Foxconn Quantum Force Black Ops X48 OC Guide (56k Warning)

[ceevee]

I put in some really cheap 1333Mhz CAS9 DDR3 RAM.

And now the board posts again, but only at 1.64V and 1066Mhz.

I went into the BIOS and set everything to run my 1600Mhz RAM, saved and swapped them out for my expensive 2GB sticks.

Guess what? The board won't post AGAIN.

As far as I can tell this board will not run nice RAM at rated settings or at all.

[Solarfall]

I put in some really cheap 1333Mhz CAS9 DDR3 RAM.

And now the board posts again, but only at 1.64V and 1066Mhz.

I went into the BIOS and set everything to run my 1600Mhz RAM, saved and swapped them out for my expensive 2GB sticks.

Guess what? The board won't post AGAIN.

As far as I can tell this board will not run nice RAM at rated settings or at all. This thing is a complete POS.

WTF

what bios are you using ???

[ceevee]

what bios are you using ???

Stock BIOS. I checked their website and it appears to be the only one available.

Also I have gotten it up and running again and am typing on it now. I am using a full 8GB of the XMB cert DDR3, but it will only run at 1066Mhz, 7-7-7-18, when it should be running at 1600Mhz at those timings. This is the exact same problem I had with the OCZ RAM that I RMAed.

Some issues:

1) Sleep mode doesn't work. It will put the computer to sleep but when I try to go back to the desktop it crashes and reboots.

2) FSB doesn't seem to want to OC hardly at all using QX9770.

3) It won't run nice RAM anywhere near stock settings. Why will it run super cheap ($90!) 2x1GB sticks at 1333Mhz, but won't run 4x2GB of $1400 XMB certified sticks past 1066Mhz??

4) It is the longest posting motherboard I have ever owned, get ready to twiddle your fingers while the board cycles through about 30 codes on its little LED number display before finally you see the post screen.

Sorry for the rant but this board has been EXTREMELY finnicky and unstable.

I will probably look to replace it in the coming months if BIOS updates do not make significant improvements.

[FuriousSalesman]

Telos, I too ran into problems using the stock bios. I would really give a chance to the beta bios. They are better. Things are still rocky but are better since I upgraded the bios.

[eternal_fantasy]

The origional BIOS were quite limiting with FSB overclocks, but using BIOS G22 seems to be very much better.

Also next time you were able to get into BIOS try manually raising the NB to around 1.6V and see if you can post after that. The BIOS seems to undervolts the NB, and I had the no POST problems until I raised it. Lower it if need be after you have sucessfully POST.

CPUZ is incorrect in the VCore in this instance, I'm rock stable at 4.05Ghz using 1.45V set in BIOS on my board with Droop conpensation enabled, yet CPUZ VCore is hovering around 0.9V.

[Telo]

Telos, I too ran into problems using the stock bios. I would really give a chance to the beta bios. They are better. Things are still rocky but are better since I upgraded the bios.

I'm using the G22 BIOS and it still stops POSTing if I do any kind of voltage change to the RAM. With the RAM set to 1:2 and the stock voltage I'm able to jack up the FSB passed 450. Once I do any modification to the RAM, since all I wanted was a 3.8Ghz OC, the system will not POST. I'm looking into buying some CellShock RAM and getting it over with; although I will go from 4GB to 2GB since they cost $400 a kit and I already spent over $500 for the current ones I own. If I get to recover some of the money I spent on the OCZs, then I will definetly go for the other kit.

Question:

Has anyone run 4GB of CellShocks on this board and have it stable at 1800Mhz?

[Planet]

I think the main issue is you guys are trying to overclock with 4 sticks of ram. Its known to hurtyour ram ocing no matter what board or chipset your running. The 1:4 266 and 1:4 333 are the best dividers for the board.

[Telo]

I think the main issue is you guys are trying to overclock with 4 sticks of ram. Its known to hurtyour ram ocing no matter what board or chipset your running. The 1:4 266 and 1:4 333 are the best dividers for the board.

I've been doing 2 stick OC'ing trying to find the sweet spot and then gonna try to add the other 2.

[ceevee]

I think the main issue is you guys are trying to overclock with 4 sticks of ram. Its known to hurtyour ram ocing no matter what board or chipset your running. The 1:4 266 and 1:4 333 are the best dividers for the board.

Actually I am just trying to get 8GB (4x2GB) to run anywhere near its rated settings. I am not trying to overclock.

What I don't understand is why cheapo crappy 2GB (2x1GB $90) sticks will run at 1333Mhz, but some of the best Corsair 8GB (4x2GB $1400) sticks will not run at 1333Mhz even though they are rated at 1600Mhz 7-7-7-18 and they are Intel XMB SPD certified for those settings?

I am not trying to overclock, I would be thrilled at this point to get this board to run even anywhere close to the stock settings for this RAM.

When are we going to see some new BIOS releases and stability fixes? Are they going to adress the fact that high performance 2GB DDR3 sticks (4x2GB) will barely run on this board?

