Optimal GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R SATA port connection and BIOS setup

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

tkblingx2

Distinguished
Jul 21, 2010
24
0
18,510
Hi,
I just put together my first machine with a GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R motherboard and was hoping someone could give me the optimal setup for my SATA connections.
The following are the parts that I have that I am trying to connect via SATA:

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

HDDs
2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(Would like a RAID1 setup with Win7 OS Primary drive with these)
2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1501FASS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(For media/storage/etc, no RAID)

Optical Drives
Pioneer Black Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer SATA BDR-205BKS - OEM
(will use this one primary)
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

Front Panel
1x eSATA port
Memory Card Reader (will purchase in future, probably only need USB headers but incase I need a SATA port for it)

With the above setup I would like to know which drive I should plug into which SATA ports on the mobo. Also the proper BIOS setup for the SATA ports would be greatly appreciated as well.

I have read that the front panel eSATA should go into the GSATA2_8 or GSATA2_9 port so I can 'hot swap' drives without worry about the system not reading them etc so that is what I am currently planning on.
The rest though is a mystery to me.
Ive read that even though the mobo has SATA3 (GSATA3_6/7) ports the SATA2 (SATA2_0/1/2/3/4/5) ports controller by the ICH10R chip performs better (even for my SATA 3 1TB HDDs), if so I'm guessing all 4 of my HDDs should go into the SATA2 ports is some order? And the optical drives I have no clue 😛 sooo any help would be deeply appreciated!

This is my first post here so if I am missing any info thats need please let me know and I will update it ASAP.

Thanks for looking through this and hope I can get someone to help! :)
 
Solution
How do you like it so far? I'm very interested, as I'm very seriously considering a UD9, and out of the handful of cases that will work with it, the HAF looked, to me at least, to be the pretty much 'ultimate' selection. I like CM's to begin with - have done a couple Cosmos now - I'm happy as a clam with mine, and the guy who got the machine I spec'd the other for is ecstatic with his machine! Have to ask - does it look like it would be a big deal to pull out the board at the back of the top pair of 'hot-plug' bays? I'd kind of want to yank it, and put in a rack that fits three 3½" drives into two 5¼" bays...

I'd do it this way:

Put the pair of DVDs on GSATA2_8 & GSATA2_9;
Put the FP eSATA on SATA2_5; so far as I know, any SATA port...
Ok i think i got the installation process to work. I copied the intel .exe file over to the USB also the first time which is what made it crash I think.
Though now my PC isnt showing any of the other drives other than the C drive (RAID 1) in win7 🙁

Did i screw up on the OS install or worse bend a pin in the CPU or is there something that I need to change for the drives to show up properly?
Under Computer Management the other discs appear at the bottom, but in the volume list above they do not.

Thanks
 
Hi

Sorry to jump in on this.

I've just taken delivery of this board and building today. 😀

I've been reading this thread to see if it will help with a similar query but I'm still not quite sure of the best way for me to connect my SATA devices.

This is what i have to connect:

1x SSD (Windows 7)

2x HDD (I wanted to put these in Raid 0)

2x optical drives

So from what I can gather I would ideally connect the SSD and HDDs to the ICH controller but can I do this if I need to set the mode to AHCI for the SSD but the mode needs to be set to RAID for the HDDs?

Can anyone confirm if the quote below is the case because if it is it solves my problem.

so far as I know, any SATA port connected to an ICH in RAID mode, if it's not used in the RAID, is automatically put into AHCI mode

If so I would connect the SSD to ICH SATA_0 and the HDDs to SATA_1 & SATA_2 set the mode to RAID and put the 2 HDDs in RAID 0 and the SSD would operate in AHCI mode.

If this is not the case how should I best connect them?

Help much appreciated.
 
Oh wow I'm dumb, totally thought it would automatically create volumes on my other HDDs.
I figured it out and created volumes/reformated the other HDDs so everything is looking good so far. :)
Gotta go to bed since I have to get up in 5 hours and work at 12+hr shift tomorrow >.<

Thanks again for the help and Ill continue to update the thread till everything is up and running :)
 


If you run a RAID on SATA_0 - 3 then NO, the BIOS must be set to as I've stated:
1. Load "Optimized Settings"
2. Integrated Peripherals / ICH SATA Control Mode => "RAID (XHD)"
3. Save & Exit
4. Ctrl + I --> RAID Configuration {read Chapter 5 step by step}

Question, WHY the RAID 0 on secondary HDD???
 


