• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Computex 2008: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DQ6 - First motherboard with 4x Gigabit Ethernet

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,956 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
As the name suggests, the GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DQ6 is based on Intel's new P45 chipset. What makes this board special is that it supports four Gigabit Ethernet ports, with an optional teaming feature. While this feature is only of limited use for desktop users, it becomes interesting when building a powerful office or LAN party server. Also included is a TPM chip which is becoming more and more useful in the business world, and might even make it onto gaming PCs for the use of game copy protection.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
15,436 (2.43/day)
Location
Mid-Atlantic
System Name Desktop
Processor i5 13600KF
Motherboard AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-U9S
Memory 4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s) Gigabye M32U
Case Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse MX Master 3s
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software The Matrix
woah. so i guess you could spread it out so two are in and two are out and the two in are split and the two out are split. i guess that would improve performance using this as a lan party server for 1000 people. id like to see this tested.
 
D

Deleted member 24505

Guest
gigabyte boards are ok,but i think they're losing the plot a touch with quad bios,quad lan,quad this n that.So it has no esata or usb on the back,just loads of lans.Great for the average user....not.
 

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,956 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
afaik teaming only works well for outgoing data. you could of course have multiple ips so the clients connect to a pool of 4 ips which are handed to each client in some more or less random way
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
7,195 (1.12/day)
System Name ICE-QUAD // ICE-CRUNCH
Processor Q6600 // 2x Xeon 5472
Memory 2GB DDR // 8GB FB-DIMM
Video Card(s) HD3850-AGP // FireGL 3400
Display(s) 2 x Samsung 204Ts = 3200x1200
Audio Device(s) Audigy 2
Software Windows Server 2003 R2 as a Workstation now migrated to W10 with regrets.
woah. so i guess you could spread it out so two are in and two are out and the two in are split and the two out are split. i guess that would improve performance using this as a lan party server for 1000 people. id like to see this tested.
A server chipset with 2 quad xeons and just 2 ethernet port would pwn that.

8 USBs, 4 ethernets, but NO eSATA, no VGA/DVI (or double), no COM.

I'd personally swap 2 ethernets and 2 USB for eSATA and COM. HDMI even.
 

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
15,436 (2.43/day)
Location
Mid-Atlantic
System Name Desktop
Processor i5 13600KF
Motherboard AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-U9S
Memory 4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s) Gigabye M32U
Case Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse MX Master 3s
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software The Matrix
so then perhaps this would make sense if you had 4 external IP addresses and ran multiple sites and stuff from the one machine.
 
D

Deleted member 24505

Guest
I'm guessing it wont be very popular with the avg joe user,who'd prefer usb etc on the back,i have 2 lan on mine and dont even use both of them.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
1,007 (0.15/day)
Processor 2500K @ 4.5GHz 1.28V
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Deluxe
Cooling Corsair A70
Memory 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance 1600 9-9-9-24 1T
Video Card(s) eVGA GTX 470
Storage Crucial m4 128GB + Seagate RAID 1 (1TB x 2)
Display(s) Dell 22" 1680x1050 nothing special
Case Antec 300
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling 750W
Software Windows 7 64bit Pro
I'm not sure why no one else can see this but from that picture I can count 8 USB ports on the rear of the motherboard. However, I can say with absolute certainty that I will never need nor use 4 ethernet ports on one machine (at home).
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
as a LAN server, i cant see how it'd help. I've used teaming before and it doesnt help for crap - mechanical hard drives cant handle simultaneous access, so the only real way for this to work is to have 4 people connecting to the system via different ethernet ports, copying off a different HDD each - otherwise you get bottlenecked way too early, from the other components.

Gigabit is barely getting saturated in most environments so i just dont see the need for this.
 
D

Deleted member 24505

Guest
DOH,i'm claiming i'd just got up........*walks away whistling*
 
Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
7,662 (1.24/day)
Location
c:\programs\kitteh.exe
Processor C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz
Motherboard Anus PQ5
Cooling ACFPro
Memory GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400
Video Card(s) MSi 4830 (RIP)
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording
Display(s) Dell 17'
Case El Cheepo
Audio Device(s) 7.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Software MCE2K5
TPM chip? say it aint so ...
 

jocksteeluk

New Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
1,455 (0.22/day)
Location
The 13th room on the 13th floor of the 13th buildi
Processor custom dupont risk chip cpu prototype
Motherboard custom ibm x5 solid state carbon mainboard
Cooling industrial technologies prototype dupont custom heat transfer unit
Memory 6x 2gig prototype ecc hnc ddr4
Video Card(s) prototype low energy version nvidia 9 series unnumberd card
Storage 1tb solid state hdd
Display(s) 44 inch samsung plasma screen tv/monitor
Case custom ibm mobile home server case
Audio Device(s) custom Yamaha sound processing processor in spm format
Power Supply 1200watt deli cord custom made dupont type psu
Software sun unix/windows type v


Well it looks like some third party usb hub makers will be going out of business.
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.


