Rant: ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT Performance Benchmarks

Ok, this is not a Tech Link for a reason, and it's just my random rant. I happen to stumble upon this AMDtech news bit (yes, yes, I know it's DailyTech) from XS. It is about AMD's upcoming video card, and no, that's not my rant, but before I post my rant, let me quote part of the news bits:

Onto the benchmarks. The tests were conducted on an Intel D975XBX2 BadAxe2, Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 and 2x1GB DDR2-800 MHz. The operating system on the test system was Windows XP, with a fresh install before benchmarking each card. Testing of the AMD ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT was performed using the 8.361 Catalyst RC4 drivers, while the GeForce 8800 GTS used ForceWare 158.19 drivers.

I bolded the items which I wanted to emphasize. So here's the rant: why would AMD used a Bad Axe 2, of all the boards capable of CrossFire? And didn't ATi already have their very own chipset that supports CrossFire with an AMD CPU? Or if I am mistaken, I know there's a board for Intel that has an ATi chipset that can support Crossfire and quad core (Fatal1ty F-I90HD) so why not this one instead? And even if they really prefer i975, why not Asus for such demo?

I know that they can use anything they like, but I just find it odd that of all the possible alternatives, they end up with a competitor's board, and chipset, not to mention, processor.

Update (04/26/2007): Apparently, DailyTech is the one running the benchmark. I am really not sure, because their first paragraph is as clear as mud and can be very easily mis understood:

After several delays, AMD plans to launch its long-awaited R600 graphics processors. AMD is currently briefing select members of the press on its R600 architecture in the Tunisia, but there is no embargo date on the R600 for DailyTech -- we can show you benchmarks now.

Anyway, here's the update that makes it much clearer now:

* Our benchmarks for Half Life 2: Episode 1 showed an abnormal framerate for the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS card that scaled with lower resolutions -- we believe there was a copy error. We reran the tests this morning and achieved 119.2 frames per second with the GeForce 8800 GTS.

Tech Link (Motherboard): Socket 775 Mobo Roundup

It's been quite some time since I last gave DriverHeaven a visit and boy do they change. The looks is a lot lot better now, and I love the theme. But if the looks changed, the quality is still the same, decent and meaningful articles still abound. And in one of the article, Intel's Bad Axe 2 motherboard is put to the test along with other enthusiast-level motherboard from NVIDIA* and AMD*. And guess what, Bad Axe 2 got the highest honor while AMD*s got the lowest score ;). Check it out...

Conclusion

Abit IN9 32X-MAX
Abit's flagship Nforce motherboard impressed from the moment it arrived on our desk. Abit's packaging is first class with just the right mix of style and substance. We were impressed with the sheer volume of bundled components and connectors which make the product ideal for those building a brand new system. Based on our past experiences with the 680i chipset we were more than a little worried that Abit wouldn’t be able to make a stable, bug free product (due to the choice of chipset), however following our time with the board we are happy to report that the IN9 32X-MAX suffers from none of the major issues which plagued the reference board (those issues included PS/2 compatibility, Sata controller issues and severe problems with memory compatibility).

That doesn’t mean that the board is without issue though and there are minor niggles such as random instability when too many BIOS options are changed in one batch as well as the bug in multiplier overclocking where only two of our quad CPU’s cores actually overclock. This only affects users with an extreme edition Quad CPU, however it is less than reassuring. We would hope that both issues are fixable because if they are resolved then we will be left with a great performance motherboard which has two of the best features we have seen in a long time (external CMOS reset and BIOS profiles).

Abit IN9 32X-MAX is available for £211 from OCUK / and $329 from Newegg

UPDATE: After we published this article we received a beta test bios from Abit with fixes for Quad core multipler overclocking. We will report back when we get time to test it thoroughly.


