DFI DK P45-T2RS - Mini Living Review - First Look At ABS Auto Boost System

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DFI DK P45-T2RS - Mini Living Review - First Look At ABS Auto Boost System.



Today I'm going to embark on a mini living review of DFI's latest mid range, DDR2, P45 chipset based motherboard.

I'm calling this a "mini" living review as really, it is a preview of DFI's ABS (Auto Boost System) technology, rather than an overclocking fest, although there will be some overclocking later.

The guys at DFI are extremely proud of their Auto Boost System, and are keen for people to get to grips with it, and that's exactly what we are going to do.

In a nutshell, ABS is simply a set of predefined preloaded overclocking profiles that can be loaded at startup by pressing a key (F1 for example).

There are many different profiles available for various combinations of memory and CPU, but the great part is that the profiles can be swapped with other users online, so there will be a huge database of downloadable profiles available once people start to share them.

Admittedly, this technology is aimed at novice overclockers and anyone that requires a quick boost, however, more advanced users can also define their own profiles.

I will look more closely at ABS later, but first, let's have a look at the official specs of the P45-T2RS.

Index.

1. Intro & Index
2. Official Specifications & P45 Chipset Info
3. The Package
4. The Contents
5. A Closer Look At The DFI DK P45-T2RS
6. A Closer Look At The DFI DK P45-T2RS - Part 2
7. A Closer Look At The DFI DK P45-T2RS - Part 3
8. The Auto Boost System - ABS
9. More on the way....

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DFI DK P45-T2RS Official Specs.

At the heart of the DK P45-T2RS is the Intel P45 Express chipset featuring the new ICH10R South Bridge.



I have included a three way comparison with P35/X48/P45 to illustrate the differences between the chipsets.

Immediately, we can see that the P45 is similar to the P35 in many ways, although there are a few key changes.

P45 supports up to a massive 16GB of memory officially, whereas the X48 and P35 support 8GB each.

Curiously, Intel don't list any support for their own Extreme processors, something which I suspect is an error in their literature. There appear to be more errors in the table of supported FSB/memory configurations too, once I find out the correct details, I will update this part.

Surprisingly, there is no official support for 1600FSB CPUs, just like the P35.

PCI-E 2 is limited to either a single 16x slot, or dual 8x slots.

Another error in the table appears to show that the ICH10R has less features than the ICH9R - I will find out more on this and update as needed.



Chipset:

• INTEL® P45+ICH10R

CPU:

• Socket-775 for Intel Core TM2 Quad, Core TM 2 Duo, Core TM2 Extreme, Socket-775 for Intel Pentium® D

Power:

• 4 Phase analog PWM

FSB:

• 800/1066/1333 MHz

Memory:

• 128-bit Dual-channel memory architecture
• 4x 240-pin DDRII DIMM sockets max 8GB
• Supports unbuffered, single/double-side DDR2 667/800/1066 DIMMs
• Supports x8/x16, non-ECC and up to 1Gb DDRII devices

Expansion Slots:

• 1 x16 or 2 x16 Graphic Slots in 2 x8 lanes by IC switch
• 2 PCIe x1
• 2 PCI slots
• Storage - 1 Floppy port
• 1 parallel IDE ports with up to 133Mbps UltraDMA
• 6 serial SATAII ports with up to 3Gbs
• Support INTEL SATAII with RAID 0/1/0+1/5
• JMB 368 supports 1 IDE port

USB:

• 12 USB2.0 ports

Audio:

• Realtek ALC885 for 8CH HD audio CODEC

LAN:

• 1 GbE LAN by Marvell 8053

Legacy I/O:

• IT8718F-S

Hardware Monitoring:

• CPU/System temperature sensing w/ overheating alarm
• CPU overheating protection during system boot-up
• 12v/5v/3.3v/Vcore/Vdimm/Vnb/Vbat/5Vsb voltages sensing
• Current drive CPU temperature sensing
• 3 Fan speed sensing and 1 Linear fan speed control for CPU fan

Back panel I/O:

