UPDATE on Asus A8R-MVP Mobo Voltage/Memory Issues

imported_Beenthere

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2004
8
0
0
As many people who have purchased the A8R-MVP Mobo have sadly discovered, there are some serious issues with the production Mobos that Anandtech did not experience with their review board. Specifically the Mobo does NOT provide CPU Vcore voltages above 1.40V and many if not most people who have purchased this Mobo have been unable to run memory at 1T above 250 MHz even though the same memory runs fine on other Mobos above 250 MHz at 1T with no problem. The voltage issue is serious because Asus clearly advertises the A8R-MVP for use with all socket 939 Athlon / FX / X2 CPUs, which of course is impossible as the (CG) Clawhammer core chips require a MINIMUM 1.50V, which isn't even an option on the A8R-MVP Mobo.

After careful review of a number of factors I have a suspicion that the A8R-MVP has limited Vcore current capacity and that is why Asus has refused to provide the proper voltage options in the BIOS. I suspect after they produced the Mobo they discovered the shortcoming and so limited the voltage options because the current draw increases as you O/C the CPU, which is only possible if you can raise the voltage, in most cases. This is just my theory but if Asus could provide the proper CPU voltages for the CG core CPUs then you'd have thought after two BIOS updates they would have...

From my perspective this is simply unacceptable as any Clawhammer based CPU requires a minimum 1.50V per AMD. Asus has advertised the A8R-MVP as being fully Athlon / FX / X2 compatible and even states in their online Tech Section that the FX-55 and 4000+ are fully supported on this Mobo - which of course they ARE NOT as they require a MINIMUM 1.50V, which is not even an option on the A8R-MVP.

My suggestion is that people STOP BUYING THIS MOBO if you need a minimum 1.50V Vcore. Anyone who can return their A8R-MVP under warranty would be advised to do so. If you have an FX-55 or 4000+ that requires 1.50V per AMD, then you can't run it on this Mobo despite Asus' claims of fitment. That's my view of things based on what I see and I'd suggest potential purchasers of this Mobo be advised of the unusually low CPU voltage options PRIOR to purchase as you may need to return the Mobo if your CPU requires 1.50 or more volts to function properly.
 

dadach

Senior member
Nov 27, 2005
204
0
76
it works for some peolple, and doesnt work for others...of course the people with problems will post more than the ones without...for me it works flawless at moderate OC 165 opteron@ 2.4...x1800xt, rocketraid 1820, skystar2

the vcore spiking occurs everyonce in a while, but so far the system is stable

did anyone try to use a cpu that needs 1.50v in the mobo?
 
Nov 28, 2005
111
0
0
I fully agree. I also think that someone who has this board should send an email or discuss these various issues with Asus telling them that a bios update is needed to fix these issues. I suggest people to look elsewhere for an overclocking board as this is just pitiful. As I and many other have stated, it is apparent that Asus has sent a "hand-picked" mobo to Anandtech. I don't suggest buying this board unless these issues are fixed. I guess the Abit AT8 is the best bet even that is a unsure buy as Abit has been having some financial problems.
 

grooge

Senior member
Dec 23, 2004
542
0
0
The Abit has been retired by Abit because of the many issue it has.. Just ask Abit.
 

imported_Beenthere

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2004
8
0
0
Actually Asus has been aware of the voltage and memory stability issues for weeks via e-mail, postings on their own A8R-MVP Mobo forum and via Tech Support requests. They have failed to respond to anyone on this subject, yet they released two BIOS updates with NO increase in Vcore voltages.

Feel free to read the posts on the Asus' website at the link below including the fact that the BIOS sent with the review Mobos was NOT the BIOS shipped with the production Mobos. It's not a matter of "it works for some and not for others" - there are NO CPU voltage options above 1.40V which means you can't properly power any CG series Clawhammer CPU. And 1T timing shouldn't even be an issue these days unless you have (4) DIMMS installed.

