The Unofficial ASUS P5N-E SLI 650i Board Thread

[redryder4]

Originally posted by: WorldTraveller
Has anyone tried the Tuniq Tower or the Thermalright Ultra 120 with P5N-E? I am tempted to wait for the release of the brand new Ultra 120 Extreme which reviewed better than both!

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2943

I wanted the Tuniq Tower to blow towards my rear case fan, instead of the power supply. This required modding the "H bracket" to clear the stock NB HS and 2 capacitors.

Here are some pics:

tuniq bracket - unmodded - note the capacitors

bracket modified

tuniq installed

When I was doing my research, I noticed this HSF being highly used and recommended by P5N-E owners, but never did I hear of any mounting issues... I have yet to see any posts on the mods I performed from other users.. Perhaps everyone is mounting it 90 degrees CW (blowing toward PSU)???

Anyone?

~Red~

 

[jkcheng122]

i was actually gonna tell u 1T settign should be less stable until i read further down. i think u may have hit a sweet spot of some type between the voltages and mem settings. u can prob up ur NB voltage one more notch and ur vdimm up to 2.1 dpending on the warranty. but if u're able to hit 3.1ghz with a 4300 and 1t timings, and everything is stable, i'd leave it as is.

i know with the E6300 and E6400 many ppl can hit 1600/800 easily with this board, not sure about the E4300 tho.

 

[habbeliha]

Slightly OT:
mr moab I can't contact you, I want to know: does the zalman 9500 fit on your motherboard (p5n e according to your sig) without bumping into that big heatsink next to the cpu? It looks tight to me, have you mounted it with the fan blowing upwards?

 

[habbeliha]

Slightly OT:
mr moab I can't contact you, I want to know: does the zalman 9500 fit on your motherboard (p5n e according to your sig) without bumping into that big heatsink next to the cpu? It looks tight to me, have you mounted it with the fan blowing upwards?

 

[habbeliha]

Slightly OT:
mr moab I can't contact you, I want to know: does the zalman 9500 fit on your motherboard (p5n e according to your sig) without bumping into that big heatsink next to the cpu? It looks tight to me, have you mounted it with the fan blowing upwards?

 

[habbeliha]

Slightly OT:
mr moab I can't contact you, I want to know: does the zalman 9500 fit on your motherboard (p5n e according to your sig) without bumping into that big heatsink next to the cpu? It looks tight to me, have you mounted it with the fan blowing upwards?

EDIT: OMG quadrupel posting Sorry about that. So ashamed...

When using the quickreply button it didn't take me to the last page of the thread and with the site being so slow for me right now I thought it didn't get through.

So sorry!

 

[mr moab]

habbeliha,
I will only reply once (i hope)

THe 9500 fits just fine. You cant face it "up" due to the design. I have it facing to blow out towards the rear exhaust fan per the recomended install. There is reasonable clearance to the NB heatsink. Install went well, though required MB to be out of case.

Overall I am only partially satisfied with the 9500. It is much louder than I expected. tHe loudest fan in my box by far. Also, since it does not blow down on the motherboard it also offers no direct air cirulation to the NB heatsink. I am working on placing a small fan on my NB.

 

[habbeliha]

Okay thanks for your fast reply moab, I'm not looking to OC so I think my motherboard will survive without a fan on it, just looking to build a really quiet computer... when you say that the fan is loud is that on highest voltage? I plan on running at the lowest setting hoping it will be quiet. silentpcreview.com thought the fan was loud but I thought they were just being picky as I've read alot about that fan and many other sites said it was really quiet.

Btw NB is northbridge right? the one under the big heatsink? Mine is pretty hot too... my fanless 7600gs is even hotter :/ But they are quiet

 

[Core2]

Originally posted by: mr moab
I have been working to increase my OC and stumbled on an odd occurance 1T vs 2T. I am doing this purley as a learning process, I am pretty happy to run my rig at 3.1ghz but its fun to learn the limits.

I had hit a wall at 1400FSB/800MEM never able to OC above that no matter the voltages etc. Last night I tried going to from 2T to 1T on the memory. With that single change I am now able to get to 1474/800 auto vcore(1.42 shown). Got SuperPi scores down belwo 18 secons for the first time after these changes.

Given everything I have read here I thought 1T should be the more challenging setting. Any thoughts as to why I am more stable at 1T? Certainly not complaining, but it appers to be counter to what I have read. And reminds me how little I understand the specific effects of the RAM setttings.

SIG settings are current.

