Overclocking ECS P4VMM2 v8.1 (yes, that cheap motherboard)

[death metal]

Note: *** This review is not for those who seek high-end PC parts, this is intended for people on tight budget and light overclocking***

Foreword: As some of you know, I bought an extra ECS P4VMM2 because of my own mistake. I now have it here and decided to take it for a spin in overclocking.

Here's the nitty if you would like to read on the details of why I ended up having this board: http://www.tipidpc.com/forums/view.php?id=11214&page=1

I. Introduction:
===========
One boring day, I noticed the "still" brand new box of ECS P4VMM2 motherboard in my room and got interested if this baby can overclock. While I did built a rig based on this baby, I never really tried overclocking them, "Hey it's cheap!!!" immediately comes to mind. Besides, all I read on the net and in the forums were most of the time high-end and newer rigs, maybe I can spend some time with the motherboard and see how it perform.

So I prepared my favorite drink, ice-cold water, rummage through my hardware stocks, and dig out the parts.

II. Hardware:
=========
The motherboard is given (duh), an ECS P4VMM2 v8.1 Prescott-ready.

For the processors, I got a 2.4A/Prescott, a 2.6B/Northwood, a 2.8C/Northwood, a 2.8E/Prescott, and a Celeron 2.0. I figured since I just built a rig around the ECS and Prescott board, I'd choose the 2.4A.

Moving in the memory division, I have OCZ Platinum EB3700 DC Kit, OCZ Gold EL4000 DC Kit, a Geil Ultra Platinum PC4000 DC Kit, some generics, and a TwinMos DDR400. The Geil Ultra Platinum 2x256Mb is the one I decided to use.

The hard disk section is easier, no SATA =)...so I pulled in a 40gigger IDE 5400rpm/2mb cache.

The casing is a bit tough, I only have 3 of them, a TTake LANFire series, an old Exodus (from my popsy), and some Mid Tower case which I don't know what to call (window panel, side fan, 1 exhaust fan). I ended up with Exodus since it's got a removable motherboard tray (now, I didn't know that =)).

Optical drive is a no brainer, so my old trusty 52x CD ROM will do.

No floppy...

Here's the full specs that I ended up with:

* Intel Pentium 4 2.4A Prescott (tested max. OC on air=200FSB/3.6Ghz) http://processorfinder.intel.com/scripts/details.asp?sSpec=SL7E8&ProcFam=483&PkgType=ALL&SysBusSpd=5419&CorSpd=ALL
* ECS P4VMM2 v8.1 http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWeb/Products/ProductsDetail.aspx?DetailID=436&MenuID=22&LanID=0
* HIS ATi Radeon 9600 http://www.hisdigital.com/html/9600.htm and S3 Grapics ProSavageDDR (integrated)
* Geil Ultra Platinum PC4000 2x256Mb (tested max. OC on 2.6v 232FSB, 2.85v 265FSB) http://www.geilusa.com/proddetail.asp?linenumber=24
* Maxtor 40 GB 5400rpm 2mb cache
* LG 52x CD ROM http://villman.com/products/specs/lg/crd-8520.asp?code=lg_52x&ref=lg/crd-8520.asp
* Exodus Black Casing (w/ Generic 300w PSU and one exhaust fan) http://villman.com/products/specs/casing/exodus703.asp?code=exodus703_Black&ref=casing/exodus703.asp

III. Software:
==========
* Operating System:
Windows 2000 SP4, clean install

* Benchmark:
PCMark2002, PCMark2004, 3DMarkSe01, SiSoftSandra, 3DMark03

* Monitoring/Others:
CPU-Z, MBM, CTIAW, Prime95, Hardcano 12


IV. Stock Benchmarks Using Integrated Video:
=================================
Pentium 4 2.4Ghz(18x133) @ DDR266 (2-3-3-6)

PCMark04: 2257
PCMark02: 4981(CPU)/4699(RAM)/1201(HD)
3DMark01: 677
3DMark03: n/a

Sandra: ALU=6173, FPU=1594/2945
Sandra: Int=1440, Float=1441

Prime95: 2hrs
MBM CPU (Idle/Load): 50c/64c @ambient 30c
MBM Case(Idle/Load): 38c/41c @ambient 30c
Hardcano CPU (Idle/Load): 46c/59c @ambient 30c
Hardcano Case(Idle/Load): 36c/38c @ambient 30c

