Intel P965: Mid-Range Performance Sector Roundup
by Gary Key on October 20, 2006 9:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Abit AB9 Pro: Feature Set
Abit has delivered a well optioned and performance oriented P965 board that sells for around US $145. We tested with the 1.5 beta BIOS release after having some issues with overclocking utilizing the 1.4 BIOS. Also, the 1.5 BIOS allows downward multipliers with the Core 2 Duo processors while further improving system performance and stability. Our issues with the BIOS revolved around its pinkish display color but more importantly the fact that Abit only allows the basic four memory timings to be changed (tCAS, tRCD, tRP, tRAS). For a board of this caliber we believe this is definitely a mistake. The ability to increase the CPU voltage to 1.725V and memory to 2.50V is impressive considering the offerings on the other P965 based boards. However, we wish the memory settings above 2.30V were available in .05V increments.
One area where Abit has constantly led all others is in the ability to overclock and monitor most system functions from Windows. Abit once again includes their excellent µGuru Windows utility that allows the user to overclock the system, change certain voltages, adjust fan speeds, and monitor hardware settings in real time without the need for rebooting. The OC Guru worked very well during our overclock testing and was a pleasure to use without resorting to the constant reboot procedure utilized by other Windows based utilities.
We also set the automatic overclocking to the Turbo setting and were greeted with a 7x288FSB setting for a CPU speed of 2016MHz that we would not consider turbo speed. Our memory was set to DDR2-800 but with 5-5-5-15 settings. This represents an 8% overclock of our component choices. Further information about this class leading utility can be found here.
| Abit AB9-Pro | |
| Market Segment: | Mid-Range Performance |
| CPU Interface: | Socket T (Socket 775) |
| CPU Support: | LGA775-based Pentium 4, Celeron D, Pentium D, Pentium EE, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme |
| Chipset: | Intel P965 + ICH8R |
| Bus Speeds: | 100 to 600 in 1MHz Increments |
| Memory Speeds: | Auto, 533, 667, 800 |
| PCIe Speeds: | Auto, 100MHz~200MHz in 1MHz Increments |
| PCI: | Fixed at 33.33MHz |
| Core Voltage: | Auto, Base CPU V to 1.7250V in 0.0250V increments |
| CPU Clock Multiplier: | Auto, 6x-11x in 1X increments if CPU is unlocked, downwards unlocked, Core 2 Duo |
| DRAM Voltage: | 1.75V ~ 2.50V in .05V or .10V increments |
| DRAM Timing Control: | SPD, 4 DRAM Timing Options |
| MCH Voltage: | 1.25V ~1.45 in .05V increments |
| ICH Voltage: | 1.50V ~1.70 in .05V increments |
| Memory Slots: | Four 240-pin DDR2 DIMM Slots Dual-Channel Configuration Regular Unbuffered Memory to 8GB Total |
| Expansion Slots: | 1 - PCIe X16 2 - PCIe X1 2 - PCI Slot 2.3 |
| Onboard SATA/RAID: | 6 SATA 3Gbps Ports - (RAID 0,1,5, 1+0,JBOD) - Intel ICH8R 2 SATA 3Gbps Ports - (RAID 0,1,JBOD) - JMicron JMB363 1 SATA 3Gbps Ports - Silicon Image 3132 1 e-SATA 3Gbps Ports - Silicon Image 3132 |
| Onboard IDE: | 1 ATA133/100/66 Port (2 drives) - JMicron JMB363 |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394: | 10 USB 2.0 Ports - 4 I/O Panel - 6 via Headers 2 Firewire 400 Ports by TI TSB43AB23 |
| Onboard LAN: | Gigabit Ethernet Controller - PCI Express Interface Realtek RTL 8168 |
| Onboard Audio: | Realtek ALC882D HD-Audio 8-channel CODEC |
| Power Connectors: | ATX 24-pin, 4-pin EATX 12V, 4-pin 12V Molex |
| I/O Panel: | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x S/PDIF Optical In 1 x S/PDIF Optical Out 1 x Audio Panel 2 x RJ45 1 x eSATA 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 |
| BIOS Revision: | Award 1.5 |
Abit has delivered a well optioned and performance oriented P965 board that sells for around US $145. We tested with the 1.5 beta BIOS release after having some issues with overclocking utilizing the 1.4 BIOS. Also, the 1.5 BIOS allows downward multipliers with the Core 2 Duo processors while further improving system performance and stability. Our issues with the BIOS revolved around its pinkish display color but more importantly the fact that Abit only allows the basic four memory timings to be changed (tCAS, tRCD, tRP, tRAS). For a board of this caliber we believe this is definitely a mistake. The ability to increase the CPU voltage to 1.725V and memory to 2.50V is impressive considering the offerings on the other P965 based boards. However, we wish the memory settings above 2.30V were available in .05V increments.
