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

[TyphooN]

I had crysis looping for 5 hours today on very high @ 1920x1200 after a fresh reboot.. look how terrible my DPC latency gets. Screenshot

[Buggalugs]

Buggs, that was kinda quick of GB...to issue a fix that quickly....when are gonna issue a final F9?

Well not really, this problem was first recognised months ago but at first Gigabyte were not taking any responsibility. And i wouldnt say its solved yet.
Gigabyte had already released beta bioses for P35 before i posted the first post here so they have been working on it a while.

I've been following this problem on other websites and i thought i should post about it here as no one seemed to be aware of it. And to get you guys to contact them if you have the problem so we can get it fixed properly.


@Typhoon that is so bad you must have all sorts of problems.

If you try the beta and its still like that, its grounds for RMA. Send the screenshot to Gigabyte.

Even though i like this board, i knew there was something wrong with performance and it took several weeks to work it out.

I'm just worried that it cant be fixed and is a engineering fault in Gigabyte boards....because Asus doesnt have this problem. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[ChrissTi]

Well, I don't think this is a mb bug. I've encountered this problem when I was running a software (in my case cyberlink 64 bit software mpeg 2 encoder, for my tv tunner), after I uninstalled it here is my latency with tv-tunner application running and a wmware linux 2 processors virtual machine:

[TyphooN]

How is it not a mb bug? I have tried different os's and have only installed minimal drivers... I am curious though, could it be something else at fault besides my motherboard? I.E. CPU, Video card, or RAM?

[ChrissTi]

I thougt so too, because to me happened that with only one 8800GTS had stuttering problems, and after removing that encoder everything is back to normal.
If you think that is a mobo problem, give it a try with another OS, like windows xp x32 or x64, and you will see everything is fine there.
The bigest problems are still from the Vista OS ... some software are not rewritten for vista x64, but they are just debuged recompiled for it, like some parts of that encoder are ...

[ThatGuy16]

I need some help, i can't get anything stable enough to run 3Dmark above 4.5Ghz, i'm pretty sure my ram has enough voltage, and i know my CPU does.

For the high FSB, what settings are you guys using? I tried +0.20v on FSB and +0.175v on G MCH, can the MCH take more? or is this way high as it is?

[Buggalugs]

Well, I don't think this is a mb bug. I've encountered this problem when I was running a software (in my case cyberlink 64 bit software mpeg 2 encoder, for my tv tunner), after I uninstalled it here is my latency with tv-tunner application running and a wmware linux 2 processors virtual machine:

I disagree. I have tested this in many different ways. I tried XP with a fresh installation, Vista with a fresh installation its still the same. No drivers on the machine at all. SP1 and no SP. Some people just have a worse problem than others.

Like i said before i purchased new ram/ PSu/ CPU/ tried 3 different video cards 2X8800Gt's and a 3870.

Its true high latency is usually caused by faulty/badly written drivers, thats why that program was made, but in this case theres something wrong with the board IMO.


@ Typhoon dont waste ur money like i did buying new parts to solve the problem. Unless you want to buy another motherboard, that will solve it .
Unfortunately most Gigabyte boards have the problem so...

I'm not confident theyre gonna fix this properly. I'm planning to get another board ASAP, probably a P5E3 or something or i might wait another month and see how the P45 boards perform. DDR3 is dirt cheap now too.

I'm thinking this is a bigger problem than alot of people realize. Alot of the complaints about slow unresponsive Vista can be traced backto this problem. Gigabyte P35 boards are the most common mainstream board sold since Vista was released and your average user doesnt know about DPC latency or come to forums like this so its easy to blame Vista.

[TyphooN]

Buggalugs.. I think I have fixed most of my problem. I was running Everest to monitor temperatures.. now after gaming for 5 hours my uS don't go higher than 1000 . This still isn't great, but I am still waiting on a new bios from gigabyte or a response. I can live with this though.. there is a LOT less stuttering now than there was.

[ChrissTi]

I disagree. I have tested this in many different ways. I tried XP with a fresh installation, Vista with a fresh installation its still the same. No drivers on the machine at all. SP1 and no SP. Some people just have a worse problem than others.

