Gigabyte EX58-UD5/Extreme Discussion Thread

[DGill]

My system is Ex58-UD5 with 920 and Seasonic M12D using bios F4r because it has been working well with mild overclock - 19 x 166 - (on air so limited by CPU temperature) and don't want to risk changing to newer bios.

However, normally I always log off Vista then turn off power supply then turn off at wall socket.

Yesterday, I just shut down Vista but left power supply on. After about 8 hours, when pressing the power on button at the front of the PC the bios went into some sort of recovery mode with a message that there was a fault with overclock settings.

I've reloaded my settings and all is working again - anyone seen this before? is it bad news to leave to motherboard powered up? or is there a better bios than the F4r?

[Godmyster]

Ive been asking for about 6 or 7 posts also what is the best bios around for the UD5 atm but looks like nobody is actually reading or my posts arent getting posted...

[Brad8988]

The F7 seemed really decent but now on F8. Not tested really yet as only flashed today.

[Lsdmeasap]

can you tell me where i can find some info about that mod you talking about?

See here, and PM Hicookie, I am not allowed to share the MOD but if he feels you can do it he will PM you the info.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=225264&page=6

So why is the EX´s at version F and UD5´s at D ?

The letter designates a different BIOS engineer is all, and of course sometimes progressions as well.

The two you ask about have the same fixes, just one had been worked on more than the other. Like maybe EX's a/b/c/d BIOS had issues, so F was made for example after the known issues with e)

[Jonny Manc]

Ive been asking for about 6 or 7 posts also what is the best bios around for the UD5 atm but looks like nobody is actually reading or my posts arent getting posted...

Many users are using different BIOS' cos they work for them......its a matter of reading through a few pages to gage user opinion then choose a BIOS.

I have mentioned in my recent posts that I am on f8b and it works fine, though I dont use RAID or AHCI, so I cant comment on those features.

Hope this helps

[DavyBoy]

Can't anyone help me with my previous post?????

[Lsdmeasap]

Can't anyone help me with my previous post?????

Sorry, editing. I see you found a template

Are you setting those subtimings yourself, or is that what you see for auto? I ask because what you see in the BIOS is not what is actually applied most often.

I do suggest you disable XMP, since you are setting your own multiplier and or QPI/VTT, so no need for XMP anyway. It only can cause issues, especially if you set anything else manually, and or especially if the XMP Settings are not good enough (QPI to much/too little, ect) for your CPU

Yes, Round Trip Latency should vary from channel to channel, normally it is like this
Channel 1 = x
Channel 2 = x+2
Channel 3 = x+4 (but channel 3 can sometimes be x+5 as well)

Following that you should be able to manually set things.

Keep these notes in mind from my template:

tRC ........................................ (Should be = tRAS + tRP or above for stability)

tWTR ...................................... (Must be Write to Read Delay/Same Rank - (tWL + 4)

tWL ........................................ (tWTP Must = tWR + tWL + 4)(tWL Must be CAS Latency -1)

I think you may need more tFAW but maybe not with those sticks, often close to tRC is better. Since you are running 1333 sticks now, you should be able to use less QPI/Vtt as well, depending on the BIOS you are using and all other memory settings used

[dinos22]

i would be very surprised if your board boots with the RTL settings you suggested

[DavyBoy]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies..

I have actually tried to disable XMP profile, but nothing seems to work...

Also about the sub timings, I have tried leaving them on auto, and then I also tried manually setting them to the values that it shows when XMP is enabled, and I also tried to loosen them up as well, but nothing works...

Even with both sets of RAM the system willnot stay stable.. I can get it to run fine 1 day, then I fire up my machine the following day with the EXACT same BIOS settings, and it will fail IBT or Prime95 after 10 minutes...

I really don't understand why this is happening, I have tried just about everything possible, and nothing seems to work...

It is highly frustrating, especially when I come on here and read about all you guys hitting 4+GHz with very similar systems to me, yet I cannot get my rig to stay stable @ stock settings!!!

I RMA'd the processor, and the mobo, and the techs who tested them said that they were fine... Although they weren't thoroughly tested, the CPU ran small FFT's for 3 hours, and also 32bit Linpack in OCCT for 3 hours, and the mobo was tested with Prime95 Blend Test overnight...

