Article: Gigabyte® GA-8I945P Dual Graphic-R Review (World's First SLI on i945 Chipset?)
Many thanks to AsiantTech, and TipidPC for providing the motherboard and videocards, Intel® for providing the processor.
VIII. Special Section-World's First SLI on Intel 945P Express Chipset
In this section, I will reveal why I mentioned "Awakening The Dormant Gaming Power". Anyone who have been following Intel's technology will know that for dual graphics solutions are indeed a reality for Intel platform. But to be able to achieve this, certain restrictions apply. For example, on i975, only ATI's Crossfire solution is officially supported. For NVIDIA's SLI, once has to have an NVIDIA chipset, like NFORCE4 for Intel, to enjoy the power of multiple GPU system. Enthusiasts have seem to be relegated to either use CrossFire with i975 or make do with SLI on NFORCE4 for Intel. Of course, this doesn't make everyone happy, specially for the fans of NVIDIA SLI with Intel chipset.
Just to give an even more proof of how bleak the situation is, I have gathered links and information for the
un-initiated.
XTremeSystems Info on SLI for i975: Not SLI
But fear not, this motherboard just needs a special driver and SLI will be a reality. Need proof? Of course I will
provide some screenshots, and not just that, a 3DMark ORB submission.
IX. Other Features
Due to the nature and duration of the test, I am not able to fully provide a comprehensive slew
of benchmarks with regards to other features, namely, C.I.A.2 and M.I.B.2. However, in this section,
I'll just go briefly and state what I thought about this feature.
C.I.A.2 CPU Intelligent Accelarator
Is a feature that automatically adjust CPU speed whenever there's a "load". C.I.A.2 can be activated in both via the Windows utility EasyTune5. I have tested this and it does improve performance and benchmark scores. The best thing about this is that, it is an "overclocking on demand" feature. When there's no load, the CPU returns to the nominal state, reducing both thermals and acoustics.M.I.B.2 Memory Intelligent Booster
It is a very interesting feature, in that, it has list of known memory and has a preset of speed that can be safely done with the memory manufacturer. Do note that unlike C.I.A.2 where overclocking happens on demand and is temporal, M.I.B.2 settings are always "on" and set permanently. As with C.I.A.2, performance improvement and benchmark scores improvement are apparent when this is turned-on.EasyTune5
A very useful tool for the budding and noob overclocker. It provides and easy interface to overclock the system, but the granularity of control versus the BIOS way of overclocking is not there. However, for most, this software will do for that easy performance increase. This software is also an environment monitor, showing CPU temperature, voltage values, as well as fan RPM. Really a nifty tool to install, but if you're an experienced overclocker, don't ask too much from it.X. Closing Thoughts
This board is a sure fire winner in the enthusiast segment, but more so in the mainstream segment. It has shown that it's Dual Graphics Link technology is not just for their very own QuadView technology. Improved drivers can take this Dual Graphics Link option far beyond what the manufacturer has intended it for.
ATA RAID0 is a good way to get some more boost from the dying IDE hard drives. It's not the best performing throughput I've seen, but I can't ask for more since most IDE isn't really fast anyway, with the fastest operating at 133Mbps.
SATA RAID0 is very fast, and I never have problems setting up my Operating System on a freshly created RAID configuration during the initial creation at the BIOS. Hard Disk access is very much acceptable at this rate, almost trying to hit the speed of solid-state storage devices.
Audio is great, I love it. It offers just enough features to be used as a full blown entertainment system.
Rock stable operation, and utmost compatibility with processor is very high. The whole system just works with any CPU I plug it in available for mainstream system.
LAN access is top notch, and I never hard problems transferring large chunks of files. I have not tested the Gigabit capability since I don't have a Gigabit switch, but I am able to squeeze 85Mbps during file transfer connecting to a 10/100Mbps hub. I'll try to get a Gigabit switch next time.
When it comes to peripherals support, this motherboard doesn't come short. With plenty of USB connectivity, I don't see why this board should leave any gamer wanting.
When used as a gaming machine, aside from audio, this motherboard is capable of running along with the top dog video cards. I never encountered hang ups or any kind of bogging down playing Doom3 and other 3D games.
The kicker here is that, this board can support SLI! Now this is something new, since currently, there's no other chipset, save for NVIDIA's very own, that supports this feature.
All in all, this is a great board.
