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DDR3 2000 CL9 9-9-24 1T, BIOS 1.65V SP2004 3 X bland mode, 5.80G full loading status ! DDR3 2074 CL9 9-9-24 1T,BIOS 1.65V Sandra Memory Bandwidth-35575MB/s DDR3 2102 CL9 9-9-24 1T,BIOS 1.65V Super 1M/CPUMARK99 DRAM part really shows a good record to us. I think 3dimms design should be a key point to make the OC ability to be better than before. CPU: Intel Core i7 965 Extreme CPU 133.7 X 29=>3876Mhz DRAM DDR3 1871 CL8 8-8-24 1T CrystalMark 2004R3 CINEBENCH R10 3DMARK VANTAGE CPU FSB 206.2Mhz/DDR3 2062 CL9 9-9-24 1T Now I changed the Intel Core i7 920 for the test: 218Mhz Super PI 1M/CPUMARK99 After my initial test, Blood Rage’s FSB record is apparently not bad. No matter i7 965Extreme or 920 are all can reach the lever to 206 to 218MHz. I have updated the G15 version(12/30) BIOS , the overall performance is obviously having advancement. I hope follow-up version BIOS can be kept the same standard. The conclusion of FOXCONN Quantum Force Blood Rage The merits: 1.No matter the Packing/ bundling and mother design, this model almost the best looking one to other X58 models in market. 2.Various BIOS option, wild range of voltage adjustment, OC ability is really not bad. 3.Supports both the ATI CrossFireX ad NVIDIA 3-way SLI. Full “coverage” 4.Total 14 phases hybrid PWM, an extraordinary design for PWM. The board has 100% Japanese solid-state capacitor. And X-Fi audio card. 5.3 extra PWM to support the DRAM power supplying. 4 ways cooler for NB 6.Good connectivity: 6 x SATAII, 2 x eSATA, IEEE1394 ports 7.Dual BIOS + on board Power/ Reset/ CMOS Reset button. Drawbacks: 1.The “market availability” is not that well in Channels around the world. Users’re not that easy to buy QF products. Hope this can be improved soon. 2.The XMP only supports DDR3 1600(highest). It would be perfect If it can supported DDR3 1866. 3.The additional fan for NB is not easy to install with NB. Performance ?????????? Features/ component ?????????? Appearance: ?????????? C/P ratio ?????????? The price of FOXCONN Quantum Force BloodRage is around USD$300. OthersX58 is almost having a price that “more or less”. But, some other brands has launching their step-lower models of X58, price is around USD220~240. If Quantum Force can also launch another X58 in this price segment, I think it’ll be very competitive in market. FOXCONN contributes a high-end product line”Quantum Force” about more than 1year. They launched motherboards which based on P35/X48/P45/780a/X58 chipset. Those models are all designed and positioning under a highest-performance platform. Therefore, the components or the layout design is getting better and better each time. And the bundling, software or some OC gears are also elaborated by their design team. Hope they keep the momentum in 2009. It’s good to see more and more “new” brand in good quality and creativity.

Test bed info CPU: Intel Core i7 965 Extreme MB: FOXCONN Quantum Force Blood RAGE DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator 2GBX3 DDR3 1866C9D VGA: MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC HD: SAMSUNG 250GB POWER: Corsair HX1000W Modular Power Supply Cooler: Thermaltake V1 AX/JETART Nano Diamond/Lubic The drivers/ software install pages. some kinds of application. Aegis Panel A software monitor for OC and various hardware statuses monitoring…you can manage the voltage that you desire. That the OC panel deck is a optional item. It is based on a hardware design, what I mean is it can adjust the HW directly. While your PC is running some program, it can adjust your voltage, FSB, memory simultaneously. A funny option: Fox log, users can change the boot-up screen by their own. It accept any graph file that are 640 x 480, JPG/BMP. DRAM part. Corsair Dominator 2GBX3 DDR3 1866 C9D Match with X58 it can be DDR3 1866 CL9 9-9-24 1.65V The new generation Corsair AirFlow is intended to be designed for 3-channels DDR3, and also it’s best for maximum 6-dimms with a best heat dissipation. It looks like a high-end level quality design. DDR3 1862 CL9 9-9-241T, BIOS 1.6V SP2004 3 X Blend mode, 5,79G with a full loading but stable. DDR3 1871 CL8 8-8-24 1T, BIOS 1.65V SP2004 3 X Blend mode, 5.70G with full loading status.