If your ram can support it ( 1t ) it will run better ( faster ). I haven't tried a E4300 so I don't know what FSB or Memory holes there are so keep experimenting. 1500/800 should work too.

 

[mr moab]

Originally posted by: habbeliha
... when you say that the fan is loud is that on highest voltage?

Btw NB is northbridge right? the one under the big heatsink? Mine is pretty hot too... my fanless 7600gs is even hotter :/ But they are quiet

NB= NorthBridge.

I have dialed than fan down as low as 50% using SpeedFan (My SPeedfan spits out nonesense for RPMs) It still stands out over the other fans. I had also read that it should be quieter, perhaps mine is a bit of a dud. It does have a small vibration at high speed, perhaps a balancing issue. One thing that jumps out from other reading is that larger fans can move more air at lower RPMs. The 9500 has a relatively small fan (80 or 92mm equivalent). I think this is the reason some others prefer the 9700 to the 9500. Bigger fan moves more air at the same speed, or lower speed for same air. For me, the 9500 was free, so that is good. And it does eeem to cool adequately.

 

[habbeliha]

I looked closer at my zalman 9500 AT and it seems I don't have the same fan as the 9500 LED as silentpcreview complained about here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article267-page1.html

If I look through the back of the package (haven't opened it yet) it seems the fan in mine is rated 0.23 A instead of the 0.35 A that spcr complained was loud...

I think I'll keep this fan as it seems to be really effective at dissipate even at low fan rpm.

Btw speedfan doesn't work for me neither (reporting 135000 rpm), hmonitor (www.hmonitor.net) works better though.

 

[Genuine Imitation]

Did you guys set the divider in speedfan? I remember one of my fans needed that to get the right rpm output. Just a thought.

And as an update, I moved back to 3.5ghz(389x9) after using the 8x multi and about 418fsb. I was fairly unstable at that speed, couple reboots, I think it was ram related but not positive, I didn't really investigate much. After a bump in cpu vcore and a couple fsb dropped, I just moved back to 3.5 cause I knew it was solid with over 4 hours orthos stable. Anyone else with a 6600 played with the 8x multi much?

 

[ElAguila]

I have the ultra 120 mounted on mine using the bolt thru kit. With the fan on it blows to the back of the case. My loads temps never go above 40C running at 8x400(3.2GHz).

 

[CalypsoE36]

E6300 @3.15 (450x7) Arctic Freezer Pro ~56C full load
Vcore - 1.3 (Vdroop mod)
NB - 1.56
Mem - 2.0
Sunbeam NUUO 550W
EVGA 7800GT
Corsair PC6400 5-5-5-12 (downclocked to 380, 5-5-5-15)
WD SATA2 250gb
P5N-E SLI Bios 401/505
All latest bios and driver updates
XP


Hey guys, I've been lurking for a while trying to find a solution to my problem, but I'm about ready to pull my hair out on this one. I've been getting this strange stutter in certain game/3d applications. It is a soft lock with looping sound for ~5 seconds or more. During that time the sound loops and the game freezes - then it settles down at goes back to normal. My first instinct leads to an overheating problem, but I have an Arctic Freezer Pro and the CPU is at mid-50's under Orthos (couple hours). Mobo temp is ~32C. I also have 2 large fans mounted to blow in on the video card and motherboard - and a heatsink on the NB. I have even tried leaving a nearby window open and the problem continues even with CPU temp around 30C full load. I also my Corsair ram significantly underclocked to get it stable - it won't pass memtest at the rated specs. I've also bumped the voltage up to 2.08 (up from 1.9 rated), which made no change. I've been hoping a bios update would help things, but that isn't the case up through the newest (505).

This problem occurs regardless of my overclock or not - at stock settings, full auto, it still persists. Sometimes I can play a game or watch a movie for an hour without a lockup, but eventually it also 'soft locks' and they get more frequent with increased time. As mentioned, this problem even occurs on videos - and ~10% of the time the system reboots itself.

Would the video/game problems mean its time to RMA the 7800? The problem has been consistent from the start of the build, and I've changed all the clock settings (back to stock) to no avail. Please help! I'd welcome any suggestions.

Thanks,

John

 

[Umbriel]

I've been reading and learning a lot from this thread.
Just thought I add some of my own experiences and results here.
I got my E6300 up to 3.23GHz, and could run 3DMark06 without any problem. score: 8731
Compare URL: http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=1494385
But I will probably run it at 2.8GHz which to my understanding is the best 1:1 speed I can run.
This is with stock cooling, and only 2 out of 3 chassi fans, can't find anywhere on the mobo to connect the third?
Maybe I could get the FSB to 2000 with a better CPU cooler and better cooling on the mobo? But for now I'm happy with my results so far.

