Stability issues with ASUS Crosshair VII WiFi

[michaelemcken]

Hi everyone,

So I am new to this forum, and also in the enthusiast consumer market.

So i just build my new PC, and it's running Windows 10 Pro, everything is installed and updated to lastest versions, Drivers, BIOS, and monitoring software (HWiNFO64) and it's booting without problems (YAY!) But i seem to have some problems getting everything to work together for what I actually need it for. Occasionally i have to reset BIOS, unplug power and do multiple restarts for the PC to be able to find my Ethernet and WiFi (both missing at the same time. But can this be due to memory clocked wrong? I can clock the memory to 3200 Mhz, and everything seems to be working fine, also during memtest, benchmarking and stress test of the entire system.

Also i seem to run into some throttling issues during gaming. My CPU and GPU is only at a around 5-25% Load, with temperatures being around 45-60C with Stock coolers, as i wanted to get the system up and running on stock, before tweaking (just so I have a baseline to work from)
CPU has maxed it's temperatures at around 62C during stress test with stock cooler, so i really doubt it's the temperatures keeping it back. I just can't seem to find out what the problem is, and why the PC works great during benchmarking, stress tests, but during games i get around avg. of 80 FPS in League of Legends (no matter the settings) 80-100 in CS:GO (same, no matter the quality of graphics) and i could go on, but i think you get the picture.

CPU: Ryzen 2700x
MB: ASUS Crosshair VII Hero WiFi
GPU: Palit GTX 980Ti
PSU: Corsair AX860i
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 16GB 3600MHz (not on the vendor list)
SSD: Samsung Evo 960 500GB M.2 *

I hope someone out there might be able to come up with an answer for me.
Thanks,
Michael

[cg49me]

Gents-

Just finished my build with the subject motherboard, and encountered the same error as described. The sequence of events for me was that I'd installed EZUpdate, used it to flash the BIOS from version 0207 (shipped w/ mobo) to 0601 (what EZUpdate determined to be the latest, although 0702 is available through the Asus website), and when I got back into Windows, the network adapter was just gone. There wasn't even a "Network" category in Device Manager.

Tried flashing to 0702 using a USB stick, no help.

Ended up here, and per one of the earlier suggestions, tried powering down, unplugging the PS, and clearing the CMOS, then starting back up. Still no help.

Finally, I disabled Fast Startup both in Windows and in the BIOS (this has helped solve some wonky issues on my laptop and server box, both Asus-based). Shut the computer down, started it right back up (without unplugging or clearing CMOS), and the network adapter was back! Of course, time will tell if that was actually a fix, or I just got lucky on this startup. I'll be sure to post back if I continue to have issues - hopefully this will help you guys out too (worth a shot).

*edit*

Well, it may only be a partial solution... Following a restart, the network adapter disappears again. However, following a full shutdown and powerup, it comes back.

[WilVidz]

cg49me wrote:
Gents-

Just finished my build with the subject motherboard, and encountered the same error as described. The sequence of events for me was that I'd installed EZUpdate, used it to flash the BIOS from version 0207 (shipped w/ mobo) to 0601 (what EZUpdate determined to be the latest, although 0702 is available through the Asus website), and when I got back into Windows, the network adapter was just gone. There wasn't even a "Network" category in Device Manager.

Tried flashing to 0702 using a USB stick, no help.

Ended up here, and per one of the earlier suggestions, tried powering down, unplugging the PS, and clearing the CMOS, then starting back up. Still no help.

Finally, I disabled Fast Startup both in Windows and in the BIOS (this has helped solve some wonky issues on my laptop and server box, both Asus-based). Shut the computer down, started it right back up (without unplugging or clearing CMOS), and the network adapter was back! Of course, time will tell if that was actually a fix, or I just got lucky on this startup. I'll be sure to post back if I continue to have issues - hopefully this will help you guys out too (worth a shot).

*edit*

Well, it may only be a partial solution... Following a restart, the network adapter disappears again. However, following a full shutdown and powerup, it comes back.

