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

I wouldn't worry too much about RB, It can be a mess at times. So many libraries need to be in line for it to work. If it's passing everything else I would chalk it up to a bad RB. Even on a clean OS it can be hard to get running at times.
Here's another hany and quick test. It's IBT but has the AVX instructions included, actually works quite well on AMD and shows instability quite quickly. Also customizable ram allocation.
 

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I wouldn't worry too much about RB, It can be a mess at times. So many libraries need to be in line for it to work. If it's passing everything else I would chalk it up to a bad RB. Even on a clean OS it can be hard to get running at times.
Here's another hany and quick test. It's IBT but has the AVX instructions included, actually works quite well on AMD and shows instability quite quickly. Also customizable ram allocation.

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

Update: it's crashing after a few minutes with this test. And I've tried it with memory at 'stock' speed (and OC CPU and Stock CPU). I have a Gigabyte K7 arriving this week or early next week so I'll at least have a second board to try everything again.
 
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What kind of "crashing" are you getting? Can you post any SS or is it system crash?
 
What kind of "crashing" are you getting? Can you post any SS or is it system crash?

It's a complete system freeze. No BSOD, no black screen (apparently common when pushing the CPU too far) and it requires a reset.

Since the results are the same at stock (3.6/2400) with 2 different set of RAM I figured trying another MB would be nice...
 
That H60 runs off of a fan header correct? Do you have it connected to the AIO header on the CHVI ? That header will keep the pump running on high where others might not. If you get the missing CPU fan warning just disable it in BIOS in monitor section
 
That H60 runs off of a fan header correct? Do you have it connected to the AIO header on the CHVI ? That header will keep the pump running on high where others might not. If you get the missing CPU fan warning just disable it in BIOS in monitor section

Sorry but my signature is out of date. I'm using a NZXT Kraken X62 and it's connected to the AIO header.
 
I see you have a lot of peripherals and RGB action. First I would disconnect anything you don't need to run the PC.
Have you installed AURA? It has been troublesome to date. I see they have released yet another version which might be worth a try if you're planning on using it. For me the ONLY time I have had lock ups was when I had a SW conflict. Typically I have only had BS or black screen shutdowns
 
I see you have a lot of peripherals and RGB action. First I would disconnect anything you don't need to run the PC.
Have you installed AURA? It has been troublesome to date. I see they have released yet another version which might be worth a try if you're planning on using it. For me the ONLY time I have had lock ups was when I had a SW conflict. Typically I have only had BS or black screen shutdowns

All LEDs are off (even the ones on the video cards). Aura was never installed since I've reinstalled Windows 10. Same goes for the atrocious CAM software. As for the other peripherals they are only connected when playing games and not while benchmarking/stress testing.

I've finally decided to retire the board/CPU and go back to my 'old' setup. There are a few games I want to play instead of keeping on beating this dead horse. I'll probably get back to it at some point when a new UEFI update becomes available.
 
That's too bad, I have to say your symptoms don't seem to be the usual ones. I have had tempory freezes at times with IBT but it's a very demanding software and take most of the resources it can get a hold of when running. The freezes typically are only temporary a few seconds here and there or a laggy mouse etc...
 
I guess I got lucky with my setup. Updated to bios 1401, I have 4x 8GB Sticks of Corsair Vengance DDR4 3200 and run at speeds just fine.

You did not use/buy the motherboard with an older bios before you had the ram kit ?
 
That's too bad, I have to say your symptoms don't seem to be the usual ones. I have had tempory freezes at times with IBT but it's a very demanding software and take most of the resources it can get a hold of when running. The freezes typically are only temporary a few seconds here and there or a laggy mouse etc...

There is indeed something strange going on. At least I can use the same memory modules with the Xpower Titanium/7700K and complete RealBench 2.54 for 8 hours so it's not a defective stick of RAM that is causing the crashes.

Looks like it's either an issue with the BIOS or a motherboard/cpu issue (it's more likely an issue with RAM compatibility).

Thanks for the suggestions and help! :)

Update: Still can't leave this one alone... I've cancelled the Gigabyte K7 and ordered the ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming. Never had an ASRock board before but the reviews for the Fatal1ty and the Taichi are good (certainly better than the ones for the CH6).
 
