ASUS Maximus Formula SE

[Aldy402]

set 1.98 voltage in the bios for anything under 500Mhz on the ram. set 2.0 for 500mhz.

also try switching ram slots. you may have slots that don't work.

thanks for trying safan but still no dice, I tried both slots.
this is actually my 2nd set, the first set did the same exact thing so I RMAed it and now this set does the same thing. Its def. the board

Im also using all of anandtech's reference ddr2 settings, any more ideas?
if not im just gonna sell this board

[Zucker2k]

Antec is Upgrading my Power supply to the 1000watt model to see if it fixes the voltage problem. If Not. They want to look at my system >.>


anyways....Just Throught I should tell everyone I'm trying to troubleshoot the voltage problems as best i can.

I just turned in my Antec TP Quattro 1000 PSU in yesterday. Exchanged it for an 8800 GT. My old Mad Dog Sure Power 600w actually provides better voltage and higher wattage on the combined 3.3v + 5v rail (285 watts) rail than the Antec 1000 (200 watts combined). Most of the power of the antec is concentrated on the 12v+ rail (4 of them ). I'm actually running better now. The Antec PSU was making a lot of hissing noises under load, and then PC would crash. I found online this was a common symptom with Antec PSUs.

[Zucker2k]

THIS IS FOR ALL THOSE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH BIOS 0903, TRY THE 266 STRAP. I FOUND THAT IT WAS THE ONLY STRAP THAT PROVIDED ANY KIND OF STABILITY FOR ME.

Also, I was able to go all the way to 495 fsb on that strap. None of the others even came close to that without crashing. Just try it. My 2 cents.

[iadstudio]

I was lucky enough to read some posts in here so I decided not to upgrade to 0903 and stick with 0602. People seem to run into problem when flash to to 0902 and 0903 then can't get back to older version but I don't have that problem at all so I think it's a bit strange.
Anyway, best BIOS to stick with is still 0602 IMO and I'm waiting for the new one to come out as well, probably won't be anytime sooner than next year.
P/S: Btw, did you try Asus Update?

I flashed to 0903 and booted with the 450fsb dual core settings posted here (changed the fsb to 420 and my cpu voltage to what I know it runs at) and everything ran fine. It was perfectly stable when I realized my rear firewire port was dead and had to RMA. I intend to do the same when I get my board back, I'm confident this bios works fine with the right settings. You just have to find them.

[cadaveca]

dude I've already run 9x400 on my B3 with 1.54 actual voltage and I had no problems. your just running in circles. try enabling TIM I've been using it this whole time.

P.S. I'm not putting my B3 back in. Could list your rig in your sig?

If you are not willing to help, then why the comments?

I do not list my rigs in my sig becuase they change as soon as new parts come out. As soon as DFI, ASUS, or MSI release a board in Canada, I buy it. Same goes for video cards. 8800GTS 512mb cards are to be here tomorrow, by tracking. ATI cards from 9200 and up(each and every model), nvidia 7800GTX 256mb's, 8800U's.

I have 1000w thermaltake, bfg, ocz, and enermax psu's. I have old powerstream520, gamextreme700w. FSP epsilon 700w, enermax liberty 620w, thermaltake purepower 680w.

I have 3 q6600's, 3x e6600's, and 8 celery 347's.

I have 12gb of crucial ram, various flavas. I got some gskill PK's, some patriot ram of unknown flava, and 8gb GTR DDR3's.

I got a board for every chipset for 775, except 680i, from 965 to current.

It does not matter what parts I choose, nor the settings, except 1 b3 q6600's(I have 2 B3's) that causes this issue.

I swapped parts around to confirm GAR's issue.

You are not willing to even try an experiment. Please leave comments on the issue to those that have it, pls. You've already proven you don't really care, thanks, but some of us here are trying to help others.

[slipryd]

I have been reading all 150+ pages in this thread and there's alot of stuff here to absorb for this excellent MB Good advice and tweaks and so on... Some ppl really need to read/search to find the answers they seek, they are all here!

Anyways, for my system, I can not get 4 - 2gb sticks of patriot pc2-6400 4-4-4-12 (using all 4 slots) to work with this board. 3 sticks or 2 sticks or even one stick works fine... I did have 4 sticks of 1gb each of corsair ram work fine in all 4 slots...C ould the max of 8gb of ram for this board not be quite fine tuned to work very well? As in, reaching its threshold and just not liking it. Any thoughts? I can set everything to default/auto, or tweak settings here and there, nope, nada, aint gonna fly... The lcd monitor thing gets stuck on the "det dram" notice.

M

[safan80]

If you are not willing to help, then why the comments?

I do not list my rigs in my sig becuase they change as soon as new parts come out.
I swapped parts around to confirm GAR's issue.

