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

[ante_ante]

Planing to change my X38 Quad GT for this board. I having a E8500, will that cpu work on this mobo ? Any chance to gain fsb around 550+ ??

[Spyrus]

It harder to get highest fsb with this mobo than your Quad GT.
The only reason to go to that mobo is if your Abit cannot work with
Ballistix at 600+MHz.

[Grnfinger]

Hi guys

Finally found time to play with my new E8400. I started by finding a high fsb. Therefore I used the settings of aonther member. 500FSB is stable. I run the CPU at safe settings (6 x 500) with auto-voltage on the CPU. For some reason this auto-setting puts the voltage at 1.432 (CPU-Z) isn't this a bit high???

When I raise the multiplier to 8 (so the CPU runs at 4GHz) and the system is not stable, can I be sure that the problem is the CPU (and voltage) because everything is stable at 6 x 500?

Last question. My NB temp is stressed 50 and Idle around 45. Is this acceptable?

Thanks!

That voltage is way to high for 3.0GHz
Your NB load temps are fine and aslong as your are stable the idle temp.. well not the best I have seen should be ok

[pazza316]

Anyone got 8gb ram running well on this board?

[CERO]

I got a very weird issue here, ever since I installed the E8500 ( it is now sold), my Ballistix PC8500 and G.SKill 8000CL5 4GBPQ, both cant run high speed. for example my Ballistix used to run stable on this board with 1130 5-5-4-9 @ 1.90v ( bios set)/ 1200 5-5-5-12 @ 1.98 ( bios set). Then After I was priming my E8500 for like 14 hours small ffts it was stable so I ran 3dmark06 and I got a instant freeze.. or Screen goes black or Pink lol. I was sure it was the mem, but what the heck, So I did HCI memtest , it keeps throwing errors, so I decided to put in my G.skill 8000 2x2GB( never really tested this kit before tho), but I cant even run @ 1040 5-5-5-15 @ 2.1?? at this point I thought it cant be the mem goes bad both sets. So I sticked my Ballistix @ the P5K deluxe run 1200mhz 5-5-5-12 @ Performance lvl 5 with 2.05v... and HCI memtest did 800% coverage without 1 single error... where as on the maximus it would keep throwing errors within secs. Whats going on? Did my memcontroller went flaky or my BIOS is corrupted?, it used to be stable ......

*edit I reflashed like 3 times already to 0903 and 0907 all didnt helped. ( CMOS clear button before every flash), or should I remove the battery aswell , for a "proper" CMOS clear?

[Prodigys]

I got a very weird issue here, ever since I installed the E8500 ( it is now sold), my Ballistix PC8500 and G.SKill 8000CL5 4GBPQ, both cant run high speed. for example my Ballistix used to run stable on this board with 1130 5-5-4-9 @ 1.90v ( bios set)/ 1200 5-5-5-12 @ 1.98 ( bios set). Then After I was priming my E8500 for like 14 hours small ffts it was stable so I ran 3dmark06 and I got a instant freeze.. or Screen goes black or Pink lol. I was sure it was the mem, but what the heck, So I did HCI memtest , it keeps throwing errors, so I decided to put in my G.skill 8000 2x2GB( never really tested this kit before tho), but I cant even run @ 1040 5-5-5-15 @ 2.1?? at this point I thought it cant be the mem goes bad both sets. So I sticked my Ballistix @ the P5K deluxe run 1200mhz 5-5-5-12 @ Performance lvl 5 with 2.05v... and HCI memtest did 800% coverage without 1 single error... where as on the maximus it would keep throwing errors within secs. Whats going on? Did my memcontroller went flaky or my BIOS is corrupted?, it used to be stable ......

*edit I reflashed like 3 times already to 0903 and 0907 all didnt helped. ( CMOS clear button before every flash), or should I remove the battery aswell , for a "proper" CMOS clear?

The G.SKill uses Elpida chips if I thought... So +1000Mhz on CL5 is nice .

And about the Crucial ram, if you look on the Asus forum there are only problems with Crucial ram and this mobo so be patient and wait for a good bios .

[S1mon-]

The G.SKill uses Elpida chips if I thought... So +1000Mhz on CL5 is nice .

And about the Crucial ram, if you look on the Asus forum there are only problems with Crucial ram and this mobo so be patient and wait for a good bios .

The G.Skill are using PowerChips IC, not Elpida.

[CERO]

The G.SKill uses Elpida chips if I thought... So +1000Mhz on CL5 is nice .

And about the Crucial ram, if you look on the Asus forum there are only problems with Crucial ram and this mobo so be patient and wait for a good bios .

Uhmm , they were rock stable as I stated on the maximus , and few hours ago I tested on the Deluxe and it was stable, this isnt a BIOS version issue....

[Sources]

I set my mem voltage to 2.2v for my ballistix PC8500 and its showing 2.7v in Everest.

whats up with that ?

EDIT

PC just froze in Prime95 after 3 minutes - BLend

Cores temp 49/48/44/44
cpu volt 1.45
ram 2.7v
NB 1.5v
SB 1.09v

any ideas ?