 

[Genuine Imitation]

Originally posted by: CalypsoE36
E6300 @3.15 (450x7) Arctic Freezer Pro ~56C full load
Vcore - 1.3 (Vdroop mod)
NB - 1.56
Mem - 2.0
Sunbeam NUUO 550W
EVGA 7800GT
Corsair PC6400 5-5-5-12 (downclocked to 380, 5-5-5-15)
WD SATA2 250gb
P5N-E SLI Bios 401/505
All latest bios and driver updates
XP


Hey guys, I've been lurking for a while trying to find a solution to my problem, but I'm about ready to pull my hair out on this one. I've been getting this strange stutter in certain game/3d applications. It is a soft lock with looping sound for ~5 seconds or more. During that time the sound loops and the game freezes - then it settles down at goes back to normal. My first instinct leads to an overheating problem, but I have an Arctic Freezer Pro and the CPU is at mid-50's under Orthos (couple hours). Mobo temp is ~32C. I also have 2 large fans mounted to blow in on the video card and motherboard - and a heatsink on the NB. I have even tried leaving a nearby window open and the problem continues even with CPU temp around 30C full load. I also my Corsair ram significantly underclocked to get it stable - it won't pass memtest at the rated specs. I've also bumped the voltage up to 2.08 (up from 1.9 rated), which made no change. I've been hoping a bios update would help things, but that isn't the case up through the newest (505).

This problem occurs regardless of my overclock or not - at stock settings, full auto, it still persists. Sometimes I can play a game or watch a movie for an hour without a lockup, but eventually it also 'soft locks' and they get more frequent with increased time. As mentioned, this problem even occurs on videos - and ~10% of the time the system reboots itself.

Would the video/game problems mean its time to RMA the 7800? The problem has been consistent from the start of the build, and I've changed all the clock settings (back to stock) to no avail. Please help! I'd welcome any suggestions.

Thanks,

John

Have you installed the MS hotfix for dual core cpu's or tried the other dual core fixes for games? I feel like if you're stable in windows but stuttering in games that the hardware isn't the problem, its the software. Look here, I know its for AMD X2s, so disregard the dual core optimizer from AMD but the MS fix and the /usepmtimer fix can be useful and might fix your problem. I know I had to use the /usepmtimer fix for C&C generals, otherwise it REALLY slowed the game down, looked like I was running the game on a P3 450 instead of a core 2.

Speaking of Core2, Core2 can you add that link to the OC guide under a misc section for tuning or something? I feel like a lot of people end up RMA'ing hardware when they don't need to because the majority of the time the software isn't behaving and the hardware is perfectly fine. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone or anything, I'd rather see the software fixed instead of RMA'ing hardware and not getting the problem fixed. /rant

 

[Core2]

Originally posted by: Genuine Imitation

Originally posted by: CalypsoE36
E6300 @3.15 (450x7) Arctic Freezer Pro ~56C full load
Vcore - 1.3 (Vdroop mod)
NB - 1.56
Mem - 2.0
Sunbeam NUUO 550W
EVGA 7800GT
Corsair PC6400 5-5-5-12 (downclocked to 380, 5-5-5-15)
WD SATA2 250gb
P5N-E SLI Bios 401/505
All latest bios and driver updates
XP


Hey guys, I've been lurking for a while trying to find a solution to my problem, but I'm about ready to pull my hair out on this one. I've been getting this strange stutter in certain game/3d applications. It is a soft lock with looping sound for ~5 seconds or more. During that time the sound loops and the game freezes - then it settles down at goes back to normal. My first instinct leads to an overheating problem, but I have an Arctic Freezer Pro and the CPU is at mid-50's under Orthos (couple hours). Mobo temp is ~32C. I also have 2 large fans mounted to blow in on the video card and motherboard - and a heatsink on the NB. I have even tried leaving a nearby window open and the problem continues even with CPU temp around 30C full load. I also my Corsair ram significantly underclocked to get it stable - it won't pass memtest at the rated specs. I've also bumped the voltage up to 2.08 (up from 1.9 rated), which made no change. I've been hoping a bios update would help things, but that isn't the case up through the newest (505).

This problem occurs regardless of my overclock or not - at stock settings, full auto, it still persists. Sometimes I can play a game or watch a movie for an hour without a lockup, but eventually it also 'soft locks' and they get more frequent with increased time. As mentioned, this problem even occurs on videos - and ~10% of the time the system reboots itself.

