Official GA-8IEXP Thread !!!! Able to hit 150 FSB with 3:4 ratio STABLE!!! RMAing board b/c i found a better board !!!!

[TimidOCer]

Ok that heatsink is not near good enough to be running that p4 that fast im 85% sure its the heatsink causing problems , well actually its the heat causing problems which is due to your poor heatsink im sure. The stock hsf is good for stock but cant hold a candle to the nice alphas and such

Just my input.. I still hold high hopes for this board.... I wish someone else also could comment on OC-ability.

 

[bwass24]

Good morning. I've been reading this thread with high hopes.

About the Samsung memory burning in thing...
(note: for some reason I haven't been able to get to vr-zone.com for the last few days. I know that the guys there are in Taiwan for the big technology show and maybe they are having server problems while they're away. Anyway, I can't post the link to the forum thread where memory burning in is discussed.)

What the thread said about burning in the Samsung memory was that burning in was sort of a misnomer. He said that the mem had to be run at progressively higher speeds before it would run at the highest settings consistantly. This is different from traditional burning in where a component is run at top speed, in a deliberately hot environment, for a long period of time. It was not clear from the thread though, whether doing this process would be required each time you brought the system up to operating temps from a cold start, or if the good performance remains after doing this once.

The comments here have got my gears turning. Here's what I'm gonna do...

I have some really fast mem here (Mushkin and Kingmax PC3200, Corsair XMS3000, Kingmax PC2700, but no Samsung) and both the Epox 4G4A+ (845G) and the Asus P4S533 (SiS645dx). The Gigabyte 8IEXP is on order and should arrive late next week. Also, I have a new Enermax 465 power supply on the way so power should be without question. I'll be using an AVC sunflower cooler with AS3 with both a 1.6a and a 2.26/533 CPU. (Damn!!! so many permutations/combinations...4 ram * 3 mobo * 2 cpu = 24 combinations in which to tect OC'ing.) Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Any advice would be appreciated. If anyone has a particular combination that they want me to do first please let me know.

 

[WideMouth40]

Originally posted by: bwass24
Good morning. I've been reading this thread with high hopes.

.....

I have some really fast mem here (Mushkin and Kingmax PC3200, Corsair XMS3000, Kingmax PC2700, but no Samsung) and both the Epox 4G4A+ (845G) and the Asus P4S533 (SiS645dx). The Gigabyte 8IEXP is on order and should arrive late next week. Also, I have a new Enermax 465 power supply on the way so power should be without question. I'll be using an AVC sunflower cooler with AS3 with both a 1.6a and a 2.26/533 CPU. (Damn!!! so many permutations/combinations...4 ram * 3 mobo * 2 cpu = 24 combinations in which to tect OC'ing.) Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Any advice would be appreciated. If anyone has a particular combination that they want me to do first please let me know.

You do have some work ahead of you, but I am so looking forward to seeing the results! So many combinations to play with

Peace

 

[MaximusH825]

Originally posted by: gsethi
ok....back to default speeds now

Was able to boot to windows now at 163 FSB with 1.725 v for CPU. it wasnt stable though. At 160 FSB, all my applications were running fine and Prime 95 gave me an error after about 45 min......so it wasnt stable there tooo but was OK...

now whats limitting me here :

1) My Cooling ?
2) My CPU ?
3) My Motherboard ?

its definately not my memory since that is DDR 333 and i havnt reached DDR 333 speeds yet using 1:1 memory ratio. I am 50% sure that it might be my cooling, 49% sure that it is my CPU (not everyone can get a CPU like Thugsrook ) and 1% that its my motherboard.

I dont think that its the motherboard.........it seems to work just fine.

what am i going to do next ? well, take some rest now.....LOL
hmm.......get a better cooler and see if that will affect me in any way. Otherwise, i will just stay at 150 FSB or maybe 160 or somewhere in between

what do i say about the board ?
Definately worth it.

here are Pros and Cons for the board :

Pros:
FSB: 100 - 355
1:1 and 3:4 memory ratios at ALL FSBs
PCI/AGP Lock feature from 33/66 to 50/100
RAID, IEEE, Intel LAN - all on one board
Rounded Edges
Fan on ICH Chip

Cons:
CPU VCore is limited to 1.725 in BIOS (1.850 using Easy Tune 4)
Cannot set Memory settings manually - either its CAS 2 or its not (top performance thing)
3 PCI slots wasted because of USB, IEEE and SPDIF connectors

well folks, thats it for now.....will let you know more about it later.

