EP45 Dq6 board

[srode1]

Hello folks,

I am about to purchase a new motherboard to use for video editting - will be running XP64 and Vegas Pro 8 with Q6700 oc'd to 1333 FSB with a RAID 10 configuration. (My old board doesn't have enough SATAs to add a Bluray burner so upgrading) I am thinking this board will do all I want it to better than an x48 version because it will run 16gb of Ram if I want to that far in the future and has open PCIE slots available for a RAID controller if I want to go that route in the future vs using the onboard RAID. So here's the questions:

1. With a PCIEx16 slot used for a video card - will the remaining PCIE slots run a RAID card?

2. I have read the manual about the 4 SATAs at the bottom of the board but not sure how I would use them - not for a bootable RAID array I assume. Can anyone comment on these?

3. Will this board drives support a bootable RAID 10 array for XP64?

4. Will Kingston HyperX DDR2 800 work in this board? It's not listed in the compatible memory list, but I understand that list won't include all compatible memory - just what has been tested.

Thanks in advance for any comments / answers.

[BongWizard]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

1) Yes you can stick a RAID controller in any of the open PCIe slots (as long as it fits with your card), but most RAID controllers these days (that i've looked at) run on old PCI slots, but either way you shouldnt have a problem.

2) I've got no idea how to use these really, but ive never actually handled this board. I think it should become pretty obvious if you can actually flip the board over and look at it extensively. But i believe these can only be used for "Smart Backup" which is really just RAID1.

3) Yes it will support a bootable RAID 10 array. This board supports 0,1,5,10 and JBOD.

4) Yes, Kingston memory will work just fine in these boards.

From what i know of this board it is just unbelievable... it can support some seriously unbelievable FSB speeds (my friend has his cranked to a total of 2100MHz) if its cooled properly, has a plethora of connectors and unique features (would you believe quad BIOS!!!)... its just a top quality board... and the fact that its P45 based mean Gigabyte will load it with an awesome BIOS so you can tweak you system for ultimate performance... seriously, if you've got the money, this has to be one of the best boards you can buy.

[srode1]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

Thanks, the raid cards I've been looking at are PCIe 3ware.

There are different drives for XP64 than are used for XP32 (x86) which is more specificly what I was asking about - if they are available for a bootable array. I couldn't find them for my 650i based board (though I may not have looked hard enough)

I'm thinking I will try to fit a Thermalright 120 extreme on this board in a Gigabyte Poseydon case - which is what I have my current set up in. From what I've read - the height of the heatsink is 160.5 mm which is 6.3 inches - current measurement from my CPU face to inside edge of the case is about 6.5 inches so I'm thinking it will fit - tight but should make it without modification I think. Haven't bought the Heatsink / fan yet - I have a Zalman 9500 on my current board but would like a bit more cooling - full load stock settings on the CPU shows 58 after a while so I'm going to need better cooling for OC'ing.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

Everything covered but 2. Here is what our fellow members have tested and found about those ports >>>

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/ep45-ds5-dq6-27384/

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/raid1-migration-ep45-dq6-5723-a-27308/

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/10-hard-drives-ep45-ds5-27535/

And yes, you can use any RAID level and there is 32bit and 64bit drivers for each

[mv2devnull]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

Thanks, the raid cards I've been looking at are PCIe 3ware.

The main question is, how many channels of PCIe you will need.

The manual (I have no cards to test) says:
1*x16 or 2*x8
2*x4
1*x1
Thus, a x4 should be possible. No idea what happens if graphics card (ie prefers x16) is in primary "x16", and a RAID (x8) is in the second "x16".

[srode1]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

My interpretation of what I've read on the P45 and x48 is that X48 will handle 2 PCIE x16 but P45 will auto convert the x16 to x8 if cards are used in both the x16 slot and x8 slot. Its not going to be a hard core gaming computer / I don't need 2 graphics card but I wouldn't want to degrade my x16 to x8 - x4 is all I need for the RAID 10 using a 3ware card.

The reason I asked on these slots - my current board which is 650i based won't accept anything but a video card in the second PCIEx16 slot per the board manufacturer.

[srode1]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

Everything covered but 2. Here is what our fellow members have tested and found about those ports >>>

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/ep45-ds5-dq6-27384/

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/raid1-migration-ep45-dq6-5723-a-27308/

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/10-hard-drives-ep45-ds5-27535/

And yes, you can use any RAID level and there is 32bit and 64bit drivers for each

Thanks these were good reads - so do you think GS0 and GS2 can be set up for Raid 0 Bootable array? If so, thinking I could do that and put 2 drives in the other positions and effectively have Raid10 with smart back up enabled.

Also, the ICH10R RAID 6SATA ports is software RAID and not Hardware RAID? I just noticed there is no onboard RAID controller for the 6 SATAs - is that right?

[BongWizard]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

the slots will both run at 8x IN CROSSFIRE MODE... if you have a GPU and a RAID controller they will run at their maximum speed. The reversion to 8x in CrossfireX is just to keep a balanced bandwidth between the cards and the board. You can use the bottom SATAs for a bootable RAID0 array, but cannot combine them with an array from the other ports. I believe the RAID on this board is all hardware as well, but im not really sure on that...

[mv2devnull]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

I have EP45-DQ6, and after flashing back and fort am at F11. There is not a single hint of GSATA2 (ie jmb363) now. ATAPI DVD is on the jmb363. Haven't plugged drives on 5723 ports with this bios version.

What I do have is two RAID1 arrays, on ports 0-3 of the ICH10R. Fakeraids, but bootable.

[BongWizard]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

My interpretation of what I've read on the P45 and x48 is that X48 will handle 2 PCIE x16 but P45 will auto convert the x16 to x8 if cards are used in both the x16 slot and x8 slot. Its not going to be a hard core gaming computer / I don't need 2 graphics card but I wouldn't want to degrade my x16 to x8 - x4 is all I need for the RAID 10 using a 3ware card.

Well, first of all, no graphics card out these days can saturate a PCIe 2.0 8x slot, so you really needn't worry about running them at 8x if you want to do CrossfireX. If you're not using CrossfireX, the slots will run at their max speed. The reversion to 8x in CrossfireX is to ensure a balanced bandwidth between the cards and the motherboard, so it doesn't affect you if you dont use CrossfireX.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

I do not think you will be able to change/manage a RAID 0 on the GS ports from what I gathered from all the testing they did on that one thread I linked

[srode1]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

Thanks for the help guys ' this will do waht I want - wil go ahead and order one.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 Dq6 board

Good luck and feel free to post back anytime!