*** Official ASUS P4C800/Deluxe (875P) Thread ***

[computer]

Is that Fortron the same as an Antec, or is it a Sparkle? I can't remember.

 

[Crashman]

Originally posted by: computer
Is that Fortron the same as an Antec, or is it a Sparkle? I can't remember.

Sparkle uses Fortron. Aopen does for some of their supplies too. As does Zalman, or so I've heard.

 

[computer]

OK.

 

[jhites]

Just make sure that it has FSP in the model number and that
will indicate that it is a Fortron Source.

 

[computer]

I obviously just lost my mind. Is it not CPUz that tells if PAT/PAM is enabled or disabled? Where?

Another thing, I forgot about the XP "USB driver issue". Where do you get the USB drivers for this mobo from that rids the Device Manager of the yellow marks for the USB? Or what are the called exactly? I'm sure I have them on a CD from my last install but don't recall their name.

 

[virtuamike]

Just make sure which Fortron you're getting. The FSP400-60PNU-R (120mm fan) is getting some ugly stability reviews, heatsinks are smaller in order to make room for the 120mm fan. Shame too, was considering going with it, guess I'll stick with my Enermax and mod the fans to make it quieter.

Channel Well is the one that does Antec. Fortron does Sparkle (and recently Silverstone, Vantec, Seasonic, etc w/ the 120mm model).

Thinking about switching over to a P4C800-E Deluxe, currently running an IC7. Some questions before I make the plunge.

1. I'm running my 2.4C @ 278FSB 5:4. How much performance would I gain if I make the jump to 1:1? I run 1GB OCZ PC4000 so RAM isn't a problem. In particular I'm looking to cut down my DVDShrink encode times some more, would really appreciate it if someone could do some DVDShrink benchies. Not too concerned about memory benchmarks, I'm looking for real-world application.

2. WMD. Does it actually indicate a stability problem or are we just throwing a hissy fit because Microsoft writes buggy software? The plan is to run 2x 36GB Raptors RAID-0 off the ICH5R and 2x Maxtor 160GB (dunno if I'll RAID that too, it's storage so I don't want to mess with it) off the Promise. Currently have a Promise PCI card that I'm running the Maxtors off of, I'd like to get rid of it so I can run everything off mobo (going for cleaner setup).

3. Anyone have probs with NB HS popping off?

Here's some things I picked up from the IC7, might apply to P4C800.

Same voltage fluctions above 1.6V core exist on IC7 (well, at least on my revision, I got in on the 1st batch). I found my sweet spot at 1.58 or whatever it is and I've stuck with it, anything higher and it crashes out.

As far as SATA/PATA, I found I needed to enable (or might've been disable, it was the opposite of default) bus mastering in order to get all drives to register, otherwise stuff vanishes during OS installs. Dunno if same option exists on P4C800.

Also try bumping your AGP voltage to 1.55 or 1.6 if you're seeing fluctuations on vcore etc. For some reason the IC7 runs a little more stable when raising voltage across everything.

 

[computer]

Well, all I did was "update driver" in the Device Manager and the yellow mark for USB went away! I could have sworn drivers had to be installed last time! How do you know if it's "working at USB 2.0 speeds" or if 2.0 drivers are installed?

 

[computer]

virtuamike, you should be able to do 1:1 with what you have now. If you can't, I'd RMA your memory because it's certainly capable of doing it. And you will see a performance jump on memory benches or benchmarks/programs/games that are memory intensive. Which OCZ do you have, Gold, EL, Optimized, etc.?

We don't know about the WMD program (nor does the US Government!!!! LOL!! ) Ok, seriously now, no one has been able to determine what's going on since M$ and Asus won't discuss it.

This mobo has no chipset fan. So no, it won't fall off.

This mobo has the IDE bus mastering in the BIOS, but you cannot disable it. I tried (to see what happened) and it still showed as "ENABLED" @ POST in the Promise BIOS screen.

