X48 Rampage Formula Preview.

Package just arrived early this morning.

Here is a quick preview for those interested(I don't have a tripod, sorry for some of the blur):
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/416/32857692yt9.th.jpg
http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/5...5852xx8.th.jpg
Notice the memory typo in the following picture: "1006".
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/8633/10gm7.th.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/2...7691vh1.th.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/427...4632el9.th.jpg
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/7...6147iu9.th.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1...3827sx2.th.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/7...3750qw1.th.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7...3207wo1.th.jpg
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/8...7818xu0.th.jpg

Now I just have to wait till my E3110 and my TRUE Ultra-120 Extreme arrive:up:

Update: Getting E3110 on 04/22, expect some benchies and updated pictures/possible desktop wallpapers within the next week.

Everything is same like Maximus Formula, just change Republic of Gamers logo ^^

Heh, now I'm conviced that it's fairly save to flash the Rampage BIOS into my Maximus :)

Why not put the e6600 in? I got one to 540fsbx7 and 500fsbx8 with max formula.

I'm giving the e6600 to my GF so she will have a computer capable of playing Age of Conan when it comes out in May.

Also, I don't want to install the e6600... and the the TRUE Ultra-120 Extreme with the backplate ....into my case, only to wind up just taking it all out in 2 weeks to repeat the process all over again.

...call me lazy.

No problem, I have to wait till May for AOC now? It was due last Nov.

They did an engine upgrade and added a lot more "uniqueness" to distinguish themselves among the vast MMO market.

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.

My Rampage Formular:

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...rmular_001.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...rmular_002.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...rmular_003.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...rmular_004.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...rmular_005.jpg

hope you like the pictures. :up:

Very nice pictures deepsilver :up: , I notice that you have an china manufactured board just like me as well, did the back of the box list the mobo having a x38 chipset like mine did?
Have you already looked at your northbridge temps, I'd be interested in hearing about them as my board runs quite hot there.

3lfk1ng, where was your board made, I can't make it out from the pictures?

I don't really like the the cooling on the board ..

My rampage also has: "PCB made in China" written on it.
There front of the box has a nice X48 logo on it and the back of the box does indeed say X38 :p:.

I used serveral programs to check the system status and to run benchmarks.
Some programs also list the chipset as X38, but this could be caused by me running older versions of tools such as cpu-z, everest and 3d mark.

But these small mistakes don't really bother me, for me the board runs fine and the temps are also ok'. When running my E8500 @511 fsb multi 7.5 the board runs no hother than 40 degrees while stressing with orthos for a long period.
I have noticed that airflow does have a big impact on the temps of the board, when using a intel boxed cooler it ran much hotter then when I used my zalman FS-C77.

deepsilver, is there room for a big ass CPU heatsink like the TR Ultra series?

If any of you guys got a board running yet could you test for max fsb please :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dualist

If any of you guys got a board running yet could you test for max fsb please :D

---

I am also interested in this. Unfortunately the placement of the PCI slots on this board SUCK :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Super Nade

deepsilver, is there room for a big ass CPU heatsink like the TR Ultra series?

---

yea, I have the TRUE installed in mine atm, blowing air from the back of the case, it does fit both ways though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LoL>NL<

My rampage also has: "PCB made in China" written on it.
There front of the box has a nice X48 logo on it and the back of the box does indeed say X38 :p:.

I used serveral programs to check the system status and to run benchmarks.
Some programs also list the chipset as X38, but this could be caused by me running older versions of tools such as cpu-z, everest and 3d mark.

But these small mistakes don't really bother me, for me the board runs fine and the temps are also ok'. When running my E8500 @511 fsb multi 7.5 the board runs no hother than 40 degrees while stressing with orthos for a long period.
I have noticed that airflow does have a big impact on the temps of the board, when using a intel boxed cooler it ran much hotter then when I used my zalman FS-C77.

---

Made in China for my Rampage too ;)
The chipset .inf/drivers Asus gave on the DVD are the X38 ones but I know it's really a X48 no worries p.

*Did one of you try to do the usual basic thermal compound mod for the NB/SB ? Cleaning and just putting your own Arctic Silver or other instead ?
Never mind I see it's about the same cooling as for the Maximus Formula so it should give the same results.
I will do that soon then.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LostHawk

Made in China for my Rampage too ;)
The chipset .inf/drivers Asus gave on the DVD are the X38 ones but I know it's really a X48 no worries p.