Did you FORMAT???

BTW - WIN 7 "should have" had the necessary drivers for SATA II + RAID
 
Yup everythings looks good now :)
Ive installed more drivers so now I can stop using this old school keyboard and use my wireless keyboard and mouse. Also the graphics card drivers.

Are there any good test software to run to make sure everything is installed properly, im mainly worried about bent CPU pins but.
I read through this article HERE and will install and run the programs in step 10.
As for the the motherboard, I'm going to install all the drivers on the gigabyte website but I remember reading in bilbats gigabyte sticky thread that their programs are garbage. Are there any recommended programs I can download to manage the mobo properly.

And lastly I dont know why I didnt just list my entire setup before but here it is.
(one thing is I have 1600 RAM but the system only recognizes and clocks them at 1066mhz. Since I bought a combo deal off of newegg I cant return them for slower speed ones so I was hoping there was a way to OC them...didnt read the memory article written by bilbat till later on 🙁 haha)

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

PSU:
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RS850-AMBAJ3-US 850W ATX12V v2.3

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU:
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930

CPU Heat Sink/Fan:
COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler

OS HDDs:
2x Western Digital RE3 WD1002FBYS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

STORAGE HDDs:
2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1501FASS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
1x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Optical Drives:
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
Pioneer Black Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer SATA BDR-205BKS - OEM

GFX Card:
SAPPHIRE 100290SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Eyefinity ...

RAM:
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C7

OS:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
 
Since the main concern is/was the HDD:
ATTO HDD Benchmark - http://www.attotech.com/products/product.php?sku=Disk_Benchmark

Testing & Benchmark Tools: Prime95, CPU-Z, CoreTemp 0.99.6, Memtest86+, & 3DMarkVantage

1. Prime 95 as a "Stress Test" [overnight.]
link - http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

2. CPU-Z for Settings Summary
link - http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

3. CoreTemp 0.99.6
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

4. Memtest86+ to check memory corruption (ISO~Bootable CD/DVD)
link - http://www.memtest.org/

5. 3DMark
link - http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmarkvantage/introduction/
 
I gotta ask (again) - obviously this is, guestimate, $2K+ system why NOT an SSD as primary???????


You'll need to manually input the values. Yep, your MOBO will light-up like an Xmas Tree, but just ignore them unless they'll RED as listed in the Manual.

UD3R XMP List - http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Memory/mb_memory_ga-x58a-ud3r_v2.0.pdf
Unfortunately, your Corsair (CMP6GX3M3A1600C7) is not supported, and if your try XMP in the BIOS more than likely it eiter won't post or BSOD.

If you overclock then remember Round Down ( 1600 / BCLK = Memory multiplier ) {e.g. Stock 1600 / 133.33 = 12 } ; next set your timings 7-8-7-20 ; Also per Corsair {Manually set the timings to 7-8-7-20-2T and the memory voltage to 1.65v. Then adjust the QPI voltage slightly to 1.25v }
 
Ya around that.
For me right now I need the disk space. I looked at a SSD but the one problem was i wanted at least 250GBs for the primary drive and I didnt want to drop $500 on that. Plus the HDD is something thats easy to upgrade in the future anyways.
 
I have to have quite a few suites on my C drive and also have some builds on them also. An SSD will be something that I will def look at again in the future (maybe in like a year) but for now these will do :)
I am a fan of your idea to move all the Docs Pics Music to a different drive though :) Ill have to figure out how to change the defaults tonight in Win7

EDIT:
Just looked it up, super easy :) haha
 
Easy! But When you move the FOLDERS create a Host Folder ~ MyDocs on the target HDD for EVERY Moved Folder.

My Documents -> remapped -> MyDocs
My Pictures -> remapped -> MyPics
ETC...

After you move them they will show-up as My Documents. DO NOT move/point to the {Letter Drive "D" itself} but instead use the new D/MyDocs - FOLDER! You have the option to move all of the current contents ~ choose that option.

