$1500 Upgrade

Status
Not open for further replies.
The ram situation refers to the design of the i7 architecture and x58 chipset. The memory controller is inside the cpu so raising the voltage to the ram your are affecting the cpu. At stock QPI/VTT voltage the ram should not be more than .5v from the QPI/VTT. So if you raise the QPI/VTT a bit you can also put up the ram but i still wouldn't raise it much, i wouldn't go over 1.7v, but even then i would be uneasy.
 
I've been playing with a copy of the CS5 pre-release build, it runs pretty much the same, if not better then cs4. You don't need 12gb, I'm running 4gb and its perfectly smooth.

I'd like to address this statement, but am still under the ND Agreement, and therefore cannot. All I can say is the more ram the better.
 
If your going to use the PC for heavy photoshop use and your not concerned with overclocking, or just a mild overclock then I would go with 12GB.
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV12GS

If you want to go all out and you don't mind spending a little extra cash then this (3x4GB) kit would let you max out your overclock or even add 12GB more later.
Newegg.com - Patriot Gamer Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGS312G1600ELK
 
Thanks, Slaymate.
Another question; I plan on preparing for my build tomorrow, which brings up the need to flash the bios. Do you recommend doing this prior to building, that is on the table with just the psu, monitor, vid card, and one stick of ram?
Or would you build first and flash later?

Also, I've read all kinds of ways to flash, and pretty much settled on using floppies. The thing is I've had to prepare two floppies because one wouldn't hold the boot disk plus the update files. Any problem switching floppies after the initial boot?

Here's the link that makes sense to me on flashing http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/WebPage/motherboard_howtoreflash_bios/flashbios_dos.pdf

I'd prefer an easier way if there is one. How would you do it?
 
I would assemble the PC 1st. It's not that you can't flash it 1st, but anything can happen just when you don't want it to. Someone bumps the table and it restarts during a flash and your done. You probably wouldn't have any problems but why chance it.

I'll never flash my bios using a Windows-based utility. Quite a few members here have disagreed with me about this, but it's always a bad idea in my book.

Flashing with a Floppy Drive is a much more reliable option but I've seen Floppy Disks go bad just by looking at them.

I flash my bios using a usb memory stick/flash drive. To work with my system I had to make the Flash Drive Bootable which wasn't that hard but it was a pain in the arse.

However your mobo, the GA-X58A-UD3R, has a feature called Q-Flash which is really cool. Download the Bios update, I think F5 is the latest update and save it to a temporary location. The file is a .exe file that will extract the contents to a location of your choosing. Using the F5 bios as an example, go to the location of the bios files and copy X58AUD3R.F5 to a standard flash drive. Restart the PC, with the Flash Drive plugged in. When the System Posts hit the <End> key to enter the Q-Flash Utility. Or you can enter the Bios and then hit the <F8> key to access the Q-Flash Utility. Once your in the Q-Flash Utility you only have to Navigate to your Flash Drive and the location of X58AUD3R.F5, hit <Enter> and follow the on screen instructions.

Edit:
The info about Q-Flash is in the Manual on page 72-73. Here's the .pdf link I used :D
http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-x58a-ud3r_e.pdf

You can also use Q-Flash with a Floppy in-lieu of the Flash Drive so you would only need 1 Floppy Disk.
 
Sounds good, but I read about Q-Flash here http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/FileList/NewTech/old_motherboard_newtech/flashbios_qflash.pdf
and it mentions using a floppy. You're saying that a flash drive will work just as well, but what about when you get to the Q-flash utility screen where it says to "load main bios from Floppy", etc? Just substitute floppy for flash drive? Or will it say, "from flash drive" instead of floppy?

BTW I'll take your advice and build first.
 
The Q-Flash .pdf file your looking at is quite old. If you look at the 2nd page and the Post Screen you'll see it's dated 2002. The newest version of Q-Flash will work with a Floppy Disk, Flash Drive or even a Hard Drive if it's formatted as a Fat 32/16/12 drive. It's really easy, you won't have any problems figuring it out :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom