D0 I920 and Gigabyte EX58 UD5 issues.

DavyBoy

DavyBoy

DavyBoy

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Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help me out?

I recently built myself an i7 920 rig, with a Gigabyte EX58 UD5 mobo and 6GB of Corsair Dominator 1600MHz RAM, but I am having a lot of problems with it...

When I have everything set to auto in the BIOS, my system is completely unstable, whenever I try to run any benchmarks it either BSOD's, locks up, or resets itself all the time...

But I can manage to get it Prime stable for 11 hours + if I alter some of the advanced RAM timings... But if I attempt to do any overclocking whatsoever, the system becomes unstable again...

I have spent just over a week trying to get it to be stable, but the only stable settings I can get is when the CPU is @ its stock frequency,,,

And like I said, if I leave all settings on Auto for RAM, and CPU it crashes all the time to...

Does anyone have any idea which piece of hardware would be causing this to happen?

Surely it isn't normal for a PC to be unstable when the BIOS is set to auto?

I contacted Gigabyte themselves about this, and they actually had a system configured that was similar to mine (D0 i920, 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz, EX58 UD5, GTX285, 600wPSU) and they ran Prime95 overnight with BIOS settings on auto and it ran perfectly...

I was actually given RMA numbers to send these items back and have them tested, but this was before I found stable settings... but I bought this gear so that I could overclock it, not run it at stock speeds!!!

I am probably spending more time in the mobo's BIOS than I do in Windows with this rig, it is driving me crazy!!!

I hope some of you folks on here could help me figure out what would be causing these problems, because I really dont know what it could be...

I know the Graphics card is working as I have tested that in my other PC and it was OK... Also, I was able to sit and play Left 4 Dead on this i7 rig for a couple of hours and it ran perfectly... I dont understand how I can convert AVI files to DVD, run games, but when I try running Prime, or OCCT I get problems....

Thanks in advance..

System specs:
Core i7 i920 (D0)
Gigabyte EX58 UD5 (F7 BIOS)
6GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz
Asus GTX280
Zalman CNPS9700NT with 1366 mounting bracket
Hiper Type-M 630w
3 x WD SATAII HDD's
1 x LG DVD Writer
5 x 120mm Case Fans
Silverstone TJ10WMV Case
Windows Vista Ultimate x64
 
Hi,

I have ran memtest overnight with all 6GB installed, and it never found any errors.. Also, I have tested each module one at a time using Prime95, and I still get the same issues...

Even at stock speeds it still crashes when Priming from time to time...

I did suspect my PSU could be the problem, but I dont have another one at hand to test... I was planning on upgrading this pretty soon anyway, but the guys at Gigabyte only use a 600w in their rig that is similar spec to mine... So I would have thought my 630w would cope with my hardware??

I have never had problems like this with any other PC I have put together, if I leave my RAM and CPU settings on auto in the BIOS on my other PC it is perfectly stable...

I personally cant figure out which piece of hardware is giving me these problems, and it is really starting to drive me crazy... I have tried for a whole week to figure this out but I am not getting anywhere!!!

Maybe I would be better off RMAing it all back to get someone else to find what is causing the problems.... unless anyone else has any suggestions???

Would high temperatures cause BSOD, and system reboots/freezes??

Because I am only using my old Zalman 9700NT from my last rig to keep the CPU cool, and my idle temps at stock speeds are around 42c, and load temps are 66c, but when I start overclocking, @ 3GHz it hits 91c under full load when Priming... Could it be these insane temps??
 
Hi again,

I have tested out my rig only having 1 HDD connected, and I removed my GTX280 and installed an old 8500GT I had lying around, but I still get the same problems...

I am experiencing instability with stock settings all the time now, I am unable to run OCCT for more than 5 minutes before my system resets itself... This is really starting to drive me crazy!!

In the past I have always used cheap and cheerful AMD systems that have cost about half the amount of money I spent on this rig, and they ran perfectly... And I didn't have to be constantly entering the BIOS searching hopelessly for stable settings....

I have tried loosening the RAM timings but still experiencing the same problem..

