# Gigabyte H55N-USB3 Mini ITX overclocking and discussion thread



## mudkip (Sep 14, 2010)

Introduction:





> "The GIGABYTE GA-H55N-USB3 was designed specifically for users wanting to build the ultimate home entertainment PC; small and sleek enough to seamlessly fit into the living room as part of the home, yet powerful enough to easily transfer, store and view today's many types of digital media content, whatever the format," commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. "Not only does the GA-H55N-USB3 offer one of the industry's most exciting integrated graphics solutions with flawless HD video playback, it also allows users to spend less time waiting for their content to transfer, and more time to actually enjoy it due to its USB 3.0 GIGABYTE 3x USB Power Boost features."
> XL ATX form factor
> 
> 
> ...









There was a thread about this beautiful Mini ITX motherboard on extremesystems, but TPU deserves one too.

CPU Coolers who'll fit on this mothboard:

Corsair H50,fits but standard backplate need's some modding. doesn't block pci-e/ memory slots.
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus , doesn't block pci-e slot, can be hard to install when using memory with large heatspreaders
Thermalright Venomous X,apparently fits no info available on if it blocks the pci-e / memory slots.
Thermalright AXP-140, fits doesn't block pci-e/ memory slots.Perfect for using in a Lian LI PC-Q08
Scythe Shuriken, fits doesn't block pci-e but blocks memory slot
Prolimatech Samuel 17 , fits, doesn't block pci-e blocks but memory slots when using memory with high heatspreaders.
Scythe Ninja 3, fits but blocks pci-e slot.
Nexus Low-7000 aka Nexus Low-7000 R2, fits but blocks memory slot when using memory with high heatspreaders, blocks pci-e slot but can be solved by bending the heatsink a bit. Perfect for using in a Low profile case.

Mosfets cooling with heatsicks

My overclock result:






Reviews:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3769/reviewed-gigabyte-h55nusb3-miniitx-done-the-gigabyte-way
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/mo.../gigabyte-ga-h55n-usb3-mini-itx-motherboard/1
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/gigabyte_h55n_usb3/1
http://techgage.com/article/gigabyte_h55n-usb3_-_big_features_small_package/
http://www.hardwarezone.com/product-guide/view/47322/review/47323
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=1051
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/34...l_h55_express_mini_itx_motherboard/index.html
http://lanoc.org/review/hardware/motherboards/4339-gigabyte-ga-h55n-usb3
http://www.pro-clockers.com/motherboards/1561-gigabyte-h55n-usb-30-itx-socket-1156-motherboard.html
http://www.techwarelabs.com/gigabyte-h55n-usb3/
http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/motherboards/2098_1.html
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=564&Itemid=69
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/gigabyte-ga-h55n-usb3.html
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1095-page1.html
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/h55nusb3/page1.shtml

useful links:

Gigabyte H55N-USB3 product page
Gigabyte H55N-USB3 Mini ITX overclocking and discussion thread at XtremeSystems Forums


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## Kantastic (Sep 14, 2010)

Pigeon shit! I have an H50 coming in on Wednesday and this board coming in tomorrow. Now I need washers to get the H50 to fit... ROAAARRR!!!


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## mudkip (Sep 14, 2010)

Kantastic said:


> Pigeon shit! I have an H50 coming in on Wednesday and this board coming in tomorrow. Now I need washers to get the H50 to fit... ROAAARRR!!!



Yep, it sucks pretty hard. I think I'm going for the Thermalright AXP-140 but then i have to buy a new case. The Lian Li PC-Q07 is too small


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## mudkip (Sep 14, 2010)

Kantastic said:


> Pigeon shit! I have an H50 coming in on Wednesday and this board coming in tomorrow. Now I need washers to get the H50 to fit... ROAAARRR!!!



Oh wait you can use the standard backplate but you've to trim some plastic.


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## mudkip (Sep 14, 2010)

4Ghz @ 1.264v, Memory OC from 1600Mhz 7-7-7-24 to 2000Mhz 9-8-8-30
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1390600






I need better cooling


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## ERazer (Sep 14, 2010)

scythe mini-ninja fits but it blocks pci-e just fyi for peeps trying to build htpc or server

Edit: Has anyone tried to put h50/70 with this mobo in a lian li pc-q08b? it looks like thers enuf room for it


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## mudkip (Sep 14, 2010)

ERazer said:


> scythe mini-ninja fits but it blocks pci-e just fyi for peeps trying to build htpc or server
> 
> Edit: Has anyone tried to put h50/70 with this mobo in a lian li pc-q08b? it looks like thers enuf room for it



I'm sure it fits, but the corsair H50 isn't worth buying imho.


