Who has Gigabyte's EP45-UD3R? Need to ask a question...

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courtney01

Gawd
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Nov 25, 2008
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For anyone who has this motherboard (even if there's a response, please add your comment because I'm trying to see if many people have my problem or not):

If you position your board so that the CPU is on the left, the RAM is on top, the PCI slots are on the right, and the back panel connectors are on the bottom, you'll see a blue component on the very left edge of the board (directly to the left of the CPU).

Facing that side, can you look at that side of the board at eye level and tell me if the board's surface is perfectly flat or ever so slightly curved downwards in the middle so that there's about a 1mm gap between the board and the blue component?
 
I have that boards big brother and i'm using stock Intel HS and having none of those problems.
 
a573573 said:
Sounds to me like your heatsink is casuing your board to flex, you need a Backplate!

That flex is causing your mosfets to not properly touch the heatsink therefore they will not be cooled and can burn up very quickly

Get ya one of these, not sure what Heatsink you have but you need a backplate >>
http://www.petrastechshop.com/eksuuncpuwab.html
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lgbowiscsp.html
Click to expand...

Do you mean that it's only bending while the HSF is on and it'll straighten out if I take it out? So the tiny gap between the blue component and the board doesn't mean it detached from the board, or was it directly connected to the board to start off with? I did a bare minimum motherboard test with a CPU, RAM, and video card as directed here: http://www.mechbgon.com/build/benchtest.html, and it turned on fine. Of course, I only left it on for about 5 minutes and I have no idea what the temperatures are on the board.

I don't remember if it beeped, so I'll check it out again and update asap.
 
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Yours won't beep unless you have it hooked up to a case speaker, remember.
 
My 1200 doesn't have one either. You'll either need to snatch one from another case you may have laying around, or you can buy one from some computer surplus stores or radioshack might have one.
 
Any small speaker will work, you just need a way to connect it to the leads.
 
You can get a case speaker here, plenty of links. (Also on Ebay) >>>
http://www.google.com/products?q=mo...&btnG=Search+Products&hl=en&show=dd&scoring=p

Yes, If you do have any board flexing if you fix it now it wont stay that way. But if you leave it flexed for a long time then yes, it may stay that way.

Without pics though, I can only guess that is what you mean. Can you please post some pics? There is Chips (Mosfet's) under the heatsinks and that would cause some to possibly think there is a gap. So I just dont know what you mean for sure without a pic, but it did sound to me like your board PCB itself is flexing from the Heatsink of your CPU
 
I'm testing this mobo to see if it's ok, but if I find anything's wrong with it, they won't exchange defective items if I cut out the UPC and mail in the rebate. If I don't mail the rebate and the board is defective, I can get it exchanged for a brand new one. But if I mail in the rebate and the board is defective, then I have to get a replacement from the manufacturer. Assuming the board might turn out defective, is it better to forgo the rebate and just exchange it for a brand new one, or send in the rebate and handle replacements through the manufacturer who might give me a refurbished/repaired item?
 
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Usually the speaker comes on a 4-pin width connector, with leads just on the ends and two blanks in the middle. None of the 3 cases I have in this house have speaker leads... damnit!
 
Theres generally going to be a little force needed when closing the CPU plate over the CPU. Thats normal.

Generally its easy to get in 3 of the 4 pins on the Intel Heatsink, with the last one being the toughest. When you were securing the heatsink, you weren't moving in a clockwise or counterclockwise circle were you?

I also noticed, in your second picture, that the pushpins holding the oddly crafted blue heatsink down, are in at different lengths. Not sure what that means or if it accounds for any flex..so yea. Someone may need to chime in on that.
 
MrLoLeR said:
Generally its easy to get in 3 of the 4 pins on the Intel Heatsink, with the last one being the toughest. When you were securing the heatsink, you weren't moving in a clockwise or counterclockwise circle were you?
Click to expand...

During my first attempt, I did push them in a circle. But that didn't work, so after looking at the manual more carefully I noticed that I should try it in diagonals, but that still wouldn't work well. So I just pushed in whichever one would let me. I ended up putting it on and taking it off a couple times. Also, while I was taking it off, even though I twisted the pins in the direction of the arrow, those pins wouldn't detach completely from the board, so I ended up twisting it back, pushing the pin back in completely, and twisting it again in the direction of the arrow. It still wouldn't work for a few times, so I had to twist the pins back and forth, and when I did that, the pins made screeching sounds (sounds like light metal springs twisting- like the kind of metal springs around the white pushpins holding down the oddly shaped blue heatsink. Do you happen to know what I mean, or is it just me? Or maybe it was the friction sound of the plastic pushpin twisting against the hole of the motherboard?). I eventually was able to pop them loose by pulling on them a bit.

