I'm going to use this space to track the issues and solutions I've encountered with the GA-X99-Gaming G1 WIFI. After doing some searching, a lot of the other Gigabyte X99 boards have similar features / issues; feel free to add your input!
Latest BIOS: F8c (9/18/14)
1) Unable to enter BIOS with mechanical hard drive attached. A9 error shown on diagnostic LED.
Status: Workaround
When attempting to enter the BIOS with a mechanical (non-SSD) hard drive connected, the screen goes blank and the diagnostic LED shows A9. I've tested with both a WD1001FALS and WD20EZRX. Disconnecting these drives allows me to enter the BIOS normally; this does not happen with SSD's attached. Other examples of this: HERE and HERE. Some things I've tried with no results: using the "fast boot" button on the backplate, setting hot plug settings on the affected ports, and trying multiple SATA ports.
UPDATE 1 [9/24]: I manually copied everything off of the mechanical drive (WD1001FALS) onto a NAS then deleted the existing partition on that drive. I re-partitioned the drive, ran a quick format in Windows, and copied all data (~450GB) back from the NAS to the drive. I am now able to access the BIOS with the drive attached and no longer receive the A9 error at boot.
2) Unstable / Unable to boot at 2800 / 3000MHz memory speed.
Status: Resolved - 3000MHz at stock CPU speeds, 2750MHz when overclocked
Booting at 2133MHz memory speed works fine. Setting the memory to any value above 2133 automatically raises the BCLCK multiplier to 1.25. I've manually set the RAM voltage to 1.35v and CPU multiplier to 28 to match the max turbo speed (3500MHz) of the 5960x (Leaving the CPU multiplier set to AUTO overclocks the CPU to 3750MHz). This will allow the machine to boot but its extremely unstable, sometimes throwing a BSOD when loading Windows (Bugcheck 0x0000000a). The machine is stable at 2400 and 2666 MHz memory speeds; anything over this is unstable. The G.SKILL RAM I'm using is rated up to 3000MHz: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231802. Could be due to the fact this is a 4 x 8GB kit.
UPDATE 1 [9/23]: With RAM set to XMP Profile 1 (3000MHz and 1.25 BCLK), I set the CPU multiplier to 28, Uncore multiplier to 24, switched RAM voltage to auto (which the BIOS set to 1.375V automatically), set VCCIO to 1.1V, and PLL to 1.1V. I am now able to boot successfully into Windows, play games, and run Prime95's blend test successfully (90 min run). More testing to follow...
UPDATE 2 [9/24]: While the settings above do work at 3.5GHz CPU speed, overclocking past that with the memory set to 3000MHz is very difficult. Running the memory at the stock 2133MHz speed and 100 BCLK, 4.4GHz is stable @ 1.3V. Looks like future BIOS updates are needed here.
UPDATE 3 [10/9]: I've been able to obtain a stable overclock on the CPU @ 4.45GHz and RAM @ 2800MHz using the following settings:
BCLCK = 127.25
CPU Multiplier = 35
CPU Uncore Multiplier = 24
RAM Multiplier = 22
CPU Voltage = 1.32v
VRIN Voltage = 1.93v
VRIN Load Line = Turbo
VCIO Voltage = 1.1v
RAM Voltage = 1.35v
3) Sound Blaster Recon3Di missing DDL and DTS Connect support.
Status: Resolved
The Sound Blaster Recon3Di control panel is missing the option to output over SPDIF via Dolby Digital LIVE; this is usually located on the "Cinematic" tab. Can anyone confirm if the Recon3Di supports Dolby Digital LIVE or DTS Connect? I have sent a support request to Gigabyte on this.
UPDATE 1 [9/24]: Gigabyte confirmed the Recon3Di does NOT support DDL or DTS Connect.
4) Unable to disable WiFi in BIOS.
Status: Unresolved
Unless I'm missing an option here, I don't see a way to disable WiFi / Bluetooth in the BIOS. Anyone find this?
5) Unable to disable rear headphone jack when 5.1 configuration is selected in Sound Blaster Pro Studio.
Status: Unresolved
When outputting audio through the rear analog connectors, the dedicated headphone output stays enabled when 5.1 Surround is selected in the Pro Studio control panel. Playing an audio file or movie results in both the headphones and speakers playing audio at the same time. Selecting "Headphones" using the top slider on the Speakers/Headphones tab in Pro Studio mutes the 5.1 channel output but not vice versa (see below for settings).
6) Buzzing noise from center channel when "Headphones" is selected in Pro Studio.
Status: Unresolved
When selecting "Headphones" in the Sound Blaster Pro Studio control panel using the top slider on the Speakers/Headphones tab (shown above), the center channel makes a loud buzzing sound. Switching the slider back to "Speakers" eliminates this noise.
