**Official** Asrock Z68 Gen3 Extreme7 & Extreme4 thread

[Ant4res]

Now i have a problem and i don´t know if is the board or the vcard. The thing is that the nvidia gtx 570 gigabyte soc can´t boot sometimes and don´t know if maybe is the vcard or the board, so i took an msi board to make the proof and the vcard just worked without any issues. Could it be the board gen 3 thing?

[Ket]

I've seen that problem before, the most likely cause is the GTX570. Either the VRMs are overheating / failing (quite common for the 570) or the card just "doesn't like" your specific configuration in which case RMAing the card will remedy the issue.

[RealTelstar]

Now i have a problem and i don´t know if is the board or the vcard. The thing is that the nvidia gtx 570 gigabyte soc can´t boot sometimes and don´t know if maybe is the vcard or the board, so i took an msi board to make the proof and the vcard just worked without any issues. Could it be the board gen 3 thing?

I assume you have a z68 x4 gen3, right?

[RealTelstar]

Somebody that tried bios P1.1 on the x4 (either p67 or z68), could explain exactly what kind of "usb issues" it's giving you?
So Ket can file a report to Asrock. I just dont feel like trying it just for the mouse in bios (which i have patched with a ps/2 one)

[bigmac11]

Quick question what should CPU PLL Voltage be at? I used the auto overclock and hit 4.8 with 1.226 Vcore but CPU PLL is showing 1.832. That seems awful high to me. BTW I have the Gen 3 Extreme 4 and love the board so far. TIA

[RealTelstar]

Quick question what should CPU PLL Voltage be at? I used the auto overclock and hit 4.8 with 1.226 Vcore but CPU PLL is showing 1.832. That seems awful high to me. BTW I have the Gen 3 Extreme 4 and love the board so far. TIA

I noticed the same thing. I pushed it back to intel default which is 1.709 and it has been stable like the auto-overvolted one.
Gained 1-2°C on temps which doesnt hurt still.

[RealTelstar]

BTW my settings for a quick & cool 4ghz on my board/my chip are the following:

vcore 1.185 (fixed mode manual)
PLL 1.709
LLC level 3
Turbo boost (manual): everything at 250
Everything else on AUTO, or as it was by default.

This gives me 1.184 idle voltage and 1.152 load voltage, with temps never above 60° with Linx (H100 open case with just ONE corsair fan).
I just have to change the BCKL to 100.1 because the default 99.8 doesnt look good in numbers
Then i move on to better clocks with the new fans that i got today.

[coldkiss]

RealTelstar, I have been running the v1.10 bios for a few days now and I have yet to come across any USB issues. My g700 mouse works fine wired or wireless as does the MS X4 keyboard, a few USB flash drives, an Xbox360 controller and my mobile phone. Once I come across any USB problems with any other devices I'll post here. I am running Xfast-USB on my Z68X4G3 and still tinkering with OC settings (at 4.7ghz @ 1.40v right now; 4.8ghz @ 1.425v is not quite stable for my i5-2500k yet without temps getting to almost 90c).

Ket, I see you summed up some issues with the gen3 boards for Asrock support: I have a Creative X-Fi Platinum PCI card in the bottom PCI slot on my board but I'm not running the official creative drivers for win7x64. Instead I used "PAX PCI XFI ALL OS Driver V4.60" and it seems to be running well without any installation issues. Perhaps you are right and it could be a driver issue causing conflicts?

I haven't had any other major compatibility issues with this board yet, although I was thinking about installing a Sata3 SSD like a Vertex3 but after having a look through the OCZ forums they seem awash with people having problems and BSODs. It seems to do with the latest sandforce controller not playing with the Z68. I guess I'll wait for a while and do some more research...

[RealTelstar]

RealTelstar, I have been running the v1.10 bios for a few days now and I have yet to come across any USB issues.

I have checked the "official" asrock support forum over techtown and the point is that the P1.10 bios does NOT seem to fix the mouse bios issue to the people who had it with P1.00 like me. So it's pointless to flash, unless I'm assured that they fixed it completely without adding issues with other usb devices.
I also connected lots of usb devices and had no problem but one related to Etron-Jmircon idiosincrasies, and removed that docking station (i'll get an esata one). I use the usb3 with flash memory and i want to be able to do that

I have a Creative X-Fi Platinum PCI card in the bottom PCI slot on my board but I'm not running the official creative drivers for win7x64. Instead I used "PAX PCI XFI ALL OS Driver V4.60" and it seems to be running well without any installation issues. Perhaps you are right and it could be a driver issue causing conflicts?

