- Oct 13, 1999
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Zap's Mini Review: Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L
(Newegg link)
The Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L is a budget motherboard for socket LGA 775 based on the Intel G31 chipset for all Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors. I purchased mine from Newegg back when it was available for around $55. For whatever reason Gigabyte replaced the model with the GA-G31M-ES2L. I'm not sure exactly what the differences are besides using a better sound chip (Realtek ALC883 8 channel).
SPECIFICATIONS
GA-G31M-S2L
Intel G31 chipset with ICH7
Supports socket LGA 775 Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad
Supports FSB 800/1066/1333
Two DDR2 slots for dual channel operation, 4GB max
one PCI Express x16, one PCI Express x1, two PCI slots
four SATA 3Gb/s and one EIDE (two drives), plus one FDD
Realtek ALC662 HD audio with 6 channels
Realtek RTL8111C gigabit ethernet
Intel GMA 3100 onboard video with VGA output
Micro ATX form factor
BIOS
This is probably the most enthusiast-friendly BIOS I've ever seen in a budget micro ATX board.
FSB 100-700MHz
PCI Express 90-150MHz (of dubious value)
vCore auto/0.50000v-1.60000v in 0.00625v increaments
vDIMM auto/+0.1v/+0.2v/+0.3v/+0.4v
FSB OverVoltage auto/+0.1v/+0.2v/+0.3v
FSB DeOverVoltage auto/-0.05v/-0.10v/-0.15v
CPU GTLREF Voltage Ratio 0.636/0.603/0.560/0.54
Memory multipliers
200MHz FSB auto/2.66/3.33/4.0+
266MHz FSB auto/2.00/2.50/3.00
333MHz FSB auto/1.60/2.00/2.40
(basically no matter the CPU, 533MHz/667MHz/800MHz)
Smart Fan enable/disable
Use the keystroke CTRL-F1 to "unlock" some of the more "advanced" BIOS settings. I say "advanced" because while this is typical of Gigabyte to hide settings such as memory timings, why is something as benign as "floppy drive seek" hidden?
IMPRESSIONS
With one exception this is one of the better laid out "small" micro ATX boards. I call it "small" because it barely extends past the first row of screws on the motherboard tray. The "exception" is the SATA ports. A two slot video card will cover up one, and possibly two of the SATA ports.
There are two fan headers, a 4 pin for CPU and a spare 3 pin. The PCI Express x16 slot is the second down from the Northbridge, making RAM easy to change with a video card installed. The capacitors for the CPU VRM are solid. The 24 pin and 4 pin power plugs are in the proper locations on the edges of the board.
The BIOS makes overclocking easy by reporting expected CPU and memory speeds depending on the FSB and multipliers you select. This is something I wish all overclockable boards had.
Another BIOS feature is the ability to save profiles/settings. Now, other BIOSes have this in a sub menu. The Gigabyte board does not have a sub menu for this. From the main BIOS screen you have to hit F11 to save and F12 to load a saved profile. It allows for around 10 profiles. The neat thing about this is that if the board fails to POST, when it recovers it gives a "POST error occurs" menu where you can use arrow/enter keys to select how you want to recover, including last settings that worked, default settings and even select from your saved profiles. Very neato! This is a step beyond the typical POST recovery where it halts and asks you to hit F1 to enter BIOS. Speaking of POST, this motherboard will POST as fast as the other G31 chipset boards I've used (from Asus and ECS). Pretty nice.
OVERCLOCKING
With so many BIOS settings, the board should be a decent overclocker, and it does not disappoint. Highest FSB I got was around 480MHz using CPUs that default to 266MHz or 333MHz FSB. With CPUs defaulting to 200MHz FSB, highest I got was 360MHz. The limitation was the memory multiplier. When the motherboard detects a higher FSB chip, it opens up lower multipliers. One possible way around this is to do a BSEL mod. The chip that I had modded was not detecting properly on any board so I was unable to test this theory.
This memory multiplier issue will affect the overclockability of chips that have low multipliers as well as low FSB, such as the Pentium Dual Core E2140, Celeron 420, etc. High FSB low multiplier chips such as the Core 2 Duo E6300/E6550 wouldn't have as much of a problem. Of course if you are buying a new low end CPU, the best choice would be something like the E5200 which has a 12.5x multiplier. With such a high multiplier you can clock to 3.75GHz before you even take the RAM over 800MHz. Thus, with such a chip I wouldn't worry too much about the memory multiplier issue.
