Asus P8Z68-V Pro Gen 3 Owners - Did you install the new BIOS?

[blackened23]

After my legendaryBSOD experiences all last week, I followed two recommendations on the Corsair SSD forum:
1. turning off power saving for memory and
2. disabling C3 and C6 in bios, CPU power thingies, don't even know what they do!)
It's stable, no crashes (total about 5 hours so far).
Also ran Prime 95, pass, Intel burn test at max, etc.

Both 240GB Force GTs are running well. Both have 1.3.3. Not going to reinstall Windows 7 64 bit if I can get around it.

Thought I had troubles with the Marvell SATA 3 (6 GB/s) ports so disabled those, which maybe helped too, I will reinstate those next once I've enjoyed (sigh) some more stability and see what happens.

Glad to hear dude. Those SF Drives can be pesky at times.

 

[Skypix7]

Thanks, starting to breathe again!

 

[nealh]

Thanks

I just setup my system under air. I may go ahead and build my waterloop again

i5 2500k stock cooler
Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3 Bios 0301 9/16/2011
2 8GB kits of G Skil Ripjaes X PC12800=16gb(4x4)
120 gb SSD Corsair Force GT fw 1.3.3
1TB Caviar Black sata
X-Fi soundcard
7300 GT ddr videocard(no gaming)
Corsair 620w modular PSU

I have the ram populating all 4 slots...still on auto dettings. I have epu, tpu disabled, disabled c3 and c6. I have Option ROM messages- keep current

the 120 GB Corsair Force GT SSD as boot drive on the Intel 6g port 1(I think)
1TB Caviar Black sata is on the Intel 3g port(port 0)

I have onboard sound, video, 1394 disabled. I have disabled any onboard item I do not need currently.

I have installed Win7 Ultimate 64 bit and knock on wood so far no BSODS.

I did notice my MX revolution was acting weird so I put it on usb 1 and keybaord on usb2.

 

[Skypix7]

I have the ram populating all 4 slots...still on auto dettings. I have epu, tpu disabled, disabled c3 and c6. I have Option ROM messages-keep current

Sounds great! Glad you didn't struggle like I did.

What do you mean by option rom messages - keep current?

I have epu tpu disabled too but onboard vid enabled, will disabled it. Bluetooth works great

 

[nealh]

Sounds great! Glad you didn't struggle like I did.

What do you mean by option rom messages - keep current?

I have epu tpu disabled too but onboard vid enabled, will disabled it. Bluetooth works great

Thx. I am still waiting to see what happens but feel very lucky so far.

In boot menu, there is an Option Rom Messages, this has caused many to have reboots issues on initial boot(?). It is recommended to set to keep current.

I turned off onboard video as I have dedicated videocard( if you call a 7300 gt a videocard, good enough to run my monitor and is fanless)

Do you need on board video? Is there an adv. to using the on hip videocard a dedicated videocard?

 

[Skypix7]

Thx. I am still waiting to see what happens but feel very lucky so far.

In boot menu, there is an Option Rom Messages, this has caused many to have reboots issues on initial boot(?). It is recommended to set to keep current.

I turned off onboard video as I have dedicated videocard( if you call a 7300 gt a videocard, good enough to run my monitor and is fanless)

Do you need on board video? Is there an adv. to using the on hip videocard a dedicated videocard?

Option rom, right, I remember that now, I'd had double boots too and threw the same switch. So much stuff, my heads all scrambled!

I'd had some funny video stuff, thought I'd enable the onboard vid to give backup performance, but I don't really know if that is helping, don't know how to figure these things out as the manual is so limited, they just tell you they have some feature but don't give you any deep insights or general approaches that would help you configure your system optimally without having to read and send a thousand forum posts to get educated... And a few million blind alleys in the process. For folks like me who know just enough to build a system but not a hobbyist and don't do this very often, if you have problems it's a huge time burden to figure it all out. Asus and other mobi makers could help by hiring someone to write a book that puts all the tech concepts together for us so we can get educated without feeling like Ulysses lost at sea until we accumulate enough knowledge from our forum friends to make things work.

