Recommend me a replacement motherboard

[crashtech]

I've used Gigabyte in my builds 80% of the time and have now switched back to them full time. Zero issues. Plus, isn't LGA 2011 a rather twitchy platform in terms of compatibility, being a rejected server platform and all? I'm leaning towards RAM. Still, what PSU?

I also would not spend anymore money on an outdated platform. If you were to spend on new hardware I'd get a 4770 (K optional) and a nice Z87 board. I'm running this box on a Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H and a 4770 and have only one BSOD on 8.1 that never reoccurred and I'd put down to 8.1 being rather immature.

Rejected server platform? What are you talking about?

 

[Red Squirrel]

So is it the issue that 2011 is a bad platform? I had originally picked it because I figured it was the latest and best for core i7 as the core i7 uses that socket. I don't really want to build a whole new machine though. A motherboard will cost 300 bucks, motherboard + cpu + ram will cost near a grand. I'm also saving up to build a new VM server so I'm trying to keep this as cheap as possible.

My PSU is a OCZ 1000w. I did update the bios on the board already. Not good news to hear about the bug in the Crucial SSD though... What SSD do you recommend I replace it with? The OCZ SSD is usually not used, it's the one that runs Windows, I'm usually in Linux, though if I replace the Crucial may as well replace that one too to be safe.

This is the exact info on the Crucial: (Linux)

Model Family: Crucial/Micron RealSSD C300/C400/m4
Device Model: M4-CT128M4SSD2
13k hours of operation

And the OCZ: (Windows)

Model Family: SandForce Driven SSDs
Device Model: OCZ-VERTEX3
14k hours


Eventually I do want to build another box though so I don't have to keep closing all my stuff in Linux when I want to game, so I might look at a the 4770 platform then.

Though good to know about LGA 2011 being twitchy as I was looking at it for a server.... I might revisit that and go with another socket. Most of the Supermicro barebones use 2011 though...


Also, probably a long shot but are there any non UEFI boards for my platform? A faster bootup time would be nice. UEFI adds 10-15 seconds to the boot time, for nothing. The OS takes like 10 sec to boot up, so the POST actually takes longer than the actual bootup.

 

[crashtech]

LGA2011 is not twitchy... don't know where that assertion comes from.

You might try cloning your installations onto regular HDDs for a while and see if the problem abates, that would indicate Meghan54 is correct about a drive firmware problem.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Just went in the bios to confirm recommended settings. Ram already at 1333MHz. Though XMP was disabled. I have "profile 1" and "profile 2" as options. Do I set to profile 1? That's what I did.

 

[crashtech]

Those are customized profiles that you have to create and save. It's unlikely you have done that, so leave it alone, reboot, then go back in and make sure everything is how you left it.

 

[coffeejunkee]

I think some ram indeed has 2 xmp profiles. You should be able to check with cpu-z under the spd tab. Then make sure those timings and corresponding dram voltage is set in bios.

There's nothing wrong with the M4 (except a bug where it would stop after x hours of working but that was fixed with firmware). It's the OCZ sandforce drives that have been causing heeps of problems.

 

[rgallant]

Just went in the bios to confirm recommended settings. Ram already at 1333MHz. Though XMP was disabled. I have "profile 1" and "profile 2" as options. Do I set to profile 1? That's what I did.

-just another data point on this

when testing the ocing [cpu only] on my new 3770k /mb/ mem .I tried using 18xx [1.6v]for the memory ,system felt unstable and failed p95 blend in 1hr. at some point [a week later] I turned on xmp at 2400 [1.65v] while tracking down the issue. all bsod stopped , passed p95 blend for hours at 20% less voltage on the cpu ,but mileage will depend on the mb bios and how they set up xmp.

 

[coffeejunkee]

Well, tbh if ram was running at 1333MHz it was probably using the standard Jedec profile which should, well, just work. There is a small chance though that the motherboard sets incorrect secondary and tertiary timings, which I hope would be fixed by using XMP profile.

Then again, I wouldn't trust this ram at all anymore. If one stick was faulty they could all be faulty. I can understand not wanting downtime, but in that case I would just buy different ram, rma the corsair and sell the return kit. Yes, you'll lose money but shit happens.

Now it could well be the mobo has some problem. Thing is, how do you find out if it's indeed the mobo and not some other part? Sure, you could buy a new mobo, but at this point it is not a guarantee that everything will work fine.

 

[crashtech]

OP says he has attempted to rule out the RAM:

It's a quad channel kit, but one of the sticks died and they would not honor the warranty, so I just sticked with 3. I've tried many other ram kits too, this is probably the 3rd one. Memtest checks out ok, I tried it for like 60 something hours when I was on night shifts a while back.

