Asus P5WD2 Premium: Overclocking

FSB Overclocking Results

Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed
Processor: Pentium 4 Prescott LGA 775
560 ES (2.8GHz-3.6GHz)
CPU Voltage: 1.425V (1.3875V default)
Cooling: Thermaltake Jungle 502
Power Supply: OCZ Power Stream 600
Maximum CPU OverClock: 227x18 (4086MHz) +14%
Maximum FSB OC: 291FSB x 14 (4074MHz) +46%

Asus has fully implemented Speedstep in their recent BIOS updates for Intel Socket 775 motherboards, so the OC results are a lot more than academic. Speedstep means that the stock multiplier and a 14X multiplier will be available on all Prescott CPUs, opening new options for overclocking regular Intel Prescott chips.

With a stock multiplier, the P5WD2 reached an overclock of 227x18 or 4086MHz. This matches the highest frequency ever reached with this 3.6GHz Prescott, which was with an Asus 915 chipset board. The 46% FSB overclock achieved at the 14X multiplier is the highest OC that we have seen with a SATA drive on a Socket T board. The previous Socket T record on this CPU was 279FSB.

While we were able to reach these OC levels above 4GHz with the Thermaltake HSF, the long-term stability with air cooling at these speeds is very suspect. After running a few tests, the system began throttling - alternating between stock speed and reduced speed due to overheating. There is no doubt that the CPU can do these speeds, but you will have to provide better cooling if you plan to run much above 3.8GHz. Others have demonstrated even higher Prescott overclocks and stable operation with water cooling and phase-change cooling.
Basic Features: Asus P5WD2 Premium Memory Stress Testing
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  • overclockingoodness - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - link

    Can someone tell me why they decided to bench both at DDR-667 and DDR-800?

    Wesley: are you planning on testing all Intel mobos like that with two different memory speeds?
  • Capt Caveman - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - link

    I actually plan on returning the P5WD2 Premium that I purchased. I bought this board for going to dual core but was really sold on the Wifi-TV card that was supposed to come with it. It's the first board in Asus's Ai Life Series and the major component of this series is the Wifi-TV Card.

    Well, surprise my Asus Premium doesn't come with one. It's optional. I spoke to people at Asus US in Technical Support, Customer Service, Pre-sales and RMA groups and they all confirmed to me that there was only one model and it's optional. Every retailer that carries the P5WD2 Premium has it without the Wifi-TV Card. Yet, the reviewers have them, making you think that the card comes with the board.

    Also, things have been down-graded on this board from previous premium boards. The mosfet heatsink is aluminum compared to the copper heatsinks used in my P5AD2-e Premium. Contrary to what some have said, the P5WD2 Premium does not have IDE Raid when the P5AD2-e Premium did. The P5AD2-e Premium also has 1394b where the P5WD2 Premium does not. And obviously no built on Wifi.

    Why did they call this board a Premium when it's missing all of the premium items that we're used to getting? Why didn't they just call it the Deluxe since this board does not have the premium features as it's other premium boards?

    I believe Asus is misleading folks. I have yet to receive a reply back to several emails that I have sent also.

    Sad thing is that I was a huge fan of Asus til getting this board which I must pay a 15% restocking fee to return.
  • elecrzy - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - link

    on page 2, you might want to add that NF4 supports SATAII, not just SATAI.
  • RadeonGuy - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - link

    it would have been better to include a fx-55 as competition

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