Gigabyte's GA-EP45C-DS3R motherboard has been optimized to work more efficiently with

today's 45nm processors. The board has dynamic 6 gear power switching. As your system
needs more power it gets it and when the power load goes down, so does the supplied
power. This lets you have power when you need it, and save energy and money when you
don't.

The board supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory. You can install up to 16GB of DDR2 in 4
slots or up to 8GB of DDR3 in 2 slots. Either configuration will support dual channel mode.

System durability and security are as important as ever. Gigabyte's DualBIOS system has a
second BIOS chip on the motherboard for quick and painless recovery from crashes and
viruses. They also built the motherboard with all conductive polymer aluminum solid
capacitors for increased longevity and power efficiency. An Ultra TPM module keeps your
data as safe as your system.

Intel P45 Express Chipset for Intel LGA 775 CPU Based on the Intel P45

Express chipset, the GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-DS3R supports Intel LGA 775 (Socket T)
processors including the Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo and Pentium D series
as well as the next generation Intel 45nm processors.

ATi CrossFireX Multi-GPU Technology Support ATi CrossFireX is the ultimate

multi-GPU performance gaming platform, enabling two or more discrete graphics

processors to work together for boosted system performance and a breakthrough
gaming experience.

DDR2 and DDR3 Combo Design The GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-DS3R features four

DDR2 and two DDR3 DIMM slots to provide the ultimate flexibility for system memory
upgrades.

SATA II with RAID Support The second generation SATA interface delivers up

to 300MB/sec transfer speed, doubling that of the first generation Serial ATA. The on-
board six SATA II ports support RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 for better performance, enhanced data
security, and flexible capacity upgrades.

Dual Gigabit LAN The integrated dual Gigabit LAN design allows a PC to

serve as a network gateway for managing traffic between two separate networks. Dual
Gigabit LAN means rapid data transfers from WAN to LAN without any added arbitration
or latency.
 GIGABYTE DualBIOS GIGABYTE DualBIOS technology protects the BIOS from

virus attacks. With its innovative backup BIOS design, this platform provides twice the
security thus assuring the PCs stability.

Posted By Rafael Coelho on Mar 30, 2009 in Motherboard

Introduction
Lets have a look on Gigabyte EP45C-DS3R, a mainstream socket LGA775 motherboard for
Intel processors, targeted mainly to Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors.

This motherboard is based on Intel P45 chipset, which replaced P35 on the mainstream market.
Currently the high-end chipset for Intel socket LGA775 processors is X48, while for Core I7
Processors (Socket LGA1366), X58 chipset is the top-of-the-line chipset.

Although not "high-end", this board is equipped with several advanced features such as all
Japanese solid aluminum capacitors, ferrite chokes, advanced power management, support
front side bus (FSB) up to 1600 MHz (although P45 chipset supports, officially, only up to 1333
MHz) and support for both DDR2 or DDR3 memory modules. It also has some features that
clearly differentiate it from value boards, like two Gigabit Ethernet ports, eSATA and RAID
support, and others that we will see in detail in the next pages.

It is interesting to know why Gigabyte uses a complex naming system like "EP45C-DS3R" for
their motherboards. What seems a complicated name chosen randomly is in fact an internal
manufacturer code. The "E" means this board uses Gigabytes dynamic energy management
architecture. Next, "P45", of course, is the chipset used on the board. The "C" means "combo",
i.e., the motherboard is able to use both DDR2 and DDR3 memory (a "T" here means
compatibility only with DDR3). After the hyphen, "D" means that all capacitors are solid. "S3"
means "smart, save, speed". Other board models from this manufacturer use suffixes "S2"
(smart, save) or "S4" (smart, save, speed, SLI). Finally, the "R" identifies this motherboard
supports RAID. On some boards there is an "H" that means the presence of an HDMI video
output.

Read more at http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/gigabyte-ep45c-ds3r-

motherboard/#WLO15AudyyPdHLrf.99

Learn more about the GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-DS3R

Model
|
Brand
GIGABYTE
Model
GA-EP45C-DS3R
Supported CPU
|
CPU Socket Type
LGA 775
CPU Type
Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Extreme / Core
2 Duo
FSB
1600/1333 MHz
Chipsets
|
Chipset
Intel P45
South Bridge
Intel ICH10R
Memory
|
Number of Memory Slots
6240pin
Memory Standard
DDR3 1600 / DDR2 1066
Maximum Memory Supported
16GB
Channel Supported
Dual Channel
Expansion Slots
|
PCI Express 2.0 x16
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at
x16
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at
x8
(The PCIEx16 and PCIEx8 slots
support ATI CrossFireX technology
and conform to PCI Express 2.0
standard.)
PCI Express x1
3 x PCI Express x1
PCI Slots
 2 x PCI Slots
Storage Devices
|
PATA
1 x ATA100 2 Dev. Max
SATA 3Gb/s
6 x SATA 3Gb/s
SATA RAID
0/1/5/10
Onboard Video
|
Onboard Video Chipset
None
Onboard Audio
|
Audio Chipset
Realtek ALC889A
Audio Channels
8 Channels
Onboard LAN
|
LAN Chipset
Realtek 8111C
Second LAN Chipset
Realtek 8111C
Max LAN Speed
Dual 10/100/1000Mbps
Rear Panel Ports
|
PS/2
2
USB 1.1/2.0
8 x USB 2.0
IEEE 1394
2 x IEEE 1394a
S/PDIF Out
1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial
Audio Ports
6 Ports
Internal I/O Connectors
|
Onboard USB
 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
Onboard 1394
1 x 1394a
Physical Spec
|
Form Factor
ATX
Dimensions (W x L)
12.0" x 9.6"
Power Pin
24 Pin
Packaging
|
Package Contents
GA-EP45C-DS3R
Driver Disk
User Manual
Rear I/O Panel Shield
IDE/PATA Cable
FDD Cable
SATA Cable
eSATA Bracket
eSATA Cable & Power Cord