DFI UT P35-T2R: Tweakers Rejoice!
by Rajinder Gill on October 18, 2007 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Media Performance
We will take a brief look at general media performance with our test suite that includes Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0.
We utilize the PC WorldBench 6.0 Test for measuring platform performance in Adobe's Photoshop CS2. The benchmark applies an extensive number of filters to the test image and heavily stresses the CPU and storage systems. The scores reported include the full conversion process and are represented in seconds, with lower numbers indicating better performance.
This test requires a balance between CPU speed and a fast storage sub-system. Once again the P35 boards are bunched together with only four seconds separating them. The DFI board falls into the middle pack of the P35 boards although its performance is more than acceptable.
Our next test is one recommended by Intel, but the test itself appears to be fair and results are very repeatable. This test simply measures the amount of time required to fix and optimize 103 different photos weighing in at 63MB. Time is measured in seconds, with lower times resulting in better performance
This test heavily stresses the CPU subsystem and as we can see, the P35 boards all perform nearly identically with the DFI board in the top grouping.
Media Encoding Performance
We are utilizing Nero Recode 2 for our video encoding test. The scores reported include the full encoding process and are represented in seconds, with lower numbers indicating better performance. For this test, we take our original Office Space DVD and use AnyDVD to rip the full DVD to the hard drive without compression, thus providing an almost exact duplicate of the DVD. We then fire up Nero Recode 2, select our Office Space copy on the hard drive, and perform a shrink operation to allow the entire movie along with extras to fit on a single 4.5GB DVD disc. We leave all options on their defaults except we uncheck the advanced analysis option.
Again, in this CPU and disk intensive test the P35 boards all score nearly identically - not surprising considering the boards utilize the same chipsets. The DFI board scores at the top of the grouping this time.
Audio Encoding Performance
We will utilize iTunes 7.4 for our audio encoding tests as it is one of the most utilized audio applications available due to the immense popularity of the iPod. As in previous articles, we are using an INXS Greatest Hits CD for testing, which contains 16 tracks totaling 606MB of songs. We use iTunes to convert our WAV files into an ACC compatible format. We utilize the 256kbps and variable bit rate option.
We usually see iTunes favoring systems with excellent CPU throughput and these tests indicate the DFI board is up to speed in this area.
File Compression Performance
Another CPU crunching utility is WinRAR 3.70, which provides for computationally intensive file compression. Our test folder contains 444 files, ten subfolders, and 602MB worth of data. All default settings are utilized in WinRAR and our hard drive is defragmented before each test.
Yet again, the DFI UT P35-T2R is performing well in a test that stresses overall memory latencies and CPU/Memory throughput. The nature of file compression is such that memory is accessed almost constantly in a very random fashion, so page misses requiring additional time as memory banks are swapped is common.
We will take a brief look at general media performance with our test suite that includes Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0.
We utilize the PC WorldBench 6.0 Test for measuring platform performance in Adobe's Photoshop CS2. The benchmark applies an extensive number of filters to the test image and heavily stresses the CPU and storage systems. The scores reported include the full conversion process and are represented in seconds, with lower numbers indicating better performance.
This test requires a balance between CPU speed and a fast storage sub-system. Once again the P35 boards are bunched together with only four seconds separating them. The DFI board falls into the middle pack of the P35 boards although its performance is more than acceptable.
Our next test is one recommended by Intel, but the test itself appears to be fair and results are very repeatable. This test simply measures the amount of time required to fix and optimize 103 different photos weighing in at 63MB. Time is measured in seconds, with lower times resulting in better performance
This test heavily stresses the CPU subsystem and as we can see, the P35 boards all perform nearly identically with the DFI board in the top grouping.
Media Encoding Performance
We are utilizing Nero Recode 2 for our video encoding test. The scores reported include the full encoding process and are represented in seconds, with lower numbers indicating better performance. For this test, we take our original Office Space DVD and use AnyDVD to rip the full DVD to the hard drive without compression, thus providing an almost exact duplicate of the DVD. We then fire up Nero Recode 2, select our Office Space copy on the hard drive, and perform a shrink operation to allow the entire movie along with extras to fit on a single 4.5GB DVD disc. We leave all options on their defaults except we uncheck the advanced analysis option.
Again, in this CPU and disk intensive test the P35 boards all score nearly identically - not surprising considering the boards utilize the same chipsets. The DFI board scores at the top of the grouping this time.
Audio Encoding Performance
We will utilize iTunes 7.4 for our audio encoding tests as it is one of the most utilized audio applications available due to the immense popularity of the iPod. As in previous articles, we are using an INXS Greatest Hits CD for testing, which contains 16 tracks totaling 606MB of songs. We use iTunes to convert our WAV files into an ACC compatible format. We utilize the 256kbps and variable bit rate option.
