TheSpaceMonkey

Hello there. I just built my new gaming PC and as many other users of ASUS's  Z170 chipset motherboards, I'm facing some issues with the stupid ASUS Anti-surge system.
 
When the first failure occurred I was under almost idle load on my system, just installing some Steam games, and suddenly my system shut itself down (with 1 or 2 seconds showing some changes on my fans behavior, what makes me think that it was not a simple power outage, but an "intentional" shutdown mechanism triggered by my motherboard (which is a ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme). After the system shutdown, I notice several tries of boot (without my interference, just the PC trying to turn itself on), with no post at all. Just turning on and off repeatedly for about 4 or 5 times, until I switched my PSU off. After that, the system booted properly (with NO error messages during the boot process), and was working fine, until approximately 24 hours later.
 
One day later I faced a system reset, and the system posted with a ASUS anti-surge system error notification. The message was "Asus anti-surge was triggered to protect system from unstable power supply". I honestly don't think the problem is on my PSU... I have a Corsair AX1200i 80 Plus Platinum (a pretty decent power supply). After that, using Corsair Link software, I spent a long time monitoring/logging my 12v, 5v and 3.3v power lines, and they're pretty stable...
 
12v: oscillating between 12.0v ~ 12.06v
5v: oscillating between 5v ~ 5.03v
3.3v: oscillating between  3.3v ~ 3.34v
 
After this issue, I already spent about 8 straight hours playing The Division on ultra quality (quite a heavy/resource consuming game), with no instability at all, but after that, I faced the problem once again with my system absolutely idle. System shutting down abruptly and a post right after that giving me the anti-surge warning.
 
After searching for some posts on ASUS's RoG forums, I noticed a lot of users complaining about ASUS's anti-surge system, and many of them was suggesting that this feature should be disabled on it's UEFI option to avoid the problem.
 
Here lies my concern... Is it safe to run my system without this feature? To be honest, this "new" feature doesn't seem to be working properly yet, and it seems to be causing more problems than protection to the system.
 
I'd like to have some thoughts about that. Have you guys faced similar problems with Z170 chipset based motherboards?
 
Additional information:
 
The system is not overclocked at all yet. The only changes I've made on my UEFI was to activate XMP Profile 1 for my DDR4 (Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB - 4x4GB - 2666Mhz), and to set my Corsair Carbide 540 case fans to be at a fixed 900 RPM. (BTW: In despite of having a 4 channel memory kit, CPU-Z says my memory is working in dual channel mode).
 
*** EDIT *** possibly related issue: I'm using Windows 10 Pro 64bits, and I can restart my system, but when I try to shut it down from Windows, it prepares itself to shut down, turns off my video card signal, but the system (fans, leds on motherboard) keeps running with no video. I already saw some posts related to similar issues, but all of them mentioning Windows 7 specific problematic services.
 
Thoughts? Thanks in advance guys!
 
Full System Specs:
 
CPU - Intel Core i7-6700
Motherboard - ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme
RAM - Corsair Dominator Platinum Series 16GB (4x4GB)
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti SC+ ACX 2.0+
Case - Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Silver Edition
Storage - Kingston HyperX Savage 480GB
PSU - Corsair AX1200i 80 PLUS Platinum
 
Here follows some CPU-Z screenshots.

Sometimes stuff works at full load but not at idle
thats just how electronics are
some people have overclocks that work when stress testing that are unstable at idle, i know its weird but thats how it is
 
i know the AX1200i is a trustworthy PSU
I also had a trustworthy PSU and it killed my entire PC
so just because its trustworthy doesnt rule it out of the equation
you need to test with a second PSU to be 100% sure that the 1200i isnt the problem

You're absolutely right. Better safe than sorry. I'll give it a try with my AX860i for 2 or 3 days and check if the problem persists. The AX860i is perfectly tested as it runs almost 24x7 on my streaming build, with no issues at all. I'll post any updates once the tests lead me to any conclusion about the PSU being or not the cause of my anti-surge issue. Thanks for being supportive buddy!
 
Besides the anti-surge, I'd really like to find out if the Windows shut down problem (that I mentioned on the topic) is more likely to be a OS problem or a hardware related one.
 
Cheers.

I'm lurking around here for quite some time now but never really made an account. Why? I have no clue really...
It would be rude of me not to do a (very) short introduction of myself first before talking about my current Skylake gaming rig: 
 
My name is Rick, i'm 32 years old. I live in The Netherlands together with my beloved girlfriend that sometimes gets a tiny bit crazy of my 'thing' for computers  
 
[ Some more info/history about the build will be added soon ]
 
Recently added a custom water cooling loop for my cpu and also ordered the parts to add my GTX980Ti to the loop as well. I am waiting for the parts to be delivered which should be somewhere at the start of next week.
I will also be Plasti Dipping my entire case into a matte black color, which should match the rest of the build a little better than the standard black/grey color it comes in.
 

