GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 & Pentium G620 Issues

[blckgrffn]

(Last post has update, new bios, etc.)

Morning all -

I am running the above motherboard and the G620 in it is running at a lowly 1.6Ghz as observed by CPUz, Windows & the BIOS (now at the shiny new F8 Level.) This is despite my attempts to coax it up by hitting with Prime95 and disabling power management in Windows. Ironically, in perfmon it shows the CPU pegged at 100% but only running at ~60% max CPU speed. Windows reports the CPU as "G620 2.6Ghz 1.6Ghz).

Amusingly enough, it lists 1.6ghz as the max turbo frequency in the MIT section of the bios and 2.6Ghz as the maximum non-turbo speed. This seems somewhat backwards to me - or that 2.6Ghz should be listed for both numbers.

I have sent Gigabyte an email describing the issue, we'll see how that goes. Just wanted to see if anyone else here had had the same problems with the G620 on this motherboard or even a different one and what the resolution was.

I have 8GB of Kingston 1333 (2x4GB) using onboard video and an Antec Earthwatts 380 - although I don't think that has any real impact on the issue. The OS in question is WHS 2011.

Thanks for any help,
Nat

Now with screenshots that also explain the issue!

Seriously, looks like the BIOS is not ready for this CPU, note the "Turbo" differences between the top picture (G620) and the bottom picture (Core i3 2100) - granted that the 2100 is in a slightly different motherboard, given neither support turbo I would expect them to look the same.

Disabling EIST might fool windows, but CPUz and Handbrake performance doesn't lie, it's still running at 1.6Ghz either way. EIST was a red herring.

 

[blckgrffn]

I guess I am the only one silly enough to put a $70 CPU in a $120 motherboard?

 

[blckgrffn]

Update from Gigabyte - they gave me access to an "F9d" bios that did not fix the issue.

Disabling EIST did get the clock rate up to 2.6Ghz - but now it it is at that speed all the time.

So, the motherboard knows what speed the CPU should be running at but is somehow borking/misinterpreting the EIST configuration as far as I can tell.

I am pleased that Gigabyte got back to me in less than 48 hours. I'll update the the thread as the issue gets resolved.

 

[Aharami]

please keep this thread updated because I'm considering an i3 + this board as my HTPC build

 

[amanoai]

I guess I am the only one silly enough to put a $70 CPU in a $120 motherboard?

No, you're not. Many do to plan for near future upgrades. I guess there's just no one with an answer for you, so no replies.

Glad to hear Gigabyte responded within a reasonable amount of time.

 

[mmaestro]

Amusingly enough, it lists 1.6ghz as the max turbo frequency in the MIT section of the bios and 2.6Ghz as the maximum non-turbo speed. This seems somewhat backwards to me - or that 2.6Ghz should be listed for both numbers.

Have you tried either of these options? Setting 2.6 as both, or reversing the numbers? At the very least, 2.6 ought to be the turbo setting, I'm not sure about the non-turbo.

 

[blckgrffn]

Have you tried either of these options? Setting 2.6 as both, or reversing the numbers? At the very least, 2.6 ought to be the turbo setting, I'm not sure about the non-turbo.

Since the CPU doesn't support Turbo, the menu to select these values simply isn't there, even after hitting ctrl+F1.

This is simply what the BIOS says about the CPU, which is why I think a BIOS that properly identifies the CPU is going to resolve my issue. I am not sure if the CPU is telling the board that or if Gigabyte has to hard code this stuff into the BIOS but somewhere data is either wrong or being interpreted wrongly.

 

[infoiltrator]

Do you know anyone or a shop that will try your CPU on another motherboard?
Option two is pick a cheap new or open box motherboard and see what happens.

 

[StrangerGuy]

No, you're not. Many do to plan for near future upgrades. I guess there's just no one with an answer for you, so no replies.

Glad to hear Gigabyte responded within a reasonable amount of time.

It is silly because for $170 you can get a $120 i3 / Phenom II 955 with a $50 board with vastly better performance while only giving up 2 DIMM slots and USB3. No offense to the OP though.

 

[Kristijonas]

It might be my lack of English skills, but I fail to understand the problem. Is it that downclocking didn't work? It shows lower mhz while it still works at stock? Or is the problem only the mhz monitoring? In which case, why do you see it as a problem ?

 

[blckgrffn]

It is silly because for $170 you can get a $120 i3 / Phenom II 955 with a $50 board with vastly better performance while only giving up 2 DIMM slots and USB3. No offense to the OP though.

It's all about design choices. This is for my WHS server, so its as close to production as there is for a system in my house. It is intended to run 24/7 for years. Motherboard quality is an easy way to make sure that happens. Power consumption on this guy is pretty darn important as well, and not much can touch these little Sandy Bridge CPUs.

Considering my NIC is also more expensive than the CPU in this build (dual port Intel Pro 1000) it should be clear that video encoding performance (while important to some degree) is not dictating the CPU in this case. If it was I would have gotten an i3 and software for quick sync.

That and I gave up on el-cheapo motherboards a while back. My time has gotten too valuable to dork around with them (like this!)

