| Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 DES X48 DDR3 Motherboard |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Motherboards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Olin Coles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 18 February 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6Motherboards are at the heart of every computer, and their importance is central to stable system operation. No matter if you are a low-demand office worker who plugs away on letters or spreadsheets or if you are a high-performance hardware enthusiast who demands extreme frame rates from your video games, one component alone will determine your ability: the motherboard. Because so much, nay, everything rides on the system mainboard, you must make certain that your livelihood is based on a solid and dependable foundation. Gigabyte isn't a new name to the industry, and for years now they have offered some of the most reliable and stable motherboard sold. In fact, over the past year there really only seemed to be two realistic options for motherboard manufacturer's when you shopped for new hardware; and Gigabyte was one of them. In this article Benchmark Reviews challenges our reigning champion against the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard.
Intel has been busy with one chipset release right on the heels of another. Since June 2007 when Intel first introduced the P35 chipset, it would take less than three months before it was succeeded by the X38 chipset for enthusiasts. Both shared the same Bearlake codename, as well as the same ICH9 Southbridge chipset, and on most accounts they were practically the same motherboard. The incentive to experience the X38 chipset was based on a 1600MHz front side bus added to the new compatibility with PCI-Express 2.0, which increases video bandwidth to 5 GBps. Then, just barely a month later, Intel announced specifications for their X48 chipset.
At the time of this writing (February 2008), Intel has still not officially lifted the embargo of their X48 chipset. In fact, despite the release of motherboards such as Gigabyte's GA-X48T-DQ6, they have postponed the launch because of unsold X38 quantities. It seems almost by design that Intel has done to motherboard manufacturers exactly that they did when they pushed DDR3 onto memory makers; they have systematically weakened the manufacturer's position in the market my consuming unnecessary product development resources. This could almost rival the effect Windows Vista has had on top-tier OEM's by Microsoft's forceful deployment. But this is a whole other discussion for another article. 
If there's one thing my experience has taught me, it's that Gigabyte knows how to deliver product longevity and system stability. Unlike Tyan, which briefly made it's way to the desktop sector before pulling back to the more familiar server back-plane foundation, Gigabyte has been successful on both front. At the Super Computing 2007 event last year, Gigabyte was already on top of the industry with several cutting-edge server platforms. Now they are back with the bleeding-edge GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard in this performance review. About the company: Gigabyte United Inc. (G.B.T. Inc. USA)
Gigabyte United Inc., established in December 2006, is assuming the GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd. Brand, which for the past 20 years has been a world-renowned leader in the motherboard industry. Continuing to focus on its core businesses of GIGABYTE branded motherboards and graphics cards, Gigabyte United Inc. is committed to providing our valued customers with the highest quality products and services featuring the industry's most innovative design. In order to meet the challenges of today's intensely competitive channel market, Gigabyte United Inc. fully utilizes its key assets including its cutting-edge research and development team as well as its professional sales and marketing resources to continue to develop technologies to fit a complete range of digital life solutions. Now and for the future, Gigabyte United Inc. will continue to embody the unique spirit and culture, which has made Gigabyte one of the foremost brands in the industry. More information about Gigabyte is available by visiting their website. Gigabyte X48 Express FeaturesGigabyte has gone to great lengths to avoid the stigma of their flagship GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES system board from becoming "just another" motherboard. In addition to all of the major features and specifications you hear about, such as the front side bus and system memory support, Gigabyte also adds in some very valuable features of their own.
Designed for ultimate flexibility, Intel XMP-based platforms offer major advantages for pro gamers, novices, and everyone in between. With predefined and certified memory optimizations built into Intel XMP, overclocking on Intel technology-based PCs is easy right out of the box. Expert users still have the option of manually changing specific parameters for more aggressive "I'll do it myself thanks" tuning. EDITORS NOTE: Benchmark Reviews has also published the article DDR3 RAM: System Memory Technology Explained Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 Specifications
Overclocking Variables
Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Technology)Intel Extreme Memory Technology provides a simple and robust high performance, DDR3 based memory solution for Intel based platforms. Users can choose from preset optimized memory configurations or manually adjust memory timing parameters to fine-tune memory performance.
Extreme memory for power-packed performance tuning.