Well it looks like some third party usb hub makers will be going out of business.

*checks*

well my main system has 6 on the back and an additional 4, and my LAN rig has the front 4 connected to its case.

Why the hoohah over 8, when 10 has been out for ages? simply cause its on the rear instead of E-sata and firewire?
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
6,959 (1.09/day)
Location
Australia, Sydney
This board has, 1x16x slot, 1x8x slot, 2x4x PCI-E, dual phase memory, dual phase NB, 10x SATA, and almost every IC that provides extra IO has a heatsink on it. Afaik, gigabyte added a chip which provides 8x more PCI-E bandwidth.


However, one poorly designed NB cooler there... That heatpipe should be DOWN LOW, around 5mm above the core, not bloody 3cm abve it.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
7,195 (1.12/day)
System Name ICE-QUAD // ICE-CRUNCH
Processor Q6600 // 2x Xeon 5472
Memory 2GB DDR // 8GB FB-DIMM
Video Card(s) HD3850-AGP // FireGL 3400
Display(s) 2 x Samsung 204Ts = 3200x1200
Audio Device(s) Audigy 2
Software Windows Server 2003 R2 as a Workstation now migrated to W10 with regrets.
I think the heatpipe probably double-backs on itself. It is high to avoid caps and regulators on the mainboard. Makes sense.

Listen. NOBODY so far has given a plausible reason for 4 ethernets on one PC that is not a server. Remember, if you want a serious hard core data managing/serving PC you get a dual socket Xeon system. THERE I could imagine 4 ethernets, but NOT on a desktop.

2, ok. One for LAN, one for DMZ. But 4? i can't imagine anyone wanting to connect to 4 separate and unique separate LAN/WANs.

Is there any possibility these ARENT 4 separate ethernet ports, but is, in fact, just a switch/bridge?

 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
Is there any possibility these ARENT 4 separate ethernet ports, but is, in fact, just a switch/bridge?

If it was, there'd be more evidence of it. Currently they simply look like four normal gigabit ports with USB on top. also, it'd be in the marketing stuff if it could do that - not a feature you'd forget to brag about.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
6,959 (1.09/day)
Location
Australia, Sydney
I think the heatpipe probably double-backs on itself. It is high to avoid caps and regulators on the mainboard. Makes sense.

Listen. NOBODY so far has given a plausible reason for 4 ethernets on one PC that is not a server. Remember, if you want a serious hard core data managing/serving PC you get a dual socket Xeon system. THERE I could imagine 4 ethernets, but NOT on a desktop.

2, ok. One for LAN, one for DMZ. But 4? i can't imagine anyone wanting to connect to 4 separate and unique separate LAN/WANs.

Is there any possibility these ARENT 4 separate ethernet ports, but is, in fact, just a switch/bridge?


You're an Ignorant person :rolleyes:

I know a lot of people who need that many NICs. Moreover in server environments it is not unusual to use normal consumer grade hardware, "server grade" hardware is more high-end.
 

SpookyWillow

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
378 (0.06/day)
Location
UK
Processor 3570-K @ 4.4
Motherboard Gigabyte Z77-DH3
Cooling cosair H100
Memory 8gb samsung green
Video Card(s) Inno3d 580GTX
Storage 240gb Vertex 3 +500gb samsung F1 + 640gb samsung F(something)
Display(s) BenQ G2220HD
Case CoolerMaster CMStacker
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750w
Software Windows 7
i used to use both NIC's on my last 2 mobo's and was gutted when my current one never had 2. i would use 3 of those easily and the forth most likely instead of using a router.

i only ever use 2 usb's at one time and i dont use esata so something like this would be ideal for me.
 
Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
7,662 (1.24/day)
Location
c:\programs\kitteh.exe
Processor C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz
Motherboard Anus PQ5
Cooling ACFPro
Memory GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400
Video Card(s) MSi 4830 (RIP)
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording
Display(s) Dell 17'
Case El Cheepo
Audio Device(s) 7.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Software MCE2K5
i used to use both NIC's on my last 2 mobo's and was gutted when my current one never had 2. i would use 3 of those easily and the forth most likely instead of using a router.

i only ever use 2 usb's at one time and i dont use esata so something like this would be ideal for me.

