Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6: DDR3 comes a knocking, again
by Gary Key on May 30, 2007 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Test Setup
Test conditions were maintained the same, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. Our game tests were run at settings of 1280x1024 HQ to ensure our GPU was not a bottleneck during testing. All results are reported in our charts and color-coded for easier identification of results.
We utilize new drive images on each board in order to minimize any potential driver conflicts. Our 3DMark results are generated utilizing the standard benchmark resolution for each program. We run each benchmark five times, throw out the two low and high scores, and report the remaining score. All results are run at stock speeds for this article although we will provide overclocked results in the next article that covers this board.
Our choice of software applications to test is based on programs that enjoy widespread use and produce repeatable and consistent results during testing. Microsoft Vista has thrown a monkey wrench into testing as the aggressive nature of the operating system to constantly optimize application loading and retrieval from memory or the storage system presents some interesting obstacles. This along with the lack of driver maturity will continue to present problems in the near future with benchmark selections. Our normal process was to change our power settings to performance, delete the contents of the prefetch folder, and then reboot after each benchmark run. This is a lengthy process to be sure, but it results in consistency over the course of benchmark testing. All applications were run with administer privileges.
The Gigabyte P35T-DQ6 test results we will present today are still preliminary. The BIOS we are utilizing is still under development and not all of the kinks have been worked out to our satisfaction. The main problems we encountered center around DDR3 overclocking past 1600MHz and strange behavior when overclocking the FSB past 460FSB and trying to run our memory higher than 1500MHz or lower than 1300MHz. We are still trying to nail down chipset strap changes and latency issues at high FSB speeds with this latest BIOS release.
We also had a problem overclocking past 550FSB speed on this board as there seemed to be an almost hard lock. We could POST to a 600FSB setting but the board would always freeze from 551FSB to 600FSB when entering Windows Vista regardless of memory, multiplier, or voltage settings. The points at which the chipset straps change tend to float with each BIOS release we receive or memory multiplier we utilize. To be fair, some of these problems are also occurring on the ASUS board and we hope to have a final report when our P35 roundup is published in the latter part of June.
| Standard Test Bed Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Test Configuration |
|
| Processor: | Intel Core 2 Duo QX6700 (2.66GHz, 8MB Unified Cache) |
| RAM: | OCZ Reaper PC2-9200 (4x1GB) 3-4-3-8 975X, 4-4-4-10 P35, P965, 680i Corsair DDR3 CM3X1024-1333C9DHX (4x1GB) 8-7-7-20 |
| Hard Drive: | Western Digital 150GB 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Buffer |
| System Platform Drivers: | Intel - 8.3.0.1013 |
| Video Cards: | 1 x MSI HD 2900XT |
| Video Drivers: | ATI 8.37.4.3 (HD2900XT Release Drivers) |
| CPU Cooling: | Tuniq 120 |
| Power Supply: | OCZ ProXStream 1000W |
| Optical Drives: | Plextor PX-760A, Plextor PX-B900A |
| Case: | Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 |
| Motherboards: | Intel D975XBX2 (Intel 975X) - BIOS 2692 ASUS P5K Deluxe (Intel P35) - BIOS 0304 ASUS P5K3 Deluxe (Intel P35) - BIOS 0411 MSI P35 Platinum (Intel P35) - BIOS 7345P01 Gigabyte P35-DQ6 (Intel P35) - BIOS F4 Gigabyte P35T-DQ6 (Intel P35) - BIOS F2N DFI Infinity P965 (Intel P965) - BIOS 424 EVGA 680i LT SLI (NVIDIA 680i LT) - BIOS P04 |
| Operating System: | Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit |
| . | |
Test conditions were maintained the same, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. Our game tests were run at settings of 1280x1024 HQ to ensure our GPU was not a bottleneck during testing. All results are reported in our charts and color-coded for easier identification of results.
We utilize new drive images on each board in order to minimize any potential driver conflicts. Our 3DMark results are generated utilizing the standard benchmark resolution for each program. We run each benchmark five times, throw out the two low and high scores, and report the remaining score. All results are run at stock speeds for this article although we will provide overclocked results in the next article that covers this board.
Our choice of software applications to test is based on programs that enjoy widespread use and produce repeatable and consistent results during testing. Microsoft Vista has thrown a monkey wrench into testing as the aggressive nature of the operating system to constantly optimize application loading and retrieval from memory or the storage system presents some interesting obstacles. This along with the lack of driver maturity will continue to present problems in the near future with benchmark selections. Our normal process was to change our power settings to performance, delete the contents of the prefetch folder, and then reboot after each benchmark run. This is a lengthy process to be sure, but it results in consistency over the course of benchmark testing. All applications were run with administer privileges.
