GA-P67A-UD7-B3 and G.skill F3-17000CL11D-8GBXL

[half1980]

Hello everyone!

I used to have 8 gb of Corsair Vengeance ram (1600 MHz 8-8-8-24-2T) running in dual channel mode until it started acting weird. So i used memtest and there you got it one stick of 2 dead. Anyway i had problems with Corsair ram in the past so i decided to go with another brand.

I checked and double checked on various forums and on the G.skill website and as i wanted a higher frequency ram i bought F3-17000CL11D-8GBXL (2133 MHz 11-11-11-30 1.5 V). And here start the problems.

I am not into overclocking and i didn't mean to overclock my cpu, so the only reason i bought this high frequency ram is to have better responsiveness and higher performance in various applications including games.

So i plug in the ram in the first and the third ram slot but i cannot use the xmp profile in bios. The system kept on downclocking the ram at 1600 MHz no matter what i did. I changed the ram multiplier to 21.33, changed the ram voltage to 1.6, changed the memory timings in bios to those suggested by g.skill to no avail. So i decided that i had to be happy with a product that works at a lower speed than the one it should.

At 1600 MHz i had no problems in windows, no BSOD, no system hang ups, everything was working fine.

So i have this crazy idea... what if i change the slots in which the ram is plugged in? So i went from the first and the 3rd slot to the 2nd and the 4th.

I clear cmos, i go into BIOS, activate xmp profile, press F10, save changes and reboot. And there you have it! XMP profile activated and memory working at 2133 MHz! I go into windows run some memory tests and some stress tests everything is working fine! I even used memtest to run for 6 hours and no errors at all! I also ran Linx for about an hour using all available memory and the system is rock solid!

The big problem is that by the time ive changed ram slots i keep on having the notorious power surge on usb hub port notification/problem spamming me every one minute (as seen on this post i created some months ago: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php?topic=5265.0)! I've cleared cmos again, uninstalled the usb 3 drivers, downloaded and installed the latest ones, tried to upgrade the VLI VL810 hub with the firmware i got from VIA website, upgraded the renesas usb 3 fw (i had the latest fw anyway) but the problem is still there!

So my questions are: why this particular ram doesn't want to work with the xmp profile on while it is installed in the 1st and the 3rd ram slot?
And of course, why in hell after i changed ram slots i keep on getting this usb 3 power surge problem? What has ram to do with the usb 3 controller chip? Is there a psu problem? Maybe voltage regulation problem on the motherboard?

Anyway thank you for your help in advance and i am looking forward to hear your answers because all this drives me crazy!

[Gloup_Gloup]

Hi half1980,  

Have you already this system :

Motherboard: GA-P67A-UD7-B3 (F3 BIOS)
CPU: Intel i7 2600k
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x 4 gb @ 1600 MHz 8-8-8-24
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS 9900 MAX
GPU: Gainward GTX570 Golden Sample
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 500 gb SATA 3 (WD5002AALX-00J37A0) for windows and programs
         Western Digital Caviar Green 1.5 Tb SATA 2 (WD15EADS-00P8B0) for storage
Optical Drives: NEC Optiarc DVD-RW AD-7261S

Have you change a partial hardware?

About Firmware:
so I read you have update firware, by exemple... ok and include last firmware for Renesas and VIA VL810 – Super-speed USB 3.0 Hub Controller?
You remove last drivers and clean registry base before intalled a new firmware and drivers?

But please if you have a possibility to add exactely model of Gainward graphic card.
He exist many model Golden sample.
I suppose you have this model : http://www.gainward.com/main/vgapro.php?id=675

About Power Supply Unit:
Give a infos please. Brand and model. WebLink please.

About CPU
First things:
The Sandy Bridge Processors have a DDR3 memory controller integrated into the processor
Second things:
Note that the DDR3 memory controller integrated into the processor is still certified for the 1333 MHz DDR3

About Chipset Intel P67
But the P67 offers the management of up to DDR3 2133 MHz.
In this doc:
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/doc/product-brief/p67-express-chipset-2nd-gen-core-brief.pdf
You find it :
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
• Hi-Speed USB 2.0 provides greater enhancement in performance with a design data rate of up to
480 Mbps with up to 14 USB 2.0 Ports.
USB 2.0 Rate Matching Hub
• Enables lower power requirements and manages the transition of the communication data rate from the high speed of the host controller to the lower speed of USB full-speed/low-speed devices.
USB Port Disable
• Enables individual USB ports to be enabled or disabled as needed. This feature provides added
protection of data by preventing malicious removal or insertion of data through USB ports.

