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Gigabyte GA-SINXP1394 Woes


cstafford38

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I too, seem to be in the same dilema as one of the other forum members with respect to the "flaky-ness" of the DDR400 compatibility for the Giga-Byte GA-SINXP1394 mobo. I bought one of their "recommended" DDR modules(Kingston) that was posted on their website, and have had nothing but problems with my computer crashing. After installing some old reliable PC2100/266 Dell memory, it has been running perfectly.....just a little slower in some areas. I have received "zero" support from Giga-Byte's technical support group(if there is one) to help rectify this problem. In any event, I hopefully can exchange this RAM for a more stable and proven DDR333 product. Since the mobo is suppossedly capable of true "dual-channel" DDR, I was now looking at Corsair's TWINX1024-2700LL memory. Can anybody advise if this will also be a mistake with this particular mobo.??? I am not into games that much, but I do run a couple of RAM-intense design programs. Thanks......
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  • Corsair Employee
It's really hard to say since I don't have that board in house yet (though I've been promised it). I suspect the TWINX2700 will work fine though as every one that has had trouble (that I've heard of) were using the TWINX3200 and I suspect this is simply a chipset issue with 200MHz (especially at the tight timings of the TWINX).
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Thanks for the quick response......is there any other Corsair product that you could recommend other than the TWINX1024? When you use the words " suspect the TWINX will work fine" makes me nervous due to the bad experience Ijust had with the DDR400. Thanks again for the help.
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Also, I will be overclocking this system.. as much as I can with the AquariusII water cooling system.. So I'm not sure which choice to go with.. I know that the SINXP has an asynchronous memory clock, and the 8INXP has a synchronous clock. So yeah, which mobo/ram combo would be best, in your opinion? I thought the Sinxp/twinx3200 would be best, but alas, so many problems :( Don't feel like waiting for BIOS updates that may or may not address those issues.
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Forum member,, Ashiitaka...........I did not use the TWINX3200 series;Rather, I used the Kingston KVR400X64C25/512 sticks which was a "recommended" product on the Giga-Byte website. As previously noted, the problem seems to be in the DDR400 technology and the SIS655 chipset.....not the RAM itself. I also thought about changing to different mobo, but I don't feel like coughing up another $200 for the XP Home Edition OS that I'm sure was "activated" to the innards of that mobo when I loaded it. I have conceded to installing a flavor of DDR333 or even the PC3000 that the RAM GUY recommended. I still have my doubts that the PC3000 may screw uo on the Giga-Byte board...especially if the PC3200 did.
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Well, when you change the ram, let us know what happens :) If I change the mobo or ram, I'll post Asap about results. I'm thinking pc3000 also, but skeptical too. But the pc3000 doesn't come in TwinX format.. so I'm not sure if that matters, or what that implies.
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I'm not sure why you post that link in this thread.. can't find what you are answering. As for the other thread where you say the Sinxp doesn't support 400Mhz ram.. go there, I will post a pic. Strange how the front of the box and the site you linked contradict each other..
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Did I read the info. right on the website that the RAM GUY posted for the SIS655 chipset?? It does not support DDR400??? Only DDR333 and DDR266? Have we been had? I just got through skimming through the user manuals again for the Giga-byte board.....there is really only one reference to supporting DDR400 DIMM's in the front of the manual under the spec's. It footnotes the fact that the DDR400 modules that are compatible are posted on the website. Well, I tried the Kingston and it fails consistently. I always wondered why the DDR400 option wasn't listed under the DRAM clocking section of the BIOS....it only talked about DDR266 and DDR333 or "auto". Has Gigabyte written some sort of "patch" for the BIOS to suppossedly support the DDR400 speed? What gets me is reading some of the other testimonials of people who have installed PC3200 sticks that "rock" on this board. Gigabyte had better get to the bottom of this fast......I just ate a 15% re-stocking fee for returning the incompatible DDR400 sticks. One last thought....that same SIS655 website also lists the DRAM compatible(or tested) with that chipset........it doesn't even scratch the surface of what's out there. And I don't want to hear about "over-clocking" to potentially rectify the problem. I should be able to take any DDR400 stick(within reason) right out of the box and make it work without having to tweak it to death tp prevent constant crashing. Unbelievable.
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I agree, this is unbelievable.. I have the mobo box right in front of me. Second line down, "Supports Dual Channel DDR400 Memory Architecture." In big letters. The box is like some comp game boxes, where you flip open the front cover. So on the inside, there's a giant display of everything this board can do. Right there is a nice logo of a memory stick in the background, and in the foreground "Dual Channel DDR 400+" 400+?? Come on now, contradictions? Or am I blind/stupid? The site that ramguy posted says up to 333? What? On the inside cover of the box, next to the logo: "With the enhanced Dual Channel DDR400 memory architecture, GA-SINXP 1394 provides high badwidth of up to 6.4 GB/s.." 6.4?? 6.4?? What? Where? Ramguy i'm not questioning your knowledge or intelligence.. but you seemed pretty convinced when you said "Umm.. no, actually SiS won't officially support DDR400 until the "FX" line of chipsets..." And once again, even your link supports this.. but what about the box? And all the reviews and forums that say it supports 400Mhz? I don't mean to sound aggressive, I just want to get to the bottom of this, as I'm sure you know. Also, cstafford.. you said "I always wondered why the DDR400 option wasn't listed under the DRAM clocking section of the BIOS....it only talked about DDR266 and DDR333 or "auto". I've updated to the latest BIOS and drivers, from their website. Not sure what exactly was updated, but I have a wealth of clock speeds to choose from, including 400, 466, and even 500 something. And below 266 too. And just in case you don't know, press ctrl+F1 in the BIOS to bring up advanced chipset controls, where you can adjust the latency. I'm running at 333Mhz, 2-2-2-6 latency and it's running fine.