Link - http://hubpages.com/hub/Windows-7_-_Moving_My_Documents
 


Oh sorry I ment that for the setting up the default folder for my documents and such.
I'm still at work, and will be like another 8 hours at least so I won't have time till later to try to OC the ram.
 
In case you get that far:


GA-X58A-UD3R
Intel i7-930 x21mult 2.8GHz .8-1.375V 130W TDP (to 3.36/4.0GHz)
Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3-1600MHz (CMP6GX3M3A1600C7): 7-8-7-20-?t 1.65v nominal

'Gentle' overclock (3.36 w/stock cooling) are in italics; faster OC (with any other cooling!) are in bold!

Uninstall any GIGABYTE 'system software': EasyTune 6, Dynamic Energy Saver, Smart 6, Auto Green...

If you haven't yet done it, start with a BIOS' "Load Optimized Defaults" with only three sticks of RAM in the white slots...

Before we start ramping things up, I want to teach you a new skill involving the BIOS: Do the <DEL> at the boot to enter the BIOS;
notice, at the bottom, the <F11> "Save CMOS to BIOS" - hit this, and you should get a menu that will show a number (the count varies by BIOS) of empty 'slots', each of which will store an entire set of BIOS parameters, to be re-loaded from the corresponding <F12> "Load CMOS from BIOS"; this is a wonderful overclocker's feature. What I do with it, is to save my 'baseline' working parameters, so if I change something that 'irritates' the board, and forces a reset of all the parameters to defaults, or, even worse, get so screwed up I need to do a 'clear CMOS', I can get back to my starting point with no effort, and without having to remember 85 separate settings! Another thing it prevents is two hours' troubleshooting, having forgotten a change to a crucial parameter - like, "wait a minute - didn't I have the Trd at seven?!" It's pretty self-explanatory, and I alway urge people to start right away by taking the time to give the 'slots' names that mean something: in two hours, "Try2" and "Try3" will not be very helpful, but "450@+10MCH" and "450@+15MCH" will! Another use is for 'green' settings; overclocks, as a rule, do not 'play well' with green features, such as 'down-clocking' and 'down-volting'; with the storage slots, you can set up one profile, say "Green", with all the settings at 'stock' values, and all the 'green' features enabled; another, say "Balls2Wall" with a full overclock, and all the 'green' stuff turned off... Another neat feature of this 'slot' system is, for most BIOS, the mechanism itself will keep track of which ones have booted successfully, and how many times (up to, I believe, a max of five)!

Now, the next step is the most time consuming - we've got to 'sidestep' XMP's limitations. The only reliable way to get the XMP timings for your RAM is to enable XMP - BUT - enabling XMP 'locks out' most all the other OCing parameter changes. Easy to get around, though. Having done a LoadOpt to set up the main config, the next thing you need to do is enable XMP, <F10> to save, exit, and reboot - and then run a pass of MemTest86+ (instructions for D/Ling and 'prepping' MemTest about the middle of Part IV - "Tweaking and tuning") to verify the the XMP for your DIMMs actually works! Assuming it's successful, go into the BIOS, and on the "Advanced Memory Settings" sub-page of the "MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)" page of your BIOS, write down (preferable in a neat, tidy, easy-to-read table - extra points here for neatness!! Actually, neatness doesn't count toward your overclock, but accuracy does - if you make a mistake anywhere, you'll, guaranteed, have the devil's [:lorbat:8] own time finding it!) the "Channel Interleaving" and "Rank Interleaving" settings; then, enter the "Channel A Timing Settings" 'sub-sub-page' (?!), and write down all the settings. If I am correct, it will display two sets of timings - on the left, it will show you the 'LoadOpt's 'Auto' parameters; on the right, labeled either XMP or 'Profile (number?) settings', it will show you the 'fast RAM' parameters - these are the ones you need... As an example, here is a table from a client's machine (different platform...):

CAS 7
tRCD 8
tRP 7
tRAS 24

tRC 40
tRRD 5
tWTR 6
tWR 12
tWTP 23
tWL 7
tRFC 88
tRTP 6
tFAW 50
tCMD 2
static tRD 15



Next, 'back out', and go to the " Channel A Turnaround Settings" 'sub-sub-page' (?if they get many more 'layers' of menuing, I'm gonna lose it!), and scribble those down as well. Now back out again, and look at both sets of 'channel B's' & 'channel C's' - they should be the same - just double check, and note anything differing...

