[H] Asus Striker Review

I guess I got lost--or should I say a solid list of known BIOS issues with the Striker Extreme got lost--in the ether...

I'm interested in the Striker Extreme still, regardless (I too noticed the use of irregardless above and it made me laugh) of the known issues... I guess I just have faith in some future BIOS updates that might fix the issues... I'm still weighing other choices... I probably can't get my hands on some good RAM until January anyway...

I'm mainly interested in whether they have fixed the cold-boot problem with the Corsair TWIN2X2048-8888C4DF that requires a higher voltage... My newest system is OLD, and I definately don't have any spare RAM around to boot with...

Does anybody have a definitive list of known issues with the current BIOS releases?
 
Gridneo said:
I guess I got lost--or should I say a solid list of known BIOS issues with the Striker Extreme got lost--in the ether...

I'm interested in the Striker Extreme still, regardless (I too noticed the use of irregardless above and it made me laugh) of the known issues... I guess I just have faith in some future BIOS updates that might fix the issues... I'm still weighing other choices... I probably can't get my hands on some good RAM until January anyway...

I'm mainly interested in whether they have fixed the cold-boot problem with the Corsair TWIN2X2048-8888C4DF that requires a higher voltage... My newest system is OLD, and I definately don't have any spare RAM around to boot with...

Does anybody have a definitive list of known issues with the current BIOS releases?
Click to expand...

I don't know what part number that is, but I do know that BIOS 0403 on up work correctly with the Corsair Dominator PC8888 modules. The PC8000UL modules also worked ok and I never experienced the cold boot issue.
 
MrSelfDestruct said:
Well, I called PCP&C and they informed me that the Turbo-Cool 1KW (not the SR or the Quad) will shut off with 8800s in SLI. They 8800s overload the voltage on one of the lines.

I am having to RMA the PSU to have it re-wired to make it the 1KW Quad. They are charging me $70 to do this.

This was in response to my computer shutting down in games when the 8800s were drawing a lot more power. Incidently, while the Turbo-Cool is MIA I am using the SilverStone 600W PSU which has been running great.
Click to expand...



The SS 600w will run the 8800s in SLI but the PCP&C 1kw wont? That doesnt speak well for PCP&C if you ask me. I think I'd ask for my money back altogether and go with a different brand and product. Btw, which G80s are they? GTX or GTS?
 
Skott said:
The SS 600w will run the 8800s in SLI but the PCP&C 1kw wont? That doesnt speak well for PCP&C if you ask me. I think I'd ask for my money back altogether and go with a different brand and product. Btw, which G80s are they? GTX or GTS?
Click to expand...

Actually, I have more confidence in the RMA'd PCP&C PSU that the SS600W. I was reading the specs on the SS600w and it wont be enough to run the 8800GTXs in SLI.
 
From ASUS:

Striker Extreme release BIOS version 0505
1. Support Max LDT Frequency from 5X to 8X
2. Fine tune CPU Temperature detection code
3. Fixed some default value can't save when using BIOS Profile function.
4. Enable adjustments for tRD and TrFC item
5. Enhance DDR667 memory compatibility
6. Enhance performance for Corsair CM2X1024-9136C5D
7. Fixed CPU Voltage max option drops to 1.60V when set Multi-Language option to 'Tri Chinese' , 'Sim Chinese' or 'Japanese'.

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=Striker Extreme


Has anybody tried it out and/or does it help the OC situation mentioned previously? Are the data corruption issues only present in the EVGA Reference Type Boards, or is it 680i-wide issue that ASUS will eventually have to fix?
 
Gridneo said:
From ASUS:

Striker Extreme release BIOS version 0505
1. Support Max LDT Frequency from 5X to 8X
2. Fine tune CPU Temperature detection code
3. Fixed some default value can't save when using BIOS Profile function.
4. Enable adjustments for tRD and TrFC item
5. Enhance DDR667 memory compatibility
6. Enhance performance for Corsair CM2X1024-9136C5D
7. Fixed CPU Voltage max option drops to 1.60V when set Multi-Language option to 'Tri Chinese' , 'Sim Chinese' or 'Japanese'.

