GIGABYTE Sandy Bridge Motherboards: The Working Ports

[runn3R]

GIGABYTE Sandy Bridge Motherboards: The Working Ports
 
Motherboard manufacturer publishes Serial-ATA overview matrix

Milton Keynes, 3 February 2011 – GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphic cards and other PC components, publishes an overview matrix for motherboards based on P67/H67/P65/PH67/B65 chipsets to inform customers about SATA ports, which may be used without experiencing performance issues.

After discussions about the “Intel bug” GIGABYTE has tested the latest motherboards using chipsets of the new Intel 6-series (P67/H67/P65/PH67) with B2 stepping and published a matrix with all SATA ports. Users who only use SATA3-ports, which is backward compatible to SATA2, are not affected by the issue, and can use their motherboard without any limitations.



GIGABYTE uses the naming of the SATA ports for the matrix list, which can be found in the user’s manual (page 7). User manuals can be downloaded from the official GIGABYTE website (uk.gigabyte.com or www.gigabyte.com).

Users who have already bought a GIGABYTE motherboard with P67, H67, P65, B65 or PH67 chipset can use their motherboards until GIGABYTE offers replacement motherboards in April. According to Intel’s production plan, the 6 series B3 stepping chipset will be available during April, 2011. GIGABYTE will produce and ship replacement motherboards according to Intel’s chipset shipping schedule. GIGABYTE will provide an equivalent new motherboard for replacement.

[Dark Mantis]

Well done Gigabyte! It is nice to see that they are quick to react and form a sensible and fair policy so users know what is going on rather than just being left to guess. As far as I am concerned this is the right way to tackle a difficult problem not of Gigabyte's making. 

[Shined]

Hi,

I was looking at purchasing a UD7 but am a little put off/concerned at the moment I can see that the right actions have been taken for those users already affected but my question is what happens to "in transit boards" I.E how will I tell that the UD7 that I purchase is the b3 as opposed to the B2 chip set in the future as I live in New Zealand and it takes a lot of time to ship it back and wait for a replacement, in short I am worried that retailers without realization may still sell B2 boards that will fail that are in stock now. How do you tell?

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

There will be a new revision number on the board I am sure when the new boards come out however that won't be until about April. Any board purchased now will be with the original chipset and will be replaced once the new boards are released.

[runn3R]

(...) how will I tell that the UD7 that I purchase is the b3 as opposed to the B2 chip set in the future (...)

As far as I know it will be clearly indicated on the box and on the PCB too, so don't worry about it.

[Greed4Speed]

Anybody have an idea of the B3 performance, will it be equal or better than B2?

[Dark Mantis]

To be honest if all they are doing is reworking the silicon dies where the faulty section was then there shouldn't be any difference in performance.

[runn3R]

(...) how will I tell that the UD7 that I purchase is the b3 as opposed to the B2 chip set in the future (...)

As far as I know it will be clearly indicated on the box and on the PCB too, so don't worry about it.

Update - all of these models names will end with -B3, for example GA-P67A-UD7-B3

[Dark Mantis]

That keeps everything clear now then.

[ex58]

GA-P67A-UD7-B3 (and others) are on official Gigabyte web.
UD7 and UD5 remain Rev.1.0 and the rest are Rev.1.1.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-p...id=3761&dl=1#ov

Taipei, Taiwan - February 25, 2011 - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions, today announced that they have begun shipping the totally redesigned GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards featuring the new Intel® B3 stepping chipsets. Motherboards are expected to be available as early as next week, when shipments start to clear customs offices in markets around the world.

http://www.gigabyte.com/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=991

[Dark Mantis]

Yes things seem to be moving on at a steady pace now and I am sure it won't be long before this issue is all but forgotten.  To be fair everyone involved have really got to grips with the problem and helped rectify it without any great inconvenience to the end user. It could have been far worse and if all issues were dealt with this way everything would run much more smoothly. Top marks to both Intel and Gigabyte.

[bofh1971]

A massive thankyou to Gigabyte for doing this right.
now I just need my supplier to confirm the boards they got in stock last week are the new b-3 stepping boards

we will continue to recommend Gigabyte for all our builds.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes it is nice to see a company getting it right with regards to it's loyal customer base.