DFI Lanparty LT X38-T2R Motherboard
Introduction & Specifications
Published: 13th February 2008 | Source: DFI | Price: £TBA |
Introduction & Specifications
Back in the days of Socket 939 and 478; DFI was king. Motherboards like the Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR and Pro 875B reached almost iconic status among enthusiasts for their supreme looks, extensive features and unmatchable overclocking performance. In fact, despite my fan-boy like preference for Abit at the time, I just couldn't resist the offerings of the Lanparty NF4, eventually giving in to temptation and dumping my problematic AN8 32X in the loft.
However, since the release of the Core 2 Duo by Intel, It seems that DFI have taken somewhat of a back seat to the likes of ASUS and Abit. Sure there was the ICFX3200-T2R based on AMD's RD600 chipset, but unfortunately DFI went a bit crazy on the BIOS options, leaving many overclockers reading through pages and pages of how-to guides just to get their boards stable. DFI also seemed to be loosing momentum, with many boards based on the latest chipsets either taking ages to hit the market or not seeing the light of day at all.
Thankfully, DFI seem to be getting things back on track. The release of their Intel P35 based Lanparty P35-T2R was well received by enthusiasts for it's performance, and today we're going to be taking a look at the latest Intel based board in their line-up...
CPU
# LGA 775 socket for: - Intel® CoreTM2 Quad and Intel® CoreTM2 Duo
# Supports Intel Enhanced Memory 64 Technology (EMT64T)
# Supports Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST)
# Supports Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
# Supports 1333*/1066/800MHz system bus speed *Available only on CPUs that support 1333MHz FSB
Chipset
# Intel® chipset - Northbridge: Intel® X38 Express chipset (with Intel® Fast Memory Access technology) - Southbridge: Intel® ICH9R
Memory
# Four 240-pin DDR2 DIMM sockets
# Supports DDR2 667/800 MHz
# Delivers up to 12.8Gb/s bandwidth
# Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
# Supports up to 8GB system memory
# Supports unbuffered x8 and x16 DIMMs
Expansion Slots
# 2 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots (PCIE 1 and PCIE 3) - 2-way CrossFire at x16/x16 bandwidth - 2-way CrossFire + Physics at x16/x16/x4 bandwidth
# 1 PCI Express x1 slot (PCIE 2)
# 1 PCI Express x4 slot (PCIE 4)
# 3 PCI slots
BIOS
# Award BIOS
# 8Mbit flash memory
# CMOS Reloaded
Audio
# Bernstein audio module - Realtek ALC885 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Center/subwoofer, rear R/L and side R/L jacks - Line-in, line-out (front R/L) and mic-in jacks - 2 coaxial RCA S/PDIF-in/out jacks - 1 optical S/PDIF connector - 1 CD-in connector - 1 front audio connector
# DAC SNR/ADC SNR of 106dB/101dB
# Full-rate lossless content protection technology
LAN
# Marvell 88E8052 and Marvell 88E8053 PCIE Gigabit LAN controllers
# Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T),
802.3u (100BASE-TX) and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T) standards
IEEE 1394
# VIA VT6307
# Supports two 100/200/400 Mb/sec ports
Storage
# Intel ICH9R chip - Intel Matrix Storage technology - Supports up to 6 SATA devices - SATA speed up to 3Gb/s - RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and RAID 5
# JMicron JMB363 PCI Express to SATA and PATA host controller - Supports up to 2 UltraDMA 100Mbps IDE devices - Supports 2 SATA devices - SATA speed up to 3Gb/s - RAID 0 and RAID 1
Rear Panel I/O Ports
# Mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port and PS/2 keyboard port
# 1 IEEE 1394 port
# 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
# 2 RJ45 LAN ports
I/O Connectors
# 3 connectors for 6 additional external USB 2.0 ports
# 1 connector for an external COM port
# 1 connector for an IEEE 1394 port
# 1 connector for the Bernstein audio module
# 1 front audio connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
# 1 CD-in connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
# 1 S/PDIF connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
# 1 IrDA connector
# 1 CIR connector
# 8 Serial ATA connectors
# 1 40-pin IDE connector and 1 floppy connector
# 1 24-pin ATX power connector
# 1 8-pin 12V power connector
# 2 4-pin 5V/12V power connectors (FDD type)
# 1 front panel connector
# 6 fan connectors
# 1 diagnostic LED
# EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)
Power Management
# ACPI and OS Directed Power Management
# ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
# Wake-On-PS/2 / Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
# Wake-On-LAN and Wake-On-Ring
# RTC timer to power-on the system
# AC power failure recovery
Hardware Monitor
# Monitors CPU/system/Northbridge temperature and overheat alarm
# Monitors Vcore/Vdimm/Vnb/VCC5/12V/V5sb/Vbat voltages
# Monitors the speed of the cooling fans
# CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature and fan during system boot-up
- automatic shutdown upon system overheat
PCB
# 6 layers, ATX form factor
# 24.5cm (9.64") x 30.5cm (12")
# LGA 775 socket for: - Intel® CoreTM2 Quad and Intel® CoreTM2 Duo
# Supports Intel Enhanced Memory 64 Technology (EMT64T)
# Supports Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST)
# Supports Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
# Supports 1333*/1066/800MHz system bus speed *Available only on CPUs that support 1333MHz FSB
Chipset
