MSI X58 Pro-e BIOS

[Flufflebutt]

Hey there,

 

I'm trying to get two PCs which I built running but I'm stuck in a bootloop. I have installed a Xeon W3530 and a Xeon X5667, both not working in this system but they work perfectly fine in my Server.

To update the BIOS I bought an i7 720 which got me at least into the BIOS. With this CPU I updated the BIOS to the latest version (8.F) listed on MSI's website (https://de.msi.com/Motherboard/X58_ProE/support).

The BIOS update went through without issue but the Xeons are still not booting. 

Do I need a "custom" BIOS with the microcode for them added? And if so does anyone have one? I'm more of a "hardware guy", don't know anything about modifying a BIOS...

I've been googling for a few days now and actually found something on a different forum but that one doesn't let me download the file... Registering an account there seems to be borked... 

Here is a link to what I found: https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-MSI-X58-Pro-E-MS-7522-Xeon-support

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Eh these older systems can be temperamental so not surprised it dont boot, i mean i got an h55m e33 off a trade and it looked to be working fine but when an oc failed (attempt at 220bclk) it just dont wanna turn on anymore with no attempt to recover, forcing it on made something (likely a fuse) blow up but no physical damage.

 

i suggest buying a pci debug card to see what its getting stuck on if its not outright 00 ing (no attempt to post aka literally dead, usually something to do with the cpu)

 

 

if i were you id just sell that thing, lowend msi x58 are trash and you can get better boards, apparently theres even some sort of uncore bug nuking x xeons oc ability, no reports of the same thing happening with w cpus but def not happening on e xeons so maybe try e xeons too

[silencer12]

No, you don't need a custom bios. Custom bios are risky.

 

Your processors (w3530 and x5667) are not even listed as compatible with your motherboard. The 3520 is. Is your server using a completely different motherboard that is compatible with the processors?

 

https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/X58_ProE/support#cpu

[DoctorNick]

13 minutes ago, Flufflebutt said:

Hey there,

 

I'm trying to get two PCs which I built running but I'm stuck in a bootloop. I have installed a Xeon W3530 and a Xeon X5667, both not working in this system but they work perfectly fine in my Server.

 

I only see W3520 as supported https://de.msi.com/Motherboard/X58_ProE/support#cpu

[Flufflebutt]

7 minutes ago, silencer12 said:

No, you don't need a custom bios. Custom bios are risky.

 

Your processors (w3530 and x5667) are not even listed as compatible with your motherboard. The 3520 is. Is your server using a completely different motherboard that is compatible with the processors?

 

https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/X58_ProE/support#cpu

The Servers are old Proliant DL380 G7 and DL580 G7.

At least the X5667 definitely works, that one is the CPU I had in there before I got myself an upgrade to a X5690.

The W3520 is listed as compatible with the MSI board though. From what I've read so far, the chip is identical with a 3530 so I suppose it should work?

And I've definitely found a few people putting in X56xx Xeons in there so there has to be a way to get it working...

 

16 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Eh these older systems can be temperamental so not surprised it dont boot, i mean i got an h55m e33 off a trade and it looked to be working fine but when an oc failed (attempt at 220bclk) it just dont wanna turn on anymore with no attempt to recover, forcing it on made something (likely a fuse) blow up but no physical damage.

 

i suggest buying a pci debug card to see what its getting stuck on if its not outright 00 ing (no attempt to post aka literally dead, usually something to do with the cpu)

 

 

if i were you id just sell that thing, lowend msi x58 are trash and you can get better boards, apparently theres even some sort of uncore bug nuking x xeons oc ability, no reports of the same thing happening with w cpus but def not happening on e xeons so maybe try e xeons too

Overclocking would be nice since I'd like to see how far I can actually push these old Xeons but I don't have to go there. I've been building these PCs just so the CPUs don't lay around in my drawer any longer. (And maybe make a few bucks from selling them...)

