New Computer with Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R

[earwax_man]

I just built a new computer, but I have a few teething problems since it's my first build.

These are my specs:
Antec 1200
Antec CP 850 PSU
i7 930
Stock cooler (until my prolimatech megahalems arrives soon...)
8600GT (Until my 5970 arrives)
Samsung Blu-Ray Drive w/ dvd reader & writer
1 TB Seagate HDD
64GB Kingston V-Series SSD
Gigabyte ga-x58a-ud3r
24" Samsung Monitor

Now for the issues:
#1: My SSD isn't showing up. It's connected properly though. When I installed win7, it wasn't recognised. Even when the HDD was disconnected. I have AHCI enabled.

Here's a pic.

#2: I have 6GB RAM. Windows says 6GB is available, but 2GB is usable. BIOS says the same, but CPU Z says there's 6GB available. Suggestions?

Other than that it's flawless

 

[bilbat]

Where is your SSD connected? If it's not on the ICH, get it there! Ideally, with that board, you want your SSD (assuming you intend to boot it) on SATA2_0, your other HD on SATA2_1, your DVD on GSATA2_8, and any front panel eSATA connector on GSATA2_9; run the ICH (the first set of BIOS entries), the rear panel eSATA controller, and the GSATA 8_9 controller all in AHCI (AHCI on the Intel ICH will give you TRIM pass-through for your SSD; on the other two controllers it will give you 'hot-plug' for the eSATAs; disable the Marvell...

The only thing beside hardware I've ever seen (and rarely!) for the 'useable' RAM problem is to open msconfig (just type it into your search bar and hit enter), select the 'Boot' tab, and click on the 'Advanced Options' button; check "Maximum Memory", and scroll up to the amount you should have; apply and reboot - if that doesn't fix it, you have a bent socket pin under your CPU (90%+ likely, unfortunately...) - see i3/i5/i7 'Missing' Memory in the 'sticky'...

BTW - I love your 'avatar' picture! Can you point me at a larger version?

 

[earwax_man]

A small line of the pins were bent

I sent it back for a replacement though, so it should arrive in 10 days with the rest of my stuff. I know this is stupid, but how can I put the cpu in the socket without bending pins? I placed it the correct way with the arrow, pressed it lightly to make sure, and put the latch back in place. It booted and posted fine though... Anyway, I hope it will be fine.

I connected my HDD to the blue SATA connectors on my mobo, and the SSD to one of the white connectors (I think GSATA2_7?). Should the SSD be connected to a higher SATA # than the SSD so it boots first?

As well as that, should I install win7 on the HDD and then use the kingston software to move it to the SSD, or try to install it just on the SSD, then connect the HDD?

Also, here's the larger version of my avatar ^^

 

[bilbat]

Exquisite! Thank you, ever so much! Am working on a book, (working title: "Not Rocket Science!"), that kind of 'rambles through' libertarianism, control feedback theory, cognitive neuroscience, Austrian economics, quantum probability, follies of computer simulation, Randian objectivism... One of my points is that modern 'progressive' politicians will never be happy until they have reduced life to a 'binary' state - "everything that is not forbidden is mandatory!" - and that image will make a brilliant illustration for the chapter!

I connected my HDD to the blue SATA connectors on my mobo, and the SSD to one of the white connectors (I think GSATA2_7?). Should the SSD be connected to a higher SATA # than the SSD so it boots first?

The lower number connectors come first in the 'native' boot order; you can actually set them any way you want in the BIOS, but I always maintain it's best and easiest to plug 'em in in the order you want 'em to appear... Easy way to do your setup (assuming you're using a tower case, with the board mounted vertically): plug the SSD into either one of the top two blue SATA connectors; plug the hard drive into one of the next ones down (essentially, the middle pair of blue connectors); plug your DVD (and front panel eSATA, if any...) into the bottom pair of white connectors; leave the top pair of white ones empty...

I would plug 'em both in, make sure that, in the win installer, they both actually appear, and appear in the right order (i.e., your SSD should appear as C: or volume 0, and the hard disk D:, or volume 1...) and then do the install directly to the SSD.

 

[earwax_man]

Exquisite! Thank you, ever so much! Am working on a book, (working title: "Not Rocket Science!"), that kind of 'rambles through' libertarianism, control feedback theory, cognitive neuroscience, Austrian economics, quantum probability, follies of computer simulation, Randian objectivism... One of my points is that modern 'progressive' politicians will never be happy until they have reduced life to a 'binary' state - "everything that is not forbidden is mandatory!" - and that image will make a brilliant illustration for the chapter!

I connected my HDD to the blue SATA connectors on my mobo, and the SSD to one of the white connectors (I think GSATA2_7?). Should the SSD be connected to a higher SATA # than the SSD so it boots first?

