915 Motherboard Roundup: Socket 775 for the Rest of Us
by Wesley Fink on December 7, 2004 12:25 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum: Overclocking and Stress Testing
FSB Overclocking Results
MSI added the Intel Speedstep feature to the version 1.5 BIOS. This allows Prescott processors to run at either their stock ratio or at a reduced 14X ratio for cooler operation or FSB overclocking.| Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed | |
| Processor: | Pentium 4 Prescott LGA 775 560 ES (2.8GHz-3.6GHz) |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.425V (1.3875V default) |
| Cooling: | Thermaltake Jungle 502 |
| Power Supply: | OCZ Power Stream 520 |
| Maximum CPU OverClock: | 223x18 (4014MHz) +12% |
| Maximum FSB OC: | 285FSBx14 (+43%) 258x14 on Auto PCIe (+29%) |
Overclocking on the MSI 915P is an interesting experience. Using the Auto PCIe setting, we reached a maximum FSB overclock of 258x14 or 15, which is very similar to results found on the Abit AG8. The MSI has additional adjustments for PCI Express and PCI frequencies, however, that are not available in the same type and ranges on other 915P boards. By fixing PCI speed and setting PCIe to a fixed frequency of 120 (the maximum that the SATA drives could handle), we reached a stable overclock of 285x14 (3990) or +45% on the MSI. You can reach just about any overclock that might work on the MSI by manipulating PCIe and PCI frequencies, but it requires a bit more work that the elegant Asus algorithms that are of part of the Asus "Auto PCIe" choice in BIOS.
Working at the stock 18X ratio, an overclock of +12% is possible, raising the 3.6GHz Prescott to 4.0Ghz and a very hot heatsink/fan and north bridge heatsink. As we have stated before, any stable long-term overclocks above 3.9GHz on Prescott will require a serious cooling solution with more power than the best air cooling can deliver. For more information on how overclocks can be managed on the 915/925X, please check Breaking Intel's Overclock Lock: The REAL Story.
Memory Stress Test Results:
MSI designed the 915P Neo2 Platinum to use DDR2 memory. The memory stress test measures the ability of the MSI to operate at its officially supported memory frequency (533MHz DDR2) at the best performing memory timings that Crucial/Micron PC2-4300U will support. Memory stress testing was conducted by running DDR2 at 533MHz (stock 3:4 ratio) with 2 DIMM slots operating in Dual-Channel mode.| Stable DDR533 Timings - 2 DIMMs (2/4 DIMMs - 1 Dual-Channel Bank) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 266MHz |
| Timing Mode: | 3:4 (200:266 - Default) |
| CAS Latency: | 3.0 |
| Bank Interleave: | Auto |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 3 |
| RAS Precharge: | 3 |
| Cycle Time (tRAS): | 10* |
| Command Rate: | N/A |
The MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum was completely stable with 2 DIMMs in Dual-Channel at the DDR2 settings of 3-3-3-10 at 1.8V default voltage. These are much faster settings than the DDR2 SPD and rated timings of 4-4-4-12.
Filling all four available memory slots is more strenuous on the memory subsystem than testing 2 DDR2 modules on a motherboard.
| Stable DDR533 Timings - 4 DIMMs (4/4 DIMMs - 2 Dual-Channel Banks) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 266MHz |
| Timing Mode: | 3:4 (200:266 - Default) |
| CAS Latency: | 3.0 |
| Bank Interleave: | Auto |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 3 |
| RAS Precharge: | 3 |
| Cycle Time (tRAS): | 10 |
| Command Rate: | N/A |
The MSI 915P was the only motherboard in the roundup that was also completely stable at the same 3-3-3-10 memory timings with 4 DIMMs at 1.8V. We did find that an increase in voltage to 1.9V improved stability of 4 DIMMs in the MSI when running Super Pi.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
26 Comments
View All Comments
krelian - Wednesday, December 8, 2004 - link
I been a Intel user since the first Pentium 3 came out now I have a Intel P4 3.0C I refused to spend more money on things I had already bought so I stayed with the 478 socket, seeing as Intel wants me to move to an expensive platform, I say I'll ditch Intel head with the AMD crowd, I'm sure I won't be the only one, maybe legions of intel campers will leave.ChineseDemocracyGNR - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
About the config I put together in the previous post; does anyone know if the overclock lock on the 915P chipsets apply to lower FSB's too? Could I overclock the 133MHz Celeron D to 200MHz on any 915P motherboard?ChineseDemocracyGNR - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
The 915P chipset provides good value for the money. For example:ECS 915P-A $79
Intel Celeron D 325J 2.53GHz $88
Albatron GeForce 6600 128MB $120.50
or
Albatron GeForce 6600GT 128MB $190.50
(newegg prices)
The processor can be overclocked to 3.6+GHz very easily, much like the Athlon Mobiles.
That makes a good budget gaming rig, better than anything you could put together with an AMD processor for the same money. So, at least in my opinion, AMD has a better mainstream/high-end processor, and Intel wins the value segment. Who would say?
--
I have now read the entire article, and oh boy! Though I prefer to read about socket 754/939 motherboards, this has to be the best motherboard roundup I ever read. Ever. Well done.
--
#22,
thank your fixing it. The typo I wrote about on page 10:
"The fact that Asus manages a higher OC than more recognized OC boards like DFI and Asus "
Don't you mean ABIT in the last word there?
ocyl - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
Wesley > Thank you for paying attention to the audio features/components of these motherboards, particularly Dolby Digital Live :)Wesley Fink - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
#21 - The Foxconn results have been corrected on p.20. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.ChineseDemocracyGNR - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
A few typos:"The fact that Asus manages a higher OC than more recognized OC boards like DFI and Asus "
page 10.
On page 20, the "Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed" table is probably wrong.
---
Good article.
LeadFrog - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
Why does only the socket 915 get a 16mb cache Hard Drive?danidentity - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
Wes, I said thanks before but I'll say it again, great roundup. We appreciate your hard work, always.danidentity - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
Live -The P5GD2 is expensive compared to most boards, but it includes a ton of stuff, like 8 SATA ports, dual gigabit LAN, on-board 802.11g/b, and on-board hi-def audio with Dolby Digital Live (realtime encoding, like SoundStorm).
Most 915P boards aren't as close to as expensive as the Asus. The Abit AG8 is ~ $130, equal or cheaper in price than the K8N Neo2.
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, December 7, 2004 - link
#16 - After I did the price analysis today I changed "outstanding value" to "good value". Thanks for the comment about the review being good reading. It is appreciated as a huge amount of work went into this roundup.