Looking for that extra boost? Add this to your arsenal. Gigabyte Dynamic Energy SaverGigabyte first launched their full range of Dynamic Energy Saver motherboards beginning with the P35-based series, and later included the X38 and X48 motherboards. Dynamic Energy Saver, or DES, allows you to receive unparalleled power savings of up to 70% and up to 20% improved power efficiency with the simple click of a button. "With more than one year of intensive design and testing, Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver represents a truly amazing revolution in motherboard development," said Johnson Lin, CEO of Gigabyte United. "With one little click, users are able to take advantage of up to 70% CPU power savings without sacrificing computing performance. Imagine the potential for power savings on a global scale if every motherboard in the world was able to provide similar power savings." Featuring an advanced proprietary software and hardware design, including high quality components from Intersil, Gigabyte Dynamic Energy Saver is a unique technology that provides exceptional power savings and improved power efficiency. The unique multi-gear power phase design of Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver allows for the most efficient switching of power phases depending on CPU workload. When the CPU workload is light or at idle, the Dynamic Energy Saver downshifts gears and only allows the minimum required power phases needed to accomplish the task to operate. By turning off the power phases that are not needed, Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver is able to dramatically save power, up to 70% compared to traditional motherboards, that would normally have been wasted. As soon as the workload increases, Dynamic Energy Saver recognizes that more power is needed and is able to shift into higher gear, turning on power phases as they are needed.
Unlike traditional power designs that keep all power phases active at all times no matter what the loading, Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver features multiple gears, allowing the CPU to maintain optimum power efficiency from light all the way to heavy loading. In a traditional power phase design, each gear needs to operate at less than optimum efficiency, causing gaps in power efficiency. With the ability to switch on and off gears before they start to loose efficiency, Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver is able to provide up to 20% improved power efficiency.
Dynamic Energy Saver User Interface
Gigabyte's user-friendly Dynamic Energy Saver interface allows users to turn on and off the power saving features with a simple click of the Dynamic Energy Saver button. Not only can users see real-time CPU power consumption in Watts, but once Dynamic Energy Saver is enabled, users can also see how much power they are actually saving. In Meter Mode, Gigabyte Dynamic Energy Saver shows how much power users have saved in a set period of time. Like a trip odometer in a car, users are able to reset the power savings meter to zero. In Total Mode, users are able to see how much total power savings they have accumulated since activating Dynamic Energy Saver for the first time. Even if the Dynamic Energy Saver functionality is turned off, the total amount of power saved will be recorded until re-activated, when total power savings will resume recording power savings.
Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver technology also delivers additional power savings with its Dynamic CPU Voltage Control. Adjust the CPU voltage according to power saving needs; Level 1 for Normal Power Savings, Level 2 for Advanced Power Savings, and Level 3 for Extreme Power Savings. Gigabyte's Dynamic Frequency Control (CPU Throttling) allows for additional system power savings with a simple 1-click on/off button.
Unique Dynamic Energy Saver Hardware Design
Gigabyte Dynamic Energy Saver + Intel 45nm CPU = Unmatched Energy Efficiency
Benefits of Gigabyte Dynamic Energy Saver Today it is more important than ever to help conserve and protect our environment. That is why Gigabyte has taken the lead to develop responsible computing technologies that have as little impact on the environment as possible. In addition to Dynamic Energy Saver, Gigabyte has removed lead and other hazardous materials from their products, helping to create a greener computing future. Gigabyte offers a video demonstration of their Dynamic Energy Saver feature in action. You can download or view the demonstration here. UPDATE: As of BIOS update F5 available 27 July 2008, the GA-X48T-DQ6 motherboard now supports DES Advanced functionality. X48T-DQ6 E1 BIOS M.I.T.Once you get past the enormous retail box Gigabyte packages the GA-X48T-DQ6 in, you'll be ready to subject this motherboard to some seriously harsh workloads. The very first thing that I advise any hardware enthusiast or overclocker to do is visit the manufacturers website and download the latest BIOS before you even begin loading the Operating System. The BIOS we used for our configuration was version named "x48tdq6.F4d" and was flashed via a USB flash drive before we ever complete our first POST. After successfully uploading the new version "E1" BIOS, we reset the system and began the fun. Over the past few years I have become very picky about how I like to have the BIOS presented. I recall a previous review where another manufacturer made the entire background pink, and another made it completely yellow. Blue works for me, despite its closeness to the BSOD.
Gigabyte has continually released stable BIOS programming, but the one area that never quite captures the crown is in the fine tuning. Prior to the Intel 915 series and the Core 2 Duo, I didn't have a lot of experience with overclocking on a Gigabyte motherboard. Since that time two years ago I have seen at least ten other product releases and combed through their BIOS architecture. Very similar to the G35 and X38 motherboards they offer, the GA-X48T-DQ6 shares the "Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker" control menu which Gigabyte dubs M.I.T. In addition to the standard DRAM latency timings available for a range of setting adjustments, the advanced precharge and static adjustments are also available. For most basic overclocking, these are best left with the default [Auto] setting. However if your overclocking requires a lab coat and goggles, then it's a good thing that Gigabyte didn't leave you unsupported.
