AMD ES ZS1406E2VJUG5 microcode version?

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yesoos

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Mar 10, 2020
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Hi, That's what I tried . Operation is completed successfully but the latest bios is still there . Weird...
 

ExecutableFix

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Nov 25, 2019
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Hi, That's what I tried . Operation is completed successfully but the latest bios is still there . Weird...
Oh that's unfortunate. The only thing left to try is to either get a retail cpu and flash the bios via the bios or get a bios flasher which can flash via the SPI header on the board
 

yesoos

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Mar 10, 2020
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Thanks. Maybe I can make the bios corrupt so it will initiate crashless 3 feature and flash from stick
 

yesoos

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Mar 10, 2020
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Oh that's unfortunate. The only thing left to try is to either get a retail cpu and flash the bios via the bios or get a bios flasher which can flash via the SPI header on the board
Hi, It seems they fixed BMC firmware (new version is available to download) , I flashed old BIOS 0302 (Seems it's there according to BMC info) but it still stays at post code D1 (As I said out-of-the-box it was working fine with bios 0302) , could they blacklist ESes? No clue for now , also can't check with retail CPU , maybe mobo is bricked hard.
 

ExecutableFix

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Nov 25, 2019
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Hi, It seems they fixed BMC firmware (new version is available to download) , I flashed old BIOS 0302 (Seems it's there according to BMC info) but it still stays at post code D1 (As I said out-of-the-box it was working fine with bios 0302) , could they blacklist ESes? No clue for now , also can't check with retail CPU , maybe mobo is bricked hard.
I don't think it's flashing the bios correctly. I had that issue as well
 

EdwardTwiss

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Nov 16, 2016
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Not sure if it will help you guys but I just flashed a KNPA-U16 across to get support for the Z ROME ES processors and it is working well. I stopped at version 0302 based on the previous messages in this thread.
There is a bridge bios with PDF instructions here:
Why can't I boot normally with ROME series CPU? | Official Support | ASUS Switzerland
Haven't been able to find the exact same thing for KRPA-U16 motherboards yet but someone on here may be able to work out how to do similar for that model.

I don't think it's flashing the bios correctly. I had that issue as well
 

EdwardTwiss

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Nov 16, 2016
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Oh yeah, you need a Naples Epyc processor to complete the procedure.
I bought a cheap one off Ebay and it worked fine. Probably best to do the same if you can't boot your Rome CPUs.

Not sure if it will help you guys but I just flashed a KNPA-U16 across to get support for the Z ROME ES processors and it is working well. I stopped at version 0302 based on the previous messages in this thread.
There is a bridge bios with PDF instructions here:
Why can't I boot normally with ROME series CPU? | Official Support | ASUS Switzerland
Haven't been able to find the exact same thing for KRPA-U16 motherboards yet but someone on here may be able to work out how to do similar for that model.
 
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efschu3

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Mar 11, 2019
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Not sure if it will help you guys but I just flashed a KNPA-U16 across to get support for the Z ROME ES processors and it is working well. I stopped at version 0302 based on the previous messages in this thread.
There is a bridge bios with PDF instructions here:
Why can't I boot normally with ROME series CPU? | Official Support | ASUS Switzerland
Haven't been able to find the exact same thing for KRPA-U16 motherboards yet but someone on here may be able to work out how to do similar for that model.
Do you have the 0302 UEFI File around? Cant find it in the downloadpage.
 

EdwardTwiss

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Gabber

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Jun 19, 2020
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Good morning everybody, I would like to ask to @ExecutableFix and @yesoos if they fix the Asus KRPA bios problem?

I'm in a similar situation, I have:

- AMD ES ZS1406E2VJUG5
- 8 x 32GB Samsung M393A4K40DB3-CWE (3200MHz) or 1 x Kingston KSM32RD8/16MEI (3200MHz)
- ASUS KRPA-U16 shipped with 0501 bios


I try to flash the 0302 bios via ipmi (with /bios_update in maintenance tab) and it shows correct completition, but if i check again it show up the 0501 version again.
Then I bought a OEM cpu (AMD Epyc 7262) and the system boot fine (also windows works) so I decide to flash the 0302 bios via AZ Flasher and it looks there.
Now the real strange thing: Bios info shows 0302 version, AZ Flasher shows 0302 version, ipmi shows 0501 and I get D1 post error with the ES cpu; the oem one works great.