 

[mastertech01]

Originally posted by: computer
virtuamike, you should be able to do 1:1 with what you have now. If you can't, I'd RMA your memory because it's certainly capable of doing it. And you will see a performance jump on memory benches or benchmarks/programs/games that are memory intensive. Which OCZ do you have, Gold, EL, Optimized, etc.?

We don't know about the WMD program (nor does the US Government!!!! LOL!! ) Ok, seriously now, no one has been able to determine what's going on since M$ and Asus won't discuss it.

This mobo has no chipset fan. So no, it won't fall off.

This mobo has the IDE bus mastering in the BIOS, but you cannot disable it. I tried (to see what happened) and it still showed as "ENABLED" @ POST in the Promise BIOS screen.

Just a note on mem timings that I discovered yesterday. At 1:1 on my 3.0 I could run 220 FSB, 2226 Turbo and PAT on for 3.3 GHZ and my mem scores were 5346/5409 In Sandra 2004. Switching to 5:4 and 250 FSB, still 2226 Turbo and PAT enabled for 3.75 GHZ the mem scores were 5501/5500. CPU scores went way up as well as overall system scores.

 

[computer]

That doesn't make sense and was the opposite of what I got (on my first CPU which was a 2.4C @3ghz). Your CPU scores will increase of course, but I don't see how memory benches can be more when the FSB is a lot lower and the memory speed is a lot lower. It's not 250mhz in your case; that may be what it's set to in the BIOS, but it's actually a lot lower than that when your ratio is 5:4, I forget exactly, but it's lower than the 220mhz you mentioned.

 

[mastertech01]

Originally posted by: computer
That doesn't make sense and was the opposite of what I got (on my first CPU which was a 2.4C @3ghz). Your CPU scores will increase of course, but I don't see how memory benches can be more when the FSB is a lot lower and the memory speed is a lot lower. It's not 250mhz in your case; that may be what it's set to in the BIOS, but it's actually a lot lower than that when your ratio is 5:4, I forget exactly, but it's lower than the 220mhz you mentioned.

I know it surprized me too. 250 at 5:4 is 200 at 1:1 I changed nothing else.

 

[computer]

Maybe that extra 700mhz is enough to do it. I'm going to run some more tests on the new mobo tonight. My other tests were done on the mobo (and CPU & memory) I RMA'd and it would only do 3ghz. This new setup is a Malay 2.4C @3.4ghz/281mhz bus @1:1. I haven't tried it yet @5:4 or 3:2.

BTW, what are you guys getting on a Raptor I (37gb) in HD Tach on the ICH5R as a single drive?

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: computer
Well, all I did was "update driver" in the Device Manager and the yellow mark for USB went away! I could have sworn drivers had to be installed last time! How do you know if it's "working at USB 2.0 speeds" or if 2.0 drivers are installed?

USB drivers are built into WinXP Sp1. You did all that you have to do to install them. Letting XP auto find the drivers from the Update Driver menu gets it done, as you discovered. There has never been any third party drivers for XP that worked.

 

[computer]

Maybe I was getting it confused with my P4B533 and its USB "driver issue". So, how does one know if it's the 2.0 driver, or is a "2.0 driver" even needed? I often wondered that on my P4B533 as well.

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: mastertech01

Originally posted by: computer
That doesn't make sense and was the opposite of what I got (on my first CPU which was a 2.4C @3ghz). Your CPU scores will increase of course, but I don't see how memory benches can be more when the FSB is a lot lower and the memory speed is a lot lower. It's not 250mhz in your case; that may be what it's set to in the BIOS, but it's actually a lot lower than that when your ratio is 5:4, I forget exactly, but it's lower than the 220mhz you mentioned.

I know it surprized me too. 250 at 5:4 is 200 at 1:1 I changed nothing else.

Every Sandra bench that I have seen and done myself gives the same results. If there is a choice between higher fsb vs memory speed, the higher fsb will always win out. Sandra's bench does reflect cpu increases in the Memory Bench due to the read write increases between the cpu and memory. This was discussed months ago back when ppl were using Sandra as a tool for bench marking. Most ppl use other real world tools at this time. Many of the reviewers are not even using Sandra Benchmarks today.

I would suggest that you use a program that gives a result based on how you use your pc the most.