BloodRage boot-up screen BIOS main option screen The voltage and ratio settings are within Quantum BIOS section. CPU Feature DDR3 timing setting pages, XMP(Extreme memory profile) are here. The voltage part: CPU Core Voltage +10~1260mV(CPU maximum 2.52875V) CPU VTT Voltage +10~1260mV DRAM Voltage 1.50~2.86V(after1.60V, the interval is 0.01V) CPU Vdroop Compensation. That is a function for CPU to maintain a stability environment when CPU is in a heavy voltage loading status. Every steps of the DDR3 parts are so “fine tune” like, X58:IOH core Voltage. 1.10 ~ 2.36V(interval is only 0.02V) The Backup slots provided 8 different « slots » for users to load and save their OC settings. Foxconn Features provides various functions. Hardware Monitor

The upper left part: Although this is now a LGA1366 socket here, but they intended to reserved a LGA 775 mounting hole here for users to keep their 775 heat sink. This is Quite a thoughtful design for users. For the moment, Intel has 920/ 940/ 965extreme processor, which can be supported by Blood Rage. The board provided total 14phases Hybrid PWM for CPU’s power supplying. The special thing is they put them together when it is operating. IO rear panel part: 8 x USB2.0 ports 1 x IEEE1392a 2 x Gigabit LAN ports, which supports Teaming Function as well 2 x eSATA The black button is the clear CMOS function button BloodRage NB/ SB and Mosfets heat sink modules That Red button, they called “Force Reset” button. What you have to do is press the button and the system will shut down and reboot itself. And it seems some friendly design between power button 4secs reset and clear CMOS function. Ha, there is a print logo on SB The board features 3phases PWM for dimms part. I think it might improve the stability while the system is in OC status. They designed a 4 in 1 Quantum cooler for Blood Rage’s NB. The default mode is the passive air cooling, 2nd is active cooling which means they provides a fan for it. This pictures shows the NB apart from the copper base. The 3rd way is water cooling Now It equips with the bundle water block. The bottom is also made by copper. The last way is for LN2 or dry ice cooling, a aluminum made container. Another unique selling point for X58: 3 channels DRAM, the bandwidth is 2 times to the ordinary one. 6GB kit in 3-channel DDR3 1866…

FOXCONN started to develop high-end motherboard since 2007. They use different code name for each of their High-end products for having a higher brand awareness. Such like they named their P35 motherboard as “MARS” and “Blackops” as their X48. So on and so on. This time they launch their brand new product of Intel X58, so-called the Highest-end chipset of Intel. Blood Rage is the code name of Quantum Force series X58 motherboard. It sounds so gamer-centric and full of vigor. First of all, I like to show the packing outlook to you guys. Look similar to other brand’s highest-end motherboard packing. But I found that Foxconn Quantum Force packing has a lot improvement than before models. The inside box accessories, Users manual, installation guide and other relative information. Here are all the cables, which likes SATA cable with the right angle design. Some connectors, IO shield, NB additional fan and the water block…etc. BloodRage bundles with the audio daughter card they called “Sonar X-Fi” audio card. They provides 2 different ways for NB cooling: the water block and a container for LN2. Foxconn Quantum Force BloodRage The main colors of it are Black and Red, this color matching seems to be one of the best looking in market. I like something clear and stylish. The lower left of the board : It features with 4 x PCIe x16 slots (supports 2 x 16X or 4 x 8X, also supports both ATI Crossfire and Nvidia SLI or PhyX card) 1 x PCIe X1 slot 1 x PCI slot The lower right part of the board : It features with : 6 x SATAII (ICH10R, supports RAID 0/1/5/10) 4 x SATAII ( JmicronR322, supportsRAID 0/1/JBOD) 1 x IDE Dual BIOS, on board power & reset buttom and Debug LED... The upper right part: It features: 3 dimms which supports 133/1600/1800, the maximums capacity can be up to 12GB BloodRage features 3 dimms design which’s different from others in market. I heard that is a Intel’s suggestion, all about a good DDR3 performance. The left hand side is the 24pin power input.

