DFI LT X48-T2R Lanparty Living Review.

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DFI LT X48-T2R Living Review



X48 is finally here!

It’s been a long wait with lots of anticipation and rumour mongering, Intel had changed the release date several times and nobody really knew what was going on (at least I didn't anyway ).

Anyway, the wait is over and today we have our first X48 Express motherboard – the DFI LT X48-T2R.

It’s only been around 6 weeks since I first got my hands on the DFI LT X38-T2R. Now here we are again with an oddly familiar looking motherboard, getting ready to do it all over again, Déjà Vu anyone?

To the naked eye, the LT X48-T2R looks identical to its X38 predecessor in almost every way, except for the X48 logo on the PCB (see pic below). The bundle is identical and apart from the X48 logo, the packaging is similar too!

So what’s different?

Well, we have a new chipset. The X48 express chipset is purportedly a higher binned version of the X38 express chipset, and that should hopefully translate into better overclocks and higher performance – Read on to find out if it does....

Index.

1. Intro & Index
2. DFI LT X48-T2R Official Specs
3. The Package
4. Photos - Part 1
5. Photos - Part 2
6. Key Features
7. The Accessories
8. The Heat Minator
9. The Heat Minator - Installed
10. The Bernstein Audio Module
11. Test Set Up
12. Genie BIOS, DFI BIOS Guide & C2D Overclocking Guide For Beginners - DFI Add-On - Part 1
13. Genie BIOS - Part 2
14. Genie BIOS - Part 3
15. Genie BIOS - Part 4
16. Genie BIOS Template
17. Hard Disk Performance
18. A Few Initial Thoughts And First Overclock
19. First Overclocks Continued
20. First Minor Problem [Fixed!] & Thoughts on x64 Vista Installation!
21. Memory Testing - Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500, CAS3, CAS4, CAS5
22. A Quick Test & Overclock With 8GB (4x2GB) Geil Black Dragon PC2-6400
23. GTL Ref & VTT Voltage Settings
24. Voltage Measuring Points
25. Wolfdale E8500 First Tests & Overclocks
26. Wolfdale E8500 First Tests & Overclocks Continued
27. Wolfdale E8500 First Tests & Overclocks Continued Some More!
28. 5Ghz Milestone!
29. Conclusion & Final thoughts
30. Handy Links

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DFI LT X48-T2R Official Specs

CPU

• LGA 775 socket for: - Intel® CoreTM2 Quad and Intel® CoreTM2 Duo
• Supports Intel Enhanced Memory 64 Technology (EMT64T)
• Supports Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST)
• Supports Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
• Supports 1600/1333/1066/800MHz FSB

Chipset

• Intel® chipset - Northbridge: Intel® X48 Express chipset (with Intel® Fast Memory Access technology) - Southbridge: Intel® ICH9R

Memory

• Four 240-pin DDR2 DIMM sockets
• Supports DDR2 667/800 MHz
• Delivers up to 12.8Gb/s bandwidth
• Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
• Supports up to 8GB system memory
• Supports unbuffered x8 and x16 DIMMs

Expansion Slots

• 2 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots (PCIE 1 and PCIE 3) - 2-way CrossFire at x16/x16 bandwidth - 2-way CrossFire + Physics at x16/x16/x4 bandwidth
• 1 PCI Express x1 slot (PCIE 2)
• 1 PCI Express x4 slot (PCIE 4)
• 3 PCI slots

BIOS

• Award BIOS
• 8Mbit 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

IEEE 1394

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

Storage

• Intel ICH9R 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

Rear Panel I/O Ports

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

I/O Connectors

• 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 front audio connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
• 1 CD-in connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
• 1 S/PDIF connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
• 1 IrDA connector
• 1 CIR connector
• 8 Serial ATA connectors
• 1 40-pin IDE connector and 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 specifications above are subject to change without prior notice.

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The Package.
Firstly, let's have a look at the packaging.



Inside that box, we have the motherboard in an anti-static bag and another box with the accessories in, which we will get to later.

The motherboard...



Next, the board...

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The board itself.



Some gratuitous shots.

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The Photos - Part 2





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Key Features.

A few last shots of the board

In this corner we have the floppy connector, power/reset/HD LED jumpers & 8x SATA II sockets.



Left to right - SATA II sockets again, PATA, 24 pin ATX socket.


Nothing much to report here.


The now familiar and brilliantly uncluttered CPU socket area which is just perfect for sub zero cooling.




The I/O Panel

• PS2 Keyboard
• PS2 Mouse
• Six USB2
• One Firewire
• Two Gigabit Lan

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• Removable BIOS chip (centre left)
• 3x USB 2 Headers (centre)
• On board Reset & Power Switches (bottom left)
• Floppy Connector (centre bottom)
• HD LED/Power/LED/Reset headers (bottom right)
• 8x Angled SATA 2 ports (right)
• Southbridge Heatsink (centre)
• Fan Headers (centre x2, below SB heatsink, and bottom left x1)
• Battery (centre left)
• Post Code Display (left centre)

Next, the accessory bundle...

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The Accessories.

Inside the box.



The goodies.

Including;

• 1x NorthBridge Heatsink (AKA The Heat Minator)
  
• 1x UV Green Rounded Floppy Cable
• 1x UV Green Rounded PATA Cable
• 4x UV Green SATA Cables
• 2x Molex to SATA Power Cable Adaptors
• 1x Copper CPU Shim (for the Transpiper)
• 1x Bernstein Audio Module
• 1x Bernstein Audio Module Cable
• 1x I/O Shield
• 1x Floppy Disc with RAID Drivers
• 1x Driver/Utils CD

Next, The Heat Minator...

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The Heat Minator.

This NorthBridge cooler should be familiar to many people by now as it has been used on several DFI motherboards over the last year or so and is a tried and tested design produced by Thermalright, and is of very high quality.

The only drawback with this design is that it doesn't allow for the fitting of larger heatsinks such as the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 unless you turn it 90 degrees so that the fan is blowing up or downwards.

For those that aren't familiar with it, here are some pics



The clips are for holding a small fan in place, but from testing on the X38, no fan was required if using an air cooler on the CPU.










A nice flat copper base. The marks that you can see are easily removable with Isopropyl Alcohol or similar.


Next, the Heat Minator installed...

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Heat Minator Installed.

DFI supply a small tube of Shin-Etsu thermal compound and a spreader so you can fit the Heat Minator.



A few shots of the Heat minator installed.





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Next, The Bernstein Audio Module...

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The Bernstein Audio Module.

The audio module supplied with the LT X48-T2R is identical to the one that came with the X38 and you can find my thoughts here.

Next, Test Set Up...