Gigabyte 965-DS3 won't remember BIOS Overclock over long periods

[Zak33]

Lo people.

I'm trying to build a PC for saofg/Bishop'sFinger and I have purchased a second hand Gigabyte 965-DS3 mobo, which is making excellent use of the Q6600 that I purcahsed with it... except.... it won't hold the Overclock settings overnight, if unplugged from the mains.

I've put a new CMOS battery in, but to be fair, that can't be it anyway, as it remembers everyother setting, inc date/time/hdd boot order, chipset features etc.

But when it's unplugged and boxed up, (to store it for a day while life went on) and taken out again (to continue tweaking)... it's back to default ram and bus speeds, which leaves it slower than default because I've knocked the multiplier down from 9x to 8x (proving that CMOS is remembering everything else)
I tried it again last night... sure enough this am... no overclock

One weird thing, confirmed on the Gigabyte website, is that when it "first" gets powered on, it cycles on for a short time, then off...then short pause... then on...

but NOT in accordance with Giga's website, it doesn't then POST. It needs a hit of the Reset button...and that's when it POST's but has lost it's FSB and RAM and ram multiplier settings.

Q: Is it normal that the system will reboot during its first power on? ( 965P-DS3 and 965P-S3 )

A: For 965P-DS3 and 965P-S3 motherboard, during the first power on after the system is installed, the system will reset the initial BIOS and Chipset parameter based on the system configeration and then reboot the system. The shutdown and reboot after the first power on is normal situation

thing is, this isn't after first install...it's every night

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2314

anyone got any ideas? I'm scratching my head on day 5 of this problem now.

[s3ds]

It realy does sound like a battery problem to me
after it is unplugged is there any charge left in the battery ? ( i know you said you changed it )

[jim]

I remember there being an issue with Gigabyte boards over forgetting overclocking settings, but I'm positive that it was on a more recent generation than the 965s.

This issue isn't unheard of with the 965-DS3 by the way, but I haven't seen any info about a fix: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...php?p=14795585

[Zak33]

BIOS battery is good as gold...

I've done some monster Googling today, and I think it's a COLD start problem, where the BIOS is ok to ruin the chip when warm, but the Northbrodge chipset, when cold, needs an extra +0.1V.

I've set it to that, and upped the FSB to +0.1V too.. and it's off now to see if it solves it.

[Zak33]

I remember there being an issue with Gigabyte boards over forgetting overclocking settings, but I'm positive that it was on a more recent generation than the 965s.

This issue isn't unheard of with the 965-DS3 by the way, but I haven't seen any info about a fix: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...php?p=14795585

that bloke, while simlar, is having to reset ALL the bios settings.. mine is holding the multipier for example, his isn't.

I'll find the link I was reading

[jim]

that bloke, while simlar, is having to reset ALL the bios settings.. mine is holding the multipier for example, his isn't.

I'll find the link I was reading

Yeah I realise that, just thought it was a massive coincidence. I wonder whether there is some kind of issue with the boards putting themselves into some kind of initialisation mode that they don't snap out of properly.

[Zak33]

yup, I think that's it exactly. It's painful, but having left this one for 3 hours and tried it, it was fine

Will leave overnight too see if it's a Northbridge volts thing.

Just found a VERY comprehnesive overclocking guide, far beyond anything I've ever read before.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1169366

It's MAMMOTH.

Wonder why he set's PCI Express Freq to 102?

[jim]

Wonder why he set's PCI Express Freq to 102?

What's odd about 102 specifically?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What's odd about 102 specifically?

The frequency is usually around 100mhz AFAIK.

[jim]

The frequency is usually around 100mhz AFAIK.

Yeah it is, but in this instance the guy's talking about overclocking it, in which case I'd expect it to be over 100. I was just confused as to why Zak flagged it up as sounding odd, didn't seem that odd to me.

[Zak33]

it seemed odd, cos 100 is default.. and 102 seems an unusual amount over.. is it a "reknowned" speed that everything runs faster at?

[Zak33]

OK, the increase in in FSB and G (MHC) have solved it

+0.1 V solved it.

[jim]

it seemed odd, cos 100 is default.. and 102 seems an unusual amount over.. is it a "reknowned" speed that everything runs faster at?

Well, 100 is the default, but making it faster will improve graphics performance.

However, if it goes too high then afaik you'll just destroy the graphics card so 102 is a safe number. I think there have been issues with it before because some motherboards have an AUTO option, which raises it in step with the FSB. So up goes the FSB, CPU can cope, but the PCI-E speed moves with it beyond the graphics card's limit, and then you're in the sticky stuff.

[kalniel]

Sounds like it's not forgetting settings, but rather it's failing to be stable with them and therefore it reverts back to safer settings after failing to cold boot with them.