Throughout my testing of the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 BIOS, I didn't see a single problem that would prevent the average hardware enthusiast or overclocker from tweaking the component settings to exactly the position they required. If there was a complaint at all it would be that Gigabyte does not list the desired voltage in their configuration, only the additional voltage you want applied. If you haven't committed hardware voltage specifications, than this could lead to some confusion. But I can reveal a secret from the pro's: look at the PC Health Status section to determine the current operating voltage of the hardware before you adjust settings. This will give you a reliable idea of where your voltage is supposed to be compared to how far you'll stretch it. Although the BIOS version I received is still very immature and at a pre-release level, the overclock results I was able to attain were considerably good and completely stable. When compared against slightly older products such as the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe Intel P35 motherboard (utilizing the tenth version of that BIOS), the GA-X48T-DQ6 was not able to match overclocking results. While the results were similar, DDR3 speeds that could be reached with the P5K3 would give MemTest errors on the X48T-DQ6. Again, I attribute this entirely on an immature BIOS; especially since the initial beta release was unable to pass MemTest with any one of the fourteen different DDR3 system memory kits I used. Closer Look: Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6In this section we (finally) put our hands on the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard and give it a close inspection. Go ahead an take a look, because I know that's what you came here for. I can't blame you for checking out the pictures first and then (hopefully) returning to the article. Seeing so much color, so much copper, and so many I/O ports, it all makes me feel bad for motherboard reviews of years past. How did they ever survive the boredom? This review will focus less on fashion and more on functionality, but it's difficult to deny that the X48T-DQ6 deserves equal attention for both.
Gigabyte builds the GA-X48T-DQ6 from a dark blue printed circuit board (PCB), which seems to create a nice clean background effect which shows off the components. Well known for using colorful plastics, Gigabyte keeps to tradition and uses every tool made available to them for molding the plastic connection and port pieces. The added color really seems to set their products apart, in my opinion.
The GA-X48T-DQ6 is the second generation of Gigabyte's Ultra Durable motherboards. The all new copper "SILENT-PIPE" thermal cooling solution covers the chipsets and CPU power MOSFETs. This inventive design dramatically reduces CPU zone temperature as we have seen before in the P35 GIGABYTE vs ASUS Thermal Test Report.
If one thing is made certain, it's that the X48T-DQ6 is made "Ultra Durable" through the use of many different metals. The very large copper heatpipes assembly begins at the ICH9R Southbridge where temperatures are fairly lukewarm, and travel up to the northbridge via a single heatpipe interconnect. At the Intel X48 Express northbridge chipset, which appears to be the heart of the heatpipe cooling efforts, two additional rods reach out to an area behind the I/O panel to expel heat through a long copper cooling fin assembly.
One of the primary selling points to the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 is that it supports Intel's Core 2 Multi-Core and 45nm processors with 1600 MHz front side bus (FSB) speeds. Although it has recently been leaked by other news sources, and what I would still consider rumor, the only processors to have this FSB will be among the most expensive Intel Elite offerings with unlocked multipliers.
Two sets of DDR3 DIMM's are available to this Intel X48 motherboard, along with two PCI Express x16 (version 2.0) slots, two PCI Express x1 slots, and two PCI expansion slots. While the DDR3 DIMM's are color-coded so that RAM modules can be correctly installed in pairs for dual-channel memory mode, the new revision 2 PCI Express x16 slots double the bus bandwidth to 5 Gbit/s and support ATI CrossFireX (although the CrossFireX bridge is not included). Of all the motherboards I have ever owned, the GA-X48T-DQ6 easily attracts more attention. It looks like a great motherboard, but fashion and function have very little in common. In our next section, Benchmark Reviews looks deeper into the construction of Gigabytes newest Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard. EDITORS NOTE: Benchmark Reviews has also published the article DDR3 RAM: System Memory Technology Explained GA-X48T-DQ6 Detailed FeaturesSo far, the Intel X48 series has generated a lot of industry hype. All on its own the new Intel X48 Express chipset doesn't deserve the attention it gets, which is why Gigabyte packages the GA-X48T-DQ6 with a lot more than just a chipset. The Ultra Durable 2 components certainly add a high level of reliability to their product, and the Dynamic Energy Saver (DES) feature allows your system to virtually pay for itself by cutting back power phases at the main board level which saves electricity (which indirectly makes you a more globally-conscious person). I will dig my claws into Intel's decision making a little later into this article. For now however, the concentration lies within the add-in functionality Gigabyte has supplemented into the GA-X48T-DQ6 motherboard to make it appealing.
