DFI 855GME-MGF

DFI 855GME-MGF

As we mentioned above the Pentium M is no longer restricted to laptops. Micro ATX motherboards are now available for desktops and there are two models:

- AOpen i855GMEm-FLS
- DFI 855GME-MGF

Recently Intel also announced the release of the SL-855GEI-FDGR. It’s not currently in shops unlike the DFI and Aopen. It is difficult however, though not impossible, to find these motherboards. Everything that is rare is expensive and when you do find them the price is approximately $270 (EU 250€). This is quite high, but as there are no other options what can we do.


We chose the DFI motherboard for this test (the most widespread product in France). The chipset like other boards is a i855GME and has the following specifications:

- Pentium M / Celeron M FSB400
- AGP 4x graphic bus
- DDR-SDRAM PC1600, 2100, 2700

These specifications aren’t extraordinary. We are optimistic though in thinking that the FSB400 is only the official specification and that with overclocking it’s possible to reach higher performances. The AGP 4’s bandwidth is enough for all graphic cards currently on the market. Also, if the only DDR333 (PC2700) memory is supported in FSB400 when the FSB is increased, it’s also possible to reach higher performances. The lack of dual channel memory isn’t a big problem as the processor isn’t able to use such a bandwidth. There is also an integrated graphic component, but we will only use it for 2D as its improvements in 3D are minimal.

For the Southbridge, DFI decided not to use a standard ICH4 but rather a 6300ESB. Intended initially for servers, this Southbridge supports two Serial ATA ports (unlike the ICH4) that can be configured as RAID 1/0, two ATA-100, the PCI 2.2 and the PCI-X 1.0. Yes, a PCI-X! This function will only interest a minority of motherboard owners. It’s just unfortuneate that it severely restricts the possibility for motherboard extension.

Using a cooling system other than the single slot for the graphic card blocks the first PCI slot. In fact, even with a smaller cooling system the cards are close and we don’t advise you to use the PCI slot next to the AGP one if it’s occupied. So as the next slot is the PCI-X, only the last PCI slot is available for an extension board.


This isn’t such a big deal, though, as the motherboard already offers many capabilities:

- 1 VIA VT6307, PCI bus, supports two ports FireWire 400
- 1 Realtek RTL8110S-32, PCI bus, supports one Gigabit network
- 1 Realtek ALC655, the codec AC’97 supports 5.1 sound via analogical S/P-DIF outputs.

If you want better sound, with an Audigy for example, and Tuner TV board, it’s not really possible. We would have preferred if DFI didn’t offer the PCI-X and included three real PCI slots, two of which would be really usable. On the back of the motherboard there are the following outputs:

- 1 PS/2 mouse port
- 1 PS/2 keyboard port
- 1 parallel port
- 1 port COM
- 1 port VGA
- 1 port IEEE 1394
- 1 port RJ45LAN
- 4 ports USB2.0/1.1
- Mic-in, line-in, line out (it is possible to reconfigure it to have 3 outputs)

These inputs/outputs may be extended via internal ports connecting them to brackets or cases with the right inputs/outputs (not provided). This is true for the audio output, micro input, firewire port (for the front of the tower case) or a second COM port. The number of USB ports is, however, restricted to 4, and so no additional USB ports on the front of the tower case will be available.

The other problem with large graphic cards such as the GeForce FX 5700 Ultra, 5900, 5950 or the 6800/GT/Ultra is that the graphic card PCB ends just between the two serial ATA ports. It isn’t a problem though … except for the 6800 Ultra. This graphic card has a Molex connector in the back of the PCB just right of the SATA1. It’s therefore impossible to entirely plug in the graphic card and use the Molex connector if the SATA is already utilized.

Noise & Overclocking

Noise & Overclocking

For this test we chose a Pentium M 755. Clocked at 2.0 GHz, this processor uses the socket 479 like all other Pentium Ms. The maximum supply current is 1.34V, but it’s also specified to work with 0.988V at 600 MHz. DFI had the great idea of providing a cooling system with the motherboard. This is a good thing because as the holes around the socket form a 41x41 mm square it’s only suited for a chipset or homemade radiator.

