INTEL e7300 and GA-EP45-UD3R Problems Please help.

[Scott Mc]

Ok so this is my problem, no matter what the settings in the bios my CPU will underclock/throttle itself.

If all the energy saving options are disabled and thermal monitor 2 enabled then instantly on boot my cpu is underclocked to x6 and in windows will stay underclocked even when running prime95 or superpi 1m (which btw completes 1m in 30s which is very slow).

I can overclock the cpu to 3.2ghz easily and disable all energy saving options and thermal monitor, in windows cpu-z reports that the cpu is running at 3.2ghz but it still takes 30s to complete superpi 1m and 3dmark06 gives me a cpu score of 1300 which is about half of what i should get.

Also with prime95 running its torture test the cpu temps are always around 40c and the cpu heatsink stays cool infact i cant feel any warmth on the cpu's heatsink at all, its like the cpu is locked in a low power state constantly .

And yes the heatsink is seated correctly, bought the bolt thru kit and tried on intel HSF and also a AC7 with arctic silver 5 and mx-1 thermal grease on different ocasions.

I've tried all possible combinations and yet this cpu seems to be locked at 1.6ghz or less. I have not got another LGA775 cpu or motherboard to test  so i can't norrow the problem down to the cpu or mboard.

My other installed hardware: Corsair TX650w PSU, 2x2gb Corsair 8500 Dominator RAM, Nvidia 9800GTX+ GFX.

Any info or help would be much appreciated, thanks.

[Pottypete]

Hi,
What bios revision you have on your mobo,?
 F9 are available here,  http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=3013#anchor_os
Are you saving the settings using F10 before exiting?
Have you tried, unpluging the power cord, removing cmos battery, and setting clear cmos jumper,?
regards

[Scott Mc]

Thanks for the reply,

I cleared the cmos ( the bios date reset to jan 2008 so i did it correctly) and it has not solve my problem.
I'm on the lastest bios F9 the board is rev 1.0 and came with F7, i also tried F4 and F6 throught EZflash and yes i always press F!0 to save and exit thanks.

[Pottypete]

Hi Scott
Disable "Legacy USB storage detect"in bios,
Is it possible to remove mobo from case and test!
Could the mobo be flexing with the bolt through fitting?
I think by pressing F9 you have the dual bios available, ( not sure)
regards

[Scott Mc]

Ok i did Disable "Legacy USB storage detect"in bios then change the cpu's multiplier back to its x10 limit, pressed f10, pc reboots i hit delete to go back in the bios settings and the multipler has been set to x6 again and that is with all energy saving options disabled and thermal monitor 2 enabled.

By F9 i mean im on the latest bios version F9,

Also C.I.A.2 does not work whatsoever it crashes if i change it in bios or through Easytune in windows (freezes then BSOD), ive tried just using one 2gb stick of RAM in every slot and it still does not work properly.

I first used the original intel HSF then change to Arctic Cooler Freezer Pro 7, i though that the pushpins were not making the HSF connect properly so then i bough the bolt thru kit to get a better HSF seating.

 I've had this problem since day one, first with pushpins then again when i installed the backplate for the bolt kit (two days ago).

[Pottypete]

Hi, Scott
I'm out of idea's m8,
Unless someone else on the forum can suggest anything else, come on guys n gals!,
My only suggestion now would be to RMA the mobo,
Sorry I can't help more
regards

[Scott Mc]

Ok thanks for your help Pottypete, i cant find any one else online reporting similar problems so maybe the mboard is faulty, i new i should of waited 6 months and gone i7 ah well. cheers.

[Pottypete]

Hi, Scott
Had me thinking cap on all morning, and I still think it's a dodgy bios problem,
Hey left you some karma m8
Regards
Ps, have a look at this regarding dual bios, http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,163.msg2269.html#new

[Pottypete]

Hi Scott
Are you sure that CPU EIST function is set to disabled?
Have you created a profile using F11save to cmos to bios?   F12 to recover it!
Did you set load failsafe settings after clearing cmos, and then try settings?
still trying
regards

[Scott Mc]

Yeah I've tried all those loaded optimized, failsafe saved/loaded  profiles for different overclock settings etc , I've disabled C1E.C2E.C4E and also EIST as i know all those can 'underclock' the cpu when not fully needed and with all those disabled and thermal monitor 2 enabled then the cpu is locked at x6 = 1.6 ghz no matter what stress load i put on the chip.

The cpu will run at x6 when idle then jump to x10 when fully loaded using prime95 etc as it should, when i leave bios at default except themal monitor diabled.

Like i said before with all those disabled and thermal monitor 2 also disabled then the bios keeps the cpu multipier at x10 (in windows cpu-z also confirms its at its full x10 multi but the cpu will under perform as if its being throttled and running at half its speed ala only getting 1300 in 3dmark06 (total score = 7330) and taking over 30 seconds to complete superpi at 1M (which it should take about 13 seconds.

So do you think its def the mobo or do think it could be a faulty cpu ?

Even if i overclock the cpu to 3.4ghz and run prime95 the cpu stays at 40oc and the heatsink which is perfectly seated with thermal compound properly applied is cool to the touch, in fact its super cool i cant feel any heat on the heatsink at all (its like its not making contact but it is)  Yet the memory and mobo heatsinks are all quite warm. Strange eh?

Ok thanks again for trying to help me resolve problem.

[Pottypete]

Hi,
Certainly strange, I would request an rma, there is a 3 year warranty on mobo's,
Direct to gigabyte is your quickest option will cost you a tenner for return p/p,
that is of course if your dealer  will swap out,
The cooler would be cool to the touch anyway, if it's doing its job properly,
It is very unusual these days for a chip to go mamaries vertical, ( No crud on one of the pinouts in the zif socket?)
regards