GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3 F6 bios issues - write bottleneck with Vertex 3 ssd

[Gibalok]

Hello guys
Just wanted inform that 34 vs 3800 mhz are actual for z68xp ud4 as well on f5 bios. Just wanted to ask is therethe same write bottleneck problem on ssd sata 2? Shoul i make corresponding ammendments to bios? And another question is what is NCQ, should i use that with AHCI enabled?

Thx

[GTZaskarLE]

Concerning the first question:
I don't know that because I don't use such a hardware configuration.

Concerning NCQ:
See http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCQ
(I hope this is in your language

And yes, if your drive supports NCQ it's recommended to use it, also in AHCI mode.
For instance, my OCZ Vertex 3 maxiops supports and uses NCQ at sata III AHCI mode.

I hope this helps.

[GTZaskarLE]

UPDATE
It looks like Gigabyte Global Technical Service does not take the problem very serious.
This is their response on my ticket where I check in my F7 test.

Dear Mr.,

Is your windows 7 up to date?
Sp1 installed and all updates?

Please check, if there is an improvement with bios F7
http://www.gigabyte.eu/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3850&dl=1#bios

Did you already update the Vertex 3 SSD to firmware 2.15?
http://www.ocztechnology.com/ssd_tools/OCZ_Vertex_3,_Vertex_3_Max_IOPS,_Agility_3,_Solid_3,_RevoDrive_3_and_RevoDrive_3_X2/

Kind regards
GIGABYTE-Team

Very kind, but yes, yes, yes, I am up to date with everything and so on.
I am getting a little bit tired of this...

This open ticket shows in meantime a very tiny vertical scroll bar.
 

I of course answered all questions but also mentioned that this probably wouldn't speed up the resolving process.
Let's wait for their next move.
 

[Flatline]

My response (which took over a week) from GGTS on this subject was just as disappointing..

Did you download the F5 BIOS from the website?

The released F5 has the same default settings in C3/C6 state as “auto”, the option should be manually changed to disable as the former versions.

     

Looks like returning the board as "unfit for purpose" is the solution.

[Flatline]

Responded to GGTS mail, not happy about their lack of effort in resolving this issue (They got informed about it 3 months ago, looking at GTZaskarLE post dates). Giving Gigabyte a week to respond with a satsifactory answer, otherwise returning my board and getting a different manufacturer board.

[GTZaskarLE]

UPDATE:
I got this response from GGTS:

The problem is duplicated now.
The hardwareteam is looking for a solution now.
We will update you once a solution is found.

It finally looks like they have tested it and found the same issue.

Let's wait for what they can do.
I hope it will be a permanent solution, not another workaround.

[Tinker]

@GTZaskarLE, just for the record, using a small form factor PC first attempt at Raid 0, Read 1000mb/s write, 1020mb/s read. Next step
is to try2  new 240gb OCZ Vertex 3 max iops. Initial test was with Corsair 3 120gb SSDs.


Regards tinker.

[GTZaskarLE]

UPDATE
I tested bios version F8

Results: no difference

It still is not possible to have C3/C6 states enabled without a serious write speed bottleneck with an OCZ Vertex 3 120GB maxiops SSD.
The GGTS still has this under investigation... for more than half a year now...
To be honest, I lost my confidence in them.

This simply takes too much time.

I also noticed bios version F8 was/is removed from the official Gigabyte website.
This is the second day it is not present anymore.

Why?
Was F8 still a beta version?
It was not stated that way.

[christillis]

Thanks for the update GTZ, it's certainly a bit of a let down to be honest, but at least 'they' are aware of the problem.

All the best,
Chris

[GTZaskarLE]

Hi Chris,

Thanks.
Yes, they are aware of the issue.
They even have duplicated it.

I'll just have to wait for them to come up with a solution.
There must be others having the same issue.

Of coarse this is not a very severe issue. The SSD is working fine, also with half the write speed.
But it's a pity that I can not make use of the maximum write speed and have C3/C6 state enabled at the same time.

[GTZaskarLE]

UPDATE
I got bios version F9A from GGTS (beta, not yet released) and tested it.

Results: SUCCESS!!

Ok, it took GGTS 8 month to solve my ticket...
And I was helped by the Dutch Gigabyte department to speed things up;

But finally it is possible with the GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3 motherboard with bios F9A to have:
- CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)  ENABLED
- C3/C6 State Support  ENABLED
- CPU EIST Function  ENABLED
- All CPU Turbo Ratio's set to 40

And last but not least...

- Full SSD write speed as it was meant to be.
  

As you can see I also slightly overclocked my system, all cores to turbo 4 GHz, but they all idle at 1.6 GHz.

As a result the Windows Performance Index slightly improved.
(The primary HDD score went up 0.1 point...)

There are no issue's left at this point.
I'm happy, assuming final F9 will perform the same as beta F9A, but why wouldn't it?

GGTS, thanks for all the effort you put into this.
Bernice, from Gigabyte Netherlands, thanks for speeding up the process.

See attachment.
(open in new tab)

[christillis]

GTZaskarLE, that is great news!...just can't believe how long it's taken, you must be commended for your persistence with this and I for one, thank you!

Look forward to the official F9 to come out!

 

[GTZaskarLE]

Hi Chris,

You are welcome.
Yes, I'm very happy with this result.

For the record;
In the end this GGTS ticket contained 54 posts before it was solved.

Good luck with F9.

[Lsdmeasap]

Great to hear they have solved this for you!

Can you please share the BIOS for others, thanks!

[GTZaskarLE]

Hi Lsdmeasap,

Yes of coarse, assuming that's ok with GGTS and this forum.

Keep in mind that this is a beta bios.
However it appears to be very stable on my system.

The zipped file size is 1622 kB while the maximum attachment size allowed is 1024 kB...
So I split it up into two zipped, renamed fragments.
(renaming was necessary because not all extensions are allowed here)

How to construct one bios file from two zipped, renamed fragments with 7-zip file manager:
http://www.7-zip.org/   (=freeware)

1.  Download     Z68XUD3P.zip.001.zip  (See attachment)
2.  Rename it to Z68XUD3P.zip.001
3.  Download     Z68XUD3P.zip.002.zip  (See next post, because I can not attach more than 1024 kB)
     http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,6292.msg67819.html#msg67819
4.  Rename it to Z68XUD3P.zip.002
5.  Install 7-zip, or use another zip-program which can add archives together
6.  Select Z68XUD3P.zip.001, both file fragments should be in the same folder
7.  right click '7-zip, extract here'

Z68XUD3P.F9A should be recreated which is the beta bios F9A file.
The file size should be 4096 kB  (4.00 MB  or  4,194,304 bytes)

Good luck!