Gigabyte 650i Board?

C

Commander Suzdal

2[H]4U
Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Messages
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Has the Gigabyte 650i board broken cover anywhere? I think it's the only one left on the horizon that hasn't made it to market yet. MSI seems to be the best so far but I'd like to have all my options on the table since I'm bank-account-bottlenecked for the foreseeable future anyway.
 
I am awaiting to hear more about this board to my friend

anyone with info PLEASE post
Thanks
 
Last rumor I heard (Gary at AnandTech, I think) said middle of April.

Edit:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=29&threadid=2014237&enterthread=y ...I misquoted - "sometime in April".

...I like the layout - very similar to the MSI boards (3 usable PCI slots), but looks like they managed to squeeze in a second PCIe x1 slot as well. I assume that means it won't have an eSATA port on the rear though (my understanding is that MSI used the final x1 channel to feed the add-on chip driving the rear-panel eSATA port on the MSI Platinum). I'm not crazy about that floppy connector location, but I don't guess it's any worse than ABIT and ASUS are doing these days. It also has solid caps, but doesn't have the fancy heat-pipe and moffset cooling of the MSI Platinum - then again, it's supposed to cost less (more than the FI, less than the Platinum).

I'm perfectly happy with the MSI Platinum, but the GA board looks to be the only other 650i board I'd consider (depending on the actual specs and performance)...

ECS - only x8 electrical PCI-E slot (in both single and SLI mode)
ABIT - expensive branding, not-yet-ready-for-prime-time BIOS (apparently), only 2 PCI slots, no firewire, no printer port, etc.
ASUS - high return/failure rate (subjective), inferior onboard sound, only 2 PCI slots, bad floppy connector location, narrow mb with sub-standard 6-hole mounting (lets the rest of the board 'bounce' with no support), no heatsink on SB

All and all, the GA board looks like an interesting rig, if the specs pan out.
 
Spanki said:
Last rumor I heard (Gary at AnandTech, I think) said middle of April.

Edit:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=29&threadid=2014237&enterthread=y ...I misquoted - "sometime in April".

...I like the layout - very similar to the MSI boards (3 usable PCI slots), but looks like they managed to squeeze in a second PCIe x1 slot as well. I assume that means it won't have an eSATA port on the rear though (my understanding is that MSI used the final x1 channel to feed the add-on chip driving the rear-panel eSATA port on the MSI Platinum). I'm not crazy about that floppy connector location, but I don't guess it's any worse than ABIT and ASUS are doing these days. It also has solid caps, but doesn't have the fancy heat-pipe and moffset cooling of the MSI Platinum - then again, it's supposed to cost less (more than the FI, less than the Platinum).

I'm perfectly happy with the MSI Platinum, but the GA board looks to be the only other 650i board I'd consider (depending on the actual specs and performance)...

ECS - only x8 electrical PCI-E slot (in both single and SLI mode)
ABIT - expensive branding, not-yet-ready-for-prime-time BIOS (apparently), only 2 PCI slots, no firewire, no printer port, etc.
ASUS - high return/failure rate (subjective), inferior onboard sound, only 2 PCI slots, bad floppy connector location

All and all, the GA board looks like an interesting rig, if the specs pan out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the linkage--guess I'll quit lurking for them to pop up on Newegg any time soon.
 
Commander Suzdal said:
Thanks for the linkage--guess I'll quit lurking for them to pop up on Newegg any time soon.
Click to expand...

Heh.. well, April starts on Monday... :)

I suspect we'll probably see reviews show up before the boards do though (or nearly simultaneously).
 
Spanki said:
ABIT - expensive branding, not-yet-ready-for-prime-time BIOS (apparently), only 2 PCI slots, no firewire, no printer port, etc.
Click to expand...

The BIOS does need more issues worked out but the new BIOS 11 beta is doing wonders at stock speeds while I break-in everything.
 
Glad to hear that!

Keep in mind that the above are only my personal views, based on my personal preferences, requirements and observations - if those other boards meet someone elses needs and expectations, I mean no disrespect :).
 
Spanki said:
ABIT - expensive branding, not-yet-ready-for-prime-time BIOS (apparently), only 2 PCI slots, no firewire, no printer port, etc.
Click to expand...
on the other hand it does have solid caps, reasonable chipset & PWM cooling & onboard power/reset switches at a reasonable price - you pays your money & you make your choice.
The hardware is good but the BIOS still needs more work for oc - only hitting about 450fsb at the moment.


