Intel P965: Mid-Range Performance Sector Roundup
by Gary Key on October 20, 2006 9:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3: Overclocking
FSB Overclocking Results
We were able to reach a final setting of 7x455FSB resulting in a clock speed of 3185MHz. This board is fully capable of 500FSB rates with the correct memory installed. We still have an issue with the D9 Micron based 1GB modules not wanting to go above the 460FSB range in a stable manner. This issue will be fixed in an upcoming BIOS release and we will retest at that time. We did not have any issues reaching 510FSB with a set of D9 based 512MB modules in testing.
Our CPU voltages were set higher than normal but this is due to the VDroop on the board being around .02~.04V during testing. Also, the voltage was increased slightly to compensate for being on the edge with our memory at the 7x450FSB or higher settings. At 7x440FSB we had the CPU set at 1.4250V without issue. Although we are limited at this time in FSB rates we feel like this board offers one of the better overclocking experiences for the money.
Memory Stress Testing
Memory Tests
We take a look now at seeing how well our GEIL PC2-6400 memory operates in this board in both two and four DIMM testing. The screenshot above shows the actual memory settings used in our benchmark tests of the board. We do not modify the memory timings beyond the four major settings in our charts. The balance of the settings is implemented automatically via the BIOS. Gigabyte is fairly aggressive with their internal memory and MCH timings as our testing will reveal today.
We were able to set our timings to 3-3-3-9 by increasing the memory voltage to 2.20V with our GEIL memory. We were able to hold these timings up to DDR2-830 on this board and held timings of 3-4-3-9 up to DDR2-860. The board ran at 4-4-3-10 up to DDR2-880 before switching to the final overlclock settings of 5-5-5-15. We noticed that any memory timings above DDR2-880 required the use of auto settings to ensure a stable system. This goes back to our issue with the 1GB D9 Micron modules that will be resolved shortly.
Our settings of 3-4-4-9 at 2.20V were not quite as good as the Asus 1.02G settings of 3-4-3-10 but the Gigabyte board runs tighter overall memory latencies. We were able to keep this setting up to DDR2-840 before switching over to 4-4-3-10 settings that held stable until we reached DDR2-860. We then kept a setting of 4-4-4-12 at 2.30V up to our final overclock setting of 7x438, 3066MHz DDR2-876, with four dimms installed. This board will overclock higher with four DIMMs once the D9 Micron issue is solved.
FSB Overclocking Results
| Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Overclocking Testbed |
|
| Processor: | Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Dual Core, 1.86GHz, 2MB Unified Cache 1066FSB, 7x Multiplier |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.4750V (default 1.3250V) |
| Cooling: | Scythe Infinity Air Cooling |
| Power Supply: | OCZ GameXStream 700W |
| Memory: | Geil PC2-6400 800MHz Plus (2x1GB- GX22GB6400PDC), (Micron Memory Chips) |
| Video Cards: | 1 x MSI X1950XTX |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 320GB 7200RPM SATA2 16MB Buffer |
| Case: | Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 |
| Maximum CPU OC: (Standard Ratio) |
455x7 (5-5-5-15, 1:1, 2.2V), CPU 1.4750V, C2 Stepping 3185MHz (+71%) |
| . | |
 |
| Click to enlarge |
We were able to reach a final setting of 7x455FSB resulting in a clock speed of 3185MHz. This board is fully capable of 500FSB rates with the correct memory installed. We still have an issue with the D9 Micron based 1GB modules not wanting to go above the 460FSB range in a stable manner. This issue will be fixed in an upcoming BIOS release and we will retest at that time. We did not have any issues reaching 510FSB with a set of D9 based 512MB modules in testing.
Our CPU voltages were set higher than normal but this is due to the VDroop on the board being around .02~.04V during testing. Also, the voltage was increased slightly to compensate for being on the edge with our memory at the 7x450FSB or higher settings. At 7x440FSB we had the CPU set at 1.4250V without issue. Although we are limited at this time in FSB rates we feel like this board offers one of the better overclocking experiences for the money.
