***Asus Rampage III Extreme Owners Thread***

[Linuxfan]

I used the RC BIOS Flashback to update the BIOS when the system was powered off and the ROG connect was enabled.... worked great and was easy.

[skuldarin]

also here's another wierd one...

if i go back to the 22x183 clocking i had before for 4ghz w/ 1800mhz memory and then boost it to 22x190 for 4.180ghz w/ 1900mhz memory, board wont boot but it's because of the graphics according the "problem" LEDs. i'm guessing i'd have to increase PICE voltages to fix that or what? i've never delt with an OC that failed on CPU and Memory due to the graphics... if i put it to 22x185, the ATI catalyst controler refuses to start and i blue screen after a couple of minutes. so i KNOW i can handle 22x190, i just need to know how to fix the VGA thing. if i can get that i'd be happy lol

[skuldarin]

AND another thing

using ROG connection now to try to update to the 0802 bios on the secondary bios, every time i try it hit 9% and fails and ROG disconnects and then reconnects automatically in the middle of the flash...

[Leeghoofd]

Don't you think that could be normal as the bios flash might affect it's function ? for the VGA is that one or two cards ? How high is PCI-E ?

[skuldarin]

it's a HD5970 so it's a dual GPU but it has nothing to do with the bios flash, i haven't even been able to do a bios flash yet as i get the boot block invalid thing doing it through EZ flash and when doing it through ROG it gets to 6-9% and then disconnects it's self making the flash fail.

as for the clocking i was doing, i was trying to do 22x190 @ 1.4v cpu, 1.65v DRAM, 1.4v QPI. i did nothing to PIC-E clocking or voltages anywhere, i left all those auto seeing as i wasn't doing anything to them in the first place. the clocking worked for CPU and Mem but the VGA light keeps coming on EVEN THOUGH i did nothing to anything that has anything to do with the PCIE clockings or voltages to begin with.

[Splave]

skuldarin you should be using odd multi's with bloomfields

[skuldarin]

it still doesn't solve my problem regardless of what multiplier i use... bios still wont update no matter what way i go about it. i DO get higher clocks on odd multi yes but again... doesn't solve my problem with the bios update to 0802.

DOING IT THROUGH EZ FLASH IN BIOS - gives me "Boot Block value not valid"
DOING IT THROUGH ROG FROM THE LAPTOP - click bios flash back, opens window. i click on BIOS2 then hit "update", window pops up to choose ROM (renamed to AR3E0802 for 8 letter cap), i choose the ROM file and press ok. it then states "preparing bios update"... and does nothing. so i do it again, this time during the time it says "preparing bios update" i hit "flash", it pops up a window stating "do not disconnect ROG connect during flash process or BIOS update will fail" so i press ok. once i hit "ok" it starts to flash and hits 6%, once it hits 6%, ROG connect automatically disconnects and the flash fails and then it reconnects a few seconds later... THATS my problem. i can't even update BIOS2 from 0602 to 0704 it does the same freakin thing.

[Leeghoofd]

why flash bios 2 ?

[skuldarin]

why not? it's there to use, have the working bios on one and the testing / updating bios on another, if it doesn't work just switch back instead of having to reflash again.

[Mrk1525]

Splave as a long time lurker on the overclockaholics forums I would guess you may have some usable info.

Have you ever heard of anyone that got 24gb of ram running at 1600Mhz or higher on a REIII?

Like I was mentioning before with 22x159 ram running at 1594Mhz I am 100% stable. but upping the BCLK to 160 causes the board to not post at all.

Also, if I lower the BCLK and just up the memory freq anything at or above 1600 refuses to even post. Kinda upset that my old P6X58D Premium would run the same ram at 1750Mhz and I can't get this to run stock without playing with the bios like this.

If you have any ideas I would greatly appreciate your input.

[Coolbreeze]

Don't be so quick to assume. Only the first one fried.. read his post.

There is a compatibility problem that I'm currently investigating. The common links we found were 3911A and 3912B batches of 920s as well as having used an EX58 Gigabyte board before the RIIIE.

I'll tell what does happen, When I put power onto the board the ROG light keeps going on and off. I don't know what the significance of this is. Has anybody else noticed this?.

[skuldarin]

I used the RC BIOS Flashback to update the BIOS when the system was powered off and the ROG connect was enabled.... worked great and was easy.

could you expllain step by step of what you see as you do it that way?

as mentioned when i do it through ROG it hangs on preparing the update and then just goes back to the two bios options and the update option.

the ROM it's self i downloaded directing to my desktop and i'm loading it in ROG from that same point. if i hit "flash" while the preparing thing is there, it gets to 6% update and then ROG auto disconnects and then rreconnects within seconds, making the flash fail. everytime.

[baronnight]

After looking at my old BIOS photos and benching s/s I can say with certainty that it was never monitored. And how cares about it.



You want to pair SSD with HDD in RAID0? Why would you do that?

nah, i would like install my os on ssd and all my games and apps on raid 0 HDD.

[skuldarin]

alright i gave up and am officially broke. got tired of the locked bloomfield and ordered a 980x since it's had glorious results on this board.

