ASUS Maximus II Formula - new P45 king?

[Starage]

Wow that is nice oc for that ram. My OCZ sticks are not like the old sticks. Some different ic's on thiese ones. CPU-Z shows them to be PC2-5300, ocz just set them to run at 600 vs 333.

[elsupremo]

Here is an update on my battle to get a 4870 X2 into my system.
- I did flash my Diamond 4870 X2 to a Powercolor - it did not change anything.
- I actually returned my Diamond and purchased a Visiontek 4870 X2. I have the SAME problems exactly. The motherboard is NOT stable at stock settings with the 4870 X2. Aside from any stress tests, the USB's are connecting and disconnecting and acting improper, as a sign of my motherboard suffering.
- When I tried IntelBurnTest at stock settings, it would reboot my system almost immediately. After trying different things, I finally was able to pass IntelBurnTest successfully at stock settings with the exception of one: CPU volts. I had to overvolt my CPU at stock to get it to pass. However, USB is still messed up and acting funny.
- I've tried 2 different models of Gskill DDR2, I'm about to try another brand of DDR2 in a moment to see if that changes anything. Not that it makes any sense.
- While playing some games with the GTX 280 in there, I saw a couple glitches and suspicious behaviors that led me to suspect the system is not totally stable even with the GTX280 in there, even though it is at 4 ghz, passes all stress tests, and has no other obvious ailments. It could be my imagination and could be due to some other variables. The glitches were small; but at this point, I'm suspicious of the motherboard.
- I'm going to take anything extra out of the system right now, change the memory, and see if it fixes it. If not, unless someone else has another BIOS setting to try, I'm going to RMA this board. It simply must have a physical problem that is causing it to "die" when the 4870 X2 is put in, even at stock settings.

[Hon]

does this bored still have North bridge and south bridge overheating issues? or did Asus fix that?

[CryptiK]

Stable 24/7 settings (same voltages required as on my P5Q-Deluxe)


500FSB / DDR1200 (no hangs here >/= 1200, I have been up to 1220 so far without an issue)


*I do have an issue - when i go to burn a CD, Nero says my DVD drive is not in DMA mode, but I can't see anywhere in the bios to change it, as the bios only detects sata devices. If I enable DMA through nero, then reboot, it does not apply the change, and tells me again the drive is not in DMA mode when I use nero again.

When I burnt the CD it had clicks/distortion throughout it. This did not happen with the P5Q-Deluxe. Anyone else experience this problem?

**EDIT - I just played the CD I burnt on my stereo and it's fine, so it's just the pc making clicks and noise in the sound when reading from an audio CD, as if it cannot read it properly.

[lowdog]

Here is an update on my battle to get a 4870 X2 into my system.
- I did flash my Diamond 4870 X2 to a Powercolor - it did not change anything.
- I actually returned my Diamond and purchased a Visiontek 4870 X2. I have the SAME problems exactly. The motherboard is NOT stable at stock settings with the 4870 X2. Aside from any stress tests, the USB's are connecting and disconnecting and acting improper, as a sign of my motherboard suffering.
- When I tried IntelBurnTest at stock settings, it would reboot my system almost immediately. After trying different things, I finally was able to pass IntelBurnTest successfully at stock settings with the exception of one: CPU volts. I had to overvolt my CPU at stock to get it to pass. However, USB is still messed up and acting funny.
- I've tried 2 different models of Gskill DDR2, I'm about to try another brand of DDR2 in a moment to see if that changes anything. Not that it makes any sense.
- While playing some games with the GTX 280 in there, I saw a couple glitches and suspicious behaviors that led me to suspect the system is not totally stable even with the GTX280 in there, even though it is at 4 ghz, passes all stress tests, and has no other obvious ailments. It could be my imagination and could be due to some other variables. The glitches were small; but at this point, I'm suspicious of the motherboard.
- I'm going to take anything extra out of the system right now, change the memory, and see if it fixes it. If not, unless someone else has another BIOS setting to try, I'm going to RMA this board. It simply must have a physical problem that is causing it to "die" when the 4870 X2 is put in, even at stock settings.

What PSU are you using????......and did you try another PSU?????.

Either your PSU is inadequate, your ram is dodgy, your not setting all your voltages correctly oor your mobo is a dud.

I'd first look at the PSU, then your ram and voltage settings..

[elsupremo]

What PSU are you using????......and did you try another PSU?????.

