GA-Z77X-UD5H - 1394 VIA chipset

[McGonSpeed]

Hi guys,

I just want to trow this out there..
Since my recently build I have strange behavior of my system. Windows 7 freezes and OSX has trouble with audio.

I use an firewire based audio interface, witch lots of PRO OSX users will also use.
In my case I use an M-Audio ProFire 610 interface.

Since this motherboard has an VIA 1394 firewire chipset, I blame this chipset for not working correctly.
My last system, AMD based (Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H) had an Texas Instruments chip for handling firewire, I NEVER experienced any problems regarding audio what so ever. No freezes nothing!!

I contacted Gigabyte support for a few times. They send me a custom BIOS/UEFI firmware (9e) but sadly that did not help anything.
Last month they released 2 new firmware files for this motherboard, but still the same problem.

I have two questions. Anyone experienced the same issues regarding firmware? My samplerate is always set to 96KHz. but for youtube or other audio the card has to switch back to 44.1 or 48KHz. The Texas Instruments chip had no problem with this task.

I also contacted the supplier where I bought this board, to ask what my options are. I like this Motherboard and actually I don't like to switch to a different brand.
I was thinking of getting a PCI/PCI-e 1394 firewire card with a Texas Instruments chipset. This might help dealing with this solution.
The sad thing is that I spend more money on this motherboard then needed to get a board with integrated firewire. Not many boards have them now a days.

Anyway to make a long story short. What are you guys recommending? I can post more technical details on this topic, but maybe someone already experienced the same problem with the new Z77 motherboard with the VIA chip..

Thanks guys.

 

[CosmoKramer]

See, I knew there were issues with this board. I'm looking for one to support the i7 3770k as well, but have read many reviews from multiple sites with customers saying this board is unstable and gives BSOD in Windows.

I want a really good Gigabyte board for my build, and if, like you say, the audio is unsupported, then I'd like to look into another model.

I've been asking for some suggested models but no one has given me anything. Maybe I'll just go with the UP5 and its unsupported wifi card.

Builds need to have (for me) the most out of the box functionality, so hearing you're having issues, kind of puts me off this board.

 

[thelostswede]

See, I knew there were issues with this board. I'm looking for one to support the i7 3770k as well, but have read many reviews from multiple sites with customers saying this board is unstable and gives BSOD in Windows.

I want a really good Gigabyte board for my build, and if, like you say, the audio is unsupported, then I'd like to look into another model.

I've been asking for some suggested models but no one has given me anything. Maybe I'll just go with the UP5 and its unsupported wifi card.

Builds need to have (for me) the most out of the box functionality, so hearing you're having issues, kind of puts me off this board.

Ugh... the OP is using a FireWire audio solution, learn to read.
The issue is the 39 cent VIA FW chip, nothing else and unless your case has a connector, or you happen to have a bracket, you can't use it anyhow, as there's no physical port on the board, just a pin-header.
Audio works just fine, although the actual headphone jack doesn't appear to work for most people, but there are a few more jacks that work just fine.
The BSOD's you're referring to was an issue with the early UEFI's, it's all good since the F4 release or there about, but the boards shipped with F3 which isn't 100% stable.

 

[Mate94]

Thunderbolt(interface)

WiFi/BT is not working with OS X.