**Official ABIT IX38 QuadGT Review/Overclock/Guide Thread**

[Ace-a-Rue]

never said you were stupid...you just needed to be more specific in your post...you made it sound like you were talking authoritatively from a standpoint of chipset to chipset.

AND...i knew a few people who had a large (drop) droop on the AB9 QuadGT doing a P95 episode..idle was fine with 0.04v

[TinTin]

BIOS Main Menu


Vcore and Vcore Offset



CPU VTT Voltage


ICHIO Voltage


ICH Voltage


MCH Voltage


Vdimm


uGuru main


Monitoring

[TinTin]

Test Setup:
CPU: E6850
RAM: Crucial Ballistix DDR1066 1G X 2
Display Card: Sapphire X800GTO2
PSU: Tagan TG530U15

Note: Memset is not working, it shows values but you can't change.

(1) Vdroop/Vdrop Test:

BIOS: 1.35V
Idle (window): 1.35V
Full (window): 1.34V







(2) 400 X 9, 4;5 DDR1000, PL=5
Sandra Bandwidth: 7838/7837MB/s
Superpi 32M: 13mins.41.719s






(3) 450 X 8, 4:5 DDR1125, PL=5
Sandra: 8745/8780 MB/s
Superpi32M: 13mins.28.343s






(4) 500 X 7, DDR1200 test
11mins ortho Blend Test passed





(5) 500 X 8, DDR1200 Test:
Sandra Bandwidth: 9240/9283 MB/s
Superpi32M: 12mins.24.531s






(6) 520 X 7, DDR1250 Test:
Sandra Bandwidth: 9394/9395 MB/s
Superpi32M: 13mins15.672s
520X7 ORTHO Blend Test 9 mins. passed







(7) clumb to 530FSB, but failed to pass ortho, it is a bit lower than expected coz my CPU's FSB can go to around 545MHz in air.
Sandra bandwidth: 9613/9619 MB/s
Superpi 1M: 13.641s






PROS:
(1) Vdroop/Vdrop is minimal
(2) Digital PWM is not as hot as previous model (only tested with a Dual Core CPU)
(3) Price is cheaper than other X38 MBs e.g. P5E series, IX38 QuadGT is at HK$1999.
(4) The heatpipe heatsinks do the right job, the temperature is not very hot even at high voltages
(5) It runs as fast as Top P35 models, e.g. P5K-P, DFI P35-T2R and faster than Maxmius Formula, because of the Performance Level it adopted automatically.

CONS:
(1) just like P5E, maximus formula series, 4:5 divider is not very good at higher FSB.
(2) lack of control of performance level in BIOS, it is important coz it may be too tight by AUTO and affecting the limit of FSB of chipset. And memset is not supported at this moment.
(3) The chipsets control (memory subtimings) is not as many as other models, coz lack of this, it affects the overclocking of RAMs.
(4) FSB limit is not as high as Maxmius Formula, may be caused by CONS(2)
(5) BIOS needs update coz some subtimings, e.g. Tras,... are wrong after enter window checked by CPUZ

[ante_ante]

I have sold my GB X38 and ordered this Abit IX38 board. Have always liked Abit.
The board should arrive on monday or tuesday.
Waiting for penry so right now i´m gonna use my Q6600 G0 on water with a pair of Crucial Ballistix PC8500 memorys. Best way to update bios, thrue dos or flashmenu?

[Supershanks]

follow ace's guide re flashing from floppy or usb.

be interested to see how your q6600 go runs. Haven't seen one run to it's potential yet, Needs a ridiculous amount of vcore.

luck:0

[Pillo-kun]

You know, that up to the pics of 400x9 i thought that my Ab9 quad gt can do this too, then i saw the 450x9 but mems at 560 and i thought that ok so the mems are the only thing that oc better on this board. Cus its very hard for me to oc higher than 520, well that was with my old ballistix pc6400 sticks that have died. have new stick now But then i saw all the other pics and then i was sold such a improvment over the old quad gt board. I really like how good it can clock mems.