On to the 'quick' part! First, disable XMP. Then, while you're still 'familiar' with those memory pages, go back and set all of 'em - to the values you wrote down - and don't forget to check the two on the 'main page', "Channel Interleaving" and "Rank Interleaving"... To set these, start with:

"Performance Enhance" to "Standard"
"DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD)" to "Expert"...

Once they're all set -

...next, two adjustments for the fact that you are running two DIMMs per channel - XMP values are 'figured' for a single module per channel:
Set "Command Rate(CMD)" to "2", "2T", or "2N" (whichever way your BIOS shows it...)
Take the number you wrote down for the tRFC, multiply it by 1.15, round up to the next highest integer, and set tRFC to the resultant value...


At this point, I usually do an <F11> save to BIOS, just so I can easily 'get back to where I was', calling it something like "RAMisSet"...


On the "MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)" page:

"CPU Clock Ratio" should already be at "X21"
"CPU Frequency" - this one can't be set, it's calculated

On the "Advanced CPU Features" sub-page (there we go again![:fixitbil:9] ):

"Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech." to "Enabled"
"CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)" to "Disabled"
"C3/C6/C7 State Support" to "Disabled"
"CPU Thermal Monitor" to "Enabled
"CPU EIST Function" to "Disabled"
"Bi-Directional PROCHOT" to "Enabled"
"Virtualization Technology" to "Enabled", if you intend to use it - it has costs...


On the "UnCore & QPI Features" sub-page:

"QPI Clock Ratio" to "X48"
"QPI Clock Ratio" to "X44"
"QPI Clock Ratio" to "X36"
"Uncore Clock Ratio" to "X25"
"Uncore Clock Ratio" to "X21"
"Uncore Clock Ratio" to "X17"
"Isochronous Support" to "Enabled"

...under "Standard Clock Control":

"Base Clock(BCLK) Control" to "Enabled"
"BCLK Frequency(Mhz)" to "133"
"BCLK Frequency(Mhz)" to "160"
"BCLK Frequency(Mhz)" to "190"

...under "Advanced Clock Control":

...should all be OK as set...


On the "Advanced DRAM Features" sub-page"

"System Memory Multiplier" to "X12"
"System Memory Multiplier" to "X10"
"System Memory Multiplier" to "X8"


On the "Advanced Voltage Settings" sub-page:

"Load-Line Calibration" is anyone's guess - this seems to work differently on every single board I do - even, sometimes, differing between boards of the same model with different CPUs! My best guess - start with it at "Standard", and, maybe, adjust when 'running thermals'...
"CPU Vcore" to "1.325V" - idea here is to start high, to get 'er stable first, then reduce voltage when 'running thermals' - doing it the other way - starting low, and trying to 'creep up' the Vcore is a real PITA, as, often, if the MOBO's not 'happy' with OC settings, she'll 'crank back' to the LoadOpt parameters - and you lose anything you didn't have the foresight to 'save to BIOS'!

"CPU Vcore" to "Auto"
"CPU Vcore" to "1.2375V"
"CPU Vcore" to "1.300V"
"QPI/Vtt Voltage" to "1.250V"
"PCH Core" to "1.10V"
"DRAM Voltage" to "1.68V" - 'even' increments only - need the slightly higher Vdimm as you are running two DIMMs per channel...


On the "Advanced BIOS Features" page:

"Quick Boot" to "Disabled"
"Full Screen LOGO Show" to "Disabled" (easier to get into the BIOS + lets you 'see' the POST...

On the "Integrated Peripherals" page:

...disable everything you're not actually planning on using - no 1394 port - turn it off!; same for serial port, eSATA, etc - if you don't need it, the processor/system doesn't need the 'overhead' either!

On the "Power Management Setup" page:

"ACPI Suspend Type" to "S1(POS)" (S3 is notoriously difficult to get working properly on OC'd boards...)

