P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

[early]

As the title says, what is/are the difference(s) between the two revisions of the GA-P55A-UD4?

The only thing I can see on the Gigabyte website is some hardware USB power switch that's only on the rev. 2.0. (It's software only on the rev. 1.0.)

Is there anything else I should know?

[Psycho101]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

I think the number of powerphases has been increased from 8+1 to 12+1. Other than that it will be very minor changes that won't effect performance. They have also exclusively used Lotes CPU sockets on the 2.0 revision rather than Foxconn ones due to the issues that were experienced at high clocks with sockets burning. Sometimes manufacturers were using tthe Foxconn socket with the Lotes metal CPU retaining clips, but the 2.0 is definitely all Lotes.

The most common reason for revision is usually a tweaking of components to make the board cheaper to make. There may sometimes be compatibility fixes with regards to RAM or legacy USB support etc.

In summary, it's always better to seek out the latest revision if you can, but you'll not be disapppointed with a 2.0 version either.

[early]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

The phase design looks the same (12) on both:
GA-P55A-UD4 (rev. 1.0) - GIGABYTE
GA-P55A-UD4 (rev. 2.0) - GIGABYTE

I see there are some slight changes in the layout of some components etc..

I also think it's better in general to get the latest version, but if it's nothing that affects performance then it doesn't matter.

[Psycho101]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

Yes mate you are right. I got confused with the changes between the P55-UDxx and P55A with regards to power phases.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

They changed how the phases work, they alternate which is being used, and now when one or more dies the board will still function on the others.

They also added an official On/Off Charge USB port for things like Iphone, ect.

[Psycho101]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

Aha, nice one. Cheers for the info m8. It's good to know, as my "source" has a surplus of version 1.0 boards at a 20% discount.

[early]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

They changed how the phases work, they alternate which is being used, and now when one or more dies the board will still function on the others.

Would you say this also makes it more stable or better for OCing?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

I personally prefer the Rev. 1.0 boards as they have more phases, but I have not used a Rev. 2.0 board at all so I can't really say if less phases have any negative effects or not (I doubt it or they wouldn't have designed it like that).

The Rev. 1.0 boards can also do On/Off charge with the software installed I believe, they just don't have a "Marked" or specific On/Off charge port.

[early]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

I think I'll just stick to the rev. 1.0 then.

I already have it, but the shop said they can give me a rev. 2.0 instead, when they get it. If it's not significantly better I wouldn't bother (reinstalling everything etc.).

I tried some OCing and it went ok. I got to 3.8GHz with an i5 750 on stock cooler and stopped there, because I had to raise voltage to 1.225 or so and the temperatures got a bit too hot (90s) with LinX.
I'm now running it at 3.5GHz and 1.15 V. (until I get a proper cooler, at least)

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

You wouldn't have to reinstall everything, just move everything to the new board is all.

I mean software-wise anyway, you wouldn't have to reinstall anything, you would however have to reinstall the board into your case if that's what you meant.

You will be fine with the board you have, no need to update unless you just want to.

Sounds like you need a good cooler so you can overclock your chip better and keep temps down. That's what I'd be looking for next instead of updating the board.

[evcINMAY]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

I asked the question of Gigabyte at http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw .
reply was:
The spec of both revisions (rev1.0 and rev2.0) are the same. There is no obvious hardware change between two boards. It has some circuit diagram enhancement on the Rev2.0.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3239#ov

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3436#ov

[Psycho101]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

Sounds about right.

More often than not, a new revision may either improve compatibility with some 3rd party components (RAM for example) that can't be 100% sorted with a BIOS update or simply a slight re-design to save money (different/less components used etc).

Sometimes they have done things like reduce the number of power phases whilst boosting the efficiency/effectiveness of the smaller amount of MOSFETS/chokes, but this is rarer.

On the left side of the rev 1 board the header next to the case pannel headers has changed colour. Maybe it has also changed from USB to USB3 0or 1394, can't see as the image is too low a res. Also the solid capacitor in between that header and the case pannel pins has changed to what looks like a MOSFET. If that header is USB3 then maybe the FET is there due to the extra power a USB3 port can supply. Bottom right corner, the rev 2 board has what seems to be two MOSFETS next to a solid cap where rev 1 has only a single IC. Some silk printing has also been added such as "NEC USB 3.0" and "ErP Ready".

Over all, nothing major sticks out that will effect core functionality.

[Nickel020]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

I was just looking for a new a BIOS for a Rev. 1 board and the BIOS is the same as for the Rev. 2. It's pretty rare that different revisions don't get their own specific BIOSes, so the changes must be really minor.

[Psycho101]

Re: P55A-UD4 - difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0?

Agreed. Similar to the changes made with the EP45-UD3P. Rev 1.0 and 1.1 share the same BIOS, and no obvious changes to the topology. Version 1.6 has a few changes, probably some trace path tweaks and a different BIOS to accomodate them.