Would the video/game problems mean its time to RMA the 7800? The problem has been consistent from the start of the build, and I've changed all the clock settings (back to stock) to no avail. Please help! I'd welcome any suggestions.

Thanks,

John

Have you installed the MS hotfix for dual core cpu's or tried the other dual core fixes for games? I feel like if you're stable in windows but stuttering in games that the hardware isn't the problem, its the software. Look here, I know its for AMD X2s, so disregard the dual core optimizer from AMD but the MS fix and the /usepmtimer fix can be useful and might fix your problem. I know I had to use the /usepmtimer fix for C&C generals, otherwise it REALLY slowed the game down, looked like I was running the game on a P3 450 instead of a core 2.

Speaking of Core2, Core2 can you add that link to the OC guide under a misc section for tuning or something? I feel like a lot of people end up RMA'ing hardware when they don't need to because the majority of the time the software isn't behaving and the hardware is perfectly fine. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone or anything, I'd rather see the software fixed instead of RMA'ing hardware and not getting the problem fixed. /rant

Anything you want me to add post it so I can copy and paste it in. I would say that belongs in the trouble shooting section. If you can, reword it the way you want it displayed. If you copy it from the reply or edit box and paste it ( so the links will work right ) in a post all I have to do is copy it and paste it in the guide.
Thanks

 

[CalypsoE36]

Have you installed the MS hotfix for dual core cpu's or tried the other dual core fixes for games? I feel like if you're stable in windows but stuttering in games that the hardware isn't the problem, its the software. Look here, I know its for AMD X2s, so disregard the dual core optimizer from AMD but the MS fix and the /usepmtimer fix can be useful and might fix your problem. I know I had to use the /usepmtimer fix for C&C generals, otherwise it REALLY slowed the game down, looked like I was running the game on a P3 450 instead of a core 2.

Speaking of Core2, Core2 can you add that link to the OC guide under a misc section for tuning or something? I feel like a lot of people end up RMA'ing hardware when they don't need to because the majority of the time the software isn't behaving and the hardware is perfectly fine. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone or anything, I'd rather see the software fixed instead of RMA'ing hardware and not getting the problem fixed. /rant

Thanks for the help. Yes, I have tried the hotfix/dual core patches. That was one of the first things I did, and it makes absolutely no difference. This problem is driving me nuts. I've tried various Nvidia drivers, latest Realtek audio drivers, mobo bioses, reinstalled DirectX, changed the 7800 bios, etc. The problem is independent of hardward clock settings, and it is only during games or video - stuff that utilizes the 7800. I've tried downclocking the 7800 as much as possible, and that makes no difference. I agree that it is a software issue (I hope, I really don't want to RMA), but I'm running out of options. And this was all on a fresh install of XP w/SP2. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Tuvoc]

Thanks for the help. Yes, I have tried the hotfix/dual core patches. That was one of the first things I did, and it makes absolutely no difference. This problem is driving me nuts. I've tried various Nvidia drivers, latest Realtek audio drivers, mobo bioses, reinstalled DirectX, changed the 7800 bios, etc. The problem is independent of hardward clock settings, and it is only during games or video - stuff that utilizes the 7800. I've tried downclocking the 7800 as much as possible, and that makes no difference. I agree that it is a software issue (I hope, I really don't want to RMA), but I'm running out of options. And this was all on a fresh install of XP w/SP2. Thanks again for the help.

This does sound like a driver issue, and it could be that there is no cure at the moment.
Have you tried changing any settings in the 7800 drivers ?

 

[Genuine Imitation]

Did you modify the boot.ini with the usemptimer? Or try setting the cpu affinity manually? What game is giving you all the troubles?

Oh wait, I reread your post again and noticed you've got issues with video as well. Were all the parts new when you bought them? Or did you migrate some of them from a previous build? Any chance of being able to swap out the 7800 for a diff card and seeing if it works ok then? And your ram's lack of passing memtest at its rated timings concerns me.

 

[Genuine Imitation]

Core 2 I'd put this in the troubleshooting section, its not board specific really, but dual core specific.

If you are running a dual core cpu and are having issues with stuttering and game hitches, look here, I know its for AMD X2s, so disregard the dual core optimizer from AMD but the MS hotfix and the /usepmtimer fix can be useful and might fix your problem.

Feel free to edit if when you put it into the guide on P 92. BTW i've linked it a couple times a and people have been very impressed.

 

[Core2]

Originally posted by: Genuine Imitation
Core 2 I'd put this in the troubleshooting section, its not board specific really, but dual core specific.

