[Strix x99 Gaming] QCODE 00 over night after several small issues

[mulderfox]

Hi!

I had my new build die on me over night.
I left my PC on for the night, and when I got up I found that it seemed to have been turned off.
Only it wasn't. When I turned it back on, all I got was a momentary power and then shut off.
After another attempt or two, the board would get power and the components too, but there would be no post, and no boot.
All the while, the QCODE alpha-numeric display would only show the numbers 00.
I've searched and found that this issue has happened to others with the same board and other x99 asus boards and may mean faulty board or faulty CPU
- due to a power surge.
I've already replaced the board today, but sadly the issue is still there.
The only change is that there is no more momentary power, but the power starts and stays, but all the rest is the same.
I've concluded that the CPU was fried, and started an RMA process with Intel.
The CPU is a brand new i7-6850k and all the other parts (aside from a couple of mechanical hard drives) were bought at the same time about two and half months ago.
This is an unacceptable issue with a top-of-the-line board from ASUS - especially after two months of use - and especially as it happens in more than one x99 motherboard model.
I am certain the blame is with the board, as I had other small issues with it before:
1. long post time (the time it takes between pressing the power button and till you hear the beep and see anything on the screen)
2. no network connection from within the bios meaning I could not perform a bios update from there.
On previous builds I had, my PC would stay on for months at a time, and in this one the cooling is much better so there is no reason for anything like that to happen,
not to mention that's what thermal (and electrical) protection is there for. power fluctuation is not expected or accepted phenomenon with a high grade gaming motherboard.

Has anyone else encounter this issue? My PSU is also brand new with 750W of power that are more than enough to drive my system, even with the GTX1080 Graphicds card I have
installed.
I am quite worried that replacing the CPU might not help even with the replaced motherboard.. what would I do then?

[mulderfox]

EquiFox17 wrote:
I have an Asus Rampage V Edition 10 and a 6900K CPU.

Last week PC turned off while gaming and never came back alive. QCODE 00 and CPU error LED is on.

I swapped the motherboard for a new one, same result 😞 Seems that my cpu is dead.

Waiting on Intel RMA.

I share your pain..
A few things to consider: X99-a and x99 deluxe/II should be more stable, and using a UPS and latest BIOS should also help in the future (I suspect these boards power regulation is not up to par, and a UPS that "cleans" the sinus signal helps reduce issues).
I've been using my new board for a while now (same model) and so far, the only things I encountered are code 40 (meaning that the RAM timings may be off - possibly because I use two kits instead of one), and that sometimes after reboot it gives an "overclocking failed" message - cleared easily by going into the bios and saving settings.
It may still be an issue - but I'll take that any day over a burnt motherboard+CPU. I'm not sure my next board will be ASUS though 😛

[spears]

Hi all, this thread was helpful to me, so i thought i'd sign up to share my story

I don't have a strix motherboard, but i do have an Asus x99-A, (as well as an i7-5820K, 32gb G.Skill RAM, eVGA 850W SuperNova PSU). A few weeks ago, i woke up to my PC being off, and after turning it on, found that it would just constantly reboot over and over, briefly showing the 00 code before it reboot again...

I ended up taking the CPU back to be RMA'd, and after getting it back, put it in the board, and everything booted fine...

However, 2 days later, i turned it on and it rebooted straight away, but rather than cycling like it did before, it started back up and stayed on, with the 00 code and CPU fan not spinning... I did a hard reset, and it booted fine, but now i'm reluctant to turn it off at all.

From this thread, and googling other places, it seems like a lot of people having this same issue with all types of Asus X99 boards killing their CPU's, but not enough people are having the problem to warrant any kind of response from Asus.. It makes me wonder if it's only happening in a very specific configuration or something, but either way i think i will be buying a different brand board before my CPU gets fried again...

