Where Are The Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 Motherboards?

[dlbetz]

Beagle, I was wondering why you are not able to shutdown all the way with the f4f bios when I can? What would make one pc work and others not? Might be dumb question but I thought a bios is a bios. If the bios is bad it is bad for all no? Also i just downloaded the F4 Bios at Gigabyte and it no longer tells me it is the F4F Bios it just says F4 Bios. Also I always change my bios sttings to optimized before I flash and do it again after. Gigabyte says to just do it after you flash. Would that have anything to do with the issue mybe? Thanks in advance.

 

[justinburton]

Originally posted by: TheBeagle
Hello Mr. CDfire.

Thanks for the heads up on the "Final" F4 BIOS. I've been playing with that F4 BIOS for a little while now, and I have Good News and Bad News. The Good News is that the F4 seems to have a fair bit more headroom for OC, both for the CPU and Memory. I could consistently get it to load at 371x9 with unlinked memory at 1066 (5-5-5-18-2T). However, the Bad News is that it still WILL NOT COMPLETELY SHUTDOWN!!

Hello To Gary!! What the heck are those guys in Taiwan doing with these BIOS revisions? They take two steps forward and at least one backward. They've been told about this problem of No Shutdown since the F4f BIOS (both sub-revisions), but they release the Final F4 with that known problem. If they could just get the OC improvements of the Final F4 and the shutdown aspects of the F4e melded together, we will have a dandy BIOS. I'd sure like to hear their response to all of this.

In the meantime, I'm going to stick with the F4e BIOS, since having to manually shutdown the PC each time you reboot is a large pain in the butt. TheBeagle

I actually had this problem a few times but figured out what the problem was. Whenever my Ipod was plugged in, windows shutdown but the computer stayed on like yours. When I did it without the Ipod, it shutdown fine. It might be because I configured the Ipod to be a hard drive but also be a normal Ipod. Do you have any external sources that could be causing the problem?

 

[overpowered]

Originally posted by: RichardU
Try briefly shorting out the CLR_CMOS jumper which is located next to the battery. Nothing fancy, just turn off the board, use a screwdriver to lightly touch both pins at once.

That did the trick. I didn't need to try the battery trick.

I got video back. When I killed the machine I had loaded the latest F4f and I never tried F4e but that's what it was reporting I had. Weird.

I got the latest F4 from the Gigabyte site on my flash drive. It could see my flash drive but not anything on it. I reformatted the drive as FAT (it had been FAT32) and copied the BIOS back on. Now it could read it. Meh. Qflash is supposed to read FAT32 according to the manual.

Unfortunately, all of this messed up my RAID 1 so now I'm having to rebuild the mirror from the BIOS. This is going to take a while.

Thanks for the advice. You saved me!

Thanks to cdfire too. If the CLR CMOS hadn't worked, I would have tried your suggestion. I really do appreciate the effort.

 

[jp4miller]

I would appreciate any information available for OCing a Q6600 with 4/1G sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR-2 PC2-6400; Geforce 8800 GTS KO 640mb; Vista Ultimate

thanks,
jp

 

[Smitty1705]

Originally posted by: dlbetz
Beagle, I was wondering why you are not able to shutdown all the way with the f4f bios when I can? What would make one pc work and others not? Might be dumb question but I thought a bios is a bios. If the bios is bad it is bad for all no? Also i just downloaded the F4 Bios at Gigabyte and it no longer tells me it is the F4F Bios it just says F4 Bios. Also I always change my bios sttings to optimized before I flash and do it again after. Gigabyte says to just do it after you flash. Would that have anything to do with the issue mybe? Thanks in advance.

DLBETZ -

Actually I'm in the same boat as Beagle. I have F4f, I did the optimized settings and I don't have anything external plugged in and I have the shutdown all the way issue as well. I have not tried the new F4 bios though. So far I'm really let down with the bios updates in general.

I really hope GARY can get some information from Gigabyte soon..


Smitty

 

[Curr]

Originally posted by: jp4miller
I would appreciate any information available for OCing a Q6600 with 4/1G sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR-2 PC2-6400; Geforce 8800 GTS KO 640mb; Vista Ultimate

thanks,
jp

Without seeming like I'm trying to be rude, but, have you read the entire thread? There is a TON of useful information about OC'ing with this motherboard in it. For you to come along and ask for "any information" about it, seems, lazy.

