Gigabyte 8IRXP shutdown/reboot problem

[Schmo]

I know that once you set the FSB above somewhere in the 125MHz range, this board does not shut down and restart properly but I also have a more annoying problem.

Lots of times when I shut the machine off via Shutdown... or change out some parts, when I try to boot the machine, it doesn't boot, nothing is displayed on the monitor (no signal) and the hard drive light is pegged on. This is very similar to the shutdown and restart problem above 125MHz FSB. I have to shut the computer on and off a few times and eventually it boots up (sometimes turning off the power to the powersupply does the trick). Any ideas?

Also, my Epson printer seems to take down my USB Hub when I try to print to it when I have my webcam or camera plugged in there too... maybe it is just drawing too much power (it is a powered hub). It works fine when I plug my printer in somewhere else. (This didn't happen on my previous computer).

Wondering if I have a defective motherboard or if this is just a few bugs in this relatively new motherboard. They are annoying.

 

[EtOH]

all 8irxp's seem to have this issue and it should be fixed with a bios in the near future. on a side note the "shutdown" then hit the powerbutton to start back up works fine, just the soft reset that is goofed.

no idea on the usb issue.

etoh

 

[BigFatGut]

I have found that mine will reboot at any FSB settings as long as I leave the CPU voltage set to "normal" setting (1.5 volts on my northwood 1.6) anywhere from 100 - 150 FSB. If make any manual setting of the FSB setting to 1.55 or even default 1.50 volts it wont boot up from a shut down unless I power off from mains or power supply switch. Is anyone else got this exact same problem or is theirs specifically related to the 125FSB +?

 

[RalfHutter]

BigFatGut - you are exactly right. On my 8IRXP if I set the FSB to even "101" it will not start correctly if I have the Vcore set to anything other than 1.5V. Haven't tried any higher than 115FSB since I discovered this problem but it's fine at 115. Warm-reboots, cold-boots fine, Prime95 for 8hrs is fine. I wanted to find somewhere stable to be at and will try higher FSB's later today. I'll probably go right to 133FSB and see if it restarts/starts correctly with Vcore @ 1.5.

BTW - this is a 1.8A

 

[Schmo]

<< BigFatGut - you are exactly right. On my 8IRXP if I set the FSB to even "101" it will not start correctly if I have the Vcore set to anything other than 1.5V. Haven't tried any higher than 115FSB since I discovered this problem but it's fine at 115. Warm-reboots, cold-boots fine, Prime95 for 8hrs is fine. I wanted to find somewhere stable to be at and will try higher FSB's later today. I'll probably go right to 133FSB and see if it restarts/starts correctly with Vcore @ 1.5.

BTW - this is a 1.8A >>



Good luck getting to 133FSB at default voltage, I don't think I have seen this yet... or very rare anyway. I am just dealing with the reboot for now. I don't reboot often so it isn't huge but I would like them to fix it.

 

[BigFatGut]

I dont think you quite understood what I said Ralfhutter - Even at default FSB setting (100MHZ) if I change the CPU Voltage from "normal" to 1.50 volts - which are one in the same (well one would think so) it wont boot up from a shut down unless I power it off from the mains. BTW Schmo - my 1.6A runs fine at 133fsb with voltage set to 'normal'. Everyone email gigabyte support if you havent already and they will hopefully fix it in the next bios - if possible. I have heard of people with 1.8A running fine at 133FSB with CPU voltage set to 'normal' also

 

[Schmo]

Wow, you guys are lucky then. I need 1.7v to get to 133MHz... I guess I just got unlucky... like usual.

 

[RalfHutter]

BigFatGut - I understand exactly what you meant, it's the same thing I've found out myself while playing around yesterday. I thought I was crazy until I saw your post and knew someone else was having the same problem as me.

 

[RalfHutter]

Called Gigabyte tech support today about the restart problems with this board. They told me not to overclock it! The guy told me there won't be any new BIOS until after the end of the month "because it's Chinese New Year in Taiwan and no one will be doing any work over there until late Februray"! He said he'd pass my complaint/issues on to his boss.

I'm RMA'ing this bitch.

 

[Strawberrymom]

i emailed googlegear and they told me that they would make an exception to RMA my board cause of this issue but they want to charge me what the cost is now and 15% restocking fee.

I paid 219 for this board and I guess I'll be calling my CC company and dispute the charges, no way im getting screwed out of 50.00 bucks by anyone.

