Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with Intel processors => Topic started by: jim53 on January 24, 2011, 05:53:46 pm
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Hi guys,
Im a newbie at this have some questions in regards to building my first computer. I usually buy from Dell and am ready for a new system so i thought i would give a shot at building one.
I am going to start assembly today, just waiting for UPS to deliver the remaining components today.
This is what i purchased:
Case: Antec 300
Motherboard: Gigabyte P67A-UD3P
CPU: i5 2500K
CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Plus
Memory: GSkill Ripjaws 4GB F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL
PSU: Corsair 650TX - 650W
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 60GB
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
DVD: Asus (SATA)
OS: Win7 64 bit
I plan on testing the mobo outside of the case and installing just the cpu, hsf, 1 stick of ram in slot1 and the video card then boot up and see if it will post, if it does post my next step would be to check the other stick of ram in slot1 and post, if that stick checks ok then test the other 3 ram slots, if all is ok then i will install 1 component at a time and reboot as i move along.
Does this sound like the correct way to do it?
Should i update to the latest bios right away even if the board posts without errors?
Can i update the bios before i install Win7?
Are most of the issues related to OCing?
Is there anything i should be aware of by running stock and all settings at default?
I will not be OCing, at least not yet. I want to run at stock to be sure the system is stable and i need to learn more about OCing
Thanks for your help
Jim
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Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.
You seem to be well informed as far as the build goes and apart from observing anti static precautions there is nothing really to add.
Your components seem to be well ballanced and I don't forsee any problem there. Just be very careful installing the CPU in the socket as the pins are very easilly damaged.
Normally you would be fine to update the BIOS from QFlash which is the safest wayof doing it but there was a glitch with the first boards to be marketed in that they needed to be updated for the first time with @BIOS hte Windows program. After that inital update you could use QFlash as normal. The @BIOS program would need to be downloaded as the latest version ids required.
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I have the same CPU and Mobo Jim and it's been running great. You look you're on the right path. I've OC mine to 4.2 Ghz right now on stock cooler and it runs great.
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Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.
You seem to be well informed as far as the build goes and apart from observing anti static precautions there is nothing really to add.
Your components seem to be well ballanced and I don't forsee any problem there. Just be very careful installing the CPU in the socket as the pins are very easilly damaged.
Normally you would be fine to update the BIOS from QFlash which is the safest wayof doing it but there was a glitch with the first boards to be marketed in that they needed to be updated for the first time with @BIOS hte Windows program. After that inital update you could use QFlash as normal. The @BIOS program would need to be downloaded as the latest version ids required.
Dark Mantis,
Thank you
So , in order to flash bios for the first time i need to use @bios?
And in order to use @bios i need to have Win7 installed?
I installed the CPU yesterday and everything seemed to go ok. I felt very little resistance if any as i lowered the locking lever.
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I have the same CPU and Mobo Jim and it's been running great. You look you're on the right path. I've OC mine to 4.2 Ghz right now on stock cooler and it runs great.
Glad to hear that!
Hope my assembly and posts goes smooth too. Feeling a little nervous as i've never done this before.
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So , in order to flash bios for the first time i need to use @bios?
And in order to use @bios i need to have Win7 installed?
That is pretty much the size of it. If you are lucky and got one of the later boards you might be fine as it satnds and be able ot run the update from the BIOS utility QFlash. Try it and see. If you can't it will just give ypu a checksum error or invalid file.
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So , in order to flash bios for the first time i need to use @bios?
And in order to use @bios i need to have Win7 installed?
That is pretty much the size of it. If you are lucky and got one of the later boards you might be fine as it satnds and be able ot run the update from the BIOS utility QFlash. Try it and see. If you can't it will just give ypu a checksum error or invalid file.
Ok
Thanks
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faizoff,
I noticed in your sig. you're using biosV. F4. Did F6b not work for you?
Being that you have the same board i do, i was wondering if the board has any built in audible sound or led for diagnosis in case of a problem.
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You will need to find a buzzer to fit for the POST beeps and to help with faultfinding if the need arises. They are only a few pence and easilly fitted to the Front Panel Connector block.