I don't think that this has anything to do with BIOS settings anymore, something is failing in my system, but I just dont know what...

I guess maybe it is time to RMA this hardware to get it sorted because I can't find the problem myself....

::edit::

About the BIOS, I have tried F4, F6, and I am currently using the latest F7, and each one is exactly the same....

I was suspecting the PSU may be at fault, because when I run OCCT, the voltage readings on there only show the 12v as 8.5v... infact every single piece of software I have that give voltage readings all give me wrong readings.... I was told that this is nothing to worry about, and it is just the software reporting false readings....

I really don't want to spend out another £100 for a decent PSU only to find this has nothing to do with my problem... I don't want to waste anymore money on this rig to be honest!!!

And I don't know anyone else in my area with a PC that has a good PSU installed... just cheapo generic things, that would struggle to power my graphics card nevermind my entire system!!!

If no one else has any suggestions then I guess I have no other options but to return this mobo, RAM and CPU to have it tested, because I am unable to source the fault myself.....

I thought when I put this rig together that I would have my dream computer that would perform better than any other rig I have built to date, but I have ended up with a nightmare instead, I wish that I could just return all this goods and get a PII 955 rig instead.... I have never had any trouble with AMD hardware,,, this is the first Intel rig I have owned since Pentium III and it has caused me nothing but trouble since I built it....
 
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I just wish that I knew someone with a decent PSU so I could test this, but I dont know anyone...

And all the local PC shops are garbage to, they only stock cheap and nasty PSU's... the most powerful one is only 500w...

I did plan on upgrading my PSU, but after seeing how high my temperatures get under full load with my Zalman cooler, I thought that a new cooler would be more important... But if you guys really do think that it is the PSU that is at fault, then I guess I should just go ahead and use the money for a new PSU...

I can get a new cooler anytime, and my current Zalman is fine for stock frequencies... I just want my rig to be stable!!!

Can anyone suggest a decent PSU that doesn't cost an arm and a leg???

@AWPC, I personally dont think it is a BIOS issue, not when I have already tried three different BIOS'es all with the exact same results....
 
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Thanks for all your help Plec, it is much appreciated man...

I thought that I would give Hiper a call to see what they had to say about this, but the guy I talked to didn't really say much, he just asked me to send him an email listing everything that is inside my case so that he could look into it in more detail for me...

I will await his reply to see what he thinks about this...
 
Plec said:
What have you decided to do, DavyBoy?
Click to expand...

There really is nothing that I can do at this very moment, as I dont have the funds to purchase a new PSU... I wont have that kind of money for another 3 weeks...

But I dont want to wait all that time to get a new PSU only to find that this isn't the cause of the problem!!!

I really dont want to RMA anything, but it might be the only option that I have if a new PSU doesn't resolve these issues...

I have never had so much hassle like this with a new rig before, and all my previous systems have been cheap and cheerful... this is the first time I have spent a serious amount of money on a build, and it runs like crap!!!

Can anyone suggest anything else I could try to see if I can get this thing working, or do you all think that it is defo the PSU that isn't capable of powering this hardware???
 
Thanks for the suggestions Plec, I already tried playing with all the timings and voltages, setting the voltages slightly above stock and loosening RAM timings...

It has been these times that I have been playing around with timings that I have actually managed to get it stable with the CPU at stock frequency....

I have had the machine successfully run large in-place FFT's in Prime95 for 11 hours without any problems... but I would go back to the PC a day later with the BIOS still set the EXACT same, and then I goto run Prime torture test and it starts crashing on me again....

Here are some screens of successful Prime95 runs I have done with this rig...

11 hours:

11h8m.jpg


5 hours:

5h3m.jpg


and a 2 hour 15 minute run @ 3.2GHz:

2h15m.jpg


I just wish that it would stay stable all of the time... there is definitely something wrong I think....
 
I have tried setting RAM timings manually, but I am unsure what the advanced timings should be set to for my RAM, so when I tried to do this instead of using XMP profile it was extremely unstable...

I guess there isn't any harm in trying the F8b BIOS...

