Gigabyte Z170x gaming G1 Motherboard and PWM

[KharmaKazi]

been having a lot of problems with the above motherboard, first issues was it was overvolting my CPU, but that was fixed with bios updates.

the other issues i was having though was it would not control my PWM fans properly, these things were all over the place and would not hold a curve setting after re-boots etc.
also can't set the fans to a fixed RPM.
now after a lot of too and frowing with Gigabyte E-support and having to pull my system down multiple times to send it back for testing, it's with them again now.

i finally find out the answer why this morning from e-support.

out of all the fan headers on the high end motherboard only the CPU header is a PWM header, so the other 7-8 fan headers on this board are only voltage controlled.
they have told me to try and replace all my other fans with non PWM fans to see if it fixes the problem "what a joke"
i paid $35au a piece for Noctura PWM fans only to be told i can't use them. i'm running 3 x 120mm on the rad and 1 x 140mm rear.

this is this mornings reply from e-support.

Kindly note except CPU_FAN header is PWM mode, all rest of SYS_FAN headers(SYS_FAN1/2/3/4/5) and CPU_OPT header are Voltage mode. The Voltage mode header pin definition is different from PWM mode header pin definition. If possible, please connect Voltage mode fans on SYS_FAN1/2/3/4/5 headers and CPU_OPT header to see if the problem still persists.

what an absolute joke i think this is.

just a heads up to anyone considering buying Gigabyte motherboards if you want to run PWM fans...

 

[leedreamer189]

Thanks for the feedback. I actually ranked Gigabyte pretty high in terms of quality and service.
I would definitely sent it back and ask for my money back. Such motherboard shouldn't have these kind of silly issues.

 

[wingman99]

Can you control the other fan headers with voltage?

 

[Ozz1]

its no diff here in australia with gig support from the replies i got after 2 weeks of waiting, in a nutshell there is none.....and seems no matter what platform....whether it be just questions like i asked , like i tried to do from gig a rma, forget it , they make it so hard for anything ...ill never buy gig again for anything...asus here ive found to bend over backwards to help with anything

 

[KharmaKazi]

The online PC shop i bought the mobo from is trying to get me a refund from Gigabyte, as far as i know this was requested approx 2 weeks ago and no answer so far apparently.
i spoke to the shop today and was told they are going to request again. the online shop has been very good.
i agree about the silly issues, i didn't expect it with this over engineered "apparently" mobo.

they do work with both methods wingman, but only temporarily, then things start to go haywire, after re-boots, or when ever they feel like it really lol.
i just have 2 x normal 300mm fans running on the front of the case if i use quiet mode, they set to full bore and the 3 x PWM on the rad set to what ever they feel like at the time.
then i try performance mode the ones on the front set to slow and the rad ones speed up, but not to full bore.
i can set RPM fixed mode of what ever i want "which is what i want to use" but it just wont hold any settings for me and after a while or after a re-boot it just does what it wants again.
fans thrusting up to full bore for no reason etc etc. if i try to set a default curve it sets some very strange curve by default. my case is on top of my desktop.

i am dealing with Gigabyte Australia Ozz, it took over 6 weeks to get this motherboard back last time i sent it away for repair and for testing for the same problems. i don't think it was tested.
pretty sure now, between the online PC shop and Gigabyte. they have actually had this motherboard longer than i have now.

i had to buy another mobo to keep me up and running while this one was sent back for RMA last time. so i installed that again
i'm using an Asus hero viii and it is running exactly the same hardware as i was running on this mobo, no problems at all.
fans and monitors work as they should.
iv'e used Asus boards in my last few builds, but i thought id'e give a high end Gigabyte board a go for a change "was sold by all the bling lol"
what a big mistake it has been "for me anyway"

 

[wingman99]

Gigabyte seems to be doing a bad job from what you are saying.

