X48 board tuning can be a minefiled, especially on the Asus P5E3 Premium as it has so many options in bios to tweak.
The settings and profiles you see in the following article will not work for all, the reasons for this are each board responds differently due to quality of the memory controller and how good the memory you are using performs. What i will show you is where you need to be looking and tweaking.
Some important points you need to keep in mind:
1 My tuning here is using an E8500 Dual core, the reason for this is dual core processors scale FSB MUCH easier than quad cores, and any ram frequency above 1333 will need FSB overclocking on this board.
2 Auto settings can hide some quite scarey voltage settings. One example is Asus have hidden a NB voltage of near 1.6V behind AUTO when you set 450FSB, you need to make sure you have active cooling on the chipsets, the heatpipes and passive cooling solutions do NOT cut it any more.
3 You have to use the black slots, these are designated A2 and B2. The reason for this is they have been tuned for high frequency use.
4 If you buy 4x1GB modules for 4GB you may have a harder time getting it stable at higher frequency over a 2x2GB kit. Consider how much work you want to put in before you buy....anything over 1333 is going to take fine tuning on your part.
Now...Asus have a really cool feature in bios where you are able to store and use predefined (by you or others) overclock profiles. The awesome thing is you can actually save the profiles to a USB drive or a floppy and load a profile from the same media. This means I will be able to post profiles for you guys to test. As mentioned there is a good chance they won't work, but there is a good chance they may be close for you.
Here is a short guide for you explaining how this feature works, I used the 0505 performance bios which i will also make available in this article.
To load or save profiles to a separate drive such as a USB thumb drive:
1 Go to the Tools page in bios. scroll down to Start OC profile as in picture 1. Then hit OK as per picture 2
Moving on, the profile loader page will load. My C drive is in fact my OCZ thumb drive. Also notice i have a profile highlighted (1600_4GB.CMO).
You scroll using the arrow keys, pick the profile file you want to load and hit ENTER. If you want to save a profile Hit [B] and follow the instructions on how to save.
Notice picture 4 shows the profile has a description:
1600EB...this is the memory.
4GB... means 2x2GB kit
E8500 is the CPU I used for this profile, although an E8400 would work with it also.
400x8 is the FSB X the cpu Multiplier used. Remember to run 1600MHZ we have to overclock the FSB.
Hit ENTER to load the profile.
The last 2 pics show the profile is loaded, and then you just hit the ESC key to leave the profile utility and re enter bios.
You can now explore the bios to see what settings have been loaded. With the E8500 1600EB profile a slight CPU overclock to 3.2GHZ is used, this is very easy for this CPU.
My profiles disable all sound, LAN, Firewire etc so if you use these you need to re enable them. I also try to keep the timings and tweaks set to a minimum to help not confuse anyone.
X48 is a performance chipset, its also a good platform for overclocking, most of the performance from the memory comes from 1 setting in bios.
In the P5E3 Premium bios this option is called Ai Transaction Booster, DO NOT let this name fool you, this option is Intel's chipset Read delay or tRD, many also know it as performance level.
If you are looking to run tight tRD values with high FSB settings, the ONLY way to do this is to inject more voltage into the NorthBridge. Now on the P5E3 Premium default voltage is around 1.2V. If you increase FSB to the CPU and leave the NB voltage level at AUTO Asus have programmed it to covertly see an increase in voltage at key points in the FSB range. Now while this is a good thing for the casual overclocker this also can cause a ton of issues.
Any increase in voltage will cause an increase in heat, the cooling on the motherboard is mainly passive to the chipsets so you will have to rig a fan blowing cool air over them. The chipsets are joined with a heatpipe, so heat transfers from one chipset to the other, this is why you have to cool both the NB and the SB.
Some say the magic figure you MUST keep the NB temperature below is 47C, I personally have not tested this but it is quite logical. So...if you must use AUTO for the NB voltage be aware if you are overclocking the FSB its going to get HOT...so make sure it gets some active cooling!!
Moving back to tRD, there are rules, for the sake of KIS (keeping it simple) my testing will show the nice easy tRD value to run. Now this is not the fastest way of running the board, in most cases if I have set 8, you can run 7 with more voltage to the NB...so keep this in mind if you are after squeezing every last drop of speed from the motherboard and memory.
I also use a slight relax on tRD to keep the voltage at a point where you may get away with not running active cooling in some cases. If I can keep the voltage to the NB below 1.3V or so you stand a chance of the cooling on the board coping.
NB voltage is also very important with regard to memory load, 2x1GB single sided modules are less load than 2x2GB double sided modules. The more chips on the stick of ram the more load it will place on the NB memory controller (as a simple rule). So this means if you have a 4GB 2x2GB kit of memory it may require you to increase the NB voltage a little to compensate for the increase in memory load. Same holds true for 4x1GB modules...so if you have 2GB installed and you add another 2GB to give you 4GB total, you may have to re tweak the board to be stable just because you have added more load to it.