Thank you! this may only be a partial solution but it works for me most of the time now.

[michaelemcken]

Update:

So I seem to have isolated the problem with the disappearing NIC on the latest C7H WiFi boards.*

It all comes down to the PSU. I will explain how I tested everything so you can follow, comment or critic my method 🙂
So after receiving my 3rd board, I did what I had done with the previous 2 boards. I put in the board, installed everything for the 10th time and powered up the system.
Sigh, I ran into the exact same problem again once again..... After this, I suspected that 3 times, it might not have been the board after all (not ruling out, it is a design flaw in the actual board)
**
So I went at it and borrow my friends PC , Ryzen 3, DDR4 QVL ram, SSD and Asus B350M with a Corsair CX450M. I have now managed to test all components in my PC, running all components in all different combinations and came up with only one problem. My AX860i, was only acting up with my motherboard C7H and not he's ASUS B350M. My PC ran for 7 days with no problems of the NIC disappearing, but the second I switched back to my AX860i (same BIOS btw.) the NIC disappeared after being turned off for a couple of hours.

I have also tested the AX860i in a couple of other PCs and experiencing no problems in those build. So could this be a design flaw with the MB, not being able to run with the AX860i ?My guess is this is a design flaw in the MB, but what exactly the flaw is, I am simply not technical enough to understand.

My PC is now running with a CM450X and it is performing beautifully, with no problems whatsoever.

I hope this reaches people with the same problem, so they can avoid 2 months of frustration that I have had. If you have any additional questions or I missed anything, write me a DM or post the question here :)**

[Baio73]

michaelemcken wrote:
Update:

So I seem to have isolated the problem with the disappearing NIC on the latest C7H WiFi boards.*

It all comes down to the PSU. I will explain how I tested everything so you can follow, comment or critic my method 🙂
So after receiving my 3rd board, I did what I had done with the previous 2 boards. I put in the board, installed everything for the 10th time and powered up the system.
Sigh, I ran into the exact same problem again once again..... After this, I suspected that 3 times, it might not have been the board after all (not ruling out, it is a design flaw in the actual board)
**
So I went at it and borrow my friends PC , Ryzen 3, DDR4 QVL ram, SSD and Asus B350M with a Corsair CX450M. I have now managed to test all components in my PC, running all components in all different combinations and came up with only one problem. My AX860i, was only acting up with my motherboard C7H and not he's ASUS B350M. My PC ran for 7 days with no problems of the NIC disappearing, but the second I switched back to my AX860i (same BIOS btw.) the NIC disappeared after being turned off for a couple of hours.

I have also tested the AX860i in a couple of other PCs and experiencing no problems in those build. So could this be a design flaw with the MB, not being able to run with the AX860i ?My guess is this is a design flaw in the MB, but what exactly the flaw is, I am simply not technical enough to understand.

My PC is now running with a CM450X and it is performing beautifully, with no problems whatsoever.

I hope this reaches people with the same problem, so they can avoid 2 months of frustration that I have had. If you have any additional questions or I missed anything, write me a DM or post the question here :)**

Well, happy you made through! 🙂
I'm not "technical" too but I think your method is good.
By the way, I've the same mobo and the same PSU and never had the NIC disappearing problem… so far. Maybe different hardware revisions?
Did you plug the PSU's USB header in the mobo or not? I have it connected to a Corsair Commander Pro, maybe also this is significant.
Last thing, did you try to open a ticket with Corsair Assistance? Maybe they are aware of the problem and can arrange you a free substitution of the PSU.

Baio

[cg49me]

michaelemcken wrote:
...AX860i...

Running an AX1600i here, so there might be something to the theory on Corsair power supplies.

Also, Baio's suggestion on trying things out with the Corsair USB connection disconnected is worth giving a shot. Device Manager was griping about not being able to find drivers for a "USB API" device until I installed the Corsair software. Actually, come to think about it, my network adapter problems started right about the time I installed that software (performed the BIOS update around the same time, so it's all a blur)... Hmm...

