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

[xgman]

Guys, I really tried to wade through this whole thread... but I can't do it!

Is the heatpipe removal/TIM reapplication necessary or just for peace of mind?

Personally i think it is a waste of time as long as you have a fan over the area. This is coming from someone who couldn't wait to cut up those heat pipes in the past. Yes it could run cooler, but I'm not convinced it makes much difference in clocks especially if you move air over the stock pipes.

[Grnfinger]

Guys, I really tried to wade through this whole thread... but I can't do it!

Is the heatpipe removal/TIM reapplication necessary or just for peace of mind?

I reseated mine with AS5 and did notice a slight improvment on LOAD temps.

[Sources]

I would remove and re seat them with after market cooling. The heat pipe leading to the SB actually makes your SB chip run hotter than it would due to the extra heat the NB is send down the pipe. I don't even have anything on my SB since I removed the stock and it lowered the temps 8 deg not being connected to the NB.

Also my NB ran 52-55 stock and I couldn't clock the CPU past 3.2 since I couldn't run stable voltage, now that I water cool my NB is runs an idle 29 and loaded 44 roughly.

EDIT: if my NB ran idle at 66 I would have RMA'd it

[Grnfinger]

EDIT: if my NB ran idle at 66 I would have RMA'd it

[SWFLTrader]

Guys, I really tried to wade through this whole thread... but I can't do it!

Is the heatpipe removal/TIM reapplication necessary or just for peace of mind?

I would remove it, yes it takes a few minutes of your time, but it eliminates the unknown factor, "is my heatsink seated completely or just on 1 corner, etc."

2 of my boards were only seated on 1 corner the rest of the heatsink wasnt even touching, another board only touched in the very center and covered a small percentage of the NB area.

If you wait until you have high temps, it makes the job more difficult to do

btw, I have waded thru alot more posts than U will find under this thread before I started overclocking

[aowen512]

Thx for the reply grnfinger. I followed your instructions and tried both the 400 and 333 strap. When trying the different straps, i tried the sticks in both white and blue slots respectively. Still cant get into bios with both sticks of ram in. Any other suggestions or should i start inquiring about an RMA to newegg? Or... is it perhaps my ram?

[Underwater Mike]

Not necessary unless you are pushing high volts on the NB. Even then, you can get away with a fan on it and you will be just fine.

Hmmmm. Seems a slight difference of opinion. Not at XS?!?

Since I don't plan on returning to water in the near future, is it worth putting an aftermarket cooler on both the NB and SB, and just ditching the pipes? From the pix I've seen, it looks like the PWM sinks and pipes are a separate unit? I could remount the stock coolers on there, and just go with aftermarket for the rest, correct?

BTW, transferring heat from NB to SB is exactly the reason why I thought about removing the whole business.

[Grnfinger]

Thx for the reply grnfinger. I followed your instructions and tried both the 400 and 333 strap. When trying the different straps, i tried the sticks in both white and blue slots respectively. Still cant get into bios with both sticks of ram in. Any other suggestions or should i start inquiring about an RMA to newegg? Or... is it perhaps my ram?

Drop mc2k a private message, he has the same ram and had really nice clocks running.
He can help you better than me for I only run 2x1GB so I am not familliar with 4GB settings.
I'll message him and let him know that I sent you his way. He's a great guy and will give you lots of good advice.


I just sent him a pm and gave all the information, he might not respond till tomorrow depending on your time zone, it's sleepy time for him

[eSp!s0]

Has anybody else the Mushkin XP2-8000 2x2GB and can help me with the settings?
I can run 450FSB 1:1 with
400Strap
DRam SRC Disabled
AI Moderate
TB Disabled - Relax 1

But if I try 500FSB 1:1 with same settings and more VDimm the system won`t boot ( voltages aren`t the problem). Also tried Relax 2-4 and Boost 0-1, tried all settings to Auto and tried 333strap but no any boot with 1000Mhz.

[kup]

Any news on this new bios? The one newer than 1003?

[Jagged]

Make sure you backup your bios BEFORE flashing as 1003 will corrupt your current save.

