ASUS Maximus Formula SE

[Gripp]

Hi, first post here
but let me tell ya, the whole waiting 2 days or whatever before being allowed to post is kind of a buzz kill... i'm sure you guys have your reasons though

but, yeah
so i've got me a MF/SE+Q6600 G0
new to OCing too, buts that is another post

i'm just wondering with the OCCT beta that i see people using.. how are they getting logs of their vNB and SB and even mem?
i tried everest, but it doesn't seem to give those options, doesn't even pick up my +12V line for whatever reason (i'm using 4.10.1128b ultimate ed.)
speedfan gives me (and has on every comp and every install of windows) wierd numbers and BSODs (just did it again about 30 minutes ago to see if my luck had changed with it... no)
same with coretemp... though, it usually just errors out - not so dramatic

[binormalkilla]

Here I am stable DDR2-1128 5-5-5-15 FSB Strap 400




Evest Memory bench: (write could be better...)

This is the wrong one.....
Here is the correct stability test for DDR2.1128:

[ReZ_]

binormalkilla, at 3.84ghz I was running 9800Mb/s on the everest mem read test. Your numbers are ok for the caches though.

If you ever remove two sticks, can you post the new results?

I wonder if vista is responsible?

[JohnMike]

I have this board for 2 weeks and have been happy with it.

I'm running a QX9650 on it @4Ghz (400*10/Strap 266), DDR2 1200 5-5-5-15 4GB.... Everything was fine until a get rig of my 3870CF in exchange for a 8800GTS 512. From that day on i sometimes get BSOD from no where...

Everything tested and passed Prime tests, CPU, Ram (even DOS Memtest), System (Blend)... No errors...But from no where sometimes i get BSOD...

Bios 0907 seems buggy... Anyone have seen this crap?!

[ReZ_]

Everything was fine until a get rig of my 3870CF in exchange for a 8800GTS 512. From that day on i sometimes get BSOD from no where...

Bios 0907 seems buggy... Anyone have seen this crap?!

Why in the world would you trade a CF setup for a gts?

Bios might seem buggy if you've just upgraded; settings need to be tweaked. Unless you are not oc'ing... i guess...

[Zucker2k]

Good eyes ReZ & mc2k. I see what you guys are talking about: When the multiplier is set to auto in Extreme Tweaker in BIOS 0802, the "Intel Speedstep" option is all of a sudden present in the "Advanced" Menu under CPU Config menu... You weren't seeing ghosts after all. My question is to you guys with newer BIOS's is, is the same true for you guys. I'm on 0802 now. When I got this board, the newest release was 0901, and that's where I started. Lotsa work to get back to older BIOS's with us peeps with 64bit OS's...

What took you guys so long? It's been there in all the bioses (at least in all I've tested). I always disable that before changing CPU ratio. It's some type of pre-emption put in there by asus engineers ---- as soon as you touch the cpu ratio (we know you're overclocking so) we disable speedstep for you. Otherwise, windows could take over and downclock your cpu; makes sense to me. All serious overclockers disable all cpu features, even though for stable, secure, 24/7 use, it is wise to enable CIE, speedstep, Execute Disable Bit, and the Temp Monitor.

@ Rez, I hope you're not mistaking speedstep for HTT?

[Hockster]

I'm running a QX9650 on it @4Ghz (400*10/Strap 266), DDR2 1200 5-5-5-15 4GB.... Everything was fine until a get rig of my 3870CF in exchange for a 8800GTS 512. From that day on i sometimes get BSOD from no where.

Did you completely remove the ATi drivers and software?

[JohnMike]

Why in the world would you trade a CF setup for a gts?

Bios might seem buggy if you've just upgraded; settings need to be tweaked. Unless you are not oc'ing... i guess...

Because in the world that i live CF drivers is still immature, at least for my resolution 1920*1200 in my favorite game COD4.
Believe or not, a single graphic-card still runs better then CF (don't no about SLI) and sense nvidia runs the shows about performance, i went for the new GTS 512MB. It runs very well, not as my old Ultra but definitely much better then CF "crap".

I know pretty well how to handle the bios and run OC on it. The problem is that this issue never occur sense day one. I think it's Asus style!

