Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1859



Gigabyte GA-G1 975X: Will a Turbo Help the Pentium 4?

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook."

This quote from the American philosopher and pragmatist William James sums up our first look at the Gigabyte GA-G1 975X motherboard today. This is not a full review of the board, the 975X chipset, or their capabilities but a preview of the performance potential of this combination. We will fully review this feature rich board along with others based on the soon to be released Intel 975X chipset in the very near future.

Gigabyte's new series of G1-Turbo motherboards are designed specifically for gamers and overclockers. With the release of this series Gigabyte is concentrating on providing additional bios options, increased system performance, and improved feature sets for the computer enthusiast. The first release in this series is the Gigabyte GA-G1 975X that features the new Intel 975X chipset. This chipset is a follow-up to the Intel 955X that includes optimizations to the Intel Memory Pipeline technology, support for the upcoming 1066MHz processor system bus dual-core processors, and full support for graphic based PCI Express x16 lanes that can be configured as two PCI Express x8 slots for multi-view or GPU capability. The system currently supports ATI CrossFire technology and can support NVIDIA SLI technology in the future.

Besides the Intel 975X chipset, the main technology being introduced on this board is Gigabyte's exclusive Turbojet Technology that offers very effective heat dissipation from the processor, northbridge, and system memory sections of the board. The two front fans blow air over the system memory section with the two rear fans removing warm air from the northbridge and processor sections. Gigabyte has added additional heatsinks for the capacitors and the entire system is designed to work well with most aftermarket cooling solutions. We did not have an issue installing a Gigabyte G-Power heatsink/fan combination in our system. We will be comparing the thermal characteristics of this system to Asus's 8-phase power and fanless cooper heat pipe technology in the near future. However, after utilizing this board for the past few days we believe Asus's fanless heat exchange system is a more eloquent and desirable system for ensuring a quiet system.

The Gigabyte GA-G1 975X offers (2) physical PCI Express x16 slots, (2) 32bit PCI slots, and (2) PCI Express x4 slots. This design offers a very good balance of slots and allows for numerous add-in peripheral cards. However, in between the two x16 PCI Express slots are two 32bit PCI slots. This configuration could potentially render the first 32bit PCI slot useless when utilizing the first x16 PCI Express slot. We did not have any issues utilizing this slot with video cards containing single slot cooling systems but were unable to install a sound or network card upon installation of a NVIDIA 6800 Ultra or X850XT in the first x16 PCI Express slot. The combination of (2) PCI Express x16 slots and (2) PCI Express x4 slots allow the capability of running up to 4 VGA cards simultaneously. Also located in this area is the debug LED display and the C.R.S. (CMOS Reload Switch) system. The C.R.S. provides a CMOS default settings retrieval and auto system reboot capability. The push button activated switch allows the user to reload the CMOS default settings when the system is unable to boot up.

Let's quickly find out if the performance of this board is worthy of the "Turbo" designation.



Basic Features: Gigabyte GA-G1 975X

Specification

Gigabyte GA-G1975x

CPU Interface

LGA775-based Pentium 4, Pentium 4 XE, and Pentium D processors.

Chipset

Intel 975X
ICH7R

Pentium D Support
(Dual-Core)

820D, 830D, 840D, 840EE,
(Presler Support Present)

Front Side Bus

1066 / 800 MHz

Front Side Bus Speeds

100 - 600 MHz (in 1 MHz increments)

Memory Speeds

Auto, 1.50, 2.00, 2.0+, 2.50, 2.66, 3.00, 3.33, 4.00

PCI Bus Speeds

Auto, 33.3, 34.2, 35.2, 36.3, 37.5

PCI Express Bus Speeds

Auto, 90 MHz to 150 MHz (in 1 MHz increments)

Dynamic Overclocking

Robust Graphics Booster - Auto, Fast, Turbo,
C.I.A.2 - Disabled, Cruise, Sports, Racing, Turbo, Full Thrust
M.I.B.2 - Auto, Enabled

Core Voltage

Normal, 0.8375V to 1.6000V (in 0.0125V increments), 1.6500V, 1.7000V, 1.7500V

DRAM Voltage

Normal, +0.1V, +0.2V, +0.3V, +0.4V, +0.5V, +0.6V, +0.7V

PCI- E Voltage

Normal, +0.10V, +0.20V, +0.30V, +0.40V, +0.50V, +0.60V, +0.70V

FSB Overvoltage Control

Normal, +0.05V, +0.10V, +0.15V, +0.20V, +0.25V, +0.30V, +0.35V

Memory Slots

(4) x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 667/533/400, non-ECC, un-buffered memory.