Say, was that the bootable Memtest? The Windows version can miss things.

At any rate, having 3 sticks when there should be 4 would bug me, if it was mine I would retest the RAM carefully one at a time then sell it, and get something off the QVL, like this:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...=-1&isNodeId=1

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah was the bootable memtest.

Know what, I just checked something and the current kit I have must be a tri channel kit, it's probably the one I bought first, but then I had bought a quad channel kit while troubleshooting all my issues but one stick died almost right away. (had WAY more issues before till I got rid of the nvidia card - Linux does not do well with nvidia - lots of square artifacts and junk, and lot of lockups - even in windows the driver would crash all the time.) The kit that has a defective stick is in a box here. I forgot that I had removed all the ram and put back what I originally bought. It's still the Corsair vengence that I have in the system though. The one with a defective stick is Gskill ripjaws. F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH.

I had attempted to RMA it but they would not accept it. I also found two sticks of 4GB Kingston Value ram. I don't even remember buying this, but now I'm wondering if this ram would maybe work. It would bring me down to 8GB though but that's more than enough given I'm running Linux and barely even using 1GB most of the time. The exact model number is KVR1333DSE9S/4G. And TBH, I never even paid attention to voltages, I thought all DDR3 was the same, but upon further reading that is not the case, and I think they all fit in the same slot. That is probably part of my issue too. I googled and my motherboard takes 1.5V ram, the Gskills is 1.65, so that's probably why one stick blew, it was not getting enough voltage and probably working at a higher amperage. The existing ram is 1.5v though. From doing a search through the pdf I don't think either ram is on the QVL though, but I find these can be really tedious to figure out as the product ID I see on the ram may or may not be the one they use in the list. But if I search for either the name "ex: vengence" or "Value ram" I don't find it, nor the product code such as KVR (that alone does not even find anything).

So I suppose I should maybe try new ram that's actually in the list first.

Actually that ram you linked to looks like the exact same kit where I have one faulty stick. I am finding it in the compatibility list too... but the voltage says 1.65, while my motherboard is 1.5? How does that work? Can I just run two of these sticks? Or do they HAVE to be run in 4? I'm confused about the voltage though....

 

[crashtech]

In the Anandtech review, Ian writes about using 1.65V memory. I believe that 1.5V spec is the lower limit, and if you can find modules with the speed and capacity you want in the QVL at 1.5V, it will run a bit cooler and use a tad less juice. The 1333 stuff is 1.5V for sure.

 

[WOTMODS]

I've had nothing but issues with my current computer from day 1...

I have http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P9X79_LE/ for about a year

Have run RHEL 6.3 / CentOS 6.3 / Fedora 19 / Server 2012 / Currently Server 2012 R2

32GB Corsair - XMP 1600 1.5V

OC - 44x in BIOS

3820

EvGA GTX 560ti / Gigabyte 6970 (used AMD with Linux builds)

Solid as a rock with any BIOS loaded so far - currently at: 4604...


http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...659&CatId=7381

Found Tiger Direct to be the most expensive...

 

[bryanl]

Quit using 1.65V memory. It's not rated 1.65V unless it fails 1.50V.

Why wouldn't Corsair honor the lifetime warranty of your quad vengeance kit? Do a credit card chargeback, even if you didn't buy it from them. Doing a chargeback by mail makes it stick better.

 

[Meghan54]

Anyway, the ROG X79 is board is $460, the standard Asus X79 board is $250, I know which one I would pick.

Well, as long as you're talking the top ROG board, sure it is that much. But most people don't have much of a use for all the slots, etc. on those uber expensive boards. And I was talking specifically of the X79 GENE board, which can be had for $279. And unless one need multiple gpu's, and very few actually use multi-gpu setups, despite all the nonsense "I want the slots in case I ever run SLI" talk, a single gpu is more than enough for current games. After all, if you're spending the bucks for a 2011 setup, you're most likely looking at something like a GTX 780Ti or the like.

Why would you open the SLI/XFire can of worms anyway when a single gpu is plenty powerful these days?

So is it the issue that 2011 is a bad platform? I had originally picked it because I figured it was the latest and best for core i7 as the core i7 uses that socket.

Though good to know about LGA 2011 being twitchy as I was looking at it for a server.... I might revisit that and go with another socket.

The OS takes like 10 sec to boot up, so the POST actually takes longer than the actual bootup.

Like others have mentioned, the 2011 socket is NOT twitchy or a "bad" platform or any of the other crap being foisted upon you by some posers, errr, posters in this thread.....not by any stretch of the imagination. I found mine to be damned stable even when playing around with heavy overclock settings. It is a niche platform, that is a definite. But it is a completely stable, solid platform.

