ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha - AMD 3970X - F4-3600C18Q2-256GTZN G.SKILL - BSOD

Hardware Motherboards
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Hi All,
There is no method I haven’t tried since I bought my parts, but all operating systems give blue screen, pink screen or system halt and I cannot install an operating systems.

At first I was thinking of the problem as memory, but the 99-hours memtest result seems to be fine. Here is the captures;

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22685×1559 626 KB
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32686×1560 531 KB

  • All extra connections have been removed and tried.
  • Single RAM DIMM_A1 has been tried.
  • Purchased separate RAM and tested with Kingston branded 4 GB HX426C16FB3.
  • All Power sockets installed.
  • Tested with W10 1909, W10 20H2, VMware ESXi 7.0 U2, Centos 8.
  • Tried with BIOS 1201 (Factory Default) and BIOS 1402.
  • CPU Additional features (NX, Virtualization On and Off) have been tried.
  • Temperatures are at the level of 48-50 degrees.
  • DOCP and default ram speed have been tried.
  • UEFI and MBR installations have been tried.
  • All disks and usb’s were removed and tried.

Here is my hardware;
CPU: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Mobo: ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha
RAM: Model F4-3600C18Q2-256GTZN G.SKILL
PSU: ASUS ROG THOR 1200W 80+ Platinum
GPU: ROG-STRIX-LC-RX6900XT-O16G-GAMING
Cooler: ASUS ROG Strix LC 360 RGB
Nvme: SAMSUNG 980 PRO 1TB
Tower: Asus GX601 ROG Strix Helios

Many thanks,

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Another caps;

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12687×1554 590 KB
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43030×1158 259 KB

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Hmm. I would say it’s a problem with the cpu or the motherboard. Might try a different psu/ssd/graphics card for good measure of you have them. Otherwise contact Asus and AMD about it, see which one thinks you should RMA.

I doubt its memory of you passed that much memtest.

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Have you plugged in all the aux power headers? As odd as that sounds…

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Yes wendell. I connected 2x 8 pin CPU + 6 pin extra power too. I also tried the extra power connection for the gpu.

ChuckH; I agree with you. Motherboard or cpu but I don’t know how to determine which one is. I tried different ssd but not easy to find extra graphics card and psu. Many gpu issues occur after installing drivers.

I contact with Asus I will share the details here.

1 Like
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Have you tried to re-socket the CPU? Threadripper is massive so it might be a mounting “issue”. If re-socketing doesen’t work try to use a TR4 cooler with the full coverage coldplate.

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Yes, I re-socket the CPU and checked pins. As I see there is no problem.

I have ASUS ROG Strix LC 360 RGB and temperature values do not exceed 50 degrees. I don’t think it has a cooler problem.

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The point about the cooler is the uneven mounting pressure that might be applied by an Asetek round coldplate on such a wide socket. I know there are many people that run Asetek coolers with Threadripper CPUs but every system is different so I thought it was worth a try.

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if you have a unused gpu laying around,
it might also be worth to swap those just to exclude a gpu crash.
Because pink and purple screens it could also be gpu related as well.

Also you could try to re-seat the cpu and inspect the cpu socket,
for any weird damages to the pins etc.
Threadripper can be a bit finicky when it comes to cpu installations.

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I removed the cpu. Could these pins be the problem? only visible under the light.

image
image3024×4032 2.33 MB
image
image3024×4032 2.81 MB
image
image3024×4032 2.08 MB
image
image3024×4032 3.3 MB

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I mean the pins in the socket on the motherboard.
Just double check if everything looks right in there no bend or damaged pins.
When everything looks normal you could drop the cpu back in the board with care.

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Well eliminate the graphics or psu if you can with any older hardware. Then contact Asus about the problem. Be detailed about what you have tried and the problems but don’t accuse them of having a faulty product. Likely they will tell you to send in either the CPU or the board.

You can contact AMD simultaneously. If both Asus amd AMD agree that it is one component then its pretty likely that.

Alternatively you could buy another motherboard (cheaper than buying another cpu). If it turns out the new motherboard has the same problem it’s likely the CPU. Then you just have another motherboard to sell.

IMO I would contact both Asus and AMD with the problem and see where it goes.

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I eleminate the GPU (GTX 780) and PSU (FPS 1200 W) too and buy another motherboard (Asus Prime TRX40 Pro S) mobo will deliver tomorrow.

I also wrote Asus support and still awaiting their respond.

@MisteryAngel yes I understand. Motherboard pins looks perfect but I saw some details on CPU. 3-4 points different from others. You can see the photos when you zoom in. As if it’s not perfect but I’m not sure if this is a problem.

I thank you all for your answers. I will continue to update.

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I tried with new motherboard and still BSOD :frowning: I’ll talk with Amazon and AMD.

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What is the installation media your trying to use?
I seen a lot of odd BsoD when the media is corrupted .

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I tried 2 different USB. Sandisk and Toshiba. I installed my media center pc with same usb.

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Do you have a Local Shop where you could go try and get the CPU tested on a different board ?

CPU failure is very low but board failure is in the 10%.

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I tried with new motherboard, memory, gpu and psu. I just didn’t try to plug this CPU into another working and stable system.

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Replace the CPU ? You might have been unlucky and got a dead I/O chip.
I seen some dead (rare) ryzen where it was the I/O that was unstable the moment you tried to install anything it would BsoD. Swap the CPU and the system was stable.
If you got the same BSoD with two different board. it’s either the cpu or the installation media that is the source of the headaches .

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I’m pretty sure it’s not about installation media :slight_smile: I reported the problem to AMD. Let’s see what they will do.

It is really a headache to try, remove and install all parts with individual alternatives many times but there seems to be no other way to understand the problem.