We usually see iTunes favoring systems with excellent CPU throughput and these tests indicate the DFI board is up to speed in this area.
File Compression Performance
Another CPU crunching utility is WinRAR 3.70, which provides for computationally intensive file compression. Our test folder contains 444 files, ten subfolders, and 602MB worth of data. All default settings are utilized in WinRAR and our hard drive is defragmented before each test.
Yet again, the DFI UT P35-T2R is performing well in a test that stresses overall memory latencies and CPU/Memory throughput. The nature of file compression is such that memory is accessed almost constantly in a very random fashion, so page misses requiring additional time as memory banks are swapped is common.
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Rocket321 - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link
I would like to see the overclocking results put into a graph or chart of some kind.I guess tweakers might like the screenshots as "proof" that the overclock ran, but personally I trust you and would rather just have one place to look rather than clicking to enlarge multiple screenshots sequentially.
It was a great review though, I look forward to the future tweaker guides & reviews.
Raja Gill - Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - link
There will be a more typical Anandtech look to future articles, with the DFI board revisited for a round up on a suite of benchmarks, this will be used to cross compare with other boards, clocked to equivalent with board maximums in the range and voltage. In terms of the screenshots, it is nice to have 1 persons trust, but there are many we have to please and not everyone is always as convinced..thanks for the suggestions..
Next up is the Asus Maximus Formula..
regards
Raja
Jodiuh - Thursday, October 25, 2007 - link
Specifically Windvd conversions from divx/xvid to DVD would be wonderful as I've found this app benefits from a solid OC.beoba - Friday, October 19, 2007 - link
It'd be great if this came with a glossary."Strap"?
retrospooty - Saturday, October 20, 2007 - link
strap is a term used for memory clocking. for example, at 266mhz bus, memory can be "strapped" to one of the following.266x(stap2)=533 or DDR 1066
266x(strap1.5)=400 or DDR 800
266x(strap1.25)=333 or DDR 666
If you are running at stock 266 there is no way to have DDR 950 because it has to be strapped to one of the above settings.
I use the 1/1 strap so my bus speed is 500x(strap1)=500 or DDR 1000, in most cases 1/1 is the most efficient, if you can utilize it with your particular hardware, do it.
Avalon - Thursday, October 18, 2007 - link
Unfortunately, DFI's asking price of admission continues to rise for each new board they release. I was mildly annoyed when they started selling boards for $200+ that had little to no tangible benefit over $100-$150 boards, but now they're at the $300 mark? No thanks.This board is for someone who likes to spend his time tweaking and not actually using his computer.
retrospooty - Saturday, October 20, 2007 - link
"This board is for someone who likes to spend his time tweaking and not actually using his computer."The article title is called "Tweakers Rejoice" after all. The idea is not to tweak forever . I did spend alot of time over the first few weeks, but now that its tweaked, I just use it as is.
Avalon - Sunday, October 21, 2007 - link
Yes, I am quite capable of reading the article title. My whole point is that you are working for diminishing returns that I feel could be better spent using your system. If you're doing it to set a record, fantastic. I support that.retrospooty - Sunday, October 21, 2007 - link
Understood... This is obviously not the motherboard for you. I personally love the BIOS options and CMOS reloaded functionality. That alone makes the extra cost well worth it to me. Asus BIOS just sucks, and I have had too many quality problems with them in the past, and Gigabyte just underperforms. I like to know I will not be held back by my motherboard for the next couple of CPU's I buy (will likely get a dual core Penryn on release for under $200, then a high end quad core Penryn a year or so later when it is under $200).I do see your point, but in spite of this article's stock speed comparison (totally pointless for a OC geared mobo), and similar results with one particular CPU, that looks as if it has an FSB limit equal on all 3 boards (meaning the CPU is holding it back) This board overclocks and performs better than any ASUS, or Gigabyte, or any other board out there. If AT tested the max FSB limits on a dozen or so CPU's, or if they had a "golden sample" that had a high FSB limit, you would see the difference. Also if they had time to test many diff RAM stocks and to tweak the memory settings you would also see the difference. Its a good article, but no reviewer has time to really dig into this mobo and all it has to offer. I do feel the article did a good job at explaining that.
JNo - Sunday, October 21, 2007 - link
"I like to know I will not be held back by my motherboard for the next couple of CPU's I buy"I don't know much about overclocking and I hold your views valid Retrospooty but surely this is still a lot of money that will still be needed to replaced in the short/medium-term if a) you want to start using DDR3 once prices come down b) if GPUs come out that take advantage of PCI-E 2 standard (as used on X38). So all that money is only paying for great OC'ing potential for *now* only... no?