If you press Ctrl-F1 in the BIOS it puts you into the Advanced BIOS. There you can adjust all the memory setting...

 

[gomen]

... sorry: maybe a completely stupid question... but why:

"3 PCI slots wasted because of USB, IEEE and SPDIF connectors"

????


Please let me know

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

so then this board is not turning out to be as great as you thought?? seems like its not at all better than my P4S533 in terms of overclocking ability.

 

[looper]

Gsethi...

Have you purchased the new HSF yet?

And does the board have the 4 holes thru for that type of HSF?

What HSF's will you consider? Alpha Pal 8942.... AVC Sunflower....Swifttech...

Let us know all the "poop"....

About to decide in RI... (still between the Gigabyte 8IEXP, the Abit IT7, and the upcoming Rambus Gigabyte MB...) looper

 

[gsethi]

so then this board is not turning out to be as great as you thought?? seems like its not at all better than my P4S533 in terms of overclocking ability.

i didnt want to compare the Intel chipsets with the SIS chipsets. This board is great in terms of Intel Chipsets.

"3 PCI slots wasted because of USB, IEEE and SPDIF connectors"

If you see pictures of the board at newegg, you will notice that there are connectors for IEEE, USB and SPDIF that take place on your case where your PCI cards would normally go. These connectors wont take up the PCI slot but they will take up the opening in the case.......look at the pictures for the board and you will understand what i am saying.

Have you purchased the new HSF yet?

No, still havnt bought the new HSF yet. I am considering AVC sunflower or the Dragon 478 or Volcano 7+. But still need to get one. will get one sometime next week, i guess and will let you know.

 

[Sukhoi]

IMHO the SPDIF connector isn't really taking up another spot. It's only needed if you're using digital output, and it's just taking up a slot that a sound card would use anyway.

 

[barmstrong]

I want this board but I can't find anyone who carries it / has it in stock. Anyone know of a place? thanks.

 

[Sukhoi]

I believe Googlegear carries it, and I ordered mine from Essential Computer on Sunday. They shipped mine on Monday and I got it on Wednesday.

 

[gpanda]

I ordered mine from Googlegear earlier this week but right after I ordered it they took it totally off their list. Stopped carrying it???

 

[WideMouth40]

From reading this and a bunch of other boards, not many people have managed to get their memory going much past the 340-350 mark. Everyones using top drawer memory, like samsung 2700 or corsair xms3000 and 3200. Is this the board? The memory?

Thanks

 

[looper]

Widemouth...

I'm leaning to the AbitIT7, but it is a horse race with the Gigabyte 8IEXP...

I've had the Abit BH-6 for years...awesome board...long term performance and QUALITY...

Can we say that for the Gigabyte line? I'm not quite as sure...

Let us know what you decide... I'm somewhat on the fence as well...

looper

 

[easystreet]

I had planned to get a GA-IEXP.....but cant find it in stock any place and I actually called all the usual suspects.

 

[Sukhoi]

I had no problems with Essential Computer if they still have it in stock. They're in NY which is good for people on the east coast.

 

[Tazort]

I got my GA-8IEXP from GoogleGear 2 days ago. I set up the Raid 0 with 2, 80 gig Maxtor ATA133 drives.
I put a P4 2.o cpu and a Xtasy GeForce4 4600 video card in it.
I got the raid set up in bios, and fdisked & formated it - no problem.
I installed Win ME with no problems.
I installed the Intel Chipset Drivers from the mobo CD, no problems.
But after I went to the next step and installed the Promise Raid Drivers from the CD, and ME reboots....
it locks up going into Win ME....

I don't see any support phone numbers at Gigabyte to ask for help....
Can anyone point me in a good direction please ?

Thx

 

[walwynd]

ok Gsethi, how about this setup.....can afford this.......what do u think?

asus p4b533 i845e p4 ddr
p4 2a ghz 400mhz 512k
2X samsung 256mb ddr pc2700 333mhz



all ready have ati 64mb video
60gb ata 100 7200 H drive


What power supply should i used with this setup? 300/350/400

Originally posted by: gsethi

so then this board is not turning out to be as great as you thought?? seems like its not at all better than my P4S533 in terms of overclocking ability.

i didnt want to compare the Intel chipsets with the SIS chipsets. This board is great in terms of Intel Chipsets.