Also, your question is incredibly vague, and will likely just cause people to ask more questions about what you really want to know. Have you tried Google for information about overclocking? There must be 100's of "How To's" and guides on the web.

Here's some good reading for everyone.

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

[Toti]

Mine don´t shutdown with the F4 bios whats going on?
What are they doing there in Gigabyte?

 

[Gary Key]

Originally posted by: Toti
Mine don´t shutdown with the F4 bios whats going on?
What are they doing there in Gigabyte?

They are working on it and we will have information about the Rev2 board next week, the US marketing people had no knowledge of it, so it caught them by surprise also.

 

[Ydef]

I'm looking for a parallel cable that will connect to the native LPT connector on the board. Does anyone have any suggestions where I can find it? I looked throughout the GA site in the accessories section thinking it would be there to no avail. Thanks for any suggestions anyone might have.

 

[TheBeagle]

Good Evening Everyone.

Sounds like I'm certainly not the only one with Final F4 Shutdown Problems. Many thanks to Gary for getting right on this snafu by Gigabyte. I'm sure Gary's persistence will get us a "Revised Final" F4 BIOS in the near future.

In the meantime, I'd like to report that I switched to the 64 bit version of Vista Ultimate, just to see how it would perform. All I can say is WOW!!! I sure wish I had done this a while ago. The system is rock-solid, and I have yet to find any problems with either hardware drivers or application loads with Vista 64. In fact, the whole rig loads much quicker, and performs much faster. I also installed a 4 GB Flash Drive and configured it for use in ReadyBoost - that also works like a charm - I am truly impressed.

So, anyone who wants to be able to use their full amount of RAM (mine is 4GB), and wants damn snappy performance which is solid, you ought to give Vista 64 a try. I'll bet you'll like it as well. Have a nice evening and a good Memorial Day Holiday weekend!

And please take a moment to remember all those who paid the ultimate price so that we might enjoy the right to live in freedom, including the right to say this stuff on this Forum! Best regards. TheBeagle

 

[Toti]

Yes many thanks to Gary and you The Beagle and all others for there comments to this forum.
It has been a great help to me and for sure to many others.
Have a nice weekend Toti.

 

[overpowered]

Originally posted by: Ydef
I'm looking for a parallel cable that will connect to the native LPT connector on the board. Does anyone have any suggestions where I can find it? I looked throughout the GA site in the accessories section thinking it would be there to no avail. Thanks for any suggestions anyone might have.

I'm not sure but this looks like it might be the thing:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101918

Here's another one:

http://store.a2zcable.com/pcl42.html

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello Mr. OP.

The second item which you listed from A2Zcable.com seems to be the better choice. The other item from the Egg has a fair bit of negative comments about the pin configuration being proprietary and not easily compatible to the standard LPT1 pin out on regular motherboards. But thanks for taking the time to find a good source, albeit at a somewhat inflated price - but compared to the current price of a gallon of gas, it's a real deal! Best regards - and WAITING for the "Revised Final" F4 BIOS!! - Hello Gary!!! TheBeagle

 

[overpowered]

Originally posted by: TheBeagle
But thanks for taking the time to find a good source

Several people here have helped me. I just wanted to give a little something back.

 

[sskmercer]

Originally posted by: jp4miller
I would appreciate any information available for OCing a Q6600 with 4/1G sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR-2 PC2-6400; Geforce 8800 GTS KO 640mb; Vista Ultimate

thanks,
jp

Hey there jp, as i have and smitty has mentioned (among the 30+pages) you can only get the Q6600 upto 320FSB at the moment. This is in part due to the GTLRef voltage setup on this and ALL other 680/650i based boards. The only one that seems to have done the right thing with voltage MOD (so to speak) is the DFI 680 http://www.vr-zone.com/index.php?i=4349&s=2 board. This link http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=87 shows in more detail about the requirements of the voltage etc..

Hopefully as others have already mentioned about the REV 2 board is that it is a fix for the above problem (besides the F4 bios not shuting down LOL). As myself and few others have sent emails to Gigabyte about the Quad core problem, hopefully that is the reason for Rev2. I mean can you imagine someone buying this board and then getting a Quad CPU that runs a native 1333fsb and finds out he/she cant, as that is the caes at the moment.

Thanks also to Gary and thebeagle for checking into some of these issues.

OT - How do i get instant email notice of replys, it dosnt seem to be working LOL.

