*** Official ASUS P5W DH Thread ***

[CRChickadee]

Excellent site and great info on the ASUS P5W. Researched the posts here from the beginning prior to purchase.

Items arrived several days ago and the construction went smoothly, as well as did the OS install (XP Pro), and raid.

Current OC to 3.3+. at 1.32 volts for CPU Can go to 3.6 OC but requires 1.5, and then it runs a a bit hot for my thinking.

Seems to be a great board. Tried the AFUDos flash method, going from v 1207 to 1407... floppy quit reading 1/3 way through flash during write. Did not seem to effect bios though, as system could re-boot to Windows. Then used the EZ flash method and worked fine. Next time Ill put onto a USB flash card I have, which I later tested and the system finds as drive B, and use EZ Flash with that.

With reading all of the info - trials and errors discussed here, I believe it saved me much pain. This is the first board I've OC board I've done since my Abit TH7, ASUS P-4, and before that the old BP6. I remember those old Celeron's 366 OC'ing to 500-510 with a TEC...

The E6600 dual core is a great chips and noticiably faster than the TH7 with a 2600 P-4 OC's to 3.2--- doh. Have a Zalman 9700 CPU cooler and idle is about 32 C, under max load gets to 50. @3300+.

At OC 3600 required 1.5 volts for stability, but temps were 60 under load.... I like a bit of cool safety so I'm staying at 3300. ASUS has come a long way with their boards.

Again, great info here.

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: Aquiel
I´m receiving this parts in order to
assemble a litle system, but I have
a litle to no knowledge in this matter

C2D E6600 Conroe 2.4 Ghz / Zalman CNPS 9500 LED
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
1GB OCZ Platinum EL XTC PC2 6400
MSI X1900XT/Accelero X2 Cooler
Barracuda 320 GB Sata2

chasis fan Foxcon 120 mm
¿? 2X 100 mm

my question is if my PSU, (PR switching power supply, model LCK550W, dual fan)
(cheap, came with my case, a MPC, cheap too, but well ventilated)

will work fine under load. I´m planning to overclock a litle, let´s say a 25%,
to get the 3 Ghz , like phile options, (in fact I expect he could give me a hand once I get all the stuff working) in order to do some gaming but renderizing and editing photos also
I live in Cuba, so the weather its hot and wet , big percent of humidity,
my room isn´t too hot , in the other hand

I have some Internet conection problems, so forgive me if you already answer this question, but I can´t
get , even I want and I need, the complete thread of the asus P5W DH.

sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your help, any advice will be highly appreciated in this or
other matter (temps, compatibility issues, etc)

ah and sorry for my bad english and Hi all, this is my first post

I've never heard of your model power supply, and have no idea how well it will perform. Best thing to do is get your new machine setup, and then do some stress-testing with everything set to default (stock) settings. Generic power supplies tend to be very unreliable, especially when overlocking. Let me know when you have everything setup.

For stress-testing, use Orthos Stress Prime:
http://sp2004.fre3.com/beta/beta2.htm

To test CPU and MEM, run the Blended test for several hours.
To fully load the CPU, run the Small FFTs test for several hours.

Make sure you monitor core temps. Download CoreTemp here:
http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/CoreTemp/

It's a good idea to keep those temps below 70C.

-phil

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: CRChickadee
Excellent site and great info on the ASUS P5W. Researched the posts here from the beginning prior to purchase.

Items arrived several days ago and the construction went smoothly, as well as did the OS install (XP Pro), and raid.

Current OC to 3.3+. at 1.32 volts for CPU Can go to 3.6 OC but requires 1.5, and then it runs a a bit hot for my thinking.

Seems to be a great board. Tried the AFUDos flash method, going from v 1207 to 1407... floppy quit reading 1/3 way through flash during write. Did not seem to effect bios though, as system could re-boot to Windows. Then used the EZ flash method and worked fine. Next time Ill put onto a USB flash card I have, which I later tested and the system finds as drive B, and use EZ Flash with that.

