GA-X58A*-UD3R/UD5/UD7... MARVELL NEEDS to be TOLD !!!

[JohnSkliros]

I am having similar issues/problems with Marvell Raid 0 on the SATA3 ports on my GA-X58A-UD3R (rev 1)

I am inclined to think that rather than wasting a great deal of time and effort in trying to resolve the issue myself. I might just dump it in Gigabyte's lap. After all, it is their product and they are the ones who configured it with whatever components it contains. And they have made considerable performance claims for the SATA3 on the boards, which just don't measure up.

Any comments or other progress reports before I communicate with them?

[Dark Mantis]

 I tend to agree with you, I too am running a supposedly SATA6 raid0 array that just doesn't measure up to Gigabyte's claims.   Mine is on a UD7 board but the Mavell controller is the same. It's the usual old story of a manufacturer rushing a component onto the market without thorough testing.

[Uber05]

Hi there everyone,

I'm new to this forum, and i ended up here because of my problems with a system built around a Gigabute X58A-UD3R rev 1 bios F3. I was wondering if my case could also been considered as an effect of bad drivers for marvell sata 3 ( &gb/sec ) chipset. I sent a message to GB support but i didn't actually get a reply for the question i was asking. Here follows the message I sent to GB support:

"I cannot install windows 7 because when I click on add driver just after partitioning the WD Caviar black and after quick format, I insert gigabyte cd provided with motherboard and select sata3 ( 6gb ) driver. I confirm the choice and i get back to the previous screen with a yellow flag on lower part saying that "Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. See the Setup log files for more information" the error code refers to a drivers issue. HOW am I suppose to go thru the installation of my operating system if provided drivers of marvell sata 3 ( 6GB ) drivers are not recognized by windows 7 64 bit ? Nor are the drivers i downloaded from gigabyte site... Can you confirm to me that I can use a hdd sata 3 ( 6gb ) to install and run operating system from it ? Thanx in advance for reply.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model Name : GA-X58A-UD3R(rev. 1.0)
--------------------------
M/B Rev : 1.0
BIOS Ver : 6.00PG
Serial No. :
Purchase Dealer : Nexths
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VGA Brand : Sapphire      Model : Radeon HD5830
CPU Brand : Intel      Model : Core i7 920      Speed : 2,66ghz
Operation System : Win 7 64-bit      SP :
Memory Brand : OCZ      Type : DDR3
Memory Size : 6 Gb      Speed : 1600
Power Supply : 750 W
Hard disk Western digital CAVIAR BLACK 1Tb SATA 6Gb as primary system disk, another WD PATA 500 GB connected with an LG DVD burner PATA. PSU Seasonic X750, Case Antec 9 hundred 2"

To which they answered this:"The issue is hardware faulty issue, Unfortunately, if the problem remains after the test procedure, we suggest you to contact your supplier/retailer (where you purchased the product) for further assistance on hardware testing since we can hardly define the root cause without looking at the platform."

Do you know which is this test procedure they refer to?
Is the motherboard faulty or is simply a driver issue ?
Which driver should I use to get windows 7 installer recognize my WD Black Sata3 Drive ?
Thank you in advance for any suggestion and forgive me if i posted in a wrong session.

[Dark Mantis]

The only help I can offer is thatanother poster on this forum had a similar problem and it was because their disks were not empty/ were formatted prior to setting up the raid. I can't remember the specifics but maybe it will give you something to go on.
Good luck

[Uber05]

Thank you Dark Mantis,

my hard drive is totally new, unformatted and unpartitioned, and is not set as a raid array as it is only one drive. So single drive unformatted and unpartitioned that windows 7 will not properly recognize during Gigabyte driver install and will refuse to continue installation. Drive is regularly seen in Bios. Thank you very much anyway. I asked again this to GB:
"Am I supposed, with your mobo, to install and run Windows 7 64 bit on a sata 3 ( 6 gb/sec) drive? Will the answer be yes, then why provided sata3 drivers on mobo DVD won't be recognized by Windows7 installer not letting me get on with installation of operating system?"
Maybe the problem is that i just CAN'T run windows 7 64 on a sata3 ( 6gb/s ) drive on this mobo because mobo doesen't support this.Anyone having windows 7 64 bit running on a sata3 ( 6gb/s ) drive without problems ? Which driver did you give during win 7 installation ?

Uber05

[Dark Mantis]

Have you tried moving the drive to a SATA2 port to do the installation and then once it is complete reinstall the drive to the SATA6 port? I see no reason why this should not work although I do understand it would be a workaround. Maybe it will get you going for now.

[Uber05]

That is a good idea, I will try to do this. Is a sata 3 ( 6 gb/s ) WD black caviar retro compatible 100% with sata 2 port ? However I will not have time to do this during the next 2 days because I will have to work hard. Meanwhile I will be wating for a GB support replay, as well as for some other's people experience in successfully installation of win7 64 bit on a sata 3 ( 6gb/s ).

thank you again.

Uber05

[Dark Mantis]

Yes your Western Digital Black SATA6 drive is backwards compatible with any other SATA port.

[F5BJR]

Marvell components are good

HighPoint RR622 use this 88SE9128 and run fine ( port multiplier 8 * disks max in 2 enclosures ,  RAID 0 , 1 , 5 , 10 , JBOD  ) limit to 8 RAID and not 2 as  if i remember

components are exactly the same as ASUS , GIGABYTE , ASROCK ...but with only possibility : 4  * disks max and 2 * RAID 0 or 1

i have tested and make comparaison , i have 2 * RR622 in my computer ( GA-X58A-UD5 )

look my reply at this post :

http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2105.msg9994.html#msg9994

Pierre

[Dark Mantis]

The Marvell chip might be ok(although I am not convinced it is that good) but the point is that the use of the chip is one thing but a poorly designed implementation of it is something else. The software needs to be rewritten so that it performs as described and advertised. It is wrong to sell a board on the attributes they have when it doesn't actually measure up.

[onemilimeter]

Hi runn3R... please look into this MARVELL SATA3 problem... customers are waiting and would like to know the stance of Gigabyte.

[natrat22]

I also have a sata3 hardware issue.  I was running a Cosair SATA2 SSD drive on a SATA2 channel with no problems.  I then upgraded to a Corsair SATA3 SSD and ran it on the ATA3 channel.  I would get random blue screens, and when the system rebooted, the SSD wouldnt be visible on POST unless the PC was turned off and on, then it would re-detect.   Even then i would occasionally get "disk read error" on POST.   I have now put the SATA3 SSD on a SATA2 channel and its back to being 100% stable.

FWIW i have do run a SATA2 normal HDD on the SATA3 channel and it has had no problems, so it seems to be specifically an issue with SATA3 devices on the SATA3 channel.

nathan

[Dark Mantis]

Yes give the man a medal! you are quite correct and if you read the massive number of posts on this and many other forums you will find that this was realised about a year or more ago. THe Marvell chip just can't handle SATA3 speeds and tends to fall over. It is fine for SATA2. In fact the fastest ports on your board are the ones controlled by the Intel ICH10R chip(Southbridge) even though they are designated SATA2. The best port for your SSD especially for booting is the SATA2_0.

[pyrate]

There is a brand new driver posted on 11/16
has anyone tried it?
Does it help at all?