Motherboard ASRock X370 Gaming-ITX/ac and AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac

ZeroPucks

Caliper Novice
Nov 28, 2017
25
20
I previously had unlocked Intel chips I kept at stock and never bothered to overclock. But with this Ryzen build I was feeling adventurous, probably because I was no longer forced into the highest-end chipset; I could overclock with a 65 W TDP CPU on the "budget" motherboard. It scratches the same itch I had playing with a Raspberry Pi and squeezing as much gaming performance out of my old ThinkPad X200. I certainly don't need to overclock. My system handles everything I need to do with ease, and this is extra overkill on top of what I've already got. But unlike my Intel builds, I want to tinker around with this.

I said the ASRock UEFI was nothing special, but I might have to take that back. It's very easy to work with and allows me to set multipliers and voltages directly, no offsets or anything to deal with. And it will automatically round down when appropriate, such as automatically setting the CPU voltage to 1.2375 V when typing in 1.24. I didn't mess around with memory timings, but the option is there. Instant flash for BIOS updates is good and I noticed that it wouldn't even give me the option to flash 4.40 without having flashed 3.60 first, so some nice safeguards there. Also noticed that with 3.40, the option for instant flash is greyed out and says to disable fTPM if it is enabled. So far no problems with secure boot and working with Windows BitLocker.

After some testing I was able to get a mostly stable 3.7 GHz overclock at 1.25 V. Bumping up to 3.8 GHz required 1.29 V and I didn't like the extra wattage required for such a small difference; 3.7 GHz would peak around 92-95 W during stress testing, but 3.8 GHz would go to around 105-110 W at its highest. I don't plan on going any higher in the Zaber Sentry with a Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 cooler.


The motherboard seems to be all right handling the overclock. Whatever VRM heatsink issues were present in the first batches of the AB350 seem to have been fixed by the time I bought one. This came with UEFI 3.10 out of the box, and I'm still on 3.40 at this moment. As my CPU and RAM appear okay with these settings, I don't plan on updating any further unless I jump up to the Zen 2 processors in 2019.

Not bad for a newbie's first overclock? Stress testing with Prime 95 worked until about 1 hour into the blender test when it shut down. Cinebench I ran 3 times in a row without issues. 15 minutes of Asus ROG RealBench worked out fine, with highest temperatures around 77 C. Games run fine, no issues with crashes or anything. I'm not 100% on the stability, but I'm a little scared to push it any further! I'll have to see how it handles rendering in DaVinci Resolve.
 

stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
I will quote a post here by JohnM on the ASRock support forum, the problems outlined mirror my current issues exactly with X370 ITX, 2400G, BIOS 4.4 and Samsung 960 EVO M.2 NVME boot drive:



P4.40 isn't the definitive BIOS for the 2200G and 2400G though as it has a number of bugs, but it should work well enough to get you going. Some issues I've noticed include:

- Some NVMe devices are not recognised in the M.2 socket. It seems that Toshiba OCZ RD400 is recognised but Samsung 960 EVO is not.

- Storage devices do not show up in Advanced\Storage Configuration.

- CPU temperature is not detected in H/W Monitor. It shows as 127.5C permanently.

- Some voltage offsets don't "stick" in O.C. Tweaker.
 

stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
BETA BIOS 4.43 is now responding and downloading from the ASRock website ( download section for each motherboard.
Hopefully this will resolve the issues some users have been getting.
 

socen

What's an ITX?
Feb 25, 2018
1
0
Being that there is no DisplayPort or DVI port on this motherboard. How are people taking advantage of 144hz refresh rate monitors?

type-c to DP/DVI adapters?

Thanks

edit: I'm using Ryzen 5 2400G(no dGPU) and the only game I play is Counter-Strike which should have steady 200-300 fps on low settings.
 
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ZeroPucks

Caliper Novice
Nov 28, 2017
25
20
Updated to BIOS 4.40 on the B350 ITX, now Windows Task Manager and Cinebench R15 read my CPU at 3.20 GHz instead of 3.70 GHz. It still benchmarks the same as 3.70, and CPU-Z and HWiNFO64 still read it at 3700 MHz. Something funny must be going on with how the system reports to task manager and Cinebench.