Expansion Slots

(2) x PCI-E x16
(2) x PCI-E x4
(2) x PCI 2.3

Onboard SATA

Intel ICH7R:
(4) x SATA II

Onboard IDE

Intel ICH7R: (1) x UltraDMA 100/66/33
ITE 8211F: (1) x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33

SATA/IDE RAID

Intel ICH7R: (4) x SATA II
RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, and Intel Matrix Storage technology.

Onboard USB2.0
IEEE-1394

(8) USB2.0 ports
(3) IEEE 1394a FireWire Ports by TI TSB43AB23

Onboard LAN

Broadcom PCI-E 5789KFB
PCI-E Gb LAN

Onboard Audio

Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit (CA0106-DAT LF), 8-channel capable, and DTS enabled Codec. S/PDIF in/out port connectors are included.

Power Connectors

24-pin ATX
4-pin 12V Plug
8-pin EATX 12V

Back Panel I/O Ports

1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Audio I/O
1 x RJ45
2 x USB

Other Features

Turbojet Cooling Technology
Multi-View Output
C.R.S. - CMOS Reload Switch

BIOS

AWARD D2


The Gigabyte GA-G1 975X is a member of the new G1-Turbo product family and as such is a fully featured flagship board targeted towards the serious PC enthusiast. The board ships with an extensive accessory package along with several overclocking features such as Robust Graphics Booster - (dynamic video card overclocking system), C.I.A.2 - (dynamic front side bus overclocking system with 5 presets), and M.I.B.2 - (memory performance system based upon chipset types)

Gigabyte GA-G1 975X: Features

Gigabyte designed a generally well laid out board with all major connections easily reached. The board is lacking most clearance issues and was very easy to install in a mid-size ATX case. Gigabyte did an excellent job with the color coordination of the various peripheral slots and connectors.

The DIMM module slots' color coordination is correct for dual channel setup. The memory modules can easily be changed with a full size video card installed in the first PCI Express x16 slot. The power plug placement favors standard ATX case design and the power cable management is excellent. The floppy drive port connector and primary IDE port connector are conveniently located on the edge of the board along with the 24-pin ATX power connector. The 8-pin EATX power connector is located next to the memory slots and after installation in the case we actually favored this location over the traditional area near the processor.

The ITE 8211F IDE port connector and Intel SATA II ports are conveniently located in the bottom section of the board. The SATA II ports feature the new clamp and latch design. Gigabyte's standard Dual-Bios setup and additional Intel USB connectors are also located in this area.

The Northbridge (MCH) is passively cooled with a large heatsink designed to fit into the confine of the Turbojet cooling system. The heatsink was cool to the touch during our initial testing.

The CPU socket area has an ample amount of room for alternative cooling solutions. We utilized the stock Intel heat sink but also verified several aftermarket cooling systems would fit in this area during our tests. However, due to the Turbojet fan housings, installation of certain heatsinks could be problematic.

The rear panel contains the standard PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports, LAN (RJ-45) port, and 2 USB ports. The audio panel consists of 3 ports that can be configured for a variety of audio connections.

The board is equipped with the Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit (CA0106-Dat Codec) audio solution. We will be testing this audio solution against several on-board and add-in audio offerings in the full review.

FSB Overclocking Results

Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed

Processor:

Pentium 4 Prescott LGA 775
840EE Dual Core 3.2Hz with HT

CPU Voltage:

1.4250v (1.4000v default)

Memory Settings: CPU

4-4-4-15 at 866MHz

Memory Settings: FSB

3-3-3-8 at 732MHz

Memory Voltage:

2.2v

NorthBridge Voltage:

Auto

SouthBridge Voltage:

Auto

Cooling:

Intel 840EE Heat Sink

Power Supply:

OCZ Power Stream 520

Maximum CPU OverClock

260fsb x 16 (4160MHz) +30%

Maximum FSB OverClock

275fsb x 14 (3850MHz) +37%




This board is an excellent overclocker in our initial tests. The board was able to complete the entire benchmark suite at these settings. We will continue to experiment with the board but it was able to boot into Windows at a FSB setting of 300 with the 14x multiplier.

Memory Stress Testing

Memory Tests

Memory stress tests look at the ability of the Gigabyte GA-G1 975X to operate at the officially supported memory frequencies of 667MHz DDR2 at the best performing memory timings the Corsair CM2X512A-5400UL revision 1.3 will support.

