Intel P965: Mid-Range Performance Sector Roundup
by Gary Key on October 20, 2006 9:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3: Overclocking
FSB Overclocking Results
We were able to reach a final setting of 7x455FSB resulting in a clock speed of 3185MHz. This board is fully capable of 500FSB rates with the correct memory installed. We still have an issue with the D9 Micron based 1GB modules not wanting to go above the 460FSB range in a stable manner. This issue will be fixed in an upcoming BIOS release and we will retest at that time. We did not have any issues reaching 510FSB with a set of D9 based 512MB modules in testing.
Our CPU voltages were set higher than normal but this is due to the VDroop on the board being around .02~.04V during testing. Also, the voltage was increased slightly to compensate for being on the edge with our memory at the 7x450FSB or higher settings. At 7x440FSB we had the CPU set at 1.4250V without issue. Although we are limited at this time in FSB rates we feel like this board offers one of the better overclocking experiences for the money.
Memory Stress Testing
Memory Tests
We take a look now at seeing how well our GEIL PC2-6400 memory operates in this board in both two and four DIMM testing. The screenshot above shows the actual memory settings used in our benchmark tests of the board. We do not modify the memory timings beyond the four major settings in our charts. The balance of the settings is implemented automatically via the BIOS. Gigabyte is fairly aggressive with their internal memory and MCH timings as our testing will reveal today.
We were able to set our timings to 3-3-3-9 by increasing the memory voltage to 2.20V with our GEIL memory. We were able to hold these timings up to DDR2-830 on this board and held timings of 3-4-3-9 up to DDR2-860. The board ran at 4-4-3-10 up to DDR2-880 before switching to the final overlclock settings of 5-5-5-15. We noticed that any memory timings above DDR2-880 required the use of auto settings to ensure a stable system. This goes back to our issue with the 1GB D9 Micron modules that will be resolved shortly.
Our settings of 3-4-4-9 at 2.20V were not quite as good as the Asus 1.02G settings of 3-4-3-10 but the Gigabyte board runs tighter overall memory latencies. We were able to keep this setting up to DDR2-840 before switching over to 4-4-3-10 settings that held stable until we reached DDR2-860. We then kept a setting of 4-4-4-12 at 2.30V up to our final overclock setting of 7x438, 3066MHz DDR2-876, with four dimms installed. This board will overclock higher with four DIMMs once the D9 Micron issue is solved.
FSB Overclocking Results
| Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Overclocking Testbed |
|
| Processor: | Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Dual Core, 1.86GHz, 2MB Unified Cache 1066FSB, 7x Multiplier |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.4750V (default 1.3250V) |
| Cooling: | Scythe Infinity Air Cooling |
| Power Supply: | OCZ GameXStream 700W |
| Memory: | Geil PC2-6400 800MHz Plus (2x1GB- GX22GB6400PDC), (Micron Memory Chips) |
| Video Cards: | 1 x MSI X1950XTX |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 320GB 7200RPM SATA2 16MB Buffer |
| Case: | Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 |
| Maximum CPU OC: (Standard Ratio) |
455x7 (5-5-5-15, 1:1, 2.2V), CPU 1.4750V, C2 Stepping 3185MHz (+71%) |
| . | |
 |
| Click to enlarge |
We were able to reach a final setting of 7x455FSB resulting in a clock speed of 3185MHz. This board is fully capable of 500FSB rates with the correct memory installed. We still have an issue with the D9 Micron based 1GB modules not wanting to go above the 460FSB range in a stable manner. This issue will be fixed in an upcoming BIOS release and we will retest at that time. We did not have any issues reaching 510FSB with a set of D9 based 512MB modules in testing.
Our CPU voltages were set higher than normal but this is due to the VDroop on the board being around .02~.04V during testing. Also, the voltage was increased slightly to compensate for being on the edge with our memory at the 7x450FSB or higher settings. At 7x440FSB we had the CPU set at 1.4250V without issue. Although we are limited at this time in FSB rates we feel like this board offers one of the better overclocking experiences for the money.
