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

[spoolindsm127]

Intel Xeon Q3QS @ 2.533GHz



CPU-Z Validation

[deviljin86]

I've a problem, I' ve bought a EK-FB RE3, but i don't know what' s the inlet and outlet of EK-FB RE3, someone can help me?

[SkOrPn]

I've a problem, I' ve bought a EK-FB RE3, but i don't know what' s the inlet and outlet of EK-FB RE3, someone can help me?

Inlet would be the center hole I would think, but don't quote me on this. Just seems to me the coolest fluid should hit the chipset first, and then move on outward towards the mosfet's. No?

[zoson]

I've a problem, I' ve bought a EK-FB RE3, but i don't know what' s the inlet and outlet of EK-FB RE3, someone can help me?

Inlet would be the center hole I would think, but don't quote me on this. Just seems to me the coolest fluid should hit the chipset first, and then move on outward towards the mosfet's. No?

I use the mosfet hole as inlet and the hole over the nb as outlet. It's just easier to go from cpu -> mosfet and then out the NB than anything else.

Bottom line is the fluid temp difference is going to be insignificant if you have a radiator sized properly for your heat load.

Do whatever is most convenient for plumbing your loop.
See:

[deviljin86]

thx 4 help, I think to follow the zoson' s loop because is more simply for my components

[SkOrPn]

thx 4 help, I think to follow the zoson' s loop because is more simply for my components

Yes I most defo agree with zoson's loop recommendation as well... good luck with it and nice block.... By the way, how is the stock mobo sink attached to the board? Screws from the rear or what?

[zoson]

Yes I most defo agree with zoson's loop recommendation as well... good luck with it and nice block.... By the way, how is the stock mobo sink attached to the board? Screws from the rear or what?

8 screws. 6 from back, 2 from front(mosfet). It is very secure.

[SkOrPn]

8 screws. 6 from back, 2 from front(mosfet). It is very secure.

Yeah I ALMOST pulled it yesterday to redo the tim, but then noticed it looked very very secure and since I knew that would be a time consuming event decided not to do it quite yet. Was going to install my mcw82, but found out that the block is solid with the rest of the heat spreader and well that pissed me off, so now I need to also get a HD5870-HS I think it is... Then I will redo my boards tim.

[CryptiK]

I have cold water from rad coming from the bottom of my case, so I go rad to middle hole on block, shorter tubing run that way and as said coolant temps vary very little with component order if rad/fans and flow rate are sufficient.

[kkelln]

Hi Everyone! I am new to this forum and am not sure where to post the following request for help. It relates to a Rampage III Formula, so very similar to the Extreme and I expect the issue I am having is not related to any differences. My problem relates to the fact that the performance of SSD drives in RAID0 on the Maxell SATA3 controller is SLOWER than the performance of the same drives in RAID0 on the integrated Intel controller. I have used both the latest version of Crystal Mark and HDTach. I have two OCZ SATA3 Solid 60gb drives and two OCZ Vertex3 120gb drives. The performance of these drives in RAID0 on the maxell controller is actually slower than when the drives are run a single drives on the Maxell controller. I have tried both 32k and 64k strupe size. I have refreshed the drives to factory new. I am definately using SATA3 compliant cables and the correct ports. I have the SATA3 controller set to AHCI. All other settings are factory defaults.

A second issue: when I set the drives to run on in RAID 0 on the intel controller (SATA2), the perform at the expected level in all benchmarks. However, Crysis crashes (gets a directX error) within 5 minutes of playing. I am running Windows 7 64-bit with all patches, and I create a clone of a working install for ever test (using Acronis). My results are perfectly reliable. Also note that crysis is rock solid reliable on all drive configurations except raid 0 on the intel controller (which gets far better performance than the same aray put on the Maxell controller). I have wiped and rebuilt the aray many times.
Please be advised, the drives are definately NOT locked into low performance mode. Also, the controllers are all working. When I connect the Vertex3 to the SATA3 and run it as a lone drive, all benchmarks are right where they should be. But, adding a second drive and creating a RAID0 stripe causes the drive to actually slow down instead is speed up (when on the Maxell controller) Again, on the intel controller, the drives perform faster and hit the benchmarks one expect ...but then crysis crashes every 5 minutes.

I have tried everything I can think of and have tested this system with 3 different sets of drives - always the same results. So, here are my questions:

1. Why does the maxell controller cause the drives to slow down when in raid 0?
2. Why does Crysis run reliably in all drive configurations including raid 0 on the maxell controller but then crash (directX not responding) when the exact same drives and OS install are connected to the Intel controller?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have spend over 20 hours working on this and it is driving me crazy. The system seems reliable other than this and all hard drives and the motherboard have been flashed to the most recent bios - I also reverted to older bios to see if this helped. Same problem.

