MSI 890FX 70 trouble

I'm having some issues with my 890FXA. System specs as follows:

MSI 890FX GD70 (1.7 BIOS)
Phenom II 1075t (CoolerMaster 212+)
8gb G.Skill Eco (4x2gb)
EVGA 470
A-Data 64gb S599 (latest firmware 3.4.6)
Antec 850

I've been doing some overclocking and I've been having a number of issues. I'll get it stable and running well and then I'll get to a setting that doesnt work. No big deal usually as I'll reset the CMOS and start over but that is where the problems come in. Many times I'll have to hit the jumper a couple of times before it actually resets and POSTs again. I'll eventually get it back up and running but it has made clocking a nightmare compared to other boards I've used.

I've had the memory up to 1700+ with auto settings without trouble and to fault isolate I've dropped it down to 1:2 (<1100mhz at the FSB I've been running) and it hasnt made a difference. I'm guessing I'm running into a CPU-NB problem (263FSB has been the max so far) but that isnt much of a concern at this point. What is driving me nuts is that I cant clear it out and start tweaking again without hitting the jumper 5 times before it actually clears out.

Any suggestions? I'm about to ****can this and grab a Crosshair IV.

madweazl said:

I'm having some issues with my 890FXA. System specs as follows:

MSI 890FX GD70 (1.7 BIOS)
Phenom II 1075t (CoolerMaster 212+)
8gb G.Skill Eco (4x2gb)
EVGA 470
A-Data 64gb S599 (latest firmware 3.4.6)
Antec 850

I've been doing some overclocking and I've been having a number of issues. I'll get it stable and running well and then I'll get to a setting that doesnt work. No big deal usually as I'll reset the CMOS and start over but that is where the problems come in. Many times I'll have to hit the jumper a couple of times before it actually resets and POSTs again. I'll eventually get it back up and running but it has made clocking a nightmare compared to other boards I've used.

I've had the memory up to 1700+ with auto settings without trouble and to fault isolate I've dropped it down to 1:2 (<1100mhz at the FSB I've been running) and it hasnt made a difference. I'm guessing I'm running into a CPU-NB problem (263FSB has been the max so far) but that isnt much of a concern at this point. What is driving me nuts is that I cant clear it out and start tweaking again without hitting the jumper 5 times before it actually clears out.

Any suggestions? I'm about to ****can this and grab a Crosshair IV.

Click to expand...

What happens if you take the CMOS battery out? That should reliably reset the CMOS albeit less convenient.

trents said:

What happens if you take the CMOS battery out? That should reliably reset the CMOS albeit less convenient.

Click to expand...

I've done that once and it did the same thing. Sometimes it will recover from no POST on it's own and then other times I get stuck in this loop where it takes a few times. Temps on everything look good (CPU hasnt gone over 37c with 1.31v but I havent really done anything yet in regards to stability testing either). Other voltages are on auto for now.

Are you unplugging the power cord when hitting the jumper? Isn't there a button you can press on the motherboard to reset the bios as well?

mxthunder said:

Are you unplugging the power cord when hitting the jumper? Isn't there a button you can press on the motherboard to reset the bios as well?

Click to expand...

There have been buttons on my last two MSI boards but I didnt see one on this board (I thought it was kind of strange actually). No, I am not unplugging the PSU when I hit the jumper. Something else I just remember; occasionaly I'll get hang ups while in BIOS after resetting it.

I dont want to give this thread a negative tone in regards to the motherboard as I really do like it thus far (with the one exception of clearing the CMOS). I've read numerous posts regarding issues with running RAM at the rated specs since they're usually tested on Intel platforms. I picked up the G.Skill Eco (7-8-7-24 IIRC) and it has performed very well. Out of the box on auto settings, I had it up to 1760mhz with zero effort on my part. I didnt confirm what the latencies were as I'm just working on the CPU right now (made it to Windows at 4.05ghz this morning on 1.29v on the CPU though no stability tests were run as I had to race to work). I believe the RAM was at 1.5v but I didnt confirm this. CPU-NB was at 1.1v (think it was actually 1.103 but I cant remember off the top of my head). Point being, I'm very happy with the initial results and the motherboard in general.

The 212+ with the fan mounted on the RAM side blowing out the back of the case (CoolerMaster 840 has a 120mm right in line with the CPU fan so it works out pretty well), I was able to populate all 4 DIMM slots. The Eco memory has small spreaders but I think there is enough room to use some of the larger finned units provided the fins are machined toward the center of the spreader vice parallel with the base of the spreader (the fan does marginally encroach over the 1st RAM module by about 1mm). Placing the fan on the otherside blowing from rear to front would free up all the space you need (and is probably what I'll do until the water blocks arrive just to get fresh air over the CPU (even though it's going to cover the nice looking DrMOS heatsink).

You should always unplug the PSU before jumpering the cmos. Having power to the board when jumpering is notorious for permanently damaging the cmos/bios. Disconnect the power from the PSU before jumpering and don't reconnect it until you move the jumper back to normal position.

trents said:

You should always unplug the PSU before jumpering the cmos. Having power to the board when jumpering is notorious for permanently damaging the cmos/bios. Disconnect the power from the PSU before jumpering and don't reconnect it until you move the jumper back to normal position.

Click to expand...