With reading all of the info - trials and errors discussed here, I believe it saved me much pain. This is the first board I've OC board I've done since my Abit TH7, ASUS P-4, and before that the old BP6. I remember those old Celeron's 366 OC'ing to 500-510 with a TEC...

The E6600 dual core is a great chips and noticiably faster than the TH7 with a 2600 P-4 OC's to 3.2--- doh. Have a Zalman 9700 CPU cooler and idle is about 32 C, under max load gets to 50. @3300+.

At OC 3600 required 1.5 volts for stability, but temps were 60 under load.... I like a bit of cool safety so I'm staying at 3300. ASUS has come a long way with their boards.

Again, great info here.

Welcome to AT. Glad to hear the thread helped ensure a smooth build. I'm not sure if you're aware, but there's a newer BIOS, although beta, that addresses the cold-boot issue when overclocking. I'm sure you've noticed that the system will completely power-down when restarting, or saving new BIOS config. Anyway, BIOS 1503 resolves this, and is highly recommended.

You can grab the 1503 BIOS here:
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/

-phil

 

[Big Mike]

Hi all,
This is my first post and I'm expecting my P5W DH to arrive today along with the following components:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
ZALMAN CNPS9500
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Thermaltake W0106RU 700W
SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB GDDR3
ZALMAN VF900

I just want to say thanks for all the information and hope you'll be able to help me with my first overclock I'll be sure to post once I get things stable at normal rates. I'm going to try and set up the RAID5 on this thing, so if anyone has any pitfalls to avoid, please let me know.

Thanks!

 

[phile]

Welcome, Big Mike.

Here are a few links you'll likely find very useful:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=106563
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110193

-phil

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: Aquiel
I´m receiving this parts in order to
assemble a litle system, but I have
a litle to no knowledge in this matter

C2D E6600 Conroe 2.4 Ghz / Zalman CNPS 9500 LED
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
1GB OCZ Platinum EL XTC PC2 6400
MSI X1900XT/Accelero X2 Cooler
Barracuda 320 GB Sata2

chasis fan Foxcon 120 mm
¿? 2X 100 mm

my question is if my PSU, (PR switching power supply, model LCK550W, dual fan)
(cheap, came with my case, a MPC, cheap too, but well ventilated)

will work fine under load. I´m planning to overclock a litle, let´s say a 25%,
to get the 3 Ghz , like phile options, (in fact I expect he could give me a hand once I get all the stuff working) in order to do some gaming but renderizing and editing photos also
I live in Cuba, so the weather its hot and wet , big percent of humidity,
my room isn´t too hot , in the other hand

I have some Internet conection problems, so forgive me if you already answer this question, but I can´t
get , even I want and I need, the complete thread of the asus P5W DH.

sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your help, any advice will be highly appreciated in this or
other matter (temps, compatibility issues, etc)

ah and sorry for my bad english and Hi all, this is my first post

For a 25% OC basically here's what you' do for your setup go into the BIOS Setup. Go to Advance, then Jumper Free Config and then go down to the following settingsand set them as:

CPU Frequency - 333
DRAM Frequency - 666
Memory Voltage - 2.2v (I think your RAM is rated 2.2v but I'm not sure. *you* need to check on this. Whatever its rated for example;1.8v ,2.0v 2.1v, or 2.2v, etc., set it for that)

Got the Configure DRAM Timing By SPD and set it to Disabled. Then set the timings as:
4 Clocks
4 Clocks
4 Clocks
12 Clocks
4 Clocks (Leave this number at the default. For me it was 4 but yours may be different)

Disable Hyper Path 3

In the Advanced section go to CPU Configuration and set Enhanced CI Control to disable and Intel Speedstep Tech to disable.

This should give you a safe 25% OC. From this point on you'd need to start increasing vcore, memory timings and voltage, and other things more involved.

