GA-EP45-DS3R Gaming and I Matrix Storage questions

[MadMax2911]

Hi all this is my first post, so tell me if I make any mistakes.

This is my second Gigabyte board (the first got a burned out SATA 2 port) so I had to upgrade.

Brief history of my build:
had a bit of trouble installing the intel Matrix Storage driver due to not seeing the proper driver until I learned to use down arrow to scroll down the proper driver. Also I used the driver frome the Intel website (first question seen below) right now my BIOS has AHCI mode enabled. The next setting I think you all recommend setting it to "native IDE mode"
I also tried changing the BIOS and then NO START. cleared CMOS and then reset BIOS. Later I had the windows file protection warnings in event viewer That worried me :( but it still working some programs having difficulty 3DMARK 06 failed to run till after second run. BF2 lost files till I reset game controls to default then it ran.

Question 1 please help me with AHCI BIOS settings and all below it Maybe I should use the gigabyte Matrix storage driver too, Huh??

Question 2 found out CIA 2 does not work to good for gaming please help me get good gaming perfomance without CIA 2 (prolly OC help?? or good settings IDK?)

SPECS R BELOW.... FROM BELARC ADVISOR
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600)

Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. EP45-DS3R
Bus Clock: 333 megahertz
BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. F8 07/23/2008Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. EP45-DS3R
Bus Clock: 333 megahertz
BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. F8 07/23/2008500.11 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
485.86 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

LITE-ON COMBO SOHC-5236K [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

ST3500320AS [Hard drive] (500.11 GB) -- drive 02048 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'A0' has 2048 MB
Slot 'A1' is Empty
Slot 'A2' is Empty
Slot 'A3' is Empty

Standard floppy disk controller
Intel(R) ICH10R SATA AHCI Controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller]
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller]
Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS [Display adapter]
hp mx703 [Monitor] (15.7"vis, November 2003)

Creative SB X-Fi

Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
PS/2 Compatible Mouse
USB Root Hub (8x)

Thanks in advance MAX....

[VorLonUK]

There's been a lot of discussion about AHCI on this forum, so the search function is always a good place to start.

This Intel Document provides a lot of info:-

Desktop Boards - Troubleshooting operating system issues

If you are using Microsoft Windows XP, the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager driver must be loaded during operating system installation using the F6 installation method. This is required in order to install an operating system onto a hard drive or RAID volume when in RAID mode or onto a hard drive when in AHCI mode. By default, Windows XP Setup assumes you are using a floppy diskette. Note: This is not an issue with Windows Vista installations.

[Lsdmeasap]

So, did you find what you needed or do ya still need some help here?

[MadMax2911]

ITs been quite an experience up to this point and now I jump in to the BIOS settings according to ongoing search.
Here is what happened after my first post......
I was using the PC normally with some tweaking (not much mind you) and then I get the third BSOD with a mini dump that actually appeared as advertized. I used the MS utility to what is it called windebug or some such and found the problem is the hard drive utility called istor (I think its related to the Intel Matrix storage driver) So I thought to myself was there a problem with the driver answer yes cuz I did not use the gigabyt recommended driver. I did contact gigabyte support by the way before this post and they said to use gigabyte driver (I Matrix Storage). To make a long story short I reinstalled the O.S .using the gigabyte updated approved AHCI driver using F6 method and am now setting up the bios further to your website recommendations found here -> Basic BIOS Tweaking Guide :: TweakTown (for all others seeking info.) Prior to Reinstalling I updated the BIOS to F9 I believe (f10 is for Vista)
As I mentioned I am now recording the BIOS settings for comparision to any guides or other information I receive. I will use one of your templates to record my settings and will post settings back ASAP. By the way CIA 2 works for OC but in games it speed up and slows down which makes the video jittery which is bad for my eyes LOL (>_<). Thanks for all the help so far Guys.

[MadMax2911]

I was hoping to post only my BIOS settings but there have been other problems. As I explained in my last post I had updated My BIOS to the f9 version with an update success message telling me all was well. I then reinstalled windows with a full format of the hard drive. Everything went well and I was installing drivers up till the graphics driver version 175.16 (required for 3DMark06) and the system froze at first screen. OK power down and restart I said. The system got to the first screen again and then I saw the BIOS failure message and then it said it was rebuilding (or something like that) Then I get the message that the boot failures are due to improper settings in the BIOS and overclocking???(see the next event about BIOS being downgraded) OK so I reduce the OC (it was 3015 GHz) no lie-thats not a major OC. Continued to install drivers and software to the point of activating and doing windows updates and upon restart I get the same screen freeze again at first post screen and I noticed the BIOS version was reverted to F7 ?????? Now how did that happen I wonder???? I powered down again and restarted again to see another freeze. What do I do now reflash the BIOS to f9 or f10?? I do remember the system turning off the monitor and possibly going to sleep mode?? would the f10 BIOS cure that or is it due to the BIOS just losing its information some how..
Here is the settings when the problem ocurred from the BIOS.
MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............:auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 6 no sure here
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.0GHz slightly higher
Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 415Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:auto

Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<< Leave
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<< Leave
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<< Leave
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<< Leave


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [266]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.00A
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: it was over 800 TBH (830-850??) memory rated for 800
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5
tRCD ......................................... 5
tRP'...........................................5
tRAS..........................................18

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................3 auto
tWTR..........................................3 auto
tWR............................................6 auto
tRFC...........................................52 auto
tRTP...........................................3 auto
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:0 auto

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:7 auto
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................:1.25
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......:1.2 <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......:1.5 <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: .76 auto<<< Leave
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< Leave

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.1<<
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; 0.76<<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: 0.9<<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: 1.5<<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 1.8
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............:0 .9<<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............:0.9 <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............:0.9 <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: enabled[Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: enabled[Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: enabled[Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: enabled[Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: enabled[Disabled]
__________________

I did back off the OC but I think the bios may be corrupted maybe



Thanks for any and all help Guys

[Lsdmeasap]

Well iastor error/issue could be anything that made the driver error not the driver itself. I know you hate to hear that now, but it is true. Such as failed overclock settings, or incorrect stock settings. Any number of things like that can cause ANY Driver to fail or appear to be at fault

I always use the latest ones from Intel myself, so you would have been fine

Failed settings in the BIOS can do a few things, revert to stock is one with a triple reboot. What you mention is a Bootblock failure of the BIOS and the Dual BIOS recovered itself to the previous used BIOS as your BIOS you was using corrupted. It can happen anytime, I actually cause it to happen often on my boards in testing high overclocks. Very often it is caused by badly incorrect ram timings

Your driver issue could just be you need to try a older or newer one or your PSU may not be good enough for your card + System, or you just need to add some voltages in the BIOS.

You should also set Init First Display to PEG in the Advanced BIOS page

I would flash to F10 if I was you, and be sure you load optimized defaults after the flash, set your ram voltage only and save/apply/reboot BACK to the BIOS. You MUST Reboot back to the BIOS to set your SATA/Disk settings again, and all other settings you wish to apply! DO NOT FORGET and let windows load as if you are using RAID you will corrupt your array.

Ohh, here is what you should set in the Integrated Peripherals BIOS page with your system Hard drive set to The first (Zero/0) Yellow SATA Port on the board, and use the Intel AHCI Driver >>>
SATA RAID/AHCI Mode (Intel ICH10R Southbridge) ............. AHCI
SATA Port0-3 Native Mode ................................... Enabled (or Disabled, both will work)

Please read this on how to use Qflash to flash your BIOS safely and load optimized >>>
BIOS Flashing - A "How To ~ Qflash Guide"

Your boards BIOS Page
GIGABYTE - Support&Download - Motherboard - BIOS - GA-EP45-DS3R (rev. 1.0)

Per your settings listed above this would be optimal ranges you should use. With items in BOLD Highly suggested to be manually set at least

Hey, sorry I need a link to your ram or at least you tell me a model # or what type it is. And I need to know your CPU Model. Anyway, this is general settings per a 1333 CPU and one 2GB stick of 800Mhz ram

This will be all stock FSB for now until you give me some more info then I can fully fill this out for you

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............:auto or fast
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 9
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.00Ghz

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 333Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:auto << May also be why your BIOS corrupted, not sure as I dont know if you are overclocked or not. Either way this should ALWAYS Be manually set to 100

Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<< 800
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<< 900
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<< Leave
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<< Leave


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [Turbo] << BIG ISSUE< set to Standard
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: << 2.40B

Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 800Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5
tRCD ......................................... 5
tRP'...........................................5
tRAS..........................................18

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................3-4
tWTR..........................................3-5
tWR............................................4-6
tRFC...........................................46-58
tRTP...........................................3-5
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:7 auto ?? See below
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10??? What are you using?
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................:1.25 (If overclocking do not use Auto)
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......:1.2 <<< Leave if not overclocking, If you are manually set Auto Comment below applies here when overclocking. 45NM CPU 1.2-1.38 would be optimal ranges depending on your overclock vcore/used above
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......:<< Please set to stock, Auto overvolts this way to much

CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: .76 auto<<< Leave
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< Leave

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.1<< Stock is fine here with only 2GB
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; 0.76<<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: 0.9<<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: 1.5<<< 1.55-1.6
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< 1.14-1.2 << Could help with your driver issue. While I am thinking about it what PSU Do you have, and if you can look on the sticker and see how many Amps it says total for the 12V rail.

