Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R Living Review

[supershanks]

Official Voltage Measuring Points
Thanks to Andrew Borkowski of Gigabyte UK for the Pics.


Please do not go poking around with a DMM unless you know what you are doing, you can easily damage or kill your board if you do it wrong and we take no responsibility for any damage as a result of using these images.
See also Voltage Measuring Guide


Vcore

PLL

CPU Reference(VTT)

NorthBridge (MCH)

VDimm

[supershanks]

reserved6

[supershanks]

resreved7

[supershanks]

Final thoughts and conclusion.

It's been a while since I had a budget motherboard. In the past I've found such boards cheap and only sometimes cheerful, with poor quality components and accessories. I've generally ended up wishing I'd paid the extra for a higher specced board.
The GA-EP45-UD3R has been a revelation as to what to expect from a budget board.
Although it now retails slightly above £100 following the fall of the £, it still represents excellent value.

The only real issue I had with this board was a weak chipset see Ram Stability for more detail. Just as CPUs vary in terms of how they perform so do chipsets. I think this is an unlucky chance. Looking around there seems to be few issues, in overclocking ram elsewhere, or of having to run with such high MCH voltage.
I asked Gigabyte if there was any grading of Chipsets, thinking it would be understandable if a budget board was given a lower grade chipset than a top end board. Reply was :

we don't put "better" grade chipsets into high end mobos, we use the same batch for all models. but the batches are constantly changing with the shipments we receive from Intel, as you may suspect. so it's just random thing.

So seems it was just unlucky

If all you need is a single graphics card then this is the board for you. If you need a crossfire capable P45 , then I'd take a serious look at the UD3P


Note
Gigabyte are currently showing a new revision GA-EP45-UD3R (rev. 1.1) coming soon. Seems the change is the in the heatpipes see EP45-UD3R Rev1.0 v Rev1.1

Pros

• Bios Shares the same detailed and extremely tweakable bios of other Gigabyte EP45 boards
• Features - Packs features normally found on top range boards - Dual Bios
• UD3 PCB - The 2oz Copper board design brings an impressive improvement in cooling etc.,
• Low Profile NB Cooler Decent looks, style and utility.
• Quality - For a budget mother board there is no impression of economy or reduced quality. in the board or the package. The only concession is perhaps lack of on-board power buttons.

Cons

• NB Chip Quality - Probably an isolated case, in that I was unlucky and the board had a weak P45 Chip, which needed higher MCH voltage and consequently didn't clock memory well.

[supershanks]

Xeon 3230 Quad 7x450@2.4B 1,080Mhz 5-5-5-18

Bench

Stability


Bios Settings

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
[u]MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: turbo
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................:  7
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:. N/A
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3,150Mhz
Clock Chip Control 
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled] 
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............:450Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:102Mhz
C.I.A. 2......................................: Disabled
Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 700mv
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 800mv
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0ps
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps
DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: [Disabled]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.40B
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1,080Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]
Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time..........................: 5
tRCD ...........................................: 5
tRP..............................................:  5
tRAS............................................:  18
Advanced Timing Control [Press Enter]
tRRD...........................................:4
tWTR..........................................:4
tWR............................................:8
tRFC...........................................:49
tRTP...........................................:4
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:Auto

Channel A

Channel A Timings Settings [Press Enter] 
Static tRead Value.........................:8
tRD Phase0 Adjustmen...................:Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment..................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Twr2wr(Different Rank)..................:Auto 
Twr2rd(Different Rank)..................:Auto 
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank).................:Auto 
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control.............:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control.............:Auto  ps
DDR Write Training .....................: Enabled
Channel A Driving Settings [Press Enter] 
Driving Strength Profile...................:[OC-1200]

Data Driving Pull-Up Level...............:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Up Level................:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level.................:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Up Level..................:Auto 

Data Driving Pull-Down Level...........:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Down Level............:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level.............:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Down Level..............:Auto 
Channel B

Channel B Timings Settings [Press Enter] 
Static tRead Value.........................: 9
tRD Phase0 Adjustmen....................:1-Adv
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment ..................:1-ADV
tRD Phase3 Adjustment...................:1-ADV
Trd2rd(Different Rank).....................:8 
Twr2wr(Different Rank).....................:8
Twr2rd(Different Rank).....................:7
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)....................:9
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...................:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...................:Auto  ps
DDR Write Training .........................: Enabled
Channel B Driving Settings [Press Enter] 
Driving Strength Profile...................:[OC-1200]

Data Driving Pull-Up Level.................:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Up Level..................:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level.................:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Up Level..................:Auto 

Data Driving Pull-Down Level...............:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Down Level................:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level...............:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Down Level................:Auto 