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Let me put it this way, I've had really good experiences with most of ASUS' motherboards over the last ten years or more. I've encountered a couple of models I may not have liked for whatever reason, but they worked. The worst motherboard I've encountered up until the Crosshair VI Hero from ASUS was the Striker Extreme. That board was better than a lot of the fucked up 680i SLI reference boards, but it wasn't good either. The Crosshair VI Hero reminds me of that experience, but worse. It's easily the worst motherboard ASUS ever put in my hands. That's not saying its the worst motherboard ever, but it's definitely subpar for ASUS as a company.

They had just as long to get it right as GIGABYTE, but their effort wasn't as strong. That's puzzling to me but there it is.

Has Asus offered any sort of response/feedback to the CH6 review, given its poor showing?
 
This is not like ASUS, but then again, the code they have to work with is controlled by AMD (AGESA). Its a shame that the release of Ryzen has suffered from immaturity. I hope they get it right with Vega.
Then why the heck the Taichi is a much better and stable motherboard with the exact same GPU, CPU and memory ?
Why asus decided to drop DTS and DD support for this motherboard ?
Why pretty much all the other brands are backing their products instead of putting the blame on AMD ?
 
Has Asus offered any sort of response/feedback to the CH6 review, given its poor showing?
There was nothing NOT reported to ASUS during out testing outside of the last board dying, and other boards we had issue with were sent back to ASUS for review. ASUS seemed surprised by our review, not sure why, after MONTHS of emails about issues. They asked to start revisiting all this again, and quite frankly I told them NO. I have wasted enough of my time on this motherboard and have other things to do. I already let this motherboard heavily impact my AM4 review schedule and will not do that any longer.
 
Then why the heck the Taichi is a much better and stable motherboard with the exact same GPU, CPU and memory ?

Not to hijack the thread but I have to agree with you. I've installed the ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming (that's a mouthful) and I'm finally able to complete a full run of RealBench without crashes.

Granted it's at stock setting but my CH6 could not even do that. And to add insult to injury, I've only updated the BIOS to the latest version (2.40) and selected the XMP profile for my RAM without any modifications.

I'm not arguing that some have had a great experience with the CH6, but that was certainly not my case! I'm just glad I can finally use my Ryzen system!
 
What troubles me the most is the poor response from Asus considering this is a flagship model. And no, fixing it months later (if ever) doesn't count when you need to put your investment to work right now.
For my next purchase I'm going back to Gigabyte or MSI.
 
Unless they show up to the ball game the Asus experience will be pretty limited for anyone.
 
I know what brand (wink wink nudge nudge) of MB I'll go for when it's time to go with a X399 setup... ;)

Update 1: Reinstalled the ASUS board with the latest BIOS version, and lo and behold, it's now passing RealBench. :D

Update 2: It's now passing RealBench stress test for 1H at 3.9GHz (1.395V) with 32Gb RAM at 3200 (16-16-16-39-73 2T). SOC Voltage is at auto (stays around 1.137V). I'm saving everything and I'm never touching the settings again! :D
 
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Quick solution for users who want to add additional internal USB (2.0) headers to the CH6.

The Hubby7 (from aqua-computer) works perfectly and can be mounter directly on the motherboard. It does not interfere with installed M.2 drives (except maybe ones with a cover like the Plextor PX-256M8PeG).

My Corsair H80iGT is seen by the Link software when connected to the Hubby7. Note that it was not the case with the Kraken X62.

It can be powered via the motherboard USB header or by an SATA connector.

2017-07-11 15.41.19.jpg


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I know what brand (wink wink nudge nudge) of MB I'll go for when it's time to go with a X399 setup... ;)

Update 1: Reinstalled the ASUS board with the latest BIOS version, and lo and behold, it's now passing RealBench. :D

Update 2: It's now passing RealBench stress test for 1H at 3.9GHz (1.395V) with 32Gb RAM at 3200 (16-16-16-39-73 2T). SOC Voltage is at auto (stays around 1.137V). I'm saving everything and I'm never touching the settings again! :D

1403 is the bios the board should have been released with. I am now getting 3200 as well.
 
1403 bios is good so far for me as well. Also bought the ASUS OC Module which should be arriving this week. For me the board has smoothed out, no real issues at this point.
 
I agree with this. This shows how serious Asus is when bringing a product to market. Next time buy from another brand, I'm sure I'll do.
The board design and build seems solid from my experience (still one must consider HardOCP experience as well which is opposite), firmware was a nightmare and is finally getting to a point I would consider worthwhile. ASUS I do believe would have done better if they waited until the firmware was in better shape than what it was on launch. As for next board to get, I recommend evaluate each one separately, case by case.

