Can anyone tell me specifics on these fans? I need four new ones as they are failing. I can't seem to find information on these. I have not removed them yet but it does not look like they have a square mounting configuration like most fans. What is the voltage?
Thanks for any help.
that mobo looks like something from my nightmares. here i am trying to reduce fans and use bigger ones with fanbuses to reduce noise and this thing comes with 4 tiny ones. wouldn't all those fans be useless if your case do not move air well? just blow around the hot air inside the case.
The noise level is okay, not as good as a fanless setup but so far not too bad. I will be conducting thermal tests with only the power supply running and a stock Intel heatsink/fan from a 820D to see how well the rear two fans exit air.
- We will be comparing the thermal characteristics of this system to Asus's 8-phase power and fanless cooper heat pipe technology in the near future -
Hi (as I'm new around here)...and a question. That Asus board is also 975x? :) cuz I'm rather keen on something less noisy then 4 60mm plastic fans. If I'd like a vacuum cleaner in a comp, I'd still stick to FX 5800 :). I'm really thinking of coming back to Intel, especially when Presler appears, but I don't want too much noise
And 2nd question. Is it possible to have two x1800Xl on crossfire, and also squeeze the X-fi card on that board (I pressume that other 975x boards will have same PCI-PCI-ex design?)
From an airflow perspective, wouldn't it make more sense to have all the fans blowing the same direction? From the pictures and your description, it appears the while the fans at the backplate are blowing out, as they should, the 2nd set of fans attempt to blow air back at the memory.
The trouble is that those 2nd fans are trying to pull air against the general airflow direction in the case, and whatever air they do blow over the RAM will be warm from the CPU and other heatsinks in those platic tunnels.
I think in a real-life case, the 2nd set of fans should blow towards the back of the case, drawing cool air from the front of the case past the DIMMs, thus creating a wind-tunnel effect to more effectively draw the hot exhaust from the CPU HSF to the back fans and out of the case.
Perhaps if it can be done, you could try swapping the 2nd fans around to get them blowing the other way and do some measurements. I can't tell if it's possible from the pictures; the tunnels and fan mount brackets look like they could be one-piece. I suppose that you could reverse the polarity of the power pins to spin them backwards, but those fans don't look like they'd move much air spinning the wrong way.
Yes, I do realize that Gigabyte's Engineers must have worked on this, but I've had 'engineers' tell me riduculous things about airflow in the past that I proved wrong by simply flipping the fans around. One that comes to mind from awhile back was a KryoTech Super-G that had the back fan blowing in and the front fan blowing out... their engineers INSISTED that it was supposed to be that way, that they had tested, blah, blah, blah... after feeling the side panel getting warm and nearly burning my hand on the SCSI drive in the bay, I reversed the fans and all was well. And that was a system with NO cpu heat at all!
Airflow in an ATX case should always be front to back, bottom to top.
quote: From an airflow perspective, wouldn't it make more sense to have all the fans blowing the same direction? From the pictures and your description, it appears the while the fans at the backplate are blowing out, as they should, the 2nd set of fans attempt to blow air back at the memory.
This was exactly my first thought when I looked at the board, read the engineering information, and then powered on the board. My first reaction was the thermals coming off the MCH would be blown right across the memory slots and then getting swept into the power supply or back over the CPU area creating additional heat. I think I was right to some degree. ;->
However, Gigabyte is recommending and has provided pictures of their preferred CPU cooling system which consists of a cooler that is designed like their G-Power series that blows air over the entire CPU surface area. According to Gigabyte their reduction in thermals at the memory, MCH, and MOFSETs were accomplished with this combination. I am trying their cooling suggestions currently along with swapping the 40mm fans with others to blow in opposite directions. This is why I was not about to publish their test results until we had a chance to fully review the system and take our own measurements.
I have not completed testing and still have additional cooling units to try along with additional measurements from the stock heatsink/fan. My initial thoughts and test results favor the Asus 8-phase setup with the fanless heat pipe system although the Gigabyte design actually works well. I will have measurements and a final synopsis in the full article. Until then if I find something of significance I will post an update.
quote: Is there a specification for dual channel slot color coding, or are you stating your personal preference?
