|
TESTING METHODOLOGY:
We have seen
significant variations in benchmark scores from
one site to the next. Due to this fact, we feel
it is necessary to explain exactly how we
configure each of our test systems before we run
any benchmarks. When testing the Abit IT7-MAX2,
the first thing we did was enter the system BIOS
and set the board to "Load Optimized Defaults". We
then configured the Memory CAS Latency, and other
related memory timings, to be set by the SPD
(Serial Presence Detect). The RAID array was then
formatted, and Windows XP Professional with SP1
was installed. After the Windows XP Professional
installation had completed, we hit the Windows
Update site and downloaded all of the available
updates. Then we installed all of the necessary
drivers, disabled and removed Windows Messenger,
disabled Auto-Updating, disabled System Restore
and set a 768MB permanent page file. Lastly, we set
the Visual Effects to "best performance",
installed all of our benchmarking software,
defragged the hard drive and ran all of the tests
at the CPU's default and overclocked speeds.
Before we get to the
benchmarks, we want to thank
Kingston Technology for the 512MB stick of
DDR400 (PC3200) capable RAM (model No.
KVR400X64C25/512) we used throughout our
testing of the IT7-MAX2. This double-sided
DIMM is populated by 5ns Winbond components,
capable of running at CAS 2.5 at 200MHz (400MHz
DDR). At 166MHz (DDR333), we had no trouble
at all running this module at CAS 2, and it proved
to be a solid stick of RAM. If you're in the
market for some quality DDR memory, do yourself a
favor and check out Kingston's product line.
Their products perform well, and are usually less
expensive than their competitor's similar
products.
 |
|
The Hot Hardware Test Systems |
|
Intel
Showcase... |
|
|
Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (2400MHz)
533MHz FSB
Abit IT7-MAX2
Intel i845E Chipset
512MB Kingston DDR400 RAM
NVIDIA
GeForce 4 Ti 4600 (40.72 Drivers)
On-Board
NIC
On-Board
Sound
Western
Digital 80GB 7200RPM HDx2
Creative
Labs 52X CD-Rom
Standard
Floppy Drive
Windows XP
Professional with SP1
Intel
Chipset Drivers v.4.04.1007
Intel
Application Accelerator v2.2.2
|
Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (2400MHz)
533MHz FSB
Abit IT7-MAX & MSI 845E Max2
Intel i845 Chipset
512MB Corsair PC3200 RAM
NVIDIA
GeForce 4 Ti 4600 (40.72 Drivers)
On-Board
NIC
On-Board
Sound
Western
Digital 80GB 7200RPM HDx2
Creative
Labs 52X CD-Rom
Standard
Floppy Drive
Windows XP
Professional with SP1
Intel
Chipset Drivers v.4.04.1007
Intel
Application Accelerator v2.2.2
|
|
 |
|
Performance Comparisons with SiSoft
SANDRA |
|
Synthetic
Action |
|
|
SANDRA
(the System ANalyzer, Diagnostic
and Reporting Assistant) is an
information and diagnostic utility put out by the
folks at
SiSoftware. Besides benchmarking, it
provides a host of other information about your
hardware and operating system. We began our
testing with the built-in CPU, Multimedia, File
System and Memory sub-system tests
that are part of the SANDRA 2002 suite. We
ran these tests at our CPU's default clock speed
of 2.4GHz and while overclocked to 2.87GHz.
CPU @ 2.40GHz
CPU @ 2.87GHz
(18x133MHz)
(18x160MHz)
Memory @ 2.40GHz
Memory @ 2.87GHz
(18x133MHz)
(18x160MHz)
Multimedia @ 2.40GHz
Multimedia @ 2.87GHz
(18x133MHz)
(18x160MHz)
RAID 0 Performance
Across
the board, the IT7-MAX2 posted some impressive
scores. At default clock speeds, in the CPU
and Multimedia tests, the IT7-MAX2 performed on
par with similar systems, which is to be expected.
When we overclocked the system, however, it took a
Hyperthreading-Enabled P4 at 2.66GHz to beat our
test system. The Memory bandwidth scores
were also very good for an i845E based board, and
keep in mind we did not run the
memory out of
spec. using the 4:5 bus to memory ratio that is
available in the BIOS. Had
we done so, the memory scores would no doubt have been even
higher. While overclocked, the memory scores
jumped considerably, approaching RDRAM territory.
Hard drive performance while using a RAID 0
configuration was also very good. The
High-Point 374 controller on the IT7-MAX2 is a
favorite around the H.H. labs, and with scores
higher than any of SANDRA's reference systems, when
using similar drives, it's easy to understand why.
 |
|
Performance Comparisons with PC Mark
2002 |
|
CPU and
Memory Testing |
|
We
also ran some numbers using
MadOnion's PCMark2002 benchmarking
suite. Like other synthetic benchmarks, it's
difficult to translate PCMark2002 scores into "real
world" performance scenarios. However, because
it is very simple to run, and produces repeatable,
comparable
results, PCMark2002 has found a place in our
test routine. We ran PCMark's "CPU" and "Memory"
performance modules on the Abit IT7-MAX2 and on
two other similar i845E boards, the MSI 845E Max2
and the Abit BD7II-RAID. The CPU module tests
performance by executing the following tasks:
CPU
Test:
As expected, because
all three of the boards we tested were using the
same CPU, performance was very similar. The
IT7-MAX2 did manage to edge out the other boards,
but the performance delta was far too small to be
meaningful. A 51 point different in PCMark's
CPU performance module falls well within the
margin of error in this test. Perhaps, we'll
see something different in the memory bandwidth
tests...
Memory
Test Technical details: (Quoted From MadOnion)
Raw
read, write, and read-modify-write operations are
performed starting from a 3072 kilobytes array
decreasing in size to 1536 KB, 384 KB, 48 KB and
finally 6 KB. Each size of block is tested two second
and the amount of accessed data is given as result. In
the STL container test a list of 116 byte elements is
constructed and sorted by an integer pseudo-random
key. The list is then iterated through as many times
as possible for 2 seconds and the total size of the
accessed elements is given as result. There are 6 runs
of this test, with 24576 items in the largest run
corresponding to a total data amount of 1536 KB,
decreasing in size to 12288 items (768 KB), 6144 items
(384 KB), 1536 items (96 KB), 768 items (48 KB) and 96
items in the smallest run corresponding to 6 KB of
total data.
Here, the graph looks very
similar to the CPU test, with the two Abit boards
nudging ahead of the MSI 845E-Max2, but again the
difference in performance is inconsequential.
The 113 point variance between the lowest and highest
ranked system equates to only a 2.2% performance
difference, which means very little in the grand
scheme of things. Nevertheless, the IT7-MAX2 did
outpace the competition in both of PCMark 2002's
tests, even if it was only by the smallest of margins.
|
|
Gaming & The Winstones
 |
|