Intel Gen9 Support for Maximus X & Strix Z370 Boards ?

[---SK---]

Are we getting Intel Gen9 Support for Maximus X & Strix Z370 Boards ?
A New bios that will support these new cpu's i9-9900K, i7-9700K, i5-9600K ect.

I would like to upgrade to a 8 core 9700k 🙂

[Mr__Fox]

Anyone that doesn't have a 9900K yet should think twice about flashing this new BIOS. It has new micro-code and an updated Intel ME that is messing things up for my 8700K. I've already RMA'd the motherboard. ASUS said nothing is wrong with it and sent it back the same way they got it.

I can no longer run all four sticks of my Corsair LPX DDR4-4000. It's not stable (boots OK), has CRC errors when trying to install drivers or extract compressive archives, gives me a random error at post (A07) ME FW - Downgrade - Request MeSpiLock Failed, Windows randomly will not load with errors about Boot Manager corrupted or missing. If I run two sticks the problems go away and it works flawlessly. Fill all four slots and the problems return. After getting it back from them and finding nothing was fixed, I contacted Corsair and they replaced the memory under warranty. Same issue... 2 sticks is perfect, 4 produces problems.

Using BIOS flashback downgrades the BIOS, but not the Intel ME. All previously stable BIOS versions are unstable in the same way, so I believe it is the ME firmware update causing an issue.

Before flashing BIOS 1602 everything was fine. Ran the same RAM kit for almost 3 months with no problems. The memory is on the QVL list as well, which is why I purchased it specifically. Yesterday they said the board needed to be replaced, and now today they are recommending I buy another $500 memory kit that is slower or a different brand for testing. I guess I might have to think twice about buying another ASUS product if this kind of run-around can be expected after a BIOS update. Hopefully, they're not going to leave me holding the bag.

Runs like a top with only two sticks. Doesn't matter which slots I use on each channel... rock solid. As soon as I fill all four DIMM slots, everything goes haywire. Nothing changed except flashing BIOS 1602.

I didn't mention this earlier in the thread because I was optimistic they were going to take care of my situation. After the suggestion today that I experiment with $500 of my own money to see if buying slower RAM fixes the problem, I'm no longer optimistic they are going to resolve it.

[NarfTV]

mr_fox_rox wrote:
Anyone that doesn't have a 9900K yet should think twice about flashing this new BIOS. It has new micro-code and an updated Intel ME that is messing things up for my 8700K. I've already RMA'd the motherboard. ASUS said nothing is wrong with it and sent it back the same way they got it.

I can no longer run all four sticks of my Corsair LPX DDR4-4000. It's not stable (boots OK), has CRC errors when trying to install drivers or extract compressive archives, gives me a random error at post (A07) ME FW - Downgrade - Request MeSpiLock Failed, Windows randomly will not load with errors about Boot Manager corrupted or missing. If I run two sticks the problems go away and it works flawlessly. Fill all four slots and the problems return. After getting it back from them and finding nothing was fixed, I contacted Corsair and they replaced the memory under warranty. Same issue... 2 sticks is perfect, 4 produces problems.

Using BIOS flashback downgrades the BIOS, but not the Intel ME. All previously stable BIOS versions are unstable in the same way, so I believe it is the ME firmware update causing an issue.

Before flashing BIOS 1602 everything was fine. Ran the same RAM kit for almost 3 months with no problems. The memory is on the QVL list as well, which is why I purchased it specifically. Yesterday they said the board needed to be replaced, and now today they are recommending I buy another $500 memory kit that is slower or a different brand for testing. I guess I might have to think twice about buying another ASUS product if this kind of run-around can be expected after a BIOS update. Hopefully, they're not going to leave me holding the bag.

Runs like a top with only two sticks. Doesn't matter which slots I use on each channel... rock solid. As soon as I fill all four DIMM slots, everything goes haywire. Nothing changed except flashing BIOS 1602.

I didn't mention this earlier in the thread because I was optimistic they were going to take care of my situation. After the suggestion today that I experiment with $500 of my own money to see if buying slower RAM fixes the problem, I'm no longer optimistic they are going to resolve it.

If its the ME you can fix it yourself by using UBU (at your own risk)
https://www.win-raid.com/t154f16-Tool-Guide-News-quot-UEFI-BIOS-Updater-quot-UBU.html

[raider89]

mr_fox_rox wrote:
Anyone that doesn't have a 9900K yet should think twice about flashing this new BIOS. It has new micro-code and an updated Intel ME that is messing things up for my 8700K. I've already RMA'd the motherboard. ASUS said nothing is wrong with it and sent it back the same way they got it.

I can no longer run all four sticks of my Corsair LPX DDR4-4000. It's not stable (boots OK), has CRC errors when trying to install drivers or extract compressive archives, gives me a random error at post (A07) ME FW - Downgrade - Request MeSpiLock Failed, Windows randomly will not load with errors about Boot Manager corrupted or missing. If I run two sticks the problems go away and it works flawlessly. Fill all four slots and the problems return. After getting it back from them and finding nothing was fixed, I contacted Corsair and they replaced the memory under warranty. Same issue... 2 sticks is perfect, 4 produces problems.