There is not a hard standard for the color designation. Most manufacturers have started color-coding the various port connectors and slots but in some cases these colors do not mean anything. With the memory slots it is now customary to color code the slots to signify which slots need to be filled to enable the dual channel memory capabilities of the board. Instead of signifying in the user's manual to utilize slot one and three or two and four for dual channel capability the quick setup sheets can now use a visual color to represent the slot numbers. It is easier to understand this way and helps when you cannot locate the user manual while you are stuck under a desk with low light conditions. ;->
The main problem is that some boards (earlier review this year) have the first and second slots the same color and slots three and four a different color yet you have to use slot one and three for dual channel. This is confusing to others and me as it is not intuitive and does not follow a "soft" standard that has developed regarding the memory slot color-coding.
Yeah, I've found the color coding of the memory slots pretty useless, as I can never be sure whether they mean to put the two dimms in the two slots that are colored the same, or colored different. I always just figure the first two slots are one channel, and the other pair are the other channel (usually there's a gap between the two pairs, but not always).
Personally, for me it makes more logical sense to have the slots the same color within a channel, so you put the two dimms into different color slots. In other words, the different color should signify a different channel. This scheme also lends itself well to single-channel boards - their slots should all be one color, signifying one channel.
That said, I can also understand the logic of making the first slot of each channel the same color, and the second slot of each channel a different color. So then you put each pair of DIMMs in the same-color slots.
Either way though, they (the MB manufacturers as a group) really ought to pick one method and stick to it. For now, I'll just ignore the colors.
Is this the final implementation of the 975x chipset? I heard there were going to be some sort of an upgrade along its lifetime, as the "current" 975x based motherboards does not support the future processors conroe and yonah? (because those two will be pin compitable right?) More PCI-Express lanes as seen in ATI's new RD580 chipset would also be nice.
I am awaiting word from Intel about the 975X progression path and will report any findings along with additional technical information in the full article. This article was meant as a preview and since the chipset has not officially launched there were details I could not provide at this time. I fully agree that additional PCI-Express lanes would be nice. If I receive additional information from Intel before the full article is released I will update this preview.
how is putting a turbo on a scooter going to help?? ;)
and i guarantee that all 4 of those tiny fans are going to either:
1) die in 4 months
2) sound like a turbocharger in 4 months
I think the next step up should actually be intergration with the case, their is just too much contstriants otherwise (especially working with the oldish ATX structure)
quote: The CPU socket area has an ample amount of room for alternative cooling solutions. We utilized the stock Intel heat sink but also verified several aftermarket cooling systems would fit in this area during our tests. However, due to the Turbojet fan housings, installation of certain heatsinks could be problematic.
Why not go ahead and report what aftermarket heatsinks did fit, and if you had any that didn't, mention those as well? It would also be helpful, and in line with the previous poster's comment about wanting to see the board installed in a case, to see what the motherboard would look like with a one of the popular oversized heatsinks mounted on the CPU. I think that this would go a long way to give a sense of scale to the pictures of how much room there is around the CPU socket and whether it is crowded by the "turbo" feature.
Just a couple of wishes that might make a good review better.
I will list out the heatsink/fans that fit and provide a case picture in the full review. I always test the motherboards in a typical mid-size ATX case and not on a test bench. I think utilizing a test bench does not account for installation, fitment, connection, or thermal issues. This is one area that I am convinced that if the board is not tested in a case that we are doing a disservice to the readership.
Please email me if you want to a preview picture of the board in the case with a large Gigabyte or Thermaltake heatsink/fan setup installed already.
quote: how is putting a turbo on a scooter going to help?? ;)
I was wondering how long it would take for that comment to be made. ;-> However, every little bit helps when you have a Pentium 4 at this time. :>
Your statements about the fans are a concern of mine as well. We have the system running 24/7 with varying degrees of climate changes in the room at this time. I will report on any changes in the sound or vibration levels in the full article. Gigabyte has assured us the fan design under went rigorous testing before manufacturing commenced.
