Thanks to Gigabyte, I'll be checking out their latest motherboard offerings starting with their Gigabyte GA-EP45 Extreme based on the new Intel P45 chipset
Photos: More photos
here.
Links & Downloads: Notes & Tips:
I'm going to skip most of formailities and dive right into it starting with what I'd consider the most important points I've come across in the first 24hrs of using this GA-EP45 Extreme motherboard.
System:- E8500 Q740A479T 2L7 / 1313
- CPU Cooling: Dtek Fuzion Rad Tower Box
- Gigabyte GA-EP45 Extreme rev 1.0 F6a bios
- 128MB Gainward FX5200 PCI
- 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 dual channel kit
- Memory cooling: 120x25mm Thermaltake 81cfm fan
- 74GB Western Digital Raptor
- Pioneer 215 DVD-RW
- 1200W Silverstone OP1200
- WinXP Pro SP2 Nlite Fully Updated.
Important info gained from first 24hrs of GA-EP45 Extreme usage with F6a bios:
- Any memory inserted into dimm 2+4 slots result in continuous reboot so I used dimm 1+3 slot until I figure out what is wrong with dimm 2+4 slots
- I intended to use Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme air heatsink with the EP45 Extreme, but found out that there's 5 components on backside of motherboard near one mounting hole that touch and get in the way of the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme backplate. Rather than risk crushing these components, I opted to use Dtek Fuzion waterblock without a backplate for cpu cooling. However, some folks have reported installing the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme and backplate disregarding the 5 components and haven't heard any issues yet. But just be aware of this
- For max FSB clocking on dual core cpu (I used E8500 Q740A479T), the 4 options in Advance Clock Control menu are key - CPU Clock Drive, PCI Express Clock Drive, CPU Clock Skew and MCH Clock skew. Bumping them from 800mv, 700mv, 0ps, 0ps to 1000mv, 1000mv, 400ps, 400ps respectively, allowed my FSB wall to jump from >450FSB (continuous reboot/reset) to 575FSB for memtesting (yet to test in windows). Of course I had to tune other voltages, but it was these 4 options were key to bypass the continuous reboot/reset issue.
- Tuning the CPU Termination voltage (CPU VTT or CPU FSB on some boards) along with CPU Reference, CPU Reference 2 and MCH Reference is the next most important factor in achieving max FSB.
- CPU Reference, CPU Reference 2 and MCH Reference automatically move and adjust at the predefined fixed ratio with CPU Termination voltage. For example, at 1.2v default CPU Termination voltage, CPU Reference/Reference2 are 0.760v and 0.800v respectively. That would equate to GTL reference ratio of 0.760/1.2 = 0.6333 and 0.800/1.20 = 0.6666 respectively. The MCH Reference volt defaults to 0.800v which is also 0.6666 GTL Reference ratio for MCH. Now if you increased CPU Termination voltage from 1.2v to 1.3v without adjusting CPU Reference, CPU Reference 2 and MCH Reference, then the bios will automatically bump CPU Reference, CPU Reference 2 and MCH Reference voltages to maintain the exact GTL reference ratio for CPU Reference, CPU Reference 2 and MCH Reference to 0.6333, 0.6666 and 0.6666 respectively. Thus you can alter the fixed ratio against CPU Termination voltage by manually adjusting the voltages for CPU Reference, CPU Reference 2 and MCH Reference.
- On boards like DFI and Asus these are the same as CPU 0/1/2/4 GTL Reference and NB GTL Reference voltage tweaks and follow similarly in that dual core and quad core cpus like a specific ratio for CPU Reference and MCH (NB) References i.e. between ~0.61 and ~0.67.
- I found for my E8500 so far they like CPU Reference, CPU Reference 2 and MCH Reference GTL reference ratios of approximately, 0.635, 0.648 and 0.617 respectively to maintain memtest stability especially test #7 looping (good initial indicator of whether you'd be able to boot into windows to even pull of some semi-stable benching).
- There seems to be alot of double auto shut-down/reboot and reset to default cpu FSB (333FSB) with this board - some are due to bios setting changes i.e. FSB, memory timings etc but there's also some due to incorrect settings/clocks or even voltage changes so it's hard to separate and identify which instance is attributed to what changes. More testing will be needed to figure this out
- With 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 double sided Micron D9GMH modules, if i set tRFC too loose 56-72 i get more memtest86+ v2.01 test #5 errors at unstable mem clocks than if I set tRFC at 42!
- In terms of memory bandwidth, if you leave Static tRead value for both channel A & B on AUTO, the value stated might not be the actual value I don't think. Experiment with setting the Static tRead value to +1 value of what is show in bios and you may even see a bandwidth boost in memtest86+ v2.01 and windows. For example at 7.5x500FSB 2.0B 4-4-4-12 with Static tRead on AUTO bios says value is 8 and memtest86+ v2.01 bandwidth is approximately 5158MB/s, but if i manually set the Static tRead +1 above the shown value at 9, memtest86+ v2.01 reports 5466MB/s bandwidth. Update: seems tRead value shown in bios when set to AUTO isn't any where near the real value. AUTO must actually be at least +3 or +4 more than the displayed value if my tests here are anything to go by.
Bios Screenshots
Will upload later....
