Excited about Intel's Ivy Bridge baked in PCI-E 3.0 Support? Check your stepping

caveman-jim · Apr 26, 2012, 10:39 AM

A forum post at Anandtech has shed some light on the apparent issues Intel's new ~~Ivy~~ Sandy Bridge E processors have with running multi-GPU configurations with the built in PCI-Express 3.0 controller:

Update from ASUS: Just asked HQ, they told me some CPUs can't handle two cards in Gen 3 mode. Intel know about this and won't chage out the CPUs. Apparently the C2s are better than the C1 steppings but Intel have now removed official Gen 3 support from their product pages. If that is the issue, what you can do is set PCIe to Gen 2 mode in UEFI just to debug and see if the lock ups persist. If they do then the issue lies elsewhere, if they do, then the CPU is not capable of Gen 3 on two slots at the same time. Some CPUs are better than others in this regard and it is luck of the draw.

If you're jumping into Sandy Bridge E for more bandwidth under your multi-GPU configuration, double check that stepping code - you might be falling back to PCI-E 2.0 speeds to avoid hard locks.

Thanks for forum member demo for the info.

Note = the original issue here is reported on Sandy Bridge E platforms, not IB. No idea if there's anything wrong with IB.

CurrentlyPissed · Apr 26, 2012, 10:48 AM

God dammit intel.

Swiftdeathz · Apr 26, 2012, 11:15 AM

And there is no way to tell until I have the CPU box in my hand. How could I look up which codes I should be aiming for when I go to buy a new IB cpu?

Edit: Woops. Through my quick read I missed the part that says it is affecting X79 chipset motherboards. I guess Z77 is safe for now.

moshpit · Apr 26, 2012, 04:44 PM

Okay, I'm confused. This story is about a P9X79 mobo, aka, X79 chipset, aka a socket 2011 motherboard. Am to understand the new Ivy Bridge is now NOT socket 1155 anymore? Ivy Bridge-E is not out. Rereading the article several times, they never actually say Ivy Bridge either. I think this is a Sandy Bridge-E setup, perhaps?

Edit: Though X79 is indeed Ivy Bridge ready, there are no Ivy Bridge chips to fill socket 2011 yet, is my understanding. Ivy Bridge-E will fill this roll later in the year.

caveman-jim · Apr 26, 2012, 04:47 PM

Mosh - you're right this issue is reported on X79 and SB-E, but it is apparently being reported on Z77 and IB as well. I don't have a link currently though, so pinch of salt.

I asked Intel and they said talk to AMD and NVIDIA, cos they make the PCI-E 3 gen products.

moshpit · Apr 26, 2012, 04:59 PM

*Preens himself and beams that being out of the tech loop for a year hasn't dulled his sharp technical eye*

w00t fer me! :P

caveman-jim · Apr 26, 2012, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moshpit

*Preens himself and beams that being out of the tech loop for a year hasn't dulled his sharp technical eye*

w00t fer me! :P

moshpit · Apr 26, 2012, 05:54 PM

Who's that hottie chick behind the dude's head? I would so do her...

demo · Apr 26, 2012, 10:18 PM

I've hit the big time, in rage3d news article! pack the bags kids, we're going to hollywood.

**PeaceKeeper** · Apr 27, 2012, 08:24 AM

If I'm not mistaking only the 6-core cpus are the ones that have C1 and C2 steppings. I believe all the Quad Core Sandy E's are C2's like mine.

jlpktnst · Apr 28, 2012, 12:31 PM

It is funny how they handle things.

Can't customers in USA push companies for selling em goods that don't work as specified?

moshpit · Apr 29, 2012, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlpktnst

It is funny how they handle things.

Can't customers in USA push companies for selling em goods that don't work as specified?

Yup, but usually it's called a law suit.

caveman-jim · Jun 22, 2012, 12:57 AM

NVIDIA patch for enabling PCI-E 3.0 speeds on X79 platforms

www.madshrimps.be/news/item/90612

caveman-jim's System Specs
Motherboard	XFX® X58i Tri-SLI
CPU	Intel® Core i7 920@4Ghz [4.2 Turbo]
Graphics	AMD® HD 5870 Eyefinity6 2GB CrossFireX
Memory	3x2Gb G.Skill® Rip-Jaws DDR3-1200 8-8-8-24 1T
Cooling Solution	CoolIT® Domino A.L.C.
Display	6xDell P2210 in 3x2 Eyefinity
Soundcard & Speakers	Dell® 2.1 Speakers
Hard-Drives	Intel® X25-E 32Gb SSD + 7200.11 1TB
Optical Drives	Lite-On BD-ROM
Power Supply	Corsair® TX-850
Case	Cooler Master® HAF932
Input Devices	OCZ® Alchemy Elixir keyboard & OCZ® Equalizer mouse
Operating System	Microsoft Windows® 7 x64
Extra Info	60" Desk