The lower number connectors come first in the 'native' boot order; you can actually set them any way you want in the BIOS, but I always maintain it's best and easiest to plug 'em in in the order you want 'em to appear... Easy way to do your setup (assuming you're using a tower case, with the board mounted vertically): plug the SSD into either one of the top two blue SATA connectors; plug the hard drive into one of the next ones down (essentially, the middle pair of blue connectors); plug your DVD (and front panel eSATA, if any...) into the bottom pair of white connectors; leave the top pair of white ones empty...

I would plug 'em both in, make sure that, in the win installer, they both actually appear, and appear in the right order (i.e., your SSD should appear as C: or volume 0, and the hard disk D:, or volume 1...) and then do the install directly to the SSD.

No problem!

When I had my ssd connected, shouldn't it still have been recognised? Even when installing Win 7, it wasn't seen by my computer. :-(

I sent back the motherboard under RMA. Hopefully it'll arrive by the time I get back from vacation.

 

[jaquith]

Just a simple observation, I am "assuming" that you want your SSD as your "boot drive", BUT apparently you installed your OS on your "storage drive" which opens a NEW PROBLEM!

You should NOT have multiple drives connected when you install your OS, and if you install your OS on your SSD at this point it will create all sorts of PROBLEMS!

Therefore, as mentioned install you SATA II SSD drive on [SATA2_0] {blue connector on "top"~closest to the CPU AND in the "bottom" position~closest to the MOBO itself. DISCONNECT ALL SATA & GSATA connected drives. RESTART & [press the Clear CMOS on MOBO], REINSTALL WINDOWS.

Also, the "IF" you are using 3-sticks of DDR3 - install them in the (3) WHITE slots!!!! {NOT the blue}.

 

[earwax_man]

Just a simple observation, I am "assuming" that you want your SSD as your "boot drive", BUT apparently you installed your OS on your "storage drive" which opens a NEW PROBLEM!

You should NOT have multiple drives connected when you install your OS, and if you install your OS on your SSD at this point it will create all sorts of PROBLEMS!

Therefore, as mentioned install you SATA II SSD drive on [SATA2_0] {blue connector on "top"~closest to the CPU AND in the "bottom" position~closest to the MOBO itself. DISCONNECT ALL SATA & GSATA connected drives. REINSTALL WINDOWS.

Also, the "IF" you are using 3-sticks of DDR3 - install them in the (3) WHITE slots!!!! {NOT the blue}.

#1: I installed it on my HDD before I got a chance to get my SSD working. I'm going to format that later.

#2: I tried connecting only the SSD but it wouldn't show up

#3: Will do when I get my replacement mobo

#4: That's where they are. The pins were bent under the CPU socket.

 

[jaquith]

Trust me I "Get it" - you are NOT alone. When you get your MOBO back, "I read that you are RMA, I don't want you to make a common mistake of OS installation.

BTW - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/276715-30-x58a-ud3r-raid-bsod-disk-boot-failure

 

[bilbat]

More web 'old-wive's-tales'! All these OS were, each and every one:

installed with seven drives in the machine; six of them, in three RAID pairs (two pair of RAID0'd Velociraptors, a pair of WD RE3's in RAID1)... I do not have really solid info on this (mostly, as Marvell has yet to trust us 'mere mortals' with any documentation, whatsoever) but I'd bet, dollars to doughnuts, that I know what happened: win7 has 'native' support for AHCI - kind of. First off, what is meant by 'native', as regards drive access, is that the driver necessary for windoze to 'see' the drive (and, of course, install to it...) are already in the installer 'kernel' - the piece of the OS that runs to install the OS proper, to the drive. If the driver is not present in the installer kernel, the installer give you a chance to load it, prior to attempting the install - these are what are referred to as 'pre-load' drivers, or <F6> drivers (as, in Xp, the <F6> keystroke is required to 'invoke' the driver installer - Vista and Seven both have an explicit menu item):

Now, though I have not been able to confirm the exact status, from MS' documentation, I very much suspect that the 'native' suppport of AHCI amounts to two drivers: those for the Intel ICH family (and I'm not even positive that extends to the new PCH's!), and for the AMD 7xx/8xx chipsets. I have been patiently waiting for someone to want a system built for them that includes a 'standard' GB 'GSATA' port (which are actually jMicron SATA controller chips) to see if these are 'covered' in AHCI without an extra driver...) So, here's what likely happened: you attached your SSD to the Marvell port, toggled it (in the BIOS) to AHCI - and, without a driver loaded, the Seven installer couldn't 'see' it, at all...