A 40mm NMB fan, the 1604KL-04W-B49, lies on the top of the small sized aluminium radiator. The first thing you may want to do is remove the low quality thermal paste to and replace it by real one. The fan has a 12V electrical input, spins at 5500 Rpm and is too noisy for a silent computer. DFI doesn’t provide a funtion to reduce the fan speed according to the CPU temperature, and it isn’t also possible to do it with SpeedFan either. So you will have to reduce the power supply with an electric tension regulator or for expert users decrease the voltage to 7V by combining the +12V and the +12V to a Molex connector and the mass to a +5V. With 7V, this fan rotating speed is enough for a Pentium M clocked even at 2 GHz. Noise is still noticeable because of the engine, however. If the voltage is reduced to 5V, it is still possible to hear the engine and the rotating speed isn’t enough for a P-M 2 GHz.

In fact, after a bit of research we found that this fan was actually a product found on basic models (of low quality?). We replaced it by a chipset fan ABIT AN7, a simple T&T MW-410M12S. With a 12V electrical input, the fan spins at 5500 Rpm and is quite audible but clearly less than the DFI and a more efficient cooling system. If the voltage is reduced to 7V, it’s still possible to hear (putting your ear directly on the fan), but temperatures are still acceptable even with 5V (2100 Rpm).

Here are temperatures measured under Prime95 with our Pentium M 2.0 GHz at 2.4 GHz.

- NMB / 12 Volts : 42.5°C
- NMB / 7 Volts : 48.5°C
- T&T MW-410M12S / 12V : 39.0°C
- T&T MW-410M12S / 7V : 44.0°C
- T&T MW-410M12S / 5V : 54.0°C

Cooling down a processor with a simple chipset fan and with a low noise level? This surprised us we are used to desktop processors. The SpeedStep, however, doesn’t work initially with all motherboards but there is software RMClock which makes it possible, adjusting the frequency and input power according to the level of use. This capability is very useful for laptops, because it helps save energy. It’s less useful for desktops especially with processors that can be discreetly and efficiently cooled down.

Noise & Overclocking, the test

For Overclocking, DFI offers several possibilities for this motherboard, all with a low energy consumption configuration. So it is basically impossible to increase the CPU voltage beyond 1.34V and increase the memory power input. Overclocking capacity is then restricted to your components standard frequency.

As for the bios, the latest X86F0.bin of The_Mad is much more advanced for overclocking than the official bios:

- CPU Clock :This is the processor FSB: 100 MHz to 133 MHz for the last Pentium M supported by this motherboard. In practice we were able to reach 175 MHz with our processor. To obtain this excellent result for a chipset only certified at 100 MHz by Intel, we reduced the coefficient.
- Async PCI / AGP Clk :Several options are available to adjust the AGP and PCI bus frequency, with of course the option to keep the bus to 66 and 33 MHz for any FSB. We noticed that with ATI’s board, in keeping the bus to 66 and 33 MHz it doesn’t seem to work correctly. It’s therefore imperative to resolve this issue by choosing the right ratio amongst the ones available:
- Memory Ratio : It is the DDR:FSB ratio, This ratio can be 1:1, 4:3 or 5:3. The last value allows you to have memory clocked at 133 or 166 MHz (DDR266/333) respectively, with a FSB 100.
- CPU Ratio (FID) :This is the processor multiplying coefficient. It may not be increased beyond the standard processor value, but it may be reduced to have a higher FSB, for example.
- CPU Ratio (VID) :This is the CPU power input. There again it is impossible to increase it beyond the standard value, but it may be reduced to Overclock the processor. It won’t be that useful, though, as we already know it’s possible to silently cool down the processor.

In practice we were able to reach 2.5 GHz with our Pentium M 755 2.0 GHz. To do so, we chose the following parameters: FID 17x, FSB 147 MHz, a 4:3 memory ratio and DDR at 196 MHz. We also also briefly tested a Pentium M 745 (1.8 GHz) for overclocking. The processor reached 2.4 GHz in 16x150 with memory at 200 MHz (DDR400).

