Intel Core 2 Duo: Memory Performance Part Deux
by Gary Key on August 14, 2006 4:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Game Performance Comparison, Continued
In our two games that tend to be GPU limited we see the i865 AGP/DDR solution scoring a win in Prey and coming in second in Serious Sam II where the Intel 945P pulls out a close victory at DDR2-667 settings. The VIA PT880 Pro performance trails the other solutions in SS2, similar to its Quake 4 performance. The difference is only 3-5%, though, so if the features offered (DDR and DDR2 support, AGP and PCIe support) interest you, it's still not a bad choice.
The sweet spot for gaming with this particular video card seems to be at low latency DDR2-667 settings as DDR2-800 provides negligible benefits. We are sure with lower latencies at DDR2-800 and a more powerful GPU solution that we would see further scaling increases in performance. However, for a value based system having DDR2 memory capable of 3-4-3 operation at DDR2-667 or DDR memory that does 2-2-2 at DDR400 is more than sufficient. Your money is best spent on a higher end GPU solution backed by a stable motherboard and a processor like the E6300/6400 Core 2 Duo for Intel systems or a AMD 3800+ X2 for the S939 or AM2 platforms.
Quick Take
Our conclusion from the first article still holds true. A user's choice of memory on our tested platforms is not going to make a huge difference considering the components and benchmarks utilized. The only difference in our expectations was just how close each chipset performed to the other during testing. We also ran our entire benchmark test suite and had the same overall results between chipsets. We came to a sudden and abrupt realization that features have increased dramatically in recent years but chipset performance has not for most users, certainly not to the degree of CPU or GPU improvements.
We did have a couple of surprises during testing and it caused us to retest the boards involved and also verify the results with different memory. One of these surprises centered on our choice for the Intel P965 and 975X chipsets. Our Biostar and DFI boards were the least expensive in their respective categories. We found out that except for the gaming performance of the Biostar board at DDR2-533, the P965 chipset is very competitive if not better performing than the 975X chipset when utilized with mid-range components. In our lab testing of overclocked boards with high end components we generally find the 975X based boards to be better performers in all areas. Unless you are matching high end components and plan on serious overclocking then a solid P965 or for that matter a 945P motherboard is sufficient for the low-end Core 2 Duo processors. In fact, we highly recommend the ASRock ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 and 775Dual-VSTA at this time for their unbeatable combination of price and performance in the budget sector for Core 2 Duo capable boards.
However, the biggest surprise was the overall performance of the ASRock 775i65G board as it was just as competitive with the other chipsets in our testing and proved to be extremely stable with every benchmark or application we threw at it. Who knew that AGP 8x and DDR would still be this competitive after a myriad of chipset, memory, CPU, and GPU enhancements over the last three years? [Ed:sarcastic reflection] While both technologies have come to their end we find it comforting to know that if you own either then you can still upgrade to the fastest processor series currently available and not worry about general system performance. That is unless you want to play the latest games at 1600x1200; in that case we will grudgingly have to advise you to go buy that PCI Express 7950 GX2 or X1900 XT along with the required components to support it. Until you reach the point where you're ready to make such an expenditure, these value based motherboards from ASRock are a wise purchase to extend the life of your current investment.
In our two games that tend to be GPU limited we see the i865 AGP/DDR solution scoring a win in Prey and coming in second in Serious Sam II where the Intel 945P pulls out a close victory at DDR2-667 settings. The VIA PT880 Pro performance trails the other solutions in SS2, similar to its Quake 4 performance. The difference is only 3-5%, though, so if the features offered (DDR and DDR2 support, AGP and PCIe support) interest you, it's still not a bad choice.
The sweet spot for gaming with this particular video card seems to be at low latency DDR2-667 settings as DDR2-800 provides negligible benefits. We are sure with lower latencies at DDR2-800 and a more powerful GPU solution that we would see further scaling increases in performance. However, for a value based system having DDR2 memory capable of 3-4-3 operation at DDR2-667 or DDR memory that does 2-2-2 at DDR400 is more than sufficient. Your money is best spent on a higher end GPU solution backed by a stable motherboard and a processor like the E6300/6400 Core 2 Duo for Intel systems or a AMD 3800+ X2 for the S939 or AM2 platforms.
Quick Take
Our conclusion from the first article still holds true. A user's choice of memory on our tested platforms is not going to make a huge difference considering the components and benchmarks utilized. The only difference in our expectations was just how close each chipset performed to the other during testing. We also ran our entire benchmark test suite and had the same overall results between chipsets. We came to a sudden and abrupt realization that features have increased dramatically in recent years but chipset performance has not for most users, certainly not to the degree of CPU or GPU improvements.