Intel D975XBX2
As we mentioned in our introduction to the XBX2 the original XBX served us well in our review systems in the past and we had high hopes for this particular product. By the end of our testing it was clear that Intel were on to another winner with the “2”. The board performed flawlessly during testing and its simple BIOS layout and ease of configuration mixed with performance close to Abit's motherboards are a great combination. It’s clear that when Intel are designing products they put a tremendous amount into the customer experience and unique features such as the BIOS config jumper and Intel’s incredibly easy update process really do give a great feeling of a quality product.

It was also nice to see that the ability to achieve high overclocks has not been lost between board revisions and despite the products mature age it still gives the latest and greatest a run for their money. Our only real criticism is that the memory support is now somewhat lacking (supporting up to DDR2-800) when compared to other similarly priced models.

Intel D975XBX2 is available for £164 from OCUK / and $240 from Newegg

Abit Fatality F-I90HD
The F-I90HD is a board that many people were waiting a long time for due to its use of AMD’s latest chipset however the overall feeling we got from using the product was that there was a lot of potential in the chipset which was being held back by design decisions. The ability of the board to reach 350+Mhz is very impressive for a M-ATX product, however we would love to see what the chipset is capable of within an ATX design featuring enhanced specifications. The lack of configuration in the BIOS was also disappointing to see with some key features, such as QX6700 upward multipliers being unavailable. There is also an issue with the time taken to save BIOS changes, or POST (when initially turned on) as it frequently seems to take an eternity. Performance of the board when up and running was great though and given the products placement at half the retail price of the other boards being tested today there is great potential for those on a budget to build a top performing PC around the F-I90HD.

Media Centre enthusiasts should also give the board some serious thought due to the silent design, small size and on-board HDMI port.

Abit Fatality F-I90HD is available for £76 from OCUK / and $124

Source:Socket 775 Mobo Roundup

Article: Updated: Intel® D975XBX Overclocking Notes (Things You Should Know But Didn't Know Exists)

I post an update to the article, it's about a pretty neat trick to remember when playing with your Bad Axe 1. I plan to update it once more once I have the time, for now, head on over and skip to Section VII for the update.

Source:Article: Updated: Intel® D975XBX Overclocking Notes (Things You Should Know But Didn't Know Exists)

Article: Intel® D975XBX Overclocking Notes (Things You Should Know But Didn't Know Exists)

Wow, I can't believe I missed posting this article and it's been on my host for so long. What am I thinking? In any case, I did review it and edited it quite a few more and re-uploaded the article. I just remembered about this article when one of the forum members is having an issue with this board.

And by sending this link, it ended up being on his list of fixes as well, I hope it did help him though. Here's a snippet of the article:

VI. Danger of using CPU-Z and SpeedFan, and similar software with Bad Axe

Many enthusiasts has become accustomed to using the said utilities, specially CPU-Z, to check the specifications of the processor. The CPU-Z, for example, is capable of identifying the FSB, multiplier, CPU steppings, cache, number of cores and many other details that makes this utility a very valuable one and a must-have. The SpeedFan is another utility that shows "PC Health" in terms of environmental measurements such as temperature, fan speeds, and voltage settings among others. Similar software that can do such exists and have made it to the enthusiasts slew of utilities for checking and knowing more about their machines. And these software are pretty much mature and have proven their compatibility and stability.

Source:Article: Intel® D975XBX Overclocking Notes (Things You Should Know But Didn't Know Exists)

Brag: Woot, reached a decade, err, 10months (and some AMD* bits to post too)

So, it's that day of the month again where I post about how I reached a certain month of anniversary or so. I will not play like a smart ass and try to post something witty, or act like I know everything so I will not really elaborate much on this posting. If there's one thing I'd like to elaborate, or shall I say, "emphasize" (yes, it's more fitting than "elaborate") is that: I hit ten (10) months of existence, I have never accomplished such a long time kind of web posting, so yep, this is a milestone for me.

