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Intel X38 Motherboard Roundup

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5. Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6

 

 

Gigabyte, following the success of the P35-DQ6 series, announced two new motherboards based on the Intel X38 chipset and support for either DDR2 (GA-X38-DQ6) or DDR3 (GA-X38T-DQ6) memory. For now, only the DDR2 motherboard is available, but shortly the GA-X38T-DQ6 will hit the market. Gigabyte has included all the various technologies we found in the previous DQ6 series (6-Quad technologies).

The GA-X38-DQ6 is GIGABYTE's next generation, high performance platform based on the killer combination of the new Intel X38 chipset, plus support for the latest multi-core processors up to FSB 1600MHz, including the upcoming 45nm platform. In addition to setting new records for blistering performance, the GA-X38-DQ6 features an all-new copper Silent Pipe thermal solution for both the chipset and CPU power MOSFET, dramatically reducing the temperature around the CPU. The GA-X38-DQ6 is also part of the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 Series of motherboards, featuring top quality electronic components which provide optimized power savings, ultra cooling and extended system durability.

The Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 is based on the Intel X38 chipset, which supports Intel® Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D Processors and the next generation 45nm Multi-Core CPUs (LGA775). It features 1600 / 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz MHz FSB, dual-channel un-buffered DDR2-1066/800/667 MHz x 4DIMMs with a maximum of 8GB. As with the Asus Maximus Formula, it supports both PCIe 2.0 x16 slots at the full x16 speed.

Comparing the previous GA-P35-DQ6 with the new GA-X38-DQ6, we can get a clearer picture of the differences, which aren't many:

Model
CPU Type
Socket 775
Socket 775
FSB
1600/1333/1066/800
1333/1066/800
Chipset
Intel X38 Express Chipset
Intel P35 Express Chipset
Memory type
Dual Channel, DDR2 1066/800/667
Dual Channel, DDR2 1066/800/667
Memory socket
DDR2 *4
DDR2 *4
Max. Memory
8GB
8GB
Graphics interface
PCI-Express (2.0) x16
PCI-Express x16
PCI-Express X16 (X8)
2
2
PCI-Express X1 (X2,X4)
3
3
PCI
2
2
ISA slot
0
0
AMR/CNR
0/0
0/0
VGA
N/A
N/A
RAID Function
SATA RAID 0,1,5,10
SATA RAID 0,1,5,10
LAN
Realtek 8111 Gigabit LAN Controller
Realtek 8111 Gigabit LAN Controller
Audio
HD Audio (Realtek ALC889A)
HD Audio (Realtek ALC889A)
Codec channel
8
8
IDE ATA
8* Serial ATA 3Gb/s / 1*PATA
8* Serial ATA 3Gb/s / 1*PATA
USB 1.1
Same as USB 2.0
Same as USB 2.0
USB 2.0
12 (4 by cable)
12 (8 by cable)
DualBIOS
Yes (QuadBios)
Yes (Quad BIOS)
PCB size
30.5*24.4 CM
30.5*24.4 CM
Form Factor
ATX
ATX
IEEE 1394
3
3
Thermal Solution
All copper Silent-Pipe / Crazy Cool
All Copper Silent-Pipe / Crazy Cool
eSATAII
4 (by cable)
4 (by cable)

Quick overview of features

  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 AMD 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.

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.

 

Intel® Core™ 2 multi-core and upcoming 45nm processors
GA-X38-DQ6 supports Intel latest high performance CPU delivers the most energy-efficient performance available today. Based on Intel's Micro Architecture, the Intel multi-core processors with 4 cores and two shared L2 caches provide the best capability-per-watt solutions and are an ideal choice for multi-media enthusiasts and intensive multi-tasking environments. This cutting-edge processor offers significant performance boosts and provides an overall more energy efficient platform.
Smaller, Faster and More Efficient
GA-X38-DQ6 motherboards paired with Intel 45nm CPUs deliver the very best platform for multitasking, multimedia and high performance gaming. Not only do GIGABYTE's latest motherboards based on Intel Bearlake chipsets (including P35/P31/G33/G31) all support Intel's new generation, 45nm multi-core processors.
PCI-E 2.0 Interface
PCI-E 2.0 doubles the bus standard's bandwidth from 2.5 Gbit/s to 5 Gbit/s, meaning a x32 connector can transfer data at up to 16 GB/s in each direction. PCIe 2.0 also features improvements to the point-to-point data transfer protocol and its software architecture.

For more information about other GA-X38-DQ6 features, please visit the Gigabyte web site.

- Full specifications

CPU
  1. Support for an Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme processor/ Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor/ Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor/ Intel® Pentium processor Extreme Edition/ Intel® Pentium D processor/ Intel® Pentium 4 processor Extreme Edition/ Intel® Pentium 4 processor in the LGA 775 package
  2. Support for Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology
  3. Support 1600/1333/1066/800 MHz FSB
Chipset
  1. Northbridge: Intel® X38 Express Chipset
  2. Southbridge: Intel® ICH9R
  3. T.I IEEE 1394 Controller
  4. Gigabit Lan Controller
  5. 8 Channels ALC889A Audio controller
Memory
  1. 4 x 1.8V DDR2 DIMM sockets supporting up to 8 GB of system memory
  2. Dual channel memory architecture
  3. Support for DDR2 1066/800/667 MHz memory modules
Expansion Slots
  1. 2 PCI Express x16 slot (Support PCI Express 2.0)
  2. 3 PCI Express x1 slots
  3. 2 PCI slots
Form Factor
  1. ATX form factor, 305 x 244mm
Internal I/O Connectors
  1. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
  2. 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
  3. 1 x 4-pin PCIe 12V power connector
  4. 1 x floppy disk drive connector
  5. 1 x IDE connector
  6. 8 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
  7. 1 x CPU fan header
  8. 2 x system fan headers
  9. 1 x power fan header
  10. 1 x North Bridge fan header
  11. 1 x front panel header
  12. 1 x front panel audio header
  13. 1 x CD In connector
  14. 1 x S/PDIF In header
  15. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
  16. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
  17. 1 x IEEE 1394a headers
  18. 1 x parallel port header
  19. 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
  20. 1 x serial port header
  21. 1 x power LED header
  22. 1 x chassis intrusion header
Back Panel Connectors
  1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
  2. 1 x PS/2 mouse port
  3. 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
  4. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
  5. 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
  6. 2 x IEEE 1394a ports
  7. 2 x RJ-45 port
  8. 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
BIOS
  1. 2 x 8 Mbit flash
  2. Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
  3. Support for Dual BIOSTM
  4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI 1.0b
Other Features
  1. Ultra Durable 2 Motherboard
  2. All copper Silent Pipe and Crazy Cool
  3. All Japanese manufactured solid capacitors with SMD (Surface Mount Device)
  4. Over-clocking Enhanced
  5. Support for @BIOS
  6. Support for Download Center
  7. Support for Q-Flash
  8. Support for EasyTune
  9. Support for Xpress Install
  10. Support for Xpress Recovery2

 

 

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