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=Striker Extreme

Has anybody tried it out and/or does it help the OC situation mentioned previously? Are the data corruption issues only present in the EVGA Reference Type Boards, or is it 680i-wide issue that ASUS will eventually have to fix?
Click to expand...

I never had any real problems with the Striker Extreme running BIOS 0402 or 0505. The overclocking did improve on version 0505. The fixes listed in 0505 might explain why Kyle's initial Striker Extreme testing showed much higher CPU temperatures than those of the eVGA 680i. I have never experienced data corruption issues with the Striker Extreme, and don't know of anyone who is. It seems the bulk of the SATA storage issues are on NVIDIA reference boards and not the ASUS boards.
 
Yea... I'd definately be interested in seeing the follow-up to all the 680i reviews when all the kinks get ironed out...

So where does that leave the Striker? I mean it sounds like a solid board, but is dwarfed by the EVGA in OCing and/or price...? Is that all there is? I don't really have a problem with the price, but want to know what other problems people are having...

Sorry, I was expecting this thread to be HUGE like the Benq FP241W thread I've been following over the last couple months.
 
Gridneo said:
Yea... I'd definately be interested in seeing the follow-up to all the 680i reviews when all the kinks get ironed out...

So where does that leave the Striker? I mean it sounds like a solid board, but is dwarfed by the EVGA in OCing and/or price...? Is that all there is? I don't really have a problem with the price, but want to know what other problems people are having...

Sorry, I was expecting this thread to be HUGE like the Benq FP241W thread I've been following over the last couple months.
Click to expand...

I don't think that any follow up reviews would be necessary because all the boards we've tested aside from the Striker worked awesome out of the gate and worked exactly as they should have.

The problems experienced are no doubt only by a small, but vocal percentage. Including myself. As with all overclocking your mileage will vary. The first Striker only makes it to 437.5MHz FSB. (After BIOS 0505), yet the second [H] Striker board will do 509MHz FSB. While that doesn't match several of the eVGA 680i boards that have been reviewed on the net, it's pretty close.

The Striker has caused me FAR less problems than the eVGA 680i boards did and I've read nothing about anyone having SATA issues on the Striker. So take that for what it's worth. In fact, I haven't had any problems with the Striker other than mediocre overclocking with the intial BIOS. After that, I've had no problems. Though currently I am experiencing some kind of sound crackling issues that I did have on the eVGA board. This issue is only present when SLI is enabled, and that was the case on both the Striker and the eVGA 680i, which use very different audio chips. As a result, I do not believe this to be a motherboard issue.
 
I have the same snap, crackle and pop (Rice Krispies?) sound effect with SLI in games unfortunately. Drives me nuts. I was hoping 0505 BIOS would help but no dice there.
Only other issue is the Mushkin PC8500 which I can't get anywhere near 1066 for the life of me.
Overall the Striker has been wonderfully stable. I hope the two issues above get sorted out.
 
A little off topic here, but what kinda of HSF's are people using here on their Striker? I originally got the P5WDH along with the Infinity, but 3 boards later and RAID not working properly, I opted for the Striker. I haven't installed the motherboard yet, but I placed the Infinity on the Striker (not installing it or anything) and noticed the heatsinks on the board might be too high and the Infinity might not be able to be installed onto it. ARRGHH! I hope I won't have to sell the heatsink because I just got it and it's probably one of the best heatsinks out there to buy.
 
alphakilo said:
A little off topic here, but what kinda of HSF's are people using here on their Striker? I originally got the P5WDH along with the Infinity, but 3 boards later and RAID not working properly, I opted for the Striker. I haven't installed the motherboard yet, but I placed the Infinity on the Striker (not installing it or anything) and noticed the heatsinks on the board might be too high and the Infinity might not be able to be installed onto it. ARRGHH! I hope I won't have to sell the heatsink because I just got it and it's probably one of the best heatsinks out there to buy.
Click to expand...

