**- Official Asus P5K Thread -**

Decided to try a P5K Delux. Did a couple of benchmarks against my previous boars which was a P5N32 E-SLI

Running a 6600 at 3375 @ 1.40 volts 1:1 with 1T timing.

2GB Ballistix 6400
EVGA 8800 320 GTS

Sandra

P5N32 - 7427/7408
P5K - 6934/6947

3D Mark 06

P5N32 - 10,154
P5K - 10,166

So far I like the board. Very good Vdroop underload although the actual setting is -.2 volt out. Board laylout is a bit hit and miss. Completely stupid place to put the IDE connector. Chipset runs very cool compared to the 680i. Going to have a play with the Max FSB. Previously around 475.
 
Thank you for your help, guys. I've tried the drive in a couple of different slots, with the same result. Should it be connected to a black or red socket?

RWise, i'd put that memory in the 2 yellow slots.

turbotoes, how exactly do you update the BIOS through EZ flash; is the new BIOS file the only thing i need to put on the USB flash drive?
 
lay-z-boy said:
Yup, just dump the file on the flash drive/cd/hdd, plug it in and boot up, it detects it and asks if you are 100% sure you want to flash, then flash away. :)
Click to expand...

I must be doing something wrong, then. I put 0311.ROM onto my PNY flash drive, but EZ Flash doesn't detect the drive at all. I do have another USB flash drive somewhere, i suppose i could try that.

An update on my SATA issues: Well, i borrowed an IDE DVD-ROM drive from my parents' computer which i'm using now. I'm going to have to ring OcUK tomorrow and send this Samsung drive back. Would this be OK, do you think?

Heh, my parents computer looks like a life support machine, since it's sitting right a couple of inches away from mine with a few cables connecting them, and it's keeping mine alive. :rolleyes:
 
According to this link http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

"Download latest ASUS BIOS from ASUS WWW and rename the BIOS filename to "xxxxx.ROM" (xxxxx represents the motherboard model you used, eg. P4C800 BIOS is named p4c800.ROM), and save the file in a floppy disk"

So I guess you have to rename it to P5K.rom ???
It also says you have to hit ALT-F2 I think on post.

Can someone tell me if you are not using raid and setting up XP MCE for first time do you still need to make up an ICH9 floppy and do the F8 trick when XP boots. I am guessing you might still have to over this controller being so new.

Also - what is the JMicron JMB363 RAID Driver for ? Are they the external sata ports ? And are all 6 internal sata ports native ICH9 and what's the difference between the black ones and red ones.
<edit>Just read manual...jmicron is for the 2 esata ports and the pata. The red sata ports are sata1, sata2 native ich9, the black ones are sata3..sata6 also native ich9</edit>

Do you also need to install the ACPI driver to prevent bangs in device manager ?
 
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Red ones are master, black ones are slave, if you plug 2 drives in, one on red the other on black it will prioritise the one on the red connector.

The jmicron controls the IDE and the 2 esata connectors on the I/O panel, its for people who want to boot off raid or use raid on the external esata ports.

That was the old way of flashing it, when i flashed mine i just had the version number as my filename '0311.rom' in the root of the drive.

If you use raid you need to make a disk if you are using separate disks install or using 1 drive you don't need any drivers as the ports are emulated by the controller as standard ports.
 
Thanks for that info about raid.
However is there a way to enable achi on these ports which gives a slight performance increase. If so, then I am guessing I will need the ICHR driver.

Are you sure about master / slave...I don't this applies to sata. You mentioned prioritise so I assume you are you talking about boot order which you can change in the bios anyway, so the red ones according to the manual are sata1 and sata2 so would boot first.

<edit>Righto..just raid Chapter 2 Page 28...you were right..thanks.
It recommends ports 1/2/5/6 for boot disks (red ports), and ports 3/4 for data disk (black ones). So does this mean I would run my 2 raptors and sata dvdrw (which I will be booting off) from 1/2/5, and my data drive of port 3 say</edit>
 
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Open your manual to page 2-28 if you don't think im right about slave/master :)

You can enable ahci in the bios, its in one of the sub menu's on the first tab.

