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| Introduction and Product Specifications | ||||||||
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At the end of February '07, AMD released their first new chipset since the AMD/ATI merger. The goal with the new 690G/V series was to bring improved integrated graphics to the market, with better performance and broader compatibility. Initial impressions were generally positive; with an integrated Radeon XPress 1250, support for two monitors and options for DVI or HDMI outputs, the 690 series did bring something different to the table. Since the 690G's release, we've spent some time with several models from MSI and now ASUS, with the M2A-VM HDMI being the latest model to land in our labs. What's interesting about the M2A-VM HDMI is that rather than offering an HDMI model or a DVI model, ASUS incorporates both through the use of a riser card. In fact, when perusing the product line up of such companies as Gigabyte, DFI and ECS we found most offered only DVI versions of the 690G. With competitive performance and relatively broad video options for a chipset with an IGP, the 690 series shapes up to be a rather versatile chipset, bringing features that suit entry-level workstation, HTPC and desktop users alike. What ASUS has done is incorporate everything the chipset has to offer into a single package, making the M2A-VM HDMI unique at this stage of the game.
Accompanying the M2A-VM HDMI is a retail package that complements the hardware rather well. Covering the basics, ASUS provides a multilingual Quick Start Guide that covers general board information in nine languages except for English. The User's Guide provided was English only and covered virtually every feature and setup option in clear detail. Supporting the documentation are two CDs, one including all essential drivers while the other offers a collection of useful software such as:
ASUS also included essential hardware to help utilize all of the board’s features. A single Floppy, one IDE and two SATA cables cover drive connection needs while providing two SATA power adapters to convert Molex to SATA power connectors. A Q-Connector kit was also included, which makes connecting USB and case headers a breeze. This is one of those seemingly simple items that really make life a bit easier during the system assembly process. For HDMI, ASUS includes a KDMI/AV/SPDIF module that fits in one of the board's PCI slots, adding HDMI, SPDIF, S-Video and Composite video options. Wrapping up the bundle is a I/O shield for fitting the board properly to a case. |
| Features and Layout: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI |
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Based on AMD's 690G chipset, the M2A-VM HDMI motherboard supports all current socket AM2 processors from the Sempron up through the Athlon FX series. This particular model comes with four DIMM slots supporting up to 8GB of DDR2 memory at a peak of 800MHz. There are two standard PCI slots as well as one PCI Express x1 and one PCI Express x16 slot. Since this board utilizes a riser card for several video and audio features, we should subtract one PCI slot because you can't use it when the included riser is installed.
The integrated graphics are driven by a Radeon XPress X1250 that can use up to 256MB of system memory. The board provides both a DVI-I and VGA port on the back panel while HDMI is offered using the riser card included. The maximum supported resolution for DVI-I is 2560x1600 while the VGA output peaks at 2048x1536. Both TV-Out and HDMI max out at a resolution of 1920x1080 with TV-Out being interlaced and HDMI progressive scan. The board also supports dual video mode between DVI, VGA and HDMI in any combination thereof.
Storage options cover both IDE and SATA solutions. There are four SATA ports that support up to 3GB/s and can be configured in RAID 0, 1 and 10. There is also a single IDE port spec'd at UDMA 133. The board is equipped with a single Gigabit LAN connection as well as 6 channel audio powered by an ALC883 HD CODEC. We should note that SPDIF support requires the use of the riser card included in the package as well. The board supports up to 10 USB ports, with four at the rear and six powered by headers on the mainboard. The board also offers two FireWire ports, one on the rear console and the other via a header. Unfortunately, ASUS did not included any additional hardware to utilize these headers right out of the box. |
| BIOS and Overclocking: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI |
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The ASUS M2A-VM HDMI comes with a Phoenix AwardBIOS derivative loaded on an 8MB Flash ROM. The BIOS is relatively well equipped, with adequate performance settings and advanced overclocking capabilities. The sizeable ROM allows the system to maintain two profiles that can easily be toggled. Additionally, the integrated EZ Flash 2 makes it easy to flash the BIOS from a file on CD or the hard drive.
Under the Advanced section we find the bulk of the performance options. When we drill down to the JumperFree Configuration screen, a concise list of options is unveiled. Here is where the DDR2 Voltage can be set from 1.80v-2.10v in .10 increments and the CPU Voltage can be set from .800v up to 1.55v. The CPU Multiplier option can be set from 5x through 13x while CPU Frequency can be keyed in directly from 200MHz to a top setting of 400MHz.