 
Old:
 
Components:

CPU: Intel i5 6600k @ 4700Mhz, 1.425v
Memory: 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum (2666) @ 3000Mhz, 1.30v.
Mainboard: Asus Maximus Hero VIII.
GPU: EVGA GTX 980Ti Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ @ 1575/8400, 1.27v (custom bios).
Soundcard: Asus Xonar Essence STX.
PSU: Super Flower Leadex 850W.
Case: Corsair Carbide 540 Air.
 
Price: € 1824,00 / $ 2036,81 UD.

Water-cooling: 
 
CPU block: EKWB Supremacy MX incl. white LED.
GPU block: EK-FC Titan X - Acetal+Nickel.
GPU backplate: EKWB Titan-X Black.
Radiator: EKWB Coolstream PE240.
Radiator: EKWB Coolstream PE360.
Radiator fans: EKWB-Vardar F3-120's
Reservoir/pump: EKWB XRES 100 DDC MX 3.1 PWM combo.
Tubing: EKWB ZMT matte black.
Fittings: EKWB 10/16mm ACF compression, Bitspower 10/16mm 90degree rotary compression.
Coolant: EK-Ekoolant Clear.
 
Price: € 663,25 / $ 739,96 UD.
 
Extras:
 
- NZXT Sentry Mix II fancontroller.
- Lightbar-kit for the Corsair Dominator Platinum's.
- 3x Corsair SP120 Performance Edition.
- 1x Corsair AF140 Quiet Edition.
- 8x Bitfenix Alchemy extention cables (red).
- Highflow cable-combs (black)
- Backplate for the Asus Xonar Essence STX.
- Midplate for the Corsair Carbide 540 Air.
 
Price: € 228,95 / $ 255,23 UD.
 
Peripherals: 
 
Monitor: Crossover 27Q IPS, 2560x1440.
Keyboard: Corsair STRAFE.
Mouse: EVGA Torq X10 and Logitech G600.
Headphone: Sennheiser HD600, Sennheiser HD558, Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro.
Headphone Amp: Schiit Magni 2.
 
Price: € 1315,86 / $ 1467,05 UD.
 
Total price of the build: € 2686.20 / $ 2993,38 UD
Total price of the complete setup: € 4002,06 / $ 4459,72 UD
 
Some more pictures of the build:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I'll be updating this thread as much as i can in the following weeks, starting with the new paint-job and watercooled GPU somewhere next week.
 
Questions, suggestions or other feedback are always welcome
 
 
 

All the time I'll see people recommend PSUs based on efficiency. This, although fundamentally a good idea so that you don't end up with a stick and some chewing gum powering your system, shows that most do not understand what 80 PLUS efficiency implies. Let's get a couple myths out of the way:

- "A higher 80 PLUS rating correlates to better quality." Incorrect. Certain components in a PSU do need to be of a certain quality to achieve higher efficiency (typically MOSFETs and diodes), however, quality of soldering, certain capacitors, etc, can be forgone in achieving an exemplary 80 PLUS rating. Electrical performance can be ditched as well. I like to use the EVGA G1 as an example of this. It's made of above average componentry, performs lackingly, and achieves gold efficiency. Then there's the EVGA B2, which is constructed about as well, performs better electrically, and advertises 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency (it actually achieves 80 PLUS Silver efficiency but that standard has been given up by and large). The EVGA B2 is a better PSU than the G1, yet it wastes slightly more electricity. This will correlate to a marginally more expensive power bill (pennies on the dollar for most home users) but ensures you a better power supply for your money. If, however, you plan to run a very power-hungry system for several hours on end then a more efficient power supply can save a more noticeable amount of money, especially if used heavily during hours of the day where electricity is more expensive.
 
On another note: some brands will undersell their unit's rated wattage if it can achieve higher efficiency at lower loads, I.E. a brand may sell a 550W 80 PLUS Platinum rated unit that can actually output 600W+ but would have to be advertised at a lower efficiency rating if they were to sell it at that rated wattage.

- "Higher 80 PLUS efficiency keeps the PSU cooler." Not to any serious degree, but this is technically true. A less efficient PSU will waste more electricity and wasted electricity is turned into heat. This is not likely to have an appreciable impact on the temperature of your room or system however as your system doesn't really draw that much power, thus it's better to optimize your system's airflow before throwing an AX1500i in your system to minimize heat created by the power supply. Since PSUs exhaust heat anyways the temperature of your system's hardware will not be impacted to any noticeable degree. Different PSUs also handle cooling differently and 80 PLUS efficiency doesn't correlate to the size of the fan used or the heat-dissipation abilities of the unit.
 
