Gigabyte DS3 3.3 thread

[redrol]

A couple days ago I got a DS3 which turned out to be a version 3.3. About 3 months ago I purchased a version 1 DS3 and a 6300 and overclocked to 3.2ghz no problem.

The new DS3 3.3 is *much* different than the version 1. For one thing it has 6 phase power regulation vs (this is from memory) 3 for the version 1 DS3. Huge difference there. The 3.3 is marketed as being QUAD core compatible all over the box so I figure that is where the extra 3 regulators come from.

The larger problem with version 3.3 is overclocking. Basically settings that worked for version 1 don't work the same on 3.3

Things I have noticed:

1. Vdroop, 3.3 has vdroop more like the ASUS p5b (deluxe), so if I set 1.375v in bios, cpu-z reports ~1.33v. DS3 version 1 had no perceptable vdroop.

2. PCI 1x issue (just like ASUS p5b). You have to set the northbridge up a voltage notch to get PCI 16x.

3. Overall bios wierdness. All kinds of wierd :banana::banana::banana::banana: including non boots, half boots, double boots. Thing is once you are booted, it will stay up as long as you have the power on.

4. Power savings/sleep/resume. So far I have not gotten reliable S3 sleep working when overclocked. This sucks and is annoying. I use Vista though, which is different than when I had the version 1 I used XP. Bottom line is that so far it isn't working well.

5. Possible RAM destroyer. This is not different than version 1 but no :banana::banana::banana::banana:, both of these boards killed one of two Corsair XMS Twin2x 5,5,5,18 1.9v DDR2 800. I am not a pussy though, it could easily be that Corsair has had some bad batches of this RAM. Either way the replacements work %100 and overclocked quite a lot.

6. Northbridge heat sink is different. I don't have a picture but it is roughly the same size but has more fins. Either way the northbridge on the DS3 runs HOT. Definitely add a fan if you can.

7. Limited to bios f10. Version 3.3 simply has no other bioses available. I feel that a lot of these issues can and will be taken care of with a couple BIOS updates, still its annoying that after all the work done on version 1, 3.3 seems like a completely new board.

8. I am able to overclock at least as well as the version 1 board. It just takes more screwing around in the BIOS. Bottom line is once you are booted, this board is ROCK stable.


Feel free to add your observations. I feel the DS3 3.3 is a great board and it is different enough to warrant its own thread.:banana: :clap:

[jacky89]

I was playing around with my v3.3 board and realized that it is much slower if overclocking in bios compared to overclocking within windows. I spent the entire freaking day testing this and am certain that if I set the fsb to stock in bios and boot up to windows and o/c using Setfsb or Easytune5, I get way higher benchmarks. I use Everest Ultimate edition for benchmarking. It is a very nifty utility. Also I noticed Oblivion plays a bit smoother when I overclock within Windows eventhough the fsb is the same.

[joking]

My v3.3 using F10 running 2.8ghz stable at vcore 1.4, anything lower will become unstable, i.e: reboot after run orthos over an hour. Under full load vcore shows 1.36 in cpuz. I've tried all the combination but still can get it run stable at 400 fsb with vcore < 1.4

I've tried oc at 430 fsb but it gives me BSOD even at 1.5 vcore so I back down to 400 fsb. Still trying to find way to get it stable with less than 1.4 vcore.

[ahmad]

2. PCI 1x issue (just like ASUS p5b). You have to set the northbridge up a voltage notch to get PCI 16x.

How did you determine that?


3. Overall bios wierdness. All kinds of wierd :banana::banana::banana::banana: including non boots, half boots, double boots. Thing is once you are booted, it will stay up as long as you have the power on.

4. Power savings/sleep/resume. So far I have not gotten reliable S3 sleep working when overclocked. This sucks and is annoying. I use Vista though, which is different than when I had the version 1 I used XP. Bottom line is that so far it isn't working well.

This is related to cold boot issues. I have them at 438 fsb.

[crspyjohn]

All the issues he has listed I had problems with my ds3. My ram died when I used the 3.3 for a week. PCI-E didn't work as 16x has to do +1 mch. Also noticed vdroop. Boot issues. perfer my 1

im selling my baord once it gets back from RMA. replacing with a better asus i think.

[Daveb2012]

mine is getting RMA'd also, I'm debating on selling it or not. It also killed a good set of memory at stock volts with a powerfully 120mm fan blowing over them at all times.

[redrol]

ouch fellas, bad Gigabyte!

[[XC]thewildblue]

I have problems with the ram voltage locking out in the BIOS after I adjust it to say +0.2, the BIOS just greys it out and I have to reset the BIOS or change with easytune. I couldnt get the board to boot with my x800xt, yet my 1600xt works fine. I wonder if thats becuase of the pcix 1 issue mentioned above. I will test that at some stage I think.

[Daveb2012]

thewildblue;2093200']I have problems with the ram voltage locking out in the BIOS after I adjust it to say +0.2, the BIOS just greys it out and I have to reset the BIOS or change with easytune. I couldnt get the board to boot with my x800xt, yet my 1600xt works fine. I wonder if thats becuase of the pcix 1 issue mentioned above. I will test that at some stage I think.

what type of memory are you using? on a pair of patriot ep sticks I could go as high as I wanted with voltage. But I tried a single stick by PNY during an RMA and I couldn't even use +1 voltage with out it crashing then not posting until a bios reset.

[ahmad]

thewildblue;2093200']I have problems with the ram voltage locking out in the BIOS after I adjust it to say +0.2, the BIOS just greys it out and I have to reset the BIOS or change with easytune. I couldnt get the board to boot with my x800xt, yet my 1600xt works fine. I wonder if thats becuase of the pcix 1 issue mentioned above. I will test that at some stage I think.

