XFX Support is RIDICULOUS - Noone will help. X58i Problems.

[lucafett]

Hey guys:

I am having a TERRIBLE time with XFX support. I purchased an X58i Motherboard which will not boot with more than 2gb of ram installed on it... I have posted on every forum I've found that offers some sort of technical support, and so far noone has come up with an answer. I am very frustrated with the fact that XFX, the company that made the darn thing, is not even answering me after a week of me posting a ticket on their website. Additionally, their 800 number does not appear to work, I call, they hang up, I call, they hang up... its as if they're running and hiding from the fact that their product is defective... I have found many other posts from people experiencing the same problems, but in their case after a day or two of frustration and not getting answers they just RMA the products back to them. In my case this is not an option, since I bought the card while I was in Miami and took it back with me to Venezuela.

I have read MANY reports from people talking about how bad their support is, (wish I'd read about it when I was picking between xfx and asus in newegg when I bought the thing), and still those people never get a solution. Now my question is, is anyone in this forum associated with XFX, and if so, can you help, please?

I am posting my support ticket just to give you a sense of the timing on this thing, and im afraid, from what I've read, that it could take months without even a word from them...

________________________________
[ 2/26/2009 2:16:01 AM] I purchased the motherboard, installed the 6gb of ram, the video card, the processor, everything... It booted on once with the 6gb of ram (3 dimms)... then, after resetting, it wouldnt post anymore with 6gb of ram installed, I tried it with 4gb and it worked, (2 dimms), but when installing windows XP it somehow disabled mouse and keyboard input, so I had to reset the PC, then it would not boot again, with either 4 or 6 gb of ram installed... it just gets stuck at d4 on the boot led on the board... I have not found a solution... but im desperate.


[ 2/26/2009 6:04:10 PM] Hello guys: Since the day I booted my XFX X58i Mobo I have had problems making it post with more than 1 (2gb) dimm of tripple channel PC1333 (10600) Corsair XMS Memory. Here is what I`ve done in chronological order, just to try and see if any of you are kind enough to help some of the people with this same problem who have posted here: System: Proc : Intel Core I7 920 2.66ghz. Memory : 3 x 2gb dimms (PC 1333) Corsair XMS. HD : Seagate Barracuda. Video Card : Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (896 mb) PCI-E. PSU : Agiler 750W ATX Power Supply. _______________________________________ Log: 1 - Assembled PC, Installed all components, installed 3 x 2gb dimms on GREEN slots, as stated in mobo documentation. Result: Would not boot, stuck at code 88 on onboard LED. 2- Removed 3 x 2gb dimms and installed 3 x 2gb dimms on BLACK slots. Result: Computer booted, posted, went into BIOS to set date / time; exited BIOS, reset, computer would not post again, stuck at step D4 on onboard LED. 3- Reset CMOS, reset BIOS, attempted boot. Result: No post or boot. 4- Checked cables, connections, etc. Result: No post or boot. 5- Removed 1 x 2gb dimm, set the other two on black slots, in dimm slots 2 and 4. Result: Computer posted and booted, went into BIOS to set date / time; exited BIOS, reset, computer would not post again, stuck at step D4 on onboard LED. 6- Reset CMOS, reset BIOS, attempted boot. Result: No post or boot. 7- Removed another 2gb dimm, leaving the system with 1 x 2gb dimm on the #2 slot. Result: Computer posted and booted, went into BIOS, set date / time, reset, installed Windows XP Pro SP3 (I hate Vista), installed drivers, antivirus, software for video card, etc. 8 - Tried looking for an upgrade to BIOS but could not find one on the official XFX site, read mentions of an upgrade on OC forums. 9 - Read guide to OC Intel Core I7 920, and attempted a slight increase on QPI speed through BIOS, took it from 133 to 140. Result: Computer would not post or boot. 10- Read about setting manual memory voltage, looked up the corsair memory voltage needs, set it like so in BIOS (1.5v) and attempted to boot with 3 and 2 dimms installed. Result: Computer would not post or boot. 11 - Reset CMOS, BIOS, reset date / time. Result: Computer Working with 2gb of ram and very stable. _________________________________________ Now the problem seems to be that any measure of memory beyond 2gb hangs the post sequence at D4, which is a check of the 540kb of memory or something like that. I have not been able to boot with more than 1 dimm installed. The OC attempt was to see how much of a slight change the mobo would stably allow, which is NONE. What really vexes me is the fact that the board booted with 6gb installed once, and then with 4gb too, so the randomness leads me to believe im facing a SOFTWARE problem on the BIOS end. Also, finding any sort of information online is a grat hassle, and the documents available at XFX are mediocre at best. The Support Tickets posted at their site take long to be addressed. To be honest, I dont see how much of a problem it can be to address this issue, but if XFX does not address it soon I see a lot of Returns going their way, and possibly a future Class Action Suit because of misleading specifications regarding this product, which is stated to support up to 12gb of RAM. Its sad that those of us who went out on a limb to purchase this cutting edge technology will not get to fully enjoy it but by the time the prices for it have gone down. I bed anyone out there who has found a solution to this to post it here, it is killing my office designer to be without a computer, and business is losing money to it. (I live in Venezuela, purchased the card in Miami and took it back with me, so returning it, for me, is a great hassle). Thank you and hope this helps anyone who is experiencing this problem too. E.


