Tetrium wrote on 2020-09-16, 16:29:

So I realize that this thread has had a slight necro, but I did want to mention that I love such a system. I never got around to […]
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nd22 wrote on 2018-01-29, 11:34:

1.CPU: Athlon XP 3200 2.2ghz with 400 FSB (actually it's 200) 2.RAM: Corsair 2*1gb CAS 3-3-3-8 DDR400 with silver heat-spreaders […]
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1.CPU: Athlon XP 3200 2.2ghz with 400 FSB (actually it's 200)
2.RAM: Corsair 2*1gb CAS 3-3-3-8 DDR400 with silver heat-spreaders!
3.GPU: Leadtek geforce 7800gs 256mb. To all the people that will remind me that are stronger video cards on the AGP interface: I tried installing both the Radeon 4670 and the Radeon 3850! The system enters a continuous restart loop with either of the cards installed but runs just fine with geforce 7800gs/7600gt/X1600XT!
4. Storage: Maxtor 80gb HDD; Intel 180gb SSD (yes ,I know it's not period correct but I used it to speed up the boot times which are really slow on the Maxtor) various IDE optical drives; the system will not run with a SATA optical drive installed!
5. PSU: 350w FSP with strong 5V rail; old but good!
The motherboards:
In one corner we have the Abit AN7 with nforce2 ultra 400 chipset; this motherboard does not have SATA integrated in the chipset but provided via a Silicon Image 3112 controller; 3 memory dims; after serious problems and numerous testing I have found a kit capable of running in dual channel configuration on this board and this is what I am going to use! Also the board has Sound Storm that provides one the best audio experience on systems of this era.
In another corner we have the Abit (you see a pattern here don't you?) KW7 with via kt880 chipset; SATA is integrated in the chipset; 4 memory dims and is far less picky about the memory running with just about every memory module I have; can run with 4 1gb dims in dual channel mode however I choose to use only 2*1gb because any 32 bit Windows (XP or 2000 - tried both) will recognize only 3gb and you must set 2T command rate in Bios for the system to be stable wherever with 2 dims the system runs at 1T!
Both systems have been configured to run only with minimum required hardware in order to complete the tests; wireless cards, extra USB cards have not been installed; unnecessary Bios options have been disabled!

So I realize that this thread has had a slight necro, but I did want to mention that I love such a system. I never got around to building an NForce chipsetted board (they did end up on my testbench a few times but it ended up never going beyond that), but I did have a KT600 chipsetted FS system for years, also with a Barton 3200+. It started out with a Radeon 9600, which I later upgraded to a GF7600GS which improved performance significantly.

However, I did upgrade the graphics card again some time later to a HD4670 and even though I did get it working, there wasn't any obvious and significant performance increase at all from the card. It was clearly held back by the rest of the system (most likely the CPU).

So even though it's a bit of a shame that the 4670 and 3850 didn't seem to work out for you, I doubt it would have really gave a lot of benefit when playing contemporary games. However, I never got to try the cards out in much higher resolutions as I has dealing with a cheap OEM relatively tiny LCD monitor at the time which didn't support higher resolutions. Perhaps some benefits could still be found there.

If people are interested I will publish further results with the 2 platforms in order to establish once and for all the King of socket 462!
I should mention that i have now 4 working socket 462 systems and possibility for many more because I collected most of the boards with every single chipset ever manufactured by Abit.
Common hardware includes:
1. Athlon XP 3200
2. 2*1gb CAS3 dimms made by various manufacturers - there is no difference whatsoever between an expensive Corsair kit and a regular Kingston/whatever kit if timings are all set at the same values however nforce2 platforms only work with Corsair.
3. geforce 7800gs 256mb by Leadtek
4. various IDE optical drives - and no you can not use SATA optical drives with the majority of socket 462 boards.
5. various SATA hard drives.
The motherboards around which a system is already assembled are:
Abit AN7 - nforce2 ultra 400 with sound storm
Abit KW7 - via kt880
Abit NF7-S2G - nforce2 ultra 400 with integrated SATA
Abit KV7 - via kt600
Further boards that I keep in storage include:
Abit NF7 - S 2.0- nforce2 ultra 400 with sound storm;
Abit KD7A - via kt 400a;
Abit AT7 - MAX2 - via kt400
Abit KX7 - 333R - via kt333
Abit KR7A - via kt266a
Abit KT7A - via kt133a
I should add that the CPU and the GPU are fully working only in the 4 systems that I mention; the rest will not take either the CPU because of the 400mhz FSB or the GPU because it requires AGP 8X I think.

Awesome collection! You're missing the KG7, or you forgot to type it 🤣

I do have a complete Abit KG7-raid build with Athlon 1400C, 2*1gb of CAS2 ram; geforce4 ti and an old IDE WD 60gb. Planing to do a comparison between AMD760 chipset, VIA KT133A and VIA KT266A to see which was the best performer in 2001 and between 1400C on Via KT133A and 1400S on VIA Apollo 133T to see which is faster using SDRAM PC133.

