Where Are The Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 Motherboards?

[raisinjack]

Originally posted by: Fallen Kell
I sent in a support request email about my problems. I tried it again tonight after letting it sit unplugged, without the CMOS battery, and with a jumper on the clear CMOS jumper for the last 18 hours. Same results, no error codes/beeps and no video. I just put the video card in another machine to make sure it was working, and it works fine. I'll see what Gigabyte support has to say, but it will probably be something that I already did at least 20 times in the last 3 days. So it will probably be an RMA... I am glad I have all the stuff. Did you guys know that you NEED that CPU socket protective cover otherwise you can't get an RMA? I am glad I was able to find mine. I mean, its been 6 months since I looked at it.

Don't know if you have tried this already(so many posts here its hard to sift through them) but I have just revovered from a situation just like yours.


Same thing happening but what I did to manage to get it backs was clear cmos by shorting pins,remove battery, short again. let set 5 minutes or so. remove all memory sticks and short the cmos pins. reinstall battery and short cmos pins again. reinstall 1 stick of memory in slot closest to cpu and start up this got my rig to post-finally. oh by the way all that was performed with the power supply unplugged from the wall and it switched off. I then started booting each time with 1 more stick added.

 

[TheBeagle]

Good Evening Everyone.

Well, an interesting revelation has come my way. When I first installed the N680i board, I didn't use the very first PCIe slot, but used that opening in the case to implement the eSATA bracket, which was in turn plugged into one of the two Gigabyte (purple) SATA port pairs, thus enabling the eSATA feature (a very handy item as it turned out). Now, when I put that board into another case, and attempt to actually use that PCIe slot and plug a PCIe card into it, WHOA - I find the slot doesn't work - like in DEAD, NADA! I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this situation?

If it's just this board, I guess it's time for an RMA back to Gigabyte to get it fixed. However, I always have trepidations about sending anything back to Gigabyte after a previous episode where I sent a electronically defective, but physically perfect board back to Gigabyte for in-warranty repair. The "nice folks" at Gigabyte RMA messed up the board corner (I think they dropped it on purpose) and then told me they couldn't fix the board since it was "damaged." It was damaged alright - BY THEM!

I've read other posts on this and other Forums about Gigabyte's "legendary" RMA service, and that response from them wasn't the first time they have been known to pull that trick to avoid fixing one of their older, but in-warranty boards. After that experience, I now intend to take a whole bunch of digital photos of the board, then of the board wrapped in bubble wrap, then of the wrapped board sitting in the shipping box with plenty of packing materials to prevent the UPS Gorilla from bouncing it around too much in shipment. Then I'll make damn sure I insure it for FULL VALUE, with a receive receipt that has to be signed for at Gigabyte when they receive it at their RMA dock. Gigabyte RMA has also apparently been know to deny receiving a package for several weeks when they don't get around to fixing it right away for one reason or another.

Thankfully, I had fully insured the previous board that Gigabyte damaged, so UPS finally, after many weeks of keeping after them, paid the claim for the "damaged" board since Gigabyte insisted that they received the board in a damaged condition, thus the shipper had to pay. If other Gigabyte purchasers are experiencing these type of in-warranty "damaged" board excuses from Gigabyte, then a concerted effort ought to be made to hold them accountable for these tactics - maybe referral to the appropriate Consumer Protection authorities, etc. We shall see.

Anyway, if anyone else has had the "dead" first PCIe slot problem, I'd like to hear about it and how (if) you fixed it. Best regards to everyone. TheBeagle isgust; :beer:

PS. Tomorrow is Veterans Day in the USA - We should all take time to sincerely thank all the brave men and women that have served in the Armed Forces of our Nation. Without their individual and collective sacrifices, we would certainly not be a free nation today! God Bless Them - One And All!!