Is it worth the extra money? Only you can say that.....but given you are using the only 4 core 2011 cpu in Intel's stable, I question that decision. You probably would have had equal if not better performance from the i7 4770k cpu on the 1150 platform.

Now, if you had a want or need for a 6 core cpu, well then, you'd have been stuck with 2011. But the notion that you must have 2011 for wanting to run an i7, well.....i7 exists in the 1150 socket. You do realize that, right?

And what power supply are you running again? I must have missed that. Personally, spending the money on 2011 would make me want to ensure I have one of the better power supplies out there, something like a Seasonic gold/plat. or SuperFlower or Delta built unit. Then again, those are what I'd choose anyway for anything I built for myself. I value good, stable, clean power and have no issues with spending the money to achieve just that.

Quit using 1.65V memory. It's not rated 1.65V unless it fails 1.50V.

And that notion is so laughably wrong it made me laugh coffee out my nose.

I guess if you're trolling the scut brands and slow speed rated RAM, sure, 1.5V is what you find and expect to find. Move to speeds above 2133 and you do NOT find 1.5V rated RAM anywhere. It's all 1.6V-1.65V. Why? Just like with a car that uses more gas to go faster, or having to increase voltage on a cpu to overclock, or increase voltage on a gpu to overclock, RAM needs more voltage to go faster. Browse Newegg.....over half the 2133 speed rated RAM is 1.6V or better, everything rated faster is 1.6V or higher.

 

[adairusmc]

Well, as long as you're talking the top ROG board, sure it is that much. But most people don't have much of a use for all the slots, etc. on those uber expensive boards. And I was talking specifically of the X79 GENE board, which can be had for $279. And unless one need multiple gpu's, and very few actually use multi-gpu setups, despite all the nonsense "I want the slots in case I ever run SLI" talk, a single gpu is more than enough for current games. After all, if you're spending the bucks for a 2011 setup, you're most likely looking at something like a GTX 780Ti or the like.

Why would you open the SLI/XFire can of worms anyway when a single gpu is plenty powerful these days?

Well, some of us have standards and game at resolutions where you need to SLI and crossfire to run everything at the highest settings. I wanted to get the X79 GENE, but I wanted to accommodate both of my 780Ti cards in SLI as well, which is why I opted for the x79 LE board. One 780Ti just did not quite cut it for me.

 

[johnsmith7623]

I think some ram indeed has 2 xmp profiles. You should be able to check with cpu-z under the spd tab. Then make sure those timings and corresponding dram voltage is set in bios.

There's nothing wrong with the M4 (except a bug where it would stop after x hours of working but that was fixed with firmware). It's the OCZ sandforce drives that have been causing heeps of problems.

I think OCZ failures are more because of OCZ's quality issues - it is well known for it. I've been using the Corsair Force 3 with the SandForce controller which runs great.

imo i think its more so with the ssd manufacturer rather than the controlloer.

 

[coffeejunkee]

Yes, I did also say 'OCZ Sandforce' drives specifically. Still, the SF controller is a complicated one and other drives using it had issues too. Intel spend a lot of time fixing the firmware, but some of their SF drives still showed the familiar problems (although not as much as other brands).

But considering OCZ's trackrecord, if I had a rig with stability issues the first thing I would do is toss the OCZ ssd, even if it's not used as os drive. That doesn't mean there's actually something wrong with the specific ssd in question, there are also users for whom they work fine.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Well, as long as you're talking the top ROG board, sure it is that much. But most people don't have much of a use for all the slots, etc. on those uber expensive boards. And I was talking specifically of the X79 GENE board, which can be had for $279. And unless one need multiple gpu's, and very few actually use multi-gpu setups, despite all the nonsense "I want the slots in case I ever run SLI" talk, a single gpu is more than enough for current games. After all, if you're spending the bucks for a 2011 setup, you're most likely looking at something like a GTX 780Ti or the like.

Why would you open the SLI/XFire can of worms anyway when a single gpu is plenty powerful these days?

Multiple GPUs is so I can have more than 2 monitors, though it seems Linux can't do more than 2 and even then it acts flaky, so I gave up on that. When putting more than 1 GPU may as well put the SLI connector too. But that's no longer a huge requirement at this point, though I have been debating on going back to Windows just so I can have more than 2 monitors.

Is it worth the extra money? Only you can say that.....but given you are using the only 4 core 2011 cpu in Intel's stable, I question that decision. You probably would have had equal if not better performance from the i7 4770k cpu on the 1150 platform.

