- Oct 13, 1999
- 22,377
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ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review
CLIFF NOTES VERSION:
Very inexpensive as a Fry's bundle and works exactly as it should. This makes for an awesome budget upgrade for older systems that need a bit more oomph or to replace failing parts such as bulging capacitors on motherboards. $70 plus tax makes it a phenominal deal.
OVERVIEW:
Here's a mini review of the ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard for socket 754. I obtained this board from Fry's Electronics for $69.99 plus tax bundled with a retail box Sempron 2600+. Quite a good value considering the CPU usually runs almost that much from online retailers, making this motherboard essentially free. Most boards perform like any other board with the same chipset so I'm not going to do any benchmarks or anything since you won't learn anything new. Also, the Sempron CPU is just that. Plenty of benchmarks to be found elsewhere. The point of this "mini review" is to give people an idea of what they can expect when purchasing one of these since most reviewers tend to ignore "bottom feeder" motherboards such as this one.
MOTHERBOARD FEATURES:
Nforce3 250 chipset
1X AGP 8X
5x PCI
2X DDR
2X SATA
5.1 Audio
10/100 NIC
Phoenix/Award BIOS
As you can tell, the board is actually fairly basic. No extra SATA ports, no PCIe (chipset limited), no GBe, no 7.1 audio, no firewire.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
The board is fairly small, probably a good inch narrower than most ATX boards meaning it may be a reasonable choice for case installs where the lower 5¼" drive bays are utilized by longer drives which may hit components on larger boards.
They layout of the EIDE and SATA interfaces can use some work though it was probably limited by the narrowness of the board. The EIDE ports are at the bottom right of the board as it would sit in a tower case, similar to SiS chipset reference designs on earlier boards. That puts them farthest away from the top 5¼" drive bays. If you have a tall case and intend to use the top drive bay, you will have to obtain a longer EIDE cable. The SATA ports are between the CPU and the AGP slot, probably based on the Nvidia reference design but a less than ideal location. Floppy port is near where it should be, on the right edge of the board next to the RAM slots.
Another less than ideal layout choice is the location of the ATX power plug. It is right next to the ATX 12v plug in the triangular area defined by the CPU socket, AGP slot and external audio ports. This would put the ATX power cables over the CPU HSF in a typical tower case install. There are only two fan headers, one for the CPU and an extra on the center right edge of the board. The ATX power plus is a 20 pin and I'm actually using a near 4 year old POWMAX PSU for testing (laugh all you want).
The chipset cooling is performed by an orange passive heatsink. I think I've seen this same heatsink on several other ECS boards in the past. I really like the idea of a passive heatsink, but there is one problem... the heatsink is about a millimeter taller than the PCI slots. I tested this board using a PCI video card and when I first installed the card I inserted it into the top PCI slot. The chipset heatsink prevented the PCI card from seating all the way. This would not be a problem for most people because the rule of thumb is to leave a gap between the video card and other cards, however there is already a gap with no slot. It is worth mentioning in case someone is upgrading and decides to use a PCI video card.
A nit-pick is that the front panel headers are not labeled.
The board has two RAM slots. At first this sounds limiting, but considering the memory controller limitations in the number of RAM banks it can address, perhaps the third slot ends up as purely decoration on most boards.
BIOS:
The BIOS is the typical Phoenix/Award type that many boards use. It has all the "typical" settings and doesn't explicitly try to hide settings like some boards I've seen. It also isn't too overwhelming with settings. The pertinent options IMO are:
- clock speed from 200-250MHz in 1MHz increments
- HT Frequency from 1-5x (default 4X)
- Memclock settings of AUTO/100/133/166MHz
- 1T/2T timing setting
- CAS latency 2/2.5/3
- CPU voltage DEFAULT, +1.7%, +3.4%, +5.1%
- DDR voltage DEFAULT/2.7//2.8/2.9
As you can see, this is a fairly exciting BIOS feature set for an ECS board. Items of note... I do not know if other CPU voltage settings and other memory clock settings are revealed with other CPUs which is something I've noticed with some boards when tested with dissimilar CPUs (such as ones that use different FSB or voltages).
