ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero Ryzen Motherboard Review @ [H]

I've not had the experience described in the review at all. It has been stable, and overclocked well. Currently running memory at 3466 MHz, 14-14-14-14-34-1T timings. User experiences vary I guess, but it does seem odd. I do have a criticism of the review itself. You tested the x370 motherboards configured at significantly different memory settings, essentially negating any validity to comparative results.. the C6H was set at 2933 MHz and tested against the AX370 set at 3200 Mhz. Come on, that is nuts. Talk about putting a thumb on the scale! Even so the C6H won in memory bandwidth, which is pretty amazing.

Take any two motherboards with otherwise identical components, hamstrung one of them with lower settings, test and gee whiz!! DOH. I thought you guys used decent methods, but this review is a big FAIL to me.
Could you share your complete settings either via Ryzen Timing Checker (memory timings) or bios screen shots? I could never get 3466 at those settings. Thanks
 
Take any two motherboards with otherwise identical components, hamstrung one of them with lower settings, test and gee whiz!! DOH. I thought you guys used decent methods, but this review is a big FAIL to me.
We had three of these motherboards and had the same problems across all motherboards. Yes, this review was a big fail to us as well. Glad you did not have any issues.
 
I've not had the experience described in the review at all. It has been stable, and overclocked well. Currently running memory at 3466 MHz, 14-14-14-14-34-1T timings. User experiences vary I guess, but it does seem odd. I do have a criticism of the review itself. You tested the x370 motherboards configured at significantly different memory settings, essentially negating any validity to comparative results.. the C6H was set at 2933 MHz and tested against the AX370 set at 3200 Mhz. Come on, that is nuts. Talk about putting a thumb on the scale! Even so the C6H won in memory bandwidth, which is pretty amazing.

Take any two motherboards with otherwise identical components, hamstrung one of them with lower settings, test and gee whiz!! DOH. I thought you guys used decent methods, but this review is a big FAIL to me.

The Crosshair VI Hero was perfectly stable for me. I didn't have any problems until I started overclocking. It was perfectly stable. I rebooted with the intent to go into the UEFI and crank the CPU clocks upward another step when it died on me. Kyle had the weirdness with Sandra not behaving, I didn't. Aside from that, it overclocked well enough and was stable until it croaked. I did have some issues with recovering from a "bad" overclock but I only took a couple runs at the board before it shit the bed on me.

As for the memory bandwidth issue, this is a matter of the X370 motherboards being inconsistent with memory clocks. As many of you know, your clocks vary by module, UEFI and AGESA code versions. I was able to run at DDR4 3200MHz speeds, but again, Kyle had specific issues with Sandra that prevented the system from running at DDR4 3200MHz on his test bench. The number should be taken with a grain of salt. Also, I wouldn't put any real stock in motherboard benchmarks because they only represent the system's ability to pass a test. If you'll notice, the test results are almost always within an acceptable margin of error. 1-3% is the type of margin you will get across multiple test runs. The factors that determine actual performance aren't on the motherboard anymore, they are in the CPU. Those tests are there because readers expect them to be despite the fact that Kyle and I both think that motherboard benchmarks are almost worthless as a means of gauging a motherboard's value.

When it comes down to it, the Crosshair VI Hero is a big fat fucking failure because it failed to make it through the testing. Not once, not twice, but three times. It wasn't capable of getting through our testing at settings which matched the previous testing conducted on motherboards like the GIGABYTE Aorus AX370 Gaming 5. The ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero wasn't hamstrung by anything but itself.
 
