*** Official ASUS P5B / P5B Deluxe Thread ***

[doc2345]

Originally posted by: stm69

Originally posted by: doc2345
Seems to be a little confusion on what is the NS and SB.....

I'm uh Asian, and directionally challenged... edited quickly!

Funny shyt..... Regards-

 

[cmdrdredd]

As a quick update I am now running my memory at DDR2-1000 speeds at 5-5-5-18

 

[HauntFox]

Originally posted by: tes
i am having a very hard time with my new P5B Deluxe.Simply put, no matter what i do, i cannot get it to post.Everything is installed correctly and everything is powering up when i turn the pc on, just no post,no error beeps, no nothing, just a black screen.

I am using a new Conroe E6600,Corsair XMS2 800 ddr2(2x1 gig sticks),EVGA 7900 GT,Enermax Liberty PS, all in an aluminum Thermaltake Armor JR. case.

I'e tried everything i can think of, including a regular P4 640 and some older ddr2 533mz ram i had in my old machine and that made no difference whatsover.

Has anyone had a similar expirience or maybe have any advice on a possible solution?

Asus tech support was no help and didn't ofer anything beyond what i have already tried.

I have the exact same motherboard, CPU, and RAM with the exact same problem. I'm using a Radeon x1900xt and an Ultra 600w PSU. Nothing I've tried worked either. Thought it might be an older BIOS version that doesn't work with Core 2 so I ordered a cheap Celeron to try, but since you tried a different CPU, maybe it is the board itself. If this Celeron doesn't work I might RMA the mainboard after trying a couple more final things.

 

[Some1ne]

I have a question for people with the P5B Deluxe who flashed to the 614 BIOS...can you access the EzFlash utility through the BIOS configuration? My system will freeze/crash whenever I try. I even tried setting everything to stock levels, and still no go, so I'm wondering if there's a bug in the BIOS that prevents access to the flash utility, or if there's just something weird going on with my system.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Some1ne
I have a question for people with the P5B Deluxe who flashed to the 614 BIOS...can you access the EzFlash utility through the BIOS configuration? My system will freeze/crash whenever I try. I even tried setting everything to stock levels, and still no go, so I'm wondering if there's a bug in the BIOS that prevents access to the flash utility, or if there's just something weird going on with my system.

press ctl-F2 on startup (or was it alt-F2?) to access it directly without going into the BIOS menu. ALthough this utility won't let you flash to an older dated BIOS only newer. Use the asus update windows utility to flash to older BIOS.

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: HauntFox

Originally posted by: tes
i am having a very hard time with my new P5B Deluxe.Simply put, no matter what i do, i cannot get it to post.Everything is installed correctly and everything is powering up when i turn the pc on, just no post,no error beeps, no nothing, just a black screen.

I am using a new Conroe E6600,Corsair XMS2 800 ddr2(2x1 gig sticks),EVGA 7900 GT,Enermax Liberty PS, all in an aluminum Thermaltake Armor JR. case.

I'e tried everything i can think of, including a regular P4 640 and some older ddr2 533mz ram i had in my old machine and that made no difference whatsover.

Has anyone had a similar expirience or maybe have any advice on a possible solution?

Asus tech support was no help and didn't ofer anything beyond what i have already tried.

I have the exact same motherboard, CPU, and RAM with the exact same problem. I'm using a Radeon x1900xt and an Ultra 600w PSU. Nothing I've tried worked either. Thought it might be an older BIOS version that doesn't work with Core 2 so I ordered a cheap Celeron to try, but since you tried a different CPU, maybe it is the board itself. If this Celeron doesn't work I might RMA the mainboard after trying a couple more final things.

Please HauntFox and tes, post your progress on this matter.

I am about to order the same configuration as you two. I thought P5B DL and Corsair XMS2 were best for compatibility and stability, criteria I am looking for.

Thanks,

 

[HauntFox]

Originally posted by: Husky55
Please HauntFox and tes, post your progress on this matter.

I am about to order the same configuration as you two. I thought P5B DL and Corsair XMS2 were best for compatibility and stability, criteria I am looking for.

Thanks,

If you haven't ordered yet I'd recommend buying a P975 board instead, seems to have less problems.