 

[sskmercer]

To anyone in general (particulary Gary), would it be possible to use the Bios from the Rev2 http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Moth...ductID=2553&ProductName=GA-N680SLI-DQ6 over the new F4 http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Moth...ductID=2460&ProductName=GA-N680SLI-DQ6, it would be a bit hard to know i realise that, without knowing what MODS Gigabyte mage on teh Rev2 board.

Thoughts at all?

 

[sskmercer]

Just updated to the final F4 version of the bios. I would like someone to confirm my findings of what could be a SERIOUS bug.

When you go into the options to set Volatges, CPU/Ram speed etc.. Right down teh bottom it says Normal V-Core. In all the previous versions it states 1.3 (including the betas the Gary previded). On 2 reboots (both Backup and Main Bios are F4 from Gigabyte site), it shows the max possible v-core setting which is 2.3 something.

If this is the case it will be very bad for nOOBs (couldnt resist sry), if they see that and think it's normal the will blow there damn CPU's.

Please check guys and hopefully Gary see's this as well.

Edit - Excat voltage it says is 2.325. Every make sure you dont set you voltage higher 1.3 unless you live in teh ARTIC also dont put the CPU voltage on auto as that might be a problem. Also will confirm the power shut down issue definately still remains.

 

[cdfire]

I can confirm that there are such voltage settings, but I have oc-ed my E6600 up to 3.0 with auto settings and according to cpu-z the cpu voltage did not change at all from stock. I have since gone back to stock 2.4 for I would much rather input my own voltages, only the word noob really comes into play for other then ram voltages, I have no clue what to set the other volts to, until I figure that out I shall stay at 2.4. Really alls I really want is a small oc of 2.8, so if anyone can recommend what to set all the volts to for 2.8 it would be much appreciated. BTW, I am back to F3 for F4 started giving me the no shut down bug also.

 

[TheBeagle]

Good Morning To Everyone.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Sunday morning on this holiday weekend.

To Mr. CD.

I would strongly recommend that you reinstall the F4e BIOS in BOTH the Primary AND Secondary. Then set your BIOS at 334 x 9 for an E6600, with your memory linked, and the remainder of the settings on Auto, and disable all the spread spectrum stuff and all the EIST stuff.

That should result on a very stable OC of 3.00 GHz, that will properly shutdown, and should likewise bootup without the infamous reboot re-cycle. At those settings you will have very good longevity of your CPU and the rest of your components. Coupled with a nVidia 8800 card, that should give you excellent everyday performance, and allow you to run whatever apps you would like without lockups, BSOD, etc.

BTW, I have very recently become a serious fan of Vista Ultimate, 64 bit!! It's rock solid, and works like a charm at the settings that I gave you above.

Enjoy and have a nice holiday. TheBeagle

P.S. Please don't forget to take the time to display the Stars and Stripes tomorrow (Memorial Day) and also take a moment to remember those who have given it all for us (and unfortunately still continue to do so, even as we write these postings as free men and women) Please don't ever forget that Freedom is NOT free - Many men had to buy it with their blood!

 

[cdfire]

Thanks for the info Beagle, but I ran into a little problem. I did as you said except for flashing the backup or secondary BIOS, I like having the F3 BIOS on stand bye just in case. I know from past experiments I can do 3.0 with auto settings, but in this case with the F4e Bios if I select Linked, for some reason it does not like that at all, in fact when I rebooted I almost had a heart attack for the screen went all black and sat there for a bit before finally booting off the backup F3 BIOS.

I ended up flashing the BIOS again with F4e, but this time I selected unlinked. Everything booted back up fine, only it dropped my DDR 800 to something like 789, not sure on that number but for sure under 800 and in the high 700?s. So that?s where I sit now. On a good note, it?s good to know that if a problem arises the backup BIOS does kick in. Being as I can not afford to replace the board at the moment, nor can I afford a heart attack, thank god for duel BIOS boards. LOL

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello Again Mr. CD.

OK, that sounds like your memory (and possibly the CPU) doesn't want to work up a sweat OCing unless you are willing to tweak the voltages a fair bit. If you're not inclined to mess around too much with all those optional voltage settings, then there is one more tweak that I can suggest that should work with your rig.

Try manually setting the PRIMARY ONLY memory at 5-5-5-18-2T, and see how the rig likes that. If it works, you will get a decent performance bump at that setting without having to mess around too much with the other stuff. I'm presuming that your particular memory sticks (that's a respectable name brand memory you bought), will likely tolerate those settings, and maybe even tighter ones, but that should work just fine for you. Enjoy. TheBeagle

 

[sskmercer]

@cdfire

There must be something in your settings that is not quite right then for what The Beagle mentioned to not work.

