Asus Z690i Gaming Wifi Boot DRAM issue

[TitanRain]

First, thank you for your time and attention. This issue has been frustrating to say the least.

I began a "new" build using a handful of used parts that I had tested prior to the build, consisting of a Asus ROG z690i Gaming WiFi, an i5 13600k, and new GSkill Ripjaws S5
DDR5-6000 CL36-36-36-96 1.35V 64GB (2x32GB). Cooling is provided by a be quiet! Silent Loop 2 360mm and 6 Light Wings, in a Jonsbo i100 case. PS is a ThermalTake Toughpower SFX 1000W Platinum, and a Titan V is pulling graphics duty atm.

I completed assembly w/o updating BIOS (v1702), and no XMP or deliberate OC (AI tuner on auto, defaulted to No Limits). Fought with the board and SSDs to drop a new install of Win10, fixed with CSM and boot order.

Booted after install, updated the OS, d/l Armoury Crate and did further updates. Ran a TimeSpy bench and called it good.
(https://www.3dmark.com/spy/53126170)

A few days later, pushed xmp 1 on the RAM (from 4000mts to 6000mts), same BIOs version, reran TimeSpy, got a higher score, but temps were high (~100c).

Updated BIOs to newest (v4101 iirc), set to xmp 1, auto OC with declock at 90c. No boot errors, ran TimeSpy again, no issues and clocks dropped at 90c like it's supposed to.
Then used Intel Extreme Tuner to OC the chip to ~5.4 combined, E cores at ~3.9. Ran TimeSpy again, score goes up, clocks drop at 90c, all well and good and functioning as intended. Shutdown and call it a night.


Next day, DRAM error on board, no boot. Np, clear cmos and try again w/ no board OC and no XMP.

No boot, DRAM error.

I've been troubleshooting this error for a week now, trying everything I can think of (1 stick, no stick, swap slots, etc.) with the RAM I have now and also tried different BIOs versions as well with no relief.

My next step is to try a different set of RAM, but I wanted to bring this to the forum for discussion before I throw money at the problem.

I noticed an increase in z-boards and i5 13600 posts recently, did a new microcode get dropped that is affecting them?

Also, why would I have successful boots and no issues and then suddenly see DRAM and failed boots?


Again, thank you for your time with reading this rant and recap.

 

[JLK03F150]

You could do an RMA with G.Skill for a replacement kit. Your kit has a limited lifetime warranty.

 

[TitanRain]

You could do an RMA with G.Skill for a replacement kit. Your kit has a limited lifetime warranty.

That's not a bad idea. I might pick up a set of Dominator and use this set for an AMD-centered project after it returns

 

[TitanRain]

Further update:

I was able to pick up a set of V-Color Manta XSKY ROG Certified DDR5 32GB 6600M/Ts, which has been tested on this site with this same mobo, and still getting a DRAM light.

I was able to bypass this with the mobo boot options and boot into a new install of Win10, working on OS and Armory Crate updates. Completed mobo update to v4101.

At this point I can't save any mobo edits since I get this DRAM error.

WTF.

 

[EarthDog]

Glad to see it's working... ish.

I was able to bypass this with the mobo boot options

What options?

 

[TitanRain]

Glad to see it's working... ish.


What options?

In the Advanced menu, from the Boot page, manually selecting the drive hosting the Win10 MBR as the boot option.

I'll provide some pics if that will help. It's a recent find for myself.

 

[EarthDog]

Did you ever end up updating the bios? I see in the first post you said you did not?

 

[TitanRain]

Did you ever end up updating the bios? I see in the first post you said you did not?

I have, it's at v4101 atm

 

[EarthDog]

It's odd you can get into the bios as those lights (4, dram stays lit, right...?) are for POST and before the bios....

...if I'm understanding correctly

 

[TitanRain]

It's odd you can get into the bios as those lights (4, dram stays lit, right...?) are for POST and before the bios....

...if I'm understanding correctly

That is correct on the POST lights.

However, I recieved a nice treat with a new Win10 update...

A BSOD and now a red (CPU) light on the mobo.

Yay *facepalm*

 

[Woomack]

As I remember, I had some problems with my mobo, and I was fighting with ASUS about it. Some pins were bent from regular usage, and for some reason, M.2 SSDs were losing connection (PCIe lanes or something). Anyway, problems with sockets often also cause RAM to disappear from some slots. The first slot on these motherboards is usually the second one, counting from the CPU side. However, it's an ITX mobo, so it may affect both.
95% of memory kits on the market have Hynix A/M dies and similar memory profiles, so it's hard to find a kit that causes problems. It's working, or it's dead, and the RMA rate is maybe 1% or below.
I would check the CPU socket, and if it's not mechanically damaged, I would ask ASUS, saying that you tested it with other devices, and the only thing left is the motherboard.

 

[TitanRain]

As I remember, I had some problems with my mobo, and I was fighting with ASUS about it. Some pins were bent from regular usage, and for some reason, M.2 SSDs were losing connection (PCIe lanes or something). Anyway, problems with sockets often also cause RAM to disappear from some slots. The first slot on these motherboards is usually the second one, counting from the CPU side. However, it's an ITX mobo, so it may affect both.
95% of memory kits on the market have Hynix A/M dies and similar memory profiles, so it's hard to find a kit that causes problems. It's working, or it's dead, and the RMA rate is maybe 1% or below.
I would check the CPU socket, and if it's not mechanically damaged, I would ask ASUS, saying that you tested it with other devices, and the only thing left is the motherboard.

I'll be taking the system apart and checking the mobo, cpu, etc.

Would a mobo issue produce such sporadic and unusual errors?

My first thought was that there was indeed something wrong with the CPU, because the RAM went from good to no longer booting very suddenly, and only after a long series of updates. So maybe the MC died, or a microcode update caused an error with the CPU.

Then when I installed the new RAM I wiped all the drives using the BIOS s/w and flashed back to an older BIOs update. Lo, it would still fail to boot on it's own w/ the DRAM error, but I could bypass that and begin a fresh install of Win10, AC, and vga drivers.

And then a Win10 update threw a BSOD and now a CPU light, with no option to go futher in the POST process.

It makes sense, what with all the PCB layers, but I've never seen a mobo truly fail before...

 

[EarthDog]

Would a mobo issue produce such sporadic and unusual errors?

I'd bet on the mobo being the cause before a cpu, yes.

 

[TitanRain]

I'd bet on the mobo being the cause before a cpu, yes.

I'll take a look around. Doing a decent search it looks like pretty much all of the b760i and z790i are prone to faults, esp in the RAM channels.

Any recommendations? >_<