GA-EP45-DQ6Gigabyte - $275http://www.giga-byte.com/
Pros:- Long list of features- Overclocker friendly- Tons of room for expansion
Cons:- Price of entry too steep for some
Intel recently launched its P45 Express chipset, widening support and increasing performance in mainstream Intel-based motherboards. Naturally, motherboard manufacturers have been eagerly awaiting the chipset since it offers a price advantage over Intel’s higher-end parts, while retaining support for all of the high-end technological goodies.
Being one of the biggest third-party hardware manufacturers, Gigabyte has launched an entire line-up of P45 based motherboards in order to completely fill the space, from entry-level and high-end. The motherboard we’re looking at in this article, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6, is positioned as Gigabyte’s Top-of-the-line P45-based motherboard. Ironically, what Gigabyte has managed to do with the GA-EP45-DQ6 is turn the mainstream P45 chipset into a powerhouse.
Design-wise, the biggest difference between the P45 and Intel’s current high-end X48 chipset is that the P45 uses a 65nm fabrication process, whereas the X48 (and all previous Intel chipsets for that matter) still use a 90nm design. Smaller fabrication process means it’s cheaper to produce as it uses less silicon and should operate at a cooler running temperature.
Other than that, there are no major technologies being introduced with the P45. Intel has instead decided to migrate many of the X48’s major features over to the new mainstream chipset. This is a win-win for consumers since P45 motherboards will typically cost less than their X48 counterparts and many of the X48 features that are now available in the P45 are quite substantial.
Of particular interest is that PCI Express 2.0 is supported in the P45, doubling PCIe bandwidth from 250mb/s to 500mb/s. While the current real-world performance improvement is negligible (you might see a slight boost in video card performance), PCIe 2.0 support is important because it ensures the future compatibility of P45 motherboards.
Surprisingly, Intel opted to include their Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) technology in the P45 as well. With support for 16GB of RAM, the P45’s ability to utilize XMP will offer considerable performance to memory that would otherwise go untweaked. XMP automatically configures system RAM to run at optimal and stable settings. In traditional chipsets (e.g. everything prior to the X48/38), memory timings would default to the most stable — and hence slowest — settings available. Like PCIe 2.0, while this isn’t necessarily a new technology, it will be new to the vast majority of users.
Speaking of memory, it’s important to note that while the P45 supports both DDR2 and DDR3, it’s up to the motherboard manufacturer to decide which type of memory is supported. Although DDR3 is considered futureproof, DDR2 is currently less than half the price. In that respect, depending on your usage, it may be more beneficial to have 8GBs of DDR2 now, rather than 4GB of DDR3. The GA-EP45-DQ6 that we’re reviewing is the DDR2 version. Gigabyte has also launched the GA-EP45T-DQ6 which is exactly the same as the GA-EP45-DQ6, but uses DDR3 instead.
Next: Did they go overboard?Did they go overboard?
Intel paired the P45 up with either the ICH10 or ICH10R Southbridge (the “R” version having RAID support). The ICH10 Southbridge supports its own plethora of features — Intel HD Audio, up to 12 USB 2.0 ports, six PCIe x1 slots, six SATA3 ports, and integrated Intel 1Gbit Ethernet — all of which help make the P45 Express a well rounded chipset. Optional support for two full-sized PCIe x8 slots (for multi-card graphics solutions) and Intel Turbo Memory make the P45 Express chipset even sweeter.
With the GA-EP45-DQ6 it seems as though Gigabyte used the mainstream chipset as an excuse to include tons of extra features above and beyond what the P45 Express already offers. They packed the motherboard with a number of luxuries that, in all honesty, will probably only be used by the most avid PC enthusiast. While this would normally place the GA-EP45-DQ6 in a very niche category, because the P45’s performance is very comparable to Intel’s high-end chipsets like the X48, it actually makes this motherboard one of the most feature-packed performers available… and there’s nothing niche about performance.