V. Overclock Benchmarks using Integrated Video:
===================================
Pentium 4 2.7Ghz(18x150) @ DDR300 (2-3-3-6) or 12.5% Overclock

PCMark04: 2560 or 13.42% increase
PCMark02: 5631(CPU)/5345(RAM)/1229(HD) or 13.04%/13.75%/2% increase
3DMark01: 760 or 12.25% increase

Sandra: ALU=7069, FPU=1801/3329 or 14.51%, 12.98%/13.04% increase
Sandra: Int=1656, Float=1657 or 15%, 14.99% increase

Prime95: 2hrs
MBM CPU (Idle/Load): 51c/64c @ambient 30c
MBM Case(Idle/Load): 38c/41c @ambient 30c
Hardcano CPU (Idle/Load): 46c/58c @ambient 30c
Hardcano Case(Idle/Load): 35c/38c @ambient 30c

VI. Benchmark using HIS ATi Radeon 9600
==============================
When used with an AGP card, the motherboard’s performance jumps up. With the memory now being solely controlled by application and the system instead of being shared with video functionality, and also most of video rendering offloaded from the CPU to GPU, the motherboard is now a full pledged gaming machine. The benchmark below uses identical hardware with the exception of ATi 9600 as primary video controller.

Pentium 4 2.7Ghz(18x150) @ DDR300 (2-3-3-6) or 12.5% Overclock
HIS ATi Radeon 9600

PCMark04: 3497, a 36.6% increase against similar OC, and a whooping 54.94% over stock.
PCMark02: 5658(CPU)/6447(RAM)/1304(HD), the RAM performance shows 20.62% increase
3DMark01: 10466
3DMark03: 3113

Sandra: ALU=7106, FPU=1802/3333, a slight increase here
Sandra: Int=2193, Float=2193, significant increase on this department

Prime95: 5hrs
MBM CPU (Idle/Load): 52c/64c @ambient 30c
MBM Case(Idle/Load): 38c/42c @ambient 30c
Hardcano CPU (Idle/Load): 45c/57c @ambient 30c
Hardcano Case(Idle/Load): 35c/38c @ambient 30c

VII. Maximum Stable, Bootable and Benchable Overclock:
========================================
I was able to bring this board to boot and run benchmarks up to 157FSB, which is 2.826Ghz@DDR314. I was able to complete most benchmarks run except Prime95 and 3DMark03. Prime95 will fail at around 2minutes, while 3DMark03 will fail on the last portion of the test (Sound Test). Prime95 stability can be achieved if vCore is adjusted to 4% to 6% but temperature jumps a bit. The rig can still boot at 159FSB, which is not too bad.

The maximum stable overclock I achieved on a closed case is 153FSB. This setting can finish Prime95 for more than 8hours, and complete stable overnight looping of 3DMarkSe01, as well as 20runs of Sandra Burn In. I can complete 2 consecutive runs of 3DMark03 and PCMark04. However, removing the side panel, I can hit 155FSB and still maintain stable operation of the machine.

[death metal]

VIII. Findings pertaining to overclock:
===========================
BIOS:
* This board can provide clock multiplier and FSB adjustment. While the board officially supports 533Mhz CPU, it still offer a range of FSB up to 165 maximum (660 QDR). If your CPU is multiplier locked, you can still manipulate the FSB to achieve good results.
* There is also an option to manually adjust CPU voltage, though nothing more than a few notches bump on default voltage. The motherboard only supports the following voltage adjustments: 2%, 4%, and 6%. In my test with Pentium 4 2.4A, the 6% settings give roughly 1.4v on the vcore.
* Memory timing can also be changed. While it's very limited, it can still provide some sort of tweaking for those who loves to tinker around. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a "loose" setting that I came to get used to with Asus boards. It is because the “loosest” setting is 2.5-3-3-6!!!!! Memory voltage can also be adjusted up to a “scary” 2.6v =)....

