[QUOTE=pegnose;423639]I doubt that Skylake would run very well under XP.[/QUOTE]

Define "very well". Very fast, or very stable?

Also please note that there are many Linux distributions which pre-date Win7 which could be brought into this testing.

[QUOTE=chalsall;423643]Define "very well". Very fast, or very stable?

Also please note that there are many Linux distributions which pre-date Win7 which could be brought into this testing.[/QUOTE]

Of curse, you are right. And well, it might be stable. But probably more due to the fact, that many drivers are missing and so some compatibility modes will be auto-set by the OS. So that would not be very diagnostic of my current situation, I am afraid.

Unless, of course, you plan on migrating to an ancient OS for good - which I am not. Because, e.g., I want to use my 2GB/s read performance PCIe 4x SSD, my superior gaming performance, etc. Which is why I bought this who thing in the first place.


EDIT: Have you ever wondered whether there is auto-correction software running in forum software? I am making more and more "typing" mistakes. "course" -> "curse" (could be Freudian, though), "whole" -> "who". Usually I am typing rather well.

[QUOTE=pegnose;423699]Unless, of course, you plan on migrating to an ancient OS for good - which I am not. Because, e.g., I want to use my 2GB/s read performance PCIe 4x SSD, my superior gaming performance, etc. Which is why I bought this who thing in the first place.[/QUOTE]

A modern Linux distribution (e.g. Ubuntu, Fedora et al for the consumer grade, Red Hat, CentOS et al for commercial grade) should let you get full performance from the hardware, even your graphics card(s) using the proprietary drivers.

If you _have_ to run Micro$oft software, run a virtual machine such as Oracle's VirtualBox.

But such set-ups tend not to work terribly well for hardcore "gamers", where every FPS matters. I personally don't ever play video games, so this wouldn't be a concern for me.

But if you really want to get to the bottom of this issue you and s1riker are having, trying a completely different OS would be well worth the effort, IMHO.

[QUOTE=chalsall;423775]A modern Linux distribution (e.g. Ubuntu, Fedora et al for the consumer grade, Red Hat, CentOS et al for commercial grade) should let you get full performance from the hardware, even your graphics card(s) using the proprietary drivers.

If you _have_ to run Micro$oft software, run a virtual machine such as Oracle's VirtualBox.

But such set-ups tend not to work terribly well for hardcore "gamers", where every FPS matters. I personally don't ever play video games, so this wouldn't be a concern for me.

But if you really want to get to the bottom of this issue you and s1riker are having, trying a completely different OS would be well worth the effort, IMHO.[/QUOTE]

From what I read, Linux and gaming performance is only possible with NVidia, and this means like 80-90% of what you can achieve under Windows. Gaming performance with AMD under Linux is simply not good (so far).

I also have read that various virtualization solutions are on the verge of getting direct access to the GPU, which means that they won't have any major restrictions on 3D graphics for much longer. This sounds very promising to me!

Yes, a different OS might be a final resort. However, you would have to know exactly *what is different*, if you want to learn anything of it.

[QUOTE=pegnose;423784]Yes, a different OS might be a final resort. However, you would have to know exactly *what is different*, if you want to learn anything of it.[/QUOTE]

Yes. But...

Iff you find that things are perfectly stable under a modern Linux, while unstable under a modern Windows (with all the associated hardware drivers engaged (edit: for clarity, all the hardware drivers for both OSs)), then it does at least suggest that it's the software, rather than the hardware, which is the issue.

Edit: It is /really/ easy to set up a "dual-boot" / "multi-boot" system, which lets you choose which (of many) OSs you want to run from and on a single primary boot drive. The advantage of this is you can try many different software configurations without changing any hardware.

[QUOTE=chalsall;423794]Yes. But...

Iff you find that things are perfectly stable under a modern Linux, while unstable under a modern Windows (with all the associated hardware drivers engaged (edit: for clarity, all the hardware drivers for both OSs)), then it does at least suggest that it's the software, rather than the hardware, which is the issue.[/QUOTE]

Currently, there are no Linux drivers out for the ASUS M. VIII Hero. I wonder if any Z170 related ones are.

[QUOTE=chalsall;423794]Edit: It is /really/ easy to set up a "dual-boot" / "multi-boot" system, which lets you choose which (of many) OSs you want to run from and on a single primary boot drive. The advantage of this is you can try many different software configurations without changing any hardware.[/QUOTE]

True. Did it for Ubuntu and CentOS.

[QUOTE=pegnose;423802]Currently, there are no Linux drivers out for the ASUS M. VIII Hero. I wonder if any Z170 related ones are.[/QUOTE]

Hmmm... Interesting...

I did some research on the boards you're talking about.

I, personally, would never run any "kit" which was not fully enabled for Linux, no matter how cool it looked. And further, proven to be able to run 24/7/365 at full load.

Perhaps in the "gaming" world "have you tried turning it off and on again" is acceptable....

[QUOTE=chalsall;423818]
I, personally, would never run any "kit" which was not fully enabled for Linux, no matter how cool it looked.[/QUOTE]

But it does, you have to give me that! :)

[QUOTE=chalsall;423818]And further, proven to be able to run 24/7/365 at full load.

Perhaps in the "gaming" world "have you tried turning it off and on again" is acceptable....[/QUOTE]

a) Well, the platform is new. So, 24/7/356 is a bit tricky here. And
b) The good thing is: I am not responsible for it being realible for other people.

At work I have a different standard, just like you.

Microcode Update 6Ah seems to have fixed the issue
 

Asus bios 1602 (microcode update 6Ah) for Z170-A fixed the 768k FFT issue. After 12 hours of work no error appeared. Before this bios patch, errors appeared at least after 2 hours of execution.
I noticed better system stability.

FYI ver 0x74 dated 5-Jan-2016 is the latest and has been available for a while now.

@Madpoo, @chalsall

Most humbly I wanted to inform you that I just ordered another PSU. Quite reliably I had hard locks after the raid array had rebuilt. And I observed drive startup issues during post as well. It's worth a try.