Gigabyte Dragon Overclocking Competition 2009

[Pasi_FM]

Hi folks,

We have another OC contest starting today, sponsored by Gigabyte, Maxcube, Enermax, G.Skill, Glacialtech and FSP Group.

This contest is open to anyone with a Gigabyte -brand motherboard with an AMD CPU. Contest time period is August 17th to September 13th.

Official Contest Page
Twitter

The contest is run with 3DMark06 and this time there are two different categories. One is highest score, which simply means that the highest verified and published score wins.

The other category is called "Top CPU Overclocker". In this category your score is the benchmark score in 3DMarks multiplied by how much you overclocked your CPU, so a score of 30000 3DMarks with a 100% CPU OC gives you 30000*100%=30000 points and 27500 3DMarks with a 125% CPU OC gives you 27500*125%=34375 points and so on.

In addition to these two categories, we have some Gigabyte motherboards to give away to random people who submitted a 3DMark06 result with Gigabyte&AMD hardware within the contest time period. If you want to win these prizes, we need your email address to contact you, so make sure to register or log-in to ORB or enter your email address in the contest overlay you should see in ORB when you submit an eligible result.

Feel free to ask any questions in this thread.

[Pasi_FM]

FAQ:

Q: So how do I enter?

A: Enter the lucky draw by submitting a 3DMark06 result using a Gigabyte motherboard and an AMD CPU and give your email address when prompted or login to ORB. To be eligible for the categories where prizes are given to highest scores, you have to publish your result.

Q: Can I use any available drivers?

A: Drivers have to be Futuremark verified to be eligible for the prizes awarded for highest scores. For lucky draw the drivers do not matter. See 3DMark06 Approved Drivers.

Q: How is the CPU OC determined for the second category? Doesn't the ORB detect CPU speed incorrectly in some cases?

A: For the purposes of this contest, the speed that ORB detects will be used. We have a very recent fix that might help in cases where the CPU speed is detected too low when the CPU multiplier has been changed. For this fix to work you will have to install the latest update.

Q: 3DMark06 doesn't seem to work with the new AMD 785G chipset. Is there something I can do?

A: Yes, there is.

The system detection component included with 3DMark06 has a compatibility problem with some new hardware, including AMD 785G chipset found on some GIGABYTE motherboards. An updated component is available from here: http://www.futuremark.com/download/files/Direcpll.zip

Please follow these instructions to perform the update:

1) Search for "Direcpll.dll" in the system, including system folders.
2) Rename all found instances of Direcpll.dll to _Direcpll.dll
3) Unzip Direcpll.zip to all folders containing the renamed _Direcpll.dll
4) Try running the benchmark again

[BulldogPO]

What drivers are verified and approved for Windows 7?

[Langaleer]

What drivers are verified and approved for Windows 7?

I'd take a guess at none since Windows 7 isnt retail yet.

[Jarnis]

I'd take a guess at none since Windows 7 isnt retail yet.

Correct. In-house testing of all benchmarks on the RTM version of Windows 7 is ongoing but no idea yet when they are officially cleared & drivers approved.

[Ryan Chubs]

Hi, got a question,

I'm using a Gigabyte M750SLI-DS4 and a Phenom II 550. No matter what bios from Gigabyte i use/have used (ie;F5, F6, F7, F8f) the board is being reported as a NVIDIA M750SLI-DS4. Not a a gigabyte Mobo. Does that mean i dont get to qualify to join?? thanks.

[BulldogPO]

Some Win7 drivers seem to be FM Approved:
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=11557635

[Pasi_FM]

Hi, got a question,

I'm using a Gigabyte M750SLI-DS4 and a Phenom II 550. No matter what bios from Gigabyte i use/have used (ie;F5, F6, F7, F8f) the board is being reported as a NVIDIA M750SLI-DS4. Not a a gigabyte Mobo. Does that mean i dont get to qualify to join?? thanks.

The manufacturer check is primarily based on what the motherboard reports. Based on past submits, some M750SLI-DS4 boards appear as manufactured be GIGABYTE and some as manufactured by NVIDIA.

Clearly the M750SLI-DS4 is part of GIGABYTEs product line, so it would make sense to allow it in the contest.

I will check this situation with the sponsors and the contest jury.

[Pasi_FM]

I'd take a guess at none since Windows 7 isnt retail yet.

Correct. No Windows 7 specific driver versions have been approved at this time.

However, I believe the case is that you can install (at least some) Vista drivers in Windows 7, so a score with FM approved drivers and Windows 7 is possible.

[Utmost]

I see that all official entries must be made public in this competition and I am interested to browse the current top 3DMark06 result in Orb (User 1617626 - 34,250 3DMarks). I have tried to browse Opteron results but this is not listed - the highest score available in ORB is 14,710. How do I find this result in ORB?