If you OC the FSB you might need to move PCI-E freq. upto 105MHz+. It should be fine at least until 110MHz.

I have to run it at 103Mhz+ or sometimes my x1900 won't go (computer boots, but no video). But it ALWAYS works when I up PCI-E freq.

[crspyjohn]

Anyone esle facing this issue?

[Death^Dread]

Mine only has weird boot issues with a bad OC. Hasn't killed my memory. The NB runs cool as frick once you put any kind of half-arse fan on it. i have a tiny low rpm fan taped to it and it's cool to the touch.

I wouldn't trust CPU-z voltage readings. It would be nice, however, if someone could provide a location to measure the vcore (readies multimeter) and possibly even a vdroop mod.
If the CPU-z voltage is right, then I could hit 3.05 GHz with about 1.28 vcore hehehe, and my current OC still isn't at stock vcore (CPU-z reports 1.3625v set in BIOS as 1.312v, but again, I'm not sure how much I trust that).

[crspyjohn]

How long have you had the board? My video card and ram died a week after i got the board.

[l393ndz]

Wuz up guys ^^... First of all, i hope im not thread jacking (& if i am, i apologize) I've looked @ a lot of threads & this 1 seemed appropriate ^^. Well, i got my ds3 rev 3.3 a few days ago & just recently mess wid it. To my dismay, my rig DID NOT BOOT. It runs 2-3 seconds & stops.. then repeats the same cycle again. Been doing all the research i can & only thing i can come up wid is my ram. - GSKILL DDR2 800 (same one newegg is selling for 129.99). Hope you mobo experts can help out.
Rest of my system specs- SEASONIC 600W (pulled from my older s939 rig), Turtle beach soundcard, evga 7600gt, & xp 90 heatsink w/ s775 adpater.

[CpuMan]

Wuz up guys ^^... First of all, i hope im not thread jacking (& if i am, i apologize) I've looked @ a lot of threads & this 1 seemed appropriate ^^. Well, i got my ds3 rev 3.3 a few days ago & just recently mess wid it. To my dismay, my rig DID NOT BOOT. It runs 2-3 seconds & stops.. then repeats the same cycle again. Been doing all the research i can & only thing i can come up wid is my ram. - GSKILL DDR2 800 (same one newegg is selling for 129.99). Hope you mobo experts can help out.
Rest of my system specs- SEASONIC 600W (pulled from my older s939 rig), Turtle beach soundcard, evga 7600gt, & xp 90 heatsink w/ s775 adpater.

I have almost the exact same setup as you have, although you did not say what cpu you are using. I do have the exact same board and ram as you, and have had no problems at all with G.skill on the ds3.

If you can, try and test the memory on another system just to be sure you did not get a bad stick. Also try reseting the cpu in the motherboard socket just encase one of the pins is not seated correctly to the cpu. Other then that you can double check all your cables and wiring.

Hope you find the problem.

[trans am]

ANyone with a p5b dlx and a ds3 3.3? how do they compare?

[crspyjohn]

op are you still using your ds3? Do you recommend using my when the rma comes?

[l393ndz]

I have almost the exact same setup as you have, although you did not say what cpu you are using. I do have the exact same board and ram as you, and have had no problems at all with G.skill on the ds3.

If you can, try and test the memory on another system just to be sure you did not get a bad stick. Also try reseting the cpu in the motherboard socket just encase one of the pins is not seated correctly to the cpu. Other then that you can double check all your cables and wiring.

Hope you find the problem.


welps, thx for the reply but i've already tried numerious things. I.E. reseating cpu ( e4300 btw ^^), double checking ALL POWER CONNECTORS are securely in place, trying out 1 stick over the other in ALL RAM SLOTS, booting w/o ram, booting w/ only ram + cpu + vid card..... I've even called CLUBIT tech support... no help either :(. I cant test out my sticks either cuz my current system is a s939 which uses DDR 1, not DDR2. So, ive decided to rma this board by tomorrow. Gawd, im so :mad: . This is my 1st Gigabyte in years & bloody hell, i get crap. I've not decided yet wether to get a replacement or rather an Asus board w/in the same price range. I'd appreciate more advice pls ^^.

OH yeah, forgot to mention but, I tried the 1333 mod wid my cpu... & it didnt seem to work... or rather, i didnt know if it even worked cuz my board didnt even boot. So, i dont know if i shorted sumptin or wut but i did take off the defogger repair fluid off & seated in the cpu back, & well, the board still didnt boot. The 1st time this crap happened, i check my board carefully for any burn marks, including smelling for anything burnt but found nothing. Pls help !!:( :(

[Death^Dread]

the symptoms you describe sound like what happens when I try to boot with a bad OC.

P.S. Can anyone find info on where to measure vcore on the DS3 rev 3.3 and anything about a vdroop mod?

[l393ndz]

the symptoms you describe sound like what happens when I try to boot with a bad OC.

lol.... ANY solutions tho? Just simply stating that its a "BAD OC" w/o posting any possible fixes is like telling me, "YOU'RE SO FUXORED like what happened to me.. TOO BAD :p: " Anyways, wether or not my prob is indeed a bad oc seems irrelevant cuz even after i removed the WINDOW DEFOGGER SOLUTION off my e4300 processor (attempted 1333 strap mod) & put back my cpu, my board still doesn't post. Again... I've tried numerous 'fixes' & to no avail is my board any better than it was before i got the problem. Pls. more HELPFUL advice w/ DETAILS would be greatly appreciated. ^^
BTW, for any1 curious... i did check for any burnt components after my board refused to post when i initially tried to boot w/ my e4300 (1333 strap modded) & found nothing burnt

[redrol]

op are you still using your ds3? Do you recommend using my when the rma comes?