 

[krial]

I have 2 of gigabytes i-ram that I wanted to setup in raid0 on this motherboard, but it seems like the ICH8R controller does not like the I-rams, so then my only option is to connect them to the JMB363 controller. I connected one iram to the internal sata connector, and tried to connect the other to the esata port. I did some modifications to a ordinary sata cable so that it fit into the esata port, but it did not find the disk after reboot.
Do I perhaps need a special cable to connect a internal sata disk to the esata port?
If anyone know how to connect 2 disk in raid0 on the jmb363 controller I would be very happy.

 

[tes]

I spent about an hour on the phone today with Asus and everything i tried the had me try again, including assembling the mb/cpu/ram/ps etc. outside the case in case it was a grounding issue and mo luck with ANYTHING.The board simply wil not post.

I did however talk to the people i bought the board from and they seem to think that the Enermax PS might be behind the troubles.They said that they have seen Enermax ps fry the P5B and P5B Deluxe by simply hooking up the power cables.They are shiping me another board and i will exchange the Enermax Liberty 500w for an Antec.

I have a feeling this still won't solve the problem, but at least i'll be able to rule the ps out.

If anyone else has anything to add to this, please feel free to.

 

[tomgrossi]

Like many people here, I can't get my P5B to post. I read through the thread and thought I had chosen compatible components. Please help.

-E6400
-Antec Sonata II case with included SmartPower450 PS
-ASUS P5B (the "vanilla" version, not deluxe) - BIOS is whatever it is out of the box
-Corsair XMS2 5400 DDR2 RAM (2x1GB)
-Gigabyte 7600GS graphics card
-Seagate SATA drives

I've tried a bunch of different things but in *every* situation the same thing happens:
- The CPU fan, chassis fan, and drives will all spin up.
- There are no beeps whatsoever
- The screen stays blank (it thinks the computer is in power saving mode)
- The numlock light on the keybaord will go on and off when I push it

The first power up after each time I clear the CMOS causes the fans to spin for about 2 seconds, then everything goes off for a second or so, then it all starts up again and stays on. Any power ups not following a CMOS clearing does not have this effect.

I have tried, each with a CMOS reset in between:

- Reseating the RAM
- Using only on RAM stick, then the other
- Removing the RAM altogether (no beeps here, BTW)
- Reseating the CPU
- Reseating the graphics card
- Rechecking the connections

Again, never a beep or anything and I thought I was using pretty mainstream stuff. What should I try next. Unfortunately, I have no other DDR2 ram nor any other processor that fits in this socket so I'd really prefer to minimize what I need to buy just to test it out. Is there anywhere that doesn't charge restocking fees that I can return things to if they don't solve the problem?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: tomgrossi
Like many people here, I can't get my P5B to post. I read through the thread and thought I had chosen compatible components. Please help.

-E6400
-Antec Sonata II case with included SmartPower450 PS
-ASUS P5B (the "vanilla" version, not deluxe) - BIOS is whatever it is out of the box
-Corsair XMS2 5400 DDR2 RAM (2x1GB)
-Gigabyte 7600GS graphics card
-Seagate SATA drives

I've tried a bunch of different things but in *every* situation the same thing happens:
- The CPU fan, chassis fan, and drives will all spin up.
- There are no beeps whatsoever
- The screen stays blank (it thinks the computer is in power saving mode)
- The numlock light on the keybaord will go on and off when I push it

The first power up after each time I clear the CMOS causes the fans to spin for about 2 seconds, then everything goes off for a second or so, then it all starts up again and stays on. Any power ups not following a CMOS clearing does not have this effect.

I have tried, each with a CMOS reset in between:

- Reseating the RAM
- Using only on RAM stick, then the other
- Removing the RAM altogether (no beeps here, BTW)
- Reseating the CPU
- Reseating the graphics card
- Rechecking the connections

Again, never a beep or anything and I thought I was using pretty mainstream stuff. What should I try next. Unfortunately, I have no other DDR2 ram nor any other processor that fits in this socket so I'd really prefer to minimize what I need to buy just to test it out. Is there anywhere that doesn't charge restocking fees that I can return things to if they don't solve the problem?

That startup process or "false start" is normal for the P5B

 

[skinnyj]

ya but he cant even get his to post is what hes saying

 

[imported_mdc]

I had a fun time today. I tried running my Crucial 667Mhz memory on my P5B deluxe at 400Mhz earlier today and shockingly had no problem. I had it running at default voltages, auto memory speed, pretty much everything at default, and was chugging away at 8x400 no problemo.

