Gigabyte P55-USB3 vs ASUS P7H55-M

[FatRakoon]

I got these 2 boards and I have a few thoughts.

Firstly, the Asus I got with an I3, and while the I3 is back in there, I was using an I7 and while I was using the I7, I had an issue where i would simply hang when it was under some load... I never did resolve it.

However, with the I3, its rock steady stable.

Now, I got the Gigabyte P55-USB3 to replace the Asus, and it has done, however, I have an issue with the Gigabyte in that I cannot get it to recognise that I have more than 4GB

The annoying thing, is that in the BIOS, it shows me quite clearely that there is 2GB in each of the 4 slots ( 8GB in all ) and yet it says enabled on only 2 slots and a Dash on the ones that are not enabled and then it says that there is 4GB useable.

Windows ( Win 7 - 64Bit ) also says 8GB 3.99 useable and CPUZ shops me all the info for all 4 sticks.

So, what the heck is going on?

I am on BIOS F10i at the moment, I was on F7 when I got the board and it was doing the same thing, but I did notice that under F7, I had slots 1 and 3 enabled and now since F9, its been slots 1 and 2 enabled, so why the switch from slot 3 to slot 2?

Its alos not RAM compatibility a I have tried a number opf various types and they all do the same thing.

If Itry using one stick by the way, in one of the disabled slots, its bleeps like hell at me... In an enabled slot then its fine.

Any clues?

The thing is, that even with it only letting me use 4GB, it has been rock solid.

Now, as one thought, I did think that maybe there is a problem with the CPU and not the board? Could that be at all possible?

Well, the I7 came in another board, a really poor and very basic ACER M5811 and that worked with all the RAM and never crashed, so I did try the CPU back in there for a couple of days last week and it was perfcetly fine in it even running fully loadedon all 4+4 cores, so I think the CPU is just fine.

Im truly at a loss?

But another question Id love to know... Apart from the physical differences... What is the better board?

Gigabyte P55-USB3
Or
Asus P7H55-M

 

[wazza300]

are you plugging the ram in the white slots only on the gigabyte board?

i own a p7 h55-m board and its great

 

[FatRakoon]

are you plugging the ram in the white slots only on the gigabyte board?

i own a p7 h55-m board and its great

Did you get the boards mixed up there my man?

The P7H55 is the Asus

But either way, right now the Asus is running spot on and as it should. I currently have the i3 in that. I am running it with 4x2GB Kingston HyperX - they grey ones and they are 1.65v
The Gigabyte is currently with the 4x2GB HyperX that are blue and they are 1.5v

( irritatingly the Blue and the grey Kingston HyperX are the same RAM but the blue are 1.5v and the greyu are 1.65v - I found this out only recently )

But about the Gigabyte P55-USB Board :-

I have 4x2GB and yes, if I pair them up then the board runs fine.

It sees 2x2GB and seemingly it works well, it seems the RAM and does its job as it should... However, if I add the second pair, while they are recognised, they are just simply ignored.

Im lost?

I am in talks with Gigabytes help desk, and they are helping, but v.e.r.y s.l.o.w.l.y...

They have given me a few tips and indeed a new Firmware to try ( F10i ) but by the time they suggest anything, I have already been there!

 

[CaptainUnlikely]

What does the socket look like on the Gigabyte? Any bent or damaged pins? This kind of thing is usually either a CPU memory controller problem (which you've ruled out by trying to CPU in a different board where it works with all 4 slots) or some damaged pins. What cooler are you using on it, too? You said you tried the i7 in both boards, have you tried the i3 in the Gigabyte too, just to see how it works?
Oh, and the Gigabyte is the better board. The VRMs on the Asus aren't up to much and were probably causing your issues with the i7 freezing under extended load. The VRMs on the Gigabyte board won't stand up to heavy overclocking but they're miles better than the setup on the Asus.

 

[FatRakoon]

What does the socket look like on the Gigabyte? Any bent or damaged pins? This kind of thing is usually either a CPU memory controller problem (which you've ruled out by trying to CPU in a different board where it works with all 4 slots) or some damaged pins.

When I was originally searching for a solution, I came across a post telling another user the same thing. I then went about examining each and every pin. It was alos a solution that Gigabyte suggested too. I think that given the time I have alloted to this task alone, that I am about as sure as I can be that all the pins are as good as they can be. They are all true and uniform as far as I can tell.

What cooler are you using on it, too?

Well, I am on a stock cooler right now. I recently upped to a Zalman and wrongly assumed that it would be a better cooler. The Zalman is quiet there is no doubt but the stock cooler keeps the CPU at about 32-34c while the zalman was 55-60 ( WTF? )

You said you tried the i7 in both boards, have you tried the i3 in the Gigabyte too, just to see how it works?

LOL I decided to do this only last night... you mean as in the mem controler being on the CPU?... Yes, given the freezing on the Asus, I thought that maybe the CPU was to blame, but alas, the i3 is doing the very same thing as the i7 is. This is good news in that the CPU should be ok, but somehow at least if the CPU was borked, I would know why I am having these headaches.