In fact, in some areas Gigabyte may have gone slightly overboard with GA-EP45-DQ6. Take, for example, its onboard Ethernet configuration; the GA-EP45-DQ6 has four Gigabit Ethernet ports. I can’t think of a household scenario where four Ethernet ports would be necessary, even if you were using the system as a network bridge or to share an Internet connection. Fortunately all four ports support Teaming, essentially allowing you to combine connections to double or quadruple throughput to 4GBit/s.
Similar overkill is seen in Gigabyte decision to usurp the P45’s built-in Intel HD audio by including a separate SNR ALC889A HD codec to offer Dolby Home Theatre audio. On paper, the differences between the two are noticeable (full Blu-Ray audio format support at 106dB, official Dolby Home support), but I have a hard time believing that the ALC889A is vastly superior to Intel’s HD audio in real-world audio applications. Of course, if you’re an audio professional that needs the highest audio quality possible, you would want to be using a discrete audio solution anyway.
Luckily many of the features seen in Gigabyte’s other high-end motherboards are here as well. DES advanced power management, Virtual 12-phase power, CrossFireX support, two additional RAID chips (ICH10R has built-in RAID and there are two separate Silicon Image 5723 chips for use with Gigabyte’s Smart Backup software), Dual BIOS, Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable 2 build process, two PCIe x4 slots, two regular PCI slots, and one PCIe x1 slot… Essentially more stuff than most users would know what to do with.
For external expansion purposes, they’ve packed eight USB2.0 ports on the rear I/O panel (two below each of the four network ports), a firewire backplate (with both a fw400 and a fw800 port), and two dual-port external SATA connectors.
Gigabyte has definitely raised the bar with the GA-EP45-DQ6. Whether or not all of these features are necessary will ultimately be up to you, the consumer. That said the GA-EP45-DQ6 is definitely one of the most feature-filled motherboards on the market. The P45, while more evolutionary than revolutionary, has acquired all of the X48’s major strengths making it one heck of a lucrative Northbridge. The fact that Gigabyte decided to pour on a slew of additional features and technology make the GA-EP45-DQ6 quite a robust motherboard by any standard. If this is what they do with Intel’s mainstream chipset, I can’t wait to see what the people at Gigabyte eventually do with the X48’s successor.
Pros:- Long list of features- Overclocker friendly- Tons of room for expansion
Cons:- Price of entry too steep for some
Intel recently launched its P45 Express chipset, widening support and increasing performance in mainstream Intel-based motherboards. Naturally, motherboard manufacturers have been eagerly awaiting the chipset since it offers a price advantage over Intel’s higher-end parts, while retaining support for all of the high-end technological goodies.
Being one of the biggest third-party hardware manufacturers, Gigabyte has launched an entire line-up of P45 based motherboards in order to completely fill the space, from entry-level and high-end. The motherboard we’re looking at in this article, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6, is positioned as Gigabyte’s Top-of-the-line P45-based motherboard. Ironically, what Gigabyte has managed to do with the GA-EP45-DQ6 is turn the mainstream P45 chipset into a powerhouse.
Design-wise, the biggest difference between the P45 and Intel’s current high-end X48 chipset is that the P45 uses a 65nm fabrication process, whereas the X48 (and all previous Intel chipsets for that matter) still use a 90nm design. Smaller fabrication process means it’s cheaper to produce as it uses less silicon and should operate at a cooler running temperature.
Other than that, there are no major technologies being introduced with the P45. Intel has instead decided to migrate many of the X48’s major features over to the new mainstream chipset. This is a win-win for consumers since P45 motherboards will typically cost less than their X48 counterparts and many of the X48 features that are now available in the P45 are quite substantial.
Of particular interest is that PCI Express 2.0 is supported in the P45, doubling PCIe bandwidth from 250mb/s to 500mb/s. While the current real-world performance improvement is negligible (you might see a slight boost in video card performance), PCIe 2.0 support is important because it ensures the future compatibility of P45 motherboards.
Surprisingly, Intel opted to include their Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) technology in the P45 as well. With support for 16GB of RAM, the P45’s ability to utilize XMP will offer considerable performance to memory that would otherwise go untweaked. XMP automatically configures system RAM to run at optimal and stable settings. In traditional chipsets (e.g. everything prior to the X48/38), memory timings would default to the most stable — and hence slowest — settings available. Like PCIe 2.0, while this isn’t necessarily a new technology, it will be new to the vast majority of users.