Well that's my pre Christmas $.02 and wish from mfg. give us some coherent guidance up front...and save yourself a lot of tech call time and money.
http://light-sport-hangar-flyin.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-trainer-debut.html?m=1
Happy Merry!

 

[Axonn]

Skypix7: Godspeed to your OS! I hope things continue to look ok. Did you install Windows using UEFI boot?

 

[nealh]

Skypix7: Godspeed to your OS! I hope things continue to look ok. Did you install Windows using UEFI boot?

No used my win7 disk?..oops I thought you asked me Axonn, sorry

 

[Axonn]

nealh: no probs. I'm actually curious about your settings as well. Are you using UEFI Boot for your Windows install?

 

[nealh]

I just installed everything and booted with Win 7 disc. I installed to the Corsair 120gb Force Gt drive on the intel 6g port.
Only bios changes were:
turning off the marvel ports, disabled C3 and C6, set option rom messages (boot menu) to keep current.
I turned off on board sound, FireWire as well. I left memory to auto as well.

 

[coffeejunkee]

which included disabling C3 and C6 CPU power settings (don't know what they do, but recommended by Corsair forumgoers.

C-states are deep sleep states for cpu cores. I think it's very sad that you're recommended to turn them off. First, they are necessary for Turbo Boost, second they drastically decrease idle power. You should ask Corsair for a refund on your power bill.

 

[Skypix7]

Gotta say I'm happy to pay the extra $4.02 a month in electricity to have a system that doesn't crash every time I look at it, which is what it was doing before. Now nice and stable, very happy.

 

[Skypix7]

I just installed everything and booted with Win 7 disc. I installed to the Corsair 120gb Force Gt drive on the intel 6g port.
Only bios changes were:
turning off the marvel ports, disabled C3 and C6, set option rom messages (boot menu) to keep current.
I turned off on board sound, FireWire as well. I left memory to auto as well.

Sounds like you're cooking along just fine. I'm the same as you except for:
* option rom messages, which someone suggested I set to force rather than keep current, don't remember why but that was implicated in some problems I'm having. Don't know of course what's different between the two, would like to understand.
* onboard sound, (don't have a card),
* FireWire (for external drive enclosure
I also have memory to auto, the two crucial sticks are very stable, SSDs are very fast and solid, haven't had a BSOD in three days. Occasoinally (right after I make a change in bios) it won't boot and I have to do a manual reset, but then it cooks right on through. for instance, this morning, it got to the password screen on boot and the keyboard didn't work. reset, then worked fine. Wierd.
Here's a question maybe someone can help me with: I have two keyboards, the big Microsoft Erogonomic padded version and the Microsoft Elite.
The system won't recognize the (older) Elite. It's connected with a PS2-to-USB adapter because it's a native PS2 device, whereas the Ergonomic is only USB. Why would the Erogonomic work as soon as boot begins, but the Elite doesn't work until the system is loaded?

 

[Skypix7]

Skypix7: Godspeed to your OS! I hope things continue to look ok. Did you install Windows using UEFI boot?

Thanks Axonn, sorry, overlooked your post somehow...I installed from the OEM disk.

Not sure if I'm using UEFI boot, I think I have to set a legacy switch or something but that's just another of those arcana I don't know about.

 

[nealh]

Sounds like you're cooking along just fine. I'm the same as you except for:
* option rom messages, which someone suggested I set to force rather than keep current, don't remember why but that was implicated in some problems I'm having. Don't know of course what's different between the two, would like to understand.
* onboard sound, (don't have a card),
* FireWire (for external drive enclosure
I also have memory to auto, the two crucial sticks are very stable, SSDs are very fast and solid, haven't had a BSOD in three days. Occasoinally (right after I make a change in bios) it won't boot and I have to do a manual reset, but then it cooks right on through. for instance, this morning, it got to the password screen on boot and the keyboard didn't work. reset, then worked fine. Wierd.
Here's a question maybe someone can help me with: I have two keyboards, the big Microsoft Erogonomic padded version and the Microsoft Elite.
The system won't recognize the (older) Elite. It's connected with a PS2-to-USB adapter because it's a native PS2 device, whereas the Ergonomic is only USB. Why would the Erogonomic work as soon as boot begins, but the Elite doesn't work until the system is loaded?