Now, if you had a want or need for a 6 core cpu, well then, you'd have been stuck with 2011. But the notion that you must have 2011 for wanting to run an i7, well.....i7 exists in the 1150 socket. You do realize that, right?

Did not realize that when I bought, that they came in different sockets. I went and looked at CPUs, found the first i7 that looked decent (spec and price wise) and it was a 2011 socket so I then proceeded to the motherboards. Now I'll want to stick with 2011 since I don't want to have to buy a new CPU. I had also figured may as well go with the latest.

And what power supply are you running again? I must have missed that. Personally, spending the money on 2011 would make me want to ensure I have one of the better power supplies out there, something like a Seasonic gold/plat. or SuperFlower or Delta built unit. Then again, those are what I'd choose anyway for anything I built for myself. I value good, stable, clean power and have no issues with spending the money to achieve just that.

Running a OCZ Fatality 1000w PSU. Is that one ok? I don't really need 1000w anymore but originally I had 2 GTX 560 video cards that required 400w, but I did not realize the way video card power ratings are skewed so I assumed 800w for just the video cards. Now that I know, I could probably get away with like 500w especially now that I'm only running one card (ATI Radeon 7870). Last I checked the system uses 300w out of the wall, but think that was with the 2 video cards, so it probably uses less now.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Decided to see if there is a newer bios update for my mobo even though I did update it not that long ago, and it looks like there is. Only issue is that apparently the qflash utility is now too old to flash the new bios, chicken and egg situation. They also only list the latest bios, so it's not like I can try to install each revision consecutively.

This motherboard is quite problematic from what I found on Google though, it can even catch on fire.

Is there any way I can flash this bios, or am I screwed? the qflash util wont accept the latest bios.

 

[crashtech]

They specify @BIOS v2.33 to flash that one, which is scary in your case since the environment is not stable.

Perhaps you can hunt for a stable config, like underclock it and use a fresh Windows install with minimal drivers...

Note they want HT disabled.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I use Linux, so I did not have to install any drivers, it's whatever is built in. I'm not familiar enough to start messing with specific versions if I even have that option. I think lot of stuff is just part of the kernel. The locking up happens in Windows too though, so I really don't think it's a software issue. At first I suspected it was a Linux issue as all my issues were in Linux but now it seems to be both OSes.

So at this point am I better just ditching this motherboard? That means new ram too though... unless I get lucky enough and one of the recommended boards happens to support the ram I have now.

I suppose it's worth swapping the ram again just to see what happens though, and maybe go dual channel instead of triple? 2 sticks instead of 3. Would that make things more stable to go dual channel?

Also can dust cause weird issues? My PC collects dust better than a shop vac. I don't know what it is about this machine. I can blow the air out of it every day and I could make a kitten every day.

I eventually want to run conduit to my server room (it's just below the office) and actually put the PC in there as that is a more controlled environment especially once I do the hvac as it will have a hepa filter and be a closed system.

 

[crashtech]

Maybe. Usually the simpler, the better. Fewer sticks put less load on the controller, though with quad channel you are not even at one per channel. Forcing a lower than spec RAM speed can sometimes smooth things out.

If you decide to give up, send that mobo to me, and if I can get it to work, I'll buy it, and if not, I'll send it back to you, no harm no foul. I'll have to rustle up a CPU, though.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

I would throw in my suggestion of the MSI X79A-GD45 PLUS, its a really nice and strong board - I have a few friends that use it and are pleased with it

 

[crashtech]

I use Linux, so I did not have to install any drivers, it's whatever is built in. I'm not familiar enough to start messing with specific versions if I even have that option. I think lot of stuff is just part of the kernel. The locking up happens in Windows too though, so I really don't think it's a software issue. At first I suspected it was a Linux issue as all my issues were in Linux but now it seems to be both OSes.

So at this point am I better just ditching this motherboard? That means new ram too though... unless I get lucky enough and one of the recommended boards happens to support the ram I have now.

I suppose it's worth swapping the ram again just to see what happens though, and maybe go dual channel instead of triple? 2 sticks instead of 3. Would that make things more stable to go dual channel?

Also can dust cause weird issues? My PC collects dust better than a shop vac. I don't know what it is about this machine. I can blow the air out of it every day and I could make a kitten every day.

I eventually want to run conduit to my server room (it's just below the office) and actually put the PC in there as that is a more controlled environment especially once I do the hvac as it will have a hepa filter and be a closed system.

Whatever happened to this,Red? Did you get it fixed?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Did not get around to it yet. I'll probably end up getting a new mobo but I'll wait till I move everything to the server room as I'll have to rebuild the machine in a rackmount case anyway. Oddly, it has not locked up in a while now.