I'll try some experiments of my own this weekend. Check back for updates...

*edit*

Well, at least for me, Corsair Link doesn't seem to be the instigator. I tried pulling the USB connection from the power supply and uninstalling the Corsair Link software - network adapter still disappears on restart.

[QuadJunky]

michaelemcken wrote:
Update:

So I seem to have isolated the problem with the disappearing NIC on the latest C7H WiFi boards.*

It all comes down to the PSU.

I hope this reaches people with the same problem, so they can avoid 2 months of frustration that I have had. If you have any additional questions or I missed anything, write me a DM or post the question here :)**

I tried too save you two months of pain when I said it was the PSU back on page 3 as I had the same issues with my ax860i.
As much as I want to reinstall my new ax860i corsair sent me I am hesitant due to the pain of redoing everything if the new one has thew same issues.

Glad you finally got it sorted out

[michaelemcken]

QuadJunky wrote:
I tried too save you two months of pain when I said it was the PSU back on page 3 as I had the same issues with my ax860i.
As much as I want to reinstall my new ax860i corsair sent me I am hesitant due to the pain of redoing everything if the new one has thew same issues.

Glad you finally got it sorted out

Yes i do remember you saying it was the PSU. But at that point, i just could not believe that a power supply would cause these issues, as it was working perfectly well in other setups.

Which then leads me to think, that i still believe it is and ASUS board problem. But again, it could also be a revision problem with the AX860i if they did some internal changes or something inside the powersupply.

But hey, i switched down to a RM650i, and also had extra money for sleeved cables and everything is working.

So now the setup just looks really awesome inside my H700i.

[QuadJunky]

michaelemcken wrote:
Yes i do remember you saying it was the PSU. But at that point, i just could not believe that a power supply would cause these issues, as it was working perfectly well in other setups.

Which then leads me to think, that i still believe it is and ASUS board problem. But again, it could also be a revision problem with the AX860i if they did some internal changes or something inside the powersupply.

But hey, i switched down to a RM650i, and also had extra money for sleeved cables and everything is working.

So now the setup just looks really awesome inside my H700i.

I thought the same thing for 3 weeks while I beat my face against the desk
Grats on the sleeved cable s etc.. unfortunately I am stuck with my ax860i until the issue is resolved somehow or I build a new rig and can go back to using it.

[QuadJunky]

michaelemcken wrote:
Yes i do remember you saying it was the PSU. But at that point, i just could not believe that a power supply would cause these issues, as it was working perfectly well in other setups.

Which then leads me to think, that i still believe it is and ASUS board problem. But again, it could also be a revision problem with the AX860i if they did some internal changes or something inside the powersupply.

But hey, i switched down to a RM650i, and also had extra money for sleeved cables and everything is working.

So now the setup just looks really awesome inside my H700i.

So I had my rig apart this past week end to remove some HDD and replace with ssds and I thought why not install the 860i that corsair sent back to me. first day zero issues, next morning first boot lost the wifi/bluetooth.... second booth fine all day. Today first boot no wifi or bluetooth again. complete shutdown reboot and it fixed.

It is definitely the ax860i the TX850m I had install has had zero issues for the past 2-3 months.

@elmor when the issues happen the board will boot with even an a network card install in an pcie slot. It boots with 2 out 3 xhci that are found in the usb menu. Can this be looked at it is kinda of sad that a high end psu does not work properly on this mother board. I can go back to to my tx series this weekend but just think of the number of RMA boards you guys have likely gotten over this.

[JaydenKA]

Glad it isn't just me, i also have a crosshair 7 wifi, 2700x, and a corsair 860i PSU. I thought my system was unstable from something I had done. But nothing I did fixed it, updated drivers, bios, moved the aerial. Nothing. What works for me is change a setting in bios, then save it, change it back, and network should be fine... but this **** needs sorting. This is no way to live, constantly troubleshooting.