DFI LANParty JR P45-T2RS+4870 Crossfire,brings both OC and Performance for Mirco ATX

DFI LANParty JR P45-T2RS+4870 Crossfire,brings both OC and Performance for Mirco ATX

According to Intel roadmap, “P35 + ICH9R” is replaced by “P45 + ICH10R” from 2008 in mainstream segment.
In hi-end market, the only one choice in LGA775 is “X48”, and X58 will be the next performance king.

Almost all P45 MB in the market are designed with “ATX” form factor, it’s hard to find an “O.C.” MB in microATX world.
I hope G45 will change the situation; however, according to my experience, the OC potential may not good enough.

What we are talking about in this article is DFI LANParty JR series, which embedded with “P45+ICH10R” and “Crossfire Reday!”


About package
DFI brings completely different design into JR package, more vivacious than before.
DFI put a label on the box that describes “Intel OC power off issue fixed!”



About Accessories
ABS OC manual, DFI smart connectors and other necessary accessories.


DFI LANParty JR P45 T2RS
microATX is very attractive to users who want to build small but powerful system.



Bottom-left of MB
2X PCI-E X8(CorssFireX X8+X8)
1X PCI-E X1
1X PCI
1X FLOPPY
LAN chip: Marvell 88E8053 Gigabit LAN
Audio chip: Realtek ALC885 (HD audio/ 7.1 channels) + Tantalum capacitors.


Bottom-right of MB
6 X SATAII(ICH10R)
ICH10R supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and RAID 5
On-board Power/ Reset button and debug LED for DIY users.


Upper-right of MB
4 DDRII DIMM (667/ 800/ 1066MHz, max to 1200MHz in OC mode)
1X IDE(JMicron JMB368)


Upper-left of MB
4 phase digital PWM with 12 MOSFET; it’s enough to compatible with both dual-core and quad-core (45nm/ 65nm) processors


I/O
6X USB 2.0
1X Gigabit LAN
Optical S/PDIF-out/RCA S/PDIF-out
The jump in red is “EZ Jumper” for clearing CMOS.


The new replaceable north bridge cooler could be removed easily, user can install other cooler kit into DFI JR P45-T2RS.

Boot screen


There are two BIOS interface in JR P45, “Easy mode” and “Advanced mode”.
You can get into advanved mode by press “F9” in “Genie BIOS setting” page.



Genie BIOS Setting page
For dual-core (C0/E0) overclocking, please set CPU Clock0 Skew as 100ps.
Shutdown after AC loss: fix the “shut down after OC” problem in P45 platform.


DRAM Timing


Generally, you can set 0/0/2 or 3/3/1 to get better performance; if you install Corsair Dominator, you can try 4/4/1.



Voltage page
CPU VID Special Add +12.5mV~787.5mV
DRAM Voltage 1.789~3.280V
SB Core/CPU PLL Voltage 1.55~2.15V
NB COre Voltage 1.1825~1.9700V
CPU VTT Voltage 1.10~1.60V
Vcore Droop Control: help to fix the “voltage drop” problem.
CPU/North Bridge GTL REF: there are some difference between different CPU (such as C0/ E0/ C1/ R0)

I often input 0.63/0.67/0.61 or 0.61/0.61/0.61
FSB Verf: New option in BIOS page. Make user to OC FSB more. (For E0 dual-core, please select 28 or 29)


PC Health Status



The platform
CPU: INTEL Core 2 Duo E8400/Quad Q8200
MB: DFI LANPARTY JR P45-T2RS
DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X4096-9136C5D/TWIN2X2048-8500C5D
VGA: GIGABYTE HD4870 512MB DDR5 CrossFire
HD: Seagate 7200.10 320GB
POWER: Corsair HX1000W Modular Power Supply
Cooler: Thermaltake BigTyp VP/JETART Nano Diamond


CPU
Core 2 Duo E8400 (E0 version)
Stable in SP2004 with 500MHz
NB 1.24V VTT 1.07V


Stable in HyperPI 32M (Dual processors mode) with 590MHz
NB 1.45V VTT 1.32V

Stable in HyperPI 4M (Dual processors mode) with 601.4MHz

NB 1.45V VTT 1.32V


There are few MBs that could be OC up to 600MHz.
DFI JR P45 does a great job that reaches 600MHz with in microATX form factor.


