Foxconn and Gigabyte Tackle Socket AM2
by Jarred Walton on June 22, 2006 1:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Motherboard Features
We'll begin with a brief overview of the features before we move into the individual motherboard reviews. The following table offers a quick breakdown of the features provided.
Both motherboards use the same chipset, so they both have a Northbridge and Southbridge. They also support X16 bandwidth (4 GBps bidirectional) to both X16 PCI-E slots while less expensive boards based off the nForce 570 SLI chipset have to "make do" with X8 bandwidth when running in SLI/multi-GPU mode. In actual practice, this usually doesn't make more than a slight difference in gaming performance, especially when you consider the fact that the HyperTransport link to the processor only provides enough bandwidth (4 GBps bidirectional) to max out a single X16 connection. We have seen in the past that the "true dual X16" solutions are often a bit faster at high resolutions and detail settings, but the differences are just as likely to come from better BIOS tuning for games as they are from the dual X16 PCI-E implementation.
One of the interesting differences is that the Gigabyte board comes with three X16 slots, although the middle X16 slot only offers X8 bandwidth. As PCI Express cards are downwards and upwards compatible -- i.e., you can run X1, X2, X4, X8, and X16 cards in a physical X16 slot, and you can also use an X16 slot with everything from X1 through X16 data connections -- the inclusion of the third X16 slot could prove useful in the future. ATI has recently talked about the ability to use one of their graphics cards as a physics processing device, so potentially you could move older graphics hardware into the extra slot when you upgrade. Where the Gigabyte board has an extra X16 slot, the Foxconn has an X4 slot, and the Gigabyte board also has an additional X1 slot above the top PEG slot. Using the extra X1 slot may prove somewhat difficult, however, as the large heatsink on the Northbridge will interfere with anything other than a very short X1 card.
There are a few other differences in terms of features. The Gigabyte board is entirely passively cooled, while the Foxconn board has a fan on the Southbridge. (We'll have a bit more to say about the cooling solutions when we get into the specifics of each board.) The Gigabyte board also uses heatpipes connecting the Northbridge to the Southbridge, as well as to a third radiator/heatsink that helps to cool the MOSFETs. Both boards offer six SATA ports provided by the Southbridge, but the Gigabyte board adds a J-Micron chip to provide two additional SATA ports. (All of the SATA ports support 3.0Gbps transfer rates.) The SATA ports on the Gigabyte board also use the new clamp and latch design, and the included SATA cables also support the future; the Foxconn board opts for the more traditional style. Finally, the Gigabyte board has Gigabyte's Dual BIOS feature, which allows recovery from failed flash attempts. The Foxconn board does have a couple extras, though: it has an onboard debug/POST code LED, and it includes onboard reset and power buttons.
Overall, we have to give a slight advantage to the Gigabyte board in terms of features, but the Foxconn board is no slouch either. The deciding factor for many people is going to come down to price and availability, so for the time being the Foxconn board has the lead while we wait for the Gigabyte board to begin shipping. There are also competing offerings from other manufacturers, so we'll hold off declaring a victor until we finish our initial AM2 motherboard reviews. Now let's get to the finer details of these two boards.
We'll begin with a brief overview of the features before we move into the individual motherboard reviews. The following table offers a quick breakdown of the features provided.
