Asus P5Q-E (P45) Motherboard Review

[maddness]

Thanks for the reply mate.
The stand offs were already screwed in, in the case and I didn't try un screwing them, can that be done (Antec P182 case) as I don't want to take everything out, to find they can't be unscrewed

I have got plenty of stand offs though around, it came with a few in the box of screws too.

ah good point, im not sure about that case, from pics it looks like its built in, i suppose someone who has it can tell you

but looking here, it seems it doesnt

 

[Steve09]

It is a bit of a bugger
But ah well
What do you think it is, a dodgy cut back plate, or the stand offs are a touch too big?

 

[maddness]

probably a combo of them both tbh lol

how was your previous motherboard?

 

[Tuvoc]

In my case, the previous motherboard was perfect

 

[Steve09]

probably a combo of them both tbh lol

how was your previous motherboard?

This is my first Motherboard in this case
Bought it all on Wednesday, see the Case section for more pictures if you want!

 

[TheMightyTen]

Just a heads up. The P5Q-E and Deluxe have an official 0803 bios up on the Asus download site, it says the major change is;

1. Update CPU temperature detection rule.

 

[maddness]

901 gives better memory performance (lower latency)

for the deluxe

edit: been using it for a few days with no problems

 

[Cob]

0901 for the Deluxe is meant to have some hard drive compatability issues.

 

[TheMightyTen]

The 0803 gives screwy temperature readings on the P5Q-E anyway. My cpu is reading 13 degrees I think they have over done the interpretation.

 

[redballoon]

The 0803 gives screwy temperature readings on the P5Q-E anyway. My cpu is reading 13 degrees I think they have over done the interpretation.

and the CPU case temp still randomly jumps up to 115 degrees sometimes (making the fans go crazy until a reboot) on both of the latest bios updates

Using a P5Q-Deluxe.

 

[TheMightyTen]

I've had a problem with my P5Q-E since I got ot last week anyway.

Here's what I put in the Technical enquiry I sent to Asus (as I can't be arsed to write it all out again). I've also posted it on the Asus forums.

[Problem Description]
The mobo shipped with 0506 on both chips, when I first built the rig it wouldn't boot with 4 Gig so I took a 2 Gig stick out and it booted fine. I then went into Bios and upped the DRAM voltage to 2.1v and tried again, but when I saved and exited the system powered down then rebooted to the EZ Flash corrupted bios reflash screen. So I downloaded the 0704 bios and flashed it through EZ Flash and all seemed to go well, board would now boot with 2x2GB sticks fine. The next stage I went into Bios and set the DRAM voltage to 2.1v again and also set the DRAM fequency to 1066MHz (as this is it's rated speed) saved and exited and the same thing happened as before (Rebooted to corrupted bios reflash screen).

Now with experimentation I found that this happens no matter what change I make in bios, no matter how minor (i.e. turning off the full screen logo etc.) on 'Save & Exit' the computer powers down then reboots to reflash corrupted bios. I have found that when the computer powers down following 'Save & Exit' if I intercept for those couple of seconds when it is in a powered down state and turn off the mains electricity supply to the PSU wait a couple of seconds turn it back on then power on the computer it powers on for a second, powers off for a couple of seconds then powers on normally and all Bios changes have saved ok and I'm able to boot to the OS.

When I'm in the OS if I choose Restart the computer restarts normally but if I choose Shut down and don't then turn off the mains electricity before powering on again I go to the reflash corrupted bios screen.

I've also just tried the new 0803 Bios and still no joy.

My Rig
P5Q-E
Q6600 G0 at 3GHz (1.18v)
G.Skill 4GB PC2-8500 C5 F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK (2x2GB Dual channel kit)
BFG 8800GT OC2 (in blue PCI-E slot)
Thermaltake 700W modular PSU
2xSamsung SP2504C in Raid 0 on Intel mobo controller (channel 0 &1)
1xLG HL-DT-STDVD-RAM GSA-H30N (Sata optical drive) on Intel mobo controller (channel 4)
Compro T200 DVB TV card (in Top PCI slot)

Anybody got any ideas?. I've a feeling I'm going to have to RMA the board

 

[Cob]

I assume you've popped the battery for a good half hour?