[kup]

Make sure you backup your bios BEFORE flashing as 1003 will corrupt your current save.

Backing up the bios won't backup the saved profiles too. Something changes in 1003 just like in 0903 and it makes any previous saved profiles incompatible. It's not a big deal, just an inconvenience.

[0ut0fstep]

This is a quick question hopefully I can get a quick response. when I set my voltage on my board higher and higher it seems it has more and more vdroop...

right now with it set to 1.52v cpu-z is reporting 1.46 as well as all my other programs. this seems a bit excessive... are my programs reporting incorectly or is there something wrong with my board ?


using bios 0907
q6700
vistax64
Corsair DHX 8500c5 4x1
468x8 for 3.78 ghz on air

[Ric2L]

Hey all,

I recently got my rig up and running, everything went well at first, loaded windows, got all updates, loaded norton etc.. Started having problems with system hanging & crashing. Ram memtest86+, got a bunch of errors, got with mushkin they gave me some timings to use, plugged them in, tried to restart & system hung on CPU INIT. Got back with mushkin they said bad ram, rma to manufacturer, I did, got replacement, put them in, same problem CPU INIT, won't post. Tried clearing cmos many times, still no go. Took whole thing back apart, checked for bent pins, dirt, as5 somewhere it shoulden't be. Found nothing wrong that I could find. Put it all back together and same thing, CPU INIT. even tried leaving battery out over night, did not help. I just noticed about 5 mins ago that the LED for the cpu is not lighting up at all when I hit the power button, all 3 other LED's light up except the CPU LED. What does this mean? Fried board?

It's really weird because everything ran fine for a couple of days, then everything went to crap, only thing I did was change ram timings & ram voltage to 2.0v.

Any help, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Rick

[0ut0fstep]

I would first try setting your bios settings to default... then reflashing with a usb stick. Also try to reseat your cpu and make sure the cpu 12v power connector is in properly. if the cpu light isnt lit up that means its probably not getting any voltage. Could be a bad board. could be a bad CPU (slim chance unless you oced it too far) could be a problem with your psu and that 4pin connector. altho if that was bad your machine wouldnt post anything.

[Ric2L]

0ut0fstep

Can't get into bios to reset to default, clear cmos won't do anything either, can't get past cpu init at post. Tried reseating cpu earlier this evening, did not help, the 12v power connector currently plugged in is the 4 pin one from p/s, I unplugged & replugged many times, also tried the 8 pin connector, no go with either, however I origionally started out with the 4 pin 12v when it first worked, when I changed the ram out and it would not post I tried the 8 pin, thinking maybe it needed more power, still wouldent post so I went back to the 4 pin. wonder if trying the 8 pin hurt anything?? never tried any o/cing on cpu all settings were always at default except for ram timings.

Thanks for suggestions though

Rick

when i turn power on all fans spin up and i can hear hard drive comming on.

[0ut0fstep]

I am going to guess you arent getting any post beeps either :-) I would test your power supply before you test the mobo.. the motherboard "was" working as intended. changing out from the 4pin to the 8pin wouldnt do anything except give you more reliable and stable voltages to the cpu. If there is a retailer near you I would have them take your powersupply and test it see if you are getting 12v +- maximum of .3 volts outta it. if its showing like 11.6v or under I would replace it.

Also I know these situations are very rare and I almost never use one but I always ask.. you didnt shock your board did you ? ESD does still kill computer parts nowadays .. its hard to do but "can" happen.

If you bought your board from a local retailer I would just take it with you and test your psu and if your psu tests fine then exchange the board. if you bought it online I would test the PSU before RMAing to asus or wherever you bought it from.

Hope this helps some. Not posting anything can be a series of things from bad ram to a bad harddrive.

When trouble shooting always make sure you have 1 stick of ram in and you dont have anything else connected to the motherboard besides your vid card and CPU. Then swap out sticks of ram till you post if you dont post you know its not your ram and its either the CPU board or PSU... and if you are like most of us computer geeks you have a el cheapo celeron that works laying around that you can pop in. then you can determine if the CPU is dead or not.
Now you ahve narrowed it down to teh board or PSU. So then you have a little powersupply tester on hand to check your voltages. Or if you have a voltmeter you can use one of those too just need to check the power and ground. You get my drift I wont write anymore of a book for ya :-)


Also take out the cmos battery for 30minutes to an hour.

