The Conroe865PE thread... for AGP users... stock and mod

[TRWOV]

I don't know how much current can the Conroe865PE deliver to the socket but I don't think it's enough for 3.4Ghz. Most I've managed is 3.25Ghz (271x12) on my QX6800 but it isn't 100% stable, Crysis 2 manages to crash it from time to time and IBT crashes it almost instantly. I prefer to run it at 3.16Ghz (287x11) for the increased memory bandwidth.

The chipset in my board can run up to 290Mhz before the board refuses to boot up so either the CPU won't clock higher or the board can't deliver enough watts to cover the increased current load. Still a QX6700 running at >3GHz is no slouch. Maybe a G0 QX6800 could run a little bit faster as it has a 10w lower TDP but they are going for about $150 right now so I don't think is worth the expense. Maybe in a couple of years when they get to $50 or so I might snatch up one.

 

[bigbigbuddy]

Well I had the computer running on 3.2GHz flawlessly before, but lowered the FSB so that I wouldn't kill the RAM. If I can get the FSB to 266, I can get the multiplier to x13 and I could probably get it to run pretty good. Temps are never ever going to be a problem, I should post a picture of the cooling some time =P

Also, does the 865PE support G0 stepping? I didn't think it did =o

 

[TRWOV]

Not officially but before my QX6800 I had a Q6700 (G0 only). Ran fine at 2.88Ghz (288x10).

Temps aren't an issue here either. I used a water cooling kit once, dropped about 10C but still couldn't get past 3.25. Could be my CPU of course but don't forget that these are extremely old boards with outdated VRM designs.




More W8 testing:

Apparently my Readyboost cache glitched and that was what caused the long startup time. Reformatted the USB stick and setup the cache again, still although the startup time decreased I "feel" it's a little bit longer than with W7. Memory usage is lower though, and I love that.

 

[bigbigbuddy]

I didn't even go through the trouble of getting liquid cooling

Also, I still want your opinion on if my CL2.5 DDR400 RAM will be alright to run at 266 (533) with the timings changed. I'm a little iffy on it, and if it seems so, I'll keep the RAM and just purchase some CL2 RAM once I can find 4 that will fit my budget.

I could revive myAthlon XP and Socket 478 builds, since I'm sure they could use 2 GBs each

 

[TRWOV]

You won't find CL2 1GB modules. All 1GB are CL2.5 at least. Loose the timmings and test. Worst thing that could happen is that you'll have to clear the CMOS if the board refuses to boot. If you feel weary, try with 3-4-4-8 first and then lower them one by one.

 

[bigbigbuddy]

Well there are the OCZ Platinum 1GB CL2 sticks. Though if you end up finding them, they're jacked up in price.

I'll test it out and post back with results.

 

[bigbigbuddy]

Still nothing =/ I clear the CMOS and I get nothing. Have to place in the spare P4 to change the settings again

I'm gonna see if I can try out that 1.50 BIOS with the 5:4 ratio. In order to update to that BIOS, do I use the same utility that ASRock provides and just update the .rom from there?

 

[TRWOV]

I've always used the DOS utility. Not too trusty of Windows based bios updates.

In the event of a catastrophic failure I have a spare chip with 1.70 on it.

Well there are the OCZ Platinum 1GB CL2 sticks. Though if you end up finding them, they're jacked up in price.

I'll test it out and post back with results.

I have four of those sticks and can confirm that they are CL2.5. Why does OCZ put 2-3-2 on the label is beyond me.

 

[bigbigbuddy]

So OCZ displays them as 2 but when you use them, they display 2.5 in the settings?

I've heard these things can overclock really well when you loosen the timings though =o

 

[lemonadesoda]

In french, but discussion of various BIOS

http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/Hardware/carte-mere/asrock-conroe-865pe-sujet_746596_44.htm
http://www.asrock.com/MB/overview.asp?cat=Download&os=BIOS&Model=ConRoe865PE

I'll update the first post.

BIOS modding tools here: http://lmdjimmy.myweb.hinet.net/BiosMod/index.html

 

[bigbigbuddy]

In french, but discussion of various BIOS

http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/Hardware/carte-mere/asrock-conroe-865pe-sujet_746596_44.htm
http://www.asrock.com/MB/overview.asp?cat=Download&os=BIOS&Model=ConRoe865PE

I'll update the first post.

BIOS modding tools here: http://lmdjimmy.myweb.hinet.net/BiosMod/index.html

Had to read this in French, not one of my greatest subjects in school because Google translate wasn't very helpful -.-

Sort of noticed that they were having troubles with ratios (read below what I'm going through). I think one of them stated that they were running on a 1:1 ratio and could only overclock to about 210 because their RAM could only take so much?