I've made it pretty clear, here, that I consider the Marvell SATA3 controllers to be 'useless appendages', kind of like your appendix - unable to contribute anything worthwhile to your system, but definitely capable of 'making it sick'! It's slower than the ICH, it's less stable, so far as I am aware, no one knows, reliably, whether it (or its driver set) supports TRIM pass-through in AHCI mode (which is definitely vital to the long-term 'health and well-being' of your SSD), there are no hard drives in existence that can use the bandwidth afforded by SATA3, and while there have appeared a tiny trickle of SSDs which could benefit(in burst operation only, as well as for reads only!), they are, for the main part, still beset by firmware problems that make their use as 'iffy' as the Marvell controller itself...

The business of making motherboards is full of 'irrationalities'! For the marketing guys to 'differentiate' a board which, like everyone else's, is built up from a handful of 'industry standard' parts, they're always lurching into something that will let them make some kind of simplistic claim or other - as they know their prospective customers won't understand the irrelevancies of 'the hype', but will be impressed by 'higher numbers'! So: SATA3 must be better than SATA2, and 6Gb/s must be better than 3Gb/s - never mind that you'll never, ever get past 3Gb/s in the real world - unless you're willing to invest in 'iffy' SSD technologies, and can count their performance in the first hour of their use, when every single 'cell' is zeroed!

I want all my drives 'present and accounted for', at every install - as it's the best way to be sure than you have the correct 'driver set' installed!

 

[jaquith]

@bilbat - Installing multiple OSs on multiple HDDs is nothing new, but "IF" your MOBO is a dud then what??!!! Also, if you're running ALL of those RAID drives then CLEARLY you have a SEPARATE RAID controller(s) -- meaning the onboard RAID has NO bearing. I'm seeing a lot of the GA-X58A-UD3R having onboard RAID/HDD issues.

Also, "IF" you installed 2-10+ OSs while your PRIMARY HDD was connected WHEN/IF your PRIMARY fails NONE to those OSs will run and their OSs will become corrupted.

Also, no one "should" expect an onboard to run as good as a dedicated Expensive $$ RAID controller, but nonetheless the MOBO must work or be replaced. "I have" a ZERO tolerance if a MOBO fails to function as it is spec'ed; no one should accept any faulty Expensive {MOBO} hardware.

 

[bilbat]

The three RAIDs are on an ICH9R; as the OS (and it's corresponding swap file, living on the 'opposite' pair) are on RAID0's, I treat them as 'completely expendable', likely to be 'lost' at any moment (though, in practice, I've never lost a RAID, of either type, even after the failure of an RE3) - when I'm 'happy with' an OS, and the 'state of its installation', I boot to a different OS (to 'unlock' the system files), and image it to a backup drive... My partition structure, master boot record, and extended master boot record, are all backed up to a bootable floppy, which also happens to contain the installer for my boot manager. My current BIOS, its installer, and my working set of CMOS parameters are backed up to a second floppy - which can 'blind flash', in case of total disaster!

Next workstation rebuild will contain a 'pricey' RAID card (Areca 1680IX), but that's for a completely 'dedicated' thing - trying to optimize OpenCL with huge data sets... Most RAID troubles are simple: don't try to do RAID5 on a desktop, 'FakeRAID' platform; keep an eye on the 'active' driver situation (once in a rare while, there's a bad one); treat any RAID0 setup as 'expendable'! That's, pretty much, IT! In the year an a half or so, that I've been using/specifying GB boards, I have yet to see an actually bad MOBO! I (again, very rarely) see an actual defect answering questions here, occasionally; but, far more common, are people RMAing boards (and, sometimes, two or three times!) due to their inability to get something working correctly - because they don't know how to 'get it working'... I, some months back, spent several hours walking somebody through getting an Areca card (say, $800!) working on his system, who didn't know what it was! Had, I think, three other cheap drive controller cards, and, apparently, every hard drive he had ever owned 'slopped into' the thing!

"I have" a ZERO tolerance if a MOBO fails to function as it is spec'ed; no one should accept any faulty Expensive {MOBO} hardware.

Not accepting failure is a good policy - but, one must be armed with reasonable expectations, and understanding of 'what you're getting' - face it - the reason for the existence of that Marvell controller is so the manufacturer of the board can print SATA3 in BIG LETTERS, on the side of the box - take it for what it's worth (in essence, nothing!), disable it, saving a PCIe lane, and a couple interrupts and addressing blocks in the process, and put anything that 'matters' on the ICH. Look at it this way: Intel has had half a decade to reiterate and refine both the ICH architecture, and driver set - and that's only if you consider the first 'modern' ICH to be the ICH7R (which was the first 'iteration' to have both architectural and driver support for AHCI); more that a decade, if you're not that 'fussy'! Once Marvell has, say, three or five years' development under their belt - it may become worth something, too - but - my prediction: by that time, Intel (though, much to my surprise, there's no current 'timeline for this) will have a PCH/ICH platform that will do SATA3, and, they will have an SSD controller chipset that will also support those kinds of speeds! (There is, however, a hell of a lot of potential in the new SandForce controllers, but, they too, just don't have enough 'field time' in yet to have achieved serious firmware 'tweaking'...