THANKS!
Kirk

[SkOrPn]

Kirk, first off, its not a Maxell controller, its a Marvell 9128 PCIe SATA III controller.

1. Long Version. This has been beating with a stick over and over all over the world. The Marvell controller was the first prototype for SATA III and did not perform like it should because quite simply it was the first of its kind. The Intel chipset was the last of SATA II and bound to be near flawless for SATA II specs, and furthermore ICH sata II has had a half decade to mature to its current state. There is no magical way to make the very first sata III chip perform as you see fit, it performs exactly how it was expected to perform, as an entry level offering, just barely breaking ground with a new technology... The short version of my reply to this is, if you want great performance from your SATA III drives, you MUST use a enterprise level controller from either LSI or Areca, both of which provide great SATA III controllers.

2. Crysis? If that is the case, just take a 60gb Solid as a single drive, install it on the Marvell if you must use it and install your game there. I have 2 Crucial C300's on the Intel in Raid0 and Crysis runs flawlessly for me. (EDIT: Actually I just remembered that it has never run for me after upgrading to v1.9 patch and I have not invested any time to look into why)

In short, do not waste your time trying to make a entry level controller work like you "thought" it should, you will fail. I look at those 2 extra red ports as just that "extra ports" if I even should need a spare sata connection, other wise my Marvell controller is always disabled, its crap and there's no way to make that crap smell better. Yeah sure you can update the drivers, and maybe even the firmware, but it will always be crap compared to ICH10R imo...

[kkelln]

Hi Skorpn and thanks for the speedy reply. I had the Rampage II Extreme and paid an extra $200 to upgrade to the Rampage III just so I would have SATA3 ...I am going to puke now. Okay, so forgetting about the Marvell controller (it will always be Maxell to me), why might Crysis crash so consistently on my Intel controller when in Raid 0? Keep in mind that I have tried it with two different sets of drives (OCZ SOlid x 2 and OCZ Vertex3 x2), and I have tried several different stripe sizes. The system seems otherwise stable. It is not a BSOD but just tells me that DirectX has crashed. On the very same install cloned to one of the drives but NOT in raid 0, it never crashes. Any ideas?

I am still fuming about throwing $200 away for two ports I wont even be using.

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE HELP!
Kirk

[zoson]

Kirk,
Someone posted a custom bios here that has the latest intel matrix raid firmware in it. Give it a shot. Many with issues like yours have had good results. Sorry, I don't have the link handy, but I'm sure you can find it in the official asus bios thread.

[SkOrPn]

Hi Skorpn and thanks for the speedy reply. I had the Rampage II Extreme and paid an extra $200 to upgrade to the Rampage III just so I would have SATA3 ...I am going to puke now. Okay, so forgetting about the Marvell controller (it will always be Maxell to me), why might Crysis crash so consistently on my Intel controller when in Raid 0? Keep in mind that I have tried it with two different sets of drives (OCZ SOlid x 2 and OCZ Vertex3 x2), and I have tried several different stripe sizes. The system seems otherwise stable. It is not a BSOD but just tells me that DirectX has crashed. On the very same install cloned to one of the drives but NOT in raid 0, it never crashes. Any ideas?

I am still fuming about throwing $200 away for two ports I wont even be using.

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE HELP!
Kirk

I am in the EXACT same boat as you, plus I wanted this board for its looks and I just happened to have a few grand extra to blow on the day I was looking for a replacement for my Maximus Formula. I think the SATA III and USB 3.0 claims was one of the top reasons I got this board, but don't forget they were the first ones available, and ultimately "WE" the early adopters are the ones who suffer trying stuff first. Patience is necessary when jumping onto new tech, especially tech that promises great advances. I somehow knew that it was going to be crap so I have never really bothered with it. I was more interested in what USB 3.0 has to offer, but then again the products to use it wasn't there either at first. I finally got myself a USB 3.0 enclosure and just shoved a OCZ SSD into it, and got well over 100mb/s transfer on my USB 3 port, but it took a while and a few firmware releases and drivers to get there. But Im afraid the Marvell controller, although has improved some, is just not going to give us what we want. For something affordable we have to wait for descent Intel ICH controllers to hit.

For your Crysis problem I must admit I have no clue as to why that would be happening, you have the same board as I do and the same game, so the only differing factors could be video cards, and/or SSD/s. Did you upgrade to the latest 1.9 version of Crysis? I did and I had nothing but crashes ever since, and I have not even tried yet since rebuilding my OS last weekend. I would install it again, but I think Im done with that game tbh... not sure yet....

As zoson said, maybe give that modded bios a try, not sure if its 1301 or 1401 but it has the latest ICH firmware built in. Also make sure your using 10.6 or newer rapid storage drivers. Also, Kirk could you update your signature with a little info on your current setup please, so we can see what your working with?

[zoson]

If memory serves me, it's 1301... 1401 just added the i7 980 non x chip microcode, so it's no biggie.

