Is the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 any good? What should I know about it?

[soarwitheagles]

Hi everyone!

It is time to upgrade again and I am totally excited about trying out Gigabyte's newest and greatest toys!

I just landed an excellent deal on a pre-Black Friday sale on the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard.  I presently am using a 1055T in a Gigabyte 890XA-UD3 v.1 that is working flawlessly mainly because of all the great help I received here from people like Dark Mantis and Absic!

After reading several posts here, I am seeing some challenges on the RAM and intermittent drives missing....ouch!

Ok, can anyone help me with a four questions please?

1. What processor would you recommend I use in this new GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 Motherboard? [Fry's is selling the FX 6100 tomorrow for $99 and I thought it might be a good deal to combo it with the above listed MB].
2. What RAM would you recommend?
3. Was the $99 selling price a good price to pay for this GA-990FXA-UD3?
4. Will I see much of an improvement over my "older" AMD system listed in my signature? [I hope this is not a downgrade]!

Last, please share any and all suggestions, advice, encouragements, warnings, etc. regarding this GA-990FXA-UD3 before I start the build!

Thanks in advance everyone!

Soar

[absic]

Hi Soar and happy thanksgiving,

boy, I wish we could get some of the deals you guys get in the USA. Yes, those prices of $99 for a mobo and $99 for a 6100 FX CPU would be very tempting to me too.

OK, lets deal with a couple of things first. You may find that you need to update to the latest BIOS with your current Processor before you can run the new FX6100 chip.
Secondly, don't be tempted to by a large memory kit of faster RAM. If you want to go above 1600MHz only buy a two stick kit as there seems to be an issue with the new bulldozer processor's at these faster speeds and according to AMD you can't run above 1600MHz with all four bank filled.
Thirdly, on these newer motherboards there is a feature called Load Level Control or LLC. These automatically controls the voltage to the CPU so that, when it is under load the voltage to the processor is dropped to reduce stress on the components and to prolong their life. This in itself is not a problem but if you decide to overclock your processor it is a lot harder to get things running in a stable manner.

Don't be put off by the few negative posts on the forum. Remember that the problems we see here are usually the exception to the rule and there are a lot of these motherboards working fine and without issue. That's not to dismiss any of the problems that have been highlighted but rather to remind you to put them into perspective.

You will probably find that there is no vast improvement between your current AMD rig using the 8 series board and the 9 series. This is due to the fact that the Northbridge and Southbridge chips are practically the same. The difference really lies in the ability to run the FX Processors and the AM3+ socket.

It is worth remembering that despite the fact that the 9 series motherboards have been on the market for some time, when paired with the FX processors the hardware is still really in its infancy. There are bound to be some areas where the bugs need to be ironed out a little bit. When you first put the new system together, run it at default settings for a couple of weeks, so that you understand how it handles. Once you are familiar with this then you can push on to tweaking the system and getting a bit more from the processor as the reports I have read would indicate they are really good overclockers.

[soarwitheagles]

Hi Soar and happy thanksgiving,

boy, I wish we could get some of the deals you guys get in the USA. Yes, those prices of $99 for a mobo and $99 for a 6100 FX CPU would be very tempting to me too.

OK, lets deal with a couple of things first. You may find that you need to update to the latest BIOS with your current Processor before you can run the new FX6100 chip.
Secondly, don't be tempted to by a large memory kit of faster RAM. If you want to go above 1600MHz only buy a two stick kit as there seems to be an issue with the new bulldozer processor's at these faster speeds and according to AMD you can't run above 1600MHz with all four bank filled.
Thirdly, on these newer motherboards there is a feature called Load Level Control or LLC. These automatically controls the voltage to the CPU so that, when it is under load the voltage to the processor is dropped to reduce stress on the components and to prolong their life. This in itself is not a problem but if you decide to overclock your processor it is a lot harder to get things running in a stable manner.

Don't be put off by the few negative posts on the forum. Remember that the problems we see here are usually the exception to the rule and there are a lot of these motherboards working fine and without issue. That's not to dismiss any of the problems that have been highlighted but rather to remind you to put them into perspective.

You will probably find that there is no vast improvement between your current AMD rig using the 8 series board and the 9 series. This is due to the fact that the Northbridge and Southbridge chips are practically the same. The difference really lies in the ability to run the FX Processors and the AM3+ socket.

