Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 Problems & Support..

I made arrangements to return the board, ordered the MSI instead, that should be the last i hear from Gigabyte after that
 
ThyDude said:
I made arrangements to return the board, ordered the MSI instead, that should be the last i hear from Gigabyte after that
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The MSI isnt "perfect" to say the least, but as far as I am concerned it kicks major ass! :D Good choice.
 
I'm just curious, how did you go about returning the board. Did you return it to the shipper or directly to gigabyte and what did you tell them to get a refund instead of getting pigeon-holed into an RMA request.
 
I swapped motherboards today, from the Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 to the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum and I STILL AM HAVING DUAL-CHANNEL MEMORY PROBLEMS!!!

I tried it with both Corsair 3200XL and Crucial DDR500 Ballistix.

I either have a faulty CPU or there is a design flaw in the nf3 chipset. I am currently suspecting the CPU. :confused:
 
thats the point mentioned more than once, its a compatibility problem or a chipset problem. i run my GEIL sticks with the timings mentioned in the specs from GEIL. DDR400 with DualChannel w/o any Problems!
Stable in continuous operation since i postet my first success =) nice *g*
 
daze said:
thats the point mentioned more than once, its a compatibility problem or a chipset problem. i run my GEIL sticks with the timings mentioned in the specs from GEIL. DDR400 with DualChannel w/o any Problems!
Stable in continuous operation since i postet my first success =) nice *g*
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So now I need to buy a third pair of DIMM's?!? When does this headache stop! :confused:

I'm about to throw this POS in the river and get something Intel. :(
 
So i called Gigabyte today, (it's been like the 10th time) and tech support said that they still haven't been able to replicate the temperature issue. I'm wondering if it was a manufacturing error instead of a BIOS problem. They said they would take a look at my board and processor, but i don't wanna go a month without my new computer :( So is there anyone who is not having incorrect temp readings? If so, speak up about where and when you bought your hardware. I dont know if I should RMA this board or send it to gigabyte. If they can't replicate it, then someone's gotta send their board in... lol, of course no one wants to give up their board for a month.
 
When I emailed tech support they responded back saying the temp issue was being looked into. Maybe the phone guys just have no clue or arent linked to HQ? I've alwayst assumed that new bios revisions come from the homeland, not the local branches.

Also I loved how they simply say - go get new ram. Um I spent lots of good hard earned cash on respected ram and just because you messed up I'm supposed to go get new stuff? hah! I'd sooner exchange the board for the MSI...and I may very well still do that. Cant really decided though, not with people talking about SATA speed issues and I have sata drives to run on. I know timings arent really that important at these ddr speeds but I feel burned that I cant use what I bought.
 
flawlssdistortn, my bad. I still need to contact the local Gigabyte office and send them one of the two boards with the issue (hopefully they'll have some Corsair sticks to try out too although I have a couple of LL sticks that I know Prime95 wasn't lasting long on). I'll try and call them tomorrow.
 
Smacknca said:
hah! I'd sooner exchange the board for the MSI...and I may very well still do that.
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I swapped in the MSI and have the SAME FRIGGIN PROBLEM! :)

I think I have a bad CPU. Anybody else wonder if maybe AMD is having problems with that dual channel on-board memory controller?
 
Hornswoggler said:
I swapped in the MSI and have the SAME FRIGGIN PROBLEM! :)
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What a surprise... :eek:
My techsupport mail to gigabyte is still pending... i've send them the problem with the temperature. It is pending for something about 2 weeks now. They've got an amazing fast support!
 
If the ones still having the problem after switching to MSI from Gigabyte, and u happen to try with another CPU, post ur results in.
 
ThyDude said:
If the ones still having the problem after switching to MSI from Gigabyte, and u happen to try with another CPU, post ur results in.
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Definately.

I am trying to decide whether to order another CPU, or a VIA motherboard. Either way, I am starting to collect extra PC parts. $300 for more memory, $150 for MSI mobo, and then another $100+ for via board or ~$400 for CPU, dang, all this on top of the PC itself.

I might just ride this out in single channel until Intel bumps their FSB up a notch (I think October '04 for that). There will be new Intel chipsets too and hopefully more PCI-express cards available.

This is my first AMD system, and after years and years of everybody telling me how stable and mature the platform is, I have to call BS! I will gladly pay a multi-hundred dollar premium for Intel next time, save me the time, trouble, frustration, and monetary loss!
 
Hornswoggler, working AMD solutions are out there and they're pretty stable. The two GA-K8NSNXP-939s I had were replaced with Asus A8Vs two weeks ago and they've been running 24/7 with Prime95 running for hours on end until I stop it or a game of some sort loading the system without any issues. An SK8N based system has been running for months with the only problem being initial Corsair TwinX1024-3200LL sticks needing to be ran with C2 level timing (hmmm.. I should have tried upping the ram voltage...).

To see the MSI mobo having similar issues just doesn't give me any warm fuzzies. I'd love to see MSI, Gigabyte or nVidia chime in and investigate what the deal is. I can't send Gigabyte a CPU but I can send them one of the mobos and perhaps some Corsair 3200LL sticks that never did get correct memory timings detected.

