System setup and notes
Here's a quick rundown of the test system should you wish to compare benchmark results with your own.- Intel Pentium4 2800MHz S478 Northwood CPU
- MSI i845PE-MAX2 FIR motherboard run in official DDR333 mode
- ABIT IT7-MAX2 v2.0 i845PE run in official DDR333 mode
- Gigabyte 8IHXP i850E motherboard run with PC1066 memory
- MSI SiS648 MAX motherboard run in DDR333 mode
- SOYO P4X400 DRAGON run in DDR333 mode
Common components
- ATi Radeon 9700 Pro (324/320)
- 256MB Corsair XMS3200 C2 run at 2-5-2-2 at DDR333 for all motherboards
- 61.5GB IBM 120GXP Hard Drive.
- Liteon 16x DVD
- Samcheer 420w PSU
- Samsung 181T TFT monitor
- Thermaltake S478 cooler
Software
- Windows XP Professional Build 2600.xpclient.010817-1148
- Intel 4.00.109 chipset drivers
- Intel application accelerator drivers
- SiS 1.12 AGP drivers
- VIA 4-in-1s, 4.43
- Plutonium XP 8.1 Radeon Drivers (based on ATI CATALYST build 6166)
- SiSoft SANDRA SP1
- Pifast v41
- Virtual Dub 1.4.10 DVD encoding, DivX 4.12 CODEC
- OcUK SETI benchmark
- 3DMark 2001SE
- UT2003 Demo
- Comanche 4 benchmark
- Serious Sam 2 Demo
- Quake 3 v1.30
Notes
As usual, all systems will be run with the most aggressive timings. Benchmarks are run three times and the highest and lowest results are discarded. Benchmarks are run at 1024x768x32 85Hz unless otherwise stated. We have the ABIT IT7-MAX2 v2.0 from the same chipset stable, the 8IHXP PC1066-powered RAMBUS motherboard, and the P4X400 as direct comparisons. installation of Windows XP and all the associated drivers occurred without a hitch. As always, I install the motherboard into a case with standard components.
Overclocking
With MSI introducing a true fixed AGP / PCI divider, the limiting factor was going to be either the CPU or chipset. Using our trusty, highly overclockable 2.26GHz Northwood, I managed to hit 3GHz (176FSB) with relative ease. Memory had to be run with a 1:1 ratio, though. The i845x chipset proves again that it can far exceed its rated FSB. The fan mounted on the Northbridge cooler may play a part when the FSB is really cranked up.
Compatibility
I ran two different brands of PC3200 memory at 170FSB with 2-5-2-2 timings without issue (DIMMS 1 and 3), suggesting that it is an accommodating motherboard. Running with a few of the PCI slots caused no issue either. Not strictly to do with compatibility, but I couldn't enter BIOS if I rebooted from Windows XP. I had to switch off and then try. Maybe a slight BIOS issue ?.