*Did one of you try to do the usual basic thermal compound mod for the NB/SB ? Cleaning and just putting your own Arctic Silver or other instead ?
Never mind I see it's about the same cooling as for the Maximus Formula so it should give the same results.
I will do that soon then.

---

From what I read its best to do N/B S/B removal before first firing up board.

I did it this way and it was easy except I always find the pushpins such a ^&%$*% in the *^%$#.

Apparently the cement hardens to the point you risk pulling chip off the board when removing cooling if you wait and do it later.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swiftex

From what I read its best to do N/B S/B removal before first firing up board.

I did it this way and it was easy except I always find the pushpins such a ^&&#37;$*% in the *^%$#.

Apparently the cement hardens to the point you risk pulling chip off the board when removing cooling if you wait and do it later.

---

Yes, indeed. (*cough* still trying to forget I destroyed a mobo a few years ago like that...)
I suppose all the information from this thread about the Maximus X38 SE is about right for the Rampage too ? :
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=162085

*Confirmed: It's same as maximus.
*The N/B holes are 62mm apart (53x32mm): see maximus thread for cooling options then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoldiClocks

Very nice pictures deepsilver :up:

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Thank's. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Super Nade

deepsilver, is there room for a big ass CPU heatsink like the TR Ultra series?

---

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...finity_001.jpg

I hope it help's you. :up:

sorry I have a stupid question does this board support SLI? Cause I thought only nvidia chips board will support SLI? I am planning wither get this board or striker II please advase.

No SLi, only CrossFire.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mr2sw21

sorry I have a stupid question does this board support SLI? Cause I thought only nvidia chips board will support SLI? I am planning wither get this board or striker II please advase.

---

Correct only NVidia chipset boards support SLI. This is an Intel X48 motherboard, so no SLI.

There is one Intel based board with SLI support, the Skulltrail board.

what BIOS version do y'all have on your RF?

can someone please backup their bios *ez-flash, save rom.. not the one from cd* and post it? 0215 seems to be non-existant on the net.

Then why people buy rampage but using 9800gtx if it cannot SLI?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr2sw21

Then why people buy rampage but using 9800gtx if it cannot SLI?

---

MAybe people think that 1 gfx is enough :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr2sw21

Then why people buy rampage but using 9800gtx if it cannot SLI?

---

Well, I'm pretty sure you can run 9800 GTX having just one of them as well. :p:
(but yeah, I know what you mean, too bad ATI doesn't have any really kickass cards atm... though I guess 3870x2 is actually a pretty nice card, for anything except Crysis..)

I'm really battling over myself what graphics card to buy tbh, as I got rid of the 8800 GT in the sig.

by the way is all the rampage is made in China?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr2sw21

by the way is all the rampage is made in China?

---

Why not , the max formula is. Do you have a motherboard or gfx card that is not?

I am seriously contemplating grabbing myself one of these. They are a pretty decent price here for what they are... will be interested to see how it clocks with quads.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fordf250

No problem, I have to wait till May for AOC now? It was due last Nov.

---

I'm skeptical of the may release.
Cant say more (very stict funcom NDA).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GoldiClocks

Have you already looked at your northbridge temps, I'd be interested in hearing about them as my board runs quite hot there.

---

I second this question. I'm looking for a board that has COOL chipset temps.
The copper sinks around the NB seems quite good to me, with a few fan on them.

Which is your board? Same rampage or another x38/48?

Hey all, sorry to barge in here but is there any advantage to flashing the Maximus's Bios with the one of a Rampage? I have flashed my 3870s many times, but I am not sure if it is worth the risk.

Any advantages?

mine P5kc is not it is made in Taiwan but I think the HD3850 is from China

I upped my FSB to 450 and with a couple voltage settings in the bios am running 4ghz on air (ultra 120 exteme). Totally stable, quite easy too, im pretty happy with this board and a Xeon E3110.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GoldiClocks

3lfk1ng, where was your board made, I can't make it out from the pictures?

---

Sorry to get back to you so late. It too is made in China. It surprised me when I noticed it because normally I would think Taiwan, glad I'm not the only one surprised by this.

@deepsilver

Nice pictures, I'll have to try and trump them once I get my E8400 :). Ill have my TRUE in two more days; ordered it last week. E8400 still on backorder :mad:

would it be worth me upgrading to the rampage formula from a p5k premium? I am having trouble running my setup (CPU/RAM see below) @ 450fsb 1:1. At the moment I have settled on 400fsb 4:5 which is rock solid. CPU has been tested upto 460fsb & ram has been tested upto PC2 1100 individually. Its just getting both to run @ a decent speed is impossible. I'm thinking maybe its my motherboard holding me back, so I'm considering upgrading to the rampage formula, any comments?

i m going buy this Asus Rampage Formula board, but is was wondering

can i put this DDR2-1200 sims into this board ?