There are several new improvements to the Intel X48 chipset that make is worthwhile over some of the older predecessors. Aside from the obvious support for the 1600MHz FSB, there is also the update to 1900MHz DDR3, and PCI Express 2.0. If the recent mention of Intels plan to utilize the 1600MHz FSB only on their Extreme series of processors, than not too many people will get to make use of the added bus. Gigabyte has added Intel's XMP (Extreme Memory Technology) support for DDR3 on the GA-X48T-DQ6, which allows for overclocker-specific memory profiles. To understand XMP, think of SPD from days past and then know that the settings are meant for extremely tweaked overclocks. And while most overclockers would never find themselves in this situation, it's important to note that when memory modules of different capacity are installed the Intel Flex Memory Technology will activate to retain dual channel memory performance.
The high quality CPU power module utilizes ferrite core chokes which minimize electromagnetic (and radio) interference signals noise for a cleaner electrical circuit. A lower Resistance from Drain to Source rDS (ON) MOSFET array allows for transitional power steps, which is the heart of Gigabytes DES feature. Japanese manufactured SMD solid state capacitors, which contain a solid organic polymer and lower equivalent series resistance (ESR), are implemented throughout this board and will likely outlast the useful life of the GA-X48T-DQ6.
Gigabyte includes the high-definition ALC889A codec with DTS Connect capability on the X48T-DQ6. This audio chipset may be integrated, but with a featured 106 dB Signal to Noise ratio over eight channels it is anything but low-end. Digital audio outputs arrive in two varieties: optical and coaxial S/PDIF connectors. Realtek's ALC889A with DTS Connect is meant to enable high quality full-rate lossless audio, and offer support for both Blu-ray and HD DVD. The remainder of the input/output panel is quite busy, with a wide assortment of ports and connections for everything that is connectable bt today's standard. A total of eight High-Speed USB 2.0 ports align with the side of the mainboard, while both IEEE-1394 standard and 1394a connections are available from the Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 processor. Dual Realtek 8111B Gigabit Ethernet LAN with Teaming functionality are supplied, with activity and link speed indicators at the corner of each RJ-45 port. With teaming functionality enabled the two single connections can operate as one for twice the bandwidth, which improves the overall throughput with lower CPU utilization and adds network fault tolerance to prevent downtime by transferring the workload from a failed port to a working port.
External SATA connectors are not part of the I/O panel, however Gigabyte has included a total of two SATA brackets with the X48T-DQ6 motherboard kit. On each bracket, there are two eSATA ports available with a 4-pin Molex power connector between them. A total of four eSATA ports are made available with these two brackets installed. The storage interface offers a colorful hue of two different chipsets incorporated into the GA-X48T-DQ6. SATAII Ports 0 and 1 are colored yellow, and along with SATAII ports 2-5 they all interface with Intel's ICH9R SATA-II Southbridge, which is good for 3.0Gb/s RAID 0/1/5/10 or single disk JBOD. WARNING: It has recently been discovered that all Intel ICH9 and ICH9R chipsets which come on Intel 3 and 4 series motherboards exhibit a bandwidth limit of approximately 80MBps with Solid State Disk devices. This flaw has critically affected our benchmarking of SSD products. Benchmark Reviews has confirmed this with Intel Corporation, who are working on a solution. Please accept our apology for any confusion this may have caused. Additionally, Gigabyte's PCI Express-to-SATA2 ports are colored purple and are interfaced with a JMicron JMB363 SATA-II controller. This second SATA-II controller makes for a good supplement to the Intel chipset and also offers basic RAID functionality; it also powers the only IDE connector available. Initially I connected all SATA devices through this interface, but I later moved everything onto the ICH9R ports and disabled the others for streamlining. Last but not least, an iTE IT8718 chip manages the floppy drive interface controller.