If you are running a dual core cpu and are having issues with stuttering and game hitches, look here, I know its for AMD X2s, so disregard the dual core optimizer from AMD but the MS hotfix and the /usepmtimer fix can be useful and might fix your problem.

Feel free to edit if when you put it into the guide on P 92. BTW i've linked it a couple times a and people have been very impressed.

Done. It's number 9 on the Trouble Shooting section. Anything you guys think should be added post it and I'll copy and paste it in the guide.

 

[CalypsoE36]

Originally posted by: CalypsoE36
E6300 @3.15 (450x7) Arctic Freezer Pro ~56C full load
Vcore - 1.3 (Vdroop mod)
NB - 1.56
Mem - 2.0
Sunbeam NUUO 550W
EVGA 7800GT
Corsair PC6400 5-5-5-12 (downclocked to 380, 5-5-5-15)
WD SATA2 250gb
P5N-E SLI Bios 401/505
All latest bios and driver updates
XP


Hey guys, I've been lurking for a while trying to find a solution to my problem, but I'm about ready to pull my hair out on this one. I've been getting this strange stutter in certain game/3d applications. It is a soft lock with looping sound for ~5 seconds or more. During that time the sound loops and the game freezes - then it settles down at goes back to normal. My first instinct leads to an overheating problem, but I have an Arctic Freezer Pro and the CPU is at mid-50's under Orthos (couple hours). Mobo temp is ~32C. I also have 2 large fans mounted to blow in on the video card and motherboard - and a heatsink on the NB. I have even tried leaving a nearby window open and the problem continues even with CPU temp around 30C full load. I also my Corsair ram significantly underclocked to get it stable - it won't pass memtest at the rated specs. I've also bumped the voltage up to 2.08 (up from 1.9 rated), which made no change. I've been hoping a bios update would help things, but that isn't the case up through the newest (505).

This problem occurs regardless of my overclock or not - at stock settings, full auto, it still persists. Sometimes I can play a game or watch a movie for an hour without a lockup, but eventually it also 'soft locks' and they get more frequent with increased time. As mentioned, this problem even occurs on videos - and ~10% of the time the system reboots itself.

Would the video/game problems mean its time to RMA the 7800? The problem has been consistent from the start of the build, and I've changed all the clock settings (back to stock) to no avail. Please help! I'd welcome any suggestions.

Thanks,

John

I've decided to RMA the video card. I've tried every other possible combination to get rid of this freezing/stuttering problem. The computer is rock solid otherwise (everything but games, videos w/hardware acceleration). The problems seem to get a little better with video clock settings down to 300 core and 900 mem (from 450/1070!). Plus it has been giving significant artifacts for a while now - that is ridiculous when temps are low and the card is underclocked significantly.

 

[CalypsoE36]

Originally posted by: Genuine Imitation
Did you modify the boot.ini with the usemptimer? Or try setting the cpu affinity manually? What game is giving you all the troubles?

Oh wait, I reread your post again and noticed you've got issues with video as well. Were all the parts new when you bought them? Or did you migrate some of them from a previous build? Any chance of being able to swap out the 7800 for a diff card and seeing if it works ok then? And your ram's lack of passing memtest at its rated timings concerns me.

Everything was brand new from Newegg - but the 7800 was a recertified card. The price was good so I didn't worry about it, but this issues seems to pop up often with the EVGA 7800's (from what I've read). I guess it's possible that I got a card that someone else already RMA'd. I called EVGA, and they actually said that was a good possibility.

As for the games, it is basically any game I try - some are worse than others but they all do it eventually. Then it justs gets more and more frequent. I did the patches and set affinity manually with no positive results.

TUVOC:

I've tried a few different vid drivers, tried upping the voltage on the 7800 (long after the problems started), manually turned the fans higher, etc. No change. This is really getting frustrating.

Thanks for the suggestions and help. I hope someone else can solve this, otherwise I'm going to have to RMA the 7800 and its no computer for a couple weeks....

 

[Tuvoc]

I've decided to RMA the video card. I've tried every other possible combination to get rid of this freezing/stuttering problem. The computer is rock solid otherwise (everything but games, videos w/hardware acceleration). The problems seem to get a little better with video clock settings down to 300 core and 900 mem (from 450/1070!). Plus it has been giving significant artifacts for a while now - that is ridiculous when temps are low and the card is underclocked significantly.

Ah - that's the first time you have mentioned the artifacts ?
Then yes RMA the videcard !!