 

[jaggerwild]

Hello Mr Beagle!
Sorry hadn't posted in a while, just read your posting and figured I'd reply. I had done an RMA with them, and if you remeber my oldwater block had broke open on my mainboard. Long story short they fixed it, got back the same board. It took like5 or six weeks to get back.
Another reason I'm posting is I had a dead PCIe slot on my Evga board in the number one spot, this board was bought to fill in for my gigabyte. Sent it right back for an RMA @new egg they sent me back a brand new board. Not sure what had caused it, the board worked ok just not in the number one slot?
Anyways all else is good my gigaboard is working pretty good been doing some clocking on it, had it up past 3.6Ghz but It wasn't stable as I'm fairly new to OC still. Right now I'm running it @3.0Ghz or 375X8 as my multi only goes from 6 to 8. I think at 450 i hit a dead spot or needed to adjust my voltages more but did get a boot out of it. Now I'm working on the memory clocking but can't do a lot cause I got cheap stuff(and don't want to kill it).
Anyways sorry to hear about your board hope it all works out for you, I'll post back more when I get it.
AND A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE VETS OUT THERE!!!!! THANK YOU FOR MY FREEDOM!!!!

 

[BrianDickens]

A slot not working? It reminds of the PCI-slots I fried on a motherboard a year or two ago. I had not checked carefully enough whether or not the motherboard standoffs were in the correct place. I ended up having a standoff touching some conductive parts on the backside of the motherboard, which in turn managed to fry all my PCI-slots.

Perhaps something like this happened with you?

 

[Blazer7]

(***) Tightens his grip on the little plastic cpu socket protective cover and prays that his luck holds and he won?t have to deal with Gigabyte?s dreaded RMA dpt in the near future. (***)

I?ve worked with numerous Gigabyte products during the last 5 years. Of them, only a fraction were mine, namely 3 graphics boards and 2 mobos. All 3 VGAs died on me (1xATI 9800pro & 2xnVidia 6800GT). As for the mobos, the 1st had trouble working with my mem so I had to sell it and this is the 2nd one, no comments here. The rest were mostly mid-range stuff for friends and colleagues and hardware failures were in the norm with the exception of graphics boards. This made me blacklist Gigabyte for graphics.

I?m very close to blacklisting Gigabyte again and this time it will be once and for all. It?s a bad thing to have equipment dying on you as it is, bad RMA service is the next bad thing and having repeated hardware failures is just unacceptable. Especially if all hardware comes from the same manufacturer.

I know that a lot of people are content with Gigabyte?s products and support but it?s definitely not working for me and I really don?t wanna see this trend continue. The only thing that stops me from selling this mobo right now is that I don?t have an alternative plan. I can find no mobo with this layout and features? yet. I would also really like to see Gigabyte coming through for me at least this one time but like the rest of the folks here I won?t be waiting forever. If support for penryns comes I will stick with this mobo for the coming 2 years max. One way or another, this is the last Gigabyte product for me.

Blazer?s black list :thumbsdown:
----------------------------------------
Gigabyte graphics boards
Gigabyte mobos ***pending***


Mr Beagle,

Having the mobo insured for its full value is definitely the right thing to do, especially since you?ll be dealing with Gigabyte?s RMA dpt. Still, and like with Fallen Kell?s case, I don?t know whether I should wish you luck with the board or the RMA. I guess that the whole GA-N680SLI-DQ6 thing is getting too much for me.

 

[GriMRapeR]

Would someone please be kind enough to post email contact details for Gigabyte RMA. I would like to be prepared should they annouce that this board will not take 1333 FSB Quad's. If that happens I will be seeking RMA or refund as I reckon they have not met what they advertised this board would do. I am still waiting to see Gary's thoughts about my earlier post. If Gigabyte do annouce that they can't do 1333 Quads is anyone else thinking of demanding RMA or refund?

 

[rt182]

Hey guys just wondering what kind of FSB u hitting on quads for this board
i got qx 6700 i cant seem to get past 330 mhz???
do i have to up the voltage?

 

[Blazer7]

Originally posted by: GriMRapeR
Would someone please be kind enough to post email contact details for Gigabyte RMA. I would like to be prepared should they annouce that this board will not take 1333 FSB Quad's. If that happens I will be seeking RMA or refund as I reckon they have not met what they advertised this board would do. I am still waiting to see Gary's thoughts about my earlier post. If Gigabyte do annouce that they can't do 1333 Quads is anyone else thinking of demanding RMA or refund?

Mr GriMRapeR,

Somehow I don?t think that you?ll need the details for the RMA. I expect that Gigabyte will find a way to make this mobo work with at least some of the lower clocked Yorkfields. If I'm right Gigabyte will ?fulfil? their promises to us and we won?t have any ground to ask for an RMA or a refund. No, it?s either we get proper support for the penryns or this mobo will be seeking a new owner.


