Motherboard testing: Ease of integration
Contents
1. shot from the Gigabyte BIOS utility SELECT BIOS a ON BOARD f OTHER SOURCE Figure 9 Representative screen shot from the Gigabyte Face Wizard utility Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration Intel Integrator Assistant intel System Information Board ID DG45ID BIOS ID 1DG4510H 864 0085 20068 1029 1206 Update System BIOS and BIOS Image Get BIOS updates and customize BIOS splash image Configure BIOS Settings Customize BIOS settings from Microsoft Windows Asset Management HM Set values that uniquely identify the system Titre Vr ina rs ab a Leg z i ae b Customize Branding Add your company s logo to the System Control Panel in the Windows Operating System Launch Quick Start Guide Apply All Changes Cancel All p ae Checking for BIOS updates Figure 10 Representative screen shot from the Intel Integrator Assistant utility intel Update System BIOS and BIOS Splash Image Current BIOS version 1064510H 864 0085 2008 1029 1208 The BIOS on this system Is current Download Choose BIOS File Use this local BIOS file View details BIOS splash image file 6 sy Intel Lago Placement Click the desired box to place the Intel logo J Display the Intel logo White background Black background Figure 11 Representative screen shot from the Intel Integrator Assistant utility Principled Technologi2. B 32 MB 96 MB 653 MB 1 920 x 1 200 Intel Intel Intel Intel Driver 7 15 10 1508 7 15 10 1554 7 15 10 1576 7 15 10 1527 Diver 06 20 2008 09 02 2008 10 07 2008 07 11 2008 Realtek High Realtek High IDT High Realtek High Definition Audio Definition Audio Definition Audio Definition Audio Realtek Realtek IDT Realtek Driver 6 0 1 5628 6 0 1 5672 6 10 6033 2 6 0 1 5657 Diver 05 20 2008 07 24 2008 07 02 2008 07 03 2008 Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration 13 Asus oes ion Intel MSI P5Q VM aR DG45ID G45M FIDR Ethernet O Z O Realtek Realtek Intel Realtek RTL8168C PCI RTL8168B PCI 82567LF 2 RTL8168C PCI E Gigabit E Gigabit Gigabit E Gigabit ow o Realtek Realtek Intel Realtek Driver 6 208 729 2008 6 195 625 2007 9 52 9 0 6 203 214 2008 07 29 2008 06 25 2007 06 13 2008 02 14 2008 Optical Optical drive s Vend d model b Lite On Lite On Lite On Lite On A DH16D3S DH16D3S DH16D3S DH16D3S DVD ROM SATA Dual singlelayer Dual Dual Dal Dual USB ports 10 USB 2 0 Number 2 Monitor S LCD type Dell 2405FPW_ Dell 2405FPW_ Dell 2405FPW_ Dell 2405FPW 24 Refresh rate 60 Hz Figure 14 Detailed configuration information for the four test systems Principled Technologies Inc an 1007 Slater Road Suite 250 Principled Durham NC 27703 ad J Technologies www principledtechnologies com info principledtechnologies com Principled Technol
3. Enhanced Intel Enhanced Intel Processor power saving option SpeedStep SpeedStep SpeedStep SpeedStep Technology Technology Technology Technology Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 A LGA 775 3 33 1 333 32 KB 32 KB 32 KB 32 KB L2cace 6MB UU6MBUUL UMLGhMBCCOL GO MB Platform o MSI MS 7521 Intel G45 1 0 AMI v1 1 AHCI enabled Corsair Corsair Corsair Corsair CM2X1024 CM2X1024 CM2X1024 CM2X1024 6400C5DHX 6400C5DHX 6400C5DHX 6400C5DHX PC2 6400 800 Speed running in the system 800 800 800 800 MHZ Timing Latency tCL tRCD tRP 5 5518 5 5 5 18 5 5 5 18 5 5 5 18 tRASmin 2 048 GB 2 048 GB 2 048 GB 2 048 GB Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration 12 Gigabyte Asus Intel MSI System P5Q VM PE DG45ID G45M FIDR Number of memory module s 2 x 1 024 MB 2 x 1 024 MB 2 x 1 024 MB 2 x 1 024 MB Chip organization single sided Double sided Double sided Double sided Double sided double sided Channel single dual Dual ST3320620AS ST3320620AS ST3320620AS ST3320620AS 320 GB 16 MB 7 200 SATA 3 0Gb s ICH10R ICH10R ICH10R ICH10R Driver Intel 8 6 0 1007 Intel 8 2 0 1001 02 25 2008 07 20 2008 09 12 2008 05 07 2008 Operating system Operating system Ultimate Ultimate Ultimate Ultimate 6001 1 NTFS PC PC PC PC English 10 Graphics O O O X4500HD X4500HD X4500HD X4500HD Integrated Express Chipset Express Chipset Express Chipset Express Chipset 1666 782 MB 781 M