I'm looking for a solution because i'm becoming crazy!! Was someone of you able to resolve this bios problem? Can you please explain me how to resolve it?

thank you a lot and sorry for my english!
 

ExecutableFix

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Nov 25, 2019
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Good morning everybody, I would like to ask to @ExecutableFix and @yesoos if they fix the Asus KRPA bios problem?

I'm in a similar situation, I have:

- AMD ES ZS1406E2VJUG5
- 8 x 32GB Samsung M393A4K40DB3-CWE (3200MHz) or 1 x Kingston KSM32RD8/16MEI (3200MHz)
- ASUS KRPA-U16 shipped with 0501 bios


I try to flash the 0302 bios via ipmi (with /bios_update in maintenance tab) and it shows correct completition, but if i check again it show up the 0501 version again.
Then I bought a OEM cpu (AMD Epyc 7262) and the system boot fine (also windows works) so I decide to flash the 0302 bios via AZ Flasher and it looks there.
Now the real strange thing: Bios info shows 0302 version, AZ Flasher shows 0302 version, ipmi shows 0501 and I get D1 post error with the ES cpu; the oem one works great.

I'm looking for a solution because i'm becoming crazy!! Was someone of you able to resolve this bios problem? Can you please explain me how to resolve it?

thank you a lot and sorry for my english!
Goodmorning! I've also experienced a lot of weird stuff with the KRPA and the only way I was able to properly get a bios flash was via the SPI header. The D1 post code indicates that it's still using the 0501 bios. I know @EdwardTwiss was able to get it to work by flashing via the bios with a retail cpu, so that might be your best bet if you don't own a flasher
 

Gabber

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Jun 19, 2020
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Goodmorning! I've also experienced a lot of weird stuff with the KRPA and the only way I was able to properly get a bios flash was via the SPI header. The D1 post code indicates that it's still using the 0501 bios. I know @EdwardTwiss was able to get it to work by flashing via the bios with a retail cpu, so that might be your best bet if you don't own a flasher
I have some flashers (stuff for Arduino, and motorcycle's ECU) but i have never flashed a motherboard's bios.
Can you please tell me the flasher i need to use and the exact (and detail please) procedure?
I saw a bios dump in the other thread and @Brainbug spoke about a CH341, is the CH340 good too?
Thank you

EDIT: @EdwardTwiss use an oem NAPLES to update the bios of a KNPA in order to make it working with the ROME.
It is a procedure design by Asus and they release a zip archive with all necessary stuff. This is another case unfortunatly.
 
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ExecutableFix

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Nov 25, 2019
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I have some flashers (stuff for Arduino, and motorcycle's ECU) but i have never flashed a motherboard's bios.
Can you please tell me the flasher i need to use and the exact (and detail please) procedure?
I saw a bios dump in the other thread and @Brainbug spoke about a CH341, is the CH340 good too?
Thank you
I would recommend the elmor evc because of the included SPI cables that you'll need
 

Gabber

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Jun 19, 2020
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I would recommend the elmor evc because of the included SPI cables that you'll need
Thanks man, at the end I did some homeworks, studied around the web and I figure out that I could flash my bios chip with a Raspberry Pi.
So I backuped my eeprom and then flash it with the dump file provided by @yesoos (I should give you a beer;)) with my Pi 3 and flashrom(dot)org software.

Now my ZS epyc finally works!!
 
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setuid0

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Mar 24, 2018
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Hello all here at STH! I have been a lurker here for awhile, this is one of my favorite websites for computer/server info. I don't know anybody here on the forums, but I'm hoping some of you guys can help me out.

I am looking to build an AMD EPYC (home) server. I have NOT bought anything yet; I'm planning it all out first. I want to use the 64c/128t ROME EPYC. I actually need this many cores and I don't care about the low frequency (actually that makes it more power efficient.) This is what I want to build, I am 100% sure of that. I cannot afford retail EPYC 7702p; so I plan to build using the AMD ES "ZS1406E2VJUG5" CPU. Exactly that model number CPU.

