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SnoSalmon · ‎12-08-2011

Hey guys,

I'm new around these parts but not a noob in general 😉

So I've just built this new machine - 3930K, Rampage IV Extreme, dual Asus DCII 6970 cards, 16GB Corsair Vengeance, SSD etc all backed by an Enermax MaxRevo 1500W PSU.
With the release BIOS 604 everything goes fine for me.
Any of the other BIOS revisions I get a number of BSODs - have tried both 703 and 803.
BSODs include 0x50, 0x116, 0x119.
The 116 and 119 errors would indicate graphic card issues.

The error only shows itself when I fire up a game (any game). Browsing etc isn't a problem.

The only way I get a stable system again is to flash back to the original BIOS. I have also been reseating the cards, however with BIOS 703 or 803 this has no effect. Only once 604 is back on there do things go back to normal.

I've run ROG connect, which shows nothing weird in terms of voltages surrounding the CPU. The BSODs I get are not dependent on clock speed - I've tried the Gamer OC profile (in BIOS 703 and 803), normal profile, and no overclock.

Is there something I'm missing?

Once the system is stable I can run Furmark at 5760x1200 with all settings cranked up (3 x 24" screens) without any flickering, artifacting or other errors. Batman, BF3 and all other games run fine.

Now to really add a spanner into the mix...Once the system is stable, and I'm gaming, I can then flash the BIOS to 803, and keep gaming. Shut the PC down, let it cool, and wham - errors come back until I restore BIOS 604...

Hope someone has some clues/ideas.

-edit- System runs Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit, temps are sweet - not even hitting 55 celcius under load, system is cooled by an Apogee GTZ block and 360 rad etc etc.

8_Pack · ‎12-08-2011

If I was you and your system is stable on the shipping bios why change????????? you dont need to!!

As for you flashing bios and it being stable till you restart this is bound to be the case as the new bios only becomes effective after a restart.

I would bet my left arm your problems are memory related in terms of stability. load the XMP profile for your RAM on the new bios your using. Set Rampage tweak in The DRAM Timings section to Mode 1. In the main bios section set the CPU clock generator to 20uf.

Also for further help post back your RAM type and size. Plus any other settings you have made in Bios.

http://www.hwbot.org/user/8_pack/
The GB Bencher. http://www.team-greatbritain.com/team-gb-members/

SnoSalmon · ‎12-08-2011

The new BIOS gives me an additional OC profile, and claims better stability.
RAM in use is Corsair Vengeance LP - a 16GB kit with a model number of CML16GX3M4A1600C9

The only settings so far I have toyed with are the OC profiles, and disabled the FAN monitoring as I'm water cooled and have no fans connected to the system board (all case fans/rad fans are on a 6-channel fan controller).

Will try the RAM settings after work tonight. It will be quite interesting now I'm on 604 to see how things run from cold. The last couple of times when things have worked I've flashed to 803, rebooted and gamed. Shut down, then the next day the problems begin again until I'm on 604. Last night I left it on 604 so I'll know more tonight.

SnoSalmon · ‎12-09-2011

With BIOS 604 I'm now getting no BSODs at all, and almost all games seem to run fine. Need to have a decent tweak relating to RAM settings - BF3 crashes frequently since the last BF3 update.
BIOS 703 and 803 both kill my system and prevent any games/graphical anything from running.

8_Pack · ‎12-09-2011

I am sure its the RAM settings which is causing this I would look to that area first if you want to use a different bios.

http://www.hwbot.org/user/8_pack/
The GB Bencher. http://www.team-greatbritain.com/team-gb-members/

SnoSalmon · ‎12-09-2011

I tend to agree - on the release BIOS everything is good, except BF3 however there has just been an update. If there was a hardware fault I would expect issues on any BIOS.
It is a bit of a shame that such a premium (and priced accordingly!!) motherboard causes these things however I guess that's the price of bleeding edge 😉

Will do some more playing this week. Setting the RAM config as per your first reply has helped - even BF3 runs longer before crashing. 604 doesn't seem to have anything in relation to XMP in the BIOS. But by then it was almost 2am...

