ASUS P5W DH Deluxe Questions ???

[andytg7]

Hey everyone!

I have an ASUS P5W DH Deluxe motherboard and basically I'm looking for some friendly advice and assistance in getting the most out of it.

First let me lay out my system's specs:

ASUS P5W DH Deluxe (BIOS version 1901)
Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.4GHz (Zalman 9500 CPU Cooler)
2GB (2 x 1024) Corsair DDR2-800 XMS2-6400 Pro Series Memory
ASUS Radeon X1900XTX
150GB WD Raptor 10,000RPM 16MB Cache Sata Hard Drive
400GB Seagate 7,200RPM 16MB Cahce Sata Hard drive
Pioneer DVD-RW
Sony DVD-RW
Thermaltake Toughpower 550W PSU

So basically, I'd like to understand what my board is capable of doing in terms of performance, cooling, noise control, and power management for my system. Then of course, I'll implement the best settings. Let me say right away, that I really appreciate all the help, explanations, and assistance you guys can offer. You guys have the experience and I'm definitely ready and willing to learn.

Ok, on to the questions:

1) I've looked through the BIOS quite a bit. I've seen a ton of settings that when enabled allow the motherboard to take control of certain things (Fan speeds, AI overclock, etc.). So basically my question is, which settings actually work/prove most useful in accomplishing performance, cooling, noise control, and power management for my system?

2) I've read about and understand what Intel's SpeedStep technology is. I know my CPU supports it, but where do I check in the BIOS to see if it's Enabled or not?

3) With my hardware and cooling, about how high could I overclock my CPU to? How do I go about doing this? (It doesn't necessarily need to be pushed to it's max, but a nice overclock that would give me a performance boost would be nice).

4) If I remember correctly, the last time I looked in my BIOS, my CPU temp was at about 30C - 34C and my motherboard temp was higher at about high 30s - low 40s. Are those temps normal?

5) Are there any other features that my motherboard has that you guys recommend using/taking advantage of? Or do you have any other advice/recommendations about anything in regards to my motherboard/system?

If there is any other information needed to give me proper advice/recommendations, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you, for any assistance you can offer, as well for the time needed/taken to answer my questions. It is very much appreciated.

 

[mobo57]

Hey andy, I had the same setup, mobo, cpu, cooler. Basically you have a lot of room to grow. One thing to remember, each piece of hardware has it's own abilities and may require different settings from what others can do. That said, my experiences. The AI overclocking can do a good job all it's own. I can get 30% just using it. Use the BIOS ai, I have had problems with stability with the Asus software oc app.
I actually have 3 P5W's. First two are rev 1's, third is next rev. Difference is the max MCH is upped. I bought the first P with a 6300. It overclocked by 50% with only a small boost in vcore and runs very cool, 35~ idle, 50~ load.
My 6600 is different. It requires 1.425 for a 350 fsb, 1.45 for 370 and 1.5 for 390. 400 and above require 1.5 to 1.6. My max is 417 with memory at 1:1, vcore at 1.625.
Other settings, my boards do not like to over clock and have the memory settings set on manual. Don't know why.
CPU settings, for serious oc you will need to turn off CPU Internal thermal control and Speedstep in Advanced>CPU Configuration. Set PCI Clock to 33.33 mhz, PCI Express Freq to ~100, Hyper Path 3 and DRAM Throttling set to disabled.
Now start raising the FSB. You should be able to get 350 with little or now effort.

This mobo does run hot, the mobo temp sensor is down by the south bridge to it tends to report a higher temp. If you want to keep temps down AND THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY, remove the integrated sinks and clean off the thermal gunk on there and apply Arctic Ceramic, you'll get up to ~7C reduction in temps depending. Also pull off those slick aluminum covers off the sinks, they impede air flow and do nothing but look good. I have 40mm fans blowing directly on both of the sinks. With your video card I'd make sure you have decent cross ventilation, preferably 2 120's in and at least 1 120 out. Have one of the 120's in the lower part of the case, that way it can cool both the sb and your video card, it's not surprising to see the XTX hit boiling literally and the vrmm temps to get even higher.

As to CPU temps, use TAT or Coretemp. Under load, below 70C is ok. Obviously the lower the better.

 

[andytg7]

Wow, that's a lot to take in. lol

Ok, so let me get this straight. You said the AI overclocking works good and you were able to get a 30% overclock using it. You recommend setting it within the BIOS and not using ASUS' windows application to set it. Correct?