When we move over to the Chipset screen, we find options mainly focused on memory. Here the DRAM Configuration window offers the choice to set the DDR2 speed from DDR400, 533, 667, 800 and Auto. The LDT Bus can also be set to Auto as well as 200MHz through 1GHz. The Frame Buffer for the integrated graphics can be set for either 32, 64, 128 or 256MB of shared system memory.
For a status of critical system functions, the Hardware Monitor offers a one-stop view of key system voltages as well as CPU temperature, Motherboard temperature and various fan speeds. A CPU Fan Speed Warning can be enabled to signal if the CPU fan is running below the threshold set or if it isn't working at all, saving you from damaging your CPU. The range can go from 800, 1200 or 1600 RPM or it can be disabled altogether. With DDR2 voltage options a bit low for our taste and basic voltage settings, we opted to test the overclocking waters with the M2A-VM HDMI, but didn't aim our sights very high. For starters, we dropped the CPU multiplier to 5X and lowered the DDR2 to 400MHz and started raising the HT frequency in a quest for the highest stable speed. In the end, we topped out at 232MHz. However, once we set our multiplier to x11, the board wouldn't boot into Windows. So, instead, we opted to find the highest we could go with a stock multiplier and managed to take our Athlon X2 5200+ from a stock speed of 2.6GHz up to 2.92GHz with an HT frequency of 225MHz. |
| Test System | ||||||||
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Before we start the benchmarking segment, we wanted to make several notes about our setup and testing methodology. Currently, the closest hardware comparison we had available for this review were two nForce 430 boards, one with a GeForce 6100 integrated graphics controller, the other with a GeForce 6150. To help interpret the results in each of our tests, we wanted to clarify the roles of the GeForce 6100 and 6150. The GeForce 6150 is a two chip design that incorporates NVIDIA's PureVideo engine. This is commonly found on system boards designed for media center applications. The GeForce 6100 is a second generation processor that is a single chip design, manufactured on a smaller process than its predecessor. NVIDIA also incorporated hardware z-cull for improved 3D performance with the 6100 while omitting an integrated PureVideo engine. This positions the 6100 more for reasonable game play rather than video quality. So when reviewing these results, we expect the 6100 series to top the 6150 in gaming tests, while we should see the inverse when in comes to our HQV video testing. In all integrated tests, each board was set to share 256MB of system memory, the maximum setting for the nForce 430 boards tested. Virtually all tests were also run with discrete graphics as well to demonstrate the impact of sharing 256MB of main memory with the IGPs might have on performance. You might also note that all testing was done in Windows XP Professional SP-2. While AMD is pushing the 690 series as offering a Premium Windows Vista Experience, we've opted to perform all testing on XP as Vista is still quite new and drivers for various hardware vendors still need to mature a bit. |
| Synthetic CPU and Memory Performance with SANDRA XI | ||||
We started testing with SiSoftware's SANDRA XI, the System ANalyzer, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant, by running three built-in subsystem tests; CPU, Multimedia, and Memory. We ran each test module twice with each system, once with integrated graphics enabled and again with a discrete graphics card (GeForce 7600 GT) installed. First up are the CPU and Multimedia scores.
With SANDRA XI's Arithmetic test, all systems showed little differences when compared to each other, although we saw a swing with the M2A-VM HDMI when switching between integrated graphics and the GeForce 7600GT. Shifting focus to the Multi-Media module, once again, all boards tested returned similar performance deltas with no one board standing out from the pack.
Unlike the CPU tests, we see a broader swing with SANDRA XI's Memory benchmark. Here the ASUS M2A-VM HDMI competes well with the NVIDIA based motherboards, keeping a slight lead in all but one comparison. The other 690G reference board, the MSI K9AGM2, showed quite a swing in performance when adding a graphics card to the mix. It seemed to take the biggest hit when running discrete graphics with 256MB of shared memory and lept to the head of the bunch when freeing up the onboard memory buy adding a GeForce 7600GT to the equation. |
| Futuremark PCMark05 and 3DMark06 v1.1.0 | |||||||||
In our next round of testing, we ran both CPU and Memory performance modules of FutureMark's PCMark05. Each results graph is prefaced by FutureMark's explanation of what each test does to arrive at its scoring metric. Once again, all tests were run twice, once with integrated graphics and again with discrete. "The CPU test suite is a collection of tests that are run to isolate the performance of the CPU. The CPU Test Suite also includes multithreading: two of the test scenarios are run multithreaded; the other including two simultaneous tests and the other running four tests simultaneously. The remaining six tests are run single threaded. Operations include, File Compression/Decompression, Encryption/Decryption, Image Decompression, and Audio Compression" - Courtesy FutureMark Corp.
