeling that I'll be stuck at stock. I happen to be ok with that. (ok, not thrilled though).

Reply from Asus tech support was "we cannot support overclocking issues." I sent it back to them asking for a real reply (clarification on an advertised feature).

I'll post back as soon as I get the system up and going (ordered Fri 9-1, not yet shipped, probably ship Tues by UPS ground, arrive Friday 9-8 or Monday 9-11, will build the same day)

 

[cowlickkid]

Thanks Ed, looking forward to your report. It comes down to either this board or the ASRock 775i65G for me. They look almost identical in feature set. But I will buy the one that allows the most overclocking. So far the 775i65G looks like the better bet in this regard just by reading both manuals. If I can get 300 fsb from either then I will go with the Asus as I feel their build quality would be better than ASRock, but that isn't based on any hard facts. Heck, the same sub-contractor probably builds both boards for Asus/ASRock.