Turning the GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard over to its backside was somewhat surprising. I don't recall too many mainboards with passive heatsink cooling on the reverse side in my past experiences. Gigabyte terms this feature "Crazy Cool", and these heatsinks help work together with the Silent-Pipe cooling on the topside. If you are one of the very few people who will use non-standard cooling or require extra mounting holes for your cooling system, the Crazy Cool heatsinks can be removed using a Phillips screwdriver. EDITORS NOTE: As of printed circuit board revision 1.3 of the GA-X48T-DQ6 motherboard, the Northbridge Crazy Cool back plate has been substituted for a simple aluminum support brace. The Crazy Cool Northbridge back plate is still included however, only it comes packaged with the accessories. Motherboard TestingTesting a motherboard is one of the most difficult tasks I've had as a product analyst. There are several different methods to compare one product to another, but even when you try to measure one against another the features don't always stack up. Benchmark Reviews hasn't been around long enough to have a wide variety of same-chipset motherboards on hand to test against, which shifts the role of our testing away from who makes the best whatever-chipset motherboard to more of a comparison between this product and other previously-released chipset versions for the same processor and memory. There is a benefit to being "new" to the review industry however, and this is that we can learn from the mistakes of others and not repeat them ourselves. Additionally, we are able to come up with new idea's of our own and introduce them here. One example of this is how Benchmark Reviews introduced the cost-per-frame analysis of video cards, which showed the price you'll pay for each frame of performance in your favorite video game. In this review, Benchmark Reviews will add to this ingenuity and introduce power consumption results for the motherboards tested. Testing MethodologyThe Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 demands respect primarily because it carries the name of Intel's latest motherboard chipset. While testing could have easily be left to a simple "this vs. that" routine, we here at Benchmark Reviews think that this is less than educating. For our tests, each motherboard was overclocked as far as safe limits would allow utilizing the exact same supplemental components. Benchmarks are recorded after each test, and a system shut down and restart followed thereafter. Because the X48 offers PCI-Express 2,0, we also spent considerable time testing the "real-world" difference between the two standards with the exact same video card (which is backwards compatible to PCI Express v1.0).
Benchmark Applications
Test System Specifications
Synthetic System BenchmarksThe use of synthetic benchmarks has never been my favorite, but I have resolved myself to see their importance in comparing "apples to apples". As with any synthetic benchmark, the numbers can often mean very little more than just numbers. We don't take a high score on a synthetic benchmark to mean that a product will/should perform well, and neither should you. The difference between projected performance and actual performance is the difference between the Titanic and a life boat. PCMark05 System TestsPCMark is a series of computer benchmark tools developed by Futuremark. The tools are designed to test the performance of the user's CPU, read/write speeds of RAM and hard drives. We have used these tests to simulate a battery of applications and tasks, which will produce results we can compare to other systems using similar hardware.
With the benefit of a faster CPU (115MHz) and faster DDR3 RAM (44MHz) the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe was able to record a slightly higher composite score when compared to the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6. The PCMark05 tests are a very good measure of comparison, since the tests were averaged from a ten-test loop. The margin of difference is negligible, and more likely is a result of clock differences. Still, we have to accept that the P5K3 overclocked to a measurable degree higher than the X48T-DQ6. As soon as BAPCo ships the SYSmark 2007 Preview software we ordered from them three weeks ago, we will update this section with those results compared. 3dMark06 Graphics Performance3DMark is a computer benchmark by Futuremark (formerly MadOnion) to determine the DirectX performance of 3D game performance with graphics cards. 3DMark06 uses advanced real-time 3D game workloads to measure PC performance using a suite of DirectX9 3D graphics tests, CPU tests, and 3D feature tests. 3DMark06 tests include all new HDR/SM3.0 graphics tests, SM2.0 graphics tests, AI and physics driven single and multiple cores or processor CPU tests and a collection of comprehensive feature tests to reliably measure next generation gaming performance today. Here at Benchmark Reviews, we understand that synthetic benchmark tools can be just as valuable as video game testing so long as it does not become a replacement. Since the same test is applied in the same controlled method with each test run, synthetic test tools such as 3DMark provide very reliable results for comparing graphic cards against one-another. Like any test, the results are relative, but in this particular case of comparing apples to apples the application is especially beneficial.
At the lower resolutions, 3DMark should concentrate the strain onto the video card and place emphasis on graphics performance. This makes for a GPU-dependant test environment, is is helpful in reducing the influence of system hardware in the test results.
In this series of tests, a ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB video card was used in each motherboard. While this video card is PCI Express 2.0 compatible, only the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 can take advantage of the new interface which doubles bandwidth. The results in this section are meant to compare the older PCI Express x16 on the ASUS P5K3 with the new PCI Express 2.0 standard on the GA-X48T-DQ6.
Once all of the testing was complete, the results seemed inconclusive. With 5GBps of graphics adapter bandwidth available to the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6, these test results should have easily shown a clear advantage. However it seems that the 3DMark06 scores indicate no real difference at all. Despite a small CPU/RAM speed difference the 3DMark scores were nearly identical throughout the tests, making this benchmark inconclusive in determining the advantage. World in Conflict Benchmark ResultsThe latest version of Massive's proprietary Masstech engine utilizes DX10 technology and features advanced lighting and physics effects, and allows for a full 360 degree range of camera control. Massive's MassTech engine scales down to accommodate a wide range of PC specifications, if you've played a modern PC game within the last two years, you'll be able to play World in Conflict. World in Conflict's FPS-like control scheme and 360-degree camera make its action-strategy game play accessible to strategy fans and fans of other genres... if you love strategy, you'll love World in Conflict. If you've never played strategy, World in Conflict is the strategy game to try.