Originally wanted to switch out the RAM for Team Dark Pro 3200 MHz CL14, but it wouldn't boot at all with BIOS 3.40 Got it to boot once with the Team Dark on BIOS 4.40, but lost it again when I tried to overclock. It took way too many times to get the CMOS jumper to reset the UEFI, even after I put my original Corsair RAM back in. Once I did, I noticed I could no longer overclock the Corsair at 3066, the highest I could go was 2666. Very disappointing.

I had enough with trying to get the Team Dark Pro to work, so I shipped it back for G.Skill Flare X 3200 MHz CL14. It pricey, but all told was only $12 USD more than the Team Dark Pro, so I figured might as well. It was a smooth installation, got it to boot on the first try and I hadn't even cleared the UEFI of my previous overclock. Overclocking to 3200 MHz on its XMP profile was easy and painless. Its height does conflict a little with the HDD holder in the Zaber Sentry, but there doesn't seem to be much pressure on the heat spreader or the bracket. I'm only using 1.35V for the RAM overclock so I can't comment on whether BIOS 4.40 is worse in that regard. Seems to be okay other than task manager and Cinebench not reading my CPU clock correctly.

Haven't decided if I'm going to downgrade back to 3.40, or stay on 4.40.
 

stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
Updated to BIOS 4.40 on the B350 ITX, now Windows Task Manager and Cinebench R15 read my CPU at 3.20 GHz instead of 3.70 GHz. It still benchmarks the same as 3.70, and CPU-Z and HWiNFO64 still read it at 3700 MHz. Something funny must be going on with how the system reports to task manager and Cinebench.

Originally wanted to switch out the RAM for Team Dark Pro 3200 MHz CL14, but it wouldn't boot at all with BIOS 3.40 Got it to boot once with the Team Dark on BIOS 4.40, but lost it again when I tried to overclock. It took way too many times to get the CMOS jumper to reset the UEFI, even after I put my original Corsair RAM back in. Once I did, I noticed I could no longer overclock the Corsair at 3066, the highest I could go was 2666. Very disappointing.

I had enough with trying to get the Team Dark Pro to work, so I shipped it back for G.Skill Flare X 3200 MHz CL14. It pricey, but all told was only $12 USD more than the Team Dark Pro, so I figured might as well. It was a smooth installation, got it to boot on the first try and I hadn't even cleared the UEFI of my previous overclock. Overclocking to 3200 MHz on its XMP profile was easy and painless. Its height does conflict a little with the HDD holder in the Zaber Sentry, but there doesn't seem to be much pressure on the heat spreader or the bracket. I'm only using 1.35V for the RAM overclock so I can't comment on whether BIOS 4.40 is worse in that regard. Seems to be okay other than task manager and Cinebench not reading my CPU clock correctly.

Haven't decided if I'm going to downgrade back to 3.40, or stay on 4.40.

A couple of things here concern me:
You mention downgrading back to 3.40 or staying on 4.40. Was this your update sequence? If so you did not follow the guidance given on the BIOS update page or on many posts. From 3.40 to get to 4.40 you must update to BIOS 3.60. This is a bridging BIOS and without this any higher BIOS will not be installed properly.
But, assuming you know all this and I just missed the info in your posts, firstly I apologise and secondly I would suggest reverting to BIOS 3.60. ( If you did not install 3.60 at any stage then you must install now)
Once you are on 3.60 then your needed update is not 4.40, which is flawed, but BETA BIOS 4.43.
This is absolutely necessary for the Raven Ridge APUs and could well be why your CPU is not reported as functioning correctly.
 

ZeroPucks

Caliper Novice
Nov 28, 2017
25
20
A couple of things here concern me:
You mention downgrading back to 3.40 or staying on 4.40. Was this your update sequence? If so you did not follow the guidance given on the BIOS update page or on many posts. From 3.40 to get to 4.40 you must update to BIOS 3.60. This is a bridging BIOS and without this any higher BIOS will not be installed properly.
But, assuming you know all this and I just missed the info in your posts, firstly I apologise and secondly I would suggest reverting to BIOS 3.60. ( If you did not install 3.60 at any stage then you must install now)
Once you are on 3.60 then your needed update is not 4.40, which is flawed, but BETA BIOS 4.43.
This is absolutely necessary for the Raven Ridge APUs and could well be why your CPU is not reported as functioning correctly.