[Nuckin_Futs]

Guys, I really tried to wade through this whole thread... but I can't do it!

Is the heatpipe removal/TIM reapplication necessary or just for peace of mind?

YES, if you plan to OC or have less then good indoor cooling. Changing out for at least AS5 helps a tad, but not too much. But if anything, it's ready when you get the right coolers. I use the Noctua NC-06 with 80x15mm and it is great, but the ThermalRight HR-05/SLI is cool too. I would however drop a simple SB cooler just to help. I know people say you dont need it but the SB can perform smoother in SATA rAID if kept cool under a high OC and added voltage. I use 1.10 @ 480FSB and it keeps it nice and cool with Enzotek copper sink.
The great thing unlike the previous ROG series, is the NB/SB pipes come off seperate then the Mosfets so you can change little at a time or just leave the ASUS mosfet coolers if replacing pad with ThermalRight paste or AS5. Do keep the parts as you will need them for an RMA or return. They dont care that they got removed, just make sure you put them back for return.

It's really weird because everything ran fine for a couple of days, then everything went to crap, only thing I did was change ram timings & ram voltage to 2.0v.

Any help, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Rick

Wish you luck guy. Keep us posted in case it may help others.

[Kondik]

Guys, I really tried to wade through this whole thread... but I can't do it!

Is the heatpipe removal/TIM reapplication necessary or just for peace of mind?

I hate stock cooling it's useless ugly and doesn't cool at all (: Thermalright all the way !

[Kondik]

YES, if you plan to OC or have less then good indoor cooling. Changing out for at least AS5 helps a tad, but not too much. But if anything, it's ready when you get the right coolers. I use the Noctua NC-06 with 80x15mm and it is great, but the ThermalRight HR-05/SLI is cool too. I would however drop a simple SB cooler just to help. I know people say you dont need it but the SB can perform smoother in SATA rAID if kept cool under a high OC and added voltage. I use 1.10 @ 480FSB and it keeps it nice and cool with Enzotek copper sink.
The great thing unlike the previous ROG series, is the NB/SB pipes come off seperate then the Mosfets so you can change little at a time or just leave the ASUS mosfet coolers if replacing pad with ThermalRight paste or AS5. Do keep the parts as you will need them for an RMA or return. They dont care that they got removed, just make sure you put them back for return.



Wish you luck guy. Keep us posted in case it may help others.

I had the noctua and i found it completley useless , SB with noctua 46 oC load , Thermalright 40, NB Noctua 50 +/- Thermalright 47. But it's passive without fan because i like silence. But still Thermalright > Noctua

[Durkadurka]

Got my system stable at 9.5x425.
Stable as in 12h Prime95 Blend, 8 hour OCCT Mixed and 8 hour OCCT Ram.
I'm gonna play around with voltages and memory timings to see if I can get some more performance from the memory.
Running QX9650 with 4 sticks of Crucial Ballistix PC-8500.


These are my settings:

BIOS 907
Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
CPU Ratio Setting : 9.5
FSB Frequency : 425
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 400
PCI-E Frequency: 110

DRAM Frequency: DDR2-1133MHz
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 : 3
Row Refresh Cycle Time : 42
Write Recovery Time : 6
Read to Precharge Time : 3

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

CPU Voltage : 1.43750
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.58
North Bridge Voltage : 1.57
DRAM Voltage : 2.12
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.52
South Bridge Voltage : 1.050
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Reference : 0.63x
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67x
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage : DDR2_REF
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage : DDR2_REF
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage : DDR2_REF
SB 1.5V Voltage : 1.5

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

[Underwater Mike]

So, would the TRUE 120 fit with the HR-05/SLI? As I said, I hate to waste the stock gizmo, but if I'll get measurably better results with TR blocks, I'll do that. As far as the SB, I have a couple Zalman NB-47J laying around. That should be more than sufficient for the task, especially with the case I'm getting.

