Live MB OC Report :: ASUS Rampage Extreme

[3oh6]

http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/asus_logo-1.png
This isn't going to be a typical OC Report like my last in that it will be much more compressed and focused solely on results. It will also be a bit of a Live OC Report as I will be posting results as I obtain them, and not just all at once after all testing is done. This may be a little un-organized but, what can you do? At this point, we are all familiar with ASUS and their motherboard line. Sure it may be confusing, but no one can say it lacks options. The recent gem of the bunch is the Rampage Extreme and ever since the first results have shown up in the forums, we have all been clammering to get one. I have managed to do just that and from what I have seen, this board definitely isn't going to let me down.


http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/asus_logo-2.png
First and foremost, the sample I have was sent directly from ASUS as a review sample for HardwareCanucks.com. The entire review will be posted there in due time, but for now, consider this a sneak peek of what that will offer. Of course, this thread will also be home to all of the more exciting results with sub-zero cooling that I manage to come up with. This sample is a full retail product with serial number and all so it isn't an ES but it has been tested before heading out to me. This doesn't mean it was hand picked from my understanding, just pre-tested to ensure its functioning. Below you can find an easy to navigate directory for the various sections that will be populated with results from this board.

Directory: Index (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178833&postcount=1)
Quick Specifications & Pricing (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178834&postcount=2)
Package & Layout (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178838&postcount=3)
Blue Martini's: BIOS Screenshots (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178840&postcount=4)
Appetizer: FSB Clocking (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178843&postcount=5)
First Course: Memory Clocking (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178846&postcount=6)
Second Course: GPU Testing (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178850&postcount=7)
Main Course: CrossFire Feast (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178854&postcount=8)
Insulation: You Can Live Without It, But Very Wet (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3178856&postcount=9)
Dessert: Sub-Zero Benching & Other Goodies (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3178860&postcount=10)
Let's get started with a quick look at the specifications and pricing that this board is coming out at.

[3oh6]

I don't think most viewers of this thread are really going to be interested in a long discussion about the specifications here so this will remain brief. We all know what the X48 chipset is capable of at this point so there is no need to re-hash old information. After all, it has been around for some time now and this board is a bit of a late comer to the party. Here is a little excerpt from the ASUS web site and if you want to see more specifications, visit it here (http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=640&l4=0&model=2367&modelmenu=1). This thread will remain primarily a results thread so you'll have to wait for the full review for more details on the specifications and features.


http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/specs-1.png
As I said, this is a results thread so the specifications are limited to what is above. With that said, I could go on for days about the features, specifications and capabilities of this board. ASUS has absolutely thrown everything they have on this board and there is something unique for almost every user. There are a couple features that I do want to discuss here because they pertain directly to what we do, overclock.

BIOS FlashBack

http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/specs-3.jpg
First up is the BIOS FlashBack feature which is essentially, a dual BIOS. What this dual BIOS offers, however, is complete control over both BIOS chips. We can switch between which the system boots off of in the BIOS, and we can run two different sets of settings on each. The BIOS ICs are also a DIP package again which means they are user replaceable. So even if you manage to bork both BIOS chips, you can still just order one and be back up and running...no RMA needed. Thank-you ASUS for this very nice old school implementation of a newer feature. Trust me lads, having a dual BIOS that you have full control over is very nice.

TweakIt

http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/specs-2.jpg
Second is the fanciest thing on a motherboard since...well, since ever. TweakIt is a manual system adjuster that is purely hardware driven. This means that at any time, we can adjust various settings of the motherboard such as FSB and voltages. In reality, this is basically having not only variable resistors pre-soldered to the various voltage options, but also the ability to adjust the FSB on the fly. I have played with it briefly already and the interface is very intuative. The LCD Poster acts as your guide and your fingers do the walking...it is very cool. As has been discussed here already, Futuremark has a headache on their hands with this motherboard.

Let's now talk about probably the most important aspect of this motherboard right now...price, and availability. At this very moment, there is only one place I am aware of that the Rampage Extreme is available, and that is in the UK:

OcUK - £229.99 + VAT (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-284-AS)
Scan - £209.69 + VAT (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=856997)

The scary thing is that OcUK, notorious for price gouging, might not even be too far off with this price. If anyone has any further places that the board is available, just post em up and I will add them to the list. It looks like we are going to have to pay through the nose for this guy but when I consider how much my 790i, Maximus Extreme, and various other boards along the way cost...this is almost respectable for what it is. Hey...I said almost respectable. Time for some package and layout photos...as if you haven't seen enough already.

[3oh6]

Again, this will be just a brief fly over of the package and the layout of the board. We start with a shot of the box and then the pile of stuff that comes with the board. The Rampage Extreme is a premium board and it comes with a premium package.

click for full size...

http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/package-1.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/package-1.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/package-2.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/package-2.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/package-3.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/package-3.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/package-4.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/package-4.jpg)
The standard ROG package encases the RE (Rampage Extreme) with more logos plastered all over this box than a Nascar driver. The logos do in fact provide a lot of information about the RE. ASUS has done a lot of work putting all of these features on the board, they might as well display them. The front of the package has a top flap that lifts up revealing even more information about the board in side. We also get a bit of a sneak peak at the board through the transparent sections of the package. The accessory pack is all neatly arranged in the additional box inside the package that accomodates the motherboard. Here is a list of the contents that come with the reatail package...
1x IDE
1x floppy
6x SATA (3x 90 degree angled)
1x 4-pin molex to double SATA 5-pin power
1x dual USB & single Firewire 6-pin PCI bracket
3x optional temperature sensors
1x illuminated rear I/O panel
1x optional cooling fan
ASUS Q-Connectors
2x 1/4" > 3/8" & 2x 1/4" to 1/2" adapters and worm clamps
rubber motherboard stand offs for open air bench setup
1x optional NB air cooling attachment
1x optional PWM air cooling attachment
click for full size...

http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/package-5.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/package-5.jpg)
The optional heat sinks allow for a little additional cooling on the PWM and NB. Their construction is pretty basic and being made of what feels like aluminum I don't expect fantastic results from the use of them, but the NB block should be a bit better for cooling than the Fusion water block if you are just going to be air cooling. Let's now do a quick jaunt around the RE's layout.

click for full size...

http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/layout-1.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/layout-1.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/layout-2.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/layout-2.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/layout-3.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/layout-3.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/layout-4.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/layout-4.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/layout-5.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/layout-5.jpg)
The layout on the Rampage extreme is very good but with the large heat sinks surrounding the socket area, there are going to be some issues with CPU coolers. I have already found that the Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX will only fit in one direction, and it isn't exactly a large cooler. With the additional heat pipe attachments for the rear PWM and NB, even more issues could arrise. It appears that the Thermalright Ultra-120/Ultra-120 Extreme shouldn't have a problem as they should clear the heat sinks, but again, with the attachments it might be a different story. As for the rest of the layout, there isn't much to complain about. The PCI-E slots are nicely spaced for GPU pots or doul slot coolers and the memory slots are well away from the CPU socket. All other connectors are along the outside edges of the board in their usual spots and the 90 degree SATA ports are a welcome site. So despite the amount of 'stuff' on the board, ASUS has done quite well in making everything accessible and compatible in my opinion.

[3oh6]

BIOS Repository
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0206 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0206.zip)
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0301 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0301.zip)
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0401 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0401.zip)
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0403 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0403.zip)
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0501 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0501.zip)
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0601 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0601.zip)
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0801 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0801.zip)
Rampage Extreme BIOS - 0901 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios/Rampage-ASUS-Extreme-0901.zip)

Just remember, as Kensek and ASUS say...flash at your own risk and use the EZ-Flash method to minimize a bad flash occurring.


OC Profile: BIOS configurations
The OC Profile feature of the ASUS BIOS allows us users to share complete BIOS configurations that can be saved to thumb drives and shared. Feel free to submit your own BIOS profile in the thread and fire me a PM if you think it should be posted here for others to use. Stuff like stable 450FSB~500FSB Quad core setups etc...

When posting a BIOS profile, be sure to include some useful information about how the BIOS is setup and be sure to list the BIOS version that it was saved from.

[3oh6]

I will start off the overclocking with a little FSB action. So far, these are just initial results, right out of the box with the Fusion block still on. Eventually I will put water in the Fusion block and perhaps a little more cooling on the NB after that. Here is a photo of the initial setup:

click for full size...

http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-1.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-1.jpg)
And of course, a complete break down of the hardware used for these results...
MB: ASUS Rampage Extreme (BIOS 0206)
CPU: Intel C2D E8600ES (Q814A526)
CPU Cooling: Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX
GPU: Biostar 8600GTS
NB Cooling: Stock w/Fushion block
SB Cooling: Stock
PWM Cooling: Stock
PSU: Silverstone Zeus 560W
HD: Seagate SATAII 80GB 8MB NCQ
OS: Windows XP Pro SP2
These next couple results are basically within minutes of first firing up the board. The goal was to get 600FSB stable and these were the first two shots on the way to that.


Stable FSB on Air w/E8600 - SPi 32M :: 600MHz PL9 @ 1.41vNB
click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/small/32m_600_2-3_900_7-6-5-1.png (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/32m_600_2-3_900_7-6-5-1.png)

Stable FSB on Air w/E8600 - Dual SPi 32M :: 600MHz PL9 @ 1.48v
click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/small/dual32m_600_2-3_900_7-6-5-1.png (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/dual32m_600_2-3_900_7-6-5-1.png)
In all honesty, the vNB along with other voltages could probably be lower but I was just hunting to get a gauge for where the board was going to be at. Remember, these were both within 20 minutes of first turning on the board. Needless to say, it is quite easy to get this board clocking. There will be far more to this section in the future as the cooling progresses.

[3oh6]

first on the docket is the 2x1GB PC3-16000 Crucial Ballistix...


click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-2.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-2.jpg) http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-3.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-3.jpg)
Dual 32M SPi...OC Report
7-7-6-X 1T / 7-6-5-X 1T:
Intel X48 & Crucial Ballistix PC3-16000:
Click link for full size screenshot...
930MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-7-6_930_1-96v-1.png) | 964MHz :: 2.05v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-6-5_964_2-05v-1.png) | 980MHz :: 2.10v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-6-5_980_2-10v-1.png) | 990MHz :: 2.15v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-6-5_990_2-15v-1.png)

I hit a bit of a roadblock at 980MHz on the 266 strap and went up to the 333 strap to get 990MHz ran. More vNB didn't help on the 266 strap as temps were getting up over 50C under load. On the 333 strap, the memory again ran out of steam at 990MHz and that is far as I will take this kit for now at CL7. Time to move on to CL8 and for that, I figured I would see if the optional heat-pipe attachment for the NB would help.

8-7-6-X 1T:
Intel X48 & Crucial Ballistix PC3-16000:
Click link for full size screenshot...
1030MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_8-7-6_1030_1.96v-1.png)

Since I have hit that wall at 1030MHz and tried everything I could, I have fired off an e-mail to ASUS to see what their thoughts are. In the mean time, I have to move forward and decided to start the XMP testing. For those looking for compatible kits, this is what you want to watch. These are just the screens after dual 32M testing but full stability testing will be done for the review. BIOS defaults are loaded for each kit, and all settings are left alone.


3DMark 01
8-7-6-X 1T:
Intel X48 & Crucial Ballistix PC3-16000:
Click link for full size screenshot...
1110MHz :: 2.12v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/01_1110_8-7-6_2-12v-1.png)

I have finally replaced the thermal paste and modified the stock heat sink to provide more mounting pressure and low&behold, MCH temps dropped a solid 10~15C across the board at load and idle. This has allowed me to increase MCH voltage and do some fun things with the memory. I can get a single 32M done at 1050MHz 8-7-6 now but still no improvement on dual 32M with this D9GTS based Ballistix kit. 3DMark 01, however, was a little more fun as seen above :D



click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-4.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-4.jpg)
Dual 32M SPi...OC Report
6-6-5-X 1T:
Intel X48 & G.Skill 2GBHZ PC2-12800:
Click link for full size screenshot...
800MHz :: 2.00v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/2gbhz/dual32m_6-6-5_800_2-00v-1.png) | 822MHz :: 2.05v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/2gbhz/dual32m_6-6-5_822_2-05v-1.png) | 842MHz :: 2.11v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/2gbhz/dual32m_6-6-5_842_2-11v-1.png) | 860MHz :: 2.15v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/2gbhz/dual32m_6-6-5_860_2-15v-1.png)

With all this talk of D9GTR doing well I figured it was time to give it a proper shot and so far so good at CL6, but that isn't the issue with D9GTS. I still get the weird boot issue once in a while with the D9GTR kit and after putting them in, I couldn't get POST without removing a single stick, loading BIOS defaults, then POSTing. Then the second stick could go in and I could get POST. I didn't have to change anything in the BIOS, just POST with a single stick first and save & exit. Also, don't mind the LN2/Dry Ice container, the fan on the stock heat sink went so I am improvising ;)


XMP Testing
click for full screenshot...
Corsair TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN - ver3.1 (Micron) :: XMP :up: (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/dominator/xmp_dual32m_7-7-7_900_2v-1.png)
G.Skill F3-12800CL7D-4GBPI :: XMP :up: (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pi/xmp_dual32m_7-7-7_800_1-9v-.png)
I as of yet haven't determined which is at fault for the Mushkin Ascent 2x2GB kit failing to run XMP easily on this board but the kit did pass full stability testing on the GA-EP45T-Extreme recently but at 2T.

[3oh6]

single card GPU testing first in this section. nothing fancy just some basic numbers...

[3oh6]

http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-5.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-5.jpg)
The games have begun with a pair of ATI HD4850s. Both cards have been volt modded and the setup is still all on air. Tonight was simply a shake down of the system, the cards, and my run order/LODs for 01. The cards don't appear to be that strong but 800MHz core and 1075MHz memory seem to be do-able for consistent benching with reasonable volts on air. Here is where I am at so far...

3DMark // AM3...OC Report
Intel X48 & 2x ATI HD4850 512MB DDR3 // CrossFire Cat 8.7 // Stock Cooler fan @ 100%:

Click score for full size screenshot...
01 = 93028 (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/01_93028_785-1075_4748-1.png) | CPU @ 593*8 4748MHz | GPU @ 785MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 01 = 93028 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=9408164)
03 = 83566 (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/03_83566_785-1075_4748-1.png) | CPU @ 593*8 4748MHz | GPU @ 785MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 03 = 83566 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=5917438)
05 = 32141 (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/05_32141_775-1075_4748-1.png) | CPU @ 593*8 4748MHz | GPU @ 775MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 05 = 32141 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=4440682)
06 = 22523 (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/06_22523_760-1075_4712-1.png) | CPU @ 589*8 4712MHz | GPU @ 760MHz / 1075MHz | ORB Link 3DMark 06 = 22523 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=7874411)
AM3 = 294913 (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/am3_294913_800-1075_4800-1.png) | CPU @ 600*8 4800MHz | GPU @ 800MHz / 1075MHz

So I got AM3 sorted, with these ATI cards you have to delete the DLL file, not patch it. Man it has been too long since I benched ATI, this weekend should be fun with what I have in store for this setup :D



http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-9.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-9.jpg)
CPU at 6GHz+ on LN2 // Stock Air CF 2 x ATIHD4850
Intel X48 & 2x ATI HD4850 512MB DDR3 // CrossFire Cat 8.7 // Stock Cooler fan @ 100%:
Click score for full size screenshot...
01 = 112959 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/01_112959_820-1075_6100-1.png) | CPU @ 610*10 6100MHz | GPU @ 820MHz / 1075MHz | ORB (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=9412918)
03 = 88615 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/03_88615_815-1075_5999-1.png) | CPU @ 600*10 6000MHz | GPU @ 815MHz / 1075MHz | ORB (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=5927924)
05 = 39111 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/05_39111_825-1075_6100-1.png) | CPU @ 610*10 6100MHz | GPU @ 825MHz / 1075MHz | ORB (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=4462924)
AM3 = 355645 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/am3_355645_815-1075_6150-1.png) | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 815MHz / 1075MHz | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=768300)

Oh yeah, the HD4850s tore it up with a 6GHz CPU. The board performed very well and the performance was quite good for the clocks. It really was a treat working with this setup as there were very little issues throughout the whole 9 hour session. Putting cold on the cards is next and hopefully happening this weekend.



http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-10.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-10.jpg)
CPU at 6.15GHz on LN2 // CF 2 x ATIHD4850 at 1000MHz core+ on LN2
Intel X48 & 2x ATI HD4850 512MB DDR3 // CrossFire Cat 8.7 // TEK-9 4.0 SLIM:
Click score for full size screenshot...
01 = 114997 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/01_114997_1020-1075_6150-1.png) | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 1020MHz / 1075MHz @ 1.508v | ORB (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=9416618) | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=771101)
03 = 102558 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/03_102558_1050-1075_5999-1.png) | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 1050MHz / 1075MHz | ORB (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=5936530) | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=771640)
05 = 40110 (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/hd4850cf/05_40110_1000-1075_6150-1.png) | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | GPU @ 1000MHz / 1075MHz | ORB (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=4481984) | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=771103)

The culmination of all previous testing went down earlier this week with a 3 pot LN2 session on the HD4850s. I got my E8600 stable at 6150MHz for all benches and managed to improve a couple with some help from a pair of Tek-9 4.0 Slims on the GPUs. I did not have thermal probes on the GPU pots so it was fly-by-wire and they could have been maximized quite a bit more I believe. Either way, some CF HD4850 WRs fell and a solid chunk of HWBot points were earned from this very strong setup...cracked the top 50 :up:


http://www.hwbot.org/signature/u5357.png (http://www.hwbot.org/user.do?userId=5357)

