pc modder

7 625274 81181

44>

THE PARTS SHOP19 AMD’s Top CPU

The Athlon 64 FX53

20 Intel’s Top CPUPentium 4 3.4GHz Extreme Edition

21 Grantsdale Grants Intel Users’ WishesNew i915 Chipset Adds Many NewTechnologies

22 Special FXSiS Adds Support For AMD’sAthlon 64FX CPU

23 Chipset EntertainmentVIA’s PM880 ChipsetReady ForMedia PCs& HDTV

24 May TheForce Be With YouNVIDIA’s nForce3Chipset

25 Essential Overclocking UtilitiesPower Modding Is As Much About TheRight Software As The Right Hardware

31 Sizing Up SocketsHow Your Processor Saddles Up

33 The Mad Modder’s ToolkitMinireviews, Meanderings & Musings

Chips and chipsets. They’re the heart of any computing system, and

as usual, we have packed this issue of PC Modder with dozens of pos-

sible processor and motherboard matchups. Our Case Studies will

help you discover what sort of performance you can expect to

achieve when overclocking various chip and chipset combos. When

you’re ready to crank up your own silicon, our Cool It articles will

provide tips on keeping excess heat under control. And then when

it’s time to build the ultimate home for your motherboard, our Cut

It section will give you some case ideas to drool over. Whether you’re

a modding novice or master, you’ll find this issue is filled with all the

tips and tools you need to build faster and more beautiful PCs.

FIRST-TIMERS4 The Need For Speed

Take Your CPU To Ultimate Heights One Step At A Time

8 Cutting Holes & Taking NamesYour First Case Mod

12 Water For First-TimersTips To Help WatercoolingNewbies Take The Plunge

16 Benchmark BasicsA Primer OnMeasuring Your PC’sPerformance

Copyright 2004 by Sandhills Publishing Company. Computer Power User is a trademark of SandhillsPublishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Computer Power Useris strictly prohibited without written permission. Printed in the U.S.A. GST # 123482788RT0001 (ISSN1536-7568) CPU Computer Power User USPS 020-801 is published monthly for $29 per year bySandhills Publishing Company, 131 West Grand Drive, P.O. Box 82667, Lincoln, NE 68501. SubscriberServices: (800) 424-7900. Periodicals postage paid at Lincoln, NE. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to Computer Power User, P.O. Box 82667, Lincoln, NE 68501.

CASE STUDIES39 Silicon Meets Silicon

Our Overclocking Series On Chip &Chipset Combos

Intel

40 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 & Biostar P4TSV(Intel 865G)

42 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 & ABIT AI7

44 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 & EPoX EP-4PCA3+

46 3.2E GHz Pentium 4 & ECS 865G-M

48 3.2E GHz Pentium 4 & ShuttleAB60N

50 3.2E GHz Pentium 4 & Chaintech9CJS Zenith

52 3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition & ASUS P4G800-V

54 3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition & Soyo SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2

56 3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition & Chaintech 9CJS Zenith

58 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition & Gigabyte GA8I1000 Pro-G

60 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition & Chaintech S865PE

62 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition & MSI 875P NEO-FIS2R

AMD

64 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ & ABIT KV8-MAX3

66 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ & ChaintechZenith ZNF3-150

68 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ & JetwayS755MAX

70 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ & GigabyteGA-K8VNXP

72 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ & SOYO CK8Dragon Plus

74 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ & ASRockK8S8X

76 AMD Athlon 64 3400+ & AlbatronK8X800 ProII

78 AMD Athlon 64 3400+ & AOpenAK89 Max

80 AMD Athlon 64 3400+ & ECS 755-A2

82 AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 & ASUS SK8V

84 AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 & ASUS SK8N

86 AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 & GigabyteGA-K8NNXP-940

Graphics Cards

88 Need Speed?

We Test 10 Video Cards To Find OutWhich Is Fastest

89 ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9000 PRO

90 ATI Radeon 9200

91 Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 PRO

92 Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 XT

93 Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 SE

94 BFG Technologies Asylum GeForce FX5200 Ultra

95 AOpen GeForce FX 5500

96 ABIT Siluro FX 5600 Ultra OTES

97 eVGA e-GeForce FX 5700 Ultra

98 PNY GeForce FX 5900 SE

CRANK IT99 Overclocking Dual-CPU Systems

Double Your OverclockingMadness

102 Race For The GoldAMD vs. Intel For ThePerformance Crown

108 ATI & NVIDIA Square OffWhere Things Stand Between The GPUs & VPUs

112 The Great Video Card PyramidHow 3D Cards Stack Up

114 What A Difference A Drive MakesHow A New Hard Drive AffectsYour Rig’s Overall Performance

118 Do Motherboards Matter? One Chipset, Six Combatants

124 My DDR Can Beat Up Your DDRMemory Speeds Advance FasterThan Industry Standards

130 Clocking CornerPush That New CPU To The Limit

COOL IT132 Heatsink Heaven

The Right Product Will Save Your CPUFrom A Fiery Hell

140 A Fine GrindLap Your Heatsinks To Increase Cooling Efficiency

142 Working With GreaseGet Lower Temps & A More Overclockable Chip

144 Dry Ice DestructionSupercool Your CPU On The Cheap, Mad-Modder Style

148 Seal Your SocketDon’t Let Condensation Devastate A Super-Cooled System

151 Hot Fans, Cool CaseThe Quietest, Most Powerful & Best-Looking Fans

156 Keep Your CoolDon’t Let Your PC’s Temp Get Out Of Control

158 Chill ChatKeep The Heat Down With These Handy Tips

CUT IT160 Project Metropolis

How Artist Paul Capello Built His LatestModding Masterpiece

166 Mod(ern) ArtEnjoy Browsing This Collection Of Creative Mods

176 Light My FireIlluminate Your Hot PC, Rave Style

180 The Paint BoothTips & Tricks For Cutting, Sanding & Painting

JUST FOR FUN182 Remote Control Wizardry

Install & Modify YourTransmitter/Receiver Combo

184 MP3 EviscerationTear Out That Microdrive & Use ItWherever You Please

MODDER’S LIBRARY188 Intel Chip Reference

Guide To Intel’s Newest Processors

192 AMD Chip ReferenceCPU Manufacturer Extends Its Athlon64, Opteron & Mobile Lines

194 Intel-Compatible Chipset ReferenceSeveral Chipsets Add Features ToIntel-Based Systems

196 Guide To AMD-Compatible ChipsetsSiS’ & VIA’s New Chipsets Add 64-bit Support

198 Mainboard Mayhem17 Motherboard Manufacturers BringUs 34 Of Their Most Popular& Feature-Rich Motherboards

215 RAM-ping Up Your SystemWe Chart The Top Modules From The Top Manufacturers

MODDING Q&A217 Modding Q&A

We Answer Your Pressing Questions

INDEX223 Manufacturers & Products

FINAL BUILD224 The Ultimate Disaster Mod

CCuussttoommeerr SSeerrvviiccee(For questions about your subscription orto place an order or change an address.)

[email protected]

FAX: (402) 479-2193CCoommppuutteerr PPoowweerr UUsseerr

P.O. Box 82667Lincoln, NE 68501-2667

HHoouurrssMon. - Fri.: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (CST)

Sat.: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST)Online Customer Service & Subscription

Centerhttp://www.cpumag.com

WWeebb SSeerrvviicceess(For questions about our Web site.)

[email protected](800) 368-8304

AAuutthhoorriizzaattiioonn FFoorr RReepprriinnttss(800) 334-7458

FAX: (402) 479-2104

EEddiittoorriiaall SSttaaffff [email protected]: (402) 479-2104131 W. Grand Drive Lincoln, NE 68521

SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn RReenneewwaallss(800) 382-4552

FAX: (402) 479-2193http://www.cpumag.com

AAddvveerrttiissiinngg SSttaaffff (800) 848-1478

120 W. Harvest Dr.Lincoln, NE 68521

FAX: (402) 479-2193

TThhee GGaannggEEddiittoorriiaall SSttaaffff:: Ronald D. Kobler / Samit GuptaChoudhuri / Jennie Schlueter / Blaine Flamig /

Corey Russman / Rod Scher / ChristopherTrumble / Calvin Clinchard / Kimberly Fitzke /

Katie Dolan / Raejean Brooks / RebeccaChristensen / Tara Weber / Sally Curran /

Michael Sweet / Katie Crooks / Shawn Kupfer /Dana Montey / Nate Hoppe / Sheila Allen /

Jennifer Hansen / Trista Kunce / Marty Sems /Chad Denton / Nathan Chandler / Kylee

Dickey / Josh Gulick / Andrew Leibman / EricReed / Vince Cogley WWeebb SSttaaffff:: Missy Fletcher /Dorene Krausnick / Nick Ray CCuussttoommeerr SSeerrvviiccee::

Alisha Lamb / Brandie Humphrey / BeckyRezabek / Lana Matic SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn RReenneewwaallss::Liz Kohout / Connie Beatty / Matt Bolling /Patrick Kean / Charmaine Vondra / Miden

Ebert / Kathy DeCoito / Stephanie Contreras /Nicole Buckendahl / Travis Brock AArrtt && DDeessiiggnn::

Lesa Call / Fred Schneider / Carrie Benes /Ginger Riley / Sonja Warner / Leigh Trompke /

Aaron Weston / Aaron Clark / Lori Garris /Jason Codr / Andria Schultz / Erin Rodriguez /Lindsay Anker NNeewwssssttaanndd:: Garth Lienemann /

Kelly Richardson / Chris McGreer / Jeff SchnittkerAAddvveerrttiissiinngg SSaalleess:: Grant Ossenkop / Cindy Pieper/ Brooke Wolzen / Eric Cobb / Emily GetzschmanMMaarrkkeettiinngg:: Mark Peery / Marcy Gunn / Heather

Mentgen / Amber Coffin / Jen Clausen LLaabb CCrreeww::Kevin Morgan / Coby Boring / Chad Dalton /

Andy Gerace / Jeff Roberts

components, overclocking ex-periments and results, extremecooling systems, case mods,and other fascinating reads forthe power user.

Before You StartIf you built your computer

yourself, you already have anadvantage when it comes tooverclocking. Systems built fromthe ground up are usually easierto overclock than proprietary,prebuilt computers. In fact,some manufacturer-assembledcomputers come with many ofthe BIOS settings locked. If thisis the case, you may not be ableto change the FSB (frontsidebus), a setting that is the key tooverclocking a modern system.

If you build your own PC, you haveother advantages, as well. For instance, youcan do your own research and choose partsthat have a reputation for being highlyoverclockable. You can also be careful toavoid any components that use especiallynew or groundbreaking technology. Thelonger a manufacturer has produced a particular component or used a spe-cific manufacturing process, the more like-ly it is that the process has been refinedand that the hardware will remain stablewhen overclocked.

When you build your own system, youcan also choose a motherboard that is well-suited to overclocking. Intel’s mother-boards are generally not a good option foroverclocking because they do not providemuch freedom to tweak settings in theBIOS. On the other hand, many mother-board manufacturers intentionally buildtheir boards to allow very liberal tweakingof settings such as the FSB and core volt-age. When we tested the very new and veryfast PC4400 DDR SDRAM in “My DDRCan Beat Up Your DDR” on page 124, we

Overclocking, or pow-er modding as it isalso known, is a goal

of many advanced computerusers. Overclocking a systemlets it run faster than it wouldat the supported speeds of itscomponents. For instance, youcould overclock a 2.4GHzprocessor to run at 3.2GHz. Asuccessful overclock will helpgames run smoother, pro-cessor-intensive tasks runfaster, and overall performanceimprove. However, there is areason power modders are soproud of their overclocked systems. Overclocking is reallyquite an art form, requiringpatience, experimentation,knowledge, and just a bit of luck. For this reason, many people overclock systems simply for their own enjoyment and the thrill of squeez-ing the highest performance out of anygiven component.

The reason you can overclock hard-ware is because most components have arange of speeds at which they will work.Manufacturers set component speed ratings within the range at which theyknow the parts will function as advertised. But it’s often possible to speed up, oroverclock, some components to the uppermost

levels of their ranges and still have themoperate. Of course, it’s also possible tooverclock too much, which can cause errat-ic performance or even make a componentfail. Not all processors, even of the samemodel number and speed, will overclock tothe same level. That’s why overclockingusually voids manufacturer warranties.

You can overclock several components,including the processor, system memory,

and even some video cards. Themost commonly overclocked

item is, as you probably know,the processor. If you’ve never

overclocked a CPU before,this article will walk you

through the process. If you’re an experi-

enced overclocker,you can consid-

er this article a brief re-view before

you dive into therest of this issue, which

will cover the latest and greatest

This processormay be rated at2.4GHz, but withcareful overclocking,you may be able to coaxa faster clock speedfrom it.

THE NEED FOR SPEEDTake Your CPU To Ultimate Heights One Step At A Time

4 • PC Modder

bus of 400MHz. Because the Athlon 64FX’s bus is quad-pumped, the FSB is actual-ly 100MHz, or 400MHz divided by four. Ifyou insert 2,400MHz and 100MHz into theabove equation, you will see that the AthlonFX-53’s multiplier is 24 (the 2,400MHzclock speed divided by the 100MHz FSB).

In order to overclock the processor(increase its clock speed), you need to altereither the multiplier or the FSB. The multi-plier is locked on most modern processors,so in order to change the clock speed of theCPU, you need to tweak the system bus, theonly part of the equation you can change.You will do this a little bit at a time, increas-ing the FSB in small increments and testingthe system after each overclock to ensurethat it is still stable (able to POST, launchWindows, and run dependably). If the sys-tem is still stable after an overclock, you cantry to push its clock speed a little bit further.

Because overclocking involves chang-ing settings in the BIOS, it is a good ideato make sure you have the most recentversion of the BIOS installed. Check themotherboard manufacturer’s Web site forBIOS updates before you proceed.

Also, if you plan to overclock a systemthat stores any important data, please back up your system before you begin.Overclocking can be risky business, so beprepared in case the worst happens. If youhave an older computer that you don’t useanymore, you may want to practice over-clocking it before you tweak your primarycomputer system. You may also need touse a cooling method other than the stockfan that came with your CPU (or pre-installed in your PC). There are several

had to use either an Asus P4C800 Deluxeor Asus P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard.That’s because those were the only twoboards that provided the overclocking free-dom necessary to tweak the FSB and runand benchmark such new and fast memoryat the proper frequency.

There are other reasons the choice ofmotherboard is important. As one example,many motherboards have built-in sensorchips that monitor temperatures and volt-ages. This can help you ensure that condi-tions in your PC are as safe as possible for allof your hardware, even after you’ve over-clocked a component. In addition, manymotherboards come with software that helpsoverclockers monitor critical data that is col-lected from the sensor chips. This includestemperatures, core voltages, and fan opera-tion. For more information about overclock-ing utilities, see “Essential OverclockingUtilities” on page 25 and the accompanying“Motherboards With Great Utility” chartbundled with motherboards on page 28.

Before you overclock your CPU, it isimportant to research your processor. Themore you read about overclocking with yourprocessor, the more you will know whatsome realistic overclocking goals might be.You can read past issues of PC Modder andCPU, scan overclocking forums, and readoverclocking Web sites to see what results

others have had and what you might expectfrom your processor. Others’ results will not,however, tell you exactly how far you canpush your CPU. Even processors manufac-tured from the same wafer vary slightly. Inaddition, your other system components willlikely differ from those of other overclockers.For a variety of reasons, you may get a loweror higher overclock than others. Others’results will serve as a guide for your ownattempts at overclocking.

Learning about others’ results is essen-tial, even if your experiences differ fromthose of others. Knowing what is possibleand what is common can help you startwith a reasonable overclock. Then, if yourcomputer is stable, you can graduallyattempt to push the system further.

In order to overclock, you need to havea basic understanding of the mathematicsof overclocking. There is one basic equa-tion that drives the changes you will makein the BIOS. This equation is made up ofthe processor’s effective clock speed, theFSB, and the CPU’s multiplier. There areother factors, such as the voltage and tem-perature, which we will discuss later.

The basic equation for overclocking is:multiplier x FSB = clock speed.

AMD’s relatively new Athlon 64 FX-53CPU has a clock speed of 2.4GHz, or2,400MHz. It also has an effective system

Some motherboards have more overclocking features than others. This board by Asus providesmore overclocking freedom than most.

The BIOS may look slightly different on yoursystem, but the basic procedure is the same.Gradually increase the FSB setting.

PC Modder • 5

articles about cooling in theCool It section of this issue,beginning with “HeatsinkHeaven” on page 132.

Finally, one last wordbefore you get started.Overclocking is not anactivity that manufacturersofficially support. Althoughseveral new motherboards,processors, and memorymodules are promoted ashighly overclockable, push-ing hardware beyond itsofficial specs usually voidsthe warranty. Not only mayoverclocking damage thecomponent you are tryingto overclock, but it may alsodamage other system com-ponents. Because overclocking voidswarranties, you should be prepared toswallow the cost if your system sustainsany damage during a fateful overclock.

Overclocking 101To get started overclocking, you should

enter the BIOS before Windows loads.The BIOS menus vary, depending on themotherboard you use. Find the section ofthe BIOS menu that contains settings forthe frequency and voltage, which will contain the FSB settings. After you haveentered the proper section of the BIOS,change the FSB to the desired speed. Forexample, if you bump the FSB up from100MHz to 133MHz, you will increasethe effective system bus to 533MHz andthe clock speed to approximately 3.2GHz,or the 133MHz FSB x the multiplier of24 (3,192MHz or 3.2GHz).

As you increase the FSB, you need tokeep the installed RAM in mind. It is ratedfor a certain frequency. That frequency isdetermined by the FSB, so you need to becareful not to push the FSB beyond thepoint your memory can handle. When youdo this, you overclock the memory, whichis certainly something you can do, but it iseasiest to first run the memory within itsspecifications. This way, if the system isunstable after you increase the FSB, youknow if the problem is with overclockingthe processor or with overclocking the

memory. Once the system is stable withthe CPU overclocked, then you couldthink about overclocking the memory.

An example can demonstrate the impor-tance of considering memory when adjust-ing the FSB. PC3200 DDR SDRAM, alsoknown as DDR400, is rated at 400MHz.Memory runs at the same frequency as theFSB, but because DDR is dual-pumped,the 400MHz frequency actually correlatesto a 200MHz FSB (200MHz x 2 =400MHz effective). When you alter theFSB of a system with PC3200 DDR, youwould not want to push the FSB higherthan 200MHz if you want the memory tostay within its spec.

After you adjust and save the FSB set-ting, exit the BIOS. When the computerreboots, check the screen when the systemPOSTs to see what the listed clock speedis. It should indicate the new, overclockedspeed. If not, return to the BIOS and tryto adjust the settings. If you can choose alower FSB, that may make the systemmore stable. You can also increase the volt-age because an overclocked system general-ly requires more voltage than a system run-ning at the officially supported speed.

Once you get your system to POSTat the overclocked speed, the next chal-lenge is getting Windows to run. If thesystem is highly unstable, Windows willprobably not load. If you can success-fully start Windows, you know that the

overclocked system is rela-tively stable, but you shouldstill tax the CPU to ensurethat if the system is not sta-ble, you know it before youbegin using your PC forimportant tasks.

There are many programsyou can use to test the stabilityof a system. Many of theseutilities are covered in “Es-sential Overclocking Utilities”on page 25. A free programthat places a decent amount of processing weight on the CPUis Prime95, a program de-veloped for GIMPS (GreatInternet Mersenne PrimeSearch). This project lets usersdownload the Prime95 client,

which takes advantage of unused CPUcapacity to run equations, searching forprime numbers. Often, monetary prizes are available to those who discover newprime numbers.

Although you may not choose to takepart in the race to find new primes, youcan still use Prime95. Its equations willstress your processor as it works equa-tions and compares them against knownprimes. If the computer does not findthe correct numbers, the system is notstable at the overclocked speed.

If your stability-testing utility indi-cates that the system is not stable, youneed to make an adjustment to the BIOSsettings, either lowering the FSB orincreasing the voltage. Remember that inorder to overclock just one componentat a time, you should ensure that theFSB remains within the spec for the

There are many places where you can find out what results others have hadoverclocking a given processor.

If the system is unstable after an overclock, youmay need to increase the voltage in the BIOS.

6 • PC Modder

RAM. If you exceed the designated fre-quency for the RAM, when the systembecomes unstable, you won’t know if theproblem is the overclocked processor orthe overclocked memory.

You should let Prime95 (or any stabili-ty-testing utility) run for at least a coupleof hours. If you let Prime95 run for atleast six hours without errors, you can saywith a relative degree of certainty thatyour overclocked system is fairly stableand able to handle heavy loads on theprocessor. If you can devote an evengreater period of time to running the sta-bility check, however, you will increasethe certainty with which you can say thatyour overclocked system is stable.

As you increase the voltage to stabilizethe system, you may find that the CPUoverheats. At the very least, high processortemps will make a system unstable. At theworst, overheating may damage compo-nents. This is one of the reasons overclock-ing is a perform-at-your-own-risk activity.You can reduce the odds of damagingequipment, however, by monitoring systemtemperatures as you tweak your PC. Tryinstalling a temperature-monitoring utility,such as Motherboard Monitor (Freeware;mbm.livewiredev.com) or Hmonitor ($29for a one- or two-user personal license;www.hmonitor.com). You can read moreabout these and other utilities in “EssentialOverclocking Utilities” on page 25.

If the temperature gets too hot, you willneed to make adjustments to avoid damage.Acceptable temperatures vary dependingupon the type of processor you use. AMDAthlon XP processors have an OrderingPart Number label. The third character onthe label indicates the maximum tempera-ture. An S-rated processor can safely heat to

95 degrees Celsius, a T-rated processor hasa maximum temperature of 90 C, and a V-rated processor can be heated to only 85 C.

The maximum temperature for otherprocessors is not so straightforward. Ingeneral, the processor case of Athlon 64sshould not heat beyond 70 C. Intel’s maxi-mum temperature ratings are much lower,with a 38 C limit on 478-pin Pentium 4sabove 2.8GHz and a 40 C limit for otherP4s. Both of those suggested maximumtemperatures are for the processor caserather than the processor itself. If you useIntel’s Active Monitor utility (includedwith Intel motherboards) to monitor sys-tem temperatures, you should not let thetemperature of the CPU core rise above 64C. You can find this and other informationabout suggested CPU temperatures in the“Pushing The Limit” sidebar in “KeepYour Cool” on page 156.

If the temperature nears the maximumlimit, you should either reduce the FSB orconsider trying a better cooling method.As mentioned earlier, the articles in theCool It section of this issue, which beginson page 132, discuss a variety of coolingmethods and equipment, including third-party heatsinks, thermal compounds, heatspreaders, case fans, blowholes, peltier sys-tems, watercooling, and phase-change sys-tems. You may wish to incorporate one ofthese cooling methods into your system toprovide more wiggle room for increasingthe voltage.

To achieve the highest overclock possi-ble, continue to gradually increase the FSB,in very small steps, until the system becomesunstable and you can no longer safelyincrease the voltage without running intotemperature problems with your chosencooling method. When the system hits this

unstable point, gradually lower the FSB setting until the system is once again stable.Remember to run a utility that will stressthe system to ensure that it is truly stable atthe final overclocked speed.

Once you have tested a system and con-firmed its stability, you may want to run abenchmark or two to see how well theoverclocked system runs. SiSoftware’sSandra ($34.99 for single-client license;www.sisoftware.co.uk) is one applicationyou can run to gauge your system’s perfor-mance. Another popular benchmarkingprogram is Futuremark’s PCMark 04 Pro($29.95 personal-use license; www.futuremark.com). If you download PCMark 04Pro, you can save $10. Both of these pro-grams will run a variety of benchmarks onyour system and provide an objectiveaccount of the PC’s performance.

Overclocked & Built For SpeedAs you can see, overclocking a proces-

sor is a very gradual process. It requiresnot only patience but also a healthy bal-ance of conservatism and risk taking. Bycarefully tweaking the FSB, monitoringtemperatures, and providing the neces-sary cooling to your system, you cansometimes see quite dramatic leaps inperformance and speed.

After your system is overclocked andrunning stable, you can enjoy the speedbenefits of your new, faster PC. Perhapsmore importantly, you now have braggingrights to a system that you conquered andpushed to the ultimate speeds. The rest ofthis issue will provide a handy referencefor your newfound thirst for speed andCPU power.

by Kylee Dickey

Keep system RAM in mind when overclocking. If you stay within the specs for the memory as you overclock the processor, it is simpler to troubleshoot stability problems.

PC Modder • 7

makes it possible for users to find outwith a glance whether a heatsink fan hasstopped working or determine exactlywhich component is smoking as a resultof a botched overclocking session.

Preparation. We started by removing allof the panels from the case’s chassis. Wemade sure to prep the side panel that wouldgive us the best view of our components,not the one that would reveal the backsideof our system’s motherboard. We placedthe chosen side panel face up on a flat sur-face and covered it with masking tape,which protected the surface from scratchesand also gave us a good marking surface.

Next, we laid the Plexiglas window onthe panel where we wanted to install it.It’s a good idea to make sure your windowis at least an inch from the edge on allsides. We placed our window closer to theback and bottom of the panel to minimize

I f you’re the sort of power user whofeels the constant need to pick up apower tool and modify anything

and everything, this article is not for you.If, on the other hand, you’re consideringyour first case mod, such as adding ablowhole or window to your case, or ifyou just want to paint your beige beast amore inviting color, we can help.

Why should you cut your own win-dow and/or blowholes? For one thing, it’scheaper than buying a premodded case,provided you have the proper tools onhand, not to mention the pride you’ll feelwhen you look at your newly moddedcase, knowing you did all the work your-self. This step-by-step article will walkyou through the basics of dressing upyour case (sometimes called vanity mod-ding), and we’ll also point out a few ofthe pitfalls as we go.

We began preparing for this vanitymodding primer by seeking out a reason-ably priced case made of steel, which is aferrous metal, meaning that it containsiron. (Note that aluminum is a softer,nonferrous metal and is, therefore, easierto cut, but an aluminum case often costsmore. It’s not a bad idea to save a fewbucks on your first attempt just in casethings don’t go to plan.) We purchased aChiefmax (www.chiefmax.com) 769-PL1Beige Mid Tower ATX for $30.00, whichincluded a 450-watt power supply. Notethat our case came with textured side pan-els, which you’ll want to avoid. But we’lldiscuss that further in a moment.

In the interest of simplicity, we choseto buy a window installation kit for ourcase. Window kits are readily availableonline in a variety of shapes and colors,some of which include custom etched

Plexiglas. The kit we used cost $15 andincluded a clear, square precut Plexiglaswindow, a strip of rubber molding, alocking strip, a standard washer, andinstallation instructions.

We used a Dremel MultiPro variable-speed rotary tool to cut a hole in the sidepanel for our window and a variable-speed drill equipped with a hole saw forcutting the blowhole in the Chiefmax’stop panel.

Window To The SoulPerformance purists may ask why any-

body would want to look at the staticinterior of a PC, but the multitude oflighting accessories, ultraviolet reactivecomponents, and colored PCBs (printedcircuit boards) on the market is proof thatpeople like to see what’s inside. There arepractical benefits, too. A case window

CUTTING HOLES &TAKING NAMES

Your First Case Mod

8 • PC Modder

the view of the system’s drive bays andpower supply unit. We also made sureto position our window hole so that weweren’t cutting through overlappingpieces of metal.

We then put the washer against theedge of our Plexiglas and used a pencilinside the washer to trace the window.This left a .25-inch border around thewindow, which is for fitting the windowmolding. We used the resulting outline asa guide for cutting our window hole.

Cutting. Because we used a Dremeltool, there was no need to start with apilot hole, but if you plan to use a jigsaw,you’ll need to drill a hole on the insideedge of the traced outline to start your cut.We used emery wheels on our Dremel,specially designed for cutting throughmetals such as steel. Before cutting makesure you are in a well-ventilated room oroutdoors and are well away from flamma-ble materials. When cutting metal with avariable-speed rotary tool, it’s also a good

idea to check the tool’s manual for recom-mended cutting wheel speeds. OurDremel has a 35,000rpm maximumspeed, and the manual suggested we usethe full speed for cutting steel. Make sureyou take appropriate safety measures whenusing power tools, such as wearing protec-tive eyewear.

We started on a straight edge to get afeel for how the tool cut before moving

on to a curved edge. If you use a Dre-mel, sparks will fly, so cut away from yourbody. As we cut along the window out-line, the emery wheel wore down; we usedthree wheels to finish our window. Forthicker steel or a larger window, you mayend up using more. We replaced the cut-ting wheels when they wore down to two-thirds of their original size. When cuttingrounded edges, we began with small cuts,lifted the Dremel, angled the tool, andcut again. This makes for a jagged corner,but the window molding will mask yourhandiwork, and at this stage cutting accu-rately is far more important than getting asmooth, straight cut.

When our window hole was complete,we filed the sharp edges with a deburringaccessory included in our Dremel set. Youcan also use a hand file to remove excessmetal and smooth jagged edges. Next, weremoved the masking tape from the panel.

Plexiglass and molding. We madesure we were working on a clean surface,free of metal shavings that might scratchthe Plexiglas. The window molding issmooth and rounded on one side andgrooved on the other side. We startedwith the panel’s interior side facing up

and fit the narrow edge of the moldingonto the window opening so the lockinggroove was visible. Then we fit the mold-ing all the way around the inside of ourwindow hole. The molding strip was toolong, so we cut the strip to the properlength using a utility knife.

We used Scotch tape to hold the mold-ing in place, removing it piece by piece aswe installed the Plexiglas. When fitting thePlexiglas into your molding strip, startwith a corner and pull the edge of themolding lip over the edge of the window.

At the halfway point, you’ll need some-thing you can fit between the molding andthe Plexiglas to shoehorn the window inplace. We used the flat wrench included inthe Dremel set. Fitting the Plexiglas intothe molding can be tedious and difficult,so be patient and work slowly to keep thewindow from slipping out. With the win-dow in place, we installed the locking strip,which fits into the groove on the inside ofthe panel. We inserted the pointed side ofthe locking strip (which clamps the mold-ing onto the Plexiglas to keep it snug)down and worked our way around themolding until our panel was finished andready to show off our computer’s guts.

A Breath Of Fresh AirBlowholes can significantly improve air

circulation within your computer’s case.Although no amount of air circulationwill cool your processor and componentsbelow the ambient air temperature, this isoften sufficient to ameliorate temperaturespikes that result from moderate over-clocking. Also, if done properly, a blow-hole (with the help of an LED-adornedfan and an attractive fan grille) can add toyour system’s visual appeal.

Preparation. You can use a jigsaw,rotary tool, or drill fitted with an arborand hole saw to cut a blowhole. We choseto use a drill and hole saw because it offersthe cleanest cut. Unlike a window holethat is covered with molding, the edges ofa blowhole will be visible when you’redone, and most fan grilles won’t adequate-ly mask a jagged hole. Typically you’llwant a 3.125-inch (76mm) hole saw foran 80mm fan, which is the size of moststandard case fans. We decided to go allthe way and install a massive 120mm fan,

Any last words, plain Jane?

Using a kit makes installing a window a snap. We used a washer to trace our window.

PC Modder • 9

so we used a 4.75-inch (121mm) holesaw, which is nearly the diameter of a CD.

We had to prep our case for cuttingbefore our fan arrived, so we had to mea-sure and cut the hole without the benefitof having the fan to use in drawing anoutline. We chose to install the blowholein the top of our case. We started bymarking the top panel to represent theinterior location of our power supplyunit and our optical drive. This gave usabout six inches of leeway for installingour fan where it would do the mostgood. We covered the section weplanned to cut with masking tape, foundthe center of the panel, and drew astraight line on all four sides using aruler. Next, we positioned the 4.75-inchhole saw over the center point and tracedit. You will need to divot the centerpoint with an awl or nail punch to keepthe drill in place while cutting.

Bear in mind that if you’re at all inter-ested in upgrading your fan in the future,it’s best to initially cut a smaller hole anduse a larger hole saw later. If you decideto install a smaller fan, you can use a fanadapter, but note that adapters willincrease the profile of the fan.

Cutting. We suggest using a cordeddrill for steady, continuous power, but acordless drill can provide a similar experi-ence as long as you start with a fullycharged battery. Again, make sure youtake the proper safety precautions,including wearing goggles and workingin an open or well-ventilated space. Withour panel clamped down over an openspace, we started our cut by positioningthe drill tip in the divoted center point.It’s best to use the highest speed yourdrill can provide, and be sure your drill is

set to turn in the proper direction. Whiledrilling, we applied enough pressure tokeep the hole saw in constant contactwith the metal, but not so much that thedrill bogged down. Typically top panelsare thicker than side panels, so it maytake some time to cut through. When thehole was drilled, we used the Dremel

with a deburring accessory to file downits sharp edge.

Place your fan over the hole on top ofthe masked panel. Center it, mark thescrew holes with a pencil, and drill theholes using a standard drill bit no widerthan the screw holes of the fan. When wewere finished, we removed the maskingtape and installed the fan according to the

supplied instructions. Keep in mind thatyou want your case to take in more airthan it blows out by a 2:1 ratio.

Color Your World Painting your case is one of the most

fundamental ways to improve the look ofyour system. Artistic ability is not asimportant as attention to detail and agood color scheme. We chose to paint ourcase panels charcoal and the chassis blazeorange. (Note that if you’re combiningany cutting projects with a paint job, it’s

best to paint last so as not to chip or maryour paint job when cutting or drillingwindow holes or blowholes.)

Shopping list. We used spray paint forour case because it’s relatively cheap andeasy to work with. We bought two cansof Rust-Oleum brand fast-drying, wet-sandable primer. It’s a good idea to get

either white or pale gray primer, whichwill help your colored paint to moreclosely resemble the color you’d expectbased on the cap. We also got cans ofRust-Oleum textured charcoal, Painter’sTouch blaze orange, and Painter’s Touchmultipurpose flat clearcoat. We boughtsome low-grit sandpaper, but if you wanta smooth finish, you should use 600-gritwet/dry sandpaper.

Preparation. When painting, you’llwant to find a work area with plenty ofventilation that’s clear of the elements.You may also want to put down plenty ofplastic sheeting or cardboard to keepoverspray from marking up your workarea. We removed all the case panels fromthe chassis of our PC and took specialcare to remove the LEDs and Power andReset buttons from the face panel. Ourcase has a built-in USB hub in the front,so we removed it along with the plasticfeet on the underside of the chassis. Wealso popped out each of the drive bay cov-ers to paint them separately. We arrangedeverything on our painting surface (card-board) so that we had enough room topaint all sides of each panel when laid flaton the ground. If your case has texturedpaint or textured plastic panels, youmight want to sand them first. It isn’tnecessary to strip off the original coat ofpaint, but sanding will help the paintadhere and give you a smooth surface to

The Dremel does its job with flair.

Scotch tape held themolding in place until weinstalled the Plexiglas.

Fitting the molding lip around the Plexiglascan be difficult.

We used ashort nail

to divot thecenter

point forour blow-

hole.

10 • PC Modder

start with. Make sure each panel is cleanand dry before you begin.

Painting and sanding. We started byusing the primer on everything, holdingthe can 6 to 12 inches away from the sur-face. We used an even, back-and-forthmotion and never sprayed the same spotfor too long. You don’t need to paint the

inside of your case panels, but make sureyou cover every side that will be visiblewhen your case is reassembled. Becausethe chassis is bare metal, the primer helpsprevent the paint from dripping. It is bestto apply several light coats of the primerrather than one heavy coat. If the cover-age looks uneven after your first coat,don’t worry, wait for it to dry and applyanother coat. Each coat of primer tookroughly 30 minutes to dry, but once weapplied a few coats, we waited 24 hours tolet it cure. You might consider usingstring to suspend the chassis from theceiling of your work area to get to all sidesin a single session.

Once the primer has cured, you cansand it smooth, taking special care notto sand down to the original paint. Aswe mentioned earlier, you should avoidusing a case with textured panels, asthese can make adequate sanding nearlyimpossible. For a smooth finish, keep thesanding surface wet throughout thesanding process to prevent scratching.Because we wanted a textured surface,we chose to dry sand our panels. Weapplied another coat of primer to get aseven a finish as possible, waited 24hours, and sanded again. Finally, wewere ready to apply the colored paint.

If you plan to paint any panels multi-ple colors, use masking tape to cover theparts of the panel you want to keep free

of paint. If masking large sections of apanel, use masking tape at the edge andnewspaper to cover the panel, rather thanmasking the entire surface, which candamage a previously applied coat. Wepainted the chassis with the Painter’sTouch blaze orange. You’ll want to paintdifferent-colored panels or components

well away from other parts because paintdust and overspray can alter your intend-ed finish. We found this out the hardway, as our gray panels came out with amildly perceptible orange tint. After sev-eral coats and another 24-hour curingperiod, our panels and chassis were fin-ished. We applied the clearcoat finish tothe outer panels to serve as a protectivebarrier. Once the clearcoat was dry, we

reinstalled the window and put our caseback together.

Worth The EffortVanity modding tends to be a longer,

more drawn-out process than perfor-mance modding, which offers instantgratification, assuming everything works

when you turn on the power. Cosmeticmods take patience, and if you only haveone computer, it can mean being with-out a PC for days. But if you have thepatience to see your project through, youcan take pride in the fact that you havecreated something unique.

by Andrew Leibman

Just pull the trigger and let the drill do the work. Notice the clean edge.

We stood the panels up formore even coverage.

The final product (minus thefan, which didn’t arrive in time to

mug for the camera).

PC Modder • 11

conducts heat quickly. Many waterblocksuse copper, aluminum, or silver, all of whichhave good heat transference characteristics.

And don’t forget. There are otherwatercooling components that requireyour consideration. Tubing, in particular,can greatly hinder or help your projectdepending on its characteristics. Veryflexible tubing is great for windingthrough the maze of parts and crevasses inyour case, but that same quality alsomeans it kinks easily. Rigid tubing resistskinks but is hard to manipulate throughtight quarters, and even if you succeed insnaking the tube into the right spot, itmight place undue pressure on thewaterblock and CPU.

Water is another component that youshouldn't overlook. Using water straightfrom the tap is a sure way to depositharmful minerals throughout your sys-tem. Tap water may also cause oxidationto ruin the metal components in yourcooling loop, and for that reason alone,distilled water is the only way to go.Also, to prevent icky algae build-up,your water needs an anti-algae additive,which you can find on your favoritecomponents site.

Now we’ll show you how we installed abasic kit. Hardcore users scoff at kits, call-ing them overpriced, underperforming

W atercooling systems nolonger make up just a trick-le in the PC market—

they’re a mainstream cooling concept,and users who ignore the potential ofwater’s chilling properties risk gettingone-upped by the competition. Don’tfret if you’ve avoided wading into thewater until now. There are so manyexcellent watercooling products availablethat you can easily add H20-based com-ponents and have your computer back upand running in an hour or less.

PC enthusiasts unfamiliar with water-cooling technologies will want to beaware of standard caveats when workingwith their new wet toys. We’ll preempt alot of your questions with step-by-stepinstructions on installing a new water-cooling kit and offer plenty of otherwater-related tips along the way.

Component BasicsThere are so many variations in water-

cooling components that it’s easy to beoverwhelmed by your choices. We’ll startby breaking things down into simplestterms. Every watercooling system hasthree fundamental parts, including apump, waterblock, and a fan/radiatorcombo, all of which are connected viaflexible and (hopefully) watertight tubing.Many systems also include a separatewater reservoir to increase fluid capacity.

For the system to be effective, water mustmove from part to part in a certain order.Water flows from the pump and into theradiator, which drops the water’s tempera-ture, to the waterblock, which transfers heatfrom the CPU to the cooler water, whichmoves back to the water pump again.

Pumps. Make sure you use high-quali-ty parts in your watercooling system.Using a flimsy-looking water pump cancome back to haunt you, as cheap pumpsmight spring leaks, or just as bad, stopworking—and water that’s not moving

through the radiator will become very hotand eventually help fry your CPU.

There are two basic types of pumps usedfor watercooling: inline and submersible.Inline pumps can be used with or withouta reservoir. To use an inline pump, youpour water into the system, connect yourtubes to the appropriate components, andfire up the pump. You’ll have to bleed outany air in the system, of course, and that’ssomewhat difficult to do when you usean inline pump and no waterreservoir.

As their name implies, sub-mersible pumps must be submerged inwater before they will work properly. Mostmanufacturers include a reservoir for sub-merging this type of pump. Unlike inlinepumps, it’s much easier to avoid air trappedin the cooling loop when you use a sub-mersible pump.

Radiator/fan. Radiators are blocks ofmetal with many flattened tubes (typicallymade of copper) arranged in a parallelpattern. As with water pump reservoirs,radiators have both an inlet and outlet;water warmed by the CPU comesthrough the inlet and moves through thefins of the radiator. Those fins conductheat to the fan-blown air moving throughthe radiator’s slits.

Manufacturers give their radiators eithera BTU (British Thermal Units) or KCal(calories burned by heat) per hour rating.The higher the rating, the more heat a radi-ator can disperse to the surrounding air. Ifyou have serious cooling needs, you canbuy a dual-fan radiator, which is twice thesize of a regular radiator and provides extracooling capability. Other radiators are pas-sive, meaning that they substitute noisyfans with a giant heatsink.

Waterblock. Waterblocks have the all-important task of transferring heat from theCPU to circulating water. To perform thisjob effectively, a waterblock must cover theentire CPU and be made of a material that

Tips To Help Watercooling Newbies Take The Plunge

WATER FOR FIRST-TIMERS

12 • PC Modder

monstrosities with so-so parts and middlingperformance. Though kits are more expen-sive than selecting and assembling individ-ual components yourself (see our “WaterBy Design” sidebar), you’re supposedlyassured that every part fits the way itshould, a not-so-insignificant trait whenyou’re undertaking a potentially patience-testing task for the first time.

Basic Kit StepsWe bought a basic—but expensive—

preassembled component kit fromFrozenCPU (www.frozencpu.com) so wecould show you the fundamentals of awatercooling system installation. Assem-bling a kit sounds like an elementary task,but it really wasn’t as easy as expected.

Our generic $200 kit included all thenecessaries, such as tubing, an inline

aquarium water pump, a water reservoirdesigned to fit in a 5.25-inch drive bay,radiator and 80mm fan, hose clamps,waterblock, an assortment of screws,springs, nuts, and washers, but, ahem, noassembly instructions. Guess we pickedthe right kit for this story, huh?

There are two ways to go aboutinstalling a watercooling system. Manyenthusiasts assemble their systems out-side their PC case and let the pump runfor several hours to make sure everycomponent is free of leaks. Users withmore confidence (and healthy publishingcompany equipment budgets) throwcaution to the wind and build the cool-ing loop on and around expensive equip-ment. If you opt to assemble your kitoutside the case, you’ll simply have to bea little more careful when you cut your

lengths of tubing to make sure every-thing fits the way you want it to.

1. The first step in assembling a kit is tocheck out the parts at your disposal andplan a course of action. There’s nothingworse than diving into a system projectand then finding out 40 minutes laterthat you misplaced or misused a criticalscrew or clamp. Make sure you have anidea of where each part goes, and makesure you have the right number of nuts,bolts, clamps, and other vital hardware.

2. Affix the waterblock to your mother-board. You’ll likely have to removeyour motherboard from its case tocomplete this task, so disconnectcables, uninstall the CPU heatsink andfan, take out your mobo’s screws, andlift the board carefully from the case.

I f you like DIY projects anddon’t want to be a target for

the elitist sneers of watercool-ing purists, forsake kits, pickand choose your own coolingcomponents, and assemble aone-of-a-kind system that willmake your friends as green asthe pond scum growing ontheir waterblocks. Going for-ward without a kit means acouple of things. One, you’llhave to wing it as you go andimprovise when necessary.Two, without prefitted partsyou run a greater risk of leaksand other critical problems.These are both worthy chal-lenges that you’ll be proud to overcome.

Before you can begin, youwill have to order the partsyou want to use, includingtubing, a waterblock, radiatorand fan, a pump, and thehardware to make everythingwatertight. Pick your productscarefully to make sure compo-nents fit properly.

Waterblocks are crucial inevery watercooling system,

and they come in many dif-ferent flavors. You can buyultra-basic aluminum blocks,expensive all-copper blocks,a block that combines bothaluminum and copper, andaluminum blocks dipped in asilver coating. You’ll find thatradiators offer similar diver-sity. Beware, though, of mix-ing aluminum and coppercomponents in your coolingsystem, as this will causerust to occur much fasterthan normal. If you must mixmetals in your cooling loop,be sure to add a good doseof rust-inhibitor additive, butbe aware that this depen-dency on chemicals willprobably let you down in theend.

Most systems use 1/4-inch,1/2-inch, or 3/8-inch connec-tion points, and as you buyparts, make sure all yourcomponents have connectorsof the same diameter; other-wise, you’ll end up cutting,splicing, and generally mak-ing your loop weaker. It also

makes the building processmore complex because youneed more fittings.

Trying to connect and dis-connect tubing is a pain in theneck. You can make this taskeasier by using quick-discon-nect fittings that have femaleand male connectors with abutton that makes it easy topull tubing free. If you opt fortraditional barbed fittings, youwill need the appropriatehose clamps, which have sev-eral variations, including flim-sy wire clamps that apply verylittle pressure to the hose andbarb. We prefer plastic clampsthat let you squeeze the hoseuntil it screams.

You already know that youcan use either a submersibleor inline pump for your sys-tem, and there are significantdifferences between the two.Submersible pumps arehoused in a reservoir, a littlequieter than inline pumps,and have a setup that makesit easier to evacuate air bub-bles. Inline pumps can be use

with or without a reservoir.Reservoir-less pumps tend tobe louder and make it verydifficult to bleed out every airbubble; that’s a potentiallydeadly problem because if anair bubble lodges itself in thewaterblock, your CPU mightsuffer heat exhaustion.

As your peruse pumpoptions, keep your eyes onthe GPH (gallons per hour)and lift ratings. A pump thatmoves 100GPH is plenty forgeneral watercooling purpos-es, and lift, which refers tothe height that a pump canmove water, should be atleast 20 inches or so, lettingyou efficiently push water toall corners of your case.

With a little practice andsome smart shopping, you canput together an amazing cool-ing system unlike any otherfor far less than the price of akit. Just be sure to follow stan-dard safety precautions andtake your time putting thingstogether to avoid component-killing leaks. ▲

Water By Design

PC Modder • 13

3. Apply a thin layer of thermal grease to thetop of the CPU. Use the end of a plasticcard (you don’t really need that creditcard, anyway) to evenly spread the grease.

4. Slide the long screws through the moth-erboard and secure a washer and nut tothe backside of the mobo. This will keepthe screws in place as you affix your arrayof hardware on top of the motherboard.

5. This bag of hardware really isn’t as con-fusing to use as it first seems. You’vealready used four washers and four nutsto keep the long screws from sliding out

of the motherboard. Now you just needto finish the topside hardware configura-tion. Slide the plastic washers into placeand secure them with a nut. Slip a springand then a washer onto each screw andthen lower the waterblock into place.

6. Now drop a washer on each screw, andthen use the four gold nuts to tighten theentire assembly. Cross-thread the nuts tomake sure you apply pressure evenly, andwhen the waterblock is snug, make sureit covers the entire surface of the CPU.

7. Reinstall the motherboard, reattach allcables and wiring, and use ties to keepcables neat and out of the way of yourforthcoming cooling system components.

8. The radiator and reservoir are the twobiggest parts in this kit, so install thesefirst. In our situation, the space-hun-gry graphics card forced us to mountour radiator to a fan outlet at thefront of the case—our hoses would

have had very little clearance at thecase’s rear. We used two long screwsto secure the fan to the radiator, andthe radiator to the case, making sure

the fan oriented to blow through theradiator and out of the case.

9. Many reservoirs are large and hard toplace in a cramped case, but this watertank mounts neatly into a 5.25-inchdrive bay. No problem, right? Unfortu-nately, the hose connectors that shippedwith the reservoir didn’t fit the reser-voir’s inlet/outlet holes. We tried insert-ing the connectors at every angle with noluck, and brute force only threatened todamage the reservoir. Pressing deadlines

force us to improvise. We used a ciga-rette lighter to soften the threads on ourconnectors, which we then forced a cou-ple of millimeters into the reservoir.

10. We applied waterproof sealant to theleaky cracks around the connectors. Weused copious amounts of the sealant andsquished it into the cracks to makeabsolutely sure there would be no routefor water to escape, and then we let thesealant cure for 24 hours. Don’t cut cor-ners on the curing process unless you’renot worried about water dripping all over

your expensive circuitry. Once the gluedries, test the reservoir’s seals outside thecase, and when you’re sure there are noleaks, insert the reservoir into a drive bay,preferably a bay below your pricey DVDdrives. Secure the reservoir with screws.

11. Take the length of tubing and practicerouting it from component to compo-nent inside your case. You don’t have alot of extra tubing to work with, so don’tdo any cutting until you have a good ideaof how long each section needs to be.You will probably catch the hose tryingto kink at tight turns, and you can usual-ly prevent kinking by adding or subtract-ing a little of the tube’s length. The twosections that attach to the reservoirshould be on the long side. This extralength will let you slide the reservoir fromthe drive bay when it’s time to add water.

12. Cut a single length of tubing. We rec-ommend starting with the longest piece

14 • PC Modder

first. Use a sharp tool so you end up witha clean cut that rests snugly against eachcomponent. Slip a hose clamp over oneend of your tubing, lubricate the hoseand component barb with a little saliva,and push the hose all the way onto thebarb. Wiggle the hose clamp into placeand use pliers to squeeze it tight. Repeatthis procedure for each connection point.

13. Because this waterblock has three barbs,including a center inlet and outlets oneither side, you have to use a Y-connec-tor to bring the outlet hoses together.Cut the outlet tubes short, but longenough to give them some flexibility forthe Y-connector and also so you can

bend the outlet tubes slightly towardsthe reservoir. Remember that the plasticY-connector isn’t as tough as, say, themetal barb connectors on the waterblockor radiator, so make sure you don’t putundue pressure on this component byusing hoses that are too short. Don’t for-get to use hose clamps here, as well.

14. We partially disassembled our pump sothat we could slide the tubing onto the

barb; it took a lot of effort to push thetubing into place and we didn’t want toapply unnecessary force to the pump’sinnards. If you have to disassemble yourpump for any reason, be absolutely surethat you put it back together complete-ly; otherwise, you risk catastrophic leaks.We initially forgot to replace the plastictwist-lock for this pump, and waterwent everywhere—fortunately, we weretesting the pump outside the case, so nodamage occurred.

15. Double-check your circuit of tubingto make sure each connection issecured with a hose clamp. Verify thatthere are no kinks in your hoses.Position the water pump outside thecase for your initial water testing.After you have all your connectionsmade, it may be tempting to performa dry run before filling your systemwith water, but that’s a bad idea. Thatwaterblock is made to work optimallywith water, not air, so if you attemptto boot up, you’ll likely encounterheat-related problems, such as abortedstartups or error messages.

16. Unplug your PC’s power cable. Removeany super-precious components, such asthat $400 graphics card, the $200 RAMmodules, or the hard drive. If you areextremely paranoid about encounteringleaks on your system’s first run, you cantest the setup outside the case, butwhere’s the fun in that?

17. Slide the reservoir out a few inches andunscrew the cap. This particular reser-voir has a rather small fill hole, and it’s agood idea to use a funnel to keep waterfrom running all over the place. If youdon’t have a plastic funnel, just curl acouple of sheets of copier paper to forma temporary water guidance tool. Pourin a few cups of your distilled water andkeep an eye open for leaks, and then setdown the water jug and tilt your PC’scase back and forth to make the waterwork its way through the various con-nection points. Once everything lookswatertight, go ahead and pour in morewater, and keep tilting the reservoir to letthe fluid settle toward the water pump.

18. Once the tubing near the pump is full,plug in the pump and let it run for a

second. Pour in more water and run thepump again. Repeat this procedure untilyour hoses are free of air bubbles.

19. Top off the reservoir with the greencoolant. Don’t forget this step, ascoolant prevents rust and algae from

developing on your components, low-ers water temperatures a bit, and alsomakes your hoses glow green under ablacklight. Wicked. Turn off yourcomputer room’s overhead light andstart overclocking, Mad Modder style.

System MaintenanceEvery six months or so, it’s a good idea

to flush your system with distilled waterand refill it with fresh water and a newdollop of coolant. Examine each compo-nent to make sure there are no visiblesigns of corrosion, mineral buildup, ororganic growth. Then reassemble the sys-tem, and you’ll be ready for anotherstretch of overclocking.

by Nathan Chandler

PC Modder • 15

is a basically more expensive counterpartto PCMark04 that measures businessworkloads.

AquaMark3 ($9.95 and up; www.aquamark3.com), SPECviewperf 7.1.1($50; www.spec.org), and 3DMark03 Pro($19.95; www.futuremark.com) are videocard benchmarks. SPECviewperf measuresa card’s performance with the OpenGLAPI, while AquaMark3 and 3DMark03gauge cards using Microsoft DirectX 9.0and earlier. Most games are programmed touse DirectX rather than Open GL, soAquaMark3 and 3DMark03 are of moreinterest to gamers.

Finally, there are benchmarks madespecifically for testing hardware, such asNero’s Nero CD-DVD Speed V2.20for CD and DVD drives (www.cdspeed2000.com) and HD Tach 2.7 for harddrives (www.simplisoftware.com) .Sandra can also test such drives. Thesebenchmarks generally tell you how fasta drive can read and/or write data in avacuum; that is, without demands frommultiple processes or users. For a morerealistic look at how a new drive willaffect your system’s overall perfor-mance, use PCMark04 or a similar app-based suite.

Real-world testing. A more directway to benchmark apps and devices is to

M an, I raced some loudmouthkid last night,” your tunerfriend tells you. “All that

J.C. Whitney wannabe saw were my six taillights.”

“How fast were you going?” you ask.“What was your time to the next stoplight?”

“Uh, I forgot to look,” your friendhedges. “But it was awesome.”

PC modders have just as much need forspeed as the local gearhead. But you haveto admit that it makes for a much betterstory if you can show how much speedyour rig has on tap. Sure, your new 3Dcard may feel faster, but how much swifteris it, really? Is overclocking your CPU’sfrontside bus worth it? Will more RAMactually help the games and apps you use?

Benchmarking, or using software topin down your computer’s speed to ascore of some kind, may sound a little dryat first. But the first time you realize thatyou just gave yourself a 9% faster graphicscard with a quick—and free—overclock,benchmarking will get into your blood.You’ll not only be doing before-and-aftertests to try out new devices and tweaks,you’ll be comparing your system’s scoreswith your buddies before long.

Benchmark Brothers There are two basic types of bench-

marks. Synthetic ones are standardizedtests or suites of tests. Real-world bench-marks are measurements of how fast anactual application, game, or device canrun on your PC. Many benchmark utili-ties have free, limited versions, so trybefore you buy.

Synthetic. SiSoftware Sandra Pro-fessional 2004 (SP1) ($34.99; www.sisoftware.net) is a well-known synth-etic benchmark suite for various PCattributes. Sandra offers scores of granu-lar device and bus tests , as wel l asinstant comparisons to other devicesand PCs.

Futuremark’s PCMark04 Pro ($14.95;www.futuremark.com), mean-while, analyzes the speedof typical home userdemands. These includeantivirus, audio and video,encryption, and compres-sion duties. Futuremarkalso distributes a numberof other benchmarks madeby BAPCo, such asMobileMark for note-books, WebMark forInternet transactionspeeds, and SYSmark. SYSmark ($399.95)

Halo, like many other games, can rate yourgraphics card’s fps rate during a standard demo.This is considered a more real-world test than asynthetic benchmark.

“

BENCHMARK BASICSA Primer On Measuring Your PC’s Performance

Most synthetic benchmarks, such as 3DMark03,rate your system’s speed as a score of accumu-lated points.

16 • PC Modder

time how long it takes them to do com-mon tasks. For instance, you might usea normal stopwatch to time an AdobePhotoshop batch process or how long ittakes an MPEG-4 encoding utility toprocess a particular video clip. You canalso hand-time file transfers to and fromyour hard drive, as well as the length oftime it takes your burner to make aDVD or CD.

Meanwhile, games often have mecha-nisms that te l l you how many fps(frames per second) they can render,often during standard demos that areincluded with the game.

Both synthetic and real-world bench-marks have their uses, so run at least oneof each for a more complete picture ofyour PC’s prowess. “These two types ofbenchmarks definitely complement eachother, and we never advise any of ourclients to depend on only one bench-mark,” Sarkkinen says.

Ready, Set, Mark Now that you know what the types of

benchmarks are, it should be easier foryou to decide on which to use. The mainquestion is what part of your system

you’re trying to improvethrough overclocking or swap-ping parts.

For overall productivitywith office apps or media filetranscoding, you’d benchmarkwith PCMark04, Sandra, andyour individual apps. If you’remore interested in gameplay orCAD, though, you’d test with3DMark03, your apps, and/oryour games.

Before you benchmark forscores that you plan to com-pare with others’, prep your PCto run its best. Stop all otherprograms, including antivirus,firewall, and Windows’ SystemRestore. Set your card to theresolution, color depth (a mea-sure of the number of colorsthat can be displayed simulta-neously, such as 32 bit), andfeature settings that your com-petitors use. Finally, be sure

that your benchmark has the latest patchfrom the developer’s Web site and that

your motherboard, video card, and otherdevices are using the latest drivers.Futuremark lists drivers approved for usewith its benchmarks at www.futuremark.com/community/drivers/?approved.

On the other hand, for your own per-sonal frame-rate tuning, you might wantto keep your real-world FPS testing inthe real world. In other words, if youplay games online over a broadband con-nection, test your video card with yourantivirus utility and firewall running, too.There’s no point in finding your system’soptimal frame rate for a particular game’ssettings if the fps are going to plungewhen you turn on other essential apps.

3DMark03. You can start 3DMark03’sdefault tests by clicking Run 3DMark. Theprogram will run several interesting scenar-ios that look like they’ve popped out ofvideo games. 3DMark03 will time yourcard to see how fast it can render the scenes,as well as gauging its aptitude for variousgraphics features, such as Shader model 2.0.

To customize 3DMark03, click Change,Image Quality, or Texture Filtering. You’llbe able to adjust resolution, shader settings,

T he big “cheating” con-troversy last year has

admittedly been well-docu-mented elsewhere, but wehave to at least mention ithere. Basically, Futuremarkdiscovered that certainNvidia drivers seemed tobe optimized for better3DMark03 scores. In otherwords, a card with anNvidia GPU might outpacea comparable ATI-basedadapter in 3DMark03, butwouldn’t prove to be anyfaster in real-world appsand games.

Futuremark declined tocomment on the issue forthis article. However, itsrelease notes for Build 340of 3DMark03 state that itwas meant to disable any

optimizations in currentvideo card drivers. In otherwords, if a driver changeonly boosts performancein a benchmark program,not every game or applica-tion, Futuremark considersit a cheat.

“Nvidia works closelywith developers to opti-mize games for GeForceFX.These optimizations(including shader optimiza-tions) are the result of theco-development process,”says Nvidia’s Brian Burke.“This is the approachNvidia would have pre-ferred also for 3DMark03.”

“Both Nvidia andFuturemark want todefine clear rules withthe industry about how

benchmarks should bedeveloped and how theyshould be used,” Burkesays. “We believe thatcommon rules will pre-vent these types of unfor-tunate situations movingforward.”

Partly because of thisbrouhaha, at least oneprominent hardwarereviewer now eschewsbenchmark softwareentirely. Kyle Bennett,CPU columnist and ownerof [H]ard|OCP (wwwwww..hhaarrddooccpp..ccoomm) now favorshands-on gameplay andfps testing at a card’s bestimage quality settings asthe most important testingmethods (page 30, June2004 CPU). ▲

Cheater, Cheater

Futuremark’s new smartphone benchmark, shown here inan exclusive photo, can test phones such as the MotorolaA925; Nokia N-Gage, 7650, and 3650/3600; PanasonicX700; Siemens SX1; and Sony Ericsson P900.

PC Modder • 17

antialiasing, and texture options such asanisotropic filtering.

Sandra Standard 2004. To benchmarkyour computer with Sandra, scroll down tothe test you want to run, such as MemoryBandwidth, CPU Arithmetic, or CPUMultiMedia, and double-click it. If the testdoesn’t run immediately, click the Refreshbutton (the one with the blue arrows).

Sandra will display the results in a fewminutes or less. You can compare them toother system components using the drop-down menus.

Halo. To log Halo’s timedemo fps ratein WinXP, click Start and Run. Typecmd in the Open field, and pressENTER. Now type:

cd c:\program files\microsoftgames\halo

You may have to adjust the drive letteror file path if you’ve installed Halo on adifferent hard drive partition (such as d:)or in another folder (such as c:\mygames\microsoft games\halo). PressENTER. Next, type:

halo.exe -timedemo -vidmode1600,1200

Press ENTER. The –vidmode 1600,1200 part sets the resolution. You canchange this to other values, such as1024,768, but remember to separate theheight and width with a comma asshown. Press ENTER and sit back towatch the demo.

To read the results afterward, closeHalo and type the following at the com-mand line (again, adjusting the filepath asnecessary). Press ENTER.

cd c:\program files\micr osoftgames\halo\timedemo.txt

So My Scores Mean . . . What? If you’re just benchmarking to see how

much faster (or slower) your PC is after apart swap or overclock, it doesn’t matterso much what your scores actually are.What matters is how the “befores” com-pare to the “afters.”

On the other hand, if you want tobrag that your new 6800 Ultra Extremecan hit such-and-such a 3DMark03score, you need to make sure that

you’re setting up your benchmark inthe same way as your competitors. Forexample, Futuremark recommends thatyou set up 3DMark03 according to itsguide (www.futuremark.com/companyinfo/reviewers_guide_3dmark03.pdf)before you publish your benchmarkresults. There’s no point in matchingyour results against someone else’s ifyou tested in a nonstandard way. Evenone difference in settings can alter yourfinal score.

Some benchmarks have features thathelp you post your scores online or com-pare them with other users’, such as theAqua-Mark Result Comparator (arc.aqua-mark3.com/arc/arc_userhome.php) and3DMark-03’s and PCMark’sOnline Results Browser RB(http://sevice.futuremark.com/servlet/Index?pageid=/orb/index).

FPS. For fps testing ingames, your main goalshould be to find the high-est resolution at which youcan turn on a l l the eyecandy you want (antialias-ing, game detail, anisotrop-ic filtering) and still haveenough frames per secondto keep the play smooth.fps rates below 30fps—theframe rate of ordinary TVbroadcasts—are consideredunplayable. Although youmay not be able to con-sciously distinguish a dif-ference in frame rates muchfaster than that, there isevidence that your braincan. Faster f rame ratesmight even help you getbetter scores because themotion on-screen seemsmore fluid.

New ‘Marks Computer technology

doesn’t s tand st i l l , sobenchmark developersoften release new versions.“In PCMark04 we intro-duced test scenarios for

multi-CPU and hyper-threaded sys-tems,” says Sarkkinen. “Also, we justupdated the same benchmark to sup-port the latest 64-bit AMD CPUs.”

3DMark03 was the f i r s t majorbenchmark to support DX9’s Shadermodel 2.0, Sarkkinen says, and anupcoming new version will supportShader 3.0. In addition, Sarkkinen saysthat Future-mark’s new benchmark forSymbian-based smartphones should beready by the time you read this.

Whatever battery of benchmarks youchoose to use, it can help your PC be firston race day.

by Marty Sems

A t press time, this was the latest list of top 3DMark03(build 340) scores from Futuremark’s Hall of Fame

(www.futuremark.com/community/halloffame). Each PCran the benchmark at its default settings with graphicscard drivers approved by Futuremark. System specs areas provided by the users.

1. 16802 macci, ATI Radeon X800XT @ 766MHz/651MHz, P4EE @ 4,429MHz (18x246MHz, 1:1 RAM:fsb)

2. 16774 Team Finland (Macci, Kamu & Sampsa) ATI Radeon X800XT @ 760/652, P4EE @ 4,433 (19x 233)

3. 14524 OPPAINTER, ATI Radeon X800Pro @ 717/633, Athlon 64 FX-53 @ 2,976 (248x12)

4. 13540 XtremeResources.com 3D Team (oc-rookie), Radeon X800 Pro 735/640, P4EE 3,400

5. 13478 Jason57570, Sapphire Radeon X800 Pro @ 725/644, Athlon FX-53 @ 3,158 (242x13 @ 1.85v)

6. 13378 FUGGER, P4EE 3,400

7. 12988 X800Pro 16pipes MOD

8. 12486 Team Anti-X (OCSTUPID)

9. 12482 Boogotop X800 Pro

10. 12173 IC7 Anti-X.org

The World Records

18 • PC Modder

system bandwidth of up to 12.8GBps.HyperTransport transmits data at800MHz, which at double data rate canequal system bus speeds of 1600MHz.

Security. AMD's development teamworked closely with Microsoft to opti-mize Enhanced Virus Protection for itsnewer processors, including the Athlon 64FX-53. This feature, enabled by WindowsXP SP2, adds a new level of protectionagainst certain viruses such as MSBlasterand Slammer when used in conjunctionwith antivirus and firewall software.

In The FutureAt the time of this writing, the 939-pin

socket hadn't quite been released but will beout as you read this. AMD plans to movethe Athlon 64 FX family of processors tothe new 939-pin socket, leaving the 940-pinsocket configuration to the server and work-station Opterons. This also means theAthlon 64 FX-53 will no longer require reg-istered (and more expensive) DIMMs. TheAMD64 CPUs are currently the mostfuture-proof processors on the market forconsumers. Unfortunately, we'll only see thefull benefits of this leap in technology as 64-bit software becomes more prevalent.

by Andrew Leibman

AMD’S TOP CPU The Athlon 64 FX-53

A MD, the "other" processormaker and Intel's fiercest com-petitor, may not have the kind

of name recognition Intel enjoys, but it isquickly redefining itself as a force to bereckoned with. AMD's Athlon 64 seriesof processors seek not only to fill the 64-bit desktop computing gap left by Intel,but also to demolish AMD's bargain-basement underdog reputation in favor ofbeing the big green cheese. With therelease of the Athlon 64 FX-53, the sec-ond in a line of Athlon 64 FX processors,AMD has yet again set the bar.

Like its predecessor, the FX-53 uses the940-pin socket, which is the same socketused for the Opteron family of processors.The ZIF (zero insertion force) socket fea-tures a lever that locks down the processorwhen pushed down flush against themotherboard. To release the chip, simplypull the lever up so it is perpendicular tothe board.

AMD manufactures the core of theFX-53 at its Fab 30 wafer fabricationfacility in Dresden, Germany, using a0.13-micron SOI (silicone-on-insulator)process, which fits 105.9 million transis-tors on the 193mm² die. The processorhas a nominal voltage of 1.05.

Inside The Athlon 64 FX-53In a move to reduce memory latency,

AMD has moved the memory controllerfrom the northbridge to the die itself,which brings the transfer speed, usuallylimited by the memory bus, up to thesame frequency as the processor. Anotherthing to note about the FX-53 is thejump in clock speed. The differencebetween the 2.2GHz of the FX-51 andthe 2.4GHz of the FX-53 may not seemlike a lot, but the aforementionedimprovements make the FX-53 standapart as AMD's fastest processor.

64-bit capability. AMD's Athlon 64FX-53 is not only a high-end processor for

32-bit applications, but it brings 64-bitcomputing to the home-user arena. TheAthlon 64 processors are designed to han-dle the current 32-bit software, as well asemerging 64-bit software, without the aidof emulators. Although 64-bit applicationshave yet to really penetrate the home-usermarket, Microsoft was offering trial ver-sions of Windows XP 64-Bit Edition fromits Web site at the time of this writing. Inthe near future, Epic Games plans torelease a 64-bit beta version of UnrealTournament 2004, and Ubisoft is releas-ing a 64-bit beta version of Far Cry.

Multimedia instructions. Along withAMD64 instructions, the Athlon 64 FX-53 includes support for SSE (StreamingSIMD Extension), SSE2 (StreamingSIMD Extension 2), Intel's MMX tech-nology, and AMD's 3DNow! technology.Software developers use these instructionsets to improve audio and video encoding,which can enhance game performance.

Cache. The FX-53 features 128KB ofL1 cache, which consists of 64KB forinstruction and 64KB for data. Aside fromthe L1, the FX-53 includes a large 1MBL2 cache, which contains both data streamand instruction information. The FX-53’scaches are “exclusive,” which means theyare separate, while the Intel Pentium 4Extreme Edition CPU features “inclusive,”or combined L1 and L2 caches (where theL1 is essentially a part of the L2).

HyperTransport. HyperTransport is ahigh-speed, low-latency, universal chip-to-chip link, which is faster and more efficientthan traditional multilevel buses. Hyper-Transport technology is the replacementfor previous bus technology. The onecoherent HyperTransport link found onthe Athlon 64 FX-53 consists of a dedicat-ed up and dedicated down channel, each16-bits wide (32-bit bi-directional), thatcan transfer data at a maximum 6.4GBps.In addition, the integrated memory con-troller transfers data at 6.4GBps, for a total

AMD Athlon 64 FX-53Clock Speed 2.4GHzSystem Bus 1600MHz

L1 Cache 128KBL2 Cache 1MBL3 Cache N/A

Supported Chipsets NVIDIA nForce3, VIA K8T800, SiS755FX

Supported Memory Registered DDR PC1600, 2100, 2700, 3200

Manufacturing Process 0.13-micronSocket Type 940-pin

Special Features: Enhanced virus protection, simultaneous 32- and 64-bit capability, HyperTransport, system bus, integrated memory controller, exclusive L1 and L2 cache

PC Modder • 19

clock cycle efficiency decreases as aresult of deeper pipelines.

Hyper-Threading Technology. HTTechnology allows the processor to executetwo software program threads at the sametime, which, under normal circumstances,would sacrifice performance. Hyper-Threading-enabled Pentium 4 processorsdon't suffer that performance hit becauseHT Technology tricks the system intothinking it has two processors, whichtranslates to up to 25% faster performancethan non-HT-enabled Pentium 4s. HT isparticularly helpful for audio and videoencoding and generally improves theprocessor's ability to multitask.

What’s Coming . . .An Intel spokesperson we talked to said

that the Pentium 4s should reach 4 GHzby the end of the year. Despite this, Intelis looking to focus less on the clock speedand more to the other features, such as busspeed and cache sizes to more accuratelyidentify their processors. With regard toan Itanium-based processor capable of 64-bit computing for the home-user market,Intel says it wants to wait until more 64-bit applications hit the market, but offeredno further comment.

by Andrew Leibman

INTEL’S TOP CPUThe Pentium 4 3.4GHz Extreme Edition

I ntel has become a household name,and while some may not understandwhat Intel does, its name recogni-

tion in the computing industry stands sec-ond to only Microsoft. Power users knowIntel as the industry giant that has ledprocessors into the spotlight, and contin-ues to innovate and refine the technology.With the introduction of the 3.4GHzPentium 4 Extreme Edition, Intel haspushed the technology even further.

Intel's new 3.4GHz Extreme Editionprocessor, like its 3.2GHz older brother,works with 875P, 865PE, and 865Gchipsets, and fits into a 478-pin socket.The processor secures to the motherboardvia a ZIF socket, which features a leverthat locks the chip down when flush withthe board and unlocks it when pulled up.As we go to press, Intel is getting ready toshift the Extreme Edition, as well asPrescott, over to a 775-pin LGA socket.

The 3.4GHz P4 EE, based on theNorthwood core, is manufactured using a0.13-micron process, with 178 milliontransistors on a hefty 237mm² die. Theprocessor has a nominal voltage of 1.525.

Inside The Extreme EditionIntel's flagship processor is aimed at the

high-end consumer looking for the absolutepinnacle in 32-bit CPU performance. Asidefrom the blistering 3.4GHz clock speed,the latest Extreme Edition features anadvanced 800MHz system bus, which pro-vides 6.4GB of data per second into andout of the processor. The 800MHz datatransfers result from a buffering scheme andquad-pumping the data transfers over a200MHz clocked system bus.

Multimedia instructions. The PentiumIIIs include Intel's MMX microprocessortechnology, which allows a single instruc-tion to run simultaneously on multipledata items. Think of it like flipping onelight switch to turn on several lightsthroughout your house. Along with these,

the P4 adds new forms of 128-bit SIMD(Single Instruction Multiple Data) instruc-tions called SSE2 (Streaming SIMDExtension 2). While SSE instructions are128-bit packed IEEE single-precision float-ing-point operations, SSE2 instructionssupport 128-bit packed IEEE double-pre-cision SIMD floating-point operations,and 128-bit packed integer SIMD opera-tions. On a basic level, this means thatsoftware developers can optimize audioand video encoding streams to take advan-tage of the expanded instruction sets.

Cache. As a part of Intel’s NetBurstmicroarchitecture, the Pentium 4 has anadvanced L1 instruction cache, called theETC (Execution Trace Cache) that canstore 12KB of micro-ops, or µops. Byremoving the decoder from the main exe-cution loop, the ETC is able to store thealready decoded µops. As a result, theprocessor only uses the decoder when themachine misses and needs to go to the L2cache to get and decode new IA-32instructions, which makes cache storagespace more available.

Along with the 8KB L1 data cache andthe 512KB L2 Advanced Transfer Cache,the Extreme Edition features a massive2MB L3 cache, which is unprecedented inthe home-user market. The excessive sizeof the L3 cache lets it preload a graphicsframe buffer or a video frame on-die andretrieve it at native processor frequencies.In short, it improves game performanceand speeds up frame rates when accessingmemory and I/O devices.

Hyper-pipelining. All Pentium 4 pro-cessors have a 20-stage instructionpipel ine compared to the 10-stageinstruction pipeline of the Pentium IIIs.Intel has built their reputation on highclock speeds, which are possible becausethe Pentium 4s have twice the stages,allowing the CPU to do less work dur-ing each pipeline stage. One drawbackto this strategy is that the CPU's per

Intel 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionClock Speed 3.4GHzSystem Bus 800MHz

L1 Cache 8KBL2 Cache 512KBL3 Cache 2MB (on die)

Supported Chipsets 875P, 865PE, 865GSupported Memory Dual DDR400/333/266

SDRAMManufacturing Process 0.13 micron

Socket Type 478-pinSpecial Features: Hyper-pipelining/Hyper-Threading, Rapid execution engine, Execution trace cache, Advanced transfer cache, Advanced dynamic execution

20 • PC Modder

More Grantsdale FeaturesFinally, Grantsdale supports the new

BTX (Balanced Technology Extended)form factor, a motherboard specificationfor systems with small footprints and slimdesigns. BTX-compliant components arelaid out on the motherboard in such a waythat airflow is not blocked or disrupted byparts. Grantsdale systems and other BTXsystems will run cooler than most non-BTX competitors and may require fewercooling components. BTX boards are alsodesigned to better withstand the weight ofheavy components.

Intel will release another chipset at thesame time as Grantsdale. If you want evenmore power than Grantsdale offers,Alderwood (Intel 925) adds a few addition-al features and works best with the high-performance, but pricey Intel Pentium 4Extreme Edition processor.

by Kylee Dickey

GRANTSDALE GRANTS

INTEL USERS’ WISHESNew i915 Chipset Adds Many New Technologies

Intel's Grantsdale, also known as theIntel 915 chipset, is on the horizon,likely to premiere just before this issue

hits newsstands. The chipset should drasti-cally alter the face of Intel-based comput-ing, thanks to a variety of new technologies.

Grantsdale will replace the Intel 865chipset but will not support Win98/Me.Also, because Intel incorporates manyproprietary technologies in Grantsdale,motherboard options may initially belimited. How quickly manufacturersadopt the technology and pay the associ-ated licensing fees depends upon howwell Intel pushes the chipset's manygroundbreaking features.

Northbridge FeaturesGrantsdale stands out for its support of

the new DDR2 memory. Although initialDDR2 modules will not offer significantspeed improvements over DDR, eventuallyDDR2 will see considerable speed boosts.Also, DDR2 systems generate less heat thanDDR systems. Grantsdale's northbridge isbackward-compatible with DDR.

Grantsdale also includes many videoenhancements. Most notably, the chipsetincludes PCI Express x16, which offersmuch higher bandwidth than the previoushigh-end video standard AGP 8X.Current video cards act as a bottleneck toPCI Express x16's speed enhancements,but as video card technology matures,Grantsdale will take advantage of PCIExpress x16's speed.

The chipset comes in a 915G configu-ration with integrated Extreme Graphics3, which is a significant improvementover Extreme Graphics 2. However,third-party video cards will still providethe best graphics quality.

Intel links Grantsdale's northbridge andsouthbridge with a new technology called

DMI (Direct Media Interface), which han-dles speeds of about 100MHz between thenorthbridge and southbridge and clockspeeds of about 1GBps.

Southbridge OptionsWhen the ICH6-R southbridge is paired

with the i915 northbridge, Grantsdale sup-ports up to eight SATA ports. The south-bridge supports RAID 0, 1, and 0+1 foradditional storage and data security.

Another option is the ICH6-W south-bridge, which has a built-in WAP with sup-port for 802.11a/b/g WLANs. This lets acomputer act as a WAP, a useful functionfor both business and home users. While abusiness user may use a Grantsdale systemto create a wireless network and access workfiles, a home user may use a Grantsdale sys-tem to send digital video from a PC to acompatible home entertainment system.

Users who want to use Grantsdale with ahome entertainment system will appreciateIntel's HD Audio technology (formerlycalled Azalia), which features Dolby ProLogic IIx for 7.1-channel audio. Dolby ProLogic IIx converts 5.1-audio input into 6.1-or 7.1-channel output. Dolby Pro Logic IIxhas three modes, Movie, Music, and Game,to provide the most appropriate output forplaying on the PC. The Music mode canproduce Center Width (vocals balanced infront left, center, and front right channels),Panorama (which creates a wraparoundeffect), or Dimension (which alters thedepth of the surround sound) output.

In addition, HD Audio includes auto-matic audio-jack remapping. When a userplugs an audio device, such as a micro-phone or speaker, into a generic audio jack,the system automatically identifies thehardware type and maps the device appro-priately. All Grantsdale-compatible CPUswill have built-in HD Audio.

Intel Grantsdale ChipsetNorthbridge (i915)

FSB Expected to be 800MHzSupported Processors Intel Pentium 4

Supported Memory Dual-channel DDR2, dual-channel DDR

Maximum Memory (not announced at press time)

Integrated Graphics Extreme Graphics 3 (with 915G chipset)

Graphics Interface PCI Express x16Southbridge (ICH6-R or ICH6-W)

IDE/SATA Support for up to eight SATA ports

RAID 0, 1, 0+1Networking 10/100/1000 Ethernet,

integrated WAP (with ICH6-W southbridge)

Audio HD AudioFeatures: PCI Express x16, integrated WAP (with ICH6-W southbridge), RAID 0/1/0+1, DDR2 support, HD Audio, Extreme Graphics 3, DMI (Direct Media Interface), support for up to eight SATA ports, BTX form factor, and Dolby Pro Logic Iix with 7.1-channel audioEstimated Release Date Late June 2004

PC Modder • 21

southbridge chips include 1/10MbpsHomePNA for affordable home network-ing through a phone line.

64-bit Support For SiS-basedMotherboards

If one thing is certain, it is that SiSeagerly pounced on AMD's latest technol-ogy. As the first chipset for the AMDAthlon 64FX processor, the SiS 755FXchipset with SiS964 southbridge offered afull set of features to Athlon 64FX-com-patible motherboards. Just a few monthslater, SiS rolled out the SiS965 south-

bridge, which adds numer-ous improvements to itsAMD 64FX-compatibleboards. The SiS 755FXchipset, as the last SiSchipset to support the AGP8X external graphics inter-face, has left an impact onAMD Athlon 64FX com-puting.

by Kylee Dickey

SPECIAL FXSiS Adds Support For AMD's Athlon 64FX CPU

W hen SiS introduced the755FX chipset in Novem-ber, it boasted that the

chipset was the first to support the 939-pin Athlon 64FX CPU. The 755FX alsoprovided a 1GHz HyperTransport inter-face for faster data transfer. We used the755FX chipset in the “AMD Athlon 643400+ & ECS 755-A2” and “AMDAthlon 64 3000+ & Jetway S755MAX”articles on pages 68 and 81 in this issue.Shortly after we ordered parts, SiSreleased the SiS 756 chipset. Specs for the756 chipset are in the AMD-CompatibleChipsets chart on page 196.

In addition to support for AMD'sAthlon 64FX, the SiS 755FX also sup-ports AMD 64 and AMD OpteronCPUs. Neither the 755FX nor the 756support Athlon XP, and as far as we can tell, SiS plans no further Athlon XP chipsets.

Northbridge FeaturesThe SiS755FX northbridge has a FSB

of 1,000MHz and a transmission speedof up to 8GBps. The chip supports AGP8X/4X external graphics, which is note-worthy because the SiS755FX is likelyto be the last SiS chipset to carry AGP8X support. The new SiS 756 supportsonly the new PCI Express x16 and PCIExpress x4 technologies.

SiS’ HyperStreaming Engine technol-ogy provides the 755FX with multiplepipelines through which data can travel,eliminating delays and “bottlenecks” indata transmission. The HyperStreamingEngine also reserves a channel for multi-media data transmissions for higherquality video streaming and videocon-ferencing.

Other northbridge features includeFast Write Transaction and STR support.Depending upon the CPU coupled withthe SiS 755FX, the northbridge can

accept up to 3GB of memory throughthree DDR400 DIMMs at bandwidths ofup to 3.2GBps.

The 755FX links the SiS755FX north-bridge and southbridge (currently eitherSiS964 or SiS965) with MuTIOL 1Gtechnology’s 16-bit, bidi-rectional data bus (1GBpsin 133MHz x 4 mode).

SouthbridgeThere are currently two

southbridge pairings for theSiS755FX northbridge.The first is the SiS964,which was released at thesame time as the SiS755FX northbridge.The second option is the SiS965, whichSiS introduced on Feb. 25 of this year.Both southbridge chips include animpressive list of features, but the SiS965is guaranteed to wow many users.

SiS964. The SiS964 southbridge pro-vides a number of features to the SiS955FX chipset. It adds two independentSATA 150 ports (for data transfer rates ofup to 150MBps for storage devices), eightbuilt-in Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, AC'975.1-channel surround sound, 10/100-BaseT Ethernet, v.90 modem support,dual-channel parallel ATA 133/100/66,and RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD.

SiS965. The newer southbridge chip,the SiS965, adds several enhancementsover the SiS755FX/SiS964 pairing.SiS965 motherboards have four SATAports rather than two. Users will also seean improvement in networking andaudio. Ethernet support is propelled from10/100-BaseT to Gigabit Ethernet con-nectivity. Audio gets a big boost, too,advancing from 5.1-channel AC'97 to7.1-channel surround sound through theAC'97 2.3 standard. In addition to theSiS964's 10/100Mbps Ethernet and the SiS965's Gigabit Ethernet, both

SiS 755FX ChipsetNorthbridge (SiS755FX)

System Bus 1,000MHzSupported Processors AMD Athlon 64, AMD

Athlon 64FX, AMD OpteronSupported Memory Three DDR400 DIMMs

(dependent upon CPU support)

Maximum Memory 3GB (dependent upon CPU support)

Integrated Graphics N/AExternal Graphics AGP8X

SupportAdditional Northbridge HyperTransport

SpecsSouthbridge (SiS964 or SiS965)

IDE/SATA Supports ATA133/100/66 (SiS964), ATA133/100 (SiS965), two SATA ports (SiS964), four SATA ports (SiS965)

RAID RAID 0, 1, JBODNetworking 10/100 Base-T (SiS964),

10/100/1000 Base-T (SiS965)

Audio AC'97 5.1-channel (SiS964), AC'97 2.3 7.1-channel (SiS965)

Features: MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps),eight integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and Full Speed USB controllers, supports six PCI slots (SiS964), supports six PCI2.3 slots (SiS965), supports two PCI-Express x1 slots (SiS965)Released: Nov. 13, 2003 (SiS755FX northbridge and SiS964 southbridge); Feb. 25, 2004 (SiS965 southbridge)

22 • PC Modder

V IA’s latest Intel Pentium 4 chipset,the PM880, is designed for multi-media applications such as playing

DVDs in a media center PC. As a special-ized chipset, the PM880 will meet the needsof its target users very well, but may not beideal for other users, such as gamers. Thischipset was just released in March. PM880motherboards were not yet available whenwe built systems for this issue. However,VIA’s PM880 has a number of features,including S3 Graphics UniChrome ProIGP, that make it worth covering.

Northbridge FeaturesThe PM880's northbridge supports a

variety of display technologies, includingCRT, LCD, and, most notably, HDTV(including resolutions of up to 1,080p).The PM880 northbridge includes aChromotion CE Video Display and abuilt-in decoder engine that handles muchof the processing, compression, decompres-sion, and decoding of MPEG-1 andMPEG-2 video. A VIA PM880 system isunique because the chipset carries out those tasks rather than loading videodecoding onto the processor. Therefore, aPM880-coupled processor does less workand runs cooler. The MPEG-2 decoder iscompatible with many familiar DVD-play-back programs, including CyberLinkPower-DVD, InterVideo WinDVD, andMicrosoft Windows Media Player.

The Chromotion CE Video Displayapplies a number of video-rendering tech-nologies to DVD playback. For example,ADT (Adaptive De-interlace Technique)optimizes video display by determining thebest display technology on a pixel-by-pixelbasis. ADT selects either the Bob or Weaveprocess for each pixel of video on a progres-sive-scan display. Bob technology produces

better results in video with motion, andWeave technology results in better video inrelatively still scenes. ADT evaluates whichpixels represent moving objects and appliesBob technology to those pixels, while at the same time applying Weave technologyto pixels that represent still objects. Anotherkey technology in the Chromotion CEVideo Display is video deblocking, whichenhances images to make compressed video look less pixelated on-screen.

The most notable trade-off for thePM880's video-display features is its200MHz, 3D graphics engine, whichincorporates a UMA, sharing 64MB of theoverall system memory. This is not a prob-lem if you buy a PM880 motherboard forits intended use in a media center PC, butwill be an issue in a high-performance orgaming system.

Other northbridge features include AGP8X support for an add-on video card, aDualStream 64 dual-channel DDR400memory controller with support for up to8GB of DDR400/333/266 SDRAM,Hyper-Threading support, video accelera-tion, multimonitor-display capabilities,three 12-bit digital-video ports, video-cap-ture ports, and an 800MHz FSB.

Southbridge FeaturesAlthough not as feature-rich as the

northbridge, the VIA VT8237 southbridgeadds several features to a PM880 board.The VT8237 supports four PATA 133/100ports and up to four SATA devices, andRAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, or JBOD(Just a Bunch Of Disks; a group of harddisks that acts as a single volume) configu-rations. The southbridge also has built-inGigabit Ethernet.

The southbridge includes VIA VinylAudio with six-channel audio support

CHIPSETENTERTAINMENT

VIA’s PM880 Chipset Ready For Media PCs & HDTV

VIA PM880 ChipsetNorthbridge (PM880)

System Bus 800MHz/533MHz/400MHzSupported Processors Intel Pentium 4

Supported Memory dual-channel DDR400/333/266

Maximum Memory 8GBIntegrated Graphics S3 Graphics UniChrome

Pro IGPExternal Graphics Support AGP 8X/4X

Additional Northbridge SpecsDualStream 64 Dual-Channel DDR400 memory controller, Hyper-Threading support, video acceleration, multimonitor display support, video-capture ports, UMA (Unified Memory Architecture)

Southbridge (VT8237)IDE/SATA four PATA 133/100 ports,

up to four SATA devicesRAID RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID

0+1, and JBODNetworking Gigabit Ethernet

Audio VIA Vinyl Audio with six-channel audio support through VIA Six-TRAC AC'97 audio codec and VIA Vinyl Gold Audio with eight-channel audio sup-port through VIA Envy 24PT PCI audio controller

Features: Hi-Def video HDTV output up to 1,080p, MPEG-2 decoding, 2D/3D graphics engine, Chromotion CE Video Display Engine, dual 128-bit pipelines, SATA, V-RAID, VIA Vinyl Audio, Gigabit Ethernet with VIA Velocity controller, part of V-MAP (VIA Modular Architecture Platform), Ultra V-Link (1GBps), eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, three 12-bit digital video ports

Released March 12, 2004

through the VIA Six-TRAC AC’97 audiocodec. The VT8237 also supports VIAVinyl Gold Audio with eight-channel surround sound when the chipset is builtinto a motherboard that includes the VIAEnvy 24PT PCI audio controller. Finally,the VT8237 supports eight USB 2.0 ports.

A Specially Tailored ChipsetThe new VIA PM880 chipset was

designed for a distinct type of systemand does not compete directly with theother chipsets we covered in this section.However, the advanced video capabili-ties and number of features make this astrong offering by VIA.

by Kylee Dickey

PC Modder • 23

nents, and use a variety of system tools. Aswith the UDA, NVIDIA supports the USEacross its product line.

Finally, it is worth mentioning thatNVIDIA manufactures the nForce3through a 0.15-micron process rather thanthe 0.22-micron process that is standardwith other chipsets in the industry. Theresulting smaller size of the nForce3 leavesmore room on the motherboard for manu-facturers to add companion chips, addi-tional slots, and other features to theirnForce3 boards.

NVIDIA's new chipset will likelyattract the most attention simply becauseof its support for AMD's 64-bit proces-sors. However, a number of storage, net-working, and other features make thenForce3 more than simply a chipset for64-bit computing.

by Kylee Dickey

NVIDIA's nForce2 wowed themasses with its integrated graph-ics, networking options, and

audio technology. NVIDIA's newest single-chip MCP chipset, the nForce3, may beeven more impressive than its predecessor.

With its single-chip design, the nForce3operates with low latency. nForce3 systemsalso run cooler, thanks to the combinationof northbridge and southbridge features ina single chip.

Whereas the nForce2 worked withAMD's Athlon XP processor, the nForce3has dropped Athlon XP support, insteadgraduating to 64-bit computing. ThenForce3 MCP is compatible with AMD'sAthlon 64 and Athlon 64FX CPUs. AnnForce3 Pro chip is compatible with the64-bit Opteron processor.

Many of the nForce2's features, such asDualNet, FireWire, and NVIDIA Sound-Storm audio, are absent from the nForce3.The new chipset focuses more on network-ing and RAID support. The 2Gb nForce3MCP even integrates the hardware-based,network-level NVIDIA Firewall andGigabit Ethernet. The firewall includesadvanced configurations, such as remoteaccess and CLI, but also a novice-friendlyconfiguration wizard

StreamThru Data Transport technologywith an isochronous controller makes net-work data transmissions more efficient andsmoothes streaming audio and video. AHyperTransport link connects the nForce3to an Athlon 64FX or Athlon 64 CPU (orthe nForce3 Pro to an Opteron CPU) at upto 8GBps.

Southbridge FeaturesThe nForce3 integrates hardware-accel-

erated RAID with support for RAID 0,RAID 1, and RAID 0+1 configurations.

Support for up to six ATA/133 devices isbuilt into the nForce3. SATA support isalso included, and nForce3 250Gb boardsinclude disk-independent SATA controllers

The nForce3 supports HomePNA 2.0PHYs and 10/100-BaseT Ethernet. ThenForce3 250Gb chipset also has built-inGigabit Ethernet. The nForce3's net-work features include ASF, autonegotia-tion, flow control, traffic prioritization,and support for IPv6, TCP segmenta-tion, and TCP/IP offload.

The MCP supports up to eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports and AC'97 2.1 audiofor up to six channels of output. A DualAC-Link allows up to two audio codecs.nForce3 systems can incorporate S/PDIFoutput to either stereo or AC-3. NVIDIA'sNVMixer Application lets users adjustaudio settings, such as recording optionsand speaker settings. SoundStorm audiotechnology may be available as an add-oncompanion chip in the future.

Northbridge Features & Other HighlightsMost of the nForce3's most impressive

features are those typically found in asouthbridge chip. However, NVIDIA's lat-est MCP does have a couple of northbridgefeatures. First, the nForce3 supports AGP8X and AGP 4X for add-on video cards.HyperTransport Technology improves datacommunications and supports transmissionrates of up to 800MBps.

As with all of NVIDIA's products, thenForce3 follows NVIDIA's UDA (UnifiedDriver Architecture), which ensures thatNVIDIA's products will be compatiblewith past and future software drivers.

The UDA is part of the wider NVIDIAForceWare USE (Unified SoftwareEnvironment). This set of utilities lets usersmonitor systems, configure system compo-

MAY THE FORCEBE WITH YOU

NVIDIA's nForce3 Chipset

NVIDIA nForce3 MCP (single-chip chipset)Northbridge

System Bus Up to 400MHzSupported Processors AMD Athlon 64FX,

AMD Athlon 64Supported Memory DDR400/333/266Maximum Memory 2GB

Integrated Graphics N/AExternal Graphics

Support AGP 8X/4XSouthbridge

IDE/SATA Built-in SATA disk controller and ATA/133 disk controller

RAID 0, 1, 0+1Networking Built-in Gigabit Ethernet

(with nForce3 250Gb)Audio N/A

Features: Single-chip MCP design, built-in hardware-based firewall (nForce3 2Gb only), 64- and32-bit support, up to eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, comes with NVIDIA ForceWare USE (Unified Software Environment; with system-monitoring and configuration utilities), wide support from mother-board manufacturers, integrated chipset processor, and StreamThru Data Transport

Released Sept. 23, 2003

24 • PC Modder

work to make your system more stablebefore using it in an overclocked state foreveryday use.

Intel Active Monitor 1.2Bundled with Intel motherboardswww.intel.com/design/motherbd/active.htm

Although most of the utilities we'llcover have been written by individualprogrammers or by smaller companies,some larger companies provide theirown overclocking tools with their moth-erboards. For a summary of some of theoverclocking utilities that ship with pop-ular motherboards by manufactur-ers, such as AOpen, ASUS, Chaintech,and Leadtek, see the "MotherboardsWith Great Utility" chart on page 28.

One example of a motherboard manu-facturer that bundles a useful overclock-ing utility is Intel. Typically, Intel'smotherboards are not very overclock-friendly, but its Intel Active Monitor util-ity can perform several useful functionsfor the overclocker. Intel Active Monitoris available with desktop motherboardsbased on Intel technology.

Active Monitor consumes less than 1%of system resources and tracks system tem-peratures, voltages, and fan usage. The soft-ware notifies the user if a failure occurs. Forinstance, if the processor begins to overheator if a fan stops working properly, ActiveMonitor will provide on-screen notification.Alert options include pop-up dialog boxes,alert tones, and altering the Active Monitoricon in the System Tray. Active Monitoralso displays basic system information, suchas processor type and speed, motherboard,integrated chipset, and installed memory.

If you buy a motherboard based on a 915G or 915P chipset (Grantsdale), a925X chipset (Alderwood), or a newerchipset, you cannot use Intel ActiveMonitor. Instead, Intel will provide anew, similar application called IntelDesktop Utilities.

PassMark BurnInTest Professional 4.0$49 ($22 for Standard, $24 forPerformanceTest, $34 for Standard +PerformanceTest)www.passmark.com

W hen you overclock a system,you want to have the besttools on hand. Of course,

you want the right system componentsand an effective cooling system, but theright software can also aid your quest forspeed. There is a variety of utilities avail-able to help you adjust system settings,monitor your system's performance, con-trol temperatures, detect hardware fail-ures, prevent component damage, and getthe best overclocks possible.

The Basics Of OC UtilitiesThe operation of these programs varies,

but several of the utilities maintain lowerCPU temperatures by sending the proces-sor an instruction to sleep or consume lesspower when it is not active. This is especial-ly helpful for Windows 9x systems, whichdo not automatically perform any such pro-cedure. Later versions of Windows issuecommands to the CPU during idle time.

Other overclocking utilities performadvanced system monitoring so you areaware of the effects of your overclockingefforts, including sudden spikes in powerusage or CPU temperatures. Many utili-ties aid in overclocking by soundingalarms or shutting down the system if the components overheat or if a fan fails.Many overclocking utilities can monitorsystem temperatures, voltages, and fanspeeds, provided that your motherboardhas built-in sensor chips that can detectsuch system changes. Controlling thetemperatures within your PC can notonly increase your odds of a successful

overclock, but can also increase the life ofyour computer and its components.

There are also several utilities availablethat let you adjust overclocking settings,such as the FSB and core voltage, withoutentering the BIOS or rebooting your sys-tem. By taking advantage of the best over-clocking utilities for your system, you canusually push your system further and alsoprevent component failure.

Finally, some utilities are stress testsand are not designed to improve or moni-tor system performance. Instead, theseutilities run a series of resource-intensivetasks designed to tax the CPU and othersystem components. After a successfuloverclock, you should run one of theseutilities designed to place a heavy work-load on your system. If your overclockedsystem cannot run one of these programsfor several hours, you probably need to

ESSENTIALOVERCLOCKING

UTILITIESPower Modding Is As Much About The Right

Software As The Right Hardware

PC Modder • 25

PassMark's BurnInTest Professional isuseful for testing the stability of varioussystem components when overclocking.BurnInTest runs a variety of stress tests tosimultaneously test each of a PC's majoroperations. These tests will expose anyproblems with components' stability andendurance before you begin using the sys-tem for day-to-day use after overclocking.Although the stress tests could cause a system component to fail, it should failimmediately rather than days or weekslater when you could lose critical datafrom such a failure.

BurnInTest is multithreaded and simul-taneously taxes the processor, memory,hard drives, sound cards, video cards, andoptical drives to ensure that the system isstable. In fact, it can test a combination ofup to 20 hard drives, floppy diskettes, andoptical drives at the same time. It also testsnetwork connections, printers, and videoplayback. A Standard Edition is available,but does not test tape drives or ports (USB1.x/2.0, serial, and parallel).

Although BurnInTest does not sup-port DOS, it does support Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server. You can logthe results of the utility's stress tests ondisk in either ASCII or HTML format.You can also export log results to otherprograms in BMP, GIF, or EMF for-mat. You can even add your own notesto the Notes and Machine ID fields of alog file. Finally, BurnInTest supportssending logs to a printer.

BurnInTest is highly customizable andlets users designate the load to place oneach component during a stress test. Thesoftware keeps a running count of opera-tions performed and summarizes thisinformation along with basic systeminformation, such as CPU type, speed,and serial number.

You can try BurnInTest for 30 daysbefore paying for a $49 license. BurnIn-Test is compatible with several commontemperature-monitoring utilities, includ-ing Intel Active Monitor, HMonitor,MotherBoardMonitor, and SpeedFan. ThePro edition includes several perks that theStandard edition lacks. One of the mostnotable is that the Pro edition can not onlytest dual- and quad-processor systems, but

it can also test only a single CPU within amultiprocessor system.

CPU MonitorFreewarejongrieve.net/cpumon

CPU Monitor is a CPU-monitoringutility for Win9x, single-processor system.Newer versions of Windows are not sup-ported because the newer Windows OSesperform the same basic functions as CPUMonitor. CPU Monitor's operation isfairly simple. An icon in the System Traygraphically represents real-time CPUusage. As your computer performs varioustasks, you can watch the CPU usage peakor drop back to near-idle levels.

You can see a more detailed analysis of your CPU usage in the Details dialog

box. There, CPU Monitor displaysprocessor usage information in graph format.

CpuIdle Extreme$30www.cpuidle.de

CpuIdle is one of the longest-runningoverclocking utilities, developed byAndreas Goetz. It operates by using a vir-tual driver (cpuidle.vxd) to run an HLTcommand that suspends operation of theprocessor in Win9x systems. The HLTcommand is executed in Ring 0 of theWin9x kernel, a portion of the Win9xarchitecture that other programs do not

access. In fact, the first release of CpuIdledid not operate in Ring 0, and as a resultthe utility did not work. A VxD namedcpuidle.vxd was added to CpuIdle andfuture versions and now issues the HLTcommands in Ring 0.

CpuIdle acts to keep the processor cooland, as a result, makes the entire systemmore stable. The utility lets you monitorboth the CPU idle and cooling timesfrom an on-screen display. The softwarecan read MBM sensors, monitor the tem-perature, and act accordingly to cool thesystem if possible or shut the systemdown if temperature issues are critical.

When the processor needs to wait foranother device before it can proceed, anHLT command from CpuIdle tells thesystem to stop the clock. The processorenters suspend mode, which saves powerand keeps temperatures low. The CPUstays in suspend mode until there is aninterrupt, NMI, or reset.

If your processor has built-in power-saving technology, the HLT commandwill also send the processor into pow-ersaving mode. CpuIdle continues to run and control your PC's temperature,even when you're using your system.Therefore, it is one of the more proactiveprograms, as it can kick in and controlthe CPU temperature even as you per-form other computer-related tasks.CpuIdle also optimizes the operation ofthe motherboard's chipset to ensure thecoolest operation possible.

Using CpuIdle can be a little bit dis-concerting if you monitor the CPU usage.When the utility runs, CPU usage regis-ters at 100% because CpuIdle uses allexcess processor idle time to send theHLT commands that keep the systemrunning as cool as possible.

CpuIdle boasts support for most cur-rent processors. Those newer processorsthat do not have official support may stillwork with CpuIdle through its genericsupport for processors and chipsets.CpuIdle also works even with dual- andmultiprocessor systems.

CpuIdle is compatible with the tem-perature-monitoring utility MotherBoardMonitor. A Win9x/Me-compatible copyof CpuIdle costs $20. The WinNT/XP

BurnInTest Professional displays system infoand summarizes system performance duringits tests.

26 • PC Modder

edition is called CpuIdle Pro and costsjust $30. CpuIdle Extreme was released atthe end of 2003 and supports a numberof chipsets not supported by previous edi-tions of CpuIdle. The Extreme editionsupports VIA KT600, SiS 730, SiS 733,SiS 735, SiS 746, SiS 748, and SiS 755. Italso lets you disable CpuIdle automati-cally when designated programs are run-ning. CpuIdle Extreme is available forWin9x/NT/Me/XP and costs $30. Theprice of all editions of the CpuIdle utilityinclude free product upgrades.

According to the authors of CpuIdle,even though WinNT/2000/XP havebuilt-in HLT instructions during CPUidle time, the OS does not take fulladvantage of potential HLT commands.These versions of Windows can only sendthe HLT command when the OS recog-nizes the BIOS and ACPI implementa-tion. Although users can expect to seegreater improvements with the CpuIdleon a Win9x/Me system, users should stillsee some benefits from using CpuIdle ona WinNT/2000/XP system.

Finally, CpuIdle performs one otherfunction to halt the CPU and keep asystem cool. Many newer chipsets willonly allow the processor to be stoppedafter they are programmed to allowHLT instructions. This process isknown as chipset optimization, andCpuIdle can ensure that the chipset doesnot interfere with the execution of anHLT command. CpuIdle is compatiblewith most older and modern processorsand chipsets. A complete list of sup-ported hardware is available at www.cpuidle .de/features .html#cpus andwww.cpuidle.de/features.html#chipsets.