PS
nVidia?s Forceware 163.75 drivers for Windows XP/Vista32/Vista64 have attained WHQL status as of Nov 6. Forceware 163.75 beta was released about a month ago. I?ve seen an improvement of ~200 3DMark06 points with the early beta and will be trying the WHQL today.

 

[yass101]

hollow

I succeeded in turning Q6600(G0) by raising GTLref Voltage of this MB
to 1.10v by 450×9.

Please look though it doesn't understand whether it is possible to see.

http://nukkorosu.80code.com/img/nukkorosu2622.jpg


However, it is likely to break because it did not try for a long time.

You might not mimic it.

 

[Blazer7]

MSI added new penryn cpus to their cpu support list.

Cpus under testing
Cpu-Speed-Step
---------------------
E8200-2.66-C0
E8400-3.00-C0
Q9450-2.66-C0
Q9550-2.83-C0
QX9650-3.00-C0

Cpus confirmed to work
(with MSI?s board of course)

Cpu-Speed-Step
---------------------
Wolfdale-2.33-A1
Wolfdale-2.66-A1
Yorkfield-2.33-??

I could only wish that we had the same feedback from Gigabyte.


PS
I saw no performance difference with the official 163.75 drivers. Apparently the only thing that changed is the WHQL certification.

 

[BrianDickens]

Originally posted by: yass101
hollow

I succeeded in turning Q6600(G0) by raising GTLref Voltage of this MB
to 1.10v by 450×9.

Please look though it doesn't understand whether it is possible to see.

http://nukkorosu.80code.com/img/nukkorosu2622.jpg


However, it is likely to break because it did not try for a long time.

You might not mimic it.

What's GTLref voltage? On my GA-X38-DQ6 I recall seeing such an option in the BIOS, making it possible to raise it easily.

 

[yass101]

Mr BrianDickens

CPU Vcore=1.6v is GTLref=1.10v.

However, it is necessary to note it because this is a setting of GA-N6
80SLI-DQ6rev1.

Moreover, it is a setting only for QUAD CORE.

 

[Blazer7]

Article on the Inquirer : All Penryns are out and about already

 

[eklock2000]

So Gary, how'd the interview with Giga's engineers go? Are they any closer to a final BIOS? Since all the Penryn's are out, should be easy to tell if they work with this Board or not, just plug 'em in, no?

Thanks for any update as we're all anxious as hell right now.

Thanks,

EK2K

 

[geeseman]

Hi guys,
new to the forum here.
I have the GA N680SLI DQ6 mobo rev 2. Using it with E6850 cpu at SLI GT 8800s. Had a Q6600 on it but ditched it because of the problems above 300fsb.
Currently running 9X410mhz solid at 1.48v.
Ive been through this thread but can't find any solid info on Bios tweaks. Is there a guide for this mobo anywhere with a list of the best settings for the bios?
thanks and great thread.

 

[yass101]

I think that I can use it with at least 360mhz×9 also in Q6600 if F5f BIOS is
used.

Moreover, I think that it can use it for the limitation of CPU(Quad Core) if
'GTLref Mod' is also used.

 

[Blazer7]

Mr geeseman,

Welcome aboard. Talking about best BIOS settings is pretty vague. We need to know your exact config, hardware/software. Your BIOS ver and what you wanna achieve in order to be able to offer some help.

Best regards

Blazer.

 

[BrianDickens]

Originally posted by: yass101
Mr BrianDickens

CPU Vcore=1.6v is GTLref=1.10v.

However, it is necessary to note it because this is a setting of GA-N6
80SLI-DQ6rev1.

Moreover, it is a setting only for QUAD CORE.

No, I didn't mean what you had it set at. I meant what GTLref means, what does it stand for

(and yes, I do have a quadcore system, however I have a GA-X38-DQ6 motherboard, having previously owned a GA-N680SLI-DQ6 which just does not support a QX6850 CPU correctly)

 

[jaggerwild]

Hey Guys!
Sorry to bring bad news or maybe it's not true but check this link. I hope it's false for everybodys sack!