From my experience, my first sample died with the "BIOS is Updating" bug and ASUS rushed me out a second. After learning of the SOC voltage issue and understanding it a bit better, on auto CHVI sets too high SOC voltage especially when overclocking. Setting it manually from 0.9-1.15V depending on ram speed is plenty up to 3600. This voltage rail can cause a ton of weird behaviour if it's overvolting. Personally I haven't had any real "bad luck" with this board and have had 3, still have 2. I have also used 4 different CPUs on them and taken both an 8 core and 6 core to 5.2 GHz cold.
That being said I do believe that the ASUS team is having a hard time getting a grasp on some of the things with this platform but in their defense their initial BIOSes ( 601, 702) were really pretty good until the bad one. Then everything changed. Almost like they had to rethink everything from the beginning again.
For anyone still having ram issue there are a couple betas you could try. They have worked for many others especially with the higher densities these are taken from elmors posts at OCN


http://www.mediafire.com/file/7jch56t5uohnnbz/CROSSHAIR-VI-HERO-ASUS-9943.zip

If Hynix AFR 4x16GB or Samsung B 4x8GB, you might have more luck with this http://www.mediafire.com/file/2stmu39om14oa6b/CROSSHAIR-VI-HERO-ASUS-9945.zip
 
So I am thinking about picking up this board. My new system will probably not be overclocked and use my setup for a mix of gaming and productivity work (Some VM's for cert training). Was trying to think if the 1800x + this board worth it over a 7700K setup?
Personal experience here. For the past 2 weeks I've been trying to make this MB work with an R7 1700 and 4x16GB (HyperX Fury 2400), both CPU and RAM at STOCK settings and it's been a frustrating experience. Cold boot issues seems to be the norm with the Crosshair VI Hero.
As you can see, I haven't even started to try an OC since stock stability is a bitch, especially if you plan to populate all 4 RAM slots (which I suppose you'll probably do for VMs).
If I was you I'd go for another brand, seriously. I'm sure no other manufacturer does UEFI as good as ASUS, but that means nothing when your system doesn't work as it should.
 
I'd blame your ram, the IC under the spreader play a big role in Ryzen stability/ability. You might want to try the 9945 BIOS i posted above see if it helps.
 
Second is with temperature, some of us if the board gets cold enough - it will not boot up until it warms up - it just hangs before the bios. Since I live in Florida that is not too much of an issue unless I cool my room down excessively with my A/C unit.

Does the CPU fan start but the system doesn't get to POST, or it just plainly doesn't respond at all? I ask because in my case, if I leave the system unplugged overnight then plug it again in the morning, the first few minutes hitting start won't do anything (MB LEDs are on though). Then after those dead minutes the start button gets responsive and I'm able to boot to windows.
I've noticed that, during those "bricked board" minutes, the Flashback LED (in the back I/O panel) is flashing slowly. When it gets solidly lit I know I can start the system.
 
I'd blame your ram, the IC under the spreader play a big role in Ryzen stability/ability. You might want to try the 9945 BIOS i posted above see if it helps.
I've tried the 9943 BIOS I got from another forum and had no luck. I remember I was supposed to use that instead of 9945 but I could give it a shot, thanks.
 
9945 was intended for high density ram and Hynix AFR is mentioned with it as well. Which your sticks have a high chance of being AFR
 
I've tried the 9943 BIOS I got from another forum and had no luck. I remember I was supposed to use that instead of 9945 but I could give it a shot, thanks.
I think 9943 is for two sticks of memory and 9945 is for 4 sticks

i'm still on 1201 with no problems and it seem to boot fast


they do have a new one coming out the crosshair vi extreme I can't see much difference maybe just a waterblock and fixed
https://translate.google.com/transl...gschiff-Bitspower-1229535/&edit-text=&act=url
 
I think 9943 is for two sticks of memory and 9945 is for 4 sticks

i'm still on 1201 with no problems and it seem to boot fast


they do have a new one coming out the crosshair vi extreme I can't see much difference maybe just a waterblock and fixed
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Mainboard-Hardware-154107/News/Asus-ROG-Crosshair-VI-Extreme-AM4-Flaggschiff-Bitspower-1229535/&edit-text=&act=url

I've looked at those forums and it boggles me the number of different beta BIOS's they've created as well as the number of different configurations. Maybe just me. On the one hand it's nice that they are trying to fix stuff. On the other hand, I'd like the board to just plain work.
 
