Roundup tests of motherboards aimed at Intel Core 2 Duo processors
Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 Board Layout
This is a very interesting motherboard which features in support for two PCI Express x16 slots, a powerful cooling system, 12-phased power supply module.
Besides the mentioned PCI Express x16 slots, the board uses three PCI Express x1 and two PCI slots.
As regards the expansion options, they fully meet the specifications of the P965 chipset. That is, the board supports 6 SerialATA II links, 8-channel integrated HDA, a Gigabit LAN controller, and 10 USB 2.0 ports. Besides, the developers have installed an additional SerialATA II/ParallelATA RAID controller which provided support for two SATA and one PATA links. The board also has a chip that provides support for the Firewire.
The design of the rear panel has practically standard configuration, except the COM1 port, where the optical and coaxial SP-DIF output is positioned instead.
The BIOS of Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 is based on the Award BIOS Phoenix version.
We found no special issues of compatibility to memory modules. As regards the system monitoring, the board displays the current temperature values of the CPU and system, as well as the rotational speed of the two fans. Besides, the CPU cooler is able adjusting the rotational speed depending on the CPU temperature.
Let's list the overclocking tools: FSB adjustable within 200 to 700 MHz, raise of voltage on the CPU to 2.375 V, on the memory - to 2.575 V, on the chipset - by +0.775 V (to the north bridge), and to the FSB - by +0.35 V. Combined with a powerful supply module, the motherboard demonstrated superb overclocking results: stable FSB speed = 500 MHz!
Of the additional features, we note support for the Quad BIOS technology,
a radiator on the reverse side of the board,
and two massive radiators on the power supply module.
Interim conclusion: Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 is one of the best products based on P965, and is a direct competitor to ASUS P5B-Wi-Fi Deluxe.
Pros:
- High stability and good performance level;
- 12-phase power scheme;
- Two PCI Express x16 slots;
- Support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 8 links; ICH8R + Gigabyte SATA2);
- Support for one P-ATA channel (Gigabyte SATA2);
- Integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- Support for USB2.0 (10 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire; 2 ports);
- A rich selection of Gigabyte's proprietary utilities and technologies (QuadBIOS, C.I.A2, EasyTune5, FaceWizard, @BIOS, etc.).
- Passive system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module.
Cons:
- Price a bit too high;
- Scarce package bundle.
The board's specific features:
- Excellent results of overclocking the processor and memory.
Gigabyte 965P-DS4
Gigabyte 965P-DS4 is a light version of the previous motherboard (Gigabyte 965P-DQ6). The differences are in the "weaker" power supply module and in the package bundle (no E-SATA plates). At the same time, the model DS4 costs $35-40 cheaper, and at functionality it is fully identical to the more costly version. In my view, it is quite an attractive option, especially that engineers at Gigabyte are continuously improving the motherboards, so 965P-DS4 is already of revision 3.3!
The board uses two PCI Express x16, three PCI Express x1, and two PCI slots.
As regards the expansion options, they fully meet the specifications of the P965 chipset. That is, the board supports 6 SerialATA II links, 8-channel integrated HDA, a Gigabit LAN controller, and 10 USB 2.0 ports. Besides, the developers have installed an additional SerialATA II/ParallelATA RAID controller which provided support for two SATA and one PATA links. The board also has a chip that provides support for the Firewire.
The design of the rear panel has practically standard configuration, except the COM1 port, where the optical and coaxial SP-DIF output is positioned instead.
The BIOS of Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 is based on the Award BIOS Phoenix version.
We found no special issues of compatibility to memory modules. As regards the system monitoring, the board displays the current temperature values of the CPU and system, as well as the rotational speed of the two fans. Besides, the CPU cooler is able adjusting the rotational speed depending on the CPU temperature.
Let's list the overclocking tools: FSB adjustable within 200 to 700 MHz, raise of voltage on the CPU to 2.375 V, on the memory - to 2.575 V, on the chipset - by +0.775 V (to the north bridge), and to the FSB - by +0.35 V. Combined with a powerful supply module, the motherboard demonstrated superb overclocking results: the stable FSB speed = 528 MHz!
Of the additional features, we note support for the Dual BIOS technology, as well as radiators on the reverse side,
and two massive radiators on the power supply module.
Interim conclusion: Gigabyte 965P-DS4 is one of the best products based on P965, and is a direct competitor to ASUS products.
Pros:
- High stability and good performance level;
- Two PCI Express x16 slots;
- Support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 8 links; ICH8R + Gigabyte SATA2);
- Support for one P-ATA channel (Gigabyte SATA2);
- Integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- Support for USB2.0 (10 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire; 2 ports);
- A rich selection of Gigabyte's proprietary technologies (Dual BIOS, C.I.A2, EasyTune5, FaceWizard, @BIOS, etc.);
- Passive system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module.
Cons:
The board's specific features:
- Excellent results of overclocking the processor and memory.
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Content: |
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Page 1 - Chipsets
Page 2 - Roundup table of motherboards
Page 3 - abit AW9D-MAX, abit AB9 Pro
Page 4 - ASUS P5W-DH Deluxe, ASUS P5W64-WS Pro
Page 5 - ASUS Commando, ASUS P5B Premium Vista Edition
Page - ASUS P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi, ASUS P5B-E
Page 7 - P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe, Striker, P5N32-E SLI, and P5N32-E SLI PLUS
Page 8 - ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium, ASUS P5N-E SLI
Page 9 - Gigabyte 965P-DQ6, Gigabyte 965P-DS4
Page 10 - Gigabyte 965P-DS3, Gigabyte 965G-DS3
Page 11 - Foxconn 975X7AB, Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H
Page 12 - MSI P6N SLI Platinum, MSI P965 Platinum
Page 13 - MSI P965 Neo, MSI P965 Neo2
Page 14 - Intel D975XBX2 (i975X), Intel DG965RYCK
Page 15 - ECS NF650SLIT-A, ECS nForce 570 SLIT-A
Page 16 - ECS PN2 SLI2+, ECS P965T-A
Page 17 - Performance, conclusions
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