Advice on upgrades please

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

You won't need a floppy if you have a fairly recent Windows XP SP2 disk. If you don't, you'll need to take the SATA drivers from the driver CD and put them on a floppy. It will either have a utility that does it for you or a folder you'll need to copy the contents of. It may also come with a driver floppy on its own.

[Marlowe1899]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

I'm still hearing G.Skill causes problems - it's 50/50 whether the comp will even boot.

Apparently I have to change the vdimm by 0.3v before I install Windows just to get it maybe running.

Seems strange to me that 2 sticks of memory from 1 company can make the comp not run.

Here's a quick C&P of what I've been reading:

The biggest issue with these boards is ram and booting problems. It is very common to have one of these boards that will simply cycle boot without posting and unable to reach bios or anything else for that matter. This is either a ram issue or a faulty board!

Ram issues
The first batch of boards were released with the F1 bios, which has issues with numerous ram types. The most common bios on boards being shipped currently is F2. The F2 bios cures alot of the ram incompatibility but some ram like the Gskill for example still remains troublesome. See below for a list of compatible ram, but IMO the Geil ram is by far the least troublesome and the best option:

Corsair
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB)
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-5400C4 TwinX (2x1GB)

Geil
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB5300DC)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)

Adata
Adata 512mb Vitesta ddr2-800 (pc6400) Elpida modules cas5 5-5-15 1.8v

Elixir
Elixir PC2-5300U-5-5-5-12-D1

GSkill
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HZ PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ) - with F3 bios

I would strongly reccommend that you download the latest bios here: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products...rd/Default.aspx


Booting Issues
A percentage of these boards are still on the shelves that have a problem with fast ram and Core2Duo chips. The first board I recieved did't work and when I rma'd it the board was returned to me a few days later with a report claiming that it worked without problem. It was tested with a celeron and some PC5300 ram.

After rma'ing the board again and demanding that it was tested with a Core2Duo and 800mhz ram, they reported that there was some problem with the board running Core2 and that they would replace it.

With the first board after building the rig it would simply just cycle without posting and would just continue. The fans would spin up but no beeps or anything else! With the replacement board it worked first time proving my first instincts right, that the first board was knackered!

It does appear to be hit and miss, 50% will work the other 50% will fail.

Well fingers crossed mines good.

[Marlowe1899]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

You won't need a floppy if you have a fairly recent Windows XP SP2 disk. If you don't, you'll need to take the SATA drivers from the driver CD and put them on a floppy. It will either have a utility that does it for you or a folder you'll need to copy the contents of. It may also come with a driver floppy on its own.

I dont have a disc with SP2 on.

I have GIGABYTE SATA2 RAID Driver (Preinstall driver) downloaded and put on a floppy ready - there is also a GIGABYTE SATA2 RAID Driver available to download but that 2.37MB and obviously wont fit on a floppy so I assume I just need the preinstall one?

[casecutter]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

It is a problem with the SPD timings of the ram. If you are buying a current motherboard and current ram, you will have no issues. I have 2 sets of G Skill HZ ram. THe first set was SPD timed to boot @ 400MHz. THose had minor issues on some boards, but still not a DS3. The second set I had came with SPD timings for 266MHz and 400MHz so they would post/boot @ the 266MHz soeeds when there was not enough Vdimm for 400MHz. THe DS3 only gives the ram 1.8-1.9V until you raise the Vdimm in bios. Even if you have issues, try to borrow a cheap stick of ANY speed DDR2 and get into bios and up the Vdimm to 1.9V or higher and all G Skill ram will work. The only real problems is with OCZ ram and these boards. I just had to get rid of a nice set of OCZ Special Ops DDR2 5400 because it was unstable at any speed at any settings. Whether it was stock or overclocked, it would have random crashes from instability. Popped my G Skill back in and it is rock stable.

IT is not the motherboard. It is not the ram. It is not the CPU. It is the low Vdimm and the SPD timings on the ram. If you have any problems posting at all, get a cheap cheap cheap stick of even 256MB DDR2 3200 and get into bios and up your Vdimm. Problem solved.

[casecutter]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

You definitely need the drivers from Gigabyte for a raid install. SP2 will not have the drivers for raid. If you are not running raid then you are fine and don't need any floppy.

[Marlowe1899]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

Superb Mate - Thanks alot.

[Marlowe1899]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

You definitely need the drivers from Gigabyte for a raid install. SP2 will not have the drivers for raid. If you are not running raid then you are fine and don't need any floppy.

Well I have 2 drives that are currently in a Raid 0 configuration - not really bothered if thy are in raid or not to be honest.

[casecutter]

Re: Advice on upgrades please

I am certainly no expert, but I check here daily and if you run into any snags, make sure you post here. I have a Gigabyte DQ6 and I have a few friends with the DS3 so I have a fair bit of knowledge about their quirks. Otherwise, it really should post/boot. Raid can be a pain in the ass to get going, but once you get it figured out, it's pie.