 

[Openvms]

After going through a recent build using the Asus board, I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing a good PS for this setup. I was using a Antec HE 550 (3 months old) and experiencing quite a few stability issues (not OC'd - stock at that point). After reading some vague mentions of Antec/Asus compatibility issues I purchased a Thermaltake unit and have not experienced any issues since. Once raiding is done for this week I plan on seeing what I can get out of it.

 

[Yelf]

After much research I got me an Enhance 500w PS. They seem to be be the best bang for the buck, ~$67.
It's an "80PLUS" also (80%+ efficiency).

 

[mkln]

Hi, I was wondering what the general consensus was regarding the use of Qfan; Enable or Disable? with Qfan enabled, my temps are roughly 55/69 at idle and load respectively. with Qfan disabled, my temps are roughly 46/59. btw, load temps are with Orthos. anyways, I assume one would always prefer lower temps, but I now have 2 questions regarding that:

1 - at 55C/69C do I run the risk of damaging/shortening the life of the CPU (I dont plan to upgrade for atleast 3-5 years )

2 - with the stock fan spinning at higher RPMs because of Qfan disabled, do I now run the risk of damaging the fan perhaps?

thanks in advance for any help

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: mkln
Hi, I was wondering what the general consensus was regarding the use of Qfan; Enable or Disable? with Qfan enabled, my temps are roughly 55/69 at idle and load respectively. with Qfan disabled, my temps are roughly 46/59. btw, load temps are with Orthos. anyways, I assume one would always prefer lower temps, but I now have 2 questions regarding that:

1 - at 55C/69C do I run the risk of damaging/shortening the life of the CPU (I dont plan to upgrade for atleast 3-5 years )

2 - with the stock fan spinning at higher RPMs because of Qfan disabled, do I now run the risk of damaging the fan perhaps?

thanks in advance for any help

Qfan? Disable it. In the early BIOSes Qfan caused some really slow bootups for some reason. It wont hurt your fan if you are using a after market hsf. You'll get higher spins maybe but if its a good hsf it wont be that loud. I use the 9500 AT for example and it doesnt get loud.

 

[Whirlwind]

First off let me say a BIG THANK YOU to you guys.
I am getting ready to do my 1st build and i have printed alot of helpful info from this thread.

I should be getting my video card this week, then my son and I will start our build.
We are very much noobs to building a pc, so I hope our questions are not too stupid, lol.

Our question is, once we get everything hooked up and we get the pc to post, do we install windows next, or do we put in the driver cd from the motherboard, and install that stuff first. We are alittle confused about this?

Our other question is how do we install windows if our hard drives are not partioned yet? Will it ask us to partion the hard drives, and is it hard?

If someone could explain when and how we partion our hard drives it would be of great help.
Do we need anything special to partion our hard drives?

We have one 320 GB seagate sata and one IDE 80 GB Western Digital.
We were going to install windows on the 80GB, but Phile said he would install it on the 320 GB sata drive, so we would like to do that.

Thanks again....you guys are great.

 

[mkln]

Originally posted by: Skott

Originally posted by: mkln
Hi, I was wondering what the general consensus was regarding the use of Qfan; Enable or Disable? with Qfan enabled, my temps are roughly 55/69 at idle and load respectively. with Qfan disabled, my temps are roughly 46/59. btw, load temps are with Orthos. anyways, I assume one would always prefer lower temps, but I now have 2 questions regarding that:

1 - at 55C/69C do I run the risk of damaging/shortening the life of the CPU (I dont plan to upgrade for atleast 3-5 years )

2 - with the stock fan spinning at higher RPMs because of Qfan disabled, do I now run the risk of damaging the fan perhaps?

thanks in advance for any help

Qfan? Disable it. In the early BIOSes Qfan caused some really slow bootups for some reason. It wont hurt your fan if you are using a after market hsf. You'll get higher spins maybe but if its a good hsf it wont be that loud. I use the 9500 AT for example and it doesnt get loud.

cool, thanks for the reply

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: whirlwind
First off let me say a BIG THANK YOU to you guys.
I am getting ready to do my 1st build and i have printed alot of helpful info from this thread.