Option rom message has to do with error messages for 3rd party something. if you set to force, it will give the error message and cause a reboot.
keep current means it will post a message only if the 3rd party product creates a message.

I am not sure what boot products need this but IMHO it is one more thing that can slow a boot and cause issues.

I have had issues with my MX revolution mouse and eSata. If I use eSata port and the mouse on usb port 1, it gets glitchy and freezes the mouse. I have moved the mouse to the usb 3 port and I will see how it works.

 

[Skypix7]

Option rom message has to do with error messages for 3rd party something. if you set to force, it will give the error message and cause a reboot.
keep current means it will post a message only if the 3rd party product creates a message.

I am not sure what boot products need this but IMHO it is one more thing that can slow a boot and cause issues.

I have had issues with my MX revolution mouse and eSata. If I use eSata port and the mouse on usb port 1, it gets glitchy and freezes the mouse. I have moved the mouse to the usb 3 port and I will see how it works.

Super, thanks for clarifying that. Will reset to keep current and see if it has any issues.

 

[kbp]

C-states are deep sleep states for cpu cores. I think it's very sad that you're recommended to turn them off. First, they are necessary for Turbo Boost, second they drastically decrease idle power. You should ask Corsair for a refund on your power bill.

I do not believe c3 and c6 are needed for turbo boost.
Most any SSD manufacturer advises turning 3 and 6 off especially the 6bg varieties.

 

[Axonn]

Skypix7: about UEFI boot: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2210223

kbp: I would still not disable C3/C6. They are enabled for a reason. SSD manufacturers suck and should get their fucking game together ::- (. I'm very pissed on them. It's a miracle how much they're able to get away with, the mother fuckers. They charge us a shitload of money on their buggy products. Hrmph.

My Vertex 3 is stable though, thanks God for that... but I'm still angry at what they do to other users!!!

 

[Skypix7]

Skypix7: about UEFI boot: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2210223

kbp: I would still not disable C3/C6. They are enabled for a reason. SSD manufacturers suck and should get their fucking game together ::- (. I'm very pissed on them. It's a miracle how much they're able to get away with, the mother fuckers. They charge us a shitload of money on their buggy products. Hrmph.

My Vertex 3 is stable though, thanks God for that... but I'm still angry at what they do to other users!!!

Thanks Axonn, I'll check it out.

"SSD manufacturers suck...etc." But hey, how do you really feel, Axonn? hahaha...

FYI, I connected one of my ASUS 1814 DVD dual layer burners, which have run grfeat for two years, to the Marvell SATA3 ports. Working like a champ! Somebody had said they're only for data drives, but so far so good.
I transferred two DVDs worth of images onto my SSD to create a Lightroom catalog. ONe averaged under 2 MB/sec which was weird. The other disc came across at 12 MB/second, much better. Not sure what the difference was but no problem, it's working well.

One curious thing: when there's no disc in the DVD burner, the drive itself disappears from Explorer. Soon as I pop a disc in, takes 5 -10 sec., and there's the drive and the autoplay dialog. I don'lt care, long as it's working, anybody know if there's a way to have Win 7 see those drives when they're empty?

thanks for the help

 

[coffeejunkee]

I do not believe c3 and c6 are needed for turbo boost.
Most any SSD manufacturer advises turning 3 and 6 off especially the 6bg varieties.

Maybe test it if you don't believe it? The principle of Turbo Boost is based on these core sleep states. Depending on amount of threads, cores get shut down, enabling the remaining core(s) to throttle up. The 4-core turbo multiplier is the only one that is available without c-states.

And I know more SSD manufacturers advise to disable this setting, which is why I wouldn't recommend Sandforce ssd's. Intel ssd's work just fine with c-states enabled.

 

[nealh]

Maybe test it if you don't believe it? The principle of Turbo Boost is based on these core sleep states. Depending on amount of threads, cores get shut down, enabling the remaining core(s) to throttle up. The 4-core turbo multiplier is the only one that is available without c-states.

And I know more SSD manufacturers advise to disable this setting, which is why I wouldn't recommend Sandforce ssd's. Intel ssd's work just fine with c-states enabled.