Also, I read the they used ClockGen to increase the FSB a bit more than what they set in their BIOS, sine the Motherboard wouldn't even POST if they increased the FSB farther (assuming they are running on a 3:2 Ratio). Can anyone confirm this? I would try but I have a ratio problem that is preventing me from increasing the FSB past 215.

==================================================================

Still having troubles with the RAM:CPU FSB Ratio

I'm stuck on 1:1, if I increase the FSB past 215, it causes many BSODs related to RAM. I also did the math and would prefer to stick to the 3:2 ratio rather than 5:4 since I can only increase the FSB so much with a ratio of 5:2.

For instance,

If I can only reach a frequency of 215 with RAM that leaves my barely any headroom to overclock on 1:1 or 5:4, here's the results:

-5:4-
RAM: 215
CPU: 268

-3:2-
RAM: 215
CPU: 322

As you can tell, I have more than enough room to overclock the RAM with a ratio of 5:4. Obviously if I leave the CPU FSB alone at 3:2 I'm only going to be left with 177MHz on RAM, but I plan to overclock my CPU no doubt and do it without killing my RAM x-x

I'm currently running on 1:1 - 214MHz - x14 (Technically 2,996MHz but I notice that this motherboard likes to increase it by about +5 leaving me with 3,001MHz)

P.S I'm currently at work on break, later tonight I'll try loosening the timings on my RAM again and see how far I can overclock it to.

P.P.S This Motherboard is quite fun to play around with. Only been using it for about a week and I've learned so much about it. Though aggravating to solve the minor problems, it's quite fun to actually go about and run through the many quirks that come from this board.

 

[TRWOV]

My board stable limit sits around 295, anything above that gives me a glitchy boot-up although it still posts. OS fails to load at 290.

I would suggest to go for 5:4. The increased memory bandwidth will serve the CPU better than the increased frequency. On Cinebench I get better results with my CPU at 11x288 than 12x270.


And you're right. This board is so fun to thinker with. Still working around W8.

 

[bigbigbuddy]

My board stable limit sits around 295, anything above that gives me a glitchy boot-up although it still posts. OS fails to load at 290.

I would suggest to go for 5:4. The increased memory bandwidth will serve the CPU better than the increased frequency. On Cinebench I get better results with my CPU at 11x288 than 12x270.


And you're right. This board is so fun to thinker with. Still working around W8.

Are you running on 5:4?

If so I really need to check out that RAM you have x_x

 

[TRWOV]

5:4, they can still hit CL2.5 @ 230Mhz (FSB288) although I have to set RAM voltage at high. I'm sure that your RAM can do the same or close enough.

Not every stick of RAM is going to perform the same so you're not guaranteed to get the same results if you pick up a set. Not to mention that they are crazy expensive, people just love to overprice old stuff. I would tell you not to bother and better try to get the most of what you have.


@lemonadesoda: loving the first post

A couple of users have them here at TPU. This thread is FOR THEM.

 

[Reefa_Madness]

BIOS with memory dividers

I just ran across this thread by chance and thought that perhaps someone might be interested in some of these older BIOS files that I had stashed away. I believe that they are the 1.60 version, modded with 5:4 and 1:1 memory dividers. Haven't used them in a while, but they should be intact. They were downloaded from PC-Treiber initially.

There was an online retailer (3btech.net) that used to carry these boards not too long ago. They were refurbs for about $25, but I just checked and they didn't seem to have any. Might contact them to see if they expect to get more in the future. They deal in alot of ASRock refurbs, so perhaps at some point they will restock. They once had at least 100 of these. I also bought one off eBay directly from a guy in England, but it came out to about $80 shipped to the states and I'm in Florida. Depending on where you live, it might even be costlier...hard to justify that for something this old, unless you just have a thing for it.

Going to try and dig up a photo that I have somewhere with voltage mods for CPU and memory.

That said, pin modding the processor is probably the best way to go in order increase voltages for higher overclocks. Check out this review which includes a discussion of voltage mods, plus provides a link to a really cool Excel spreadsheet to help in modding the cpu for increased voltages.

Review (read for info on voltage modding)

http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/a...-E4500-M0-Stepping-CPU-Review/1#axzz2DorkeSba

Forum link that has downloadable Excel worksheet (Post #3 by Sidney)

http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/...4500-m0-stepping-cpu-review-38563/#post157535

Will come back and add any additional information that I can find.

