GA-P67A-UD3R and the mysterious dual channel memory setting

[zaphod6502]

I have recently purchased a Gigabyte GA-P67A-UDR3, i7 2600, and Corsair PC3-10600 ram based computer. Here is my config:



Now I am not sure if my ram is actually running in dual channel mode. From my benchmarks it seems it is yet it is not being reported correctly using HWiNFO or CPU-Z nor does the BIOS POST screen report dual or single channel mode when booting.

I ran MEMTEST86+ V4.20 and the memory checked out 100% with no errors.

MEMTEST86+ V4.20 reported:
Memory: 8175MB  16,629 MB/S
Settings: RAM: 646MHz (DDR3-1292) / CAS: 9-9-9-24 / Dual Channel

I then installed my ram in my old Core 2 Quad 9650 system and it reported dual channel active. I also ran the MEMTEST utility on this computer and the ram checked out 100% ok.

So what is the issue here? Has anyone got HWiNFO  and CPU-Z showing Dual Channel mode correctly on a GA-P67 system? Is it because of a buggy BIOS? I am running the F4 BIOS. I tried running the F6 BIOS update but the BIOS keeps reporting it is corrupt and restores itself back to the F2 version. I then have to re-run the F4 update to restore the BIOS.

It would seem this new motherboard is somewhat unstable or the BIOS is. But apart from the above dual channel ram issue it is working fine. I have also run benchmarks on my ram and it is reporting a 50% speed increase on my old computer so it would seem the ram is working ok at the correct speed.

Oh and for future reference if you do buy this combination and find your system won't boot (but all power lights are on) then disconnect A/C power and perform a Clear CMOS by shorting the two pins as per the manual. Both myself and a friend had exactly the same issue (yes he also has the dual channel memory issue). The Clear CMOS allowed the motherboard to detect the i7 2600 CPU correctly.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

Often it is just the case that the software utilities need updating for the new platforms. Have you checked on the websites for any info or updates etc?

[ex58]

Be sure you have memory in slots 1/3 or 2/4 (they said 2/4 is better).
Atm,only AIDA64 show Dual Channel.
Have you try BIOS F7b?

[zaphod6502]

Be sure you have memory in slots 1/3 or 2/4 (they said 2/4 is better).
Atm,only AIDA64 show Dual Channel.

I will try AIDA64 and the F7b BIOS. Thanks for the advice to both of you!

[zaphod6502]

Ok I installed and ran AIDA64 and also moved my ram to slots 2 and 4 just for good measure. It would seem AIDA64 is detecting dual channel mode so a success there.



Now I have tried updating the BIOS from my current F4 to F7b using the latest @BIOS. Unfortunately after rebooting it is still showing F4 on the BIOS setup and then the BIOS gives a corrupt message and restores my F4 backup. So I am at a loss as to how to successfully update the BIOS on this motherboard.

My procedure was run @BIOS, flash F7b, reboot when requested, go into BIOS setup, load optimal defaults, and then save settings.

[Dark Mantis]

I would suggest that you update the BIOS in more than one jump. Often it helps to do it incrementally.

 I think you said you downloaded the latest @BIOS from the website along with the update but if you didn't, do so.

If you still have no luck try using the FLASHSPI utility that works in the DOS environment.

[zaphod6502]

If you still have no luck try using the FLASHSPI utility that works in the DOS environment.

Bingo! That did the trick. I created a DOS boot disk using the UBCD4Win utility and then flashed the BIOS to F6 using FLASHSPI. No problems at all. I then transferred F6 to the backup BIOS. Then I flashed the main BIOS up to F7b. Everything seems to be working ok. Seems like @BIOS is very problematic under Windows 7.

I'll keep F6 as the backup BIOS as it seems fairly stable. Thanks for your help! 

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I think it is sensible to keep the backup BIOS at a level that you are happy with until you have had a chance to check out the Main BIOS for a while.

We do not normally recommend using @BIOS for updates anyway as because it sits on top of another layer of software it is inherantly more error prone.