** OFFICIAL ** Intel DX38BT & DX48BT2 BoneTrail Thread

[Manel]

I guess the last fix was the hardest, changing the text in BIOS from 1.5V to 1.2V in HW monitor.
The first one is also a joke, nobody uses XTU (I assume this is eXtreme Tunning Utility) with this board I believe, IDCC would be the correct tool here. Anyway, IDCC hasn't changed, still v4.1.0.168 as before.
Anyone tried the new BIOS? Post your comments.

[Randy]

I updated to this bios and all is well.

One issue I have had since I switched cases is that there is a long lag after waking from standby with the USB mouse (IE. you have to wait about 5-10 seconds before the mouse will move at the logon prompt). I don't know if I plugged into a different port or what. I tried moving devices around, but I still get the same lag. Never did that before.

Ideas?

Also,
I dropped from a 10X multiplier to 9X, and pushed the FSB up to 400. So, now I'm at 3.6 versus 3.8 with higher FSB, but I dropped the CPU voltage down to 1.35 from 1.375, and may try a little more. Seems to prime out okay.

[Mahyar.FF]

I guess the last fix was the hardest, changing the text in BIOS from 1.5V to 1.2V in HW monitor.
The first one is also a joke, nobody uses XTU (I assume this is eXtreme Tunning Utility) with this board I believe, IDCC would be the correct tool here. Anyway, IDCC hasn't changed, still v4.1.0.168 as before.
Anyone tried the new BIOS? Post your comments.

XTU (eXtreme Tunning Utility) is a service that will be installed and enabled with IDCC.

[Manel]

You are correct Mahyar, I've checked the service running.
I was thinking it was the earlier Intel tool for older boards. What was it called? It was something similar I believe. Or am I mixing things up?!

Randy, you say it was after switching cases? That's odd, the case shouldn't have anything to do with the USB devices. Did you also update the BIOS or any driver at the time? Do you have UEFI enabled in BIOS? Disable it if you do.
So, with this BIOS you can actually raise your FSB higher to 400? Could you also with the earlier or was it an improvement?
Can you please check if the mem timings had any changes in BIOS? Is tRD/Performance Level already available?

[gtj]

I'll be testing it tonight on both the x38 and x48 boards.

[djs357]

Not a newbie, but a long time lurker. I just installed the new bios. Can't say as it went well. I question the XTU reference, as now I must disable the XTU service to make XP boot. Interestingly enough I have a dual boot DX48BT2 and the Vista partition suffered no such ill. Has anyone else had problems with XTU?

[Randy]

Randy, you say it was after switching cases? That's odd, the case shouldn't have anything to do with the USB devices. Did you also update the BIOS or any driver at the time? Do you have UEFI enabled in BIOS? Disable it if you do.
So, with this BIOS you can actually raise your FSB higher to 400? Could you also with the earlier or was it an improvement?
Can you please check if the mem timings had any changes in BIOS? Is tRD/Performance Level already available?

Well,
what happened is that I have every USB port used, and I plugged them in to different ports when I reassembled the system. So when I booted up, each device had to be reinstalled by Windows, and that's where the problem began.

Memory timings are still 7-7-6-18 @ 1T, but now running where it should be - 1600. And yes, it appears I can now run the FSB up to 400, where I always had issues above 385 or so. I doubt this bios had anything to do with it, but I loaded the XMP profile first, which set the memory @ 1333, and then upped the CPU FSB to get to 1600. I could not get the XMP profile to work with any other bios.

[Manel]

Randy
Maybe you could try (if you haven't already) unplugging the USB devices you don' t really need for normal operation (leave only kb and mouse maybe) and try booting and see if anything changes. Maybe it has to do with the limited available power to the USB ports. You can check in Device Manager the USB Root Hub for each port if the current being drawn isn't over the limit, usually 500mA I believe.
Good to know that some mem improvements (long promised and overdue) might have made it to this release.

djs, welcome.
Bad news for you I guess, and all of us for that matter. Intel will not asure IDCC working with the latest 1893 BIOS, not for the latest IDCC v4.1.0.168. Check it out in the IDCC download page:

10/9/2008 NOTE: BIOS version 1814 is compatible with the 4.1.0.168 beta, but newer BIOS versions are NOT. This is currently being addressed and this site will be updated when a newer compatible BIOS becomes available.

Let's hope Intel engineers work fast with a new IDCC version, and that this time it will not be a beta version but finally a stable version. It's been hard to get there.

Anyone checked if the no boot after power failure is finally solved yet?
gtj, what's your opinion so far, tried it yet?

[Randy]

Manel,
what chipset driver version are you using, and do you use standby/sleep mode ?