Interestingly although the Gigabyte still hasn't shown up in retail the pre-order price has dropped to £95 from £115 making it cheaper than the P6N Platinum now but still quite a bit dearer than the P6N SLI-FI/P5N-E/FP-IN9.
 
BUFF said:
on the other hand it does have solid caps, reasonable chipset & PWM cooling & onboard power/reset switches at a reasonable price - you pays your money & you make your choice.
The hardware is good but the BIOS still needs more work for oc - only hitting about 450fsb at the moment.
Click to expand...

Yeah, each of those boards has up-sides - I was just listing reasons why I ruled them out, for my particular interests.

BUFF said:
Interestingly although the Gigabyte still hasn't shown up in retail the pre-order price has dropped to £95 from £115 making it cheaper than the P6N Platinum now but still quite a bit dearer than the P6N SLI-FI/P5N-E/FP-IN9.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... will be interesting to see what the price range turns out to be. The only indication I was going on was a CEBIT review that mentioned $120 USD range - maybe the pre-order sites are being conservative.
 
I just got the board and installed it yesterday. So far, the system seems to be stable.
Pros:
1. All solid caps. Makes the area around the Processor clean.
2. Large NB heatsink
3. All ports and connectors in the correct places, save one - provides for easy cable management.
4. 2 IDE ports for people with more IDE than SATA drives.
5. Dual BIOS.
6. Ability to save upto 10 BIOS profiles - helps for overclocking.
7. Partial support in ntune - ability to change ram timings and overclock.

Cons:
1. Large NB heatsink - may interfere with wide heatsinks.
2. Front Audio connector located on the other side (near the rear audio port)
3. BIOS does not have option of setting individual RAM timings. Maybe that will be fixed in future BIOS
4. Only partial support from ntune - cannot change voltage nor can it detect voltages.
5. No MOSFET cooler

Other thoughts.
Recognised the TWIN2X2048-6400C4 immediately. But not its EPP timings.
 
The large NB cooler bothers me on this one. I want to put a Zalman 9500 on this board when I can order (hurry up IRS). It doesn't look to me that there is enough clearance. If anyone happens to get this board and a 9x00, let me know how it works.
 
satosphere said:
Pros:
7. Partial support in ntune - ability to change ram timings and overclock.

Cons:
3. BIOS does not have option of setting individual RAM timings. Maybe that will be fixed in future BIOS
4. Only partial support from ntune - cannot change voltage nor can it detect voltages.
...
I am slowly overclocking it - right now running at 6% OC at 285. Temperature is stable at 33 when idle.
Click to expand...

This may be stating the obvious, so please do not be offended...

Have you tried using the latest nTune? The newest revision hit Thursday: Version 5.05.38.00

Also, I know quite often Gigabyte hides advanced options in the BIOS in the MIT menu. Hit Ctrl & F1 before entering MIT to see if that reveals any advanced options. For the DQ6, for example, this seems to be where all the extra voltage controls live.

I've been playing with the idea of getting a 650i SLI board, and the MSI P6N SLI and the Asus P5N-E boards look like fine choices. The Gigabyte version interests me with it's layout (holy crap, a 650i board with 7 expansion slots! Whodathunkit?) and the price is inside my ballpark. I would be interested to know how well the northbridge cooler works, not just because it's taller and all copper, but those cooling fins look more densely packed which might have an adverse effect on heat dissipation. After that, so long as it competes on par with the others on overclocking, I'll take one.
 
satosphere said:
Newegg, of course.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128044

Edit: I am slowly overclocking it - right now running at 6% OC at 285. Temperature is stable at 33 when idle.
I will try 300 over the weekend, but with just a stock cooler, I do not want to push it too much.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the linkage. Looks like a feature-complete contender for the MSI P6N-FI, just not sure if it's worth the $20 price premium. I look forward to reading reviews that can tell if the NB heatsink and solid caps make for better overclocking. Including yours, of course!
 
@yojimbo

Ctrl F1 did bring up the advandced options in MIT - pretty much all the options for overclocking including adjustments of memory timings. I take back what I said earlier about not being able to adjust them.

That info is not mentioned in the manual, AFAIK.

I tried with the latest version of Ntune.
I can still only adjust FSB clock ,the reference pcie clock and the memory timings.
I cannot view / adjust system voltages, nor can I do fan control with it.
Nvmonitor doesn't identify the correct fans present in the system (nor their values) and does not report voltages either.
Gigabyte does have a tool called Easytune which supports overclocking in windows - adjusting reference clock, cpu multiplier, cpu voltage, memory voltage, pcie speed. It also has the smart fan control (just a linear range of fan speed for processor temperature) and correct fan speed and system temperature monitors. But the tool is flaky and seems to crash a lot - not something I would want to use often.

