ASRock's X670 Motherboards Have Numerous Issues... With DRAM Stickers

[A Computer Guy]

I have 4 kits right now. Only played with two of them. Still need to test them on more motherboards. So far I noticed, that after a lockup, 6000 will go into 2:2:1 mode. Sometimes 6000 isn't stable for whatever reason too. If you run memory tests, it throws errors. It has to do with the auto voltages I'm pretty sure. Like mem_s3 (IMC) or SoC isn't high enough on auto, or you can manually set it. But a few resets and the voltages seemly go back up. Welcome to early days of Zen4 DDR5 . I few BIOS updates will fix this I'm sure. for now though, 5600 is hassle free.

With on-die ecc I wonder what it takes to produce unrecoverable errors and if it's possible for the ram to report uncorrectable errors or the corrected error rate.

 

[AndyMitchellUK]

Why are stickers necessary? It's in the manual

Maybe because many people don't RTFM? I know I don't as it's easy to build a system once you've done it once.
Even JayzTwoCents was on the verge of calling customer support when his system boot looped 10 times before memory training was complete.
Almost 7 minutes with 4 modules installed is a long time that many people would not expect so the intention was good - to make sure people were clearly aware how long the first boot may take. The execution was poor though. They should have used vinyl stickers that cost only a tiny amount more but peel off much easier.

I mean, it's an unecessary step people will have to take, but it isn't the end of the world. Just heat it up and pull it off. Clean with isopropyl and air dry. 5min job and you don't have to complain anymore.

If a bit of paper or glue makes it's way in to the slots themselves though it is a lot harder to remove.
They really shouldn't have cheaped out on the sticker.

You know there is always someone who refuses to RTFM,.....

I never RTFM as it's not hard to build a PC. The intention was good as many people would scratch their head if they had to wait almost 7 minutes for the first boot.
That said, if it took that long then I would at least consider reading the manual but hey, not everyone is that clever.

 

[ir_cow]

With on-die ecc I wonder what it takes to produce unrecoverable errors and if it's possible for the ram to report uncorrectable errors or the corrected error rate.

to my knowledge, it cannot report corrected errors unless its ECC. the on-die ECC part is only for the "resting" cells. So it will help with minor bit decay, but I don't think can keep up with real ECC memory which will fix errors that are being sent wrong.

 

[mechtech]

Early adopter issues

 

[InVasMani]

They are more like:

And yet they decide to glue the IHS to the CPU, with toothpaste, nonetheless!

No that would likely be EVGA and NVIDIA APPLE.

 

[natr0n]

New Model called "FancyNameHere-RFe"

*Residue Free Edition

 

[INSTG8R]

Paper stickers are a nightmare everywhere.

Only beaten of course by the hellish Blister Pack!

 

[Dirt Chip]

Just use a hairdryer and heat up the sticker and remove... not like it is the first time.

Dose asrock provide hairdryer with the motherboard?
This will be a very nice bonus

 

[Prima.Vera]

Asians, especially Japanese, do love their stickers. More colors and pictures, the better. Functionality and ergonomy are always last.
Just look at their websites, especially shopping ones, and compare them with the rest of the world... (Rakuten.co.jp vs Amazon.com, for example)

 

[john_]

The most ridiculous way to lose money by having to do a number of RMAs of otherwise fully working motherboards.

They should had just throw a piece of printed paper in the motherboard antistatic bag, instead of stickers. I mean, even if the stickers look as a good idea when doing the testing in the labs, who can warranty that the glue will remain in good condition in the box, if that box remains on a shop shelf for 1 year under various room temperatures?

 

[robert3892]

I have one of those terrible stickers that took me a long time to remove. I'd also like to point out that the X670E ASRock Steel Legend motherboard is missing the CMOS BIOs jumper. The manual tells you to use a jumper when you need to reset the CMOS, but they didn't bother to include the jumper

 

[sephiroth117]

not a sticker quality/price issue, more of the TYPE of adhesive/sticker being used here.
It was a mistake, they are going to fix it and did the right thing with opening RMA for those who are not comfortable dealing with the issue themselves.

 

[Dirt Chip]

I have one of those terrible stickers that took me a long time to remove. I'd also like to point out that the X670E ASRock Steel Legend motherboard is missing the CMOS BIOs jumper. The manual tells you to use a jumper when you need to reset the CMOS, but they didn't bother to include the jumper

It's either a jumper or a sticker- you can't have them both.

 

[kilo]

How could they cheap-out on sticker adhesive when the motherboards are ranging from $300 - $500 for low end?

 

[zlobby]

Maybe because many people don't RTFM? I know I don't as it's easy to build a system once you've done it once.
Even JayzTwoCents was on the verge of calling customer support when his system boot looped 10 times before memory training was complete.
Almost 7 minutes with 4 modules installed is a long time that many people would not expect so the intention was good - to make sure people were clearly aware how long the first boot may take. The execution was poor though. They should have used vinyl stickers that cost only a tiny amount more but peel off much easier.


If a bit of paper or glue makes it's way in to the slots themselves though it is a lot harder to remove.
They really shouldn't have cheaped out on the sticker.


