MSI K8T Neo2-FIR: Overclocking and Stress Testing

FSB Overclocking Results

Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed
Processor:	Athlon 64 FX53 Socket 939 2.4GHz
CPU Voltage:	1.5V (default)
Cooling:	Thermaltake Silent Boost K8
Power Supply:	Antec TruePower 430W
Maximum OC: (Standard Ratios)	200FSB x12 2600MHz (+10%)
Maximum FSB: (Lower Ratio)	263FSB x 9 at 1:1 Memory

While the K8T Neo2 reached the next performance level of 2.6GHz at a 13 multiplier, it was not the CPU frequency overclocker that we see in the nVidia-based K8N Neo2. No matter the multiplier, the top frequency that we could reach with stability was 263, much lower than the 290 on the K8N Neo2, or the 280 reached on the Abit AV8.

Memory Stress Test Results:

The memory stress test is very basic, and simply tests the ability of the K8T Neo2 to operate at its officially supported memory frequency (400MHz DDR), at the best performing memory timings that our Mushkin PC3500 Level 2 or OCZ PC3500 Platinum Ltd Modules will support. Memory stress testing was conducted by running RAM at 400MHz with 2 DIMM slots in a Dual-Channel configuration with a Command Rate setting of 1T.

Stable DDR400 Timings - 2 DIMMs (2/4 DIMMs - 1 Dual-Channel Bank)
Clock Speed:	200MHz
Timing Mode:	N/A
CAS Latency:	2.0
Bank Interleave:	N/A
RAS to CAS Delay:	2T
RAS Precharge:	10T (10T for Best Performance)*
Precharge Delay:	2T
Command Rate:	1T

*Several memory tests have shown that memory performs fastest on the nVidia nForce and VIA K8T800 chipsets at a TRas (RAS Precharge) setting in the 9 to 13 range. We ran our own Memory Bandwidth tests with memtest86, with TRas settings from 5 to 15 at a wide range of different memory speeds. The best bandwidth was consistently at 9 to 11 at every speed, with TRas 10 always in the best range at every speed. The memory bandwidth improvement at TRas 10 was only 2% to 4% over TRas 5 and 6 depending on the speed, but the performance advantage was consistent across all tests. Since best performance was achieved at 2-2-2-10 timings, all Athlon 64 benchmarks were run at a TRas setting of 10.

The K8T Neo2 had no problem at all with 2 dimms at aggressive 2-2-2-10 timings and a 1T Command Rate. We were frankly surprised at how well all the boards handled our BH5 memory, since it has sometimes been a problem memory on Athlon 64 boards. We do have to wonder if this is really the memory, however, or just the truly excellent memory controller on our replacement FX53.

Filling all four available memory slots is more strenuous on the memory subsystem than testing 2 DIMMs on a motherboard. We really expected to have to make concessions to memory timing with 4 DIMMs on all the 939 motherboards, but in fact, every board in the roundup had no problem with 2-2-2-10 timings at 1T.

Stable DDR400 Timings - 4 DIMMs (4/4 DIMMs - 2 Dual-Channel Banks)
Clock Speed:	200MHz
Timing Mode:	N/A
CAS Latency:	2.0
Bank Interleave:	N/A
RAS to CAS Delay:	2T
RAS Precharge:	10T*
Precharge Delay:	2T
Command Rate:	2T

The MSI K8T Neo2 was able to run with all 4 DIMM slots at the same aggressive 2-2-2-10 settings used for 2 DIMMs. As we have seen on the other 939 boards running all 4 DIMMs, the Command Rate must be reduced to 2T when filling both Dual Channels.

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