Voltage problems on the Asus P4C800-E? Better Choice?

OmegaZero · Post by **OmegaZero** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 5:06 pm

I am considering buying the Asus P4C800-E as a replacement for my MSI Neo2-FIS2R**. Going through my usual process of Google-ing the model number and reading every review I can find yielded nothing but positive comments. AnandTech, Tom's, Bleeding Edge, OCForums - all had good things to say. Then I came across this review at SysOpt.com. Apparently they experienced serious issues with voltage fluctuations and system stability. Now I am not so sure about my decision...

I really need speed and stability out of this system - I use it for very intensive multimedia recording and engineering. For reference, the system is a P4 Northwood 3.4GHz, with 2x 1GB Crucial Ballistix PC4000. I am planning on overclocking a little, and do not really need to undervolt (my ducted 3000B and XP-120 do just fine without the help).

-> Is SysOpt.com reputable?
-> Has anyone here had experience with the P4C800-E? Have you seen these issues?
-> Is there a better choice for an Intel 865/875 board???

**NOTE: I have had nothing but excellent luck with my MSI. I am, however, going to be building a new server and want to take advantage of its excellent RAID features.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 6:36 am

I didn't read the review you linked, but Asus boards are well known for their Vcore sag under load. Asus boards are also well known for their slightly-higher-than-normal default Vcore at idle. See a connection here?

Apparently, Asus uses a 2 or 3 phase Vreg section, (which is actually quite common) while some of the more hardcore OC oriented boards use a more robust Vreg supply.

FWIW, I have built several OCed systems using the P4P800-D and P4C800-E boards and have never had any stability issues, Vcore related or otherwise (although I never try for mad OCs. My primary concern is system stability and I will not push my luck). I have had Vcore fluctuation under load, but you always get a certain amount even at default speeds.

Asus makes some of the best boards out there, and their 865/875 boards are among the top one or two ever made. They have had a great reputation for as long as they've been produced (2 years now). If they were troublesome boards, they would not be as popular as they are.

I highly doubt that you'll have any trouble with this board.

Edit: OK, so I broke down and took a look at the Sysopt review. I'll be you a dollar they have a bad board. 250MHz is chickenfeed on an 865/875 board. It's not typical to have those kinds of voltage fluctuations with that sort of OC.

OmegaZero · Post by **OmegaZero** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 8:25 am

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate the info. Couple of questions...

Ralf Hutter wrote:have never had any stability issues, Vcore related or otherwise

Is VCore fluctuation really that insignificant? I would have though it more important to stability...

Ralf Hutter wrote:I have built several OCed systems using the P4P800-D and P4C800-E boards

Which do you like better? Does one perform better/more stable?

Ralf Hutter wrote:their 865/875 boards are among the top one or two ever made.

which company(s) would you say are the other top 865/875 boards?

I am actually not planning on over clocking much - only about 200MHz or so (I really wanted a 3.4GHz, but they aren't available anymore

). When I mentioned speed I meant more with memory access, disk access, etc. I have read many comparisons between Springdale and Canterwood boards, and apparently some are quite a bit faster than others in these areas.

EDIT: Fixed the sad face.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:33 am

OmegaZero wrote:Thank you for the reply, I appreciate the info. Couple of questions...

Ralf Hutter wrote:have never had any stability issues, Vcore related or otherwise
Is VCore fluctuation really that insignificant? I would have though it more important to stability...

Every system I've ever used has some amount of voltage sag under load. I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe that this can affect stability, but like I mentioned above, I don't do massive OCs, so I'm not used to working with hardware pushed to it's limits.

OmegaZero wrote:
Ralf Hutter wrote:I have built several OCed systems using the P4P800-D and P4C800-E boards
Which do you like better? Does one perform better/more stable?

I'd say I prefer the P4P800 (865) board by a small margin. With a small BIOS tweak it can perform as good as the 875 board and costs about $50-70 less than the Canterwood board.

OmegaZero wrote:
Ralf Hutter wrote:their 865/875 boards are among the top one or two ever made.
which company(s) would you say are the other top 865/875 boards?

Intel 875PBZ, Intel 865PERL, Abit IC-7, Abit IG-7

OmegaZero wrote:I am actually not planning on over clocking much - only about 200MHz or so (I really wanted a 3.4GHz, but they aren't available anymore ). When I mentioned speed I meant more with memory access, disk access, etc. I have read many comparisons between Springdale and Canterwood boards, and apparently some are quite a bit faster than others in these areas.

FWIW, the Intel 875 board will OC to 4% over default. It's a rare feature for an Intel board and it's called "burn-in".

OmegaZero · Post by **OmegaZero** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:02 am

Thank you much. I just ordered my P4C800-E... (wanted the CSA-enabled gigabit LAN).

One of these days I've got to get some pics of my systems up here...

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:55 am

FWIW, I let Ralf talk me into the Asus P4P800-E and I really couldn't be happier with it. Don't let a bad thread at another forum or a review scare you. At an AMD forum (I think it's AMD, would have to recheck), I came across a long thread about how using the USB port on my particular board seems to have fried the southbridge for some unfortunate guys. Not sure of the accuracy of that, but even if it is true, it's apparently not pandemic