CTemp 3.0Freewarestrip.se/prog/ctemp.html

CTemp is a 16-bit application that iscompatible with Win9x and OS/2.CTemp 3.0 is written for Asus TX-seriesmotherboards but, according to the soft-ware's author, may work with mother-boards with the LM75 or LM78 sensorchips. CTemp displays voltage and thetemperature of both the processor and

motherboard in either degrees Celsius orFahrenheit. If temperatures rise above asafe level, a warning appears on screen.Built-in temperature-correction tools arealso included, and you can select a datarefresh rate ranging from one second to99 seconds.

Other editions of CTemp are available,including CTemp LT 1.0, which moni-tors only the motherboard. This is therecommended edition for those whosemotherboards don't include CPU sensorchips. The other CTemp utility isCTemp MINI 1.0, which is like CTempLT, except that it does not monitor volt-ages and lacks on-screen alarms.

Gigabyte EasyTune 4Bundled with some Gigabyte motherboardswww.giga-byte.com

EasyTune 4 is a user-friendly applica-tion that comes with many Gigabytemotherboards. This software performs thestandard operations, such as monitoringsystem temperatures, voltages, and fanspeeds. It tracks not only power usage forthe CPU, but also the AGP bus and thememory. If system components start tooverheat, EasyTune 4 will sound analarm. Similarly, if a cooling fan fails, theutility will warn the user.

Users can tweak BIOS settings and over-clock a system from within EasyTune 4

rather than entering the BIOS to nudge thesystem's performance. Although EasyTunelets users adjust the FSB, CPU multiplier,CPU voltage, AGP voltage, and memoryvoltage in the utility's Advanced mode,there is also an Easy mode that providesfewer power modding options, but thatmakes overclocking simple for the novice.

JAM HeavyLoad 2.0Mailware (freeware, but requires that youemail or send a postcard)www.jam-software.com

JAM Software also makes a utility thatcan help you test the stability of an over-clocked system. HeavyLoad does exactlywhat its name suggests: stresses various PCcomponents, such as the processor, memo-ry, and hard drive. You can use HeavyLoadto test the stability of your system after anoverclock. As with most utilities that testthe stability of a system, HeavyLoad pro-vides the most reliable results when you letit run for several hours. Usually a mini-mum of six hours is suggested.

HeavyLoad works by writing a large file to the temp folder. It also does otherwork, such as drawing continually evolv-ing patterns in an on-screen window andallocating physical and virtual memory.You should restart Windows after runningHeavyLoad because the program tends tofragment system memory as it runs.

HeavyLoad is mailware, free to use butwith the stipulation that you send theauthors an email message or postcard indi-cating which version you use, how youfound it, and any errors you've encountered.

Hmonitor 4.1 Pro$29 (one- or two-system, personal-copylicense)www.hmonitor.com

Hmonitor is one of the better-knownOC utilities. As its name suggests, itmonitors the heat and voltage of themotherboard, but it can also controlCPU operation, as well.

The most recent version at press time isHmonitor 4.1. This utility by AlexanderBerezkin is also known as HardwareSensors Monitor. It monitors both the

Several overclocking utilities, such asBurnInTest Professional, let you configure settings for more devices than just the CPU.

PC Modder • 27

Motherboards With Great UtilityMany manufacturers include hardware-monitoring and overclocking utilities with theirmotherboards. The chart below summarizes some of the utilities motherboard manufac-turers provide.

Company

Web Site

Name OfSoftware

Features

Abit

www.abit-usa.com

uGuru

OC NOW! (changeBIOS settings withoutrebooting), save threeBIOS settings to use forspecific applications(such as gaming orburning CDs), AutoReboot (automaticallyreboots if the over-clocked settings don'twork), Smart BIOSFlash (downloads andinstalls BIOS updateswhile leaving your BIOSsettings intact), automat-ic system shut down tosave components incase of hardware failure

ASUS

usa.asus.com

ASUS PC Probe

Tracks systemtemperatures,voltages, and fan speeds. In-dicates infor-mation such asCPU type, CPUspeed, and mem-ory usage. Audioalarms sound ifthe tempera-ture or voltageexceed user-defined limits.

Biostar

www.biostar.com.tw

WarpSpeeder

OverclockManager,OvervoltageManager, andHardware Manager

Chaintech

www.chaintechusa.com

APOGEEOverclocking Utility

Lets users adjustvoltage and FSBspeed. APOGEEOverclocking Utilityalso monitors tem-peratures and fanspeeds.

AOpen

english.aopen.com.tw

AOpen HardwareMonitoring Utility (alsoknown as IntegratedTechnology Express'Smartguardian)

Monitors CPU temp,system temp, fanspeed, and voltages

EZClock

Lets usersadjust the volt-age, FSBspeed, and fre-quency of VGA,AGP, PCI, andDRAM. Alsomonitors fanspeeds, volt-ages, and tem-peratures.

system and CPU temperatures using amotherboard's sensor chips. A list of com-patible sensor chips is posted at www.hmonitor.com/hmonfaq.html#General.In addition to tracking temperatures,Hmonitor also monitors system voltagesand the operation (or failure of) any cool-ing hardware.

The Hmonitor icon appears in theSystem Tray for quick access to the data itcollects. When a system overheats, Hmon-itor can sound an alarm, shut down the system, or, with the corporate edition ofHmonitor, email a system administrator.

A Lite edition of Hmonitor is alsoavailable, as are a variety of licenses,including personal-use and corporate-use licenses.

Hmonitor is compatible with Win9x/NT/Me/2000/XP. The first month ofusage is free, after which you mustbuy a license. The software supports mostcurrent CPUs, including even 64-bitprocessors, such as AMD's Athlon 64.

Motherboard Monitor 5.3Freewarembm.livewiredev.com

Alexander van Kaam's MotherboardMonitor is a common name in the over-clocking world. This freeware monitorstemperatures and voltages from a sensorchip on the motherboard. Whereas someprograms (such as Ctemp) only work witha very limited number of motherboardsand sensor chips, Motherboard Monitor iscompatible with a wide selection ofchipsets and sensor chips. A full list ofcompatible motherboards is available atmbm.livewiredev.com/mobolist.html. Youcan find a list of compatible chipsets atm b m . l i v e w i r e d e v . c o m / a b o u t . h t m l#chipsets and a list of compatible sensorchips at mbm.livewiredev.com/about.html. Motherboard Monitor works withWin9x/NT/Me/2000/XP systems.

At its most basic level, MotherboardMonitor displays sensor chip-provideddata, such as voltages and temperatures,in a dialog box that you can access quick-ly through an icon in the WindowsSystem Tray. Motherboard Monitor goesa step further, also recording this data in alog file for later viewing. It can monitordata both when the system is at full load and when the processor is idle.

Motherboard Monitor can also worktogether with some other utilities, such asDynamic Worlds' ShutDown NOW! Ifyou install ShutDown NOW! and enableit in Motherboard Monitor's setup, youwill gain added protection for your sys-tem. If your CPU starts to overheat or if a fan fails, Motherboard Monitor canlaunch ShutDown NOW!, which willautomatically shut down your PC andprevent damage. CPU Heat Up is anotheradded utility, which can add a load to the processor if it starts to get coldenough to cause condensation from apeltier cooling system.

EnTech Taiwan PowerStrip 3.4$29.95www.entechtaiwan.com

PowerStrip is a utility designed specifi-cally for graphics overclocking and otherhigh-end video applications. However, ithas some tools that make it useful forother types of overclocking, as well.

One of PowerStrip's main videofunctions i s managing mult imoni-tor displays. The utility supports manymanufacturers' video cards and runs on Win9x/NT/Me/2000/XP. Othergraphics-related features include color-correction tools, display settings, andgamma adjustments.

28 • PC Modder

PowerStrip can also perform func-tions useful in general overclocking.For example, this utility can adjustclock speeds, making it a useful tooleven for those who don't plan totweak display settings, configure amultimonitor display, or overclock agraphics card.

PowerStrip's built-in diagnostic toolsmonitor the system and track Windowsresource usage. The utility can work toimprove the use of system memory. Asmany of the overclocking utilities do,PowerStrip includes a system-idlethread for versions of Windows that donot have built-in system-idle commands.

If your interests go beyond simpleoverclocking and into the video realm,you will find PowerStrip's many toolsworthwhile. For example, the utility letsyou configure hotkeys to adjust graphicssettings. With the press of a button, youcan adjust the gamma to lighten darkscenes in a first-person shooter and returnto the default settings when your charac-ter returns to a well-lit room.

PowerStrip is a free trial download,and a single-user license costs $29.95.Make sure you visit EnTech Taiwan'ssite to download the correct PowerStripapplication. A different company makesan IE toolbar called PowerStrip that is acompletely different program. At press

time, EnTech Taiwan had a 64-bit ver-sion of PowerStrip in beta testing.

GIMPS (Great Internet Mersenne PrimeSearch) Prime95 23.8Freewaremersenne.org/prime.htm

This well-known program doesn'tactually aid directly in overclocking yoursystem. However, system stability is oneof the most important factors in over-clocking a PC. If you want to test the sta-bility of a system, installing Prime95 andforcing the PC to perform computations,searching for prime numbers is a greatway to give your computer a workout.

Prime95 was designed for Intel-compatible PCs. However, several AMD

processors have also handled Prime-95's work just fine. When you usePrime95 to tax a system's resourcesand determine the stability after anoverclock, you should let the softwarerun for several hours, preferably atleast six.

Leading Wintech Rain 2.0FreewareNo active Web site (can download fromwww.majorgeeks.com,www.benchtest.com, and other sites)

Leading Wintech's Rain is anotherwell-known name in the overclockingworld. This program is no longer sup-ported, and the manufacturer's Web sitehas been removed. You can still findmany copies of Rain floating around the Internet, though, on sites such aswww.majorgeeks.com and www.benchtest.com. Wintech Rain operatesmuch like CpuIdle. Rain sends an HLTcommand to stop processor opera-tions during idle times. This keeps over-all system temps lower and reducesstrain on the CPU.

Because Rain is an older program thatis no longer supported, it is best for usewith processors that are of the same eraas Rain's last release. If you want to OC a Win9x/Me system with an older

This chart demonstrates how drastically system tempscan drop when using CpuIdle.

EPoX

web.epox.com

USDM (UnifiedSystem DiagnosticManager)

Monitors systemtemperatures, volt-ages, and fanspeeds.

Gigabyte

www.giga-byte.com

EasyTune 4

Monitors systemtemps and fanspeeds and displayseffective CPUspeed. Lets userschange the FSBspeed, CPU multipli-er, CPU voltage,AGP voltage, andmemory voltage.Has Easy andAdvanced settingsto accommodatenovice overclockers.Has warning alarmswhen fan speed ortemperature getstoo high.

Intel

www.intel.com

Intel ActiveMonitor

Consumes lessthan 1% of sys-tem resources;tracks temps,voltages, andfan speeds;has failure notifications;and displaysbasic systeminformation.

Leadtek

www.lead-tek.com

Speed Gear

Monitors anddisplays basicsystem infor-mation, suchas the proces-sor speed, fanspeed, andsystem tem-perature.

MSI

www.msicom-puter.com

MSI PC Alert4

Monitorsprocessortemperature,fan speeds,and voltages.

SuperMicro

www.supermicro.com

SuperO Doctor III

Software designed formanaging servers,but it includes hard-ware, temperature,voltage, and fan mon-itoring.

Soltek

www.soltek.com.tw

SoltekHardwareMonitor

Tracks tem-peratures,voltages, andfan speeds.

SmartDocAnti-burningShield

Presentsalarms whensystem'stemps or volt-ages are toohigh. Inextreme situa-tions, will shutPC down with-in three sec-onds to avoiddamage tocomponents.

PC Modder • 29

processor, Rain could be the right utilityfor the job.

Remember when you use a programsuch as Rain that the processor onlystops when it's idle. When you are usingCPU-intensive applications, the proces-sor will get just as warm as it wouldwithout Rain, so it's a good idea to havealternate cooling methods in place inaddition to this utility.

SpeedFanFreewarewww.almico.com

This is one of the utilities that is stillupdated frequently. At press time, themost recent update was released May 13,2004. If you've used SpeedFan in thepast but not recently, you may bepleased to learn that SpeedFan nowsupports NVIDIA video cards.

Almico's SpeedFan serves severalroles. First, it uses sensor chips to moni-tor fan speeds, motherboard and proces-sor temperatures, and voltages. Second,if your hard drive has SMART function-ality, SpeedFan can access the SMARTdata and also monitor the hard drivetemperature and generate SMART harddrive data reports. When used with afew select motherboards, SpeedFan canalso alter the FSB, eliminating the needto first enter the BIOS.

SpeedFan is not only compatiblewith a variety of chipsets and sensorchips, but it can also monitor severalchips at once. It can also display a varietyof temperatures from those devices,whereas some software can only displayone temperature at a time. Similarly,SpeedFan can monitor multiple voltageand fan readings.

SpeedFan first monitors the tempera-ture and voltage of various system compo-nents and then adjusts fan speeds accord-ing to your preferences to keep the systemat the proper temperature, voltage, andperformance levels. Alfredo Milani-Comparetti (who designed SpeedFan) sug-gests using a minimum fan speed of thehighest value at which you hear no fannoise and using a maximum fan speed of100. In order for SpeedFan to adjust fan

speeds, however, you must have a compat-ible motherboard with compatible sensorchip. Check www.almico.com/forumindex.php for the most recent list of sup-ported hardware. SpeedFan is compati-ble with Win9x/NT/Me/2000/XP andMotherboard Monitor 5.

Vcool 1.7Freewarevcool.occludo.net

Vcool does the same thing many of theother utilities do in that it reduces theprocessor's power level when it's idle.However, Vcool is designed for a certaintype of system and must therefore go aboutthis task in a different way than other utili-

ties do. Specifically, Vcool is for use with asystem using an AMD processor and amotherboard with a VIA chipset.

According to Vcool's creator, AMD'sAthlon and Duron processors can onlyenter a low-power state after the system busis disconnected. Complicating matters, theVIA northbridge will not disconnect the busunless the Bus Disconnect Enable bit is setand the processor is in a Stop Grant state.VCool sends the CPU into the Stop Grantstate by issuing its own idle loop. Once theprocessor is in this state, the VIA north-bridge can issue a bus disconnect, therebyputting the CPU in low-power mode.

In addition to lowering power usage,VCool shows the current processor tem-perature in the System Tray. You canalso configure VCool to automatically

slow the processor down if it gets toohot. VCool can also shut the systemdown if temperatures rise too far. VCoolrequires a system with Win98 or high-er and a VIA VT8371, VT82C691/693A/694, or VT8363 northbridge anda VT82C686x southbridge.

Leading Wintech Waterfall Pro 2.9FreeNo Web site active (can download fromwww.majorgeeks.com, www.benchtest.com,and other sites)

Leading Wintech's Waterfall Pro 2.9 isa familiar name to those who have beenoverclocking for a while. Similar to theother programs that take advantage of

CPU idle time, Waterfall executesHLT instructions to reduce powerusage. The HLT instruction is executedin Ring 0 of the OS kernel, and accord-ing to Leading Wintech, no VxD isnecessary to do this. Other programssuch as CpuIdle use VxDs to executethe HLT command. Some systems willrun better with Waterfall, others with aVxD-based utility.

Waterfall keeps a log of the CPUinstructions and HLT commands. Byclicking a Waterfall icon in the SystemTray, you can access data about the per-centage of commands that have beenHLT commands, designed to cool thesystem and reduce power usage.

Only The Tip Of The IcebergAlthough we've presented six pages

worth of overclocking utilities, we'vebarely begun to cover the programs thatare available to help you push your systemto the limit and ensure that your compo-nents, although overclocked and pushedto the maximum, will live to see anotherday. Installing overclocking utilities is oneof the smartest things you can do whenpower modding because you can improveyour overclocks and prevent damage toyour system. Most of the overclockingutilities are bundled with motherboards,available as freeware, or priced veryaffordably as shareware.

by Kylee Dickey

HeavyLoad places strain on the processor, as shown inthe chart above. It uses a variety of resource-intensivetasks to push the CPU. One of these tasks is displayingthe pattern shown in the top half of the window above.

30 • PC Modder

SIZING UP SOCKETSHow Your Processor Saddles Up

Y ou may know your Athlon 64 FX-53’s specs backward and forward,from its memory bus speed to its

number of FPUs (floating point units). Butthat cowboy is going nowhere without hishorse. Time to learn about the socket yourprocessor rode in on.

Here’s a partial list of CPU socketsthat are common today. Most are ZIF(zero insertion force) sockets, such asAMD’s new 939-pin socket for theAthlon 64 and 64 FX. The tiny metal legson the underside of a CPU’s package,called a PGA (pin grid array), fit into

holes in the socket. A lever on the side ofa ZIF socket controls pressure on a PGAprocessor’s legs, which holds them inplace. To remove a CPU, pull the leverslightly to the side away from the socketand then lift it 90 degrees until it’s point-ing straight up from the motherboard.You can now lift out the processor anddrop in a different one. Lock the newchip in place by reversing the steps above.

Intel’s new LGA775 (land grid array)socket will wear the pins in the family, orrather slender contacts that resemble pins.The socket’s 775 contacts correspond to

lands, or conductive pads, on the PrescottPentium 4’s new package. A load plateholds the processor package against thesocket under pressure to ensure that eachland makes good contact.

As a bonus, we’ve thrown in a fewsockets for embedded processors, whichare often soldered permanently in placeand are not removable. These chips,mainly used in mobile devices, may havemetal bumps called BGAs (ball gridarrays) instead of legs.

by Marty Sems

Socket 939 Socket 940

LGA775 Photo courtesy of Soltek.Socket 478

PC Modder • 31

CPU Sockets

940-pin

754-pin

478-pin

462-pin (Socket A)

423-pin775-contact (LGA775 [land grid array]; Socket T)939-pin

370-pin

AMD Athlon 64 FX (early)

AMD Athlon 64 (early), Athlon XP (late)Intel Pentium 4 (including early Prescott core), P4 Extreme Edition, CeleronAMD Athlon XP, Athlon (late), Duron

Intel Pentium 4 (early)Intel Pentium 4 (later Prescott core)

AMD Athlon 64 (late), Athlon 64 FX (late)VIA C3, Eden, Antaur (CPGA), Intel Pentium III (late), Celeron

940-pin

611-pin

418-pin

462-pin

603-pin604-pin

330-pin (slot)495-pin (slot)

AMD Opteron

Intel Itanium 2

Intel Itanium

AMD Athlon MP

Intel Xeon, Xeon-MPIntel Xeon

Intel Xeon (early), Pentium III XeonIntel Pentium III Xeon

478-pin

479-pin

754-pin

462-pin

603-pin 495-pin

474-ball

399-ball

783-ball

Intel Pentium M, Mobile Pentium 4, MobilePentium 4-M, Celeron M, Mobile CeleronIntel Pentium M, Mobile Pentium 4-M, Celeron MAMD Athlon 64 for Notebooks

AMD Mobile Athlon XP/XP-M, Mobile Athlon 4, Mobile DuronIntel Mobile Pentium 4-MIntel Mobile Celeron

Transmeta Crusoe

Transmeta Crusoe

Transmeta Efficeon

Socket 754Socket 462

Socket 370Socket 423Diagram courtesy of Intel.

Desktop Server Mobile

32 • PC Modder

T here are afew mod-

ding tools you’llneed besidesthat Dremel.You do have a

Dremel, don’t you? [Ed.—Er, mygirlfriend in Canada borrowed it.]

Whether you’re splicing wires orcrimping them into connec-tors, you’ll want to solder themfor permanency. Nothing says“newb” like a case full of wirenuts and electrical tape.

This Harbor Freight house-brand gun comes with threetips, flux, and a teensy-tiny bitof rosin-core solder. There’seven a replaceable lamp on thefront behind a tough plastic

lens. The users manual—highlydetailed for a soldering iron, Imight add—cautions that the tipcan reach 1,135 degrees Fahrenheit.It goes on to warn you not to usethe gun when tired or under theinfluence of drugs, alcohol, or med-ication. Yeah, like those aren’t myperiods of peak productivity.

Be sure to use solder with adecent silver content for the bestconductivity, along with its rec-ommended flux. Don’t follow myexample and just use whatever sol-der is handy. Let the twisted,fluxed wires heat the solder, notthe gun tip. And don’t let themolten metal wick past the twist-

ed strands, or you’ll make astiff section that will weakenif bent.

Finally, don’t forget to slipshort lengths of heat-shrinktubing up each wire beforesoldering them. After youmake each joint fast, slide thetubing down over it andshrink it with a heat gun orhair dryer. Easy. ▲

THE MAD MODDER’STOOLKIT

Minireviews, Meanderings & Musings

O nce upon a Tuesday dreary, while I modded, weak andweary, over many a quaint and curious record by the band

The Doors—while I tinkered, numbly singing, suddenly therecame a pinging, as of someone gently ringing, ringing at myinbox door.

“’Tis some editor,” I muttered, “Pinging at my inbox door—only this and nothing more.”

“Do another Mad Modder’s Toolkit,” quoth my editor’s email.“Nevermore,” I replied. “Do it, you reclusive freak!” [Editor—I don’t really sound like

that.]“Fine,” I said. “But it will cost you.”

First off, I resent being called “mad,” although the pseudo-nym unfairly given me by CPU does allow me to live in peace, asopposed to inside a small, locked, lead-lined box in the clutchesof my adversary soon after publication of my real name.

Secondly, just to show you what I had to put up with in thecourse of this assignment, I’ve left in selected revision notes frommy editor. If Van Gogh had encountered editorial flak like this,he wouldn’t have stopped with his ear, I can tell you.

And now, without further doodoo, this edition of MadModder’s Toolkit, for which I demanded and received a fullcask of Amontillado and a bust of Pallas. Readers of the previ-ous issue will notice that I have included more actual tools inthis Toolkit, ‘cause no one expects you to do your best mod-ding work with your fingernails. At least, you shouldn’t have toin most countries.

If you’re looking mostly for sexy blue lights and other fishing-lure stuff, you should flip to “Light My Fire” on page 176 in thisissue. And on a personal note, guys who go around datingwomen named Lenore deserve what they get, anyway.

by Mad Modder

Chicago Electric 180-Watt IndustrialSoldering GunI paid: $9.99Available at: www.harborfreight.com

PC Modder • 33

S o what’skeeping

your computerfrom being a realentertainmentappliance? That

boot time, son. But here’s aCD/MP3 disc player that’s inde-pendently powered, so you canturn it on without even startingyour PC.

What’s more, the Hub is alsoa 16X DVD-ROM drive and anFM radio with SRS audio pro-cessing, EQ, and an IR remote.A flashy vacuum fluorescent dis-play shows you where most ofyour money went. That displayhinges downward to reveal the

A ny PC canbe mobile if

it has enoughhandles. This par-ticular handle

reminds me of the shipping cases Ischlepped when I roadied forGWAR. Ahhh, Slymenstra, stillyou haunt me. [Ed.—Did GWARcome before or after Slipknot? I getthem confused.]

This good-looking, spring-loaded handle is solid. It’sstamped, but it’s stamped from

heavy-gauge steel, and all of itseight rivets are tightly set. Thehard rubber grip had some mold-ing flash, but I pared it away.And the durable finish reminds

me: Check out the HotCoatpowder coating kits at www.eastwoodco.com if you’re looking fora tough alternative to paint oranodization for your mod case.

This should go without saying,but don’t mount a handle like thisin a panel that can’t support theexertion. If in doubt, go aheadand install it. Then pick up yourPC by the new handle and shakevigorously for a few minutes.[Ed.—Really?] No. Not really. ▲

T here’s noth-ing muske-

teerish about thispretty drive baygauge cluster, atleast not in the

military or literary senses. Maybe it’sthe three blue dials Cooler Master isreferring to. Whatever, dawg.

Stuff the Musketeer into a drivebay. Run its thermal probe as nearto your heatsink’s center as you canget it and tape or thermal epoxy itin place. Now run your CPU fan’swires through the Musketeer soyou can control the fan and viewits voltage (from 6V to 9V in my

unit), and thus a rough indicationof its speed, on the left-hand dial.Next, patch in your sound card soyou’ll have a front volume controland a live VU meter, in theory.

Finally, whip a power supplyconnection into the back, and,well. . . .Unfortunately, theMusketeer’s powerconnector dislodgedfrom its circuitboard as soon as Iplugged a Molex 4-pin into it. I’m pret-ty sure it’s not sup-posed to do that.

Furthermore, the VU meterand volume control only workeduntil I actually plugged a stereoheadphone jack into them. WhenI give up a drive bay, a power lead,and a PCI slot, I’d like a bit moreusefulness in return. Avoid. ▲

Asour VPC-1000 DVD MultimediaAudio HubI paid: $199.95Available at: www.coolerguys.com

Black Powder Coated Case HandleI paid: $15.95Available at: www.voyeurmods.com

Cooler Master Musketeer LLC-U02 I paid: $36Available at: www.cuttingedgecasemods.com

disc tray. Neat! (Nevermind what a nice book-shelf stereo you could getfor $200. Push it out ofyour mind.)

The downsides: Youdon’t get any DVD play-back software, and themax volume level maynot be enough for someusers with passive headphones.Also, one WinXP Home PC did-n’t recognize the drive, butanother with WinXP Pro did.And would it have killed Asourto base the VPC-1000 on one ofSamsung’s excellent CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drivesfor a few bucks more?

Ah, well. I’m nitpicking. Pop ina DVD of the first “Halloween,”or maybe “Nightmare on ElmStreet,” and you’re all set to mod.What, you’re gonna tell meFreddy Krueger wasn’t a DIYer?Look at those cool gloves he made,and he was even technically deadat the time. ▲

34 • PC Modder

D ust! I hatedust.

Fortunately, Ihate cleaningeven more, so I

have lots of free time. That doesn’tmean that I want my systemsclogged with fuzz and dirt, whichcan heat things up, like in “TheChina Syndrome.” A dirty case is even more unforgivable in amod with transparent sections.

Who wants to look at a scummycold cathode?

I like to fit my intake fans withfilters like these. They remind me of the grease hoods over theonion ring vats at one of my jobs I can talk about. Fan-style screwsare included.

Just remember to hose these filters out every once in a while.Remove them from your case first, fool. ▲

K eepspaghetti

where itbelongs—in acan. [Ed.—Philistine.] Atangled mess o’wires in your PCnot only looksbad, but it keepsair from circulat-

ing everywhere it needs to. It alsomakes simple R&R operations inthe field harder than necessary.“Nurse! Clamp!”

Using TechFlex’s UV red sleev-ing kit and Connectorz’ p/schangeover kit, I was able tosleeve my power supply cables.The black, opaque Molex connec-tors made a nice counterpoint tothe frilly, ultraviolet-reactive redsleeves in a paean to what toomany newbs lack: a sense of taste.[Ed.—Better put in a disclaimeragainst eating these, then.]

Er, I was talking about restraintin adding colorful frou-frou, dearEditor, not literally the taste of theconnectors. [Ed.—Oh. Sorry.]

Which reminds me, dearEditor, of how little recognitionyou receive for all you do. Letme take this moment to paeanyou. [Ed.—Wow! Thanks.] ▲

S ometimes, youjust need to

make a quick cut.And you don’t havetime to deal withdangerous gases, cos-mic rays, or nasty

smoke. A nice, variable-speed jig-saw like this one is what you need.

Toolless blade and footangle changes make thischopper a pleasure to use,although the latter is limitedto 90 and 45 degrees. Thetrigger lock is ambidextrous.There’s a speed dial on thepeak of the grip, which isinlaid with rubber and has apalm swell. Near the speeddial, my factory-recondi-tioned saw has the word“RECON” branded into it.

Now I know what all those sol-diers in Half-Life: OpposingForce were yelling about—theywere supposed to be refurbishingeverything, not shooting at me!

Anyway, think of the Skil 4380as a B-movie spacecraft. Look inthe place where you would expectrear photon torpedoes or seismic

charges to pop out, and you’ll finda trap door for spare blades. Thisappeals to the kid in me. Finally,there’s a big lever on one side ofthe saw that makes the cuttingaction smooth (straight up anddown) or orbital (“Back, and tothe left! Back, and to the left!”).

Drill a pilot hole before you cut,and you’re off. Use metal-cut-ting blades of the right type,such as T or U, and stick tohigher tooth per inch counts,such as 24tpi or 32tpi. And ifyou put some tape downbefore you cut, you’ll spareyour case a lot of scratches.

Remember, modding is about building things.The nihilistic fun of chop-ping and gouging is just aside benefit. ▲

Skil 4380 Orbital Cut VariableSpeed JigsawI paid: $39.99Available at:www.harborfreight.com

Techflex Case Mod ExpandableWire Sleeving Kit UV Red #1903I paid: $14.95Available at: www.jab-tech.comConnectorz Power SupplyChangeover Kit Black Pro Series#2167I paid: $9.95Available at: www.jab-tech.com

80mm Aluminum Fan Filter Silver I paid: $4.95Available at: www.coolerguys.com

PC Modder • 35

O K, soCraftsman is

not my favoritebrand for anythingbut hand tools.After problems

with a Craftsman air compressor(no interior rust protection andL-O-U-D), garage door opener(fragile plastic drive gears), andlawn mower (hard-starting, non-adjustable carburetor), I feel justified in my bitterness. Youdon’t have to kick me in the head a fourth time. Sears may

be coasting on the Craftsmanname and the exorbitant prices itbrings, but boy, do they makegood inert metal objects.

I once shunned magnetic-tipscrewdrivers around computerequipment, but that was before

dropping my nine millionth tinybolt into an inaccessible caserecess. And forget those ratchet-style, pseudoergonomic screw-drivers; they’re utter crap whenyou’re working with computers.Very few bolts in your PC turnwith enough friction to overcomethe screwdriver’s ratchet mecha-nism, so you’ll wind up holdingthe shaft with your fingers as youcrank with the other hand. A regu-lar screwdriver is faster—but acordless, variable-speed model isfaster yet. ▲

S olids. Liquids.Gases. Most peo-

ple, sadly, are satis-fied with control overjust three states ofmatter. You, howeverare not most people.You are a modder—unless you are yet

another minion of my arch-neme-sis, in which case I should warnyou that you are in no way beingpaid enough to take me on. I amready for you. [Ed.—Whateveryou’re taking for your paranoia,MM, up the dosage.]

A plasma cutter, such as thisvery nice example fromHypertherm, uses your filtered

compressed air and a wholelotta electricity to create afourth state of matter, plas-ma, which in this case hap-pens to be hotter than someneighborhoods on the sun.Plasma slices anything metal-lic—mild steel, aluminum,titanium—like so muchwarm butter. Complex win-dow shapes and blowholes await.Hint: Use the edge of something toguide your nozzle.

This model comes set up for115V, but you’ll want to flip theswitch and replace the plug for230V operation for best results.Don’t forget your welding maskand gloves. And if you’re muttering

to yourself about how a jigsaw cando almost the same thing for 5% ofthe cost, I must question your dedi-cation to the art. Modding is allabout fun, is it not? I posit thatthere are few things more fun thanblowing slag at 8,500 degreesFahrenheit. [Ed.—Uh, back toEarth, please.] ▲

W ant a cus-tom paint

job on your towerwithout the cus-tom price tag?

Skin it. Send FrozenCPU.comthe dimensions of your case asillustrated on the site, then sitback and wait for your adhesivedesign to arrive. When it does,clean your case, stick on theskin, and start a-trimmin’.

If you have fans, windows,or latches on your case’s sidepanels, try to choose a designwith a focal point that won’t be

lost when you cut out those sec-tions. Skins are available for vari-ous tastes, and they ain’t all politi-cally correct. Some are delightfullytacky, in a beyond-Lara Croft sort

of way, and practically guaranteedto drive away potential girlfriends.

Heh. “No Peace” reminds meof the pre-Altamont era, sort of.“No hummus, no peas!” Or some-

thing like that. I was too busywhispering rhetoric in the earsof very, very earnest girls inberets. I fervently believedwhatever the girl with me atthe time believed, which meantthat I enjoyed the decade morethan most. [Ed.—Back ontopic, please.] ▲

PolyGFX No Peace Case SkinI paid: $59.99Available at: www.frozencpu.com

Craftsman 7 pc. MagneticScrewdriver Set I paid: $9.99Available at: www.sears.com

Hypertherm Powermax380Plasma CutterI paid: $999Available at: www.harrisweldingsupplies.comwww.hypertherm.com/company/north_america.htm

36 • PC Modder

T hey may call me mad, but Iain’t crazy. I will use no

mouse before it’s Bungeed. WhenI am asserting my dominance overtwitch-happy wannabes in afragfest, I do not want the dis-tracting resistance of my mouse

cord rubbing on the back cornerof my work surface.

The genius of the often-imitated,never-duplicated Mouse Bungee isthat it holds the tail of your wristweasel a few inches off the desk toavoid entanglement in the usual

kipple. Dualsprings offer justthe right amountof give when, in itsexcitement, yourpalm rodentmoves beyond theslack in its leash.

The MouseBungee’s base hasskid-resistant feet(paws?) and a pol-ished metalweight, so it’s not

going to skitter around your deskunless you get really frisky. Thatweight could even make a formi-dable slingshot missile in a survivalsituation, although you’d have tobreak the Bungee to get at it. Forless dire scenarios, I recommendpracticing a basic overhead swing-ing maneuver while you’re stillholding onto the mouse. A sharpcrack with a Bungee at velocitymight slow or stop a moderatelydetermined attacker, even if you’retaken by surprise. [Ed.—Please getback to reviewing this product.]

In the end, a Mouse Bungee is a cheap way to alleviate thefrustrations typically attendant in a finger ferret. And there’seven an Unreal Tournament2004 version. Recommended. ▲

I t never fails toamaze me how diffi-

cult it is to take aMolex power connectorapart without hurtingit. You should havemore options than

smashing or snipping, in my opin-ion. Now you do, thanks to thishandy tool.

It looks like a blackhead removerfor robots, but it’s not. [Ed.—Eww.] As my editor is demonstrat-ing in the photo, you slip the sleevetip into the connector, then hold

both tightly as you push onthe spring-loaded plunger.This makes adding UV-sen-sitive or color-coordinatedconnectors a cinch.

Actually, my samplemade working with female,full-sized, 4-pin Molex con-nectors a cinch. The tipplunger didn’t retract enough toaccommodate male connectorpins, which led me to suspect thatI’d received the Female Molex PinRemover instead of the Universaljobby I ordered. Anyway, the

Remover’s tip is also too fat tohelp you with floppy drive, fan, ormotherboard power connectors,but ConnectRight does sell otherpin removers that cover some ofthese bases. ▲

B ack when weused to roll

our own roundedcables, we worrieda little bit aboutcrosstalk betweenwires. (Actually,some of my ex-

associates worried more aboutcrosstalk from mothership toskull, if you follow me. Everwatch a nervous type try to cam-ouflage his shiny foil helmet from

imaginary black helicopters?Entertainment is where you find it.)

Anyway, this EIDE cable offersindividual aluminumshielding for each wire, plusa grounding strap. Theupshot is supposed to befewer data errors from EMIand crosstalk, and hencefaster data transfers. VendorIOSS/VICS Technologyclaims that independent

tests showed a 10dB noise reduc-tion for this cable over a regularATA/133 ribbon cable. And itsure looks serious. ▲

ConnectRight Universal MolexPin RemoverI paid: $9.99Available at:www.frozencpu.com

RD3XP-A32-K Gladiator 18” EMIShielded Server Grade ATA Cable(Two Device)I paid: $19.99Available at: www.highspeedpc.comwww.hardwarecooling.com

Mouse BungeeI paid: $9.95Available at: www.mousebungee.com

PC Modder • 37

W hat youwould tear

asunder, you mustalso be able torejoin. And noth-ing joins sheetmetal like a MIG

(metal inert gas) welder. With a bit of practice, you’ll

be able to do some amazingthings to your mod PC’s case.How about a custom air scoopon the top instead of a blowhole,sucking cool air like the Weiandblower in “Mad Max”? Howabout a jet exhaust afterburneron the back, lighted with a redcold-cathode tube that brightensas the dynamic fan speed revs up?

The best partabout a MIG is thatyou can swap gascylinders and wirespools to weld dif-ferent metals, so youcan tackle yourLian-Li aluminumcase or a stainlesssteel DeLoreanfender as easily asyour cheap steeltower. Just thinkwhat some custom aluminumbrackets or hinged panels coulddo for your silver streak.

Figure on about $175 for abig, refillable gas cylinder of75% argon/25% CO2 for mild

steel; smaller units are available.And if you skip your weldinghelmet and fry your eyeballs out,don’t come crying to me. [Ed.—I’m not sure if that counts as alegal disclaimer.] ▲

S ometimes time isshort. Sometimes

your heart isn’t in it.Sometimes you justwant to do a quickmod, not a work of art.

At times like these,there’s no shame in installing aslick, prefab kit like this one. It’s precut, it looks good, and it won’t suck up your wholeweekend. You know in yourheart that you could have donebetter making one from scratch,anyway.

This new “Radiant” acrylic iskind of neat. It’s reflective, like agold-tinted mirror, until lightedfrom behind. Ibought it alongwith a red cold-cathode 80mmsleeve fan ($10;31cfm/28dB/2,700rpm) and anold-school atomsymbol fan grill($4.49) fromCuttingedgecasemods.com. It’s

gonna look right at home abovethat No Peace case skin, kind ofcomic-retro. Dig it. ▲

H ere’s a bay-mount fan and

temperature controllerthat looks like a carstereo. It has fourtemp probes and leads

for four fans, plus automatic fanspeed control based on tempera-ture, so it’s much more usefulthan the Musketeer in this arti-cle. Its LCD is backlit in blue.

Now the bad news. TheHardcano 12 does not act as ahard drive cooler as some online

retailers claim. EvenThermaltake catego-rizes it in its HardDisk Drive CoolerSeries. I feel a bitcheated. Also, one ofthe temp probeswasn’t connectedinternally, andanother didn’t workat all.

Finally, theHardcano’s bezel and buttons feelchintzy. Press one button, and the

rest wobble around. Still, the con-trols are intuitive and the thingdoes work, mostly. ▲

Thermaltake Hardcano 12I paid: $64.95Available at: www.crazypc.com www.coolerguys.com

Hobart Handler 135 MIG Welder I paid: $499Available at:www.harborfreight.comwww.sears.com

Radiant Ellipse Top WindowKit, 80mm Fan HoleI paid: $17Available at: www.cuttingedgecasemods.com

38 • PC Modder

SILICON MEETS SILICONOur Overclocking Series On Chip & Chipset Combos

increase. We also found 3Dmark03 to be anexcellent test of the system's overall stabilityat higher clock speeds. Heat measurementswere also recorded during 3Dmark03 nearthe end of CPU Test No. 1.

PCMark04 let us test individual systemcomponents. PCMark04 provides an over-all system score along with individualscores for the processor, memory, graphicscard, and hard drive. PCMark04 also pro-vides some insight into how overclockingthe system affects different components.

We benchmarked each system with itsdefault settings to get solid baseline scoresfor both 3Dmark03 and PCMark04. Wethen increased the motherboard'sfrontside bus and ran 3Dmark03 to gaugethe system's stability. If the system com-pleted 3Dmark03, we increased the FSBand retested. We continued this processuntil the system was unable to complete3Dmark03 or refused to boot. Once wefound the fastest possible clock speed, weran PCMark04 to see how overclockingaffected various system components.

On select systems we were able to adjustthe clock multiplier, which complicatedtesting a bit. In these situations we beganby adjusting the FSB as described above.After achieving the highest possible clockspeed, we reset all settings to their defaultand began adjusting the clock multiplier.Again, after achieving the highest possibleclock speed and recording our benchmarkscores, we returned the system to its defaultsettings and began adjusting both the FSBand clock multiplier.

Finally, we want to extend a specialthanks to our lab crew—Coby Boring,Chad Dalton, Andy Gerace, and JeffRoberts—for all the extra hours they spentassembling and testing our systems. Wealso want to thank Kevin Morgan whoordered and tracked an insane amount ofhardware for this issue.

by Chad Denton

I t doesn't seem like much time haspassed since we put out our first PCModder. Not all that long ago, we

were cranking up FSB speeds and churn-ing out articles with more numbers perpage than your local phone book. Maybeonly a few months have gone by since ourlast issue, but a lot has changed in thecomputing world. AMD has continued itsforay into 64-bit desktop computing whileIntel has finally rolled out Pentium 4processors based on its 90nm Prescott core.It's time to find out just how far we canpush the latest crop of processors.

We've made a few changes in this sec-tion from our first PC Modder issue. Whenit comes to overclocking, the chipset youuse is as important as the processor. Ratherthan pair one processor with one mother-board as we did last time, in this issue we'vepaired each of our eight different processorswith three different motherboards, eachsporting a different chipset. This approachshould provide a better look at how wellprocessors perform on different mother-board chipsets and gives us the opportunityto look at offerings from a larger number ofmotherboard manufacturers.

Test SystemsIn response to reader requests, we've

made our test systems for both Intel andAMD pairings as similar as possible. Ourmain purpose in writing each case study isto show what kind of performance you canexpect from overclocking certain mother-board/processor combinations. That said,using similar test systems should allowthose of you who want to directly compareIntel and AMD performance a more solidfoundation on which to do so.

Both systems use a GainwardPowerPack! Ultra/1800 XP GoldenSample, NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultravideo card, and two 512MB PC4000 DDRSDRAM modules. Using two memorymodules will give a slight leg up to systems

that can take advantage of dual-channelmemory. For storage, we used an 80GBWestern Digital WD800JD 7,200rpmSATA hard drive along with a LiteOnBlack 48X/24X/48X/16X DVD/CD-RWcombo drive and a Samsung 1.44MB flop-py drive. We housed both systems in anidentical Antec PLUS1080AMG case thatincluded a 430W TruePower PSU. Finally,we included a Digital Doc in each case torecord temperatures. We taped a processorprobe to the motherboard so that it wastouching a corner of the processor and asecond probe was left dangling near thefront of the case to measure ambient heat.

We relied strictly on aircooling for thesearticles. We used a Thermalright SLK-948U copper heatsink and a 4,800rpmpcToys 92mm Tornado fan that can movea breezy 119CFM. Granted, that nice119CFM comes at a rather loud 56.4dB,and I don't think the labs guys cared toomuch for our choice in fans, but our com-bination seemed to do the job much betterthan a stock heatsink/fan.

TestingWhat good is it to brag about squeezing

an extra 500MHz out of a processor if itdoesn't provide any real gains in perfor-mance? Each time we inched the clockspeed higher, we used FutureMark's3Dmark03 to gauge any real performance

PC Modder • 39

processor’s 15X clock multiplier, resulted ina 3GHz clock speed. CPU VCore Voltagewas left at the default 1.35 volts. At thesesettings our Prescott Pentium 4 managed a6530 3Dmark03 score. CPU temperatureas reported by our temperature probe was38.7 degrees Celsius and the ambient casetemp was 29.7 degrees Celsius. The overallPCMark04 score was 4829. IndividualPCMark04 component scores for ourdefault configuration consisted of a 4611

Processor score, 4914 Memory score, 5384Graphics score, and a 4243 HDD score.

After completing our initial benches,we entered the system’s setup utility bypressing the DEL key during POST. TheP4TSV lacks some of the more advancedoverclocking features found on othermotherboards. For instance, we couldn’tlock the AGP and PCI buses. This, per-haps, may have led to instability at lowerclock speeds compared to the other twoboards we tested with the 3.0E GHz P4.

3.0E GHZ PENTIUM 4 & BIOSTAR P4TSV (INTEL 865G)

After several delays, Intel has finallyshipped its new Pentium 4 core(you probably know it as Pres-

cott). Among Prescott’s new features aresmaller 90nm transistors, a new, strainedsilicon design, and a longer data pipeline.While these additions give Intel more head-room to ramp up clock speeds, they alsocause a few problems. The combination ofPrescott’s strained silicon design, smallertransistors, and increased core voltagemeans more energy leakage, which mani-fests itself as heat. The longer pipeline alsotends to slow overall performance. As aresult, older Northwood chips are fasterclock per clock than today’s Prescott chips.As Prescott’s speed increases, however, per-formance should become more impressive.

Current Prescott chips are running atthe same speeds as existing Northwoodchips, so there’s little incentive for the casu-al user to choose Prescott over more readilyavailable and less expensive Northwood

cores. Prescott, however, may be of interestto overclockers, as it should provide moreheadroom to increase clock speeds.

MotherboardWe started off our test of Intel’s 3GHz

Prescott chip with a Biostar P4TSV moth-erboard. The P4TSV uses the 865G variantof Intel’s Springdale chipset family. Boththe 865G and 865PE chipsets support aquad-pumped 800MHz FSB, but the865G includes an Intel Extreme Graphics 2

video chipset. Naturally, we opted for ourNVIDIA card instead of the integratedIntel chip. Like most motherboards, theP4TSV includes integrated Ethernet and audio controllers. The C-MediaCMI9739A provides 6-channel audio andS/PDIF out while the RealTek RTL8100Bsupports 10/100 Ethernet (no GigabitEthernet on this board).

The 865G supports up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR SDRAM (PC2700 orPC3200). Our Mushkin PC4000 DDRmemory is, of course, compatible; it willjust run at PC3200 speed.

Biostar pairs the 865G on the north-bridge with Intel’s ICH5 on the south-bridge. The ICH5 supports up to eightUSB 2.0 ports and dual SATA connectorsbut lacks RAID support.

The P4TSV is a compact motherboardwith little room for expansion slots. You’llfind just three PCI slots in addition toone AGP and one CNR slot. The lack of

expansion cards may force you to considerusing the onboard audio and LAN chipsrather than installing separate cards foreach (which would leave you with justone remaining PCI slot).

OverclockingBefore we start turning up the FSB, we

needed a solid set of baseline test scoresunder the system’s default configuration.The system’s default settings left the FSBset at 200MHz which, combined with the

3.0E GHz Pentium 4Biostar P4TSV 865G

StockPerformanceOverclockedPerformance

Processor Speed3.00GHz

3.39GHz

FSB200MHz

225MHz

Multiplier15

15

Voltage1.35

1.35

ProcessorTemp38.7

41.9

CaseTemp29.7

31.4

3Dmark036530

6687

PCMark044829

5358

PCMark04CPU4611

5135

PCMark04Memory4914

5547

PCMark04Graphics5384

5513

PCMark04HDD4243

4242

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 (Prescott)Motherboard Biostar P4TSVBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version 6.00 PGChipset Driver 5.00.101.2

Common ComponentsRAM DDR SDRAM (2 x 512MB)Video Gainward PowerPack!

Ultra/1800 XP Golden Sample (GeForce FX 5950 Ultra)

Hard Drive 80GB Western Digital WD800JD 7,200rpm SATA

Heatsink Thermalright SLK-948UCPU Fan pcToys 92mm TornadoCD-ROM LiteOn Black 48x24x48x16

DVD/CD-RWFloppy Samsung 1.44MBPower Supply Antec 430W TruePowerCase Antec PLUS1080AMGTemperature Monitor MacPower Digital Doc 5

40 • PC Modder

From the main menu, weselected Frequency/VoltageControl. We then selected CPUClock and used PAGE UP andPAGE DOWN to adjust thefrontside bus from its defaultvalue of 200MHz to 210MHz,resulting in a 3.15GHz CPUclock. The increased clock speedamounted to a 76-point gain in3Dmark03. We returned to theFrequency/Voltage Controlmenu and increased the FSB to 220MHz (3.31GHz CPUclock). Once again we saw solidimprovements in 3Dmark03, as scores rose 53 points to 6659.

Trying to increase the FSBto 230MHz (3.45GHz) pre-vented the system from boot-ing. We returned to the setuputility and decreased the FSB to225MHz (a CPU clock speedof 3.39GHz). This time, the system boot-ed properly and completed 3Dmark03.3Dmark03 scores show a more modestimprovement of just 28 points, but that’snot bad considering the CPU’s clock speedincreased just 80MHz.

In an attempt to zero in on the absolutehighest clock speed, we tried an FSB of227MHz. When the system failed to boot,we adjusted the FSB down to 226MHz,but the system still refused to boot.

In an effort to make the processor morestable, we increased the CPU Voltage in theFrequency/Voltage Control menu. TheP4TSV lets you adjust the CPU voltage asa percentage of the default voltage. Weused the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWNkeys to set the CPU Voltage to +2.5%.This resulted in a CPU voltage of 1.4V.We reset the FSB to 220MHz (3.31GHzCPU clock) and received a 66613Dmark03 score (2 points higher than theprevious score at 3.31GHz). The addedvoltage, however, also added plenty of heat.The 43.4-degrees processor temp was 4.4degrees higher than it was previously at3.31GHz, and the ambient case tempincreased 1.9 degrees to 31.7 degrees.

We increased the FSB to 225MHz,which put the processor’s clock speed backat 3.39GHz. This time, the 6682

3Dmark03 score was slightly lower than itwas previously at 3.39GHz.

The higher CPU voltage did little to sta-bilize the system at clock speeds faster than225MHz, however. The system refused toboot at 227MHz and 226MHz, respective-ly. We adjusted the CPU Voltage to +5.5%,resulting in a CPU voltage of approximately1.45V, and we reset the FSB to 220MHz.

3Dmark03 scores were roughly the sameas previous attempts at 3.31GHz. Thistime we proceeded a bit more cautiously

and increased the FSB 3MHz to223MHz, resulting in a 66793Dmark03 score. Attempts to increase the FSB beyond223MHz at 1.45V, however,caused Windows to lock up.Increasing the CPU voltage to1.5V allowed us to get scores at223MHz and 224MHz, but wecouldn’t quite get the FSB up to225MHz again without the sys-tem crashing. At 1.5V and a224MHz FSB, the processortemperature maxed out at 48degrees and the ambient casetemperature hit 31.3 degrees.Undoubtedly, temps were evenhigher at the CPU’s core.

Seeing as how we achievedour best 3Dmark03 score withthe default 1.35V, we reducedthe CPU voltage to its de-fault and set the FSB back to

225MHz. We then ran PCMark04 togauge how the system’s components werehandling the added speed. The overallPCMark04 score increased more than 500points to 5358 with nearly all componentsshowing an impressive increase. The largestincrease for any single component was theMemory score, which jumped from 4914to 5547, an increase of more than 600points. The Processor score increased morethan 500 points from 4611 to 5135 andGraphics increased more than 100 pointsfrom 5384 to 5513. The HDD scoreremained virtually unchanged at 4242.

Final WordAfter our initial testing with the

P4TSV, the 3GHz Prescott seems to havemore headroom for overclocking than itsNorthwood sibling. By way of comparison,we were only able to get the 3GHzNorthwood up to 3.23GHz on the ASUSP4C800 Canterwood motherboard. TheP4TSV, however, didn’t allow us to lockdown the PCI or AGP bus when increas-ing the FSB, which could’ve led to morestability in the system. We’ll see whether ornot we can push the 3GHz Prescott fur-ther in the next couple of case studies.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03ABIT AI7Stock Performance 6539Overclocked Performance 6726

EPoX EP-4PCA3+Stock Performance 6535Overclocked Performance 6721

★★ Biostar P4TSVStock Performance 6530Overclocked Performance 6687

Northbridge(865G)ATX PSU

ConnectorsSouthbridge (Intel ICH5)

Audio Codec

EthernetController

BIOSSATAConnectors

PC Modder • 41

3Dmark03 and PCMark04 scores. Whilethe 6539 3Dmark03 score was 9pointsbetter than the P4TSV managed at3GHz, some PCMark04 scores weredown slightly. The overall PCMark04score fell from 4829 in the previous casestudy to 4823. The PCMark04 CPUscore fell from 4611 to 4587. OtherPCMark04 scores, however, were a littlebetter than the baseline scores posted byP4TSV. The Memory score increasedfrom 4914 to 4931, the Graphics scoreincreased from 5384 to 5408, and the

HDD score increased from 4243 to 4296.When idle, our 3.0E GHz Prescott's tem-perature was 33.3 degrees Celsius, about0.6 C cooler than it was on the P4TSVboard. The AI7, however, provides aslightly higher current (1.385V comparedto 1.35V) and the processor provedslightly warmer under load. On the AI7,our Prescott's temperature reached 40.6C, about 1.9 C warmer than the initial

3.0E GHZ PENTIUM 4 & ABIT AI7

We got a glimpse of what thePentium 4's new Prescottcore is capable of in the pre-

vious case study. On a modest BiostarP4TSV using Intel's 865G chipset, wewere able to increase the clock speed onour 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 to 3.39GHz.Now it's time to see how well the proces-sor performs on a high-end ABIT boardwith an Intel 865PE chipset.

MotherboardThis time, we'll be running our 3.0 E

GHz Prescott on an ABIT AI7. TheABIT board does a better job of targetingthe enthusiast crowd and catering to over-clockers. Instead of the Intel 865G, theAI7 relies on the Intel 865PE chipset.The major difference between the twochipsets is that the 865PE lacks an inte-grated video chip. On the surface, thismay seem to be an advantage for the865G, but few enthusiasts are going tosettle for Intel's integrated graphics chip.As a result, most 865G boards are aimedat a lower segment of the market.

Intel considers the 865PE to be a mid-level chipset but it's actually quite popular

with enthusiasts because it provides excel-lent performance for the price. LikeIntel's high-end 875P chipset, the 865PEsupports an 800MHz FSB and dual-chan-nel memory. Intel's PAT (PerformanceAcceleration Technology) comes enabledby default on 875P chipsets. According toIntel, PAT reduces memory latency by asmuch as two clock cycles when used withPC3200 DDR SDRAM. As you'll see in

the next case study, however, PAT maynot always be worth the premium priceyou pay for most 875P motherboards,especially considering some manufactur-ers enable PAT on 865PE motherboards.Intel, however, warns that enabling PATon 865PE motherboards could damagethe chipset or lead to stability issues.

As we mentioned, the AI7 is one of themore expensive 865PE motherboards.One reason for the AI7's higher price isthe ICH5R southbridge chipset. As youcan probably guess, the "R" stands for "RAID" and the ICH5R supportsboth RAID 0 (stripping) and RAID 1 (mirroring).

As we've come to expect from mostmotherboards, the ABIT AI7 does comewith integrated audio and Ethernet. ARealtek ALC658 chip provides integratedsix-channel audio, automatic jack sensing,and SPDIF output. An additional RealtekEthernet controller provides integrated10/100 Ethernet connectivity. The AI7supports eight USB 2.0 ports and threeFireWire ports.

Unlike the earlier Biostar board, the AI7 also features more room for

expansion. In addition to the requisiteAGP slot, the AI7 features five PCI slotsthat should provide adequate expansionoptions even if you have to install PCI-based replacements for the integratedaudio and sound.

OverclockingBefore we started messing around with

the BIOS settings, we took some baseline

3.0E GHz Pentium 4 ABIT AI7


Processor Speed3GHz

3.46GHz

FSB200MHz

230MHz

Multiplier15

15

Voltage1.3875

1.6125

ProcessorTemp40.6

44.2

CaseTemp30.5

30.7

3Dmark036539

6726

PCMark044823

5499

PCMark04CPU4587

5257

PCMark04Memory4931

5659


5563

PCMark04HDD4296

4312

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 (Prescott)Motherboard ABIT AI7BIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version 13Chipset Driver 5.02.1003




Heatsink Thermalright SLK-948UCPU Fan pcToys 92mm TornadoCD-ROM LiteOn Black

48X/24X/48X/16X DVD/CD-RWFloppy Samsung 1.44MBPower Supply Antec 430W TruePowerCase Antec PLUS1080AMGTemperature Monitor MacPower Digital Doc 5

42 • PC Modder

load temperature in our lastcase study. Under load, theambient case temperaturereached 30.5 C.

After recording our initialscores, we accessed the system'ssetup utility by pressing DELduring POST. Overclockingoptions were found in theSoftMenu Setup section. Weincreased the FSB by highlight-ing CPU Operating Speed andusing PAGE UP and PAGEDOWN to adjust the value to210MHz (you can probablyargue that this item is misla-beled since it measures the FSBrather than the processor's clockspeed). We then saved the set-tings and exited the Setup utili-ty. After rebooting we hadturned our 3GHz processorinto a 3.16GHz P4. Theincreased speed added 60 points to our3Dmark03 score. This was actually 7points lower than the 6606 score we man-aged on the P4TSV at this speed.

We increased the clock speed another10MHz to 220MHz, resulting in a3.30GHz P4. Once again, the speed boostnetted a significant 3Dmark03 improve-ment. Scores rose to 6663, which was justslightly better than the P4TSV managed atthis speed. The P4TSV only allowed us toincrease the FSB speed to 225MHz beforethe system refused to boot. We increasedthe AI7 to 230MHz to see what wouldhappen and were delighted to learn the AI7ran reliably at 230MHz. The resulting3.46GHz P4 ran perfectly and managed tocomplete 3Dmark03 with a 6697 score.

Increasing the FSB another 10MHz pre-vented the system from even booting. Wedecided to taper our ambitions a bit andreduce the clock speed to 235MHz. Whenthe system still refused to boot, wedecreased the clock speed to 232MHz andthis time the system booted properly, but3Dmark03 crashed midtest, suggesting thesystem wasn't entirely stable. We decreasedthe FSB again to 231MHz, but 3Dmark03was still unsuccessful. We returned our sys-tem to 230MHz and increased the proces-sor's core voltage by selecting CPU Power

Supply in the SoftMenu Setup section ofthe setup utility. We used PAGE UP toselect User Defined and then adjusted theCPU Core Voltage to 1.4375V. The extrapower actually seemed to make thingsworse as 3Dmark03 crashed at 230MHz.We increased the core voltage once again to1.5125V. This increase resulted inimproved stability and a better 3Dmark03score of 6717.

We increased the FSB to 232MHz, butonce again the benchmark crashed on us.

We left the FSB at 232MHzand increased the voltage to1.6125V, but still couldn't getthe system to complete 3D-mark03. Decreasing the FSB to231MHz didn't help our stabil-ity problems. We had someconcerns that the 1.6125V corevoltage might be a little high, sowe left the core voltage intactand reduced the FSB to230MHz. The system was notonly still reliable at 230MHz,but it yielded a 6726 3D-mark03 score, the highest scorewe had yet received.

Increasing the processor'svoltage further didn't allow usto push FSB speeds any higher.We reset the core voltage to1.6125V and the FSB to230MHz to run PCMark04.The overall PCMark04 score

increased significantly from 4823 to 5499.The CPU score itself increased almost 700points to 5257 while the Memory scoreincreased more than 700 points to 5659.The Graphics score showed the leastimprovement but still went up more than150 points to 5563. The HDD score, typi-cally, showed little improvement at 4312.

Final WordLooking at the Biostar P4TSV and the

ABIT AI7, you can see why we wanted torun the same processor on multiple moth-erboards. The ABIT AI7 proved to be amuch better motherboard for overclock-ing as we were able to reach speeds of3.46GHz.

Our 1.6125V CPU voltage may be abit drastic. There's some speculation thatPrescott could be sensitive to increasedvoltage and some motherboard manufac-turers have gone so far as to prevent endusers from adjusting the CPU voltage.Over the short term, we didn't seem tohave any problems at 1.6125V and tem-peratures increased only 3.6 degrees (lessthan the total increase in our last casestudy), but that's not to say that problemscouldn't develop over time.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ ABIT AI7Stock Performance 6539Overclocked Performance 6726

EPoX EP-4PCA3+Stock Performance 6535Overclocked Performance 6721

Biostar P4TSV Stock Performance 6530Overclocked Performance 6687

ATX PSUConnector

Northbridge (865PE)

EthernetController

Southbridge(Intel ICH5R) SATA Connectors

BIOS

Audio Codec

PC Modder • 43

Temperature measurements were inline with our previous measurements. Wemeasured the processor’s temperaturewhen idle at 33.7 degrees Celsius and theambient case temperature at 28.2 C.Under load, the processor’s temperaturemeasured 40.6 C and the ambient caseheat rose to 29.8 C.

After recording our default measure-ments, we rebooted the system and ac-cessed the setup utility by pressing the DEL key during POST. We selected PowerBIOS Features from the main menu and

then selected CPU Clock/Speed. We usedthe PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys toincrease the frontside bus a modest 10MHzto 210MHz. This pushed the clock speedup to 3.17GHz. Results were positive as3Dmark03 scores shot up to 6617, justslightly more than the AI7 at the samespeed. We pushed the FSB up anoth-er 10MHz to 220MHz resulting in a3.31GHz CPU clock. Curiously, this

3.0E GHZ PENTIUM 4 &EPOX EP-4PCA3+

We managed to get our 3GHzPrescott up to 3.39GHz on aBiostar motherboard with an

Intel 865G chipset. An ABIT board withan Intel 865PE chipset showed even moreflexibility as we got speeds up to 3.46GHz.Now we’ll test the 3GHz Prescott withIntel’s high-end 875P chipset.

MotherboardBecause there appears to be little differ-

ence between the 875P and the less expen-sive 865PE, Canterwood chips haven’tcaught on with all enthusiasts. Accordingto Intel, one of the biggest differencesbetween its two chipsets is that the 875Psupports PAT (Performance AccelerationTechnology). PAT uses aggressive memo-ry timings to reduce latency when com-bined with an 800MHz FSB and PC3200DDR SDRAM. According to Intel, PATresults in a two-clock cycle reduction inlatency. Apparently, however, PAT is alsopresent in 865PE chipsets, it’s just dis-abled. ASUS and a few other manufactur-ers offer 865PE boards with PAT enabled.

Running our 3GHz Prescott on anEPoX EP-4PCA3+ motherboard should

give us a good indication of how Can-terwood measures up to less expensiveSpringdale chipsets. Aside from the north-bridge chipset, the EP-4PCA3+ is similar tothe ABIT AI7 we used in the last casestudy. Both boards support up to 4GB ofPC2700 or PC3200 DDR SDRAM andboth boards include Intel’s ICH5R on thesouthbridge. The ICH5R supports RAIDlevel 0 or 1 on two SATA connectors. Both

models also include five PCI slots forexpansion and integrated audio chips and Ethernet controllers. The EP-4PCA3+uses a C-Media CM9739 with a SPDIFheader for digital audio output. Ratherthan using a standard 10/100 Ether-net controller, the EP-4PCA3+ uses on a Broadcom BCM5705 Gigabit Ether-net controller.

The EP-4PCA3+, however, does haveone feature not found on the ABIT AI7.While the ICH5R limits SATA RAID tolevels 0 or 1, the EP-4PCA3+ includes fourIDE connectors controlled by a HighpointHPT374 UDMA/ATA 133 RAID con-troller. The Highpoint controller lets youconfigure up to eight IDE drives in RAID0, 1, or 5 configurations. Of course, becausewe’re not using RAID, the Highpoint con-troller won’t affect performance.

OverclockingCompared to the ABIT AI7, the 875P-

based EP-4PCA3+ was kind of a disap-pointment considering that it was moreexpensive. Overall, we didn’t see muchimprovement in terms of performance. Thedefault 6535 3Dmark03 score was virtually

identical to the default score of the AI7.The overall PCMark04 score of 4765 wasdown 58 points. Interestingly enough,however, other PCMark04 componentscores were up slightly relative to defaultscores from the AI7. The CPU score rosefrom 4587 to 4602, the Memory score rosefrom 4931 to 5039, the Graphics score rosefrom 5408 to 5431, and the HDD scorerose from 4296 to 4744.

3.0E GHz Pentium 4EPoX EP-4PCA3+



3.60GHz

FSB200MHz

239MHz

Multiplier15

15

Voltage1.375

1.475

ProcessorTemp40.6

44.6

CaseTemp29.8

30.9

3Dmark036535

6721

PCMark044765

5531

PCMark04CPU4602

5453

PCMark04Memory5039

5501


5573

PCMark04HDD4744

4725

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 (Prescott)Motherboard EPoX EP-4PCA3+BIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version Award-BIOSChipset Driver 5.1.1.1002




Heatsink Thermalright SLK-948UCPU Fan pcToys 92mm TornadoCD-ROM LiteOn Black 48X/24X/48X/

16X DVD/CD-RWFloppy Samsung 1.44MBPower Supply Antec 430W TruePowerCase Antec PLUS1080AMGTemperature Monitor MacPower Digital Doc 5

44 • PC Modder

increase in speed resulted in a largely unchanged 66143Dmark03 score.

We increased the CPU’sclock speed to 3.46GHz byincreasing the FSB to 230MHz.This resulted in a modest3Dmark03 gain of 60 points to 6674. This score was slightlyless than the AI7 managed at230MHz under the processor’sdefault voltage.

Increasing the FSB to240MHz prevented Windowsfrom booting. Dropping theFSB to 235MHz didn’t seem tohelp. At 232MHz Windowsbooted only to freeze up, and at231MHz, 3Dmark03 crashed.We reduced the FSB to230MHz and increased the corevoltage by selecting CPUVCore Voltage in the PowerBIOS Features section of the startup util-ity. We increased the FSB from 1.375V to1.425V. This resulted in a slightly better3Dmark03 score of 6680 at 230MHz.Most importantly, however, this slight volt-age increase allowed us to push up the FSB.At 232MHz, our 3GHz P4 was running at3.49GHz. The slight increase in clockspeed resulted in a small 3Dmark03improvement to 6690. Carefully increasingthe FSB to 234MHz gave us a 3.52GHzclock speed and resulted in another slight3Dmark03 gain to 6695.

We increased the FSB again to 235MHz, which gave us a 3.54GHz P4.Again, performance rose with clock speed,as the 3Dmark03 score rose to 6708.Increasing the FSB to 237MHz caused3Dmark03 to freeze, so we increased theCPU voltage to 1.475V. At 237MHz, theCPU clock speed was running at 3.57GHzand the 3Dmark03 score rose 5 points to6713. In order to run the CPU at 3.6GHz,we increased the FSB to 239MHz. Onceagain we managed a slight improvement in3Dmark03 as the score rose to 6721.Increasing the FSB to 241MHz caused3Dmark03 to crash. We did manage to getthe CPU running at 3.63GHz by increasingthe core voltage to 1.525 and setting theFSB to 241MHz, but 3Dmark03 scores fell

to 6713. Increasing the FSB further resultedin the dreaded BSOD.

We went back to our best 3Dmark03score, which was at 3.6GHz. Even here the6721 score was roughly equivalent to the6726 posted by the AI7 with a 3.46GHzprocessor. Of course, we also had the volt-age cranked up to a potentially unhealthy1.6125V on the ABIT. Our voltage on theEP-4PCA3+ was a more reasonable 1.475V.

While 3Dmark03 scores were disap-pointing, PCMark04 scores looked a little

more promising compared tothe ABIT AI7’s scores. The5531 overall PCMark04 scorewas up more than 700 pointsfrom the default score.Compared to the AI7’s bestPCMark04 overall score, thiswas just over 30 points higher.The 5453 CPU score, however,is almost 200 points faster thanthe highest CPU score postedby the AI7 and roughly 850points faster than our defaultCPU score on this board. TheMemory score increased morethan 450 points from 5039 to5501. This was about 150points slower than the bestMemory score the AI7 posted.The Graphics score was up justa little more than 140 points to5573, which was just 10 pointsfaster than the best Graphics

score posted by the AI7. The HDD scoreactually fell slightly to 4725.

The added speed and voltage did causetemperatures to rise slightly. At 3.6GHzand 1.475V, the processor temperaturemeasured 44.6 C under load and we mea-sured the ambient case temperature at30.9 C. As we mentioned, we did get theprocessor up to 3.63GHz, but at thisspeed performance suffered a bit. We hadto increase the voltage to 1.525V in orderto get the system stable at 3.63GHz, andthis also caused a spike in temps as theCPU hit 46.1 C under load and the ambi-ent case temp reached 31.3 C.

Final WordWe were both impressed and disap-

pointed with the 875P-based EPoX EP-4PCA3+ board. On the plus side, we wereable to reach 3.63GHz and beyond, fasterthan we had been able to go on any otherboard. At the same time, 3Dmark03 scoresweren’t nearly as impressive as they were onthe ABIT AI7. PCMark04 scores, on theother hand, compared more favorably tothe highest marks the AI7 received inPCMark04. It’ll be interesting to see howfuture 875P-based boards compare.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03ABIT AI7Stock Performance 6539Overclocked Performance 6726

★★ EPoX EP-4PCA3+Stock Performance 6535Overclocked Performance 6721

Biostar P4TSVStock Performance 6530Overclocked Performance 6687

Northbridge (875P)

ATX PSU Connectors

GigabitEthernet

Controller

Audio Codec

BIOS

SATAConnectors

Highpoint HPT374UDMA/ATA 133RAID Controller

Southbridge(Intel ICH5R)

PC Modder • 45

200 points from 4829 to 5022. The CPUscore also showed dramatic improvements,as the score increased from 4611 to 4819.The PCMark04 Memory score didn’tincrease as dramatically, but it was still upalmost 100 points to 5012. As expected,the Graphics and HDD scores showed theleast improvements. The Graphics scorewas up just 73 points to 5457, and theHDD score was up just 62 points to 4305.

The 865G-M used a slightly higher volt-age (1.375V) than the Biostar P4TSVboard (1.35V). Combined with the fasterclock speed, this caused the 3.2E GHz P4to run a little warmer than the 3E GHz.

We recorded a 36.1 degree Celsius temper-ature for the processor when idle. By way ofcomparison, the 3E on the Biostar 865G-based motherboard recorded a 33.9 C tem-perature. This resulted in a slight increasein the ambient case temperature from 28.4C to 29.7 C. Under load, the 3.2E GHz P4caused the ambient case temperature to rise

3.2E GHZ PENTIUM 4 &ECS 865G-M

In earlier case studies, the 3GHzPrescott proved more than capable ofhandling increased clock speeds, as

we were able to get the processor above3.6GHz on our 875P motherboard.Benchmark scores indicated performancemostly increased along with clock speed,although we did begin to see some declinesat higher clock speeds.

Now we replace our 3E GHz Pentiumwith a faster 3.2E GHz Pentium 4. Likethe 3E, the 3.2E is also based on thePrescott core. That means aside from theclock speed, both processors have a lot incommon. Like the 3E, the 3.2E is based ona 90nm fabrication process that allows Intelto pack more transistors into a smallerspace. Smaller transistors along with otherimprovements, such as a strained silicondesign and a longer data pipeline, will even-tually allow Intel to increase the clock speedon Prescott. For now we’ll see if the fasterCPU will allow higher overclocked scores.

MotherboardIn this article, we’ll pair the 3.2E GHz

P4 with an ECS 865G-M motherboard.The compact 865G-M can fit in smallercases made specifically to accommodatemicroATX boards. Of course, the 865G-M

also fit nicely in our full-sized Antec case.The smaller size, however, means fewerPCI slots for expansion. The 865G chipsetdoes support an integrated Intel ExtremeGraphics 2 video chip. Despite the inte-grated video, we went ahead and used ourNVIDIA card to keep our test system spec-ifications as uniform as possible.

Like most other motherboards, the865G-M also has integrated audio andEthernet. 3Com’s Marvell 940 chipset pro-vides the Gigabit Ethernet support, whilethe CMI 9738A audio codec provides six-channel audio. VIA provides FireWire sup-port while the ICH5 southbridge providesdual SATA and USB support. The 865Gnorthbridge includes support for quad-pumped frontside bus speeds of 400MHz,533MHz, and 800MHz. Of course, our3.2E GHz P4 supports FSB speeds of800MHz. Our dual 512MB memory mod-ules let us take advantage of dual-channelmemory support in the 865G.

The microATX form factor shouldn’tbe a limitation for overclockers. TheBiostar P4TSV board we reviewed in ourfirst Intel case study was also a microATXboard and proved quite capable of provid-ing stable overclocks at a CPU clockspeed of 3.49GHz. Nonetheless, in asmaller case, heat could become more ofan issue. Our Antec case provides plentyof breathing room for the processor andadditional components.

OverclockingBefore attempting to overclock the sys-

tem, we used the default settings to get a

baseline score for our system. The 3.2E,not surprisingly, managed slightly fasterbenchmark scores than the 3E. The3Dmark03 score was up 52 points over the3E GHz P4’s default score on the Biostar865G motherboard. Some PCMark04scores, however, increased more dramatical-ly. The overall PCMark04 score rose nearly

3.2E GHz Pentium 4ECS 865G-M



3.22GHz

FSB200MHz

201MHz

Multiplier16

16

Voltage1.375V

1.375V

ProcessorTemp41.2

41.8

CaseTemp31.4

31.9

3Dmark036582

6607

PCMark045022

N/A

PCMark04CPU4819

N/A

PCMark04Memory5012

N/A


N/A

PCMark04HDD4305

N/A

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.2E GHz Pentium 4 (Prescott)Motherboard ECS 865G-MBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version 5.0fChipset Driver 5.0.2.103






46 • PC Modder

to 31.4 C and the processortemperature to climb to 41.2 C.The 3E GHz P4, on the otherhand, exhibited a 38.7 C tem-perature under load.

Once we had our defaultscores recorded, we rebooted thesystem and pressed the DEL keyduring POST. This brought upthe setup utility. We selected theCPU Frequency Control optionand immediately noticed therewas no option to increase theprocessor’s core voltage and,thus, no way to improve stabili-ty at higher clock speeds. We’veheard some motherboards havedisabled CPU voltage controlswhen they detect a Prescott-based Pentium 4, but that didn’t seem to be the case withthe 865G-M motherboard, asthe users manual makes nomention of a CPU voltage adjustment inthe setup utility.

We were able to adjust the FSB speedby selecting CPU Clock and increasingthe FSB in 1MHz increments using thePAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys. Weincreased the FSB to 210MHz, saved thesettings, and exited the setup utility. Withour processor running at 3.36GHz, oursystem refused to boot properly. Thismarked the first time we weren’t able tooverclock an FSB to 210MHz. Werebooted the system and once againpressed DEL during POST to enter thesetup utility. We decreased the CPUClock option in the Frequency Controlsection from 210MHz to 205MHz,resulting in a 3.28GHz clock speed. Onceagain, the system refused to boot.

We further decreased the FSB speed to amodest 202MHz, resulting in an ever-so-slightly overclocked 3.23GHz P4. Even atthis small overclock, however, the systemcouldn’t properly boot. We decreased theFSB once again to 201MHz. At just3.22GHz, our 3.2E GHz P4 was able tosuccessfully boot. 3Dmark03 scoresimproved slightly to 6607.

We did notice an Async AGP/PCI/SATA Clk option in the FrequencyControl section. It was initially set to

Sync AGP/PCI/SATA. We changed thedefault to 66/33/100MHz Clk hoping thismight be the reason for the chronic instability. Unfortunately, increasing the FSB just 2MHz caused continuedinstability problems.

Obviously, the ECS 865G-M isn’t madefor overclockers. One reason we wanted totest the same processor on multiple boardsis so that we could better tell which boardshad difficulty overclocking. This is certainly

the case with the ECS 865G-M.As you’ll see in other studies, we were able to push speeds ashigh as 3.68GHz using theexact same 3.2E GHz P4 usedin this article.

The ability to increase theprocessor’s core voltage mayhave helped with stability. Inorder to reach the 3.68GHzspeed, for instance, we had topump up the core voltage to1.625V. We can’t, however,attribute all our problems withthe 865G-M to the lack of aVCore option. As you’ll see, ournext motherboard also lacked aVCore adjustment option and,in fact, used a lower core voltagefor our 3.2E GHz P4. None-theless, we were still able toramp up above 3.5GHz. Thetruth appears to be that the

ECS 865G-M just isn’t a very stable moth-erboard for overclocking.

Final WordAgain, one reason we tested the same

processor on multiple boards is so thatbad results from one board could beshown for what they are, an anomaly andnot something characteristic of theprocessor. The ECS 865G-M is simplynot a motherboard we’d recommend foroverclockers. Nonetheless, we still haveplenty of opportunity to see what the3.2GHz Prescott can do when we pair itwith Intel’s 865PE and 875P chipsets.

An interesting note is the effect busspeed has on performance. When over-clocking the 3E GHz P4 on the BiostarP4TSV, the system managed an almostidentical score to the one posted by the3.2E GHz P4 on the ECS 865G-M board.The 3E, however, managed the 66063Dmark03 score with a processor runningat 3.15GHz and a FSB speed of 210MHz.At 201MHz, our 3.2E was running at just3.22GHz and managed an almost identical6607 3Dmark03 score. The faster FSBmakes up for a slower processor clock inthe case of these two test systems.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Chaintech 9CJS ZenithStock Performance 6631Overclocked Performance 6774

★★ ECS 865G-MStock Performance 6582Overclocked Performance 6607

Shuttle AB60N Stock Performance 6286Overclocked Performance 6372

ATX PSUConnectors

Northbridge(865G)

Audio Codec

Southbridge(Intel ICH5)

BIOS

SATA ConnectorsEthernetController

PC Modder • 47

OverclockingOnce again, before we could reach

into the system setup utility and shakethings up, we had some testing to per-form. Our initial 3Dmark03 score waspretty disappointing, as it was almost300 points lower than our init ia l3Dmark03 score in the last case study(6286). PCMark04 scores for theShuttle board, however, were moreencouraging. The overall PCMark04score increased to 5040 from the last

case study, and the CPU score increasedfrom 4819 to 4889. The PCMark04Memory score was also slightly higher,up 46 points to 5058. The Graphicsscore on the AB60N, however, wasdown 24 points relative to the ECS865G-M to 5433. The HDD score wasalso down about 13 points to 4292.

Compared to the ECS board, theAB60N uses a significantly lower default

3.2E GHZ PENTIUM 4 &SHUTTLE AB60N

Thanks to the embarrassing per-formance turned in by the ECS865G-M in our last case study,

we still didn’t have any indication howwell the 3.2E GHz Prescott might over-clock. We tossed the ECS board on thetrash heap and bolted a Shuttle AB60Nto our Antec case hoping for betterresults. Although not as impressive aswhat we saw with our 3GHz Prescottand ABIT motherboard combo, we didget much better results than we did withour ECS board.

MotherboardThe Intel 865PE on the northbridge

is similar to the 865G found on our lastmotherboard with the major differencebetween the two chips being that the865PE doesn’t support Intel’s integratedExtreme Graphics 2 video chip. That’snot necessarily a bad thing, as it makesthe 865PE more attractive to enthusiastswho aren’t likely to settle for Intel’sintegrated graphics. The 865PE offersthe same support for quad-pumped400MHz, 533MHz, and 800MHzfrontside bus speeds and support for up

to 4GB of PC2100, PC2700, orPC3200 DDR SDRAM. Like all ourIntel chipsets, the 865PE supports dual-channel memory. The AB60N is alsolarger than the ECS 865G-M board,meaning there’s more room for expan-sion. In addit ion to the s ingle2X/4X/8X AGP slot, five additional PCIslots provide you with room to installplenty of other components such as

sound cards, modems, and wirelessEthernet adapters.

The Intel ICH5 supports two inde-pendent SATA drives along with eightUSB 2.0 ports. Although the ICH5 sup-ports as many as eight USB 2.0 ports,the AB60N only has room for four USB2.0 ports. FireWire is also noticeablyabsent. The AB60N also supports up tofour UDMA 33/66/100 drives. TheICH5 lacks integrated RAID, andShuttle doesn’t include a separateonboard RAID controller, so if youcan’t live without RAID, you’ll need toinstall a separate RAID controller. Likemost other motherboards, you’ll findintegrated six-channel audio via theALC650 audio codec and integrated10/100 Ethernet via the Realtek 8100B.

In addition to having to meet certainphysical specifications, most mother-boards also require a BIOS update inorder to support Prescott. Our mother-board arrived with the latest BIOSinstalled (AB60S00W released March18, 2004). Support for Prescott wasoriginally added in November with theAB60S00T release. That release also

added support for Intel ’ s ExtremeEdition processors and removed supportfor older Williamette-based Pentium 4processors . According to Shutt le ’sSupport List (www.shuttle.com/hq/sup-port/faq/mainboard/mb.asp) , theAB60N only officially supports Prescottprocessors up to 2.8GHz. We had notrouble, however, with our 3.2E GHz Prescott.

3.2E GHz Pentium 4Shuttle AB60N



3.58GHz

FSB200MHz

223MHz

Multiplier16

16

Voltage1.26

1.26

ProcessorTemp43.5

45.6

CaseTemp30.6

31.6

3Dmark036286

6372

PCMark045040

5578

PCMark04CPU4889

5438

PCMark04Memory5058

5644


5564

PCMark04HDD4292

4300

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.2E GHz Pentium 4 (Prescott)Motherboard Shuttle AB60NBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version AB60S00WChipset Driver 5.0.1.1015






48 • PC Modder

core voltage of 1.26V (com-pared to 1.375V). Despite lessvoltage, the 3.2E GHz wasjust as warm on the Shuttleboard as it was on the ECSboard with a 36.5-degreeCelsius idle temperature.When idle, the ambient casetemperature measured 29.3C. Under load, however, the3.2E GHz temperatureincreased to 43.5 C, slightlywarmer than the 41.2 C loadtemperature measured in theprevious article. The ambientdefault case temperatureunder load came in at 30.6 C.

With our default measure-ments carefully recorded, werebooted the system andpressed DEL during POST toenter the system’s setup utili-ty. We selected Frequen-cy/Voltage Control from the mainmenu. Like the ECS board we looked atpreviously, the AB60N was missing anoption to increase the processor voltage.We increased the FSB to 210MHz andhoped for the best.

After rebooting the system, our 3.2EGHz processor was running at3.37GHz. The system successful lyloaded and completed 3Dmark03 with a6328 score. This was still below thedefault ECS 3Dmark03 score, but atleast we managed a successful overclock.We repeated the procedure andincreased the FSB speed to 220MHz,yielding a 3.53GHz processor clockspeed. Despite the 160MHz increase inspeed, however, we only managed togain an extra 30 points in 3Dmark03, asour score increased to 6358.

We tried increasing the FSB another10MHz to 230MHz, but the systemrefused to boot with the processor run-ning at 3.68GHz. Decreasing the FSB5MHz to 225MHz resulted in a3.61GHz processor, but the systemproved too unstable to complete3Dmark03. Decreasing the FSB 1MHzto 224MHz didn’t help with stability.We would have tried increasing theprocessor’s core voltage at this point if

the option were available, but instead wehad to settle for reducing the FSB speedyet again. We decreased the FSB to223MHz. This time the system provedmore stable with a 3.58GHz processor,and 3Dmark03 completed with a 6372score. Once again, this score was signifi-cantly lower than the default 65823Dmark03 score we received in the last article.

Using the same sett ings, we ranPCMark04. Once again, the gains in

PCMark04 benchmarks weremore dramatic than they werein 3Dmark03. While 3D-mark03 scores rose just 86points, the overall PCMark04score rose 538 points to5578. The PCMark04 CPUand Memory scores also rosedramatically. The CPU scoreincreased from 4889 to 5438,and the Memory score shotup from 5058 to 5644. Ourfocus in these articles is onthe processor, so it shouldn’tbe a big surprise that we don’tsee dramatic improvements inthe Graphics and HDDscores. Nonetheless, we didnote a slight improvement inthe PCMark04 Graphicsscore, as it rose from 5433 to5564. The HDD scoreremained virtually unchanged

at 4300.Naturally, heat increased as we over-

clocked the FSB and processor. Theprocessor temperature measured by ourtemperature probe increased from 43.5C to 45.6 C under load at 3.58GHz.That’s 2.1 C warmer than our defaultload temperature. The ambient casetemperature increased slightly from 30.6C to 31.6 C.

Final WordThe Shuttle AB60N is still missing

one feature we like to see in a mother-board: the ability to adjust the proces-sor’s voltage. We think we probablycould have managed some higher scoresif we had the ability to provide a littleextra voltage to the processor. As aresult, we’re still not really sure we cansay we’ve seen the best the 3.2E GHz hasto offer. Nonetheless, we still had muchbetter results with the Shuttle AB60Nthan with the ECS 865G-M. We man-aged to increase the processor and FSBspeeds by roughly 12%, which beats theless than 1% increase we saw in our pre-vious article.

by Chad Denton


ECS 865G-MStock Performance 6582Overclocked Performance 6607

★★ Shuttle AB60NStock Performance 6286Overclocked Performance 6372

Northbridge (865PE)

ATX PSUConnectors

Audio Codec

Southbridge (Intel ICH5)

SATA ConnectorsEthernetController

BIOS

PC Modder • 49

feature-complete boards we’ve seen. Theonly thing we wish it included is a betterRAID controller to go with the ICH5R.

Chaintech didn’t stop with the mother-board, however. Included in the box is theCBOX3, which rests in a 5.25-inch drivebay and includes USB and FireWire con-nectors in addition to a 6-in-1 card readerthat handles removable media such as SD,MMC, and CompactFlash cards. TheHandigator is a cheesy name for a remotecontrol, but it came included with ourpackage, so we can’t complain too much.

OverclockingThe Chaintech certainly makes a nice

first impression, so we were optimistic itmight deliver some top-notch perfor-mance. Sure enough, the Chaintech boardprovided us with some of our highestscores to date. The 6631 default3Dmark03 score certainly helped elimi-nate the bad taste from the disappointing

3.2E GHZ PENTIUM 4 &CHAINTECH 9CJS ZENITH

In earlier articles we were initiallydisappointed with our 3.2E GHzPentium 4, as we managed only a

very slight overclock on our ECS 865G-M motherboard. Replacing the 865G-based ECS board with an 865PE Shuttleboard, however, yielded more promisingresults, as we were able to push ourprocessor to 3.58GHz. Now we’ll moveeven further as we replace our 865PEmotherboard with an 875P board from Chaintech.

MotherboardIf you’ve looked into using AOpen’s

AX4C motherboard with any Prescottprocessor, you know how frustratingPrescott compatibility issues can be.Prescott does make a few physical require-ments of the motherboard. Specifically,motherboards must support FMB (FlexibleMotherboard Specification) 1.5 powerspecifications for Prescott processors3.2GHz and faster. FMB 1.5 motherboardsare capable of supplying a higher ICCVoltage of 91A. Additionally, a BIOSupgrade is often in order to fully supportPrescott. Many high-end motherboards

have been supporting FMB 1.5 (or some-thing close to it), so most motherboards arephysically compatible with Prescott. As wefound out, however, not all manufacturersare providing the necessary BIOS updatesto support Prescott.

AOpen’s AX4C is one example of amotherboard in need of a BIOS update.We originally planned to use this proces-sor with our 3.2E GHz processor, but

after fixing our Prescott to the mother-board, we fired it up and found theprocessor running slower than it should.A little investigating showed the mother-board was using a 14X multiplier insteadof a 16X multiplier. As a result, our3.2GHz Prescott processor was runningat a measly 2.8GHz.

Without a BIOS update to fix the prob-lem, we decided we’d try to pair the AX4Cwith a Pentium 4 Extreme Edition proces-sor and use Chaintech’s 9CJS Zenithmotherboard for the 3.2E GHz. Becausethe Extreme Edition processors are basedon the older Northwood cores, we thoughtthe AOpen board would provide bettersupport for the Extreme Edition.Unfortunately, as it turned out, we weren’table to overclock the Extreme Edition onthis board either. In the end, we used theChaintech 9CJS Zenith with both the 3.2EPrescott and the 3.2GHz Extreme Edition.This should provide an interesting compar-ison between the older northwood-basedExtreme Edition Pentium 4 processors andIntel’s shiny new Prescott-based processors.

The 9CJS Zenith is Chaintech’s flag-ship Intel motherboard. The massive box

immediately suggests this is a luxuryboard. The motherboard comes loadedwith an Intel 875P northbridge chipsetand an Intel ICH5R I/O controller. Thesystem includes both an IntelPRO/1000CT Gigabit Ethernet con-troller and a Realtek RTL8101L 10/100Ethernet controller. Add to that a 24-bit,7.1-channel integrated audio codec, andthe motherboard is one of the more

3.2E GHz Pentium 4 Chaintech 9CJS Zenith



3.65GHz

FSB200MHz

225MHz

Multiplier16

16

Voltage1.325

1.325

ProcessorTemp44.6

45.9

CaseTemp31.5

31.8

3Dmark036631

6774

PCMark045102

5759

PCMark04CPU4931

5541

PCMark04Memory5219

5865


5602

PCMark04HDD4301

4296

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.2E GHz Pentium 4 (Prescott)Motherboard Chaintech 9CJS ZenithBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version Ver 6Chipset Driver 5.0.2.1002




Heatsink Thermalright SLK-948UCPU Fan pcToys 92mm TornadoCD-ROM LiteOn Black 48X/24X/48X/16X


50 • PC Modder

6286 default 3Dmark03 scorein our last article. PCMark04scores were also improved. Theoverall PCMark04 score of5102 was one of the best scoreswe’ve received so far, and the4931 CPU score was 42 pointshigher than the default scoreon the Shuttle board. The9CJS Zenith’s real advantage,however, appears to be in itsmemory subsystem, as theZenith managed a 5219Memory score that was 161points higher than the Shuttle’sdefault Memory score. Finally,we saw slight improvements inboth the Graphics score (5455)and HDD score (4301).

Our temperature probesreported an idle processor tem-perature of 36.2 degrees Celsiusand 29 C for the ambient casetemperature, which is in line with othertemperature readings from the 3.2E GHzprocessor. Under load, however, the proces-sor’s temperature was 1.1 C warmer thanthe default temperature in our last articleand 3.4 C warmer than it was with the ECSboard. With the processor working hard,the ambient case temperature reached 31.5C, which was similar to default load tem-peratures we observed previously.

We pressed DEL during POST toenter the system setup utility. We thenselected Frequency/Voltage Control fromthe main menu. Considering the 9CJS ismeant to be an enthusiast’s board, weweren’t surprised to see a reasonable num-ber of overclocking options. Aside fromthe Default setting, 44 voltage settingswere available with a range from 1.1V to1.675V. Such fine-grain voltage controlcan certainly be helpful when it comes tostabilizing your processor at higher clockspeeds, and it stands in stark contrast tothe two other motherboards we pairedwith the 3.2E GHz (neither of whichallowed you to adjust the CPU voltage).

We selected CPU Clock and usedPAGE UP to adjust the setting to210MHz, which increased our processor’sclock speed from 3.2GHz to 3.41GHz.The increased speeds resulted in a modest

65-point gain in 3DMark04. Wereturned to the system setup utility andincreased the FSB to 220MHz. Afterrebooting, our 3.57GHz Prescott man-aged a 54-point increase to 6740.

Unfortunately, the system failed to bootwhen we increased the FSB to 230MHz.Reducing the FSB to 225MHz (3.65GHz),however, resulted in a solid 67743Dmark03 score. We were able to get a3Dmark03 score of 6682 at 226MHz, but

that score was slightly lowerthan the 3Dmark03 score wereceived at 225MHz. The sys-tem rebooted constantly at both226MHz and 227MHz.

Increasing the CPU voltagefrom 1.325V to 1.425Vimproved our 3Dmark03 scoreat 226MHz, but even then the6762 score was slightly lowerthan the 6774 score wereceived at 225MHz with ourdefault voltage. The highervoltage allowed us to boot thesystem successfully, but3Dmark03 crashed before ren-dering a score. Increasing thevoltage to 1.525V didn’t helpmatters, but at 1.625V, wewere able to get a 3Dmark03score with a 227MHz FSBspeed and 3.68GHz processorspeed. Unfortunately, the score

continued the downward trend we hadobserved since the 225MHz mark. At6377, 3Dmark03 was dramatically lowerthan it was at 225MHz.

We returned the voltage to 1.325V andlowered the FSB to 225MHz before run-ning PCMark04. While 3Dmark03 scoresonly improved a modest 143 points,PCMark04 scores increased dramatically,with the Overall score, CPU score, andMemory scores all showing increases inexcess of 600 points. The OverallPCMark04 score shot up to 5759, whilethe CPU score and Memory scoreimproved to 5541 and 5865 respectively.As always, we saw less change in theGraphics and HDD scores. The Graphicsscore still showed slight improvementfrom 5455 to 5602, while the HDD scorewas down slightly from 4301 to 4296.

Final WordNot only does the Chaintech board

come with plenty of features, but it alsodelivers impressive performance and over-clocks well. We were a little disappointedto see scores go down as we moved past3.65GHz, but the dramatic PCMark04results were certainly impressive.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ Chaintech 9CJS ZenithStock Performance 6631Overclocked Performance 6774

ECS 865G-MStock Performance 6582Overclocked Performance 6607

Shuttle AB60NStock Performance 6286Overclocked Performance 6372

ATX PSU Connectors

Northbridge (875P)

Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Southbridge (Intel ICH5R)EthernetController BIOS

AudioCodec

SATAConnectors

PC Modder • 51

six PCI slots and one 4X/8X AGP slot.An alternate version, the P4G800-VM, isa microATX boards with three PCI slots.

The 865G supports 400MHz, 533MHz,and 800MHz quad-pumped FSB speedsalong with up to 4GB of dual-channelPC3200 DDR SDRAM. Hyper-Threadingsupport and support for processors up to3.4GHz is also provided by this mother-board. Like the 3.2E GHz Prescott chip welooked at earlier, the 3.4GHz ExtremeEdition also requires the motherboard to

conform to FMB 1.5 specifications. TheFMB 1.5 specification provides moreamperes to the processor (91A compared to78A). Luckily, the P4G800-V meets FMB1.5 requirements. The motherboard con-tained the latest BIOS update (1008) withsupport for our 3.2GHz Pentium 4 ExtremeEdition first appearing in revision 1005.

On the southbridge, the P4G800-V fea-tures an Intel ICH5, which supports up to

3.2GHZ PENTIUM 4EXTREME EDITION

& ASUS P4G800-V

We started off looking atIntel's new Prescott-basedPentium 4 processors which

include several changes designed to helpIntel push clock speeds even higher. Asspeeds increase, Prescott is likely tobecome more impressive. Currently, how-ever, Prescott doesn't seem to competevery well with older processors based onthe Northwood core. One reason is thatIntel actually extended Prescott's instruc-tion pipeline. Because the processor isconstantly flooding the pipeline with datait expects the processor will need, thelonger pipeline isn't bad until the proces-sor mispredicts what data the processorwill need. A misprediction is costlybecause the processor has to empty thepipeline and resend the correct data.

At current speeds, Northwood is stillcompetitive with Prescott, and if you're agamer, there may be no better Intelprocessor for you than a Pentium 4Extreme Edition. The Extreme Edition isbased on the Northwood core, which

means it uses the 13-micron (1.3nanometer) fabrication process. North-wood has just half the L2 cache ofPrescott, but it includes a special 2MB ofL3 cache. The added cache makes a bigdifference when it comes to gaming andan even bigger difference when it comesto cost. Extreme Edition processors arethe most expensive processors Intel hason the market.

When we overclocked high-end North-wood processors several months ago, wenoticed less overhead as clock speedsincreased. We simply couldn't push fasterprocessors as far as we could slower ones.Furthermore, we often saw performancescores decrease as clock speeds increased.We've had an easy time pushing Prescottspeeds, but now it's time to turn our atten-tion back to Northwood-based processors.We paired our 3.2GHz Pentium 4Extreme Edition (not to be confused withthe 3.2E GHz, which is a Prescott chip)with an 865G motherboard from ASUS.

MotherboardASUS is one of the big names in over-

clocking and the company has a reputa-tion for stable, reliable boards that over-clock well. As we've said in the past, how-ever, most companies don't target theenthusiast with their 865G motherboards.The main reason is that an enthusiast sim-ply isn't going to be happy with a low-endintegrated Intel video chip. As a result, it

seems 865G motherboards are harder tooverclock and, in some instances, don'teven allow users to increase the FSB.

Unlike our last two 865G mother-boards, the P4G800-V is a full-sized ATXboard instead of a microATX board likethe Biostar P4TSV and the ECS 865G-M. While the latter boards are compatiblewith smaller cases, the P4G800-V pro-vides more expansion options, including

3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionAsus P4G800-V



N/A

FSB200MHz

N/A

Multiplier16

N/A

Voltage1.475

N/A

ProcessorTemp38.5

N/A

CaseTemp28

N/A

3Dmark036311

N/A

PCMark045239

N/A

PCMark04CPU4933

N/A

PCMark04Memory5090

N/A


N/A

PCMark04HDD4267

N/A

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme

EditionMotherboard ASUS P4G800-VBIOSManufacturer AMIBIOS Version 1008Chipset Driver 5.0.2.1003

Common ComponentsRAM DDR SDRAM (2 x 512MB)Video Gainward PowerPack! Ultra/

1800 XP Golden Sample(GeForce FX 5950 Ultra)




52 • PC Modder

eight USB 2.0 ports and twoindependent SATA 150 drives.The motherboard also supportstwo UDMA 100 IDE connec-tors (for a total of four devices).

With chips being so inexpen-sive, it's hard to find a mother-board that doesn't include inte-grated audio and Ethernet. TheRealtek ALC650 provides sixchannels of audio and the inte-grated Realtek 8101L Ethernetcontroller provides 10/100Ethernet connectivity.

OverclockAlthough the P4G800-V

supports our 3.2GHz Pentium4 Extreme Edition, the AMIBIOS lacked an option toadjust the motherboard's FSB.This was extremely disappoint-ing for an ASUS-brandedmotherboard as it prevented us from over-clocking the board.

The AMI BIOS is a little different fromthe Phoenix BIOS we've seen in mother-boards to this point. To access the setuputility, we still pressed the DEL key duringPOST. The layout of the BIOS, however,was very different. We navigated tabsacross the top of the screen using the Leftand Right arrow keys and selected optionson the screen using the Up and Downarrow keys. Under the Main tab, there is asubmenu for system information. Thisscreen provides the processor type andclock speed, but there are no options toadjust or change the CPU or FSB speeds.Under the Advanced tab, there is a CPUConfiguration option, but again this pro-vides mostly information. The processormanufacturer, brand, frequency, multiplierstatus, and multiplier value are listed here.

There are some useful settings in theChipset section under the Advanced tab,but again no option to modify the FSB.You can Disable Configure DRAMTiming By SPD to manually adjust yourmemory timings. Once disabled, you canadjust DRAM CAS# Latency, DRAMRAS# Precharge, DRAM RAS# To CAS#Delay, DRAM Precharge Delay, andDRAM Burst Length. You can also adjust

the amount of system memory used forvideo memory in the Chipset section.

Despite the lack of a FSB adjustment,we went ahead and ran our benchmarksto get an idea how the 3.2GHz ExtremeEdition stacks up to its Prescott cousinsin terms of performance. The P4G800-Vran our Extreme Edition with a defaultvoltage of 1.475V. 3Dmark03 returned asomewhat disappointing 6311 score forour 3.2GHz processor. This was 271points less than the 6582 score posted by

the 3.2GHz Prescott on theECS 865G-M motherboard.

Typically, the extra cacheseems to have more of animpact on application benchessuch as 3Dmark03. In this case,however, PCMark04 scoresseemed to be higher relative tothe 3.2GHz Prescott on the865G-M board. The OverallPCMark04 score of 5239 wasmore than 200 points betterthan the 5022 score posted bythe 3.2GHz Prescott and the4933 CPU score was more than100 points higher than the4819 CPU score posted by thePrescott. We did see a higherthan expected increase in theGraphics score as we managed a5647 with our 3.2GHz EE thatwas 190 points higher than our3.2GHz Prescott. The Memory

score showed only a slight improvement to5090 from 5012 and the HDD score wasdown slightly from 4305 to 4267.

We've heard a lot about just how hotPrescott runs. Our heat probes, of course,aren't in contact with the processor's core,so our measurements are only an indirectindicator of the chip's heat. Comparingour default readings for Prescott processorswith our readings for Northwood-basedExtreme Edition processors, however,demonstrate just how much hotterPrescott runs. Our 3.2GHz Prescott's tem-perature ranged from 41.2 degrees Celsiusunder load to 44.6 C. Under load, our3.2GHz EE ran at 38.5 C. The Prescottsystem had an ambient case temperature ofaround 30 C, while ambient case tempera-tures rested at around 28 C when runningour 3.2GHz Extreme Edition.

Final WordThe lack of overclocking options is a

real disappointment, especially for anASUS board. Nonetheless, our defaultscores provide an interesting glimpse as tohow our Northwood-based ExtremeEdition fares compared to a newer proces-sor running Intel's Prescott core.

by Chad Denton


Soyo SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2Stock Performance 6292Overclocked Performance 6379

★★ ASUS P4G800-V Stock Performance 6311Overclocked Performance N/A

ATX Power Connector

Northbridge (865G)

EthernetController

SATAConnector

Southbridge (ICH5)

BIOS

Audio Codec

PC Modder • 53

better than the 3.2GHz Prescott man-aged. The 4291 HDD score was upslightly from our last article.

Under load, we recorded a tempera-ture of 38.8 degrees Celsius for our3.2GHz Extreme Edition. This was sim-i lar to the 38.5 C temperature werecorded in our last case study and itwas significantly lower than the 43.5 Ctemperature we recorded with our3.2GHz Prescott processor under load.The ambient case temperature for our

system was also consistent with our lastarticle at 29 C.

After recording the default scores, werebooted the system and accessed the sys-tem setup utility by pressing DEL duringPOST. We selected the first entry in themain menu, Soyo COMBO Feature. Wethen selected CPU Frequency Select andchanged the value from Auto to Manual.We were than able to adjust the Select

3.2GHZ PENTIUM 4 EXTREME EDITION & SOYO

SY-P4I865PE PLUS DRAGON 2

After a disappointing run with a3.2GHz Pentium 4 ExtremeEdition and an ASUS 865G

motherboard, we were anxious to moveon and see just how far we could pushthis already speedy processor. This timewe paired our 3.2GHz Extreme Editionwith an 865PE chipset. The 865PE ismore popular with enthusiasts because itoffers excellent performance for the price.

MotherboardFor this case study, we used the Soyo

P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2. This boardisn't to be confused with the SoyoP4I865PE Dragon 2 Plus. Both boardsinclude an Intel 865PE chipset on thenorthbridge and an Intel ICH5 on thesouthbridge. Our motherboard, however,has just three memory slots. That meansthat although the motherboard supportsdual-channel DDR SDRAM up toPC3200 speeds, you won't be able to takefull advantage of dual-channel memory ifyou fill all slots. Both boards also includefive PCI slots and one 4X/8X AGP slot.

The alternate board, however, includes aCNR slot that our board lacks.

The 865PE supports 400MHz,533MHz, and 800MHz quad-pumpedFSB speeds, and the motherboard itself iscapable of supporting Prescott andExtreme Edition processors. The ICH5on the southbridge supports two indepen-dent SATA RAID devices and as many aseight USB 2.0 devices. A CMI 9739A

integrated audio codec provides six-chan-nel audio and a Davicom DM9102 pro-vides 10/100 Ethernet connectivity.

OverclockingWe eventually got some first-rate

results from the P4I865PE, but we hadto play with some of the system settingsin order to stabilize the system at higherFSB speeds. We started off, as always,by benchmarking the system with itsdefault settings.