You are not willing to even try an experiment. Please leave comments on the issue to those that have it, pls. You've already proven you don't really care, thanks, but some of us here are trying to help others.

then you should put your current parts in your sig.
Did you try the TIM setting I suggested?
Did you list your bios setting? no you didn't, I can't recreate the problem if no details are given about your bios setting relating to the motherboard. The default is to disable everything in the bios the user doesn't understand. At the moment I don't have the time to swap the old cpu in(my life is hectic at the moment. I wasn't trying to be mean I just don't have the time.). I would like to know the exact bios setting you used, and not just 9x by blah blah with some random vcore. I want to know every setting so I can try to recreate the problem with my current cpu that would tell me it's motherboard or software related.

thanks for trying safan but still no dice, I tried both slots.
this is actually my 2nd set, the first set did the same exact thing so I RMAed it and now this set does the same thing. Its def. the board

Im also using all of anandtech's reference ddr2 settings, any more ideas?
if not im just gonna sell this board

did you try just one stick or using a different stick of ram to boot the system and then flash to a newer bios?

[cuke2u]

I was lucky enough to read some posts in here so I decided not to upgrade to 0903 and stick with 0602. People seem to run into problem when flash to to 0902 and 0903 then can't get back to older version but I don't have that problem at all so I think it's a bit strange.
Anyway, best BIOS to stick with is still 0602 IMO and I'm waiting for the new one to come out as well, probably won't be anytime sooner than next year.
P/S: Btw, did you try Asus Update?

Hi, with respect but have you actually bothered to read this thread. If you can't get back to an earlier bios then you are doing something wrong. The method of reverting back from the 0903 bios has been well documented here several times, as have the benefits of running with this bios version as well..
Chris

[ElEctric_EyE]

um, 1000w not enough?



actually i thought about this...but if you were right, then when i loaded 3d up, the system should crash from lack of power(2x2900XT's, phys-X), however, I have not had any issues in that regard.

when you think about it tho...cpu is supplied by 12v line, 8-phases...12v/8= 1.5v....issue begins @ 1.5v approx....

You're right, after all, the +12v rails amperage limit is only theorical, as 99.99% of the PSUs seems "forgotting" the power protection if one of the +12v rails exceeds the 18-20A limit fixed by intel. So, as many claims, it is the combined +12v Amperage that should play a role instead of the +12v limit per rail (18-20A officially to respect intel specifications).

In most calculators, a Q6600 G0 at 3.8GHz and 1.6 vcore can drain near 250W and 20-23A. If the PSU respects the combined +12v amperage "lease", the PWM would be the limiting factor.

If the CPU, after asking for about 20A will overload the 8 PWM feeding it, they'll enter a protection phase (EPU) thus limiting the current going to the CPU. At least, this is the most logical theory. In that case, only a PCB revision would solve it, with stronger PWM components

So you guys know that the 12V feeds the CPU. I always thought it was the 3.3V rails... So an x-phase regulator actually divides the supply voltage by x?

[jonny_ftm]

So you guys know that the 12V feeds the CPU. I always thought it was the 3.3V rails... So an x-phase regulator actually divides the supply voltage by x?

I'm not an electrician, but I think it is more complex. The current load (amperage) would be suerely devided by the PWM so that they individually not overheat on high loads. The voltage should remain the same all the time. If teh PWM overheat or are overloaded, than their efficiency will drop, and thus the vcore supplied to the CPU. Now, it seems that with EPU, not all PWM are active all the time, that's I'm not sure of. If it is the case, than if EPU fails, you know the results on high loads...

[Zucker2k]

So you guys know that the 12V feeds the CPU. I always thought it was the 3.3V rails... So an x-phase regulator actually divides the supply voltage by x?

I called up Asus tech to enquire about this same issue. I wanted to know whether the board was utilizing the 12v+ rail or the 3.3v rail? Person asked me to hold and came back after about two minutes and said it uses either - which wasn't a straight answer of course. But I always pinned it to the 3.3v rail for my failures at high voltage. As some have already pointed out, it could be this EPU thing. I wonder if a bios update would fix this issue.

[cadaveca]

Did you list your bios setting? no you didn't,

please look up...settings posted there...then look further back(you can click my user name in this post and find my posts) to find settings for 450x8...






BTW, WTF is TIM? Thermal Interface Material?

[eSp!s0]

Mal allgemein zum Ram, da ich ja auch viele Probleme hatte:

Man muss teilweise, je nach Ram anscheinend, für einen bestimmten Taktbereich in jedem Strap genau die richtige Kombination aus AI Clock Twister und Transaction Booster finden.
Beispiel:
Für 1000Mhz im 333Strap läuft nur AI auf Moderate und Transaction Booster auf Enabled Boost 1.
Wechsel ich jetzt auf 1000Mhz im 400Strap, so muss ich die laufende Kombination aus den beiden Settings neu finden, vieleicht AI Light und Transaction Booster Disabled Relax 1.
Das gleiche passiert wohl auch, wenn man einen bestimmten Taktbereich, indem man sich befindet, über- oder unterschreitet.
Z.B. muss man die beiden Settings wieder anpassen, wenn man im 333Strap von 1000Mhz auf 1180Mhz steigt.