[Viss]

Board overvolts vdimm but 2.20v in bios shouldnt be 2.7 real... Have you touched the dimms while running prime/orthos? Mine run rather hot even at 2.15vdimm with 2x92mm fans over them.

[icecpu]

I set my mem voltage to 2.2v for my ballistix PC8500 and its showing 2.7v in Everest.

whats up with that ?

EDIT

PC just froze in Prime95 after 3 minutes - BLend

Cores temp 49/48/44/44
cpu volt 1.45
ram 2.7v
NB 1.5v
SB 1.09v

any ideas ?

samething for me, the thing is I can't set it lower than v2.20, it won't boot hang at DET Dram. So I guess the Ballistix have to live with v2.27 for 24/7. Yes and the heatsink feel really hot when you touches

EDIT
I think you mean everest reading is v2.27 not v2.7 right

[Grnfinger]

I got a very weird issue here, ever since I installed the E8500 ( it is now sold), my Ballistix PC8500 and G.SKill 8000CL5 4GBPQ, both cant run high speed. for example my Ballistix used to run stable on this board with 1130 5-5-4-9 @ 1.90v ( bios set)/ 1200 5-5-5-12 @ 1.98 ( bios set). Then After I was priming my E8500 for like 14 hours small ffts it was stable so I ran 3dmark06 and I got a instant freeze.. or Screen goes black or Pink lol. I was sure it was the mem, but what the heck, So I did HCI memtest , it keeps throwing errors, so I decided to put in my G.skill 8000 2x2GB( never really tested this kit before tho), but I cant even run @ 1040 5-5-5-15 @ 2.1?? at this point I thought it cant be the mem goes bad both sets. So I sticked my Ballistix @ the P5K deluxe run 1200mhz 5-5-5-12 @ Performance lvl 5 with 2.05v... and HCI memtest did 800% coverage without 1 single error... where as on the maximus it would keep throwing errors within secs. Whats going on? Did my memcontroller went flaky or my BIOS is corrupted?, it used to be stable ......

*edit I reflashed like 3 times already to 0903 and 0907 all didnt helped. ( CMOS clear button before every flash), or should I remove the battery aswell , for a "proper" CMOS clear?

You sold your Wolfdale???

Did you try both white and blue slots and see if it errors out?
Also try different straps to eliminate a divider issue.
I hope you dont have to RMA your board that would be a shame but I know you want a new board so are you sure you didnt do this on purpose lol

How does the ram do when everything set to stock speed and volts?
maybe the board is just pissed cause you put the quad back in, seriously tho try the stock test and see what happens

[CERO]

You sold your Wolfdale???

Did you try both white and blue slots and see if it errors out?
Also try different straps to eliminate a divider issue.
I hope you dont have to RMA your board that would be a shame but I know you want a new board so are you sure you didnt do this on purpose lol

How does the ram do when everything set to stock speed and volts?
maybe the board is just pissed cause you put the quad back in, seriously tho try the stock test and see what happens

Hey m8, well it only will run like 1000mhz 5-5-5-15, but suddently it cant run at 1130 5-5-4-9 and 1200mhz , so I put the ballistix into my P5K deluxe 2day, and 1200mhz performance lvl 5 @5-5-5-12 with just 2.05v, 800 % coverage HCI memtest. whereas it fails within 40% @ the maximus, I just dont get this man doesnt make sense at all lol, yea m8 I sold the E8500, with no money loss, I missed my 2 extra cores. I tried also different straps and so on.

Same goes for my G.skills, I havent tested this kit yet on the P5k deluxe, but I have yet to see that any kit cant do 1051mhz 5-5-5-15 with 2.1v..... I think either my BIOS is corrupted in some way ( even clear cmos / reflash wont help), or my memory controller became flakey.

* aw m8, remmeber I had the "prime issue"? Well i stick in my old Q6600 g0 from my P5K deluxe and ques what I upped vcore 1.50v+ still prime would load 99%, where as the newer g0, wont load pass 1.40vcore, However I stack in that newer g0 into my P5K deluxe, there I also set vcore 1.50v+ and there it will load 99%..... So it was only on this particular board, really cant explain that lol

[Sources]

Ya I'm really not liking this board and might pop my P35 platinum back in. It ran flawless at 3.0-3.4 on air, and now I have a kick ass water system and can't even use it with this Formula

[JohnMike]

... Then After I was priming my E8500 for like 14 hours small ffts it was stable so I ran 3dmark06 and I got a instant freeze.. or Screen goes black or Pink lol....

I have the same issue for some time and i know at least 3 friends of mine with the same problem with this board. One thing we have in comum is a 0.45nm CPU, me and my friends have QX9650 and you a E8500...

Tryed everything, playing around for 3 weeks with diferent settings and the black/green/purple/red screen is random, can be without any issue for 2,3 or 4 days, sometimes in a matter of hours...

I have a P5E3 Dlx on my desk ready to test and replace my Formula...

[kup]

Mc2k, would you say the P5K (or in my case a Blitz Formula) is a better board than the Maximus Formula? How does the FSB overclock on your P5K compare to you Maximus?