[Flufflebutt]

12 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

I only see W3520 as supported https://de.msi.com/Motherboard/X58_ProE/support#cpu

They are basically the same chip just with a different clock. Shouldn't be that much of an issue.

And there are definitely people out there running X and E Xeons on this board so it has to work somehow.

[DoctorNick]

14 minutes ago, Flufflebutt said:

They are basically the same chip just with a different clock. Shouldn't be that much of an issue.

And there are definitely people out there running X and E Xeons on this board so it has to work somehow.

Dosen't really matter if motherboard cant recognize the cpu model. If you are 100% sure, then alright. Maybe try clearing cmos (taking out battery for 5 min with PSU off), check memory location in slots on motherboard

[Flufflebutt]

8 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

Dosen't really matter if motherboard cant recognize the cpu model. If you are 100% sure, then alright. Maybe try clearing cmos (taking out battery for 5 min with PSU off), check memory location in slots on motherboard

No need to remove the battery, the board has a button for that. Already reset the BIOS a couple of times and also tried different memory sticks since I first planned to use registered ECC memory I still have laying around. ECC didn't work at all since the i7 can't work with that but regular DDR3 worked just fine.

I'm fairly certain I need to update the microcode but that's far beyond of what I'm capable of myself... 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

43 minutes ago, Flufflebutt said:

Overclocking would be nice since I'd like to see how far I can actually push these old Xeons but I don't have to go there. I've been building these PCs just so the CPUs don't lay around in my drawer any longer. (And maybe make a few bucks from selling them...)

Well you could just sell em individually, x58 pro e is worthless garbage from an ocers prespective but some uninformed fool might still buy one

 

And xeons can still be sold though quadcores other than the x5667/77/87 are basically worthless as in they just will not sell, that x5667 will sell though but maybe at a lower price vs the westmere hex cores

 

If you arent an oc enthusiast or at the very least not scared to death by overclocking (which this old hardware really likes and is very resilient to volt too) then not worth bothering with x58 as its just not efficient and used ryzen is getting cheaper and cheaper, x58 boards have dropped off alot in price actually but still a 1600/2600 + a320/b350 will match/beat it while using less power (especially if you oc the ryzens)

 

 

1 hour ago, silencer12 said:

No, you don't need a custom bios. Custom bios are risky.

 

Your processors (w3530 and x5667) are not even listed as compatible with your motherboard. The 3520 is. Is your server using a completely different motherboard that is compatible with the processors?

 

https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/X58_ProE/support#cpu

Custom bios is risky IF you cant externally flash the bios, if you can externally flash the bios (via bios programmer so board dont need to boot into bios to flash bios) then risk is completely eliminated, bad bios? Reflash the bios. I modded my p5q with a p5qd bios + maximus ii formula ebb and max bootable fsb went from ~530 to 570

 

And w3530 is identical to the w3520, main diff is their bin since the w3530 is 1 bin higher than the w3520 (higher clockspeed)

[Flufflebutt]

1 minute ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Well you could just sell em individually, x58 pro e is worthless garbage from an ocers prespective but some uninformed fool might still buy one

 

And xeons can still be sold though quadcores other than the x5667/77/87 are basically worthless as in they just will not sell, that x5667 will sell though but maybe at a lower price vs the westmere hex cores

 

If you arent an oc enthusiast or at the very least not scared to death by overclocking (which this old hardware really likes and is very resilient to volt too) then not worth bothering with x58 as its just not efficient and used ryzen is getting cheaper and cheaper, x58 boards have dropped off alot in price actually but still a 1600/2600 + a320/b350 will match/beat it while using less power (especially if you oc the ryzens)

Selling the parts individually is not an option since I bought the boards for 40€ last month and I won't get that money back. No chance.

The Xeons basically cost nothing, I got the W3530 for 1€ off of ebay.

 

I'm definitely planning to try overclocking but first I need to get the CPUs running in the system. It is most definitely possible but the question is how do I get there?