At 3.2GHz, our Extreme Editionprocessor managed a 6292 3Dmark03score. This score was essentially the sameas the 6286 3Dmark03 score we receivedwith our 3.2GHz Prescott on a ShuttleAB60N 865PE motherboard and wasslightly lower than the 6311 score we gotin the last case study. The 5171 OverallPCMark04 score was about 131 pointsfaster than the Overall PCMark04 scoreposted by the 3.2GHz Prescott on an865PE motherboard, but it was down128 points from our last article.Compared to the CPU score posted by

our 3.2GHz Prescott chip, the ExtremeEdition's CPU score was down 45 pointsto 4844. Once again, this score was sig-nificantly lower than in our last article aswas the 4947 Memory score. TheMemory score for our Extreme Editionprocessor was lower than the 3.2GHzPrescott's. The 5638 Graphics score,however, was on a par with the score fromour last case study and was 205 points

3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionSoyo SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2



3.6GHz

FSB200MHz

225MHz

Multiplier16

16

Voltage1.47

1.47

ProcessorTemp38.8

40.3

CaseTemp29

28.2

3Dmark036292

6379

PCMark045171

5812

PCMark04CPU4844

5065

PCMark04Memory4947

5577


5658

PCMark04HDD4291

4282

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.2GHz Pentium 4

Extreme EditionMotherboard Soyo P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2BIOSManufacturer Phoenix Award BIOSBIOS Version P4IP2_2BA1Chipset Driver 5.0.1.1015






54 • PC Modder

Frequency 1MHz Steppingentry from 200MHz to210MHz. Unfortunately, thesystem refused to boot, so wereturned to the system setuputility and decreased the FSBto 205MHz. Again the systemrefused to boot. Scaling backthe FSB to 201MHz resultedin a 3.21GHz overclock and a3Dmark03 score that was vir-tually unchanged at 6295, butat least we had a successfuloverclock. We moved the FSBup to 202MHz and managedto improve our 3Dmark03score to 6300 with a 3.23GHzprocessor, but the results werepretty disappointing.

We turned to our old stabil-ity standby fix, the CPUVoltage. We increased thevoltage from 1.47V to 1.5Vand 1.6V, but the system refused to boot.That's when we returned to the setuputility and noticed the Async AGP/PCIClk was set to Disabled. This means theAGP and PCI clocks are trying to keeppace with the FSB, which can cause insta-bility. Locking the AGP and PCI bus atan appropriate speed will cost you a littlein terms of performance, but it will go along way toward increasing the systemsstability and allow you to overclock theprocessor further. We set this option to33/66MHz, returned our CPU Voltage to1.47V, and increased our FSB speed to205MHz. The system not only bootedsuccessfully, but it even completed3Dmark03. Unfortunately, the scoreshowed only a modest improvement to6302, but at least we knew we were onthe right track.

We increased the frontside bus to210MHz resulting in a 3.36GHz proces-sor. This time we started seeing some sig-nificant improvements as the 3Dmark03score increased to 6337. We pushed thefrontside bus on the Extreme Edition fur-ther to 220MHz and the system remainedstable with the processor running at3.52GHz. At this speed, the 3Dmark03score increased to 6374, and actuallytopped the 3Dmark03 score for our

3.2GHz Prescott chip running at thesame speed.

Increasing the frontside bus to230MHz prevented the system frombooting, so we dropped the FSB downto 225MHz. Our 3.6GHz processormanaged a 6379 3Dmark03 score. Wewere actually able to get the 3.2GHzExtreme Edition running slightly fasterthan our 3.2GHz Prescott processor onan 865PE motherboard.

Attempts to push the FSBspeeds higher kept the systemfrom booting and increasingthe CPU voltage was littlehelp, so we returned to225MHz and ran PCMark04.Scores showed dramaticimprovement over the proces-sor's original scores. TheOverall PCMark04 scoreincreased 641 points to 5812and the CPU score increased221 points to 5065. TheMemory score showed a dra-matic improvement up 630points to 5577 while theGraphics score showed a moremodest 20-point increase to5658. The HDD score de-creased very slightly this timearound to 4282.

The PCMark04 scores com-pared favorably to the PC-

Mark04 scores we received from the3.2GHz Prescott running at 3.58GHz.The Prescott's Overall PCMark04 scorewas dramatically lower at 5578, but thePrescott enjoyed a higher 5438 CPUscore. The Prescott lagged behind in theMemory score with a 5644 and theGraphics score was slightly lower at 5564.The 4300 HDD score enjoyed a slightadvantage over our more recent bench-mark score.

Final WordThe Soyo P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2

provides the first glimpse into what kindof overclocking performance we canexpect from the 3.2GHz ExtremeEdition with its Northwood core. Wewere surprised that the Extreme Edition,at least when paired with the Soyo board,offered a little more overclocking head-room than our 3.2GHz Prescott. Next,we'll slap our Intel 3.2GHz ExtremeEdition into Chaintech's 875P mother-board and see just how well the ExtremeEdition processor compares directly withour 3.2GHz Prescott.

by Chad Denton


★★ Soyo SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2Stock Performance 6292Overclocked Performance 6379

ASUS P4G800-VStock Performance 6311Overclocked Performance N/A

Northbridge (865GPE)

ATX Power Connector

Ethernet Controller

BIOS

Southbridge (ICH5)

SATAConnector

Audio Codec

PC Modder • 55

Edition compared to the 3.2GHz Prescottwe looked at earlier. At default speeds, the3.2GHz Extreme Edition seemed to have aslight advantage over the Prescott. The6671 3Dmark03 score was 40 points fasterthan the 6631 score posted by our Prescottprocessor on the same motherboard.

PCMark04 scores also seemed to favorour 3.2GHz Extreme Edition. The 5384Overall PCMark04 score was significantlyfaster than the 5102 score posted byPrescott. The 5043 CPU score also favored

our Extreme Edition by 112 points. Wewere initially impressed by the Chaintechboard's Memory scores when we tested itwith our Prescott, but we were even moreimpressed with the 5364 Memory score wegot with our Extreme Edition processor.That's 145 points higher than with thePrescott running at the same speed. Weusually don't see much of a difference inthe Graphics scores either, but the Extreme

3.2GHZ PENTIUM 4EXTREME EDITION &CHAINTECH 9CJS ZENITH

With our 865PE-based SoyoP4I865PE Plus Dragon 2motherboard, we were finally

able to overclock our 3.2GHz Pentium 4Extreme Edition. For our efforts we gotsome fairly impressive results. We added400MHz to the processor's default speedand managed to get it running well at3.6GHz, which was just slightly faster thanthe 3.58GHz speed we achieved with our3.2GHz Prescott. Now we'll combine theExtreme Edition with a motherboard we'veseen before, Chaintech's 9CJS Zenith.

MotherboardWe first saw the Chaintech 9CJS

Zenith when we looked at the 3.2E GHzPrescott. We used the Chaintech board toreplace the AOpen AX4C motherboard,which lacked Prescott support. We hadhoped that the AOpen would run ourExtreme Edition with its older Northwoodcore. Unfortunately, the Extreme Editionhas some of the same power requirementsas Prescott. The motherboard's deficiencies

were apparent every time we tried to run3Dmark03—the board simply crashed.We ended up scraping the AX4C com-pletely. For this case study we opted to usethe Chaintech 9CJS once again. This willgive us an opportunity to directly comparethe 3.2GHz Prescott to our 3.2GHzExtreme Edition.

This particular board is Chaintech'sflagship product and it includes Intel's

flagship chipset, the 875P. Like the865PE, the 875P includes support for upto 4GB of dual-channel memory (up toPC3200), 8X AGP, and FSB speeds ashigh as 800MHz (quad-pumped, ofcourse). The 875P, however, supportsIntel's PAT technology which providesmore aggressive memory timings whenusing dual-channel PC3200 memory. TheICH5R supports RAID 0 or 1 on the twoindependent SATA connectors.

Like most motherboards, the Chaintechincludes integrated audio, but unlike mostboards, the audio codec supports 7.1 sur-round sound. Integrated Ethernet is alsoincluded, but rather than one Ethernetcontroller, Chaintech provides dual con-trollers. A Realtek RTL8101L providesstandard 10/100 Ethernet connectivity,while an Intel PRO/100CT providesGigabit Ethernet connectivity.

But Chaintech doesn't stop with thoseimpressive motherboard features. The9CJS Zenith also includes the CBOX3,which fits into an external 5.25-inch drive

bay and includes USB and FireWire portsin addition to a 6-in-1 card reader thathandles a wide range of removable mediafrom SD to Memory Stick. Chaintechincludes assorted faceplates to make theCBOX3 match your case color.

OverclockWe were looking forward to seeing how

far we could push the 3.2GHz Extreme

3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionChaintech 9CJS Zenith



3.65GHz

FSB200MHz

225MHz

Multiplier16

16

Voltage1.5

1.6

ProcessorTemp38.4

41.2

CaseTemp30.4

31.6

3Dmark036671

6814

PCMark045384

5920

PCMark04CPU5043

5477

PCMark04Memory5364

6034


5648

PCMark04HDD4300

4293


Extreme EditionMotherboard Chaintech 9CJS ZenithBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version Ver. 6Chipset Driver 5.0.2.1002






56 • PC Modder

Edition managed to outscoreour Prescott by 175 points withits 5630. The HDD scoreswere virtually identical with thePrescott posting 4301 and theExtreme Edition posting 4300.

Compared to the previousarticle, 3Dmark03 scores wereup 379 points, which is a hugeamount for this benchmark.PCMark04's Overall, CPU,and Memory scores were also allup significantly. The Graphicsand HDD scores, on the otherhand, differed very slightly.

Again, CPU and case tem-peratures were similar to whatwe've seen in the last two arti-cles. The processor tempera-ture under load reached 38.4degrees Celsius and the ambi-ent case temperature reached30.4 C. Previous 3.2GHzExtreme Edition temperatures were allaround 38 C and ambient case tempera-tures were around 29 C.

After recording the default information,we started overclocking the ExtremeEdition. During POST, we pressed theDELETE key to enter the system setuputility. From here, we selected Freq-uency/Voltage Control and then SelectCPU Clock. We used PAGE UP andPAGE DOWN to change the value fromthe default 200MHz to 210MHz. Thisincreased our processor speed from thedefault 3.2GHz to 3.41GHz and resultedin a significant 3Dmark03 improvement to6729. We were easily able to increase theprocessor's clock speed to 3.57GHz byincreasing the FSB to 220MHz. This yield-ed a 6768 3Dmark03 score.

Earlier we were able to reach 3.65GHzwith our Prescott processor withoutincreasing the processor's core voltage. At3.65GHz, however, our system wasunable to boot. We decreased the FSBfrom 225MHz to 223MHz and manageda 6793 3Dmark03 score. Increasing theFSB to 224MHz increased our processor'sclock speed from 3.62GHz to 3.63GHzand increased 3Dmark03 scores to 6810.We increased our CPU Voltage from thedefault 1.5V to 1.6V and then increased

the FSB back to 225MHz. This time, thesystem proved stable at 3.65GHz and wemanaged a 6814 3Dmark03 score.

Increasing the FSB to 226MHz causedWindows to reboot. We were able to getthe system stable at 3.68GHz by increasingthe CPU Voltage to 1.675V, but our3Dmark03 score began to fall with the FSB at 227MHz. We had seen this earlierwith our Prescott processor. Subsequentattempts to overclock the motherboardproved unsuccessful.

We returned to the 225MHzFSB speed that had provided uswith our best 3D-mark03 score.Interestingly enough, this is thesame speed at which ourPrescott provided its best per-formance. PCMark-04 scoresshowed significant improve-ments as the Overall PC-Mark03 score rose 536 pointsto 5920. The CPU score saw asimilar improvement of 434points to 5477. Most dramatic,however, was the 670 pointincrease in our Memory score asit topped the 6000 mark to6034. The Graphics and HDDscores, on the other hand, were largely unchanged. TheGraphics score increased 18points to 5648 and the HDDscore fell 7 to 4293.

Once again, most scores wereup dramatically compared to the 3.2GHzPrescott on the same motherboard and run-ning at the same 3.65GHz speed. TheExtreme Edition's 6814 3Dmark03 scorewas 40 points higher than the Prescott's.The Extreme Edition's PCMark04 Overalland Memory scores were all significantlyhigher than the Prescott's. The OverallPCMark04 score was 161 points higher,while the Memory score was up 169 points.Interestingly enough, however, the Prescottmanaged a slight advantage in the CPUscore as Prescott proved almost 65 pointsfaster. The Extreme Edition did manage a46 point higher Graphics score, while theHDD scores were virtually identical.

Final WordComparing the Chaintech 9CJS Zenith

to the Soyo and ASUS boards we examinedearlier makes it clear that Chaintech's 875Pboard not only provides a number of high-end features, but also delivers on perfor-mance and stability. Being able to comparethe 3.2GHz versions of Prescott andExtreme Edition also proved interesting.We were able to get our best scores fromboth CPUs at 3.65GHz, but the ExtremeEdition won most of the benchmarks.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ Chaintech 9CJS ZenithStock Performance 6671Overclocked Performance 6809

Soyo SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2Stock Performance 6292Overclocked Performance 6379

ASUS P4G800-VStock Performance 6311Overclocked Performance N/A

Northbridge (875P)

ATX PSU Connectors

GigabitEthernet

Controller

Southbridge(Intel ICH5R)

Ethernet Controller

SATAConnectors

BIOS

AudioCodec

PC Modder • 57

OverclockOf course, what good is all that chrome

if the engine itself is lacking. Althoughwe've been pleasantly surprised by the per-formance of some 865G boards, we've beenconsistently disappointed by their over-clocking performance. Before we evenbegin to look at overclocking the GA-8IG1000 Pro-G, however, we need to takesome preliminary benchmarks.

Compared to the 3.2GHz ExtremeEdition on the ASUS P4G800-V, the GA-8IG1000 Pro-G motherboard flat out smokes. At the default speed of3.4GHz, our Extreme Edition managed a3Dmark03 score of 6654, 343 points high-er than the 3.2GHz on the ASUS board.The faster processor, of course, makes up some of that performance increase.Nonetheless, a 343-point increase in

3.4GHZ PENTIUM 4 EXTREME

EDITION & GIGABYTE

GA-8IG1000 PRO-G

About the time Intel officiallyreleased its new Prescott core, it announced a newer, faster

Pentium 4 Extreme Edition. Like the ear-lier Extreme Edition, the new processorwas based on a Northwood core with a13-micron fabrication process and 512KBL2 cache. Like its predecessor, the newchip also featured a massive 2MB L3cache. The new chip, however, ran at aslightly higher clock speed of 3.4GHz.Since that time, Intel has announced anupdated LGA-based 3.4GHz ExtremeEdition. Unfortunately, that announce-ment came much too close to press timefor us to procure the latest Extreme Edi-tion. Regardless, we were able to take alook at the original 3.4GHz Pentium 4Extreme Edition, which is still one of thefastest processors on the market.

MotherboardWe've been pretty down on 802.11G

motherboards with good reason. Over-clocking results on 865G motherboards

have been lackluster at best and, on at leastone occasion, we were completely unableto overclock the motherboard at all.Again, we think you have to go back tothe inclusion of an integrated graphicschip with the 865G board. Enthusiastsand overclockers simply aren't going to behappy with an integrated video chip, sowhy drive up motherboard costs by usinghigh-end components?

Gigabyte has elected to follow a differentpath. Its GA-8IG1000 Pro-G motherboardincludes components and features com-monly found on higher-end models. Theintegrated Realtek ALC850 audio codec,for instance, provides 7.1 surround soundand the Marvell Gigabit Ethernet controllergoes far beyond the 10/100 Ethernet con-trollers found on most other 865G boards.Another interesting feature is Giga-byte's MIB (Memory Intelligent Booster).According to Gigabyte, MIB reduces mem-ory latency and increases memory band-width by as much as 10%. Is it just us or does that sound strangely similar toIntel's PAT (Performance AccelerationTechnology)? PAT, of course, is only offi-cially supported on 875P chipsets, butwe've seen some motherboard manufactur-ers enabling PAT on 865PE chipsets.

The 865G, of course, includes supportfor Intel's Extreme Graphics Engine 2video chip. If you prefer to use somethingmore powerful, the GA-8IG1000 Pro-Gmotherboard also includes a 4X/8X AGP

slot. Like the 865PE and 875P, the 865Gsupports FSB speeds as high as 800MHzand up to 4GB of dual channel PC3200DDR SDRAM.

Gigabyte paired the 865G with an IntelICH5 on the southbridge. The ICH5, ofcourse, doesn't support SATA RAID 0 or1 the way the ICH5R does. We missed theRAID options all the more considering allthe other high-end features on this board.

3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionGigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-G



3.85GHz

FSB200MHz

225MHz

Multiplier17

17

Voltage1.55

1.6

ProcessorTemp42

44.6

CaseTemp30

30.5

3Dmark036654

6719

PCMark045469

5895

PCMark04CPU5171

5830

PCMark04Memory5110

5029


5720

PCMark04HDD4259

4254

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme

EditionMotherboard Gigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-GBIOSManufacturer Award BIOSBIOS Version F3Chipset Driver 5.1.1.1002





48X/24X/48X/16X DVD/CD-RW

Floppy Samsung 1.44MBPower Supply Antec 430W TruePowerCase Antec PLUS1080AMGTemperature Monitor MacPower Digital Doc 5

58 • PC Modder

3Dmark03 is certainly signifi-cant. The move from a 3GHzPrescott to a 3.2GHz Pres-cott, for instance, only caused3Dmark03 scores to rise a littlemore than 100 points on high-end Intel 875P motherboards.

PCMark04 scores were alsosignificantly higher. The Over-all PCMark04 score increased230 points to 5469 while theCPU score increased 231 pointsfrom the scores posted by the3.2GHz Extreme Edition onthe ASUS 865G board. Despitethe talk about Gigabyte's MIBtechnology, we didn't see ahuge increase in the PCMark04Memory score although we did note a slight increase from 5090 to 5110. The Graphicsscore also showed a very slightincrease as it climbed from5647 to 5673. The HDD score was virtual-ly unchanged at 4259.

The 3.4GHz Extreme Edition does runa bit warmer than the 3.2GHz ExtremeEdition. Our temperature probe mea-sured a 42 degree Celsius temperaturewith the processor under load and anambient case temperature of 30 C. Byway of comparison, the 3.2GHz ExtremeEdition measured 38.5 C under load. Inthe next two articles, however, tempera-tures fell back down to the 38 C range.

We were impressed with the GA-8IG1000 Pro-G's performance and fea-tures, but now it was time to see how wellit overclocked. We rebooted the systemand pressed the DELETE key duringPOST to access the setup utility. We thenselected Frequency/Voltage Control fromthe main menu and changed Select CPUHost Control from Disabled to Enabled.This allowed us to adjust the CPU HostFrequency along with the AGP/PCI/SRC Fixed Settings. We were extreme-ly impressed with the wide range of options offered by this motherboard. For instance, there were 32 differentAGP/PCI/SRC Fixed settings to choosefrom. We left the setting at its default66/33/100 value. There are also 66 differ-ent CPU Voltage settings to choose from.

The wide range of options and settingsin the setup utility suggested Gigabyte gavesome thought to overclockers. We selectedCPU Host Frequency and increased theFSB from 200MHz to 210MHz. Aftersaving our settings and rebooting the sys-tem, our processor was operating at3.58GHz. The increased speed resulted inan even better 3Dmark03 score of 6696.We increased the FSB to 220MHz andmanaged a 6700 in 3Dmark03 with ourprocessor running at 3.75GHz.

We started running intoproblems as we pushed the FSB to 230MHz. At that speedthe processor was running at3.91GHz and Windows con-tinually rebooted. We had todecrease the FSB to 224MHzbefore we were able to get thesystem working again. Withour processor running at3.82GHz we managed a 67083Dmark03 score. Increas-ing the voltage from 1.55V to 1.60V helped stabilize the system at 225MHz (3.85GHz). We managed ourbest 3Dmark03 score of 6719at this speed.

We also managed a success-ful overclock at 226MHz, butour 3.86GHz processor yield-ed a slightly lower 3Dmark03score of 6705. Attempts to

increase the voltage so we could push theprocessor's clock speed higher resulted inan unstable system.

We returned to a 225MHz FSB and a3.85GHz processor speed then reranPCMark04. Scores had increased drasticallyfrom the baseline scores we recorded earlier.The Overall PCMark04 score increasedmore than 400 points to 5895 and theProcessor score increased nearly 660 pointsto 5830. The Memory score, however,showed a slight decrease as it fell to 5029while the Graphics score showed a modestimprovement of 47 points to 5720. TheHDD score, of course, remained largelyunchanged at 4254.

Final WordWe were thoroughly impressed by

Gigabyte's GA-8IG1000 Pro-G mother-board. Not only does it come with high-end features such as eight-channel audioand Gigabit Ethernet, but it also providesexcellent performance and is actually one ofthe more overclockable boards we've seenin this roundup. OK, SATA RAID wouldmake this great board even better, but wewere certainly glad we saved this board forour last 865G motherboard.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Chaintech S865PEStock Performance 6631Overclocked Performance 6800

★★ Gigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-GStock Performance 6654Overclocked Performance 6719

MSI 875P Neo-FIS2RStock Performance 6296Overclocked Performance 6424

Northbridge (865G)

Southbridge(ICH5)

SATA Connector

Audio Codec

BIOS

ATX Power ConnectorGigabit Ethernet

Controller

PC Modder • 59

3Dmark03 score posted by our 875Pmotherboard in the next article.

PCMark04 scores were also impressive.The 5567 Overall PCMark04 score wasthe highest default Overall PCMark04score we posted as was the 5238 CPUscore. The Chaintech Zenith board welooked at earlier seemed to provide excel-lent PCMark04 Memory scores and theS865PE followed suit with a 5286Memory score. Even the 5694 Graphicsscore was the best default score of any

motherboard/processor combination inthis series of reviews. The HDD score, onthe other hand, hovered near the 4300mark that most systems seemed to average.

Under load, we recorded a 38.2degree Celsius processor temperatureand a 27.7 C ambient case temperature.This temperature was similar to temper-atures posted by the 3.2GHz ExtremeEdition and cooler than the 42 C

3.4GHZ PENTIUM 4EXTREME EDITION

& CHAINTECH S865PE

For the first time in a long time,we came away impressed by anIntel 865G-based motherboard.

The Gigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-Gmotherboard provided both performanceand stability, but instead of looking for-ward to moving on, we found ourselveswondering if there was any way toimprove. Luckily, we have a Chaintech865PE motherboard up next.

MotherboardChaintech has a reputation among

enthusiasts for its performance-orientedand stable motherboards. We've looked atthe Chaintech 9CJS Zenith a couple oftimes already and came away impressed.Unlike the Zenith board, the S865PEdoes without some of the extras (such asthe CBOX3 and remote control includedwith the Zenith board), but as you'll see,it still delivers where it counts.

The 865PE chipset supports FSBspeeds as fast as 800MHz and can sup-port as much as 4GB of dual channel

PC3200 DDR SDRAM. On theS865PE, however, Chaintech onlyincludes two DDR SDRAM slots. Thatmeans that although the chipset sup-ports 4GB of memory, the motherboarditself only supports 2GB.

Chaintech chose to pair the 865PEon the northbridge with an Intel ICH5on the southbridge. The ICH5 sup-ports two SATA 150 drives, up to four

UDMA 100 devices, and up to eightUSB 2.0 ports. The Chaintech Zenithboard we looked at earlier used an IntelICH5R chip on the southbridge to pro-vide RAID 0 or 1 support on SATA dri-ves, but on this board Chaintech optedfor the standard ICH5.

Additionally, the S865PE also includesan integrated AC'97 audio codec thatsupports six-channel audio and a Real-tek 8101L 10/100 Ethernet controller.Again, neither of these options are as im-pressive as the eight-channel audio andGigabit Ethernet found on the ChaintechZenith board, but neither option is sub-par. The motherboard includes one 1.5V4X/8X AGP slot and five PCI slots,which should provide most users withplenty of room for expansion.

OverclockThe Chaintech 9CJS Zenith board

we looked at earlier provided excel-lent overclocking performance and man-aged to provide some standout scores

relative to other boards. We were hope-ful this 865PE version would providesimilar capabilities.

Our default benchmark scores wereimpressive all the way around. Our 66313Dmark03 score was slightly lower thanthe 6654 default 3Dmark03 score weposted in our last article, but generallyspeaking it's a much better score than wetypically see and it bested the highest

3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionChaintech S865PE



3.69GHz

FSB200MHz

214MHz

Multiplier17

17

VoltageN/A

N/A

ProcessorTemp38.2

40.4

CaseTemp27.7

29

3Dmark036631

6800

PCMark045567

6048

PCMark04CPU5238

5499

PCMark04Memory5286

5654


5657

PCMark04HDD4292

4289


Extreme EditionMotherboard Chaintech S865PEBIOSManufacturer Phoenix-Award BIOS Version S865PEChipset Driver 4.20.1009






60 • PC Modder

processor temperature report-ed in our last article. Tem-peratures were similar underload in the next article, whichsuggest that the higher 42 Ctemperature in our previousarticle may be an anomaly.

After recording our tempera-tures, we rebooted the systemand pressed DELETE duringPOST to enter the setup utility.We selected Frequency/VoltageControl from the main menuand immediately noticed therewas no option to adjust theCPU voltage. This was a littledisappointing as it's often nec-essary to increase the processor'svoltage in order to make it sta-ble at higher clock speeds. Wedid manage to increase the FSBfrom 200MHz to 210MHz byselecting CPU Clock and usingPAGE UP and PAGE DOWN. After sav-ing our settings and rebooting the system,our 3.4GHz Extreme Edition was runningat 3.62GHz.

We saw a modest 3Dmark03 improve-ment as our score increased to 6697.Increasing the FSB an additional 10MHzto 220MHz, however, prevented the sys-tem from booting properly. Decreasingthe FSB to 215MHz caused Windows toreboot, but at least we seemed to be mov-ing in the right direction. Setting the FSBto 214MHz set the processor's clockspeed at 3.69GHz. The system was notonly stable at this speed, it provided uswith the best 3Dmark03 score we sawthroughout this entire roundup of Intelprocessors at 6800.

Not being able to increase our pro-cessor's core voltage means the S865PEwon't let you overclock as far as its 875P-based Zenith counterpart, but the3Dmark03 score was certainly impressive.PCMark04 scores were also impressive.The 6048 Overall PCMark04 was the bestPCMark04 score posted on the Intel side ofthis roundup as was the 5654 Memoryscore. The 5499 CPU score and 5657Graphics scores were still impressivealthough we were able to top those scoreswith the 875P motherboard in our next

article. As always, the 4289 HDD score wasroughly the same as scores we've seenthroughout this roundup.

Although the Chaintech S865PElacked the ability to adjust the proces-sor's voltage, we hit the same speed limi-tation with the S865PE and the 3.4GHzExtreme Edition that we hit with the3.2GHz Extreme Edition and theChaintech 875P-based 9CJS Zenith.Both processors topped out at 3.68GHzand 3.69GHz respectively, but the

Zenith board's 3Dmark03scores started to plummet aswe increased the speed pastthe 3.65GHz mark. Naturally,the 3.2GHz Extreme Editionshowed more improvement inPCMark04 because its speedincreased more.

Although we managed toget the same 3.4GHz proces-sor up to 3.85GHz in the lastcase study, we saw higher per-formance scores from ourChaintech board. The 5720PCMark04 Graphics score inour last article was better thanthe 5657 score we postedhere. Aside from the Graphicsscore, however, the Chaintechboard provided better scoresacross the board including an81-point better 3Dmark03score with a processor that

was running 160MHz slower.We did see a slight increase in tempera-

ture as speeds increased. At 3.69GHz, our3.4GHz Extreme Edition's temperaturerose 2.2 degrees to 40.4 C. The ambientcase temperature increased 1.3 degrees to29 C. Even these temperatures were wellbelow the 42 C default temperature werecorded in our last article. At the maxi-mum overclocked speed, temperatures inour previous article hit 44.3 C, 3.9degrees warmer than the highest tempera-ture we recorded here.

Final WordWe were disappointed that we couldn't

overclock the 3.4GHz Extreme Editionquite as far on the Chaintech as we man-aged in our last article. We would love tosee what kind of scores we could achieveon the Chaintech board with the pro-cessor running at 3.85GHz. In terms of performance, however, the ChaintechS865PE more than delivered. Althoughwe achieved faster FSB and processorspeeds on the Gigabyte board in our lastarticle, almost all the scores from theChaintech board eclipsed scores from theGigabyte board.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ Chaintech S865PEStock Performance 6631Overclocked Performance 6800

Gigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-GStock Performance 6654Overclocked Performance 6719

MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R Stock Performance 6296Overclocked Performance 6424

Northbridge (865PE)

ATX Power Connector

Ethernet Controller

Audio Codec

Southbridge (ICH5)

BIOS

SATAConnector

PC Modder • 61

processor on the Gigabyte 865G moth-erboard. PCMark04 scores were alsolower than in our previous articles. The5431 Overall PCMark04 score waslower than the 5567 Overall score wegot originally on the 865PE mother-board and the 5469 Overall score wereceived from the 865G motherboard.We were also disappointed in the 5034CPU score. Despite the 875P's supportfor PAT, the 5055 Memory score wasthe lowest default score we recorded

with our 3.4GHz Extreme Edition. The5664 Graphics score was also the lowest,although it wasn't too far behind the5673 Graphics score posted on the865G and the 5694 score posted on the865PE motherboards. The 4274 HDDscore was lower than the 4292 HDDscore posted by the 865PE, but it wasfaster than the 4259 HDD score postedby the Gigabyte board.

3.4GHZ EXTREME EDITION

& MSI 875P NEO-FIS2R

So far we've reviewed 11 differentmotherboard and processor com-binations, starting with the Intel

3E GHz Pentium 4, based on Intel's newPrescott core, on up to the pricey3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition.Now we finish the series by pairing the3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Editionwith MSI's 875P-based NEO-FIS2R. Asyou'll see, the MSI motherboard fellsomewhere between the Gigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-G and the ChaintechS865PE in both performance and pureoverclocking ability.

MotherboardThe MSI 875P NEO-FIS2R uses

Intel's high-end (aka expensive) 875Pchipset. The 875P's primary claim tofame is support for PAT (PerformanceAcceleration Technology). According toIntel, PAT uses more aggressive memorytimings to reduce memory latency andimprove performance. In addition toPAT, the 875P also supports ECCmemory, making it a more attractiveboard for workstations and servers.Aside from PAT and ECC support, the

875P is fairly similar to Intel's lessexpensive 865PE. Both chipsets supportFSB speeds as fast as 800MHz, up to4GB of dual-channel PC3200 DDRSDRAM, and 8X AGP.

Complementing the 875P is Intel'sICH5R on the southbridge. The ICH5Rprovides the same support for dual SATA150 drives, but adds support for RAIDlevels 0 or 1. The ICH5R also supports

up to eight USB 2.0 ports and standardATA devices such as optical drives orIDE hard drives. The ICH5R, however,doesn't support multilevel RAID, such asRAID 0+1. A Promise 20378 RAID con-troller and two additional SATA connec-tors, however, provide support for RAID0+1. The Promise RAID controller alsosupports RAID on the yellow coloredIDE connector.

It's almost impossible to find a moth-erboard that doesn't include onboardaudio and Ethernet. MSI included anAC'97 audio codec that supports 5.1surround sound. The motherboard doessupport SPDIF out, but only throughan included S-bracket that connects tothe back of the case. Ethernet connectiv-ity comes via an Intel 82547EI GigabitEthernet controller.

OverclockThe MSI 875P NEO-FIS2R has

plenty of features, but what we werereally interested in was whether or notthis motherboard could provide thekind of performance we saw from theChaintech S865PE or the overclocking

ability of the Gigabyte GA-8IG1000Pro-G.

We started off taking our defaultscores, as usual. We were immediatelydisappointed by the 6296 3Dmark03score. It was a far cry from the 6631score posted by the same processor onthe Chaintech S865PE motherboard,and it wasn't nearly as good as the 66543Dmark03 score posted by the same

3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionMSI 875P NEO-FIS2R



3.76GHz

FSB200MHz

221MHz

Multiplier17

17

Voltage1.48

1.48

ProcessorTemp37.3

38.4

CaseTemp29.9

30.4

3Dmark036296

6424

PCMark045431

6018

PCMark04CPU5034

5697

PCMark04Memory5055

5599


5738

PCMark04HDD4274

4300


Extreme EditionMotherboard MSI 875P NEO-FIS2RBIOSManufacturer AMIBIOS Version 3.31aChipset Driver 6.00.1014






62 • PC Modder

Our processor temperatureprobe recorded a 37.3 degreeCelsius temperature under load,which was one of the coolestreadings we recorded for the3.4GHz Extreme Edition. Theambient case temperature wasjust below the 30 C mark at29.9 C, which was similar tocase temperature measurementsin our past two articles.

After recording our defaultscores, we began to overclockthe motherboard. We pressedDELETE to enter the systemsetup and then selectedFrequency/Voltage Controlfrom the main menu. Weselected Adjust CPU BusClock (MHz) and increasedthe value from 200MHz to210MHz. This increased ourprocessor's clock speed to3.57GHz and increased our 3Dmark03score 68 points to 6364. We were easilyable to increase the FSB another 10MHzto 220MHz. Our 3.77GHz processorposted a 6406 3Dmark03 score, up 42points from our previous score.

We tried increasing the FSB another10MHz, but with the processor runningat 3.91GHz, our system refused to boot.We split the difference and set our FSBto 225MHz. At this speed, Windowsbooted up and then promptly rebooted.Decreasing the FSB another 2MHz didn't seem to help the problem. Wecontinued to drop the FSB, setting it at222MHz, but Windows still continuedto reboot. Finally, at 221MHz, we wereable to get the system to boot properly.This 1MHz increase from our last stableoverclock provided an 18-point increasein 3Dmark03.

Increasing the FSB is one way to sta-bilize a system at higher clock speeds,but unfortunately it didn't quite do thejob for us in this case. One item ofinterest, however, is the unique color-coded voltage selections on the MSIboard. As you begin to increase voltagesin the setup utility, colors change fromwhite to yellow. If you continue toincrease the voltage, settings turn red to

indicate that the voltage may be morethan a specific component can handle.The color codes, however, are just sug-gestions. If you think you know whatyou're doing, you can increase voltagesinto the red.

We left our FSB at 221MHz and reranPCMark04. The Overall PCMark04score increased almost 600 points to6018, while the CPU score increasedmore than 600 points to 5697. TheMemory score increased to 5599, and the

Graphics score increased to5738. The HDD score evensaw a slight improvement to4300.

These scores comparedfavorably to the 865G and865PE motherboards welooked at earlier in this issue.In fact, the Graphics scorewas the highest among thethree motherboards. TheCPU score was second onlyto the 5830 posted by theGigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-G. Similar ly, the Overal lPCMark04 score was the onlyother score above the 6000

mark, but the 6048 posted by theChaintech S865PE beat it out by just 30 points.

In earlier case studies, we tested the3.2GHz Extreme Edit ion with theChaintech 9CJS Zenith. For the mostpart, the faster processor we used in thisarticle helped the MSI board secure bet-ter benchmarks than our 3.2GHz/Chaintech combo. The Zenith board,however, still delivered a better Memoryscore in PCMark04 and a better3Dmark03 score than the MSI did witha faster processor.

Final WordAfter all our tweaking and fiddling for

this particular case study was completed,we decided the MSI 875P motherboardwalked the middle ground between theChaintech and Gigabyte motherboardswe reviewed earlier. Performance scores,for the most part, fel l short of theChaintech motherboard we looked atpreviously, but a few benchmark scoresmanaged to stand out, including thePCMark04 Graphics score.

by Chad Denton

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Chaintech S865PEStock Performance 6631Overclocked Performance 6800

Gigabyte GA-8IG1000 Pro-GStock Performance 6654Overclocked Performance 6719

★★ MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R Stock Performance 6296Overclocked Performance 6424

Northbridge (875P)

GigabitEthernet

Controller

Southbridge (ICH5R)

ICH5R SATA Connectors

BIOS

Promise IDERAIDConnector

ATX PowerConnector

AudioCodec

Promise 20378 SATA RAID Controller

Promise SATA Connectors

PC Modder • 63

IDE cable from the chip to the harddrive. Once you install the chip, you canaccess your computer only by inserting aspecial USB key into the device's USBcable, which extends from the chipthrough a D-bracket. Don't install theSecure IDE device if you're using theKV8-MAX3 to upgrade a PC; the deviceautomatically wipes the hard drive beforeencrypting it. ABIT claims that theSecure IDE device offers 1.6Gbpsthroughput and doesn't impact the CPUor system memory, but we decided not to

use this feature anyway—we're gunnin'for speed, not security.

The KV8-MAX3 includes a SATA dri-ver floppy disk and a driver CD. Asidefrom Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0, the pack-age doesn't have any third-party software,but it does include ABIT's new Windows-friendly µGuru utility suite. New users willlike µGuru's Magical Black Box utility,which emails information about system

AMD ATHLON 64 3000+ &ABIT KV8-MAX3

If you read our first PC Modder issuelate last year, you already know thatwe lined up 10 AMD Athlon XP

processors (XP 2000+ through XP 3200+)and then overclocked them to their limits.With this issue, we're focusing on AMD'sAthlon 64 and matching each of severalversions of the CPU with multiplechipsets. Despite having the lowest speedrating of our non-FX Athlon 64 trio, theAthlon 64 3000+ isn't the oldest processorwe highlight in this issue. In fact, AMDreleased the Athlon 64 3200+ beforelaunching the 3000+. The 3000+ is theonly processor in our lineup that has aNewCastle core, and at $213, it is also theleast-expensive processor we overclocked.

Even so, the 3000+ is no slouch. Itboasts a 2GHz clock speed, a 128KB L1cache (a 64KB instruction cache and a64KB data cache), and a 512KB L2 cache.Unlike the Athlon XP's frontside busarchitecture, the 3000+ has a 1.6GHzHyperTransport. AMD used its 0.13-micron process to produce the core, whichboasts MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNOW!, and3DNOW!+ instruction sets. AMD recom-mends a max CPU case (which covers the

core of the chip) temperature of 70degrees Celsius.

MotherboardThe first thing we noticed when we

opened the ABIT KV8-MAX3's box isthat it is loaded to the gills with extras, andit's no small box. We discovered similargoodies when we rifled through the otherAMD Athlon 64-based motherboard boxes

(the Chaintech Zenith ZNF3-150 evenincludes a card reader). Whereas the AMDAthlon XP-based boards we reviewed forthe last PC Modder included the occasionalUSB D-bracket, several of these boardsboast multiple D-brackets, free programs,and other extras.

We weren't surprised that the Deluxeversion includes two SATA PSU adaptercables (two HDD connectors each) andfour SATA data cables, which are stan-dard issue anymore. The CPU socketmount isn't installed but you can attach itto the mobo easily enough. ABIT threwin a D-bracket that houses two USB 2.0ports, a mini-B USB port, and a singleFireWire port. We're glad to see all ofthese features on a single bracket, whichmeans you'll need to sacrifice only onePCI slot. If your video card eats up a sec-ond slot already, you may try to savespace by sneaking the D-bracket into thatsecond slot. We dropped all the goodiesand manuals when we saw the KV8-MAX3's coolest extra: Secure IDE.

ABIT partnered with Nova to offerSecure IDE, which features Nova's X-Wall LX-40 encryption chip. The chip

stands on a small PCB that also housestwo IDE interfaces, a 4-pin power inter-face (the KV8-MAX3 includes an extraPSU adapter that has one of these con-nectors), and some jumpers that let youselect your primary or secondary drive.You can encrypt a single hard drive (theX-Wall chip uses 40-bit DES encryption)by running one IDE cable from themotherboard to the chip and another

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (NewCastle)ABIT KV8-MAX3



2.18GHz

FSB204MHz

218MHz

Multiplier10

10

Voltage1.5

1.65

ProcessorTemp33.4

34.3

CaseTemp29.9

27.2

3Dmark036154

6243

PCMark044110

4386

PCMark04CPU3813

4122

PCMark04Memory3643

3886


5273

PCMark04HDD4779

4691

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3000+Motherboard ABIT KV8-MAX3BIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (ABIT Version 16)Chipset Driver VIA 4.51 (K8T800)



Hard Drive 80GB Western DigitalWD800JD 7,200rpm SATA



64 • PC Modder

problems to ABIT's tech sup-port, meaning you won't needto write a long email explainingyour system configuration andproblems when you contacttech support. Hardware Guru isa zero-impact monitoring utilitythat displays your processor'stemp and other vital statistics inreal-time, which means you cankeep an eye on your system'shealth when you are stressingthe system (instead of enteringthe BIOS and guesstimatinghow your PC will performunder stress).

Of course, the most impor-tant component of the µGurusuite (at least as far as we're con-cerned), is the OC Guru utility.Unlike most motherboard over-clocking utilities, which sportoutlandish (and often confus-ing) interfaces, ABIT's OC Guru has aremarkably simple interface that lets youget in, overclock, and get back out withoutwasting time fumbling through oddly-shaped buttons and tabs. OC Guru hasonly two tabs: Turbo Mode and F1 Mode.Turbo Mode has a single slider bar that letsyou quickly bump up the processor's clockspeed. It also displays your processor's info.If you're new to overclocking, you can useTurbo Mode to boost your benchmarkswithout running a large risk. If you want togo the extra mile, switch to F1 mode,which adds CPU, AGP, and DDR (RAM)voltage tools to the mix. Your systemreturns to its default settings when the PCreboots, which means you can recover fromcrashes by simply powering on your PCagain (unless your system is a smolderinglump, that is). We were glad to see that youwon't need to inch your system back intoits previously overclocked state every timeyou reboot your PC; the OC Guru lets yousave multiple overclocked settings. Forexample, you can surf the Internet at thesystem's default settings, then open OCGuru, load the saved overclocked settings,and then dive into Counter-Strike. Whenyou're done playing, you can easily returnthe system to its original state. Welcome tothe beauty of on-demand overclocking.

Despite the massive OTES (OutsideThermal Exhaust System) vent, the CPUsocket area has plenty of space. TheOTES vent, which covers several of theboard's Rubycon capacitors, channelssome air away from the heatsink and outthe back of the case, thanks to a tiny fanthat sits just above the PS/2 ports. Themobo spots six SATA connectors, a VIAK8T800 northbridge, a VT8237 south-bridge, and a POST Code Display, whichdisplays dozens of error codes.

OverclockingWe weren't surprised to find

that the Phoenix Award BIOSV.6 (ABIT Version 16) didn'tlet us adjust the multiplier fromthe default 10. The BIOS hadplenty of standard OC options,including a wide VCore voltagerange: you can push yourprocessor up to a whopping1.85V if you so choose. Youcan also change the AGP volt-age (1.5V to 1.65V) and theDRAM voltage (2.5V to 3.2V).

The BIOS' OC On The Flyfeature lets you apply changeswithout rebooting. We're notsure we like this feature; suc-cessfully applying overclockedsettings in the BIOS doesn'tguarantee that the system canhandle the stress when it loadsWindows. As a result, some

users may unknowingly push their PCs toofar. Overclocking is a painstaking, oftenfrustrating (but ultimately rewarding)process; we're always wary of shortcuts.

Despite the board's feature-laden over-clocking section, we didn't break anyrecords. In fact, the KV8-MAX3 couldn'tbeat out any of the other two boards in ourlineup. The system crashed at 2.16GHzwith default voltage (1.5V), so we nudgedthe voltage to 1.6V and tried again. Weupped the system 1MHz without any trou-ble, but it crashed again at 2.18GHz.Eventually, we coaxed our PC to 2.22GHzwith the voltage at 1.7V, but the systemrefused to post decent benchmark scores.At 2.18GHz with a 1.65V VCore, the sys-tem posted its best 3Dmark03 score: 6243.

Final WordOverall, we like this board. It has plenty

of SATA connectors, a unique cooling sys-tem, and a solid utility suite. It's importantto note that although the board didn't takeclock speed bragging rights, it posted strongbenchmark scores. Also, the µGuru utility'sOC Guru feature lets casual overclockerspump up the volume before playing gamesor opening intensive applications.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Chaintech Zenith ZNF3-150Stock Performance 6150Overclocked Performance 6253

★★ ABIT KV8-MAX3Stock Performance 6154Overclocked Performance 6243

Jetway S755MAXStock Performance 6126Overclocked Performance 6241

ATX 12V PSUConnector

Northbridge(VIA K8T800)

SATA Connectors

Southbridge (VIA VT8237)

BIOS (Phoenix)

POST Code Display

µGuru Chip

PC Modder • 65

looked under the hood. Sure enough, acopper runs the length of the device. TheRadEX isn't the largest onboard coolingsystem we've seen, but it doesn't eat upmuch motherboard space, and the copperheatpipe/aluminum fin combo can't hurt.

The ZNF3-150 has three fan speedmonitor connectors that let you keep aneye on your CPU, system, and chipset.Chaintech placed the CMOS jumper near

one of the three IDE connectors, whichmeans you easily reach in to grab thejumper without bumping anythingimportant. You'll have a tougher timesnagging the Keyboard/Mouse Power Onjumper because it tucks between theRadEX system and your PSU, but you'llonly need to change it once, if at all.When the jumper is in the 2-3 position(bottom two pins), you can use a PS/2

AMD ATHLON 64 3000+ &CHAINTECH ZENITH

ZNF3-150

As with the ABIT KV8-MAX3and the Jetway S755MAX, weplugged an AMD Athlon XP

3000+ into the Chaintech Zenith ZNF3-150. At $156, it is the most expensivemotherboard in our lineup, but it doesn'tapproach Athlon 64 FX-based mother-board prices.

MotherboardChaintech didn't pull any punches

when it threw extras into the ZNF3-150'sbox. The package includes the importantbasics: four SATA cables (all of whichhave dust caps, which is a nice touch),two SATA PSU adapters (for a total offour hard drive connectors), a small tubeof thermal paste, two bright-orange,rounded IDE cables, and a rounded flop-py cable. Chaintech also tossed in ascrewdriver that resembles a highlighter.You can break down the screwdriver intofour separate screwdriver heads, includingtwo Philips-head pieces and two flat-headpieces, all of which should cover most of

your system's half-million screws. We alsoliked the CMC (Chaintech MultimediaCard), which attaches to the motherboardvia a small, PCI-slot-like connector at thebottom of the board. As with a standardPCI card, the CMC extends to the backof the computer, exposing two FireWireports, an SPDIF-out port, and connectorsfor bass and center cables. The card alsohas two internal CD-ROM audio-in

connectors that let you connect your CD-ROM to the card. The card complementsthe motherboard riser's three standardaudio ports.

Those extras spice up the package, butChaintech took the goodies-madness onegiant step further: the ZNF3-150 in-cludes Chaintech's CBOX3, which is amedia card reader that fills a 5.25-inchbay. The reader supports CF, MicroDrive, MMC, MS SDC, and SMC cardsand houses two USB 1.1 ports, a micport, and a headset port. The card readeralso includes a small, blue LED that dis-plays the system's temp (and, if your sys-tem is in trouble, error codes). Of course,Chaintech didn't want to throw off yourPC's color scheme, so it included black,beige, and gray card reader faceplates.

The motherboard has a few of its ownnotable features. The Chaintech RadEX(Revolutionary Active Direct Exhaust)system, which includes a tiny fan and sev-eral aluminum fins, surrounds the moboriser and channels heat away from the

processor and capacitors. Chaintech linedup the capacitors alongside the L-shapedRadEX, but left a gap in front of the fan,which creates a clear path from theprocessor area to the fan. A long, fluid-filled heatpipe is inside the RadEX sys-tem, sucking up heat and transferring itto the aluminum fins. We couldn't seethe heatpipe, so after we overclocked theboard we detached the RadEX device and

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (NewCastle)Chaintech Zenith ZNF3-150


Processor Speed3GHz

2.24GHz

FSB200MHz

224MHz

Multiplier10

10

Voltage1.5

1.65

ProcessorTemp34.2

39.1

CaseTemp29.3

29.7

3Dmark036150

6253

PCMark044027

4453

PCMark04CPU3737

4222

PCMark04Memory3565

3978


5605

PCMark04HDD4613

4624

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3000+Motherboard Chaintech Zenith

ZNF3-150BIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (Chaintech

Version 3)Chipset Driver NVIDIA v3.13

(nForce3 150)


Ultra/1800 XP Golden Sample(GeForce FX 5950 Ultra)




66 • PC Modder

keyboard or mouse to poweron your system. The boardalso has a jumper that lets youuse a USB keyboard or mouse.It's a minor feature, but if youput your computer under yourdesk, you'll probably like turn-ing on your computer with thepress of a key.

Thanks to the nForce3 150chipset, the ZNF3-150 sup-ports up to six USB 2.0 ports.The riser includes two externalports and the card readeressentially converts two of theports to USB 1.1. We hate tochoke fast ports, but hey, thecard reader is free. We like theGigabit LAN port and theonboard audio, which sup-ports 7.1 channels. The threememory sockets support up to 2GB of DDR 266MHz,333MHz, or 400MHz RAM.

The ZNF3-150 doesn't include anyoverclocking software, but it does offerthree PC protection-related programs:Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2003, WasayImage It 3.0, and Wasay Pro Magic 6.0.If you run Windows XP, you probablywon't need Pro Magic, which acts as aninstant recovery tool, complete withRestore Points, but you'll probably likeImage It, which lets you create a backupimage of your system before you over-clock. Norton AntiVirus 2003 isn't thelatest version of Symantec's antivirus soft-ware, but again, free is free.

OverclockingAs with ABIT, Chaintech modified its

BIOS. We booted our system, entered thePhoenix Award BIOS V.6.00PG (Chain-tech Version 3) and then browsed the sys-tem's overclocking features. The firstthing we noticed is that the board's CPUVCore voltage feature only supports up to1.7V, 1.5V less than the ABIT KV8-MAX3. Although 1.7V is a respectablevoltage, we expect overclocking-friendlyboards to have plenty of juice. After all, ifyour system is just barely unstable (crash-ing only when running the most intensiveapplications, for example), being able to

add a little more voltage just might tip thescales in your favor.

The BIOS doesn't let users adjust indi-vidual memory timings, but it does have100MHz to 200MHz memory frequencysettings. You can also adjust the AGPvoltage (1.5V to 2.2V), DRAM voltage(2.6V to 2.9V), and chipset voltage (1.7Vto 1.9V). We like the PC Health Statussection, which displays relevant fan speedsand voltages. If you're particularly wor-ried about melting your system, you can

activate the Shutdown Temp-erature option and then specifythe appropriate temp, but keepin mind that your system willgenerate plenty of heat whenyou overclock it. At any rate,our Digital Doc 5 never dis-played a temperature over 41.2degrees Celsius, but we cansafely assume that the pro-cessor case's actual temp washotter, as we attached our sen-sor to the side of the CPUcase. Overall the ZNF3-150was our hottest board; boththe CPU temp and the systemchassis temp hovered aboutfive degrees above our othertwo boards.

Unlike the KV8-MAX3,which required extra voltagealmost right away, the ZNF3-150 coasted on 1.5V until it

hit 2.19GHz. Despite the 1.7V CPUVCore ceiling, the ZNF3-150 eked out a2MHz lead over the KV8-MAX3 at2.24GHz (with a 1.65V VCore, no less),tying the Jetway S755MAX. Both boardsposted similar benchmark scores. At 62533Dmarks, the motherboard posted thetop 3Dmark03 score of our three-boardlineup, but it posted an overall score of4453 in PCMark04, 28 points shy of theS755MAX's top score.

We tried to push the processor beyond2.24GHz, but the system was unstable athigher clock speeds, even when wepushed the voltage to 1.7V. The systembooted at 2.23GHz with a 1.7V VCore,but it posted low benchmark scores.

Final WordWe were surprised to find that, despite

packing the box with extras, Chaintechdidn't add a SATA driver floppy, whichmeant we had to use a different computerto create the necessary floppy. Aside fromthat minor gripe and our beef with theBIOS VCore, we like this motherboard.It has truly useful extras and a strongonboard cooling system.

by Joshua Gulick

RadEX CoolingSystem


Chipset (NVIDIAnForce3 150)

BIOS (Phoenix)

SATA Connectors

FireWire Connector

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ Chaintech Zenith ZNF3-150Stock Performance 6150Overclocked Performance 6253

ABIT KV8-MAX3Stock Performance 6154Overclocked Performance 6243

Jetway S755MAX Stock Performance 6126Overclocked Performance 6241

PC Modder • 67

any trouble. The two slots don't havedual-channel functionality, but supportup to 2GB of 266MHz, 333MHz, or400MHz DDR RAM. Users who havemultiple optical drives and IDE harddrives will like the board's two ATA100 connectors and ATA 133 connec-tor, but SATA users can install only twoSATA hard drives, thanks to the twoSATA connectors.

The S755MAX's SiS chipset lets theboard support up to six USB 2.0 ports.

The riser includes four USB ports. Theinternal USB connector stands near thefront panel connectors. The riser alsoincludes two PS/2 connectors, a serialconnector, a parallel port, and a 10/100LAN port that sports green and yellowactivity LEDs. As with most of the boardswe used, the S755MAX has a 12V con-nector that complements the standardATX power connector.

AMD ATHLON 64 3000+ &JETWAY S755MAX

At $89, the Jetway S755MAX isone of the least expensiveboards in our lineup, so we

weren't surprised to see a slim box andeven slimmer component package. It'snot uncommon to find AMD AthlonXP-based boards at this price, but Athlon64 boards regularly break $100. TheJetway sports an SiS 755 northbridge andan SiS 9636L southbridge.

MotherboardThe S755MAX's box includes a single

SATA cable, a driver CD, a SATA driverfloppy, a thin users guide, a flat floppycable, an IDE cable, and an audio port D-bracket that takes up a single PCI slotbay. Although we love the price, we'd likemore extras in any package: namely, a sec-ond SATA cable and at least one SATAPSU adapter. Some power supplies stilllack the newish connectors that powerSATA hard drives, and if you buy anOEM hard drive, you probably won'treceive one. That said, the box includedone of the most important parts of anySATA-friendly motherboard: the SATAdriver floppy.

We also like the audio port D-brack-et, but we wish it had a longer cable.The S755MAX's SPDIF connectorsstand just behind the r i ser , whichmeans that the cable travels under the AGP card to the PCI s lots .Unfortunately, the short cable reachesonly the first PCI slot, which meansthat extra-large video cards might con-tact the device's PCB. The short cable

might also pull against and loosen thevideo card. The device sports Rear Out,Center, SPDIF Out, and SPDIF Inports, and complements the mother-board riser's standard audio ports.

The S755MAX doesn't include anyextra printed materials, such as a posterthat identifies onboard connectors,which means you'll need to refer to theslim, crowded users guide when youwant to connect your chassis' frontpanel connectors. That said, the usersguide includes decent instructions,dozens of black-and-white pictures andillustrations, and, most importantly, aone-page insert that includes instruc-tions for installing SATA drivers. Theguide also includes an excellent BIOSchapter that will let new overclockersquickly familiarize themselves with theBIOS' many sections.

We were glad to see that the mobo'sCPU socket has plenty of room. Weattached the included CPU socket bracketand installed our oversized heatsink with-out any trouble. The SiS 755 north-bridge, which includes an aluminumheatsink, stands below the CPU socket,

close to (but not crowding) the 8X AGPslot. The northbridge includes a fan con-nector. The SiS 936L southbridge sits justbehind the PCI slots.

The board's two memory slots, whichrun horizontally, stand just under thePSU. Thankfully, Jetway didn't placeany capacitors near the memory slottabs . As a result , we insta l led andremoved our system’s memory without

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (NewCastle)Jetway S755MAX


Processor Speed2GHz

2.24GHZ

FSB200MHz

224MHz

Multiplier10

10

Voltage1.5

1.8

ProcessorTemp34

33.5

CaseTemp28.2

27.4

3Dmark036126

6241

PCMark044018

4481

PCMark04CPU3718

4213

PCMark04Memory3529

3920


5712

PCMark04HDD4704

4707

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3000+Motherboard Jetway S755MAXBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (Jetway

Version A01)Chipset Driver SIS 1.17.03 (755)






68 • PC Modder

The Magic Install driversCD lacks overclocking soft-ware but has Trend Micro'sPC-cillin 2002. The softwareis clearly outdated, but wealways like to see packagesthat include antivirus soft-ware. After a l l , you canupdate the software's virusdefinitions list online. TheCD also includes ITE'sSmart Guardian, which dis-plays a var iety of systemspecs, including CPU andsystem temps, and related fanspeeds. It also displays cur-rent voltage sett ings , butdoesn't let you adjust anysystem settings. The MagicInstall program automaticallydetects your computer ' shardware and se lects theappropriate drivers.

OverclockingWe entered the Phoenix Award BIOS

6.00PG (Jetway Version A01) by pressingthe DELETE key and then browsed thePC Health Status to make sure our sys-tem was ready for action. If you want tosee this information whenever your com-puter boots, you can enable the Show PCHealth In Post option. The section dis-plays a variety of voltages, CPU and sys-tem fan speeds and temperatures, and aShutdown Temperature feature.

Next, we entered the AdvancedChipset Features section, which offersAGP and DRAM options. The DRAMTiming Settings subsection lets overclock-ers fiddle with the HyperTransport andwith the memory's CAS Latency, RASPrecharge Time, and RAS To CAS Delaytimings. Oddly enough, Jetway placedmost of the overclocking features in theMiscellaneous Control category. The sec-tion lets you adjust the DRAM clockspeed (100MHz, 133MHz, 166MHz, or200MHz), the DRAM voltage (2.5V to2.8V), and the AGP voltage (1.5V to1.8V). We were surprised to see that theCPU VCore feature has the widest rangeof the three boards we discuss in this arti-cle: 0.7V to 1.8V. Also, the BIOS allows

0.25V voltage increases, which meanscautious overclockers can nudge their sys-tems towards stability.

We were also surprised to see that theBIOS limits the CPU FSB to 233MHz.Theoretically, the ABIT KV8-MAX3lets users push the processor to300MHz. The Chaintech ZenithZNF3-150 takes the cake, supportingup to 400MHz FSB's. As it turned out,Jetway's 233MHz limit easily coveredour Athlon 64 3000+, but the limit

might block future processorsfrom reaching their over-clocking potential.

Another noteworthy fea-ture is the BIOS' antivirusoption. If you enable Anti-Virus Protection, the BIOSmonitors the hard drive anddisplays a warning messageand emits an audible beep ifan application writes to theboot sector.

We benchmarked our sys-tem before overclocking. Atdefault settings, our test PCposted a 3Dmark03 score of6126, a little lower than theABIT and Chaintech boards'scores. The S755MAX alsodidn't make any headlineswhen it posted a PCMark04score of 4018, so we weren'tsurprised when the system

crashed at a mere 2.12GHz. As i tturned out, the board was simply wait-ing for a little juice. The system coastedon 1.6V to 2.18GHz, 1.7V to 2.2GHz,and then collapsed at 2.25GHz, eventhough we bumped the voltage to 1.8V.At 2.24GHz, the S755MAX posted anoverall PCMark04 score of 4481, whichtopped the other two boards' scores.The system also posted a respectable6241 3Dmark03 score.

Final WordColor us surprised. We hate to admit

it, but we simply didn't believe that suchan inexpensive board could hold its ownagainst such high-end competitors, letalone pull off one of the top clock speeds.Sure, it doesn't include a card reader orhard drive encryption system, but it lovesto overclock. If you're an accessory fanat-ic, you'll probably want one of theS755MAX's competitors, but if you'rebuilding a budget overclocking system,you'll like this board. At almost half theZNF-150's price, the S755MAX makesan outstanding buy.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Chaintech Zenith ZNF3-150Stock Performance 6150Overclocked Performance 6253

ABIT KV8-MAX3Stock Performance 6154Overclocked Performance 6243

★★ Jetway S755MAXStock Performance 6126Overclocked Performance 6241

ATX 12V PSU Connector

Northbridge (SIS 755)

Southbridge(SIS 963L)

SATA Connectors

BIOS (Phoenix)

Infrared Connector

PC Modder • 69

and the mobo power circuits are three-phase circuits. Unlike the second BIOS,which doesn’t affect the PC until its part-ner dies, the DPS provides power at thesame time as the motherboard power cir-cuit. That said, the DPS can act as abackup; if the motherboard circuit died,the DPS would continue to function.The DPS stabilizes the board’s currentand supports larger currents than mostboards. As with the northbridge, theDPS sports a copper heatsink and a fan.

Overall, we like the GA-K8VNXP’slayout. Gigabyte places easy-to-read labelsnear each connector and throws in a fewfeatures that let overclockers easily swapcomponents and recover from crashes.The AGP port tab, for example, has abeveled edge that let us push ourGainward video card into the AGP slotwithout pulling the tab. And unlike manyother AGP port tabs, which are often stiff,

AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ &GIGABYTE GA-K8VNXP

We used the AMD Athlon 643200+ to test the GigabyteGA-K8VNXP, Soyo CK8

Dragon Plus, and ASRock K8S8X. The3200+ features the same clock speed andinstruction sets as the Athlon 64 3000+but includes AMD’s ClawHammer coreand double the L2 cache (1MB).

MotherboardWe haven’t seen a Gigabyte board that

didn’t include tons of extras, software,and special features, and the GA-K8-VNXP is no exception. In fact, it has sev-eral cool features that protect the boardfrom power flows and system crashes.(Not that overclockers are ever responsi-ble for either, of course. We wouldn’tdream of stressing our precious system.)The board features VIA’s K8T800 andVT8237 chipsets and a slew of peripheralchips, including Realtek’s ALC658(AC’97 codec) chip and 8110S GigabitLAN chip, which frees up the board’sPCI slots and means you won’t need tospend extra money on those peripherals.

The GA-K8VNXP also includes aGigaRAID ATA 133 controller and

four IDE connectors (the VT8237southbridge handles SATA RAID 0 andRAID 1). We always like to see ATARAID, but we were disappointed tofind that our $165 motherboard sportsonly two SATA connectors, whereas the$141 ABIT KV8-MAX3, which has thesame chipset, boasted six of them.

Gigabyte lines several capacitors closeto the board’s CPU bracket, but we

didn’t have any trouble installing ourmassive Thermalright SLK-948Uheatsink so we’re not complaining. TheK8T800 northbridge, which stands justbelow the CPU socket, includes a cop-per heatsink, a lighted fan (after all,what else are window mods for?), and afan grill. The board also includes systemand power fan connectors.

The riser includes audio ports, fourUSB 2.0 ports, and two LAN ports, oneof which is the Gigabit LAN connector.Two D-brackets complement the riserwith additional USB, FireWire, andaudio ports. A third D-bracket sportsSATA data and power connectors.Thanks to this bracket, you can connectone or two internal hard drives to yoursystem without actually putting the dri-ves inside your computer. However, thebracket doesn’t add SATA ports; it sim-ply extends the board’s two SATA portsto the back of your system.

The GA-K8VNXP’s most importanthardware includes its two BIOS chipsand the DPS (Dual Power System). Thetwo BIOS chips back up each other,which means that if one BIOS chip fails,

the other will automatically kick in. As aresult you can update your BIOS as oftenas you’d like without worrying aboutaccidentally crippling your board. Thatis, until you damage the first BIOS. If aBIOS dies, the BIOS’ Boot From optionwon’t let you switch to the dead BIOS.

The DPS card plugs into a blue PCI-type slot that stands between the riserand a bunch of capacitors. Both the DPS

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (ClawHammer)Gigabyte GA-K8VNXP


Processor Speed2GHz

2.22GHz

FSB200MHz

222MHz

Multiplier10

10

Voltage1.5

1.55

ProcessorTemp31.9

33.3

CaseTemp26.8

27.3

3Dmark036184

6289

PCMark044033

4482

PCMark04CPU3772

4207

PCMark04Memory3618

4043


5261

PCMark04HDD4732

4734

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3200+Motherboard Gigabyte GA-K8VNXPBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (Gigabyte Version F4)Chipset Driver VIA 4.51 (K8T800)






70 • PC Modder

we were able to slip the AGPport’s tab back easily when weremoved the video card.Gigabyte also placed theCMOS jumper near the sideof the board, which means anoverclocker can easily reachthe jumper to reset her system.

Gigabyte’s driver CDincludes Adobe AcrobatReader, Symantec NortonInternet Security 2004, andGigabyte’s own @BIOS andEasyTune 4. The @BIOS is aWindows-based updater thatcan automatically downloadand install the latest BIOSupdate. EasyTune 4 lets youoverclock your system fromWindows but protects yoursystem from potentially harm-ful settings. Our experiencehas been that Windows-basedoverclocking utilities simply can’t com-pete with the board’s BIOS. As a resultwe don’t use these programs to overclockour Case Studies motherboards. Thatsaid, EasyTune 4 has some nice features.For example, it includes a HardwareMonitor section that displays a variety of temps, voltages, and fan speeds.EasyTune 4 also has two modes: EasyMode, which only lets the user boost theCPU frequency, and Advanced Mode,which opens several other options,including component voltages.

OverclockingThe GA-K8VNXP runs the Phoenix

Award BIOS V6.00PG (GigabyteVersion F4). The Frequency/VoltageControl section houses most of theoverclocking features, including theDRAM (+0.1V to +0.3V), AGP (+0.1Vto +0.3V), and CPU VCore (0.8V-1.7V) voltage. The section also controlsthe CPU clock speed. The PC HealthStatus section lists CPU and system fanspeeds and temps and also includes FailWarning options. If you enable FailWarnings, the system will sound analarm when system fans stop spinning.

We benchmarked our test system atdefault settings before overclocking it. At

2GHz, the system posted a 3Dmark03score of 6168 and a PCMark04 score of4034. We left the voltage at 1.5V andfocused on the FSB. At 2.11GHz, the sys-tem crashed, so we upped the voltage to1.55V and tried again. The board lovedthe extra juice and let us push the CPU to2.17GHz, at which point it posted a3Dmark03 score of 6260. We upped the

voltage to 1.6V, pushed theprocessor to 2.18GHz, andthen rebooted.

As soon as we restarted thePC, we smelled smoke. Weshut things down and deter-mined that the PSU was emit-ting the stench of burnt com-ponents. The PSU was dead,as was the motherboard. Wecouldn’t find any physicaldamage, but we could smellthe PSU from several feetaway. We don’t know which(if either) of the componentscaused the problem, but wewere surprised that Gigabyte’sDual Power System failed toprevent it. We installed anidentical PSU and bought anew GA-K8VNXP.

At default settings, the newboard posted a 3Dmark03

score of 6184, slightly higher than itssibling’s score. This time the system han-dled a VCore voltage of 1.5V at2.22GHz but couldn’t run stable at2.23GHz. When we boosted the voltageto 1.6V and raised the clock speed to2.24GHz, we smelled smoke. Afraid wewould torch our system again, we shutdown our PC and called it quits. With a2.22GHz clock speed and 1.55V VCore,the system posted a 3Dmark03 score of6289 and a PCMark04 score of 4482.

Luckily, the motherboard didn’t die.When we returned the board to itsdefault settings, the system booted intoWindows and ran applications withoutany trouble or loss of performance.

Final WordThe GA-K8VNXP took top honors

in our three-board round up, just barelybeating out the $126 Soyo CK8Dragon Plus, but it doesn’t like voltageincreases. If you’re not afraid to risk theoccasional motherboard blowout andyou must have the fastest board around,this is a good choice. We didn’t like theboard’s pyromaniacal tendencies, butwe can’t say no to raw speed.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ Gigabyte GA-K8VNXPStock Performance 6184Overclocked Performance 6289

Soyo CK8 Dragon PlusStock Performance 6175Overclocked Performance 6271

ASRock K8S8XStock Performance 5581Overclocked Performance 5690

FireWireConnector

Game PortConnector

SATA Connectors

Southbridge (VIA VT8237)

BIOS &Backup BIOS

(Phoenix)


ATX 12VPSU

Connector

Gigabyte DPS (Dual Power System)

PC Modder • 71

compatible memory online (www.soyousa.com).

Soyo placed most of its Sacon capaci-tors between the riser and the CPU socketarea. Instead of using the traditionalnorthbridge and southbridge chipsets,SOYO placed the single NVIDIA nForce3150 chipset next to the board's six PCIslots. The chipset features a tall aluminumheatsink that sports wide fins, but theheatsink doesn't have a fan, and the boarddoesn't have a chipset fan header.

We like the AGP slot's simple lockingsystem. You can unlock the slot by slidingthe black plastic bar backward, whichmeans that you can unlock the slot beforeyou insert the card. Once the card is inplace, you can easily slide the bar backinto the locked position. We also likedthe board's jumpers. All of the jumpershave long, easy-to-grab handles. SOYOput the icing on the cake by putting a

AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ &SOYO CK8 DRAGON PLUS

Call us nerds if you will. Tell usthat we've succumbed to abasic marketing ploy. We sim-

ply can't help but like the idea of a drag-on forming the heart of our overclocked,smoke-belching system (for some realsmoking action, see our AMD Athlon64 3200+ & Gigabyte GA-K8VNXParticle on page 70). Unfortunately,while the Soyo CK8 Dragon Plus livesup to its grand title, the board's packagedoesn't come close. The box includes adecent software selection, but the slimbox contains few extras. We found aSATA data cable, an IDE cable, a floppycable, and a woefully slim Quick StartGuide. When we popped the board'sCD into a spare computer, we quicklydiscovered that the CD's manual is theQuick Start Guide. The guide includes afew illustrations and some basic installa-tion and troubleshooting instruction,and it dedicates a whopping half-page tothe BIOS. Most user guides include sev-eral pages that have BIOS screen shotsand explanations that let new usersquickly find and learn about importantfeatures.

MotherboardWe were surprised to see that the lone

SATA cable includes dust caps. We likedust caps because they protect your spareSATA cables, but thanks to Soyo's less-than-generous package, users won't haveany spares to worry about. At $126, theCK8 Dragon Plus isn't the most expen-sive motherboard around, but even the

$100 ASRock K8S8X managed toscrounge up a second SATA cable and aSATA PSU adapter.

That said, we like some of the 8-In-1Super Bonus Pack's applications. Youcan download Adobe Acrobat Readerfree, but if you don't already useantivirus software, you can protect yoursystem with Symantec's slightly outdatedNorton AntiVirus 2003 and NortonPersonal Firewall 2003. We like Ghost2003, which lets you create a snapshot ofthe information on your hard drive. Ifyou damage your operating system orany other programs while overclocking,you can use Ghost to quickly return yourPC to health (assuming, of course, thatyou loaded Ghost and backed up yoursystem before you began overclocking).The CD also includes Adobe AcrobatReader and eBook Reader, AdobeActiveShare, and trial versions of VcomAutoSave and Imagemore.

If your system's chassis has a window,you'll love the CK8 Dragon Plus' blackPCB and purple PCI slots. The boardalso sports three purple memory slots,which support up to 2GB of 266MHz,

333MHz, or 400MHz. Unlike AMDAthlon 64 FX-based, 940-pin mother-boards, the CK8 Dragon Plus doesn'trequire registered memory, which meansthat if you are upgrading from an existingAthlon XP or Intel P4 system, you canprobably transfer your memory to thismotherboard. If you're not sure whetheryour memory is compatible with the CK8Dragon Plus, you can scan Soyo's list of

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (ClawHammer)SOYO CK8 Dragon Plus



2.21GHz

FSB200MHz

219MHz

Multiplier10

10

Voltage1.5

1.7

ProcessorTemp33

36.3

CaseTemp28.6

29.1

3Dmark036175

6271

PCMark044063

4461

PCMark04CPU3769

4168

PCMark04Memory3672

4012


5464

PCMark04HDD4494

4485

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3200+Motherboard SOYO CK8 Dragon PlusBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (Soyo Version BA1)Chipset Driver NVIDIA v3.13 (nForce3 150)






72 • PC Modder

white jumper on the CMOSheader (the other jumpers areblack). As a result, you caneasily find the CMOS jumperwithout referring to the crum-my user guide.

The motherboard riserincludes the standard parallel,PS/2, and serial ports, as wellas four USB 2.0 ports, a10/100 LAN port (completewith activity LEDs), and threeaudio ports (Line-in, Line-out,and Mic-in), thanks to a CMI9739 (AC '97) codec. Theboard has a game port header,an infrared header, and a USB2.0 header that supports twomore ports, but it doesn't havea FireWire header or anyFireWire ports. The CK8Dragon Plus also has severalfan headers that stand near thePCI slots. Unfortunately, one of theheaders stands between the AGP slot andthe first PCI slot, which means that userswho have large video cards probablywon't be able to access this header.However, users won't have any troublereaching the motherboard's two SATAconnectors, which stand at the front ofthe board, near the hard drives.

OverclockingWe didn't think much of the CK8

Dragon Plus' package, but we liked itsbenchmark scores right away. The boardburst through the gates with a 3Dmark03score of 6175 and an overall PCMark04score of 4063. We entered the BIOS andnavigated to the PC Health section,which lists CPU VCore, AGP, andDRAM voltages, as well as the CPU'stemperature and fan speed.

The PC Health section also lists onechassis fan's speed, but it doesn't displaythe other chassis fans. Next, we returned tothe main menu and entered Soyo's SOYOCOMBO section, which houses the board-'s overclocking features. The section letsusers adjust AGP (1.5V to 1.8V), DRAM(2.5V to 2.9V), and CPU VCore (0.775Vto 1.7V) voltages. We like the CK8Dragon Plus' wide voltage range, but we'd

rather have higher voltage options thanlower options. We suspect that we couldhave pushed our Athlon 64 3200+ furtherif the board allowed higher voltages.

Users who are new to overclockingwill like the SOYO COMBO section'sSystem Performance setting. You canchange the setting from Normal to Fastor Turbo to let the motherboard chooseappropriate overclocked settings. Thesection also has a Power On AfterPower-Fail feature that, if enabled,

automatically reboots yoursystem whenever the PC losesand then regains power.Interest ingly enough, theSOYO COMBO section alsolets you adjust the system'sboot device order. EveryBIOS lets you select theappropriate boot device (forexample, the hard drive orf loppy drive), but mostBIOSes relegate the option toa different category.

The CK8 Dragon Pluscoasted on 1.5V to 2.17GHz.We had set the frequency to215MHz, so we were sur-prised to see the s l ight lyhigher c lock speed. As i tturned out, the PhoenixAward BIOS V6.00PG (SoyoVers ion BA1) a lways dis-played slightly higher clock

speeds. The BIOS didn’t let us changethe processor’s 10X multiplier.

The test PC ran at 2.22GHz, but itstruggled with PCMark04, producinglow scores. The system couldn't finish3Dmark03 at 2.22GHz even when weupped the voltage to 1.7V, but the sys-tem performed well at 2.21GHz (with a1.7V VCore) , post ing a 6271 in3Dmark03, only 18 points shy of theASRock K8S8X’s top overclocked score.The CK8 also snagged a 399-pointPCMark04 increase with its max scoreof 4461. Unfortunately, the board's1.7V limit prevented us from pushingthe processor further.

Final WordCK8 Dragon? Yes . CK8 Dragon

Plus? We don't think so. Without adoubt, the CK8 Dragon Plus is a strongoverclocker, but its manual simplydoesn't contain enough informationand the board doesn't contain enoughextras to warrant adding "Plus" to thename. That said, if you never readinstructions anyway and don't needextra cables, you'll love this mother-board's looks and performance.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Gigabyte GA-K8VNXPStock Performance 6184Overclocked Performance 6289

★★ SOYO CK8 Dragon PlusStock Performance 6175Overclocked Performance 6271

ASRock K8S8XStock Performance 5581Overclocked Performance 5690

Game Port Connector

BIOS

CMOSJumper

SATA Connectors

Chipset (NVIDIAnForce3 150) ATX 12V PSU Connector

PC Modder • 73

southbridge stands between the board'sfive PCI slots and two SATA connectors.

Although the board doesn't have manyfeatures, it has plenty of RAID options,including RAID 0, 1, and JBOD. Theboard's CD includes a special manual thatexplains various RAID configurations andprovides installation instructions. We likethe manual, but we're disappointed to seethat ASRock didn't put a printed versionof this manual in the package. Appar-ently, ASRock assumes that all users can

use a spare computer to print out themanual before they build the mother-board's new system. If you are buildingyour only system, you'll need to build thecomputer, print the manual, and then setup your RAID configuration. Of course,if you don't have an IDE hard drive,you'll need to find a friend who has acomputer anyway; the K8S8X doesn'tinclude a SATA driver floppy.

AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ &ASROCK K8S8X

Although mainstream mother-board manufacturers such asABIT, ASUS, and Gigabyte

pack heaps of free components, over-clocking utilities, and special coolingsystems into their mobo packages, youdon't need a high-end motherboard tooverclock. If you're on a budget, youcan choose from a variety of lesser-known motherboards that trade frills forlow price tags. The ASRock K8S8X isone of these boards. It has few extrasand programs, sports the inexpensiveSIS 755 chipset, and at $100, won'tbreak your budget.

MotherboardAs with several other mobo manufactur-

ers, ASRock broke from the unwrittengreen PCB rule and instead used a brightblue PCB that will spice up your system'sinterior. The board meets ATX specifica-tions, but is unusually thin, which meansthat users who have crowded systems canprobably squeeze the board into place with-out much trouble. Unfortunately, theboard's size meant that ASRock couldn'tpile on special features, such as a FireWire

header, and even had to lose some compo-nents, such as a third memory socket.That's right: the K8S8X has only twomemory sockets, which support up to 2GBof 266MHz, 333MHz, and 400MHz of184-pin DDR RAM. 2GB of RAM caneasily handle most intensive tasks, includ-ing today's latest games (provided your sys-tem has an appropriate video card, ofcourse), but we always like to see three or

more sockets. Memory prices are volatile; ifmemory prices are high, you may be reluc-tant to buy two 1GB DIMMS right away.If you have extra sockets, you can buysmaller DIMMs and then add additionalsmall DIMMs when memory prices drop.But thanks to the ASRock's two-socket lay-out, you'll either need to buy the 1GBDIMMs right away or remove your smallerDIMMs when you buy 1GB DIMMs later.

ASRock placed the 12V PSU connec-tor at the front of the board, just abovethe two IDE connectors, and then put thestandard power connector just behind themotherboard riser's audio ports. As aresult, you'll probably have trouble keep-ing the PSU's large cable out of the way.You'll need to string the cable over thememory and then around the CPU toreach the connector, which means thatthe cable will stick out into the center ofthe chassis, possibly disrupting the air-flow. If you have a particularly long PSUcable, you may be able to snake it aroundthe memory. We like motherboards thatsport the power connector at the top ofthe board, which lets us attach most ofthe PSU cable to the top of the case.

The CPU socket area has plenty ofroom, so we installed our heatsink with-out any trouble. The SIS 755 northbridgestands well below the CPU socket. Thechipset doesn't have a fan (and the moth-erboard doesn't have a chipset fan head-er), but it probably doesn't need one; amassive aluminum heatsink sits atop thenorthbridge. It's one of the largest chipsetheatsinks we have ever seen. The SIS 964

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (ClawHammer)ASRock K8S8X


Processor Speed2GHz

2.28GHz

FSB200MHz

228MHz

Multiplier10

10

Voltage1.5

1.5

ProcessorTemp34.3

35.2

CaseTemp25

25.2

3Dmark035581

5690

PCMark043820

4343

PCMark04CPU3714

4269

PCMark04Memory3260

3739


4331

PCMark04HDD4817

4745

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3200+Motherboard ASRock K8S8XBIOSManufacturer American MegatrendsBIOS Version ASRock Version P1.30Chipset Driver SIS 5.1.2600.1106 (755)






74 • PC Modder

That's not to say that theK8S8X doesn't include anyprinted material. We found aslim user guide and a small,printed manual that includesstep-by-step instructions forhot-swapping SATA hard dri-ves. We like the user guide,which has plenty of setupinformation and detai ledexplanations of each of theboard's headers. Thanks tothe user guide, you can easilyset up your system and thenprint the main user guide,which includes BIOS in-formation, from the board's driver CD.

The motherboard riser has a10/100 LAN port, three audioports, and six USB 2.0 ports.The board's internal connec-tors include audio, infrared,USB 2.0, and game port headers. TheK8S8X has a single system fan header,which stands at the front of the board,near the front panel header.

The K8S8X's slim offerings include aSATA PSU adapter, two SATA cables, afloppy cable, and an IDE cable. Wewere glad to see the SATA PSU adapter,but were surprised to find that theadapter includes only one hard driveconnector. The board's other featuresinclude Boot Failure Guard and U-COP(Universal CPU Overheating Protec-tion). Overclockers will like Boot Fail-ure Guard, which lets users safely enterthe BIOS after an overclocked systemcrashes. The board does have a CMOSheader, but doesn't include the jumper.If you want to clear the CMOS via theheader, you'll need to buy a jumper.

ASRock's U-COP monitors the CPU'stemperature and powers off the system ifit determines that the CPU is too hot. Weworried that the feature would power offour system when we overclocked, but wenever triggered the feature. The K8S8Xalso includes PC-cillin Anti-Virus andASRock's PC DIY demo, which walks theuser through motherboard installation.Of course, you'll need to use a computerto view the demo.

OverclockingBefore we entered the K8S8X's BIOS,

we benchmarked the system at defaultsettings. The system posted 5581 in3Dmark03 and 3820 in PCMark04. Wewere surprised to see such low scores:the Soyo CK8 Dragon Plus scored 6175in 3Dmark03 at default settings.

As soon as we entered the system'sBIOS, we looked at the Hardware HealthEvent Monitoring category. The section

lists the CPU temperature(which remained cool; thetemp never exceeded 35 de-grees Celsius, even when weoverclocked), the motherboardtemperature, several voltages,and CPU and chassis fanspeeds. Next, we selected theAdvanced tab and entered theCPU Configuration section.The section includes an AMDCool 'N Quiet Configurationsetting, but we weren't wor-ried about heat, thanks to ourmassive heatsink and fan.Instead, we changed the CPUHost Frequency field fromAuto to Manual and thenoverclocked the CPU via theActual Frequency field.

We quickly discovered thatthe BIOS doesn't include fea-tures that let you adjust the

CPU's voltage. As a result, we couldn'tbump the voltage from its default 1.5Vsetting. Even so, we pushed the CPU allthe way to 2.24GHz before we ran intotrouble. At 2.24GHz, the system scored4268 in PCMark04 and posted a 3D-mark03 score of 5690, only 109 pointshigher than its score at default settings. As it turned out, the system couldn'tbreak this 3Dmark03 score. The PCcrashed when we pushed it to 2.26GHz,so we lowered the HyperTransport speedfrom 800MHz to 600MHz and thenoverclocked again. This time, the systemreached 2.3GHz, but posted poor bench-mark scores, so we backed it down to2.28GHz. At 2.28GHz, our PC scored5690 in 3Dmark03 again, but posted aslightly better 4343 PCMark04 score.

Final WordAlthough the K8S8X achieved the

highest clock speed, it posted the low-est benchmark scores of our tr io.Overclockers probably won't enjoy thisboard's lack of overclocking features andcomponents, but budget-builders whoneed an inexpensive board shouldn'tignore it.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Gigabyte GA-K8VNXPStock Performance 6184Overclocked Performance 6289

Soyo CK8 Dragon PlusStock Performance 6175Overclocked Performance 6271

★★ ASRock K8S8XStock Performance 5581Overclocked Performance 5690


Northbridge (SIS 755)

Southbridge(SIS 964)

SATA Connectors

BIOS (American Megatrends)

Game Port Connector

PC Modder • 75

Genie uses English by default, but if youwant it to speak Chinese, German, orJapanese, you can use the switch device toselect the appropriate language.

We were also surprised to find thatthe floppy drive connector stands at thebottom of the mobo, just below theboard’s six PCI slots. If you don’t pluga PCI card into the bottom slot, youcan easily route the floppy cable to thefloppy drive, but if the slot does have adevice, you may have trouble wrapping

the included flat floppy cable aroundthe PCI card.

Although the northbridge, which has alarge heatsink, stands just below the CPUbracket, we didn’t have any troubleinstalling our huge CPU heatsink and fancombo. Three RAM sockets stand to theright of the CPU. The sockets support upto 3GB of 200MHz/266MHz, 333MHz,and 400MHz DDR RAM. The board has

AMD ATHLON 64 3400+ &ALBATRON K8X800 PROII

AMD’s Athlon 64 3400+ has the3200+’s ClawHammer core,128KB of L1 cache (a 64KB

instruction cache and a 64KB data cache)and 1MB of L2 cache, but it boasts a2.2GHz clock speed. Unfortunately, theprocessor’s integrated memory controllerstill supports only one channel, whichmeans that Athlon 64 users can’t takeadvantage of the dual-memory-channeltechnology that many Athlon XP usersenjoy (via motherboards that have appro-priate chipsets). At $406 the 3400+ isn’t abudget CPU, but it’s much less expensivethan the Athlon FX-51, which also has a2.2GHz clock speed. All Athlon 64s haveintegrated antivirus technology, but theywon’t be able to fully use it until Microsoftreleases Windows XP Service Pack 2.

MotherboardWe stress hardware to its breaking point

when we put together PC Modder issues, sowe occasionally see smoking componentskeel over. As it happens, the first K8X800died (from fear, we suspect, and we don’tblame the poor thing) before we put it inour test system, so we ordered a replacement

that ran right away. The K8X800 ProIIsports VIA’s K8T800 northbridge andVT8237 southbridge, which provides sup-port for the board’s two SATA hard driveconnectors. Albatron also threw in a VIAVT6307 FireWire chip and a VIA VT1720Envy 24PT audio controller, but we chose a3Com 3C940 Gigabit LAN controller.

The K8X800 ProII has a solid package.The box contains several standard

components, including two IDE cables, afloppy cable, a SATA cable, and a singleSATA PSU adapter. We found several D-brackets, including a bracket that housesSPDIF In and SPDD Out, mic, and ear-phone ports. Thanks to the Envy 24PTcontroller, the board supports up to eight-channel audio. Albatron also threw inthree other D-brackets that house USB2.0, FireWire, and game ports.

New users and old pros will like theK8X800’s printed material, whichincludes a user guide and a detailed instal-lation poster that labels all of the mother-board’s important components and evenoffers some basic BIOS information. Theuser guide includes detailed BIOSinstructions, screenshots, and illustra-tions. The package also includes two freeapplications: the aging Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 and InterVideo WinCinema,which features InterVideo WinDVD 4and InterVideo WinRip 2.

Albatron packed tons of features intothe board itself. The first unusual item wenoticed is the four-switch device thatstands in the bottom-right corner of theboard. The device lets users configure the

board’s Voice Genie, which emits audibleerror messages, and the dual BIOS system.Thanks to the two 2MB BIOS chips, youcan flash your BIOS without worryingthat you’ll accidentally damage it. If you(or a virus) kill the first BIOS, you canswitch to the backup BIOS by flipping thefirst three switches (unlike the GigabyteGA-K8VNXP, which automaticallyswitches to the healthy BIOS). The Voice

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (ClawHammer)Albatron K8X800 ProII



2.46GHz

FSB200MHz

224MHz

Multiplier11

11

Voltage1.5

1.7

ProcessorTemp33.6

38.3

CaseTemp26.1

26.3

3Dmark036204

6303

PCMark044251

4736

PCMark04CPU4111

4524

PCMark04Memory3290

3663


5174

PCMark04HDD4755

4736

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3400+Motherboard Albatron K8X800 ProIIBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (Albatron Version

R1.08)Chipset Driver VIA 4.51 (K8T800)






76 • PC Modder

a variety of internal headers,including three internal USB2.0 headers, an infrared header,and a front panel audio header.Unfortunately, the headersstand at the bottom of theboard, which means that if youput the D-brackets in theuppermost PCI slot bays, you’llneed to route them betweenyour PCI cards. That said, allof the D-bracket cords aremore than long enough toreach their respective headers.

Many motherboard risersfeature two serial ports, whichstand next to a larger parallelport. The K8X800 ProII, how-ever, has only one serial port; apiece of blue plastic covers theother serial port area and wardsagainst dust. Instead of puttingthe serial port on the board,Albatron added an internal serial portheader and put the remaining serial porton the D-bracket that also houses the gameport. As a result, users who have a front-panel serial port can connect the port’scable to the motherboard.

The riser also has two USB 2.0 portsand six audio ports, including SurroundSpeaker, Surround Back Speaker, andSubwoofer. The audio ports don’t includelabels, but they are color-coded, and theinstallation poster describes each port.

OverclockingThe K8X800 runs Phoenix Award

BIOS V6.00PG (Albatron VersionR1.08). It closely resembles the otherBIOSes in our three-board round-up, butit includes an overclocking feature thatthe others lack: the Watch Dog Timer. Ifyour system hangs, the Watch Dog Timerautomatically senses the problem, resetsyour BIOS to its default setting, and thenreboots your PC. The board has a CMOSjumper, but thanks to the Watch DogTimer, you’ll probably never see it.

We entered the Advanced ChipsetFeatures category and found that this sec-tion houses adjustable memory timings(including tRCD, tRAS, tRP, and CASLatency) and some AGP settings. We

focused on the processor, so we returnedto the main menu and then glanced at theHardware Monitor. This section displayedCPU and system temperatures and fanspeeds, as well as voltages but didn’t let usadjust voltages. However, the HardwareMonitor does have two adjustable fields:Case Open Warning and CPU WarningTemperature. If you want the BIOS toalert you when your CPU’s temperaturerises beyond a specific trigger point, youcan choose a temperature between 50

degrees Celsius and 70 degreesCelsius.

Next, we selected the Ad-vanced tab and then entered the Frequency/Voltage Con-trol section, which lets usersadjust the CPU frequency(200MHz to 300MHz), theAGP/PCI frequency, and theCPU VCore (0.8V to 1.9V),RAM (2.6V to 2.9V), and AGP(1.5V to 1.8V).

The K8X800 performedwell at default settings, posting6204 in 3Dmark03 (654points higher than the AOpenAK89 Max’s score at defaultsettings), so we upped the FSBfrom 200MHz to 210MHz(2.31GHz clock speed, thanksto the Athlon 64 3400+’s 11Xmultiplier). The system han-dled the new frequency with-

out any trouble, posting a 31-point3Dmark03 increase. Our system re-mained stable until it reached 2.35GHz,at which point it froze during 3Dmark03.We raised the VCore voltage from 1.5Vto 1.55V and tried again. This time thesystem ran 3Dmark03 without trouble,but the system froze again when weboosted the clock speed to 1.6V.

We finally maxed out the system at224MHz (2.46GHz clock speed) with a1.7V VCore. The system posted a3Dmark03 score of 6303, almost 100points higher than its original score.

Final WordThe Albatron took top honors in our

three-board lineup, thanks to its 2.46GHzclock speed and impressive 3DMarkscores, but it didn’t beat the AK89 Maxby much. Both boards performed well andhave excellent features. If we had tochoose between the two, we’d probablylean toward the K8X800, if only becauseit has a three-year warranty (the first yearincludes parts and labor; the second andthird years include only labor). The AK89Max includes a one-year warranty.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ Albatron K8X800 ProIIStock Performance 6204Overclocked Performance 6303

AOpen AK89 MaxStock Performance 5550Overclocked Performance 6293

ECS 755-A2 Stock Performance 5607Overclocked Performance 5619

ATX 12V PSUconnector


Southbridge(VIA VT8237)

SATA connectors

BIOS &backup

BIOS(Phoenix)

FireWirecontroller

Floppydrive

connector

PC Modder • 77

As much as we like the AK89 Max’sextra components and applications, welove the board itself. It has a ton of greatfeatures, including FireWire headers andtwo BIOS chips (AOpen calls the dual-chip feature DieHard BIOS II). As withthe Gigabyte GA-K8VNXP, the secondBIOS acts as a backup. DieHard BIOS IIreplaces the original DieHard BIOS,which included a read-only rescue BIOS.The new version now includes a read/writerescue BIOS, which means you can write

data to your BIOS. For example, you candownload Open JukeBox Player skins.

The CMOS header stands directlyabove the BIOS chips, sporting a redjumper. Many motherboards have labelsthat identify the CMOS jumper, butAOpen took it a step farther by adding alabel that indicates Normal and ClearCMOS positions. Seasoned overclockerswon’t have much trouble clearing

AMD ATHLON 64 3400+ &AOPEN AK89 MAX

AOpen is one of the few mother-board manufacturers that stilltosses a decent instal lation

poster into its mobo packages. TheAK89 Max’s poster includes plenty ofpictures, basic setup instructions, and afew tips that even experienced overclock-ers can appreciate, such as the location ofthe CMOS jumper. New users will likethe poster’s front panel connectorinstructions. We also like the user guide,which has tons of illustrations, compo-nent and feature descriptions, and tutori-als that walk you through the package’ssoftware. Unfortunately, the user guidedoesn’t offer much information aboutthe board’s BIOS.

MotherboardThe AK89 Max includes a strong com-

ponent package. The box contains severalD-brackets that house audio ports, twoFireWire ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and agame port. We also found two IDEcables, a floppy cable, a single SATA cable(sigh) and a SATA PSU adapter. We weresurprised to find that the adapter includesonly one hard drive connector; most PSU

adapters have two hard drive connectors.AOpen also tossed a SATA driver floppyinto the package, which meant we didn’thave to use a separate computer to createa driver floppy. This is a small feature,but users who don’t have a spare comput-er will trade extra SATA cables for thatdriver floppy any day.

The board includes two third-partyapplications: Adobe Acrobat Reader and

Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2003.AntiVirus 2003 is outdated, but it’s freesoftware and it still downloads virus defi-nition lists (the software includes a 12-month virus definition list subscription).AOpen also included several of its ownutilities and entertainment applications.The aptly named WinBIOS lets youaccess the BIOS from Windows, whichmeans you can browse and adjust the set-tings without first rebooting. We like theAOConfig Utility, which displays infor-mation about several components, includ-ing your BIOS, memory, motherboard,and processor. If you use the board’sSATA RAID capability, you’ll probablywant to install the board’s SATARAIDUtility, which lets you manage yourRAID configuration from Windows.

AOpen’s SilentTek won’t help over-clockers, but users who hate noise pollu-tion will love this program. The softwaremonitors your CPU and system tempera-ture (via the motherboard’s sensors) andslows fan speeds to provide a steady, butquiet, airflow. You can adjust the soft-ware’s default settings and turn on theCD-ROM Rotation Speed Control,

which quiets your optical drive (at theexpense of speed, of course). The AK89Max also has a program that lets you useyour computer to play CDs. Unfortu-nately, Open JukeBox Player preventsyour system from booting windows (untilyou exit the program). The software pro-vides its own mouse-friendly interface.We’re certain that someone, somewherejust loves this feature.

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (ClawHammer)AOpen AK89 Max



2.37GHz

FSB200MHz

215MHz

Multiplier11

11

Voltage1.5V

1.55V

ProcessorTemp32.6

33.1

CaseTemp29.3

29.3

3Dmark035550

6293

PCMark044355

4695

PCMark04CPU4152

4428

PCMark04Memory3797

4084


5497

PCMark04HDD4643

4657

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3400+Motherboard AOpen AK89 MaxBIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (AOpen Version

R1.05)Chipset Driver NVIDIA v3.13 (nForce3 150)






78 • PC Modder

CMOS, but new overclockerswill probably appreciate thetip.

The AK89 Max sportsNVIDIA’s nForce3 150chipset, which doesn’t requirea southbridge. AOpen placedan aluminum heatsink on thechipset, which stands justbehind the PCI slots. We likethe nForce 3 150’s locationsimply because you can installa taller heatsink. In contrast,ASUS placed the nForce3 150directly behind the SK8N’sAGP slot, which meant thatusers couldn’t easily replacethe chipset’s heatsink.

The board also includes fourSATA connectors and supportsRAID 0, 1, and 0+1, thanks toa Silicon Image SATALinkchip. The three memory slotssupport up to 3GB of DDR400 RAM.We were surprised to find that one of theAK89 Max’s five PCI slots has its own3.3V power circuit. With the 3.3V circuit,the PCI slot can handle power-hungryPCI cards, such as RAID cards, and won’tbe affected by the other four slots.

The motherboard riser includes thestandard serial, parallel, and PS/2 slots, aswell as four USB 2.0 slots and a GigabitLAN port. Thanks to the ALC655 codec,the riser’s audio ports support 5.1-chan-nel sound. One of the board’s D-bracketshouses additional audio ports, includingSPDIF Out and SPDIF In ports.

OverclockingIf you’re new to overclocking, you may

want to try the AK89 Max’s EzClock over-clocking software. Experienced overclock-ers will probably want to dive right intothe BIOS as it generally produces the bestoverclocking results, but new overclockersshould think of a Windows-based over-clocking tool as a training ground: Userscan access all of the relevant settings from asingle interface instead of flipping throughBIOS sections. You can adjust processorsettings and some voltages, and thanks to adrop-down window, monitor the CPUtemperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Once you change the board’s configura-tion, you can apply the changes immedi-ately, without rebooting the system.

We wanted to push our system to itslimit, so we rebooted our PC and thenentered the BIOS during POST (poweron self test). The first thing we noticedwas that the BIOS let us change theCPU’s multiplier. Most of the mother-boards we tested don’t unlock the multi-plier, but AK89 Max offered a wide rangeof multipliers, from 4X to 25X. The

BIOS also let us adjust theCPU’s frequency (200MHz to250MHz) and CPU VCore(0.8V to 1.55V), AGP (1.5Vto 1.6V), and DRAM, (2.5Vto 2.85V) voltages. We weresurprised to find that theVCore field prevents usersfrom raising the voltagebeyond 1.55V; many mother-boards let users raise the volt-age as high as 1.8V. As a result,we didn’t expect the AK89Max to overclock well.

When we benchmarked ourAK89 Max system at defaultsettings (2.2GHz, 1.5V VCore),it posted a 3Dmark03 score of5550 and a PCMark04 score of4355. Although we expected theboard’s low voltage limit to curbour overclocking efforts, we didn’t expect to see such low

scores right off the bat. As it turned out, theAK89 Max simply needed to be unleashed.When we bumped the CPU clock speed to2.31GHz, the system came to life, posting6280 in 3Dmark03: a 730-point increase.The system crashed when we raised theclock speed to 2.37GHz, so we upped theVCore voltage to its 1.55V limit. Thanksto the extra juice, the AK89 Max posted itshighest scores: 6293 in 3Dmark03 and4696 in PCMark04.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t top thosescores, even when we adjusted the CPU’smultiplier. The system booted intoWindows at 2.97GHz (212MHz with a14X multiplier), but it posted a3Dmark03 score of 6279, 14 pointsbelow its top score. We probably couldhave pushed the CPU further if the boardhad better voltage capabilities.

Final WordDespite the AK89 Max’s mediocre

scores at default settings, the boardproved to be a strong overclocker. In fact,its 3Dmark03 score almost tied theAlbatron K8X800’s best score. If you’relooking for a solid, feature-laden board,you’ve found it.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Albatron K8X800 ProIIStock Performance 6204Overclocked Performance 6303

★★ AOpen AK89 MaxStock Performance 5550Overclocked Performance 6293

ECS 755-A2 Stock Performance 5607Overclocked Performance 5619


Chipset (NVIDIA nForce3 150)

BIOS & Backup BIOS

CMOSJumper

SATA Connectors

Game Port Connector

PC Modder • 79

side of the board. As a result we easilysnaked the PSU cable around the memoryand capacitors to the connectors. Unfor-tunately, the memory bank includes onlytwo slots, which means that users can’teasily upgrade without removing existingDIMMS. The slots support up to 2GB ofDDR400 RAM.

We were surprised to find that theboard lacks a game port header or even aserial port header (motherboards thathave only one serial port generally include

an internal serial port header that letsusers add their own serial port). Theboard does include a CNR (communica-tions and networking riser), but we'd takea game port header over the less-popularCNR any day.

The motherboard riser includes a ser-ial port, a parallel port, two PS/2 ports,four USB 2.0 ports and a 10/100 LANPort, thanks to a Realtek RTL820BL

AMD ATHLON 64 3400+ &ECS 755-A2

If you’re planning to build a cheapPC, take a look at ECS (EliteGroupComputer Systems). The mother-

board manufacturer produces a variety ofinexpensive motherboards that powermany budget systems. We chose one ofthe motherboard maker’s top AMDAthlon 64-based boards, the 755-A2, tosee if a budget board can compete withthe big dogs.

MotherboardThe 755-A2’s box states that the board

is capable of overclocking, so we matchedit with our Athlon 64 3400+ and took itfor a spin. The board sports the SIS 755northbridge and SIS 964 southbridge,which generally accompany inexpensivemotherboards.

At $87, the 755-A2 has the dubioushonor of being the cheapest AMD moth-erboard we overclocked. The packageincludes only the bare necessities: an IDEcable, a floppy cable, and a single SATAcable. We always like to see importantcomponents, such as SATA PSU adaptersand extra SATA adapters, but we’re will-ing to give up a few components for such

an inexpensive board. If your PSU does-n’t have SATA connectors and you areplanning to buy a motherboard thatdoesn’t have a SATA PSU adapter, buy a retail hard drive instead of an OEMversion. Many computer retailers offerOEM components that lack extra fea-tures but also sell retail versions thatinclude standard components, such ascables and free software.

We like the 755-A2’s layout. If youplan to upgrade your computer or over-clock often, look for a motherboardthat has an easy-to-access layout. Asolid motherboard layout means youcan reach important items (such as theCMOS jumper) quickly, and lets youconnect various cables and cards easilywithout disrupting your system’s air-flow. ECS used a grape-purple PCBthat will brighten your system’s insidesand then added a bright orange AGPslot and matching chipset heatsink.ECS didn’t bunch the capacitorstogether and put both of the SATAconnectors near the hard drives (assum-ing your hard drives are near). Theboard integrates support for RAID 0and RAID 1, which means users whohave two drives can create striped ormirrored arrays.

The CMOS header is near the front ofthe board and easy to find, thanks to thered jumper. Most importantly, ECS putdetailed header labels on the motherboardthat indicate CMOS Normal and Clearpositions. ECS also added a small dia-gram that indicates the appropriate front

panel pins. If you lose your manual, you’lllove this diagram.

The memory slots stand horizontal,above the CPU socket, instead of stand-ing to the left or right of the CPU.Generally, horizontal memory socketsmean that the user must string the PSUcables over the memory, but in this case,ECS placed both power cable connectorsand several capacitors on the right hand

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (ClawHammer)ECS 755-A2



2.24GHz

FSB200MHz

204MHz

Multiplier11

11

Voltage1.5

1.5

ProcessorTemp33

33.4

CaseTemp27.7

28.1

3Dmark035607

5619

PCMark044206

4299

PCMark04CPU4161

4254

PCMark04Memory3797

3887


4341

PCMark04HDD4378

3732

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 3400+Motherboard ECS 755-A2BIOSManufacturer PhoenixBIOS Version V6.00PG (ECS Version 1.0)Chipset Driver SIS 5.1.2600.0 (755)






80 • PC Modder

chip. Realtek also providesthe riser’s six-channel au-dio via a ALC655 (AC’97)codec. The board also in-cludes two internal USB 2.0headers that let you connectadditional USB 2.0 ports,such as your chassis’ frontpanel USB ports . I f yourchass i s doesn’t have USBports, take a look at your sys-tem’s other components :temperature monitors thatplug into an optical drive bayand card readers often haveUSB ports that connect toyour motherboard’s internalheaders. We were surprisedto see that ECS placed theUSB headers just behind thetop two PCI slots instead ofat the bottom of the board,but our front panel connec-tors easily reached them, so we’re notcomplaining.

Unfortunately, the 755-A2’s softwarepackage is as slim as its component pack-age. The driver CD includes a woefully out-dated Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 andAward WinFlash, which is, not surprisingly,a Windows-based BIOS flashing utility.

