Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

[Darkje]

Hi everyone,

I got this board few weeks ago, and in the process of setting things up I made some observations I would like to discuss and also some questions came up, that I plan to ask along the way.

First the hardware used:
- Z68X-UD3H-B3(rev 1.3), bios F11j
- I5-2500K, cooled by scythe mugen2 rev.b with 1500rpm pwm-fan on cpufan header.
- 8G(2x4G) Corsair Vengeance LP CML8GX3M2A1600C9W,Low profile/Low voltage, DDR1600/C9-1.35v. Slots 1&2.
- Seasonic M12D SS850-EM , 850W Semi-Modular PSU with 80A at 12V.
- 2x EVGA GeForce GTX285-1GB in SLi, 4x 6pin power and bridge connected.[PCIEX_16 and PCIEX_8]
- Hauppauge HVR2200 PCIE 1x tv-tuner card.[PCIEX1_3]
- Intel controller in raid mode.
- 2x WD 500G blacks in raid0 on intel port 0-1.
- 1x WD 1000G black on intel port 2.
- 1x OCZ Vertex2 (32nm) on intel port 3.
- 1x Optiarc DVDRW on intel port 4.
- 1x Samsung 500G on marvell port 0.
- 24" LCD monitor @ Geforce 0, lower HDMI port.
- 17" LCD monitor @ Geforce 0, upper HDMI port.
- 19" LCD TV @ intel/onboard HDMI.
- 4ch analoge speakers, cambridge dtt set.
- internal spdif header connected to Geforce 0.
- front usb connected.
- front ac97 connected.
- front cardreader (usb) connected.
- rear 4x usb bracket.
- ms media keyboard, ms comfort mouse. usb, wired.

I installed it my usual way:
- Load bios defaults, save and exit.
Enter bios and set:
- memory to xmp1, enhance cpu=n
- disable boot logo
- disable orom splash
- enable intel raid
- disable com
- enable hpet 64
- set fan slope to 2.50
- set fan control to pwm
- save and exit
Enter bios and save this profile as my defaults.

- boot w7(raid0)
- ready an usbstick with w7sp1 image
- remove the current partion from the ssd
- secure erase the ssd
- partition and quick format ssd

switch off pc and disconnect the power to all harddisks, other than the one installing to.
- boot with the usbstick, f12 to select it to boot from.
- install windows7 as normal and when done reboot.
- let w7 settle for a few minutes
- disable system restore and remove any backups
- uac off
- remove hybernation file, w. admin cmdprompt 'powercfg -h off'
- run wei
- reboot

now it's time to get rid of any unknown devices, so install some drivers:
- install from mobo cd:
INF Update Utility Version:9.2.0.1021 reboot
Etron USB driver Version:1.00.0000.0104
Intel(R) Management Engine Software Version:7.0.0.1118
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Vista X64 / Win7 X64 Version:8.15.10.2418 reboot
Realtek 8111/8168 LAN Driver for gigabit(Windows 7) Version:7.046.0531.2011

- run windows update
install critical updates, reboot
install critical updates, reboot
install critical updates
check for more updates
install critical updates, reboot
install critical updates

- install nvidia driver 295.51, enable SLi

- switch off and reconnect power to other the harddisks.
power-on and enter bios to set boot sequence.
start windows, detects hdd's, needs reboot.
use diskmanager to get the drive letters arranged like I was used to, reboot.
- install av
- install acronis
- install office
- install firefox
- run windows update again, reboot
- create baseline image with acronis

after that I installed some more drivers:
- iRST 10.8 and updated intel media drivers (8.15.10.2559)
and to conclude the setup, some other minor software I had to install.
--------------------------------------------------------------------


