problem with GA-990FXA-UD3

[incubus]

Hy.I bought this motherboard 3 days ago and it has a lot of problems.Let's start:my previous mombo was a ga-ma770-ds3.With that mombo i could easily oc my AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE to 3,9 gh stable.Now with this board i can't.The feature for cpu unlock works but after i login in windows it always crashes(same thing if i putt to only 3 cores).V core is allways above normal(1.4v).i lowered memory to 1066 from 1600.Basically i can't oc and unlock phenom.I have the latest bios.Now what is the problem with this board?Is there someone who can guide me to make my unlocked cores stable or oc this processor with this board?Thanks and sorry for my bad english.Any tips will be appreciated.

[absic]

Hi there,

With the new 9 series motherboards that have LLC you have to approach overclocking in a different way to what you are used to.

Previously, on say the series 7 and 8 motherboards, when you are trying to overclock your CPU you would gradually increase the CPU Voltage until you found the sweet spot that allowed you to run with increased speed but at minimum voltage.

Things are very different on the 9 series boards and you now have to set your initial CPU voltage higher than you would normally have had to do, to allow for the voltage drop. This is not a fault with the motherboard but is part of the design. For example, on my previous motherboard (GA-890FXA-UD5) with my Phenom ii 1090T I could get 4.0GHz with the CPU voltage set at around 1.4V see here for more information: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,3637.msg27345.html#msg27345

With the same processor but on the GA-990FXA-UD5 I have to set the initial voltage to about 1.5V to allow for the VDroop when the processor goes under load. When loading the CPU the voltage drops back to between 1.4200V and 1.440V which is almost where it was on the previous motherboard. Check here for more information: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,6187.msg48974.html#msg48974

When unlocking cores you could well find that you need to increase the voltage to a higher level than you would anticipate as you are, in fact, now running a 3 or 4 core processor. Also the cores may have been locked off originally because they needed more voltage than was usual to get them to work properly.

You could use your CPU Voltage settings from your previous motherboard as a guide here. If you were able to run OK with all the cores unlocked and the voltage was at 1.35V, for example, set the voltage on your new motherboard to 1.45V to compensate for the VDroop.

I'm afraid it is going to be trial and error, until you can find the correct settings for your particular components but bear in mind that although you are setting a higher initial voltage, according to both AMD and Gigabyte this is OK and won't damage the CPU (unless you are really silly with the increase) as the higher Voltage is only applied when the CPU is idle, as soon as you start to load the CPU the voltage will drop back to protect the CPU.

[incubus]

Thanks for the help man but the problem persist.If i unlock all cores,it is stable just for usual(web,mess,movie,etc)when i load a game,it crashes.if i set in bios to use only 3 cores,it is more stable but it crashes after a hour or two.If a use original(2cores)it is stable but if i oc it crashes.i tried same setings from the previous motherboard but no luck.tried different settings for CPU voltage,even i set v core to 1.5 v with no luck.here is my detailed system

ga990FXA-UD3
6 gigs of ram(XMS3 — 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (CMX6GX3M3A1600C9) in bios i changed to 1333 and voltage to 1.65)
AMD Phenom II x2 555be-
Gigabyte superb power source 600w
I think this is a bios issue.Hope that gigabyte is working on this small problem.solution?I will have to buy a quad core or six core.hmmmmmmmmmmm

[absic]

Hi again,

I'm not sure about your choice of RAM, a Triple channel kit is not something I would be running on a dual channel motherboard.
Have you run MemTest to check the Modules are OK?
Try removing one of the modules and running with only two sticks in Dual Channel mode.

[incubus]

Memory's are new.I bought them with the motherboard.I have 3 sticks,each one has 2 gigs.So the problem could be ram?
Edit-i tried with only 2 sticks,same thing,my computer just freezes and i have to restart my system.So the problem is not memory sticks.I think there is a issue whit the bios of this motherboard.On my previous board,this cpu was stable at 3.9 gh.the only thing is that i could unlock is cpu and that is why i bought this motherboard.Now i can't even oc the dam thing.always when i try to oc or unlock,i don't get BSOD,only that my pc is freezing.