I trust gigabyte : ) they are a cool company and i don't think the tiny fan would die. If i was going to buy a Intel CPU then i would difinitely buy this motherboard. I am hopping Gigabyte comes out with AMD 64 version but anyways this is a awesome motherboard that i would recommend to any wanting to have an Intel SLI setup :)
sorry if this offends you but you sound like a gigabyte plant
most enthusists dont use gigabyte at all as their overclocking is usually mediocre
and about the fans -- i know from expierience
1 of those tiny fans after 5 months sounded like a blender and was much louder than everything in the entire system
I cant imagine how bad 4 of them will be
oh - and its not just gigabyte, most if not all 40mm fans suck, no wait, blow, no wait :P
Gigabyte is working diligently to establish their top tier motherboards as a choice of the enthusiast again. This board and bios was able to overclock our 840EE further than any other board we have tested to date. How it performs with a single core processor will be revealed in the full article. We also have updated bios from Asus so the results should be interesting. ;-)
I am not totally convinced about the fan setup either but I promise you I am beating on them at this time. I think Asus's fanless heat exchange system is a more eloquent and desirable system. I will have a thermal comparison in the full review.
Gigabyte trying to cheat by 6Mhz x multi right out of the box? Crazy but not as crazy as those 4 whinny fans. All 40 & 60mm fans whine like crazy to move any air whatsoever, in the 4000-7000rpm range and why I take them off every chipset I've ever owned. (be sure and replace with large passive HS) But 4??!!? Well thankfully most PD buyers have a super tornado on processor to mask the whine...or add to it.
Kudos to Intel for another great chipset supporting both x-fire and SLi.. Wish they'd make em for AMD processors too.
quote: Gigabyte trying to cheat by 6Mhz x multi right out of the box?
I was upset about this and not because they are doing it as just about everyone else has had FSB creap also. What upset me was going to manual mode and entering 200FSB, seeing 200x16 on post, and then finding out through Everest or CPU-Z that it still was at 206FSB. I tried all settings up to 206 with the same result. I posted that comment in the test setup section but will go into further details in the full article. I would be careful of any future performance tests available on this board as it can be missed based upon how the bios reports the settings at post. I have relayed my concerns to Gigabyte. In fact, I am going to update the article at this time as it has just upset me once again. :(
Live and learn... This was my "first look or preview" type article and as such I am still learning. I appreciate the comments good or bad and will take them to heart for the next one. I certainly cannot improve or address the wants of the readership without honest feedback.
We wanted to get a preview out on this board and more importantly the expected performance of the 975X chipset before the boards hit the market next week. There are several test comments I have noted for the full article about the board that were touched on but not fully detailed (some additional details added now)in the preview. We will also have single core testing, thermals, expanded audio testing (X-Fi and others), CrossFire results, and a couple of surprises coming up. I think the full article and additional testing will be well received (from an Intel user viewpoint).
In this "First Look" we wanted to show the board and provide technical specifics about it so we can go straight to the additional testing and results in the full article along with providing details about the 975X chipset itself. Hopefully, we will have additional 975X boards to compare against also if time permits, if not we will follow up in a couple of weeks.
As a side note- I am doing everything possible to test the Turbojet fan setup accurately. We did not publish Gigabyte's claims as to thermal improvements as we want to prove this in a typical user environment. Although initial results look very good regarding thermals I believe at this time Asus has the better overall solution.
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30 Comments
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bairjo - Monday, April 13, 2009 - link
Can anyone tell me specifics on these fans? I need four new ones as they are failing. I can't seem to find information on these. I have not removed them yet but it does not look like they have a square mounting configuration like most fans. What is the voltage?Thanks for any help.
