AM2 Motherboards-Part 4: ATI Crossfire Xpress 3200
by Wesley Fink on August 21, 2006 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Overclocking Comparison
If we only had results from AMD processors and we were comparing AM2 results, we would be absolutely blown away by the results of the AMD OC testing. All of the AM2 boards except the problematic ECS overclocked to beyond 300 MHz bus speed and many reached or came close to 350. This represents a 50 to 75% overclock of the base clocks which is testament to the high speed capabilities of both the NVIDIA and ATI chipsets.
Testing overclocks at the stock 12x multiplier is more a measure of the overclocking ability of the CPU, but even here all the boards reached the 250 to 260 range - a 25% to 30% overclock. Compared to our last results with Socket 939, these AM2 results are remarkable - even more so because we are still dealing with a 90nm process on AM2 and we really shouldn't find this kind of headroom still remaining in a CPU near the end of a process life.
Of course we don't live in a vacuum and reality sets in when you compare results with the 65nm Intel Core 2 Duo. We have seen Core 2 Duo stock speed overclocks of as much as 100%, and bus speeds of 450 -- or about a 70% OC of the 266 bus -- have been achieved with air cooling.
As a die-shrink happens with AM2 next year we will likely see even greater overclocks to put bigger smiles on our faces. It's fair to say, though, AM2 or Core 2 Duo, that it's a good time to be an overclocker again. With the right board and the right CPU you can now achieve new performance levels with either AM2 or Core2 Duo.
Looking at the AM2 results a few boards stand out in the overclocking arena. The ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe and the MSI K9A Platinum are the top boards for overclocking, reaching 350 and 335 respectively with stability. In fact, any AM2 board we've tested in these four articles will get you to 307 or higher except the ECS KA3. This superb performance pretty much across the board makes price an important consideration, and here the Epox MF570SLI stands out in providing great overclocking at a small price.
If we only had results from AMD processors and we were comparing AM2 results, we would be absolutely blown away by the results of the AMD OC testing. All of the AM2 boards except the problematic ECS overclocked to beyond 300 MHz bus speed and many reached or came close to 350. This represents a 50 to 75% overclock of the base clocks which is testament to the high speed capabilities of both the NVIDIA and ATI chipsets.
Testing overclocks at the stock 12x multiplier is more a measure of the overclocking ability of the CPU, but even here all the boards reached the 250 to 260 range - a 25% to 30% overclock. Compared to our last results with Socket 939, these AM2 results are remarkable - even more so because we are still dealing with a 90nm process on AM2 and we really shouldn't find this kind of headroom still remaining in a CPU near the end of a process life.
Of course we don't live in a vacuum and reality sets in when you compare results with the 65nm Intel Core 2 Duo. We have seen Core 2 Duo stock speed overclocks of as much as 100%, and bus speeds of 450 -- or about a 70% OC of the 266 bus -- have been achieved with air cooling.
As a die-shrink happens with AM2 next year we will likely see even greater overclocks to put bigger smiles on our faces. It's fair to say, though, AM2 or Core 2 Duo, that it's a good time to be an overclocker again. With the right board and the right CPU you can now achieve new performance levels with either AM2 or Core2 Duo.
Looking at the AM2 results a few boards stand out in the overclocking arena. The ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe and the MSI K9A Platinum are the top boards for overclocking, reaching 350 and 335 respectively with stability. In fact, any AM2 board we've tested in these four articles will get you to 307 or higher except the ECS KA3. This superb performance pretty much across the board makes price an important consideration, and here the Epox MF570SLI stands out in providing great overclocking at a small price.
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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)