Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

..:: Introduction ::..

Albatron hasn’t been around all that long in the world of motherboards when placed in comparison to the big players such as ASUS, ABIT, or Gigabyte. When they burst on the scene with new products in 2002, many were quick to jump at the opportunity to see what they were about. Albatron has actually been around for quite some time but it was only in 2002 that they changed their corporate name to Albatron Technology, and began to make headway into the graphics, LCD monitor, and motherboard markets. Not too long after the capacitor leakage problems, Albatron came out publicly to announce that they would only utilize high quality Japanese made capacitors from the likes of Sanyo and Panasonic. This statement perked my interest because it goes to show that Albatron is taking the necessary steps to ensure a quality product is delivered to the consumer, a fact that we here at MBR look for in new motherboard manufacturers. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the first Albatron motherboard to enter our hands, the “Prescott” supporting PX875P Pro. Albatron make some rather high claims when it comes to the capabilities of the PX875P Pro, mainly in that it is capable of supporting the Pentium 4 processor all the way to the 1.2GHz FSB mark. Is this true, or nothing more than another marketing spin with no basis to it? Let’s find out.

..:: Albatron PX875P Pro Specifications ::..

Processor

- CPU Socket 478 on board, Supporting Intel® Pentium 4 Processor - (Prescott / Northwood / Celeron)

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

Chipset

-

North Bridge : Intel 875P South Bridge : Intel ICH5 LAN Chip : 3Com 3C920 Audio Codec : Realtek ALC655 I/O Chip: Winbond Smart I/O W83627THF

Memory

- 4 DDR DIMM 184-Pin Slots - DDR400/333/DDR266 ECC/NON-ECC DDR SDRAM up to 4GB - Note 1: If the FSB of your CPU is 400 MHz, the memory speed supports only DDR 266 - Note 2: If the FSB of your CPU is 533 MHz, the memory speed supports DDR 266/333 - Note 3: If the FSB of your CPU is 800 MHz, the memory speed supports DDR 266/333/400

Expansion Slots

-

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

-

1 x AGP 8X 5 x PCI 2 x UDMA/133/100/66 1 x FDD 2 x SATA 6 x USB 2.0

Back Panel I/O Ports

-

1 x Parallel, 2 x Serial 1 x PS/2 Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Audio I/O (Line In, Line Out, Mic In) 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x RJ-45 Port

Other Features

- Zero Jumper Design - Adjustable CPU by 1 MHz increment, Adjustable Vcore, VAGP, VMemory for overclocking. - Watch Dog Timer - AGP Protection

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

..:: PX875P Pro Packaging ::..

Given that the majority of Albatron’s motherboard products fall more towards the budgeted end of the consumer spectrum, we weren’t expecting all too much out of the PX875P Pro’s package. We initially expected the usual product and item inclusions, and felt that we likely wouldn’t see too many extras thrown in to keep down cost. Upon arrival of the review unit, we found that our initial idea as to what would be included was correct. There were a few items that were absent, oddly enough, and we felt that some additional items could have, and should have been introduced into the P875P Pro’s package, given that it is a higher end motherboard.

To start things off, we have the various documentation items for the PX875P Pro. Much like what we often see from the likes of Gigabyte, and more recently Soltek, Albatron has chosen to include a fold-out, color installation guide. This guide has a large portrayal of the motherboard on the front cover with all of the vital components and connectors labeled. As we progressed through reading the installation guide, we found that it is quite good in making sure to cover all of the important points that a first time builder would need to know. The guide goes over all installation procedures ranging from the processor and jumper configuration, to simple tasks such as power supply and hard drive connections. Granted, for the experienced user this guide will be overlooked, but for a first time user this is a necessity.

The next item that we found was yet another feature that we like to see included with motherboards, that being a large sticker featuring a layout of the board. This sticker can be affixed to the interior of the case, and is easily accessible if needed. The sticker displays locations and pin diagrams for all of the major headers and jumpers located on the PX875P Pro’s PCB. Finally, we have the manual. Once again, this is one aspect where the Albatron product shines in that not only does the manual come in several languages, but it also manages to cover all of the most important aspects of the board, such as pin diagrams of headers, jumper setting data, excellent coverage of the various BIOS options, and excellent driver installation instructions. Albatron has even chosen to include several pages detailing the overclocking procedure, and the necessary precautions to take such as making sure to have proper cooling.

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

As far as hardware related inclusions go, this is where we begin to take a little less of a liking to the PX875P Pro’s product packaging. If you take a look at the picture above of the included items, you’ll notice one item missing. In three years of working with motherboards from a review standpoint, I don’t ever remember coming across a motherboard that didn’t include a rear I/O panel with the product package. Albatron has chosen to leave this item out due to the fact that the I/O layout for the PX875P Pro follows the standard scheme. Modern cases come equipped with a factory I/O panel with a standard layout, of which is utilized by the PX875P Pro. Nevertheless, this could pose an annoyance for those upgrading who might not have a I/O panel available to them with the standard layout.

