Gigabyte GA-G1975X Intel 975X Motherboard Review

Gigabyte’s Features

Since there are a lot of overclocking and related features on the Gigabyte GA-G1975X, it makes sense to dedicate an entire section breaking it all down.

Robust Graphics Booster

The BIOS has a few interesting options for the enthusiast, however I found that not all of these features work properly.

The Robust Graphics Booster is described in the manual as “enhance the VGA graphics card bandwidth to get higher performance” and when tested in our labs this option did give a minor boost in performance.

It is hard to tell what the BIOS is doing when Robust Graphics Booster is enabled, but I suspect it is increasing the PCI-E frequency depending on the load. From Windows, Everest shows that the graphics core is being underclocked when idle and then throttled up to stock frequency when running 3D applications.

Now let’s see how the feature affects performance:

3DMark scores were largely unaffected by enabling the Robust Graphics Booster, but Call of Duty 2 and Quake 4 both had nice increases in the minimum and average frame rate. I did not encounter any stability issues when I had this enabled, so might as well turn it on and get some free performance.

CPU Intelligent Accelerator 2 (“CIA2”)

CIA2 (or “CPU Intelligent Accelerator 2”) when enabled overclocks your system bus dynamically depending on the CPU’s load. There are five options to choose from with each setting having a slightly higher bus setting. I found that if your hardware is insufficient for a given CIA2 setting, the system just hang with a black screen and requires a BIOS reset. At default stock voltages, I was only able to successfully boot using the 2nd lowest CIA2 setting, anything else won’t POST.

In Windows, you can watch the system bus throttle from 200 MHz up to the highest frequency available for the CIA2 level. This is an interesting option to use if you use a lower multiplier to take advantage of a quieter and cooler CPU and have it throttle up when needed.

Memory Intelligent Booster 2 (“MIB2”)

Memory Intelligent Booster 2 are predefined memory timings categorized by manufacturer. This setting is predominantly for users who are unfamiliar with adjusting memory timings or tweaking RAM as the predefined settings are a bit conservative. The Corsair RAM we are using has SPD of 4-4-4-12 at 400 MHz, but the “Micron” settings were 5-5-5-15 well below Corsair’s programmed specs.

Ironically, the “Memory Intelligent Booster” is a bit of a misnomer since it doesn’t actually boost your performance if you’re using good RAM like what happened to the Corsair modules I’m using. Really it will just help those of you new to memory timings and perhaps increase RAM compatibility if you’re using generic/OEM modules.

Voltage Adjustments

Voltage settings are taken for granted by enthusiasts, so what makes us sit up and take notice is when the settings don’t work. In this case the memory voltage adjustment would not over-volt above the stock SPD setting. We tested with version F1 and F3 BIOS’, and multiple sticks of RAM (Corsair 5400UL, Corsair 8000UL) – the GA-G1975X we have just won’t increase the voltage of the memory. If you attempt to increase timings to the tested manufacturer spec (as with many high-end RAM kits) the system will reboot and tell you that the overclocking setting failed.

Over-volting the memory does not work on the GA-G1975X.
The result? Manufacturer tested timings fail with an error message like the one pictured above.

With the memory voltage adjustment broken on the GA-G1975X we have on our test bench, we can not test memory overclocking. Any attempt at using timings that worked on the Asus P5WD2 will result in a POST error on the G1975X.

I tested this with BIOS versions F1 and F3 and neither fix this problem. I’ve contacted Gigabyte about this issue, but I did not receive a response by time of publishing this article.

Frequency Adjustments

Pretty much all the frequencies on the GA-G1975X are independently adjustable – PCI, PCI Express, and CPU. Memory frequencies you can not adjust independently like on nForce 4 Intel boards, instead you will have to rely on a memory multiplier.

Cooling and Thermal Controls

The onboard TurboJet is obvsiously a big feature on the GA-G1975X. When turned on, the warm air being expelled is a positive sign that the fans are doing their job. However, the noise generated by this extra cooling may put off some of you and luckily the fans can be disconnected. In my testing, I did not find the extra noise annoying, but it did mask the TV that was turned on in the other room.

There are four free fan headers on the motherboard. Two 3-pin fan headers are located near the front edge of the motherboard (front case fan and PSU power), and a 4-pin CPU fan header for coolers supporting PWM controls. Oddly, there isn’t a header for a rear case fan so you will have to use one of the headers closer to the front of the board (assuming your fan cable is long enough).

Gigabyte’s SmartFan feature in the BIOS allows you to set how fast your CPU fan spins depending on the CPU’s current temperature. In Windows, SmartFan can be controlled by the EasyTune 5 software (more on this below).

System health and temperature monitoring is displayed in the PC Health Status page in the BIOS and does not give much detail. Specific voltage readings are notably absent which you would expect on a product targetting overclockers. The CPU temperature is the only temperature you’re going to get on the GA-G1975X – there aren’t any readings for the system/motherboard.

There are no thermal controls for the TurboJet cooler, so you’re going to have to do it the old fashioned way by rewiring to a rheostat or similar.

The Software

The EasyTune 5 software included with the Gigabyte GA-G1975X is pretty good but has some quirks. On the main interface you can either go with an “Easy” overclock that can increase your system bus to 240MHz. In “Advanced” mode, you have more options that allows you to adjust CPU, memory, PCI-Express, and PCI frequencies and voltages. Even though the PCI-Express option is presented, you can’t actually use it (see image above).

The memory voltage setting doesn’t work, but the CPU voltage does. Changing the CPU ratio will prompt you to reboot your computer, after which the multiplier is applied.

Under the CIA2/MIB2 button/screen, you can enable/disable the “CPU Intelligent Accelerator” (dynamic FSB throttling) and select vendor/brand options for the “Memory Intelligent Booster” (see description of MIB2 near top of this page).

Buried under the PC Health button are readings for your system’s CPU temperature and fan RPMs. It would have been better if this information were visible on the main interface and visible all the time.