So far Im enjoying the ds3 3.3. I am 99.9% stable at 3100mhz and 433mhz FSB. The .1% remaining is s3 sleep. Its hard to complain about that however I got a crappy 6600. The DS3 3.3 itself isnt bad at all.

[badhabit]

I have a Rev 1 DS3 with an E6400 and now a Rev 3.3 DS3 with an E6300, but surprisingly I'm having more troubles with the 3.3 board. The most it wants to do is 433 FSB (at 1.4v, which I blame on my chip), after which it becomes very unstable and unresponsive to vcore and MCH increases. Even 1.5v+ vcore and +0.3v MCH don't help it stabilize at 450, and toying around with things like PCI-E frequency and voltage or FSB voltage haven't helped at all. Shooting for 500 FSB failed even worse, requiring me to clear the CMOS using the jumper.

The RAM (2x512 Ballistix Tracer) has no problem running at 1066 MHz on 2.2v, so I know the issue isn't memory related. Aside from the settings I listed, anyone who's worked with this board knows even the "extended" BIOS settings are pretty limited. Either I have a CPU that refuses to pass 3.03 GHz with as much as 1.55v (I refuse to believe that) or this board has only gotten screwier since its first version. Just waiting on Infinity P965 to hold me over until P35, I guess.

[sparkY1000]

I have a DS3 v3.3 board and its perfect! No funny reboots, no RAM killing its completely stable :)
I havent played with any other conroe boards so I cant compare it to anything but in my opinion its a cracking little board for the money!
Vdroop would be my only concern but after attempting the Vdroop mod on my version 1 board and killing it I dont fancy attacking this one with a soldering iron just yet lol!

[joking]

Wuz up guys ^^... First of all, i hope im not thread jacking (& if i am, i apologize) I've looked @ a lot of threads & this 1 seemed appropriate ^^. Well, i got my ds3 rev 3.3 a few days ago & just recently mess wid it. To my dismay, my rig DID NOT BOOT. It runs 2-3 seconds & stops.. then repeats the same cycle again. Been doing all the research i can & only thing i can come up wid is my ram. - GSKILL DDR2 800 (same one newegg is selling for 129.99). Hope you mobo experts can help out.
Rest of my system specs- SEASONIC 600W (pulled from my older s939 rig), Turtle beach soundcard, evga 7600gt, & xp 90 heatsink w/ s775 adpater.


Here is what I did before I rma when my ds3 rev3.3 died, you can try it if you want to

_ Remove the power and use the jumper to clear the cmos for 10 mins.

If it doesn't fix then you can try this weird solution, well for me.

_ Only remove the heatsink and cpu, leave all other hardware connect (hdd, video card, ram, dvd/cd drive, etc). Connect the power and boot up wait until you hear the beeps or 5 seconds. Turn off and remove the power wait 5 mins. Install cpu and hs back and see if your computer boot up.

Hope this help.

[Donnie27]

welps, thx for the reply but i've already tried numerious things. I.E. reseating cpu ( e4300 btw ^^), double checking ALL POWER CONNECTORS are securely in place, trying out 1 stick over the other in ALL RAM SLOTS, booting w/o ram, booting w/ only ram + cpu + vid card..... I've even called CLUBIT tech support... no help either :(. I cant test out my sticks either cuz my current system is a s939 which uses DDR 1, not DDR2. So, ive decided to rma this board by tomorrow. Gawd, im so :mad: . This is my 1st Gigabyte in years & bloody hell, i get crap. I've not decided yet wether to get a replacement or rather an Asus board w/in the same price range. I'd appreciate more advice pls ^^.

OH yeah, forgot to mention but, I tried the 1333 mod wid my cpu... & it didnt seem to work... or rather, i didnt know if it even worked cuz my board didnt even boot. So, i dont know if i shorted sumptin or wut but i did take off the defogger repair fluid off & seated in the cpu back, & well, the board still didnt boot. The 1st time this crap happened, i check my board carefully for any burn marks, including smelling for anything burnt but found nothing. Pls help !!:( :(

Have you tried using just one stick of Cheaper lower voltage RAM? I had to do this to get mine running. You install the cheap RAN, get into the BIOS, increase the voltage, save, shut down and then reinstall your current RAM. The default voltage for the RAM is 1.8v, most RAM needs more than that. My first set of GSKill was a joke:(

Clearing the CMOS shouldn't take more than 12 seconds.

[Plester]

Like ALL boards from ALL manufacturers, there are a handful that go out the door that shouldn't. The DS3 series of boards are excellent and I will bet money that the percentage of issues with them is no higher than any other. These boards were early to market and adopted by a huge number of DIYers, so there is a large number of them out there. While I haven't used as many Conroe boards as some around here , I have used the BadAxe, P5W-DH, DS3, and S3, the DS3 rev. 3.3 is a very nice high fsb board.

[redrol]

I have a Rev 1 DS3 with an E6400 and now a Rev 3.3 DS3 with an E6300, but surprisingly I'm having more troubles with the 3.3 board. The most it wants to do is 433 FSB (at 1.4v, which I blame on my chip), after which it becomes very unstable and unresponsive to vcore and MCH increases. Even 1.5v+ vcore and +0.3v MCH don't help it stabilize at 450, and toying around with things like PCI-E frequency and voltage or FSB voltage haven't helped at all. Shooting for 500 FSB failed even worse, requiring me to clear the CMOS using the jumper.

The RAM (2x512 Ballistix Tracer) has no problem running at 1066 MHz on 2.2v, so I know the issue isn't memory related. Aside from the settings I listed, anyone who's worked with this board knows even the "extended" BIOS settings are pretty limited. Either I have a CPU that refuses to pass 3.03 GHz with as much as 1.55v (I refuse to believe that) or this board has only gotten screwier since its first version. Just waiting on Infinity P965 to hold me over until P35, I guess.