[shawn1998]

Any word on what might fit onto the northbridge? I really want to try this board out, but I would have to mount it upside down (Lian-Li V2000) and would need to replace the nb heatsink. Any ideas?

Shawn

[aiya]

thanks for the results TinTin

i'm still waiting for someone to test a quad on it before i bite

[Scope666]

thanks for the results TinTin

i'm still waiting for someone to test a quad on it before i bite

Anyone seen the IX38 in the States yet? I keep checking Newegg to see if it's available. I even submitted a request for them to stock it (just in case they weren't planning on it)

I would like to pull the trigger on an X38 board, but my experience with the Asus Maximus was HORRIBLE. It never wanted to reboot; I always had to flip the PS switch. It also false tested SIX sticks of RAM as bad in Memtest, that were in fact good sticks, etc.

I'm hoping that because Abit didn't rush the board out like Asus and GB, maybe it will be better.

I noticed the MSI Platinum is out now, wonder how that one is...

[Ace-a-Rue]

Test Setup:
CPU: E6850
RAM: Crucial Ballistix DDR1066 1G X 2
Display Card: Sapphire X800GTO2
PSU: Tagan TG530U15

Note: Memset is not working, it shows values but you can't change.

(1) Vdroop/Vdrop Test:

BIOS: 1.35V
Idle (window): 1.35V
Full (window): 1.34V

PROS:
(1) Vdroop/Vdrop is minimal
(2) Digital PWM is not as hot as previous model (only tested with a Dual Core CPU)
(3) Price is cheaper than other X38 MBs e.g. P5E series, IX38 QuadGT is at HK$1999.
(4) The heatpipe heatsinks do the right job, the temperature is not very hot even at high voltages
(5) It runs as fast as Top P35 models, e.g. P5K-P, DFI P35-T2R and faster than Maxmius Formula, because of the Performance Level it adopted automatically.

CONS:
(1) just like P5E, maximus formula series, 4:5 divider is not very good at higher FSB.
(2) lack of control of performance level in BIOS, it is important coz it may be too tight by AUTO and affecting the limit of FSB of chipset. And memset is not supported at this moment.
(3) The chipsets control (memory subtimings) is not as many as other models, coz lack of this, it affects the overclocking of RAMs.
(4) FSB limit is not as high as Maxmius Formula, may be caused by CONS(2)
(5) BIOS needs update coz some subtimings, e.g. Tras,... are wrong after enter window checked by CPUZ

did you verify the Vdrop/Vdroop by DMM meter?

[aiya]

Anyone seen the IX38 in the States yet? I keep checking Newegg to see if it's available. I even submitted a request for them to stock it (just in case they weren't planning on it)

I would like to pull the trigger on an X38 board, but my experience with the Asus Maximus was HORRIBLE. It never wanted to reboot; I always had to flip the PS switch. It also false tested SIX sticks of RAM as bad in Memtest, that were in fact good sticks, etc.

I'm hoping that because Abit didn't rush the board out like Asus and GB, maybe it will be better.

I noticed the MSI Platinum is out now, wonder how that one is...

the only place i've seen it in the states is at mwave @ $225.75:

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec....iteria=BA24444

i've bought stuff from them before, never had a problem. they're located in SoCal btw.

[Moto450]

I have bought a lot of stuff from mwave and they have all ways been fast on shipping and i have never had a problem with them.

[Scope666]

I have bought a lot of stuff from mwave and they have all ways been fast on shipping and i have never had a problem with them.

I JUST noticed they have them at ClubIT also:

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...mno=CA4841008#

What do you think, should I try it? You guys happy so far?

[shawn1998]

And still nothing about the northbridge. Anyone????

[situman]

Interested but will wait for new bios update first. No need to buy it with a crappy bios then cry about it.

[nordien]

I am still happy with it. Running 7*490 @ 3430 mhz with 1.42v DDR980 4-4-4-15 @ 2.45v. The board is rock solid. No problems whatsoever.

