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

[Chigurh]

Hi

I've just got this board up and running last night and I've noticed that the North Bridge temps are about 50C at idle and go over 60C at load which seems high.
Is this normal??

Yes it is normal for this board. you can add the heatsink with fan or you can remove the fan from that heatsink and use on the default nb Heatsink.

also this 0901 bios is complete . it will not save my raid settings.. had to go back to 0802...

[kurumi_Japan]

I have a strange problem with this board under LN2:

after boot at over 1,75 vcore when i run the 3dm06(cpu test) the vcore drops to 1,55-1,65v permanently causing freezees.
(i use a multimeter for check voltages)
After freezee i go into bios and shows 1,55-1,65v on cpu voltages....noway to pull it up, i have to clear cmos all and restart it
i use bios 0901 now...

what can be ?

I am very sorry that I do not test "0901" BIOS under LN2.
But, "β9124" BIOS never happens these kind of Vcore drop under LN2.
So, if you can, try "β9124".
I used to be set "PWR Volt. Control" to 10V & "Load-Line Calibration" to 0%.

Have fun!!

[Fire4Wire]

Yes it is normal for this board. you can add the heatsink with fan or you can remove the fan from that heatsink and use on the default nb Heatsink.

also this 0901 bios is complete . it will not save my raid settings.. had to go back to 0802...

flash 0802 and then 0901 and all will be good
i know whats your problem you haf flashed 0860 and then you updated to 0901
and thats the problem

[SkOrPn]

This was the frist test on the marvell when I had just the one drive

WOW, that is excellent for a one drive score. So, we have learned that the Marvell is great for single drives but poo for raid. On ICH10R you are getting perfect scaling with regards to your write speed, but seem to be a tad short on the reads. What drivers did you install? Did you use the out of box ones or did you install Intels latest RST drivers version 9.6.4.1002 ???

EDIT: I just remembered that the ICH10R has a maximum Raid 0 of around 616 MB/s, so maybe in order to get that you would need at least three C300's. Below is an interesting read about the controllers and their throughput.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...a,2374-12.html

[fmsam]

Skorpn,

I just dropped the latest drivers in (9.6.4.1002) , there is an option for "write back cache" enable /disable on all arrays is it ok the enable this when using SSDs ??

Thanx

[tistou77]

Hi

what is the best bios for your? point of view voltage, stability, etc. ...
for i7 920 at 21*200 and ram at 2000MHz (6GB)

704, 802 or 901

thanks

[SkOrPn]

Skorpn,

I just dropped the latest drivers in (9.6.4.1002) , there is an option for "write back cache" enable /disable on all arrays is it ok the enable this when using SSDs ??

Thanx

Well I believe it is safe IF there isn't a power outage. I dont have it enabled though, lol. If you have a power outage there is a chance of data loss or corruption. But it would be plenty safe to enable it and do some testing to see how it effects your performance, then disable after the testing is done. On my old Raptors I had that setting enabled 24/7 for about 5 years and never had a problem. YMMV

[kaka_89]

IMO, it's too much even for C0 revision of CPU (i7 965, right?).
I had i7 920 C0 and it needed 1.34V max for 3600MHz UnCore and 1.44V for 4000MHz UnCore.
By Intel's specs max safe VTT is 1.35V, but by OC'ers' specs it's the voltage you feel comfortable with.
BTW, if you seek for the opinion, I wouldn't use more then 1.45V for 24/7.

ic....thanks for reply....right now i'm running my cpu/vtt @1.4125 on 3600 uncore which i think this is the voltage setting that can stabilize my system..i found this coz i let the cpu/vtt on 'auto' at first, and when booted, it directly shows cpu/vtt @1.4125 on turboV..is the 1.4125v is the lowest i can go or i have to test other lower voltage..??

[kurumi_Japan]

Hi

what is the best bios for your? point of view voltage, stability, etc. ...
for i7 920 at 21*200 and ram at 2000MHz (6GB)

704, 802 or 901

thanks

Try "0901" first, I think it's very stable & efficient ver. BIOS.
If you can not satisfy "0901", try "β9124".

[tistou77]

Try "0901" first, I think it's very stable & efficient ver. BIOS.
If you can not satisfy "0901", try "β9124".

thank you

I already tested the 704, now I'm with the 802
I'll test the 901

[playground]

I wouled say β9124

[fmsam]

Skorpn

cheers 4 the advice

[SkOrPn]

Skorpn

cheers 4 the advice

Well did you try it? Im curious what speed increase you got and if you plan on keeping it. lol

[UrbanSmooth]

Skorpn

cheers 4 the advice

Yes, yes, spill the beans, man!

