P965 Final Roundup

[Gary Key]

The final High End article is basically complete. We had to test every board again due to the improvements in CrossFire performance from the 6.11 drivers. In fact, some game scores improved up to 11%. All boards have been retested and the scores in the final article will reflect the new driver results but overall the ranking of the boards did not change.

The issue at this time is P4 compatibility. We did our initial tests with a new 915 to ensure the boards were working as advertised. Over the past month we have received and verified user issues with older Presslers (920/930) and Smithfields (820/840) on several of the boards we have tested. The majority of issues deal with 1:1 memory compatibility when overclocking, low FSB overclocks compared to the 975X, hard drive recognition issues, and the list continues although most are very minor.

We would like your opinion on this matter. Would you rather see the article now (Monday) and a follow-up on these issues along with the tech support summary in a week or so or wait for the full article on the 12th. I am going to Taiwan next week to attend a conference but will meet with several of the motherboard engineering groups to talk about these issues. I spent the better part of last week at the US offices discussing product plans, reader issues, and technical support that led into face to face meetings next week.

I personally apologize for the delay but we wanted to address as many issues as possible before the Editors Choice awards. I never thought the initial issues we investigated would cause this type of delay and several have been corrected through BIOS releases already but we wanted to make sure we covered all the bases. In doing so, we created another issue about not getting our review posted in a reasonable time.

Thank you.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: Gary Key
Would you rather see the article now (Monday) and a follow-up on these issues along with the tech support summary in a week or so or wait for the full article on the 12th.

Am I correct in assuming that these issues have no bearing in the performance numbers? I mean, boards are always going to have bugs and waiting around until they're all fixed is counterproductive to a site reviewing specs and performance...........bug fixes and BIOS updates are customer service and tech support issues and make great sidebars but shouldn't, imo, make up so much of the article that they determine when it's released.

More importantly, Conroe chips were unaffected? I think that's what most of us care about anyway. Anybody with an affected Pentium D would still at least know which boards to keep an eye on which they can't even do now.

 

[MichaelD]

Thank you, Gary. You (and the other staffers) do a great job all the time. Your "taking this personally" is a testament to your dedication to your job and your customers (us).

I've relied on AT for unbiased, no BS hardware reviews since late 2000 when I found this place; you continue that tradition to this day.

Keep up the good work; I'd rather wait an extra x-days for a thorough review than get some half-assed review that was rushed out the door just to say "it's on time." :beer:

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I'd rather wait an extra x-days for a thorough review than get some half-assed review that was rushed out the door just to say "it's on time." :beer:

That's what I'm wondering. How will this review be "half-assed" when all it ommits are a few Pentium D benchies?

 

[MichaelD]

???? I didn't say the review is half assed...I said the exact opposite.

Eh, P4's? What are these "P4's" you speak of? Some may not like that comment, but I look at it this way:

Backwards compatibility is nice, but new motherboards are new tech and should focus on the new CPUs. Not that P-D's are old...but they WERE a flop, IMO.

 

[TBSN]

I would also vote to release the main review, then release a seperate article that has to do with the now-obsolete processors...

Edit: If this is a high-end review, then it is almost assumed that c2d/e will be used

 

[DaveLessnau]

Publish what you have, now. If someone has an old P4 that turns out not to work with these new boards, well, that's just a good reason to give to the spousal unit for a new CPU

 

[Skott]

My vote is for now.

 

[crucibelle]

I vote now, too.

 

[garcon333]

I vote for today as well!!

 

[Bill Brasky]

Originally posted by: Skott
My vote is for now.

:thumbsup: I'd also love to see some numbers on Monday.

Edit: Gary, thanks for keeping us posted on your progress.

 

[deathwalker]

Truthfully Gary I don't have an opinion on this article. But, I am dissapointed that there seems to be absolutley no interest in providing some guidence on MATX platforms for the C2D.

 

[lordbob99]

Like deathwalker, I've been eagerly waiting on the matx article for some time now. Even so, I'd still like to see this article sooner without the P4s, and a follow up at a later time dealing with the P4 issues.

 

[Conky]

I'd like to see what you have now too as I am getting ready to buy very soon.

You can always follow-up with additional articles and information.

P.S. I am only interested in these boards for their C2D abilities... maybe you can save the older P4 issues for after your trip?

 

[adun79]

Monday? ... today is only Friday.