Speaking of memory, it’s important to note that while the P45 supports both DDR2 and DDR3, it’s up to the motherboard manufacturer to decide which type of memory is supported. Although DDR3 is considered futureproof, DDR2 is currently less than half the price. In that respect, depending on your usage, it may be more beneficial to have 8GBs of DDR2 now, rather than 4GB of DDR3. The GA-EP45-DQ6 that we’re reviewing is the DDR2 version. Gigabyte has also launched the GA-EP45T-DQ6 which is exactly the same as the GA-EP45-DQ6, but uses DDR3 instead.
Next: Did they go overboard?Did they go overboard?
Intel paired the P45 up with either the ICH10 or ICH10R Southbridge (the “R” version having RAID support). The ICH10 Southbridge supports its own plethora of features — Intel HD Audio, up to 12 USB 2.0 ports, six PCIe x1 slots, six SATA3 ports, and integrated Intel 1Gbit Ethernet — all of which help make the P45 Express a well rounded chipset. Optional support for two full-sized PCIe x8 slots (for multi-card graphics solutions) and Intel Turbo Memory make the P45 Express chipset even sweeter.
With the GA-EP45-DQ6 it seems as though Gigabyte used the mainstream chipset as an excuse to include tons of extra features above and beyond what the P45 Express already offers. They packed the motherboard with a number of luxuries that, in all honesty, will probably only be used by the most avid PC enthusiast. While this would normally place the GA-EP45-DQ6 in a very niche category, because the P45’s performance is very comparable to Intel’s high-end chipsets like the X48, it actually makes this motherboard one of the most feature-packed performers available… and there’s nothing niche about performance.
In fact, in some areas Gigabyte may have gone slightly overboard with GA-EP45-DQ6. Take, for example, its onboard Ethernet configuration; the GA-EP45-DQ6 has four Gigabit Ethernet ports. I can’t think of a household scenario where four Ethernet ports would be necessary, even if you were using the system as a network bridge or to share an Internet connection. Fortunately all four ports support Teaming, essentially allowing you to combine connections to double or quadruple throughput to 4GBit/s.
Similar overkill is seen in Gigabyte decision to usurp the P45’s built-in Intel HD audio by including a separate SNR ALC889A HD codec to offer Dolby Home Theatre audio. On paper, the differences between the two are noticeable (full Blu-Ray audio format support at 106dB, official Dolby Home support), but I have a hard time believing that the ALC889A is vastly superior to Intel’s HD audio in real-world audio applications. Of course, if you’re an audio professional that needs the highest audio quality possible, you would want to be using a discrete audio solution anyway.
Luckily many of the features seen in Gigabyte’s other high-end motherboards are here as well. DES advanced power management, Virtual 12-phase power, CrossFireX support, two additional RAID chips (ICH10R has built-in RAID and there are two separate Silicon Image 5723 chips for use with Gigabyte’s Smart Backup software), Dual BIOS, Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable 2 build process, two PCIe x4 slots, two regular PCI slots, and one PCIe x1 slot… Essentially more stuff than most users would know what to do with.
For external expansion purposes, they’ve packed eight USB2.0 ports on the rear I/O panel (two below each of the four network ports), a firewire backplate (with both a fw400 and a fw800 port), and two dual-port external SATA connectors.
Gigabyte has definitely raised the bar with the GA-EP45-DQ6. Whether or not all of these features are necessary will ultimately be up to you, the consumer. That said the GA-EP45-DQ6 is definitely one of the most feature-filled motherboards on the market. The P45, while more evolutionary than revolutionary, has acquired all of the X48’s major strengths making it one heck of a lucrative Northbridge. The fact that Gigabyte decided to pour on a slew of additional features and technology make the GA-EP45-DQ6 quite a robust motherboard by any standard. If this is what they do with Intel’s mainstream chipset, I can’t wait to see what the people at Gigabyte eventually do with the X48’s successor.
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