Crysis Benchmark ATI HD 4670 is enough to play most popular games; for better 3D performance, maybe you can try HD 4830/ 4850. New monitoring tool for UT series, but can be installed in DK series, too. I saved my BIOS setting as *.abs file, it can be downloaded via the link below (Model name is DFI LANParty DK P45-T2RS Turbo: windwithme-DFI Lanparty DK P45 Turbo ABS DFI LANParty DK P45-T2RS Turbo Conclusion What’s good 1.USD $140. For great OC ability, no competitor in this price range. 2.All Japan made solid capacitors; special heatpipe with nickel plating. 3.Great BIOS, many professional options. 4.ATI CrossfireX ready (x8, x8); Optical audio output in rear panel, 5.OC result: 507MHz in Quad core/ 621MHz in Dual core. 6.ABS technology, OC automatically. It’s also a good tool to share BIOS setting with others. What’s bad 1.6 phase PWM would be better (although Intel reference design is “4-phase” 2.FSB 500MHz in quad core CPU, should be higher. 3.The price is too close with DK P45-T2RS Plus. Performance ?????????? Material ?????????? Appearance ?????????? Cost/ Performance Ratio ?????????? In mainstream market, LGA775 platform still has the best C/P ratio. There are more CPU and MB to choose from entry level to hi-end. For the best C/P ratio, try hi-end Core 2 DUO or entry Core 2 QUAD and P45 MB, it costs no more than USD $300. For $140 segment: DK P45-T2RS & JR P45-T2RS, both of them performs great in OC. However, the BIOS setting is a barrier to DIY beginners, that’s why DFI provide the ABS technology. For beginners, it takes few seconds only to OC; for professional users, ABS help you to save & exchange your OC experience to users around the world. Why to overclock? In the bad economic environment, overclocking helps you save more money! You can buy E8400 then OC to 3.33G, the performance will be very close to E8600, it’s a economical way to DIY a PC.

DRAM setting 2GBX2 CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5D DDR2 1143 CL5 5-5-15 2.25V Stable in 2 X Super PI 32M DDR2 1189 CL5 5-5-15 EVEREST DRAM bandwidth 1GBX2 CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X2048-8888C4D DDR2 1243 CL5 5-5-15 EVEREST DRAM bandwidth OC potential is good in both 1GB x 2 and 2GB x 2; of course, good motherboard is not enough, you also have to buy good DRAM. CPU setting Dual core E8400 E0 CPU: 500X9=>4500Mhz DRAM: DDR2 1200 CL5 5-5-15 CrystalMark CPU: 612X7.5=>4663.7Mhz DRAM: DDR2 1243 CL5 5-5-15 Super PI 1M Q8200 M1 486X7=>3403Mhz Stable in 4 X Super PI 32M 507X7=>3553.7Mhz Super PI 1M Both dual & quad core CPU could be overclocked well in DK P45-T2RS Turbo. There are many professional options for tweaking to reach the highest performance. 3D performance MSI HD4670 512MB CPU 500 X 9=>4500Mhz DRAM DDR2 1000 CL5 5-5-15 VGA 833/2250 3DMARK2005 3DMARK2006

Intel launched LGA 1366 ( Core i7 + X58 Chipset) platform in November 2008; in the nearing future, LGA 1366 platform will dominate the CPU & MB marketing that over USD $ 300. Product transition is always good news to end users. Although LGA1366 platform is expensive, now we have cheaper P45 to buy now! To compare with 965 & P35, P45 is more affordable than ever. You can spend with only USD $120~$200 to buy a P45 with good design & materials. If you have budget limitation, maybe P43+ICH10R or P45+ICH10 would be your choice. Of course, P45+ICH10R is better choice. The leading character today, DFI LANParty P45-T2RS Turbo, embedded with P45+ICH10R and priced at $140. You can buy E7200/ E8400 or Q6600/ Q8200 and DK P45-T2RS Turbo, it really brings good cost/ performance ratio. The outer box is gloss laminated. DFI LANParty DK P45-T2RS Turbo Bottom left 2 PCIe x16 2 PCIe x1 2 PCI 1 Floppy LAN: Marvell 8053 Audio: Realtek ALC 885, supports HD audio & 7.1 channels effect. Bottom right 6 SATA II (ICH10R with RAID 0/ 1/ 0+1/ 5) If you buy DK P45-T2RS Plus, you’ll see 8 SATA II here. On-board Power/ Reset buttons + Debug LED, good to DIY and OC users. Upper right 1 IDE 9by JMicron JMB368) 4 DDR2 DIMM (DDR2 667/ 800/ 1066; or 1200 via overclocking) Upper left 4 phase digital PWM with 16 MOSFET, is quite enough for dual core/ quad core CPU. One phase can provide 40W power, there is no LGA 775 CPU consume more than 160W. I/O 6 USB 2.0 1 Gigabit LAN Optical/ Coaxial Digital audio out Red jumper for “Clear CMOS” Black heatsink & heatpipe with deep color; for dissipating heat from MOSFET and north-bridge. Platform CPU: INTEL Core 2 Duo E8400/Quad Q8200 MB: DFI Lanparty DK P45 Turbo DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5D/TWIN2X2048-8888C4D VGA: MSI HD4670 512MB HD: Seagate 7200.10 320GB POWER: CORSAIR 400W Power Supply Cooler: Thermaltake V1 AX/JETART Nano Diamond

