Don't get a P5GZ-MX!!!

**Crian** · 04-21-2007, 03:29

I think I now know why my freakin' new shiny rig is running Medieval 2 at an
abysmal 5 frames per sec.... it's my $#^*)!@% motherboard!!!! Curses! Curses!

Mine is an ASUS P5GZ-MX, at first I thought I got an excellent deal! It has Core2Duo support, DDR2 compatible and PCI-E, and I thought this should be fine!! (Don't blame me I was on a tight budget) I installed Medieval 2 and it was running RIDICULOUSLY slow, even at low settings for my more-than-adequate rig (It's a Core 2 E6400 for crying out loud! And a 7600 GT!). My friend's PC was an E6300 and he had a 7300 GS and the game was smooth as silk on modest settings, so I was expecting better performance from my own rig.

D*mn, didn't do my research before cashing in on this cheap motherboard, it turns out that the darn thing has some kind of limit on the CPU, so my shiny Core2 is actually running at only 1.6 Ghz, and it doesn't end there! The PCI-E slot turns out has a limit of only 4X... so my card is running at a speed that's actually slower than AGP8X!!!

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

**Alexander the Pretty Good** · 04-21-2007, 07:21

You might be able to adjust the settings for it, though I don't know.

I have the P5B, and it seems to work fine...

Excellent sig quote, Freespace 2 rocks.

**LeftEyeNine** · 04-21-2007, 13:46

Well as it states here, that gadget has chipset limitation on FSB being 800 rather than the C2D standard 1000 MHz (IIRC).

However I don't see any limitations on PCI-e, but I noticed that this motherboard has an on-board VGA.

So, Crian, are you sure that you disabled on-board VGA from Integrated Peripherals settings of your BIOS ?

**Husar** · 04-21-2007, 15:45

my PCI-express is also limited to 4x and I don't get lots of lag with my 7950GT, according to a test I once saw the difference between PCI-e x16 and x4 is just 6%, which cannot be the difference between lots of lag or smooth play.
However, my mainboard supports an FSB of 1066MHz so the CPU runs fine like it's supposed to.and I can play on almost highest settings.
Which rules out the PCI-e x4 being at fault IMO.
you should also check what LEN mentioned, maybe you're accidentally using the onboard graphics? Though you should usually have noticed this since I guess they have a different monitor connector and different drivers etc.

And I wonder why a mainboard with FSB 800 is called ready for Core 2 Duo? Are you sure there's no jumper to activate a higher FSB? Or maybe a newer BIOS? Or you got an older revision that is not yet compliant? Lot's of things which could be wrong, check the manual first for jumper settings etc.

**LeftEyeNine** · 04-21-2007, 16:09

And I wonder why a mainboard with FSB 800 is called ready for Core 2 Duo? Are you sure there's no jumper to activate a higher FSB? Or maybe a newer BIOS? Or you got an older revision that is not yet compliant? Lot's of things which could be wrong, check the manual first for jumper settings etc.

Well mainly those that were manufactured for Core Duos were re-released with revised versions (or packages) or were supplied with BIOS updates to enable Core 2 Duos for them as well. Since it was just a software modification, chipset's FSB speed was not adjusted which would need a re-manufacture and would actually make it a new mobo model if done.

**Crian** · 04-22-2007, 09:37

Alexander - Dude, the P5B is an awesome motherboard, we're not exactly in the same boat here

And yeah long live FS2!

LEN - I saw that too, that FSB limit is a real bummer. Yep I sure turned off the onboard graphics.... So the PCI-e is not a problem? QUESTION: If my motherboard has an interface of PCI-E X16, does my card need to have a PCI-E X16 interface as well to take advantage of the speed? I kind of remember that AGP cards need to match with the motherboard's interface speed to take advantage of X4, X8,... etc.

Husar - Really it doesn't make much of a difference? Maybe its because your card is so much better than mine.

**Crian** · 04-22-2007, 09:46

Originally Posted by Husar

And I wonder why a mainboard with FSB 800 is called ready for Core 2 Duo? Are you sure there's no jumper to activate a higher FSB? Or maybe a newer BIOS? Or you got an older revision that is not yet compliant? Lot's of things which could be wrong, check the manual first for jumper settings etc.

Yup I checked, the mobo tops at 800 Mhz, it's even stated in the ASUS website the Core 2 Duo CPUs won't go faster than that. The BIOS is also older but revising it won't change anything because it's a hardware limitation, unfrtunately.

**Crian** · 04-22-2007, 09:42

Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine

Well as it states here, that gadget has chipset limitation on FSB being 800 rather than the C2D standard 1000 MHz (IIRC).

However I don't see any limitations on PCI-e, but I noticed that this motherboard has an on-board VGA.

So, Crian, are you sure that you disabled on-board VGA from Integrated Peripherals settings of your BIOS ?

Hmmm... I reread your post and I remember that I disabled the onboard VGA from the device manager in Windows XP itself, so is that different from doing it in BIOS? Is it actually still "on" and I have to shut it through BIOS?

**LeftEyeNine** · 04-22-2007, 15:41

Originally Posted by Crian

Hmmm... I reread your post and I remember that I disabled the onboard VGA from the device manager in Windows XP itself, so is that different from doing it in BIOS? Is it actually still "on" and I have to shut it through BIOS?

Do it from the BIOS please and shoot your feedback after re-installing drivers for your PCI-e graphics card.

In case you're interested, here's a guide to a clean re-install (although intended for modified drivers, you can use the method to make a clean re-install of plain drivers)

Good luck.