On another note, with my FanBoyism kicking, a friend sent me an email about AMD* and ATi* touting Chipzilla's platform as the "Winner: "Best Gaming PC" 2006*… Computer Shopper". Grantedm it's Computer Shopper that pronounced that claim, but still, they put it up on their website. Note the "url" carefully when you click and directed to the link. Expand for more if you would like to check out the URL...

Overdrive PC™ built an ATI X1K series based gaming computer that appeals to the uber gamer. A dream machine that has exactly what high-end gamers are looking for today —speed, stability and ultimate visual quality!

This gaming PC achieves benchmark and performance standards above and beyond anything thought possible by the average gamer. Featuring two HyperClocked ™ Radeon® X 1900 XTX graphic cards, Overdrive PC™ provides one of the fastest solutions in the industry.

Source:Winner: "Best Gaming PC" 2006*… Computer Shopper

I know, I know, that ATi* is the one promoting it, and it's their feature of the month. I guess, either they tout their Video Cards and ignore their affiliation with A* or, I don't know, I can't really say much aside from that ;) (hey, I'm a FanBoy, whatdaya expect!)

Tech Link (Motherboard): X1 vs X2: Who's Badder?

VR-Zone managed to get their hands with an early sample of Bad Axe 2 and pit them together with the Bad Axe (1). They also tackled an interesting topic, EPP, which I already gave a hint on before. If you would like to know who's badder, go expand and read more....

The Intel D975XBX2, Bad Axe 2, is Intel's most liberal (in terms of overclocking) Motherboard made to date. From the little details such as the onboard power button to the generous Memory Voltage offered, the Bad Axe 2 looks a lot more welcoming for enthusiasts... I would say that it is very competitive even against Motherboards from makers which have been catering to the enthusiast market for a long while. While it offers no performance benefits over the BX1, with the exception of the support for EPP Memory, the overclocking ability on this board is looking very good when bundled with a Core 2 Quad processor. It will make very little sense to upgrade from a BX1 or a very decent 975 chipset motherboard to this, but those who are on a more dated platform and are looking for an upgrade should give this a serious thought.

Source:X1 vs X2: Who's Badder?

Brag: Intel® D975XBX rev304 supports Kentsfield!

Yay, I just figure I'll try and test if my Bad Axe (Intel® D975XBX) rev304 (no, not the Bad Axe 2) will boot up a Kentsfield and lo and behold, it does so without problem. You can click on the image to go to the validation link. Expand for more...

Most people know that Kentsfield will be released partnered with the second generation Bad Axe. While I still suggest for people without much budget to use their older Bad Axe, I'd still push people to go ahead and purchase the newer motherboard based on Bad Axe 2 since it offers more overclocking options (2.8v for your DDR2 for example).

But again,if you don't have enough budget or still saving up, your older rev304 Bad Axe will work without problem. I even transformed the Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme QX6700 to Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme QX6800 by just changing the multiplier. Neato!

Brag: My Bad Axe 2 and a secret CPU

I guess I can call this month as a bragging month. I have been able to take a CPU-Z of my server CPU on the Bad Axe 2 motherboard. There's not much to see so there's no need to expand. You can click on the image to be teleported to the validation link. That is all FanBoyz!

Article: Intel® D975XBX EPP [Extreme Processor Profile]? (Uber Motherboard for Intel® Core™-based Processor)

If an overclock on X6800 (266x11) with 333x11 (3.66GHz) will quickly fail with all settings on default, but rock stable at 266x14 (3.72GHz) and the motherboard is also stable on different processors E6300 (333x7=2.33GHz) and E6700 (333x9=2.99GHz), with all components being the same what could be the culprit? If you are interested to find out, expand this post or click here.

The Intel® D975XBX is the first motherboard used by enthusiasts to really push processors based on on Intel® Core™ better known as Conroe or Core 2 Duo or C2D and C2 for the extreme variant of Intel® Core™. It is the best, the cream of the crop, best of the best, baddest motherboard in town during the early pre-release days of Conroe and second to none. This motherboard is not for everyone looking for value, this is geared towards the top end, only for those who have the courage and money to spend.