I am using a Zalman CNPS9500 AT (Without the ghey LEDs).

morphine said:
I have the same snap, crackle and pop (Rice Krispies?) sound effect with SLI in games unfortunately. Drives me nuts. I was hoping 0505 BIOS would help but no dice there.
Only other issue is the Mushkin PC8500 which I can't get anywhere near 1066 for the life of me.
Overall the Striker has been wonderfully stable. I hope the two issues above get sorted out.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat as you. It sucks bad.
 
alphakilo said:
A little off topic here, but what kinda of HSF's are people using here on their Striker?
Click to expand...
Zalman CNPS9500AT. This one's especially for socket 775 with a 4 pin fan connector. I wanted to install the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro but I heard it won't fit between the rollercoaster heatpipes on the motherboard. But the Zalman is a fine cooler too although more expensive than the Freezer 7 Pro.
 
Dan_D said:
I'm in the same boat as you. It sucks bad.
Click to expand...


There was a post over on the ASUS forums about the old Audigy 2 ZS cards working with SLI enabled. I tried my old card that I had lying around, but still no joy.
I've seen a few people mention that their sound/SLI problems disappear with other non-Creative cards like the new Razer Barracuda. That might be my next step to solve this issue.
 
morphine said:
There was a post over on the ASUS forums about the old Audigy 2 ZS cards working with SLI enabled. I tried my old card that I had lying around, but still no joy.
I've seen a few people mention that their sound/SLI problems disappear with other non-Creative cards like the new Razer Barracuda. That might be my next step to solve this issue.
Click to expand...

I bought an Audigy SE card at Best Buy for abour $30 and it works fine with SLI enabled. Pretty sad if you ask me.

I would prefer them to fix the onboard audio instead, as I need the PCI slot for something else.
 
I understand that Audio issue is common among all 680i boards with SLI and it affects even the Creative Audigy ZS 2 and X-Fi cards. Apparently EVGA released a BIOS fix for there mobo. I think it has something to do with PCI bus timings, don't know for sure. Hope it gets fixed soon with the ASUS Striker Extreme board. I have one on back order still for 331 dollars. I agree that is a lot of money and so far the most I have ever spent on a motherboard was 185 an almost doubling in price. :( Still it has eSATA and comes with a good bundle. It will not justify its high price totally but considering the EVGA cost 225 at its cheapest but you don't get a game Ghost Recon and 3DMark06 their really isn't that huge of a difference in price once you factor in what those programs cost separately. I realize those programs certainly aren't costing ASUS that much to bundle and this board shouldn't be more than 275 given the extra features it has over the other 680i boards even with the bundle. Still, I want it ;)

I actually, can't believe I am going Intel over AMD as I always looked at Intel as being a monster that needs to be stopped. :) I guess my desire to build a monster system with all the fastest hardware won over my moral obligation to not support companies that need an ass wiping. I'm going to hell:mad:
 
wishbringer15 said:
Apparently EVGA released a BIOS fix for there mobo.
Click to expand...

That's correct. I hadn't read anything from Asus yet so I contacted them. Their response:


We are aware of the issue and are fixing the problem as we speak. ETA unknown.

Asus Support Team.
 
I just can't get over the price for all the features.
$400+
I mean come on!
A board like that should be an OC's dream... too bad.
 
Maybe it's just a maintance thing, but the Striker is no longer ( as of a half hour ago) listed on Newegg's web site.
 
wishbringer15 said:
I understand that Audio issue is common among all 680i boards with SLI and it affects even the Creative Audigy ZS 2 and X-Fi cards. Apparently EVGA released a BIOS fix for there mobo. I think it has something to do with PCI bus timings, don't know for sure. Hope it gets fixed soon with the ASUS Striker Extreme board. I have one on back order still for 331 dollars. I agree that is a lot of money and so far the most I have ever spent on a motherboard was 185 an almost doubling in price. :( Still it has eSATA and comes with a good bundle. It will not justify its high price totally but considering the EVGA cost 225 at its cheapest but you don't get a game Ghost Recon and 3DMark06 their really isn't that huge of a difference in price once you factor in what those programs cost separately. I realize those programs certainly aren't costing ASUS that much to bundle and this board shouldn't be more than 275 given the extra features it has over the other 680i boards even with the bundle. Still, I want it ;)