Memory Stress Testing
Memory Tests
 |
| Click to enlarge |
We take a look now at seeing how well our GEIL PC2-6400 memory operates in this board in both two and four DIMM testing. The screenshot above shows the actual memory settings used in our benchmark tests of the board. We do not modify the memory timings beyond the four major settings in our charts. The balance of the settings is implemented automatically via the BIOS. Gigabyte is fairly aggressive with their internal memory and MCH timings as our testing will reveal today.
| Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Stable DDR2-800 Timings - 2 DIMMs (2/4 slots populated - 1 Dual-Channel Bank) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 800MHz |
| CAS Latency: | 3 |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 3 |
| RAS Precharge: | 3 |
| RAS Cycle Time: | 9 |
| Voltage: | 2.20V |
We were able to set our timings to 3-3-3-9 by increasing the memory voltage to 2.20V with our GEIL memory. We were able to hold these timings up to DDR2-830 on this board and held timings of 3-4-3-9 up to DDR2-860. The board ran at 4-4-3-10 up to DDR2-880 before switching to the final overlclock settings of 5-5-5-15. We noticed that any memory timings above DDR2-880 required the use of auto settings to ensure a stable system. This goes back to our issue with the 1GB D9 Micron modules that will be resolved shortly.
| Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Stable DDR2-800 Timings - 4 DIMMs (4/4 slots populated - 2 Dual-Channel Bank) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 800MHz |
| CAS Latency: | 3 |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 4 |
| RAS Precharge: | 4 |
| RAS Cycle Time: | 9 |
| Voltage: | 2.20V |
Our settings of 3-4-4-9 at 2.20V were not quite as good as the Asus 1.02G settings of 3-4-3-10 but the Gigabyte board runs tighter overall memory latencies. We were able to keep this setting up to DDR2-840 before switching over to 4-4-3-10 settings that held stable until we reached DDR2-860. We then kept a setting of 4-4-4-12 at 2.30V up to our final overclock setting of 7x438, 3066MHz DDR2-876, with four dimms installed. This board will overclock higher with four DIMMs once the D9 Micron issue is solved.
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vailr - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
Re:So, how about the (yet unreleased) ATI and NVidia Conroe chipset boards?
Does either chipset include PATA support?
Thanks.
Gary Key - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
They both have native support for two drives.
n7 - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
Gary, always love your reviews!I read thru the whole thing, & it was a good read :)
Meticulous detail, as well great sarcastic humor as well.
I look forward to the following parts.
Sho - Friday, October 20, 2006 - link
In an earlier AnandTech article, the one about Kentsfield support, it was written that Gigabyte would bring a revision 2.0 of all of their P965 boards to the market in mid-October, including the DS3. The article does not mention whether the board tested was this new rev 2,9 or any other. Could that be clarified?And does anybody know what was changed/fixed in 2.0?
Gary Key - Friday, October 20, 2006 - link
Gigabyte has not released any further details on the revision 2 boards except for the fact they were addressing some layout issues and possible BIOS improvements. The only major change we could see them making would be going from a three phase power design on the DS3 to a five phase system as an example. The board we tested is still revision 1.Sho - Saturday, October 21, 2006 - link
Thanks!dreddly - Friday, October 20, 2006 - link
'caliper' should be caliber on AB9Pro pageGreat work on this roundup though, impressive job.
Puddyglum1 - Friday, October 20, 2006 - link
Which board? The topic of the previous page was about sound cards vs. onboard audio. Is there a missing page? Why is there a picture of the Asus heatsink and no mention of which board is the preferred of the bunch?Just some questions =)
Great article for Cost/Performance comparison.
Puddyglum1 - Friday, October 20, 2006 - link
Woah, there's a lot more there now. Thanks for the explanation.I just built a workstation for a client using the 965P-DS3, but the board was DOA. I went to a local shop and picked up a 965P-S3 instead (seeing as how the only main feature missing was the solid capacitors of the -DS3), and it performed just as well as the DS3. For $110, a GA-965P-S3 would be the best Cost/Performance of the 965P bunch, in my unresearched opinion.
JarredWalton - Friday, October 20, 2006 - link
Now you're skipping ahead to part 2! :p