It is worth remembering that despite the fact that the 9 series motherboards have been on the market for some time, when paired with the FX processors the hardware is still really in its infancy. There are bound to be some areas where the bugs need to be ironed out a little bit. When you first put the new system together, run it at default settings for a couple of weeks, so that you understand how it handles. Once you are familiar with this then you can push on to tweaking the system and getting a bit more from the processor as the reports I have read would indicate they are really good overclockers.

Hi Absic and nice to hear from you again!  Happy Thanksgiving to you too and please do not eat too much turkey or ham!

Now, about this new MB...Yes, I feel it was a good deal for the price, and that is why I purchased this MB.  The FX 6100 looks like a good price too, but some people are wishing they had purchased the 1100t or 1090t instead!  Wow, what is that?

Anyway, I will follow your good advice and do no overclocking initially.  None of my present systems are overclocked, and that's ok with me...stability and reliability are the most important issues for me.

I have a brand new, still sealed in the box AMD Athlon II X2 250 that I never opened or used.  May I use the AMD Athlon II X2 250 to update to the latest BIOS [I suspect I will not be able to update BIOS with the newer FX chips]?

I just picked up lots of the Corsair Vengeance 1600's, Kingston 1600's, G.Skil 1600's and Patriot's 1600's RAM.  Some of these RAM sticks are listed as 1.65v, others at 1.5v.  Which volt RAM would be best to use in this new MB with the FX chip? [my Intel 2500K did not like the 1.65v RAM and kept kicking the RAM back down to 1333MhZ].  Will this MB be touchy about which voltage RAM I run?  I promise to not go above 1600 [no need to].

I hear you about the possibility of bugs on this new technology.  I will prepare myself for some bumps in the road.  On the other hand, I keep reading posts that predict Windows 8 will be able to take much more advantage of the FX's abilities.  I also read posts claiming that AMD will release some updates that will dramatically improve the performance of the Bulldozer....

Now my question:  Is there any factual basis of truth in these claims or is it simply die hard AMD fan boys trying to prevent a terribly leaking AMD FX boat from rapidly sinking to the bottom of the CPU market?

Absic, please send some truth and reality my way quick!

It's me,

Soar [with my bailing bucket in hand]

[absic]

The Athlon X2 250 CPU will be fine to use for updating the BIOS (I have a Sempron that I use for this purpose!)

There are always rumours about updates and these become even louder when something is not going very well. I decided a long time ago that I wouldn't be jumping on to the Bulldozer bandwagon and have said repeatedly that I would not be buying an FX processor until Easter, next year, at the earliest. This was to give things a chance to settle down and hopefully for newer versions of the processors to hit the shelves with a different stepping version, like they did with the Phenom and Phenom ii's.

Is this a die hard AMD fanboy doing his best to keep things afloat? I don't consider myself a fanboy and I try to see things as they are. These chips have potential and I remember how critical the media were of the Phenom CPU's when they first came along with the death knell of AMD being touted about at that time but they are still here and still producing chips.

Overtime I am sure that things will improve. New coding for the current processors, better implementation of BIOS, new stepping versions and better software coding will take time to come through but it will happen.

Is there a problem with the FX Processor's?
They are different in construction to anything we have seen before and sadly they don't seem to live up to the pre-release hype but is this really a problem?
The biggest complaint is that they do not match the i5 or i7 processors in some tests and that in some cases even the 1090 & 1100 Phenom's beat them in benchmarking. No one has really complained about the way they handle in everyday computing situations.

A friend of mine in Japan has the FX-8150 and he keeps raving about it. His experience has been that it overclocks exceptionally well, even on air and that when it comes to things like Photoshop and video rendering it is faster than his i7 machine but once again, it's horses for courses. He has also played with the processor in the latest beta version of Windows 8 and says that things are better but, the real problem is with other software programmes that don't utilise the full potential of the processors yet.

In the early days of the motor car, horses still out performed them but who today would use a horse for a long journey?

[soarwitheagles]

The Athlon X2 250 CPU will be fine to use for updating the BIOS (I have a Sempron that I use for this purpose!)

There are always rumours about updates and these become even louder when something is not going very well. I decided a long time ago that I wouldn't be jumping on to the Bulldozer bandwagon and have said repeatedly that I would not be buying an FX processor until Easter, next year, at the earliest. This was to give things a chance to settle down and hopefully for newer versions of the processors to hit the shelves with a different stepping version, like they did with the Phenom and Phenom ii's.

