Gigabyte 8INXP NEw F-5 Bios... Dropped CPU Temp 10 degrees!

[Paveslave]

The F-5 Bios was supposed to correct the temperature sensor to make it a little more accurate. Well if that's the case, I've been running a lot cooler than I thought. I used to idle around 35-37 in about a 78 degree room. I am now sitting at 25 degrees at idle with only a climb to 35-37 under Prime95 load. Wow, now I am impressed with my 900U. Just thought I'd let you guys know the good news.

 

[tooslim]

Glad to hear the is another updated bios for the 8INXP now. I have just installed the board into my case.

I know your not supposed to change subjects like this but I'm stuck on this one issue and wondered if you could help.

I'm having trouble with the wires that go from the front of the case to the motherboard.

The wires are as follows: HDD LED (orange & white), POWER SW (blue & white), RESET SW (grey and white), and SPEAKER (red & black).

The instructions for the case do not mention which wires are positive and which are negetive? The 8INXP manual as you know has specifically designated the pins on the motherboard as negative and positive so I want to ge it right.

Would very much appreciate any help.

 

[estew33]

Hi,
I don't know of one MB manual that tells you whic color wire is which. I just usually use the lighter one for pos darker one for neg. If the proper light doesn't light I just reverse the connection
Ed

 

[Paveslave]

If you're asking me how to hook up those the right way I can't help you. I actually had to call a friend of mine to help me out too. I know they are very confusing, especially if you decide to go with front case USB hook-ups as well. If I recall though the cables and the board both had + and - for positive and negative connections, but I could be wrong.

 

[mechBgon]

The power and reset switches are not polarized. The electricity flows equally well either direction. Ditto for the speaker.

As for the LEDs, they will work one way, and they won't work the other way, so you'll know you got the polarity correct when they start working (there is no harm in plugging them in backwards, they simply won't light up).

As for the BIOS, it sounds like Gigabyte has decided to candy-coat the truth, like many board manufacturers before them.

But whatever makes the customers happy...

 

[poMONKey]

yeah... if thats all the update does... then i'll be skipping it.

 

[Paveslave]

As for the BIOS, it sounds like Gigabyte has decided to candy-coat the truth, like many board manufacturers before them.

But whatever makes the customers happy...

Well, if it is "candy-coated" then why was it released to "fix" the temp reading? I'm hoping they wouldn't go through the trouble of "candy-coating the truth" a year later the board has been on the market.

Originally posted by: poMONKey[/i]
yeah... if thats all the update does... then i'll be skipping it.

Well, the bios update is supposed to fix the temp so it reads more accurately which in my case was a really good fix. If you don't care about the temps that much I wouldn't bother either.

 

[tooslim]

Thanks for all the excellent info. I understand the wiring issue now and with the new copy of Maxiumum PC's "Build the Perfect PC" I got today I can say you all are correct (as I already knew). I was tring to make it a lot harder than it really is, but then that's me. :>

Paveslave, are you using Gigabytes Windows based BIOS update tool called "@BIOS"? If so, is it easy and reliable to use?

Thanks!

 

[tooslim]

Paveslave, I noticed you are using a 9700 Pro, this is the very card I plan to buy for my 8INXP but I had read some other posts elsewhere that said the 9700 Pro had problems working in 8X AGP mode with the 8INXP.

Sorry to keep going on with this stuff but for a first time PC builder it's nice to find someone who is using the same hardware who has it up and running.

How did you get away with running PC2700 RAM? When I got my motherboard I read the manual and PC2100 was the highest you could go. I have PC2100 EEC.

 

[Paveslave]

Paveslave, are you using Gigabytes Windows based BIOS update tool called "@BIOS"? If so, is it easy and reliable

Yes it is actually, really easy. I have updated my bios everytime using the utility and I have yet to have a problem. The best thing is that I never had experience with building a computer, updating bios, or anything till this one and so far this motherboard has been great. I have yet to re-install the Dual Voltage Card because I don't see the need. Before the F4 bios update it used to cause frequent reboots and then no boot at all. Even after the F4 update I have yet to install it.

Originally posted by: tooslim
Paveslave, I noticed you are using a 9700 Pro, this is the very card I plan to buy for my 8INXP but I had read some other posts elsewhere that said the 9700 Pro had problems working in 8X AGP mode with the 8INXP.

Sorry to keep going on with this stuff but for a first time PC builder it's nice to find someone who is using the same hardware who has it up and running.

How did you get away with running PC2700 RAM? When I got my motherboard I read the manual and PC2100 was the highest you could go. I have PC2100 EEC.

Yes, it did have a problem seeing it as an 8X AGP but I can't remember if it was ATI's fault or gigabyte's. Let me explain: I remember not having the option to select 8X in the Display properties in windows but that was because of the shipped CAT 3.2 drivers that came with my 9700pro. Once I upgraded to the Cat 3.4 drivers the option was there to select 8X. Now in the MOBO if I remember correctly you can ONLY lock the AGP in 2X and 4X, but if you select Auto instead of locking it, it allows the windows utility to use 8X, which it shows in the updated 3.4+ drivers.

