Another E4300 question? say it ain't so!

[yttfdyvt]

I'll try and keep it short and sweet; I'm building an e4300 rig but I'm having trouble finding the right motherboard.

THIS is my first choice, from what I've seen/read it's a great board to OC. What worries me though is that I've also seen/heard that this board won't recognize the e4300 right away, and that you have to use another CPU to flash the BIOS to the correct version before it'll recognize it 8O I would LOVE to avoid this if possible.
Also is there a major difference between the S3 and the DS3? Is it worth the extra money if I plan on using this board for a while?

Cliff notes version:

Is the DS3, or S3 capable of recognizing the E4300 without a BIOS update? (as in, right out of the box)

Is there a substantial difference between the DS3 and the S3?

If neither of the boards can run the E4300 without a BIOS update, which board would be the best alternative? (I've been looking at THIS one)

thanks

-yttfdyvt

P.S. If the boards will run the E4300 initially and only need an update to allow it to OC properly then thats fine.

 

[TSC]

I've never heard of this problem, but I'm getting the DS3 and a e4300. Like the Op asked, I'd like to know also if you have to do anything for it to read the e4300.

 

[Tomster831]

i have an e4300 with the S3 and it has no problems whatsoever. I currently have it overclocked at 2.4GHz and its rock solid. And since the difference between DS3 and S3 is minimal, im sure it has no problem running an e4300.

Hope this helps~

 

[zjohnr]

i have an e4300 with the S3 and it has no problems whatsoever.

No offense, but there's not enough info in your post to really answer the question. What I think the OP is wondering about is what happens if you get a version of a S3 or DS3 board which shipped with an older BIOS which does not recognize the E4300. Will the motherboard still function? Specifically, will it function well enough to allow you to boot and install a BIOS which does recognize the E4300?

Below is a list compiled from Gigabyte's CPU Support List of DS3 and S3 boards and their corresponding E4300 BIOS level.

GA-965P-S3 (rev. 1.0) BIOS F7 (2006/12/27)
GA-965P-S3 (rev. 3.3) BIOS F7 (n/a)

GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 1.0) BIOS F8 (2006/12/19)
GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 2.0) BIOS F8 (2006/12/19)
GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 3.3) BIOS F9 (n/a)

Of these I think only rev 3.3 is guaranteed to recognize an E4300 "out of the box". With any of the other revisions, it all depends on what BIOS your motherboard was shipped with.

It would be nice to hear from anyone who tried running an E4300 with any of the rev 1.0 or rev 2.0 boards with a BIOS older than what is listed above.

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'll try and keep it short and sweet; I'm building an e4300 rig but I'm having trouble finding the right motherboard.

THIS is my first choice, from what I've seen/read it's a great board to OC. What worries me though is that I've also seen/heard that this board won't recognize the e4300 right away, and that you have to use another CPU to flash the BIOS to the correct version before it'll recognize it 8O I would LOVE to avoid this if possible.
Also is there a major difference between the S3 and the DS3? Is it worth the extra money if I plan on using this board for a while?

Cliff notes version:

Is the DS3, or S3 capable of recognizing the E4300 without a BIOS update? (as in, right out of the box)

Is there a substantial difference between the DS3 and the S3?

If neither of the boards can run the E4300 without a BIOS update, which board would be the best alternative? (I've been looking at THIS one)

thanks

-yttfdyvt

P.S. If the boards will run the E4300 initially and only need an update to allow it to OC properly then thats fine.

I have a DS3 and it is an amazing board! It will properly run the E4300 out of box. The difference between the S3 and the DS3 is the quality of capacitors and other components used in the board. Get the DS3.

 

[fate0n3]

As Zjohnr said, it is going to greatly depend on the BIOS you receive with your particular motherboard. And since there is no sure way to be assured of which BIOS you will receive with your motherboard it is just hope and cross your fingers. Which i know is not all that comforting at all.

 

[Tomster831]

As Zjohnr said, it is going to greatly depend on the BIOS you receive with your particular motherboard. And since there is no sure way to be assured of which BIOS you will receive with your motherboard it is just hope and cross your fingers. Which i know is not all that comforting at all.

wow, then i guess i got lucky

 

[fate0n3]

Lol yea, well with it being such a popular motherboard. I would say that most retailers have lots of them moving in and out of there warehouses quickly which helps greatly with getting latest bios and revision if there is one for that particular motherboard.

 

[zjohnr]

BTW, if anyone is curious how you tell which revision of a Gigabyte motherboard you have, here's a link to their FAQ on this subject.

