The Maximus Formula Thread - Help/OCing/Guide/Rampage conversion

[Grnfinger]

so has anybody actually had success back flashing with the utility on the first page? i sure as hell haven't. i also tride different methods of afudos but i can't figure out a way to have the all the files i need on the disk... usb didn't work nor did cd.

you on a 64 bit OS?

[w0lla]

so what bios should I take

[kup]

I've had success, so has Grnfinger and a few others from the first thread.

[Hardlock]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, it's my first post here,
anyway I am just about ready to buy this board (or possibly a maximus extreme) but i ran across this statement on bit-tech's review of the Formula and Extreme under the "Stability" heading

here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...and_extreme/15

[qoute]

"The Formula was far less reliable (than the extreme)- twice, within a couple of hours of starting, the PC had either rebooted or crashed 3DMark06. We tried a complete OS reinstall and used a dual-core CPU instead of quad-core, but the result was the same. Even though it had been stable throughout testing, it certainly was not happy under extended load."

Anyone experience this under exended load with their board or is it just an isolated incident with Bit-Tech's particular board.

thanx=)

[Warboy]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, it's my first post here,
anyway I am just about ready to buy this board (or possibly a maximus extreme) but i ran across this statement on bit-tech's review of the Formula and Maximus under the "Stability" heading

here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...and_extreme/15

[qoute]

"The Formula was far less reliable (than the extreme)- twice, within a couple of hours of starting, the PC had either rebooted or crashed 3DMark06. We tried a complete OS reinstall and used a dual-core CPU instead of quad-core, but the result was the same. Even though it had been stable throughout testing, it certainly was not happy under extended load."

Anyone experience this under exended load with their board or is it just an isolated incident with Bit-Tech's particular board.

thanx=)

Yes I have these problem too, Basiclly The board wears out too fast. When i got these board i could do 450x9 easy, but once it aged It got lower and lower, now i can't do more then 420x9 without crashing No matter the voltage.

[cuke2u]

Hi, wears out Actually I've managed to increase my overclock since sorting out my cooling. I think that bit-tech had other issues as the motherboards are more or less exactly the same the only difference being is in the use of DDR3, that might be a clue to bit-techs issues..
Chris

[Renegade5399]

This board does not "wear out" too fast. Perhaps that was a joke? Tough to tell when reading text. Mine has actually gotten better now that 0903 came about and I invested some time. 506*8 with 1.54v, 4x1GB RAM @ DDR2 1215 - 5-5-5-15 with 2.25v, NB @ 1.63v - load temp 35°C on water, 12 hours stable under OCCT RAM, OCCT "Blend" (slider in the middle), OCCT CPU, Prime95, and 3dmark06 looping. I just got COD4 and Crysis for my birthday and have been playing them for hours (usually 3-4) at a time with 0 reboots, lockups, or BSODs. The board is of solid construction with a decent layout. It is however not Quad friendly with the older quads. Apparently the new Quads coming out play quite well with this board. I may snag one after the first of the year. sdumper was getting nice results with his.

I guess what I am saying is this:

People are blaming this board for a lot of issues they are having. Some may be caused by the board, but I think others are related to other issues. Issues like tired CPUs (migration is a b*tch), tired RAM, or possibly user error. I agree there may be a few of you with boards that are wearing out. I mean look at the voltages we had to apply with the first BIOS's that came out. In that case, I would RMA, get a fresh board, and try again.

[kup]

My board has also improved. Becoming much more stable over time, allowing me to increase both CPU and FSB clocks...

[Exentler]

Board Revisions

There are 2 known revisions of the Maximus Formula, the Special Edition, or SE, is the 1.02g revision, and the Non-SE version is the 1.03g revision. This is the only known difference, just a revision change to signify the difference in the package.

today my Maximus Formula non-SE arrived. but it was the 1.02g revision

so the info which is the quote and first post concur.

changed also to AS5 under the heatsink to SB and NB.

edit: which BIOS is recommended at the time ?

[kup]

How strange!

I'll leave it as is in the first post until I get a few more people report the same thing.

I'd go straight to bios 0903 as it does seem to be best for the majority of users now.

[zsero]

Is it true that 1:1 setting would make a more stable system, which is better for 24/7 usage and 3D workstations? Or the saying that better go with 2x2 GB RAM than 4x1?

Kup, I am just before TwinX 4096 DHX, would you suggest it for an overclocked workstation system?

[CERO]

Well 2x2 would be easier to get stable then 4x1 and 1:1 should be the rule of a tumb to test a CPU overclock at first then work up the dividers, so u can outrule the cpu for instability and have a look at your RAM settings.