StriderGT - Saturday, November 12, 2005 - link
Quote from Quick Take page 6:"from an Intel enthusiast viewpoint", a real rarity...
endangered species :-P
Gary Key - Monday, November 14, 2005 - link
Yes, there are very few of us, we tend to lurk in the shadows waiting for an FX-57 to drop out of the sky.... ;-> :-)noxipoo - Saturday, November 12, 2005 - link
that mobo looks like something from my nightmares. here i am trying to reduce fans and use bigger ones with fanbuses to reduce noise and this thing comes with 4 tiny ones. wouldn't all those fans be useless if your case do not move air well? just blow around the hot air inside the case.Gary Key - Saturday, November 12, 2005 - link
The noise level is okay, not as good as a fanless setup but so far not too bad. I will be conducting thermal tests with only the power supply running and a stock Intel heatsink/fan from a 820D to see how well the rear two fans exit air.artifex - Saturday, November 12, 2005 - link
How many hamsters does this habitrail hold?Gary Key - Saturday, November 12, 2005 - link
More like how much dog hair will the fans collect over the next week. ;-)vailr - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
CPU-Z v.1.31 is out:http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-131.zip">http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-131.zip
Gary Key - Saturday, November 12, 2005 - link
Thank you for the link.AndrzejPl - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
- We will be comparing the thermal characteristics of this system to Asus's 8-phase power and fanless cooper heat pipe technology in the near future -Hi (as I'm new around here)...and a question. That Asus board is also 975x? :) cuz I'm rather keen on something less noisy then 4 60mm plastic fans. If I'd like a vacuum cleaner in a comp, I'd still stick to FX 5800 :). I'm really thinking of coming back to Intel, especially when Presler appears, but I don't want too much noise
And 2nd question. Is it possible to have two x1800Xl on crossfire, and also squeeze the X-fi card on that board (I pressume that other 975x boards will have same PCI-PCI-ex design?)
Andrzej
johnsonx - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Gary,From an airflow perspective, wouldn't it make more sense to have all the fans blowing the same direction? From the pictures and your description, it appears the while the fans at the backplate are blowing out, as they should, the 2nd set of fans attempt to blow air back at the memory.
The trouble is that those 2nd fans are trying to pull air against the general airflow direction in the case, and whatever air they do blow over the RAM will be warm from the CPU and other heatsinks in those platic tunnels.
I think in a real-life case, the 2nd set of fans should blow towards the back of the case, drawing cool air from the front of the case past the DIMMs, thus creating a wind-tunnel effect to more effectively draw the hot exhaust from the CPU HSF to the back fans and out of the case.
Perhaps if it can be done, you could try swapping the 2nd fans around to get them blowing the other way and do some measurements. I can't tell if it's possible from the pictures; the tunnels and fan mount brackets look like they could be one-piece. I suppose that you could reverse the polarity of the power pins to spin them backwards, but those fans don't look like they'd move much air spinning the wrong way.
Yes, I do realize that Gigabyte's Engineers must have worked on this, but I've had 'engineers' tell me riduculous things about airflow in the past that I proved wrong by simply flipping the fans around. One that comes to mind from awhile back was a KryoTech Super-G that had the back fan blowing in and the front fan blowing out... their engineers INSISTED that it was supposed to be that way, that they had tested, blah, blah, blah... after feeling the side panel getting warm and nearly burning my hand on the SCSI drive in the bay, I reversed the fans and all was well. And that was a system with NO cpu heat at all!
Airflow in an ATX case should always be front to back, bottom to top.
Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
This was exactly my first thought when I looked at the board, read the engineering information, and then powered on the board. My first reaction was the thermals coming off the MCH would be blown right across the memory slots and then getting swept into the power supply or back over the CPU area creating additional heat. I think I was right to some degree. ;->
However, Gigabyte is recommending and has provided pictures of their preferred CPU cooling system which consists of a cooler that is designed like their G-Power series that blows air over the entire CPU surface area. According to Gigabyte their reduction in thermals at the memory, MCH, and MOFSETs were accomplished with this combination. I am trying their cooling suggestions currently along with swapping the 40mm fans with others to blow in opposite directions. This is why I was not about to publish their test results until we had a chance to fully review the system and take our own measurements.
