AM2 Motherboards-Part 4: ATI Crossfire Xpress 3200
by Wesley Fink on August 21, 2006 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Test Setup
Test conditions were maintained the same, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. For better comparison standard test results (1280x1024) were run with a single NVIDIA 7900 GTX on all platforms. A single ATI X1900 XTX was also tested at standard resolutions on the ATI chipset boards. Consider this result a sanity check for single card performance and CrossFire. Since SLI and CrossFire are not yet interchangeable, 1600x1200 4xAA/8xAF single and SLI game benchmarks were run on the NVIDIA-based boards with a pair of 7900 GTX cards. 1600X1200 4xAA/8xAF Single and CrossFire game benchmarks were run on the ATI using a Master+Single CrossFire. All results are reported in our charts and color-coded for easier identification of results.
AM2 benchmarking used a Corsair PC-8500 (DDR2-1066) 2GB kit at 3-3-3 timings at around 2.2V. In recent months the memory market has moved from a 1GB kit to a 2GB kit as the common memory configuration. Our new DDR2 test standard will therefore be 2GB.
| Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor: | AM2 4800+ (x2, 2.4GHz, 1MB Cache per core) |
| RAM: | 2 x 1GB Corsair Twin2x2048-8500C5 Tested at DDR2-800 3-3-3 2.2v to 2.3V |
| Hard Drive(s): | Maxtor MaXLine III 7L300S0 300GB SATA2 (16MB Buffer) Hitachi 250GB SATA2 enabled (16MB Buffer) |
| System Platform Drivers: | NVIDIA - 9.34 ATI - LAN, Audio, SMBus drivers as required |
| Video Cards: | 1 x EVGA 7900GTX - All Standard Tests 2 x EVGA 7900GTX - SLI 1 x ATI X1900XT - ATI Standard Tests (for Reference) 2 x ATI x1900XT (Master+Standard) - Crossfire |
| Video Drivers: | NVIDIA 91.31 ATI Catalyst 6.7 |
| CPU Cooling: | AMD FX62 Heatpipe AM2 Cooler Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 |
| Power Supply: | OCZ PowerStream 520W |
| Motherboards: | MSI K9A Platinum (RD580/SB600) ECS KA3 MVP Extreme (RD580/SB600) ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe (NVIDIA 590) Epox MF570SLI (NVIDIA 570) ATI Crossfire Express AM2 Reference (RD580/SB600) Foxconn C51XEM2AA (NVIDIA 590) Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5 (NVIDIA 590) Biostar TForce 590-SLI (NVIDIA 590) MSI K9N SLI Platinum (NVIDIA 570) |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
Test conditions were maintained the same, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. For better comparison standard test results (1280x1024) were run with a single NVIDIA 7900 GTX on all platforms. A single ATI X1900 XTX was also tested at standard resolutions on the ATI chipset boards. Consider this result a sanity check for single card performance and CrossFire. Since SLI and CrossFire are not yet interchangeable, 1600x1200 4xAA/8xAF single and SLI game benchmarks were run on the NVIDIA-based boards with a pair of 7900 GTX cards. 1600X1200 4xAA/8xAF Single and CrossFire game benchmarks were run on the ATI using a Master+Single CrossFire. All results are reported in our charts and color-coded for easier identification of results.
AM2 benchmarking used a Corsair PC-8500 (DDR2-1066) 2GB kit at 3-3-3 timings at around 2.2V. In recent months the memory market has moved from a 1GB kit to a 2GB kit as the common memory configuration. Our new DDR2 test standard will therefore be 2GB.
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Wesley Fink - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
We plan to test the Abit, but we have not yet received the board.yyrkoon - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
Good to hear :)mendocinosummit - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
Sweet. I was hoping that was the case.Wesley Fink - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
It's not the end of the AM2 board testing. We fully expect great RD580 boards from DFI and Asus. However, after testing 9 AM2 boards in-depth it was time to assess where we were.goinginstyle - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
Finally a review that does not have Conroe plastered all over it. I have the ECS RD480 board based upon an earlier review of it here. The board has performed well and is stable as a rock. Do you think you maybe have a bad board or is it really as bad as it was described? I was looking forward to going to AM2 with a cheap X3800x2 but did not want a nvidia solution since I already have crossfire. Will there be other RD580 boards from Asus or DFI or maybe someone like Abit?I was excited about this board after reading the review at HardOcp where it received an editors award. Your comment "we have to wonder how ECS could manage to produce such a mediocre motherboard." is completely opposite of the other review. But after reading both reviews again I noticed your test results were very consistent when compared to the other boards that were not reviewed in that article. Looking at the results I have to wonder what board they tested.
Just a few questions if you have time. What would cause the cold boot issue? Does the board have the SB600 or SB460 as listed in the chart. How is the performance of the jmicron chipset? I can not find any test results with it and it seems like everyone is using it now. Thanks for providing some very useful AMD information as they still exist even after Conroe.
Wesley Fink - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
The ECS has the SB600. ECS included literature that stated the soutn bridge was SB460, but we took off the heatsink and looked. It is definitely an SB600. We will change the ECS spec chart.The cold boot issues can be poor power regulation, the board's boot sequence, or even just a poor BIOS. It IS possible it might be corrected in the furure with a BIOS update, but there are plenty of other AM2 boards that work well today and cost about the same or less.
We noticed in the other website review you reference that they made a passing mention of the missing CAS adjustment, but they still gave it an Editors choice. They also noted the very poor overclocking, but still gave the ECS an Editors Choice. I'm sorry, but we don't give Editors Choice awards to the worse overclocker of 9 competing AM2 boards that does not even offer CAS adjustments.
allnighter - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
...work comp, win2k+explorerPatrese - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
Great review, I only missed Oblivion results. I'd like to see more Anantech reviews about motherboards directed to other audiences, like HTPCs, for instance. There are a lot of motherboards directed to that segment, like the Asus M2NPV-VM, and I think it would be great to see a review as detailed as you generally do for the entusiast boards. A MicroATX roundup would be perfect... :)Wesley Fink - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
A few HTPC motherboard reviews are already in process. You will be seeing these from Gary Key in the near future.jackylman - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
I'd really love to see some hardcore Sempron undervolting on those reviews. (hint,hint)