• 1 x PS2 mouse,
• 1 x PS2 keyboard
• 2 USB2.0 ports,
• 1 x RJ45
• 4 USB2.0 ports

Other Onboard Connectors:

• 3x USB header for 6 USB 2.0 ports
• 1x 5x1-pin for IRDA header
• 1x 4-pin FAN connector for CPU,
• 2x 3-pin FAN for Chipset,
• 3x 3-pin FAN for system
• 1x COM
• 24-pin ATX and 8-pin ATX power connectors
• Standby LED, S3 LED
• EZ-On and EZ-Touch switches for onboard power on and reset
• 10x2-pin front panel headers (IDE LED, Power LED, Power switch, Reset button, PC speaker)
• Software Debug LED

PCB Size:

• ATX, 305x245 mm, 6 Layers, PCB in Black

BIOS Features:

• 8 Mb flash ROM
• CMOS Reloaded
• ACPI; PnP; Hotkey flash; Wake on Ring/LAN/USB/Keyboard and Mouse
• Manageability - DMI 2.0, WOL by PME; WOR by PME; PXE2 Boot
• Excellent Over-clocking
• Capability
• Voltage tuning：Vdimm ; Vnb ; Vcore,Vsb,VHT
• 1MHz frequency subtle tuning：Fsb
• Adjustable CPU Multiplier
• EMI Regulations - FCC, Class B, CE
• Accessories - User’s Manual
• 1 Parallel IDE flat cable, 1 FDD flat cable
• 1 SATA cables, 1 power cable
• Driver CD
• 1 Floppy diskette for SATA RAID ICH9R and JMicron 368 driver
• I/O shield

Intel® P45 Express Chipset

Tune Up Your PC for Accelerated Performance

Desktop PC platforms based on the Intel® P45 Express Chipset, combined with either the Intel®
Core™2 Quad or Intel® Core™2 Duo processors, drive performance and state-of-the-art technology
to mainstream and performance platforms. The Intel P45 Express Chipset supports the latest 45nm
Intel® Core™2 processor family at 1333 MHz Front Side Bus, dual-channel DDR3, Intel® Extreme
Memory Profile (Intel® XMP), dual PCI Express* 2.0 graphics, and Intel® Extreme Tuning.

The Intel® P45 Express Chipset

The Intel P45 Express Chipset continues to push in-
novation with capabilities designed to deliver quality,
performance, and headroom to tune the fastest platforms.
The Intel P45 Express Chipset achieves this performance
by supporting the latest 45nm Intel dual- and quad-core
processors, enabling increased system bandwidth by
supporting industry-leading technologies, such as
Intel Extreme Memory Profile, 1333 MHz System Bus
speed, PCI Express 2.0 graphics, Intel® Fast Memory
Access, and Intel® Turbo Memory. To push the bar even
higher, overspeed protection has been removed and users
have the ability to easily tune the system for optimum
performance, enabling extreme power users to achieve
performance levels beyond the Intel P45 Express Chipset’s
industry-leading baseline performance.

PCI Express* 2.0

The Intel® P45 Express Chipset is driving PCI Express* 2.0 to
mainstream users, delivering up to 16 GB/s bandwidth, twice
the bandwidth of PCI Express 1.0. The Intel P45 Express
Chipset supports either a 1 x 16 or 2 x 8 PCI Express 2.0
configuration for expandable discrete graphics capability,
enabling accelerated performance. PCI Express 2.0 provides
greater flexibility and reliability in design because it is backward
compatible with PCI Express 1.0 and can dynamically manage
power and performance through software controls. The greatly
improved 16 GB/s of graphics bandwidth capability enables
much higher levels of performance on graphics-intensive
applications such as high-end gaming and video rendering.

Faster System Performance

With the growing imbalance between CPU and memory
performance, it is critical to optimize the memory controller
design to obtain the maximum possible performance from the
memory subsystem. The redesigned Intel P45 Express Chipset
Memory Controller Hub (MCH) architecture significantly
increases overall system performance through the optimization
of available bandwidth with the 1333 MHz system bus and
reduction of memory access latency with Intel® Fast Memory
Access. These technology breakthroughs result in optimized
system architecture with built-in intelligence, greatly improving
system memory performance.