(OCZ Technology FlexXLC Edition 2GB PC2-9600 DDR2 DIMM Memory Kit)

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=640

i´m not sure, because i´ve read in the manual i downloaded from the asus site of this mainboard:

Dual-channel memory architecture
- 4 x 240-pin DIMM sockets support unbuffered ECC /
non-ECC DDR2 1200*/1066/800/667MHz memory
modules
- Supports up to 8 GB system memory
*The DDR2 frequency reaches 1200 MHz after overclocking.

and

Intel® X48 Chipset
The Intel® X48 Express Chipset is the latest chipset designed to support dualchannel
DDR3 1600/1333/1066/800 and DDR2 1066/800/667 architecture

and

This chipset officially supports DDR2-800 MHz. With the ASUS Super
Memspeed Technology, this motherboard natively supports up to
DDR2-1066 MHz.

So im not sure this DDR2-1200Mhz could be used in this mainboard, but since this is a very new mainboard and also the DDR2-1200 is very new, i was hoping to put those into this board to improve the performance of this board.

It will support DDR2-1200 speeds just fine, you just need to change the settings in BIOS since it natively supports 1066. The board will naturally recognize 1066 speed memory, if you go any higher the settings are controlled by the user; you.

Hi 3lfk1ng,

thx for your reply and information :up:

greetz

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swiftex

From what I read its best to do N/B S/B removal before first firing up board.

I did it this way and it was easy except I always find the pushpins such a ^&&#37;$*% in the *^%$#.

Apparently the cement hardens to the point you risk pulling chip off the board when removing cooling if you wait and do it later.

---

My last component will be here this week. (The CPU) So it is time to build..

I've read about OC-ing and even lapping. (I may try to do that for the first time if it is needed.) But I haven't read anything about NB or SB removal process.

Looking at the Rampage Formula, well, there is the heat pipe from the NB, and all the fins over the SB which extend all over the place. I'm not very confident about this.

Is it difficult? Any tips? Is it the same as cleaning off old material from a CPU to reseat it? :shrug:

Edro

Uh, I think I have the description of my NB and SB all backwards. Fins all over the NB, I think, and the ROG logo and heatpipe from the SB. Correct?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Edro Davis

My last component will be here this week. (The CPU) So it is time to build..

I've read about OC-ing and even lapping. (I may try to do that for the first time if it is needed.) But I haven't read anything about NB or SB removal process.

Looking at the Rampage Formula, well, there is the heat pipe from the NB, and all the fins over the SB which extend all over the place. I'm not very confident about this.

Is it difficult? Any tips? Is it the same as cleaning off old material from a CPU to reseat it? :shrug:

Edro

---

It's not difficult but not as easy as for your CPU.
Be sure to read that thread on how to do it before starting (it's described with pictures at the end of the first post) :
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=162085
Yes, Asus Maximus Formula X38 SE board has same cooling than our Rampage.

In my case I used heat to remove the cooling but I read it's even easier with a freezer spray and less risky for the board.

I am putting an Aqua Twinplex XT di-Design water block made for the Maximus board on the N/B and using an old Asus S/B original cooler from one of my previous cards.

For the mofsets, I just leave the original Rampage pieces. That doesn't really get hot.

I'll try to post temperature results once I finish mounting that back...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Edro Davis

Uh, I think I have the description of my NB and SB all backwards. Fins all over the NB, I think, and the ROG logo and heatpipe from the SB. Correct?

---

That's correct.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Waymon3X6

Hey all, sorry to barge in here but is there any advantage to flashing the Maximus's Bios with the one of a Rampage? I have flashed my 3870s many times, but I am not sure if it is worth the risk.

Any advantages?

---

Not to wander off topic here but....

I would recommend anyone who is not happy with there Maximus board to atleast try the conversion, ( yes you can flash back )
With bios 219 (Rampage) I was able to gain 100MHz on my overclock, dropped volts on my CPU and can run my ram higher than on the Maximus bios.

Hop over to the maximus to Rampage conversion thread if you need more information
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=179580

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Grnfinger

Not to wander off topic here but....

I would recommend anyone who is not happy with there Maximus board to atleast try the conversion, ( yes you can flash back )
With bios 219 (Rampage) I was able to gain 100MHz on my overclock, dropped volts on my CPU and can run my ram higher than on the Maximus bios.