I should be getting my video card this week, then my son and I will start our build.
We are very much noobs to building a pc, so I hope our questions are not too stupid, lol.

Our question is, once we get everything hooked up and we get the pc to post, do we install windows next, or do we put in the driver cd from the motherboard, and install that stuff first. We are alittle confused about this?

Our other question is how do we install windows if our hard drives are not partioned yet? Will it ask us to partion the hard drives, and is it hard?

If someone could explain when and how we partion our hard drives it would be of great help.
Do we need anything special to partion our hard drives?

We have one 320 GB seagate sata and one IDE 80 GB Western Digital.
We were going to install windows on the 80GB, but Phile said he would install it on the 320 GB sata drive, so we would like to do that.

Thanks again....you guys are great.

Once the machine is built and ready to go, power it up and hit DELETE at POST, to enter the BIOS. Head over to the BOOT area and set the boot order to make sure your CD/DVD ROM drive has priority in the sequence. Note: the only HD in this list will be the drive connected to SATA1, so make sure that the SATA drive intended for your OS is connected to this port. A few more things you should do in the BIOS, before installing Windows:

- set the proper speed, voltage and timings for your memory

On the Advanced / Jumperfree page, set AI Overclock to manual. This will unlock several settings, including memory speed and voltage. If you have PC2-6400 mem, set the DRAM Frequency to DDR2-800. For the voltage, check the specs for your mem. It will likely be 2.0v or 2.1v.

On the Advanced / Chipset page, set SPD Timings to disabled. This will unlock the memory timings area. The first four values are the timings you will manually set. Again, see the specs for your mem.

With this done, pop in your Windows CD and reboot. You will be asked to press any key to boot from CD.

Now, there will be a point in the installation process where you will be able to select the partition where Windows will should be installed. Assuming you have an unformatted HD, there will be no available partitions, so you will need to create them. At this point, you can create all the partitions you like, not just the primary partition for Windows. I don't have a photographic memory, but you will have to hit a key to create a partition, choose the type (primary for Windows, Logical for all the others), and then allocate a block of space. If you plan to install Windows and all applications to C: (the primary partition) make sure to allocate at least 20GB to this partition. Since you probably don't have any application for modifying partitions, like Partition Magic, you should probably make thisd partition even larger, say 50GB. Go ahead and create all your desired partitions using this interface. When done creating your partitions, make sure you choose C: (primary partition) when asked where to install Windows. You will then be asked how to prepare this partition. Choose the long format NTFS option. Third option, if memory serves. This will only format your C: partition, so you'll have to format all the other partitions from within Windows.

Once you have windows installed, you should install the following items from the P5WDH CD:

Drivers tab:
1) Intel chipset drivers (Intel Chipset Inf Update Program)
2) Ethernet drivers (Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet Driver)

Utilities tab:
1) ASUS PC Probe II (monitoring application)
2) ASUS DH Remote (only if you plan to use the remote, which causes many people trememdous headaches - install only if you really, really want to try the remote)

The Audio drivers d onot appear on my CD menu, so browse the CD and look for \Drivers\Audio. (If you have a dedicated soundcard, do not install these drivers, and disable the onboard audio in the BIOS.)

Don't install the USB 2.0 drivers if you're installing XP with SP2.

You won't need anything else from the mobo CD.

Once you have all your devices working, head over the Windows update and install pretty-much everything. You will need to revisit a few times, to get everything.

Note: If you bought an ATI Radeon videocard, the Catalyst Control Center requires the .NET software package in order to work. .NET 1 and .NET 2 will be available via Windows Update. So, do not install your videocard drivers until you have completed the Windows Update.

I think that just about covers it.