At any rate, perhaps seeing if the Asus A8V might work for you is an option. The three I have are working great so far. I don't overclock and all three are using 3-3-3-8 TwinX2048-3200 sticks so hopefully the A8V won't have a problem with much faster memory.
 
I think the problems that we are seeing here probably originate from the memory controller of our processors. The gigabyte board is not the only one that people have reported memory problems with. Socket 939's new technology included support for dual channel mode, and remember that with any new technology comes the possibility of certain incompatibilites. I've been running corsair value ram (CAS 2.5) in dual channel and experience only occasional crashes, maybe once every 3 or 4 days. Memtest does not find any errors. One of the guys in tech support said he was not confident in the board's stability when used with low latency ram. Yeah, i know it sucks and that it's false advertising, but guys, why don't you just use normal ram, and trade the small performance gains for a more stable system.
 
flawlssdistortn said:
why don't you just use normal ram, and trade the small performance gains for a more stable system.
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At this point after hearing the MSi has equal issues and having personal reasons for not wanting to return to via, my current thinking is to endure the gigabyte board with relaxed timings (really not that big a deal) and have a stable board. Then replace it with an Nforce4 when they make it to market, hopefully this time in full working order. Returning the ram is just a big pain in the butt that I dont really want to go through (if I even can at all at this point).
 
Just wanted to chime in that I have been having memory problems with this board too. I've got two sticks of 512mb Corsair 3200XL. The only stable config I can get working is one stick with relaxed timings (3-4-4-8). Adding the second stick in dual or single channel mode results in a crash before windows completes booting.

Hopefully the guilty party (gigabyte or amd) will acknowledge the problem and attempt to provide a fix.
 
From Crucial, there seems to be no problems now whatsoever, RAM is properly detected, been on Prime 95 now for past 2 hours, while using the machine for other tasks, CPU is reporting as 18 Degrees celcius, as opposed to the usual 1-2 i usualy have on, with nVdia Utility...
 
i find it funny that yesterday I got a response from Giga regarding Easy Tune 4 and its lack of hardware monitoring - 'If button does not work, Et4 no support' yet magically it seems this latest beta bios has it supported and working. This board was so incredibly not ready for prime time when it shipped - if 3 months later they are still just getting features to work in beta bioses (which dont exist as far as tech support is considered for the most part). Now if they could get the NV sata to work correctly with the HD led so i can see access. ;)


To be fair I have never had good luck with mobo tech support, its always the community that picks up the slack and makes these things work (or at least forces the makers to fix things).
 
Magically me also the temp sensors becomes right, i tried encoding a divx, and temperature at idling was at 31, and it climbed under the encoding load at 41 and it just stayed there, for next 45 minutes that i let it run, also did the good old classic sensor that does not lie, and it seems right, barely warmer to the touch then my own temp, another thing tried, i set Top Performance mode in Bios and for first time i posted using that settings, and also works A1, i achieve 6100 in sandra now instead of 5950 before, when checking nvidia utility was running at 405 reported, and now reports at 400, if i check with sandra it said 208 (416), and wcpu live cpu speed display i get now 2280 instead of 2210, so basically Top Performance seem to do about a 4.5% Overclock, anyone has results of Sandra on a 925 or 875 intel chipsets, i know one of friends got 4800 in sandra when he tested, and he has a 925 chipset dual 533.... that seems highly crappy, if u notice memory speed benches so slow that for the meory benches in Sandra there is no 875 / 925 Intel chipsets listed, but in other sections of sandra, where the performance is not so bad, we see them listed cause difference is not that marked, i kinda feel like there is something crooked going on with Sandra, and maybe a little baggy of cash from intel to the makers of Sandra, to forget to List dual DDR boards from intel.... hmmm
 
FYI, Gigabyte is full of it. I've informed them myself that:

1) The CPU temp is being mis-reported
2) That the system has memory issues (can't run DDR400 with four DIMMs).
3) EasyTune4 does not work correctly with the board, even though the software comes on the board's driver CD.
4) The nvidia SATA controller doesn't light the IDE LED.

Gigabyte told me to replace my waterblock with a normal HSF to see if that would get the temps back to "normal". Ummm.. I don't know about anybody else, but as far as I know a WC rig (all by it's lonesome) CAN'T drop the temp of the CPU to 10c. I WISH it could, but that's physically impossible without either chilling the water, or using a Peltier junction.

Gigabyte pretty much told me to go pound tar about the memory issue too. Nice customer relations training there!

As for EasyTune4, I don't have an issue with it not working with the motherboard. What I have an issue with is that they included it with the board, but it obviously doesn't work correctly with it. You'd think they'd check the program for compatibiity? Apparently, that's asking too much of them.