I also noticed, in your second picture, that the pushpins holding the oddly crafted blue heatsink down, are in at different lengths. Not sure what that means or if it accounds for any flex..so yea. Someone may need to chime in on that.
Click to expand...
I just checked the board, and those pushpins are locked in the board, so it must be due to the bending. The board on the right must be pulling down on the right pushpin while the board on the left is bending up and relaxing the spring on the left pushpin? Is there something wrong with this component?
 
The pics in that thread of the bent load plate are not normal. If your load plate looked like that, retrun the board now.

The heatsink is what's causing the bending in the board, and it's not normal or good. So order a aftermarket sink with backplate system while you are at it.

You would think a company that designs industry leading chips, could design a better mounting system, I'd like to tar-and-feather the "engineer" that came up with push-pins.
 
vick1000 said:
The pics in that thread of the bent load plate are not normal. If your load plate looked like that, retrun the board now.
Click to expand...

So the plate should be lying perfectly flat even with the CPU loaded in, not slightly angled due to the CPU's extra width? (I'll take off the HSF and take a picture of my load plate to see if it's the same as the photo in that other thread)

The heatsink is what's causing the bending in the board, and it's not normal or good. So order a aftermarket sink with backplate system while you are at it.
Click to expand...
If my intel stock HSF were installed correctly, would the board not bend?
 
vick1000 said:
Yes, it's supposed to be flat.
Click to expand...

I'll have to verify if my load plate is as bad as the one in the external thread, but just assuming for now that it is like that one, is my CPU and CPU socket now damaged from the extreme pressure, since I locked the CPU in the load plate with the lever?

Just wondering now, so the people in the other thread who said everything's ok with the load plate and CPU.......they're very wrong and possibly screwed up the other guy?
 
courtney01 said:
I'll have to verify if my load plate is as bad as the one in the external thread, but just assuming for now that it is like that one, is my CPU and CPU socket now damaged from the extreme pressure, since I locked the CPU in the load plate with the lever?

Just wondering now, so the people in the other thread who said everything's ok with the load plate and CPU.......they're very wrong and possibly screwed up the other guy?
Click to expand...


All I know is that the retention plate is supposed to be flat, and if it's bent like the one in that thread, it's defective and it's not going to put even pressure on the chip. It should take some force to lock in the lever, but no more than say opening a can of soda.

Whether your chip is damaged or not, you'll have to check it when you remove it. As long as the pads on the bottom are intact, and the heat spreader is not dented, it should be fine.

The socket on the other hand may not be so lucky. That's why Intel went to the 775 system, so they don't have a bunch of damaged chips getting returned.
 
Just wanted to check if any more people saw the photos on page 1 and were able to offer some insights. Thanks
 
vick1000 said:
All I know is that the retention plate is supposed to be flat, and if it's bent like the one in that thread, it's defective and it's not going to put even pressure on the chip. It should take some force to lock in the lever, but no more than say opening a can of soda.
Click to expand...

Here are a couple links to photos of the unsecured load plate with the CPU installed.
I looked at a couple youtube videos of people installing the CPU, and the plates seemed to look like these too when the CPU is inserted, so I don't know what's what. (let me know if the images are too large).

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/3228/closed4mm6.jpg
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8818/closed3ji5.jpg
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/7262/closed2kh3.jpg
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/4932/closedmt6.jpg

This is how the plate looks like from the side:

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8904/platecurvedi3.jpg

Whether your chip is damaged or not, you'll have to check it when you remove it. As long as the pads on the bottom are intact, and the heat spreader is not dented, it should be fine.
Click to expand...
I really hate myself right now. I was taking pictures of the plate resting on the CPU, and later on forgot that it was there and vertically tilted the motherboard to take a picture of the curved side. The CPU fell out (about a 9in height) and landed on the anti-static bag covering the cardboard box I'm using as a motherboard surface. The CPU's gold side was facing up. It happened so fast that I'm not 100% sure the gold plates didn't strike the cardboard, but the CPU didn't bounce too much and it was resting on the heat spreader side, so I think the gold plates didn't hit anything. But if it did, am I in trouble?

Also, I was trying to put on the black plastic cover that came on the CPU, and a bit of the plastic cover scraped the gold side a bit. Is this bad?

