introduction - ecs · introduction ecs rs485m-m very recently we took a look at a budget board from...

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Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor, which we found to be relatively simple, and while lacking in any enthusiast features (as you'd expect, really) proved to have a good amount of potential for upgrades and longevity. In that review's benchmarks, we compared it against a then-dark and mysterious competitor, also from ECS, but using the Socket AM2 platform. It's another microATX board with a budget edge to it. So, in this review we unveil the Socket AM2 RS485M-M in full and see what the platform has to offer for the money conscious upgrader. ECS RS485M-M specification Starting proceedings in the usual manner, we'll get the RS485M-M's specification out of the way. Feature Specification CPU Socket AM2 with AMD Athlon 64 FX/ Athlon 64/ Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core/ Sempron processor High-performance Hyper Transport CPU interface. Support transfer rate of 2000/1600/1200/800/400 mega-transfers per second. Chipset North Bridge: ATI® RS485 South Bridge: ATI® SB460 Memory Dual-channel DDR2 memory architecture 2 x 240-pin DDR2 DIMM socket support up to 16 GB Support DDR2 800/667/533/400 DDR2 SDRAM Expansion slots 1 x PCI Express x16 slot 1 x PCI Express x1 slot 2 x PCI slots Graphics On Chip (Radeon X300-based. 2D/3D graphic engine) Share Memory: Maximum up to 256MB Audio Realtek ALC655 6-Channel audio CODEC Rear panel I/O 1 x PS/2 keyboard & PS/2 mouse connectors 1 x Parallel port (LPT1) 1 x Serial port (COM1) 1 x VGA port 1 x RJ45 LAN connector 4 x USB ports 1 x Audio port (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in) Internal I/O connectors and headers 1 x 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V connector 1 x IDE connector 4 x Serial ATA connectors 2 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 4 USB Ports 1 x SPDIF out header 1 x Front panel switch/LED header 1 x Front panel audio header

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Page 1: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Introduction

ECS RS485M-M

Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor, which we found to be relatively simple, and while lacking in any enthusiast features (as you'd expect, really) proved to have a good amount of potential for upgrades and longevity.

In that review's benchmarks, we compared it against a then-dark and mysterious competitor, also from ECS, but using the Socket AM2 platform. It's another microATX board with a budget edge to it. So, in this review we unveil the Socket AM2 RS485M-M in full and see what the platform has to offer for the money conscious upgrader.

ECS RS485M-M specification

Starting proceedings in the usual manner, we'll get the RS485M-M's specification out of the way.

Feature Specification

CPU Socket AM2 with AMD Athlon 64 FX/ Athlon 64/ Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core/ Sempron processor High-performance Hyper Transport CPU interface. Support transfer rate of 2000/1600/1200/800/400 mega-transfers per second.

Chipset North Bridge: ATI® RS485 South Bridge: ATI® SB460

Memory Dual-channel DDR2 memory architecture 2 x 240-pin DDR2 DIMM socket support up to 16 GB Support DDR2 800/667/533/400 DDR2 SDRAM

Expansion slots 1 x PCI Express x16 slot 1 x PCI Express x1 slot 2 x PCI slots

Graphics On Chip (Radeon X300-based. 2D/3D graphic engine) Share Memory: Maximum up to 256MB

Audio Realtek ALC655 6-Channel audio CODEC

Rear panel I/O 1 x PS/2 keyboard & PS/2 mouse connectors 1 x Parallel port (LPT1) 1 x Serial port (COM1) 1 x VGA port 1 x RJ45 LAN connector 4 x USB ports 1 x Audio port (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in)

Internal I/O connectors and headers

1 x 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V connector 1 x IDE connector 4 x Serial ATA connectors 2 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 4 USB Ports 1 x SPDIF out header 1 x Front panel switch/LED header 1 x Front panel audio header

Page 2: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

1x CD in header CPUFAN/NB_FAN/SYSFAN connectors

Storage Supported by SB460 2 x Ultra DMA133/100/66 devices 4 x Serial ATA devices RAID0 & RAID1 configuration

System BIOS Award BIOS with 4Mb Flash ROM Supports Plug and Play 1.0A, APM 1.2, Multi Boot, DMI Supports ACPI revision 1.0 specification

Form factor Micro-ATX Size, 244mm*244mm

Here in the UK, we won't see FireWire on this board, although it looks like other countries may be graced with 400Mbps of goodness.