I'll give that a shot but over the past 12 years I've never run into a single issue with this. Thanks for the info.

madweazl said:

I'll give that a shot but over the past 12 years I've never run into a single issue with this. Thanks for the info.

Click to expand...

I guess that depends on your last system. As far as I know older systems didn't leave the board powered up when the machine was off, newer ones do. If your PSU has a power switch on it (NOT the case power switch) you can simply turn it off that way without unplugging the cord. In a way that's actually safer because it keeps your case grounded.

I don't disagree with what QuiietIce says here. The important part is making sure there is no power to the board from the PSU, whether you flip the switch or pull the plug. But if you're like me I can't remember which way is "Off" and which way is "On" with those PSU rocker power switches. And if you get distracted while you're doing this and can't remember if you flipped the switch or not . . . well, you get my point. I know for certain that when the plug is pulled there ain't no power coming out of that PSU, not even a trickle. And then there are those cheap Dell, HP, Gateway and Emachine box store computers which often have no on/off switch on the PSU.

So, madweazl are you certain that every time you jumpered the cmos you flipped off the PSU power switch? You didn't mention turning it off at all. If the PSU power switch wasn't actually turned off then there was still power going to parts of the board.

Yeah, a lot of newer motherboards will still power USB devices (light, phone charger, etc) with the PC completely off.

The motherboard might list the RAM settings as being in "OC mode" even though they are stock settings for your memory. Dont worry about this.

trents said:

I don't disagree with what QuiietIce says here. The important part is making sure there is no power to the board from the PSU, whether you flip the switch or pull the plug. But if you're like me I can't remember which way is "Off" and which way is "On" with those PSU rocker power switches. And if you get distracted while you're doing this and can't remember if you flipped the switch or not . . . well, you get my point. I know for certain that when the plug is pulled there ain't no power coming out of that PSU, not even a trickle. And then there are those cheap Dell, HP, Gateway and Emachine box store computers which often have no on/off switch on the PSU.

So, madweazl are you certain that every time you jumpered the cmos you flipped off the PSU power switch? You didn't mention turning it off at all. If the PSU power switch wasn't actually turned off then there was still power going to parts of the board.

Click to expand...

No, I hadnt killed power to the supply while doing this every time so that very well may be the issue. If/when it happens again, I'll turn off the power supply and see if that makes a difference. I did kill the power supply a few times and that may be what allowed me to clear the CMOS but I didnt make the correlation at the time. Thanks again.

PS. My last motherboard was about 6 years old and didnt support this feature so that is probably why I never had any issues.

madweazl said:

No, I hadnt killed power to the supply while doing this every time so that very well may be the issue. If/when it happens again, I'll turn off the power supply and see if that makes a difference. I did kill the power supply a few times and that may be what allowed me to clear the CMOS but I didnt make the correlation at the time. Thanks again.

PS. My last motherboard was about 6 years old and didnt support this feature so that is probably why I never had any issues.

Click to expand...

I'm just concerned that you have permanently damaged your cmos/bios.

I just finished my rig last week and got the same problem when I was tuning up my CPU.

However, I solved the problem. It's due to power supply still on.
When resetting CMOS, switch off the PSU (don't disconnect the cable because the cable has return path to the earth), and wait for 30 seconds.
If you disconnect the cable (no return path), wait longer as it may takes longer to dissipate the voltage from the capacitor.
You can reset the CMOS by removing battery, jumper, or using the CMOS reset button. The CMOS reset button is not on the PCB. It's located at the rear I/O panel near the USB port.

My setup:
MSI 890FX-GD70 (bios 1.8), Phenom II 1090T on Hyper212+, Sapphire HD6850 Toxic (future plan to crossfire with HD6870), Kingston DDR3 PC1600 HyperX 4GB(kit of 2), CM690 II Advance casing.

Note: When I hit OC Genie, sometime the system will crash. Sometime will run perfectly. Every time I hit the button, it overclock to different setting. I think that's why they put the reset CMOS button outside the casing.

I would read the manual for your motherboard. I think msi has some features that will reset overclocking settings back to stable after you press the power button a certain number of times. I would also see the cmos resetting procedure there. I have ruined a msi board resetting the cmos with detaching power after a memory overclocking gone bad. (Whether detaching power or some other.... I don't know.)


From the manual:

Clear CMOS Jumper: JBAT1
There is a CMOS RAM onboard that has a power supply from an external battery to
keep the data of system configuration. With the CMOS RAM, the system can automatically
boot OS every time it is turned on. If you want to clear the system configuration,
set the jumper to clear data.
JBAT1 Keep Data Clear Data
1 1 1
Important
You can clear CMOS by shorting 2-3 pin while the system is off. Then return to 1-2
pin position. Avoid clearing the CMOS while the system is on; it will damage the mainboard.

Click to expand...

OC Retry Count
When the overclocking is failed, setting this item to [5,7] will allow system to reboot 5/ 7
times with the overclocking configuration. If the overclocking was failed every time, the
system will restore the defaults.

Click to expand...

It just says system off. I don't see anything about disconnecting power.

xsuperbgx said:

I would read the manual for your motherboard. I think msi has some features that will reset overclocking settings back to stable after you press the power button a certain number of times.

Click to expand...

He is right, pressing the power button 4 times resets the CMOS to the factory settings.