But when my Ballistix 800Mhz memory came, and I tried using it, there were all kinds of problems. It even had trouble running at 266Mhz with both DIMMS installed.

Read the last couple of pages on this thread. Updated my BIOS from 507 to 614 and now the Ballistix is running happy!

Currently my E6600 is running at 8x420Mhz (3,360Mhz), and folding@home with two instances. Settings are stock/auto everything but the multiplier and bus speed. I have a week 24 Conroe if anyone is wondering.

Thanks guys.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: mdc
I had a fun time today. I tried running my Crucial 667Mhz memory on my P5B deluxe at 400Mhz earlier today and shockingly had no problem. I had it running at default voltages, auto memory speed, pretty much everything at default, and was chugging away at 8x400 no problemo.

But when my Ballistix 800Mhz memory came, and I tried using it, there were all kinds of problems. It even had trouble running at 266Mhz with both DIMMS installed.

Read the last couple of pages on this thread. Updated my BIOS from 507 to 614 and now the Ballistix is running happy!

Currently my E6600 is running at 8x420Mhz (3,360Mhz), and folding@home with two instances. Settings are stock/auto everything but the multiplier and bus speed. I have a week 24 Conroe if anyone is wondering.

Thanks guys.

Make sure your memory is running at decent timings. That memory should be able to do that speed at 5-5-5-12. My Corsair does DDR2-1000 at 5-5-5-12

 

[HauntFox]

Originally posted by: tes
I spent about an hour on the phone today with Asus and everything i tried the had me try again, including assembling the mb/cpu/ram/ps etc. outside the case in case it was a grounding issue and mo luck with ANYTHING.The board simply wil not post.

I did however talk to the people i bought the board from and they seem to think that the Enermax PS might be behind the troubles.They said that they have seen Enermax ps fry the P5B and P5B Deluxe by simply hooking up the power cables.They are shiping me another board and i will exchange the Enermax Liberty 500w for an Antec.

I have a feeling this still won't solve the problem, but at least i'll be able to rule the ps out.

If anyone else has anything to add to this, please feel free to.

I don't know, this has been happening with all different kinds of power supplies.

 

[FireChicken]

What verison bios is it. I have heard of some mobos not posting with conroe cause the bios is not current. Cant remember if it was with the P5B though. Mine posted but it needed a bios update for it to be fully compatible. Is it possible that some p5bs wont post at all with the incorrect bios.

 

[HauntFox]

Originally posted by: FireChicken
What verison bios is it. I have heard of some mobos not posting with conroe cause the bios is not current. Cant remember if it was with the P5B though. Mine posted but it needed a bios update for it to be fully compatible. Is it possible that some p5bs wont post at all with the incorrect bios.

Supposedly that's with the P5W, the P5B is supposed to be core 2 ready, it doesn't have a removable BIOS chip. And tes said he tried a regular P4. I will be trying a Celeron by Wednesday.

 

[roosters]

Hi,

Does anyone know what is the difference between P5B and P5B Deluxe, in terms of performance and OC capability?

Thanks

 

[Compellor]

New BIOS for P5B vanilla is out:

P5B Release BIOS version 0509
1. Support DDR2 double side x16 module
2. Enable support for CPU ratio adjustment on Kentsfield B0 stepping CPU
3. Enable conroe/kentsfield ratio overclocking higher above default value
4. Fix CPU Fan profile mode not correct after system shotdown
5. Revise temperature reading algorithm
6. Update MRC code
7. Enhance memory compatibility for DDR533 and DDR667 modules.
8. Revise S3 fuction not stable when CPU FSB over 300MHz.
9. Add dram frequency help string

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?model=P5B&SLanguage=en-us

 

[tomgrossi]

I think mine has 0170 BIOS but could that make it not even should the BIOS screen. I was under the impression from other people than even if you have an old BIOS, you can usually get far enough along to allow you to update the BIOS.

 

[Compellor]

Originally posted by: tomgrossi
I think mine has 0170 BIOS but could that make it not even should the BIOS screen. I was under the impression from other people than even if you have an old BIOS, you can usually get far enough along to allow you to update the BIOS.

Mine came with the 0170 BIOS and I was able to post and install WinXP. You might have an issue with your RAM.

 

[stm69]

Originally posted by: tes
I did however talk to the people i bought the board from and they seem to think that the Enermax PS might be behind the troubles.They said that they have seen Enermax ps fry the P5B and P5B Deluxe by simply hooking up the power cables.They are shiping me another board and i will exchange the Enermax Liberty 500w for an Antec.

