µATX Part 2: Intel G33 Performance Review
by Gary Key on September 27, 2007 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
MSI G33M: Overclocking
On the MSI board we ended up at a final 9x300 FSB setting for either the integrated graphics or external GPU solution with the E2160, resulting in a clock speed of 2702MHz with a CPU voltage setting of 1.425V. The board would not POST above 9x315. We could not run at memory dividers other than 1:1 with this combination either; any change would result in a no POST condition. Our final memory speed was DDR2-751 with timings at 5-5-5-15. CAS4 settings would not work when overclocking the board with the integrated graphics solution. Vdroop was decent with a loss of around .02~.03V during load testing.
We had no issues getting our E6550 to clock up on this board and had a final setting of 7x485 resulting in a CPU speed of 3393MHz. However, the board needed an increased CPU voltage in order to reach this setting. We set the voltage to 1.475V, which with this CPU is the limit of our air cooling solution, but the board decided to increase voltage to 1.50V or sometimes to 1.525V. We decreased our voltage to 1.450 and it would generate the same behavior, although the temperatures were still in check so we stayed with this maximum setting. We ran the memory at DDR2-970 with timings at 5-5-5-15 at 2.10V.
This board also had no issues with the Q6600 and we stayed at the 9x400 setting with a final CPU speed of 3600MHz at 1.425V -- slightly higher than the ASUS board. Memory was set to DDR2-1000 at 5-5-5-15 settings. This board reached 9x425 at 1.475V before we had to shut it down due to soaring temperatures.
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| Click to enlarge |
On the MSI board we ended up at a final 9x300 FSB setting for either the integrated graphics or external GPU solution with the E2160, resulting in a clock speed of 2702MHz with a CPU voltage setting of 1.425V. The board would not POST above 9x315. We could not run at memory dividers other than 1:1 with this combination either; any change would result in a no POST condition. Our final memory speed was DDR2-751 with timings at 5-5-5-15. CAS4 settings would not work when overclocking the board with the integrated graphics solution. Vdroop was decent with a loss of around .02~.03V during load testing.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
We had no issues getting our E6550 to clock up on this board and had a final setting of 7x485 resulting in a CPU speed of 3393MHz. However, the board needed an increased CPU voltage in order to reach this setting. We set the voltage to 1.475V, which with this CPU is the limit of our air cooling solution, but the board decided to increase voltage to 1.50V or sometimes to 1.525V. We decreased our voltage to 1.450 and it would generate the same behavior, although the temperatures were still in check so we stayed with this maximum setting. We ran the memory at DDR2-970 with timings at 5-5-5-15 at 2.10V.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
This board also had no issues with the Q6600 and we stayed at the 9x400 setting with a final CPU speed of 3600MHz at 1.425V -- slightly higher than the ASUS board. Memory was set to DDR2-1000 at 5-5-5-15 settings. This board reached 9x425 at 1.475V before we had to shut it down due to soaring temperatures.
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sprockkets - Friday, September 28, 2007 - link
Sad how an AMD 7050 board can be had for $80, $40 cheaper with the same features. It is the premium you pay for having dvi.Oddly enough too is that the Gigabyte board you quote doesn't use all solid caps yet the lower end board does. And of course, they didn't bother with solid caps on their new AMD boards period, cause "AMD is second tier."
tayhimself - Thursday, September 27, 2007 - link
Preposterous!! Why do they even bother making this junk without DVI. More and more I find that I don't want a leet board that overclocks 100 Mhz higher but a stable board with the right features. -sigh-8steve8 - Thursday, September 27, 2007 - link
and on top of it, these igp's are not suited well for gaming or videos,,, (the two applications where you may not notice the difference between a digital and analog interface), so they will be used for text/office work... an application where the discrepancies in the user-experience of analog vs digital interfaces with an LCD are undeniable.again, great article.,, but in the end, I sort of wonder why waste ur time exploring these boards when your time is better spent on solutions that deserve our money?
JarredWalton - Thursday, September 27, 2007 - link
I think both of those G33 + SDVO models launched long after Gary had started work on this uATX stuff. Good to see that some people are including the necessary chip, as uATX without DVI is simply unacceptable. Unfortunately, testing some of this stuff takes a lot more time than we would like. We're working to address that, however.jenli - Thursday, September 27, 2007 - link
I would love to see a review of motherboards with igpthat can be converted to raid servers by using the lone
pcie 16x slot.
Have fun,
CK804 - Thursday, September 27, 2007 - link
I'm doing exactly what you mention with an Intel DG965RY. I have an Areca ARC-1210 fitted in there with 3 320GB WD Caviar SE16s in RAID 5.