Bios template
Updated
F6H bios template
Code:
GIGABYTE GA-EP45_EXTREME
MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster: AUTO
CPU Clock Ratio: 9x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio: [+0.5]
CPU Frequency: Mhz
Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency(Mhz): 333 Mhz
PCI Express Frequency(Mhz): 100 Mhz
C.I.A. 2: [Disabled]
Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive: mv
PCI Express Clock Drive: mv
CPU Clock Skew: ps
MCH Clock Skew: ps
DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance: [Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.):
(G)MCH Frequency Latch: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier:
Memory Frequency (Mhz): Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable: [Manual]
Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time:
tRCD:
tRP:
tRAS:
Advanced Timing Control [Press Enter]
tRRD:
tWTR:
tWR:
tRFC:
tRTP:
Command Rate (CMD):
>>>>> Channel A
Channel A Timing Settings: [Press Enter]
Static tRead Value: Auto
tRD Phase0 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment: Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank).: Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank): Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank): Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank): Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Channel A Driving Settings: [Press Enter]
Driving Strength Profile: AUTO/667Mhz/800Mhz/1066Mhz/OC-1200/OC-1333
Data Driving Pull-Up Level:
Cmd Driving Pull-Up Level:
Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level:
Clk Driving Pull-Up Level:
Data Driving Pull-Down Level:
Cmd Driving Pull-Down Level:
Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level:
Clk Driving Pull-Down Level:
>>>>> Channel B
Channel B Timing Settings: [Press Enter]
Static tRead Value: Auto
tRD Phase0 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment: Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank).: Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank): Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank): Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank): Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Channel B Driving Settings: [Press Enter]
Driving Strength Profile: AUTO/667Mhz/800Mhz/1066Mhz/OC-1200/OC-1333
Data Driving Pull-Up Level:
Cmd Driving Pull-Up Level:
Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level:
Clk Driving Pull-Up Level:
Data Driving Pull-Down Level:
Cmd Driving Pull-Down Level:
Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level:
Clk Driving Pull-Down Level:
Motherboard Voltage Control
CPU Vcore: v
CPU Termination | 1.200V: v
CPU PLL | 1.500V: v
CPU Reference | 0.760V: v
CPU Reference2 | 0.800V: v
MCH Core | 1.100V: v
MCH Reference | 0.800V: v
MCH/DRAM Ref | 0.900V: v
ICH I/O | 1.500V: v
ICH Core | 1.100V: v
DRAM Voltage | 1.800V: v
DRAM Termination | 0.900V: v
Channel A Reference | 0.900V: v
Channel B Reference | 0.900V: v
Advanced Bios Features
Limit CPUID Max. to 3: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect: [Disabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E): [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2): [Disabled]
CPU EIST Function: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology.: [Disabled]
Integrated Peripherals
SATA RAID/AHCI Mode: [Disabled]
SATA Port0-3 Native Mode: [Disabled]
USB Controller: [Enabled]
USB 2.0 Controller: [Enabled]
USB Keyboard Support: [Disabled]
USB Mouse Support: [Disabled]
Legacy USB storage detect: [Enabled]
Results:
Seems I have slightly better max FSB bootable (not stable) than Asus boards at around 570-575FSB bootable 1:1 with 2.0B divider but need loosened mem timings of 5-7-7-24 right now. Yet to try other dividers as started testing with 1:1 2.0B divider first and it's pretty hard to hit high FSB with mem timings of 5-5-5-15 or 4-4-4-15 which both need around 0.10v to 0.18v more
vdimm than on Asus P35 and /DFI P35/X38/X48 chipsets.
Managed to pull off personal best max FSB Super Pi 1M bench run @7x564FSB 4-4-4-15 but needed PL10 and 2.48v to do it !
Super Pi 1M 
Everest Bandwidth & Chipset
Seems that read memory bandwidth and latency are quite low for 564Mhz 4-4-4-15 memory clocks and timings but write and copy bandwidth look decent. Probably due to the loosened Static tRead (what DFI/Asus users would of known as tRD or performance level) of around 10. Gigabyte Easytune6 utility misreports, the values set in bios for CPU Reference, CPU Reference2 and MCH Reference. Easytune6 reports the default normal values instead they should be 0.853, 0.868 and 0.828 respectively.
Bios settings used: Code:
GIGABYTE GA-EP45_EXTREME
MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster: AUTO
CPU Clock Ratio: 7x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio: [+0.0]
CPU Frequency: Mhz: 3.94Ghz
Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency(Mhz): 564 Mhz
PCI Express Frequency(Mhz): 103 Mhz
C.I.A. 2: [Disabled]
Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive: 1000mv
PCI Express Clock Drive: 1000mv
CPU Clock Skew: 300ps
MCH Clock Skew: 300ps
DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance: [Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.):
(G)MCH Frequency Latch: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier: 2.0B
Memory Frequency (Mhz): 1128Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable: [Manual]
Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time: 4
tRCD: 4
tRP: 4
tRAS: 15
Advanced Timing Control [Press Enter]
tRRD: 4
tWTR: 6
tWR: 8
tRFC: 42
tRTP: 4
Command Rate (CMD): AUTO
Channel A
Static tRead Value: 10
tRD Phase0 Adjustmen: Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment: Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank).: Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank): Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank): Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank): Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Channel B
Static tRead Value: 10
tRD Phase0 Adjustmen: Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment: Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment: Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank).: Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank): Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank): Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank): Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control: Auto ps
Motherboard Voltage Control
CPU Vcore: 1.325v
CPU Termination | 1.200V: 1.340v
CPU PLL | 1.500V: 1.500 v
CPU Reference | 0.760V: 0.853v
CPU Reference2 | 0.800V: 0.868v
MCH Core | 1.100V: 1.440v
MCH Reference | 0.800V: 0.828v
MCH/DRAM Ref | 0.900V: AUTO v
ICH I/O | 1.500V: AUTO v
ICH Core | 1.100V: AUTO v
DRAM Voltage | 1.800V: 2.480v
DRAM Termination | 0.900V: AUTO v
Channel A Reference | 0.900V: AUTO v
Channel B Reference | 0.900V: AUTOv
Advanced Bios Features
Limit CPUID Max. to 3: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect: [Disabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E): [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2): [Disabled]
CPU EIST Function: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology.: [Disabled]