CurrentlyPissed's System Specs
Motherboard	ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Pro
CPU	Intel i7 3770k @ 5.1@1.4v
Graphics	EVGA SuperClocked Titan GTX 6GB @ 1149/7350
Memory	16GB Corsair Dominator GT @ 2133
Cooling Solution	Swiftech Apogee Drive II(With MCP35X), XSPC RX360 Rad, XSPC Dual Bay Resevoir
Display	3x Asus 23" MX239H AH-IPS (5760x1080)
Soundcard & Speakers	Creative Sound Blaster Z - Sennheiser HD600
Hard-Drives	OS: Samsung 840 120GB Games: Samsung 840 PRO 256 Media: Seagate 1TB
Optical Drives	Samsung Optical CD-DVDRW
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200
Case	NZXT Phantom 820
Input Devices	Ducky 9008 G2/Logitech G500
Operating System	Windows 8 64bit Pro

Apr 26, 2012, 11:15 AM	#3
Swiftdeathz 7870 CFX Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: NYC/NJ, USA Posts: 479	And there is no way to tell until I have the CPU box in my hand. How could I look up which codes I should be aiming for when I go to buy a new IB cpu? Edit: Woops. Through my quick read I missed the part that says it is affecting X79 chipset motherboards. I guess Z77 is safe for now. __________________ Intel i5 3570k \|\| Sapphire HD 7870 OC CrossFireX \|\| Asrock Z77 Extreme4 \|\| 8GB DDR3 G.SKILL \|\| Seasonic X750 Intel Core2Duo E8400 \|\| PowerColor HD 5450 \|\| Gigabyte P35-DS3L \|\| 4GB DDR2 G.SKILL \|\| Enermax 431W Folding@Home... Last edited by Swiftdeathz : Apr 26, 2012 at 11:30 AM.

Swiftdeathz's System Specs
Motherboard	Asrock Z77 Extreme4
CPU	Intel i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz
Graphics	Sapphire HD 7870 OC CrossFireX
Memory	8GB G.Skill DDR3 @ 1600MHz 9-9-9-24 2T
Cooling Solution	TRUE Black 120 with Rosewill 1600rpm fan in push
Display	Acer 22" LCD \| Panasonic S2 42" 1080p plasma
Soundcard & Speakers	X-Fi XtremeMusic + Audio-Technica M50S
Hard-Drives	Crucial M4 128GB SATA3 \| Seagate 2TB SATA3
Optical Drives	Asus BC-12B1ST BD-ROM
Power Supply	Seasonic X750
Case	Rosewill GEAR X3
Input Devices	Logitech keyboard \| Logitech MX510 mouse

Apr 26, 2012, 04:44 PM	#4
moshpit Resident Mac Hater Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: PIT, PIT, PIT, in the PIT!!! Posts: 18,967	Okay, I'm confused. This story is about a P9X79 mobo, aka, X79 chipset, aka a socket 2011 motherboard. Am to understand the new Ivy Bridge is now NOT socket 1155 anymore? Ivy Bridge-E is not out. Rereading the article several times, they never actually say Ivy Bridge either. I think this is a Sandy Bridge-E setup, perhaps? Edit: Though X79 is indeed Ivy Bridge ready, there are no Ivy Bridge chips to fill socket 2011 yet, is my understanding. Ivy Bridge-E will fill this roll later in the year. __________________ Ci7 2600K @5Ghz/8Gb Patriot Viper II/Asus Sabertooth P67/EVGA GTX680 SC/2x Patriot Torqx 128G(OS)/1Tb WD Black Ci7 920/6Gb Corsair DDR3 1600/GA-EX58-UD3R/Geforce GTX580/750Gb Seagate ES.2(OS)/2x 2Tb WD Green Ci7 860/4Gb Patriot Viper II/EVGA P55 SLI/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2 (wife's rig) If you feel like I'm hurting your wittle feelings too much, refer me to this thread : A new nicer moshpit??? "Go screw yourself Apple." Last edited by moshpit : Apr 26, 2012 at 04:52 PM.

moshpit's System Specs
Motherboard	Asus Sabertooth P67
CPU	Core i7 2600K @5Ghz
Graphics	EVGA GTX680 SC
Memory	8Gb Patriot Viper II DDR3 1600mhz
Cooling Solution	Corsair H70
Display	HP 2509m (1920x1080)
Soundcard & Speakers	Onboard + 5.1 Cambridge speakers
Hard-Drives	2x 128Gb Patriot Torqx, 1Tb WD Black
Optical Drives	22x Pioneer SATA DVDRW
Power Supply	Corsair TX750w
Case	Antec Twelve Hundred full tower
Input Devices	Razer Diamondback (blue) mouse, Saitek Cyborg keyboard
Operating System	Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Signature Edition
Extra Info	Only CPU and GPU OC'd. All else stock.

