How and What to Compare

The biggest difference among the boards in this roundup comes in terms of overclocking features.  As such, the first thing we did was separate them into two groups - one for overclockers and one for non-overclockers. 

Recent testing indicates that our current stability tests are not completely capable of reflecting the differences between boards anymore, simply because stability has improved so much across the board compared to the “old days.” Unfortunately, we’ve had to omit the stability test results from this roundup since they would essentially be meaningless in its current form.  Rest assured that  we are working very hard behind the scenes to find another, even more stressful test for stability. 

The Performance Test

In recent times, choosing a motherboard cannot be completely determined by a Winstone score. Now, many boards come within one Winstone point of each other and therefore the need to benchmark boards against each other falls. Therefore you should not base your decision entirely on the benchmarks you see here, but also on the technical features and advantages of this particular board, seeing as that will probably make the greatest difference in your overall experience.

Test Configuration

Processor(s):
Intel Pentium 4 1.4GHz (OEM)
RAM:
2 x 128MB Mushkin PC800 RDRAM
Hard Drive(s):
Western Digital 153BA Ultra ATA 66 7200 RPM
Bus Master Drivers:
Intel Bus Master Ultra ATA 6.10
Video Card(s):
NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS 32MB DDR
Video Drivers:
NVIDIA Detonator 6.50
Operation System(s):
Windows 2000 Professional
Motherboard Revision:

ABIT TH7 Revision 0.2
ASUS P4T Revision 1.06
ECS P4ITA Revision 1.0
EPoX EP-4T2A Revision 0.2
Gigabyte GA-8TX Revision 0.4
Intel D850GB Revision 1.0
MSI 850 Pro2 Revision 1.0
Supermicro P4STA Revision 1.11

Software Used:

Quake III Arena Demo 001
Ziff Davis Content Creation Winstone 2001
BAPCo SYSMark 2000

Supermicro P4STA Gaming Performance
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  • sabboo - Thursday, February 11, 2021 - link

    This was the board in my first pc. As a student it was a very basic setup but got me through uni. I spent money on it and pushed the processor as far as it could go. I had upgraded the memory but it was beyond my financial means to do anything great at the time. Tomorrow I pull it out of the loft and see what I can buy to make this the ultimate gaming machine of its time. Any suggestions on pci cards to amke this an amazing addtion to my home network would be appreciated.
  • infinitebritt - Thursday, March 25, 2021 - link

    Amazing to see a comment about the D850GB in 2021. I use this motherboard TODAY for work. My work machine has not been plugged into the net since 2006. I have not installed or changed anything. It should run FOREVER. I made some money with crypto this year so I'm looking to spend $100-$200 to replace the ATX case with something smaller and quieter. The case I've been using for 15+ years is HUGE and LOUD

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