Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with Intel processors => Topic started by: Hellomaster on March 12, 2012, 08:25:24 pm
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I posted my questions on another site and got answers for most of my questions. But I still have questions that only this forum can answer.
I will be building a new PC.
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K
SSD: Patriot PPSE120GS25SSDR
Video Card: ASUS ENGTX560
...along with RAM, tower, etc.
1. The Intel VGA drivers on the Intel site are newer than the Intel VGA drivers on the official Gigabyte site. Both drivers are identical in terms on what they are. Is it safe to use the newer VGA drivers from the Intel site, or should I stick with the VGA drivers from the official Gigabyte site? Did Gigabyte not post the newer VGA drivers because they already use a customized VGA driver that is more optimized for this motherboard?
*I learned that I have to install both the Intel VGA drivers AND the video card drivers. If I do that, will the two drivers conflict with each other.
2. The official Gigabyte site has the audio drivers to download. The NVIDIA video card drivers file has an "HDAUDIO" folder, which I assume are also audio drivers. Which drivers do I install?
3. For the video card, is it recommended to do a manual driver install (through device manager and selecting the unknown device), or should I install the drivers straight from the install file (double click on the driver file)?
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Yes, you can use drivers directly from the source anytime you want, and that's often suggested because they are normally updated more frequently than the ones at Gigabyte's site.
Realtek is where you get your onboard audio drivers, here's their site's links
Audio
http://218.210.127.131/downloads/downloadsCheck.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=14&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false
LAN
http://218.210.127.131/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=13&PFid=5&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false
For video card drivers, it's recommended to download your drivers directly from AMD or Nvidia, and then install via the provided exe file.
Also, here is the latest Intel Chipset drivers (First link exe)
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=816
And Intel AHCI or RAID driver (you want third link exe)
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&ProductFamily=Chipsets&ProductLine=Chipset+Software&ProductProduct=Intel%C2%AE+Rapid+Storage+Technology
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Awesome, thanks for the reply. Just one more question.
Do I need to load any drivers before doing a fresh install of Windows? During Windows Setup, there is a "load driver" option.
I watched a NewEgg video on building your own PC's on youtube, and the guy completely skipped this option. He was installing Windows 7 on a SSD. He installed all the drivers after Windows was installed, such as the chipset drivers, etc.
If you can install the drivers post-install just fine, then what's the point of a "load driver" option?
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Anytime!
No, drivers are not necessary during windows install, but you can optionally install updated Intel F6 Pre-install RAID or AHCI drivers if you want. If not, windows will use generic ones, and you can update them once installed.
The pre install option is there just in case as some boards may need them (Or if they want during install just to do it), and some other SATA controllers certainly will need them, but for general motherboard SATA ports it's optional
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Awesome. Thanks for the links to the latest drivers.
If I decide to use the "load driver" option, do I just select the .exe drivers? Or do I first need to unpack the files with 7zip?
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If you use the load driver function, you need to download the F6 Pre-install drivers (zip file), and then extract the files first. This is the link you want for F6 drivers, and yes it would show up as 7zip file if you do not have winzip or winrar installed, or you have 7zip set to handle zip files
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProdId=2101&DwnldID=20625&ProductFamily=Chipsets&ProductLine=Chipset+Software&ProductProduct=Intel%c2%ae+Rapid+Storage+Technology&lang=eng
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Awesome. Thanks for your help.
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Anytime!
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I built my own PC for the first time yesterday. In all, it was a success with three setbacks.
The tower I used was an NZXT PHAN-001WT. The NewEgg link is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067
1. I installed the Intel video drivers from the Intel site. After it successfully installed, I restarted my computer. After Windows restarted, I tried to change the resolution, but I was still capped at 1280x1024. I could not go to 1920x1080, which is what my monitor supports. After installing the NVIDIA drivers, I was able to go to 1080p.
I do not know how the Intel + NVIDIA drivers will co-exist together. Am I able to switch between the two displays (Intel & NVIDIA)? How do I know which display I am using? If so, then how? How do I know if I am using my video card and not the onboard graphics?
I have the Intel VGA version 8.15.10.2622 and NVIDIA drivers version 296.1 (March 13, 2012).
2. The SATA chipset drivers from the Intel site did not work. It said the computer did not have the correct hardware or something. I will install the SATA drivers from the Gigabyte site later today to see if that works. My SSD and optical drive work perfect fine though.
3. After a fresh install of Windows, there was a sound icon on the bottom right of the screen. I did not have speakers at the time to test whether there really was sound. I double clicked on the icon and the mixer popped up. Why does this icon exist when I did not even install the drivers from the Gigabyte site yet?
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Ya, no need to even install Intel Graphics drivers if you are using a Nvidia Graphics card, so you can uninstall those Intel ones now if you want (Advised)
You have to be in AHCI mode to install AHCI/RAID drivers, so it sounds like you are not in AHCI mode, or you have your hard drive connected to the wrong non-Intel ports. You want your OS drive connect to the first White Intel Port (SATA3_0)
The audio will be working by default using the Microsoft built in drivers, you can leave those or update to Realtek ones linked above.
