Can you help me tweak my new ASUS Z97-Pro motherboard please?

[Spitfire7]

Alright, Brand new computer is built and running great!!! I have many questions that hopefully can be addressed and fix here.

My Specs:
ASUS Z97-Pro
i7 4970k 4GHz
8GB 2400DDR3 G.Skill Trident X Series
GTX 260 Black Edition
OCZ 850 PSU
1 TB HHD
1 TB HHD backup

I have read and read and read the manual and what I have found is that the manual is really good at telling me what the things on the motherboard are, but not so good telling me what they do and if I should or shouldn't use them. This is where you guys come in.

On my ASUS Z97-Pro there are 3 switches that I am Curios about in regards to noticeable performance. The switches are

-EZ-XMP: off or on

-TPU: Off, CUP Ratio Boost, or CPU BCLK and Ratio Boost

-EPU: Off or on

What is the best for daily use and evening high performance games. Is this something I should adjust and always leave on, or flip the switches manually each time depending on what I am going to do each day?

I read what each switch does, but it doesn't seem to do anything or make any difference especially since I can have them all off, and in Bios I can still do the EZ-Tune and it seems to do automatically what the switches say they will do manually. So I dont get it. Also, I dont seem to have much automatic control over my fans. They seem automatic. In my Bios there is the EZ-Tune manual fan control and in Advance the other Q-Fan Control. Neither seem to really give me exactly what I want. There is even a check box to turn the fan off and they dont seem to respond, but just stay at high speed. There is a selection option PWC or DC. These seem to change a lot of stuff and I have no idea when they are doing in regards to fan control and no where does it truly define what those are or do. I would love to make my CPU fan automatically controlled and all other 3 fans maxed since they are super quiet at high speed.

Also, I installed my water cooling system and want to make sure I installed it correctly. I found out that the best performance for cooling was a setup such as: Case, Intakes fan, Radiator, and another intake fan. Temps are 27-30 during normal windows usage and idle and 54 on heavy maximum ultra graphics for BF4. This is very good right?

Please let me know if I plugged the fans in correctly for my water cooled CPU. I plugged the first fan into Fan 1, second fan into CPU Fan, and water cooling control into the CPU_OPT. Did I do that right?


So this is a good place to start for right now. Please let me know your thoughts and the answers to all these questions if you can. Thank you.

 

[iamlegend]

Here`s your exclusive features from Asus website.
Make sure you have installed all of it and make sure you know how to access it. Reading from the features, you can control your fan with software with fan 3.

Special Features
5-Way Optimization by Dual Intelligent Processors 5
- Whole system optimization with a single click! 5-Way Optimization tuning key perfectly consolidates TPU, EPU, DIGI+ Power Control, Fan Xpert 3, and Turbo App together, providing better CPU performance, efficient power saving, precise digital power control, whole system cooling and even tailor your own app usages.
ASUS 5X Protection :
- ASUS DIGI+ VRM - 12 Phase digital power design
- ASUS Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection - Short circuit damage prevention
- ASUS ESD Guards - Enhanced ESD protection
- ASUS High-Quality 5K-Hour Solid Capacitors - 2.5x long lifespan with excellent durability
- ASUS Stainless Steel Back I/O - 3x more durable corrosion-resistant coating
ASUS TPU :
- Auto Tuning
- GPU Boost
- TPU switch
ASUS EPU :
- EPU
- EPU switch
ASUS Digital Power Design :
- Industry leading Digital 12 Phase Power Design
- Industry leading Digital 2 Phase DRAM Power Design
- CPU Power Utility
- DRAM Power Utility
ASUS Exclusive Features :
- Remote GO!
- AI Suite 3
- Ai Charger+
- USB Charger+
- Anti-Surge
- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface
- USB 3.0 Boost
- Disk Unlocker
- Turbo LAN
- Crystal Sound 2
ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution :
- Stylish Fanless Design Heat-sink solution
ASUS EZ DIY :
- Precision Tweaker 2
- ASUS O.C. Tuner
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS EZ Flash 2
- ASUS USB BIOS Flashback
- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode
- Push Notice
ASUS Q-Design :
- ASUS Q-Shield
- ASUS Q-Code
- ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)
- ASUS Q-Slot
- ASUS Q-DIMM
- ASUS Q-Connector
Special Memory O.C. Design
Overclocking Protection :
- ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Media Streamer
Turbo App
Fan Xpert 3

 

[Spitfire7]

All that sounds great and looks like I got myself a really nice board, but it doesn't really help me or answer my questions. What is this Fan Xpert 3 thing? Is that built into Bios or is that something that software that I need to download using in windows?

 

[iamlegend]

You need to download those utilities inorder to fully optimize your board. I think it is for Fan control and monitoring software.

I think there is build it BIOS and also you can access that in your windows.

 

[Spitfire7]

Okay I found all that on the Drivers CD for the motherboard under the utilities tab. Its really cool, but I dont know what probably about 50% of all the options are or do.

If you know my original questions please help.

Another question is, What is the difference and benefit of the SATA Express slots compared to the standard normal SATA slots?

 

[iamlegend]

It is the speed that matters.

Try visiting Asus page and look at the full specs and feature of your board.

 

[Spitfire7]

Anyone who has the new ASUS Z97-Pro motherboard please respond. When you make a change, any change to hardware and then you start the computer, does yours also do a quick on and off again... pause.... then start up again? Every time I change anything hardware related even down to the motherboard little speaker connecter, a new fan, or even a new CD-Rom drive this happens. I just want to make sure this is normal.

 

[iamlegend]

Oh so that is the main problem here, the on-off of your system. I apologize, well that is not normal in any system.

Check if your fans (especially cooler fan) is running correctly.

Your utilities will come in handy in monitoring your fan speed, also check your temps.

 

[Spitfire7]

Oh so that is the main problem here, the on-off of your system. I apologize, well that is not normal in any system.

Check if your fans (especially cooler fan) is running correctly.

Your utilities will come in handy in monitoring your fan speed, also check your temps.

All temps are good, and all fans are working perfectly. My system starts up perfectly every time. Just if I were to lets say, put another CD-Rom drive in and connect to the board while off, thats when it happens. The next time I would hit the power button it will do a quick on off then pause for 3 seconds and then come right back on perfectly. It does it every time for everything that is new to the board. I have never seen this before, but that is why I want to hear from someone who has the Z97 Pro from ASUS to see if they are also receiving this problem.

 

[iamlegend]

Do you have a CD or disk installed in the CD ROM while booting? Boot priority can cause that. Na that is not normal in any mother board. Also can be a faulty CD ROM wire.

 

[Spitfire7]

Okay, I have fixed it and called ASUS and figured everything out. I am very happy.

For the ASUS Z97-Pro it is suppose to do a quick on/off test and then on again every time you install a new piece of hardware even down to a fan. This is perfectly normal according to ASUS.

I found many of the issues I was having were caused by updating the bios. I heard that I should do this and its recommended. ASUS never recommends this and you should never update your BIOS unless there is a problem with it. So I rolled the driver back to the manufacture specs. Everything now works perfectly. Thanks for your help guys. Hopefully my response can also help some of you as well.

 

[Spitfire7]

Do you have a CD or disk installed in the CD ROM while booting? Boot priority can cause that. Na that is not normal in any mother board. Also can be a faulty CD ROM wire.

What did you mean about the faulty CD Rom wire? That could cause a quick double On/off... on boot?