AsusTek Support Fiasco

The first thing I needed to do to get my M2N-E to support the new chip was to upgrade the BIOS, this was a FIASCO mainly due to AsusTeK support not being properly trained (Don't get me wrong, the Level 2 and 3 guys are awesome, but the level 1 guys are just.. not) 

I talked to them about upgrading my BIOS and getting a flash utility, but the L1 tech was unable to assist, I got on with a L2 (By chance) and he was very informative, and we ended up talking for a long while. In the end I basically had to throw the new BIOS on a thumb drive, tell the BIOS to upgrade from the thumb drive and that's it!

After I upgraded the BIOS, and the system doesn't boot because (I believe) it loads the old configuration data and the new BIOS tries to read the data in resulting in some kind of corruption.

After a bit of googling I realize the only chance I have is to take out the battery from the motherboard and see if it'll boot. Sure enough it does (WHEW!) and then I put in the RAM (Which was running at 533MHz, more on this later) and then pull the battery again, then insert the CPU and then clear the BIOS again (by way of the battery pull trick) and finally it came online.

Next I installed Windows Vista 64 (Note to self, do NOT use the debug build from MSDN) this resulted in BSODs while installing the nVidia drivers, then I found out the RAM I bought was 2.1V and the board only supports 1.95, so I swapped the RAM out with proper (cheap) Kingston 1.8V RAM (Now at 8gb) and installed it in the system, finally the machine BSODed again over and over with an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL_TO, so I did some testing and am now running with 3 of the 4 banks and when installed the final stick of RAM, and causes all kinds of oddness.

I have MemTest86, I will need to run it for further diagnostic.

Here are some excerpts of the discussion I had with AsusTeK (L1 = Level 1 Support, L2 = Level 3 Support)

Me> Which ram will run at 1066MHz and does this RAM require 1.9 or 1.95V?
L1> what we suggest for memory is to goto a memory manufacturer of your choosing and run there [Sic] memory configurator on that board and they will list all memory that will work with that
Me> Is there someone else there that's more versed with voltage and such?
L1> no sir
L1> the voltage is really unimportant unless ur [Sic] trying to oc 

Me> What is the maximum voltage of a memory stick in the M2N-E?
L1> whatever is supported, if a memory stick thats supported runs at 3volts then it3 [SiC] volts
Me> which won't run in this board

L1> this bnoard [SiC] supports ddr2 800/667/533 mhz memory max 8gb\ 1066 is not supported
Me> WHY IS IT IN THE BIOS?!
L1> thank you and have a good day

The support agent disconnects chat because job well done right? I reconnect to the support chat hoping to get someone else, but as luck would have it, the same agent. I left the chat immediatly again, and rejoined hoping to get someone else, but I think they only have 1 person working chat.

L1> yes thats because amd is a sub par cpu system
Me> So a brand new black edition Phenom that's on your supported list is sub par?
L1> to intel it is, because of its many limitations, im sorry but intel does not have these limitations
Me> so can you upgrade me to an Intel box and an Intel CPU then?
L1> yes
Me> how do I get Asus to give me a new Intel motherboard and CPU?
L1> well goto a reseller and pick the board u want take it to the register and pay for it
Me> I asked you "How do I get Asus to give me a new Intel motherboard and CPU" not "how do I pay for my own upgrade because you can't answer a simple question"
L1> We will not give you one. Yopu [SiC] will have to purchase one

Fiesty support guy, but this is becoming annoying...

Me> exactly, so, what is the maximum voltage that this BOARD can supply?
L1> 1.9 sir thats whats in the bios correct
Me> omg
L1> since we do not have those settings only the memory manufacturewr [SiC] does we cant because we know our motherboard but we do not know the memory because we dont produce it
L1> i have answered all of your questions
Me> no you've deflected all my questions
L1> so if your having memory issues you will need to contact memory manufacturer

L1> if you want to get me fired its up to u but if i was there your computer would be running correctly because iw [SiC] would know what to do but i can only instruct you on what to do and if you do not want to listen its up to youi [SiC]
Me> No, its up to you to know the specs of your own board not use the customer as a guinea pig for your learning
L1> i do know and your memory will run 800 mhz memory
Me> you don't even know what voltage this board can supply, is it 1.9? 1.95? 2.0? 2.1? You have no idea and your telling me to look in the BIOS because you don't know
L1> what is the maximum the biuos [SiC] will let you change it to sir you have already said it was 1.9 Me> I know it will run 1.9, I haven't tried it at 1.9, but there are reports of it running at 1.95 as an option in the bios but I need to know what the stable voltage is, it could very well be stable at 2V, hell it might work at 2.1V but I need ASUS's recommendation on the proper voltage for the memory and the recommended timing but, as you clearly stated, overclocking is not supported, then, what is the default voltage? What voltage is considered "not overclocking" ? Anything the BIOS supports? because the BIOS supports overclocking and the memory vendors can easily use the overclocked values, BECAUSE IT WORKS and this puts me in an unsupported state with ASUS, way to pass the buck!
Me> it's like I'm asking a car vendor what kind of gas to run, and your telling me to call the gas manufacturer to see what kind of gas this car runs with
L1> yes
Me> which is STUPID
Me> the car manual clearly states what kind of octane to run

Me> so how do I make this board supply 2.1V
L1> if you need to change settings please call them

L1> yes sir and i am going to send this to my supervisor
Me> please do he can have a good laugh and probably fire you
L1> are there any more insults for metoday [SiC]
Me> how much time do you have?

L1> sir i can guarantee you if i had built your pc you would have no issues
Me> yea because it wouldn't turn on or the ram would be running at 100MHz so if by "no issues" you mean "not usable" then YES, if only I had your "expertise"
L1> thank youand [SiC] have a good day

I go in for a fourth bout, and I finally get an L2

Me> basically what I need to know is the maximum voltage the M2N-E can support
L2> 1.95 is the maximum. It is a limitation of the chipset on that motherboard.
Me> This L1 character said that I have to talk to the memory vendor
L2> He is a L1 tech. I am L2.