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Ok, Thanks
Remainder of components just arrived so on with the build!
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faizoff,
I noticed in your sig. you're using biosV. F4. Did F6b not work for you?
Being that you have the same board i do, i was wondering if the board has any built in audible sound or led for diagnosis in case of a problem.
I'm actually waiting for the full release of F6. I don't really need to update my BIOS as everything seems to be running fine as of now even with the OC. I'm waiting to order a cooler most likely the Hyper Cooler 212+ and once that's here I'll go ahead and upgrade the BIOS as i'll want to OC even higher.
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I'm running F6b on my new build and it's running very stable, no BSOD's at all; in a previous build I ran a beta bios for three years without a problem.
How long does Gigabyte wait on their main site before updating their bios availability? I see they are still only offering F6A on the UD3P.
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Hi Guys,
I have a question regarding bootup.
I currently have the motherboard out of the case (installing and booting as i gol). I have so far installed only the cpu, hsf (hyper 212 plus), 2 sticks of memory (gskill ripjaws 4GB 9-9-9-24) video card, corsair 650tx psu and have the keyboard (usb) plugged in.
When i boot up the Gigabyte logo screen appears for about 2 seconds then disappears and a black screen appears with the message:
Loading Operating System...
Disk Boot Failure, Insert System Disk And Press Enter
Is that what is supposed to happen?
or
Is the logo screen supposed remain so i can enter the Bios Main Menu from there?
I can enter the bios main menu though during bootup by tapping the delete key.
Bios shows version F2
Thanks
Jim
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Hi Jim
Yes that is exactly what is supposed to happen at that point as the BIOS is looking for a drive to boot from and and not finding one. When you install a hard drive and tell it where to boot from it will go there first.
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Hi Jim
Yes that is exactly what is supposed to happen at that point as the BIOS is looking for a drive to boot from and and not finding one. When you install a hard drive and tell it where to boot from it will go there first.
Thanks Dark Mantis,
I connected the ssd, hdd and dvd drive and it appears that each is recognized when booting (screen goes by quickly).
In the bios under integrated peripherals i set PCH SATA Control Mode to AHCI
Does R_USB30 stay at disabled or do i enable that?
So, i guess it is safe now to disconnect everything from the mobo and go ahead and install the mobo and all the componets into the case then install:
Win7 and after that update bios and then install the chipset drivers from the CD in that order?
Thanks
Jim
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Unless you are planning to use the USB3 ports then you can leave it disabled.
That is the right order to load the drivers ok.
I wouldn't advise loading/installing any software off the driver disk though get it direct from the website as it will be more up to date. Also the free programs that come with the motherboard often cause problems so I should steer clear if I were you.
One tip is to just install the boot drive and optical drive until Windows has finished installing and then you can add the other drives. ;)
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Unless you are planning to use the USB3 ports then you can leave it disabled.
That is the right order to load the drivers ok.
I wouldn't advise loading/installing any software off the driver disk though get it direct from the website as it will be more up to date. Also the free programs that come with the motherboard often cause problems so I should steer clear if I were you.
One tip is to just install the boot drive and optical drive until Windows has finished installing and then you can add the other drives. ;)
Thanks
Yes i am going to install just the ssd and dvd first and do the other hdd later.
I will go to the website instead of using the cd
And you recommend using @bios to flash instead of flashspi?
I will be flashing from version F2 bios dated 11/16/2010 to latest F6b.
Is it safe to go directly to F6b?
or should i go in increments?
Sorry for the dumb questions :-[
Jim
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The official line is to use @BIOS for the first update and then you can use QFlash after that. You will need to download the latest version of @BIOS from the website though as the one that came with the board was buggy. There is no reason not to use flashspi if you would rather.
I would advise doing incremental updates as a safety measure.
The questions aren't dumb if you don't know the answers. ;)
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Ok DM, you knew I was gonna jump on this.
