Official GIGABYTE X38-DQ6/X38T-DQ6 Info/BIOS Thread

[Feichti]

my system runs 24/7 @ oc@ 100% load @ boinc

Feichti

[freqy]

hello i've been watching and waiting so long to join in with your discussions regarding the x38-dq6....i got it today finally

i RMA'd a system in early october (asus premium wifi what a nightmare)
to purchase this x38 -dq6 with dominator memory.

the first batch of dominator pc-8500 was duff from scan in october.

and this batch (dabs)is failing on mem test86 also...i havent even installed windows as i speak the machines monitor to my right is filling up with red fail warnings,

wondering if anyone might have a few moments to advise me on this mother board and ram.

would :

updating the bios help a memtest result? (these modules are supported,)

ive tested each stick individually in slot 1 and they are both duff.( with various fails test 5 and 6 mainly ...oh wait.... 7 and 8 too.) at 1066 mhz

should i just RMA and buy some Ballistix ? i would like to run at 1066+

i have some spare corsair 667mhz i can run on this board to see if i can pass memtest tonight using this mother baord /cpu...but im not sure if that is a sure sign these dominators are duff?

1066 is a high frequency ...but why i should lower it when i paid nearly 100 pounds for them?

any help would be sooo great .

peace

freqy

x38- dq6
q6600
dual (just 2) dom pc8500 @1066 (fails memtest)
western sata 2
stock cooling for now
xp 32 and hopefully 64bit dual boot.

[~aoe~]

to the wonderful world of the Gigabyte x38

Have you set the timings manually or auto? If auto, try setting manually. You could also try relaxing the timings and/or frequency to see if it can pass the tests. The problem may not be the memory - it could be the motherboard (or psu, cpu, etc..).

What voltage are you giving the memory? May be worth checking if the voltage is correct or, if the memory allows, overvolting. Thankfully, the bios hardware monitor does report the memory voltage. Early bios revisions were known to undervolt some memory modules. I remember initially my modules (Ballistix PC8500) were given 1.8v with F3, but later revisions provided 2.2v. Saying that, this was only when auto timings were used. Any attempt to manually set the timings dropped the memory voltage back to 1.8v and I needed to overvolt by 0.3v or 0.4v.

I know a number of people are reporting problems running memory at 1066, but thankfully it's not a problem I have.

[freqy]

hi thanks for your advice

i had the timings set manual 5 5 5 15
and the voltage +.3 because i read somewhere this board gives 1.8v normaly.

the modules say 2.1v on the side.

i'm just testing at 800mhz. with 777 18 timings to slacken them as you suggest.

am i unlikely to get 1066mhz? is that the limit if lucky threshold?
i was hoping to overclock to 1200mhz, i bought a fan to fit ontop too .

its been three months since i bought my Q6600 still no use from it cpu

it may be i just need to tweak the frequency +10 or something?

l they have just passed test 5 and 6 at 800mhz with very very slack timings.

maybe i should see if i can go higher than 1066mhz??

[freqy]

there is one thing very strange about this bios..

each time i open up the bios the 'memory frequency (mhz) ' changes

Some times the bios thinks i have 800mhz other times it says 1066mhz .

strange.

[~aoe~]

Sounds as though the memory is ok. I can't really say whether this board has problems running memory at 1066 as I haven't had chance yet to optimise my overclock (water cooling build still in progress). I managed to achieve my target of 3.6GHz on my Q6600 with the memory at 1066 (3:4) with standard timings 5-5-5-15. Once I manage to complete the build, then I'll try and tighten the timings a bit and see if I can push it a bit more.

I also bought a fan assembly to put over the memory, although the above was achieved without any additional ventilation on the memory.

From other posts in this thread, it seems that a number of people are having problems running their memory at 1066, which is strange. However, when you consider that a number of problems are being reported to Gigabyte about this board and there is still no new 'official' bios since F4 (all F5x and the recent F6x bios releases have been betas), then it's no wonder people are becoming somewhat frustrated.

I'd suggest loading windows with the memory running with stable timings, overclock the cpu as best you can (or what you are comfortable with) and then try and push the memory. It's quite possible that some frequencies/timings that may not provide stability at stock fsb could actually be stable with a higher fsb. You can also test different bios revisions. I'm running F5h (I think) and that seems to be ok for me. I believe the general consensus is that F3 provides the highest achievable fsb, but is limited on memory options and other stuff.