Thoughts on the new X38 chipset ( Asus P5E)?

[Don Burnette]

Hey all,

I have just spent a couple days downtime, problem with my EVGA 680i mb, got
hung up on C1 error code, would not post.

Apparently, those 680i's can have an issue with the memory controller. I had
pretty much given up on it, and ordered a new Asus P5E mb, along with couple
more gb of
pc8500 Corsair Dominator ddr2 ram ( currently have 2gb Corsair Extreme
pc8500).

Well, after much fuss and trying to get it to post, as I really needed
access to this system, I finally got it to post today. I did this, by
shutting power off, unplugging power cord, moving cmos jumper to reset
position, and removing cmos battery, and letting sit for couple of hours.
After I returned everything to normal, I powered it on, got stuck at C1
again, powered off and back on, and the damn thing posted. I have since gone
in and returned all my bios settings to where I had them, and upped the ram
voltage a little to it's rated 2.1v, and backed it down from 1066 mhz to
about 900 mhz. So far, so good.

Anyways, I am going to have a new P5E board on Monday. I will probably go
ahead and throw the extra 2gb of ram in this system, and run it for a while
longer. It would appear, the new P5E based on the X38 Intel chipset, would
be an upgrade anyways over what I have, so I may just put it in after first
of year, if this system still runs that long, and put a new processor in to
replace my current E6600 Core2 Duo.

Just curious, as to any feedback, on this new motherboard, the P5E, any
thoughts on it?


Thanks,

 

[sndive]

Hey all,

I have just spent a couple days downtime, problem with my EVGA 680i mb, got
hung up on C1 error code, would not post.

Apparently, those 680i's can have an issue with the memory controller. I had
pretty much given up on it, and ordered a new Asus P5E mb, along with couple
more gb of
pc8500 Corsair Dominator ddr2 ram ( currently have 2gb Corsair Extreme
pc8500).

Well, after much fuss and trying to get it to post, as I really needed
access to this system, I finally got it to post today. I did this, by
shutting power off, unplugging power cord, moving cmos jumper to reset
position, and removing cmos battery, and letting sit for couple of hours.
After I returned everything to normal, I powered it on, got stuck at C1
again, powered off and back on, and the damn thing posted. I have since gone
in and returned all my bios settings to where I had them, and upped the ram
voltage a little to it's rated 2.1v, and backed it down from 1066 mhz to
about 900 mhz. So far, so good.

Anyways, I am going to have a new P5E board on Monday. I will probably go
ahead and throw the extra 2gb of ram in this system, and run it for a while
longer. It would appear, the new P5E based on the X38 Intel chipset, would
be an upgrade anyways over what I have, so I may just put it in after first
of year, if this system still runs that long, and put a new processor in to
replace my current E6600 Core2 Duo.

Just curious, as to any feedback, on this new motherboard, the P5E, any
thoughts on it?

it worked right off the bat with kingston unbuffered ecc 677 sticks
though asus silentsquare had to be rotated 90% to clear the volatage
regulator heatsinks
that prevented a normal setup with the fan can facing towards an
exhaust fan on
the case.

the 4 pin contact from PSU seems a bit flaky though. not sure if it's
the board or
the psu. it seemed snug enough when i connected it and then at some
point i had
the system start and all fans shut down in a few seconds until i
tracked it down
to this issue.

not sure where i'd get 1x pcie cards for all the free slots and how
i'd fit my collection
of pci cards in just two slots.

 

[Paul]

it worked right off the bat with kingston unbuffered ecc 677 sticks
though asus silentsquare had to be rotated 90% to clear the volatage
regulator heatsinks
that prevented a normal setup with the fan can facing towards an
exhaust fan on
the case.

the 4 pin contact from PSU seems a bit flaky though. not sure if it's
the board or
the psu. it seemed snug enough when i connected it and then at some
point i had
the system start and all fans shut down in a few seconds until i
tracked it down
to this issue.

not sure where i'd get 1x pcie cards for all the free slots and how
i'd fit my collection
of pci cards in just two slots.

According to this...

http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1873&l1=3&l2=11&l3=572&l4=0

4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 1200 / 1066 / 800 / 667 MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered memory

The P5E doesn't support ECC. Does the actual product differ from its
specification ? You can plug ECC memory into a non-ECC board, but
it won't help you at all if ECC is not supported in the motherboard.

My observation so far, is that only one motherboard has the ECC wired
up. The implication is that, perhaps, it takes a six layer PCB to do
the wiring. In the past, that makes manufacturers think twice about
wiring the ECC up. I had hoped the introduction of X38, would mean
lots of ECC ready motherboards, and I was kinda shocked to find
that was not true.

The Asus Maximus Formula claims to have ECC.

Also, I believe the X38 only supports ECC on DDR2. If a motherboard
uses DDR3 memory, the chipset no longer supports ECC for that.

http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=29003,143&familyID=10&culture=en-US

Paul

 

[sndive]

http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1873&l1=3&l2=...

4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 1200 / 1066 / 800 / 667 MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered memory

The P5E doesn't support ECC. Does the actual product differ from its
specification ? You can plug ECC memory into a non-ECC board, but
it won't help you at all if ECC is not supported in the motherboard.

There is a switch in the bios (that was off by default)
and during bootup it reports that the ecc is turned on
after i flipped the switch and saved the settings.
Maybe the bios lies during the bootup, i dunno.

My observation so far, is that only one motherboard has the ECC wired
up. The implication is that, perhaps, it takes a six layer PCB to do
the wiring. In the past, that makes manufacturers think twice about
wiring the ECC up. I had hoped the introduction of X38, would mean
lots of ECC ready motherboards, and I was kinda shocked to find
that was not true.

The Asus Maximus Formula claims to have ECC.

Also, I believe the X38 only supports ECC on DDR2. If a motherboard
uses DDR3 memory, the chipset no longer supports ECC for that.

P5E does not support DDR3, just overclocked ddr2 in addition to
667/800 i think.

 

[stockDrover]

Just curious, as to any feedback, on this new motherboard, the P5E, any
thoughts on it?

I really like it. Maybe the coolest thing on it is the EPU and AI
Suite OC'g software.I have my CPU pumping 3.2g when I need, and idling
at around 2.4. It manages most of it by stuffing the multiplier. It
happens in a heartbeat. It idles at room temp with a stock cooler.

Looking at the Asus boards, I don't think too many people know about
this stuff. Old school hard core OC's with water cooled towers and
chips hot enough to fry eggs.

Its not cool to waste power. I don't sit at stop lights with my engine
gunned to redline; it seems pretty silly to do that in your computerr
if you don't have to.

regards

stockdrover

 

[Paul]

There is a switch in the bios (that was off by default)
and during bootup it reports that the ecc is turned on
after i flipped the switch and saved the settings.
Maybe the bios lies during the bootup, i dunno.


P5E does not support DDR3, just overclocked ddr2 in addition to
667/800 i think.

Hmm. So the question is, how can you test that it works ? I checked
the X38 datasheet, and I don't see mention of an error insertion
feature for testing. I'm really curious now, as to whether the feature
works or not. Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.

Paul