Best G41 mobo and e3400, tight budget low-consumption box

All about them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Best G41 mobo and e3400, tight budget low-consumption box

Post by flapane » Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:59 am

GA-EG41MF-US2H
GA-G41M-ES2H
GA-G41M-ES2L
ASROCK G41M-GS
Asus P5QPL-AM (G41/mATX)

These mATX mobos are in the same price range.

I was thinking to a cheap mobo to pair with one of those newcoming intel e3400, maybe at 3ghz (233x13). The integrated GPU (same as G43) should be enough for WIN7 (no gaming), paired with 2gb of ddr2 and a sata2 HDD.

Is it any possible with any of those mobos? Which one has control over vcore and fans? A 33mhz OC on the FSB shouldn't bee too much, but tuning voltages and fans is necessary.

A summarized calculations could lead to a 45w idle/90w full consumption, isn't it?

Did I forget better mobos?

DanceMan
Posts: 287
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Post by DanceMan » Sat Dec 05, 2009 12:16 pm

Asrock G965M-S, a very cheap board, has complete voltage control (though inaccurate) and limited fan control (about three settings IIRC) if that's any help. I was quite surprised to find extensive controls in the bios in such a cheap board.

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Sat Dec 05, 2009 12:18 pm

Thanks
sorry, but I'd stay with the gpu supplied on g41/43.

JamieG
Posts: 822
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 10:31 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by JamieG » Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:13 pm

FWIW, I have a G31M-ES2L mobo and a E5200 running at 2Ghz (200x10) and 1.0V in BIOS.

I'm using Windows 7 RC with 2Gb of RAM and an SSD and its pretty decent for normal PC usage. I haven't found any HD video to be a problem yet either, although I really haven't tested out some higher quality HD sources though.

Power consumption with my underclocked and undervolted CPU is about 35W at idle and maybe 50W at full CPU load, from memory.

I can't speak as to fan control but the voltage options were pretty decent. I assume this would carry over to the G41 version of the motherboard. YMMV, however.

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:15 pm

TY for your contribution :wink:

DanceMan
Posts: 287
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Post by DanceMan » Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:25 pm

flapane wrote:Thanks
sorry, but I'd stay with the gpu supplied on g41/43.
That was intended as an indication of what to expect in the bios of the ASROCK G41M-GS board you listed.

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:53 pm

Didn't get it, sorry.

loimlo
Posts: 762
Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 3:58 am
Location: Formosa

Post by loimlo » Sun Dec 06, 2009 1:00 am

Though off-topic, Asrock's low-end motherboards often surprised me with ample settings at such a ridiculously low price, regardless of Intel or AMD platform.

Btw, here's the Asrock G41's manual on official website. I've skimed it and found there are tons of voltage settings in bios.
http://download.asrock.com/manual/G41M-GS.pdf

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Sun Dec 06, 2009 4:21 am

That Asrock is only 50$, so if it has everything I need, it will be a great pick.
Thank you, in the next days I'll take a look at the manual!

Trav1s
Posts: 259
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 12:33 pm
Location: CR, IA

Post by Trav1s » Sun Dec 06, 2009 6:11 am

Why only the g41 chipset?

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Sun Dec 06, 2009 6:16 am

The integrated dx10 gpu seems ok, the price is affordable, and I tend to prefer newer stuff (eg I chose p43 over p35 for my own rig), wondering a lower consumption/glitches fixed/smaller productive process than its past generation.

Trav1s
Posts: 259
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 12:33 pm
Location: CR, IA

Post by Trav1s » Sun Dec 06, 2009 6:34 am

flapane wrote:The integrated dx10 gpu seems ok, the price is affordable, and I tend to prefer newer stuff (eg I chose p43 over p35 for my own rig), wondering a lower consumption/glitches fixed/smaller productive process than its past generation.
Thanks!

I understand the desire to go with the newer stuff too.

That being said, I have build two different systems based on the GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L and am quite impressed with the performance for the money. One runs an e5200 and the other runs an e3200. Both run 2 gigs of DDR2-800, SATA3 HDs and do great for office work. The latest with the e3200, including a WD Black 640 GB HD was built for $200 USD and is quite a machine for the money. :D

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Sun Dec 06, 2009 6:40 am

I totally agree with you. My sister's box is a XP2500+ mobile@2ghz on an Abit NF7-S/Gf2mx 32mb. It's gradually becoming too slow for her, even with an own-light-modded Ubuntu 8.04 I set up for her. Furthermore the performance per watt is incomparable with nowadays hardware :lol:

Ksanderash
Posts: 353
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:30 am
Location: Moldova, exUSSR

Post by Ksanderash » Sun Dec 06, 2009 2:22 pm

flapane
GA-G41M-ES2H
I had this one. A bit warmer than G31, but still pretty nice for a chill-n-silent setup. Don't know about fans and voltages, sorry. I had it only for 1 day, didn't take any tests :( But I liked it.