| Motherboard Specifications | ||
| Foxconn C51-XEM2AA | Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5 | |
| Market Segment | Enthusiast - SLI (2x16) | Enthusiast - SLI (2x16) |
| CPU Interface | AM2 | AM2 |
| SLI Technology | Yes | Yes |
| NVIDIA LinkBoost | Yes | Yes |
| NVIDIA FirstPacket | Yes | Yes |
| NVIDIA DualNet | Yes | Yes |
| Memory - EPP | Yes | Yes |
| Teaming | Yes | Yes |
| TCP/IP Acceleration | Yes | Yes |
| MediaShield | Yes | Yes |
| GPU Ex | Yes | Yes |
| Chipset | nForce 590 SLI | nForce 590 SLI |
| MCP Voltage | Auto, 1.525V ~ 1.700V in .025V increments | Normal, + .1V, .2V, .3V |
| Memory Speeds | DDR2 - Auto, 400, 533, 667, 800 | DDR2 - Auto, 400, 533, 667, 800 |
| Memory Voltage | 1.825V ~ 2.500V, .025V increments | Normal, + .1V ~ .7V in .1V increments |
| Memory Settings | tCL, tRAS, tRP, tRCD, tRPD, tRC, CMD, tWR, tRWT, tWTR, tREF, tRRD, DQS Skews, Async Latencies, 7 Drive Strength settings |
tCL, tRAS, tRP, tRCD, tRPD, tRC, CMD, tWR, tRWT, tWTR, tREF |
| PCI Express Speeds | 100MHz~200MHz | 100MHz~200MHz |
| HyperTransport Frequency | 100MHz~500MHz in various increments | 100MHz~500MHz in various increments |
| HyperTransport Multiplier | Auto, 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x AM2 to NB, NB to SB |
Auto, 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x AM2 to NB, NB to SB |
| HyperTransport Link Width | 8/8, 16/16 - NB and SB | 8/8, 16/16 - NB and SB |
| HyperTransport Link Voltage | Auto, 1.325V ~ 1.500V in .025V increments | Auto, 1.25V, 1.3V, 1.35V, 1.4V |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Auto, 4x ~ 12x (4800+) Maximum Dependent upon CPU | Auto, 4x ~ 12x (4800+) Maximum Dependent upon CPU |
| CPU Voltage | Auto, .3750V to 1.8500V in .025V or .0125V increments | Normal, .800V to 1.550V in .025 increments |
| Memory Slots | 4 x 240-pin DIMM Slots 8GB Capacity |
4 x 240-pin DIMM Slots 16GB Capacity |
| Expansion Slots | 2 x PCI Express X16 1 x PCI Express X4 1x PCI Express X1 2 x PCI 2.3 |
2 x PCI Express X16 1 x PCI Express X8 2 x PCI Express X1 2 x PCI 2.3 |
| Onboard SATA 2.0 | 6 x SATA 3Gb/s Ports - NVIDIA | 6 x SATA 3Gb/s Ports - NVIDIA 2 x 3Gb/s Ports - JMicron B363 |
| Onboard SATA 2.0 RAID | RAID 0, 0+1, 5, JBOD | RAID 0, 0+1, 5, JBOD |
| Onboard IDE | 1 x UltraDMA Connector 133/10/66/33, Two Drive Support | 1 x UltraDMA Connector 133/10/66/33, Two Drive Support |
| Onboard USB2.0 | Six via Rear Panel, Four via motherboard headers | Four via Rear Panel, Six via motherboard headers |
| Onboard IEEE-1394a | TI TSB82AA2 1394a + TI TSB81BA3 1394b |
TI TSB43AB23 1394a |
| Onboard LAN | 2 GbE - Marvell 88E1121 | 2 GbE - Marvell 88E1116 |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC882D | Realtek ALC888 |
| Power Connectors | 8-pin ATX, 24-Pin ATX, 4-pin Molex | 8-pin ATX, 24-Pin ATX, 4-pin Molex |
| Back Panel I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Audio I/O Panel 2 x RJ45 LAN 6 x USB 2.0 1 x IEEE-1394a and 1394b |
1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Audio I/O Panel 2 x RJ45 LAN 4 x USB 2.0 1 x Parallel Port 1 x Serial Port 1 x S/PDIF Optical Out 1 x IEEE-1394a |
| NTune 5.0 Support | Complete | Limited |
| BIOS | Award, P20 | Award, F2 |
Both motherboards use the same chipset, so they both have a Northbridge and Southbridge. They also support X16 bandwidth (4 GBps bidirectional) to both X16 PCI-E slots while less expensive boards based off the nForce 570 SLI chipset have to "make do" with X8 bandwidth when running in SLI/multi-GPU mode. In actual practice, this usually doesn't make more than a slight difference in gaming performance, especially when you consider the fact that the HyperTransport link to the processor only provides enough bandwidth (4 GBps bidirectional) to max out a single X16 connection. We have seen in the past that the "true dual X16" solutions are often a bit faster at high resolutions and detail settings, but the differences are just as likely to come from better BIOS tuning for games as they are from the dual X16 PCI-E implementation.
One of the interesting differences is that the Gigabyte board comes with three X16 slots, although the middle X16 slot only offers X8 bandwidth. As PCI Express cards are downwards and upwards compatible -- i.e., you can run X1, X2, X4, X8, and X16 cards in a physical X16 slot, and you can also use an X16 slot with everything from X1 through X16 data connections -- the inclusion of the third X16 slot could prove useful in the future. ATI has recently talked about the ability to use one of their graphics cards as a physics processing device, so potentially you could move older graphics hardware into the extra slot when you upgrade. Where the Gigabyte board has an extra X16 slot, the Foxconn has an X4 slot, and the Gigabyte board also has an additional X1 slot above the top PEG slot. Using the extra X1 slot may prove somewhat difficult, however, as the large heatsink on the Northbridge will interfere with anything other than a very short X1 card.
