Gigabyte 8IHXP Questions

[Supertrunk]

I'm interested in the 8IHXP and have been following the threads until they petered out. How are the boards overclocking? Any second thoughts? Are they the killer board they sound like, or did it turn out to be a disapointment?

Thanks for your thoughts, I'm close to buying, but want to know what you all think.

 

[cobrasvt]

As for my personal experience with the 8IHXP, you can't go wrong with it! The board is ROCK stable and solid, and offers all the features 1 would want (- firewire, but opt for a Audigy soundcard and you get Firewire too!)...

My CPU kinda sucks as it won't go much past 133, but there are others that are running there's at 156 with no problems and or near default voltages... The new Kingston PC1066 seems to be much better as in terms of overclocking as well... Just make sure your supplier is stocking A01 or A02 revision Kingston PC1066...

 

[Bellyofthebeast]

Have been running the Gigabyte 8IHXP for several weeks contiunously. Very stable & solid. Works best here with only 2 X256 modules Kingston 1066 rdram in slots 1 & 2, crimms in 3 & 4. (Of course, true 16 bit Samsung 1066 isn't available yet.) Currently, 2.53Ghz@2850 (fsb150), passes all benches, in 3DM, games & apps work fine. other Sys specs: 4 scsi hdds, LeadtekGF4, 2 X 256MB Kingston 1066-32 rdram, cd-rw, dvd-rom, Zalman AIR cool (temps-35-system/44-normal load/55-game load), etc.. Using latest F4 bios, NOT using EasyTune as bios has all OC options you need. (ET doesn't yet support all functions that it supposedly will in the future.) OC to fsb 156 is possible, but I find fsb 150 the limit for practical stability.

Having used Abit Th7II, used to solid performance, this board compares well, is equal to or better in general. The weak point for all 850E boards seems to be the rdram memory that's available for now. Even the Samsung 32 bit rdram is having problems with the Asus 32 bit rdram board. This is probably the best Rambus board out there for now, using the Kingston 1066 rdram (Toshiba), the only real 16 bit 1066 rdram to even consider. (Others are ripoffs. There is some Samsung rdram 800 being sold as 1066. The real stuff ain't here yet, don't be fooled!)

Content with the Gigabyte 8IHXP board, but hoping for more OC performance, when real Samsung 1066 gets here. If that rdram doesn't make for better OC performance, then I'll go for a DDR 400 board on another chipset path, & forget rambus. No more Intel chipsets for rdram announced.

It's hard to believe in the rambus future model now, with all the rdram memory manufacturing problems & delays. Board & memory choices using rdram are very limited!

Very happy I tried this board, but will not consider any others, until good true Samsung rdram memory appears. Since the latest Samsung DDR outperforms rdram 800 & comes close to 1066, even Intel (845PE/GE) will have a DDR-333 chipset after all, super 648-SIS-ddr board is on the rise & may excel, the rambus platform is fading.

 

[Revs]

That's nice to hear, since I'm unwrapping one now.

 

[Bellyofthebeast]

Revs,

Let us know your experience with this board. The setup & correct driver (chipset, usb, etc.) install is very important. Gigabyte site has all latest mobo drivers. The Gigabyte Utility Manager is an excellent small footprint progy, info, temp & sys monitor. (put in startup& run in tray if you like)

Format hdd/reinstall OS for best clean new board installation. Takes longer to get going, but you'll have fewer problems.

Good Luck....& don't forget to get latest Bios F4 available.

 

[Revs]

Thanks for the information, Bellyofthebeast! I'll get my 2.26 p4 and kingston memory later this week, I'll let you know how things go as soon as I get my rig finished. Heh, I just can't wait...

 

[Revs]

My Alpha PAL8492 arrived today, and it was really tight fit. Had to bend 4 capasitors just a bit so it won't touch them. Hope I didn't kill the board :Q.

 

[Supertrunk]

Let us know how the Alpha 8942 works out, that's my choice on paper for a cooler. I've got a new case, all the drives in, and just trying to make up my mind on the Gigabyte board.

 

[Revs]

Well..the alpha fits fine, everything goes fine, and system boots up. So, Looks good, I decide to update bios. No problems in there. But, when I clear cmos after that, nothing happens. I turn the power on, HD spins up, all lights burn constantly, but that's all. CRRAPPP! :| :disgust: No matter what I do, I took all the parts out an put them back, reseat everything, check and clean the contacts, try clearing the cmos again and again etc. I guess it died.