Is this a die hard AMD fanboy doing his best to keep things afloat? I don't consider myself a fanboy and I try to see things as they are. These chips have potential and I remember how critical the media were of the Phenom CPU's when they first came along with the death knell of AMD being touted about at that time but they are still here and still producing chips.

Overtime I am sure that things will improve. New coding for the current processors, better implementation of BIOS, new stepping versions and better software coding will take time to come through but it will happen.

Is there a problem with the FX Processor's?
They are different in construction to anything we have seen before and sadly they don't seem to live up to the pre-release hype but is this really a problem?
The biggest complaint is that they do not match the i5 or i7 processors in some tests and that in some cases even the 1090 & 1100 Phenom's beat them in benchmarking. No one has really complained about the way they handle in everyday computing situations.

A friend of mine in Japan has the FX-8150 and he keeps raving about it. His experience has been that it overclocks exceptionally well, even on air and that when it comes to things like Photoshop and video rendering it is faster than his i7 machine but once again, it's horses for courses. He has also played with the processor in the latest beta version of Windows 8 and says that things are better but, the real problem is with other software programmes that don't utilise the full potential of the processors yet.

In the early days of the motor car, horses still out performed them but who today would use a horse for a long journey?

Absic,

Well said dear friend!  Very well said!  You have a wonderful way with words and I also like how you maintain an objective view and mindset while all the time remaining positive too.  These are precious gifts to have Absic...you are indeed, very rich!

Ok, and I was in no way inferring that you are an AMD fanboy!  I respect your wisdom, knowledge, and patience in this area of the AMD high tech arena...you have helped not only me, but countless of others in our quest to understand and utilize our AMD gear.  Thank you times 1,000,000 Absic and I have often referred friends and colleagues to this website due to your kindness, respect, and know how.

Well, perhaps I too will wait until the dust settles a little more before purchasing a FX processor.  I could always install my present 1055t in this MB and probably be very happy with it!

Either way, I must make up my mind before tomorrow.

How about the varying RAM voltages....which is better for this MB, the 1.5v or the 1.65 or does it make any difference which one I use?

Thanks again Absic!

Soar

[absic]

Thank you for your kind words Soar, they are, as always, very much appreciated.

When it comes to RAM I prefer to stick with modules that run at the default settings of 1.5V as this makes it much easier to configure and also much more reliable.

I have 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM rated at 1600MHz with 1.5V and it works fine at the default settings (1333MHz) and I haven't had to tweak it in anyway for system stability.

[soarwitheagles]

Thank you for your kind words Soar, they are, as always, very much appreciated.

When it comes to RAM I prefer to stick with modules that run at the default settings of 1.5V as this makes it much easier to configure and also much more reliable.

I have 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM rated at 1600MHz with 1.5V and it works fine at the default settings (1333MHz) and I haven't had to tweak it in anyway for system stability.

Absic,

Thanks again for the good advice.  Ok, I will probably go with the 16 GB of the Corsair Vengeance 1600's.  They have stellar reviews here and people really seem to prefer them for some reason!

Have a wonderful day there!

Soar

[Dark Mantis]

Hi Soar and Happy Thanksgiving!

I think that is probably the best option and those modules seem to go with just about anything from what I've seen. I have used loads of them myself with no problems whatsoever. Anyway good luck with whatever way you decide to go.
 

[Dark Mantis]

but who today would use a horse for a long journey?

Yes....if it was fitted with a jetpack!!!!

Sorry teknology you can get in big trouble for that from the "Jockey Club".

[teknology9]

No Dark Mantis.....you are definately barking up the wrong tree. I was pulling absics leg....no more and no less. If  comments regarding the caption competiton are read....then it is clear where my thoughts are regarding animals. So I don't know where you get that from.   

Caption Competition:

http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,7140.15.html

[Dark Mantis]

No Dark Mantis.....you are definately barking up the wrong tree. I was pulling absics leg....no more and no less. If  comments regarding the caption competiton are read....then it is clear where my thoughts are regarding animals. So I don't know where you get that from.   

Caption Competition:

http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,7140.15.html

No teknology it was merely a joke. Don't take it to heart just a bit of the usual banter to keep everything lighthearted and stop things geting too dry and boring. No indication of your feelings for animals I assure you! 

[soarwitheagles]

Hi Soar and Happy Thanksgiving!

I think that is probably the best option and those modules seem to go with just about anything from what I've seen. I have used loads of them myself with no problems whatsoever. Anyway good luck with whatever way you decide to go.
 