As the name of the board suggests, ATI's RS485 northbridge takes the helm, with the SB460 bringing up the rear, which combined with the X300-based integrated GPU making up the ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 graphics. We started out with Xpress 1100, but more on that later.

DDR2 RAM is required by this board (or rather, required by the processors used with this board, seeing as it's there that the memory controller resides).

Having given the spec sheet the once-over, it's a shame about the FireWire, but other than that everything looks fine.

Board examination

The RS485M-M has a confusingly similar name to the RS482-M, but we reckon we can just about cope with that. So is the board itself similar?

Page 3: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

ECS purple returns, so yes, it does look similar. However, it's not without its distinctions.

Here the AM2-style heatsink-mount is visible. There's no additional cooling installed on the power circuitry for the CPU. At the bottom of the picture is the red CPU fan header, with four pins. At the end of the line of capacitors is the +12V 4-pin power connector; not in the best of locations.

Page 4: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

There appears to be room by design for four DIMM slots, but only two are present on the board. We're not entirely sure why this is so. It would have been nice to see a full contingent of DIMM slots for maximum upgradeability. The 24-pin ATX connector is on the edge of the board, along with the IDE and floppy drive headers (just one of each, which seems to be the way of the motherboard world now).

The SATA ports, while grouped together, are quite amusingly arranged, with one - perhaps the ugly duckling - pushed aside by another of the board's components. Ironically, with a lengthy graphics card installed into the PCIe slot, it is that connector which is the most accessible.

Presuming that no installed card takes up more than its own slot, there's room for two PCI cards, a x16 PCIe card and a x1 PCIe card. The x1 PCIe connector is positioned such that a

Page 5: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

regular dual-slot graphics card can be installed and there'll still be access to one PCI and the x1 PCIe slot.

The board layout is generally OK, particularly in the expansion slot area. There are a few annoyances though, like the +12V connector position and the susceptibility of the of the SATA ports to graphics-card blockage.

Ports, features and bundle

We'll finish our perusal of the board with a look at its ports and other features.

Fairly regular around the I/O area. No DVI for the integrated graphics, despite how much we love digital interfaces around here. ALC655 provides 6-channel audio for this board, HD-audio not available on UK versions of this board. As mentioned earlier, there's no FireWire provision for U.K. boards, either.

Page 6: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

The RS485M-M's RS485 (what a mouthful) northbridge hides under a relatively plain heatsink with no fan. Residing in the chipset is the Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics, clocked at 400MHz core and 500MHz memory. At first the device identified as Xpress 1100 and was clocked 100MHz slower for the core, but a BIOS update changed the device ID (to 1150) and the clock speed, giving it a bit of a boost.

The heatsink for the SB460 southbridge is very small, posing no threat to any expansion cards. Combined, the north and southbridge chips need no active cooling (although we always recommend a well-ventilated case) meaning the motherboard itself can operate silently.

Page 7: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Bundle

Aaargh, a snake! Seems ECS is inadvertently (or maybe even intentionally) in tune with web cartoon culture.

In the bundle is an I/O shield, manual, driver disc, floppy and IDE cables along with SATA power and data cables. We think ECS's bundle is a bit stingy... two SATA power and data cables would

Page 8: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

sweeten the bundle a little without adding much cost. There's no TV-out bracket either, which their was with the RS482-M.

Features are basic, but sufficient, though the lack of a TV-out bracket in the bundle is disappointing.

BIOS

Brace yourselves for the blue screens (but not those of death) as we take a look at the RS485M-M's BIOS options.

We'll start with the least exciting screen, 'CPU features', which allows FID and VID adjustments. FID can be changed from x4 up to the maximum of the CPU (x11 in our case). VID ranges from 0.55V up to CPU max (1.45V for us) in 0.025V increments.

Page 9: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

The HT reference clock can range from 200 to 500MHz in 1MHz increments and its multiplier settings can be set to 200/400/600/800/1000MHz

Page 10: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Memory frequency can be set to 400/533/667/800MHz. There are no voltage options for DIMMs in the BIOS, though, which is a shame.

The graphics memory can be set to 200/250/266/300/333/350MHz in 'Async' mode.

Page 11: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Overall it's a reasonably standard BIOS with a few configuration options that may prove useful. We would have liked to have seen DIMM voltage control, though.

System setup and testing notes

Those of you who read our RS482-M review will be no stranger to our test results, but this time around we're asking if AM2 is a worthwhile budget platform. Here are the RS482-M and (in blue) the RS485M-M's system setups, side-by-side.