[Manel]

Man, don't ask about chipset drivers, not even Intel knowa which are the right ones.
We've had this discussion here before, some people are using the ones on the mobo CD, others are using the ones on Intel website. Can't remember exactly now which I'm using but I believe the ones on the CD. Let me just check.
I have 8.3.1.1003 dated 5/1/2007, on Intel website it's 8.3.1.1010 dated 10/2/2007. I also have SMBus driver 2.0, which I believe was installed with IDCC, some people don't have this. If you go back in the thread you can read all about this and all the issues, can't remember exactly now. There is some contradictory information in Intel documentation regarding these chipset drivers and which are the correct ones, but now they mention DX38BT and DX48BT2 specifically in the download description. However, if I remember correctly, in the readme file there was no mention to these boards or something.
Regarding sleep/standby I have no issues, why do you ask? I believe some folks had problems here, not sure if the latest BIOS versions fixed it, I can't remember having any issues ever though.

[Randy]

Man, don't ask about chipset drivers, not even Intel knowa which are the right ones.
We've had this discussion here before, some people are using the ones on the mobo CD, others are using the ones on Intel website. Can't remember exactly now which I'm using but I believe the ones on the CD. Let me just check.
I have 8.3.1.1003 dated 5/1/2007, on Intel website it's 8.3.1.1010 dated 10/2/2007. I also have SMBus driver 2.0, which I believe was installed with IDCC, some people don't have this. If you go back in the thread you can read all about this and all the issues, can't remember exactly now. There is some contradictory information in Intel documentation regarding these chipset drivers and which are the correct ones, but now they mention DX38BT and DX48BT2 specifically in the download description. However, if I remember correctly, in the readme file there was no mention to these boards or something.
Regarding sleep/standby I have no issues, why do you ask? I believe some folks had problems here, not sure if the latest BIOS versions fixed it, I can't remember having any issues ever though.

Thanks for the reply. The reason I ask about the chipset drivers is I wondered if my usb wake up lag might be related to the chipset drivers.
Oh well, no big deal, as I'm really pleased with the performance now where I'm at again. Hopefully, this rig will toll me over until the X58 is out - but not likely.

[Mahyar.FF]

Not a newbie, but a long time lurker. I just installed the new bios. Can't say as it went well. I question the XTU reference, as now I must disable the XTU service to make XP boot. Interestingly enough I have a dual boot DX48BT2 and the Vista partition suffered no such ill. Has anyone else had problems with XTU?

I have 2 OS (XP & Vista) installed with this board too.
And I had and have many problems with the XTU service.
I have to reinstall the IDCC several times in a month (it depends),
the XTU service stops responding and I think it sets a flag that stops the service from running again even after reboot...
so I should reinstall it again.
I also got "Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion" so many times, that forced me to extend Services maximum start time to 3mins.
Currently I have uninstalled IDCC from my Vista because of some doubts I have.
I impatiently wait for stable version of IDCC...

[djs357]

Mahyar.FF, I just uninstelled the thing now and So far I haven't had and failed boots. I'm hoping to try to get this board stable at 3.6GHz again. This Bios didn't offer much and I still don't trust my OCZ Titanium memory. This board /memory combo has been random since I turned it on 4 months ago. The removal of IDCC seams to have helped. I know it was a source of randomness on my last system, a 975BX2, but the I never had such solid evidence as after installing this Bios update.

[Manel]

Randy, I've been looking at the readme for the chipset drivers available in Intel website and they do mention a possible problem with USB after driver install. They refer to a couple of MS QFEs to solve these issues, although this is from a year back and it could happen in XP SP1, I imagine those problems would be solved in SP2 and SP3 I guess. Anyway, you might want to take a look at it. What version have you installed?
Will you switch to X58 once it's out? Looks promising but I don't know. I guess now those DDR3-2000+ are not needed for some time at least. Wasted bandwidth with triple channel. Anyway, X58 is just around the corner, less than a month I guess till you can have one.

djs, are you sure the problem is with the mem? I had a whole lot of trouble with these Titanium at first, but that was due to the early BIOS version that came with the board. As soon as I flashed to a more recent one it has worked like a charm for me, latencies are low, mem is fast and stable. I just wish the required voltage was lower, but haven't tried the minimum though. What's your setup? Maybe it's something else that's giving you a headache, PS maybe?

[GumaLive]

Well guys I updated BIOS to 1893 and it freezed at "Flashing main firmware ..." After 15 minutes of waiting I reset(pressed reset) the computer. Then blank screen. In about 1 minute PC booted againg from Flash boot CD. Now BIOS update was sucessfull.
Very nice recovery mechanizm :-) Note the jumper was still in Normal position.

[GumaLive]

I was finally able to stabilize my system at 1333 MHz with default settings.

It was needed to increase vMEM from default 1,54V to 1,62V. Now system is stable at default vaules and clocks.

But when I try to reach 1600 FSB I'm getting ramdom reboots, mainly at some stress test like HiperPI or Prime95.

My settings:
vCPU: 1,325V
EnhancedPS: On
vMCH: 1,45V
vFSB: 1,3V
multi: 6x (CPU underclocked at 2,4GHz)
FSB: 400
C1E: off
IESST: off
--
REFfreq: 333
MEMfreq: 1333 (400\1600 will give me Memtest errors)
Timings: 7-7-6-20 (also tryed 7-7-7-28 and 8-8-8-28 same situation)
Advanced timings: 72-5-10-6-6 1T
vMEM: 1,82V (1,78 gives me errors in Prime and HiperPI; 1,86 and 1,9V causes ramdom reboots to come faster in stress test)

The settings pass Memtest, but I'm gettings reboots :-(

[petr0id]

Intel® Matrix Storage Technology (RAID) driver version 8.6.0.1007 available at Intel's site.
BIOS ver. 1893 looks stable, but nothing new... Only1.5=1.2?