I actually, can't believe I am going Intel over AMD as I always looked at Intel as being a monster that needs to be stopped. :) I guess my desire to build a monster system with all the fastest hardware won over my moral obligation to not support companies that need an ass wiping. I'm going to hell:mad:
Click to expand...

Yes it's very common and I am experiencing this issue right now. I haven't tried BIOS 0701 with the onboard audio or X-Fi yet. Since no mention of the audio is in the list of fixes, it probably doesn't address the problem at all. I did fix my issue temporarily by downgrading to a Audigy SE card I purchased for $30.99 at Worst Buy. It works like a champ but unfortunately it doesn't sound nearly as good as my Creative X-Fi card did when it worked.

I also had the same issues with the eVGA 680i.
 
Dan_D said:
Yes it's very common and I am experiencing this issue right now. I haven't tried BIOS 0701 with the onboard audio or X-Fi yet. Since no mention of the audio is in the list of fixes, it probably doesn't address the problem at all. I did fix my issue temporarily by downgrading to a Audigy SE card I purchased for $30.99 at Worst Buy. It works like a champ but unfortunately it doesn't sound nearly as good as my Creative X-Fi card did when it worked.

I also had the same issues with the eVGA 680i.
Click to expand...

0701 still has the problem.
 
I have the Striker and an X-fi platinum (I think; it's got the drive bay controls), and I haven't noticed the popping everybody is talking about... I'm using 0701...

I do have a single unknown device showing up in Device Manager that I'd like to fix though... Any idea what it could be? I turned on SATA RAID (although I didn't add any devices yet), and that added a 2nd unknown device; I can probably fix that one, but I haven't a clue what the first unknown device is from...

I installed the NVIDIA chipset drivers, SI SATA, latest graphics, and the drivers for the X-fi (that drive bay control panel doesn't require drivers, does it)... That's all I can think of really...

The system has been solid thus far... Going to put the other 3 harddrives in this week, and get all the fans hooked up, and cables routed correctly (I have a Coolermaster Stacker 830, Black), before I start playing with OCing...
 
Gridneo said:
I have the Striker and an X-fi platinum (I think; it's got the drive bay controls), and I haven't noticed the popping everybody is talking about... I'm using 0701...

I do have a single unknown device showing up in Device Manager that I'd like to fix though... Any idea what it could be? I turned on SATA RAID (although I didn't add any devices yet), and that added a 2nd unknown device; I can probably fix that one, but I haven't a clue what the first unknown device is from...

I installed the NVIDIA chipset drivers, SI SATA, latest graphics, and the drivers for the X-fi (that drive bay control panel doesn't require drivers, does it)... That's all I can think of really...

The system has been solid thus far... Going to put the other 3 harddrives in this week, and get all the fans hooked up, and cables routed correctly (I have a Coolermaster Stacker 830, Black), before I start playing with OCing...
Click to expand...

Usually the drive bay things require you to install the complete suite of bullshit that comes with Creative labs cards. I don't know for sure as I haven't had such a card since the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1.
 
Alright thanks... I'll give that a try tonight...

Dan, your signature mentions a Stacker with 8 x 120mm fans... Where do you have the 8th... Do you have an extra 4in3 bay with an additional fan? And which do you have as intakes? ... I'm wondering if using some or all of the side fans create enough airflow to cool the motherboard, ram, etc...

I picked up some of the ~65cfm Scythe Fans, because they're super quiet... I'm contemplating putting 4 HDs in that lower-most 4in3 bay in the Stacker, but worry that if I were to cover up the front intake (all a higher cfm fan would get air moving across, between the 4 harddrives), other components would suffer...