+1 customer
 

jbunch07

New Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Messages
5,260 (0.89/day)
Location
Chattanooga,TN
Processor i5-2500k
Motherboard ASRock z68 pro3-m
Cooling Corsair A70
Memory Kingston HyperX 8GB 2 x 4GB 1600mhz
Storage OCZ Agility3 60GB(boot) 2x320GB Raid0(storage)
Display(s) Samsung 24" 1920x1200
Case Custom
Power Supply PC Power and Cooling 750w
Software Win 7 x64
very nice board.
i've always like gigabyte boards, good for them.
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
455 (0.07/day)
Location
Hereford, England
Processor Intel Core i5 750
Motherboard Maximus III Formula P55
Cooling Ultima 90i
Memory 4GB Kingston HyperX
Video Card(s) PNY GTX465 @ GTX470 w/ 1280MB vRAM
Storage OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB + 2x1TB Samsung F1
Display(s) Samsung 245B
Case Black Cosmos S
Audio Device(s) Creative Audigy 2ZS
Power Supply Antec NeoHE 550W
Software 7 Ultimate 64bit, OSX
I know a lot of people who need that many NICs.

+1
For example setting up a small network at home with a few computers, you're not gonna buy a server for that! Also would be perfect for small lan games with a few mates. I personally think this would be very useful as it gets rid of the need for a powered switch which you have to buy and they get in the way and use up more power! I actually really like this design: I don't personally use eSata (quite a few enthusiast boards don't have it anyway), I like the 8 USB ports as I always seem to run out and adding a usb backplate is a hassle, especially if you have loads of expansion cards taking up the slots.
 

PVTCaboose1337

Graphical Hacker
Joined
Feb 1, 2006
Messages
9,501 (1.43/day)
Location
Texas
System Name Whim
Processor Intel Core i5 2500k @ 4.4ghz
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V LX
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory 2 x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws @ 1600mhz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX 670 2gb
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256gb, WD 2TB Black
Display(s) Shimian QH270 (1440p), Asus VE228 (1080p)
Case Cooler Master 430 Elite
Audio Device(s) Onboard > PA2V2 Amp > Senn 595's
Power Supply Corsair 750w
Software Windows 8.1 (Tweaked)
I team with my dual gigabit Ethernet... not could you do two teams of two? That would be neat... INSANE speed.
 

BigBruser13

New Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2008
Messages
36 (0.01/day)
Location
Portland OR
System Name V64PC
Processor Q9550
Motherboard Rampage Extreme
Cooling water
Memory 2x2gb XP3 mushkin
Video Card(s) Ati 4870 x2
Storage 2x 150gb raptor
Display(s) acer 1920x1200
Case cooler master 830
Audio Device(s) n/a
Power Supply x3 ultra
Software Vista x64 ultimate
Benchmark Scores 3dmark 06 19899
TPM -copy protection chip from the 4 port etheret board

I'm so surprised that all but one guy here in this forum cared about the end of bit torrent because if you like a free game and app to test before you by well it's good by with that chip.
But hey I guess nobody care but me and the guy [I.R.A.]_FBI
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
455 (0.07/day)
Location
Hereford, England
Processor Intel Core i5 750
Motherboard Maximus III Formula P55
Cooling Ultima 90i
Memory 4GB Kingston HyperX
Video Card(s) PNY GTX465 @ GTX470 w/ 1280MB vRAM
Storage OCZ Vertex 2E 60GB + 2x1TB Samsung F1
Display(s) Samsung 245B
Case Black Cosmos S
Audio Device(s) Creative Audigy 2ZS
Power Supply Antec NeoHE 550W
Software 7 Ultimate 64bit, OSX
I'm so surprised that all but one guy here in this forum cared about the end of bit torrent because if you like a free game and app to test before you by well it's good by with that chip.
But hey I guess nobody care but me and the guy [I.R.A.]_FBI

I don't get it... what is that TPM chip and what does it have to do with bittorrent?
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
You're an Ignorant person :rolleyes:

I know a lot of people who need that many NICs. Moreover in server environments it is not unusual to use normal consumer grade hardware, "server grade" hardware is more high-end.

seriously... give us some examples. who the heck needs 4x gigabit ports on the one system, particularly in relation to teaming.
 
Top