![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , October 24, 2006
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
The GA-965P-DS3 is among GIGABYTE’s line touting full support for the Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processor line. This is a no-nonsense version of the flagship GA-965P-DQ6 and we are hoping to see a lot of OC potential at an easy price .
BIOS
For the GA-965P-DS3’s BIOS, GIGABYTE chose to use the Phoenix AwardBIOS template The BIOS used for testing was version F5. Note that GIGABYTE chose to hide more advanced options from the end user, which can be accessed only by pressing the CTRL-F1 key combination from the main menu. Unless otherwise noted, the screens shown are a result of enabling the advanced options to display.
The Advanced BIOS Features menu contains settings and submenus for controlling various aspects of system initialization. When a USB 2.0 type hard drive device is properly detected on system startup, the device lists as a viable selection within the Hard Disk Boot Priority submenu. The access order of the items listed can be changed using the PgUp and PgDn or the (+) and (-) keys.
The Integrated Peripherals menu contains numerous options for configuring the included onboard devices, including the Intel SATA ports, the USB 2.0 ports, the Marvell Yukon GigE controller, audio functions, and the GIGABYTE SATA controller. While the Intel ICH8 controller does not support hardware RAID, the GIGABYTE controller does. The Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode option configures the operation of the GIGABYTE IDE and SATA 2 ports. With this option set to RAID/IDE, the GIGABYTE RAID boot BIOS shows on system startup. Note that for the GIGIBYTE controller, only the SATA 2 connected drives can be part of a RAID array. The boot BIOS does not allow for inclusion of IDE connected devices to be included in a RAID array.
The PnP/PCI Configuration menu contains setting for configuring the board’s IRQ and interrupt assignments, as well as the PCI latency timer. The three on board PCI slots can be assigned to IRQs between 3 and 5, or left for automatic system configuration. With the Resources Controlled by option set to Manual, the IRQ Resources submenu becomes user configurable. Through this submenu, the individual IRQs can be assigned to specific device pools.
The PC Health Status menu displays real-time statistics on system monitored fan speeds and device temperatures, and status on the system voltage, where OK signifies the voltage falls within expected BIOS parameters. Also, there are settings for controlling system behavior based on temperature or fan related events. The CPU Warning Temperature option controls system initiation of a warning beep based on a user set CPU temperature threshold. The FAN Speed Control Method option can be configured for a specific fan type, with the Intel (R) QST setting used for the 4-pin fans and the Legacy setting used for the 3-pin variety. The FAN Speed Control Mode is user to determine the BIOS’ fan speed control method, PWM or straight voltage manipulation.
The MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.) menu contains all voltage and frequency manipulation options for the board. By default, the memory timing related options and several other advanced user options are hidden.
The CPU Clock Ratio option sets the base CPU multiplier, with the range shown dictate by the type of CPU seated in the board. The CPU FSB speed becomes configurable using the PCU Host Frequency (MHz) option when the CPU Host Clock Control option is enabled. The BIOS has an unbelievable maximum FSB of 700MHz settable. The actual speed of the CPU is calculated by multiplying the CPU ratio setting with the CPU FSB setting. The PCI Express Frequency(MHz) option controls the bus speed for all system PCI Express slots, with a 150MHz maximum available. GIGABYTE offers an automated overclocking utility name C.I.A.2 (CPU Intelligent Accelerator 2). This option controls BIOS controlled overclocking through the use of 5 preset states: Cruise, Sports, Racing, Turbo, and Full Thrust. The Cruise mode is the least aggressive setting, while the Full Thrust mode offers the most aggressive automated overclock. The System Memory Multiplier controls the speed of the system memory modules through the use of numerous multipliers, with the actual memory speed displayed under the read-only Memory Frequency(MHz) setting.
The system memory voltage is configured through the DIM OverVoltage control setting, with a more than adequate maximum allowed voltage overage of 0.6V. The PCI-E OverVoltage Control option configures the PCI Express slot voltage, with a mere 0.1V overage allowable. The Northbridge chipset voltage is determined through the FSB OverVoltage Control setting, while the Southbridge voltage is configured through the (G)MCH OverVoltage Control setting. Both chipset voltage settings allow for up to a 0.3V voltage adjustment. The CPU Voltage Control option sets the CPU voltage, with actual voltages shown rather than voltage adjustment factors. The maximum voltage settable through this option is 2.0V, which should be more than adequate for even the harshest overclock. Note that the current CPU default voltage lists under the read-only Normal CPU Vcore setting.