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## ERazer (Sep 14, 2010)

true, but h70 rad thickness its gonna be problematic in such a small case


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## Hayder_Master (Sep 14, 2010)

this is very nice try, keep as on updates


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## alucasa (Sep 14, 2010)

My main rig is using this mobo as well in Silverstone SUGO07. It's not OCed though.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128425

I recently upgraded CPU, RAM and Videocard though just today.

CPU went from i5 750 to i7 870.
RAM went from 2 x 2 gb to 2 x 4gb.
Video card went from HD 5770 to GTX 460.
Detailed spec is in my system specs.

For cpu heatsink, I am not using a fan since a 160mm fan is right above it.
I can take update pictures if you want.


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## digibucc (Sep 14, 2010)

just finished putting together this rig that includes this mobo & an i3-530

installing media applications and was thinking of OSx86 later on - but from what I read the ethernet port is touchy...


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## Kantastic (Sep 15, 2010)

I was able to get the H50 on without modding the backplate, it wasn't even an issue.

Prime95 small FFT load temps with an i3 530 @ stock tops out at around 48-50 according to RealTemp.


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## digibucc (Sep 15, 2010)

Kantastic said:


> I was able to get the H50 on without modding the backplate, it wasn't even an issue.
> 
> Prime95 small FFT load temps with an i3 530 @ stock tops out at around 48-50 according to RealTemp.



those Fahrenheit? i'm using stock cooler and the cpu stays below 30c in a small case with no airflow, using stock HSF (i know... i know)  have not logged temps to track top , but in all regular usage checking speedfan or easytune it is in high 20s


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## mudkip (Sep 15, 2010)

Bought a new Lian LI PC-Q08 case for the H55N-USB3 .


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## ERazer (Sep 15, 2010)

mudkip said:


> Bought a new Lian LI PC-Q08 case for the H55N-USB3 .



 u gonna love it bud


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## mudkip (Sep 16, 2010)

ERazer said:


> u gonna love it bud



Installed my components in the new Lian Li C-Q08 and it's looking all good so far!
Top fan is now running @ 5v its pretty quiet, front fan is silenced down with a fancontroller. now I need to buy a new cpu cooler and a HDD enclosure to silence the Western Digital Green.


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## ERazer (Sep 16, 2010)

mudkip said:


> Installed my components in the new Lian Li C-Q08 and it's looking all good so far!
> Top fan is now running @ 5v its pretty quiet, front fan is silenced down with a fancontroller. now I need to buy a new cpu cooler and a HDD enclosure to silence the Western Digital Green.



nice wat color did u get?


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## mudkip (Sep 16, 2010)

ERazer said:


> u gonna love it bud



Installed my components in the new Lian Li C-Q08 and it's looking all good so far!
Top fan is now running @ 5v its pretty quiet, front fan is silenced down with a fancontroller. now I need to buy a new cpu cooler and a HDD enclosure to silence the Western Digital Green.


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## miahallen (Sep 16, 2010)

I'm very impressed with this board 

With a custom water loop and 21C ambient:


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## mudkip (Sep 18, 2010)

ERazer said:


> nice wat color did u get?



black, the silver version was actually cheaper but i decided to go for black since all my things are black. (except my penis)


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## miahallen (Sep 20, 2010)

*Can anyone confirm OCP behavior on this board?*
I think I'm hitting OCP with an i5 750 @ about 1.425V or more....does that sound about right?
The symptom is a hard lock that requires hard power off.....reset button is unresponsive.


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## wolf (Sep 20, 2010)

I really want one of these boards and the Lian Li C-Q08, seems like the perfect board and case for a kickass Mini-ITX gaming rig.

fantastic results to see that 4ghz is capable with a i5 750/760 and 4.5ghz+ with an i5 dual core. how long-a video card does the Lian Li case fit?


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## mudkip (Sep 20, 2010)

miahallen said:


> *Can anyone confirm OCP behavior on this board?*
> I think I'm hitting OCP with an i5 750 @ about 1.425V or more....does that sound about right?
> The symptom is a hard lock that requires hard power off.....reset button is unresponsive.



What is OCP?


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## mudkip (Sep 20, 2010)

wolf said:


> I really want one of these boards and the Lian Li C-Q08, seems like the perfect board and case for a kickass Mini-ITX gaming rig.
> 
> fantastic results to see that 4ghz is capable with a i5 750/760 and 4.5ghz+ with an i5 dual core. how long-a video card does the Lian Li case fit?



12 inches


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## wolf (Sep 20, 2010)

mudkip said:


> What is OCP?



Over Current Protection, basically when your drawing too much power/voltage the board will shut down. I've had this before hard-voltmodding a 8800GT, no matter the clocks if I put more than ~1.35v through her it would just black screen and need a completel shut down then power on.



mudkip said:


> 12 inches



 sick, cheers.


