The Unofficial ASUS P5N-E SLI 650i Board Thread

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: elmonen
hello everyone! I'm thinking of buying this board as it seems to be a great overclocker at this price! and there are few questions I'd like to ask..

1. Will my memory work with his board? I've read that the board is picky about memory.. and the memory I have isn't in the P5N E-SLI QVL :/

2. Is additional/better cooling for NB or SB (as it has no cooling at all!!) necessary? I'm not trying to push the limits of my cpu or anything.. at first I'm aiming at about ~330fsb which should be a breeze with this board? what would be a safe max oc with the stock cooling for 24/7 use? I know that every board are different but what would be safe at stock cooling..

my Specs:

Intel C2D E6420 (stock cooler)
Asrock ConroeXfire-Esata2
PQI 2x1GB DDR2 667Mhz
Sapphire x1950Pro 256mb
Antec Sonata II case (atm I have one case fan at the back exhaust, but I'll probably get another to better draw air from the front intake)

If the memory is working fine now, you should not have a problem. I originally had the 667MHz memory and Asrock 775DUAL-VSTA - it worked fine at that speed, although I have not tried to overclock the processor with that memory (OCZ).

You definitely need a heatsink on the Southbridge, and extra fans will help, as the P5N-E chipsets run really hot. I run mine with the stock HSF, and the bottom front and side panel intake fans help keep the temps down.

You might have to update the BIOS to 0505 or 0602 to run the E6420, but if you get it to post, don't worry about it until you get the system stable. And set all the timings and memory voltage MANUALLY with the 2T command rate.

Good luck!

 

[Rytr]

This time around I mounted the P5N-E in my Antec P180 and used the optional mounting for a 120mm fan which blows directly on the video card from the front of the case. This also provides additional cool air for the memory and the cpu which has apparently helped. This case also has a top 120mm fan (top blow hole). Idle temps are mid 30s.
The bottom-line is this time around everything is going better as the board is running with my other 650i boards now, performance-wise with e6600 processor.
I have yet to upgrade the bios.

 

[AMelbye]

elmonen: if a fsb of 330 is what you're aiming for, you shouldn't have a problem. The board is certified for 333, but that's as far as you can rely on it to go (read through some of the previous posts...)

With everything stock I reached a stable fsb of 375, giving me an overclock of 2.63GHz

After putting in weeks of research and testing, getting an aftermarket cpu cooler, a south bridge cooler and a high speed fan and funnel system on the north bridge, as well as opening the cabinet, lowering temps by about 10 degrees (motherboard currently at 30 degrees) and changing the PSU, my highest stable fsb is still 375

I'm contemplating wether to change the motherboard, or to get a different cpu that requires less fsb to achieve high speeds. Where are the 500+FSB speeds that the reviews are going on about?!

 

[elmonen]

ok.. I think I'll get the Zalman NB32K to cool the southbridge.. and as it says on page 92 I can just put two little 40mm fans to blow at the nb.. so can I like screw them in the nb just a little between the fins so that they stick to it? If so, can I use normal screws?

 

[Rytr]

Normal screws are fine, just something that will take a bite. It does not take much to hold the small 40mm fan to the sink.

 

[franjam]

Hi , I've been reading this thread for a while and and have had the P5NE-SLI for about 3 months ; it is without a doubt one of the more complicated boards I've had. That said I haven't had all the problems that I've been reading about although it took a while to optimise things.
I have my G-SKILL HZ in the yellow slots and have been able to run it at 480mhz 4-3-3-9-2T unlinked at 2.2v, I have the feeling I could have gone further but didn't try. Also there were definite holes where nothing would work; from memory the board seems to prefer rounded figures ie.to the nearest 5mhz, the same seemed to go for the CPU voltage,5.25v worked but the next settings up or down wouldn't until I hit 5.50v for example.
I also discovered that the 1:1 setting in fact made the memory run twice as fast as the cpu ie. both run at 1445 instead of 1445:722. To get the latter, ie. both at 361mhz I selected Sync mode ,this seems to be the only way the board will run 1T timings. I am now running the memory at 3-3-3-8-17trc-1T @2.2v.
I am waiting for the 45nm cpu's to come out hoping for a better overclock so I can run my memory Synced at around 400mhz and hopefully stay at 1T timings, Interestingly I got the same results in super pi with both the settings I've talked about although my current settings give me lower bandwidth than running the memory at 480mhz.
I hope this information is helpful to you or anyone else I seem to be one of the more lucky ones from what I've read.
PS I haven't heard of many overclocks over 500mhz with this board, 480 - 500 seems to be the best we can hope for, presumably you 've tried more volts in the NB.