I should also say that i'm not overclocking, and my BIOS is up to date as i flashed it while i was waiting for my CPU to return, although initially when the problem happened the first time, i was running a BIOS that was probably 2 versions old...

[mulderfox]

spears wrote:
Hi all, this thread was helpful to me, so i thought i'd sign up to share my story

I don't have a strix motherboard, but i do have an Asus x99-A, (as well as an i7-5820K, 32gb G.Skill RAM, eVGA 850W SuperNova PSU). A few weeks ago, i woke up to my PC being off, and after turning it on, found that it would just constantly reboot over and over, briefly showing the 00 code before it reboot again...

I ended up taking the CPU back to be RMA'd, and after getting it back, put it in the board, and everything booted fine...

However, 2 days later, i turned it on and it rebooted straight away, but rather than cycling like it did before, it started back up and stayed on, with the 00 code and CPU fan not spinning... I did a hard reset, and it booted fine, but now i'm reluctant to turn it off at all.

From this thread, and googling other places, it seems like a lot of people having this same issue with all types of Asus X99 boards killing their CPU's, but not enough people are having the problem to warrant any kind of response from Asus.. It makes me wonder if it's only happening in a very specific configuration or something, but either way i think i will be buying a different brand board before my CPU gets fried again...

I should also say that i'm not overclocking, and my BIOS is up to date as i flashed it while i was waiting for my CPU to return, although initially when the problem happened the first time, i was running a BIOS that was probably 2 versions old...

Question: Why did you continue with the same motherboard that fried your CPU once already? You know what Einstein said about trying the same thing twice and hoping for different results..?
Did you at least attempt to replace the motherboard? even if it's out of warranty, seeing that this is an obvious design flaw (indicated by the 00 code and CPU frying) - Asus should be contacted and confronted regarding this at every occasion. I even got them to offer me a different motherboard model if this happens again. (though still from the x99 series)
And what happens if your CPU fries again and Intel will not RMA it (again)? Asus should foot the bill on a new one..

[spears]

mulderfox wrote:
Question: Why did you continue with the same motherboard that fried your CPU once already? You know what Einstein said about trying the same thing twice and hoping for different results..?
Did you at least attempt to replace the motherboard? even if it's out of warranty, seeing that this is an obvious design flaw (indicated by the 00 code and CPU frying) - Asus should be contacted and confronted regarding this at every occasion. I even got them to offer me a different motherboard model if this happens again. (though still from the x99 series)
And what happens if your CPU fries again and Intel will not RMA it (again)? Asus should foot the bill on a new one..

Well, a few reasons.. I only bought this motherboard a year ago so i didn't want to pay for a new one as all the prices are still quite high, and although it's still under warranty, i had read that RMA to Asus is almost pointless as i hadn't found any mentions of people actually successfully getting a replacement, but rather Asus just telling them that there was no problem. Not to mention that it seems like a problem with the whole range, rather than just the occasional faulty mobo, so a replacement wouldn't really be ideal anyway...

I had hoped it was just a once off, as i had read a few people having this issue, and then getting the CPU RMA'd and having no issues after that, so i was hoping the same thing would happen for me

I was also hoping i wouldn't need to buy a new non-Asus motherboard, partly because the prices are still quite high, but mostly because the choice is quite sparse, it seems like the X99 boards are on the way out, there's really only one decent Gigabyte one i can find for sale..

But as the CPU issue seems to still exist, and i don't want to risk the CPU, i'll probably be buying the Gigabyte one next week, and i guess i'll just have to keep this Asus board as a spare and most likely end up throwing it away eventually, which seems like a waste of $500 but it's better than risking my CPU i guess...

[mulderfox]

spears wrote:
Well, a few reasons.. I only bought this motherboard a year ago so i didn't want to pay for a new one as all the prices are still quite high, and although it's still under warranty, i had read that RMA to Asus is almost pointless as i hadn't found any mentions of people actually successfully getting a replacement, but rather Asus just telling them that there was no problem. Not to mention that it seems like a problem with the whole range, rather than just the occasional faulty mobo, so a replacement wouldn't really be ideal anyway...