But like I said, there have been several occasions that I have managed to get it to run P95 Blend overnight, and successfully run 20 passes of IBT with max stress...

And also the whole deal I had with the first DIMM channel dying on me (this was the reason I RMA'd the board) and then when the techs at Scan tested it, it picked up all of their RAM, but when the board got returned to me, I reset the CMOS, and installed my hardware, booted it up and it was still only seeing 2 out of 3 sticks of RAM... so I removed my Dominator 1600MHz RAM, and installed my XMS3 3GB set, and gave the stick in the first white slot a gentle wiggle from side to side, and then fired up my system, and all 3 sticks were recognized!!!

This to me sounds as though the mobo is flaky... But the problems are so intermittent that when the techs tested the board for the short period of time they had it, they never managed to pick up on these issues that I experience...

I thought that I had it stable with my 1333MHz RAM, but again, I fired up the rig the following day, and all of the crashes came back...

I am getting another UD5 hopefully by the end of this week, so I will have another mobo to test my gear on... fingers crossed all of these problems disappear with the new mobo, then that will confirm that my current board is the cause of my problems...


I forgot to list my full system specs..

CPU: D0 i920

MOBO: EX58 UD5

RAM: 6GB Corsair Dominators, and 3GB Corsair XMS3

GFX: Asus GTX280

PSU: Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850w

HDD: 3 x SAMSUNG SATAII

ODD: 1 x DVD ReWriter

CASE: Silverstone TJ10-WMV nVidia Edition

And I use F7 BIOS, but have also tested F5, F6, and the latest beta BIOS (F8b??)

I have tested the system with 3 different GFX cards, 2 different PSU's, and 2 sets of RAM, and every single configuration gives the exact same results...

F7 BIOS seems to be the best BIOS for me, as every other one I have tried has crashed more frequently...

@Dinos22, what do you mean you doubt that my board would boot with the RTL settings I mentioned????

[Lsdmeasap]

Ya Dinos, I did get that a bit wrong don't know what I was thinking about.

You should have chimed in and corrected me. I am not sure what all the variances are, but I do know the difference does vary depending on all settings used and QPI/Vtt as well I believe.

I'll edit it now

[DavyBoy]

Hmmm, I am completely lost guys, can someone who uses Dominator 1600MHz RAM, or Corsair XMS3 1333MHz give me their exact RAM timings in their BIOS please so that I can try that...

I just tried leaving the sub-timings on default except for tRC (41) and tRFC (88) and again the system reboot itself, and continues to do so...

What else could be causing this problems, I mean, it is at stock frequency, and it isn't stable?!?! WTF is that all about???

My first ever Intel build, and boy am I regretting it... surely it is a faulty piece of hardware that is causing these problems???

I have already went and bought another set of RAM and PSU solely for testing purposes, and I am just about to buy another mobo!!!!

This is a pi$$ take if you ask me...

Can anyone help me out here??

If someone could help me out with a BIOS profile for running this machine at stock it would be much appreciated, although in saying that, I personally don't think I will ever get this machine stable, as I am fairly confident the motherboard is flaky.. I have never had a DIMM slot pack in on me, and then start working again after giving it a gentle wiggle....

Also, with all the various hardware configs I have tested everything seems to be pointing towards the mobo...

What else could be causing these types of problems, does anyone have any suggestions?

[phsinc1]

@BLunTSmoKeR, I prefer to use XMP Profile1 because I found manually edit timmings doesn't work for me, I enable XMP profile 1 and edit manually the QPI/VTT voltage and the memory voltage 1.64v instead of 1.66v and I leave all subtimmings @Auto[XMP profile]

[dinos22]

Corsair has excellent XMP profiles
please load them and do not touch the volts!!! just set the CPU volts ok and report back with those inital findings

i wasnt talking to you about RTL >> GBT bios is pretty intelligent. you dont need to set RTL or submitings normally

[dinos22]

OH dont disable all those CPU settings
i found with my board for example that if i disable Virtualization i would lose stability and would also have some weird cold boot start issue

so just start simple

also i can see that you have some issues with RAM slot >> make sure you press down REAL hard to be 100% sure it makes good contact >> i would also clean the RAM contact points before installing

[4Qman]

I have got my Extreme today and have just loaded GA-EX58-Extreme - F8f bios

I am using Corsair Dominator 1866mhz 9-9-9-24 Ram with a 920 DO CPU.