Aye.
The x-fi boards are famous for being a PITA to install and drivers being crap, regardless of the mainboard.
Those issues are 90% driver related and 10% due to some resource allocation.
I havent tried to put my x-fi (now for sale) from the old computer to this one, but I did plug another pci soundcard which worked fine. And I have one yet on order (based on the same c-media chipset).

I haven't had any other major compatibility issues with this board yet, although I was thinking about installing a Sata3 SSD like a Vertex3 but after having a look through the OCZ forums they seem awash with people having problems and BSODs. It seems to do with the latest sandforce controller not playing with the Z68. I guess I'll wait for a while and do some more research...

I'd stay away from sandforce.
Get a crucial m4, intel 510, samsung 710 or wait for something newer.

[Ket]

The X-Fi issue is very likely driver related, but asrock might be able to tweak how resources are allocated to make the issue less common; ie; bottom PCI slot has 2nd priority while the middle PCI slot (lets face it, this slot is usually blocked or just not used for airflow reasons) has lowest prioroty.

[Ket]

As there have been some doubts about which boards are true Gen3 and which aren't, I figured I would post up this pic I got from one of the guys at asrock;

[RealTelstar]

hahaahha!

[Ket]

Ahem... yes I think we all know which board is getting smashed to bits there

[chippy]

Ket can you get this issue sorted for us as we are not getting anywhere quick.

http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/4...-received.html

[Ket]

As I keep saying, that sleep issue has long since been looked at, theres no problem at all which has been verified by myself, macclipper, and others.

[BDM123]

Kind of lost as to the meaning. Is Brand X claiming it's a Gen3?

[Ant4res]

No man i have the p67 extreme 4 gen 3 board, so i think ¡ will return my vcard

[saphirex7]

Planning a new build with the ASROCK Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 mobo and using the matched/tested 4GB X 4 set = 16GB of GSkill RipjawsX F3-17000CL11Q-16GBXL
DDR3-2133 (11-11-11-30-2N) that has the XMP profile.

1. Will this memory work with the board as it's not on ASROCK's memory support list ?

2. If this memory will work on the board besides enabling the XMP profile in the BIOS (not sure where that feature is at the moment) will I need to
change any voltages or other settings and/or manually set timings in the BIOS in order to keep the stable at 2133 ?

3. Is it recommended to use just 2 dimms (8GB) in the correct 2 mobo slots on a new install then add the other 2 dimms in the remaining 2 slots
(to make 16GB) later on after the memory has proven to be reliable and stable ?

Any guidance and tips would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

SaphireX

[Undermoose]

I just upgraded my old Asus Rampage Extreme (x48) mobo with an ASRock Extreme7 Gen3, i7-2600k CPU, and 4 x 4gb Mushkin Redline DDR3-1600.

It's running great, memory performance is 2-4 times the old system, CPU a notch up over qx9770, but BLAM my CrossfireX performance is crippled! I went from a Windows 7 assessment of 7.4 to 6.0! I play games at 1920 x 1200 and they're feeling laggy.

I figure it's a learning curve, and needed tweak I'll eventually find.. anyone have some thoughts?

[chippy]

As I keep saying, that sleep issue has long since been looked at, theres no problem at all which has been verified by myself, macclipper, and others.

Theres no problem at all can you tell that to all the people who have this problem still the problem is now on facebook people are that sick of it happening to them.

[Ket]

I'm not here to argue the issue, I have checked it out and not found any problem, mac has checked and not found any problem, Asrock have looked and not found a problem, and theres many screenshots in these forums showing sleep working properly. Whatever the issue, the problem is not with the UEFI.

[Undermoose]

I just upgraded my old Asus Rampage Extreme (x48) mobo with an ASRock Extreme7 Gen3, i7-2600k CPU, and 4 x 4gb Mushkin Redline DDR3-1600.

It's running great, memory performance is 2-4 times the old system, CPU a notch up over qx9770, but BLAM my CrossfireX performance is crippled! I went from a Windows 7 assessment of 7.4 to 6.0! I play games at 1920 x 1200 and they're feeling laggy.

I figure it's a learning curve, and needed tweak I'll eventually find.. anyone have some thoughts?

Looks like I'm not getting CrossfireX performance because it's not working. It's enabled, but I tested performance with a single card and then CrossfireX and it's the same.