I have not completed testing and still have additional cooling units to try along with additional measurements from the stock heatsink/fan. My initial thoughts and test results favor the Asus 8-phase setup with the fanless heat pipe system although the Gigabyte design actually works well. I will have measurements and a final synopsis in the full article. Until then if I find something of significance I will post an update.
bldckstark - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
I am somewhat confused by the above listed statement as it can mean several things to me.
Is there a specification for dual channel slot color coding, or are you stating your personal preference?
I know it is nitpicky, but I am curious.
Thanks for the article, you did a great job, first time or not.
Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
There is not a hard standard for the color designation. Most manufacturers have started color-coding the various port connectors and slots but in some cases these colors do not mean anything. With the memory slots it is now customary to color code the slots to signify which slots need to be filled to enable the dual channel memory capabilities of the board. Instead of signifying in the user's manual to utilize slot one and three or two and four for dual channel capability the quick setup sheets can now use a visual color to represent the slot numbers. It is easier to understand this way and helps when you cannot locate the user manual while you are stuck under a desk with low light conditions. ;->
The main problem is that some boards (earlier review this year) have the first and second slots the same color and slots three and four a different color yet you have to use slot one and three for dual channel. This is confusing to others and me as it is not intuitive and does not follow a "soft" standard that has developed regarding the memory slot color-coding.
johnsonx - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Yeah, I've found the color coding of the memory slots pretty useless, as I can never be sure whether they mean to put the two dimms in the two slots that are colored the same, or colored different. I always just figure the first two slots are one channel, and the other pair are the other channel (usually there's a gap between the two pairs, but not always).Personally, for me it makes more logical sense to have the slots the same color within a channel, so you put the two dimms into different color slots. In other words, the different color should signify a different channel. This scheme also lends itself well to single-channel boards - their slots should all be one color, signifying one channel.
That said, I can also understand the logic of making the first slot of each channel the same color, and the second slot of each channel a different color. So then you put each pair of DIMMs in the same-color slots.
Either way though, they (the MB manufacturers as a group) really ought to pick one method and stick to it. For now, I'll just ignore the colors.
rqle - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Can i see a pic of the backplate I/O shield? Old request, probably not even gonna get read. But it just look interesting.Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Hi,I will see what I can do for you.
Marlowe - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Is this the final implementation of the 975x chipset? I heard there were going to be some sort of an upgrade along its lifetime, as the "current" 975x based motherboards does not support the future processors conroe and yonah? (because those two will be pin compitable right?) More PCI-Express lanes as seen in ATI's new RD580 chipset would also be nice.Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Good Day,I am awaiting word from Intel about the 975X progression path and will report any findings along with additional technical information in the full article. This article was meant as a preview and since the chipset has not officially launched there were details I could not provide at this time. I fully agree that additional PCI-Express lanes would be nice. If I receive additional information from Intel before the full article is released I will update this preview.
xsilver - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
how is putting a turbo on a scooter going to help?? ;)and i guarantee that all 4 of those tiny fans are going to either:
1) die in 4 months
2) sound like a turbocharger in 4 months
I think the next step up should actually be intergration with the case, their is just too much contstriants otherwise (especially working with the oldish ATX structure)
Spacecomber - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
From the article,Why not go ahead and report what aftermarket heatsinks did fit, and if you had any that didn't, mention those as well? It would also be helpful, and in line with the previous poster's comment about wanting to see the board installed in a case, to see what the motherboard would look like with a one of the popular oversized heatsinks mounted on the CPU. I think that this would go a long way to give a sense of scale to the pictures of how much room there is around the CPU socket and whether it is crowded by the "turbo" feature.
Just a couple of wishes that might make a good review better.
Keep up the good work.
Space
Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Hi,I will list out the heatsink/fans that fit and provide a case picture in the full review. I always test the motherboards in a typical mid-size ATX case and not on a test bench. I think utilizing a test bench does not account for installation, fitment, connection, or thermal issues. This is one area that I am convinced that if the board is not tested in a case that we are doing a disservice to the readership.
