Asus P5WDG2-WS: Intel 975X goes to Work
by Gary Key on December 6, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Basic Features: Intel 975X from Asus and Gigabyte
The Gigabyte GA-G1 975X is a member of the G1-Turbo product family, and as such, is a fully featured flagship board targeted towards the serious PC enthusiast. The board ships with an extensive accessory package along with several overclocking features such as Robust Graphics Booster (dynamic video card overclocking system), C.I.A.2 (dynamic front side bus overclocking system with 5 presets), and M.I.B.2 (memory performance system based upon chipset types). The preview of the Gigabyte GA-G1 975X features can be found here.
The Asus P5WDG2-WS is a member of the new Main Station product family, and as such, is a fully featured board targeted towards the Workstation user. The board ships with an extensive accessory package along with several dynamic overclocking features such as AI NOS (Non-delay dynamic Overclocking System), AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner with preset profiles), ASUS PEG Link (automatic performance tuning for single/dual graphics cards), ASUS HyperPath 3 (BIOS setting to reduce memory latency), and the ASUS Ai Booster Utility Precision Tweaker software that allows control over certain system settings within Windows. The board also features the Stack Cool 2 design to dissipate heat to the opposite side of the motherboard and a fanless heat dissipation system.
We will be comparing the thermal characteristics of both solutions in our next article. Asus and Gigabyte have shown significant reductions in board temperatures with their respective solutions in laboratory testing.
| Specification | Asus P5WDG2-WS | Gigabyte GA-G1 975x |
| CPU Interface | LGA775-based Pentium 4, Pentium 4 XE, Celeron D, and Pentium D processors | LGA775-based Pentium 4, Pentium 4 XE, Celeron D, and Pentium D processors |
| Chipset | Intel 975X ICH7R | Intel 975X ICH7R |
| Pentium D Support (Dual-Core) |
820D, 830D, 840D, 840EE, (Presler Support Present) | 820D, 830D, 840D, 840EE, (Presler Support Present) |
| Front Side Bus | 1066 / 800 MHz | 1066 / 800 MHz |
| Front Side Bus Speeds | 100 - 450 MHz (in 1 MHz increments) | 100 - 600 MHz (in 1 MHz increments) |
| Memory Speeds | Auto, DDR-2 400, 533, 667, 800, 711, 889, and 1067MHz | Auto, 1.50, 2.00, 2.0+, 2.50, 2.66, 3.00, 3.33, 4.00 |
| PCI Bus Speeds | Auto, To CPU, 33.33MHz | Auto, 33.3, 34.2, 35.2, 36.3, and 37.5MHz |
| PCI Express Bus Speeds | Auto, 90 MHz to 150 MHz (in 1 MHz increments) | Auto, 90 MHz to 150 MHz (in 1 MHz increments) |
| Dynamic Overclocking | AI Overclocking - Auto, Manual, AI NOS, and Overclock Profiles up to 30% Hyper Path 3- Auto, Enabled, Disabled PEG Link Mode |
Robust Graphics Booster - Auto, Fast, Turbo C.I.A.2 - Disabled, Cruise, Sports, Racing, Turbo, Full Thrust M.I.B.2 - Auto, Enabled |
| Core Voltage | Auto, 1.2875V to 1.70000V (in 0.0125V increments) | Normal, 0.8375V to 1.6000V (in 0.0125V increments), 1.6500V, 1.7000V, 1.7500V |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.80V, 1.90V, 1.95V, 2.00V, 2.10V, 2.15V, 2.20V, 2.30V | Normal, +0.1V, +0.2V, +0.3V, +0.4V, +0.5V, +0.6V, +0.7V |
| PCI- E Voltage | Auto | Normal, +0.10V, +0.20V, +0.30V, +0.40V, +0.50V, +0.60V, +0.70V |
| FSB Overvoltage Control | Auto, 1.20V, 1.30V, 1.40V, 1.50V | Normal, +0.05V, +0.10V, +0.15V, +0.20V, +0.25V, +0.30V, +0.35V |
| Memory Slots | (4) x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 667/533/400, non-ECC, ECC, un-buffered memory | (4) x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 667/533/400, non-ECC, un-buffered memory |
| Expansion Slots | (2) x PCI-E x16 (2) x PCI-X (2) x PCI 2.3 |
(2) x PCI-E x16 (2) x PCI-E x4 (2) x PCI 2.3 |
| Onboard SATA | Intel ICH7R: (4) x SATA II | Intel ICH7R: (4) x SATA II |
| Onboard IDE | Intel ICH7R: (1) x UltraDMA 100/66/33 100/66/33 |
Intel ICH7R: (1) x UltraDMA 100/66/33 100/66/33 ITE 8211F: (1) x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33 |
| SATA/IDE RAID | Intel ICH7R: (4) x SATA II RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, and Intel Matrix Storage technology Marvell 88SE6141: (4) x SATA II RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, and JBOD configuration |
Intel ICH7R: (4) x SATA II RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, and Intel Matrix Storage technology |
| Onboard USB2.0 IEEE-1394 |
(8) USB2.0 ports (2) IEEE 1394a FireWire Ports by TI TSB43AB22 |
(8) USB2.0 ports (3) IEEE 1394a FireWire Ports by TI TSB43AB23 |
| Onboard LAN | Marvell 88E8062 Dual PCI-E x4 Gb LAN | Broadcom 5789KFB PCI-E Gb LAN |
| Onboard Audio | RealTek ALC882, 8-channel + 2-channel multi-streaming capable HD Audio codec Optical/Coaxial S/PDIF Out |
Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit (CA0106-DAT LF), 8-channel capable, and DTS enabled codec. S/PDIF in/out port connectors included |
| Power Connectors | 24-pin ATX 4-pin 12V Plug 8-pin EATX 12V |
24-pin ATX 4-pin 12V Plug 8-pin EATX 12V |