[chippy]

I'm not here to argue the issue, I have checked it out and not found any problem, mac has checked and not found any problem, Asrock have looked and not found a problem, and theres many screenshots in these forums showing sleep working properly. Whatever the issue, the problem is not with the UEFI.

Im not saying the issue is with UEFI as i dont know the cause but it is to do with Asrock boards.


From Asrock

Dear all,

About Z68 Extreme4 BSOD issue, we did the test with various config, but we hardly see the symptom on our side.

According to the reply from users, BIOS L1.60G and L1.60B could slove this issue.
Please kindly update BIOS L1.60G and L1.60B from below link to try.
Link: ASRock > Products > Motherboard > Z68 Extreme4 > Download

If possible, please kindly change another memory or install add-on VGA card to try.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks!

Have a nice day
ASRock TSD
Emily

[chippy]

Well I am gobsmacked by this! Like everyone else, I have had the "clock interrupt" BSOD on my Z68 Extreme 4 since the day I installed it. There is a huge body of evidence on this forum that suggests a fault exists on this board whereby there is insufficient power provided to the system at idle when using the onboard graphics. Upping the Vcore or adding a graphics card may solve the issue (both worked for me), but these options cannot be advocated as the solution. The board must work as advertised using default settings and onboard graphics.

It is insulting to suggest that the problem can't be duplicated in the Asrock labs. I notice you use the wording "we hardly see the symptom on our side", which suggests that you are able to duplicate the problem.

It is insulting to suggest we try a beta bios (which is older than the published bios), when all that seems to do is set a fixed voltage. This will clearly interfere with other aspects of the board settings, especially power saving functions, and will also increase wear and tear.

It is insulting to suggest that our memory is faulty. I use Corsair memory specifically recommended by ASRock, and many others use various, high quality memory chips. If high quality memory chips are incompatible with this board, then the problem lies with the board, not the memory.

It is insulting to suggest adding a video card to fix the problem. I specifically bought this board for the onboard graphics. It was cheaper than competing boards from Asus or Gigabyte, but if I have to buy an extra video card, then it becomes more expensive than buying an A-list brand. Also, people who use onboard graphics have power saving and low noise as their priorities. These features are defeated by adding a video card.

If Asrock is unable to fully fix this fault by firmware, then it must do a product recall because as it stands, this product is unfit for purpose. This is the first Asrock product I have bought, and will be my last. I will also advise my clients to avoid this brand.

[MacClipper]

Back to the the Extreme3 Gen3

After a particularly tiring session helping to fix up the Z68 Fatal1ty Pro mobo UEFI Vcore bug, I received the E3 G3 and E7 G3 mobos and found the E3 G3 P1.00 UEFI too obviously bugged (again Vcore bug ) to be properly tested and immediately sent my feedback to Asrock Taiwan. Meanwhile I moved on to the E7 G3 and found the semi-R & R break I needed cos the E7 G3 is such a dream stable mobo in comparison to the other mobos.

But by the time Asrock Taiwan rushed me the P1.00B for the E4 G3, I was just too caught up with testing the E7 G3 and exploring its superlative RAM UVOC capabilities in great depths to be going back to the E3 G3 (and dreading it too). Then came the E4 G3, which like all E4 mobos historically before it, is simply well done right from the start.

And that brings me back to the P1.00B UEFI for the E3 G3 and I am happy to say it is way much better than the retail P1.00 but sad to say, it is still below par compared to the usual Asrock standard.


1333C9 LP KVR KTC o'ced to 1600C9 1T at stock vDIMM of 1.5V





1333C9 LP KVR KTC o'ced to 1866C10 1T at vDIMM of 1.580V




P1.00B UEFI for the E3 G3

Good
More consistent, no more Vcore holes which result in failures to even POST
Vcore in Offset Mode is now stable with LLC Auto (Stable enough to do o'c stress testing, hooray!)

Bad
Vcore in Offset Mode is still unstable with LLC on any manual settings
Needs to be fixed still esp. LLC manual settings


Anyone who wants P1.00B UEFI for the E3 G3 just holler, OK? Meanwhile, time to get back to pestering Asrock Taiwan to work harder on the E3 G3...

OK, someone over at OCN wanted this so just got to share with you guys too. Password to the archive is the filename itself, simply flash it in the UEFI.

Flashing this beta at my own risk!.rar - Ziddu

Enjoy!