FutureMark's PCMark05 CPU module showed all of the motherboards tested to be on the same level for the most part. Each hovered in the ballpark of 5300 marks, give or take a few. The ASUS M2N-MX managed the best overall score during testing with discrete graphics installed.
" The Memory test suite is a collection of tests that isolate the performance of the memory subsystem. The memory subsystem consists of various devices on the PC. This includes the main memory, the CPU internal cache (known as the L1 cache) and the external cache (known as the L2 cache). As it is difficult to find applications that only stress the memory, we explicitly developed a set of tests geared for this purpose. The tests are written in C++ and assembly. They include: Reading data blocks from memory, Writing data blocks to memory performing copy operations on data blocks, random access to data items and latency testing." - Courtesy FutureMark Corp.
Once again, the board that showed the broadest swing was the MSI K9AGM2, which really opened up with the GeForce 7600GT installed. The M2A-VM HDMI proved to be one of the more balanced systems, showing minimal changes when toggling between the two graphics options.
3DMark06's built-in CPU test is a multi-threaded "gaming related" DirectX metric that's useful for comparing relative performance between similarly equipped systems. This test consists of two different 3D scenes that are generated with a software renderer that is dependent on the host CPU's performance. This means that the calculations normally reserved for your 3D accelerator are instead sent to the central processor. The number of frames generated per second in each test are used to determine the final score. This test was run with both integrated and discrete graphics as well.
In this test, the ASUS M2A-VM HMDI tracked well with the various configurations of the ASUS M2N-MX and the MSI K9AGM2. The M2NPV-VM, based on the nForce 430, delivered the best overall results, most notably with discrete graphics installed. |
| LAME MT and Cinebench R9.5 | ||||||||
In this test, we created our own 223MB WAV file (a never-ending Grateful Dead jam) and converted it to the MP3 format using the multi-thread capable LAME MT application in single and multi-thread modes. Processing times are recorded below. Shorter times equate to better performance.
With this test focusing almost solely on CPU performance, we found neither graphics configuration to impact the results. As a result, the scores obtained with discrete graphics installed were omitted to keep things neat and tidy. In the end, all boards tested returned near identical results.
The Cinebench R9.5 benchmark is an OpenGL 3D rendering performance test, based on the commercially available Cinema 4D application. This is a multi-threaded, multi-processor aware benchmark that renders a single 3D scene and tracks the length of the entire process. The time it took each test system to render the entire scene is represented in the graph below (listed in seconds).
Just like LAME MT testing, all boards competed on the same level, returning near exact results in every case. |
| HDTach 3.0 and SANDRA XI - File System Testing | ||||||||
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In our next round of tests, we targeted drive performance to highlight the efficiency at which each chipset handles data flow to and from the hard drives. To do this, we used HDTach 3.0 and SANDRA XI's File System Test. As with the LAME MT and Cinebench testing, the tests were run with integrated and discrete graphics and no major differences were noted, so discrete graphics results were not included.
Using HDTach 3.0, we opted to run the Long Bench on the boot drive which utilizes 32MB Zones. Both Average Read and Burst Speeds were recorded.
While the three comparison boards all performed similarly, we saw a drop in average reads with the M2A-VM HDMI. The cause is unclear why we saw a near 8MB/s drop compared to the MSI K9AGM2, but we'll wait until we get some real world testing under our belt before we consider this to be a major problem.
In this test, the M2A-VM HDMI didn't repeat its average read performance as seen in HDTach 3.0. In this case, Random Access was a touch slower than the other three models tested, although the Drive Index was consistent across all boards tested. |
| World Bench 5.0: Office XP SP2 & Photoshop 7 | ||||
PC World Magazine's WorldBench 5.0 is a Business and Professional application benchmark suite which consists of a number of performance modules that each utilize one, or a group of, popular applications to gauge performance. In these tests, both integrated and discrete graphics were used to help demonstrate the impact of sharing 256MB of system memory with the integrated graphics vs running no shared memory and a graphics card with 256MB of its own memory.
Below we have the results from WB 5's Office XP SP2 and Photoshop 7 modules, recorded in seconds. Lower times indicate better performance, so the shorter the bar the better.
Office XP testing proved to be best suited to the nForce 430 based motherboards. With this test, the ASUS M2NPV-VM was the clear front runner while the 690G based M2A-VM HDMI was the slowest of the four boards tested.