Q8200 M1
Stable in HyperPI 32M (Dual processors mode) with 500MHz
NB 1.43V VTT 1.4V


Passed Super PI 32M and 2M @ 512.6MHz
NB 1.43V VTT 1.4V


I also got unexpected outstanding result by OC quad-core CPU.
Although it cannot pass 500Mhz 4 X 32M, it’s good enough.

About DRAM
1GBX2 CORSAIR TWIN2X2048-8500C5D

DDR2 1200 CL5 5-5-15 2.27V


2GBX2 CORSAIR TWIN2X2048-9136C5D
DDR2 1134 CL5 5-5-15 1.9V
Stable in 3 X SP2004 Blend mode


Memory Benchmark


DFI broke the bias about performance in microATX MB.
The DRAM frequency rose up to 1200MHz by installing 1GB + 1GB; it also performs stable in 1134MHz with installing 2GB + 2GB.


About graphics
GIGABYTE HD4870 512MB DDR5 CrossFire
4870 750/ 1800MHz
3DMARK2006


Crysis Benchmark
1920X1200


3DMARK VANTAGE


microATX but has Crossfire function is so amazing, it’s good for upgrade system in the future.
If you want a small PC with powerful performance, DFI JR P45-T2RS is the best choice.

About software installation


Surveillance software
Of course, you can modify the surveillance software for fantastic SW skin.


DFI JR P45-T2RS is ABS ready
OC beginners can download ABS file from DFI web for easy system boost After reboot the PC and press F1,
the bus speed will auto upgrade from 266 to 333MHz, 333 to 400MHz.



Some difference between DK P45 and JR P45 in OC setting.
I tried some OC setting and saved as *.abs file, you can download the file via the link below
(Description: Dual-core @ 500MHz/ Default voltage; Dual-core @ 600MHz; Quad-core @ 500MHz; 2GB + 2GB DDRII @ 1133MHz)


windwithme-JR P45-T2RS ABS

When you upgrade the BIOS, please note that ABS file might be failed because of difference between new and old BIOS version.

DFI LANParty JR P45 T2RS Conclusion
Strength
1.microATX form factor and vivacious packing design.
2.All Japan solid cap.; Dual PCIE 8X slot for Crossfire.
3.Various BIOS options with wide range voltage setting; fixed the “voltage drop” problem.
4.On-board Power/ Reset buttons for DIY users.
5.Great DRAM OC potential.
6.Specific NB cooler with “Replaceable” design.

Weakness
1. No Debug LED
2. Need more exposure in channel.

Performance ★★★★★★★★★☆
Materials ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Appearance ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Cost/ Performance ★★★★★★★★★☆



To compare with the ATX P45 + ICH10R (USD $150~$170), the price of DFI LANParty JR P45-T2RS is acceptable (USD $160).

Most manufacture produced microATX MB with entry-level chipsets, cheap, small and fair performance.
However, DFI breaks the rule,DFI adopt mid-high chipset into microATX and does bring great performance to the market.
Some friends of mine want to build small and powerful system, but it’s very hard to find the MB. Now, DFI offers the solution.

looks kinda cool. I could see a nice LAN rig in my future...

Thnaks for the review! Very well done! This definitely will be my next board!

What configuration for 24/7 are you going to use?

I was planning to get and to use everyday E8400 @ 8x533 and 2+2GB @ 1066 on a lanbox TT case. Do you think I can get it stable enough for it?

Very nice review. Between this and the Asus P5Q-EM (which I've gotten to 450 FSB on a quad) - the P45 generation boards are looking very promising. DFI and Asus have both recognized that there is a niche for power house boards like this. Kudos to them both (though I would love to see a true P45 solution from Asus)

@||TECO|| - not sure if your budget has the room for it, but take a look at the NZXT Rogue as well for your case. 5 120mm fan slots and no support bracket running over the cpu area (TRUE-120 will fit in the rogue, the only case Ive seen that it will) - if I decide to make another build prior to neha, its going to be on this board (there's also a DDR3 version coming if its not already here) and that case with either a TRUE-120 or I may go 120.2 water cooling on one side of the case.

More of a general mobo layout question not really specific to this board:

Boards with the two x16 slots with only one slot between them, how does that affect dual slot blower coolers such as the ones you use. Is there ample room for the card closest to the cpu to breath? I noticed that since you were on a workbench, you had the card at the edge of the board angled away from the other card, was this required to give the other card breathing space?

This board looks great, and fits all my needs in a small package. I would love to grab one of these when I finally get rid of this ancient P4 system after the new year.