Running on 12B02 bios. I think this board needs a very good bios that can handle quadcores. The only problems that are mentioned on the forums is that you need lots of vcore for overclocking q6600 G0's.

For all DualCore users this board is already very good. See Hazzan on this thread, see TinTin.......

[Supershanks]

i'm still waiting for someone to test a quad on it before i bite

After a very tacky start, am starting to make headway. Tweaking GTLref & VTT let me reduce vcore from levels Clunk, then myself had started from.
8Hrs & running

Verified MM readings

Bottom Pics in here vdroop=.04v

[nordien]

After a very tacky start, am starting to make headway. Tweaking GTLref & VTT let me reduce vcore from levels Clunk, then myself had started from.
8Hrs & running



Bottom Pics in here vdroop=.04v

How about PWM temps @ 9*400 ?

[Ademcg]

ok, so my build is up and running, with suprisingly few problems, but one or two minor frustrations.

Q6600 Go
4GB Crucial Ballistix 8500 [4 X 1GB]
Gigabyte 8800GT 512 MB
Enermax Galaxy 850W
Silverstone TJ09 case
Vista Ultimate 64 bit

Firstly, the bios and CMOS needs clearing when ever the power to the PSU is unhooked for any length of time..I hope this changes

Secondly, I have had the Bios freeze, just the once, but Guru in windows hangs when ever I try to shut it down, to the point where I have stopped it loading up in the start up plus the temps are Way , way off !!

I am still on the bios "as shipped", which is something else I need a little help with.

so, ok, I am at 3GHz, gently pushing the FSB, I have manually set the timings of the 4GB of crucial Ballistix, but I am very confused by what CPUz is reporting, the tRAS I set in bios was 18, however when CPUZ loads it reports it as 24 ?

I am still finding my way with this Intel stuff...I wonder if I have something selected I shouldn't have ??? Advice Please !!!!!!

Some pics








Still can't work the USB pen drive as a boot drive...i was made using my other PC Win XP Pro should I restart in Vista 64 bit ?












So, a few things I would really like help on:

I would love to flash the bios....USB pen being a bit of a git..will try once more to follow Ace's method.

Is the memory showing different in CPUz a problem ?
something I should change (from screen shots above)??

Or should I just crack on with the FSB pushing ??

Finally, I have run Futuremark 2006 and I get a low score of 7694




I should be hitting at least 10K ??

HElp !!
Any advice / comments most welcome

[Ace-a-Rue]

ok, so my build is up and running, with suprisingly few problems, but one or two minor frustrations.

Q6600 Go
4GB Crucial Ballistix 8500 [4 X 1GB]
Gigabyte 8800GT 512 MB
Enermax Galaxy 850W
Silverstone TJ09 case
Vista Ultimate 64 bit

Firstly, the bios and CMOS needs clearing when ever the power to the PSU is unhooked for any length of time..I hope this changes

Secondly, I have had the Bios freeze, just the once, but Guru in windows hangs when ever I try to shut it down, to the point where I have stopped it loading up in the start up plus the temps are Way , way off !!

I am still on the bios "as shipped", which is something else I need a little help with.

so, ok, I am at 3GHz, gently pushing the FSB, I have manually set the timings of the 4GB of crucial Ballistix, but I am very confused by what CPUz is reporting, the tRAS I set in bios was 18, however when CPUZ loads it reports it as 24 ?

I am still finding my way with this Intel stuff...I wonder if I have something selected I shouldn't have ??? Advice Please !!!!!!

........

Still can't work the USB pen drive as a boot drive...i was made using my other PC Win XP Pro should I restart in Vista 64 bit ?

So, a few things I would really like help on:

I would love to flash the bios....USB pen being a bit of a git..will try once more to follow Ace's method.

Is the memory showing different in CPUz a problem ?
something I should change (from screen shots above)??

