xfx 680i memory problem

[t0m]

just a quick update. i got some arctic silver ceramique onto my nb, sb, cpu and mosfets last night. i did a bit of stress testing (45 mins orthos blend, while running superpi, winamp, firefox etc) with no errors at 1333/666 5-5-5-12-2t. i shut down (like it says in the ceramique instructions) and went to bed. i got up today and set it to 1480/740 4-4-4-12-1t, did another orthos blend for most of the morning while i checked my mail and such, again with no errors. i have yet to leave memtest or orthos on for more than an hour, but im waiting for a while for the ceramique to cure (lol mx-2 was out of stock) to do an overnight test.

im guessing that these mobos overvolt the ram, and that i was just lucky not to fry mine. now that im at 2.1v everything seems ok again. im still not sure about the blue slots though. the day i switched to the black slots and everything started working again, the blue slots were not functional (at 2.1v). ill wait a few days for curing/stress testing, then ill try the blue slots and report back...

[t0m]

ok heres another update. system is stable at previous settings, but cant really handle anything higher for more than a few hours.

everything seemed ok until i rebooted today and lost both my onboard ethernet ports. after a few hours of switching around cables/ports, reinstalling drivers, trying a different router etc my pc still couldnt get an ip address from the router, or enter the config panel. i entered the router config from my other pc and it said that only one pc was connected.

at this point i just slapped an old nic in there and its working fine (didnt even ask for drivers). im pretty sure there is something wrong with this motherboard and im going to try again to get in touch with xfx about it. they still havnt returned my tech support request btw, so hopefully that doesnt reflect on their rma system as well

[t0m]

ok new update. i just got my motherboard back today from xfx. my old one was deemed 'faulty' by xfx techs and they replaced it for me in a fairly quick manner (through the support section of the web page). when i pulled the new one out of the box and looked it over i noticed what looked like a bent pin in the cpu socket. a little worried, i bent it back as close as i could get it, re-did the thermal compound on everything (mosfets, nb/sb etc) and installed it. first boot, i go into bios and set ram voltage to 2.1 (as recommended by ocz when using 680i motherboards), and it failed to boot into windows. i went back into bios and turned the ram down to 700 mhz and rebooted. this time i noticed that during post my cpu was reported wrong (it said 748 mhz - 68x11). it got to windows and everything reported the proper speed, but it was different everywhere i looked (crazy numbers like 3000mhz= 69x43).

i updated the bios, crashed once rebooting after it finished, and now everything is fine? its reporting properly and at this point im actually running it a hair faster than i could get it before. i have been running orthos blend for about 30 mins so far and everything seems ok. the only thing thats odd is my cpu temp is a little higher than before... im not sure what to make of the 680i chipset at this point in general..ill just be glad if this thing doesnt pop in a few weeks like the last one.

hopefully soon ill get around to posting some pics of my new cable management job and a few of my last motherboard (with fried parts).

thanks for all the help and input during my troubled times



EDIT - ok scratch that, this pos is still not stable in orthos for more than an hour at default (pc2-8500) mem speeds, no oc. looks like im gonna give up on my sli dream and try to get a p35 or x38...*cries* i hate this thing.

[tgraszat14]

hmm I have a xfx 680i that i havent used yet. Still in box as im waiting to build pc for when i get my video card. I'm quite worried about it as i bought Mushkin hp2-6400 ram with 4-5-4-11 at 2.1v. I'm quite worried if it doesn't work. and also for the lifetime warranty or w/e it is from xfx do i need to register the mobo now? i bought it in January and im not quite sure because if it screws up then :S

[t0m]

i didnt even register mine with their web site until after i had started the rma process. after they talked to me a few times through the support site about my problems and attempted solutions, they asked me to register it and immediately issued me and rma when i did so. i ordered it last october and was apparently well within my warranty. good luck with your, they are supposed to kick ass, but i have had 2 now that absolutely dont.

[BrainEater]

I have an update too ....LoL

My strikeout has eaten sticks 7 and 8.

I'm buying a new motherboard friday.

-----------

you can bet I'll post the video of me returning this POS motherboard back to it's original constituents ( sand. ).

I intend to RMA it after I render it . With a polite letter instructing ASUS to send it along to Nvidia with my promise that I'll never buy an Nvidia chipset again ever . If the last gaming computers on earth need nvidia chipsets , I'll quit gaming.

ffs.

[t0m]

let me know when you figure out how to break it back down into sand. i wouldnt mind sending this one back in a ziplock bag either....im actually thinking of not bothering to send this (my second 680i board) back, since i dont want a new one, and i wouldnt feel right selling one of these to someone else. sand is looking better and better.

[BrainEater]

Oh I know how Imma do it.....Liquid Nitrogen and a hammer.

[sswilson]

Heh....

Just so long as you don't forget to post the pictures/videos of the feat..... :)

[BrainEater]

Oh you can count on it.


I've changed the plan .....I have figgered out an easier way to convert it to really small bits.......Still involves LN2 , however , I won't be using a hammer..I have a much better idea.