 

[Gary Key]

We will post the high-end boards on Monday and follow-up with the three value boards (all P965 boards perform about the same at stock, these value boards do not go above 330FSB when overclocking without issues), P4 journey, and tech support conclusions when I return from my trip.

 

[Skott]

Thanks Gary! Have a fun and safe trip!

 

[Jabba2]

I would have loved to see the final part of this article which was first started about 8 weeks ago(?), but alas my patience has expired, and I have a P5B-E on my desk, awaiting other components which are en route. I appreciate the very thorough reviews here and will continue to read them. But since a family member's machine has been dead since end of September, I need to move along with their replacement at this time.

 

[imported_RedStar]

now please

 

[Gary Key]

Here is the plan-

My travel plans changed completely so I will be posting from various airport lounges this week.

The ECS PX1 and MSI P965 Platinum will go up Tuesday evening.

The Gigabyte DQ6 and Asus P5B-Deluxe will go up late Thursday, the only new information from our Buyers Guide will be overclocking improvements and CrossFire performance, just a word to the wise, buy 975X for CrossFire performance or the RD600 once it finally makes it over here.

The value boards (ECS, MSI, Foxconn, and Intel) will go up the following Tuesday evening.

Support Overview, Testing Recap (Issues found/solved by each manufacturer), and another Memory Performance follow-up will go up a few days later.

Any new public beta BIOS releases will be posted here first.


Here is the rundown -

ECS PX1 - Nice board, does not overclock worth a damn (330~345 was really pushing it), designed for Intel ViiV certification, look great and has plenty of options, performs about average for the group, BIOS settings are limited as is memory performance, no CAS 3 operation except for screenshots.

MSI P965 Platinum - Great board, fastest stock board overall, overclock capability around 400FSB, have new BIOS to try when I land in Taiwan. Price cannot be beat for features and base performance. We love this board but for all of its options and BIOS features we cannot get it to overclock very well, if you want to stay around 375FSB MAX level then this board really performs.

Gigabyte DQ6 - Very good board, built and optioned like a SR-71, performs like a Gulfstream, finally made it to 500FSB with the E6300, E6600 around 475FSB, terrific features, a little pricey when comparing to the next board. A new BIOS should be out to improve memory performance and bump the overclocking a little. We feel like the DS4 is the better value but like the P5B-E +, it is only available in Europe.

Asus P5B-Deluxe - Excellent board, very good options, best overclocker of the bunch, took our E6300 to 7x525 easily (ran out of CPU), did 6x550, best on-board sound, still a few audio issues in music/movies that were solved by 4580 betas (overclocking decreased to 505, CPU utilization rates went up by 5%, ADI is working on it), best overall P965 board for the enthusiast but you pay for it, you really pay for the RAM needed to run this board over 500FSB.

Value Boards -

All about equal, performance is good for all boards, ECS is a great value when it is available for $75 but really no OC to speak of, Foxconn is probably the best feature wise and overclocks around 325~330 but has some P4/PCI lock issues, MSI performs very well but needs the right memory (new BIOS coming to improve this but the less expensive memory works the best), and the Intel board is, well, an Intel board, solid performance, no OC, excellent support. Overall, we like the Foxconn best as long as you do not expect much from overclocking.

Recap-

Upper End - Asus P5B-Deluxe (Best P965 Enthusiast board)
Mid-Range - Gigabyte DS3 (new F8 BIOS is the reason), Asus P5B-E 1.02G (price/performance)
Budget Performance - Biostar 965PT (OC, Solid), MSI P965 Platinum (Features, Stock Performance), Gigabyte S3 (Balanced)
Value - Foxconn P965 (Features, Basic OC)

 

[Conky]

Thanks for the quick rundown, Gary!

I've been agonizing over what P965 board to get and decided(after reading your other articles and posts here) to go with the DS3. It seemed to fit my needs best.

I'll still read this new article anyway just in case it changes my mind. I can always return an unopened box.

 

[Praxis1452]

so the preview for RD600 is going to come up when you get the final revision? Or do you already have it?

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: Gary Key
Here is the plan-

My travel plans changed completely so I will be posting from various airport lounges this week.

Gary, you need a raise or an asisstant. Sounds like both. Many thanks for your continued dedication and help. I hope you get a nice long Christmas/New Year's break this year. You deserve it.

 

[shoRunner]

will there be any nvidia 680i mobo reviews soon?

 

[Gary Key]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
will there be any nvidia 680i mobo reviews soon?

Yes, the week of 12/11.