This is verrrry interesting. I have a 6600 that ive been trying to overclock and its been hard. I can do 3010mhz almost no problem at 430*7, needs about 1.38v as set in bios (maybe not great but not horrible). But above about 3050 it requires tons of voltage to the point where at 3150 it requires 1.5v to orthos for an hour. No amount of screwing around has gotten me better results leading to me thining my CPU is probably not a good overclocker... but I am certainly open to the ds3 3.3 being glitchy.
:nono:

[oshox]

I am planning to buy a Gigabyte DS3 along with the E6420 when it becomes available. I've heard great things about the board, and how it is capable of very high FSB speeds. Since this new revision has been released, should I reconsider that choice? Maybe the 650i or tge 680i LT?

[Death^Dread]

Does anyone know what the power rating for the fan headers on the DS3 motherboard are? I am particularly interested in the rated amperage.


My DS3 has brought me nothing but joy, with the possible exception of vdroop, but that's not a significant problem. Just up the voltage a bit. Everything worked fine from the start, and it hit 510 FSB without extra voltage except to the CPU and memory.

P.S. still wondering about where to measure actual Vcore ;)

[ALeUNe]

It is indeed buggy. Gigabyte acknowledge this issue.

I wrote an email to Gigabyte and here's the reply and updated bios.

http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/detailEmail.asp?EmailID=458260&EmailPreviousID=458260&LanguageID=1

[Spawne32]

It is indeed buggy. Gigabyte acknowledge this issue.

I wrote an email to Gigabyte and here's the reply and updated bios.

http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/detailEmail.asp?EmailID=458260&EmailPreviousID=458260&LanguageID=1

well i would assume that they are working on the problem since they said do not try overclocking at this moment they must be planning something on how to fix the problem, my ds3 revision 3.3 has been in the box for now, until i finish buying the rest of the parts for the new build, but im hoping that it works well when its all said and done.

[redrol]

It is indeed buggy. Gigabyte acknowledge this issue.

I wrote an email to Gigabyte and here's the reply and updated bios.

http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/detailEmail.asp?EmailID=458260&EmailPreviousID=458260&LanguageID=1

awesome! I will have to try this and report back:banana:

[zbomb5610]

I currently have my ds3 rev 3.3 running at 522 fsb.

nb is +.3
fsb +.3
Vcore is 1.55 in bios, but more like 1.53 when windows is running.
memory is +.4 (running at 1044 - d9gct)
pci-e is +.1 (locked at 100)

I have my nb heatsink replaced with a hr-05 with a 80mm fan strapped to it.
Scythe infinity over the cpu (e6300), both heatsinks slightly touch but that isn't a big deal.

Only time i ever run into a problem with the ds3 3.3 is when i have settings that are unstable. Sometimes i get the problem with it turning on for a few seconds and then rebooting right away and it does that over and over until the bios is reset and then it will boot up with the stock bios settings.

But i have been stable at over 10 hours with the above settings at 522 fsb, processor at 3.65. As long as my settings are stable, the ds3 gives me zero problems.

I love the board so far, but i wish i could up the nb voltage a little more, i have seen the threads for modding the ds3 of older revisions with vdroop/vmch/vdimm, but the 3.3 board is slightly different in layout so you can't just do the same exact thing as you would for those boards since the correct areas to either solder or pen in need to be found.

I am running the f10 bios, mine came with f9.

[joking]

It is indeed buggy. Gigabyte acknowledge this issue.

I wrote an email to Gigabyte and here's the reply and updated bios.

http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/detailEmail.asp?EmailID=458260&EmailPreviousID=458260&LanguageID=1

Thanks for the info. Couldn't wait to see how the new bios work out.

[trans am]

well i would assume that they are working on the problem since they said do not try overclocking at this moment

The Gigabyte rep means don't overclock during the bios flash because he doesn't want you to get a bad flash.

[nicepun]

I guess I'll wait a little bit longer before switching to this mobo.

[Spawne32]

The Gigabyte rep means don't overclock during the bios flash because he doesn't want you to get a bad flash.

oh ok :rolleyes: i read that at like 1am so... :p:

[CpuMan]

Anybody test the f11 bios yet? It is not listed on Gigabyte's site.

[zbomb5610]

Anybody test the f11 bios yet? It is not listed on Gigabyte's site.

I am running the 11a bios right now, and all my settings are the same as they were with the f10 (see my post above for bios settings).

so i don't really notice much of a difference b/t the two bios versions, but i also wasn't having any problems with the f10.

[redrol]

So far 450mhz is working finally with the 11a bios. I am not sure if my chip is clocking better (so far 1.45v for 3150mhz).

[edit] and failed at 2hrs 15mins. Arrg, this CPU is a piece of junk. Also s3 suspend is not fixed at 400mhz fsb and greater.

[CrimInalA]

What's different in the F11 beta bios ? I don't see a changelog anywhere .

[cursivearmy1]

any volt mods for this thing ?

[ALeUNe]

I have tested the F11a bios (I think this is alpha bios).
It doesn't solve the cold boot issue.

[ALeUNe]

Sometimes i get the problem with it turning on for a few seconds and then rebooting right away and it does that over and over until the bios is reset and then it will boot up with the stock bios settings.

This is cold boot issue.

[trans am]

I currently have my ds3 rev 3.3 running at 522 fsb.

nb is +.3
fsb +.3
Vcore is 1.55 in bios, but more like 1.53 when windows is running.
memory is +.4 (running at 1044 - d9gct)
pci-e is +.1 (locked at 100)


i have the F10 bios and am totally new to this board. I'm used to p5b dlx bios settings.

I disabled a bunch of settings such as:

C1E
Tm2
CPU EIST
Virtualization

CiA2

the part I am confused about is the DDR2 OverVoltage Control options.

what the hell is 0.1V? or 0.7v? where exactly does the mem voltage begin? 1.8v? I'm using the bios that was shipped with my board (f10).