Using BIOS flashback downgrades the BIOS, but not the Intel ME. All previously stable BIOS versions are unstable in the same way, so I believe it is the ME firmware update causing an issue.

Before flashing BIOS 1602 everything was fine. Ran the same RAM kit for almost 3 months with no problems. The memory is on the QVL list as well, which is why I purchased it specifically. Yesterday they said the board needed to be replaced, and now today they are recommending I buy another $500 memory kit that is slower or a different brand for testing. I guess I might have to think twice about buying another ASUS product if this kind of run-around can be expected after a BIOS update. Hopefully, they're not going to leave me holding the bag.

Runs like a top with only two sticks. Doesn't matter which slots I use on each channel... rock solid. As soon as I fill all four DIMM slots, everything goes haywire. Nothing changed except flashing BIOS 1602.

I didn't mention this earlier in the thread because I was optimistic they were going to take care of my situation. After the suggestion today that I experiment with $500 of my own money to see if buying slower RAM fixes the problem, I'm no longer optimistic they are going to resolve it.

I think you just had a case of bad luck, no issue with new bios here and using all 4 sticks.

[Zammin]

raider89 wrote:
I think you just had a case of bad luck, no issue with new bios here and using all 4 sticks.

Bad luck or not there has to be a cause.

mr fox, do you have another PC or a friend with one that you could install your 4 RAM modules in to prove that they are all okay?

[Silent_Scone]

Change in memory rules possibly favoring the new CPU lineup. Revert using Flashback to a build that works better "out of the box" with your memory kit.

[Mr__Fox]

Thanks for all of the input guys. See responses below.

Silent Scone wrote:
Change in memory rules possibly favoring the new CPU lineup. Revert using Flashback to a build that works better "out of the box" with your memory kit.

I've already tried using Flashback and it works fine EXCEPT that doing that does not downgrade the ME version. This is why I suspect the ME is the issue. I found 1101 was the best BIOS version for the highest CPU and RAM overclocks and very stable. It no longer is stable and my profiles saved for 1101 are not as stable with the newer Intel ME version.

NarfTV wrote:
If its the ME you can fix it yourself by using UBU (at your own risk)
https://www.win-raid.com/t154f16-Tool-Guide-News-quot-UEFI-BIOS-Updater-quot-UBU.html

If they do not take care of this for me, I will look into that further. Already considered it, but trying to work with them on it before I take the bull by the horns.

raider89 wrote:
I think you just had a case of bad luck, no issue with new bios here and using all 4 sticks.

What speed? What brand/part #? Fours sticks of DDR4-4000?

Zammin wrote:
Bad luck or not there has to be a cause.

mr fox, do you have another PC or a friend with one that you could install your 4 RAM modules in to prove that they are all okay?

I do not have any friends or relatives that I could swap RAM with for testing. Corsair replaced it under warranty after ASUS said nothing was wrong with my motherboard and sent it back to me. The replacement RAM has the same problem as the RAM I returned to them. It is on the ASUS QVL list (bought it specifically because it was) and worked perfectly before I applied 1602.

Phillyflyer wrote:
What bios were you running prior to 1602 ?
Also...did you encounter any issue during the flash to 1602 ?

I was on 1101. There were no issues flashing 1602. I normally never update BIOS on a system that is working correctly. In this case the only reason was to ready the board for 9900K. Everything worked flawlessly with 1101. (I don't care about the Meltdown and Spectre security update stuff... not important to me.)

It's not the end of the world. Yes, I am ticked that I have to run only 16GB of DDR4-4000 instead of 32GB. I bought 32GB (4*8GB) because that is what I wanted and it worked flawlessly until now. But, everything works normally with only two sticks. That sucks, but I can think of worse problems to have. It needs to be corrected though. I'm not keen on the idea of leaving it this way. It will be interesting to find out if and when I upgrade to 9900K if the problems go away. Hopefully, ASUS will resolve it before 9900K is released. My primary concern is not knowing if the problem is a hardware issue with the motherboard (which ASUS originally agreed with) or buggy firmware. Based on the sequence of events, it seems like a firmware induced issue.

[Phillyflyer]

mr_fox_rox wrote:
Thanks for all of the input guys. See responses below.

I've already tried using Flashback and it works fine EXCEPT that doing that does not downgrade the ME version. This is why I suspect the ME is the issue. I found 1101 was the best BIOS version for the highest CPU and RAM overclocks and very stable. It no longer is stable and my profiles saved for 1101 are not as stable with the newer Intel ME version.
If they do not take care of this for me, I will look into that further. Already considered it, but trying to work with them on it before I take the bull by the horns.
What speed? What brand/part #? Fours sticks of DDR4-4000?
I do not have any friends or relatives that I could swap RAM with for testing. Corsair replaced it under warranty after ASUS said nothing was wrong with my motherboard and sent it back to me. The replacement RAM has the same problem as the RAM I returned to them. It is on the ASUS QVL list (bought it specifically because it was) and worked perfectly before I applied 1602.
I was on 1101. There were no issues flashing 1602. I normally never update BIOS on a system that is working correctly. In this case the only reason was to ready the board for 9900K. Everything worked flawlessly with 1101. (I don't care about the Meltdown and Spectre security update stuff... not important to me.)

