Some creative thoughts would be nice with an oddly fading Asus Maximus VI Formula.
Some creative thoughts would be nice with an oddly fading Asus Maximus VI Formula.
Hello everyone, here’s a fairly detailed update for you all. I’m facing some challenges with my Maximus VI setup and am trying to figure things out. Someone here might have useful tips that could guide me toward a resolution. Sharing the steps I went through might also help others dealing with similar problems. Plus, explaining my process could spark a lively discussion.
I originally purchased this board in 2013 with a 4770K, later upgraded to a 4790K which ran smoothly at around 4.8Ghz without any issues. It’s been a reliable machine over the years. About a year ago, I noticed it would shut down unexpectedly—either powering off during use or waking up from sleep mode. The beeping was annoying, especially at 3 AM.
At first, I suspected the power supply unit (PSU) was the culprit. I checked my CoolerMaster GX750 PSU, which I’d initially trusted but later replaced with a Corsair after it ran out of stock. After a few years, I upgraded to a better model and even swapped it out for a Corsair HX750i. That brought back stability.
Recently, about a month ago, I decided it was time for an upgrade—new case, motherboard, CPU, and more. It still works well for my workflow, but now I’m dealing with random on/off behavior. I’ve heard it could be linked to a failing CMOS battery. After taking the board apart, I found the battery was indeed flat. Replacing it fixed everything.
However, about two weeks ago, for some reason, the machine started acting up again. It kept shutting down or rebooting unpredictably. I tried swapping the CMOS battery daily, which helped temporarily. The issue persisted, so I’m still trying to pinpoint the cause.
It seems there might be voltage instability somewhere—possibly due to a failing capacitor or an unstable microcontroller. The machine boots when powered on but crashes after a short period, as if someone had turned it off. Without the CMOS battery, it boots but then powers down abruptly. I’m not sure what’s wrong, but I suspect a power fluctuation is at play.
I have basic electronics knowledge, and I’ve got tools like multimeters and soldering gear, but diagnosing this feels tricky. The board images showed strange activity when focusing on the battery area, suggesting something might be leaking or damaged. I’m running out of ideas and would really appreciate any suggestions or insights from fellow enthusiasts.
I hope someone can help me get this working smoothly again before it becomes too costly to repair. Thanks for your patience and support!
There are diodes close to the CMOS battery that prevent rapid discharge, but you might file a claim with an AMP meter to verify
I own that board and the extreme. The formula never caused a problem, but I suspect the armor might assist with it. However, the extreme triggered random errors—cod3 would consistently return a single “0”. It turned out even minor adjustments to the board could cause issues. The case seemed slightly warped or the table quality was poor, possibly contributing to the instability. Finding the right setting took a long time. The only consistent problem was when the formula board became unstable at 4.8 volts if I didn’t use the proper voltage, something I sometimes overlooked.
The diode is meant to stop reverse current from reaching the battery. If a device downstream draws too much power, the diode stays inactive and lets the discharge proceed normally. Since my multimeter isn’t precise enough for milliamp readings, I didn’t measure closely, but the fact that batteries lose charge quickly suggests a strong drain—something a current check would confirm.
Thanks for your feedback. The setup looks solid. I’ll attempt to place the board on my desk without any mounts, just to see how it holds. Bye!
The board I own that keeps draining the CMOS battery is my Abit AN7 with the guru chip. Even when unplugged, the battery stays under constant load from that chipset. The guru chip lets users interact with the system through the operating system, meaning it's integrated into the BIOS in some way. There’s no known solution to stop the battery drain; the guru chip seems to be active all the time. It’s unclear how this relates to your setup. Since the CMOS stays powered to retain settings, a problem might lie with the BIOS chip itself. This could mean something is waking it from sleep—like the network card, keyboard, or simply the BIOS deciding to activate the board. I’m not sure how to fix it. Maybe a BIOS reflash would help, or swapping out the BIOS chip to see if that resolves the issue.