Or should I just crack on with the FSB pushing ??

Finally, I have run Futuremark 2006 and I get a low score of 7694


I should be hitting at least 10K ??

HElp !!
Any advice / comments most welcome

my 1st impression: you are overdoing it with Vcore for 2.7Ghz...you shouldn't be above 1.35-1.40v for a P95 episode.

2nd: Vista is not friendly to video games or benching...once SP1 comes out, it should improve that situation.

3rd: at what point are you getting a bios freeze?...i would take your memory down to 2-Gigs for a while or maybe down to one stick to see if that keeps the freezing situaion from happening again.

4th: Uguru might have problems with vista 64 so you need to install XP to see what affect that has on the whole system.

5th: the tRAS setting is obviously a quirk with this board when you have it manually set for a lower number...possibly a bios fault...it could also be a problem utilizing all four dimm slots...try the above soultion with using less dimm's.

[Ademcg]

my 1st impression: you are overdoing it with Vcore for 2.7Ghz...you shouldn't be above 1.35-1.40v for a P95 episode.

2nd: Vista is not friendly to video games or benching...once SP1 comes out, it should improve that situation.

3rd: at what point are you getting a bios freeze?...i would take your memory down to 2-Gigs for a while or maybe down to one stick to see if that keeps the freezing situaion from happening again.

4th: Uguru might have problems with vista 64 so you need to install XP to see what affect that has on the whole system.

5th: the tRAS setting is obviously a quirk with this board when you have it manually set for a lower number...possibly a bios fault...it could also be a problem utilizing all four dimm slots...try the above soultion with using less dimm's.

Hi Ace, thanks for taking the time to reply...much appreciated.

ok.
1.) I haven't tweaked the vcore, it booted up like this...I thought I was on stock volts....I think there is a large difference to what is showing in the Bios screen and what progs like CPUz shows Also uGURU was way out with Temps and voltages.

2.) Ahh..lower than expected 3d 06 score purely down to Vista ?
ouch.

3.) The point I had a freeze in the Bios was after I increased the FSB from the stock to 282 MHz, it then frozen and I had to Clear CMOS, the full way (i.e. remove power, change jumper, remove battery, remove ATX power cables from Mobo, wait 60 seconds, replace ATX power cables, replace battery, change jumper then power up)

4.) I have a copy of XP Pro but its runing on a system already, not sure I want the mess of adding it to this one too.

5.) Could this be a bios issue ? I will try removing the extra 2 dimms and see what difference it makes.

Once again, thanks for the help it can get annoying when you are in a room with £1200 worth of componentry not doing what you ask

[Ace-a-Rue]

on the increase in FSB generating a freeze within the bios, i would increase vcore first (plus other associated voltages), save and then come back into the bios for FSB adjustment.

now that you mention the disparity between what cpuz reports as vcore and what is set in the bios reminds me of hearing problems with cpuz reporting accurately when it comes to vcore and vista 64...do you have a 32 bit vista to install?

you can install XP on this machine to be a dual boot without having to register it...i think MS gives you 30 days to validate it..right?...just something to do to get a comparison between the two OS's.

one thing about putting in xp after vista is installed might require you to do a repair on vista 64...usually, if you install xp first and then vista 2nd, you will have an option to dual boot.

[Supershanks]

How about PWM temps @ 9*400 ?

9x400 12HR Prime Stable

[vpw]

Just got mine today...
The board doesnt come with any screws n stuff to mount it which is strange cos it should be std on any board and since I dont have a spare set...I'll have to get some tomorrow.
It also doesnt come with the retention clips that according to the manual is supposed to be included....
I guess Abit sort of rushed the release of this board...hopefully my local distributor can provide me with the missing stuff...

[Ace-a-Rue]

9x400 12HR Prime Stable

is that 0.03 drop at idle or under load?

my pro board has a 0.04v drop in idle and droops another 0.04v to 0.05v under P95 load...total = 0.08v to 0.09v in a P95 load condition.