C90S beta BIOS 502 and 704

I've tested the new beta BIOS V502 and confirmed there is no problems with this BIOS.

The new BIOS fixed C90S only reads memory speed at PC4300 DDR 533, the new BIOS will show the correct memory speed at DDR 667. It may also fix some memory compatible issue but I am not 100% sure about this.

I've also noticed that most people who has problems with C90S purchased as barebone with their own RAM installed, the best RAM for Asus notebooks are Nanya, Infineon and Elpida modules.

Here is the new BIOS ISO:
502
http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/images/Notebook/Asus/C90S502-B.ISO

601
http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/images/Notebook/Asus/C90S601.iso

I am working on BIOS V704 ISO, will upload it tomorrow.

C90S beta BIOS V704 07/13/2007 the RAM speed on BIOS version is back to 533 not 667.


V801 official BIOS ISO:
http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/images/Notebook/Asus/C90S801B.iso


Make sure your computer is at AC power before update the BIOS and do it at your own risk.
1: Download the ISO and burn into the CD.
2: Restart the computer with CD in the drive and press "ESC" once when you see the Asus logo.
3: Select boot from CD drive and press enter.
4: Computer will boot to A:\ prompt
5: Type UPDATE and press enter
6: BIOS flash will start and DON"T turn off or press any key or buttons on the laptop.
7: It'll go back to A: prompt when BIOS flash is finished.
8: restart the computer and press F2 to enter BIOS.
9: press F10 to save and exit BIOS.

 

Thanks Ken, so what's new / fixed in V704?

 

Thanks ken im burning it to a blank dvd now, ill run wprime and see how the better memory speed effects performance.

Later on I may try to add my 2nd sodimm and see if it fixed the memory issue, but I have more hope that the next bios does that. This was probably just a quick fix for the memory speeds.


in game mode with a e6700 the new bios has memory going at 293x2 mhz (586mhz) with 1:1 ratio and in standard mode..

266x2 (533hmz) performance didnt seem to go up I got the same numbers in wprime, actually abit worse... but that may just be due to all my programs installed. My original scores were on a fresh install.

now testing to see if I get a restart/crash during 3dmark06 while in game mode like I was with the old bios.

answer: no, got a blue screen of death "system has detected an uncorectable hardware error and will be shut down for safty"

 

Beta BIOS V704 ISO uploaded.

 

Whats different in 704?

 

aww man forgot to bring a blank cd to try the 704 bios tonight...

 

How much does ram affect 3dmark score vicious? The need for a new bios may be the reasoning behind the low 3mark scores.

 

I'll know in abit, it should be very very very little, the score that would have been effected the most would be wprime or superpi and they stayed the same or went higher.

 

bios 704 installed testing for fixes now...

 

No luck still crash out during the cpu portion of 3dmark06, its getting worse :/ all the deadly crashes are causing me not to be able to boot back into windows without a few blue screens of death and a reboot.

I may get my camera out and try to get a picture of what it says if I see it again.

 

In the BIOS are there settings for the temperature the fans cut on and off at and when the computer should shut down because of temperature?

 

I dont think so the bios is very simple and plane ill have to take a closer look, however I have run cpu and gpu tempature monitors while doing various things and the temps are definitly not the issue, in game mode things run cooler than they do in normal mode actually.

I have not had a crash in normal mode under any test, only in the game mode. Its not the biggest loss in the world because the performance boost for a e6700 is not that large. I very much belive ken is correct in that its a memory compatability issue, it hopefully will be resolved in a future bios release.

The reasons I have to backup Kens theory is that in game mode the only thing that changes is the fsb, wich in turns clocks the cpu up higher and the ram. The cpu should be just fine, I suppose it is possible i have a very bad cpu that can do 2.93ghz but I doubt it and I was able to pass wprime in game mode several times, its more ram intensive task like 3dmark that I can never get past.

The other reason is because I have 2x2gb of ram, i cant even post with both sodimms in, Ken tells me that i should be able to post just fine, but only use 3gb of the ram. That was my belife as well, but I cant... so there is an issue there.

My more imeidiate concern tho is that I cant pull out my power cord at any time or I get a lockup, and I cant boot on battery power, the only way I can use my notebook right now is pluged in. I dont see how this can be tied to ram at all. I very much think its a hardware malufunction in some part of the computer that handles the power when in battery mode. I really need some ram to test that is known to work well before I go thru all the trouble and hassles of a RMA, just so I can see if for some crazy reason the ram is causing all the problems.

 

Has anyone tried using the game mode on a lesser cpu, like the 6420 or the like? I ordered that one (I don't know why) and maybe that gives a different result.