I must also add that I originally got the I7 in a generic Mobo ( ACER M5811 and it had 12GB in Mixed RAM and it ran flawlessly ) and so, again, from that, I knew the CPU was ok.

Oh, and the Gigabyte is the better board. The VRMs on the Asus aren't up to much and were probably causing your issues with the i7 freezing under extended load. The VRMs on the Gigabyte board won't stand up to heavy overclocking but they're miles better than the setup on the Asus.

Yes, I suppose in many ways I knew, I just needed to justify me sticking with the gigabyte. I am NOT wanting to clock the CPU although in Asus' favour, I have had the I3 rock steady at 3.8Ghz.

I have also just spent the past few minutes looking at various other RAM options, and I found something interesting...

from left ( near the CPU ) to right, slots 1+2 are the ones that dont want to work properly, but 3+4 are ok.

Now, I put some 1066 RAM into slots 1+2 and some 1333 into 3+4 and it ran the 3+4 RAM at the 1+2 speed!

It seems the RAM in 1+2, knows its 1066 speed and then wont run those, but instead runs 3+4 at the 1+2 speeds??? So, its half way there surely?

Nasty pin in slots 1+2 are something that I have also checked for, but again, these looks perfect. Again, this would not affect 2 slots in exactly the same way surely?

Bugger.

I have a mate coming over in a bit with all of his RAM... For what thats worth.

But I cannot keep running out and buying more and more RAM.... Im running out of the wifes new washing machine savings! LOL

 

[CaptainUnlikely]

When I was originally searching for a solution, I came across a post telling another user the same thing. I then went about examining each and every pin. It was alos a solution that Gigabyte suggested too. I think that given the time I have alloted to this task alone, that I am about as sure as I can be that all the pins are as good as they can be. They are all true and uniform as far as I can tell.

I figured they'd probably asked you to check the pins but I thought it was worth asking.

Well, I am on a stock cooler right now. I recently upped to a Zalman and wrongly assumed that it would be a better cooler. The Zalman is quiet there is no doubt but the stock cooler keeps the CPU at about 32-34c while the zalman was 55-60 ( WTF? )

OK, reason I asked is with some coolers you can tighten them too much, causing the CPU to not make proper contact with the pins. It's more common with waterblocks, but it can happen with one or two other coolers. Not the case here though. Out of interest, what Zalman cooler did you "upgrade" to?

LOL I decided to do this only last night... you mean as in the mem controler being on the CPU?... Yes, given the freezing on the Asus, I thought that maybe the CPU was to blame, but alas, the i3 is doing the very same thing as the i7 is. This is good news in that the CPU should be ok, but somehow at least if the CPU was borked, I would know why I am having these headaches.

Yeah, that just confirms it's not the CPU, so really it has to be the motherboard, I can't see anything else could be causing it...

Yes, I suppose in many ways I knew, I just needed to justify me sticking with the gigabyte. I am NOT wanting to clock the CPU although in Asus' favour, I have had the I3 rock steady at 3.8Ghz.

The Asus will do fine with i3 overclocking, not so well with more power hungry chips like your i7. The Gigabyte tends to struggle with i5s past 3.8GHz or so at a reasonable voltage, but each board is different so YMMV, some were fine for me.

from left ( near the CPU ) to right, slots 1+2 are the ones that dont want to work properly, but 3+4 are ok.

So that's the two leftmost slots, physically, that don't work?

Now, I put some 1066 RAM into slots 1+2 and some 1333 into 3+4 and it ran the 3+4 RAM at the 1+2 speed!

That is interesting, strange.

The only other thing I can think of off the top of my head, is have you tried messing with the RAM timings/speeds/voltages? Might be worth setting them manually to the rated settings, but drop the RAM speed to 1066MHz so the IMC isn't being overclocked. You could also try upping the IMC voltage a tad, see if that makes any difference.

 

[FatRakoon]

Heavy editting...

Been there done it, designed the t-shirt etc...

Fact is that I have been sold a semi-duff Mobo

I should be moaning but I didnt pay much for it, plus I have seen them on some auction site for under £30 so even if it comes to the crunch, I will just buy another one.

It seems to be ok with 2x4GB and so stuff it, I'll go that route and be done with it

 

[wazza300]

Sorry for confusion I have the asus board and it runs great,it could be because your using two different types of memory in the board.1.65,1.5v,if its gigabyte you set to 1.66v dram,Idk if that board has memory remapping if so enable it in BIOS

 

[FatRakoon]

Sorry for confusion I have the asus board and it runs great,it could be because your using two different types of memory in the board.1.65,1.5v,if its gigabyte you set to 1.66v dram,Idk if that board has memory remapping if so enable it in BIOS

No, sorry, you misunderstand...

I have Kingston RAM thats 1.5v and I have ram that is 1.65v

I have run them together yes, and they default to 1.5v, but they are NOT running together. I have been running ONLY the blue stuff now.

What happened was that when I got the Mobo, the prev owner had the 2x2GB Blue stuff.

I bought a second pair but what came was the grey stuff.

I then decided to buy another set of the grey stuff but instead, a pair of the blue stuff came.

The blue stuff is the same as the original blue stuff.

So, I did run them all together for a few days, thats all...