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I was told in another forum that I needed to install BOTH the Intel and NVIDIA drivers. The poster there said that the Intel drivers are designed to work with the CPU, and the NVIDIA drivers are designed to work with the video card. The poster said the proper method was to install both drivers and they will co-exist together just fine.
I think I plugged my SSD into the USB3_1 port. If I plug it into the USB3_0 port and the SATA drivers still do not install, how do I go into AHCI mode?
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They will, if you plan to use Lucid Virtu, if you don't you do not need the Intel graphics drivers at all.
USB for your SSD? You should connect it to the first Intel port as I mentioned, unless it's a USB SSD?
If you installed in IDE mode, you need to make the following changes in the registry before you can swtich to AHCI, otherwise on bootup you will be met with the 0x0000007b BSOD
Enable switching between all IDE/AHCI/RAID modes by changing "Start" Values in these keys to 0 (Win 7 / Vista ONLY)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci\Start
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pciide\Start
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStorV\Start
Then you can reboot and switch the BIOS to AHCI at the top of the Integrated Peripherals BIOS page
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Ahh I made a big typo. I meant to say I plugged in my SSD to the SATA3_1.
I have no idea whether I installed my SSD in IDE mode. How do I check if I did that? All I did was connect my SSD SATA cable to one of the two SATA3 connectors. I most likely plugged it into the _1 connector.
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Ahh ok! No worries then, you can move it to SATA3_0 no problem, but you will still need to make the above changes if you installed in IDE mode, before you can switch the BIOS to AHCI.
YOu can look in the BIOS, if it's set to IDE now then it's IDE mode :D If so, reboot to windows and make those changes, then back to the BIOS and change to AHCI.
You can also verify in windows right now if you want, by opening AS SSD and selecting your main OS drive, it will show the driver is use and if it's PCIDE then it's IDE mode, if it's Istor or MSAHCI then it's AHCI mode. Download it at the very bottom of the page
http://alex-is.de/PHP/fusion/downloads.php?download_id=9
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Thanks for your help. I will get on it tonight.
I already started a virtual machine in VMware right after I installed Windows 7. If I change the settings to AHCI and plug in the SATA cable to SATA3_0, will this affect the virtual machine in any way? Am I going to have to change any settings in VMware?
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Anytime, and good luck with the testing!
No, you wont have any VM issues, although if drive letters change or if it cares about drive location movements, then it will just ask you when starting up if you moved or copied the machine - just say copied and you'll be back in business.
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I will finally have time to get to it tonight.
Question question about virtual machines.
I know that if I install Windows 7 on the SSD, it will align properly so I don't need to worry about that. If I install Windows XP on the SSD, it will not align properly and will not perform as well as it can. Therefore, I would need to properly align it.
I have Windows 7 as my host OS, and I have Windows XP as a virtual image that is located on the SSD. Do I need to worry about any alignment issues?
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I re-read the manual and I saw where SATA3_0 was. Then I opened the PC again and then I saw that the actual mother has the SATA3 ports stacked. It was not stacked in the manual! I ran the SSD program and I am in IDE mode.
I haven't plugged the SSD into the SATA3_0 port yet because I'm a bit scared. If I do it, will I finally be able to install the SATA drivers? As of right now, my PC still "does not meet the requirements" to install the drivers. Will the drivers successfully install if I use the SATA3_0 port?
If I ever re-install Windows again and I already have the SSD connected to the SATA3_0 port, will it automatically be in AHCI mode?
I installed a recent video game and after installing, I started the game. It said that a file named "xinput1_3.dll" was missing and therefore would not start. I researched what this was and it was a DirectX file. I thought Windows 7 already included DirectX. What's the deal?
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XP inside an aligned windows 7 machine will be fine, as the disk it would be contained on is already aligned itself.
SATA3_0 is the bottom white port, against the PCB, you can move the drive around safely. You must be in AHCI mode to install the Intel drivers, you will need to make the following changes in windows before rebooting to the BIOS and setting that to AHCI.
Enable switching between all IDE/AHCI/RAID modes by changing "Start" Values in these keys to 0 (Win 7 / Vista ONLY)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci\Start
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pciide\Start
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStorV\Start
If you reinstall windows, all you have to do is be sure the BIOS is set to AHCI before you install, then it will always be in AHCI mode, no matter what port it's installed into.
Yes, windows 7 has directX 11 by default, however some games install specific .dll files or updates to directX while they install. Sounds like your game didn't install this properly or you need to download the latest directX end user runtimes, you can get that here, this will fix the issue
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=35
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In that case, the SSD was plugged into the SATA3_0 port the whole time! But it is in IDE mode. I guess the factory BIOS setting was IDE (I did not touch the BIOS settings before installing Windows).
Thanks for the info on the game. I will update DirectX tonight and see if the problem is remedied. I am currently using the DirectX that came with Win7 SP1.
This is my plan:
1. Since it was in the SATA3_0 port the whole time, I will not change anything hardware-wise.
2. I will change the registry settings to what you suggested.
3. I will go into AHCI mode in the BIOS
4. I will install the SATA drivers (it still will not let me install as it is).
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Thanks for your help. Everything is now resolved.
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Just coming to check in on this with you, and I see great news!
Nice to hear everything is now sorted out!! Post back anytime if you need more help with anything!