Are there serious issues with the GA-X58A-UD3R

[beaser]

I'm not trying to be irreverent but I've never seen so many negative comments on any board in the past 24 years. I built a fantastic system for my wife last month with a H55M-USB3. I was impressed by the board construction and the ease of build. It's a rock solid board. Everywhere I go I read of problems on X58A. Either there are a lot of stupid people or there are some real issues here.

I bought a GA-X58A-UD3Rn in the past week and haven't completed the build yet due to the holidays. I bought 12 Gig G Skill 1600mhz ram and found that the processor and bios doen't really like anything above 1333.  I want to do a minor overclock with the i7 950 and settle down to a stable system. Basically I have another week to return the board.  I have the case power supply and video card now I need the cpu cooler and a few more new drives I'm off to the races.

I hope to have this under test tommorrow. I usually build them and run them with no real problems. Are there some issues that can be readily addressed to ensure a quality build?

I've been working with computers since 82 and worked in refrigeration sytems and control for many moons and usually find people willing to share and save me a lot of time and effort. I of course return the favour when I can.

I wouldn't have mentioned it but I've been struck by the number of issues and I'm very concerned  that I'll be nursing an albatross.

Thank you for any input.
Bryan B

[Lsdmeasap]

Nothing wrong with them at all, just unskilled users (not to be mean to anyone) at times is all.   Of course to add to those you have the usual expected actual faults, so that plus the un-knowledgeable users or those who don't search out compatible parts before buying makes it look like there is more problems then there actually is.

Plus in many support forums you only see the problem threads, not the other thousands of satisfied users.

12GB may or may not run at 1600, but generally is fine once you find the right amount of QPI/Vtt, let me know if you need help with that.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I to would agree with most of what Lsdmeasap said previously. On the forums you only hear the complaints obviously, nobody spends time going to a forum just to say their board is working as it should.

The X58 chipset is a little more complex in nature than some of the preceding ones and as such requires a little more care when specifying the added components like the memory. Gone are the days of any old RAM will do as long as it fits.

I would suggest that if possible you buy 3 x 4 GB modules if you want 12 GB as they are now reaching the sweet point price wise and will be much easier to configure than 6 x 2 GB filling the slots.

[beaser]

I bought more stuff today and got things up and running. As usual I indulged myself. It's usually a 3 year cycle.
GA-X58A-UD3R
Corsair HX-650 modular PS
LIan Li  P50R toolless red and black anodized aluminum case (I'm a stylish senior citizen) This is one gorgeous unit, the best I've ever owned
OCZ 80 gig SSD
1TB and 3  500 gig western digital one on a hot swap for backup.
m-audio 2496 sound card
Sapphire 5770 vapor
dual monitors-
Samsung 2443BW 1920x1200
Dell U2410 wide gamut 1920x1200
spyder 3 elite version 4

I currently have 3 4 gig sticks of G Skill DDR3 1600mhz ram  (12800CL9T-12GBRL) (9-9-9-24) and seing that I'm already over budget I might as well do this up right. I'm retired now and enjoy playing. For about the same money I can get 12 gig in (6) 2 gig sticks ( F3-10666CL7T-6GBPK) The timing is 7-7-7-18

I really just need a atable system to  run lightroom and photoshop  PS5. I always shoot raw plus jpeg so after a busy day I could have 8 gig worth of camrera files. That's where the drives and the ram comes in. I could most likley get by on 6 gig but to be honest light room 3.2 and PS 5 can be pretty demanding from what I hear.
PS5 and light room were a christmas gift from then wife. I'm currently running PS3 and Bridge from my core 2 duo 2.77 ghz (painful at best)

I've never really had a problem with a build but it can be a chore retraining myself every 3 years.

[Dark Mantis]

It sounds very nice setup and the only thing I would have to say is to go for the 3 x 4GB modules as they are easier to set up and they still leave you room for expansion in the future. THe 4GB sticks are now reaching the sweetpoint price wise and so it makes more sense to purchase them. The difference in speed would be negligable in use.

[beaser]

So if speed isn't that much of an issue is there any sense in running 1600 mhz memory. The same type (G Skill Ripjaw cl9) is availablke in 1333mhz   cl9 and it's $60 cheaper.

[Dark Mantis]

Well if you intend to overclock your system then it is worth getting the fastest memory you can afford but if you only intend to run it at stock speed then you would be hard pressed to notice any difference in the real world usage between 1333 and 1600.

[beaser]

I made a poor choice of words. System speed is an issue.

 My inference was that if there was no difference in the results from faster ram then why bother. I'm not sure what I'm after for ram do I need higher frequency or tighter timing or both. The Gigabyte RAM list is a tad shy and the RAM manufacturers aren't a whole liot better.

