Virtual-Hideout | GIGABYTE EP45-DS3R Motherboard Review

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GIGABYTE EP45-DS3R Motherboard Review

Date Published:
08-07-2008

Written By:
Temujin

Edited By:
Diceman

Provided By:
Gigabyte

Where to Buy:
Newegg

Discuss Article:
VH Forum link

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More Testing:

Realistically, I really wasn't expecting earth shattering frame rate improvements in games. A few extra frames is better than nothing. At least, you know that the board can do more than just tabulate spread sheets and edit A/V files even if it isn't considered an all out "gaming motherboard".

I find that overclocking has a greater chance of success once you've used a motherboard for a few days. It also allows time to update the system's drivers all around for the best possible chance of success. With that in mind, this is how the journey went.

The board's specs do not list that it offers any kind of support or capability of operating at a 1600 MHz Front Side Bus capacity. However, this motherboard was quite easily capable of maintaining 1600 MHz and 1900 MHz without issue. The system Prime stable. And to make sure, 3DMark06 demos were executed several times which meant it's obviously 3D stable. It isn't uncommon for weird issues to surface even if a system passes hours and hours of Prime or Orthos testing.

1600 MHz FSB - Approved

1900 MHz FSB - Approved

And in regards to the supported memory frequencies, the motherboard can operate the tested DDR2 memory kits up to 1200 MHz assuming yours is capable. My test module's sweet spot was 1150 MHz default, but can also reach upwards of 1275 MHz. Even my coveted Patriot Viper PC2-6400XLK scaled the natural frequency from 800 all the way up to 1275 MHz without issue. So, again, there's no reservations here.

And alas, Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver software and features had to be given a detailed inspection. A lot of people don't seem to care about energy saving until they pay that power bill. Consider this scenario, if you will. You're a late night gamer who regularly enjoys playing an MMO that carries your game time in to the early morning hours. All that gaming requires a lot of electricity especially if you have a large screen. Well, choosing this board with its features can truly cut back a bit on your power consumption.

My original system was allowed to run for three days without any down time and without Hibernation modes enabled. Each day, the system was used from 9 AM to 12 AM and 4 PM to 7 PM where Orthos was running. On the fourth day, only the motherboard was replaced with the Gigabyte EP45-DS3R Motherboard and the same testing occurred for the next three days. Afterwards, each system's power consumption was tabulated and compared. The results are a bit surprising.

The Gigabyte system used about an average 30% less power overall when everything was tabulated. To be honest, I was only expecting about 20% or less given the systems should have both used equally less power when the system wasn't being used and the same amount of power when at full load. Since, I'm no electrical engineer, I can't explain the how and why other than to say that Gigabyte saves us the hassle by designing the phase and power circuitry to use only the power needed to maintain the system rather than feeding it too much power.

Conclusion:

Considering how enormously out of control gas prices and other energy costs have been these days, it's becoming more apparent we all need to find other routes to cut our own costs and save money. With just the small tests performed here, you can sort of calculate what kind of energy savings your own house hold computer will afford you if you upgrade your motherboard to Gigabyte's EP45-DS3R Motherboard. Now, imagine that spread out over a whole year especially if you're a computer user who spends hours and hours on the computer whether gaming or working. That's a pretty good concept right there: a motherboard that pays for itself in energy savings.

And what about the surprising performance hidden underneath the chipset and among all the components built to save power rather than waste it? Despite the mention of any ability to overclock, even this energy conscious motherboard can afford a more extreme user the joy of 1333, 1600, or 1900 MHz Front Side Bus which means your Core 2 can really show off its hidden potential, assuming you really need it. Obviously, extreme gamers can enjoy the added bonus without spending a lot of money. In fact, currently, you'll only have to pay about $145.00 to purchase this motherboard. That's a far, far lower price than many of the top echelon boards that match it in terms of performance.

What we have here is a more data sensitive, secure motherboard intended to satisfy an extremely wide range of users. It's one thing to password protect your computer, but something even more useful when it's hard wired or built in the physically. That's two obstacles that can help protect your work and video games.

You can't really put a label on this motherboard or designate it for any particular kinds of users. There are far too many useful features that you don't find on your typical budget motherboards. And while many professional motherboards also tend to offer the bare essentials, that's not what you get here. At this price, you can't go wrong if you're on a budget and really want a good quality motherboard. It's going to be really tough topping this one with anything else.

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