[djs357]

Manel, thanks for the response. I have been bumping BIOS since the start of this, would never have gotten this far elsewise. I don't think the PSU is the issue, Corsair HX620. I only have 1 HD3870. Thermals unlikely also Fanned to death and a Gemini2 on my E8400. Still not sure though, I had it running at 3.6GHz for awhile, then the random reboots started. Cranked back to 3.3GHz. Mem is 7-7-7-20-2T 1.66v TRFC=60, seems to have stabilized the last issue I was having with hardware VT-x VMs crashing the system with BSOD. Have done some VMCH and Vcore bumps, but am not so inclined. I just would be happy if it stays stable.

[Zardoc]

I have 2 OS (XP & Vista) installed with this board too.
And I had and have many problems with the XTU service.
I have to reinstall the IDCC several times in a month (it depends),
the XTU service stops responding and I think it sets a flag that stops the service from running again even after reboot...
so I should reinstall it again.
I also got "Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion" so many times, that forced me to extend Services maximum start time to 3mins.
Currently I have uninstalled IDCC from my Vista because of some doubts I have.
I impatiently wait for stable version of IDCC...

Will there ever be a stable version of IDCC (Intel Desktop Control Center) or even IDU (Intel Desktop Utility)? Also, If you read the release notes from the Intel website about Extreme Tuning Utility, it doesn't get along well with various IDCC versions.

[HighTest]

Intel® Matrix Storage Technology (RAID) driver version 8.6.0.1007 available at Intel's site.
BIOS ver. 1893 looks stable, but nothing new... Only1.5=1.2?

What is specificially mentioned in the release notes are the following fixes:
• Fixed issue preventing processor multiplier update from XTU.
• Fixed issue where system power on fails after AC loss.
• Fixed an issue where the Flag was being set that Watchdog timer
had fired.
• Fixed BIOS Setup in the Hardware Monitoring page, the 1.5v rail
text was changed to 1.2v.

So there was a little more than just the monitoring page text changes. I also suspect that there was more involved in the BIOS, but not mentioned in the release notes as some are reporting improved memory results.

I'll be doing some testing myself later this week and will let you know the results. But so far, so good.

[TheBob]

Hey all! I have been stalking the XS forums for years. I just now needed to sign up. There is such a wealth of info here I have never needed to ask a question. Anyway
I have a DX48BT2, Core2Quad 9650, 2x4870, and 2gb DDR3. I have my cpu watercooled under a 320mm DD rad and a Dtek fusion block. I can not get this thing past 3.4GHz. Even there I have some issues. I have the newest bios. I have tried everything I can think of to get this mobo to overclock. I have a fan on my northbrigde so its not that holding it back.
Can anyone help me out here?
Edit: I also have Kingston HyperX memory and it will not run at stock timings stable.

[redphil]

How are your temperatures? The IDCC shows only the difference to the maximum temperature, and it doesn't show the temperatures of each single core.
I had the problem that my watercooled q9300 wasn't running stable @3Ghz/increased voltage. Yesterday I used CPUID HWMonitor to find out that one of the cores was getting really hot under full load.

[TheBob]

core temps are 51 51 43 43 at load at 3.4 stock voltage. I have a 120mm fan blowing over the northbridge and mosfits to cover the lose of air that would come from a cpu cooler.
The memory timings bothers me as well. Even at everything stock I can not pass one loop of Memtest86. I have to raise the timings to get the errors to go away.

[Manel]

djs, have you considered bad hardware? I mean, maybe your CPU won't hold it while in stress, or other components for that matter. Do you have another CPU laying around or that you can borrow, and a grphics card that you can swap in just to check how it behaves with this board. Or maybe it's the board itself that is not 100% ok and you can RMA. This is one tough board to get up and running.

Zardoc, I have said too many times as well, I believe we'll never have a stable (non-beta) version of IDCC. Too bad, I even like the thing. Now with he DX58SO all the attention will go for it I guess and Intel guys will leave us hanging. Even new BIOS versions will be (even more) scarce I believe.

HT, have you tested the new version already? Let us know regarding the "systems power fails after power loss" bug if it's corrected, I assume it's the issue when, if you remove power to the board it won't boot the first time, right? I wonder if that's finally fixed. If it is, congrats Intel, that was about time.

Hey Bob, welcome. You know, quads are not so easily oc'ed, high FSBs are hard to get. You mention 3.4G but at what FSB freq, and what voltages? How are your mem dividers and voltage?

[djs357]

Manel,
I have been stable at 3.3GHz since my last go around. I am running nearly stock voltages only the DDR3 is bumped to 1.66v. I am not compelled to push it further. It is running great for now. Way more finicky than my 975bx2, but more than adequate.
Thanks.
BTW what voltages are you running?