Gigabyte GA X38 DQ6 Blog

[supershanks]

fopflugel,

I use Corsair atx 520w, 24P

wouldn't worry then unless you ghave 6 hd & are running crossfire

hi jorbedo,
Welcome to the forum.

Look forward to seeing the pick
Please feel free to use the various posts & timings here to help.

Please use the templates here Gigabyte X38 DQ6 if you want to shaare settings.

luck

[Padantic]

Thanks Supershanks, i have memset CPUz and everest oh and Easytune 5 just for fun but i dont really use easytune. Easytune shows my Vcore at 1.425 but everything else says 1.385 so i dont think its very accurate.

I've changed the strap to 3:4 and running at 889Mhz now (i think its 'C' strap) and it seems good. I put the "performance enhance" setting on standard first and memset says on using a performance level on 9. So i changed performance enhance to turbo and memset says performance level of 6. I will try tightening trd value like you said. Might try the "extreme" setting too.

The board seems to "loosen up" after a while where you can try many different dividers and timings and it runs fine, whereas at first it would be picky about the settings, anyhow i think i'll settle with this divider and just tighten settings as much as i can.

[supershanks]

Well i must admit i don't always tighten, but using memset like you just did to find the Auto values used for TRD = Performance level gives you a clue how to stabalise ram. for example if you see

memset says performance level of 6

& ram is unstable try setting it to 7.

There often are straps that are more stable than others , even running at a higher speeds, as you found with 3:4 = 2.66. I must say i've found the 2.66 strap the most solid of all. On the bios i have tried though only 1:1 seems to work if i drop a multi, go to x8, rather than x9.

Your vcore on load will be about 0.03v below waht you set it in bios. If your vcore in bios is >= 1.40v then everest & cpu-z are pretty useless, giving you low readings.

Sounds like your getting there

luck

[godsdog]

How much do you love this board supershanks?? On a scale of 1 - 10 on the love-o-meter how much love would you give it?

[supershanks]

As I said I’ve never had a Gigabyte motherboard before so wasn’t sure what to expect. The quality and build of this board has been a revelation:-
Features , Layout & Package
1) The copper heatpipes and mounting provide a benchmark that other manufacturers should follow.
2) Board layout is very good the only issues are minor :-
2-a) Reaching the Clear Cmos jumper if using Crossfire it may be fiddly as it’s between both graphics slots which are quiet close together Clr-Cmos Jumper
2-b) Access to memory sockets is tight when graphics card is in PCI-EX1 position, but the same complaint applies to virtually every P35/X38 motherboard.
3) The included package is good with some excellent innovative features, the E-Sata Connectios are to my knowledge unique & extremely useful. It also means you can save money by just plugging in the drive & save money on enclosures

10/10

Overclocking & Bios
Unlike other manufacturers (Abit) the board offers support for 1600 MHz FSB. This strap 2.66 in Gigabyte speak, is particularly strong and gave me excellent memory stability.

Was good but not startling, in other words pretty much in line with P35 v X38 performance, no great lift. I must admit though that this board was more stable at the same higher clocks than my Asus P5k Deluxe, as an example I got 8x465 14Hr prime stable which I didn’t manage on the p5k.

The failed over clocking recovery feature is very smooth, I’ve only had to clear the cmos twice, which I think is a record

Bios features are the disappointing feature on this board. Compared to other X38s the Maximus or the QuadGT there aren’t as many options, some of the features that are there aren’t particularly useful.

GTL Ref Are Hidden features only accessed by using the CTRL] + [F1] keys from the main menu. Unlike the boards mentioned above options are limited
CPU GTLRef1
CPU GTLRef2
I’ve not found any benefit of using either the MCH or DDR reference Voltages or the DDR Termination voltage. They’ve been at normal throughout.


Bios support is rich with plenty of betas. Performance wise F4 seems the bios of choice for best Dual core performance. F5G & F5H give best performance on Quad cores.

The biggest problem setting is with the Static tRead Value Trd The value is modified according to the value of the Performance Enhance Settimg ([Standard], [Turbo] & [Extreme]) and strap used. The value selected on auto is often too tight. If running >400 FSB it’s best to use a minimum value of 7. The other option is to run at a lower Performance setting, with the corresponding performance hit.

If overclocking isn’t a particular requirement then the more limited bios will not be an issue, the board overclocks well enough but I’ve knocked about 2 points off for the lack of features here.
7/10

Overall this board reminds me of a luxury car, excellent package & features , with good solid performance.
Value wise: This board has come down in £ since its launch Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 £150.86 which is excellent value being less than £10 more than the Abit Quad IX38 GT. 9/10


Features: 10/10
Overclocking & Bios: 7/10
Value: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

[Clunk]

But, the burning question is....(The burning questions are)

Would you rather have the Gigabyte or the Abit? - If you HAD to choose one of them now, which would it be?

[godsdog]

Ta. I should have put me glasses on earlier

I'll be going with this one if a suitable one doesn't come up in the new year.

[supershanks]

But, the burning question is....(The burning questions are)

Would you rather have the Gigabyte or the Abit? - If you HAD to choose one of them now, which would it be?

Can't say at the moment. Watch this space::

[dynapl]

Hey supershanks and everyone that posted here,

I just finished assembling my new rig over last weekend:

GIGABYTE 3D AURORA Aluminum ATX Full Tower $130.00
Rosewill 950W power supply $220.00
Q6600 $179.00
Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 $270.00 (expensive)
ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm $60.00
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) $129.00

Everything else i.e. DVD/Video/Keyboard/monitor etc from old rig.

For past 6 years, since mere AMD K2 came out I was AMD user. Now since AMD can’t deliver and I got hot deal from newegg.com on Q6600 for $179.00 and read awesome quad reviews I went Intel route.

Well, thanks to supershanks detailed review and his overclocking template I got it running @ 3.6GHz stable (hot I might say 65C at full load prime 05). I struggled to get 2.7GHz over the weekend but few hints/template setups from this forum made my day:

1. Q6600 loves voltages above 1.4V when overclocking (needs good cooling).
2. Gigabyte motherboard should be setup manually (memory/timings/latency/FSB etc.) because leaving it at auto/normal did not cut it for me.
3. BIOS F5h is the way to go on quads. F6b was a no go for me.

By the way, I tried 3.8GHz and it worked but it was getting HOT 70C and I don’t think there is much difference between 3.6GHz vs 3.8GHz when doing a real life tasks.

I will fill out supershanks template of my final BIOS settings over the coming weekend. It may help someone.

Thanks everyone!

[Clunk]

Welcome to the forums dynapl