[ 2/26/2009 6:15:39 PM] Also, failed to mention this, I tried booting the computer with each of the memory sticks individually, and they all worked on their own.


[ 2/27/2009 4:13:44 AM] Ok... I tried upping the voltage to the memory to 1.570v, but that did nothing... also, the memory registers as runnig at 1066, which is stupid because it should run at 1333, AND your support is taking awful long to answer my questions... you should put "buy at your own risk" on all your motherboards...


[ 2/27/2009 3:07:50 PM] This is sad... really, your response time is just NOT normal... do you guys have a new BIOS for this thing? if so, where the heck can I find it... I feel like a blind dude whose dog left him in the middle of a busy metrostation... come on, HELP!


[ 2/27/2009 5:20:17 PM] Ok, this is ridiculous, I called your North America 800 number and the wait time is 15 minutes... I am calling from Venezuela... please, will someone PLEASE help me out here...

[ 3/2/2009 5:32:55 PM] Does it usually take more than a week to get support for one of your boards? I mean, seriously, how hard can it be to get in contact with me and help me resolve this isuue?
[ 3/2/2009 10:52:34 PM] Ok, really, I keep calling your 800 number and it keeps disconnecting me... this is really epic on BAD SUPPORT... really... I guess im going to start posting reviews on this product wherever I can... this is just unacceptable.


__________________________________________________ __
Since I cannot get a replacement and im sure this is fixable cause the board works with 2gb of ram just fine... I will make it my sole mission to post on every forum I can on how much their support sucks if I dont get an answer, and I mean QUICK.

I know its none of you guys' fault, but I am just so frustrated...

Thanks for the help... hope to hear from someone.

Enrique L Fuentes

[Goliath182]

Weird not too many complaints here. Last RMA turned a 8600 GTS into a 9600 GT. I feel they have great support, take in mind they dont work on weekends so that would be a slow down. Just take a deep breath and PM a XFX tech with your support ticket number and itll be fine.

P.S. Chances are that if you increase the NB or QPI voltages your board will become stable. Also make sure that your RAM is running at the right voltage.

[lucafett]

Hey, thanks for the reply.. well, I got through to them on the phone (30 minute international call, my bill will have a burnt hole in it), they were very kind and sent me a BIOS, and said that in the cases they had that resembled mine, it was actually the memory controllers on the CPU that were screwing things up... im reluctant about this, and I know better than to trust ball-swapping on the part of manufacturers... my problem now is I've read about a bunch of people that actually killed their boards with this new BIOS, and im not inclined to screw mine up on the update. If anyone has successfully updated their bios on an X58i mobo, please post it here... if it works I will host the BIOS file (its weirdly not on their site) on my ftp server for all of u out there with this problem. And yes, I set my voltage to the max allowable on memory and it didnt work... as to NB voltage... ehm, I though I7 eliminated the NB...

