Does Sabertooth P67 motherboard support Ivy Bridge?

[Justsomename]

Hello everyone, long time reader, first time poster.

So I have a ASUS P67 Sabertooth Rev 3.0 motherboard and am contemplating on getting an Intel's Ivy Bridge i5-3570K processor. I was wondering whether or not the motherboard will be compatible with that processor? If so, will it work out of the box or would I need to do some configurations with it to get it to work properly? Different version of BIOS? Any compatibility issues/problems I should know about before buying the 3570k?

 

[nekulturny]

Supposedly, yes. With the 2001 BIOS version, its on their website here:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/SABERTOOTH_P67/#download

http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/PCIe3_Ready/

2302 is the most recent BIOS version, I would flash the BIOS with that one if your board doesn't have it already.

 

[amuffin]

If you already have a cpu, then there is no reason to upgrade. However, if you just have the board. Then there may be some problems with updating.

 

[nekulturny]

^ Thats where the 5 year warranty of the Sabertooth comes into play, but yes, theres always a risk when flashing the BIOS.

 

[Justsomename]

If you already have a cpu, then there is no reason to upgrade. However, if you just have the board. Then there may be some problems with updating.

The Sabertooth P67 and the 3570k combo will be my initial setup. What problems do you see me running into with updating?

 

[Justsomename]

bump! anyone have any advice for me regarding installing the 3570k on the sabertooth p67 mobo?

 

[nekulturny]

.. I answered your questions. What else are you interested in knowing?

 

[Justsomename]

.. I answered your questions. What else are you interested in knowing?

what do you mean when you say to "flash" the BIOS? And what risks are involved? Sorry, I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to all this stuff...

 

[nekulturny]

I can explain flashing to you. The BIOS on your motherboard is stored in a type of memory called "EEPROM", its a bunch of blah blah "what the hell did he just say?". So I'll simplify it as best I can.

Basically, you cannot edit the BIOS file in the way you would say a text file, where you can just go in and change a couple words and save the change to your harddrive. When you update your BIOS you are erasing the entire file at once and replacing it with the new version of BIOS, this process is called "flashing". This is where you hear the term "flash cards, flash memory, etc" comes from. Its how SSD drives, and USB flash drives work as well.

The risk of flashing BIOS is that, for example, if you had a power outage during the flashing process, then the board could possibly become inoperable requiring you to contact Asus for a replacement. Further there is a risk of the EEPROM chip becoming corrupted and unable to complete the flashing process, the chances of this occurring increases the older the board is and the number of times you've flashed the BIOS in the past. This is why it is recommended to flash the BIOS only when its necessary.

Now, these risks are considerably low, especially these days. And under the snowball's chance in Hell that it does happen to you, your board is under warranty, so it shouldn't be any cost to you to contact Asus for an RMA if it were to occur.

 

[Justsomename]

So how would you suggest i do this?

This page from ASUS states that BIOS version 2001 is how I could make the mobo compatible with Ivy Bridge:
http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/PCIe3_Ready/

But I'm going to assume that BIOS version 2001 doesn't come out of the box with the sabertooth p67. How would I get the BIOS version 2001 into the mobo after I open the box?

 

[nekulturny]

Well, in most cases, even though the CPU is "unrecognized" by the current BIOS version, its usually functional enough to allow you to update to the current BIOS you need.

Worst case scenario you would contact ASUS for a EEPROM chip replacement, (I believe the BIOS chips on Sabertooths are removable)- I forgot about that in my above post, so to add to that, in this case if I'm right that they're removable, you'd be contacting Asus for a replacement chip if the board was "bricked" (meaning it didnt take the BIOS flashing)

Although, it is possible that your board may ship with the necessary BIOS version. I bought my Asus Sabertooth board a couple months ago, and it wasn't long after the most recent BIOS version release and it already had it on board. Depends on where you order from, if its a mom and pop shop that doesnt sell a lot, the chances increase of getting one with an older version vs a big dealer like Newegg or TigerDirect who is constantly selling and replenishing their inventory.

 

[Justsomename]

Best answer selected by justsomename.

 

[Justsomename]

Thanks for all the info! You've been very helpful.