So far so good, but now come the issues I bumped in to:
- nic, no driver for it in standard w7 install, meaning you have to have access to the mobocd or other pc+internet+usbstick to get lan going.
- bootloops, sometimes the system reboots several times before actually starting, clicking from the casespeaker, spinning and stopping fans. https://www.google.com/search?q=z68+bootloops
- boot beep often not heared.
- sometimes 'waiting for ME ready' - reboot. https://www.google.com/search?q=waiting+for+me+ready
- when coldbooting w7 with sli enabled sometimes desktop appears in low res, both geforces have a code 43. restaring again solves it, but it is anoying. It seems somehow this is caused by the network drivers, for me it's just intermittend, no mater what driver it sometimes happens. https://www.google.com/search?q=cold+boot+code+43+sli
- audio analogue out, in quad speaker config the black output is not tied to rear, had to put the black plug in orange hole. No audio out rear panel - Gigabyte GA-Z68-UD3H-B3 - Sound-Cards - CPU-Components
- audio no sound to tv over onboard hdmi, no playback device for intel display audio controller. https://www.google.com/search?q=z68+no+audio+over+hdmi . I know the tv and wiring are okay, because I can get it going when connected to the geforce0 with the spdif cable. When connected to the onboard hdmi, viewing the edid of the tv with entech/moninfo it does expose it's speaker capabilities, so I don't understand why no playback device appears in the playback device list. I've tried several intel display audio drivers, but to no avial. Could it be some drm issue, ie. hdcp not okay with the tv or adding the audio packets?
- multiloadline does very little and mainly just overvolts way over the set level, vcore not steady at any level. I tested this with a set vcore of 1.25v, all powersavings off and fixed speed of 33x100, trying all levels and monitoring the vcore with bios and software(I know, inaccurate, but usually it does indicate) while doing some linx rounds. At level 10 it overvolted the 1.25v setting to 1.45v with even higher spikes. In the pictures it seems like levels 4-5 are most steady, but as soon as frequency goes higher this changes to more spikey. Photo Album - Imgur notice the deviation from the set 1.25v and how I had to change the scale up in level 9&10 pics.

I'll update and expand wherever it's needed, but for now I feel this should be enough for the start-post.

Ofcourse, I googled ... it seems on many of those issues I'm not alone, but still I'd like to attempt fixing where possible. So if anyone knows about these issues and if it is even possible to adress them, please let me know.

Darkje

[wazza300]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

you update dto latest bios? and pressed alt and f12 at splash screen to flash both bios chips with same version? disable cpu pll overvoltage to help stop reboot loops at start up

[Darkje]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

I'm at bios F11j, so yes I think that is the latest beta, the board came with F10 installed, I flashed it to see if that would cure anything. I did load optimized defaults before flashing, used qflash+usb, powered down, clr-cmos, powerup, load optimized defs, and then use alt f12. And ofcourse I did all the testing again. The only difference I noticed was that the bidirectional prochot item was no longer there in F11j.

I'll try expicitly disabling cpu pll overvoltage, I think it's at auto now.

The odd thing is it will reboot fine 9 out of 10 times, but then the loop, or waiting for ME, or in windows both vga cards have code 43. I have not yet found a sure way to recreate any of those on demand, so it's kind of hard to track what's happening.

Also I'd really like to get audio to my TV over the onboard hdmi, but somehow I can't seem to get it working.

While I seem to strugle with some minor issue's I can't quite pinpoint, other stuff is going well. For example a basic oc on all turbo's to 45x with vcore at auto and eist/c1e enabled is fine. I've also managed 51x w. 2cores and 1.4v vCore+MLL=L5. So at that front it seems to be working fine. Even the aging gtx285's love the cpu @ 4.7 giving me 24k vantage score. http://imgur.com/tv3rm

[wazza300]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

could be gpu/driver related if its throwing up 43 error code? checked all the sound options in speaker bottom right corner of screen? look for hdmi option

[Darkje]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

I've been looking around and in several places it was sugested that using earlier realtek lan drivers helped to solve the problem, so I used the ones from the mobo cd and it seems fine most of the time. Then for no particular reason at all the next morning when I switch on (from standby) it happens, or after complete power cycles it sometimes happens too. It's not that bad to have to reboot, but it should not happen in my book.

On the hdmi, there is no hdmi device other thanthe 2 realtek ones in the playback-devices panel. I do have the intel display audio device in the device manager, showing as location 3 (internal hd audio bus) but not in the playback devices, only location 2 devices show there, from the realtek onboard.