[absic]

Just because the RAM is new doesn't mean it can't have a fault and I would still run Memtest just to eliminate that as a possibility.

[Dark Mantis]

I think that absic is absolutely correct in his diagnosis of the problem and I suggest that you follow his advice to you. It might be that the memory modules are not even compatible with this motherboard as the Triple Channel kits are designed for Intel's X58 chipset which has entirely different requirements.

[incubus]

Ok.I run MEMETEST86-no errors.In my system right now i have  only 4 gigs of ram at 1333 and 1.65v(thanks for the advice absic).here is what i found:if i unlock the other 2 cores or only one,my system is not stable(let"s say that my chip is bad and i am not one lucky guy).OC now i managed to make it stable at 3.717(multiplier 18.5 and 1.425 v).i run prime95 for 6-7 hours and is stable.my point is that on my previous motherboard i managed to oc to 3.9 with 1.4 v and it was stable in prime95 or other benchmark software.It is curios why on this motherboard wont go higher or other 2 cores are not stable at all.anyway i already ordered a Phenom II X4 955.

[absic]

I do understand your frustration and I'm sorry that I can't help more.

The new design of the 9 series motherboards does mean that we are all still learning exactly what they are capable of and how ot get the best when it comes to overclocking. As I said previously, on my own GA-990FXA-UD5 I have to raise the CPU Voltage to 1.5V at idle to get a stable overclock of 4.0GHz on my 1090T whereas previously on the GA-890FXA-UD5 I had it set at around 1.400V. You could try raising the voltage a little more to see if you can get a higher, stable overclock and/or the cores to operate when unlocked.

I believe that the problem lies in the need for a higher starting voltage on the CPU than we feel comfortable with, to allow for the Voltage drop when the CPU comes under load. However, I have been assured by both AMD and Gigabyte that the higher voltage (in some cases 1.55V) will not cause any undue long term problems with the processor as this voltage is only applied in its idle state.

[incubus]

Absic i all ready tried on higher vcore(1.5v)but still no results.I am afraid that if i put the vcore to 1.55 i will burn this processor.Has i said i think this is a bios issue and maybe in the near future,gigabyte will see this problem.One more thing,temperature  of proc  never passed above 58(just to eliminate temperature issue)

[absic]

I have just sent you an e-mail with the F3a BETA BIOS to try. I'm not sure if this will help or not.

The best advice I can now offer is that you contact Technical Support here: http://ggts.gigabyte.com/tech.asp?ClassID=2&Country=Romania&SourceWeb=B2C as they might be in a better position to help you, especially when it comes to getting hold of the latest BIOS for your board.

[incubus]

Many thanks absic for you help
Edit:that bios file is not for me man but any way thanks for your help

[chemojay]

 the 770 would run my 555 unlocked no problem. This board wont run it unlocked for me no matter what.

But it does my 960t unlocked on 6 cores at 3.8 ghz no problem. The 555 chip and this board just don't get along in my personal experience. 

[Dark Mantis]

Well that is the way that it goes sometimes and it doens't matter how much effort we putin into it. Just proves to be really annoying in these circumstances but there is nothing we can do.

[thetoe]

I'd just like to say that I have the exact same problem as incubus. I returned my Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P a few weeks ago because it had some network difficulties, and finally got my substitute today, a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3. On my last board, my Phenom II X2 550 could easily be unlocked to a quad-core and overclocked to 3.7 GHz and still be completely stable in Prime95 for 12 hours. Now, those settings cause it to crash the very instant I try to do pretty much anything, and it doesn't fare much better as a triple-core. This is seriously annoying. I didn't return my old board to get drastically reduced performance. Is there any way I can make my CPU work on my new board as an overclocked quad-core?