Gerry's stuff
  • Gerry's web page
  • My 'Stimpy' project
    • Hardware elements
    • Cables and sleeving >
      • Final sleeving
    • Modding the power supply
    • Adding vinyl foil
    • Case lighting (new!)
    • System upgrades >
      • GA-880GA-UD3H systemboard
      • Corsair H50 water cooler installation
      • Floppy support is lacking!
      • Changing heatsinks
      • Stimpy gets a face change
      • Power supply upgrade
      • Liitle things
    • YASBU - Yet Another System Board Upgrade!
    • A Nerds life before Stimpy
  • Bike
    • Adding a front derailleur
    • Bike wheels
    • Bicycle Apps
  • Oasis/Odyssey Minivan
    • Odyssey Minivan
    • Sliding Door roller repair
    • Sliding Door replacement
  • Blog
  • testing new standard Blog
  • testing new Disqus Blog

System problems. Let's bite the bullet and upgrade one more time!

Oh, dear! The system is not working right. I was testing out some overclocking, and it's no longer working. I was trying to overclock the system. Did I push it too fast? I unlocked my triple core and enabled the 4th core. Could the core that was disabled by the manufacturer be causing my problems? Possibly!

Back in 2011 I bought this motherboard new. My motherboard used an 880 series chipset, I could have chosen a motherboard with the 890 series chipset. So now in late 2014 both of these chipsets are no longer used- but the 880/890 are the last to have the floppy support that I insist on having in Stimpy! So on with the research at Overclock.net and other places. I definitely wanted AM3+ processor support, not just the AM3 that my current board supports.

​This time, I decided to forgo the built in video on the motherboard. The Hybrid Crossfire performance couldn't live up to its hype! I did want to stick with the Gigabyte family. So it was down to a top end 890FX chipset, either the GA-890FXA-UD5 or the GA-890FXA-UD7. After some research on the Owners Club thread at OCN (Overclock.net) I ruled out the 'king of the hill' UD7. It's a larger, extended length board that probably won't fit in my case. And the BIOS support is lacking, it was quickly apparent that some OCN members were not happy with it.
​
So the search began on eBay for a GA-890FXA-UD5 Rev 3.1 board with the black AM3+ socket.
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So now in January 2015 my prize arrived! Same DDR3 memory, same SATA2 and SATA3 ports. Floppy connector is now moved next to the power and IDE connectors. There's a bonus LPT Parallel port connector next to the COM Serial port. And improved cooling on the VRMs and south bridge chipset, you might notice a heat pipe connecting the heatsinks.
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Gone were the VGA/DVI/HDMI ports (3 ports, but only 2 could be used at the same time: VGA and HDMI or DVI), but now in its place are 2 eSATA ports, with USB power! Not just one 1394a Firewire port but a second mini-Firewire port as well. Even a second gigabit Ethernet port! And a copper/coaxial SPDIF port joins the optical port. 
Not much room left to add anything else!
To add even more to the cool bling factor are the illuminated power/reset/CMOS clear switches. Perfect for those times where you're working inside the case and you don't want to reach around to find the power switch.
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Now instead of moving a jumper on the motherboard to reset or clear the CMOS, just pop off the protective plastic cover and press the switch.

I decided to take the purple heatsinks off of the old motherboard and cover up/dress up the new one.
​I also transferred my north bridge cooling fan to this motherboard as well. The passive cooling can use the assistance.
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  • Gerry's web page
  • My 'Stimpy' project
    • Hardware elements
    • Cables and sleeving >
      • Final sleeving
    • Modding the power supply
    • Adding vinyl foil
    • Case lighting (new!)
    • System upgrades >
      • GA-880GA-UD3H systemboard
      • Corsair H50 water cooler installation
      • Floppy support is lacking!
      • Changing heatsinks
      • Stimpy gets a face change
      • Power supply upgrade
      • Liitle things
    • YASBU - Yet Another System Board Upgrade!
    • A Nerds life before Stimpy
  • Bike
    • Adding a front derailleur
    • Bike wheels
    • Bicycle Apps
  • Oasis/Odyssey Minivan
    • Odyssey Minivan
    • Sliding Door roller repair
    • Sliding Door replacement
  • Blog
  • testing new standard Blog
  • testing new Disqus Blog