[3oh6]

Alright, so now that the final push for the review is done, time to get back to work on this thread. I will start off with the insulation job for the LN2 session that was posted in the review. I will also be posting the benchmark results here sometime this week.

click for full size...

http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-1.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-1.jpg) http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-2.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-2.jpg) http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-3.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-3.jpg) http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-4.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-4.jpg) http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-5.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-5.jpg)

I start off with a 1/2" thick layer of armacell closed cell insulation cut from a large sheet. This is cut to fit perfectly inside the heat pipe cocoon and then a dremel with a dry wall carving tip is used to cut out the holes for the caps and inductors. Next is a double layer of the blue shop towels, thanks to Vince for the idea here. On top of that are two more layers of the 1/2" armacell with cutouts to accomodate the pot. Then the pot with a small donut makes an appearance on the scene. At this point the setup is ready for the inner armacell pipe insulation and a wrap of whop towels around the mounting hardware followed by another larger layer of armacell pulled over top the entire assembly. At this point we are snug as a bug and ready to rock.

click for full size...

http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-6.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-6.jpg)

There was one amendment that had to be made to the outer ring of armacell pipe insulation because of the Fusion block and it's flurry of worm clamps. When I find the thread that the stock heat sink uses I should be able to mount the MCW30 and will likely not have to have a chunk of the outer insulation missing. Benching was now in full swing and I finished a 9 hour LN2 session with the RE followed promptly by a nap. The board held up really well and the NB was great using just the Fusion block. It was suppose to be a feeling out session for the CPU as it hadn't been cold before but it turned into an all out benching romp when I easily found the CPUs limits. The RE benched at 600~615FSB on the 333Strap 5:8 ratio with a tRD of 9 the whole time. My E8600 had a crappy cold bug around -110C so 6100MHz was about the limit for all benches. Sorted a solid Pifast, 1M, and 32M for 2D which was followed by 01, 03, 05, & AM3 with CF HD4850s (volt modded but stock air) and single HD4850 01, 05, AM3. I have to go through all the results but here some photos...

click for full size...

http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-6.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-6.jpg) http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-7.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-7.jpg) http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-8.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-8.jpg)

From left to right, benching SPi early on, later I went back to it with a single HD4850 but I always start with my trusty 8600GTS with no drivers installed for 32M. My withdrawl device wouldn't build pressure so getting LN2 came down to manual labour. Setting the dewar on the milk crate at an angle let me rock it rather easily while using the second crate as a sort of safety stop in case I managed to lose the balance. It worked rather well but with a couple cracked ribs and recently separated left shoulder...it was a very tough 9 hours, considering I only had a 750ml thermos cup to fill :eek:. The last photo was during tear down. There was the outer armaflex layer of insulation over what is shown here but there wasn't a drop of water in site. A good bit of frost under the shop towel but absolutely zero water anywhere...the setup could have easily gone a lot longer had more cold stuff been available. I then took a couple photos during tear down, not bad for 9 hours of being -105C at the CPU base.

click for full size...

http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-7.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-7.jpg) http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/insulation-8.jpg (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/insulation-8.jpg)

As mentioned, the insulation held up remarkably well and will be my permanent insulation solution for this setup. Having a very alrge A/C unit with de-humidifier in the bench room really helps with condensation but even still, the setup stayed perfectly dry and was begging for more. Results from this session will go up before the weekend, followed by more benching, hopefully with some extra special GPU action :up:

[3oh6]

With 3D benches above, I need somewhere for 2D results. Consider this Super Pi central :up:

E8600 on LN2 // Round 1
Intel X48 & Intel E8600 ES Q814A526:
Click score for full size screenshot...
1M SPi = 7.547s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/1m_6150_984-1.png) | CPU @ 615*10 6150MHz | RAM @ 984MHz 7-6-5-18 | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=768302)
32M SPi = 7m 46.859s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/32m_6100_976-1.png) | CPU @ 610*10 6150MHz | RAM @ 976MHz 7-6-5-18 | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=768302)
PiFast = 16.20s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pifast_6100_976-1.png) | CPU @ 610*10 6150MHz | RAM @ 976MHz 7-6-5-18

As mentioned in the Insulation section above, the session went very well despite the E8600 not being a stellar chip. There likely won't be much updates from this section until i get some more E8600s or get my solid little E8400 in this board.


E8400 on LN2 // Round 1
Intel X48 & Intel E8400 Q808A476:
Click score for full size screenshot...

CPU-Z Validation (http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=414217) | CPU @ 650*9 5850MHz | RAM @ 975MHz 7-6-5-18
1M SPi = 7.906s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/1m_e8400_5850-1.png) | CPU @ 650*9 5850MHz | RAM @ 975MHz 7-6-5-18 | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=769506)
32M SPi = 8m 17.656s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/32m_e8400_5670-1.png) | CPU @ 630*9 5670MHz | RAM @ 945MHz 7-6-5-18 | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=769502)



E8400 on LN2 // Round 2
Intel X48 & Intel E8400 Q808A476:
Click score for full size screenshot...

CPU-Z Validation (http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=414217) | CPU @ 650*9 5940MHz | RAM @ 990MHz 7-6-5-18 tRD=9
PiFast = 15.98s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pifast_5832-1.png) | CPU @ 648*9 5832MHz | RAM @ 972MHz 7-6-5-18 tRD=9 | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=773122)
wPrime 32M = 12.964s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/wprime32_5895-1.png) | CPU @ 655*9 5895MHz | RAM @ 982MHz 7-6-5-18 tRD=9 | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=773111)
wPrime 1024M = 422.417s (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/wprime1024_5760-1.png) | CPU @ 640*9 5760MHz | RAM @ 960MHz 7-6-5-18 tRD=9 | HWBot.org (http://www.hwbot.org/result.do?resultId=773102)

I had a few liters of LN2 left so I decided to have at the E8400 again and run some PiFast and wPrime since I just figured out the secret to better times with both of them...Vista! It turned out to be quite a fruitful hour or two as I completely smashed the top HWBot E8400 PiFast time with some unruly FSB on the Rampage Extreme. This guy played with GTLs finally and it paid off in spades at the end of the session :D

[WhiteFireDragon]

anxious to see results! i love the board gizmos and layouts. but as always, performance > bling so if this proves much better than maximusII with almost identical layouts/design, i'll sell it and get this one. better performance while keeping the same look :D

only thing i can see where maximus II having an advantage is the SB. how is ICH10R compared to ICH9R from this one? it would really be nice if asus found some way to implement newer SB on older chipsets, especially since this will be the last 775 mobo before x58 nehalems

[3oh6]

yeah, this board is something else...i was a bit un-easy about the TweakIt feature but have been using it all day now and it really is nice having FSB and voltage control on the fly. TweakIt provides the same ability that volt modding all of the voltages would, with the bonus of FSB changing. ASUS definitely is on to something here.

a small update as well, some of you guys asked to see the Ballistix kit on an Intel board...well, here you go:

Dual 32M SPi...OC Report
7-7-6-X 1T / 7-6-5-X 1T:
Intel X48:
Click link for full size screenshot...
930MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-7-6_930_1-96v-1.png) | 964MHz :: 2.05v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-6-5_964_2-05v-1.png)

[soapman72]

Nice write-up!

[nut311]

wow...nice mobo,words,and picture:up: four letter and two words...

[3oh6]

thanks guys...the board just keeps on kicking. finished up the brief CL7 OC Report and will now move on to CL8. i have also removed the fusion block and added the optional ND heat pipe heat sink. temps so far seem to be a couple degrees lower but nothing significant...they are definitely not higher though so that is a good start.

Dual 32M SPi...OC Report
7-7-6-X 1T / 7-6-5-X 1T:
Intel X48:
Click link for full size screenshot...
930MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-7-6_930_1-96v-1.png) | 964MHz :: 2.05v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-6-5_964_2-05v-1.png) | 980MHz :: 2.10v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-6-5_980_2-10v-1.png) | 990MHz :: 2.15v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/ballistix/dual32m_7-6-5_990_2-15v-1.png)

I hit a bit of a roadblock at 980MHz on the 266 strap and went up to the 333 strap to get 990MHz ran. More vNB didn't help on the 266 strap as temps were getting up over 50C under load. On the 333 strap, the memory again ran out of steam at 990MHz and that is far as I will take this kit for now at CL7. Time to move on to CL8 and for that, I figured I would see if the optional heat-pipe attachment for the NB would help.


click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-3.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-3.jpg)
CL8 is on the clock and already looking good :up:

[eternal_fantasy]

3oh6, do you mind if we move our discussion of the Rampage extreme to this thread from the one in the Review (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=195117) section? Would be ideal if we could gather all the info on the same botherboard at one place, and the OP of that thread seems to be on holiday:confused:. However I don't want to seem as if we are stealing your thread, so I ask your permission:D

Some good info on the board there too:up: and I will direct the posts to this thread if you give the green light.

[3oh6]

yeah buddy, that won't be a problem at all. that was sort of the idea behind this thread anyway, show lots of results of all kinds of settings and talk about how i got there type deal. that's why i put it in the Intel section. so yeah, bring the boys over anytime...i am just working on some higher 8-7-6 clocks. started out great but am now running into problems past 1030MHz.

[eternal_fantasy]

Awsome. Posted there a link to this thread with big blue letters :D

Been playing with it now for 2 days, just pushed my quad and duo CPUs to pretty high FSBs. My D9GTR kit won't go near 1000Mhz, and my D9JNL kit won't even boot into windows at default settings... so been playing around at 900Mhz memory. What BIOS are you using? And do you only have a limited time with the review sample of the motherboard? Anyway good luck with the board and the thread should be an intresting ride as more people buy the Rampage Extreme when it become more widely available. :up:

[3oh6]

no limited time with the board, should be mine for good. as for BIOS, all the screen shots should have the BIOS in it but for all the memory clocking thus far, i have been on 0401. i think the FSB screen shots are on 0206. no real reason for switching to 0401 for the memory clocking, just figured newer was better. still hitting a hard wall past 1030MHz on the memory at 8-7-6 and have just tried 0403 with no difference. still a few things to try but skews and GTLs aren't doing a damn thing to get 1040MHz to run dual 32M, not even sure single 32M will run. might be time to give the NB more voltage :shrug:

[eternal_fantasy]

Give it hell. I'll check back on your results tomorrow morning :D :up:

[Timbosan]

Looking good so far, keep it coming. I'd like to see voltage settings used etc in the final review.

[rob2k]

Just found my way over from the review thread as suggested by EF some good pics there but looking forward to some nitty gritty settings, user experiences and recommendations on this thread.

Good work 3oh6 :) - I can confirm that the Thermalright U120E does fit but it will touch the red cover on the upper mosfet cooler so removing this will help.

Not having good experiences with my OCZ memory even with 2 sticks in the white slots. Anyone know what IC chips are good for 1000Hz plus and what 2x2Gb sticks use them ?. Thanks.

My rig :QX9770-C1 on Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme cooler
XFX GTX280 XT. Creative X-Fi Elite Pro.
OCZ 4x1Gb PC3-16000C9 2000Mhz Platinum EB
Samsung F1 1TB & 2X500Gb Hitachi SATA 2.
2xSamsung 20XDVD-RW SATA
Vista Ultimate 32bit
Asus Rampage Extreme
Bios : 0403
Enermax Infinity 720w
CM Stacker 832 5x120 fans.

[REVHEAD]

Can we se some Quad action on this thing if possible.

I should recieve my Rmpage Extreme on Tuesday or Wendesday of next week.

[maxxx]

I can confirm that the Thermalright U120E does fit but it will touch the red cover on the upper mosfet cooler so removing this will help.

Hi, is it ok if the backplace of the Thermalright U120E hit that Fujitsu (chip??) that fits in the middle? I am a bit afraid if I start to tighten the hsf, that thing will crack or break.

Thanks in advance....

[MnM]

Hi, is it ok if the backplace of the Thermalright U120E hit that Fujitsu (chip??) that fits in the middle? I am a bit afraid if I start to tighten the hsf, that thing will crack or break.

Thanks in advance....

Dont do that. It might kill your motherboard.
Do what I did - I got an Asus V-60 heatsink as it has the correct backplate on it. :banana::banana::banana::banana: I've spend so much on the motherboard I'm not gonna kill it now cause I dont want to spen 40 bucks more (AUD bucks that is).

This is the back plate included wiht Asus V-60:

http://www.auswebserv.com/xbackre.jpg

[maxxx]

@MnM: thanks for the info. I was too hesitant to do it, now I really won't. Gonna have to find something like that. Problem is if the shops here have those.
Again, many thanks...

40 AUD bucks for what? A new backplate?

[Leeghoofd]

Hope to get a good view on which ram works and which doesn't, might be my last socket 775 board before Nehalem...

Keep it up, looking good :)

[rob2k]

Hi Maxx,

MnM is right - the TU120E backplate will crush the chip. I used a small cutting disc on the Dremmel and modified mine as shown below. That way the backplate had the correct nuts to ensure that the H/S bolts would only tighten up the amount it was designed to.

[maxxx]

@rob2k: thanks for the tip, maybe I can have mine modded the same way. I don't have a Dremmel but I might find a shop that can do that. Cheers.

@3oh6 and all: sorry that I hijacked your thread. The info provided by MnM and Rob2k are quite important for those who want to run this mobo on air and use a TRUE120 or any cooler that uses the same method for mounting

[eternal_fantasy]

I have just ripped apart my system and took out the RE heatpipes... I'll have some intresting pictures and info to post after I get some food inside me :D

[eternal_fantasy]

@rob2k: thanks for the tip, maybe I can have mine modded the same way. I don't have a Dremmel but I might find a shop that can do that. Cheers.

@3oh6 and all: sorry that I hijacked your thread. The info provided by MnM and Rob2k are quite important for those who want to run this mobo on air and use a TRUE120 or any cooler that uses the same method for mounting

I'm sure your concern is quite on topic. :up:

[Breathless]

Dont do that. It might kill your motherboard.
Do what I did - I got an Asus V-60 heatsink as it has the correct backplate on it. :banana::banana::banana::banana: I've spend so much on the motherboard I'm not gonna kill it now cause I dont want to spen 40 bucks more (AUD bucks that is).

This is the back plate included wiht Asus V-60:

http://www.auswebserv.com/xbackre.jpg



Or you guys can just purchase this and not have to buy a whole heatsink, then just mod it:

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lgbowiscsp.html

[3oh6]

i'll try to answer all things asked of me in one shot...

there will be no quad action from me...i just don't have one :shrug:

the Ballistix i am using are D9GTS and i am having issues getting over 1030MHz. i have tried BIOS 0301/0401/0403 to no avail. i have tried 266strap, and 333strap, the 266strap doesn't like anything over 1000MHz. i am also working with fairly decent Performance Level, otherwise, whats the point? i have tried high vMCH but it doesn't seem to help, there has to be something else going on here. firing up and going 400strap and will report back.

the back plate i am using is what comes with the Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX, it has the hole in the middle. ASUS really should consider tossing in a back plate that works considering the cost of this board. it would be much cheaper for them than it would us. DON'T USE THE THERMALRIGHT BACK PLATE!!! without modification of course.

i have Mushkin Ascent 2x2GB that i will be testing in this board, the problem is, i have no idea what ICs they are. in my 790i thread, they scaled with voltage very very well right up to 2.20v (at CL6 anyway) so...i am assuming Micron based on that. good luck getting the IC info from Mushkin, and i have already tried taking off the heat sink...it is on there for good, and i can take off any heatsinks (or so i thought).

as for hijacking this thread...no worries boys, this thread is about information for users or potential users of this board. nothing will be too off topic IMO. i am not one of these uppity jerks who just wants to see "good job!" posts in my threads. let's share some info and help each other out :up:

[maxxx]

@3oh6: Thanks mate.
Btw, can you guys give me a link for the 0403 BIOS? Cheers....

[REVHEAD]

Hope to get a good view on which ram works and which doesn't, might be my last socket 775 board before Nehalem...

Keep it up, looking good :)

Havnt u got enough motherboards allready?:rofl:

[3oh6]

@3oh6: Thanks mate.
Btw, can you guys give me a link for the 0403 BIOS? Cheers....
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=196114&highlight=0401

[MnM]

@MnM: 40 AUD bucks for what? A new backplate?

The V-60 is a whole heatsink. It just happens that it has the correct backplate. I could not find the backplate by itself anywhere thats why I got the the heatsink package.