Apr 26, 2012, 04:59 PM	#6
moshpit Resident Mac Hater Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: PIT, PIT, PIT, in the PIT!!! Posts: 18,967	Preens himself and beams that being out of the tech loop for a year hasn't dulled his sharp technical eye w00t fer me! :P __________________ Ci7 2600K @5Ghz/8Gb Patriot Viper II/Asus Sabertooth P67/EVGA GTX680 SC/2x Patriot Torqx 128G(OS)/1Tb WD Black Ci7 920/6Gb Corsair DDR3 1600/GA-EX58-UD3R/Geforce GTX580/750Gb Seagate ES.2(OS)/2x 2Tb WD Green Ci7 860/4Gb Patriot Viper II/EVGA P55 SLI/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2 (wife's rig) If you feel like I'm hurting your wittle feelings too much, refer me to this thread : A new nicer moshpit??? "Go screw yourself Apple."

Apr 26, 2012, 05:54 PM	#8
moshpit Resident Mac Hater Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: PIT, PIT, PIT, in the PIT!!! Posts: 18,967	Who's that hottie chick behind the dude's head? I would so do her... __________________ Ci7 2600K @5Ghz/8Gb Patriot Viper II/Asus Sabertooth P67/EVGA GTX680 SC/2x Patriot Torqx 128G(OS)/1Tb WD Black Ci7 920/6Gb Corsair DDR3 1600/GA-EX58-UD3R/Geforce GTX580/750Gb Seagate ES.2(OS)/2x 2Tb WD Green Ci7 860/4Gb Patriot Viper II/EVGA P55 SLI/Radeon HD5870/750Gb Seagate ES.2 (wife's rig) If you feel like I'm hurting your wittle feelings too much, refer me to this thread : A new nicer moshpit??? "Go screw yourself Apple."

Apr 26, 2012, 10:18 PM	#9
demo space cadet Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 19,677	I've hit the big time, in rage3d news article! pack the bags kids, we're going to hollywood. __________________ ____________________

demo's System Specs
Motherboard	Maximus IV Extreme
CPU	i7 2700k
Graphics	GTX680 3-Way SLI
Memory	8GB Corsair Dominator GT 1866 CL7 1T
Cooling Solution	Corsair H100
Display	U2913WM 76hz / UA40D6600
Soundcard & Speakers	X-Fi 5.1 Surround Pro / z506 / HD518
Hard-Drives	Samsung 840 SSD / OCZ A3 SSD / 2TB WD black HDD
Optical Drives	LG DVD-RW
Power Supply	Silverstone Strider 1200w
Case	Corsair 650D
Input Devices	Corsair K60 / Logitech G400 (optical>laser)
Operating System	Win7 x64
Extra Info	wewtness!

Apr 27, 2012, 08:24 AM	#10
PeaceKeeper Keeping The Peace Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,218	If I'm not mistaking only the 6-core cpus are the ones that have C1 and C2 steppings. I believe all the Quad Core Sandy E's are C2's like mine. __________________

PeaceKeeper's System Specs
Motherboard	ASUS Rampage IV Formula
CPU	Intel Core i7 3820 C2 @ 4.5GHz
Graphics	2x EVGA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB SLI
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance @ 1668MHz (9-9-9-24-1T)
Cooling Solution	Corsair H70 Core
Display	2x Dell UltraSharp U2410 24" LCD Rev. A02
Soundcard & Speakers	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium & Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 2.1 / Sennheiser RS 170
Hard-Drives	Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW300G3B5 300GB SATA2 SSD & 2x WDC Black WD6401AALS 640GB SATA2 RAID 1
Optical Drives	ASUS BC-12B1ST 12x BD-ROM & ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD-RW
Power Supply	Corsair HX1050W Modular Power Supply
Case	Corsair Obsidian 650D
Input Devices	Logitech G400 Mouse & Das Keyboard Model S Professional Silent
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise x64 SP1
Extra Info	APC Smart-UPS 1500VA

Apr 28, 2012, 12:31 PM	#11
jlpktnst Radeon HD 6950 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Slovenia Posts: 375	It is funny how they handle things. Can't customers in USA push companies for selling em goods that don't work as specified?

jlpktnst's System Specs
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P
CPU	AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE (C2)
Graphics	Sapphire Radeon HD7850 2GB
Memory	4x4GB
Cooling Solution	Scythe Mugen II + some case fans
Display	3x Dell U2412M
Soundcard & Speakers	Onboard->coax->some chinese amp->DT990
Hard-Drives	Intel 330 series SSD 240GB + a few Seagate Barracudas
Optical Drives	got one
Power Supply	Corsair 650W TX
Case	Gigabyte Setto 1000
Input Devices	std.keyboard + Logitech Performance MX
Operating System	Windows 7 Pro

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
RealWorldTech discusses QPI 1.1, Intel's Sandy Bridge-EP server platform interconnect	caveman-jim	General News	0	Jul 20, 2011 05:21 PM
Intel's Sandy Bridge-E will not have high stock clocks	moshpit	General News	0	May 11, 2011 12:44 AM
Intel's 22nm processors (Ivy Bridge,) the picture for details!	erek	General News	0	Apr 12, 2011 07:53 AM
AMD - Llano Architecture Vastly Superior To Intel's Sandy Bridge	caveman-jim	General News	7	Feb 19, 2011 10:03 AM
How to check the stepping without removing the heatsink?	sAxman	Radeon Technical Support	11	Oct 13, 2002 02:31 AM