Vicious, I think the battery issue and the memory issue are different, but I have been known to be wrong. You need a spare battery to test that.

 

I agree, I belive at this point the game mode issue is due to incompatible ram that I how can be fixed with future bios releases.

The battery issue I belive is very much pure hardware based.

 

This reminds me of a page I saw yesterday, and thought it might be relevant. It's the only FAQ question on the Asus site specifically relating to the C90, and it's the list of compatible memory modules. The list appears remarkably short. There's only one module listed from Kingston (and it's only 512KB), and nothing from Corsair or other major consumer vendors. Here's the whole list:

Below is the memory list for C90S series as approved by ASUS.

256MB DDR2-533 SO-DIMM 　 　
NANYA NT256T64UH4A0FN-37B 　
512MB DDR2-533 SO-DIMM 　 　
INFINEON HYS64T64020HDL-3.7-A 　
KINGSTON KVR533D2S4 　
NANYA NT512T64UH8A1FN-37B 　
UNIFOSA GU33512AGHYQ602L3BC 　
1GB DDR2-533 SO-DIMM 　 　
ADATA M2OAD2G3I4436I1B52 　
ADATA M2OAD2G3I4435I1B52 　
512MB DDR2-667 SO-DIMM 　 　
ADATA M2OAD5G3H3446I1C52 　
NANYA NT512T64UH8B0FN-3C 　
TRANSCEND TS64MSQ64V6M 　
TRANSCEND TS64MSQ64V6J 　
UNIFOSA GU33512AJEPN612L4GE 　
UNIFOSA GU33512AJEPN612L4GG 　
1GB DDR2-667 SO-DIMM 　 　
ADATA M2OAD5G3I4436I1C52 　
NANYA NT1GT64U8HB0BN-3C 　
NANYA NT1GT64U8HA0BN-3C 　
TRANSCEND JM488Q643A-6 　
TRANSCEND TS128MSQ64V6J 　
UNIFOSA GU331G0AJEPN6E2L4GG

Can anyone confirm that they don't have RAM on the list, and are having problems; and the converse (listed RAM, no problems.)?

- Ian.

 

Hey Vicious sorry to hear you may have gotten a lemon...

 

why dont u remove on stick of ram, could it be tht having 2 2gb sticks is causing you problems?

 

I have one listed (Nanya 1GB) and one not listed (Kingston 2GB) and works fine.

 

Can you guys that have the C90 tell me what brand you have and resellers , (Eddie and Ken) what you guys are selling in these? I am getting one from Gentech and would like to know the brand.

Edit: Thanks Alex!

 

Im getting mine from Gentech too... fully assembled but no OS so Im not sure about them doing component testing...

Im in Southamerica so I really hope I dont have any hardware issues since returning anything will be too expensive for me :-(

 

And I was pouting about being across the country from them
Vicious if your around, can you tell us what brand/s your memory is/are?

 

FYI my ram is corsair 2gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145172

and 1gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145012

these are teh exact ones i bought from newegg.com

i recommend ordering from gentech and have them install the hardware...thats what alex did. and so far thats the most consistent thing i can find

 

Gentech's default brand (the type they give you if you leave the brand up to them) is Nanya.

 

Thats what I did but I didnt order OS so Im not sure if they test the components since there is no OS... Maybe Ken from gentech can give me some piece of mind?

 

I was wondering if anyone has tried the eSata port. I have an external Sata drive with USB and eSata connections. The USB port works fine but eSata is not recognized. Also is anyone having issues with Vista Ultimate constantly having explorer crashes on this laptop. As a side note as far as the reviews about the touch pad, I like it being a little less responsive. Normally I hate touch pads because they are so sensitive. It would always register double clicks when I was just dragging something.

 

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that before. I also didn't order the OS since I can get an educational version of Vista Business. I live in Canada so it will be a pain to ship it back if there are problems. *fingers crossed*

 

I havnent had any explorer crashes and believe me, what ive been doing in vista...if i was going to get one i would have gotten one by now. I have not tried the esata port as i dont have a esata external drive. later on tonight i can try it with a normal sata hard drive though...ill just have to power it with my desktop and run the cable to the laptop. REMIND me to do this later tonight

 

Mines the 2x2gb OCZ kit that was on sale at outpost.com not long ago.

I have one dim infront of me, but the ram chips dont have a label like "micron" or "nanya"

here are the codes off them tho:

X42S1288I-3

the P/N OCZ uses for the ram is

OCZ2MV6674GK

 

Heres what Ken sent me in PM:

Quote:
Originally Posted by swoley2k
What fixes does this bios include?

Hello,
The BIOS was uploaded for ViciousXUSMC.

