System setup and notes
Here's a quick rundown of the test system should you wish to compare benchmark results with your own.- Intel Pentium 4C 3.00GHz / 200FSB HT S478 Northwood CPU
- Intel Pentium 4B 3.06GHz / 133FSB HT S478 Northwood CPU
- AMD Barton XP300+ (2.166GHz / 166FSB) S462 CPU. .
- Shuttle AB48PN i845PE 800FSB certified motherboard
- ABIT BH7 i845PE run on both 3.06B and 3.00C CPUs
- Intel D875BZ reference Canterwood motherboard. Run in DC mode
- ABIT NF7-S v1.1 motherboard. Run in DC mode
Common components
- ATi Radeon 9800 Pro (380/340)
- 256 / 512MB Corsair XMS3500 C2 run at 2-6-2-2 settings for each motherboard
- 41.1GB IBM 120GXP Hard Drive.
- Liteon 16x DVD
- Samcheer 420w PSU
- Samsung 181T TFT monitor
- Cooler Master Fujiyama heatpipe cooler
Software
- Windows XP Professional Build 2600.xpclient.010817-1148
- DirectX9
- Intel 5.00.1009 chipset drivers
- Intel application accelerator drivers
- ATI CATALYST 3.2 drivers and control panel (6307s)
- Pifast v41 to 10m places
- Lame v3.91 MP3 encoding with Razor-Lame 1.15 front-end using U2's Pop album
- Hexus SETI benchmark
- 3DMark 2001SE
- UT2003 Demo (Build 2206)
- Comanche 4 benchmark
- Serious Sam 2 Demo
- Quake 3 v1.30
Notes
As mentioned previously, the sample motherboard seemed to be quite exacting on the RAM. Proven modules of Corsair XMS3500, OCZ PC-3500, and Mushkin EMS PC3500 didn't manage to hit the speeds gained on some other boards, at default voltage. This may just be an idiosyncrasy of this particular motherboard though. The highest that two modules of XMS3500 C2 would run concurrently using low latency timings was ~ DDR-385. Stability was good, with the board managing a 24-hour SETI run with performance-enhancing memory timings and DDR-400 speeds. It had no trouble running a couple of AGP8x video cards, even though it only features a 4x AGP interface.
Installation was simple in a Lian Li PC60 aluminium case. The extra room afforded by the cut-down PCB made the installation of cables that little bit easier. The motherboard booted first time with both 3GHz P4C and 3.06GHz P4B processors. The board didn't have an issue with rebooting at 200FSB, unlike some motherboards. All in all, it was a painless experience from initial setup to OS installation and benchmarking / stress testing.
Overclocking attempts were carried out by running the 3.0GHz Pentium 4 with a 12x multiplier. It's semi-unlocked from 12x - 15x, therefore ensuring that some other component will be the limiting factor before 300FSB. The AB48PN, run with the most relaxed memory timings on offer, managed to gain stability at 218FSB. This isn't as high as Canterwood-based boards, but it underlines the Shuttle's ability to run at 200FSB+ without issue.
Actual CPU running speeds are a contentious issue with some manufacturers. Artificially raising the boards' speeds by overclocking the stated FSB is a simple method of making motherboards look faster than some of the competition. Here's how the CPU speeds stacked up in the various motherboards.
3007.35MHz - ABIT BH7 i845PE (800FSB)
3000.52MHz - Shuttle AB48PN i845PE (800FSB)
3000.30MHz - Intel Reference Canterwood i875BZ
3070.27MHz - ABIT BH7 (533FSB, 3.06GHz CPU)
2171.13MHz - ABIT NF7-S (Barton XP3000+)
The ABIT BH7 is a little naughty with both CPUs. The inflated speed isn't Asus-esque, but 7MHz can and does make a difference when motherboards are bunched closely.
