X58 Chipset B3 Stepping Changes

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04-23-2009, 10:21 PM
Zorlac

X58 Chipset B3 Stepping Changes

Found the changes for B3 here:

http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/specupdate/320839.pdf

If you have B2 and are curious what changed in B3, then it looks like the following were either fixed or do not apply to B3:

Quote:

3319486, 3319733: DEVCON2[3:0] and CTOCTRL not accurately set the
completion timeout value.

3319609: Boot-dependent QPI CRC errors

3319688: Some Gen2 endpoints will not complete the training in Gen2 mode.

3319737: MIERRCNT does not properly count persistent SMBus retry failures
and MINNERRST doesn't log the errors (HEDT only)

3319811: EOI to the I/OxAPIC can be blocked

3319755: GTIME upper 32 bits can not be read or written.

3319791: Intel® QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) L0s and L1 Power Management
Link State Fails

3319795:PCI Express* 2.0 L0s Link Recovery Fails

3319874: IOH May Falsely Assert THERMTRIP_N Signal After a Reset Event

3319408: VT-d queue-based invalidation is enabled only when enabled on both
channels (WS only)

3319432: VTd does not support the draining of compatibility-format interrupts
(WS only)

3319452: Hardware applies HPA_LIMIT to upstream memory request when VTd
is disabled (WS only)

3319630: VT-d: Memory read request with AT=11 results in malformed TLP

3319532: VT-d: IOTLB Domain-page-selective invalidation not working
correctly.

3319847: The IOH Ignores Snoop Behavior Bit in VT-d Page Table.

3319819: VT-d reports an Invalidation Queue Error when the Queue size is 7
(HEDT only)

Now I want to know if/when the DX58SO desktop board will include this. The latest revision E29331-503 does not mention this new B3 X58.
04-23-2009, 10:25 PM
dinos22

no idea what that means
i hope it reads "We have finally improved QPI overclocking try it out" :D
04-30-2009, 08:55 PM
Mav451

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinos22

no idea what that means
i hope it reads "We have finally improved QPI overclocking try it out" :D

Lol agreed. Just need to see some actual #'s from some users before I go i7.
04-30-2009, 08:59 PM
Anemone

Need B3 stepping boards before I go I7
04-30-2009, 09:04 PM
Falkentyne

Stepping changes ONLY ever have, or ever show, Errata/compatibility fixes, as that's the main focus for a stepping change.

They never mention "we improved silicon tolerance for higher overclocks and more robust handling under harsh stock conditions". But Yield increases have usually been a product--although not the documented reason, for a stepping change.

Except for that 12 year old FDIV bug, the only thing we care about is more overclockability. But that's not what Intel is focused on :)
06-04-2009, 01:13 PM
orangekiwii

I hate to bring this back up... but does B3 bring any benefits to the average user?

Is there any proof you get higher OCs with it? I'm thinking of diving into i7 soon and would like to know whether some of the older boards are "bad" now.
06-04-2009, 01:56 PM
003

When the hell are we gonna get some kind of confirmation that there are boards circulating with the B3 stepping??!
06-04-2009, 01:59 PM
ILikeCosmosS

i waiting as well so i can upgrade to westmere later on

just wonder when this will be implanted on most boards
06-04-2009, 07:02 PM
bingo13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anemone

Need B3 stepping boards before I go I7

Why??? There is no difference in clock rates between the two with the same CPU and BIOS. There are a couple of minor changes that a really good BIOS engineer could take advantage of but for 99.93% of us it will not make a difference.
06-04-2009, 07:28 PM
jcniest5

The latest is almost the greatest if you can wait. Those that don't care can buy current technology. The two boats must not try to turn over the other boat. Just continue to row your boat and let the technology be enjoyed to the fullest.
06-04-2009, 08:30 PM
nge769

Confirmed B3 chipset here...

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003

When the hell are we gonna get some kind of confirmation that there are boards circulating with the B3 stepping??!

