ASUS headache

[VMFA-Blaze]

Man.. All I can say is what a frustrating situation I've become involved in ..

It all started about three or four weeks ago when I had the bright idea that I was going to build a new system for this Christmas season..

I really thought that I would get a jump on the release of Vista and Direct X 10...

And I wanted to get higher end equipment that would last me for a while...

So everything seemed to go fine. I shopped around and picked out some nice stuff at reasonable prices..

It was exciting as always, you know, waiting for everything to arrive by truck, laying out all of the pieces for assembly..

So it all came in without a snag.. Everything that I ordered was in stock and got to me before the 25th...

 

So I finished the build, and after a few little issues I manged to install windows XP pro..

I then installed all of my flight sims, and my joystick and began to compare my new system to the old one...

At first I was very impressed at how much smoother everything was...

My joystick was a lot more accurate, The detail was much sharper, My Track IR 4 wasn't jumping around like it was before.. I mean I felt that flight skills were being depicted more realistically...

Everything was great for about 2 days and that's when the trouble started..

I was in a mission for about 10 min when the screen froze. Next came this audio reverberation, I then got a blue screen and the the PC crashed. I rebooted and things seemed to clear up for a while.. The next day I was in a mission and the problem began to happen again.. well after a time began to happen with more frequency..

So after several reformats I began to think that I was having a hardware issue and these problems couldn't be solved by manipulating the software..

So I pulled out the NVidia 7900 GT and RMA'd it for a 8800. after waiting for 5 days for the card to arrive I then installed it and booted up the system..

So I did a reformat before going in the desk top just to make sure I would get a resh install. So I passed the welcome screen without issue and entered the desktop.. It looked like everything was fine, the system seemed to be stable, and then I installed the drivers for the GPU and "BANG".. a blue screen and a hard crash...

I again rebooted, and went through the BIOS again and set up the SATA, but that was it.. Now all I saw was a black screen with a flashing cursor,

I tried to set up the hard drives three time after that but it was always the same..

So I called up the vendor and explained to them what had happened.. They gave me an RMA and told me that they didn't have the board in stock but expected it in 3 days.. so I said fine and I waited and waited. So a week had passed. My system now doesn't have a motherboard, I have sent the ASUS P5N32-E SLI board back to the vendor..

On Fri I checked my order status and at the top of the page it read discontinued..

I got on the phone right away and spoke with them and they told me that I now have to wait until the second week in FEB for a replacement.. I cancelled my order. this was last Friday and I've checked every store on the Internet trying to get a replacement but its sold out everywhere.. So then I decided to buy the Striker Extreme and this is sold out everywhere also..

I spoke with ASUS and they told me that I have to place an order for the Striker and wait an other week and if I'm lucky I just might get one, and the PN32 E SLI wont be in stock until FEB 12th...

 

I guess you live and learn, I really shouldn't have RMA'd the original board.. If I used ASUS's help desk I might have solved the issue, I think what I should have done was to move the CMNS jumper, remove the battery and then replace everything back to where it was.. After which I then should have adjusted the timing on the memory.. These 680i chip sets are very delicate...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and the next time I get one of these boards I'm going to treat it a lttle more gently... :smilewink:

 

~S~

 

Blaze

[Highwayman-Ed]

Blaze, what memory are/were you using...?

 

I ask as I have an ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe, and I had problems with it initially too...

 

Turns out that it was the memory that was the issue, well kind of... some of it was my fault at not reading the small print, and some of it can be spread between the vendors...

 

For anyone that doesn't know, the board has a Front Side Bus of 1066MHz... so looked around various web sites and checked recommendations, speeds and prices of the memory available and came across Corsairs TWIN2X2048-8500C5D. Recommended as the best memory for overclocking on the ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe on Corsairs site. As the board can overclock itself on the fly, this was a perfect match I thought and the memory was rated at running at DDR1066... FSB @ 1066, Memory @ 1066, Intel Core Duo 6800 Extreme @ 1066 = Uber lightning speed system...

 

Well, actually I was kind of right, but kind of wrong...

