DFI Lanparty LT X38-T2R S775 Motherboard Review

Motherboards/Intel S775 by massman @ 2008-02-19

We take a look at the newest DFI Intel motherboard, based on the X38 chipset, the successor of the high end version of the P35. Can DFI work their magic and produce a tweakers dream X38 board? We find out.

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Package and Contents

Box and bundle

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I was kind of surprised when I had the box in my hands the first time as it seemed that DFI restyled the exterior, making it sparkle and shine in my hands. No wonder then that I couldn't wait to finish the tests with the E8500 CPU in order to start with this motherboard.

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On the back of the box, we find the usual information regarding the chipset features and information about what makes this motherboard special, such as 8-channel audio, dual GBit lan and the extensive BIOS.

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Inside the box, we can find a smaller box containing all the accessories and beneath that of course the motherboard itself. Let's open the smaller box first in order to find out more about the accessories that DFI decided to include.

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Accessories: part1:

  • 4 x Sata cable
  • Floppy disk cable
  • Pata cable
  • 2 x Molex-to-sata power cable
  • Bernstein audio module connector
  • Cooling paste for the chipset cooling
  • A set of jumpers

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    As we were not able to display all the accessories in one picture, we give you part two containing:

  • Dfi warranty policy
  • Dfi manual
  • Chipset cooler installation guide
  • Chipset cooling
  • Floppy disk containing the sata raid drivers
  • I/o back panel
  • Bernstein audio module

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    The Bernstein audio module is quite elaborate; having everything you need for 8-channel surround sound on-board.

    Motherboard

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    First thing that struck me when I had a closer look at the motherboard is the similarities with the P35 motherboard it seemed that only the chipset cooling was different. However this shouldn’t come as a surprise as I already mentioned that the X38 is basically a high end P35 chipset.

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    The socket area is easy to insulate, an important aspect if you look to subzero cool your CPU for extreme action.

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    The I/O connections on the back of the motherboard:

  • PS/2 keyboard and mouse connector
  • Firewire connector
  • 6 x Sata connector
  • 2 x GBit lan

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    This is the hardly noticeable difference with the P35: three PCIe slots of which two of them x16.

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    The internal connections are:

  • Connector for an external COM port
  • Connector for an IEEE 1394 port
  • Connector for the Bernstein audio module
  • Front audio connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
  • CD-in connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
  • S/PDIF connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
  • IrDA connector
  • CIR connector
  • 8 Serial ATA connectors
  • IDE connector
  • Floppy connector
  • Front panel connector
  • 6 fan connectors
  • Diagnostic LED
  • EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)

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    Last but not least, the memory slots. When overclocking with two memory sticks, use the green slots as those will provide extra headroom of about 20-25MHz according to user reports.
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    Comment from eva2000 @ 2008/02/21
    Nice review maybe try with 1/11 official bios as it changes the way clock fine delay values are set. Also try with clock cross settings and common clock setting set to More Aggressive with Enhanced Data transmitting and addressing set to FAST and T2 Dispatch enabled.

    Quote:
    DRAM Timing
    - Enhance Data transmitting: FAST
    - Enhance Addressing: FAST
    - T2 Dispatch: Enabled

    Clock Setting Fine Delay
    Ch1 Clock Crossing Setting: More Aggressive
    - DIMM 1 Clock fine delay: Current
    - DIMM 2 Clock fine delay: Curren
    - DIMM 1 Control fine delay: Current
    - DIMM 2 Control fine delay: Current
    - Ch 1 Command fine delay: Current

    Ch2 Clock Crossing Setting: More Aggressive
    - DIMM 3 Clock fine delay: Current
    - DIMM 4 Clock fine delay: Current
    - DIMM 3 Control fine delay: Current
    - DIMM 4 Control fine delay: Current
    - Ch 2 Command fine delay: Current

    Ch1Ch2 CommonClock Setting: More Aggressive
    love to see how that changes your results
    Comment from jmke @ 2008/02/21
    thank you for your input, always appreciate feedback from experienced OCers
    Comment from KingDingeling @ 2008/02/23
    Greetings from Germany!

    Just a question, if you're reviewing such a high-end OC board, why is there no overclocking section? Many other mobo reviews I read include a section where they talk about overclocking, for example if this mobo was able to push more CPU clocks outta their system or not.
    Comment from jmke @ 2008/02/24
    last time I checked 500FSB is not standard speed, this board was tested at 500Mhz = OC
    Comment from KingDingeling @ 2008/02/25
    Yea, I saw that, but that's your standard overclocked speed for that E6300 from what I've seen? What I meant was how this boards overclocking potential compared to other boards, for example if you were able to achieve an even greater overclock from this board than you were from for example the Asrock 4core P35 board
    Comment from Massman @ 2008/02/25
    I did not continue my tests above 500FSB, for the simple reason that I cannot guarantee stability above 500FSB with the E6300 on air cooling (and I did not want to insulate the board for phase-change tests).

    600FSB is very easy for the Dfi in 99,9% of the cases. The Asrock P35 is not built for overclocks, whereas the DFI is built especially for the overclockers.
    Comment from Massman @ 2008/02/25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by eva2000 View Post
    Nice review maybe try with 1/11 official bios as it changes the way clock fine delay values are set. Also try with clock cross settings and common clock setting set to More Aggressive with Enhanced Data transmitting and addressing set to FAST and T2 Dispatch enabled.



    love to see how that changes your results
    Eva, is it okay to test these settings on my P35 motherboard? Or is it purely for the X38 board to tune the memory settings?

     

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