[lucafett]

Got the new BIOS from their site today, updated, but still no go... problem keeps popping up... no more than 2gb of ram will work... tested the ram, did everything doable... no go... any help will be appreciated.

[specter9mm]

I know you may have already tried this, but I had a very similar problem and it was a voltage issue. I manually set the voltage from the manufacturers website specs and everything smoothed out. Now I'm trying to get some sort of overclocking working on the thing, and it is impossible.

Got the new BIOS from their site today, updated, but still no go... problem keeps popping up... no more than 2gb of ram will work... tested the ram, did everything doable... no go... any help will be appreciated.

[vanBoogle]

I assembled my rig 2 wks ago, and have had the exact same issues. Here are my specs
SPECS.

MOBO: XFX X58i
CPU: Intel i7 920 processor, LGA1366 (bought in bundle with mobo)
CPU fan: stock fan that came with CPU
GPU: XFX nVidia GeForce 9800GTX 512Mb
Memory: 6 Gigs OCZ gold Tri channel DDR3 1333 MHz (however, rig only works w/ 1 stick in black slot)
Power Supply: Ultra X3 1000 Watt PSU
HD: Wester Digital Caviar 500Gb SATA
OS: Windows XP home
Optical Drive: Sony 20x DVDR/W SATA
For me, running only 1 2-gig stick worked so I've been doing that with no problems until today. Several times I've lost video, and all my USB devices (keyboard,mouse, headset). When this happens, my LED goes from 61 (or is it b1, I can't tell) to 88.

When I restart, sometimes the PC starts up normally, and sometimes it just hangs on 88.

Just today I noticed that the XFX website has a version 1.1 driver for the MOBO. I downloaded it, but am too scared to install it. Have you had any luck?


-vanBoogle


ps sorry for the crazy fonts, my copy-and-paste of the specs made the post go crazy.

[towerelect]

Got the new BIOS from their site today, updated, but still no go... problem keeps popping up... no more than 2gb of ram will work... tested the ram, did everything doable... no go... any help will be appreciated.

OK Gang Got the same, exact same problem with 3x2Gb DIMM3 boards PC3 12800 Gold Series. Can only get the BIOS to get past the p4 point by placing two in slot 1 & 2 (Black and Green pair). Hangs on 88 any other combo, though I did get it to boot once with the DIMM in the correct Green slots 2, 4 and 6 but only slots 2 and 4 (4Gb) were seen by Vista64.

Can ANYONE HELP US PLEASE, I don't want to go to all the bother of a return, or refund or the expense of purchasing a new board. Documentation with this board is truly BAD both in the box where only a quick install guide was given which had the Green and Black slots reversed by the way for the DIMM! and the on line cD and internet versions which are riddled with poor english and missing items.

[lucafett]

My problem persists... I have not been able to fix it, Overclock my motherboard, tweak memory settings or anything. The only successful step in this whole nightmare was the Bios update, which worked. A day after they sent me a corrupted file through e-mail, they posted Bios V1.1 on their website... I downloaded it and flashed it, it worked, and the Bios itself shows a lot of improvement, at least in aspect, because all the options are useless still - no way to get the board to boot if you tweak qpi, memory frequency, voltage, etc... its either load default settings or dont boot at all. XFX support has not answered my question, im begining to feel they're just a few young guys who have no idea about computers and are put there to delay the inevitable RMA, which in my case its sadly not an option (it would be prohibitively costly). So im left hanging, like so many other people who purchased this card, but in my case, theres also the sour taste of not even being addressed in a normal and timely manner by their tech support. Really, I dont know what else to do... To the -XFXSupport- guy that posts around here... is this normal? you havent even read any of the 15+ posts I've made during the last 3 weeks? I will spend whatever free time I have bashing XFX in reviews for this, its the only consolation I can have out of this episode in which I feel I have been robbed of US$300.00. Thanks for any thoughts...

