EP45T-EXTREME - REV 1.0: MCH Temperature too high.

[agaver]

Hello everyone,

I really wished I've never bought a gigabyte motherboard... and you can be sure it will be my last time.
I'm really tired with this big piece of junk, I've assembled motherboards for years, and never found such a piece
of expensive crap mounted together in an over-sized box which it's worth as much as it weights in poopoo.

I have the bad luck of have bought this crappy motherboard and I install an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
on it, with 2 corsairs ddr dimms - cm3x2g1600c9dhx (9-9-9-24) and a gigantic OCZ Vendetta 2 cpu cooler.
I mounted everything on a superb coolermaster sniper case and hope for the best. However the little
b* motherboard has given all kind of troubles.

I was patient enough to mount the fan with the ocz vendetta right next to that horrendous NB arrangement.
It looked nice in internet sites and pictures ... in reality it's the worst nightmare gigabyte could have came with.
Plus all those freaking review sites saying how wonderful this mobo is... give me a break.

So, after sorting all kind of stupid problems with the motherboard, trying to follow a really cheap and poorly designed manual,
and dealing with all kind of messes to install their software utilities (easy tune 6 / energy saver)... wich even after install
they don't work as supposed to... I have encountered 2 really annoying problems.

1st- the push button to clear the cmos in the back, does not clean any values at all. what a waste. Yes I unplug the computer
remove the electricity, press the very little b* button from 1 minute to 10 minutes. The settings won't be erased. So I opened the case
and put a jumper in between the two pins to do so manually .."clr cmos" wiated 5 minutes.. still the settings won't be cleared? who in hell
designed this crap?

2nd problem - The freaking mch temperature sensor / reader / or god's knows what.. simply tells me I have 90 degrees celsiius right off the bat
as soon as I turn on the power. How is this possible??? everything else is cool, I even touch the fan and the stupid NB heather.. at 90 degrees celsius
it should peel the skin right of my finger... it's cold as freaking ice!

So, I know I have an old bios (it came with the f2) and I'm really worried that trying to flash this invention from it would just fried up..
but at this point I would prefer that so I can hammer every single f* transistor on it, put it in a bag and send it back to freaking gigabyte
to see they can realize that their products suck, and the review sites that promotes them stink as much as their products!

I wished I had bought Asus or MSI, but thanks to a friend.. I got this nightmare I hope nobody else would have.
Now if after reading all these lines there is still some gigabyte fan left willing to assist me to clear the cmos and correct the temperature.. I would welcome their commentaries. In any case, I'll try to update the bios... that should hopefully... erase its values, and may be, may be correct the stupid temp sensor... thanks god I'm not an overclocker... I wonder how many headaches this crap would have given me if I tried to change just 1 setting beyond its "default" value.

That's all.
Thanks for reading.
 

[Fatman]

Hey try updating your Bios to the latest beta http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2861#bios and use Qflash NOT @ BIOS!!!!! Once you have done that go into your new Bios and set to load optimised defaults and see if that helps. If that is not the fix try reseatting your cpu and see if that helps you.

After all the reading is saying that it is 90c and yet you put your finger on it and you know thats not the case....So go ahead and flash your Bios.

Here is an excellent guide on how to use Qflash..

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/27576-bios-flashing-how-qflash-guide.html.


I forgot to ask if you had raised the voltage on the MCH?

[agaver]

Thanks for answering Fat Man.
Nope I haven't touched any settings at all.
Everything is to "Auto" and loaded the default settings at least 5 times, in hope it will resolve the issue..
not luck yet.
However I'll follow your advice to update the bios.. using qflash... I'll post after.
Thanks again for the fast response.

[agaver]

Ok.. here are the results... not to my surprise this board keeps on disappointing me...
Now the MCH Temperature shows 91 degrees celsius... 2 more than before the flash.. BUT
the onboard temperature leds just light up the L1 (green) wich according to the manual should
be lighter only if the NB temperature is between 60 - 80 degrees.
Another annoying thing is that the DDR Overvoltage led number 1 (L1)
which since I have all my settings to auto should be OFF it's ON (green).
So now I have bios F5i
System Temperature = 46 celsius
CPU Temperature = 42 celsius
MCH Temperature = 91 celsius
CPU FAN (Vendetta 2) 1151 rpm
System Fan 2 = 971 rpm

I touch the vendetta and the "hybrid pipe" and nothing is hot! Actually my ati video card is hotter than any of those two...
I have the feeling something is definitely wrong with these board temp sensor readers...
Any ideas?

[agaver]

So.. just in case someone says... oh but you try with a beta bios.. lol
I went back and reflash it with the bios version 4 using qflash again...
this time, the temperature still reads 91 celsius.. BUT both NB temperature leds are lighted..
what shows me there is definitely something wrong with their bios version 5i...
can this company get something right?

[Fatman]

What are you using to measure the NB temp? Also there is nothing wrong with a beta bios!

I've been hunting around for you and I have to be honest and say I'm out of ideas, except that maybe the sensor is no good or there is not enough tim on the NB chip? I wouldn't stuff around with it, just RMA it!

[Dark Mantis]

I have the bad luck of have bought this crappy motherboard and I install an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
on it, with 2 corsairs ddr dimms - cm3x2g1600c9dhx (9-9-9-24) and a gigantic OCZ Vendetta 2 cpu cooler.

So, after sorting all kind of stupid problems with the motherboard, trying to follow a really cheap and poorly designed manual,
and dealing with all kind of messes to install their software utilities (easy tune 6 / energy saver)... wich even after install
they don't work as supposed to... I have encountered 2 really annoying problems.