8_Pack · ‎12-09-2011

Hey what RAM exactly is it and I will try to help. Speed and timings?? XMP is under Ai Overclock Tuner its the first option on the first page. What voltages etc do you have set?? The more info you give the more I can help. Heve you tried 0901 bios ???? Thats the latest.

http://www.hwbot.org/user/8_pack/
The GB Bencher. http://www.team-greatbritain.com/team-gb-members/

SnoSalmon · ‎12-09-2011

8 Pack wrote:
Hey what RAM exactly is it and I will try to help. Speed and timings?? XMP is under Ai Overclock Tuner its the first option on the first page. What voltages etc do you have set?? The more info you give the more I can help. Heve you tried 0901 bios ???? Thats the latest.

SnoSalmon wrote:
RAM in use is Corsair Vengeance LP - a 16GB kit with a model number of CML16GX3M4A1600C9

Not sure what other info you need regarding the RAM. It came as a 16GB kit, got it as all the cool kids seemed to be getting this bundled 😉
The box itself doesn't list any voltages etc. Should this kit be poo I'll get something better, from the QVL list. (I remember my P5Q3 Deluxe board had all kinds of nightmares with RAM not on the QVL list!)

I haven't tried any other BIOS, just 703 and 803 - can you link me 901 please, I'm keen to try this. I haven't adjusted any other settings - because of the myriad of settings that can be tweaked I have left all the default values. I'll check again for the XMP stuff, it seems like 604 has a number of settings not present - most noticeably the "Gamers OC profile".

All voltages etc are at their default settings.

mdzcpa · ‎12-09-2011

I agree it sounds like RAM.

Do you know if your Vegence kit is one of the newest Corsair kits designed for X79? If not, XMP might not be the best settings. They may be helping, but not what you need.

Also, I assume you're running with no overclock at all?

If your RAM is not X79 "tuned" you might try bumping the VTT and VCCSA from Auto to 1.15v. This might get you over the hump if your XMP settings aren't quite what you need for the X79 and SB-E IMC.

Also, if this is some of the older Vegence kit from X58 or Sandy Bridge variety, I strongly suggest you replace it with some X79 tuned memory (GSkill or Corsar). I had troubles myself with some older quad channel Gskill Ripjaw X series (tuned for the Sandy Bridge chips). As soon as I swapped in some Z series Gskill I was able to run the memory right up to 2400mhz.

Another trick we picked up from our discussions over on XS forums was to set memory timings manually. Even with X79 tuned memory kits, we saw better stability with manual settings. I would load XMP settings, notate the values, then input them manually. However, if your memory is not X79 tuned, then I would load XMP, then loosen the timings a little manually. In particular watch the Command Rate. Under Auto at 1600mhz it is likely setting a Command Rate of 1T. This would be fine for most memory running at 1600. But if you're having trouble, manually setting the command rate to 2T might give you the room to be stable. So manually load your XMP basic timings and set Command Rate to 2T.

sourtimes · ‎12-10-2011

I was having similar BSOD issues with my Gskill kit F3-12800CL9Q-16GBZL. This is a kit 'meant' for X79 as well.

XMP caused BSODs and PFN_LIST_CORRUPT crashes. The RAM is also rated to run at 1.5V but is not stable at those voltages in the system. I have to run the sticks at 1.6V @ 1600MhZ and raised VTT to 1.175 and VCCSA to 1.175 and I'm now stable @ 4.7GhZ 47x100 with 1.345V.

Hard for me to discern (I'm no expert) if it is a result of my overclock needing these addtional voltages or bad RAM. The ram is rated to run 1600MhZ DDR @ 1.5, but doesn't.

Been a little lazy lately, but going to put the machine to stock and run some memtest+ on the ram and see if it is faulty, if so going to have to RMA the stuff. 😕

RIVE BSOD issue