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

[ericab]

I'm thinking about flashing mine....I dunno though....I have a nice stable OC....I really want those memory settings though. Thoughts anyone?

there are 40 pages of thoughts already.

[CERO]

Cheers

well I am then gonna crank the volts up and see how it goes under load.

[Stanley Pain]

there are 40 pages of thoughts already.

Heheh, I was going to post this as well .


TL;DR: MOST people are getting slightly better OC results and better memory bandwidth with the Rampage BIOS. As always YMMV

[zlojack]

Did you try 1004 bios and set TRFC to a value at or above 55 ? My Gskills PC8000PQ kit were good up to 1081mhz with 5-5-5-15 2T at 2.1 volts 4gig kits or 4 dimms also need more NB voltage

I had NB volts up as high as 1.65 and TRFC at 60 and still got errors in Memtest86+ with the G.Skills.

In their product sheet they say they will function with this board but only at 333 FSB...

I've tried loosening all the memory timings and going for more MHz and then walking them back down, but it gives errors no matter what. I actually RMA'd a set to NCIX and they couldn't find anything wrong with them even though they gave me errors at stock and below on my board.

Unless I have an issue with my board...but my Mushkins run at 5-5-5-12 1003MHz on the 266 strap with 400 fsb no problem.


I've tried 1004 and now Rampage bios 0219 and still getting the same issue.

[cajer]

I've also had DET DRAM hangs as well on higher FSB settings. I was able to get around that with these settings:

DRAM Static Read Control: AUTO
Ai Clock Twister : MODERATE
Transaction Booster : DISABLED
relax: 1 [had to be 1. 0 didn't work for higher FSBs]

I have tried both of these and they still don't help me once I am above 440 fsb. Another other options?

[Grnfinger]

I'm thinking about flashing mine....I dunno though....I have a nice stable OC....I really want those memory settings though. Thoughts anyone?

I would recommend it. It makes for a much more stable board and you do get better bandwidth.
I would also recommend a clean OS install after the conversion, some say you dont need it, and I'm not saying you do but I had a few small bugs/issues that were gone after a clean install

[vbo]

[mitra-]

If I flash Maximus to Rampage the warranty is lost?

[Grnfinger]

If I flash Maximus to Rampage the warranty is lost?

As long as you dont brick the board you can flash back at any time

[cyrixMII300]

Do you need 1.7NB voltage for 400FSB ? did you try to lower it or is the settings on auto in the bios ?



Try to keep the cores under 65°C real temp reading mate under load, coretemp apparently is 8-10°C off...



Did you try 1004 bios and set TRFC to a value at or above 55 ? My Gskills PC8000PQ kit were good up to 1081mhz with 5-5-5-15 2T at 2.1 volts 4gig kits or 4 dimms also need more NB voltage

actually the volts are on auto. i was wondering though about the volt. it does seem rather high doesnt it?

[Grnfinger]

actually the volts are on auto. i was wondering though about the volt. it does seem rather high doesnt it?

You shouldnt be running volts on auto, 1.7 for NB is way to high imo

[ZenEffect]

Grnfinger, save and post the stock bios for the rampage in the maximus to rampage thread. bios 0215 is proving to be pretty elusive...

[GlowingBulb]

Ah, still struggling to hit a remotely stable FSB of anything over 435MHz, I've tried all the various configs out there that you guys have shared & just cant get there, regardless of MF BIOS version or after swapping over to the Rampage BIOS. A big thanks to Kup, The Stilt et al for all their hard work allowing me & thousands of others to reap the benefits of their efforts though

I've finally resigned myself to sticking with a cool 24/7 3.6GHz, would have liked to have posted at 4GHz but I think I've been unlucky with my Q6600 (VID 1.30, Batch L734B293) that wont let me get there.

Would I see any real increases if I got myself a nice new Q9450 or with its lower multiplier & early days would I be running a very real risk of seeing minimal, if any performance increases?

I'll post my BIOS settings tomorrow if any think it'll help, personally I feel I've just hit that FSB wall.

Thanks for the advice in advance

[Dostoyevsky77]

I'm thinking about flashing mine....I dunno though....I have a nice stable OC....I really want those memory settings though. Thoughts anyone?

I say yes, do it.

It's easy, reversible, and beneficial. I do not see any drawbacks whatsoever.

[kup]

Ah, still struggling to hit a remotely stable FSB of anything over 435MHz, I've tried all the various configs out there that you guys have shared & just cant get there, regardless of MF BIOS version or after swapping over to the Rampage BIOS. A big thanks to Kup, The Stilt et al for all their hard work allowing me & thousands of others to reap the benefits of their efforts though

I've finally resigned myself to sticking with a cool 24/7 3.6GHz, would have liked to have posted at 4GHz but I think I've been unlucky with my Q6600 (VID 1.30, Batch L734B293) that wont let me get there.