I will keep you guys posted incase it makes any difference...
 
Wow... now things are truely screwed up.... F8b BIOS has screwed my rig up big time... as soon as I start Prime95 it immediately Blue Screens on me every single time!!!

Even with the old BIOS settings that I used to get it to run Prime for a while...

I hope after I revert back to F7 things will go back to how they were!!!

I will never touch a beta BIOS again....
 
OK, I have flashed the BIOS back to F7 again, and this time I just entered the BIOS and loaded optimized defaults, then booted into windows, and fired up Prime 95 and it is running fine..

I am actually starting to suspect my RAM that is the problem, because right now it is only running @ 1078MHz 8, 8, 8, 20, 1T, and it appears to be stable...

This is what I have been like for over a week now... one minute I think it is the mobo that is at fault, and then I try something else, and then start thinking that something else is causing my problems...

I dont understand how it can appear to be stable with the ram running at a lower frequency, but when I try running it with the ram @ its rated frequency it craps out on me constantly....

I am just happy my mobo isn't bricked after that dodgy beta BIOS...

I have tried F4, F6, and F7, and so far F7 is the one that I have managed to get my rig stable with...

Do you guys think that the RAM could be the problem??

I mean, if it were the PSU, then why wouldn't my rig crash when I play games like Far Cry 2, Left4Dead, GTA4 etc etc?

I remember when I first bought an 8800GTX, I took it home and installed it into my rig at the time, and it only had a cheap generic 450w PSU installed in it, but I connected up the graphics card anyway, but anytime I went to load a game up, I would manage to play for about 2 seconds before my rig powered down on me... this happened every single time I loaded a game...

So I went out and bought my current Hiper PSU and installed it into my rig, and after that I never had any issues at all....

This problems I am having right now aren't the same as the problems I had with my old PSU crapping out...


::edit::

Here is a screen of the Prime run I am doing atm with current BIOS settings...


Primme.jpg


I am just about to goto bed, but I am going to leave this running overnight... I am fairly confident it will still be running in the morning with these settings...
 
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Well, I let it continue running Large in Place FFT's on Prime95 overnight, and it was still running this morning... I just stopped it manually about 5 minutes ago...

Here is a screenshot that I took just now...

10hours.jpg


When I run memtest, should I go into the BIOS first and set the RAM to run @ 1600MHz???
 
Well, I just got off the phone to the place where I got the mobo and RAM, and they weren't very helpful at all...

He just told me to try a bunch of stuff that I have already tried a billion times!!!

Also, they sell me this 1600MHz RAM, and now he tells me that Intels specifications are only 1333MHz for the IMC, and anything above this is classed as overclocking, and that could be why it is failing?!?!?

Is this true, or is he just trying to fill my head with nonsence???

Surely if the RAM is rated @ 1600MHz then it should run at that speed without an issue???

Also, I see people online running there i920's @ 4GHz and beyond without any issues, yet I can't run my rig at stock settings without it BSODing and freezing on my a$$???

Just finished looking at the Intel Bundles on OcUK shop, and I feel sick...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-OB&groupid=701&catid=339&subcat=1333

I wish that I had waited a bit longer, and just bought this bundle instead, at least then it would have been tested before I got my filthy hands on it....

I only bought my processor from OcUK, but I wish I just got everything together now...
 
Thanks for the comments guys...

This is really annoying me not being able to have my RAM run at the rated frequency... I haven't done any testing so far today as I haven't had the time...

But I will try running the RAM @ 1333MHz and everything else on default to see if things are stable like that...

When I talked to the people I purchased the mobo and RAM from today, they said that I could send the gear back to them for testing, but I would have to send both the RAM and mobo back instead of just the RAM, I really dont want to rip my system apart and send it back only to find there isn't anything wrong with it, as it will cost me money if it isn't faulty...

I I will keep testing it myself for a couple more weeks to see if I can get it stable myself, and if I am still getting problems I will purchase a new PSU so I can rule out my current one, and if I still experience issues with a new PSU then I will RMA the goods...

The guy I talked to on the phone today said to me that it was highly unlikely that it was the CPU, and that it was more than likely the RAM or mobo...