So ist es bei mir jedenfalls. 1200Mhz 333Strap läuft nur auf Moderate und TB deaktiviert Relax 1, 1200Mhz 400Strap läuft nur auf Light und TB enabled Boost 1.

Ich habe auch saulange gebraucht, bis ich die richtige Kombo im 400Strap gefunden habe, aber dann läuft es bei mir rockstable.

Quoted myself from forumdeluxx.de, try to translate:
My experiece was, that for each strap and a range of ramspeed (perhaps 1000-1150Mhz or sth.) you have to find the right combination from AI Clock Twister and Transaction Booster.
That seems to be different from ram to ram.
But I will give you my example:
For 1200Mhz in 333strap the only working combo is AI to Moderate and TB to disabled level 1, this is rockstable, everything else isn`t, no correctly boot most time.
When I change to 1200Mhz in 400strap, the only working combo is AI to Light and TB enabled level 1, this is rockstable, everything else isn`t, like aboth.
This was it, what I ment by strap.
Now, if I change the ramspeed from 1200 to 1000 in the same strap, I`m eventually able to set AI to Strong or TB a (boost) level up.

It took me a lot of time to find the right combo for 400stap but when you have it, it is absolutely stable.
Therefore you have to find that right combo in each other strap and for each range of ramspeed, otherwise the system isn`t stable without any right error or problem you can fix.

That`s what I found out with my system. Perhaps that causes these problems with instability here!?

[ShawnTRD]

I just turned in my Antec TP Quattro 1000 PSU in yesterday. Exchanged it for an 8800 GT. My old Mad Dog Sure Power 600w actually provides better voltage and higher wattage on the combined 3.3v + 5v rail (285 watts) rail than the Antec 1000 (200 watts combined). Most of the power of the antec is concentrated on the 12v+ rail (4 of them ). I'm actually running better now. The Antec PSU was making a lot of hissing noises under load, and then PC would crash. I found online this was a common symptom with Antec PSUs.

Yeah Antec is on my list of the "never to buy again". I have a PC Power & Cooling 750W PSU and love it.

[cuke2u]

Hi, I've still got a Antec Neo HE 550watt, rock solid, and has powered eveything I've thrown at it, including this motherboard and a 2900xt.
Did you guys actually realise that some of them are made by seasonic, just re-badged. So when you slag off Antec you slag off seasonic

Evidence: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/370
Chris

[leoftw]

I tried two more hours last night and failed once again to get to 3.6GHZ , it won't be stable . WTF !!! Even a 80$ Ip35-E could be stable @ 3.6GHZ this sucks ass . I'm en pissed too

[intothefantasy]

lol i really pissed with this board too in the sense of temp problem...anyway i have manage to get my 3.6ghz stable...under 0802 bios

[leoftw]

this stupid board and its stupid 903 bios. Asus fix this !!

[Zucker2k]

Hi, I've still got a Antec Neo HE 550watt, rock solid, and has powered eveything I've thrown at it, including this motherboard and a 2900xt.
Did you guys actually realise that some of them are made by seasonic, just re-badged. So when you slag off Antec you slag off seasonic

Evidence: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/370
Chris

Do you mean Seasonic stole Antec's name and put it on their PSUs? I guess you see where I'm drifting?

[leoftw]

I think if possible I am going to return this board and go with a DFI LanParty UT P35-T2R . This is horrible , no one understand the frustration this is causing me lol 12+ hours of settings and I still can't get it to 3.6ghz , tested two power supplies, 2x1gb configurations and even with XP and Vista and still ... NOTHING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kup]

Are you sure it's not the CPU? I just can't see how so many things can fail to achieve 3.6GHz?!

The only thing you've not changed is the CPU itself? What temps are you getting under load with what voltage and what max stable clock?

[leoftw]

on a p35-e I get 3.6ghz easily . I know its not the CPU for 3.3GHZ I get about 53-55C @ full load and at 1.320 Voltage.

[kup]

Ah, I see. It's actually tried and tested on another board?

[ShawnTRD]

Tried memtest at the 3.6 settings?

[leoftw]

I haven't even ran memtest at any settings. I don't think its my ram because I have 6 gigs of crucial ballistix and have tried every single stick in 2x1 combinations and I get the same result every time. I get 3.3ghz easily so hopefully all goes well today as I will attempt once again to hit 3.6ghz. Funny how a 80$ MOBO can easily hit 3.6ghz but a 300$ Mobo has issues. Maybe I should downgrade BIOS but it scares the out of me :P I think what I have is user error and not the actual hardware to be honest . Since I'm a noob maybe this board was not a good decision for me.