[eternal_fantasy]

After 2 days of benching and pushing the Rampage Extreme, one thing is always on the back of my mind... that the Northbridge is so hot even watercooled via the Fusion waterblock. As I said in the other post, temps went well over 55C with only 1.5V. Compared to my watercooled Maximus Extreme NB, which at 1.7V never exceeds 47C. The theory behind the Rampage Extreme's heatsink/pipe system is probably the best out there, which cools the CPU's MOSFETs, NB, NB's MOSFETs and other parts, and the SB. However it is poorly implemented, as described in this post:

Using the onboard Fusion block keeps most of the components cool, except the NB... the design is that heat have to travel through layres of material that is kinda stuck together with a glue gun...:
----------------
Fusion block
copper plate
3 heatpipes side by side
copper plate
North Bridge
----------------
The design is extremely inefficient (it's like the heat have to travel through a sausage roll to get to the water block:shakes:), and although the fusion block feels cool to the touch, the NB was at 56C at 1.5V. And thats with reseated sinks with MX-2 applied. My Maximus Extreme with Mips block keeps the NB under 47C at 1.7V... :down:

The heatblock/pipe:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1895/web.jpg?ver=12176100610001

SB sink with pipe:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1896/web.jpg?ver=12176100740001

NB power delivery cooling:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1893/web.jpg?ver=12176100560001

NB copper plate with the 3 heatpipes stuck onto it:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1888/web.jpg?ver=12176100520001

As you can see it's not really the most efficient design for heat transfer when using the Fusion block. So I went digging through my spare part box and come up with much better cooling:-
-------------------------------------------------
Southbridge, never really hot on the P5K, and no drives actually are connected to the ICH9R, so a cheap&cheerful P5B Deluxe aluminium SB heatsink does a perfect job:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1853/web.jpg?ver=12176099370001

With some modding on the RAMsinks (2 resisters preventing the ramsinks from sitting flush on the mosfet), the NB power delivery area:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1864/web.jpg?ver=12176099830001

And the back of the board :D :
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/2713222051_30bcfbb5b9_b.jpg

Northbridge - a PROPER water block:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1859_2/web.jpg?ver=12176099630001
the adjacent NB mounting hole distance are the same as a Maximus/Rampage, but just 2 of them as in the picture.

And finally the CPU MOSFET area:
http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1855/web.jpg?ver=12176099510001

So to custom watercool your Rampage Extreme, it is basically the same as the Maximus/Rampage Formula series, but you may want to also consider cooling the power delivery system of the NB, as it tends to get pretty hot with the 3 phase/15 mosfet design (8 front, 7 back).

What's the difference from watercooling with the Fusion block compared to what I have now I hear you ask? Before this makeover I cannot put in more then 1.65V into the NB without the RE refusing to boot, and at that voltage the NB, when under load, goes up to 60C+. Now however, at 1.7V the NB temp is kept nice n cool at under 42C under load, and plenty of room to go higher without cooking the board. That means longer component life and higher stability!!:up:

http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1867/web.jpg?ver=12176099890001

[3oh6]

very nice, thanks for bringing these photos and the information to the thread :up:

i have held off on fighting with the memory clocks for now and have now switched gears to the XMP testing. i have a pair of 2x1GB kits and a pair of 2x2GB kits and i will test them all here for at least dual 32M SPi...

XMP Testing
click for full screenshot...
TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN - ver3.1 (Micron) :: XMP :up: (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/dominator/xmp_dual32m_7-7-7_900_2v-1.png)

[MikeMK]

Very interesting Eternal. What Thermalright mosfet coolers did u use? I have an HR09S Type 2 and an HR09U Type 2 sat here... any chance they would fit? Also I have an MCW30 (which fit on my rampage formula actually) and an EK S-max too... same question really... u think they will do the job?

Finally, by board arrived today... looks really fantastic. Asus have dont a very nice job here... loving the idea behind their dual bios implimentation. I have a quad here and will post results within the next few days... might be sunday/monday before i get chance to have it all up and running!

[eternal_fantasy]

very nice, thanks for bringing these photos and the information to the thread :up:

i have held off on fighting with the memory clocks for now and have now switched gears to the XMP testing. i have a pair of 2x1GB kits and a pair of 2x2GB kits and i will test them all here for at least dual 32M SPi...

Nice results:up: Hopefully as more people gets their board we'll have more data for troubleshooting the mobo.


Very interesting Eternal. What Thermalright mosfet coolers did u use? I have an HR09S Type 2 and an HR09U Type 2 sat here... any chance they would fit? Also I have an MCW30 (which fit on my rampage formula actually) and an EK S-max too... same question really... u think they will do the job?

Finally, by board arrived today... looks really fantastic. Asus have dont a very nice job here... loving the idea behind their dual bios implimentation. I have a quad here and will post results within the next few days... might be sunday/monday before i get chance to have it all up and running!
I think my TR mosfet sinks are type1, as they were the only ones I could find when I brought them. Have had to mod the thermal pad a little longer as type 1 have a short coverage. Both the S-Max and the MCW30 will fit (NB/SB), as my NB block is also a S-Max. To be honest the SB never really gets hot, so if you can find a few ramsinks around stick them on and they will do a brilliant job. Watercooling the ICH9R is totally pointless IMO, not to mention additional block in the loop and tubing to arrange etc, or conflict with a long double slot VGA card. The S-Max does a great job on the NB, although I have ordered a MIPS nickle plated Maximus block, as IMO they are much higher quality then the EK, and better performance. Basically coolings you brought for the Maximus Formula/Extreme, Rampage formula etc will be compatible for the Rampage extreme. Kodos to ASUS for keeping the standard. :up:

Looking forward to your results. :up:

[rockqc]

Thanks so far for the testing and info, much appreciated.

Seems it's just coming into retail channels over here in Aus, so hopefully won't be too long before I can buy it.

E8600/Rampage Extreme is sounding like a damn fine combo :D

[eternal_fantasy]

Look at what I found!!!!!

BACK PLATE MADE FOR THE RAMPAGE EXTREME!!!11one (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=824662)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Images/Products/824662-a.jpg


Well.. at least if you're in the UK :D

[maxxx]

@Eternal, thanks... I know I saw them in the shops here when I bought the motherboard Just didn't realize I needed it... Gonna have to go out today to get 'em. Nice one. Cheers mate...

[eternal_fantasy]

No probs :D be sure to report back your experience with the Rampage Extreme when it's up and running :up:

[rockqc]

That looks much the same as the back plate that could be bought with the D-Tek FuZion v1 and/or came with the Pro Mount kit.

http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=224

I'll cut the centre out of mine once I get the board and see if it fits.

[maxxx]

No probs be sure to report back your experience with the Rampage Extreme when it's up and running
No probs. It'll be running on a Q6600 for this weekend though. Gonna received the E8600 and the QX9650 by end of next week... :(

[Whokidmo]

Look at what I found!!!!!

BACK PLATE MADE FOR THE RAMPAGE EXTREME!!!11one (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=824662)
Well.. at least if you're in the UK :D

apperantly it's in the US too

http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/xigmatek-crossbow-lga775-bolt-thru--kit.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233020

ur welcome guys...

[REVHEAD]

A question about the Sil raid controller why have Asus done this ? is it superior to the Intel raid controller in Read and Write speeds?
I dont unberstand why asus have done this.

I am currently using the intel raid controller , when I get my Rampage extreme will it be worth my while to swap controllers to the new one?

Thanks in advance.

[WhiteFireDragon]

click for full size...
http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/small/setup-3.jpg (http://www.3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/setup-3.jpg)


it looks like you put the memory in the white slots. board layout is similar to maximus II, and mine on maximus II is currently in the blue slots. does it really matter for blue or white dimm slots?? i just realized that the manual says memory in the white slot might offer better OC'ing. is this really true? you should try the OC on the blue slots to see if you get better or worst results

a side question: what does that fujitsu chip do? how come maximus II doesn't have one?

[eternal_fantasy]

That looks much the same as the back plate that could be bought with the D-Tek FuZion v1 and/or came with the Pro Mount kit.

http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=224

I'll cut the centre out of mine once I get the board and see if it fits.
Yes I think most of us will a few of the backplate you've linked either from buying a large HSF like the TRUE or from a waterblock. However not all of us have tools like dremel or power drills to mod ours, so we will have to rely on buying the backplate as-is. :)


A question about the Sil raid controller why have Asus done this ? is it superior to the Intel raid controller in Read and Write speeds?
I dont unbdestand why asus have done this.

I am currently using the intel raid controller , when I get my Rampage extreme will it be worth my while to swap controllers to the new one?

Thanks in advance.
The point of adding the Silicon Image chip is to provide hardware RAID, is to basically speed things up as it will automatically set the 2 drives connected to those ports as RAID0, and you don't need drivers for windows to recognise the RAID setup and install onto it. As for the performance advantages I have no idea. :D



it looks like you put the memory in the white slots. board layout is similar to maximus II, and mine on maximus II is currently in the blue slots. does it really matter for blue or white dimm slots?? i just realized that the manual says memory in the white slot might offer better OC'ing. is this really true? you should try the OC on the blue slots to see if you get better or worst results

a side question: what does that fujitsu chip do? how come maximus II doesn't have one?
Many high-end motherboards nowadays will tell you that you will get better overclocking results from using the dual channel slots further away from the Northbridge. This is because as they are further from the NB, the motherboard manufactures have more room to finetune the PCB circuitry, to basically "line up" the 2 ports better, so when the data frequency is very high as when overclocking, they get cleaner and more syncronised signals.
nVidia chipsets such as the 790i only officially support 2000Mhz DDR speeds on the slots further from the NB, and 1800Mhz DDR on the closer 2.

As for the fat ML Cap... apparently as they have MUCH higher capacitance then standard solid aluminum caps, and provides cleaner power to the 3 components: CPU, RAM and Northbridge. It's like only the most expensive Ferrari uses the magnetorheological shock absorber while the rest gets good'ol hydraulics ones. Now are they necessary? no. Are they good bragging material? hell yeah! Although the Rampage Extreme with the ML caps already broke quite a few FSB and memory speed world records, so I would think they're most probably not just for show. :up:

[maxxx]

Found the Crossbow backplate. Now that everything is up and running (Memtest at least), the CPU temp according to the BIOS is 39c at idle. I think I need to lap the TRUE120. NB temp in BIOS is around 45c with the passive sink (removed the waterblock and replaced the TIM with AS5). This is on a Q6600.
Push-pull config with 2x1900rpm Scythe fans...

[MnM]

I've got my motherboard but I have no ddr3 yet :(

However I have 2 x 4GB G.SKill PC3-12800 PI 7-7-7-18 on they way as well as 2 x4GB Diablo 2000 D9GTR

G.SKills will arrive early next week and Diablo later on next week.
I will be doing 4GB and 8GB comparisons.

[rob2k]

Out of action this weekend as no-one working at Microsoft Vista Technical support to help de-activate my license key as it seems I have tinkered too much and am no longer getting a system generated installation ID for telephone activation. I have Vista Ultimate Full which should allow me to tinker to my hearts content yet they treat me like a crim on the phone !!!. :mad:

Before I could no longer get into Windows I found the maximum memory speed to be 1760 (tried both 333 & 400 straps) for my OCZ using only 2 sticks which is shocking. I'm beginning to wonder if my quad has something to do with this but am looking at this 4Gb kit :-

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=821555

as I can't find the Crucial Ballistix 2x2Gb PC2000 kits anywhere.

Will be useful to see how you get on MnM :)

My rig :QX9770-C1 on Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme cooler
XFX GTX280 XT. Creative X-Fi Elite Pro.
OCZ 4x1Gb PC3-16000C9 2000Mhz Platinum EB
Samsung F1 1TB & 2X500Gb Hitachi SATA 2.
2xSamsung 20XDVD-RW SATA
Vista Ultimate 32bit
Asus Rampage Extreme
Bios : 0403
Enermax Infinity 720w
CM Stacker 832 5x120 fans.

[eternal_fantasy]

Yeah I had brought a pair of OCZ DDR3-2000 2x1GB when it first came out, it was either totally incompatible with the Striker II Extreme or totally overrated to run at 2000 DDR. Returned it after being treated like a noob in the OCZ support forum.

The Corsair kit you liked have stock here (http://www.awd-it.co.uk/scripts/prodview.asp?idproduct=4372) and here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0019EKIC6/nextag1-21/ref=nosim), but apparently they are Samsung IC, so what you see is what you get, and don't expect it to overclock much, although if you're just going to run it at 1:2 450x9 then it is fine.

MemoryC has the G.Skill 2x2GB (http://www.memoryc.co.uk/products/description/4GB_G_Skill_DDR3_PC3_12800_1600MHz_HZ_Series-7_7_7_18-Dual_Channel_kit/index.html) kits that should be using Micron IC, and from around the web and this forum will match or better the Corsair's speeds, while costing £150 less.

[maxxx]

I guess this ram issue totally rules out the clunky XMS3 I have. Time to look for a new pair I guess :slash:

[3oh6]

the G.Skill PI checked out fine for full stability so i have dropped the Mushkin Ascents in and originally they would reboot during dual 32M SPi. i then went to the G.Skill PI kit and it wouldn't even boot, hung on detecting DRAM. even after a clear CMOS it still wouldn't boot. i went to a single stick and it came right up but the XMP profile was all screwed up, timings were all over the place. i then set defaults with the single stick, saved and exited, and it came up with correct XMP timings??? threw in the second stick and voila, the G.Skill PI ran fine.

when switching back to the Mushkin Ascent, then booted up fine first time and now have no problem running the XMP profile, here is the dual 32M screenshot, they are priming as i type this...

XMP Testing
click for full screenshot...
Corsair TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN - ver3.1 (Micron) :: XMP :up: (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/dominator/xmp_dual32m_7-7-7_900_2v-1.png)
G.Skill F3-12800CL7D-4GBPI :: XMP :up: (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pi/xmp_dual32m_7-7-7_800_1-9v-.png)
so i am not sure what is going on but i suspect that the board is having troubles picking up XMP profiles once in a while. that may have been my initial issue with the Mushkin Ascent as they are fine now. i did manually lower vPLL as the XMP profile for the G.Skill PI kit was much higher than necessary...who knows, that may be why the Mushkin Ascent weren't cooperating originally either :shrug:


***edit***
well, scrap that...the system just crashed running Prime Blend after about half hour with the Mushkins. they are running 1T vs 2T that the G.Skills were so i am going to try at 2T and see what happens with the Mushkins but for now will pull the XMP passing. these modules might also have been damaged in the 790i when i was clocking them on that as i haven't ran them in another board since. i will test them in the EP45T-Extreme when it frees up but with the way P45 and that board is handling memory...it might not tell us much.

[MikeMK]

I think my TR mosfet sinks are type1, as they were the only ones I could find when I brought them. Have had to mod the thermal pad a little longer as type 1 have a short coverage. Both the S-Max and the MCW30 will fit (NB/SB), as my NB block is also a S-Max. To be honest the SB never really gets hot, so if you can find a few ramsinks around stick them on and they will do a brilliant job. Watercooling the ICH9R is totally pointless IMO, not to mention additional block in the loop and tubing to arrange etc, or conflict with a long double slot VGA card. The S-Max does a great job on the NB, although I have ordered a MIPS nickle plated Maximus block, as IMO they are much higher quality then the EK, and better performance. Basically coolings you brought for the Maximus Formula/Extreme, Rampage formula etc will be compatible for the Rampage extreme. Kodos to ASUS for keeping the standard. :up:

Looking forward to your results. :up:

Thanks for the info. I completely agree regarding the SB, i wont be watercooling that. I have a few coolers sat around here for SB duty, hopefully one of those will fit.

[rob2k]

Thanks for the memory tips guys ....... time to list unwanted bits on ebay OCZ memory, Striker II Extreme, WD Raptor X and EVGA 9800X2 SSC to fund new memory :)

Really looking to try Micron D9___ IC's rather than the Samsung this time. My ideal scenario is to run at 500FSB with multiplier of 8 and 1:2 memory running at 1000 (2000DDR) then I will stop tweaking and start playing !!.

Let's remember also that this board is still on an early bios.

EF - cheers for the B/P link will pick one up as a spare next time I buy from Scan. Cooling mods are looking great :)

[maxxx]

Anyone tested this on air cooling? Does the NB really get hot (60c @ full load)?

[MikeMK]

Well guys, u may have to wait a bit longer for my results. Looks like my board is DOA :( lights powerup for a few seconds then it reboots and does the same thing in a continuous loop. Cant be any of the hardware im plugging into it as its all working in my SIIE. Typical!!!

[maxxx]

Sorry to hear that Mike, hope you get the replacement soon.

[REVHEAD]

What a bummer MikeMK.

I am looking at coupling this board when I get mine next week with a E8600 and turfing my Q9450 in favour of the 4ghz dream, would u guys say this option would be better than keeping my Quad?

[3oh6]

Anyone tested this on air cooling? Does the NB really get hot (60c @ full load)?
all my results posted on the front page so far are on air cooling. NB gets up to 50~52C under HCI load at the highest so far.


Well guys, u may have to wait a bit longer for my results. Looks like my board is DOA :( lights powerup for a few seconds then it reboots and does the same thing in a continuous loop. Cant be any of the hardware im plugging into it as its all working in my SIIE. Typical!!!
what does the LCD poster say? i had this happen after a funky flash. try to turn off power to the power supply. then the jumper at the bottom of the board, set it to the second BIOS (pins 5&6)...

http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/bios_jumper-1.jpg

HTH

[sirsim]

What a bummer MikeMK.

I am looking at coupling this board when I get mine next week with a E8600 and turfing my Q9450 in favour of the 4ghz dream, would u guys say this option would be better than keeping my Quad?

Hi there... I think the quad is better all around cpu but if you
have the 4 GHz target you must get E8600,,But to tell you the
truth i had the same 4GHz "dream" until i reached it with an E8500..
After that i am using a quad.(q9550),,I think that the 6MB cache
that all dual-core family has is a drawback..(Q6600 with his 8MB
i owned was in most of the cases faster than E8500.....).Anyway
as the fastest dual core around E8600 is a must buy for most overclockers....
Including me.....:)

[sirsim]

http://www.cpu3d.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5522&Itemid=54&limit=1

Hi.....I read this and with all i hear i worry for that issue with NB temp...I am getting
mine next monday (11/8) and i am afraid that water will be the only way
to cool this mobo ... With air will not be so Extreme....I hope i am wrong....:shrug:

[3oh6]

if you want advise on what a review says, link directly to the page or better yet, quote what is concerning you and link to the page for context. i am not reading through an entire crap review from someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. so...what is it your concerned about in particular? i have not seen any heat issues with the NB with just air cooling from anyone. you just need some basic air flow over the motherboard which you should have over your memory as well anyway.

