Crosshair Hero VI system build advice/tips

[Jonotallica]

Hi,

I've just purchased my first ASUS AMD based system, with GPU, Crosshair VI mobo, and other random stuff. With Ryzen 7 2700x. And I'll be building it in the next week or so, and just wanted to know if there's anything I should look out for or any tips you could give me in advance. I'd like to avoid having a situation of multiple BIOS updates and extensive bench-marking or troubleshooting.

For example.. should I just be able to update straight to the latest BIOS or is there something I should watch out for or avoid doing? I'll be having to use the USB Flashback feature, as out of the box.. the CPU isn't supported. So I'll have to update with no CPU installed before the first boot up into the BIOS. Is there a recommended version of the BIOS for this? I saw that there might be some complications with the latest version.

Secondly, I saw that there has been some problems with the system fan sensors/fan control.. where it can sometimes be buggy or freeze. Requiring a restart or taking out the CMOS battery. Is this fixed now, or is there something I should look out for? Also what fans would you recommend for this system, the 3pin DC or PWM variants? I haven't purchased fans yet but they'll likely be Noctua 140mm.

In terms of fan control/sensor software.. should I avoid all of that stuff within Windows, or is there a way I can still use that? Is there a recommended program to use to monitor fan rpms or temperatures.. to use with this motherboard, that has less chance of creating any potential problems with the BIOS's fan curves? When I'm initially dialing everything in, I need a way to be able to benchmark, and then monitor noise/rpms until I hit the sweet spot. I realise that it's best that I make the fan curves in BIOS, but I still need a way to monitor that in windows. Will AIDA64 be ok for this? Or HWMonitor from CPUID?

I'm hoping that the RAM speeds should be a lot better now (than they were 2 years ago) and hope to avoid any problems with that side of things. I have 3200mhz Corsair LPX (non B die), hopefully it will be ok. I can dial back to 2933mhz if I have to. I don't want to do any heavy OC'ing but will most likely be doing some light OC'ing with Noctua U12P cooler, after seeing what the temps are like. I'm expecting this to be straight forward, I'm more just worried about any potential bugs in the other stuff above. And if there is anything I can do in advance.. to avoid any troubleshooting or uninstalling programs etc? Should I avoid AI Suite, or install it, dial in the settings in windows.. and then copy them to BIOS and uninstall AI Suite.. or just avoid installing AI Suite all together?

Thanks to anyone, if they have any advice.

[PwnSensei]

Jonotallica wrote:
should I just be able to update straight to the latest BIOS or is there something I should watch out for or avoid doing? I'll be having to use the USB Flashback feature, as out of the box.. the CPU isn't supported. So I'll have to update with no CPU installed before the first boot up into the BIOS. Is there a recommended version of the BIOS for this? I saw that there might be some complications with the latest version.

Hi, if you check the UEFI update thread I have had the worst time with installing the latest bios, however if you use the flashback feature to flash it you'll be fine. 7002 seems to be the best for memory support.

Jonotallica wrote:
I saw that there has been some problems with the system fan sensors/fan control.. where it can sometimes be buggy or freeze. Requiring a restart or taking out the CMOS battery. Is this fixed now, or is there something I should look out for? Also what fans would you recommend for this system, the 3pin DC or PWM variants? I haven't purchased fans yet but they'll likely be Noctua 140mm.

It's not fixed and it will never be, ASUS decided to use an awfully buggy and cheap sensor that will always be broken. I replaced my CH6 twice for this and my support tickets were basically dismissed by the support team.
The bug most of the times only affects the monitoring, not the actual behavior of the sensor: meaning that most of the times, if you set the fan curve in the bios, it will follow that curve even if it reports it is not following it or giving you crazy sensor values. However if you set the fan control through software, you're going to experience the worst.
I have a full custom watercooling loop and I discovered this issue when liquid temperature went over 60 and the fan and pump speed wouldn't scale as set in the AI Suite software.
I'm running 6x PWM fans, the motherboard handles PWM well, Noctuas will be good but imo overpriced. Google for reviews, I can point you to Fractal Design, scythe and corsair. Personally I don't like the noise signature of EKWB Vardar fans, I had to sell them because of that. Thermalbench has good reviews.
TL;DR it'll never be fixed, just use bios to set fan speed. Google for fans info. Use hwinfo to monitor (remember AMD suggests monitoring software decreases CPU performance)

Jonotallica wrote:
I'm hoping that the RAM speeds should be a lot better now (than they were 2 years ago) and hope to avoid any problems with that side of things. I have 3200mhz Corsair LPX (non B die), hopefully it will be ok. I can dial back to 2933mhz if I have to. I don't want to do any heavy OC'ing but will most likely be doing some light OC'ing with Noctua U12P cooler, after seeing what the temps are like. I'm expecting this to be straight forward, I'm more just worried about any potential bugs in the other stuff above. And if there is anything I can do in advance.. to avoid any troubleshooting or uninstalling programs etc? Should I avoid AI Suite, or install it, dial in the settings in windows.. and then copy them to BIOS and uninstall AI Suite.. or just avoid installing AI Suite all together?

