Foxconn and Gigabyte Tackle Socket AM2

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.

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.