We did have a couple of surprises during testing and it caused us to retest the boards involved and also verify the results with different memory. One of these surprises centered on our choice for the Intel P965 and 975X chipsets. Our Biostar and DFI boards were the least expensive in their respective categories. We found out that except for the gaming performance of the Biostar board at DDR2-533, the P965 chipset is very competitive if not better performing than the 975X chipset when utilized with mid-range components. In our lab testing of overclocked boards with high end components we generally find the 975X based boards to be better performers in all areas. Unless you are matching high end components and plan on serious overclocking then a solid P965 or for that matter a 945P motherboard is sufficient for the low-end Core 2 Duo processors. In fact, we highly recommend the ASRock ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 and 775Dual-VSTA at this time for their unbeatable combination of price and performance in the budget sector for Core 2 Duo capable boards.
However, the biggest surprise was the overall performance of the ASRock 775i65G board as it was just as competitive with the other chipsets in our testing and proved to be extremely stable with every benchmark or application we threw at it. Who knew that AGP 8x and DDR would still be this competitive after a myriad of chipset, memory, CPU, and GPU enhancements over the last three years? [Ed:sarcastic reflection] While both technologies have come to their end we find it comforting to know that if you own either then you can still upgrade to the fastest processor series currently available and not worry about general system performance. That is unless you want to play the latest games at 1600x1200; in that case we will grudgingly have to advise you to go buy that PCI Express 7950 GX2 or X1900 XT along with the required components to support it. Until you reach the point where you're ready to make such an expenditure, these value based motherboards from ASRock are a wise purchase to extend the life of your current investment.
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Questar - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
Buy the cheapest memory you can find and spend the money you save somewhere else.deathwalker - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
This does seem to validate from a cost vs. performance basis this motherboard..however I remain a tad sqeemish about making a platform jump from AMD to Intel using this board. Having said that though, if you are on a tight budget and you have to migrate parts I suppose giving this board a shot isn't a bad idea.Gary Key - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
We will be reviewing some value/budget AMD AM2 combo motherboards in the future so the idea of incrementally upgrading to the newer platform from early S754/939 still holds true to a certain degree.
blppt - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
On page 6..."Although AGP is basically dead and the most powerful card available is based on the 7800GS chipset, we can see that it is still a very competitive solution in the mid-range market as is low latency DDR memory with the right chipset."
What about the limited edition Gainward 7876 BLISS, which is supposedly actually based on the 7900GT? Thats considerably more powerful than a regular 7800GS.
http://www.gainward.net/products/product.php?produ...">BLISS
Last I checked, overlockers uk still had them in stock. Although at ~$445 american, you'd wonder if its worth it, or just upgrade to an X2 and PCI-E mobo instead.
Gary Key - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
I have an inquiry into Gainward about the actual core used on this card. They still advertise it as a 7800GS based unit. Yes, it is very expensive when you can upgrade your CPU, motherboard, and memory for about the same price.blppt - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
Yeah, they advertise it like that, but its a 24 pipe card clocked at 450/1250, which seems to be somewhere between a 7800GT and a 7900GT.poohbear - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
"Who knew that AGP 8x and DDR would still be this competitive after a myriad of chipset, memory, CPU, and GPU enhancements over the last three years?"i thought it was pretty settled that the move from agp 8x was introduced for 1.) marketing reasons so ppl actually buy new chipsets we dont need and 2.) so nvidia could make some extra cash off their SLI gig. the bandwidth agp 8x provided was never saturated. great article nonetheless showing that value boards are still a nice option (i own the Asrock Dualsata2, great mobo btw after they fixed the 274htt cap).
on a sidenote i love the part "deux" in the title, we're so international @ anandtech aint we.;) or maybe u're just canadian, hafta include some french in everything.:p
bob661 - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
I guess ATI doesn't count, huh? Also, would AGP provide the bandwidth necessary for SLI and Xfire setups? People keep making these sweeping "we don't need PCIe" statements without knowing or stating all of the factors involved.Kiijibari - Tuesday, August 15, 2006 - link
Have you red the last AGP 3.0 Specification ? If not look here at p. 115 / 5.2.3:http://members.datafast.net.au/dft0802/specs/agp30...">http://members.datafast.net.au/dft0802/specs/agp30...
In Short: Multiple video cards are possible with AGP 3.0 :)
cheers
Kiijibari
Gary Key - Monday, August 14, 2006 - link
I added my sarcastic comment notation at the end of the statement. ;-) While PCI Express is certainly a welcome technology and will be viable for a long time (in computer terms), it was introduced too early and abruptly in my opinion. Except for SLI/CrossFire type setups, there was no real "engineering" requirement for it on the desktop until recently. Yes, there is a French/Canadian influence in the household. :)