[eternal_fantasy]

Thanks for the memory tips guys ....... time to list unwanted bits on ebay OCZ memory, Striker II Extreme, WD Raptor X and EVGA 9800X2 SSC to fund new memory :)

Really looking to try Micron D9___ IC's rather than the Samsung this time. My ideal scenario is to run at 500FSB with multiplier of 8 and 1:2 memory running at 1000 (2000DDR) then I will stop tweaking and start playing !!.

Let's remember also that this board is still on an early bios.

EF - cheers for the B/P link will pick one up as a spare next time I buy from Scan. Cooling mods are looking great :)
Sure thing.:up:

I have purchased a pair of 2x2GB A-Data DDR3-1600 X ram from MemoryC last week, and you can read about its IC in the xtreme bandwidth section. I think this pair use the same IC as the Corsair DDR3-1800 2x2GB Dominator rams as I was able to acheve the exact same speed and timing at that kit... 1600@7-7-7-20, and 1800@8-8-8-24.

I can also confirm that at least for me the CellShock blue DDR3-1866 D9JNL kit does NOT work with the Rampage Extreme, at least with current BIOS.


http://www.cpu3d.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5522&Itemid=54&limit=1

Hi.....I read this and with all i hear i worry for that issue with NB temp...I am getting
mine next monday (11/8) and i am afraid that water will be the only way
to cool this mobo ... With air will not be so Extreme....I hope i am wrong....:shrug:


Anyone tested this on air cooling? Does the NB really get hot (60c @ full load)?

As I went stright to water cooling via the Fusion Block, I cannot comment on it's air cooling performance. However, even though I had reseated the whole cooling system and replaced the thermal compound with MX-2, @ 1.5VMCH it was lurking at around 56C loaded, using the Fusion. For reference after taking out the heatpipes and used my own NB waterblock, at load, 1.7VMCH, the NB never exceeded 41C.
The cpu3d.com review was a little extreme though.. up to 80degrees? :shocked:


Well guys, u may have to wait a bit longer for my results. Looks like my board is DOA :( lights powerup for a few seconds then it reboots and does the same thing in a continuous loop. Cant be any of the hardware im plugging into it as its all working in my SIIE. Typical!!!
Bad luck man.. do you have another set of memory to try when the new one arrives? cus some RAM are just not compatible atm...

Anyway here is a quickie of how I'm doing with my quad. Note that my memory is holding me back.. this board and the CPU can do 480Mhz no problem :D
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd126/eternal_fantasy_86/460x8stable.jpg


If anyone intrested in settings just ask :up:

[sirsim]

if you want advise on what a review says, link directly to the page or better yet, quote what is concerning you and link to the page for context. i am not reading through an entire crap review from someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. so...what is it your concerned about in particular? i have not seen any heat issues with the NB with just air cooling from anyone. you just need some basic air flow over the motherboard which you should have over your memory as well anyway.

Sorry but i didn't want an advice for what the review said...i only pointed that there is a report of NB-temp issue there.(NB=1.4V and temps at 50C).And I wondered if air will be adequate for Extreme overclocking..With so little feedback for this mobo i thing a link to a report is worth to share...So i don"t understand why you react like i forced you to read something..Having in mind that some people are not so experienced as you should also make you react different ....(and how you know that the review is "crap" and they dont know what they are talking about as long as you haven"t read it?)

[3oh6]

Sorry but i didn't want an advice for what the review said...i only pointed that there is a report of NB-temp issue there.(NB=1.4V and temps at 50C).And I wondered if air will be adequate for Extreme overclocking..With so little feedback for this mobo i thing a link to a report is worth to share...So i don"t understand why you react like i forced you to read something..Having in mind that some people are not so experienced as you should also make you react different ....(and how you know that they dont know what they are talking about as long as you haven"t read it?)
i was simply asking to the portion of the review that you were referring to so cool your heels. and from the first couple pages i skimmed over trying to find what you were referring to, it was evident they weren't on the top of their game. DDR2 and 2.3v used in overclocking?

just trying to help, that's all ;)

[sirsim]

i was simply asking to the portion of the review that you were referring to so cool your heels. and from the first couple pages i skimmed over trying to find what you were referring to, it was evident they weren't on the top of their game. DDR2 and 2.3v used in overclocking?

just trying to help, that's all ;)

Ok sorry if i was overreacted...looks like it will be a long way with this
mobo and hearing for issues one week before getting it maybe makes me
little nervous...Thanks for your opinion on that review...:)

[3oh6]

Ok sorry if i was overreacted...looks like it will be a long way with this
mobo and hearing for issues one week before getting it maybe makes me
little nervous...Thanks for your opinion on that review...:)
no worries, i just wouldn't worry about anything until you have your board in your setup. undue stress is never good and might not even be something you have to deal with.

and with any review, mine included...you have to take it with a grain of salt. every board is different, every setup is different, and every level of knowledge is different. until you see 10+ reviews all pointing a finger at crazy high NB temps, i wouldn't worry about it...it could a simple bad mount on their board not experienced by anyone else. for some 55C may seem very excessive...to me, if 55C is stable, it's more than fine IMO. so perspective also plays a major role in how big a deal some things are to people.

the biggest issue that seems to be common, as eternal_fantasy pointed out, is memory compatibility. the 0403 BIOS doesn't like my Mushkin Ascent PC3-12800 2x2GB kit at all and will only run the XMP profile stable at 2T and won't clock much past 800MHz. meanwhile, my G.Skill PI PC3-12800 2x2GB kit seems just fine clocking up to 900MHz+ so far at 7-7-6 and low voltage. again, only 2T but with 4GB kits, that is expected. the problem is, i don't know which ICs are on either kit as the heat sinks didn't really feel like they wanted to come off when i tried...without taking something with them anyway.

[eternal_fantasy]

Ok sorry if i was overreacted...looks like it will be a long way with this
mobo and hearing for issues one week before getting it maybe makes me
little nervous...Thanks for your opinion on that review...:)

To he honest with a normal everyday machine with good overclocks you will not need to watercool it just to keep it from overheating... If you want something more extreme in terms of a benching rig then watercooling should be on the list of things to do reguardless of how well the air cooling is.

With my posted settings above I only used 1.47V on the Northbridge, and with care to ensure good airflow, aircooling should be fine.

And guys, no need to get worked up over a cheap review :D

[3oh6]

And guys, no need to get worked up over a cheap review :D
hehe, we're fine, just the beauty of the typed word in a forum...easily mis-interpreted, that's all.

[eternal_fantasy]

no worries, i just wouldn't worry about anything until you have your board in your setup. undue stress is never good and might not even be something you have to deal with.

and with any review, mine included...you have to take it with a grain of salt. every board is different, every setup is different, and every level of knowledge is different. until you see 10+ reviews all pointing a finger at crazy high NB temps, i wouldn't worry about it...it could a simple bad mount on their board not experienced by anyone else. for some 55C may seem very excessive...to me, if 55C is stable, it's more than fine IMO. so perspective also plays a major role in how big a deal some things are to people.

Indeed, no need to worry too much, just keep these things in mind. As 3oh6 said, as long as it is stable, then it is fine.
Please post back your results when you get your board! :)

[MikeMK]

Bad luck man.. do you have another set of memory to try when the new one arrives? cus some RAM are just not compatible atm...


Funny u should say that... ive been looking for a decent 2x2gb kit actually... been keeping an eye on a couple of sets of g-skills (12800CL7D-4GBHZ). Any tips for a good/alternative set for this board?

[sirsim]

[QUOTE=eternal_fantasy;3187952]Indeed, no need to worry too much, just keep these things in mind. As 3oh6 said, as long as it is stable, then it is fine.
Please post back your results when you get your board! :)[/QU


I was very lucky with my S2E from and i feel that two times lucky is much...:).With my small experience and S2E big issues (corruption and
stability issues) i had S2E working (1800:1800 synced-linked) from
day one and temps was great...So i hope i will not have to go on water
for such speeds...I will sure post my results:yepp:

[eternal_fantasy]

Indeed, no need to worry too much, just keep these things in mind. As 3oh6 said, as long as it is stable, then it is fine.
Please post back your results when you get your board! :)


I was very lucky with my S2E from and i feel that two times lucky is much...:).With my small experience and S2E big issues (corruption and
stability issues) i had S2E working (1800:1800 synced-linked) from
day one and temps was great...So i hope i will not have to go on water
for such speeds...I will sure post my results:yepp:
As you can see in my sig, I too am not a fan of the S2E... :shakes: had more windows installations in a week then I've had all previously combined... :brick:


Funny u should say that... ive been looking for a decent 2x2gb kit actually... been keeping an eye on a couple of sets of g-skills (12800CL7D-4GBHZ). Any tips for a good/alternative set for this board?
I was looking at that set but went for the A-Data instead, boy have I regretted that decision :(
You should give it a try, been hearing good things about the G.Skill, and 3oh6 seems to be having a blast with his. :up:

[sirsim]

[QUOTE=eternal_fantasy;3188170]As you can see in my sig, I too am not a fan of the S2E... :shakes: had more windows installations in a week then I've had all previously combined... :brick:

I must admit that when i first sow your sig (some time ago) i thought to wait little longer and see how you will rate RAMPAGE:)

[MikeMK]

I was looking at that set but went for the A-Data instead, boy have I regretted that decision :(
You should give it a try, been hearing good things about the G.Skill, and 3oh6 seems to be having a blast with his. :up:

Thanks for the tip... think im gonna order some for when get my extreme replaced! :)

[3oh6]

You should give it a try, been hearing good things about the G.Skill, and 3oh6 seems to be having a blast with his. :up:
so far so good...

Click link for full size screenshot...
910MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pi/dual32m_7-7-6_910_1-9v-1.png)

but tRD of 7 seems to be running out of gas here and more vNB isn't helping...might be too much for the temps after all. this is the kit i am working with...G.Skill PI 2x2GB PC3-12800 7-7-7 (http://newgskill.web-bi.net/bbs/view.php?id=g_ddr3&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=29)

[eternal_fantasy]

[QUOTE=eternal_fantasy;3188170]As you can see in my sig, I too am not a fan of the S2E... :shakes: had more windows installations in a week then I've had all previously combined... :brick:

I must admit that when i first sow your sig (some time ago) i thought to wait little longer and see how you will rate RAMPAGE:)
Oh I've already feel it is the best motherboard I've personally used , both in design and practice, and will rate appropriately so, even with the memory issues. But I will wait for a couple more BIOS releases to sort out the memory compatibility before that.


Thanks for the tip... think im gonna order some for when get my extreme replaced! :) :up:


so far so good...

Click link for full size screenshot...
910MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pi/dual32m_7-7-6_910_1-9v-1.png)

but tRD of 7 seems to be running out of gas here and more vNB isn't helping...might be too much for the temps after all. this is the kit i am working with...G.Skill PI 2x2GB PC3-12800 7-7-7 (http://newgskill.web-bi.net/bbs/view.php?id=g_ddr3&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=29)
Thats an amazing kit! more then I can say about my A-Data 4GB..:shakes:
Have you tried using CL8 and see how high it will go? And how much vNB are you using atm?

[3oh6]

Thats an amazing kit! more then I can say about my A-Data 4GB..:shakes:
Have you tried using CL8 and see how high it will go? And how much vNB are you using atm?
i have only just begun with this kit...still trying to figure this board out. apparently tRD 7 is still got some juice in it...secondaries on this kit needed to loosen up a touch. it's been a while since i clocked anything on a capable Intel board so bear with me :D

Click link for full size screenshot...
920MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pi/dual32m_7-7-6_920_1-9v-1.png)

and all voltages are there in the screenshot...PC Probe is pretty much what is set in the BIOS...so, 1.55v for vNB :up:

[rob2k]

Bye Bye OCZ - Hello G.Skill :)

Thanks for the recommendations guys and to 3oh6 for posting your results. Just ordered mine from here :-
http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr3ram/4gbgskillpc312800hzseries.html

Hope to get Vista activated tonight :rolleyes:

Will be happy to run memory at 1800Mhz with a multi of 9 for 4050Mhz.

My rig :QX9770-C1 on Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme cooler
XFX GTX280 XT. Creative X-Fi Elite Pro.
OCZ 4x1Gb PC3-16000C9 2000Mhz Platinum EB
Samsung F1 1TB & 2X500Gb Hitachi SATA 2.
2xSamsung 20XDVD-RW SATA
Vista Ultimate 32bit
Asus Rampage Extreme
Bios : 0403
Enermax Infinity 720w
CM Stacker 832 5x120 fans.

[MnM]

I got those ones one the way:

http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr3ram/4gbgskillpc312800ttseriescl7.html

Hopefully they arrive tomorrow :D

[maxxx]

Wow, 200+ euro.... I should have just ordered that instead of this cpu-in-a-box....

Guys, notice anything strange when you first turn on the motherboard? Sometimes, it just won't turn on. Have to wait a few seconds to try again. And the ROG logo just blinks...

[eternal_fantasy]

i have only just begun with this kit...still trying to figure this board out. apparently tRD 7 is still got some juice in it...secondaries on this kit needed to loosen up a touch. it's been a while since i clocked anything on a capable Intel board so bear with me :D

Click link for full size screenshot...
920MHz :: 1.96v (http://3oh6.com/forum_posted/reviews/mb/re/ss/pi/dual32m_7-7-6_920_1-9v-1.png)

and all voltages are there in the screenshot...PC Probe is pretty much what is set in the BIOS...so, 1.55v for vNB :up:

My limit on the vNB while watercooling using the fusion block was around 1.60-1.65V, before the system became unstable just from the hot northbridge. At 1.7V the system won't even post. So I think you're at the limit of air cooling with 1.55V at the moment. In my experience Intel's X38 and X48 chipsets are very sensitive to heat, and was much more stable and overclockable If I was able to keep it under 47 degrees. It even needed less voltage to run at the same settings. Any plans on putting the NB under water? :D You will gain more then if you were to watercool the CPU ;)


MemoryC should give us commission for getting them business! :D

[eternal_fantasy]

Wow, 200+ euro.... I should have just ordered that instead of this cpu-in-a-box....

Guys, notice anything strange when you first turn on the motherboard? Sometimes, it just won't turn on. Have to wait a few seconds to try again. And the ROG logo just blinks...

JUST the first time you turn on? because it normally detect the memory/CPU etc, but dosen't give it enough power to run at its rated speed, so at the subsequent power up it lowers the speed of the components to POST.

Does it happen after you've set the BIOS voltages like rising the VDimm and VCore?

[sirsim]

JUST the first time you turn on? because it normally detect the memory/CPU etc, but dosen't give it enough power to run at its rated speed, so at the subsequent power up it lowers the speed of the components to POST.

Does it happen after you've set the BIOS voltages like rising the VDimm and VCore?


Rampage Formula does the same thing after bios changes like loadline calibration
enable/disable, voltages changing (not all the times though) e.t.c.Its not an issue it works like this..But for Extreme i don,t know...

[maxxx]

So I think you're at the limit of air cooling with 1.55V at the moment.
1.55v :shocked: I got mine at only 1.33v and its already 49c at boot up.

Does it happen after you've set the BIOS voltages like rising the VDimm and VCore?
It happens everytime I turn it on. Even loading default settings from the BIOS does this sort of behaviour.

[eternal_fantasy]

It happens everytime I turn it on. Even loading default settings from the BIOS does this sort of behaviour.
Is there any problem after you manage to get the system to boot? On my Rampage Extreme it boots up pretty much stright away. The ROG logo pulses when the system is off anyway. Or do you actually mean blink, as in higher frequency then pulse?
You can try if you have another set of ram, and see if that still happens.

[maxxx]

Or do you actually mean blink, as in higher frequency then pulse?
It does blink during boot up. Doesn't really matter, i'll turn it off in the BIOS.

I'll try 1 pc of ram and see if it behaves the same. I have no spare DDR3 at the moment and I am thinking of getting those G.Skills you guys are using.

[eternal_fantasy]

We really need someone with insider connections to stealth-drop BIOS' for us Rampage Extreme users like in other motherboard threads... The Asus FTP site is still only showing 0301 as its only BIOS :(

And reading a Taiwanese forum Xfastest.com the OP Rampage Extreme reviewer are commenting that these X48 chips are different from regular X48s found in mobos like the Rampage formula/BlackOps/DFI X48-TxR etc, with different chip ID, the reason behind why it can acheve such high FSBs not capable with other X38-X48 boards. :shrug:

[rob2k]

Yes, that would be good to get things really moving.

Someone like PMP on the SIIE thread :D

[REVHEAD]

Stupid Question.

Some of you are talking about high NB temps.
I know you can remove the water block to mount the passive cooler, is it possible to mount say a Swiftec NB cooler in place of the passive cooler to get better temps and still leave the rest of the cooling intact?
The reason I am asking is I was thinking out the same thing for mine when it arrives.

[stealth]

Thats an amazing kit! more then I can say about my A-Data 4GB..:shakes:
Have you tried using CL8 and see how high it will go? And how much vNB are you using atm?

What about the CellShock in your signature,how they doing?

Has anyone tried this kit?

http://www.plaisio.gr/product.aspx?catalog=20&category=69977727&product=1107143

I got the Rampage Formula and i want to move to Extreme.

stealth

[eternal_fantasy]

Stupid Question.

Some of you are talking about high NB temps.
I know you can remove the water block to mount the passive cooler, is it possible to mount say a Swiftec NB cooler in place of the passive cooler to get better temps and still leave the rest of the cooling intact?
The reason I am asking is I was thinking out the same thing for mine when it arrives.
I'm sure nothing is impossible with a little modding :D


What about the CellShock in your signature,how they doing?

