First experiance: GB GA-8I945GMMFY-RH Socket 479Y

[stummerwinter]

Got this socket 479Y mobo yesterday, will be my new working rig and r@h cruncher..

Manufacturer: GA-8I945GMMFY-RH

Factor: µATX



Socket: 479Y (for Yonah and Merom, retention modul S478, here with Zalman 7000B-AlCu)



CPU-Supprt: Yonah and Merom

Chips:
1. Northbridge: Intel® 945GM Express Chipset
2. Southbridge: Intel® ICH7M-DH (with SATA-Raid - hey, guys from AOpen, look at this... )
3. T.I IEEE1394a controller
4. Intel PRO1000PL Gigabit Ethernet controller
5. Realtek ALC880 audio codec

RAM: 2 x Slots DDRII PC5400

internal connectors:
1. 2 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s connectors
2. 1 x UDMA ATA 100/66/33 connectors
3. 1 x FDD connector
4. 2 x IEEE1394a connectors (supports 2 ports)
5. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 connector (supports 4 ports)
6. 1 x SPDIF IN/OUT
7. 2 x Cooling fan pin headers
8. 1 x COM port connector

external connectors:
1. 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
2. 1 x RJ45 ports
3. 6 x Audio ports (4 x Line-out/ 1 x Line-in/ 1 x MIC)
4. PS/2 Keyboard/ Mouse
5. 1 x COM port connector
6. 1 x LPT port
7. 1 x VGA port
8. 1 x 1394 port

slots:
1. 1 PCI Express x 16 slot
2. 1 PCI Express x 1 slot
3. 2 PCI slots

BIOS-features:
VCore: no adjustment
VDimm: no adjustment
FSB: no adjustment
EIST: enable/disable, Idle 0,98 V ± 0,02 V, Load 1,18 V ± 0,02 V (measured with MM)
RAM: timings could be adjusted, divider also (400, 533, 667), with CTRL+F1 add menue
fan controll: works very good

VCore-measuring:


Readout of VCore is wrong with CPU-Z 1.34 and 1.35, 1.33 works, Easytune HW-monitor also, but slighlty to low.

test rig:

CPU: T7400ES (Merom, 166 MHz x 13)
RAM: 2 x 512 MB Syncmax eXtreme PC6400
Cooler: Zalman 7000B-AlCu
GFX: NV 6600
PSU: Seasonic S12 380 W
HD: WD 74 GB Raptor
DVD: Toshiba

power consumption:

Idle: approx 50 W (with EIST)

Load (2 x Pi): approx 80 W

Temperatures measured with HW-monitor:



BIOS: download@gigabyte - atm 1. Release

+ very low power consumption
+ Merom-support
+ nice working fan control
+ SATA-Raid ( AOpen guys, look at this... )
+ quiet cheap compared to other S479Y-boards (prices at geizhals.at)
+ S478-retention modul
+ BIOS looks sophisticated

- only 2 SATA and 1 IDE-Port
- no OCing
- only 2 RAM-Slots

Conclusion: cheap and economical mobo for working rig and HTPC

More to come...

Questions? Comments?

BTW: if somebody knows a working pinmod, please post a link, *this one*, but doesn´t work...

[theteamaqua]

sweeet

hope i can find merom chip

EDIT: WOW 80 W

[DaWaN]

Looks like a nice and affordable mainboard

[Andrewv]

Nice, good mobo ... can be used in HTPCs

S478-retention modul

What it is ?

[stummerwinter]

The Gigabyte has the same mounting system copared to socket 478, means you can use more or less every S478 cpu cooler...

[stummerwinter]

Ok, for shure no OCing, but look at the power consumption:


CPU: Vonah T2600ES vs Merom T7400ES (both 2,13 GHz)

MoBo: Gigabyte 945GM

Cooler: Zalman 7000B-AlCu

GFX: NV 6600 passiv

PSU: Seasonic 380 W

HD: 74 GB Raptor

DVD: Toshiba

Merom@166 x 13

Idle (mit EIST): 53 W with 0,98 V (measured at board)

Load (r@h): 84 W with 1,21 V (measured at board) - Tcpu = 42°C acc. Easytune HW-Monitor

Yonah@166 x 13

Idle (mit EIST): 54 W with 0,98 V (measured at board)

Load (r@h): 81 W with 1,27 V (measured at board) - Tcpu = 43°C acc. Easytune HW-Monitor

To compare:

Yoanh@AOpen i975Xa with r@h: approx 110 W

Merom@AOpen i975Xa with r@h: approx 150 W -

Why is there a difference of 40 W at the AOpen? The only thing I see is the BIOS, or?

[dinos22]

no OCing = banned

[Andrewv]

The Gigabyte has the same mounting system copared to socket 478, means you can use more or less every S478 cpu cooler...

Cool
I need new mobo for my 2.8C

BTW, you tested some S478 cpu on this mobo ?

[Andrewv]

sorry, DELETE !

[Chri$ch]

Cool
I need new mobo for my 2.8C

BTW, you tested some S478 cpu on this mobo ?

you can use S478 cpu cooler on it, not s478 cpus

[Andrewv]

you can use S478 cpu cooler on it, not s478 cpus

My bad :\ lol

[solaa21]

Hey Stummerwinter, this is great info, I was looking around for Merom support, as my Yonah Asus still hasnt got BIOS support; this board is even better;

+ retention module
+ 4GB RAM support (Asus only 2GB for those planning on Vista)
+ Merom !!!
+ Low power

How much did your Merom cost?

And do we have any Merom experts that can explain stepping/revisions?

Thanks

[stummerwinter]

I paid for my ES weeks ago 500 €, but prices dropped alot, you pay now less then 400 €...

If you need a contact, PM me...

The problem is, after Conroe is availible nobody is taking care of Merom´s...

[solaa21]

Thanks for the further info, I've been offered one at 300US or 240€

Maybe ES prices dropping because of *all* the interest in Conroe, this is good for me!

How did you measure your power consumption, using a wall socket meter?

I have a similar Yonah system, which idles at 77watts, very high compared to your Merom (using seasonic power angel)

I paid for my ES weeks ago 500 €, but prices dropped alot, you pay now less then 400 €...

If you need a contact, PM me...

The problem is, after Conroe is availible nobody is taking care of Merom´s...

[dinos22]

Thanks for the further info, I've been offered one at 300US or 240€

really i have a need for large qty on regular basis..........say 10-20 at a time.........can you hook me up with your contact.........anyone else for that matter

[stummerwinter]

I used this one, from a big german electronic distibuter: Energy Check 3000

I measured the following:

@AOpen:
Yonah@2,90 GHz (AutoVCore): 110 W during r@h
Merom@2,75 GHz (AutoVCore): 150 W during r@h

@Gigabyte:
Yonah@2,13 GHz: 80 W during r@h
Merom@2,13 GHz: 82 W during r@h

I don´t understand the difference at the AOpen...