 

[RalfHutter]

I RMA'd my 8IRXP to Newegg and got an Asus P4B266. I'll play with it . To hell with Gigabyte.

 

[mbf]

Seems to me that people are dropping their Gigabyte GA-8IRXP like hot potatoes (sp?). Even Strawberrymom, perhaps the board's single biggest advocate.

I guess the message then is: stay away from the Gigabyte! Good thing I hadn't ordered one yet. Even though it's a shame. It really looked like a great board...

 

[Strawberrymom]

well gigabyte is working on a bios fix for it

 

[Skysailor]

I have been poised to order that Gigabyte 8IRXP board for a while now and I was going to order through GoogleGear. Thanks to all your discussion I will save myself some trouble by looking at other boards and order elsewhere. I was also considering the Gigabyte 8ITXR but from most of the comments on how their tech support has treated folks I think I will look more closely at the Abit TH7-2R. Any thoughts? :frown:

 

[codehack2]

New F5 Bios has been posted.. Check my thread Here

Still @ work, so I haven't tried it yet. No word on what it fixes.

CH2

 

[Schmo]

Another rude interaction with Gigabyte tech support. Please note that I did not blackmail them in my email nor did I ever use any fowl language. I simply made them aware of the problem and that people were returning the boards... and made them aware of the rude interaction that I had with the tech support. Oh well, maybe the new BIOS fixed this and this complaining did some good.

From: Mike Mullen mike@gbt-tech.co.uk
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 10:28:15 -0000
To: schmo@ga.prestige.net
Subject: RE: Gigabyte 8IRXP problem and rude, uncaring tech support


Dear Dave,
Firslty overclocking is always at your own risk, and secondly this board
has been successfully overclocked with a 2.2Ghz P4 all the way up to
3.0Ghz, so I would say the overclocking features work fine. I would say
either your PSU or cooling are simply inadequate as the CPU will halt as
a defence mechanism if it overheats. Thirdly we are under no obligation
to assist with end user problems from this office , we provide this
entirely at our discretion and abuse, bad language, or further attempts
at blackmail will simply result in your mails being ignore.

Mike Mullen FAE
GBT Technology UK
Tel: +44 1908 362706
Fax: +44 1908 362709

GBT TECH. CO LTD
Unit 13
Avant Business Center
Third Avenue
Denbigh West
Bletchley
Milton Keynes
MK1 1DR

 

[BigFatGut]

The new F5 bios made no improvement to the manual CPU voltage setings for me - had to power off mains. It did however seem to make my adsl usb modem take an extra 3 or more minutes to connect. Maybe coincidence .. but I went back to old version.

 

[Errtu]

Ralf, were you able to exchange your Gigabyte board for the Asus? Or did they charge you that 15% restocking fee?

If I set this puppy up and have the problems strawberrymom and others have been having I may consider RMA'ing also. :-(

 

[RalfHutter]

I just RMA-returned my board to Newegg. They gave me full cedit back to my CC account, no restocking fee.

I got my P4B266 from Mwave for $154.

I did it this way so I wouldn't have any "down-time" waiting for my new board to show up from Newegg.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Ye gods! I've pretty much decided on building a P4 1.6A system, but sorting through all these motherboard issues is very confusing to a novice like me. Haven't really settled on the Intel 845 chipset yet (or even DDRAM yet), but I'd like to have the extra features this Gigabyte 8IRXP board has over the Asus P4B266. So the question is:


Will Gigabyte really fix these overclocking/reboot problems in a BIOS update???


Many people seem to have had reasonable success overclocking with the Gigabyte -- roughly on par with the Asus(?). I'd be willing to "unplug" for a couple of months in exchange for on-board LAN and RAID. Am I missing something here?

 

[Zap]

I have a Gigabyte GA-8IRX. Initially I thought that it would be like the GA-8IRXP board (Anandtech roundup GOLD) but without the USB 2.0 and RAID, but I was wrong. The BIOS does _NOT_ have vcore settings! WTF?!?! It has AGP voltage and DDR voltage tweaks, AGP/PCI multipliers and 1MHz FSB increments up to 199... but NO VCORE! My 1.6A will do 2.0 stable and will POST much higher, so I should be able to get stable at 2.2+ with a voltage tweak. Arggg! I'm still debating whether to return it and lose 15% plus shipping both ways, or just to sell it at a similar loss to someone who isn't interested in overclocking. BAH! Anyone want to take it off my hands for $85?

 

[HolgMan]

Hi,

read my post here: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=718101&highlight_key=y&keyword1=IRXP

cu