 

[Bellyofthebeast]

Revs,

Did you MANGLE 4 Gigabyte capacitors & expect to boot after clearing CMOS, hee, hee? Just kidding...

Why did you clear CMOS "after" updating Bios? If anything, you clear CMOS, before bios update, & then reset your bios menu options. Make sure memory setting in bios is AUTO, until later on you select 1066. You are using 1066 mem?

 

[Revs]

Clearing cmos after update is just a habit I'm used to, I read somewhere that it would be a good thing to do But I can't even get to bios anymore, the puter won't post at all. No beebs just spinning fans and hd + pwr led lit, nothing else, like there was hd cable inserted wrong way. And it happens when I have remowed all cables and other stuff, except vid card. Guess I'll have to get the board replaced.

 

[Bellyofthebeast]

At this point, clear CMOS manually using jumper, with power unplugged. I assume you're doing that.
Checking your cables/connectors/plugs again, suitup PC for minimal hardware boot. Monitor,HDD, MEM,VID CARD, FLOPPY. no cdrom or other stuff, no sound.
With minimum hardware just try to post & boot into Bios, via Del Key, immediately, not Windows.
What happens?

If same result, reseat cpu & hsf setup.

Also: briefly list your basic components. Since you booted successfully before, it's hard to understand how mobo would suddenly die, after a bios update & CMOS clearing. Let's figure this out.

 

[mastertech01]

Doesnt that board have a dual bios? Surely one of them works.

 

[Bellyofthebeast]

It's NOT likely a Bios problem per se, as he's unable to post & reach Bios. It's unclear what happened.

Most likely, this is a hardware failure/problem or setup problem, but there is not enough info to go on yet. Still waiting for reply. Hope Revs posts again.

The Dual Bios idea implemented by Gigabyte gives one an extra margin of safety, especially in a Corp environment, where downtime is minimized when a 'bios corruption" occurs, & the problem can be fixed quickly. In the overall scheme of things "what usually goes wrong with a computer", bios corruption would be toward the bottom of list. The real safety here, is in flashing a new bios, where corruption at that time, can cause some boards, not to work, without physically changing the Bios Chip.

It will be interesting to follow the progress here.

 

[Revs]

OK, I spent the weekeng trying to figure out the problem, and had no success. Tried to boot with minimum hardware, reseated the heatsink and so on. I even tried another power outlet. Somehow the mb has stopped working. I'll take the mb to the store and have it replaced. Hope it won't take too long, since this board is quite rare around here. This was the last one in the store. I still think this is a great board, once I get a working one. Looked wery promising the while it worked.

 

[Bellyofthebeast]

Looks like a return may be best solution, as you mention.

By the way, did you ever try booting up with the stock Intel HS/cpu?

 

[Revs]

Woohoo, problem found. It was A00 series Kingston memory, which suddenly decided to stop functioning. Now I'm happy, everything running without problems. ME HAPPY

 

[Bellyofthebeast]

Revs,
So, what happened with the mem? Do you have A01 now or new A00? I've been using the Kingston 256 A00 with no problems.

 

[Revs]

They tested the board in the store, and found out that A00 revision did't work with the board anymore, dunno why. They said there has been some problems with that revision. No probs with later ones, so I got the memory replaced with A01. If your's have worked fine this far, there won't be problems with them, just some pieces from A00 have problems.

 

[mysteriousjimmy]

I am looking at getting a 8IHXP my self.

My local computer store here (Sydney, Australia )has a rev 2.1 in stock but I hear there is a rev 3.0.

Should I see if they can get the rev 3.0 or just go for the rev 2.1?

 

[sep]

Got my board, cpu (2.26) and memory (2x128MB Kingston 1066) earlier this week. So far, I connected the CPU and installed the memory. I have to wait until next week to install this (not enough time).

Question (1): In my current rig I'm able to sellect which drive to boot from Drive 0 or Drive 1. Drive 0 has W2k and Drive 1 has XP for Gaming. This works fine. Can I do the same thing or similar with this new board? If not any ideas how I can do this without a bootmanager?

Question (2): How can I tell what version my ram or board is?

I plan on keeping my OS installed and just wipe the devices from my registry. This will detect all new hardware. Anyone try this?

It looks like an awesome board. So far I'm pleased!
-JC