On the "PC Health Status" page:

"CPU Warning Temperature" to "70C"

And that should do it! Time for, first, an <F11> 'save to BIOS', followed by an <F10> save & exit - power down, add the other three sticks of RAM - hopefully, she'll reboot, and WORK!

I should point out that getting two reboots in a row here is perfectly normal behavior; it seems that, when you change certain settings (and we don't exactly know which ones - the only sure one I know is Trd - if you change it, I think you get the 'twin' reboot) it boots once to 'see where it's at', recalculates its remaining 'auto' settings, saves them, and then boots again. Three reboots in a row, however, usually indicates that the board was 'given indigestion' by your settings, and is going back to defaults. This sometimes goes astray, and it doesn't get back into proper operation - for example, at this point, mine will sometimes 'lock' itself into 111MHz x a six multiplier - and take a week to do a whole boot - that's time to do a CMOS reset, and use your 'stored' <F12> profile to get back to where you were...

Good luck!

Bill
 
Didnt have any time last night to start the overclocking process but I did install PC status programs from the list provided above. One thing I'm semi concerned about is at the stock speed of 2.8 ghz the cpu is around the mid 40 degrees C when idle and goes up to the mid to high 60s when running the prime95 test. I feel like this might be on the higher side of "normal" for the i7 930s but is OCing the core still fine at these base temps?
Thanks
 
How did you 'paste' the CPU? Sounds like a somewhat poor thermal conductivity issue, and shouldn't be - that cooler has plenty 'oomph'! My experience with CoolerMaster, as mentioned, has been nothing but excellent... I'll D/L and read the cooler install manual; in the meantime, did it come with paste, or'd you use somthing like Arctic? I, when I first ventured into these recent boards, used a couple slabs of clear plexi or polycarbonate to 'squeeze' a number of sample paste applications, and watch the 'spread'. Best results - start with a 'blob' about the size of a grain of rice, in the center, push the sink down and 'wiggle it' back & forth in 'rotary' fashion, to seat it - then, set the pins/locks/screws/what-have-you... Found that any attempt to 'spread it', by any means, before mounting, results in 'voids' (entrained air bubbles, actually) in the paste. Obviously, if your cooler had the paste silk-screened onto the contact area from the factory, the issue is moot...
 

NO - way HIGH! Turn up the fan to between Low ~ [MID] ~ High, or as High as you can until it's "noisy" to you...
V8_feature_SM.jpg
 
Ok when I get home tonight I'll try reseating the heatsink, also re paste if it seems like theres too much.

I used Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

EDIT:
Aready had the fan set to high. And F I just figured out that I had the fan/heatsink backwards thanks to the incorrect instructions that came with it. Gonna switch it around tonight, also check the amount of paste, and will update again with temps after that. :)
 
Well, still haven't learned much - thought I'd check the manual to see if there were any 'gotcha's in the install - manual I can D/L (which has obviously has been superseded) shows neither parts nor installation for either 1156 or 1366 socketed chips! jaquith has it right, though - crank the speed control all the way to the high side. It's apparently just a pot in the 12V supply (pin 2) - cranking it high will effectively lower its resistance to zero, providing the fan with the full header-supplied voltage... After you've OC'd , tweaked everything, and 'run thermals', we can see if you might 'twist it down a bit'!
 
[Airflow Pressure Test]
Also, try the following to make certain that you have good airflow in your case:
1. Remove the side panel and Run "stress" Prime95 for at least 10 minutes ; check the temperatures {High}.

2. Reinstall the side panel and do the same.

If the temperature difference is > 3-5C then you've got an airflow issue. Rule of thumb you want a "slightly" > CFM going out of the case. {remember not all e.g. 120mm fans are the same} One more reason for a Fan Controller. A lot of cases are full of "mesh" to help avoid positive case pressure, and therefore "FLOW" becomes more important {At AND Away from the "Hot-Spots"}
 
Ok correctly placed the heatsink, and reapplied paste, used less then last time since I think I over did it.
At idle the cores are around the mid 30s. ~37 33 36 33
With prime95 running for a few mins theyre hitting the low 60s at their highest :)
Highs were 63 61 60 58. While primes running the heatsink fan is running at full speed, 1720+ rpms.

Much better than before!!
Hopefully this is whats considered normal.

Thanks :)