A little while ago we discussed one of the new mainboards from Gigabyte, GA-8PE667, as part of our comparative Roundup of Seven Intel 845PE Based Mainboards. We should remind you that we were not very happy with that product, but in fact it was just the slowest model in the i845PE-based family from Gigabyte. By now, another and more advanced mainboard models from this family have appeared. One of them is the GA-8PE667 Ultra. That's why we are going to give one more try to Gygabyte's products. Especially, since Gigabyte guys were nice to give their new GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 mainboard to us for review.

Lately, Gigabyte has been winning the hearts of more new customers. Mainboards from this company were always recognized for high quality and affordable price. But they had not very rich overclocking options and thus were seldom used in advanced users' systems. Things changed during the last year and now Gigabyte mainboards offer CPU overclocking options as well as a number of unique technologies. We should also mention the fact that Gigabyte is equipping its products targeted at advanced and enthusiastic users with a lot of extra stuff. That's why the arrival of such mainboards has led to popularity growth of Gigabyte trademark in the DIY market.

Our today's review is dedicated to the GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 mainboard. It's exactly targeted at this market sector and is supposed to satiate the needs of the most demanding PC user.

Specifications

Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Ultra 2
Supported CPUs	Intel Pentium 4/Celeron (533/400MHz FSB, Socket478)
Chipset	Intel 845PE
FSB frequencies	100-355MHz
Overclocking friendly features	Vcore, Vmem and Vagp adjustment Independent PCI frequency adjustment
Memory	3 DDR DIMM slots for DDR333/DDR266 SDRAM
AGP slot	AGP 4x
Expansion Slots (PCI/ACR/CNR)	6/0/1
USB 1.1 ports	0
USB 2.0 ports	6
IEEE 1394 ports	0
ATA-100/133	+/-
SerialATA-150	2 channels (Silicon Image Sil3112A controller)
Integrated IDE RAID controller	Promise PDC20276 (two ATA/133 channels)
Integrated Sound	6-channel AC'97 sound cedec: Realtek ALC650E
Integrated LAN	10/100/1000Mbit Ethernet (Intel 82540EM controller)
Additional Features	DualBIOS AGP Warning LED
BIOS	Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Form-Factor	ATX, 305x244mm

GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 mainboard is an improved variant of the previous model, GA-8PE667 Ultra. The PCB has been just a little re-designed, but the additional USB 2.0 controller is now replaced with a SerialATA-150 controller. This certainly means enhancement of the product's functionality.

The standard heap of cables and the common software bundle comes with GA-8PE667 Ultra 2. Besides, there are:

• Three additional SerialATA cables;
• A back panel bracket with four USB 2.0 ports;
• A back panel bracket with a coaxial and optical SPDIF outputs and additional audio outputs for the integrated six-channel sound;
• A GC-SATA back panel bracket for SerialATA hard disk drives.

Closer Look

So, GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 is based on the i845PE chipset and supports Pentium 4 and Celeron processors with 400 or 533MHz bus, including the ones with Hyper-Threading technology. Although i845PE is one of the most up-to-date chipsets from Intel, there are some things missing in it. Thus, it doesn't support AGP 8x and ATA/133 protocols. Is it important? As for the absence of ATA/133 support, Intel adheres to the point that we should go over directly to SerialATA. Moreover, Maxtor is the only company now to produce ATA/133 HDDs and, as you know from our hard disk drive reviews (see our Storage section for more information), such drives don't provide any significant performance growth.

The absence of AGP 8x support is a more substantial drawback of GA-8PE667 Ultra 2. So far, AGP 8x graphics cards don't boast any perceptible performance growth. But this may change in a while. That's why we should single out the i7205 chipset as a more efficient and high-performing now. It supports dual-channel DDR SDRAM as well as AGP 8x, although the mainboards based on it cost more than i845PE-based ones. The price is the main factor for the i845PE to be more popular now. Gigabyte is now offering i7205-based mainboards, too, but focuses on the promotion of i845PE-based models, following the market trends.

Unlike i7205, i845PE chipset is a single-channel one and supports up to 2GB of DDR266/DDR333 SDRAM. This memory amount is accommodated in three DDR DIMM slots of the mainboard. Note that as the chipset supports only four memory banks, the third memory slot can only be used when there is a single-side module in one of the first two DIMM slots.

One more of the chipset limitations is the fact that DDR333 SDRAM is only supported when the CPU system bus is clocked at 533MHz. CPUs with 400MHz bus can only work with either DDR266 SDRAM or DDR200 SDRAM.

As GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 mainboard is targeted at enthusiastic users, it features a number of onboard controllers enhancing its capabilities. We should note that the set of characteristics offered by Gigabyte in its GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 differs somewhat from what we usually see by other mainboards. Thus, Gigabyte turned down IEEE1394 ports in favor of a pair of IDE RAID controllers. By the way, we haven't seen a mainboard with two onboard IDE RAID controllers, yet. We wonder if this solution of Gigabyte's is justified here?

