Asus Commando i965 what do you think?

[No.72]

I have had a bit more of a play and anything over 2.5ghz on a e6300 is just really unstable (temps sky rocket and fluctuate)
I need to upgrade to the latest BIOS but when I tried the BIOS
easy flash util could not find my floppy or memory stick with the BIOS on. Could someone give me a link to the very latest BIOS that will work when put onto floppy/memory stick.
Clunk I think you should stick with the commando it has to be the way to go, in a few new BIOS and it should be great.

[Supershanks]

Hi clunk, returned 1st mobo & just now cpu.

they swapped it there and then for you?

Yep i nipped through to the tech desk(left hand side at back) & talked to guy there who was very helpful on both occasions.

although, there isnt much apart from the abit quad thing. Ill see what they say tomorrow.

True had considered a transfer to abit quad but reading the threads it has issues with dvd recognition. Atm i can run dvd or raid but not together. Probably will get sorted but atm not a good move. Scan has Asus P5N32-E SLI NF680i SLI which are full feature 680i rather than 650i at a decent £ (£80 less than striker) But you may well have the china syndrome again.

In fairness the only area where i've sseen pps having commando issues is here with us. My board didn't die it was just pretty sick

[No.72]

Maby it is the curse of the commando thread, all who post are doomed!

[Supershanks]

Maby it is the curse of the commando thread, all who post are doomed!

Hehe yes this is the twighlight zone. D
Try
Official 0803 just down load put it on a floppy or preferably something with more capacity. Boot up go into bios & select tools EZ Flash 2. if floppy or usb drive is available you should see the new bios file , just select flash & go.

if you have a spare floppy or room on your usb drive backup your bios 1st then you can always boot back to it in an emergency, (c manual 4-8)

luck.

[excalibur2]

Maby it is the curse of the commando thread, all who post are doomed!

...and if all were bought at XXXX, maybe they have a bad batch

[Clunk]

If the new one doesnt work, Ill keep the P5B and wait. The only reason that I was trying the commando was for the extra ram and cpu voltage really, so Ill just wire the ram up to the mains and have done with it

[Clunk]

...and if all were bought at XXXX, maybe they have a bad batch

Its possible, but I think if that were the case, then there would be more people with duff ones on here. But you never know.

[Supershanks]

excalibur2 - ...and if all were bought at XXXX, maybe they have a bad batch

Yep i suggested that at scan today but he said there hadn't been any issues with returns, must have forgotten No.72, or maybe he just deals with instore rmas rather than on line.

so Ill just wire the ram up to the mains and have done with it"]so Ill just wire the ram up to the mains and have done with it

DDR Maximizer V1.2 DDR2 Version (Black) Cheaper than new moobo

Well not wanting to jinx anything but it's great being able to post here without a bsod kicking in, that's been the cause of my silence over the last few days. Orthos still running. Things feel a bit more responsive, was having the odd lag when doing basic things lige opening a programme & things which has now gone.

[Clunk]

DDR Maximizer V1.2 DDR2 Version (Black) Cheaper than new moobo

Well not wanting to jinx anything but it's great being able to post here without a bsod kicking in, that's been the cause of my silence over the last few days. Orthos still running. Things feel a bit more responsive, was having the odd lag when doing basic things lige opening a programme & things which has now gone.

I looked into the maximizer, but it means modding the board, and I dont want to do that, but they look good

Its good that the bsods have calmed down a bit, but I thought you had cured them?

[excalibur2]

Its possible, but I think if that were the case, then there would be more people with duff ones on here. But you never know.

Well this thread is on google, if there is a basic problem with Commando it would be of interest if outsiders chipped in with their experience, but then some people are frightened to make a first post.

[Supershanks]

Its good that the bsods have calmed down a bit, but I thought you had cured them?

Had seriously reduced them:-
1) new nb & sb cooling
2) had researched better memory timings. Cellshock support is nonexistent but they use Micron D9GKX chips so i looked for memory using these chips.

found these :-
G.Skill F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ - 2x1GB Double-Bank
Corsair CM2X1024-6400C3- 2x1GB Double-Bank (Think these have since changed chip)

OCZ EL PC2-8000 XTC (Stock Memory Ratios) - 2x1GB Double-Bank

went for slightly more conservative settings & slightly higher vdimm & went from 4 to 8 hours large fft. But was still having bsiods & the occasional lag when trying to start a programme. And even worse tried a moderate oc & couldn't hold it.