I have the exact same Ram as yourself and so far have had it upto 1060@5-5-5-14-2T, the best timings/speed i've had is 960@4-3-4-10-2T. Dont forget these modules are rated to run @2.1v and still keeps there lifetime warranty (if that is a concern).

Nothing against TheBeagles suggestions (which should work fine?). Why not try the CPU at what he suggested 334x9, Ram @900, Timings of 4-4-4-12-2T. Voltage wise in the DDR2 bit put it on .300 (shows up as a light red) which puts the ram @2.1v (if the ram works tighten timings to 4-3-4-10-2T, i have this fine on stock 1.8v). First setting should be Expert (incase you havnt done that), and try Unlinked.

The only reason i dont quite like beagles settings is it is making your ram run alot slower than it needs to (no offense TheBeagle).

Strangely the F4E bios didnt allow the shutdown option for me either though? And yes Vista 64bit is awesome if you have 4+gig of ram, as it is quite snappy.

 

[cdfire]

Well, heres what I got. Just for the heck of it I tried the setting with the F3 BIOS and all works fine. For some reason my system really likes the F3 BIOS over all the F4 BIOS. BTW I always have set this ram at 4-4-4-12 2T at 2.1 volts. So I am now wondering if I set it to the 5-5-5-18 2T, if that would have worked with the F4e BIOS. Thanks for all the help guys. hopefully Gigabyte will release a F4 or F5 that my system likes, but I can't complain for the F3 seems to be working fine for me.

 

[sskmercer]

Originally posted by: cdfire
Well, heres what I got. Just for the heck of it I tried the setting with the F3 BIOS and all works fine. For some reason my system really likes the F3 BIOS over all the F4 BIOS. BTW I always have set this ram at 4-4-4-12 2T at 2.1 volts. So I am now wondering if I set it to the 5-5-5-18 2T, if that would have worked with the F4e BIOS. Thanks for all the help guys. hopefully Gigabyte will release a F4 or F5 that my system likes, but I can't complain for the F3 seems to be working fine for me.

Good to see it worked for you. Though there is no need to loosen your timings that much unless you want to run your ram@1000+ otherwise it's just running it to slow.

All the F4e,f and final Gigabyte one were all fine when it comes to O/C (besides the Quad Core issue @320+fsb) it's just the SHUTDOWN bug that made me go back to F3. I just cant believe Gigabyte reaslised a Bios like the F4 with that bug in it. There are quite a few people with different configs that have this issue.

I'm crossing my fingers that the Rev2 board has the required GTLRef voltage mods done to get quads upto 1333fsb, or past anything 320fsb. Otherwise the boards bloody awesome.

 

[TheBeagle]

Good Evening to Messrs CD & SSK.

You are both quite right. The settings that I suggested to CD were a starting point that I believed his rig would tolerate at 3.00 GHz with no operational problems. Since he can tweak his memory to tighter specs (as I mentioned that I thought it might), and so long as it is stable, then that's what I'd maintain, as long as he can also keep the 334x9 settings as well.

If all that works, then I'd stick with that until Gigabyte has some effective surgery for their damn near fatal case of "Inverted-Cranial-Rectal Syndrome", a/k/a "Ocular Rectitus!" I share your mutual amazement that an alleged, world-class motherboard manufacturer like Gigabyte would release a bug-ladened BIOS like the present "Final F4," knowing it will NOT support a 1333 FSB for a Quad-Core, and also won't do a simple thing like SHUTDOWN reliably. That is utterly indescribable in decent terms.

The JERKS at Gigabyte who did that ought to be shown the door, along with the ones who decided to release a Rev. 2 of the board and didn't even bother to tell their USA office and colleagues that such a newer revision was even in the works, let alone about to be released. I'm sure you all sensed the utter frustration in Gary's recent comments when he was caught absolutely flat-footed by that news. As I expressed privately to Gary in a recent PM, the whole manner in which Gigabyte has handled this situation was extremely arrogant.

Quite frankly, if the Rev. 1 board can't live up to it's advertised specs, then maybe a class-action lawsuit against Gigabyte would be in order. That's just a thought for now, but it could become a reality if they don't fix this stuff right the next time. I would suspect that such a lawsuit would get their collective panties bunched up damn quick! Enough is Enough already!

Have a nice evening. TheBeagle