4. TEST REPORT NOVEMBER 2008 Motherboard testing Ease of integration Executive summary Intel Corporation Intel commissioned Principled Technologies PT to evaluate the following Intel chipset based motherboards Asus P5Q VM Gigabyte GA EG45M DS2H Intel DG451D MSI G45M FIDR The goal of the testing was to determine which of these motherboards in their out of box states would be easiest and fastest for small computer vendors to integrate PT developed the test methodology and then executed the resulting tests Each motherboard came with a support CD DVD with a set of system utilities See Appendix A As Figure 1 shows the Intel utility let us perform a wide range of integration and customization tasks from within Windows while the Asus and Gigabyte utilities let us only update the BIOS and the BIOS splash screen and the MSI utility let us only update the BIOS To perform other tasks on the Asus Gigabyte and MSI systems required us to manually enter the BIOS We timed changing the splash screen on the three systems with motherboards that supported this KEY FINDINGS e The Intel integration utility let us perform a wide _ range of integration and customization tasks from within Windows while the Asus and Gigabyte utilities let us only update the BIOS and the BIOS splash screen and the MSI utility let us only update the BIOS See Figure 1 Changing the BIOS splash screen using the Intel Inte
5. ace oe Oe a SS Hiding XD Technology BIOS option Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes Start the stopwatch and launch the Intel Integrator Assistant by double clicking iassist exe Click Configure BIOS Settings Click Security Click the lock box icon until the glasses icon appears in the box Click Apply All Changes Click Continue to apply new settings Stop the stopwatch when the changes are in place MSI G45M FIDR Setting up the system NOTE The MSI G45M FIDR motherboard came with two utilities Live Update 3 and Dual Core Center Neither allows the user to customize the system as we desired 1 Reset the system to the base test image oe a Customizing the boot order NOTE You cannot perform this procedure from within Windows 1 Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes Start the stopwatch and reboot the system 3 Press the Delete key to enter the BIOS 4 Select the Advanced BIOS Features and press Enter 5 Select Boot Sequence and press Enter 6 Select First Boot Device and press Enter Set to CD DVD and press Enter 7 Select Second Boot Device and press Enter Set to 1 Floppy Drive and press Enter 8 Select Third Boot Device and press Enter Set to HDD and press Enter 9 Press F10 to bring up the saved BIOS changes 10 Press Yes and stop the stopwatch at the same time the changes are saved Customizing the BIOS splash screen NOTE You cannot p
6. cent less time than the 37 seconds for the Asus 71 7 percent less time than the 53 seconds for the Gigabyte and 50 0 percent less time than the 30 seconds for the MSI The Intel utility is the only one that let us change Time to change the boot order the boot order from within Windows For the other motherboards we had to manually enter the BIOS to gt Dintel DG45ID change the boot order D O OMS G45M FIDR We had originally planned to 2 time the process of hiding oe DAsus P5Q VM the XD Technology BIOS option on each of the four mGigabyte GA systems the advantage of E45M DS2H hiding this security feature is that if users are unaware of it they will not accidentally disable it However the Intel system was the only one that permitted us to perform this task Note Doing so Figure 4 Median time to change the boot order for the four motherboards we tested Lower numbers indicating shorter times are better Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration 2 took us 16 seconds The other motherboards allowed us only to manually enable or disable this feature in the BIOS and not to hide it In addition to possessing a more robust set of features the Intel Integrator Assistant was as intuitive and easy to work with as the utilities for the other three motherboards We provide representative screen shots of the utilities in Appendix B Test methodology PT built each sy
7. erform this procedure The motherboard did not come with a BIOS splash screen application Hiding XD Technology BIOS option NOTE You cannot perform this procedure The only option is to enable disable Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration 5 Appendix A Utilities and motherboard box contents Each motherboard came with a support CD DVD with a wide range of system utilities Below we list the system utilities each manufacturer bundled with its motherboard along with descriptions of each that we have taken from the manufacturers Web sites Asus P5Q VM Asus Update Helps user download and flash BIOS Asus MyLogo2 Utility for changing the BIOS splash screen Asus Al Suite An innovative application to do overclocking fan control power saving and quiet thermal control Asus PC Probe II Monitors fan speed voltage and CPU temperature Gigabyte GA EG45M DS2H EasyTune 6 An easy to use Windows based system enhancement utility allowing quick access to a variety of performance features DMI Viewer View motherboard hardware information Face Wizard utility for changing the BIOS splash screen BIOS Utility for updating the BIOS Q Share Data sharing tool that enables users to share data with computers on the same network making full use of Internet resources Time Repair Allows a user to quickly backup and restore system data Update Manager Internet update utility Intel DG45ID I