Latest BIOS: F8c (9/18/14)
1) Unable to enter BIOS with mechanical hard drive attached. A9 error shown on diagnostic LED.
Status: Workaround
When attempting to enter the BIOS with a mechanical (non-SSD) hard drive connected, the screen goes blank and the diagnostic LED shows A9. I've tested with both a WD1001FALS and WD20EZRX. Disconnecting these drives allows me to enter the BIOS normally; this does not happen with SSD's attached. Other examples of this: HERE and HERE. Some things I've tried with no results: using the "fast boot" button on the backplate, setting hot plug settings on the affected ports, and trying multiple SATA ports.
UPDATE 1 [9/24]: I manually copied everything off of the mechanical drive (WD1001FALS) onto a NAS then deleted the existing partition on that drive. I re-partitioned the drive, ran a quick format in Windows, and copied all data (~450GB) back from the NAS to the drive. I am now able to access the BIOS with the drive attached and no longer receive the A9 error at boot.
2) Unstable / Unable to boot at 2800 / 3000MHz memory speed.
Status: Resolved - 3000MHz at stock CPU speeds, 2750MHz when overclocked
Booting at 2133MHz memory speed works fine. Setting the memory to any value above 2133 automatically raises the BCLCK multiplier to 1.25. I've manually set the RAM voltage to 1.35v and CPU multiplier to 28 to match the max turbo speed (3500MHz) of the 5960x (Leaving the CPU multiplier set to AUTO overclocks the CPU to 3750MHz). This will allow the machine to boot but its extremely unstable, sometimes throwing a BSOD when loading Windows (Bugcheck 0x0000000a). The machine is stable at 2400 and 2666 MHz memory speeds; anything over this is unstable. The G.SKILL RAM I'm using is rated up to 3000MHz: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231802. Could be due to the fact this is a 4 x 8GB kit.
UPDATE 1 [9/23]: With RAM set to XMP Profile 1 (3000MHz and 1.25 BCLK), I set the CPU multiplier to 28, Uncore multiplier to 24, switched RAM voltage to auto (which the BIOS set to 1.375V automatically), set VCCIO to 1.1V, and PLL to 1.1V. I am now able to boot successfully into Windows, play games, and run Prime95's blend test successfully (90 min run). More testing to follow...
UPDATE 2 [9/24]: While the settings above do work at 3.5GHz CPU speed, overclocking past that with the memory set to 3000MHz is very difficult. Running the memory at the stock 2133MHz speed and 100 BCLK, 4.4GHz is stable @ 1.3V. Looks like future BIOS updates are needed here.
UPDATE 3 [10/9]: I've been able to obtain a stable overclock on the CPU @ 4.45GHz and RAM @ 2800MHz using the following settings:
BCLCK = 127.25
CPU Multiplier = 35
CPU Uncore Multiplier = 24
RAM Multiplier = 22
CPU Voltage = 1.32v
VRIN Voltage = 1.93v
VRIN Load Line = Turbo
VCIO Voltage = 1.1v
RAM Voltage = 1.35v
3) Sound Blaster Recon3Di missing DDL and DTS Connect support.
Status: Resolved
The Sound Blaster Recon3Di control panel is missing the option to output over SPDIF via Dolby Digital LIVE; this is usually located on the "Cinematic" tab. Can anyone confirm if the Recon3Di supports Dolby Digital LIVE or DTS Connect? I have sent a support request to Gigabyte on this.
UPDATE 1 [9/24]: Gigabyte confirmed the Recon3Di does NOT support DDL or DTS Connect.
4) Unable to disable WiFi in BIOS.
Status: Unresolved
Unless I'm missing an option here, I don't see a way to disable WiFi / Bluetooth in the BIOS. Anyone find this?
5) Unable to disable rear headphone jack when 5.1 configuration is selected in Sound Blaster Pro Studio.
Status: Unresolved
When outputting audio through the rear analog connectors, the dedicated headphone output stays enabled when 5.1 Surround is selected in the Pro Studio control panel. Playing an audio file or movie results in both the headphones and speakers playing audio at the same time. Selecting "Headphones" using the top slider on the Speakers/Headphones tab in Pro Studio mutes the 5.1 channel output but not vice versa (see below for settings).
6) Buzzing noise from center channel when "Headphones" is selected in Pro Studio.
Status: Unresolved
When selecting "Headphones" in the Sound Blaster Pro Studio control panel using the top slider on the Speakers/Headphones tab (shown above), the center channel makes a loud buzzing sound. Switching the slider back to "Speakers" eliminates this noise.
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