E5-2690v2 cpu or motherboard faulty

[MHand2]

I have a pair of e5-2690v2's (SR1A5) and an Asus x9pe-d8 motherboard that appears to have a fault and wont post.

Unfortunately I've verified that the RAM/PSU and graphics card are fine and the RAM is listed as qualified for the motherboard.

I suspect this is a motherboard issue but I don't want to have to buy another one if the cpu's are also faulty.

Can anyone recommend a way of getting these processors verified as working?

Unfortunately the components are secondhand so aren't covered under warranty.

The motherboard q-code error often shows b2 - "Legacy Option ROM initialization" and refuses to enter the bios unless I clear the cmos just beforehand and wait for 3 failed posts at which point I can press F1 to enter.

I've tried every revision of bios available from ASUS, along with several different graphics cards and pcie combinations.

Even without a graphics card plugged in b2 error is still shown.

Thanks for any help.

Mike.

[idata · Accepted solution]

Hi MyKeys,

The only option is testing the processors in a working unit. I suggest you to try to get into the BIOS using only 1 processor at a time. The memory controller is inside the processor, not any more in the board. The compatible memory with the Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-2690 v2 is:DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600/1866 at 1.5V. Regards,Mike C

[MHand2]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for replying. I have since resolved the issue but here are more details for those that are interested.

The first issue was that the board failed to complete post, b2 (ASUS q-code) was always shown and this was even in a single CPU configuration with qualified DDR3 1600mhz non-ECC Corsair Vengeance RAM and no external GPU.

To resolve this first problem I bought a new motherboard (I had exhausted all possible options with the board and felt a new one had the most chance of resolving the issue).

With the new board dual CPU configuration still failed to post with q-code bc.

I had read some reports of people running in to this issue and that using ECC registered RAM resolved the problem. I can confirm that this also resolved the problem for me too.

It's a pity that even when you buy all the components as outlined on a qualified vendor list there is still no guarantee of everything working.

As the memory controller is on the CPU die I can only assume this is a processor oddity. I wonder if trying the old motherboard with the new RAM might now work correctly.

I've stress tested the system and everything seems stable.

Hope this helps others.

Regards,

Mike2.

[idata]

Hi MyKeys,

I appreciated your feedback. Server processors require ECC memories. Regards,Mike C