Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P - P45 at its Finest
by Gary Key on February 3, 2009 12:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Test Setup
We selected the ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 video card for GPU duties. It is a non-reference design that offers improved thermals and acoustics over the standard HD4870 1GB cards on our board choices. We think if a user is going to run CrossFireX on one of these platforms, then the best possible performance choice is the HD4870 1GB. Depending on pricing of the HD 4870 1GB cards, a 4870X2 might be a better choice for most users.
The WD Caviar Black 1TB is our hard drive of choice for storage purposes. LG’s GGC-H20L Blu-ray playback capable drive fills in for optical duties. We purchased two of G.Skill's impressive DDR2-1100 4GB kits that operate at DDR2-1100 on our boards with about 2.04V. We used 4GB in our standard benchmarks with memory set at DDR2-1066 with 5-5-5-15 timings at 1.8V. Vigor Gaming provided their Monsoon III LT CPU cooler that offers mounting kits for sockets 1366, 775, and AM2+ processors. ABS provided their Canyon 695 case and it has proved to be exemplary during testing.
We are providing Phenom II X4 940 and Intel Core i7 920 results as a reference point only. For further information on the setups we utilized please visit our article detailing these two platforms.
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NimitzHarrington - Monday, February 9, 2009 - link
Hi Gary,Excellent review. I'm glad I chose this board when I built my new system a couple of months back.
However, I have not managed to get eSata fully working on this board. When I plug in an eSata HDD, Vista picks it up but it's listed as an internal disk. Therefore, I cannot remove it from "Safely remove hardware".
I tried the latest Intel Storage Manager, but that did not help. I have had to resort to using HotSwap.
Have you come across this during your testing (or has anyone else using this MB experienced and fixed this issue)?
Thanks.
Lazlo Panaflex - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
An 8600 @ 5Ghz+...very nice o/c! I reckon that setup would fetch a pretty penny on Fleabay (unless Gary's using it as his main gaming rig...hehe ;)vlado08 - Wednesday, February 4, 2009 - link
I expected core i7 architecture to use less power than core2 Quad in "idle" mode because it can switch off unused cores. So if I have a computer which is 24/7 in "on" state then the best power efficiency will be to use core 2 Duo. For example if it is used for downloading/uploading from internet.It seems I was wrong. Or may be it is a Vista problem failing to switch off unused cores of core i7?
jzodda - Wednesday, February 4, 2009 - link
Have had it since october running my E8400@ 4.2ghz and 525 FSB 24/7This board is really a pleasure to work with once you get the hang of the various bios settings. Took awhile back then. Now there is an 1800 post thread at X-treme so info is no longer lacking on any setting.
This board is a throw back to the good old Abit days of the BH6 and boards like it. Lots of fun.
SixOfSeven - Tuesday, February 3, 2009 - link
LoneWolf15, what 4GB DDR2's are you using? Any problems setting things up?LoneWolf15 - Thursday, February 5, 2009 - link
"LoneWolf15, what 4GB DDR2's are you using? Any problems setting things up? "I apologize here. I used two 2GB modules, not two 4GB ones, and couldn't go back and re-edit.
I'm using G.Skill Pi DDR2-800 modules which work at 1.8-1.9v with 4-4-4-12 timing. They're available at the `Egg for $45-50 a set with free shipping, and they're hassle free. Almost tempting to get a second set for Windows 7 x64 when it comes out.
7Enigma - Wednesday, February 4, 2009 - link
Just wanted to add (even though you didn't ask) I'm using the 2X2gig Reaper ram that has the heatpipe with a huge heatsink on top (making the ram 2-3" taller than it would normally be). There are no clearance issues at all.Matt Campbell - Tuesday, February 3, 2009 - link
Time to break out the LN2 and see how far it really goes ;)Freak Out - Tuesday, February 3, 2009 - link
I was wondering if you could post a picture of the test setup?Gary Key - Wednesday, February 4, 2009 - link
Let me get one before I tear it down today.