GA-EP45T-DS3R problems (mainly memory related)

[angus_kennedy]

Hi, i am hoping people can help as i am having a few problems with my system. It is a GA-EP45T-DS3R with the latest F3 bios.

I am running a Q9550 quad core CPU, GTX280, and two sets of Corsair TWIN3X2048-1333C9 G DDR3 ram, totalling 4GB, on Windows Vista 64.

To get my system to run stable I am having to underclock the ram at about 950mhz. I had expected to have to underclock from the 1333 down to 1066 (due to the whole 4 sticks of ram thing), but it just will not run stable (BSOD within 5 minutes of starting windows at 1066).

There are three other things. I cannot change the command rate to 2T - i have changed it in the BIOS, checked that it has been changed, but in CPUZ it still says it is 1T. How do i get this value to change?

Also memtest just will not boot, no matter what speed i have the ram at, and no matter how stable the system is. The system has run prime95 torture test for over an hour and been completely stable, in fact how it is now it hasnt crashed once, but it just will not boot memtest (normal or 86+). It will go to the ......... part then just freeze before it boots. I have tried disabling legacy USB but no joy.

Lastly, i gather that you are supposed to be able to access more features in the BIOS by pressing Ctrl+F1 in the main bios screen, but nothing comes up for me. Is that something thats different with my BIOS?

So basically i was hoping that someone can give me some advice, and maybe some ideas on why my ram wont go up to 1066, when it is rated at 1333.

PS - MCH has been upped to 1.3V and DRAM to 1.7V, and the timings have been set to the recommended factory settings for the ram (other than the fact that its set to 1T when it should be 2T), and tRFC to 54. Apart from that almost all is on auto.

PPS - do you know if there is any sort of dictionary anywhere that explains the gigabyte terminology in the BIOS?

Many thanks for your time!!

Angus

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R problems (mainly memory related)

Is this memtest86+ CD or Floppy the newest 2.01 version? If not that could be why >>>
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

If it is, are you sure the cd/floppy is still ok, I mean can you test that it still runs fine on another system? How are you booting to it, can you try pushing F12 at boot and then choose the device it is in.

Does Memset show 1T? If not it may be CPU-z error as I dont think you could boot 900 anything at 1T >>>
Tweakers.fr

You may ned several things set a bit higher then you said you have used. Yes, I have posted a memory guide and a BIOS/overclock guide, Yes some of that is for Older boards but many things you would want to know are still the same. As for ram terminology the memory guide I posted will tell you all about it all.

Ctrl + F1 hotkey MUST be pushed on the MAIN page of the BIOS only, and then the screen will flash and then you go into a section and see if you see any new settings....

But you will only find very few (IRQ page, and one or two more) hidden settings. That hotkey is old news and was done away with being needed long ago in P35.

What BIOS are you using anyway? If it is a older one I do suggest you update it, and DO NOT USE @BIOS, see your other options here >>>

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/bios-flashing-how-qflash-guide-27576/

You may need a higher trfc, twr, twtr, and trrd. As well as higher ram voltage. Auto is just not the way to go at all, especially with 2x2GB

Can you please link me to your exact ram where you bought it? And Post me what settings you have as of now in the BIOS and I will post back some suggested settings for you to try to get 1333 going >>>>

This is Just a template I use to ask people their settings, pay no attention to the numbers in it, replace with yours

[b][u]MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)[/u][/b]
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: 
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 


[b][u]Clock Chip Control [/u][/b]
[b][u]Standard Clock Control[/u][/b]
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled] 
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: Mhz
[B]PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Set to 100[/B]

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


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


[b][u]DRAM Performance Control[/u][/b][u][/u]
[B]Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD][/B]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

[b]Standard Timing Control[/b]
CAS Latency Time........................
tRCD .........................................
tRP'...........................................
tRAS..........................................

[b][u]Advanced Timing Control[/u][/b]
tRRD...........................................
tWTR..........................................
tWR............................................
tRFC...........................................
tRTP...........................................
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

[u][b]Driving Strength Profiles[/b][/u][b][/b]
Driving Strength ............................