If you read the Anandtech review of the CPU, it's actually not that far behind a lot of the AMD processors due to its much higher IPC.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4524/...-review-pentium-g850-g840-g620-g620t-tested/3

I'd rather it be a little slower and use less power in this case. But not 1.6Ghz

As to moving the CPU around - unlikely. I have three other LGA 1555 boards available, but they are all in use and I am not tearing them down for giggles.

 

[blckgrffn]

It might be my lack of English skills, but I fail to understand the problem. Is it that downclocking didn't work? It shows lower mhz while it still works at stock? Or is the problem only the mhz monitoring? In which case, why do you see it as a problem ?

The CPU never leaves its EIST base clock of 1.6ghz with power management enabled. For a 24/7 server that does do video encoding, processes backups, etc. I want it to spin up when needed and sip power when it is not.

It's probably my lack of written communication skills

 

[john3850]

Did you install the Intel ME drivers
EIST may need to have more of a cpu load on it before it goes from 1600 to 2600mhz.

 

[blckgrffn]

Did you install the Intel ME drivers
EIST may need to have more of a cpu load on it before it goes from 1600 to 2600mhz.

Indeed I did.

Handbrake encode not enough load, do you think? Prime 95 burn in? I don't know what else could give it a heavier workout...

 

[blckgrffn]

Updated with some new pictures that show the discrepancies between how two non-turbo CPUs are treated by the BIOS.

 

[blckgrffn]

Gigabyte support sent me a picture of another Pentium chip (850, I believe) that is working properly, like the 2100 in the pictures above. Though they don't have (a G620) to test with, they are insisting that since it is on the validation list "someone" tested it and it works.

I have reflashed the bios, cleared the bios, loaded fail safe defaults and all that jazz to no avail.

It works, just at 1.6Ghz on this board. Until I can get this resolved I would steer clear of this board and the G620 combination.

 

[blckgrffn]

A much belated update - a 1.5TB WD Green EADS drive failed (whodathunkit?) and I had an excuse to pull it down from its hidden home and mess with it more.

After waiting the 8+ hours for the RAID1 set to rebuild, I flashed the latest BIOS on this guy from a USB drive.

No love.

Disabled all power savings features and EIST, and bam, CPU reads correctly in the properties and is zooming along @ 2.6Ghz.

Reboot, enable only EIST.

Back to same situation, CPU shows as 2.6Ghz in Windows properties, can fully load CPU and it never budges from 1.6Ghz according to CPU-Z and Windows Task Manager/Resource Manager.

Power settings are set to "high performance", max CPU is 100%, min CPU is 100%, cooling is set to active and the CPU is chilly. Thermal throttling is still disabled.

wtf. Is there a known issues with EIST or am I doing something wrong? What am I overlooking? I have built numerous other Intel based rigs without issue...

 

[Charlie98]

I have that mobo paired with my 2500K, I'm thinking about updating the mobo and then using the -B3 with a.... G620 for my HTPC. I am curious to see what your problem winds up being.

If you'd like, I can go over my BIOS settings and see if there are any changes you could make. I did have some problems with the C-states and SSD writes, and one other power profile that ran my processor at 100% constantly.

 

[blckgrffn]

I have that mobo paired with my 2500K, I'm thinking about updating the mobo and then using the -B3 with a.... G620 for my HTPC. I am curious to see what your problem winds up being.

If you'd like, I can go over my BIOS settings and see if there are any changes you could make. I did have some problems with the C-states and SSD writes, and one other power profile that ran my processor at 100% constantly.

Sure! Anything special in the power management section?

I am also going to try my i3 in the board to see what it does. For your sake, I hope I have a bum board. I would like that to not be the case, because RMAs are a pain

 

[Charlie98]

Here are images of the 3 basic screens in my BIOS, with the understanding that it's running a 2500K. If the G620 doesn't have turbo, I wonder why it shows the wierdo backwards turbo/non-turbo values. The only other thing I see is you're running your RAM in the 2nd set of slots... but that shouldn't make a difference (I've never tried it in mine.)

 

[blckgrffn]

Thanks, I'll try and check on this today! I am getting frustrated enough that I may just take my i3-2100 and put it in there to see if that registers correctly...

The whole "pins on the motherboard" thing still makes me shy away from willy-nilly changing CPUs, I guess I am just not up with the times

 

[Magic Carpet]

Something, is clearly wrong with the BIOS. You tried downgrading to an earlier revision, instead?

Gigabyte has been very blaze about QA as of late.

 

[blckgrffn]

Something, is clearly wrong with the BIOS. You tried downgrading to an earlier revision, instead?

Gigabyte has been very blaze about QA as of late.

Oh yeah, I've tried just about every bios posted for this board. They asked if I wanted to RMA, but since I've built out my WHS on it I declined. For now.

I agree. My next board is likely to be some other brand, which is too bad. I've had a lot of good luck with Gigabyte over the last three years or so.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Though they don't have (a G620) to test with, they are insisting that since it is on the validation list "someone" tested it and it works.

I recently had a similar endeavor with MSI support.. but with a very different outcome. It had taken them some time to acquire parts (CPU & RAM) identical to my setup, in order, to replicate the problem. I have yet to get a fix from them, but I like this approach better.