 

[elmonen]

Originally posted by: franjam
Hi , I've been reading this thread for a while and and have had the P5NE-SLI for about 3 months ; it is without a doubt one of the more complicated boards I've had. That said I haven't had all the problems that I've been reading about although it took a while to optimise things.
I have my G-SKILL HZ in the yellow slots and have been able to run it at 480mhz 4-3-3-9-2T unlinked at 2.2v, I have the feeling I could have gone further but didn't try. Also there were definite holes where nothing would work; from memory the board seems to prefer rounded figures ie.to the nearest 5mhz, the same seemed to go for the CPU voltage,5.25v worked but the next settings up or down wouldn't until I hit 5.50v for example.
I also discovered that the 1:1 setting in fact made the memory run twice as fast as the cpu ie. both run at 1445 instead of 1445:722. To get the latter, ie. both at 361mhz I selected Sync mode ,this seems to be the only way the board will run 1T timings. I am now running the memory at 3-3-3-8-17trc-1T @2.2v.
I am waiting for the 45nm cpu's to come out hoping for a better overclock so I can run my memory Synced at around 400mhz and hopefully stay at 1T timings, Interestingly I got the same results in super pi with both the settings I've talked about although my current settings give me lower bandwidth than running the memory at 480mhz.
I hope this information is helpful to you or anyone else I seem to be one of the more lucky ones from what I've read.
PS I haven't heard of many overclocks over 500mhz with this board, 480 - 500 seems to be the best we can hope for, presumably you 've tried more volts in the NB.

does the P5N E-SLI support the 45nm cpus when they come out?

 

[franjam]

Just to say last post was adressed to AMelbye, don't quite seem to quite have the hang of things, I thought clicking on' reply 'under the post would make it automatic please feel free to explain, thanks.

 

[franjam]

Originally posted by: elmonen

Originally posted by: franjam
Hi , I've been reading this thread for a while and and have had the P5NE-SLI for about 3 months ; it is without a doubt one of the more complicated boards I've had. That said I haven't had all the problems that I've been reading about although it took a while to optimise things.
I have my G-SKILL HZ in the yellow slots and have been able to run it at 480mhz 4-3-3-9-2T unlinked at 2.2v, I have the feeling I could have gone further but didn't try. Also there were definite holes where nothing would work; from memory the board seems to prefer rounded figures ie.to the nearest 5mhz, the same seemed to go for the CPU voltage,5.25v worked but the next settings up or down wouldn't until I hit 5.50v for example.
I also discovered that the 1:1 setting in fact made the memory run twice as fast as the cpu ie. both run at 1445 instead of 1445:722. To get the latter, ie. both at 361mhz I selected Sync mode ,this seems to be the only way the board will run 1T timings. I am now running the memory at 3-3-3-8-17trc-1T @2.2v.
I am waiting for the 45nm cpu's to come out hoping for a better overclock so I can run my memory Synced at around 400mhz and hopefully stay at 1T timings, Interestingly I got the same results in super pi with both the settings I've talked about although my current settings give me lower bandwidth than running the memory at 480mhz.
I hope this information is helpful to you or anyone else I seem to be one of the more lucky ones from what I've read.
PS I haven't heard of many overclocks over 500mhz with this board, 480 - 500 seems to be the best we can hope for, presumably you 've tried more volts in the NB.

does the P5N E-SLI support the 45nm cpus when they come out?