Under the same clock, we use the 1GBx3 to do the comparison. Triple Channels 60706/25214MB/s From the above tests, we can see clearly, 3-channel provides the best performance. Moreover, the performance of 2GBx3 is better than 1GBx3. For the pursuit of DRAM performance, 2GBx3 is the best choice. 3D Performance MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC,780/1800Mhz We used the X58 driver which is revised by ATI in November 20th. 3DMARK2005 3DMARK2006 The 3DMark of the ATI specialized i7/X58 driver is about 5~10% better than the previous driver. There were a lot of tests in the website, which mentioned the i7 CPU has no progress in Game, even a slight deterioration. Following we are beginning to test the game performance. Need For Speed Pro Street 1600X1200 Age Of Empires 1920X1200 Crysis Benchmark Need For Speed Pro Street increased about 20 pages than ATI 8.10. Although I have not used the “Age of Empires” to test for a long time, but this is the first time I have such result in a high level setting. Crysis Benchmark is worse about 5~10% performance than LGA755. It is possible i7 CPU is the difference with the previous structure. The game performance problem is to need the amendments patch of game company to solve. CPU: 200X20=>4000Mhz DRAM: DDR3 1605 CL8 8-8-24 1T 1.6V 205Mhz Super PI 1M MSI Eclipse SLI Result Advantages: 1.The new packaging design. 2.BIOS stability, wide voltage and CPU/DRAM have great overclocking ability. 3.Simultaneously supports ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA 3-Way SLI. 4.6+2+2 phases DrMOS power supply, All Made-in-Japan solid capacitors, and X-Fi sound card. 5.Provides 10 SATA slots, 2 eSATA slots, and IEEE1394 for expansion. 6.Four kind different function buttons. D-LED2 has the debugging and display temperature functions. Disadvantages: 1.The DDR clock can go beyond the limit. It would be better if we can use the 133/1866. 2.The previous user’s setting would be filed away after BIOS update. Performance ?????????? Components ?????????? Layout design ?????????? Cost/ performance ratio ?????????? MSI motherboard with LGA1366 structure provides a different usage in the past. MSI products have few BIOS problems, especially in overclocking. But this time, MSI Eclipse SLI currently doesn’t have problems, and fairly stable after overclocking setting. We can see that MSI had effort to improve the BIOS stability. MSI Eclipse SLI is priced about NT$10300 (310 USD), is in the medium-level position of the current high-end motherboard. MSI X58 Platinum, the entry-level motherboard, is priced about NT$7400 (230 USD). The new generation of new framework is replaced by X58 product, it should be replaced the position of X48 high-end motherboard priced about 230~420 USD. But for the LGA775 users, high-end X48 and middle-level P45 motherboards are the most value choice. Meanwhile, if the consumer was originally to buy the LGA 775 platform (high-end X48 motherboard with more than the Q9550 level CPU), they changed their mind to purchase the X58 with Core i7 920 CPU is the better choice. Users need to spend more money on DDR3 memory that would raise the whole platform cost. Currently Core i7 is to replace the LGA 775 of high-end price. I believe in the coming year will gradually after the introduction of price bands. MSI Eclipse SLI motherboard has good performance in functional, performance, and overclocking. It is a worthy reference to the inclusion product for the users who want to obtain the X58 motherboard.

CrystalMark 2004R3 CINEBENCH R10 Core i7 CPU built-in 3-channel of DDR3 memory controller can enhance a lot of CPU performance. In above test, the memory performance had a lot of progress than the previous LGA755. DRAM test 2GBX3 CORSAIR CM3X2G 1600C8D CPU default setting, open the Turbo Boost Tech. DDR3 1600 CL8 8-8-24 1T 1.5V Hyper PI 32M stable EVEREST/Sandra bandwidth OC DDR3 1807 CL9 9-9-28 1T 1.65V EVEREST/Sandra bandwidth Under the new CPU structure, DDR3 voltage is even lower than the previous chipset. In the above test, DDR3 1600 CL8 in 1.5V also may reach a stable level. Use VISTA 64-bit operating system to test the DDR3 6GB Kit full capacity. We use the CrystalMark / Sandra to be the testing software. Single Channel 34602/11789MB/s Dual Channels 54345/20910MB/s Triple Channels 65267/28401MB/s