Could you share your complete settings either via Ryzen Timing Checker (memory timings) or bios screen shots? I could never get 3466 at those settings. Thanks

I just did yesterday over at the ROG Forums here, as well as my latencies. It also has my Dram Volts, Dram Vboot, SOC volts, CLDO_VDDP, and ProcODT settings.

I would also strongly recommend any C6H users to check in at the overclock.net "ROG Crosshair VI overclocking thread", and try a search for any specific issue you might encounter. There is a wealth of great information there, and helpful folk. Also that is where you will likely find the latest bios versions including beta versions appear.

Elmor and Raja of Asus also frequently chime in with helpful information and tools, such as Zenstates which elmor authored.
 
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Nice review, and thanks for stopping me wasting my money!

I got the impression that ASUS rushed this board badly, and there are some big BIOS issues that they don't seem capable of fixing.

I think we are looking at v2 boards as being the only way to fix this, and some of the memory issues Ryzen has. I wouldnt mind betting that we will hear of new revised boards coming in the next 2 or 3 months.
 
Good review as usual!

I must say that the CH6 can be enjoyed if you like to tinker (spend serous amount of time tweaking settings to find what will 'stick', install beta BIOS, and do not mind the occasional cold boot/oc fail).

The thing is, if you do not follow/know about one specific thread over at overclock.net, this board could easily be one of the worst experience you have building a system. This is not normal and should not be tolerated.
 
I just did yesterday over at the ROG Forums here, as well as my latencies. It also has my Dram Volts, Dram Vboot, SOC volts, CLDO_VDDP, and ProcODT settings.

I would also strongly recommend any C6H users to check in at the overclock.net "ROG Crosshair VI overclocking thread", and try a search for any specific issue you might encounter. There is a wealth of great information there, and helpful folk. Also that is where you will likely find the latest bios versions including beta versions appear.

Elmor and Raja of Asus also frequently chime in with helpful information and tools, such as Zenstates which elmor authored.
I did, also had 3466mhz on CH6 with 14-14-14-34 did BCLK up to 103mhz for 35xx something. Start menu disappeared, Edge Icon disappeared again yet my results were virtually the same as with my normal BCLK 109.4 3200 strap setup with looser timings that so far is 100% stable. Feel like I am splitting hairs for just numbers and really have no bearing on any real performance differences and ended up corrupting Windows a little.

I think I am close to resetting Windows, setting the CH6 to my stable, well tested set up and move on to doing real stuff. I wonder if all the bad stuff happening is because of Aura is back on the system (had this issue before) or was it my once again tweaking for no net gain? Rest assure there will be zero ASUS software added beyond what is necessary on this rig, ASUS Software works with the bios and the bios is changing a lot, AGESA is changing and to think their software can keep up with all the changes without issues I think is a tall order.
 
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Does the CPU fan start but the system doesn't get to POST, or it just plainly doesn't respond at all? I ask because in my case, if I leave the system unplugged overnight then plug it again in the morning, the first few minutes hitting start won't do anything (MB LEDs are on though). Then after those dead minutes the start button gets responsive and I'm able to boot to windows.
I've noticed that, during those "bricked board" minutes, the Flashback LED (in the back I/O panel) is flashing slowly. When it gets solidly lit I know I can start the system.
There is a known cold bug issue with the RyZen IMC, when you are less than 20c (this is put out by ASUS), higher speed ram training fails, good IMC in Ryzen will work up to DDR4 3600, others less the DDR 3200. Since I normally run at DDR4 3500 I do see this bug. Computer will start, fans running and that is it, no bios prompt and it will just sit running the fans. If I let it run for several minutes to warm it up it will restart normally. HardOCP did not get ram speeds in the faster speeds so would most likely not see this issue if it was less than 20c. Most people don't probably because most folks can't get to the faster speeds with ram.