OverclockingWe benchmarked the system at default

settings (2.2GHz, 1.5V VCore) before webegan overclocking. Our 755-A2 andAthlon 64 3400+ combo ran both bench-marks without a hitch, posting 5607 in3Dmark03 and 4206 in PCMark04. Bothof these scores were well below theAlbatron K8X800 ProII’s scores, but the$87 755-A2’s 3Dmark03 score bested the$156 AOpen AK89 Max’s opening 5550score by 57 points.

Next, we entered the board’s PhoenixAward BIOS V6.00PG (ECS Version1.0). The PC Health Status section dis-plays the CPU and system temps and fanspeeds and lets users specify an emergencyshutdown temperature. We were sur-prised to see that the section displays onlythe CPU’s voltage; many BIOS’ also dis-play AGP and DRAM voltages. TheAdvanced Chipset Setup controls several

AGP settings and devotes a subsection toDRAM settings.

The Power Management Setup sectionincludes a couple of useful nonoverclock-ing tools. If you want your computer topower on automatically whenever it losesand then regains power, you can enablethe section’s Power On After Power Failoption. You can also configure your sys-tem to automatically power on at a specif-ic time. If you power off your computerbefore you go to work, for example, you

can instruct the PC to poweron just before you arrive home.

The Frequency/VoltageControl section lets you adjustthe CPU clock speed, but itdoesn’t let you adjust the volt-age. As a result we couldn’t feedmore power to the VCore thanthe board’s default 1.5V. Giventhat the board didn’t includeadjustable voltage controls, wesuspected that ECS wasn’t tar-geting the board at overclockers.But we tried anyway. We raisedthe Athlon 64 3400+’s clockspeed to 2.22GHz and thenbooted into Windows without ahitch. The system posted a3Dmark03 score of 5614, onlyseven points higher than itsoriginal score, but then, we had-n’t raised the frequency much.We raised the clock speed to

2.23GHz and ran the benchmarks again.This time the system posted a 3Dmarkscore of 5609.

The system finally posted its best3Dmark03 score (5619, a mere 12-pointincrease) at 2.24GHz. Our test PC boot-ed into Windows at 2.31GHz but was sounstable it couldn’t run any benches.

Final WordIf you’re looking for a flashy, feature-

laden, overclocking wonder, skip theECS 755-A2. The board lacks impor-tant features, such as FireWire, andsimply can’t push your Athlon 64processor as far as it can go. Overclock-ers should avoid any board that doesn’tlet them increase the voltage; if youcan’t feed extra juice to the processor,you can’t stabilize the CPU when ittackles higher frequencies. That said,budget users who don’t plan to over-clock and don’t want extra features willlove this board’s layout and ultra-cheapprice tag. If you are building a systemfor a friend who wants 64-bit goodnessbut doesn’t want to overclock, you cansave cash for other components byinstalling the 755-A2.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03Albatron K8X800 ProIIStock Performance 6204Overclocked Performance 6303

AOpen AK89 MaxStock Performance 5550Overclocked Performance 6293

★★ ECS 755-A2Stock Performance 5607Overclocked Performance 5619

ATX 12V PSUConnector Northbridge

(SIS 755)

Southbridge(SIS 964)

SATA connectors

BIOS (Phoenix)

CNR (Communication &Networking Riser)

PC Modder • 81

ASUS also added InterVideo’sWinDVD Suite , which includesWinDVD, Win DVD Creator, andWinRIP, Trend-Micro PC-cillin 2002,and plenty of its own utilities. We likethe VIA Tech RAID BIOS uti l i ty ,which lets you configure your RAIDarray (the board supports RAID 0, 1,and 0+1). You can enter Tech RAIDBIOS by pressing the tab during yoursystem’s POST (power on self test).

The software package also includesWinbond Voice Editor, which lets youchange the POST Reporter’s defaultmessages by recording your own.Thanks to a Winbond speech con-troller, POST Reporter (when enabled)emits audible messages, including sys-tem errors. That sure beats huntingdown the meaning of beep- or numeral-based error codes.

AMD ATHLON 64 FX-51 &ASUS SK8V

The Athlon 64 FX-51 shares sev-eral features with its Athlon 64cousin, including the Claw-

Hammer core, 128KB L1 cache, and1MB L2 cache, but it has 940 pins to theAthlon 64’s 754 and requires registeredmemory. As a result, if you’re upgradingto a 940-pin, FX-based system, you’llneed to buy a new motherboard and newRAM. Luckily, AMD recently releasedseveral 939-pin Athlon 64 FX CPUs,including a 939-pin FX-53. (We couldn’tget hold of these before we went to print,so expect to see them in the next issue.)What’s the big deal? The 939-pin proces-sors don’t require registered memory.AMD’s roadmap doesn’t include anymore 940 pins, so if you plan to upgradeto an FX CPU, we suggest looking at thenew processors. If you already have a 940-pin processor or simply want to see howthe FX CPUs stack up, read on.

MotherboardASUS released the SK8V several

months after it launched its first AMDAthlon 64 FX-51-based motherboard,the SK8N. The SK8N sported

NVIDIA’s nForce3 pro 150 chipset,which combined the northbridge andsouthbridge functions into a single chip.The SK8V, on the other hand, boasts aVIA chipset that includes the K8T800northbridge and VT8237 southbridge.The board also includes a VIA VT 6307FireWire controller, a Promise R20378RAID controller, and an ADI AD19856-channel codec.

Although ASUS’ low-end boards ofteninclude few extras, high-end boards, suchas the SK8V, boast large packages. OurSK8V box included two SATA cables,complete with dust caps, three IDEcables, and a single SATA PSU adapterthat sports two hard drive adapters. Somenew power supplies include SATA powerconnectors, but most older models andmany new models have only the older,bulky connectors, so we always like to seemotherboards that save us the extra tripto the computer store.

As usual, ASUS tossed a detailed userguide and an easy-to-read motherboardlayout sticker into the box. If you regular-ly adjust jumper settings or disconnectand reconnect the chassis’ front panelconnectors, you may want to place thesticker on your chassis’ side panel. Wewere surprised to see that the sticker evenlists the CMOS battery’s model number.If you hang onto the board long enoughto wear out the battery (or if it goes bad),you’ll need this information.

The motherboard package alsoincludes three D-brackets that attach toyour chassis’ empty PCI slot bays. We

like the audio bracket, which has twoSPDIF Out ports, and the USB bracket,which boasts four USB 2.0 ports, but wewere surprised to see that the third brack-et has only a FireWire port. Sure, manycases have at least one front panelFireWire port that can use the board’sremaining FireWire header, but if yourcase doesn’t have a FireWire port, one ofthe two headers is useless.

AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 (ClawHammer)ASUS SK8V



2.45GHz

FSB200MHz

223MHz

Multiplier11

11

Voltage1.5

1.7

ProcessorTemp33.4

39.3

CaseTemp27.9

29

3Dmark036250

6359

PCMark044461

4919

PCMark04CPU4112

4589

PCMark04Memory4668

5204


5399

PCMark04HDD4751

4749

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 FX-51Motherboard ASUS SK8VBIOSManufacturer American MegatrendsBIOS Version AMI Bios 2003

ASUS Version 1002Chipset Driver VIA 4.51 (K8T800)

Common ComponentsRAM Corsair PC2700 registered

DDR SDRAM (2 x 1GB)Video Gainward PowerPack!





82 • PC Modder

ASUS lined two of theSK8V’s three IDE portsagainst the front side of theboard. The other IDE connec-tor sits next to the floppy con-nector, which is also near theside of the board. We weresurprised to see that the flop-py drive faces toward the frontof the computer instead offacing toward the side panel,as most floppy and IDE con-nectors generally do. Thanksto the floppy connector’sweird position, you won’thave any trouble accessing thetwo nearby SATA ports, butwe think users who havecramped cases may have trou-ble installing the floppy driveconnector. We easily connect-ed the cable in our case, butthen, the Antec PLUS1080-AMG is very roomy.

A small, long ASUS WiFi@Home con-nector sits just below the motherboard’sfive PCI slots. If you want to add wirelessconnectivity to your system withoutadding a PCI or USB device, you canplug ASUS’ optional Wi-Fi card into theconnector. You can buy the 802.11bcard, which includes an external antenna,for about $25 from computer retailers.We like the idea, but we wish ASUSoffered an 802.11g card; a slow networkadapter doesn’t belong on a fast board.

Thanks to the SK8V’s dual-channelarchitecture support, you can boost yoursystem’s performance by adding pairs ofidentical DIMMS to memory slots. Themotherboard’s four slots support up to8GB of PC3200 registered DDR RAM.

The I/O riser includes a SPDIF-Outport, three other audio ports, four USB2.0 ports, and a FireWire port. If youtake your computer to LAN parties,you’ll like the riser’s Gigabit LAN port.Thanks to the 3COM 3C940 GigabitLAN controller’s VCT (Virtual CableTester) utility, the controller can reportEthernet cable problems, which meansyou can quickly determine whether youhave a cable or motherboard problemand get on with the game.

OverclockingASUS added several overclocking-friend-

ly features to the American MegatrendsBIOS. We like CrashFree BIOS 2, whichlets you repair a damaged BIOS by rein-stalling the original BIOS from the mother-board’s CD. We also like C.P.R. (CPUParameter Recall), which activates whenyour computer freezes. When you rebootthe system, C.P.R. resets the BIOS to itsdefault settings. As a result, you won’t need

to use the CMOS jumper toclear your system. Non-over-clockers will like Q-Fan. Whenyour system isn’t running inten-sive tasks, Q-Fan lowers yoursystem fan speeds (it only affectsfans that draw power directlyfrom the motherboard), lower-ing your system’s overall noise.The SK8V also includes theWindows-based BIOS updateutility ASUS Update.

The SK8V included an oldAmerican Megatrends BIOS2003 (ASUS Version 1001), sowe upgraded the BIOS toASUS Version 1002. The BIOSlet us choose from a CPU volt-age range of 1.5V to 1.7V.Users can also change the multi-plier and adjust the AGP (1.5Vto 1.7V) and DRAM (2.5V to2.8V) voltages. As with the

SK8N, the BIOS let us choose from a fre-quency range of 200MHz to 300MHz.

At default settings, the test system postedan impressive 6250 3Dmark03 score and aPCMark04 score of 4461. We pushed theCPU as high as 2.37GHz without anytrouble, but the system refused to runeither benchmark at 2.4GHz until weraised the voltage. At 1.55V, the system ranboth benchmarks, posting an 83-point3Dmark03 increase. The system ran thebenchmarks at 2.44GHz with a VCore of1.6V, but the BSOD strangled our systemwhen we pushed it to 2.46GHz. Once wereinstalled Windows, we maxed the systemout at 2.45GHz with a 1.7V VCore. Thetest PC posted a 3Dmark03 score of 6359and a PCMark04 score of 4919, 458 pointshigher than its original score.

Final WordThe SK8V trounced the other mother-

boards in our three-board lineup, offeringthe highest scores in both 3Dmark03 andPCMark04. It has a great accessoriespackage and plenty of overclocking-friendly features. At $206, the SK8V isn’tcheap, but it’s the best FX-based mother-board we’ve seen.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03★★ ASUS SK8VStock Performance 6250Overclocked Performance 6359

Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP-940Stock Performance 6204Overclocked Performance 6300

ASUS SK8NStock Performance 6150Overclocked Performance 6248

BIOS(American

Megatrends)

SATAConnectors 3COM Gigabit

LAN Controller

Southbridge(VIA VT8237)

Northbridge (VIA K8T800)


PC Modder • 83

After testing the Athlon 64-basedmotherboards, which didn’t include per-formance-enhancing dual-channel memo-ry technology, we were glad to see thatthe SK8N has four dual-channel slots. Asa result, you can add up to two pairs ofDIMMs to your system. Each pair musthave identical DIMMS, but you don’tneed to use identical pairs. For example,you can use a pair of 256MB, PC3200

DIMMs and a pair of 512MB, PC3200DIMMS. All told, the four slots supportup to 8GB of registered DDR RAM.

Unfortunately, ASUS placed thenForce3 pro-150 chipset directly behindthe 8X AGP slot. As a result, larger videocards hang over the chipset. You won’thave any trouble installing your video card,thanks to the chipset’s extremely short alu-minum heatsink, but you won’t be able to

AMD ATHLON 64 FX-51 &ASUS SK8N

The SK8V pounded through thebenchmarks, so we hoped itsolder sibling could do the same.

After all, ASUS has had more time totweak the SK8N’s once-flaky BIOS. Aswith the SK8V, we matched the SK8Nwith the 940-pin Athlon 64 FX-51.ASUS recently released a 939-pin versionof the newer FX-53, but we don’t expectto see a 939-pin FX-51.

MotherboardThe SK8N was one of the first AMD

Athlon 64 FX-based motherboards to hitthe market. It’s also one of the only FX-based motherboards that sports NVIDIA’snForce3 pro-150 chipset. The board sup-ports RAID 0, 1, and 0+1, and has aPromise R20378 controller. The SK8Narrived before Gigabit Ethernet became astandard feature, but the board doesinclude a Realtek RTL8201 10/100 LANcontroller. Realtek also provided the 6-channel ALC650 audio codec. A TITSB43AB22A chip rounds out the board’smost important chips, providing two inter-nal FireWire headers. The board has a940-pin CPU socket and supports AMD

Athlon 64 FX and Opteron processors, butwe doubt many users will slap an Opterononto the board.

We found a boatload of accessories inthe SK8N’s sizeable box. The packageincludes two SATA cables, a dual-connec-tor SATA PSU adapter, and a bunch ofD-brackets. If you don’t have many PCIcards, you’ll love the D-brackets, whichadd ports but take up PCI slot bays. The

brackets house two USB 2.0 ports, audioports (including SPDIF-Out ports, a seri-al game port, and a FireWire port). Wewere disappointed to see that theFireWire bracket has only one FireWireport—we’ve seen many brackets thathouse both FireWire and USB ports.Half-empty brackets just waste space.

The motherboard doesn’t includeWindows-based overclocking software,but it does have several other programs,including InterVideo’s WinDVD Suite(WinDVD, Win DVD Creator, andWinRip), Trend Micro PC-cillin, andseveral ASUS BIOS add-ons. The packagealso includes a printed user guide and asticker that displays the board’s jumpersand front panel connectors.

Unlike Athlon XP and 64-based moth-erboards, 940-pin FX-based mother-boards require registered memory. As aresult you can’t use your old, unregisteredmemory when you upgrade to the SK8N.When shopping for new memory, keep inmind that most registered memory alsoincludes ECC (error correction code), anunnecessary feature as far as FX-basedmotherboards are concerned (many

servers use ECC memory). ECC slowssystem performance, so you’ll want to dis-able the feature via the BIOS’ MemoryConfiguration section. If you’re not surewhich memory to buy, take a look at theASUS Web site’s SK8N Overview section(usa.asus.com/products/mb/socket940/sk8n/overview.htm). The Web page listsdozens of ASUS-qualified DDR333 andDDR400 memory.

AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 (ClawHammer)ASUS SK8N



2.46GHz

FSB200MHz224MHz

Multiplier11

11

Voltage1.5

1.7

ProcessorTemp34.2

39.5

CaseTemp28.4

29.5

3Dmark036150

6248

PCMark044147

4610

PCMark04CPU4023

4489

PCMark04Memory3274

3655


5461

PCMark04HDD4221

4291

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 FX-51Motherboard ASUS SK8NBIOSManufacturer American MegatrendsBIOS Version AMI Bios 2003

ASUS Version 1007Chipset Driver NVIDIA v3.13

(nForce3 pro-150)







84 • PC Modder

install a larger heatsink. Ouronly other gripe is that ASUSplaced the power fan headerright next to the CPU fanheader. The headers are identi-cal, so make sure you’veplugged the CPU fan into thecorrect header before you fireup your system. If you do mixthem up, we doubt you’ll toastthe CPU right away, but weweren’t willing to try. We pre-fer risks that lead to rewards.

Aside from the chipset andfan headers, we like the board’slayout. ASUS placed two of theboard’s three IDE connectorsat the front of the board, nearthe system’s optical and harddrives. The third IDE connec-tor stands behind the five PCIslots. We were disappointed tosee that the motherboard hasonly two SATA connectors. The SK8Nhas a single FireWire header; ASUS addedthe other FireWire port to the board’s I/Oriser. If your chassis has a front panelFireWire port, you’ll probably want toditch the FireWire D-bracket and attachthe front panel connector to the internalheader instead. In fact, you’ll probablyneed to toss the USB D-bracket too, as themotherboard has only one USB 2.0 head-er. The I/O riser eats up the remainingfour USB ports.

OverclockingAs with many other motherboard man-

ufacturers, ASUS adds features to itsBIOS. The SK8N includes several worth-while features, but lacks C.P.R. (CPUParameter Recall), which appears in thenewer SK8V’s BIOS. C.P.R. resets yoursystem to default settings if your systemfreezes, which means you can recoverfrom most overclocking-related problemsby simply rebooting. C.P.R. isn’t crucial,but it lets users avoid clearing the CMOSvia motherboard’s CMOS jumper.Luckily, you won’t have any troublereaching the CMOS jumper (ASUS alsorefers to it as the Real Time Clock RAMjumper), which stands just above thethird IDE connector.

If you have several noisy system fans,you can enable the ASUS Q-Fan feature,which ratchets down your fan speedswhen your system isn’t under a full load.We like the CrashFree BIOS 2 feature,which lets you restore your BIOS fromthe driver CD. You can restore a damagedBIOS by simply inserting the CD andthen rebooting the system.

When we last matched the SK8N withthe FX-51 (see page 91 of PC Modder,Spring 2004), we wounded our poor

motherboard by attempting toupgrade the American Mega-trends 2003 BIOS fromRevision 1001 to 1003. OurSK8N never fully recovered, sowe bought a new SK8N for thistest (which had Revision 1004)and then downloaded the latestBIOS: Revision 1007. The newBIOS took to our motherboardwithout any trouble, so wepromptly benchmarked the sys-tem at default settings. The sys-tem performed well, scoring6150 in 3Dmark03 and 4,147in PCMark04.

Next, we entered the BIOS.The CPU Configuration sec-tion has only two fields: CPUOverClock in MHz (200MHzto 300MHz) and CPUVoltage (1.5V to 1.75V). Weleft the VCore at 1.5V and

raised the frequency. The 1.5V VCore letthe system coast all the way to 2.4GHz(from its default setting of 2.2GHz), atwhich point our test PC posted a3Dmark03 score of 6232 and aPCMark04 score of 4512. However, thesystem refused to boot at 2.42GHz untilwe boosted the VCore to a whopping 1.7volts, just 0.05V shy of the board’s max.

We finally maxed out our system at2.46GHz with a 1.7V VCore. The testPC scored 6248 in 3Dmark03 and 4610in PCMark04. The system booted at2.49GHz and posted a 3Dmark03 scoreof 6265, but it was too unstable to handlePCMark04.

Final WordAlthough we pushed our SK8N-based

system to a slightly higher clock speed thanthe SK8V reached, the SK8N couldn’tbeat either of the other two boards’ bench-mark scores. That said, the SK8N is theleast expensive board in our pack at $188,which means budget overclockers can putthe extra cash towards other components.And unlike the Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP-940, the SK8N didn’t have any troublerunning PCMark04.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03ASUS SK8VStock Performance 6250Overclocked Performance 6359

Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP-940Stock Performance 6204Overclocked Performance 6300

★★ ASUS SK8NStock Performance 6150Overclocked Performance 6248

FireWireConnector

SATA Connectors

Chipset (NVIDIA nForce3 pro-150)

BIOS (American Megatrends)


PC Modder • 85

chipset heatsink with any cooling systemyou like without blocking your videocard. Another bonus that the SK8N lacksis the chipset’s fan header. You can proba-bly get by with a heavy-duty heatsink, butthe further you push your system, thehotter your chipset will become, so we were glad to see that the includedheatsink has a fan.

Thanks to the GigaRAID controller,the GA-K8NNXP-940’s four IDE con-

nectors support RAID 0, 1, or 0+1.Gigabyte placed two of the IDE connec-tors and the floppy connector near thememory slots, close to the optical andhard drives. The other two IDE connec-tors stand at the bottom of the board, justabove the front-panel connectors. TwoSATA connectors also stand below theIDE ports, next to the board’s FireWireheaders. Although the motherboard has

AMD ATHLON 64 FX-51 &GIGABYTE GA-K8NNXP-940

So far, we’ve thrown VIA, NVIDIA,and SIS chipsets at every processorthat we’ve tested. Unfortunately,

motherboard manufacturers didn’t adoptthe SIS 755FX (the FX version of thechipset that graced our Athlon 64-basedmotherboards) until the 939-pin Athlon64 FX CPU sockets arrived. We decidedto look at another popular chipset that canhandle the ultra-powerful FX: theNVIDIA nForce3 150. Although thenForce3 150 isn’t certified for NVIDIAQuadro workstation graphics cards(NVIDIA generally targets the pro-150 atworkstation users), it’s just as capable ofpushing the FX to its limits. We chose theGigabyte GA-K8NNXP-940, whichsports the nForce3 150 and a bunch ofpowerhouse features.

MotherboardThe GA-K8NNXP-940 supplements

the NVIDIA nForce3 150 chipset withseveral Realtek peripheral chips, includingan 8201 10/100 LAN controller, an

8110S Gigabit LAN controller, and anALC658 (AC ’97) codec that offers six-channel audio. The board also includes aFireWire controller and a GigaRAIDATA 133 RAID controller.

We found several accessories inside thebox, including two SATA data cableswith dust caps and two SATA PSUadapters. One of the adapters has onlyone hard drive connector, but the other

adapter has two, so we’re not complain-ing. Many of the motherboards we testedlacked even one PSU adapter, so we wereglad to see Gigabyte go the extra mile.ASUS tossed three port-laden D-bracketsinto the box, including a bracket thatsports a variety of audio ports and anotherbracket that holds both USB 2.0 andFireWire ports. A fourth D-bracket,which Gigabyte refers to as the GC-SATAcard, has four SATA connectors and twopower connectors. If you want to keepyour SATA hard drives outside your com-puter, you can use this device to extendthe board’s SATA connectors to the backof the case. As always, Gigabyte addedplenty of printed material to the package.The box includes a user guide, a largeinstallation poster that has brief BIOSand utility explanations, a motherboardlayout sticker that labels front-panel con-nectors, and a SATA RAID user guide.

Overall, we like the motherboard’s lay-out. Thanks to a bunch of capacitors andthe DPS (Dual Power System), the board

has the most crowded CPU socket areawe’ve seen, but we squeezed our giantThermalright SLK-948U into the areawithout bumping any of the components.The nForce3 150, which has a largeheatsink, stands behind the board’s fivePCI slots, unlike the ASUS SK8N’snForce3 pro-150 chipset, which standsdirectly behind the AGP slot. As a result,you can replace the GA-K8NNXP-940’s

AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 (ClawHammer)Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP-940



2.46GHz

FSB200MHz

224MHz

Multiplier11

11

Voltage1.5

1.65

ProcessorTemp33.2

35

CaseTemp27.5

27.2

3Dmark036204

6300

PCMark04No Score

No Score

PCMark04CPUNo Score

No Score

PCMark04MemoryNo Score

No Score

PCMark04GraphicsNo Score

No Score

PCMark04HDDNo Score

No Score

System SpecsProcessor, Motherboard & DriversProcessor AMD Athlon 64 FX-51Motherboard Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP-940BIOSManufacturer American MegatrendsBIOS Version V6.00PG (Gigabyte Version F3)Chipset Driver NVIDIA v3.13 (nForce3 150)







86 • PC Modder

only two FireWire headers,you can connect up to threeports. One of the headers hasextra pins that let the includedFireWire D-bracket offer twoports. The standard FireWireheader has a large, purple pro-tective casing.

The GA-K8NNXP-940’sfour memory slots have dual-channel technology, whichmeans you can boost your sys-tem’s performance by addingan identical pair (or pairs) ofDIMMs. The slots support up to 3GB of PC3200 DDRRAM. Keep in mind that,unlike standard Athlon 64-based boards, the 940-pinmotherboards require regis-tered memory. We used 2GBof Corsair PC2700 to test our FX-51 and FX-53 CPUs.Gigabyte’s DPS, which has its ownheatsink and LED fan, stands next to thememory. The DPS adds a three-phasepower circuit to the board’s built-inthree-phase power circuit.

In addition to the standard PS/2 andserial ports, the I/O riser features the twoLAN ports, complete with status indica-tor LEDs, two USB 2.0 ports, and threeaudio ports. Two internal USB 2.0 head-ers support up to four additional ports.

OverclockingThe GA-K8NNXP offers two over-

clocking tools: Dual BIOS and Easy-Tune4. If you overclock and flash enoughmotherboards, you’ll eventually dam-age a BIOS. But if you toast the GA-K8NNXP-940’s BIOS, you probablywon’t notice it, thanks to the board’s twoBIOS chips. If you damage the main2MB chip, a spare 2MB chip automati-cally takes over, which means you won’tneed to reflash the BIOS or order a newchip. Although the Dual BIOS systemdoesn’t speed up any of your compo-nents, it saves time.

Users who are new to overclocking willlike EasyTune4. The Windows-basedoverclocking software lets you adjust avariety of settings without entering the

BIOS, including processor clock speedand voltage. If you want to dabble withother components, you can use the soft-ware to change memory and AGP volt-ages. In our experience, Windows-basedoverclocking software doesn’t push aprocessor to its limits, so we entered themost important overclocking tool: thecomputer’s BIOS.

The BIOS lets you adjustthe CPU frequency (200MHzto 300MHz) and the DRAM(2.5V to 2.8V) and VCore(0.8V to 1.7V) voltages. Youcan also adjust the multiplier.Once we located the appropri-ate settings, we backed out ofthe BIOS, rebooted the testsystem, and then ran thebenchmarks. At 2.2GHz, thesystem posted a 3Dmark03score of 6204 but refused toload PCMark04. We triedeverything we could think of,including a rain dance, but theboard denied PCMark04 everytime. That said, the system wasclearly stable. It posted strong3Dmark03 benches without aproblem and handled everyother task we threw at it. Aftertoasting two GA-K8VNXP’s

in a row, we were just glad this particularboard wasn’t on fire.

At 2.42GHz, the motherboard bailedout of 3Dmark03, so we upped the volt-age to 1.55V, which carried the boardonly to 2.44GHz. We finally maxed outthe test PC at 2.46GHz with a 1.65VVCore. The system posted a 3Dmark03score of 6300—that’s only 96 pointshigher than its original score, but it didmanage to reach 52 points higher thanthe SK8N’s max score.

Final WordAside from not loading PCMark04,

the $214 GA-K8NNCP-940 performedreasonably well. We were disappointedthat we couldn’t make use of the VCore’s1.7V ceiling, but we like the board’s3Dmark03 scores, which put it directlybetween the SK8N and the score-thump-ing SK8V. We also like this mother-board’s accessories package and its DualBIOS system. If you want the highestbenchmark scores, you’ll probably wantto look at the $206 ASUS SK8V, but wethink you’ll enjoy overclocking either ofthese boards.

by Joshua Gulick

Overclock Comparison3Dmark03ASUS SK8VStock Performance 6250Overclocked Performance 6359

★★ Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP-940Stock Performance 6204Overclocked Performance 6300

ASUS SK8NStock Performance 6150Overclocked Performance 6248

FireWireConnector

SATAConnectors

GigaRAID Controller

Chipset (NVIDIA nForce3 150)

BIOS and Backup BIOS (Phoenix)


PC Modder • 87

was run without AA and AF; the secondwas run with all AA and AF at full. We thenran Unreal Tournament 2003's Anatalusand Phobos 2 demos at two different resolu-tions: 1,024 x 768 and 1,600 x 1,200.

Finally, we ran our own time demo inUnreal Tournament 2004. To do that, werecorded one minute of game play in theDeathMatch DesertIsle platform. Wethen restarted the game, re-entered theconsole, and enabled demo play. Ourgame was subsequently replayed in real-time, giving us the necessary results to cal-culate frames per second (number offrames divided by number of secondsplayed). The same demo was used foreach test.

(One small caveat: Some of the UTK4scores came out a little fishy, with a fewcards even garnering the same score. Weprint them here so you can make yourown decisions about their value.)

For the gripping finale, lab tester andvideo card maven Andy "Tortuga" Geraceoverclocked each card to its stable maxi-mum core clock and memory clock speedsand reran 3Dmark 2001, 3Dmark03, andAquaMark3.

And to offset the possibility thatbenchmarks aren't everything, we self-lessly engaged ourselves in hours of gruel-ing real-life game play with UT2K4,Soldier Of Fortune II, and a host of othersubjective “utilities.”

by Eric Melvin Reed

I magine yourself ensconced in yourfavorite video game chair playingthe latest 3D game. Your significant

other walks into the room, takes a goodlook at the action on the screen, and says,"What movie is this?"

We might not be there just yet, but ifthe graphics chip industry stays as compet-itive has it has been lately, true cinema-quality gaming isn't terribly far away.(Even today, the preceding scenario is notentirely unlikely.)

Competition within the graphics indus-try has, at least modestly, eased prices ofvideo cards. Today's high-end cards willsoon be tomorrow's midrange cards. Forthe following case studies, we tested ahandful of midrange cards based on ATIand NVIDIA GPUs to help you find onethat best matches your current gamingneeds without blasting a hole throughyour budget at the same time. At the timeof this writing, Half-Life 2 still hasn't hitstore shelves, but all of the cards we testedoffer DX9 capabilities and AGP 8X. Andalmost just as important, only one of thecards, the Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800PRO, cost us more than $200.

Don't expect these cards to match theunprecedented features of NVIDIA'sGeForce 6 series or ATI's Radeon X800PRO (to read a head-to-head review ofATI and NVIDIA's most powerful chips,turn to page 108), but some of them willno doubt suffice for those of you seekingfast frame rates at high-end resolutions,and more than a few of the cards offer abit of eye candy, too.

There's no better time than now tostart saving if you want to be ready forthe day when photo-realistic gamingarrives. But until then, rest assured, mid-rangers: You don't have to sacrifice per-formance for value, and the proof lieswithin the following pages.

How We TestedWe started by choosing an array

of ATI and NVIDIA chips withroughly equivalent GPUs and thenpurchased an assortment of cardsfrom varying manufacturers.ASUS, Sapphire, ATI, BFG, AOpen,ABIT, and eVGA are all representedhere—some more than others.

We tested each card with the latest drivers available: Catalyst 4.4 for ATI-powered cards and ForceWare 56.72 forNVIDIA-equipped cards. We built theWindows XP Pro test system to stretcheach card to the limit, using a 2GHzAMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1GB (2 x512MB) of Kingston HyperX PC3200DDR RAM affixed to an ASUS K8VDeluxe motherboard (equipped withVia's K8T800 chipset), a Seagate Barra-cuda ST380013AS 80GB SATA harddrive, and a Lite-On Black LTC-48161H48X/24X/48X/16X DVD/CD-RW drive.The system had an Antec Original TRUE430W P4 power supply.

For our game frame-rate tests, we usedour usual benchmarking tools, includingQuake II Arena (which we ran at two res-olutions: 1,024 x 768 and 1,600 x 1,200)and Futuremark's 3DMark2001 SE and3DMark03. NVIDIA has received a lotof flack (and perhaps rightfully so) forusing "optimizations" in 3DMark03 thatinflated its scores by up to 30%. Weeliminated that handicap with Future-mark's 340 patch (designed to eliminateoptimizations on 3D cards).

We also ran tests with AquaMark3,Halo, Unreal Tournament 2003, andUnreal Tournament 2004.

While testing with AquaMark3, wemaintained the program's default resolutionof 1,024 x 768. For the Halo tests, we rantwo demos at 1,600 x 1,200. The first demo

NEED SPEED?We Test 10 Video Cards To See

Which Is Fastest

88 • PC Modder

window, and TV-On-Demand for pausinglive TV and recording live broadcasts.

The card uses ATI's Multimedia Centerversion 8.1 and ATI's Truform, Smart-shader, and Smoothvision technologies.Our package included Pinnacle's Studio 8software (ATI version).

ATI backs the AIW 9000 PRO with athree-year limited warranty.

by Eric Melvin Reed

ATI ALL-IN-WONDER

RADEON 9000 PRO

A TI crafted its All-In-Wonderseries for PC users looking to addTV functionality to their desktop

PCs, and by providing a bevy of accessories,it has managed to put together a family ofgraphics cards that have simply eclipsed thecompetition—even if that means the cardssometimes sacrifice VPU speed for the sakeof sundry multimedia features.

The All-In-Wonder 9000 PRO is noexception to the AIW series: It offers afirst-rate list of multimedia features, suchas DVD, TV-on-PC, and PVR capabili-ties. Yet its graphics capabilities lay some-where in the median to submedian range.

Those looking to play the latest DirectX9 games might feel let down by this card'sDirectX 8.1 capabilities, mere AGP 4X sup-port, and humble 64MB of DDR RAM.During our lab and overclocking tests thecard provided middling scores. Not eventhe fact that the AIW 9000 PRO outper-formed the ATI Radeon 9200 in nearly allthe tests we ran—all the tests, that is, exceptfor the Halo tests, which we ran at a 1,600 x1,200 resolution with and without AA and

AF at full—can hide the fact that the card's3DMark 2001 SE, 3DMark03, and Aqua-Mark3 scores are average at best (8893,1443, and 14275, respectively), even for acost-effective, upper-end AIW card.

Make no mistake, multimedia function-ality is the AIW 9000 PRO's forte, and inthat category the card doesn't disappoint.We purchased our card for $143, but it canprobably be had for a lot cheaper. Youmight even be able to find one for under$100. For that price you'll get a full stack offeatures and accessories. All the hardwareyou need to convert your PC into multime-dia center is present, including a four-head-ed input block with S-Video, compositevideo, and left and right audio inputs; DVI-I to VGA adapter; adapter output cablewith SPDIF, composite, S-Video, and ana-log audio outputs; and a RF remote controlwith batteries and USB remote receiver.

Video/display feature highlights includethe Thruview feature, which providestranslucent viewing of TV, DVD, andvideo and lets you access your Desktopfrom your TV without moving the TV

Vital StatisticsVideo Card

InterfaceChipset

RAMCore Clock Memory Clock Actual(Effective)Overclocked Maximums(core clock/memory clockin megahertz)Max. ResolutionRefresh Rate at Max.ResolutionAPIs SupportedOperating Systems

3DMark2001 SE3D Marks [overclocked]Fill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)3DMark033D Marks [overclocked]Fill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)Quake III Arena at 32-bit1,024 x 7681,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2003at 32-bit (average fps)Anatalus 1,024 x 768Anatalus 1,600 x 1,200Phobos2 1,024 x 768Phobos2 1,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2004 at 32-bit*1,600 x 1,200AquaMark3 at 32-bitDefault Test [overclocked]GFX [overclocked]CPU [overclocked]Halo1,600 x 1,2001,600 x 1,200 (AA/AF at full)

PhoneURL

ATI AIW Radeon 9000 PROAGP 4XRadeon 9000 PRO

64MB DDR275MHz270MHz (540MHz)

300/295

2,048 x 1,53685Hz

DirectX 8.1, OpenGLWin98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

8893 [9592]728.61087.2

1443 [1551]709.11076.7

170.374.8

59.123.742.222.3

24.74

14275 [15436]1547 [1685]9248 [9237]

7.977.09

(905) 882-2600www.ati.com

*Custom Demo: DeathMatch DesertIsle map

PC Modder • 89

value-class AGP 8X card that delivers sec-ond-rate but nonetheless sufficient graph-ics. If, as it has been suggested, the majorityof video cards buyers are people looking towhile away a few week-end hours on thelatest generation of games (and are nothard-core gamers), then the Radeon 9200will find a suitable niche in the graphicscard market—if it hasn't already.

by Eric Melvin Reed

ATI RADEON 9200

T he good news: ATI's Radeon9200 is one of the cheapest cardswe tested, ringing up at just $92.

The bad news: You get what you pay for.On the bright side, the card is only

slightly slower than the GeForce FX 5200Ultra. The Asylum GeForce FX 5200Ultra that we tested put the Radeon 9200to shame in our Unreal Tournament 2003Anatalus and Phobos2 tests, Halo tests,and 3DMark2001 SE and 3DMark03tests. (Due to planetary misalignment,negative chakra energy, and possibly badsalmon pate, the 9200’s AquaMark3scores were inconclusive.)

As far as physical appearance goes, thiscut-rate card bears an even cheaper look,with a tiny heatsink and a bland green, L-shaped design. (But hey, at least it's light.)

The card offers VGA, composite, andS-Video output for connecting to a TVor VCR. It also features ATI's Smooth-vision, Video Immersion II (for DVDand digital TV decoding capabilities),and Pixel Tapestry II , as wel l asSmartshader technologies. However, itdoes not feature Smartshader 2.1, mean-ing in part that although the card does

support DX8.1 and is compatible withsome of the most recent DX9 games,you shouldn't expect the Radeon 9200to support DX9-specific features.

Likewise, don't expect the card to reachsoaring resolutions. During our own real-time game play, Unreal Tournament 2004was virtually unplayable with the Radeon9200 at the highest possible resolution of1,920 x 1,200. And at a resolution of 1,600x 1,200, we still experienced occasionalstuttering. Fortunately, at the acceptable (ifmediocre) resolution of 1,280 x 1,024, thegame ran at a satisfactory clip.

These days, a lot of graphics cards areloaded down with excessive features andphony advertising. But the 9200 doesn't try to be anything it's not. It's simply a


InterfaceChipset

RAMCore ClockMemory Clock Actual(Effective)Overclocked Maximums(core clock/memory clockin megahertz)Max. ResolutionRefresh Rate at Max.ResolutionAPIs SupportedOperating Systems

3DMark2001 SE3D Marks [overclocked]Fill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)3DMark033D Marks [overclocked]Fill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)Quake III Arena at 32-bit1,024 x 7681,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2003at 32-bit (average fps)Anatalus 1,024 x 768Anatalus 1,600 x 1,200Phobos2 1,024 x 768Phobos2 1,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2004 at 32-bit*1,600 x 1,200AquaMark3 at 32-bitDefault Test GFX [overclocked]CPU [overclocked]Halo1,600 x 1,2001,600 x 1,200 (AA/AF at full)

PhoneURL

ATI Radeon 9200

AGP 8XRadeon 9200


290/230

2,048 x 1,53685Hz

DirectX 8.1, OpenGLWin98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

7352 [8264]554.4 989.9

1223 [1358]520.4978

14563.8

48.921.964.332.6

22.2

N/AN/AN/A

7.326.37

(905) 882-2600www.ati.com


These days, a lot ofgraphics cards are loaded down with

excessive features andphony advertising.

90 • PC Modder

Our test unit had VGA, S-Video, andDVI outputs, but the list of features stopsthere. The card is not as fast as a $400 or$500 card, but it might be pertinent torestate that this is a midrange OEM card.Keeping that in mind—and assumingthat some people don't mind a lack ofcomplementary bells and whistles—theRadeon 9600 PRO is a winner.

by Eric Melvin Reed

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON

9600 PRO

F or some people, the extras thatcome with graphics cards arealmost as important as the cards

themselves. When ATI decided to pack-age the Radeon 9600 XT with a full ver-sion of Half-Life 2 (or a coupon for thefull version when it is available), forexample, even some of the staunchestNVIDIA fans were enticed into givingthe card a try.

Unfortunately for those same people,the Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 PRO wepurchased for $129.50 (OEM) will be amajor disappointment. Sapphire left uswithout a single extra to talk about.

On the other hand, however, we cantalk about the card's performance capabili-ties, which lay somewhere in the middle ofthe midrange pack. Let's start with thebenchmarking results. The 9600 PRO reg-istered scores of 12453 in 3DMark2001SE tests and 3426 in 3DMark03 tests. Bycomparison, the ABIT Siluro FX5600Ultra OTES that we tested scored 12961and 3245. In AquaMark3 tests, the 9600PRO produced a default score of 26418and an overclocking score of 29810.However, we were able to raise the card'score clock and memory clock from

400/300 to 450/335 during overclocking.The FX5600 Ultra, which we overclockedat 475/875 over its core clock and memoryclock speeds of 425/825, scored 22544 and26285 in the same tests, giving the 9600PRO a slight advantage.

Of course, when compared to some-thing like the ATI Radeon 9800 PRO,the numbers posted by the 9600 PROlook a lot more modest. That shouldn'tsurprise anyone, but what is surprising ishow well the 9600 PRO holds up dur-ing actual game play. Although the carddoesn't offer any exciting hardware fea-tures, it is by no means a dinosaur. 3D-enchancing features include AGP 8X,DX9, and OpenGL support; Smart-shader 2.1 and Smoothvision 2.1 tech-nology; the Videoshader engine; andATI's Fullstream technology. We playedsome Soldier of Fortune II: DoubleHelix and also invested a fair amount oftime playing Unreal Tournament 2004with all the relevant settings cranked totheir highest levels (that does notinclude antialiasing). Except for theoccasional jerking on the most video-intensive levels, the card deserves creditfor its speedy performance.


InterfaceChipset


3DMark2001 SE3D Marks [overclocked]Fill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)3DMark033D Marks [overclocked]Fill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)Quake III Arena at 32-bit1,024 x 768 [overclocked]1,600 x 1,200 [overclocked]Unreal Tournament 2003at 32-bit (average fps)Anatalus 1,024 x 768Anatalus 1,600 x 1,200Phobos2 1,024 x 768Phobos2 1,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2004 at 32-bit*1,600 x 1,200AquaMark3 at 32-bitDefault Test [overclocked]GFX [overclocked]CPU [overclocked]Halo1,600 x 1,2001,600 x 1,200 (AA/AF at full)

PhoneURL

Sapphire ATIRadeon 9600 PROAGP 8XATI Radeon 9600Pro128MB DDR400MHz300MHz (600MHz)

450/335

2,048 x 1,53685Hz

DirectX 9.0, OpenGLWin98/Me/2000/XP

12453 [13872]1021.71578

3426 [3859]902.51565.3

251.7 [90.4]113.8 [41.3]

101.842.7124.857.8

25.31

26418 [29810]3080 [3566]9114 [9079]

13.2911.38

(909) 594-0597www.sapphiretech.com


PC Modder • 91

play the latest DX9-class games, the 9600XT offers all the power you need. In amarket where series numbers don’t exactlygive an accurate indication of a card’smerit, to call the 9600 XT reliable is asupreme compliment. If you don’t havethe money to purchase something such asATI’s Radeon 9800 SE, the 9600 XT is agreat alternative.

by Eric Melvin Reed

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON

9600 XT

T o call Sapphire’s ATI Radeon9600 XT reliable is not to saythat it is also boring. Although

it’s true that the package leaves us withoutany mouthwatering goodies to talk about,it’s equally as true that the card offersexceptionally good performance capabili-ties. And let’s be honest, is there really any-thing more important than performance?

The 9600 XT posted precisely the sortof numbers during testing that you mightexpect from one of ATI’s higher-endmidrange cards, which is what the card is.Take, for example, the 3DMark2001 SEand 3DMark03 scores we got of 13793and 3834. Consider also the AquaMark3score of 31285 and the Halo scores of 15.77 at 1,600 x 1,200 and 13.61fps atthe same resolution with all AA and AF setto full. In comparison, the Sapphire ATI9600 PRO we tested offered just 11.38fpswith full AA and AF.

Sapphire let us down by not includingan attractive software bundle (the driverCD is the only disc in the package), espe-cially considering that the full retail version

of the Atlantis Radeon 9600 XT atSapphire’s Web site is bundled with Half-Life 2 (as soon as the game is released).However, the company at least included aDVI-to-VGA connector and S-Video-to-composite cable to accompany the card’sVGA, S-Video, and DVI outputs.

We purchased the 9600 XT at retail for$152. (The OEM 9600 PRO we testedcost us $129.50.) For the few extra bucks,you get the satisfaction of knowing youhave ATI’s third-generation VPU, as wellas ATI’s Smartshader 2.0 and Smooth-vision 2.1 technology. What’s more, youdon’t have to worry about the card’s speed.When overclocked, the 9600 XT reached acore clock speed of 525MHz, up from itscore VPU clock of 500MHz. The memoryclock speed bumped up to 310 from 300,making the 9600 XT a slightly better over-clocked card than the 9600 PRO. But evenwithout the extra boost, the 9600 XT is stilla great value. With it, there wasn’t a gamewe weren’t able to play.

Although the card doesn’t have an exter-nal power connector, if you’re looking to


InterfaceChipset



PhoneURL

Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 XTAGP 8XATI Radeon 9600XT128MB DDR500MHz300MHz (650MHz)

525/310

2,048 x 1,53685Hz

DirectX 9.0, OpenGLWin98/Me/NT4/2000/XP

13793 [14269]10421968

3834 [4024]9141924

264.3125.7

110.845.5134.161.9

25.23

31285 [32777]3788 [4004]8984 [9030]

15.7713.61



92 • PC Modder

or even a 9600 PRO, but at a much betterprice and without the software bundle. Aslong as you don't expect the Sapphire ATIRadeon 9800 SE to perform on par withother higher-end or upper middle-endcards, and if you want to play DX9 andOpenGL 2.0 games at decent resolutions,this card is worth the small dent it will putin your pocketbook.

by Eric Melvin Reed

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON

9800 SE

S apphire's international influence isevidenced by the fact that the boxin which our card shipped features

text in no fewer than five languages. Withthe company so seemingly well-entrenchedin Europe, you have to wonder why thecompany has been so slow to amass a fol-lowing in the United States.

One of the reasons could be the compa-ny's ATI Radeon 9800 SE. Our test unitproduced some very disappointing bench-marking scores, such as 13611 in 3D-mark2001 SE, 3315 in 3Dmark03, and24679 in AquaMark3. It's not that thosescores are substandard, per se; they're just notwhat you might expect from a Radeon 9800.Each of the scores listed were lower thanthose hammered out by ATI's Radeon 9600XT, leading us to think that if the card hadbeen made by ATI it would be a lot faster.

After squeaking by with such meagerresults in 3Dmark2001 SE, 3Dmark03, andAquaMark3 tests, the card posted scores of11.11 in Halo, 37.1 in the UT2003Anatalus test, and 51fps in Phobos2 at a res-olution of 1,600 x 1,200 again, each score

was lower than the ones posted by ATI'sRadeon 9600 XT.

Fortunately, this four-pipeline VPUcard makes up for its somewhat disap-pointing scores by exhibiting some niceoverclocking potential. We were able toincrease the core clock speed and memoryspeed from 325MHz to 380MHz and290MHz to 340MHz, at which point thecard's 3Dmark2001 SE and 3Dmark03scores shot up to 15813 and 4049. ItsAquaMark3 scores rose to 30428.

At this point, NVIDIA fans might beinclined to point out that even when over-clocked, the Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 SEpales next to the PNY GeForce FX5900 SEat its core clock speed and memory speed,and frankly, there are quite a few cards thatoffer better performance than this one, butnot many go for the same price ($136OEM). Nor do they come with an S-Videocable and a Y-adapter power cable.

During real-time game play, the cardshowed that it is powerful enough to fullysupport DX9 games. Buying the 9800 SEfrom Sapphire is like purchasing a 9600 XT


InterfaceChipset



PhoneURL

Sapphire ATIRadeon 9800 SEAGP 8XATI Radeon 9800SE128MB DDR325MHz290MHz (580MHz)

380/340

2,048 x 1,53685Hz

DirectX 9.0, OpenGLWin98SE/Me/NT4/2000/XP

13611 [15813]991.5 1288.5

3315 [4049]924.41280.1

239.292.7

88.137.1110.751

26.1

24674 [30428]2852 [3653]9130 [9082]

11.119.41



PC Modder • 93

an unpretentious card stripped of eye candy.But it's difficult to say how far into thefuture this card can take you. If you canafford it, spend a little more and get yourselfsomething that's more likely to last. Or, ifyou're really patient, wait six months and getan even better card for the same price.

by Eric Melvin Reed

T he Asylum GeForce FX 5200Ultra from BFG Technologies isone of the stingiest cards we test-

ed with NVIDIA chips, but at $99 (retail)it was, at least, the least expensive.

When overclocked, the card showed 4%and almost 12% gains in 3DMark2001 SEand 3DMark03 tests, respectively. InAquaMark3 default tests, the card showedeven more spunk, with nearly 16% gains.Those scores were still well below othercards' scores. Take, for instance, the FX5600 Ultra. The FX 5200 Ultra's over-clocking score of 2243 in 3DMark03 regis-tered dismally below the FX 5600 Ultra'sstock score of 3245. To be fair, of course,the 5600 Ultra carries a higher price tag ofalmost $200. So as far as benchmarks go,this is a case of getting what you pay for.

But we all know that benchmarkingisn't the only way to measure a video card.During real-life game play tests, theAsylum GeForce FX 5200 Ultra neitherbroke our backs nor rocked our canoes. Infact, during actual game play with UnrealTournament 2004, the FX 5200 Ultra

functioned admirably at all but the highestresolutions. Although the card supportsonly a maximum resolution and refreshrate of 2,048 x 1,536 and 60Hz at 16-bit,that's still enough to satisfy most gamers.

One of the card's more notable featuresis support for NVIDIA CineFX shadingarchitecture. That won't surprise many ofyou, as the CineFX engine is a cornerstoneof the GeForce FX line. (On the otherhand, the card doesn’t support NVIDIA'sIntellisample anti-aliasing feature.)

Unfortunately, this card's list of extrasdoesn't extend much beyond NVIDIA'sNVDVD 2.0 software, a lifetime warrantywith online and toll-free telephone techsupport, and a few NVIDIA GeForce FXand GeForce 4 Demos.

A word or two about the card's exterior:The Asylum GeForce FX 5200 Ultra is asleek, slim, teal-colored card with two smallheatsinks, an extra power connector, andDVI, S-Video, and VGA outputs. A DVI-to-VGA connector is included in the box.

For less than a hundred bucks, theAsylum GeForce FX 5200 Ultra gives you


InterfaceChipset

RAMCore ClockMemory Clock Actual(Effective)Overclocked Maximums(core clock/memory clockin megahertz)Max. Resolution

Refresh Rate at Max.ResolutionAPIs SupportedOperating Systems


PhoneURL

BFG TechnologiesAsylum GeForceFX 5200 UltraAGP 8XGeForce FX 5200Ultra128MB DDR325MHz325MHz (650MHz)

375/700

2,048 x 1,536 (16-bit)60Hz

DirectX, OpenGLWin95 OSR2/98/Me/2000/NT4with SP 5 or 6/XP

10303 [10741]913.2949.7

2005 [2243]948.9921.7

247.9115.8

73.531.481.437.7

24.82

11360 [13129]1208 [1412]9299 [9309]

8.927.73

(847) 615-1955www.bfgtech.com


BFG TECHNOLOGIES ASYLUM

GEFORCE FX 5200 ULTRA

94 • PC Modder

fairly well. We raised its default core clockspeed of 270 and its default memoryclock speeds of 400 to the more playablespeeds of 350/470, thereby proving onceagain that the best overclockers can some-times be the least powerful cards.

by Eric Melvin Reed

AOPEN GEFORCE FX 5500

Go back six months to when thelatest graphics cards offeredonly a glimpse of what is now

possible—go back a year, even—and theAOpen GeForce FX 5500 would still bea disappointment.

Just take a look at the card’s bench-marking scores, which were some of thelowest scores we’ve seen in a long time,including posting 5521 3D marks in3DMark2001 SE, 1120 3D marks in3DMark03, and a score of 8119 inAquaMark3. In Quake III tests, the cardregistered 123fps and 50.1fps at resolu-tions of 1,024 x 768 and 1,600 x 1,200,respectively. To put things in perspec-tive, compare those figures to the onesput up by the Asylum GeForce FX 5200Ultra. The latter posted scores that werenearly double that of the GeForce FX5500, including 10303 3D Marks in3DMark2001 SE, 2005 in 3DMark03,and a score of 11360 in AquaMark3.

How does that transfer to real gameplay? Poor performance, that’s how.Expect the GeForce FX 5500 to workwith most DX8.1 games. The chipsetsupports DX9—it also features such

technology as Intellisample HCT andNVIDIA’s CineFX engine, as well asnView, NVIDIA Accuview Antialiasing,NVIDIA Lightspeed Memory Architec-ture (LMAII), and DVC (digital vi-brance control)—but don’t expect thecard to sustain high resolutions. Where-as most of the cards we tested showed atleast 23fps during our custom demo test in Unreal Tournament 2004, theGeForce FX 5500 offered only 14.89fps.We had to lower the resolution to 1,024x 768 just to make the game playable.

Apparently, AOpen did not attemptto make up for such mediocrity throughcosmetics or a fancy hardware or soft-ware bundle. The company throws in no cables, adapters, or even software.The only thing that makes the cardunique is its color (bright purple), andwe’re guessing that not many users willfind that distinction to be worth thecard’s shortcomings.

To be fair, however, the FX 5500 wasthe most inexpensive card we purchased($79 at retail). In addition, it includes allthe typical graphics card outputs: VGA,DVI, and S-Video. It also overclocked


InterfaceChipset



PhoneURL

AOpen GeForce FX5500AGP 8XGeForce FX 5500


350/470

2,048 x 1,53660Hz

DirectX 9.0, OpenGLWin95/98SE/Me/NT4/2000/XP,Linux

5521 [6261]331.1743.7

1120 [1246]332.4697.2

12350.1

39.716.446.720

14.89

8119 [8549]848 [896]9312 [9312]

6.065.26

(888) 972-6736usa.aopen.com


PC Modder • 95

If you’re into overclocking hulkinggraphics cards, you’ll be interested. If not,you might want to take the extra cash andget a lighter card with a higher base speed,such as the eVGA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra,which failed to show any improvementsduring our overclocking tests but performedmuch better than the Siluro OTES at itsbase speed and costs about $30 less.

by Eric Melvin Reed

ABIT SILURO FX 5600ULTRA OTES

A t $195, the ABIT Siluro FX5600 Ultra OTES is one of thepriciest cards in our video card

case studies. It’s also one of the bulkiest,being loaded with extra features.

Thanks in large part to ABIT’s heattransferring OTES (Outside ThermalExhaust System) technology—whichincludes two 6mm diameter heatpipes,dual-ball bearing fans with side airflow,extra large copper fins, extra front and backRAM heatsinks, a backside steel fixer foraiding in heat dissipation, and a V.V.E.F.(Virtual Vacuum Exhaust Fan)—the SiluroFX 5600 Ultra OTES exhibited one of themost respectable overclocking performanceswe’ve seen in testing midrange cards.

We were able to wind it up from a baseof 428MHz clock/825 memory to 475/875. In Quake III tests, the card scored ashigh as 297fps at 1,024 x 768, and162.4fps at 1,600 x 1,200. During over-clocking, AquaMark3 scores increased from22544 to 26285. 3DMark 2001 SE and3DMark03 scores rose from 12961 to13797 and 3245 to 3690, respectively.

But the OTES certainly wasn’t one ofthe most powerful cards we tested. DuringUnreal Tournament 2004 play, we encoun-tered significant freezing and jerking at reso-lutions higher than 1,600 x 1,200 at 32-bit.

The card’s list of physical features alsoincludes a red LED fan light and doublefastening brackets. In short, the Siluro FX5600 Ultra OTES is a card for those whodelight in flaunting their case’s innards.

We should also mention that the packageincludes oodles of accessories, such as anRCA cable, S-Video extended cable, S-Video-to-RCA cable, S-Video and RCAadapter cable, TV-out or video in/outadapter cable, and DVI-to-D-sub adapter.

Other features include NVIDIA’s nViewMultidisplay and Intellisample technologies,CineFX shading architecture, DVC (DigitalVibrance Control) 3.0 technology, andDX9 and OpenGL 1.4 support.

Accessories aside, the package is a bitdisappointing. The software bundle con-sists of a couple of demos, WindowBlindsNV edition, and the installation and Silurosoftware CDs.


InterfaceChipset

RAMCore ClockMemory Clock Actual(Effective)Overclocked Maximums(core clock/memory clockin megahertz)Max. ResolutionRefresh Rate at Max.ResolutionAPIs Supported

Operating Systems


PhoneURL

ABIT Siluro FX5600 Ultra OTESAGP 8XGeForce FX 5600Ultra128MB DDR400MHz400MHz (800MHz)

475/875

2,048 x 1,53685Hz

DirectX 9.0,OpenGL 1.4Win98/Me/NT/2000/XP

12961 [14070]11711444.5

3245 [3690]11151392.4

297162.4

119.154.1123.557.5

25.31

22544 [26285]2564 [3062]9291 [9273]

11.229.86

(510) 623-0500www.abit-usa.com


96 • PC Modder

this one. You may be able to find a lessexpensive, earlier generation card in thesame family that when overclocked canoutrun the FX 5700 Ultra. (Of course,that is not often the case. In our tests, theFX 5700 Ultra easily outperformed theFX 5600 Ultra, even when the 5600 Ultrawas overclocked to its maximum.)

by Eric Melvin Reed

EVGA E-GEFORCE

FX 5700 ULTRA

T alk to some card makers, and youwould think overclocking was asin. Do it and you'll not only

negate the warranty, they say, but you'll alsooverheat the chipset and destroy your PC.

Then again, a little homework is all ittakes to learn how to avoid such mistakes.If you're one of those people who actuallylisten to the vendors and heed their warn-ings, have a look at the FX 5700 Ultra.

We tested the e-GeForce FX 5700 Ultrafrom eVGA ($165 retail). At its core clockspeed, the card bested most of the NVIDIAcards in our case studies. (It more thanedged out a few, such as the NVIDIAGeForce FX 5200 Ultra, unsurprisingly.)

But when it came to overclocking,this set of chips choked harder than acertain Boston baseball team in October.Performance decreased by as much as24% in 3DMark2001 SE and 3DMark-03. And in AquaMark3 tests, speeddecreased by more than one-third of itsstock performance.

However, there are a few features onthe card that augment its value. Two such

features are NVIDIA's IntellisampleHCT (high-resolution compression tech-nology) antialiasing and NVIDIA'sCineFX 2.0 engine, the latter of which isdesigned for high-level programming lan-guages such as Cg and includes OpenGLand DirectX environment features sup-port. The card also supports a high reso-lution and refresh rates at 32-bit color:2,048 x 1,536 at 85Hz.

Our "limited edition" test unit featuredthe next generation of DDR memory,DDR2. It also came with an S-Videocable and an entertainment software bun-dle that included, among other things, thefull version of Tom Clancy's Ghost Reconand NVIDIA's NVDVD 2.0. Eventhough the sticker on the box says,"Recommended by id software for Doom3," there wasn't a full-version coupon ordemo inside. (ATI’s Half-Life 2 giveawayhas us a bit spoiled.)

If the graphics industry has yet to con-vince you that overclocking is an instru-ment of the devil, you might want to givesome serious thought to a card other than


InterfaceChipset

RAMCore ClockMemory Clock Actual(Effective)Overclocked Maximums(core clock/memory clockin megahertz)Max. Resolution

Refresh Rate at Max.ResolutionAPIs SupportedOperating Systems

3DMark2001 SE3D MarksFill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)3DMark033D MarksFill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)Quake III Arena at 32-bit1,024 x 7681,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2003at 32-bit (average fps)Anatalus 1,024 x 768Anatalus 1,600 x 1,200Phobos2 1,024 x 768Phobos2 1,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2004 at 32-bit*1,600 x 1,200AquaMark3 at 32-bitDefault TestGFXCPUHalo1,600 x 1,2001,600 x 1,200 (AA/AF at full)

PhoneURL

eVGA e-GeForceFX 5700 UltraAGP 8XGeForce FX 5700Ultra128MB DDR475MHz450MHz (900MHz)

500/920

2,048 x 1,536 (32-bit)85Hz

DirectX 9.0, OpenGLWin98/Me/NT4/2000/XP

15689 [3784]1236.31640.8

3910 [941]11631573.8

304.5173.9

130.758.3138.864.4

14.98

29462 [10458]3503 [1106]9266 [9349]

15.3413.19

(888) 881-3842www.evga.com


PC Modder • 97

and it’s hard to imagine anyone finding abetter card for the equivalent price of $200.PNY also backs the card with a lifetimereplacement warranty, almost to demon-strate its confidence in the FX 5900 SE.

Overall, the FX 5900 SE offers enoughspeed and game play performance poten-tial to meet the needs of any gamer foryears to come.

by Eric Melvin Reed

PNY GEFORCE FX 5900 SE

B y now, you can probably listNVIDIA’s features by rote:CineFX 2.0 engine, UltraShadow

and Intellisample HCT technologies,Digital Vibrance Control 2.0, nView,MPEG-2 decoder, TV encoder, and DX9and OpenGL 1.5 support. The PNYGeForce FX 5900 SE has all of those.What makes it unique is its enormousoverclocking potential.

With a 390MHz core clock speed, a350MHz memory clock speed (actual),and 256-bit memory interface, the cardsliced through our barricade of tests. Forexample, its 3DMark2001 SE score of16754 trounced the 13,611 posted by theSapphire ATI Radeon 9800 SE. So, too,do the card’s Unreal Tournament 2003scores. At a resolution of 1,024 x 768, thecard hammered out average scores of181.2fps in the Anatalus level, and185.9fps in the Phobos2 level. In thesame tests, the 9800 SE scored 88.1 and110.7. In AquaMark 3 default tests thecard scored 37205.

At a resolution of 1,600 x 1,200, thecard continued to outperform the 9800SE, scoring an average of 84.5fps in the

Anatalus level and 96.9fps in the Phobos2level. (The 9800 SE grated out an averageof just 37.1fps and 51fps.)

We then overclocked the card to490MHz clock (up from 390MHz clock)and 400MHz memory (from 350MHz), atwhich point the card’s 3DMark2001 SEand 3DMark03 scores jumped to 17794and 6131. AquaMark 3 scores in thedefault test rose to 44990.

The card isn’t bad looking, either.Apparently, manufacturers have decidedto all but abandon the color green andreplace it with blue and purple. Our cardwas purple, but it is easy to see why PNYwould choose such a saccharine color.The lavender tinge actually complimentsthe FX 5900 SE’s multiple gold-coloredheat sinks.

The back of the card contains an extrapower connector. In the front, it supportsVGA, S-Video, and DVI out connections.

To show that it isn’t stingy when itcomes to accessories, PNY throws a DVI-I-to-VGA adapter, S-Video cable, and Y-adapter power cable into the box. Add tothat a driver CD with Verto 3D WorldDesktop software and NVIDIA NVDVD,


InterfaceChipset

RAMCore ClockMemory Clock Actual(Effective)Overclocked Maximums(core clock/memory clockin megahertz)Max. ResolutionRefresh Rate at Max.ResolutionAPIs Supported

Operating Systems


PhoneURL

PNY GeForce FX5900 SEAGP 8XGeForce FX 5900SE128MB DDR390MHz350MHz (700MHz)

490/400

2,048 x 1,53685Hz

DirectX 9.0,OpenGL 1.5Win95 OSR2/98SE/Me/NT4/2000/XP

16754 [17794]1434.52858.8

5179 [ 6131]1273.82765.8

311.7224.1

181.284.5185.996.9

26.1

37205 [44990]4658 [5951]9233 [9211]

21.717.3

(973) 515-9700www.pny.com


98 • PC Modder

are not too interested in overclocking. Theirmain focus is using themachine’s capabilities toget work done.

So, workstation andserver users value stabili-ty and bandwidth. Manyof the server and work-station boards are opti-mized to maximize PCIbandwidth, and theirBIOSes incorporate fea-tures for monitoring sys-tem condit ions andensuring stability aboveall else. Because over-clocking can result insystem instability, espe-cially in cases where theonly available option foroverclocking is the FSBspeed, workstation andserver users don’t place apremium on overclock-ing options.

The CPU’s frequencyis tied to the frequencyof the FSB by a numbercalled the CPU multipli-

er. For example, in a system with a100MHz FSB, a CPU multiplier of 8Xresults in a CPU that runs at 800MHz.So, the situation seems fairly straightfor-ward: Increase the FSB speed (if yourmotherboard’s BIOS allows you) andenjoy a higher CPU speed. But the rea-son that relying on the FSB frequency tooverclock a CPU can cause system insta-bility is that the CPU clock speed is notthe only component tied to the speed ofthe FSB. The other buses in your sys-tem, such as the PCI and AGP buses,

OVERCLOCKINGDUAL-CPU SYSTEMS

Double Your Overclocking Madness

T hose who enjoypushing their rigsto the absolute

performance limits take tooverclocking like duckstake to water. The Internetis full of Web sites and dis-cussion forums dedicatedto dispensing advice forthose looking to overclocktheir machines.

The lion’s share of theoverclocking talk is pri-marily dedicated to dis-cussions about PCs andCPUs marketed to gamersand performance hobby-ists. These machines areusually single-CPU rigswith overclock-friendlymotherboards that makeoverclocking as easy aschanging a few settings inthe system BIOS.

But how about thosewho want to double thefun by overclocking adual-CPU rig? With theadvent of OSes such asWindows XP, which takefull advantage of a dual-CPU machine’scapabilities, the temptation to overclockmay be too hard to resist for those of youwho want the ultimate in performance.After all, two is better than one, right?

Read on to learn more about the insand outs of overclocking a dual-CPU PC.As you’ll soon discover, the task is not aseasy as it seems.

The Problem With TwoWe encountered quite a challenge in

acquiring a dual-CPU machine that was

overclock-friendly. We spoke with a tech-nical manager at one of the big PC mak-ers, who told us that most dual-CPUmotherboards are manufactured and mar-keted with the workstation and servermarkets in mind. Computation-heavytasks like video editing, engineeringdesign, and data and application serversbenefit greatly from the presence of dualCPUs, as long as the host OS is able totake advantage.

Unfortunately for overclockers, thefolks who put those machines to use

The SuperMicro X5DPE-G2 board is a dual-CPU Xeon board designed for server duty;the board features some, albeit few, overclocking options.

PC Modder • 99

will also experience a bump up in speedwhen you increase the FSB speed. So,the various components connected tothese buses could become unstable atthese higher speeds.

A reason why the CPU multiplier isusually not available as an option foreasy overclocking is the fact that mostCPUs from both Intel and AMD soldtoday have their multipliers locked. Thereason for this is that back in the earlydays (before the Pentium II arrived)unscrupulous resellers were overclock-ing lower speed chips and selling themat the price of higher-speed, moreexpensive chips. The outcry from con-sumers who got taken by this rusecaused both AMD and Intel to lockdown the CPU multipliers in theirchips to prevent easy overclocking.

Dual-CPU Overclocking SuccessesA survey of many of the overclocking

sites around the Web revealed there isscant evidence of success overclockingdual-CPU boards, although we found afew examples of overclocker-friendly dual-CPU boards.

One of these boards—featured in anOverclockers Online article—is a dual-CPU Pentium III board from Abit calledthe VP6. This board supports dual IntelPentium III Coppermine FC-PGA 370 CPUs and comes with a VIA chipset (VT82C694X and VT82C686B). The board’s High PointHPT370 IDE Controller allows forUDMA 100 and RAID support.The VP6’s system BIOS,called SoftMenu III, allowsfor tweaking of CPU set-tings via the systemBIOS, includingCPU FSB speed,FSB:AGP:PCI ra-tio, CPU multiplier,CPU core voltage, CPUFSB/DRAM ratio, and oth-ers. The BIOS even includesCPU over-temperature protec-tion, so if you get a bit overzealousyou have some built-in protection.

The VP6, which is yesterday’s tech-nology, is now discontinued. But we

moved up the food chain just a tad andfound a dual-Xeon workstation mother-board from Asus called the PC-DLDeluxe that is very overclocker-friendly.Here’s the tale of the tape on the PC-DL Deluxe:• Dual-Xeon 3.06GHz processors• Maximum of 4GB of DDR 333 mem-

ory• Intel 875P chipset with 533MHz FSB,

Dual DDR 333 memory, and IntelHyper-Threading technology

• AGP8X• Promise SATA controller with RAID

0, 1, and 10 and a maximum of twoUltraATA 133 ports and two SATAports

• Eight USB 2.0 ports and FireWireinterface

• Intel Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller• AI BIOS with AI Overclocking

The AI BIOS’ AI Overclocking fea-ture allows for overclocking of up to15% by giving you BIOS-level access tovar ious CPU funct ions , inc ludingsomething called CPU, Memoryand AGP VoltageAdjus tab leS t e p l e s s

Frequency Selection, which allows youto step up the FSB frequency from100MHz to 300MHz in 1MHz incre-ments . Other features inc lude anadjustable FSB:DDR ratio and fixedAGP and PCI f requencies , whichshould provide you with needed stabili-ty on those buses even as you ramp upthe CPU speed. Keeping the AGP andPCI frequencies fixed even as you over-clock other components should helpwith overall system stability.

But it’s important to keep one thing inmind about the Intel Xeon: The CPUmultiplier is upward locked but down-ward unlocked. This means that whenyou overclock with this board, you canlower the Xeon’s multiplier, but then youmust compensate for that by increasingthe FSB speed accordingly. Here’s anexample: On a board with a 133MHzquad-pumped (hence the 533MHz over-all bus speed) FSB, a 3.06GHz Xeon has

This photo shows theXeon processor, Intel’s

32-bit server-classCPU.

100 • PC Modder

a multiplier of 23X. To ramp up theCPU to 3.5GHz, you could lower themultipler to 20X and at the same timeincrease the FSB speed to 175MHz. Bythe same token, you could leave the mul-tiplier alone and simply crank up the FSBto 152MHz and achieve the same effect.

SuperMicro’s X5DPE-G2 board isanother example of a dual-CPU (Xeon)board on which you can tweak the set-tings via the system BIOS. Here’s thebreakdown on this board:• Dual Intel Xeon CPUs up to 3.2GHz• 533MHz or 400MHz FSB• Up to 16GB of DDR 266 or DDR

200 registered ECC SDRAM 72-bit,184-pin gold-plated DIMMs.

• Intel E7501 chipset• Gigabit Ethernet• Integrated ATI RageXL 8MB PCI

Graphic Controller• Rackmount Tower/4U recommended

chassis

This board’s frequency settings can betweaked via its system BIOS under theAdvanced Processor options. Here, youcan specify the processor’s internal multi-plier, from 8X to 24X. Also, the boardallows you to change the frequency of PCIslots 1 through 3 and PCI slots 4, 5, and 6.

But the problem here is that with XeonCPUs, you will only be able to adjust themultiplier downward. And the only waywe saw that you could adjust the FSBspeed is via jumpers on the board. Usingthese jumpers, you have the choice of threesettings: Auto, 533MHz, and 400MHz.So, flexibility here is rather limited.

You might wonder why we are dis-cussing a board that is clearly an enter-prise-class server system board. Well, wewant to illustrate the point that somemotherboard manufacturers do includesome overclocking flexibility, even onboards designed for the corporate servermarket. But as the discussion above sug-gests, those options, at least on this partic-ular board, are rather limited.

How about AMD? Well, we couldn’tfind any boards that use AMD OpteronCPUs with overclocker-friendly fea-tures. But we found a Gigabyte board(the GA-7DPXDW) that uses AMD’s760 MPX dual-CPU chipset and hassome overclocker-friendly features. Thisboard includes:• Support for dual Athlon MP processors• 200/266MHz FSB• AMD-760 MPX chipset• Up to 4GB of registered PC1600/

PC2100 DDR modules

• Integrated video controller• Supports RAID 0, 1, and 0+1 via the

Promise PDC 20267 RAID controller

This board's BIOS, even though itdoesn't let you tweak settings such as volt-ages or the CPU multiplier, does give youthe option of ramping up the FSB speed,so you have some overclocking flexibility.According to the board's manual, you canset the FSB speed from 133MHz (thedefault) all the way up to 149MHz. Asyou ramp up the FSB, the PCI bus alsoincreases, so there is not a setting thatallows for a fixed PCI bus speed.

The Skinny On Overclocking “Dualies”Dual-CPU boards present some signifi-

cant advantages if you are running specificsoftware applications that are able to takeadvantage of a dual-CPU configuration.One common thread we saw in many dis-cussions about dual CPUs in overclockerforums is that unless you are using appli-cations such as video-editing software thatrequire intensive CPU work, you will notget the big payoff you might expect out ofa dual-CPU configuration. Many games,for example, are not written to take advan-tage of dual-CPU setups.

If you still want to find an overclock-able dual-CPU board that you cantweak to your heart’s content, we rec-ommend that you shop carefully. Manyof the boards we looked at had minimaloverclocker-friendly settings, and manyrequired using the jumpers on theboard itself to make any adjustments.Asus’s PC-DL Deluxe is an exceptionhere and features more overclockingadjustments via its BIOS than any othernew board we looked at.

One thing you can count on for sure isthat manufacturers are not going to standstill. If hardcore performance enthusiastsand gamers start demanding more over-clocking options for dual-CPU boards,manufacturers will be more than happy tooblige. So keep your eyes and ears openbecause that dual-CPU board of yourdreams may soon be a reality.

by Sixto Ortiz Jr.

The Athlon MP processor is AMD’s server-class CPU, used with various dual-CPU boards that useAMD’s 760 MPX dual-CPU chipset.

PC Modder • 101

beloved “Swappin’ Parts” machine fromCPU issues gone by).

As with the Case Studies articles, wetried to stock our competing systems withidentical components. We transferredmost of our Case Studies test system com-ponents to the new beast, including thepower supply, hard drive, and video card.We weren’t able to use identical memoryDIMMS, as our 940-pin FX-53 requiresserver-friendly registered memory.

We used two benchmarks to test oursystems’ mettle: Futuremark 3Dmark03and PCMark04. Although 3Dmark03’sbenchmarking methods garnered plen-ty of controversy when it arrived,Futuremark released a patch thatremoved the most egregious problems.In fact, the new version of 3Dmark03

renders scores basedon the old versionobsolete. 3Dmark03is a synthetic bench-mark that focuses on3D game play per-formance. PCMark04tests overal l sys-tem performance andoffers several compo-nent-specific scoresand an overall score.

Once we pushedour processors as far asthey could go, wesqueezed every lastdrop of performancefrom our PCs bytweaking other compo-nent settings, such as memory and vid-eo card voltages and frequencies. By de-fault, our Gainward PowerPack! Ultra/1800 XP Golden Sample

GeForce FX 5950 Ultra’s GeForceProperties (in Display Properties) didn’tinclude overclocking features, so we downloaded and installed the CoolBits registry key, which unlocks NVIDIA’sCoolBits overclocking utility.

Thanks to the CoolBits tweak, the GeForce Properties ’ GeForce tab displayed a new section: Clock

RACE FORTHE GOLD

AMD vs. Intel For The Performance Crown

Both AMD and Intel havelaunched a barrage of new proces-sors since our first PC Modder

issue hit the street, so we’ve selected newcontenders from each camp and over-clocked them into oblivion (see CaseStudies). But even as we squeezed everylast 3Dmark out ofthese processors, ourthoughts turned tothe CPU giants’champions: the3.4GHz P4 ExtremeEdition and theAthlon 64 FX-53.After comparing eachp r o c e s s o r / m o b ocombo to its own sib-lings in the previoussection, it’s only fit-ting that we give thetop Intel and AMDprocessors a chance toduke it out.

Until now, wehaven’t broken free of the standard cool-ing system. We loveexotic cooling de-vices as much as thenext modder, but wewanted to give you anidea of each proces-sor/mobo combo’s overclocking potentialunder normal conditions, so our CaseStudies articles stuck to a traditionalheatsink/fan setup. (Sort of; the test sys-tems did have fan cooling. We concedethat our gigantic, all-copper ThermalrightSLK-948U heatsink and 119CFM spew-ing, 92mm pcToys Tornado fan don’t fitneatly under “normal’s” umbrella).

We wanted our systems to battle eachother instead of heat. We considered awatercooling system, but watercoolingsimply can’t compete with a phase-changesystem’s super-cold touch. We settled onthe nVentive Mach II, a powerful systemthat sits underneath your computer’s

chassis. The Mach II isn’t particularlyhandsome, but it sports a temperature-gauge LCD, so we’re not complain-ing. Unfortunately, nVentive (formerlyPrometia) recently threw in the towel,making the Asetek Vapochill the reigningcooling champ. Luckily, we already had aMach II, courtesy of CINDI (Comput-er In Need Of Drastic Improvement; our

Chaintech’s 9CJS Zenith motherboard comes with a number of features, but it’s the board’sperformance and stability that prompted us to use it in this article.

102 • PC Modder

Frequencies. We clicked theManual radio button, selectedPerformance 3D from theSettings drop-down menu,and then used the Core ClockFrequency and MemoryClock Frequency slider bars toadjust the frequencies. Thesection has a variety of fea-tures, including a RestoreDefaults button and an ApplySettings At Startup checkbox.If you check this box, the sys-tem wil l retain the over-clocked settings indefinitely.Otherwise, your video cardwill return to default settingswhen your system reboots.Until you reach your videocard’s maximum stable set-tings, you’ll probably want to avoid the checkbox.

Aside from the motherboard andCPU, our systems stand on a level play-ing field. Who will prove to be theoverclocking champ will depend on thesystems themselves.

AMDSure, sure, Intel has a super-fast, super-

expensive processor. But AMD has a fewspeed record/budget breakers of its own,the fastest of which resides in the heart ofour overclocked system: the 2.4GHzAMD Athlon 64 FX-53.

Meet the hardware. The 940-pin FX-53 marks the end of the 940-pin FXchip, as AMD recently switched to the939-pin model. AMD launched severalnew 939-pin Athlon 64’s just before wewent to press and also released a 939-pinversion of the FX-53. The switch meansthat users who already have a 940-pinFX-51 or FX-53 will need to buy a newmotherboard when they upgrade, but italso means that users won’t need toinvest in the expensive registered memo-ry that 940-pin processors require. Thatchange opens up the wide market of nonregistered memory to performance

enthusiasts. As with the FX-51, the FX-53 features the0.13-micron design and hasan integrated memory con-troller, a 128KB L1 cache (a64KB instruction cache and a 64KB data cache), and a1024KB L2 cache.

We chose 2GB of Corsairregistered DDR memory andplugged it into the ASUSSK8V, which posted the bestscores in our FX-51 CaseStudies articles. We loved theSK8V’s performance, but wealso liked its features. Thanksto a VIA VT6307 FireWirecontroller, the board includestwo internal FireWire headers(and a D-bracket that sports a

single FireWire port). The FireWire con-troller complements the VIA K8T800northbridge and VT8237 southbridge. Ifyou’re building a powerful system on anot-so-powerful budget, you may wantto forgo a sound card in favor of theboard’s integrated six-channel setup.

ASUS skipped the CNR that stilloccasionally appears on boards butadded a similar slot that supports anoptional ASUS WiFi@Home card. Thecard, which goes for about $25, con-nects to an external antenna and sup-ports 802.11b connectivity. A 3COM3C940 Gigabit LAN controller supports

Processor FSB Multiplier CPU Processor Case AGP RAMSpeed Voltage Temp Temp Voltage Voltage

Stock 2.4GHz 200MHz 12 1.568V -38 29 1.5V AutoPerformance

Overclocked 2.8GHz 200MHz 14 1.65V -31 29.4 1.7V AutoPerformance

Memory Video Card 3Dmark03 PCMark04 PCMark04 PCMark04 PCMark04 PCMark04Timings Core/Memory CPU Memory Graphics HDD

Stock 2.5-3-3-7 475/950 6302 4787 4468 4859 5288 4766Performance

Overclocked 2.5-3-3-7 500/975 6681 5433 5144 5333 5467 4774Performance

AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (SledgeHammer)ASUS SK8V

Thanks to CoolBits, our NVIDIA GeForce 5950-based video card's DisplayProperties let us adjust the Core Clock Frequency and Memory ClockFrequency settings.

PC Modder • 103

the I/O riser’s single Ethernetport. The board also sports threeIDE ports and two SATA ports.We like the board’s four dual-channel memory slots, whichsupport up to 8GB of PC3200registered DDR RAM. We tookadvantage of the dual-channelarchitecture by using identical1GB DIMMs.

Before we built our test sys-tem, we put the FX-53 andSK8V in our Case Studies test sys-tem to see how the system per-formed under normal conditions.The PC posted excellent scores in3Dmark03 and PCMark04 (6307 and4782, respectively). The system didn’trespond well to higher frequencies untilwe upped the voltage, which breathednew life into our test PC. The fan-cooled system posted max scores of6370 in 3Dmark03 and 5130 inPCMark04, with a clock speed of2.58GHz and a CPU voltage of 1.7V.Not bad, but not the kind ofraging overclock we expect to seewhen we fire up our Mach II-cooled system.

Once we finished our fan-cooled system benchmarks, wegutted our Case Studies test sys-tem and used its components tobuild an almost identical (but oh-so-much-cooler) test PC. Weassembled the Prometia AMD 64EasyMod Kit, attached the MachII phase-change system to our FX-53, powered on our raging system,and—the computer rebootedbefore it entered Windows. As itturned out, the Mach II wasn’tplaying nice with our system. We updated its firmware (ver-sion 821) and then booted intoWindows without trouble.

Overclocking. Although theSK8V’s BIOS has several neatfeatures (such as Q-Fan, whichlowers fan speeds when the sys-tem is idle), we didn’t enableany of the unnecessary perks.We did enjoy C.P.R. (CPUParameter Recall), an automatic

feature that resets the BIOS to i tsdefault settings whenever the systemhangs. Thanks to C.P.R., we didn’thave to manually clear the CMOS atall. We disabled the memory’s ECC fea-ture, which would have reigned in oursystem’s raw speed.

We installed the latest BIOS version(ASUS Version 1002), which offers a

frequency range of 200MHz to300MHz, an AGP voltage rangeof 1.5V to 1.7V, and a DRAMvoltage range of 2.5V to 2.8V.The BIOS also included a CPUvoltage range of 1.5V to 1.7V.The ASUS SK8N let us push theCPU voltage as high as 1.75Vwhen we overclocked the Athlon64 FX-51, but the board’s bench-mark scores couldn’t top ourSK8V. As it turned out, our sys-tem didn’t need the extra voltage:it never booted with a voltagehigher than 1.65V anyway.

Before we unleashed our FX-53 system, we ran our two benchmarksat default settings (2.4GHz clock speed,12X multiplier, and CPU voltage of1.5V). As we expected, our Mach II-cooled system’s 3Dmark03 score of6302 approached the fan-cooled ver-sion’s top overclocked score of 6370.We weren’t surprised to see that of thefour PCMark04 component tests (which

determine the overall PCMark04score), the Graphics score tooktop honors with a score of 5288.We love the Gainward NVIDIAGeForce FX 5950 Ultra’s rawpower. The CPU, memory, andhard drive posted 4468, 4859,and 4766, respectively, and thesystem posted a solid PCMark04score of 4787. Our Mach II’sLCD displayed a chi l ly -38degrees Celsius, and our DigitalDoc 5 displayed a chassis temper-ature of 29 C.

With solid benchmark scores andsubzero CPU temperatures in hand,we decided to turn up the volume.We knew our Mach II-cooled sys-tem could probably handle the fan-cooled system’s max clock speed(2.5GHz), so we jumped straight toa 220MHz frequency (2.64GHzclock speed) and rebooted the PC.Our test PC completed 3Dmark03,posting a respectable 6393 (alreadytopping the fan-cooled system’smax score), but it wasn’t stableenough to complete PCMark04.Unfazed, we upped the frequency to

The new AMD Athlon FX-53 was the heart of our experiment, butwould it be able to seriously outperform Intel’s lightning-fastPentium 4 Extreme Edition?

Our lab techs found several creative uses for the Prometia MachII's configurable text display, but we stuck to the default tempera-ture readout while overclocking.

104 • PC Modder

230MHz and the voltage to 1.65V, atwhich point the system promptly crashed,refusing to load Windows.

Instead of pushing the CPU voltage toits max, we changed tack, lowering the fre-quency back to 200MHz but raising themultiplier from 12X to 14X (a whopping2.8GHz clock speed). We lowered theCPU voltage to a reasonably safe 1.6V andrestarted the system. This time, our testPC booted into Windows without anytrouble and completed both benchmarks.That said, the system posted a disappoint-ing 6398 3Dmark03 score, only fivepoints higher than its last 3Dmark score.

As it turned out, the system just needed alittle extra juice. We raised the CPU voltageto 1.65V and the AGP voltage to 1.7V. Wealso raised the video card’s core to 500MHz(from 475MHz) and the card’s memoryfrom 950MHz to 975MHz. Thanks to theextra tweaks, our PC posted 6681 in3Dmark03 and 5144 in PCMark04; thetest PC’s max scores. We booted intoWindows as high as 2.87GHz, but the sys-tem bailed whenever we started 3Dmark03.

Analysis. We almost freaked out whenwe thought that our super-cold, near$1,000 phase-change unit couldn’t push theFX-53’s performance any farther than aheatsink/fan combo, but we calmed downwhen we managed to get the system run-ning stable at higher clock speeds. OurMach II-cooled system’s max 3Dmark scorepounded the fan-cooled system’s max

score by 311 points, butposted only a tiny 14-point PCMark04 im-provement over the lessersystem’s max score. Evenso, we were impressed bythe FX-53’s performanceoverall: it posted a 379-point 3Dmark03 increaseand posted a 646-pointPCMark04 increase overits default scores. But isthe supercooled processorpowerful enough beat outone of Intel’s champs?

IntelNo matter how badly

AMD would like it tobe otherwise, we’re notliving in a 64-bit world.Sure, the Athlon 64 FX-53 delivers good 32-bitperformance, but with-out a 64-bit OS, wecan’t take advantage ofthose mouth watering64-bit extensions. The2MB of L3 cache onthe 3.4GHz Pentium 4Extreme Edition, however, doesn’trequire any specific OS or applicationsupport. Can Intel ’ s testament toextreme users overpower AMD’s muscu-lar 64-bit processor?

Meet the hardware. Intel’s 3.4GHzPentium 4 Extreme Edition is the compa-ny’s flagship processor. The ExtremeEdition uses Intel’s older Northwood corerather than its new Prescott core, but

Processor FSB Multiplier CPU Processor Case AGP RAMSpeed Voltage Temp Temp Voltage Voltage

Stock 3.4GHz 200MHz 17 1.5V -39 27.1 Default DefaultPerformance

Overclocked 3.77GHz 219MHz 17 1.65V -32 28.4 Default DefaultPerformance

Memory VideO Card 3Dmark03 PCMark04 PCMark04 PCMark04 PCMark04 PCMark04Timings Core/Memory CPU Memory Graphics HDD

Stock 2.5/3/3/8 300/950 6750 5700 5330 5496 5706 4373Performance

Overclocked 2.5/3/3/8 300/950 6884 6095 5817 6023 5720 4347Performance

Intel 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme EditionChaintech 9CJS Zenith

It may not be pretty, but the Prometia Mach II keeps our system at sub-zero temperatures, even when we overclocked our top-of-the-line CPU's.

PC Modder • 105

that’s not necessarily a bad thing asPrescott includes a few changes that nega-tively impact performance. Prescott, forinstance, uses a longer 31-stage datapipeline. The longer pipeline will make it easier to increase clock speeds, but italso slows performance. Prescott alsoseems to leak energy more readily thanNorthwood, causing it to run hotter.

The 3.4GHz Extreme Edition includes8KB of L1 Data cache. The 512KB of L2cache is half the size of Prescott’s 1024KBof L2, but the 2MB of on-die, full-speedL3 cache more than makes up for thesmaller L2. The L3 cache helps in proces-sor-intensive applications such as gamingand video editing. Rather than the longer,slower 31-stage pipeline, the 3.4GHzExtreme Edition uses a 20-stage pipeline.Although it’s based on Northwood, the3.4GHz Extreme Edition’s 102.9W powerdissipation is more similar to Prescott’s

103W power dissipation than high-endNorthwood P4’s 82W power dissipation.Despite the higher power dissipation, the3.4GHz Extreme Edition has the same1.525V to 1.6V operating voltage as astandard 3.4GHz Northwood. This ishigher than the 1.25V to 1.4V operatingvoltage for Prescott processors. Our ver-sion of the 3.4GHz Extreme Edition usesIntel’s basic Socket 478 interface. At presstime, however, Intel had announced a new3.4GHz Extreme Edition and a new3.6GHz Prescott that uses an LGA moth-erboard interface. Given more time, wewould’ve loved to take one or both proces-sors for a spin, but announcements weremade much too close to press time.

Furthermore, the 3.4GHz ExtremeEdition proved itself in earlier testing, reaching speeds of 3.85GHz. We also man-aged some exceptional benchmark scores,depending on which motherboard we

paired the processor with.Speaking of moth-

erboards, a high-end processor demands ahigh-end mother-board.We decided on usingChaintech’s 9CJSZenith, as it too proveditself in earlier testing byproviding solid perfor-mance scores and goodoverclocking options. Wemanaged to get a3.2GHz Extreme Editionprocessor running at3.65GHz on the sameboard and posted consis-tently high benchmarkscores.

The Zenith boardincludes Intel’s 875Pchipset on the north-bridge. The 875P includes support for an 800MHz FSB and dual-channelPC3200 DDR SDRAM.The Chaintech boardincludes an IntelICH5R on the south-bridge, which meanssupport for SATA

RAID 0 or 1. We’ll be sticking withstraight-up SATA hard drive configura-tion in this article, however, and leaveRAID for another day.

Chaintech includes a number of niceextras with its Zenith board, includingintegrated 7.1 surround-sound audio andGigabit Ethernet. The CBOX3 comeswith the Zenith board and mounts in an external 5.25-inch drive bay. The CBOX3 includes front USB andFireWire ports along with a 6-in-1 cardreader for removable media such as SDand Memory Stick. The board alsoincludes the Handigator remote control.Both the Handigator and CBOX3 arenice features, but we didn’t mess witheither as they added nothing to the moth-erboard’s performance.

We did keep our test system componentsas similar as possible with the exception ofour system memory. With the new Socket939 Athlon 64s still too new to procure, wehad no choice but to use registered DDRSDRAM in our Athlon 64 FX-53 test sys-tem. We saw no need to handicap ourExtreme Edition because of AMD’s memo-ry restrictions, and used unbuffered DDRSDRAM on our Intel test system.

Overclocking. Headquartered in theMidwest, below zero temperatures are noth-ing new to us. In fact, we had a habit ofhuddling around Athlon XP processors forheat back in the day. What we’re not usedto, however, is having a processor that’scolder than a February morning. Westrapped the motherboard, processor, andmemory into our Mach II enabled chassis,connected the Mach II to the processorusing the Prometeia Intel Easy Mod Kit,attached our drives and cards, and then gotready to crank up the voltage.

Before we overclocked to 11, we hadto play scientist and record some defaultscores. Considering our motherboardand processor had both proven them-selves previously, we were fairly confi-dent we’d start out with some strongdefault scores. The 3.4GHz ExtremeEdition didn’t disappoint, managing a6750 3Dmark03 score at its default3.4GHz clock speed. The score was wellabove the Athlon 64 FX-53’s 6302default 3Dmark03 score, but still about

Processor, Motherboard & Drivers: AMD System

Processor AMD Athlon 64 FX-53

Motherboard ASUS SK8V

BIOS Manufacturer American Megatrends

BIOS Version AMI Bios 2003(Asus Version 1002)

Chipset Driver VIA 4.51 (K8T800)

Common Components

RAM Corsair PC2700 registeredDDR SDRAM (2 x 1GB)

Video Gainward PowerPack! Ultra/1800 XP Golden Sample (GeForceFX 5950 Ultra)

Hard Drive 80GB Western Digital WD800JD7,200rpm SATA

Mod Kit Prometia AMD 64 EasyMod Kit

Phase Change Cooler Prometia Mach II

CD-ROM LiteOn Black 48X/24X/48X/16XDVD/CD-RW

Floppy Samsung 1.44MB

Power Supply Antec 430W TruePower

Case Antec PLUS1080AMG

Temperature Monitor MacPower Digital Doc 5

106 • PC Modder

69 points less than the Athlon’s over-clocked 3Dmark03 score.

PCMark04 scores were equally strong. Infact, all of our PCMark04 default scoresexcept for the HDD score were better thanthe Athlon 64 FX-53 highest overclockedscores. At 5700, the Overall PCMark04score was more than 900 points better thanthe Athlon 64 FX-53’s default PCMark04Overall score and almost 400 points bet-ter than the best PCMark04 score. The3.4GHz P4’s 5330 CPU score was 862points better than the Athlon 64 FX-53’sdefault CPU score and 186 points betterthan Athlon 64’s overclocked CPU score.One reason we choose the Chaintech 9CJSZenith board is because it seems to providesome excellent PCMark04 Memory scores.The Extreme Edition’s 5496 Memory scorewas significantly better than the FX-53’s4859 default Memory score and slight-ly better than the FX-53’s 5333 overclockedMemory score. Paired with our NVIDIAgraphics card, the 3.4GHz Extreme Editionmanaged an impressive 5706 Graphics scorethat eclipsed both the FX-53’s default 5288Graphics score and its 5467 overclockedGraphics score. When it came to HDD per-formance, however, the FX-53’s 4766 wasalmost 300 points better than the 4373posted by Intel’s 3.4GHz Extreme Edition.

We were able to easily increase the FSBto 210MHz, but this caused a slight perfor-mance setback as our 3Dmark03 score fellslightly to 6728. Our system rebooted whenwe tried to increase the FSB to 220MHz, sowe scaled it back to 215MHz. At 3.71GHz,our processor rebounded nicely with a 68473Dmark03 score. We were able to increasethe FSB to 216MHz without any prob-lems and a very slight 6-point 3Dmark03increase. We were able to increase our3Dmark03 score another 16 points to 6869by increasing the FSB to 217MHz.

We began to have problems as weincreased the processor’s clock speed to3.76GHz and FSB to 218MHz. At thisspeed, 3Dmark03 failed to complete suc-cessfully. Increasing the FSB to 1.6V, how-ever, managed to fix our stability problemsand we posted a 6776 3Dmark03 score.Our celebration was short lived as ourbenchmarks failed at 219MHz. We had toincrease the CPU voltage to 1.65V in order

to get the system stable. Our 3.77GHzprocessor yielded a 6884 3Dmark03 score.We were able to push the processor’s clockspeed to 3.79GHz by increasing the FSB to220MHz, but the 3Dmark03 score fellslightly to 6871. Attempts to further over-clock the system were unsuccessful.

The Extreme Edition system yielded itsbest score at 3.77GHz, so we reset theFSB to 219MHz and ran PCMark04. TheIntel system was already dominating theAMD system before we even started theoverclocking, and increasing our system’sspeed just seemed to pile it on. OurPCMark04 Overall score rose 395 pointsto 6095 and the CPU score increased to5817. We saw a hefty gain in our Mem-ory score as it rose to 6023, while ourGraphics score showed a modest increaseto 5720. The only PCMark04 score to lagbehind the AMD systemwas the 4347 HDD score.

ConclusionUnfortunately, this con-

test was over even before it had really begun. Our3.4GHz Pentium 4 hadmanaged to beat the best overclock scores theAthlon 64 FX-53 couldmuster. In fact, we hadmanaged to top the Athlon64 FX-53’s refrigerator-assisted scores with simpleaircooling previously inthis issue. Although theExtreme Edition capturedthe performance crown,AMD showed the biggestincrease in performance.We were able to increasethe FX-53 400MHz from 2.4GHz to 2.8GHz, and the extra 400MHzbought us an extra 379points in 3Dmark03.

We weren’t actually ableto push the Intel processorquite as far, perhaps partlydue to Intel’s locked multi-plier. The Extreme Editionwas only able to gain anextra 370MHz, and

3Dmark03 improvements were a measly121 points. Of course, the Extreme Editionstarted out with a default 3Dmark03 scorethat was 69 points higher than the FX-53’soverclocked 3Dmark03 score.

As we’ve seen, however, the chipset playsas important a part in the system’s overallperformance as the processor itself. Socket940 pickings are a little scarcer than Socket478 options. The Extreme Edition certainlyowes a great deal of its success to the 875P-based Chaintech 9CJS Zenith mother-board. From a price/performance stand-point, however, AMD may well be aheadof Intel. AMD’s 940-pin FX-53 costs about$800, while Intel’s Socket 478 3.4GHzPentium 4 Extreme Edition costs nearly$200 more.

by Joshua Gulick and Chad Denton

Processor, Motherboard & Drivers: Intel System

Processor 3.4GHz Pentium 4Extreme Edition

Motherboard Chaintech 9CJS Zenith

BIOS Manufacturer Phoenix Award BIOS

BIOS Version Ver 6

Chipset Driver 5.0.2.1002

Common Components

RAM 1GB PC4000 DDR SDRAM(4 x 512MB)

Video Gainward PowerPack! Ultra/1800 XP Golden Sample (GeForceFX 5950 Ultra)

Hard Drive 80GB Western Digital WD800JD7,200rpm SATA

Mod Kit Prometeia Intel CPU EasyMod Kit

Phase Change Cooler Prometeia Mach II

CD-ROM LiteOn Black 48X/24X/48X/16XDVD/CD-RW

Floppy Samsung 1.44MB

Power Supply Antec 430W TruePower

Case Antec PLUS1080AMG

Temperature Monitor MacPower Digital Doc 5

PC Modder • 107

In this category, we had no obviouswinners, but the Radeon 9800SE fromSapphire stood for lackluster performance.In 3Dmark2001SE and 3Dmark03 tests,the Radeon 9800SE turned out scores of13611 and 3315. That’s 3536 and 2103marks slower than the next slowest card,the ASUS GeForce FX 5900. Throughoutour AquaMark3 tests, the Radeon 9800SEconsistently showed scores that were muchlower than what the GeForce FX 5900produced. For instance, the average defaultscore in AquaMark3 for the GeForce FX5900 was about 38517. The Radeon9800SE was 13843 marks lower at 24674.

The 9800SE produced similar resultsacross the board, including scores of11.11 in Halo at a 1,600 x 1,200 resolu-tion. In the UT2003 Anatalus andPhobos2 tests, the card showed framerates of 37.1 and 51 at a resolution of1,600 x 1,200, which are average to saythe least, especially in this competition.

The rest of the cards were well-matchedat their core clock speeds. All threeNVIDIA cards have higher clock speeds(475MHz, 450MHz, and 400MHz) thanthe ATI cards (412Mhz, 380MHz, and325MHz), but in the benchmarking com-petition, the NVIDIA cards failed to takea clear lead. In fact, if any card had anedge over the others, it was ATI’s Radeon9800XT, which uses a default core clockspeed of 412MHz and an effective mem-ory clock of 730MHz but scored 1000marks higher at 45864 in AquaMark3tests than the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra.

The Radeon 9800XT also outper-formed the other cards in 3Dmark2001SEand 3Dmark03 tests, scoring 20354 and6521, respectively. In the same tests, theGeForce FX 5950 Ultra, the fastest of theNVIDIA cards, scored 18475 and 6214.

The Radeon 9800 Pro, with defaultcore clock and memory clock speeds that

Our battery of tests ran through Aqua-Mark3, Halo, 3Dmark2001SE, 3Dmark03(using Futuremark’s 340 patch), Quake IIIArena, Unreal Tournament 2003, and ourtimedemo created in Unreal Tournament2004. Quake III tests were run at resolu-tions of 1,024 x 768 and 1,600 x 1,200 andAquaMark3 tests were run at the program’sdefault resolution, 1,024 x 768. Halo testswere conducted at 1,600 x 1,200 with andwithout AA/AF at full.

You may wonder why we set up agraphics card challenge between ATI andNVIDIA without ATI’s X800 XT orNVIDIA’s GeForce 6800 Ultra. Well, it’sbecause neither was available at retail atthe time of this writing. They will be bythe time you read this, so watch for com-parisons later on.

Equally regrettable is that our resultswere not as definitive as we had hopedfor; that’s to say, none of the six cards weselected emerged as a clear winner, so itwould be unfair to suggest that our com-parison will put an end to the ATI vs.NVIDIA debate. On the contrary, it maybe like putting out fire with gasoline.

The Fast And The Not So-FuriousLet’s get straight to what matters most:

speed. Behind reliability and API support,speed is probably the most important factorusers consider when purchasing a new card.

ATI & NVIDIASQUARE OFF

Where Things Stand Between The GPUs & VPUs

W e set out to find the definitiveanswer to who makes thebest graphics cards. Outfitted

with a generous budget and more than alittle bit of hubris, we purchased three cardsfeaturing some of the fastest VPUs andGPUs from each manufacturer. We testedeach card on the same machine, recordedthe results, and tallied the scores to see whomakes the fastest chip. We also reservedsome additional time for hands-on gaming.

Our test rig specs: 2GHZ AMD Athlon64 3200+, 1GB (2 x 512MB) of KingstonHyperX PC3200 DDR RAM on an AsusK8V Deluxe motherboard (with VIAK8T800 chipset), a Seagate BarracudaST380013AS 80GB SATA hard drive, anda Lite-On Black LTC-48161H 48X/24X/48X/16X CD-RW/DVD drive. For ATIcards we used the latest Catalyst 4.4 driver,and for NVIDIA cards we used theForceWare 56.72. The machines ran on anAntec Original TRUE 430W P4 powersupply with Windows XP Pro as the OS.

We chose cards that were OpenGL-and DX9-compatible. On the NVIDIAside, we selected an ASUS v9950 TVDGeForce FX 5900, a Gainward GeForceFX5900 Ultra, and a Leadtek GeForceFX 5950 Ultra. In ATI’s corner, wechose a Sapphire Radeon 9800SE, aRadeon 9800 Pro (also from Sapphire),and a Radeon 9800 XT.

GeForce FX 5900 Radeon 9800 ProGeForce FX 5950 Ultra

108 • PC Modder

Bundle, Bundle—Who’s Got the Bundle?

The question now becomes, “Whichcompany offers the best extras?” It’s a ques-tion that can be unfair because so much ofwhat goes into a package depends upon thecard manufacturer and not the chipsetdeveloper. Still, it’s worth mentioning, if atleast briefly, to suggest who has the betterbusiness partners. Keep in mind that wepurchased the two Sapphire cards OEM.

As far as software bundles go, Sapphire isat a bit of a disadvantage here. If we hadpurchased, say, the full retail version of theRadeon 9800 Pro Atlantis instead of theOEM bulk version, we might have receivedSoldier of Fortune II and Return To CastleWolfenstein—perhaps even Tomb Raider,at the very least. As it is, we instead receivedPowerDVD 5 and a slew of accessories,

including VGA-to-DVI adapter, powercable, S-Video cable, and composite cable.

The Radeon 9800XT offered a lot more.Gigabyte not only included a free couponfor a copy of Half-Life 2, the company alsothrew in PowerDVD 5, Tomb Raider:Angel Of Darkness, Tom Clancy’s Rain-bow Six 3: Raven Shield, and Will Rock.

In addition, the Radeon 9800XT camewith adapters, S-Video cable, compositecable, and “Y” power cable. With ourGeForce FX 5900 Ultra, we got a powercable and pink—more like fuchsia—VGA-to-DVI adapter and video-out cable withcomposite in, composite out, S-Video in,and S-Video out connections. FromLeadtek, in addition to our FX 5950 Ultra,we also got a few video-editing CDs andtwo DirectX 9 games: GunMetal and BigMutha Truckers. With the GeForce FX5900, we got Asus Home Theater software,Power Director Pro, a host of gamesincluding Battle Engine Aquila, BlackHawk Down, Gun Metal, and a 6-in-1

are actually quite typical for most Radeon9800 Pros (380/680), scored 19191 in3Dmark2001SE and 5786 in 3Dmark03while the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra pro-duced similar scores of 18064 and 5962.In most tests the ATI Radeon 9800XTnarrowly beat out the fastest NVIDIAcard, the GeForce FX 5950 ULTRA.