That and where are people positioning the thermal sensors that came with the Striker?
 
I can tell you my experiences with the Stacker 830 and fans. I have 8 fans as well, having purchased an extra HDD enclosure.
Two front HDD: both blowing in
Top: blowing out
Rear: blowing out
Side fans: here is where it was getting interesting. If you were looking at the case from the side, I have the bottom left blowing out and it drops the 8800GTXs a few degrees. I found that the other three side fans were doing nothing for my setup. Either blowing in or out was raising my CPU temp a few degrees and did nothing for my 8800GTXs. Leaving those 3 fans off gave me the best CPU temperatures. I am still using the stock QX6700 heatsink/fan combo right now as I haven't decided which way to go for CPU cooling, so that combo may have had an adverse reaction to the airflow in my Stacker.
 
Well I don't have the temp sensors installed... Which begs the question about measuring the CPU temp; do I have to get one of the thermal sensors between the heatsink and the cpu like systems a couple years ago, or are the readings the bios is giving me for the cpu accurate enough? I've been outta the game for too long...

Like I said, I haven't OCed anything yet, but I worry that if I cover up my front intake, it's going to kill something...
 
morphine said:
I can tell you my experiences with the Stacker 830 and fans. I have 8 fans as well, having purchased an extra HDD enclosure.
Two front HDD: both blowing in
Top: blowing out
Rear: blowing out
Side fans: here is where it was getting interesting. If you were looking at the case from the side, I have the bottom left blowing out and it drops the 8800GTXs a few degrees. I found that the other three side fans were doing nothing for my setup. Either blowing in or out was raising my CPU temp a few degrees and did nothing for my 8800GTXs. Leaving those 3 fans off gave me the best CPU temperatures. I am still using the stock QX6700 heatsink/fan combo right now as I haven't decided which way to go for CPU cooling, so that combo may have had an adverse reaction to the airflow in my Stacker.
Click to expand...


Last summer PerformancePCs came out with a CM-830 mod. In their case they used two fans on the side. At the time I was looking into the CM830 case for a possible build so I asked PPCs if they'd build a four side fan case if requested. They said they would but I was told when they did their testing of the case that they found that four side fans didnt improve performance over just two side fans and thats why they went with two side fans in their listed mod build. Anyway, it just reinforces the theory that having more fans on the side (in the CM-830) doesnt make for better cooling necessarily. Strategically placing one or two side fans will give the optimal cooling performance. The nice thing about the CM-830 is that it allows you four different locations for strategic placing depending on your build/needs. Just thought I'd share that here. :)
 
I'm getting the retail board TOMARROW

Maybe the full retail version with most of the bugs worked out will be alot better then the preview board ]H[ had to review

I was going to get the Gigabyte board, but the back side heatsink and the wait was killing me.

I build Asus everyday, and most of the time the boards are great, long as the chipset/vender dev boards dont suck. (A7V series= blew, SiS boards = worse)
 
temporalwar said:
I'm getting the retail board TOMARROW

Maybe the full retail version with most of the bugs worked out will be alot better then the preview board ]H[ had to review

I was going to get the Gigabyte board, but the back side heatsink and the wait was killing me.

I build Asus everyday, and most of the time the boards are great, long as the chipset/vender dev boards dont suck. (A7V series= blew, SiS boards = worse)
Click to expand...

The board we used was a retail board, it was not an engineering sample or early version of the board. If you'll notice, we almost never have board reviews up at launch time, That is the reason why.

At the [H] we do not use engineering samples. This is done because the engineering samples are going to be hand picked, and are going to be the absolute best that company has to offer in that line. Using retail boards, what we get is what you get.
 
You could pull that board out, and update to the latest bios and try again?
updated review, for those who care.
 
After reading this review and considering the price difference and performance difference I went with teh EVGA 680i, 2.4ghz C2D, and a single 8800GTX. I plan to upgrade the video card in under 8 mos, to SLI, but I'm hoping that a single GTX will beat the piss out of EQ2 with everything maxed.

