I built and entirely new system about 6 weeks ago with the Z170-WS as my motherboard, and was left with a few questions:
1. BIOS VersionWhen I originally assembled the PC, the UEFI specified that it was v0503, released on
12/15/2015. However, at that time, the ASUS US site said that v0503 was released on
1/25/2016. The discrepency means thre's something wrong, somewhere. I was just trying to ensure I had the latest version.
Now, interestingly, there is
no BIOS download available at all for the motherboard. Can anyone verify the most up-to-date version?
2. RAM SpeedI've read up on the issues people have had when getting their RAM frequencies properly recognized on the Z170 boards. I'm not comfortable performing a manual OC yet, but using the "EZ System Tuning" to provide an auto overclock was simple. This resulted in a 15% OC for my 32GB of RAM, however, it still doesn't run at the frequency it should. Rather than running at 2888 it runs at 2666, according to the UEFI.
I see in the AiTweaker where I can further adjust the frequency via a dropdown, but I wasn't certain whether any other settings (voltages, etc) would also need to be changed. Can anyone clarify?
In addition, the UEFI, CPU-z, and the AiSuite actually display
3 different RAM speeds for my system, which is extremely confusing. Which is correct? The UEFI?
3. CPU CoolingI installed a Skylake i7-6700K and Corsair H115i closed-loop liquid cooler with the motherboard. This is a double-rad cooler with two fans. I have two questions in relation to proper setup:
The documentation with the cooler says to plug it into the CPU Fan header, and there is only a single plug for the entire apparatus (rad/pump/fansx2). However, this board also has a Water Pump header. What's ASUS's position on the proper way to hook it up? I had boot issues when attempting to use the Water Pump header, but have no boot problems with the CPU Fan header.
More importantly, I'm concerned about the CPU fan speeds both the UEFI and AiSuite3 is reporting. The "CPU fan" is always reported around 1450 RPMs. It varies little from this, even when I am rendering video. From what I can tell, the mobo is
adding the speeds of both fans together. These are 600-1200RPM fans and are identical to some others I've put in the case and that are plugged into the mobo. Those fans typically go from their normal 650-700RPMs up to 1000RPMs when I'm rendering video. Yet, the "CPU fan" speed hardly changes at all, even when the CPU temp increases by 20 degrees during rendering.
My concern is that the mobo thinks the "fan" is going at max capacity already and isn't telling it to go faster, b/c it's interpreting 2 fans, as only 1 fan.
Can anyone shed light on this situation? I've tried to find answers and so far have been unable, and I know my system configuration is not uncommon.
FYI, in relation to this question, I am attempting to control CPU cooling though the UEFI
only. I'm not using Corsair Link or any ASUS software in Windows. I have very few components of AiSuite installed. Only the USB Boost, System Info, and BIOS flashback. Trying to keep it simple.
Appreciate any help, and thanks!