Here's how the CPU looked like after all this:

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/7648/cpuhd8.jpg
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/295/cpucoreog7.jpg

The socket on the other hand may not be so lucky. That's why Intel went to the 775 system, so they don't have a bunch of damaged chips getting returned
Click to expand...
Here are a couple links to photos of the socket. It looks ok to me, but I was hoping to get multiple opinions on whether it looks undamaged
 
Now that looks OK. The plate is supposed to be a little curved, but not warped like the one shown here...

socketqi8.jpg


...see how the inner edge is bent upwards. It looks like your mechanism is fine, all though the pin marks on the CPU look a little off center. But if you have to put lots of force on the lever, the CPU might not be seating properly. You have to be sure to set it in the socket evenly, keeping it parallel to the socket at all times.

In any case, the heat sink is flexing the board far too much.
 
Dropping the CPU on a piece of cardbaord won't hurt it, that's precisely why Intel made the 775 with the pins in the sockets.
 
vick1000 said:
Now that looks OK. The plate is supposed to be a little curved, but not warped like the one shown here...

socketqi8.jpg


...see how the inner edge is bent upwards. It looks like your mechanism is fine, all though the pin marks on the CPU look a little off center. But if you have to put lots of force on the lever, the CPU might not be seating properly. You have to be sure to set it in the socket evenly, keeping it parallel to the socket at all times.

In any case, the heat sink is flexing the board far too much.
Click to expand...

I'm really sorry, but I'm having trouble seeing the warping of the plate. I don't think I'm seeing everything correctly because to me the photo on the right looks like it's lifted up a bit in the front just like it is in my photos. I took new pictures without the CPU inserted in the socket:
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4558/emptyclosedeu8.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9356/emptyclosed2yu6.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7452/emptyclosed3ht6.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/3669/emptyclosed4pm9.jpg

What are the pin marks?

So the socket and the gold side of the CPU look undamaged?
 
vick1000 said:
Dropping the CPU on a piece of cardbaord won't hurt it, that's precisely why Intel made the 775 with the pins in the sockets.
Click to expand...

I'm just really worried because I was instructed not to touch that side and the pins in the socket all costs, so:

Even if the gold side happened to come in contact with the board?

And the black plastic cover lightly brushing against the gold side is fine too?
 
I took new photos of the curved edge after I took the HSF off, and it looks like this now. The curve is mostly gone, although there's a very tiny amount of curving still. Can everyone tell me whether I should RMA the board or not from these pictures:
(the camera was slanted a bit, so the board isn't completely horizontal in the pictures, so don't let that mislead you into thinking it's more curved than it is)
 
courtney01 said:
I'm really sorry, but I'm having trouble seeing the warping of the plate. I don't think I'm seeing everything correctly because to me the photo on the right looks like it's lifted up a bit in the front just like it is in my photos. I took new pictures without the CPU inserted in the socket:
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4558/emptyclosedeu8.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9356/emptyclosed2yu6.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7452/emptyclosed3ht6.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/3669/emptyclosed4pm9.jpg

What are the pin marks?

So the socket and the gold side of the CPU look undamaged?
Click to expand...

Look at the pic on the right an the left-inner edge (closest to the camera) of the load plate is bent back toward the camera. The curvature up away from the socket is normal, to an extent.

socketqi8pd6.jpg


On the bottom of the CPU, on the pads, you can see where the pins were making contact on them, you can see how they were not centered well, but they were making contact with the pads never the less. Nothing to worry about there.

The CPU looks fine. It's ok for there to be some dullness on the heat spreader, thay are not polished or anything, even some fine scratches are normal.

The reason you don't want to touch the gold pads, is because there is always a threat of static discharge when you touch metal, and the oil on your fingers could cause some premature corrosion.
 
vick1000 said:
Look at the pic on the right an the left-inner edge (closest to the camera) of the load plate is bent back toward the camera. The curvature up away from the socket is normal, to an extent.

socketqi8pd6.jpg
Click to expand...

Ok, I think I see what you mean. So ignoring that one bend, before the lever is locked, is the way the load plate angled due to the CPU being installed an ok angle? For example, when there's no CPU installed, the angle is 0, but when the CPU is installed, the plate where the finger lifts it is raised a bit. Is that height/angle ok in that person's picture on the right? That's what I meant when I said his picture and mine looked similar, because even though my plate may not have any warpings, my plate is sitting at a raised angle a bit too because of the CPU.