IS this the best bios for me or is there another i should be using.

Thanks

[Jonny Manc]

Hmmm, I am completely lost guys, can someone who uses Dominator 1600MHz RAM, or Corsair XMS3 1333MHz give me their exact RAM timings in their BIOS please so that I can try that...

I just tried leaving the sub-timings on default except for tRC (41) and tRFC (88) and again the system reboot itself, and continues to do so...

What else could be causing this problems, I mean, it is at stock frequency, and it isn't stable?!?! WTF is that all about???

My first ever Intel build, and boy am I regretting it... surely it is a faulty piece of hardware that is causing these problems???

I have already went and bought another set of RAM and PSU solely for testing purposes, and I am just about to buy another mobo!!!!

This is a pi$$ take if you ask me...

Can anyone help me out here??

If someone could help me out with a BIOS profile for running this machine at stock it would be much appreciated, although in saying that, I personally don't think I will ever get this machine stable, as I am fairly confident the motherboard is flaky.. I have never had a DIMM slot pack in on me, and then start working again after giving it a gentle wiggle....

Also, with all the various hardware configs I have tested everything seems to be pointing towards the mobo...

What else could be causing these types of problems, does anyone have any suggestions?

Hey matey......still having nightmares huh??

Here are my pics for 3.6ghz with HT and Linx stable (day to day running stable too):









Made em clickable so as not to devour the board.....

Hope they help ya!?

[DavyBoy]

OH dont disable all those CPU settings
i found with my board for example that if i disable Virtualization i would lose stability and would also have some weird cold boot start issue

so just start simple

also i can see that you have some issues with RAM slot >> make sure you press down REAL hard to be 100% sure it makes good contact >> i would also clean the RAM contact points before installing

Hi dinos, thanks for the reply man..

Though I have already done all of what you recommend I try above to no avail...

Also, I have tried leaving the CPU settings enabled like Virtualization, C1e, etc etc, and the same thing keeps on happening...

I was testing with the Dominator RAM earlier this morning, and the problems happen a lot more frequently with that RAM, so I have went back to my 3GB XMS3 set, and it is currently running 20 passes of IBT max stress, and so far so good, but this always happens...

It will run fine for 1 day, and then the following day with the EXACT same BIOS settings it will buckle after a couple of passes...

Something just isn't right here... I am in the process of downloading W7, once it is done I am going to install it onto another HDD to see whether that makes any difference...

ATM I am using Vista Ultimate x64 SP2, I don't know whether it is this that is causing my problems, or if I have a dodgy HDD... tbh I dont have a clue why this rig wont stay stable...

As for XMP profiles, I have tried loading optimized defaults, saving and exiting, then re-entering the BIOS and enabling XMP, and then leaving every other setting alone, but the same problems keep happening!!!

Each stick of RAM has been tested with memtest boot disc, and they all ran for 20 passes without a single error...

I have spent about 1 month now with this rig, and I haven't been able to use it for its intended purpose, instead the entire time spent with this system has been trying to find the cause of this isntability, and I still haven't got anywhere, even after RMA'ing the mobo and CPU, only to get told that they were both fine... although as I said, the technicians testing methods for both the CPU and mobo were extremely poor...

To begin with the tech who had the mobo told me that the mobo was fine because he installed 6GB of RAM and it recognized all 3 sticks, I had to beg him to test it with Prime95, and when he did get around to test with Prime, he ran it for 1 hour the first time, and told me that it was fine, so I had to beg him again to try testing it over the course of a few days, but all they did was run it overnight!!!!

These problems are so intermittent that there is noway they were going to pickup on them after only one night of testing... I am regretting wasting my money on this rig, I feel like smashing it all up tbh, because it just doesn't want to work for me...

I have tried absolutely everything I can think of, and just cant seem to get out of this rut!!!

Does anyone here have any other suggestions as to where I can go from here??

I talked to the tech at Scan Computers, and he just said that he could give me another RMA number for my board, but I don't really want to ship it back to them again because of their poor testing methods, and not only that, I had to pay to ship it to them the first time which was fine, but because they didn't find any faults in the extremely short amount of time they spent with the mobo, they made me pay another £25 just to have my board shipped back to me, and when I get it back it still didn't recognize all of my RAM, I had to wiggle the stick of RAM in the first white slot before it picked it up!!!!