DDR3 Memory

The Intel P45 Express Chipset includes support for dual-
channel DDR3 memory technology up to 1066 MHz. The key
advantages of DDR3 are the higher bandwidth and the
increase in performance at a lower power than DDR2. The
DDR3 SDRAM devices operating at 1066 MHz offer peak data
transfer rates of up to 17 GB/s (when operated in dual channel
interleaved mode), enabling the Intel P45 Express Chipset
to take advantage of the higher bandwidth, faster system
performance, and higher performance per watt at 1066 MHz1.

Intel® I/O Controller Hub (Intel® ICH10R)

The Intel® ICH10 I/O controller hub of the Intel P45 Express
Chipset integrates several capabilities to provide flexibility
for connecting I/O devices.

Intel® Matrix Storage Technology2 (AHCI):

Native support of external SATA ports (eSATA), combined with Intel Matrix
Storage Technology, provides the flexibility to add an external
drive for increased data storage with up to 6 times faster
performance than USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394 4003
. Support for
eSATA enables the full SATA interface speed of up to 3 GB/s
outside the chassis. The Advanced Host Controller Interface
(AHCI) provides easier expandability with support for eSATA
devices and native hot plug, while boosting boot and
multitasking performance with Native Command Queuing
(NCQ). In addition, RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10 enable greater
reliability for personal data or maximum storage performance
for intensive applications.

Intel® Rapid Recover Technology:

With the ability to instantly boot off of a clone hard drive, Intel Rapid Recover
Technology provides a fast, easy-to-use method for the end
user to recover their data and return their system to an
operational status.

Intel® Turbo Memory:

The Intel® P45 Express Chipset with the Intel® ICH10R also supports Intel Turbo Memory, an
innovative flash memory-based overall system performance
and boot-time accelerator. This feature is easily implemented
using a PCI Express* x1 module and can be used with any
SATA hard drive to improve system responsiveness. Intel
Turbo Memory enables faster application loading and
concurrent performance enhancements when used in
conjunction with Intel Matrix Storage Technology. Intel Turbo
Memory, paired with the Intel P45 or P43 Express Chipsets,
also allows the user to easily control the applications or data
in the cache using the new Intel® Turbo Memory Dashboard
interface, boosting performance further.

Intel® Quiet System Technology:

Integrated in both Intel ICH10 and Intel ICH10R, Intel Quiet System Technology can
help reduce system noise and heat through more intelligent
fan speed control algorithms.

Next, the Package...

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The Package!

The DK P45-T2RS comes in a kind of pearlescent black box - Looks quite good.





Next, the contents...

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The Contents.

The Accessories.

Quite a sparse bunch of accessories with just the very basics.

We have;

• 1x PATA Cable - UV Orange
• 1x SATA Power Cable
• 1x Floppy Cable - UV Orange
• 2x SATA Cables - UV Orange
• 1x I/O Shield
• 1x Crossfire Bridge
• 1x Driver/Software CD
• 1x RAID Driver Floppy Disk
• 1x Bag Of Jumpers
• 1x Quick Start Guide
• 1x User Manual
• 1x ABS Manual

We also have the motherboard, wrapped in an anti-static bag.



Next, a closer look at the DK P45-T2RS...

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A Closer Look At The DFI DK P45-T2RS.

I really like the orange and black colour scheme, but it is difficult to photograph because the sockets and slots are really sensitive to any kind of bright light - Anyway, onwards!

This is the first DK board that I have reviewed, and it is evident that this is a lower budget board than the UT/LT series by the omission of several items, most notably, the PWM section is a 4 phase analog setup, as opposed to the high end Volterra 8 phase digital PWM found on the UT/LT series boards.

We also have six SATA II ports as opposed to eight and the sound section is all on board as opposed to coming from a Bernstein Audio Module - I have no problems with any of this, after all, it's a mid range board.

