MSI P35 Neo3 и Gigabyte EP35-DS4
Author:
Date: 16.03.2008
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Performance tests
While determining the starting FSB speed, we found that the Gigabyte board sets it at a high enough precision, as compared to the MSI board which overstated it by 1 MHz.
In our test setup, we used the following hardware:
Apart from the motherboards in question, we used abit IX38-QuadGT (Intel X38) in our tests.
Now on to the gaming benchmarks.
Tests of application software.
Final Words
First of all, we note that these boards are aimed at different user categories. In particular, MSI P35 Neo3 is a "work-horse" with one PCI Express x16 slot, basic expansion options and minimum set of bundled items. Since it is priced at about $100, this product appears to be rather attractive.
The other board, Gigabyte EP35-DS4, costs a bit higher (about $170), and is aimed at PC enthusiasts. That is seen from the second PCI-E x16 slot where you can fit one more video card, more powerful expansion options (+ two SerialATA links, support for the RAID, Firewire), as well as a more efficient cooling system. Traditionally for Gigabyte, the package bundle is scanty and does not match the price.
As regards the overclocking, both the motherboards did please us: EP35-DS4 and P35 Neo3 ran at 550 MHz. For the MSI board, that is a fantastic result, considering that all its previous boards based on P35/X38 were unable to overcome 500 MHz. However, the MSI board has some shortcoming - partial incompatibility to Corsair DDR2 TWIN2X2048-8500C5 memory modules. Hopefully, the problem is rooted in the BIOS, and will be fixed in the forthcoming firmware versions. We also found several flaws in the proprietary utilities by Gigabyte and MSI, so we build the only hop for fresher versions of this software.
 
Gigabyte EP35-DS4 and MSI P35 Neo3
Conclusion
Pros:
- high stability and good performance level;
- two PCI Express x16 slots;
- support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 8 lines; ICH9R + JMB363);
- support for one P-ATA link (JMB363);
- integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- support for USB2.0 (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (Firewire; 3 ports);
- a rich selection of Gigabyte's proprietary technologies (C.I.A 2, EasyTune Center, FaceWizard, @BIOS, etc.);
- support for Dynamic Energy Saver, DualBIOS;
- passive system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module;
- functional rear panel.
Cons:
- flaws in the software;
- scarce package bundle.
The board's specific features:
- superb results of overclocking the CPU (FSB = 550 MHz) and the memory.
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Pros:
- high stability and good performance level;
- support for SerialATA II/RAID ( 6 links; ICH9 + JMB363);
- support for one P-ATA link (JMB363);
- integrated 8-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller;
- support for the USB 2.0 (12 ports);
- a wide selection of MSI's proprietary utilities (Dual CoreCenter, LiveUpdate, D.O.T., etc.);
Cons:
- partial incompatibility to Corsair DDR2 TWIN2X2048-8500C5 memory modules;
- flaws in the software.
The board's specific features:
- very good overclocking results for the CPU (FSB = 550 MHz) and the memory.
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- Discuss the material in the conference
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