*** Official ASUS P5W DH Thread ***

[AnandTech Moderator]

In an effort to make finding information about the ASUS P5W DH easier for all forum members, please post and discuss your issues, problems, experiences, rants, raves and FAQs here.

AnandTech Moderator

 

[soydios]

For some early adopters (like me), this motherboard shipped with a BIOS that is incompatible with the Intel Core 2 Duo processors. It requires either a BIOS flash using an older Socket775 processor (follow standard Asus BIOS flashing procedure using the older processor), or a new BIOS chip (see below).

To determine which BIOS your motherboard shipped with, without turning the system on, find the BIOS chip towards the bottom of the motherboard. It's located immediately to the right of the second-from-the-bottom PCI slot. It should have a sticker on top saying which BIOS revision it is. The BIOS chip lies in a socket, so you can replace it.

To have Asus ship you a new BIOS chip if you cannot flash the BIOS with an older LGA775 processor (i.e. you don't have one like me), contact the Asus RMA department via email, and give them the information listed below for quickest service. Ground shipping is free, overnight is $20. I know this for sure, as they're shipping me a new BIOS chip via the free ground shipping option tomorrow.

rma@asus.com
- "The motherboard does not work as advertised without a newer BIOS than what it shipped with. I need a newer BIOS revision to work with my Intel Core 2 Duo processor. I do not have a spare processor to flash the BIOS with. Please send me a new BIOS chip with revision 0801 or newer using the information below. Thanks in advance."*
- name
- street address
- phone number
- model number & serial number
- ground(free) or overnight($20)**

*supposedly 0801 is compatible with ALL Core 2 Duo processors, but if you want the beta revision 0901 (as of 8/9/06), specify that here
**for overnight, give them your credit card info as well (account number, expiration date, and CSV)

 

[Nightmare225]

Can this mobo run the 7950GX2? I've been reading about some mobo compatibility issues with this card and am just making sure for my new gaming rig. Also, would would be some good DDR2-800 RAM that would go with this mobo and probably be good for overclocking? Looking for chepeast possible, too...

 

[tylerw13]

yes this mobo can run 7950gx2...there are quite a few forums stating that it works well with it...im thinking of getting one myself....i have ddr2-800 its made by pqi and its pretty good i got it for a really good price @ newegg

 

[EROEIone2one]

Just got off the phone with ASUS, they are sending the latest BIOS revision free over ground shipping (overnight was extra). Very easy to deal with, so long as they're not too busy and you can get hold of someone. 502-995-0883, press 0 for operator and then ask specifically to be transferred to their "BIOS Deparment".

Also talked to a retailer yesterday, apparently all the places who have backordered this board saw a delay in shipment from ASUS as they worked to make sure these boards had the latest BIOS. So if you can wait a week or two before ordering, you'll likely have no problems with your conroe build.

 

[Nightmare225]

Thank god the delay was for a good reason... They're back in stock on newegg.

 

[puddlejmpr]

Does anyone know if the P5W DH chipset drivers are 32 or 64 bit? I have a copy of XP 64 bit that I couldn't run on a previous MB, will I be able to use it with this MB?

 

[phile]

The 64-bit drivers are available at www.intel.com. They'll likely be newer than whatever comes on the CD, in any case.

Intel® 975X Express Chipset - Windows* XP Professional x64 Edition
http://tinyurl.com/ogfxc

-phil

P.S. This is my first post. Greetings everyone!

 

[Thor86]

Anyone able to run this board with a 20pin psu? Specifically an Antec Trupower 430watt?

Thanks.

 

[vsonerud]

Does anyone know what PCI revisions the Asus P5W DH motherboard supports? PCI 2.2 / 2.3 ?

The ASUS P5N32-SLI SE has PCI 2.2 slots, it specifically says in the specifications on Asus website. I am however unable to find anything specific about the PCI revision for the Asus P5W DH motherboard.

Unfortunately, most of the newer motherboards using for instance the P965 chipset seem to only support PCI 2.3.

This is a problem for me, because I really want to reuse my Hauppauge WinTv PVR-350 card when upgrading my system. The PVR-350 card is a PCI 2.1 5-volt keyed add-in card, which is NOT compatible with PCI 2.3

 

[Ecca Ecca]

Preflashed P5W DH

http://www.chillblast.com/product.php?productid=17463

 

[CowboyFarmer]

I rememeber reading a thread about removing the stock SB and NB heat sinks and reattach them with better paste, but I can't find it anymore for some reason. Does anyone know where I can find that thread? Thanks.

 

[phile]

I believe this is what you're looking for:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=106563

-phil

 

[CowboyFarmer]

Yes! Yes! This is it. Thanks so much, phile!

 

[renozi]

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Build-C2D-E6700-ftopict194698.html

This guy did it without getting the bios chip from Asus. Says it works just the way he did it??

 

[phile]

That guy's experience seems to confirm the hit or miss nature of trying to boot a conroe with a pre-0801 BIOS, and certainly does not settle the issue. Many, many people have not been able to boot into the BIOS with the older BIOS versions.

-phil

 

[vince32837]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick ? about the ASUS P5W DH board: I read some issues with the USB ports, are all the USB ports functional? How do you avoid this auto power-up issue on this board??

Thanks Vince

 

[phile]

Does anyone know if there's any meaningful difference between the red and orange SATA cables, that come with this board?

-phil

 

[Brent]

Does anyone know if there's any meaningful difference between the red and orange SATA cables, that come with this board?

The difference is that the yellow/orange cables have locking connectors. The red cables are standard SATA cables. Other than that, there's no difference that I am aware of!

 

[phile]

That's what I thought. Thanks.

-phil

 

[NYR56]

The red cables are 28awg while the orange is 26awg. I assume that means the orange are better (more resistant to interference and stronger).

Asus said I don't need a new BIOS for the E6600 and I should be able to post with the 0701 and update it manually. Is this correct?

 

[phile]

People from various forums have claimed that their E6600 did post successfully with BIOS 0701. However, ASUS will send you a BIOS chip for little to no cost, so it can't hurt to contact them and request one.

-phil

 

[Senbonzakura]

My Asus P5W DH with 801 BIOS is stuck at 266 CPU frequency. I can't seem to adjust it. When I press enter no mini window pop up.

 

[phile]

You need to set the Jumperfree option to manual.

-phil

 

[Skott]

I have a question about the USB on this mobo. If i read the specs correctly it has a total of 8 usb, 4 ports on the back, and the other 4 internal on the mobo? The reason I ask is because I want to get one of those Mitsumi 7-in-1 floppy/flash readers and it says if there are no internal usb I need to get a special Motherboard Header Adaptor Cable for it. So anyone know if this mobo has internal usb connectors? I'm guessing it does just need confirmation from someone that knows for sure.

Thanks,
~Skott~