The reason you don't want to touch the gold pads, is because there is always a threat of static discharge when you touch metal, and the oil on your fingers could cause some premature corrosion.
Click to expand...
I see, so you're saying that the plastic cover lightly touching the gold pads or even the CPU dropping from a 9in height onto an anti-static bag (the gold pads hitting the bag too) is ok, but fingers touching it is bad?
 
With the lever in the locked position, the load plate should be level with the rest of the machanism, with or with out a CPU in the socket. If it's bending up when the lever is locked down, something is wrong.

Contrary to what others are telling you, the motherboard is not supposed to bend, and it's a defect of the design of the stock heat sinks. I have built tons of 775 systems, and when I got a stock sink that was hard to mount, I always got a new after market heat sink. I eventually stopped using the stock sinks all together because of the stress put on the MOSFET area with the board flexed like that. So I started buying OEM CPUs when they were cheaper, and getting this thing for basic builds...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887005

...it has a good mounting system and cools stock clocked chips well (not as quiet as it could be but good enough).
 
vick1000 said:
With the lever in the locked position, the load plate should be level with the rest of the machanism, with or with out a CPU in the socket. If it's bending up when the lever is locked down, something is wrong.
Click to expand...

I was actually wondering about the case when the lever is not locked and the load plate is slightly raised, since in the other person's picture and in mine the levers aren't locked yet. I would think that it's normal, but I've never done this before so maybe I could be wrong.

Contrary to what others are telling you, the motherboard is not supposed to bend, and it's a defect of the design of the stock heat sinks. I have built tons of 775 systems, and when I got a stock sink that was hard to mount, I always got a new after market heat sink. I eventually stopped using the stock sinks all together because of the stress put on the MOSFET area with the board flexed like that. So I started buying OEM CPUs when they were cheaper, and getting this thing for basic builds.
Click to expand...
I'm so confused, I have one camp telling me not to worry and another that it's a problem. :confused:. I would prefer to be safe than sorry though especially for expensive things like a computer. When you took a look at the picture of my board with the HSF off, did the edge look straight enough to consider the motherboard itself (without the HSF) non-defective? Because with the HSF on, I know it's bending too much, but with it off, it straightened out mostly except for a tiny bit of curve.
 
The motherboard is not defective, the Intel stock heatsink design is. This is just the kind of thing you will run into with building you own PCs. I have been building PCs for 15 years, and compatability is not always a guarantee.

If the motherboard was working, it's probably fine. But continue to use it with that blue heat sink not properly cooling those FETs, and you are asking for trouble.
 
vick1000 said:
The motherboard is not defective, the Intel stock heatsink design is. This is just the kind of thing you will run into with building you own PCs. I have been building PCs for 15 years, and compatability is not always a guarantee.

If the motherboard was working, it's probably fine. But continue to use it with that blue heat sink not properly cooling those FETs, and you are asking for trouble.
Click to expand...

That's what I was concerned about: problems cropping up when I start to actually use the computer full time, even if the mb worked fine during the testing process. So since the mb's socket and the edge without the HSF on is not defective, I should just get the rebate and buy aftermarket HSF?

By the way, can you let me know what you think to the question 2 posts above about the plate's position without the lever locked down? Thanks
 
It's normal for it to be curved a little, almost like a spring, when it's not latched. But if the lever is latched and it's bent up, that would be defective.

Do the rebate and order an aftermarket sink with backplate system, if you have room in your case for a tower sink get these...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

...if not, get the one I linked to previously.

If you feel comfortable with modifying the stock sink, you can remove the push-pin assemblies and use that mounting kit above to mount the stock sink. But it can be tricky to get the screws started.
 
vick1000 said:
It's normal for it to be curved a little, almost like a spring, when it's not latched. But if the lever is latched and it's bent up, that would be defective.
Click to expand...

I understand now. Assuming I keep the stock HSF, when I put the mb into the case and screw it in, it should counteract the HSF bending the board and straighten it out, right? Which would allow the heatsink to always be in contact with the mosfets?
 
courtney01 said:
I understand now. Assuming I keep the stock HSF, when I put the mb into the case and screw it in, it should counteract the HSF bending the board and straighten it out, right? Which would allow the heatsink to always be in contact with the mosfets?
Click to expand...

The motherboard should not be bent in any situation, screwing it into the case will not fix it. The load plate can be bent a little when not latched, because they act like a spring.
 
vick1000 said:
The motherboard should not be bent in any situation, screwing it into the case will not fix it. The load plate can be bent a little when not latched, because they act like a spring.
Click to expand...

Oh, ok. I'll just keep the mb, get the rebate, and get an aftermarket HSF like the ones you suggested then.
 
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