Besides maybe not having the CAT 3.X drivers correct in my statement I think this is about as accurate as I can get. I hope this helps you out. As for the RAM, Yes your MOBO will only recognize 266(DDR2100), but that doesn't mean you can't overclock it. The reason I went with 2700 was because I knew I wanted to overclock after I got bored with it so I went a little higher than my board supported so my RAM would stay stable. I don't know if this theory is a good one, but my Comp has been running fine since (granted I have had minor issues here and there, but mostly because I'm still learning).

Good luck with your build

 

[tooslim]

Wew! Thanks for all the great information Paveslave. Your feedback is very encourageing.

After reading your response I will not install the duel power module thing. I had read that there were issues just as you stated with the F4 BIOS and from the sounds of your post it's not fixed yet.

All I have left to do is get a videocard, I have decided on the Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 Pro ($399). I plan to burn the current Catalyst drivers (3.7 I think) to CD and install them instead of going with the ones that come with the card, I would assume those would be a lower version. I hope my logic is correct.

Thanks again for all the help, this forum is excellent!

 

[Paveslave]

Originally posted by: tooslim
Wew! Thanks for all the great information Paveslave. Your feedback is very encourageing.

After reading your response I will not install the duel power module thing. I had read that there were issues just as you stated with the F4 BIOS and from the sounds of your post it's not fixed yet.

All I have left to do is get a videocard, I have decided on the Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 Pro ($399). I plan to burn the current Catalyst drivers (3.7 I think) to CD and install them instead of going with the ones that come with the card, I would assume those would be a lower version. I hope my logic is correct.

Thanks again for all the help, this forum is excellent!

I think that is a good idea, but I would get the CAT 3.8 as in it has caused no problems for anyone so far. If you want to install the DPS you could, as long as you have the latest F5 Bios or even the F4 for the matter. I have nothing but good luck from my 9700Pro so I am sure you will have no problem with your 9800. GL with your build

 

[tooslim]

Please help. Today I installed the last piece of hardware in my system, got everything set up for the big moment of truth and now I'm sick to my stomach.

Upon pressing the power button I was greeted by two high pitched distinct beeps, this was followed by what sounds just like a phone ringing (only quiter than the first two initial beeps), then a very brief pause, and then the ringing starts again, only this time it never stops. I have no signal to my monitor so I can't see a thing. Also, no power to my DVD-ROM drive even though it's plugged in. I can't tell if the HDD is working.

The case fans, CPU fan, video card fan and northbridge fan all work. Also the power supply fans on working.

The mouse is an optial mouse, it's light underneath is on and the monitor led blinks on and off.

I'm at a lose as to what to do?

The sticker on my BIOS chip says I have a Phonix BIOS and I've looked up several site that offer beep code guides but none of them match my senario.

I just unpluged my system speaker to make sure it is where the ringing is coming from and it is, so it's some sort of beep code error or something.

I sure would appreciate any help anyone could give.

 

[tooslim]

I did figure out the two high pitched beeps were coming from my fan controller and not from the system speaker.

After looking some more around the web it looks like this is some sort of memory problem. Either bad memory or incompatible memory. In looking at the RAM that is supported by this board the manual says it support PC2100 (266MHz) EEC DDR RAM. I bought PC2100 (266 MHz) Registered EEC DDR RAM.

Hummm... :<

 

[tooslim]

I took my PC to local shop and the guy really helped me out. He determined the RAM I bought is incomptible with my MB. I'm building this PC as a learning experience and this leason cost me $186.00, that's a hard leason to learn and one I'll never forget.

However, in my own defense I will say I used a review of my board which is posted at motherboards.org. It stated that the board supports ECC RAM, which it does, just not registered ECC RAM. In my inexperience I did not know there was a difference. Also, my board was so new that none of the RAM makers listed it on their sites compatability charts, so I was left making a semi-uneducated guess.

 

[tooslim]

Thanks to all you folks on these forums my new PC is up and running. This was my first build and aside from a valuable lesson in wrong system memory ($211.00) it went excellent. I absolutly love this new Windows XP!

Anyway, I downloaded and installed the F5 BIOS yesterday after having spent a few days monitoring my systems health and I saw a 10 degree drop in reported CPU temp as well. My system had been running 46 C, that's with my Thermaltake Spark 7 running at max (6500 RPM). After updating from the F3 to the F5 I immediatly saw 36 C reported by my CMOS. All the temps are at system idel.

I don't think it's "eye candy" as one post noted, I have an aerogate II with a temp probe to the bottom of the heat sink. Before updating to the F5 BIOS my Aerogate was reporting 39 C, only 3 degrees higher than the reported temp after the F5 BIOS update. So it looks like the Aerogate was pretty close all along.