Seem to have some trouble getting started. Proding the community if anyone has experienced the same issues with similar X99 boards or this in specific. I do have new components on the way to test, however.
issues with board
The CPU has been installed.
4 RAM modules of 8GB each have been installed.
The boot drive, a 980 Evo, has been installed.
The following are the troubleshooting steps and observations:
Upon booting, the Q code 53 was received.
All RAM modules were removed for testing.
All RAM modules were individually and collectively tested in the A1, B1, C1, and D1 slots.
Q code 53 was received once again.
The CMOS was cleared.
Q code 53 was displayed yet again.
The CMOS battery was removed.
A wait time of approximately 20+ minutes was observed.
Single RAM modules were tested in the A1, B1, C1, and D1 slots.
Error code 53 was displayed again.
The CMOS battery was removed.
The system successfully posted to the BIOS when a single module was tested in the D1 slot.
The CPU was observed to randomly throttle to 90°C.
When multiple DIMM slots were tested, memory was recognized only in the D1, C1, and B1 slots.
The issue of error Q code 53 persisted, and not all memory modules functioned as expected. Swapping one module for another sometimes resolved the issue, but not always.
The boot drive was connected but it was not recognized; however, other drives were recognized when multiple ports were tried. The drive appeared in SATA6/3 but not in SATA6/2 or SATA6/1. Subsequently, the drive disappeared from the boot menu.
The BIOS update from the menu failed with the message “not a proper BIOS”, even though the BIOS version was obtained from the X99-E- USB3.1 support page.
Issues relating to memory were encountered from Q code 53, 99, 6f. Constantly chasing these codes.
Conclusions:
The mainboard has multiple issues.
The CPU randomly reaching over 90°C in the BIOS is a cause for concern.
My system is equipped with water cooling. I recently upgraded the CPU and memory. They seem to be working decently, as they passed both PRIME and Windows memory diagnostics. The memory I initially had was causing issues, but there were more problems rooted in the motherboard. For example, my keyboard would sporadically disconnect, and there were no alert sounds, like the typical USB connect/disconnect chime. Booting was inconsistent too; at times it displayed the POST, but occasionally it would jump straight into Windows. I had previously used two SSDs in a different system—one dedicated to the OS and the other for data. Sadly, neither are now recognizable, and I’ve lost a substantial amount of CAD/CAM files (poor me).
Upon closer inspection of the motherboard, I spotted some peculiar markings on the back, and the Northbridge heatsink and MOSFET heatsinks seem to have wear marks. I’ll share pictures later—it’s getting late here. Maybe some of you can offer insights based on their appearance. Also, I was under the impression that new products typically come with antistatic foam padding beneath the mainboard, and both the box and antistatic bag are sealed with holographic tape. This was my first time buying an ASUS board.