8. es Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration _ occa le AO Intel Integrator Assistant Untitled fax 10 D Device Management Power El Security Enable XD Technology e Welcome to MSI Live Update 3 Windows Internet Explorer S we dhe Welcome to MSI Live Update 3 fp T lt mp Page 2 Tools a w MST Link to the Future Visit MSI Website English MSI Live Utility Version 3 96 000 C Live Bios e e O Live Driver System Information O Live VGA BIOS Mainboard Manufacturer PMS C Live VGA Driver Mainboard Model Name MS 7521 6 UEA Mainboard BIOS Vendor AMIBIOS E S Mainboard BIOS Version S e Connect to MSI a Live Update Server MSI Live Update 3 Unknown Zone Mixed Protected Mode Off 100 Figure 13 Representative screen shot from the MSI Live Update 3 utility Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration Appendix C Test system configuration information This appendix provides detailed configuration information about each of the test server systems which we list in alphabetical order nore Gigabyte System P5Q VM GA EG45M DS2H MSI G45M FIDR Processor and OS kernel physical core logical UP 1P2C2L MP 1P2C2L MP 1P2C2L MP 1P2C2L MP MP Number of physical processors 1 Single dual core processors Dual Dual Dual Dl System power management Enhanced Intel Enhanced Intel
9. grator Assistant took 29 seconds 52 5 percent less time than the 61 seconds for the Asus Update and 37 0 percent less time than the 46 seconds for the Gigabyte Face Wizard See Figure 2 The Intel DG45ID also supported both JPEG and bitmap file types higher resolutions and more colors See Figure 3 e Changing the boot order using the Intel Integrator Assistant took 15 seconds 59 5 percent less time than the 37 seconds for the Asus system 71 7 percent less time than the 53 seconds forthe T Gigabyte system and 50 0 percent less time than the 30 seconds for the MSI system See Figure 4 In addition to possessing a more robust set of features the Intel Integrator Assistant was as intuitive and easy to work with as the tools for the other three motherboards process As Figure 2 shows changing the BIOS splash screen using the Intel utility took 29 seconds 52 5 percent less time than the 61 seconds for the Asus and 37 0 percent less time than the 46 seconds for the Gigabyte Note The MSI utilities did not support changing the BIOS splash screen Integration tasks the utilities let you perform from within Windows Update BIOS Update BIOS splash screen Customize boot order settings Customize device management settings Customize power settings Customize security settings Assign asset management values Brand system information with custom logo and text Share custom configuration file among s
10. imilar customized systems 7 Gigabyte Intel GA EG45M DG45ID y Ce Figure 1 Tasks that the vendor utilities for the four motherboards we tested let you perform from within Windows The Intel utility also provided Time to change the BIOS splash screen using vendor utility greater flexibility regarding the kind of image we could use As Figure 3 shows in detail the Intel product also ainei DG45ID supported both JPEG and bitmap file types higher resolutions and more colors B Gigabyte GA Because the Asus and E45M DS2H Gigabyte offerings supported only bitmap images replacing the splash screen on the systems with these motherboards required the extra step of converting our JPEG image to a bitmap The MSI utilities did not support replacing the BIOS splash screen xe c O O Q N oO E BAsus P5Q VM Figure 2 Median time to change the BIOS splash screen using the vendor utility for the three motherboards we tested that support this feature Note The MSI utilities did not support this As Figure 4 shows changing feature Lower numbers indicating shorter times are better a the boot order using the Intel Gigabyte ntel l MSI GA EG45M DS2H G45M FIDR a Color Figure 3 Splash screen image support for the four motherboards we tested Note The MSI motherboard did not come with an application that allowed us to alter the BIOS splash screen utility took 15 seconds 59 5 per