[towerelect]

Well I will go to the XFX web site and upgrade my BIOS with the latest version. Went to the Intel Site and there version would not run. I unlocked the Flash protection in BIOS before I booted but still the Intel latest BIOS for the 58 series board would NOT run in Vista64. At least I guess I have 2 of my 3 OCZ boards working as a pair in slots 1 and 2, but in BIOS my Keyboard function keys do not all work. For example I can not use F10 to save BIOS and re-boot, have to use the cursor keys. Sometimes the BIOS hangs when I try enter for example the Board monitor section. All in all not at all impressed. I will see what AFX say but if nothing by this weekend I will be returning this board as not fit for the job.

[Methious]

If your using a USB keyboard and mouse they might not work in BIOS. Some boards they do some they don't.

This isn't a catch all thread if you want XFX to answer your questions and help you with problems you need to start your own dedicated thread.

Then PM one of the techs with the ticket number and URL to the thread to get their attention.

Well I will go to the XFX web site and upgrade my BIOS with the latest version. Went to the Intel Site and there version would not run. I unlocked the Flash protection in BIOS before I booted but still the Intel latest BIOS for the 58 series board would NOT run in Vista64. At least I guess I have 2 of my 3 OCZ boards working as a pair in slots 1 and 2, but in BIOS my Keyboard function keys do not all work. For example I can not use F10 to save BIOS and re-boot, have to use the cursor keys. Sometimes the BIOS hangs when I try enter for example the Board monitor section. All in all not at all impressed. I will see what AFX say but if nothing by this weekend I will be returning this board as not fit for the job.

[Victor]

most bioses has an option where you will get to enable USB keyboard and mouse support. You need to make sure you enable them and hten you can use them in the BIOS.

[lucafett]

Well I will go to the XFX web site and upgrade my BIOS with the latest version. Went to the Intel Site and there version would not run. I unlocked the Flash protection in BIOS before I booted but still the Intel latest BIOS for the 58 series board would NOT run in Vista64. At least I guess I have 2 of my 3 OCZ boards working as a pair in slots 1 and 2, but in BIOS my Keyboard function keys do not all work. For example I can not use F10 to save BIOS and re-boot, have to use the cursor keys. Sometimes the BIOS hangs when I try enter for example the Board monitor section. All in all not at all impressed. I will see what AFX say but if nothing by this weekend I will be returning this board as not fit for the job.

Hey bud: If you have the same board as me, then flashing the bios is not complicated... I did it on Vista 64... First, download the bios and burn the ISO image to a CD, then, restart and go into BIOS, make sure your CD is the first boot device on the "Boot Device Priority", then, in Security, Disable Flash Security... then, reboot with your new BIOS CD in the drive. It should let you load from there, it will install the BIOS (by the way, dont freak out if you see error messages and whatnot, they're very fast, just keep at it and hit enter if you get stuck, do not abort, just hit retry). After you install it you will see that the new BIOS seems more professional, giving more options to Overclock, although, for me, none of them work at all. Good luck, and post any more info you find on this thing. E.

[lucafett]

Ok, after a month of fiddling with settings, calling XFX 200000 times and resetting CMOS to the point that I have the damn jumper EMBEDED in my index finger...(I know theres a button on the back, but the jumper thing is more dramatic), I have asked XFX for a RMA and plan to send the board out after I test the new one I bought (an MSI Platinum, which was the only LGA1366 board I could get in Venezuela). Hope it works, to all of you out there with the XFX X58i that have this problem, RMA it, nothing will make it work.

Good luck...

[heeroyu16]

What is the ram voltage mininum spec?
I found that my ram was rated 1.8v and the default is 1.9v which caused my PC to hang or reboot every 15mins. Not planning to overclock on this board.

[Lemat]

Hello.
Ive a similar problem.
I dont find the answer of it, but i know the problem.

The problem is the motherboard. Not memory, not cpu, etc.

First, i will write the facts:
-I tested with two mothers and two kinds of memory.
-The mother itself, doesnt come with a full manual and specs.
Not even in the web. Only we found is a quick guide for experts.
-Xfx, i belive, they think in the stats between prices.
I mean, if you expend in a 400 dollars processor, and 50 dolars in a video card, it wont work. The same as the memory (that was an exaple).
-And the most inportant fact, is... all the many videos in ytube, and post in webpages about this motherboard. All bad results.