Please email me if you want to a preview picture of the board in the case with a large Gigabyte or Thermaltake heatsink/fan setup installed already.
Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
I was wondering how long it would take for that comment to be made. ;-> However, every little bit helps when you have a Pentium 4 at this time. :>
Your statements about the fans are a concern of mine as well. We have the system running 24/7 with varying degrees of climate changes in the room at this time. I will report on any changes in the sound or vibration levels in the full article. Gigabyte has assured us the fan design under went rigorous testing before manufacturing commenced.
tuteja1986 - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
I trust gigabyte : ) they are a cool company and i don't think the tiny fan would die. If i was going to buy a Intel CPU then i would difinitely buy this motherboard. I am hopping Gigabyte comes out with AMD 64 version but anyways this is a awesome motherboard that i would recommend to any wanting to have an Intel SLI setup :)xsilver - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
sorry if this offends you but you sound like a gigabyte plantmost enthusists dont use gigabyte at all as their overclocking is usually mediocre
and about the fans -- i know from expierience
1 of those tiny fans after 5 months sounded like a blender and was much louder than everything in the entire system
I cant imagine how bad 4 of them will be
oh - and its not just gigabyte, most if not all 40mm fans suck, no wait, blow, no wait :P
Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
No offense taken. :-)Gigabyte is working diligently to establish their top tier motherboards as a choice of the enthusiast again. This board and bios was able to overclock our 840EE further than any other board we have tested to date. How it performs with a single core processor will be revealed in the full article. We also have updated bios from Asus so the results should be interesting. ;-)
I am not totally convinced about the fan setup either but I promise you I am beating on them at this time. I think Asus's fanless heat exchange system is a more eloquent and desirable system. I will have a thermal comparison in the full review.
Zebo - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Gigabyte trying to cheat by 6Mhz x multi right out of the box? Crazy but not as crazy as those 4 whinny fans. All 40 & 60mm fans whine like crazy to move any air whatsoever, in the 4000-7000rpm range and why I take them off every chipset I've ever owned. (be sure and replace with large passive HS) But 4??!!? Well thankfully most PD buyers have a super tornado on processor to mask the whine...or add to it.Kudos to Intel for another great chipset supporting both x-fire and SLi.. Wish they'd make em for AMD processors too.
Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
I was upset about this and not because they are doing it as just about everyone else has had FSB creap also. What upset me was going to manual mode and entering 200FSB, seeing 200x16 on post, and then finding out through Everest or CPU-Z that it still was at 206FSB. I tried all settings up to 206 with the same result. I posted that comment in the test setup section but will go into further details in the full article. I would be careful of any future performance tests available on this board as it can be missed based upon how the bios reports the settings at post. I have relayed my concerns to Gigabyte. In fact, I am going to update the article at this time as it has just upset me once again. :(
johnsonx - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
feeling a bit feisty this morning Gary?Gary Key - Friday, November 11, 2005 - link
Not now, :->
Live and learn... This was my "first look or preview" type article and as such I am still learning. I appreciate the comments good or bad and will take them to heart for the next one. I certainly cannot improve or address the wants of the readership without honest feedback.
We wanted to get a preview out on this board and more importantly the expected performance of the 975X chipset before the boards hit the market next week. There are several test comments I have noted for the full article about the board that were touched on but not fully detailed (some additional details added now)in the preview. We will also have single core testing, thermals, expanded audio testing (X-Fi and others), CrossFire results, and a couple of surprises coming up. I think the full article and additional testing will be well received (from an Intel user viewpoint).
In this "First Look" we wanted to show the board and provide technical specifics about it so we can go straight to the additional testing and results in the full article along with providing details about the 975X chipset itself. Hopefully, we will have additional 975X boards to compare against also if time permits, if not we will follow up in a couple of weeks.
As a side note- I am doing everything possible to test the Turbojet fan setup accurately. We did not publish Gigabyte's claims as to thermal improvements as we want to prove this in a typical user environment. Although initial results look very good regarding thermals I believe at this time Asus has the better overall solution.