 

[franjam]

Originally posted by: elmonen

Originally posted by: franjam
Hi , I've been reading this thread for a while and and have had the P5NE-SLI for about 3 months ; it is without a doubt one of the more complicated boards I've had. That said I haven't had all the problems that I've been reading about although it took a while to optimise things.
I have my G-SKILL HZ in the yellow slots and have been able to run it at 480mhz 4-3-3-9-2T unlinked at 2.2v, I have the feeling I could have gone further but didn't try. Also there were definite holes where nothing would work; from memory the board seems to prefer rounded figures ie.to the nearest 5mhz, the same seemed to go for the CPU voltage,5.25v worked but the next settings up or down wouldn't until I hit 5.50v for example.
I also discovered that the 1:1 setting in fact made the memory run twice as fast as the cpu ie. both run at 1445 instead of 1445:722. To get the latter, ie. both at 361mhz I selected Sync mode ,this seems to be the only way the board will run 1T timings. I am now running the memory at 3-3-3-8-17trc-1T @2.2v.
I am waiting for the 45nm cpu's to come out hoping for a better overclock so I can run my memory Synced at around 400mhz and hopefully stay at 1T timings, Interestingly I got the same results in super pi with both the settings I've talked about although my current settings give me lower bandwidth than running the memory at 480mhz.
I hope this information is helpful to you or anyone else I seem to be one of the more lucky ones from what I've read.
PS I haven't heard of many overclocks over 500mhz with this board, 480 - 500 seems to be the best we can hope for, presumably you 've tried more volts in the NB.

does the P5N E-SLI support the 45nm cpus when they come out?

Actually I meant the 1333mhz chips on 22nd July however I don't see why this board wouldn't support the 45nm chips though I don't have any precise info at the present time.

 

[CikaNovo]

Originally posted by: AMelbye
elmonen: if a fsb of 330 is what you're aiming for, you shouldn't have a problem. The board is certified for 333, but that's as far as you can rely on it to go (read through some of the previous posts...)

With everything stock I reached a stable fsb of 375, giving me an overclock of 2.63GHz

After putting in weeks of research and testing, getting an aftermarket cpu cooler, a south bridge cooler and a high speed fan and funnel system on the north bridge, as well as opening the cabinet, lowering temps by about 10 degrees (motherboard currently at 30 degrees) and changing the PSU, my highest stable fsb is still 375

I'm contemplating wether to change the motherboard, or to get a different cpu that requires less fsb to achieve high speeds. Where are the 500+FSB speeds that the reviews are going on about?!

AMelbye,if it makes you feel better i'm stuck at 1500 FSB too, and that is totally stable for 24/7. I can boot up to 1550 FSB but it requires to much voltage and it's far from stable.To be honest,after months with this setup( see sig.),I think that is about the max OC most people are getting.

P.S. Keep up the work helping the newbies

 

[vicariousgeorge]

Ok peoples,

I'm thinking of making a few changes to my system. But before I get into that, here is a little history of my issues (or you could just go back and read a few of my posts):

I had one 120mm exhaust fan in the back of my TX640B case. At idle, my CPU temp was 38C, my motherboard was 50C, and my 8800GTS was 70C. I then installed two additional intake fans on the case (one in the front, and one on the side). My temps immediately dropped considerably - CPU 33C, mobo 33C, and VGA 49C.

I was thinking of taking this cooling situation one step further. I have noticed (as many others have as well) that the surface of the Freezer 7 Pro is very rough. I may try lapping the heatsink to see whether that improves performance. I also plan on switching the thermal compound to AS5 (on my Opteron, switching from MX-1 to AS% dropped the temps almost 10C).

I also ordered a heatsink for the southbridge.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835118214
(I hope the 8800GTS doesn't get in the way - it looks like it will be close)

I'm also toying with the idea of replacing the northbridge cooler to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835109128
(will this make a difference as is? I'm trying to avoid placing another fan in there)

What do you people think?

Should I make these changes, or is the cost/benefit not worth the effort?

 

[JustaGeek]

IMHO, it is better not to mess with the Northbridge, especially with the extra side panel cooling - Stock Heatsink actually does a good job, it measures about 45 deg C in my case.

