Motherboards Asus P5N- E SLI

[Steve587]

While waiting for upcoming Sandybridge developments next year for an upgrade, I have considsered extending the life of my current LGA775 based system by upgrading my current 2.66 MHz Core 2 Duo E6750 to the 3.33 MHz C2D E6800. (I have already upgraded my graphics card to an NVIDIA 460 GTX 1 Mb). However, it appears this CPU is tied to 64 bit architecture, whereas I am currently using 32-bit Vista and presumably have 32-bit BIOS on the ASUS motherboard. Checking on the ASUS website, it lists both a 32 bit and 64 bit version of the P5N motherboard, so presumably I have the 32-bit version?
Although one response may be - don't bother with this, keep it as it is and wait for next year - can anyone advise on;-
(1) Would it be sufficient to simply purchase and install Windows 7 64 bit to get the E6800 working?, or
(2) Is there more to do with the motherboard BIOS (and anything else) to make this feasible??

Cheers

[MaverickWill]

You can use the processor with 32-bit Windows just fine. It's capable of 64-bit, but not exclusively.

[bdigital]

1st if, do you mean e8600... thats the 3.33ghz one. EDIT: I stand corrected, there is a e6800 @ 3.33MHz..... il go hide in a corner now :P

2nd, it will work fine with 32bit OS......However, Windows 7 64-bit is a recommended upgrade. I found it helped the load times of my games quit a bit, plus it allows you to make the most of ALL your ram (32-bit os will only read 3.33gb max).

3rd - Not knowing the full spec of your system, have you considered applying a slight overclock? Your current CPU would be happy to give a little more speed as long as you have a quality power supply, sufficient CPU cooling, and a decent case with good airflow.

4th - Have a read of the latest CPC (subs issue just landed) - It has a guide on upgrading to help you get the best bang for buck

[MaverickWill]

Nope.

What PSU are you using?

[Fingers66]

I still have an Asus P5N-E SLI and have run the following CPU's in it under Vista and Windows 7 64-bit:

E6600 (65nm) overclocked to 3.2GHz
E6300 (45nm) overclocked to 3.4GHz
E8600 (45nm) @ stock

I am about to put a Q6600 (65nm) into it, it will work fine.

If overclocking the motherboard, keep an eye on the northbridge & southbridge temperatures. Being an Nvidia chipset (650i), it can get hot. I ended up putting a passive heatsink on the southbridge (my revision didn't come with one, later ones did) and screwing a 40mm fan to the northbridge heatsink.

Also note that board can't seem to run 4 RAM sticks @ anything above 667MHz speed stabily, it is too much for the memory controller. 2 sticks @ 800MHz speed is fine though.

[bdigital]

Originally Posted by Fingers66

If overclocking the motherboard, keep an eye on the northbridge & southbridge temperatures. Being an Nvidia chipset (650i), it can get hot. I ended up putting a passive heatsink on the southbridge (my revision didn't come with one, later ones did) and screwing a 40mm fan to the northbridge heatsink.

Hey fingers, how do you measure the mobo temps? (northbridge & southbridge)

Im looking into a s775 board with NVIDIA GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i chipset on the marketplace for a cheap lil overclocker of my e2180

[Fingers66]

Originally Posted by bdigital

Hey fingers, how do you measure the mobo temps? (northbridge & southbridge)

Im looking into a s775 board with NVIDIA GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i chipset on the marketplace for a cheap lil overclocker of my e2180

I use Everest but Speedfan will show you the chipset temps. In addition, with an Asus m/b you can use Probe (made by Asus).

[scimmy]

Good luck with this, I've got the same mobo with an E2180 that I want to update

[sibrecat]

Hi, i have the same board and am considering fitting a Intel Core 2 Quad 8400 in mine for an upgrade, Ive been runnin 4 sticks of ram in mine as well for 12months now, not sure what speed but its stable , using Win 7 64bit