BTW, thanks for all the help. This thread has nearly moved me from getting the DFI board...

YES, if you plan to OC or have less then good indoor cooling. Changing out for at least AS5 helps a tad, but not too much. But if anything, it's ready when you get the right coolers. I use the Noctua NC-06 with 80x15mm and it is great, but the ThermalRight HR-05/SLI is cool too. I would however drop a simple SB cooler just to help. I know people say you dont need it but the SB can perform smoother in SATA rAID if kept cool under a high OC and added voltage. I use 1.10 @ 480FSB and it keeps it nice and cool with Enzotek copper sink.

The great thing unlike the previous ROG series, is the NB/SB pipes come off seperate then the Mosfets so you can change little at a time or just leave the ASUS mosfet coolers if replacing pad with ThermalRight paste or AS5. Do keep the parts as you will need them for an RMA or return. They dont care that they got removed, just make sure you put them back for return.

[etoel]

Hi all, new to this thread and just finished reading all 79 pages Lots of great info, thanks everyone!
I just got my board and a QX6850, I only saw 2 people posting about this CPU and no settings. Seems like everyone is using either Q6600 or E8400 in here^^ The original post contains a lot of templates I could start from, but if anyone got a QX6850 @ around 3.6 for 24/7 I would be grateful for the settings. I'm new to the CPU also.
Was a lot of pages, but enjoyed the reading - thanks again (and Nucking Futs, I smile every time I see your nick^^)

[tiesum]

Hi Guys,

I'm running my E8400 at 4050 MHz now and it's almost stable. The problem is that about one in five times the system hangs at DET RAM. When it does boot to windows there is no problem and it's orthos and OCCT-stable for 12 hours. Can u guys help me with the last bit of tweaking? I'm running this now:

Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
OC From CPU Level Up : AUTO
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
Ratio CMOS Setting : 9
FSB Frequency : 450
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333
PCI-E Frequency: 100
DRAM Frequency: DDR2-1081
DRAM Command Rate : 2T
DRAM Timing Control: Auto
CAS# Latency :
RAS# to CAS# Delay :
RAS# Precharge :
RAS# ActivateTime :
RAS# to RAS# Delay :
Row Refresh Cycle Time :
Write Recovery Time :
Read to Precharge Time :

Read to Write Delay (S/D) :
Write to Read Delay (S) :
Write to Read Delay (D) :
Read to Read Delay (S) :
Read to Read Delay (D) :
Write to Write Delay (S) :
Write to Write Delay (D) :
DRAM Static Read Control: Disabled
Ai Clock Twister : Auto
Transaction Booster : Disabled
Relax Lvl: 1

CPU Voltage : 1.375
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.50
North Bridge Voltage : 1.55
DRAM Voltage : 2.20
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.22
South Bridge Voltage : 1.05
Loadline Calibration : Enabled
CPU GTL Reference : 0.63
North Bridge GTL Reference : 0.67
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage : Auto
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage : Auto
DDR2 Controller REF Voltage : Auto
SB 1.5V Voltage : 1.50

NB LED Selection : FSBT Volt
SB LED Selection : SB 1.5 Volt
CPU LED Selection : PLL VOlt
Voltiminder LED : Enabled

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

Advanced CPU Configuration
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
Ratio CMOS Setting : 9.0
C1E Suppport : Disabled
CPU TM Function : Disabled
Vanderpool Technology : Disabled
Execute Disable Bit : Disabled
Max CPUID Value Limit : Disabled

[Durkadurka]

Hi Guys,

I'm running my E8400 at 4050 MHz now and it's almost stable. The problem is that about one in five times the system hangs at DET RAM. When it does boot to windows there is no problem and it's orthos and OCCT-stable for 12 hours. Can u guys help me with the last bit of tweaking? I'm running this now:

North Bridge Voltage : 1.55
DRAM Voltage : 2.20
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.22

2.20 on your RAM might be a little too high (The board overvolts).
I would try 2.12 or 2.14
Also, your FSBt looks way too low, try it from 1.40 and see if it makes any difference