Installation
Installing the board was quite easy apart from the processor installation being so close to the huge heatsink of the NB - the gap between these two heatsinks is quite less (I shall upload a pic later).
Low profile caps also help during installation (you cannot dislodge them easily).
The ram slots are correctly coded and the product website has a list of compatible sticks.
The PCI EX has a special clip/retention mechanism on the slot but I do not know how useful that is.
The four SATA ports are accessible even after putting an 8800 in the first PCI ex

If you are going for an aftermarket cooler for the cpu, get one for the NB as well in case the cpu heatsink does not fit.

I shall run tests during the weekend and get back to you on temperatures and preliminary overclocks (not too much, probably up to around 320 MHz)
 
Spanki said:
Good review - looks like a nice board. I wish he'd thrown the MSI boards in there for comparison.
Click to expand...

Yes, and I wonder if that whole "run memory unlinked so you can bump the speed up by 2 to compensate for the rounding down" trick would improve overclocking on boards other than the Gigabyte as well.

Looking at the layout, I like the floppy connector position better on the MSI, and the RAM slots as well--definitely looks like the Gigabyte would require a long video card to be removed before memory sticks could be inserted or removed.

On the other hand, if looking for a "premium 650i" solution, I think the Gigabyte is more attractive than the MSI Platinum. Guess it depends on how attainable the OC's are without a case fan blowing on the NB, vs. the heatpipe/included fan of the MSI.
 
According the the review, this is the motherboard to get for extreme overclocking...we just need a few more reviews...or even user reviews.
 
First post.

Just wanted to say that the Zalman 9500 does fit on this board...... BARELY!

The fins are literally this far apart -->||<--

DSCF0490.JPG


More pics:
http://www.nismo33.com/pics/DSCF0487.JPG
http://www.nismo33.com/pics/DSCF0488.JPG
http://www.nismo33.com/pics/DSCF0489.JPG
http://www.nismo33.com/pics/DSCF0491.JPG
 
I haven't fired up the system yet, but once I get it up and running, I'll post my comments.
 
Great news cause thats the heatsink I already have! What CPU do you have and do you plan to overclock it? If you get up to 520-540fsb, this board could be the sleeper value of the lot, even the new p35 mobos.
 
Mine is here in town. Just waiting for it to arrive today (hope, drool, hope). I went the extra step and got the Aerocool Dominator. I think it might be the largest HSF in the free world. You can see it from space.....heh.
Can I just put some ram sinks on with thermal tape, or is there a better solution? I'm not sold on the whole "heat pipe" issue, that's why I got this board. I want to be able to add what I want, where I want. I also have a Giga now, and it's been excellent.
I will try to post some pics this weekend.
 
Well, I finally got my stuff, and it all booted just fine with no tweaking (yaay!). I will post some pics when I can get the freakin camera from my wife. The Aerocool Dominator fit with no problem. My case allows me to put it in 3 positions, but it clears the NB with no trouble. My specs:
4300
Giga board
GSkill 6400 think the last digits are: gbk (was listed in MSI p6n platinum forum).
Aerocool dominator
Corsair 620
wd 250
seagate 500
Lite on sata burner
I had no issues with ram or the board recognizing the sata optical drive. It's runnin 25c idle, and 32c load under prime95, and super pi.
I can't get it past 2400 (8x300). It froze at that setting. So I have some tweaking to do, but I just got it goin this A.M.
Can you guys post your voltages? What is safe for my ram (stock is 1.8-1.9)?
What BIOS are you guys using?
This-->http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087 is the ram link, sorry 5 hours sleep here...heheh.
 
I have had this board on my bench for about two weeks now but have not had a chance to work on it due to the death of a relative. I have an E6600 installed and 2GB of A-Data ram with which I have had good results in the past. Maybe tonight I can finish hooking up the cables and start tweaking.
 
My setup also booted up fine from the start. I plan on trying to tweak things this weekend.

Here's my setup:

intel e6600
zalman 9500
gigabyte mobo
2gb crucial ballistix pc2-8000
evga 8800gts 320mb video
antec NeoHE 550
antec p180b case
wd 200gb sata
seagate 200gb sata
lite-on ide dvd burner

Things are running cool and quiet (as I had hoped) on stock settings.