-phil

 

[PhilH930]

I am looking to purchase this board and have read so many reviews I am now going in circles. My main concerns are the following:

1) Will Corsair XMS2 6400 C4 memory work with this without any compatibility problems?

2) Is overheating a real issue with this board?

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: PhilH930
I am looking to purchase this board and have read so many reviews I am now going in circles. My main concerns are the following:

1) Will Corsair XMS2 6400 C4 memory work with this without any compatibility problems?

2) Is overheating a real issue with this board?

1) Yes.

2) No. The mobo temp is artificially high because of the thermal diode location. It's located very close to the ICH7R southbridge chipset, which runs hot. A normal mobo temp can be anywhere between 40C and 50C, depending on factors like ambient room temp and case airflow. There are measures that can be taken to further reduce the temps, like removal of both the North and Southbridge heatsink caps, and replacing the stock thermal gunk under said heatsinks with arctic silver 5.

If those are your only concerns, bbuy the board and enjoy.

-phil

 

[PhilH930]

Many thanks for such a quick reply; I believe this is the board to go for. If only there was some official SLI support, but then you can't have it all.

 

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: PhilH9301) Will Corsair XMS2 6400 C4 memory work with this without any compatibility problems?

If I had it to do over again, I'd get something like the http://www.corsair.com/corsair/products/specs/TWIN2X1024-8000UL.pdf since the http://www.corsair.com/corsair/products/specs/TWIN2X2048-6400C4.pdf I bought dislikes (OK, hates so much that it gives errors) being pushed past a 410FSB at the 1:1 ratio.

Sure, it'd probably have cost more even for less space, but my future expansion would be more flexible...

 

[Audioboxer]

Hey Everyone

Looking for some help. I've just received my new e6600 and Asus P5W DH mobo. Got the cpu running stable at 3.6GHz already (9x400 FSB)

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k46/gavdeeimages/overclock.jpg

However my memory is suppose to run at 4-4-4-12 at 800mhz. I've read when using an FSB of over 360ish you have to use SPD settings instead of manual.

Anyway I can tighten those timings?

(I'm a bit new to overclocking as you can probably tell!)

Cheers

 

[Whirlwind]

Wow. Thanks Phile.

I can't wait to get this thing started. thanks again Phile for all of your help.

 

[CRChickadee]

Welcome to AT. Glad to hear the thread helped ensure a smooth build. I'm not sure if you're aware, but there's a newer BIOS, although beta, that addresses the cold-boot issue when overclocking. I'm sure you've noticed that the system will completely power-down when restarting, or saving new BIOS config. Anyway, BIOS 1503 resolves this, and is highly recommended.

You can grab the 1503 BIOS here:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/">ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/P5W%20DH%20Deluxe/</a></a>

-phil
[/quote]

Put in the new bios (thanks for the lead), with a USB memory card. Once the bios is selected the process takes a full 30-45 seconds or so for EZ Bios Updater to check/authorize the bios, write it and then verify. Much more pleasant than floppy.

I highly recommend anyone to use the USB method. Very fast and little worry about a floppy hanging, power outs (some minutes faster than a floppy). Feels much more secure to me than the other methods.

With a P-180 case (this is a very nice case... so quiet, and USB, Firewire etc on a front panel.... popping in the USB flash stick is just too easy

I'm currently trying to figure out how to get rid of the boot up logo entirely, as well as make a CrashFree CD, since I don't think the support CD does this automatically as the manual seems to lead one to think. For my CD, it leads to options of making various kinds of RAID support disks, and even using DOS, if you select the "e" option, to go to DOS, directory searches will not reveal any ROM files....

Ah, lastly, some have had difficulties putting USB drives (?) on ports 3 and 4, noting excessive boot times as the search for the USB devices seems to take a bit longer. I've used one of those ports for a USB keyboard, since I can then turn my PC on by the Space bar. Luv it.

Who said Rumsfeld's resigning?

Great site, even better info.