[zsero]

But for 1:1 I would need a 1066 or faster RAM, which is expensive to get in 2 GB sticks. What would you do?

[teknokid]

what 1066 for 1;1? thats an fsb of 533, which is pretty much impossible...

[Leeghoofd]

But for 1:1 I would need a 1066 or faster RAM, which is expensive to get in 2 GB sticks. What would you do?

How about Gskill PC8000 4 gig kit sells here in germany for around 130 euro's mate about 180 dollars; will be fine for FSB up too 500FSB easily and with a tiny bit more voltage they 1066 too...

@Technokid 500+ FSB is not rare , with quads yes (most users get around 460-475 FSB) but with dual cores easy to do if ya got good hardware...
and cooling

[Leeghoofd]

Yes I have these problem too, Basiclly The board wears out too fast. When i got these board i could do 450x9 easy, but once it aged It got lower and lower, now i can't do more then 420x9 without crashing No matter the voltage.

I don't want to contradict ya statement, but indeed it could be if you run these babies high FSB all of the time something can give in, hence why I only push daily up to 333-400FSB and only go higher for benching... just to be on the safe side...

[teknokid]

even so, a 533 fsb is a lot...

[w0lla]

hmm, have my q6600@3.0ghz(333x9), vcore:1.2v.
have prim95 running now, the temps are worrying.

celsius

core1: 68
core2: 63
core3: 58
core4: 57

latest bios.
Heatsink: Thermalright Ultima-90 + Adda 92mm (1500rpm).

no point for me to increase the vcore anymore, dont want to cross that 70 border..

[Leeghoofd]

hmm, have my q6600@3.0ghz(333x9), vcore:1.2v.
have prim95 running now, the temps are worrying.

celsius

core1: 68
core2: 63
core3: 58
core4: 57

latest bios.
Heatsink: Thermalright Ultima-90 + Adda 92mm (1500rpm).

no point for me to increase the vcore anymore, dont want to cross that 70 border..

Something is a miss with ya mounting prolly, the fan is running full speed ?, too much paste ?

Just for comparison :

OCZ vendetta with Q6600@3ghz (fan at 1200RPM) max temps under prime for all cores 58°C
Thermalright Ultra 120 with Papst GL fan : 51°C max coretemp under prime 95

Plz remount ya cooler it has to give ya better temps than that !!

[w0lla]

thing is, even with the screws fully down u can slightly rotate the cooler, its not firmly attached

using everest ultimate to check these temps.

are those temp bad for the core? I think I read that one shouldnt press the core above 75'C

[golfjam]

Why everybody wants to use bios 0903? I have 0602 and it's perfect. Is there any benefit for a Q6600??? I've tried it and couldn't boot past 3.0Ghz!

[Leeghoofd]

thing is, even with the screws fully down u can slightly rotate the cooler, its not firmly attached

using everest ultimate to check these temps.

are those temp bad for the core? I think I read that one shouldnt press the core above 75'C

We placed some thin cardboard or sticky tape under the retention holder , so now it presses more firmly on the heatsink... damn my latest 2 thermalright Ultra120 and the eXtreme I assembled were solid fixed, they forgot the ultima then pffffffff

[w0lla]

well, I reattached the heatsink, took away the old as5, put on new. they idle around 43/40/33/37 (core 1,2,3,4). seems like the temps didnt improve even the slightest

could it be my fan?

92mm
28cfm
1500rpm

hmm they still load at the same temps,, annoying.., room temp ~23'C, open case

the heatsink is pretty firmly attached now too..

ok now one of the cores hit 74'C. what is this .............. had to stop prime

[Leeghoofd]

25CFM isn't that great man, most 120mm fans blow more than twice air then your fan shifts...at a reasonable Db

I would look for a beefier model and I thought you could mount a 120mm fan onto the 90 series not ?

This one I mounted on some coolers is pretty inaudible too...

http://www.silenx.com/ixtremaprofans.asp?sku=ixp-64-14

[Grnfinger]

well, I reattached the heatsink, took away the old as5, put on new. they idle around 43/40/33/37 (core 1,2,3,4). seems like the temps didnt improve even the slightest

could it be my fan?

92mm
28cfm
1500rpm

hmm they still load at the same temps,, annoying.., room temp ~23'C, open case

the heatsink is pretty firmly attached now too..

ok now one of the cores hit 74'C. what is this .............. had to stop prime

Just to clear things up .. you are applying the paste properly?