System setup and notes
Hardware
| Motherboard | EQS AB1S-RS690MKM | ASUS M2NPV-VM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (2.2GHz, 2 x 512KiB L2 cache, 200MHz HTT, Socket AM2) | ||
| Memory | 1GiB (2 x 512) OCZ PC5400 | ||
| Memory timings and speed | 4-4-4-8 1T @ DDR2-628.6 | 4-4-4-8 1T @ DDR2-631.4 | |
| Graphics card(s) | Radeon Xpress 1250 IGP (401.5/500) | GeForce 6150 TurboCache IGP (475/667) | |
| Disk drive(s) | Seagate 160GB SATAII (ST3160812AS) | ||
| BIOS revision | Beta (19/01/2007) | 0504 (17/12/2006) | |
| Mainboard software | CATALYST 7.1 | NVIDIA 8.26 | |
| Graphics driver | CATALYST 7.2 Beta | NVIDIA ForceWare 93.71 | |
| Operating System | Windows XP Professional, w/ SP2, 32-bit | ||
| PSU | FSP 300-60THN-P(PF) 300W | ||
| Monitor | Dell 2405FPW | ||
Software
We ran the mainboards through our usual array of benchmarks.| 2D Benchmarks |
SiSoft SANDRA Float Memory Bandwidth ScienceMark Memory Latency HEXUS Pifast calculation to 10M places HEXUS WAV encoding HEXUS DivX encoding Cinebench 2003 v9.5 HDTach RW v3.0.1.0 |
|---|
| 3D Benchmarks |
Far Cry v1.33 Quake 4 v1.04 Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory v1.05 |
|---|
Observational notes
We're comparing the EQS AB1S-RS690MKM against an ASUS NVIDIA nForce 430/6510-powered motherboard that also sports integrated graphics and a mATX form factor. Due to time constraints we were not able to test with an Intel G965 or 945G boards featuring integrated X3000 and GMA 950 graphics, respectively. However, we will be publishing a full round-up in the next few days, up against another 690G from AMD's partners.So, it's a battle of modern AM2 chipsets featuring integrated graphics. In view of this, we've used a sub-£100 X2 CPU for both AMD and NVIDIA camps.
General platform considerations
How do the various options tally up as a platform proposition? Let's see.| CPU | AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ | Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £95 | £99 | ||
| Motherboard | EQS AB1S-RS690MKM | ASUS M2NPV-VM | 945G w/GMA 950 | G965 w/X3000 |
| Price, including VAT | £50 | £55 | £50 | £70 |
| Total price for combo, including VAT | £145 | £150 | £144 | £169 |
AMD 690G and NVIDIA's nForce 430/6150 are generally priced at around £55 for a well-featured model. That's true of most 945G models that feature the GMA 950 and ICH7R. The newer G965 chipset, featuring integrated X3000 graphics, pushes up retail pricing to £70 and upwards. The overall pricing is something to bear in mind when considering platforms as a whole.
Running speeds
ASUS has been noted for playing the inflated FSB game to gain an artificial benchmarking advantage. Its M2NPV-VM carries on the trend. Here's the running speed of both boards.2210.2MHz - 200.9MHz HT clock - ASUS M2NPV-VM
2200.0MHz - 200MHz HT clock - EQS AB1S-RS690MKM
Please bear the actual speeds in mind when comparing results.
AMD's AM2 processors dictate the speed of system memory as it's derived from a ratio of CPU speed - CPU/7 in this case. That's why, when set to DDR2-667, both boards run system memory at around 630MHz. The ASUS' is naturally faster due to a higher-clocked FSB.