World in Conflict offers an in-game benchmark, which records the minimum, average, and maximum frame rates during the test. Very recently another hardware review website made the assertion that these tests are worthless, but we couldn't disagree more. When used to compare the same component on two separate platforms, the in-game benchmark works very well. This doesn't prove to be the case when comparing different GPU's, however.
Even with a small margin of difference in overclocks, the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard is able to receive consistently higher frame rates. A small 115MHz benefit in CPU speed doesn't seem to have helped the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe, which tested lower in every benchmark. A cautionary word about maximum frame rates is necessary, however. Although these readings are worth noting, the maximum framerate is nearly worthless in determining GPU power. The reason for this is simple: those maximum frame rates are collected from scenes with little to no movement or graphical demand. Obviously this shifts the importance over to the minimum framerate, which will indicate how smooth the performance will remain under heavy demand.
In concluding our World in Conflict test results, it appears that the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 can put the PCI Express 2.0 bandwidth to better use and extract a lead over the faster ASUS P5K3 system. Perhaps we will see this trend proven one way or the other in our following battery of benchmark tests. Supreme Commander Benchmark ResultsSupreme Commander: Forged Alliance is a standalone real-time strategy computer game expansion to Supreme Commander, developed by Gas Powered Games and published by THQ. Because it is a standalone expansion, it is possible to play without owning Supreme Commander. Forged Alliance adds new game play features to the game, several new units for the three preexisting factions, and is further optimized for increased performance beyond that of the original game. Supreme Commander makes extensive use of two technologies relatively unused in video games prior to its release, namely multi core processing and multi monitor displays. When detecting a multi-core processor, the game assigns a specific task, such as AI calculations, to each core, splitting the load between them. Supreme Commander is one of the first games to specifically support dual and quad core processors in the game.
Unlike World in Conflict, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance does not use a short in-game benchmark to determine a score. In these tests, Supreme Commander plays an entire round of the game from start to finish and generates composite scores based on this lengthy test. This composite score is based on two factors: sim and render.
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance may not offer the first-person shooter experience that many gamers prefer, but the graphics are among the most demanding possible. Even so, there begins to be a trend showing which places the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 ahead of the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe. In the average of five tests, it seems that PCI Express 2.0 shows its worthiness and the X48 motherboard prevails. In our next section, we shall see if the equally-demanding video game Crysis will help strengthen this position. Crysis Benchmark ComparisonCrysis uses a new graphics engine: the CryENGINE2, which is the successor to Far Cry's CryENGINE. CryENGINE2 is among the first engines to use the Direct3D 10 (DirectX 10) framework of Windows Vista, but can also run using DirectX9, both on Vista and Windows XP. Roy Taylor, Vice President of Content Relations at NVIDIA, has spoken on the subject of the engine's complexity, stating that Crysis has over a million lines of code, 1GB of texture data, and 85,000 shaders. To get the most out of modern multicore processor architectures, CPU intensive subsystems of CryENGINE 2 such as physics, networking and sound, have been re-written to support multi-threading.
Crysis offers an in-game benchmark tool, which is similar to World in Conflict. This short test does place some high amounts of stress on a graphics card, since there are so many landscape features rendered. For benchmarking purposes, Crysis can mean trouble as it places a high demand on both GPU and CPU resources.
The smaller resolutions are used to concentrate the testing and place demand onto the GPU, thus offloading some dependency on system resources. Even still, Crysis appears to have a preference for the new graphical interface; even if it only hints at it in our results.
Based on our series of Crysis benchmarks, the test results indicate that despite a small advantage in CPU speed the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe cannot offer the same level of performance as the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6. We can speculate from this that in future video game development, the new 5GBps of graphics bandwidth may be better put to use. While Crysis has done a decent job of comparing the two PCI Express standards, none of these tests do a better job of isolating the GPU than Lightsmark does in the following section. Lightsmark 2007 Frame Rate ResultsStepan Hrbek is the mastermind behind Lightmark 2007, a program that allows you to benchmark real-time global illumination. Natural lighting makes artificial graphics life-like and real. Computers get faster, but rendering more polygons doesn't add value if lighting still looks faked, so insiders know that the next big thing is proper lighting; aka Realtime Global Illumination. Typical workloads in real-time rendering will shift, and Lightsmark simulates it. Global Illumination renders often take hours, so is your computer fast enough for real-time? Before Lightsmark, real-time global illumination was limited to small scenes, small resolutions, small speeds, specially crafted scenes with handmade optimizations. Lightsmark breaks all limits at once, running in reasonably sized scene (220000 triangles) in high resolutions at excellent speed.