Any tips on this overclocking the DS3 3.3?
Does anyone want to make a similar thread to the P5B dlx bios settings thread? Maybe its time. A lot of people have this board.

[nicepun]

i
the part I am confused about is the DDR2 OverVoltage Control options.

what the hell is 0.1V? or 0.7v? where exactly does the mem voltage begin? 1.8v? I'm using the bios that was shipped with my board (f10).



Basically you add to the default vdimm (1.8v) so 0.1v would give you 1.9vdimm and 0.7v would give 2.5vdimm. I'm still deciding weather I want to use this mobo, I'm actually leaning towards keeping my setup as of right now.

[ahmad]

ooo I didn't see this F11a bios. Time to go test.

EDIT: This should fix the cold boot issue. The booting program has been completely reworked in the F11a...

EDIT#2: Yup. Can cold boot at higher FSB now :)

[soodent]

Yes this DS3 series is a joke.Upgraded from rev 1.0 to rev 3.3 and even the zero overclock i managed on rev 1.0 was lost.Could get 8x416mhz stable e6600 with rev 1.0 and now max is 8x400.All other components remained the same.Some people report 500+mhz with those mobos and its beyond me.E4300 that ran stable at Asus with 375mhz bus was max 345mhz stable @ rev 3.3
Great memory D9GCT that does 920mhz cl4-4-4 goes wasted.

[swaaye]

Being really sick of pulling out my 8800 every time this board decides now to boot on PCIe when ocing, I thought that maybe there was some setting I overlooked in my troubleshooting. I came across that setting that tells the board to try PCI first before PCIe. Changed that to PEG (PCIe graphics) instead. I think that has made my board a little happier.

It doesn't hurt anything cuz if you need to go PCI it will still look there when it finds no PCIe card.

[DAK1640]

Well I have had the Rev 2.0 Mobo for 4 months now without a single problem whatsoever. E6400 running 425 FSB...at 1.425Vcore. Perhaps the Rev 2.0 is the one to get? I am using Super Talent Ram, Scythe Infinity, F10 BIOS and Seagate Raid. It runs WCG 7x24 along with Dimes...

[swaaye]

If you're referring to my issues, I think it comes down more to your vid card and your CPU. Some E4300s don't like high FSB and NV cards seem to frequently dislike POSTing in this mobo when you're overclocking.

[swaaye]

Ok, yeah setting the bios to boot to PEG video instead of PCI is much more reliable. POSTing issues are much reduced with my 8800 now. Heck, I'm sitting here running orthos at a 367 FSB which I don't think I could've managed before at all. Sadly tho this E4300 still refuses to do 400+ even with a lower multi.

Funky thing is the E4300 will hardly POST at all with a 7X multi. 8X is ok (below 370 or so). Basically 8X and 9X are equally reliable, but 7X won't go.

DS3 is a funky quirky board. Most quirky I've ever dealt with. This sucker is more finnicky than 486 and K6 era crap. :)

Oh, and has anyone else noticed how bad the board scores for RAM latency in Everest Ultimate? I'm below all of the C2Ds right now. If I run 920 MHz RAM 4-5-4-15 Turbo I can get close to the top C2D in there. It's crazy! I've also used a P2B and it scores much better than my best (and it does it with 833 MHz RAM 5-5-5!!!)

Ooh, and a little info tidbit: Turning off EIST will get you a little better latency. I leave the other power options on tho as they don't seem to hurt anything.

[ahmad]

Heh thats funny. I always set init video boot to PEG with every bios reset. Just a habit I got into.

[Spawne32]

does anyone mind explaining to me how to flash this board, i keep running the flash untility and the bios does not change :confused:

[redrol]

does anyone mind explaining to me how to flash this board, i keep running the flash untility and the bios does not change :confused:

put the bios on a memory stick, reboot and go into the bios and there is a utility for updating it built in

I hit 466mhz FSB @ 2800mhz on my DS3 3.3 with my crap 6600. Not too bad.

[little_scrapper]

My DS3 rev 3.3 and E4300 wont post on any FSB over 370. Regardless of multi. Is this a common issue?:slapass: One time I got it to post at 9x350 but I didnt do any stability testing. And it doesnt like a 7x CPU multi at any FSB it seems??!?!?!?

I have the DS3 obviously
E4300 & Ninja 1100P 27Idle/48Load
Sapphire X1950XT
2x1GB Patriot Extreme DDr800 4-4-4-12
SoundBlaster audigy2
1x WD1600AAJS OS and programs
1X Seagate 80GB 7200.7 Backup and paging
DVD RW CD R/W
S12 600W

I hear people running this memory at DDR1000 but the highest I have been able to hit at any settings it like DDR833-850. Very Disspaointed.

[swaaye]

I am at 344 FSB with my E4300. I can get it up to 356 but the RAM latencies have to take a dive. I think this is some sort of FSB strap issue with the E4300s, honestly. It's like the hole that most people get between 350 and 400, but I can't do anything above 350 really at all. 400+ will not boot period.

[redrol]

I take it those 4300's can't drop multiplier at all?

[little_scrapper]

yes, the E4300 CAN drop down to 6x but it doesnt make any differance for me. I have not even one single time been able to get the board to post at over 370fsb even with 6x multi. It run orthos and memtest stable all day at 9x333 = 2.997Ghz and DDR8ss 4-4-4-12. But it wont post at 6xanything over 370. Tried 5-10Mhz increments all the way to 475fsb with at least 2 different multipliers at every step... no boot over 375

[swaaye]

yes, the E4300 CAN drop down to 6x but it doesnt make any differance for me. I have not even one single time been able to get the board to post at over 370fsb even with 6x multi. It run orthos and memtest stable all day at 9x333 = 2.997Ghz and DDR8ss 4-4-4-12. But it wont post at 6xanything over 370. Tried 5-10Mhz increments all the way to 475fsb with at least 2 different multipliers at every step... no boot over 375

That is exactly what I'm seeing too.

