890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

[Twinings]

Hi All, This is a complete new build, System runs fine with onboard Graphics - when i add in the Radeon 6950 the system crashes after about 45 mins and then randomly blue screens afterwards - So i RMA the 6950 and received a brand new card just to find the same thing continues to happen, I tested the RAM individualy /stress tested and all good, then stress tested the CPU no problems, I then Purchased a new Power supply - new power cooler 850 W installed and same issues, I have the latest Drivers for my Graphics card (also tried all the old ones) i have no conflicting Drivers on my system and have even formated and reinstalled to be sure but crash crash crash, I tried the GPU in another of the PCIE slots but same issues!! I have taken out the other HD drives to try and eliminate the possible causes but still crashing!! i was hoping to find a BIOS update for my 890GX Extreme 4 but i see nothing has been updated since Ver 1.00. Is there anything you could suggest i try - Ive been on Overclockersclub.com to explain it to the forum and all of the above has been suggested over the last 2 months and now im completely stumped. Im not sure why the BIOS hasnt changed from Ver1. Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks</SPAN></SPAN>
Graham</SPAN></SPAN>

[wizardB]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

Sound like a heat build up problem....

[Twinings]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

Mmm tested that, but all at normal working temps!

[Twinings]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

Anyone from AsRock comment on the fact that no updates have been made to the BIOS for the 890GX Extreme 4 ? Still at 1.00

Or to anyone on this Forum - is there a Bios update for my motherboard (even Beta)?

[bahram_alinezhad]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

0- I assume you have "890GX Extreme 4", not "890GX Extreme 4 R2.0".

1- I have the same motherboard and encounter somehow similar problems. Mine does not go blue screen but hangs. Like "wizardB" I believe these are temperature problems as my room is too warm. In less warm times which is early morning (4:00 - 6:00 AM) I have not much problems. Then you have to cool down your room.

2- In a thread here we asked for an update bios to be able to boot from usb3 ports. Asrock's support member offered me a beta bios which could boot from rear usb3 ports (but not front). Here is the link, but first, read NO 3:
ASRock > Products > Motherboard > 890GX Extreme4 > Download

3- Several days after updating to this new bios, I saw memory errors in my memory test (memtes86+). As those days was warmer than before, I couldn't make sure that those errors are due to bios update or ambient temperature. Every tuning in bios was useless. My memory was 2x2GB "Corsair" modules. I removed one module and it made correct. Some times later, I replaced my rams with 2x2GB "G.Skill" ones and saw that more errors appear. Finally I inserted all 4 modules (2 Corsair + 2 G.Skill) and strangely this 8GB combination has not errors!! All this I said to inform you that better to test your memory immediately after bios update. If experienced any problem, please share here to discuss.

Bahram Alinezhad,
Rudehen, Tehran, Iran.

[Twinings]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

Bahram, thank you for taking the time to report the issues you have encountered!

I have as you guessed the Extreme 4 (and not R2.) So i followed your instruction - flashed the BIOS with a USB key plugged into the USB3 slot and it flashed without any issues - Then as suggested, i checked that my RAM is being recognised and found that it displayed correctly all slots full 8GB.

I then booted the system and restarted again as i wanted to now install my Radeon 6950 - installed card but strangely the BIOS didnt have an option to diasable on board Graphics!!

I went ahead to see if it worked anyway and it booted up correctly, i then installed the latest ATI drivers and rebooted once more to find the system would not boot (blank screen) not even a BIOS option!

tried to reboot 4-5 times and then took the card out and connected the monitor cable back into the onboard, booted up and went to the BIOS (still no option to disable onboard) Booted up fine with onboard graphics - I removed the Radeon drivers and rebooted, Installed 6950 and rebooted - now BIOS shows the option to select PCIE as display adaptor - booted up and reinstalled ATI's Driver (tried an older one this time) rebooted and nothing again!!

Again followed steps above and tried an even older driver but no use - system just wouldnt boot after Drivers installed for Graphics card.

So then i remebered what you said about the RAM issues you had experianced - and even though my system correctly displayed the installed amount i removed two of the 4 sticks and rebooted - Voila ! system booted with graphics card and drivers (latest now installed)

So looks like this new BIOS flash doesnt like 4 sticks of RAM from the same manuafacturer???

I ran the system for an hour (it was late) with no errors - ill be testing it again this evening - hopefully this will do the job!!