Thanks again for all your comments though guys.. I will keep you all up to date as to how I get on with this problem...
 
Plec said:
Remember if you do end up buying a psu and it doesn't solve your problem you're entitled to send it back via the 7 day long distance selling act.

It's not good practice - but you're buying it in good faith with the intention of keeping it if it solves your problem. Just ensure it's in the same condition that it arrived in, if you have to return it - including the packaging.

If i had a spare psu i would post it to you for you to try...
Click to expand...


I really wish that I knew someone that I could borrow a PSU from, but I dont, so my only option is to buy one....

I did check a local PC hardware store, and they had a cheapo brand 750w for £35, but it would probably be worse than my current PSU... And it only had 1 x 6pin PCI E connector, and I need an 8 and a 6 for my card...

It would have probably made my problems worse tbh because it looked pretty nasty...

I've been thinking about upgrading my PSU for a while now anyway, so even if it doesn't sort my problems out, I would still keep it anyway...
 
OK, I am now running Prime95 large FFT's after entering the BIOS and setting the RAM multi to 10x, making my RAM run @ 1333MHz, and it is working fine...

I wanted to see if anyone could tell me the best way to test for stability??

Is Prime95 enough for testing, or should I also be running other benchmarking applications??

Any suggestions are welcome...

When I tried to run it @ stock settings before (on F4 and F6 BIOS) it would crash in an instant, but for some reason it appears to be working just fine with auto settings... I haven't even touched any voltages.. or RAM timings... whereas before I had to mess around with the advanced RAM timings before I was able to run Prime for more than 3 minutes...

All seems to be well so far, but I dont intend on stopping here, I am going to let this run for a few hours, then I am going to try running the RAM @ its rated frequency...

Thanks again for all the replies people... Your help is appreciated... ;)
 
Well, I thought I had it sorted, but it ended up rebooting after about 3 hours of large ffts in Prime...

So I have went into the BIOS enabled the XMP profile for 1600MHz so that I could run memtest for a while... It has been running now for about 1 and a half hours without any issues...

I am typing this from my fiancees PC.. I will leave memtest running all night to see what happens...

I'm going to be purchasing a new PSU in a couple of weeks to install in this rig, so I will just continue to tinker around with BIOS settings to see if I can get it to run stable.... I'm not going to hold my breath though, as I am convinced that something is faulty here..
 
Thanks for all your comments Plec, you have been really helpful...

I am still running memtest on my rig at the moment, with the XMP profile for 1600MHz enabled in the BIOS, and there hasn't been 1 single problem so far...

You are right, I should just leave my system alone until the new PSU arrives...

I've been looking around OcUK trying to decide which PSU to get, but I can't decide what one to get between these...

Be Quiet Dark Power 850w

Or the new Corsair HX850W

I dont know which is the better power supply out of these two...
 
Well, memtest does the same as Prime95... it ran for about 3 hours solid without any errors, but it ended up resetting the PC with the RAM set to both 1600 and 1333MHz...

I think I should just stop trying to find stable settings, as I am only going to wind myself up and get frustrated!!!

There really isn't anything I can try that I haven't already done several times... I will just wait for my new PSU before I start stress testing again...

When I've built rigs in the past, it has always been a case of building them, installing OS and drivers, then installing games and having fun.. But I havent managed to have any fun whatsoever with this rig, it has just been a nuisance from day 1...

About the PSU's, you said that there are cheaper ones out there that are still decent quality, which ones would you suggest?

As I could probably buy one this week if it was under £100...

But at the same time, I really want to get a high quality one so that it gives me a bit of future-proofing in the PSU department!!!

I really like the look of the BeQuiet! one, I like how you can also connect case fans up to the unit as well...

Also I was reading a review in CustomPC magazine for the new Enermax Revolution 85+ 850w, and it looks really nice, and it got a good review in the magazine as well, but it is really expensive... I wondered if these expensive PSU's are actually worth the money, or whether a cheaper alternative would be just as good???

What is it that makes these PSU's so expensive?
 
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