MSI DKA790GX and ECS A780GM-A Ultra
Author:
Date: 28.12.2008 |
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BIOS, monitoring, overclocking tools
The BIOS of both the motherboards is based on the AMI BIOS version.
We start with the memory settings. First, both the boards offers a wide range of the latency timings:
The BIOS also displays information on the SPD, the current frequency, and the latency timings:
Programmers at MSI have gone even further and implemented the Memory-Z information system on DKA790GX:
As regards selection of the memory frequency, both the boards allow setting any value supported by the CPU.
Finishing the talk about the memory, we note that the user can control the memory capacity allocated for the needs of the integrated video core:
Now look at the system monitoring section.
Both the motherboards display the current temperatures for the CPU and the system, rotational speeds of all the two fans, as well as voltage levels. The MSI board detects all the major voltages, whereas the ECS board keeps track of only the CPU voltage (Vcore) and the memory voltage (Vmem).
Besides, the boards offer support for the Smart Fan feature that allows for a dynamic adjustment of the CPU cooler's rotational speeds depending on the CPU temperature.
We should also note that the MSI board allows saving and loading BIOS settings as profiles (two profiles are supported):
Both the boards allow adjusting the multiplier of the HyperTransport bus:
Besides, MSI DKA790GX allows adjusting the memory controller multiplier for Phenom processors:
The latter two parameters make sense in overclocking, which we getting round to now.
Overclocking and stability
Before we move on to overclocking, let's look at the power converters. The PWM of the ECS board uses a 5-phase scheme in which there are five 270 mkF and ten 820 mkF capacitors. The PWM of the MSI board uses a 5-phase power scheme in which there are twelve 820 mkF and four 270 mkF capacitors.
Note that the power components on both the boards are cooled with radiators. And the difference in the dimensions is seen to the naked eye.
Overclocking tools for MSI DKA790GX
ECS A780GM-A Ultra, overclocking tools
| Motherboard |
MSI DKA790GX |
ECS A780GM-A Ultra |
| CPU multiplier adjustable |
+ |
- |
| HT multiplier adjustable |
+ |
+ |
| CPU-NB multiplier adjustable |
+ |
- |
| GPU Core adjustable |
within 150 MHz to 1500 MHz (1 MHz) |
within 150 MHz to 2000 MHz (1) |
| HTT adjustable |
within 200 MHz to 600 MHz (1 MHz) |
within 200 MHz to 355 MHz (5 MHz) |
| Vcore adjustment |
within 1.287V to 1.587V (0.05V) |
within +0 to +0.3V (0.02V) |
| CPU Vdd adjustable |
within 1.1 to 1.25V (0.0125V) |
- |
| Vmem adjustment |
within 1.8V to 2.3V (0.05V) |
within +0 to 1.0V (0.02 V) |
| Vdd adjustment |
within 1.2V to 1.5V (0.05V) |
within +0 to 0.315V (0.005V) |
| Vht adjustable |
within 1.25V to 1.5V (0.05V) |
- |
| Vsb adjustment |
- |
within 1.2V to 1.35V (0.05V) |
| PCI-E adjustment |
within 100 MHz to 150 MHz (1 MHz) |
- |
Now let's look at the results of overclocking.
The MSI board started up at 280 MHz, which can be regarded a good result. On the other hand, the result for the ECS board is extremely low: the maximum stable HTT speed is merely 220 MHz.
Now let's see how the integrated video core overclocked. The results for the MSI board is 950 MHz, ECS - 900 MHz.
We should note that MSI has brought a gift to beginner users: a block of 2 dip switches using which the starting HTT speed can be set to 220, 230, and 240 MHz.
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