Gigabyte DS3/DS4/DQ6 Guide

Monstermunch

Monstermunch

Monstermunch

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Thought i'd start this thread for all the people who own or are thinking of owning the Gigabyte DS3, DS4 or DQ6 boards......

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 a lot 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/Motherboard/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!


Other issues
There are some driver issues with the installation CD that comes with the board. After about a week you may find that your LAN connection dissappears and you are unable to connect to the internet. This is caused by a bad Marvell Yukon driver that degrades the registry to the point where the LAN port is disabled.

The solution to this problem is to download the updated Marvell Yukon drivers from Gigabytes website.... I would also reccommend that you keep the chipset drivers updated as often as possible. All updates available here: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Default.aspx


Clocking
1. Make sure that you have the latest chipset drivers and flash the board to the most recent bios version
2. On the main bios screen press Ctrl+F1 to open the advanced options within the menus
3. In the Advanced Bios Features Menu, Disable all of the following: CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E), CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2), CPU EIST Function
4. In the PC Health Status menu, set the FAN Speed Control Method to "Legacy" & FAN Speed Control Mode to "PWM" to maintain highest speed
5. Go into the MB Intelligent Tweaker (MIT) menu at the bottom of the page, set the System voltage control to "Manual"
6. These boards have a default VDIMM of 1.8v, set the VDIMM to co-ordinate with your ram. The Geil I have is specced as 2.1v so I have mine set to +0.3v
7. Set the MCH Voltage to +0.1v
8. Set the FSB Voltage to +0.1v
9. Set the VCORE to 1.45v - Please be aware that this will increase temps!
10. Set the CPU Host Clock Control to "Enable"
11. Set the System Memory Multiplier to "2x"
12. You're set to go, just increase the System bus Frequency to Overclock
13. I would reccommend that you use Intels TAT to monitor temps


Crossfire/Quad Core
You may have noticed that the DS4 & DQ6 boards have 2 x PCI-E x16 slots... Well Gigabyte have now released the updated bios to enable Crossfire and Quad Core compliance for these 2 boards. However the 2nd PCI-E slot maybe 16x physical but is apparently only 4x electronically enabled so it won't be fantastic, but a great free upgrade none the less.... Here:http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/News/Motherboard/News_List.aspx?NewsID=1295
 
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I've given everything under the 'Clocking' guide a go and my E6300 idle temps have immediatley risen by 16 degrees with the stock cooler. My mobo idle temps have also risen by around 11 degrees. I'm quite surprised to see such a big rise.
 
Abes33 said:
I've given everything under the 'Clocking' guide a go and my E6300 idle temps have immediatley risen by 16 degrees with the stock cooler. My mobo idle temps have also risen by around 11 degrees. I'm quite surprised to see such a big rise.
Click to expand...
You will see a big rise when upping the voltage!
 
VeNT said:
does the OCz ddr2 ram work with these?
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Apparently not, according to a recent poll. Although most people complaining about the OCZ were running a DQ6.

Some of the slower OCZ ram works I believe but it can still be a little unpredictable. Get the Geil it seems to be the most compatible & least troublesome!
 
Monstermunch said:
Apparently not, according to a recent poll. Although most people complaining about the OCZ were running a DQ6.

Some of the slower OCZ ram works I believe but it can still be a little unpredictable. Get the Geil it seems to be the most compatible & least troublesome!
Click to expand...
bugger, I do love OCz
 
A tip for anyone who has G.Skill NR, put the voltage of the DIMMs up by 0.4 to 2.2V (instead of the suggested 2.1V posted on here for other RAM) and the memory works. Found this after a long haul thanks to this

Edit: Just locked up on me though, so I hope it was a 1 off rather than to do with the RAM.
 
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I don't know why the S3 is never mentioned, btw i found this info about the differences on the DS3 and S3.

I called up gigabyte's oem builder line telling them that i want to build systems using their 965p-s3 but that i had some questions regarding it. They transferred me to a motherboard technician since I had questions that seemed to detailed for the sales guy.
Question 1: What is the difference between the 965p-ds3 and 965p-s3?

Response: Their is no difference except for the solid state capacitors on the ds3.

Question 2: Does not having the solid state capacitors on the s3 affect overclocking on core 2 duo.

Response: The solid state capacitors have no impact or bearing on the boards ability to overclock. The solid state capacitors are used for long term durability.

Question 3: When you say durability can u elaborate on that?

Response: By durability I mean the S3 board will last probably about 3-4 years. The DS3 will last 5+ years.

Question 4: The DS3 is shown to hit high FSB speeds above 400 easily. Can that be expected or attained on the S3?

Response: Again as I mentioned the boards are the same and we have reached those speeds in testing

Don't know if anyone will find that usefull but thought it may be usefull if you want a slightly cheaper board, i am sitting at 420fsb with no probs on this board and a 6300.
 
Monstermunch said:
So do I but trust me that the Geil is fantastic ram!
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i have the geil and was wondering on your overclock of the 6600 are limited by the chips ability to overclock or is it the fsb or ram as i was hoping to get 3ghz out of my 6300 on the DQ6
 
easyrider said:
Will the DS4 allow me to clock to 3.8ghz with my E6600?

I would like 9x 425 is this achieavble?

I deally I want higher.What ar you getting FSB wise with the DS4?
Click to expand...

I'm running a 450 FSB on my DS4 with no issues.
 
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