To The ExtremeOverclockers will not be disappointed

by how these cards perform when pushedbeyond their manufacturer-recommend-ed limits. In particular, there is the exam-ple of the Gigabyte Radeon 9800 XT andthe Gainward GeForce FX 5900 Ultra.We were able to rev the Radeon 9800XT’s 412MHz core clock and 365MHzmemory clock to 450/400. The GeForceFX 5900 shot up to 530/930 from a

450MHz core clock and 850MHz mem-ory clock (effective). A year ago mostgamers would have been thrilled to havea card reach the 5000 mark in the3Dmark03 test. When overclocked, theRadeon 9800XT broke 7000 (7057).Even the slightly older generation cards,the Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800SE andthe ASUS GeForce FX 5900, showed agood deal of overclocking potential. Inaddition to raising the core clock andmemory clock speeds of the Radeon9800 XT from 412/365 to 450/400, wewere able to overclock the Radeon 9800Pro to 420/375, up from 380/340.

The NVIDIA cards showed proficientgains, as well. The GeForce FX 5950Ultra overclocked at 490/965 (effective),up from 475/950. The FX 5900 Ultra dideven better. It overclocked at 530/930(effective), up from 450/850. And theGeForce FX 5900 went from a 400MHzcore clock and 850MHz (effective memo-ry clock), to 464/905.

Not yet surprised? We’ve got more:Even the Radeon 9800SE turned out tobe a good overclocker. In fact, it showedbetter gains than many of the other cards.We were able to boost its paltry 325MHzcore clock speed to 380MHz. That equalsout to a gain of about 17% (although,even when overclocked, the Radeon9800SE pales in comparison to all theother cards in this roundup).

Obviously, each of the six ATI andNVIDIA cards turned out to be excellentoverclockers. In general, the ATI cardsoverclocked better than the NVIDIAcards, but to be fair, the NVIDIA cardsstarted out with higher core clock speeds.

OK, so enough with the numbers. Youwant to know how these cards held upduring actual game play, right? We playedseveral sessions of DX9 and lower games,

including (but not limited to) Battlefield1942, Unreal Tournament 2003, DesertCombat, and Unreal Tournament 2004.Each game was played at the highest pos-sible resolution.

When it comes to displaying real-timegraphics, any of the top two ATI orNVIDIA cards will suffice. As you mightexpect, we didn’t experience any lockupswith those four cards. Nor did we noticeany jerky frames. But the two lower-endcards were a different story.

The Radeon 9800SE performed theway you might expect a midrange card toperform. It ran more like a card from theRadeon 9600 series. We half expectedthat after recording the card’s benchmark-ing results. The NVIDIA GeForce FX5900 was equally as disappointing. Makeno mistake: It’s still a mighty powerfulvideo card, but it struggled (albeit slight-ly) during graphic-intensive levels, such as those found in levels of UnrealTournament 2004 featuring vehicles.

Radeon 9800 SE GeForce FX 5900 UltraRadeon 9800 XT

PC Modder • 109

Video Card

PriceInterfaceChipsetRAMCore ClockMemory Clock Actual(Effective)Overclocked Maximums(core clock/memory clockin megahertz)Max. ResolutionRefresh Rate At Max. ResolutionAPIs SupportedOperating Systems3Dmark2001 SE3D MarksFill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)3Dmark033D MarksFill Rate (single texture)Fill Rate (multitexture)Quake III Arena at 32-bit1,024 x 7681,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2003at 32-bit (average fps)Anatalus 1,024 x 768Anatalus 1,600 x 1,200Phobos2 1,024 x 768Phobos2 1,600 x 1,200Unreal Tournament 2004at 32-bit*1,600 x 1,200AquaMark3 at 32-bitDefault TestGFXCPUHalo1,600 x 1,2001,600 x 1,200 (AA/AF at full)

PhoneURL

Gigabyte ATI Radeon9800 XT $428 (retail)AGP 8XATI Radeon 9800 XT256MB DDR412MHz365MHz (730MHz)

450/400

2048 x 153685HzDirectX 9.0, OpenGL 2.0Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

20354 [21135]2194.53246.4

6521 [7057]1842.93169.6

306.1237.7

201.594.8197.7117.6

25.31

45864 [48289]6158 [6575]8977 [9086]

27.1721.94

(626) 854-9338www.giga-byte.com

Sapphire ATI Radeon9800 PRO$205 (OEM)AGP 8XATI Radeon 9800 Pro128MB DDR380MHz340MHz (680MHz)

420/375

2048 x 153685HzDirectX 9.0, OpenGL 2.0Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

19191 [20391]2013.32984.7

5786 [6365]1691.32908.6

301.2223.9

188.786.7188.4108.1

24.83

43436 [46445]5717 [6242]9044 [9070]

25.1721.97


By The Numbers

H ere are the actual results for the six cards we tested. Note that the overclockedresults are presented in brackets. You’ve got a lot of numers to look through, but

the numbers tell the story.


games showcase disc, and few additionalaccessories, such as a VGA-to-DVI adapter.

Perhaps the most important impact ofthese goodies—at least as far as this head-to-head is concerned—is their price. It’snot easy to say who offers the best extrasfor the buck, but in this competition onething is certain, the highest priced cardsoffer some of the best treats (though TombRaider: Angel Of Darkness can be had oneBay for as little as a cent).

And The Award Goes To . . . Roll out the red carpet. The award for

the fastest card and the best performancegoes to the Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9800XT with its 8-pixel pipeline, SmartShader2.1, and Smoothvision 2.1 technology.

This was by no means an easy competi-tion for the Radeon 9800 XT. Take a lookat the chart, and you’ll notice that theLeadTek GeForce FX 5950 Ultra, whichuses NVIDIA CineFX 2.0 engine andIntellisample HCT (high-resolution com-pression technology), actually has the betterspecs—note that the GeForce FX 5950Ultra has a much higher core clock than theRadeon 9800 XT (about 50MHz higher).It’s cheaper, too, at $380, while the Radeon9800 XT cost us $428. Still, you can expectthe ATI X800 Pro and the GeForce 6800 toleave both of these cards in the dust.

As with the award for the fastest card,picking a winner for best overclocked cardwas also difficult. The GeForce FX 5900Ultra produced a bigger jump in perfor-mance than the Radeon 9800 XT, but itstill couldn’t compete with the Radeon9800 XT’s final results. When set at itsmaximum core clock and memory clockspeeds of 450MHz/400MHz, the Radeon9800 XT produced scores of 21135 in3Dmark2001SE, 7057 in 3Dmark03,and 48289 in AquaMark3.

In the end, it appears ATI is poised tosweep the competition. It had the fastest,best-performing card—and one that alsoproduced the most impressive overclock-ing results. NVIDIA will have to settle forgiving ATI a good run for the money untilwe can test the next-gen retail parts.

by Eric Melvin Reed

110 • PC Modder

Sapphire ATI Radeon9800SE$136 (OEM)AGP 8XATI Radeon 9800SE128MB DDR325MHz290MHz (580MHz)

380/340

2048 x 153685HzDirectX 9.0, OpenGL 2.0Windows 98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP

13611 [15813]991.51288.5

3315924.41280.1

239.292.7

88.137.1110.751

26.1

24674 [30428]2852 [3653]9130 [9082]

11.119.41


Leadtek GeForce FX5950 Ultra$380 (retail)AGP 8XnVidia GeForce FX5950 Ultra256MB DDR475MHz475MHz (950MHz)

490/965

2048 x 153685HzDirectX 9.0, OpenGL 1.5Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP, Linux

18475 [18706]1746.53467.9

6214 [6391]1537.53365.2

319.9256.6

209.7107.1207.5121.2

25.29

44803 [46111]5921 [6146]9206 [9222]

27.0620.52

(510) 490-8076www.leadtek.com

Gainward GeForce FX5900 Ultra$339 (retail)AGP 8XnVidia GeForce FX5900 Ultra256MB DDR450MHz425MHz (850MHz)

530/930

2048 x 153685HzDirectX 9.0, OpenGL 1.4Windows 98SE/ME/NT4.0/2000/XP

18064[19286]16663296.7

5962 [6721]1480.23206.7

320.1247.2

204.4102.4203.5116.1

25.31

42955 [48763]5600 [6635]9219 [9202]

24.920.13

(510) 252-1118www.gainwardusa.com

ASUS GeForce FX 5900

$260 (retail)AGP 8XnVidia GeForce FX5900128MB DDR400MHz425MHz (850MHz)

465/905

2048 x 153685HzDirectX 9.0, OpenGL 1.4Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP

17147 [18232]1512.62955.1

5418 [6011]1366.72867.2

314.5231.7

188.489.3191102.1

25.26

38517 [43556]4865 [5702]9233 [9220]

22.4317.82

866 2 28943447 (Taiwan)www.asus.com

PC Modder • 111

THE GREAT VIDEOCARD PYRAMID

How 3D Cards Stack Up

E ven with just two major discrete graphics processor manufacturers, it’s still easyto get overwhelmed by the alphabet soup of 3D card names. It helps to visualizeATI VPU and NVIDIA GPU families as a pyramid, with the affordable chips on

the bottom and the expensive screamers on top. Here are the chip families currently listedby ATI and NVIDIA at press time—more or less—withexample cards and prices as available. Prices are fromPricegrabber.com and Pricewatch.com except for the cardswe tested. For those cards, we listed the prices we paid.

NVIDIA

GeForce FX 5950 Ultra Leadtek GeForce FX5950 Ultra, 256MB DDR,$380 3Dmark03: 6214 Q3A: 256.6fps UT2003: 107.1fpsGeForce FX 5950 eVGA e-GeForce FX5950, 256MB DDR, $445GeForce PCX 5950 (PCI Express)

GeForce FX 5200 Ultra BFG Technologies GeForce FX5200 Ultra, 128MB DDR,$99 3Dmark03: 2005 Q3A: 115.8 UT2003: 31.4GeForce FX 5200 Chaintech GeForce FX5200, 128MB DDR, $56

GeForce PCX 5300 (PCI Express)

GeForce FX 5500 AOpen GeForce FX 5500, 128MB DDR, $79 3DMark03: 1120 Q3A: 50.1 UT2003: 16.4

GeForce FX 5600 Ultra Abit Siluro GeForce FX5600 Ultra OTES, 128MB DDR, $195 3DMark03: 3245 Q3A: 162.4 UT2003: 54.1

GeForce FX 5900 XT MSI GeForce FX 5900XT, 128MB, $186GeForce FX 5900 Ultra Gainward GeForce FX5900 Ultra, 256MB DDR, $3393Dmark03: 5962 Q3A: 247.2 UT2003: 102.4GeForce FX 5900 GigaByte GeForce FX 5900, 128MB DDR, $189GeForce FX 5900 SE PNY GeForce FX5900 SE, 128MB DDR, $185 3Dmark03: 5179 Q3A:224.1 UT2003: 84.5

GeForce FX 5700 Ultra eVGA GeForce FX5700 Ultra, 128MB DDR2, $165 3Dmark03: 3910 Q3A: 173.9 UT2003: 58.3GeForce FX 5700 Gainward GeForce FX 5700, 256MB DDR, $125GeForce FX 5700LE XFX GeForce FX 5700 LE, 256MB DDR, $116

GeForce PCX 5750 (PCI Express)

GeForce 6800 Ultra $499GeForce 6800 GTGeForce 6800

compiled by Marty Sems

112 • PC Modder

Radeon 9000 Pro ATI Radeon 9000 Pro, 64MB DDR, $82 (DX8.1)All-In-Wonder Radeon 9000 Pro ATI All-In-Wonder RADEON 9000 Pro, 64MB DDR, $143 (AGP 4X, DX8.1) 3Dmark03: 1443 Q3A: 74.8UT2003: 23.7Radeon 9000 Sapphire Radeon 9000, 64MB DDR, $30 (DX8.1)

Radeon 9200 Pro (DX8.1)Radeon 9200 ATI Radeon 9200, 128MB DDR, $92 (DX8.1) 3Dmark03: 1223 Q3A: 63.8 UT2003: 21.9Radeon 9200 SE Gigabyte Radeon 9200 SE, 128MB DDR, $45 (DX8.1)

Radeon X300 (PCI Express)

Radeon X800 XT Platinum ATI RadeonX800 XT Platinum Edition, $499Radeon X800 XT ATI Radeon X800 XT,256MB DDR, $399Radeon X800 Pro ATI Radeon X800 Pro, 256MBDDR, $358

Radeon 9700 Pro PowerColor Radeon 9700 Pro, 128MB DDR, $248All-In-Wonder Radeon 9700 Pro ATI Radeon 9700 Pro All-In-Wonder, 128MB DDR, $399Radeon 9700 ATI Radeon 9700, 128MBDDR, $249 3Dmark03: 5167 Q3A: 200.5 UT2003:77.5All-In-Wonder Radeon 9700 ATI Radeon 9700 All-In-Wonder, 128MB DDR, $213

Radeon 9600 XT ATI Radeon 9600XT, 128MB DDR, $152 3Dmark03: 3834 Q3A: 125.7 UT2003: 45.5All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600 XT ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600 XT, 128MB DDR, $249Radeon 9600 Pro Sapphire Radeon 9600 PRO, 128MB DDR, $129.50 3Dmark03: 3426 Q3A: 113.8 UT2003: 42.7All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600 Pro ATI Radeon 9600 Pro All-In-Wonder, 128MB DDR, $249Radeon 9600 Sapphire Radeon 9600, 256MB DDR, $100All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600 ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600, 128MB DDR, $160Radeon 9600 SE Asus Radeon 9600 SE, 128MB DDR, $74

Radeon X600 (PCI Express)

Radeon 9800 XT Gigabyte Radeon 9800XT, 256MB DDR, $4283Dmark03: 6521 Q3A: 237.7fps UT2003: 94.8fpsRadeon 9800 Pro Sapphire Radeon 9800 PRO, 128MB DDR, $205 (OEM)3Dmark03: 5786 Q3A: 223.9 UT2003: 86.7All-In-Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro ATI Radeon 9800 Pro All-In-Wonder,128MB DDR, $327Radeon 9800 ATI Radeon 9800, 128MB DDR, $190Radeon 9800 SE Sapphire Radeon 9800 SE, 128MB DDR, $1343Dmark03: 3315 Q3A: 92.7 UT2003: 37.1

O ur test PC had a 2GHz Athlon 64 3200+, 1GB (2x 512MB) of Kingston HyperX DDR400, an Asus

K8V Deluxe motherboard, an Antec True 430Wpower supply, a Seagate ST380013AS 80GB SATAhard drive, and a Lite-On LTC-48161H 48X CD-RW/DVD drive. The OS was Windows XP Pro SP1;drivers were ATI’s Catalyst 4.4 and NVIDIA’sForceWare 56.72.

Test results are for a stock card without overclock-ing, antialiasing, or anisotropic filtering. For a syn-thetic benchmark, we ran the DirectX 9-aware3Dmark03 Build 340 and reported each card’s over-all score. In real-world frame rate tests, we chosegames that were playable throughout the pyramid,

which meant they’re a few stepsback from the DX9/PS2/PS3 frontierof today’s titles. We ran Quake IIIArena’s Demo001 at 1,600 x 1,200with 32-bit color to get the framerates shown. Likewise, we ran UnrealTournament 2003’s Antalus demo at

1,600 x 1,200 x 32. Allcards are AGP 8Xunless noted. ▲

ATI

How We Tested

PC Modder • 113

If your PC doesn't support an interfaceyou want to use, you can probably find aSATA, Ultra160, or Ultra320 SCSI adaptercard to add to one of the motherboard'sPCI slot. Fortunately, all interfaces are back-ward compatible to some extent with theirearlier and slower speed steps. For example,an ATA/133 adapter should handle anATA/100 drive with no problems.

How We Tested There's a point at which the costs of the

fastest hard drives outweigh their speedadvantages, at least for a desktop computeror gaming PC. To give you a better idea ofwhat you're really getting at each techno-logical tier, we benchmarked a system witha variety of internal drives. These rangedfrom an ATA/133 5,400rpm economy unitto an Ultra320 SCSI 10,000rpm serverdenizen (our 15,000rpm SCSI server drivewas DOA). We tested each drive by itself,and noted our results in the "What's TheDiff With Drives?" chart in this article.

We tried to minimize as many differ-ences as we could by sticking to Maxtor drives at or near 80GB of capacity. Ofcourse, some variation was inevitable, as nomanufacturer sells a hard drive platformthat extends from 5,400rpm to 10,000rpmwith the same platter diameter and arealdensity. Also, to date only Western Digital'sRaptor has 10,000rpm SATA credentials.

Our test PC had a 3.2GHz P4, 1GB(512MB x 2) of Kingston HyperXDDR400 (PC3200), an Asus P4P8Xmainboard, an ATI Radeon 9800 XTvideo card with 256MB DDR, a 48X Lite-On LTC-48161H CD-RW/DVD-ROMdrive, and an Antec PLUS1080AMG430W power supply. The motherboardsupplied ATA/133 and SATA headers, andwe turned to an Adaptec 19160 Ultra160card for our Ultra320 SCSI drive (the160MBps throughput limit shouldn'taffect a single drive with a measured107.7MBps burst read speed).

We ran HD Tach 2.70 on each baredrive and then formatted them andinstalled a drive image incorporatingWinXP Pro SP1, 3Dmark03, PCMark04,and Halo. Setting each drive as the soleboot device, we ran our synthetic bench-marks for an overview of how the system

WHAT A DIFFERENCE

A DRIVE MAKESHow A New Hard Drive AffectsYour Rig’s Overall Performance

W hat difference does yourhard drive make? It's justfor data storage, right? Well,

right. But if you spend all your money ona flashy CPU and RAM and go cheap ona slow hard drive, your rig may stallinstead of scream.

Your computer probably spends moretime waiting for data from the hard drivethan from any other device (leaving yourdial-up modem out of this). If your harddrive is a slowpoke, it will delay every-thing you try to do with your PC.

In order to understand what makes onehard drive faster than another, it helps toknow how they work. A hard drive storesbits of data as magnetic charges on rigidaluminum or glass disks, often called plat-ters. The drive moves read/write headsback-and-forth across the platters as theyspin at 5,400rpm (revolutions per minute)or more, always keeping the heads a tinydistance above the disks' surfaces. The elec-tromagnetic heads read data from and writeit to the platters' magnetic recording layers.

Because it takes a few milliseconds tofind data on a hard drive, which is actual-ly a long time to a computer, a drive hassome memory called a cache buffer. Thesefew megabytes store the last data the drivewas asked to retrieve. If the computer asksfor the same data again before new bitsoverwrite it, the cache can supply it muchfaster than if the drive had to physicallyfind the data again on the disks.

Manufacturers use a bag of tricks tospeed up hard drive performance. Theyspin the drive's platters faster for spindlespeeds of 7,200rpm, 10,000rpm, or even15,000rpm. They bump up the cachebuffer from 2MB to 8MB. They pack morestorage space onto each platter for a higher

areal density (GB per platter), so that thedrive's heads read more data with each rev-olution of the disks. Hard drive manufac-turers also refine the electronics in the drivefor smarter data request management.

To handle these higher speeds, vendorsgive their drives faster interfaces (connec-tors, cables, and the circuitry to send dataover them) with which to communicatewith the PC. Although interfaces such asATA/133 (Advanced Technology

Attachment/133 megabytes per second),SATA/150 (Serial ATA/150MBps), andUltra320 SCSI (Small Computer SystemInterface, 320MBps) don't speed up adrive by themselves, they do allow swifterdrives to send data to the PC at their topspeeds without an unnecessary bottleneckin between.

Here’s a raw comparison of drive speeds,courtesy of HD Tach 2.70. Western Digital’s10,000rpm Raptor chews up a mousy5,400rpm drive and spits it out.

114 • PC Modder

would handle gaming and typical tasks.Next, we timed how long it took eachdrive to load Halo, and ran the game'sTimedemo at 1,600 x 1,200 resolutionand 32-bit color depth to see if its framesper second rate was affected. We used thelatest drivers, BIOS, and patches available.

Finally, we took case temperature read-ings in the middle of our Futuremarkbenchmarks for each drive. Faster-spin-ning drives usually generate more heat, sowe wanted to gauge their effect on the restof the system. We kept the case closedthroughout our tests. This particular case had ample 80mm Antec cooling

fans—one side intake and two rearexhausts—plus the power supply's outputfan. Although it's a rather unusual config-uration, it's more typical of an enthusiast'scase setup than would be a mainstreamcase with a single intake fan balancing thepower supply's air output. Special thanksto Coby "They Stole My Monitor" Boringfor his help in the testing lab.

Maxtor DiamondMax 16 ATA/133 80GB (4R080L0)

5,400rpm 2MB cache$59

For our baseline hard drive, we chose atype that many mainstream users get withtheir plain-vanilla, name-brand PCs. A5,400rpm EIDE drive with a 2MB cacheprovides the most storage per dollar, butno one will call it peppy. An entry-leveldrive like this makes an excellent backupunit, though. It's quiet and it runs cool.

Maxtor invented the ATA/133 inter-face several years ago, yet to date onlySamsung joins the company in buildingATA/133 drives. Seagate, Hitachi GST,and Western Digital continue to use theATA/100 interface. Either interface is finefor typical drive usage.

S ome benchmarks show off faster drives, and some don't. Like a car'shandling, you have to feel the difference in many cases. Note that with

even moderate airflow, none of these drives raised case temperatures much.

Maxtor ATA-133 Maxtor ATA-133 Maxtor ATA-133 Maxtor SATA WD SATA Raptor Maxtor Ultra320DM16 5,400rpm DM+9 7,200rpm DM+9 7,200rpm DM+9 7,200rpm 10,000rpm SCSI Atlas IV2MB 80GB 2MB 8MB 80GB 8MB 80GB 8MB 74GB 10,000rpm 8MB

PCMark04 4901 4952 4916 4909 4965 5000

Processor 4876 4800 4816 4861 4871 4848

Memory 4456 4501 4467 4436 4447 4502

Graphics 4546 4544 4545 4539 4541 4539

Hard drive 2783 3178 4019 4072 5660 4433

3Dmark03 6438 6443 6453 6443 6444 6448

HD Tach 2.70 42.1 67.5 65.7 53.3 73.4 68Max. read(MBps)

Average read 34.8 49.4 48.8 45.2 64.5 48.2(MBps)

Max. write 21.6 30.2 20.3 14.8 53.5 42.1(MBps)

Average write 17.4 22.9 12.8 13.1 35.3 34.5(MBps)

Random 17.9 21.1 14.7 14.2 7.8 7.9access (ms)

Burst read 88.4 87.2 87.5 112.7 118.1 107.7rate (MBps)

Halo load :45 :42 :42 :42 :42 :44time (sec.)

Average FPS 25.25 25.93 25.9 26.05 26.57 26.49

Case temp. 31.1 33 32.4 33.5 31.2 30.7(C)

What's The Diff With Drives?

PC Modder • 115

The main points from our test resultsare PCMark04's System score of 4901and Hard Drive rating of 2783. Otherhighlights are Halo's 45-second load timeand 25.25fps rating; a case temperature of31.1 degrees Celsius; and HD Tach scoresof 42.1MBps maximum/34.8MBps aver-age reads, 21.6MBps max/17.4MBps avg writes, and 17.9ms random accesstime. PCMark's other categories and3Dmark03 didn't change much over therest of our testing, so we'll let the num-bers in the chart speak for themselves.

Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA/133 80GB(6Y080L0)


Read, write, and access speeds get a boostwhen you move from the 5,400rpm level to7,200rpm. That's a 33% increase in spindlespeed, although that doesn't translate to aproportional jump in real performance.Remember that our comparisons can't beapples-to-apples, as this DiamondMax Plus9 is a different model than the Dia-mondMax 16 in the previous example.

The DM+9 is obviously speedier thanthe 5,400rpm DM16 in its HD Tachresults, although the long access time report-ed by the software is likely a fluke. Readspeeds of 67.5MBps max/49.4MBps avg and quick write rates of 30.2MBpsmax/22.9MBps avg get our blood pumping.This 7,200rpm number charted an equallyimpressive tally of 3178 in PCMark04'sHard Drive test, a substantial 14% increase.

However, these benchmarks only focuson drive performance, not the whole story.We were chagrined to see that all that extradrive speed bought us was another 1%, or4952, in PCMark's overall system test. Haloloaded three seconds faster, or 6.7%, andgained a 2.7% better frame rate at 25.93fps.All this came with a 1.9-degree temperaturerise to 33 degrees (6.1% more).

Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA/133 80GB(6Y080P0)


For just a few bucks more—$9 in thiscase—your 7,200rpm drive can quadru-ple its cache memory. That can meansmoother video playback, quicker defrag-mentation, and fewer delays movingfrom level to level in video games. A big-ger cache doesn't really offer a noticeablespeed boost in everyday usage, but you'dprobably miss it if you switched back to adrive with 2MB cache.

While a top desktop drive today canonly read at a maximum of about67MBps, its cache can send its data at arate nearer to the interface's theoreticalmax speed. That's about 133MBps forATA/133 and 150MBps for SATA. Thebigger cache in this case gave us a beauti-ful 26.4% increase in PCMark04's HardDrive benchmark, to 4019 points.

Unfortunately, the rest of our testsdidn't reflect any other benefits attribut-able to the extra buffer memory. BesidesHD Tach's reported decrease in writerates, which was probably another exam-ple of this iffy software's occasional tom-foolery over the past few versions, allother benchmarks were flat or slightlydown after the change.

Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA 80GB (6Y080M0)

7,200rpm 8MB cache$82.50

The desktop hard drive industry hasshifted to the Serial ATA interface,although manufacturers will likely keepmaking ATA/EIDE drives for a while.This drive is basically the DM+9 convert-ed to SATA with a bridge chip, so itsPCMark scores are almost identical to theATA/133 model above.

HD Tach liked the SATA DM+9 evenless, reporting slashed read and writerates that no other benchmark reflect-ed. HD Tach did claim a huge 28.8% in-crease in burst read speed to 112.7MBps,but be aware that reads from cache aretoo sporadic and brief to be noticeable inmany applications.

Finally, Halo's 26.05fps score de-monstrated a 5.8% boon, but the 33.5-degree case temp was the highest of allthe drives—even the 10,000rpm ones.It ' s s t i l l wel l within the comfort zone, though.

Cables & Connectors

M ost hard drives indesktop PCs use

the ATA (AdvancedTechnology Attachment)interface, also called EIDE(Enhanced IntegratedDrive Electronics), DMA(Direct Memory Access),IDE, UltraATA, orUltraDMA. EIDE drives’data cable connectorshave 39 or 40 pins,although ATA/66/100/133 (66MBps[megabytes per second]to 133MBps) data cableshave double that numberof wires.

Many new desktopsnow come with SATA(Serial ATA) hard drives,which have black,

L-shaped male cable con-nectors in back. SATAcables are much skinnierthan EIDE cables, evenrounded ones. However,many SATA drivesrequire a special powersupply connector oradapter, as regular 4-pinMolex connectors won’tfit them. The new SAS(Serial Attached SCSI)interface for servers usesthe same cables and con-nectors. Some systemscan even support bothSAS and SATA.

Most servers andsome enthusiast PCs useUltra160 (160MBps) orUltra320 SCSI (SmallComputer Systems

Interface) hard drives.Current SCSI drives use68-pin or 80-pin datacables; earlier editionsused 25-pin or 50-pincables. FC-AL (FibreChannel-Arbitrated Loop)is another server inter-face, but you probablywon’t find it in any PCs.

External hard drivesare usually EIDE drivesconverted to use USB 2.0(60MBps) or FireWire(50MBps) interfaces.Newer externals may useFireWire 800Mbps(100MBps) or SATA toconnect to a PC, or even100Mbps Ethernet tohook up to a networkrouter. ▲

116 • PC Modder

Western Digital Raptor SATA 74GB(WD740GD)


The next step up in performance is10,000rpm, heretofore a spindle speedreserved for server drives, not desktopunits. Western Digital is still the onlypurveyor of a 10,000rpm SATA drive, sowe'll include its Raptor 74GB as an asideto all our Maxtors.

Basically a low-end SCSI drive builtwith the SATA interface, the Raptorproved to be the best performer of ourgroup after our seventh contestant bowedout. The problem is that, like SCSI drives, it's expensive. You could almostbuy three SATA or ATA 80GB drives forthe price of this 74GB Raptor (and have anice, fast RAID [redundant array of inde-pendent disks/drives]). It's definitely forthe enthusiast with cash to blow.

Monstrous PCMark04 Hard Drive andHD Tach scores show the Raptor'sstrengths. Its 5660 points in the formerrepresent a tremendous 39% jump, whileits 73.4MBps max/64.5MBps avg readsand 53.5MBps max/35.3MBps avg writesin the latter walk tall. The higher spindlespeed accounts for the whip-snapping7.8ms access time.

Does all this make for peppierPCMark04 and Halo speeds? Surpris-ingly, no. But our test PC definitely feltfastest with the Raptor on board. Andcase temps were as cool as with the5,400rpm drive above.

Maxtor Atlas IV Ultra320 SCSI 73.5GB(8B073L0)

10,000rpm8MB cache$281

Even more than raw speed, SCSI drives' forte is fast access for multipleusers, as in a Web or file server. Hence,our single-drive desktop usage patternreflected in the benchmarks we useddon't play to the SCSI Atlas IV'sstrengths. (Upcoming SATA drives withNCQ [native command queuing] from

Seagate and others hope to reach SCSI-like data management speeds.)

Put simply, high prices and relativelylow capacity have kept SCSI drives out ofmost users' PCs. Heat output from theirhigher spindle speeds is also a concern,but it didn't factor much into our casetemperature measurements. In fact, 30.7degrees was the coolest temp we recorded.

Despite the Atlas IV's slim victory inoverall PCMarks, 5000 points, the rest ofits scores fell between the 10,000rpmSATA Raptor's and the 7,200rpm Maxtors.Curiously, it took a couple of secondslonger to load Halo than most of the pack.

After we bought this article's drives,Maxtor announced new Atlas SCSI drives: the 10,000rpm Atlas 10K V (up to300GB) and the 15,000rpm Atlas 15K II(up to 147GB). Speaking of 15K drives,we had intended to include results fromMaxtor's $510 Ultra320 SCSI 15000with 8MB cache (8C073L0), but itwouldn't format or run HD Tach.

Hard Advice Hard drive speed does play a significant

role in a PC's performance level, althoughthis speed manifests itself differently in vari-ous applications. For example, PCMark04'soverall system score may tell you that a PCwith a SATA 10,000rpm Raptor is only1.3% swifter than one with a timid,5,400rpm drive. However, PCMark's HardDrive test will paint the Raptor system asmore than 200% faster. The real truth issomewhere in the middle.

All else being equal, your best buy for atypical gaming and surfing rig is a7,200rpm SATA drive with an 8MB cache.SATA is the wave of the future, and 8MBdrives don't cost much more than their2MB counterparts.

If your budget allows you to consider aRaptor or SCSI drive, look into buying mul-tiple SATA drives for a RAID instead. ButRAID is a whole 'nother topic. . . .

by Marty Sems

A lthough the ball orfluid dynamic bear-

ings in a hard drive let theplatter spindle spin withextremely little friction,hard drives do generateheat. In general, the fasterthe spindle speed, the hot-ter a drive will get. If itisn’t cooled by good air-flow through the comput-er case, a hot drive willwear out and fail muchsooner than normal.

As enthusiasts beganbuying faster and fasterdrives, hard drive coolersbecame more popularaccessories. These typical-ly attach to or enclose adrive, using one or morefans to circulate air over it.Some examples areVantec’s Ultra ThinHDC502A aluminum cool-er ($8) and Cooler

Master’s LHD-V04CoolDrive4 ($38).

A cooler is a good ideafor a 10,000rpm drive,and almost essential for a15,000rpm one. We usedto be able to say that youdidn’t need a cooler for7,200rpm and slower dri-ves. These days, though,more users are building orbuying SFF (small formfactor) computers that areshort on space.

“Some kind of coolingcan be appropriate andnecessary if a modder isusing a nonstandardenclosure in which unusu-al heat buildup resultsfrom packing things closetogether or restricting air-flow,” says Seagatespokesman John Paulsen.“In other words, you cer-tainly can’t say 7,200rpm

hard drives will never heatup in any situation.”

Also, says Paulsen, notall users have air condi-tioning, and some live inhotter climes than others.These users, and especial-ly ones with multidriveservers, should considercoolers.

Finally, Paulsen says,“look at the spec sheet tosee what kind of energyoutput comes from thedrive and what tempera-tures it’s designed to oper-ate in.” For instance,Seagate’s Cheetah 15K.3SCSI drive shouldn’t run atcase temperatures above55 degrees Celsius (131degrees Fahrenheit), souse some type of cooler orimprove your server’s air-flow if your case sweltersat temps above that. ▲

Chill Out

PC Modder • 117

to Andy “Knife To A Gunfight” Geraceand Jeff “Jolt Cola” Roberts for their helpin the testing lab.

Albatron K8X800 Pro v.1.1

We paid: $98Warranty: 3 years labor, 1 year parts

Kicking off the festivities in alphabeticalorder is this contestant from Albatron. TheK8X800 Pro looks ver-a nice-a with itspretty, dark teal color and its cool coppernorthbridge heatsink. The latter has cylin-drical pins instead of fins, and invites second glances.

Like most mainboards for the Athlon64, the Albatron has a plastic bracket bolt-ed through it and surrounding the 754-pinsocket. The bracket offers a strongermounting foundation for the bulky, heavyheatsinks of today’s power-hungry proces-sors than would the socket itself.

The K8X800 Pro can only support amaximum of 2GB of DDR400 (PC3200)SDRAM, but that’s the limit for the rest ofthe boards in this article, too. It can handleup to 3GB of DDR333/266/200, althoughthat’s still less than the 4GB limits of earlierboards that supported only the lowerspeeds of RAM. That’s the reality on the

DO MOTHERBOARDS MATTER?One Chipset, Six Combatants

It’s often been said that the mother-board, the main circuit board in acomputer, gives a system its personali-

ty. This is more true than it appears, whichyou’ll find out if your cheap, colorfulmobo’s personality turns out to be a badone. Sporty and psycho can be fun for awhile, but over time, you’ll yearn to tradeup to something more stable.

After comparison shopping you mayfind that several reputable manufacturersoffer mainboards with the features youwant and prices you’re willing to pay. Theymight even have the same chipset or com-plement of support chips. But, you mayask, will any of these boards be materiallybetter or faster than the rest? Does it reallymatter which board you buy?

We love a good head-to-head aroundhere, so we decided to throw six ATXmobos into the pit of conflict. Each ofthem had a VIA K8T800 northbridge andVT8237 southbridge, and each had a 754-pin socket for the AMD Athlon 64s avail-able at this writing.

All our boards came from the main-stream price range, about $77 to $119.Each had similar features, more or less,such as AGP 8X/4X, SATA RAID, andDDR400 support. Most also had biggerbrothers with more features, too. If youdon’t see the FireWire port or built-inwireless support you’re looking for here,check the manufacturers’ sites for moreupscale models.

How We Tested We fitted each motherboard with the

same processor, RAM, and other compo-nents and then tested it with a game-heavysuite of benchmarks. Our test part listincorporated an Athlon 64 3000+ with512KB of L2 cache and a Gigabyte GH-PCU21-VG 3D heatsink and fan on top.Two sticks of 512MB HyperX PC3200DDR SDRAM from Kingston gave us atotal of 1GB of memory. A Maxtor

DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA hard drivewith a 7,200rpm spindle speed and 8MB ofcache (model 6Y080M0) and a Lite-On52X CD-ROM handled storage requests.We installed a Gigabyte Radeon 9800XTvideo card with 256MB of DDR, and firedeverything up with an Antec SL400 400W

power supply. Each mobo received the lat-est drivers and BIOS updates available.

Our benchmarking portfolio started offwith PCMark04 from Futuremark. Thissynthetic benchmark gave us reasonableestimates of each board’s aptitude with gen-eral tasks. For gaming, we tested withFuturemark’s synthetic 3Dmark03 andMicrosoft’s Halo Timedemo. We set bothto 1,600 x 1,200 resolution with 32-bitcolor depth.

Finally, we overclocked each board’sfrontside bus and noted how high it couldgo with stability. The CPU, heatsink,RAM, and, of course, chipset were thesame in each test, so it was really intriguingto see the effect each board had on the levelof overclocking we were able to achieve.

There may be more pleasant companythan six nice motherboards for a rainyTuesday morning, but by now her body-guards recognize us on sight. Special thanks

118 • PC Modder

ground today, so to speak, and it’s stillmore memory than most power users mayneed in a PC. It reflects the limitations ofDDR1 at FSB frequencies of 400MHz andbeyond. (By the way, AMD would like usto forgo the use of the term “frontside bus”regarding the Athlon 64/Opteron families,as the processors directly link to the RAMusing built-in memory controllers.)

The Albatron’s two SATA headers won’tgo far when more optical drives go serial,but that’s more of a concern for the future.The VIA VT8237 southbridge offersSATA RAID configurations 0 and 1.Albatron provided a SATA power adapter,but no SATA data cables for some reason.The company didinclude two ATA/133ribbon cables and a flop-py drive cable, though.

A Realtek ALC655chip provides mightynice 5.1-channel audio.There’s an SPDIF in-put/output header on theK8X800 Pro, but no cor-responding jack bracketcame with our board.However, there’s a four-port USB bracket in thekit, which complementsthe two integrated portsand extra two-port header for a total ofeight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports.

This Pro version of the K8X800 had theoptional, built-in 3Com 10/100MbpsLAN connection but not the VIA VT6307chip for 400Mbps FireWire support. In anod to portability, Albatron endowed theAGP 8X slot with a sliding card lockingmechanism to avoid embarrassing fallout.

The K8X800 Pro’s six PCI slots are easyto spot from orbit, but you’d need a moreoblique view to spy the legacy MIDI/game-port, parallel port, and 9-pin serial connec-tors. There are also PS/2 mouse and key-board jacks, which will probably hang onlonger than expected until pre-OS andsleep mode USB support is no longer aniffy proposition.

The Albatron’s software bundle is prettytypical. It includes Trend Micro PC-cillin2002 antivirus, Adobe Acrobat Reader, andMicrosoft DirectX 9.0b. The company also

provides a sticker with a map of the mobo,plus diagrams of its jumper settings andswitch/LED headers.

This motherboard falls into the middleof the pack price-wise and synthetic bench-mark performance-wise. It overclocked lessthan the rest, though, and its Halo scorewas dead last by a laser’s width. But at therisk of deflating the drama somewhat, keep in mind that the overall benchmarkscores only varied from each other at mostby 2.9%.

Asus K8V-UAYZ Rev. 1.12

We paid: $119Warranty: 3 years

Trusty brand Asus has finally followedthe competition’s lead. Not in any substan-tial or technical way, of course; rather, themanufacturer is now adding a bit of colorto its heretofore staid mainboards. You’llfind five yellow PCI slots on the K8V-UAYZ, for example, plus yellow and blueRAM slots (three slots for DDR400, 2GBmaximum DDR400, 3GB maximumDDR333/266/200). The PCB is a statelybrown color that clashes just a little with atasteful blue northbridge heatsink.

This Asus has an AMCO heatsinkbracket, but its backing plate is stampedmetal in contrast to the Albatron’s plasticbrace. The plate doesn’t contact the main-board under the socket, but it still mightplay a role in dissipating heat from the sink.

An RCA/coaxial SPDIF output comesbuilt into this board’s back panel port clus-ter. Upstream of it is an ADI AD1980

SoundMAX audio chip pumping out 5.1-channel sound. Like the rest of the boardsin this article, the K8V-UAYZ supportsAGP 8X. At this writing, PCI Express hasyet to crest the horizon and bathe us all inits blessed bandwidth. No real biggie, ofcourse, as most users don’t even need all ofAGP 8X’s headroom just yet.

Asus offers dual SATA RAID (0 and 1)on this mobo through a Promise 20376controller and the southbridge. TheVT8237 is likely the faster bet, as it doesn’thave to squeeze SATA’s 150MBps poten-tial through the 133MBps PCI bus as thePromise chip must. Four SATA ports beck-on. Asus even provided three SATA data

cables with our kit. As for ATA/133, the

K8V-UAYZ features athird ATA/133 headerwith RAID 0 and 1 capa-bilities, thanks to thePromise 20376 men-tioned above. Ribboncables include twoATA/133s, one ATA/33for optical drives, and afloppy drive cable.

A Marvell 88E8001controller supplies theGigabit Ethernet connec-tivity, but Asus added its

Virtual Cable Tester feature to sense net-work line quality. Four USB 2.0 ports areintegrated into the backplane, with fourmore available via headers without exten-sions. There are the usual token legacyports, but no MIDI/gameport exceptthrough another header sans bracket. Youwere just about to upgrade to a USB joy-stick anyway, weren’t you?

As always, Asus packs a comprehen-sive manual with this board. It will walkyou through the K8V-UAYZ’s many“value-added” features, some of whichare relatively novel. For example, InstantMusic Lite lets you play an audio CD(not an MP3 or other music file disc)through the board’s integrated audiochannel, all without booting up to youroperating system. You’ll use the ESCand function keys F1 through F6 to tog-gle Instant Music Lite on or off, adjustvolume, play or stop, and skip tracks.

PC Modder • 119

Another point of interest is CrashFreeBIOS 2, which is simply a backup of theoriginal BIOS and recovery mechanismon the installation CD. Our longtimefriend Q-Fan offers automatic fan speedadjustment to reduce noise during peri-ods of light CPU loads. In a similar vein,Cool’n’Quiet! adjusts the processor’svoltage and frequency as needed. Thiscan cut power consumption and heatoutput. Finally, there’s C.P.R., or CPUParameter Recall, which resets the BIOSsettings to default in case of a hang dueto overclocking.

Speaking of o/c, Asus offers fine 1MHzadjustments for the FSB (200 to 300MHz)and .025V increments for CPU voltage(1.750V to 0.800V), among other relatedsettings. There’s the familiar sticker map ofthe mobo, jumpers, and switch/LED head-ers, plus PC-cillin 2002 Antivirus, Asus PCProbe, and Acrobat Reader on CD.

In stock trim, the Asus took the3Dmark03 and PCMark04 speed crowns,for what they’re worth. It tied theChaintech Summit SK8T800 for fourthplace in raw overclockability. We shouldadd that we’ve had fewer problems withAsus boards over the years than any otherbrand, and that three-year warranty isamong the longest here.

Chaintech SK8T800

We paid: $77Warranty: 1 year

What a bargain! If you’re looking forSATA RAID, 100Mbps Ethernet, and

Athlon 64 support in a $77 package,Chaintech has it. With savings like this, aquick-and-dirty gaming system with a top-notch graphics card can be more affordablethan you think.

Like the other vendors showcased here,Chaintech makes use of the VIA south-bridge to enable SATA RAID 0 and 1. Thecompany doesn’t supply any SATA datacables for the board’s two headers, but itdoes ante up with a SATA power adapter.Kudos to Chaintech for saving users a tripto the geek store.

VIA’s VT6103 controller gives theSK8T800 its 10/100Mbps LAN connectiv-ity. It’s no Gigabit port, but it’s sweetenedby its wake-on capability over a network.

The 5.1-channel audio is all but expect-ed these days, and happily, the board’sSPDIF output header is becoming a morecommonplace feature, as well. There’s noextension for SPDIF, however. The sixports’ worth of USB 2.0 headers didn’tcome with any brackets, either, althoughthere are two fixed USB 2.0 ports in therear I/O cluster. Chaintech grudgingly

ponied up one ATA/133,one ATA/33, and onefloppy ribbon cable.

Two DDR400/333/266 slots support up to2GB on this austereboard, which like theAsus has a dark brownPCB. The only colorcomes from the legacyports and the capacitorsaround the socket. Said

legacy ports include a second 9-pin serialport and a MIDI/gameport. A LOTESplastic brace through the board gives theheatsink a firm footing.

In short, the low-buck SK8T800 packsseveral essentials such as AGP 8X/4X and10/100Mbps LAN, and straps SATARAID on top for kicks. However, its docu-mentation is minimal. Chaintech also skipsa lot of the extras, such as I/O brackets andbonus software, although it should be saidthat most of the software that other boardsin this price bracket bundle are free todownload anyway.

We’re also leery of that brief one-yearwarranty. However, Chaintech’s techsupport did respond to an email querythe same day, which is saying something.

Epox EP-8HDA3+ Rev. 1.0

We paid: $111Warranty: 2 years

You want I/O? You got it. For eleventy-one bucks, Epox manages to cram in theconnectivity of a mainboard costing twiceas much.

Epox’s exercise in excess kicks off withintegrated dual LAN. The primary horse isa Gigabit Ethernet connection managed by3Com’s 3C940 controller. The old, greymare next to it is a 10/100Mbps nag bornof VIA’s VT6103. Sure, she’s still service-able, but 10/100 Ethernet just ain’t whatshe used to be.

Another really cool extra is a secondbuilt-in SPDIF output port. One is theRCA/coaxial style, and the other is optical.The latter has a spring-loaded door thatflips out of the way when you insert a cableconnector. It won’t get lost like the typicalremovable black plastic plug. The board

Overclocking Standings (FSB)Below are the increases in FSB frequency over stock we achieved:

Gigabyte GA-K8VT800M 12.5%

Epox EP-8HDA3+ 8.5%

MSI K8T NEO-FSR 8.00%

Asus K8V-UAYZ 7.5%

Chaintech SK8T800 7.5%

Albatron K8X800 Pro 5.5%

120 • PC Modder

even supports SPDIF input through itsLine-out jack or a dedicated pin-header (noextension supplied). The 5.1-channel audiois courtesy of a Realtek ALC655 codec, andthere’s even jack sensing to detect whetheryou’ve attached speakers, headphones, orsome other device.

The I/O laundry list turns next to stor-age. You’ll count a whopping six SATAheaders on the EP-8HDA3+ for hard and(future) optical drives. They’re RAID-capable, too, thanks to the Silicon ImageSiI3114 (RAIDs 0 and 1) and VT8237southbridge (0, 1, and JBOD). Mind

you, the SiI3114 is on the 133MBps PCIbus, so you’ll probably want to keep yourRAID 0 on the VIA controller. Not oneto skimp, Epox supplies two each ofSATA cables and power adapters, plus anextension cable that adds an externalSATA data port to an expansion portbracket. That bracket also has aMIDI/gameport jack.

Curiously, both the users manual and aleaflet from Epox promise future support ofRAIDs 5 and 10 through BIOS and driverupdates. Well, we’ll see. With dedicatedRAID 5 cards costing nearly twice the price

of this entire motherboard, it would be acoup for Epox to offer it as an add-in thatdoesn’t require a later revision of the board.We’ve been burned before by other manu-facturers’ promises, such as new processorand FSB speed support that only material-ized with Rev. 2.0 boards, so we take thisone with a bit of skepticism.

Reasoning that Athlon 64 buyers liketheir RAM in pairs, Epox skipped a thirdDIMM slot on the EP-8HDA3+. Theboard can use up to 2GB of DDR400. Itsfrequency and voltage settings are satisfac-torily granular for overclocking, andindeed, the motherboard came in second inour o/c standings.

“Retro” probably isn’t the right term forthis board’s Radio-Shack-green PCB, but itdoes look good with its understated, gold-tinged northbridge heatsink. The EP-8HDA3+ sports four integrated USB 2.0ports, so we won’t razz Epox for leaving outextension cables for the headers for fourmore. The company included the usualATA/133 and floppy ribbons.

Notable features, besides a thoroughmanual that rivals Asus’s efforts, includePost Port. This is a P80P LED readout onthe PCB that can report boot error codes. Ifyou encounter a hang after an optimisticoverclock, you can revert your system todefault settings by pressing INSERT atstartup. Finally, EZ Boot lets you choosethe boot device by pressing ESC at startuprather than mucking around in the CMOSsettings each time.

The EP-8HDA3+’s software CDincluded PC-cillin 2002 and Adobe Reader6.0. Although all the artwork suggested wewere getting Symantec’s Norton Ghost, aswell, it turned out to be Norton PersonalFirewall 2003 instead. Shucks. On thebright side, Epox thoughtfully included theSATA and SATA RAID drivers ondiskettes to save you a step when you’rebuilding your system.

Options we didn’t get with our samplewere 1394a FireWire and ATA/133 RAID.However, we did get an embossed Epoxcase badge and a “what the?” folding Epoxdesk calendar. More importantly, the com-pany’s tech support answered our onlinequery about warranty coverage within anhour or two.

PC Modder • 121

Gigabyte GA-K8VT800M Rev. 1.0

We paid: $95Warranty: 3 years limited

In Gigabyte’s K8 Triton series comesthis 754-pin, four-layer board. It’s namedaccording to the company’s love of longstrings of alphanumeric characters, but atleast its model number doesn’t look like aphonetically spelled sneeze (GA-K8NNXP!Gesundheit.)

The GA-K8VT800M is small, about 8.5inches x 9.5 inches, to appeal to users whowant to assemble tinier systems and mediaboxes. It’s also a nice teal color, althoughyou won’t be able to tell under the densewhite silkscreening around every compo-nent and contact. You’ll only get three PCIslots because of the smaller form factor, butthe northbridge heatsink distracts you fromthis fact with some extra visual zip.

Like the Epox EP-8HDA3+, thisGigabyte has but two DDR400/333/266/200 slots and a 2GB RAM maximum.There are eight USB 2.0 ports in sum,although the four that aren’t integrated lieunfulfilled as headers without suppliedextensions. Gigabyte did package a SATA,an ATA/133, and a floppy cable with theboard. The RAID 0 and 1 options for theGA-K8VT800M’s two SATA ports are thework of the VT8237 southbridge.

A 10/100Mbps LAN comes standard onthis board, thanks to a Realtek RTL8100Ccontroller. In keeping with a small PC’sportability, the AGP 8X/4X graphics slotgets a retractable pin-retainer mechanism sothe video card stays put. Note that AGP 2Xcards are not supported.

Moving from video to audio, the GA-K8VT800M gets jack-sensing, 5.1-channelsurround sound connections from anALC655 chip. The ALC655 even bringsSPDIF input and output to the table, butthese are routed through a pin header forwhich there’s no extension bracket.Phooey. There’s also no bracket for theMIDI/gameport header. In any case, yourPS/2 keyboard and mouse, parallel portprinter, and external serial dial-up modemall have homes on the back panel. Heck,there’s even a leftover 9-pin serial port incase you have to reconfigure an old broad-band modem or router.

This Gigabyte lagged behind in oursynthetic benchmarks, but it emergedfrom the overclocking scrap as the champwith a 12.5% FSB increase to 225MHz.Its o/c opportunities include a CPU hostclock adjustment range of 200MHz to455MHz, plus a Windows-based utilitycalled EasyTune 4 for tweaking theRAM, AGP, and FSB. There’s also anAuto Optimize mode in case you’d ratherlet the board adjust itself.

Besides its overclocking trophy, theGA-K8VT800M also won our Halo fps

competition. Not that there’s a lot ofdrama in being 2.9% faster than the slow-est mobo of the six, but a win’s a win. Bythe by, Gigabyte’s tech support did replyto a question we had within a businessday, but the department skips email con-tact in favor of an odd login message sys-tem on the Web site.

MSI K8T Neo-FSR (MS-6702) v.1.0

We paid: $93Warranty: 3 years parts, 2 years laborfrom date of manufacture

This contender from Microstar wasthe only motherboard in our group tohave passive heatsinks on its MOSFETs.Those sinks are part of MSI’s LifePro fea-ture, which aims to extend the K8T Neo-FSR’s life.

This Neo was also the only board in thisarticle that came with a rounded, two-device ATA/133 cable, in red to match the

PCB. Even the floppy drive cable was fold-ed, sleeved in a black mesh, and securedwith heat shrink tubing. These cables willallow better airflow around them, helpingyour system to run cooler. MSI threw in two SATA data cables, plus a SATA power adapter that can support two drives simultaneously.

The K8T Neo-FSR’s three greenishDIMM slots support up to 2GB ofDDR400/333/266/200. Its LOTESheatsink bracket and metal backing platedon’t come attached to the board, but

rather in a bag with the necessary bolts.The software bundle includes the by-now-familiar PC-cillin and Acrobat Reader, andthe manual is very good.

There are just two SATA ports on thisNeo, but they do get RAID 0 and 1 sup-port through the VIA southbridge. Like theEpox board above, the K8T NEO-FSRcomes with SATA RAID drivers on ahandy diskette. Our particular board didn’thave the optional Promise 20378 ATA/133RAID or FireWire. However, few boards in this roundup had PATA RAID, and FireWire was always up in the nextprice bracket.

This Neo offers better AGP supportthan the Gigabyte above, handling8X/4X/2X/1X without a qualm. However,MSI says that the Realtek 8110S-32 chipbehind the integrated Gigabit Ethernet jackdoesn’t support 10/100Mbps connections.For its part, Realtek says that the 8110S-32is fully backward compatible with

122 • PC Modder

10/100Mbps Ethernet, so it’s likely animplementation problem.

MSI packed four USB 2.0 ports intothe backplane and made four more avail-able as pins on the motherboard. A two-port bracket makes two of the latter use-ful. That bracket, called the D-Bracket2, also holds four LEDs. These form aboot status and error code display visiblefrom outside the case.

SPDIF users have a choice of out-puts on the K8T Neo-FSR. There’s anintegrated RCA-style output, but theline out 1/8-inch jack can also carrySPDIF out. A Realtek ALC655 awak-ens your surround speakers with 5.1-channel audio.

This Neo can wake from a set alarmtime, the mouse, or the keyboard. Built-inports include a 9-pin serial, parallel, PS/2 mouse, and PS/2 keyboard connec-tion. However, there’s noprovision for a MIDI/gameport.

The CoreCell chipnear the DIMM slots isresponsible for a wholehost of marketing termsfeatures. Among theseare MSI’s D.O.T. Dy-namic OverclockingTechnology, whichautomatically adjuststhe CPU frequency perits current load. Cool-’n’Quiet in the BIOSadjusts the Athlon 64’sfan speed. Finally,Speedster offers over-clocking, LifePro pro-longs the life of compo-nents and fans, andCoreCenter is a combi-nation monitoring andoverclocking utility.

This MSI had the second-best stock 3D-mark03 score, and wasour third-best over-clocker. It joins Al-batron in the Three YearWarranty With CaveatsClub, but note that the coverage period

starts when the board was made, not purchased.

Who’s Your Mama? Our test results chart is, as we predicted,

merely a formality. Sure, we found somevariation in our boards’ benchmark scores,but we’re talking about a measly 2% overalldelta in PCMark04 and just 0.7% in3Dmark03. In other words, speed differ-ences among otherwise similar boardsshould be your last consideration when youbuy a new motherboard.

So what does matter? Stock perfor-mance may not vary much, but stableoverclockability does. Also, one boardmay have a killer feature at a price theothers can’t touch.

Reliability and good tech support areparamount, which means that a manufac-turer’s reputation counts. However, this

isn’t a hard and fast rule. We’ve seen someerstwhile losers really turn their quality control around.

A great mix of features at a low price isexciting, but we would rather pay a fewbucks more to get those features from avendor with whom we’ve had better luck.Never skimp on your motherboard; it willaffect everything you do with your systemin the future.

With all that in mind, we’ll call the AsusK8V-UAYZ your best bet. For $119, you’llget a three-year warranty, ATA/133 andSATA RAID, a solid track record, GigabitEthernet, Instant Music Lite, an SPDIFoutput jack, and top stock speeds. The $93MSI K8T Neo-FSR, $111 Epox EP-8HDA3+, and $95 Gigabyte GA-K8VT800M also have strong points.

by Marty Sems

Mobo Matchup

We did all testing with an Athlon 64 3000+ (2GHz, 512KB L2), 1GB (2 x 512MB) Kingston HyperX PC3200 DDR,a Gigabyte Radeon 9800XT with 256MB DDR, an 80GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA hard drive (7,200rpm,8MB cache), and a Lite-On 52X CD-ROM. Drivers, benchmarks, and BIOS versions were the most current available.

Albatron Asus K8V- Chaintech Epox EP- Gigabyte GA- MSI K8TK8X800 Pro UAYZ SK8T800 8HDA3+ K8VT800M NEO-FSR

Price $98 $119 $77 $111 $95 $93

3Dmark03(1600x1200x32) 6495 6510 6492 6487 6465 6504

PCMark04 4009 4054 3993 4010 3974 3978

CPU 3785 3774 3711 3724 3730 3738

Memory 3552 3562 3494 3531 3544 3545

Graphics 4441 4499 4527 4572 4524 4519

Hard drive 4416 4433 4437 4397 4387 4427

Halo Timedemo 26.7 27.07 26.89 26.84 27.47 26.77(1600x1200x32), fps

Overclocking 2.11GHz, 2.15GHz, 2.15GHz, 2.17GHz, 2.25GHz, 2.16GHz,(CPU, FSB, voltage) 211MHz, 1.6V 215MHz, 1.4V 215MHz, 1.5V 217MHz, 1.5V 225MHz, 1.47V 216MHz, 1.5V

O/C increase (%) 5.5 7.5 7.5 8.5 12.5 8

Warranty 3 years labor, 3 years 1 year 2 years 3 years limited 3 years parts,1 year parts 2 years labor

PC Modder • 123

it as we could get). We encountered sta-bility issues with exactly one-third of the modules we tested, so even basicbenchmarking gave us insight intowhich DDR might be more suited to overclocking.

We started with the Auto setting forthe Core Voltage. We then benchmarkedthe performance using Sandra 2004,recording the Integer ALU, Float FPU,and CAS Timing for each. If a systemwas unstable, we typically saw one offour things: on-screen video errors, aSandra crash, an inability to launchSandra, or an inability to load Windows.We treated each of these problems as anindication that we needed to makeadjustments to stabilize the system. Toensure that overclocking the PCI bus didnot cause display problems, we enteredthe BIOS and locked the PCI bus at 66.66/33.33.

When we encountered minor errors,such as display problems, we first triedto benchmark the system (making anote of the errors) before adjusting thevoltage or frequency. Our efforts to sta-bilize systems involved first increasingthe voltage until the system was stable.We then restored the Auto setting forvoltage and lowered the FSB until thesystem was stable.

PC3700 DDR TestsThe contenders in the PC3700 cate-

gory were from Corsair, GeIL, andKingston. The GeIL DDR was ratedwith a slightly more aggressive tCL tim-ing (2.5 as opposed to 3) than theCorsair and Kingston DDR. We wouldexpect the lower tCL to correspond tohigher performance, but possibly lesssystem stability. We tested each of the

MY DDR CAN BEAT

UP YOUR DDRMemory Speeds Advance Faster Than Industry

Standards

There are many very fast DDRmemory modules on the marketright now, but unfortunately for

the average user, as of press time, JEDEC(Joint Electron Device EngineeringCouncil) has only approved standards up toPC3200. However, with memory as fast asPC4400 currently available, the only reallimit to running DDR faster than PC3200is having the proper hardware and know-how. To the power modder, the full rangeof DDR is accessible.

Parts SelectionWe tested the latest memory, ranging

from PC3500 to a whopping PC4400DDR. The only motherboards availablethat supported the FSB necessary to runPC4400 DDR at 550MHz were the AsusP4C800 Deluxe and P4C800-E. Wechose the P4C800-E motherboard, whichhas generally received excellent reviewsfrom other overclockers.

Just as important as the motherboardwas the choice of processor. The 2.4GHzPentium 4 has been around long enoughto be fine-tuned and more stable thansome of the newer CPUs we could havechosen. In addition, we noted that manyothers in online forums and overclockingpublications have had excellent resultsoverclocking the 2.4GHz P4. (This wasnecessary because as we increased theFSB to bring the memory to the properfrequency, we would also increase theprocessor’s clock rate.)

At press time the fastest DDR SDRAM available was PC4400. We chosea selection of 512MB PC3500, PC3700,PC4000, PC4200, and PC4400 dual-chan-nel DDR kits from five manufactur-ers: Corsair (www.corsair.com), GeIL

(www.geilusa.com), Kingston (www.kingston.com), Mush-kin (www.mushkin.com), and OCZ (www.ocztechnology).We ordered our memory through retailoutlets. The manufacturers had no ideathese modules were for PC Modder maga-zine rather than for an average home user.

We did not include any DDR2 mod-ules in our tests because very few moduleswere available at press time. With therelease of DDR2-compatible chipsets,such as Intel’s 915 on the horizon, expectPC Modder to complete a thorough lineof DDR2 tests next time.

How We TestedWe adjusted a few sett ings in

SiSoftware’s Sandra 2004 to allow formore accurate benchmark scores. Bydefault Sandra allows special instruc-tions and buffering, two things whichwould have compromised the integrityof our results . We used Sandra’sBandwidth Benchmark Wizard to dis-able a l l MMX, SSE, SSE2, andBuffering/Block-Prefetch Benchmarks.As a result, our Sandra may seem low,but the results are a better reflection ofthe performance of the memory itselfrather than special CPU instructions.

We first benchmarked the memory atits listed frequency by entering theBIOS and adjusting the FSB. Becauseno processor or motherboard officiallysupports the FSB necessary to run thenon-JEDEC-approved PC3500 andfaster DDR, every test we ran involvedsome degree of overclocking to achievethe memory’s rated speed. Our goal wasnot to overclock as much as possible butto compare the memory’s performanceat its intended frequency (or as close to Corsair XMS3700 TWINX512-3700 PC3700

124 • PC Modder

three pairs of memory modules to see ifthese predictions would hold up.

Corsair XMS3700 TWINX512-3700PC3700. The first Corsair modules wetested were the pair in the XMS3700TWINX512-3700 PC3700 kit. Thedual-channel kit we tested came withblack heatspreaders. You can also orderthe XMS3700 TWINX512-3700PTdual-channel kit, which has platinumheatspreaders. This memory is meant tooperate at 466MHz and is rated with a3-4-4-8 latency.

To test the PC3700 modules, weentered the BIOS and set the FSB to233MHz (466MHz frequency dividedby 2 = 233MHz). Windows loaded andSandra 2004 ran its benchmarks with-out any difficulty. The Integer ALUscore was 2524, and the Float FPU scorewas 2571. The CAS timings were 3-4-4-8, as expected.

GeIL Golden Dragon PC3700466MHz Dual Channel DDR Kit.GeIL’s Golden Dragon PC3700466MHz Dual Channel DDR Kit wasthe only memory we tested that did nothave a heatspreader. GeIL still presentedthe memory very attractively, however.The modules themselves are a golden yel-low with shiny gold patterns and dragonillustrations on the circuit board. In addi-tion, a red LED is built into each modulein the pair. These LEDs light up when

the system is running. Even withoutheatspreaders, this memory attracts plen-ty of attention through a case window.GeIL also provided interesting retailpackaging for the Golden Dragon memo-ry. The DDR came in a small, folding,cloth-covered book.

Without the sturdy heatspreaders thatthe other DDR pairs had, it was notice-ably more difficult to insert the GoldenDragon PC3700 DDR into the DIMMslots. The real cause for concern, though,was whether the system would run stablewithout heatspreaders for the memory.

Although the system ran stableenough to run Sandra 2004, we didencounter problems with the GoldenDragon memory. Once again, we sawthe dreaded on-screen distortion that wewould normally associate with memorycorruption. After running Sandra 2004and receiving benchmark scores of 2496,2546, and 2.5-4-4-8 for Integer ALU,Float FPU, and CAS timings, respective-ly, we increased the voltage from 1.5V to1.525V and loaded Windows.

The increase in voltage corrected thememory-related problems that had pre-sented themselves in the on-screen displayerrors. This time, Sandra returnedimproved scores of 2592 and 2604 forInteger ALU and Float FPU.

Next, we restored the voltage to theAuto setting of 1.5V and instead low-ered the FSB. At 232MHz, the systemwas stable, and graphics displayed prop-erly on screen. We ran Sandra andrecorded scores of 2520 Integer ALUand 2575 Float FPU.

Our best result (2592:2604) camefrom increasing the voltage and leavingthe FSB set at 233MHz. The lack of aheatspreader could have contributed tothe stability issues, or the display prob-lems could have been due to the lowerCAS timing of 2.5tCL, which is moreaggressive and could have led to some sys-tem instability. The other PC3700 wetested had a CAS timing of 3 tCL.

Kingston HyperX KHX3700K2/512512MB Kit. Kingston’s HyperX memo-ry is designed for gamers and built formaximum compatibility with severalchipsets popular with gamers and over-clockers. We bought a HyperX KHX-3700K2/512 512MB Kit and ran itthrough Sandra’s tests to see how itcompared to similar PC3700 DDR byCorsair and GeIL.

Kingston’s PC3700 memory camewith blue heatspreaders and is rated at

2.6V with CAS timings of 3-4-4-8. Thememory carries a lifetime warranty. Weran Sandra 2004 and found the system tobe stable. The Integer ALU score was2510, and the Float FPU score was 2559.

PC3700 results. Despite some diffi-culty getting GeIL’s PC3700 DDR torun stable, it provided the highestSandra 2004 scores. Users should beaware, though, that the GeIL’s GoldenDragon memory lacks heatspreaders andmay take a bit more tweaking in order torun in a stable environment.

PC4000 DDR TestsWe had a streak of luck when we

shopped for PC4000 DDR. All fivemanufacturers had PC4000 memoryavailable at the time, so we could do areal comparison between them.Although the PC4000 forced us to pushthe FSB even further, we only had oneDDR pair give us any difficulty. For themost part, the Asus P4C800-E boardcontinued to convince us that it is theboard for overclocking.

Corsair XMS4000 TWINX512-4000.The first PC4000 DDR we tested wasthe Corsair XMS4000 TWINX512-4000, a member of Corsair’s TWINXfamily of DDR. The modules in this pairhad black heatspreaders and weredesigned to operate at 500MHz and alatency of 3-4-4-8.

After setting the FSB to 250MHz, thesystem ran stable enough to load Windows.We ran Sandra 2004 and recorded theInteger ALU (2724) and Float FPU (2762).The CAS timings were 3-4-4-8, as expected.

GeIL Ultra Platinum PC4000500MHz Dual Channel DDR Kit.

Kingston HyperX KHX3500AK2/512 512MBDDR Kit

GeIL Ultra Platinum PC3500 433MHz DualChannel DDR Kit

PC Modder • 125

Next, we moved on to the GeILPC4000 offering. This dual-channel kit,unlike the GeIL PC3700 kit, came withheatspreaders. The platinum copperheatspreaders attract fingerprints easily,so if you want to show off your systemand its shiny memory, you’ll want to becareful when handling the GeIL UltraPlatinum DDR modules. GeIL includesa lifetime warranty. Voltages of 2.6V to3.1V are supported, and the memory’slatency is rated at 2.5-4-4-7. A sturdyclear acrylic case with sliding cover pro-tects the memory in shipping and storage. As with the other GeIL Ultra Platinum modules, this memoryincludes temperature-reading stickers onthe heatspreader.

As with the Corsair PC4000 DDR,the GeIL PC4000 memory ran with theFSB set to 250MHz without any difficul-ty. Sandra returned scores of 2703Integer ALU and 2750 Float FPU, a littlebit slower than the Corsair memory,which was surprising because the GeILmemory actually had the more aggressiveof the two CAS timings.

Kingston HyperX KHX4000K2/512512MB Kit. Kingston’s PC4000 memorywas another member of the company’sHyperX line of DDR. It features thetrademark blue heatspreaders.

Just as we had problems with the dis-play when using the Kingston PC3500DDR, we once again ran into displaydifficulties with the Kingston PC4000DDR. We were able to run Sandradespite the video errors and recordedscores of 2692 Integer ALU, 2748 FloatFPU, and CAS timings of 3-4-4-8.

We began troubleshooting by leavingthe FSB untouched and increasing thevoltage from the default 1.5V to1.525V. With the increased power, thesystem ran stable, and Sandra bench-marked the memory at 2760 IntegerALU and 2802 Float FPU.

We wanted to compare these resultswith the scores we would get fromdecreasing the FSB until the system sta-bilized. At 248MHz and 1.5V, our sys-tem was stable. We ran Sandra andnoted the Integer ALU and Float FPUof 2702 and 2739, respectively. Clearly,

in this case, we achieved the best resultsby increasing the voltage.

Mushkin 512MB Dual Pack PC-4000 DDR. We also tested Mushkin’s512MB Dual Pack PC4000 DDR,which supports 2.5V to 2.75V andcomes with heatspreaders. The color of the heatspreaders varies, but ourmodule came with royal purple-colored

heatspreaders. This memory scored at2716 Integer ALU and 2757 Float FPU.Although we ran the memory at its rated 500MHz (250MHz FSB x 2 =500MHz), Sandra returned a CAS timing of 2.5-4-4-8. According toMushkin’s specs, at 500MHz this mem-ory should have had a tCL of 3 ratherthan 2.5. The 2.5 is actually a moreimpressive latency score, however, so wedid not object.

OCZ Enhanced Latency DDR PC-4000 Dual Channel Gold. Up untilthis point, we had not benchmarkedany of OCZ’s memory. We were

anxious to see how its DDR performedcompared to Corsair ’ s , GeIL’s ,Mushkin’s, and Kingston’s. In terms of

stability, we were not disappointed.OCZ’s PC4000 DDR ran perfectly at a500MHz frequency. The memory mod-ules in our kit featured gold-layeredcopper heatspreaders. Overclockersshould take note that OCZ offers EVP(Extended Voltage Protection), whichlets users take advantage of VDIMMs of3.0V +/-5% without violating the termsof the lifetime warranty.

After benchmarking the OCZ memo-ry, we could see that only the Corsair andKingston PC4000 DDR provided higherSandra scores. OCZ’s PC4000 weighedin with a 2723 Integer ALU, a 2744Float FPU, and CAS timings of 2.5-4-4-8. Although this memory may work withother motherboards, OCZ designed itespecially for boards based on Intel’s i865and i875 chipsets. You should get themost stability and best performance,then, with Intel i865/i875 boards.

PC4000 results. As with the PC3500tests, Kingston failed to run stable at itsintended frequency without sometweaking of the voltage settings in theBIOS. However, once again, aftertweaking the system settings with theKingston DDR, it took the crown forthe best Sandra scores in its class. TheCorsair and OCZ DDR modules, how-ever, would be serious contenders in abattle to woo our credit cards into mak-ing a few DDR purchases. After all,there is something to be said for out-of-the-box stability at the rated frequency.

PC4200 DDR TestsWhen we approached the PC4200

tests with our GeIL and OCZ modules,we knew that we would soon know if our2.4GHz P4 processor was as overclock-friendly as some of the 2.4GHz that oth-ers had used with the Asus P4C800-Eboard. We entered the BIOS, upped theFSB setting to 266MHz, and got ready totest our two PC4200 dual-channel kits.

GeIL Ultra Platinum PC4200533MHz Dual Channel DDR Kit. TheGeIL Ultra Plat inum PC4200 kitincluded GeIL’s Ultra Platinum stan-dard platinum copper heatspreaderswith temperature thermometers. Thememory was rated at CAS timings of

Mushkin 512MB PC3500 DDR Level 1Dual Pack

OCZ Enhanced Latency DDR PC-4000 DualChannel Gold

126 • PC Modder

3-4-4-8 and supports 2.6V to 3.1V. Alifetime warranty is included.

Running at the intended 533MHz, thePC4200 returned Sandra scores of 2985Integer ALU and 2994 Float FPU.

OCZ Enhanced Latency DDR PC-4200 Dual Channel. These memorymodules included copper heatspreadersand were rated with CAS timings of 2.5-4-4-7. OCZ once again offers its EVP forits lifetime warranty, so you have room toup the voltage (up to 2.9V) before void-ing your warranty. This memory is opti-mized for motherboards based on theIntel i865 and i875 chipsets.

Whereas the OCZ PC4000 DDR wasvery stable, we could not keep Sandrarunning with OCZ’s PC4200 DDRinstalled and the FSB set at 266MHz.We increased the voltage to 1.525V and1.5375V, but the system only becamemore unstable as we proceeded. In fact,with any voltage above 1.5V, we couldnot even load Windows. We entered theBIOS and set the voltage back to Auto(1.5V) and tried adjusting the FSBinstead. At 264MHz, the system wasstable. Sandra returned scores of 2915Integer ALU, 2979 Float FPU, and 2.5-4-4-8 CAS.

PC4200 results. GeIL was the clearwinner in the PC4200 competition. Itsmemory ran without making the systemunstable, and despite having a tCL of 3rather than 2.5 (as the OCZ memorydid), the GeIL DDR still outperformedthe OCZ DDR in the Sandra 2004 tests.

PC4400 DDR TestsAs of press time, PC4400 is still the

fastest memory available for retail sale.We tested two PC4400 dual-channelmodules, GeIL’s Ultra Platinum PC4400550MHz Dual Channel DDR Kit andOCZ’s Enhanced Latency DDR PC-4400 Dual Channel Gold.

GeIL Ultra Platinum PC4400550MHz Dual Channel DDR Kit.GeIL’s PC4400 DDR has platinum cop-per heatspreaders and comes with a life-time warranty. It is rated at 2.6V to 3.1Vand CAS timings of 3-4-4-8. OCZ’sTemperature Thermometers are built intothe heatspreaders.

Until we reached the PC4400 tests,only the PC3700 DDR had proven prob-lematic for GeIL. However, we had videoerrors with the GeIL PC4400 running at550MHz (with the FSB set at 275MHzin the BIOS). We tried to run Sandraanyway, but although the applicationloaded, it crashed each time we tried torun the benchmarks. We increased thevoltage, but the system became less stableand wouldn’t even load Sandra.

We restored the voltage setting toAuto (1.5V) and lowered the FSB. At274MHz, 273MHz, and 272MHzFSBs, Sandra once again loaded but stillcrashed when we tried to run the bench-marks. Finally, at 271MHz, the systemwas stable. We benchmarked the memo-ry at this point, although the memorywas actually running at 542MHz ratherthan its intended 550MHz. IntegerALU and Float FPU scores were 3089and 3060, respectively.

OCZ Enhanced Latency DDR PC-4400 Dual Channel Gold. After theuphill battle with GeIL’s PC4400 DDR,we were prepared to do plenty of tweak-ing in the BIOS to make OCZ’s PC4400memory work with our system. However,it was a pleasant and amazing surprisethat the OCZ PC4400 presented no sta-bility issues for our system at all.

After setting the FSB to 275MHz inthe BIOS, we ran Sandra and recordedlatency timings of 3-4-4-8 (as opposed tothe 2.5-4-4-8 that we expected). TheInteger ALU was 3053, and the FloatFPU was 3078, both scores that were verycomparable to the GeIL PC4400’s scores.

Our OCZ PC4400 modules had gold-layered copper heatspreaders and came

with EVP, providing more freedom with-in the terms of the lifetime warranty toincrease the voltage, if your system isn’tas stable at 550MHz as ours was.

PC4400 results. Both of these pairs ofmemory modules performed very well.The GeIL memory scored slightly higherin the Integer ALU mark and slightlylower in the Float FPU mark. Rememberthat the GeIL memory was actuallyunderclocked at 542MHz. If we couldhave run it 550MHz, it would have cer-tainly outperformed OCZ’s PC4400.However, the fact of the matter is thatthe GeIL system was only stable at542MHz, at which point both manufac-turers’ PC4400 DDR performed equallywell. We still preferred OCZ’s memorysimply because OCZ seemed to havedone more thorough stability testing andprovided the EVP coverage.

Memory On The MoveIn May, OCZ announced its En-

hanced Latency DDR PC-4800 DualChannel kit. We hoped it would beavailable in time for this issue, but ithasn’t hit any store shelves or onlineretailers as of press time. This 600MHzDDR will be fast. Currently, the AsusP4C800 Deluxe and P4C800-E Deluxe(with 300MHz FSB support) are theonly boards to support PC-4800.Although our OCZ PC4400 DDRworked fine without additional cooling,we would probably need more than thestock fan for PC4800.

After swapping and benchmarking allof the PC3500, PC3700, PC4000,PC4200, and PC4400 DDR we couldfind, one basic truth emerged: You canachieve impressive results with this mem-ory, provided that your motherboardsupports high FSB settings and that youhave an overclock-friendly CPU. Wewere impressed that two-thirds of thememory modules ran without any stabili-ty issues using only stock cooling. Thismemory is already fast, and some of themodules hold great promise for perform-ing at even greater frequencies.

by Kylee Dickey

GeIL Ultra Platinum PC4400 550MHz DualChannel DDR Kit

PC Modder • 127

Company & Testing Integer Float CAS FSB Voltage NotesMemory Procedure ALU FPU

PC3700 DDR

Corsair XMS3700 Set FSB to 233MHz 2524 2571 3-4-4-8 233MHz Auto (1.50V)TWINX512-3700PC3700

GeIL GoldenDragon PC3700 Set FSB to 233MHz 2496 2546 2.5-4-4-8 233MHz Auto (1.50V)466MHz Dual Increased voltage 2592 2604 2.5-4-4-8 233MHz 1.525VChannel DDR Kit Lowered FSB 2520 2575 2.5-4-4-8 232MHz Auto (1.50V)

Kingston HyperX Set FSB to 233MHz 2510 2559 3-4-4-8 233MHz Auto (1.50V)KHX3700K2/512512MB DDR Kit

PC4000 DDR

Corsair XMS4000 Set FSB to 250MHz 2724 2762 3-4-4-8 250MHz Auto (1.50V)TWINX512-4000PC4000GeIL Ultra Platinum Set FSB to 250MHz 2703 2750 2.5-4-4-8 250MHz Auto (1.50V)PC4000 500MHzDual ChannelDDR Kit

Kingston HyperX Set FSB to 250MHz 2692 2748 3-4-4-8 250MHz Auto (1.50V)KHX4000K2/512 Increased voltage 2760 2802 3-4-4-8 250MHz 1.525V512MB DDR Kit Lowered FSB 2702 2739 3-4-4-8 248MHz Auto (1.50V)

Mushkin 512MB Set FSB to 250MHz 2716 2757 2.5-4-4-8 250MHz Auto (1.50V)Dual Pack PC4000DDR

OCZ Enhanced Set FSB to 250MHz 2723 2744 2.5-4-4-8 250MHz Auto (1.50V)Latency DDRPC-4000 DualChannel Gold

PC4200 DDR

GeIL Ultra Platinum Set FSB to 266MHz 2985 2994 3-4-4-8 266MHz Auto (1.50V)PC4200 533MHzDual ChannelDDR Kit

OCZ Enhanced Set FSB to 266MHz N/A N/A N/A 266MHz Auto (1.50V)Latency DDR Increased voltage N/A N/A N/A 266MHz 1.525VPC-4200 Increased voltage again N/A N/A N/A 266MHz 1.5375V

Dual Channel Lowered FSB 2915 2979 2.5-4-4-8 264MHz Auto (1.50V)

PC4400 DDR

GeIL Ultra Platinum Set FSB to 275MHz N/A N/A N/A 275MHz Auto (1.50V)PC4400 550MHz Increased voltage N/A N/A N/A 275MHz 1.5375VDual Channel Lowered FSB N/A N/A N/A 273MHz Auto (1.50V)

DDR Kit Lowered FSB 3089 3060 3-4-4-8 271MHz Auto (1.50V)

OCZ Enhanced Set FSB to 275MHz 3053 3078 3-4-4-8 275MHz Auto (1.50V)Latency DDRPC-4400 DualChannel Gold

How The Manufacturers CompareW e benchmarked 15 memory modules that are not yet JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council)-approved, overclocking our system as

necessary to run the memory at the proper frequency (or as close as we could without encountering stability issues). The charts below com-pares the performance of Corsair, GeIL, Kingston, Mushkin, and OCZ memory of five types: PC3500, PC3700, PC4000, PC4200, and PC4400 DDR.

Not stable. Images on screen that are normally associatedwith memory corruption. Locking PCI bus did not help.StableStable

Not stable. Images on screen that are normally associatedwith memory corruption. Locking PCI bus did not help.StableStable

Not stable. Windows loaded but Sandra crashed.Not stable. Windows couldn't load.Not stable. Windows couldn't load. Didn't increase voltageany more because system seemed to get more unstablerather than less unstable. Would have needed moreaggressive cooling methods to continue with this approach.Stable

Not stable. Images on screen that are normally associatedwith memory corruption. Sandra wouldn’t runNot stable. Sandra wouldn't load. Not stable. Sandra loaded but crashed.

Stable

128 • PC Modder

Method With Best Result (Integer Manufacturer Additional NotesBest Result ALU : Float FPU) With Best Score About Results

N/A 2524:2571

233MHz FSB, 1.525V 2592:2604 GeIL, at 2592:2604

N/A 2510:2559

N/A 2724:2762

N/A 2703:2750

250MHz FSB, 1.525V 2760:2802 Kingston, at 2760:2802

N/A 2716:2757

N/A 2723:2744

N/A 2985:2994 GeIL, at 2985:2994

264MHz FSB, 1.5V 2915:2979(only settings at whichthe system was stable)

271MHz FSB, 1.5V 3089:3060 GeIL, at 3089:3060(only settings at whichthe system was stable

N/A 3053:3078

We had more difficulty main-taining a stable system with theGeIL memory; however, we alsoachieved the best results. Bothof these facts are likely due tothe GeIL DDR's more aggressive2.5 tCL timing, as opposed tothe Corsair and Kingston DDR'smore passive 3 tCL timing.

It is surprising that we neededto adjust the Kingston DDRbecause, unlike the Mushkinand OCZ PC4000 DDR, theKingston memory had a morerelaxed tCL timing.

GeIL had the more impressiveSandra scores, even though itused a more passive tCL timing.The OCZ PC4200 DDR was sim-ply too unstable in this system.

Although the GeIL PC4400 DDR had thebest benchmarks, our system did notrun at all stable with this memory. TheOCZ memory would probably be a saferdual-channel kit for long-term usage.However, it is impressive that evenwhen underclocked, the GeIL PC4400DDR still beat out the OCZ DDR that wasrunning at its intended frequency.

For our full testing results, including our PC3500 tests, check out www.cpumag.com/modder2/ramroundup.

PC Modder • 129

bus speed will be the same, and there isno way to change it. Some boards willallow a plus or minus 33MHz alter-ation, but you will have to check yourboard specs to determine if this is thecase for you. If your board will allowthis change and you are running a100MHz FSB, you can bump yourmemory to 133MHz without problems.You should get the highest quality mem-ory you can. For serious overclocking,you will want to get PC150 memory,which is memory that runs at 150MHz.Most memory can handle s l ightly higher speeds than what it is rated at. For example, PC100 memory canrun at 110MHz, PC133 can run at140MHz, etc. PC133 is the minimumyou should use.

Now, I’ll go into specifics on over-clocking a couple of processors you mightwant to try out: the AMD Athlon and theIntel Pentium 4.

Overclocking An AMD ProcessorThe Athlon is a great overclocker. It

is well-balanced, and its pipeline struc-ture is built for high clock speeds. Ifyou want to increase the FSB, you willneed a Slot A motherboard like theASUS K7M or the ASUS K7V that willallow you to adjust the FSB. Theseboards run at 100MHz, so, for exam-ple, a 7.5 multiplier will give you a

CLOCKING CORNERPush That New CPU To The Limit

Y ou’ve spent thousands of dol-lars on a brand-new Pentium 4system and can’t wait to watch

it tear through your data. Only problemis, it’s not living up to the hype. A pos-s ible solut ion that won’t cost youanother arm and leg is to overclockyour system.

Overclocking is a procedure thatinvolves changing the speed of your CPUby one of two methods. The FSB speedand the multiplier determine the clockspeed of your CPU. For instance, a600MHz CPU can have an FSB of66MHz and a multiplier of 9: 9 x 66MHz= 600MHz. To overclock your system, youwill have to change either the FSB speed orthe multiplier. You can change theseoptions by either modifying the BIOS ofyour computer or, if this is not an option,by moving bridges on your hardware to change the voltages supplied to your components.

WARNING: Overclocking is not aprocedure that you should undertakelightly. If you’re not sure you can handlethis, don’t try. Before you start, youshould back up all of your data and takecareful notes of default settings in casesomething goes wrong. Aside from that,best of luck and enjoy.

Overclocking BasicsChanging the multiplier is often diffi-

cult. For instance, on most Intel CPUs,the multipl ier cannot be changed.However, AMD does produce CPUsthat have a multiplier you can modify.You will have to check the specs on yourspecific motherboard on an AMD prod-uct sheet to see if your multiplier can bechanged. If you cannot change the mul-tiplier, you will have to change the FSBspeed. One trick I found to change theoverclockable Athlon CPU is called,simply, “The Pencil Trick.”

To change the bridges on your AMDmotherboard, get a 0.5mm mechanicalpencil with graphite lead and a businesscard. Remove the processor from your sys-tem and locate the L1 bridges on theCPU, which are those responsible forlocking out the multiplier. The bridges arethe same for both the Athlon and Duronprocessors. Separate the bridges using thebusiness card and, working from left toright, rub the pencil back and forth acrossthe bridges until the normal gold color isgone and the bridges are black. It soundsoutrageous, but the graphite in the pencilis ideal for reconnecting the leads to con-duct electricity across the bridge. Reinstallyour chipset, and your motherboard isready for overclocking.

If you’ve got a motherboard that willallow you to change the FSB speed, thereare steps of frequencies to allow you toincrease the speed of the CPU to its max-imum. Most boards will jump from75MHz to 83MHz and 90MHz or high-er. Because the PCI and AGP bus speedsare directly related to the FSB speed by adifferent multiplier, you will also need tokeep track of their speeds. Some moth-erboards will automatically set these to the closest avail-able speed to thenormal specs:33MHz PCI busand 66MHz AGPbus. Most of to-day’s CPUs can han-dle a 100MHz or133MHz FSB speed, sothat if you change themultiplier jumpers for theAGP and PCI, the busspeeds should be able toadjust accordingly.

Memory bus speeds are alsoclocked off of the FSB. Often,the FSB speed and the memory

The Athlon from AMD is generallymore overclock-friendly than itsIntel counterparts.

130 • PC Modder

750MHz CPU. Once you have theboard set up, al l you have to do ischange the FSB speed in the BIOS. If itdoesn’t work, the BIOS will reset todefault values after a reboot.

To change the FSB value in the BIOS,reboot your computer and press F2 orDELETE to enter Setup. Find theoption that lets you change your FSB,system bus, or clock speed.They should all bethe same: between66MHz and 133MHz.Increase your speed,keeping the capability ofyour RAM and mother-board in mind. Multiply thenew value for FSB speed byyour computer’s multiplier, andthis is your new CPU speed. Ifyou don’t know your multiplier,you should check the CPU manu-facturer’s Web site. If you don’t havethe option to change your FSB speedin the BIOS, you will need to changethe jumpers on the motherboard.Checking the manufacturer’s Web sitewill tell you which type of jumpers youwill need to change.

If you’re not going to change the FSB,you can change the multiplier. This ismore difficult, but it can be done ifyou’re feeling brave and know your wayaround a PCB and electronics compo-nents. In order to change the multiplier,you need to remove the plastic housing

of the Athlon module and attach anoverclocking device to the Athlon PCB.After you’ve got the box open and thedevice attached, you can change the mul-tiplier from 5.0X to 10.5X by flipping afew switches. You can purchase an over-clocking device from a local supply storeor an online shop, or you can make oneyourself using instructions available overthe Internet.

Overclocking An Intel ProcessorIf you want to overclock your Intel

CPU, you will have to choose yourmotherboard carefully, as there are onlya few boards that will support over-clocking. If you are overclocking aPentium 4, you will also need a mother-board that will allow you to lock thebus speeds of the AGP and PCI busesbecause Pentium 4 processors are multi-plier-locked. This means that the onlyway you can overclock a Pentium 4 is tomodify the bus speed. Withthe AGP and PCIbusses

locked, the only thing you are over-clocking is the CPU and memory, butyou can even modify or slow down thebus speed of the memory on some

boards, so you should only overclockthe CPU. Use the method discussedabove for AMD overclocking using theBIOS or the jumpers.

After Your ProcedureOnce you’ve made your modifica-

tions, you will need to determine sys-tem stability. Normally, if you rebootyour system after your mods withoutproblems l ike fai lure to start, bluescreens, or unexplained restarts, youhave done it right. Another way to tellwould be to run a high-impact softwarepackage or 3D video game. If it per-forms as it should, you’re probably OK.If you’re paranoid like me, you mightwant to get a benchmark software pack-age available over the Internet or atyour local software supplier (also, checkout “Essential Overclocking Utilities”on page 25).

Final NotesIf things don’t work out right once

you’ve finished, your system shouldrevert back to the default settings ifyou’ve modified your BIOS as I men-

tioned earlier. If you’re brave (or stub-born), you can try it again. If you’ve

modified your motherboard bymoving jumpers, you’ll have to

reset all of the jumpers to theiroriginal positions; hopefully

you took notes. Finally, once you’ve

got a l l of that extrapower, you’re going

to have anotherproblem: heat .

All that extra pro-cessing power is going to

fry your system if you’re not care-ful. For tips on heat removal, check outthe “Chill Chat” column on page 158in this issue for help.

Hopefully this has, at the very least,given you a peek into the world of over-clocking your system. It’s by no meansan end-all of what’s possible, but I hopeit’s helped.

by David Miller

Overclocking an Intel CPU isn’t easy, but it canbe done.

If you're into risk, you can buy or build an over-clocking device to attach to the Athlon PCB.

PC Modder • 131

How We TestedOf the nearly 20 heatsinks we tested,

many were designed for only Intel socket478 CPUs, and others were made specifi-cally for AMD socket A CPUs. A fewheatsinks included brackets that helped usswitch them back and forth between AMDand Intel CPUs.

After we applied a fresh coat of thermalgrease to each heatsink, we started up thePC, let it run for 10 minutes, and thenrecorded five temperatures. We took fourof the readings from the temperatureprobes connected to a MacPower DigitalDoc. We placed three of the probesbetween the fins of the heatsink, and wetaped the fourth sensor so that it hoveredabove the heatsink fan. We also recordedtemperatures using Motherboard Monitor,a program that uses your mobo’s onboardsensors to track heat levels.

Once we recorded these initial tempera-tures, we made the situation more difficultfor our test products. We ran PCMark04on each CPU to see how each heatsinkwould respond to the added heat stress and then took notes on the higher temps we encountered.

Test disclaimers. We’ll offer a few dis-claimers before we reel off our heatsink testresults. Heatsink effectiveness is fairly diffi-cult to gauge for a couple of reasons. One,every heatsink, even those that are the samemake and model, are different, thanks tomanufacturing processes that leave micro-scopic ridges on the bottom surface of everyheatsink and minor performance variations,as you read in “A Fine Grind,” on page 140.Second, positioning the temperature gaugesused to track heat levels is an importantvariable, but one that’s also difficult to mas-ter because CPU makers acknowledge thattheir chips don’t distribute heat evenly;meaning, of course, that the left side of aheatsink may end up a little hotter than theright. Finally, although MotherboardMonitor is a very handy utility, it’s also

Complex watercooling, peltier, andphase-change systems are all therage, but heatsinks are still at the

heart of most CPU cooling systems. Thatexplains why computer component compa-nies continue to pour money into heatsinkresearch and development and why thereare so many users willing to invest their lim-ited computing budgets into a newheatsink—they know there might always bea heatsink that’s just a little better than theircurrent model, and not every user wants toexpend the time or money to install a morecomplicated form of chip cooling.

But before you buy a new heatsink, ithelps to have an idea of how well it willwork. That’s where we can help. We knowyou don’t have budget to test and dismiss adozen heatsinks before you find the onethat’s best for your CPU, but we do, so weordered a pile of these products, everythingfrom inexpensive aluminum extrusions tocoppery monstrosities that barely fit insideour PC case.

Heatsink HopesManufacturers design heatsinks to

accommodate varying purposes, from keep-ing the heat off of a relatively cool PentiumIII to dissipating the boiling temperatures ofan overclocked Athlon 64. To find theappropriate heatsink to suit your purposes,you need to start with a basic understandingof heatsink construction.

CPU heatsinks fall into two broad cate-gories: active and passive. Passive heatsinksare pretty rare even in heavily moddedhome PCs because they use a heatsink andnothing else for cooling.

Active heatsinks integrate the use of afan, which cools the heatsink and allows themetal to absorb more heat from the CPU.This concept helps the heatsink transferheat at a fast rate, preventing the CPU fromexceeding optimal operating temperatures.

Both heatsink types are usually madefrom either copper or aluminum. Copper isheavier and more expensive but transfersheat more efficiently than aluminum. Manyheatsinks combine both aluminum andcopper, resulting in a product that worksbetter than an aluminum heatsink but withsignificant cost savings.

Heatsink designs. Manufacturers pro-duce folded-fin, bonded-fin, and cold-forged heatsinks and even heatsinks that useheatpipes, which are liquid-filled pipes thatcan help speed up heat transfer. All of theseheatsink designs require special manufactur-ing techniques, but the most commonheatsink creation methods involve extrudedaluminum or machined copper.

Traditional aluminum heatsinks arealmost always extruded, which means thatthe manufacturer forces a hunk of metalthrough a die to create fins. Those fins areusually rectangular, long, and skinny, allgood traits for conducting heat to the sur-rounding air. The manufacturing processitself is automated and produces manyheatsinks quickly, but these heatsinks havelimited fin densities and heights.

Copper is denser and more difficult towork with, so heatsink makers use amachining technique to create fins. Thisprocess is more expensive than the extrusiontechnique, another reason copper heatsinkscost more than their aluminum brethren.To help you get an idea of performance dif-ferences, we tested numerous models ofboth heatsink types.

HEATSINK HEAVENThe Right Product Will Save Your CPU From A Fiery Hell

132 • PC Modder

In spite of this heatsink’s heft, you don’tneed to remove the motherboard for alengthy installation procedure. You centerthe heatsink over the stock clips on themotherboard and press down, and the plas-tic clips snap solidly into place. Then youcan connect the fan directly to your mother-board or use the pass-through fan controllerconnector if you want to use the tempera-ture monitoring system.

Removing this heatsink is a chore. Youhave to press down on the fan and thenforce the retention clips inward, and doingso takes significant strength. In the end, wehad to remove our graphics card and enlisttwo people to pry this sucker loose. As faras looks go, as they say in “South Park,”“There’s nothing to see here.” And theunit’s large dimensions (it’s 73mm tall)mean less room for other in-case compo-nents. Plus, as you’ll see in our chart, theZalman’s average performance didn’t seemto justify its higher than average price.Copper gets better than this Zalman.

Speeze 9T370B1M3

We paid: $25Available at:www.tigerdirect.comwww.newegg.com

For budget-conscious copper cooling, wechecked out the Speeze 9T370B1M3, ahigh-quality, copper-based heatsink with alow price. Right out of the box, it’s easy tosee that Speeze prides itself on offering high-quality products, as the fan wires are shield-ed and the bottom of the heatsink has apreapplied layer of thermal grease.

The 3-watt heatsink measures 37mmhigh x 69.9mm wide x 83mm deep andcomes with a 70mm 3,700rpm fan with a28CFM rating. Speeze recommends thismodel for P4 and Celeron chips running at3.2GHz or slower.

notorious for reporting varying tempera-tures. However, we felt that this programdid offer a general idea of how hot or coolour CPU ran from one heatsink to the nextbecause switching heatsinks really changedtemperature levels.

“Testing of heatsink effectiveness is a bigtopic and as varied as the number of peopleoperating test labs,” says Chris Soule, director of engineering at Thermshield(www.thermshield.com), a company thatmakes heatsinks for servers, workstations,and PCs. Soule, who has 15 years testingexperience, says that he places a thermocou-ple near the heat input area (by the CPU)and another in the air nearby, which givesthe tester a reference point. Soule says thatfor very accurate testing, you should use ananemometer to measure air velocity, apower meter to measure volts and amps,“and depending on power levels, there mayalso be a need to measure the power factorand correct for that.” Sound extreme? It is,and Soule stresses that heatsink testing reallyis a science in and of itself.

The ReviewsUndeterred, we continued our testing to

see what sort of numbers our homebrewedexperiment would yield. Our rough read-ings should give you an idea of the perfor-mance you can expect from these products.

We reserved compliments for heatsinkswith the most desirable traits. Ideally,heatsinks would become warmer becausethey were absorbing and dispersing moreheat, but the CPU’s Motherboard Monitortemperature would rise very little.

We also considered each heatsink’s over-all ease of use, aesthetic appeal and visual“wow” factor, and, in the case of someproducts, the quality of printed instructions.Heatsinks that looked like John Deere trac-tor engine parts and needed finger-fumblingmounting brackets got a less than enthusias-tic response from us, while easy-to-use prod-ucts that combine good looks and excellentcooling received two thumbs up.

Dr. Thermal TI-8639L

We paid: $23Available at:www.xpcgear.comwww.azzo.com

The Dr. Thermal TI-8639L has anultra-simple but effective design, incor-porating spiral-shaped aluminum finsmelded to a copper core. This helps cutdown on weight—the whole unit weighsonly 364 grams—and, paired with theincluded 3,800rpm fan, provides goodcooling capability.

It will only take you a minute to attachthis Dr. Thermal product to your socket478 motherboard, as it uses the same four-pronged clip that fits over your stock Intelheatsink. The fit is tight and very solid,and with a good coating of the includedthermal grease, you won’t have to worryabout making consistent contact with theCPU’s surface.

The TI-8639L’s easy mounting systemscored points with us, and the spiral fin pat-tern is mesmerizing, even after you attachthe fan. The fan itself is nothing fancy, andwe didn’t like the fact that there was no grillto protect against in-case snags, but it’s nicethat you can replace the fan with a differentmodel if you prefer.

Our impression of this product was thatit’s a slightly larger and nicer-looking ver-sion of Intel’s stock heatsink. When youcheck out our “The Hot Get Cooler” chartof temperature readings, you’ll see that thisheatsink isn’t all that effective, and becauseof this, we didn’t think the TI-8639L was avery exciting product.

Zalman CNPS5500-Cu

We paid: $39Available at: www.computerhq.comwww.sharkacomputers.com

Zalman’s CNPS5500-Cu isn’t fancy; it’sjust one big hunk of copper that easily han-dles the heat-dissipating needs of a P4 run-ning up to 2.5GHz, though we’re sure this540-gram monster could probably handlehotter chips. If you’re using a slightly slowerCPU, you’ll have no cooling problems at alland will probably cut down on PC noise.

That’s because the heatsink comes with atemperature-detection system that increasesor decreases fan speed according to the heatlevels of your CPU. At lower heat levels, theCNPS5500-Cu goes into Silent mode, andfan noise is inaudible.

PC Modder • 133

Installing the heatsink was quick andpainless. Speeze includes two metal reten-tion clips that snap directly into your moth-erboard’s stock bracket, so you’ll finish thisjob in about a minute. Unlike some otherclips in this roundup, Speeze’s clips make iteasy to remove the heatsink, too.

With its relatively low profile and reason-able weight, this heatsink would be a goodchoice for users who have crowded caseinteriors, but only if there’s no intense over-clocking involved. Our Speeze model con-sistently ran hot and also let the CPU getwarmer than most other heatsinks in ourtests, topping out at 45 degrees Celsiuswhen we started benchmarking. This one isbest reserved for users who simply wantsomething jazzier than their stock heatsinkand don’t want to spend a lot of money toget there.

Vantec CopperX

We paid: $30Available at:www.svc.comwww.xpcgear.com

The CopperX from Vantec has high-density, solid copper fins bonded to a heftycopper base. Though it tips the scales atnearly 540 grams, the CopperX’s measuresonly about 60mm high. The 4,000rpm70mm fan is 15mm tall, comes completewith a metal grill, and pushes air at 33CFM.

From the top and sides, this Vantecproduct looks like an average heatsink.When you get a glimpse of the bottom,though, prepare to be blown away.Though it’s not quite slick to the touch,the near mirror-like finish will make youthink twice before you attempt any sort of

lapping procedure. We were almost sad tosubject this beautiful finish to the layer ofthermal grease on our CPU. As it turns out,we were comforted by Vantec’s retentionclips, which are things of beauty, too. Thesespringy metal clips fasten directly to a stock478 bracket for a three-second installation.

Performance wasn’t as nice as the breath-taking design. We logged a MotherboardMonitor temperature of 45 C, one of thehigher numbers in our test. Still, the knock-out looks and relatively small size of thisheatsink convinced us it’s fine for crampedquarters and minimal overclocking.

Cooler Master Jet 4

We paid: $34Available at:www.zipzoomfly.comwww.frozencpu.com

For sheer visual impact, few heatsinkscan beat the Jet 4, a copper heatsinkmatched to a blower fan that looks like a jetengine. It’s not as cheesy as it first sounds,but only because Cooler Master went all outwith the special effects, including a chrome-like finish, black blower interior, and redand white LEDs to simulate the look of areal aircraft.

The blower fan is louder than the tradi-tional fans on our other heatsinks, butCooler Master says the blower is superiorbecause it funnels air straight down into theheatsink’s center, supposedly preventing adead spot you’d get with regular fans. Youhave a lot of control over fan functionality,as you can place the fan speed knob in

either an expansion slot or in a 3.5-inchdrive bay and, with a twirl, change speedsfrom 1,900rpms to 3,500rpms. That funfan adds to the Jet 4’s overall weight, whichis a motherboard-mashing 700 grams, andthe height is an incredible 140mm, mean-ing you definitely won’t be using this partic-ular model in a small-form-factor case.

In a regular case, though, the Jet 4 pro-vides substantial cooling, as MotherboardMonitor reported an average at-work tem-perature of 40 C. That’s plenty cool for air-port-obsessed modders who don’t care howmuch space their heatsink consumes.

AeroCool Deep Impact DP-102

We paid: $55Available at:www.xoxide.comwww.frozencpu.com

When we shelled out nearly 60 bucks forthe Deep Impact heatsink, we expectedawesome cooling, but we certainly didn’texpect the magic tricks we encountered.Yup, that’s right, attach this heatsink toyour CPU socket and POOF, your comput-er will magically stop working.

We don’t know whether it was thisheatsink’s 580-gram heft or not-quite-big-enough circular copper CPU plate, butDeep Impact gave us fits. By the time wegot it working (two hours after beginningthe installation), we had encountered moreweird boot-up problems and nervous PCtics than we could’ve ever imagined, and inthe case of our Intel CPU, the only way to

134 • PC Modder

Like its Deep Impact CPU cooler,AeroCool’s High Tower HT-101 is anoversized heatsink with exciting technolo-gies inside. Fortunately, we had much bettersuccess with the High Tower than with theexasperating Deep Impact.

This is another all-copper heatsink, but ituses three 6mm heatpipes to transfer heat to31 vertically stacked copper fins. Designedfor AMD XP 3600+ and P4 3.6GHz (andfaster) CPUs, the HT-101 comes with one80mm fan but can accommodate two70mm or 80mm fans for added airflow.Adding a fan might not be a bad idea, as theincluded fan is a 2,500rpm model, butbeware of space constraints. This monster isnearly 110mm tall and really doesn’t needto be any bigger than it already is.