Physical Board:
* The Northbridge becomes extremely hot, hitting above 55c at load. There was no modification made to the Northbridge. And with such a puny heat sink, it doesn't come as a surprise. And in such a board, the puny heat sink isn't a surprise as well =). However, the Northbridge location has two mounting holes, so a better aftermarket chipset cooling can be installed.
* The Southbridge is also getting the “heat up”, hovering just above 44c is unbelievable. Attaching a simple heat sink, reduce the temperature to 41c. Just like with the Northbridge, two mounting holes are placed around the Southbridge, probably intended for the much needed heat sink.
* If you mess any Bios settings, the old Clear CMOS jumper thingy can do the trick. Clearing the BIOS also clears date/time =)...

Performance:
Well, to be honest, I never played “serious” game with this board. However, the board does "seem" to perform better, like when opening an application such as CPU-Z, CTIAW, and memStat. FutureMark benchmark starts up a little slowly though, for example, after you double click on PCMark04, it takes a while before you see the splash screen, and it takes a while to show the benchmark window.

Interestingly, I found that disabling USB ports speed up the start up of FutureMark benchmark.

IX. Conclusions/Thoughts/Verdict/Etc:
==========================
The board is good for just about any "office"-like use, such as Microsoft Office applications, surfing the net and watching movies. I don't have qualms with this board if price and functionality is concerned. It even comes with USB 2.0, 6ch sound, HT-ready, and native support for Prescott (Dual Thermal Monitor)!!!

If you are looking for a cheap, overclockable mobo with a safety clip "always on", you can never go wrong with this baby. With very conservative vCore and vDimm adjustment, and unless you run your CPU without heat sink, I doubt you'll be burning your rig anytime soon.

But of course, this limiting voltage adjustment is also its major setback since it is too low to for anything better than decent overclock. However, in my test, the 6% vCore adjustment did make my Prime95 stable for more than 6hrs (though, even at stock vCore, I can use the PC and play games without problems for hours).

While I can not say for sure why the motherboard can not reach its maximum allowed FSB settings (165), I can only speculate some of the hindrance factor:

* PCI/AGP Lock – this board has none….
* Memory Timing – having only 2.5-3-3-6 as the most loose timing
* Northbridge cooling – the puny cooling may not be enough
* Southbridge “Nekkidness” – this one screams “heat sink me”

If you’re really light on the budget, I also tried this motherboard with a Celeron 2.0Ghz CPU and a generic 1x256Mb TwinMos DDR400 RAM and it performs just as well, with the Celeron hitting 2.66Ghz (133:166) and can complete single passes of all benchmarks.

Students from all ages can surely benefit from such a low-budgeted set up, for research, school papers, and home and school activities and projects. And with Celeron D on the horizon, it looks more appealing as a low-cost solution for your computing needs.

If you’re not a benchmark freak, I highly doubt that it’s 4x AGP slot would be limiting your FPS in your gaming. Of course, this motherboard can not win you the benchmark notch =), but as the benchmark results shows, scoring a 10k+ score for 3DMarkSe01 and 3k+ for 3DMark03 can guarantee a more than decent gaming experience.

X. Afterword:
=========
Overall, this little board impressed me for what it’s worth and for what it’s capable. I wouldn't doubt recommending this for students, gamers, and for office use.

[NeoShowtime]

Very nice review. I was actually looking at one of these for a low load computer ill be building in a week or so. Looks like a decent choice.

[death metal]

Thanks Neo...the rig can run the following game (using integrated graphics)
* Warcaft I, II, III and expansion
* The Sims, and expansions
* Morrowind (i can't believe Morrowind played this smooth on this board)
* Simcity, Simcity 2000, Simcity 3000, Simcity 4 and Rush Hour expansion
* Half Life, and expansions

Btw, if you're not looking to use the integrated graphics and wouldn't mind getting an AGP card, my suggestion is to go for PT800/PT880 or 655TX/655FX based mobos since they support Hyperthreading, 800Mhz FSB and depending on model, supports Dual Channel DDR400/333/266...

Good luck...

[RotorHead]

Great write up Death Metal :thumb:

This little board looks like the perfect thing for a second computer, family member….ect

Good stuff :beer:

[Derka]

I've got a P4VMM2 v7.3 and I'd really like to know how he was able to modify the FSB.