Stef2 Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) I've been looking around and all I've found is that other people are having the same problems as you. I have absolutely no idea why the board I had was able to hit the speeds it did. I did need 1.5V on the i5 to hit 4.1 (A little more to hit the 4.3, but 4.3 I couldn't get stable). I don't remember what my other voltages were . What BIOS version are you using? I'm assuming it's a newer version then what I was using. It's a long shot, but maybe try an older revision. ...indeed you are right. I was hoping that you (maybe) have that board around and/or if it is possible for you to send to me that (first batch) of the bios. From what I've read the limitation is due to QPI overclocking (QPI gets way too high for the mobo to handle it and there's no way to lower its multiplier). I use the latest official bios and the only one that I can find in ECS's site is the version which was *exactly* prior to that. I used them as well and the best I could reach was 170FSB (no matter what, no matter how high would I set the vcore, you did reach 205MHz IIRC)... Maybe it is indeed the case that ECS *removed* the ability from this board to overclock by a serious amount in her latest bios so I would really appreciate it if you were able to give me the version that you used. ...unfortunately 1156 mobos with CF support (like the one above) are hard to come by these days, for some reason. edit: the official ECS video showing that the board can clearly reach more than 200 FSB (in that case it's 220MHz), which leads me to believe that it is a bios issue. The only way I can think around this is to request the right (overclocking) bios from ECS or if you can (somehow) pull it from you mobo (if you still have it around). I did request the bios version used on that video from ECS but they were of no help thus far... it's a bit of a pity because part of the reason I had bought this board back in the day was your review... Edited September 6, 2011 by Stef2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scr4wl Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 ...indeed you are right. I was hoping that you (maybe) have that board around and/or if it is possible for you to send to me that (first batch) of the bios. From what I've read the limitation is due to QPI overclocking (QPI gets way too high for the mobo to handle it and there's no way to lower its multiplier). I use the latest official bios and the only one that I can find in ECS's site is the version which was *exactly* prior to that. I used them as well and the best I could reach was 170FSB (no matter what, no matter how high would I set the vcore, you did reach 205MHz IIRC)... Maybe it is indeed the case that ECS *removed* the ability from this board to overclock by a serious amount in her latest bios so I would really appreciate it if you were able to give me the version that you used. ...unfortunately 1156 mobos with CF support (like the one above) are hard to come by these days, for some reason. edit: the official ECS video showing that the board can clearly reach more than 200 FSB (in that case it's 220MHz), which leads me to believe that it is a bios issue. The only way I can think around this is to request the right (overclocking) bios from ECS or if you can (somehow) pull it from you mobo (if you still have it around). I did request the bios version used on that video from ECS but they were of no help thus far... it's a bit of a pity because part of the reason I had bought this board back in the day was your review... Unfortunately I no longer have the board. . Even if I did I wouldn't be able to help you though, as the I5 has been dead for a while lol. I went looking around for an older version of the BIOS and this was the oldest I could find: http://www.downloadplex.com/Drivers/BIOS-System-Updates/ECS/ecs-p55h-a-v1.0-bios-090817_187028.html Not entirely sure how trustworthy that site is though. I'm also wondering if you'll have the same limits on the reference clock if you were to drop the multiplier a bit. Let me know if those BIOS help, if you haven't already tried them. Otherwise your best bet would be to try and get them from ECS. I wish I had experienced this problem while testing the board. I would have given it a different recommendation! Lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 I have that board....I believe its the one from either you or Alan....I cant remember which but I was thinking Alan for some reason but correct me if I am wrong.... I have it running with an i7-860 and it still have the BIOS that was loaded to the board as I received it.... I know there is NO QPI Multi in the BIOS....and also Turbo doesnt work on my set up and hasnt ever. I have it turned ON but its OFF by default so I am thinking it was backwards labeled? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scr4wl Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 I remember you buying a P55 board from me lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef2 Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 I wish I had experienced this problem while testing the board. I would have given it a different recommendation! Lol. Heh, it's OK I'd guess. Most of your recommendations are spot on and I'm glad that I've bough hardware in the past based on those. It merely seems to be the case that we found a bad apple here and I'm sure it's not your fault. As for the bios, thanks for the link but I'd prefer to wait a bit, hopefully ECS would answer... if not I think I'll take the risk to install the ones you linked. ...and yes I've tried a lower multiplier and still the results were the same. I have that board....I believe its the one from either you or Alan....I cant remember which but I was thinking Alan for some reason but correct me if I am wrong.... I have it running with an i7-860 and it still have the BIOS that was loaded to the board as I received it.... I know there is NO QPI Multi in the BIOS....and also Turbo doesnt work on my set up and hasnt ever. I have it turned ON but its OFF by default so I am thinking it was backwards labeled? Wow, great to find that "golden" board in this thread... May I ask whether you were able to overclock well (I mean if you ever tried). Also would you be able to extract the bios from your board (as long as you have not updated of course). If you do I would be trully grateful (and if they are the right bios so will be the dozens who have this board) . You'd literally save my board if you are able to post the bios file... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scr4wl Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 Most of your recommendations are spot on and I'm glad that I've bough hardware in the past based on those. Thanks that made my day. I'm fairly certain that the board Bowtie has did come from me, but we'll have to wait for him to respond to know for sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 I remember now Taco I did buy that board from you....I will check out out and post which BIOS it has and see if I can back it up or if the website actually has that BIOS....most all should be listed on the ECS site... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scr4wl Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 most all should be listed on the ECS site Looks like their site is messed up right now. I checked it earlier this morning though, and there were only two versions available. Both were newer than the version on the iffy site that I linked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef2 Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) I remember now Taco I did buy that board from you....I will check out out and post which BIOS it has and see if I can back it up or if the website actually has that BIOS....most all should be listed on the ECS site... Indeed -sadly- the ECS website only have the newer BIOS versions both of which lack support for (serious) overclocking... Unfortunately neither ECS herself were/was of much help either (I asked for their earlier bios but they didn't respond). So all I'm left is with you guys... I would *really* appreciate it if there is a way to post the bios... Thanks. edit: I've just downloaded the bios linked in this thread and I found out that the rom file is twice the size than the bios offered on ECS's websites (2048kb instead of 1024kb). I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad one, but I feel rather hesitant to try them out (I'm not too sure that my board would boot after that). I would had been much more comfortable if I were to have the extracted version, I'd guess... Edited September 7, 2011 by Stef2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef2 Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 Hi, since it takes time and I don't want to be too pressing may I ask whether it would be wise to (try to) flash the file linked some posts ago? I mean -I hope- there's no chance for my motherboard to hang up, right? Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scr4wl Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 Hi, since it takes time and I don't want to be too pressing may I ask whether it would be wise to (try to) flash the file linked some posts ago? I mean -I hope- there's no chance for my motherboard to hang up, right? Thanks. If it were me I would wait for Bowtie, you might try sending him a PM. I've never used that site before, and probably wouldn't trust it. (Probably shouldn't have linked it) That was just the oldest version of "BIOS" I could find for that board. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef2 Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 If it were me I would wait for Bowtie, you might try sending him a PM. I've never used that site before, and probably wouldn't trust it. (Probably shouldn't have linked it) That was just the oldest version of "BIOS" I could find for that board. I'm sure that bowtie has better/other things to do and I have to have the system up and running before week-end, so it's not as if I have too much time available either... anyhow I think I'll follow your advice, I'll wait a bit more. Thanks for all your help Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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