X48 Rampage Formula Preview.

[SoLoR]

Only driver you can install is i think smbus driver. However keep in mind this drivers are not needed on Win7. This are essentialy only infs that "name" devices properly, with proper number of ports etc etc. And since this are not drivers they are basicaly useless, specialy on win7 where more or less everything is already as it should be with original instalation.

[neo_rtr]

My friend, im alive and im watching you
My 4870x2 was a real pain in my ass the last 2-3 months until it died just before christmas, the worst period to buy a card or even rma. I was lucky to find one beast - as you kan see in my sig - which came to me with the new year. So you can easily imagine what im doing since then, tests, tests, benchs & benchs. Man, i tell you its the beastiest beast i ever had. Crazy fps everywhere. I read a lot arround and there are many who has something to say but the truth is: ITS A BEAAAST

Hmm. Why did that pefectly working HD 4870x2 died on you? What was it again that caused it..

If it works dont touch it.
If it doesn't work, Buy a new one.
Apparently you did both.
Touched it and bought a new one.

I you tell me


Lets see how long this one will last

[leo27]

Thanks for the help SoLoR

I just got it fixed. On a new Win7 x64 install I just installed intel inf 9.1.1.1019 (it doesn't really matter since the latest driver for the ICH9 is 9.1.1.1013) and let it install. Then I rebooted and manually updated the rest from the generic microsoft driver to the intel driver using the have disk method and pointing to a folder where i extracted the driver to.



Its a shame that the intel installer doesn't seem to work properly but this method works fine and doesn't take too long.

[SoLoR]

However its compleatly useless still if you check files you see there are only infs and cats (catalogue files because they with WHQL signatures). There is no sys/dll files, thus no actual drivers. And reason why you can install "old" drivers is because back then they didnt have seperate infs for Vista/7, and installert fetches infs for Vista basicaly... After .1020, intel started to seperate Vista and Win7 infs so installer takes infs from Win7 folder and because Win7 have most things "as they should be" by default, there is much less support for Win7 needed. But if you think its better to have "Vista" old infs then original Win7 ones, then wont try to convince you otherwise, just keep in mind all those driver dates from original Win7 drivers (unless they are from WU) are fake... i mean not like people cant think on their own... x38/48/58 chipset in 2006? "ye right".

[leo27]

I do get what your saying SoLoR thanks for clearing that up, in the future i won't bother with it

[Darkstormz]

Any updates about the new bios?

[greg.m]

Guys, ifyou really want to see some serious watercooled setup take a look here :

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=243865

Our "Rampage" friend neo_tr relly kills the heat
Wait only to see some temps...

[Alien Grey]

It takes ASUS to long to give us something new to play with so I've asked them if there's any news from the ASUS R&D team about the new BIOS for the ASUS Rampage Formula.



For you guys with a watercooling setup that wants to add a nice colour to your watercooling fluid check out this thread: Home made UV dyes

You can find some nice pictures that I took of my setup in post 480.

[OLDcomer]

Recently I swapped my 1.3 vid q9650 for 1.2 vid q9650 and here are some results:

4400MHz 9x489

Small FFT


Blend


Everest


LinX


Max benching Clock
9x510

[Alien Grey]

@OLDcomer

Nice result but I keep it at FSB 450MHz. I hate the fact that you've got to use so much NB voltage to push on the FSB and still can't get it stable at FSB 500MHz.


About the new BIOS. I didn't get a reply back from the ASUS Tech Support yet. The office is closed till next week for the Chinese New Year.

[SoLoR]

About the new BIOS. I didn't get a reply back from the ASUS Tech Support yet. The office is closed till next week for the Chinese New Year.

heh, somehow i think there will be always "something" with asus, when it comes to new RF bios.

[OLDcomer]

@OLDcomer

Nice result but I keep it at FSB 450MHz. I hate the fact that you've got to use so much NB voltage to push on the FSB and still can't get it stable at FSB 500MHz.

1.65V NB voltage is enough for 489fsb but with Auto AI Twister. For Strong AI Twister it needs 1.69V.

[Fritz_the_germ]

Any updates about the new bios?

You have to realize that ASUS won´t release a new BIOS in the next six months.
No matter if someone is begging them all the time.

[Alien Grey]

You have to realize that ASUS won´t release a new BIOS in the next six months.
No matter if someone is begging them all the time.

A BIOS update for the ASUS Rampage Formula has zero priority so you could be right that we won't see it before the next six months but at least they said that they are going to release a new BIOS.