The unique feature of high-end Core i7 CPU, it allows processor cores to run faster than the base operating frequency. MSI’s exclusively Memory-Z, which is similar to CPU-Z function, enables user to see the DRAM-related information through BIOS. DRAM parameters details Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (Intel XMP), an easy-to-use and high-performance DDR3 memory overclocking tool—no time-consuming manual tuning required. Four setting groups enables user to store or access the preference settings. MSI has provided the BIOS update functions in BIOS setting environment. In the past, user only can update the BIOS through OS for online updates, it is really quite inconvenient. Green Power H/W Monitor Testing Platform CPU: Intel Core i7 965 Extreme MB: MSI Eclipse SLI DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator 2GBX3 DDR3 1600C8D VGA: MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC HD: SAMSUNG 32GB SSD SLC POWER: Corsair HX1000W Modular Power Supply Cooler: Thermaltake V1 AX/JETART Nano Diamond CPU test Intel Core i7 965 Extreme CPU: 161.6X24=>3875Mhz DRAM: DDR3 1616 CL8 8-8-24 1T 1.6V PCMARK2005

The CPU power supply using the 6+2+2 phase power supply and support the DrMOS energy-saving technology. In addition, the PWM is using Hi-C CAP needed materials I/O Interface 8 USB 2.0 slots 2 RJ45 connectors 1 IEEE 1394 ports 2 eSATA slots Here there is a Clear CMOS button. The North and South bridges cooling modules of MSI Eclipse SLI, does not have the exaggerate the size of cooling, but look more delicate and more beautiful. The PWM thermal design is quite special; left side is the location of 2+2 phases DrMOS. 3 Channels DDR3 1600 memory are installed on the motherboard. Intel Core i7 965 Extreme also installed. BIOS boot screen-a solar eclipse BIOS main screen Users can adjust the frequency and voltage in “Cell Menu”. CPU Voltage -0.320~+0.630V (in 0.01~0.02 steps) QPI Voltage -0.320~+0.630V (in 0.01~0.02 steps) CPU PLL Voltage 1.00~1.80V (in 0.05 steps) DRAM Voltage 1.20~2.77V (in 0.01 steps) IOH Voltage 0.780~1.730V (in 0.01 steps) ICH Voltage 0.70~2.13V (in 0.01 steps)

Early in November 2008, Intel has released the next-generation platform LGA 1366. In the middle of November, X58 motherboard and Core i7 CPU can be found in the market already. Most motherboard manufacturers had done a good job in the pre-operation and offered several X58 motherboards to support the Core i7 CPU arrival. Core™ i7 CPU structure different from the previous LGA 775, are the built-in DDR3 memory controller in the CPU, and enhance the three-channel DRAM technology. The DDR3 performance will be a lot of progress. Moreover, the L3 Cache design in CPU can promotes the overall CPU performance. As one of the three major motherboard manufacturer, MSI is also introduced four sections of X58 motherboards in the market. They are Eclipse+, Eclipse SLI, X58 Platinum SLI, and X58 Platinum. This time, I was tested the MSI Eclipse SLI motherboard. Product packaging is more different than the products in the past. The simple expression can be the subject of a solar eclipse that looks great. Accessories included the full manual and installation information, and the XP/VISTA/X-FI audio driver CD. Wire The black lines in the middle has the temperature measurement function. MSI exclusive PCI-E Creative X-Fi sound card, GreenPower energy-saving module, and D-LED2 (debug features of a signal can be used with the temperature wire). MSI Eclipse SLI motherboard Motherboard Layout 3 PCI-E X16 slots (supports ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA SLI multi-graphics card technology) 2 PCI-E X1 slots 2 PCI slots There are three buttons at the bottom, are switching Power/Reset/D-LED2 information display functions. The red jumper enables users to set the CPU FSB directly, no need to penetrate BIOS. 6 SATAII slots (ICH10R, supports RAID 0/1/5/10) 4 SATA II (JMicronR 322, supports RAID 0/1/JBOD) D-LED2 slot is installed next to the blue SATA slot. 6 DIMMs DDR3 memory slots is the special specifications, which support 600/1066/1333/1600/1866/2133MHz. The next is the 24-pin power input.