These Overclocking results are good overall, but not extraordinary. They are of interest if we consider that they were obtained with a silent configuration, a simple cooling system and without electrical tension increase. With a tension increase, not currently possible with Pentium M desktop motherboard (without hardware modifications), it suggests we would be able to reach 2.8 GHz frequencies! Even better the last Pentium M FSB533 based on a new chip revision seems to reach higher overclocking. Our colleagues from x86-secret reached 2.7 GHz with a 2.13 GHz version without a tension increase.

FYI, here are performances reached in overclocking with several frequency fsb/memory combinations. Results were measured with Unreal Tournament 2004, which like many games is very dependant, in addition to processor frequency, on these parameters:


The performance gap between the best and worst environment is 18%. As you may have noticed memory speed seems to have more influence than FSB speed (this is consistent with the bus and theoretical frequency speed). The best result here is FSB 150 MHz and 200 MHz for the Corsair XL (memory timing of 2-2-2-5) DDR-SDRAM. The FSB frequency can be directly adjusted under Windows with SetFSB or ClockGen.


Aopen, a direct competitor, also offers software to change the coefficient, the FSB, and also to activate the SpeedStep and directly regulate the processor fan speed. It’s just unfortuneate that DFI hasn’t developed identical software to make this modification, and we have to use software developed by individual users to adjust these functions (except for the fan rotating speed which doesn’t work with SpeedFan for the moment).

For the time being, it isn’t possible to configure a CAS Latency with bios other than the one specified in the SPD memory module. Corsair only indicates one CAS 2 in the 3200XL SPD, so it is almost impossible to use them in CAS 2.5 (the CAS 3.0 isn’t supported by the chipset). This isn’t that important as we don’t need to reach high frequencies, but it’s still a little disappointing.

Finally, in terms of power consumption, we measured, the entire configuration power consumption (motherboard, 2x512 MB of DDR-SDRAM, Radeon 9200, 1 Raptor) with Prime95. Measurments were made from the electrical plug, so the real configuration power consumption is lower as power supply efficiency is 70% to 80%. Here are the figures obtained:

- Pentium M 755 2.0 GHz : 78 Watts
- Pentium M 755 Oveclocked at 2.4 GHz : 81 Watts

The initial power consumption is very low and overclocking doesn’t change this result much because of the stable electrical input. In order to compare, an identical configuration with a K8N Neo2 coupled with an Athlon 64 has the following power consumption:

- Athlon 64 3200+ 90nm : 110 Watts
- Athlon 64 3500+ 90nm : 113 Watts
- Athlon 64 3500+ 130nm : 130 Watts

This configuration consumes less power than one based on an A64 90nm, which so far has been a configuration that has consumed the least for desktops.

The test

The Pentium M has low power consumption and heat dissipation, and can be easily and silently cooled down even when the processor is overclocked. So how about performance? We conducted our usual processor tests:

Tests were made on the following platform: - Socket 479 : DFI 855GME-MGF
- Socket 775 : ASUSTeK P5AD2-E Premium
- Socket 754 : MSI K8N Neo (nForce3 250)
- Socket 939 : MSI K8N Neo2 (NVIDIA nForce3 250 Ultra)

The other configuration components are:

- 2x512 MB DDR-2 533 Corsair with timings of 3-3-3-8, Socket 775
- 2x512 MB DDR-400 Corsair with timings of 2-2-2-8, Socket 939 & 754
- 2x512 MB DDR-333 Corsair with timings of 2-2-2-8, Socket 479
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCI-E Socket 775 (ForceWare 66.81)
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT AGP Socket 939 (ForceWare 66.81)
- Western Digital WD800BB
- Western Digital Raptor WD740GD
- Windows XP SP1 French

You will notice that we integrated figures from overcloked processors such as the Pentium M 2.4 GHz (16x150, DDR400) and 2.5 GHz (17x147, DDR392). We don’t usually do this, but as the Pentium M has a great overclocking potential at initial power input and without the inconveniences of increased heat dissipation, we thought it would be of interest to include these figures. (Overclocking was obtained when slightly pushing the processor and without power increase).

Of course it’s possible to overclock other processors, but several architectures are already well represented in the benchmark like FX-55 at 2.6 GHz for the Athlon 64 or the 570J 3.8 GHz for the Pentium 4.