There are a few other differences in terms of features. The Gigabyte board is entirely passively cooled, while the Foxconn board has a fan on the Southbridge. (We'll have a bit more to say about the cooling solutions when we get into the specifics of each board.) The Gigabyte board also uses heatpipes connecting the Northbridge to the Southbridge, as well as to a third radiator/heatsink that helps to cool the MOSFETs. Both boards offer six SATA ports provided by the Southbridge, but the Gigabyte board adds a J-Micron chip to provide two additional SATA ports. (All of the SATA ports support 3.0Gbps transfer rates.) The SATA ports on the Gigabyte board also use the new clamp and latch design, and the included SATA cables also support the future; the Foxconn board opts for the more traditional style. Finally, the Gigabyte board has Gigabyte's Dual BIOS feature, which allows recovery from failed flash attempts. The Foxconn board does have a couple extras, though: it has an onboard debug/POST code LED, and it includes onboard reset and power buttons.
Overall, we have to give a slight advantage to the Gigabyte board in terms of features, but the Foxconn board is no slouch either. The deciding factor for many people is going to come down to price and availability, so for the time being the Foxconn board has the lead while we wait for the Gigabyte board to begin shipping. There are also competing offerings from other manufacturers, so we'll hold off declaring a victor until we finish our initial AM2 motherboard reviews. Now let's get to the finer details of these two boards.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
36 Comments
View All Comments
JarredWalton - Friday, June 23, 2006 - link
Must be - I have a Canan Rebel EOS now, and I haven't come to grips with the manual yet. LOLsprockkets - Friday, June 23, 2006 - link
Rubycons I believe are Taiwaneese caps, but they had the proper formula for the electrolyte in them so they never "blew up", whereas others tried to copy the formula and got it wrong and did "blow up." I still have boards with them from the 2000-2002 time frame still working whereas the other boards with other caps are leaking all over and the boards failed.That is no longer an issue, but still, they are good.
About those new connectors, anyone use a normal cable on them? I did on one, the MSI GF6150 board, and litterally had to crush the connector cable to get it out because it was not one of the new style ones. Anyone else have this happen to them?
JarredWalton - Friday, June 23, 2006 - link
I haven't had a problem with any cables in the new style connector, but here's a shot of the GB cables:http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/motherboards/r...">Gigabyte (Pre-Release) Accessories
Basically, there's a small metal latch that you depress to allow the cable to disconnect. I've seen SATA connections that were so loose they could literally fall off with a slight bump, so the latch avoids that. If you have a cable with a really fat connector, it could cause problems, but all of the other SATA connectors I've seen are about the same, minus the metal latch.
Phiro - Thursday, June 22, 2006 - link
On the first page matrix, you list the Gigabyte as having the Realtek 883, then from about then on, you switch to the 888. Which one is it?Gary Key - Friday, June 23, 2006 - link
The board has the ALC-888 but Gigabyte had planned on the ALC-883 in the beginning, unfortunately the first set of drivers we used incorrectly reported the chipset but after looking at the chip itself (magnifying glass) and running the latest drivers confirmed our sample had the ALC-888. Sorry we missed the update on the first chart.JarredWalton - Thursday, June 22, 2006 - link
It's ALC888, though that's about the same as 883. 888T would be the interesting option, as that adds some support for Skype and VoIP.photoguy99 - Thursday, June 22, 2006 - link
Why would anyone invest in AM2 now when we can see the price/performance shakeout of Conroe in 1 month?Maybe AM2 will come out as a good choice - If a 4800+ drops to $199 I can see getting on board.
If anyone out there is jumping now for an AM2 I would honestly be interested in the logic behind it.
glennpratt - Friday, June 23, 2006 - link
I just bought an AM2 3500 for $100. I doubt Conroe will be at that price point anytime soon and my budget isn't flexible, plus you can't get a geforce 6150 for intel (HTPC). So for $300 I have an excellent upgrade to my media center IMO. New Case, A64 3500, 1GB DDR2, gerforce 6150.I would see your point if I was shooting for the latest and greatest, but personally I never spend more then ~$100 for a component in my PC's (usually < $80). And in my experience things don't change too quickly in that price range. Regardless of hype.
photoguy99 - Friday, June 23, 2006 - link
That makes sense Glen, good luck with your new system.Mant - Thursday, June 22, 2006 - link
This is off topic...does anyone know where can I buy one of those cool new copper heatpipe coolers that are on these boards to replace the Turbo-charged-extreme-jet-turbine fan on my 939 motherboard? I'm dying to retire that POS and this would be just the thing to replace it!