Introduction

Over the past 4 weeks or so, I have looked at four different configurations of P45 motherboard. They each had similarities, but there were distinct differences too. They ranged from about as inexpensive a board that you will find from a major motherboard manufacturer, to a mainstream model. They clearly point out the flexibility of the P45 chipset, which is capable of controlling motherboards from either end of the mild to wild spectrum.

Today I will be reviewing yet another P45 board, the Gigabyte EP45T-DS3R. I haven't quite decided the niche this board fits in, it is full-featured although not quite as nice as what I consider a mainstream motherboard, but much more than an economy board. Even the price fits between an economy board and a mainstream board. So what will it be, a very nice economy board, or an inexpensive mainstream board? Read on to see!

Packaging

The EP45T-DS3R comes in a relatively small, unsleeved box, literally covered with features and specs. Inside is the bundle lying on the board with a cardboard divider separating them. The motherboard itself is in a static-free sleeve, and sits on a thick slab of foam.

Specs/Features

CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Pentium Dual-Core, Intel Celeron LGA 775 processors (some early LGA 775 processors not supported)
Supports (1600)/1333/1066/800 MHz FSB

Chipset:
- North Bridge: Intel P45 Express Chipset
- South Bridge: Intel ICH10R

Memory:
- 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory
- Dual channel memory architecture
- Support for DDR3 1900 (O.C.)/1600/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules

Audio:
- Realtek ALC889A High Definition Audio
- 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
- Dolby Home TheaterM
- S/PDIF In/Out

LAN: 2 x Realtek 8111C chips (10/100/1000 Mbit)

PCI Expansion:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8
(The PCIEx16 and PCIEx8 slots support ATI CrossFireX technology and conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
- 3 x PCI Express x1 slot
- 2 x PCI slots

SATA: 6 x SATA 3Gb/s
Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10

Internal Connectors:
- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
- 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
- 1 x floppy disk drive connector
- 1 x IDE connector
- 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 2 x system fan headers
- 1 x power fan header
- 1 x front panel header
- 1 x front panel audio header
- 1 x CD In connector
- 1 x S/PDIF In header
- 1 x S/PDIF Out header
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 1 x IEEE 1394a header
- 1 x parallel port header
- 1 x serial port header
- 1 x power LED header
- 1 x chassis intrusion header

I/O Panel:
- 1 x PS/2 mouse port
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
- 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
- 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
- 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 2 x IEEE 1394a ports
- 2 x RJ-45 ports
- 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)

BIOS:
-2 x 8 Mbit flash AWARD BIOS
-DualBIOST
-PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b

Hardware Monitoring:
- System voltage detection
- CPU/System temperature detection
- CPU/System/Power fan speed detection
- CPU overheating warning
- CPU/System/Power fan fail warning
- CPU/System fan speed control

Gigabyte Unique Features:
- @BIOS
- Q-Flash
- Dual BIOS
- Download Center
- Xpress Install
- Xpress Recovery2
- EasyTune
- Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced
- Ultra TPM
- Time Repair
- Q-Share

Form Factor: ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm

O/S: Microsoft Windows Vista/XP