Has anyone tried this kit?

http://www.plaisio.gr/product.aspx?catalog=20&category=69977727&product=1107143

I got the Rampage Formula and i want to move to Extreme.

stealth
My 1800 kit is absolutely fine with the Rampage Extreme, you can see what it can do in THIS (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3187836&postcount=68) post. However it cannot go above 1960Mhz DDR CL8 even with 2.1V.
Also in that post you'll see that the blue CellShock DDR3-1866 D9JNL kit you've linked is NOT compatable with the Rampage Extreme with the current BIOS, but I'm sure it will be with later BIOS releases. I couldn't get it to enter windows at default settings using the blue kit... :shrug:

[stealth]

Also in that post you'll see that the blue CellShock DDR3-1866 D9JNL kit you've linked is NOT compatable with the Rampage Extreme with the current BIOS, but I'm sure it will be with later BIOS releases. I couldn't get it to enter windows at default settings using the blue kit... :shrug:

It's a pity...looks good Ram,i can't understand why isn't compatible with the board.

Thanks a lot for the info.

stealth

[REVHEAD]

I just ordered a E8600 to go along with this board, I sure hope I can hit the 4ghz Dream 24/7, my crossfire will enjoy that. I dont expect anything better than what I am allready getting from my quad so the E8600 may be my ticket.
Maybe my board and chip will arrive on the same day, the sooner they get there the better haha.

[rob2k]

Well after 2hrs of being on the phone to a MS Vista expert I'm back up and running :). Somehow the activation process became corrupt (whilst trying to get the OCZ to run at decent speeds:eek:). So after lots of 'slmgr' commands that failed a safe mode and restore done the trick so I now have a new product key and can get back into Windows.

Still not used the system in anger yet - waiting for new memory to arrive - but some strange things :-
1) Everest now reports hard disc temps and M/B temp but no N/B temp.
2) The sata connections report the correct drives in the bios (Samsung port 1, Hitachi at 3 & 4, Optical 5 & 6) but in Windows using disc management or Acronis Disk Director it sees them in a different order - Samsung boot disc is disk 2 with Hitachi at 1 & 3.

Might not be strange but just unique to Intel chipset as I have always had Nvidia chipsets in the past.

:welcome: to this thread Revhead and Stealth.

[maxxx]

Ok, I just killed one of my aging 3870. After replacing the cooler, it just wouldn't work anymore.

@EF: Have you tried using the language tools in Google to translate Xfastest.Com? I tried it but still going through a lot of the threads (and reading between the lines as well)...

Regarding the NB passive sink for the Rampage Extreme, I am also having the same thoughts as REVHEAD, its just way too hot. Anyone tried replacing the gunk in there? I used AS5 on it and is still way too hot. Is this normal for an X48 chipset? And the passive sink hits the TRUE120 so the fan clips are of no use.

[rob2k]

And the passive sink hits the TRUE120 so the fan clips are of no use.

Maxxx are you talking about the clips to hold the fan onto the TRUE120 ?. I managed to manipulate mine into place. You have to squeeze the lower corner of the fan in first and then rotate the fan into place. The other clip will then swing in ok - bit tricky but do-able.

[rob2k]

......also I would recommend removing the red cover from the top mosfet sink to allow the pins to flex of the sink and then the TRUE120 will not be held off the CPU.

[stealth]

:welcome: to this thread Revhead and Stealth.

Thanks a lot mate.

I wish to had the board so i could tell my impresions but a friend told me that it will take 15 more days to come in Greece:(

From what i read the only thing i need worry about this board is the high temp on NB,can you tell me if is possible to remove only the water block without remove the whole heatpipe so i can mound another NB cooler?

stealth

[maxxx]

@Rob2k: I wasn't able to make the clips fit so I used cable ties. I did remove the red cover.


From what i read the only thing i need worry about this board is the high temp on NB,can you tell me if is possible to remove only the water block without remove the whole heatpipe so i can mound another NB cooler?
Yup, you can remove the block alone as its fsaten only by 2 screws. Mounting a 3rd party cooler would be the next challenge though.

[eternal_fantasy]

Have you tried using the language tools in Google to translate Xfastest.Com? I tried it but still going through a lot of the threads (and reading between the lines as well)...

Regarding the NB passive sink for the Rampage Extreme, I am also having the same thoughts as REVHEAD, its just way too hot. Anyone tried replacing the gunk in there? I used AS5 on it and is still way too hot. Is this normal for an X48 chipset? And the passive sink hits the TRUE120 so the fan clips are of no use.

Anything you need to translate just post it here I can do that for you. :up:

The first thing I did after receiving the board was to remount the coolings and used MX-2 on all contacts, but was unsatisfied when watercooling via the fusion block. So I took everything off and you can see what I've done in THIS (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3183227&postcount=38) post. :up: Now everything is nice and cool. :D

Is the heat causing instability issues?


HERE (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3174735&postcount=90) you can see the Fusion Block taken off.
HERE (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3175533&postcount=95) is watercooling via the Fusion block.

[maxxx]

@EF: Its ok with that site, got one of my staff to translate if for me as well. :D

At my present settings, the NB heat is not causing any problems. But I can't go any higher than 380x9 as the NB goes off the room when running on full load. Now am afraid to try out my E8600 until I figure out how to cool the NB better. I am afraid to use MX-2 now since it was the TIM I was using when my 3870 died yesterday (first time I tried that TIM). I'd stick with AS5 for now....

[eternal_fantasy]

I've used MX-2 since it came out and used it on EVERYTHING as it's easy to apply and super effective. Never had any problems with it... :shrug:

What VMCH are you using? try not using AUTO as they tends to overvolt.. It tried to put PLL voltage at 1.7V on AUTO when 1.5 ran fine.:shocked:

What temps are you getting with that VMCH? as long as it stays below 56-8 should be OK.

[Kriffith]

Would anyone know whether the OCZ platinum 1600mhz 4GB kit would work on the Rampage Extreme? Am kinda in doubt after seeing some posts here...

[rob2k]

Hello Kriffith and welcome.

Do you have 2x2Gb or 4x1Gb ?. I have OCZ 4x1Gb PC-16000 (untill G.Skill arrives tomorrow :)) and it would not run anywhere near its rated speed in this M/B or my old SIIE. I would hope that you would have better luck but based on my experiences with 4 sticks I would suggest that overclocking would be limited.

My rig :
CPU: QX9770-C1 on Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme cooler
GPU: XFX GTX280 XT. Creative X-Fi Elite Pro.
MEM: OCZ 4x1Gb PC3-16000C9 2000Mhz Platinum EB
DRIVES: Samsung F1 1TB & 2X500Gb Hitachi SATA 2.
2xSamsung 20XDVD-RW SATA
O/S: Vista Ultimate 32bit
M/B: Asus Rampage Extreme Bios : 0403
PSU: Enermax Infinity 720w
CASE: CM Stacker 832 5x120 fans.

[maxxx]

@EF: got the NB at AUTO, reading 1.336 from the BIOS hardware monitor. I'll try to set this to manual with same voltage. PLL is set to 1.524 manually.

[eternal_fantasy]

Would anyone know whether the OCZ platinum 1600mhz 4GB kit would work on the Rampage Extreme? Am kinda in doubt after seeing some posts here...
I think the little money you save from buying OCZ memory is false economy, as you'll spend more time adjusting skews and timings just to get your memory to run at the advertised speed. Never had this problem with memory makers such as cellshock and G.Skill, and more often then not they can be overclocked way pass those speed and timing specified. You then end up buying another pair of memory in the end. :shakes:

Sorry.. been burned too many times by cheap and not-so-cheerful OCZ memories. :brick:

rob2k, but your rig details in your signiture! or we will be quoting it along with your message :D

Maxxx, what NB temp are you getting with 1.336V? and what cooling are you using on the NB? I assume it is inside your case too?

[MikeMK]

Eternal mate, how easy was it to take the stock cooling off? Anything to worry about - I remember with other asus boards (think it was the rampage formula?) that it was pretty difficult getting the cooling off cos of the thermal paste stuff they put on it caused such a seal it pulled off some of the caps - the nb even.

[eternal_fantasy]

Just undo all the screws on the back, the the stock cooling comes right off. Asus used thermal paste this time, so much easer to remove (it was some kind of thermal cement pad in the formula...) :up:

[rob2k]

Thanks EF - That makes life easier with my system spec in my sig :up:

G.Skills arrive tomorrow as it was a bank holiday in Ireland yesterday, changed my order to the PI at the last minutes as their ad had them shown incorrectly at CAS8.

Does anyone know where I can D/L or buy Go Orthos Beta for quads in prep for some testing :D:D:D ?

[MikeMK]

G.Skills arrive tomorrow as it was a bank holiday in Ireland yesterday, changed my order to the PI at the last minutes as their ad had them shown incorrectly at CAS8.


Just ordered some of those g-skills tonight, should be here in a couple of days. Now im really itching to get my RE back from RMA! LOL!

[Kriffith]

I think the little money you save from buying OCZ memory is false economy, as you'll spend more time adjusting skews and timings just to get your memory to run at the advertised speed. Never had this problem with memory makers such as cellshock and G.Skill, and more often then not they can be overclocked way pass those speed and timing specified. You then end up buying another pair of memory in the end. :shakes:

Sorry.. been burned too many times by cheap and not-so-cheerful OCZ memories. :brick:


Problem is that OCZ is about the only thing easily attained for DDR3 here in Belgium.... And what if I get 2000MHZ 2x2 kit. Can probably downclock that to get QX9650 at 4ghz?

[Leeghoofd]

Problem is that OCZ is about the only thing easily attained for DDR3 here in Belgium.... And what if I get 2000MHZ 2x2 kit. Can probably downclock that to get QX9650 at 4ghz?

Try www.jaha.be , Hans will order them for you...(near Gent) he pulled the DDR3 from the webbie as he wants to promote the Mushkins... but you can still order them for sure...

Kind regards Leegie

[ante_ante]

I will recieve my rampage extreme on thursday or friday. G.skill PC12800 memorys coming from memoryc.com and today i got my E8600 Retail. Hoping this will be a good setup =) How about the bios, is 0403 the best ?

[eternal_fantasy]

Does anyone know where I can D/L or buy Go Orthos Beta for quads in prep for some testing :D:D:D ?
The one I use is only for 2 cores, so need to open 2 instances and assign them to 2 core each. just Google orthos and the first link should be it. There don't seem to be ORTHOS for 4 core as far as I'm aware of, there should be a Prime95 for 4 cores, but dono it it can blend...


Problem is that OCZ is about the only thing easily attained for DDR3 here in Belgium.... And what if I get 2000MHZ 2x2 kit. Can probably downclock that to get QX9650 at 4ghz?
OCZ as far as I know uses Samsung modules in their higher speed memories, so they either work at the rated speed, or need to be severely underclocked to work.. maybe try what leeghoofd suggested, although he didn't mention which brand of memory they can order for you :D


I will recieve my rampage extreme on thursday or friday. G.skill PC12800 memorys coming from memoryc.com and today i got my E8600 Retail. Hoping this will be a good setup =) How about the bios, is 0403 the best ?
There really isn't alot of chioce in terms of BIOS at the moment.. and all 4 of them seem to be pretty similer, so as long as it likes your memory, it goes like hell :D

Great to see more people finally receiving their Rampage Extreme! Our little thread seems so empty compared to those P5Q/DFI threads :rolleyes::up:

[Kriffith]

Try www.jaha.be , Hans will order them for you...(near Gent) he pulled the DDR3 from the webbie as he wants to promote the Mushkins... but you can still order them for sure...

Kind regards Leegie

Thnx for the link!! those mushkins also look really nice. Anyone tested them with the rampage extreme yet or have any input on it compared to G.Skill/Cellshock? Also Micron chips?

Wonder when the board will be available in Belgium :) Can't finalize build anyway, waiting for HD4870X2

[Whokidmo]

Thnx for the link!! those mushkins also look really nice. Anyone tested them with the rampage extreme yet or have any input on it compared to G.Skill/Cellshock? Also Micron chips?

BUMP, i heard the Mushkins are great, just not sure if they are with ramapge extreme, they seem to have everything, micron chips, easy to take off heatsink(for thermalright heatsinks) and a good reputation, not sure about there RMA system though, G-skill are nice but i never saw them as high end... WHAT ABOUT the super talent 1600 2x2gb kits? hows super talent anyone?

[rob2k]

Just ordered some of those g-skills tonight, should be here in a couple of days. Now im really itching to get my RE back from RMA! LOL!

Nice one! - they look to really suit this board. Hoping to run mine at 1820 (455x9=4095 CPU O/C). Are you building this as well as your SIIE SLi rig ?.

Thanks E.F - All Orthosed up and ready to go. Hopefully my neighbour will take the Fedex delivery in for me :D

Will be interesting to see what N/B temps I get when benching - the side fans in my Stacker832 should help.

3oh6 - how are things going with you ?, not heard from you for a day or so.

[eternal_fantasy]

BUMP, i heard the Mushkins are great, just not sure if they are with ramapge extreme, they seem to have everything, micron chips, easy to take off heatsink(for thermalright heatsinks) and a good reputation, not sure about there RMA system though, G-skill are nice but i never saw them as high end... WHAT ABOUT the super talent 1600 2x2gb kits? hows super talent anyone?
Well here is what 3oh6 said about his experience with the Mushkin 2x2GB Mushkin kit:


the 0403 BIOS doesn't like my Mushkin Ascent PC3-12800 2x2GB kit at all and will only run the XMP profile stable at 2T and won't clock much past 800MHz. meanwhile, my G.Skill PI PC3-12800 2x2GB kit seems just fine clocking up to 900MHz+ so far at 7-7-6 and low voltage. again, only 2T but with 4GB kits, that is expected. the problem is, i don't know which ICs are on either kit as the heat sinks didn't really feel like they wanted to come off when i tried...without taking something with them anyway.
So G.Skill is your best bet, or you may need to wait a while for the BIOS to catch up with memory compatibility.

[Kriffith]

would it be best to get the G.skill PC3-12800 or PC3-14400 for QX9650 at 4ghz? Am thinking safest bet is 1800mhz or perhaps not compatible with MB?

[rob2k]

Hi Kriffith, I went for the G.skill PC3-12800 kit as I need or wanted a 4Gb kit for gaming and in a 2x2Gb configuration. The PC3-12800 looks well suited to this board and should achieve PC3-14400 speeds (1800MHz), as well as the 4Gb kit being £14 CHEAPER than the 2Gb kit to me this was an easy decision.

As the QX9650 has an unlocked multiplier as stock PC3-12800 speeds 1600Mhz using a 400Mhz FSB and a multiplier of 10 will give you 4Ghz at your CPU. If you raise the FSB for faster memory speed remember that you may need to reduce the multiplier.

[T_M]

Its little wonder the NB's are running quite warm, even under forced air or water.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/T_M/Picture002-1-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/T_M/Picture003-1-1.jpg

[rabor]

Wow that's rediculous..

[MikeMK]

Nice one! - they look to really suit this board. Hoping to run mine at 1820 (455x9=4095 CPU O/C). Are you building this as well as your SIIE SLi rig ?.

Initially yes, but I had to RMA a GTX280 cos it went bad unfortunately, so its not currently 'SLI' Ive also been having stabiltiy issues with the SIIE - primes for hours and hours, runs memtest for hours, and then when u are browsing the net it will just randomly crash. Spent weeks trying to get to the bottom of it!

Anyhow, im getting at least 1 4870X2 for the RE, and at that point if im happy with it all, the SIIE may well go to put some money back in the bank :)

BTW, should have my board back from RMA by friday all being well! :D

[eternal_fantasy]

Its little wonder the NB's are running quite warm, even under forced air or water.....
Mine was much better when I too the stock cooling off, covered about 2/3 of the NB :D
So I guess you gave it a good amount of thermal paste. How is the temperature now? Note that the actual die under the intergrated heatspreader of the NB is actually covered by the thermal paste in your picture.

[F.stop]

his temps will be improved by a full cover of paste. liking this thread, useful as time goes on and more people get this board
well done

[eternal_fantasy]

his temps will be improved by a full cover of paste.
I'm sure it wouldn't make it worse. :rofl: Just don't expect some miracle improvement. :up:

[T_M]

i literally replaced the whole HS assembly with a p5b deluxe SB heatsink, and a $5 copper random HS plus fan on the NB, and my temps are the same as before (47C at 1.7V) but i need a better NB HS, trouble is their mounting holes are odd distance - ~62mm and my existing thermalright HSF doesnt have that mounting gear

[eternal_fantasy]

i literally replaced the whole HS assembly with a p5b deluxe SB heatsink, and a $5 copper random HS plus fan on the NB, and my temps are the same as before (47C at 1.7V) but i need a better NB HS, trouble is their mounting holes are odd distance - ~62mm and my existing thermaltake HSF doesnt have that mounting gear

Have a look at THIS (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3183227&postcount=38) post for some examples of what to fit on the RE if you remove the stock cooling.

Any heatsink/waterblocks designed for the maximus/rampage formula/P5E3 will be able to fit on the Rampage Extreme NB. Something like Noctua NC-U6 Dual Heatpipe Northbridge Cooler (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-003-NC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=399&name=Noctua%20NC-U6%20Dual%20Heatpipe%20Northbridge%20Cooler) will work very well.