[Benton]

Im planing to build a new rig and this is the stuff i have assembled for it, and since this is a RE3 thread and i know some of you have a WC setup i thought i should ask some questions.

1 x ASUS 5970 GFX Card
1 x Corsair 800D Case
1 x Intel i7 930 CPU
1 x ASUS Rampage Extreme 3 Motherboard
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-D5 X-TOP - Acetal G1/4 Rev. 2
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream RAD XT 360
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supreme HF Acetal universal CPU cooler
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC5970 RAM Backplate - Black
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FB RE3 Acetal+Nickel Motherboard cooler
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Multioption RES X2 - 250 Basic Reservoir
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC5970 Acetal+Nickel Full Cover GFX cooler
1 x Swiftech MCP655 Pump

My plan is to do a mild OC with the CPU to around 3.8GHz and leave the GFX card on default, yes, i should perhaps aim higher, but this will do for starters.

Is the above stuff enough for my plans or should i add one more rad to the loop? My ambient temps are 21-23c.

I will use a total of 6fans in push/pull on the radiator.

COme with suggestions please and yes, i have also considered only running the GPU and MOBO watercooled and leave the gfx card on air.

I am running a similar configuration to you except I have a 980X and dual 5970s. Besides that everything else is basically the same as what you are planning (in the way of hardware I mean, my WC loops are fairly different). You will definitely need to water-cool the 5970, they run damn hot, mine used to get up to 110c before I water-cooled them, playing Bad Company 2, Metro 2033 etc. Anything that put the GPU's under more than 80% load would put their temps through the roof. The VRM's would hit 120c and more. Im in the tropics mind you, my ambient temp is 28-30c but still its not a lot more than yours.
So, if you do the CPU and 5970 then yes 1 360mm rad will be just enough as long as you don't overclock the 5970. If you add anymore than this though such as a mobo block then I would go for more radiators. I would say you need another 240mm or at least a 120mm. You could consider doing the 800D Radiator Mod, like Karlitos who posted his rig a couple of pages back:
http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81698
If not then mount a radiator on the back of the case. Here is my rig as an example, just ask if you want the specs. If you want any more info just ask and Id be happy to help you out with your rig.

[MI0SAM]

tried to flash 0802 bios. EZ falsh tool told that "boot block in file is not valid" after directing to the downloaded file. Re-downloaded the bios file, cleared cmos and ez-flash still gave some message. Anybody wants to help me? thanks.

Problem solved. 0802 fine now. Havn't noticed any difference yet.

had the same problem going to 0704. try flashing from a fat 32 device i used usb pen stick worked for me

[Bodar]

I am using an X5680 and a W3680 on my R3E. OC is possible. Screenie below is from X5680. Not the best vcore around though....

Awesome numbers there with the x5680! I love that proc! Here's the same overclock on air as you but using 24 threads on the SR-2

[Ghostleader]

the same way i did my 0704 bios, i downloaded them, extracted and moved it into my documents. went into bios, started EZ flash, went through the C drive directory, went into users, my profile, into documents, highlighted the new bios and told it to flash and it states it's boot block isn't valid. i did it the same way when i did it for 0704 and had no issues then.

Well, you´re doing something wrong and I´m not sure what it´s.

A thought, I think it might be because you try to flash it from a NTFS format disk, sometimes it works sometimes it won´t, put the bios on a USB flashdrive with FAT 16 or 32 format and try again and do it with default setup, not a overclocked setup.

[kaka_89]

Don't worry, you need much more voltage to kill your CPU. Usually heat kills, so keep it cool.
I had i7 920 before this Xeon and it needed 1.45 for 4.2GHz. I lapped it to keep it in the mid 80's (Celsius).

BTW, post your BIOS settings using template, if you still have trouble.

im able to hit 4.2 g's with lower bclk and high multiplier, HT and turbo off, it seems that, with that kind of configuration, CPuV tends to be lower..



my gflops calculation are low and sucks too....trying to go uncore more than 3368, but it keeps failed....

can you help me getting uncore 4k..??

here is my bios template

Target CPU Frequency 4220MHz
Target DRAM Frequency 1683MHz

LN2 Mode: Disabled***
QPI Loadline Calibration: Enabled***

Sync Mode [Enabled]
AI Overclock Tuner [Manual]
OC From CPU level Up [Auto]
CPU Ratio Setting [25.0]
CPU Turbo Power Limit [Disabled]

>CPU Configuration----------------------------
CPU Ratio Setting [25.0]
C1E Support [Disabled]
Hardware Prefetcher [Disabled]
Adjacent Cache Line Prefetcher [Disabled]
Intel(R) Virtualiyation Tech [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Disabled]
Intel(R) HT Technology [Disabled]
Active Processor Cores [All]
A20M [Disabled]
Intel(R) SpeedStep(TM) Tech [Disabled]
Intel(R) C-STATE Tech [Disabled]
C State package limit setting [Auto]
----------------------------------------------

BCLK Frequency [168]
PCIE Frequency [100]
DRAM Frequency [1684]
UCLK Frequency [3368]
QPI Link Data Rate [7704]

