![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Sunday , October 26, 2008
- Author:
- Daniel Dobrowolski
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-Extreme
Gigabyte sent over its enthusiast oriented EP45T-Extreme. It features the craziest chipset cooling setup we've ever seen and its' packed with features. Is it all show and no go, or does it walk the DDR3/P45 walk?
Gigabyte Easy Tune 6
Gigabyte has included the latest version of their Easy Tune software with the EP45T-Extreme. Version 6 is a completely overhauled and restyled application that more resembles CPU-Z and GPU-Z than it does their previous software. The layout is very simple and easy to use. The software is generally intuitive and I have to say that I like it much better than previous versions for that reason alone. The software has categorical tabs at the top that correspond with certain features or system components.
The first page contains a CPU-Z like layout that shows CPU information such as the core type, processor name and model, packaging type, manufacturing technology, and supported instruction sets. Also shown are cache information and most importantly the CPU clock speeds. The FSB and supported multipliers are shown at the top of the page. Additionally the motherboard model and BIOS version are displayed here as well. The next tab shows the memory settings and memory information. Again it’s almost identical to CPU-Z with a few changes. There is a drop down box to the top left hand corner that allows you to select the module from the specific memory slot and read the information about it. There are no settings to adjust here just as there were none on the CPU tab. All the data that is displayed here is informational. All the memory timing tables are viewable here as are part numbers, manufacturer data and of course memory size and type.
The Tuner tab contains all the actual settings that can be adjusted. The utility is fairly simple as it just has sliders next to all adjustable values. In easy mode only the FSB is adjustable but under advanced mode all the items shown to the left are adjustable via sliders of their own. At the right of each slider there is a reset button that is used to reset the setting in question to their default values. It is interesting to note that if you do not select the advanced mode, you cannot click on the voltages tab shown at the top left hand side of the tuner tab. The voltages tab shows a ton of voltage settings for the board processor and memory. It displays their power on settings and target settings. As with the FSB clocks and other related processor settings the settings are controlled via sliders. The reset button is also present next to each one.
The graphics tab is obviously used for adjustment of video cards. The utility correctly read the clocks on my test card. You can adjust core, memory and shader clocks from here. Next is the Smart tab which contains settings for Gigabyte's CPU Intelligent Accelerator. This is for automatic and dynamic overclocking of the CPU based on system loads. You can see presets for disabled, Cruise, Sports, Racing, Turbo, and Full Thrust. Also adjustable here are the Smart Fan settings for the board. Once you click on advanced you can set the fan speed based on temperature thresholds. Finally we have the HW Monitor tab which shows current CPU, memory, and +5V status as well as the current chassis intrusion status. This always reads "close" unless you are actually using the chassis intrusion detection feature of the motherboard. Since this wasn't installed in a computer case that wasn't an option for me. Alerts are also controlled here. You can set audible alerts based on temperature, or fan speed status, or both. You can use the default audible alert sound or use your own.
BIOS
Gigabyte chose the Award BIOS for the EP45T-Extreme. Version F4B was used for all testing.
Those of you who have built your own PC's or have at least ventured into overclocking should recognize the Award BIOS instantly. While it's implementation differs from board to board and manufacturer to manufacturer it's still largely the same thing in all its' incarnations. It's an old DOS style layout with settings divided into categories based on function or at least what those functions relate to. One word of caution, as usual Gigabyte is still using their insane Control + F1 hotkey system in order to access all the BIOS options. I do not for the life of me know why they continue to force enthusiasts to use the hot key combination to access all the BIOS options. This is especially odd considering all the voltage settings that can be used to actually burn up hardware and damage something aren't hidden at all. On a board aimed at the computer enthusiast blocking out any settings is just an irritating and it frankly defies logic. This ranks right up there with MSI's memory slot color coding scheme which they only recently started to get away from.
The first menu selection is the MB Intelligent Tweaker or (M.I.T.) for short. This contains all your overclocking settings and tunable items. Here you will find several categories of information. At the top you have your CPU clock ratios consisting of half and full ratio adjustments. Next is Clock Chip Control which contains the CPU Host Clock which is your FSB settings, PCI-Express frequency settings and finally the CPU Intelligent Accelerator 2 setting. This is just a setting for automatic overclocking. Next is advanced Clock Control which contains your clock skew settings and clock drive settings. Next is DRAM Performance Control which allows you to adjust performance enhancement settings, Extreme Memory Profile or XMP support, MCH Frequency latch better known to some as FSB Strap settings. System memory multiplier and so fourth. Unlike many boards you cannot adjust your memory clock speeds in 1MHz increments. Instead you must rely on dividers or ratios which are based large according to the MCH frequency latch or FSB strap if you prefer. For instance a MCH frequency clock of 400MHz and a system memory multiplier setting of 2.66D gives you a DDR3 memory clock of 1467MHz or 733.5MHz x2 if you prefer.
Once DRAM timing is set to manual you can adjust your basic CAS latency settings and timings right there. Also the values represented in Advanced Timing Control become adjustable. There you will find one of the most comprehensive assortments of adjustable settings I've ever seen. Lastly on this page you'll see a myriad of voltage control options ranging from CPU Vcore and PLL voltages to DRAM channel and termination voltages. There is a large range of adjustability here which is refreshing. All too often some manufacturers do not put enough incremental voltages or they simply don't adjust to high enough levels for serious overclocking. Gigabyte isn't one of the manufacturers who are normally guilty of such things. And is as the case with many newer boards you can adjust the timings of each channel independently.
Next is the familiar Standard CMOS Features setup screen. You set your time and date, drive options and floppy configuration options here. At the bottom of the screen information concerning the installed memory is displayed. The Advanced BIOS Features menu is next. Here device boot priorities and processor options such as C1E and EIST or even Virtualization options can be set. Hard disk delay and S.M.A.R.T. configuration options can also be found here. Integrated peripherals contains settings for the onboard devices such as the RAID controller, IEEE1394 and USB support. Here you can also enable the Green LAN feature or enable LAN Boot ROMs. Serial port and onboard audio settings are here as well. Legacy USB hardware behavior is also controllable in this section.
Lastly are the power management, PnP/PCI Configuration, and PC Health Status menus. Power management contains ACPI and HPET settings, along with settings for recovering from a power failure and various power on settings. ACPI suspend settings are also found here. PnP/PCI configuration contains settings for PCI IRQ adjustment and PCI Latency. The PC Health Status menu contains chassis intrusion settings as well as CPU warning thresholds along with a display of current voltages, temperatures and fan RPM speeds.