The Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 - Redefining the High End?
by Rajinder Gill on January 2, 2008 3:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Conclusion
Our journey with the GA-48T-DQ6 has been challenging over the last few weeks. Although Gigabyte has been extremely diligent in providing BIOS releases to address our reported problems, we still have not found the everyday overclocking stability we "expected" from this board on any of the beta BIOS releases we have received. This includes cross testing with three separate processor types, all providing varying levels of load to the X48 chipset. What we have found is that basic overclocks that most users will use on this board seem to work at first and then fail at will. For example, using a basic 3.6GHz overclock with any of the newer processors and 400/450FSB, we can boot the motherboard up, play games, surf the web and run stability testing software.
When we go to reboot the board using these previously stable settings, the board greets us with non-boots requiring either a CMOS clear or a complete power-down (until power has drained completely from the board). The board will then reset itself to stock, so that we must re-enter the BIOS and re-apply our previous settings. This is a little disappointing to us at this stage in the game, as Gigabyte has used top-level components in every location on this motherboard. In fact, the engineering behind this board is truly impressive. This shows that using the best hardware is fine, but a solid BIOS is a must if a board is ever to realize its true potential.
We understand it's a little early for a final judgment call, as this board is not yet available in the channel. Thus, we are eager to keep testing the board over the coming weeks to see how things progress. Gigabyte tells us they are working on a new BIOS spin this week, which should address most of the issues we have noticed. In time, we are confident that Gigabyte will deliver this board as the killer product we expect upon delivery to the users - especially when we consider just how good the smaller sibling GA-X38-DQ6 has become with maturity. The GA-X48T-DQ6 has shown us flashes of brilliance, only to let us down when pushed or even nudged into overclock settings that most buyers of this board will try. On the positive side, peripheral compatibility is excellent; we found all ports and expansion slots worked perfectly throughout our testing with a variety of peripherals.
We admire Gigabyte moving forward into the high-end arena; competition is always healthy and helps keep other companies on their toes. We must stress that perseverance prevents us from tossing this board back in the box, meaning we are confident that Gigabyte will have this product fully polished before release. For now though, we would say that at least a few more BIOS spins might be required before we can fully recommend this board to the end-user. A good BIOS will see this board become the product that all X38/X48 boards are judged against. Look out for blog updates as we continue testing new BIOS releases in the coming weeks.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
37 Comments
View All Comments
hicookie - Thursday, January 3, 2008 - link
great oc ability and performance,air570fsb with e8400
http://pic.xfastest.com/hicookie/cpu/e8400/570.png">http://pic.xfastest.com/hicookie/cpu/e8400/570.png
and great in 3Ds
http://pic.xfastest.com/hicookie/HD3870/LN2/98223....">http://pic.xfastest.com/hicookie/HD3870/LN2/98223....
Rob94hawk - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
Giver me a screenie of it being Orthos stable for 8 hours and I might actually be impressed.Gary Key - Thursday, January 3, 2008 - link
HiCookie,We could have posted similar results with the N2 BIOS, the only problem being that this BIOS will never see the light of day and is designed for one thing and one thing only, high FSB rates at the expense of everything else. Hell, we could have posted the same screenshots that Gigabyte engineering sent us, but what fun is that.
While it is nice to see those results, it is not exactly fair to post such results without notifying a potential buyer as to how and why they were obtained. Retail E8400s and the latest public release BIOS for this board resulted in max "stable" FSB rates around 520, sure we could do suicide shots and run SPi1M at 550, but try playing Crysis or encoding a movie at those settings. ;)
Googer - Thursday, January 3, 2008 - link
I am a Vintage IBM Keyboard fanatic and won't buy a motherboard that does not have PS2 ports, I know there are USB adapters out there but they don't really work as well as a real integrated controller. Gigabyte is my Hero!I am not alone. There are many, many more just like me.
takumsawsherman - Thursday, January 3, 2008 - link
Two ports for FW400? No ports for FW 800? I can hear the defense swarming now. No one uses FW800, etc., etc. Fewer people use it, true. Perhaps that is due to the fact that Motherboard manufacturers are refusing to provide it, requiring you to buy an add-on board if you don't buy a Mac.eye smite - Thursday, January 3, 2008 - link
From 2k2 to 2k4 I had 3 different gigabyte boards literally fail. Cmos would not clear them, they just physically failed. So my experiences with this manufacturer have left me with some disappointing experience, and I won't buy their products again. I'm sure other people have had better experiences, but for me 3 different boards that were 3 different models failing is enough for me to blackflag them on my money expenditures. I hope they've improved in reliability for it lasting more than a year, but from the looks of this review, they're struggling with it just functioning correctly with all of the included features. Personal opinion, asus, abit, even shuttle would be a better spend in the long run.kilkennycat - Thursday, January 3, 2008 - link
Historically, not exactly the most stellar enthusiast-motherboard vendor in terms of quality or consistent support...my personal opinion of course.Foxy1 - Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - link
I’m highly disappointed in AnandTech and its blatant disregard of its loyal readers. There is no excuse for the 9-day “holiday” break in which no articles/reviews were posted.I can already hear the writers whine in unison: “Are we not entitled to vacation time to enjoy the holidays?” To which I respond: Is everyday not a vacation for the slothful slackers that write for this site?
Rob94hawk - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
Do you pay for these reviews or are they free? That's right you little twerp, you pay nothing so STFU NOOB!goinginstyle - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
Foxy1,Why don't you go back to playing your Nintendo 64 and let mommy tuck you in tonight. Every single post you have around here is negative and constantly attacks the editors or readers. If you have that big of a problem, go to another site or start your own. I would love to comment on your first article. Anyway, if they want to take a vacation, so be it, everyone needs one at least once a year.