Memory Configuration Protect [Disabled]

>DRAM Timing Control--------------------------
CAS# Latency 9 [8]
RAS# to CAS# Delay 9 [8]
RAS# PRE Time 9 [8]
RAS# ACT Time 24 [24]
RAS# to RAS# Delay 4 [4]
REF Cycle Time 72 [Auto]
WRITE Recovery Time 12 [Auto]
READ to PRE Time 6 [Auto]
FOUR ACT WIN Time 24 [Auto]
Back-To-BackCAS# Delay 0 [Auto]

Timing Mode 1N [1N]
Round Trip Latency on CHA 60 [60]
Round Trip Latency on CHB 62 [62]
Round Trip Latency on CHC 64 [64]

WRITE To READ Delay(DD) 8 [Auto]
WRITE To READ Delay(DR) 8 [Auto]
WRITE To READ Delay(SR) 18 [Auto]
READ To WRITE Delay(DD) 7 [Auto]
READ To WRITE Delay(DR) 7 [Auto]
READ To WRITE Delay(SR) 7 [Auto]
READ To READ Delay(DD) 7 [Auto]
READ To READ Delay(DR) 6 [Auto]
READ To READ Delay(SR) 4 [Auto]
WRITE To WRITE Delay(DD) 8 [Auto]
WRITE To WRITE Delay(DR) 8 [Auto]
WRITE To WRITE Delay(SR) 18 [Auto]
----------------------------------------------

CPU Differential Amplitude [Auto]
CPU Clock Skew [Auto]
IOH Clock Skew [Auto]
------------ Extreme Engine Digi+ ------------
Digi+ PWR Mode [T-Balanced]
PWR Volt. Control [Auto]
Load-Line Calibration [Full]
CPU Voltege OCP [Enabled]
CPU PWM Frequency [Auto]

Extreme OV [Disabled]
Extreme OC [Auto]

CPU Voltage 1.415 [1.37500]
CPU PLL Voltage 1.812 [Auto]
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage 1.310 [1.31250]
DRAM Bus Voltage 1.654 [Auto]

>DRAM REF Voltages----------------------------
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHA [Auto]
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHA [Auto]
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHB [Auto]
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHB [Auto]
DRAM DATA REF Voltage on CHC [Auto]
DRAM CTRL REF Voltage on CHC [Auto]
----------------------------------------------

IOH Voltage 1.244 [Auto]
IOH PCIE Voltage 1.508 [Auto]

ICH Voltage 1.111 [Auto]
ICH PCIE Voltage [Auto]

---------- Spread Spectrum Control -----------
CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
DRAM Spread Spectrum [Disabled]

[Ghostleader]

@kaka_89

If you don´t run HT you can lower the vcore with ~0,025v or more, lower Bclk don´t impact that much, it´s marginal.


Not only low it fluctuate a lot, from mid 54 to low 56, not good, are you browsing the web while you run LinX, if not you probably need more vcore or QPI/DRAM core juice, I say you need more QPI/DRAM core juice, around 1,33 - 1,35 (actual) or higher if you keep pushing that uncore.

[Leeghoofd]

on top of that you are also pushing them dominators to the max , I would settle for a lower Bclock to keep them around 1650ish level max. Trfc 72 might also be too tight for them. Try 82 or even 88.

Your low Gflop issue is due to your CPU features settings, though I wouldn't worry much about it. In real world apps you will not notice it...

For stability try playing with the PWM frequency. eg with the 980X here I need 1.285Vcore at 1000Khz, but just 1.275 at 500Khz. Though it's up to you to find out what works best for your setup.

[Johnmark]

Anyone know if the Swiftech MCW-NBMAX block fits onto this board?
Been playing with the board on air but am getting ready to replace the RE Gene board with the REIII and the loop already contains the Swiftech block.
Also anyone know how much better cooling one gets out of the EK full coverage block vs the fusion block (NB/SB temps)? Yes I know the full coverage does mosfets +, but just trying to get a general idea if the fusion block will do the trick for now. It's summer up north here, so I don't have much time to rebuild my loop adding the EK full coverage block at this time, plus I want to minimize my downtime right now for WCG.

TIA

[KaRLiToS]

on top of that you are also pushing them dominators to the max , I would settle for a lower Bclock to keep them around 1650ish level max. Trfc 72 might also be too tight for them. Try 82 or even 88.

Your low Gflop issue is due to your CPU features settings, though I wouldn't worry much about it. In real world apps you will not notice it...

For stability try playing with the PWM frequency. eg with the 980X here I need 1.28Vcore at 1000Khz, but just 1.275 at 500Khz. Though it's up to you to find out what works best for your setup.

Very helpful, but is there a performance difference between 500khz and 1000 khz? I'm actually running it on AUTO!

Is it the Mosfet frequency?

[Leeghoofd]

performance difference no, but if you can run the CPU at a lower Vcore, it's a win win situation :p

[KaRLiToS]

Yeah you're right
WhaT IS PWN frequency anyway?

(Thanx for the fast Answer and my noob questions)