990FX Sabertooth v1

[Mirski]

I bought this motherboard used to allow for some overclocking headroom of my FX8320 since my current board while cooled the VRMs are only 4+1 phase and don't allow for much voltage. I installed the board in my computer, but I didn't put the CPU heatsink on since I figured it might not boot so I don't have to remove it later, but I did plug in the CPU fan. Every cable is connected securely, RAM is inserted and the CPU is in place. I go to press the power button and the fans spin up fine but no post screen is present, I take a look inside the case and see the "CPU" LED glowing. I tried using a different CPU fan connector on the board, I tried an entirely different CPU fan too, I also tried leaving only 1 stick of RAM in there and moving it around all the different slots, still no signs of life. I decided to touch the CPU to see if it's hot, after all no heatsink is attached to it, so I touch it and it's ice cold (not really surprising since it doesn't post). I pulled the mobo out and rigged it on top of the box, still same result. I also tried removing the battery which did nothing. I then put the stuff on my old motherboard and voila, everything works and the CPU got warm within the first few seconds so I shut it off. I've narrowed the problem down to the motherboard, but that's where my knowledge ends. Any way I can try to fix it? I've got some soldering experience and I am pretty comfortable with taking stuff apart so any advice is wellcome!

PS: My computer is running fine right now with the old board, so it's definitely the motherboard that's problematic.

 

[greens]

Did you buy it used?
If it is new - can you look all over the box for a bios version?

The 990FX came out before the FX chips were released. They are compatible but do need BIOS updates in many cases.

 

[junkeymonkey]

ya that's my thinking too old a bios for support of that CPU may need to flash to a later bios [the 8320 needs bios 1604 ]

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_990FX/HelpDesk_CPU/

if thats anything like my ''LAST'' 3 asus sabertooth 990fx good luck to get anything stable even with like 18 bios updates for ''improved system stability'' they were a joke , but will admit they make for a fine space filler in the closet and excellent dust collectors ..

uyou know whan they pile on that many bios updates then move to a rev 2.0 [with its own 18+ bios's ] then rev 3.0 and so on you knida know /learn something's up with that line of board [opinion]

 

[Mirski]

I bought it used and it didn't come with a retail box. Considering the fact that the guy I bought it from blocked me on the website I bought it, I think he knew it was bad. According to his info he was running a water cooled FX9590, though I guess he was probably lying considering the fact that he lied to me about it working. I looked at the bios chip on the motherboard in case there's a sticker on it with the bios version like on my Asrock board, but there isn't. Any other way to check the version? Thanks for the quick reply!

Regards.

 

[greens]

My asrock 990FX never skipped a beat.

You also need to consider the fact that the 990FX has been out since 2011. That is a long time for a chipset to be in action - of course they made multiple revisions of the board - they aren't gonna keep making the same exact board for 6 years.

That thing about the blocking is bad news but i would probably also block someone if they were trying to say the good board i sold them wasn't working. You didn't pay him for tech support, yah know? So ithink there is still hope!

Can you source an old phenom II to test with? It should boot with any Phenom II

 

[junkeymonkey]

lol.. we all replaced our sabertooths with a asrock's and gigabytes me -3 my buddy-1 his son -1 all sabertooths junked . new boards worked first boot nice

I seen why there TUF series . there tuf on your billfold and nerves , OH, and tuf luck on getting then stable or working correctly then asus support or rma , that was TUF as well

 

[Mirski]

Unfortunately I can't, the only AMD CPU I own is the FX8320 and I don't know any friends with Phenoms either. He actually blocked me as soon as he got the message that I received the board, I didn't even message him. When I opened the chat box it said I can't reply... Anyway, screw him. Could it be a bios issue, there is no post, no video signal either. If the bios is old it should say no CPU found or something like that when it posts. I'm not the expert, you guys are, so I could be entirely wrong. Is there anything else I can do? Once again thanks for the advice.

 

[junkeymonkey]

not unless you know what bios is on it now and use a supported CPU to insure it does work to start with ?? best to find a cheap CPU that was supported from first release bios to be safe and sure ?

heck a new asrock 990fx extreme 6 was onle now like 89 bucks from newegg and that cpu would of worked right out of the box

AM3+* FX FD8320FRW8KHK 125W Vishera 3500MHz 2200MHz 2MBx4 8MB C0 '' All '' [as in all bios's ]

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/990FX%20Extreme6/?cat=CPU

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/chPzK8/asrock-motherboard-990fxextreme6

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157576

you now may end up with that much invested just fooling around with that mess you got going now ???

sorry , but good luck

 

[Mirski]

Ordering from newegg isn't an option since I live in Bulgaria (a Balkan country where hardware costs almost double and the salary is twice as little). Besides I don't want to spend a lot of money on a motherboard since compared to the average income here PC parts are expensive. I tried Ebay but no seller agreed to ship to my country, which is understandable. My only option was to bite the bullet and risk, and it bit me back sadly. If anyone has a suggestion to fix it, please don't hesitate to post. For now, I guess it's just a pretty expensive piece of computer art (I think it looks kinda cool at least)

 

[junkeymonkey]

ya I keep my sabertooth right where I can see it everyday as a reminder

 

[Mirski]

ya I keep my sabertooth right where I can see it everyday as a reminder

Haha, maybe I'll do the same if I don't fix it. Let it sit there as a reminder to not be a moron next time and get a motherboard with warranty.

 

[junkeymonkey]

ya cause asus is so easy to deal with on there RMA and warrentee service , and that's here in the U,S of A hate to think how you would be treated where you are ??