Hop over to the maximus to Rampage conversion thread if you need more information
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=179580

---

hell yeah :up:

Ahh, thank you two very much! I will try that now that I know you can flash it back.

Thanks again!

EDIT: Btw, I am very happy with my Maximus SE, working great! I guess I could use the extra 100Mhz and a lower CPU voltage... What was limiting you in the first place? Temps? I've had mine to 4.2Ghz so far... Will hopefully be 4.3Ghz by the time I get this new BIOS up.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LostHawk

It's not difficult but not as easy as for your CPU.
Be sure to read that thread on how to do it before starting (it's described with pictures at the end of the first post) :
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=162085
Yes, Asus Maximus Formula X38 SE board has same cooling than our Rampage.

In my case I used heat to remove the cooling but I read it's even easier with a freezer spray and less risky for the board.

I am putting an Aqua Twinplex XT di-Design water block made for the Maximus board on the N/B and using an old Asus S/B original cooler from one of my previous cards.

For the mofsets, I just leave the original Rampage pieces. That doesn't really get hot.

I'll try to post temperature results once I finish mounting that back...


That's correct.

---

Do the NB/SB paste mod before using board is the easiest, just wiggle gently

If you do it after using a bit then you have to resort to the freeze etc., principles - and will risk pulling a chip ...yikes!

I found something very odd with my RF.
When I set the NB voltage to auto in the bios, the NB voltage reading according the the Probe is 1.63V. Can you guys confirm the same with your board?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mngdew

I found something very odd with my RF.
When I set the NB voltage to auto in the bios, the NB voltage reading according the the Probe is 1.63V. Can you guys confirm the same with your board?

---

I don't use Asus probe anymore. please try everest

here's a link to version 4.50.1330
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownloa...oad-30373.html

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swiftex

Do the NB/SB paste mod before using board is the easiest, just wiggle gently

If you do it after using a bit then you have to resort to the freeze etc., principles - and will risk pulling a chip ...yikes!

---

Thank you. Yep, the freeze thing had me worried. I put it on my list to get from radio shack..

Another question: There are 3 things cooled by the large fin heatsink: sb, nb, and I guess it is the power zeniers or something, the silver fins on the edge.

Just how do I get 3 very sticky things to release all at the same time without breaking the heatpipe between the sb-nb? It just seems like it would be tricky.

Sorry to be such a wimp. Between what I spent on the Rampage and other parts of this build, well, I would really be bummed out if I broke it even before first post!

Edro

Just thought I'd provide my initial experience with the board so far. I've had it for a couple weeks now with a very mild overclock, just upped my multiplier by one on my QX9650 to obtain 3.3 ghz. (My specs are in my sig.)

To install on RAID properly with Vista64 SP1 I had to use the latest Intel Matrix drivers on disk at install time. Otherwise I got some real funky corruption: Shortcut's missing, incorrect icons for many shortcuts and a bunch of issues showing up in the event viewer. If you want to use Intel's RAID I strongly recommend grabbing the latest Matrix drivers and load them at install.

This is actually a much improved experience over my previous board: DFI's LanParty UT P35. I could not install using RAID or AHCI with any bios newer then 11/07. (Many folks do not have this problem, but I'm not alone with it either.)

With the mild overclock the board has been rock solid though the Vista64 boot time is signifcantly slower then with my P35. However, once booted it runs benches a teency bit faster: Disk, Memory and CPU. This is normal for DFI boards which seem to always require a bit of tweaking even at stock.

I'd have to say I'm really pleased with the board so far and I'll try to contribute more information once I start tweaking. I'm not an Xtreme type though and with 8 gigs of ram I'm going to be limited in any overclocking anyway.

Just a little tip seamumc, the QX9650 is a quad core, not a C2D, and its 3.3Ghz, not 3300Ghz/ :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by safan80

I don't use Asus probe anymore. please try everest

here's a link to version 4.50.1330
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownloa...oad-30373.html

---

The same result.

What is the NB voltage reading on yours when it's set to AUTO?

Great! Thank you. Are you running yopur GSkill 2x2GB DDR2 F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ @ 5-5-5-12
on Auto settings?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by seamumc

Just thought I'd provide my initial experience with the board so far. I've had it for a couple weeks now with a very mild overclock, just upped my multiplier by one on my QX9650 to obtain 3.3 ghz. (My specs are in my sig.)