Gigabyte GA-G1 975x Deluxe
Stable DDR667 Timings - 2 DIMMs
(2/4 slots populated - 1 Dual-Channel Bank)

Clock Speed:

200MHz (800FSB)

Timing Mode:

667MHz - Default

CAS Latency:

3

RAS to CAS Delay:

2

RAS Precharge:

2

RAS Cycle Time:

8

Voltage:

2.1v



The Gigabyte GA-G1 975X was completely stable with 2 DDR2 modules in Dual-Channel at the settings of 3-2-2-8 at 2.1v.

Test Setup

The Intel 975X chipset fully supports the 820, 830, and 840 dual core Pentium D processors in both stock and overclocked conditions. Dual core really makes a difference in certain multi-tasking scenarios, as was demonstrated in the dual core performance preview. If you are interested in how the various chipsets perform in a real world multitasking setup please take another look at that review.

The board's memory was operated 3-2-2-8 for the benchmarking suites. The Gigabyte GA-G1 975X automatically overclocks the processor system bus up to a setting of 206 so our tests were conducted with a FSB setting of 199. We are very concerned about the inability to lock the FSB in manual mode between the settings of 200 and 205. We set the FSB to 200 in manual mode, the system at post would report a 200 FSB setting, and then the system would report a 206 FSB setting via CPU-Z or Everest once in Windows. We have relayed our concerns to Gigabyte and will report further on this feature and test results in the full article.

Performance Test Configuration

Processor:

Intel Pentium 840EE (3.2GHz, 800FSB, Dual-Core, 2x1MB L2, HT) utilized for all tests.

RAM:

2 x 512mb Corsair CM2X512A-5400UL revision 1.3 Settings- DDR2-667 as noted at (CL3-2-2-8)

Hard Drive(s):

2 x Maxtor MaXLine III 7L300S0 300GB 7200 RPM SATA (16MB Buffer), 1 x Maxtor MaXLine III 7L300R0 300GB 7200 RPM IDE (16MB Buffer).

System Platform Drivers:

Intel Chipset Software - 7.2.2.1006

Video Cards:

1 x XFX 7800GTX OC (PCI Express) for all tests.

Video Drivers:

NVIDIA nForce 78.01 WHQL and 81.85 WHQL as noted

Operating System(s):

Windows XP Professional SP2

Motherboards:

Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe
Gigabyte GA-8I955X Royal
MSI P4N Diamond



General & Gaming Performance

General Performance

Memory Bandwidth Comparison - Read Performance

Memory Bandwidth Comparison - Write Performance

General Performance

General Performance


Gaming Performance

Gaming Performance

Gaming Performance

Gaming Performance

Gaming Performance



The NVIDIA nForce4 Intel Edition SLI has clearly offered superior gaming and workstation performance in the past when compared directly to the Intel 955x and Intel 945P platform. However, Gigabyte's implementation of the 975X chipset has certainly closed the gap in performance and in the synthetic tests exceeded it. Overall memory performance has improved drastically compared to the Intel 955X boards. Apparently the reported optimizations made in the Intel Memory Pipeline technology is correct.

Our F.E.A.R. results are based upon settings found in the recent Anandtech GPU performance test. We also ran the NVIDIA 81.85 WHQL drivers as a comparison to the NVIDIA 78.01 WHQL drivers on the Gigabyte GA-G1 975x as we will be moving to these for future test results. The increase in scores going from the 78.01 to 81.85 drivers are impressive in several applications.

We will be putting this board through additional video testing and will be offering CrossFire results along with a surprise or two in the full article.



Quick Take

The Gigabyte GA-G1 975X at first glance offers a very functional feature set and provides excellent performance for an Intel based system. The 975X chipset, at least Gigabyte's implementation, has closed the performance gap in most applications with the NVIDIA nForce4 Intel Edition chipset. The initial indications reveal the Intel 975X is a worthy competitor to the NVIDIA nForce4. This is very good news from an Intel enthusiast viewpoint if NVIDIA SLI support at this time is not important.

Our concerns at this time center around the lack of official support for NVIDIA SLI, the noise generation and potential reliability of the four fan solution in the Turbojet system, and the inability to lock the FSB settings from 200 to 205 in manual mode. We look forward to further testing this board's capabilities and will report our full results in the near future along with other 975X chipset based solutions.

In this case, "The art of being wise will be the art of knowing what to look for."

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