Southbridge heatsink is, however, essential. Try this:

http://www.compusa.com/product...&Pn=Chipset_Cooler_Kit

It comes with a nice and small heatsink and 3M thermal tape - it seems to work fine for me, without obstructing the second PCIe slot for SLI.

 

[franjam]

Originally posted by: vicariousgeorge
Ok peoples,

I'm thinking of making a few changes to my system. But before I get into that, here is a little history of my issues (or you could just go back and read a few of my posts):

I had one 120mm exhaust fan in the back of my TX640B case. At idle, my CPU temp was 38C, my motherboard was 50C, and my 8800GTS was 70C. I then installed two additional intake fans on the case (one in the front, and one on the side). My temps immediately dropped considerably - CPU 33C, mobo 33C, and VGA 49C.

I was thinking of taking this cooling situation one step further. I have noticed (as many others have as well) that the surface of the Freezer 7 Pro is very rough. I may try lapping the heatsink to see whether that improves performance. I also plan on switching the thermal compound to AS5 (on my Opteron, switching from MX-1 to AS% dropped the temps almost 10C).

I also ordered a heatsink for the southbridge.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835118214
(I hope the 8800GTS doesn't get in the way - it looks like it will be close)

I'm also toying with the idea of replacing the northbridge cooler to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835109128
(will this make a difference as is? I'm trying to avoid placing another fan in there)

What do you people think?

Should I make these changes, or is the cost/benefit not worth the effort?


I have the same zalman cooling on my SB and it works fine my 8800GTS just squeezes past.
I also had the HR05-SLI on the NB whch worked well that is ,you couldn't keep your fingers on it ,it was so hot. It really needed active cooling but I didn't have the room and also I was afraid the weight of the fan would pull it off the chip, the spring loaded fixing mechanism isn't that strong.
I ended up putting the original heatsink back with an 80mm Papst fan taped on top blowing down .I have the Zalman temp sensor on the underside of the heatsink about 20mm from the center which reads around 40°c on idle and anywhere up to 50° on stress.
Unfortunatel I didn't have the sensor at the time to compare with the HR05-SLI on passive but I'm pretty certain it's better.
Hope this is helpful.

 

[ElAguila]

I have this one on my NB and it works great:
http://www.svc.com/rr-ncw-l4e1-gp.html

 

[franjam]

Originally posted by: ElAguila
I have this one on my NB and it works great:
http://www.svc.com/rr-ncw-l4e1-gp.html

looks nice but how audible is it?

 

[ElAguila]

Originally posted by: franjam

Originally posted by: ElAguila
I have this one on my NB and it works great:
http://www.svc.com/rr-ncw-l4e1-gp.html

looks nice but how audible is it?

According to coolermaster it is 22-26db. To be honest I can't tell you because I have one of the mountain mod ufo cases so All I can hear is the case fan noise.

 

[Tuvoc]

Also the problem I have is that the fan is rated for life expectancy 20,000 hrs, which is less than 2.5 yrs of 24/7 operation. OK I guess you can just replace it at that point... Most people here probably won't have their machines that long anyway - but mine go for years, passed down through the family, so this sort of thing is important. So passive cooling is good... I am just using stock at the moment, best for me would be to put a low rpm 80mm fan on top of it if I felt it necessary

 

[Ordski]

Hi. I installed an EVGA 800GTS 640 into my dual booted XP and Vista Enterprise system. Now when I push the power switch, the first try yield black screen and HDD light, nothing else. Reset doesn't function at this point. Turning off by holding power switch, waiting a moment and restarting yields boot to Vista boot manager. So second boot works (reliably if this pattern is followed.)

I also note now a POST screen I did not have before (which flied by so fast I can't really read it but I think its a video bios notice).

Any ideas? I found some posts on this elsewhere but no resolutions.