The link below is to the Asus general Mobo forum area. You need to select the A8R-MVP specific forum area to read about the A8R-MVP voltage and memory problems.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs.aspx?board_id=1&SLanguage=en-us
 

imported_Beenthere

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2004
8
0
0
To illustrate the EXACT mentality of Asus, below is their response to my Tech Inquiry on the lack of 1.50V Vcore option on the A8R-MVP Mobo required for the FX-55 and 4000+ socket 939 CPUs.

This is EXACTLY as shown on the Asus Tech Support website:


" ASUS Online Technical Service - Search for Mailing Reply Status

Dear ASUS Users:

Your query has been replied by ASUS technical personnel. The content of the reply is shown below.

Time replied at : 2006-01-08 09:31:19

Mail ID Subject Date

WTM20060108164231859 Close:

Motherboard A8R-MVP 2006-01-08 16:58:12

Close! "


Note their EXCLAMATION Mark at the end of "CLOSED" with NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER on the subject of the A8R-MVP Lack Of Vcore voltage options !

My A8R-MVP is going back today!

Don't need this crap from any manufacturer.
 

rbV5

Lifer
Dec 10, 2000
12,632
0
0
Close! "


Note their EXCLAMATION Mark at the end of "CLOSED" with NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER on the subject of the A8R-MVP Lack Of Vcore voltage options !

Looks like it says "Close!" to me, as in perhaps they are "close" to releasing a bios that has the vcore options? I dunno? Why didn't you include your query with their response?
 

Rafael

Senior member
May 11, 2001
868
0
0
Well I was about to buy this mobo.

Since many people are reporting this problem I'll think twice before getting the A8R-MVP.
I think I will just have to go with the DFI since I intend to OC.
I don't know how Abit is doing on OC lately, but since the NF7-S I haven't heard good things about Abit for OC.

Raf
 

grooge

Senior member
Dec 23, 2004
542
0
0
What is the VCORE over voltage option in BIOS? I downloaded the manual and found that?? What are the option if set to enabled?
 
Nov 28, 2005
111
0
0
Does any1 know when the rd580 mobos from Asus and others are coming out and how much they'll be priced at? This is just pitiful from Asus.
 

Shimmishim

Elite Member
Feb 19, 2001
7,504
0
76
i have a feeling that the voltage limitation is due to the chip being used.

the chip AT used was a clawhammer which has a higher default vcore than the opterons.

i wonder if all the people who can't get the magical 1.65 is using an opteron which has a lower default vcore... but i could be wrong
 

Stoneburner

Diamond Member
May 29, 2003
3,491
0
76
my vcore has been hitting up to 1.57 according to asus pc probe.... but dropping all the way down to 1.32. and i'm not doing anything special, i was just running AKG and vcore was stable at 1.42.
 

Hoodlum77

Junior Member
Jan 3, 2006
2
0
0
Doe anyone else have big flux on thei other voltages?

My 3,3v does 3,42 ande the 5 does 5,22 but drops to 4,16!!! sometimes.

Is this just bad reading of Probe or the board??

My PSU is a Thermaltake Pure power TWV 480W

On my DFI Lanparty NF2 it was stable.
 

imported_tentimes

Junior Member
Jan 21, 2006
5
0
0
Latest version of the bios allows me to up my opteron CPU voltage to 1.45, but this is still not enough for a decent OC. Anyone have any official news on this? Or has anyone got a higher voltage?
 

imported_tentimes

Junior Member
Jan 21, 2006
5
0
0
I think anand share resposibility in this. Their review was the reason I bought it, and the least they can do is updte the review to save people wasting their money. Calling it a great overclocker is misleading if we can't get more than +0.1V on the CPU. The could change the "overlcocking beast" description to "meh" or something.

Even better, can someone not get hold of the review BIOS? Or maybe someone mod the latest BIOS to give us more than +.1V on the CPU? Surely it's not that tough?
 

grooge

Senior member
Dec 23, 2004
542
0
0
no one answered that yet, so I try again:
"What is the VCORE over voltage option in BIOS? I downloaded the manual and found that?? What are the option if set to enabled?"
 

mamisano

Platinum Member
Mar 12, 2000
2,045
0
76
Originally posted by: grooge
no one answered that yet, so I try again:
"What is the VCORE over voltage option in BIOS? I downloaded the manual and found that?? What are the option if set to enabled?"