I'm finding it hard to believe you are able to keep your NB at 47C when simply aircooling it with stock cooling... and at 1.7V no less. I watercooled using the Fusion block and at 1.5V the NB was at 56C under load. Thats after I reapplied the thermal paste to the NB with MX-2. Must be some cool room you're running it in. :D

[NiscoRacing]

Mine arrives today :rolleyes: ... first thing i will do is, pop up the cooling

[T_M]

Im running on a benchtop (no case) with good airflow and about 26-28C room.
With the factory watercooling and no change to TIM, my NB was 47-49C at 1.7V.
With the replaced 'dodgy' copper HS plus a fan its the same.

[maxxx]

With the factory watercooling and no change to TIM, my NB was 47-49C at 1.7V.
For 1.7, thats already a great temp. My NB starts of at 52c at idle. Full load takes it to 62c using the stock sink (not the Fusion block) provided with the RE. And this is with an aircondition on.

[T_M]

inside a case?

[maxxx]

@T_M: yup, case is open on both sides and there is a 120mm fan blowing on top of it. Maybe I need to replace the TIM between the NB and the copper block.

[REVHEAD]

I just got my Board today woot.

T M thanks for those pics, I was not going to worry about prying the cooling off but seeing yours made me take mine off, when I took the cooling off mine it was identical to yours bugger all paste on the NB, so I replaced mine with some Arctic Silver 5.

[REVHEAD]

After putting mine back together and going over the pics again I think I pulled my NB 3phase cap covers off ,I didnt notice unlil I relooked at your pics ,I thought it was thermal pads.

I hope my board still works.

[stealth]

Hi guys,

Has anyone try this Ram:

http://www.hpm-computer.de/product_info.php?info=p8950_CSX-2GB-Kit-DDR3-2000-DIABLO.html

It says Micron D9GTR.

stealth

[maxxx]

Anyone have introductory notes about GTL settings on an ASUS motherboard? Or would they be the same for the DFI ones? :shrug:
Cheers....

[eternal_fantasy]

After putting mine back together and going over the pics again I think I pulled my NB 3phase cap covers off ,I didnt notice unlil I relooked at your pics ,I thought it was thermal pads.

I hope my board still works.

it IS thermal pads, are you sure the covers came off? because they are the only stiffer bond between the stock cooling and the motherboard. :shocked:

[REVHEAD]

Ok board is dead, using my mobile to post this.

When I power the board it starts and gets to the welcome message in the LCD poster and then reboots, it just for this over and over, the start button and ROG light just blink on and off slowly .

I have tried it as a bare attem but same thing, do you think my board is dead.

[maxxx]

@REVHEAD, sorry to hear that. Have you tried 3oh6 suggestion here http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3187732&postcount=64

[rob2k]

Hi Revhead, sorry to hear about you problems. Maxxx just beat me to it as I was just about to suggest booting from the second bios chip. If it sorts out the problem you can then copy one bios chip over to the next.

On a side note G.Skill arrives today after I got carded by Fedex yesterday........could be a late night :D

[eternal_fantasy]

Ok board is dead, using my mobile to post this.

When I power the board it starts and gets to the welcome message in the LCD poster and then reboots, it just for this over and over, the start button and ROG light just blink on and off slowly .

I have tried it as a bare attem but same thing, do you think my board is dead.

The blinking is normal, it is designed to do that when the PC is powered down.
Have you got another pair of DDR3 memory to try?


On a side note G.Skill arrives today after I got carded by Fedex yesterday........could be a tate night :D
Grats! looking forward to your results! :up:

[Chri$ch]

Got my Rampage Extreme today and i think i am switch back to my P5E3 Premium (it runs a lot better than the RE and is cheaper!)

600FSB is a not possible with my Rampage, i can boot it but it freeze after 10-15seks in windows and it need more voltage to boot
it than my Premium (and this was 32M stable!) :(

Any idea why it is so bad?

[eternal_fantasy]

Got my Rampage Extreme today and i think i am switch back to my P5E3 Premium (it runs a lot better than the RE and is cheaper!)

600FSB is a not possible with my Rampage, i can boot it but it freeze after 10-15seks in windows and it need more voltage to boot
it than my Premium (and this was 32M stable!) :(

Any idea why it is so bad?

You're not giving us much to work on are you?...

My Rampage Extreme is the best motherboard I've ever owned and used.

Any idea why it is so good? :shrug:

Voltages and settings. Pointless just saying you can't reach a specific speed and the motherboard is bad.

[REVHEAD]

Ok its still doing the constant Rebooting, with memory installed and not installed. I am getting no Beeps or error codes. When I unplugged the 8 pin CPU power cable the machine stays powerd on .

Has any one Else had this problem and found a fix?

Time for me to go to bed now I think , spent 2 much time on it already and if I keep going ill end up smashing it lol.

[Chri$ch]

@ eternal_fantasy

ok, it was a NB Temp problem....

short test after changing the thermal paste...

http://www.abload.de/img/600fsbv6k.png

http://www.abload.de/img/dscf8032lcr.jpg

[eternal_fantasy]

Ok its still doing the constant Rebooting, with memory installed and not installed. I am getting no Beeps or error codes. When I unplugged the 8 pin CPU power cable the machine stays powerd on .

Has any one Else had this problem and found a fix?

Time for me to go to bed now I think , spent 2 much time on it already and if I keep going ill end up smashing it lol.
Can you try putting just one stick of memory on the last slot, and just plug in the graphics and the CPU, and see if you get a screen when powered on? also you can try changing the jumpers for the BIOS on the motherboard so you boot from the second BIOS chip. How to do that is in the manual. Last resort, try another PSU, as just by plugging the CPU power the system sould not be on. The light pulsing of the power button or the ROG logo does NOT mean the motherboard is on, it just means that the motherboard has power. Good luck! :up:


@ eternal_fantasy

ok, it was a NB Temp problem....

short test after changing the thermal paste...
Great you have found the problem! :up: keep testing and post back your results.

[stealth]

ok, it was a NB Temp problem....

short test after changing the thermal paste...

What NB temp you get after changing the thermal paste?

stealth

[rob2k]

Just testing mine now that the new memory has arrived :)

NB temp is reading 67 in the bios. I'm on air but have fitted the heat pipe cooler as supplied with the Mobo. Can't really see the point of me using AS5 to fit the larger heatsinks if the paste Asus use doesn't match up with the time and D&D Asus spent putting this board together !.

For those who have done this is it ok to re-use the thermal tape on the mosfets ?, other options are new tape or much thicker thermal paste ?.

Thanks as always.

Will post results when I get something that looks stable but N/B temp may become an issue ..............

[eternal_fantasy]

Just testing mine now that the new memory has arrived :)

NB temp is reading 67 in the bios. I'm on air but have fitted the heat pipe cooler as supplied with the Mobo. Can't really see the point of me using AS5 to fit the larger heatsinks if the paste Asus use doesn't match up with the time and D&D Asus spent putting this board together !.

For those who have done this is it ok to re-use the thermal tape on the mosfets ?, other options are new tape or much thicker thermal paste ?.

Thanks as always.

Will post results when I get something that looks stable but N/B temp may become an issue ..............

Yes the mosfet thermal tape is reuseable, but I would recommend removing the thermal pad on the 3 phase power delivery with some none conductive paste.

67C?? thats mighty high! how much VMCH are you putting through it?

edit: So from what you wrote did you take the stock cooling off? sounds like no, but why the question about mosfet thermal tape?

[rob2k]

Hi EF, NB volts is 1.52 in the bios - not sure if that is VMCH ?.

I have used the larger optional heat sinks as supplied and used AS5 on those but did not remove the whole heat pipe assembly which I did on my SIIE and probably should have done here. The thermal tape in question is under the heatsinks that have the red metal cap on them so maybe I have the incorrect name for those chips.

Thanks for your help :up:

[NiscoRacing]

Here are mine pic's

http://members.lycos.nl/niscoracing/Foto/Rampage_Extreme/NB_SB_Heatsink.jpg
NB_SB

http://members.lycos.nl/niscoracing/Foto/Rampage_Extreme/NB_WC_Cooler.jpg
NB_WC

http://members.lycos.nl/niscoracing/Foto/Rampage_Extreme/NB_naked.jpg
NB_naked

http://members.lycos.nl/niscoracing/Foto/Rampage_Extreme/SB_naked.jpg
SB_naked

So now i am looking if mine old striker 1 WC blocks gone fit

[eternal_fantasy]

Hi EF, NB volts is 1.52 in the bios - not sure if that is VMCH ?.

I have used the larger optional heat sinks as supplied and used AS5 on those but did not remove the whole heat pipe assembly which I did on my SIIE and probably should have done here. The thermal tape in question is under the heatsinks that have the red metal cap on them so maybe I have the incorrect name for those chips.

Thanks for your help :up:

Yes, the Northbridge is also know as MCH :D

When you talked about if the thermal tape is reuseable was it because in case you want to remove the stock cooling? But you haven't actually removed it?

To be honest 67C is much too high for a X48 chipset... at this temperature more voltage will not benefit stability. Is your system stable at this temperature? And what setting are you running at that needs 1.52v in the NB?

[rob2k]

Yes, the Northbridge is also know as MCH :D

When you talked about if the thermal tape is reuseable was it because in case you want to remove the stock cooling? But you haven't actually removed it?


Thanks - not heard MCH before ;)

Was asking about thermal tape in case I should replace it after removing and refitting the stock heat pipe assembly as I guess it should compress a little initially to ensure a good contact area.

VMCH :up: setting is that high to try and raise FSB and memory to decent speed with quad but not having much success at the mo. Was starting with high settings hoping to get some good results and stable system and then creep them down a little at a time.

Will probably knock it on the head soon and introduce myself to the g/f before she blows a gasket :peace:

[T_M]

Probably too low NB volts chri$ch.
Try putting 1.5-1.6V and see how that changes things ;)

edit: nvm i read the rest of the thread now...

[REVHEAD]

Thanks for your help guys really appreciate it, unfortunantly my rig refused to boot no matter what, I guess it was DOA and this is a first for me.

I finally got my old rig backtogether, I dont have the luxuary of owning a second pc, I think I need to get a laptop for things like this and I am back online, what a drama with all the water cooling changeovers I have had. I guess I will have to do a RMA? never done one before antything I should know before hand?

once again thanks guys.

[rob2k]

Very interesting Eternal. What Thermalright mosfet coolers did u use? I have an HR09S Type 2 and an HR09U Type 2 sat here... any chance they would fit? Also I have an MCW30 (which fit on my rampage formula actually) and an EK S-max too... same question really... u think they will do the job?

Link to Thermalright page showing compatibility :-
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/chipset/hr05_ifx/05-09-mcl.htm

Type 2's are good :)

Toying with replacing the heatpipe assembly completely so looking to fit those also but I'll be on air so will also utilise Thermalright HR-05/IFX North bridge cooler but still need some ideas for South bridge and the small chips to the left of the NB. Looking at EF's pictures for ideas.

Hmmm - slight flaw......serious space issues with TRUE120 so back to Arctic Silver 5 on stock heat pipe assembly.

[eternal_fantasy]

Thanks for your help guys really appreciate it, unfortunantly my rig refused to boot no matter what, I guess it was DOA and this is a first for me.

I finally got my old rig backtogether, I dont have the luxuary of owning a second pc, I think I need to get a laptop for things like this and I am back online, what a drama with all the water cooling changeovers I have had. I guess I will have to do a RMA? never done one before antything I should know before hand?

once again thanks guys.
Damn unlucky dude.. just make sure you phone them up and tell them what happened, and make sure you pack the motherboard properly!



Toying with replacing the heatpipe assembly completely so looking to fit those also but I'll be on air so will also utilise Thermalright HR-05/IFX North bridge cooler but still need some ideas for South bridge and the small chips to the left of the NB. Looking at EF's pictures for ideas.

Hmmm - slight flaw......serious space issues with TRUE120 so back to Arctic Silver 5 on stock heat pipe assembly.
On the southbridge any odd heatsink, mine was taken from an old P5B Deluxe will be more then enough to cool the southbridge.. even if you stick 4 of THESE (http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=117&products_id=420), it will be great. I'm guessing the TRUE is in conflict with the MOSFET sink? you can try THESE (http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=117&products_id=685), they should be low enough to avoid the TRUE, and look amazing. As long as you orient the TRUE to blow the air upwards, there shouldn't be any conflict with the NB, and if blowing the air to the back you may need to play around... I used THESE (http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=117&products_id=157) for the northbridge MOSFETs, and have ordered THIS (http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=117&products_id=578) from the states and will get rid of the hideous Zalman aluminum ramsinks. :D

Have a play around.. the improvement in temperature will be very much worth the investment. :up:

BTW, I guess you replaced the stock cooling paste with AS5? Hows the temp now? Any improvement?

[rob2k]

Have a play around.. the improvement in temperature will be very much worth the investment. :up:

Thanks for the links EF :up: , You got it spot on. If I cool my board on air there is a compromise between what M/B sinks I can fit with the TRUE120 although I could probably use my Zalman CNPS9500.



BTW, I guess you replaced the stock cooling paste with AS5? Hows the temp now? Any improvement?

Hope to do this this afternoon if the missus doesn't have any other plans. If this does the trick then I'll be happy - looking for temps below 60. If not then it will be time to look at other ideas and maybe a compact W/C kit just for the CPU.

Is your rig in a case or flat on a table ?, also, I guess you are ordering from the US to take advantage of the exchange rate ;)

[eternal_fantasy]

Naa it's inside a Zalman Z-Machine-1000:

http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1899/web.jpg?ver=12182057510001

http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1901/web.jpg?ver=12182057570001

I ordered from the US cos they are out of stock here in the UK :D
It really don't cost that much cheaper, and takes around 10 working days to get here :rolleyes:

[Vivi]

that
is
the
coolest
pic
ever
+
good
mobo!

Looks awesome dude wd!

[Lloyd]

so have Asus cemented this heatpipe assembly on? Like thaey did with the maximus extreme? ie do i need to heat it up first?

[BustaH]

So to custom watercool your Rampage Extreme, it is basically the same as the Maximus/Rampage Formula series, but you may want to also consider cooling the power delivery system of the NB, as it tends to get pretty hot with the 3 phase/15 mosfet design (8 front, 7 back).

What's the difference from watercooling with the Fusion block compared to what I have now I hear you ask? Before this makeover I cannot put in more then 1.65V into the NB without the RE refusing to boot, and at that voltage the NB, when under load, goes up to 60C+. Now however, at 1.7V the NB temp is kept nice n cool at under 42C under load, and plenty of room to go higher without cooking the board. That means longer component life and higher stability!!:up:

http://gallery.me.com/jeffrey_lee/100001/_BMP1867/web.jpg?ver=12176099890001

Awesome info eternal, I for one will be following your guide here when modding my board when it arrives, much appreciated. you too 3oh6. +10 from me.:clap:

[eternal_fantasy]

that
is
the
coolest
pic
ever
+
good
mobo!

Looks awesome dude wd!
Thanks! :D


so have Asus cemented this heatpipe assembly on? Like thaey did with the maximus extreme? ie do i need to heat it up first?
No need, they used thermal paste similer in texture to MX-2, so just undo the screws and the stock cooling should become loose.


Awesome info eternal, I for one will be following your guide here when modding my board when it arrives, much appreciated. you too 3oh6. +10 from me.:clap:
Thanks, and glad to be of help! :D
Please post back your results when you get your board. :up:

Where did 3oh6 go BTW? :confused: Hes been gone for a few days...

[maxxx]

Finally had the nerve to take the heatpipe assembly out and change the TIM. Unfortunately, it made the NB temps worse. I did notice that the screws holding the heat pipe is not as tight as it should. I'll let the new TIM I applied to settle in for a bit. If it doesn't change, gonna rip it apart again.

Here are some photos after I took it apart.

After removing the heatpipe
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/5776/web2ei7.jpg

The NB
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5669/web1oa8.jpg

This is the copper for the SB. Check out the craftsmanship.... :D
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5445/web3ej7.jpg

[BustaH]

Thanks! :D


No need, they used thermal paste similer in texture to MX-2, so just undo the screws and the stock cooling should become loose.


Thanks, and glad to be of help! :D
Please post back your results when you get your board. :up:

Where did 3oh6 go BTW? :confused: Hes been gone for a few days...

Will do ET will be getting some sub zero action into this baby.:D

[3oh6]

Where did 3oh6 go BTW? :confused: Hes been gone for a few days...
i'm here...16-18 hour work days this week to make up for my previous 3 weeks off. needless to say, i haven't had a lot of time to mess with the board. i should be back on track this week.

i am finishing off the standard testing for the review this week and then will get crazy with the board tackling stock cooling on the NB and going cold with the CPU. i am also expecting some GPUs anytime this week so i should have some CF 4850 numbers soon enough.

[Lloyd]

Thanks! :D
No need, they used thermal paste similer in texture to MX-2, so just undo the screws and the stock cooling should become loose

Fantastic, thanks very much for your help :up:

[maxxx]

Guys, is the ASUS PC Probe II software close to the mark when reading NB and SB temps? After I added some tension to the screws holding the heat pipe assembly, I got low NB temps, which I can't believe its that low. Check out the readings on the screenshot on the right side (thats on idle, used to be 49c to 51c on idle). Any temp monitoring software you guys can suggest?

Had to change the image to a link, its too big. http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/74/screen1uj2.jpg

A run with an E8600
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8466/cpuzlz5.jpg

[BustaH]

Maxxx, can I have your cpu please?:D

Looks good m8, in my experience the asus probe thing is not very accurate, but if you were registering 49/51 before tinkering then it could be possible, a bad mount can be disatrous to temps.

