Overclocking Asus P5Q Series

I searched the net and many people are asking about the Asus P5Q series in general, if it is a good board, overclocking aside. Also many people asking about overclocking this popular series of board. So I am going to start a general P5Q thread with an emphasis on overclocking. I'd like to see people reply with overclocking suggestions, also other peoples experiences with this board.

As for the motherboard I've been an Abit fan for years until they slipped and put themselves out of business. Not from poor quality, but poor marketing, etc... So this time around I got an Asus P5Q Pro for a wicked deal. Under $140 Canadian. The P45 chipsets are solid value packed boards and the Crossfire speed is still very good considering the performance drop which is practically negligible compared to X48 boards. The Asus P5Q series can't be beat value wise and is a gem at overclocking. Very stable and fast. Highly recommended if you don't want to pay for a premium X48 board.

As for my overclock I've been out of the scene for a while. I used to be a big player in the overclocking scene back in the day with my dual Celeron 400 running at 500MHz with a custom built chilled water cooler. Now I am going to give it a shot again. Here are my results and I'd like to see comments, suggestions, and other peoples P5Q rigs and overclocking results. This is my first time overclocking this rig and my first time overclocking in over 8 years. Hopefully I will get some comments and suggestions from more experienced user and at the same time help other noobs with their P5Q series boards.

Rig:
Motherboard - Asus P5Q Pro
CPU - Intel E8400 9.0x multiplier 333MHZFSB 3.0GHZ
Memory - OCZ Reaper Hpc Edition DDR2-1066MHZ 5-5-5-15
Videocard - Diamond Radeon 4870 Overclocked Black Edition
Powersupply - Antec Neopower 650W
CPU Cooler - Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer
OS - Vista 64bit

In windows all I have installed is Asus PC Probe II to monitor temperatures. I do not have AI suite or 6 engine installed which may interfere with BIOS overclocking.

Bios settings:

CPU Ratio is 9
FSB frequency is 444Mhz which gives me 3.99GHZ
DRAM frequency I set to 1067 which is the closest to 1066HZ I could get which is the approved limits of this memory.
FSB strap is auto.
DRAM timings are auto and remain at 5-5-5-15

Everything else is auto except the following:

Ai Clock twister is light.....I have no idea how this works but I read online to use lighter or light
Ai Transaction Booster is manual with Common PErformance level at 11.....again I read this online
CPU and PCIE spead spectrums disabled....again I read to do this online and the manual says disabled enhances overclocking ability

I kept all voltages at auto and had no need to increase them to improve stability. Everything runs fine at auto.

I ran Super PI and at stock 3GHZ and got approx. 15.7sec. At 3.6Ghz I got aprox. 13.7sec. Now at 444Mhz FSB 3.99Ghz CPU speed I get 11.934sec. This seems normal compared to other readings I saw on the net.

I then ran Orthos stress test on blend setting and have no errors or warnings after 2 hours.

CPU temp is 25'C idle and 42'c at full load during Orthos. This is using PC Probe II from Asus.

A note for possible worried first timers. When I first installed the Core Contact Freezer I was running at over 40'C but after several weeks the temps lowered to below 30'c idle. This is due to the compound heating up and settling in which is perfectly normal.

To the more experienced people out there. What exactly are AI Clock Twister and common performance level under Ai Transaction Booster? Also by leaving the voltages at auto what does the motherboard set the CPU, Memory, and Northbridge voltages too? Will the voltages remain the same at auto if the FSB speeds are altered? Am I better off entering exact voltages or should I leave it at auto if all is stable.

I upgraded my system last week with everything apart from the Asus P5W DH board but unfortunately the board just doesn't overclock like it used to and I had to run at stock. Having a completely watercooled m/b I was a bit reluctant to change because of all the work involved but I thought I'm just not seeing the improvement I want so let's upgrade to the Asus P5Q Pro. So I've had it a few days now and I'm not disappointed, it overclocks like a dream.

I've now got a Q9550@2.83 (C1 stepping) and I was aiming to run at at a nice 3.6. In my tests I went to around 4.05 with only changing the FSB, fixing RAM speed and voltage and left absolutely everything else on Auto ! I had to tweak like crazy on the P5W but this takes all the hassle out of overclocking. Of course that may take away some of the fun for some people who like to tweak away but personally I found this incredibly easy to use.

Over 4.05Ghz I was still stable with Prime95 and Crysis Warhead benchmarking but haven't done any heavy stress testing. However at this speed the CPU was around 1.37 which is pushing the upper limit and as I didn't see any FPS improvement in Crysis Warhead above 3.6GHz I've decided to stick with that. Don't know why the FPS wasn't increasing, I've also now got the 4870x2 which should be capable of more so maybe the 1066 ram was the limiting factor. Or maybe all those settings left on auto were effecting it as I did notice some strange results ... As the CPU went above 3.6 the highest FPS would increase but the lower FPS would decrease so the average stayed exactly the same !