Thank you for your very relevant reviews and honest opinions and results. I too have been an Asus fan for pretty much all my computer building years, now almost 20 yrs and was shocked to hear the so so results on a premium priced board.

So once again my thanks to all at [H]ard!
 
temporalwar said:
You could pull that board out, and update to the latest bios and try again?
updated review, for those who care.
Click to expand...

The board that was used for the review is actually in my own personal computer now. It has been for the last month now. I won't be pulling it out anytime soon. :)

Additionally, I have updated to 0701 and the sound issues with the onboard sound and Creative X-Fi are still present. As far as overclock testing, I intend to continue with it, and I will report my findings here in this thread.
 
Just updated to 0701 BIOS, I didn't even realize there was a new BIOS till the other night, when I decided to manually check on the website.

Could you guys post your Voltage settings and other particular tweaks with your overclocks?

I was wondering, what in the world is the 5x-8x LDT setting for?

So far I had one crash with the motherboard at 400 MHz FSB, I was playing a game the other day seemed like a video crash maybe, during a game complete hard crash.

The voltages seem closer to what I set it to with the new BIOS maybe? But still they are usually .1->.3 volts more, as for the memory it's always about .1v more than what I set it at ...
 
Well using the asus pc probe software, it tossed two errors at me... Chassis fan was below normal--sitting at 800rpm for a 1200-1250rpm fan (around 1k rpm for a 1600rpm fan), and 1.2vht was around 1.50 (nominal value was 1.30 or something)...

I tested both my fans on other connectors, and they are operating flawlessly... Is this a motherboard issue, or is the chassis fan supposed to be tuned down...

Second, I haven't a clue what the 1.2vht setting is or if it can be changed... it was 1.50 out of the box...

I haven't seen a ton of other 3dmark tests done with the Striker (if anybody has solid links, I'd appreciate it) and a single 8800 gtx, but mine barely break 7500 (1280x1024)...

On top of that, the bottom fan on my Enermax Galaxy 850w PSU died this weekend, and wouldn't stop beeping... I'm shipping it back, but I'm wondering if it was just a bad PSU, or if some external influence could have killed in while it was operating (it's been up for about a week working fine)...
 
If anyone has any information on a BIOS recovery flash proceedure for the Striker Extreme, I'd love to see the information. I've been unable to find anything so far.

It really sucks.
 
Hehe... It happens...

Is your chassis fan connector to your motherboard, and/or is it showing the proper rpm values...? My issue is that I don't know if the motherboard is actually slowing the fan down to 800rpm, or simply reporting it as 800rpm erroneously... I could definately plug it straight into a 4pin molex, but then I lose the monitoring capability.
 
Dan_D said:
If anyone has any information on a BIOS recovery flash proceedure for the Striker Extreme, I'd love to see the information. I've been unable to find anything so far.

It really sucks.
Click to expand...

If I were you I would strip the mobo down to one video card, one stick of memory and the cpu only.. see if you can get anything from that... of have you done that already? If the bios flash went bad and there's a corrupt segment embedded now, it's going to be tough to undo that.. this is why mfg's should have dual bios.. really.. it would save us from nightmare issues like this... especially with enthusiast boards which people like to flash new bioses onto frequently.. at any rate.. can you maybe pull the bios chip out and get a new one? is that even a possibility? or get someone to force flash a good image into your chip? I have not done that before, but I have heard about people doing it.. I reckon you need a chip flashing device tho..
 
wishbringer15 said:
Link to a new beta bios that is suppose to fix the X-Fi issues. I don't have the board yet but if someone would try it out and let us now that would be great!

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/socket775/Stricker Extreme/SE0802.zip
Click to expand...

I tried 0802 and it killed my BIOS chip. Unfortunately, I used the Windows based tool ASUS Update. I've never had a problem with it in the past, and it worked well for me for two other BIOS flashes on that particular Striker Extreme board. So I had to order a new BIOS chip which should be arriving soon.
 
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