System Setup

System Setup

AMD Athlon 64 3400+
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
AMD Athlon 64 FX-51
Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz (HT enabled)

Gigabyte K8VNXP Socket 754 K8T800 Motherboard
ASUS SK8V Socket 940 K8T800 Motherboard
ABIT IC7-MAX3 Socket 478 875P Motherboard

1GB Mushkin Registered ECC 2-3-2 PC3200 DDR Memory (2x512MB)
1GB Corsair Pro Series 3-4-4 PC4000 DDR Memory (2x512MB)

ATI RADEON 9800 XT 256MB
Catalyst 3.10

34GB Western Digital Raptor (10,000RPM, 8MB cache)

Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1

DirectX 9.0b

Desktop resolution 1024x768, 32-bit color, 85Hz refresh

All power saving options were turned off, as were the Automatic Update and System Restore services. Graphics options under the ‘Performance’ tab were all disabled for maximum performance.

Benchmarks

BAPCo SysMark 2004
PC Magazine Business Winstone 2004
PC Magazine Content Creation Winstone 2004
SiSoft Sandra 2004
Futuremark 3D Mark03 v.340
Novalogic Comanche 4
Enlight X2: The Threat Rolling Demo
Square Enix Final Fantasy XI Benchmark 2
Epic Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo
Ubisoft IL2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles

Lab Notes

You’ll notice that we are using two different sets of memory modules. The registered Mushkin modules are used exclusively on the Athlon 64 FX-51 system, while the Corsair Pro Series modules correspond to the Athlon 64 and Pentium 4 test rigs. Each motherboard used for testing was upgraded with the latest publicly available BIOS, meaning the SK8V didn’t need an upgrade.

Also, keep in mind that by transitioning to Content Creation 2004 and SysMark 2004, it is no longer necessary to update Windows Media Encoder with any patch, as AMD’s multimedia instruction sets are properly recognized and utilized.

Finally, it should be noted that the Athlon 64 3400+ has a locked clock multiplier, just like the 3200+ and 3000+ processors. The only chip in AMD’s lineup without that restriction is the Athlon 64 FX, which, given its price and exclusivity, isn’t a prime target for dishonest retailers involved in remarking their products. Further, the current crop of Athlon 64-compliant core logic employs coupled buses, so overclocking the system bus affects all of the components attached to it. Our overclocking attempts with a locked Athlon 64 FX and an Athlon 64 3200+ have yielded negligible results, to say the least. If you’re looking for a capable platform for overclocking, look either to the Athlon6 4 FX or wait for the successor to VIA K8T800, which is expected to employ decoupled bus speeds.