[Fritz_the_germ]

I think the socket 775 is a dead end for ASUS. They invest their money and their knowledge in the X58 chip.

[kuebk]

I think the socket 775 is a dead end for ASUS. They invest their money and their knowledge in the X58 chip.

Don't tell me you are surprised.

[Alien Grey]

A lot of guys are still buying an ASUS Rampage Formula board because it's a cheaper upgrade solution than buying a P55 or X58 board. They still expect some support from ASUS for their purchase and that includes a new BIOS.

[greg.m]

A lot of guys are still buying an ASUS Rampage Formula board because it's a cheaper upgrade solution than buying a P55 or X58 board. They still expect some support from ASUS for their purchase and that includes a new BIOS.

Besides, it was march, april 2008 when rampage x48 came out - just go back at the first page of this thread! Do you guys remember when bios 0902 came out? Just take a look.
The hole bios development lasted almost a year That really sucks

[kuebk]

Yea that sucks, but there is nothing we can really do.

[Alien Grey]

Keep in mind that a new year for the Chinese people has just begun.

The ASUS Tech Support office will be open again on Monday. I expect to have a reply on my mail within a few days.



I'm having some fun with my board again. I'm trying to run Prime95 Blend at 4.5GHz with that old BIOS 0902. LinX is a no go but maybe some Prime95 might go while waiting for better BIOS.

[Senator]

I've spent quite some time reading through the whole thread I started playing around with my OC again.
I would like to share my settings as well as ask A-Grey Mikeyame greg.m especially for some suggestions to improve on the result.

CPU: E8500 C0 SLAPK Q817A608 (D-Tek FuZion v2)
MOBO: ASUS Rampage Forumla rev. 1.03G made in China BIOS v0902 (MOSFETS NB & SB Watercooled)
RAM: G.Skill F2-9600CL5D-4GBPI CL5-5-5-15 2.1v (active aircooled)

*Extreme Tweaker*
Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [09.5]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [Auto]
FSB Frequency [455]
PCIE Frequency [110]

DRAM Frequency [DDR2-1213MHz]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal A [Greyed Out]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal B [Greyed Out]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal A [Auto]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal B [Auto]

DRAM Timing Control [Auto]
1st Information
CAS# Latency [5]
RAS# to CAS# Delay [5]
RAS# PRE Time [5]
RAS# ACT Time [15]
RAS# to RAS# Delay [3]
REF Cycle Time [52]
WRITE Recovery Time [6]
READ to PRE Time [3]
2nd Information
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 Dealy (D) [6]
3rd Information
WRITE to PRE Delay [14]
READ to PRE Delay [5]
PRE to PRE Delay [1]
ALL PRE to ACT Delay [6]
ALL PRE to REF Delay [6]

DRAM Static Read Control [Disabled]
Ai Clock Twister [STRONG]
Ai Transation Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Booster [6]

Pull-In of CHA PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH3 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH6 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH3 [Disabled]

CPU Voltage [1.4870] REAL [1.480]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.54] REAL [1.616]
North Bridge Voltage [1.69] REAL [1.712]
DRAM Voltage [2.04] REAL [2.096]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.50] REAL [1.424]
South Bridge Voltage [1.100] REAL [1.120]
SB 1,5V Voltage [1.55] REAL [1.584]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Voltage Reference [0.63x]
NB GTL Voltage Reference [0.67x]
DRAM Controller Voltage REF [DDR_REF] REAL [1.040]
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF [AUTO]
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF [AUTO]

CPU LED Selection [CPU Voltage]
NB LED Selection [North Bridge Voltage]
SB LED Selection [South Bridge Voltage]
Voltiminder LED [ENABLED]

CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spred Spectrum [Disabled]
CPU Clock Skew [Delay 100ps]
NB Clock Skew [Normal]

These are the min settings I could run stable using IBT. I tried every possible GTL combination with no success.

I've tried 460FSB with high volts upto:

CPU Voltage REAL [1.560]
CPU PLL Voltage REAL [1.712]
North Bridge Voltage REAL [1.744]

with no success
Is there a known ratio of vCore PLL FSBT & vNB which needs to be applied?

[Alien Grey]

I've spent quite some time reading through the whole thread I started playing around with my OC again.
I would like to share my settings as well as ask A-Grey Mikeyame greg.m especially for some suggestions to improve on the result.

