Unreal Tournament 2003: Antalus, Min Detail @ 640

	Frames per Second (Higher is better)
DFI 915X-T12	272.21
Intel D915PSY	267.89

Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Checkpoint, Min Detail @ 640

Unfortunately because the choices for performance LGA775 coolers are so low, we were not able to get a non-stock Intel cooler before we had to release this review. The following results were achieved using the stock Intel cooler.

We were able to get the 3.0 GHz Pentium 4 530 all the way up to 3.73 GHz with a 250 MHz FSB. Any attempt higher than 250 MHz resulted in errors in computation that could not be resolved with higher voltage levels.
One of the things that one must be very concerned about when pushing a FSB to something like 125% its default rated speed is the way it will effect other components.

One would seriously hope that the Boostek speeds are what is actually going on in the system, as letting the PCI bus run at 41 MHz and the PCI-Express bus run at 125 MHz is sure to damage any device connected to the bus at those speeds.

On that note, we had problems trying to overclock the system while using a PCI video card (a PCI GeForce2 MX), if the FSB exceeded 220 MHz, the system would proceed to boot, and then immediately halt. The motherboard LEDs reported no memory was present in the system. Regardless of setting the PCI clock auto-detect on or off, changing voltage to the CPU, Northbridge, or RAM, the computer was unresponsive at a 221 MHz FSB. What was bothersome was the fact that at 220 MHz, the Boostek program claimed the PCI bus was running at 33 MHz, right where it should have been.

Once the PCI-Express NVIDIA card was used in the system, the 220 MHz FSB limit was lifted. We were able to achieve a CPU speed of 3.76 GHz with the CPU voltage at 1.4125 Volts, RAM at SPD, and a PCI-Express frequency of 115 MHz (motherboard dictated speed.)

With a 23% increase in CPU speed, one would hope to see a significant improvement in the CPU-intensive tests.

Pifast

Quake 3: Arena, Min Detail @ 640

CDeX Audio Conversion: Wav to MP3

Unreal Tournament 2003: Antalus, Min Detail @ 640

The speed increase in our tests ranged from 15 to 27 percent increase in performance. While the results are impressive, getting the CPU there was not easy. As mentioned before, there were issues with the PCI bus not running at its reported speed. Another problem encountered was the inability for the motherboard to keep a fixed PCI-Express frequency with a variable FSB, which resulted in hard-locks. The PCI-Express frequency had to be set to Auto for the board to even boot into an O/S while overclocking.

While these numbers are fantastic, keep in mind that in today's world, CPU speed in games are not going to be as important as memory bandwidth and the graphics processor.

The final feature that is included with the 915P-T12 that is useful, especially for those who overclock, is the CMOS Reloaded feature. The CMOS has a feature which allows for four completely different CMOS settings to be stored and loaded at boot time. Users can either enter the BIOS and manually load settings from a bank, or during bootup, a user can hold down a number on the keyboard, which should cause the CMOS to load settings from the corresponding bank, and then reboot. In addition, this feature allows for a soft-reset of the CPU from the keyboard. The user must hold down the reset button while hitting escape, which clears the CMOS of all data (except for the CMOS Reloaded banks.)

Unfortunately we could not get the CMOS to change based on keypress (numbers 1 through 4 correspond to the four banks,) nor could we clear the CMOS without using the CMOS reset jumper. However, once in the BIOS, the features worked perfectly, allowing for CPU settings to be saved after a successful boot, or immediately after changing values.

Final Words

Matthew's $0.02

The LanParty UT motherboard line as described by DFI is a high-end series that is aimed towards gamers and case modders. Every LanParty UT series motherboard has UV sensitive parts, a black PCB, EZ Touch switches, and a plethora of other nice features.

The definition of a high-end motherboard is something that was debated at Viperlair during the writing of this review; Intel's 915P chipset surely isn't as high-end as the 925x chipset from a feature and performance standpoint. We would like to believe that the interpretation of a high-end motherboard in the case of the 915P-T12 is not that the chipset itself is necessarily a high-end chipset, but instead, the motherboard as a whole is a high-end component. The chipset has been optimized for the motherboard, quality components were used in the construction of the motherboard, and extras like the CMOS Reloaded all contribute to make the 915P-T12 a high-end motherboard. In addition to these features, the 915P also makes it easy for users to switch from DDR1 to DDR2, and from Parallel ATA to Serial ATA.

While we would have liked to have seen a better PCI bus frequency divider, and perhaps some more flexibility between the FSB and the PCI-Express frequency, the motherboard did very well overclocking the CPU once we could get it to cooperate.

Subsystem tests were better than average except for the Ethernet file transfers, and while the layout of the motherboard isn't the best we've seen here at Viperlair, it certainly is far from the worst.

Huy's $0.02

I've personally been hammering away at this board for two weeks, and agree with Matthew for the most part on his definition of high-end. However, I do not think DFI is marketing this as a high-end board, but rather, an enthusiast board. The LanParty 915X-T12 has everything an enthusiast would be looking for in a motherboard, which includes eyecandy, tweaking options, and good performance. Naturally, an Alderwood chipset would be faster, but DFI isn't trying to blindside anybody, and do offer a LanParty in that favor if that is what you want.

One of the highlights for myself is the ability to run either DDR-1 or DDR-2. A lot of us have invested a lot of money into DDR-1, and it's nice we can continue using it until it's time for the DDR-2 move. Judging from our quick tests, there isn't a huge advantage to moving to DDR-2 just yet, especially if you have some solid PC4000 ram already.

While I doubt many of our readers are going to consider running a PCI graphics card with an Alderwood or Grantsdale motherboard, Matthew's discovery is significant as some of us still use PCI cards, so keep that in mind when you're overclocking.

Pros: Excellent overclocking capability, CMOS Reloaded, EZ-Touch buttons, fast speeds, and an overall stable package make the 915P-T12 an attractive board.

Cons: Troubles with the PCI bus and overclocking, and below-average Ethernet speeds.

Bottom Line: The 915P-T12 is a good buy for its price, for those looking for a mid-to-high range motherboard, or a motherboard that will be able to support relatively new technology, the 915P-T12 seems to be right on target.

Any questions or comments should be directed to our Forums.

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