UNDERCLOCKING
Those paying attention to the BIOS settings I outlined above may have noticed that there are settings allowing undervolting and underclocking.
To get this out of the way, underclocking using the FSB simply does not work. Selecting any FSB speed below the detected speed of your chip will cause a no POST situation (followed by the POST recovery menu). This is a shame because the BIOS allows for speeds as low as 100MHz FSB to be selected. This would mean a CPU speed of 600MHz with the minimum 6x multiplier. Alas, that is not to be had. The minimum speed would be 6x multiplier times the detected FSB, making for a 1.2GHz/1.6GHz/2.0GHz underclock depending on your chip FSB. I suppose if the BSEL mod worked, you can do a "reverse" mod to lower the detected FSB.
I'm happy to report that the CPU undervolting does work. I was able to run my E5200 at 0.800v setting (detected as 0.788v). This is while manually set to 1.2GHz.
There is another setting that I did not play with, which is the FSB DeOverVoltage. This option appears after hitting CTRL-F1 from the main BIOS screen. Chipsets these days run pretty hot and draw a lot of power. Indeed in extreme instances such as the Intel Atom boards, the chipset uses MORE power than the CPU. Most boards have the option of overvolting the chipset to allow for high FSB speeds. At low FSB speeds, it appears that this Gigabyte board allows undervolting to reduce heat and power consumption. A nice touch if it works (again I didn't try it).
CONCLUSIONS
Assuming the current version of this board is as nice as the one I have, this board is highly recommended. Enough overclocking to satisfy most budget overclockers, some underclocking potential for those wanting to make an energy efficient home server. The current version runs $53 at Newegg, which is a deal for a board with so many options and potential. The only major drawback is that one to two SATA ports will be covered if you use a dual slot video card. If you can live with that, then this board is as good a choice as any other, and better than most micro ATX boards in its price range.
The Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L is Zap Approved
(Newegg link)
The Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L is a budget motherboard for socket LGA 775 based on the Intel G31 chipset for all Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors. I purchased mine from Newegg back when it was available for around $55. For whatever reason Gigabyte replaced the model with the GA-G31M-ES2L. I'm not sure exactly what the differences are besides using a better sound chip (Realtek ALC883 8 channel).
SPECIFICATIONS
GA-G31M-S2L
Intel G31 chipset with ICH7
Supports socket LGA 775 Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad
Supports FSB 800/1066/1333
Two DDR2 slots for dual channel operation, 4GB max
one PCI Express x16, one PCI Express x1, two PCI slots
four SATA 3Gb/s and one EIDE (two drives), plus one FDD
Realtek ALC662 HD audio with 6 channels
Realtek RTL8111C gigabit ethernet
Intel GMA 3100 onboard video with VGA output
Micro ATX form factor
BIOS
This is probably the most enthusiast-friendly BIOS I've ever seen in a budget micro ATX board.
FSB 100-700MHz
PCI Express 90-150MHz (of dubious value)
vCore auto/0.50000v-1.60000v in 0.00625v increaments
vDIMM auto/+0.1v/+0.2v/+0.3v/+0.4v
FSB OverVoltage auto/+0.1v/+0.2v/+0.3v
FSB DeOverVoltage auto/-0.05v/-0.10v/-0.15v
CPU GTLREF Voltage Ratio 0.636/0.603/0.560/0.54
Memory multipliers
200MHz FSB auto/2.66/3.33/4.0+
266MHz FSB auto/2.00/2.50/3.00
333MHz FSB auto/1.60/2.00/2.40
(basically no matter the CPU, 533MHz/667MHz/800MHz)
Smart Fan enable/disable
Use the keystroke CTRL-F1 to "unlock" some of the more "advanced" BIOS settings. I say "advanced" because while this is typical of Gigabyte to hide settings such as memory timings, why is something as benign as "floppy drive seek" hidden?