The revision level is supposed to be printed on the motherboard in the corner edge of the board closest to the PCI slots.

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[Tomster831]

I just checked cpuz and the BIOS version is actully F6, and i don't really wanna flip down my computer to look at the rev number.

 

[zjohnr]

I just checked cpuz and the BIOS version is actully F6, and i don't really wanna flip down my computer to look at the rev number.

If you have an S3 and it's at BIOS F6 then according to the info on the Gigabyte website it would be rev 1.0. Gigabyte only lists the 1.0 and 3.3 revisions for the S3 and I think the S3 rev 3.3 doesn't ship with anything earlier than the F8 BIOS.

Interesting. :? Does the BIOS display any CPU identification information during POST when you boot the system? If the info I found about the BIOS levels is correct then the F6 BIOS shouldn't know about the E4300. :?

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[LH3]

I have an S3 rev 1.0,and it came with F6 BIOS,and it recognised the 4300 without any problems,running on 300x9,stock voltages.

 

[LH3]

I just checked cpuz and the BIOS version is actully F6, and i don't really wanna flip down my computer to look at the rev number.

If you have an S3 and it's at BIOS F6 then according to the info on the Gigabyte website it would be rev 1.0. Gigabyte only lists the 1.0 and 3.3 revisions for the S3 and I think the S3 rev 3.3 doesn't ship with anything earlier than the F8 BIOS.

Interesting. :? Does the BIOS display any CPU identification information during POST when you boot the system? If the info I found about the BIOS levels is correct then the F6 BIOS shouldn't know about the E4300. :?

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

Well,yeah,for me atleast,it says 4300 at POST,as i've said,it recognised everything without any problems.The only issue that i've encountered is the ICH8 bug,where the ICH8 SATAII limits the transfer speed of the HDD to 4 MB/s.You really have the use the Jmicron SATAII.

 

[yttfdyvt]

Hmmm, interesting. From what I'd read the F6 BIOS was the one that didn't recognize the e4300, but if it does then it looks like I have very little to worry about

Thanks for the help so far everyone

 

[GigabyteRules]

most online shop will update the bios for u , for a small fee that way u know the board works when buying online as they wouldnt send u one that didnt work

 

[zjohnr]

Yeah, not what the Gigabyte website leads you to expect, but clearly not something to be upset about. Puzzling though. :? Oh, well ...

If you can remember to post it, it would be to know which revision and BIOS you end up with, yttfdyvt. And how things work out with your E4300, of course.

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[yttfdyvt]

Alright, ordered a DS3 board and my e4300, hopefully it'll be here by Friday (I wish :lol: )

Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed. 8O

 

[airick66]

I'm running an e4300 on the DS3 with the F7 bios without any problems. In fact, I had to revert back to the F7 from the F10 to get my video card to function properly while overclocking the e4300...no clue why, but it worked.

 

[zjohnr]

I'm running an e4300 on the DS3 with the F7 bios without any problems. In fact, I had to revert back to the F7 from the F10 to get my video card to function properly while overclocking the e4300...no clue why, but it worked.

Out of curiosity, which DS3 do you have? rev 1.0, 2.0, or 3.3? Did it come with the F10 BIOS?

-john

 

[airick66]

Sorry...I have revision 2.0, and it came with the F10 bios.

 

[zjohnr]

Posting this just in case anyone else might want to check it out. The site www.clubit.com is currently (as in today, Friday, only) selling the Gigabyte DS3 rev 3.3 for $130 shipped.

What made me finally ... after thrashing about for 4 months now ... jump on this offer was that they explicitly commit to the rev 3.3 boards in the product description.

-john, the ostensibly clueless not-quite-so-legacy-as-he-was-an-hour-ago dinosaur

 

[yttfdyvt]

Alright I'm back, DS3 worked great with the E4300, now sitting at 333 FSB. Everything is incredibly stable, temps when fully loaded never exceeded 47 degrees.
I'm going to wait until my thermal grease arrives before pushing this puppy any further :twisted:

*edit*
Forgot to mention, got a rev 2 board with the F10 BIOS.

 

[zjohnr]

*edit*
Forgot to mention, got a rev 2 board with the F10 BIOS.

Glad to hear it's working well for you. That's the one primary important consideration.

Did you get it from newegg.com or someplace else? Just curious. (Apparently I'm trying to create a global map of the inventory and revision levels of DS3s one post at a time ... :roll: :? 8O )

-john, the clueless redundant-legacy-in-transition dinosaur

 

[yttfdyvt]

Yep, ordered it from Newegg on the 13th.