ASUS RAMPAGE III EXTREME BIOS - V1601 - Updated OROM MOD

[weingeist]

Hey Guys, 

A little lost here, I downloaded the S20-TEST2.rar and see there are 3 files in it, could someone please inform me as to the difference, or what one I should use?

s20_test2.rom
s20i_test2.rom
s20t_test2.rom


Below is my system info.

CPU


MainBoard - bios info



Thanks!
arden

please read post 1-4 

[Iceberg]

... specifically which version is best for your RAID0?  Well, nobody can answer, as you did not provide enough info. READ the thread and you will find the answer!

So, I have s20 on board with 2 raids0 one is 2xSSD 960 on Jmicron controller ans 2x1TB HDD on Intel controller. And Intel RST application crashes A LOT! I have a lot of errors that irst service has stopped due to an error.
When I had s19i on Win7 there was no such errors.

[pir8man]

... specifically which version is best for your RAID0?  Well, nobody can answer, as you did not provide enough info. READ the thread and you will find the answer!

So, I have s20 on board with 2 raids0 one is 2xSSD 960 on Jmicron controller ans 2x1TB HDD on Intel controller. And Intel RST application crashes A LOT! I have a lot of errors that irst service has stopped due to an error.
When I had s19i on Win7 there was no such errors.

You should test with s20i_test when coming from s19i.  You changed your Intel SATA OROM and did not adjust the RST software to match.

[pir8man]

Did anyone testing net boot with S19 or S20_Test... roll back to S18 and test with that release? in S19/S20 the NIC OROM is a patched to a universal HardwareID code. S18 has a non-patched OROM.

If S18 works with OROM v1.5.43, it is probably the universal ID patch that is causing the issue. I hope that is the case as it would make my task much quicker.

[Iceberg]

... specifically which version is best for your RAID0?  Well, nobody can answer, as you did not provide enough info. READ the thread and you will find the answer!

So, I have s20 on board with 2 raids0 one is 2xSSD 960 on Jmicron controller ans 2x1TB HDD on Intel controller. And Intel RST application crashes A LOT! I have a lot of errors that irst service has stopped due to an error.
When I had s19i on Win7 there was no such errors.

You should test with s20i_test when coming from s19i.  You changed your Intel SATA OROM and did not adjust the RST software to match.

Oh, my bad, forgot to specify that I tried s20 on Win10, due to your guide to boot from s20 on Win10 with raid on Intel controller.
So should I try s20i on Win10 + raid0?

[pir8man]

Instead of repeatedly answering which version is best for each individual. And repeatedly pointing out that the answer is already answered if they would read through the thread... I inserted the pertinent info into the OP.

[pir8man]

... specifically which version is best for your RAID0?  Well, nobody can answer, as you did not provide enough info. READ the thread and you will find the answer!

Oh, my bad, forgot to specify that I tried s20 on Win10, due to your guide to boot from s20 on Win10 with raid on Intel controller.
So should I try s20i on Win10 + raid0?

Your issue is software. I recommend a clean install.  If you cannot do the whole OS, at least strip out all SATA drivers and install the modded 13.6 fresh.  As your SSD are inefficiently configured, I would recommend a clean install of the OS anyway.

[pir8man]

GOOD NEWS!
Testing the NIC PXE BOOT was easier than I thought.  I didn't even need an OS.  It appears I am correct in the latest (v1.5.85), the universal HardwareID patch does not work with our boards.   Attached is S20-TEST3.

This release has the NIC OROM rolled back to v1.5.50.  Which is newer than what came with S19 release.  PXE Boot works again.  CPU Microcodes are the same as TEST2 (still no update for 106A4).

TEST3 passed all my testing... See OP for S20 Final.

[weingeist]

great

[pir8man]

I did some more verification and found that we have hit the OROM updates limit on each of our expansion devices...
1. Intel NIC v1.5.50 is the latest revision that supports our deviceID 1503. v1.5.85 refuses to accept deviceID 1503 as it is incompatible.
2. Marvell is running the last compatible Firmware/Bios.
3. Intel ICH10R is also not compatible with any newer OROMs. The three I use are the best for each scenario mentioned in OP.
4. The last minor issue is the jMicron controller. This one has a newer RAID OROM (v1.08.01). Unfortunately the AHCI patched (v1.07.28) is perferred among users. The guy who patched v1.07.28 cannot reproduce his work on v1.08.01. So we are stuck with these.

The only possible new updates going forward can be CPU MicroCodes.... And if someone (smarter than me) can patch jMicron OROM v1.08.01 to be AHCI mode instead of RAID.

I am not sure if a microcode patch for 106A4 will ever come out. As the supported CPU's are the low end i7 and I would bet few if any are still in use. Especially since W3690 can now be found for about 100 on flebay. (NOTE: the W3690 is the best cpu for R3E, the X5xx series add an additional data bus that is only used between processors on dual-cpu server boards. the W3690 is equivalent of 990X with an even better memory controller.) So if you have one of the 106A4 CPU's and you want spectre/meltdown protection, just buy a faster CPU. my W3680 is blazing on my trusty R3E.

With that, I will be re-working the OP to have S20 using the updates we discovered this past month. (basically S20-TEST3 once I confirm a few final tests).