Test: Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6

Specifikationer

Her går vi direkte ind og tyv-stjæler lidt fra Gigabyte selv:

Intel^® X38 + ICH9R Chipset

1. Supports Intel^® Core 2™ multi-core and upcoming 45nm processors
2. Support for 1600 MHz FSB.
3. Dual Channel DDR2 1066 memory support for outstanding system performance.
4. High quality CPU power module with Ferrite Core Chokes, Lower RDS (on) MOSFETs and Lower ESR Solid Capacitors.
5. Re-engineered Thermal Design featuring All Copper Silent-Pipe and Crazy Cool.
6. Japanese manufactured SMD All Solid Capacitor motherboard design.
7. Supports CrossFire™ with Dual PCI-E 2.0 x16 graphics for extreme gaming performance.
8. Features SATA 3Gb/s with Quad eSATA 2 interface .
9. ALC889A with DTS Connect enables high quality Full Rate Lossless Audio and support for both Blu-ray and HD DVD.
10. Quad BIOS for an extended level of protection.
11. Quad-Triple Phase Power Design for ultimate system stability.
12. Dual Gigabit Ethernet LAN with Teaming functionality.
13. Certified for Microsoft VISTA™ systems.

Som vi kan se, er der masser af guf at komme efter. 45nm CPU'er er (naturligvis fristes man til at sige) understøttet, og med understøttelse af 1600MHz FSB, behøver man heller ikke bekymre sig om båndbredde-sult lige med det samme.
Dual-Channel er der naturligvis også, helt op til 533MHz fra Gigabyte's side. Men der stopper vi selvfølgelig ikke :-)

Derudover er der plads til alt det guf der nu følger med X38-chipsettet.
Dette er bla. Dual PCI-E 2.0 slots, så man er så grafisk fremtidsikret som muligt, Sata2 understøttelse, både internt og eksternt, Gigabit LAN, som Gigabyte oven i købet har valgt at smide en ekstra af, på, og Intel High-definition audio.

Kigger man nærmere efter under punkt nr. 12, ser man noget Gigabyte kalder "Teaming Functionality".
Kort fortalt, er det en teknologi, der muliggør "Dual-Channel" LAN, således at begge LAN-forbindelsers hastighed kan bruges i en port. Ret genialt må man sige.

Ultra Durable 2 -Designed with Top Quality Highly Efficient Components

Ultra Cooling - Low RDS(on) MOSFET Design
Low RDS(on) MOSFETs specially designed to produce lower switching resistance for faster electric current charging and discharging.

Low Power Loss - Ferrite Core Choke Design
Ferrite core chokes comprised of a compound of iron oxide and other metal elements whose properties hold energy much longer than common iron core at high frequency.

Longer Life - All-Solid Capacitor Design
Solid capacitors contain a solid organic polymer, while electrolytic capacitors use a common liquid electrolyte, hence, the terms solid capacitor versus electrolytic capacitors.

Og her fandt vi så ud af hvor D'et i navnet kom fra. Gigabyte er meget stolte af deres valg af komponenter, og skal man tro dem (jeg er ingen elektronik-guru), så er det så sandelig et solidt og holdbart kort vi har fat i.

 Q6-begrebet er en Gigabyte-forkortelse for:
1.Quad-BIOS
2. Quad Cooling
3. Quad eSATA 2
4. Quad Triple Phase
5. Quad Core optimized

Som vi ser, er der faktisk "kun" 5, og jeg har ikke kunnet regne mig frem til hvad den sidste er, men det giver sikkert mening for Gigabyte.

Jeg vil, i forståelighedens (og dovenskabens) navn, lade Gigabyte selv forklare, hvad der gør hvad:

Quad BIOS
Quad BIOS is a feature unique to GIGABYTE that includes DualBIOS™ and Express BIOS Rescue Technology. This combination delivers a safety assurance mechanism that sports a total of 4 copies of BIOS distributed between the Flash ROM, hard-disk and driver CD. This feature helps to reduce the affects of virus attacks or firmware damage and provides multi-layer BIOS protection that assures greater PC platform stability.

Quad Cooling
This revolutionary cooling design combines Crazy Cool and Silent-Pipe technology that includes heat sinks covering MOSFET modules, the north bridge and the south bridge. Additionally, the Crazy Cool enhances heat dissipation of the rear side of CPU and north bridge of the motherboard. Quad Cooling allows users to enjoy longer component lifetime through lower temperatures and absolute silence combined with the ultimate thermal performance on chipsets, CPU power components and the PCB.

Quad e-SATA2
Four sets of external SATA ports based on the Serial ATA 3Gb/s storage specification allow effortless sharing and transfer of entertainment content and digital media on external devices. Designed for external SATA devices, Quad eSATA 2 delivers enhanced scalability and double the bus bandwidth for high-speed data retrieval and saving On-The-Go.

Quad Triple Phase
An exclusive feature found only on GIGABYTE motherboards, this unique design incorporates Virtual 12 Power Phases to deliver steadier power and immediate current support for the CPU during heavy work loads or over-clocking. Additionally, Quad-Triple Phase helps to improve component lifespan system stability by delivering lower component temperature.

Quad-Core Optimized
GIGABYTE has implemented optimized Quad-Core FSB routing and a Quad-Triple phase power design to ensure the highest levels of performance and stability from Quad-Core processors. With 4 cores and 2 shared L2 caches, Quad-Core processors provide the industry's best capability-per-watt solutions, delivering significant performance boosts and extended energy efficiency, making them the ideal choice for multi-media enthusiasts and intensive multi-tasking environments.

Det lyder altsammen meget godt, men hvad kan det så bruges til?
Quad-BIOS er hvad jeg vil betegne som idiot-sikker BIOS-sikring. Hvis det lykkes en at ødelægge 4 kopier af sin BIOS, på samme tid endda, så beder jeg indtrængende om at De forlader deres computer nu.

Quad e-SATA2 har jeg allerede udtrykt min undren over, det er de færreste der har hele 4 eksterne harddiske. Men det er vel bedst at være på den sikre side.

Quad Triple Phase er bare en "smart" måde at sige at kortet benytter et 12-faset strøm-system til CPU. I sig selv ganske voldsomt, og jeg synes personligt det ville have givet bedre reklame, hvis de havde sprunget det smarte ordvalg over.

Quad Cooling er Gigabyte's udtryk for at deres køle-løsning dækker 4 steder samtidig. Deres Silent-Pipe teknologi, er kort sagt køling af nordbro, sydbro og MOSFETs, mens deres Crazy-cool, som er den sidste del, dækker dele af bagsiden af bundkortet, angiveligt for at forbedre køle-evnen. Jeg ser dog ikke den store vinding i at smide varmen om hvor den på ingen måde kan komme væk.

Quad-Core optimering var sådan set at forvente på et kort med Intels nyeste chipset. Og den vil jeg derfor ikke komme nærmere ind på. Den skulle, synes jeg personligt det ser ud til, bare med for at fuldende "Q6"-suffixet.