I would compare these two and call it a day:

Abit AN7 - nforce2 ultra 400 with sound storm
Abit KW7 - via kt880

Although, I think there won't be major difference between them in typical RAM and/or AGP oriented benchies. Major difference probably would be hiding in PCI, integrated I/O and CPU utilization under I/O heavy scenarios. Most likely not in VIA favor. So maybe add Abit NF7-S2G, if you want to test Nvidia native SATA performance.

nd22 wrote on 2020-10-08, 09:02:

I do have a complete Abit KG7-raid build with Athlon 1400C, 1*2gb of CAS2 ram; geforce4 ti and an old IDE WD 60gb. Planing to do a comparison between AMD760 chipset, VIA KT133A and VIA KT266A to see which was the best performer in 2001 and between 1400C on Via KT133A and 1400S on VIA Apollo 133T to see which is faster using SDRAM PC133.

Interesting! Hope to see that soon.

Some 3 years later and with much more results I come back to finish my first real test started to find the definitive answer to the question: Which is the best socket 462 platform?
In the meantime I expanded the number of tests to 48. Each and every one has been run at least 3 times with the option to run the test 3 times for every benchmark run selected whenever possible, the first 2 runs being discarded and the third being kept. Some of them have been split in order to better investigate the differences between the 2 platforms, especially with the sound – hint: there is a major difference between KT880 and nForce2 where sound is taken into account! Because I do not have 2 identical hard drives I did not took into account the results of the disk test in PC mark.
For people who do not want to read the first post and to update everyone on the changes here are the hardware and software used:
Contestants:
Nforce2 ultra 400 chipset with dual channel memory and sound storm represented by Abit AN7 motherboard; this motherboard does not have SATA integrated in the chipset but provided via a Silicon Image 3112 controller.
VIA KT880 chipset with dual channel memory represented by ABIT KW7 motherboard; SATA is integrated in the chipset.
Both boards have the ATX 12V auxiliary power connector that can take some of the load off the 5V rail – this is highly important!
Hardware:
Modern hardware common for all systems:
1. PSU: corsair RM100i. I do not have enough praise for this PSU; I use it as a test PSU and it took every single build not only those described here but some other builds including some which are very heavy on the 5V rail such as Athlon 1400C coupled with geforce3! It is built like a tank, comes with a 10 wear warranty however the major downside is the price: very, very expensive!
2. Case: cooler master HAF XB EVO. I am fully aware that this is a not a period correct case however the ease of use and the airflow provided are equal to none. I use it as an open test bench with the top and side panels removed and it is extremely easy to change CPUs, hard drives or any other component; it comes with 2 120nn front fans preinstalled and the top panel can take a 200 mm fan if so desired, highly efficient in cooling the motherboard, CPU and VGA.
3. Monitor: Eizo S2100 21.3 inch with 1600*1200 native resolution. I know that CRT monitors were the standard back in 2003 – 2004 but I can testify that this one has an incredible image with deep black and as far as I know 21.3 inch is the largest LCD with classic aspect ratio. I do have another Eizo 22 inch monitor with 1680*1050 resolution so I can do further tests in there is interest in having results using a widescreen resolution.
4. NIC: TP – Link 851ND PCI wireless adapter compatible with every single build starting with slot 1 and every single Windows version starting with Windows 2000. Disconnected from network during testing.
Classic hardware common for all systems:
1. CPU: Athlon XP 3200 – top socket 462 processor with 400 MHz FSB (actually is 200 MHz but it uses a double pumped bus); with a TDP of 76.8 W is a real troublemaker for modern PSU with weak 5V rail.
2. RAM: Corsair 2 * 1 GB DDR – 400 CAS 3-3-3-8. The only manufacturer whose kits are compatible with every nForce based boards such as Abit AN7/NF7-S 2.0/NF7-S2G.
3. GPU: Leadtek geforce 7800gs 256mb. There are stronger cards on the AGP interface but this one is compatible with every single 462 board I used in this comparative.
4. Storage: period correct Maxtor SATA1 80gb drive on the motherboard with VIA chipset because you must use only SATA1 drives or drives jumpered to SATA1 on VIA based boards; period correct WD SATA1 80gb drive on the motherboard with nForce2 chipset; period incorrect Intel SATA3 180gb SSD for benchmarks and games storage because period correct hard drives are extremely slow; I should add that all nForce based boards can take SATA3 SSD either connected to the SATA port or using SATA to PATA adapter starting with Abit NV7-133R but they are picky about which ones they work with: I tested Kingston, OCZ and Intel and only Intel works; the VIA board accept Intel SSD only when connected to the PATA port with an adapter!
5. Cooler: Arctic cooling copper 3 very silent and efficient!
Software
1. Operating system: Windows XP SP3 fully updated with POSReady2009 patch and all extra updates installed and latest version of directx9.0c installed.
2. monitoring/information software running in the background at all times: Everest 5.50 – old version of what it is known today as Aida used because it works with every single board and provides correct sensor information;
3. CPU-Z 1.02 legacy for information seen in screenshots;
4. Irfan view for screenshots;
5. Fraps for recording.