It's not the end of the world. Yes, I am ticked that I have to run only 16GB of DDR4-4000 instead of 32GB. I bought 32GB (4*8GB) because that is what I wanted and it worked flawlessly until now. But, everything works normally with only two sticks. That sucks, but I can think of worse problems to have. It needs to be corrected though. I'm not keen on the idea of leaving it this way. It will be interesting to find out if and when I upgrade to 9900K if the problems go away. Hopefully, ASUS will resolve it before 9900K is released. My primary concern is not knowing if the problem is a hardware issue with the motherboard (which ASUS originally agreed with) or buggy firmware. Based on the sequence of events, it seems like a firmware induced issue.

Bro....are there some issues with bios 1602?...yes..I would have to agree...to what extent dunno...do know that the new ME Firmware has probably created some issues since 1401 bios release and can't be rolled back...unless through a bios mod....some issues that I have seen...previous memory speeds not being able to perform like they did prior to update...example...4266mhz obtained...now..only 4133mhz obtained same chip/board and ram...ME Spi lock failed to downgrade errors..look at post..8086k Compatibility....bios 1401 was noted " support new 8th gen processor" when released..same time 8086k was released...that has since been edited I believe....Bios 1602 was released and only recently now shows support for 9th gen processor...was not in notes upon release...Asus released 3 bios updates in approx 3 weeks with 8086k launch...1503 bios has disappeared for whatever reason....fortunately with all that being said I'm able to run same quad memory and overclock through it all albeit with some adjustment with each bios update. Currently working to get ram back to 4266mhz overclock ...sooooo close..atm...at one time could get my ram running 4400mhz with the previous 8700k chip...no go with the 8086k though...that I will chalk up to the chip and not the bios update...only so far you can push ....lol

[Mr__Fox]

Phillyflyer wrote:
Bro....are there some issues with bios 1602?...yes..I would have to agree...to what extent dunno...do know that the new ME Firmware has probably created some issues since 1401 bios release and can't be rolled back...unless through a bios mod....some issues that I have seen...previous memory speeds not being able to perform like they did prior to update...example...4266mhz obtained...now..only 4133mhz obtained same chip/board and ram...ME Spi lock failed to downgrade errors..look at post..8086k Compatibility....bios 1401 was noted " support new 8th gen processor" when released..same time 8086k was released...that has since been edited I believe....Bios 1602 was released and only recently now shows support for 9th gen processor...was not in notes upon release...Asus released 3 bios updates in approx 3 weeks with 8086k launch...1503 bios has disappeared for whatever reason....fortunately with all that being said I'm able to run same quad memory and overclock through it all albeit with some adjustment with each bios update. Currently working to get ram back to 4266mhz overclock ...sooooo close..atm...at one time could get my ram running 4400mhz with the previous 8700k chip...no go with the 8086k though...that I will chalk up to the chip and not the bios update...only so far you can push ....lol

Are you having that error as well?

"(A07) ME FW - Downgrade - Request MeSpiLock Failed" is what I get with all four RAM slots populated with Intel ME FW version 11.8.50.3470. It happens at the end of POST as the BIOS is doing the hand-off to Windows. I never had that with Intel ME FW version 11.8.50.3425 (the previous ME version). More than half the time when that error appears, Windows will fail to boot with STOP errors like 0xc0000225 or errors about Windows Boot Manager being corrupted. Sometimes powering off manually using the PSU switch and waiting a few seconds it will boot normally with no errors. Other times that does not work. When it doesn't work, removing two sticks will immediately restore normal operation.

It never happens with only two memory modules.

[Phillyflyer]

mr_fox_rox wrote:
Are you having that error as well?

"(A07) ME FW - Downgrade - Request MeSpiLock Failed" is what I get with all four RAM slots populated with Intel ME FW version 11.8.50.3470. It happens at the end of POST as the BIOS is doing the hand-off to Windows. I never had that with Intel ME FW version 11.8.50.3425 (the previous ME version). More than half the time when that error appears, Windows will fail to boot with STOP errors like 0xc0000225 or errors about Windows Boot Manager being corrupted. Sometimes powering off manually using the PSU switch and waiting a few seconds it will boot normally with no errors. Other times that does not work. When it doesn't work, removing two sticks will immediately restore normal operation.

It never happens with only two memory modules.

Yes...periodically get that error....never happened before in previous bios....all started with bios 1401 with new ME firmware....still get it with bios 1602....may have to get a bios mod with previous firmware....last time I had to flash firmware was on X79 board...so...it's been awhile...no problem with running 4 x8 gb sticks through....currently testing a 4266 mhz overclock for stability..atm

[Phillyflyer]

What bios were you running prior to 1602 ?
Also...did you encounter any issue during the flash to 1602 ?