I do get a 5 to 10 second pause if I unplug or turn off the power supply and being able to start the computer once power is restored. Not minutes though, not sure what is going on there, is it the RGB controller starting up to turn on the lights? I don't know.
 
There is a known cold bug issue with the RyZen IMC, when you are less than 20c (this is put out by ASUS), higher speed ram training fails, good IMC in Ryzen will work up to DDR4 3600, others less the DDR 3200. Since I normally run at DDR4 3500 I do see this bug. Computer will start, fans running and that is it, no bios prompt and it will just sit running the fans. If I let it run for several minutes to warm it up it will restart normally. HardOCP did not get ram speeds in the faster speeds so would most likely not see this issue if it was less than 20c. Most people don't probably because most folks can't get to the faster speeds with ram.

I do get a 5 to 10 second pause if I unplug or turn off the power supply and being able to start the computer once power is restored. Not minutes though, not sure what is going on there, is it the RGB controller starting up to turn on the lights? I don't know.
Link from AMD on cold bug?
 
I bought this motherboard because of the good reviews, and have no complaint EXCEPT THAT THE PCIE SLOTS DON'T WORK. And it's amazing that nobody has any knowledge or experience on this issue.

I posted here:

https://hardforum.com/threads/crosshair-vi-hero-problem-with-pcie-slots.1936089/

Is anybody running this mobo with a graphics card and two other PCIe cards? If so, what slots did you use (and what type cards)?
Do you have the most recent AMD chipset driver? Maybe you have to use the ASUS version? Since those slots are from the X370.
 
Kyle, no link from AMD, from ASUS XOC Guide:
While it is talking about LN, 20C can happen just the computer sitting there in a cold environment. The graph that accompanies it is more clear on effects of temperature variations. I only see this if my computer is off, AC unit is on set to less than 70F (computer sits right below AC unit probably doesn't help). Does that answer your question?

I would like to add, I never saw this issue with the BioStar board, it is in the same room at this moment and the cpu in it use to be in the CH6 (saw this behavior there as well with that cpu). Not sure what to make of it.
Thanks!
 
This model is definitely looking like a dud, no doubt. I meant Asus in general.

I think Asus underestimated the interest in Ryzen, and did a rush job. Some manager said something about it being good enough, then it was sent to manufacturing...

I've always had Asus boards since going Intel 11 years or so ago, and have to admit that when you get a board with problems from day 1, Asus often never seem to get it perfect.

I will wait for the v2 to appear.
 
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I just did yesterday over at the ROG Forums here, as well as my latencies. It also has my Dram Volts, Dram Vboot, SOC volts, CLDO_VDDP, and ProcODT settings.

I would also strongly recommend any C6H users to check in at the overclock.net "ROG Crosshair VI overclocking thread", and try a search for any specific issue you might encounter. There is a wealth of great information there, and helpful folk. Also that is where you will likely find the latest bios versions including beta versions appear.

Elmor and Raja of Asus also frequently chime in with helpful information and tools, such as Zenstates which elmor authored.

When you get such different results across the board (even on the Asus forum) that means that the board needs a lot more then support on a forum although Zenstates is a nice afterthought it does not fix the problems with the board.
That is the whole problem in a nutshell, other manufacturers have less problems Asus has plenty on their flagship\ board and a "fix" is direly needed.
 
Did clean install (wiped everything) of Win 10 Creators Edition, did not load any extra drivers other then Nvidia's graphics drivers. Device Manager shows 100% configuration of all devices. 3 hours of Aida stress test - good at 3.9ghz and DDR4 3500. I am going to keep it as clean as possible. Did not install AMD drivers other then what Windows 10 installed. Definitely zero ASUS add on crap. RGB lights still on. Time to have some real fun now with computer. Still have more stress testing left but so far it is good.
 