*edit you have, good*
 
:)

So would a sata dvdrw be best running off one of the master ports then, seeing as I will need to boot off it to install XP MCE.

And for NCQ I need to enable achi then.
 
Fair enough...I did read allright that NCQ does squat in a lot of situations.
Might be better off leaving it as IDE then.

I see the board has support for 1066mhz memory....So say I had some 8500 stuff and set the speed to 1066mhz in the bios, does it use a divider to keep it at 1066mhz while keeping the cpu fsb at 266mhz. My Intel Bad Axe2 used do that. You could set the memory to 800mhz but the cpu would still stay at stock until you overclocked the fsb.

Any recommended settings for nb, sb, cpu voltage etc..
 
The Asgard said:
So far I like the board. Very good Vdroop underload although the actual setting is -.2 volt out. Board laylout is a bit hit and miss. Completely stupid place to put the IDE connector. Chipset runs very cool compared to the 680i. Going to have a play with the Max FSB. Previously around 475.
Click to expand...

i think ya mean .02 vdroop ;) 0.2 is an asus board with their normaal droop :D

i've found it droops .01 under idle versus bios and then just another .01 under load ...very good really.

glad someone else finds the chipset cool running like i do, but you're no mug so i'd expect you to be spot on. :)
 
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marscay said:
i think ya mean .02 vdroop ;) 0.2 is an asus board with their normaal droop :D

i've found it droops .01 under idle versus bios and then just another .01 under load ...very good really.

glad someone else finds the chipset cool running like i do, but you're no mug so i'd expect you to be spot on. :)
Click to expand...


Haha must be the beer. Factor of 10 out. Actual voltage under reads by -0.02. eg. If I request 1.40 I actually get 1.38 but a solid 1.38 that doesnt vary under load. Nil vdroop for me so far with asus probe.

I did the pencil mod of my P5N32 which gave me about 0.01-0.02 vdroop under load but the reqested voltage was spot on.

Very pleased so far seems rock solid.

Not sure I would swap any of the top end boards for one but anyone looking for a new board wouldn't go far wrong.

One thing I dont like is the sata layout. Its OK with my GTS 320 but anything bigger if your running 4 disks will be an issue. Pretty much blocks the first 2 connectors, not good. Not sure if the cables will fit with a GTX?
 
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Flanno said:
Fair enough...I did read allright that NCQ does squat in a lot of situations.
Might be better off leaving it as IDE then.

I see the board has support for 1066mhz memory....So say I had some 8500 stuff and set the speed to 1066mhz in the bios, does it use a divider to keep it at 1066mhz while keeping the cpu fsb at 266mhz. My Intel Bad Axe2 used do that. You could set the memory to 800mhz but the cpu would still stay at stock until you overclocked the fsb.

Any recommended settings for nb, sb, cpu voltage etc..
Click to expand...

keep everything at auto apart from cpu voltage, memory settings & voltage

enable voltage damper

disable clock spectrum


Yes you can use various dividers to get above or below the fsb speed, what you state is what intel boards do.

Haha must be the beer. Factor of 10 out. Actual voltage under reads by -0.02. eg. If I request 1.40 I actually get 1.38 but a solid 1.38 that doesnt vary under load. Nil vdroop for me so far with asus probe.

I did the pencil mod of my P5N32 which gave me about 0.01-0.02 vdroop under load but the reqested voltage was spot on.

Very pleased so far seems rock solid.

Not sure I would swap any of the top end boards for one but anyone looking for a new board wouldn't go far wrong.

One thing I dont like is the sata layout. Its OK with my GTS 320 but anything bigger if your running 4 disks will be an issue. Pretty much blocks the first 2 connectors, not good. Not sure if the cables will fit with a GTX?
Click to expand...

I use all 6 ports with my quadro 4600 (same size as a gtx) and i have no problem with them. Make sure you use angled sata for the ones nearer the edge of the board as it makes it soooo much easier.
 
