GIGABYTE Unleashes EP45-Extreme Series Motherboards
Built for extreme performance and packing heaps of new features designed to keep overclockers informed about onboard conditions
Jul 04, 2008
Taipei, Taiwan, July 04, 2008 – GIGABYTE UNITED INC., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards today proudly announced the launch of the highly anticipated EP45-Extreme series of motherboards that target the extreme overclocking segment of the motherboard market. The series currently consists of the GA-EP45T-EXTREME for DDR3 users and the GA-EP45-EXTREME for those who still prefer using DDR2 memory; both motherboards are based on Intel’s latest P45 Express chipset.

Designed for extreme overclocking performance, the EP45-EXTREME series of motherboards support Intel multi-core processors up to FSB 1600MHz, including the latest Intel 45nm processors. Other high bandwidth features include support for ATI CrossFireX™ Technology with 2 PCI Express 2.0 x 8 interfaces and dual LAN with teaming functionality for ultra bandwidth for gaming servers.

Hybrid Silent-Pipe Delivering Maximum Cooling From Both Air and Water Cooling
GIGABYTE’s unique Hybrid Silent-Pipe slot cooling system utilizes the natural convection of air inside and outside the chassis to dramatically and noiselessly cool down the North Bridge, South Bridge and CPU MOSFETs without the use of a fan. The GIGABYTE Hybrid Silent-Pipe can also be used with water block cooling systems for additional enhanced thermal performance, or alternatively it can be totally removed by experienced overclockers who wish to use a copper pot with dry ice or LN2 extreme cooling on the North Bridge.

80 Port Debug LED, Overclock, Overvoltage and Over Temperature Alert LEDs
Catering to the overclockers’ infinite need for system information, the EP45-Extreme boards incorporate an 80 Port Debug LED, overclocking alert LEDs, overvoltage alert LEDs and also temperature alert LEDs. There are five blue overclocking alert LEDs that indicate from a minimal overclock with only one LED burning to a high overclock with five LEDs burning. There are three overvoltage alert LEDs that indicate a slight overvolt when the green one burns, a moderate overvolt when the yellow one burns and a high overvolt when the red one burns. Finally, there are two temperature LEDs that burn green when the CPU and North Bridge area temperature is between 61oC and 80°C and red when the area is above 80°C.


Hardware Overvoltage Control ICs
The GIGABYTE EP45-Extreme motherboards also include Hardware Overvoltage Control ICs that provide more voltage control options than before for the CPU North Bridge and memory. The overvoltage controllers also provide hardware linear real-time voltage control, which means there is no delay compared to the GPIO controller in past implementations. In addition, GIGABYTE’s Hardware Overvoltage Controller ICs also allow for much finer voltage control, allowing power users to adjust voltage in smaller increments of as little as 20mV (or 0.002V) for better overclocking and tweaking.

12 +2+2 Power Phases for CPU VRM, North Bridge and Memory

The EP45 Extreme series of motherboards from GIGABYTE are equipped with a 12 + 2 + 2 Phase power design for the CPU VRM, North Bridge and memory, offering overclockers a more stable supply of power that can ultimately help to achieve higher CPU and memory frequencies with better performance. Compared with only one phase solutions, this ensures longer power component lifespan and higher overclockability due to cooler working temperatures and better efficiency.

Other EP45-Extreme Series Features
GIGABYTE Ultra Secure and Ultra Power Efficient Technologies
New GIGABYTE Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced


GIGABYTE has once again proven itself as the industry leader in energy saving technology with the recently introduced Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced that allows for even more power efficiency from high-performance motherboards due to improved algorithms that provide more accurate power saving calculations. Additionally, GIGABYTE Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced is the world’s only motherboard energy saving technology with hardware-based Dynamic 6-Gear* Switching that dynamically powers on or off the CPU power phases as the CPU loading varies. With support for VRD 11.1, GIGABYTE’s DES Advanced allows the motherboard to drop down to only one power phase during idle operation, allowing for a dramatic increase in power savings. The previous Dynamic Energy Saver from GIGABYTE only allowed a minimum of two power phases during idle use.

Designed with advanced users in mind, Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced allows users to take advantage of energy savings with or without the use the Dynamic Energy Saver Utility, for always-on, hardware based power savings. GIGABYTE has also retooled Dynamic Energy Saver to allow overclockers to experience the benefits of multi-gear power phase switching while overclocking, providing ultra stable, ultra smooth overclocking performance. To clarify, that means that during overclocking the multi-gear power phase switching continues to operate, however the CPU throttling and undervoltage options are not available.

Dual BIOS™- Patented Dual Hardware BIOS Protection
DualBIOS™ is a GIGABYTE patented technology that automatically recovers BIOS data when the main BIOS has crashed or failed. Featuring 2 physical BIOS ROMs integrated onboard, GIGABYTE DualBIOS™ allows quick and seamless recovery from BIOS damage or failure due to viruses or improper BIOS updating.

High Velocity 2X Bandwidth Boost
Providing support for 2 Gigabit LAN with Teaming functionality, GA-EP45-EXTREME motherboards allows 2 single LAN connections to act as 1 single connection for twice the bandwidth, improving overall throughput with lower CPU utilization. With added network fault tolerance, the GIGABYTE Teaming function prevents network downtime by transferring the workload from a failed port to a working port.

GIGABYTE Unique Overclocking Features
EasyTune6


GIGABYTE has completely redesigned EasyTune6 from the ground up to make it easier than ever to manage and monitor your hardware resources as well as tweak your system settings in order to achieve maximum system performance. Whether you are an overclocking enthusiast, or a computer novice, EasyTune6 provides the tools you need to quickly and effortlessly fine tune your system.














Dolby Home Theater®
In addition, GIGABYTE has also included the powerful Dolby Home Theater® suite of audio technologies, which deliver a vivid surround sound listening experience for music, movies, and games, using two to eight speakers or any set of headphones. Designed to automatically deliver the best possible listening experience, Dolby Home Theater® includes Dolby Pro Logic IIx for maximum surround sound expansion, Dolby Headphone and Sound Space Expander for a virtualized audio experience, and Natural Bass enhancement for the richest quality sound.

For more information of GIGABYTE's P45 Extreme series motherboards, please visit:/products/main.aspx?s=42
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