Now I may need to go to 32gb for the memory which may just open up a new ball of worms in the end on this board :unsure:.

As for HardOCP revisiting - I think ASUS had their chance and they blew it - time to move on and hope to see other AM4 boards and X399 boards when they become available reviewed.
 
The board design and build seems solid from my experience (still one must consider HardOCP experience as well which is opposite), firmware was a nightmare and is finally getting to a point I would consider worthwhile. ASUS I do believe would have done better if they waited until the firmware was in better shape than what it was on launch.

Naturally, everyone would have been better off getting their UEFI code up to snuff. AMD fucked that up by sending the AGESA code out late. I also don't think AMD's done a very good job with that code. You'd think that newer versions of the AGESA code would be better, but that's not the case. It's all over the map. You then have to combine that code with the manufacturer's individual UEFI code. That's another layer of complexity.

As for next board to get, I recommend evaluate each one separately, case by case.

Indeed. I've had good experiences with ASUS in all but the rarest of cases. I've seen plenty of manufacturers release turds every once in awhile with excellent models in the same series, or bracketing the bad one. I wouldn't judge ASUS too harshly for this one example. It reminds me of their STRIKER Extreme which was a pile of shit too. Aside from that, I haven't run into too many ASUS boards I didn't like.

Now I may need to go to 32gb for the memory which may just open up a new ball of worms in the end on this board :unsure:.

Last I checked, current AGESA code only supports DDR4 2400MHz using 4 DIMMs. I wouldn't use more than two modules with Ryzen unless you absolutely need extra memory capacity. You will take a hit on performance dropping your RAM clocks.

As for HardOCP revisiting - I think ASUS had their chance and they blew it - time to move on and hope to see other AM4 boards and X399 boards when they become available reviewed.

This is exactly the way I felt about it, though the decision not to revisit this heap was Kyle's. In any case, there was several weeks of E-Mails going back and forth concerning issues between Kyle and ASUS and we went through this ordeal with multiple motherboards. This was one of, if not the most problematic motherboards that I can recall dealing with in the 10+ years I've been doing this. I've had other motherboards die, but none were as problematic overall as this one.

This motherboard still doesn't remotely rank on my top 5 worst motherboards of all time list, but it's the worst Ryzen board I've dealt with and the worst ASUS motherboard I might have ever seen.
 
Naturally, everyone would have been better off getting their UEFI code up to snuff. AMD fucked that up by sending the AGESA code out late. I also don't think AMD's done a very good job with that code. You'd think that newer versions of the AGESA code would be better, but that's not the case. It's all over the map. You then have to combine that code with the manufacturer's individual UEFI code. That's another layer of complexity.

There are some undocumented changes between CH6 FW 9943, 1401, and 1403, all of which supposedly have AGESA 1.0.0.6. 1403 allows me to run my RAM at its rated speed whilst 9943 couldn't POST at all with any overclocks.

If I weren't aware of the OCN thread started by a ROG employee, I doubt I'd still be running this board. Having said that, I think it's finally where it needs to be with 1403 and should probably be revisited.
 
There are some undocumented changes between CH6 FW 9943, 1401, and 1403, all of which supposedly have AGESA 1.0.0.6. 1403 allows me to run my RAM at its rated speed whilst 9943 couldn't POST at all with any overclocks.

If I weren't aware of the OCN thread started by a ROG employee, I doubt I'd still be running this board. Having said that, I think it's finally where it needs to be with 1403 and should probably be revisited.

With what's on the horizon and so many other X370 motherboards out there, we aren't going to waste time circling back around to a motherboard that might be better with one specific BIOS revision.
 
I filled out the bug report with a problem I was having on the C6H where the RGB lighting would stay on in S3, even after setting it in the BIOS. An engineer contacted me and gave me the fix. It worked too. I like that there is an Asus employee working in some of the forums that has personally tried to help us. That is what makes me look at Asus time and again.
 
I filled out the bug report with a problem I was having on the C6H where the RGB lighting would stay on in S3, even after setting it in the BIOS. An engineer contacted me and gave me the fix. It worked too. I like that there is an Asus employee working in some of the forums that has personally tried to help us. That is what makes me look at Asus time and again.

Would you mind sharing that fix. Mine does the same thing and it's really annoying!
 
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