P.S. Don't take Asus. Their budget boards are not so interesting.

Esben
Posts: 83
Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:35 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Esben » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:42 am

I've built a ASRock G31M-GS build with the E5200. At stock frequency, the CPU could be run at 0.97v according to CPU-Z. The BIOS of the G31M doesn't support changing the CPU voltage, but using IES and changing the VID with RMClock allows for a reduction of about 0.25v.
Instead of undervolting, I've overclocked to CPU by increasing FSB from 800 MHz to 1066 MHz, using stock voltage. The CPU runs stable and can be cooled by the stock HSF at 70 % fan speed (adjustable by Speedfan).

I'd choose the board based on whether I need 1 GBit ethernet, DVI output and then take the lowest priced board. Both the Gigabyte and ASRock G41 boards seem to offer CPU voltage control.

Except for the lack of CPU voltage control on the G31M-GS, I can recommend ASRock motherboards for their amazing value. Putting money towards a better CPU or GPU is IMO a better idea, an then saving some on the motherboard.

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:23 pm

Thanks for your contribution, too :)

I have read the G41M-GS manual, it states that you can set the cpu and dram voltage.
Overclocking seems a bit misterious, because there are some jumpers to set 800-1066-1333 AND in the bios you can manually adjust the FSB.
Which one will work?

practal
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:02 am

Post by practal » Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:46 pm

I dont know much about the boards you mentioned but I built a similar build. Some of this info may help you out.

I have a DFI G41 Blood Iron and I have no access to BIOS settings for my chip and my RAM will only run at DDR3 800 even though the board is suppose to support DDR3 1066. I dropped in an E8300 and had BIOS settings galore. FSB, Voltages, Fan, RAM timings,ect. I also tried an Asus G43 board that supported DDR3 and had the same issues with the Celeron. Even though the boards have all of these features, I couldn't use them with the Celeron. BIOS updates may fix this but none have been issued yet for either board that I have.

It's not a bad set-up by any means, just be aware you may not be able to tweak it as much as you like. I would check other people's reports prior to purchasing a celeron and G41/G43 just to make sure that your going to have all the options you want.

Im using the E3200 and DFI G41 still, went back to it after some testing. Great little HTPC. DDR3 boards are the way to go to help save some power consumption.

Celeron E3200 (1.075v/800mhz idle and 1.075w/2400mhz load via Crystal CPU)
DFI G41 Blood Iron
4GB Super Talent DDR3 1600 (Running@DDR3 800 9-9-9 timings:/ Board wont do anything else with Celeron in)
MSI 4670 512MB DDR3(BIOS Modified by me for max power savings)
OCZ SSD 32GB
PicoPSU 120w

System is in a mATX case running fanless. All Thermalright cooling is used(HR-01, HR-03, and Thermalright NB cooler). Voltages are so low that it never even seems to get warm.

Consumes low 40's idle and mid 50's while playing back 1080p content. Hits high 80s to low 90s while playing Dragon Age maxed out on a 1080p set. Very nice power consumption for a super cheap gaming HTPC.

You should be able to go considerably lower if using the G41 for graphics. If I remember correctly, I was under 60w full load prior to adding the GPU. My RAM is using more voltage then it should be and I can't undervolt below 1.075. If you have a board that allows lower undervolting you should easily be able to hit way below the numbers you want.

ntavlas
Posts: 811
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:35 pm
Location: Greece
Contact:

Post by ntavlas » Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:17 pm

If you plan to use the 3200 cpu it`s better to go for a g41 board because an older chipset is likely to give you compatibility issues. Gigabyte boards usually have extensive voltage options, at least the g31 series do. They are pretty poor when it comes to fan control though. That asrock g41 might be your best bet after all.

Practal, that`s an interesting system you got there, I`ve never heard of the blook iron g41 before and I`m a sucker for red pcbs. It`s common to have bios features disabled when using newer/not so well supported cpus. An up to date bios should probably fix that (this is why I recommend a newer m/b to the OP).

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Fri Jan 08, 2010 12:08 pm

Probably there will be only an extraction fan on the back of the case other than cpu fan, so in the worst case I will mod the fan @9v.
I am waiting for e3400 to be released in the next days, in order to decide if save some euros and go for e3300, or buy the e3400.
Then I'll see if I can raise the fsb at 266mhz with the stock cooler (lapped for the purpose).
3ghz or something more will be more than enough for a girl surfing the web and wathing some movies.