 

[Reefa_Madness]

Tidbits and discussions about these modded BIOSes and other stuff...in no particular order.

http://forums.vr-zone.com/the-overclockers-bay/104679-asrock-conroe865pe-help-ddr-ratio-2.html

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=500701

This one has info on the volt mods and is where the post of the pic that I'm trying to locate was located.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?133388-REQ-MEM-voltage-mod-for-Asrock-Conroe865PE

Results with QX6700

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...nbond-BH5-ASRock-ConRoe865-QX6700(56k-warning)

Additional links that might be of interest:

Front header connector layout sometimes doesn't match with wire from case. This might help.

http://www.lejabeach.com/ASRock/html/asrockfaq.htm

That's about all I have guys.

 

[TRWOV]

OMFG you're my hero now!!!!!!

 

[Reefa_Madness]

Thanks, but the true heroes are the guys that initally did the mods. I just happened to have saved a copy. Let is know how it goes for you.

Still can't find the pic of the volt mod, but I've got some HD on older machines that I will search thru before I give up.

 

[bigbigbuddy]

OMG thank you!!!!! Quick question though, has anyone tested out the BIOS files Reefa provided? Really want to try out the 5:4 o-o

 

[Compurex1]

I tried the 5:4_1.6 BIOS

OMG thank you!!!!! Quick question though, has anyone tested out the BIOS files Reefa provided? Really want to try out the 5:4 o-o

In order to set the 5:4 memory divider, you must disable "Compatibility Mode" under the advanced memory settings in the BIOS. I'm getting all sorts of issues when I do this (crashes etc.). It might be one of my pairs of RAM (Corsair). I'll remove them tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

 

[TRWOV]

5:4 1.60 + W8 is giving me some grief. Will revert back to W7 for the time being.

I can confirm it working as the RAM speed shows 214 in the bios. Didn't try with 1:1 as I know my RAM can't keep CL2.5 at 266Mhz. Maybe if I had a DDR600 CL3 set but I don't.

 

[Compurex1]

In order to set the 5:4 memory divider, you must disable "Compatibility Mode" under the advanced memory settings in the BIOS. I'm getting all sorts of issues when I do this (crashes etc.). It might be one of my pairs of RAM (Corsair). I'll remove them tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

I wanted to replace an old AthlonXP system to upgrade to Windows 8. To save money, I bought the ConRoe865PE + C2D E6600 and used my original peripherals (PC3200 DDR RAM, Radeon 3850 AGP, IDE HDDs). I bought some more RAM off ebay to go from 2 GB to 3 GB.

My original RAM (1 GB x 2) GSkill F1-3200PHU1-2GBZX is CL2 an SPD of 2-3-2-5 at 200 MHz. If I only use this RAM then my system is stable with the 5:4 BIOS and overclock of 215 MHz.

My new RAM is (500 MB x 2) Corsair CMX512-3200C2PT that's advertized as CL2, but in reality is only CL2 at 133 MHz and has an SPD of 3-3-3-8 at 200 MHz. If I use this RAM I get all sorts of problems and failures at 215 MHz. If I use the default divider, then it works OK at 177 MHz.

So here's the $100 question...

For Windows 8 Pro (32 bit), should I use just 2GB of RAM at 215 MHz or 3 GB of RAM at 177 MHz? What configuration will give me the best performance?

 

[TRWOV]

W8 works but has some rugged edges on this board. Haven't got BSODs but you can tell the system isn't performing 100%. Sometimes it takes a while for the system to acknowledge commands, like CTRl+ALt+Supr and startup times are longer than W7. I don't fault W8 for this though; it wasn't supposed to support such an old chipset.

As for your question I think more RAM is preferable to more speed.

 

[TRWOV]

Getting a bunch of errors with my mushkins XP4000 I can't seem to find any settings that would work, not even with burst at 8. They always fail the LRAND test Even auto config fails. Tested again with 5:4 1.50 and the errors continue. I don't know if age caught up with them or if I damaged them somehow. In previous tests they got to 230 with no issue.

Switching to a set of OCZ EL Platinum DDR400 CL2. So far so good, passed all tests. I have got them to 225 at stock timings before so they should be fine.

 

[lemonadesoda]

If the stock BIOS 1.70+ is better than the stock 1.60, then my suggestion would be to use the BIOS editting tools linked in the OP, and see the difference with the stock 1.60 an the 5:4 dividers 1.60. I'm no BIOS expert, so let's just track down what needs to be changed to enable the 5:4 memory dividers. Then transmute this same difference to the stock 1.70+ BIOS to create a 5:4 1.70+ BIOS for generally better robustness than then 1.60. I'm sure you'll crack it within 1h of research + 1hr of research.