Either your PSU is inadequate, your ram is dodgy, your not setting all your voltages correctly oor your mobo is a dud.

I'd first look at the PSU, then your ram and voltage settings..

Yes, in a previous post I detailed that I bought a new Corsair 1000W PSU (over my current CM Real Power Pro 850W) and it did not fix anything - my PSU is fine.

I've tried 3 sets of RAM, they were all Gskill, although different models. I've experimented with a very wide range of voltages - and keep in mind when I have the GTX 280 in, it's stable at 4 ghz very easily.

[CryptiK]

If it's stable with the GTX 280, I'd be leaning towards bios - perhaps an incompatibility with that particular card. Have you tried the latest BIOS 1307?

[elsupremo]

Yes, I am running 1307. Also, others here have the same card and are running it without these difficulties. Remember I have tried TWO different 4870 X2's and have had the same problems.

An interesting update - I'm having more luck getting it into Windows by experimenting with different FSB's. 400 FSB x 10 (what I use for my GTX 280 stable settings) won't work at all with this card in there. 365 x 11, 410 x10 and 420 x 10 will, although I can't get any of them stable. It's very weird that the graphics card would have this effect, isn't it?

[vab206]

ya, my other memory wont even boot on this board @ 4-4-4-12 everything else set to auto, even running 5-5-5-18 they wont get up to the 1200 they were running at on my amd board o well

[CryptiK]

ya, my other memory wont even boot on this board @ 4-4-4-12 everything else set to auto, even running 5-5-5-18 they wont get up to the 1200 they were running at on my amd board o well

I was hinting in your other thread that they were not really running those speeds and timings, cpu-z was giving an incorrect reading, I've seen it a few times on AMD systems. There is no way any ram could do 1200 CAS 4 at only 2.1v, let alone the corsair you have.

[vab206]

im going to try them on a abit nf-m2 nview (my new htpc board well not new ive had it for awhile) and if they dont do well i guess its safe to say that. idk why it would boot and show that on every program though, even memset showed 4-4-4-12 @ 600mhz ddr2.

i do have a question on how to install the freaking sound on this board... do you do the creative 1st then the soundmax program? when i install the creative i still get a popup saying "High Definition Audio Device found on HD audio bus" before i had the soundmax installed, then installed the creative then i got VERY bad hangups in CoD4 im guessing were related to sound, it kept repeating over and over, uninstalled everything, installed just the creative stuff and i get that popup and when i click on the creative button i get a message saying "there are no supported audio devices avalible. You need to close the Application"

[Hon]

can anybody please answer if this mobo still has chipset overheating problems?

[CryptiK]

Mine doesn't, 40*C NB temp idle, 45*C load, and i just tightened the NB heatsink screws fully before I booted up for the first time. Some boards seem to not have good contact between the NB and heatsink, I think it's just luck of the draw.

[vaderat-at]

@elsupremo

Can you update your sig with your current componets and relevant voltages CPU (stock voltage) RAM (stock voltage) etc? Hopefully we will be able to spot an issue that can sort it for you. What version OS are you running and did you install the Catalyst Software Suite of just the display driver?

Also have you installed ATI Tray tools or Expertool at all?

[Legacy]

im going to try them on a abit nf-m2 nview (my new htpc board well not new ive had it for awhile) and if they dont do well i guess its safe to say that. idk why it would boot and show that on every program though, even memset showed 4-4-4-12 @ 600mhz ddr2.

i do have a question on how to install the freaking sound on this board... do you do the creative 1st then the soundmax program? when i install the creative i still get a popup saying "High Definition Audio Device found on HD audio bus" before i had the soundmax installed, then installed the creative then i got VERY bad hangups in CoD4 im guessing were related to sound, it kept repeating over and over, uninstalled everything, installed just the creative stuff and i get that popup and when i click on the creative button i get a message saying "there are no supported audio devices avalible. You need to close the Application"

You need to put the X-Fi card in the Black PCI Slot ! Your problem will then Disappear

[Grnfinger]

[CryptiK]

I have 3 issues:

I do not have command rate (CR) in my bios, it is just not there. I didn't see it in 0604, and I now run 1307 and it's definitely not there. I thought this board allowed you to set the CR, it is listed in the manual.

Also, my cpu fan speed control still does not work using bios 1307. No matter what I set (standard/silent/turbo) the fan speed does not change.

Lastly, using an IDE DVD drive DVD and music playback (from the drive using discs) stutters and doesn't work properly.