 

I got my system put together and like you I was amazed :shocking: everything was sooo smooth... Then after a couple of days of just looking at stuff, I actually started playing things. After about 45 minutes, most games would lock up and the system would hang...

 

Hmm graphics card overheating I thought...?

 

I checked out my ASUS 7950 GX2 and it was running at about 70 degrees C under load... not too hot for this type of card...

 

So I did some benchmarking and stuff... Turned out that Windows would run ALL DAY doing music, video, whatever you like, but as soon as you put a game on it would give you between 10 and 45 minutes, then CRASH!

 

Got to be graphics card I thought, so I checked the drivers, stuck in a support call with ASUS, and their initial diagnosis was the same... They asked me to poke around in the BIOS and disable the PEG Link feature (used for automatically overclocking the Gfx card) and tweak a few other things....

 

No change... Next they asked me to upgrade the BIOS to a beta version on their site... No change... Then they went quiet... I emailed, and emailed, then a week later they asked me to upgrade the BIOS to another beta version... No change... They went quiet again... I emailed and emailed again, and got through to a supervisor. That's when the puzzle was solved.

 

FSB has nothing to do with memory speed (not directly anyway)

 

The ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe has a memory speed capability of DDR800 (400MHz for the actual Module with dual cycles hence 400 x 2 = at double data rate of 800 = DDR800).

 

Fine you say, so the memory will just run at DDR800 instead, and that's what Corsair and ASUS said too...

 

Turns out that there is a problem with the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe board that causes lock ups and crashes when the memory is running at DDR800. They told me to down clock the memory to DDR667, and ever since, it's been absolutley rock solid.

 

Since then ASUS have told me that the memory is not compatible with that board, and Corsair have insisted that it is compatible with that board.

 

All I care about is that the system is solid, and ASUS have promised to get DDR800 functionality stable on the board with upcoming BIOS releases.

 

So, long story but... Your issue with this board could just be the memory clock.

[VMFA-Blaze]

Yes I sort of came to the same conclusion, that the memory was the issue after reading one post in particular on the ASUS site..

It seems that you most likely had a test case and ASUS is now recommending

that change.

I have Corsair TWIN 2X2048 6400 C4PRO DDR2-800..

My P5N32-E is back at the vendor.. and the next rev. of this board wont be out until mid February. The Striker is the only one that is available at the present if you can find it, as its in limited production..

It figures, the board is between $350.00 and $420.00...

But they're basically both the same boards...

If I get Lucky enough to get one of these I'm going with your settings and Thanks Guy!!!!

 

~S~

 

Blaze

[Prophet]

Well I am glad you guys are getting these things figured out before i make an upgrade jump.

[3Sqn_Fudd]

For all that is good in this world do NOT buy the Asus Striker... unless there is some random feature that you must have then do not, that board promised the world at 400$ and delivered a bunk FSB that 130$ boards could surpass, and added some problems on the side.

 

965, 975, 680i, 650i, RD600.... they all to varying degrees have their quirks and none have completely shone. I would hit a 965 or 975 chipset thats been out for awhile...has bios revisions and physical board revisions.

 

Having said that I am thinking about getting an Asus Commando (and yes...if I get that board I will not wear underwear while seated at my computer lol.) It's got a vdroop problem but its fixable. The BadAxe 2 looks great as well.

 

Ill plop a E4300 in it and be on my way.

 

It truley does suck these mobo days.... the DFI RD600 was supposed to be "it" just like the Ultra-D and its variants were a year ago but that hasnt panned out.

 

Research at XS forum, HardOCP, OC forums, anandtech etc.... Last i heared it was a definite no no to get a striker

[VMFA-Blaze]

For all that is good in this world do NOT buy the Asus Striker... unless there is some random feature that you must have then do not, that board promised the world at 400$ and delivered a bunk FSB that 130$ boards could surpass, and added some problems on the side.

 

965, 975, 680i, 650i, RD600.... they all to varying degrees have their quirks and none have completely shone. I would hit a 965 or 975 chipset that's been out for awhile...has bios revisions and physical board revisions.

 

Having said that I am thinking about getting an Asus Commando (and yes...if I get that board I will not wear underwear while seated at my computer lol.) It's got a vdroop problem but its fixable. The BadAxe 2 looks great as well.