With my Opteron 170, if I enable overvolt it adds 0.07v to the VCore... so max would be 1.47 which is not enough to obtain a high overclock.
 

nismogt1

Junior Member
May 5, 2002
8
0
0
Hey everybody,

I also have the A8R-MVP. But, I worked out a voltage mod & am typing to you while my board is cruising along @ 2820 mhz.
The mod has worked out very well & overclocking the board is very easy now.
I just wanted to share & spread the word. If anybody needs any help then please feel free to mail me & I'll be glad to help you out. ( nismogt1@surewest.net )

Here is a link to some pics I took during the process.

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=412050&page=3&pp=15

I'll try to post this screenshot.

http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=smalloverclockacopy8ts.jpg]
smalloverclockacopy8ts.th.jpg
[/URL]
 

mamisano

Platinum Member
Mar 12, 2000
2,045
0
76
Originally posted by: nismogt1
Hey everybody,

I also have the A8R-MVP. But, I worked out a voltage mod & am typing to you while my board is cruising along @ 2820 mhz.
The mod has worked out very well & overclocking the board is very easy now.
I just wanted to share & spread the word. If anybody needs any help then please feel free to mail me & I'll be glad to help you out. ( nismogt1@surewest.net )

Here is a link to some pics I took during the process.

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=412050&page=3&pp=15

I'll try to post this screenshot.

http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=smalloverclockacopy8ts.jpg]
smalloverclockacopy8ts.th.jpg
[/URL]

Nice work... what side of the Resistor on the MB do you solder the wire too?
 

Alaric360

Member
Jan 3, 2006
41
0
0
There isn't an issue with vcore capabilities on the engineering side of it(as far as board CAPABILITY goes). If your chip needs 1.5v to operate, the vreg will give you 1.5v. I think the original post in this thread can be somewhat misleading. You shouldn't monitor your voltage settings through the BIOS. It is almost always inaccurate. You should always use a voltmeter if you know how to do it properly, and then perform the adjustments to take into consideration the resistance that your meter adds to the circuit....and if you don't know how, why are you messing around with circuitry as sophisticated as a PC motherboard? When I tested, I got my board to 1.78v vCore(direct reading by my multimeter), but my BIOS only read 1.69. This is only conjecture on my part, but my guess is that the BIOS is just giving an inaccurate reading. I'm pretty sure that this board will safely support higher vcore settings. I'm not sure why Asus doesn't allow them, but I assume that they know more about their boards than I do. Good thing I didn't buy it for overclocking hehehe
 

imported_Beenthere

Junior Member
Oct 8, 2004
8
0
0
The voltages have been measured with both an O-scope and precision digital VOMs at the board level. The Vcore voltage fluctuations have been documented by countless people. The Vcore circuit has some issues that several EEs are looking at right now. In addition to Vcore voltage fluctuations, there are many other issues with the A8R-MVP that have now been documented by several hardware review sites including Anandtech.

The 1T memory incompatibility, the Vcore voltage fluctuations, the lack of proper BIOS Vcore voltage options that comply with AMD's VRM64 specifications, etc. make the A8R-MVP a bad choice for anyone looking for a solid Mobo and for what Asus advertises. The Mobos are clearly defective in design and in fact the FTC is receiving a ton of complaints on this Mobo and on Asus for advertising it as designed for serious overclockers.

Since you can't adjust the Vcore voltage more than .1V above the CPU's default voltage, the A8R-MVP is clearly NOT designed for "serious overclockers", which is false advertising. More importantly the fact the A8R-MVP won't even run stable at 1T and 250 MHz DRAM speed per AMD's E6 stepping requirments, is further proof this Mobo ain't ready for Prime Time.

No one should be expected to have to perform circuit board mods to get a stable functioning Mobo.