The Gigabyte P35T-DQ6 test results we will present today are still preliminary. The BIOS we are utilizing is still under development and not all of the kinks have been worked out to our satisfaction. The main problems we encountered center around DDR3 overclocking past 1600MHz and strange behavior when overclocking the FSB past 460FSB and trying to run our memory higher than 1500MHz or lower than 1300MHz. We are still trying to nail down chipset strap changes and latency issues at high FSB speeds with this latest BIOS release.
We also had a problem overclocking past 550FSB speed on this board as there seemed to be an almost hard lock. We could POST to a 600FSB setting but the board would always freeze from 551FSB to 600FSB when entering Windows Vista regardless of memory, multiplier, or voltage settings. The points at which the chipset straps change tend to float with each BIOS release we receive or memory multiplier we utilize. To be fair, some of these problems are also occurring on the ASUS board and we hope to have a final report when our P35 roundup is published in the latter part of June.
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SirJoe - Saturday, June 2, 2007 - link
this is cool for you computer buffsGooger - Saturday, June 2, 2007 - link
I just did a google search for XMS3 and the only merchant to have it in stock at the bargain price of $599 is Tiger Direct! Yikes, I think I will wait a while untill the price of DDR3 becomes competitive with DDR2.AdamK47 - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - link
Sorry Gigabyte, I just can't see myself ever buying a board with pink memory slots. Shoulda stuck with the blue.Stele - Friday, June 1, 2007 - link
"Pink it's my new obsessionPink it's not even a question..."
:D Sorry, couldn't resist the temptation :P
yacoub - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - link
Thank you especially for the note about larger heatsinks being very difficult to mount and the associated image of the back of the motherboard so folks can see what they face if they have a heatsink that requires connecting a backing plate (as most of the larger ones do).yyrkoon - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - link
What annoys me, is that every Gigabyte motherbord review has this same 'annoyance' written in. Come now fellas, you can only say it about 500 times, beore it starts getting old, and how hard is it really to press two keys in combination ? Gigabyte obviously is doing this for a reason, and if it takes me writting this comment to point that out, well, I just dont know . . .
Saying something like: 'You will need to press cntl + F1 to access the 'protected' portion of the BIOS . . .' Would sounds less critical, would not come off as negativity, and would keep you guys from sounding lazy . . .
TA152H - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - link
It's not hitting the keys that is the problem, it's remembering to do it. When you have loads of computers with motherboards, it's nice if they have a standard way to access features, instead of adding an inane key sequence like CTRL-F1. It is annoying, because four years down the road if you have to work on this motherboard, for whatever reason, you have to try to remember this bizarre and otherwise trivial detail. Standards are nice, especially when following them doesn't involve a tradeoff.yyrkoon - Thursday, May 31, 2007 - link
Yeah, well I personally have a bad memory, but after reading countless Gigabyte motherboard reviews from AT here, I do not think I will ever forget this key combination.Anyhow, this is one reason why when given the chance I always opt for ABIT boards, while other may opt for Asus, Gigabyte, whatever. Once you become used to a given OEM BIOS Layout, it is hard to make a change in OEMs without suffering a bit in the knowledge department(at least temporarily).
*yyrkoon hugs his NF-M2 nView . . .
TA152H - Saturday, June 2, 2007 - link
Keep in mind, not everyone buying a motherboard from Gigabyte is going to be reading these articles, and proper journalism dictates they don't depend on people knowing every previous article, so they appropriately bring it up. Before you remark what's the point in them mentioning it for people that don't read it, it's certainly going to be read by Gigabyte and by complaining enough times, they may take notice.I agree that it is often best to just buy from one maker, or limit the number. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and I end up with stuff from too many makers. I try to buy only Intel and Supermicro, but they are too expensive sometimes, so I've ended up buying a lot of Taiwanese junk before finally finding a company from there I have had success with (don't ask me why, but Epox seems to work best for me). So, I've got all this Asus, Soyo, Aopen, MSI, Gigabyte, Tyan and a few I don't even remember running and it's difficult to deal with all the different BIOS settings when they get cute and try to be different. On the plus side, these motherboards tend to break pretty regularly so I have less and less of the inferior brands. Well, except for Epox. I have no idea why these things never break on me, but I have a feeling it's just random luck :P .
Frumious1 - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - link
I won't forget, but I'm still annoyed by this, just like I'm annoyed by a BIOS that moves certain features into odd areas. I hate that there are about 20 ways to manage memory timings, voltages, bus speeds, etc. (and that's just picking either an AMD or an Intel platform). What's really stupid about Gigabyte's method of hiding settings is that it's not even all of the settings that get hidden. The major area lately that doesn't show up is memory timings. You can tweak voltages and fry your RAM, but GOD FORBID you play with memory timings! (There are some other things that get hidden as well, but I don't recall exactly what. I base this off my DS3 system.)