ASUS North America - ASUS Z170 Motherboards Q&A Thread

Impulse said:
Isn't it kinda redundant to put in a low noise adapter on a fan header/connection that you're trying to calibrate and adjust via the mobo?
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yup, I'm not using any kind of adapters only Y splitters, I'll give it a shot without them (3 fans only) when I open my case next time, it's not something I'm doing on daily basis as it's HTPC set

thanks for advices!

it's more tidy right now but general view of this setup is as below ;)
http://cdn.overclock.net/e/e4/900x900px-LL-e4aeba93_IMG_0574.jpeg
 
bigdogchris said:
@Raja

Is there a motherboard/EFI way to disable energy savings/head parking for HDDs on the z170 boards? This is a big issue with the 13.1+ Intel RST drivers (including 14.5 used by this chipset). They cause a lot of head parking issues and Intel has not yet issued a fix.
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You can try in the SATA options page - see if anything in there helps.
 
Impulse said:
Isn't it kinda redundant to put in a low noise adapter on a fan header/connection that you're trying to calibrate and adjust via the mobo?
Click to expand...

I would think so, but when things are not working properly I assume nothing.:D
 
Do all fan headers in the Maximus VIII Gene output true PWM signals or do some of them use voltage regulation to control the fan RPMs?
 
Hello, I have a Z170-A running a i5-6600k on Windows 10. When I run AI Suite 3, I get an error that says "Floating point division by zero." five seconds after opening the program and another popup appears every 5 seconds thereafter. Do you know why this is happening?

Error screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/3aRm0Tl.png

Thanks for the overclocking guide. It taught me about the adaptive vcore setting.
 
NoNRG said:
Hello, I have a Z170-A running a i5-6600k on Windows 10. When I run AI Suite 3, I get an error that says "Floating point division by zero." five seconds after opening the program and another popup appears every 5 seconds thereafter. Do you know why this is happening?

Error screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/3aRm0Tl.png

Thanks for the overclocking guide. It taught me about the adaptive vcore setting.
Click to expand...

Are you running the latest version from the ASUS Support page?
 
Some OC results:

8712832c_4850474537701T.jpeg
 
Raja@ASUS

Just looking for some suggestions I have the ASUS MAx VIII Ranger with GSKILL [Ripjaws V] F4-3000C15D-16GVR, they are suppose to run 3000MHz CAS 15 at 1.35, but I can not get them to boot reliably the board reboots a few times and then finally boots up

Any suggestions? I got them to boot reliably so far at 2800 CAS16 1.32v ( I am not saying these timings and or voltage cant be improved it just the first thing that worked reliably)

I have the latest bios, at first I thought something was defective because I could get them to boot with XMP set if I put the DIMMs in the first 2 slots Black and grey in single channel, but I now have them both in the grey slots at 2800, they just wont run at 3000 for some reason manual or XMP, max voltage so far that I tried was only 1.36v

Should I try running them manually at the XMP speed and timings with higher voltages? What is the highest you recommend before it is not safe? I was under the impression I could go up to 1.4v without serious concern, but I dont want to break anything just to get a tiny bit of speed out of the RAM.


CPU is currently at Stock
 
zaniix said:
Raja@ASUS

Just looking for some suggestions I have the ASUS MAx VIII Ranger with GSKILL [Ripjaws V] F4-3000C15D-16GVR, they are suppose to run 3000MHz CAS 15 at 1.35, but I can not get them to boot reliably the board reboots a few times and then finally boots up

Any suggestions? I got them to boot reliably so far at 2800 CAS16 1.32v ( I am not saying these timings and or voltage cant be improved it just the first thing that worked reliably)

I have the latest bios, at first I thought something was defective because I could get them to boot with XMP set if I put the DIMMs in the first 2 slots Black and grey in single channel, but I now have them both in the grey slots at 2800, they just wont run at 3000 for some reason manual or XMP, max voltage so far that I tried was only 1.36v

Should I try running them manually at the XMP speed and timings with higher voltages? What is the highest you recommend before it is not safe? I was under the impression I could go up to 1.4v without serious concern, but I dont want to break anything just to get a tiny bit of speed out of the RAM.


