ASUS A7V600: Feature-Laden – Value-Priced
by Wesley Fink on August 17, 2003 10:27 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Performance Test Configuration
| Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor(s): | AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (400MHz FSB) |
| RAM: | Two 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) |
| Bus Master Drivers: | NVIDIA nForce version 2.03 (January 30, 2003) VIA 4in1 Hyperion 4.47 (May 20, 2003) |
| Video Card(s): | ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB (AGP 8X) |
| Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 3.6 |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
| Motherboards: | 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 that ran on nForce2 400 (SC)/nForce2 Ultra 400 (DC) motherboards utilized two 256MB Corsair TwinX LL PC3200 (v1.1 or 1.2) modules, set to SPD timings in DDR400 mode. Dual-channel mode was used on nForce2 Ultra 400 boards. Two 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 1.2) Corsair modules in DDR400 mode. KT600 memory timings did vary slightly among the motherboards, with the ASUS A7V600 requiring a Ras-to-Cas of three for stable operation, and other KT600 boards requiring a Ras-to-Cas setting of 2. 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
Benchmark testing is dynamic, and 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 that 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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Wesley Fink - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
#6 My parents resisted naming me Rat. I'm grateful! My ancestors apparently were very proud of the last name since they did not change it to the literal translation of Finch. The only advantage I've found is it's hard to forget.Jeff7181 - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
Does anybody actually own these motherboards that are being tested? I don't know anybody with any of these. As I say is never AMD motherboard review... where are the boards that everybody knows? The A7N8X Deluxe, 8RDA+, etc... I want to see how the KT600 compares to THOSE.sprockkets - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
I don't use flash due to the stupid ads it brings. Other than that, it's a nice board. A bit slower but has SATA. Wish someone on the AMD side would release a uATX SATA board built on the southbridge.Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
Wesley Fink, what a weasel name. I bet ur a slimy and sleezy as they come! Either way nice review :P.Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
A nice review on overall. But I would hope that Anandtech looks into the use of exaggerations when using words like 'mediocre' or 'shocked' at rather inappropriate times. I know, it's a problem with the use of the english language in general these days as we are suffering from some news headline syndrom. Just try to not to go with the flow. Since I'm nitpicking I would like to point out that a few percentages of practical performance certainly isn't 'much' either.Can't wait for your Abit KV7 review. :)
Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
I'm beginning to think that the resources of these chipset companies are being spread too thin. Intel only builds for Intel processors (obviously) and NVIDIA only builds for AMD processors (at the moment). Each company is focusing their chipset development on one platform, optimizing it, and consequently delivering top performance for those platforms. VIA, SIS, and ALI are trying to develop chipsets for both platforms. Their Intel chipsets usually share common technology with their AMD chipsets such as memory controllers and southbridges. While this is more cost effective for these companies, it may explain the lower performance of those chipsets because they are not being specifically designed for one platform.Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
AAAAAAAAH damn... caught my own spelling mistake... abomination :(Adi
Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
"The ASUS A7V600 fortunately provides six IDE slots for expansion cards."Hahahahha ! Plase correct this abomication...
Adi
Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
Nice Review,but is the Flash Hell here to stay ?Anandtech always had the best print layout,
why ruin it ? :(
ruxandy - Sunday, August 23, 2020 - link
Well, hello from the future! As it turns out, in 2020, this board is EXTRAORDINARY and nobody really cares about nForce boards anymore :-) Because, even though VIA is 5% slower on average, it more than makes up for this in features and compatibility (ehem, DOS sound, CPU speed throttling, etc).