To install on RAID properly with Vista64 SP1 I had to use the latest Intel Matrix drivers on disk at install time. Otherwise I got some real funky corruption: Shortcut's missing, incorrect icons for many shortcuts and a bunch of issues showing up in the event viewer. If you want to use Intel's RAID I strongly recommend grabbing the latest Matrix drivers and load them at install.

This is actually a much improved experience over my previous board: DFI's LanParty UT P35. I could not install using RAID or AHCI with any bios newer then 11/07. (Many folks do not have this problem, but I'm not alone with it either.)

With the mild overclock the board has been rock solid though the Vista64 boot time is signifcantly slower then with my P35. However, once booted it runs benches a teency bit faster: Disk, Memory and CPU. This is normal for DFI boards which seem to always require a bit of tweaking even at stock.

I'd have to say I'm really pleased with the board so far and I'll try to contribute more information once I start tweaking. I'm not an Xtreme type though and with 8 gigs of ram I'm going to be limited in any overclocking anyway.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mngdew

The same result.

What is the NB voltage reading on yours when it's set to AUTO?

---

the only time I set mine to auto is a stock and I'm doing a bios flash. it reads 1.33-1.34.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swiftex

Do the NB/SB paste mod before using board is the easiest, just wiggle gently

If you do it after using a bit then you have to resort to the freeze etc., principles - and will risk pulling a chip ...yikes!

---

WHEW! I was able to remove the entire heatsink assembly.

I cleaned off both the NB and SB chips. Although I cleaned the underside of the heatsink assembly where the NB and SB meet, what I was cleaning off was some sort of rubbery (and perhaps sensitive to isopropal alcohol) uh, it looked like gray, rubbery form-fitting gue. The NB heatsink looked like it was squished onto the NB chip such that it oozed around the edges.

Am I supposed to put the AC5 grease on the chips such that it squishes against the gray rubbery form-fitting gue or am I supposed to remove the gray rubbery form-fitting gue from the underside of the heatsink? :shrug:

Above I don't mean the gray squishy pads that go against the mosfets. They look okay the way they are except you can see how some are well seated into the gray pad and others are not even touching the pads maybe.

Edro

Sounds like your talking about Thermal Pad

Remove the Thermal Pads and replace with your AS5(Thermal Grease).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3lfk1ng

Sounds like your talking about Thermal Pad

Remove the Thermal Pads and replace with your AS5(Thermal Grease).

---

Okay. So to remove the thermal pads, (I haven't tried anything yet), I'm guessing that I will need to use a razor blade to scrape it off. It isn't at all like grease but more like soft rubber. Does that sound right?

Yeah, that sounds right. Use a razor blade and be sure to rub the surface with some rubbing alcohol and a microfiber eyeglass cleaning towel(to remove finger prints) before applying the paste. Never use qtips, cotton balls, or a paper towel :).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3lfk1ng

Never use qtips, cotton balls, or a paper towel

---

Uh.. oops. How about kleenix? probably a no-no. That's what I used to clean off the SB and NB chips.

The gray thermal pads came off easily. Now I can see why I'm doing this, that is, it looks like the thermal pad is so thick that unless it has the thermal transfer of copper then it is a horrible solution. No wonder NB temps are so high. It was like maybe 1/16 inch thick, maybe not quite, but that and the sticky stuff, well, I'm real glad that I did this.

Thanks for all your help. My Rampage Formula is yet a couple of more steps to first post!

Edro

Kleenex = no *rolls up newspaper, hits you on the head*

Ya, I'm going to clean my NB up once I get my processor... still waiting for it *yawn*

My TRUE and Scythe S-FLEX F arrived today though :)

Just ordered one from the egg, hopefully be here by this weekend.

Can't wait.. has anyone seen this?

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3208&p=7

Yeah, I think the people with the Rampage bios on their Maximus' can do it too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 3lfk1ng

Kleenex = no *rolls up newspaper, hits you on the head*

---

Okay. I deserved that!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 3lfk1ng

Ya, I'm going to clean my NB up once I get my processor... still waiting for it *yawn*

My TRUE and Scythe S-FLEX F arrived today though :)

---

Just got my processor today..finally. :D That is the last piece of hardware that I've been waiting for. Plan is to build this weekend. I put all the fans in my new case already. Only regret that I didn't go with 140mm fans instead of the 120mm fans that I got. But they are great anyway.

I'll post results after the weekend. I've been reading the Areac ARC-1220 documentation. I'm real glad that I got a quality hardware RAID card. I think it is going to make a big difference for what I'm using this for. (Video encoding, media server for LAN, video editing other related video stuff)

The other thing is that I'm glad that I got a quality ASUS board. I did see the Maximus (open box) at N.E. but I decided to spring for the Rampage and I'm glad that I did.

