865PE/875P Motherboard Roundup June 2003 - Part 1: 20-way Shootout
by Evan Lieb on June 12, 2003 10:57 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
The Test
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Performance Test Configuration |
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| Processor(s): |
Intel
Pentium 4 3.00GHz (800MHz FSB) - HT enabled
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| RAM: |
2 x 256MB Corsair PC3200 LL Modules (TwinX series)
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| Hard Drive(s): |
Western
Digital 120GB 7200 RPM Special Edition (8MB Buffer)
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| Bus Master Drivers: |
865PE & 875P:
Intel INF Update v5.00.1012, no 865PE or 875P IAA available at time of publishing
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| Video Card(s): |
MSI GeForce4 Ti 4600
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| Video Drivers: |
NVIDIA
Detonator 44.03
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| Operation System(s): |
Windows
XP Professional SP1
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| Motherboards: |
ABIT
IC7 (875P) - BIOS 13
ABIT IC7-G (875P) BIOS 13 ABIT IS7 (865PE) BIOS 13 beta 3 ABIT IS7-G (865PE) BIOS 13 beta 3 Albatron PX865PE Pro (865PE) - BIOS 4/17/03 (first release) Albatron PX865PE Pro II (865PE) - BIOS 4/17/03 (first release) AOpen AX4C Max (875P) - BIOS 1.04a ASUS P4C800 Deluxe (875P) - BIOS 1006 ASUS P4P800 Deluxe (865PE) - BIOS 1007 DFI PRO875 LAN Party (875P) - BIOS 5/16/03 Epox 4PCA3+ (875P) - BIOS 06/06/2003 Epox 4PDA2+ (865PE) - BIOS 05/09/03 Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Pro (865PE) - BIOS F6 (4/30/2003) Gigabyte 8KNXP (875P) - BIOS M4 Gigabyte 8KNXP Ultra (875P) - BIOS F2c Gigabyte 8PENXP (865PE) - BIOS M2 Intel D865PERL (865PE) - BIOS P06 Intel D875PBZ (875P) - BIOS P06 MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R (875P) BIOS 1.4 Soyo P4I875P DRAGON 2 (875P) - BIOS 6/03/2003 |
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Testing Methodology
All performance tests run on 865PE and 875P-based motherboards utilized two 256MB Corsair LL TwinX PC3200 modules set to CAS 2-2-2-5 timings (8IPE1000 Pro at CAS 2.5-2-2-5) running in dual channel DDR400 mode. Any other performance-enhancing timings (like the P4P800 Deluxe's MAM mode or the ABIT IS7/G/IC7/G's Performance Mode) were enabled in 865PE and 875P-based motherboards that contained such timings.
There were several motherboards that came with slightly overclocked FSB speeds of over 200MHz even if 200MHz was selected in the BIOS. This is clearly because motherboard makers want to have a performance edge in motherboard reviews, but since that would be an unfair comparison we decided to normalize the FSB speed of each and every motherboard. Through a little BIOS tweaking and our own utility we were able to keep each motherboard running between 202.24MHz and 202.76MHz FSB. The 0.52MHz difference amounts to just over a 6MHz core clock speed difference in the real world, which amounts to well under a 1% possible variance in scores due to FSB speed. Therefore no motherboard has any real advantage over the other in terms of unfair FSB overclocking on the manufacturer's part.
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18 Comments
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Anonymous User - Thursday, July 24, 2003 - link
Could anyone clarify if the information for the sound system on the Abit IS7 is correct? The article lists it as being an Analog Devices AD1985. I thought it was Realtek?Thanks,
Harry
Anonymous User - Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - link
What a great article!We're waiting for the Part 2... :B
Evan Lieb - Monday, July 21, 2003 - link
I bet that the Part 1 thread would be posted by a certain date, and it was indeed posted on that date. I never anything about Part 2, because I've been thinking of adding more benchmarks and data in general to round out any and all Pentium 4 motherboard testing until Prescott arrives.Anonymous User #4, you should always research your recollections if you can't exactly "recall" certain events correctly. ;)
Evan Lieb - Monday, July 21, 2003 - link
Anonymous User - Friday, July 18, 2003 - link
As I recall, Evan made a bet on the part 2 being posted a while back.... the thread was mysteriously removed though.Anonymous User - Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - link
So, what month/year will part 2 be posted?Anonymous User - Sunday, July 6, 2003 - link
I read that the Epox 4pca3+ could do a 1,85 vcore with a bois update.. If anyone know where to find this bios update, please e-mail me zimen1@msn.comI really can't find it.
Anonymous User - Sunday, July 6, 2003 - link
I also fried my MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R when I updated the BIOS from 1.2 to 1.4. I got a replacement board, but have been hesitant to try again based on my prior experience. Based on your experience with 1.5, (and now 1.6 is available), I'm willing to take another chance.