"Officially" Gigabyte themselves say you can use either @BIOS (the new version, not the one that came on the CD) or FLASHSPI. I can confirm using FLASHSPI successfully and went from F2 directly to F6b without any problems whatsoever. I created a USB boot on a flash drive, moved the autoexec.bat and bios file to the flash drive, then did the F12 at bootup and chose to boot from the USB flash drive (select HDD option- which is what the bios see the flash drive as). It booted to the flash drive and automatically installed the bios update. (yes it's more complicated than @BIOS, but I'm old school when it comes to bios updating) Once you verify that the bios is updated and working fine- you can copy the main bios to the backup bios by doing an Alt-F12 when the main boot window displays.
If you don't an OS already installed, then I think it is safe to do a large bios jump vs incremental; I think the incremental is more for Windows sanity than anything else. ;)
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I would have to agree with you there being old school myself. I am not in favour of using @BIOS and never have been as some of you just might have guessed ;D Trouble is a lot of people are so scared of doing anything command driven nowadays and want to be able to point and click.
The incremental part I wouldn't argue with personally as I have never had any problems doing large jumps but there have been cases on the forum where members have fallen foul of this so I feel it only fair to advise caution.
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Think i might try flashspi before i put win7 in. I will follow the instructions above.
Do i download flashspi from the Gigabyte website or just google it?
I just have to figure out how to make my usb stick bootable :-[
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No it should come as part of the BIOS update download. ;)
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I finished building the computer a few days ago, it's been up and running about 4 days now.
Antec 300
Gigabyte P67A-UD3P (Bios F6a AHCI enabled)
2500K
Hyper 212 Plus
OCZ Vertex 2 SSD 60GB
Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB
GSkill Ripjaws 4GB 4GBRL
Corsair 650TX
EVGA GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi)
Asus DVD
Win7 64bit
I haven't noticed any problems with the system other than the Samsung hdd.
Currently the SSD has the os on it and the Samsung HD is used for data/storage.
Both drives were connected to the Sata2, ports 2 & 3. After hearing about the
Intel issue I switched both drives to the Sata3, port 0 (ssd) & port 1 (hd).
I found out about HD Tune Pro and downloaded the trial version,
curiosity got the best of me and tested my Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ.
I don't really know how to interpret the software so I don't know if the hd is good or bad?
I ran the test on the samsung on Sata2 port 3 first then connected
it to the Sata3 port 1 and the results were the same.
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What you have to remember is that the drive will perform nearly the same whichever port you put it on. This is because the drives can't actually make full use of the SATA2 speed so putting them on a SATA3 doesn't make the data throughput any better.
You will only see an increase in performance once a drive comes out that is actually faster than the full SATA2 rate.
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What you have to remember is that the drive will perform nearly the same whichever port you put it on. This is because the drives can't actually make full use of the SATA2 speed so putting them on a SATA3 doesn't make the data throughput any better.
You will only see an increase in performance once a drive comes out that is actually faster than the full SATA2 rate.
Thanks DM,
Yes i understand that running on sate3 will not improve performance over sata2.
Because of the intel issue i switched both drives to sata3
The test above was run on sata2 & sata3 and just wondering if my samsung hd is indeed bad,
or do i disregard the results from HD Tune Pro trial version and assume the drive is ok?
If it's bad i am still within my 30 day period to return it.[/b
I did run these on the samsung hd also and if i am running the tests correctly they show the drive is OK?
So right now i'm confused as to what test is correct.
Is there something else i can do to make sure the hd is ok?
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To be honest I have never used HD Tune Pro so I can't really comment on it's reliability. However I have used the other two many times and never had any problems with them so I would tend to lean towards them as being correct.
Does Samsung not do a drive diagnostics of it's own?
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To be honest I have never used HD Tune Pro so I can't really comment on it's reliability. However I have used the other two many times and never had any problems with them so I would tend to lean towards them as being correct.
Does Samsung not do a drive diagnostics of it's own?
Yeah, i'm leaning towards the other 2 also.
I also did a scandisk from windows and it found nothing.
I'm starting to think HD Tune Pro is giving me false info.
I don't know if Samsung has a diagnostics of their own
i will search around to see if i can find something.
Thanks
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You are very welcome. Try Samsungs website for the diagnostic software.