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:09 am

e3400 has been officially released @53usd.

kater
Posts: 891
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:20 pm
Location: Poland

Post by kater » Thu Jan 21, 2010 1:54 pm

Just to share some info on a similar system. My 2nd PC is E3200 with MSI P6NGM. I got the board w/o much thinking as it was v cheap, 2nd hand. Before E3200 I ran Celly 420 on it @ 2,66, and all was fine. E3200 @ stock runs great, but the board offers virtually no over/underclocking options. I can run the E3200 @ 12 x 266 (3200) but F@H seems not to like this setting and crashes occasionally (even tho LinX runs stably).

Point is, I can't downvolt the CPU and I can't run it much higher. That sucks as the CPU has lotsa potential both ways. I'm currently looking for a replacement and most likely will get a GB board on G33/G35, maybe G31 if I find it v cheaply. If you have any particular recommendations or warnings with this regard, I'll appreciate it :)

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Thu Jan 21, 2010 3:23 pm

Well, seems like I'll buy ASROCK G41M-GS for 33eur :)
I should have posted the pdf link to the manual somewhere, it deals with changing of frequency and voltages, too (even if it is not clear when you have to deal with the jumpers).

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Fri Jan 22, 2010 6:11 am

How much choosing between 1 or 2 sticks of ram could influence the total power consumption?
Some articles on the web say "several watts", others say 1 or 2...

kater
Posts: 891
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:20 pm
Location: Poland

Post by kater » Fri Jan 22, 2010 6:48 am

SPCR tests/reviews and forum members estimate that a single stock DDR2 stick takes ca 1W, and that is probably when working heavy duty. OTOH, it's hard to imagine how much lower this coulg go in idle. Any 120mm fan will need more power than a single mem stick.

yuu
Posts: 132
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:03 pm
Location: eu

Post by yuu » Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:26 pm

i would say 2W in idle, but not always. depends on memory used, chipset voltage and some bugs.

ggbyte p31 (1.35V) with e2140 3.2Ghz

with 2x 1GB Pqi 800
2x 1GB winrar 144.0 W
with 2x 2GB A-data 800
2x 2GB winrar 142.0 W
2x 2GB idle 110.0 W
1x 2GB winrar 135.5 W
1x 2GB idle 107.0 W
the A-data ~2W less in winrar due to newer nm process, despite twice the capacity.

ggbyte p45 (1.05V u/v) with e8400 3.6Ghz (EIST C1E disabled)
the P45 chipset has a bug probably the g41 too, it disables the chipset part responsible for the second channel. but not always, i think the system needs total power off for that and some luck. because after shut down the chipset part or something else decides to be power hungry. it shows now 84 W idle instead of 80 W at 1.6V or 85W instead of 81W at 1.8V, (95.5 W instead of 92 W, and 96.5 W instead of 93 W in bios)

1x 2GB 1.6V winrar 99.9 W
1x 2GB 1.6V idle 80.0 W
1x 2GB 1.8V winrar 101.3 W
1x 2GB 1.8V idle 81.0 W
and after shutdown or random restart
1x 2GB 1.6V winrar 99.9 W (103.4 W)
1x 2GB 1.6V idle 84.0 W
1x 2GB 1.8V idle 85.0 W
and now this doesn't make sense sometimes only the idle is +4W but winrar stays at 99.9W, sometimes the winrar bench produces more, after consistently showing 99.9W few consecutive pc restarts, it goes up to 103.5.
now with dual channel, perhaps what i see is the chipset part adding those 4W, not the memory it self.
2x 2GB 1.6V winrar 106.0 W
2x 2GB 1.6V idle 86.0 W
2x 2GB 1.8V winrar 108.0 W
2x 2GB 1.8V idle 87.0 W
adding a third stick
3x 2GB 1.8V idle 88.4 W

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:58 pm

Great, thanks!
I hope g41 isn't affected (p43 here ain't)

Wilhelm-Tell
Posts: 169
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 9:24 am
Location: Earth

Post by Wilhelm-Tell » Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:14 am

I got the Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L with a E1200 1,6GHz Dual Core CPU and 1GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM.

Works great, stable and with a nice Bios.



Image

flapane
Posts: 257
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:55 am
Location: Naples, Italy
Contact:

Post by flapane » Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:23 am

Thanks, it's in the same pricelist (38eur).
Have you tried downvolting/overclocking via bios (jumperfree?)

Wilhelm-Tell
Posts: 169
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 9:24 am
Location: Earth

Post by Wilhelm-Tell » Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:05 pm

I'm running my E1200 at stock speed and 0.9V. The whole system - Corsair CX400W, 2 RAM sticks and a old Maxtor S-ATA 80 GB drive - consumes about 50-55W from the wall outlet.


Image

DanceMan
Posts: 287
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Post by DanceMan » Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:23 pm

Wilhelm-Tell wrote:I'm running my E1200 at stock speed and 0.9V.
No, it's running at 0.9V at idle under EIST (Speedstepping).

Post Reply