Thursday, March 02, 2000

The performance tests results

All tests were all performed under Windows98.

The system setup was as following:

Motherboard: DFI PC64
Motherboard version: Rev 4
BIOS version: 1.0A
CPU: Intel Pentium III 450Mhz
Memory: 128Mb PC800
IDE Primary port master: Quantum Fireball KA 9.1gig UDMA66
IDE Primary port slave: none
IDE secondary port master: Quantum Fireball EIDE ST 3.2A
IDE secondary port slave: Kenwood 52X True X
AGP port: ATI Rage Fury 128GL
Graphic card drivers: 4.11.6107
OS: Win98 4.10
DirectX 6.1

Ziff Davis Winstone99 - Winbench99 1.1

Video sub-system tests

Disk sub-system tests

The evaluation table below shows both the strong and weak points of the tested motherboard. No need to remind you that performance is not the sole purchasing criteria in a motherboard. Most of today's motherboards exhibit performance very close to each other, so we need additional information in order to help us distinguish the real advantages of a motherboard compared to its competitors. This is exactly where this evaluation table comes in handy.

The weak points

The PC64's weak points include the following: no ISA slots, exclusive memory support for RAMBUS - despite the fact that competing boards offer simultaneous compatibility with traditional SDRAM, the lack of control over the processor's core voltage, a user's manual that poorly explains the BIOS settings, and a software pack that could use a little extra pizazz.

The strong points

The PC64's strong points are: Very intriguing performance, excellent stability, a rich selection of features, the inclusion of an integrated A3D sound card, support for 4X AGP, and a great ease of use & installation.

Conclusions

The DFI PC64 brings something genuinely new to the market. The fact that it's based on the Intel 820 set, and makes use of the RAMBUS memory standard, puts the PC64 at the bleeding edge of technology. That doesn't necessarily mean, though, that it outclasses every other board on the market. Actually, the RAMBUS standard doesn't seem to be pulling any very significant advantages over SDRAM at this stage in the game. Still, Intel chipsets do have the reputation of a higher class of performance, relative to their competitors. That said, the PC64 is a board that performs well, and performs consistently; and will thus satisfy the most demanding users. One last item to note: I've recently heard of the existence SRIMM-to-DIMM adaptors, though I haven't been able to verify them for fact. If so, those who might wish to use the PC64 in conjunction with PC100, or PC133 memory might benefit from their use for a much more cost effective system.

For additional information, visit DFI.

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