I can do 6X, 8X, and 9X multis. 7X doesn't seem to work. But, even with a low multi, I still can't do >~370 FSB. I wonder if the chipset strap isn't being set properly for the E4300?

The most stable and fastest FSB I've found is 345 MHz. This lets me put my RAM on the 2.66x multi and run 4-5-4-15 Turbo. If I run even 346 MHz FSB, the RAM won't do that anymore. The machine won't boot unless I drop Turbo back to Normal. It's all so very odd and I'm convinced there are a lot of behind-the-scenes settings being altered in the chipset.

But most annoying is how I just can't seem to get my board to best the RAM latency of the C2D's in Everest Ultimate even with the RAM at DDR918 and 4-5-4-15 Turbo. Like I said earlier, I also have access to a P2B and saw it outperform those same machines with DDR800 @ 5-5-5. Very strange stuff.

[redrol]

That is exactly what I'm seeing too.

I can do 6X, 8X, and 9X multis. 7X doesn't seem to work. But, even with a low multi, I still can't do >~370 FSB.

The most stable and fastest FSB I've found is 345 MHz. This lets me put my RAM on the 2.66x multi and run 4-5-4-15 Turbo. If I run even 346 MHz FSB, the RAM won't do that anymore. The machine won't boot unless I drop Turbo back to Normal. It's all so very odd and I'm convinced there are a lot of behind-the-scenes settings being altered in the chipset.

But most annoying is how I just can't seem to get my board to best the RAM latency of the C2D's in Everest Ultimate even with the RAM at DDR918 and 4-5-4-15 Turbo. Like I said earlier, I also have access to a P2B and saw it outperform those same machines with DDR800 @ 5-5-5. Very strange stuff.


You guys should try bios 11a because with 10 I had FSB holes where it would not boot. Now those are gone with 11a.

[little_scrapper]

I have, and may try F11a, I also noticed that even if I leave my FSB low and use a higher muntiplier for the memory it wont boot.

I have Patriot Extreme 2x1GB DDR800 4-4-4-12 and everyone else with it says it will hit DDR900 without even flinching and some will do DDR1000 at like 5-5-5-18. But mine, or at least on this motherboard, I cannot get the computer to boot if I raise the memory over DDR833(hightest it goes)

[ahmad]

I have, and may try F11a, I also noticed that even if I leave my FSB low and use a higher muntiplier for the memory it wont boot.

I have Patriot Extreme 2x1GB DDR800 4-4-4-12 and everyone else with it says it will hit DDR900 without even flinching and some will do DDR1000 at like 5-5-5-18. But mine, or at least on this motherboard, I cannot get the computer to boot if I raise the memory over DDR833(hightest it goes)


You better be raising mem voltage. Probably promos which should do 900 easy.

[TEDY]

GA-965P-DS3P (rev. 3.3) / GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 3.3)
difference?

[Stalk3r]

GA-965P-DS3P (rev. 3.3) / GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 3.3)
difference?

DS3P is more like DS4 than DS3, check the specs and pictures from Gigabyte's website to find exact differences.

[TEDY]

thanks there's comparision sheet also very handy....

[crspyjohn]

I believe one supports crossfire and the other dosn't

[jacky89]

Ok, yeah setting the bios to boot to PEG video instead of PCI is much more reliable. POSTing issues are much reduced with my 8800 now. Heck, I'm sitting here running orthos at a 367 FSB which I don't think I could've managed before at all. Sadly tho this E4300 still refuses to do 400+ even with a lower multi.

Funky thing is the E4300 will hardly POST at all with a 7X multi. 8X is ok (below 370 or so). Basically 8X and 9X are equally reliable, but 7X won't go.

DS3 is a funky quirky board. Most quirky I've ever dealt with. This sucker is more finnicky than 486 and K6 era crap. :)

Oh, and has anyone else noticed how bad the board scores for RAM latency in Everest Ultimate? I'm below all of the C2Ds right now. If I run 920 MHz RAM 4-5-4-15 Turbo I can get close to the top C2D in there. It's crazy! I've also used a P2B and it scores much better than my best (and it does it with 833 MHz RAM 5-5-5!!!)

Ooh, and a little info tidbit: Turning off EIST will get you a little better latency. I leave the other power options on tho as they don't seem to hurt anything.

That is so true. My cheap ECS motherboard that came with the Fry's combo deal is around 20% faster than when running the same cpu, ram, and clock speeds on the DS3. I was totally confused and spent two days playing with ram settings but found out that it is this damn board causing the slow ram latencies.

[little_scrapper]

You better be raising mem voltage. Probably promos which should do 900 easy.

I am running the memory at 833 @ 2.1V 4-4-4-12 Memtest boot CD stable all day and night. If I bump the memory V setting to +.4 it jumps to 2.3V read from speedfan. I have tried +.5 but nothing made any difference. And yes Im sure they are Promos or Elpedia chips and not D9's. No way Newegg is selling 2x1GB stix of DDR800 w/ D9's for $150. They used to be D9's then after all the reviews came out and Patriot got all the free press they were gonna get they switched chips. :slapass: This seems to be a common occurance. I hear Corsair is doing this all over the place as well. Another :slapass:

Ohhh yea, I loaded the F11a BIOS and it made no difference at all. I see no improvement in any OC or memory settings. I cannot find a change list for the F11a bios by I suppose it just added support for the newer chips that are coming out.

BTW can anyone get over 370FSB with a E4300? I think I will start a new thread asking this question.