The freaking mch temperature sensor / reader / or god's knows what.. simply tells me I have 90 degrees celsiius right off the bat
as soon as I turn on the power. How is this possible??? everything else is cool, I even touch the fan and the stupid NB heather.. at 90 degrees celsius
it should peel the skin right of my finger... it's cold as freaking ice!

Well firstly let me welcome you to the forum and just make it clear that I am not a Gigabyte fan as such.

I hope you don't mind but I have precised your document to a more readable size. I will deal with your points as relayed in your post.

Firstly the gigantic OCZ Vendetta 2 cpu cooler. It is possible that the cooler mounting points are exhibiting too much pressure on the motherboard and disfiguring it with consequenses that are not always visible, ie broken tracks or connections.

Secondly I would agree that the Gigabyte manuals could do with some work to make them more usable and informative. The same as  their BIOS update descriptions. This is something we have been moaning about for ages with no effect. As far as the included software goes I wouldn't advise installing it at all. That goes for most software packages given away by the vendors of motherboards.

Thirdly from your description it souinds like a faulty sensor on the board(or a bent CPU socket pin). That could come from the first point I made regarding the pressure on the board or it may have just been faulty anyway. It might be worth just trying to release the pressure a little if you feel it could be too tight and see if it makes any difference.

[agaver]

Thanks again to everyone for replying..
It's appreciated.
I wasted my whole Sunday afternoon fighting the issue... and I noticed something.
The big piece of orange cooper installed on top of the NB chip... has about 10 screws.
4 to secure the two little pipes to the bottom of the cooler, another 4 to attach the big cooper radiator to it,
and at the very bottom 2 little screws that keep it in place to the NB through some metal bridge that goes under the motherboard.
Well.. I put all my patience to work again, remove those 10 screws, plus another 2 securing the big cooper monster to the SB chip
and the little 4 plastic retainers that hold the cooper mini radiators on top of the voltage regulators... really a pain in the...
anyways... once removed I noticed the paste on top of the NB was completely dried up. Like a rock actually. Not even the thermal
paste on top of my dual core gets so hard.. so may be the NB it's reaching 90 degrees? To my surprise the SB chip was covered
with some kind of plastic-rubber surface contact and in perfect conditions.

So I clean the whole surface, the NB chip and the cooper heatsink. I replace the burned up paste with nice and creamy new thermal paste
assembled everything together again (outside the case this time) plug the power, turn on... bingo! the same damn issue!
NB Temperature = 87 celsius. this time I had left the big radiator that sits on top outside so I could comfortably touch the cooper with my finger..
did not feel a thing... touch around... touch those pipes... nothing. Absolutely nothing. Reset the cmos again ... try again.. same temperature..
I just gave up... I took it out... I'll see if I can RMA.. but this big piece of junk it's so heavy I don't even think it's worth it.
Just the mail will charge me close to 50% of the price for a new mobo. So any recommendations what mobo to use?
I have an dual core e84000 and ddr iii 533 mhz...  and 1 ati pci express video card.

Also, who came up with the stupid push pin socket installation? some fashion designer? for sure it was a not a tech... I love the old p4's! the socket was so easy to install... I'll keep posting my results with Gigabyte Rma process.. my friend recommended me to get Gigabyte cause he had exchanged mobos with asus 3 times... with no luck... let's see GigaCrap... what u do...

[Fatman]

I would go for the RMA. It is a heavy board maybe, but you would get a new board back so it would make better sense to go that route then to just buy another board.  


Oh and don't tell them that you tampered with the board in anyway.....It could void your warranty

[The Dirk Diggler]

Any after market coolers you buy or are looking at, you need to take into consideration of the cooling on the board, any high end over clocking boards will have massive cooling systems in place that need to be considered.
Placement of them can be tricky and some not even fit

[Lsdmeasap]

Sounds to me from your comments that the NB is cold as ice, that the heatsink is not making proper contact with the NB.   It should be warm/hot to the touch once the system is up and running.

Remove the board from your case and be sure the heatsink is fully screwed down, or if it has plastic clips be sure the both/all go through to the backside of the board and look similar and proper.

[agaver]

Hello Lsdmeasap,

But if I push with my finger down on the heatsink right over the NB should that be a at least some kind of good contact?
I mean, I turn the machine on, go into the bios right away, since I don't have anything connected to the motherboard
except by the video card and a keyboard... and boom - the mch temperature it's already 87 celsius...and even if I press on the
heatsink right like what? 40 seconds after turn it on... still not warm enough... so even if I press the whole cooper monster down
(remember it's on my table - not on the case anymore - so there shouldn't be any screws annoying me...) with my finger
shouldn't that be making a good contact?
 

[Dark Mantis]

I would say that you have some problem there with this board. As Lsdmeasap says the Northbridge should at least feel warm to the touch even when on a light loading. I think you need to RMA it and get an exchange.

[Lsdmeasap]

I would say that you have some problem there with this board. As Lsdmeasap says the Northbridge should at least feel warm to the touch even when on a light loading. I think you need to RMA it and get an exchange.

I agree, if it's not getting warm even with pushing it down then you may need to RMA if you do not want to remove it and replace the thermal paste yourself.   Also, be VERY careful if you are pushing on the NB, you can crack the chip under there as it is just bare silicon.

[agaver]

Thanks everyone for answering.
Now... still having the nice issue... Canada Computers told me to get lost since it's been over 1 year I bought the mobo from them.
Thanks Canada Computers... don't worry I'll pass the message around to all the people I know of.
Gigabyte hasn't answered my questions yet.. and I actually don't expect them to do... so please gigacrap surprise me!