I need your help deciding on a MoBo to buy. My requirements are simple: it must fit EPYC (SP3 socket), have at least 8 DIMM slots (for all 8 channels) and it must work with "ZS1406E2VJUG5" CPU! It absolutely must work with this CPU because I'm going to buy that CPU and it needs to work. I'm fine with flashing the BIOS if needed, but I would prefer to have a known working BIOS file ready to flash before I buy the MoBo. I couldn't care less about PCIe lanes or 10GbE internet (NIC.) I would prefer a smaller NIC (as it uses less power) I don't have 10GbE at my home anyways. I doubt I'll use any PCIe lanes. This is for CPU compute. The CPU and the RAM are the heart for me; that and a MoBo that works with ZS1406E2VJUG5 CPU.

I was originally planning on buying a Supermicro H11DSi (Rev 2) MoBo. The extra socket could be useful if I ever get the funds to expand. But after all I've read, it sounds like Supermicro BIOS is hit or miss with the ZS1406E2VJUG5 CPU I'm going to buy. I cannot afford hit or miss. I need this to work.

So I am now thinking about buying an Asus KRPA-U16 MoBo. That is KRPA-U16 (not KNPA-U16) as I cannot find any KNPA-U16 boards on eBay.

@Gabber you got your KRPA-U16 MoBo working with ZS1406E2VJUG5 (or close enough 64 core ES?) As I understand it the 64 core and 32 core are different. I understand the Rome and Naples difference. I want Rome for 7nm power efficiency.

Do the PDF instructions and BIOS zip posted by @EdwardTwiss for the KNPA-U16 board work just the same with the KRPA-U16 board? I really would prefer not to need to buy a Naples CPU because I'm stretching my budget as it is. I'm trying to stay under $2000 with this build if possible. Can I flash the BIOS without a Naples retail CPU? It looks like Gabber was able to do this with an rPi. Do you have that BIOS image from @yesoos ?

Maybe @ExecutableFix could help me? @nero243 had a "detailed guide" that (for some unknown reason) was removed!? A guide for H11 Supermicro board... I'm still open to buying that board if I can get a known working BIOS and some assurance.

The eBay seller of the ZS1406E2VJUG5 CPU just says: "Tested working on Supermicro Motherboard H11DSi, H11SSL-i. Need early BIOS version with Agesa version older before 1.0.0.3."

I couldn't find anything about AGESA for those supermicro boards, granted I started looking at Asus KRPA-U16 boards when I read Gabber's post that he got his working.

I would very much appreciate any help from anyone. I probably won't buy into this build if I cannot be sure that it will work with the EPYC ES CPU, I cannot afford to take that kind of risk.

Thanks!
 

bayleyw

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Jan 8, 2014
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The Supermicro boards work great with the BIOS from @ExecutableFix. However I'd caution against building a *server* with the ROME ES'es:

1) It's unclear how broken the ES ROMEs are. The 1S stepping is basically completely dead, there are no known BIOSes to turn them on. The 2S runs, but the V/F curve is significantly worse than the ZS, which in turn is significantly worse than the retail stepping parts. My ZS is usable, but even in regular Windows workstation duty it is a bit flakey; I'd say it's about as stable as the EVGA SR-2's I had back in the early 2010's. Things get dicey if you are running a hypervisor with passthrough, the most common bugs on ES CPUs are found in the virtualization subsystems.

2) The ZS CPUs have crap performance @stock, the power limit is set too low. Unfortunately, that doesn't actually bring total power consumption down - the caches, fabric, and I/O still have to run and that chunk of power is unrelated to core clocks. You end up with 2/3 the power consumption of a good CPU but only 1/2 the performance.

3) Speaking of power, my H11SSL idles really high, a basic system with a modern GPU sitting on the Windows desktop is around 140W. Compare that to the 60W a consumer platform pulls at idle. It may not matter if you are always under load, but once again, 64c EPYC has a sweet spot around 250W per socket - too little and all your power goes into the uncore, too much and you fall off the efficiency curve.

It's easy enough to get the chip to run in the H11SSL if you want (unfortunately the ES CPUs have a quirk where a single socket will not boot on a dual-socket board), but if you are building a virtualization server or are targeting low power consumption you may have a bad time. That being said I can guess a couple of applications where you need 64 physical cores even if they are slow (latency-sensitive? deterministic operation? scaling tests?) so whether the chip is right for your application is in the end up to you.
 
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Gabber

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Jun 19, 2020
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Hello all here at STH! I have been a lurker here for awhile, this is one of my favorite websites for computer/server info. I don't know anybody here on the forums, but I'm hoping some of you guys can help me out.