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: computer
Maybe I was getting it confused with my P4B533 and its USB "driver issue". So, how does one know if it's the 2.0 driver, or is a "2.0 driver" even needed? I often wondered that on my P4B533 as well.

You have it enabled in the BIOS then it should be running 2.0 in XP.

 

[computer]

Thanks.

So what ever became of the guy on this thread that had the USB 2.0 ports working slower than 1.1? I don't recall who you were, but did you find out what was going on with it?

What about the dude that was getting horrible CSA LAN performance and had to use a PCI LAN card instead?

 

[ItsMillerTime]

jhites, you stated that faster fsb will win out over faster memory; what would you recommend for a 2.8c with ocz pc-3700 gold rev. 2 (512x2 kit)? I wanted to go with 233fsb, 1:1 for reliability over the long run; what's the longest anybody has run these chips at over 3.5G with stability?

Should I rma the pc-3700 for pc-4000 or run at 5:4 with higher fsb?

Found the sp-94 at Maxcooler but still shopping for the Panaflo; anyone have a part number? There is an option for type of connector. Should be getting the sp-94 tommorow but couldn't wait, so I bumped the fsb to 233 and tested at 1:1 with no problem. I was monitoring the cpu temp. Are you guys using Memtest86 version 3.0?

 

[computer]

I obviously just lost my mind. Is it not CPUz that tells if PAT/PAM is enabled or disabled? Where?

 

[computer]

C'mon guys! :frown: I'll give this yet another shot.........

Can someone answer these please?

Can anyone that has the Promise controller enabled tell me if you have anything running in the background that's affiliated with it? If you do, can whatever IS running in the background be disabled and what happens if you disable it? I seem to remember on my first go 'round on this mobo seeing an entry in the autoexec.bat I think was, referring to the controller. I can't remember if I also saw something for it when Cont-alt-delete was pressed, but please check there as well. I'd like to know what this if for exactly and its purpose. I don't know why it would be necessary since I've never seen anything like this for any other Promise controller card or integrated Promise device.

Also, what's the deal with "32bit transfers" set to "DISABLED" by default? I never noticed that before. Shouldn't that be to "enabled"?

 

[biscuitboy]

Just put in new board today with Thermalright SLK 947U heatsink and Panaflo fan, using OCZ PC4200 RAM and the board fires up, light is on, fan starts spinning but no display??
so i reset AGP card but to no luck
i also noticed once switched on, i was unable to switch it back off again
is there any reason for this??
i tryed every combo of the switch connectors but nothing made any difference.
have to pull power lead out back
do you think its the RAM thats causing no display??
i can try some different stuff tonight when get back from work

 

[Xeon]

Originally posted by: biscuitboy
Just put in new board today with Thermalright SLK 947U heatsink and Panaflo fan, using OCZ PC4200 RAM and the board fires up, light is on, fan starts spinning but no display??
so i reset AGP card but to no luck
i also noticed once switched on, i was unable to switch it back off again
is there any reason for this??
i tryed every combo of the switch connectors but nothing made any difference.
have to pull power lead out back
do you think its the RAM thats causing no display??
i can try some different stuff tonight when get back from work

Yes, most likely it's because your timings aren't set right in the BIOS.

 

[Xeon]

Originally posted by: computer
I obviously just lost my mind. Is it not CPUz that tells if PAT/PAM is enabled or disabled? Where?

Yes it is in CPUz

 

[computer]

Ok......where in CPUz? I don't see it.
Thanks.

 

[computer]

Can a few of you please post your Sandra UNBUFFERED memory bandwidth bench? My buffered results are good at over 6450mb, but the unbuffered Integer ALU is only 3036! The "Float iSSE2" is good at over 4855. What would make the Int ALU be so low? This on Sandra Pro 2004. Strange that the tests seem different on '04. On the BUFFERED is where you normally see "ISSE2" and the UNbuffered is where you normally see "FPU". (This results are at 280mhz bus, 1:1, w/2.4C @about 3.39ghz).

I'd still like to hear some Raptor results for Sandra and HDTach.