[QUOTE=Hockster;2684059]

I'm running a QX9650 on it @4Ghz (400*10/Strap 266), DDR2 1200 5-5-5-15 4GB.... Everything was fine until a get rig of my 3870CF in exchange for a 8800GTS 512. From that day on i sometimes get BSOD from no where.QUOTE]

Did you completely remove the ATi drivers and software?

Yes i did remove the ATI drivers by the rules. Later i did a fresh Vista64 installation.

What piss me off is that i don't know what is causing this issue. Everything has been checked by the rules, everything is working as should be, the system runs fast and stable.

[cstkl1]

hmmm initially thought of not posting but what the heck

oh yeah this was using dumb cooler and a cheap ram.

Proc:E8400 Q746A332@ 3.6ghz 1.15v
Mobo: Asus Maximus Formula SE
Ram: OCZ Gamer Gold XTC - PC2-6400 CL5 @ 2.1v



if this is not a good batch then i have no idea what is..

so far as i can tell this are the voltages for this batch

Stock voltage = 1.09

400x8.5=3.4@1.1v (i think u can say stock voltage.. i couldnt do less 0.01v on the maximus)
400x9.0=3.6ghz@1.15v

Settings for the rest of the voltages : Lowest value.

cant attempt 4ghz yet till i have my sweet rams return back from rma..

[Krav]

Yes i did remove the ATI drivers by the rules. Later i did a fresh Vista64 installation.

What piss me off is that i don't know what is causing this issue. Everything has been checked by the rules, everything is working as should be, the system runs fast and stable.

I had same prob, but i got lock ups to but this only ever happened on desktop not in games, so discovered it was a vista problem, and believe it to be narrowed down to Aero so i went into safe mode uninstall driver, then restarted and reinstalled driver then made sure to select aero and apply rather than let windows change to it itself and now i dont have anymore problems.

[JohnMike]

I had same prob, but i got lock ups to but this only ever happened on desktop not in games, so discovered it was a vista problem, and believe it to be narrowed down to Aero so i went into safe mode uninstall driver, then restarted and reinstalled driver then made sure to select aero and apply rather than let windows change to it itself and now i dont have anymore problems.

.... Well that cross my mind, but it feels strange that this problem never occur in the past weeks.

I had an Ultra running with Q6600 G0... No problem!
I had 3870Cf running with QX9650... No problem (except for CF performance)!
Change to 8800GTS 512/QX9650 (remove/install ATI/nVidia drivers) ... BSOD!
Made a fresh Vista64 installation... BSOD!

All hardware tested including the GTS 512, all tests passed.

It's not that kind of BSOD that forces restart immediately, it hangs without restart and says that it's a hardware failure...

Another issue that i found with this board.... Well maybe bios 0907... Is that, if i change any SATA connector position or add/remove any hard driver, in the next restart it changes my CPU multi by x0.5.
Example: My current setup is 4Ghz (400*10) -> change SATA connector position -> reboots like 4.22 (400*10.5)... what a joke!

[eSp!s0]

hmmm initially thought of not posting but what the heck

oh yeah this was using dumb cooler and a cheap ram.

Proc:E8400 Q746A332@ 3.6ghz 1.15v
Mobo: Asus Maximus Formula SE
Ram: OCZ Gamer Gold XTC - PC2-6400 CL5 @ 2.1v



if this is not a good batch then i have no idea what is..

so far as i can tell this are the voltages for this batch

Stock voltage = 1.09

400x8.5=3.4@1.1v (i think u can say stock voltage.. i couldnt do less 0.01v on the maximus)
400x9.0=3.6ghz@1.15v

Settings for the rest of the voltages : Lowest value.

cant attempt 4ghz yet till i have my sweet rams return back from rma..

You know that you can`t tell after 30min the system to be stable!?

[Darkstormz]

I had same prob, but i got lock ups to but this only ever happened on desktop not in games, so discovered it was a vista problem, and believe it to be narrowed down to Aero so i went into safe mode uninstall driver, then restarted and reinstalled driver then made sure to select aero and apply rather than let windows change to it itself and now i dont have anymore problems.