The onboard cooling has been improved from previous DK boards and now features DFI's "Circu-Pipe" technology, which is basically just fatter, nickel plated copper heatpipes.

The PWM and North Bridge heatsinks are made from black anodised aluminium and they are connected via the Circu-Pipe.

The South Bridge sports a stand alone, black anodised aluminium heatsink, which will now be familiar to most DFI users.

Lets have a look round the board and see what we have.



Here we have the six SATA II sockets, one PATA socket and an ATX 24 Pin socket.



You can also see those fat heat pipes connecting the NB and PWM heatsinks.



The NB and PWM heatsinks are quite a short, tall, chunky design.

Also visible in the pic below are the 8 Pin EPS socket and the I/O panel, more on that shortly.



Continued below...

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A Closer Look At The DFI DK P45-T2RS - Part 2.

Next, we have the I/O panel - Quite bare looking.

We have;

• P/S 2 Keyboard & Mouse
• Optical Digital Out
• Coaxial Digital Out
• CMOS Clear Jumper
• 6x USB 2
• 1x LAN
• 1x Six Channel Analog Sound Output

Lurking here are also the PCI-E 2 and PCI slots.

We have;

• Two, 1x PCI-E slots
• Two, 16x PCI-E 2 slots (16x physical - Running at 8x each or 16x for one of them)
  
• Two, PCI slots

At the bottom of the board is the floppy connector - Some people will no doubt complain about the positioning of this, but to them, I would say, dump the floppy drive and plug it in when needed!



To the right of the floppy connector there are

• 3x USB 2 headers,
• 2x fan headers
• Power/Reset/HD-LED/PWR-LED headers.

Here we have some features that you wouldn't normally find on a mid range board.

• LED Post Code Display
• On Board Power & Reset Switches
• On Board Speaker

Also, lurking under the heatsink is the ICH10R - I'm not anticipating any massive leap forward in performance with that, but if anything surfaces that is worth mentioning, I will report back.



Continued below...

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A Closer Look At The DFI DK P45-T2RS - Part 3.

A closer look at the North Bridge heatsink - It's not quite up to the standard of the UT/LT series, but it looks to be well made and is actually held in place with real nuts and bolts!



The socket area is slightly cluttered, this is understandable and is because of the 4 phase analog PWM. I can't see this being a problem for most users and in fairness, people wishing to use sub zero cooling will probably go for one of DFI's high end boards with digital PWMs which have a less cluttered CPU area.



Another view.



And another.



That's the photos done, let's have a look at the ABS...

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The Auto Boost System - ABS.

What Is It?

ABS is simply a convenient way of boosting your system performance when you need it most (Gaming for example), using predefined overclocking profiles, specific to your configuration.

However, DFI say that these profiles can be shared online, so if you aren't overly confident in the overclocking department, in theory, you can simply download someone elses overclocking profile and load that.

This does open a rather large can of worms because, as many of you will know, it is rare that all of someone elses settings will work on your rig without any tweaking.

Another factor to consider is cooling. Let's say that you downloaded a profile of someone that had been using sub zero cooling - their voltages will often be much less than someone on air cooling, so in that respect, you would need to tweak the voltages yourself.

For most beginners though, some moderate overclocking profiles will undoubtedly be a godsend.

The profiles will also be an excellent way of getting to know the BIOS, and will hopefully give the novice user some confidence, knowing that if they do stuff it up, they can simply reload the profile and carry on.

So, with that in mind, we are going to look at the ABS from a beginners perspective and see what the pros and cons are.

I will set up some mild to moderate overclocks and post the profiles here for download. If there is enough interest, I will allow users to upload their own profiles to this thread and hopefully we can get our own database up and running.

Note: At this time, I'm not sure if DFI have plans to host their own overclocking profile section on their website - As soon as I find out anything regarding this, I post the info here.

The following pictures are based on DFI's marketing literature for the Auto Boost System which they launched at Computex 2008.

















More on the way...

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