DFI LT X38-T2R LanParty - Living Review.

[Ace-a-Rue]

Originally Posted by supershanks

Thought you'd be after the abit max Ace , or are you swinging towards DFI ??


luck

i did try the DFI LT X38...it's now in the closet...LOL...the board was good but i saw no better performance over my IP35 Pro..maybe the memory performance was more tweakable than the Pro board.

my wife needs a new mobo so she will get the DFI board.

i have been leaning towards trying the Foxconn X38A with some DDR3 to fill the gap while waiting on the X48.

[bustamove]

Originally Posted by Ace-a-Rue

i did try the DFI LT X38...it's now in the closet...LOL...the board was good but i saw no better performance over my IP35 Pro..maybe the memory performance was more tweakable than the Pro board.

my wife needs a new mobo so she will get the DFI board.

i have been leaning towards trying the Foxconn X38A with some DDR3 to fill the gap while waiting on the X48.

There is a possibility you could be a bit premature dismissing the DFI so early, im sure once they get feedback from users in the next month or so with new bios releases we will see what this board can really do.
meaning, I get the feeling that this board is at the stage of 'great potential' and I personally bought it because it supports ddr2.
ddr3 is still in its infancy and for overclocking im sure its a bit hit and miss at this stage.

Having said all that Foxconn have some very good boards at the moment, also the asus boards [my usual leaning] this is my first dfi board, im not dissapointed.
My asus commando hits higher fsb than this board does with my e8400, but like I said new bios will unleash this boards true potential im sure, heres hoping anyway

by the way ace, ive seen you over at extreme systems, you hit some pretty high clocks if I remember correctly?

[Clunk]

Don't get me started on the stinking Commando

[bustamove]

Lol, whats wrong with it? its been a great board for me, its taken a beating too [physically I mean] its like ati cards, they take a ing but still work.

Nvidia? thats a different story....

[Ace-a-Rue]

Originally Posted by bustamove

There is a possibility you could be a bit premature dismissing the DFI so early, im sure once they get feedback from users in the next month or so with new bios releases we will see what this board can really do.
meaning, I get the feeling that this board is at the stage of 'great potential' and I personally bought it because it supports ddr2.
ddr3 is still in its infancy and for overclocking im sure its a bit hit and miss at this stage.

Having said all that Foxconn have some very good boards at the moment, also the asus boards [my usual leaning] this is my first dfi board, im not dissapointed.
My asus commando hits higher fsb than this board does with my e8400, but like I said new bios will unleash this boards true potential im sure, heres hoping anyway

by the way ace, ive seen you over at extreme systems, you hit some pretty high clocks if I remember correctly?

i used the latest bios that is out right now for the DFI board...my clocks were almost identical to the IP35 Pro board...the big difference for the DFI was two full 16X working PCIe slots and basically zero vcore droop...those are the two features that i miss.

negatives are the DFI's NB heatsink which keeps the TRUE heatsink from being mounted to the rear of the case...the other, i missed the ability to change voltages, fan speeds, PCIe bus speed and FSB from windows desktop...Uguru chip on abit boards is a VERY nice feature...once spoiled, it's hard to look at any other board as a good replacement.

my clocks are about average; maybe slightly higher than noobs.

[Clunk]

Index

1. Intro & Index
2. Official Specs
3. First Impressions & Pics - The Packaging
4. First Impressions & Pics - The Motherboard
5. First Impressions & Pics - The Motherboard Part 2
6. First Impressions & Pics - The Acessories & NorthBridge Heatsink
7. First Impressions & Pics - The Bernstein Audio Module
8. Test Setup & Notes
9. The NorthBridge Heatsink Fitted
10. The Genie BIOS - 1
11. The Genie BIOS - 2
12. The Genie BIOS - DRAM Voltage Control
13. The Genie BIOS - DRAM Voltage Control 2
14. Genie BIOS Template
15. Hard Disk Performance
16. Overclocking The Q6600 G0 - First Results
17. First Minor Problem - Fixed
18. More Overclocking Results - Max on Air
19. Some Thoughts & Findings After Initial Testing
20. Phase Result For The Failing Q6600 G0
21. Wolfdale E8400 First Tests & Overclocks
22. Some More Thoughts & Results - Post Phase
23. RAM Overclocking & Tweaking
24. A Few Final Overclocks With The Replacement Q6600 G0
25. Conclusion

[Ace-a-Rue]

Originally Posted by Clunk

A few Final Overclocks With The Replacement Q6600 G0.

Nothing huge here, just a few more stable clocks at relatively sane voltages with air cooling courtesy of the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120.


[/i] 430x9 3871Mhz 1.44v 860Mhz 5-5-5-15 1:1 - OCCT, WPrime and Superpi 1m/32m Stable.
CPU-Z Validator 2.1

Click on the image for full size.



440x9 3963Mhz 1.462v 880Mhz 5-5-5-15 1:1
CPU-Z Validator 2.1

That's all for now, I will add more when I do them

that is a very good, stable overclock at 3871 mhz and 1.44v for vcore...nice chip!

the best i could do with my Q6600 'G0' on the DFI board for stable Prime 95 overclock was at 3800 mhz at about 1.48v vcore using the TRUE heatsink.

[Clunk]

The chip is pretty good, my other one started like that, but was killed to death by PLL abuse



Edit: I meant to ask, does your board show an overvolt on the Vcore? Mine will show as being say, 1.35v in the BIOS, but then all the monitoring tools show a touch more, even under load, usually around 0.02v.

I don't remember it on the Wolfdale or the other G0, but I may have just missed it

[Ace-a-Rue]

exactly...the board overvolts to compensate for vdroop...tricky, HUH!

[Clunk]

It's more than Vdroop though, it's about the same again. Will need to test with a DMM to be sure though