CPU is currently at Stock
Click to expand...

You can try the following:

1) Set XMP
2) Set Rampage tweak mode 1 in UEFI DRAM Timing page.
3) Increase System agent and IO voltage and see if that helps POST. If it does, your CPUs memory controller requires more voltage than the auto rules apply.

-Raja
 
Raja@ASUS said:
You can try the following:

1) Set XMP
2) Set Rampage tweak mode 1 in UEFI DRAM Timing page.
3) Increase System agent and IO voltage and see if that helps POST. If it does, your CPUs memory controller requires more voltage than the auto rules apply.

-Raja
Click to expand...

Slight increase to VCCIO and system agent did the trick

thanks
 
Raja@ASUS said:
Are you running the latest version from the ASUS Support page?
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I was running the version from the included CD when I initially made the post. I uninstalled that version and reinstalled with the version from the ASUS support page and I still have the same floating point division by zero error.
 
What are your guy's experience with the ASMedia USB 3.1 drivers? Windows 10 includes by default but I see Asus has some available for download. Which are better?

Also, just an FYI but new BIOS was released a few days ago; 0701. Applying it reset a lot of my BIOS settings though.
 
Hmm, I intended to test the ASMedia port against the Intel ones (when I actually get a 6700K); using an enclosure with UASP but just a regular old HDD inside, along with maybe some 3.0 flash drives that hit 200MB/s+.

I'd expect any half decent controller and/or driver wouldn't really show a difference with those, specially with the ASMedia being 3.1... Testing with an SSD might be a different matter. I might test both drivers with one...

I imagine the ASMedia drivers would allow you to turn on UASP/Turbo on command via the ASUS software, whereas the MS driver should just do it on it's own I guess? Is there any other way of knowing UASP is on?
 
So I know it is always best to set the Vcore to manual, but I am running at stock currently and check out how high it is pushing voltage
cpuvoltage.png


I have seen it go slightly over 1.4v, is this normal for auto settings? I am not pushing a stress test either.

And yes I set it manually for now, but I don't understand why this happens, I also noticed that the ASUS program occasionaly shows CPU Frequency as all 0s
cpuvoltage2.png
 
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You don't need to set the vCore to manual on Skylake. You can use adaptive or offset if you like. What are you doing with the system when it shows the voltage reading that high?
 
Dan_D said:
You don't need to set the vCore to manual on Skylake. You can use adaptive or offset if you like. What are you doing with the system when it shows the voltage reading that high?
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Dan I was web browsing, but I had windows set to performance.


I have it set to adaptive now (Stock 1.20v) with windows set to balanced and it and it seems to be working properly

With handbrake running it is maxing at either 1.26v or 1.28v depending on which program I choose to believe. Drops to about 0.8v at idle

I am just trying to get a solid handle on what is going on before I attempt to keep it overclocked, I will use adaptive for now on, it seems to give me the best results. Offset was acting a bit odd for me.
 
Seems like there's so many things that tend to mess with SpeedStep and/or proper idling... From the Windows power settings you mention, to BCLK tweaking, and even actually setting the voltage manually. Such a finicky yet basic function...

What was weird about offset btw? AFAIK it's like adaptive only it's applied at all times, not just during turbo, so you'd see a higher voltage 24/7... Just trying to soak up as much info as I can while I wait on a damned 6700K!
 
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Impulse said:
Seems like there's so many things that tend to mess with SpeedStep and/or proper idling... From the Windows power settings you mention, to BCLK tweaking, and even actually setting the voltage manually. Such a finicky yet basic function...

