Finally Gigabyte has admitted the noise issue

LINK:http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,1426.msg8914.html#msg8914


QUOTE:Good news everyone - after a few days of communicating with the Gigabyte warranty manager in Australia (who was extremely helpful), I can now say that Gigabyte is working on a fix to solve this noise problem.

When I brought my UD3R motherboard in 3 days ago for them to examine, Gigabyte staff finally confirmed that they could hear the noise.

Apparently, it was the first time that Gigabyte staff heard the noise coming from a X58A. In the past, people have RMA'd their noisy X58A motherboards, but Gigabyte staff could not hear the noise, because of 3 factors:
1) The technicians work in a room that is quite noisy, there are fans etc on all the time. Even I had a hard time hearing the noise when I was in their testing room. We had to put our ears right next to the area that was making the noise, in order to hear it. So it would have been easy for the technicians to miss the noise.
2) Some people simply cannot hear high-pitch noises well. Apparently the technicians in general are unlikely to hear high-pitch noises, because they have been exposed to noise all the time in their work environment, which makes them less likely to notice soft noises coming from a motherboard.
3) Gigabyte uses Windows Vista to test their motherboards, not the latest OS Windows 7. It could be that the noise only occurs when running certain operating systems, and not when running Windows Vista.

Since the noise problem is now officially confirmed by Gigabyte, the research department in Gigabyte headquarters has been informed about the problem. Apparently the research team thinks that they can fix the noise, by tweaking the BIOS of the motherboards.

I've been told that Gigabyte will be working on a BIOS update to fix the noise problem on the UD3R Revision 1.0 first, then the UD7. These BIOS updates could be ready by next week. They will then gradually fix the BIOS of the remaining X58A motherboards.

Personally, I am not sure whether a BIOS update can fix this noise problem. From what I can see, it is a hardware issue - the chokes (black cubes near the CPU slot) vibrate when there are fluctuations in the CPU voltage, and the vibrations give off the noise. I'd be interested to see how a BIOS update can stop the vibrations from happening, without disrupting the efficient power management of the i7 CPU.

But at least we now know that Gigabyte is trying to fix the problem.

Please note that I am simply passing on information I got from discussions with Gigabyte, since there are many people out there who (like me) are upset by the noise, and would like to know any information about a possible fix. There is no guarantee that the problem will be fixed, until we see the BIOS updates and test them out. But at least there is some hope, for now.

TVs also have this Oscillation issue. One of the fixes (and it really works) is to pinpoint which component is doing the high pitch oscillation using a wooden kitchen spoon handle. Touch the components till the noise goes away, then using a hot glue gun, cover the component. This causes it to quit vibrating.

I understand that some components on a motherboard can't be covered up, but if it is something that doesn't have to be cooled, then this shouldn't be a problem.

uhh how does an OS make certain parts vibrate any different then another OS?

I thought that too, but figured maybe b/c it used more power or something....(grabbing at straws here).

i wonder if this could be related to the boot loops and post failures also associated with gigabyte x58 mobos.

gigabyte techs always claim that a piece of hardware is incompatible, maybe its the core i7 processor thats incompatible with this buzzing component.

how much would gigabyte share holders lose if they were to honor their warranty and replace all of their x58 motherboards?

i am willing to bet that a bios update wont do jack.

Well from what I have been reading in the forms, widows 7 has different power saving features that change the voltage.

Gigabyte says they are going to try and fix the problem in bios to avoiding certain voltage regulator voltages.

I wonder if there going to actually be able to fix the problem because I see forms where windows 7 squeals on a Gigabyte board and all power supplies deliver different base voltages under idle and load.

it seems like the posters on the that forum you linked are getting some where with this issue. apparently the x58 rev2.0 mobo has been designed with more vreg modules than rev1.0 in addition to other features. this is just what a poster wrote and i havent researched this myself.

the australian gigabyte support team seems to be more willing to work with their customers than the american one.

CONFIRMED:

ga-x58a-ud3r

rev2.0 has more modules surrounding the cpu socket tha rev1.0

unless I am unable to count there is 1 more cap in total between v1 and v2

Adragontattoo said:

unless I am unable to count there is 1 more cap in total between v1 and v2

Click to expand...

i count 8 in rev1.0 and 12 in rev2.0

The difference I see is that the Rev 2.0 has 4 more chokes on the VRC total of 12

i admit that i am pretty much clueless when it comes to the technicalities of computing. but it seems that these square black modules regulate voltages of the cpu i/o.

a hypothesis that i can form from these jpegs is that 8 of these module is not enough to regulate the cpu and gigabyte engineers corrected this in rev2.0. i may be wrong.

we need someone who has knowledge and experience with this type of hardware to weigh in on this hypothesis.

When you see the phase change in the specs thats what they are talking about and they usually used most for overclocking. As I understand it they mostly are responsible for supplying clean smooth power.

No having more VRC, the chokes that you see makes a board more stable during overclocking also more reliability.

The quality of the components and engineering is what keeps the chokes from squealing, there has been many designs over the years for motherboards and video cards that squeal at idle or under load.


Everything You Need to Know About The Motherboard Voltage Regulator Circuit LINK:http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/616/1

Yes correct this is the UD3r has a new revision, no need to rush out and swap it for your old one though, their is only 3 changes, the extra chokes, a new USB3 controller, (nothing wrong with the old NEC one), and a USB3 switch in the bios, which can be enabled in the bios on your rev 1.0 motherboard with the latest beta bios (f6e) which really only means 2 changes in the new board.

Who is making the new USB controller.

wingman99 said:

Who is making the new USB controller.

Click to expand...

I believe its NEC still mate, just a revised version

intel is suppose to release a USB 3.0 controller, not sure when. i do recall reading it is going to be for add-in cards but could also on-board separated from PCH/SB.

So what happens to those of us with the older board that does squeal? Have Gigabyte released a bios yet that limits the lower voltage for the CPU?

From what I gather there working on it I hope, if they don't post a note to the uk link form above and keep in touch with that post.