*** Official ASUS P5W DH Thread ***

[brock01]

i have heard that the ich7r is faster than ez-backup in raid 0?
can anyone show me some benchmarks, or tell me your personal opinion/experience
i have it in raid 0 now, with the ez-backup, wanting to know if it would be better to put it on the intel one or anything?

 

[Austin2k]

Originally posted by: msmith7305
This is something that is bugging me a lot.

Why does the "gigabit" ethernet controller only have 100Mbps full duplex as the highest setting when looking at the properties page in device manager?

I know my cable won't get me that speed, I'm just not understanding why the option to set the controller for 1000Mbps doesn't seem to be there.

Could someone please help this idiot out?

Thanks

Basically you're as fast as the slowest link. If you are running a 100Mbps hub/switch then the fastest speed for the connection will be 100Mbps. (I won't go into duplexing here) What comes out of your cable moden is likely 10 or 100Mbps. However your internal home network may be 100 or 1000 depending upon your gear.

Hope that helps.

 

[CRChickadee]

Austin2k:

Originally, with that simple 'test' example, no. I have since enabled it and will get back to you re" any difference, if diffenent than the first post.

I don't expect much or any difference, as the OS does a pretty good job of natively implementing use of 'more' ram in a 64 bit sys.

It will be interesting to see.

 

[msmith7305]

Austin2k-

I understand that I'm limited by the slowest link. What I don't understand is that, in Windows XP Device Manager, when going to the Properties Page for the Gigabit Controller, there is no "option" to set the device itself at 1000Mbps. Are my options limited to what my cable modem sets? It just seems that I should be able to set my gigabit controller to its highest setting (or set to Auto). The actual transmission speed I would be capable of however would then be governed by the slowest part in the process which, in this case, would be the equipment on my cable internet providers system.

Thanks for helping me understand this.

 

[jogo]

I am unable to get to the RAID menu, CTRL+I, when selecting AHCI from the IDE configuration. I want to use the NCQ features since I spent a little extra to get drives that support it. CTRL+I will only work when the IDE Configuration is set to RAID.

There are 2 choices (as I see it) for the F6 option:
Intel(R) 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controler (Desktp ICH7R/DH)
Intel(R) 82801GR/GH SATA RAID Controler (Desktp ICH7R/DH)

Can I use the AHCI driver with the RAID option under IDE Configuration?

There is also a power management option enable/disable under the AHCI in the IDE configuration that I would like to make use of.

Any thoughts?
thanks.

 

[jogo]

Originally posted by: touchstone
Re: getting ICH7R RAID working

Thanks for the 'when to format' responses ... so far, I'm still stuck trying to get the ICH7R driver loaded during setup, either using F6 or slipstreamed CDs. My next step is to try adding ALL the drivers from the 32-bit Intel 'floppy' to a streamlined CD, instead of just the ICH7R RAID driver.

One interesting thing I've found is that the Intel user guide mentions that a 0x7B error may be expected if the RAID mode is changed after OS installation. Again, this appears relevant, but since the drives are formatted and don't include an OS yet, maybe not.

Maybe I should just go and buy a tape drive 8-(

I found I needed to play with "Reset disks to non-raid" and "delete Raid Volume" from the CTRL+I menu to clear previous settings, I had one drive reporting twice the space.

Good luck

 

[brock01]

i have heard that the ich7r is faster than ez-backup in raid 0?
can anyone show me some benchmarks, or tell me your personal opinion/experience
i have it in raid 0 now, with the ez-backup, wanting to know if it would be better to put it on the intel one or anything?

 

[Austin2k]

Originally posted by: msmith7305
Austin2k-

I understand that I'm limited by the slowest link. What I don't understand is that, in Windows XP Device Manager, when going to the Properties Page for the Gigabit Controller, there is no "option" to set the device itself at 1000Mbps. Are my options limited to what my cable modem sets? It just seems that I should be able to set my gigabit controller to its highest setting (or set to Auto). The actual transmission speed I would be capable of however would then be governed by the slowest part in the process which, in this case, would be the equipment on my cable internet providers system.

Thanks for helping me understand this.

Heh. That is interesting. To review: From Device Manager select one of the Marvel Yukon controllers. From the advanced tab select speed and duplex. There is no gig setting available in the dropdown box. This is with version 8.27.3.3 of the driver (Im using XP64). Updating to 8.39.3.3 made no difference. This was using Windows Update. Going out to Marvell shows an even more recent driver 8.61.2.3 dated 11/02/2006. Installing this driver made no difference to what is shown in the drop down box. As I currently only use the wireless and I don't have gig-ethernet this is the best I can do for the moment. I will be adding gig after XMAS if Santa thinks I'm good.

 

[CRChickadee]

Austin2k:

I did a re-test now that bios has been set for utilization of 64 bit memory mapping, and the times for the Mask Pro apply to all rendering in Photoshop CS 2 decreased.

Bios 160*, memory settings was set for 32 bit

XP Pro, about --- 1:30
Vista 64 ---- ------- :35

Bios 160* memory map settings engable for 64 bit

XP Pro 64 about -- :27
Vista 64 ------------- :26 secs

That's a nice change.