Figured id chime in , my P6T7 WS Supercomputer has it for sure :yepp:
06-04-2009, 08:44 PM
WhiteFireDragon

i hope B2 to B3 is as good as C0 to E0/D0. intel only mention a few subtle things on these stepping differences and nothing about how they clocked. after people OC'ed the E0 and D0, look how they turned out after many people go to play with them!
06-04-2009, 08:49 PM
ACE76

Quote:

Originally Posted by nge769

Figured id chime in , my P6T7 WS Supercomputer has it for sure :yepp:

I've been trying to choose between this board and the EVGA Classified but was leaning towards the EVGA for high BCLK...I have the P6T6 and if the P6T7 has the newer chip I might just get it instead...can you post a screenshot of CPU-Z showing the revision??
06-04-2009, 09:09 PM
nge769

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACE76

I've been trying to choose between this board and the EVGA Classified but was leaning towards the EVGA for high BCLK...I have the P6T6 and if the P6T7 has the newer chip I might just get it instead...can you post a screenshot of CPU-Z showing the revision??

Yeah im trying to resize it at 600x600 ..it wont upload
06-04-2009, 10:02 PM
ACE76

You can link to external site too if you cant do it here ;)

How do you like the mobo? Have you tried to OC it? If it can hit 240 bclk I'm getting it right away. give us your impressions of the board and bios, etc etc.
06-04-2009, 11:27 PM
jcniest5

Quote:

Originally Posted by nge769

Figured id chime in , my P6T7 WS Supercomputer has it for sure :yepp:

Did you use Diagnostic software to get the info or how do you know for sure yours has B3 chipset? If you use CPU-Z, go to the About tab, click on Validation and type in your email address. The next screen will contain a bunch of information.

On one of the lines, it will contain info like:

MB Brand : MSI
MB Model : Eclipse Plus (MS-7566)
NB : Intel X58 rev 12
SB : Intel 82801JR (ICH10R) rev 00

Here you will see the report as "NB : Intel X58 rev 12" for the current (old) chipset. The newer chipset should report different than the "Rev 12."

We want to know that information.
06-05-2009, 06:20 AM
bingo13

The B3 stepping does not make a difference in clocking. Intel says it, the motherboard guys say it, and my own tests confirm it. What will make a potential difference is the maturity of the manufacturing process and new board/BIOS designs on the upcoming refresh products. However, at this point B2/B3 is a wash, said this two months ago, still holds true today.
06-05-2009, 06:29 AM
003

Quote:

Originally Posted by nge769

Figured id chime in , my P6T7 WS Supercomputer has it for sure :yepp:

How are you so sure? Are you just guessing? Please post a screenshot of Everest with the Chipset information displayed, like this:
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/7321/chipset.jpg

Host images for free and with no registration at ImageShack Also it's a shame that the Asus P6T boards all suck

We need the B3 chipset on the likes of the RIIE and RIIG, and the DFI, Gigabyte and eVGA boards.
06-05-2009, 07:04 AM
nge769

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003

How are you so sure? Are you just guessing? Please post a screenshot of Everest with the Chipset information displayed, like this:
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/7321/chipset.jpg

Host images for free and with no registration at ImageShack Also it's a shame that the Asus P6T boards all suck

We need the B3 chipset on the likes of the RIIE and RIIG, and the DFI, Gigabyte and eVGA boards.

[IMG]http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3046/17674718.jpg[/IMG]

I'm getting conflicting reports here, sandra reports B3 but i just checked everest trail edition and it says B2, so the only true way to determine stepping is by visual inspection of top markings(SLGMX 901076)only.
06-05-2009, 08:17 AM
jcniest5

Quote:

Originally Posted by bingo13

The B3 stepping does not make a difference in clocking. Intel says it, the motherboard guys say it, and my own tests confirm it. What will make a potential difference is the maturity of the manufacturing process and new board/BIOS designs on the upcoming refresh products. However, at this point B2/B3 is a wash, said this two months ago, still holds true today.

You have a B3 board already? Show some screenshots please...