"3 PCI slots wasted because of USB, IEEE and SPDIF connectors"

If you see pictures of the board at newegg, you will notice that there are connectors for IEEE, USB and SPDIF that take place on your case where your PCI cards would normally go. These connectors wont take up the PCI slot but they will take up the opening in the case.......look at the pictures for the board and you will understand what i am saying.

Have you purchased the new HSF yet?

No, still havnt bought the new HSF yet. I am considering AVC sunflower or the Dragon 478 or Volcano 7+. But still need to get one. will get one sometime next week, i guess and will let you know.

 

[walwynd]

Originally posted by: gsethi

so then this board is not turning out to be as great as you thought?? seems like its not at all better than my P4S533 in terms of overclocking ability.

i didnt want to compare the Intel chipsets with the SIS chipsets. This board is great in terms of Intel Chipsets.

"3 PCI slots wasted because of USB, IEEE and SPDIF connectors"

If you see pictures of the board at newegg, you will notice that there are connectors for IEEE, USB and SPDIF that take place on your case where your PCI cards would normally go. These connectors wont take up the PCI slot but they will take up the opening in the case.......look at the pictures for the board and you will understand what i am saying.

Have you purchased the new HSF yet?

No, still havnt bought the new HSF yet. I am considering AVC sunflower or the Dragon 478 or Volcano 7+. But still need to get one. will get one sometime next week, i guess and will let you know.

[/quote]

 

[walwynd]

ok Gsethi, how about this setup.....can afford this.......what do u think?

asus p4b533 i845e p4 ddr
p4 2a ghz 400mhz 512k
2X samsung 256mb ddr pc2700 333mhz



all ready have ati 64mb video
60gb ata 100 7200 H drive


What power supply should i used with this setup? 300/350/400

 

[gsethi]

seems like a good setup. But remember that ASUS board wont have 3:4 memory ratio above 132 Mhz FSB. so you will be stuck with 1:1 memory ratio and your memory may not be running at its full speed.

Regarding the power supply, go with 400w, I would also go with brand name like Antec or Enermax. I have an Antec 400w here and my voltages are good.

hope that helps

Thanks

 

[WideMouth40]

Originally posted by: gsethi
seems like a good setup. But remember that ASUS board wont have 3:4 memory ratio above 132 Mhz FSB. so you will be stuck with 1:1 memory ratio and your memory may not be running at its full speed.

Regarding the power supply, go with 400w, I would also go with brand name like Antec or Enermax. I have an Antec 400w here and my voltages are good.

hope that helps

Thanks

Good advice, that 1:1 memory ratio on the Asus is a killer....really hurts your scores with these memory hungry northies.

Peace

 

[walwynd]

gsethi would the GA-8IEX go 3:4 memory ratio above 132 mhz fsb ?

 

[gomen]

@gsethi: thanks for the info (pci-slots): so if you would have slots in the front of your case, the cables would be long enough?
How stable is the board without oc??

Cheers,

gomen

 

[gpanda]

I've been playing with my 8IEXP. It is sucking bad.
Specs:
Gig 8EIXP with F4 bios
P4 1.6A
Corsair XMS3000C2 512MB DDR RAM
Here are the modes I have tried:
2.4GHz with 300DDR * 150FSB & 2.0 RAM divider - works fine
2.4GHz with 400DDR * 150FSB & 2.6 RAM divider - no go, this was what I was sure would work
2.2GHz with 352DDR * 133FSB & 2.6 RAM divider - no go, worked fine with the ASUS P4B533 with 222 and no ram voltage upgrade.

I tried upping the ram voltage dropping timings to worst case, etc. but I can't get the ram on the gig board anywhere near 350 or 400.

This board has something broken. I am basically where I was with the ASUS but the ASUS is a better board over all.
I can't even get the much vaunted Easytune 4 to run with Win2K.
I'm just going to hold tight and down the road get another board (after others have found the best of the current crop).
I won't be buying Gigabyte ever again. I should have gotten the Abit BD7II or IT7.