W00t! (whatever that means!) :D

Edro

Ive just got my rampage today and im finding that this board takes more volts on my q9450 to get stable than my maximus did.

3.4 on my maximus took 1.25 and this rampage takes 1.3v for 3.4 - thats volts set in the bios.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sauria

Great! Thank you. Are you running yopur GSkill 2x2GB DDR2 F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ @ 5-5-5-12
on Auto settings?

---

Yes ... for now :D

:up:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by seamumc

Yes ... for now :D

---

Great

Now that the NB and SB and heatsink assembly are all cleaned up *with a clean, lint-free cloth*, I want to put it all back on using AS5.

Should I use the credit card spread to a thin film method or the dab something like a couple grains of rice and just push it down method?

Thanks!

Edro

1/2 a rice grain size is my recommendation. Just do the drop in the exact center and place the heatsink over it parallel to the chipset, this will automatically spead it out as needed.

I personally don't recommend spreading it out with a credit card or a razor blade because if the heatsink has an uneven surface you will windup with either too thin a coating or excess coating at the edges, thus not transferring heat at an optimal level.

Everyone has a different way of doing things, I have found this way to be most effective for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 3lfk1ng

1/2 a rice grain size...

---

1/2 grain? Wow. That northbridge is quite large. I was thinking 2 grains and wasn't sure if that would be enough.

Less is more, I guess. I can always check the temps and do it again if necessary now that I'm experienced at pulling off the heatsink assembly.

Thanks, 3lfk1ng.

Edro

O I C :shrug: , I didn't realize that the NB on the Rampage Formula has an aluminum shim on it similar to the same size as the processor.

http://www.clunk.org.uk/images/maxim...d/IMG_1073.jpg

In that case try about the same size as a small pea in the center, that should do the trick.

I was thinking about an unshimmed northbridge like my DFI rd600. :ROTF:
http://resources.vr-zone.com/Shamino/dfird600/4.jpg

Sorry for the Confusion. I should have looked to see how big the northbridge was before giving advice.

Ah! 3lfk1ng! You beat me to it!

I just took these pics. Notice the scratches on the nb and sb heatsinks. I didn't see them until I took the flash pic. That was from using the razor blade trying to get that gray material off. It was like cemented on. Any suggestions what I should do? Lap??

The mb:
http://www.rodatus.net/openfiles/rampage/mb.jpg

Close up of nb and sb:
http://www.rodatus.net/openfiles/rampage/mbnbsb.jpg

Top side of heatsink:
The left and right half of the heatsink seem to "float" by way of some connection inside the silver part.
http://www.rodatus.net/openfiles/rampage/top.jpg

Underside of heatsink:
http://www.rodatus.net/openfiles/rampage/underside.jpg

Close up of underside of nb and sb heatsinks:
Note the scratches! They look terrible but to the naked eye you can hardly see them:
http://www.rodatus.net/openfiles/rampage/undersbnb.jpg

Edro

The scratches should be fine provided you can only see them with the flash from the camera.

The reason thermal paste is used, is so it can fill any uneven gaps or surfaces and create an even contact with the heatsink.

Should I be concerned that some of the MOSFETs are evidently making good contact (as evidenced by the impressions they made in the spongy gray thermal pad) and other MOSFETs (positioned in the center of the pad) are not making any contact?

http://www.rodatus.net/openfiles/rampage/mosfets.jpg

I remember my dad teaching me when I was young what a MOSFET was. I don't actually remember much. Field Effect Transistor. The MOS, I think, was a particular manner of die used, I think. I guess I don't care to look it up. I was more just reminiscing about my dad, now passed away 10+ years ago. About my dad: http://www.rodatus.net/family/mydad.htm

That was an issue present with the Maximus Formula, I thought that they had fixed it. I don't know how to solve that issue besides trying to use a little bit of thermal paste to increase the contact.

You can avoid those scratches on the NB, SB, and heatsinks by using Artic Silver Cleaner and Pureifier. $5.99

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ron

You can avoid those scratches on the NB, SB, and heatsinks by using Artic Silver Cleaner and Pureifier. $5.99

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Yeah, well, I wish that I had done that. Next time, goo gone or whatever.

I don't think it is as bad as it looks--I hope not.

Ron, Do you think that I need to use some fine grit sandpaper on glass technique to try to remove the scratches? I'm thinking, as someone else said, that the AS5 will do what it is made to do for me without resorting to that.