- "Power supplies are most efficient at around 50% load." This is, by and large, untrue, and seems to be set in stone by many simply because the peak efficiency measured by Ecova's testing of just three load levels is at 50% always. Many manufacturers or reviewers test PSU efficiency at different loads and post charts online, if this matters to you, but many PSUs are more efficient at 60% load than 50% and many are more efficient towards 30%. Don't buy a PSU based on how efficient it will be with whatever hardware you have in it. Different topologies and different PSU platforms handle efficiency differently. This should be a non-issue and you should be looking at buying the best PSU you can get with your money.
 
- "If you have a 1000W PSU with an 80% efficiency then you are only going to be able to get 800W from your power supply." This is incorrect. If you have an 80% efficient 1000W PSU then, when putting it under enough load to max its output you are going to be drawing more power from the walls - not losing output from your power supply. In this instance, putting a 1000W PSU under max load with an 80% efficiency would mean you're drawing 1250 watts from the wall. Math goes as such:
                                                                                                X / Y= Z                  
                                                                                        1000W / .80 = 1250
                                                                                  1250W drawn from the wall

X represents the wattage you're using (say 350W with a Ryzen 7 3700X and RTX 2080 Super under 100% system load), Y represents the efficiency in decimals (an 85% efficient PSU would be .85), and Z represents your total system draw from the wall. For this calculation we're assuming that the PSU in question has exactly enough wattage to power the system at 100% load and is 87% efficient at 100% draw, making it an 80+ Gold efficient power supply.


So in our case with the 3700X and 2080 Super:
                                                                                               350 / .87
                                                                      = 402 watts drawn from your power outlet
 
Note, however, that efficiency is not consistent throughout the load of the power supply.

Power supplies are more and less efficient at different loads. They are also more efficient when connected to a more powerful grid, the 230V nominal, which you may use if you don't live in North America. Check that your PSU allows for operation under both voltages. Most modern ones switch operation automatically. Other, often older units, will have a hard switch at the back of the unit to switch to choose from either 115V or 230V (note, DO NOT SWITCH TO THE ONE THAT DOESN'T MATCH THE ELECTRICAL OUTPUT OF YOUR WALL OUTLET! This doesn't usually end well!). This graph demonstrates the efficiency curve of a 2011-era Corsair TX750 when plugged into a 115V AC versus being plugged into a 230V AC. Note the TX750 is an 80+ Bronze rated PSU.
                
                                      
 

If you live in the United States, for example, you are using a 110-120V (115 nominal) AC through a standard NEMA 5-15 socket. Your power supply may be more or less efficient than your manufacturer claims because they may advertise efficiency through a 230V AC, though standard 80 PLUS efficiency testing is done on a 115V AC. Note that these tests for efficiency are also done under very specific test environments and do not necessarily reflect real-world scenarios so you may achieve higher or lower efficiency than rated by the manufacturer.

And just to finish up let's go list the various 80 PLUS ratings and their efficiency at different power draws on a 115V and 230V AC as well as 230V AC redundant.
                                                                               
 
                                                                          
Note that Silver isn't really used anymore and the efficiency of a PSU that would achieve Silver certification would typically just be rounded up or down to Bronze or Gold. "230V internal redundant" refers to efficiency in a redundant scenario like in a data center. This guy from Dell explains it.
 
One last thing I want to make a little more hard-hitting here. 80 PLUS efficiency ratings were invented to save corporations and industrial services money in the long-term, not home users! A company with 1000 computers all consuming 100W for 10 hours a day will see a much greater benefit from having all 80 PLUS Titanium units in their systems than you likely would with your system. Don't spend tons of money trying to get a super efficient PSU when a PSU that's just as good, costs less, and achieves a tier lower 80 PLUS rating is drastically cheaper. 
 
Resources:
Ecova (formerly Ecos), the 80 PLUS certification founder (and located very near me in Portland!)
Wikipedia - There's more info here if you want to go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole
Plug Load Solutions - A list of all PSU companies and how many different PSUs they have that achieve Ecova's various 80 PLUS standards.

Absolutely astonishing clean build. I wonder how nice it would be with hard translucent tubing (even though I feel that the EKWB ZMT matte black tubing perfectly matches the case's overall finish, besides being way less time consuming to deploy in any build).

I'm starting a build myself with the exact same mother board and case, though, I have to say that I keep a little bit frustrated with the lack of alternatives in the market so we can drive away from the great (thus, unfortunately, oversaturated) black and red combination. This will be my third black and red consecutive build due to a lack of desired high end hardware presenting different color scheme alternatives. I hope manufacturers (specially ASUS, Corsair and Kingston) realize that there are other colors in the human eye visible spectrum rather then red (and dear video card manufacturers, this is for you: NO, your green backlit GeForce don't apply to everyone's taste)  Sorry about all the ranting guys! 
 
Your build looks fantastic. Keep rocking and thanks for sharing such high quality pictures of it!
 
Cheers.