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Rampage III Black boot issues with SLI

DMZamora
Level 7
Hello 😉

My first message here, unfortunately to ask for some advice 😐

I am actually using a somewhat old Rampage III Black, with the following configuration:

I7 920 @ 3.5 GHz
2x Asus 780 Ti Matrix Platinum (PCIe slots 1 and 3, 16x), stock clocks
12GB (3x 4GB) RAM Corsair Vengeance
Kingston SSD on SATA 6 GB connectors (Onboard SATA6G controller)
EVGA Supernova G2 850W PSU

Everything was OK until I bought the second 780 Ti to run on SLI. With the two boards on, I'm often having trouble at boot.

On a cold start, most of the time the machine boots OK, but sometimes one of the GPUs is not detected. A few times, none are detected. When only the first card is detected correctly, Windows boots and everything runs OK, except for the lack of the second board. When only the second, or none of the cards are detected, I obviously get no video, but Windows still boots OK, and I can shutdown the machine via power button or remotely.

When it boots OK with the two cards, the computer works perfectly, even at full load on the two GPUs and the CPU, so it's not likely a PSU problem.

The big trouble starts when I put it on suspend mode. On resume, it will struggle to get back on, every single time repeating the exact same sequence:

- Resume starts, then freezes with Q-Code 'dE' (not listed on the table).
- Press reset or power off/on, resume starts again, then freezes with Q-Code 'd4' (PCI resource allocation error).
- Press power off/on, no Q-Code errors and from here we're like on a cold boot, with both cards on a "detection lottery". No more Q-Code errors, no matter how many power cycles are necessary to get both cards detected (usually 2 ou 3).

This happens every time I put the machine on suspend mode. Exceptionally, let's say 1 time in 10, the machine apparently resumes OK the first time, Windows loads, but freezes at the login screen. Always.

Just to make it clear: with just one board, there are no problems at all. What I tried so far:

- No overclock at all (CPU or GPUs), same problem occurs.
- Put just one, any of the two cards on any slot, the machine boots and works flawlessly.
- Disabled any of the cards via PCIe Lane Switch, the machine boots and works flawlessly.
- Checked all electrical connections from the PSU to the MoBo and GPUs.

Any hints?

Thanks in advance.
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18 REPLIES 18

AFAIK IME is for Chipsets, not for CPUs... 😉

BTW standard ASUS flash tools sometimes flash or reflash IME incorrectly... Try Intel FPT.
M/b: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme BIOS 3604
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.6GHz (Noctua NH-D14)
RAM: 2x4Gb Corsair Vengeance LP (CML8GX3M2A2133C11G) @ 2133MHz
V/c: ASUS GTX1060 8Gb Turbo
Case: SilverStone Raven RV-02E
PSU: Hiper K900
HDD: OCZ Agility 3

Maximatiq wrote:
AFAIK IME is for Chipsets, not for CPUs... 😉

BTW standard ASUS flash tools sometimes flash or reflash IME incorrectly... Try Intel FPT.


Sure, but chipsets compatible with 3rd gen Intel processors 😉

But isn't Intel FPT only compatible with UEFI BIOSes?

Look http://www.win-raid.com/t596f39-Intel-Management-Engine-Drivers-Firmware-amp-System-Tools.html
M/b: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme BIOS 3604
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.6GHz (Noctua NH-D14)
RAM: 2x4Gb Corsair Vengeance LP (CML8GX3M2A2133C11G) @ 2133MHz
V/c: ASUS GTX1060 8Gb Turbo
Case: SilverStone Raven RV-02E
PSU: Hiper K900
HDD: OCZ Agility 3

DMZamora
Level 7
Sorry. Read a lot of things on the link you posted, and none referred specifically to systems with X58/ICH10R chipsets.

I really don't think this applies to older boards.

Ma bad... X58 really does not seem to have IME... =(((
M/b: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme BIOS 3604
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.6GHz (Noctua NH-D14)
RAM: 2x4Gb Corsair Vengeance LP (CML8GX3M2A2133C11G) @ 2133MHz
V/c: ASUS GTX1060 8Gb Turbo
Case: SilverStone Raven RV-02E
PSU: Hiper K900
HDD: OCZ Agility 3

DMZamora
Level 7
No problem at all, I thank you for your efforts. And anyway, it was a pile of very interesting information to learn 😉

DMZamora
Level 7
Just tried a BIOS re-flash, re-seated CPU, and no changes.

Maximatiq
Level 7
Have you tried to remove & reinstall v/cards & SLI bridge?
M/b: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme BIOS 3604
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.6GHz (Noctua NH-D14)
RAM: 2x4Gb Corsair Vengeance LP (CML8GX3M2A2133C11G) @ 2133MHz
V/c: ASUS GTX1060 8Gb Turbo
Case: SilverStone Raven RV-02E
PSU: Hiper K900
HDD: OCZ Agility 3

Maximatiq wrote:
Have you tried to remove & reinstall v/cards & SLI bridge?


A few times, actually 😉