IMPRESSIONS
With one exception this is one of the better laid out "small" micro ATX boards. I call it "small" because it barely extends past the first row of screws on the motherboard tray. The "exception" is the SATA ports. A two slot video card will cover up one, and possibly two of the SATA ports.
There are two fan headers, a 4 pin for CPU and a spare 3 pin. The PCI Express x16 slot is the second down from the Northbridge, making RAM easy to change with a video card installed. The capacitors for the CPU VRM are solid. The 24 pin and 4 pin power plugs are in the proper locations on the edges of the board.
The BIOS makes overclocking easy by reporting expected CPU and memory speeds depending on the FSB and multipliers you select. This is something I wish all overclockable boards had.
Another BIOS feature is the ability to save profiles/settings. Now, other BIOSes have this in a sub menu. The Gigabyte board does not have a sub menu for this. From the main BIOS screen you have to hit F11 to save and F12 to load a saved profile. It allows for around 10 profiles. The neat thing about this is that if the board fails to POST, when it recovers it gives a "POST error occurs" menu where you can use arrow/enter keys to select how you want to recover, including last settings that worked, default settings and even select from your saved profiles. Very neato! This is a step beyond the typical POST recovery where it halts and asks you to hit F1 to enter BIOS. Speaking of POST, this motherboard will POST as fast as the other G31 chipset boards I've used (from Asus and ECS). Pretty nice.
OVERCLOCKING
With so many BIOS settings, the board should be a decent overclocker, and it does not disappoint. Highest FSB I got was around 480MHz using CPUs that default to 266MHz or 333MHz FSB. With CPUs defaulting to 200MHz FSB, highest I got was 360MHz. The limitation was the memory multiplier. When the motherboard detects a higher FSB chip, it opens up lower multipliers. One possible way around this is to do a BSEL mod. The chip that I had modded was not detecting properly on any board so I was unable to test this theory.
This memory multiplier issue will affect the overclockability of chips that have low multipliers as well as low FSB, such as the Pentium Dual Core E2140, Celeron 420, etc. High FSB low multiplier chips such as the Core 2 Duo E6300/E6550 wouldn't have as much of a problem. Of course if you are buying a new low end CPU, the best choice would be something like the E5200 which has a 12.5x multiplier. With such a high multiplier you can clock to 3.75GHz before you even take the RAM over 800MHz. Thus, with such a chip I wouldn't worry too much about the memory multiplier issue.
UNDERCLOCKING
Those paying attention to the BIOS settings I outlined above may have noticed that there are settings allowing undervolting and underclocking.
To get this out of the way, underclocking using the FSB simply does not work. Selecting any FSB speed below the detected speed of your chip will cause a no POST situation (followed by the POST recovery menu). This is a shame because the BIOS allows for speeds as low as 100MHz FSB to be selected. This would mean a CPU speed of 600MHz with the minimum 6x multiplier. Alas, that is not to be had. The minimum speed would be 6x multiplier times the detected FSB, making for a 1.2GHz/1.6GHz/2.0GHz underclock depending on your chip FSB. I suppose if the BSEL mod worked, you can do a "reverse" mod to lower the detected FSB.
I'm happy to report that the CPU undervolting does work. I was able to run my E5200 at 0.800v setting (detected as 0.788v). This is while manually set to 1.2GHz.
There is another setting that I did not play with, which is the FSB DeOverVoltage. This option appears after hitting CTRL-F1 from the main BIOS screen. Chipsets these days run pretty hot and draw a lot of power. Indeed in extreme instances such as the Intel Atom boards, the chipset uses MORE power than the CPU. Most boards have the option of overvolting the chipset to allow for high FSB speeds. At low FSB speeds, it appears that this Gigabyte board allows undervolting to reduce heat and power consumption. A nice touch if it works (again I didn't try it).
CONCLUSIONS
Assuming the current version of this board is as nice as the one I have, this board is highly recommended. Enough overclocking to satisfy most budget overclockers, some underclocking potential for those wanting to make an energy efficient home server. The current version runs $53 at Newegg, which is a deal for a board with so many options and potential. The only major drawback is that one to two SATA ports will be covered if you use a dual slot video card. If you can live with that, then this board is as good a choice as any other, and better than most micro ATX boards in its price range.
The Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L is Zap Approved
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