 

Ill plop a E4300 in it and be on my way.

 

It truley does suck these mobo days.... the DFI RD600 was supposed to be "it" just like the Ultra-D and its variants were a year ago but that hasnt panned out.

 

Research at XS forum, HardOCP, OC forums, anandtech etc.... Last i heared it was a definite no no to get a striker

 

Apparently ASUS is having some huge problems with their 680i MoBo's..

Newegg was supposed to receive a shipment of Strikers today...ARRRGH!!!

I was checking their website all day and I kept seeing expt. delivery date 1/16.... this was there all day up until an hour ago and then it disappeared..

So no delivery today , I called Cumbo's as they usually get shipments towards the end of the week.. That was a no go as well, the guy said that the striker delivery date is now the end of February, so that's the same ETA as the P5N32-E SLI...

So I had been checking out the Newegg site and I found that the Commando is now available, this must have just arrived as there weren't any reviews for it yet...

So I bought it and I'm having them ship it to me overnight...

I was reading a review on hardware zone and they claim that this board will overclock a lot higher then the Striker..

So for now this issue has been resolved, I'm looking forward to finally get my system running..... I'll keep you posted :thumbup:

 

 

~S~

 

Blaze

[3Sqn_Fudd]

I'll keep you posted :thumbup:

 

Blaze please do... and dont forget to pm with your impressions. I'd love to hear a full run down of your experiences... What RAM are you using, in fact, what are your total specs...

 

and yes you're right.... Newegg got it in today

[VMFA-Blaze]

Blaze please do... and dont forget to pm with your impressions. I'd love to hear a full run down of your experiences... What RAM are you using, in fact, what are your total specs...

 

and yes you're right.... Newegg got it in today

 

intel Core 2 Duo E6600, Zalman CNPS9500 LED, Asus Commando w/intel P965 + 1CH8R, Corsair Twin2X2048 6400 C4Pro 2 Gig. KIT DDR2-800, BFG Geforce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR 3 PCI-e, Maxtor X2 Sata II / 300 RAID O, LG floppy disc drive, ASUS CD 52X, Sony CD/DVD Combo 52X, Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi W/ Upgrade, Windows XP Pro 32 OEM/ with the Vista Upgrade, Antec 650 W P/S, ASUS Vento 3600, Track IR4 Pro, Cougar W/ NXT mod / Throttle/ with Hall sensors, Simped Rudder pedals / with Hall sensors, Logitech Dinovo cordless Laser key board, Samsung 32" LCD HD TV/ Monitor....

 

That's about it, there are a few things that I'll most likely add later on down the line.. I'm just going to concentrate on getting a stable running system for now. I've had Newegg ship it next day air so most likely by tomorrow morning I should be able to start rebuilding and hopefully this time all should be well...:thumbup:

 

Blaze

[hitman]

intel Core 2 Duo E6600, Zalman CNPS9500 LED, Asus Commando w/intel P965 + 1CH8R, Corsair Twin2X2048 6400 C4Pro 2 Gig. KIT DDR2-800, BFG Geforce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR 3 PCI-e, Maxtor X2 Sata II / 300 RAID O, LG floppy disc drive, ASUS CD 52X, Sony CD/DVD Combo 52X, Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi W/ Upgrade, Windows XP Pro 32 OEM/ with the Vista Upgrade, Antec 650 W P/S, ASUS Vento 3600, Track IR4 Pro, Cougar W/ NXT mod / Throttle/ with Hall sensors, Simped Rudder pedals / with Hall sensors, Logitech Dinovo cordless Laser key board, Samsung 32" LCD HD TV/ Monitor....

 

Blaze

 

Bragging rights dont count till its fixed, lol.:doh:

[PoleCat]

Once you get all of your stuff purchased and ready for set up post if you have troubles and all the tech gurus here will jump in and help ya get sorted out I betcha.

 

Out

[Pilotasso]

Surprised that you got every component so close to christmas without an itch but Im not surprised in the difficulty to get a replacement. Christmas is a very, very bad time to get stuck with PC components. I've been there more than once.

