Let the fun begin! I just received my new GA-P67A-UD3-B3!

[soarwitheagles]

Hi everyone!

After waiting a few weeks, I was so happy to see my new GA P67A-UD3 B-3 arrive in the mail today!  Here's some pics of the box and MOBO.  And yes, it is true, they are using the same PCB with a sticker over the old numbers!  Not to worry, the important thing is we no longer need to worry about using those SATA 2 ports anymore!

Also, at first glance, it appears as if this model has the EFI hybrid technology, the Dual BIOS, and the 3TB+ stuff all loaded [look at the bottom left hand corner of the box]!

Will start this new build on Monday!

Up, up, and away into the new heights of Sandy Bridge!

Soar

[Dark Mantis]

Congratulations Soar! The only thing to watch is the placement of the CPU into the socket as the pins are extremely fine and could be damaged very easily. The rest of the build shouldn't give you any problems in my experience.

[soarwitheagles]

Congratulations Soar! The only thing to watch is the placement of the CPU into the socket as the pins are extremely fine and could be damaged very easily. The rest of the build shouldn't give you any problems in my experience.

Thanks DM!  I will be extremely careful on this build because it is very important to me after waiting so long.

Notice, I am using the anti-static wrist band as you suggested AND an anti-static computer mat!  I no longer take foolish chances especially after discovering some static electricity from walking on carpet can reach 25,000 volts!

Here's an excerpt from the article, "The Shocking Truth Behind Static Electricity":

When you stride across a wool carpet in leather shoes, your shoes pick up extra electrons from the carpet with each step.

By the time you lift your foot up off the ground, the electrons will have spread around your entire body, giving you a negative charge. The next time you put your foot on the carpet, your shoe doesn't have any extra electrons, but your head might. So more electrons make the leap to your foot.

"As you keep walking across the floor, you become full of electrons," said Todd Hubing, from the Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory at the University of Missouri-Rolla. "Eventually more electrons don't want to come up on you because you're so charged up. You end up with a high voltage, about 20,000 to 25,000 volts."

That's serious power at your fingertips, considering a normal electrical outlet on the wall is only around 100 volts of electricity.

You can find this article here:

http://www.livescience.com/4077-shocking-truth-static-electricity.html

I no longer work on any computer without the anti-static wristband and anti-static computer mat...there are areas in California where I have experienced nearly a full inch arc [looks exactly like a miniature lightening bolt] from the static electricity when I touched the door knob...and to be honest with you, it was so strong that it not only startled me, but hurt too!

Here is a shockingly funny video that shows the power of static electricity[the first two shocks are the real thing, the last recorded shock is obviously fake, but also very funny]:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrWzc3L5ALI&feature=related

Thanks again everyone and have an awesome day!

Oh, you can see the sticker pasted over the old PCB lettering in this pic!

Have a good one!

[runn3R]

(...)
Notice, I am using the anti-static wrist band as you suggested AND an anti-static computer mat!  I no longer take foolish chances especially after discovering some static electricity from walking on carpet can reach 25,000 volts!
(...)

Really glad to hear it. It's VERY reasonable, especially having in mind that assembling PC without proper devices protecting from ESD (electrostatic discharges) may increase it's failure rate at least a few times. I have seen some statistics showing 18x higher failure rate when nobody cared about ESD.

So good luck with your B3 soarwitheagles!

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I too would certainly agree there. We were always taught to respect static electricity and the potential damage that it can cause. Even though the gates on ICs are protected they can't withstand the sort of voltages that can be produced by a heavy static discharge.

[soarwitheagles]

(...)
Notice, I am using the anti-static wrist band as you suggested AND an anti-static computer mat!  I no longer take foolish chances especially after discovering some static electricity from walking on carpet can reach 25,000 volts!
(...)

Really glad to hear it. It's VERY reasonable, especially having in mind that assembling PC without proper devices protecting from ESD (electrostatic discharges) may increase it's failure rate at least a few times. I have seen some statistics showing 18x higher failure rate when nobody cared about ESD.

So good luck with your B3 soarwitheagles!

runn3R, thanks for the encouragement.  The anti-static wrist band only cost a couple of dollars, and the anti-static mat was $12.  Very small price to pay for guaranteed protection of $100+ motherboards!  I'll never work on a MOBO without them now.