| Back Panel I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Parallel 1 x Audio I/O 1 x IEEE 1394a 2 x RJ45 4 x USB |
1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Audio I/O 1 x RJ45 2 x USB |
| Other Features | AI Net2 CPU Lock Free Stack Cool 2 |
Turbojet Cooling Technology Multi-View Output C.R.S. - CMOS Reload Switch |
| BIOS | AMI 0109 (11/09/05) | AWARD F1 (11/18/05) |
The Gigabyte GA-G1 975X is a member of the G1-Turbo product family, and as such, is a fully featured flagship board targeted towards the serious PC enthusiast. The board ships with an extensive accessory package along with several overclocking features such as Robust Graphics Booster (dynamic video card overclocking system), C.I.A.2 (dynamic front side bus overclocking system with 5 presets), and M.I.B.2 (memory performance system based upon chipset types). The preview of the Gigabyte GA-G1 975X features can be found here.
The Asus P5WDG2-WS is a member of the new Main Station product family, and as such, is a fully featured board targeted towards the Workstation user. The board ships with an extensive accessory package along with several dynamic overclocking features such as AI NOS (Non-delay dynamic Overclocking System), AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner with preset profiles), ASUS PEG Link (automatic performance tuning for single/dual graphics cards), ASUS HyperPath 3 (BIOS setting to reduce memory latency), and the ASUS Ai Booster Utility Precision Tweaker software that allows control over certain system settings within Windows. The board also features the Stack Cool 2 design to dissipate heat to the opposite side of the motherboard and a fanless heat dissipation system.
We will be comparing the thermal characteristics of both solutions in our next article. Asus and Gigabyte have shown significant reductions in board temperatures with their respective solutions in laboratory testing.
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Cygni - Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - link
Workstation /= server...Overclocking isnt wacky in the worstation world at all. Picture a guy using 3dsmax everyday in his personal studio, or rendering TV streams in Maya, or doing texture work, or compiling source codes at a game studio...
Overclocking in the Workstation market is probably ALOT more common than people would think. Take overclocking that Pressler. That big of an overclock could mean whole DAYS of extra time per year that the CPU would have otherwise been spending cranking away on rendering. Thats a serious gain.
I dont think many serious servers will find a board like this one in em, to boot. Its lacking alot of features that a serious server hosting lots of users would deffinitly feel the need for... like built in SCSI, multi cpu support, RAM support over 8gig/4slot, etc.
On the other hand, this is a near perfect workstation board. High clocked RAM support for both ECC and non ECC. Non buffered memory. Both SLI and Crossfire support at 8x/8x. Plenty of SATA II plugs for cheap storage.
I took notice of the OC results and settings, and i like what i saw. :)
Cygni - Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - link
That was a reply to the poster one level up, sorry. :DThanks for taking the time to do the OC tests, however. Some people out there did like to see em.
Zebo - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
If those 4.8ghz air overclocks are normal intel won't have to wait for conroe to take back enthusiasts crown. That's amazing.Leper Messiah - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Hell yeah. 4.8GHz on air with Dual core is a 20% over what an 840EE will do. And I bet that with nF4 and a DFI 5.0+ is possible. oooh. Sexay.stephenbrooks - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Yeah, I'm wondering if the Pentium D 920 might become a new "favourite" chip for them to play with :)Niv KA - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Talking about Conroe, isn't the 975X supposed to support upgradability to itxtremejack - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
If you look at the chipset price guides for this month by Anand, 975x will not support ConroeGary Key - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Intel has not officially confirmed either way on the 975X to Conroe path. We have heard both a positive and negative on this but from different sources. As soon as we have a clear path it will be posted.Niv KA - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
That would mean I could buy a 975X based MB with a Celeron and buy a Conroe in the summer without having to buy a new motherbord and allCalin - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
When the graphs shows both min framerate and max framerate, I suggest that ordering should be done by the min framerate instead of the max framerate. Only on F.E.A.R. Performance test on the 9th page the results will change, and only for the top two boards - however, I prefer to have good consistent high framerate in the worst cases than extremely high framerate in the best conditions.Thanks