# Intel® chipset - Northbridge: Intel® X38 Express chipset (with Intel® Fast Memory Access technology) - Southbridge: Intel® ICH9R
Memory
# Four 240-pin DDR2 DIMM sockets
# Supports DDR2 667/800 MHz
# Delivers up to 12.8Gb/s bandwidth
# Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
# Supports up to 8GB system memory
# Supports unbuffered x8 and x16 DIMMs
Expansion Slots
# 2 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots (PCIE 1 and PCIE 3) - 2-way CrossFire at x16/x16 bandwidth - 2-way CrossFire + Physics at x16/x16/x4 bandwidth
# 1 PCI Express x1 slot (PCIE 2)
# 1 PCI Express x4 slot (PCIE 4)
# 3 PCI slots
BIOS
# Award BIOS
# 8Mbit flash memory
# CMOS Reloaded
Audio
# Bernstein audio module - Realtek ALC885 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Center/subwoofer, rear R/L and side R/L jacks - Line-in, line-out (front R/L) and mic-in jacks - 2 coaxial RCA S/PDIF-in/out jacks - 1 optical S/PDIF connector - 1 CD-in connector - 1 front audio connector
# DAC SNR/ADC SNR of 106dB/101dB
# Full-rate lossless content protection technology
LAN
# Marvell 88E8052 and Marvell 88E8053 PCIE Gigabit LAN controllers
# Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T),
802.3u (100BASE-TX) and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T) standards
IEEE 1394
# VIA VT6307
# Supports two 100/200/400 Mb/sec ports
Storage
# Intel ICH9R chip - Intel Matrix Storage technology - Supports up to 6 SATA devices - SATA speed up to 3Gb/s - RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and RAID 5
# JMicron JMB363 PCI Express to SATA and PATA host controller - Supports up to 2 UltraDMA 100Mbps IDE devices - Supports 2 SATA devices - SATA speed up to 3Gb/s - RAID 0 and RAID 1
Rear Panel I/O Ports
# Mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port and PS/2 keyboard port
# 1 IEEE 1394 port
# 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
# 2 RJ45 LAN ports
I/O Connectors
# 3 connectors for 6 additional external USB 2.0 ports
# 1 connector for an external COM port
# 1 connector for an IEEE 1394 port
# 1 connector for the Bernstein audio module
# 1 front audio connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
# 1 CD-in connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
# 1 S/PDIF connector (on the Bernstein audio module)
# 1 IrDA connector
# 1 CIR connector
# 8 Serial ATA connectors
# 1 40-pin IDE connector and 1 floppy connector
# 1 24-pin ATX power connector
# 1 8-pin 12V power connector
# 2 4-pin 5V/12V power connectors (FDD type)
# 1 front panel connector
# 6 fan connectors
# 1 diagnostic LED
# EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)
Power Management
# ACPI and OS Directed Power Management
# ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
# Wake-On-PS/2 / Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
# Wake-On-LAN and Wake-On-Ring
# RTC timer to power-on the system
# AC power failure recovery
Hardware Monitor
# Monitors CPU/system/Northbridge temperature and overheat alarm
# Monitors Vcore/Vdimm/Vnb/VCC5/12V/V5sb/Vbat voltages
# Monitors the speed of the cooling fans
# CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature and fan during system boot-up
- automatic shutdown upon system overheat
PCB
# 6 layers, ATX form factor
# 24.5cm (9.64") x 30.5cm (12")
Based on the Crossfire friendly X38 chipset combined with DDR2 slots, the Lanparty LT X38-T2R looks perfect for those of us who haven't yet sold a kidney to fund some DDR3 modules but want to run dual GPU's without any PCIe lane bottlenecks. The rest of the specs look pretty standard for DFI with many of the unnecessary "bells and whistles" found on other manufacturers boards being omitted in favour of a no-nonsense layout.
Most Recent Comments
Don't worry tho, you'll probably be seeing a lot more unofficial results form this board when the QX9650 arrives.
:yumyum: benches :D
Extensive review my good man. Won't get a new mobo until nehlam...
I am so getting one of these wen i go to the US! Thats along as the X48 and 790i chipsets dont blow this out of the water.
It looks like it might be a little while before these bouards are available in the UK, but I've been passed information that they should be available at these places:
States: Motherboardpro
Germany: Alternate
States: Motherboardpro
Germany: Alternate
If its as good as my Ultra-D has been, then thats my next mobo.
If its as good as my Ultra-D has been, then thats my next mobo.
Having owned/tested pretty much all of DFI's Intel boards, I would say that this is the closest to how I remember my old NF4 being :)
i still run my old SLI-D
love it, perfect board, never had a single problem with it...
my pc's are still 939 and 754, its enough power for me....lol
love it, perfect board, never had a single problem with it...
my pc's are still 939 and 754, its enough power for me....lol
I may go for this board over the rampage as the wait is killing me.:mad:
i still run my old SLI-D
love it, perfect board, never had a single problem with it...
my pc's are still 939 and 754, its enough power for me....lol
I'm also still runing my SLI-DR :D what a mobo!
It was available at Newegg but has now disappeared.
Yeah I noticed that in a thread on XS. Its still there but hidden. DFI say that there is a big box of the boards arriving with them tomorrow-ish.
CSS Valid
No chips to hand i'm afraid. I've got two Q6600's and an E4300 floating about at the moment, and the E4300 maxes out at 375fsb lol.
Don't worry tho, you'll probably be seeing a lot more unofficial results form this board when the QX9650 arrives.