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Thank tou Ashiitaka!! I will adjust the latency settings whenever I decide on which 333 sticks to purchase.....what are you using? I too, wanted to update the BIOS, but the only thing that the Gigabyte website mentioned that was being updated was hyper-threading, so I passed for now.......very interesting what you mentioned about the multiple speed settings available after you updated the BIOS. I also passed on updating because if I got into trouble, I knew I would get no technical support.....Gigabyte refuses to answer any of my technical support requests. It's as though they know they got caught with their pants down on this DDR400 issue and don't want to step up to the plate like a "reputable" company would. I, for one, will never buy another product of theirs. I just wish we could get some "big guns" to go to bat for us.
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  • Corsair Employee
As I've said before, my MSI SiS655 board is running 2GB at CAS 2 "Ultra" timings. However, MSI say's the chipset doesn't officially support DDR400 which means that they are aware of some problem in conjuction with DDR400 and that chipset. Maybe this is something Gigabyte doesn't know about yet? I don't know and can only point to what the chipset manufacturer says about their own product when confronted with a question like this. Personally, my advice is to stay away from DDR400 on that board because of the chipset specifications.
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What are CAS "Ultra" timings? 2-2-2-6? 2-2-2-5? What clock speed are you running them at, on the MSI? Cstafford, I'm not sure if the multiple choices for my clock speeds is a result of updating the bios. I'm sure that info is easy to find, just check out some forums.. don't ask Giga, they won't answer. There are lots of good forums around that I'm sure will have posts about it. I'm using the TwinX3200LL, but running them at 333. I'm deciding whether to switch my board for the 8INXP. I've read some reviews, and even comparisons between the two boards, but I'm still not sure the pros and cons of switching, in terms of overclocking and performance. I may even get new ram (Corsair of course) too. Ramguy, if you could, can i get your opinion on a mobo/ram combo in a quick sentence? Thanks for your time in all these posts btw :O Quick responses.
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  • Corsair Employee
I can only guess that "Ultra" is 2-2-2-5 or something similar. I don't have an OS loaded on the board so I can't check what the registers are actually set at. I'm not sure what kind of an opinion you want. Personally, I'd be waiting for the Canterwood or Springdale at this point...
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Mmm I've already laid a budget for this computer down.. any ideas how much the Canterwood or Springdale would cost? On the other hand, was wondering your opinion on: 1 - If I should keep what I have now - Sinxp, twinx3200 running at 333 (because of 400 issue) and 2-2-2-6 timings 2 - Any combo of current mobo, current ram, 8inxp, xms3000, twinx2700 Thanks
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I assembled a GA-SINXP1394 system with Corsair TwinX3200LL memory and the system would not boot. After several frustrating hours I installed some old Nanya PC2100 512 MB one stick and the system booted beautifully. I returned the Corsair memory and it was replaced with another set of TwinX3200LL. I shut my system down, removed the old Nanya and installed the new set of Corsair TwinX3200Ll in slot one and three and the system booted. I then went into the bios and set the timings a 2 2 2 6. Then rebooted and went into Sisoft Sandra and ran memory benchmarks of 3417 and 3417. Then went into AIDA32 and ran memory benchmarks of 3417 and 3320. I have overclocked the system to 145 FSB without problems. My conclusion is that the GA-SINXP1394 will work with the Corsair TwinX3200LL but it is picky. I have read that the GA-SINXP1394 will accept the Corsair TwinX3200LL after the system has booted with slower memory and that was exactly what my experience was. Hope this helps.
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Hello Ashiitaka, During the bootup screen it shows 400 and 128 bit. I can go to the East Tune 4 program and it shows the memory at 400. I do notice a slight difference in the response of the system compared with the PC2100. I have a P4 3.06 installed and everything is set at default settings but my diagnostic utilities shows the processor at 3.08 even though the FSB reads 133. I used the default settings on the first boot and then rebooted and changed my settings to 2 2 2 6. The system is very fast and rock solid. I just remembered that I read somewhere that the CPU has to be a 133FSB for the memory to be recocognized as 400. If the processor is a 100FSB then the ram want be recogonized as 400.
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Hello, Ran across your thread and being the owner of a new SINXP1394 I can relate a couple things that may help you guys. I am running 2 sticks of CMX512-35002CPT in my board at DDR 400 all day long. No problems with stability at all. When I first got the board all I had was 2 sticks of some decent 2700 that I borrowed from my store bought PC just to fire the mobo up. First let me say one thing...leave "Top Performance" alone! You don't need the headache. Nuff said. When I put the 2700 in at Optimized Defaults it boots up and runs perfect at DDR333. Of course I set all the other settings as needed. Also, jusst playing around with this commercial ram I had the FSB at 150 and the memory was at 366(?) I think it was, with no problem. When I got my Corsair 3500's back from RMA and popped them in at Optimized Defaults it boots at DDR400 all day long just smooth as a babies butt! No stability problems at all. The only problem though is the timings will not run at 2-3-3-6 like advertised for that ram. It has to run at Auto or 2.5. I just started to play with it and have it at 160FSB and 434Mhz and it is stable. My 3.06 is at 3.53 and I am typing this letter to you right now. So, I don't know what all the talk about not supporting DDR400 is.... Hope this helps you. It's a hell of a board. Not a OCer's board but a solid decent board you can OC. dbacso
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