New chess rig

[Dann Corbit]

I have a 10% overclock on my system, but I don't think it is wise to do big overclocks on threadrippers.
I know people have done it, but I run my system around the clock at full tilt, and so I think big OC would mean trouble eventually.

[cma6]

Thanks, Dan, it must be a fantastic mobo at that price!

[Ras]

Does anyone actually own a TRX40 mobo? How does it O/C? Any issues?

Here's a review of Dan's board, and it does support OC. RAM is supported up to DDR4-4733, but check Asus' RAM QVL for the exact RAM part numbers: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-Z ... VL_Memory/ The fastest RAM they have actually tested is 4600, but that works only with 16GB (2x8GB). If you want to max out the 256GB as 8x32GB, then the fastest that the QVL lists is 3200.

In this test, they got their test CPU up to 4.3 GHz on their test mobo: https://www.anandtech.com/show/15152/as ... eme-review Take note that their memory config was only 4x8GB. With 256GB, OC might not be possible to that extent.

[M ANSARI]

I am also building a Threadripper system. I considered an Epyc CPU instead: not as fast but can be more easily air-cooled and may be a better choice for 24/7 operation. But the Epyc CPUs are quite costly and significantly slower.

I did not want to use water cooling. Everything I've read indicates that water coolers have reliability problems I am using this cooler: and a lot of case fans.

--Jon

I have a system which I built in 2009 with dual 4 core cpu's that is water cooled and still running perfectly today. For a while I had that system running on vapor at 5 Ghz but then settled to have it run at 4.2 Ghz with water for almost 11 years now with no problems. I did of course remove everything and did do a clean up as dust tends to collect in places inside and I changed out the water twice (with anti algae added) but probably that was not necessary. Also added new SSD and GPU and had several HDD upgrades. Still 11 years is a hell of a long time for anything to be running basically 24/7. So reliability of water cooling should not be a problem if done correctly, especially with the new closed loop systems. At least it was not a problem when I did several systems.

Great thing about water cooling is that it allows for slow speed fans that keep things basically silent.

[jdart]

My build is not going so well. I am using a TRX40 AORUS (Gigabyte) MASTER mb with a 3970x. Put it all together, no POST. The board has the RAM status light red and the LEDs have code 60, which is apparently just before the "NVRAM initialization" step. The RAM modules are CORSAIR CMK32GX4M2A2400C14, which is in the supported list. I also tried a different RAM module: G.SKILL F4-3200C16Q-64GVK. Neither one POSTs.

I've got a ticket open with Gigabyte support. I think I shoulda bought that MSI board I was looking at instead.

--Jon

[Zenmastur]

My build is not going so well. I am using a TRX40 AORUS (Gigabyte) MASTER mb with a 3970x. Put it all together, no POST. The board has the RAM status light red and the LEDs have code 60, which is apparently just before the "NVRAM initialization" step. The RAM modules are CORSAIR CMK32GX4M2A2400C14, which is in the supported list. I also tried a different RAM module: G.SKILL F4-3200C16Q-64GVK. Neither one POSTs.

I've got a ticket open with Gigabyte support. I think I shoulda bought that MSI board I was looking at instead.

--Jon

First. if you have "known" good ram use that put the minimum amount of RAM in the system that will allow it to boot. i.e. 1 or 2 sticks only. Make sure they are placed in the proper slots and properly seated. If no post, re-seat the CPU. Do it exactly as stated in the mounting instructions. If it's not done properly you can end up with RAM problems like you are experiencing. If multiple reseats don't fix it, it "could" be a bios problem. You can flash the BIOS on this motherboard WITHOUT a CPU. If that doesn't help it's probably a defective motherboard. SO time to RMA it.

There is nothing wrong with your motherboard choice. I own a Gigabyte MB and it works fine. You could have a defective one but that's a lot different than there being a problem with the MB design.

I know it sucks when it doesn't work the first time. Just go back to the basics and check and recheck everything. Most times this will resolve the issue. If by chance it doesn't fix the issue then RMA the MB.

p.s. be sure to reset the CMOS as there is an off chance this is the issue.

Regards,

Zenmastur

[jdart]

That is pretty much what Gigabyte support said, and I tried all that, and no luck so far.

--Jon

[Zenmastur]

That is pretty much what Gigabyte support said, and I tried all that, and no luck so far.

--Jon

If it were me I would reseat my CPU repeatedly. I did it by the book the first time and it didn't work. It took several tries to get it right. Doing it on a flat surface is a must. Flexing the MB is a NO-NO.

Yeah it sucks if you need to RMA. OK, so you probably have a bad MB. I know it's a pain in the ass if you have already installed it in a case. I did mine on a bench on a cardboard box and got it to work BEFORE I installed it in the case. That way if there is a problem it's easier to get to ANYTHING/EVERYTHING on the MB. If it's in the case it can be almost impossible to do certain things if the case is cramped.

I'll be interested in knowing how this comes out.

Regards,

Zenmastur

[Dann Corbit]

My one great mistake in doing a build was cheap RAM.
Never again. If there is one key place to save money, this isn't it.

[Zenmastur]

My one great mistake in doing a build was cheap RAM.
Never again. If there is one key place to save money, this isn't it.

What ram did you put in it?

When I bought my ram I had little choice. All of the kits I wanted were out of stock and I had already waited more than two weeks trying to find "good" RAM. I eventually settled on some SO-SO Corsair 128Gb 3200Mhz RAM (Hynix chips) with reasonable timings. I wanted 256Gb of 3600Mhz (Samsung B-die chips) with fast timings. I'm currently considering buying the RAM I originally wanted and selling the 128GB I have as two 64GB sets since that's the way it was packaged. I figure most people can't use 8 dimms and don't want that much RAM in there system.

The other component that's important is the power supply. I won't buy a cheap power supply regardless of how much money I could save. Even some of the "name" brand PSU have sub-standard components in them, or bad designs, or just sloppy workmanship. You almost never have problems with routers or servers because of the quality of the PSU used. The PSUs used in most PC are thrash by comparison.

Regards,

Zenmastur