V 502 fixed the incorrect RAM speed.

V 704 suppose fixed some memory compatibility issues but Asus R&D clock the memory speed back to 533 on V704 which I don't know why.

ViciousXUSMC has the OCZ, they are not the memory module maker so there is no way to tell which module you gonna get, also Asus didn't list some of the name brands such as Corsair and OCZ is they are not the actual chip maker like Nanya and Infinoen.

 

so... is 502 better performance wise or what?

 

Have to try for yourself I honestly got equal performance between all 3.

 

To anyone who has updated the bios (Alex, Vicious and Swoley I suppose) when you burn it to the cd and open up the cd there are only 3 files there right? A rom, an update.bat and a aflash2.exe. ?

 

i don't if this will be too possible since the battery life is such little but i used to have a problem with 2 laptop where when i took out the plug, automatically went to the bsod, even when reinstallign windows, same problem but i found my own solution

if i installed windows WITHOUT the ac adapter plugged in, it then never had a problem putting and pulling out the ac

might sound stupid, but worked on 2 laptops for me! rep me if it actually works

 

READ THIS PLEASE:

I was able to test the Asus FAQ listed Nanya memory today at work and it STILL locked up in overclock mode just like every other time I tried:

http://img391.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitledbj1.jpg

http://support.asus.com/faq/faq.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

 

No it wont work, my first hint that I had a power issue was when I was installing windows with no ac power actually..

The whole thing installed up untill the point where windows goes to start for the first time, and it would freeze, the same exact point it freezes now. The loading bar that comes up before the windows splash screen.

I just thought it was a bad windows install, it was not untill 2 days later I figured out it was the battery power.

 

swoley, do you know if this is a problem that everyone is having or could it be a defective unit?

 

I heard every unit was tested and now we have two possible lemons?

 

Im sure they did a check on the hardware for damages and stuff, but see no way for them to test each one in a windows enviroment and overclock it ect... that would take forever.

 

The only other person thats had it so far is Vicious. I have not read anywhere else where someone with the C90 has SPECIFICALLY said they didnt get lockups in GAMING mode. Ive looked arond but no one said it specifically if they were in gaming mode. I may have overlooked though so i suggest you look for yourself.

 

I should get a stick of ram that is verified to work with the c90s today so we can know for sure if its the ram causing my issues or just a bad unit.

That will give a good baseline for everybody else to follow aswell in weather units are actully defective or just very picky about the ram they play nice with.

 

great! another great test

 

so my laptop is coming today should i get the bios? if so which one?

 

If I were you I wouldnt upgrade the bios. I didnt even upgrade mine. First the 502 bios does report the memory correctly...but it really doesnt matter. Second, the 704 bios goes back to reporting it incorrectly. Dont take the chance. If you get your laptop and you can go into gaming overclock mode and run a game without it becoming unrespoinsive and locking up, then leave well enough alone.

 

okay thankss

 

well wait is it just not reporting the memory speed correctly or is actually running at a slower speed also?

big difference

 

no way to tell...if the bios misreports it it can cause any program in the os to misreport it too...but thats unlikely..im pretty sure it is acutally running slower. I was using cpu-z latest version 1.40.5 fyi

 

well wouldnt we want to use the 502 bios if, even you think its running the memory slower?

 

yeah but why would they make a 502 bios that fixes the problem then turn around and make a 704 bios that takes the fix away and not tell us about any OTHER improvements. in this case if it aint broke dont fix it applies. knowing that there have been problems with the notebook (mine) I recommend playing it safe

 

I have been checking the official site, but is there any official word on whats happening and how well it's doing overall?

 

Well guys I got a 1gb Sodimm from Ken today at Gentech that he knows works with the C90S. Low and behold looks like my problems are fixed.

I didn't get around to installing it untill just now when I got to work because I was so busy today. And unfortunatly I left my AC power cord at home so I cant run off power and test game mode. However this did force me to run the computer in battery mode, and I am glad to say it runs perfectly on battery now.

So it was indeed the ram causing my problem.

I also pretty much confirmed my theory on why it didnt work. Upon my first time booting into windows on battery I noticed the default power theme is power save mode. This mode underclocks the cpu/ram. So its a matter of my ram not running in that mode correctly I had come up with that theory just last night before I was able to see it was the truth.

Later today when I get home or tomarrow night at work I can do more extensive testing and make sure all the problems are solved.

I am running only 1gb of ram right now tho :/


So keep this in mind!

- The C90S is at this point in time VERY picky about ram, and having ram thats not compatible can cause alot of issues, so its best to probably get your ram from your asus dealer for now untill we have bios that fix the other more common ram ics on the market.