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

[DangeR!]

Is there a detailed explanation of all this "strap" busyness and what 1.25 and 1.2 mean?

I come from AMD rigs and have no idea what your talking about lol.

I checked the overclocking thread and nothing is in there and searching is a nightmare, everything and his Mum comes up.

Thanks.

[Ace-a-Rue]

Retested links seem ok, Clunk's took a while opening but did. Links on the manual page open pdf files.

Yep been busy last couple of days, but ocing is fine, have found same restrictions as nordien re strap 1.25 isn't stable had to run @8x450 1.20 which i did last week.

Had got 8x465 15hr prime stable which was last i did post# 238

still a no go with the link...NOW....the above link worked fine.

the 1:1.25 FSB to memory ratio is always a bugger to get stable at higher FSB on abit's boards, at least for the IP35 Pro...i found with the latest beta bios on the pro board where 430 FSB was the limit for the 1:1.25 ratio

[Ace-a-Rue]

Is there a detailed explanation of all this "strap" busyness and what 1.25 and 1.2 mean?

I come from AMD rigs and have no idea what your talking about lol.

I checked the overclocking thread and nothing is in there and searching is a nightmare, everything and his Mum comes up.

Thanks.

this is what the Pro board has and you should be the same for the IX38 board:

[Supershanks]

the 1:1.25 FSB to memory ratio is always a bugger to get stable at higher FSB on abit's boards, at least for the IP35 Pro...i found with the latest beta bios on the pro board where 430 FSB was the limit for the 1:1.25 ratio

That's a bit of a downer. This is my 1st Abit board for a real long while. It's a shame a thing i liked on the x38 dq6 was the 1.33 strap that was rock solid. So I best not hold my breath looking for a fix any time soon.

@DangeR! Straps are just the same as an AMD Divider a 1.20 strap for example means the memory will be clockinf at 120% of the FSB x2 (for DDR2). so say your fsb is 400 @1.20 = 960Mhz There are no straps that run > FSB, lowest is 1:1
See for a bit more backgrounfd if you want it.Default Intel Overclocking Guides.

[Ace-a-Rue]

abit has far less problems with bioses and boards than other board makers like asus and gigabyte....the reason could be so users are not frustrated right out of the gate.

[DangeR!]

Thanks for the info...

Why then, would you want to run any other divider than 1:1. I thought RAM ran at same freq as the cpu's fsb. Wouldn't that be a waist of effort? Would the ram be bottled by the cpu's fsb?

Have you got any other info on the straps and running ram faster that cpu fsb. I need a far greater in-depth explanation than the above links.

[Supershanks]

Why then, would you want to run any other divider than 1:1. I

Why not if you have ram rated at 1000 using the above example why restrict it to 1:1 800.

[Marlowe]

I have been running the Abit IX38 QuadGT with a E6850, a 8800GT and some 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix EPP stuff for a couple of weeks now. I think the board is great. I especially like the uGuru program and what it can do. Overclocking profiles where you not only set the clock speed, but can also alter several voltages from Windows thanks to the digital PWM. Also the board has 6 (!!) fan headers that all can be adjusted from the same program if you want. It's easy to connect all your fans to the motherboard and make a 'quiet' profile: Where the clocks, voltages and fans all go down to a minimum - so you can watch movies and series and absolute silence. Also you could associate a profile with a program, like a game, and overclock just while it is running.

However I haven't found a logging function amongst the software included. What do you guys use to log temperatures over a long periode of time? Something smart and lightweight would be great!

[nordien]

I have been running the Abit IX38 QuadGT with a E6850, a 8800GT and some 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix EPP stuff for a couple of weeks now. I think the board is great. I especially like the uGuru program and what it can do. Overclocking profiles where you not only set the clock speed, but can also alter several voltages from Windows thanks to the digital PWM. Also the board has 6 (!!) fan headers that all can be adjusted from the same program if you want. It's easy to connect all your fans to the motherboard and make a 'quiet' profile: Where the clocks, voltages and fans all go down to a minimum - so you can watch movies and series and absolute silence. Also you could associate a profile with a program, like a game, and overclock just while it is running.