Tests and settings used:
1. resolutions used during testing are: 1024*768 – standard resolution of the CRT era like 1920*1080 is today; 1280*1024 – standard resolution of 17 and 19 inch LCD monitors with classic aspect ratio (actually 5/4 not 4/3 but still “classic”) that most people can get for a very low price today to use with their retro systems; 1600*1200 – high end resolution of the CRT era like 4k today, the video card will be the bottleneck in most cases.
2. synthetic benchmarks:
a) DirectX 7: 3dmark 2000;
b) DirectX 8: Code creatures pro, 3dmark 2001 SE;
c) DirectX 9: Aqua mark 3; 3dmark 2003; 3dmark 2005;
d) Processor IPC: super pi; cine bench 2003 – the oldest version I could find;
e) System tests: Pc Mark 2002; Pc Mark 2004; Pc mark 2005;
f) GUI test: Tom 2d.
3. Games: Far cry 1; Half Life 2; Doom 3; I specifically choose DirectX 9 games from the end of the socket 462 era because previous DirectX 8 or 7 games are no problem on such a system even at extreme resolutions and settings.
4. Further suggestions are welcomed; I have already the results from the above tests so I will put them in the forum and do additional testing as I select new benchmarks based on your suggestions.
5. The specific list and settings of the benchmarks will be detailed in the next post; because today I believe most people who build a retro system want to experience the games and applications of the era to their fullest extent the initial test is with all settings at their default at 1024*768 resolution and all follow up tests are with all settings turned all the way up unless otherwise noted. Vertical synchronization is disabled for all tests.
6. I considered the VIA KT880 platform the baseline and I measured the advantages, if any, provided by the nForce2 platform.
7. All results will be displayed simultaneously for every single test with the nForce2 first than KT880 second.

List of tests and settings:
1. Code creatures 1024*768 default
2. Code creatures 1024*768 default + sound
3. Code creatures 1024*768 max
4. Code creatures 1024*768 max + sound
5. Code creatures 1280*1024 max
6. Code creatures 1280*1024 max + sound
7. Code creatures 1600*1200 max
8. Code creatures 1600*1200 max + sound
9. Aqua mark 3 1024*768 default
10. Aqua mark 3 1024*768 max + sound
11. Aqua mark 3 1280*1024 max
12. Aqua mark 3 1280*1024 max + sound
13. Aqua mark 3 1600*1200 max
14. Aqua mark 3 1600*1200 max + sound
15. 3d mark 2000 1024*768 – default
16. 3d mark 2000 1280*1024 – max
17. 3d mark 2000 1600*1200 – max
18. 3d mark 2001 1024*768 – default
19. 3d mark 2001 1280*1024 – max
20. 3d mark 2001 1600*1200 – max
21. 3d mark 2003 1024*768 – default
22. 3d mark 2003 1280*1024 – max
23. 3d mark 2003 1600*1200 – max
24. 3d mark 2003 1600*1200 – max; no sound
25. 3d mark 2003 1600*1200 – max; 24 sounds
26. 3d mark 2005 1024*768 – default
27. 3d mark 2005 1280*1024 – max
28. 3d mark 2005 1600*1200 – max
29. Tom 2d
30. Pc mark 2002 – CPU
31. Pc mark 2002 – RAM
32. Pc mark 2004 – CPU
33. Pc mark 2004 – RAM
34. Pc mark 2004 – GPU
35. Pc mark 2005 – CPU
36. Pc mark 2005 – RAM
37. Pc mark 2005 – GPU
38. Far cry 1 1024*768 – max
39. Far cry 1 1280*1024 – max
40. Far cry 1 1600*1200 – max
41. Half life 2 original release 1024*768 – max
42. Half life 2 original release 1280*1024 – max
43. Half life 2 original release 1600*1200 – max
44. Doom 3 no AA 1024*768
45. Doom 3 no AA 1280*1024
46. Doom 3 no AA 1600*1200
47. Super pi 1m
48. Cine bench 2003

1. Code creatures 1024*768 default:
nforce2

KT880

First test and the first win for nforce2!

2. Code creatures 1024*768 default + sound
nforce2:

KT880:

It seems that the Sound storm makes a BIG difference when taking into account!

3. Code creatures 1024*768 max
nforce2:

KT880:

4. Code creatures 1024*768 max + sound
nforce2:

kt880:

5. Code creatures 1280*1024 max
nforce2:

kt880:

6. Code creatures 1280*1024 max + sound
nforce2:

kt880:

7. Code creatures 1600*1200 max
nforce2:

kt880:

The graphic card is now the bottleneck but nforce2 still wins by the slimmest of margins!

8. Code creatures 1600*1200 max + sound
nforce2:

kt880:

At this extreme resolution Sound Storm can no longer offer any meaningful difference!

9. Aqua mark 3 1024*768 default
nforce2:

kt880:

NForce2 manages another win in Aqua mark 3!

10. Aqua mark 3 1024*768 max + sound
nforce2:

kt880:

11. Aqua mark 3 1280*1024 max
nforce2:

kt880:

12. Aqua mark 3 1280*1024 max + sound
nforce2:

kt880:

13.62% advantage for the nforce2 courtesy of Sound Storm!