*** Official ASUS P5W DH Thread ***

[shaunix]

Thanks Skott. I'm now considering of getting a new HDD, i thought i would be running silent with SONATA II case.
As for problem #1 the HDD activity LED is now flashing after i have reversed the wiring.

rgds...

 

[CRChickadee]

Has anyone used/tested the newer Intel Quad core CPUs on this MB?

Is the current bios, 1801, supportive of Quad core?

 

[ThePiston]

hey, just jumped over here from the DS3 thread - I'm having some ram issues sinc I do'nt have micron D9 ram. How's the P5W DH with my ram? Is the 975 better for the E6600 than the 965?

 

[imported_MrDisco]

Hopefully a P5W DH owner could answer this for me. Can the board support 6 SATA drives *without* using RAID? I'm concerned about the 2 orange SATA ports which are used for the 'EZBackup' feature. Will those two ports also allow for just regular SATA useage?

 

[imported_browsing]

As far as I know, no... which really sucks, by the by. I might've considered a different board had I known this before purchasing the p5w.

 

[imported_browsing]

Also, is there a website dedicated to the P5W? I mean, there are threads but I know next to nothing about BIOS settings and I'm really lost. It seems in threads you get one very dated worthwhile starting post and then a slew of debates and arguments that span between 70-130 pages... I don't know if it seems selfish or lazy to the more learned enthusiasts but I don't have the time to go through all those pages trying to understand all the ins and outs of the Bios / overclocking. I get confused.

The current config I've got hard drive wise is 4 320s (1 on Jmicron, 1 on ezsata, 2 on 3,4) and a raptor 150 running on 1. I'm just curious if I'm losing performance with this setup as opposed to a pci-e sata card? Also, if I removed the single hard drive I have on ezsata, would I lose the data?

 

[QuietRiot]

Apparently those 2 EZ Backup ports can only be used in some sort of RAID arrangement. Even in the 'Big' arrangement it means that it's NOT just a regular SATA port. I do not use those 2 ports, but reading the manual seems that the controller will erase all the data in the disk in any way.

Browsing, I don't think you would loose your data, but I do not think that you can use that drive in any other controller other than an identical one. I think it's a Silicon controller.

 

[imported_MrDisco]

Originally posted by: QuietRiot
Apparently those 2 EZ Backup ports can only be used in some sort of RAID arrangement. Even in the 'Big' arrangement it means that it's NOT just a regular SATA port. I do not use those 2 ports, but reading the manual seems that the controller will erase all the data in the disk in any way.

A user on xtremesystem was very helpful in answering this question. The short answer is that the board only supports a max of 5 SATA drives in a non-raid setup; only 1 of the 2 orange ports can be used. This kinda sucks and I wish I knew this before ordering the board, but now i'll have to return it (and take a 15% restock hit) and perhaps order the BadAxe2 board instead.

 

[DutchBBQ]

Originally posted by: browsing
Also, is there a website dedicated to the P5W?

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?bo...=1&model=P5W+DH+Deluxe&SLanguage=en-us

http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthr...php?t=110193&highlight=Asus+P5W+Deluxe

 

[SavageThrash]

Hey guys, im still on bios 1301 i belive and ive looked around for info on the 1707 bios but i cant seem to find what it changes. Worth updating to it?

Thnx Savage

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: SavageThrash
Hey guys, im still on bios 1301 i belive and ive looked around for info on the 1707 bios but i cant seem to find what it changes. Worth updating to it?

Thnx Savage

You absolutely want to flash to 1503 or better, as these BIOS revisions have resolved the cold-boot issue when overclocking. As for the differences between all those BIOS revisions, I haven't noticed any. I'm using 1707 without issue.

-phil

 

[ramsub]

Thanks for this set up. I tried this and it works.

Ram

 

[mikepaul]

I bought a Vantec NST-360SU-BL eSATA enclosure to house the 1TB drive I'll be getting, and it comes with a slot cover that has a eSATA plug. Since I'll eventually get a second setup for backing up this one, I'll plan on using that jack plus the one on the P5W DH.

Since I haven't connected anything SATA so far, which internal plug is best for this job, and has no auto-RAID or anything else funny going on?

Thanks...

 

[phile]

SATA1 (red), SATA3, and SATA4 are regular SATA ports, running on the ICH7R southbridge. What would have been SATA2 was split into the two EzRaid SATA ports, so avoid those.

On a separate note, this thread should remain a sticky, as it quickly slips off the front page.

-phil

Update: Our kind forum mod has returned our beloved thread to stickyhood.

 

[imported_Baxter]

built system last nite ASUS P5W DH..went together fine ...i can overclock using ther overclock option@ 3.0) but when try to raise manually from stock 266 ill enter even 270 or anything it locks up frezes?1707 bios ...is some settings i have to disable to manually over clock ?im runnin some corsair extreme ddr2 1066 ive upped ram voltage to 2.1 and vcore to 1.4 ..im runnin a 6600 conroe..i ran this cpu on a evga 680 i @ 3.5 till motherboard died ..thanks cya

 

[phile]

The fastest memory officially supported by this board is DDR2-800, so it could be you're having some compatibility issues. Perhaps, you just need to find the right divider. Others who are using faster mem could probably offer some tips. In the meantime, try running the memory at 1:1, as you increase FSB. Set the FSB to 266 and the mem to DDR2-533 and begin increasing the FSB from there. The memory speed will automatically increase in sync with the FSB.