Would I see any real increases if I got myself a nice new Q9450 or with its lower multiplier & early days would I be running a very real risk of seeing minimal, if any performance increases?

I'll post my BIOS settings tomorrow if any think it'll help, personally I feel I've just hit that FSB wall.

Thanks for the advice in advance

My pleasure dude, but I think the real thanks should go out to EVERYONE who contributed to the 3 Maximus/Rampage threads!!!

Post your settings here if you're using the Rampage bios and in the Maximus Part 2 thread if you're on a Maximus and we'll do out best to get you even higher! 1.3v VID isn't the highest it could have been, pretty average IMO, so not bad at all.

[Grnfinger]

Ah, still struggling to hit a remotely stable FSB of anything over 435MHz, I've tried all the various configs out there that you guys have shared & just cant get there, regardless of MF BIOS version or after swapping over to the Rampage BIOS. A big thanks to Kup, The Stilt et al for all their hard work allowing me & thousands of others to reap the benefits of their efforts though

I've finally resigned myself to sticking with a cool 24/7 3.6GHz, would have liked to have posted at 4GHz but I think I've been unlucky with my Q6600 (VID 1.30, Batch L734B293) that wont let me get there.

Would I see any real increases if I got myself a nice new Q9450 or with its lower multiplier & early days would I be running a very real risk of seeing minimal, if any performance increases?

I'll post my BIOS settings tomorrow if any think it'll help, personally I feel I've just hit that FSB wall.

Thanks for the advice in advance

I would avoid the q9450 like the plaque, it is for overclocking.
With a VID of 1.30 I would assume 3.8GHz will be the limit, my quad has a vid of 1.325 and I cant run any higher than 3.8GHz for the volts needed to go higher is insane. Post your setup so we can see what adjustments need to made.

[Grnfinger]

mc2k's board shipped with bios 219, he was told it was 215 from the supplier.
So I cannot provide 215 , With the board released now I would expect to see another bios shortly.

Cheers

well I am then gonna crank the volts up and see how it goes under load.

Keep us posted on the results plz, want to see if there is any advantage to a "real" Rampage

[ZenEffect]

mc2k's board shipped with bios 219, he was told it was 215 from the supplier.
So I cannot provide 215 , With the board released now I would expect to see another bios shortly.



Keep us posted on the results plz, want to see if there is any advantage to a "real" Rampage

asus website says that it ships with 0215... oh well guess i will just wait. thanks for the speedy response as always.

[cajer]

I can't make my usb stick bootable with the hp utitily that we are supposed to use in the mod. I have tried 4 different usb sticks, vistia, xp sp3, and xp sp2 all of which still do not work. Is there any other way to perform the mod?

[ZenEffect]

the 737B668 i had had a 1.325 vid... to get to 3.8Ghz i needed 1.64 volts, 1.8ppl in bios to get stable....

i quickly returned it and got another... then returned that one... repeated about 20x to settle with the quad i have now.

[Nuckin_Futs]

I get the det. dram error everytime I go above 440 fsb. I have tried uping the voltages, jumping the wall, and flashing to older and newer bioses. I am sure that it is not my memory or cpu because they can run much higher on other boards. These are my settings. I hope that you guys can help me reach 480 fsb.

Extreme Tweaker
Ai Overclock Tuner : Manual
OC From CPU Level Up : AUTO
CPU Ratio Control : Manual
- Ratio CMOS Setting : 8
FSB Frequency : 430
FSB Strap to North Bridge : 333
PCI-E Frequency: 112
DRAM Frequency: DDR2- 1033
DRAM Command Rate : 2t
DRAM Timing Control: Manual
CAS# Latency : 5
RAS# to CAS# Delay : 4
RAS# Precharge : 4
RAS# ActivateTime : 12
RAS# to RAS# Delay : 3
Row Refresh Cycle Time : 35
Write Recovery Time : 6
Read to Precharge Time : 3

Read to Write Delay (S/D) : 8
Write to Read Delay (S) : 3
Write to Read Delay (D) : 5
Read to Read Delay (S) : 4
Read to Read Delay (D) : 6
Write to Write Delay (S) : 4
Write to Write Delay (D) : 6
DRAM Static Read Control: disabled
Ai Clock Twister : strong
Transaction Booster : disabled
relax: 0
CPU Voltage : 1.225
CPU PLL Voltage : 1.62
North Bridge Voltage : 1.63
DRAM Voltage : 2.16
FSB Termination Voltage : 1.4
South Bridge Voltage : 1.1
Loadline Calibration : enbled
CPU GTL Reference : .63
North Bridge GTL Reference : .67
DDR2 Channel A REF Voltage : auto
DDR2 Channel B REF Voltage : auto
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 :

CPU Spread Spectrum : Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum : Disabled