I had hoped it was just a once off, as i had read a few people having this issue, and then getting the CPU RMA'd and having no issues after that, so i was hoping the same thing would happen for me

I was also hoping i wouldn't need to buy a new non-Asus motherboard, partly because the prices are still quite high, but mostly because the choice is quite sparse, it seems like the X99 boards are on the way out, there's really only one decent Gigabyte one i can find for sale..

But as the CPU issue seems to still exist, and i don't want to risk the CPU, i'll probably be buying the Gigabyte one next week, and i guess i'll just have to keep this Asus board as a spare and most likely end up throwing it away eventually, which seems like a waste of $500 but it's better than risking my CPU i guess...

Asus is a bit strict about RMA, but when it comes to serious issues like the board frying your CPU, i doubt they'll leave you hanging. They will want to check your boards at their lab though. I can say that i contacted them through Facebook and was enjoying good care up to and including replacement of the motherboard without trying to fix it first. Believe me, they're very updated about this code 00 issue.. And they took steps such as bios update to improve on the issue.
I'd still contact them if i was you. At least get it RMA'd before you keep it as spare, or sell it.

[spears]

mulderfox wrote:
Asus is a bit strict about RMA, but when it comes to serious issues like the board frying your CPU, i doubt they'll leave you hanging. They will want to check your boards at their lab though. I can say that i contacted them through Facebook and was enjoying good care up to and including replacement of the motherboard without trying to fix it first. Believe me, they're very updated about this code 00 issue.. And they took steps such as bios update to improve on the issue.
I'd still contact them if i was you. At least get it RMA'd before you keep it as spare, or sell it.

Thanks for the advice, i think you're right it's probably worth trying the RMA, especially if it's just going to sit spare, i'll probably do it after i replace it though, as i don't want to be without a system for another few weeks while i wait for shipping and stuff

Has anyone heard of this same CPU issue happening on other brands, e.g. Gigabyte or eVGA? This is my first Asus board since way back around 2005, i've been going with Gigabyte boards since then , and i'll probably be going back as i've been left pretty unimpressed with Asus because of all this. I have considered an eVGA board though, as i was really impressed with the quality and price of my eVGA Supernova PSU...

[xkm121]

Here are some of my updates.

After a month of frustration and back and forth with ASUS. It was the tech support team on that forum that finally got me a replacement mothboard. Still sabertooth X99 though.

I did the flashback to 3701 BIOS without plugging in anything. As it turns out my 6950X was indeed fried by my previous TUF X99. I asked ASUS whether they would cover the damage of my 2nd hand 6950X. Let's just say ASUS gave me a pleasant "go f*uck yourself' response. Now I am back on a peasant 5820K which was even worse than my original 5820K.

So to recap:

1. Basically all ASUS X99 board with the OC socket are known for murdering your CPU.
2. Depends on the mood of the motherboard, sometimes it prefer to commit suicide while killing your CPU.
3. HWE CPU so far seems a bit more resilient to the murdering of ASUS X99 boards
4. RMA from ASUS? Basically non-existent. Their tech support was probably paid to annoy you rather than help you.
5. Post here in the ROG forum service sections helps 10X better than calling ASUS North America HQ
6. Leave offical complain at Better Business Bureau helps 1000X better than calling ASUS North America HQ. ASUS seems to love it when you are forced to take legal actions.
7. Forget about damage done to your CPU/SSD/RAM, ASUS would never cover those.