@NGE, can you use CPU-Z and get a Validation screenshot please...thanks.
06-05-2009, 08:43 AM
003

Quote:

Originally Posted by nge769

I'm getting conflicting reports here, sandra reports B3 but i just checked everest trail edition and it says B2, so the only true way to determine stepping is by visual inspection of top markings(SLGMX 901076)only.

If you've popped the NB cooler and it says SLGMX, you indeed have the B3 stepping. Still I want to get a Rampage II Gene with a B3 X58... The P6T boards are garbage for overclocking (see my previous post).
06-05-2009, 09:57 AM
bingo13

I am going to repeat this about every fifth post, but B3/B2 is a wash in performance. :rolleyes:
06-05-2009, 10:59 AM
nge769

Quote:

Originally Posted by bingo13

I am going to repeat this about every fifth post, but B3/B2 is a wash in performance. :rolleyes:

Probably true ,I'm just answering some posts ,either way I'm happy with my board so far:)
06-05-2009, 12:43 PM
jcniest5

Quote:

Originally Posted by bingo13

I am going to repeat this about every fifth post, but B3/B2 is a wash in performance. :rolleyes:

If there are some fixes, than it's better than there were no fixes. Unless they introduce some no fixes in the fixes. :ROTF:
06-05-2009, 05:08 PM
Anemone

How do you like the P6T7?
06-05-2009, 09:39 PM
Zorlac

I confirmed with eVGA via email that their new X58 SLI LE has the B3 chip. :)
06-05-2009, 10:03 PM
Utnorris

Sweet, I was actually thinking about that board since it doesn't have any crazy color scheme. I figured it would do 220BCLK, but with the B3 maybe it will go higher. Has anyone seen any reviews on it?
06-05-2009, 10:35 PM
jcniest5

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorlac

I confirmed with eVGA via email that their new X58 SLI LE has the B3 chip. :)

That might be the one I will consider as my second rig.
06-06-2009, 11:15 AM
003

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorlac

I confirmed with eVGA via email that their new X58 SLI LE has the B3 chip. :)

Sweet!! That means the Micro will be B3 for sure, and my next board!
06-14-2009, 07:36 AM
zalbard

So, can anyone say anything good about B3 stepping? Any better bclk, stability, anything at all? I assume quite a few people should have boards with B3 by now...
06-14-2009, 07:52 AM
bingo13

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

So, can anyone say anything good about B3 stepping? Any better bclk, stability, anything at all? I assume quite a few people should have boards with B3 by now...

No difference in clocking between B3 and B2 on the same board/BIOS. B3 addresses some power management and low power state errata along with a few other minor changes but it was not meant to address performance changes. Performance improvements will come from better BIOS and board designs along with continued manufacturing process maturity on the X58, not any B3 stepping design changes.
06-14-2009, 10:21 AM
jcniest5

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

So, can anyone say anything good about B3 stepping? Any better bclk, stability, anything at all? I assume quite a few people should have boards with B3 by now...

I surely hope so because I'm holding out until more boards have it before getting my second rig.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bingo13

No difference in clocking between B3 and B2 on the same board/BIOS. B3 addresses some power management and low power state errata along with a few other minor changes but it was not meant to address performance changes. Performance improvements will come from better BIOS and board designs along with continued manufacturing process maturity on the X58, not any B3 stepping design changes.

Well, although what you said may be true according to what's stated by Intel on paper, we have yet to prove that it's indeed true in real live use. Not saying your statement is false, I'm just saying without any real bench with the same board but new B3 chipset, it has yet to be provened true neither way. It's all pure speculations right now.