To summarize NB voltage:
1 Add more modules you may need more voltage.
2 Run a tighter tRD value you may need more voltage
3 Run a higher FSB to the CPU you may need more NB voltage also
4 Want tighter timings on the memory you may need more NB voltage also
5 More voltage = more heat...keep it cool
The Northbridge also has a GTL+ setting which can either be 0.67 or 0.61. I have found for anything over 400FSB 0.61 works best. Of course test this yourself on your systems also, for me 0.61 is the best
Memory Voltage on the P5E3 Premium can also covertly change if you leave it by AUTO, hence why I ALWAYS set it manually. The board also tends to over volt a little, so if you set 1.7V you will be nearer to 1.8V at the module. Try to keep this in mind as running the lowest voltage you can get away with for stability is always best. If your modules are rated at 1.9V this does NOT mean this is the voltage that has to be set, its a guideline voltage as some boards need higher voltages to run where other boards do not, it all depends on how well the motherboard was designed.
I like to start low with memory voltage, IE if a module is rated at 1.9V I will set 1.8V in the bios and start testing there, in near also cases this proves to be stable . Now if you get lucky test at 1.78V next etc till you start seeing errors...then just bump the voltage back up a little.
FSB Termination voltage is a fancy name for VTT. VTT and CPU GTL work hand in hand. These settings are a science all in the selves so its best you read some of the articles written to explain them.
Just remember much over 1.35V VTT on a 45nm CPU such as the E8400, E8500 or the Q9550 etc could harm the processor.
CPU PLL voltage, again this helps with CPU FSB scaling, I tend to run no higher than 1.6V. Just set the voltage the CPU actually needs to run stable, often only a small increase from 1.5 to 1.55 or so is needed.
CPU vcore, This is a setting that can confuse people. Intel calls for the CPU voltage to droop under load, it does this so that any transition from load to no load is not met with a huge spike in the supplied voltage to the processor that could cause damage.
My short sharp explanation is this: When you set the voltage in bios you are actually setting the maximum spike that will occur when the processor goes from on load to offload. So if you set 1.325V you are actually setting a voltage around 1.275V which will spike to around 1.325V for a split second going from load to idle. Keep this in mind if you are overclocking the processor.
There is also an option for Load Line Calibration This is supposed to remove the droop, so what you set for voltage is what the CPU will get, fact is this option can cause more issues than good and in my opinion is best left to Normal.
Intel CPU's like droop, if you spend the time dialing in the voltage correctly you will find the process is more stable with the voltage drooping than not drooping.
This pretty much covers the voltage options you need to be aware of, If I have not touched on it here just leave it at AUTO and forget about it
Im not going to go in depth here, I feel an in depth look at the skew function on this board needs the services of a $20K oscilloscope and more time then I have at the moment. With time short I will go with what i have found to work.
Right at the bottom of the Ai Tweaker page you have 2 skew options.
CPU Clock skew
NB Clock skew
Both options only allow a delay of the clock signal in 100ps steps.
With 2xE8500 CPU's I have found CPU clock skew likes to be anywhere from 200 to 500PS delay. Around 400FSB 300ps and 500FSB+ 500ps
NB clock skew I have found anywhere from 100 to 300ps delay works well. At 400>500FSB 200ps seems to work and 550+FSB 300ps
Do NOT think these values are set in stone, every board will need something different, im just throwing you a bone here...a place to start which may help.
Now around halfway down the Ai Tweaker page we have the DRam Skew control.
All my overclocking and testing for qualification is done at 2N command unless the modules I am testing are specifically stated to run 1N. With this i will not be touching on the CMD skew. This works well for fine tuning 1N performance but for 2N is usually ok set to AUTO.
Asus have also given us the following:
Dram CLK skew A1 A2 B1 B2
Dram CTL skew A1 A2 B1 B2
While tuning 4GB kits at 1600 and 1800MHZ I have found no need to touch the CLK skews at all. This may change when testing 8GB on the board but with 4GB CTL was all I needed.
The range for CTL is Normal or +175ps to -175ps in 25ps steps.
My modules here are plugged into the black slots on the motherboard, these are A2 and B2.
From testing I have found A2 requires an Advanced skew ranging from 75ps at 1600MHZ memory to 100ps advanced for 1800MHZ memory.
B2 was fine at both speeds with 25ps advanced skew on CTL.
Again these are not set in stone options, you will have to tune the board and correct the clocks to the memory. What I have here may be a good place to start though.
Lastly, the P5E3 Premium can force 1N by AUTO if you only are using 2 modules. Make sure to manually set 2N command or you could run into stability issues
1600EB_4GB is for those using 1600EB 7-7-6-24. This profile was tuned with 2x2GB module (4GB kit and an E8500 CPU running 3.2GHZ. This profile should work fine with most CPU's as long as the voltage and multiplier is tuned to the overclock or none over clock you are running.