CPU/DRAM 500/1333 EVEREST 10810MB/s CPUZ Validator DDR2 1500 CL5 5-5-15 UD3P is also very good at DDR2 OC. It can reach DDR2 1333-1500 at around 2.4~2.5V. I can say this is never seen before to take DDR2 into such high frequency. 3D part Test with MSI 4670 512MB OC CPU 500 X 9=>4500Mhz DRAM DDR2 1200 CL5 5-5-15 2T VGA 833/2250 3DMARK2003 3DMARK2005 3DMARK2006 Crysis Benchmark 4670 with 4.5G E8400 and DDR2 1200 DRAM makes the performance be higher. It’s worthy of highest C/P value VGA card at 100USD. Conclude GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P Advantage 1.UD3 series price are between 130~160USD. It’s attractive price. 2.Full Japan-made solid capacitors and high quality also good looking heat pipe. 3.BIOS voltage range is wide and the BIOS item is also rich. 4.IO has Dual LAN, 1394, 8 USB 2.0, and support ATI CrossFireX X8+X8 5.For the OC, Quad core can reach 500Mhz and DDR2 can run stable at 1433. 6.6 phase PWM and support Intel latest VRD11.1 and DES advanced for enhanced energy saving. 7.EasyTune6 also provides many features in OS. Disadvantage 1.Dual Core CPU stability can be improved in high frequency 2.DDR2 DIMM color is not match with blue PCB Performance ?????????? Component ?????????? Outlook ?????????? C/P ?????????? GIGABYTE UD3 series is emphasize Ultra Durable3 2OZ technology. I don’t look deeply for the PCB temperature change. But the price is not increase for the users is good. GA-EP45-UD3P price is around 160USD. As per the components, this is the best components usage in P45 boards. The OC part is also simple that just all set as Auto, and adjust the voltage by your own CPU and RAM. This board is very high standard at quad core and DDR2 OC, but the dual core is so so. P45+DDR2 combination is the best value mainstream board atm. GIGABYTE UD3 series owns good quality components, superb OC standard and reasonable price. If your budget is only 130~160 USD, GIGABYTE UD3 can be considered.

Test Configuration CPU: INTEL Core 2 Duo E8400/Quad Q8200 MB: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5D/TWIN2X2048-10000C5D VGA: MSI HD4670 512MB HD: Seagate 7200.10 320GB POWER: Corsair HX1000W Modular Power Supply Cooler: Thermaltake BigTyp VP/JETART Nano Diamond CPU part E8400 E0 dual core CPU 500 X 9=>4500Mhz DRAM DDR2 1200 CL5 5-5-15 2 X SUper PI 32M CPU 520 X 8.5=>4420Mhz DRAM DDR2 1030 CL5 5-5-18 2 X SUper PI 32M CPU 595 X 7.5=>4462.5Mhz SUper PI 1M If the all chipset voltage set as Auto, the good Dual core CPU can OC to 580~610Mhz in air cooling. However, it’s stable at 550Mhz can be improved. Q8200 M1 CPU 500 X 7=>3500Mhz DRAM DDR2 1200 CL5 5-5-18 Hyper PI 32M 517Mhz SUper PI 1M Quad core clock is very good. It’s top in P45 boards. Especially 500Mhz stable is rare in P45 MB. 517Mhz is almost the Q8200 limitation as well. DRAM part 2GBX2 CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5D CPU: 500X8=>4000Mhz DRAM: DDR2 1200 CL5 5-5-15 2.1V SP2004 3 X Blend mode,2.95GB stable DDR2 1240 CL5 5-5-15 2.1V EVEREST Memory Benchmark 1GBX2 CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X2048-10000C5D DDR2 1433 CL5 5-5-15 2T 2.5V 2 X SP2004 Blend mode stable CPU 450 X 9=>4050Mhz DRAM DDR2 1500 CL5 5-5-15 2T 2.5V EVEREST 10237MB/s

The Pipe Thermal Module Even though it’s not common cooper or aluminum with copper color, GIGABYTE use blue and gray are also looking good. Boot screen BIOS main page M.I.T. OC/Performance page Voltage page Load-Line Calibration avoid CPU voltage dropped CPU Vcore 0.5000~2.30000V CPU Terminatin 1.100~1.700V CPU PLL 1.050~2.810V MCH Core 0.850~2.000V MCH Reference 0.690~1.230V ICH I/O 1.050~2.310V DARM Voltage 1.450~3.040V DRAM Termination 0.970~1.665V Advanced CPU items CPU Clock Skew can adjust between 50~200ps to let dual core CPU to reach higher clock. Advanced DRAM items Sercuity Chip Configuration PC Health Status

GIGABYTE launched Intel new mainstream chipset, P45+ICH10, in June. The naming rule still continued DS3/DS4/DQ6, and also added the new EXTREME series. Since GIGABYTE announced Ultra Durable 3, the new naming rule is UD3 series. This spec starts from P45 chipset. The UD3 has 3 models, UD3/UD3R/UD3P, which are sorted by price. The board I got is GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P. The difference to UD3R is that UD3P has Dual GbE LAN, 1 more PCI-e X8 and support ATI CrossFireX. Take a look for packing first Package emphasize UD3 technology, DDR2 1366+ and 2oz cooper PCB used Backside also has detail function introduction Accessories inside Manual and installation guide, cables, I/O shield, eSATA bracket. GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P Left Lower corner 1 X PCI-E X16(blue) 1 X PCI-E X8(orange which can run CrossFireX X8+X8 with blue slot) 3 X PCI-E X1 2 X PCI Realtek 8111C LAN chip supports Teaming technology Realtek ALC889A supports 7.1 channel and High Definition Audio. It also has Dolby simulation function by dual channel sound. Right Lower corner 6 X SATAII( SB ICH10R provided. It supports SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10) 2 X SATAII(JMicron 368 provided) 1 X Floppy Dual BIOS protection Right Upper corner 4 X DIMM DDR2, supports 800/1066/1366 and 1366 is special spec. 1 X IDE(JMicron 368 provided) 24Pin power in CPU VRM is 6 phase and support DES advanced. The latest VRD11.1 can bring Intel E0 stepping CPU energy saving into full play. IO part 8 X USB 2.0 2 X RJ-45 LAN 1 X S/PDIF fiber/coaxial 1 X IEEE 1394a

