Socket 754 Roundup, Part 3: Asus, Soltek & DFI
by Wesley Fink on September 14, 2004 12:03 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Soltek K8AN2E-GR: Overclocking and Stress Testing
FSB Overclocking Results
| Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed | |
| Default Voltage | |
| Processor: | Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.5V (default) |
| Cooling: | Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heatsink/Fan |
| Power Supply: | OCZ Power Stream 520W |
| Memory: | OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev. 2 or Geil PC3200 Ultra X |
| Maximum OC: (Standard Ratio) |
246 x 10 (IDE), 230 x 10 (SATA) 2460MHz (+23%) |
| Maximum FSB: (Lower Ratio) |
250 x 9 (1:1 Memory, IDE, 2 DIMMs) 230 x 9 at (1:1 Memory, SATA, 2 DIMMs) |
While the Soltek SL-K8AN2E-GR fared a bit better than the Asus with SATA drives, both sets of SATA connections still limited the maximum overclock. The board managed to reach a more respectable 250 CPU setting (the maximum available with the latest BIOS) with an IDE drive, but this is still far short of the 270 to 316 that we have seen with other nForce3-250 boards.
We suspect that the Soltek can do much better than 250 with lower ratios, but that is the current limit of the CPU range. If Soltek fixes this oversight with a BIOS update, you will likely be able to achieve higher performance with the K8AN2E-GR. The other controls that are needed for excellent overclocking with the Soltek are all here.
Memory Stress Test Results:
The memory stress test measures the ability of the Soltek K8AN2E-GR to operate at its officially supported memory frequency (400MHz DDR), at the best performing memory timings that our OCZ PC3200 Rev. 2 modules will support. Memory stress testing was conducted by running RAM at 400MHz with 2 DIMM slots filled. However, please keep in mind that Socket 754 is single-channel and will still operate at top speed with just one DIMM.| Stable DDR400 Timings - 2 DIMMs (2/2 DIMMs populated) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 200MHz |
| Timing Mode: | N/A |
| CAS Latency: | 2.0 |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 2T |
| RAS Precharge: | 10T* |
| Precharge Delay: | 2T |
| Command Rate: | 1T |
The Soltek K8AN2E-GR was completely stable with 2 DIMMs at the best performing settings of 2-2-2-10, at default speed. The Soltek has just 2 DIMM slots and does not support 3 DIMMs.
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Staples - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
I bought a 3200+ system a week ago and this Soltek board. I am glad to see that incomparison, this board's performance fairs really well. There is a big thread here and it seems quite a few people are experiencing various problems with it. Myself included. I think any potential buyer who is inticed by the cheap price might want to check it out before deciding on this one.Illissius - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Excellent review, and excellent boards. The only nitpick I have is that you say the three boards are constantly trading performance leads in the stock benchmarks; in reality, the Asus K8N-E and Soltek K8FNAEDKJL:DSGKJ3 trade wins and the DFI is usually behind them, where by a larger, where by a smaller margin, except for the Far Cry test where it manages to squeak a win by a fraction of a FPS.The DFI board is damn near perfect. There are only three minor problems with it: (1) The various stuff on the board that is glaring yellow is not blue instead; (2) It is not Abit; (3) It's slightly slower at stock speeds than the Asus and Soltek. Otherwise it's completely perfect, if I were buying a board right now it would absolutely be the one I'd choose.
One topic I'd like to see touched upon is support for mobile/DTR processors; mobiles AXPs were hugely succesful overclockers, but the mobile A64s are held back by almost universally substandard motherboard support for them. A 35W (1.2V) Mobile 2800+ coupled with the Lanparty UT would be pretty amazing, if it worked.
DoobieOnline - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Hey Wesley, that's weird that you couldn't get to 9x250 with a SATA drive on the Soltek. I'm using that board and running 10x250 with a 74GB Raptor on NVIDIA SATA 1. It's a great board for under $100! - doobiedevonz - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Just a thought. When you review memory modules you untimately produce comparison charts of the top overclocked performance of the modules. Why not have a set of graphs showing the top overclocked performance of motherboards so we can judge them based on that information too?icarus4586 - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
It would have been interesting, just as a side-note, to see some tests on the DFI running at CAS 1.5, whether they were here or in the article on that board specifically. I've never seen any board/RAM that can run at 1.5-2-2LocutusX - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Regarding the Asus board:Wesley, is your A64 a Newcastle/CG revision or Clawhammer/C0? I have absolutely no issues running my Newcastle 3000+ @ 255FSB - it's like a rock. But yeah, I am using PATA.
Also, note that there is a new BIOS (1005) for the K8N-E which allows usage of 2.8v V_dimm on the 1.05 revision mobos.
jensend - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
I think it would be interesting to see tests of how well different s754 chipsets and boards do with the Paris core Sempron.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
The information in the Soltek Features table has been updated to reflect the latest BIOS values.Gundamit - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Price performance ratio is so much stonger for the 754. Thats why I decided to go for the DFI right now. In 6-8 months I'll take another look at the 939.The only dissapointment in the article was the fact you ran the 1.5 CAS setting but didn't post any results. Maybe it would have been out of place in a "roundup". BTW- Is still a round-up with only three mobos or cows? Maybe you could run some benchmarks and update the original LanpartyUT review?
ceefka - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
If you haven't bought anything yet: The 754's only real disadvantage I can think of is its upgrade path or non existence thereof. It is still a very good platform. So what if it is limited to 2/3GB of RAM support. There are not many home users with 2GB+ of RAM.