Lighting is computed fully automatically in an original unmodified scene from 2007 game World of Padman. This benchmark is not tweaked for Lightsmark, and contains all sorts of geometrical difficulties with extra rooms hidden below the floor.
This scene places medium to low demands on graphics cards and tests the maximum speed with which the scene can be properly displayed at each resolution. With a large array of video benchmarks behind us, the point is clearly made. While the difference between PCI Express x16 and 2.0 are just becoming noticeable, there is a distinct indication that as bandwidth demands develop there will be an emphasis placed on this new standard. Rightfully so then, the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard is able to shine in this regard.
So to recap our points thus far: we have seen the ASUS P5K3 offer a slightly higher overclock and equal system performance results, but the benefit of PCI Express 2.0 is a proven factor at placing the GA-X48T-DQ6 on top of video performance. Our next section was to contain the disk bandwidth tests. However after hours of wasted time comparing one ICH9 chipset to another, it shouldn't come as a surprise that all of our results were identical. So in the following section Benchmark Reviews will introduce a new angle in mainboard testing, and we shall see how these motherboards compare in regards to energy consumption. Natural Resources and our PlanetIt's a sad state of affairs we find ourselves in today. Our forefathers did their best to build the nation, but unfortunately the industrial revolution started a trend that we struggle now to cope with. Fossil fuels are diminishing from sustainable supply, and with nuclear reactors rapidly being shut down because of drying water supplies we will soon see a major rise in the household cost of electricity. Natural resources are rapidly disappearing, along with our polar ice caps and much of the wildlife worldwide, which makes this next decade a critical time for humans. Since our planet is proving to us that it cannot sustain the present rate of growth, we must collectively do what we can to restore some level of balance in our favor. Gigabyte gets this. Once upon a time televisions and refrigerators were the largest consumers of household electricity, but over the past decade that shift has completely moved towards personal computer. While it's great that I can overclock the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 and get a few extra frames per second out of my favorite games, it's even better that I can put a few dollars back into my own pocket with the money I save using the Dynamic Energy Saver utility.
We all like our toys. While it's absurd how far some people will go for that last extra bit of performance, most of us could find a happy middle ground with high-end components running on less power. After all, who doesn't want better gas mileage? So in this section I have compared the up-and-coming Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 against my former mainboard solution, the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe. Both motherboards were tested using the same hardware, and both systems were repeatedly tested for consistent results. Below are the power consumption results at standby (powered off) and idle (login screen). Test System Specifications
Test Tools
Power Consumption ResultsDuring the test period the power supply was given power and left in standby mode for several minutes. This test was repeated five times, and the average for each system is displayed (although each test result was identical to the previous). The system was then powered on, and left at the login screen for approximately five minutes before the idle readings were taken and averaged.
Both motherboards were overclocked to their maximum potential, and although the P5K3 operated 115MHz faster the voltages were identical in terms of BIOS configuration. The GA-X48T-DQ6 required 2.10V for the DDR3 to reach 1844MHz whereas the P5K3 required only 2.05V. With all things being equal, the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 showed a significant advantage in regards to power efficiency. Recording a 21VA / 21W difference, the GA-X48T-DQ6 was able to conserve over 11% of the energy used to power the P5K3. Before the DES (Dynamic Energy Saver) utility was ever installed, the X48T-DQ6 was already saving me money. Considering the amount of time I spend working at the computer, this motherboard could easily pay for itself over the life of the system!
Once DES was installed (GEST vB7.1226.1), I was able to see just how much more I could expect to save on electricity expenses. With the DES turned off, the CPU was consuming 13W at complete idle (0% CPU usage). Once I turned on the utility and switched Dynamic CPU Voltage to level one, I was able to see a swift drop in power consumption from 141W down to 137W. The benefits trailed off beyond here, and levels two and three didn't have quite the magnitude of effect. Turning on CPU throttling actually seemed to raise CPU voltage by a thousandth of a watt, and would sometimes make programs seem delayed.
