Soltek KT600-R: Fast & Promising
by Wesley Fink on September 1, 2003 12:06 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Performance Test Configuration
| Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor(s): | AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (400MHz FSB) |
| RAM: | 2 x 256MB Corsair PC3200 TwinX LL (v1.1 or 1.2) Modules (SPD rated) |
| Hard Drive(s): | Maxtor 120GB 7200 RPM (8MB Buffer) Western Digital 120GB 7200 RPM Special Edition (8MB Buffer) |
| Video AGP & IDE Bus Master Drivers: | VIA 4in1 Hyperion 4.47 (May 20, 2003) SiS AGP r1.16 & SiS IDE r2.04 NVIDIA nForce version 2.03 (1/30/03) |
| Video Card(s): | ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB (AGP 8X) |
| Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 3.6 |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
| Motherboards: | Soltek KT600-R (KT600)@200.01 FSB DFI 748-AL (SiS748)@200.45MHz FSB Asus A7V600 (KT600)@200.0 MHz FSB Soltek NV400-L64 (nForce2 400 SC)@ 200.5MHz FSB DFI NFII Ultra LANParty (nForce2 Ultra 400) @ 201.35 MHz FSB Gigabyte 7VT600 1394 (KT600) @ 202.78MHz FSB Gigabyte 7NNXP (nForce2 Ultra 400) @ 202.77MHz FSB Epox 8KRA2+ (KT600)@202.44MHz FSB |
All performance tests run on nForce2 400 (SC)/nForce2 Ultra 400 (DC) motherboards utilized two 256MB Corsair TwinX LL PC3200 (v1.1 or v1.2) modules set to SPD timings in DDR400 mode. Dual-Channel mode was used on nForce2 Ultra 400 boards. 2 dimms working as Single-Channel were used on the nForce2 400 Soltek NV400-L64 board.
All performance tests that ran on the KT600-based motherboards used two 256MB Corsair TwinX LL PC3200 (v1.1 or v1.2) Corsair modules in DDR400 mode. KT600 memory timings did vary slightly among the motherboards. 4-bank interleave and the highest available timing option (Turbo or Ultra) was used.
Performance tests were run with the ATI 9800 PRO 128MB video card with AGP Aperture set to 128MB with Fast Write enabled. The ATI 9800 PRO is the new AnandTech video card standard for reviews.
Additions to Performance Tests
We have added several new benchmarks to our standard Test Suite.1) ZD Labs Internet Content Creation Winstone 2003 — This benchmark has just been updated by ZD Labs and includes many new features in the Benchmark Suite, such as Media Encoding. It also uses the most up-to-date versions of Multimedia Creation software, which is rapidly changing as new software tools are released.
2) ZD Labs Business Winstone 2002 — ZD Labs Business Winstone has been around for many years and is a widely quoted Benchmark for measuring system performance. It basically provides a similar benchmarking suite to Sysmark 2002 Office Productivity.
3) Gun Metal DirectX Benchmark 2 — This demo/benchmark from Yeti Labs is one of the first DX9 game-based benchmarks available. Unlike some older benchmarks, such as Quake 3, which generate insane FPS ratings in the 300’s, we see performance numbers in the 30 to 40FPS range with current DX9 cards.
To give AnandTech readers a feel for how some of the newer benchmarks compare to the more familiar benchmarks used in past reviews, we have posted results for both the new benchmarks and Sysmark 2002, and all the games that have been a part of our standard benchmark suite.
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14 Comments
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Anonymous User - Sunday, October 5, 2003 - link
I agree, get rid of the flash.Anonymous User - Friday, September 5, 2003 - link
As a system builder who has been using Soltek motherboard for around 18 months in new systems that we build, I recently found out that Soltek do not replace motherboards that fail under warranty. Instead they have to be sent back to the factory in Taiwan where Soltek repair them.This is obviously unacceptable, particularly for a business user who can't afford to be without a PC for a month. If you agree, please send email to donald@soltek.com.tw to tell them what you think
In fairness to Soltek, their motherboards are very reliable, so its never been an issure until just recently for us. As a connsequence, we now use another brand of motherboard in the PCs we build.
Please feel free to contact me on peter@ctsgrafton.com.au
Anonymous User - Thursday, September 4, 2003 - link
Nice review Wes. But I dont' like the flash either, seems like it doesn't always show up ???Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 3, 2003 - link
#10, you're stupid. Flash is used by any large web site nowadays. Get used to it.Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 3, 2003 - link
Ugh! Please get rid of the flash!Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 2, 2003 - link
No problems using three DIMM's here, even at 200MHz FSB/Memory operation. (above official specs) Not being able to go nuts on the timings doesn't really matter. Practical performance is not hurting noticeably.Wesley Fink - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
As I have mentioned in my KT600 reviews, I have often needed to go to a Command Rate of 2 instead of the more usual 1 for best stability on the KT600 with 2 or 3 dimms. However, I have not noticed that the 2 setting degraded performance by very much. My experience has not mirrored what Kyle is reporting at HardOCP, and I really can't explain it.You can NOT use nForce2 type timings on a KT600. The boards were not designed to handle them, nor are they necessary for best memory performance. Those holding on to fast memory timings are always faster need to run a few benchmarks, because it is not always true.
Anonymous User - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
Im surprised about the comments on stability with KT600 boards. According to HardOCP, all KT600 boards they have tested (including Abit & Epox) are quite unstable with 2 DIMMs inserted.Zepper - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
addendum to earlier post:As I see it, the DFI SiS based mobo just reviewed really lost out by not including the P4 connector. For a budget system, you want all your costs to be kept down, not just the mobo. You will still have to shell out for an overpowered PSU to run it...
.bh.
Zepper - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
Thanks for the good reviews, Wes! I particularly like the fact that you make an issue of the P4 power connector in AMD mobo reviews. Finally AMD fans don't have to pay for overpowered PSUs as most AMD solutions will be able to run on a good 200W PSU. Even OCd and multiple drive systems should be able to get by on a good 250Watter.. Keep drilling on the P4 - make it a big demerit in reviews of AMD mobos that lack this feature.
.bh.