Rampage IV Black Edition Infinite Reboot Issue

[aasimon]

Hi,
I have just configured a new PC with the following configuration:
- Rampage IV Black Edition
- Intel i7-4930K 3.4GHZ
- Zalman NPS9900 Fan
- 4 x 8 GB Gskill F3-2400C10D-16GTX 1.65v (XMP Ready)
- Evga GTX760 4GB
- Silverstone 850W Strider Gold - Active PFC - Single Rail

2 Days ago system was working with 16GB RAM, I upgraded to 32GB and saw that system was registering 24 GB.
I removed the rams 1 by 1 and reinstalled them. After a couple of reboots and MemOK (great feature) it worked fine.
I shutdown the working pc. Next day when i started it system went into infinite reboot.
The on board q-code is showing b6 and the front display (as well as the q-led on board) is showing VGA before the reboot.
I have removed all of the ram and tried to boot with only 1 ra installed on b1 slot (as it is recommended on the booklet) but no good.
I took the PC to technical service and tried the following:
- tried VGA card on 2 other systems both worked fine.
- CPU and RAMs are working on another Rampage IV extreme main board without problem (registered 32GB)
- Power supply adequetly powers 2 other test systems one being the previous system
- Did a BIOS upgrade from USB
- Switched to second bios
- Cleared the bios


So this is my problem one night it was working fine next day it wont start.
Any help with this issue is greatly appriciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Hi aasimon 🙂

Looking at the troubleshooting steps you have taken and particularly that your same CPU and same RAM work fine on another board (if I've understood right)

I'd say either:

The board where the problem appeared is bad or

The CPU mounting on the board where the problem appeared was bad...CPU displaced by cooler or pin out of alignment...

Ordinarily I would simply put this down to running two kits of RAM together because this is not something that you can do and expect it to go smoothly...entirely depends on CPU's IMC if you get away with this or not. However if it works on another board then you have to suspect the board needs the pins in the socket checking...or RMAing

[aasimon]

Arne Saknussemm wrote:
Hi aasimon 🙂

Looking at the troubleshooting steps you have taken and particularly that your same CPU and same RAM work fine on another board (if I've understood right)

I'd say either:

The board where the problem appeared is bad or

The CPU mounting on the board where the problem appeared was bad...CPU displaced by cooler or pin out of alignment...

Ordinarily I would simply put this down to running two kits of RAM together because this is not something that you can do and expect it to go smoothly...entirely depends on CPU's IMC if you get away with this or not. However if it works on another board then you have to suspect the board needs the pins in the socket checking...or RMAing

Hi Arne,

Thanks for the reply.
I have a question about RAM, I have 4 of the exact same ram why do you think it would be a problem ?
I also removed the CPU and checked the pins on the socket. It seems like 2-3 of them are misalligned, i tried to correct them but no luck.
RMA is hard in my country as they first test it and make it work before replacing it or anything, and it may take 5-20 days 😞
That is why i am trying to find the problem before RMA it.

Again thanks for the input.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

Well, maybe take the board to a jeweler and see if they can realign the pins?...that will definitely be the main problem.

As I understand it you have two kits of 16gb Trident x right? It's often assumed but I'm afraid it's not true, that they are "exact same" as you put it.

RAM kits are made with RAM chips and each kit is made of a load of them that have been tested to work together at certain settings. Another kit of even "exactly the same" make and model can be an entirely different ecosystem. For a start, the version number of the kits may be different; meaning that not even the RAM chips used to make the kit come from the same manufacturer. Secondly, even if they are same version number maybe the XMP profile is slightly different for each kit somewhere down in secondary or tertiary or other timings and these differences can cause problems.

To top it all off, you have the memory controller on the CPU and that means the silicon lottery covers that as well. i.e. if you have a strong controller on one CPU maybe you do get away with running two kits and on another CPU with a weaker controller you fail. Some platforms are better than others for this as well. the more mainstream z87 z97 are more forgiving...X79 is very unforgiving.

In the end no manufacturer says to run two kits together...somewhere in the small print they say not to...

[Menthol]

I highly recommend you take the board to a jeweler to have the pins straightened, bent pins do not qualify for an RMA. Bent pins are considered mishandling by the end user not a fault of the manufacturer.
This may or may not fix your RAM issue but bent pins, even if your system appears to work correctly can cause issues that could be difficult to trouble shoot.

[riesscar]

Menthol wrote:
I highly recommend you take the board to a jeweler to have the pins straightened, bent pins do not qualify for an RMA. Bent pins are considered mishandling by the end user not a fault of the manufacturer.
This may or may not fix your RAM issue but bent pins, even if your system appears to work correctly can cause issues that could be difficult to trouble shoot.

I second this suggestion, not only because bent pins are not covered under the warranty, but because ASUS RMA is a borderline criminal department. Do a little google search for reviews of the ASUS MB RMA service and you will see what I mean... don't get me wrong, I love ASUS' products but their RMA service (at least their motherboard RMA) is one of the worst I have ever experienced. I bent some pins on my RIVE-BE, sent it in and was honest about my having induced the damage, expressed a willingness to pay for repair, and the criminals over at the dept did the following: they first attempted to send the board back because I did not fill out and then fax a payment authorization form that they FAILED to send me; after I threatened to file suit against them for this, they got around to fixing the board after about two weeks of giving me the run-around; the board I received (the "repaired" board) was without one of the soldered caps (The LED FX Cap), and when I called ASUS to inform them of this they told me that I would have to send them the board (on my dime) or else void my warranty; after taking apart the system (losing around 70$ of coolant in the process) and sending it in, they took another three weeks to send me a second replacement. I would rather run backwards through a cornfield than deal with the MB RMA dept's ineptitude again.

-Carson

BTW: The BBB is actually currently investigating the ASUS RMA service due to a rapid influx of complaints over the past year.

[aasimon]

Ok, could a watch repairer also do fix this?

What i do not understand is, the system was working before i shut down for the night. I played Bioshock Infinite to test it.

[riesscar]

aasimon wrote:
Ok, could a watch repairer also do fix this?

What i do not understand is, the system was working before i shut down for the night. I played Bioshock Infinite to test it.

Run MemTest to check for issues. Within the BIOS, navigate to SPD Info section, and see if all of your DIMMs are being recognized by the system... I recommend this because when I bent CPU socket pins, the issue manifested itself as DIMM B1 reporting as 'abnormal'. If it is a bent cpu pin, you can probably identify this issue by inspecting the socket closely or by using a magnifying glass. Remove the MB from the chassis, remove the CPU block/heatsink as well as the CPU itself, and then inspect the socket. Even if only one pin is bent it could be a problem... at the same time, several pins could be bent without any issues. It all depends on whether or not contact is being made between the pins and the corresponding point of contact on the CPU.

-Carson

[Arne_Saknussemm]

aasimon wrote:
Ok, could a watch repairer also do fix this?

Yes, same difference...anyone who vaguely looks like this will do 😉