A quick 1st look: GA-G33M-DS2R, mATX P35 mobo (pic heavy)

[pengizzle]

It's at least conceivable that an E4300 BSEL-modded to 1066MHz FSB might give you access to the 2.5x/3.0x memory multipliers, no?

Given Gigabyte boards' previous reactions to the BSEL mods I'd imagine it's not nearly a sure thing--might not even POST at all--but it seems like it might be at least a reasonable possibility.

a german user reported that with his BSEL-modded E4400 the board wouldnt post. After unmodding the CPU the board boots up okay.

[bob511]

Well, that was my experience with the GA-965GM-S2, so it doesn't surprise me. Gigabyte tech support didn't seem all that interested in addressing or changing the behavior either, so...

[ziddey]

hmm interesting. if unlocking 2.00x and 2.66x both work, then it's not so bad. Otherwise, it could be that the g33's straps don't have the necessary dividers for running ram at say 533. Much like how later chipsets in the 478 days stopped supporting 100fsb because they removed the strap for it.

That said, it would mean that 333strap would indeed have a 1:1 for sure. However, the question is how to get bsel manipulation to work properly. Hmm..

[pengizzle]

W!ldGunM@n, who some may remember regarding the F-I90HD mod bios, also bought this DS2R board. he already took a look at the bios and says that theres are a couple more memory ratios hidden, plus a VDimm setting +0.7 Volt
Lets see what he can do =D

[MacClipper]

W!ldGunM@n, who some may remember regarding the F-I90HD mod bios, also bought this DS2R board. he already took a look at the bios and says that theres are a couple more memory ratios hidden, plus a VDimm setting +0.7 Volt
Lets see what he can do =D

Didn't see the +0.7v hidden setting but the full ATX mobos do have that so guess just have to be patient meanwhile. All I am asking is just the 1:1 divider...

[hot_fifty]

#55

Me 2. Indeed

[__Miguel_]

Hmmm... I was considering an Abit F-I90HD mATX mobo, but now I'm at the very least intrigued with it...

A couple of questions, though:
1) What kind of price are we talking about? Since it's already on sale in Singapore, can any of you tell us its price? Preferably in USD or €. Oh, for the DS2R version, of course. I'm sick and tired of not having RAID-enabled mATX boards...
2) Were those tests performed with the onboard graphics or without? I'm building an HTPC with onboard graphics, so I'd need to know that... If they are not with the IGP enabled, can you show us the limits with the IGP enabled?
3) Are lower than 1:1 timings available?
4) Is there any HDMI and/or DVI interface?
5) Can anyone tell me the differences between the G33 and G35 chipsets? I'm totally lost on that, and I don't seem to be able to find ANY information about it... I am wondering about DX10 (not that much, it's still an IGP...) and video decoding (read: HD decoding), since right now only the G965 and X1250 chipsets support it (damn oh-so-appealing ConRoe945G-DVI ASRock mobo... lol)

Thanks a lot.

Cheers.

Miguel

[hot_fifty]

3) 1:1 is not availabel at the moment. Dont think under 1:1 will be possible. We are talking approx 120$

[nullface]

Damn, i was going to wait for Phenom, but this is very nice, i love mATX and this for sure makes me go wild!

Anyone tryed Promos RAM on it?

[__Miguel_]

3) 1:1 is not availabel at the moment. Dont think under 1:1 will be possible. We are talking approx 120$

$120 is a GREAT price! The F-I90HD is about that price right now (actually, maybe a little bit more, it goes from €105 to €115) here in Portugal, so this would mean a VERY inexpensive board... Very interesting, considering some 945G boards are still around €130, and only one G965 board is below that price point (by €5, from Foxxconn... )

So, if dividers under 1:1 won't be available, how does one actually use say 533MHz memory with an 1333MHz CPU? Or those actually require 667MHz memory to run? Anyway, the 1:1 divider is a HUGE drawback... How am I supposed to run a Celly (not happening, I'd go at least with an E21xx ) with 533MHz memory (also NOT happening, not with dirt cheap memory like we're seing these days)? It might not be likely, but it IS possible...

Thanks for the input. If someone knows the answer for the other questions, I'm sure a bunch of us will find it very usefull.

Cheers.

Miguel

[ziddey]

Doesn't sound like the g33 platform will support 533 much. It looks like the straps are designed to accomodate 667 at the lowest part. So if you have a 333strap cpu, the 1:1 divider may be available.

If someone is able to program strap selection, then we would be able to set 333strap and then choose 667 for ram, for effective 1:1.

[hot_fifty]

ok. Then we just need some good mems:S

There must be a way!

[__Miguel_]

Doesn't sound like the g33 platform will support 533 much. It looks like the straps are designed to accomodate 667 at the lowest part. So if you have a 333strap cpu, the 1:1 divider may be available.