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 1.8 (Set 1.9 for now, your ram may be 2.0-2.1V and this could be a issue and or why your BIOS corrupted. Can't say for sure until you link me to your ram or give me some model # or say what the sticker says)

DRAM Termination .…0.900V............:0 .9<<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............:0.9 <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............:0.9 <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: enabled[Disabled] << Disabled to overclock
C2/C2E State Support....................: enabled[Disabled] << Disabled to overclock
x C4/C4E State Support..................: enabled[Disabled] << Disabled to overclock
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: enabled[Disabled] << Disabled to overclock
Virtualization Technology................: enabled[Disabled]

Get me your ram and CPU info and I can fill that in fully, as of now It is only partially filled in for sure, so do not use the above settings as some I did not change as I dont know what your specs are

[MadMax2911]

Hey Lsdmeasap Thanks for repling personally I really appreciate it you are an angel As for the first I Matrix driver I believe it got messed up some how cuz I had a problem with booting without AHCI mode enabled. You can see the problems it caused in the first part of post, so I was destined to reinstall IMO. (there was this HD bumping noise as well really annoying) One thing that has changed, while I am on the subject, is my backup drive is one that was in my first system and I left it hooked up through the install process and it prolly never was converted to AHCI mode in the first place(It was always hooked up after installation of the main Hard drive) Little advice there would be nice-maybe keep both the drives in the F6 installation phase to be safe and then back up to the drive on regular basis??

Your driver issue could just be you need to try a older or newer one or your PSU may not be good enough for your card + System, or you just need to add some voltages in the BIOS.

Reply:You mean the video driver issue However its the one I used in the last install and I got fair marks in 3DMARK06. The PSU is a Antec true power trio 650watt so that got to be enough thanks. (set to PEG cuz PCI or PEG2 r wrong PEG2 is the secondary Video slot)

Check on the not letting windows load after flashing and making sure AHCI is enabled.

Corsair Gaming memory CGM2X2G800 and a link ->Welcome to Corsair :: Gaming Memory Product Information

CPU is a Core 2 duo E8400 (45nm) wolfdale
Have to go to work now more later...

[MarkJohnson]

Originally Posted by MadMax2911

Hey Lsdmeasap Thanks for repling personally I really appreciate it you are an angel As for the first I Matrix driver I believe it got messed up some how cuz I had a problem with booting without AHCI mode enabled. You can see the problems it caused in the first part of post, so I was destined to reinstall IMO. (there was this HD bumping noise as well really annoying)

If you have a AHCI formatted drive and boot it non-AHCI it just won't boot and it will usually blue screen and auto-reset. It shouldn't harm anything. Just re-enable it and it should boot fine.

One thing that has changed, while I am on the subject, is my backup drive is one that was in my first system and I left it hooked up through the install process and it prolly never was converted to AHCI mode in the first place(It was always hooked up after installation of the main Hard drive) Little advice there would be nice-maybe keep both the drives in the F6 installation phase to be safe and then back up to the drive on regular basis??

you may need to convert the drive to AHCI mode. I'm not sure if it will read it in AHCI. I know Intel keeps sata Port 5/6 open for SATA optical drives as they don't like AHCI modes, so it may work in one of those ports. But I'd install it aftwards to reduce possible problems.

Your driver issue could just be you need to try a older or newer one or your PSU may not be good enough for your card + System, or you just need to add some voltages in the BIOS.

Reply:You mean the video driver issue However its the one I used in the last install and I got fair marks in 3DMARK06. The PSU is a Antec true power trio 650watt so that got to be enough thanks. (set to PEG cuz PCI or PEG2 r wrong PEG2 is the secondary Video slot)

Yeah, your psu should be fine. I'd definately download the latest drivers from nvidia. I think it is 180.48 if I remeber correctly.

also, I'd download the latest p45 chipset drivers from intl.com. I think they're at version 9 now for the 4x & 5x chipsets.

Check on the not letting windows load after flashing and making sure AHCI is enabled.

Corsair Gaming memory CGM2X2G800 and a link ->Welcome to Corsair :: Gaming Memory Product Information

CPU is a Core 2 duo E8400 (45nm) wolfdale
Have to go to work now more later...

Yeah, after flash I always go back into the bios and load optimized defaults. Then I save & exit to make sure they are saved to allow the changes to take affect. then I go back in the bios and make any changes I need.

Good luck
-=Mark=-

[MadMax2911]

hey Thanks for all the information Guys and 15jk I cannot see your words as they may be in japanese and my pc does not read that language sorry
Max

[Lsdmeasap]

I think that was a spammer as there is no 15jk member's post, so it was likely gibberish

That link for your ram is not good, and even if I follow it to the PDF/specs page the PDF links is not good either. Can you at least look and see what The sticker says on it and post that. I will assume from the link you provided it is 6400/800Mhz ram but I would like to know the voltage the sticker says

I edited the above to add your CPU Stock info and 800Mhz ram