Before answering the question, let's figure out the reasons for the implementation of two IDE RAID controllers in a single mainboard and the efficiency of this solution. So, the first controller is Promise PDC20276.

This is a rather old thing and a rare guest in modern mainboards. It supports only two ATA/133 channels and no SerialATA channels. But unlike PDC20376 featuring SerialATA support, Promise PDC20276 supports up to four ATA/133 HDDs and allows uniting them into RAID 0 or 1 arrays. As the standard IDE channels implemented in the ICH4 South Bridge don't support ATA/133, it is quite reasonable for GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 to have two additional ATA/133 channels.

The second IDE RAID controller available in GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 is Silicon Image Sil3112A.

This is a "pure" SerialATA RAID controller supporting two SerialATA-150 channels. Silicon Image Sil3112A controller allows connecting one hard drive to each of the two channels and uniting them into a RAID 0 or 1 arrays.

As a result, GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 supports both: ATA/133 and SerialATA-150 RAID arrays, but you can't mix up drives with different protocols in one array as they are supported by different controllers.

Moreover, Gigabyte introduced one more innovation in its GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 mainboard. This innovation deals with the HDDs connection procedure. This feature is implemented due to a special GC-SATA bracket for the case rear panel, which is included into the shipment package.

This panel allows moving the SerialATA connectors available on the mainboard to the PC case rear panel. In other words, if you have a GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 mainboard with the GC-SATA bracket, you can get the opportunity to connect your SerialATA drives as external drives. Inside the case, the GC-SATA is connected to the onboard SerialATA connectors and to the power supply unit.

Speaking about back panel brackets, we should also mention a bracket with four USB 2.0 ports included into the mainboard package. As the back panel of the mainboard itself follows the standard layout with two USB 2.0 ports only, this bracket allows using all six USB 2.0 ports supported by the ICH4.

With its GA-8PE667 Ultra 2, Gigabyte joined the companies that are using Gigabit Ethernet controllers in their mainboards. GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 features an Intel 82540EM chip supporting 10/100/1000Mbit/sec Ethernet. Networks with 1Gbit/sec bandwidth are rather rare today, but this feature of GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 may come in handy in the future.

Realtek ALC650E AC'97 chip is responsible for the sound implementation by the reviewed mainboard. Although many manufacturers still cling to PCI audio controllers, this AC'97 codec provides good sound quality, supports 5.1 speaker systems and SPDIF output. A back panel bracket with additional audio outputs as well as optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs comes with the mainboard.

We should also mention the house technology from Gigabyte aka Dual BIOS. The mainboard carries two flash-memory chips with two copies of the BIOS.

A special utility integrated into the BIOS code allows copying the data from the chips as well as booting up from any of them. As a result, any accidental damage of the flash-memory data (for example, after an incorrect BIOS update) won't be a problem.

PCB Design

GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 has three DIMM, six PCI, one AGP 4x and one CNR slot. Moreover, as we have said above, the mainboard carries two integrated IDE RAID controllers, an additional flash-memory chip and an integrated network controller. As a result, Gigabyte engineers had to make the mainboard's PCB larger than usual. It's not a drawback as the layout of GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 turned to be rather good. IDE, FDD and ATX connectors are all placed in front of the DIMM slots and the connected cables don't hinder proper airflow inside the system case.

At the same time GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 still has some drawbacks. In particular, the installed AGP graphics card locks the DIMM slots clips. The RAID controllers connectors are also rather inconveniently placed in front of the PCI slots.

The oddest thing about the design of GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 is that there is no jumper to clear the CMOS. There is only a jumper to reset the password. Actually, we didn't feel the need for the Clear CMOS jumper during our benchmarks. Moreover, there is a place for it on the PCB. So, if necessary, you can close the appropriate contact pads with the tweezers.

Among the design drawbacks, we should also mention the too close placement of DIMM slots. When you install two or three DIMM modules with heatsinks, they will press against each other, which is not the very best thermal conditions for memory chips.

GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 requires an ATX 2.03 PSU. It just wouldn't start up without the additional 12V cable connected to it. The CPU voltage regulator is a three-channel impulse device. The North Bridge of the chipset carries a massive active cooler, which promises somewhat better stability during the work at overclocked FSB frequency.

There's space in the PCB left for connectors for Smart Card Reader-like devices. But the mainboard we got had no such connectors and the mainboard specs didn't tell a word about the support of such devices.

The mainboard also has a protection system preventing the mainboard from damage in case old 3.3V graphics cards are used, which are not supported by the chipset. If you install such a card into the AGP clot, the corresponding LED lights up and the mainboard simply doesn't power up.