 

Worst case was in 1995 when I bought a Pentium Pro 200 in novermber but I only got it mid january next year.. and I lost money for the prices drop... grrr

[VMFA-Blaze]

Once you get all of your stuff purchased and ready for set up post if you have troubles and all the tech gurus here will jump in and help ya get sorted out I betcha.

 

Out

 

Well it looks like the MOBO will be here tomorrow in the AM...

I'll have to mount the CPU and connect all of the dots (cabels Ect...)

And then the moment of truth, but it should be a little easier to determine a problem should the need arise. The board has an LCD screen that lists each function as it boots.. So if it stops booting the problem will be listed....

But I might need some help anyway Thanks for the offer Cat....:thumbup:

 

I'm sure I'll need some direction with OC as well. most of what I've read says that this board overclocks with the best of them...

 

P.A. :

Yes I was very lucky in getting all of the parts that I needed, But the Commando really isn't SLI, but that's all right with the price of the 8800, SLI is slightly out of the question.. :music_whistling: Anyway I read some where that you can do SLI with this board if you want to, there are some modified drivers out there somewhere... :idea:

 

I'll keep ya' posted ...

 

~S~

 

Blaze

[3Sqn_Fudd]

Tommorrow Sweeeeeet............... seriously... keep me posted...here's some reading material while you wait ;)

 

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=1&id=2160&pg=2

[3Sqn_Fudd]

Report in Blaze! lol

[Kuky]

Good luck to you so you don't come accross any more problems... I know some can be real pain in the ass :D

[VMFA-Blaze]

Stand down Fudd.. :lol:

 

But seriously everything went well.. I found out what the problem was, Somehow the 2nd boot device was loaded with a bogus IDE drive ( I don't know how that happened??) So when the system began to load from the BIOS it would look for this device and not find it... So it would just sit there and do nothing.. I was really difficult to see.. really had to study that section. So when I found the issue I then deleted it and then everything after that fell into place....

Its all loaded up now and tomorrow I'll begin to install All of my flight sims beginning with Lock On of course...:lol:

Ok that was the first problem and the second issue that I had with P5N32-E SLI was the memory...

Doesnt seem to be any memory problems with the Commando so far, I used Ghost Recon that came with the MOBO to test it and it no lags or crashes and that's with all of the settings maxed...

Oh and another thing that actually is cool is the Commando install disc supports Nvidia nForce 680i SLI.. The build date on this is 12/22/06.....

So this is hot !!!!! :thumbup:

I'm going to o/c in a little while so I'll call on you for some pointers if you don't mind....:happy:

 

Thanks for the suggestion Bro...

 

 

~S~

 

Blaze

[3Sqn_Fudd]

the Commando install disc supports Nvidia nForce 680i SLI.. The build date on this is 12/22/06.....

So this is hot !!!!! :thumbup:

I'm going to o/c in a little while so I'll call on you for some pointers if you don't mind....:happy:

 

Thanks for the suggestion Bro...

 

Ok i dont know why anything 680i related would be on a 965 board but ok Asus! lol

 

Pointers? I haven't overclocked a Conroe yet so I'm not going to speak authoritatively, but it will go something like this...

 

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Core2Duo-Overclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html

 

I really want to know what the max FSB of your board is...so get the RAM speed and also the CPU multiplier real low and then raise the CPU frequency until it gets unstable while benching the program called orthos or two instances of prime95. You'll do this anyways while overclocking, let me know what it is please.... So good that your mobo posted first time around :thumbup:

 

btw, what CPU and what RAM are you using? ... omg im going to annoy you so much

 

 

 

OT:

Ok... if you're into motherboards... this showed up today... holy smokes

http://csd.dficlub.org/pgpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=347

[VMFA-Blaze]

Sorry but I spent the whole day installing ...

 

Star Force was extremely difficult this time, and did you know that Game Shadow is actually the same company??

 

 

I'm almost there but having a little problem with TIR 4...

 

My CPU is a intel E6600 and the memory is Corsair C4Pro DDR2 800

 

Not to worry though I'll keep you informed My Bro...

 

~S~

 

Blaze