 

[Ozz1]

i spoke to gigabyte in melbourne by phone for just some possible tech help, the result was all i did was waste my time and money on the phone call

 

[KharmaKazi]

yep i tried that too, the person i spoke to was polite. but he couldn't help me at all and told me to deal the the online store...

 

[Ozz1]

yep i tried that too, the person i spoke to was polite. but he couldn't help me at all and told me to deal the the online store...

funny in it, i was told the same, deal with where you bought it..

polite on the phone yes, but with anything i asked it was always back to the above which was basically nothing...just not interested !!!!

pretty sad really

 

[KharmaKazi]

yep, i guess they are kept pretty buisy with "testing" all there product returned to them ???

this is the latest response from E-support, i will also copy my response too this time, i have "pretty much" tried to stayed calm the whole time with them, but it's been hard work lol.

Dear Robert,

We are sorry to hear that you still have not received the item back. Currently we do not see recent service record regarding this serial number. Since you already submitted the item to your supplier, you may confirm with them about the status of this motherboard.

If you have any concern regarding the order or product specification, you may discuss with your supplier for assistance. If they find any problem, they can consult with our Australia service center, we will assist them to resolve the matter.

According to page 31 of the product manual, only CPU_FAN supports PWM mode. If you want to use SYS_FAN, please make sure to install voltage FAN and pin headers matches the hardware design to prevent issues. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Regards,
GIGABYTE

My Response :

as mentioned, i do not want the item back.
i have contacted "online store" again and they say they are trying to get me a refund from you.
they have also told me they will put in a second request to you as there first has still not been answered from Gigabyte.

and as for you quoting page 31 of the product manual and it stating that this high end motherboard only supports the CPU fan header running PWM and the other 5 headers using only voltage support.

are you trying to insinuate that i should have read the product manual before i purchased the motherboard ???

who the hell reads a product manual before they buy a motherboard ?
as the motherboards "ALL" come with a product manual, i read it before installation, like probably 99% of people out there do.

i did quite a bit of research on motherboards before building this last computer and if i knew this "high end" motherboard, only had one fan header out of 7 that was
capable of running PWM fans i would of never bought it.

no where on your website with the system specs for this motherboard does it state anything about it only having 1 x PWM header

here's an idea ???

in the motherboard specs section of your website IE :
motherboard Internal I/O Connectors specs section.
you add a little more info about the fan headers on this motherboard.
just to give you an idea i have copied and pasted the info about this board from your website. added "IN BRACKETS" what extra info you should provide, so a prospective customer can make an informed decision about buying a high end motherboard that only has one PWM header.
"what a joke"

"from your website"

i have added the PWM and voltage specs in brackets, the info that should there imo, unless your trying to deliberately deceive people ???

Internal I/O Connectors

1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
1 x PCIe power connector
1 x I/O shield audio LED power connector
2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
3 x SATA Express connectors
10 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x "PWM" CPU fan header
1 x "VOLTAGE CONTROLLED ONLY" water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT)
5 x "VOLTAGE CONTROLLED ONLY" system fan headers
1 x front panel header
1 x front panel audio header
2 x USB 3.0/2.0 headers
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
1 x power button
1 x reset button
1 x Clear CMOS button
1 x ECO button
1 x OC button
2 x audio gain control switches
2 x BIOS switches
Voltage Measurement Points

and as for your quote of :
"If you want to use SYS_FAN, please make sure to install voltage FAN and pin headers matches the hardware design to prevent issues. Sorry for the inconvenience"

so after spending $150au on 4 x Noctura PWM fans i'm supposed to put them aside and buy another 4 x voltage controlled fans only, because this "high end" motherboard isn't capable of running PWM fans.

ARE YOU SERIOUS ??? "i forgot to add in my reply that all the headers on this board are all 4 pin headers" what's the extra pin there for on the voltage control only 4 pin headers ??? "show/bling"

ok now i'm just getting angry writing this so i'll stop now, before i say something you'll regret.

i will now leave this in the hands of the PC store "online store" to try sort out with you.

if i do not get a satisfactory outcome in a timely manner, i will then just get consumer affairs involved as iv'e stated in past responses to you.