However I haven't found a logging function amongst the software included. What do you guys use to log temperatures over a long periode of time? Something smart and lightweight would be great!

Core Temp with the logging on

[Supershanks]

Yep I was thinking the same, i use coretemp log a lot, would be great to have the same info about PWM tenp especially.

[jcool]

Hey guys,
got the IX38 today
It's already built into a LianLi A10 and the IFX-14 fits
Other components are:

-Q6600 G0
-4GB Crucial Ballistix 800
-BFG GTX OC
-Corsair HX520
-two WD4000ABYS in raid 0 mode

I'm gonna start tomorrow with OCing and stuff, what bios should I use? Beta 12? Since this is gonna be a customer's system I'd hate to see it loose settings after a power disconnect...

[nordien]

Hey guys,
got the IX38 today
It's already built into a LianLi A10 and the IFX-14 fits
Other components are:

-Q6600 G0
-4GB Crucial Ballistix 800
-BFG GTX OC
-Corsair HX520
-two WD4000ABYS in raid 0 mode

I'm gonna start tomorrow with OCing and stuff, what bios should I use? Beta 12? Since this is gonna be a customer's system I'd hate to see it loose settings after a power disconnect...

Never had this issue, i think it was a power supply issue.

[Ademcg]

yes, its a power supply issue...you will be fine with the Corsair

[jcool]

Great, thx m8
But still, which bios version can you recommend? Latest beta?

[Marlowe]

Core Temp with the logging on

Thanks mate


Edit: Nah.. Core Temp shows lower temps than uGuru..

[Dazog]

Any word on a new beta bios?

[Supershanks]

Edit: Nah.. Core Temp shows lower temps than uGuru

not on mine it don't Guru is about 10~12C under coretemp for me.

[Murlin]

Can anyone tell me if it is worth upgrading the bios? Still running the stock bios.

[odditory]

You guys should have waited for the X48 board which will solve all these problems. The X38 was really just an interim chipset.

'nuff said

[Supershanks]

You guys should have waited for the X48 board which will solve all these problems

All what problems??

[nordien]

I think the X48 is going to bring more problems than the X38. When the bios matures this will be a killer board.......

[Murlin]

I think the X48 is going to bring more problems than the X38. When the bios matures this will be a killer board.......

Interim chipset my b-hind. Looking back in the past year or two. We have probably witnessed the most chipset upgrades EVER. I’m speaking about the: 680(i), 780(i), 790(i),945/946, 965(i), 975(x),P33, P35, X48.., and I’m sure there’s more. It’s all a money making thing. I give you my word.. once the X48 is out, there will be issues and guess what, there will be another “upgrade” available in a few months time. My point is… wait for it-wait for it.. YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE PLUNGE AT SOME STAGE..

[jcool]

Sure you can upgrade all the time, but you certainly don't have to. I'm running my Quad 50% OCed on my P965 and perfectly happy with it.
When I can't OC any higher because of board/chipset limitation, I just fine-tune the whole system so I can run full-load 24/7 without being disturbed by fan or chiller noise

IMO the X38 QuadGT is a great board, it has all the right features and you can still use your fast & cheap DDR2. If it takes Abit 1-2 more month to get this board outperform the competition then so be it.
All its capabilities won't be needed for most people until affordable Yorkies are out anyway.

[Supershanks]

I'm with Murlin & jcool. Yep you get to a stage where you want to upgrade & it's to some extent luck of the draw as to what chipsets are available.

P35 & X38 are both good chipsets, though the gap between them isn't as much as there was between 965 & 975, largely as the gap between launch dates was smaller for the 965 & X38.

I think the X48 is going to bring more problems than the X38

Could be.
Im less sure what the X48 will bring at all & may well pass on it till ddr3 £ are reasonable & move on then.

[DangeR!]

I was bored today and here is my CPU @ 3.2GHz with 1.325v
RAM 4-4-4-12 with 2.1v
400x8 1:1
6+ hours Orthos stable



Going to try 4GB of RAM next week some time, will let you all know how it goes.

BTW, I have 2x3870's coming next week also. I'll bench with 3d06 and what not as well. Just to see whats what.