Having said that, I have yet to see any old boards with the new B3 chipset. So far the only one that has the B3 is EVGA's LE board, but it's not an old board...it's rather new. When I start seeing older boards with the newer B3 chipset, then I will jump on one, not sure which one it is, though.
06-16-2009, 08:42 AM
DementeD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utnorris

Sweet, I was actually thinking about that board since it doesn't have any crazy color scheme. I figured it would do 220BCLK, but with the B3 maybe it will go higher. Has anyone seen any reviews on it?

ive searched and havent found any professional reviews yet..i did find one guy on the evga forums but...he doesnt know how to overclock yet..people over there are tryin to teach and i think he booted his 920 at 4ghz but hasnt managed to get it stable..but im following along cause this will be my next board(im going for the pure beauty and im sure the performance will be on par with most x58s) anyway..heres the link
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=...page=1&key=%3F
06-16-2009, 10:11 AM
nascasho

He's hit 4.0Ghz and 4.5Ghz w/ E-Leet... but he's got a D0.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=6127850

Btw, I tried for as much as my stress lvl would allow me to Overclock, got too frustrated to keep going. I need to keep the VTT high (BSOD 101) yet when I sometimes go one click above 1.3V my system shuts down and did it like 20 times in 1 day, I gave up.

So I'll stick to 3.8Ghz.

Btw, thanks for looking at my thread, lolz.
06-16-2009, 12:08 PM
bingo13

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcniest5

I surely hope so because I'm holding out until more boards have it before getting my second rig.

Well, although what you said may be true according to what's stated by Intel on paper, we have yet to prove that it's indeed true in real live use. Not saying your statement is false, I'm just saying without any real bench with the same board but new B3 chipset, it has yet to be provened true neither way. It's all pure speculations right now.

Having said that, I have yet to see any old boards with the new B3 chipset. So far the only one that has the B3 is EVGA's LE board, but it's not an old board...it's rather new. When I start seeing older boards with the newer B3 chipset, then I will jump on one, not sure which one it is, though.

I have been testing (a/b comparison) the B3 revision on various boards for the past five weeks. There is no difference at this point.
06-16-2009, 12:28 PM
Star_Hunter

Does anyone know what boards the B3 is showing up on yet (esp when the DFI UT will be getting it)?
06-16-2009, 12:34 PM
aoch88

I don't think it'll give any overclocking enchancements. If that's what we're looking at the maybe future X68 or whatever Intel calls it :) I still don't get the idea to change from B2 to B3.
06-16-2009, 01:38 PM
Zorlac

I still find it strange that Intel themselves have not released a PCN that talks about the new B3 on their flagship DX58SO. I tried asking them, but they gave me the typical "we do not comment on unreleased products".

I only know of the eVGA X58 SLI LE and the ASUS SuperComputer boards having B3 thus far.
06-16-2009, 01:45 PM
003

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorlac

I only know of the eVGA X58 SLI LE and the ASUS SuperComputer boards having B3 thus far.

The eVGA X58 SLI Micro will undoubtedly have it as well then, and that is the board I will end up getting, unless we can get any kind of confirmation that the Rampage II Gene has the B3 stepping as well.
06-16-2009, 01:56 PM
jcniest5

No sign of EVGA's Micro board yet, is there?
06-16-2009, 02:05 PM
DementeD

Quote:

Originally Posted by nascasho

He's hit 4.0Ghz and 4.5Ghz w/ E-Leet... but he's got a D0.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=6127850

Btw, I tried for as much as my stress lvl would allow me to Overclock, got too frustrated to keep going. I need to keep the VTT high (BSOD 101) yet when I sometimes go one click above 1.3V my system shuts down and did it like 20 times in 1 day, I gave up.

So I'll stick to 3.8Ghz.

Btw, thanks for looking at my thread, lolz.

dont take me saying you dont know how to overclock well as an insult..its just a little truth behind it..since when reading at the evga forums people seem to think the board might be the limiting factor when im pretty sure it isnt..just from hearing what you respond with kinda shows that you havent been doing this a while and arent very sure of what you're doing exactly..but keep trying and tweakin and ull get it..

just dont want u taking my post as any disrespect cause thats not the way it was meant..
06-16-2009, 09:55 PM
nascasho

^No insult taken, cause I am a noob! I am in my padawan stages. If someone lets me borrow their Classified I'll lend you my SLI LE... :D

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