I will agree there were some ASUS specific issues but alot of it still has to do with Ryzen/AMD. I think a lot of the issues as I said already come from the RAM. I have two very good sets of Samsung "B" G.Skills and haven't had too many issue with the CHVI using them. I intentionally purchased a set of cheapie TEAM Delta 2x8 3000 CL16 Hynix AFR based and so far haven't been able to get it stable except on defaults at 2133. I wanted to understand why some people had such a hard time and now I do. Not saying you need the most expensive ram on the shelf but going the cheap route is definitely not the answer.
 
Great review as always.

My Ryzen lust will have to wait until the motherboard and ram issues settle down a bit. But if history is any lesson, AMD will release the AM4+ socket right after I buy an AM4 board.
 
Ok, failure aside, what I want to know is this:

"Kyle has his own sorted history"

Is that history sorted alphabetically or chronologically? ;-)
 
from the review: "XMP still didn’t work properly for me which didn’t surprise me."

with me, for "Corsair Vengance LED 3200 (2x8GB)", this works fine (bios 1002 and 1201):
in the "extreme tweaker" menu, I have used preset "DOCP standard" and then the RAM speed/timings/voltage were set correctly at 3200/C16/1.35V
(the only other thing i manually changed was the multiplier, i set it to 39 ... i use the included spire cooler, so am satisfied with 39)
 
Here's what I don't understand. I have the Asus X370 Prime (their cheapie X370 board), and I've had none of these issues. Even when I had a bad overclock, I just reboot a couple of times, OC recovery hits, and I'm back in the BIOS to fix whatever I did wrong. Don't even need to do a CMOS clear. I eventually managed to hit a stable 4GHz with it, but that was tough. Getting past 3.9 required a lot of tweaking. 3.9 itself was a cinch.

There's none of the BIOS mouse lag described in this review, nor does my board benchmark poorly (indeed, I've consistently recorded results a percent or two higher than similar configurations in 3dmark, Ashes, Cinebench, and a few other comparables).

It loads Windows in what I feel is pretty reasonable time. 19 seconds according to the task manager startup view - and at least 3 or 4 seconds of that are because of the damned Plextor loading screen for my MP8e NVMe drive (thanks Plextor *sigh*).

Now, I do have an issue with RAM overclocking. On early BIOS revisions, I could hit 2933. Then it dropped to 2400 after Agesa 1004 update. BIOS 612 got me back up to 2666... But I also bought 32GB in two DIMMs, so it's dual-rank DDR4-3000, and TBH, I'm surprised I got it as far as I did. Still an irritation, but nothing like the experiences you had.

Is it possible you guys just got a bad board? Or maybe I got lucky? Because it seems very strange that the Asus budget X370 board would wind up better than the expensive one.
 
from the review: "...the system wouldn’t start anymore. I have been unable to resolve that issue."

would you mind to tell us what that means "wouldn't start anymore" ?
- no power or light at all ?
- no bootscreen, but still a QLED code ?
- something else ?

i had something similar, where the monitor would get no signal, but you could see the indicator lights and QLED trying to boot, but it stopped at some QLED code each time (b0 or something)
what solved it for me, was the procedure with "USB BIOS flahback button" (chapter 2.2 in the manual) ...
(but then again, it might have been a concidence as Kyle stated that leaving the board unplugged or doing a hard shutdown etc had different or strange effects)
 
from the review: "...the system wouldn’t start anymore. I have been unable to resolve that issue."

would you mind to tell us what that means "wouldn't start anymore" ?
- no power or light at all ?
- no bootscreen, but still a QLED code ?
- something else ?

i had something similar, where the monitor would get no signal, but you could see the indicator lights and QLED trying to boot, but it stopped at some QLED code each time (b0 or something)
what solved it for me, was the procedure with "USB BIOS flahback button" (chapter 2.2 in the manual) ...
(but then again, it might have been a concidence as Kyle stated that leaving the board unplugged or doing a hard shutdown etc had different or strange effects)

it could be stuck on any code forcing you to shut down and clear cmos , some bios behaviour on the C6H would react totally different between 1002 1107 1201 the last one has been less frightening. Allowing better interaction and far more stable recovering from "bad overclock". That one on previous bios could take half a hour sometimes for me to get it back to be able to boot again. And this was with QVL ram (tridentZ 3200CL14) even.
 