My only niggle so far is that the m/b temp is very hot and Asus Probe gave me an alert as soon as I turned on the first time (on stock speed). I ended up watercooling the CPU, VRM and Northbridge which helped alot but m/b temp can still push into 50's ! I'm assuming the m/b sensor is nearer the gfx card and as you could fry an egg on the 4870x2 that would explain the high numbers. I also switched my watercooling temp sensor to the Nortbridge as that now runs hotter than the CPU and that helps the fans kick in earlier and keeps both in the high thirties (dipping into low forties) during load. (that's physical external waterblock temps, not digitally read m/b temps)

My new rig :
CPU Q9550@3.6 (425x8.5 FSB@1.34v)
RAM OCZ Reaper Hpc Edition DDR2-1066MHZ 5-5-5-15 (5:4 FSB = 1063@2.1v)
MB Asus P5Q Pro
GFX Sapphire 4870X2
PSU Tagan 1300W TG1300-BZ (for future expansions !)
CPU Cooler Koolance CPU-330 Water Block
VRM Cooler Koolance VR-AS40
P45 Cooler Koolance CHC-120
CASE Koolance PC3-724
KEYBOARD Logitech G15
MOUSE Logitext MX Revolution
MONITOR Samsung 22"2232BW

Overall, very happy with the P5Q Pro overclocking

Hi,

Sorry for the off-topic question but I'm thinking about getting the CCF for my Q6600 and Asus P5Q. I was wondering if you had any problem installing the CCF because I hear it's big. Also do you think it would fit most regular-sized Mid-tower case?

Thanks a bunch.

i can run my e8500 at around 465mhz fsb, higher than that BSOD. I have only DDR 800. Is that why i cant overclock higher?

Antiacid, thanks for the compliment. There are two radiators, 3x120 at the top and 1x120 at the bottom. The air is being pushed up...a 230mm fan in the front and side panel, three 120mm on the top radiator, one 120mm on the lower and a 140mm in the rear. The CPU has a pump/block combo attached and the reservior is a two bay acrylic container.

I've never really tested the path of the coolant, so I can't tell you how much of a difference it would make by changing the order of the parts. Mine goes from reservior>>CPU block/pump>>3x120 radiator>>graphics cards>>120 radiator>reservior.

The temps on the graphics card are about 36-37 idle and 43-45 load. This is all housed in a CoolerMaster HAF 932.

The unit is actually very quiet at the lowest fan speeds (where I normally keep it at). The larger fans spin very low, I think about 700 rpms. I have a fan control to adjust the radiator fans too, but it barely makes a difference, maybe a degree or two.

When I first set up my water cooling, it was for a Q6600 (B) and two Radeon 2900 Pro video cards. I had one 3x120 mm radiator in a Cosmos S case. It didn't have a problem cooling these parts, even with the overclocks. My video card temps drop from the 80c's to about 45c's while on load.

The 45nm Core 2s don't generate quite as much heat as the Q6600. They'll give up before the Q6600. Your two radiators would match my 3x120 so I don't see a problem, you can just add more (if you have room). Make sure you have a good pump and block too. I'm running mostly Swiftech parts.

The Asus P5Q is a pretty good motherboard, it allowed me to overclock a little more than my Gigabyte boards. It's made well and the layout is works well.

P5Q Pro lets you keep the stock speed at 1067MHz?
If you had DDR2-800 could you do that OC with P5Q Pro keeping RAM at 800MHz?
Thanks.

Hi i am running a Q6600 cpu stable at 3.6 GHz,on a asua p5q motherboard with 2GB of ram,

Case --- Thermaltake Armor LCS VE2000BWS
PSU------Jeantech Storm 700w sli/cross-fire
Nvidia Geforce 9400 GT
Corsair XMS2 Dominator PC2-8600

here is a list of the setting i am using


Ai Overclock Tuner [manuall]
CPU Ratio Setting [09.0]
FSB Frequency [400]
PCIE Frequency [101]
FSB strap to north bridge [333] this is easiest to maintain stabiliy but can be left auto (if left at auto the DRAM Frequency would be 1066)

DRAM Frequency [961]
DRAM Timing Control [AUTO]

DRAM Static Read Control [AUTO]
DRAM Read Training [AUTO]
Mem. OC Charger [AUTO]
Ai Clock Twister [LIGHT]
Ai Transaction Booster [MANUALL}
Common Performance Level [11]

ALL PULL-IN SET TO AUTO

CPU Voltage [AUTO]
CPU GLT Reference [AUTO]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.54] Do NOT leave auto as that massively overvolts
FSB Termination Voltage [1.24] Do NOT leave auto as that massively overvolts
NB Voltage [1.26]
SB Voltage [1.10]
PCIE SATA Voltage [1.50]

Load Line Calibration [Enabled]
CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
CPU Clock Skew [AUTO]
NB Clock Skew [AUTO]
CPU Margin Enhancement [Performance Mode]


tested with OCCT and stable

I have a question about a p5q oc, i've read that some mobo's allow you to choose whether or not to link the ram to the fsb speed of the processor, which seperates the fsb clocks from the ram clocks. does the p5q-e allow this?

kurt

Mark Yoe, same thing here; I've got a P5Q Pro Turbo board and an old-ish E4500.

On my old motherboard (Abit IP35 Pro) I had the E4500 overclocked to 3.3 GHz but I can't quite remember how I did it.

Every time I switch motherboards I feel like a noob again. This is my third swap in 6 years.