Motherboards Asus P5N- E SLI

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Steve587, 16 Nov 2010.

  1. Steve587

    Steve587 oldie gamer

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    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
     
  2. MaverickWill

    MaverickWill Dirty CPC Mackem

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

    bdigital Is re-building his PC again

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    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
     
    Last edited: 16 Nov 2010
  4. MaverickWill

    MaverickWill Dirty CPC Mackem

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    Nope.

    What PSU are you using?
     
  5. Fingers66

    Fingers66 Kiwi in London

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    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.
     
  6. bdigital

    bdigital Is re-building his PC again

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    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
     
  7. Fingers66

    Fingers66 Kiwi in London

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    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).
     
  8. scimmy

    scimmy Minimodder

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

    sibrecat What's a Dremel?

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    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:thumb:
     

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