The IDE LED issue? It SHOULDN'T even be an issue. That should have been addressed by their own internal QA team. It SHOULD HAVE NEVER made it in the final production build. I have an idea. Maybe we should all send Gigabyte a bill for all the time and materials we've spent on diagnosing their faulty product? I'm up for it if any of you are. I'm not one to make waves, but this one irks me enough to make a wave 30ft in height.


-FH
 
Fifth Horseman said:
Gigabyte pretty much told me to go pound tar about the memory issue too. Nice customer relations training there!
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Just for the record, are you using a Gigabyte officially supported memory configuration?
 
I tried the new BIOS last night, and it seems better.

In slots 1 & 2, I am running my Crucial Ballistix and it ran Prime95 torture test for 7 hours before giving an error. F3 BIOS would crap out within the first few minutes, so this could be sign of an improvement. OTOH, it still failed. :(
 
Anyone else pissed off about the Firewire ports? On my other computer, my iPod still charges via the Firewire port when the PC's off. On my new PC (specs in sig), the port doesn't supply power unless the PC is on.

Is there a way to get the mobo to power the port even when the system is off? Is this a mobo issue or a PSU issue?

Btw, I'm running the Ballistix RAM at 2-2-2-6 @ 2.7v and I'm prime95 stable for 15 hours.
 
I forgot to ask... I'm running the F3 bios. What's the best/safest way to update to the new F4 that's availible on Gigabyte's website? What do I do with the exe file they have for download? Do I need to put it on a floppy do something from a boot or do I just run the file? I wanted to hold off until I asked.

the @bios utility does not yet show the F4 bios and it only wants .bin files for local updates. I'm very dissatisfied with Gigabyte's support.
 
yeah, their BIOS update didn't give much for instructions, huh.

The downloaded file will extract, and I put those files on a floppy. I rebooted into BIOS, and I think you F8 to enter the BIOS management utility. I flashed from there. There may be other ways of doing it.
 
Thanks for your response, Horns.

I did as you suggested, but I'm curious as to whether it took properly. The temperature now seems to report properly (37-41 degrees) and matches the temp probe on my case.

However... under CPU-Z and Sandra, it still shows my bios version as F3. It's dated as 9/20/2004, though... so something must have changed. Did I need to disable some sort of bios flash protection prior to updating?
 
flawlssdistortn said:
Have you guys still been getting BSODs? And Ripper, did disabling fast writes seem to help at all?
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No BSOD's here... but I just know that Prime95 would fail after a few hours and that is just unsettling to me. Maybe I am just neurotic on PC stability, LOL!
 
Ripper said:
However... under CPU-Z and Sandra, it still shows my bios version as F3. It's dated as 9/20/2004, though... so something must have changed. Did I need to disable some sort of bios flash protection prior to updating?
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I noticed the exact same thing... but the post screen says F4, so I trust its flashed.

who knows, haha
 
I noticed the same thing, Horns. My post also shows F4, but nowhere else.

Yes, I have fast writes disabled... I set it that way pretty early on in my trouble shooting process.

One of the biggest improvements I came across in my quest for PC stability was graphics card related. I have a 6800 ultra made by eVGA, and when the 2D and 3D clockspeeds/memory speed are not set exactly equal, you get crashes. I have them set at 425Mhz and 1100 Mhz respectively.

Can anyone help me with my firewire power question? This is *really* *really* bothering me. Do you guys have the same issue? I'm also ticked I can't get my firwire and usb headers from the front of my case to interface with the seemingly odd mobo connectors. You guys use em at all?

EDIT:: Oh, btw, did anyone who flashed to the F4 notice that the HDD activity light seems to function now?
 
Can anyone tell me what the command rate options mean? Obviously "enable" turns on 2T, but what is "auto" and "disabled"? Is there a 1T option?
 
disable means 1T.

C'mon, guys... help me out with this firewire thing. Gigabyte support doesn't respond to emails it seems.
 
Sorry Ripper, I've never used firewire before. Did a few searches in other forums, and found nothing. Wish i could help. And its doubtful that gigabyte tech support will be able to come up with any ideas.
 
I ditched my Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 and now back on my MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum.

Running flawlessly! Prime95 went over 8 hours last night, no errors. I'll be testing Prime or memtest every night until satisfied.

So neither motherboard would work with my Corsair 3200XL (2-2-2-5, non-bling-bling edition), and results with Crucial Ballistix were MUCH better! Even the Gigabyte ran it great in sockets 3 & 4.

Bottom line (from my testing):

- Corsair 3200XL does not play well with either the CPU or chipset.

- The socket 939 processors are very picky about the memory used.

- There is something weird about the gigabyte board as DIMM sockets 3 & 4 are more reliable than 1 & 2.



I come out of here highly praising Crucial Ballistix. I really think this is the best memory going for the socket 939 platform.
 
lol, that information came at a high price alright... It's ridiculous that we, the consumers are the ones who have to figure this crap out. But thank you hornswoggler for that insight.
 
I finally got a decent OC after I RMA'd everything, and am now using Ballistix ram.

242x10.5 - 2.54ghz

ran prime for 10 hours... but for some reason, it rolls back to backup bios on restart sometimes.
 
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