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

For starters, DO enable the Static Read contyrol for stability climbing over 450FSB, 2nd relax them timings and reduce Ai Twister to Mod or even light, 3nr if still unstable, relax boost to 1 - 7 as need be. But w/ that RAM Ai of Moderate, + boost to auto is fine if Static read is enabled. Plus depends on your VDIMM for 1066, I needed 2.224v at 1050 @ 4-4-4-13 (same PC2-6400 but, Golds). Next, try strap to Auto, as I have had many BIOS versdion not like to be forced to a set speed. Besides, most the time a given DRAM spd for a certain CPU/RAM ratio, can only use one strap and it will fix to that one automatically. And if testing for CPU FSB, fix to 1:1 by also setting DRAM frequency to Auto as it will also fix 1:1 for you. Again, many BIOS I tested for my CPU dont like to be manually set for 1:1 but do fine on say, 5:6. Lastly, some of your volts are either too much for the OC or some not enough, but hard to tell since you not clear if this is actual or as set.

So members PLEASE, if not gonna specify wich voltages (as set or as reported in CMOS), then at least only use actual voltages reported by CMOS, not as set (since we know this and many mobos overvolt but at different rates). Anybody can figure on how to set to get teh volts they need as actual. ThanX!

hello everyone. First of I apologize if this has been resolved before but i couldnt find the info anywhere though i checked. If there is, i would appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction.

My problem is this, my system is oc'ed to 3.6GHz and is rock stable with Prime95 ver25.3 for 24hours without errors. everything is you could say is hunky dory. however, my crucial ballistix is being identified by MF bios ver 0907 as PC6400 instead of PC8500??? I am all confused on the reason. it is clocked at 1066MHz in the bios and is running with 3:4 divider based on 400x9multi.

how do i resolve this? I am sure this discussion has cropped up before and resolved but for the life of me i cant find the post.

This is normal, it's cause of the RAM Jdec specs. All overclocking RAM above Jedec speced PC-6400 is just spd binned to perform at the overclocker speeds we pay for. So even PC2-9200 is gonna' look like PC2-6400 to BIOS but will just OC a lot better. It has to be able to boot as DDR800 for mobo's that cannot OC, or else it would not POST. So even timings will be relaxed to ensure this. That's why it's totally OK to buy even this OC quality RAM if @ stock 800MHz or mild OC cause of the ability to tighten up timings.

Well I just re-did the stockcooling of my Rampage formula, they used just like on the Maximus a cement-like TIM, was really a pain in the **s to remove those junk. However I applied some MX-2 , I was wondering if this amount is enough, I just put a small drop @ the center, and put the stock cooling back and tighten all 4 screws firmly. So is this amount of TIM enough?
With 1.41NBv I am ideling with 27c tho, not sure if it could be better if the TIM wasnt applied properly at first

Not bad temp on the NB. I removed even the IHS off the X38 and got even less. Now I never really run mine so low, but on 1.5v on nB and @ 500FSB, I only get 37c idle and 42c loaded. On warm days, it hits 39c idle and 43c. I used to hit 48c before I removed the IHS completely but reseating the Fusion block directly to chip set die.

[Nuckin_Futs]

O.K. I admit I am getting better stability with my returned RMA. But I still get occassional failures to resume from S3 Sleep (Stabd By) on my 5:6 divider on a modest OC to 4750FSB and above (havent test daily mild 450FSB on 5:6 yet).More vdimm or vcore and a tad more NB did not matter. I went as high as 1.488v, (the 2nd Mobo in my sig @ 480x8) PLL: 1.648v, FSBT: 1.504v, NB: 1.54v, and CPU+NB GTL_Ref = 63x/67x respectively. Even tested RAM to 1.288v and still no go even though it passed with colors and temps were always good. Passed several hrs of all modes of Prime 95 v25.5 each time. Yet on a given day after many functions of S3, sometimes into S3 and back again, it just fails either in the morning after hrs of sleep or middle of the day when only in Sleep for few hrs.

Anybody find a butter zone for this? Note, S4 (Hibernate) always workes in any of the test. And S3 always works on a 1:1 even over 500FSB and with lower voltages all accross the board. So what gives?

[cajer]

Also could I do the mod once windows is booted up under command prompt?

[ericab]

Also could I do the mod once windows is booted up under command prompt?

no.

well.... its POSSIBLE...
but dont do it.


just dont.

if you want proof just read all of the horror stories people have talked about w/ updating BIOS within windows. (asus update anyone ?)

[Webster]

I get to sit down today and start to work, and to my suprise, my computer starts up @ 333x9 with the settings previously mentioned. However it was extremely unstable, it was still surprising. Anyways, I took Grnfinger's settings, and booted with some little stability at 1.336v. Eventually gained stability, and passed 2 hours of prime with 1.45v in BIOS, 1.436 in CoreTemp. Idle temps about 35 and load temps between 50-55. So I give my sincere gratitude to Grnfinger. My only question now is what do I do next? Also, my VID is 1.2625v, Batch L728A924.