Seems like this is a great board if you want to put in 2GB of RAM (total) and run SuperPI. However if you want to do 4GB-8GB and actually use it for Vista 64/gaming/workstation its not very good at all.

Hopefully they will support this product with a vastly improved BIOS to address some of these issues.

I am concerned though about the comments that people are leaving that suggest Foxconn has a reputation for basically hyping a product and then ditching its customers. Is this true? Or are these guys going to actually support this and improve it??

[HDCHOPPER]

this MARS is great ! buttttttttt cant wait till my BLACK OPS comes in

[FuriousSalesman]

Im not sure which nerve ending elicits which action, but I believe I am stable at 4.0ghz and 2gb of ram at 1800mhz. The missing key seemed to be PL6, leaving everything in the memory else stock.

I try to run super pi mod, but it crashes most of the time. Every odd time it works and I can get a result. I think I may need to run Orthos and be sure that it is stable.

I'm still looking to taking it further. Maybe I should get a quadcore.

[clone38]

Sorry if this has been asked but what way is best to update the bios,i did see a thread about a usb stick but i cant fint it now.

Thanks.

[raptor1]

Anandtech have a short preview on their site of the blackops

a full review will come later

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/default.aspx#459

the site is very slow this evening for some reason, so be patient

best regards
flan

[Planet]

Anandtech have a short preview on their site of the blackops

a full review will come later

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/default.aspx#459

the site is very slow this evening for some reason, so be patient

best regards
flan

Awesome probably all the Nehalem stuff they just posted.

[ceevee]

Anandtech have a short preview on their site of the blackops

a full review will come later

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/default.aspx#459

the site is very slow this evening for some reason, so be patient

best regards
flan

Why are they only using 2x1GB (for 2GB total in the review)????

[Praz]

Why are they only using 1x2GB (for 2GB total in the review)????

Because everyone is fixated with high clocks.

[ceevee]

Because everyone is fixated with high clocks.

Actually it looks like that RAM is the exact same RAM that is used on other reviews of this board. (seems like they are being sent together to reviewers)

It kind of begs the question, why?

Why isn't there a review of this board with 8gb (or even 4gb) in it? Could it be because it barely currently works at all with 8gb?

[Telo]

Why are they only using 1x2GB (for 2GB total in the review)????

You got it backwards, even the picture shows you two sticks of CellShock DDR3-1866.

[ceevee]

You got it backwards, even the picture shows you two sticks of CellShock DDR3-1866.

typo on my part. I obviously meant 2x1GB.

[Telo]

typo on my part. I obviously meant 2x1GB.

X38/X48 FSB limitations will stop you from running 4 sticks. Now, the reason why the 2x 1GB sticks and not 2x 2GB sticks, is because CellShock does not make 2GB sticks in the DDR3-1800+ range. At this current time, CellShock is regarded as one of the [if not THE] top performing RAM in the DDR3 arena. You will probably see 90% of the motherboard reviews done with this RAM [either the 1800{black kit} or the 1866 {blue kit}].

[ceevee]

X38/X48 FSB limitations will stop you from running 4 sticks. Now, the reason why the 2x 1GB sticks and not 2x 2GB sticks, is because CellShock does not make 2GB sticks in the DDR3-1800+ range. At this current time, CellShock is regarded as one of the [if not THE] top performing RAM in the DDR3 arena. You will probably see 90% of the motherboard reviews done with this RAM [either the 1800{black kit} or the 1866 {blue kit}].

I sent an email to Rajinder and asked him to put 8GB in the board. I don't know if he will or not, but guess we will soon find out.

[Telo]

I sent an email to Rajinder and asked him to put 8GB in the board. I don't know if we will or not, but guess we will soon find out.

My best guess is, depending on the board, the max 4x 2GB sticks will go is 1600Mhz. I was able to get 4x 1GB to 1600Mhz on my old P5E3 Premium [old because I sent it back]; I don't think 2GB will put that much of a strain that it wouldn't get them that high, especially since 2GB sticks have a lower voltage rating.

[ceevee]

UH.

I just made the mistake of trying "sleep mode" in Vista 64 again.

It crashed the motherboard and now it won't post at all again. Doesn't matter what I do, remove the battery, reset the CMOS, it won't post and I don't have those cheap crappy sticks here anymore to try get it to post and then swap in my regular RAM.

This is absolutely unacceptable in a "finished" product.

[Telo]

UH.

I just made the mistake of trying "sleep mode" in Vista 64 again.

It crashed the motherboard and now it won't post at all again. Doesn't matter what I do, remove the battery, reset the CMOS, it won't post and I don't have those cheap crappy sticks here anymore to try get it to post and then swap in my regular RAM.

This is absolutely unacceptable in a "finished" product.

Do any of the onboard LEDs light up at all?

[ceevee]

Do any of the onboard LEDs light up at all?

Yes. It starts to boot and then freezes at error code 54 and just beeps over and over.