I never RTFM as it's not hard to build a PC. The intention was good as many people would scratch their head if they had to wait almost 7 minutes for the first boot.
That said, if it took that long then I would at least consider reading the manual but hey, not everyone is that clever.

I (mostly) agree with your chain of thought. Real question here is why the phook ASRock didn't spend half a cent more and put a decent sticker? Although it's rethorical.

Dose asrock provide hairdryer with the motherboard?
This will be a very nice bonus

ATX should put a hairdryer output on the PSU in the next revision of the standard.

Early adopter issues

Yep. I loath the dreaded 'Rev.2' two months after I've spent a shootload of cash for something... usually a mobo or some networking gear.

 

[Tomorrow]

They should have used plastic instead of paper. Less environmentally friendly but generally does not break when peeling off and if it does then does not leave residue.

 

[zlobby]

They should have used plastic instead of paper. Less environmentally friendly but generally does not break when peeling off and if it does then does not leave residue.

Yes, because gamers care about the environment by running ~1kW PC for enterntainment! Gamers also generally recycle and plant trees in their free time!

 

[Tomorrow]

Yes, because gamers care about the environment by running ~1kW PC for enterntainment! Gamers also generally recycle and plant trees in their free time!

Im talking about the company. Not the buyers. For a buyer it's irrelevant if a particular sticker is made out of plastic or paper. But for a company that orders 4 or 5 figures of these it can make a difference. Paper has it's uses but not everywhere.

 

[ir_cow]

I have one of those terrible stickers that took me a long time to remove. I'd also like to point out that the X670E ASRock Steel Legend motherboard is missing the CMOS BIOs jumper. The manual tells you to use a jumper when you need to reset the CMOS, but they didn't bother to include the jumper

99.9% don't come with a jumper. Jusr grab some keys or anything metal and short those pins for 3-4 seconds. Just remember the first boot after clear cmos is 3-5 minutes. Its painfully long if your not use to it.

 

[neatfeatguy]

99.9% don't come with a jumper. Jusr grab some keys or anything metal and short those pins for 3-4 seconds. Just remember the first boot after clear cmos is 3-5 minutes. Its painfully long if your not use to it.

Apparently ASRock has resolved the extreme boot first boot times with AMD's help and an updated BIOS has been released and applied to the assembly process for any future boards that had this problem that will fix that issue.

I don't know if a story about it was on TPU, but TS had one:

Asrock creates new AM5 BIOS to resolve previously reported long boot times

Twitter by user HXL initially pointed out the problem on September 1st. The post highlights a table attached to Asrock's x670 Steel Legend that described boot times...

www.techspot.com

Sounds like ASRock wanted to make sure product was available as soon as possible before resolving the boot issue, so they put their product out the door with a sticker on the boards that do not have the most up to date BIOS to inform consumers of the issue. This problem should be very limited and hopefully, aside from a pain in the ass annoyance to some that purchased these boards, resolved in any future ASRock board that comes out.

 

[cdawall]

Pretty normal for AMD products let alone asrock on top of that. Half finished and terrible stickers.

 

[maxfly]

Hahaha Sticker Hell! ...now I've heard it all. Oh man, what's the world coming to. Well at least they're taking care of the ones that can't... finger it out. Hehe

 

[terroralpha]

i am sympathetic to the fact that they get a lot of brain dead people returning/RMA-ing perfectly good hardware because they are too brain dead to RTFM, which causes them tens of thousands of dollars in losses every year, but there are better solutions to this. what's wrong with using a plain piece of paper and a little masking tape to hold it down?

i've used a couple of their boards over the years (including a threadripper board) and have generally been happy with them. but if this happened to me, i'd pack this turd and return it. i wouldn't even try to to clean the residue off. their solution is going to make the problem they set out to solve even worse. this decision was made by pencil pushers with "business" degrees, not engineers.

 

[trsttte]

If only they had a flat piece of metal right besides the ram where they could put the sticker instead (or even a simple piece of paper with 1 point of glue in the top and bottom, no need for a full size sticker to scrape from the m.2 heatsink).

This was just a careless and thoughtless decision, probably a knee jerk reaction to the bad press over memory training times, it's not like it's their first time doing motherboards or that RAM stick positions is a new thing.

 

[ir_cow]

If only they had a flat piece of metal right besides the ram where they could put the sticker instead (or even a simple piece of paper with 1 point of glue in the top and bottom, no need for a full size sticker to scrape from the m.2 heatsink).

This was just a careless and thoughtless decision, probably a knee jerk reaction to the bad press over memory training times, it's not like it's their first time doing motherboards or that RAM stick positions is a new thing.

adding a card would help a bit instead of nothing. So I understand why the sticker is on the DIMM slots. Like I thought I killed my MB after clearing the CMOS once. It didn't come back until I turned off the PSU. Then I had to wait 5 minutes to get into the BIOS again and set the XMP/EXPO. You will think its DOA without prior warning.

Also rubbing alcohol will take that glue right off btw. Let it soak and get some tweezers.