[Bodar]

I actually love 901 so far!! pretty cool without the 2d booster

[Samson]

Ok guys. Like I've said before, I'm new to this. Don't have the knowledge and experience that you do.
But I am busting my butt reading forum threads trying to understand the workings of the Core i7's.
Particularly the multipliers !! ( But not the CPU multi. )

I am talking about the QPI Multi , UnCore Multi , Memory Multi .

For example this thread here
http://forums.pureoverclock.com/showthread.php?t=5736

Explains that
* Uncore frequency = Bclock x Uncore multiplier
* Memory frequency = Bclock x Memory multiplier
* QPI frequency = Bclock x QPI multiplier


I have the i7 980X. Can anyone please tell me what is the default multipliers for QPI, UnCore, and Mem ??

And how can we change them in the BIOS on this board ??!! I don't see any BIOS settings for these multipliers !!
All I see is some fixed-value setting selections for

DRAM frequency [xxxx]
UCLK frequency [xxxx]
QPI Link data rate [xxxx] with only 4 fixed values that are not even in MHz !!

Am I to believe that a mobo of this caliber does not give us a way to adjust multiplier settings ??!

Yet people with other boards are able to change these multipliers ! See link bellow.
http://i4memory.com/129419-post2.html

[bassplayer]

Ok guys. Like I've said before, I'm new to this. Don't have the knowledge and experience that you do.
But I am busting my butt reading forum threads trying to understand the workings of the Core i7's.
Particularly the multipliers !! ( But not the CPU multi. )

I am talking about the QPI Multi , UnCore Multi , Memory Multi .

For example this thread here
http://forums.pureoverclock.com/showthread.php?t=5736

Explains that
* Uncore frequency = Bclock x Uncore multiplier
* Memory frequency = Bclock x Memory multiplier
* QPI frequency = Bclock x QPI multiplier


I have the i7 980X. Can anyone please tell me what is the default multipliers for QPI, UnCore, and Mem ??

And how can we change them in the BIOS on this board ??!! I don't see any BIOS settings for these multipliers !!
All I see is some fixed-value setting selections for

DRAM frequency [xxxx]
UCLK frequency [xxxx]
QPI Link data rate [xxxx] with only 4 fixed values that are not even in MHz !!

Am I to believe that a mobo of this caliber does not give us a way to adjust multiplier settings ??!

Yet people with other boards are able to change these multipliers ! See link bellow.
http://i4memory.com/129419-post2.html

This board skips the multi part and just gives you the end frequencies. With QPI, you should have QPI Slow Mode and then the others should be in MHz. Divide those numbers by two to get your effective rate.

[Samson]

Thanks. is it much slower or will i barely notice it?

i plan to run my 2 ssds in raid 0 on the marvell and 3 hdds in raid 5 on the ich10r. would this be a good idea or should i just put the ssds on the intel for my os?

You later specified that each of your 3 HDD's are 2TB each which would give you 6TB in RAID 5. So in reply to this, are you aware that all Windows OS's have a 2TB storage limit ?

But why RAID 5 ?! In my opinion, not a good choice. More vulnerable to data loss in the event of drive failure than RAID 10.

For myself I have purchased six of the fastest (affordable) HDD's. Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2...hput,1010.html (almost match VelociRaptors)
and initially planed to put all six in RAID 10 on this board.

But I ran into TWO problems !!

*(1)* The dam ICH10R controller will only do an array out of a max of FOUR HDD's !! DAMM it !!!

*(2)* Windows will only see up to a max of 2TB's.

To go beyond 2TB you need to create GPT partition. And this is not a bootable partition that you can install an OS on.

For more on this issue (and RAID 5), you get a basic idea of it here,
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=274244

For a technical understanding of why look here,
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/a...s-storage.aspx

If you want to know how to create a GPT partition then read here (but note that you need Win XP 64 bit or Win Server 2003 or later to make and read from GPT Partitions)
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...PT-on-x64.mspx

But for me, the best solution to the 2TB limit was not the GTP partition, but to create two separate RAID volumes. And I was ready to do this until this damned ICH10R controller would not let me put more than 4 HDD's in RAID !!