[zoson]

Anandtech reported on this bug today:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4604/t...sds-compared/2

[Salamndar]

I just got my Rampage III extreme to replace my so unworthy UD9

Just waiting for some water cooling stuff and I'll be installing it soon

[CryptiK]

Wow, I think you must be the most patient man ever. Someone hand this man a medal!

[Salamndar]

Nahh not really, I just had enough of the UD9, was in the market last night and came across a newly established store which offered me some really good pricece on the RIIIE and some Aerocool 140mm and 1200 shark fans which I couldn't reset !!

And I ordered some black tubes, EK waterblock "the only one I could find to cool the RIIIE" and some red Anti Kink Coils !!!

Probably early next year I'll dump the last Gigabyte device I'll ever use which are 3 GTX480!

NO MORE GIGABYTE FOR ME !!!

[kaka_89]

hey guys, i just got a DDR3-2133Gskill RipjawsX to play with..

i've tried to go with 2133mhz with 4266uncore..i've managed to get it bootable up too 1.6525v of cpu/vtt which i think is quite high, and btw, my board is fully watercooled..

but, with that cpu/vtt, it seems not stable because getting i'm getting bsod whenever p95 starts..i've plan to go beyond that cpu/vtt but in bios, the reading will be highlighted in red when it is above 1.6525v..

my question is, can i push further regardless of that warning..??..i've seen reviews on this forum that goes up too 1.8x cpu/vtt to reach 2xxx dram freq...

[Leeghoofd]

I would go for lower ram speeds with tighter timings and appropriate ram setting tweaking (auto RTL can kill some speed )...

[zoson]

hey guys, i just got a DDR3-2133Gskill RipjawsX to play with..

i've tried to go with 2133mhz with 4266uncore..i've managed to get it bootable up too 1.6525v of cpu/vtt which i think is quite high, and btw, my board is fully watercooled..

but, with that cpu/vtt, it seems not stable because getting i'm getting bsod whenever p95 starts..i've plan to go beyond that cpu/vtt but in bios, the reading will be highlighted in red when it is above 1.6525v..

my question is, can i push further regardless of that warning..??..i've seen reviews on this forum that goes up too 1.8x cpu/vtt to reach 2xxx dram freq...

4266 is VERY high uncore. Most CPUs have trouble hitting 4000 uncore! 1.65v is way too high. You're already risking CPU damage beyond 1.45v.

2133MHz ram is mainly designed for Gulftown, Lynnfield, and SandyBridge. They only require 1.5x uncore, not 2x like Bloomfield.

I would go for lower ram speeds with tighter timings and appropriate ram setting tweaking (auto RTL can kill some speed )...

Exactly. See if you can hit 4000MHz uncore with 1.45v qpi/vtt. Then run your memory at 2000MHz with tight timings.

[xarot]

I've run the R3E for something like six months now but now I've began to experience a strange issue. When booting up the system, sometimes the board won't go further from POST. It hangs on "Initialising USB controllers...done". And nothing after that. If I press F8, it tries to to go BIOS, but it won't. CTRL-ALT-DEL sometimes lets me boot up or if not reset usually helps. So it's not completely crashed since it recognises some keys, seems it just can't go on for some reason. This began just two days ago, of course while I'm on my holiday and willing to game, FFS...

I googled and I saw several other users having this issue, someone said it's a bad south bridge or a bad integrated sound card since disabling onboard sound helped for some. I don't have another sound card in the system so I'm not too willing to test as it doesn't always happen.

Time for RMA? btw my friend has exactly this same problem on his R3E. I'm not sure if I'm out of warranty as well, have to contact my old colleague in the store I bought it from (open box).

Luckily I still have my ol' trusty P6T6 and i7-965! I just threw two of my 580s in it and of course I could transfer the SSDs and games as well! To be honest, I haven't been too impressed at all with my R3E, I liked my P6T6 much more. It could run my 990X at 4.5 with lower volts than my R3E..

[kaka_89]

4266 is VERY high uncore. Most CPUs have trouble hitting 4000 uncore! 1.65v is way too high. You're already risking CPU damage beyond 1.45v.

2133MHz ram is mainly designed for Gulftown, Lynnfield, and SandyBridge. They only require 1.5x uncore, not 2x like Bloomfield.

Exactly. See if you can hit 4000MHz uncore with 1.45v qpi/vtt. Then run your memory at 2000MHz with tight timings.

Yup, i'm aware of that risk...i refer to this thread http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...20-1.65V-*HOT*

he uses the same proc as i'm using, that's why i'm a bit dare to take the risk for going beyond 1.45v of cpu/vtt

however, i will try with 2k dram and 4k uncore with 1.45cpu/vtt..and btw, is going above 1.5v considered safe for 24/7..?

[Salamndar]

Cool, I should do some overclocking later this week !