Issues booting with AsRock 990FX Extreme3

[majinsnake]

Hello

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157281 - Motherboard

Motherboard has latest bios.

I have been having issues with my AsRock 990FX Extreme3 motherboard. Last week, I thought it was my graphics card (XFX Radeon 7870 2 GB) that was giving me problems. I tested the card in another system and it won't boot. XFX said that they will RMA. I got make sure that card is in original condition as I had to take use a 3rd party fan on it to cool it.

My case is Coolermaster CM-690 II.

I bought a new graphics card (EVGA 4 GB GTX 760) that has been tested and works.


A few days later...my EVGA card is having problems booting. I thought that their is no way it could be the card. It turns out I was right. It is the PCI-E slot. Probably so many times of figuring out the XFX card was the culprit listed above. Meanwhile, the computer case clips that hold the graphics card in place was broke. I had used screws instead, but they weren't so tight to offset the card. I used a different PCI-E slot this time where the computer case clips were not broke. Everything seemed okay.

Now the last few days for my computer to boot properly, I have to open my case and carefully re-seat the EVGA card. I guarantee that that is not a smart idea. I don't want the EVGA card to damage from being re-seated so many times.


MY 3rd PCI-E SLOT is blocked off by my 950 Powersupply / PSU. It was not my idea to buy the psu because it was a gift. The graphics card is also too wide to fit the slot.


I am guessing I should get a new motherboard, but is that what I want to do?


When I bought the motherboard, I also got a 3-year warranty replacement through newegg on it. I plan on replacing it, but I also wanted other thoughts.

 

[justinjk]

I'd review the terms and conditions of the warranty --- see if they want you to pay shipping and if it's possible to do advanced RMA so you can have a computer while it's being replaced. If you don't trust ASRock anymore after this, test the replacement board they send and as long as it works, sell as-is on eBay and look into other options.

Finding another board at the same price point might be hard, though. I think asrock extreme 3 has 4+1 power phase while gigabyte's ud3 has 8+2 and is only ~$20 more expensive --- but there's something to worry about on the ud3 --- apparently VRM cooling on the rev. 3 of the UD3 is poor, so an FX-8350 at stock speed gets throttled a bit down to 3.4GHz. Rev 4 has the issue fixed... not sure about rev 1.1. The ASRock extreme3 is just as bad in this regard:

Cons: After I bought this motherboard, ASRock removed the AMD FX-8350 from the CPU compatibility chart. Why? Because the cooling on the VRMs(voltage regulators) is not sufficient for the amount of power the FX-8350 draws. This would not be a problem, except I have an FX-8350.

Most of the time, it works fine, but under very high loads, the VRMs overheat and the motherboard is forced to throttle the CPU until the VRMs have cooled. This is very frustrating, as it will take my framerate from 80+FPS in ARMA 3 to 5.

Other Thoughts: This board is advertised as "125 watt CPU compatible," which is true, except it does not support the top end 125 watt AMD 8 core cpu. NOWHERE on any of the Newegg pages does it say that this board does not support the FX-8350, which is a 125 watt AM3+ CPU. The only way to determine that it's not is to go to ASRock's website and look at the CPU compatibility chart. Very frustrating

For the 125w FX-8150, there's even an asterisk on the 990fx extreme3 CPU support list:

* For cooling the CPU and its surrounding components, please install a CPU cooler with a top-down blowing design.

I use an ASUS Sabertooth 990fx (1st revision), but only bought it because I got a good price on a refurb. UD3 would've been my next pick.

 

[majinsnake]

Well I also decided to explain my issue to a friend of mine. His response was this. It was a good advice too. His computer case (COOLERMASTER HAF-X) when he did his build had been warped. It was how the case was designed. He had to fool with the rear of the case so it would line up correctly for the motherboard.

A review on my friend's case.

Cons: My front fan LEDs don't work, or the LED button does not work, not sure which. LED button sticks. Both doors are somewhat warped, resulting in less than perfect alignment (thought this seems typical of all cases.) All my cons seem to be isolated events, so still pretty much an AWESOME case.

He said if you can RMA it and they "Newegg or ASROCK" are able to test the bad PCI-E slot to boot correctly, then they are going to laugh at you.

He thought my computer case might be warped (Side panel) and thus not lining up correctly with the outside rear of the case where you connect your plugs to your cards. He said press the graphics card firmly into the bad PCI-E slot, and look for any changes that might show warping or the motherboard not looking correctly. Let it boot a couple of times to see if motherboard loads correctly. I couldn't tell if it may have been warped.

Once I pressed firmly a few times on the card while in the bad PCI-E slot...It did boot correctly. That is good.


You are right about the Extreme3 being a 4+1 power phase. One of the reviews on the motherboard said so. Therefore, it is not meant for overclocking much. That's fine with me.



Thanks for your assistance on RMA process. It might come to benefit in the future since my 3 year replacement warranty ends in December 2014.

 

[majinsnake]

I found the problem with my motherboard. My case is warped on the side of my case...under the motherboard.

 

[Penthane]

You can OC plenty with an Extreme3. All I did is take the heatsink off the VRM's, remove the sticky tape kinda thermal, put some AS on the VRM's and refit the heatsink. Put a small fan on it. I screwed a fan on a piece of stiff electrical wire attached to the back of the case, so I can adjust it anyway I like. Had I had the room for it (V8's in the way), I'd have glued it directly onto the heatsink.

No more throttling: AR990FX-E3 + AMD-FX8150 + CM-V8 @ 4.5GHz stable for 2 yrs. Thought ev'rybody had long done this?

Your own risc ofcourse.