RAID volumes solution, look here
http://carltonbale.com/how-to-break-...e-system-limit

But now you say "...im thinking of putting 2 hdds in raid 1 also on the ich10r = 2tb storage. and ill have 1 drive hot swappable incase 1 dies. "
Yes, now you do not pass the 2 TB limit and you have RAID 1 protection. But this means that you will be using the ICH10R for RAID 1. And if you activate it, acording to the instruction book on Page 4-29,
"... when set any SATA ports to RAID mode, all SATA ports (on ICH10R only ...I assume) run at RAID mode together. "

So problem is, where will you connect your " tow 160gb Intel x25m ssds for the os " ?
On the Marvell controller ? So then why not set it to RAID 0 ?!!?? You will still get better performance than not setting RAID 0 on it.

In fact I was overjoyed to find out on this thread that it can even do RAID 0 or 1 on the Marvell SATAIII 6Gbps !!!!

If anyone has anything to add or correct on this please post, because I would like to know also.

[fmsam]

Disaster :-(

Got in from work today, booted up, when the intel raid monitor thingy initialised it said error on one C300 raid disc .... oh crap ....... on re boot the second drive showed error also and all was lost.
back on the marvell at this time while I find out whats going on ( same drives)

theres your answer I rekon, dont enable write back cache.

[Samson]

Disaster :-(

Got in from work today, booted up, when the intel raid monitor thingy initialised it said error on one C300 raid disc .... oh crap ....... on re boot the second drive showed error also and all was lost.
back on the marvell at this time while I find out whats going on ( same drives)

theres your answer I rekon, dont enable write back cache.

So you had just unpluged your drives from the Marvell and just pluged them into the SATA II ports and enabled the RAID and expected them to work ?
I'm not sure if that is possible since the two controlers are not the same.
I know it should be possible with the same controler, but on a different controler ? Need expert advice !

Honestly, (personaly) I would avoid swapping like that. Any time I would remove an array in that manner I would FORMAT and start clean from scratch. And FORMAT is a "scary" word in my house !!
Not a pleasant thing to do. I know, that's why I wouldn't swap like that.

Secondly, do you have any other drives also attached to the ICH10 SATA. As stated above, when RAID is enabled all are in RAID. This too may be a problem.

[fmsam]

Of course not, I formatted and started over on Sunday, clean install on the Intel controller, as you should know the first thing that happens when you add drives to a new array is they are wiped. Maybe you should read back a page or 2 !
pretty sure the issue was enabling write back cache, thats why I asked the question "is it ok to set this to enable when using SSD drives"
now we all know the answer.
re installed tonight using the same drives and they are fine.
it seems the "ensure power supply is constant" even applies when the system is powered down, as tonight I powered off to install a new sound card, thats when the error occured, on the next boot.

cant believe you thought I would just pull them from the marvell and plug them into a different controller and see what happens, geez, please credit me with a bit of sense !!!!!

[Splave]

which bios has the 2d booster 9*** something?

[Samson]

which bios has the 2d booster 9*** something?

Well, I have BIOS 0901, and I can tell you for sure that it has it. And as the First page of this thread says, so does Bios Ver 9124 beta.

Of course not, I formatted and started over on Sunday, clean install on the Intel controller, as you should know the first thing that happens when you add drives to a new array is they are wiped.

Great ! I'm glad it worked for you. Didn't think you could reinstall so quickly. For me formatting is a total disaster !!
The amount of setting and tweaks I do to Windows alone is incredible, never mind the software and games.

On this system I will have a Triple Boot OS with Win XP, Vista, and Win 7 !! Having to format is a dreaded nightmare !!
So, if I had to do what you had to do, I honestly would have at least tried to plug it in and see if it happened to work ?

Building PC's for me has always been a big game of trial and error, ( but some useful information has always helped).

[Samson]

I have a question for those of you that managed to get RAID on Marvell 6Gbps SATAIII.

How did you activate it ?! There is no BIOS setting for RAID specifically for Marvell. So how is it done ? And is there some kind of interface that will appear during POST to help you build the array ? ICH10R will bring up the "Intel Matrix Storage Manager" if you hit Ctrl + I during post.
What about RAID on Marvell, please explain, anyone ?

[spoolindsm127]

In order to run RAID on the Marvell 9128 Controller, you must first enable AHCI in the BIOS. Under 'Advanced' section go to Onboard Devices Configuration and set Onboard SATA6G Controller to AHCI (only have two options: IDE and AHCI, no RAID option). Save and reboot and during POST you will see the Marvell controller ROM initializing, hit CTRL+M and you'll be in the Marvell Option ROM where you can configure you're RAID array. Hope that helps