 

[CRChickadee]

New 1707 bios is out:

changes: Support Intel SpeedStep in Vista
Update JMicron option rom to 1.06.63
Support new CPUs.

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

 

[jogo]

I have 2 questions:

Device Manager shows "SM Bus Controller", what is that?

Exactly where do I disable the Wireless in the BIOS, I cant seem to find it.

thanks.

 

[msmith7305]

Austin2k-

I may have found the answer. After visiting numerous websites, I found one for a maker of gigabit devices that had a FAQ section. Someone asked how to "force" the gigabit speed through device manager. Their answer was that any device such as this must, in order to comply with IEEE standards, not be allowed to be forced to a gigabit setting but should be set to "auto" and it will then auto negotiate to a gigabit setting if all the related equipment is capable of that speed. So, I assume that is why no option to force it to that speed is available.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Butterbean]

CRChickadee wrote:

"New 1707 bios is out"

Yes and it's made people happy since it seems people were having trouble installing Vista under certain circumstances. This thread was interesting if you want to go back a bit:

http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/Sho....aspx?PostID=711249&SiteID=17&PageID=5

 

[touchstone1]

Originally posted by: jogo

I found I needed to play with "Reset disks to non-raid" and "delete Raid Volume" from the CTRL+I menu to clear previous settings, I had one drive reporting twice the space.

Good luck

Cheers ... I've now tried all the Intel drivers, slipstreamed and via floppy (F6 in Setup), rebuilding the array, deleting the array, resizing the disks in the array, removing just one disk so the array is 'depleted', flipping the SATA mode from RAID to Standard IDE and back, formatting the drives elsewhere, with and without partitions. Basically, everything I can think of, in every order.

Every time, I get a Stop 0x7B when the text portion of Setup completes. I'm very much on the verge of giving up.

 

[brock01]

question for ya guys
alright, I have 6hds in my comp
2 are in ide, and the other 4 are sata.
i have 2 drives i would like to put in RAID0 with the ICH7R.
how can i hook up the other 2 sata drives and have them still functional.
right now i have the 2 drives with the EZ-Backup in RAID0, but what them with ICH7R. i boot off them, the other 2 sata non raid drives are for storage, as well as the ide drives
Thanks in advance

 

[QuietRiot]

Originally posted by: touchstone
Cheers ... I've now tried all the Intel drivers, slipstreamed and via floppy (F6 in Setup), rebuilding the array, deleting the array, resizing the disks in the array, removing just one disk so the array is 'depleted', flipping the SATA mode from RAID to Standard IDE and back, formatting the drives elsewhere, with and without partitions. Basically, everything I can think of, in every order.

Every time, I get a Stop 0x7B when the text portion of Setup completes. I'm very much on the verge of giving up.

Wow, you're much more patient than I am; I would have jumped off that 'verge' a long time ago. Why don't you try RMA'ing it - maybe there's something funky with that controller/board. Seriously, you have tried everything.


Brock01, I believe you have many choices. You can attach the 2 HDDs that will be in RAID0 to ICH7R and the last 2 you can then:
- attach both to the EZ-Backup. The EZ-Backup you will have to change the jumpers to put it in a jbod configuration.
- attach one to the ICH7R and one to the JMicron.
- attach one to the EZ-Backup and on the JMicron.
- attach one to the ICH7R and one to the EZ-Backup.

No matter what, going from one RAID controller to another you WILL lose all the data on those drives.

I'm assuming that for the 2 IDE drives you have no problem hooking them up.

 

[brock01]

thanks a ton quietriot
perfect job
one question, how do i setup jbod? is it bios related or jumpers or?
do i just use the ez-backup ports and have the dont any any jumpers on the raid jumpers?
also, when using jobd will i lose any data, cause if it makes me lose data i wont be able to go that route, which i would like too cause the sata cords all long enough, and the jmicron one is way out there

 

[telco]

Device Manager shows "SM Bus Controller" with out a driver. I put the P5W CD in and it wants to associate it with the ICH7 family.

What is this used for?

thanks,

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: telco
Device Manager shows "SM Bus Controller" with out a driver. I put the P5W CD in and it wants to associate it with the ICH7 family.

What is this used for?

thanks,

This is normal. It's likely some legacy device no longer used.

-phil

 

[brock01]

if i put 2 nonraid sata disks into the ez-backup with jbod will it erase all that is on there?

 

[QuietRiot]

Brock01, looking at the manual it seems that putting disks onto the EZ Backup will erase the disk no matter which way you put it.

What I would recommend is to put that that HDD that cannot be erased (let's call it HDDX) on one of the ICH7R black sockets, the 2 RAID drives on the EZ Backup sockets, and the 4th one also on the ICH7R socket.

So, now you can leave the ICH7R BIOS setting to Enhanced-IDE which will allow you to use the HDDX without erasing it.

For the RAID on EZ Backup, you will have to physically change the jumpers according to the RAID configuration you want to run (Asus manual page 5-50). Follow those instructions and you should have your working RAIDx volume.

For booting, I imagine that in the BIOS you can change the boot order to have it boot the EZ Backup drives first.