Anyone else have these issues too?

[SiGfever]

What bios overclocks better?

[Grnfinger]

I have 3 issues:

I do not have command rate (CR) in my bios, it is just not there. I didn't see it in 0604, and I now run 1307 and it's definitely not there. I thought this board allowed you to set the CR, it is listed in the manual.

Also, my cpu fan speed control still does not work using bios 1307. No matter what I set (standard/silent/turbo) the fan speed does not change.

Lastly, using an IDE DVD drive DVD and music playback (from the drive using discs) stutters and doesn't work properly.

Anyone else have these issues too?

I use Raid0 and my dvd is IDE. I set the DVD to master and attach the ribbon to primary on the board, I have zero issue's.
I dont use the fan speed controller so I cannot comment

What bios overclocks better?

701 clock'd nice for me, 802 was sketchy and I find 1307 rather nice and stable.
Have not tried any other bios

[SiGfever]

I am currently running 701, do you recommend going to 1307?

And as promised here is the Excel spreadsheet for tracking settings.

[Grnfinger]

I am currently running 701, do you recommend going to 1307?

And as promised here is the Excel spreadsheet for tracking settings.

I like 1307, there is really no benifit in terms of OC but it has more memory compatibility added and it supports E0 ,

[barong]

i would like to ask the formula for gtl is it:

GTL 0/2 = vtt x 0.635
GTL 1/3 = nb x 0.667

to change
nb x 0.667 + Y = vtt x 0.635

CMIIW i dont know the formula is it like this? please help i still cannot reach 500x8.5 or 525x8

[64dragon]

Yes, in a previous post I detailed that I bought a new Corsair 1000W PSU (over my current CM Real Power Pro 850W) and it did not fix anything - my PSU is fine.

I've tried 3 sets of RAM, they were all Gskill, although different models. I've experimented with a very wide range of voltages - and keep in mind when I have the GTX 280 in, it's stable at 4 ghz very easily.

imo, it seems like your boards isn't getting enough power. your using the 8 pin power and not just the 4 pin with the cap on the other 4 right?

[CryptiK]

**I sorted out the IDE drive stuttering & not running in DMA mode issue. I had a cable problem, and re-seating it correctly solved it. Stupid I know but I was rushing putting it all together as i had work to do on it that night.

@barong

If you have a 45nm cpu, to work out what to put for the the 0.667x GTL Ref (Y) values (it will be a negative number to make the resulting voltage the same as the 0.635x GTL Ref voltage), use the following eqn

For me, Vtt = 1.14v

1.14v x 0.667 - Y = 1.14v x 0.635
0.760 - Y = 0.724
Y = 0.724 - 0.760
Y = -0.036V
Y = -36.5 mv

So to verify it:
1.14v x 0.635 = 0.724
1.14v x 0.667 = 0.760
0.760 - 0.036 = 0.724

or an easier, non algebraic alternative:

1.14v x 0.635 = 0.724v
1.14v x 0.667 = 0.760v
0.726 - 0.760 = -0.036v
= -36mv

Round up to the nearest selectable value = -40mv

This means to equalize the GTL Ref values, I choose -40mv for the 2 values where the 0.667x multiplier is used. This makes the resultant voltage the same as the resultant voltage for the values where the 0.635x multiplier is used.

You need to work it out using whatever you personally use for Vtt substituted in place of the 1.14v I used in this example.

[elsupremo]

imo, it seems like your boards isn't getting enough power. your using the 8 pin power and not just the 4 pin with the cap on the other 4 right?

Yes, I am using full 8 pin power. I agree, it sounds like not enough power - but then again it runs fine with the 280 in there.

@ Vaderat - Yes, I'll add them, but here they are again real quick:
QX9650 @ stock speeds and voltages, I think stock vcore is ~1.25v.
2 GB GSkill 6400 @ 2.0 - 5-5-5-15 (Tried 2 different sets of same RAM, also tried another Gskill DDr2 800 set, different model).
All other voltages set to Auto, except I tried setting NB (along with VTT) to 1.28 or 1.3, did not help anything.
Cooler Master 850W Real Power Pro


I did install the full Catalyst Suite, but this problem emerges before I ever get into Windows, since the computer cannot post at the same stable OC settings as I use when the GTX 280 is in the computer.

I have created a RMA label and I'm planning on getting a replacement board. This is just a very unusual situation that seems too much like hardware defect. Not even stable at stock? C'mon...

Thanks for your input though!