Edro

thinking i'll get this MoBo & keep my P5E as a work platform with the Q6600 OR should I just throw a QX9770 into the P5E .. gonna get a Qx9770 any way

I checked the list of included parts for the Rampage and it did not include anything to mount the mb in the case. I also checked the lsit of parts that came with the Cooler Master CM-690 case and it only included 12 spacers.

It happens that I have exactly 12 screws that were rescued from a mb that I trashed years ago, but I'm a little confused. It seems that either the case or the mobo parts should include the mounting screws. Or am I screwy?

On another subject, the heatsink cleaned up very nicely and it mounted with AS5 and I can tell that the result is very good and that it will be loads better than the stock solution. I highly recommend doing this for the Rampage Formula BEFORE you start it up. Mine came off quite easily (in spite of my fear about doing it) as compared with the stories I've heard others say about how difficult it was for them after letting it heat up and really stick itself together. And they are undoubtly more experienced than I.

I am almost as excited to see my nb & sb temps as I am to see it post for the first time.

On another aside, you might observe how very slow I am to getting this built. I'm disabled and anything that a healthy person can do in an hour may take me days. So I'm actually moving along quite nicely considering that I can hardly even type! Thanks for listening..

Edro

No motherboard I have ever owned included mounting screws for a case, if you did not receive them with the case they simply forgot to pack them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by palese

No motherboard I have ever owned included mounting screws for a case, if you did not receive them with the case they simply forgot to pack them.

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Found 'em screwed into the case along where the 5.25" drives would be mounted. There are several series of screws, two sizes on the one side, I can see them on the other side but didn't check what size they were. I even looked through the documentation and missed it.

So I got all I need except strength. That's all for today but I have lots to say about the tuniq tower and how it fits (barely) into the Rampage Formula mobo.

Thanks, palese. Later..

edro

I've got my Rampage Formula running at 3.6GHz (q6600) @ 450MHz FSB with some of that G. Skill RAM (8gb's the 4GBPQ stuff) withou any issues.

I'm going to be playing with it this weekend though. I plan on dropping the multiplier from 8 to 7 an trying to go for 500MHz FSB... I'll report back in a few days with my findings :P

500mhz FSB on Q6600 is very possible. I've seen someone with Q9300 doing 500mhz FSB. 45nm quads are more sensitive to high FSB than 65nm quads.

My GX2 won't work with this board. anybody have this issue?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slugzkea

My GX2 won't work with this board. anybody have this issue?

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Details please....

i get the beep code of bad VGA.

a bios update might be needed but i can't find any info on that, there is a beta bios availible at the asus website however, teh bios is 2mb! how the fack do you flash that on a floppy, i need a friggen usb key? this is rediculous.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slugzkea

i get the beep code of bad VGA.

a bios update might be needed but i can't find any info on that, there is a beta bios availible at the asus website however, teh bios is 2mb! how the fack do you flash that on a floppy, i need a friggen usb key? this is rediculous.

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It could be the video card... Is the video card new, or was it working from another system?

My EVGA 9800GX2 worked like a charm on my Rampage; no BIOS update needed!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lostlilchild6

It could be the video card... Is the video card new, or was it working from another system?

My EVGA 9800GX2 worked like a charm on my Rampage; no BIOS update needed!

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The card is 11 days old. it worked in my msi p35 neo2-fr board, but that blew.

then my gigabyte board went wacko.

now it doesn't work in my rampage...i never touched the pci-e voltage, the card at max temp reached 71c which isn't that bad....how the feck could it die? what a low grade product...don't make me go back to ATI!!!

ok guys help me out here. xp sp3 doesnt' read the asus dvd.

i isntalled chipset drivers via usb hdd, mouse works via usb, usb hdd works via usb, but my keyboard does not work via usb....

what teh heck is going on. how does asus expect you to install anything?

enlighten me please....

wait nvm got the keyboard working, now if only it would read the dvd.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slugzkea

My GX2 won't work with this board. anybody have this issue?

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I heard about this

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnMike

Details please....

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there was a rumor when the gx2 came out that it might not work on X48

try the 174.85 beta drivers


I'll see if I can find it.

here what I found so far
http://lly316.blogspot.com/2008/03/g...0-x2_5855.html

Quote:

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On Gigabyte X48, the R680 had no problem running through all tests. But the 9800 GX2 could only pass 3DMark06 on the very same board. Running any other games would results in errors, or worse, BSoD. Since we know from the previous test that SLI needs to be enabled for maximum performance, yet Intel chipset based boards do not support SLI, we might be looking at a compatibility issue here.