My long term goal is to build and sell a few working low budget PCs to get rid of a bunch of PC parts I still have laying around. I already have a decent-ish PC for myself =)

[Somerandomtechyboi]

1 minute ago, Flufflebutt said:

Selling the parts individually is not an option since I bought the boards for 40€ last month and I won't get that money back. No chance.

The Xeons basically cost nothing, I got the W3530 for 1€ off of ebay.

 

I'm definitely planning to try overclocking but first I need to get the CPUs running in the system. It is most definitely possible but the question is how do I get there?

My long term goal is to build and sell a few working low budget PCs to get rid of a bunch of PC parts I still have laying around. I already have a decent-ish PC for myself =)

Board or boards?

40€ is a ripoff for a shitty msi lowend x58 board, thats the price that you get more mid end boards like p6t or (e)x58 ud3r at, Heck i had a hard time selling my p6t deluxe even at 30$. If you bought that board alone for 40€ then sorry to inform you but youve been scammed, i got the same feeling buying a p5qpl am at 25$ when p5qs go for that price and giga g31m go for 10$ or lower (capable of ~440fsb stable vs pathetic 370fsb my p5qpl am did)

[Flufflebutt]

3 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Board or boards?

40€ is a ripoff for a shitty msi lowend x58 board, thats the price that you get more mid end boards like p6t or (e)x58 ud3r at, Heck i had a hard time selling my p6t deluxe even at 30$. If you bought that board alone for 40€ then sorry to inform you but youve been scammed, i got the same feeling buying a p5qpl am at 25$ when p5qs go for that price and giga g31m go for 10$ or lower (capable of ~440fsb stable vs pathetic 370fsb my p5qpl am did)

I have two of those boards and I'll eventually buy a 3rd one for the i7 720.

The boards are basically new from how they look. Not a spec of dirt on there, Carton and everything included just as if I would have bought it brand new in a shop. Even got 2 free SATA cables =).

They are used boards from Hetzner. The boards don't look that low-end to me, they got a backup BIOS, power on, reset and clr CMOS buttons on board. There are also switches on-board for BCLK overclock. All in all the board has way more functions onboard than the Z390 board I have in my own computer.

From a price perspective I didn't find much cheaper ones. I checked ebay for the x58 ud3r and found one on ebay for 58€. 40€ for a mainboard doesn't seem that expensive to me considering the condition the boards are in.

 

Regarding you having problems selling your p6t deluxe... that's exactly the reason why I want to build a complete working PC. There is at least a small market for low budget PCs on ebay and I should even make a few € when I sell those systems. Definitely not worth it if I factor in the time I invested but if you disregard that I'd make a small profit of maybe 50-100€ per PC.

[Flufflebutt]

Does anyone know of a ritual I could do to summon Anthony? =)

I'm sure he could at least point me in the right direction in a minute

[Somerandomtechyboi]

15 minutes ago, Flufflebutt said:

I have two of those boards and I'll eventually buy a 3rd one for the i7 720.

The boards are basically new from how they look. Not a spec of dirt on there, Carton and everything included just as if I would have bought it brand new in a shop. Even got 2 free SATA cables =).

They are used boards from Hetzner. The boards don't look that low-end to me, they got a backup BIOS, power on, reset and clr CMOS buttons on board. There are also switches on-board for BCLK overclock. All in all the board has way more functions onboard than the Z390 board I have in my own computer.

From a price perspective I didn't find much cheaper ones. I checked ebay for the x58 ud3r and found one on ebay for 58€. 40€ for a mainboard doesn't seem that expensive to me considering the condition the boards are in.

 

Regarding you having problems selling your p6t deluxe... that's exactly the reason why I want to build a complete working PC. There is at least a small market for low budget PCs on ebay and I should even make a few € when I sell those systems. Definitely not worth it if I factor in the time I invested but if you disregard that I'd make a small profit of maybe 50-100€ per PC.

What board you wanna buy now?

Might be able to atleast avoid another bad buy, maybe send a screenie here to see if its any good

 

But any asus, giga, or evga board is good on 1366, other brands can be good to hot flaming garbage