{U]Motherboard Voltage Control{/U]
Voltage Type.………... Normal 
CPU
Load Line Calibration......................: [Enabled] 
CPU Vcore...................................:1.425v
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*........:1.320v
CPU PLL...............1.500V*.............:1.50 v
CPU Reference.........0.755V*..........:0.861 v
MCH/ICH
MCH Core..............1.100V................: 1.40v
MCH Reference.........0.800V..............: 0.816v
MCH/DRAM Ref..........0.900V...............:1.080v
ICH I/O.................1.50V...............: 1.50v
ICH Core............……1.100V...............:1.10 v
DRAM
DRAM Voltage..........1.800V...............: 2.260v
DRAM Termination......0.900V...............: 1.080v
Channel A Reference...0.900V...............: 1.080v
Channel B Reference...0.900V...............: 1.080v
[b]{U]Advanced Settings[b]{U]
Limit CPUID Max. to 3......................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect..................: [Disabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)....................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support.......................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support.....................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ................: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function..........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology..................: [Disabled]
Note: * refers to 45nm CPU

[supershanks]

Xeon 3230 Quad 8x425@266D 1,133Mhz 5-5-5-16

Bench

Stability


Bios Settings

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
[u]MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: turbo
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................:  8
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:. N/A
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3,400Mhz
Clock Chip Control 
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled] 
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............:425Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:102Mhz
C.I.A. 2......................................: Disabled
Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 700mv
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 800mv
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0ps
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps
DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: [Disabled]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.66D
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1,133Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]
Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time..........................: 5
tRCD ...........................................: 5
tRP..............................................:  5
tRAS............................................:  16
Advanced Timing Control [Press Enter]
tRRD...........................................:4
tWTR..........................................:4
tWR............................................:8
tRFC...........................................:49
tRTP...........................................:4
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:Auto

Channel A

Channel A Timings Settings [Press Enter] 
Static tRead Value.........................:7
tRD Phase0 Adjustmen...................:Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment..................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)...................:8 
Twr2wr(Different Rank)..................:8
Twr2rd(Different Rank)..................:7
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank).................:9
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control.............:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control.............:Auto  ps
DDR Write Training .....................: Enabled
Channel A Driving Settings [Press Enter] 
Driving Strength Profile...................:[OC-1200]

Data Driving Pull-Up Level...............:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Up Level................:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level.................:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Up Level..................:Auto 

Data Driving Pull-Down Level...........:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Down Level............:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level.............:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Down Level..............:Auto 
Channel B

Channel B Timings Settings [Press Enter] 
Static tRead Value.........................: 8
tRD Phase0 Adjustmen....................:Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment ..................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment...................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank).....................:8 
Twr2wr(Different Rank).....................:8
Twr2rd(Different Rank).....................:7
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)....................:9
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...................:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...................:Auto  ps
DDR Write Training .........................: Enabled
Channel B Driving Settings [Press Enter] 
Driving Strength Profile...................:[OC-1200]

Data Driving Pull-Up Level.................:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Up Level..................:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Up Level.................:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Up Level..................:Auto 

Data Driving Pull-Down Level...............:Auto 
Cmd Driving Pull-Down Level................:Auto 
Ctrl Driving Pull-Down Level...............:Auto 
Clk Driving Pull-Down Level................:Auto 


{U]Motherboard Voltage Control{/U]
Voltage Type.………... Normal 
CPU
Load Line Calibration......................: [Enabled] 
CPU Vcore...................................:1.43125v
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*........:1.320v
CPU PLL...............1.500V*.............:1.50 v
CPU Reference.........0.755V*..........:0.861 v
MCH/ICH
MCH Core..............1.100V................: 1.40v
MCH Reference.........0.800V..............: 0.828v
MCH/DRAM Ref..........0.900V...............:1.080v
ICH I/O.................1.50V...............: 1.50v
ICH Core............……1.100V...............:1.10 v
DRAM
DRAM Voltage..........1.800V...............: 2.260v
DRAM Termination......0.900V...............: 1.080v
Channel A Reference...0.900V...............: 1.080v
Channel B Reference...0.900V...............: 1.080v
[b]{U]Advanced Settings[b]{U]
Limit CPUID Max. to 3......................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect..................: [Disabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)....................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support.......................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support.....................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ................: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function..........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology..................: [Disabled]
Note: * refers to 45nm CPU

[glowball]

Great going Supershanks, it would be great if you could pop a Q6600 in there with Crucial 8500's at 3.6GHz and post some settings, can't seem to get mine stable... going round in circles here.
Thanks.

[supershanks]

Hi mate, sorry xeon is as close as I can get, unless you post me yours . The xeon is the equivalent of the q6800 which in turn is the 10x multi rather than the x9 of the q6600. Am aiming to take a shot at it at 3600. I had a brief play after i did the 2 clocks posted above at 3600, but it wouldn't play. Hopefully tommorow

[glowball]

OK, seemed a slightly odd mix UD3R & Xeon... and a mix of RAM.
Surprised that there haven't been any other replies to this thread either, all the same you have at least one fan here so keep it up.

[supershanks]

Ram is easily explained it's there if and when I move to nehalem I would have got an extra kit of the celllshock 1866Mhz but it was out of stock , the cellshock 1600 was available which gave me 4gb 1600mhz for £130. So I can theoretically run with 6gb at 1600~1700 7-7-7-14.

xeon has been running in my wife's rig , it's the only quad i have at the minute. Got it early this year when quad £ were seriously reduced. I've not used it too much, as I've been running wolfdales.