ASRock A785GXH/128 Fails to boot after changing Overclock Mode (stock frequency)

[praeses]

Hi,

I believe this belongs more in this forum (motherboard) although correct me if I'm wrong. Currently my ASRock A785GXH/128 fails to boot and intermittently post if I change the Overclock mode from anything else than normal, even if the frequencies are left at or below stock.

I originally purchased this motherboard about 3 months ago as a stop gap in an upgrade path along with a Phenom II X6 1055T (to re-use 8GB of DDR2 until I can afford DDR3). It has been operating fairly well at 233x14 with turbo core on.

Recently it locked up nd I rebooted to find it no longer able to boot at those settings, turning it down didn't help much until I reset to defaults. After trial and error I have narrowed it down to simply changing only the Overclock Mode from Auto to anything else results in instabilities, from memtest86 failures, linpack lock ups, or errors on the SATA controller in Windows System log.

Also, using any overclocking software I think of while booting with the overclock mode to normal results in the same effect, including AMD Overdrive.

Temperatures seem fine now, about 25C idle, 60C load for the CPU, I don't have an accurate means of retrieving the chipset temperatures.

I have tried re-flashing the BIOS numerous times, and resetting to defaults to no avail. There currently is no other BIOS supporting my processor. I do have an old processor AM2 processor (Sempron 3000+) although its hiding skills have been greater than my finding skills as of late.

Current configuration:
Motherboard: ASRock A785GXH/128
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
RAM: 4x OCZ Reaper 8500 HPC (running at 800mhz)
Video Card: Galaxy 8800GTS 512MB
PSU: OCZ GameXtream 700W
HDD: 2x Samsung F1 320 in Raid 0
Case: Antec Sonata II w/additional 120mm fan

I realize this is a fairly budget motherboard although any insight would be appreciated.

 

[praeses]

Narrowed it down to a dying power supply. Using an Antec Earthwatts 500 from a Sonata II case and its stable once again. Fluctuations weren't evident using a normal volt meter or on board monitoring.

 

[Vesku]

How do you like that motherboard? I have one in transit to me right now and can't find much in the way of reviews on it. Also bought it to re-use some DDR2.

 

[praeses]

Considering the cost, it has been a decent motherboard to date. I purchased it mostly for the DDR2/Thuban compatibility, power consumption, and pci-e lane allocation. My intention was to purchase a new video card (16x slot) and use my existing 8800GTS 512 (4x) for PhysX which I probably will still end up doing. The layout works well in my old Sonata II.

The tweaking softawre (IES, OC Tuner, etc) aren't the greatest, although they work. The motherboard doesn't seem to be fully supported by AMD Overdrive, some features such as controlling turbo core don't seem to operate well with that software.

My SATA performance seems sub par, currently I have two Sandforce 60GB drives in raid 0 which doesn't bench higher than a single drive. I plan on breaking the array shortly. This could just be a typical AMD chipset issue though, not specific to this board.

As for overclocking, I haven't reached any stellar numbers, I'm currently at:
14x233 (16.5w/turbo core) I haven't been able to go higher than 233 even dropping all other multipliers, increasing voltages and timing for 24/7 use. I have benched at 245 but it wasn't stable, weird reboot glitches and so fourth. 233 seems to pass everything without a hitch.

stock voltage (1.375/1.475 chipset as well)
4x memory multiplier (932mhz) @ 1.8V 5-5-4-12 (ram should do more but can't hit the next multiplier stable even at 2.4V although I am running with 4 dimms populated)
onboard is disabled of course, using the 8800GTS, haven't played with the onboard much.

Chipset runs a little warm, not warm enough to warrant a fan. 46C idle.

Layout is ok, it is weird how its slightly narrower but ASrock and ASUS have been doing that with a few boards these days, there isn't the last column of mounting holes so the board flexes a bit when inserting ram.

I'm thinking I'll buy a Seasonic X-650 or X-750 sometime in the future, just to ensure I'm safe on the power side of things.

 

[Vesku]

Thanks for your opinions on it. I find it interesting that my Gigabyte AMD board has similar HT limits (230-240). Not sure if that is more of a CPU or Mobo issue.

 

[praeses]

I'm guessing you're running with 4x2GB sticks as well if this motherboard has caught your eye from an upgrade perspective. If I'm wrong though, and you are running 2x2GB, you can overclock higher. I didn't play with it too much with 2 sticks because I wasn't interested in the end result for day to day usage. 250 would be a decent estimate.