Next question:
Do you recommend using the AI overclocking or do you recommend doing a manual overclock?

Next:
Do you use/have AI Quiet enabled or disabled?
Do you use Q-Fan Control?

I'm not sure what revision board I have. How do I check?

Thanks for the info concerning cooling my board down, I'm definitely considering doing that. Sucks about the warranty do...do you think the procedure is VERY risky? Or there is a chance...but not likely...that something can go wrong?

My case is a Thermaltake Tsunami, I think. It has a 120mm fan on the rear of the case blowing out, a 120mm fan on the lower portion of the front of the case blowing in, and a 80mm fan on the side panel blowing in (down onto the board). Is that good enough case cooling?

Oh my XTX has it's stock cooler on it. But I'm not looking to overclock it just yet. It actually is running underclocked at a core speed of 550mhz. I'm not sure why it does that, but in order for me to get it to run at it's stock core speed of 650mhz, I have to simply turn on the ATI overclocking feature with the catalyst control center. Did you experience that with your XTX?

 

[billdcat4]

I believe that FishBoi has a P5W DH deluxe.

btw, thats my dream mobo

 

[mobo57]

Yea, and that's just for starters!!!!
Your questions:
1. Correct
2. Use AI until you get the feel for what you are doing
3. AI quiet disabled, Q control enabled.
4. In BIOS if mch can be set above 1.65, you have the latest rev.
5. Very little chance that the procedure it self can cause problems. Just make sure you use Ceramic, it is non electrical conductive.
6. That should give you decent case temps.
7. The 550 mhz you are seeing is the 2d speed. It will run at 650 in 3d.

Keep on eye on those temps when you oc. Fastest way to kill something important is the heat.
I would not go above 1.5 vcore, 1.65 mch with air cooling on that board. With what you have, you should be able to run at 3.2 24/7 with decent temps. I've seen people get 3.3+ with vcore at 1.375.

 

[andytg7]

Thanks for the info. I took some time to look around the BIOS some more and inspect everything you were telling me about. I actually got the Intel Speed Step technology to start working during that time. It was enabled within my BIOS but in windows it wasn't. In order to get it to work, you have to change your Power Scheme within windows from Home/Office Desk to Portable/Laptop. Now my chip doesn't run at a constant 2.4GHz. It lowers itself down to 1.6GHz and rises only when the extra power is needed. So that was nice to see it was working.

I decided that I'm going to try the Auto Overclocking feature with my Asus board first, like you said. My goal is to reach a 30% overclock and I'll try that out for a while. Is it wise to adjust the overclock by increments like 5%, then 10%, then 15%, etc. and then run Prime95 each time to test the stability???

Also, I checked how high my MCH Chipset Voltage could go and it goes as high as 1.85V, so according to you, I have the latest revision of my board correct?

I made a list while I was looking through the BIOS of all the settings I was curious about whether it was worth using/changing them or not. Can you advise me with them please? They are:

Advanced
- JumperFree Configuration
* Performance Mode = ?
* Digital Home Mode = ?

- LAN Cable Status
* Post Check LAN Cable = ?

- CPU Configuration
* Modify Ratio Support = ?
* Microcode Updation = ?
* Execute Disable Function = ?
* Enhanced C1 Control = ?
* CPU Internal Thermal Control = ?

Power
- Hardware Monitor
* CPU/Chasis/PWR Q-Fan Control = ?
* CPU/Chasis/PWR Fan Profile = ?

Also, let me know if I must adjust anything before I do the Auto Overclocking. Thank you.

 

[mobo57]

I’d do the following settings:
Performance mode= Auto, Standard, Turbo, choose auto
Digital Home is for using the EZ RAID backup feature. Unless you are doing this leave it disabled.

LAN Cable Status= checks your network cable during boot. If you are using wireless connection leave it disabled, otherwise it is your choice here.
Modify Ratio Support= Use to lower your CPU multiplier. Leave at default.
Microcode Updation= leave at default
Execute Disable Function = Disable
Enhanced C1 Control = disable for overclocking
CPU Internal Thermal Control = disable for overclocking
The rest is for your case fans. You can adjust the fan speeds through the various settings. You can set them to spin up when things get warm.

As to using AI, try overclocking with it before you change any settings. I got 30% using AI on my stock settings with the 6300.

And yes you do have the latest board.

Good Luck!!! And welcome to the Dark Side!!!

Don’t forget, If it ain’t smoking, you ain’t pushing it hard enough!!!
WATCH THOSE TEMPS!