DFI UT P45-T3RS Living Review

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DFI UT P45-T3RS Living Review
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Well for a change I'm reviewing Dfi's newest Ultra, the DFI UT P45-T3RS, this is the DDR3 version of the DFI Lanparty UT P45-T2RS, which Clunk's reviewing. I'm also intrigued to see how it compares to the Gigabyte GA-EP45T-EXTREME , Gigabytes heavyweight P45 DDR3 board.

Index
1) The Box
2) Specification and Features
3) The Motherboard
4) CPU Area
5) New Bios Chip
6) The Package and Contents
7) More Motherboard Shots
8) Test Set Up
9) Bios 1of4
10) Bios 2of4
11) Bios 3of4
12) Genie Bios 1 of 2
13) Genie Bios 2 of 2
14) Genie Bios - Dram Timing Sub Menu
15) Genie Bios - Voltage Settings - Sub Menu (1of2)
16) Genie Bios - Voltage Settings - Sub Menu (2of2)
17) Bios 4of4 - Cmos Reloaded
18) Bios Template
19) Build observations
Clocking - E8600
20) 4,000 10x400 @333/1333 1,600Mhz 7-7-7-14
21) 4,250 8.5x500 @333/800 1,201 6-6-6-14 Issues running with 333/1066 Dram Speed.
22) 8.5x500 400 strap - 8.5x500 400/1066 1,333Mhz 6-6-6-14
23) 8.5x500 400/1,333 1,667 6-6-6-14
24) 4,335 8.5x510 400/1,333 = 1,701 6-6-6-14
25) 4,313 7.5x575 400/1066 1,532 6-6-6-14
26) 4,313 7.5x575 400/1333 1,916 7-7-7-21
27) 2x1GB v 4x1Gb Comparison
28) 4,597mhz 9x510 4gb@400/1333 =1,700mhz 7-7-7-14
29) 4,700Mhz 8.5x553 2GB@400/1066 1,473Mhz 6-6-6-14
30) DFI UT P45-T3RS Voltage Measuring Points
31) Final thoughts and conclusion

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Box looks very impressive, with glittery artwork. If you want to raef the labels , just click.

Makes better reading, than the cornflakes packet at breakfast , the back of the box
Click image for full size, high resolution.

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DFI UT P45-T3RS Specification and Features
See DFI Website For bios and latest details.


CPU

• LGA 775 socket for: - Intel® Core2 Quad and Intel® Core2 Duo
• Supports Intel Enhanced Memory 64 Technology (EMT64T)
• Supports Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST)
• Supports Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
• Supports 1333/1066/800MHz FSB
• Supported CPU's
• 8 Phase digital PWM

Chipset

• Intel® chipset - Northbridge: Intel® P45 Express chipset Intel® Fast Memory Access technology - Southbridge: Intel® ICH10R

System Memory

• Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM sockets
• Supports DDR3 800/1066/1333 MHz
• Delivers up to 21Gb/s bandwidth at 1333MHz
• Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
• Supports up to 8GB system memory
• Supports unbuffered x8 and x16 DIMMs
• DFI Supported Memory List

Expansion Slots

• 2 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots (PCIE 1 and PCIE 3) - 2-way CrossFire at x8/x8 bandwidth - 2-way CrossFire + Physics at x8/x8/x4 bandwidth
• 1 PCI Express x1 slot (PCIE 2)
• 1 PCI Express x4 slot (PCIE 4)
• 3 PCI slots
• PCI-E 2 is limited to either a single 16x slot, dual 8x slots or 16x + 4x.

BIOS

• Award BIOS
• 8Mbit SPI flash memory
• CMOS Reloaded

Audio

• Bernstein audio module - Realtek ALC885 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Center/subwoofer, rear R/L and side R/L jacks - Line-in, line-out (front R/L) and mic-in jacks - 2 coaxial RCA S/PDIF-in/out jacks - 1 optical S/PDIF connector - 1 CD-in connector - 1 front audio connector
• DAC SNR/ADC SNR of 106dB/101dB
• Full-rate lossless content protection technology

LAN

• Marvell 88E8052 and Marvell 88E8053 PCIE Gigabit LAN controllers
• Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T), 802.3u (100BASE-TX) and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T) standards

Storage

• Intel ICH10R chip - Intel Matrix Storage technology - Supports up to 6 SATA devices - SATA speed up to 3Gb/s - RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and RAID 5
• JMicron JMB363 PCI Express to SATA and PATA host controller - Supports up to 2 UltraDMA 100Mbps IDE devices - Supports 2 SATA devices - SATA speed up to 3Gb/s - RAID 0 and RAID 1

IEEE 1394

• VIA VT6307
• Supports two 100/200/400 Mb/sec

Rear Panel I/O

• 1 Mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port
• 1 Mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
• 1 IEEE 1394 port
• 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
• 2 RJ45 LAN ports

Internal I/O

• 3 connectors for 6 additional external USB 2.0 ports
• 1 connector for an external COM port
• 1 connector for an IEEE 1394 port
• 1 connector for the Bernstein audio module
• 1 IrDA connector
• 1 CIR connector
• 8 Serial ATA connectors
• 1 40-pin IDE connector
• 1 floppy connector
• 1 24-pin ATX power connector
• 1 8-pin 12V power connector
• 2 4-pin 5V/12V power connectors (FDD type)
• 1 front panel connector
• 6 fan connectors
• 1 diagnostic LED
• EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)

Power Management

• ACPI and OS Directed Power Management
• ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
• Wake-On-PS/2 / Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
• Wake-On-LAN and Wake-On-Ring
• RTC timer to power-on the system
• AC power failure recovery

