970A-D3 v1.4 BIOS issues with FX-8350 with RAM above 1333

[soccercake7]

Hello friends, I have an very strange issue.

I read the sticky thread but it states that the RAM issues do not occur with AMD Bulldozer. I'm also unsure what type of issues are arising with RAM over 1333hz but my issue seems to mess with the BIOS.

I have an FX-8350 and my BIOS was F11 until I decided to exchange my 4x4GB 1333 RAM with 2x4GB 1866 RAM. On the splash screen, I saw my RAM was still running 1333 so I went into the BIOS and manually changed it to 1866 and rebooted.

My system then went on continuous loop with "Begin to update backup BIOS to latest version......", restart, repeat.

When I did manage to hit DEL to get into the BIOS, my BIOS was duplicated and off-centered and unusable.


I then decided to get into flash utility to try to save my system. I tried re-flashing F11 to no avail so I flashed F12C and I was able to get into the BIOS and set RAM to auto and now everything's fine. Up until an hour ago, when I tried it again....

To start, the RAM change was not the only thing changed in the system. I upgraded from a 970A-D3 1.0 to 1.4, from an FX-8150 to FX-8350, and  I had an SSD plugged in. I never would have thought the RAM was what did this until, when I had got my system stable, I, again and unknowingly, tried to change the RAM speed to 1866. And again, it did the backup BIOS loop. I panicked and tried to downgrade to F11 which did not work. This time, when I was in the Flash Utility, I wrote my BIOS to the flash drive. Is that useful? I'll attach it. (won't let me attach)

Just now, I somehow got into my BIOS and got back to 1333 and auto. I would press delete and then press enter to quickly get into MIT. Once, when I was attempting to get the RAM speed back down to 1333, the screen duplicated and became unusable like the photo as I was moving around.

As you could imagine, this is extremely discomforting. Is it the RAM speed or is my BIOS in trouble?

[Vezina]

There could be some incompatibility on the RAM side ,but on the other hand the board is a budget one and you ve installed a top AMD CPU on it

Previous hardware versions ,under the 1.4 ,do not support the CPU you are using.

So there could be a combination of factors.

What power supply are you using and what are the rest of the components you are using  ?!

[soccercake7]

Raidmax 850 watt modular PSU

Radeon 7850 2 GB HIS


I had two systems.

970A D3 rev 4.0 with FX-8350 and with 7850 and with 2x4GB 1866 Hz RAM and with  bluetooth pci (among other amenities) in a white case
AND
970A D3 rev 1.2 with FX-8150 and with 6850 and with 4x4GB 1333 Hz  in a black case

I wanted all my best components in my black case so all I did was move cases pretty much. When the move was complete, I went into the BIOS to make sure my RAM speed upgrade was working (or I'd just use the 4x4GB) and that's when all this BIOS crap started...

[Vezina]

The power supply is fishy in my opinion and the modularity of it adds further suspicion as usually cheap brands tend to skip quality ,this meaning bad contacts might occur after some time and bad connectivity can lead to strange power issues.
As you ve just swapped components around it could be a cause.

Also maybe adding that little increase in memory speed could have led to a small increase in the power consumption of the CPU,the IMC working a little more ,this meaning a little more juice from the "modest" power supply.Not enough power = instability /strange issues.

A suggestion would be to rebuild every config on a wooden surface .Having around a spare power supply would be good ,before reinstalling them in the cases.
If no crossfire is talking place a 650W-700W power supply should be enough.

Another suggestion would be to get a different 1866Mhz kit and test with.

Both boards and both CPU-IMC-s should run at 1866Mhz no doubt.The performance gain over 1600Mhz is small on the other hand on both CPU-s.

For an eight core i would use a UD3 board personally.

[thexfile]

There's nothing wrong with 1333MHz RAM. The speed gain between 1333 and 1866 it's that much.

[soccercake7]

I hear what ya'll are saying.

I think I'm still super weirded out by any issue that would cause my BIOS to fail. It makes testing or trying different things EXTREMELY risky.

Why not fail to start, beep codes, blue screens, anything. Why would this particular thing make the BIOS wig out?

[Vezina]

Yes it s risky ,but you have the right to RMA if it brakes.
Hardware can give strange issues,sometimes they have a mind of their own