If you’re into decorating your PC withlights, you will like this heatsink’s plasticframe, which glows blue under a blacklight.Its massive amounts of copper are alsoplainly evident when you use only one fan,and all that penny-colored metal is sure toimpress your aluminum-fixated friends, and

they’ll be even more jealous when they seethe full-color instructions that help makeinstallation simple.

The heatsink’s cooling power, however,is less impressive. This heatsink’s resultsincluded temperature spikes as high as 69C, and Motherboard Monitor consistentlytracked temperatures in the 50s, higher thanthe passively cooled Zen. If we really wanteda sky-high AeroCool product, we’d stickwith the Deep Impact.

Scythe Kamakaze

We paid: $34Available at:www.directron.comwww.performance-pcs.com

successfully boot was to leave the mother-board flat on a table with only two screwssecuring the heatsink.

In spite of those problems, there’s nodenying the appeal of this heatsink’s outra-geous design, which includes a cylindricalheatpipe encircled by 36 copper fins, andnot one, but two 80mm fans. The wholecontraption swallows a ton of case space,thanks in part to its 100mm height, andwith many motherboards, you might not beable to attach more than one fan.

The setup is visually striking, and ourresults showed that this AeroCool worksbetter than stock heatsinks. Our DeepImpact kept both the Intel and AMDCPUs at stable temperatures, and it per-formed marginally better when we paired itwith our Pentium 4, possibly because themobo was resting outside the case. Idlingtemperatures were very cool—approximate-ly room temperature—and work tempera-tures maxed out at 40 C. For modders whowant to impress with size and have space tospare, the Deep Impact is about as high(and cool-looking) as heatsinks get, but beprepared for installation frustrations.

Scythe NCU-1000 Heatlane Zen

We paid: $59Available at:www.frozencpu.comwww.3dcool.com

Today’s hot-running Pentium 4 CPUsattempt seppuku when users try to operatethem without a heatsink fan, unless you canfind a feasible passive heatsink such as theScythe NCU-1000 Heatlane Zen. This verytall (143mm) and very wide (108mm)heatsink uses a system of fluid-filled fins todissipate heat in a hurry, and from what wesaw, this concept seems to work.

The Zen’s total weight is a significant615 grams. However, most of that heft isdue to the heavy copper plate that coversthe CPU, while the towering arrangementof fins is lightweight and won’t cause anyfunny motherboard-flexing problems.That’s not to say you won’t run into prob-lems with interior space logistics. The Zen’shuge body didn’t interfere at all with moth-erboard components, but it’s easy to see that

in a component-stuffed case, this productwill only add to overcrowding.

To install this heatsink, we uninstalledour motherboard, slapped the Zen’s rubberinsulation pad and bracket to the mobo’sbackside, and screwed the heatsink snugagainst the CPU. There is one installationcatch—you have to make sure the heatsink’sfins run perpendicular to the floor so thatthe hot air in the fins can naturally rise upand away.

Our tests demonstrated that this works,but not as well as a heatsink that incorpo-rates a zippy fan. The Zen had the highesttemperatures at idle (42 C) and the secondhighest at work (49 C). Our results lead usto believe that this heatsink is probablyinappropriate for serious overclockers, butfor average users who will do anything tomake their systems quieter, there are fewalternatives to this Scythe.

AeroCool High Tower HT-101

We paid: $59Available at:www.zipzoomfly.comwww.frozencpu.com

PC Modder • 135

The product name is misspelled on everyretail Web site, and even on the productbox itself, which is adorned with moreTaiwanese than English, yet that’s no reasonto dismiss the Scythe Kamakaze outright.Or is it?

Poor translations hindered this product’sease of use. Installation instructions weredifficult to read, and the diagrams (oneeach for Intel and AMD sockets) were lessthan fully explanatory, but muddle yourway through, and you’ll see that this Scytheproduct comes preconfigured for an AMDsocket A, so for a socket 478, you have toplay with tiny screws and an unwieldybracket before you can begin installation inearnest. Once you click a new bracket into

place on the motherboard, it’s easy to snapthe Kamakaze into place, and the fit is secure.

The Kamakaze weighs nearly 700 gramsand stands 90mm tall. It comes with a grill-less 80mm fan that will beckon to everycable in your box, but the fan does haveredeeming traits, most notably an expan-sion-slot-mounted speed knob that lets youadjust rpms from 1,300 to 3,400.

This heatsink is made of aluminum, butinstead of fins, Scythe incorporated long,jagged pins (about 500 of them) that makefor a turbulent airflow and thus maximizecooling. The overall look is a little awk-ward, and due to the messy weld points onthe edges of the metal jacket, this poten-tially very cool heatsink loses big points on aesthetics.

After we finished testing, we decided wewouldn’t buy this heatsink for either anIntel or AMD CPU. The idling tempera-tures were higher than average on bothchips, in some cases approaching the work-ing temperatures of other heatsinks we tried.When we turned the heat up a little, ourCPU temps rose to 46 C, which is fine forgeneral purposes but not enough to swaythe jury in the Kamakaze’s favor.

Gigabyte Cooler Pro GH-PCU21-VG

We paid: $45Available at:www.newegg.comwww.pcdirectsource.com

The Gigabyte Cooler Pro is one of thefreakiest and most effective heatsinks wetested. You probably won’t find anything

more eye-catching that this blue-tingedalien; nothing else in our roundup cameclose to grabbing our attention like theGigabyte’s glowing blue top and copperfins, which stand on the four “legs” andCPU block that actually make up a heatpipecooling system.

There’s precious little making up thecopper block that makes contact with yourCPU. Apparently, that thin layer is enoughto whisk heat away via the heatpipes andinto the circular fin pattern, which—likethe Cooler Master Jet 4—contains a blow-er fan instead of a traditional finned fan. This blower works at speeds from2,000rpms to 4,000rpms, and you caninstall a fan speed control knob, whichslips into either a floppy diskette drive bayor an expansion card slot.

The heatsink and fan weigh only about460 grams, which is very light consideringthe product’s 93mm height. This heatsink’swacky design shouldn’t cause too many dif-ficulties with space, but there are a couple offlanges at the base that may interfere withmotherboard components.

This is an adaptable heatsink with a user-friendly clip system. It not only works withPentium 4 3.2GHz and faster CPUs, butalso with AMD’s super-fast processors,including the Athlon 64, and for each sock-et type, Gigabyte helpfully included easy-to-use fasteners that make installation a pleasure.

Most of our cool-looking heatsinksweren’t top performers, but the Copper Proproved its worth on our hot Pentium 4, log-ging very low at-work temps of 33 C and 37C from our Digital Doc and MotherboardMonitor, respectively. The heatsink re-turned higher numbers when we used itwith our Athlon, but the maximum record-ed temperature was only 43 C. For moddersand overclockers who like flashiness, theCooler Pro is worth the dough.

Alpha PAL8942

We paid: $39Available at:www.frozencpu.comwww.performance-pcs.com

Alpha’s PAL8942 is a forged heatsinkwith a copper plate that sprouts hexagonalaluminum pins. These pins are anodizedblack, which offers the Dark Side aesthet-ic appeal but has no effect on perfor-mance. The copper base is a thing ofbeauty, with a glossy, brushed finish thatwon’t require lapping unless you’re obses-sive about smoothness.

Alpha did not include a fan with thisheatsink, as the company prefers to leavethis option to the reseller. Our vendordidn’t include a fan, so we opted for astandard 80mm 4,800rpm fan, and what-ever fan you choose will add to this mod-el’s 44mm height.

When you see the baggies of screws, nuts,and other hardware, you intuitively knowinstallation is going to require some work,and because the PAL8942 makes no use ofstock heatsink brackets, you end up using

136 • PC Modder

of room for your other components andcables. It comes with a translucent blue fanthat spins at 3,600rpms and moves air at32.25CFM.

In a nice touch, Spire added a fancychrome-like fan grill that spices up the pro-duct’s look and prevents wiring and fingerdamage. If you like classy-looking compo-nents without overblown glowing andblinking effects, this is a good option, andthe fan wiring has a whitish shielding thatwill match up with most color schemes.

The Spire’s performance was very good,especially when you consider how much wespent on it. Our CPU did get as warm as 47C, but this is still an excellent budget-pricedmodding buy.

Vantec AeroFlow VA4-C7040

We paid: $24Available at:www.mycableshop.comwww.xoxide.com

You don’t necessarily have to spend a lotof money to invest in interesting heatingtechnology. For less than $25, you can nabthis Vantec AeroFlow heatsink that has around, copper CPU core and four-sidedaluminum fins that slope from the top andcenter of the heatsink toward the bottomedges. This design supposedly results insmoother and more consistent heat dissipa-tion, especially at the heatsink’s corners,thus, the AeroFlow moniker.

screws and springs to mount the devicedirectly to the motherboard. You do have toremove the mobo for this project, butthanks to the clear instructions, this jobshouldn’t take you more than a few min-utes. Unlike a few other heatsinks we’veseen that screw into the motherboard, thisone uses compression screws so you knowexactly how much pressure you can applywithout causing damage.

This Alpha’s understated looks belied itssuperb performance. At work, our IntelCPU edged upwards to only 36 C, coolerthan with any other heatsink we tested. Itsrelatively small size and effectiveness provedto us that this heatsink is perfect for serioususers who like good looks in a smallheatsink, yet still need better-than-averagecooling power.

Swiftech MCX462-V

We paid: $52Available at:www.sidewindercomputers.comwww.coolerguys.com

Swiftech’s heatsinks are renowned fortheir off-the-wall designs and top-notch per-formance, and one of the company’s mosthighly touted models is the MCX462-V,which uses a half-inch thick copper base-plate matched to 390 patented Helicoidaluminum pins. These pins are arranged ina circular pattern and have rough edges toincrease turbulence at low fan speeds, whichoptimize cooling while helping your systemstay quiet.

Speaking of fans, you don’t get one withthis heatsink, but you do receive hardwarethat lets you attach the 80mm or 92mm fanof your choice. We opted for a VantecTornado, a gutsy fan that spins at 4,800rpmand moves air at 119CFM. That consumeda lot of space, but the heatsink alone is actu-ally less than 40mm tall.

The baseplate is smooth and has a pol-ished look to it, and it’s the reason thisheatsink is fairly heavy at 650 grams.Considering the retention mechanism, thatweight might be a concern for a few users.That’s because this heatsink doesn’t useyour motherboard for support. Instead, itrelies on the socket for support like manyother (much lighter) AMD heatsinks. Whilethis simplifies installation, it also means thatthere’s an awful lot of weight pulling on thesides of the socket when your case is vertical.Because of this, you should definitely avoidmoving or jarring the case while thisheatsink is in place.

With the hurricane force of the Tornadoon top, this heatsink performed very well.Motherboard Monitor reported an idletemperature of 40 C and a working tem-perature of 43 C, while our Digital Docsensors recorded a rise of one degree whenwe began benchmarking.

Spire SkiveStream III

We paid: $19Available at:www.3dcool.comwww.frozencpu.com

At less than $20, the Spire SkiveStreamIII was one of the least expensive heatsinkswe tested, so you might be surprised to hearthat this product does include copper. Italso has a nickel coating that adds a chrome-like shine and also comes with a preappliedlayer of thermal grease for those of you tiredof playing with the messy stuff, andalthough this layer was too wide for the topof our CPU’s die, it’s easy enough to wipethe excess off of the shiny finish.

Compared to the 600-gram monstersthat we tested elsewhere in this story, theSkiveStream III is quite small, so at only65mm tall (with a fan), you will have plenty

PC Modder • 137

Vantec didn’t forget about the fan dur-ing the research and development process.This unit includes a TMD (Tip-MagneticDriving) fan, which, unlike most fans,doesn’t have a center-mounted motor.Instead, the motor is displaced to the fan’sfour corners, which reduces the fan’s hubsize and, as a result, shrinks the dead spotthat’s associated with regular fans.

Installing the heatsink is easy, as you justclip it onto the CPU socket and connect thefan. Its diminutive size and plain-Jane metaltop, along with the black fan blades, look alittle drab at first, but turn on this Vantec,and its artistry comes to life. From a vantagepoint above the spinning fan, you can seethe copper core and unique fin arrange-ment, an x-ray type view that blows awaycheap-looking LED effects.

At about 65mm tall, this heatsink willfit in most cases with no problems whatso-ever. It will also cool your AMD chipswithout difficulty. Even with a heavyworkload, our CPU maxed out at 42 C,making the heatsink cool enough and cool-looking enough for the most discriminat-ing modders.

Aerocool Phantom

We paid: $30Available at:www.tigerdirect.comwww.newegg.com

Aerocool’s Phantom is actually designedfor XP 2600+ and faster CPUs, but wedecided to see how it would work with ourslightly slower AMD chip. Aerocool’s specs

indicate that this product will also help coolIntel Celeron and Duron processors.

The Phantom is immediately notablebecause it’s made from copper and costsless than $30. It weighs a reasonable 300grams and comes with an 80mm fan thatspins at 2,600rpms. It’s also topped with ablue metal enclosure that makes for asharp-looking heatsink, indeed, but youwon’t get the full eye candy effect until youpower on your PC. When you do, you’llsee the blue LEDs in the fan come to life.These LEDs help the Phantom offer someof the same attention-getting effects as theGigabyte cooler.

With our 2500+ CPU, idling tempera-tures were acceptable and went as high as42 C. At-work heat levels were higher, at49 C, but that’s still plenty cool for thisCPU. Because we tested this heatsink on aCPU just outside its spec range, we won’trush to judgment on performance, butthere’s little doubt that the Phantom is agood choice for modders who need asmaller heatsink but want a product thatwill blow bystanders away.

Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2M

We paid: $22Available at:www.frozencpu.comwww.newegg.com

At first, we thought the Arctic CoolingCopper Silent 2M was incorrectly labeled—an annoying whine nearly drowned out ourthoughts as we started up this heatsink/fancombo. Then we realized a nearby over-clocked machine was the problem. Once werelocated our test machine to a new area, wewere surprised by what we didn’t hear, agood indication of just how quiet this80mm really is.

The fan sits atop an aluminum heatsinkthat contains a 44mm copper plate designed

to cover an AMD CPU’s high-temperaturedie. Instead of using a thermal compoundbetween the aluminum and copper ele-ments, the company integrated a very thinlayer of tin between these two metals, whichsupposedly improves heat conductivity by afactor of 25.

We experienced no problems with thisheatsink’s installation, as it quickly clippedonto the standard AMD socket. In additionto securing the heatsink, we had to installthe fan control switch, which is just a basic,black, three-way switch, into an emptyexpansion card slot.

You won’t have to worry about the 2Mdevouring much case space. It measures lessthan 80mm high and weighs only about400 grams, much smaller than the 700-gram heatsinks we tested elsewhere in thisstory, yet it’s still rated to handle up to anAthlon XP 3400+ CPU when you set thefan to its maximum speed of 2,800rpm.Unfortunately, it didn’t keep our CPU ascool as we would’ve liked. Both idle andwork temps reached mid to high 40s, whichour other test products bettered.

The Cool DownNew heatsinks pop up on retail sites

every day, and each new product promisesbetter cooling potential, but almost alwaysat a higher price. As you reread our results,keep in mind that forced-air heatsinks canaccomplish only so much, especially duringoverclocking sessions.

Don’t spend $60 on a heatsink untilyou’re sure it can do the job right, keep theproduct’s weight and dimensions in mind,and consider ahead of time whether youwant the heatsink to work with both Inteland AMD processors. A little foresight willprevent wasted cash and help your CPU getthe cooling effects it needs.

by Nathan Chandler

138 • PC Modder

with ease. Many people use a sheet of aglass as their sanding surface, and our kitactually included a 6- x 6-inch glass squarefor our convenience.

Before starting, it’s best to determineexactly how much lapping is necessary foryour particular heatsink. You can do thisby pressing the flat blade of a butter knifeagainst the heatsink surface. This helpsreveal any massive irregularities that youcan attack with your sandpaper and givesyou an idea of just how much work youhave ahead of you. No matter how flat orrough your heatsink is, be sure to set asideenough time to do a good job. We spentabout an hour and a half grinding downthe surface of our heatsinks.

Lap AwayIf you don’t have a garage or a work-

space where you can get as messy as youwant, old newspaper is your new bestfriend. Spread multiple sheets on andaround your work area to collect alu-minum dust particles and prevent splat-ters. Be sure to wear your dust mask toreduce the amount of metal dust youinhale—once you begin grinding yourheatsink, much of this dust will go air-borne, and believe us, you don’t want thisgritty stuff in your lungs. Wear oldclothes for this procedure. Lapping willspray droplets of water throughout yourwork area, and it’s not easy to removeground metal from that new Leftover

A FINE GRINDLap Your Heatsinks To Increase Cooling Efficiency

W hen high-tech thermalpaste, watercooling systems,and jet-powered fans aren’t

enough, you can always try to make yourCPU’s heat transfer more efficient by lap-ping its heatsink. Put your tongue away—that’s not what we meant. Lapping is abasic procedure that requires just fewtools and a little arm strength. Tongue-to-metal contact is completely optional.

Lapping Is HappeningLapping means to smooth out a surface

so that it’s perfectly flat, and it’s used inmany industrial processes. Many users laptheir heatsinks to make them flatter andproduce more even contact with the topof the CPU. This helps the heatsinkabsorb heat more quickly, and as a result,assists in keeping the CPU cooler.Random reports on the Web claim thatlapping can drop CPU temps by as muchas 5 degrees Celsius.

But isn’t the bottom of your heatsinkalready flat? High-end copper heatsinksare often prelapped and ready to go, butcheaper stock heatsinks rarely make per-fect contact with the CPU, which is onereason you use thermal grease. This slimy,messy substance fills in all the tiny spacesthat inhibit the movement of heat fromthe CPU and heatsink. Grease works bestfor minute gaps, though, not the kind ofwholesale roughness that we’ll eliminatethrough lapping.

We’ll show you how to lap your ownheatsink to increase its effectiveness. Inaddition to our play-by-play of the lap-ping process, we will also offer before andafter temperature readings to help youdecide if lapping is worth the effort.

Lap It, Lap It GoodLapping requires very little in the way

of tools. We gathered up a piece of thickglass, several pieces of sandpaper of variousgrit (or coarseness), a cheap white surgicalmask like you’ve seen a hundred times on“ER,” paper towels, and water. Lazy typeslike us actually order lapping kits that haveeverything you need for a lapping session,and such kits are handy because theyinclude several types of sandpaper, a factthat prevents you from having to buy sev-eral expensive multisheet paper packets.

And you will need sandpaper with dif-ferent grit. As you shop, you’ll see thatmanufacturers denote coarseness with anumber system, and the lower the num-ber, the coarser the grit. For CPUheatsinks we recommend starting with400 or 600 grit sandpaper. Wet/dry sand-paper designed for automotive work isfine, and you can pick up 600, 800,1500, and even finer-grit sandpaper atauto parts stores, but it’s not necessary tobuy anything higher than 2000 grit.

You might ponder the idea of usingpower tools as a substitute for sandpaper,but we don’t suggest going that route. Thepurpose of lapping is to smooth overbumps and pits on your heatsink; it’s notnecessary to remove massive layers ofmetal. Doing so will only reduce yourheatsink’s mass, and thus, its ability toreduce your CPU’s operating temperature.

You should prepare a perfectly flat sur-face for your sanding operation. Don’t usea bumpy tabletop or workbench becausethose bulges defeat the purpose of thisproject, and make sure your surface is lowenough to let you apply downward force

The 600-grit sandpaperreally reduced ourheatsink’s roughness. Thiscoarse paper is great forgetting the major wrinklesout of any metal surface.

You can see the gouges andstriations that make heat

transfer less efficient. Andthat’s not counting the larger

lumps you can’t see here.

140 • PC Modder

Friction Blisters Rock!Our tests demonstrated that lapping

does seem to lower CPU temperatures.Nailing down exact CPU temperatures isoften an inexact science, but sensors fromour MacPower Digital Doc showed thatprior to lapping, the sides of our heatsinkrang in at 28 C while the CPU was idling,and 34 C when we put it to work. Wealso took readings from the CPU itselfusing Motherboard Monitor (www.mbm.livewiredev.com), a program that moni-tors motherboard temperatures and dis-plays them on the Windows taskbar. Theprogram indicated that our CPU was 28C at rest and 38 C during a benchmark-ing routine.

After we lapped our heatsink, theDigital Doc recorded the same tempera-tures as before. That would seem to be atodds with lapping logic, which says thatthe heatsink’s temperature should rise asheat is transferred more quickly from theCPU to the heatsink. However, ourefforts weren’t in vain.

More telling temperature readingscame from the CPU itself. MotherboardMonitor registered an idle temperature of28 C and a working temperature of 36 C,a two-degree drop. Keep in mind that wetook these readings from a heatsink we’dlapped using a circular motion. Werepeated our tests using an identicalheatsink lapped in a back-and-forth fash-ion that produced a glossy finish.Resulting temperatures were identical tothose we saw from the first heatsink.

Lap Like MadOur results were in line with what

many other users experience—most lap-ping results floating in Internet chatrooms and forums indicate that it’s a sig-nificant feat to drop your CPU’s tempera-ture by three degrees. You might thinkthree degrees isn’t worth a few bucks anda couple of hours of your time, but thatdecrease in excess heat may very well helpyou achieve better overclocks, and theextra cooling efficiency may add time toyour CPU’s lifespan.

by Nathan Chandler

Salmon T-shirt. Also consider wearing apair of work gloves and have a few rags ora roll of paper towels handy.

1 Remove the fan assembly from yourheatsink. Most fans use a simple clip

system that you can remove in just a fewseconds. If you can’t remove the fan with-out damaging it, you can lap the heatsinkwith the fan in place, but this makes itmore difficult to apply consistent pressure.

2 Put a few drops of water on the glassplate and wrap the sandpaper over the

plate’s edges to keep the paper from slidingaround too much. Now pour a bit of wateron the paper’s surface. Begin lapping withthe coarsest paper at your disposal andwork your way to the finer grits. Howexactly should you grind the heatsink?Some people claim that a circular or figure-eight motion is best for creating the flattestsurface, and others insist that a straightback-and-forth technique yields optimalresults. The reality is that both actions—when paired with even pressure and asmooth stroke—will create a surface farsuperior to the manufacturer’s machiningprocess. But if you long for a mirror-likefinish on your heatsink, a back-and-forthmotion creates the slickest shine.

3 Many heatsinks have sharp edges andcorners that snag and tear sandpaper.

If you have this problem, you can tilt theheatsink and use the paper to rub thoseedges into complacency.

4 Don’t use arm-quivering force tolap; instead, apply easy, steady pres-

sure and let the sandpaper do its job.You’ll encounter more resistance if youuse a circular motion, another reason werecommend the simpler back-and-forthtechnique. If you lap in circles, rotatethe heats ink after every few dozenstrokes; rotate the heatsink 180 degreesif you’re grinding back and forth. Rinsethe paper and heatsink often to elimi-nate accumulated dust.

5 Switch grits after you can see a signif-icant improvement in the heatsink’s

surface. You may have to use more than

one sheet of a specific grit, especially ifyou’re encountering snagging problems orif you just want to be absolutely sure youare getting the smoothest surface fromeach grit. Before you change papers, rinsethe heatsink and glass thoroughly; other-wise, you risk introducing leftover parti-cles of coarser paper into the work area.Such particles will reduce the polishingbenefits of finer-grit papers.

6 After you achieve the desired level ofsmoothness, it’s time to clean your

heatsink. Rinse it thoroughly with waterand scrub it with a stiff brush to removetrapped metal grains. You can use dena-tured alcohol to exorcise minute particlesthat your other cleaning efforts miss, butthis chemical treatment isn’t necessary.

7 Once the heatsink is dry, apply athermal compound to the top of

your CPU and reinstall the heatsink/fan.

8 If you didn’t wear gloves, wash yourhands thoroughly to remove all visi-

ble traces of metal dust.

The 1000-grit sandpaper smoothed things out,but the metal doesn’t yet have the shine we’relooking for.

Our final product has a nearly mirror-like finishthat makes better contact with the top of the CPU.

PC Modder • 141

internal thermal diodes in the hottestparts of the chips, he says, unlike P4s orAthlons. P4s also throttle their clockswhen they get too hot.

Meanwhile, Intel is researching a newTIM using carbon nanotubes, which con-duct heat well and are minute enough tofill extremely small voids. “If it pans out,(the new compound) could be used in afew years, but it is really too early to tell,”says Intel spokesman Manny Vara.

Thompson says that carbon nanotubesare “not on the menu at this time for ourcurrent products.” He says that nan-otubes’ tendency to conduct heat in onlyone direction makes them better suited tothermal pads than greases. Despite the“nano” in its company name, rival TIMmaker Nanotherm declined invitations todiscuss its ingredients.

How To ApplyLike any component in your computer,

there’s a right way and a wrong way toinstall a thermal compound. If you justsqueeze a dollop of thermal grease ontoyour CPU and snap the heatsink in place,

WORKING WITH GREASEGet Lower Temps & A More Overclockable Chip

Y ou already know that your CPUruns too hot for its own good. Itneeds a heatsink or cooling block

attached to it so that it can dissipate heat.In a perfect world, the perfectly smoothsink would sit perfectly flat against theperfectly smooth processor die.

In the real world of mix-and-matchcommodity parts, tiny imperfections inthe heatsink and die cause air gapsbetween them. Air is an insulator, so heathas a hard time emigrating from the CPUto the heatsink.

Enter TIM. A thermal interface materi-al, often called a thermal compound,grease, or paste, fills the gaps between aheatsink and a processor. A good TIM isso much better than air that you shouldn’trun most CPUs without one.

What To BuyThermal greases available today are

generally oils suspending metal and/orceramic particles of silver, boron nitride,and other materials. Manufacturers try tooffer good heat conductance, low electrical

conductivity, and stability so the com-pounds don’t leave the die or break down.

Your options include Arctic Silver 5($7) and Ceramique ($4; www.arcticsil-ver.com); Nanotherm PCM+ ($9;www.nanotherm.com); and GEIL’sCopper Thermal Compound ($8;www.geilusa.com). Avoid using a thermaladhesive for a CPU heatsink, however.One of these acts like a TIM, but also likea glue. See the “Removing ‘Glued’Heatsinks” sidebar for more info.

It’s inordinately tough to properlycompare thermal compounds to find thebest one. (A supply snafu thwarted ourefforts to do so by deadline.) ArcticSilver’s Colin Thompson says that there’sno practical way to completely removethermal grease from a heatsink or CPUbefore applying another one. This meansthat you really need an uncontaminated,virgin heatsink and processor for everycompound you test. And because thosesinks and chips won’t be identical, yourtest will still have some variation. In caseyou do your own testing, Thompsonadvised using Pentium IIIs. PIIIs have

Removing “Glued” Heatsinks

S ome heatsinks, like Joan Rivers, seemto have no visible means of support.

They’re not screwed down nor held byclips, yet they cling tenaciously to the sili-con chips they cool.

Some manufacturers attach heatsinksto motherboard northbridges, MOSFETs(metal-oxide semiconductor field-effecttransistor), or RAM modules on videocards with thermally conductive adhesivesor double-sided tape. CPU heatsinks havegrown too big and heavy for most thermaladhesives. In very rare cases, though, youmay find a smaller sink stuck to a chip youwant to uncover.

A heatsink affixed with thermal tape isno problem to remove when it’s hot.

Gently twist it one way, then the other,until the tape lets go. Don’t pull or pryupward on the sink.

If you encounter a sink that won’tbudge at all, it’s probably stuck on witha permanent adhesive, such as ArcticSilver, Alumina Adhesive, or Nano-therm Epoxy. Ask yourself if removingthat heatsink is worth the risk of break-ing the socket, the motherboard, or the processor.

If so, try OverclockerCafe.com’smethod: Heat the chip with a hairdryer.Protect the circuit board with a creditcard and then twist the blade of a flatscrewdriver between the card and the heatsink. ▲

Hi, No Silver!

I n January, Silversinksam, a reviewer atOverclockers.com, found that neither

OCZ Ultra II Premium Silver Compound norCompUSA Silver Thermal Grease containedany silver, as claimed. Independent testingbacked up his findings. The aluminum- andsilicon-based TIM, reportedly from thesame supplier, couldn’t transfer heat aswell as it would have with real silver in it.

OCZ immediately verified the prob-lem, and initiated a very generous recallprogram for the inferior compound(http://www.ocztechnology.com/aboutocz/news/3). CompUSA also pulledits product. However, as of this writingthree months later, CompUSA makes nomention on its site of the problem, nor ofany recall. ▲

142 • PC Modder

grease about the size of a lowercase“o.” If you find that you needmore later as you spread the com-pound, you can add a tiny bitmore then. When you’re workingwith thermal grease, rememberthat too much is just that: toomuch. Excess compound will sim-ply squeeze out when you clampdown the heatsink.

Now spread the grease evenlyand thinly over the top of the die,using a clean-edged credit card,laminated driver’s license, or whathave you. You want a smooth filmof thermal material on the die’ssurface, without any grooves, bub-bles, or bare spots. Applying thewet layer of TIM to the processordie instead of the heatsink mini-mizes the risk of getting compoundon other parts of the chip package.

Finally, hook the nonadjustableend of your heatsink’s retainingclip over the tab(s) on the CPUsocket. Try to set the heatsinkdown onto the processor whilekeeping it as level as possible.Carefully use your flat screwdriverto reattach the other end of the clipto the socket. Heatsinks for newerchips, such as the Athlon 64, mayattach via levers to a plastic bracketinstead of the socket.

Plug in the heatsink fan beforeyou start the PC, and be ready toturn the computer off quickly ifthe BIOS or monitoring utilityshows that the CPU is getting toohot (70 degrees Celsius for anAthlon 64, for example). Manyrecent motherboards will auto-matically shut the system down ifthe CPU temperature spikes, butothers won’t.

Note that most TIMs willimprove CPU temperatures a fewdegrees Celsius over a few days’break-in time. Properly applied,the right thermal grease shouldhelp your chip last longer andoverclock higher.

by Marty Sems

your chip will probably run hotterthan if you had cleaned it before-hand and applied the TIM proper-ly. Even worse, stray globs of con-ductive thermal compound, suchas most silver-based ones, can shortout exposed transistors and con-tacts surrounding the die. Thesecan kill your chip.

If your TIM didn’t come withdetailed instructions, follow thesesteps. With the computer un-plugged, remove the CPU’sheatsink and fan together. Thisusually involves carefully pressingdownward and outward on theheatsink’s retaining clip with aflat-bladed screwdriver. Don’t slip,or you might gouge the mother-board. When the clip comes free,unhook its opposite end from thesocket. Set the heatsink aside. Ifthe heatsink doesn’t come off easi-ly, refer to the “Removing ‘Glued’Heatsinks” sidebar in this article.

Next, gingerly clean the proces-sor’s die, which is the core chip inthe center of the CPU package (seeour photos). Use a soft clothdampened with a cleaner thatwon’t leave any residue, such aspure isopropyl alcohol or AkasaTIM-Clean ($10; www.akasa.com.tw). Be careful not to smear theold thermal grease onto other partsof the CPU’s package as you cleanit off. Wipe the old TIM from theheatsink, as well.

When you’re ready to reassem-ble things, squeeze out an amountof thermal compound about thesize of a capital letter “O” ontothe center of the heatsink’s under-side, where it will contact theCPU die. Use a clean cloth to rubthe grease into the heatsink untilit’s all but dry. This prepares thesink for better heat transfer by fill-ing in any microscopic pores andmachining marks.

Next, apply your TIM to theprocessor die as shown in thephoto. In one corner of the top ofthe die, deposit a drop of thermal

Apply only a little bit of thermal compound at first. You canalways add more later.

Use a credit card with a burr-free edge to spread the greaseover the die. Avoid bubbles or bare spots, and be very carefulto keep the stuff off the rest of the processor package.

Rub thermal compound into the heatsink to fill the pores of themetal. This step could shave a few degrees off your temps.

PC Modder • 143

with the CPU. Fixing this was easy. I upend-ed the can onto top of a flat pole and beataway on the bottom of the can with a ham-mer, thinking all the while about my formerboss. Doing this flattened out most of thebiggest imperfections, and a quick lappingjob smoothed out the can even more.

I put a little extra work into my canalterations because of the thin aluminum’sflexibility. I knew that if I simply made thebottom as flat as possible, it would pop upa little when I tightened it to the top of theCPU, causing a concavity and ruining thecan’s heat-conductive properties. To avoidthis problem, I left the can smooth butconvex at just the right angle—when Ipushed it down on a tabletop, it lookedperfect, with the bottom flattening out tomake consistent table contact.

The next big step was figuring out howto make the can sit on top of the CPU with-out tipping over, but securing the can to theCPU turned out to be one of the easier tasksin this project. I unscrewed the plasticheatsink mounting bracket and removed itfrom the motherboard, set the can on theCPU, placed the mounting bracket on topof the can, and inserted two 8-inch longscrews through the bracket and into themotherboard’s predrilled mounting holes. Acouple of nuts made sure the assemblystayed in place with no wiggle whatsoever.

Affixing a bizarre contraption like thisto your CPU, means, of course, that you

DRY ICE DESTRUCTIONSupercool Your CPU On The Cheap, Mad-Modder Style

S ometimes we are inspired to per-form certain feats because a boldmentor showed us a way to reach

for the stars. Mad Modder won’t offer upsuch clichés when explaining why youshould cool your CPU with dry ice.Because you already know why youshould take your chip into the dry-icedeep freeze—Michael Myers told you to.

I was watching “Halloween” and won-dering exactly how I could vent some anti-social angst on my computer components.And as I watched Mr. Myers chopping andslashing, I realized I could do the same, onlywith dry ice, which in bits in pieces I coulduse to take my CPU temperatures to tortur-ous lows. After properly fortifying myself, Igathered my strength and prepared for thecoolest middle-of-the-night project ever.

Cooling with dry ice means a number ofthings. One, because dry ice is so cold, youcan achieve incredible overclocks. Two, dryice means that you’ll have to take a few pre-cautions to protect your expensive equip-ment, lest it wind up as a useless testamentto your slapdash safety skills. And three, youhave to figure out a way to get all that beau-tiful dry ice coldness onto the top of yourCPU without spending a ton of money.Read on, and I’ll teach you how to protectyour motherboard and CPU and show youjust how far I pushed my test processors.Michael Myers, eat your heart out.

Setup detailsStart this project by assembling a list of

required hardware. I began with the elec-tronics, including an average Intel Pentium4 and two AMD Athlon 64s; all the betterto get a good idea of the effects dry icewould have on a midpriced CPU, as wellas a pair of blazing 64-bit superstars.

From there, putting things togetherrequires a little more thought. You need away to seal the CPU socket to prevent con-densation. For this task you need dielectricgrease, a waterproof sealant (I recommend

RTV sealants popular with modders), andneoprene or closed-cell foam. I’ll provide ageneral overview of how to seal your CPUsocket here, but you can find detailedinstructions on page 148.

You will also have to consider how toapply the dry ice to the top of your CPUwithout deep frying its transistors or gettingcrazily cold chemicals all over your mother-board. Because complex plans always seemto fail miserably, I decided to keep this partof the project simple: I used a MountainDew can. That’s right, Junior, I spent 50cents on a soda for this project, and it wasn’t so that I could mix the sugary stuffwith Cuervo for a drink as I worked. I’msure you’re wondering, why, Moddy, why?

I used a pop can primarily for simplicity’ssake. As you cruise the Web, browsing otherusers’ dry ice projects, you will inevitablyrun across those who integrated custom-made copper or aluminum heatsinks to thetop of their CPUs. So unless you happen toown a machine shop, you won’t have theability to perform this project at 3 in themorning on a Saturday. You could hiresomeone to make a dry ice receptacle foryou, but A) you’d have to wait for the itemto be constructed, and B) this would costyou a nice lump of cash you could spend onother fun stuff, for example, beer.

The Can PlanMost CPU heatsinks are made from alu-

minum or copper because these metals havesuperior heat transference characteristics.But when you know you’re going to beworking with something as cold as dry ice,that thin layer of metals separating the icefrom the CPU doesn’t seem quite asimportant. Plus, the recycling truck doesn’tmake any pick-ups outside this godforsakenhovel in which I hide, so my stockpile ofextra cans is hitting an all-time high.

As you know, the bottom of a Dew canisn’t flat; instead, it has multiple ridges thatwould prevent it from making good contact

This Socket 478 bracket comes off and will actu-ally secure my pop can to the top of my CPU.

144 • PC Modder

that using dry ice on a regular basis can bedangerous for your sensitive equipment.

Don’t Die, PleaseDry ice isn’t a harmless plaything. Those

drunken chimpanzees outside our base in[CENSORED] know this, and judging bytheir poor, frostbitten parts, you don’t wantto repeat their mistakes. So treat dry ice withrespect. I’m sure you’re thinking, “The stuffis minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s not likeI’m going to make dog food slushies andfeed them to angry, duct-taped terrorists.”Because that would be wrong. In most cases.

But I digress. Realize that dry ice canhurt you, mostly by freeze-burning yourskin and making it look like you barelysurvived a five-alarm fire, so don’t let thisstuff come in contact with your bare flesh.Wear gloves or oven mitts when you’rehandling the chunks.

If you don’t have anything more appro-priate, buy a cheap Styrofoam cooler foryour trip back from the ice store. This coolerwill slow dry ice’s tendency to sublimate intothe air as carbon dioxide. If you use someother type of container, just make sure it’snot completely airtight, as the sublimatingdry ice will expand and could cause anexplosion. Don’t, ahem, get any bright ideas.

Use dry ice only in a well-ventilatedarea. Because dry ice disappears so quickly,you need at least five pounds of it, evenfor small projects, and its sublimationincreases the ratio of carbon dioxidearound your cooler. I doubt many of youwill be putting this project together in aglorified closet, like me, but you do haveto transport the ice home in your vehicle.Crack a window or make sure the ventila-tion system is blowing fresh air into thecar to avoid any oxygen deprivation issues.

Dew Dee DewI decided to begin my experiment with

the Pentium 4, all the better to whet myexcitement for the Athlon 64s. This was aP4 2.4GHz CPU that I installed on anABIT AI7 motherboard. In part I startedwith a P4 to see just how long I could usedry ice with the P4 before condensation- ortemperature-related problems caused a dis-aster, all the better to help avoid catastro-phe with my more expensive components.

won’t be putting the motherboard back inyour PC’s case. It’s fine to leave yourmotherboard on your tabletop for theshort time it takes to perform this experi-ment; just be sure to take the proper proce-dures to reduce the chances of an electricalstatic discharge. You can rest the mobo ona soft foam pad overlaid with the mother-board’s antistatic bag, if you like. I actuallyremoved a side from an old ATX PC case,laid it flat on a counter, and secured themobo to the standoffs, making the boardlevel and stable for my experiments.

Condensation considerations. Youcan’t use dry ice for cooling unless you takeproper precautions to minimize condensa-tion problems. You will encounter conden-sation during this experiment because con-densation almost always forms when youkeep an object colder than the surroundingair, and I’m sure I needn’t remind you thatdry ice is about -80 degrees Fahrenheit.

So be sure to use the steps for insulatingyour socket on page (REFER), but with afew minor alterations. With dry ice, theinsulating pad on the backside of the moth-erboard isn’t an option; it’s a necessity. Afteryou’ve applied and let dry your siliconesealant, cut a foam rectangle that extends atleast a couple of inches to either side of theCPU socket. Cut small holes in the foam toaccommodate any nuts used to secure thedry ice bracket and then use a silicone sealantto make the pad stick to the motherboard.

It’s important to insulate the can, as well,to keep watery messes to a minimum. Iwrapped my can in a half-inch of closed-cellfoam and then sealed the whole thing upwith waterproof tape. When I was done withmy can, only the flattened bottom and thetop hole for receiving the dry ice were visible.

After I secured the can to my CPU, Ialso dug out a couple of old plastic bagsand draped them over my motherboard.If you’re not particularly well coordinat-ed, consider this a necessity becausebumping your can during this experimentcan unleash a flood of supercooled liquidover your motherboard, and that’s theend of the fun.

When your CPU socket is protected, it’stime to play. Just keep in mind that theseprecautions will protect your motherboardonly for short overclocking sessions and

This is dried conformal coating on the back ofthe Intel mobo. A piece of neoprene or foammakes the area resistant to condensation.

Turns out there was too much insulation onthe mobo, so I took it off. It’s worth noting thatthis is the last time my P4 was seen alive.

Klutzes, take heed, this how is you should protectyour mobo from splashes during the experiment.

The well-insulated socket is ready for a tall sipof dry ice, via a Mountain Dew can.

PC Modder • 145

One concern was that the thin walls ofthe Dew can wouldn’t withstand theextreme temperatures of the CPU and thedry ice. After a few more High Lifes, Iwasn’t concerned anymore. There wasonly one way to find out if I’d suffer ahorrendous, frosty accident or emergewith an intact mobo and CPU in tri-umph, and that was to give it a go.

The can, revisited. Before jumping intothe dry ice procedure, I’ll tell you about there-engineered can. After overclocking fortwo straight hours, extreme temperaturesbegan taking their toll. Condensation wasn’ta problem. My well-insulated motherboarddidn’t suffer any water-related damage eventhough the entire dry ice can frosted overcompletely. But the can itself showed theeffects of too much cold and too much heat,and the sides began to bulge a little, muchas a full can of soda will do after it’s beenleft in a freezer for a few hours.

I’ll mention here that this bulging mon-strosity wasn’t the same can as the one Iinstructed you to make earlier in thisstory—my initial can had less insulationand no tape to help it hold its shape. Ipitched the first can and used the better-insulated one to make sure the bulges of thedoomed can wouldn’t cause problems withthe CPU-to-can contact, and my resultswere much better. The point, of course, isthat your can can’t really be over-insulatedon its sides, and the more effort you use toprepare your can at the beginning, the lessyou’ll have to worry about later on.

Nice ice, baby. I dropped in a few chunksof dry ice and inserted my homemade funnelso that I could top off the ice with a 1/3 of acan of acetone. The mixture spit a little, butnot enough to cause any concern. This par-ticular aspect of testing should be performedwith care. Reversing this step by pouringacetone onto the dry ice is a mistake, as thiswill cause the concoction to explode like awitch’s brew gone bad, and when I did it(after one, er, three too many High Lifes) Iwas very, very glad I’d worn thick gloves, along-sleeved shirt, and protected my moth-erboard protected with a plastic sheet.

Then it was time for the moment oftruth. I hit the power switch, and the P4computer booted properly but then shutdown twice in a row. I carefully released

the can’s bracket to make sure the can wasmaking sufficient contact with the CPU,and it turned out that I probably overdidthe socket insulation, causing the can to liftup just a little too much to touch theCPU. I removed part of the insulation (butmade sure the socket was still sealed) andagain secured the can. The PC booted up,but only after I hit F2 to bypass my moth-erboard’s CPU fan error, something you’lllikely have to do with your system, as well.

My system started normally, andMotherboard Monitor indicated a CPUtemperature of -1 C. I let the system sit tosee just how far temperatures wouldplummet, and after about 10 minutes, itbottomed out at -14 C. I started thePCMark utility and watched that temper-ature rise. And rise. And eventually sky-rocket to 60 C in a matter of minutes, notlong enough for the benchmarkingscheme to run its course.

I hypothesized that my thin can,though very cold, might not have the heftnecessary to pull heat quickly from theCPU. To combat this I decided to givethe dry ice a head start. I let my CPU sitwithout power for two minutes, chilling itto the tips of its tiny transistor bones(more specifically, -18 C), and then Istarted PCMark again. This time PCMarkcompleted, but very slowly, and to thetune of only 1638 measly PCMarks.

Yin for my yang. The problem wasclear—my pop can experiment would failunless I could find a way to more evenlydistribute heat coming off of the CPU. Butwhere in the heck do I find an inexpensive,flat metal plate at 2 in the morning? Thatwas when I spied a Scythe Zen heatsinkslumped over like a forgotten RaggedyAndy in my discarded-tech pile.

This particular heatsink has a uniquedesign in that it requires no fan, no water,and no dry ice, but rather, many metal finsthat push heat into the surrounding air. Italso happens to come with a removablecopper plate. I stripped this plate from theZen, and because it’s Socket-478 compati-ble, the plate slipped over the screws of mybracket and neatly into place.

I secured my can to the top of this plateand restarted the experiment. Praise be toCuervo—it seemed to be working very

Keep it simple,stupid. Aboutall I needed tosupercool myCPU was asocket bracketand pop can.

This plate, from the bottom of a Scythe Zenheatsink, was a critical reason the Athlon 64temperatures dropped to -30 degrees Celsius.

Insulating an Athlon 64 mobo is a messy job.Just be sure you don’t get any goop in yoursocket pinholes, or your board is toast.

As with the Intel bracket, I removed this AMDbracket and used it to make sure the can stayedput on the Zen plate.

146 • PC Modder

plate and Mountain Dew can onthe CPU, and topped off thewhole thing with the plasticbracket and two nuts. This setupwas perfectly stable.

I immediately noticed a hugedifference in temperature levels. Iexpected the 64 to run hotter thanmy P4, but the opposite was true.The 64’s idling temperature, -30C, was the same as the P4’s, butunlike the P4, my AMD chipstayed very cold during overclock-ing, and it warmed to only -2 Ceven at maximum speed. Myguess is that the AMD CPU’slarger size helped distribute heatmore quickly, letting the dry iceperform its job more effectively.

And the test was, effectively,a huge success. Not only did Inot kill the chip, but I managedto overclock the FX-51 to2.52GHz. Next up, I wanted tosee if we could overclock an FX-53 higher than the other scores(2.8GHz) in this same issue.

This task, of course, was noproblem. I pushed the chip to2.9GHz and a nice, round scoreof 5200 in PCMark 2004. Notbad for a midnight excursioninto overclocking wonderland.

ConclusionIf my dry ice experiment

proved anything (other than thefact I’m becoming a ravinglunatic while unemployed), it’sthat anyone can take their CPUtemperatures to frostbite levelswithout blowing a grand on aphase-change system. Think ofdry ice as the great overclockingequalizer—it proves you don’thave to be rich to be fast.

And that’s a good thing forme because I think the boys at

the old office finally found that back doorI left in the budget database. Looks likeI’ll just have to implement another. Mwa-haha-ptth.

by Mad Modder

well. After computer completedits start-up tasks the CPU tem-perature was -9 C, nearly 30degrees lower than when I startedup without the copper plate. I letthe CPU idle for 10 minutes andthe readings went much lowerthis time, all the way to -32 C. Istarted PCMark and the temper-ature began a slow upward climb.By the end of the test, my over-clocked CPU’s temperaturetopped out at a mild 43 C and a PCMark score that zipped past 4200.

Although the chip’s PCMarkscores improved with the dry icesetup, my overclocking sessionsdidn’t accomplish as much as I’dhoped. My can’s liquid tempera-ture stayed at a brisk –80 F foralmost the entire experiment,and I did push the CPU into3GHz territory, but in the end,condensation went on the offen-sive, taking advantage of my tac-tical error of removing extrasocket insulation. My chip flewfast and high, but to a soakingsilicon socket in the sky. It was asad death for this CPU, but itssacrifice paved the way to thenext segment of my project.

The 64 Lives!After burying the Pentium 4

in the backyard, I grabbed a HighLife, headed back inside, and pre-pared my hard drive to work withtwo more CPUs and mother-boards. For starters, I opted foran AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 on anASUS SK8N motherboard.

I established a few basebenchmark numbers and thenprepared to perform more dryice testing. Because the AMDsocket is quite different fromIntel’s Socket 478 configuration, I neededto secure the can and copper plate with adifferent bracket. This adjustment turnedout to be an easy one.

I removed the two screws that theblack plastic square around AMD’s socket

940, inserted my two long screws untilthey extended about a half-inch past therear of the mobo, and secured the screwswith washers and nuts. After double-checking my insulation, I flipped themotherboard over, rested the Zen’s copper

Pentium 4 2.4GHzStock SetupPCMark04 Score

Base chip speed 3591Overclocked 3762

Operating temperatures with stock heatsinkDigital Doc Motherboard Monitor

Idling 26 37During benchmark routine 31 34

With Dry IcePCMark04 Score


Operating temperatures with dry iceDigital Doc Motherboard Monitor

Idling N/A -30During benchmark routine N/A 43AMD Athlon 64 FX-51

Stock SetupPCMark04 Score







Idling N/A -2During benchmark routine N/A -30AMD Athlon 64 FX-53

Stock SetupPCMark04 Score







Idling N/A -32During benchmark routine N/A -17

Ice Cold Ice Cold Ice

D ry ice is one of the cheapest, fastest, and most effective waysto supercool your CPU. It's perfect for a Saturday overclock-

ing session when you want to push your CPU's benchmarks ashigh as they can go. (Temps in degrees Celcius.) ▲

PC Modder • 147

reason it is used for everything from wetsuits to automotive engine belts. Andbecause neoprene is chemically inert, youcan use it in situations where you want tomake sure your vital insulation won’tmelt into a gooey motherboard messwhen it comes into contact with a mildsolvent or two. Best of all, it’s an effectiveinsulator at extreme temperatures.

Whether you go with closed-cell foam orneoprene, you need the sheets in a thicknessthat’s appropriate for this project. Keep inmind that 1cm thick sheets are a good start-ing point, but you can buy both materials invarious thicknesses, so to be sure you haveexactly what you need. I suggest orderingextras of both thin and thick squares so thatyou can adjust to any challenges that mayarise. These substances are cheap, and youcan use leftovers for other projects.

On a final, not-so-unimportant note,it’s good to know that you can buy neo-prene and closed-cell foam sheets that areprecut to fit specific CPU sockets. Theseprecut sheets are a big time-saver, espe-cially for those of you with ham-handedcrafts skills. If you want to cut the materi-als yourself, try the Materialscraps(www.materialscraps.com) Web site forinexpensive foam and neoprene scraps.You can buy enough material here toinsulate the entire inside of your PC.

Greases and goo. It’s easy to finddielectric grease, otherwise known as sparkplug grease. You can pick up a tube of thisgunk at any auto parts store for a coupleof bucks. This grease’s best quality is thatit’s not conductive at all, so when yousmear it all over your CPU socket youwon’t end up with a flash-fried processor.RTV sealant is a clear silicone sealant thatyou’ll find at a hardware superstore, and italso costs only a few bucks for a tube thatwill leave you with plenty of leftovers.This particular sealant type works great forour purposes, but it’s not pretty, and it’snot particularly easy to clean up, either.

SEAL YOUR SOCKETDon’t Let Condensation Devastate A Supercooled System

S ometimes when I’m living theHigh Life, I get crazy ideas, buteven at my maddest, I have never

really wanted to push a $700 CPU to thelimits using only aircooling. It’s not bud-getary concerns that stop me; it’s just thatsometimes I think I can hear transistorsscreaming as they burn into sorrowfuloblivion. That kind of thing stays withyou. So for overclocking I use supercool-ing techniques, carefully, to avoid wind-ing up with a water-soaked ASUS, and toprotect my precious, shrill transistors.

Why fret about water? Well, supercool-ing, of course, means using liquid nitro-gen, dry ice, both dry and watercooledpeltiers, or phase-change systems, andeach of these systems comes with onepotentially destructive side effect—con-densation. Condensation occurs wheneveryou lower the temperature of an objectbelow surrounding air temperatures, asevidenced by water droplets that accumu-late on the cooler object. Cold beer, any-one? When that object is your CPU ormotherboard, you can expect catastrophicproblems and a serious, imminent dent inyour technology-replacement budget.

Preventing condensation at normal roomtemperatures means sealing the CPU socketto insulate your processor and keep dropletsfrom forming. No, no, Junior, put downthat caulk you bought for your mildewed,rust-stained shower. Let Mad Modder showyou how to do this the right way.

What You NeedYou don’t need much in the way of

hardware to seal a CPU socket, and theequipment you do need is inexpensive.On the other hand, you may not be ableto pick up each of these items at your localsuperstore, which I might add, is bristlingwith privacy-shredding security cameras.Shop at a mom-and-pop hardware storeinstead, or if necessary, order online usingyour evil stepmother’s credit card.

You will need, in no particular order,closed-cell foam or neoprene squares,RTV silicone sealant, or better yet, DowCorning Conformal Coating. Add to thatlist dielectric grease, a fifth of Jose Cuervo,and very sharp scissors or a utility knife.

Foam and neoprene. Closed-cell foamor neoprene sheets are the insulatingmaterials that prevent condensation. Theymoderate the extreme temperature differ-ences between cooling equipment on yourCPU and surrounding air.

Closed-cell foam has a number of charac-teristics that make it appropriate for insulat-ing a CPU socket. It’s a polyurethane sub-stance that has many tiny, tightly packed,crush-resistant bubbles, and as such, thefoam usually springs back to its originalshape even after you subject it to a lot ofpressure. The foam resists a lot of abuse, andso long as you don’t go after it with sharpobjects, it’s very resistant to tears. Bubblesinside closed-cell foam offer excellent insula-tion, and when compressed, those pocketshelp to create an airtight, waterproof sealthat helps stop condensation before it starts.

You can find closed-cell foam on theWeb, but it may be faster to pick some upat a craft or hobby store. Whether youknow it or not, you’ve already seenclosed-cell foam in your house; it’s usedfor common weather stripping. In apinch, I suppose you could pick upweather stripping and use it to battle con-densation, but you’d have to deal with themessy adhesive on the back.

On the flip side, open-cell foam is thekind of stuff you find in Nerf balls. Thisfoam is very soft, crushable, and not waterresistant at all. You know what happenswhen you drop Nerf products into aswimming pool, so don’t let somethingsimilar happen to your motherboard.

Neoprene. Neoprene is a syntheticrubber. It has a very high resistance toextreme twisting and flexing that damagesother materials, and it’s waterproof, one

148 • PC Modder

center square uniformly. You’ll need a lit-tle space for neoprene or closed-cell foamlater in this project.

5 At this point it’s best to wait for yoursilicone to sit for at least a couple of

hours, or maybe longer if it’s still runny.Then, carefully flip your motherboardand locate the area from which your CPUsocket pins originate. On many mobosthis area is easy to find because the pinsare metallic and create a square shapethat’s the exact size of your CPU socket.Other mobos cover the bottom of theirpins and make the point of origin a littleharder to find. If you had a very difficulttime finding exactly where the socketboundary is, cover the entire bottom ofthe mobo with sealant. Heh, heh, I’m justkidding, Junior. Here, drink this.Actually, cover an area slightly larger thanthe CPU socket with an unbroken layerof sealant on the backside exactly oppositeof the socket. Some users claim it’s best toaffix a neoprene square to the back of themotherboard. If you’re paranoid aboutcondensation, feel free to stick your spareneoprene here.

6Double-check to make sure the sealantyou applied is still in the optimal loca-

tions. Then let the sealant cure for 24 hours,or however long the manufacturer’s instruc-tions indicate. Be advised that conformalcoating’s slimy stage lasts longer than that ofyour typical, average silicone sealant. Youmight want to put a low-speed fan abovethe coating to speed up the curing process.Later, when you check on the sealant, youmight discover that your crazy chemicalconcoction has partially disappeared. Thelast time I sealed a mobo, I noticed this phe-nomenon in my CPU’s socket slug, but Itook it as a sign that the coating ran under

Cutting-edge users may very well pre-fer the Dow Corning Conformal Coatingbecause this substance doesn’t leavebehind messy looking blobs like RTVsealants can. The only problem is thatmost conformal coating buyers are busi-nesses that need vats of the stuff.Fortunately, some PC modding sites(such as www.aquastealth.com andwww.dangerden.com) now carry thecoating for your convenience. I recom-mend using this product instead of RTVsealant because the conformal coatinglooks more transparent, and thus, neater,and because you can easily peel it off ofyour motherboard if you remove yourhigh-tech cooling system.

If you have no desire or time to assem-ble project components, don’t worry. Youcan access DangerDen’s Web site and buya socket-protection kit that includes every-thing you need to prevent condensation.

The ActFor the purposes of this article I’ll assume

you are installing a peltier plate, though inreality you might also be installing awaterblock or even an evaporator head for aphase-change system. Without furtherdelays, let the sealing begin.

1 Uninstall your motherboard andremove the heatsink and fan. Move

your motherboard to a well-lighted workarea. Remember that you’ll have to waitfor your silicone to cure, so work some-place where you can leave the mother-board to sit for about 24 hours until youcan move to later steps.

2 Squeeze a few big drops of the dielec-tric grease on the pinholes of your

CPU socket. With your finger, smear thegrease into the holes. Don’t worry about

ruining your $200 mobo. The grease is aninert material, and it merely ensures thatyou’ve eliminated all air pockets that couldplay a part in causing condensation. Applythe grease as evenly as you can and makesure it slips into every pinhole.

3 Whip out your conformal coatingor RTV sealant and apply the gunk

all around the base of your CPU socket.This will seal the gap between yourCPU socket and the motherboard. Youcan smear the stuff if you like, butapplying an even bead of sealant aroundthe entire base really should do the trickwithout you needing to make furthermesses. If you’re using conformal coat-ing, take care as you press the syringeplunger. The coating tends to run out ofthe syringe tip quickly, yet it’s stillgoopy. In other words, it’s easy to apply,but things can get out of control in ahurry. Pull back on the plunger to stopthe flow immediately, and wipe the tipbetween pauses. Remember to apply lesssealant around the CPU lever to preventlocking problems, and if you use toomuch, clean up the excess goo nowbefore it starts to dry. A final note onusing this splendid, high-tech conformalcoating. Initially, it seems difficult tomaneuver the coating into tight spotsaround the socket, but really, it’s not.Just squirt a little more coating than youneed and then inject more from theother side of the obstacle. Odds are thatthe two beads will merge together if youtilt the mobo just so.

4 Inject the sealant smoothly and even-ly into the center of the CPU slug,

which is the square in the middle of yourCPU socket. Don’t completely fill theslug; just verify that you’ve covered this

2aStep

2bStep

3aStep

PC Modder • 149

the socket and sealed it tight. To beabsolutely sure of a perfect seal, I injectedmore coating and let it sit for another day.

7 Use a ruler to measure the dimensionsof your CPU socket. Now use those

numbers to cut the neoprene or foam to fitsnugly at the base of the CPU socket.These materials stretch easily, so it’s OK tocut the holes a tad smaller than the socket.

8 Press the neoprene into place aroundthe socket. The neoprene should be

thick enough to bunch up against theedges of the peltier, but remember, youhave to leave room to secure the peltier tothe socket and motherboard. You mayneed to cut a slot in the neoprene to makethe securing process easier, and if yourpeltier uses motherboard screws to keepthings stationary, you’ll have to make theappropriate holes in the neoprene.

9 Cut a neoprene square to fit theCPU socket slug. Tamp the neo-

prene until it fits neatly into the slug.

10Reinstall the CPU. Your CPU won’tdrop into place the way it usually

does because of the dielectric grease, and forthis reason, you should be extremely carefulduring this step. Get low and up close to theCPU and make sure the pins are lined upcorrectly. Press down gently on two adja-

cent corners of the CPU and slowly workyour fingertips across the CPU’s surface.This settles the CPU into place and givesthe pins some room to displace excessdielectric grease. Gently secure the CPUlock lever. Realize that there will be a littlemore resistance than usual due to the grease;however, you shouldn’t need to use a lot ofpressure to complete this step. If it’s verydifficult to close the ZIFF lever, make surethe slug’s neoprene square isn’t too thick,and look for other possible obstructions.

11Your CPU’s top surface may havea die, which looks like a small

metallic rectangle. If it does, you need tocut a square of very thin neoprene to fitaround this die. Most CPUs don’t have adie, and if that’s the case with your CPU,you can skip this step.

12Apply thermal grease to your pelti-er and secure the peltier to the top

of the CPU. If you inserted a CPU dieshim, make sure this piece of neoprenedoesn’t bunch up during the installation.

13Verify that the peltier is sitting even-ly on top of the CPU, and make

sure the neoprene around the outside of theCPU socket is snug against the peltier, too.

14 Fire up your system and observethe motherboard and peltier very

carefully over the next few days. If yousee any signs of condensation, you mayneed to verify that all of your seals areintact and that your neoprene fittingsare tight enough.

If you use a watercooled peltier, be sureto watch for condensation on the tubingin your system. Should droplets form,buy pipe insulation and waterproof tapeat a hardware store and insulate the prob-lematic hoses. Thus sealed, your conden-sation worries will be few indeed.

Chill At WillUnderstanding the forces that produce

condensation, knowing which materialsto use for insulation, and sealing yourCPU socket will help you put a stop tomoisture that can ruin valuable electron-ics and stop your overclocking cold.There are countless ways to insulate aCPU socket for supercooling, and younow have the basic knowledge to do thejob in whatever way you see fit.

Until next time (OK, the next page),drink up, may your modding be mad,and don’t forget to make all purchaseswith cash. You never know who’s watch-ing. Mwa-ha-ha (COUGH, COUGH),ha-ha (COUGH) . . . good grief, anyonegot a cigarette?

by Mad Modder

3bStep

4Step

5Step

7Step

9Step

10Step

150 • PC Modder

a second (160CFM total divided by 1.21cubic feet of air in the case divided by 60seconds in a minute [60/1.21 = 132.2times a minute]; to find the number oftimes per second, divide by 60 [132.2/60= 2.20 times per second]; to find the totalamount of air moving per sec multiply bythe air volume of the case [2.20x1.21 =2.66 cubic feet per second, which checksout because it also equals 160CFM/60sec]). Now, fans of fans have a spiffy newstatistic they can brag about.

According to Rahul Sood, presidentand CTO of VoodooPC, there’s no hard-and-fast rule for engineering airflow forevery PC; “Some cases are fine with noexhaust and one or two intakes, some theother way around.” It all depends on thecomponent layout and the path of the air-flow. If your case accumulates dust, youmight consider configuring your case withintake fans at a higher total CFM thanyour exhaust fans (including the powersupply fan), which increases the air pres-sure inside the case, and as a result keepsdust at a minimum.

Smoke test. The smoke test is a goodway to engineer the airflow with respectto your components. The smoke testworks best with a windowed case so youcan watch the flow of air when the fansare turned on. With the PC off, we posi-tioned our Chauvet F-650 Hurricane Profog machine so that it blew smoke into anopen drive bay. The smoke representsheat inside our case. When our windowedcase was filled with smoke, we pressed thepower button and watched as the airexchanged in seconds. If you perform thistest on your own, take note of where thesmoke exits from your PC. If very littlesmoke appears from an exhaust fan, youmay want to reposition it, or flip it tomake it an intake fan. If you notice areaswhere smoke seems to linger, you maywant to position an exhaust fan nearby toincrease the air movement in that area.

HOT FANS, COOL CASEThe Quietest, Most Powerful & Best-Looking Fans

Y our computer’s cooling system isone of the most vital componentsto consider when assembling your

rig. The mundane case fan is typically thecooling option that receives the least atten-tion when grouped with the more extremealternatives such as Peltier coolers, massiveaftermarket heatsinks, and other super-cooling setups (fish tank not included, see“Light My Fire” on page XX). The obvi-ous benefit of the case fan is improved air-flow, which can carry the heat away fromyour components by exchanging the hotair in your case with fresh cool air fromoutside your case. While not capable ofcooling below the ambient temperature ofyour computer’s surroundings, case fanscan improve heatsink and heat spreaderefficiency, and all without blowing yourbudget, or possibly subjecting your com-ponents to a watery grave.

A Fan Is A FanDecent fans generally cost about $5 and

get more expensive with increased powerand additional features, such as controllers,LEDs, CCFL (cold-cathode florescentlighting), and temperature sensors. Buyingthe right fan is about balancing your needsbetween power and noise output. Thenagain, killer looks don’t hurt either.

Cubic feet per minute. The mostimportant factor to consider when buyinga new case fan is the fan’s ability to pushair. The CFM (cubic feet per minute) rateis the measurement of a fan’s ability tomove air. With regard to fans, CFM rat-ings vary widely, from a pointless 8CFMup to a gale-force 120CFM. For standardpurposes, a lone 20CFM case fan canmove enough air to keep the ambienttemperature of a low-end computer incheck. On the other hand, overclockersare well aware of the importance of casefans, and frankly in OC’ed systems a sin-gle 20CFM exhaust fan isn’t capable ofmoving the heat quickly enough.

We spoke with lead technician WilliamTiu at Vantec about the CFM ratings ofcase fans. A third party tests the CFM of Vantec’s fans using a CFM thermo-anemometer, which can measure the airvelocity of the individual fan with a sensorthat looks like a fan. “The velocity is thenused, in combination with area of the airoutput, to calculate the CFM.”

A simple calculation can tell us roughlyhow many times per minute the fansexchange the air inside our case (assuminga 1:1 intake to exhaust ratio that offers noturbulence). First we must find the cubicfeet of air our case occupies. Our midtow-er case measured 16 inches high x 7.25inches wide x 18 inches deep, whichencloses approximately 1.21 cubic feet ofair (not accounting for the displacementof air by the components inside the case).Now we can divide the CFM of our casefans by the 1.21 cubic feet of air we needto move. Using this formula, a single30CFM fan will exchange the air in ourcase approximately 24.8 times per minute.With the power supply fan and multipleintake and exhaust fans, this number caneven reflect multiple exchanges per sec-ond. For instance, a case fitted with two40CFM intake fans, one 40CFM exhaustfan and a 40CFM power supply (exhaust)fan can exchange the air in the case 132.2times a minute or approximately 2.2 times

Don’t underestimate thesignificance of the case fan.

PC Modder • 151

The World Health Organization sug-gests that people can work comfortablywith 35dBs of ambient noise. At 45dBs ofbackground noise, the average personcannot sleep.

85dBs for prolonged periods will resultin hearing loss. You might think you’rehardcore enough to endure a noisy fan,but research suggests excessive noise canlead to irritability, heartburn, indigestion,ulcers, high blood pressure, and evenheart disease.

Sleeve or ball bearings. Manufac-turers and consumer groups generallyagree that ball-bearing fans generatemore noise than sleeve-bearing fans.Ball-bearing fans also have more movingparts than sleeve-bearing configurations.In a high-heat environment, however, asingle ball-bearing fan will typically lastlonger than a sleeve-bearing fan, anddual ball-bearing fans can last signifi-cantly longer. In cool environments, thelife expectancy of both bearing types isroughly the same. When choosingbetween fans with different bearing

dB. One of the tradeoffs between fansover other active- and passive-cooling op-tions is noise. Noise output is measured inbels with regard to the human hearingrange. A decibel (expressed dB) is one-tenthof a bel of amplitude per unit area. The dBrating on a fan comes from the noise it gen-erates at its highest rpm. Vantec’s WilliamTiu said the dB rating for Vantec’s fans ismeasured at a distance of approximately 2feet. The sound sensors are positioned atthe intake side of the fan because the windnoise from the exhaust side would producea significantly higher reading. William Tiualso warned that the listed dB ratings are ameasurement of the isolated fan; however,when you install a fan in a case, vibrationcan increase the total noise output. You canexpect a typical PC to generate between35dBs and 50dBs from the combined noiseof the case fans, power supply fan, heatsinkfan, optical drives, graphics card fan, andhard drive. Typically lower dB rated fansare less powerful and push significantly lessair, but on the other hand, more powerfulfans can be deafening.

With the fans running, we noticed that smokeseemed to linger near the graphics card.

[Sequence #1]

[Sequence #2]

[Sequence #3]

[Sequence #4]

The 120mm Panaflo towersover the 60mm Y.S. Tech.

152 • PC Modder

types, consider the environment insideyour case and your tolerance for noise.

Fan sizes. Fans come in a variety ofsizes, from the tiny 20mm fan only suit-able for cooling small areas, to the massive120mm fans that are approximately thediameter of a CD. Because of their size,120mm fans are more difficult to place ina PC. We mounted our 120mm test fansto the top panel of our case and they fitsnugly between the CD-ROM drive andthe power supply unit. Some optical driveswere actually too long to fit in the topdrive bay because of the fan. The mostcommon fan size is 80mm, and the major-ity of the fans we tested were this size.Most computer cases come with screwholes positioned for 80mm fans. Theadvantage of 80mm fans is that they’relarge enough to move plenty of air with-out having to rotate at excessive velocities,which keeps the fan’s power needs incheck and minimizes noise output.

Typically, fan diameter and rpm (rota-tion per minute) numbers are inverselyproportional, with smaller fans having tospin faster to move air, and larger fansable to push the same amount of air at alower rpm.

The Best BlowersFor our roundup, we bought and test-

ed 23 fans, ranking them in several cate-gories depending on their features andperformance.

Quietest. If your current fans dronelike the engines of a B-52 bomber, maybeit’s time to invest in a quieter method ofair exchange. As discussed earlier, fannoise is almost directly proportionate tothe amount of air the fan can move. Forthis reason, most of the top 10 quietestfans are also the least powerful. But if youdon’t need the extra power and prefer tohear the sound of your hard drive, thenlook to Vantec’s Stealth or either of theAeroCool fans we tested. The two fansfrom AeroCool operated at 20dB, whichis equal to just slightly louder than therustle of a leaf. Though quieter than awhisper, Vantec’s Stealth (also tied for thetop spot with 20dB of noise output) isonly capable of a measly 12CFM of airmovement. The Zalman ZM-F1, ranked

fourth, features a unique silencer in theform of a pass-through cable with a resis-tor that cuts the power from 12V downto 5.5V. The net result is a 20dB noiseoutput at 1,300rpm. If you’re looking fora relatively silent case fan that still pumpsthe heat, try the 120mm ThermaltakeThunderblade, which ranked fifth in ourquietest list with 21dB.

We noticed that eight out of the top10 quietest fans were sleeve-bearing types,while the remaining two had ball bear-ings. When looking for a quiet fan, any-thing that lists the decibel range between20 and 30dB will be fairly noiseless.

Most powerful. Throwing caution tothe wind, we chose our top 10 most pow-erful fans. At the top of that list is the

O nce you have your fans figured out,it’s time to start thinking about con-

trolling the flow. Fan controllers are a mustfor overclockers who require extreme air-cooling but don’t want to live with theextreme noise of high output fans. Fan con-trollers vary from a basic knob for manualspeed control to multiple temperature-sen-sitive fan triggers with digital readouts andheat alarms. We tested two fan controllersto manage the airflow in our case.

The Nexus. The Nexus, from Vantec, isa four-channel fan controller that fits intoa standard 3.5-inch drive bay and is avail-able with a silver or flat-black finish. Thekit includes four 3-pin/4-pin fan connec-tors, a power connector, and four mount-ing screws. Although a simple diagram onthe back of the box served as the instruc-tions, installation was a breeze. The fourconnectors on the rear of the unit arelabeled 1 through 4 to match with thecorresponding knobs. The power cableand the fan connection cables are allclearly labeled. The extended aluminumhousing fits past the extra-deep frontpanel of our case, which is more than wecould say for the SilverStone controlpanel (see main article text). Each of thefan speed knobs is backlit with a blueLED. The four channels were enough tomanage every fan in our case (not count-ing our PSU fan). The smoke test showedus that we were getting very little airflowbelow the video card, so we adjusted thefan speed to its maximum output. Our120mm fan was also pulling plenty of airso we decreased its speed to cut down onthe excess noise. Our two exhaust fans inthe back of our case were working well atmedium output.

The Ultimate Controller. Enermax’sUltimate Controller has all the bells andwhistles, literally. This four-channel con-troller fits into a standard 5.25-inch drivebay, but if you’re running low on room inyour midtower, you can use the included kitto mount a hard drive behind the controller.The aluminum-housed unit comes withinterchangeable black and silver faceplatesand has green and blue lights for the knobs.The backlit display also changes betweenblue and green with the push of a button.The beefy instruction manual offers installa-tion tips in seven different languages, butthe portion in English is only barely so. Atone point the manual warns, “please con-tact your dealer if the problem persistentcontinuity.” Even so, the Ultimate Controllerwent in easily. Each fan connector is labeledfor the corresponding fan knob and the 4-pin Molex connector for the power supply isunmistakable. We positioned the four tem-perature sensors at strategic points withinour case, one near the CPU heatsink, oneon the hard drive, one in-between the RAMmodules and another at a neutral point inthe case to measure the overall tempera-ture. You can adjust the overheat tempera-ture for each sensor so that if the sensorreads a temperature above your designatedlimit, an alarm will sound. The controlleralso has a fan fail alarm that goes off in theevent that one of the fans stops working. Inboth cases the alarm is diminutive andsounds like a digital watch alarm, gentlyreminding you that your processor is aboutto fry itself into a blob on your mother-board. The unit offered plenty of controlover our fan speeds, and the simplified con-trols and bold interface make this complexcontroller fun to use. ▲

The Taming Of The Fan

PC Modder • 153

ever-popular 92mm Vantec Tornado,which is capable of moving 119CFM, orroughly 2 cubic feet of air per second.Power purists hardly bat an eye at thethundering 56dB of noise output, whichis approximately equal to a moderate con-versation. If you’re not interested in fight-ing to be heard above the Tornado, theSilverStone FMC3XW system delivers acool 103.44CFM at a less intrusive 44dB.If the noise output at 3,000rpm is still toomuch, you can adjust the SilverStone fanwith the included (and ill-fitting) 3.5-inch bay speed controller, which canbring the noise output down to 17dB,which is even quieter than our most silentfans from AeroCool and Vantec. The120mm Panaflo (screws not included),which is 38mm deep and by far thelargest fan we tested, placed third on ourmost powerful list with an 86.5CFM rat-ing. Rated at 35dB, the Panaflo, with itsunique Hydro Wave bearing system, isthe quietest system among the top fourmost powerful fans we encountered. TheThermaltake Thunderblade rounds outour top five with a 78CFM rating at aquiet 21dB of noise output. The only80mm fan to make our most powerful listwas the Ultra-Cool UC-9FBC, whichranked eighth with 48.71CFM. If you’relooking for some serious movement froma small package, check out the 60mm Y.S.Tech High Output NFD1260259B-2F,which pushes 40CFM. But don’t judge afan by its diameter; Y.S. Tech’s HighOutput fan has a noise output rating of48dB, making it our second loudest fan,and at 6,800rpm, it’s no wonder thisthing is noisy.

Here, eight of the top 10 most power-ful fans were ball-bearing types, withPanaflo’s Hydro Wave bearing and theThunderblade’s sleeve bearing roundingout the list. Although the Thunderbladewas the lone sleeve-bearing fan, it was thequietest of the heavy pushers.

Best looking. Fans are some of thefew components of a PC that visiblymove, and as a result the aesthetic possi-bilities are many. Some of our judg-ments about the best-looking fans arebased on quantifiable observations, suchas CCFL elements are brighter than

Thermaltake’sFireball was thebest-lookingfan we tested.

The LogisysAlien lookstruly out ofthis world.

This dual-CCFLfan gives off a

ton of light.

154 • PC Modder

LEDs, and more LEDs are better thanfewer. Some of our conclusions, howev-er, are based solely on personal opinion.For instance, we think flashing LEDscan be annoying, and nothing kills thefun at a LAN party faster than peoplelapsing into seizures during a heateddeathmatch. Only you know what looks

best in your case, so take our list with agrain of salt.

The top three best-looking fans wetested were all very impressive, and pick-ing a clear winner was difficult. In theend, though, we settled on the 80mmThermaltake Fireball. This fan featuresthree multicolored LEDs and a flashing,

illuminated fireball grill, which nearlydoubles the depth of the fan. The fanalso comes equipped with a shut-offswitch for the illuminated grill. A veryclose second on our list is the 80mmLogisys nine-LED Alien fan, which hasfour blue LEDs in the clear plastic frameand five more LEDs mounted on thehub. When the fan is spinning, the fivehub LEDs provide an interesting circularlight show. Third on our list is the80mm Galaxy, with two sound-sensitivered CCFL. The fan also comes withswitch that lets you adjust the sound sen-sitivity or disable the CCFL altogether.The four-LED AeroCool Chameleonlanded at fourth place in our rankingsbecause of the unique temperature-sen-sitive fan blades, which change from purple to pink as the fan warms up.AeroCool’s Chameleon gets extra pointsfor being the most practical of our best-looking fans. AeroCool also grabs thefifth spot on our list with the aluminum-framed fan with four red LEDs. Weranked Vantec’s blue and green UV LEDfan sixth. The bright UV LEDs negatethe need for a blacklight and really lightthe case well. Sunbeam’s red CCFL fancomes in at number seven. Thermaltake’sThunderblade, with its three flashing,color-shifting LEDs, is eighth, but thedisco effect may quickly get old. Thefour-LED 120mm and 90mm Galaxyfans ranked ninth and tenth. The runner-up award goes to Evercool’s sharp-look-ing 120mm aluminum fan, even thoughit lacked any lighting element (not every-body has a windowed case).

by Andrew Leibman

The Vantec Nexus feels right at home next to our floppy drive.

Enermax’s Ultimate Controller makes the highly functional, highly fashionable.

Brand Fan Model Size (millimeters) Max Airflow (CFM) Noise (dB) Speed (rpm) Bearing Type Voltage Connector1 Vantec Tornado 92 x 92 x 38mm 119 56 4,800 Ball (2) 12 3-pin/4-pin2 SilverStone FMC3XW 120 x 120 x 25mm 103.44 44 3,000 Ball (2) 12 3-pin/4-pin3 Panasonic Panaflo FBA12G12M 120 x 120 x 38mm 86.5 35 2,100 Hydro Wave 12 3-pin4 Evercool AL12025 120 x 120 x 25mm 84.76 39 2,200 Ball (1) 12 3-pin/4-pin5 Thermaltake Thunderblade A1973 120 x 120 x 25mm 78 21 2,000 Sleeve 12 4-pin6 Galaxy Crystal LED GC124R1 120 x 120 x 25mm 69.15 39 2,400 Ball (1) 12 3-pin/4-pin7 Galaxy Crystal GC12UVB 120 x 120 x 25mm 69.15 39 2,400 Ball (1) 12 3-pin/4-pin8 Ultra-Cool UC-9FBC 80 x 80 x 25mm 48.71 29 2,400 Ball (1) 12 3-pin/4-pin9 Galaxy Crystal GC94R1 90 x 90 x 25mm 48 34 2,800 Ball (1) 12 3-pin/4-pin10 Y.S. Tech NFD1260259B-2F 60 x 60 x 25mm 40 48 6,800 Ball (1) 12 3-pin/4-pin

High Output

Top Ten Most Powerful Fans

PC Modder • 155

includes several dials that let you manuallycontrol individual fan speeds.

Some gauges can automatically controlfans based on preset temperature values. Byletting the gauge automatically adjust thesettings, you can ensure that all of your sys-tem’s fans are on when you stress yourcomputer. Although the Digital Doc 5+doesn’t let you adjust fan speeds, it canpower off individual fans and then powerthem on again when their related sensorsregister unacceptable temperatures, whichmeans you can fire up a game or otherintensive software without manuallyadjusting your fans. By turning offunneeded fans, the Digital Doc 5+ reducesyour system’s noise.

Multisensor temperature gauges general-ly have two types of diodes: bulb and flat.Although both sensors are fragile, the bulbdiode is the hardier of the two. You cansuspend a bulb sensor inside the case tomonitor the ambient temperature, or youcan use thermal tape to attach it to a flatsurface, such as a chipset or hard drive.

KEEP YOUR COOLDon’t Let Your PC’s Temp Get Out Of Control

Although your computer’s case isn’timpenetrable, it generally protectsyour PC from most potential sys-

tem-destroyers, including spilled liquids,dust, and curious children. Unfortunately,your system produces vast quantities of itsown worst enemy: heat. In fact, the CPUgenerates so much heat that if it runs foreven a few seconds without touching acooling device, such as a heatsink orwaterblock, the processor will destroy itself.And to make matters worse, your case,defending the system against outsidethreats, traps the heat inside. Custom sys-tem builders have a variety of coolingdevices at their disposal, includingheatsinks and watercooling units, but mostrely on case fans and heatsink fans, whichsuck out the heat and breathe fresh air intoyour simmering system.

But case fans may not cool the entirechassis evenly, especially if you overclockcertain components or if tangled cables dis-rupt the system’s airflow. If heat threatensyour computer’s precious guts, you’ll needto pinpoint dangerously hot air pockets,which means you’ll need a temperaturegauge that measures not just your PC’soverall temp, but the temperature in specif-ic locations. Enter the removable, multiple-sensor temperature gauge, a device that justmight save your PC.

Time To Fill Another Drive BayIf you’ve searched online retailers for PC

temperature gauges, you already know thatmany gauges have the same basic character-istics: flat or bulbous sensors; small, black-and-white LCD’s; external buttons or dials;and 5.25-inch wide bodies that slide snuglyinto one of your case’s free optical drivebays. To lure users otherwise unwilling tosacrifice a drive bay, some manufacturersadd hard drive mounts and fans. The drivesits just behind the device’s front panel.Some new temperature gauges even haveUSB and FireWire ports.

The LCD displays the thermal sensor’stemperature reading. MacPower’s DigitalDoc 5+ ($52; www.macpower.com.tw) andthe Vantec Nexus ($33; www.vantecusa.com), for example, each have a tinyLCD that sits next to the device’s controls.Because the Digital Doc 5+’s LCD is sosmall, it automatically cycles through thesensor’s readings, displaying one tempera-ture at a time. Other devices, such as theFrozenCPU.com Lian-Li Dual BezelGauge ($32; www.frozencpu.com), tradecontrol buttons and features for multipledisplays. New cases also often have a built-in LCD and single temperature sensor. Ifyou’re handy with a Dremel and want tomeasure only one location’s temperature,you can save drive bay space by adding asmall, single-sensor, LCD-only temperaturegauge, such as the Global WIN Compu-Nurse ($12; www.globalwinusa.com). Mosttemperature gauges display sensor readingsin degrees Celsius, but users who preferFahrenheit can configure some high-endgauges to display in Fahrenheit.

Temperature gauges that have few sen-sors and options are inexpensive, but theygenerally lack two important features thatmake high-end gauges attractive to heat-and-noise-conscious users: high tempera-ture alerts and fan control.

Most fans spin at a single, preset speedwhether the system is idle or under a fullload. If you aren’t having heat-related prob-lems and want to reduce your system’s fannoise, you can use a high-end temperaturegauge that includes a rheobus to lower fanspeeds. This type of temperature gauge hasseveral fan connectors and potentiometersthat let you adjust the voltage flowing toindividual fans. When you lower the fan’svoltage, the fan slows. Thanks to the con-trol feature, you can lower your fans whileyour system is idle and crank them back upwhen your system takes on heavy loads.The Turbo Case Aspire 609 Fan Master($28; www.newegg.com), for example,

Use bulb sensors to check your case’s tempand slide flat sensors into tight spaces.

156 • PC Modder

on-die diodes that work with the mother-board to calculate the processor’s tempera-ture. You can view this temperature in thePC Health section of your BIOS, but yoursystem won’t be running under a full load.If you want to check the on-die diode tempreadings from Windows, you’ll need toinstall a third-party application. Somemotherboard applications have overclock-ing software that displays processor temps,and Intel offers Active Monitor, which is afree utility that uses the on-die diode toreport your processor’s temperature. Youcan run it at any time, which means youcan keep an eye on the processor’s tempwhile stressing your system.

by Joshua Gulick

However, the bulb’s shape means you can’tplace it in particularly tight locations, suchas the gap between a heatsink and a proces-sor. Flat sensors easily attach to flat surfacesand fit into the small gaps bulb sensorscan’t reach, but the sensors are very fragile.You can easily break a flat sensor by bend-ing it or simply bumping it into an object.

Don’t Put This Under Your TongueDetermine which locations you plan to

monitor and what bulb types you’ll needbefore you buy a temperature gauge, as thenumber and type of sensor varies fromgauge to gauge. For example, MacPowerput six bulb sensors and two flat sensorsinto the Digital Doc 5, but put six flat sen-sors and two bulb sensors into the DigitalDoc 5+. Cooler Master’s Aerogate II ALD-V02 ($46; www.coolermaster.com), on theother hand, has four flat sensors.

If you’re not sure where to place yourtemperature gauge’s sensors, aim for threeof your system’s hottest components: thehard drive, the processor, and the mother-board chipset. You may also want to moni-tor your system’s ambient temperature tomake sure your system maintains a consis-tent airflow. An AMD representative sug-gested suspending a bulb sensor in front ofthe heatsink fan to monitor the tempera-ture of the air flowing toward the heatsink.

You can attach either type of diode to ahard drive by running thermal tape over it.Some manufacturers suggest particularlocations that let the sensor accurately readthe drive’s temperature. Seagate, for exam-ple, recommends placing the sensor nearthe back end (opposite the power and dataconnectors) of a Barracuda. If you’re notsure where to place the sensor, check yourdrive’s manual. Motherboard chipsets gen-erally sport heatsinks or heatsink/fan com-bos, which means you’ll have troubleattaching either type of diode directly tothe core top of the chipset.

Placing a sensor near your CPU is tricky.You can’t put the sensor directly on thecore because it will block the heatsink fromcontacting the entire core surface. As aresult, processors generally don’t make greatcandidates for external sensors. However,AMD Athlon XP processors have a raisedcore and four small pads that create a gap

between the heatsink and the body of theprocessor. The AMD representative told usthat a user should be able to slide a flat sen-sor into the gap without trouble. If youplace a sensor in this gap, keep in mind thatalthough the sensor itself is flat, its cable isnot. If you wedge the cable under theheatsink, you may break the heatsink’s con-tact with the processor’s core.

On the other hand, AMD’s new Athlon64 and Athlon 64 FX series processors have

a small case that covers the top of theprocessor, including the processor core. As aresult, these processors (and Intel P4 proces-sors, which have similar designs) don’t havethe gap that Athlon XP’s offer. You canapproximate the CPU’s temp by placing thesensor in between the heatsink’s fins. Onceyou slip the sensor in between the fins, angleit downwards to push it as close to the bot-tom center of the heatsink as possible.

If you’re short on drive bays or simplydon’t want to buy a temperature gauge, youcan check your processor’s temperature inyour system’s BIOS. Most processors have

Some Temperature gauges, such as this EnermaxUC-A8FATR4 ($36; www.maxpoint.com), can letyou adjust fan speeds to lower your PC’s noise.

If you have an Intel-based motherboard, youcan use the Windows-friendly Intel ActiveMonitor to keep tabs on the processor’s temp.

M anufacturers assign processors amaximum temperature limit to

help system builders avoid melting theprecious cores. Because AMD Athlon XPprocessors don’t have the thermal casesthat protect Athlon 64 and Intel P4processors, AMD can put small labels onthe body of the processor without affect-ing performance. To find your Athlon XP’smax temp, simply look at the OrderingPart Number label and then find the thirdcharacter from the left, which will be an S,T, or V. S = 95 degrees Celsius, T = 90 C,and V = 85 C.

Intel recommends a 40 C maximumCPU case temperature for 423-pin P4’sand 478-pin P4’s at or below 2.8GHz.Always the detail-oriented chipmaker,Intel recommends a 38 C maximumtemperature for 478-pin P4’s to3.4GHz. We spoke with an Intel engi-neer who suggested that P4 ownersuse 64 C as maximum temperaturewhen monitoring the processor’s tempvia the Intel Active Monitor.

Individual hard drive families havedifferent temps. If you don’t have yourdrive’s manual, you can generally findthe drive’s max temp by visiting themanufacturer’s Web site and browsingthe drive’s specifications. ▲

Pushing The Limit

PC Modder • 157

In the past greases came in plastic orfoil tubes and were applied with a puttyknife. Though this is still the case withsome products, many now come inplastic syringes, making application alittle simpler. Greases come as non-metallics or can contain aluminum orsilver. The problem with the greases isthat the performance may decrease overtime due to the grease drying out or themigration of the material, which leavesgaps in the interface. They are alsomessy and, in most cases, electricallyconductive, so you must be careful toremove excess grease so you don’t cre-ate a short and eliminate the need tocool your computer, as it will be noth-ing more than a charred pile of plasticand heavy metals.

Thermally conductive tapes and ther-mally conductive elastomers work wellto provide the thermal conductivity ofgrease but will not flow freely enough tomove past the edges of the heat-sink/chipset interface. Thermally con-ductive elastomers are silicone padsfilled with thermally conductive ceramicparticles, often reinforced with wovenglass fiber or dielectric film for addedstrength. Thermally conductive tapes aredouble-sided, pressure-sensitive filmsimpregnated with enough ceramic pow-der to provide thermal and electron-ic conductivity.

It’s Just A PhasePCM (phase-change materials) are

designed to alleviate the problems asso-ciated with greases. A PCM is a solid atroom temperature, but softens or evenliquefies at the operating temperaturesof your CPU. The change of phase willhelp draw some of the excess heat out ofthe chipset but can only be used in con-junction with a cooling fan because thePCM will only remove heat until it iscompletely melted and has reached

CHILL CHATKeep The Heat Down With These Handy Tips

N ow that computers are gettingfaster, more powerful, andsmaller, heat is becoming

more and more of a problem. It’s espe-cially vexing if you’re going to try tooverclock your machine. If your CPUgets too hot, all of the high-priced modsyou’ve spent years accumulating will beworth as much as the silicon in the bot-tom of your fish tank. Fortunately foryou and your nontechno-savvy goldfish,there are alternatives to melting down$2,500 worth of hardware: heat transferfins, thermal grease, fans, and water-based cooling systems. I’m going to dis-cuss some of the more popular optionsand maybe even point you in the direc-tion of some new ideas.

Sink The HeatThe function of the heatsink in your

computer is similar to your air condi-tioner or refrigerator. A thermally con-ductive material (copper is popular, andaluminum works, too) is mounted flushto the heat source. In order to maintainthe small size constraints on today’smodern machines, f ins or pins areadded to the material. The math iscomplex, and I won’t get into it here (Icould—those degrees in engineeringhave to be good for something), but thefins are intended to increase the surfacearea of the heatsink while keeping thefootprint small.

If you’ve got an outrageously modi-fied PC and can’t find an off-the-shelfheatsink for your application, you canalso purchase a used heatsink from alocal supply store and cut it to whateversize you want. This is also a possibilityif you’re trying to remove heat from anoverworked video card. If you’re goingto try to make your own, you’ve got tobe careful to keep the back side (theside without the fins) as clean andscratch-free as possible because this is

the only surface to take heat from thechipset. I wouldn’t recommend thisapproach unless you’ve got the patienceto work slowly and carefully to ensurean undamaged interface and burr-freeedges, but if you’ve got no choice, it is aviable alternative.

After you’ve got your heatsink chosen(or manufactured), you need to attach itto the chipset you’re trying to cool. Avery drastic measure would be to use ametallic-infused epoxy to affix yourheatsink directly to your chipset. Youshould note that this is a fairly radicalmove and should not be undertakenlightly; if you glue your heatsink to thechipset, it’s there for good. You shouldknow what you’re doing before you try itand be certain that it will be worth theextra degree or two of cooling poweryou’ll get. If you’re not in the mood torisk that much, you will still need toattach the heatsink to the chipset usingsome kind of scaffolding in conjunctionwith some kind of TIM (thermal inter-face material).

Grease ItTIM is one of any number of sub-

stances in either paste, liquid, stick,pad, or foi l form that mates yourheatsink to the chipset you’re trying tocool. The form may differ, but in eachcase the idea is to provide a conductiveinterface between the chipset and theheatsink and reduce the amount of airbetween the two because air is a poorconductor of heat. For the most part,there is very little difference betweenthe thermal performance of varioustypes of TIMs, usually only a couple ofdegrees. It really all comes down toyour application and what measure ofinconvenience you’re willing to put upwith (For more information on TIMs,see our “Working With Grease” articleon page 142).

158 • PC Modder

the water, give you a couple extra degreesof specific heat, and keep your alu-minum and copper parts intact. Youshould also consider some type of bio-cide to keep your system free of microor-ganisms, which can clog the system andfoul the heat transfer surfaces. Additionof a commercial algicide availablethrough laboratory suppliers will helpkeep your water germ-free and smellingfresh for months.

Hopefully these tips will steer you inthe right direction toward keeping yourcool new PC cool and comfortable.

by David Miller

equilibrium with the temperature ofyour chipset.

Now that you’ve gotten the heatfrom the chipset into the heatsink,you’ve still got to get it out of the case.The best way to accomplish this wouldbe to leave the case completely openand surround it with fans. Unfortu-nately, leaving your case open to airflowalso opens it up to dust, which is almostas bad for components as heat. Thismeans that you’re going to need asmuch air flowing via fans as possible.Again you will run into space con-straints, with the added hassle of havingto place the fans so that air flows overyour high-risk components, such asyour processor, disk drives, and videocards. The trick is to find an open areaon your computer’s case (at least one—two or more on opposite sides is betterif you’ve got the space) and install cool-ing fans. Again, the bigger the better,but an 80mm fan or two will workwonders for heat removal. It’s a fairlysimple procedure, assuming you can getyour hands on a hole saw and a drill. Asearch of the internet can yield graph-ics, but you basically cut a round holein the case with the hole saw, transferthe hole locations from your fan (andgrille if you’re so inclined), and drillthem through the case. If dust is a prob-lem, abrasive pads used for cleaningdishes work well as filters on the insideof the grille. Then, all you’ve got to dois install the fan with the included hard-ware and run the power cables to yourpower supply. The sky’s the limit—youcan get as fancy or down-and-dirty asyou want.

Going FurtherFinally—and this is for those of you

that are serious about heat removal—there’s watercooling. Watercoolerswork on the same principles as aircool-ing, but water has a higher specific heatthan air, so it can remove more heatwith less mass. That’s mass of fluid,people, not equipment. The downsideof watercooling is that you need anenclosed system to keep the water fromleaking, and you need pumps, heat

exchangers, and all manner of othermechanisms to achieve the same effectas a fan and a heatsink.

If you’re really determined to usewatercooling, there are some off-the-shelf systems that will work for mostchipsets and require little to no modifi-cation. There are some other factors toconsider, however. If you’re going to usewatercooling, I strongly recommendedthat you not use only deionized (dis-tilled) water. DI water has a tendency topick up metal ions (aluminum) whichcan cause corrosion and damage to yoursystem. You should use a small amountof antifreeze in addition to the good oldH2O. This will raise the ion content of

Top Picks

N anotherm Ice (www.nanotherm.com) is, in my opinion,

one of the best thermal greases on themarket. It is nonhazardous and chemi-cally inert thanks to the USDA-approved “food grade” lubricants, andhas high thermal conductivity and lowthermal resistance because of thenanocomposite thermal materials. Itwill remove the heat sufficiently and,thanks to its viscous nature, it will fillthe imperfections in your heatsink andchipset but will not flow away whileyou’re trying to apply it with its includ-ed plastic syringe.

The Zalman Reserator 1 (www.zalmanusa.com) is not only stylish butwill help keep PC noise to a minimum.Its electric-brushed blue exterior hous-es one of the most innovative water-cooling systems to date. Its internalmotor circulates water (that you pro-vide) through the included AMD orIntel water block almost noiselessly.The included plumbing does notrequire a major overhaul of your sys-tem for integration. It does not use anexternal fan but will remove sufficientheat depending on the placement ofthe heat exchange tower. It will keepboth the noise and temperature of yourPC down. ▲

Zalman Reserator

Nanotherm Ice

PC Modder • 159

breathing elements as important as anyother character. I remember seeing thisfilm on TV as a kid, and again only a fewyears ago on the big screen, complete witha live orchestra. It was incredible.

Project PlanningI now had the central theme of the

project and a starting point from which tolaunch my ideas. My plan was to design adisplay around the hardware, and the

Mini-ITX motherboardwould be at its heart. Iwould construct a platformon which to mount thebarely 7-inch square moth-erboard and fabricatebuildings and architectureinspired by the film to cre-ate a miniature Metropolisskyline. My very first con-cept drawings had the

PROJECT METROPOLISHow Artist Paul Capello Built His Latest Modding Masterpiece

The InspirationLike most artists, I have a hard time

sleeping. A cup of strong coffee, about anhour old, sits on my desk untouched. It'salmost 4 a.m., and the street outside mywindow in Brooklyn, NY, is quiet exceptfor the rustling leaves of a giantSycamore. The sturdy trunk of the treerises from the concrete sidewalk and thepatch of soil it was planted in many yearsago. I turn back to the computer monitorand the blank canvas of my 3D-sketchingprogram, but there's no inspiration to befound there, in the bright glow of the screen.

I've been asked to create a display forVIA Technologies and base it on theirnew Mini-ITX motherboard. I had lessthan two weeks to complete the projectand have it shipped to Hanover, Germanyfor the CEBIT 2004 convention. I'moften asked where I find the inspirationfor the case mods I create, and it's the onequestion that is very difficult to answer.To wit, I knew where it wouldn't comefrom: staring at this stupid monitor.Frustrated, I switched it off and turnedmy attention back to the window and thetree-lined street outside. After severalpeaceful minutes, the relative tranquilitywas broken by the belching roar of anapproaching sanitation truck, a noisy,man-made mammoth on its nocturnalforage for food.

The truck stopped in front of myapartment, and the familiar whine of itspneumatic compactor was like the earth-shaking growl of some prehistoric beast.These sounds, the leaves in the wind andthat of the garbage truck, as different asYin is from Yang, were both part of theliving, breathing city in which I wasraised. I closed the window against the

din outside and slumped in my chair,rubbing my sleepless eyes. Some fresh airmight do me good, and I took the nowcold cup of coffee with me as I climbedthe small ladder that leads to the roof ofmy two-story home. This neighborhoodwas built on Brooklyn's highest hill,appropriately named Sunset Park for itsamazing view of (you guessed it) the set-ting sun. At night the view of Manhattanwas also great, and it was there that Iturned my attention. The skyline of NewYork, though forever changed, is still asbreathtaking as ever. The buildings thatmade up all the peaks and valleys shim-mered with twinkling light, and there wasa barely perceptible hum that was therhythm at the heart of it. It was theshapes of buildings against the dull whiteglow of the horizon that I watched forsome time. The City. Manhattan.Gotham. Metropolis.

I was on to something. Back at mycomputer, I brought up the 3D programand began roughing out acity skyline comprised ofsimple buildings and sil-houetted shapes. As I start-ed adding extruded partsand more detail to thearchitecture of the build-ings, they began to take onabstract shapes. In the 1927silent film “Metropolis,”director Fritz Lang shockedaudiences with his vision ofa future city built from thesweat and sacrifice of work-er-slaves and ruled with an iron fist by the wealthy. In this film, the buildingsthat made up the city had a leading role: living,

—John F. Kennedy

The inspiration for project Metropolis was bornfrom the 1927 Fritz Lang movie of the samename. Although the city from the movie didn'thave a dome, this concept was used manytimes in sci-fi novels and film. The dome wouldalso keep curious fingers and hands off of theMini-ITX motherboard at the CEBIT show.

The pedestal for Metropolisbecame an integral part of thelook and feel of the project.The 'tower of light" conceptwas inspired by the gadgetsand gizmos a mad scientistmight have.

160 • PC Modder

platform for the city as a square shape,and it was only later, through the adviceof a friend, that I made it round andadded the clear acrylic dome. It's been myexperience to let a concept simmer for awhile before you jump in and begin aproject. Like painting or sculpture, thereis a point where the piece begins to"speak" to you, and it's at this stage whereit's very important that you're all ears.

I knew from the beginning that thisproject wouldn't be a case mod in the"traditional" sense, where a stock com-puter enclosure was hacked, chopped, andotherwise modified from its original form.Because this (ahem) display was going to

be presented as part of Via Technology'sbooth, it really had to stand out from thecrowd if it was going to make an impres-sion. It had to be a singular piece, able tostand on its own and not anchored to atable or desktop. The solution for this wasto integrate a pedestal into the design. Inthis case, a pedestal would not work pure-ly as a "stand" for the miniature city ontop but rather had to be part of the sculp-ture as a whole. When designing pedestalsfor sculptures, one of the most importantgoals is to raise it up so that the artwork isbrought to the proper viewing height.Whether that height is 4 inches or 4 feetdepends on the sculpture itself.

The pedestal ultimately became animportant part of this display, and a lot ofthought was given to the materials andoverall design. The pedestal couldn'toverpower the sculpture on top, so creat-ing a design that was solid and pillar-likewas out of the question. Drawing on theinfluence of sci-fi movies and illustrations,I came up with the "tower of light" con-cept for the pedestal. When I began tosketch it out in my 3D program, itreminded me of a weird gadget that amad scientist might have in his laborato-ry. Now that I had a clear direction totravel in, it was time to hit the road andbegin construction on project Metropolis.

Construction Part 1

The Building Of A City

A short, hollow tube made from sheet styrenewas created to hold the Mini-ITX power supplyand all the wires and cables.

A second hollow tube was made, and this wouldbecome the base for mounting the six buildingsthat made up the "city." The acrylic hemispherewas an inexpensive item I found while shoppingat the plastic supply store.

Functional parts of the PC were integrated intothe design of the buildings. This wirelessreceiver for a mouse and keyboard becamethe top of the "Radio Tower."

Before I could begin construction, I hadto write up a shopping list of parts and sup-plies for the project. My first stop was theplastic supply store, where I browsed the

aisles in search of suitable materials. As amaster model builder, finding the rightmaterials for a given project is fairly easy todo. If you're just starting out as a craftsper-son, the single most important advice I cangive is to experiment. As you become morefamiliar with materials and their properties,you'll have the knowledge and know-howto find just the right ones for your ownprojects. For me, that material is plastic. Ican cut, shape, carve, and form just aboutanything from it.

For the platform, I chose precut acrylicand stock sheets of styrene. Plexiglas(methyl methacrylate) is a form of acrylic,

The motherboard and hard disk drive wereboth mounted to acrylic circles. The brassstandoffs that come with stock PC cases wereperfect for mounting the hardware.

and there are many brand names, composi-tions, and properties of acrylic available.Styrene (or polystyrene) is the same materi-al that is used to manufacture plasticmodel kits and countless other items. Thestyrene I use comes in 2- x 3- foot sheetsand in thickness from 0.040 inches to0.080 inches. Unlike acrylic, which is fairlyridged, styrene can be formed and shapedpretty easily—perfect for making theround platform for the project. Both mate-rials can be bonded with superglues such asZap-a-Gap (cyanoacrylate adhesive) brandor solvent-based cements. The best place tofind these materials and supplies would bea model railroading shop or hobby store.

The platform would become the struc-ture that housed the parts for a function-ing PC, and also a base to attach the

various buildings. The small brass stand-offs that are supplied with stock PC caseswere used to mount the motherboard and

PC Modder • 161

hard disk drive to the acrylic circles. Iinstalled two small cold-cathode lightsunder the motherboard, one red and oneyellow, to create a nice warm glow underthe dome. Next, I made a short tube fromsheet styrene, and this would be mountedbelow the acrylic disks with 3-inch brassbolts as spacers. A second outer ring wasformed with styrene, and this wouldbecome the mounting point for the build-ings and clear dome. Speaking of thedome, this was an inexpensive stock partfound at my local plastic supply store.Made from acrylic, it was optically clearand sturdy, complete with a ring that wasperfect to use for bolting it down. By thistime the drawings I made in the 3D pro-gram were forgotten and the project was starting to take a freeform path of creation.

