Problems with new Maximus VIII Formula (or possibly Skylake problems)

[scrap264]

Hi all thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and chiming in if you feel you can help.

I built a new rig almost two weeks ago and it has been running amazingly until just two nights ago when I suddenly started getting "WHEA_uncorrectable_error" bluescreen in windows 10. From there it got progressively worse, happening pretty much right after boot up and then it got to the point where it was freezing before even loading windows.

I read that, that error is commmonly associated with overclocking, however I have yet to overclocked this rig yet. I then read that turning up the VCore voltage may even correct this problem but that did not help and lead to me getting an overclockinh failed error. After some tinkering, I now notice that when I boot up and go into UEFI BIOS, it freezes up and will not accept keystrokes or mouse movements after about 5-10 seconds.

I then went through removing hardware one at a time but nothing was making a difference. That is until I removed my Swifttech H220 Prestige waterblock. I booted it up after that and voila! it booted right into windows. However, of course my skylake was getting hot as hell so I shut it off quick. So now I am trying to determine how this waterblock is causing my cpu to fail until I realize installing a stock intel fan causes the same issue. I am now in the position of not knowing if my problem is the mobo or the cpu or both at this point.

Note, I read an article that third party coolers have been warping i7 Skylake chips due to them having thinner substrate than previous generations, it seemed like a viable answer to my problem but I do not see any "warping" damage at all as the pictures associated with this problem show. And if that is the case am I now screwed when it comes to RMAing the mobo? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated, sorry if the post is too long!

Hardware:
Maximus VIII Formula Mobo
i7-6700k 4.0ghz
GTX 980ti
2x Samsung Pro SSD
2x 8gb G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 3100MHz
Swiftech H220-X2 Prestige Liquid CPU Cooler
Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER 850W Platinum Power Supply

[Nate152]

Hello scrap264

The overclocking failed message is likely due to your ram if you're not overclocking.

Go into the bios, on the extreme tweaker tab enable XMP then scroll down and set the vccio voltage to 1.20v and the cpu system agent voltage to 1.20v, F10 and Enter. If it boots without freezing you can slowly lower the voltages and find just what it needs.

[scrap264]

Ok I will try when I get a chance but is it possible for this type of change after running great for almost two weeks then suddenly failing? Also any ideas about the problem with the cooler? When I have it on, everything freezes before I can change anything in BIOS and when it is off I can access bios and make changes however my cpu starts frying of course.

[drop4205]

Cooler may have been to tight on cpu causing issues with ram. Put cooler on but no need to use a 1/2" air gun to hold it on. Try loosening it a bit and see.

[scrap264]

Have already cleared CMOS and reset defaults, also flashed bios with newest version to no avail. I also tried changing those voltages as sugested by Nate but no change. I think RMAing is the only option at this point. We did more testing at the shop (work at an electronics shop) and it definitely appears to be a hardware issue with the motherboard.

If I have ANY type of cooler on the processor, water block, heavy duty fan or even a stock intel one, it freezes upon entering BIOS. Have ruled out any other pieces of hardware or peripherals being the problem. If I remove the cooling it boots up happy and can even load into windows however my chip obviously starts overheating. Guess I need to send the motherboard back to newegg as it hasnt been 30 days yet however I am worried about getting the same motherboard back or if I need to get a different cooler or if I just probably got unlucky with a bad mobo and a new one will be fine.

Just strange it worked fine for two weeks and nothing changed when it suddenly started failing. Any last ditch ideas are appreciate but I have already been through the common problems multiple times so don't want anyone to waste their energy!

[Chino]

scrap264 wrote:

If I have ANY type of cooler on the processor, water block, heavy duty fan or even a stock intel one, it freezes upon entering BIOS. Have ruled out any other pieces of hardware or peripherals being the problem. If I remove the cooling it boots up happy and can even load into windows however my chip obviously starts overheating.

Were those tests done inside the case or with the motherboard on top of the cardboard box? And while you were playing around with the heatsink, did you inspect the CPU socket for any bent or missing pins?

[scrap264]

We definitely looked for any damage to the pins, contacts and socket. Especially after reading about Skylake chips being warped by various coolers. Do not see any damage however all the tests were done in the case. I will definitely try it while out of the case but the fact that i can get it to work without a cooler while inside the case makes me think the motherboard must have some kind of bad connection or solder joints that are being exploited when a cooler is screwed in.

[Chino]

Clear your CMOS and test your system at stock defaults. Report back your results.

[brkkab123]

I don't know if this will help. I just heard that Tuesday's Windows 10 update is causing some sort of driver issue. Woody Leonard posted this in a feed I just read, but didn't go into detail. If the other stuff doesn't help. Uninstall the update KB3140743.

[ryguy76]

A couple things for what they are worth.

Can you actually see any warping of the CPU when it is out of the mount? It should be pretty apparent if its that bad.
Are you using the ASUS cpu attachment. (Little black frame that should have come with your case)? I have found that it helps to lock things in place pretty well and should also prevent pin damage.

Its possible that the board has been slightly bent if you really cranked down hard when tightening the cpu cooler, which can create issues with the RAM slots.

It may be worth putting in the ram before you put the CPU heatsink on, if you havent tried this already. The ram will give the board a little more strength and rigidity and a better chance of having a solid connection being made.

What voltage are you running the ram at? A lot of ram should be run at 1.35, but I don't think that is the default in the bios optimized settings.

I would also try some interim system agent and vccio voltages. Even though more can add stability, a little can sometimes go a long way depending upon the specific CPU. Mine (6700k) runs fine w. 3400 memory vccio and system agent voltages at default, and when I experimented with higher levels as many suggest for added stability, it actually made things unstable.


I had a faulty board the first time around - ram slot issues. Different codes than yours though. If you do RMA, I would encourage you to read my post in general discussions. The ASUS guys on this forum and the customer service people really helped make a stressful experience smoother.

Good luck