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Socket 939 Roundup: Battle at the Top

 by Wesley Fink on July 30, 2004 8:00 AM EST
83 Comments | Add A Comment
83 Comments

MSI K8T Neo2-FIR: Overclocking and Stress Testing

FSB Overclocking Results

Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed
Processor: Athlon 64 FX53 Socket 939
2.4GHz
CPU Voltage: 1.5V (default)
Cooling: Thermaltake Silent Boost K8
Power Supply: Antec TruePower 430W
Maximum OC:
(Standard Ratios)		 200FSB x12
2600MHz (+10%)
Maximum FSB:
(Lower Ratio)		 263FSB x 9 at 1:1 Memory

While the K8T Neo2 reached the next performance level of 2.6GHz at a 13 multiplier, it was not the CPU frequency overclocker that we see in the nVidia-based K8N Neo2. No matter the multiplier, the top frequency that we could reach with stability was 263, much lower than the 290 on the K8N Neo2, or the 280 reached on the Abit AV8.

Memory Stress Test Results:

The memory stress test is very basic, and simply tests the ability of the K8T Neo2 to operate at its officially supported memory frequency (400MHz DDR), at the best performing memory timings that our Mushkin PC3500 Level 2 or OCZ PC3500 Platinum Ltd Modules will support. Memory stress testing was conducted by running RAM at 400MHz with 2 DIMM slots in a Dual-Channel configuration with a Command Rate setting of 1T.

Stable DDR400 Timings - 2 DIMMs
(2/4 DIMMs - 1 Dual-Channel Bank)
Clock Speed: 200MHz
Timing Mode: N/A
CAS Latency: 2.0
Bank Interleave: N/A
RAS to CAS Delay: 2T
RAS Precharge: 10T
(10T for Best Performance)*
Precharge Delay: 2T
Command Rate: 1T
*Several memory tests have shown that memory performs fastest on the nVidia nForce and VIA K8T800 chipsets at a TRas (RAS Precharge) setting in the 9 to 13 range. We ran our own Memory Bandwidth tests with memtest86, with TRas settings from 5 to 15 at a wide range of different memory speeds. The best bandwidth was consistently at 9 to 11 at every speed, with TRas 10 always in the best range at every speed. The memory bandwidth improvement at TRas 10 was only 2% to 4% over TRas 5 and 6 depending on the speed, but the performance advantage was consistent across all tests. Since best performance was achieved at 2-2-2-10 timings, all Athlon 64 benchmarks were run at a TRas setting of 10.

The K8T Neo2 had no problem at all with 2 dimms at aggressive 2-2-2-10 timings and a 1T Command Rate. We were frankly surprised at how well all the boards handled our BH5 memory, since it has sometimes been a problem memory on Athlon 64 boards. We do have to wonder if this is really the memory, however, or just the truly excellent memory controller on our replacement FX53.

Filling all four available memory slots is more strenuous on the memory subsystem than testing 2 DIMMs on a motherboard. We really expected to have to make concessions to memory timing with 4 DIMMs on all the 939 motherboards, but in fact, every board in the roundup had no problem with 2-2-2-10 timings at 1T.


Stable DDR400 Timings - 4 DIMMs
(4/4 DIMMs - 2 Dual-Channel Banks)
Clock Speed: 200MHz
Timing Mode: N/A
CAS Latency: 2.0
Bank Interleave: N/A
RAS to CAS Delay: 2T
RAS Precharge: 10T*
Precharge Delay: 2T
Command Rate: 2T

The MSI K8T Neo2 was able to run with all 4 DIMM slots at the same aggressive 2-2-2-10 settings used for 2 DIMMs. As we have seen on the other 939 boards running all 4 DIMMs, the Command Rate must be reduced to 2T when filling both Dual Channels.

MSI K8T Neo2-FIR: Features and Layout Performance Test Configuration
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  • Klaasman - Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - link

    #32 Socket 940 boards require ECC memory. 939 don't but they might run it. Go to AMD's website and see.

  • FactorOfTwo - Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - link

    Do any Socket 939 boards support ECC memory? I am having a hard time finding a definitive answer to this question.

  • TheLiquidH20 - Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - link

    Quote - The general performance of the VIA and nVidia-based 939 boards was virtually the same in DirectX 9 games, with one notable exception. Microsoft's Halo performs almost 15% better on the nVidia nForce3 Ultra .

    Could this have something to do with Halo being a direct port of the xbox ? Seeing that the Xbox is basically one , big intergrated nForce ? . Would explain microsoft adding some optimazations for niVdia hardware .

  • Klaasman - Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - link

    Ive got an ABIT AV8 and I wouold like to get a copy of that 1.3 bios you claim you had.

  • rjm55 - Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - link

    This is the first time I've seen AnandTech use color in the benchmark graphs. It really makes reading the data a LOT easier. Thanks!

  • Wesley Fink - Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - link

    #5 and #26 - I received a retail K8T Neo2 about 10 days ago and the board is now entering retail. I received the retail K8N Neo2 about 4 days ago and I am told it should enter retail in the next week to 10 days. That is the best information I have, but the date has already slipped from early July to the end of July. MSI should have the most reliable information on when the board will finally hit the retail channel.

  • kmmatney - Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - link

    Thanks for using the AutoGK encoding benchmark! I prefer the XVid codec, over DivX, but I very much appreciate the benchmark. AutoGK is by far the best freeware encoding suite I've come across.

  • kd4yum - Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - link

    See #5

    ibid
    Where is the MSI 939 board?!

    Wesley, I asked same question in another Comments section. I can't get answers from MSI (phone) or Newegg (phone). Can you?

  • Wesley Fink - Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - link

    #23 - I am now working on a 925X roundup and had switched mental gears. It looks like I need to check my mind set before correcting reviews :-) Now fixed.

  • kd4yum - Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - link

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