Which P45/43 board?

[mattlyall06]

im thinking of upgrading from my p35 to a p45/43 chipset. definitely sticking with gigabyte as im used to the bios... how do the bios options compare with my p35 board? i assume they're more intricate, does that bring more difficulty?

what would you recommend? i see that most of the gigabyte p43/45 boards have 2x pci slots, since i wont be doing sli or anything i'll only need one. still, i could live using 1 of 2 slots.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

Ya the BIOS is WAY Different! Many better options, and yes it will take you some getting used to over P35, I just switched myself (Thanks Mr.Tweak/Gigabyte)

I would suggest you pick a P45 though as budget board is just that

Maybe P45-DS3R or DS3L if you never think you will use RAID. Depends on your budget


Here just so you have a idea this is what Options you will have in a P45 BIOS for overclocking, plus 2 more full pages of advanced additional memory settings not shown below >>>

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............:
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................:
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.0
CPU Frequency ...........................:


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Set to 100

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<<
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<<
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<<
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<<


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............:
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............:
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................
tRCD .........................................
tRP'...........................................
tRAS..........................................

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................
tWTR..........................................
tWR............................................
tRFC...........................................
tRTP...........................................
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................:
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< .61% Of Vtt (Termination above)
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< .67% Of Vtt (Termination above)

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: <<
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............:
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

[mattlyall06]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

wow thats alot more stuff! you werent kidding haha. thanks for the heads up

yeah i most likely wont be doing any RAID so that should narrow it down. are there any "high end" boards that dont come with raid/multiple pcie 2 slots?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

Well, what is your price range?

I think the more you spend the more PCIE slots you will have anyway, and of course RAID Options as well. Thats what makes them high end really.

[mattlyall06]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

ill most likely spend $100-200. for sure no raid and only 1x pcie slot. so that should narrow it down a bit. in that case, i guess, what im looking for then isnt really "high end" is it, lol.

there cant be THAT many gigabyte boards with these configurations, right? so i shouldnt have a hard time deciding.

[BongWizard]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

if you want a mature BIOS, then the P45 based boards are your best bet... the DS3R is probably the best board for you, as it offers RAID functionality, offers CrossFireX support yet still boasts 2 PCI slots and 3 PCIe x1 slots, offers a very stable platform for OCing (should support upwards of 450MHz FSB, which is good for quad cores) and best of all, it'll only run you about US$90

Newegg.com - Open Box: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
or in Australia,
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Mother Board $156.49AUD

If you really don't want RAID and just the one PCIe x16 slot, then the standard DS3L might be the board for you. It doesn't offer so much stability as the DS3R or DS3P, but is far cheaper and should serve your purpose well.

https://9289.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1660

Or you can get the DS3P, which has a heatpipe for chipset cooling, which will allow you to achieve even better OCs.

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3P MotherBoard $170.83AUD

If you think you're not ready for such an intricate BIOS, you might want to consider an X48 series board, again the DS3R or DS3P are good choices.

[mattlyall06]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

thanks for that input.

so the x48 chipset has a less intricate bios than that of a p45? i would have thought it'd be the other way around, shows what i know lol. what makes them so expensive then?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

Yeah the X48 and P35 BIOS is very similar, and way less involved. X48 is way more expensive though, and has 2 x16 PCI slots. So would be a waste of your cash.

You should get P35 or P45 depending on the overclocking options you would like. But obviously P45 would be better because of newer tech and more options. Of course you would have to do some reading and tweaking if you plan to overclock very far.

P35-DS3L or DS3 would be good, or you could go even lesser and get a S3 model if you wanted, but they may not be the best for overclocking.

P35-DS3L here so you can look at spec's

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337

Same as above Applies to P45 (P45-DS3 or DS3L)

P45-DS3L here, pretty much same price as above if you live in the US $85-89 >>>

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345

I would stay away from the major budget models, P31 and P43



Here is what they (P35 and X48) look like as far as overclocking options >>>>

P35 >>>
Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio ____________ [8]
Fine Clock Ratio ____________[0.5]
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [450]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [100]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [2.00]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]

Performance Enhance = [Standard]

CAS Latency Time________________ ?
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay_________ ?
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_______?
Precharge Delay (tRAS)__________ ?

ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_________ ?
Rank Write to READ Delay________ ?
Write to Precharge Delay_________ ?
Refresh to ACT Delay______________ ?
Read to Precharge Delay__________ ?
Static tRead Value_______________ 1-31
Static tRead Phase Adjust________ [Auto]

System Voltage Control____ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.300V]
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0.1V]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [1.25]

________________________________________________

X48 >>>>
Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio ____________ [8]
Fine Clock Ratio ____________[0.5]
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [450]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [100]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [2.00]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]

Performance Enhance = [Standard]

CAS Latency Time________________ ?
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay_________ ?
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_______?
Precharge Delay (tRAS)__________ ?

ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_________ ?
Rank Write to READ Delay________ ?
Write to Precharge Delay_________ ?
Refresh to ACT Delay______________ ?
Read to Precharge Delay__________ ?
Static tRead Value_______________ 1-31
Static tRead Phase Adjust________ [Auto]

CPU/PCIEX Clock Driving Control [800mV]
CPU Clock Skew Control [normal]
GMCH Clock Skew Control [Normal]
GTLREF__________ [Auto]


System Voltage Control____ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.300V]
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0.1V]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [1.25]

[mattlyall06]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

well, coming from an ep35-ds3l....

P45-DS3L is probably the one for me.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Which P45/43 board?

Yeap, likely would be the best comparison hardware wise. Just get ready to have more BIOS options, which is a good thing