Thanks for the post - i will of course report back tomorrow with any new findings

[bahram_alinezhad]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

I think If you select "Auto" for shared memory of onboard card, It will be disabled when you install an add-on card (not tested myself though!). Therefore, If you want to have both, you must specify a value between 32 and 512 MB manually.
Recognizing the correct amount of memory doesn't mean error-free setup. You should test your ram with a memory test program. "Ultimate Boot CD" is a free and complete compilation of such test tools which you can download and use.
It seems Asrock engineers have left working around problems of this model and focused on R2. R2 has 3 bios updates after first release while R1 has only one beta update! Generally, I don't like Asrock's support. They even didn't update AM3 borad bioses to support AM3+ CPUs! This is the subject of this thread:

http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/44767-asrock-am3-mbs-should-get-bios-update-will.html

How can we complain about?!

[Twinings]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

Bahram, Been away for a week so sorry for no update.

System continues to crash however only when playing games (games fully updated to latest patch) 6950 latest Drivers. I do manage to get longer periods of stability (2 hours) before games crashes or system BSOD. System seems to hold for much longer periods when not playing games.
I use my system for music creation so also needed to install high end sound card (PCI) with cable running to hardware rack - system just doesnt like this card (latest drivers) constantly crashing when installed (even in windows) so i de-installed. MOBO just doesnt play well with others!!!

Havent had a chance to test my RAM etc. but will do tonight/tomorrow.

AsRock - its clear to me now that its the MOBO thats causing me all this pain - By now im thinking your not going to release a real BIOS update? Will you accept the MOBO back and replace it with the R2 version? It really is useless to me - I know need to purchase another MOBO to get a stable system.

Bahram, is your system now stable? I dont know if i should take a chance and purchase the AsRock R2. But in another mind im thinking am i mad buying from AsRock again!!

The Motherboard has given me nothing but pain for the last 3 months since i built it!

[Twinings]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

System details - In case needed.

Win7 64bit Enterprise edition
AsRock 890GX Extreme4 (NOT R2.)
Corsair XMS3 -4X2GB 1600MHz PC3-12800 </SPAN></SPAN>DDR3 240 pin - 1.65V - CL8 </SPAN> (###Only 2 installed as wont boot with all 4 - since i updated BIOS with Beta Flash#####)
Corsair HX 650W PSU (Then purchased Power cooler 850W thinking it was causing the problem)
AMD Phenom II X6 core 1055T
HYPER 212 Plus CPU Fan </SPAN>
OCZ Vertex 2 Series - Solid state drive - 60 GB </SPAN>SATA 300
Samsung Blue Ray DVD RW
Radeon HD 6950 - PCI Express 2.1 x16 - 2 GB GDDR5</SPAN>
HAF 922 PC Tower Case


Not installed due to Troubleshooting issues

2 X 300GB WD HD's
Layla 3G PCI Sound card


</SPAN></SPAN>

[bahram_alinezhad]

Re: 890GX Extreme 4 BSOD With RADEON 6950 2 GB

R2 has "Etron EJ168A" USB 3.0 chip while R1 has "NEC D720200". Etron supports Asrock's XFAST utility which boosts usb 3 performance but is not stable so far:

http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/44094-usb-3-0-problem.html

I prefer R1 just because I prefer NEC over Etron. If you have R2, you can have up to 32GB RAM (16GB for R1), and AM3+ CPUs; Neither are so exciting, unless memory problem be solved by its bios! For me as I said I havn't memory errors now but have heat problems, however, not still 100% sure. I will do more examination and will write results here.
For your crashes in games, have you tried to work in a cooler place? Also as I said before, you have to test your memory by memory diagnostic tools.

The thing most annoying me is that I can't install Windows 98 on it!

http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/44293-windows-98-new-boards.html?highlight=windows+98

I chose this board among many excellent choices by ASUS, GIGABYTE,... just for its 3 legacy PCI slots, in which I planned to install 3 Win9x compatible cards!! Now, I have Windows XP, 7 and multiple Linux distributions (all 32bit!) but a not working Windows 98 SE!!!

Asrock 890GX Extreme4 (socket AM3)
AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3 GHz), 95W
8GB DDR3: 2x2GB Corsair + 2x2GB G.Skill
Onboard ATI HD4290 (No add-on VGA yet!)
Seagate 500GB SATA hard drive
Creative 5880 PCI sound card
D-Link DGE-530 gigabit ethernet
Acorp External serial (COM port) Modem (Dial-up)
1 DVDRW - 1 CDRW - 2 CDROM drives
Seasonic 550W PSU