Intel DH57JG “Jet Geyser” - Intel's First Mini-ITX H57
by Rajinder Gill on March 1, 2010 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Conclusion
Overall, the DH57JG is a balanced performer in almost every department (apart from slow USB throughput) and like most Intel desktop boards it’s geared for conservative use. In this instance we think that Intel made the right choice, because we haven’t seen anyone execute mini-ITX well enough for heavy overclocking. On the face of it, all three mini-ITX boards we’ve looked at over the past few months have similar limitations in power delivery. Out of the three vendors though, it seems Intel have put more work into planning what can and cannot work well over the long-term and have trimmed the DH57JG BIOS accordingly without the need for a bout of public beta testing first.
Most of the BIOS menus are well laid out and uncomplicated, which makes things less daunting for users who lack experience. It's also pleasing to know that we did not encounter a single instance where the board refused to work with any of our test peripherals. The only bone we have to pick with current BIOS functionality is with regards to CPU multiplier ratio control for Clarkdale processors – we can only use the stock CPU multiplier ratio, and we can’t understand why that’s the case when you can adjust multipliers on Lynnfield processors.
There’s also the looming issue of price, $125 for mini-ITX seems a tad expensive when you glance over the feature sets of similarly priced (or cheaper) m-ATX boards. Of course, we need to factor the questions of product reliability, long-term support, validation processes for updates and ease of use, areas where third party vendors seem to come up short in some instances. Perhaps that’s the positive element of investing in the purchase of an Intel motherboard - you're guaranteed long term support.
To sweeten the deal further, we’d like to have seen USB 3 or some kind of wireless capabilities at the $125 mark, and it would be nice if we don’t see retailers charging early adopter premiums on that figure because you’ll be paying more than the board is fundamentally worth.
The alternative to the DH57JG is Zotac’s H55-ITX, which is more 'enthusiast' oriented (you get 10 USB ports on the rear I/O and WiFi capabilities), although you have to pay $145 for the whole experience. We’re hopeful that other manufacturers will jump onto the mini-ITX bandwagon and help drive these prices down.
In fact, if all vendors adopt Intel's no-fluff desktop board approach and focus R&D/support departments on the basics, we're sure they'd be able to deliver products that are just as if not more functional than what Intel are offering at $125. As such, it's probably wise to wait a couple of months and see how things pan out. If waiting is not an option though, and all you need is a plug and play stock-runner, rest assured that the DH57JG will certainly deliver over the long haul.
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DanNeely - Monday, March 1, 2010 - link
Aren't benchmark numbers for CPUs almost always lower than reported TDPs? Intel/etc have to design for peak theoretical power draws even if they're extremely unlikely in real life. The intel burntest utility will run your CPU hotter and draw more power than any "normal" CPU benchmarks because it's designed to run everything at the highest power load possible.deruberhanyok - Monday, March 1, 2010 - link
It would be great if you all could look into testing with less... beefy power supplies, though. I think a lot of people (myself included) would be interested to see the power draw in a more "realistic" setup.For example, Antec's ISK 300-65 with a 65W power supply, or 300-150 with a 150W power supply, are a much more likely configuration than a system with a 610W PSU (as used in the recent Zotac H55 ITX article) or a 950W PSU (as used in this article). And the difference in power supply could make for a noticeable difference in idle/load numbers.
For low-power purposes, perhaps the boards could also be tested with low power memory modules (1.35v instead of 1.5v / 1.65v) and 2.5" hard drives (as many ITX enclosures may not have space for a 3.5" hard drive).
Anyways, these are just a few suggestions that I thought would help make the information presented here more practical. Feel free to ignore them. :)
Loving these articles on ITX boards, keep 'em coming!
FATCamaro - Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - link
Yeah 600W PSU is crazy. As well there is no mention of stability or quirks versus the other H55/57 boards tested.For those looking for virtualization intel has a Q57 board with VT-d support with an i5 or i7 processor.
Rajinder Gill - Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - link
Hi,Point taken on the PSU. For a rundown of stability and quirks of the other boards used check out these articles:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3732">http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3732
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3748">http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3748
later
Raja
DanNeely - Monday, March 1, 2010 - link
I'd like to second this request. PSU efficiency drops off at the low and high ends of their output ranges. Optimal levels are generally around 50% of max and while performance doesn't suffer much in the 20-80% load.If you're concerned about noise you generally want to avoid going above about 70% with normal desktop PSUs to keep the fan spinning at idle. I'm not sure if the fan noise thresholds are true of the low power models designed for mini-itx systems with onboard gfx or not.
JonnyDough - Monday, March 1, 2010 - link
I concur with your post. Realistic PSU makes a huge difference.Rajinder Gill - Monday, March 1, 2010 - link
Thanks, we're working on it...GeorgeH - Monday, March 1, 2010 - link
DH57JG, DH57G, and a DH55JG; either you’re reviewing 3 different boards or breaking a NDA. Hopefully the latter, as I’d really like to see a cheaper H55 option. ;)gtrgtgt - Sunday, March 7, 2010 - link
http://www.ccshoper.com">http://www.ccshoper.com
Rajinder Gill - Monday, March 1, 2010 - link
Sorry about that - fixed..