11. les 1 Hardware Installation Guide o Quick Start Guide 0 o 1 Y Intel RAID AHCI driver floppy disk o O o 1 Y Chassis label o ooo 1 O IO O e a Figure 5 Items the manufacturers included in the box along with the motherboard Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration 7 Appendix B Representative screen shots from the motherboard utilities Figures 6 through 13 provide representative screen shots of the utilities we tested BO 714 02 1 Update Save BIOS Fronto file 2 Update system BIOS using a specified BIOS file on fats n a Download a specified BIOS image file via Internet A Check BIOS Information Te Update BIOS from Internet EE Computer H a Floppy Disk Drive H A Local Disk E H Intel FerfLogs Program File Users windows 3 DYD Drive D ve Recycle Bin cel a Control Panel fl Public Lt file to be the BIOS logo Figure 7 Representative screen shot from the Asus MyLogo2 utility Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration Flash Memory Type MIC 25L8005 Flash Memory Size SM Bits Update BIOS foi FIG wn BIOS Sign on Message F 545M DS2H Fad eee ee Pp SaeCirent IOStarie _ i eramos 13 BIOS Vendor AWARD BIOS i GIGABYTE ey BIOS utility Live Update clear omi data Poo a B a Figure 8 Representative screen
12. ntegrator Assistant Makes it easy to customize and configure Intel Desktop Boards through an easy to use Microsoft Windows interface o Intel Smart Search Technology automatically locates and downloads the latest BIOS for Intel Desktop Boards Customize BIOS settings without rebooting the system first Configure BIOS settings and then lock hide critical settings reducing downtime and support costs Add a custom logo to the BIOS splash screen Customize SMBIOS information with serial numbers and asset tag information o Display custom logo and contact information in the Windows System Control Panel O00 0 MSI G45M FIDR MSI Live Update 3 A powerful and useful application for updating latest BIOS and Drivers which can save your time for searching and lower the risk while updating MSI Dual Core Center Monitor your whole system status and control your motherboard hardware at your request Performance Silence Sound and temperature smart control users can also create their own overclocked profile or your own silent and cool system profile with underclock voltage and lower FAN speed Manufacturers also included cables and other items along with the motherboards Figure 5 presents the items the manufacturers included in the box Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration Motherboard Number of SATA cables Number of IDE cables Number of floppy disk cables ___ Number of SATA power extension Ca aaa ee cab
13. ogies is a registered trademark of Principled Technologies Inc Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries All other product names are the trademarks of their respective owners Disclaimer of Warranties Limitation of Liability PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES INC HAS MADE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY AND VALIDITY OF ITS TESTING HOWEVER PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES INC SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED RELATING TO THE TEST RESULTS AND ANALYSIS THEIR ACCURACY COMPLETENESS OR QUALITY INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES RELYING ON THE RESULTS OF ANY TESTING DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK AND AGREE THAT PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES INC ITS EMPLOYEES AND ITS SUBCONTRACTORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FROM ANY CLAIM OF LOSS OR DAMAGE ON ACCOUNT OF ANY ALLEGED ERROR OR DEFECT IN ANY TESTING PROCEDURE OR RESULT J eH lN Os Ae _ 2 iW lt l y J D mat os i ANHINUOUIP LOW ICU MIN ULUY ILe I NOU JL IADLE T OURA INDIKA CO I OI LVI A Le HI NU lL Lei N I ANL WIN OONINIECTION i A IN NA AeA es e Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration 14
14. omatically At the Installation successful screen click Close Double click the Download Intel Integrator Assistant icon At the Microsoft Phishing Filter click Turn off automatic Phishing Filter and click OK Click the link to download the Intel Integrator Assistant Save the Intel Integrator Assistant zip file to the desktop Extract the zip file to the desktop Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration Customizing the boot order 1 Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes Start the stopwatch and launch the Intel Integrator Assistant by double clicking iassist exe Click Configure BIOS Settings Click Boot Change the Boot Order to boot off CD DVD Floppy and Hard Disk Click Apply All Changes Click Continue to apply new settings Stop the stopwatch when the changes are in place SS a iS Customizing the BIOS splash screen Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes Start the stopwatch and launch the Intel Integrator Assistant by double clicking iassist exe Click Update System BIOS and BIOS Image Under Choose BIOS file browse to the BIOS update file located on the C drive and click Open Under BIOS splash image file browse to the desired splash screen image and click Open Select the top left corner to display the Intel logo Click Apply All Changes Click Continue to apply new settings Stop the stopwatch when the changes are in pl
