Since i got chance to play with two of gigabyte’s high end bearlake boards, i wrote this simple review to share its performance with u guys..
As we know, Gigabyte P35 DQ6 supports ddr2 only while Gigabyte P35T DQ6 supports ddr3 only.
Both boards share a same pcb, except the ram slot is coloured differently. Red and yellow for P35 and Green and pink for P35T.
Both boards also use exactly same driver, and same bundle (accessories).
And both board includes gigabyte new features, knows as ultra durable 2

P35 and P35T side by side:



P35t bios details...

*To overclock, all the settings and options can be found in MIT section. Like previous gigabyte board, we need to press Ctrl + F1 to shows the hidden function (for ram)


1) CPU Frequency from 100 to 700!
2) for P35T mem tweak only got 3 options, auto, turbo and extreme.This feature does really effect the performance for ddr3, but i didnt find any performance different between extreme and standard in P35 (ddr2)
3) memory divider is vary depends on ur cpu frequency
4) Vdimm range from 1.5 to 3.05v!
5) PCI-E voltage up to +0.35v
6) FSB overvoltage up to +0.35v
7) MCH overvoltage up to +0.375v
8) CPU vcore up to 2.35v !

Test setup:

Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme QX6700ES
Cooling: Coolermaster GeminII with Dual 12cm fans
Mainboard: Gigabyte P35 DQ6 (bios F3), & Gigabyte P35T DQ6 (bios F2c)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2 1066 CL5, & Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1066 CL7
PSU: Corsair HX620w modular
Storage: Western Digital 300gb SATA 1 8mb
Graphic : HIS ATi Radeon HD2900XT
OS: Windows XP Sp2

P35 setup:


P35T setup:


Corsair XMS3 1066 CL7:


GeminII fits nicely on both board eventhough the northbridge heatsink is really tall..

---

Added on June 21, 2007, 7:40 pm1st test:
CPU @ Stock, Ram @ rated speed..
266x10 @ 2.66ghz + (crucial ballistix ddr2 1066 5-5-5-15 , Corsair XM3 ddr3 1066 7-7-7-20)

2nd test:
Highest RAM speed for ddr2 & DDR3
(Crucial Ballistix ddr2 1066 @ 1188 5-5-5-15 2.2vdimm, Corsair XMS3 ddr3 1066 @ 1440 9-9-9-24 1.65vdimm)

Result's table:



3rd test:
Highest fsb setting from bios:

452x8


Well this is the best result i ever got with my quad core. Previously with Intel Bad Axe xbx2 and DFI infinity dark, i could only managed to hit around 330fsb and 380fsb respectively. So i guess gigabyte claims that its p35 is optimize for quad core is true..

Pros:
Good performance with Quad core processor
Cooler board with its full copper heatsink and crazy cool 2
Complete bios setting and very easy to set
Great on board sound with latest realtek ALC889A sound controller
Compatible with most of memory type, either high performance or value ram

Cons:
NB strap change automatically at only 417fsb
PCB is too colourful, dont have elegant and professional looks
Long graphic card with dual slot heatsink fan might block sata port 1
No power or reset button to make it a perfect board to overclockers

Finally, imo this gigabyte p35 boards is the best c2d board i ever used. They have combinations of overclocking power of nforce 680i, stability of 975x and simplicity of 965p.
For DDR3 rams, while it has a very loose latency, the performance is not far behind with current top ddr2. Hence i believe that ddr3 is not far away from being overclockers and enthusiasts first choice..
As for ddr3, i dun think it is a step back if u migrate from ddr2 to ddr3 platform although i still believe waiting for a few months is a better option for now, unless u are ready to spend 'some' money on it.

Thanks to all for ur help n support in finishing this short n simple review..


* for complete screenshots of the test, u guys can visit my album here :

http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb283/irenicus07/

coz i'm not allowed to upload so many pics here..

This post has been edited by irenic: Jun 22 2007, 02:55 AM

Nice review!

Any idea whether this board will support Intel's upcoming 45nm CPU right out of the box?

I'm also aiming for a P35/DDR2 with a hope of upgrading to 45nm in the future....

And that is why i hate Gigabyte motherboards.

Sure support bro. I also hav same vision. Anyway, it very nice review here.

nice review there. can list down the actual spec for all? os, hdd, psu... etc. hehe... keep it going mate.

nice review man
but mind to do this for me?
since the strap change at 417fsb,can u post the 32m result for
1)418fsb boot from bios
2)416fsb boot from bios then setfsb it in win to 418fsb

anyway..from the result table..the bandwidth seem like gain alot by using 5:8 divider

thx.. actually i did

for p35:

QX6700ES
2gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC8500
300gb Sata I 8mb
Thermaltake Toughpower 700w & Corsair HX620w
Coolermaster GeminII
Windows XP Sp2
Panasonic DVD RW

for p35T:

QX6700ES
2gb Corsair XMS3 Platinum 1066 CL7
300gb Sata I 8mb
Thermaltake Toughpower 700w & Corsair HX620w
Coolermaster GeminII
Windows XP Sp2
Panasonic DVD RW

i'll do that for u soon.. but i did test in everest and sandra before, so let me post sandra mem bandwith + multi PI results first..

416fsb boot from bios :

416x8, ram @ 1330 turbo


418x8, ram @ 1336 turbo




This post has been edited by irenic: Jun 22 2007, 03:08 AM

hi irenic, enjoy reading your review. many good stuff here
Heard u said something about ur new RAM, glad to see u review it.

The bearlake chipset was built with the main purpose of running the fsb1333 45nm processors, of course la will support..

thx !

yeah.. sure can support..

neway yesterday while i was testing the new crucial pc8500, my xbx2 cant even boot @ 1068fsb (xbx2 cant set the ram @ 1066).. and the max bootable speed is only 1004fsb @ 5-5-5-15 2.3vdimm!

and some forumers also faced same problem with this tracer and dfi dark..

but when i test it @ gigabyte p35 dq6, it straight away boot @ 1066fsb @ 1.85vdimm only! and manage to pass PI 32m as well

Nice review bro............
keep it up

This post has been edited by rlhc17: Jun 22 2007, 04:12 AM

So sorry, me noob for DDR2. What's xbx2?

irenic@ nice review...

want to ask on this :



is the mobo come with this bios, or you downgrade the bios from F4 to F3 ??? if downgrade do let me know how much difference was there...

currently in xs,ppl suggest F3 for better performance

Intel 975XBX2 Motherboard. Called BadAxe2..

nice irenic..
Did u try tighther the timings for both the reviews? hehe..or u keep it secret?
nice results tho..

thx thx~!!

it comes with F3.. in terms of overclocking, F3 is a better bios. never tried F4 but some people said latest beta bios F5x gives extra performance from ur memory

well for crucial, i tried 1100 @ 4-4-4-10 and for corsair i did 7-7-7-20 up until 1180.. above shown only the result of both ram at rated speed + rated timing and overclocked speed + rated timing..

wow bro,u really rich enough la,really rich lo u....
anyway,nice review u've done!
How much did u pay for the DDR3?

just tested 4gigs on gigabyte dq6 p35.. no problem running up till 1188mhz 2.2vdimm 5-5-5-15



the ddr3 cost me around rm1.8k

minded