CPU: E8500 C0 SLAPK Q817A608 (D-Tek FuZion v2)
MOBO: ASUS Rampage Forumla rev. 1.03G made in China BIOS v0902 (MOSFETS NB & SB Watercooled)
RAM: G.Skill F2-9600CL5D-4GBPI CL5-5-5-15 2.1v (active aircooled)

*Extreme Tweaker*
Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [09.5]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [Auto]
FSB Frequency [455]
PCIE Frequency [110]

DRAM Frequency [DDR2-1213MHz]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal A [Greyed Out]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal B [Greyed Out]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal A [Auto]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal B [Auto]

DRAM Timing Control [Auto]
1st Information
CAS# Latency [5]
RAS# to CAS# Delay [5]
RAS# PRE Time [5]
RAS# ACT Time [15]
RAS# to RAS# Delay [3]
REF Cycle Time [52]
WRITE Recovery Time [6]
READ to PRE Time [3]
2nd Information
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 Dealy (D) [6]
3rd Information
WRITE to PRE Delay [14]
READ to PRE Delay [5]
PRE to PRE Delay [1]
ALL PRE to ACT Delay [6]
ALL PRE to REF Delay [6]

DRAM Static Read Control [Disabled]
Ai Clock Twister [STRONG]
Ai Transation Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Booster [6]

Pull-In of CHA PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH3 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH6 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH3 [Disabled]

CPU Voltage [1.4870] REAL [1.480]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.54] REAL [1.616]
North Bridge Voltage [1.69] REAL [1.712]
DRAM Voltage [2.04] REAL [2.096]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.50] REAL [1.424]
South Bridge Voltage [1.100] REAL [1.120]
SB 1,5V Voltage [1.55] REAL [1.584]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Voltage Reference [0.63x]
NB GTL Voltage Reference [0.67x]
DRAM Controller Voltage REF [DDR_REF] REAL [1.040]
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF [AUTO]
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF [AUTO]

CPU LED Selection [CPU Voltage]
NB LED Selection [North Bridge Voltage]
SB LED Selection [South Bridge Voltage]
Voltiminder LED [ENABLED]

CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spred Spectrum [Disabled]
CPU Clock Skew [Delay 100ps]
NB Clock Skew [Normal]

These are the min settings I could run stable using IBT. I tried every possible GTL combination with no success.

I've tried 460FSB with high volts upto:

CPU Voltage REAL [1.560]
CPU PLL Voltage REAL [1.712]
North Bridge Voltage REAL [1.744]

with no success
Is there a known ratio of vCore PLL FSBT & vNB which needs to be applied?

Do you really need 1.7V on the NB for FSB 455MHz?


An update on my progress at 4.5GHz. I could run Prime95 Blend stable for 10 minutes before running in to a freeze. That was fun.

[Senator]

A-Grey thanks for the quick reply

I am afraid the answer is no, as I said I've tried lower, but without success...
atm it doesn't bother me since my temps reach 40°C on full load. I've been running the board at those volts for 1.5years now. The question is if the NB can take more 24/7

[Alien Grey]

A-Grey thanks for the quick reply

I am afraid the answer is no, as I said I've tried lower, but without success...
atm it doesn't bother me since my temps reach 40°C on full load. I've been running the board at those volts for 1.5years now. The question is if the NB can take more 24/7

I think that you're going to have to step down on Ai Clock Twister and try to delay the clock skew more for the CPU and the NB.

I did a test today with the CPU and NB Clock Skew and when I delay the clock skew some more I can get it to Windows with less NB voltage. My 10 minutes Prime95 at 4.5GHz was possible with CPU Clock Skew Delay 400ps and NB Clock Skew Delay 300ps.


All we need is a BIOS that can work stable at high FSB with a Clock Skew Delay difference of 100ps between the CPU and the NB. Some changes on Ai Clock Twister should make that possible. The FSB Strap to North Bridge seems to be working well at 333MHz and it isn't a problem to run the memory at 1201MHz with FSB 500MHz.

It isn't impossible to run a Q9650@4.5GHz on the ASUS Rampage Formula but we desperate need a BIOS that makes it possible to run it completely stable.

[Senator]

well I tried Ai Clock Twister Moderate & Light going one notch higher on all the voltages with no success at 460FSB I didn't seem to have changed anything since my everest scores were roughly the same as at Ai Clock Twister Strong, which I found strange. I thought that would take some strain off the NB, maybe I am wrong & the PL is causing all this.

I will try another round with higher CPU & NB Skew delays lets hope that helps...
Lets hope that is the answer to my FSB wall.