Thanks again DM, and a very very Happy Thanksgiving to you as well dear friend!

I did pick up a three pack of the 4GB's and a two pack of the 4GB sticks, and one 4 pack of 4gb's one being advertised as dual channel and the other advertised as triple channel and the third, I am not even sure...the prices were really good but I am a little confused over this because each pack shows nearly identical numbers:

CMZ12GX3M3A1600C9 = $29

CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 = $19

CML16GX3M4A1600C9B = $59

I like the idea of the 16 gb sticks because the heat sink is lower and will work with my CM Hyper 212+ CPU cooler.  The taller ones will not fit in the RAM slot closest to the CPU.  I thought about removing the tall heat sink but someone told me that would void the warranty.

Oh my, I hope I did not make a mistake in purchasing sticks that have different numbers!!!!

Can someone clarify if these will work together?

Can I combine a dual channel with a triple channel or is that asking for trouble?

Shaky knees Soar

[Dark Mantis]

Wll the thing is why would you want to try and run five sticks together anyway ? Just sounds a bit unusual. Normally it would be four or six modules depending on the boards capabilities. Anyway that aside there is no real reason why they shouldn't work together any more than two matched kits of either ones being run together. Usually you can get away with it but sometimes conflicts do occur. The modules are the same.

The biggest kit  may be slightly different but you would only use that on it's own anyway so compatibility doesn't really come into it there.

At those prices it would be stupid not to take the chance anyway!

[soarwitheagles]

Wll the thing is why would you want to try and run five sticks together anyway ? Just sounds a bit unusual. Normally it would be four or six modules depending on the boards capabilities. Anyway that aside there is no real reason why they shouldn't work together any more than two matched kits of either ones being run together. Usually you can get away with it but sometimes conflicts do occur. The modules are the same.

The biggest kit  may be slightly different but you would only use that on it's own anyway so compatibility doesn't really come into it there.

At those prices it would be stupid not to take the chance anyway!

DM, my MB has 5 RAM slots...they all have 5 RAM slots.... [that is what happens when you try to count the slots after too much of that old English beer and rum]!

Ok, I was only joking...

Sorry, I was not clear in my communication!

I purchased the 2 pack and the 3 pack because they had good prices, and I planned on adding one of the 2 pack sticks to the 3 pack...but was concerned because of the label "dual" and "triple" channel.  I am wondering if "dual" and "triple" would behave themselves and not get in a fight when trying to work together.

Finally, I also picked up a 16 gb set of the XMS3's @ 1333mHz for $29, but I think those are the 1.65 volt and I think I will not use them, due to possible problems because AMD, Sandy Bridge, DM, and Absic recommend 1.5 v's.  Also, according to Jared Bell at Anandtech, the 1600's appear to be the sweet spot for the Sandy Bridge...

"I think we confirmed what we pretty much knew all along: Sandy Bridge's improved memory controller has all but eliminated the need for extreme memory bandwidth, at least for this architecture. It's only when you get down to DDR3-1333 that you see a minor performance penalty. The sweet spot appears to be at DDR3-1600, where you will see a minor performance increase over DDR3-1333 with only a slight increase in cost. The performance increase gained by going up to DDR3-1866 or DDR3-2133 isn't nearly as pronounced."

As I mentioned earlier, I now realize the tall heat sinks will not fit under this Hyper 212+ in both my AMD build and my Intel build [please see the pic].  I suppose I am limited now to using the CML16GX3M4A1600C9B [the strange blue colored CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB] unless I can modify one of the other sticks.

Soar

PS If RAM prices keep dropping like this, by next year, they will be giving them away for free with a complementary mug of fresh, foaming beer!

[Dark Mantis]

The memory prices have just started dropping here again I noticed today.

I think that you are getting a bit mixed up between dual and triple channel kits. They are all the same spec modules but the important part is that they are all matched together in each kit be it Dual or Triple channel. In the same way as two dual channel kits can't be guaranteed to work together in the same system. That is why it is best to buy a matched kit of four modules if you want to run four sticks together rather than two dual channel kits. More often than not you will be lucky and they will all get on but it is not 100%.

Make sure that you mark all your modules to signify which kit they are part of because it is very easy to mix them up afterwards.

By the way it should be possible to lift the fan on the heatsink to make it slightly off centre and by doing so give a bit more clearance underneath for the closest modules.