Our main concern about the previously reviewed GA-8PE667 was its instability when more than one memory modules were used. To our regret, the new mainboard experiences the same problem. When you use two or three memory modules in the GA-8PE667 Ultra 2, you have to set the Top Performance option in the BIOS Setup into "Disabled" position, which inevitably leads to a certain performance drop.

BIOS and Overclocking

The BIOS of GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 is based on the popular Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG code, but the Setup of Gigabyte's mainboard differs from the standard we see in other products. The main point of difference is that Gigabyte hid all memory timings and offers only one option: "Top Performance" that can be set to either "Enabled" or "Disabled". In order to access the Advanced Chipset Features menu where it's possible to adjust memory timings, you have to press Ctrl + F1 when in the main BIOS Setup menu.

This page contains settings for CAS Latency Time (available values - 1.5, 2, 2.5), Active to Precharge Delay (available values - 5, 6, 7), DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay and DRAM RAS# Precharge (available values - 2 or 3). Overall, we have a usual set of settings here.

We were more interested in the Frequency/Voltage Control page where Gigabyte put main overclocking and frequencies adjustment options.

First of all, we should direct the reader's attention to the way memory frequency is set. As you see in the snapshot, Gigabyte suggests you set the multiplier relative to the FSB frequency. You can choose 2x, 2.5x or 2.66x multiplier. The first two are available when there is a CPU with 533MHz bus in the system, the 2.66x stands for the 2.5x when you use a CPU with 400MHz bus. Thus, GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 allows using DDR200 and DDR266 SDRAM for CPUs with 400MHz bus and DDR266 or DDR333 SDRAM for CPUs with 533MHz bus. All just like Intel recommends. The 2.66x multiplier cannot be used with the 133MHz FSB, while there are mainboards supporting this and allowing to clock the memory at non-standard 355MHz to increase your system performance a little.

Among the overclocking options available in BIPS Setup they are:

• Adjustment of the FSB frequency from 100 to 355MHz with 1MHz increment;
• Adjustment of the AGP/PCI frequency from 66 to 100MHz (the values are specified for the AGP bus);
• CPU voltage increase by up to 0.2V with 0.025V increment;
• AGP voltage increase by 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3V;
• Memory voltage increase by 0.1 or 0.2V.

Overall, the overclocking capabilities of the mainboard are quite acceptable, although the voltage ranges might have been a little broader. The possibility to increase the FSB frequency up to 355MHz looks useless as Intel CPUs have a locked multiplier. But there is some hope that GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 will be able to work with the upcoming Pentium 4 CPUs with 200MHz FSB. Although we should check how it is going to work first.

Note that although GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 has no Clear CMOS jumper, it is not really necessary, because it offers very good alternatives for automatic resetting of the BIOS Setup to default. First, if you hold down the INS key during start-up, the CPU parameters are automatically restored to their default. Second, if the mainboard can't pass through the POST in 20 seconds, the default values will be set automatically on the next start-up.

As for hardware monitoring, GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 keeps track of CPU temperature, rotation speeds of three fans, processor Vcore and the remaining four voltages. Note also that GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 should come with EasyTune4 utility that can monitor the mainboard status and overclock the CPU from the Windows interface. But the current version of the program proved to be incompatible with GA-8PE667 Ultra 2.

Performance

Before turning to the actual benchmarks results, we would like to remind you that mainboards based on one and the same chipset don't differ greatly in their performance. So when deciding on a particular mainboard, you should pay special attention to rich features, overclocking options, stability and reliability, and technical support rather than the performance in benchmarks.

We compared the performance of GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 with two other popular mainboards: ASUS P4PE and MSI 845PE Max2 that are also based on i845PE chipset.

We used the following testbed:

• Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz CPU;
• ASUS P4PE, Gigabyte GA-8PE677 Ultra 2 and MSI 845PE Max2 mainboards;
• 512MB DDR400 SDRAM memory from Samsung;
• ATI RADEON 9700 PRO graphics card;
• Seagate Barracuda ATA IV HDD, 80GB.

The benchmarks were run in Microsoft Windows XP. The BIOS's of the mainboards were set to maximum performance.

Here is the table with the benchmarking results in various applications:

As we see, Gigabyte GA-8PE677 Ultra 2 can't boast a record-breaking performance compared to other i845PE-based mainboards. But the difference in the performance of the mainboards is too little to regard it seriously.

Conclusion

Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 mainboard offers very attractive and rich features set and demonstrates good reliability and performance. Its overclocking capabilities are far from being ideal, but still meet the demands of most users. It costs not too much, compared to competitor products, and thus can be a good basis for a system of a demanding user.

Highs:

• Supports FSB frequencies from 100 to 355MHz;
• Supports modern technologies, including USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, SerialATA and IDE RAID;
• Two independent SerialATA and ATA/133 controllers onboard;
• GC-SATA module that allows connecting external SerialATA drives;
• A well-thought and convenient PCB design.

Lows:

• Lower stability when working with more than one DDR DIMM module.