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Summary Table of the Chipsets' Parameters for the Modern Processors and Low-level Memory Test Results



First of all, let me make a comment on the NVIDIA nForce 415-D chipset. There is almost nothing we can add to our review. Theoretically, the north bridge of the nForce 415-D doesn't contain a graphics core, that is why it's called not an IGP(128) - Integrated Graphics Processor but an SPP - System Platform Processor. The only architectural difference doesn't provide for a difference between these chipsets in operation with an external video card, and especially in low-level memory tests, that is why the new-comer wasn't tested in the Cachemem and Wstream.

Characteristics of modern chipsets for Pentium 4

Chipset ALi ALADDiN P4 i845D i850 SiS 645 VIA P4X266A
Links ALi ALADDiN P4 i845D i850 SiS 645 VIA P4X266A
North bridge M1671 82845 MCH 82850 MCH SiS 645 P4X266A
Processor support Socket 478, Intel Pentium 4
FSB 400 MHz Quad-Pumped Bus (3.2 GBytes/s) 400/5331 MHz Quad-Pumped Bus (3.2/4.3 GBytes/s)
Memory support Up to 3 GBytes PC100/133 (0.8/1.07 GBytes/s) SDRAM or DDR200/266/333 (1.6/2.1/2.7 GB/s) DDR SDRAM Up to 2 GBytes DDR200/266 (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM Up to 2 GBytes PC600/800 (2.4/3.2 GBytes/s) RDRAM Up to 3 GBytes PC100/133 (0.8/1.07 GBytes/s) SDRAM or DDR200/266 (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM
Up to 2 GBytes DDR333 (2.7 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM
Up to 4 GBytes PC100/133 (0.8/1.07 GBytes/s) SDRAM or DDR200/266 (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM
ECC support - - + - +
AGP mode 4x (1.07 GBytes/s)
Connection with south bridge PCI (133 MBytes/s) Intel Hub Link (266 MBytes/s) Intel Hub Link (266 MBytes/s) SiS MuTIOL (533 MBytes/s) VIA V-Link (266 MBytes/s)
South bridge M1535D+ 82801BA ICH2 82801BA ICH2 SiS 961 VT8233/ VT8233C
IDE mode ATA133 ATA100 ATA100 ATA100 ATA100
PCI devices support 7 5 5 6 5
USB support 6 USB 1.1 4 USB 1.1 4 USB 1.1 6 USB 1.1 6 USB 1.1
AC'97 sound/modem support + + + + +
Integrated network controller - 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet
1/10 Mbit/s HomePNA
10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet
1/10 Mbit/s HomePNA
Hardware monitoring + + + - +

Characteristics of modern chipsets for Athlon XP

Chipset ALi MAGiK 1C AMD 760 NVIDIA nForce 420-D SiS 735 VIA KT266A VIA KT333
Links ALi MAGiK 1C AMD 760 NVIDIA nForce 420-D SiS 735 VIA KT266A VIA KT333
North bridge M1647 AMD 761 IGP128 SiS 735 KT266A KT333
Processor support Socket 462, AMD Duron, AMD Athlon, AMD Athlon XP
FSB 200/266 MHz EV-6 DDR (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s)
Memory support Up to 3 GBytes PC100/133 (0.8/1.07 GBytes/s) SDRAM or DDR200/266 (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM Up to 4 GBytes DDR200/266 (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM Up to 1.5 GBytes PC100/133 (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s) SDRAM or DDR200/266 (3.2/4.2 GB/s) DDR SDRAM Up to 1.5 GBytes PC100/133 (0.8/1.07 GBytes/s) SDRAM or DDR200/266 (1.6/2.1 GB/s) DDR SDRAM Up to 4 GBytes PC100/133 (0.8/1.07 GBytes/s) SDRAM or DDR200/266 (1.6/2.1 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM Up to 4 GBytes DDR200/266/333 (1.6/2.1/2.7 GBytes/s) DDR SDRAM
ECC support - + - - + +
AGP mode 4x (1.07 GBytes/s)
Connection with south bridge PCI (133 MBytes/s) PCI (133 MBytes/s) HyperTransport (800 MBytes/s) SiS MuTIOL (1200 MBytes/s) VIA V-Link (266 MBytes/s) VIA V-Link (266 MBytes/s)
South bridge M1535D+2 AMD 766/ VIA 686B3 MCP-D SiS 735 VT8233/ VT8233C VT8233A
IDE mode ATA133 ATA100 ATA100 ATA100 ATA100 ATA133
PCI devices support 7 5 5 6 5 6
USB support 6 USB 1.1 4 USB 1.1 6 USB 1.1 6 USB 1.1 6 USB 1.1 4 USB 1.1
AC'97 sound/modem support + -/+ + + + +
Integrated network controller - - 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet
1/10 Mbit/s HomePNA
10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet
1/10 Mbit/s HomePNA
10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet
1/10 Mbit/s HomePNA
10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet
1/10 Mbit/s HomePNA
Hardware monitoring + -/+ - - + +

Notes:

  • 1 - bus support doesn't imply a support of the processors which are not available yet on the market;
  • 2 - ATA133 support appeared since the A1 revision;
  • 3 - the official south bridge of the chipset is AMD 766, but all actually use VIA 686B.

Test results

The i850/RDRAM shows the best write speed; it's also a leader in reading. However, all systems for the Pentium 4 platform have excellent results. Among the Athlon-oriented systems we have outsiders - AMD-760 and SiS 735, though the ALi MAGiK 1C doesn't shine either. The nForce outscores all the Athlon systems in the write speed, and the VIA KT333 leads in the read speed.

The Pentium 4 team wins at the expense of the Rambus.


The i850/RDRAM is a leader again, among the Athlon systems the VIA chipsets (especially KT333) and nForce take turns in leading. And exactly in this test the nForce outdid the rest. I think that the Wstream is not a simple test like the Cachemem, it doesn't just read and write into the memory; it makes some calculations. Maybe the prefetch mechanism turned out to be its ring-buoy. The i845 performs quite good among Pentium 4+DDR systems.

The Prefetch mechanism is vital for the Wstream test, however the Pentium 4 is in better form. The ALi 1671 proves that it is a low-end solution for the high-end processor.

Conclusion on the low-level memory tests

It's obvious that all systems on the Intel Pentium 4 work with the memory faster than the AMD Athlon based ones. Well, the Pentium 4's bus has a twice wider bandwidth than the 266 MHz EV-6. Among the P4 systems the leader is the i850/RDRAM.

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