NB - this is all theoretical - I have not tried this before - so backing up your data is always a mandatory step.


Asus P5W DH Deluxe manual (extremely slow download)

 

[rnbarg]

Originally posted by: phile

Originally posted by: Butterbean
I have computer running on this mobo using one SATA drive that was set up using EIDE in bios (Media Center Edition OS). Is there any advantage to re installing with the HD configured for AHCI if there will be no RAID?

On original install I pressed F6 for 2 days with no effect. It turned out the new floppy drive wasn't working (it is now). I finally said "screw it" and set it up as EIDE and the OS went in fine.

Concerning the eSATA port on the board. Does the BIOS need to be AHCI for that to work? I read that AHCI enabled "portability" and wasn't quite sure what that meant.

Are the drivers on the ASUS CD still the ones to use after F6 prompt? It's a bit confusing as new SATA person to know what to install because many people refer to "SATA" drivers when ASUS disk refers only to RAID drivers on its disk - namely the ICH7R and the JMicron. Do both of these need to be installed at F6 prompt? I understand thats a pretty basic question but the abundance of information concerning this step is considerable. Some say "disable" the Micron..don't use ASUS disk go right to Intel etc etc.

Thanks for any info. I'll leap ahead into things anyway since it looks like this thread is getting quieter (which may be a good sign lol)

Ok, here's how this board works SATA drives.

As you are likely aware, there are two SATA controllers on this board: the native ICH7R SATA controller and the JMicron SATA controller. No driver is required for either if you're running SATA in the default Standard IDE mode. However, if you want certain SATA features like hot-plugging and NCQ to work, you need to run SATA drives in AHCI mode.

In order to run the drives in AHCI mode on the ICH7R controller, you need to preload the Intel Matrix Storage Manager driver (makedisk application for the latest version can be found on Intel's site). This disk will contain drivers for both the ICH8R and ICH7R chipsets, so take your time and select the proper driver. It will be the SATA, AHCI for ICH7R (desktop).

As for the e-SATA port, that is managed by the JMicron controller. You will definitely need to set the JMicron controller to run SATA drives in AHCI mode, since e-SATA without hot-plugging is rather impractical. I haven't tried this, myself, but you could probably achieve this by going into the BIOS and configuring the JMicron controller accordingly, and then loading the JMicron drivers within Windows.

All of the above is based on the assumption that your BOOT drive is connected to SATA1, on the ICH7R controller.

Hopefully, this fully addresses your issue.

-phil

I wanted to clarify several things. First I am running the shipping version of Windows Vista Enterprise. Does that change anything you said above?

Second, re: "you're running SATA in the default Standard IDE mode", I plan on attaching the 150 gb WD Raptor to SATA 1 - no raid or anything like that. This is a single user machine and NCQ is thought to slow down the Raptor. Therefore, can I expect the bios to handle installation. Specifically, when I run the Vista OS, is it going to expect me to hit F6 and install a driver even though I am running in "Standard IDE mode"?

Third, I don't have a floppy drive in my PC. I heard that Vista allows you to install drivers from a flash USB drive. Is that your understanding. If so, might I get the drivers on the flash drive.

Thanks for your help.

Richard

 

[phile]

Richard,

Whether running XP or Vista, running SATA drives in Standard IDE mode requires no special driver preload. And, yes, Vista will allow you to load drivers from a USB storage device, should you need to preload any other drivers.

-phil

 

[Whirlwind]

Phile, what would be a nice and easy OC of my cpu?

My pc is in my sig. I am new to overclocking...will just aliitle on the FSB be safe for me?

Any help or tips will be appreciated

 

[phile]

I'll just post the BIOS setup I'm currently using to o/c my E6600 to 3GHz (FSB 333).

Advanced/CPU Config
------------------------------
C1E: disabled
EIST (speedstep): disabled

Advanced/Jumperfree
------------------------------
AI Overclocking: manual
FSB: 333
DRAM: DDR2-833
vDIMM: 2.1v (see voltage rating for your mem @ DDR2-800)
vCORE: 1.35v (this varies depending on the CPU - mine seems to need more volts than later builds. You could try AUTO and bump it up .1v at a time until stable.)


Advanced/Chipset
------------------------------
SPD: disabled
Timings: 4-4-5-15 (see you mem's rated timings @ DDR2-800)

Note about timings: the P5WDH transposes the middle two values. My mem timings are listed as 4-5-4-15 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS), but the P5WDH has the timings arranged as CAS-TRP-TRCD-TRAS.

DRAM ECC: disabled
Hyperpath 3: disabled

I also have QFAN disabled.

Everything else leave at default setting.

The only real danger in a moderate overclock such as this is heat. Just make sure to monitor your CPU temps. USe CoreTemp and keep those core temps below 70C. That's probably not the max temp that these chips can handle, but a safe threshold.
http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/CoreTemp/

You'll also want to test the stability of your overclock. You can use Orthos Stress Prime for this. Run the Blended (a combination stress test of both CPU and MEM) test for a few hours.
http://sp2004.fre3.com/beta/beta2.htm

-phil