What was weird about offset btw? AFAIK it's like adaptive only it's applied at all times, not just during turbo, so you'd see a higher voltage 24/7... Just trying to soak up as much info as I can while I wait on a damned 6700K!
Click to expand...

Ok so Auto was a disaster it just seemed to do whatever and push voltages to crazy high numbers even under auto witch no overclock and no stress testing

Adaptive works great, I set it to what I want to be the max voltage and it only seems to go over it by .06 - .08 under stress ( using software which has proven not be accurate on skylake so take that with a grain of salt, I really should go get a multi meter)Only issue I had was it not working with speedstep, I reset the bios and tried again same settings and the second time it worked. Maybe I made a mistake the first time , maybe it was a custom power setting in windows. I didn't keep track of every single change as closely as I should have.

Offset - So I had the voltage at manual 1.20v stock, then I set it to offset and when I booted up the voltage just ran wild like when I was on auto. I tried adding a negative offset, but this affects the idle voltage too and I felt it was getting too low just trying to keep the voltage under 1.3v at max. I may have done something wrong, but it isn't what I wanted anyway because it will not allow the system to lower the voltage at idle.

I can not really think of any reason to do anything other than Manual to find stability and then set to Adaptive for normal use.

It has been a while since I messed with all this so I am a bit rusty. I also had some issues with AIDA64 it was telling me it had an error, but I had no issues running Prime95 or handbrake or games etc. I am starting to think more and more that AIDA64 is not a realistic tool to use as it is causing people to raise the voltages higher than is needed for real world use. This was all at 4.6ghz with manual voltage set


I am going to do a bunch more testing now that I have it solid at Stock with the RAM running at 3000mhz before I go back to trying for a stable overclock. The initial RAM issues I had really threw me, I was concerned I had bad ram until I sorted it out.
 
Interesting, I'm probably gonna give ASUS RealBench a shot... Won't rely on it exclusively, I think Prime95 and a combination of things (game benchmark, encoding, etc) probably works better for finding worst case scenario temps; but the different workloads within ROG RealBench look like an interesting mix for actual stability testing. Never really used AIDA myself.
 
Will (say I get an m8 Gene) it let me boot into Lubuntu or XP x64?
What would happen if I send an m7 gene in for RMA with LET on the back?
 
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zaniix said:
Ok so Auto was a disaster it just seemed to do whatever and push voltages to crazy high numbers even under auto witch no overclock and no stress testing

Adaptive works great, I set it to what I want to be the max voltage and it only seems to go over it by .06 - .08 under stress ( using software which has proven not be accurate on skylake so take that with a grain of salt, I really should go get a multi meter)Only issue I had was it not working with speedstep, I reset the bios and tried again same settings and the second time it worked. Maybe I made a mistake the first time , maybe it was a custom power setting in windows. I didn't keep track of every single change as closely as I should have.

Offset - So I had the voltage at manual 1.20v stock, then I set it to offset and when I booted up the voltage just ran wild like when I was on auto. I tried adding a negative offset, but this affects the idle voltage too and I felt it was getting too low just trying to keep the voltage under 1.3v at max. I may have done something wrong, but it isn't what I wanted anyway because it will not allow the system to lower the voltage at idle.

I can not really think of any reason to do anything other than Manual to find stability and then set to Adaptive for normal use.
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Hey, nice info thanks! I'm suing Offset set to negative 0,09 and I don't think voltage is crazy. While idle it runs close to ~0.7V, under load it's close 1.168V in normal tests games, and 1.184V-1.200V in tests like IntelBurnTest/Linpack
 
alyjen said:
Hey, nice info thanks! I'm suing Offset set to negative 0,09 and I don't think voltage is crazy. While idle it runs close to ~0.7V, under load it's close 1.168V in normal tests games, and 1.184V-1.200V in tests like IntelBurnTest/Linpack
Click to expand...