That is for ranting. Now for people who are broke and stuck with these timed bomb ASUS X99 boards here are my suggestions:

1. DO NOT overclock Cache. This seems to trigger the OC socket overvoltaging more so than you may realize. Most dead BWE/HWE CPUs had their cache overclocked.
2. DO NOT use XMP. Manually put in the DRAM speed and timing works just fine.
3. DO NOT use Auto or Adaptive vcore. Use a maunal set vcore or the offset value.
4. DO NOT use Auto for most other voltages as well. Especially VCCSA, cache voltage and VCCIO. Manually punch in the values.
5. For BWE users, keep your VCCSA and Cache below 1.1V. ASUS boards seem to love overvoltage.
6. Provide ample air flow to the VRM. You need to keep the VRM temp low whenever possible.

[mulderfox]

xkm121 wrote:
Here are some of my updates.

After a month of frustration and back and forth with ASUS. It was the tech support team on that forum that finally got me a replacement mothboard. Still sabertooth X99 though.

I did the flashback to 3701 BIOS without plugging in anything. As it turns out my 6950X was indeed fried by my previous TUF X99. I asked ASUS whether they would cover the damage of my 2nd hand 6950X. Let's just say ASUS gave me a pleasant "go f*uck yourself' response. Now I am back on a peasant 5820K which was even worse than my original 5820K.

So to recap:

1. Basically all ASUS X99 board with the OC socket are known for murdering your CPU.
....

I've had a lot of back and forth myself here in South East Asia with Asus HK office, but overall, once they verified my issue they did a good job. Luckily, my CPU was brand new so it was covered by Intel's own RMA process.
As for "all ASUS X99 board with the OC socket are known for murdering your CPU" - I cannot say that for a fact. They are still a market leader and it's because they do make an effort to improve stability and performance via Bios updates. (including with my own x99 strix gaming board)
However, for future reference, don't keep your correspondence with Asus (or any company you have similar issues with) to yourself - put it out there - social media is truly your friend and their foe in these scenarios. They would not deny you so fast when their reputation is on the line - as long as you keep it respectful and to the point - to avoid defamation issues.
It would be much cheaper for them to replace your CPU (with a new one for sure) than to handle the bad "press" they'll get on the web.
Personally, almost all my dealings with Asus were conducted via Facebook with one of their customer relations managers. When you have a specific person to go to, the process goes much more smoothly. And they replaced my motherboard with a new one on the spot - which is outside of their normal policy of sending your faulty motherboard back to Taiwan (!) for a few weeks to diagnose. Again, this is due to the personal touch.
On my side, I wish I did a bit more research about this model. Even though it was quite new when I bought it, there were already hints regarding those issues on the forums. But you live and learn.

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Old thread but just to add what I have found out about broadwell-e bios since this happened long ago

My x99 Sabertooth and 5930k is still doing well
Yes I have oc socket not sure it does anything unless the jumpers are switched to use over volt though

Been using max cache 38 on offset +0.175 which cache voltage maxes out at 1.125v no different on newer bios

vccsa or system agent yeah usually does go to 1.2v for no apparent reason where as 1.0v or max of 1.15v should be more than enough same for vccio cpu 1.05 voltage 1.150v is plenty.

The biggest difference on newer bios is vccio cpu 1.05 voltage

2101 and lower bios this voltage along with vccio pch 1.05 voltage stay around that voltage standard +- a hair.

Any bios above 2101 shoots vccio cpu 1.05 voltage to 1.240v
This I believe is pretty drastic just for using xmp or simply manually increasing memory past 2133 seems more like a vcore voltage to me

Either way whether it's good/ bad or indifferent thought I would share on this thread what I noticed on newer bios.

Got a response from Raja about the vccio cpu voltage here

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?108525-Broadwell-E-expirienced-overclocking-help-needed/pa...

[Squall_Leonhart]

I'm convinced that everyone who had a system power off and cpu suddenly was dead were mixing utilities that hit the Asus EC in a dangerous way (Corsair Link/icue, and those that failed across shutdowns had never bothered to change the Bootup vcore from Auto.

Even on ivy bridge, failing to do the latter could see vcore hit 1.6v+ at auto once starting to overclock.