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## miahallen (Sep 20, 2010)

Wolf....of all the mini-ITX cases, the PC-Q08 is HUGE!  If you're looking for really small, you should consider the Silverstone SUGO cases.....the SG07 will also fit a 12.2" video card and comes with a 600W PSU


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## Kantastic (Sep 20, 2010)

mia, is there any way to put an H50 inside the PC-Q08?


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## miahallen (Sep 20, 2010)

I'm sure there is, that thing is HUGE!


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## mudkip (Sep 20, 2010)

miahallen said:


> I'm sure there is, that thing is HUGE!



why are you exaggerating? it isn't HUGE, it's just not your standard mini itx case.


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## wolf (Sep 20, 2010)

Huge is a matter of perspective, yes it's bigger than the SG07, but stand one next to an Antec 1200 and tell me it's huge, I lugged one of those to lans for over a year.


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## niemion (Sep 20, 2010)

Will tall memory heat spreaders prevent a Scythe Shuriken from being installed on a Gigabyte H55N-USB3? In the first post you state that it "doesn't block pci-e/memory slots", but looking at the third image at http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4474183&postcount=97 it sure looks like we could be looking at trouble if using memory with tall heat spreaders. 

Let's use the Kingston DDR3 HyperX T1 2000MHz 2x2GB as an example.

What you say?


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## mudkip (Sep 20, 2010)

niemion said:


> Will tall memory heat spreaders prevent a Scythe Shuriken from being installed on a Gigabyte H55N-USB3? In the first post you state that it "doesn't block pci-e/memory slots", but looking at the third image at http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4474183&postcount=97 it sure looks like we could be looking at trouble if using memory with tall heat spreaders.
> 
> Let's use the Kingston DDR3 HyperX T1 2000MHz 2x2GB as an example.
> 
> What you say?



will block memory slots. i'll edit the post thanks for noticing


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## niemion (Sep 20, 2010)

> will block memory slots. i'll edit the post thanks for noticing


Thank you.

Do you know of any good air coolers that have been "approved" for tall heatsinks +  Gigabyte H55N-USB3?


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## mudkip (Sep 20, 2010)

niemion said:


> Thank you.
> 
> Do you know of any good air coolers that have been "approved" for tall heatsinks +  Gigabyte H55N-USB3?



Actually anything fits you just have to watch out for your pci-e / memory slots. that's why I'm going to buy a flexible pci-e riser.


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## niemion (Sep 20, 2010)

Yes, thats my question.

Which CPU-coolers will fit with tall memory modules installed?

Stock cooler, but anything better?

Edit: Cooler can be 10cm tall.


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## miahallen (Sep 21, 2010)

mudkip said:


> why are you exaggerating? it isn't HUGE, it's just not your standard mini itx case.





wolf said:


> Huge is a matter of perspective, yes it's bigger than the SG07, but stand one next to an Antec 1200 and tell me it's huge, I lugged one of those to lans for over a year.



I wasn't trying to be an ass or anything.  Obviously it is a matter of perspective.....and when compared to most other mini-ITX cases....it is huge   I was simply pointing out that there should be plenty of space in the case for an H50  .... especially compared to me squeezing an H70 into the SG05   It looks like a really nice case for a mini-ITX build and I could think of a ton of ways to make it a really nice setup.....it's just too big to fit in my backpack.


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## tkgclimb (Sep 21, 2010)

Since you guys are on the topic of cooling an h55n (well were), I'm getting one for my new WC rig.  I would like also to cool (air) the mosfets and possibly even the northbridge.  But I don't know what will fit on there, it's gonna be in a small case so nothing two huge, but I god some room.  Do you guys know of any good heatsinks that I could use?

Thanks


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## mudkip (Sep 21, 2010)

tkgclimb said:


> I would like also to cool (air) the mosfets and possibly even the northbridge.  But I don't know what will fit on there, it's gonna be in a small case so nothing two huge, but I god some room.  Do you guys know of any good heatsinks that I could use?
> 
> Thanks



I'm not going to answer this directly, I suggest you take a moment to read the OP.


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## niemion (Sep 21, 2010)

Any answers to #35?

Which non-water coolers will fit with "tall memory" installed?


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## mudkip (Sep 21, 2010)

niemion said:


> Any answers to #35?
> 
> Which non-water coolers will fit with "tall memory" installed?



Read OP or do some research yourself  tall heatspreaders are a no-go for a mini itx system. I had to trade my kingston hyper x for ocz platinum xtc memory.


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## tkgclimb (Sep 21, 2010)

mudkip said:


> I'm not going to answer this directly, I suggest you take a moment to read the OP.



