Metamorphosis from Springdale to Canterwood
Chronology of Events
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Due to our suspicions about the Asus P4P800, which we decribed in the previous section, we bought a motherboard of the same name (Rev. 1.02) in Germany's most well-known street for computer retailers. While making an initial visual comparison of the two boards, the first clear differences were discovered: many components that are on the press sample are missing on the retail variant, although the same model name as well as board revision are indicated. On both of the boards, the latest BIOS (1006 Beta 010) was installed and tested with identical settings. The result we got was that the retail variant of the P4P800 is up to 11% slower than the press sample in the memory tests. The THG crew was shocked.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Early in the morning, we contacted Asus in Taiwan and asked them to make a statement regarding the differences of the two supposedly identical boards. In response, we got a short explanation that did not contain any real information. The editors were quite concerned that Asus did not view this case as being a priority. Unexpectedly, on that evening, Asus Taiwan posted a press release (which could originally be viewed
here)
>>
Taipei, Taiwan; May 28, 2003 - ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (ASUS), the worldwide leader of motherboards, today announced its P4P800 series motherboards, based on Intel's latest 865PE chipset, are able to active Intel's Performance Acceleration Technology (PAT) for robust computing. Currently, ASUS' 865PE motherboards are the only solutions in the market that provide this advanced feature.
PAT is a trigger for extreme performance, boosting system performance by 3-5%. Combined with the 865PE chipset enabling an 800MHz system bus, it is designed for extreme performance. According to Intel, PAT is an exclusive technology for the 875P chipset, but with ASUS' strong engineering capability, the P4P800 series comes equipped with this feature as well.
To activate PAT, simply go into BIOS setup utility. Here are the simple steps:
1) Enter BIOS setup utility
2) Select "Advanced" menu
3) Select "Chipset" configuration
4) Enabled Memory Acceleration Mode
5) Your system is now PAT ready
...
Before deciding to include this performance enhancement feature, ASUS' research and development team conducted thorough and stringent tests on system stability to achieve an ideal balance between performance and reliability.<<
At the same time, we contacted Intel USA and asked them for a statement on this. In the end, the question was whether the PAT technology of the 875 chipset (Canterwood) could also be activated with the 865PE chipset (Springdale). In the meantime, the statement from Asus was making its way around the globe, and the THG crew felt as if it had been overlooked, because actually, the results from the THG lab was what brought this situation to light in the first place. We concluded that Asus's press release was in stark opposition to what was specified in Intel's whitepapers on the 865 and 875 chipsets.
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After the last few days, in which there has been much discussion about factory overclocking and tuning, and MSI made headlines with its 865 Neo 2, we now have Asus in the picture with its own issues to add. The manufacturer sent us a P4P800 to test, which turns out to be quite different from the version that's available in stores. After contacting Asus in Taiwan, we confirmed some of our suspicions:
the manufacturer had succeeded in activating the PAT optimization with the Intel 865PE chipset. However, after Intel intervened, Asus is no longer allowed to call it "PAT". And so the excellent benchmark results, which are at the level of the expensive Intel 875P, are cleared up with this simple explanation. Here we'd like to revise our statement in our last test comparison that PAT technology doesn't affect much.
It is certain that Intel partially puts the brakes on the 865PE chipset (Springdale) in order to justify the price difference with the Intel 875P (Canterwood). Intel thought that it was correct in saying that PAT could not be activated with the 865PE because of details in the hardware. But this proved to be incorrect - as we have shown, it is still possible through a clever trick. Inadvertently, Intel had left a back door open, which remains unfathomable to THG because in the past, lots of effort was spent on putting a lock on the multiplier.
The facts revealed in this article will probably cause some headach for Intel. In any case, the price difference of the two chipsets is $16 (per 1000 units) and increases to up to $55 for the board. Intel loses out on at least $16, as long as the customer goes for the Asus board, since other manufacturers have not mastered this technology (yet). Are the profits for the potentially lucrative 875P/Canterwood chipset in any danger? From a strategical point of view, it's more important for Intel to fulfil the demands of the market for chipsets of all types. Therefore, Intel wanted to castrate the 875P in such a way that it could also be sold as the 865P. The lower price is not as relevant, because in the end, a wider range of products keeps the competition at bay.
Now, Asus only one more problem left to solve: there are 865PE chips that don't pass the internal Intel PAT qualification tests through speed binning, and there are others that are artificially degraded in order to fulfil market demands. Only the latter type are suitable for stable operation after "reactivating" PAT. Asus wants to ensure this by using strict quality control, and the customers have to put their trust this.