1800_4GB is for those running 1800 Platinum 8-8-8-27. This profile was tuned with 2x2GB modules for 4GB and an E8500 CPU running 450x7 for 3.15GHZ. Voltages to the memory are around 1.9V even though bios will report around 1.8V, this is due to the board over volting by default. NB voltage is very low on this profile, if you encounter stability issues try increasing this a little.
1600EB_A is a high performance over clocked profile. This is for E8400 or E8500 Owners looking to test with a CPU speed of 4GHZ. The profile was tuned using 2x2GB for 4GB of memory. You must make sure the CPU is capable of 500+FSB to run this profile, also note OCZ take no responsibility for any damage occurring thru over clocking the CPU using this profile. You want to test you do so knowing if something goes wrong you did so on your own accord.
1333EB_A is a high performance over clocked profile. This is for E8400 or E8500 Owners looking to test with a CPU speed of 4GHZ. The profile was tuned using 2x2GB for 4GB of memory. You must make sure the CPU is capable of 500FSB to run this profile, also note OCZ take no responsibility for any damage occurring thru over clocking the CPU using this profile. You want to test you do so knowing if something goes wrong you did so on your own accord.
This profile will run the 4GB of 1333EB at 1500MHZ. I found that the ratio for 1333MHZ with 500FSB on the CPU has issues on the board, hence why this sets 1500MHZ...its also a lot faster .
This profile is good for either 1333 Reaper 6-6-6- or 1333EB 6-5-5- modules, you could also try this profile with 1600EB 7-7-6- modules and 1600 Platimum 7-7-7- modules.
1600FX_A s a high performance over clocked profile. This is for E8400 or E8500 Owners looking to test with a CPU speed of 4GHZ. The profile was tuned using 2x1GB for 2GB of Flex DDR3 6-6-6-24 memory.
This profile sets 500X8 for the cpu and the memory 6-6-6-20 @1600MHZ 2N, you may find 1N also runs fine. You must make sure the CPU is capable of 500FSB to run this profile, also note OCZ take no responsibility for any damage occurring thru over clocking the CPU using this profile. You want to test you do so knowing if something goes wrong you did so on your own accord.
1600F2GB is a stock profile for 1600 flex 2GB kit 6-6-6-24. This is a high performance kit that needs elevated voltage levels. Use this profile as a starting place, for E8400 CPU's just drop the CPU multiplier to 7.5.
Moving to 8GB testing, the tests today are with 1333Gold 9-9-9- timings, 4x2GB modules.
Now here is the thing, I could not get 8Gb to work at 1333 on this board, after 8 hrs of tweaking i gave up on 333fsb and 1333fsb ram.
So yes you heard it right, i could not get 1333 8GB working.
Do not fear though, i got tweaking , and immediately found 1200MHZ would work just fine, and the best part is at 5-5-5-18 timings with tRD at 6, the performance at these setting is far faster than it would be at 1333 with 9-9-9- timings so this is a good work around.
Now I am NOT promising this will work for all the 1333 gold kits, i may have been lucky here but you may be also . The CPU used was an E8500 running 400x8 for 3.2GHZ, I had to raise the CPU vcore a little due to the small FSB increase and the added load on the chipset. Overall though it was minimal and nothing to worry about.
So I have decided to post the profile for you, remember no guarantee's with this, it may work or it may not...its worth a try though at least. For you overclockers out there just increase the CPU Multi to 9 or 9.5 and you have 3.8GHZ or so with 8GB, you may have to increase Vcore and NB voltage a little.
So for those looking to run 8GB of DDR3 like DDR2 1200 here you go
This is very beta, test at your own risk (although the board recovers like a god so don't worry )
5E3P13EB.ZIP Q9650 433x7.5 for 3.24GHZ, dead easy for most of the newer quads to do at near stock vcore. High performance profile with 1333EB 4GB kit running 5-5-5-22 @ 1300MHZ. Use this as a start, should also be ok for 2GB kits
and may also be ok with the following.
1800 Plats
1600 Plats
1600EB
Some 1333gold (depends if you get lucky on IC)
1600 Flex 6-6-6-
1333 Reaper
1333 Reaper EB
1333EB Reaper X
All these kits are Micron based,
There is 1 issue, some of the 1800 Kits are Samsung based, Sammy will not do the tight timings like micron, but will do higher clocks easier. I will do some Samsung profiles also.
Remember this is a guide, a helping hand, you may need to still tweak.
QLL15_36.zip again is another low latency 4GB profile, this time running the Q9650 at 3.6GHZ ( it will suit any quad core with a multipler of 8 or higher), if you want a lower clock on the CPU just lower the cpu multiplier and voltage. This profile sets the FSB at 450 so be sure to make sure the quad you have is capable of this and set all voltages needed for this to be stable, what the profile sets may not be perfect.
Memory speed is 1500MHZ 6-6-6-18 timings, I used 1333EB but any of the kits mentioned in this post stand a chance including 2GB kits.
This profile gave me well over 10k reads in everest, 9800+ writes so is very fast.
Taming the Asus P5E3 Premium.
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