***Unofficial Gigabyte X38 / EX38 Chipset Thread***

[reactiv]

Originally posted by: bigsnyder
If I had a choice, I would have gotten the DS5 for the extra SATA ports. Plus, the northbridge cooling solution of the DS5 seems to be a little more cpu HSF friendly (though most HSF solutions seem to work fine on the DS4). It all depends on what you can get and how much you are willing to spend.

DS5 seems to be sold out at the cheapest place - damn!

I was gonna go DS5 for £128 cos the cheapest I've seen the DS4 is £122 (inc del.)

Argh! dont want to wait any longer!!

 

[reactiv]

Hi guys,

another question -

I notice that the gigabyte boards have 'preferred' list of RAM manufacturers. I've also read of peoples boards not working because of incompatible RAM.

So my question is what is the best particular ram for these EX38 boards? I'm after 2GB paired (so 4gb) and will eventually get another 4gb.

or alternatively - what RAM works? I'm looking at 6400, 800hmz RAM.

Cheers!

Just these two components and then the actual build!

 

[bigsnyder]

So far, I have not read about any one brand of memory causing problems. I am currently running Buffalo Firestix with Micron D9s (2x1GB DDR2-800).

 

[reactiv]

so i did it!

took the plunge and went ahead an ordered an x38 board (ex-38-ds4) after all the faffing and almost u turn to p35.

I also got 2x2gb corsair xms2 ram (the one with the heat spreaders - DHX)

Now heres the problem - combined with the Arctic Freezer 7 there is not enough space for the corsair ram to go into slot one. I tried it today and the RAM is literally touching the fan frame of the Arctic Freezer.

I'm not sure how hot RAM gets - but I imagine it would not be a good idea to have it like that?

I was wondering if my alternative solution will work - can I run everything as normal but with the RAM is slots 2 and 4 as opposed to 1 and 3? If I can do that then happy days.

Also, will I notice any performance difference by putting them in different slots?

I don't really want to return the RAM as from my research it seems to be a good set. So am hoping that the 2 + 4 solution wil work. (This is my first build hence the questions b4 i go breaking stuff).

Any answers would be much appreciate.

Thanks.

[Rig: Q6600 SLACR, GA-EX38-DS4, BFG 8800GTS 320mb, Corsair 2x2gb XMS2, Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, Maxtor 200gb HDD, Corsair HX620w]

 

[bigsnyder]

You should be able to use the other pair of slots, at least in theory. There should not be any performance penalty in doing so. Good luck with your build!

 

[twjr]

I don't know if this has already been asked in this thread but what is the vDroop and vDrop like on these boards compared to the DS3's and how many phase voltage regulation do they have?

 

[bigsnyder]

@twjr

I am not aware of any vDroop or vDrop with these boards. Not saying it doesn't exist, just it doesn't seem to be a factor in anyone's experience. The EX38 series of boards feature the same "virtual 12-phase" power as the DQ6s. The GA-X38-DS4/DS5 use the standard 6-phase power regulation, but most places are not carrying these anymore, just the GA-EX38 boards.

 

[twjr]

Originally posted by: bigsnyder
@twjr

I am not aware of any vDroop or vDrop with these boards. Not saying it doesn't exist, just it doesn't seem to be a factor in anyone's experience. The EX38 series of boards feature the same "virtual 12-phase" power as the DQ6s. The GA-X38-DS4/DS5 use the standard 6-phase power regulation, but most places are not carrying these anymore, just the GA-EX38 boards.

Well it is probably a lot better than in my p35c-ds3 where it is keeping me from getting a 3.6 oc on my q6600. Set to 1.45v in bios I drop/droop to 1.37ish under load.

 

[number58]

I'm looking into using this board for a new build and was wondering if some of the larger cpu heatsinks fit on this board, or does the large chipset heatsink get in the way. I'm probably gonna use a thermalright ultra 120 extreme or noctua nh-u12p. If anyone has these or similar coolers installed without problems please let me know.

 

[bigsnyder]

I am not sure. I would check through the various reviews at newegg to see what other are reporting if you haven't already done so.

 

[twjr]

I hope this thread is still being watched.

Anyway I made the move. Picked up a cheap EX-38 DQ6 for about the same price as a DS4 so will see how it goes when I get it in a few days.

Hopefully the vDroop/vDrop problems will be a thing of the past.

Also how much harder is overclocking on these over a P35? I know they have a few extra voltage settings and ram timings which can improve overclocking and performance.

Also to anyone who did buy a DQ6 how much effort is there installing a TRUE with the mobo backplate?

 

[bigsnyder]

I can easily push 3.2Ghz with not too much voltage fiddling on my e6400. Just make sure to set the CPU voltage control to manual, or the board will overcompensate on auto when you overclock. I didn't touch my RAM timings so I can't comment there.

 

[cactusdog]

I had a DQ6 and a TRUE. You have 2 choices fitting the TRUE , i tried it both ways and cooling was about the same.

First option is to remove the Crazy cool off the back of the board and install the True backplate.

second option is leave the crazycool on and buy some small nuts and washers to fit the TRUE. Only problem with the second option is the board needs to be out of the case to fit it.

Temps are the same with or without the Crazy cool so that isnt an issue.

 

[andersonx2c]

Hello...

I hoping that one or some of you will be able to help me:

I have this setup which I cannot get to boot up:

Q9450
EX38-DS4
XFX 8800 GT 512
150 raptor
Corsair 550W

and not least 4 x 2 gb (8 gb) OCZ PC8500 Reaper (OCZ2RPR10664GK)

Does anyone of you have experience with such a setup? I can see that some of you have the Q9450.

My setup boots in loops, restarts, restarts, restarts if I use all 4 x 2 gb sticks..

It boots with one stick in dimm 3 or 4 OR 3 and 4, but no dualchannnel and no dimm 1 and 2 or both.

Could one of you tell the exact ram-settings and other settings in order for this to work?

I am also following this thread, but I cannot get it to work.

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f6...8-ds4-new-build-26550/

(AND I HAVE memtested the ram, no errors)

I would very happy if the mission could complete... ;-)

 

[bigsnyder]

Have you tried manually setting the memory speed in the BIOS setup?