Offset it was somehow setting the voltage to 1.29v and then boosting it to 1.38v and even going into the 1.4 range when I pushed it. It wasnt worth investigating further since adaptive works great for me. Odds are I did something wrong because it didn't make any sense.
 
Blk said:
It's been a month in a week, got any news? or do we wait another month? :(
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Should be some time in Sept. Cant give a firm date as things are subject to change - big shipping/retail chain in the way.
 
Hi Raja/All,

What's the deal with the W_PUMP header? Even when enabled in the BIOS as PWM or DC Mode, there is no minimum RPM configuration field which begs the question whether this header is monitored for low RPM like with fan headers. Are we better off using a fan header since these are monitored or are there current capacity limitations that the W_PUMP header overcomes? Thanks!
 
Eldata said:
Hi Raja/All,

What's the deal with the W_PUMP header? Even when enabled in the BIOS as PWM or DC Mode, there is no minimum RPM configuration field which begs the question whether this header is monitored for low RPM like with fan headers. Are we better off using a fan header since these are monitored or are there current capacity limitations that the W_PUMP header overcomes? Thanks!
Click to expand...
The way I have my Nepton 140 configured is that the pump is connected to W_PUMP and the radiator fan is connected to the CPU header. I don't think the pump operates at different speeds, it just needs voltage to run.
 
bigdogchris said:
The way I have my Nepton 140 configured is that the pump is connected to W_PUMP and the radiator fan is connected to the CPU header. I don't think the pump operates at different speeds, it just needs voltage to run.
Click to expand...

Yes, in a liquid cooling setup, CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT are intended for radiator fans and W_PUMP is for the water pump. One can control the pump RPM based on CPU temp just like the fans but unlike with the fans there doesn't seem any way to be alerted by the BIOS when RPM is below spec, which can happen when the pump is starting to fail. OTOH, connecting the pump to a fan header shouldn't have that limitation unless there is something I've overlooked.

In other words, while it's nice of Asus to provide a dedicated pump header, it looks like more needs to be done in the firmware to make it just as useful as a fan header.
 
Have an issue with this MB when CPU Vcore uses adaptive mode settings. Everything works fine until computer wakes from sleep (aka standby). Doesn't matter if it sleeps only for a few seconds so it's nothing to do with CPU getting cooler. What happens is that the set Turbo limit Vcore voltage drops sufficiently to cause instability thereafter until the computer is restarted.

Manual and offset modes do not have this issue. This is with Windows 7 , 6700K CPU and issue occurs with both 4.5 and 4.6 GHz, otherwise stable, overclocks. Anyone else see something similar even with other VIII ROG MBs?

Edit: Known (and concealed) problem apparently;

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?74685-OC-Adaptive-Voltage-Mode-and-Win-10-Sleep-Problems

I'm tempted to "march" back to Micro Center tomorrow for refunds on both MB and CPU.
 
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running my 6700k on the hero viii. Im an old school overclocker, last thing I OC'd was my 920 D0 and this seems a bit more complex to me.

And this asus ai suite 3 is amazing. But the 5 way optimization results concern me, and I am wondering if I just shouldn't worry.

It came back with a max OC of 4.7Ghz. My main concern is cpu core voltage threshold of 0.000 to 1.551. Is that safe? It seems allowing to drop that low or spike that high would not be safe? At idle I hover around 800mhz and a core voltage of .848. But I have seen spikes as high as 1.42.

Just wondering if this is normal/safe? And if I should decrease the threshold gaps? I figured I would just use this for the time being, till I had time to really get in and tweak via UEFI.
 
Schmiggy_JK23 said:
running my 6700k on the hero viii. Im an old school overclocker, last thing I OC'd was my 920 D0 and this seems a bit more complex to me.

And this asus ai suite 3 is amazing. But the 5 way optimization results concern me, and I am wondering if I just shouldn't worry.

