Gigabyte will implement its Dynamic Energy Saver (DES) technology on just about all of its Intel motherboards this year. By combining high quality Ultra Durable 2 power components and the aforementioned energy saving technology, the company has managed to improve power efficiency significantly.

Thanks to these components and technologies, the power components on the motherboard shouldn't get as hot, thus reducing the amount of heat inside the case. This will not only reduce your power bill, but also help the environment, although just a bit. Gigabyte was one of few motherboard makers proud enough to show off its technology in CeBIT's green valley, as reported earlier.

According to Gigabyte, Intel CPUs will consume up to 70 percent less power in certain scenarios, thanks to DES. The 8-phase VRM can increase CPU power efficiency by up to 20%. A multiphase VRM can also extend the life of installed components. Under load the power is transferred via a multiphase VRM, thus reducing the  temperature in the PWM area significantly over 4-phase VRMs or 8-phase VRMs with just two gears. As we all know, high temperatures are the biggest killer of all computer components, so this is a welcome development.




Motherboards using the X48, P45, X38 and P35 chipsets (with an additional E suffix until production ramps up) are the first models to utilize the new power saving technologies.

DES is a simple tool to use and reducing power consumption is as simple as clicking a button. We managed to save 15W or around 7 percent on the showcased system. Keep in mind that we're talking about system power consumption. Upon activating DES, the system consumed between 224 and 228W. Without it the consumption increased to 240-245W. CPU power consumption was reduced by about 35 percent while running a CPU Burn-In test.



The system consisted of a GA-X48T-DQ6 motherboard with an Intel Intel QX9770 (45nm Yorkfield) processor and two HD3870 cards in Crossfire mode. Within the case we noticed a quiet G-Power II Pro cooler with a 12cm PWM smart fan which also helped cool the mosfets.

The GA-X48T-DQ6 supports DDR3 memory (dual channel DDR3 1,900MHz), it has dual Gigabit Ethernet, high quality 160dB SNR ALC889A HD audio, 45nm CPU support, passive heatpipe chipset cooling, a nice design and dual PCIe 2.0 x16 slots.

Apart from these high end motherboards, we also saw a few IGP solutions. For example Gigabyte's board wtih Intel's G45 chipset with GMA X4500HD graphics also support DES. We saw the GA-G45M-DS2H in action while playing a Blu-ray movie.

The P45 is also an energy efficient chipset and Gigabyte was showing off its GA-P45-DS3R motherboard, which should also help you reduce your monthly power bill.