Two other questions re fans. I had to remove my tall Zalman passive cooler from my SB to install the 8800GTS, mainly due to the install cogs and pins - the zalman could fit but I could not get the pins aligned successfully. I then applied the passive cooler of a coolermaster 40mm kit - as these pages suggest. I had to use the adhesive tape rather than AS5 since I can't use the pin holes on the mobo - given no device. Anybody have better ideas - I understand the tape is no bonus. (i am willing to get some AS adhesive if this is much better. I am also fine with drilling, etc, but think I'd still have fit issues.)

Finally, I installed a 40mm fan on the NB. The issue is type of screws/fasteners to use. I am using 3/4" stainless screws which stick about 1/4 inch into the stock fan - but the flexibility of the heat sink makes it adequate - but not great. What did you all do?

Thanks

 

[garikfox]

I have gracefully moved on to the next best value mobo. Nice knowing this mobo though.

My new GA-P35C-DS3R Rock's !

 

[Jamin]

Hey guys,

First off, this thread is awesome! Here it is, 519am, and i have been reading this page from page 1 thru to page 180-something for the last 4 hours! And I have work soon

Now, as you can see in my sig I have found a stable overclock. However, im still unable to get the 1600/800 to run stable. Windows will run for about 2 mins, when i go to open CPU-Z the system will stall.

This is my first time overclocking, so i get easily confused, and dont have a printer to print any of this info out. I swear I must be doing something wrong with the memory.
While I had it clocked at 1600/800, I ran the memory timings same as spec 5-5-5-18-2T @ 400Mhz @ 1.92V just like everyone has said and recommends.

Im still VERY confused about the SYNC/LINKED/UNLINKED thing.
At the moment, I think im running in SYNC mode, where I just enter 1600FSB, and the memory changes to 800 2 lines down.
Is this right? Or should I try UNLINKED like stated on page 92.
I just dont understand what I am supposed to do then? Like it says in the tutorial on page 92, to keep increasing the FSB slowly untill I find a stable FSB. But I know I should be able to have a stable system at 1600FSB.

Bah, im even confusing myself while writing this!

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: garikfox
I have gracefully moved on to the next best value mobo. Nice knowing this mobo though.

My new GA-P35C-DS3R Rock's !

Traitor! LOL

ASUS owns Gigabyte anyway.

Good luck! :thumbsup:

 

[franjam]

Originally posted by: Jamin
Hey guys,

First off, this thread is awesome! Here it is, 519am, and i have been reading this page from page 1 thru to page 180-something for the last 4 hours! And I have work soon

Now, as you can see in my sig I have found a stable overclock. However, im still unable to get the 1600/800 to run stable. Windows will run for about 2 mins, when i go to open CPU-Z the system will stall.

This is my first time overclocking, so i get easily confused, and dont have a printer to print any of this info out. I swear I must be doing something wrong with the memory.
While I had it clocked at 1600/800, I ran the memory timings same as spec 5-5-5-18-2T @ 400Mhz @ 1.92V just like everyone has said and recommends.

Im still VERY confused about the SYNC/LINKED/UNLINKED thing.
At the moment, I think im running in SYNC mode, where I just enter 1600FSB, and the memory changes to 800 2 lines down.
Is this right? Or should I try UNLINKED like stated on page 92.
I just dont understand what I am supposed to do then? Like it says in the tutorial on page 92, to keep increasing the FSB slowly untill I find a stable FSB. But I know I should be able to have a stable system at 1600FSB.

Bah, im even confusing myself while writing this!

Any help would be much appreciated!

what 's your voltage on cpu and NorthBridge?

 

[Ordski]

Hey justaGeek why yellow slots? any specific reasoning? Thanks

 

[Scruff Dawg]

Guys,
I have had a stable overclocked system for months now, and I am trying to install Vista in a dual boot with XP on this motherboard. XP has been stable and a good performer so far. BUT when I try and install Vista I get a "this computer is not ACPI compliant" error msg.

Obviously, others have installed Vista on our ASUS mohterboard. Did any of you experience this problem? If so, HOW did you FIX it??

ANY help would be appreciated--the internet has some others who have had this also, but I have not found any solutions besides a new BIOS flash. This has NOT fixed their probs, I am using the 0401 BIOS currently.

Thanks in Advance!!

Scruff