The 0x00000124 errorcode ?

[youraa]

Hi
I'm new here so hi to everyone ))
After messing around with my new rig for a bit I managed to figure out occt stable bios settings:

Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
OC From CPU Level Up [Auto]
CPU Ratio Control [Manual]
Ratio CMOS Setting: [8]
FSB Frequency [450]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [400MHz]
PCIE Frequency [110]
DRAM Settings
DRAM Frequency [DDR2-1199MHZ]
DRAM Command Rate [2T]
DRAM Timing Control [Manual]
CAS# Latency [5]
RAS# to CAS Delay [5]
RAS# Precharge [5]
RAS# Active Time [18]
RAS# To Ras# Delay [Auto]
Row Refresh Cycle Time [Auto]
Write Recovery Time [Auto]
Read To Precharge Time [Auto]
Read To Write Delay(S/D) [Auto]
Write To Read Delay(S) [Auto]
Write To Read Delay(D) [Auto]
Read To Read Delay(S) [Auto]
Read To Read Delay(D) [Auto]
Write To Write Delay(S) [Auto]
Write To Write Delay(D) [Auto]
DRAM Static Read Control [Disabled]
Ai Clock Twister [Strong]
Transaction Booster [Enabled]
Boost Level [0]
Voltage Settings
CPU Voltage [1.50v]
CPU PLL Voltage [Auto]
North Bridge Voltage [1.61v]
DRAM Voltage [2.30v]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.54v]
South Bridge Voltage [Auto]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Reference [0.63x]
North Bridge GTL Reference [0.67x]
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage [DDR2_REF]
SB 1.5V Voltage [1.5v]

1. The only thing that worries me is the NB temp, in bios it shows 61-63C with [1.61v] setting, isn't that a bit too high, my room temperature is around 21C, but it's winter now and in the summer it gets really hot and the temps may go drastically up. The problem is whenever I try to lower the voltage on the NB I cannot boot, 1.61v it's the lowest setting. Any ideas hot to change my settings to lower up the NB temp?

2. Ok and here's the tricky one I tried installing all versions of Pc probe, it installed with no problems but each time I try to run the application I get a blue screen and sys reboots??@#@@!! WHY?
Same thing happens with AI tweaker(I don't really use it cause I change the settings in BIOS)
Maybe there is a different application showing NB and SB temps? Or how to make the Pc probe work?

I'm running Windows XP Pro polish version SP2c

thx for your help

[carmatic]

1. The only thing that worries me is the NB temp, in bios it shows 61-63C with [1.61v] setting, isn't that a bit too high, my room temperature is around 21C, but it's winter now and in the summer it gets really hot and the temps may go drastically up. The problem is whenever I try to lower the voltage on the NB I cannot boot, 1.61v it's the lowest setting. Any ideas hot to change my settings to lower up the NB temp?

apparently, the thermal compound asus uses between the NB and its heatsink is more like cement, it is a better adhesive than a thermal conductor... i've read alot of posts and threads about people wanting to remove the stock thermal compound and replace it with something like artic silver... but once you have turned the computer on and the compound has heated up, it will cure and bond very tightly to the northbridge, you have to twist it off , if you try to pluck it off you might take the entire northbridge out with you, some people tried putting it in the freezer, others tried to use a hairdryer to heat and soften the compound

[youraa]

apparently, the thermal compound asus uses between the NB and its heatsink is more like cement, it is a better adhesive than a thermal conductor... i've read alot of posts and threads about people wanting to remove the stock thermal compound and replace it with something like artic silver... but once you have turned the computer on and the compound has heated up, it will cure and bond very tightly to the northbridge, you have to twist it off , if you try to pluck it off you might take the entire northbridge out with you, some people tried putting it in the freezer, others tried to use a hairdryer to heat and soften the compound

Thx for the reply but do i need to worry about the temperatures? is 62C really bad? when the nb starts to burn 90C-100C? Do I loose stability when the NB is overheated?