ECS RS482-M ECS RS485M-M

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 939 AMD Athlon 64 3500+ AM2

CPU speed 2199.5MHz - 200MHz FSB 2199.7MHz - 200MHz FSB

Memory 2 x 256MiB Corsair VS512MKIT400 PC3200 (DDR1)

2 x 256MiB Crucial CT3264AA53E PC4200 (DDR2)

Memory speed 2.5-3-3-8 1T @ DDR-400 4-4-4-12 1T @ DDR2-488.8

ATI Xpress Radeon 200 256MiB HyperMemory (301/500MHz)

ATI Xpress Radeon 1150 256MiB HyperMemory (401/500MHz)

Graphics card(s)

ATI Radeon X1300 PRO 256MB DDR2 PCIe x16 (594/396MHz)

Graphics driver

8.243-060404a-033273E-ATI

Chipset driver Catalyst 6.2 Southbridge driver package

BIOS Beta version dated 03/07/06 Beta version dated 28/06/06

Hard drive Seagate 160GB SATA (ST3160812AS)

Optical drive Sony DDU1615

PSU FSP 300-60THN-P(PF) 300W

Monitor AG Neovo E-17A 17in TFT

OS Windows XP Professional SP2

Page 12: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Testing software

• ScienceMark Memory Bandwidth • ScienceMark Memory Latency • Pifast calculation to 10M places • HEXUS Cryptography • KribiBench • HEXUS WAV encoding • HEXUS DivX encoding • Cinebench 2003

For 3D performance we used our HEXUS custom benchmarks:

• Far Cry v1.33 • Quake 4 v1.04 • Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory v1.05

We also ran HDTach version 3.0.1.0 on the system for read and burst speeds over the SATA interface. Further, we also tried out the RS485M-M's USB2.0 performance in conjunction with a 160GB Western Digital IDE drive in an external Akasa enclosure.

Notes The limited number of memory ratios for the controller on AM2 CPUs meant that our PC4200 (DDR2-533) memory, with the multiplier of our CPU, would only run at DDR2-488. At the time of writing Sempron 2800/3000+, Athlon 64 3800+ and Athlon 64 X2 4600/4800+ CPUs have multipliers that allow DDR2-533 memory to rum at its full rated speed.

We had to tune down the quality settings slightly for Quake 4 and Splinter Cell to get the tests to run with the integrated graphics, so they can't be directly compared to the PCIe card we tested with. Similarly, the integrated graphics ran the SM2.0 path for Far Cry, as opposed to SM3.0.

Benchmarks: ScienceMark, HEXUS.pifast and Cryptography

Page 13: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Running slightly castrated, our DDR2 RAM more or less equalled the bandwidth of the Socket 939, DDR1 RS482-M. Had it been running at full whack, it would no doubt have had an advantage in this particular test.

The DDR2's increased data rate isn't enough to overcome its latency. The gap might have been smaller at DDR2-533 speeds. Of course, these memory issues aren't the fault of the RS485M-M's as such, rather the CPU in use, but we chose a CPU that somewhere in the middle as far as AM2 performance options go, to try to deliver more accessible benchmark results.

Page 14: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Crunching out 10M places of pi takes just over a minute, three seconds slower than the same rating of CPU on Socket 939.

In the HEXUS Cryptography benchmark, the difference in result between the two boards isn't significant enough to mention.

Impressions thus far then, show nothing to suggest the board's holding anything up, rather the DDR2 RAM.

Benchmarks: Encoding, Cinebench and KribiBench

Page 15: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Running slightly castrated, our DDR2 RAM more or less equalled the bandwidth of the Socket 939, DDR1 RS482-M. Had it been running at full whack, it would no doubt have had an advantage in this particular test.

Page 16: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

The DDR2's increased data rate isn't enough to overcome its latency. The gap might have been smaller at DDR2-533 speeds. Of course, these memory issues aren't the fault of the RS485M-M's as such, rather the CPU in use, but we chose a CPU that somewhere in the middle as far as AM2 performance options go, to try to deliver more accessible benchmark results.

Crunching out 10M places of pi takes just over a minute, three seconds slower than the same rating of CPU on Socket 939.

Page 17: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

In the HEXUS Cryptography benchmark, the difference in result between the two boards isn't significant enough to mention.

Impressions thus far then, show nothing to suggest the board's holding anything up, rather the DDR2 RAM.

Benchmarks: 3D performance and storage subsystems

We're left with the gaming and storage benchmarks now.