[iTravis]

At this point, I think my RAM started to crap out when I reach 3.6Ghz (both 9x400 or 8x450) or above. The problem is I'm still running 4x1GB Crucial Ballistix so I think I might switch to 2x2GB instead. I don't wanna give up the LED on the RAM though and that's one thing keep holding me off from switching to another RAM. Any recommendations for a best set of 2x2GB?
PC6400 or PC8500?

[Sources]

Board overvolts vdimm but 2.20v in bios shouldnt be 2.7 real... Have you touched the dimms while running prime/orthos? Mine run rather hot even at 2.15vdimm with 2x92mm fans over them.

Ya they are HOT !, but I have no fan on them, I might get a RAM fan

[Sources]

well no patience for this piece of crap, going back to my P35.. bummer was hoping it would be more stable without having to mess around with too many settings.

[Sources]

Hmmmm one more attempt, since you mention it may be the crucial causing the problem, even when I'm trying to run them stock. I have a box of

OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 / 800MHz / Gold Edition / 8GB Quad Kit (4x2GB)

that I will try to run right now first and see if that changes anything. Will post results.

[Sources]

Well this blows, its seems so far the prob may be the crucial RAM, my OCz is running Prime at 3.6 right now for the last 20 minutes at 1.48v on the CPU and 2.0 on the ram


LoL@ quad posting... blame it on the CPU

[Warboy]

OMG Quad-Posting.

[Sources]

Wow 3.81 with 1.5v and only getting those temps.. NICE !

These are my current best BIOS 907 settings for 3.81GHz:

Under Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
OC From CPU Level Up : Auto
CPU Ratio Setting : 9
FSB Frequency : 424
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 400
PCI-E Frequency: 110
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-848MHz
DRAM Command Rate : 2T
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 5
RAS# Precharge : 5
RAS# ActivateTime : 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: Enabled
Ai Clock Twister : Strong
Transaction Booster : Auto

CPU Voltage : 1.506v (BIOS)
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.56v (BIOS)
North Bridge Voltage : 1.51v (BIOS)
DRAM Voltage : 1.80v (BIOS)
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.44v (BIOS)
South Bridge Voltage : 1.05v (BIOS)
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 : 1.50v (BIOS)

NB LED Selection : NB Volt
SB LED Selection : SB Volt
CPU LED Selection : CPU Volt
Voltiminder LED : Enabled

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

Under Advanced
And CPU Configuration:
CPU Ratio Setting : 9
C1E Suppport : Disabled
CPU TM Function : Enabled
Vanderpool Technology : Disabled
Execute Disable Bit : Disabled
Max CPUID Value Limit : Disabled

Under Advanced
And USB Configuration :
USB Functions: Enabled
USB 2.0 Controller : Enabled
BIOS EHCI Hand-off : Enabled
Port 64/60 Emulation : Disabled
Legacy USB Support : Enabled

Note: Our ram is different, so you will have to put your timings and DRAM Voltage in there...
Remember that the Maximus over-volts the DRAM by 0.12v's. Set it .12v's lower in the BIOS, than what your DRAM recomends for it's operational voltage.

My problem is, my DRAM is rated at 1.8v's, but the Maximus is putting 1.92v's on them.
There currently is a BIOS limitation issue with the Maximus that won't let you set the voltage lower than 1.8v's.
This makes it hard to use some of the newer low voltage DRAM that is out like my Corsair XMS2.
I hope ASUS is working on it.... It couldn't take too much programming to allow for us to use lower voltages on our DRAM.
Mabey the next release will just fix the DRAM overvolt problem, and I could really get my 1.80v's as set in the BIOS?

Just over 1 hour of Prime95 at 3.8GHz using the above BIOS settings. Note the 1.92v's reading on my DIMM!

[Virous]

I took the 2 wd raptor 150gigs out of my pc, did a fresh 100% format. Disable Jmicron and it still comes up with the "Cannot Find Master IDE HDD" did i miss something? Going to flash to 907 tonight. But anything else i can do to fix it. It is a seagate barracuda 7200.11 500gb hdd atm.

[CERO]

I have the same issue for some time and i know at least 3 friends of mine with the same problem with this board. One thing we have in comum is a 0.45nm CPU, me and my friends have QX9650 and you a E8500...

Tryed everything, playing around for 3 weeks with diferent settings and the black/green/purple/red screen is random, can be without any issue for 2,3 or 4 days, sometimes in a matter of hours...

I have a P5E3 Dlx on my desk ready to test and replace my Formula...

Hey m8 I am "glad" that I am not the only one getting this, this IS right after I popped in the E8500, and test it for 4 days, and after I thought I was done, I wanted to do some 3dmark, and what the heck the mobo suddently cant handle high ram clocks..... even now the E8500 is sold and popped back my Q6600 in....and I confirmed yesterday on the Deluxe they are doing just fine like they were doing on the maximus a week ago...this board is really getting annoying, first the prime issue I got with 1 of my Q6600 g0 while the other got no prob. However that cpu works flawless on the delux so...