Problem Should i update my BIOS?

Discussion in 'Software' started by Haroon Mustafa, Mar 2, 2015.

  1. Haroon Mustafa

    Haroon Mustafa Byte Poster

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    Hello All.

    I am wondering whether i should update my bios version F5 to F6h?

    On the gigabyte website it says this (please look at the attached picture from the gigabyte website)

    It says Beta BIOS on the right hand side of the F6h column

    Z97x Gigabyte Gaming-3

    Cheers
     

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  2. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    Based on that, if you have or plan to have SSDs in your rig, I'd update it. Just make sure it's a legitimate site you're getting the firmware from and you should be all good.
     
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  3. Haroon Mustafa

    Haroon Mustafa Byte Poster

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    Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I have a Solid State Drive in my PC., So should i start updating it? (to the beta bios)

    I am not sure how to update it but i am going to have a look on the web & hoping it is straight forward.

    Cheers
     
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  4. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Actually, it's not standard SSD's but Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVME) SSD drives, more like PCIe SSD cards or M2 based SSD drives than SATA ones.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVM_Express

    One thing that was always drummed in to me is only upgrade the BIOS if you need what it's going to fix, otherwise don't.

    In my experience I haven't always updated to the latest and greatest because I haven't needed to, the only times I did was to allow for something to work (VT-d or something similar in the past).
     
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  5. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    So I figured I'd take another look at your screen shot and I agree with Simon. I didn't realise you already have f5 installed so ssd improved and I just noticed the latest states beta! Screw that mate stay where you are. Sorry for the confusion I should have read your post when I didn't have so much on my mind
     
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  6. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Would not stick a beta BIOS on anything to be honest.
     
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  7. Haroon Mustafa

    Haroon Mustafa Byte Poster

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    Okay, thanks guys. I will always keep that in mind. My rig is working fine and i there is not any problems with the boot and stuff. So i am guessing i will never need to update my BIOS after years. Or the F6h version is a lot more stable. (even then i am going to wait a while)

    Cheers
     
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  8. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    If you want to test the stability of your system try looking for something like Prime95 to stress test the system for say 12 - 24 hours.
     
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  9. Haroon Mustafa

    Haroon Mustafa Byte Poster

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    Oh okay, thank you SimonD for that. I will look in to it, it is always great learning about new software.. too a point aha


    Cheers
     
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  10. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    I have built a number of machines over the years, this includes water cooled gaming rigs, stress testing is important.
    If you need any assistance give me a shout.
     
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  11. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    Personally I wouldn't stress test anything of my own if it worked OK. Sorry if that sounds daft, I'm speaking as a man who is on his third Xbox 360 although that's going back a bit, but then again you were assured they were pretty solid from day one..... :S (probably scarred and bitter!)
     
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  12. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Well thats it tho, you expect a pre-built piece of equipment is built to last but building your own PC you can never be too sure whether it will hold up.

    If you read a number of sites where they build PC's they always stress test for 24 - 48 hours, not only are they testing the components but also the bios settings, making sure ram timings, cpu over clocks etc are just right.

    Sure you can just expect it to work but that blue screen you get every other week, wouldn't you like to know that it's down to a memory timings being in-correct or that the TIM on the CPU isn't done right and the thermals cut out?

    I for one have spent many an hour ensuring that my rig runs right, why? because I have too many friends who game who find that their PC's crap out for unknown reasons (usually when they are gaming and things are getting too warm etc) but I can generally say, hand on heart that when I build a PC and it's ready to go, it won't cause any issues for a while.

    I used to go down the route of upgrading components every year but I am still running my 3770K on a Z68 motherboard because at the moment it runs everything perfectly (sure, having 2 780ti's in SLI helps a huge amount but even my single water cooled 580gtx before that worked a treat).

    What I am trying to say is that if you KNOW that your PC works with everything you throw at it you just feel that little bit more comfortable playing games on it (well I know that I do in any case, I spent a lot of money on it and I want it working right).
     