 

[jaquith]

@bilbat - Many folks are purchasing SATA III drives, so disabling it is not an option. Obviously, I know there are very FEW SSD drives that will "bounce" over the SATA II bandwidth. In my case of Gigabyte failures, yeah I could purchase (10/TEN) RAID controllers but that's $1500+; therefore, RMA was the only choice. As you may recall I have several Servers, and those all have dedicated RAID controller cards ($10K+ Servers).

My point wasn't to argue, but to point out (2) things: 1. Apparently "some" Gigabyte MOBOs apparently "seem" to have real verifiable problems, 2. Pie in the sky configurations seem off-topic, but "interesting" to discuss. What you described was more than 4 drives. (Only RAID 0 {2}, 1 {2}, 5 {4}, & 10 {4} [{drives}] are supported on the GA-X58A-UD3R.

Also, "IF" I see failures from day (1) then it's crazy to "TRUST" your data to faulty equipment {MOBO, HDD, SSD, GPU, you name it...}

My Observation, is that "IF" you simply REMOVE ALL but ONE (1) HDD/SSD when you install an OS then that HDD/SSD will boot just fine if the PRIMARY goes Bye-Bye for ANY reason. Also, I NEVER RAID 0 a "Production" Computer, and if I want that Speed + Reliability then RAID 10.

footnote: Primary SSD smaller than 128 GB will, in "my opinion" potentially do more harm than good. You cannot fit many apps beyond the OS, and installing apps on the non-SSD is a mistake, and installing the OS without apps on the SSD defeats its purpose. Instead purchase a HHD (Hybrid Hard Drive (a/k/a H-HDD).

 

[bilbat]

SATA3 drives are for the same purpose as the Marvell controllers on the motherboards - so the manufacturer can print SATA3 in nice BIG LETTERS on the side of the box!! There are no SATA3 drives - they just say they are. No physical drive can physically produce a physical data stream anywhere near SATA2's 3Gb/s!! The X58A-UD3R has an ICH - it can do: three RAID pair (1 or 0, or any mix); RAID 5 (though I'd never recommend it) or RAID10 with up to six drives (even pairs only, if you please, for the 10...); or a single, huge, six drive RAID0...

 

[jaquith]

Yes, I know there are (6) ports SATA2_0 - SATA2_5 + (2) ports GSATA2_8 - GSATA2_9, and yes you can configure them in pairs (2) through (6) in a non-typical RAID 5, or I guess some large RAID 0 if you're going for a speed record.

SATA2 ~ 3Gb/s = 300 MB/s per device.

However, there are SSDs that are beyond 300 MB/s (e.g. Crucial RealSSD C300 @ 355 MB/s). Therefore, barely so, some SSDs exceed SATA2 limits.

footnote: @bilbat you have a tenancy to write "books" and at best I skim some of your stuff... Easily, I can overlook a detail you wrote.

 

[bilbat]

Actually, the ICH doesn't scale well past two drives; a pair of 'short-stroked' Velociraptors is about 15% faster than three, and 20% faster than four - seem counter-intuitive, no?

I am aware of the Crucials - they're what I was refering to when I said 'not yet useable - hosed by firmware problems'! As I said, the stuff is coming along, the SandForces are turning out spectacular numbers, but firmware (especially for SSDs), is not just a quest for the numbers - it's about long-term useage without tragic degradation. For most people, who are not going to want to RAID several SSDs, and spend some time setting up procedure to duplicate partitions, and alternately image and "Tony-TRIM" 'em, the only drives I can wholeheartedly recommend are the Intel second-gens - and, you definitely want to keep 'em on an ICH, with the Intel implementation of TRIM pass-through... What real-world users typically see is great numbers about as long as it takes 'em to install their apps over the OS - and then things start 'going into the toilet' [:fixitbil:9]

 

[jaquith]

Short-Stoking is becoming a thing of the past, and "for me" it butchers your HDD to the point of making it real-world useless. (I love that SSD don't require defraging either)

Similarly, you can do all sorts of PITA things to a PC to squeak-out (FPS, R/W, etc), but I've found out less is often more.

Yep, I know all about the firmware issues of some SSDs. But, some HDD have had firmware issues as well. No perfect world.