Here is a screenshot, showing devicemanager/sound (v&g) controllers, the properties of the intel diplay audio being on location 3, and the playback devices, not showing any location3 device. I did check for hidden and disabled playback devices, but it's not there either. Also visible is the intel display panel, with the acer tv connected, and entech-moninfo showing that the TV-edid is indeed exposing it has 2 speakers.

http://i.imgur.com/ATOuK.png

[wazza300]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

it could be sleep/resume s3 related then? problems resuming from sleep usually memory setting or qpi/vtt voltage not enough,as for hdmi i have the option but its ati hdmi if i use my gpu hdmi port,i dont know much about intels/onboard hdmi

[Darkje]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

No I never use sleep/hibernate, it's on 14h a day, then I shutdown to standby(ie. not using switch on back) and reboot next morning. And then some reboots inbetween when I change stuff ofcourse.

Yeah I was expecting something similar in my playback-device list, but despite the audio driver for it being installed, no device shows up. I know the tv is working, because when I connect it through my vga card it does work. Mine predate the build-in hdmi but I do have the cable connected to the internal spdif header of the board and get it from the realtek then. I also tried with the tv being the main and only screen connected and the bios set to make the onboard the primary display, as sugested in some forums, but no audio from it.

[wazza300]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

what dram voltage are you using? its recommended not to exceed 1.5750v as not to damage the mem controller on sb,still could be cold boot issue?

[Darkje]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

- 8G(2x4G) Corsair Vengeance LP CML8GX3M2A1600C9W,Low profile/Low voltage, DDR1600/C9-1.35v. Slots 1&2.

It's set at 1.355v, the sticks are rated for 1.35v @ ddr1600. I added 0.05 to make it not droop below that.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

Why do you have Intel graphics drivers installed?

As for audio over HDMI, you need to make sure you have 1.4 cables, and you may need to connect your spdif cable from the cards to the motherboard (Sorry, I'm not an audio buff so that's probably incorrect but sounds right to me). And it looks like you don't have a HDMI audio driver installed, sorry I'm an ATI user so not sure how it should look for Nvidia but for ATI HDMI audio there is a specific driver installed that shows up in audio tab like shown above. You may need to reinstall the Nvidia drivers, and choose advanced/custom and see if there is a HDMI audio Driver. Also right click on a blank area within the audio devices window, and choose show hidden/disabled devices, then if HDMI does not appear you'll need to reinstall the Nvidia drivers and try custom to be sure HDMI audio is not deselected.

I found this EVGA/Nvidia FAQ about HDMI audio, maybe it will help you get going in the right direction?
FAQ ID # 58741 - How Do I Enable or Disable HDMI Audio in Windows If I Am Using an HDMI Connection Between My Nvidia Video Card or Motherboard and My Monitor?

And you may or may not need to install the Microsoft UUA driver first, not sure, hopefully someone with a bit more audio experience will chime in on this for you
Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio class driver available for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Window 2000

This might also be of consequence, since you installed onboard graphics drivers I guess this might be similar as he's using a X68 too

You have to set your iGPU as primary in the bios then windows automatically loads the hdmi audio driver when you next login

No audio over HDMI (Intel HD Graphics 3000 - i5-2600k's GPU) - Windows 7 Forums

Avoid using the motherboard/case reset button, it's still finicky and can cause the startup issues you mention. You did get your backup BIOS flashed to match the main correct? Just checking

And slots 2 + 4 are sometimes more stable, so if you do have memory issues be sure to switch this up and test again.

[Darkje]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

Hi Lsdmeasap, nice to see you pop in.

I have the intel drivers installed because I want to use the onboard/onchip as dedicted card for my tv.

It is working fine over the vga card, but not over the onboard intel+hdmi connector.

Yes I do have the spdif cable connected to my geforce nr0, so that is how I know the tv is fine. Only when I connect it to the intel, I expected an intel HDMI device to appear in the windows playback devices list, but it does not happen. I'd like to use the onboard, it saves memory on my sli cards, and I don't have to use tools to make it clock down @ idle if only 1 screen is connected.

Could try the uaa, but it seems it's only for xp/2003 not vista/7 and I do have the devices showing up as working in the device manager, only no selectable output in the playback device list.

I found that post too, and tried with the tv as primary and only screen and I did set the bios to init the onboard first, but it did not help.

The bootup issue is weird. I can boot all day and go through different bios settings just fine, and then for no apparent reason a boot fails to get past some post test it seems, and just keeps rebooting. Sometimes after few attempts it does start the os, sometimes I just power down and restart it cold, to make it work. I've been able to escape every time, but I fear it will remain in a loop one day. I also noticed sometimes the shutdown cycle is taking longer than expected, maybe it is tied in.

Yeah the flashing was okay, done @ default, qflash+usb, clrcmos, optimized, alt-f12. I know what I'm doing there ;).

I'll watch the reset button, maybe it was the cause, I just did not register it as being a factor, but sure used it once in a while.

The memory does not seem to be the problem, it's doing fine passing linx/all and some prime. Maybe the mem is already in the slots you mention, it all depends on how you ment that, it is in the slots 2nd and 4th away from the cpu, the 4th one being numbered slot1 and the other one is numbered slot2 on this board. The manual stated to use the slots in this order.

edit: oh and I made this graph from the data I gathered on my MLL level survey. imgur: the simple image sharer
I planned to also test @ 4500 w1.4v , but seeing it overvolt 0,2v made me decide not to.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

Sorry about the UAA link, there is Vista/Win 7 version I must have just grabbed the wrong one for you. Hmm, hard to find, since it's already included in windows 7 by default, but I do find HP download links for windows 7 via google if you want to grab it that way. Apparently it should be already installed, do you see "High Definition Audio Device" in Device manager, if so it's installed.

Did you check hidden / disable devices in the Audio panel? Are there any disabled devices in device manager (Expand all and check)?

Ya, I just meant try 2+4 physical from the CPU outward, if you had issues with 1+3, either will work fine just some boards/CPU's like one or the other better is all.

What is MLL? Did you mean LLC (Load Line Calibration)?

[Darkje]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

Yeah it's included in the realtek drivers too I remember, not that I installed those, but i've seen them when unpacking in the past. But I already have the device, so I'm quite sure it's not that. I did check for hidden and disconected outputs in the playback-devices list, but it's just not there. In the device manager there is no indication of any device problems, even while showing the hidden ones and expanding every branch.

I meant the LLC, but since it's not really LLC anymore like it used to be, I called it MLL (multi level loadline) ;) but its the same.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

I meant to check device manager for disabled items, not problem ones specifically (IE No yellow exclamation, just grayed out for disabled I think)

Ya, once I saw your image and the 10 levels I thought that was what you mean, but wasn't sure. So which level do you like the most?

Sorry I can't help more on the audio, I don't know much about audio since I only care about hearing windows sounds and email notifications through my two cheap Logitech speakers. We do have some audio guys here, I just can't remember who they are. Maybe you could start a topic on the audio specifically, in the audio section of the forum and see if you can get some better advice that way.

[Darkje]

Re: Darkje's GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 build.

Well since the actual droop shifts a bit depending on the load and frequency its hard to pick one. 4-5-6 seem to be the most steady ones over a 3.3-4.7ghz range. It's more like picking one that prevents the vcore from drooping below the absolute minimum required at load, and that can also be done without any LLC, by just setting vcore apropriate, so that is what I'm using now. that way I may have to set vcore a bit higher, but at least I'm sure it's not going over the set point.

On the audio, I think it's some kind of issue that the intel does not like my tv, but I'll just connect it to the vga then, and if I find out more I'll try it again.

edit: to illustrate the shift in behaviour with frequency and load of level 6 look at these
http://imgur.com/a/ooqhI#6 this shows the vcore set at 1.25, freq. 3300 level=6
http://imgur.com/4W5vw this one is with vcore set at 1.37, freq 4700 level=6

in the first one level 6 slightly overvolts, with a bit more at load but at 4700 this curve changed to a droop.