Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

[Aquakitty]

Ok, I admit that is a bit strong but honestly I have never had a board with so many tweaks needed just for it to run stable stock :p

I hope I can get some help here from the nice Gigabyte tech Lsdmeasap

I have looked at many threads so far and have triedvarious settings myself, I was hoping to just get some specific settings for my system to be able to run this.

Specs:

CPU: E8400
Mobo: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L
RAM: G.Skill F2-8500CL5D-2x2G
CL 5-5-5-15 2-2.1 V
GPU: BFG GTX 260

1) I have tested each RAM stick individually and they passed memtest fine. The problems occur when I place 2 sticks in dual-channel mode. 2 sticks side by side seems to run ok as well.

2) I have followed settings from other threads to no avail... such as setting the MCH core to 1.3V, and setting the ram voltage to the appropriate 2.1V, and a bunch of other things.

3) I have used Qflash to flash the BIOS to F8

4) Now, it still hangs or errors out when I run memtest around test 3 when sticks in dual channel mode.Is there something else specific I should be setting in the BIOS?

Thanks.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

Ahh, you will get it! It just is not a Beginners BIOS is all.

I see you mentioned F8 BIOS, had you had better luck with Previous ones or is this a brand new build? I just ask because sometimes newer is not better, and your CPU is supported by F4 and above.... So just wondering which you have used or not

Well maybe you should try only 1.2-1.25 MCH voltage. But yes, as you see there is MANY settings in there, and some may be to much or not enough in Auto.

Post back what you are using that Fail so I can see what FSB and such you are using, and I will reply with some suggested settings >>>>

This is Just a template I use to ask people their settings, pay no attention to the numbers in it, replace with yours

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............:
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................:
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.0
CPU Frequency ...........................:


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Set to 100


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<<
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<<
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<<
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<<


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............:
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............:
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................
tRCD .........................................
tRP'...........................................
tRAS..........................................

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................
tWTR..........................................
tWR............................................
tRFC...........................................
tRTP...........................................
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................:
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< Leave

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: <<
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............:
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

[Aquakitty]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

I have managed to get it to pass memtest by underclocking the RAM, here are my current settings.Going to try to change the mem multiplier again up one increment and see if it'll be stable. Please let me know if I am mssing something, and thanks for the quick reply!


BTW, as for the BIOS update, I noticed no difference before or after flashing the BIOS as far as stability goes.






MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 9x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.+0.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.00GHZ (333x9)


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............:333 Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Already set to 100


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 800mV
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 900mV
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0ps
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD] yes
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled yes
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [400MHz]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.00D
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 667 (seriously underclocked, I just wanted to see if I could get it to pass memtest, should be at 3.33D)
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................ 5
tRCD ......................................... 5
tRP'........................................... 5
tRAS.......................................... 15

Advanced Timing Control (tried a few settings here, currently:)
tRRD........................................... 3
tWTR.......................................... 3
tWR............................................ 6
tRFC........................................... 52
tRTP........................................... 3
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: 0

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:11 (Auto)
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:11 (Auto)
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................:
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< Leave

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.240V
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.100V
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

[Aquakitty]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

Bah, errored out in memtest after setting the multiplier to 2.66D

[Nickel020]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

If you get errors in Memtest with the CPU at stock settings it's quite likely the RAM itself that's the problem, not the board. Have you tried using other RAM or tested the RAM on a different board?

[Aquakitty]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

If you get errors in Memtest with the CPU at stock settings it's quite likely the RAM itself that's the problem, not the board. Have you tried using other RAM or tested the RAM on a different board?

Yep, I RMA'd the RAM originally assuming perhaps stupidly, that it was the problem. These are fresh sticks and do the same thing so I am quite confident it's not the RAM but the board.. -perhaps I have a dud board?

However like I said if I run the RAM at 667 instead of 1067 it passes memtest, and if I try each stick alone it works fine.