[CERO]

Oke I try to figure out if this a bug on this board: After my first day testing the board I had the following problem: When I use 9x multiplier and set vcore above 1.40000 @ BIOS, so 1.40625 or higher , Primesmall FFTs @ taskmanager shows 100% cpu usage, BUT if u look @ processes and look @ prime.exe u see cpu: like 87-92% and not 99% and the rest goes to system ( while i have only P95 running)!!!!, I got this prob only with 9x multiplier and with 8x mulitplier I DONT have this problem and prime ( Small FFTs) would load 99% regardless volts, I let some1 else test it and he got the same prob at all and another person He didnt had the prob, he said. So Could anyone of u test it aswell , using SMALL FFTS because this only occure during small FFTS and blend isnt affected) and report back if u got the same prob? I mean if p95 isnt loading 99% i dont mind but if I use other application and it will not load 99% it would suck, and it could be a bug adressed to this board or it is a bug in p95 software.

[jagger333]

hi wondering if you guys can help.

i'm trying to overclock my corsair dominator 1066 to 1120-1200 for a 24/7 rig. i'm running my 9650 right now at 400x10 with everything else auto. I think i have two options
I can run 400x10@1200 but i tried and couldn't boot with 5-5-5-15 timing.
another option is to try running at 420x10 @ 1120 but i couldn't boot to 420x10 everything else auto.
anyone have any suggestions as to what combination i should try and what timing voltage for ram i should use??

thanks

[Renegade5399]

If you're using four sticks, you're going to need about 1.65v on the NB.

[JohnMike]

hi wondering if you guys can help.

i'm trying to overclock my corsair dominator 1066 to 1120-1200 for a 24/7 rig. i'm running my 9650 right now at 400x10 with everything else auto. I think i have two options
I can run 400x10@1200 but i tried and couldn't boot with 5-5-5-15 timing.
another option is to try running at 420x10 @ 1120 but i couldn't boot to 420x10 everything else auto.
anyone have any suggestions as to what combination i should try and what timing voltage for ram i should use??

thanks

I just can say that you should try 266 or 333 Strap manual, 266 is better for performance.

This are the settings you should take careful. These are my settings for QX9650 4Ghz(400*10/strap 266. If you choose 333 strap you only be able to play with 2 dividers around 1200mhz Ram. One is 1280 (your memory shouldn't be able to handle with moderate voltage) and the other under 1200.. around 1060 or something.

So i think you should try first the 266 Strap that gives you 400*10/266/1200 5-5-5-15.


Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
OC From CPU Level Up [Auto]
CPU Ratio Control [Manual]
Ratio CMOS Setting: [10]
FSB Frequency [400]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [266 or 333MHz]
PCIE Frequency [100]
DRAM Settings
DRAM Frequency [DDR2-1203MHZ]
DRAM Command Rate [2T]
DRAM Timing Control [Manual]
CAS# Latency [5]
RAS# to CAS Delay [5]
RAS# Precharge [5]
RAS# Active Time [15]
RAS# To Ras# Delay [Auto]
Row Refresh Cycle Time [Auto]
Write Recovery Time [Auto]
Read To Precharge Time [Auto]
Read To Write Delay(S/D) [Auto]
Write To Read Delay(S) [Auto]
Write To Read Delay(D) [Auto]
Read To Read Delay(S) [Auto]
Read To Read Delay(D) [Auto]
Write To Write Delay(S) [Auto]
Write To Write Delay(D) [Auto]
DRAM Static Read Control [Enable]
Ai Clock Twister [Moderate]
Transaction Booster [disabled]
Boost Level [0]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]

The voltages are up to you. It depends on your hardware, you have to find that out. In my case 1.425v is enough for 4Ghz and 2.20v for my Ram (see my sig)... And all others voltages i can keep Auto.

[ChaosMinionX]

hi wondering if you guys can help.

i'm trying to overclock my corsair dominator 1066 to 1120-1200 for a 24/7 rig. i'm running my 9650 right now at 400x10 with everything else auto. I think i have two options
I can run 400x10@1200 but i tried and couldn't boot with 5-5-5-15 timing.
another option is to try running at 420x10 @ 1120 but i couldn't boot to 420x10 everything else auto.
anyone have any suggestions as to what combination i should try and what timing voltage for ram i should use??

thanks

I highly doubt that the Dominator 8500 (1066) part will be able to hit 1120/1200 24/7 stable with reasonable voltage, if at all.