I am looking to build an AMD EPYC (home) server. I have NOT bought anything yet; I'm planning it all out first. I want to use the 64c/128t ROME EPYC. I actually need this many cores and I don't care about the low frequency (actually that makes it more power efficient.) This is what I want to build, I am 100% sure of that. I cannot afford retail EPYC 7702p; so I plan to build using the AMD ES "ZS1406E2VJUG5" CPU. Exactly that model number CPU.

I need your help deciding on a MoBo to buy. My requirements are simple: it must fit EPYC (SP3 socket), have at least 8 DIMM slots (for all 8 channels) and it must work with "ZS1406E2VJUG5" CPU! It absolutely must work with this CPU because I'm going to buy that CPU and it needs to work. I'm fine with flashing the BIOS if needed, but I would prefer to have a known working BIOS file ready to flash before I buy the MoBo. I couldn't care less about PCIe lanes or 10GbE internet (NIC.) I would prefer a smaller NIC (as it uses less power) I don't have 10GbE at my home anyways. I doubt I'll use any PCIe lanes. This is for CPU compute. The CPU and the RAM are the heart for me; that and a MoBo that works with ZS1406E2VJUG5 CPU.

I was originally planning on buying a Supermicro H11DSi (Rev 2) MoBo. The extra socket could be useful if I ever get the funds to expand. But after all I've read, it sounds like Supermicro BIOS is hit or miss with the ZS1406E2VJUG5 CPU I'm going to buy. I cannot afford hit or miss. I need this to work.

So I am now thinking about buying an Asus KRPA-U16 MoBo. That is KRPA-U16 (not KNPA-U16) as I cannot find any KNPA-U16 boards on eBay.

@Gabber you got your KRPA-U16 MoBo working with ZS1406E2VJUG5 (or close enough 64 core ES?) As I understand it the 64 core and 32 core are different. I understand the Rome and Naples difference. I want Rome for 7nm power efficiency.

Do the PDF instructions and BIOS zip posted by @EdwardTwiss for the KNPA-U16 board work just the same with the KRPA-U16 board? I really would prefer not to need to buy a Naples CPU because I'm stretching my budget as it is. I'm trying to stay under $2000 with this build if possible. Can I flash the BIOS without a Naples retail CPU? It looks like Gabber was able to do this with an rPi. Do you have that BIOS image from @yesoos ?

Maybe @ExecutableFix could help me? @nero243 had a "detailed guide" that (for some unknown reason) was removed!? A guide for H11 Supermicro board... I'm still open to buying that board if I can get a known working BIOS and some assurance.

The eBay seller of the ZS1406E2VJUG5 CPU just says: "Tested working on Supermicro Motherboard H11DSi, H11SSL-i. Need early BIOS version with Agesa version older before 1.0.0.3."

I couldn't find anything about AGESA for those supermicro boards, granted I started looking at Asus KRPA-U16 boards when I read Gabber's post that he got his working.

I would very much appreciate any help from anyone. I probably won't buy into this build if I cannot be sure that it will work with the EPYC ES CPU, I cannot afford to take that kind of risk.

Thanks!
Hi @setuid0 , I have a working AMD ES ZS1406E2VJUG5 on a KRPA-U16 motherbord. I'm pretty happy with that, the only sore point is the power mosfet heatsink.

!!!!! ATTENTION !!!!!

It works only with a 0302 bios (or earlier), the motherboard you will buy probably has a newer version. So you need to downgrade the bios, but Asus does not let you flash an older bios. The only working method is to flash it via an external flasher.
The full eeprom dump file is this:
Hi, Here is full dump in case you erased entire flash
KRPA-U16.7z
Please read ALL messages in this thread:

Flashing ASUS KRPA bios
 

yesoos

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Mar 10, 2020
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Please note that there is some kind of bug during IPMI bios updating on ASUS KRPA when you have ES epyc installed (checked on ZS1406E2VJUG5 and ZS1407 ) that at the end it bricks motherboard and the only option recover is to flash chip with 3rd party programmer. Flashing through IPMI is working fine with retail CPU. For Supermicro H11SSL motherboards this problem do not exist and downgrading works perfect trough IPMI (just downgraded from 2.1 bios to 2.0a to boot ZS ES cpu)