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http://en.expreview.com/2008/03/13/g...d-still-buggy/

Quote:

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2. The card didn’t work on X48 mainboard. Yes they can use it on the board but if 3D application starts users will only see a crash notice.

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i don't mean to go off topic but i have a WD passport drive via USB, how do i make that bootable?

Scratch that, i found a way to flash the bios using the EZ flash utility.

Well, i'm hoping this will get my GX2 running again because if this card did actually die after 11 days of operation, that's going to put a lot of 2nd thoughts in my head for using nvidia...

Anybody else having x48 and gx2 compatibility issues?

updated to beta bios 0207, gx2 still won't work.

The forceware isn't the problem i can't even get post. Tomorrow i'm going to take the card back.

I've also heard that switching DIMM's would help, anybody got any info on that? i don't see how that could interfere with the PCI-E.

if somebody is using a rampage, and a gx2, please tell me what bios verison you're using.

!bump

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slugzkea

updated to beta bios 0207, gx2 still won't work.

The forceware isn't the problem i can't even get post. Tomorrow i'm going to take the card back.

I've also heard that switching DIMM's would help, anybody got any info on that? i don't see how that could interfere with the PCI-E.

if somebody is using a rampage, and a gx2, please tell me what bios verison you're using.

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Did you plug your screen on the second DVI I/O of the GX2?!... Not the card that connects with your board... Try it... I bet it works! :up:

I did try that, still no go.

As i said, the motherboard gave me the bad VGA beeping code, which means the pci-e slot cannot read the card, or it thinks the card is absent.

I just returned it, and i got my 2nd one. i shall install it and let u guys know how it goes!

Confirmed. the first Gx2 was defective. got the 2nd one in and everything's good!

Good to hear.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ron

You can avoid those scratches on the NB, SB, and heatsinks by using Artic Silver Cleaner and Pureifier. $5.99

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the AS cleaner doesn't do jack to the rubber...erm, paste that Asus is using these days. what you need is acetone. takes that crap right off. then use the arctic silver two step before re-application :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3oh6

the AS cleaner doesn't do jack to the rubber...erm, paste that Asus is using these days. what you need is acetone. takes that crap right off. then use the arctic silver two step before re-application :up:

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Thanks. I knew that stuff wasn't your everyday stuff..

I make notes into a digital voice recorder (but they are sporadic) as I'm building as to my experience, and I hope to write a longer blog somewhere for any who follow.

For instance, I got the Tuniq Tower 120 based on "old news" as to how great it is. Great is a word for it! Re-reading some of the Newegg reviews I'm amazed how many people reported its size and potential problems. I didn't hear it b4 I made the purchase. It is in, but I'm not happy for several reasons, the main one being how large the actual plate is that sits against the processor. I didn't notice until after I had it installed that it crammed against the silver/red caps next to the processor and looks as if it could have damaged them, ripping them out of the PC board as I tightened the screws. I have not read about this problem anywhere else in my research. I would not recommend the Tuniq for that reason alone, not to mention again how huge the entire unit is making it difficult to connect any wires to the mainboard after it is installed into the case. (Okay, so I did mention another complaint.)

All my cards are installed: The audio that came with it into the black, special, reversed connector pci-x1 slot. (Did you all know it is reversed? I didn't see that in the manual... You can't use the audio card on any other than an ASUS board. How stupid!)

Also: hardware raid areca arc-1220, evga 8600gt (i know, i know. It was popular April 2007, remember), Tunix fax speed controller, Hauppauge HVR 1800 tuner (both NTSC and ATSC), uh, I think that's all I got in there..

I've been thinking about bringing the LCD poster out to the front and maybe hot gluing it on to an empty 5.25 inch bay. Is the poster something that is used at all after you complete your OC efforts? Does it, say, give any post mortem if something fails on the MB after it has completed post and bootup? (For instance if the processor overheats (no way!) and the board shuts down, would you see that?) ...Not too lazy.. I looked at the appendix in the manual. It appears to post whatever step it is on during, uh, post-up, the last being "boot attempt" prolly. No point in putting LCD on front panel, eh. Sorry to answer my own question here but all this will go into the extensive blog I want to write so others can read, "no point in putting LCD on front panel." Not that I really know anything at all, just one man's viewpoint..

Well, fingers are killing me.. I just woke up and wanted to debrief the day's build events a little.

Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I'll post for the first time!! Thanks for listening.

Edro