Of note, on POST the BIOS always reports the CPU as Sempron 2600+ regardless of actual clock speed, plus will always report memclock setting rather than actual (AUTO=DDR400, 166=DDR333, etc). Timings will be reported at 1T or 2T. nothing else is reported on POST other than detected drives.
OVERCLOCKING RESULTS:
The 250MHz clock limit may sound limiting but this board (with capable CPU) can easily handle that speed. My setup didn't break a sweat running at maximum clock speed at default voltage and default 4X HT, passing Prime for as long as I allowed it to run. There was only one other setting I had to change to run at 250MHz clock and that was setting the memory to 166MHz clock for an equivalent DDR-416MHz. The reason for that is though there is no 200MHz (x2=DDR400) memory setting in BIOS, if left to AUTO the board runs it at full speed. I have verified this with two 512MB sticks of DDR400. The board also runs memory at 2T, but will accept a manual setting of 1T for those memory benchmark fanatics (though those folk would probably avoid single channel solutions like the plague).
Memory used in my testing is a 1GB dual channel set of Kingmax DDR400 CAS 2.5. With system clock set to 250MHz and memclock set to 166MHz, effective RAM is 208MHz (DDR416), right between PC3200 and PC3500. I was able to run my memory at default voltage at the DDR416 speed using 1T CAS 2.5 to pass Memtest86+.
Though the BIOS voltage settings seem limited, I did not need to use them at all to obtain desired clock speeds. Of more concern is the 250MHz system clock limit. The chipset is known to be able to hit 300MHz+ and being that this board doesn't break a sweat at 250MHz it probably can handle more, CPU willing. At 300MHz the CPU would be running at 2.4GHz, not an unknown feat for these 90nm Semprons. At the 250MHz limit the CPU runs at 2GHz, same as a stock Sempron 3300+ with potentially better performance from faster RAM and system clock speeds. DDR500 PC4000 memory would run at stock speeds on this kind of an overclock, bringing performance closer to that of socket 939 at stock speeds (not that many around here would run at stock speeds). Gskill PC4000 1GB modules run only $125 shipped these days - not that I have one to play with.
Perhaps the voltage settings would be of more use if ECS upped the BIOS system clock limit to something higher. I wonder if a Windows based utility such as Clockgen would work with this board. My testing has been done using UBCD for Prime and Memtest, so I don't have a Windows install to try this on at the moment.
TEMPERATURES:
Judging by my fingertip, the hottest part of the setup was the RAM (again, running barely overclocked but otherwise everything default). The chipset heatsink was warm to the touch. The CPU heatsink (retail box, fan spinning at full 3000+RPM) was almost cold to the touch even at the overclocked 2GHz while idle. Idle temps in BIOS were 33ºC. Running Prime got the heatsink a touch warm, but still colder than the bare RAM chips. This would be an ideal setup for running a passive tower heatpipe heatsink.
CONCLUSION:
Very inexpensive as a Fry's bundle and works exactly as it should. This makes for an awesome budget upgrade for older systems that need a bit more oomph or to replace failing parts such as bulging capacitors on motherboards. $70 plus tax makes it a phenominal deal.
As overclocked, it is equivalent to a Sempron 3300+ and is faster than the fastest Celeron on the market. It likely would be the equivalent of a non-Hyperthreaded P4 CPU of around 3GHz or a Barton class Athlon XP CPU of around 2.3GHz true clock speed. As long as your PSU has an ATX 12V 4 pin plug or you have the appropriate adaptor you can run this combo.
Please note that the bundled motherboard in the Fry's combo changes occasionally. For instance yesterday's local deal was the same price for a Sempron 2800+ with an ECS 755-A2 board using the SiS chipset. I haven't used that board but have heard that it isn't "all that" for overclocking.