No need to apologize, I appreciate you looking out for fellow users. To answer your question, I did upgrade from 3.40 to 3.60 first, then 3.60 to 4.40. As I mentioned before, BIOS 3.40 won't even let you update to 4.40 without having flashed 3.60 first, 4.40 will just not show up in the Instant Flash menu.

I am also using a Summit Ridge Ryzen 5 1600 so I didn't think the beta 4.43 was necessary. I can't say if it would have fixed the overclock reporting as I already downgraded to 3.60 and then 3.40.
 

stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
No need to apologize, I appreciate you looking out for fellow users. To answer your question, I did upgrade from 3.40 to 3.60 first, then 3.60 to 4.40. As I mentioned before, BIOS 3.40 won't even let you update to 4.40 without having flashed 3.60 first, 4.40 will just not show up in the Instant Flash menu.

I am also using a Summit Ridge Ryzen 5 1600 so I didn't think the beta 4.43 was necessary. I can't say if it would have fixed the overclock reporting as I already downgraded to 3.60 and then 3.40.

Thanks for the reponse, all you have done seems right to me, maybe it is down to RAM after all?
 

parlinone

Trash Compacter
Nov 3, 2017
54
19
My asrock AB350-ITX plus 2400G does not want to post...the power supply itself works, my old system also boots normally when connected but with the new build I have the following behaviour:
  • no video output whatsoever,
  • power seems unstable (power fades out every few seconds including power led, cpu fan and after a sec fades in again)
  • the optical drive gets no power (cant check the SSDs).
I tried another RAM stick (certified to work from the Asrock AB350 Raven Ridge compatability list).

Bios upgrade has been executed (they say). So the only thing left beyond not a proper bios upgrade or faulty components is the 4pin ATX12V connector.

Does anyone know about or experienced issues connecting and getting the 2400G/AB350 working with a 4pin ATX12V connector?
 

stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
The power fade in and out may be a clue. I had similar behaviour on the same set up, but seems I had not fully pressed home the 8 pin connector.......So maybe 4 pin is just not enough? Have you tried both sides of the 8 pin connector with the 4 pin?
 

parlinone

Trash Compacter
Nov 3, 2017
54
19
The power fade in and out may be a clue. I had similar behaviour on the same set up, but seems I had not fully pressed home the 8 pin connector.......So maybe 4 pin is just not enough? Have you tried both sides of the 8 pin connector with the 4 pin?

There is only one way to plug it in, but I will bring a regular PSU in from work on Monday and see if it behaves like it should with 6 or 8 pins.

I will be downclocking the CPU to below 45W so after the CPU is setup I shouldnt experience issues anymore. A second option is to use a 4pin to 8pin adapter which might improve power delivery as well.

But with similar behaviour you mean you also had no post and power fade in/fade out?
 
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jØrd

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sudocide.dev
SFFn Staff
Gold Supporter
LOSIAS
Jul 19, 2015
818
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Have you visually Inspected the board. I had essentially the same symptoms a few years bk, turned out it was a bad solder joint on the 24pin connector caused by excessive flexing of the board mating the 24pin a number of times. I guess potentially it could be a pin in the connector making bad contact (also something i've run into w/ crappy molex adapters).
 

parlinone

Trash Compacter
Nov 3, 2017
54
19
no i cant see anything wrong in that department...so i'm hoping its caused by insufficient power delivery to the ATX12V!
 

jaagdijot

Trash Compacter
Jan 29, 2018
52
10
Hi guys!

I am having a weird issue with the ASRock AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac. I am putting together a build with the new 2400G and I purchased a Noctua L9a to cool it.

For some reason after removing the backplate the holes of the cooler and mounting holes on the motherboard are not lining up.

I am not sure if I should exchange it? The noctua backplate hole spacing is completely different than the OEM backplate that I received on the ASRock board.

Thanks!

EDIT:

NVM! I just realized that I need to order the AM4 mounting kit. Lol
 
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