The only way to get a true reading of course is with an mm:(

but its looking good

[MikeMK]

Type 2's are good :)

Toying with replacing the heatpipe assembly completely so looking to fit those also but I'll be on air so will also utilise Thermalright HR-05/IFX North bridge cooler but still need some ideas for South bridge and the small chips to the left of the NB. Looking at EF's pictures for ideas.

Thats good to hear. Will save me having to invest in more cooling. I will give the stock cooling a shot first, but if im getting ridiculous temps then i'll watercool the NB with my S-Max, and then use the thermalrights for the mosfets.


Thanks for your help guys really appreciate it, unfortunantly my rig refused to boot no matter what, I guess it was DOA and this is a first for me.

To anyone that had this problem - its the same issue I had. It looks like the board isnt DOA. I sent mine back to scan, and it worked fine for them. They tested with corsair memory, where as I was using supertalent. I think it could be that this board just refuses to work with certain types of memory, and the technicians at scan seemed to backup this theory.

I have another on its way anyway, and my 2x2gb set of g-skill PI arrived yesterday, so hopefully that will get me up and running!

[maxxx]

Looks good m8, in my experience the asus probe thing is not very accurate, but if you were registering 49/51 before tinkering then it could be possible, a bad mount can be disatrous to temps.
@bustamove44
Its why am not sure about that reading. 49/50c was before changing thermal paste. But after the change, it was reading way over 60c on idle, but after adding plastic washers to the screws, the temps drop. I didn't re-mount the heatpipe assemply. Just added plastic washers.

Oh, do you think the E8600 is a good chip? Its my first wolfdale and was trying to achieve the same voltage the other folks get.

@MikeMK: thats a bummer. Wasn't also sure about the XMS3 I have when I first built this, but they seem to be doing good.

[eternal_fantasy]

Guys, is the ASUS PC Probe II software close to the mark when reading NB and SB temps? After I added some tension to the screws holding the heat pipe assembly, I got low NB temps, which I can't believe its that low. Check out the readings on the screenshot on the right side (thats on idle, used to be 49c to 51c on idle). Any temp monitoring software you guys can suggest?

Had to change the image to a link, its too big. http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/74/screen1uj2.jpg

What's the ambient in your room? Unless you are using some kind of exotic cooling the CPU must be above ambient temperature... 7 degrees seems way off. I would set the LCD Poster to report your temp from the BIOS options, and see what you get.

[i43]

eternal_fantasy , sorry , just a quick question
are You using (CellShock MSC CS3222580) BLACK Kit ( DDR3-1800 / 2x1GB )
---
myself, currently got Maximus Extreme board, but still in
endless fight :lsfight: with whole ensemble /setup
to get Maximus Extrem stable with Quad and this ram kit :confused:
so im just keeping eye on that new Rampage Extreme board..
it would be good to know, if i can use this ram kit on this board and finally get them running at their nominated speed

TIA
:)

[maxxx]

What's the ambient in your room? Unless you are using some kind of exotic cooling the CPU must be above ambient temperature... 7 degrees seems way off. I would set the LCD Poster to report your temp from the BIOS options, and see what you get.

@EF: I also don't believe its 7c for the CPU. No exotic cooling for me. Just a TRUE120 and a 2000 rpm fan (plus an aircon at full blast). I would trust the reading of CoreTemp in this case. My concern is the NB. If I don't use PC Probe II, any alternate software we can us to read the temps? I got the temps from the BIOS showing in the LCD post but wanted a software as well (if there is one).

Cheers....

[3oh6]

yeah, the CPU reading in PC Probe II drops to 3~10C for me once in a while too. then the next time you open it up, it reads 'normal' again. just a software bug, rely on realtemp/coretemp anyway as the PC Probe reading sometimes stays pegged at 50C or something while realtemp goes from 45~50C during various Prime iterations.

[maxxx]

@3oh6: hey man, been busy? Thanks for the tip. How about for the north bridge? I just followed EF's suggestion now to use the LCD poster but for a software to do it? Everest or something like that?

[3oh6]

16-18 hour days at work all week...yeah, you could call it busy ;)

as for Probe II, the NB temp has always been consistent for me. when ambient temps raise, the NB temp raises appropriately, and then falls when i drop ambient again. i have no problem believing your temps went down by tightening the screws with washers. did you leave the springs in place or just remove them? might try it when i change the thermal paste as well. also, was it just for the NB mount holes or for all screws you added washers too?

idle temps of course are one thing, but load is another. you probably won't see as huge a drop, or maybe you will. but again, Probe II hasn't done any funky readings of NB temps like it does with CPU. load up the system with HCI Memtest (http://hcidesign.com/memtest/), and see what temps are. when fully loaded, i have found HCI to bring the most heat to the NB.

[eternal_fantasy]

eternal_fantasy , sorry , just a quick question
are You using (CellShock MSC CS3222580) BLACK Kit ( DDR3-1800 / 2x1GB )
---
myself, currently got Maximus Extreme board, but still in
endless fight :lsfight: with whole ensemble /setup
to get Maximus Extrem stable with Quad and this ram kit :confused:
so im just keeping eye on that new Rampage Extreme board..
it would be good to know, if i can use this ram kit on this board and finally get them running at their nominated speed

TIA
:)
Yeah it's as in my sig, the black DDR3-1800 2x1GB. It works fine at 1800 7-6-5-18 in my Maximus Extreme, and works fine at the same settings in the Rampage Extreme. So no idea why you can't get it to run at rated speed in the ME..


@EF: I also don't believe its 7c for the CPU. No exotic cooling for me. Just a TRUE120 and a 2000 rpm fan (plus an aircon at full blast). I would trust the reading of CoreTemp in this case. My concern is the NB. If I don't use PC Probe II, any alternate software we can us to read the temps? I got the temps from the BIOS showing in the LCD post but wanted a software as well (if there is one).

Cheers....
Maybe Everest Ultimate may detect the NB sensor, but I'm not sure. It's just BIOS and Poster report for me. Always found the PC Probe to be a little buggy.

[eternal_fantasy]

16-18 hour days at work all week...yeah, you could call it busy ;)

as for Probe II, the NB temp has always been consistent for me. when ambient temps raise, the NB temp raises appropriately, and then falls when i drop ambient again. i have no problem believing your temps went down by tightening the screws with washers. did you leave the springs in place or just remove them? might try it when i change the thermal paste as well. also, was it just for the NB mount holes or for all screws you added washers too?

idle temps of course are one thing, but load is another. you probably won't see as huge a drop, or maybe you will. but again, Probe II hasn't done any funky readings of NB temps like it does with CPU. load up the system with HCI Memtest (http://hcidesign.com/memtest/), and see what temps are. when fully loaded, i have found HCI to bring the most heat to the NB.
Sure that increasing the contact pressure on the NB will improve temps, but down to 35 degrees on air cooling? I'm using water, direct waterblock contact with the northbridge, 26 ambient etc, and with 1.48V MCH and I idle also at 35 degrees? I'm finding that hard to believe. Hopefully more people can try adding washers etc and prove me wrong. :up:

So what does the LCD Poster say on the NB temps maxxx?

[maxxx]

also, was it just for the NB mount holes or for all screws you added washers too?
@3oh6: I did add plastic washers to all the screws and the springs are still there. I'll try HCI Memtest and see the results....

@EF: I did install Everest, but I have no clue which is the NB temps there..:am:

Let me get back to you on the temps from the LCD poster. Will put load to it and let it run for a fair bit.

[cool_case]

Maxxx -

In Everest, expand the "Computer" category on the left-side list. Highlight "sensor" under "Computer" and you'll see a "Motherboard" reading on the right side. I've always interpreted that reading as NB.

[3oh6]

Sure that increasing the contact pressure on the NB will improve temps, but down to 35 degrees on air cooling? I'm using water, direct waterblock contact with the northbridge, 26 ambient etc, and with 1.48V MCH and I idle also at 35 degrees? I'm finding that hard to believe. Hopefully more people can try adding washers etc and prove me wrong. :up:
i'm hoping my initial thoughts are wrong too thinking something else happened but keep in mind, idle temps are more about ambient than anything...that's why i wanted to see load temps. if his ambient is aroun 21-22C then 35C isn't that difficult to achieve with the stock setup, i can do it too.
In Everest, expand the "Computer" category on the left-side list. Highlight "sensor" under "Computer" and you'll see a "Motherboard" reading on the right side. I've always interpreted that reading as NB.
that is the generic MB temp sensor which is just a sensor somewhere on the board measuring the surface temp of the board in that area. the latest Everest build i have tried doesn't have hooks for NB, SB temps yet but perhaps an update will add those. your NB temp is going to be quite a bit higher than the MB reading from Everest, and the MB reading from Everest should match up to the MB reading in Prob II.

[Chri$ch]

oohh.. this is the best board i ever had :eek:

after tweaking the VTT, CPU and NB GTL i think it run stable... (before tweaking i had some problems with large ffts / 896k & 768k) :)

http://www.abload.de/img/4.5ghz-600fsb-largefkga.png

[maxxx]

@cool_case: 3oh6 is correct, it seems to be the mobo sensor reading there but thanks nonetheless....

@Chri$ch: nice one there.

Here's a screenie while running HCI Memtest. http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/6632/screen6dw0.jpg
LCD poster is showing exactly what ASUS PC Probe II is showing. My ambient is somewhere between 22c and 24c. Do you guys think I had destroyed or damage the sensor somehow? Isn't it inside the NB?

Btw, for those using the stock sink when you replace the Fusion block, make sure you put enough thermal paste. When I was putting mine back together, I applied a very thin layer of AS5 and it didn't even touch the stock sink. Replaced AS5 with MX-2 on that part.

[eternal_fantasy]

maxxx whats your vNB?

[3oh6]

maxxx whats your vNB?
it's in the screenshot, 1.32v.

that is still awfully low but your vNB is also quite low, i've never ran that little so i can't really compare. the sensor, hopefully, is in the actual die of the NB like a CPU but i don't know if the x48 even offers that. i do notice substantial swings from idle to load in a relatively small amount of time making me believe the NB temp sensor is on-die or at the very lest, involved in it direct somehow.

i would like to see your NB temps under load at 1.5v vNB. and when using multiple instances of HCI, you might have to go in and set the affinity of two instances to one core and the other two instances to the other core. it doesn't look like that fourth instance is getting any CPU cycles.

[cool_case]

the sensor, hopefully, is in the actual die of the NB like a CPU but i don't know if the x48 even offers that. i do notice substantial swings from idle to load in a relatively small amount of time making me believe the NB temp sensor is on-die or at the very lest, involved in it direct somehow.


Good point. The fast response idle-to-load NB temps likely means the sensor is on-die.

I just checked temps on my old P5N32-E Plus. There is no NB reading available in PC Probe, which means that the NB reading is provided by a special sensor. On the "plus", MB reads 33 (in Everest and Probe) and a wire temp sensor I just put under the NB heatsink reads 56 @ idle, though it doesn't go up under load.

[zlojack]

Man... this board is killing me.

I don't want to spend any more money, but....damn!

[ante_ante]

Just installed my board today. What´s the lastest chipset driver for this chip ?
Where can i find it ?

[maxxx]

maxxx whats your vNB?
Its actually 1.33872 as set in the BIOS

i would like to see your NB temps under load at 1.5v vNB. and when using multiple instances of HCI, you might have to go in and set the affinity of two instances to one core and the other two instances to the other core. it doesn't look like that fourth instance is getting any CPU cycles.
Am kind afraid to run it at 1.5v since we're not sure if the sensor is damaged or broken. I guess i'll have to try and see the results...

@cool_case, I see on your sig you had a Maximus Extreme, does it have a temp sensor on the NB?

@Turbodream: I just use the one provided with the DVD. Asus doesn't have much of a download yet for this mobo.

[mikeyakame]

If you keep NB temp below 55c average should be fine. It's kinda touchy when run at higher temps than that. With a 40x40x20mm fan and AS5 my NB idles at 35c, load at 38c with 1.53V vNB with Asus heat pipe majig on the Rampage Formula. So I quite can't understand how others have such high temps besides the obvious poorly ventilated cases or hot ambient temps (ie. summer)

[3oh6]

So I quite can't understand how others have such high temps besides the obvious poorly ventilated cases or hot ambient temps (ie. summer)
open bench setup, ambient as low as 22C as measured at the fan intake area and with the stock cooling, i can hit 55C anytime i want by loading up HCI with 1.50vNB. some people just have better contact than others out of the box and possibly it is the chipset itself just running hotter than others, lke CPUs. one sample doesn't mean all of them are like that. plus, you are talking about your Rampage Formula, aren't you?

[mikeyakame]

I have a feeling mine would run higher on an open bench. I can't replicate the same airways on an open bench as I can in my 832 Stacker. With 1 120x38mm Delta at the back , 3 120mm door , 2 120mm front, 1 120mm top each group with diff rpm, cfm and varying direction it works better than I could have ever imagined.

2 front both draw air in, 1 fan on door on lower quadrant is intake which feeds dominator ram cooler and 40x40x20 NB fan. 110cfm Scythe in my tuniq tower which does a good job of removing the heat round the vrm area. Delta directly behind it spinning at 3700rpm with 130cfm (not too loud either, quieter than 4500rpm 230cfm delta i have sitting here), all other 120s are exhaust. My mobo is also installed opposite direction so cpu cooler is at bottom of case, gpu closer to PSU. Opposite of the normal Stacker 830/832 placement.

I was surprised when i removed the heatpipe majiggy that the NB surface was actually pretty flat, was tempted to lap it but finish was actually way better than I expected. Would have been too little to gain from doing that. SB temps did rise by 2-3c after putting on AS5 lol which surprised me, but hell 34 instead of 32c is hardly something to be concerned with. My tuniq tower on the other hand has a nice big warp on the contact surface, gave up after an hour of sanding it. When I get around to it I'm going to throw it on the mill and do it properly and quickly.

Eddit: Yep the formula. Difference should be for the most part the cooling setup and beefier voltage reg on the extreme right? Physically the X48 chips are still same revision I believe, so the differences between both should be minimal. DDR3 at high frequencies loads the NB a little more, but not a great deal more than DDR2 since it's more efficient and timings are generally looser overall.

[cool_case]

@cool_case, I see on your sig you had a Maximus Extreme, does it have a temp sensor on the NB?


Maxxx - yes there was a temp sensor on the Max Extr NB. I ran it on LN2, so it was always under 30 even at 1.7v+. A buddy of mine, Jason, reports his Max Extr NB temps in the 50 - 60 range, on water - with NB voltage topping out at 1.73v.

[NiscoRacing]

@rob2k

Did you hit FSB 500 whit that QX9770 off yours? and are those new mem's doing well ?

[MnM]

Guys,

I have question - do any of you run a PCI-E raid card on this board?
Asking as I have an Adaptec plugged in. When the ICH9R is configured in bios as raid (as I have other hdds plugged in to the Intel raid controller) there is some very strange behaviour.
Firstly the ICH9R biuos screen is disabled completly.
Second all the drives plugged in the ICH9R are not visible anymore.
Adaptec raid works fine BUT whwn trying to install Vista it will not see the raid group I have created.
The only way to ge it to work is to make ICH9R in bios as IDE. Then Vista will see the raid group on Adaptec.

I have verified that ICH9R by itself work fine and also the Adaptec by itself (ICH9R bisabled in bios) works fine.

If you run a PCI-E raid card do you have the same issue?

[ante_ante]

Just flashed the board to 0403 bios. When i´m trying to overclock either it wont start or it get suck at iniatilizing usb. Have tried 500x8 and 600x7 and memory at 1600 and 1800. Is there any special thing i have to change. Or is it dividerproblem ? Please give me sugestions how i may achieve theese clocks :)

System:

Rampage Extreme ( 0403 )
E8600
G.skill PC12800 HZ 2GB

[maxxx]

@MnM: err, stupid suggestion since I know you may have done it already, have you loaded the raid drivers for the Adaptec card during the Vista install? The part where in your supposed to select the partition.

@Turbodream: that's strange. I am also using 0403 with no boot problems. Though, I have never gotten to those speeds yet.

Been battling with the NB temp all day. I decided to run on an ambient room temp of about 31c to 33c. NB temp reads 41c idle from the LCD poster and 47c on a full load using OCCT ram test. Putting it back to an airconditioned room with about 21c to 23c room temp, NB temp drops to 35c on idle and 42c on load. I am still hesitating in pumping 1.5v on it.

[ante_ante]

Is 0403 the latest bios? I´m running water on NB and have around 39c idle. How high can i go on PLL and NB ?

[maxxx]

So far, 0403 is the latest BIOS. Some say its safe to go up to 70c on the NB. After that, things become unstable. Am not sure about the PLL though, I try to stay as low as possible on that.

[MnM]

Just flashed the board to 0403 bios. When i´m trying to overclock either it wont start or it get suck at iniatilizing usb. Have tried 500x8 and 600x7 and memory at 1600 and 1800. Is there any special thing i have to change. Or is it dividerproblem ? Please give me sugestions how i may achieve theese clocks :)

System:

Rampage Extreme ( 0403 )
E8600
G.skill PC12800 HZ 2GB

Ths is happening to me as well. I have the USB/DVI KVM switch and when I use the mouse and keyboard through that it never goes past "intialising USB".
Keyboard + mouse plugged directly into the motherboard is fine.

maxx: when I have ICH9R as raid + adaptec adding ICons in Vista is fine except Vista will not see my raid on Adaptec.

This problem is a bios one. It seems that both ICH9R and Adaptec uses the same memory space for their respective bioses. I just whish that Asus/Adaptec will implemet the fix sooner rather than later.

