ECS & Gigabyte motherboards (Intel P45 and P43)
Author:
Date: 04.12.2008 |
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Performance tests
While determining the starting FSB speed, it turned out that the boards set it at a high enough precision.
In our test setup, we used the following hardware:
Apart from the motherboards in question, we used Foxconn ELA (Intel P45) in our tests.
Synthetic tests
Tests of application software
Video encoding (DivX, Xvid) was measured in seconds, i.e. the less the better.
Data compression (WinRAR) was measured in Kb/sec, i.e. the more, the better.
Tests with Games
Final Words
We start with Gigabyte EP43-DS3. This product will appeal to those users who are planning a migration to the latest generation of Intel processors and wish to assemble a system without "frills" like CrossFire, RAID, overclocking. This board is a perfect candidate for system upgrade in case the user need to use more than three PCI expansion boards. The only thing which should be taken into account when buying this board is its low compatibility to various memory modules. In view of the number of BIOS firmware upgrades (the most recent - F9), the engineers at Gigabyte are actively working at solving this issue, albeit with not much of success so far.
As regards ECS P45T-AD3, it may interest users who are more enthusiastic. This model offers full support for the CrossFire and is aimed solely at DDR3 memory operation. However, it is no good as a framework for the overclocking system: the overclocking tools have been implemented just as "tick off": At the same time, there are some user complaints regarding the compatibility to memory modules (although the test kit is not yet enough for a comprehensive conclusion).
Conclusion
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Gigabyte EP43-DS3
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ECS P45T-AD3
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Pros:
- high stability and good performance level;
- two PCI Express x16 slots;
- support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 6 links; ICH10);
- support for one P-ATA link (IT8213);
- integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- support for USB2.0 (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire, 3 ports);
- rich selection of Gigabyte's proprietary technologies (C.I.A2, EasyTune 6, FaceWizard, @BIOS, etc.);
- support for Dynamic Energy Saver, DualBIOS;
- functional rear panel.
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Pros:
- high stability and good performance level;
- two PCI Express x16 slots;
- support for SerialATA II /RAID (7 links; ICH10R + JMB361);
- support for one P-ATA link (JMB363);
- integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- support for the USB2.0 (12 ports)
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Cons:
- incompatibility to some DDR2 memory modules.
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Cons:
- incompatibility to some DDR3 memory modules.
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The board's specific features:
- poor results of CPU and memory overclocking.
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The board's specific features:
- poor results of CPU and memory overclocking;
- buttons to power-on, reset, and clear the CMOS.
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- Discuss the material in the conference
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