[mxcrowe]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

I totally agree with you: it should say right on the motherboard box - "The Board From Hell!"
I'm reading through this forum again today, and I'm just astounded by how many people have trouble getting these boards to simply work as they should. The percentage of people who enjoy playing Russian Roulette with BIOS settings just to see if the system will become stable is exceedingly small... And if it weren't for this forum (primarily LSD), there would be far fewer who ever achieved success.
I had all the same problems you are having...worked in single channel, but not dual, etc. This is just a design flaw in the motherboard, plain and simple. It shouldn't take BIOS voodoo to unscrew that. After many hours of experimentation, I finally got my system to be stable at 1:1 FSB to Memory clock, and as a result was even overclocked nicely on the CPU. However, I still get BSODs coming back from standby (as do many others) and have chosen to run with only one stick of 2GB until there is a fix. So I have a perfectly good stick of 2GB memory sitting in the closet. I consider the whole thing to be *totally unreasonable* and would never buy from Gigabyte again.
Sorry...but enough is enough.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

Try these settings for 1066, the ram timings are set VERY loose for now and should boot for you >>>

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 9x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.+0.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.00GHZ (333x9)


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............:333 Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:PLEASE MANUALLY set to 100 (Just incase you meant AUTO)


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 800mV
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 900mV
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0ps
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD] yes
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled yes
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [333MHz]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 3.20D
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1065
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................ 5
tRCD ......................................... 5
tRP'........................................... 5
tRAS.......................................... 15

Advanced Timing Control (tried a few settings here, currently:)
tRRD........................................... 4
tWTR.......................................... 12
tWR............................................ 14
tRFC........................................... 62
tRTP........................................... 6
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: 2

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:12
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:12
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................:
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< Leave

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.240V
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.100V
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

[Aquakitty]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

Tried those exact settings, it froze in memtest

I can get it to boot fine, I just cant get it to run stable, as in run Orthos or Prime 95 or pass memtest86 at least once at rated speeds (1066)


Should I RMA this thing do ya think?

This board seemed like such a good deal :X

[Aquakitty]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

I have found a solution to this issue.

This board just refuses to accept a memory multiplier greater than 2.4 with this G.Skill RAM.

If I set a divider of 1:2.4 then it works fine... anything higher and I get memtest86 errors. So I am just OC'ing the CPU a bit which I didn't intend to do with this build since it's for a friend who knows nothing about OC'ing, but ah well at least I got it stable :p (Well I shall see for certain once I run Prime 95 all night).

[mxcrowe]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

As I said (if you could find it in the middle of my rant...sorry), I only got stable once I bumped the FSB to 400 and went 1:1. That made it easy to clock up the multiplier to get as high as 3.4G on the CPU, which is fine by me. I still think it shouldn't be that difficult to get stable in dual channel.

[Aquakitty]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

As I said (if you could find it in the middle of my rant...sorry), I only got stable once I bumped the FSB to 400 and went 1:1. That made it easy to clock up the multiplier to get as high as 3.4G on the CPU, which is fine by me. I still think it shouldn't be that difficult to get stable in dual channel.

haha sorry I read your post but missed the obvious, I was more focused on your agreeing with me

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

So how are you coming long with this now?

[Aquakitty]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

So how are you coming long with this now?

I've got it stable at a 2.4B multiplier, (with the last timings you suggested. I haven't tried setting the advanced timing control settings back down yet) with the FSB at 400 so the mem freq. is at 960Mhz.

Not too bad, I am sure I could go much higher, but I didn't aim for an OC'ing rig as it is for a friend and is being shipped a long distance, and the heatsink is stock.

if I bump it just one notch above 2.4B (To 2.5) even at 333 FSB it errors or freezes in memtest86. Other wise seems good to go now. I will not RMA this over 100 Mhz lol.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ... the board from Hell? (Unstable, need some tweak advice)

Well sounds good then if you did not plan to overclock it anyway. If you do decide you want help with getting it further before you ship out feel free to post back

Hey, When you ship it, if you think the person can handle it, it would be best to not ship with the heatsink on the CPU because if it comes loose it can break all kinds of things as they toss boxes around very hard in shipping warehouses!