1)Motherboard XFX X58i. And OCZ Gold 2gb 1333 Mhz RAMs.

First test: dualchannel.
Doesnt works.
Second: trichannel.
Not.
Thir: sigle one.
It Works.

Sintoms: boots and enter in Windows, but in a short time, it freezes. And sometimes, reboot automatic. That time is seconds.
So... result: innoperable, inposibble to work or use the pc.

2) Motherboard XFX X58i. And Gskill 1600 low latency RAMs.

First test: single.
Doesnt works.
Second: dualchannel.
Nothing.
Thir: tri channel or six.
It Works.

Sintoms: doesnt boot, beep or hexa code in mother, plus the fun of the cpu even starts. Only lights. Sometimes it starts but set a list of binary errors in DOS, and not enter in bios, plus shutdown.
So... result: it dont work at all. Not even the Bios screen.

I try with two motherboards. Brand new both.
I not only speak with RMA, i speak with technicians of Win, and partners of work, that are engineers and overclockers pros.

Problem found !!!!!!
The motherboard doesnt supports some kind of RAM mix.
The XFX people, desing a mother too bad, thats works when he wants.

First problem: The calculation in the northbridge of the memory modules in mhz. Default set as 1066. The test results a 600. And not even force 1333 works.
Second problem: In the mixture of two o more modules, latecy wrong. I tryit manually, i set as default. I even set 1.7 in red... nothing.
Thirth problem: doesnt have ECC. Not even to set it as enabled.
Fourth problem: in tests of memory, when test it at more than 2 modules, its freezes. Thats right... in DOS freezes !!!

Solutions at the moment:
Buy another memory.

OZC Gold 1333mhz: the only partial solution was overclock the memory to 4.8 qpi, force 1333, 1.6 v cpu, 1.7 dimm, 1.1 nb, 1.6 cpu vtt, 1.9 pll, 1.3 sb, 1.6 sb io, 1.08 dimm vtt, 1.5 vcca, 1.006 dram ref.
But is a partial solution, because the computer runs normal, but if you rebbot it, or star it the next thay, it maybe dont start. So you must push the On button, many times until it works good (how know it? because it will be normal more than 5' if freezes or reboot itself, On button).

Or... use a single mode, in default bios, somethimes works a long time.

So... dont mess your head thinking about the expensive cpu, or the motherboard. Its simple a bad motherboard. Try another memorys, test it with memory of some friend different than OCZ, etc.

My test take 4 months. And a lot of people, and work.
But know i have 3 modules on sell. And a beautiful preview on x58i.

For my goodbye, please sorry about the gramatics.

Byessssssss...


Lemat.


P.S.: Para tener en cuenta tambien, dos cosas.
Si se gastan 400 en un micro, 200 en una mother, 200 en una vga, 100 en un disco, 100 en un gabinete... como moraleja: equiparar los costes y no comprar memorias de 50.
Recordemos que Ocz siempre llevo el buen mercado ultimamente junto con Kingston. Pero aun sea la memoria que funcione, o la mother... hay algo y siempre lo hubo, llamado compatibilidad.
Y si señores, no es algo de los juegos nomas... esta en el hard tambien.

La segunda cosa es: xfx saco 2 mothers para 1366, son la mitad de precio que mothers como intel o asus, xfx empezo hace poco haciendo mothers, y nisiquiera vienen con un manual con un listado de memorias que soporte. De echo esos dos papeles no se si seran guia rapida como le llaman, o son para el baño despues de comer.
Moraleja: si invierten mucho dinero en un I7, intenten poner una placa base, de una marca que este tiempo en el mercado, y tenga buena reputacion.

Sin mas, un saludo a todos, y gracias por a ver leido.
Por cierto, dato raro: si pones en el google modelo y marca del problema: 'xfx x58i ocz gold' sale este foro en 1er. lugar.
Asi que por eso me registre y supuse debi escribir al menos mi experiencia.
Lo que no describi fue mi cara al momento de las pruebas.

Adios y muchas suertes !


Lemat Bruno.