I have a feeling this still won't solve the problem, but at least i'll be able to rule the ps out.

If anyone else has anything to add to this, please feel free to.

I used an Enermax Liberty 500w with my build, and then swapped it out for a Liberty 620. Both worked fine, so in my case it definately wasn't the power supply. Just out of curiosity, you do have 3 power connectors hooked up to the mobo right? The 20, the 4 pin extension to make it 24, and then another 4 pin on the far side of the mobo? Did you hook in an extra 4 pin on the far side of the mobo just for the sake of trying? This second 4 pin might be covered up with tape or something.

 

[stm69]

Originally posted by: skinnyj
very nice post man.

Im glad things are starting to iron out for this board as ill be ordering mine in 2 weeks.

How hard was it to install the ninja? I have pretty big hands so im just wondering.
also what about the weight of it? did you rig somthing up for extra support or are you fairly confident, i know alot of people are running the ninjas im just trying to gather as much info as i can.

And lastly, Im confused still about the ide, will it recognize ide dvd-rw off the bat? if so then you just install sata drivers like normal for it to recognize sata hdd to install xp? thanks

Oops, didn't see your post first glance through the thread, sorry for the late reply.

The ninja was a semi pain for several different reasons, but oh so worth it! The backplate was very easy to remove, and you use the one that came with the kit. The pain part was where you had put everything together.

You have to hold the backplate on the motherboard, frontplate on it, and a screwdriver screwing in all at the same time. I finally put the motherboard on 2 boxes, with a gap between the 2 boxes, so that the bottom was exposed and gravity held the frontplate down. Then it was pretty simple.

It would not be possible to install the Ninja if the mobo is already inside the case, due to the fact that you have to remove the backplate and gravity working against you. Also, you need to make sure your case has proper clearence, this thing is huge! I remember also having to apply a lot of pressure to get the final latch to snap down, was kinda worried about the mobo/processor, but it's 100% solid after you do. I did not use any extra bracing, etc as I don't intend ot cart this thing around. I was fortunate and used a large, spacious case Antec P180 so had no issues with clearence or room to work, ymmv however.

Two other things, the Ninja Plus that I used includes a 120mm fan. First, the fan is rather large, but nice and quiet. It however, cannot be installed in its default location due to a memory bank being in the way. INSTALL YOUR MEMORY FIRST BEFORE YOU INSTALL THE FAN! If not you'll be like me, cussing, because I had to uninstall fan, put memory in, and then figure out it won't fit.

At first, I thought the additional clips (semi flimsy metal latches) were crappy. But because I needed to sit the fan on top of the RAM, I was able to bend the clips to fit around the latches of the CPU holder, and not the grooves they were supposed to fit in. So everything worked out in the end.

I couldn't tell you if it worked wonders, as I never benched the system with stock cooler,e tc, but I must say that it runs pretty cool overall, I haven't had any heat problems.

Yell if you have any questions.

And oh, I have 5 scythe ninja pluses for sale in the forum here!!! Shameless plug =)

 

[stm69]

Originally posted by: HauntFox
[I have the exact same motherboard, CPU, and RAM with the exact same problem. I'm using a Radeon x1900xt and an Ultra 600w PSU. Nothing I've tried worked either. Thought it might be an older BIOS version that doesn't work with Core 2 so I ordered a cheap Celeron to try, but since you tried a different CPU, maybe it is the board itself. If this Celeron doesn't work I might RMA the mainboard after trying a couple more final things.

I'm not 100% positive, but I think that all P5B deluxe wifis will at least post with a core 2, you might get a small error but it should post. The board that some BIOS's won't post with, is the P5W deluxe.

 

[stm69]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
My BIOS settings

Voltages etc

CPU Settings

Memory Settings

Thanks. Unfortunately my system isn't as rock solid as yours. In order to pass super pi 32m, I have to bump north and south up 2 notches, then it runs fine. And even tho' I'm using the same memory as you, I can't seem to get it to work non-spd. If I put ddr2-800 instead of auto, it won't post. If I edit settings, to where it looks like yours, it won't post either. And I'm running at 400 too. BTW have you seen that work over on xtreme with the graph showing how the mobo adjusts the straps? Some people recommend doing 401 over 400, but I seem to read that it drops memory bandwidth off a bit.