For more information we also looked at how the Pentium M dealt with WM9 video decompression even if we don’t usually do this in tests. We used the resource heavy 1080p Step Into Liquid version (download it here. The Pentium M has the raw power necessary from 1.8 GHz to insure the playing of this video with a fluid image and a good frame rate, whereas with the Pentium 4 a « simple » P4 520 (2.8 GHz) is enough (processor CPU use is distorted by HyperThreading and so this figure isn’t really that interesting). The Athlon 64 is also able to correctly read this video in 1.8 GHz.

Of course the same video in 720p is read without problem with a Pentium M 1.6 GHz and a processor use of 50 to 60%. Also, in the following weeks the Radeon X700/X800 and GeForce 6600/GT, 6800 (NV41) Windows Media Video should be activated, and it will be possible to play very heavy WMV files even with a less powerful CPU.

3d Studio Max 7, Maya 6

3d Studio Max 7

We start our test series with the 3d Studio Max 7, the computer-generated picture software. The first of two scenes uses a classic Raytracing-type result based on the « Architecture » scene of specAPC.


At 2 GHZ, the Pentium M performances are higher than a Pentium 4 3.0 GHz or an Athlon 64 2.2 GHz (3500+ S939, 3200+ S754). These performances are quite good, but after Overclocking the Pentium M is even able to reach equivalent performances to the most efficient Pentium 4 and Athlon 64.

Developed by Studio PC, the second scene mainly uses radiosity, an effect that has a more realistic lighting effect and is slower. 85% of this scene is based on this type of effect.


This time the 2 GHz clocked Pentium M performances are between the Pentium 4 3 and 3.2 GHz, and the Athlon 64 clocked at 2.2 and 2.4 GHz. After Overclocking to 2.4 and even 2.5 GHz performances are improved and are slightly better than the Pentium 4 EE 3.46 GHz.

Maya 6

With Maya 6 we also used two scenes provided by Yann Dupont of 3 DVF, whom we thank for their use. The first one uses the Maya Software engine and the second, the Mental Ray.


In the first scene the Pentium M has more difficulty than its bigger sibling, because at 2 GHZ it is only able to reach the performance of a Pentium 4 2.8 GHz. Pentium 4 performances are however quite good with this test. Compared to the A64, the P-M reaches a worthy performance comparable to the A64 3500+ S939 or 3200+ S754. After Overclocking the P-M is even faster than a Athlon FX-55, but is still slower than a P4 EE and P4 3.8 and 3.6 GHz.


In the second scene and with the Mental Ray engine, the P-M 2.0 GHz provdes the same results as a P4 3.0 GHz and is between the 3500/3200+ S939 and 3200+/3000+ Socket 754. At 2.5 GHz Pentium M performance is almost comparable to the P4 570 3.8 GHz / Athlon FX-55.

Mathematica, WinRAR

Mathematica 5

The following tests are scientific calculation programs, starting with Mathematica 5 of Wolfram Research. Here, we used the test suite developed by Stefan Steinhaus.


The Pentium M speed is excellent and at 2 GHz is even ahead of the fastest P4. The A64 are more comfortable with this test and the Pentium M performance is comparable to the 3500+ S939 and 3200+ S754. After overclocking the Pentium M reaches the same performance level of the Athlon 64 FX-55, and is even faster at 2.5 GHz.

WinRAR 3.3

This test is the compression of a 535 MB file to RAR format in "best rate" via WinRAR 3.3. This time the Pentium M isn’t at ease with this test, the fact that it works with DDR-333 is related to this result. At 2 GHz it barely bests the Athlon XP 3200+. After overclocking (FSB and memory speed improvement) results are better and close to a P4 3.2 GHz or an Athlon 64 3200+

TMPGEnc, DiVX

TMPGEnc 3.0

Video compression is one of the best areas for the Pentium 4 if the application is optimised for its architecture. With the 3.0 version, TMPGEnc is optimized especially for Netburst architecture and also includes SSE3 optimizations. The following results come from the encoding of a 3600 picture DV video in MPEG-2 with a 4000 Kbits /s bitrate, in two paths:


Like with WinRAR, the Pentium M 2 GHz performance is slightly inferior to an 64 2800+ or XP 3200+. Pentium 4s are far ahead thanks to the TMPEGEnc NetBurst optimisation. After Overclocking the Pentium M has approximately equivalent performances to the Athlon 64 3200+ Socket 754, but is still far from the Pentium 4.