Sorry, I didn't even see that little link with mosfet cooling info.  What about chipsets I looked over some of the reviews and the extemeforums and I didn't see anything, or should I go see the doc?


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## niemion (Sep 21, 2010)

mudkip said:


> Read OP or do some research yourself  tall heatspreaders are a no-go for a mini itx system. I had to trade my kingston hyper x for ocz platinum xtc memory.



I have read OP and this is in fact doing research.

Trading away your memory seems drastic. I would just pull of the "hype sinks". But if warranty is important then I guess it's either trade or water?


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## wolf (Sep 21, 2010)

miahallen said:


> I wasn't trying to be an ass or anything.  Obviously it is a matter of perspective.....and when compared to most other mini-ITX cases....it is huge   I was simply pointing out that there should be plenty of space in the case for an H50  .... especially compared to me squeezing an H70 into the SG05   It looks like a really nice case for a mini-ITX build and I could think of a ton of ways to make it a really nice setup.....it's just too big to fit in my backpack.



oh I didn't think you were, and looking at direct comparisons I can see why you'd say it's huge compared to the SG05.

Fitting in a backpack wouldn'y be my concern, I can still carry it, just more having an absolute beast of a PC that comes that small already amazes me.


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## tkgclimb (Sep 21, 2010)

niemion said:


> I have read OP and this is in fact doing research.
> 
> Trading away your memory seems drastic. I would just pull of the "hype sinks". But if warranty is important then I guess it's either trade or water?



Go Water!!.

But since you don't want to,

try this,
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_557_788&products_id=27789

It won't block mem slots but it might block pci-e.  check it's width and measure (if you have the board) or just compare width to other coolers.


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## niemion (Sep 22, 2010)

mudkip, it's the OCZ3P1600LV4GK you have right?

Local Store


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## mudkip (Sep 22, 2010)

niemion said:


> mudkip, it's the OCZ3P1600LV4GK you have right?
> 
> Local Store



Ehm that's partly correct. I traded my old Kingston set for 2 x 2Gb OCZ, which was part of a 12GB kit (OCZ3P1600LV12GS). Apparently my memory has some kind of cool ram which overclocks to 2100MHz easily. I'm afraid you won't get that result with the newer batches nowadays. They used to use 2000MHz chips on everything and label them whatever they liked. But not any more


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## niemion (Sep 22, 2010)

Bad news. But which of these modules would you guys recommend for taking an i3 530 to about 4200 - 4500 MHz on a Gigabyte H55N-USB3?

CMT4GX3M2A2000C8
CMG4GX3M2A1600C7
CMT4GX3M2A1600C7
OCZ3P1600LV4GK

Are any of them Elpida Hyper, and should I even care? I'm just going to use mid-end air cooling. So maybe I'm not going to benefit from anything above the OCZ3P1600LV4GK?


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## mudkip (Sep 22, 2010)

take the cheapest mem


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## niemion (Sep 22, 2010)

Shouldn't matter in terms of reaching my goal of taking an i3 530 to about 4200 - 4500 MHz?


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## mudkip (Sep 22, 2010)

niemion said:


> Shouldn't matter in terms of reaching my goal of taking an i3 530 to about 4200 - 4500 MHz?



Nah you can always change your memory multipliers


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## mudkip (Oct 1, 2010)

New review: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/gigabyte-ga-h55n-usb3.html

Btw. I just bought a PCI-e flexible riser on ebay and I'm now looking for a 3rd party cooler. Maybe I'm going for the Scythe Shuriken Rev. B again (which I had earlier but sold it because it blocked the pci-e slot.


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## mudkip (Nov 1, 2010)

New silentpcreview: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1095-page1.html

Also I got the Nexus Low-7000 CPU cooler for my i5 750. It fits, although I had to bend it a bit, and it cools great (idle 40 degrees while fan runs only 600RPM). Even a bit better than the Scythe Big Shuriken. It will block your memory slots if you're using memory with high heatspreaders. It also blocks the pci-e slot but can be solved by bending the Nexus Low-7000 a bit. If I would've installed the Scythe big Shuriken the PCI-e slot would definitely be blocked. 

The Nexus Low-7000 (aka Nexus Low-7000 R2) is my recommended LP heatsink for the Gigabyte H55N-USB3


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## Kantastic (Nov 1, 2010)

I miss my mini ITX system DEARLY. Stupid SilverStone released their 450W version of the Sugo 05/06 series a month too late. 

YARGH!!


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## mudkip (Dec 28, 2010)

New review: http://www.ocia.net/reviews/h55nusb3/page1.shtml

I'm running OS X Snow LEopard on my PC now


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## cdawall (Dec 30, 2010)

i have one of these  corsair h70 used a little bit of foam to keep it from crushing things


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