F3-2400C10Q-16GZH & ASUS Maximus IV Ex-Z

[TheElusiveNerd]

Greetings,

Currently I am building a new tower for a buddy of mine, however, it will not boot and no beep codes sound.

Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz - LGA 1155 77W
Memory: F3-2400C10Q-16GZH

I initially started the machine with all four sticks of ram installed.

It would start, stay up about 2 seconds, and then restart.

After 3-4 restarts it would stay up with an error code on the debug LEDs (F2*) and the Dram led light lit indicating a memory issue, but there were no beep codes.

Next I tested the motherboard without any memory sticks installed and it provided the beep code (1-long 2-short) and the debug code (53*)

I than tested each memory stick by itself, with the same results as before. No beep with a debug of (F2)

Debug Codes:

F2 - Recovery Process Started

53 - Memory Initialization error. Invalid memory type or incompatible memory speed.


One of the other things I noticed was that the memory requires 1.65V where the motherboard defaults to 1.5V - Is there anyway to increase the voltage outside of BIOS?

Any help or insight would be appreciated.

Thank you.

-TEN

[Tradesman]

Does it have the latest BIOS? If not, try that, if it does try clearing the CMOS then give it a try. DO you have any other sticks you can try? If so and can get to BIOS, can go in and Enable XMP set to 2400 and then try (even w/ 1 or 2 sticks (or all 4)

[TheElusiveNerd]

Unfortunately I cannot access the BIOS to flash it to lastest, I did however use the built in motherboard switch to swap it over to the second BIOS installed and then cleared CMOS, but the results were the same.

I also tried the Go button which is a built in overlocked profile but seeing as it does not get to post before it errors, that does not work either.

As for memory, the only sticks I have available outside of the 2400s is an 8gb PC 17000 stick, but the motherboard states its max supported per stick is 4gbs =/

[Tradesman]

The mobo should support 8 GB sticks,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131760

4x8GB - so it should, ideally boot up at 1600 (maybe 1333 depending on BIOS)....may just not like that they are 2400 sticks - the mobo is only rated to 2200....still should boot, may well be a BIOS problem, try the 8GB stick and check BIOS

[TheElusiveNerd]

On the note of BIOS, I recalled the ASUS boards have republic of gamer ports which allows an external device to connect and OC the system.

With that in mind I checked the ASUS website for more information and found the following regarding the Maximus IV board.

Hi there,the simple answer is yes you can,using the ROG Connect procedure,ie,download the latest bios,using a memory stick formated to Fat32,place the bios file on it,rename it to M4EZ.ROM,with the board powered down,but still power to it,place the memory stick in the ROG Connect port,press the ROG Connect button next to it for several seconds then release,the LED light next to the first bios chip will start blinking,wait for this to stop blinking,it can take a few minutes,then your good to go.It is called flashing blind,you dont need a cpu installed.Hope this helps.

Turns out the CPU was not supported by the old BIOS which came with the board and after upgrading it VIA the ROG port it worked just fine with all 16Gbs of GSkill ram.



Once I was able to access the BIOS I enabled XMP (Auto configured for 2200MHz - Profile #1) > Saved > Reboot > Failed.

Reset > Enabled XMP > set to 2133 > Saved > Reboot > Worked

When I swapped to profile #2 it auto configured for 2400MHz and everything worked great.

So Thanks GSkill for making an awesome product, and hopefully what I've learned will help someone else down the road.

-TEN


Edit: Sorry for not specifying, I am using the Z77 Board - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131858 - and it supports up to 2800 but only 4GB sticks (according to the manual)

[Tradesman]

Glad all is well, and the info you provided I'm sure will be of use to others (including me), and sorry about the mobo mix up, I called up the spec and saw the Z68 version, my fault, sorry. You'll love the 2400 sticks, I'm running 32GB on my Z77 and it's great, unlike you though, I have it paired w/ a 3570K unlike your 3770K

[TheElusiveNerd]

It would seem I have made an *** out of myself in responding before checking my own documentation

Your original assessment of the Z68 board rather than the Z77 was correct. I even double checked my order statement and sure enough it listed the Z68. I am sorry for the confusion and misrepresenting things as I did.



With regards to the memory, the BIOS now lists available memory frequencies up to 2800MHz, while the manual lists 2200MHz (max of 8Gb) on page XV and 2333MHz (max of 4Gb) on page 2-6. So it would seem their BIOS is not the only thing needing updating..

Also, the current timings are 10-12-12-31 in case that helps anyone else out.



My buddy is the lucky one, since he'll be running this machine. I'm still using a 2nd generation core like yourself

Thank you for all of your help today Sir, it is greatly appreciated.

[Tradesman]

Well the 3570K is third gen, I've also got a 2500K in a P67, which falls under 2nd gen CPUs along with the 26/2700 series's. The 2nd gen CPUs tend to max out on DRAM at 2133/2200 where the 3rd Gen (3570/3770/etc) have a much stronger MC (Memory Controller) that can take up to even 3000+ sticks