Well this thread is on google

Lol don't i know it have been doing a lot of searching to try & get answers, it's suprising how often we crop up

These are the main threads i've followed:-
Commando Results by Tony and Andre (and others...) Most threads like this with a new mobo are at least 50% full of horror stories, This seems to be mainly good oces, normal queries around new mobo. OC database now has 3 commando entries.
2) Asus Commando Cyko72 & mjh74 had some of the best performances i've seen out the box mainly just on auto.
3) Asus Commando Test Results Good useful review thread. (especially as he's using same cpu & memory as me)

[Clunk]

You have D9 memory, I have D9 memory, does No72 have D9 memory?

I have just dug my single 256mb stick of cheapo ddr2 out and stuck it in, and it fired up first time. Im not sure if it was luck or what.

If it is the ram that the board doesnt like, it doesnt explain why the cmos jumper doesnt work when the ram is in place.

Anyway, I have left it priming at stock settings of 200mhz cpu and whatever the cheap ram defaults to. Im kind of hoping it dies properly overnight, because if I took it back like this, they wouldnt find anything wrong

Computers eh?, who'd 'ave 'em.

EDIT: Nope, curiosity got the better of me and I rebooted and put the good ram back in and it wouldnt boot, even after a cmos clear, so put the cheap ram in and it wouldnt boot at all, so there goes the D9 theory

[No.72]

You have D9 memory, I have D9 memory, does No72 have D9 memory?

I have just dug my single 256mb stick of cheapo ddr2 out and stuck it in, and it fired up first time. Im not sure if it was luck or what.

If it is the ram that the board doesnt like, it doesnt explain why the cmos jumper doesnt work when the ram is in place.

Anyway, I have left it priming at stock settings of 200mhz cpu and whatever the cheap ram defaults to. Im kind of hoping it dies properly overnight, because if I took it back like this, they wouldnt find anything wrong

Computers eh?, who'd 'ave 'em.

EDIT: Nope, curiosity got the better of me and I rebooted and put the good ram back in and it wouldnt boot, even after a cmos clear, so put the cheap ram in and it wouldnt boot at all, so there goes the D9 theory

I hope my memory are d9's as I payed a whooping £217 for them, I think they must be d9's as for that money and I don't think g-skill would make the 'black RAM' without d9's in.

btw this is odd, I am at 2.5ghz and it is super stable, cpu is 36-40 idel on TAT but when I bump it up to 2.8ghz the temps go up to 50-60!

[Supershanks]

Clunk it might be that default vdimm is too low i think it's only 1.8v. I was lucky & am ok with that my memotu boots but if u look at the

3) Asus Commando Test Results

link above you'll see jaffa had those issues.

you have moved the jumper next 2 the clr cmos button to pin 2+3 position ??

overnight orthos ran through ok only 2nd time it's been done, am on tighter timings as well 3,3,3,6 @ stock 1:1.


catch ya later

[BUFF]

True had considered a transfer to abit quad but reading the threads it has issues with dvd recognition. Atm i can run dvd or raid but not together. Probably will get sorted but atm not a good move.

fixed
only remaining issue is in the case of running a SATA optical off the ICH8R whilst running an array on it.

[Clunk]

Clunk it might be that default vdimm is too low i think it's only 1.8v. I was lucky & am ok with that my memotu boots but if u look at the link above you'll see jaffa had those issues.

you have moved the jumper next 2 the clr cmos button to pin 2+3 position ??

overnight orthos ran through ok only 2nd time it's been done, am on tighter timings as well 3,3,3,6 @ stock 1:1.


catch ya later

Yep, according to the manual, you can do a normal cmos clear by moving the jumper, or you can leave the jumper in the "clear" position and use the switch. The thing is, neither way works, the only way it will clear is with the d9 ram out and the jumper shorted for a couple of hours.

I did consider the vdimm issue, but the first time, they booted up fine, and a couple of times since, and I changed the vdimm to the 2.35v that they need, but still nothing, and the fact that the pc2-4300 1.8v generic stick wont boot, and wont let me clear cmos, leads me to believe that the board is broke.

Im off to scan in a minute, Ill report back later, and if it doesnt work, I will be royally miffed

Yours is looking good