STRIX Z370-G (WIFI) System instability / stuttering after upgrading to BIOS 0430

[elenarie]

Hello,

I recently bought a new PC with all new parts. Recently there were articles online about some Intel ME vulnerabilities, so I thought to upgrade the BIOS of the motherboard just to be sure and get the released security update. However, it seems that BIOS version for some reason does not like my STRIX Z370-G (WIFI).

After upgrading the BIOS to v 0430, I have started experiencing the following.
- When moving the mouse cursor in Windows' desktop, the mouse cursor would sometimes jump a few dozen pixels, as if it was slowing down before. At times it would indeed slow down, only to restore its speed after a split second.
- When moving the camera with the mouse in World of Warcraft, the camera would at times jump more than I had intended to move it.
- When playing Mass Effect: Andromeda, the game would slow down for a split second, and then restore itself. This would happen as frequently as once every couple of dozen seconds.
- Running the Unigine Heaven benchmark, the stuttering happen there as well.

I have tried the following, and the issue is present in every case:
- Reinstall Fall Creators Update. Roll back to Creators Update.
- Fresh install GeForce 388.43, 388.31, 388.13 drivers for my 1080. Install Intel 8700K GPU drivers, and switch the monitor to use the CPU's GPU.
- Unplug the keyboard, headphones, the Ethernet cable and all other USB devices.

I tried enabling / disabling XMP, resetting the BIOS settings to their optimized defaults, enabling / disabling MCE, but nothing seemed to help.
Also unplugged and replugged everything. Tried with one RAM stick in different slots, and two RAM sticks in different slots. Nothing seems to help.
Enabling / disabling Intel Turbo and Intel SpeedStep also don't make any difference.

I don't want to overclock this, just want the build to be stable. I tried downgrading the bios, but the BIOS is telling me that it "cannot read the file" when trying to install the 0402 version.

According to CPU-Z, the Core Voltage on my CPU goes somewhere from 0.730 up to something like 1.280. Are these jumps intended? If not, how can I stabilise them?

Please advice me on what to do next, I paid so much money for this build and I'm afraid of something being wrong with it now that I cannot fix myself. 😞

Specs:
i7 8700K, STRIX 1080 O8C, Corsair 2x16 GB RAM, Corsair HX750i, Corsair H115i, Logitech G403 mouse, Logitech G413 mouse, Dell D2518D monitor.

EDIT: After some monitoring, I noticed that CPU-Z shows the Core Voltage going up to 1.324. That doesn't seem right to me?

[elenarie]

Some more info on this. I installed and launched the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. Ran the Benchmark feature from there, and I can hear very distinct sound buzzing when that feature is running, and the Current Limit Throttling is spiking up. Maybe this is related to some of the stuttering that I've been experiencing?

Also, the Core Voltage as shown in the graph in the app can go up to 1.3 sometimes, even without any overclocking.

Any ideas?

[Raja]

elenarie wrote:
Some more info on this. I installed and launched the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. Ran the Benchmark feature from there, and I can hear very distinct sound buzzing when that feature is running, and the Current Limit Throttling is spiking up. Maybe this is related to some of the stuttering that I've been experiencing?

Also, the Core Voltage as shown in the graph in the app can go up to 1.3 sometimes, even without any overclocking.

Any ideas?

Buzzing from the system or through the onboard audio?

Core voltage is dynamic, so will change depending upon load. There's nothing abnormal about that. The requested voltage is affected by the SVID behaviour setting in UEFI. Change it to 'best case scenario' to reduce the VID the CPU requests when it is under load.

[elenarie]

Raja@ASUS wrote:
Buzzing from the system or through the onboard audio?

Core voltage is dynamic, so will change depending upon load. There's nothing abnormal about that. The requested voltage is affected by the SVID behaviour setting in UEFI. Change it to 'best case scenario' to reduce the VID the CPU requests when it is under load.

I switched that setting to Best Case Scenario, but it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on the stuttering.

The buzzing is coming directly from the hardware, I assume the motherboard, since if I also try stressing the GPU, a similar buzzing sound is present as well.

[Raja]

elenarie wrote:
I switched that setting to Best Case Scenario, but it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on the stuttering.

The buzzing is coming directly from the hardware, I assume the motherboard, since if I also try stressing the GPU, a similar buzzing sound is present as well.

The SVID setting is related to Vcore, so shouldn't have an impact on system stuttering unless the CPU is throttling due to high temps.

The buzzing sound is inductor whine. It is caused by rapid changes in current. Nothing you can do about that.

[Dovakhan]

First of all, make sure that you don't disable MCE. Those 1,344 voltages may be due to that reason (as far as I can test, disabling MCE puts voltages to 1,344 unnecesarely). I'd also disable XMP if I were you, like I've done myself, just to have completely safe settings until ASUS decides to fix that complete mess of a BIOS.

Also put SVID at Best Behaviour. With those settings your Vcore shouldn't surpass 1,21v at most (which is a more or less understandable voltage having in mind that MCE is On), but with games it should be around 1,1-1,18. And sorry, but about the stutters...I have no idea. But check your temperatures in case it may be CPU throttling.

[elenarie]

An update on this situation.
I updated the BIOS to v0605 today, and it seems that these problems are not happening anymore. I will give it a few days of testing before confirming, as it might just be a placebo right now.

EDIT: Never mind, the issue still happens.

Easiest way to repro is to set the mouse to low DPI, 400 for example, and move it on the screen. Every now and then, the mouse will jump as if it is skipping frames.

[Hopeywolf]

elenarie wrote:
Hello,

I recently bought a new PC with all new parts. Recently there were articles online about some Intel ME vulnerabilities, so I thought to upgrade the BIOS of the motherboard just to be sure and get the released security update. However, it seems that BIOS version for some reason does not like my STRIX Z370-G (WIFI).

I get a stutter and hang for a few seconds after startup on the maximus hero x wifi with a 1080ti. Not sure if it's related but it feels weird