[b]Channel A[/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

[b]Channel B[/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

[b][U]Motherboard Voltage Control[/U][/b][U][/U]
Voltage Type.………... Manual
[b]CPU[/b]
CPU Vcore….……….........................:
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< .64% Of Vtt (Termination above)
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< .67% Of Vtt (Termination above)

[b]MCH/ICH[/b]
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: << 
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

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

[b][U]Integrated Peripherals[/U][/b][U][/U]
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Disabled] *Note* Must be enabled to flash from USB

[angus_kennedy]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R problems (mainly memory related)

Uh-oh, well we have a problem already then because one of the first things i did when i installed Vista was run @BIOS and update the BIOS to F3....so it has pretty much been F3 since its been installed (about a week now). Could this be why the command rate wont change?

With the Command Rate, both memtest and CPUZ show 1T. Ive taken a photo of the bios showing the command rate set to 2 - hopefully its just a matter of me changing the wrong value.




I have only tried the memtest86+ CD - but it is the latest version, 2.01. And i checked to see if it was just a bad CD, and it works fine on the other computer i tried it on. I have also tried pressing F12 to get it to boot from the CD drive - it does the same thing. It freezes as it attempts to boot. Here is an image of where the computer freezes as its booting from the memtest disc.



The ram can be seen here: http://www.corsair.com/_datasheets/T...048-1333C9.pdf(there are two more lines with CH-X Address V-ref, both set to 0.750V)

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled] this is enabled on mine
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]this is enabled on mine
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled] Enabled if you use Vmware/Virtual PC this is enabled on mine, but as far as i am aware i dont use this.... should i turn it off?

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Disabled] *Note* Must be enabled to flash from USB

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R problems (mainly memory related)

Well @BIOS normally will just kill a board, not cause this error. I think that may just be a software error. Can you please see what everest shows you here >>>



Download EVEREST Ultimate Edition 4.60 Build 1540 Beta / 4.60.1500 Free Trial - System information including CPU, FPU, disk and memory benchmarks, advanced hardware monitoring and diagnostics capabilities - Softpedia

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 8X
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.+0.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.23GHz (380x8.5)


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 380 Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:100

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 700mv
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 700mv
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0ps
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: (not present)
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [333]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 3.20B
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1216hz << you will need to get a higher Speed here, or use 400 MCH latch and 3.33 Multi
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................9
tRCD .........................................9
tRP'...........................................9
tRAS..........................................24

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................3-6
tWTR..........................................4-6
tWR............................................6-8
tRFC...........................................65-75
tRTP...........................................4-8
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2 --->this does not seem to change in memset or CPUZ(see photos) << Should be 2, but Hopefully it is. I think that may just be software errors and memset says I have DDR3. CPU-z isnt unusually wrong, but this is a new board. (HEY) you have a very old CPU-z, see if the newest one says the same >>>
CPUID

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................ not present << try Control + F1 on the MAIN BIOS screen and the screen will flash, then come and look again. If still not here your BIOS just may not offer it

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:8-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:auto (1)<< Set all to Auto for all below adjustments

tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:auto (1)
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto (0)
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto (0)
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto (9)
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto (7)
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto (7)
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto (9)
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps not present
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps not present

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:8-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................: auto (0)<< Set all to Auto for all below adjustments
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto(1)
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto(0)
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto(0)
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto (9)
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto (7)
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto (7)
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto (9)
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps not present
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps not present

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................: 1.300V
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< 1.2-1.3
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave << Please set to stock
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: 0.760 (should i change this?)
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:not present

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: << 1.300V << May need 1.35?
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< auto (0.760)
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< auto (0.750)
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< auto (1.500)
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< not present

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 1.800V <<< Hmm your ram is rated at 1.6, wonder why it picks it up as 1.8? Anyhow, I would suggest 1.65-1.75 anyway

DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< auto (0.750)
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< auto (0.750) Ch-A data VRef
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< auto (0.750) Ch-B data VRef (there are two more lines with CH-X Address V-ref, both set to 0.750V)

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled] this is enabled on mine <<< What I said below

C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]this is enabled on mine << Disable if you want to overclock, of not leave

Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled] Enabled if you use Vmware/Virtual PC this is enabled on mine, but as far as i am aware i dont use this.... should i turn it off? << Ya go ahead and disable if you do not use