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Advice on Motherboard

Forum Motherboards & Memory : General Motherboard - Advice on Motherboard

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mikepp   05-16-2009 at 04:56:25 AM

Here are the computer parts I have:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.66GHZ x38 chipset
Q2X8G6400C4DHX DDR2-800 (DHX2-6400C4) 8GB Kit (4 x 2GB)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750GB SATA2 7200RPM 32MB Cache NCQ 3.5IN Hard Drive
OCZ Game Extreme Power Supply 850 watts
EVGA GeForce 8600 GTS Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card
Pioneer DVR 212D optical drive
Asus xonar audio device

I currently have a p5e Asus motherboard, but it has given me nothing but grief.
The RAM above I just purchased on the advice from ASUS but the board will only accept 4 gb, though its supposed to accept 8.

Any advice on a new motherboard that would handle the above would be appreciated.

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Bronze Motherboards badge GhislainG   05-16-2009 at 05:21:09 PM
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Did you increase the memory voltage to 2.1V?

Reply to GhislainG
mikepp   05-16-2009 at 05:54:55 PM
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yes I increased the voltage but it still didnt work. Also raised the NB voltage which was recommended and that didnt work.

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Bronze Motherboards badge GhislainG   05-16-2009 at 06:33:06 PM
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What other issues did you run into with that motherboard? I don't understand why Asus suggested those memory modules that seem to be designed for NVidia SLI and require so much voltage to run. You would probably have been more successful with G.Skill PI Black DDR2 800 that require less voltage and run at 4-4-4-12 timings. I have an Asus P5Q Deluxe and it's very stable with 4 x 2 GB G.Skill modules at 1.8V and 4-4-4-12 timings.

You could certainly consider the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P or the GA-EP45-UD3R, but getting 4 of those modules to run stable might be challenging. My GA-EP45-UD3P also is stable with 4 x 2 GB of G.Skill PI Black at 1.9V. Stable for me means no crash for several months.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to GhislainG
mikepp   05-16-2009 at 10:02:30 PM
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Thanks for your interest Ghislain. I have always had RAM issues with this motherboard. In fact I have bought about three lots so far. Now I have tried a lower voltage and that didnt work either. Only two sticks at a time.

I just did a memtest on this new ram and it came up with errors and said I might be overclocking to check the timings. This ram is 4-4-4-12 at 2.1 volts. How would I tell if the board is reading the timings properly?? And though I appreciate other RAM might be the answer at this point I have enough RAM laying around and instead I would opt for a motherboard that could handle the RAM I have. What do you think??

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Bronze Motherboards badge GhislainG   05-16-2009 at 11:08:11 PM
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Use CPU-Z. The memory tab will display the current timings and the SPD tab allows you to see the JEDEC table for each module.

If no modules work at 1.8V and 5-5-5-15 timings, then I would also consider getting a new motherboard or RMA that one if it still is under warranty.

Reply to GhislainG
mikepp   05-16-2009 at 11:40:11 PM
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What would you suggest in the way of a new motherboard based on my parts list above?

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Bronze Motherboards badge GhislainG   05-17-2009 at 12:08:32 AM
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As I said in my second reply, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (or GA-EP45-UD3R - I don't have this one) should meet your requirements. I also like the P5Q Deluxe, but I haven't tested them using DDR2 800 MHz memory that requires that much voltage.

GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128358

GA-EP45-UD3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128359

P5Q Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131297

You should read some of the reviews. Hundreds of people who like or dislike a motherboard can't all be wrong. Ignore reviews where the poster obviously isn't technical, e.g., complaining about a motherboard didn't automatically detect overclocked memory, etc.

Even though you have a EVGA GeForce 8600 GTS Video Card, I won't recommend a motherboard based on NVidia chipsets mainly because I'm not familiar with them.

Reply to GhislainG
mikepp   05-17-2009 at 12:17:23 AM
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Thanks again. Something interesting, I have been doing a memtest on the ram all day here and getting errors. I changed the dram freq from 800 mhz down to 667 and so far no errors on the memtest. I also manually entered the timing. Would this tell you anything??

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Bronze Motherboards badge GhislainG   05-17-2009 at 12:25:22 AM
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It tells me that your modules are not the most compatible with your motherboard or that you have a very picky motherboard. Did you flash the latest BIOS?

You probably won't notice the performance drop from 800 MHz to 667 MHz, unless you run benchmarks.

Reply to GhislainG
mikepp   05-17-2009 at 12:40:58 AM
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Yes I have the latest bios. The Price on the GA board looks good. Will give it some thought.

Reply to mikepp
sosofm   05-17-2009 at 06:27:10 AM
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Go with Gigabyte ,i have the EP45-UD3P it's a great board.

Reply to sosofm
mikepp   05-17-2009 at 02:38:39 PM
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Thanks sosofm. Yes that is the one.

Reply to mikepp
mikepp   05-23-2009 at 04:49:41 AM
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GhislainG wrote :

What other issues did you run into with that motherboard? I don't understand why Asus suggested those memory modules that seem to be designed for NVidia SLI and require so much voltage to run. You would probably have been more successful with G.Skill PI Black DDR2 800 that require less voltage and run at 4-4-4-12 timings. I have an Asus P5Q Deluxe and it's very stable with 4 x 2 GB G.Skill modules at 1.8V and 4-4-4-12 timings.

You could certainly consider the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P or the GA-EP45-UD3R, but getting 4 of those modules to run stable might be challenging. My GA-EP45-UD3P also is stable with 4 x 2 GB of G.Skill PI Black at 1.9V. Stable for me means no crash for several months.




I now have the gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P. I managed to get three sticks of RAM operating ok. I am trying to change the speed to 667 mhz instead of 800 but dont know how to do it on this motherboard. Can you help??

Reply to mikepp
Bronze Motherboards badge GhislainG   05-23-2009 at 04:55:19 AM
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Go to "MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.) and set (G)MCH Frequency Latch to 333 Mhz.

Reply to GhislainG
mikepp   05-23-2009 at 06:03:32 AM
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Thank you. I tried it but it didn't work. At least I have 6 gigs of memory now.

Reply to mikepp
Bronze Motherboards badge GhislainG   05-23-2009 at 06:46:15 AM
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Why not contact Corsair and ask them how to make them work on your motherboard? You could also visit http://forums.tweaktown.com/ and ask if someone knows the secret to make them work. I'm glad I bought modules that work at 1.9V and 4-4-4-12 timings at 800 MHz.

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