I have this kit now and have a few days left to return it.
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series DDR3 1600MHz (PC3-12800) 12GB (3x4GB)  (F3-12800CL9T-12GBRL) 9-9-9-24

This is what I've found locally

Mushkin Blackline 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL7 (998782)7-9-7-24  (2 kits)
Mushkin Redline 6GB DDR3 1600MHz CL6  (998805) 6-8-6-24 (2 kits)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series DDR3 1600MHz (PC3-12800) 6GB (3x2GB)  (F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM) 8-8-8-24 (2 kits)

G.SKILL Trident Series DDR3 1600MHz (PC3-12800) 12GB (3x4GB) (F3-12800CL7T-12GBTDD) 7-8-7-24-2N (pretty pricey)

G.SKILL PK Series DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) 6GB (3x2GB) Triple Channel Kit (F3-10666CL7T-6GBPK) 7-7-7-18 this is 1333 but at a cl7

I just found this one at newegg canada. It's not local but it looks promising

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7T-12GBRH
7-7-7-21

Thanks for helping

Beas

[Dark Mantis]

Often being able to run at tighter timings is better than a higher clock speed but obviously it is all a matter of degree and what your system is happy with.

Personally I think the Mushkin is top rate memory but usually a little expensive. If possible though it would pay you to go for 4 GB modules though as you will find more problems trying to get top speeds if you have all the slots filled.

[beaser]

My wife bought me upgrades for lightroom and Photoshop PS5 for christmas that's why I planned for 12 gig but that (CL6) mushkin redline at 6 gig is looking very tempting. Running LR 3.2 , Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw can be memory intensive but no one seems to know how much on the new versions. I've asked on all the photoshop , lightroom, adobe and photography threads and nadda!  It's split between 6 gig maybe enuff or ya better get 12 gig. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!@@#   

If 6 gig would hack it the redline is the best deal. Locally the only other fast ram or fast timing is

the G Skills trident at 1600 mhz 7-8-7-24 and I found one other 12 gig set from corsair, DDR3 2000mhz at 9-10-9-27. Any opinions of the corsair 2000 mhz versus the trident? If I use the trident then I'll be trimming the fins on the cooler

Thanks all

Beas

[Dark Mantis]

Don't forget that it is always a possibility to add more memory if you still have some slots free, it will just take a bit of tweaking of settings and voltages to get it all working happily.

[jimscreechy]

Hmmm Seeing as the original post requested feedback on the stability of this board I am going to throw my two pence in. 

When I bought this board (oh let me just say I have been builiding performance PC's for about 20 years) I of course, as any sensible builder does, checked the HCL and purchased only recommmeded components. At any rate I had a number of issues most of which have been solved bar a few strange ones which persist in spite of my systems otherwise stable condition.

It is indeed a strange one which I 'personally' think is due to some static buildup  somewhere or perhaps a faulty component.  Essentially after anything from 2 weeks to a month of running perfectly I will get a blank screen.  when I reboot, I have enourmouse characters scrolling across the screen at the boot point when the bios is searching for IDE drives.  The boot process goes no further.  I can either 1)  leave it for a day or two after which it will operate normally, or 2) open the case, ie remove the side panel, pretend to do something though of course it makes no difference if I do anything or not.  Close the case and it is once again working. However, the card reader will have stopped working.  (yes I have changed this as I have done with every other component, twice with two perfectly  working card readers).  Opening the case again, disconnecting/reconnecting the card reader solves this problem, then it works properly again, so of couse I usually take this opportunity to combine these two functions when I open the case the first time. 

I have a LIan-li pc200 case.  This is the 3rd motherboard it has housed and this is the only time I have had this strange what I belive to be static related issue.  Also this is the first build I have ever made that has not been 100% upon completion and I have probably build 50 high spec machines.   
Also, as a rule I tend to use Gigabyte and  Asus boards, this is the first oen that has ever given me serious issue. I don't like it.  And dispite months of perseverance it is going.

[rnelson]

I am building a machine with this motherboard.  I have installed a Patriot DDR3-2000 12g (3x4gb) (PX7312G2000ELK R) kit and i7-950 cpu.

I cannot get w7x64 to run.  I get a BSOD and reset both on install on new HD and startup from prior installation HD.  In safe mode, this appears to occur right after Windows loads PNP. 

I suspect something to do with bios settings for memory, but my bios doesn't appear to match screens I've seen in forums or the installation manual. 

Any light shed here would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Dark Mantis]

Are you trying to get the memory to run at the rated speed? If so try dropping it back to 1333 and see if you still get the same problems.