Dear Unhappy P5Q Once-Proud Buyer:
First and foremost, I would like to thank threevok for his eye-opening replies as I can confirm that P5Q Product Line distinctive, and very weird, problems reported by many users stem from the C1E State and power saving features of the CPU
(mine is E8400 3GHz Quad Core).
Symptoms of the Problem:
- Corrupted Graphics, Frozen Texts, Cannot Scroll Web pages, corrupted or frozen video frames, resulting in accelerated system instability. This usually precedes Symptom # 2.
- Mouse and Keyboard Freeze, irrespective PS/2 or USB. First encounter is during Windows Setup (both XP and Vista)
- Some USB Ports will be powered but disabled, while some are working normally (like Front USB Ports of the case) but are also doomed to stop working.
- Blue Screens of Death (0x000000C1, 0x000000D1, 0x0000000CA, etc). I got a long list of these as they vary depending on which webcam/mouse/keyboard you plugged in the working USB Port while system is exhibiting the mysterious condition of powering off everything.
Remedy and Working Solution:
Strangely enough, when all options are set to Auto (no modifications), the system works without any issues and without any problems but **only** under full load. Running Crysis or Call of Duty 4 at maximum settings seems to drive away the USB Instabilities, crashes, mouse and keyboard freezes that are often coupled by very corrupted graphics.
I tested the system with the following settings:
CPU VOLTAGE: AUTO
CPU RATIO: 9
CPU C1E: DISABLED
RAM: 2.1V to run the Corsair Dual Channel 6400C4 at 4-4-4-12 but it doesn't matter if you still run it at 5-5-5-18 at 18Volts.
I can confirm after about 10 hours of EXTENSIVE testing, the system does not hang or mouse would NOT freeze and NO corrupted graphics. However, the processor is running at maximum frequency of 3 GHz non-stop, irrespective of the load, at roughly 44C to 47C idle temperature, which is not appealing to say the least. Under full load, the temperature will climb to 56C.
Therefore, it is the C1E Power Saving Feature and automatic lowering of CPU Ratio are the problem. I was wrong when stating the system crashes erratically or randomly as threevok was absolutely right, it only crashes and behaves very strangely **only** under reduction of CPU Frequency during idle state, which triggers a ripple effect of everything else going haywire.
WORD OF CAUTION:
THIS MOTHERBOARD WILL DAMAGE YOUR VIDEO CARD!!
This horrible board reduced the voltage so low on my old ASUS 8600GT Video Card, which rendered my Video Card **useless**. It is sitting on the side awaiting RMA Request from ASUS, for which I received no response for more than 1 week!!!!
I ended up replacing the Video Card to fully test the system with a new video card, XFX 8800GT, which uses the auxiliary 12V Power Connection from PSU, and that's why it was able to withstand the low voltage emanating from the PCI-Express Slot and luckily survived the test. The old EN8600GT couldn't take it (does not use auxiliary power connection) and the card just died after less than 2 days of using P5Q Motherboard.
Possible Power Supply Damage (if Generic Brand)
I also replaced my generic 450 Watts i-Micro PSU to OCZ 500 Watts but that made no difference whatsoever to the stability of P5Q Motherboard as my old PSU was simply scrapped as it draws LOTS of current beyond 28 amps on the 3.3V Rail.
My Final Resolution:
I'm going back Gigabyte P35-DS3L Motherboard, will RMA this mediocrity and dump it on eBay for pennies on the dollar (any unlucky bidders?). Gigabyte's RMA department got back to me in 1 day (literally), whereas I am still waiting ASUS response for more than one week on returning both the VGA and Board....
Final Remark:
Didn't ASUS test these boards before they were put into production? Why did they deviate from Intel's specification that caused this unforseen array of mountainous problems? And why ASUS technical support on 4 attempts simply reiterate the non-working solution of bad PSU or bad RAM?