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  13. Haroon Mustafa

    Haroon Mustafa Byte Poster

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    Okay SimonD thanks for your opinion, I will stress test, once I find out more about what it is.

    I have been reading on various websites and I have found quite a few types of stress testing software. Do you recommend Prime95?
    Does Prime95 stress test all components? I found a few that just do the hard drive or the fan speed.

    Anyway , by reading online I have figured out stress testing is no loss. (apart from a bad result) you can only get good useful information out of it. Do you agrer

    I will try it is A few days, after figuring out the best way to go!!

    Cheers
     
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  14. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    I do rate Prime95, it generally stresses the CPU and ram, it won't do GPU's (tbh not something you really need to worry about).

    Once you have built the system and tweaked the BIOS is the time you need to stress test the components, just to make sure you have the right settings dialled in.

    It can take a bit of time but if you get a 24-48 hour run in without any issues you can be assured you have a rock steady system.

    Things to consider, if you have inadequate cooling running Prime95 can cause your machine to either bluescreen or simply power off if you reach the thermal cutout temps.
     
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  15. Haroon Mustafa

    Haroon Mustafa Byte Poster

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    Okay, great. Prime95 is what i will be using.

    I do not have any thing overclocked, do no need to test / or use those features on Prime95. However, Will BSOD happen to my PC. I have had no errors with it so far, i have been using it everyday for 2 months now. I have been using it for Gaming, Word processing, backing up data,.. such and such. .

    If there are no errors since i bought the PC and built it, do you think blue screen of death may become an issue? I will stress test it for 12 hours. Do you think that is appropriate?

    Cheers Simon, i really need assisting...
     
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  16. Haroon Mustafa

    Haroon Mustafa Byte Poster

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    Hi all, I am using various stress testing applications and my PC hd drive is running fine. I still have loads of components to test. Point is thank you simond for proposing stress testing.
    When I build another rig I will definitely have stress testing to do!!
     
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  17. dmarsh
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    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Most stuff that will break will arrive broken, or break with minimal use, this can be things like SATA ports, USB ports, HDD and SDD.

    Stress testing your CPU will normally just find poor cooling if you have not applied thermal paste, heat-sink, poor airflow etc.

    Stress testing your HDD will just find if you IO subsystem is decent and your HDD drives not defective from factory or shipping.

    New graphics cards are worth stress testing to ensure they work and don't overheat.

    The only exceptions to this I've experienced are :-
    Poor quality cables break internally after flexing.
    Some chips can be faulty in factory and a number of hot/cold cycles can kill them.
    Lot capacitors are low quality and tend to die after 2-5 years.
    HDD drives and SDD often die after 3 years of use.
     
  18. SimonD
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    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Dave,

    I have also experienced incorrect BIOS settings (ram timings etc) that appear to run normally at first but after a period of time running Prime95 will crash out, not specifically down to thermals at this point but definitely running incorrect timings.

    I agree that Prime95 is a great way for testing CPU temps
     
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  19. Shinigami

    Shinigami Megabyte Poster

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    A RAM memory tester is also useful as I've seen my fair share of faulty modules in the past, and this helps you find the problem before it becomes a bigger issue.

    And it certainly is easy to max out many coolers using Prime95, at which point the CPU may begin throttling to protect itself (unless you have a CPU that doesn't, like some older AMD's, that will essentially burn out).

    I recall about a dozen years ago, when I was working in PC installation and support at a large company, that we would get a desktop that occasionally just crashed, but nothing seemed to be wrong with it. I think it was a Compaq. Anyway, I ended up popping the heatsink off, and found that whoever had assembled the machine, had forgotten to remove the little protective tape from the heatsink that protects the thermal paste. Well, the tape was all brown and crispy, obviously been through a little bit of heat. Luckily tho', removing the strip and applying the heatsink with thermal paste properly to the CPU, did the job and the PC ran just fine ever since. Apparently nothing broke from the overheating, the PC just crashed and stopped using the CPU when things got too hot.
     
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