I personally think the mobo is bricked, but what can I do to get it replaced when the techs at scan dont know their a$$holes from their earholes?!?!?!

[DavyBoy]

@Johnny, thanks for posting those BIOS screens man, but I have already tried having my BIOS set like this and it was a no go!!!

I really don't think a lot of you guys are fully understanding how much things I have tried with this rig to get it stable...

I've spent around 1 month, every single day (except when the CPU and mobo was being RMA'd) testing this rig with as many different hardware configurations as I possibly could with the gear I have around the house, and as for BIOS settings, I have probably spent more time in the BIOS than I have in Windows since I have had this rig!!!

I have tried absolutely everything that I can think of... everything gives me the EXACT same results... RAM slots dying, and then coming back to life again, system rebooting, BSOD's, freezes, there is a dodgy piece of hardware that is causing these issues IMO...

If anyone can think of anything else that I can try with this POS rig, it would be much appreciated guys...

[dinos22]

try a different brand PSU like corsair HX series maybe

[DavyBoy]

Dude, I have already bought another PSU just for testing purposes!!!

I originally had the Hiper Type M 630w unit, but everyone on OcUK forums were telling me that it was the Hiper that was giving me these problems, so I went out like a dumb ass and bought the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850w and all the same problems were still present!!!!

I refuse to spend anymore money on this system until I find out what the cause of these issues are!!!!

I have another Ud5 coming at the end of this week hopefully, so if I set that board up and it works fine, I will know that it is the mobo...

Why wouldn't my Be Quiet! PSU be any good for this system?

I have seen several other people using the 750w version of the Dark Power Pro on their i7 rigs...

So far in total for everything to do with this build I have spent close to £2000 and it doesnt even work!!!!

[dinos22]

i understand
are you sure that you have done exactly as i mentioned

change ONLY vcore > XMP profile and bus speed to something reasonable and NOTHING else

and still cant get it stable

[Jonny Manc]

This may sound like a dumb question, but are you on a clean OS install??

[DavyBoy]

Tried exactly what you have suggested many times dinos with both sets of RAM... Like I said, sometimes it will be stable, and then all of a sudden it will start crashing whenever I try running Prime95 or IBT... even when I have had it mildly O/Ced (3GHz) it was stable for almost 2 days before it started failing again...

IBT will either reset itself, or give me the Warning that my system is unstable sometimes after 2 passes, and other times it will go for maybe 10 to 15 passes before it buckles...

With Prime95 Blend Test, it will go for several hours before it gives in, and it will also reset the system, or threads start failing...

When it crashes from me entering bad BIOS settings it seems to either freeze the system, or give me a BSOD, completely different to the other failures I explained above...

Could a failing hard drive cause this type of problems???

Also, Johnny, yes it is a fresh OS install, god knows how many times I have reinstalled my OS because of these problems!!!!

[Jonny Manc]

Its so difficult to pin this one down......HD maybe a culprit, but I am not sure (soem brands offer there own tests for HDD, might be worth looking for that).

I guess waiting for your other UD5 will point to or rule out your mobo.....but either way, I still think the offer from Giga was a good one; returning the mobo, cpu and ram for testing. This would allow for a systematic testing off all the main components which (if they pass) will point the finger firmly at something else (hdd etc).

[DavyBoy]

Yeah Johnny, I think you are right, this is the only option I have left tbh... I have pumped so much money and time into the PC, and I am completely stumped, I have no idea what it could be??

At least if I sent everything to Gigabyte, they should be able to give it a thorough testing, and be able to figure out which piece of hardware is causing the problems...

I am fairly positive that it is a hardware issue here, because I have deliberately used bad settings in the BIOS to see how the system responds to them, and when it crashes with bad settings it BSOD's, or locks up, but when I have everything at stock and it crashes, it will reset itself, or IBT/Prime95 fail and stop running..

I will wait for my new mobo and have a fiddle around with that to see if the problems dissapear... I will be extremely angry if I set everything up on the new mobo and the problems are still present!!!

Anyway, I am in the process of backing up one of my HDD's so that I can install my OS on there instead of the drive I have been using, and I am going to install XP instead of Vista...

I will let you guys know how I get on later...

Thanks again for all your suggestions though