What revision of these 8500's are you using?

[jagger333]

yea i didn't think dominators can do 1200 without going over 2.1v max voltage and for 24/7. I wanted to do 1120 but i don't think i can run at that speed with 400x10

I wanted to try 420x10 with 1120 but i can't even boot at 420x10 for some reason.

i have ver 2.3 for the rams. so that means i can't try to overclock these rams at all??

thanks for the help guys

[binormalkilla]

binormalkilla, at 3.84ghz I was running 9800Mb/s on the everest mem read test. Your numbers are ok for the caches though.

If you ever remove two sticks, can you post the new results?

I wonder if vista is responsible?

HHmmm.....I'll check that out. I am reinstalling Vista today (screwey file system from OCing and installing different hardware)
I'm also installing XP on an eSATA drive tomorrow....so I'll test further.
I can't run a test with 2 DIMMs ATM because I'm running Killdisk on my data 500 Gb drive......takes about 1.5 hours.

[binormalkilla]

Hi
I'm new here so hi to everyone ))
After messing around with my new rig for a bit I managed to figure out occt stable bios settings:

Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
OC From CPU Level Up [Auto]
CPU Ratio Control [Manual]
Ratio CMOS Setting: [8]
FSB Frequency [450]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [400MHz]
PCIE Frequency [110]
DRAM Settings
DRAM Frequency [DDR2-1199MHZ]
DRAM Command Rate [2T]
DRAM Timing Control [Manual]
CAS# Latency [5]
RAS# to CAS Delay [5]
RAS# Precharge [5]
RAS# Active Time [18]
RAS# To Ras# Delay [Auto]
Row Refresh Cycle Time [Auto]
Write Recovery Time [Auto]
Read To Precharge Time [Auto]
Read To Write Delay(S/D) [Auto]
Write To Read Delay(S) [Auto]
Write To Read Delay(D) [Auto]
Read To Read Delay(S) [Auto]
Read To Read Delay(D) [Auto]
Write To Write Delay(S) [Auto]
Write To Write Delay(D) [Auto]
DRAM Static Read Control [Disabled]
Ai Clock Twister [Strong]
Transaction Booster [Enabled]
Boost Level [0]
Voltage Settings
CPU Voltage [1.50v]
CPU PLL Voltage [Auto]
North Bridge Voltage [1.61v]
DRAM Voltage [2.30v]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.54v]
South Bridge Voltage [Auto]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Reference [0.63x]
North Bridge GTL Reference [0.67x]
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage [Auto]
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage [DDR2_REF]
SB 1.5V Voltage [1.5v]

1. The only thing that worries me is the NB temp, in bios it shows 61-63C with [1.61v] setting, isn't that a bit too high, my room temperature is around 21C, but it's winter now and in the summer it gets really hot and the temps may go drastically up. The problem is whenever I try to lower the voltage on the NB I cannot boot, 1.61v it's the lowest setting. Any ideas hot to change my settings to lower up the NB temp?

2. Ok and here's the tricky one I tried installing all versions of Pc probe, it installed with no problems but each time I try to run the application I get a blue screen and sys reboots??@#@@!! WHY?
Same thing happens with AI tweaker(I don't really use it cause I change the settings in BIOS)
Maybe there is a different application showing NB and SB temps? Or how to make the Pc probe work?

I'm running Windows XP Pro polish version SP2c

thx for your help

IMO that is a high temp on the NB, but I don't think that it's going to cause any damage. As long as you're stable, it's all good man
CHeck out the data sheet on the X38:
Link
All of the info you need is in the document entitled Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines.....the Tc Max for the X38 is 92C, and you will experience instability with OCing well before this temp I would think.....

[Grnfinger]

I highly doubt that the Dominator 8500 (1066) part will be able to hit 1120/1200 24/7 stable with reasonable voltage, if at all.

What revision of these 8500's are you using?

My dominators run stable at 1200 all damn day long
Took awhile to get them there but I can tell you it was worth the hair
The voltage part may ring true, according to Everest they need 2.20