The most enjoyable part of the projectcame when it was time to make the build-ings of Metropolis. The project wasn'tabout making exact replicas of the buildingsfrom the movie, so I relied on the impres-sions they each left me with in guiding theirconstruction. An idea came to integratesome of the buildings into the functioningparts of the PC itself. The design of the"Radio Tower" building was conceived inpart by shape of the Belkin wireless mouseand keyboard receiver that was built-in to it.A red 4-inch cold-cathode light from anauto supply store became the building'sradio antenna. The aptly named "UzbeeBuilding" contained a removable USB pendrive that became the top of the top portionof the structure. The plastic shapes used tocreate the details of the buildings came fromthe architectural model parts that are sold athobby stores. They might be hard to findnear you, but doing a quick search on theInternet for brand names such as EvergreenScale Models and Plastruct would find youstores to buy them online. All the profes-sional model-building studios in Hollywooduse these parts to create exact miniaturereplicas of buildings and structures for usein special effects. The sheet styrene I usedfor the larger parts of the buildings was veryeasily cut by first scoring the plastic with ahobby knife guided by a metal ruler orstraightedge. The piece was then slightlybent by hand, and with a satisfying snap,

the plastic was cleanly broken. Since theplastic stock was white, it was often hard tosee the details in the buildings as I worked.To remedy this, I would lightly mist thecompleted sections with gray aerosolprimer. Any fast-drying primer sold in autosupply stores is best, drying to the touch inonly a few minutes. The paint created a nicecontrast, and all those small details poppedoff of the buildings.

Central to the film was the 10-hourclock that workers in the bowels beneathMetropolis would base their day on. Forthis building, I integrated a battery-pow-ered quartz mechanism ripped from aclock I purchased at a thrift store. Whenbuilding case mods, you really need tokeep an eye out for interesting parts touse. My favorite places to browse are thebig home improvement stores with theircountless aisles of parts and supplies thatcan be used in projects. I made yetanother building to house the 60mmintake fan, power/reset buttons, and LEDindicator lights.

For the fan grill, I wanted to createsomething special and decided to do a bitof cutting on my scroll saw. Using theimage of the famous "robot Maria" fromthe film, I made a template in Photoshopand printed it out. This template wasthen mounted to a piece of styrene usingspray adhesive. With my pattern in place,I carefully cut the silhouette shape fromthe plastic using a fine blade on the scrollsaw. Small Riffler files came in handy forthe fine finishing and carving of theshape. The paper pattern was then peeledoff and the fan grill cleaned with a softrag and mineral spirits to remove theadhesive. One of the nice qualities ofstyrene is how easy it is to carve andshape. Wet sanding with 600-grit paperremoved any burs and rough edges, andthe grill was ready for finishing.

A high-resolution color print of theMaria robot was then made on plain paperand carefully cut out with a hobby knife.This was then positioned and mounted tothe fan grill with more spray adhesive andtrimmed where necessary. I mixed upsome clear five-minute epoxy, and with asmall disposable foam brush, I gave theentire grill a nice coat of protective resin.

A removable USB pen drive was the inspira-tion for the "Uzbee Building." Inside the struc-ture, I hot-glued a USB cable that would laterbe connected to the motherboard.

A battery-powered quartz mechanism from athrift store became the central part of theworking "Clock Tower."

The base of this building was made to house a60mm intake fan and the power/reset buttons.The pattern for the "Robot Maria" fan grill wascreated in Photoshop, then cut from styrene ona scroll saw.

162 • PC Modder

Construction Part 2

The Tower Of Light

Translucent bronze discs were laser cut fromacrylic at a plastic supply store. Looking backon the project, I should have had them cut allthe holes, too.

A round over bit and router was used to makea clean edge on the MDF circles.

The threaded collars that came with the con-duit were used to attach them to the undersideof the top piece. Holes were drilled in the MDFand the collars secured with epoxy.

The base of the pedestal was used to housethe power supplies and the VGA and audioconnectors. These cables would later besnaked up the center tube.

Now that I had the six buildingscompleted and mounted to the plat-form, it was off to the workshop tobuild the pedestal. The design for thepedestal was simple yet elegant, andcould be made in one afternoon. A cen-ter column and three smaller pipeswould support acrylic discs of varioussizes, giving a nice open look to the 4-foot tall pedestal. For the center col-umn, I used a clear acrylic tube, 2.75inches in diameter, which would later befrosted and illuminated from insideusing cold-cathode fluorescent lights.Three lengths of aluminum conduitused for home electrical wiring served asthe mounting points for the acrylicdiscs . For the top and base of thepedestal, MDF (medium-density fiber-board) would be cut into circles to com-pliment the round acrylic discs.

I had an entire sheet of 0.25-inchbronze translucent acrylic cut into 12discs for me at the plastic shop. The sizeswere in 1-inch increments from 10 to 22inches in diameter. Each disk wasclamped down to the worktable, and a2.75-foot cut was made in the center witha hole saw. Next, I had to build a jig thatwould be a guide when drilling the threesmaller holes for the aluminum conduit.For these pipes, a nice, sharp spade bitwas used on the disks for a clean, 0.75-inch hole. Because the discs were laser cutat the plastic shop, very little cleaning wasneeded on the outside edge of each one,saving me precious time and energy.

Circles made from MDF (medium-densityfiberboard ) were cut using a jigsaw. Theseparts would become the top and base of the pedestal.

For the top and base of the pedestal,circles were cut from MDF and given aclean edge with a router equipped with around over bit. The threaded collars

that came with the conduit were used toattach the pipes to the underside of theMDF top piece. The base of thepedestal would be home for the two

A 2.75-inch cutout was made in the center ofeach disc with a hole saw. Later, the diskswould be mounted on a frosted acrylic tube ofthe same diameter.

Holes for the conduit were made with a sharp,spade-type drill bit. Working slowly and care-fully helps prevent costly mistakes.

PC Modder • 163

power supply converters, as well as theVGA and audio connectors. I mountedthese on a removable tray made fromsheet styrene, in the event that theywould need service or replacement at

some point in the future. When all theparts were cut, it was time to assemblethe pedestal piece by piece. It was mybrother Luciano's idea to use rubber o-rings to hold the acrylic disks in placeon the conduit. (It was such a brilliantidea, I only wished I thought of itmyself.) Each disk was rather painstak-ingly measured and mounted on thepedestal, taking quite a bit longer thanexpected to get looking just right. Oncethe pedestal was completed, the timeinvolved proved well worth it, and Icould finally see the entire project com-ing together.

The first time I sparked up this display, I was pleased with the look andfeel of it and how the colors and composi-tion came together into a finished sculp-ture. With barely enough time to photo-graph the final piece, Metropolis waswrapped and shipped directly to VIA'sbooth at CEBIT. With good fortune, thedisplay arrived safely and was set up at theentrance to the booth, where it receivedquite a bit of attention from the attendeesand exhibitors.

Project Metropolis could not have beenpossible without the extremely generoushelp and support of some really fine people:

Michal Lisiecki of VIA Technologies,for his kind trust in my design and theenthusiasm he demonstrated in every stepof the project.

Sascha from www.epiacenter.com, forgetting the project off the ground and hiscommitment to the art and technology ofcase modding.

My brother Luciano, for his artistic tal-ent, mechanical ingenuity, and big heart.

Johan "Mashie" Grundstrom, casemodder extraordinaire, for his help andartistic vision.

My wife Jean, who has stood by methrough many tough projects. Thanks forall the coffee, my love.

by Paul CapelloPaul Capello is a professional modder; check

out his work at www.thebestcasescenario.com.

When I first placed the buildings onthe pedestal, I knew that my roughmeasurements and calculations wereright on, as the composition of thepiece came together nicely. The nextstep was to come up with a suitablepaint f inish for the bui ldings andpedestal. My first thought was to use anantique copper kit on the buildings.The kit contained a bright copper spraypaint and a can of brown acrylic forsponge stippling. I did a test on one ofthe buildings, and as it turned out, Ididn't like the look of the faux antiquefinish at all. I did like the nice, bright

copper color though, and decided to gowith that.

For the pedestal top and base, I foundthis cool-looking, "hammered" bronzespray paint. When applied, chemicals inthe paint would create dimples in the fin-ish to simulate a rustic, hand-made look.MDF material is notoriously sponge-like,so several coats of primer were neededbefore applying the finishing coats ofhammered bronze. In the end the copperbuildings and dark bronze pedestal lookedpretty good together.

Installing the remaining PC compo-nents was a bit of a challenge and took

quite a bit of head scratching to get justright. Cables and wiring for the mother-board, switches, lights, and PSU had tobe very neatly routed in order to keepthings tidy inside the small confines ofthe buildings. Down the center of thepedestal and inside that frosted acrylictube, I installed a length of 3/16-footsteel rod that would be used to mountthe two green CCFL lights, the monitorcable, and wires for the PSU converters.It was a tight fit all around, but some-how it all worked out. It was time to fire this motherboard up and install anoperating system.

It’s A Wrap

Closing Thoughts On Project Metropolis

Rubber o-rings were cleverly used to hold theacrylic discs in place. Each disk had six o-rings,three on top and three beneath.

Once the disks were installed, the pedestal really began to take shape.

Construction Part 3

Putting It All Together

164 • PC Modder

MOD(ERN) ARTEnjoy Browsing This Collection Of Creative Mods

Tech Specs:

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-7VRXP CPU: Athlon XP 2100HEATSINK: Zalman 7000 copperRAM: 1GB PNY PC2700DISPLAY: 21-inch IBM P275 monitorAUDIO: Audigy PlatinumHDD: Two Western Digital 1200JBs striped inRAID 0, one Western Digital 20 gigCD/DVD: Sony DRU 530A DVD burner, Sony52X CD burner

Wall HangerMod by Mark Krivanich

The case on my computer was alwaysopen. I fix computers for friends and asso-ciates as a hobby and use my rig as a testbed for troubled components. One day Ithought, “Why pack all of this stuff into ametal box? Wouldn’t it be nice if it wasall open and accessible?” So I built thewall hanger. I like to think of it as func-tional industrial art.

The “canvas” is aluminum honey-comb. This material is used to manu-facture flight control surfaces for air-craft, so it’s very light and very strong.All of the sheet metal was cut andformed from aircraft-grade aluminum.I am in the aerospace business, so Ihave access to these materials. Somemay not consider this a case mod, asthere is no case, but it is a “mod,” andit works well for me.

The Audigy sound card is pumpedthrough a 400-watt Pioneer surround-sound amp and into two JBL s tu-dio monitors, two Bose 151s, and a Mirage subwoofer.

166 • PC Modder

Plexiglass HeavenMod by Patrick Denney

I s tar ted thi s projectback in February . I hadalways loved the idea of theclear cases, but it seemed alittle too generic for me,and I wanted somethingoriginal. I had drawn up ahandful of rough sketchesin a notebook and let mywife f l ip through themuntil she found one thatshe liked.

I bought six 4- x 4-footsheets of Plexiglass to startoff with. I cut out the sixdifferent pieces of the desk.I then bought a handful ofa luminum edges to f i taround the side. I thoughtthe project was a bust because I couldn’t f ind anything to hold thePlexiglass to the aluminum. I triedeverything from bolts to glue, but theonly thing that worked was heavy-dutyfoam tape. After I got the basic mold ofthe desk together, I cut out a piece formy motherboard.

I used rubber pipe fittings to the holdthe motherboard up and then I cutaround the PCI cards. I installed aSilentstream watercooling kit to myboard and ran the radiator and fan

down to the bottom of the case for thebest possible heat distribution.

After I got the motherboard intoplace, I used two more small sheetsbolted in from the side and the top tohold my DVD/CD drives in the front. Ithen bolted the power supply to the topof the case and added two 80mm fanswith UV lights to the front for extracooling. I cut out a door in the front ofthe case for easy access to my mother-board watercooling kit. I soldered in ablue power button on the top of the

case along with a buttonthat controls the two black-lights in the rear of the caseand the two blue cold cath-odes for my monitor. Formy monitor, I butchered myold 17-inch LCD and fileddown a 1.5-inch-thick dis-play case I bought at a localart store. I fit the monitorinside and drilled out holesfor the buttons at the bot-tom. I added two 6-inchblue cold cathodes on eitherside that are controlled bythe switch on the top of thecase. I then added green UVdye to my watercooling kitand wrapped the power sup-

ply in green UV wire loom and greenUV sleeving.

Future plans for this project willinclude an in-dash LCD screen (likecars have) that will be hooked up totwo satellite TVs and two security cam-eras outside. I am also working onplans for a built-in scanner and inkjetprinter. This project took around 60hours or more to complete. I’m a full-time student at NMSU and had to putin almost my entire weekends for sixweeks to finish it.

Tech Specs:

CPU: AMD Athlon 2800+ (overclocked)RAM: 1GB PC2700GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon 9600CD/DVD: Dual DVD/CD drives

PC Modder • 167

Aircraft Carrier PCMod by Russ Caslis

My latest creation is actually one of theUS Navy’s older creations but still a hugesource of pride. Yes, this is one mod thatdoesn’t miss the boat (pun intended).

The surface this mod simply looks likea toy ship, but peeling back the layers,there is much, much more. Yes, there is acomputer inside based on a mini-ITXmotherboard running at 1GHz. But thereis also a DVD-ROM drive, FireWire andUSB ports, 6-in-1 memory card reader/writer, 4GB hard drive, and a 10/100MbEthernet port. The mod also sports not

only a custom paint job on the keyboardbut a completely custom optical mouse.One of the F-14 fighter aircraft lights upas the hard drive activity light (blue cock-pit, red engines), the runway lights upwith a sequencing set of lights down thecenter, the F-14 hard drive activity fighteris removable so you can play with it, andthe mod plays the national anthem on abuilt-in speaker!

One day while walking through a toy-store, I happened across a rather large,though simple, toy of the USS Enterpriseaircraft carrier. After bringing the toy home, I realized that with careful planning I could fit both a mini-ITX

motherboard and a DVD-ROM into thecase. The entire toy was repainted andhad electronics and lights added, the F-14s were built from simple model kits(including adding lights to one of them),and all the ports and openings for thecomputer bits were cut out. Then thecomputer stuff was added, as well.

It is true that this system is no game-playing system. But with all the features itdoes have, this system can’t be beat as amovie-watching system in front of theTV. This mod would make a fine addi-tion to any living room. Anyone up for ashowing of “Top Gun”?

168 • PC Modder

The Hard Drivin’ DragonMod by Charles Jackson, a.k.a. Duck

A donor case (believe it or not, thisbad boy used to be a boring, oldEN7101 beige box), some scrap metal,Plexiglass, cardboard, fabric, and awhole lot of hammering came togetherto produce Charles Jackson’s uniqueHard Drivin’ Dragon case. Built fromJanuary to July 2003, the Hard Drivin’Dragon is currently in the process ofupgrading the tech bits.

This one’s no slouch in the light moddepartment, either: blue orb coolers onthe CPU and chipset, blue Thermaltakeheatspreaders, a red LED fan mountedon a stainless steel bracket behind theeyes (that draws in air through thenose), and a green LED fan in the rear.There’s also a lot of chrome, particular-ly the fan grills and the mesh aroundthe nose area. On the outside of thecase, the Dragon is decorated withcolor-shi f t ing paint that switchesbetween maroon and gold. The insidesports red paint and red and yellowtribal flame upholstery.

The Dragon was riveted together,but if he had it all to do over again,Charles would have gone the weldingroute instead. Overall, though, Charlescounts this awesome mod as a “greatlearning experience,” so we’l l have to keep our eyes peeled for his fu-ture projects.

Tech Specs:

CPU: 500MHz AMD k6IIRAM: 256MB HDD: 30GBCD/DVD: HP CD-RW

PC Modder • 169

The Unreal CaseMod by Sheldon Bright

This is a custom case I built fromscratch, gutting a Shuttle SK41G. TheCPU is an XP2200+ Cooler that former-ly had an SLK-800 with a ThermaltakeSmartfan II painted silver (now it rocks aPoseidon watercooling kit). I used threeblue LED strips I got from monster-light.com around the bottom of themobo and added a white hyper-light andtwo white LED fans. I stealthed thedrive with a custom printed graphicfrom my shop. All the fan grills are cus-tom-made, along with the vinyl etchings.

I had wanted to make a customacrylic case for some time. I don’t real-ly l ike the square-shaped box andthought I should make mine curvearound another shape entirely. I pickeda character from the Unreal ser iesbecause, at the time, the new 2004 ver-sion had just come out. I had been afan of this series since the beginning,and the character had a good blockyshape that lent well to Plexiglass bend-ing. Soon af ter bui ld ing the caseitself, I added fan holes and a whole lotof etched vinyl and edged graphics toboth ends. I then decided I neededto skin my keyboard and mouse, as

well, to match. Then I thought “Whatthe heck?” and designed a mousepad inthe shape of a the Unreal “U” fromkoolpcmods.com, which is the onlymod I didn’t do myself.

I wanted the UTMod to be some-thing that had never been seen before. Iam constantly trying to f inish thismod, and it just keeps begging formore. Recently, the Shuttle PSU wentout. It wasn’t pumping enough power,

so I had to mod an Antec 350w SmartBlue to fit into the spot the ShuttlePSU took up. Luckily I had a littleheadroom (see pics). I also added blueLED feet, a fan hole for the video card,and matching custom-made fan grillesfor the back. The last thing I need todo for this mod to be complete is the17-inch LG LCD; I’m going to buildan acrylic case for it.

Tech Specs:

MOBO: Shuttle SK41GCPU: Athlon XP 2200+RAM: 512MB Crucial DISPLAY: 17-inch LG LCD; 16ms response timeVIDEO: ATI Radeon 9200HDD: 80GBCD/DVD: Custom-cut clear acrylic Artec

170 • PC Modder

1660% Mac Plus UpgradeMod by Steven Lawver, a.k.a. Captian Slug

This is a gutted and reconfigured old Mac Plus50 (which used to run at a heart-stopping50MHz when it was new). Steven built thismachine mainly on a dare, but it started to takeon a life of its own. After refitting it with newerhardware, he etched the “Bad Apple” design onthe screen (which now served as a case window).The tech specs won’t exactly blow your gamingrig out of the water, but Steven says it was builtas a budget PC.

Tower Of RagEMod by A. Dale McLean, a.k.a. PS-RagE

Fans of CPU may remember the 2002Nissan Frontier that doubled as a rolling com-puter (Jan. 2004). The responsible party,known on the ’Net as PS-RagE, uses the mon-ster pictured below as his primary machine.The mod itself is finished, but according toPS-RagE, the machine will never be, as he’sconstantly upgrading and fiddling with theinsides. Below are the latest numbers for theTower of RagE.

Tech Specs:

MOBO: FlexATX Socket370 CPU: Intel Celeron 566MHzRAM: 384MBHDD: 10GBCD/DVD: “Naked” CD-ROM

Tech Specs:

MOBO: ASUS P4C800-DeluxeCPU: Pentium4 3GHz (800MHz FSB)RAM: 1GB Corsair XMSVIDEO: ASUS 9800 Pro (256M)AUDIO: Creative Audigy 2 ZSHDD: (2x) Western Digital Caviar 30G with PromiseFasttrac RAID Controller (RAID 0)

PC Modder • 171

Projekt: The “O”Mod by Bruno Ferretti

I started The “O” at the end of Januaryfor my little boy’s birthday.

To start with, I had a boring, beige,no-name case. I used Plexiglass for thefront and the top (and, of course, for theside windows) and mesh on the frontand sides.

The cuts were al l made with aDremel, and the metal parts on the frontwere cut from an old case top to keepthe 90-degree angle.

The three lighted fans are homemade,and I’m particularly proud of the side fanbezel with orange lights—I’ve never seenthat anywhere else.

I think that the success of this case isdue to the relatively simple way I’ve donethings; the case’s feet, for example, arealuminum, wood, and LEDs. Anyone cando feet like these for his case; it’s easywith enough imagination.

The TitanMod by Michael A. Smith

When Michael Smith of InfinityCustom Computers decided to buildthe complete ultimate computer, he, ofcourse, knew he had to have a case wor-thy of it. The finished machine willcontain some of the highest-level, state-of-the-art components available, includ-

ing a P4 3.2GHz HT processor, 2GB ofmemory, 400GB of hard drive space,DVD±RW, CD-RW, temperature con-trols and readouts, UV and effects light-ing, a lighted base, UV sleeving, UVcabling, and more. When finished, itwill be a true beast of a machine.

All over the case are etchings of theancient Greek legend of Perseus andAndromeda (who, themselves, are each

etched on the front of the case; you mayremember them from Clash of TheTitans). The right side of the case fea-tures a highly detailed etching of themythical Kraken reaching up from araging sea to tear apart an impressive oldship; the left side pictures Pegasus, thewinged horse. Zeus and Medusa areetched on the top of the case.

Tech Specs:

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-7N400 ProCPU: AMD Barton 2500+ RAM: 512MB PC3200GRAPHICS: HIS Excalibur 9600 ProHDD: Maxtor 80GB, 8MB cache, ATA/133

172 • PC Modder

FlameCubeMod by Steven Lawver, a.k.a.Captain Slug

With the FlameCube, I wantedthe most power possible in the leastamount of space, and this is whatI’ve come up with. I’ve modifiednearly everything in this case in-cluding cables rounded and routedobsessively, side and rear ventila-tion, window in DVD-ROM drive,replacement of all case LEDs, addi-tion of 14 red LEDs to light theinside of the case, shortening of the CPU’s heatsink (DynatronDC1027B-X) to 1U level withoutaffecting performance, direct powerwiring of Video LCD, and custommachining of plastic LCD lidmechanism/enclosure.

Dimensions: 8.5 inches high x 8inches wide x 6 inches deep

Weight: 9 poundsTotal time spent modding: 40-

plus hours.

Tech Specs:

MOBO: Intel 845GE chipset Commell LV-670LVDSCPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHzRAM: 512MB PC2700 DDRDISPLAY: 5.6-inch Video LCDHDD: 40GB laptop hard drive CD/DVD: 8X laptop DVD-ROM drive

PC Modder • 173

ElysiumMod by Alessandro Palazzetti

I am a student at the University ofConnecticut, and as we know, college isexpensive . . . so I created a case that isbased around a student’s budget.

The case was created from a normalmilk crate. I used zip ties to hold thehard drive and CD-ROM drive to thecase, and to prevent from shock on thesedevices, I placed foam (the stuff that’susually found in a motherboard box)wrapped in duct tape (to dissipate heatquickly) between the peripherals and thecrate. The PSU is hung by string. Onthe inner base of the crate, I placed bub-ble wrap and then placed a large anti-static bag (the one the motherboardcomes in) for the motherboard to sit on.To build this I used a regular steak knife(to cut out the holes in the back), ducttape, and zip ties.

I am currently running SuSE Linuxon it; it was a CounterStrike 1.6 serverand Linux test machine. The reason Icall it Elysium is that the Norse Godshad Valhal la , but the Romans hadElysium. The name was mostly basedon the fact that it was a CounterStrikeserver , but i t s tuck for the mod name. Not exact ly meant for the Gods, but for the fallen heroes, it wasgood enough.

Tech Specs:

MOBO: GenericCPU: Intel P4 2GHz 400MHz FSBRAM: 712MB of Crucial PC2100VIDEO: Voodoo Banshee

174 • PC Modder

SE3000Mod by Attila Juhas of AJ Design

Instead of building a milquetoastgaming rig, Attila Juhas decided to jumpback in time and (sort of) resurrect theMac SE. Armed with a Dremel, a Skil-saw, some spray paint, and a lot ofpatience, Attila gutted the old Mac andreplaced its innards with cutting-edgegaming technology.

Particularly impressive is the new casewindow, which is the old monitor cutwith sandblasting technology to show offthe interior light mods.

Tech Specs:

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-8IG1000MK MicroATX(800 MHz bus)CPU: Intel 3.0GHz Pentium 4 (800MHz front-side bus)RAM: 1GB Corsair XMS Pro dual-channelDDR400 SDRAMVIDEO: ATI Radeon 9700 PRO 128MBAUDIO: Integrated six-channel AC’97 Audiowith universal audio jackHDD: 120GB Seagate SATA 7,200rpmCD/DVD: DVD/CD-RW combo drive

PC Modder • 175

particles, or more space for electrons tomove to (which in essence gives the mate-rial spare positively charged particles).Thus, diodes include a negatively chargedsegment and a positively charged seg-ment. Apply an electrical current to thediode and the negative and positive sidesinteract, releasing extra energy in the formof photons and visible light.

Different diode materials produce vary-ing photon energy levels. Because of thischaracteristic, manufacturers can createLEDs that produce different wavelengthsof light, from the invisible infrared lightgenerated by the LED in your DVD play-er's remote control to the green LED thatacts as your hard drive's activity indicator.

In addition to old-school LEDs, youcan buy laser-emitting diodes, which are alittle different. While regular LEDs dis-charge light out the sides and tips of theirtransparent housing, laser-emitting diodesdischarge light mostly through their flat,polished ends because their sides areroughened to trap and focus light. Thistrait means laser-emitting diodes shootlight in one direction, amplifying thelight and creating a powerful beam thathas all sorts of potential uses.

Blacklights. Blacklights are the discoballs of the new century—only this timearound, no one's listening to K.C. & TheSunshine Band. These lights offer effectsso weird they're practically mind-altering,but exactly how do they work?

In short, blacklights harness the light-reactive traits of chemicals called phosphorsto produce striking visual appearances.Phosphors are substances that react to certain wavelengths of light by (you guessed it) giving off more light.

To get a wicked-looking blacklight effectyou have to first create a blacklight. Regularfluorescent lamps contain a phosphor coat-ing that produces a whitish glow. Blacklightfluorescent lamps have a different coatingthat filters most light wavelengths, produc-ing only UV-A (an ultraviolet light that'sless harmful than other UV wavelengths)and purplish light. Incandescent blacklightsare just regular household bulbs with filtersthat emit only UV-A and a violet glow.

Fluorescent and incandescent black-lights produce their glow differently, but

LIGHT MY FIREIlluminate Your Hot PC, Rave Style

I n the beginning, there were justplain old PCs. Beige PCs. BoringPCs. PCs that attracted nary a look

of envy from your Half-Life opponents,nor lustful glances of passerby babes.

And then there were lights. Lights topush back slithery shadows. Lights toblind the eyes of anyone who dared chal-lenge you to multiplayer Medal OfHonor. And indeed, lights to signal highhormone levels to potential mates.

So admit it, your PC needs a lightingmakeover. Don't worry, we can help. Justcome this way, towards the light.

Your Technological OptionsThanks to the exploding popularity of

modding, you can have your pick of beams,rays, and strobes to make your PC shinewith brilliant luminosity. Just be preparedto pick and choose because decorative PClighting comes in myriad forms to help youilluminate every corner of your case.

In fact, there are so many lighting op-tions that you'd have a hard time crammingthe various products into your PC withoutcoming off like a deranged hippie. But ifyou understand the different light technolo-gies at your disposal and plan accordingly,you can create a pupil-penetrating presenta-tion worthy of Times Square.

LEDs. Light-emitting diodes wereamong the first technologies to jazz upPC cases. They're bright, last practicallyforever, have low energy requirements, arenearly unbreakable, put off very littleheat, offer directional illumination, andthanks to digital technology, LEDs oftenlight up in a preprogrammed pattern.

LEDs are semiconductors, whichmeans they have the ability to conductvarying levels of electricity. Manufacturersdope (chemically treat) the semiconductorwith impurities that change the electronstructure of the conductor material,adding either more negatively charged

Cold-cathode, LED, and plasmatube lights offer potent special effects and excellent illumination.

176 • PC Modder

the end result is the same—that is, thelight waves interact with phosphors locat-ed in the room around the blacklight,causing those phosphors to put off a glowthat's visible to the human eye. Phosphorsare practically everywhere, which is whyteeth, fingernails, and even laundry deter-gent glow when subjected to a blacklight.Indeed, the phosphors in detergent arethe reason white clothes glow so brightlyin blacklight.

But why do phosphors glow? Basical-ly, UV-A light excites the electrons in a phosphor's atoms, causing those elec-trons to move to a higher energy state.Blacklights typically excite those elec-trons for only a brief period, which iswhy your UV-reactive Black Sabbathposter stops glowing once you turn offthe blacklight. Other phosphors, such asthose found in glow-in-the-dark toys,maintain their glow for minutes or hoursin complete darkness. Most of the phos-phors found in modding products reactto blacklight but can't sustain a glowwithout a light source, a fact to keep inmind as you plan your lighting system.

EL tech. One of the newest light-ing mod technologies comes in theform of EL (electroluminescent) wireor strips. EL wire puts off a neon-likeglow, but without many of the prob-lems associated with traditional neontechnology. Where breakable neoncomes in hardened shapes and tendsto burn out in sections, EL wire isvery thin (about a third of the diame-ter of a number two pencil), flexible,cool to the touch, requires very littlepower, and has no hot spots like thoseinherent to LEDs or filament bulbs.

EL wire harnesses phosphor charac-teristics to produce its intense glow.These lights have a central copper wirewith an organic phosphorous coating andtwo transmitter wires that provide anelectrical current across the phosphors. APVC layer protects the whole setup, witha colored vinyl layer to top things off.The wire glows for thousands of hoursand never really burns out, though theglow will dim with age.

Most of the phosphors used in ELtechnology produce pink or white light.

By changing the color of the top vinyllayer, though, manufacturers producewire that appears blue, red, yellow, or anynumber of other colors.

The properties of EL wire make thisproduct ideal for PC modding projects.You can worm the wire into tight spotswith little fear of harming it, you don'thave to worry about heat-buildup prob-lems, and the diversity of colors meansyou can employ the lights with any wackycolor schemes your devious little mindcan imagine.

Cold cathode. Cold-cathode lamptechnology has been around for morethan seven decades. These lamps workmuch like neon lights, meaning theyhave a hollow tube filled with a gas thatglows when it meets an electrical charge,but where neon technology isn't feasiblefor PC modding, cold-cathode tubes areexcellent for PC illumination purposes.

Cold-cathode lamps are similar to fluo-rescent lights in that they have components

that produce electrons to support gas dis-charge, and as a result, light. But whiletypical fluorescent lights have coils thatproduce high levels of internal heat (about900 degrees Celsius), cold-cathode tubeshave a small component that operates as arelatively cool 200 C, hence the "cold"descriptor. Cold cathodes last much longerthan regular fluorescent technology—atleast 20,000 hours—and PC-ready ver-sions have an acrylic or polycarbonate exte-rior that helps protect the thin glass bulbsfrom shock and vibration.

Cold-cathode lamps for moddingusually measure either 4 inches or 12inches and come in a dazzling array ofcolors, from red and blue to super-bright yellow and white. Because thelights have a clear coating all the wayaround their exterior, they illuminatein all directions, and many come com-plete with sound sensors that cause thelamp to flash in response to any soundsemanating from your PC.

Put It TogetherNow that you have an idea of the

lighting technologies available for PC modding, it's time to get a betteridea of the effects you can expect from these products. We'll also give youmodding ideas and show you how we put a few of our favorite gadgets to work for us. We'd be remiss to notmention the sites where we found thefollowing products, so we offer ourthanks to FrozenCPU (www.frozencpu.com), Xoxide (www.xoxide.com),Newegg (Newegg.com), and Tiger-Direct (www.tigerdirect.com) for theirprompt service and excellent prod-uct selection.

Fans. PC enthusiasts install super-powerful or super-quiet fans, cut blow-holes so they can install extra fans, andgenerally go out of their way to makesure these components work optimally.It's no wonder, then, that fans are a fo-cal point of sorts of modding projects.Many fans are made specifically to ca-ter to the needs of modders who wantimpressive visual effects.

Mind-blowing fans won't necessarilyblow your budget. You can buy case fans

Space-age case badges plug into your power systemand provide a super-bright glow.

Hyperlights are basically cold-cathode tube lights in asmall box, helping you save space and still light up alarge area. EL cables twist every which way and providecool highlight effects.

PC Modder • 177

that react to blacklights for only $5.These fans often glow blue, but there areother colors available, such as orange andred. The fan frames provide a strongglow, and often the blades glow, too,meaning there are dozens of potentialcolor combinations to suit your needs.

Many of the glowing fans you can buyseem to be generic brands, at least on theWeb sites that sell them, a fact that makesit hard for us to recommend specificmakes and models. One exception is theAeroCool Chameleon LED fan, whichincludes LEDs that start out as blueand change to a pink hue as tempera-tures change. We also like Vantec'sSpectrum UV LED fans, which haveUV-reactive blades and frames, andthanks to built-in UV LEDs, you don'tneed an external blacklight to makethem glow. These two fans cost a littlemore, at around $13, but they're defi-nitely worthwhile.

You can pick up fans with four inter-nally mounted LEDs for about $10. Ifyou prefer cold-cathode effects on yourwind makers, you'll spend $10 to $12 foreach. If off-the-wall fans aren't enough,splurge on fan grills or adapters withUV-reactive properties or built-in LEDs.

Cables and wiring. Cables and wiresare a necessary evil for all PC users, butthey're doubly troublesome for mod-ders who have to find a way to maketheir tangled nest of wires look cool toLAN party bystanders. Happily, thereare a number of glow products thatmake this task more enjoyable.

You can start by replacing your old-fashioned flat IDE and floppydrive cables with something a littlemore modern. We recommend round-ed cables that glow under a blacklight.These cables not only cut down on airflow resistance (a big plus for those of you still using a forced-air cooling system), but they also come in orange, green, blue, and other hues that makecolor coordination a snap. These cablessell for less than $10.

In addition to data cables, you canreplace many of the components thatmake up your power system. Try replac-ing your power wires and connector

plugs with parts that react to blacklight.Don't forget about your fan wiring,because you can even go so far as toreplace the male and female connectorsfor your fans so that even these partswill glow. These mods won't cost youmore than a couple of dollars.

Of course, even after you replace yourdrab cables with new ones, you still have todeal with the problem of tidiness, or lackthereof. That brings into play a large num-ber of organization products that will spiceup your lighting aesthetics. Buy green or

pink plastic zip ties that glow under ablacklight, and look for cable sleeves thatradiate a soft blue or green glow. Again,these are cheap mods. Ties cost just pen-nies and cables sleeves are about a buck.

Cold cathode and EL. Cold-cathodelamps come in a wide variety of colors, andwe bought a yellow, white, blue, and redlamp for review. All of our test lamps wereof the 12-inch variety, perfect for extra illu-mination. We mounted these lamps with

the included Velcro pads, but we suggestusing clips or even glue if you want thelamps to stay in place—tiny Velcro stripsdon't withstand much jostling.

Cold cathodes are plenty bright, but ifyou buy reflective tape, you can betterdirect the lamp's glow, and as a result, alsomake the light appear more intense. Singlelamps don't really add a sense of com-pleteness to most modded boxes, one rea-son most retail sites offer secondary lampsthat you can add to your first lamp, a factthat also cuts down on wiring clutter and

makes efficient use of a single inverter. A single 12-inch cold-cathode lamp

costs about $16, and you can buy a sec-ondary lamp for half the price. In addi-tion to picking your favorite single-colorlamps, we highly recommend so-calledliquid neon or plasma lamps. Theselamps resemble plasma balls, with lightsthat flow and flicker and react to thetouch of your hand. They sell for lessthan 20 bucks. Some sites list MeteorLights in their cold-cathode section.These aren't fluorescent lights—they'reLED-based products that flicker, andeven come with an adjustable speed control. These are fun, too, and sell forabout $15.

Although the aforementioned tubelights are rigid and don't always stay put,EL wire is easy to push into tight cor-ners, so long as you don't strain the wireto the point of damaging it. EL wire isn'tas bright as a cold-cathode lamp, though,meaning it's best for accentuating edges.

Use strong, clear tape, or even siliconesealant, to secure EL wire. If you don'twant to mess with EL wire, you can optfor an EL light strip, which is flattenedEL wire with an adhesive backing. ELwire sells for about $20 for a 5-foot

segment, so if you decide to go crazy withEL wire, it will cost you. Light strips costmore, with a 5 footer costing around $30.

If strips, wires, and tube lights don'texcite you, or you don't want to spend somuch money, you might choose $16Hyperlights, which are basically a cold-cathode lamp crammed into a small box.These provide a great deal of illuminationwithout the hassle and space consumptionof elongated lighting products.

Fans come with built-in LEDs, blacklight reactiveblades, or even color schemes that change as your PC'stemperatures rise.

From cables to cable ties to blacklight-reactive fanplugs, there are enough lighting mods available tokeep you redecorating for months.

178 • PC Modder

Badges and stickers. Stickers are a sim-ple but effective way to add personalizedtouches to your case. These so-called"appliques" help set off case windows, andbecause they respond to blacklights, you'llnot miss them in the dark. On the downside, these stickers are expensive, at about$10, but they are often oversized, so youdon't need more than one or two to getyour point across.

You can get a punchier effect fromself-illuminated badges. They plug intoyour PC's power system and put off apotent glow. You can obtain yourown badges in dozens of patterns andcolors, and they typically cost any-where from $12 to $20. If you don'tlike premade badges, you can buy a$15 kit and make your own.

Cooling fluids. You can't use straighttap water in a watercooling system.Doing so will cause quick corrosion ofyour various watercooling components,from the waterblock to your radiator,and may also encourage algae growth.Fortunately, you can use anti-algae,antirust coolant in your system. Betteryet, many of these coolants containphosphors that react to a blacklight. Youcan find red, blue, green, and other col-ors to make your watercooling tubesglow brightly, and these coolants costless than $10 per bottle.

Paint. In spite of your many glow-product options, there may be othercomponents you wish would respondto blacklight. Thanks to Clear Neonspray paint, you can paint just aboutanything, let the paint dry, and thenflip on your blacklight and watch theobject glow. Best of all, the paint isn'tvisible in regular light.

Clear Neon paint comes in eight col-ors including yellow, orange, and blue. Ifyou apply the paint to, say, your PC case,and you decide you don't like the results,you can use soap and water to remove it. Acoat of clear lacquer will make your paintjob permanent.

Needless to say, Clear Neon was one ofour favorite lighting mods because you canuse it for so many different purposes. Thepaint's glow is adequate under a blacklight,and you can strengthen or weaken the

intensity by using more or less paint. Eachcan of Clear Neon sells for about $13.

Our Light ModAfter blowing hundreds of dollars on

light-related modding equipment, we fig-ured we should probably put at least someof our accumulated hoard to good use. Tothat end, we bought a $70 acrylic PC casefrom Extreme PC Gear (www.xpcgear.com). It's a clear case, so even though itrequired us to assemble it, this case's trans-parent sides helped us show off a mind-

boggling (if somewhat tacky) light-moddedPC.

But first things first. We decided to putaside our toy collection for a few hours sothat we could build a Plexiglas aquarium toput in our case's drive bay. Why would wedo such a thing? Well, if you're going tohave a big reservoir as part of a watercoolingsystem, you might as well throw a few fishin the water for good measure. Our initialinspiration for this project was to integrate

GloFish (www.glofish.com) as part of ourlight mod theme, but none of our local petstores carried the little guys—and shame onthe store that tried to pawn off lame, knock-off GloFish as the real thing. "No, thoseGloFish don't really glow under a black-light. They look best under a regular fluo-rescent light." Right, thanks guys.

So although we didn't nab any GloFish,we did complete our project. We won'toffer a lot of specific instructions so you can run out and copy our masterpiece PCaquarium, but suffice it to say this task was

relatively simple. Pick up some Plexiglasand aquarium-safe silicone sealant, takecareful measurements of the inside ofyour case, and you can easily build areservoir-aquarium of your own. Just besure to choose fish that will tolerate heatfrom your overclocking activities. Andof course, we picked aquarium "compo-nents" worthy of a wicked PC mod. Wedumped in a load of UV-reactive gravel,slipped in a couple of glow plants, andreleased the hounds, er, neon Tetras.

In addition to the slimier aspects ofour light mod, we installed a range ofother lights and LEDs to make our clearcase shimmer and sparkle like a min-now's wet back. Be sure to check out theoverall look of our system in the accom-panying photos. As you do, remember ifyou want to install many similar prod-ucts, you'll have to consider powerrequirements. It doesn't take manylights to stress a PSU, especially if yourPSU is already busy with other power-hungry components.

Lights OutOur roundup of light products is

hardly the end all on this glittering sub-ject. There are too many niche products

to mention, and the possibilities even forone small LED are virtually limitless.

So use your imagination to take yourlight mods to the extreme, but don't keepyour finalized project to yourself. Sharephotos and stories of your system on theCPU magazine reader forums. Becausewhere there is light, there is love, or at leasta chance to show off.

by Nathan Chandler

Our fish tank included UV-reactive gravel, glow plants,but sadly, no GloFish . . . yet.

Sure, it looks like the Teletubbies puked all over our P4after a wild night of partying. But imagine the possibili-ties if you have better interior decorating skills than us.

PC Modder • 179

typically lack in torque, and there isnothing more annoying than runningout of juice halfway through a cut.Although the tools are very versatile,they are not good for cutting plasticsbecause the high RPM rates melt theplastic rather than cutting it.

Both of these tools are easy to find,however. The Dremel Variable-SpeedMultiPro Superkit, which comes withevery bit you’ll concievably need, runsabout $75. The Black & Decker RTXcan be found online for under $60 ifyou’re willing to do some searching.

A jigsaw is also an indispensable partof the modder’s toolkit; its ability towork through just about every materialwith ease makes it my personal choicefor large cuts. It can struggle with somemetals, but it cuts through plastics andaluminum like butter, and you cannotbeat the control you get with this tool.By using a jig, or just a steady hand,you can get nice straight l ines andexcellent curves on flat surfaces like adoor panel.

Jigsaws are also reasonably priced,which makes it a great investment forany modder. A specialized acrylic cut-ting blade for your j igsaw is also a good investment and it can save yousome headaches.

Jigsaws are usually pretty easy totrack down at any neighborhood hard-ware store—the one we have pictured atleft is a Makita 5.5 A, Top HandleOrbital Variable Speed Jigsaw. You canusual ly get one for around $150,though prices may be a bit better atshops on the Internet.

Finally, a good drill is worth theprice. I use a cordless drill for quickhole drilling and the corded drill forhole saw cuts and difficult drilling. Theextra torque and power really help outwhen you have to muscle through athick piece of steel.

THE PAINT BOOTHTips & Tricks For Cutting, Sanding & Painting

Ihave been modding for a long time,and sometimes I wish there was amagazine like this back in the day

that I could have learned a thing or twofrom. But there was not, and I had tolearn from my mistakes. It is from thisexperience that I can tell you some ofthe tips and tricks that I have learnedalong the way, so you don’t have to gothrough the kind of frustration that Idid. Modding not only requires theability to build a computer, it alsorequires you to be a jack-of-all-trades—a good modder uses the same skills thatcraftsmen use, as well as using many ofthe same skills that electricians and sys-tem techs re ly on. Therefore, youshould be knowledgeable about themost commonly used techniques usedin mods.

When working with cases, you runthe gamut of materials that are common-ly used: aluminum, steel, polycarbonate,acrylic, and fiberglass. Ironically, two orthree power tools will cut all of thesematerials if you use them right.

The Right ToolsOne of the must-have tools is the

highly versatile rotary tool. Its multi-tude of applications and attachmentsmake it an indispensable part of yourarsenal. When picking a rotary tool,you want to look at quality of construc-tion, torque, and RPM speed. For mymoney, the two forerunners in the market are the Dremel Variable-Speed Mult iPro and the Black &Decker RTX.

Both offer variable speed selection,excellent torque, and the quality of con-struction is first class. Better yet, thetooling for both of these units is inter-changeable, so you aren’t left out in thecold when you need a specific attach-ment for the task at hand. I do not rec-ommend cordless units because they

The Dremel Variable-Speed MultiPro, with itsinterchangable tools and high torque, is amodder’s best friend.

Jigsaws can cut through plastics and aluminumlike they’re not even there, so it’s a good ideato keep one around.

The Black & Decker RTX is a great choice forfine detail work and has interchangable bits soyou always get the right cut.

180 • PC Modder

polish the part by hand and give it asecond coat with a buffer or a drill witha buffing pad attachment. The object i s to not have any swir l marks or imperfections in the paint, so alwaystake some time to get it right—it’s wellworth i t to see that deep gloss come through.

Working With PlasticsPlastic is a completely different ani-

mal when i t comes to paint ing.Unfortunately, most cases are madewith a textured ABS plastic bezel, so itis a necessary evil. Whenever possible, Iuse vinyl dye because it penetrates thesurface rather than coating it like paint.

When I have to use paint, though, Isand the bezel smooth with some 1000-grit paper and then prime and paint likeI normally do. But I only polish plasticby hand; it is far too easy to ruin plasticparts when using a buffing wheel.

Regardless of the material you arecutting or painting, it is best to take thetime to mask and measure. When I firststarted modding, I thought that i twould be quicker to rush through thepreparation phase, but in the long run Iwas spending more time going back andfixing mistakes or repainting parts thanI would have if I had taken the time todo it right the first time.

Measuring your cuts and masking offsurfaces correctly will save you time andenergy, making your experience moreenjoyable—and that is why we modstuff in the first place.

Building your own case and makingit one of a kind is the goal, but the pay-off is knowing that I put in the effort to create something that is an expres-sion of myself and learned something inthe process.

by Gareth Powell

Gareth Powel l (“Lord Pheaton”) i s an accompli shed modder and runspheaton.com, which hosts reviews, tutori-als, and the infamous Pheaton Forums.

Preparation Is KeyNo matter what tool you are using, it

is important to take your time and pre-pare for the task at hand. Take it fromme, there is nothing more annoyingthat screwing up a cut and having tostart over from scratch.

Before I even pick up a tool, I makesure to mask off the areas I don’t wantmarked or scuffed, make sure I have allmeasurements correct , and I havemarked my cutting area appropriately.Preparation is the key to keeping acci-dents and unexpected complications toa minimum, especially when it comes tocutting materials. Besides, taking a littletime to prepare in the beginning willsave a lot of time fixing mistakes later.

Files and sandpaper are also indis-pensable to the kit; these are the toolsthat make you look good. You can easi-ly fix a less-than-perfect cut or jaggededge with a file.

I always keep a good selection of dif-ferent sandpaper grits and types in mytoolbox, as well as assorted hand files ofdifferent sizes. I have a steady hand, butevery once in awhile I really screw up acut, and I am glad I have a file andsome sandpaper within reach.

Paint TypesOne of the most common questions I

am asked is “What kind of paint do youuse?” This is not an easy question toanswer because I use many differenttypes of paint; it really depends on theproject. I prefer to use automotive paintwhen I can, but I do not have a paintbooth so sometimes I have to make dowith spray paint.

Dupli-Color enamel is one of myfavorites because of its quick dryingtime and its large selection of colors. Itis available at most auto parts stores, soit is not hard to find in a hurry.

Getting a high-gloss, show-car finishwith spray paint can be a chore, but theelbow grease it takes is well worth it. Iprefer to start with a clean surface whenpainting, so I use a chemical stripper toget a prepainted case down to baremetal. I then clean the surface and pre-pare it with some denatured alcohol

(which you can find almost anywhere,even at the grocery store)—this waythere are no oils or greases to inhibit theprimer from adhering to the surface.

Prime AwayFirst, I put on two coats of primer in

a nice even layer. I then lightly wet sandthe case with some distilled water. Thissmoothes out any rough spots in theprimer. The primer coat is only a fewmicrons thick; if you sand too hard andexpose the bare surface you will have tostart over, so be sure to take your time.

I am now ready to paint, but paintdoes not go on smooth. If you look atpaint under magnification you will seeit has a pebbled texture, so color sand-ing is needed to give each coat a smoothfinish. With a little distilled water and2000-grit sandpaper, I color sand eachcoat and then wash it clean with somealcohol and a soft, cotton cloth.

After three coats of paint, I like to letthe finish cure for a day or so, and thenit’s time to polish the paint. I don’thave a preference in wax or polish; Ijust head out to the auto parts place andpick what ever catches my eye; to methey all work similarly.

I like to start by very lightly colorsanding and cleaning the part; I then

Dupli-Color enamel is inexpensive, comes in alarge selection of colors, and is easy to trackdown at most auto parts stores.

Always keep a wide selection of files handy—when you get a little jigsaw-happy and ruin acut, you’ll be glad you have them.

PC Modder • 181

mobo’s ATX power connector. Of course, tomake sure everything powers up again cor-rectly, plug the PSU’s ATX connector intothe top of the pass-through cable.

The pass-through cable has a two-holeconnector dangling from it. Take this plugand marry it to the two-pronged DC con-nector on the receiver. Now secure thereceiver to an expansion slot on your PC’scase. Connect the antenna to the back ofthe receiver, stand back, and press thePower button on the transmitter. Yourcomputer will spring to life, and becausethe transmitter has a range of about 30 feet(we made it work from much farther away),you can turn the computer on or off, oreven start a reset cycle from another room.

What’s the point of having this deviceinstalled in your computer? If you ask thatquestion, you obviously don’t have enoughfree time on your hands. If your PC islocked away to prevent intruders (or a mis-chievous pet) from causing equipmentproblems, the remote lets you get thingsstarted without having to unlock a cabinetevery time. The remote might come inhandy at a LAN party or similar event. Ifyou get too far behind during a multiplay-er game (and your computer happens to becontrolling the festivities), use the remoteto stealthily reset your machine. Or, if youaren’t into unethical gaming, we supposeyou can use the remote to start up your PCwhen you get home from work or school,provided your PC room’s walls don’tdeflect the transmitter’s radio signals.

CD-ROM ModYou might decide that you want differ-

ent capabilities from your remote. Wedecided to modify our remote to open ourCD-ROM drive tray. This was a straight-forward alteration that took only a fewminutes to perform, but to complete thejob you will need a soldering iron and adrive that you aren’t worried about destroy-ing—every drive is a little different and you

REMOTE CONTROL WIZARDRYInstall & Modify Your Transmitter/Receiver Combo

S omeday in the not-too-distantfuture, you’ll awaken late on aSaturday morning, roll over in

bed, and imagine your PC powering upand launching Half-Life 4—and, thanksto that tiny microchip implanted justbehind your ear, it will do your biddingand actually launch. You won’t even haveto get out of bed to start offing baddiesbecause your VR-enabled glasses will letyou sprawl across your pillows while theelectronic blood splatters.

OK, let’s say those “user-mods” are alittle too extreme for your tastes, but youstill want to have some remote controlcapabilities over your PC. With the fol-lowing modifications, you will be able toreset your PC, turn it on or off, playgames with your CD-ROM drive, and forfun, cause serious distress to your friendswhen they can’t figure out why your com-puter appears to be possessed.

More Than CoolModern PCs aren’t really wired, physi-

cally or logically, to be used with remotecontrols. Your computer is a hands-ondevice that needs significant user input viakeyboard, mouse, or other device, before itknows what kind of data to process. Thereare a few exceptions, of course, such asmultimedia PCs designed for music play-back, but these setups aren’t the norm.

There are precious few remote controlproducts for modders who want just asliver of PC remote control capabilitywithout spending a lot of money or timeon their systems. To that end, we presentthe Just Cooler remote control kit, whichis available from your favorite moddingsite. This kit doesn’t require any solderingor painstaking wiring, as it includes just areceiver, transmitter, and antenna.

The receiver is smaller than a videocard and has a petite, rectangular circuitboard and a rear-mounted jack for theantenna. The transmitter looks like your

car’s door lock remote, but with different-ly labeled buttons—but if your car camewith Power and Reset buttons, pleaseemail us and tell us about it.

Insults & InstructionsInstalling the Just Cooler remote control

system is straightforward, but the companyneglected to include even basic instructions.All you receive are two poorly translatedand punctuation-challenged sentences ofsupposed specifications: “A keychain con-troller device specially design to operate thecomputer POWER by way of transportingsignal on ATX motherboard from up to 20meters. It serves as a friendly user to thosewho couldn’t get the hang of pushing thePOWER/RESET buttons of their PC.” Asa result of this product shortcoming, we’llwalk you through the installation process.

You can start by picking a suitable expan-sion slot for securing the receiver. You don’tneed an empty PCI card slot because noth-ing connects to the motherboard, but youdo need a little room for the bulky receivercomponents, and you should pick a slotclose to your motherboard’s power and resetconnectors so you won’t strain the rathershort wires that come with the kit. Don’tsecure the receiver with a screw just yet, asleaving it out of the case makes it easier toconnect the required wiring.

Now you can pull the reset and powerbutton wires from their motherboard con-nectors, and then tie these wires up andaway so that they don’t end up tangled inone of your case fans. After making surethey are properly oriented, connect thekit’s power and reset wires to the mother-board, and connect the other ends to thereceiver. As they are on the motherboard,the appropriate connectors are labeled,which simplifies this task.

Disconnect the ATX power plug thatconnects the PSU to the motherboard. Nowtake the ATX PSU pass-through connectorthat came with the kit and plug it into the

182 • PC Modder

So if you have a vacant expansion sloton the back of your PC case, we recom-mend buying a Just Cooler remote con-trol kit for your own PC experiments. Ifyou come up with any great ideas, be sureto let us know about it—tell the worldabout your project on the CPU Web site(www.cpumag.com) forums.

by Nathan Chandler

will have to do a bit of careful poking andprodding, and we can’t guarantee that thisprocess will work with every model.

1 Start by removing the screws thatsecure the drive to your PC’s case.

Detach the power and data cables and thenremove the drive from the case.

2 Straighten a paper clip and insert theend into the emergency eject hole.

3 Pull the drive tray out just far enoughto loosen the bezel. Don’t pull any

farther than necessary or you mightencounter problems with the tray’s gears.

4 Plastic tabs secure the drive’s front bezelto the metal drive body. Press these tabs

inward and pull the bezel off of the drive.

5 You can see where the eject buttonis attached to the circuit board, but

to get at it, you have to remove the metalcase surrounding the drive. There arefour screws on the bottom of the drive,so remove these with a Philips screwdriv-er. With these screws out of the way, youcan take off the two-part metal case pro-tecting the drive, but before you do, besure to ground yourself to avoid damag-ing sensitive electronic parts with acci-dental electrostatic discharge.

6 Disconnect the receiver’s reset wirefrom its motherboard connector. Use

wire cutters to cut off the motherboardconnector and then strip one-eighth inch ofthe wire insulation from the wire tips.

7 Examine the circuit board on theside opposite the eject button. On

our drive there were four solder points(two large and two small), and the largerpoints were basically securing the button

to the board. Be-cause of this, we decid-ed to solder our wires to the two smallerpoints nearer the front of the button.

8 After you solder your Reset buttonwires to the circuit board, replace the

plastic sheet to ward off shorted circuits,reassemble the metal case, replace the bezel,and connect the power and data cables. Youmight have to get creative to make theReset wire poke through the CD-ROMdrive case and stretch far enough to connectto the receiver. We wormed this wirethrough a gap in the side of the metal caseand set the receiver closer to the middle ofthe case to make the wire reach, but there’snothing to stop you from splicing in morewire for added length.

9 Plug the power cable into your PSUand use the remote to start up your PC.

Now, when you press the Reset buttonon the remote, the CD-ROM drive willopen and close. This modification is a lit-tle goofy at best, and completely useless tomany users, but there are a few potentialuses for it. We’re always keen on practicaljokes, and a CD-ROM drive that won’tstay shut will have your friends sharingpuzzled sidelong glances.

You’ll have to use your imagination forother uses. The Autoplay feature inWindows is sure to help. By ejecting andretracting the drive from a distance, anaudio CD will start playing on its own,letting you restart Barry White withouthaving to get up from the couch.

Zap It GoodMost users have little need for the

remote control capabilities we describehere. Then again, most PC users aren’tinto overclocking, case modding, andwhiling away wee hours of the morningdownloading game cheats.

The fully wired receiver supposedly only worksif the transmitter is less than 30 feet away, butwe had ours kicking into gear from 80 and 90feet away.

2Step

3Step

4Step

7Step

8Step

PC Modder • 183

256MB flash card, and a dead, dead, deadmini iPod.

Get Your MuVo OnGutting the MuVo2 is a piece of cake,

and without further adieu, I’ll give youthe lowdown on slicing and dicing yourway to saving at least $200.

1. Start by downloading the MuVo2’sfirmware from the Creative Web siteusing this address: www.nomadworld.com/downloads/f i rmware/wma-muvo_2_4.asp. As I tapped out theseinstructions for you, the latest firmwareversion was 1.11.01, and to ensure suc-cess, I advise using this version becauseThey might try to disable the certaincapabilities of the Hitachi drive in fu-ture firmware versions. If, by oddchance, you receive a MuVo2 that has afirmware version number lower than1.11.01, you should use the link in thisstep to upgrade the device’s firmwarebefore you attempt any subsequent stepsdetailed here. Failing to upgrade old ver-sions of the firmware may ruin yourchances of successfully hacking the drive,which is exactly what They want. Don’tmake Them happy.

2. Open the back of the MuVo2 andremove the battery.

3. Consider grounding yourself to elimi-nate the possibility of damaging staticdischarge. I didn’t actually adhere to

C orporate conspirators huddle insecret meetings to discuss profitmargins and product pricing

markups. Shadowy engineering teams thatdon’t appear on any company payroll crip-ple their products to save a few bucks. Andyou, dear reader, ultimately pay the pricefor the plots of these marauding schemerswhen you go to buy a Microdrive.

OK, maybe it’s not as involved as allthat, but there’s no doubting one fact.Some of the music-related gizmos you buycontain large-capacity Microdrives—andsell for hundreds less than it would cost youto buy the drive alone. That’s why manyadept consumers are buying relatively cheapMP3 players, ripping them apart, takingout the Microdrives, and using the drives inother products, such as digital cameras.

As a result, these users snag themselves ahigh-capacity drive for much cheaper thanthey would if they’d bought the drive with-out the MP3 player camouflage. An average4GB Microdrive sells for about $500. Butan MP3 player including pretty much thesame drive sells for $200 to $300. Doesn’tmake much sense, does it? And if you wantto cash in and beat the corporate conniversat their own game, there’s still time.

Getting The GoodsAs of press time, there were two MP3

players at the center of the Microdrivestorm: Creative’s MuVo2 and Apple’siPod Mini, both of which use 4GBMicrodrives to store music audio files.

Every self-respecting geek has heardabout the MuVo2 hack, a prime reasonthat it’s unlikely you’ll find this player forsale at retail outlets. You have a couple ofoptions to complete the mission-criticalMuVo2 purchase. One, you can call

Creative and ask to be puton a waiting list becauseThe Fools are still makingthe player available to thegeneral public, thoughonly on a limited basis.Two, make a bid on eBaywhere the players are routinely selling for athird more than the typical $200 streetprice. That’s a serious blow to your mod-ding budget, but you owe it to yourself tolive a little before They come for you, andeven at $300, this product is a steal.

Here are two quick tips on buying aMuVo2. An oft-repeated rumor indicatesthat some MuVo2 drives are soldered intoplace, and, thus, nearly impossible toremove. These claims are unsubstantiatedfalsities perpetuated by Authorities whodon’t like you subverting The System. Also,if you like the idea of inserting an oldCompactFlash card into the MuVo2 so youcan have a functional MP3 player, keep inmind that not all brands of CF cards work.If your flash card doesn’t do the trick, youcan, of course, buy a new card (rumor has itthe MuVo2 seems to like SanDisk andLexar Media cards) or just pawn off thevacant player on eBay.

Before you start Googling to find one ofthese two products, make sure you readthis story in its entirety so you have an ideaof how easy or hard it is to disassemble theplayers and what tasks you can use eachdrive for. I’ll start this story with a summa-ry of the end results.

I invested $200 in a MuVo2 player and$330 in an iPod Mini. After hacking awayat both, I wound up with a 4GB flash cardfor my digital camera, a 4GB drive thatworks as a portable storage device, a work-able MuVo2 player with a transplanted

MP3EVISCERATION

Tear Out That Microdrive& Use It Wherever You Please

184 • PC Modder

this precaution, but hey, They say I’mtechnically insane, so what do I know?

4. Remove the three visible screws from theMuVo2’s case. There is a fourth screwon the bottom of the case, and it’s con-veniently concealed by that nice, friendlyWARRANTY VOIDED warning stick-er. As if you care, right? I’ll mention herethat these screws are very small and often

hard to remove. That means you mighthave to use quite a bit of force to takeout these screws, but do so with a tendertouch, as the plastic case won’t enduremuch abuse.

5. Carefully lift the plastic panel. If youcouldn’t remove the anger-provokingscrews, use necessary force and violence,but keep in mind that even eviscerated(but otherwise undamaged) MuVo2’s sellfor decent cash on eBay.

6. Because you removed the four screwsthat secure it, you can gently flip overthe circuit board. If you need to applyforce, use a flat-tipped screwdriver tocarefully pry up the board. Then you

see a copper-colored plate that shieldsthe drive. There are four screws holdingthe drive in place, but only three arevisible at first glance. Remove the threeyou see and then gently peel back theblack tape concealing the fourth screw.Do not completely remove the tape, asit holds a small battery in place.

7. Now you can flip up the shieldingplate and expose the Microdrive. Liftthe Microdrive and use your flat-tipped screwdriver to (again, carefully)slightly separate the Microdrive fromthe pin array. Don’t try to pry out oneside of the array all at once—doing socan damage the pins, the drive, orboth. After you’ve sufficiently loosened

the pins, pull the drive from itsMuVo2 prison and into beautiful,blessed freedom.

8. If your digital camera accepts aCompactFlash Type II card, youshould be able to slip the card intothe camera, format it, and immediate-ly begin using your huge, new drive.

9. If you want to use your MuVo2 with aCompactFlash card of your choice,now’s the time to do the job. Attachthe pin array to your CompactFlashcard, taking care to properly orient thecard (when completely assembled, thecard’s front label should face the samedirection as the front of the MuVo2).If you improperly affix the card, whenyou power up the MuVo2, you will seeonly “MuVo2” displayed on the LCD.

10.Reassemble the player. Be sure tosmooth down the black tape coveringthe fourth screw.

11.Insert the battery and power up theMuVo2. It will immediately display arecover mode error message.

12.From the Recovery menu, select FormatAll, after which you will see a mediaerror message.

13.Now, select Reload Firmware from theMuVo2’s menu. Connect the device toyour PC using the USB cable and runthe firmware upgrade program that youdownloaded from Creative’s Web site.Then you can use the MuVo2 as youdid with the Microdrive inside.

There are few caveats on using theMicrodrive from the MuVo2 to capturehuge numbers of pictures on your digitalcamera. Because this is a hard drive, it hasmoving parts. And because those parts needpower to read and write data, some usersestimate 25% fewer photos per shooting session due to battery issues. The drive alsowrites data more slowly than a flash card,which means you won’t do much high-speed shooting with this Microdrive. Thedrive’s real appeal is its huge capacity and thefact that you can store thousands of pictureson one tiny piece of electronic equipment.

Mini Me, Me, Me!Apple’s iPod Mini shares some simi-

larities with the MuVo2. It’s a com-pact MP3 player, and it uses a HitachiMicrodrive with a CompactFlash cardconnector. But where the MuVo2 isn’tmuch more than a glorified plastic box,the iPod Mini is a beautiful work of artwith slim lines, a tasteful and toughmetal case, and the iPod’s legendaryscroll wheel. How I yearn to disembowelthee, oh pretty iPod Mini.

I decided to remove the drive andattempt to use it in my camera andCompactFlash card reader. A number ofother users have unsuccessfully attempt-ed this task, but I figured what the heck,if I ruin my itty bitty Mini, no big deal,it’s just an Apple product.

Of course, before you can attempt tomake the drive work, you’ll have toremove it from the clutches of that niceiPod case. Doing so takes a lot moreeffort than with the MuVo2, and the ben-efits of doing so are iffy, which is one rea-son there hasn’t been a MuVo2-like masshoarding of iPod Minis. Read along, andyou’ll see how to see how the disassemblyworks and what you stand to gain.

Core that Apple. The iPod Mini’s bigselling point is that it offers a whopping4GB-capacity MP3 player in a minisculeform factor. That means there’s a lot oftechnology under the hood of these tinyplayers, and as such, you should thinktwice about taking yours apart. Not onlydo you take the risk that a part or two willbreak and render certain features unus-able, but at the very least, you’ll create

PC Modder • 185

cosmetic blemishes on the player. Sodon’t say I didn’t warn you, Junior.

There are only a few tools you needto tear into the iPod, and the mostimportant one is your head. Be wise andtry not to use excessive force for anysteps in this procedure. Beyond a fewbrains, you also need a small flat-bladescrewdriver, a tiny Phillips screwdriver,and needle-nose pliers. You also need awell-lighted workspace with minimumclutter; otherwise you will end up losingthe iPod’s tiny parts.

1. Slide the Hold button into the orange(On) position. This keeps the Minifrom trying to power up during thedissection. Think of this as anesthesiafor a delicate surgical procedure.

2. As odd as it sounds, you don’t needanything in the way of tools for the firstpart of this project. All you need is away to warm up the Mini. This is tosoften the adhesive that binds the Mini’stop and bottom plastic plates to themetal body. No, no, take the iPod outof the microwave, Junior. Here, drinkthis. There are a number of ways towarm up your Mini without resortingto a hellish conflagration. Some userswarm the Mini with a hair dryer, but ifyou don’t have one at your disposal, youcan set the Mini on that warm spotmost ovens create on the center of astovetop. Or you can put the Mini in aZiplock bag and run really hot tap water

over the whole thing. Whatever youdecide on, just don’t get the Mini so hotthat you get burned. Don’t say I didn’twarn you because that metal case canget incredibly hot when it feels up to it.

3. Once the case is very warm to the touch,take out your small, flat-bladed screw-driver and turn the iPod Mini so that

you’re looking at the top area where theHold button is located. The white plas-tic is a thin and rather flimsy plate, andit’s easy to remove using your screwdriv-er. The problem is removing this platewithout gouging the heck out of theplate or scratching the metal case. Startby squeezing near the top of iPod Mini’srounded sides. If you have enough fingerstrength, you can bend the metal enoughto create a tiny gap for the screwdrivertip. This isn’t easy, though, so you mightwant to use a vise or clamp to applypressure (just remember to protect theiPod Mini case from scratches by using asoft cloth). Slip the screwdriver in just alittle bit on the side opposite the Holdbutton and pry up the plate carefully,working your way around the end.When you get to the Hold button, besure not to pry at too much of any angleor you risk breaking the button’s subsur-face components.

4. Repeat the previous step to remove thebottom plate. This plate is a little easier

to remove because there’s no Hold but-ton to worry about.

5. Once you remove the bottom plate,you’ll see a metal fastener that basicallyholds the iPod Mini’s guts in place. Thisfastener is nothing complex; it just hasfour legs that slip into slits in the inte-rior of the Mini’s case. To remove this

fastener, you need to pull at least two ofthose legs free. If you have a small enoughscrewdriver, you can insert the blade intothe holes of the fastener and pull the legsfree; if you aren’t equipped with such asmall screwdriver, try using needle-nosepliers instead and start with the legs thatdon’t have underlying obstructions. Oneof those obstructions is an important datacable that you don’t want to gouge.

6. With the metal fastener out of the way,you have access to the short data cablethat connects the scroll wheel with themain circuit board. The cable is a rusty

orange color. Take your flat-blade screw-driver and gently lift up on the connectorto pull it free. As with the plastic endplates you removed earlier, take your timeand work your way around the edges tomake sure you don’t cause any damage.

7. Now focus your attention on the otherend (top) of the iPod Mini where youremoved the Hold button. If you look

186 • PC Modder

closely, you will see two little screws oneither side of the Mini’s interior. Useyour Phillips screwdriver to removeboth screws and then put the screws ina safe place. Lose those screws on thecarpet, or even on a linoleum floor, andyou will likely never see them again.

8. Those screws were the last parts secur-ing your iPod Mini’s innards, and nowthose electronic entrails are all butswinging blithely in the breeze. Turnthe Mini around so you’re looking at it

from the bottom and use your thumbto push on the broad connector. Theentire inside of the Mini will start toslip out of the top. Push and wigglethese components, and you can see theminiature hard drive that you’veworked so diligently to free.

9. Only a strip of black electrical tapesecures the drive to its connector onthe mainboard. The tape is in one bigpiece, and it holds a rubber jacket

around the drive. To remove the tape,start by peeling away the large centerarea on both sides of the drive and thenpeel away the corners.

10.Now all you have to do is pull thedrive off of its 30-pin connector. Useyour flat-head screwdriver to loosenthe connector on both sides and thencarefully pull the drive away.

11.If you’re an Apple fanatic who can’tfathom what possessed you to do sucha thing to a beautful iPod, on a bleak,cold night on a bridge overlookingthe Hudson, turn your face upwardinto the rain with the drive clenchedtightly in your fist, scream, “WHY,WHY, WHY??” into the foul nightair, and cast the drive as far as youcan out into the water.

You can use the drive in some flash cardreaders. I inserted the drive into my LexarMedia USB 2.0 Multi-Card Reader andthen formatted the card to use a FAT filesystem.

I immediately attempted to transfer afew files to the drive and did so successfully,so to confirm that my test did work, I triedto view the files on another Windows XPmachine. The drive worked perfectly.

With the Microdrive removed, you canuse the 4GB as a massive, portable filetransfer system. Of course, you could dothe same thing with an intact iPod Mini,and that might actually be preferable tousing the drive outside its case—not allcard readers will detect the drive, makingthe advantages of iPod Mini eviscerationsomewhat dubious.

The 4GB drive won’t work in a digitalcamera. When you insert the drive into aCompactFlash card slot, your camera willeither temporarily lock up or display anerror message. Apple apparently hadHitachi disable the ability for the drive towork with most devices that use remov-able storage. When I cornered an Applerepresentative on a sidewalk outside com-pany headquarters one night, I asked herto tell me exactly what makes the driveinoperable in cameras, but she wielded acan of pepper spray and scurried off to

her VW bug while muttering somethingabout “secret iPod magic” and “call 911.”

Next, I invited a Hitachi spokespersonto meet with me at a back table in a seedybar. Of course, I extended the invitationunder the guise that I was a large businessowner who needed tens of thousands ofMicrodrives for a new MP3 player, butwhen the Hitachi rep arrived, I ripped offmy mask and demanded to know whythe drive didn’t do much when partedfrom the iPod.

The spokesperson, who shall remainanonymous for fear of company retri-bution, said, “Embedded Microdriveproducts are manufactured to differentspecifications than standalone Microdriveproducts. For example, we may lay mic-rocode in the final manufacturing processspecific to needs of a particular devicemanufacturer. Microcode is software thatis stored on the drive and defines the waythe drive operates. It is tailored to therequirements of our customers. Userscannot alter the microcode because we donot provide a method to do so.” Thespokesperson alluded to additional test-ing and manufacturing alterations usedduring the creation of the embeddediPod drive, but even after six High Lifes,he wasn’t ready to divulge these details. Iconsidered spiking the Hitachi rep’s beerwith a sleeping pill so that I could draghim back to interrogation, but alas, I nolonger have access to that particular gov-ernment facility.

Keep On MuVo2’nSo, there you have it, the lowdown on

cracking open high-tech toys to get at themore expensive and more fun high-techtoys inside. After reading the pros andcons behind MP3 player evisceration, youmight opt not to take any risks withyours. For those of you who do rip yourplayers apart, keep your eyes open forupcoming products that are sure to incor-porate Hitachi Microdrives, as the com-pany recently boosted production to keepup with high demand. Be mad and modon. Mwa-ha-ha-haaah!

by Mad Modder

PC Modder • 187

INTEL CHIP REFERENCEGuide to Intel’s Newest Processors

I ntel has released many new processors during the past six months, including new mobileprocessors with Centrino technology, a P4 EE, several Prescotts, and a variety of server andworkstation CPUs. The following chart is a quick reference to Intel’s newest processors.

Compiled by Kylee Dickey

Processor Chart (Listed in reverse chronological order)Processor FamilyProduct Name*Clock Speed

Code NameDate Of IntroductionSystem Bus CacheSocket TypeManufacturing TechnologySupported MemoryTarget Market

Features

Number Of CPUs Supported

Celeron M3401.5GHz

BaniasJune 1, 2004400MHz512KB L2Socket 4780.13-micronDDR SDRAMThin and light notebooksLower core voltage than Celeron CPUs

1

Mobile Pentium 45383.2GHz

DothanJune 1, 2004533MHz1MB L2Socket 47890nmDDR SDRAMNotebooks,mobile systems

1


DothanJune 1, 2004533MHz1MB L2Socket 47890nmDDR SDRAMNotebooks, mobile systems

1


DothanJune 1, 2004533MHz1MB L2Socket 47890nmDDR SDRAMNotebooks, mobile systems

1

Pentium M

7351.7GHz (600MHz in

Battery Optimized mode)

DothanMay 10, 2004400MHz2MB L2

Socket 47890nm

Up to 2GB of DDRThin and light notebook PCs

Intel Centrino technology, supports notebooks less than 1 inch thick, dedicated stack manager, supports Enhanced Intel Speedstep technology, supports Intel MVP IV, 21W power consumption, 1.276V to 1.34V1

Itanium 2

N/A1.6GHz

MadisonMay 2004400MHz3MB L3

Itanium 20.13-micron, 410 million transistorsDDR SDRAM

EPIC architecture; MCA with ECC; IA-32 EL; support for HP-UX, Linux, and Windows Server 2003

1, 2

Itanium 2

N/A1.4GHz

MadisonApril 13, 2004400MHz3MB L3, 256KB L2, 32KB L1 (instruction and data)Itanium 20.13-micron, 410 million transistors

DDR SDRAM

EPIC architecture; MCA with ECC; IA-32 EL; support for HP-UX, Linux, andWindows Server 2003

1, 2

Ultra Low-Voltage Celeron MN/A900MHz

BaniasApril 7, 2004400MHz512KB L2

Socket 4780.13-micron, 77million transistorsDDR SDRAMMobile computers

SSE2, low-power states including Deep Sleep

1

Celeron M

N/A1.4GHz

BaniasApril 7, 2004400MHz512KB L2

Socket 4780.13-micron, 77million transistorsDDR SDRAMMobile computers

SSE2, low-power states including Deep Sleep

1

Ultra Low-Voltage Pentium MN/A1.1GHz

BaniasApril 7, 2004400MHz1MB L2

Socket 4780.13-micron, 77 million transistorsUp to 2GB of DDRMobile computers

Centrino technology, Micro-Ops Fusion, dedicated stack manager

1

Processor Family

Product Name*Clock Speed

Code NameDate Of IntroductionSystem Bus Cache

Socket TypeManufacturing Technology

Supported MemoryTarget Market

Features


Processor Chart (continued)

HT Technology, 13 new SSE3 extensions, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology

Pentium M7552GHz (600MHz in Battery

Optimized mode)

DothanMay 10, 2004400MHz2MB L2Socket 47890nmUp to 2GB of DDRThin and light notebook PCs

1

Pentium M7451.8GHz (600MHz in Battery

Optimized mode)

DothanMay 10, 2004400MHz2MB L2Socket 47890nmUp to 2GB of DDRThin and light notebook PCs

1

Intel Centrino technology, supports notebooks less than 1 inch thick, dedicated stack manager, supports Enhanced Intel Speedstep technology, supports Intel MVP IV, 21W power consumption, 1.276V to 1.34V

Dual-processor servers in clusters, high-performance applications,

technical applications

*New

Inte

l nam

ing

syst

em, w

hich

doe

s not

app

ly to

the

olde

r CPU

s in

this

char

t

188 • PC Modder



Pentium 4

N/A2.80E GHzPrescottFeb. 2, 2004800MHz1MB L2 Socket 47890nm, 125 million transistorsDual-channel DDR 333/266 SDRAM

1

Pentium 4

N/A3.0E GHzPrescottFeb. 2, 2004800MHz1MB L2 Socket 47890nm, 125 million transistorsDual-channel DDR 400/333/266 SDRAM

1

Pentium 4


Intel NetBurst microarchitecture, SSE2, SSE3, Intel RAID Technology available (with Intel 875P, 865PE, 865P, and 865G chipsets with ICH5R), HT Technology, 128-bit floating point port, thermal monitoring, BIST, IEEE 1149.1 standard test access port and boundary scan1

Pentium 4



Pentium 4 Extreme EditionN/A3.4GHzGallatinFeb. 2, 2004800MHz2MB L3,512KB L2Socket 4780.13-micron, 178 million transistorsDual-channel DDR 400/333/266 SDRAM

Computing enthusiasts and gamersIntel NetBurst microarchitecture, SSE2, SSE3, Intel RAID Technology available (with Intel 875P, 865PE, 865P, and 865G chipsets with ICH5R), HT Technology, 128-bit floating point port, thermal monitoring, BIST, IEEE 1149.1 standard test access port and boundary scan1

Pentium 4

N/A3.4GHzNorthwoodFeb. 2, 2004800MHz512KB L2 ATCSocket 4780.13-micron, 55million transistorsDual-channel DDR 400/333/266 SDRAM


Desktop PCs and entry-level workstations

Intel NetBurst microarchitecture, SSE2,SSE3, Intel RAID Technology available

(with Intel 875P, 865PE, 865P, and 865Gchipsets with ICH5R), HT Technology,

128-bit floating point port, thermal monitoring, BIST, IEEE 1149.1 standard

test access port and boundary scan

Desktop PCs and entry-level workstations

Low-Voltage Pentium MN/A1.3GHzBaniasApril 7, 2004400MHz1MB L2Socket 4780.13-micron, 77 million transistorsUp to 2GB of DDR

Mobile computers

Centrino technology, Micro-Ops Fusion, dedicated stack manager

1

Xeon MP

N/A2.2GHzGallatinMarch 2, 2004400MHz2MB L3Socket 6030.13-micron, 169 million transistorsDual-channel DDR

Multiprocessor midtier and back-end serversHT Technology, Intel NetBurst architecture, rapid-execution engine, SSE2

2, 4, 8

Xeon MP

N/A2.7GHzGallatinMarch 2, 2004400MHz2MB L3Socket 6030.13-micron, 169 million transistorsDual-channel DDR

Multiprocessor midtier and back-end serversHT Technology, Intel NetBurst architecture, rapid-execution engine, SSE2

2, 4, 8

Xeon MP

N/A3GHzGallatinMarch 2, 2004400MHz4MB L3Socket 6030.13-micron, 169 million transistorsDual-channel DDR

Multiprocessor servers with four processorsHT Technology, Intel NetBurst architecture, rapid-execution engine, SSE2

2, 4, 8

Mobile Celeron

N/A2.5GHzNorthwoodNov. 12, 2003400MHz256KB L2Socket 4780.13-micron

SDRAM or DDR SDRAM (when used with the Intel 852G chipset)Value notebooks

SIMD extensions and QuickStart technology

1

Celeron

N/A2.8GHzNorthwoodNov. 5, 2003400MHz128KB L2 ATCSocket 4780.13-micron

RDRAM or DDR RAM (dependent upon chipset)

Value PCs

Data flow analysis, speculative execution, nonblocking L1 cache, Internet Streaming SIMD extensions, DIB, and Intel MMX technology

1

Processor Family

Product Name*Clock SpeedCode NameDate Of IntroductionSystem Bus CacheSocket TypeManufacturing Technology

Supported Memory

Target Market

Features


Processor Family

Product Name*Clock SpeedCode NameDate Of IntroductionSystem Bus CacheSocket TypeManufacturing Technology

Supported Memory

Target Market

Features


PC Modder • 189

Mobile ProcessorsQ1-Q2 2004Q1-Q2 2004

Q2 2004

Q2 2004Q2-Q3 2004

Q2-Q3 2004

Q3 2004Q3 2004Q3-Q4 2004Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004Q3-Q4 2004Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q4 2004Q4 2004Q4 2004Q4 2004

Q4 2004

Q4 2004Q4 20042005

2005 or 2006

Late 2006

Name

Mobile CeleronCeleron M Banias (Intel 310)Pentium M

Pentium MCeleron M Banias (Intel 320)Celeron M Banias (Intel 330)Pentium M (Intel 725)Pentium MPentium M (Intel 730)Ultra Low Voltage Pentium M (Intel 733)Mobile CeleronCeleron M (Intel 350)

Ultra Low-Voltage Celeron M (Intel 353)Celeron M (Intel 360)Celeron M (Intel 370)Ultra Low-Voltage Celeron M (Intel 373)Low-Voltage Pentium M (Intel 738)Pentium MPentium M (Intel 740)Pentium M (Intel 750)Ultra Low-Voltage Pentium M (Intel 753)Low-Voltage Pentium M (Intel 758)Pentium M (Intel 760)Pentium M (Intel 770)Unknown

Merom

Conroe

Clock Speed2.8GHz1.2GHz

1.7GHz

1.8GHz1.3GHz

1.4GHz

1.6GHz2.0GHz1.6GHz1.1GHz

At least 2.8GHz1.3GHz

900MHz

1.4GHz1.5GHz1GHz

1.4GHz

1.6GHz1.73GHz1.86GHz1.2GHz

1.5GHz

2.0GHz2.13GHz

Manufacturing Technology

0.13-micron

90nm

90nm0.13-micron

0.13-micron

90nm90nm90nm90nm

90nm

0.13-micron

90nm90nm90nm

90nm

90nm90nm90nm90nm

0.13-micron

90nm

Cache

512KB L2

2MB L2

2MB L2512KB

512KB

2MB L22MB L22MB L22MB L2

1MB L2

512KB L2

1MB L21MB L2512KB L2

2MB L2

2MB L22MB L22MB L22MB L2

2MB L2

2MB L22MB L2

Chipset CompatibilityIntel 852PM/GMIntel 855PM/GM/GME and 852GMLIntel 855PM/GM/GME

Intel 855PM/GM/GME and 852GMLIntel 855PM/GM/GME and 852GML

Intel 852PM/GMNext-generation mobile chipset

Other Details

400MHz FSB

Centrino technology, PRO/Wireless 2100A and 2200BG connectivity, 400MHz FSB400MHz FSB400MHz FSB

400MHz FSB

400MHz FSB400MHz FSB533MHz FSB400MHz FSB

400MHz FSB

400MHz FSB

400MHz FSB400MHz FSB400MHz FSB

400MHz FSB

533MHz FSB533MHz FSB533MHz FSB400MHz FSB

400MHz FSB

533MHz FSB533MHz FSBMobile processors based on Pentium 4 core will be replaced by dual-core note-book processors.Mobile processor based on a new core.Faster version of Merom.

WorkstationsQ1-Q2 2004

Q1-Q2 2004Q1-Q2 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Name

Itanium 2 for Workstations (Madison)Itanium 2 for WorkstationsXeon for Workstations (Nocona)Itanium 2 for Workstations

Itanium 2 for Workstations

Xeon for Workstations

Clock Speed1.4GHz

1GHzAt least 3.4GHz

At least 1.4GHz

At least 1GHz

At least 3.6GHz

Manufacturing Technology0.13-micron

0.13-micron90nm

0.13-micron

0.13-micron

90nm

Cache

1.5MB L3

1.5MB L3

At least 1.5MB L3At least

1.5MB L3

Chipset CompatibilityEnabled chipset

Enabled chipsetIntel E7505 or enabled chipsetEnabled chipset

Enabled chipset

Next-generation chipset

Other Details

Low-voltage

Low-voltage

Intel Processor Roadmap (2004 & Beyond)

A ccording to Intel’s roadmaps, there will be a number of new processors released during 2004, many manufactured with 90nm tech-nology. Intel also has a number of Itanium 2s ready to roll out this year. Below are the details that were available at press time.

190 • PC Modder

Desktop ProcessorsQ1-Q2 2004

Q1-Q2 2004

Q2 2004Q2 2004Q2 2004

Q2 2004Q2 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004Q3 2004Q3 2004

Q3 2004Q3 2004Q3 2004Q3 2004Q3 2004

Q4 2004Q4 2004

Name

Pentium 4

Celeron

Pentium 4Pentium 4Pentium 4

Pentium 4Pentium 4 Extreme Edition (Northwood core)Pentium 4 Copper River

Celeron (Prescott core)Pentium 4Pentium 4 (Intel 720, Prescott)Celeron (Intel 335)Celeron (Intel 340)Celeron (Intel 345)Celeron (Intel 350)Pentium 4 Extreme Edition(Gallatin core)Pentium 4 (Intel 580)Celeron

Clock SpeedAt least 3.4GHz

At least 2.8 GHz

3GHz3.2GHz3.4GHz

3.6GHz3.4GHz

At least 3.6GHz

At least 3.06GHz3.8GHz3.73GHz

2.8GHz2.93GHz3.06GHz3.2GHz3.46GHz

4.0GHz3.33GHz


90nm90nm90nm

90nm0.13-micron

90nm90nm

90nm90nm90nm90nm

90nm90nm

Cache

1MB L21MB L21MB L2

1MB L2

1MB L22MB L2

256KB L2256KB L2256KB L2256KB L2

1MB L2256KB L2

Chipset Compatibility

Intel 845 chipset family

Intel 845, 865, 875P, and next-generation chipset

Intel 845, 865, and 875P chipset families and next-generation chipsetIntel 845 chipset family

Other Details

3.4GHz P4 with 90nm technology released on Feb. 2, 2004.2.8GHz Celeron released on Nov. 5, 2003.Socket 775, 800MHz FSBSocket 775, 800MHz FSBSocket 775, 800MHz FSB

Socket 775, 800MHz FSBSocket 775

Socket 775, 800MHz FSB1,066MHz FSB

Socket 775, 533MHz FSBSocket 775, 533MHz FSBSocket 775, 533MHz FSBSocket 775, 533MHz FSBLGA775; 1,066MHz FSB

Socket 775, 800MHz FSBSocket 775, 533MHz FSB

ServersQ1-Q2 2004

Q1-Q2 2004Q1-Q2 2004Q1-Q2 2004Q1-Q2 2004

Q1-Q2 2004

Q1-Q2 2004

Q3-Q4 2004Q3-Q4 2004Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 2004

Q3-Q4 20042005

Q1 2005Q3 2005Q3 2005

Name

Itanium 2 for Servers(Madison)Itanium 2 for ServersItanium 2 for ServersItanium 2 for ServersXeon MP for Servers (Gallatin)Xeon MP for Servers

Xeon for Servers (0.13-micron Prestonia and 90nm Nocona)Itanium 2 for ServersItanium 2 for ServersItanium 2 for Servers

Itanium 2 for Servers

Xeon MP for Servers

Xeon MP for Servers

Xeon for ServersUnknown-Intel dropped plans for Jayhawk (a Xeon processor) on May 7, 2004.PotomacMillington 400/533Low-Voltage Millington

Clock Speed1.5GHz

1.5GHz1.4GHz1GHzAt least 3GHz

At least 3GHz

At least 3.4GHz

1.5GHz1.5GHzAt least 1.4GHz

At least 1GHz

At least 3GHz

At least 3GHz

At least 3.6GHz

Manufacturing Technology0.13-micron

0.13-micron0.13-micron0.13-micron0.13-micron

0.13-micron

0.13-micron, 90nm

0.13-micron0.13-micron0.13-micron

0.13-micron

0.13-micron

0.13-micron

Cache

6MB L3

6MB L31.5MB L31.5MB L3At least 4MB L3At least 4MB L3

9MB L39MB L3At least 1.5MB L3At least 1.5MB L3At least 4MB L3At least 4MB L3

Chipset CompatIntel E8870

Intel E8870Intel E8870Intel E8870Enabled chipset

Third-party/enabled chipset

Intel E7501 and next-generation chipset

Intel E8870Intel E8870Intel E8870

Intel E8870

Enabled chipset

Enabled chipset

Next-generation chipset

Other Details

At least eight-way

Four-wayTwo-wayTwo-way, low-voltageAt least eight-way

Four-way

Two-way

At least eight-wayFour-wayTwo-way

Two-way, low-voltage

At least eight-way

Four-way

Two-way

Eight-way64-bit64-bit

Intel Processor Roadmap (continued)

PC Modder • 191

AMD CHIPREFERENCE

CPU Manufacturer Extends Its Athlon 64, Opteron& Mobile Lines

S ince the last issue of PC Modder, AMD has released several new processors,including a new Athlon 64, Athlon XP-M, Athlon 64 FX, and several Opterons,including EE (Energy Efficient) and HE (Highly Efficient) models. Here's a

guide to AMD's newest CPUs.


Processor Reference ChartProcessor Family

Model NameCode NameDate of Introduction

Data Bus Bit WidthClock SpeedFSBSystem Bus (effective)Cache

Socket TypeProcess TechnologyTransistors (in millions)Supported Memory

Target Market

Features

Number of CPUs Supported

Athlon 64 FX

FX-53NewCastleJune 1, 2004

642.4GHz2GHz400MHz128KB L1, 1MB L2

Socket 9390.13-micron105.9Unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 DDR

Gaming and graphics systems

New Socket 939, 2,000MHz HyperTransport (8GBps), 128-bit data path to integrated northbridge, 3DNow! Professional, SSE2

1

Athlon 64

3800+NewCastleJune 1, 2004

642.4GHz2GHz400MHz512KB L2

Socket 9390.13-micron105.9Up to 6.4GBps of PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 DDR unbuffered

Systems that need to run cool while still handling high-end graphicsNew Socket 939,Cool'n'Quiet technology, 2,000MHz HyperTransport

1

Athlon 64

3700+ClawhammerJune 1, 2004

642.4GHz2GHz400MHz1MB L2


Mainstream PCs

1MB L2 cache, integrated DDR memory controller, 1,600MHz HyperTransport

1

Opteron

850SledgehammerAnnounced: May 18, 2004 Available by: June 17, 2004642.4GHz2.4GHz2.4GHz1MB L2

Socket 9400.13-micronAbout 100PC1600, PC2100, PC2700, PC3200 DDR

Multiprocessor systems, enterprise-level serversHyperTransport Technology, 64-bit enabled, Direct Connect Architecture, SSE, SSE2

up to 8

Opteron

250SledgehammerMay 18, 2004

642.4GHz2.4GHz2.4GHz1MB L2

Socket 9400.13-micronAbout 100PC1600, PC2100, PC2700, PC3200 DDR

Dual-processor systems, enterprise-levelserversHyperTransport Technology, 64-bit enabled, Direct Connect Architecture, SSE, SSE2

up to 2

Athlon 64

3500+NewCastleJune 1, 2004

642.2GHz2GHz400MHz512KB L2


Systems that need to run cool while still handling high-end graphicsNew Socket 939, Cool'n'Quiet technology, 2,000MHz HyperTransport

1

192 • PC Modder

AMDProcessorRoadmap

AMD's future plans start withthe release of a 0.13-

micron Athlon 64 processor(known as Newcastle) and a0.13-micron Mobile Athlon 64 inthe first half of 2004. Followingthese releases, AMD plans tointroduce new Opteron, Athlon64 FX, Athlon XP, and Athlon XP-M chips. Here's a hint ofwhat you can expect from AMDover the next year and a half.

Processor FamilyAthlon 64 FXQ3 - Q4 2004Q3 - Q4 2005Athlon 64Q3 - Q4 2004Athlon XPQ3 - Q4 2004Q3 - Q4 2005Mobile Athlon 64Q3 - Q4 2004Q1 - Q2 2005Athlon XP-MQ3 - Q4 2004Q3 - Q4 2005OpteronQ3 - Q4 2004Q3 - Q4 2004Q3 - Q4 2004Q3 - Q4 2005Q3 - Q4 2005Q3 - Q4 2005

Code Name

San DiegoToledo

Winchester

ParisPalermo

OdessaOakville

DublinTrinidad

AthensTroyVenusEgyptItalyDenmark


90nm90nm

90nm

0.13-micron90nm

90nm90nm

0.13-micron90nm

90nm90nm90nm90nm90nm90nm

Other Details

Full & Low Power, supports up to 8 CPUsFull & Low Power, supports 1 or 2 CPUsFull & Low Power, supports 1 CPU

Low Power Mobile Athlon 642800+ClawhammerMay 3, 2004

641.8GHz1.6GHz400MHz128KB (64KB + 64KB) L1, 512KB L2Socket 7540.13-micron68.5PC3200, PC2700, PC2100, and PC1600 DDR unbuffered memory at up to 3.2GBpsNotebook PCs

Integrated northbridge, HyperTransport support, 64-bit support, integrated MCT, PowerNow! technology, PowerNoW!,3DNow!, SSE2, 35W power consumption1

Opteron

150SledgehammerAnnounced: May 18, 2004 Available by: June 17, 2004642.4GHz2.4GHz2.4GHz1MB L2

Socket 9400.13-micronAbout 100PC1600, PC2100,PC2700, PC3200 DDR

Single-processor workstations and entry-level workstationsHyperTransport Technology, 64-bit enabled, Direct Connect Architecture, SSE, SSE2

1

Low Power Mobile Athlon 642700+ClawhammerMay 3, 2004

641.6GHz1.6GHz400MHz128KB (64KB + 64KB) L1, 512KB L2Socket 7540.13-micron68.5PC3200, PC2700, PC2100, and PC1600 DDR unbuffered memory at up to 3.2GBpsNotebook PCs

Integrated northbridge, HyperTransport support, 64-bit support, integrated MCT, PowerNow! technology, PowerNoW!, 3DNow!, SSE2, 35W power consumption

1

Athlon 64 FX

FX-53SledgehammerMar. 18, 2004

64/322.4GHz1.6GHz400MHz1MB L2, 128KB L1

Socket 9400.13-micron105.9PC3200, PC2700, PC2100, PC1600 registered DDR

Gaming and graphics systems

64-bit, built-in virus protection when used with SP2, noncoherentHyperTransport link, 3DNow!, SSE2

1

Athlon XP-M

2100+BartonMar. 17, 2004

321.6GHz266MHz266MHz512KB L2, 128KB L1

Socket A0.13-micron37.5PC-133, DDR SDRAM

Thin, light, and mainstream or value notebooks

Low-power, AMD PowerNow! for longer battery life, 3DNow!

1

Opteron

840 EESledgehammerFeb. 17, 2004

64/321.4GHz1.6GHz1.6GHz1MB L2, 128KB (64KB + 64KB) L1

Socket 9400.13-micronAbout 100PC1600 to PC2700 registered ECC DDR

Blade servers

Eight-way, low-power

1 to 8 (varies)

Mobile Athlon 64

2800+ClawhammerJan. 6, 2004

64/321.6GHz1.6GHz400MHz1MB L2, 128KB (64KB + 64KB) L1

Socket 7540.13-micron105.9PC3200, PC2700, PC2100, PC1600 DDR unbuffered

Notebook PCs

HyperTransport Technology, AMD PowerNow!Technology

1

Opteron

846 HESledgehammerFeb. 17, 2004

64/322GHz1.6GHz1.6GHz1MB L2, 128KB (64KB + 64KB) L1

Socket 9400.13-micronAbout 100PC1600 to PC2700 registeredECC DDR

Blade servers

Eight-way, low-power

1 to 8 (varies)

PC Modder • 193

C hipset manufacturers have released a handful of new Intel-compatible chipsets in the past six months, but the realboom in Intel chipsets is likely to happen after the June

release of Intel's 915 (Grantsdale) and 925 (Alderwood) chipsets. Inthe meantime, ATI, SiS, and VIA have spent the winter and springmonths releasing chipsets that are compatible with Pentium 4 andCeleron processors. The following charts offer a quick guide to thenorthbridge and southbridge features of each.


Date Of IntroductionCompatible Intel ProcessorsNorthbridge FeaturesSystem BusSupported MemoryIntegrated GraphicsExternal GraphicsVideo AccelerationDual Monitor SupportVideo Capture PortsHT SupportNorth/Southbridge LinkFeatures

Target MarketSouthbridge FeaturesIDE SupportSATAUSB PortsAudioNetwork SupportRAID/JBODFeatures

Target Market

SiS 656March 18, 2004Pentium 4 with up to 800MHz FSB and HT TechnologySiS656800MHz/533MHz/400MhzUp to 1GB dual-channel DDR2-667 (up to 10.6GBps) or dual-channel DDR400 (up to 6.4GBps) through four DIMMs, ECC or non-ECCN/APCI-Express x16 (4GBps)NoNoNoYesMuTIOL 1GB (1GBps) PCI-Express x16, support for DDR2, 8-channel audio, eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, HyperStreaming Technology, and RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, and JBOD. Can pair with SiS965 or SiS965L southbridgeDigital and home entertainment systems with PCI-Express x16SiS965 (introduced Feb. 25, 2004)ATA 133Integrated SATA controller with support for up to four portsSupport for eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports8-channel, AC'97Gigabit Ethernet, 1/10Mbps HomePNARAID 0, 1, 0+1, JBODSupports two PCI-Express x1 ports, 8-channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet, RAIDSystems with PCI-Express x16 and networked systems

965LATA 133Two portSupport for eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports8-channel, AC'9710/100Base-T EthernetRAID 0, 1, JBODSupports two PCI-Express x1 ports, 8-channel audio, RAID

Systems with PCI-Express x16

Date Of IntroductionCompatible Intel ProcessorsNorthbridge FeaturesSystem BusSupported Memory

Integrated GraphicsExternal GraphicsVideo AccelerationDual Monitor SupportVideo Capture PortsHT SupportNorth/Southbridge LinkFeatures

Target MarketSouthbridge FeaturesIDE Support

SATAUSB PortsAudioNetwork SupportRAID/JBODFeaturesTarget Market

RADEON 9100 PRO IGPMay 3, 2004Pentium 4, CeleronRADEON 9100 PRO IGP800MHzUp to 4GB unbuffered dual-channel, 128-bit DDR400 SDRAMYesAGP 8X with FastWriteYesYesYesYesA-LinkUMA, Pixel Shader 1.4 support, 3D textures support, supports displays up to 2,048 x 1,536 pixels at 32bpp, FSAA, MPEG-2 decoding, video deblocking, support for DVI/DFP, and VESA P&D through external TMDS, supports LCDs of up to 1,600 x 1,200 pixels, composite support, S-Video support, RGB-interface supportGaming and multimedia PCsIXP 300Two independent IDE channels with Mode 0 and Mode 4 support and ATA 100Up to two SATA portsUp to eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 portsAC'97Gigabit EthernetRAID 0HT support, Gigabit Ethernet, RAIDGaming and multimedia PCs

ATI

INTEL-COMPATIBLECHIPSETREFERENCESeveral Chipsets Add Features To Intel-Based Systems

SiS

194 • PC Modder

Date Of IntroductionCompatible Intel ProcessorsNorthbridge FeaturesSystem BusSupported MemoryIntegrated GraphicsExternal GraphicsVideo AccelerationDual Monitor SupportVideo Capture PortsHT SupportNorth/Southbridge LinkFeatures

Target Market

Southbridge FeaturesIDE SupportSATAUSB PortsAudio

Network SupportRAID/JBODFeaturesTarget Market

PM880 (IG)March 12, 2004Pentium 4PM880 (IG)800MHz FSBUp to 8GB of dual-channel DDR400UniChrome ProAGP 8XYesYesYesYesUltra V-Link (1GBps)S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro IGP graphics core, 3D graphics engine, Chromotion CE Video Display Engine, up to 1080p-resolution HDTV, integrated MPEG-2 decoding, adaptive deinterlacing, video deblocking, DualStream 64 memory controllerHDTV-ready PCs, small-form-factor PCs, mainstream multimedia PCsVT8237 (previously released)ATA 133Supports two additional SATA devicesSupports eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 portsIntegrated VIA Vinyl Audio with 5.1 surround sound, VIA Vinyl Gold 8-channel Audion (PCI)10/100Base-T EthernetRAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1HT support, 5.1- or 8-channel audio, RAIDUpper-mainstream PCs

PM800 (IG)March 12, 2004Pentium 4PM800 (IG)800MHz FSBUp to 8GB of single-channel DDR400UniChrome ProAGP 8XYesYesYesYesUltra V-Link (1GBps)S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro IGP graphics core, 3D graphics engine, Chromotion CE Video Display Engine, up to 1080p-resolution HDTV, integrated MPEG-2 decoding, adaptive deinterlacing, video deblocking, FastStream 64 memory controllerHDTV-ready PCs, small-form-factor PCs, mainstream multimedia PCsVT8237 (previously released)ATA 133Supports two additional SATA devicesSupports eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 portsIntegrated VIA Vinyl Audio with 5.1 surround sound, VIA Vinyl Gold 8-channel Audion (PCI)10/100Base-T EthernetRAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1HT support, 5.1- or 8-channel audio, RAIDUpper-mainstream PCs

VIA

ChipsetRoadmap

Among the mostanticipated

Intel-compatiblechipsets are Intel's915 (Grantsdale)and 925(Alderwood)chipsets, which willsupport PCI-Expressx16, HD Audio, andother features.Although Intel willlikely lead themarch, other manu-facturers, includingATI, SiS, and VIAhave their ownIntel-compatiblechipsets planned.

2004

Q2 2004

Q2 2004

Q2 2004

Q2 2004

June 2004

June 2004

June 2004

June 2004

Q3 2004

Q4 2004

Q1 2005

Compatible ProcessorsPentium 4, CeleronXeon

Xeon

Pentium 4

N/A - compatible with any VIAnorthbridge chip

Pentium 4

Pentium 4 Extreme EditionPentium 4

Pentium 4

Pentium 4

Pentium 4

Pentium 4

Northbridge FeaturesSingle-channel DDR support

Designed for one- or two-way servers and workstations, 667MHz FSBPCI-Express x16

800MHz FSB, dual 64-bit memory bus width, DDR 266/333/400 SDRAM with ECC and DDR2 400/533/667 with ECC support, AGP 8X external graphics support, PCI Express x16/x4external graphics support

N/A

Dual-channel DDR2 and dual-channel DDR support, Extreme Graphics 3 with 915G chipset, PCI Express x16Supports Pentium 4

Extreme Edition processors

N/A

N/A

800MHz FSB, four 16-bit channels, PC1333 RDRAM support, PCI Express x16 external graphics support (no support for AGP)800MHz FSB, 64-bit memory bus width, DDR2 400/533/667/800 ECC support, PCI Express x16external graphics support (no support for AGP)800MHz FSB, four 16-bit channels, PC1600 RDRAM support, PCI Express x16 external graphics support (no support for AGP)

Southbridge FeaturesN/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Two PATA ports (four devices); four SATA ports; RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, JBOD; support for up to eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports; PCI Express 1x external graphics support; 8-channel audio, 6-channel AC'97 audio; Gigabit EthernetICH6-R/-W provide up to eight SATA ports; RAID 0, 1, 0+1; HD Audio; ICH6-W provides integrated WAPICH6-RW provides up to four SATA ports, Intel Wireless Connect Technology, eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, HD Audioi915 compatibility; RAID 0, 1, 0+1; Gigabit Ethernet; HD Audioi915 compatibility; RAID 0, 1, 0+1; Gigabit Ethernet; integrated WAP; HD AudioN/A

N/A

N/A

Name

ATI RADEON 9000 PRO IGPIntel E7710 (Lindenhurst)Intel E7515 (Tumwater)VIA PT890

VIA VT8251

Intel 915 (Grantsdale)

Intel 925 (Alderwood)

Intel ICH6-R

Intel ICH6-W

SiS R659FX

SiS R659FX

SiS R659TX

PC Modder • 195

GUIDE TOAMD-COMPATIBLE

CHIPSETSSiS' & VIA's New Chipsets Add 64-Bit Support

SiS755FXNov.13, 2003AMD Athlon 64FX, AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteronone1,000MHzup to 3GB through up to three DDR400 DIMMs (dependent upon CPU support)NoN/AAGP8XHyperTransport

MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps) to SiS964, SiS965, or SiS965L southbridge

SiS756March 18AMD Athlon 64FX, AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteronone533MHzDDR400/DDR333

NoNoPCI Express x16HyperTransport

MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps) to SiS965 southbridge

SiS760March 11Athlon 64, Opteron

one800MHzdependent upon CPU

dependent upon CPUSiS Mirage 2AGP8XHyperStreaming, Opteron support, SiS Mirage 2 integrated graphicsMuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps) to SiS964 southbridge

Northbridge ChipsDate Of IntroductionCompatible AMD ProcessorsNumber Of ProcessorsSystem BusSupported Memory

Error Correction?Integrated GraphicsExternal GraphicsNorthbridge Features

North/Southbridge Link

SiS NorthbridgeChips

S ince the last issue, there have been only a handful of new AMD-compatible processors. SiS has been by far the most active of theAMD-compatible chipset manufacturers. The company intro-

duced three new northbridge chips and three new southbridge chips,providing 64-bit and PCI Express support to AMD systems. In addi-tion, the SiS755FX northbridge added support for a 1,000MHz FSB. Inthe meantime, VIA introduced the VIA K8T800 Pro, a chipset that pro-vides a new VIA option for manufacturers of 64-bit and dual-processorAMD-based motherboards. VIA also introduced two southbridge chipsthat let users take advantage of 7.1-channel audio. Although only a fewnew AMD-compatible chipsets were released in the past few months,users will find that these chipsets add a number of features to AMD-based motherboards.