If someone is able to program strap selection, then we would be able to set 333strap and then choose 667 for ram, for effective 1:1.

I've just seen the most interesting thing... Take a look at this, just found on the board's Specs page:

Supports Intel® Core™2 Extreme/ Core2™ Quad / Core™2 Duo / Intel® Pentium® Extreme/ Intel® Pentium® D processor
Supports 1333/1066/800 MHz FSB

It seems Celerons are history, along with 533MHz-FSB single-core Pentiums and the 805. It also seems just about ALL single core CPUs (that is, except the future 800MHz-FSB Cellys, but those are not retailing yet...) are "banned" from this motherboard...

I knew Intel had dropped the support for Netburst CPUs on the Bearlake platform, but I honestly didn't think the manufacturers would do it too... Auch...

I guess that explains why the lower memory dividers don't show up... But 1:1 is still missing.

Cheers.

Miguel

[ziddey]

like I have been trying to say, the straps are set up for 667 and beyond. so 1:1 won't be in until 333strap.

[__Miguel_]

like I have been trying to say, the straps are set up for 667 and beyond. so 1:1 won't be in until 333strap.

I'm a bit slow today, I just caught up with that one. Please be gentle...

Well, as far I know (not much, btw... lol), Bearlake chipsets are more or less designed for 1333MHz-FSB and up CPUs (Penryn and future ones), so it does make some sense the minimum memory allowed should run at 667MHz. Those of you who have Asus boards who are ready for 1333MHZ FSB CPUs, just check the Asus Website about that: you NEED 667MHz (or faster) memory to run them...

1:1 with the 333 strap (and up, of course... ) sounds fine with me, let's just hope Gigabyte implements it...

Cheers.

Miguel

[hot_fifty]

are you saing, if I run my E6600 at 333FSB, then I have the 1:1 divider? Please be more specific. Thanks

[pvhk]

Starting to play with an e6600 using ratio 9x now:

[__Miguel_]

are you saing, if I run my E6600 at 333FSB, then I have the 1:1 divider? Please be more specific. Thanks

The tests shown on this thread are a clear signal that, at least with 800 and 1066MHz FSB CPUs, the 1:1 is NOT available, even when the northbridge changes to the 333 strap.

However, different dividers are often available for different CPUs (and that's clearly the case in this particular board, 800 and 1066MHz FSB CPUs have different dividers available), which means the 1:1 divider might only be available with 1333MHz FSB CPUs, which is a MAJOR pain, one that it would be nice (understatement of the year? ) to correct. That would also explain why BSEL'ed E4xxx won't boot (the BIOS reads one kind of CPU, and then it requests a different standard strap...), but I'm just speculating on this point (BSEL'ed CPUs not booting).

[EDIT]Ok, I forgot something: have you noticed the 4x PCI-E slot on this board is open-ended? Can you say "mATX Crossfire"? Well, not really mATX, unless you happen to find a single-sloted Crossfire-enabled graphics card actually worth using in Crossfire mode (which means X1950Pro or above, and all of those are two-sloted boards...), but even if an extra slot is needed, that is a VERY sweet configuration... Do you imagine yourselves entering a LANParty with a DIY mini box with this board, two top-of-the-line Radeons and an OC'ed C2D or C2Q? I'd like to see the look on some guys' faces after being thrown around... Cool... [/EDIT]

Cheers.

Miguel

[pvhk]

e6600@3.465Ghz
vcore@1.49v, fsb@385:

[WiCKeD]

pvhk lower your multi and max out the board.

As for editing the bios... the VDIMM is at the max it will go. Worse is the bios is a 1MB Award ROM, which the "latest" version of MODBIN6 is incapable of saving edits to. Unless you hope GigaByte is feeling generous, start looking at memory prices for PC2-8000.

For the record, it is a 1:2 divider. You are saying 2:5 or 1:3 are selectable. pvhk it looks like you have it on AUTO running at 4:5? How did you accomplish that?

[pvhk]

I have done it earlier in my test here:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...3&postcount=42

fsb@400 ratio @7x!

[WiCKeD]

I see, but your chip is capable of at least 3.46GHz (as shown above) so I want to see if the board is able to do 494 x 7! The highest I have seen so far is 466MHz.

[Thorburn]

Tried modifying a CPU to identify itself as 1333FSB and seeing if the 1:1 memory option becomes available.

The P5K Deluxe doesn't offer you 1:1 until you reach 1333FSB so as to offer a minimum of DDR2-667, so could be worth a try...

[ziddey]

From what I've read so far, it seems that this board doesn't respond kindly to being tricked with bsel manipulation. So unfortunately, it looks like 333strap cannot be realized unless you have a true processor.

[hot_fifty]

hmm hope my D9GMH oces well on this MB