Have a good one!

Soar

[soarwitheagles]

Yes I too would certainly agree there. We were always taught to respect static electricity and the potential damage that it can cause. Even though the gates on ICs are protected they can't withstand the sort of voltages that can be produced by a heavy static discharge.

For sure DM!  I never realized a good static shock could be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 volts!  That's enough to kill a MOBO instantly!  For me, it is not worth the risk to work without the anti-static equipment now.

Soar

PS Hey, did you watch that video I posted?  I know you'll get a good laugh out of it!

[Dark Mantis]

Hi Soar

Yes I did watch the video. Stupid but funny. Actually it takes me back to when we were learning the basics of electronics and we used to get a good sized capacitor and charge it up then go and zap some poor unsupecting fool with it. By the way DONT TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS!

[soarwitheagles]

Hi Soar

Yes I did watch the video. Stupid but funny. Actually it takes me back to when we were learning the basics of electronics and we used to get a good sized capacitor and charge it up then go and zap some poor unsupecting fool with it. By the way DONT TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS!

Yes, DONT TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS!!!

LOL, I too have not so fond memories of the charged capacitor scream trick...many years ago one of my so called friends who owned a motorcycle shop tossed me a fully loaded/charged capacitor and everyone got to watch poor soar scream and jump very high all at the same time!  Not a good idea at all!~

If it wasn't illegal, I would love to try out my new Taser on him!  It would definitely make his hair much straighter...hehehehehe

Anyway, most of this stuff is not funny simply because the person being shocked may have an unknown heart condition and it could kill him/her...

Have a good one DM!  Back to this new build now!

Soar

PS-DM, now I must rip into that really nice Intel i5-750/Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 v.1 rig you helped me build, which by the way is working flawlessly now for many months! I would like to use the CoolerMaster Storm Sniper case for this new 2500k build.   I can only hope [and pray] this new Sandy Bridge build will go well....

Have you any other hints other than being careful with the pins?

Soar

[Dark Mantis]

No Soar, I think that you are well equipt both physically and metally for the build, just take it steady and be carefull. It should go a treat!

[ex58]

According to GB web site, should be Rev.1.1.
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3765#sp

[soarwitheagles]

According to GB web site, should be Rev.1.1.
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3765#sp

EX58,

That's strange because the box says rev. 1.0

I'll look on the board later today.

Soar

EDIT: Looked on the MOBO and it is definitely version 1.0  Wow, now I am not sure what to think about this...I looked at Gigabyte's website and sure enough, it is saying only Rev. 1.1!  Anyone have any insights as to what is going on?  Did I receive the only Rev. 1.0 in the entire universe?  My, my, I must be very, very special!

[soarwitheagles]

No Soar, I think that you are well equipt both physically and metally for the build, just take it steady and be carefull. It should go a treat!

Thanks again DM!

One more question: does this GA-P67A-UD3-B3 MOBO have the Marvel controller on it?  And if yes, am I to use the Intel controller instead [I remember you mentioning somewhere to use the Intel driver rather than the Marvel driver]?

Also, at another forum, I have been advised to use the Crucial RealSSD C300 rather than the OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2.  Do you concur with this advice?

Soar

[Dark Mantis]

Hi Soar,

The Crucial C300 is the best SSD on the market at the moment although it is due to be superceded by the Crucial M4 (C400) any time now.

The UD3-B3 doesn't have the Marvell controller as some of the higher end boards do so it wouldn't apply to you anyway. The Intel controlled ports are the SATA3 6 GBs and should be used for your SSD etc.

[soarwitheagles]

Hi Soar,

The Crucial C300 is the best SSD on the market at the moment although it is due to be superceded by the Crucial M4 (C400) any time now.

The UD3-B3 doesn't have the Marvell controller as some of the higher end boards do so it wouldn't apply to you anyway. The Intel controlled ports are the SATA3 6 GBs and should be used for your SSD etc.

Ok, thanks DM...and one more question...

ex58 mentioned that the Gigabyte website is showing only rev. 1.1.  Somehow I received a MOBO with rev. 1.0

What's going on with this?  Have you any insights as to what happened?

Soar