VirtualDub / DiVX 5.2.1

The encoding of DiVX via VirtualDubMod is our next test. We used a 1500 picture MPEG-2 file compressed in DiVX 5.11 (with B-Frame and a 1500 Kbits bitrate), with VdubMod in « Fast Recompress » mode.


This is the third time that the Pentium M encounters problems because of its initial 2 GHz frequency. It does, however, provide better performances than a XP 3200+ and almost equivalent performances to an A64 3000+ Socket 939! Thanks to overclocking performances are increased and almost equivalent to the Athlon 64 clocked at 2.4 GHz (4000+, 3800+, 3700+, 3400+) or the Pentium 4 EE. Compared to the P4 Prescott, the Overclocked P-M is slightly faster than the 3.2 GHz version.

UT2004, Far Cry, Pacific Fighters

Unreal Tournament 2004

The next tests involve games starting with Unreal Tournament 2004. For this test we use our own replay saved during a network game of “capture the flag”. At 2 GHz the P-M is slightly faster than a P4 3.2 GHz, but is still far from the A64 3000+ (actually closer to a 2800+). Thanks to overclocking and FSB/DDR frequency increase, performances are increased and comparable to the A64 3700+ (much faster than a Pentium 4 EE 3.46 GHz!).

Far Cry 1.3

With far Cry, we are use a demonstration saved outdoors in the “Training” level. The Pentium M clocked at 2 GHz provides equivalent performances to the P4 3.4 GHz-a great result. However, compared to the A64 which is more at ease with games, the Pentium M is just behind a 2800+. Thanks to overclocking the P-M bests the Pentium 4 and is closer to the A643400+/3500+.

IL-2 FB & Pacific Fighters

With IL-2 Sturmovik : Forgotten Battles + Pacific Fighters, a well known combat flight simulator, the Pentium 4 and Pentium M have better results with their initial frequencies. So the P-M 2 GHz is just between the P4 3.4 et 3.6 GHz, and close to the A64 3200+ S754. After overclocking, it becomes faster than the Pentium 4, and is even faster than an Athlon 64 FX-55!

Conclusion

Conclusion

With the Pentium M, Intel has an incredibly efficient architecture, which is also far from its maximum potential. The faster versions are currently clocked at 2.13 GHz, but without increasing the electric input, the Pentium M is able to reach equivalent performances to high end processors with relatively simple overclocking and minimal power consumption.

Under these circumstances we may ask what it left to the Pentium 4 and NetBurst architecture? We say not much, except for with software optimized to work with this architecture, as we have seen with TMPGEnc. Results were obtained, however, with a much higher power consumption. With the Pentium M, Intel has a processor able to challenge the Athlon 64 in two areas where the Pentium 4 has difficulties; thermal dissipation and performance with games.

Of course, the Pentium M isn’t perfect. The first downside is that in terms of motherboards, only a small number of models are available, and they are very expensive (around US $270). Also a motherboard like the DFI 855GME-MGF has several limitations, some due to the chipset (only 4 USB, and 0 in front of the computer) and others due to DFI’s choices (it’s only possible to use one PCI slot when the AGP is used though this is minimal if the FireWire and the network are integrated). Also, even if we appreciate that the motherboard is sold with a cooling system, we have some reservations on DFI’s choice of component.

The other negative aspect concerns the processors themselves. They aren’t widely available and are quite expensive. The 1.6 GHz will cost you US $ 215 (EU 220 €), the 1.8 GHz US $ 300 (300 €) and the 2 GHz US $ 435 (430€). This is rather expensive, but we have to keep in mind that all processors are based on the same core. They are easily overclocked so it’s not indispensable to buy the 2 GHz version.

In considering all aspects we still feel that the Athlon 64s are a more balanced choice compared to the Pentium M for the performance/ thermal dissipation / price ratio. The Pentium goes further for thermal dissipation, so it will be a really good choice for fans of silent computers, a growing number of people who still want great performance. Hopefully this product will be more and more widespread, especially with the release of motherboards based on the new i915GM/PM chipsets, such as the AOpen i915GMm-HFS released few days ago and which has even more functions.