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Mansize_tissue said:
lay-z-boy, does anything under the "Configure advanced CPU settings" sub-menu need to be disabled? Like C1E, Vanderpool CPU TM Function and Execute Disable Bit.
Click to expand...

Hi i got mine working last night and got straight off to 400 x 8 on my quad which i was quite pleased with , i updated the bios to 0311 aswell using easy flash in bios and it wouldnt see my stick untill i left it plugged in and did a restart then all was ok. Got some settings off xtreme if they are any use

edit: just noticed the bottom setting !!!!!

JumperFree Configuration Settings
AI Overclocking: Manual
CPU Ratio Control: Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting: 7
FSB Frequency: 490
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-980
DRAM Command Rate: 2T
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency: 4
RAS# to CAS# Delay: 4
RAS# Precharge: 4
RAS# Activate to Precharge: 9
TWR: 2
TRFC: 25
TWTR: 2
TRRD: 2
TRTP: 2
DRAM Static Read Control: AUTO

Transaction Booster: AUTO
Boost Level: N/A
Clock Over-Charging Mode: AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled

CPU Voltage: 1.45v
CPU Voltage Reference: x0.63
CPU Voltage Damper: Enabled
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.50
DRAM Voltage: 2.25
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.40
North Bridge Voltage: 1.55
North Bridge Voltage Reference: AUTO
South Bridge Voltage: 1.20

Advance CPU Settings
CPU Ratio Control: Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting: 7
C1E Suppport: Disabled
Max CPUID Value Limit: Disabled
Vanderpool Technology: Disabled
CPU TM Function: Disabled
Execute Disable Bit: Disabled
PECI: Disabled

USB Configuration
USB Functions: Enabled
Legacy USB Support: Disabled (need to enable it to detect USB flash drives)
 
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The Asgard said:
Haha must be the beer. Factor of 10 out. Actual voltage under reads by -0.02. eg. If I request 1.40 I actually get 1.38 but a solid 1.38 that doesnt vary under load. Nil vdroop for me so far with asus probe.

I did the pencil mod of my P5N32 which gave me about 0.01-0.02 vdroop under load but the reqested voltage was spot on.

Very pleased so far seems rock solid.

Not sure I would swap any of the top end boards for one but anyone looking for a new board wouldn't go far wrong.

One thing I dont like is the sata layout. Its OK with my GTS 320 but anything bigger if your running 4 disks will be an issue. Pretty much blocks the first 2 connectors, not good. Not sure if the cables will fit with a GTX?
Click to expand...

i only really got the p5kdlx because i needed a new board for my htpc upgrade, but i'm sure the board comes into it's own with a quad, which i won't bother getting until the price cuts however.

but even still it pushes 4x1gb much better than my 680i board, clocks my 6600 further and runs cooler and with less noise as it doesn't have an annoying leaf blower on the NB :p and the nice ICH9R SB doesn't hurt either.
 
On nearly all other Asus mothrboards, if you enable "USB Legacy Support", you will get errors in memtest (mainly errors in Test 6). However, with it disbaled, you dont get any errors.

People have constantly emailed Asus about it and then they usually fix it in their next bios update. However, when they then release a new motherboard, they have the bug again and the cycle repeats every time :rolleyes:

Just wondering if this error is present on the P5K aswell?

There is a teachnical explanation of this error, but I dont really understand it :)
This is not a bug in memtest86+, but a bug in the BIOS. The BIOS does not mark the memory used by the USB Legacy Support as reserved in the e820 memory map. Memtest uses this memory map to determine what memory can be tested and what memory not. Of course this causes a clash between metest testing some part of the memory while it is used by the BIOS, resulting in memory errors, crashes or even reboots
Click to expand...
 
Thank you, andyr. What settings do you use, in particular?

How hot it too hot for this motherboard? At stock clocks, with my E6600, the motherboard is hitting 47 degrees Celsius under Orthos Blend. Does this seem OK? It doesn't look like i'll have an awful lot of headroom if i want to push this thing up to 3.6Ghz, or so.
 
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Hi , i am going to try some of these , not so high on the frequency but the other bits i will give a go , early days for me i will have to get to grips with it
 
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