Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P P45 Motherboard Review | ||
| by MAC | October 30, 2008 | ||
| Overclocking Results Overclocking ResultsAs evidenced by the introduction of the Extreme Series motherboards and the fact that they hosted a massive overclocking competition, it is clear that GIGABYTE are intently focused on the needs and wants of the overclocking community. As a result, we were definitely looking forward to testing out the EP45-UD3P's capabilities. In particular, we were interested in whether the Ultra Durable 3 features would truly result in tangible overclocking benefits. When a new motherboard is released, the immaturity of the BIOS is often the limiting factor when it comes to overclocking. Regrettably, this was also the case with the EP45-UD3P with the first release F4 BIOS. As you will see below, the stable overclocking results are by no means bad, but they are not quite as good as we achieved with the more mature EP45-DQ6. Having said, this model's potential is definitely apparent, and once the BIOS is tweaked a little further this will be an overclocking monster. Before continuing, please note that MemSet misreports the memory type and the memory clocks, therefore rely on CPU-Z and Everest instead. Highest Stable FSB & Memory Overclocking Click for full size…  Our regular readers will notice that for this review we have combined our "Maximum FSB Stability Overclocking" and "Maximum Memory Stability Overclocking" into one section. The reason for this unique change is simply due to the fact that our highest stable front-side bus speed allowed us to max out the Micron PC2-5300 (D9GMH ICs) modules that we use in our Test Setup. As you can see, we were able to achieve a very respectable 515Mhz FSB at 1.34vNB with a relatively modest 1.34 VTT and 1.61 PLL voltages. While the key to our success was careful tweaking of the CPU Reference and MCH Refence voltages, a similar result could also be achieved by leaving all the settings on AUTO. However, above 500Mhz, the VTT and PLL voltages are automatically set to a stratospheric 1.60V and 1.85V, respectively. Although we knowingly stress-tested with these voltages for approximately 100 hours with no apparent consequences, we most definitely do not recommend them for long-term use. Take the time to tweak the CPU Reference and MCH Refence and you will achieve high FSB clocks with lower voltages. Now the reason that we were limited to a 'mere' 515Mhz is due a consistent failure to pass SuperPI 32M at higher speeds. No matter how much voltage we used and how much tweaking we did, SPi 32M would not successfully complete three times in a row above 515Mhz. We could run loops of 3DMark 2001 at up to 585Mhz FSB and even pass OCCT 2 hours at 545Mhz, but SuperPI 32M would nevertheless fail. In our discussions with Gigabyte, we were told that this was a known issue and that an improved BIOS would be released very shortly. Highest Stable Overall Overclocking Click for full size…  As like the higher-end EP45-DQ6, we have no qualms recommending the EP45-UD3P for 24/7 500Mhz FSB use. We were able to achieve this fairly lofty front-side bus speed at only 1.26vNB, and at this speed and voltage the northbridge and MOSFET coolers barely get warm to the touch. By any measure, a 4.0Ghz/500Mhz FSB/DDR2-1200 system is extremely fast, and nowadays it is remarkably easy to achieve too. We will be using these clock speeds as the overclocked configuration in the subsequent benchmarking section. Since competitive benchmarking and overclocking is becoming such a popular activity, we have decided to include two new headers to our Overclocking Results section, Maximum Benchable FSB and Maximum Benchable Memory. Both of these will demonstrate the overclocking results we achieved at the razor's edge of stability. In order to qualify, an overclock must simply pass Everest Cache & Memory Benchmark and SuperPI 1M. This will reveal our motherboard's absolute maximum capabilities, without being quite as useless as mere suicide screenshots. Needless to say, unless you are fully willing to damage your components, don't try to recreate the results you see below. Maximum Benchable FSB Overclocking Click for full size…  As we stated in the intro to this section, the EP45-UD3P has the potential to be a monster overclocker and this certainly supports that claim. 610Mhz FSB at 1.54vNB and a Performance Level of 10 is a terrific result on air, especially since it was accomplished with the stock NB cooler and thermal paste. With some extreme cooling and a Core 2 Duo E8600, I wouldn't be surprised to see this motherboard achieve some top SPi 1M times. Maximum Benchable Memory Overclocking Click for full size…  One of the benefits of the new 2 oz copper layers was said to be improved memory overclocking, and Gigabyte have increased the highest supported memory speeds from DDR2-1333 up to DDR2-1366+. While this may seem like overkill to many of you, there are in fact a few memory kits that are well-known for reliably hitting such speeds, like Team Group Xtreme PC2-10400 and Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400/PC2-8000/PC2-8500 (double-sided .16FD5 versions). Armed with a new set of these Ballistix modules, we were fully commited to testing out this DDR2-1366 claim. However, as you can see, sanity kicked in and we decided to settle on DDR2-1333, which is still extremely impressive. Clearly, anyone with good modules and an equal dose of courage and voltage can achieve some stupendous memory overclocks with the EP45-UD3P. Once again, we fully expect to see some DDR2 world records achieved with this model. Well now that we have finished torturing this motherboard, let's see how it actually fares in benchmarks.         | ||
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