 

[KharmaKazi]

just a bit of an update if any ones actually interested ?

i received a reply from the online PC store this arvo, saying they have re-applied to have it returned to Gigabyte. so to me that means countless more weeks to have them reply and say the motherboard works ok with the test machine they have run tests on with the same mobo, but with completely different hardware that i'm running on it. IE they are running 1 x PWM fan and 3 voltage controlled fans and also completely different hardware.
this is getting beyond a joke imo.
when i get stuffed around though, i become very stubborn and now i will just not give up.
i have told them, i now need an answer asap as to if this board is going to be credited, if not i will follow through with getting consumer affairs involved "which i don't really want to have to do" but now i will also claim for compensation and parts as well as the motherboard as Australian consumer law states.

just got a reply again from e-support too as follows :

Dear Robert,

Your valuable feedback is the motivation for us to improve and serve you better. This mail has been forwarded to relevant department, possible improvement will be made under a comprehensive evaluation. If you have problem with sales / return, please contact your supplier (where you bought this product) for assistance.

Regards,
GIGABYTE

 

[wingman99]

There just giving you the runaround.

 

[KharmaKazi]

yep i'm starting to gather that lol.
but as i said i can be very stubborn when i have to be

i had another reply from the online PC store this arvo and they wanted me to send them a copy of all conversations iv'e had with gigabyte e-support from the start as i mention i had copies of it all. my first problems/question to e-support was just over 5 months ago now !
luckily i have kept a file with all conversation back and forward with them, as some of their answers have been deleted off the e-support site.
i provided this to the store via email.
i also sent them a thumb drive with the most recent screenshots of the problems iv'e been having when i returned the mobo the last time.
they asked me to send the screenshots again. so i'm assuming they have lost that ?

to be honest the online PC store has been very good "i think"
see what happens now ???

 

[wingman99]

Report back when you get more information or they take your board back.

 

[KharmaKazi]

ok just a bit of an update :

i hadn't heard from the PC store for 3 working days after our last conversation so i had enough of this being dragged out.

today i finally followed through with my threats of getting consumer affairs involved with this case and rang consumer affairs "Australia"
they asked me a few questions, the bloke i spoke to told me to send an email to the PC store quoting his name and a reference number he gave me, telling the store i wanted a full refund within 7 days.
if nothing happens within 7 days consumer affairs would get involved.

received an email back within a cpl of hrs saying my account has been credited to the full purchase amount of the motherboard that i had paid.
they are now refunding the money into my bank account.
i hated having to do this as the PC store has been very good through out all this and i have dealt with them for quite a while now. but finally got the result i thought i should of.

now i wont put everything here that the guy from the store wrote to me, just this important part that should hopefully help others out if needed hopefully :

Basically, we are going to chase them up to provide credit for this, despite the headers not specifically being advertised as PWM controlled it is reasonable to assume that as they are 4 pins they should be. The tricky part is that this is by design, so Gigabyte have no obligation to provide us with credit as there is technically nothing wrong with the board itself.

This will have to be done in our own time, as it will probably drag out for quite a while, however in the meantime we will be crediting your account as I understand this has taken far too long.

 

[wingman99]

So there is nothing wrong with the motherboard from what the shop says?

 

[KharmaKazi]

yep lol...

 

[EarthDog]

I never expected anything to be wrong honestly... it was just not advertised properly and logic tells one a 4 pin is PWM controlled.

Either way, you got your money back... which is good!

 

[KharmaKazi]

that was my whole point, the motherboard has all 4 pin headers, but e-support came back to me saying the only true PWM header was the CPU fan header.
all the other headers are voltage controlled only which if so they really only need 3 pins, so imo it's a bit of a con.
they could of really given me this answer 5 months ago. i think i have good reason to be really annoyed with Gigabyte and this "high end mobo"

i'm still waiting for the money to go into my paypal account...