It came back with a max OC of 4.7Ghz. My main concern is cpu core voltage threshold of 0.000 to 1.551. Is that safe? It seems allowing to drop that low or spike that high would not be safe? At idle I hover around 800mhz and a core voltage of .848. But I have seen spikes as high as 1.42.

Just wondering if this is normal/safe? And if I should decrease the threshold gaps? I figured I would just use this for the time being, till I had time to really get in and tweak via UEFI.
Click to expand...


You can tune gradually with a manual vcore and see what the cpu needs. Chances are your cpu is capable of running 4.6 with less than 1.4 vcore which is what id aim for.
 
NoNRG said:
Hello, I have a Z170-A running a i5-6600k on Windows 10. When I run AI Suite 3, I get an error that says "Floating point division by zero." five seconds after opening the program and another popup appears every 5 seconds thereafter. Do you know why this is happening?

Error screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/3aRm0Tl.png

Thanks for the overclocking guide. It taught me about the adaptive vcore setting.
Click to expand...

FYI Raja - This problem went away after updating the Z170-A BIOS to 1003. I was previously on 0402 (I think that's what it was, definitely was 04xx).

Another note on EZ Flash 3 BIOS update utility through the USB load option - I had the USB flash drive with the BIOS update file connected to a front panel USB 3.0 port. The first time I tried the update it got stuck on the part where there's a "BIOS is updating. Do not reset or power down computer". It stayed this way for about a half hour before I eventually shut down with my power switch, moved the flash drive to a rear panel USB port, then it rebooted and successfully applied the update.

It seems that EZ Flash 3 and a front panel USB port leads to problems. This may be a known issue, though I didn't see any warnings about this in the instructions. When it was stuck on the screen it concerned me because it said not to shut down, but everything worked out in the end.
 
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Raja, any news on the z170-ws yet? I know Intel just announced the skylake xeons.
 
@Raja@ASUS
HI,
Are there any ROG mainboards coming out around 200€ with the Intel "Thunderbolt 3.0/USB 3.1" chip (Alpine Ridge) on it?
 
I have a quick question, I have a Z170 Deluxe with a 6600k. It is water cooled with a D5 pump and 360mm radiator, and right now NOT overclocked at all. However, every time I do anything, even moving the mouse on the desktop my fans all ramp up to 100%. It is getting very, very frustrating. I updated to 1003 BIOS and ran the fan tuning procedure and nothing seems to help, the fans constantly spin up even if I set them to run off of the chipset temp. All of the fans are PWM, the 3 on the radiator are on the CPU header with a powered PWM splitter. I ensured the first one is going to the RPM sense lead on the splitter and it can see the RPM with no issue.
 
LigTasm said:
I have a quick question, I have a Z170 Deluxe with a 6600k. It is water cooled with a D5 pump and 360mm radiator, and right now NOT overclocked at all. However, every time I do anything, even moving the mouse on the desktop my fans all ramp up to 100%. It is getting very, very frustrating. I updated to 1003 BIOS and ran the fan tuning procedure and nothing seems to help, the fans constantly spin up even if I set them to run off of the chipset temp. All of the fans are PWM, the 3 on the radiator are on the CPU header with a powered PWM splitter. I ensured the first one is going to the RPM sense lead on the splitter and it can see the RPM with no issue.
Click to expand...

See if this happens without the splitter in the chain.
 
Raja@ASUS said:
See if this happens without the splitter in the chain.
Click to expand...

It always happens regardless of what I have attached (even voltage fans do it). I've tried setting the fan hysterisis to 20 seconds and it does it less frequently but still does it. Temps are not spking at all that I can tell either. Just any basic activity causes the fans to ramp up quite a lot.
 
LigTasm said:
It always happens regardless of what I have attached (even voltage fans do it). I've tried setting the fan hysterisis to 20 seconds and it does it less frequently but still does it. Temps are not spking at all that I can tell either. Just any basic activity causes the fans to ramp up quite a lot.
Click to expand...


Any monitoring tools being run on the system?
 
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