SOURCE: VIA

196 • PC Modder

Northbridge ChipsDate Of IntroductionCompatible AMD ProcessorsNumber Of ProcessorsSystem BusSupported Memory

Error Correction?Integrated GraphicsExternal GraphicsNorthbridge Features

North/Southbridge Link

VIA K8T800 ProMay 6, 2004Athlon 64FX, Athlon 64, Opteronone or twoasynchronousup to four DDR400/333/266 DIMMs

NoN/AAGP8XHyperTransport, dual-processor support, 64-bit supportV-MAP to VIA VT8237 southbridge (released July 2, 2003)

VIA KT880Feb. 12, 2004Athlon XPone400/333MHzup to 8GB of dual-channel DDR400/333 SDRAMNoN/AAGP8XDualStream 64, up to 8GB of DDR

V-Link (533MBps) to VT8237 southbridge (released July 2, 2003)

SiS964Nov.13, 2003MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps) to SiS775FX or SiS760 northbridgesupports ATA133/100/66two SATA ports; RAID 0, 1; JBODeight integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and full-speed USB controllersAC'97 5.1-channel

10/100-BaseT64-bit systems (when linked with SiS775FX northbridge)64-bit support, MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps), eight integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and full-speed USB controllers, supports six PCI slots

SiS965Feb. 25, 2004MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps) to SiS755 or SiS756 northbridgesupports ATA133/100four SATA ports; RAID 0, 1; JBODeight integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and full-speed USB controllersAC’97 2.3 7.1-channel

Gigabit Ethernet64-bit systems (when linked with SiS775FX northbridge)64-bit support, MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O (1GBps), eight integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 controllers, support for six PCI2.3 slots, support for two PCIExpress x1 slots

SiS965LJan. 15, 2004MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps) to SiS775FX northbridge

supports ATA133/100two SATA ports; RAID 0,1; JBODsupports eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports

supports 7.1-channel AC'97 2.310/100-BaseTSystems with PCI Express

PCI Express support, MuTIOL 1G multithreaded I/O Link (1GBps), two SATA ports, RAID 0 and RAID 1, eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, eight-channel audio

The Near FutureVIAK8T890 (Northbridge)Q2-Q3 2004

Athlon 64, Athlon 64FX, Opteron

PCI Express x16, AGP8XHyperTransport (1GHz)

N/AN/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

PCI Express x16, AGP8X, HyperTransport (1GHz)

SiS??

?

?

?

??

?

?

?

?

VIAVT8237CE (Southbridge)Q2-Q3 2004

(depends on which northbridge is coupled with this chip)N/A

N/A

up to four ATA devicestwo SATA ports; RAID 0, 1, 0+1; JBODeight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 portssix-channel AC'97

10/100-BaseT

RAID configurations

VT8251 (Southbridge)Q2-Q3 2004

(depends on which northbridge is coupled with this chip)N/A

N/A

up to four ATA devicesfour SATA ports; RAID 0, 1, 0+1; JBODeight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 portseight-channel 192KHz/24-bit; six-channel AC'9710/100; possible Gigabit Ethernettwo PCI Express 1x ports

VIA

SiS SouthbridgeChips

Southbridge ChipsDate Of IntroductionI/O Controller Hub

IDE SupportSATA

USB Ports

Audio

Network SupportTarget Market

Features

VIA NorthbridgeChips

T here are no SiS chipsets on the immedi-ate horizon. The company has already

released several Athlon 64 FX-, Athlon 64-,and Opteron-compatible chipsets this year.In the future, you can expect to see only PCIExpress x16 support. SiS plans to make theleap to the new technology and leave AGP8Xexternal graphics support behind. See thechart for future VIA chipsets.

Estimated Date Of ReleaseCompatible AMD Processors

External Graphics

North/Southbridge LinkIDE SupportSATA

USB Ports

Audio

Network Support

Features

PC Modder • 197

MAINBOARD MAYHEM17 Motherboard Manufacturers Bring Us 34 Of Their Most Popular

& Feature-Rich Motherboards

L ittle has changed in the past year for ABIT, asthe IC7-MAX 3 still holds the top spot for

Intel chips. The actively cooled i875P chipsetworks to take full advantage of Hyper-Threading-enabled Pentium 4s by prioritizing the incomingmultiple threads. The 800MHz FSB coupled withIntel's PAT (Performance Acceleration Technol-ogy) and dual-channel DDR400 memory make apowerful statement about this board's stayingpower. The IC7-MAX 3 has anupper capacity of 4GB of eitherDDR400 or DDR333 memory.

ABIT's unique OTES (OutsideThermal Exhaust System) delivers abreath of fresh air to the heat-proneVRM (Voltage Regulator Module)and gives enthusiasts one less heat-producing element to worry about.Another notable feature of the IC7-MAX 3 is the multitude of SATA

ports. With six ports, the IC7-MAX 3 offersRAID 0, 1, and 0+1 functionality for added datasecurity. Six channels of integrated audio hasbecome an almost standard feature. The IC7-MAX 3 features one-click BIOS Flash, which isone of the most advanced ways to update theBIOS through Windows. ABIT's SecureIDEencrypts your data to keep it safe from hackersand other would-be data thieves. ▲

A BIT's enthusiast board for AMD is theKV8-MAX 3, which has remained the most

popular of ABIT's AMD boards since September2003. The 754-pin socket supports the Athlon 64processor rather than the Athlon 64 FX or Op-teron. With the 64-bit capability and an 800MHzFSB, it's no wonder this board is showing strongdespite Windows XP 64-bit Edition's delay. With2GB of DDR400, DDR333, or DDR266, thisboard may not seem as expandableas those on the Intel side, but 64-bitchips allow the memory addressingfor up to 16GB, so look for thememory capacities to jump.

The KV8-MAX 3 also featuresthe OTES system to cool thoseheat-producing voltage regulators.ABIT has equipped the KV8-MAX3 with µGuru, which is an integrat-

ed hardware chip that allows system monitoringwithout taking a performance hit. OC Guru is aWindows-based overclocking utility that lets auser make adjustments without having to reboot.ABIT's top AMD board also offers ATA/133 tothe IC7-MAX 3's ATA/100. With SATA portsaplenty, the KV8-MAX 3 allows RAID 0, 1, and0+1. The board also features six channels of inte-grated audio and SPDIF input/output ports. ▲

ABIT KV8-MAX 3

ABIT IC7-MAX 3ABIT IC7-MAX 3

Socket Type Socket 478 IntelChipset Intel 875P, ICH5

Processor P4 with Hyper-Support Threading

(800/533MHz FSB)RAM Support 4GB DDR400/333

RAM Slots 4Graphics Bus AGP 8X

PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 6 (ICH5; RAID 0,

1; SiIicon Image; RAID 0, 1, 0+1)

IDE ATA/100USB Ports 6 (2.0)

FireWire Ports 3 (FireWire 400)LAN Intel Gigabit

Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC'97, SPDIF

Integrated Graphics N/A

Other Features OTES, Secure IDEManufacturer ABIT

Phone (510) 623-0500URL www.abit-usa.comPrice $182

ABIT KV8-MAX 3Socket Type Socket 754 AMD

Chipset VIA K8T800, VT8237

Processor Athlon 64Support (800MHz FSB)

RAM Support 2GB DDR400/333/266, ECC


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 6 (VT8237; SiIicon

Image; RAID 0, 1, 0+1)


FireWire Ports 3 (FireWire 400)LAN Gigabit

Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC'97, SPDIF

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features OTES, Secure IDE

Manufacturer ABITPhone (510) 623-0500

URL www.abit-usa.comPrice $140

Compiled byAndrew Leibman & Eric Reed

198 • PC Modder

T he 754-pin Athlon 64 processor finds acomfortable place in AOpen's AK89

MAX, and with an upper limit of 3GB ofDDR400 memory, the AK89 MAX is a pow-erful place indeed. The AK89 MAX alsosports the NVIDIA Crush K8 chipset and an800MHz FSB. You won't be lacking peripher-al connectivity with this board; the AK89MAX offers six USB 2.0 ports, as well as threeFireWire 400 ports.

EZ Clock is a Windows-based interfacethat lets users set the voltage and frequencyvalues of the CPU, AGP, PCI,frontside bus, and memory. EZClock synchronizes the valuesfor al l adjusted components;however, you can sti l l adjustyour components independentlyfrom the BIOS.

The Ultra ATA-133 interfacetechnology offers nice speedsfrom any of the four SATA portsto your dr ives . The Si l iconImage Seria l ATA control ler

allows for the high-speed data accessibility ofRAID 0, as well as the foolproof data securityof RAID 1, and the best of both worlds inRAID 0+1. As an additional benefit, theRAID controller enables level 5 RAID, espe-cia l ly important for those of you whoabsolutely cannot afford downtime during aLAN party. The AK89 MAX also featuresintegrated 6-channel Realtek AC'97 audioand SPDIF input/output ports. ▲

AOPEN AK89 MAX

A Open's enthusiast motherboard for Intelprocessors is the AX4SPE MAX II, but

the spokesperson we talked to mentioned thatthe i915/i925 chipset boards will probablyassume that role in the near future. Until then,this 865PE and ICH5 board delivers up to4GB maximum DDR400 memory and an800MHz FSB, which is plenty to take ad-vantage of Intel 's latest Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading.

Most users would find it difficult to fill all10 peripheral ports (eight USB2.0 and two FireWire 400).Eight channels of integratedaudio is a laudable step abovemany of the motherboards in thissampler, and gaming enthusiastsare sure to impress with 7.1 sur-round sound.

The AX4SPE MAX II suppliesusers with six SATA ports andthe integrated Si l icon Image

controller enables RAID 0, 1, and 0+1. ATAspeeds peak at 100MBps for this motherboard,as opposed to the 133MBps ATA interfacethat the AK89 MAX enjoys. Also included isthe EZ Clock graphical overclocking interface.The AX4SPE MAX II also features theSilentTek interface, which lets you control thenoise output of your system based on yourimmediate computing needs via Hardware-Status Monitoring, Overheat Warning, andFan Speed Control. ▲

AOPEN AX4SPE MAX II

AOpen AK89 MAXSocket Type Socket 754 AMD

Chipset NVIDIA Crush K8Processor Athlon 64

Support (800MHz FSB)RAM Support 3GB DDR400


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5)


FireWire Ports 3 (Agere FireWire400)

LAN Realtek GigabitIntegrated Audio 5.1-channel

Realtek, SPDIFIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features EZRestore,

EZClock, SilentTekManufacturer AOpen

Phone (888) 972-6736URL usa.aopen.comPrice $117

AOpen AX4SPE MAX IISocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 865PE, ICH5Processor P4 with Hyper-

Support Threading (800/533/400MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB DDR400RAM Slots 4

Graphics Bus AGP 8XPCI Slots 5

SATA Ports 6 (ICH5; RAID 0, 1; Silicon Image; RAID 0, 1, 0+1)


FireWire Ports 2 (Agere FireWire 400)

LAN Intel GigabitIntegrated Audio 8-channel, Realtek

AC'97Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features EZClock,

SilentTekManufacturer AOpen

Phone (888) 972-6736URL usa.aopen.comPrice $139

PC Modder • 199

T he hot motherboard from ASUS for theAthlon 64 processor is the K8V SE

Deluxe. This 754-pin board is built with VIA'sK8T800 and VT8237 chipset, and it supports afrontside bus frequency of 800MHz. You caninstall as much as 3GB of ECC or non-ECCmemory in DDR400, DDR333, or DDR266variations.

ASUS has also included a Wi-Fi slot in caseyou want to migrate to a wireless LAN. Thisupdated KV8 board offers onemore FireWire 400 port from theprevious version, for a total oftwo. In addition, the eight USB2.0 ports should keep just abouteverything you own plugged and playable.

The Promise R20378 RAIDcontroller supports RAID 0, 1,and 0+1 configurations on thefour provided SATA ports .Integrated ADI AD1980 6-

channel audio is standard and includes SPDIFinput/output ports . ASUS' CPR (CPUParameter Recall) feature will reset your para-meters to their default settings in case yoursystem fails to boot. CrashFree BIOS 2 pro-vides a bootable CD that walks you throughthe autorecovery of your BIOS should yoursystem crash. The K8V SE Deluxe also comeswith Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 antivirussoftware (OEM version). ▲

ASUS K8V SE DELUXE

O n the Intel side of ASUS' coin, we havethe P4C800-E Deluxe, which is ASUS'

most popular mainboard for socket 478Pentium 4 processors with Hyper-Threading.The 875P MCH and ICH5R chipset delivers800MHz of FSB speed and can handle a gener-ous maximum of 4GB of DDR400, DDR333,or DDR266 memory. With DDR400 memory,the P4C800-E Deluxe utilizes Intel's PAT(Performance Acceleration Technology) to speedup the data path between the CPU and systemmemory, which can yield performance gains ofbetween 3% and 5%.

The Promise SATA controllerbuilt into the P4C800-E Deluxedelivers Multi-RAID Function,which lets users implementRAID with the two UltraATA/133 ports and an additionalarray with the two SATA ports.Peripherals connect to theP4C800-E Deluxe via eight USB2.0 ports and one FireWire 400port.

The P4C800-E Deluxe features ASUS AI.The 6-channel AI AUDIO can tell you if youhave peripherals incorrectly connected to theline-in, line-out, and microphone ports. AIBIOS features CrashFree BIOS2; Q-Fan,which adjusts fan speeds based on systemneed; and ASUS POST reporter, which fea-tures a voice rather than beep codes or blink-ing LEDs to notify you of any system errors.AI Overclocking lets users adjust system set-tings with a graphical interface, while auto-matically synchronizing settings to help ensurea stable session. ▲

ASUS P4C800-E DELUXE

ASUS K8V SE DeluxeSocket Type Socket 754 AMD


Processor Athlon 64 Support (800MHz FSB)

RAM Support 3GB DDR400/333/266


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0, 1, 0+1)


FireWire Ports 2 (FireWire 400)LAN Marvell 88E8001

GigabitIntegrated Audio 6-channel, ADI

AD1980, SPDIFIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features CrashFree BIOS2,

CPU Parameter Recall

Manufacturer ASUSPhone (502) 995-0883

URL usa.asus.comPrice $123

ASUS P4C800-E DeluxeSocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 875P MCH, ICH5R

Processor P4 with Hyper-Support Threading (800/533/

400MHz FSB)RAM Support 4GB DDR400/

333/266RAM Slots 4


SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0,1; RAID0, 1, 0+1, multiple RAID)

IDE Ultra DMA/100/133 (Promise 20378 RAID 0, 1,0+1)

USB Ports 8 (2.0)FireWire Ports 1 (FireWire 400)

LAN Intel GigabitIntegrated Audio 6-channel, ADI

AD1985 SoundMAX, SPDIF

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features CrashFree BIOS2,

CPU Parameter Recall

Manufacturer ASUSPhone (502) 995-0883

URL usa.asus.comPrice $179

200 • PC Modder

B iostar offers the M7NCG 400 as its bestAMD mainboard based on affordability

and overclockability. This MicroATX mother-board is compatible with Socket A AMD chipssuch as the Athlon XP, Athlon, and Duron.The M7NCG 400 features the nForce2 IGP,MCP chipset, which supports a 400MHzfrontside bus. The three memory slots arecapable of up to 3GB of DDR333, DDR266,or DDR200 memory.

The MicroATX form factor does have draw-backs. For instance, you're limitedto three PCI slots, but then againthe six USB 2.0 ports seem toargue that PCI is overrated. Theintegrated NVIDIA Ge-Force4MX GPU also negates the needfor extra slots. The Real-tek ALC650/655 delivers sixchannels of audio. FireWire fans look elsewhere: TheM7NCG 400 doesn't supportIEEE 1394.

The M7NCG 400 features WarpSpeeder,which is a control panel that lets users monitortheir hardware configurations with HardwareManager, adjust CPU frequencies withOverclock Manager, and adjust CPU core andmemory voltages with Overvoltage Manager.For the enthusiast on a shoestring budget, theM7NCG 400, which costs about half as muchas the midpriced motherboards in this round-up, is proof that big things can come in small packages. ▲

BIOSTAR M7NCG 400

T he P4VMA-M is another MicroATXboard from Biostar ideal for overclockers

on a budget. The 478 socket can handle aNorthwood/Prescott Celeron or Pentium 4processor with Hyper-Threading. The P4VMA-M offers up to 800MHz FSB speeds and fea-tures VIA's PM800 and VT8237 chipset tocontrol the speedy flow of information. TheP4VMA-M is a little short on the memory side,as it only features two slots for a maximum of2GB of DDR400 memory. Biostar is bankingon the idea that users interested in the smallerform factor are willing to makethe sacrifice of a few PCI andmemory slots.

Storage isn't a problem withtwo SATA ports and room forup to four IDE drives. Up toeight USB 2.0 ports are availableto connect your peripherals, butBiostar has excluded FireWiresupport. Six channels of integrat-ed audio are available courtesy of

an integrated AC'97 2.3 codec. The integrat-ed S3 UniChrome Pro delivers graphics, but the AGP slot offers the opportunity to upgrade.

Biostar has loaded this small boat with plen-ty of added features to keep it floating. Thehardware monitoring features let you keeptrack of CPU temperature and system voltageand adjust CPU and system fan speeds.WarpSpeeder lets you fiddle with your settingswith the aid of a graphical interface. ▲

BIOSTAR P4VMA-M V7.X

Biostar M7NCG 400Socket Type Socket A 462 AMD

Chipset nForce2 IGP, MCPProcessor Athlon/Athlon

Support XP/Duron (400/333/266MHz FSB)



PCI Slots 3SATA Ports N/A

IDE Ultra DMA/133 USB Ports 6 (2.0)

FireWire Ports N/ALAN MCP NVIDIA

MAC, Realtek RTL8201BL PHY

Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC'97, Realtek ALC650/655

Integrated Graphics GeForce4 MX GPUOther Features Overclock

Manager, Over-voltage Manager, Hardware Monitor

Manufacturer BiostarPhone 886-2-2218-0150

(Taiwan)URL www.biostar.com.twPrice $64

Biostar P4VMA-M V7.xSocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset VIA PM800, VT8237

Processor P4 with Hyper-Support Threading,

Celeron (800/533MHz)

RAM Support 2GB DDR400RAM Slots 2


SATA Ports 2IDE Ultra DMA/133

USB Ports 8 (2.0)FireWire Ports N/A

LAN VIA VT6103 10/100

Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC'97 2.3

Integrated Graphics S3 UniChrome ProOther Features Overclock

Manager, Over-voltage Manager, Hardware Monitor

Manufacturer BiostarPhone 886-2-2218-0150

(Taiwan)URL www.biostar.com.twPrice $58

PC Modder • 201

T he 9CJS ZENITH is your best bet for apowerhouse Intel-based mainboard from

Chaintech. The socket 478 board supportsCeleron or Pentium 4 processors with Hyper-Threading and up to 800MHz FSB speeds. Thei875P, ICH5R chipset directs traffic over theblack PCB of the 9CJS ZENITH. Intel's PATenhances the DDR400 memory for a 3% to 5%performance gain, and you can fill the fouravailable slots with a maximum of 4GB.

Peripherals have plenty of room to find apermanent connection, with as many as eightUSB 2.0 ports and one FireWire400 port. The 9CJS ZENITHfeatures two LAN ports fromIntel and Realtek. The integratedaudio offers eight channels ofauditory bliss. This mainboardincludes two SATA ports andoffers RAID 0 and 1 with theICH5R controller.

Chaintech bundles APOGEE'sOverclocking suite with thismotherboard, as well as WinDVD

software. The ZENITH series also has severaloptional accessories designed with the enthusiastin mind. The CBOX3 displays CPU tempera-tures, reads a bevy of memory cards, and workswith the Handigator, a remote control thatoffers mouse, hotkey, and browser functions.The board features the proprietary CMR(Chaintech Multimedia Riser), which attachesto the CMC (Chaintech Multimedia Card) todeliver two additional FireWire ports, threeAudio 7.1-channel surround ports, and oneSPDIF port. ▲

CHAINTECH 9CJS ZENITH

T he Athlon 64 feels right at home in theSK8T800 from Chaintech, which is

named after the capable VIA K8T800 chipset.This board also supports AMD's Hyper-Transport bus and up to 800MHz FSB speeds.HyperTransport is a dual, unidirectional, chip-to-chip link and is capable of up to 6.4GBpstransfer speeds. As much as 2GB of DDR400,DDR333, or DDR266 memory can fill the twoavailable memory slots.

The VIA VT8237 controller manages theUSB 2.0 interface for all eightports, two Ultra DMA/133 IDEports, and two SATA devices,which support RAID 0 and 1 tokeep your data solid and secure.You won't find any FireWire portson the SK8T800, but for the pricethis is understandable. Integrated6-channel audio is courtesy of theAC'97 codec. An SPDIF port isalso included.

The external VIA VT6103 PHY supplies FastEthernet to the SK8T800. The Boot-BlockFlash ROM BIOS has an update available fordownload from the Chaintech Web site, whichsolves a few peripheral problems that occurunder the original version of the BIOS. This isone of the more affordable mainboards. Whilenot overloaded with extras, the black-and-beigemotherboard has enough features to keep enthu-siasts happy. ▲

CHAINTECH SK8T800

Chaintech 9CJS ZenithSocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 875P, ICH5RProcessor P4 with Hyper-

Support Threading, Celeron (800MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB DDR400/333/266, ECC/Non-ECC


PCI Slots 5 (v 2.2)SATA Ports 2 (ICH5R;

RAID 0, 1)IDE ATA/100

USB Ports 8 (2.0/1.1)FireWire Ports 1 (VIA VT6306,

FireWire 400)LAN Intel PRO/1000CT

Gigabit, Realtek RTL8101L 10/100Mbps

Integrated Audio 7.1-channel, SPDIF

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features PAT

Manufacturer ChaintechPhone +886-2-2268-9998

(Taiwan)URL www.chaintech

usa.com/tw/eng/Price $169

Chaintech SK8T800Socket Type Socket 754 AMD


Processor Athlon 64 Support (800MHz FSB)



PCI Slots 5 (v2.2)SATA Ports 2 (RAID 0, 1)


FireWire Ports N/ALAN VIA VT6103

10/100Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC'97,

SPDIFIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features Two 9-pin

male serial portsManufacturer Chaintech

Phone +886-2-2268-9998(Taiwan)

URL www.chaintechusa.com/tw/eng/

Price $76

202 • PC Modder

T his Socket A motherboard supports FSBspeeds of up to 400MHz with the Athlon

XP processor or up to 266MHz for Athlon andDuron processors. The NVIDIA nForce2chipset efficiently delivers information across theboard. Three SDRAM sockets offer capacities of up to 3GB, with DDR400, DDR333,DDR266, or DDR200 memory. The neon yel-low PCI and memory sockets, which are UVreactive, look particularly striking against theblack PCB.

The Silicon Image Sil3114PCI-to-Serial ATA controllermanages the four SATA ports anddelivers RAID 0 and 1 function-ality. The nForce2 MCP-T andAgere FW803 PHY chips supportthree FireWire 400 ports and asmany as six USB 2.0 ports. TheRealtek ALC650 supplies s ixchannels of integrated audio andsupports Microsoft DirectSoundand DirectSound 3D. Dual LAN

is courtesy of the Realtek RTL8110S Gigabitand the nForce2 Agere 10/100 ports.

DFI's LANParty NFII Ultra B offers severaladditional benefits, including monitors for volt-ages and your CPU and system tempera-tures. You can also monitor fan speeds and CPU temps during the boot process. CMOSReloaded lets overclockers save stable system set-tings during an overclocking session and recoverprevious OC settings without restarting fromthe default BIOS. ▲

DFI LANPARTY NFII ULTRA B

T his 478-socket motherboard is truly for the enthusiast. Pentium 4 with Hyper-

Threading and Extreme Edition processors haveupper FSB speeds of 800MHz, while the FSBfor the Celeron and Pentium 4 Northwoodprocessors top off at 400MHz and 533MHz,respectively. The i82875P memory controllerand i82801ER ICH5R chipset deftly managethe flow of information on the PRO875B. FourSDRAM sockets support as much as 4GB ofmemory at DDR400, DDR333, and DDR266.

The HighPoint 372N RAID controller sup-ports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, and RAID1.5, while the ICH5R controllerprovides RAID 0 and 1. Theboard is capable of having eightUSB 2.0 ports, though it lacks anyFireWire support. The 82547EIwith full-duplex support at 10,100, and 1000Mbps puts theLAN in LANParty. Integratedaudio delivers six channels withSPDIF input/output ports.

Like the AMD LANParty model, thePRO875B features built-in monitors to helpusers keep track of CPU and system tempera-tures, as well as system voltages. The board alsofeatures automatic chip and second fans on/offcontrol. You can also monitor the fan speedsand temperatures during the crucial bootupprocess. The brightly colored PCI and memorysockets are also UV sensitive, so users with win-dowed PCs may want to shed some black lighton this board. ▲

DFI LANPARTY PRO875B (REV B)

DFI LANParty NFII Ultra BSocket Type Socket A 462 AMD

Chipset nForce2 Ultra 400, MCP-T

Processor Athlon XP Support (400/333/266MHz

FSB), Athlon, DuronRAM Support 3GB DDR400/

333/266/200RAM Slots 3


SATA Ports 4 (Sil3114; RAID 0, 1)

IDE ATA/133USB Ports 6 (2.0/1.1)

FireWire Ports 3 (FireWire 400)LAN Realtek RTL8110S

Gigabit, nForce2/Agere 10/100

Integrated Audio 6-channel, SPDIFIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features CMOS Reloaded,

UV Sensitive PartsManufacturer DFI

Phone (510) 274-8000URL www.dfi.com.twPrice $142

DFI LANParty PRO875B (rev B)Socket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 875P, ICH5RProcessor P4 Extreme

Support Edition, P4 with Hyper-Threading, Celeron (800/533MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB DDR400/333/266, ECC/Non-ECC


PCI Slots 5 (2.2)SATA Ports 2 (ICH5R; RAID 0,

1)IDE ATA/100 (High-

Point 372N RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 1.5)

USB Ports 8 (2.0/1.1)FireWire Ports N/A

LAN 82547EI GigabitIntegrated Audio 6-channel, SPDIFIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features CMOS Reloaded,

UV Sensitive PartsManufacturer DFI

Phone (510) 274-8000URL www.dfi.com.twPrice $174

PC Modder • 203

E CS, also known as Elitegroup, brings usthe Athlon 64-based 755-A2, which sup-

ports AMD's HyperTransport bus technology.This socket 754 board supports as much as1600 mega-transfers per second over AMD'sHyperTransport links and a maximum of 2GBof DDR400, which enables up to 3.4GBps of bandwidth. The 755-A2 also supportsDDR333, DDR266, or DDR200 memory.The SiS 755 chip powers the northbridge, and the SiS964 chip powers the southbridge ofthe 755-A2.

The southbridge SiS964 chipcontrols two SATA devices atRAID 0 and 1 configurations, aswell as four Ultra DMA devices at133, 100, or 66MBps. This boardfeatures a plethora of USB 2.0ports and headers, which let youconnect up to eight devices.However, FireWire support isabsent. LAN comes courtesy ofthe Realtek RTL820BL. The 755-A2's integrated Realtek ALC655

provides six channels of AC'97 2.3-compliantaudio. An SPDIF out header is also included onthis motherboard.

The 755-A2 also features an Award BIOSwith 2Mb Flash ROM, which supports Plugand Play 1.0A, APM 1.2, Multi Boot, DMI,and the ACPI revision 1.0 specification.Elitegroup threw in the 2002 edition of TrendMicro's PC-cillin antivirus software. ▲

ECS 755-A2

T hey don't call this motherboard Extremefor nothin'. The latest and greatest from

ECS is the first (and only) mainboard in thisroundup to feature Intel's new 915P and ICH6chipset. This board's LGA775 Socket T, forPrescott Pentium 4 processors, features the pinson the motherboard rather than on the CPU.FSB speeds for the PF4 are 800 and 533MHz.The PF4 also supports dual-channel DDR2memory, with speeds topping out at 533MHz.Up to 4GB of memory can fill the four 240-pinDIMM sockets.

ECS is taking another boldstep with the PF4 by reducingthe number of PCI slots to threeto make room for two PCIExpress slots. Even the AGP slothas been replaced with what ECScalls an AGP Express slot. TheMarvell 88E8001 Gigabit con-troller and Realtek RTL8100CFast Ethernet controller provide

the PF4's dual LAN. The Cooling Acceleratoris a vented fan and heatsink assembly, similarto Abit's OTES, which cools the PWM (pulsewidth modulator) controller. This board alsooffers up to eight USB ports and two FireWireports. Eight-channel integrated audio comesfrom the C-Media CMI9880 CODEC, which is compliant with Intel's Azalia specifi-cat ion. The PF4 also includes SPDIFinput/outputs. ▲

ECS PF4 EXTREME

ECS 755-A2Socket Type Socket 754 AMD

Chipset SiS 755, 964Processor Athlon 64

Support (1600/1200/800/400 mega-transfers per second)

RAM Support 2GB DDR400/333/266/200


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 2 (RAID 0, 1)

IDE Ultra DMA/133/100/66


LAN Realtek RTL820BL 10/100

Integrated Audio 6-channel, RealtekALC655, SPDIF

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features WinFlash Utility,

PC-cillin 2002 Manufacturer ECS (Elitegroup)

Phone (510) 226-7333URL www.ecsusa.comPrice $88

ECS PF4 ExtremeSocket Type Socket T LGA 775

IntelChipset Intel 915P, ICH6

Processor Pentium 4, Support Prescott, with

Hyper-Threading (800/533MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB DDR533/400RAM Slots 4 (DDR2 240-pin

socket)Graphics Bus AGP Express

PCI Slots 3 PCI; 2 PCI Express x1; 1 PCIExpress x16

SATA Ports 6 (RAID 0/1/0+1)IDE UltraDMA 133/100

USB Ports 8 (2.0)FireWire Ports 1 (FireWire 400),

1 headerLAN Marvell Gigabit

LAN, Realtek 10/100 Ethernet

Integrated Audio 8-channel, C-Media

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features Cooling Accelerator

Manufacturer ECS (Elitegroup)Phone (510) 226-7333

URL www.ecsusa.comPrice N/A

204 • PC Modder

E PoX's popular 478-socket Intel boardsupports the Pentium 4 Northwood and

Prescott processors with a maximum FSBspeed of 800MHz. There's even room forIntel's Celeron processor, with FSB speeds of400MHz. The i865PE chipset powers thismotherboard, while the Silicon Image con-troller provides RAID 0, 1, and 1+0 supportto the four SATA ports. The Ultra DMA sup-port is capable of 100MBps and up to four drives. The four memory sockets are capable of a total of 4GB of RAM inDDR400, DDR333, or DDR-266 variations.

The six possible USB 2.0 hubsgo solo with nary a FireWire portto speak of. The Marvell 88E8001provides Gigabit Ethernet connec-tivity. Realtek ALC850 integratedaudio delivers an impressive 8-channel surround sound withSPDIF ports.

EPoX supplied the EP-4PDA5+ with EZ Boot, which

lets users select a bootable device by pressingthe ESC key rather than having to navi-gate the BIOS menu. Post Port, anotherunique feature of this EPoX board, is an integrated LED display that users can trou-bleshoot from. EPoX's Power BIOS fea-tures overclocking functions that let you adjustthe FSB, AGP, and memory frequencies, aswell as manipulate the voltage settings for your system. ▲

EPOX EP-4PDA5+

T he EP-8RDA3+, a circuit-board greenSocket A motherboard, is designed for the

Athlon XP, Athlon, and Duron processors. Thisboard supports FSB speeds of 400MHz,333MHz, 266MHz, and 200MHz. As much as3GB of DDR400, DDR333, and DDR266 willfit into the three available sockets. The NVIDIAnForce2 Ultra 400 chipset powers the EP-8RDA3+.

Two SATA ports feature RAID 0 and 1functionality via the Silicon Image Sil3112acontroller. The board also deliv-ers two Ultra ATA/133 ports fora maximum of four devices. Atotal of eight possible USB 2.0ports accompany three AgereFireWire 400 ports for con-necting as many peripherals as you can muster. The RealtekALC65X provides six channels ofintegrated audio and an opticaland RCA SPDIF out.

The EP-8RDA3+ is bundled with Norton'sGhost software, which lets you make a backupof your important information to protectagainst data loss. Trend Micro PC-cillinantivirus software is also included, as is EZBoot and the onboard LED troubleshootingdisplay. EPoX's Power BIOS makes overclock-ing easy by giving direct access to the multipli-er, voltages, and frequencies for the CPU,AGP, and memory. ▲

EPOX EP-8RDA3+

EPoX EP-4PDA5+Socket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 865PE, ICH4Processor P4 with Hyper-

Support Threading, Celeron (800/533/400MHz FSB)



PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (Sil3114, RAID

0, 1, 1+0)IDE Ultra DMA/100


LAN Marvell 88E8001 Gigabit

Integrated Audio 8-channel, Realtek ALC850, SPDIF

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features EZ-Boot

Manufacturer EPoXPhone (714) 680-0898

URL web.epox.comPrice $105

EPoX EP-8RDA3+Socket Type Socket A 462 AMD

Chipset nForce2 Ultra 400, MCP

Processor Athlon, Athlon XP, Support Duron (400/333/

266/200MHz FSB)RAM Support 3GB DDR400/

333/266RAM Slots 3


SATA Ports 2 (Sil3112a; RAID 0, 1)


FireWire Ports 3 (Agere FireWire 400)

LAN Realtek RTL8201 10/100

Integrated Audio 6-channel, CMI9739, SPDIF

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features EZ Boot

Manufacturer EPoXPhone (714) 680-0898

URL web.epox.comPrice $89

PC Modder • 205

F IC makes some very colorful boards, andthe P4-865PE MAX is no exception. It’s

pieced together in shades of red, blue, green,and yellow. But more importantly the P4-865PE MAX offers some nice features, as well.It’s a socket 478 board with Intel 865PE andICH5R chipsets. It supports both Pentium 4and Celeron processors and works with FSBspeeds of up to 800MHz. (And thanks to the865PE chipset, it supports Hyper-Threadingtechnology.) The board also has four dual-channel DIMM sockets for up to4GB of PC3200/2700/2100DDR SDRAM.

Both of the board’s two SATAports support RAID 0. If you needlots of extra connections to sup-port your gadgets, it offers ampleroom, supporting eight USB 2.0ports and two FireWire ports. Italso has five PCI slots. Videoexpansion is available via an AGP8X slot.

As for integrated audio, 5.1 AC’97-complaintchannels are available through the onboardRealtek ALC650 chip. Ethernet 10/100 connec-tivity is offered through the board’s RealtekRTL 8100 BL chip.

Some of the board’s minor extras includeauto-power failure recovery, support for key-board and mouse wakeup, RTC alarm, andSuspend To RAM features. ▲

FIC P4-865PE MAX

FIC P4-865PE MAXSocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 865PE, Intel ICH5R

Processor P4, Celeron Support (533/800MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB DDR400/333/266; SPD support


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 2 (RAID 0)

IDE ATA/100/66USB Ports 8 (2.0)

FireWire Ports 2LAN Realtek RTL

8100BL 10/100Integrated Audio 5.1-channel, AC’97Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features N/A

Manufacturer FICPhone (510) 252-7777

URL www.fic.com.twPrice $109

T he K8-800T is one of FIC’s most popu-lar AMD 64 boards even though it

doesn’t offer a ton of extra features. Althoughequipped with VIA’s K8T800 northbridgeand 8237 southbridge chipsets, the board sup-ports only 2GB of RAM and lacks some of thechipset’s potential features, such as GigabitEthernet and SATA RAID. Also, even thoughthe board supports 5.1-channel audio (with Realtek ALC655 chip), some other8237s support VIA Vinyl Gold Audio 7.1 surround sound.

Nevertheless, the K8-800Tdoes have two SATA ports, pro-vides Realtek 8100C LAN con-nectivity, and has a few other fea-tures that are worth noting, suchas two FireWire 400 ports and thepotential for up to eight USBports (four front, four in theback). It also offers sufficientexpandability, with five PCI slotsand an AGP 8X graphics bus.

There’s no doubt this would be a betterboard if FIC had taken full advantage of theK8T800 and 8237 chipsets and offered RAID0, 1, and 0+1, but the K8-800T is essentiallya mainstream value board: It has everythingyou need to get by, but little in the way ofextras. ▲

FIC K8-800T

FIC K8-800TSocket Type Socket 754 AMD

Chipset VIA K8T800, VIA 8237

Processor Athlon 64Support



PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 2

IDE ATA/133/100/66USB Ports 8 (2.0)

FireWire Ports 2LAN Realtek 8100C

10/100Integrated Audio 5.1-channelIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features N/A

Manufacturer FICPhone (510) 252-7777

URL www.fic.com.twPrice $159

206 • PC Modder

I f you’re looking for an AMD 64 FX boardthat’s loaded with extra features, this

board’s for you. The GA-K8NNXP-940 is aSocket 940 board, as the name implies, and itworks with either an AMD Athlon 64 FX orOpteron 100 processor. It includes plenty ofthe basics: five PCI slots, four DIMM slotswith 3GB of dual-channel DDR400/333/266registered memory, and four USB 2.0 slots.But it also contains heaps of extras, such as athird Texas Instruments FireWire 800 port, aSPDIF input/output pin header,and CD/AUX input. And eventhough you probably don’t needit, the GA-K8NNXP-940 evencontains one DPS (Dual PowerSystem) port.

You also get a 10/100 LANcontroller; four ATA/133/100/66headers supporting RAID 0, 1,0+1, or JBOD; two SATA portswith support for RAID 0 and 1;and one Game/MIDI connector.

Finally, you get AC’97 compatible 6-channelaudio from Realtek with an ALC658 chip.

Obviously, the GA-K8NNXP-940 is stackedto the rim with features, but Gigabyte didn’tstop there. It also offers system health monitor-ing and hardware reporting for open case, fanspeed, and CPU voltage. ▲

GIGABYTE GA-K8NNXP-940

GIGABYTE GA-K8NNXP-940Socket Type Socket 940 AMD

Chipset NVIDIA nForce3 150

Processor Athlon 64 FX Support (1200MHz FSB)

RAM Support 3GB Dual DDR400/333/266, registered


PCI Slots 5 (2.3)SATA Ports 2 (RAID 0, 1)

IDE ATA/133 (RAID 0, 1, 0+1, JBOD)

USB Ports 4 (2.0)FireWire Ports 3

LAN Dual LAN 10/100Integrated Audio 6-channel, SPDIF

(In/Out)Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features N/A

Manufacturer GIGABYTEPhone (626) 854-9338

URL www.giga-byte.comPrice $229

O n the Intel side, Gigabyte offers theimpressive GA-8KNXP Ultra-64, pow-

ered by the i875P northbridge and HanceRapids southbridge. The board’s best feature isprobably its two 64-bit 66MHz PCI-X slots,which are available through the HR Southbridgeand can be used for a Gigabit Ethernet or aSCSI card.

The two chipsets offer a rather extensive listof other features. In addition to an AdaptecUltra 320 SCSI chip and Intel CSA interfaceGigabit Eternet controller, youalso get a RAID-supportingSil3114 chip and a RealtekALC850 chip with 8-channelaudio. (The board also has anSPDIF input, as well as output.)

In addition to offering 800/533/400MHz FSB speeds and4GB of dual-channel DDR400/333/266 memory with ECCsupport, GIGABYTE has affixed apile of connectors and expansion

slots onto the GA-8KNXP Ultra-64. In all, youget six DIMM slots, six SATA ports, two SCSIconnectors, an AGP 8X slot, three PCI slots,one DPS (Dual Power System) slot, two ATAports, one game port pin header, and four USB2.0 ports.

Lastly, the GA-8KNXP comes with hard-ware monitoring (such as CPU voltage and fanspeed monitoring), and Norton InternetSecurity 2004. ▲

GIGABYTE GA-8KNXP ULTRA-64GIGABYTE GA-8KNXP Ultra-64

Socket Type Socket 478 IntelChipset Intel 875P MCH,

Intel HR(Hance Rapids)

Processor P4 with Intel Hyper-Support Threading Tech-

nology (800/533/400MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB Dual DDR400/333/266, ECC




FireWire Ports N/ALAN Gigabit LAN

10/100/1000Integrated Audio 8-channel, SPDIF

(In/Out)Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features Norton Internet

Security 2004Manufacturer GIGABYTE

Phone (626) 854-9338URL www.giga-byte.comPrice $355

PC Modder • 207

T his board’s specialty is security. Intel toutsits TPM (Trust Platform Module), a sort

of business-level, hardware-based safety modulethat provides protection for encryption and digi-tal signature keys, and which runs WaveSystems’ EMBASSY Trust Suite software.Ultimately, the TPM is designed to protectagainst software-based attacks through the computer’s hardware.

Even aside from the TPM, however, theD865GRH offers plenty of fea-tures that make it a practicalchoice for most consumers, eventhose who are less inclined to beconcerned about software attacks.

The Socket 478 board isequipped with an 865G chipsetand uses 4GB of unbufferedDDR400/333/266 SDRAM(non-ECC) memory in fourDIMM slots. Because it lacksFireWire ports and support forRAID technology, the D865GRH

is less exciting than some boards. Nevertheless,there are other features worth looking at, includ-ing Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000, an AGP 8Xslot, eight USB 2.0 ports, three PCI slots, andintegrated graphics through an Intel ExtremeGraphics 2 controller. SoundMAX 4 XL pro-vides integrated audio and allows for either 2- or6-channel audio. ▲

INTEL D865GRHINTEL D865GRH

Socket Type Socket 478 IntelChipset Intel 865G

Processor P4, Celeron with Support Hyper-Threading

Technology (800/533/400MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB DDR400/333/266 SDRAM un-buffered, non-ECC





10/100/1000Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC’97,

SPDIFIntegrated Graphics Intel Extreme

Graphics 2Other Features N/A

Manufacturer IntelPhone (800) 538-3373

URL www.intel.comPrice N/A

E ven though the D865PERC lacks RAIDtechnology, it still deserves the “next gen-

eration” label that Intel affixes to it. Not sur-pris ingly, i t supports both Intel P4 andCeleron processors with Hyper-Threadingtechnology at FSB speeds of 800MHz. Likemany boards that feature those two processors,however, you can take advantage of the800MHz speed only with the P4. The maxi-mum FSB speed with a Celeron Processor is 400MHz.

The D865PERC has 4 DIMMslots supporting 4GB of dual-channel DDR400/333/266 un-buffered, non-ECC SDRAM. It isalso a Socket 478 board poweredby the 865PE chipset.

With s ix PCI s lots and anAGP 8X slot that also supportsAGP Digital Display cards, theD865PERC offers plenty ofroom for expansion. It has eightUSB 2.0 ports, two SATA ports,

two ATA/100/66 connectors, and GigabitLAN. Yet another nice feature is the audio:The board provides either two or six channelsof AC’97-compatible audio from SoundMAX4 XL.

Finally, the board features Intel PrecisionCooling Technology fan control, which causesthe fans to adjust to varying system tempera-tures, thereby reducing noise, as well as energyconsumption. ▲

INTEL D865PERC

INTEL D865PERCSocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset 865PEProcessor P4, Celeron with

Support Hyper-Threading Technology (800/533/400MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB Dual DDR400/333/266 SDRAM, unbuffer-ed, non-ECC



IDE ATA/100/66USB Ports 8


10/100/1000Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC’97,

SPDIFIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features N/A

Manufacturer IntelPhone (800) 538-3373

URL www.intel.comPrice N/A

208 • PC Modder

O ne of MSI’s newest boards is the875PNEO-FISR, an Intel Canterwood

875P and ICH5R board supporting a 3.2GHzIntel P4 processor (Northwood/Prescott/ExtremeEdition) and FSB speeds of up to 800/500MHz.Four DIMM slots support 4GB of dual-channelDDR 400/333/266 SDRAM ECC memory.While the board will run at 800MHz FSB whenusing DDR400, it’s worth noting that whenusing DDR333 with 800MHz FSB, the memoryactually runs at 230MHz.

Not many boards offer as muchFireWire support: The 875P-NEO-FISR offers three FireWireports. Two are 400Mbps ports,one of them a mini version. Thethird is available through a headeron the motherboard.

Additional features includeIntel Hyper-Threading technolo-gy, two SATA ports with RAID 0 and 1, support for 10/100Ethernet MAC and PHY, and

ACPI Power Management on the Intel 82547-EI with CSA (Communication StreamingArchitecture) interface.

Other frills include an AGP 8X-compatibleslot, five PCI slots, dual ATA/100/66 IDEDMA 66/100 IDE controllers (which are inte-grated on the ICH5R), SPDIF output, andRealTek ALC850 8-channel audio (also inte-grated on the ICH5R).

The 875PNEO-FISR also supports PIO andBus Master operation modes. ▲

MSI 875PNEO-FISR

MSI 875PNEO-FISRSocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 875P, ICH5RProcessor Intel P4 with Intel

Support Hyper-Threading Technology (800/533MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB Dual DDR- 400/333/266, ECC


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 2 (RAID 0)

IDE 2-channel ATA/100USB Ports 8 (2.0)

FireWire Ports 3LAN Ethernet 10/100

Integrated Audio 8-channel AC’97Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features N/A

Manufacturer MSIPhone (626) 913-0828

URL www.msicomputer.com

Price $152

A n Athlon 64 board with an NVIDIAnForce 3 250Gb chipset, the K8N NEO

PLATNUM is a first-rate board and one that isrich in features. The nForce3 250Gb chipsetsupports an 800MHz HyperTransport inter-face and has integrated Gigabit LAN (throughan NVIDIA nForce3 NV Gigabit LAN con-troller). It offers eight channels of 7.1 audiowith AC’97 2.3 compliance. Moreover, thereare also three Firewire ports, support for eight USB ports, f ive PCI slots, dual ATA /133/100/66/33 with sup-port for up to four IDE devices,an AGP 8X slot, and four SATAports supporting RAID (0,1,0+1). The board even featuresNVIDIA Firewall Technology foronline security.

What’s more, the K8N NEOPLATINUM is poised for over-clocking. Enthusiasts will get a kick out of the board’s D.O.T. (Dynamic Overclocking

Technology). This is MSI’s automatic over-clocking feature, which automatically speedsup the CPU in times of extreme performanceneeds but will then restore your system todefault settings whenever the CPU is in a low-load balance.

On the downside, the K8N NEO PLAT-NUM offers just three DIMM slots that acceptonly 2GB of non-ECC DDR 400/333/266 sin-gle-channel memory. ▲

MSI K8N NEO PLATINUM

MSI K8N NEO PLATINUMSocket Type Socket 754 AMD

Chipset NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb

Processor Athlon 64 Support (800MHz)

RAM Support 2GB DDR400/333/266, unbuffered, ECC, non-ECC


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0,1, 0+1)


FireWire Ports 3LAN Gigabit LAN

10/100/1000 Integrated Audio 8-channel, SPDIF

(Out)ntegrated Graphics N/A

Other Features nVIDIAFirewall Technology

Manufacturer MSIPhone (626) 913-0828

URL www.msicomputer.com

Price N/A

PC Modder • 209

T ogether, the AB60R and the AB60Nform the cornerstone of SHUTTLE’s

Intel motherboard lineup. For this segment,we chose the more expensive (but not bymuch) AB60R.

The Intel 865PE and ICH5 chipsets form thebasis of this Socket 478 board, which also sup-ports P4 and Celeron processors at 800/533/400MHz FSB speeds. The AB60R supports10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN with CSA(Communication Streaming Architecture) inaddition to 4GB of dual-channelDDR400/333/266 SDRAM andup to four devices via twoATA/100 ports. It has fourDIMM slots, an AGP 8X graphicsslot, and five PCI slots.

Like SHUTTLE’s AB50RAMD board, this one also offershardware monitoring functionsand an Award PnP BIOS with4MB flash memory. To round outthe list of the board’s features, we

have to mention its two FireWire ports, avail-able through the onboard VIA 6306 chipset.The AB60R also allows you to add two SATAdrives, each supporting RAID 0 and 1. Foraudio, the AB60R contains both SPDIF in andout, as well as 6-channel audio. Hardware moni-toring is also included. ▲

SHUTTLE AB60R

SHUTTLE AB60RSocket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel 865PE + ICH5

Processor P4, Celeron Support (800/533/400MHz

FSB)RAM Support 4GB Dual DDR-

400/333/266 SDRAM


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0,1)



10/100/1000Integrated Audio 6-channelIntegrated Graphics N/AOther Features (No on-board VGA)

Manufacturer SHUTTLEPhone (626) 820-9000

URL www.us.shuttle.comPrice $144

S HUTTLE tells us that the AN35N-L isthe company’s most popular AMD board,

but the AN50R, based on NVIDIA’s nForce 3150 northbridge chipset and supporting theAthlon 64, is quickly gaining momentum. It iscurrently one of the company’s most powerful boards.

The AN50R supports the Athlon 64 withHyperTransport Technology at an FSB speed of1600MHz. At the same time it uses 3GB ofDDR400/333/266/200 SDRAM on threeDIMM slots. Although it offersjust four USB ports, SHUTTLEmakes up for that deficiency byincluding three FireWire portsand two SATA ports supportingRAID 0 and 1. The company evenadded an AGP 8X slot.

Some of the board’s other fea-tures include Gigabit LAN, a totalof five PCI slots, and ATA/133.Like many high-end boards, theAN50R also offers SPDIF digital

audio in and out. However, while a lot of boardsfeature 8-channel built-in audio, the AN50Roffers only 6-channel audio. For BIOS, Shuttledelivers its Award PnP BIOS, stored in 4MB offlash memory.

This board may not be feature heavy, butthanks in part to the chipset and integratedHyperTransport technology it offers plenty of speed. ▲

SHUTTLE AN50R

SHUTTLE AN50RSocket Type Socket 754 AMD

Chipset NVIDIA nForce3 150

Processor Athon 64 with Support HyperTransport

Technology (1600MHz FSB)

RAM Support 3GB DDR400/333/266/200


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0,1)




(In/Out)Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features N/A

Manufacturer SHUTTLEPhone (626) 820-9000

URL www.us.shuttle.comPrice $141

210 • PC Modder

S OLTEK manages to one-up the SL-PT880Pro-FGR with the SL-865Pro-775, a

Socket LGA 775 powered by Intel 865PE andICH5 chipsets and supporting the PrescottPentium 4 processor (800/533MHz FSB).

However, aside from the chipset and socket,you may notice many similarities between thetwo boards. The SL-865Pro-775 supports upto 4GB of dual-channel unregistered non-ECCDDR 400/333/266 DRAM memory throughfour slots. Two ATA/100/66/33 IDE connec-tors support up to 4 IDE devicesand a third ATA133 connectorsupports RAID (0, 1, 0+1, andJBOD) via a Promise PDC20579chip that also supports RAIDthrough two SATA connectors.(The board has a total of fourSATA ports.)

The standard expansion capa-bilities are also available with theSL-865Pro-775, meaning it has anAGP 8X slot and five PCI slots.

Also, the SL-865Pro-775 won’t leave you with-out high-speed device support because it has twoFireWire ports and support for eight USBdevices (four integrated, four available throughoptional cables).

After all that, the board offers Gigabit LAN,6-channel AC’97-compatible audio, and hard-ware monitoring. Overclockers have further rea-son to rejoice: RedStorm OverclockingTechnology is also available, but optional. ▲

SOLTEK SL-865PRO-775 SOLTEK SL-865Pro-775Socket Type Socket LGA

775 IntelChipset Intel 865PE + ICH5

Processor Prescott P4 Support (800/533MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB Dual DDR-400/333/266 DRAM, unregis-tered, non-ECC


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (2 with RAID 0,

1, 0+1, JBOD)IDE 2 ATA/100/66/33,

1 ATA/133 (RAID 0, 1, 0+1, JBOD)


LAN Gigabit LAN10/100/1000

Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC’97Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features Hardware monitor-

ing, RedStorm Overclocking Technology (optional)

Manufacturer SOLTEKPhone N/A

URL www.soltek.com.twPrice N/A

S OLTEK has yet to gain much ground inthe United States, which is unfortunate

because it manufactures several impressivemotherboards. Take the SL-PT880Pro-FGR, forexample. This Socket 478B board provides 4GBof unregistered, non-ECC DDR 400/333/266DRAM with dual-channel support. It is found-ed on VIA’s PT880 and VT8237 chipsets andcombines speed with oodles of features (many ofthem optional).

Some of those features include Gigabit LAN,6-channel AC’97 integratedaudio, two FireWire ports (oneintegrated and one availablethrough an optional cable), andthree ATA connectors. One ofthose ATA connectors is anATA/133/100 connector thatsupports up to two IDE devicesand delivers RAID 0, 1, and 0+1.The other two support as many asfour more IDE devices withATA/133/100/66 connectors.

SOLTEK also added five PCI slots and oneAGP 8X slot to the SL-PT880Pro-FGR in addi-tion to the eight USB 2.0 ports (four integratedports and four more available through optionalcables).

The company could hardly have packed morefeatures onto this board. Other niceties, besideshardware monitoring, include (the optional)RedStorm Overclocking Technology andRedStorm2 Overclocking Technology. ▲

SOLTEK SL-PT880PRO-FGRSOLTEK SL-PT880Pro-FGRSocket Type Socket 478B Intel

Chipset VIA PT880 + VT8237

Processor P4, Celeron (800/Support 533/400MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB Dual DDR-400/333/266 DRAM, unregis-tered, non-ECC


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (2 VT8237 RAID

0, 1; 2 RAID 0, 1, 0+1)

IDE 2 ATA/133/100/66,1 ATA/133/100 (RAID 0, 1, 0+1)


LAN Gigabit LAN10/100/1000

Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC’97Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features Hardware monitor-

ing, Redstorm Overclocking Technology (optional), Red-Storm2 Overclock-ing Technology

Manufacturer SOLTEKPhone N/A

URL www.soltek.com.twPrice N/A

PC Modder • 211

S OYO’s SY-P4I875P DRAGON 2 v1.0varies only slightly from the SY-P4I875P

Dragon 2 Platinum Edition.Like the latter, the DRAGON 2 v1.0 with

Intel 875P and ICH5R chipsets supportsIntel’s Hyper-Threading technology and letsyou add up to 4GB of dual-channelDDR400/333 DDR SDRAM with ECCthrough four 184-pin DIMM sockets. TheDRAGON 2 v1.0 also supports Intel P4processors of up to 3.2GHz with 533MHz and800MHz FSB speeds, and offersdigital SPDIF outputs, 6-channelaudio through a built-in CMI8738 chip, three FireWire ports(one front port and two headers),and eight USB ports (four rearports and four headers).

Also, like the Platinum Edition,the DRAGON 2 v.1.0 offers five32-bit PCI slots, an AGP 8X videoslot, and 4-channel SATA. Thesystem-monitoring features are

also the same, including such utilities asonboard voltage monitors for +3.3V, +12V,VCore, DIMM, and AGP.

But, unlike the Platinum Edition, this boardsupports an Intel Prescott processor of up to3.4GHz at 800MHz FSB. It also includes aSigma Box featuring a BayONE 9-in-1 USB2.0 Flash Media Reader/Writer, and 4MBFlash ROM. ▲

SOYO SY-P4I875P DRAGON 2 V1.0

SOYO SY-P4I875P DRAGON 2 V1.0Socket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel i875P, ICH5RProcessor P4, Celeron

Support (800/533MHz FSB)RAM Support 4GB Dual

DDR400/333, ECCRAM Slots 4

Graphics Bus AGP 8XPCI Slots 5 (v 2.2)

SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0, 1)IDE ATA/133 (RAID

0, 1, 0+1)USB Ports 8 (2.0)



(Out)Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features N/A

Manufacturer SOYOPhone (909) 292-2500

URL www.soyousa.comPrice $190

T he SY-KT880 DRAGON 2 with VIAKT880 chipset is SOYO’s top-of-the-line

AMD motherboard, and it’s loaded withextras, such as RAID support for both paralleland serial ATA. In all, the board consists offour ATA ports supporting RAID 0, 1, 0+1,and JBOD, and four channels of SATA sup-porting RAID 0, 1, and JBOD availablethrough an Ali M5281 chip. It also includes10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN.

In addition, the board can handle up to4GB of dual-channel DDR400and supports AMD Athlon XP1800+ to 3200+ with up to400MHz FSB speed. Despite thelack of integrated graphics, AGP8X expansion exists through anAGP Pro slot. Two FireWireports and five PCI slots providefurther expandability.

SOYO also built eight chan-nels of audio into this board with C-Media CMI 9780 AC’97. In

addition to the expanded surround sound,you’ll also find support for SPDIF input and output.

Health monitoring for the SY-KT880DRAGON 2 is provided by onboard voltagemonitors, a CPU fan and CHA fan speed moni-tor, CPU temperature and CHA temperaturemonitor, and CPU overheat protection. ▲

SOYO SY-KT880 DRAGON 2SOYO SY-KT880 DRAGON 2Socket Type Socket A AMD

Chipset VIA KT880Processor Athlon XP (400/

Support 333/266MHz FSB)RAM Support 4GB Dual DDR-

400/333 SDRAMRAM Slots 4


SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0, 1, JBOD)

IDE ATA/133/100/66 (RAID 0, 1, 0+1, JBOD)


LAN Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000

Integrated Audio 8-channel, SPDIF (In/Out)

Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features On board voltage

monitors, CPU temperature and CHA temperature monitor

Manufacturer SOYOPhone (909) 292-2500

URL www.soyousa.comPrice N/A

212 • PC Modder

S upermicro also offers the P4SCT+, whichprovides 4GB of unbuffered dual-channel

DDR400/333/266 SDRAM and four RAMslots. It’s another Socket 478 board, but with anIntel E7210 (Canterwood ES) chipset instead ofan Intel 875P.

Like the P4SCT+II, the P4SCT+ boardoffers no integrated audio. It also provides six SATA ports, four USB ports, no Fire-Wire ports, and Intel Pentium 4/Celeronprocessor support.

Also like the P4SCT+II, thisboard offers a fairly generousrange of system monitoring tools,including three 3-pin fan headerswith tachometer monitoring,CPU and chassis temperaturemonitoring, and LED for CPUand system overheat.

For expansion, the P4SCT+provides five PCI slots comparedto the P4SCT+II’s two. While twoof the PCI slots on the P4SCT+

are 32-bit 33MHz slots, the other three are 64-bit 66MHz PCI-X slots.

However, unlike the P4SCT+II, this boardlacks an AGP slot. It’s possible that Super-micro dropped the AGP slot for the PCI-Xslots and assumed that the integrated graphics(ATI RageXL 8MB with frame buffer) would suffice. ▲

SUPERMICRO P4SCT+Supermicro P4SCT+

Socket Type Socket 478 IntelChipset Intel E7210

(Canterwood ES)Processor P4, Celeron

Support (800/533/400MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4 GB DDR400/333/266 SDRAM, unbuffered, ECC, non-ECC

RAM Slots 4Graphics Bus N/A

PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 6 (4 HDD RAID 0,

1+0), (2 HDD RAID 0, 1)


FireWire Ports N/ALAN Dual LAN

10/100/1000Integrated Audio N/Antegrated Graphics ATI Rage

XL SVGAOther Features Hardware monitor-

ing, three 3-pin fanheaders with tachometer monitoring

Manufacturer SupermicroPhone (408) 503-8000

URL www.supermicro.com

Price N/A

I t’s probably only natural that a board such asthe P4SCT+II from Supermicro, which has

been around for quite some time, leaves a littleto be desired. Yet, whatever the board lacks, itmakes up for in other ways.

For example, the P4SCT+II lacks integratedaudio, which is pretty much standard on mostboards. On the other hand, it does offer inte-grated graphics via an ATI RAGE XL SVGAPCI video controller with 8MB of memory.

The P4SCT+II also lacks FireWire ports.Instead, it includes six SATA con-nectors: two for HDD by Intel6300ESB and four for HDD byMarvell SATA Controller. Thelatter supports RAID 0 and 1+0while the former supports RAID 0and 1.

In addition, this Socket 478board supports 4GB of ECC,non-ECC unbuffered DDR400/333/266 SDRAM memory on four DIMM slots and has

dual-channel support. It also supports 3.4GHzIntel Pentium 4 and 2.8GHz Celeron proces-sors with Hyper-Threading technology atspeeds of up to 800/533/400MHz.

Further expansion options and featuresinclude two PCI ports, Gigabit Ethernet LAN,AGP 8X graphics bus, and Hardware monitor-ing that includes 3-pin fan headers withtachometer monitoring. ▲

SUPERMICRO P4SCT+IISupermicro P4SCT+II

Socket Type Socket 478 IntelChipset Intel 875P

Processor P4, Celeron Support (800/533/400MHz

FSB)RAM Support 4GB DDR400/

333/266 SDRAM, unbuffered, ECC, non-ECC


PCI Slots 2SATA Ports 6 (4 HDD RAID 0,

1 + 0), (2 HDDRAID 0, 1)


FireWire Ports N/ALAN Dual LAN

10/100/1000Integrated Audio N/AIntegrated Graphics ATI Rage XL SVGAOther Features Hardware moni-

toring, 3-pin fan headerswith tach-ometer monitoring

Manufacturer SupermicroPhone (408) 503-8000

URL www.supermicro.com

Price N/A

PC Modder • 213

T yan’s Tiger K8W is the company’s cost-effective value dual AMD Opteron board

with many of the same features as the company’sThunder K8W, the flagship dual AMDOpteron board for workstations.

This Socket 940 board has four DIMMsockets and offers a whopping 8GB of regis-tered DDR400/333/266/200 ECC and non-ECC memory.

Unlike the Tyan Tomcat i7210 describedabove, all five PCI slots are 32-bit 33MHz (5V)slots, so the Tiger K8W doesn’thave any PCI-X slots. However,the K8W does have an AGP 8Xslot while the Tomcat does not.

Other features include 4-chan-nel SATA RAID (0, 1, 0+1),Gigabit Ethernet, 6-channel AC‘97 audio codec, FireWire, twoUSB 2.0, two USB 1.1, oneGigabit LAN port, and dual-chan-nel ATA/133/100/66 drives sup-porting up to four IDE devices.

Furthermore, the Tiger K8W includes hard-ware monitoring with port 80 code displayLED, six 3-pin fan headers with tachometermonitoring, temperature monitoring, voltagemonitoring, and even an ATX power supportproviding for an ATX 12V power supply.

It may cost $327, but the Tiger K8W is wellworth the price. ▲

TYAN TIGER K8WTyan Tiger K8W

Socket Type Socket 940 AMDChipset AMD 8151, 8111

Processor 2 OpteronSupport

RAM Support 8GB PC3200/2700/2100/1600 DDR, registered


PCI Slots 5SATA Ports 4 (RAID 0, 1, 0+1)

IDE ATA/133/100/66USB Ports 2 (2.0); 2 (1.1)

FireWire Ports 2LAN Dual Gigabit LAN

10/100/1000Integrated Audio 6-channel, AC’97Integrated Graphics N/AOther Features Six 3-pin fan head-

ers (three with tachometer moni-toring), tempera-ture and voltage monitoring, port 80 code display LED

Manufacturer TyanPhone (510) 651-8868

URL www.tyan.comPrice $327

T he new Tomcat i7210 with Intel E7210chipset from Tyan offers a slew of decent

features, but they’ll cost you.The board supports both Intel P4 Northwood

or Prescott 800/533MHz FSB processors with800MHz system bus, and a single 478-pinCeleron processor up to 2.8GHz. Some of theboard’s other features include PCI-X expansionsupport with two 64-bit PCI-X (3.3v) 66MHzslots, four-port SATA RAID (two with RAID 0,1, and 4 with RAID 0, 1, and 1+0), dual IntelGigabit Ethernet LAN ports, 4GBof unbuffered PC3200/2700DDR400 ECC or non-ECC mem-ory in four DDR DIMM sockets,and IPMI 1.5 remote management.

The board includes a variety ofother slots and ports, including afloppy connector for up to twodrives and four USB 2.0 and twooptional front USB ports viaoptional cable. Some of the system

management features include seven 3-pintachometer headers (five with PWM control), 3-pin chassis intrusion header, temperature andvoltage monitoring, IPMD connector, andwatchdog timer. The Tomcat i7210 also pro-vides Tyan M3289 SMDC support via 2 x 25pin header.

There’s also an ATI Rage XL PCI controllerwith 8MB SDRAM frame buffer, but the boardlacks an AGP slot, which is an absolute must-have for some buyers. ▲

TYAN TOMCAT I7210

Tyan Tomcat i7210Socket Type Socket 478 Intel

Chipset Intel E7210, 6300ESB Hance Rapids

Processor P4, Celeron Support (800/533MHz FSB)

RAM Support 4GB DDR400, ECC, non-ECC

RAM Slots 4Graphics Bus N/A

PCI Slots 5 (2 64-bit PCI-X [3.3v] 66MHz slots, 3 32-bit 33MHz PCI 2.2 [5v] slots)

SATA Ports 6 (2 RAID 0, 1) (4 RAID 0, 1, 1+0)


FireWire Ports N/ALAN Dual Gigabit LAN

(optional)Integrated Audio N/AIntegrated Graphics ATI Rage XLOther Features Seven 3-pin

tachometer head-ers, 3-pin chassis intrusion header, temperature and voltage monitoring, IPMD connector

Manufacturer TyanPhone (510) 651-8868

URL www.tyan.comPrice $312

214 • PC Modder

RAM-PING UP YOUR SYSTEMWe Chart The Top Modules From The Top Manufacturers

DDR 533 PC4300, *DDR 533 PC4200, **DDR 550 PC4400ManufacturerKingston

Corsair

OCZ Technology

Geil

Module Product NumberKHX4300K2/1GKHX4300K2/512KHX4300/512KHX4300/256TWINX1024-4400**CMX512-4400**OCZ550512ELDCGLE-K**OCZ5501024ELDCGLE-K**OCZ550512ELGLE**OCZ5501024ELGLE**OCZ533512ELDC-KOCZ5331024ELDC-KOCZ533256EL*OCZ533512EL*OCZ550512PFDC-K**OCZ5501024PFDC-K**OCZ533512PFDC-K*OCZ5331024PFDC-K*OCZ533256PF*OCZ533512PF*GL5124400DC**GL1G4400DC**GL5124200DC*GL1G4200DC*

Density1GB512MB512MB256MB1GB512MB512MB1GB256MB512MB512MB1GB256MB512MB512MB1GB512MB1GB256MB1GB512MB1GB512MB1GB

Latency3-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-83-4-4-82.5-4-4-82.5-4-4-82.5-4-4-82.5-4-4-82.5-4-4-72.5-4-4-72.5-4-4-72.5-4-4-73-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-8-4-43-8-4-43-8-4-43-8-4-4

RegisteredUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbuffered

ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECC

Voltage2.7V2.7V2.7V2.7V2.75V2.75V2.85V2.85V2.85V2.85V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V

Package2 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1841842 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1842 x 184

W e charted the highest-speedDDR modules from topmanufacturers, as well as the

available DDR2 modules. With manufac-turers that offer multiple levels of RAM,

we excluded lower-priced modules in favorof those better for overclocking. We alsoleft out modules that differed only by heatspreader color. For most modules, we list-ed the timing settings, but when timings

weren’t available, we listed the CAS (col-umn address strobe) latency. We listedunavailable specifications as N/A, for notavailable.

by Andrew Leibman

DDR2 533 PC2-4300 & 4200ManufacturerCrucial

Kingston

Corsair

Module Product NumberCT12864AA53ECT6464AA53ECT3264AA53EKVR533D2N4/1GKVR533D2N4/512KVR533D2N4/256KVR533D2E4/1GKVR533D2E4/512KVR533D2E4/256CM2X512-4200CM2X256-4200TWIN2X1024-4200TWIN2X512-4200

Density1GB512MB256MB1GB512MB256MB1GB512MB256MB512MB256MB1GB512MB

LatencyN/A444444444-4-4-124-4-4-124-4-4-124-4-4-12

RegisteredUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbuffered

ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCECCECCECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECC

Voltage1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V1.8V

Package2402402402402402402402402402402402 x 2402 x 240

PC Modder • 215

DDR 500 PC4000ManufacturerKingston

Corsair

OCZ Technology

Mushkin EnhancedMemory Systems

Geil

Kingmax

Module Product NumberKHX4000K2/1GKHX4000K2/512KHX4000/512KHX4000/256TWINX1024-4000PROTWINX1024-4000TWINX512-4000CMX512-4000PROCMX512-4000CMX256A-4000OCZ500512ELDCGE-KOCZ5001024ELDCGE-KOCZ500512ELGEOCZ5001024ELGEOCZ500512ELDC-KOCZ5001024ELDC-KOCZ500256ELOCZ500512EL1GB (2 x 512MB) PC4000 DDR 512MB (2 x 256MB) PC4000 DDR 512MB PC4000 DDR256MB PC4000 DDR GL5124000DCGL1G4000DCGD4000-512DCGD4000-1GDCMPTC22D-38KS4G-PAA (TinyBGA)MPTC22D-38HT4-HGA (TSOP)MPTB62D-38KS4G-PAA (TinyBGA)MPTB62D-38HT4-HGA (TSOP)

Density1GB512MB512MB256MB1GB1GB512MB512MB512MB256MB512MB1GB256MB512MB512MB1GB256MB512MB1GB512GB512MB256MB512MB1GB512MB1GB512MB512MB256MB256MB

Latency3-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-1 3-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-82.5-4-4-72.5-4-4-72.5-4-4-72.5-4-4-73-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-8333-4-43-4-42.5-7-4-42.5-7-4-42.5-7-4-42.5-7-4-43333

RegisteredUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbuffered

ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECCNon-ECC

Voltage2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.75V2.75V2.75V2.75V2.75V2.75V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.5V2.5V2.5V2.5V2.6V2.6V2.55V2.55V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V

Package2 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1841841841842 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1842 x 184184184184184

DDR 466 PC3700, *DDR 433 PC3500, **DDR 434 PC3500ManufacturerKingston

Corsair

OCZ Technology

Module Product NumberKHX3700/256KHX3700/512KHX3700K2/512KHX3700K2/1GKHX3700K2/2GTWINX1024-3700TWINX512-3700CMX512-3700CMX256A-3700TWINX1024RE-3500LLPT*CMX512RE-3500LLPT*OCZ466512EBDCPE-KOCZ4661024EBDCPE-KOCZ433512EBDCPE-K**OCZ4331024EBDCPE-K**OCZ4332048EBPDCPE-K**OCZ466256EBPE OCZ466512EBPE OCZ433256EBPE**OCZ433512EBPE**OCZ4331024EBPE**

Density256MB512MB512MB1GB2GB1GB512MB512MB256MB1GB512MB512MB1GB512MB1GB2GB256MB512MB256MB512MB1GB

Latency3-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-8-13-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-83-4-4-82-3-2-62-3-2-63-3-2-83-3-2-82.5-3-2-82.5-3-2-82.5-3-2-83-3-2-83-3-2-82.5-3-2-82.5-3-2-82.5-3-2-8

RegisteredUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedRegisteredRegisteredUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbufferedUnbuffered

ECCNon-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC ECCECCNon-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC Non-ECC

Voltage2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.6V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V2.8V

Package1841842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1841841842 x 1841842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1842 x 1842 x 184184184184184184

To view more memory specs online, go to www.cpumag.com/modder2/memory.

216 • PC Modder

you’ve completed a difficultproject. Plus, there’s nothinglike strutting into the nextbig LAN party with a totallytricked-out rig. Just be pre-pared to sacrifice some gam-ing time to field questions.

Q Can I mod my CPU ormotherboard?

A Yes you can; in fact,you can mod virtually

any part of your system insome way. Depending on thetype of CPU you own, thereare some physical modifica-tions you can make to it. Forexample, AMD’s Athlon XPline of processors has tracesalong the top than you canmanipulate to alter theCPU’s default voltage, FSB,

and multiplier. Intel’s Pentium 4 proces-sors aren’t as easy to modify, but there aresome popular tricks out there for them, aswell. You can alter the default voltage forthe Socket 478 Pentium 4, for example,by wrapping a specific set of pins on itsunderside with a thin strand of wire. It’salso common practice to “lap” thePentium 4’s integrated heat spreader forbetter cooling. Lapping the heat spreaderremoves any miniscule peaks or valleysfrom the metal and makes is almost per-fectly flat and smooth. This lets the heatspreader make better contact with theheatsink. When the CPU and its heatsinkmake better contact with each other, heatis more efficiently drawn away from theprocessor’s core and that means lowertemperatures. Some more hardcore mod-ders will even go so far as to remove thePentium 4’s integrated heat spreader alto-gether for “direct die cooling,” whichbrings us to the Athlon 64 and Opteron.At the moment, there aren’t many physi-cal mods specific to AMD’s Athlon

MODDING Q&AWe Answer Your Pressing Questions

R egardless of whereyou go or whatyou’re doing, day or

night, you’re bound toencounter some sort of“mod” on a regular basis.Simply walk through a mall,for example, and you’ll likelysee myriad people talking ontheir cell phones. Odds aresome of them will have a cus-tom case or a brightly coloredlighted antenna. And howabout those snazzy ringtones! How many times haveyou been in a restaurant andhad to hear a chorus of“Heya” blaring from aMotorola i730 that’s “ring-ing” at the table next to you?It’s probably been one timetoo many.

It seems that no matter what theitem is, whether it be a cell phone, acar, or a computer, we’re all compelledto make the one we own unique insome way, shape, or form. This desireto personal ize our possess ions hasspawned entire industries, with millionsof dollars being spent worldwide, andtrue PC enthusiasts are arguably themost passionate contingent. Consultthe oracle (Google), search for “PCMods,” and you’ll see exactly what Imean. The ensuing 1.9+ million resultswill give you an idea as to the sheernumber of avid PC modders who areshowcasing their talents worldwide.

If you’d like to join this talented bunchbut aren’t quite sure where to begin, wemay be able to help. In this article, we’regoing to answer some of the most com-monly asked modding-related questions.After reading through the next few pages,you’ll be armed with the basic knowledgenecessary to turn your “me too” PC into aone-of-a-kind, eye-catching rig!

Q What is a mod?

A To put it simply, the term “mod” isshort for “modification.” Essentially,

any change made to a system that altersits stock configuration in some way canbe called a mod. Some popular modsinclude replacing stock CPU coolers, cut-ting windows into your case, installingextra case fans, or even something as sim-ple as changing a BIOS setting to wringmore performance from the system.These are just a few examples, as there arean infinite number of things you can doto mod a system.

Q Why would I want to mod my system?

A One of the most popular reasons isto increase certain aspects of the sys-

tem’s performance, but some users modtheir systems to make them more quiet orto simply make the system look unique.Modding also gives you that proud senseof accomplishment that comes only when

PC Modder • 217

64/Opteron processors. Like the Pentium4, though, lapping or removing their inte-grated heat spreaders is increasinglybecoming more common.

You can also modify processors bychanging their operating frequencies. Thispractice is known as overclocking whenyou increase the CPU’s speed, or under-clocking when it's decreased. A CPU’soperating frequency is derived by multi-plying its FSB (frontside bus) by its mul-tiplier. A 2.4GHz Pentium 4, for exam-ple, has a multiplier of 12 with an FSB of200MHz. You can alter the CPU’s oper-ating frequency by raising or lowering the speed of the FSB via your mother-board’s BIOS. Underclocking usually has no adverse affects other than lower

performance, but overclocking a CPUwill occasionally require a bump in volt-age and will generate more heat, soadding more/better cooling may be neces-sary. (We’ll get into some cooling mods alittle later.)

Motherboards can also be modified in avariety of ways. Some modders will replacestock northbridge coolers with more pow-erful units, and a multitude of “voltmods” are also quite common. Volt mod-ding a motherboard usually requires sol-dering a resistor or potentiometer to a spe-cific set of leads on one of the board’s volt-age regulators. Doing so usually makeshigher voltages available to the north-bridge, southbridge, CPU, or memory.And with these higher voltages available,

the system can usually be overclocked tohigher speeds. A motherboard’s VRM(voltage regulation module) can be modi-fied, as well. The VRM is usually thehottest running part of a motherboard, somounting heatsinks to the MOSFETs(metal oxide semiconductor field effecttransistors) is done to decrease their oper-ating temperatures, which in turn willincrease their lifespan and may make thewhole system more stable. ABIT, MSI,and Chaintech have even begun installingcustom VRM cooling on their high-endmotherboards at the factory.

Q What about my memory or video card?

A Memory modules are probably theleast modified component because

properly functioning memory is absolute-ly essential for a system to remain stable.Memory is much less forgiving than someother components when it’s run out ofspec. The voltage regulators feedingpower to the memory modules are fre-quently modified but not the memorymodules themselves. About the onlyphysical changes made to memory mod-ules are for enhancing their cooling.Adding heat spreaders will lower thememory’s operating temperature, whichmay allow for higher stable overclocks.Like CPUs, memory can be overclocked,as well. Your memory’s speed is directlytied to the system’s FSB. By raising orlowering the FSB in your system BIOS,you’re also changing the speed at whichyour memory is operating unless there isan option to “lock” it at one designatedspeed. Many motherboards also have aBIOS option available that gives users theability to change the FSB to memoryspeed ratio. When set to 1:1, your memo-ry will run at the same speed as the FSB,but when set to 5:4, your memory willrun at 80% of the FSB’s speed. Havingthe ability to change the FSB-to-memoryratio comes in very handy during extremeoverclocking because the FSB can beraised to speeds much higher than thememory can handle.

When compared to system memory,video cards are at the other end of thespectrum altogether. They are probably

A “stock” memory module beforeany modifications.

The same memory module after installing anactive memory cooling kit.

218 • PC Modder

the most regularly modded computercomponent. There are software hacks thatcan make one card function and performlike another. These “soft-mods,” as theyare called, are especially popular withATI’s Radeon 9500 and 9800 line ofGPUs. Video card hardware is also modi-fied in many different ways. GPU coolerscan be replaced with more powerful units.Volt Mods are done to supply morepower to the GPU and onboard memory.And memory modules are regularly retro-fitted with custom heatsinks—the listgoes on and on. When some modders getdone tweaking their video cards, it’s notuncommon for them to look nothing like they did when they were in theirstock forms.

Q Can I modify my system’s cooling?

A Of course you can. Enhancing a sys-tem’s cooling scheme is perhaps the

most popular type of mod. Proper coolingis essential for overclocking and stability.Heat is every electronic component’sworst enemy, so increasing your rig’scooling performance is always a goodidea. Swapping out some parts can alsoturn a system that sounds like a jet engineinto a whisper-quiet rig that wouldn’t dis-turb a soul.

Some of the easiest cooling mods aredone by substituting or adding case fans.Most ATX cases have vacantlocations where you can sim-ply snap a fan into place. Butkeep in mind that too manyfans can be overkill. Es-sentially, you should plan tohave the same amount ofwarm air being expelled fromthe case as you have cool airbeing drawn into it. If you’dlike to add a fan where therewasn’t one before, it’s usuallya matter of scribing a templateand simply drilling a fewholes. Installing a blow-hole, an exhaust fan at the topof a tower case, is a commonand very effective coolingmod. Blowholes expel thewarm air that tends to build

up at the top of a tower case, behind the 5.25-inch drive bays, and usuallybring case temperatures way down. (See the Spring 2004 special issue of PC Modder for details on installing yourown blowhole.)

Replacing heatsinks with more capablemodels is also a popular type of coolingmod. The stock heatsinks included with“boxed” processors and the stock coolersinstalled on most video cards can easily bereplaced by more efficient solutions.Aftermarket products from companieslike Thermaltake, Vantec, and Swiftechcan be used in place of the stock coolers,

and they usually offer much better perfor-mance. Zalman also makes a few large,completely passive, heat-pipe-cooling kitsthat don’t generate any noise. If you wantto silence your PC, Zalman makes somegreat products and you won’t have to sac-rifice much performance to keep the noiselevel down.

Q What is the benefit of modding my CPU cooler? What about my

GPU cooler?

A The three main benefits to modify-ing your CPU or GPU coolers are

better cooling performance, more attrac-tive aesthetics, and a lower noise level.Most stock CPU coolers are plain andoffer just enough performance to keep aprocessor running within its specifiedthermal limits. When installed properly,upgrading to a more capable aircooler orupgrading to a more exotic watercoolingkit will lower your processor’s tempera-ture considerably. Lower temperatures arealways desirable, particularly when over-clocking a system. Lower temperaturesusually yield higher overclocks, whichequates to more performance. And quitefrankly, some aftermarket coolers are alsomuch nicer to look at. If you’ve got your-self a snazzy, windowed case, it’s almostsacrilegious to show off your system’sinnards when all you’re sporting is a stockcooler. The aftermarket replacement cool-

ers available for video cardsoffer all of the same benefits ofCPU coolers, as well.

If your system is extremelyloud, due to noisy fans mount-ed to your CPU and GPUcoolers, you can quiet it downconsiderably with some of thesilent, or near-silent coolingproducts currently available.Thermaltake and Zalman bothmake passive coolers that don’tgenerate any noise at all.Couple one of these passivecoolers with a near-silent fan,like the ones available atSilenX.Com, and you’ll haveyourself a high-performingcooling setup that generates lit-tle more noise than a whisper.

Heatsinks like Swiftech's MCX6400-V for AMD Athlon 64 andOpteron processors are far more effective that the stock coolersthat ship with AMD's and Intel's boxed CPUs.

Some of theeasiest cooling

mods are done by

substituting or adding case fans.

PC Modder • 219

Q My case needs some more flash.What should I do?

A There are a plethora of optionsavailable to users looking to jazz up

their cases. If you’re not good with yourhands or just aren’t comfortable usingpower tools, there are quite a few com-panies offering premodded cases with

side windows, l ighted fans,glossy paint jobs, and fan con-trollers already integrated intotheir designs. Thermaltake,Lian-Li, and Cooler Master aresome popular choices. They’vegot a wide variety of cases avail-able in almost any color, shape,or size. If you’re a do-it-yourselfkind of person, however, youcan get really creative with theright plan.

Cutting an unusually shapedwindow into your case is anexcellent way to spruce up itsappearance. First, remove theside panel from the case. Thenaffix an even layer of maskingtape to the panel and draw outyour desired shape. I like todesign windows that don’texpose the power supply or harddrives. Doing things this waymakes it much easier to hidecables and will give the overallimpression that the inside ofyour case is neat and clean. Thisisn’t an excuse to have a rat’snest of cables in your case,though. Make sure you’ve takenthe time to route cables neatlyand use wire ties to bundleunused PSU cables in an incon-spicuous location. With themasking tape laid down andyour shape drawn out, drill astarter hole and proceed to cutout the shape with a jigsaw. Andalways use a sharp blade—itmakes the work go much easier.After you’ve cut out the window,file down the edges to get rid ofany sharp burrs in the metal, andyou’re almost done. Outline theperimeter of the window withsome rubber molding and

mount the actual windowpane (usuallywith some sort of double-sided adhesiveor screws) and you’re done.

Another great option is to replace theplain fan grilles on your power supply andthe plain grilles on your case with custommodels available at multiple onlineresellers. Fan grilles are available in all sizes,

shapes, and colors. Some are laser cutfrom metal and some are molded plasticwith lighted cathodes built right in. Thereare even fan grilles that pay tribute to pop-ular characters like Spiderman or ThePunisher. Do some shopping, and you’realmost guaranteed to find something youlike. And if you don’t find anything, youcould always make your own.

Adding colored lights and lighted fanscan also take a system to the next level.Strategic placement of colored cold-cath-odes and lighted fans will illuminate yoursystem’s innards. The effect is especiallyimpressive in a system with a custometched window. The resulting glow froman exciting lighting scheme is sure to grabthe attention of fellow enthusiasts.

Before attempting any of these mods,pay special attention to your case’s inter-nal layout and come up with solid plan ofattack. I can’t tell you how many timesI’ve seen someone mount a fan in a newlycut location, only to find they didn’taccount for a drive or card that encroach-es on the same position. “If you don’tplan to succeed, plan to fail.” “Measuretwice, cut once!” Basically, all of theclichés you’ve heard during an episode of“This Old House” apply here.

Q What tools do I need to mod my case?

A Aside from a standard computertoolkit (screwdrivers, pliers, etc), a

spring-loaded center punch, a power drill,a jigsaw, hole saws of varying sizes, and arotary tool should be considered requiredequipment. And anytime power tools areused for cutting and grinding, protectivegoggles, ear protection, and gloves are alsoa must. A fully decked-out, modded sys-tem is über-cool, but not if it comes at theexpense of an injury.

The center punch is an oft-overlookedtool that makes drilling holes much easier.A center punch is usually made of a hardmetal and is used to make small divots in amaterial before it is drilled. Drilling intosmooth metals can be difficult because thedrill bit doesn’t always “bite” right away.This causes the drill to slide around, whichwill mar the surface. Making a small divotin which to place the drill bit makes it

Custom, laser-cut fan guards are great for adding a littlesomething to an otherwise plain case.

Thermaltake's Xaser line of premodded cases are popularamongst the overclocking community.

220 • PC Modder

much easier to keep the drill on one posi-tion, which is essential to do a quality job.

Jigsaws are a great tool for making pre-cise cuts that don’t always run perfectlystraight. When used in conjunction withsome strategically placed pilot holes, jigsawsmake cutting odd shapes fairly easy. Holesaws are also great for precise cutting, aswell, but they serve a slightly different pur-pose. Hole saws are mounted to a powerdrill and are used to make perfectly circularcuts. (This is ideal for mounting fans.)

To rotary tool is kind of the jack-of-all-trades tool. A powerful, high-end rotarytool, when coupled with the right bits,can actually replace the drill and the jig-saw. I find they’re much better suited forsmaller jobs, like grinding and polishing,but some people like to use rotary tools

for larger projects. For preci-sion cutting of smaller objects,like bay covers, for example,rotary tools are fantastic.

Q What’s the best way toadd some color?

A There are four main waysto convert your plain box

into a colorful work of art. Themost common is paint. Theordinary spray paint availableat your neighborhood hard-ware store is adequate for mostjobs, provided the materials areproperly prepared for painting.Those of you looking for amore professional appearanceshould look to airbrushes andhigher quality enamel paints,however. If you’ve got a plainaluminum case, anodizing isanother excellent option.Anodizing, which requires spe-

cialized chemicals and equipment, is theprocess of electroplating a metal, usuallyaluminum, with a colorized, protectivecoating. You’ll probably have to bringyour case to a local plating company tohave it anodized though, so plan on tak-ing a quick trip through the Yellow Pagesto find a shop nearby. We detailed theanodizing process in the May 2004 issueof CPU; check it out if you’d like to see itexplained in greater detail.

Adding color to metal is one thing, butplastic presents a whole other challenge.The plastic-safe model paints available atmost hobby shops work well. Dyes are amuch better option though, and they’reeasier to use than you might think.Generally, all you have to do is boil somewater and add the dye until you achievethe desired color. Then dip the plasticinto the solution for a half an hour or soand that’s it. The dye will permeate theplastic, so it can’t be scratched off, whichmakes it a very durable option.

Another, much easier, way to add somecolor is with cold-cathodes, neon tubes,or lighted fans. Strategically placed cold-cathodes or lighted fans will make yoursystem glow and will drastically change itsoverall appearance.

Q What are some of the moreadvanced tricks of the trade?

A As is the case with all things PC,there are exotic options available

to those with the budgets and courageto take their systems to the extreme. Onthe cooling front, watercooling kits andvapor-phase coolers are used to bringCPU, GPU, and even chipset tempera-tures way down. Some even uses water-cooling and vapor-phase cooling in thesame system for the utmost in coolingperformance. Products like Asetek’sWaterchill and Vapochill are two rela-tively expensive popular options, butfor those who want nothing but thebest for their rigs, there isn’t much bet-ter. The Vapochill uses technologythat’s normally found in refrigerators tobring processor temperatures downbelow freezing. I ’ve actual ly had a3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Editionoverclocked to 4GHz in a Vapochill,and at idle, the processor’s internalthermal diode was reporting a tempera-ture of only 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit (-2degrees Celsius). With a stock Intelheatsink in the same system, with thesame CPU overclocked to “only”3.7GHz, temperatures climbed to over123 F (51 C). Couple that kind ofhorsepower with a watercooled videocard and motherboard chipset, andyou’ll understand why these productsare sometimes considered exotic.

Some people also take their aestheticmods to the extreme by using productsnormally reserved for the automotiveindustry. Body filler (sometimes knownby the brand Bondo) and molded fiber-glass can be used to create customshapes and transform a system’s lookcompletely. You couldn’t really call it amod per say, but use these items alongwith metal, wood, Plexiglas, and plastic,and you can build your own customenclosures completely from scratch.There’s no need to modify a store-bought case when you can just buildone yourself. These items have beenused to create some of those wild look-ing designs Intel showcases at IDF(Intel Developer Forum) to demon-strate its vision of the “future.” These

A spring-loaded center punch, like the one shown here, isused to make small divots, which makes drilling holes inslick materials much easier.

A hole saw makes itrelatively easy to cutperfect circles, whichmakes them useful forcutting in blowholes.Just make sure thehole saw you're usingis designed for cutting metal.

A rotary tool, like thisDremel, is an excellenttool for cutting, grinding, and polishingmetal or plastic.

PC Modder • 221

computers Intel has showcased weredesigned to spotlight the new BTXform factor and even smaller designsthat may never be brought to market.Enthusiasts have also used these items(along with countless others) to buildsystems you would never even thinkwere PCs.

Q Is modding safe?

A Generally speaking, yes, moddingis safe as long as you approach

each project cautiously and follow thesafety guidelines for any of the toolsyou’ll be using to complete the mod.Just be careful and always wear protec-tive gear like safety goggles and gloves,especially when cutting metal. Thosefreshly cut edges can be very sharp, sobe careful. We’d also recommend notwearing baggy clothes, as they can easilyget caught in a spinning power tool.This isn’t necessarily a safety issue, butyou should also be aware that anytimeyou make a modification to a compo-nent, you will almost certainly void itswarranty. If you’re not comfortable los-ing your warranty coverage, you proba-bly shouldn’t take that soldering iron toyour motherboard or pry that heatspreader from your CPU.

There are a virtually limitless numberof possibilities when modding a system.The extent of your mods is limited onlyby your imagination and possibly yourbudget. Luckily, there are a slew ofonline resources available if you needsome inspiration, and many mods won’tcost you a penny if you already haveaccess to the necessary tools. If you’dlike to rub elbows with some fellowmodders and see just how far PC mod-ding has come, we recommend visitingthe forums on some of the more popularhardware Web sites. HotHardware.com,HardOCP.com, and Anandtech.com aresome of my favorites. Mod-Centric siteslike Bit-tech (forums.bit-tech.net) andPheatonForums (www.pheatonforums.com) are also fantastic resources.

by Marco Chiappetta

Asetek manufactures and distributes high-end watercooling kits that include CPU, GPU, and chipsetwaterblocks like these.

Vapor-phase cooling systems, like the Asetek's Vapochill, can bring your processor down tosubzero temperature levels.

222 • PC Modder

Manufacturers & Products Index

AAbitAI7, 42-43IC7-MAX3, 198KV8-MAX3, 64-67, 69, 198Siluro FX 5600 Ultra OTES, 96uGuru, 29VP6, 100Adaptec19160, 114Ultra160 card, 114AeroCoolDeep Impact CP-102, 134-135High Tower HT-101, 135Phantom, 138AeroFlow VA4-C7040, 137-138Akasa TIM Clean, 143Albatron K8X800 Pro, 118-119K8X800 ProII, 79, 76-77Almico SpeedFan, 29Alpha PAL8942, 136-137AMD760 MPX, 101Athlon 64 3000+, 64-66, 68-69Athlon 64 3200+, 70-74Athlon 64 3400+, 76-79, 80-81Athlon 64 FX-51, 82-87Athlon 64 FX-53, 19, 103, 106-107,

224CPU reference, 192-193AntecPLUS1080AMG, 114AOpen AK89 MAX, 77-79, 199AX4SPE MAX II, 199EZClock, 29GeForce FX 5500, 95Hardware Monitoring Utility, 29Aquamark3, 16Arctic CoolingCopper Silent 2M,

138Arctic Silver Arctic Silver 5, 142Ceramique, 142Asour VPC-1000 DVD

Multimedia Audio Hub, 34ASRock K8S8X, 71, 73-75ASUS5900, 111K8V SE Deluxe, 200K8V-UAYZ, 119-120P4C800-E, 200P4G800-V, 52-53, 55, 57P4P8X, 114PC Probe, 29PC-DL Deluxe, 100SK8N, 83-85SK8V, 82-83, 103-104, 106ATI9800 XT, 114All-In-Wonder Radeon 9000

PRO, 89Graphic card pyramid, 113

Radeon 9100 Pro IGP, 194Radeon 9200, 90Sapphire Radeon 9600 PRO, 91

BBAPCoMobileMark, 16SYSmark, 16WebMark, 16BFG Technologies Asylum

GeForce FX 5200 Ultra,94

BiostarM7NCG 400, 201P4TSV, 43P4VMA-M V7.x, 201WarpSpeeder, 29Black & Decker RTX, 180Black PowderCoated Case

Handle, 34

CChaintech9CJS ZENITH, 47, 49-51, 53,

55-57, 105-107, 202APOGEE, 29S865PE, 60-61, 63SK8T800, 120, 202ZNF3-150 ZENITH, 65-67, 69Chicago Electric 180-Watt

Industrial Soldering Gun,33

Connectorz Power SupplyChangeover Kit Black ProSeries #2167, 35

ConnectRight UniversalMolex Pin Remover, 37

Cooler MasterJet 4, 134LHD-V04, 117Musketeer LLC-U02, 34CorsairMemory modules, 215-216XMS3700 TINX512-3700

PC3700, 125, 128-129XMS4000 TWINX512-4000,

125, 128-129Cpuldle Extreme, 26-27Craftsman 7 pc. Magnetic

Screwdriver Set, 36Crucial Memory modules,

215CTemp 3.0, 27

DDFILANParty NFII Ultra B, 203LANParty PRO875B (rev B),

203DremelVariable-Speed MultiPro,

180Dr. Thermal TI-8639L, 133Dupli-Color, 181

EECS

755-A2, 77, 79-81, 204865G-M, 46-47, 49, 51PF4 Extreme, 204Enermax Ultimate Controller,

153EnTech PowerStrip 3.4, 28EPoXEP-4PCA3+, 43-45EP-4PDA5+, 205EP-8HDA3+, 120-121EP-8RDA3+, 205USDM, 30Evercool AL12025, 155eVGA e-GeForce FX 5700 Ultra,

97

FFICK8-800T, 206P4-865PE MAX, 206Futuremark3DMark03, 173DMark03 Pro, 16PCMark04 Pro, 16-17

GGainward 5900 Ultra, 111Galaxy Crystal GC12UVB, 155Crystal GC94R1, 155Crystal LED GC124R1, 155GeILCopper Thermal Compound,

142Golden Dragon PC3700 466MHz

Dual Channel DDR Kit, 125,128-129

Memory modules, 215-216Ultra Platinum PC4000 500MHz

Dual Channel DDR Kit, 125-126, 128-129

Ultra Platinum PC4200533MHz Dual ChannelDDR Kit, 126-129

Ultra Platinum PC4400550MHz Dual ChannelDDR Kit, 127-129

Gigabyte9800 XT, 110Cooler Pro GH-PCU21-VG, 136EasyTune 4, 27, 30GA-7DPXDW, 101GA-8KNXP Ultra-64, 207GA-8IG1000 PRO-G, 58-59, 63GA-K8NNXP-940, 83, 85-87,

207GA-K8VNXP, 70-71, 73, 224GA-K8VT800M, 122GIMPS Prinme95 23.8, 28-29Gladiator 18” EMI Shielded

Server Grade ATA CableRD3XP-A32-K, 37

HHmonitor 4.1 Pro, 27-28

Hobart Handler 135 MIGWelder, 38

Hypertherm Powermax380Plasma Cutter, 36

IIntel 3.0 GHz Pentium 4, 44-453.0E GHz Pentium 4, 40-433.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition,

52-573.2E GHz Pentium 4, 46-513.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme

Edition, 20, 58-59, 60-63, 105-107

Active Monitor 1.2, 25, 30Biostar P4TSV (Intel 865G), 40-41CPU reference, 188-191D865GRH, 208D865PERC, 208Pentium III Coppermine FC-

PGA 370, 100Xeon 3.06GHz, 100-101

JJAM HeavyLoad 2.0, 27Jetway S755MAX, 65-69Just Cooler, 182-183

KKingmaxMemory modules, 216KingstonHyperX, 114HyperX KHX3700K2/512

512MB Kit, 125, 128-129HyperX KHX4000K2/512

512MB Kit, 126, 128-129Memory modules, 215-216

LLeading Wintech Rain 2.0, 29Waterfall Pro 2.9, 30Leadtek5950 Ultra, 111Speed Gear, 30Lite-OnLTC-4816H, 114

MMaxtorAtlas IV Ultra320 SCSI

73.5GB (8B073L0), 117DiamondMax 16 ATA/133

80GB (4R080L0), 115-116DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA/133

80GB (6Y080L0), 116DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA

80GB (6Y080M0), 116Microsoft Halo, 18Motherboard Monitor 5.3, 28Mouse Bungee, 37MSI875PNEO-FISR, 209975P NEO-FIS2R, 62-63K8N NEO PLATINUM, 209

K8T New-FSR (MS-6702),122-123

PC Alert 4, 30Mushkin Memory modules, 216

NNanothermNanotherm Ice, 159PCM+, 142Nero Nero CD-DVD Speed

V2.20, 16NVIDIAGraphic card pyramid, 112nForce3 Chipset, 24

OOCZ TechnologyEnhanced Latency DDR PC-

4000 Dual Channel Gold,126, 128-129

Enhanced Latency DDR PC-4200 Dual Channel, 127-129

Enhanced Latency DDR PC-4400 Dual Channel Gold,127-129

Memory modules, 215-216

PPanasonic Panaflo

FBA12G12M, 154-155PassMark BunInTest

Professional 4.0, 25-26PNY GeForce FX 5900 SE, 98PolyGFX No Peace Case

Skin, 36

RRadiant Ellipse Top Window

Kit, 80mm Fan Hole, 38

SSapphire9800 Pro, 1109800SE, 111ATI Radeon 9600 XT, 92ATI Radeon 9800 SE, 93ScytheNCU-1000 Heatlane Zen, 135Kamakaze, 135-136ShuttleAN50R, 210AB60N, 47-49, 51AB60R, 210SilverStoneFMC3XW, 153-155Simpli Software HD Tach 2.7, 16SiSSiS656, 194SiS755FX, 22,196SiS756, 196SiS760, 196SiS964, 197SiS965, 197SiS965L, 197SiSoftware Sandra 2004, 124

Sandra Professional 2004, 16-18Skil 4380 Orbital Cut Variable

Speed Jigsaw, 35SoltekHardware Monitor, 30SL-865Pro-775, 211SL-PT880Pro-FGR, 211SmartDoc Anti-burning Shield, 30SOYOCK8 Dragon Plus, 71-73SY-KT880 DRAGON 2, 212SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2, 53-

55, 57SY-P4I875P DRAGON 2 V1.0,

212SPECviewperf 7.1.1, 16Speeze 9T370B1M3, 133-134Spire SkiveStream III, 137SuperMicroP4SCT+, 213P4SCT+II, 213SuperO Doctor III, 30X5DPE-G2, 101Swiftech MCX462-V, 137

TTechflex Case Mod

Expandable Wire SleevingKit UV Red #1903, 35

ThermaltakeHardcano 12, 38Thunderbalde A1973, 154-155TyanTiger K8W, 214Tomcat i7210, 214

UUltra-Cool UC-9FBC, 154-155

VVantec Copper X, 134Nexus, 153Tornado, 154-155Ultra Thin HDC502AVcool 1.7, 30VIAK8T800 Pro, 197K8T890, 197KT880, 197PM880, 23PM880 (IG), 195VT8237CE, 197VT8251, 197

WWestern DigitalRaptor SATA 74GB, 117

YY.S. Tech NFD1260259B-2F

High Output, 154-155

ZZalmanCNPS5500-Cu, 133Reserator 1, 159

PC Modder • 223

THE ULTIMATEDISASTERMOD

W e at CPU knew thatbringing you the ultimateguide for the PC enthusi-

ast wouldn't be an easy task. Ourbuilding and testing for this issue cameoff without too many snags; however,some of the snags were the flaming,smoke-belching variety. Kids, don't trythis at home (if you can help it).

1 While overclocking the GigabyteGA-K8VNXP (1a), we raised the

CPU voltage from 1.5 to 1.6, and thenwe smelled smoke from the motherboardand PSU (1b). With a fresh GA-K8VNXP and a new power supply, wetried it again and got more smoke. Weshut down in time to save the PSU, butour motherboard and case were perma-nently scarred (1c). The moral of thestory: If at first you fry your mother-board, don't try the same thing again.

2 We destroyed this optical drive whenwe manually pulled the tray out for a

soldering procedure, which jammed gearsbeyond repair.

3 What do you mean the pins aren'tsupposed to bend like that?

4 Conformal coating is great for sealingcomponents from moisture, but not so

great for sockets (4a) and CPU pins (4b).We lost two motherboards and two CPUsfrom stray drops of this stuff. One of the lostCPUs was an Athlon 64 FX-53. We wept.

5 We inadvertently fried this mother-board when we powered it up with-

out first mounting it to the standoffsinside the case. Whoops!

6 This fan (6a) was submerged in our fishtank/water reservoir in an attempt to

protect our fish from the force of the incom-ing water. Unfortunately the plan backfired,and seven beloved neon Tetras (6b) swam tofishy heaven after rust from the fan apparent-ly ruined the water’s PH balance. Wemourned.

1a

2

3

4a

5

6a

1b

4b

6b

1c

224 • PC Modder

pc modder

Documents

Transcript of pc modder