Question Old workstation motherboard (Asus Z9PA-D8) problems

[Raduque]

So, I know this is an old board, and computer stuff develops issues as things age.

But, the onboard video isn't working and the board won't boot with all 8 RAM slots full, even with ECC DDR3.

Could it simply be the pins in one of the sockets being slight bent causing the issue?

 

[legolas_tk]

Hello,.
What is your build for this system? What specifications?
Did you try testing with only a single processor? single memory on A1 and power supply with video card? Please make sure the memory modules are in the memory QVL.
If it still do not work, please try another processor or or swap another power supply

 

[Tech Junky]

iGPU vs booting are two different things.

iGPU works w/o anything else attached other than power.

Boot is the drives.

Check the video cable and replace if it's old. Do the fans spin up at all when you hit the power button? Any beeps?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Workstation board may have base-level onboard low-VRAM discrete chip onboard, like an ATI Rage or something. Not necessarily an iGPU.

 

[Tech Junky]

@VirtualLarry

Now that I take a 2nd look this is 30+ days old w/ no ping from the OP

 

[Raduque]

@Tech Junky
sorry, I've been busy. Just now noticed the notification.

I fixed the no boot with 8 ram slots populated by swapping the CPUs between sockets. No idea why that fixed it, but it did.
(edit: Previously, it would hang at "b6" on the onboard diagnostic LED with all 8 sticks installed. I would have to leave G1 on CPU1 and D1 on CPU0 empty to boot, if either one had a RAM stick, it would hang on that "b6" error).

As for the onboard video, it's an Aspeed chip on the motherboard with a VGA plug. I didn't bother trying it after swapping the CPUs, but it never worked right with even one CPU and 1 ram stick. Sometimes it would show a picture, but most of the time just a black screen.

 

[Tech Junky]

@Raduque

No problem.

Odd configuration w/ dual CPU's and a crappy VGA port / chip.

Sometimes just reseating things is all it needs for whatever reason. I've fixed enterprise FW's by reseating RAM but, still had them swapped out per instruction by higher ups.

As long as it's working that's great. Might be time to start planning on the next rebuild / upgrade though if it's flaking out. Obviously quite a bit has changed since building the system. Replacement parts are going to become scarce if hey start to fail and RAM alone is cheaper in the newer versions than DDR3. I guess it all depends on what's running on the system and how much of a priority it is to keep it working.

 

[Raduque]

@Raduque

No problem.

Odd configuration w/ dual CPU's and a crappy VGA port / chip.

Sometimes just reseating things is all it needs for whatever reason. I've fixed enterprise FW's by reseating RAM but, still had them swapped out per instruction by higher ups.

As long as it's working that's great. Might be time to start planning on the next rebuild / upgrade though if it's flaking out. Obviously quite a bit has changed since building the system. Replacement parts are going to become scarce if hey start to fail and RAM alone is cheaper in the newer versions than DDR3. I guess it all depends on what's running on the system and how much of a priority it is to keep it working.

It's my personal server. File/Web/Plex/OPNSense. I bought the board a little less than a year ago, mainly because it has 14 available SATA ports and it included the PIKE RAID controller.

I upgraded from a single Xeon 2670 on an Asus Sabretooth x79 (bought around 2015) to the dual-cpu workstation board because I wanted more horsepower and drive capacity.

It is working fine right now, but I plan on swapping to a pair of 2660v2 for lower power usage.

 

[Tech Junky]

You can get hba's with 8 sata ports these days pretty cheap if you're running tons of drives. Rebuild to your needs with modern options.

The only thing really needing CPU power would be Plex for transcoding or VPN if you used it as a router. I run both on my system and really it doesn't take much horsepower though it's nice to have when it does need it. I tend to convert most media to MP4 to keep the system from needing to transcode things on the fly.

 

[Raduque]

You can get hba's with 8 sata ports these days pretty cheap if you're running tons of drives. Rebuild to your needs with modern options.

I'm definitely looking into it. My power bill is up to around $250/mo and the rate is going from .12c/kWh to .18c/kWh when i renew next month.

I was thinking two V2 2011 CPUs would be a cheap stop gap, they're like $20ea and I get 4c/8t more with less power usage and heat output.

 

[Tech Junky]

$250/mo seems like a bit much but then again you may have a 5000sw ft house with 3 AC units running.

When my server was mining with dual GPUs the bill jumped $30/mo which cost more then the coins it has hashed so I got rid of them.

Anything to be more efficient these days makes sense. I think my system maxes at 300W and it's on 24/7 with a 12700k running in it. Fairly sure it runs below that number though as that's the max it can run at.

 

[Raduque]

$250/mo seems like a bit much but then again you may have a 5000sw ft house with 3 AC units running.

When my server was mining with dual GPUs the bill jumped $30/mo which cost more then the coins it has hashed so I got rid of them.

Anything to be more efficient these days makes sense. I think my system maxes at 300W and it's on 24/7 with a 12700k running in it. Fairly sure it runs below that number though as that's the max it can run at.

These apartments are kinda old so not very well insulated, and the appliances are old too. I also live in Texas. Running my server, my gaming rig, the AC, the fridge, it adds up.

 

[Tech Junky]

Texas

It does add up but not that much. I average $100/mo in the peak of summer with multiple systems running. Then again I don't have 2-3 AC units cooling the place. There has to be something that's really inefficient on your electrical system or a bad monthly plan. I know some area are captive when it comes to picking a provider like Austin. Typically though you can get a decent rate of $0.08/kWh is you shop around.

 

[Raduque]

It does add up but not that much. I average $100/mo in the peak of summer with multiple systems running. Then again I don't have 2-3 AC units cooling the place. There has to be something that's really inefficient on your electrical system or a bad monthly plan. I know some area are captive when it comes to picking a provider like Austin. Typically though you can get a decent rate of $0.08/kWh is you shop around.

My rate is a ridiculous .16/kWh. It's going up to .18kWh when i renew in October.

 

[Tech Junky]

Wow! Then again you could be in Europe and paying 3x that. There's also pockets of the state that aren't on the same grid and connect to interstate grids east/west besides ercot.

 

[bigboxes]

These apartments are kinda old so not very well insulated, and the appliances are old too. I also live in Texas. Running my server, my gaming rig, the AC, the fridge, it adds up.

That's wild. I live in an apartment in Texas that is not well insulated, but my bill was at most $160 this summer. This winter, it will dip to below $100 for sure. I run my server and main rig 24/7. I have a/c and fridge, too.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

That's wild. I live in an apartment in Texas that is not well insulated, but my bill was at most $160 this summer. This winter, it will dip to below $100 for sure. I run my server and main rig 24/7. I have a/c and fridge, too.

So many things influence the power usage. What temp do they keep the air on? Just how old are the appliances? Is the temp where they live the same? What about humidity? Because here in Fl. near the coast, the A/C has to deal with that.

My power bill is lower now than it was 10yrs ago even with rate increases. I had a 55" RP CRT HDTV, an 3.5 ton A/C from the early 2000s, and washer, dryer, frig, stove, dishwasher were just as old or older. Everything is 6yrs old or less now, and the energy savings are real. Hurricane windows helped a lot too; vastly superior insulation compared to the ones the house was built with. All my PCs are ECO mode, and I am only using one card that is more than 130W. The 6600 and XT are good performance per watt, as is the 3060ti.

Let us know how the new CPUs do @Raduque

 

[Raduque]

The appliances are old old. They're probably 30+ years old. We dont really set the AC super cold either, about 78 or if I'm feeling hot, 75.