Memory Stress Testing
Memory Tests
 |
| Click to enlarge |
We take a look now at seeing how well our GEIL PC2-6400 memory operates in this board in both two and four DIMM testing. The screenshot above shows the actual memory settings used in our benchmark tests of the board. We do not modify the memory timings beyond the four major settings in our charts. The balance of the settings is implemented automatically via the BIOS. Gigabyte is fairly aggressive with their internal memory and MCH timings as our testing will reveal today.
| Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Stable DDR2-800 Timings - 2 DIMMs (2/4 slots populated - 1 Dual-Channel Bank) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 800MHz |
| CAS Latency: | 3 |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 3 |
| RAS Precharge: | 3 |
| RAS Cycle Time: | 9 |
| Voltage: | 2.20V |
We were able to set our timings to 3-3-3-9 by increasing the memory voltage to 2.20V with our GEIL memory. We were able to hold these timings up to DDR2-830 on this board and held timings of 3-4-3-9 up to DDR2-860. The board ran at 4-4-3-10 up to DDR2-880 before switching to the final overlclock settings of 5-5-5-15. We noticed that any memory timings above DDR2-880 required the use of auto settings to ensure a stable system. This goes back to our issue with the 1GB D9 Micron modules that will be resolved shortly.
| Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Stable DDR2-800 Timings - 4 DIMMs (4/4 slots populated - 2 Dual-Channel Bank) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 800MHz |
| CAS Latency: | 3 |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 4 |
| RAS Precharge: | 4 |
| RAS Cycle Time: | 9 |
| Voltage: | 2.20V |
Our settings of 3-4-4-9 at 2.20V were not quite as good as the Asus 1.02G settings of 3-4-3-10 but the Gigabyte board runs tighter overall memory latencies. We were able to keep this setting up to DDR2-840 before switching over to 4-4-3-10 settings that held stable until we reached DDR2-860. We then kept a setting of 4-4-4-12 at 2.30V up to our final overclock setting of 7x438, 3066MHz DDR2-876, with four dimms installed. This board will overclock higher with four DIMMs once the D9 Micron issue is solved.
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JarredWalton - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
Oh, trust me, Gary tested with a LOT of RAM types and manufacturers. However, for the *benchmarks* he settled on one specific set of DIMMs. I think he's trying to put together some information on how the various boards worked with other RAM (see above comment from Gary). Cheers!stmok - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
LOL...I think its more like: "What the hell were the Abit engineers thinking?!"Based on your experiences, do you know if the Analog Devices AD1988A HD Audio Codec works in Linux? I wouldn't mind going for the ASUS P5B-E at the end of the year.
And finally, is the rev 1.02G mobo available now? Or in a few months time?
Gary Key - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
The 1.09 ADI AD1988A drivers worked fine in SUSE 10.1. Realtek has better support at this time but ADI seems to be catching up. Believe it or not, but we booted every board with SUSE 10.1 just to make sure they went to the desktop. We might even do a once in a while look at Linux down the road.
xsilver - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
what is the range of overclocking possible with pc6400 ram?without dividers? with dividers?
Gary Key - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
Good question, depends on the PC2-6400 RAM. We are working on something right now to answer your question with a few different modules.xsilver - Sunday, October 22, 2006 - link
probably something standard like corsair VS or something priced very similar if there is better performance elsewherexsilver - Sunday, October 22, 2006 - link
also I would assume that 1gig vs. 2gig makes no difference but if it does, it would be good to know.Madellga - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
Excellent review Gary. I also look forward for the round 2 and also for a 975/ATI/Nvidia reviews.Please try to mention the Vmch used for the overclocking results, as this says a lot about the motherboads also.
Gary Key - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
I am setting up a overclocking settings table and will try to show some additional results with different memory types that we used in testing. I have no idea when this will be finished. ;-)Ryan Norton - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
This article is terrific-- now I just need to read the high-end part and I can finally put together a Core 2 Duo system.Will the DS4 be included in the high-end guide? I don't want a DQ-6 because the copper backplate under the processor socket would prevent installation of a Scythe Ninja heatsink.
Are the AHCI issues going to stay the way they are, with needing to load the drivers from a floppy disk during Windows install, or are there any P965 boards that don't require "an engineering degree and a day off" as you guys said?