 

[TheMightyTen]

Yeah, tried all the usual stuff , just about at my wits end. It's annoying because apart from the problem, with a bit of mains switch flicking I'm able to boot fine and this board runs so stable and cool it's ridiculous. On the 680i board I had before this the Q6600 couldn't even do 2.66 (8*333) at 1.35v and I'm getting 3 at 1.18v now. It would be sad to have to RMA it and go without a big rig for a couple of weeks.

 

[elpedro]

Just bought this board, running my old E6300 at 3.45Ghz - idling around 48C. Very impressed, stylish and a great overclocking board. Very happy

 

[Jakus]

Yeah, tried all the usual stuff , just about at my wits end. It's annoying because apart from the problem, with a bit of mains switch flicking I'm able to boot fine and this board runs so stable and cool it's ridiculous. On the 680i board I had before this the Q6600 couldn't even do 2.66 (8*333) at 1.35v and I'm getting 3 at 1.18v now. It would be sad to have to RMA it and go without a big rig for a couple of weeks.

The Bios and Auto recovery does seem very fragile on these Boards, I had a far worse problem than You but eventually beat it into submission , As nobody replied to My question I assume everybody else has no Issues ! which draws me closer to My original Conclusion, If the Bios does not Like anything hardware/settings It seems to come up with "corrupted bios" If Your lucky a Power cycle kicks it back to the backup bios
2 Ideas
Flash the Bios on the primary and secondary to the same latest bios (clear OC profiles first)
or
Pop out the 2 Bios chips and swap them over and repeat above

Personally I don't like smart type bios systems

 

[TheMightyTen]

How do you flash the secondary bios without popping the chips? (me and 8 leg IC's have a bad history , it goes all the way back to my uni final year project in 92 )

 

[TheMightyTen]

JAKUS you mate are an utter genious and I owe you a very very large drink. Cleared the primary bios chip then popped them both and swapped them over flashed the old secondary to the same bios version; and Roberts your fathers brother all now working properly. I can't imagine how much you've saved me in what would probably have been a failed RMA for a new board.

Thankyou very much

 

[Jakus]

JAKUS you mate are an utter genious and I owe you a very very large drink. Cleared the primary bios chip then popped them both and swapped them over flashed the old secondary to the same bios version; and Roberts your fathers brother all now working properly. I can't imagine how much you've saved me in what would probably have been a failed RMA for a new board.

Thankyou very much

Your Welcome , enjoy Your new motherboard

 

[ChrissyT88]

The nice fellows at city link (!) have just got delivered the deluxe version of this motherboard, and after having read this thread, this seems to be the place to post questions about the p5q series. I have had a flick through the manual, and have a few questions:

1. Using EZ flash (since board probably will not come with best bios) - i have a FAT32 flashdrive thats full of data, and as far as i know is not bootable. Can i just save the bios file onto this and find it in ez flash or will i have to get a new flash stick and make it bootable etc

2. Should i enable loadline calibration for 65nm quads? (i seem to recall there was mixed opinion on the 45 nm)

3. Anyone used to EPU engine? I have heard bad things about windows-based overclocking tools, and it seems to me this is essentially what this is...

4. This may be a more general question, but how many 12v fans can you plug in before overloading the board? I presume that since there are 4 slots, it is possible to plug in 4 normal fans, but would appreciate someone elses input on this.

Unfortunately, i cannot install today, but would be nice to clear a few things up before i begin!

 

[Cob]

1) Yip just copy the BIOS file over to the flash drive. No need to make it bootable. I've found that EZ Flash (and the BIOS in general) will only recognise the flash drive if it is connected at power on ie- shutdown Windows rather than just restarting the machine prior to entering EZ Flash.

2) Personally I would leave it disabled. Tho it's a matter of personal opinion.

3) Nope haven't used EPU. BIOS all the way.

4) Using all the fan headers won't be a problem. I use all of mine.