[ahmad]

This 11a is only for boot issues. Everything else looks the same.

[G.Foyle]

Finally I got stable overclock with my DS3! I bought the board to replace my ASUS P5N32-E while it's in RMA (second time in a row!) and I have tried to get a stable oc for a week now... i could do 9x346 = 3204 MHz, my previous dail overclock, but it was not stable, and after rebooting mobo switched back to stock settings; PCI-E bus kept chngig to x1 in CPU-Z and memory timings were weirdest I have ever seen (Cas 6 and couldn't be changed).

And now I have followed The Path Of Voltage, and gave +0.1 to NB, +0.1 to PCI-E, upped PCI-E freq to 105MHz, bumped vcore to 1.400 (1.375 previously on P5N32-E) and lo! it works! without a glitch.
Now for something more than 3.2 ;)

But I must say the boards layout is terrible. It is shorter than regular ATX board; only 2 rows of holes can be used. In my case (Enermax Chakra) I have one hole that I can use on 3rd row. CLRTC jumper and battery are right under my graphic card; socket is closer to upper edge of board than most, so Ultra-120 (and perhaps Scythe infinity too) is bigger than the mobo and barely fits, very close to PSU.

Regards

[jacky89]

It takes me 1.52volts vcore and +0.1 volt Northbridge to get to 9x357 on my E4300 w/ a DS3. I did not change the PCI-E frequency. I am running it on a TT Big Typhoon with a high speed Scythe Fan. What is the Path of Voltage that you are referring to? What is your max o/c so far?

[G.Foyle]

The Mystical Path Of Voltage is a joke. It's about bumping the voltages till you get results ;)

I had little time to find out highest overclock, will do that tomorrow maybe.
At the moment I am at 9x370 with same settings as above, tried 400x9 once but it went into rebooting loop and after 5 reboots switched to stock.
I was referring to The Path Of Voltage because on 680i there was the Path of Undervolting: you had to undervolt your ram slightly to get better clocks.

[jacky89]

Which version of the bios are you using and what revision board? I'm using the Revision 3 with F11a. The F11a fixed the looping boot issue so I don't have to pull out my video card to clear the bios everytime there's a boot problem. You should try it too if you arent already using F11a.

Also what week cpu do you have? Mine is a Week 41a oem from Frys. You have a pretty damn good cpu if you can do 370mhz fsb with only 1.4 volts. Mine won't even run with 1.55 volts at the frequency.

[redrol]

Bios F11b beta is out http://www.station-drivers.com/page/gigabyte/ga-965p-ds3.htm

[jacky89]

Bios F11b beta is out http://www.station-drivers.com/page/gigabyte/ga-965p-ds3.htm

Wow, I wonder what they changed in this version. The link list changes for F10a and F11 together.

[anakha]

Babelfish translated notes for the new DS3 bios

1. Enhance FSB frequency flexibility
2. Fixed degrees for Allendale CPUen
3. Micron D9 1000 MHz 4-4-4-12 2.2V
4. Micron D9 1100 MHz 5-5-5-15 2.3V
5. Micron D9 1200 MHz 5-8-8-20 2.35V
6. Fixed cold weather starting
7. Fixed Vdrop in C1E function
8. New feature ' High speed DRAM DLL Setting '
9. Intel&#174; HPET support
10. FSB 1333 MHz support (car starting from Rev.3.3)
11. JMicron ROM update
12. BIOS profile storage possible
13. Q-Flash now with USB stick possible

The option to save BIOS profiles looks handy among others.

[jacky89]

That sounds like what was added in F10 not F11.

[anakha]

My apologies, you are correct on that. Going by posts on forum links already mentioned in this thread it appears the f11b beta may address the PCI-e x16 slot reverting to x1 when the system is overclocked.

[redrol]

My apologies, you are correct on that. Going by posts on forum links already mentioned in this thread it appears the f11b beta may address the PCI-e x16 slot reverting to x1 when the system is overclocked.

I wish they would fix the cold boot problems and also the resume from s3 suspend wiping overclocking settings.:mad:

[jacky89]

I tried F11b. It is useless in terms of overclocking the E4300. I reverted back to F11a, which actually seemed a bit more stable

[ahmad]

Heh funny you should say that because I was just about to say that it seems to be more stable for me (f11b). I can boot with an even higher FSB now. I have only one regret over the f10 and that is I could get out of any situation (except for one) from a failed OC at POST. Now I have to remove the battery if I forget to set PCI-E freq.

But so far so good.. I also got a higher OC with way less volts set in the BIOS. Previously I needed 1.49 in the BIOS to be stable at 438x7. Now running 444x7 in windows at 1.4500v and vdrop seems to be reduced a bit.

I have a feeling that the official f11/f12 bios will be amazing for this board.

[zbomb5610]

Heh funny you should say that because I was just about to say that it seems to be more stable for me (f11b). I can boot with an even higher FSB now. I have only one regret over the f10 and that is I could get out of any situation (except for one) from a failed OC at POST. Now I have to remove the battery if I forget to set PCI-E freq.

But so far so good.. I also got a higher OC with way less volts set in the BIOS. Previously I needed 1.49 in the BIOS to be stable at 438x7. Now running 444x7 in windows at 1.4500v and vdrop seems to be reduced a bit.

I have a feeling that the official f11/f12 bios will be amazing for this board.

I needed 1.49 in bios to be stable at 505 x 7 (3.535 ghz), so i just flashed to f11b from f11a, and i turned down the vcore one notch to the high 1.48's, so just started orthos, gonna see if this will be stable, because i tried this with the f11a bios and it failed orthos while 1.49 in bios went 11+ hours orthos stable.

good to hear you got better results with the updated bios.