So the Intel chipset P67 do not have  offers the management about a USB 3.

About your GA-P67A-UD7-B3
GIGABYTE motherboards boast SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology made possible through an additional onboard host controller.
When GIGABYTE's Turbo USB3.0 feature is enabled, it provides the fastest possible USB3.0 performance by allocating PCIe lanes to directly connect the CPU and USB 3.0 controller chip.
Turbo USB 3.0 utilizes 8 PCIe VGA lanes, so it is only possible to enable it with a single graphics card running at PCIe x8 on P67 chipset motherboards.

All PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.

4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory

USB Port on motherboard:     Page 21 in the Manual.
From Chipset P67:
Up to 8 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
4 on the back panel, including 2 eSATA/USB Combo Yellow color   (In the manual, they are designed by letters F and G)
4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers

From two Renesas D720200 chips that controls the two VLI VL810 USB 3.0 Hub Controller
10 USB 3.0/2.0 ports   (1 via from each Renesas D720200 and 4 via each VLI VL810 USB 3.0 Hub Controller)
Check the Diagram in the manual page 8

6 on the back panel,   Blue color (In the manual, they are designed by letters B)
4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers.

The USB 2.0 signals of the 6 USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel are from the Chipset P67 (via the Renesas D720200 chips)
So the eight ports can supply the chipset p67, there are still 2. The USB 2.0/1.1 ports, letters F)

4 USB  is from VLI VL810 USB 3.0 Hub Controller See this picture : http://www.via-labs.com/en/images/products/vl810/board.jpg

About VIA VL810 – Super-speed USB 3.0 Hub Controller:
http://www.via-labs.com/en/products/vl810/index.jsp
The SPI interface can support external EEPROMFlash for firmware upgrades or additional software enhancements.

About Renesas D720200 chips:
Source : http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2556&page=4
There is a mode in the BIOS called "Turbo USB 3.0" which if activated will enable the second NEC Renesas D720200 controller and switch to a direct connection with the Intel socket 1155 processor, essentially circumventing the Intel P67 chipset. If this is done several USB 3.0 ports will end up sharing bandwidth with the PCI Express x8 lanes devoted to the videocards, so unfortunately that means if you want to use the USB 3.0 ports in this mode you will be restricted to a single videocard operating in PCI Express x8 mode.

So the partial solution is it to disabled in the parameter about Turbo USB 3.0 in the BIOS.?
Try it. Why not?

About manual of GA-P67A-UD7-B3:
http://download.gigabyte.cn/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-p67a-ud7-b3_e.pdf
In page 53 you find:
Onboard USB3.0 Controller (1st Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 Controller, 5 USB 3.0 Ports on the Back Panel, Not Including the Upper USB 3.0 Port Next to the Audio Jacks)
Enables or disables the first Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 controller. (Default: Enabled)

USB3.0 Turbo (1st Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 Controller, 5 USB 3.0 Ports on the Back Panel, Not Including the Upper USB 3.0 Port Next to the Audio Jacks)
Enables or disables the Turbo USB mode for the first Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 controller.
The actual performance may vary depending on the number of devices being installed. (Default: Disabled)

Onboard USB3.0 Controller2 (2nd Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 Controller, 4 USB 3.0 Ports on the Front Panel and the Upper USB 3.0 Port Next to the Audio Jacks)
Enables or disables the second Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 controller. (Default: Enabled)

Do you have USB3 peripheral devices? If not, put Disabled.
If yes, choose a second Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 controller. Try it.

Why the article on the web write ''second NEC Renesas D720200 controller '' and the manual pointed on First Renesas D720200 USB 3.0 Controller? I do not know. Maybe by the pratice, in facts it is otherwise? So try with disabled second, if not ok, try with First.

The objective is do not use the USB3.0 Turbo. I think.

About your Gainward graphics card:
Graphics card require:
PCI Express or PCI Express 2.0-compliant motherboard with one dual-width x16 graphics slot
Two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors
Minimum 550W or greater system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 38A)
Source : http://www.gainward.com/main/product/vga/pro/p00675/p00675_datasheet_1934df8113fe1e59.pdf?s=216
   
I wait your comments and informations asked.

I hope to help you.
I have a dream :
give a way and means of forum members to find information and resolve by themselves their difficult situation with the hardware.

I took your subject and situation, as a model to demonstrate a positive approach of action.

Gloup_Gloup