With an immature BIOS at this early stage in pre-release, the GA-X48T-DQ6 doesn't overclock as well as the more mature P35-based P5K3, but this point is moot because the Gigabyte GEST utility will not operate when the system is overclocked. This ultimately means that you either keep the stock CPU settings in the BIOS or utilize the Easy Tune 5 Pro software utility to overclock on the fly if you want to (further) reduce power consumption. Intel X48 Chipset Final ThoughtsLife has been good for Intel over the past two years since the Core 2 brand of CPU's was launched, but if Intel's new 45nm Penryn-based Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors are any indication of how they incrementally improve upon technology rather than innovate it, there might be trouble in store for them into the future. The continued persuit of faster front side bus speeds and larger L2 cache only begins to reveal the weakness plaguing the ancient Direct Media Interconnect (DMI) technology, and reminds us of the Pentium 4 days when faster clock speeds were the quick-fix for lacking real technology improvements. Intel won't be able to fight back with their distant QuickPath replacement for DMI until 2009 at the earliest, which might have been the best time to launch the 4-series of chipsets. AMD has fired back with the launch of their Spider platform, which presently includes: ATI Radeon HD 3800 series GPU's, AMD Phenom CPU's, and the AMD 7-series motherboard chipset. This new hardware synergy has allowed the involved components to work together using HyperTransport 3.0 in ways that Intel never could deliver. While HyperTransport 3.0 presently uses DDR2, it still beats the bandwidth of DMI without even approaching it's plateau and gives value back to consumers not ready for the expense of DDR3. By the time Intel releases QuickPath, AMD will have moved onto DDR3 support and a Socket F structure.
After visiting with manufacturers at the 2008 International CES, I was left unimpressed by the limited list of features added into the Intel X48 launch. When ASUS offered no positive comment on the launch occasion, I developed the impression that Intel was simply rushing to release product to steal back some of the limelight away from AMD's Phenom and Spider launch combo. Additionally, Intel still seems to maintain its embargo against NVIDIA technology, since both SLI and ESA are both completely absent from their entire product line. To some very plausible degree all notions have been proven correct by this review, since there seems to be no reasonable justification to launch of an entirely new series of chipsets. Intel may not have officially supported the 1600MHz front side bus in the X38 chipset, but nearly all motherboard manufacturers enabled it as a default setting and P35 owners could achieve it through overclocking. PCI Express 2.0 and XMP were also both supported in the X38 chipset launch; and DDR3 has been available since the P35 chipset. So what does the X48 chipset really boil down to? Intel seems to have really dismissed value as an incentive for product placement, because anyone who owns a 3-series motherboard essentially receives the same functionality as they would with the X48. This puts the burden to successfully market and sell the product onto the shoulders of the add-in partner manufacturer; and this is where Gigabyte comes to shine. Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 ConclusionGigabyte certainly captured my attention with their remarkable presentation of the GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 motherboard. Gold sure has it's touch, and when your retail box resembles a Fort Knox reserve, you can't really go wrong. The information on the package was enough to educate consumers on their purchase, and at the same time gives you a glimpse of what's inside. Switching from Gold to Copper and Aluminum, the appearance Gigabyte has developed with the X48T-DQ6 is one of excitement. Much like other Gigabyte motherboards, the use of bright and unique colored plastics paired with brilliant metals seems to work to their advantage. Just as I indicated within this article, I am yet to see another motherboard look as interesting as Gigabyte's. Most would agree that the Ultra Durable feature has helped to launch Gigabyte's motherboard technology into mainstream conversation. Now into the second generation of the technology, Gigabyte certainly offers everything available to make sure their product exceeds all expectations. High-quality CPU power modules with ferrite core chokes, lower RDS MOSFETs, and lower ESR solid capacitors all create the basis for the best constructed motherboard Benchmark Reviews has seen to date. The ASUS P5K3 Deluxe motherboard is an excellent motherboard with a mature BIOS which offers slightly higher overclocks than the X48T-DQ6, but it doesn't offer anything in terms of power conservation. Perhaps ASUS doesn't notice, but utility bills are starting to get ugly and power companies haven't exactly been trying to lower their rates every quarter. In this regard, functionality favors the GA-X48T-DQ6. Overclock results will undoubtedly improve as final-release versions of the BIOS are made available, but features such as Dynamic Energy Saver are unique to Gigabyte and offer far more value in the long run. Value is tough to assign at this point, since Gigabyte has not yet officially launched the GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard. Just recently listed, NewEgg offers the GA-X48T-DQ6 motherboard for $309.99. Since the X48 will (hopefully) be the last chipset update for overclockers and hardware enthusiasts from Intel for at least the next several months, those who are keen to system tweaking may see some potential in the chipset. Others, like myself, see the value in a product which can ultimately pay for itself in savings over time. After all of the tests, and the benchmark scores have been compared, can I recommend the X48 chipset? Yes and no. For anyone with a pre-3 series of motherboard, the answer is yes, but if you already own either a P35 or X38 chipset than it becomes less of a value decision. Gigabyte loads their GA-X48T-DQ6 with more system functionality and product features than anyone else, but you don't get them for free, and the price may have an impact on budget-conscious overclockers. In conclusion, the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 Ultra Durable 2 DES motherboard can either save you money (while saving our planet), or it can offer an excellent platform for bandwidth-driven video games, but it can't compete with the X38 series. Pros:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comments