z170 Pro gaming suddenly stopped posting when memory is set above 2800 (any bios)

[Lexkalin]

Hi guys.
I'm seeking your help with a weird issue as I think my motherboard is degrading.
I've been using this z170 mobo since I bought it in Oct 2015 and had zero problems until very recently. At first I started to have random "game name".exe has stopped working issue and thought it was my 1080 FTW2, as I changed to it just prior to the issue. However I borrowed a 1080 Strix from my colleague and had the same kind of crashing which eliminated a gpu problem as both cards worked fine in his system. I had a 4.5 @ 1.328 adaptive OC set on 6700k cpu and G.Skill Trident Z 2x8 GB 3200 16-16-16-36 at 1.35 memory kit (on Asus QVL) that I've been running for more than a year without an issue and passing hours of Realbench was not a problem either. But for the sake of identifying an issue I decided to revert to default settings and also revert from latest 3501 bios to 3402 (on which I had no issues, just like almost on any before, except maybe first few revisions back in 2015). And what I found after that was a surprise as I'm not able to run my memory kit with neither stock nor OC cpu with it's rated settings. Anything above 2800 results in no post and cpu_led -> dram_led cycle on motherboard. I actually tried to put another memory kit (G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x8 GB 3000 15-16-16-35 at 1.35 also on Asus QVL) and couldn't run it either and had a hard time to post wit it even at default settings. At the same time both kits worked just fine on my other system with ROG z270i mobo with XMP settings (3200 and 3000). Now it also doesn't matter if I use the latest bios or the last few prior ones - I can't post.

Why all of a sudden after two years of work my mobo stopped working with anything higher than 2800 when it worked just fine with 3000 and 3200 before? Why did i have such a hard time to Is my mobo just dying and I should request RMA? What is the best way to approach it?

[Nate152]

Hi Lexkalin

Welcome to the ROG forum !

You say your ram works fine in your z270 board, is this with the same cpu? Since they are different boards they could be applying different voltages.

It sounds like maybe the IMC in your cpu has weakened a bit.

Try raisng both the CPU VCCIO voltage and CPU System Agent voltage to 1.15v - 1.20v and see if this gets you stable.

[Lexkalin]

Nate152 wrote:
Hi Lexkalin

Welcome to the ROG forum !

You say your ram works fine in your z270 board, is this with the same cpu? Since they are different boards they could be applying different voltages.

It sounds like maybe the IMC in your cpu has weakened a bit.

Try raisng both the CPU VCCIO voltage and CPU System Agent voltage to 1.15v - 1.20v and see if this gets you stable.

Thanks for a welcome! Wish it was under better circumstances 😄

z270i is paired with g4560 right now. I didn't have a chance yet to pull 6700k out of z170 pro gaming and test it with z270 and memory kit, as I need some time, which I will have on the weekend. So yes, that was my next and final test to do, results of which I will definitely post here.

Regarding VCCIO and SA I ran those fine on auto (when it ran lol) with both 3000 and 3200 kit. I tried 1.15 and 1.20 (and even 1.20 and 1.25 respectively), but that didn't help either.

Ah, it's really a bummer if it's the IMC that is heading to pastures as cpu is more expensive (and important?) than that mobo at least in my particular case. And I would be surprised tbh, as I always ran it below 1.35 voltage. And 4.5 on a delidded cpu seemed like a mild overclock to me. Could it really cause degradation?

[Nate152]

The cpu's IMC degrading is kind of what it sounds like according to the description of your problem.

I would have the Dram voltage at no less than 1.35v and I would try it up to 1.40v. It's safe to do so, Intel recommends no more than 1.50v for DDR4 ram.

Does this get your ram stable ?

[Lexkalin]

Nate152 wrote:
The cpu's IMC degrading is kind of what it sounds like according to the description of your problem.

I would have the Dram voltage at no less than 1.35v and I would try it up to 1.40v. It's safe to do so, Intel recommends no more than 1.50v for DDR4.

Does this get your ram stable ?

oh, I meant below 1.35 voltage on cpu (to avoid any cpu degrading). Ram was always running at 1.35 per rated specifications for 3200 and 3000. I tried 1.38 on ram, so I don't really think it will help to go higher when all this time it worked fine at 1.35, works fine at 1.35 in z270 (at least with g4560). So I'll test my 6700k in z270 with 3200 ram to verify if it'll work as well as 4560. If it will though, does it mean it's a z170 mobo issue?**

Also, thanks for replying so promptly.*

[Nate152]

It's possible it could be the board.

Have you tried resetting to defaults and setting the ram manually with no cpu overclock ?

If you can't get it going I'll suggest to contact ASUS Tech Support, they will likely have you try some things and/or issue you an RMA. ASUS has 24/7 phone support here in the U.S.

[Lexkalin]

Nate152 wrote:
It's possible it could be the board.

Have you tried resetting to defaults and setting the ram manually with no cpu overclock ?

If you can't get it going I'll suggest to contact ASUS Tech Support, they will likely have you try some things and/or issue you an RMA. ASUS has 24/7 phone support here in the U.S.

yes, this is exactly one of the first things I've tried. When I reverted to 3402 bios (last before latest) and loaded default settings, I've tried manually enter settings (as I always do instead of xmp) and it didn't work. Which is unusual as I could get if oced cpu refused to work with oced ram (and this one worked just fine for past two years), but stock cpu should have less of a problem with it. Especially since skylake cpus didn't have much problem running 3000-3200 kits and issues usually started above 3400.*

I'll make an update once I test the cpu and ram in z270. I've heard though that support people on the phone are not really helpful. Is there any specific rep maybe, who will definitely understand the case and not just ask primitive questions like did I try rebooting pc lol?*

[Nate152]

I would try the G4560 in your z170 board, this would tell us better if it's the board or cpu.

[Lexkalin]

Nate152 wrote:
I would try the G4560 in your z170 board, this would tell us better if it's the board or cpu.

you're absolutely right! I didn't think about it. Yes, I will definitely do so.*

[Nate152]

Let us know the outcome. 🙂