CLIFF NOTES VERSION:
Very inexpensive as a Fry's bundle and works exactly as it should. This makes for an awesome budget upgrade for older systems that need a bit more oomph or to replace failing parts such as bulging capacitors on motherboards. $70 plus tax makes it a phenominal deal.
OVERVIEW:
Here's a mini review of the ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard for socket 754. I obtained this board from Fry's Electronics for $69.99 plus tax bundled with a retail box Sempron 2600+. Quite a good value considering the CPU usually runs almost that much from online retailers, making this motherboard essentially free. Most boards perform like any other board with the same chipset so I'm not going to do any benchmarks or anything since you won't learn anything new. Also, the Sempron CPU is just that. Plenty of benchmarks to be found elsewhere. The point of this "mini review" is to give people an idea of what they can expect when purchasing one of these since most reviewers tend to ignore "bottom feeder" motherboards such as this one.
MOTHERBOARD FEATURES:
Nforce3 250 chipset
1X AGP 8X
5x PCI
2X DDR
2X SATA
5.1 Audio
10/100 NIC
Phoenix/Award BIOS
As you can tell, the board is actually fairly basic. No extra SATA ports, no PCIe (chipset limited), no GBe, no 7.1 audio, no firewire.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
The board is fairly small, probably a good inch narrower than most ATX boards meaning it may be a reasonable choice for case installs where the lower 5¼" drive bays are utilized by longer drives which may hit components on larger boards.
They layout of the EIDE and SATA interfaces can use some work though it was probably limited by the narrowness of the board. The EIDE ports are at the bottom right of the board as it would sit in a tower case, similar to SiS chipset reference designs on earlier boards. That puts them farthest away from the top 5¼" drive bays. If you have a tall case and intend to use the top drive bay, you will have to obtain a longer EIDE cable. The SATA ports are between the CPU and the AGP slot, probably based on the Nvidia reference design but a less than ideal location. Floppy port is near where it should be, on the right edge of the board next to the RAM slots.
Another less than ideal layout choice is the location of the ATX power plug. It is right next to the ATX 12v plug in the triangular area defined by the CPU socket, AGP slot and external audio ports. This would put the ATX power cables over the CPU HSF in a typical tower case install. There are only two fan headers, one for the CPU and an extra on the center right edge of the board. The ATX power plus is a 20 pin and I'm actually using a near 4 year old POWMAX PSU for testing (laugh all you want).
The chipset cooling is performed by an orange passive heatsink. I think I've seen this same heatsink on several other ECS boards in the past. I really like the idea of a passive heatsink, but there is one problem... the heatsink is about a millimeter taller than the PCI slots. I tested this board using a PCI video card and when I first installed the card I inserted it into the top PCI slot. The chipset heatsink prevented the PCI card from seating all the way. This would not be a problem for most people because the rule of thumb is to leave a gap between the video card and other cards, however there is already a gap with no slot. It is worth mentioning in case someone is upgrading and decides to use a PCI video card.
A nit-pick is that the front panel headers are not labeled.
The board has two RAM slots. At first this sounds limiting, but considering the memory controller limitations in the number of RAM banks it can address, perhaps the third slot ends up as purely decoration on most boards.
BIOS:
The BIOS is the typical Phoenix/Award type that many boards use. It has all the "typical" settings and doesn't explicitly try to hide settings like some boards I've seen. It also isn't too overwhelming with settings. The pertinent options IMO are:
- clock speed from 200-250MHz in 1MHz increments
- HT Frequency from 1-5x (default 4X)
- Memclock settings of AUTO/100/133/166MHz
- 1T/2T timing setting
- CAS latency 2/2.5/3
- CPU voltage DEFAULT, +1.7%, +3.4%, +5.1%
- DDR voltage DEFAULT/2.7//2.8/2.9
As you can see, this is a fairly exciting BIOS feature set for an ECS board. Items of note... I do not know if other CPU voltage settings and other memory clock settings are revealed with other CPUs which is something I've noticed with some boards when tested with dissimilar CPUs (such as ones that use different FSB or voltages).