Hardware Monitor

• Monitors CPU/system/Northbridge temperature and overheat alarm
• Monitors Vcore/Vdimm/Vnb/VCC5/12V/V5sb/Vbat voltages
• Monitors the speed of the cooling fans
• CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature and fan during system boot-up - automatic shutdown upon system overheat

PCB

• 6 layers, ATX form factor;
• 24.5cm (9.64") x 30.5cm (12") All

Excellent Over-clocking Capability

Voltage tuning：

• Vdimm ; Vnb ; Vcore,Vsb,VHT
• 1MHz frequency subtle tuning：Fsb
• Adjustable CPU Multiplier

EMI Regulations

• FCC, CE, Class B

Bernstein Audio Module

• Realtek ALC885 for 8CH HD audio CODEC 6 audio jacks; CD-In connector; front audio connector, optical S/PDIF connector, coaxial RCA S/PDIF-in/out jacks

Special Feature

• Digital PWM provides stable voltage to the CPU and avoids damage to capacitors

Auto Boost System

• The ABS technology system provides the convenience of saving, loading and sharing overclocking profiles. ABS allowing you to use the best OC setting to optimize your system’s performance. You can “Auto Boost” your system by simply pressing the [F1] Hot key.
• See DFI Auto Boost Guide for more detail.

Smart connectors

• The Smart-Connector makes your connection between front panel and cables of chassis become easier. Smart connector terminates the troubles of plugging all the chassis cables to motherboards front panel.

OC shut down free

• The issue of automatically shut down while overclocking. No matter you tweak the CPU FSB or ratio of memory, the system will not power off by itself again

EZ-CLEAR

• Bypass the manual process by simply pressing the rest and power buttons at the same time. The CMOS will restore the clock settings back to their default values.

Accessories

• User’s Manual
• Auto Boost Installation Guide
• Realtek ALC885 for BERNSTEIN Audio card
• 1 Parallel IDE flat cable, 1 FDD flat cable
• 2 SATA cables, 2 SATA power cables
• Driver CD
• 1 Floppy diskette for SATA RAID ICH10R and JMicron 363 driver
• I/O shield
• Smart Connector(Front panel, USB, IEEE1394)
• Mini Jumper

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The Motherboard

Click image for full size, high resolution.


PCI/PCI-E Slots


SouthBridge/Sata Ports


DDR3 Slots

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CPU Area


This has got to be the cleanest CPU socket I've ever seen.


Close up of PWM Area

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New Bios Chip

The new
Opening Holder
The bios chip holder unclips to reveal the chip:-
.

The Chip
Surprisingly small chip:-

For international readers the chip is shown on top of a £1 coin, about 9/10" or 2.1Cm wide.

Chip Orientation
When I first opened my bios the chip popped out, I'm just ham fisted i guess
It did raise something of an issue, naamely which way should the chip be orientated ?


It's a little confusing initialy as there is a mark on my bios , which I would normally associate with pin1.

Clunk had a similar issue taking his out Black Dot & Notch sorts it. Line the black dot on the chip with the notch on the top clip.

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The Package and Contents


Clockwise :-

• Sound Card - Red bag
• Warranty Info
• Driver / Utils CD
• Driver Floppy Disk
• User Manual
• 1x I/O Shield
• 1x UV Green PATA Cable
• 2x UV Green SATA Cables
• 1x UV Green Floppy Cable
• 1x SATA Power Cable
• 1x Bag Of Smart Connectors
• 1x Bag Of Jumpers & Sound Card Lead

Sound Card


Sockets left to right:-

• Line In
• Line Out
• Mic In
• Centre/SubWoofer
• Rear R/L
• Side R/L
• S/PDIF-Out
• S/PDIF-Out

Motherboard to Soundcard Connector


Warranty card , manual etc.,


Smart Connectors
Nice Addition are the Smart Connectors, these let you connect your case connectors easily without struggling to connect 2pin wires directly to the motherboard These cover USB, 1394 and the Front Panel connections.


IO Panel

Unlike the recent Ultra boards, there is no printed labels on the shield, back to just tin

There are a few things that seem to be missing.
1) There are 2 5v/12v floppy connectors on the board. These I assume are for graphic card support, from experience it often makes for better clock ability if such sockets are connected. However many power supplies have only one FD connector, I 'm never seen one with more than 2. So you'll probably need a molex to floppy connector if you plan on running crossfire
2) Though the back bracket supports it, there is no Flame-Freezer as in the DFI UT X48-T3RS. I wonder if it will be available as an accessory if the user wants it ?

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Various Motherboard Shots
Northbridge


Rear Panel


Backside
Nice to see bolts and no pushpins


Onboard Buttons

Press both together to clear cmos.

Sata Ports Side on

Nice to see full compliment of Sata Ports and all out of the way of graphics cards


Wonderful clear CPU area
This rocks

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Test Set Up

• CPU - E8600
  
• Ram - 2x1GB Cellshock DDR3 1866 BLUE D9JNL
  2 sets 2GB CellShock CS3222271 DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz (7-7-7-14) 2x1Gb
  
• Cooling - Barebones - Air Xigmatek HDT-SD964 CPU Phase 2: Water D-Tek Fuzion Block.
  
• Graphics - Air Gigabyte 8500 GT Water - 8800GTS
  
• PSU - Toughpower 1200W

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Bios 1 of 4
Logo SCreen, must admit it's very classy looking. Didn't switcj it off after 1st boot, which is an accolade in itself

Main Menu

Standard Cmos Features

Advanced Bios Features