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=165705

On a happier note, kingpin has a beta bios and has some scores posted up too?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=159081

 

[Blazer7]

hipro5 is an overclocker, top of his class, with tons of experience on pcs, BUT, I would take the manufacturer?s opinion over his anytime. ANYTIME! Nomatter how good you are you cannot be better than the manufacturers themselves. Especially when it comes down to their own boards !

We know that MSI?s cpu support list for their P6N Diamond mobo includes at least 1 lower clocked Yorkfield that has passed validation with their mobo. We also know that they are working on another 3 Yorkfields. If hipro5 is right then MSI would have known about it. Somehow I fail to see why they would continue wasting their time testing cpus on a mobo with no hope of success. We also know that Gigabyte is testing Yorkfields too and this is probably what ASUS, eVGA and others are doing.

We?ve been aware of 680 problems for a long time now but If hipro5 is right about both 680 & 780 chipsets not supporting the upcoming penryns then I would expect that nVidia would be under heavy flak as we speak. So far nothing?s happening.

If Intel went ahead with some last minute changes that somehow rendered production penryns incompatible with nVidia?s chipsets then I would be extremely surprised. With no Intel SLI option out there all new multi-GPU setups will have to be crossfire. I strongly doubt that Intel would want to give the whole multi-GPU market to AMD just because they hold a grudge against nVidia.

 

[Blazer7]

New Forceware ver 169.09 beta drivers for Win XP, Vista 32 & Vista 64.

 

[PafetikBezerka]

Thanks for the tip on the RAm Blazer 7, I've ordered 4G of crucial 8500, but was curious about what anyone has to say about passive cooling, such as the 'Thermalright HR-07'.

ALso I'm looking for some insight into a new problem.
I've just got a second 8800gts for SLI and think I've had it working once but now it seems to be gone. Vista kept on asking me for a PCI to PCI bridge driver, wich I assumed was the SLI bridge so I fobbed windows off and told it not to ask me again.
Ever since, the Nvida Control centre has been missing the SLI option, there is only one card showing in the Vista device manager, and reinstalling drivers has not worked.

I've tested both cards and both PCI-E slots and everything else seems to be in working order


Specs
Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 (naturally)
E6700
2 x seagate 350GB in mirror RAID
2 x seagate 250GB in stripped RAID
2G RAM 667mhz
Vista Ulimate 64
XFX 8800 GTS x 2 (not working)

 

[Blazer7]

Mr PafetikBezerka,

Thermalright's HR-07 and HR-07 Duo products do make a difference but I don't know if it's worth it. Installation of the heatsinks requires the removal of the original heat spreaders and this will void your warranty, not to mention that it involves certain dangers. There are numerous cases where chips were "removed" along with the original heat spreaders. If you want extra cooling go for an active cooler like OCZ's XTC memory cooler. It sports 2X6cm fans, it's silent and it''s safe.

As for your SLI issue, since your hardware is ok there is nothing left to check but the software. You should re-install both chipset and VGA drivers. It's best to do that with one card only and add the 2nd later. You should also delete this PCI to PCI bridge device from the device manager prior to reinstalling the drivers so that Vista will get another chance to load the driver correctly when you reinstall.

 

[rt182]

Hey everyone
got a really anoying error, looks like im going to have to RMA previosuly i posted up my memtest stats, on my corsair dominator pc8500 C5D now i have bought two new sticks while those ones get RMA'ed i did a memtest and i got about 2000 errors by the 3rd test... ive contacted corsair forums and ppl there said errors in test 3 can because by something else and i got all my errors from there.... also my ram cant run @ 1067 so right now its at 800 mhz.... im pretty sure there is something wrong with this motherboard, striker extreme seems the way i wanna go

 

[Blazer7]

Mr rt182,

I take it that you can complete memtest when running @800. It is weird that your Corsairs produce errors. It is also very weird that ppl say that you can get errors in test 3 and that this may be caused by something else. "Something else" is pretty vague too. Have you seen any posts by RAMGuy on the subject ?

Mem manufacturers, Corsair included, may decide to use different chips in their modules because of availability/cost or other reasons. This may affect compatibility with certain mobos but most of the times the mems will run without errors at slightly lower timings. This is what happened to me with my new dual channel kit. I know that this sucks but that?s the way things are. I suggest that you lower your timings and try again @1066. If your mem completes memtest without errors then it?s not the mobo.

Keep us posted.