Unfortunately, nothing new with technology from one source adversely affecting another.

I love my Corsair Force GT 120 gb SSD and based on price with or without the rebate, it was too good to pass up.
I know Intel is " better" but price is absurd.

All SSD are way over priced, but they are an amazing upgrade for a system. It makes non- SSD drives look terribly old tech.

There is always a give and take on the PC platform. This is the one big adv. to Mac everything works the way Apple wants.

I hate there closed nature but this is where that philosophy shines. It will be interesting to see if Cook maintains that culture.
It's love- hate relationship for me. I love my iPhone,iPad but not a lover of the iMac I got my wife.
Desktops, I prefer the PC because I can build my system. Just wish windows was bit more streamlined but with all the hardware choices, I assure that creates OS bulk too.

 

[nealh]

Thanks Axonn, I'll check it out.

"SSD manufacturers suck...etc." But hey, how do you really feel, Axonn? hahaha...

FYI, I connected one of my ASUS 1814 DVD dual layer burners, which have run grfeat for two years, to the Marvell SATA3 ports. Working like a champ! Somebody had said they're only for data drives, but so far so good.
I transferred two DVDs worth of images onto my SSD to create a Lightroom catalog. ONe averaged under 2 MB/sec which was weird. The other disc came across at 12 MB/second, much better. Not sure what the difference was but no problem, it's working well.

One curious thing: when there's no disc in the DVD burner, the drive itself disappears from Explorer. Soon as I pop a disc in, takes 5 -10 sec., and there's the drive and the autoplay dialog. I don'lt care, long as it's working, anybody know if there's a way to have Win 7 see those drives when they're empty?

thanks for the help

Yes
1.Open explorer. there is menu on top and you will see TOOLS.
2.click on it and got to folder options.
3.click on the view tab.
4.see the hidden files and folder, it has a small folder icon. click the radio button to show hidden, files and drives.
5. done

 

[blackened23]

Maybe test it if you don't believe it? The principle of Turbo Boost is based on these core sleep states. Depending on amount of threads, cores get shut down, enabling the remaining core(s) to throttle up. The 4-core turbo multiplier is the only one that is available without c-states.

And I know more SSD manufacturers advise to disable this setting, which is why I wouldn't recommend Sandforce ssd's. Intel ssd's work just fine with c-states enabled.

You are wrong sir. Only *C1* is tied to the CPU turbo state. That should be left enabled.

C3 and C6 are fine to disable. They do not affect the downthrottling or turbo states of the CPU. In fact, C3/C6 interact with SSD performance and will lower read/write speeds slightly, google "c3 c6 ssd". I recommend turning c3 and c6 off.

 

[Skypix7]

Yes
1.Open explorer. there is menu on top and you will see TOOLS.
2.click on it and got to folder options.
3.click on the view tab.
4.see the hidden files and folder, it has a small folder icon. click the radio button to show hidden, files and drives.
5. done

Thanks nealh...didn't realize that's all it took, I'lm familiar with folder options.

I didn't know what you meant by open explorer, menu on top, tools etc....couldn't find that but for any others looking for same, I did know to click on Computer in Start menu, then Organize in upper left of menu bar, then Folder and search options and proceed from there. And yep, there's the optical drive without a disk in it.

I have had one BSOD today, with Chrome open and several tabs opened. Chrome locked up, desktop icons and quicklaunch taskbar disappeared, I trued to close through task manager to avert the BSOD, but it crashed with the usual f4 BSOD anyway. REbooted as usual, been working for a couple of hours since without issue. Maybe it's just learning to live with an SSD for now. With 30 second cold boot to working desktop, it's not a problem for me, other than annoying.

thanks again for the help!

 

[Skypix7]

Whatever the truth of C3 and C6 switches turn out to be, with mine switched off, I'm getting the max rates Corsair advertises for both the Force GT 240GB SSDs I have: around 525 and 560 MB/sec on ATTO. And it is (for the most part) a stable system now, even with my optical drives plugged into the Marvell ports.

Maybe C3 and C6 don't affect benchmarks, afraid I don't know enough, but the only change I saw after I switched them off was stability...blessed, much welcomed stability...and the scores were the same.