Like i said before i purchased new ram/ PSu/ CPU/ tried 3 different video cards 2X8800Gt's and a 3870.

Its true high latency is usually caused by faulty/badly written drivers, thats why that program was made, but in this case theres something wrong with the board IMO.


@ Typhoon dont waste ur money like i did buying new parts to solve the problem. Unless you want to buy another motherboard, that will solve it .
Unfortunately most Gigabyte boards have the problem so...

I'm not confident theyre gonna fix this properly. I'm planning to get another board ASAP, probably a P5E3 or something or i might wait another month and see how the P45 boards perform. DDR3 is dirt cheap now too.

I'm thinking this is a bigger problem than alot of people realize. Alot of the complaints about slow unresponsive Vista can be traced backto this problem. Gigabyte P35 boards are the most common mainstream board sold since Vista was released and your average user doesnt know about DPC latency or come to forums like this so its easy to blame Vista.

I think I know what I'm talking about ! I have a Xi-Fi used for music creation, used with ASIO drivers set at 5ms, and many VST plugins which sometimes fill my dual CPU to 100%.
Before this intel mobo I had an nforce mobo( from ASUS ). Nforce was very bad and sound was glitchy no matter what OS I used.
When I bought this mainboard, I had the same problems as you in Vista. Changed some memory modules, tryed different things, but it didn't work.
In Windows XP worked like charm but under vista no (I thought that because vista has more processes to run, is more processor and memo hungry).
But I did a test by installing Vista from scratch, and installing and testing step by step the drivers and applications, and to my surprise I found the problem in a CODEC pack (and more precise an mpeg2 MCE encoder build for x64 from CyberLink). That codec pack rised my PCI/PCIe latency to 5000 but only in conjuction with a TV-tunner (Kworld DVB-T PE-310RF Dual Hybrid).
So I changed my tv-tunner, and removed the codec and now the latency is fine). With this codec I could not even set my 8800GTS to use CPU threaded optimisation, without having game stuttering problems (like counter strike 1.6 wich needs very low latency). Now I've set CPU threaded optimisation to on and everything works smoothly.
I do not know from what your problem is from. Maybe for you is a mobo problem, and I hope it will be fixed if you buy a new one. Keep us posted.

[Buggalugs]

ya, well Gigabyte are releasing BIOS fixes so i guess they must think its a motherboard problem or they wouldnt bother but, i think im just gonna get a new board.

[FonTex]

No problems with my board, played music, HD movies and 2 hours of gameing(COD4-BF2) never got over 520us.

[Richard Dower]

Interesting thread guys, maybe y'all can help:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=1#post2955942

[Richard Dower]

Well i'm jumping to an EP45-DQ6 asap!

[Caped Crusader]

Guys, I've bought a Q6700 today on ebay with a great pricetag. Any recommendations on how to feed it with my X38-DQ6? Usually, how far do these Quads go and how much vcore should I feed it?

Any help is greatly appreciated

[Nuckin_Futs]

Guys, I've bought a Q6700 today on ebay with a great pricetag. Any recommendations on how to feed it with my X38-DQ6? Usually, how far do these Quads go and how much vcore should I feed it?

Any help is greatly appreciated

The OC will depend on how gutsy you are, and BIOS settings available to you. I still do NOT have a BIOS template for this mob so I can only quote what I here in passing.

The Q6700 can go a lil' farther then the Q6600. and I got mine to 4GHz on air as 500x8. It needs over 1.57v wich many are afraid to run, but if you get a good batch, it may go there. Others just OC on highest multi wich is hardly as much a challange so 400x10 should be no prob for a Q6700, as is 450x9 for a Q6600. Some are getting the easy 400x10 under 1.5v.

Dont forget to feed the PLL, GTL_Ref, and FSBT to help get the higher FSB stable.

PM me a BIOS template and I can try to help you further for a nice OC.

[Caped Crusader]

The OC will depend on how gutsy you are, and BIOS settings available to you. I still do NOT have a BIOS template for this mob so I can only quote what I here in passing.