One area where Abit has constantly led all others is in the ability to overclock and monitor most system functions from Windows. Abit once again includes their excellent µGuru Windows utility that allows the user to overclock the system, change certain voltages, adjust fan speeds, and monitor hardware settings in real time without the need for rebooting. The OC Guru worked very well during our overclock testing and was a pleasure to use without resorting to the constant reboot procedure utilized by other Windows based utilities.
We also set the automatic overclocking to the Turbo setting and were greeted with a 7x288FSB setting for a CPU speed of 2016MHz that we would not consider turbo speed. Our memory was set to DDR2-800 but with 5-5-5-15 settings. This represents an 8% overclock of our component choices. Further information about this class leading utility can be found here.
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zjohnr - Tuesday, November 7, 2006 - link
In all the features tables for the motherboards in this article the PCI slots are listed as being PCI v2.3. However, looking at the pictures for the boards, the slots have PCI v2.2 keying. I think the entry in the features tables is wrong. (Is it?)Patsoe - Saturday, October 28, 2006 - link
Seeing all the trouble with the P965 - especially with the non-intel p-ata controller and with the ich8r - I'd be inclined to get a Core2-ready i945P board with ICH7R instead. Would that be a sane idea?BadThad - Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - link
Is the v1.02G Asus P5B-E using all solid capacitors? I read a press release stating that Asus was releasing the "P4B-E Plus" version with all solid caps. Rumor says the "Plus" version will not be sold in the USA.....arrgggggg. Tell me that's not true. I want the solid caps for long-term reliability. I'm wondering if our "Plus" is actually the v1.02G?Thanks
Gary Key - Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - link
The 1.01G and 1.02G boards are exactly the same except for a PLL controller. Asus stills states the P5B-Plus will not be imported into the States but you never know.keithke - Monday, October 23, 2006 - link
I was interested to hear you used this Scythe Infinity Air Cooler as I was going to do the same. Were there any issues with the Northbridge heatsink sitting so close? Or did it just plop right in with no spacing issues?Thx
Keith
Gary Key - Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - link
No issues with the Inifinity on all four corners. It is a close fit but it works fine with the enclosed fan.SniperWulf - Monday, October 23, 2006 - link
Hey guys,Did you have any strange anomolies with the X-fi on the DS3 while overclocked? When I was using that board with the F6 bios, I'd have to reboot like 3-4 times before windows would properly detect it. I eventually grew tired of it and bought a P5B-D so I haven't had a chance to try F7 with it.
Gary Key - Monday, October 23, 2006 - link
I did not have any issues with the X-FI on the DS3 when it was overclocked. The F5 and F6 BIOS releases were not X-FI friendly where F4 was perfect. F7 is working for some and not others, I did not have an issue with it. F8 will fix it for good.schlumpfi106 - Monday, October 23, 2006 - link
Im a little bit disappointed that there are so few informations about the cooling/silencing-related capabilitites of the boards. I would like to know how many fans can be connected, if the connectors are 3- or 4-pin, and if there is a way to control the fan speeds (preferably via SpeedFan). I don't care about a one-percent performance difference. My first priority is a reasonably silent system.goinginstyle - Monday, October 23, 2006 - link
He mentioned the number of fan headers on each board and even added a couple of comments on the ones that did not work right. In the features section there was a statement about whether the included utility worked or not. Sure he did not say anything about SpeedFan but how far do you want a guy to go after 26 pages? Also, if you click on the Enlarge picture on the boards you can clearly make out whether the fan headers are 3 or 4 pin.