This publication conference was held very successful. We can see that Intel still full of confidence with its new Core i7 processor. Intel invited various manufacturers, distributors, media and educational institutions to participate or join. There also had a large booth to display the new platform and many motherboard manufacturers also support the effort to display their products with Core i7 new CPU architecture. The introduction of Intel Core i7 continues the higher performance of CPU market leadership. On the other hand, X58 motherboard from the beginning, and was the early introduction of NT$10,000 (330 to 350 USD) of market prices, many manufacturers have also introduced the new package of value compared with the X58 motherboards to capture the market. At the present, there are several X58 products solution in NT$7500 ~ 9000 (about 250 to 270 USD). In the DRAM market, coupled with the continued decline in the next few months, Core i7 system have a chance to fall in the price band standards, so that more consumers of current computer performance has improved. Let us look forward to Core™ i7 structure of the universal right soon. The pentalogy of windwithme with Core i7 review, after Gigabyte EX58-EXTREME, I’ll come out the episode 2 – MSI Eclipse SLI

The display booth GIGABYTE MSI BIOSTAR ECS

MSI Eclipse+, this X58 motherboard is not yet to publish in current market. MSI X58 Platinum, the price value of the X58 products. GIGABYTE X58 EXTREME GIGABYTE X58 UD5P GIGABYTE X58 DS4, it should be the value version?! DFI LanParty X58, LanParty system consistency overclocking performance-oriented and look forward to its listing. BIOSTAR TPOWER X58, is relatively rare in this section. However, BIOSTAR has present the good P45 product, which is also looking forward to. FOXCONN BloodRage, this instruction of FOXCONN looks great and still has a special product name. ECS X58B-A. ECS also launched several OC products in COMPUTEX, it seems that ECS would also like to enter the market in high-end MB competition. ASUS Rampage II Extreme, is currently the most high-end version of the ASUS X58.

Two years ago, the impression still remembered that the Intel Core 2 Duo had been released in the Grand Hotel. At that time, the published Core™ 2 Duo CPU comes with the high leading performance compare to their competitors. Following, Intel also launched Core 2 quad-core CPU. At the present current market, Intel is still the performance leader by these two dual-cord and quad-core CPU. In November 2008, Intel has launched the next-generation processor, which promotes changing the pin design to LGA 1366, that can work with the Intel X58 + ICH10R chipset. Compared to the previous LGA 775 architecture and the differences are it provides not only the Intel Hyper-Threading technology which enables highly threaded applications to get more work done in parallel, but it also to integrates DDR3 memory controller enables three channels of DDR3 memory to delivers amazing performance for data-intensive applications. It was believe that the majority users are interested in Core i7 processor have understood the performance of Core i7 from many website. Core i7-965 testing was launched on November 3rd. Take a look at the current situation of publication conference. The publication conference is grand as usual. The main theme of this publication conference is “Fastest Processor on the Planet”. The opening show with beating the drum is very cultural performance. And then the start of the fire dancing performance. Intel Core i7 was introduce by Intel Executives Ribbon-cutting ceremony Various venders, distributors and Intel official executives After the Core i7 processor introduction, we started visiting the motherboard display from each manufacturer. The X58+ICH10R motherboards come from various manufacturers. MSI Eclipse