The Q6700 can go a lil' farther then the Q6600. and I got mine to 4GHz on air as 500x8. It needs over 1.57v wich many are afraid to run, but if you get a good batch, it may go there. Others just OC on highest multi wich is hardly as much a challange so 400x10 should be no prob for a Q6700, as is 450x9 for a Q6600. Some are getting the easy 400x10 under 1.5v.

Dont forget to feed the PLL, GTL_Ref, and FSBT to help get the higher FSB stable.

PM me a BIOS template and I can try to help you further for a nice OC.

Thanks dude! Will do it as soon as I get my hands on it!

I'll be happy with 3.6Ghz under 1.40v (if possible at all), but I also want to choose the best FSB for the RAM I have, which does 1.2Ghz easily... so I'm in doubt about which multi/FSB scheme to use...

I'll get back on this as soon as it arrives. Thanks again

[ThatGuy16]

What are you guys doing to get 500+FSB stable?

When I'm benching, i get hard lockups 5 minutes into windows at 4.6Ghz (512FSb), its not my ram, or CPU.. I tried up to +0.25v (G) MCH and +0.2v on FSB. What else could help this?

[Nuckin_Futs]

Thanks dude! Will do it as soon as I get my hands on it!

I'll be happy with 3.6Ghz under 1.40v (if possible at all), but I also want to choose the best FSB for the RAM I have, which does 1.2Ghz easily... so I'm in doubt about which multi/FSB scheme to use...

For me 480x8 was a sweet spot but had stablity issues with the 266 strap needed to hold DDR1204. 5;5 for DDR1153 was butter zone afterall for mine. You can also try 450x w/ a 1200MHz setting (I forget what strap). 450x8 at around 1.41v was a snap for mine in DDR1200.

What are you guys doing to get 500+FSB stable?

When I'm benching, i get hard lockups 5 minutes into windows at 4.6Ghz (512FSb), its not my ram, or CPU.. I tried up to +0.25v (G) MCH and +0.2v on FSB. What else could help this?

If speaking of the Q6600, it is FSB limited to around 509 tops, but 501 average for stability or reality use. Read my previous post of what to aim for in getting 500x8 stable w/ Q6600 GO early rev. Key points; PLL, GTL_Ref and FSBT. For most, PLL needs to be over 1.632v, FSBT of 1.472v~1.504v, and GTL_Ref of CPU/Chipset to 63% each, cPU can go 67%~71% if available. (like on DFI, Abit, or ASUS). Adjust vcore as needed, but 500FSB on a quad need some good 1.55v+ even on 8x (not seen any do it on 9x over 455FSB even w/ 1.6v+). The jump from 480x to 500x is big in vcore.

[ThatGuy16]

Thanks, I'm running a E8400 though.. and most of those settings aren't in my BIOS

[TyphooN]

is there any way to adjust GTL_REF on EX38-DQ6?? I don't see this option anywhere. I read earlier to press ctrl+f1 to gain access to extra options, but I am not sure if there is a different way to do this on the EX38-DQ6?

[REVHEAD]

Well i'm jumping to an EP45-DQ6 asap!

rofl have fun with the 8 x 8 crossfire then lol I will stick with 16 x 16

[Caped Crusader]

For me 480x8 was a sweet spot but had stablity issues with the 266 strap needed to hold DDR1204. 5;5 for DDR1153 was butter zone afterall for mine. You can also try 450x w/ a 1200MHz setting (I forget what strap). 450x8 at around 1.41v was a snap for mine in DDR1200.

Got it! 450X8 is what I'm using now with the E6750. The strap is 2.66D which is actually the most stable one for this mboard, so... I guess I will stick with the same then
I just thought that using the higher multi (X10) would be better but I keep forgetting about the RAM strap and how it gets performance advantage from higher straps...

[Richard Dower]

rofl have fun with the 8 x 8 crossfire then lol I will stick with 16 x 16

Pish!... 8x8 will work just as well as 16x16, the PCB of the P45 is superior based on what i've seen

[Richard Dower]

Guys, tech note about Dual LAN Teaming setup procedure;

http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/Support/...l&FileID=18577

[Richard Dower]

some more reviews:

http://www.mod-pc.com/modules.php?na...owpage&pid=169

http://topic.intozgc.com/2008/02/zbhp/