[zbomb5610]

I am liking the f11b bios.

here i am running stable at less voltage than i needed, previously this was not stable for me. I will definitely see if i can hit higher than 522 fsb now.

http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/14983/2005366221904467439_rs.jpg

[jacky89]

wow that sounds good. keep us posted

[ahmad]

Very very nice. I still cannot POST at > 450MHz, but I do like running cooler.

[redrol]

I can post above 450 fsb easily the problem becomes that after I suspend the computer it forgets those settings and resets both multiplier and FSB. GEH

[CrimInalA]

I see many people advising 105-110 pci-X
or pci-X voltage +0.1

My settings are 100mhz , voltage normal .

Where/when should i see a difference when upping voltage or frequency for PCI-X ? Or is that just for people having cold/warm boot problems .

[zbomb5610]

I see many people advising 105-110 pci-X
or pci-X voltage +0.1

My settings are 100mhz , voltage normal .

Where/when should i see a difference when upping voltage or frequency for PCI-X ? Or is that just for people having cold/warm boot problems .

I guess others are just trying it and having better results when they aren't hitting over a certain fsb or if they have other problems, just trying different values for freq lets them test it out to see if it helps.

I also have my freq set to 100 but i put +.1 on the voltage

[ahmad]

Personally my rig boots with no video if I set it to less than 104MHz for high FSBs.

[G.Foyle]

Which version of the bios are you using and what revision board? I'm using the Revision 3 with F11a. The F11a fixed the looping boot issue so I don't have to pull out my video card to clear the bios everytime there's a boot problem. You should try it too if you arent already using F11a.

Also what week cpu do you have? Mine is a Week 41a oem from Frys. You have a pretty damn good cpu if you can do 370mhz fsb with only 1.4 volts. Mine won't even run with 1.55 volts at the frequency.

Using F10 taht came with the board on rev. 3.3. My cpu is 32A - it is really good, it did 400x9 on P5N32-E with 1.375V (in bios, dunno what was taht really) quite stable, but it failed Orthos on 3 min. And I don't have boot looping issue - it always boots, but sometimes after 1, sometimes aftre 5-6 reboots ;)

[[XC] riptide]

i benched wprime QX6700 >3.6Ghz on the DS3 3.3. testing 24/7 now at 3.45-3.5Ghz. My problem with it is the voltages. 1) Setting in bios is about .4-.5 more than what speedfan then reports at idle when boots up.

2) IN easytune its start-off vcore setting is different again.

3) When I select >1.58-1.59 in bios the keyboard does not work properly once booted into windows.

4) Setting at ~1.59 in easytune causes it to reboot. See problem is I think the baord is really only ACTUALLY at 1.54 when set at 1.58. Anyone got any measureing points for us?

[G.Foyle]

riptide;2138946']Anyone got any measureing points for us?

Just measure the middle leg of any CPU PWM mosfet (they are six of them 3 left and 3 above the socket).

And I noticed taht upping PCI-E freq to 105MHz didn't fix the PCI-E 1x bug. I'll try to give it more volts, so far The Path Of Voltage was succesful for me :D

[CrimInalA]

did anyone find out what the option fast and turbo for the memory does ?
I've booted with all 3 options : normal/fast/turbo , checked with memset and every timing was exactly the same .

so what does it really do .

[CrimInalA]

I see many people advising 105-110 pci-X
or pci-X voltage +0.1

My settings are 100mhz , voltage normal .

Where/when should i see a difference when upping voltage or frequency for PCI-X ? Or is that just for people having cold/warm boot problems .

I have to quote myself here since I am currently going trough the strangest thing .
After i installed ubuntu 7.04 i suddenly can not boot my windows xp anymore . i get the xp load screen then eather my screen hangs or goes black .
When I up the pci-x voltage to +0.1 it boots xp . when i put pci-X frequency on 105 it boots xp . when i put both +0.1V and 105mhz pci-X it also boots xp.
tried setting 100mhz normal voltage ... black screen after xp loading. :(

How this can be related to the installation of ubuntu is beyond me .

edit : i tested with loading 'optimized defaults' in the bios (so no OC at all) . and even then it hangs on loading windows . if I then up the pci-X voltage +0.1 and put 105mhz it boots .

edit2 : I reverted the bios back to F10 , loaded optimized defaults and it booted no problem . However , once i went into linux and back to xp ... XP would hang on boot and restart itself . When i turn off the power and boot it , xp boots without problems .

My explanation : Ubuntu 7.04 confuses my board so much (i guess because of very incompatible drivers -my network card also doesn't work and behaves strangely , while it is recognized however . also when i say to use the nvidia drivers it will not do it etc.) .
That's what I think of it now . :)

[burn what?]

initial tests with f11b on a rev1 C1 board with so-so e6400 doing 460x7 easily! much less vdroop than f8i or f10. no cold boot issue (yet). very nice so far! i hate that option 1 or 2 high speed ram dll setting. never know which i should be using! option 1 seems fine right now.

[swaaye]

normal, fast, and turbo have an impact on memory latency scores in Everest. They must change something besides the RAM timings. Perhaps some chipset registers.

[SLi_dog]

Just got a DS3P revision 3.3 and it seems pretty damn good. Haven't had a stability issue yet and it booted a quad core up to 475 FSB and runs 450 FSB seemingly without problem. I've only just got it so I expect it to go further. Only using stock BIOS.

[G.Foyle]

More problems: PCI-E 1x bug went away after upping PCI-E volts to +0.1, but now my CD-ROM disappears when I insert a disc. It it's like I disconnected it or deinstalled using device manager. Anyone have some idea?

[tvdang7]

whats the verdict on this board now? im thinking about getting it.

[Neon Biker]

I think you'd better get the P35-S3 or DS3.. :p:

[vera]

My ds3p rev 3.3 up to 500 fsb with +4.50 mch voltage is it dangerous?