With the Photoshop 7 module, all tests were very close with the largest difference between the quickest and the slowest board tested registering a mere 4 seconds overall. |
| Performance Comparisons with 3DMark06 v1.1.0 | ||||||
As we shift our attention to gaming, the M2A-VM HDMI posted the highest score when testing with integrated graphics. In this case, the 680G based model beat the nForce 430/6100 by 83 3DMarks. Now this may not look like much, but that's a difference of nearly 36%, which is sizeable. With discrete graphics installed, all four board's scores were similar, with the nForce 430 models having a slight edge over the 690G models. |
| Performance with Half Life 2: Lost Coast and F.E.A.R v1.08 | ||||||||||||
With Half-Life 2 Lost Coast, both 690G based boards managed the best scores with integrated graphics, holding a firm lead over the nForce 430 models. Once discrete graphics was factored in, the differences became less significant, with all four boards performing within 3 frames per second of each other at most.
In our next test, the 690G boards also dominated the integrated graphics test, although it also shows that playing F.E.A.R. with any integrated option simply isn't a realistic endeavor. With discrete graphics, all boards hovered in the 90 - 93 FPS range. |
| HQV Benchmark - DVD Video Quality | ||||
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HQV is comprised of a sampling of SD video clips and test patterns that have been specifically designed to evaluate a variety of interlaced video signal processing tasks, including decoding, de-interlacing, motion correction, noise reduction, film cadence detection, and detail enhancement. As each clip is played, the viewer is required to "score" the image based on a predetermined set of criteria. The numbers listed below are the sum of the scores for each section. We played the HQV DVD using the latest version of InterVideo's WinDVD 8 Platinum Suite, with hardware acceleration enabled.
While HQV is very specific with each of its tests, the results are still influenced by the viewers interpretation. With the ASUS M2A-VM HDMI, we found the results on par with our impressions during the initial launch of the 690 chipset. Video quality was very good, but not quite up to the standards of the 6150. For those looking for a premium video playback experience, an add-on graphics solution may be in order, considering ATI's and NVIDIA's current discreet card put up almost perfect scores in this test. |
| Overall Power Consumption: Idle and Load | ||||
We found the power consumption of the M2A-VM HDMI to track closely with the MSI K9AGM2, which was used during our initial launch piece. With Cool 'n' Quiet enabled, both 690G based boards ran 4 to 8 watts less than the nForce 430 based boards. When we pinned the CPU usage, the ASUS M2NPV-VM was the most power hungry at 141w while the two 690G boards and the M2N-MX were a closer match at 131 and 133w respectively. |
| Performance Summary and Conclusion | ||||
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Performance Summary: In the synthetic tests, the ASUS M2A-VM HDMI was on par with the comparison boards in most areas. We did see a small spike in SANDRA XI's Arithmetic Dhrystone scores and memory performance was a bit flat when switching between discrete and integrated graphics. FutureMark PCMark05 testing revealed similar results, while the ASUS M2A-VM HDMI managed the best score in the 3DMark05 CPU test. We recorded slightly lower burst speeds in HD Tach 3.0 although SANDRA XI's File System Performance test showed all boards performed on the same level. Real world application testing favored the nForce430 based motherboards, most visible in the Office XP SP2 test. When it came to gaming, all integrated graphics tests favored the 690G motherboards with the Radeon XPress X1250 IGP, although the tests evened out when discrete graphics were used. DVD Video Quality testing favored the nForce430/6150, with the ASUS M2A-VM HDMI delivering adequate results.
Since its release, it seems there is a lot of attention being garnered by the 690 series chipsets, and not without good reason. As an integrated graphics solution, the 690G offers a decent step up in performance compared the nForce series models tested, while reducing overall power consuption. Performance as a whole is competitive, but nothing sets the 690 apart from the nForce series, with minor victories scored by each in the various tests. What is impressive about the M2N-VM HDMI is its all-in-one approach to video, providing all the options the 690 series chipset has to offer in a single package. While most OEMs we checked offer either DVI only, or separate HDMI or DVI models, or no 690 based boards at all, ASUS comes in and delivers a complete package that incorporates all of the chipset's features. By adding a riser card to the design, ASUS can expand the M2A-VM HDMI's capabilities, but there are trade offs of course. First, from the start a PCI slot is occupied, limiting the board's expansion. Second, S-Video and Composite options are offloaded to the riser, as are the SPDIF connectors. In the end, the ASUS M2A-VM HDMI is as complete a 690-based board as you'll find. And for an average price of $80, the M2A-VM HDMI offers a solid balance of features and performance that make it a good fit for a multitude of environments at a reasonable price.
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