Triple channel 18900/28754MB/s OC DDR3 1836 CL8 8-8-24 1T 1.6V 19853/32866MB/s You can see obviously under LGA 1366 structure, 3GB bandwidth is higher than 2GB around 7752MB/s in SANDRA. 3DMark MSI 4870X2 780/1800Mhz 3DMARK2005 3DMARK2006 These 2 results are surprising me. I use the same 4870X2 but the performance is 10~20% higher than LGA775 platform. This is very great performance improvement which only changed platform. Concludes GIGABYTE EX58-EXTREME Good 1.EXTREME series has GIGABYTE UD3 components and rich features 2.100% Japanese made solid capacitors, extra 2-phase PWM for NB and Memory 3.BIOS is also improved a lot. It provides wide voltage range and rich BIOS parameters are never seen in GIGABYTE products before. 4.10 SATAII, Dual LAN, 6xDIMM DDR3 5.Diagnostic LED and Power/Reset/Clear CMOS buttons 6.3-channel DDR3 performance and 3-Way SLI/CFX supported 7.6+6 Dynamic PWM, Intel latest VRD11.1 design, Exclusive DES Advanced for efficient power control. 8.EasyTune6 provides plenty features in OS. Weak 1.LGA 1366 platform is too costive at the moment. 2.I7 CPU max power consumption is 130W, a little bit too high 3.If GIGABYTE can provide audio module card that will be better Performance ?????????? Components ?????????? Outlook ?????????? C/P ?????????? GIGABYTE is good at using better quality components with the same selling price. EXTREME series is the product has both performance and OC capability. So it’s absolutely the most hi-end product in GIGABYTE line. 2oz copper, DES, 50000hrs Japanese made solid capacitors, dynamic PWM, and Hybird SLENT-PIPE2 combination, all features are very impressive. DDR3 performance and OC capability are much better than P45 under this new structure. The market price and BIOS update OC ability will be the key for X58. One more important factor is X58 is NV SLI/ATI CFX combo. This is the dream for many 3D performance seekers. X58 makes this dream come true. This time, Intel’s changed is really impressive for the performance and specifications. The product key selling factor is always price. In the near future, we can see LGA1366 replacing LGA775 as hi-end product leader. However, what budget you have, what product you get. The best C/P is always key concern. If you are going to build a new PC and have very high budget, LGA1366 is your must consideration.

133Mhz OC 200Mhz SUPER PI 1M/CPUMARK LGA 1366 changes to QPI from FSB and the frequency is only 133Mhz. However, the performance is no any decline to LGA 775. Memory part 1GBX3 Triple channel DDR3 1888 CL8 8-8-21,20435MB/s DDR3 1987 CL8 8-8-21,21357MB/s In Triple channel mode, the performance is extremely high. It’s almost double the previous DDR2/DDR3 platforms. Thus it can be seen LGA 1366 takes DDR3 performance into the new generation. Dual channel DDR3 2000 CL8 7-6-21,21685MB/s DDR3 1987 CL7 6-5-21,21967MB/s CPU-Z always shows 1 or 2 more in CL value, so I use EVEREST as standard. Besides, the dual channel performance is also great. But in the same clock and CL, Triple channel is still higher. 2GBX3 CORSAIR CM3X2G 1600C8D EVERSET&SANDRA DDR3 1619 CL8 8-8-24 1T 1.6V Single channel 12575/11906MB/s Dual channel 18383/21002MB/s

System Configuration CPU: INTEL Core I7 EXTREME 965 MB: GIGABYTE EX58-EXTREME DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator 1GBX3 1800C7DIN/2GBX3 1600C8D VGA: MSI R4870X2-T2D2G-OC HD: SAMSUNG 32GB SSD SLC POWER: Corsair HX1000W Modular Power Supply Cooler: Thermaltake V1 AX/JETART Nano Diamond GIGABYTE EasyTune6 is a rich feature utility. Quick Boost is the new feature in X58 EXTREME. CPU Memory VGA HW Monitor Similar to CPU-Z/GPU-Z can display hardware info. It also can monitor the voltage and temperature status. You also can adjust all clock and voltage in this integrated software. CPU part INTEL Core I7 EXTREME 965 which is Quad core and support HT liked technology, so it shows 8 cores. CPU: 3497Mhz DRAM: DDR3 1618 CL8 8-8-24 1T 1.64V XMP 4 X SUPER PI 32M CPU: 3870Mhz DRAM: DDR3 1618 CL8 8-8-24 1T 1.64V CrystalMark CINEBENCH R10 PCMARK2005 PCMARK seems not support 4870X2. The VGA performance is more like single card. But in the other parts, all performance are better than LGA775 especially Memory.

M.I.T. Frequency and Voltage setup page CPU Feature UnCore/QPI Feature QPI Link Speed is must item for lift frequency Clock Control INTEL exclusive Memory OC technology If DDR3 SPD supports XMP, BIOS will show this item. Users can OC very easily. Advanced DRAM setting Advanced voltage page CPU Vcore 0.5000~1.90000V QPI/VTT Voltage 1.082~2.000V CPU PLL 1.400~2.500V QPI PLL 0.800~1.600V IOH Core 1.000~2.000V ICH I/O 1.050~2.500V DARM Voltage 1.300~2.600V DRAM Termination 0.520~1.225V PC Health Status