Source:Article: Intel® D975XBX EPP [Extreme Processor Profile]? (Uber Motherboard for Intel® Core™-based Processor)

Brag: Intel® D975XBX "Bad Axe" Rev302 supports Conroe!

Super Cool. I always knew Intel®-branded (as opposed to Intel®-chipset-based) motherboard rocks in overclocking. I used to be one of the very few who plays with Intel-branded board and overclocking them. I think, I am also one of the very few who really gives Intel®-branded board a serious look in overclocking, beyond the very basic Intel® Desktop Control Center utility (Intel's limited overclocking software), any Intel branded board. Heck, I even wrote an article about: A Tale of Non-Overclockable Boards turned Overclockable and how previously-thought poor overclocking boards actually rocks big time and I quote myself:

Looking back at the term "overclocker friendly" board, I can safely assume that any board, that can be modded via hardware or software, can be called overclocker friendly. A motherboard, that offers options, and yet can't even live up to the stability and extent of its options, can't be said "overclocker friendly". I mean, come on, you have the options, and yet, can't even use it well. What good these options are if it's next to being useless. Having a useless option can be equated to having no option at all. Of course, I never said and never meant that a board that has options and can live up to its options isn't overclocker friendly, they are just uber friendly =)

Heck, I even overclock an Intel® D101GGC value board!

But this month, I feel I have just attained one of my goal when "preaching" about the capability of Intel-branded not just at stock settings, but even at overclocking sports. The advent of the "Bad Axe" board has changed the landscape dramatically. The name "Intel" in the overclocking scene has reached and grabbed deaf ears and blind eyes of the enthusiasts and changed how they looked at Intel-branded boards.

So, if you're one of the few that have this board and would like to make the most of it, then check out the mods made by enthusiasts. And while there's not many posts in that thread, there are already some who have used the mod to partner it with Conroe.

Check out:
FCG's Conroe-support Mod
The_Stilt's vDimm Mod

The two mods completes the cycle. The first mod not just allows Conroe support, but gives vCore options! The second, adds vDimm higher than what is currently allowed, but is optional since this option is already available (not just too high). To follow are optional vDroop and cMCH mods (which are also available, so just expect improvements).

Rant: Intel D975XBX: Intel brings their Bad-Axe to Market

Oh brother, AMDTech beat me to posting a review about this board. Bah, mine was supposed to have arrived on the 5th of January, but the shipping got messed up and all these custom duties and all have sent me to a very long intermittent calls here and there and everywhere.

Anyway, I have been touting the coming of Bad Axe ever since I have gotten a taste of its power with my engineering sample. Too bad, my ES board suffered a very early death since I accidentaly spill coffee all over it and sent it to hardware heaven. No RMA for the said board, ES don't qualify for that, ES is like you use it and then destroy it. In the case of my sample, it died prematurely after a week's use. Darn, if only I am more careful. Anyway, I actually placed an order for retail board and it was supposed to arrive early first week, but drats, problem appears when you least expect it.

Anyway, AMDTech reviewed it already. Well, it's not that it's the first review, in fact, I've seen other reviews of this particular board already. It's just that, well, knowing it's AMDTech, they often always never fail to screw things up like what I discussed in one of my previous Blog entry here.

Well, crap comes to crap, I'll just post an excerpt of their review here (and check out the other related links).

The Intel D975XBX is an interesting solution for the Intel Enthusiast at this time. The performance of the board was average or below in all testing phases while stability was superb. In fact, unless we were overclocking the board past its obvious limits, we never experienced any stability issues. Unlike other boards reviewed recently, we did not find any test issues with our peripheral inventory. The Intel D975XBX exemplifies Intel's trend of offering very stable and secure board solutions with excellent documentation and support.

Source:AMDTech

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