 

[Big Mike]

Hi all, the board arrived, yesterday. I installed the cpu, heatsink, video card, floppy, power supply, and a boot drive. When I turn it on, nothing appears on my screen. The power goes on and it appears that all devices are recieving power. This is indicated by the cpu fan and case fans spinning and the video card's LED and heat sink fan spinning.

The parts currently installed include:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
ZALMAN CNPS9500
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Thermaltake W0106RU 700W
SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB GDDR3
WD Raptor 75GB

I have the HD hooked up to the SATA1 port next to the blue IDE port. When I power on, I noticed that the floppy does not show any activity.

When I looked at my BIOS chip per the instruction in the first post in this thread, all I see on the chip is a handwritten '4' in a black 'sharpie' ink. Thanks for any help.

EDIT: I tried to fill out the ASUS support form and received a server error, try again later. I clicked submit again and it said I had already submitted and closed the window. In any case I don't know if it worked or not, but does anyone know of a support email in case I need a BIOS chip?

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: Big Mike
Hi all, the board arrived, yesterday. I installed the cpu, heatsink, video card, floppy, power supply, and a boot drive. When I turn it on, nothing appears on my screen. The power goes on and it appears that all devices are recieving power. This is indicated by the cpu fan and case fans spinning and the video card's LED and heat sink fan spinning.

The parts currently installed include:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
ZALMAN CNPS9500
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Thermaltake W0106RU 700W
SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB GDDR3
WD Raptor 75GB

I have the HD hooked up to the SATA1 port next to the blue IDE port. When I power on, I noticed that the floppy does not show any activity.

When I looked at my BIOS chip per the instruction in the first post in this thread, all I see on the chip is a handwritten '4' in a black 'sharpie' ink. Thanks for any help.

EDIT: I tried to fill out the ASUS support form and received a server error, try again later. I clicked submit again and it said I had already submitted and closed the window. In any case I don't know if it worked or not, but does anyone know of a support email in case I need a BIOS chip?

It's extremely unlikely that you received a board with a pre-0604 BIOS. This board has been shipping with Conroe (Core 2 Duo) supported BIOS versions for 3 months. Is it possible you have not properly connected your PSU? You must connect both the 20+4-pin ATX (next to the memory slots) and 4-pin 12v (just above the CPU socket) connectors. If the PSU is properly connected, try resetting the CMOS by removing the battery AND moving the jumper. The manual will illustrate the exact jumper to move.

There's also the chance that your board is being shorted by the case. You would need to setup the mobo outside of the case, in order to determine if that's the problem.

If the above does not help, simply try reseating ALL you components (CPU, memory, videocard, etc.). You can also try booting with a single stick of memory.

If, after all that, the machine still will not POST, you may have a defective component. Perhaps, the mobo. Perhaps, the PSU. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

-phil

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks as always phile, it turns out I have not connected the 4-pin connector. Looking at my PSU, I cannot see the appropriate one to use. There is one labeled 'Connect to motherboard', but it is an 8-pin connector (it is 12V though). Please tell me adpators exist.

Many thanks for the help, I can't wait to see this beast running.

EDIT: BTW - This is the PSU I purchased: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153039

It lists one of the connectors as '1 x 12V(4+4-pin)', is it possible to use half of the connector properly? I ask because I had to leave for work and didn't get to try it.

 

[Yelf]

Many times the 4+4 will snap apart giving you 2 - 4 prong plugs.

Originally posted by: Big Mike
Thanks as always phile, it turns out I have not connected the 4-pin connector. Looking at my PSU, I cannot see the appropriate one to use. There is one labeled 'Connect to motherboard', but it is an 8-pin connector (it is 12V though). Please tell me adpators exist.

Many thanks for the help, I can't wait to see this beast running.

EDIT: BTW - This is the PSU I purchased: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153039

It lists one of the connectors as '1 x 12V(4+4-pin)', is it possible to use half of the connector properly?

 

[Big Mike]

Great, thanks Yelf, I'll give it a shot when I return home from work.