Asus P5W DH Deluxe bios issues

tipsy · 20 Oct 2006 at 01:22

well what can I say this is such a good board but I sometimes get these odd lock ups in the bios for no reason... although if I reboot & load *** default settings it works fine & I can adjust all my settings again.

the machine continues to work excellently within windows & games & I've ran various tests on the cpu & memory & never had an issue. This problem was there from flashing from 1405 bios to current 1407 so its not that, dont think the board is broken just wondering if heat can cause this as I've read it can be a toastie machine.

sys spec

cooler master wavemaster case
antec 550w psu
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
2gig geil ddr2 6400
intel e6400 on stock cooler (temps on cpu 42 idle 55 load)
evga 7950gt
wd 250 gig hd
sony dvd writer
sony dvd rom

just wondering if anyone else has has these isues & if that nice little fan U get free with ya kit should go on the chipset. Also replacing the case fans with better ones than the standard coolermaster ones would this better better & quieter.

Thanx

Kmodo · 20 Oct 2006 at 02:28

yeah it normally freezes for a lil while when entering hardware monitor. I came from a dfi lanparty expert so of course this is nowhere near that standard and so just find this mobo a bit annoying to many stupid little querks. :rolleyes:

Like with the latest bios 1407 when overclocking it disables fan control and so fan on full blast untill you get to boot in windows and do it there everytime. Or the picky combinations when overclocking and the cold restarts ect. :mad:

I kinda wish I stayed with my old rig till some truly decent boards come out for core2duo. I would say its your average board only overpriced IMO.

tipsy · 20 Oct 2006 at 02:47

ah well its just typical, going on recomedations

shouldve went for the cheaper badaxe or even the nasty 965 or 570 chipset & got a better cpu

Thanx for the help & its eased my worry now, mind still want to know if adding a fan to north bridge & southbridge will make it run better.

kitten · 20 Oct 2006 at 10:17

Better? Northbridge will be cooler, PC will be noisier, PC will not clock further due to a fan on NB though. iirc Intel specs state the safe operating temps of the 775 chipset are well in excess of the temps reached by the NB on the P5WDH. Asus also state that the high temp of the NB is normal.

Choice is yours. I removed gold foil an added fans to the chipset. I am considering removing the fans now, or buying quiter ones. Adding the fans has cooled NB by 10 Deg, but it has made absolutely no difference to the running or performance of the PC the only noticable change is it's a little noisier, and one core of the CPU runs 1 - 2 deg cooler than the other. Prior to the fan install both cores were the same temps.

I must admit the NB running 10 deg cooler does feel more comfortable, so I will probably replace the fans with more quiet ones.

Kmodo · 21 Oct 2006 at 14:26

I added a antec spot cool so it cools the mobo more cos the x2 cooler on my x1900xtx blows a large amount of hot air onto it. My mobo temps drops 15 degrees.

but yeah its noisier now, doh. :mad:

reddeathdrinker · 21 Oct 2006 at 21:10

The mobo temp is measured on the Southbridge (as you probably know), but I'll bet you haven't taken the SB heatsink off

. At a rough guesstimate, mine only had 15-20% of the SB heatsink actually in contact - the actual heatsink base is concave!....needless to say, both the NB and SB heatsinks have been lapped, and AS5 used to replace them. I also junked the shiny "Digital Home" airflow-reducing covers on the heatsinks.

Kmodo · 21 Oct 2006 at 23:43

yeah lol I should have maybe explained a lil more, I the have antec spot cool on full blast at an angle at near the back (drawing air from outside (the mesh window on thermaltake shark)) so it also cools the little heatsink on the voltage regulators on my x1900xtx, my southbridge, my north bridge and pushes air out the back. I understand my air temp is prolly cooler than most as my pc is situated in the freezing cold dining room. LOL my pc's help warm it up a bit though just bout making it okay

Kmodo · 21 Oct 2006 at 23:48

reddeathdrinker said:
The mobo temp is measured on the Southbridge (as you probably know), but I'll bet you haven't taken the SB heatsink off . At a rough guesstimate, mine only had 15-20% of the SB heatsink actually in contact - the actual heatsink base is concave!....needless to say, both the NB and SB heatsinks have been lapped, and AS5 used to replace them. I also junked the shiny "Digital Home" airflow-reducing covers on the heatsinks.

why would it have such a rubbishy design? lol asus, make me a dfi lanparty expert equilivent for core 2 duo and ill be a happy man. Hmmmmm i reckon my SB temps are good now but do you think removing the shiny covers will actually reduce temps and does it look even crappier now???? Seeing as mine are in full view 24/7?

kitten · 22 Oct 2006 at 11:02

deadkomodo said:
why would it have such a rubbishy design? lol asus, make me a dfi lanparty expert equilivent for core 2 duo and ill be a happy man. Hmmmmm i reckon my SB temps are good now but do you think removing the shiny covers will actually reduce temps and does it look even crappier now???? Seeing as mine are in full view 24/7?

It is a case of form over function. This is endemic to G8 countries where the asthetic beauty of something is embellished at the detrement of functionality. Why do women cake thier face's in make up. Why do men wear designer clothes? Humanity in developed countries is generally fey and shallow. It is far more important to look good than to be good!

So Asus make a pretty mobo to catch the eye and not the common sense of the purchaser. And it does look good, all nice and shiny like it is something special. It is no different a method than that used by vacuous night clubbers trying to snare a mate.

The board will run fine with the gold foil left on the sinks and no further cooling applied to the bridges, and it will still look good the morning after!