The 100MHz boost to the clock speed of the RS485M-M's integrated graphics compared to the RS482-M's does yield a performance improvement, but it's of little use seeing as the game will still be unplayable. The X1300 gets slightly better framerates in the Socket 939 platform.

Page 18: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

It's exactly the same story in Quake 4, except with even worse framerates from the integrated graphics solutions.

Page 19: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

In Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory at 1024x768, the X1300 performs the same in both boards, while the Xpress 1150 graphics keep their (still unplayable) edge.

The percentage drop in performance for all graphics configurations is pretty much the same when the game resolution is upped to 1280x1024.

The Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics isn't going to win any gaming performance awards, then, but who would have expected it to? It might have been nice to have integrated graphics on an AM2 board with a bit more grunt than that, maybe somebody will surprise us in due course? Integrated graphics, it seems, are still only fit for rendering at 800x600 with minimal quality settings. That, as we remember, was the case a few years' ago, too.

However, an X1300 combined with this board and our RAM/CPU configurations should give a playable level of graphics performance at acceptable (but not breathtaking) resolution and quality settings.

Storage Here are the SATA performance results from HD-Tach:

Page 20: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,
Page 21: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

Must we really comment? If we were to be really nit picky, we'd say the RS482-M performed fractionally better, but it seems unfair to say such a thing... they both perform the same.

Page 22: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

SB460 outperforms SB400 in USB throughput, but in reality the performance is still dire. Seeing as USB performance won't be critical to every users, some will be happy with the performance of the southbridge, while for others it won't be satisfactory.

Look at performance in some areas and ECS's AM2 board trumps its S939 offering, but in others the tables turn. Either way, the difference is minimal. We have to wonder what would happen if the RAM had been running at DDR2-533? Well, we know what would have happened... the RS485M-M would have had an advantage in benchmarks that depended largely on system memory. The integrated graphics might have benefited too (seeing as HyperMemory is used, thus the system RAM is used by the Xpress 1150 chipset).

Final thoughts, HEXUS.awards and HEXUS.right2reply

Final thoughts, awards, and right2reply When dealing with a budget board, it all boils down to three questions: "Can I build a suitable system around this board cheaply?", "Will it be both stable and perform well?" and "Can I upgrade easily?". Let's look at those points, shall we?

Firstly, combine an AM2 Athlon 64 3500+ and two sticks of 512MiB DDR2 RAM with this board and it'll set you back ~£185-£200 at the time of writing. Swap onto Socket 939 and DDR1 RAM and you can have the same-rated CPU with ECS's RS482-M for a around a tenner less. Either way, it can be done cheaply. If you're looking for a cheap media centre build, the lack of a TV-Out bracket in the RS485M-M's bundle lowers its appeal. Similarly, poor USB performance will be a problem for some, but that's a down side on both boards.

ECS's RS485M-M survived an 8-hour burn in test in the HEXUS.labs without any trouble, so there are no obvious stability problems. As for performance, we've seen in our benchmarks that our configuration didn't have an advantage over Socket 939. Unluckily for the board, we reckon it was the CPU's memory dividers, not the board itself, that lead to this. Take care when choosing your CPU. Still, performance wasn't worse than the RS482-M and yes, it will perform OK, even in games, with a relatively cheap X1300 or similar card. Stick with the Xpress 1150 graphics only if you don't want to play games, or are happy to do so at extremely low settings for both resolution and quality.

It's when we get to upgradeability that the RS485M-M has a chance to break ahead. Socket 939 isn't going anywhere for a while, and while we found ECS's RS482-M to have decent scope for upgrades, it stands to reason that based on AM2, the RS485M-M has better prospects. They've both got PEG slots, but the CPU support in the RS485M-M will, over time, prove superior.

Of course, one man's upgrade is another man's system rebuild. While some like to add bits now and then, others may put up with what they've got until it's time to replace the whole works. In the latter case, it doesn't really matter what platform the board is on, if the performance is the same.

The bottom line is that the RS485M-M is a good value board and a gateway into the world of AM2. Ask yourself if you'll be dropping a newer CPU in at some point. If not, then a budget Socket 939 solution may be just as good, but if you are, then there's no significant price premium to deter you from this simple, yet functional, AM2 board.

HEXUS.awards We have on our hands another good value board, so here's an award to suit:

Page 23: Introduction - ECS · Introduction ECS RS485M-M Very recently we took a look at a budget board from ECS called the RS482-M. It was a Socket 939 motherboard in a microATX form factor,

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6339&key=1154362690