[rob2k]

Wow !! - away 1 day and the posts go crazy :) good to see this board becoming more popular.

Well I have my heat pipe assy off the mobo and what I thought was 7g of Arctic Silver 5 is actually AS thermal adhesive part B which I have been sent by mistake :rolleyes:. Need to order AS5 and new thermal pads for delivery Tuesday so been grouting the bathroom instead.

@EF - lovely build mate, must have large M/B stand offs to fit passive H/S to underside of M/B hence my question about case.

@3oh6 - good to see you back, are those long days regular for you ?.

@Maxxx - any pics of what you did with plastic washers when putting the heat pipe asembly back on the board ?.

@MikeMK- how are you getting on with the PI sticks ?.

@NiscoRacing - still nowhere near 500, not even 450, pulled the board apart to apply AS to NB and SB.

Looks like anyone thinking of buying this board NEEDS to apply a better quality thermal paste than what Asus has used which is holding this board back badly.

Thinking of using the thermal sensors on CPU, NB & SB when I put mine back together.

Is HyperPi on all 4 cores too much of a stability test ?, I mean in what real life app or game will load the computer up as heavily ?. Would be good for us all to use the same monitoring and stability testing S/W so that all our results are comparable .........

[maxxx]

@rob2k: sorry but I wasn't able to take pictures. The washers are just made from a used pre-paid phone card which I cut into small pieces and put holes in the middle. Wish I could find better washers but it had to do. :(

I've been using Asus PC Probe II, CoreTemp and Everest to monitor temps and voltages, plus the LCD poster as suggested by EF. I just wish you can make the LCD poster cycle though all those stuff.

[rob2k]

Hi Maxx, that sounds like a painstaking job making 12 of those, you must have a lot of patience !!!. I guess they are used on the underside of the board to increase the pressure of the springs and to stop the screws from bottoming out hence increasing heatsink contact pressure ?. Hmmmmm .......

Cheers for posting your test S/W. I have the same but need to get CoreTemp.

[maxxx]

@rob2k: wasn't that difficult and I made 24 of those (2 for each screw). A soldering pen did the job for the holes. :D
Yes, they are in the underside of the board. I decided to put them when I pressed on top of the stock sink on the NB. I felt it kinda pressed down so I was thinking the screws needed more tightening.

[3oh6]

@3oh6 - good to see you back, are those long days regular for you ?
only when we try to get new contracts and this one happens to have a lot of specialized hand soldering required that we are shooting for and being one of only a handful of folks that can do that kind of work...i could pretty much work 24 hours a day last week. so no, not really regular, but not un-common in spurts.


Is HyperPi on all 4 cores too much of a stability test ?, I mean in what real life app or game will load the computer up as heavily ?. Would be good for us all to use the same monitoring and stability testing S/W so that all our results are comparable .........
well, stability testing is a touchy subject but one thing to keep in mind is that a system is only as stable as you have tested it. if you're just testing with quad 32M SPi (dual 32M in C2D cases like me), then it is just that...only quad 32M SPi stable. if it is Prime Blend stable for a few hours, then it is just that...Prime Blend stable for a few hours. each program can and will stress different components at different times so for full stability, you need a combination of everything. multiple instances of SPi, Prime (I like Blend for its work on memory), 3D (games and benchmarks), HCI Memtest, OCCT, etc...they can all find a weakness in an overclock.

as an example for full stability testing in my reviews which are targeted at mainstream users i tend to go with 2 hours of Prime Blend, 2 hours of OCCT, dual 32M SPi using Hyper Pi, 30 mins of 3DMark 01 looped, 3 loops of 3DMark Vantage, and 2 hours of HCI Memtest for FSB and overall stability testing. for memory clocks, i do the same but drop the OCCT as it never finds memory issues in my experience. it is a compromise of time which is always a battle for a review, and actual stability...but a good one i have found.

for most anything i post in forums, dual 32M SPi is a good compromise of time and stability as it only takes 10~15 minutes to run and displays a 'usable' level of stability. dual 32M stable is usually 10~20MHz off the full stability testing above for memory, and most of the times fully 3D/Prime Blend stable for FSB clocking, or at least in the same ball park in my experiences. keep in mind, everyone has different levels of stability needs...sometimes you want to see 'decent' or 'full' stability testing which i would classify as dual 32M SPi or the whole slew of tests i outlined. some users here just want to see a single pass of 3DMark 01. you have a lot of guys here who can't wrap their head around the fact that a lot of us, when benching, just want to see bench stable...whether it be 1M SPi or 3Dmark 01, it is all some of us need in certain situations AKA benching.

as for temp/voltage monitoring, Everest and PC Probe II should be polling from the same sensors that show in the BIOS so aside from a bit of lag, should also be the same from the LCD Poster as i would imagine they are polling directly from the BIOS. i have shown all my screenshots with PC Probe II and the voltages/temps it displays are all bang on with the BIOS (aside from CPU when it goes wonky but that is what Real Temp is for). voltages are also pretty darn close...a couple hundredths off here or there from a calibrated DMM for vCORE, vDIMM, vMCH from the chokes and the DIMM slots. so needless to say, close enough to know what i set in the BIOS. as for Core Temp vs Real Temp...they use different tJunctions so they are 10C different, with Core Temp reading 10C higher. believe which ever one you want, to me, with my ambients...Real Temp seems more realistic under load :shrug:

man, that turned out much longer than planned, but at least now you guys know how i feel about stability testing and monitoring software ;)

[ante_ante]

Should i put memorys in the blue or white slots, is there any difference ??

[3oh6]

white slots are designed for higher clocks, like most every motherboard these days.

[rob2k]

Thanks 3oh6 for taking time to answer in such a concise way - you know your stuff :up: :up:

I now know what to shoot for when my rig is back in one piece and not thrown around the back bedroom. Short tests to gain confidence in CPU, FSB and MEM speeds and then prime, vantage, etc to prove long term system stability.

[MikeMK]

@MikeMK- how are you getting on with the PI sticks ?.

Well, they are here and they work - beyond that i havnt pushed them at all. They are in my SIIE atm, and I prob wont push them until my RE gets back here (should be tues all being well!)

[3oh6]

Thanks 3oh6 for taking time to answer in such a concise way - you know your stuff :up: :up:

I now know what to shoot for when my rig is back in one piece and not thrown around the back bedroom. Short tests to gain confidence in CPU, FSB and MEM speeds and then prime, vantage, etc to prove long term system stability.
thanks, and no problem, you are bang on with your methodology. start low and work your way up with incremental bumps. only touching voltages as you go one at a time so you get a feel for what does what.

using dual 32M as a stability test as you go then when you hit limits, work your way slightly down with Prime, OCCT, etc...for full stability testing. that's how i do it and it works well and goes relatively quickly once you get a feel for the setup.

[REVHEAD]

Well guys they said I could send my board back so off it will go tomorrow, hope by next week sometime I should be in action again with the Rampage.

[ante_ante]

Move my memorys to the white slots. And when i dont have any USB connected i get past the intializing usb thing. But hey i need keyboard and mouse :) Don´t get it

[MusicIsMyLife]

Last weekend we (team BenchBrothers) tested ASUS Rampage Extreme. Unfortunately we got weired vcore-issues.

Vcore higher than 1.6 gave about 0.1 volt less. Highest possible vcore was 1.70000 which resulted in about 1.59 volt real. If we set 1.70625 vcore dropped to only 1.1 volt real :eek:. If we set higher, vcore went up but never higher than 1.59 real - even at 2.4 volt set in bios we never had more than 1.59 volt real - no matter if we set in bios or if we used TweakIT. :shrug:

Does somebody have the same issues?

[eternal_fantasy]

So far, 0403 is the latest BIOS. Some say its safe to go up to 70c on the NB. After that, things become unstable. Am not sure about the PLL though, I try to stay as low as possible on that.
As you go up in FSB/RAM frequency, Northbridge becomes more sensitive to temperature increase. At default 333Mhz FSB, the NB can go up to around 70ish degrees without compremising system stability. But with a higher FSB speed, it will become unstable, and maybe not even able to boot. Thats why reducing the NB temperature absolutely helps with FSB overclocking. In my experience of X38 and X48 chipsets as long as the NB temp is under 47 degrees under load the temperature will not limit your FSB overclock. Any higher the overclocking margin will start to reduce.


@EF - lovely build mate, must have large M/B stand offs to fit passive H/S to underside of M/B hence my question about case.
Looks like anyone thinking of buying this board NEEDS to apply a better quality thermal paste than what Asus has used which is holding this board back badly.
Thanks mate. I used the low profile Enzotech ramsinks so it does not touch the motherboard plate. It's actually low enough that all of my motherboard standoffs clear the height.

I'm just waiting for a BIOS update now to get it to work with my other set of ram, and in the mean time enjoying some game time with it. :D

[CCC]

I tested a RE

The stock heatpipe unit was like TM's no contact at all and could not bend it to make it fit so went to aftermarket cooling 'no big deal'

Problem is when cooling the chipset with cool water below 24c temp via bios reading any voltage over 1.401v including auto and the board will not post

Once I turn off the water and chipset goes over 25c it will post with nb voltage on auto to 1.7v+ no problem and once I post and set voltage/fsb and then turn water pump and get chipset to even 10c with ice water inside windows Im fine untill i have to reboot which then results in a no post

A very weird issue which made me stick with air for now and I dont even use a fan for the thermalright nb cooler as when I bench test in the AM when ac is on and house is cool, as even then the nb can be below 24c and I can't post at over 580mhz fsb, :rofl:

vcore tho is fine as is all other aspects of the board just a weird x48 issue which Ive seen happen on a p5e64 evo board so I guess this happens to some.

[T_M]

Hmmm wonder if thats why i was having problems with teh CPU on LN2.

[cool_case]

vcore tho is fine as is all other aspects of the board just a weird x48 issue which Ive seen happen on a p5e64 evo board so I guess this happens to some.

Hey CCC -

How far up have you been able to get the vcore?

[MnM]

We need a new bios.
I have identified some issues:
- I have DVI USB KVM switch and if that is plugged in the board will not go past "initialising USB" message in bios
- pluggin in a PCI-E raid card will disable the onboard ICH9R. Not only that but Windows can not be installed on either hdds on raid card or ICH9R. Making ICH9R IDE (not raid) allows raid card to function properly. Removing raid card allows ICH9R to function properly
- performance with PCI-E raid card is sub par by about 30%!! That is a huge hit. Same PCI-E raid card and hdds in another motherboard works well (+30%)

I have emailed Asus about some of those problems:

"Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.

My name is Lyn and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.

As you know, due to the limitation of BIOS ROM size, there may not be enough space for Adaptec BootROM to be written into BIOS when you use two RAIDs.
However, please update the Adaptec Raid card firmware firstly to have a try."

Of course I already tried latest bios for my raid card before they emailed me. I know the raid issue was present before on other motherboards but a new bios fixed this. I just hoe that Asus did put 8MB bios chips on those mobos (x2 of course as there are 2 bioses) cause as far as I know anything less than 8MB will not allow PCI-E raid card and ICH9R to work together.

I will keep you guys posted on the progress of those issues that I have raised with Asus. I also suggest that you log a call with Asus for any issues you find - help/force them to work on better bioses!

[MnM]

Got a new reply from Asus:

"I have passed your problem to our relative department. They may need to do some tests about the problem you described.
So, please wait patiently.
As soon as I get update from them, I will notice you at first time..."

[MnM]

rob2k (or anyone else running a QX9770) can you please post your bios settings (CPU overclocking page only).

Too many setting and not sure what values I should try ....

[rob2k]

Good work encouraging Asus to fix bios issues MnM - would have expected a few more beta bios's by now especially as the M/B seems very choosy as to what memory you have.

My board is still in bits but AS5 should have arrived today so I can refit the stock cooling and then start to push this board. Will post settings as soon as I'm back up.

[rddave]

Hi All,

My first post here :D

Whats the latest on the NB Heat problem?
Noticed a earlier post about washers under the stock cooling screws helping, has anyone else tryed this?

[eternal_fantasy]

- performance with PCI-E raid card is sub par by about 30%!! That is a huge hit. Same PCI-E raid card and hdds in another motherboard works well (+30%)

I also use a hardware PCI-E x8 raid card as per my sig, but haven't noticed any performance loss when used on the Rampage Extreme. Maybe it is isolated to Adaptec cards? What is your RAID setup? I am getting exactly the same performance as I did on all the other motherboards.

Also which address did you use to send the email to asus? I'll like to give them a kick up the backside and release some new BIOSes.

[MikeMK]

Well, my RE came back to me today, and it works!!! YAY! installed windows already, although not done any tweaking yet... tests to follow over the next few days :D

[MnM]

new bios - 0404 Dated 8/11/2008

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=746269&da=y

(thnaks Kensek - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198260)

[eternal_fantasy]

Awsome. Will give it a try. :up:

[maxxx]

new bios - 0404 Dated 8/11/2008
Cool mate, thanks for the update. Will surely give this a try when I am back from travel....
Btw, how do you guys flash the bios? Via a floppy? Flash disk using the utility in the BIOS?
TIA...

[eternal_fantasy]

Just tried my stable settings for 0403 on the 0404 and it has rejected my pair of D9GTR. Now I'm just trying the 0206 BIOS on my second BIOS chip, and the clock twister is not functioning correctly, with some options giving the same memory performance.

Back to 0403 for me then. :(

[MikeMK]

Thats not good... will give 0404 a shot later and see how its doing. Currently priming at 4ghz as a starting point, so once Im happy with that I'll flash :)

[rob2k]

Thanks for bios post MnM - will try that for sure later. Did they send you this directly as a fix for your USB & RAID issues ?.

Just got my rig back together with AS5 and washers!. SB temp 27 & NB temp 33 shown at idle in the bios. Not pushed in yet as this was gone midnight last night or should that be this morning !!. NB temp seemed to settle at 54 in windows using Asus Probe II.

Maxx - can be a touchy subject, general advice seems to be not to do this in Windows using the Asus update. Personally I use EZflash from within the bios. Others will only ever use a Windows startup disc and then the AFUDOS ______ dos commands to update with battery in and out to ensure a clean flash and complete clear of the CMOS. My method is to put the new bios on a memory stick, load default bios setting, update in EZflash (just point it to bios rom on memory stick), again load defaults then input my new settings - remember save and exit at each step after loading default settings.

[Chri$ch]

VCore Droop (Idle -> Load) is bigger with Bios 0404

Bios 0403 = 1.152v Idle / 1.112v Load
Bios 0404 = 1.176v Idle / 1.112v Load

i must increase the vcore to get same settings stable.

[maxxx]

@rob2k: Thanks for that tip. I do use the same method. Just wondering if the floppy method is better. I guess its the same result.
Regarding the washers, thanks for trying it out. We seem to have almost the same temps. Your ambient must be lower. What did you use by the way?

@rddave: I have tried it but was confused when I got a 35c idle NB temp. This is because I heard that the x48 is really hot. And if you use the sink provided with the Rampage Extreme, ensure the contact of the copper block on top of the NB and the sink.

[ante_ante]

Bios 0404 needs more vcore to be orthos stable to me. Use same settings as in 0403 and no go. So i´m also went back to 0403

[rob2k]

Hi Maxxx, I used an old students union card ! - makes me sound young but lets just say that I am a mature student ;)

Not much of a summer here in the UK but room temp is 18-20C. Will push things tonight and see what I get under load - was touching 70 before - think it was 67. Coupled with new bios and new memory I'm hoping for some good quad results.

Good info Chri$ch - wonder what the drop is at 1.375v ?

[rob2k]

Just speculating about what can be done using the dual bios capability of this board.

I have flashed to 0403, I guess I can go in there (the bios) and change the bios chip that I boot from. Then flash that to 0404, have a play with that, then if I don't like it just go back in there and change back to boot from the 0403 bios chip which already has my good settings preserved.

Can anyone confirm this is possible ?.

[maxxx]

rob2k: seems to be possible since you boot from any of the bios. correct me if am wrong fella's...

[maxxx]

Guys, is the G.Skill still the best memory (at the moment) for this motherboard?

[MikeMK]

Guys, just had a slightly worrying thing happen to me! I'd primed the RE through today @ 10x400 1.32v with mem 1600mhz 7-7-7-18 1.9v and no probs whatsoever. Just did it so easily, and i was pretty pleased... especially after the SIIE!

Anyhow, i shut down, and then when i switched on the PC it wouldnt boot - it just did the whole continual switch on or switch off thing, either that or all the lights came on and nothing happened. After much fiddling i got it working again, when I went into bios, it had changed the FSB to 433mhz, and my voltages to 1.9v vcore!!!! 2.4v NB, 1.5v Vdimm - they were all over the place, no wonder it wouldnt boot. Luckily no damage was done. After correcting the settings all back up and running fine.

This is on 0403 bios. Has anyone else experienced this - obviously this is a potentially serious issue.

[mr2sw21]

VCore Droop (Idle -> Load) is bigger with Bios 0404

Bios 0403 = 1.152v Idle / 1.112v Load
Bios 0404 = 1.176v Idle / 1.112v Load

i must increase the vcore to get same settings stable.

how come Idle use more V then load?

[Nguaroth]

Eternal fantasy: which backplate did you use for your Cpu block?

Do you think this ddr3 set Mushkin HP3-12800 4096 MB, PC3-12800, 1600 MHz, 8, Non-ECC, Kit Of 2 would be any good for this mobo?

[GutterZ]

Anyone know when it will be released in the USA for purchase?

[bazx]

any one what the clock generator is for setfsb on this m/b

thanks baz