Do not install AI suite, you'll hate it, yourself and the world and life.
Ram speed depends on the bricks you get, you can't predict it. That said I'm running 4 modules stable 3200 cl16. If you want high frequency it is suggested to go with 2 modules instead of 4.

[Jonotallica]

Thanks for your detailed reply! I haven't fully processed everything you've said but I'll double back on it when I'm about to build (probably a week away). I also appreciate your honesty in terms of saying things how you think they are, and not sugar coating anything.

In terms of Noctua fans, I'm going for the redux versions which are the dark/light grey versions, without all the fancy cables and rubber mounts, but I can buy those separately and it isn't too expensive. I agree that the standard brown fans are very expensive, and since I'm buying 5 of them, it really adds up the price. But the redux versions are pretty decent in that they are only a dollar or two more expensive than the other brands (Corsair, Fractal etc), in the shop I'm buying from. I like the noise profile with Noctuas.. in terms of even when the dbs are high, I find the pitch of them is easier on the ears. They also last a really long time.. I have had some for 8 years of constant use and they are still working. The key seems to be to never run them at full rpm, because it's loud and it seems to wear them out quicker. It also makes the case a lot easier on the ears, to use extra fans and run them all at lower rpm. I also don't like to have any lights (just a personal thing), as I use a closed Fractal case without the see through window.

Based on yours and others opinions, I've decided to use a Corsair internal fan controller/hub, in order to be able to run their (bloated) software, but at least it means I can change chassis fans off of GPU temps within Windows.. and it means not having to rely on the motherboards fan controllers. It even has it's own sensors and gives you 4 cables to mount the sensors in different areas. I'll experiment but at least it gives a plan B.. in the case of any problems with the motherboards sensors of that potentially buggy chip.

This motherboard seems quite good in other areas.. and I'd like to be able to use it long term into the future. Until AM5 comes out. I was able to speak to some other people on a different board about this motherboard, after having used a few different X370 high end boards within the same system, and they do say that this is a high quality board that works best for them.

The other fault with this board is only one internal USB2.0 internal header, but that can be solved with an internal USB hub.

So USB2.0 header ---> USB internal hub ---> Corsair Commander PRo fan controller
---------------------------------------> USB2.0 front case inputs
---------------------------------------> PCI-E Bluetooth card
---------------------------------------> Corsair USB connection to power supply

A bit more expensive to do it this way, but still way cheaper than an Intel system. And I was able to get this motherboard at a very good price (new). And with future releases of Ryzen chips, the performance gap could become very interesting. Already, the current Ryzen's are very strong when it comes to multithreaded stuff like encoding. It's really only the single thread performance with clock speeds that are a bit down at the moment. Thanks for your reply.

[gupsterg]

I pre-ordered my C6H at launch. I used it with 4x TY-143 connected to CPU_FAN header via a 4 in one cable and 1x F12 PWM on CHA_FAN1. I controlled fans via UEFI. Initially there were times the fans could get stuck. HWINFO was updated on how it accessed the Super IO chip, I encountered no issues after that unless I used say AIDA64. It was discovered several months in after launch that the Super IO chip could go whacko with multiple apps accessing it. ASUS WMI was the solution.The fix only works if UEFI has feature and application uses it. As stated I had no issues between the discovery of this issue and fix as I stuck to using only HWINFO.

I also owned ZE from launch, it to uses same Super IO chip, it too could have same issue. I still encountered no issues up til solution was released. I used 3x F12 PWM connected via 4 in 1 cable to CHA_FAN1, 3x F12 PWM connected via 4 in 1 to CHA_FAN2, 1x Silent Wings 3 to CPU_FAN and 1x EK D5 PWM to H_AMP_FAN. The fans and pump used profile set via UEFI, based on water temperature, use sensor connected to T_Sensor1.

Later I gained a C7H at launch, again used same Super IO chip, initially did not have ASUS WMI for very few weeks (when this board received it is when others gained it as well). I again did not encounter issues prior and after ASUS WMI. Initially I was using same 4x TY-143 connected to CPU_FAN header via a 4 in one cable and 1x F12 PWM on CHA_FAN1 as I did on C6H, then I moved on to 3x P12 PWM via 4 in 1 cable to CHA_FAN2, EK DDC on HAMP, profile set via UEFI based on water temperature.

I gained a ZEA at launch, uses same Super IO chip, did have ASUS WMI from get go, using same HW as ZE and profile, no issues.