This morning on BIOS 1201 was the first flashback moment to 1107 stuck on 54 , reboot loop same pattern green red green F9 once I shut down the computer removed power cables it would not go past 54. cleared cmos and back to the things I used to do under 1107 starting with a flash of the bios through the USB port. Took a little while didn't boot the system , cleared cmos again , dc'd power cable again , started up after a minute or 5.while it was not on any power.

And all that after I was so bold to push the dram boot voltage to 1.38 in the bios.
 
This morning on BIOS 1201 was the first flashback moment to 1107 stuck on 54 , reboot loop same pattern green red green F9 once I shut down the computer removed power cables it would not go past 54. cleared cmos and back to the things I used to do under 1107 starting with a flash of the bios through the USB port. Took a little while didn't boot the system , cleared cmos again , dc'd power cable again , started up after a minute or 5.while it was not on any power.

And all that after I was so bold to push the dram boot voltage to 1.38 in the bios.
So your really saying Dan and Kyle made a good call. :)
 
from the review: "...the system wouldn’t start anymore. I have been unable to resolve that issue."

would you mind to tell us what that means "wouldn't start anymore" ?
- no power or light at all ?
- no bootscreen, but still a QLED code ?
- something else ?

i had something similar, where the monitor would get no signal, but you could see the indicator lights and QLED trying to boot, but it stopped at some QLED code each time (b0 or something)
what solved it for me, was the procedure with "USB BIOS flahback button" (chapter 2.2 in the manual) ...
(but then again, it might have been a concidence as Kyle stated that leaving the board unplugged or doing a hard shutdown etc had different or strange effects)

It would power on, lights came up but it wouldn't POST. I don't remember the LED code.
 
So your really saying Dan and Kyle made a good call. :)

I've asked Kyle if this is fixable or not , short term it is not consumer friendly , people whom know there way around certain problems can "deal" with it. But with so many motherboards tested here on [H] I'm wondering how many would make a comeback that were absolutely unstable at the start. What is the problem that this board bios or just hardware.

It can't be the ram.
DDR4 OVERCLOCKING
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

THIRD-GENERATION ASUS T-TOPOLOGY
With support for DDR4 memory you're able to drive memory frequencies up to 3200MHz (and beyond when overclocked)! ASUS-exclusive T-Topology circuit design plus OC Socket provides superb memory-overclocking capability to unleash the full power of DDR4 by minimizing coupling noise and signal reflection. With innovative equidistant memory channels, it delivers the most balanced control and powerful overclocking compatibility. ASUS works with almost every DDR4 memory vendor to ensure the best compatibility.

At least that is what Asus is claiming :)
 
So far, the claim seems valid to a point. I've seen higher speeds on the Crosshair VI Hero than I have on other boards, but my sample size is still small.

That doesn't change the fact that the board isn't winning any awards for longevity.
 
Daniel Dobrowolski - maybe you can really help here if you still have the CH6. I am not the only one convinced that this board is not correctly enumerating the chipset-driven PCIe slots. In my case it seems that if there are two similar cards (I have two USB3 cards both with the same NEC controller chip) in these slots then the BIOS will only enable one of them. BIOS v1201, Win10 x64, Ryzen 1800X, no OC.

--> Can you run a test to verify or disprove that specifically? Or just run some tests with combinations of cards?

Thanks in advance. I have contacted Asus support with no result, but if you can verify a simple BIOS problem they may pay attention and fix it.

(My 2008 Asus Rampage Formula mobo identifies these cards with no problems so the fact that there is an issue and that Asus can solve it if they want to seems obvious.)
 
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