15. ress Yes and stop the stopwatch at the same time the changes are saved Customizing the BIOS splash screen Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes 2 Start the stopwatch and launch ASUS Update by opening All programs gt Asus gt ASUS Update gt ASUSUpdate From the drop down menu select Options and click Next Check Launch MyLogo application to replace system boot logo and click Next Select Update BIOS from a file and click Next Browse to the new BIOS file and click Next Select the desired splash screen image and click Next At the Preview screen click Next Click OK O P ere Principled Technologies Inc Motherboard testing Ease of integration 10 Stop the stopwatch when the flash utility appears Hiding XD Technology BIOS Option NOTE You cannot perform this procedure The only option is to enable disable Gigabyte GA EG45M DS2H Setting up the system 1 eo ee Reset the system to the base test image Copy the BIOS splash screen image to the C drive Insert the Gigabyte Support DVD into the system Choose Application Software from the left panel scroll down to the Face Wizard utility and click Install Click Next at the Face Wizard Welcome screen and click Install Click Finish when installation completes Customizing the boot order NOTE You cannot perform this procedure from within Windows 1 Soe oe IS Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes S
16. stem as identically as possible with the only difference being the motherboards Each system consisted of the following Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8600 3 33GHz 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 cache Corsair XMS2 2GB 240 pin DDR2 PC2 6400 CL 5 Seagate ST3320620AS Barracuda 320 NCQ SATA2 7200RPM Lite On SATA DVD ROM DH 16D3S 04 Linkworld 536 09 c2228u ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with 430W power supply We performed all tests three times we report the median score Methodology Asus P5Q VM Setting up the system 1 Reset the system to the base test image Copy the BIOS splash screen image to the C drive Copy the BIOS update file to the C drive Insert the Asus Support DVD into the system Click the Utilities tab Click Asus Install Check the box next to Asus Update and click Go to install the applications pe Org a a Customizing the boot order NOTE You cannot perform this procedure from within Windows 1 Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes Start the stopwatch and reboot the system 3 Press the Delete key to enter the BIOS 4 Select the Boot tab and press Enter 5 Select Boot Device Priority and press Enter 6 Select First Boot Device and press Enter Set to CDROM and press Enter 7 Select Second Boot Device and press Enter Set to 1 Floppy Drive and press Enter 8 Select Third Boot Device and press Enter Set to HDD and press Enter 9 Press F10 to bring up the saved BIOS changes 10 P
17. tart the stopwatch and reboot the system Press the Delete key to enter the BIOS Select Advanced BIOS Features and press Enter Select First Boot Device and press Enter Set to CDROM and press Enter Select Second Boot Device and press Enter Set to Floppy and press Enter Select Third Boot Device and press Enter Set to Hard Disk and press Enter Press F10 to bring up the saved BIOS changes Press Yes and stop the stopwatch at the same time the changes are saved Customizing the BIOS splash screen 1 oe aS Boot the system and allow the system to idle for two minutes Start the stopwatch and launch Face Wizard Select On Board BIOS Click Load Image and browse to the bitmap location Click Auto Stop the stopwatch when the process is finished and close Face Wizard Hiding the XD Technology BIOS option NOTE You cannot perform this procedure The only option is to enable disable Intel DG45ID Setting up the system 1 O 90 Soe a Reset the system to the base test image Copy the BIOS splash screen image to the C drive Copy the BIOS update file to the C drive Insert the Intel Support DVD into the system Choose Install Applications On the list of applications check Intel Integrator Assistant and uncheck all other applications Click Install Now At the Automatic Logon dialog enter the username and password and click OK At the License Agreement screen click Accept The system restarts aut
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