You should have Hyperpath 3 disabled once you exceed FSB 300. This setting is found on the Advanced/Chipset page of the BIOS. You might also try disabling DRAM Throttling, as well.

You should also seek some advice here:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110193

I'm quite sure others have successfully gotten DDR2-1000 and DDR2-1066 kits to work with this board.

-phil

 

[QuietRiot]

Originally posted by: phile
SATA1 (red), SATA3, and SATA4 are regular SATA ports, running on the ICH7R southbridge. What would have been SATA2 was split into the two EzRaid SATA ports, so avoid those.

I read in that XtremeSystems.org thread somewhere that you could potentially remove all the jumpers for EzRaid and use the orange connector on the right as another ICH7R port. Unfortunately, I have neither found back that post nor have I tried this myself.

Let me know if someone has been able to do this.


Baxter, here's a very rough and simple OC'ing guide.
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware...erclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html

 

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: phile
SATA1 (red), SATA3, and SATA4 are regular SATA ports, running on the ICH7R southbridge. What would have been SATA2 was split into the two EzRaid SATA ports, so avoid those.

I worked on it over the weekend with a 500GB WD drive (always good later on), and found that the motherboard's eSATA worked flawlessly but SATA3 acts completely dead (OR the eSATA unit Vantec provided is dead). I didn't locate anything in the manual that says SATA3 needs to be turned on, or some jumpering undone, or anything to get it to work.

So if SATA3 is not useable, I'm thinking the port seemingly linked to eSATA, SATA_RAID1, might be better, but so far I haven't cracked the case back open to find out if the cable Vantec provided will reach.

If SATA3 just needs some jumper setting or whatever, at least the cable reaches there...

 

[Tegeril]

My board shipped with the 1303 or whatever the 13xx bios is. It recognized 4096MB of RAM as it should. I flashed to 1707 and it shows 1024MB allocated and 3072MB is all that is visible in Windows, instead of 4GB as before. Any suggestions? =\

Solved, memory reallocation feature needs to be disabled.

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
My board shipped with the 1303 or whatever the 13xx bios is. It recognized 4096MB of RAM as it should. I flashed to 1707 and it shows 1024MB allocated and 3072MB is all that is visible in Windows, instead of 4GB as before. Any suggestions? =\

I would continue to look into it but I'm guessing thats a incorrect display problem. You are probably getting the full performance of RAM like you should be but its just not showing you are. You may want to try the 150x(forget if its 1501 or 1503) BIOS. Most people feel thats the best in the series so far.

 

[Tegeril]

Ah, just edited 2 minutes later, the bios in the hardware information stated that it was appropriating 1024MB of ram. I disabled the memory reallocation feature (which is suggested for 64 bit OS's according to the bios) and it stopped allocating, making all 4GB available to the OS.

 

[dando]

Originally posted by: phile
You absolutely want to flash to 1503 or better, as these BIOS revisions have resolved the cold-boot issue when overclocking. As for the differences between all those BIOS revisions, I haven't noticed any. I'm using 1707 without issue.
-phil

In one of the postings on the Asus forum, I read the following:

For VISTA, BIOS 1707 is required! BIOS 1707 ensures a successfull VISTA install (Support Intel SpeedStep in Vista, Update JMicron option rom to 1.06.63, Support new CPUs)

If you're currently running ICH7 RAID0, and update your BIOS, then your RAID0 configuration and consequently your precious files are unrecoverably at risk!!!!!

This warning is alarming to me as I had planned to do what I've done many times: upgrade a mobo bios. Is it true that my RAID 0 boot drives are at risk if I upgrade from 1407 to 1707?

I'm using the SATA1 and SATA3 connections on the Intel controller and I'm running XP Pro as an OS.


My main rig:
Mobo: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe/Wifi (bios 1407)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
CPU cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9500
RAM: Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 750w Modular
Case: Lian Li PC-V2000B
DVD drive #1: Plextor PX-760A (firmware 1.04)
DVD drive #2: NEC ND-3550A (firmware 1.06)
Floppy drive: Samsung OEM
Video card: Sapphire x1800gto2
HDD boot: WD1500ADFD 10K Raptors (x 2) on the ICHR7 (RAID 0)
HDD data: WD 250GB SATA2 (x 4) on an Areca ARC-1210 (RAID 5)

 

[phile]

I can't confirm that a BIOS flash will harm or destroy your RAID0 array, but I would heed the warning and do a complete backup of your data before proceeding. I can, however, tell you that 1707 is NOT necessarily a requirement for Vista. I was running 1602 when I initially installed Vista Ultimate, and had no issues. Perhaps, this is because I have both speedstep and JMicron disabled. I'm currently running 1707 without issue.

-phil

 

[imported_apocrypha]

I am having the same problem as you, the only temp. fix is to clear RTC-RAm over night or for a long period. This is the only thing which works for me.
I belive it has to do with the voltage at startup/boot. Or incorrect info being accessed from CMOS data on Mobo.
Anyway, Asus needs to pay more attention to the bug.

 

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: mikepaul
So if SATA3 is not useable, I'm thinking the port seemingly linked to eSATA, SATA_RAID1, might be better, but so far I haven't cracked the case back open to find out if the cable Vantec provided will reach.

While the stiff cable Vantec provided needed work to twist properly, when I plugged it into SATA_RAID1 the new eSATA port worked fine.

Now I'll have to hope that nothing funny happens once I use the two eSATA ports at the same time after getting another enclosure...