Stock ram voltage on this board is 1.8v, so I had to up it to 2.2v as per crucial's suggestion.

-edit- Crucial suggests 2.2v for their ram. It is not suggested that you go that high for other brands.
 
One thing that I'm noticing is that the freakin nb hsf is pretty warm to the touch. I'm guessing about 100F idle. At least on my system. I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow A.M. I have the Aerocool on the mobo header. I'm gonna move it to my fan bus and see if it speeds up.
 
OK, trouble now. I re-did everything (ugh) this morning, because I reaized that I didn't have all of my standoffs placed. Went to boot up, and wah-lah, nothing. One little flicker out of my lights and it shut off. Total dismay as you can imagine. The thing ran fine yesterday.
What I have done: Took out the screws on the new standoffs to see if they were shorting it out.
Tried a different power supply.
Checked the seating of the 24 pin and 8 pin power plugs.
Tried with the video card in and out.
I have only the power to the board now, and all it will do is run about 15 seconds, then it shuts off.
I also checked and re-checked my front panel connectors. U2-UFO has them all separate (yes, it's a bitch).
Same result with all that I have done here. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Different note: The Aerocool Dominator is a major PITA to put on. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone but sado-masochists. It IS extremely quiet. The Corsair 620 is almost silent too. The only thing I could hear when this was running was the 7 120's in my case. Much quieter than my old setup (stock A64, and Ultra 500 x-connect).

Just thought: One thing I didn't try is re-seating the ram, and using 1 , 2 sticks, etc.... I'll try that tonight and post back. Duh
 
Yes - the NB gets pretty hot (approaches 40C while idle). You must ensure that the CPU cooling also ventilates the NB cooler.
 
I'll be receiving my mobo tomorrow (as well as an E6600 and 2GB of A-Data DDR2-800 RAM). Once everything is set up and running, I'll post my comments.

My setup will be:
Intel E6600 w/ stock HSF
Gigabyte 650i SLI mobo
2GB A-Data Vitesta DDR2-800
64MB ATi AIW VE PCI (temporary, until prices come down on the 8800 GTS)
2 x 146GB Seagate Cheetah 10K.6 U320 SCSI w/ Adaptec 39160 SCSI card
Antec SX-830 case w/ 500W Ultra X-Finity
Emprex DVD-Multi burner
Samsung 48x CD-RW
 
Yeah, I've tried everything now. Switched the ram around, and still nothing. Rma time. I'll see what you guys do until I get the new board.
 
Tried again this morning to see if I swapped ram around, and left out video card what would happen. Nothing...........doh! I'm rma'ing the board. It won't stay powered long enough to get to the boot screen, so something's hosed. I'm gonna exchange it for the same thing and try it again. I do like the Gigabyte boards. I've used the one I'm on now (see sig) for 2 years with no trouble at all. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
i have mine up and running at 3.0 (334x9) stable at stock V-core.
so far it is the fastest thing i have ever used personally. And i am only using cheap DDR2 800 (100CDN for 2gigs).
Had to lap teh bottom of my Ninja as it was concave and so is the CPU. Dropped about 5 degrees by doing that.
So far i am very pleased. The board has a few quirks but overall i am satisfied.

I found that it seemed to work better if you drop the multiplier first then increase the FSB to 334 then walk the multiplier up one at a time..

6 x 334
7 x 334
8 x 334
9 x334 + 3.00ghz.

cpu-z shows only 1.28 Vcore. The gigabyte utility shows 1.330. Biso shows 1.325.

Core temp shows 65-70C (30-35 from TJunction)
Gigabyte utility shows 51-55C

Running Orthos small ffts.
 
Mine should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping to have it up and running before the weekend is over.
I bought a Thermalright SI-128 CPU cooler a couple weeks back before i decided to order this mobo.
I'll post pics of the fit since I know people are apprehensive about that NB cooler interfering...
I also have a Coolermaster active NB cooler sitting new in a package I can swap that copper Monopoly Hotel out with if required.
Cant wait to throw it on the test bench!
 
I've finally got the new rig setup and it started up OK, but there's no video coming out from the display (that is, my monitor did not come out of power save.)

Argh..... I think the computer is not properly recognizing my PCI video card. Anyway, I don't have time to work on it until Sunday night because I'll be out of town.
 
I got mine back in the mail for rma on Thursday. Hopefully get the new one back by Wednesday or Thursday of this coming week. If this doesn't work, I'm gettin the MSI Platinum.
 
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