Of note, on POST the BIOS always reports the CPU as Sempron 2600+ regardless of actual clock speed, plus will always report memclock setting rather than actual (AUTO=DDR400, 166=DDR333, etc). Timings will be reported at 1T or 2T. nothing else is reported on POST other than detected drives.
OVERCLOCKING RESULTS:
The 250MHz clock limit may sound limiting but this board (with capable CPU) can easily handle that speed. My setup didn't break a sweat running at maximum clock speed at default voltage and default 4X HT, passing Prime for as long as I allowed it to run. There was only one other setting I had to change to run at 250MHz clock and that was setting the memory to 166MHz clock for an equivalent DDR-416MHz. The reason for that is though there is no 200MHz (x2=DDR400) memory setting in BIOS, if left to AUTO the board runs it at full speed. I have verified this with two 512MB sticks of DDR400. The board also runs memory at 2T, but will accept a manual setting of 1T for those memory benchmark fanatics (though those folk would probably avoid single channel solutions like the plague).
Memory used in my testing is a 1GB dual channel set of Kingmax DDR400 CAS 2.5. With system clock set to 250MHz and memclock set to 166MHz, effective RAM is 208MHz (DDR416), right between PC3200 and PC3500. I was able to run my memory at default voltage at the DDR416 speed using 1T CAS 2.5 to pass Memtest86+.
Though the BIOS voltage settings seem limited, I did not need to use them at all to obtain desired clock speeds. Of more concern is the 250MHz system clock limit. The chipset is known to be able to hit 300MHz+ and being that this board doesn't break a sweat at 250MHz it probably can handle more, CPU willing. At 300MHz the CPU would be running at 2.4GHz, not an unknown feat for these 90nm Semprons. At the 250MHz limit the CPU runs at 2GHz, same as a stock Sempron 3300+ with potentially better performance from faster RAM and system clock speeds. DDR500 PC4000 memory would run at stock speeds on this kind of an overclock, bringing performance closer to that of socket 939 at stock speeds (not that many around here would run at stock speeds). Gskill PC4000 1GB modules run only $125 shipped these days - not that I have one to play with.
Perhaps the voltage settings would be of more use if ECS upped the BIOS system clock limit to something higher. I wonder if a Windows based utility such as Clockgen would work with this board. My testing has been done using UBCD for Prime and Memtest, so I don't have a Windows install to try this on at the moment.
TEMPERATURES:
Judging by my fingertip, the hottest part of the setup was the RAM (again, running barely overclocked but otherwise everything default). The chipset heatsink was warm to the touch. The CPU heatsink (retail box, fan spinning at full 3000+RPM) was almost cold to the touch even at the overclocked 2GHz while idle. Idle temps in BIOS were 33ºC. Running Prime got the heatsink a touch warm, but still colder than the bare RAM chips. This would be an ideal setup for running a passive tower heatpipe heatsink.
CONCLUSION:
Very inexpensive as a Fry's bundle and works exactly as it should. This makes for an awesome budget upgrade for older systems that need a bit more oomph or to replace failing parts such as bulging capacitors on motherboards. $70 plus tax makes it a phenominal deal.
As overclocked, it is equivalent to a Sempron 3300+ and is faster than the fastest Celeron on the market. It likely would be the equivalent of a non-Hyperthreaded P4 CPU of around 3GHz or a Barton class Athlon XP CPU of around 2.3GHz true clock speed. As long as your PSU has an ATX 12V 4 pin plug or you have the appropriate adaptor you can run this combo.
Please note that the bundled motherboard in the Fry's combo changes occasionally. For instance yesterday's local deal was the same price for a Sempron 2800+ with an ECS 755-A2 board using the SiS chipset. I haven't used that board but have heard that it isn't "all that" for overclocking.
You may be able to get more by using nTune or Clockgen from Windows. BTW, anyone try updating the BIOS yet? The ECS NFORCE4-A939 got a lot more settings after a BIOS update (though it didn't really work for me).
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