Albatron has chosen to include two ATA/133/100/66 IDE cables, as well as the standard Floppy cable. The PX875P Pro also comes along with a single SATA power cable, and a single SATA data cable. I would’ve preferred to see an additional SATA data and power cable included to give the end user the capability to use both SATA channels. Granted, cables more often than not ship with retail hard drives, but for those users who purchase OEM components, it would be a nice inclusion. Lastly, Albatron includes an expansion bracket sporting four additional USB 2.0 ports to complement the two that have already been built into the motherboard. Many would prefer to see additional USB 2.0 ports built into the board rather than offered through an expansion bracket, but in the end you still end up with the same level of support with a slightly cleaner case interior.

Overall, the PX875P Pro’s package has strong points, as well as weak points. From a hardware item standpoint, we were a bit disappointed at the lack of some minor items such as a second SATA data / power cable set, as well as the rear I/O panel. These are minor items that won’t cause the end price to skyrocket, so I would’ve liked to see those included to make the PX875P Pro a better bang for the buck. The documentation that Albatron has included on the other hand is superb. All of the various inclusions that Albatron has chosen to make provide a well rounded and detailed look at the capabilities and layout of the PX875P Pro and will make even a first time builder’s life a little easier.

..:: PX875P Pro Layout: Socket Area ::..

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

From an overhead perspective, the look of the Albatron PX875P Pro is that of a colorful blend, featuring a combination of several different colors for various component connectors. The PX875P Pro features a gorgeous blue PCB, although I was hoping for more unison for the color scheme. As manufacturers have picked up on the idea of multi-colored motherboards, many have progressed to set color palettes for motherboard components using two to three colors. This board would look even better if it used a simple two color design, in my opinion. Some might find the current look to be excellent, but what can I say, I’m a picky s.o.b. The first thing that jumped out at me with the PX875P Pro had to be the Northbridge heatsink, glimmering and gold. The PX875P Pro has what looks to be quite a nice layout, but let’s get a little deeper into things now to see if this is indeed true.

As far as the processor socket orientation goes for the PX875P Pro, Albatron has chosen to opt with the layout that we feel is optimal for cable routing purposes, that being a east-west layout with the core components of the core voltage power supply along the top portion of the motherboard. Within the processor socket itself, we find several small chip capacitors, while some are also located around the outer rim of the retention bracket. Underneath the left hand side of the retention bracket, we find the brain of the PX875P Pro’s core voltage power supply control system, the Analog Devices ADP3180 Synchronous Buck Controller. This controller features a six-bit, programmable output for voltages ranging from 0.8375V to 1.600V, the now standard measurements for Intel’s VRD / VRM 10.0 specifications. An internal DAC reads the signal sent by the processor, and determines the proper settings for the control to convert the stock 12V input voltage down to the given voltage that is needed. The ADP3180 chip is capable of up to a four phase operating mode, though we se that the PX875P Pro only operates off of a three phase setup.

Along the top portion of the PCB, we find all of the core electrical and magnetic components that make up the core voltage power supply. We can see that, exactly as Albatron stated after the whole capacitor leakage fiasco, they indeed are using only high quality Sanyo capacitors for both the input and output current. Capacitors are used to resist sudden changes in voltage. This allows for the voltage across the processor to remain within a given tolerance and keep everything protected from sudden voltage spikes. The inductors here serve to resist any sudden changes in current, yet another important factor. Inductors naturally create a force against the flow of current until they reach equilibrium, so if there is ever a spike in current the inductors will create a force against the current to smooth out the sudden spike. This portion of the board also features the 12V, four-pin power connection, along with three Analog Devices ADP3418 MOSFET driver chips, and various other items such as the diodes, capacitors, and resistors used.

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

The portion of the board to both the left and right of the processor socket is quite clean, given the fact that the core voltage power supply has been moved along the top of the board. Other than a few surface mounted items, both of these areas are relatively clean and clear of any large components. As we progress further down the PCB, we once again will come across a larger array of items, but for now everything is clear. I do like the layout that Albatron has opted to go with for the PX875P Pro. Due to the location of the core voltage components, the 12V power cable although small, doesn’t need to be routed around the processor socket. This orientation also allows for better airflow over the MOSFET’s to keep them running at a cooler, more stable temperature.

..:: PX875P Pro Layout: Northbridge Area ::..

As I mentioned a little earlier on, the first thing that struck me as I opened the box was the Northbridge heatsink. This large, orangish heatsink is held down to the i875P Northbridge core via four hooks. This type of hold-down mechanism was popular on some of the earlier i845 chipset motherboards, but as of late we haven’t seen many implementations like this. The heatsink is affixed to the Northbridge via a thermal pad which will allow for adequate cooling and thermal transfer. As you can see from the image above, the Northbridge itself is oriented on a 45 degree angle, while the heatsink itself is not. Along the left hand side of the Northbridge is where we find the bulk of the remaining components dealing with clock control and voltage generation in this portion of the motherboard. This portion of the board is home to the ICS clock generation chip, a 14.3MHz clock crystal, several capacitors including one large 2200uF KZG series capacitor, and several other small chip capacitors and resistors. This area also houses the auxiliary three-pin fan connector. This connector could be used with an after market Northbridge cooler, or perhaps with a rear exhaust fan should it have a three-pin power cable. Other than these few items, the area around the i875P Northbridge is quite clean.

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

..:: PX875P Pro Layout: Expansion Slots ::..

The PX875P Pro features the typical expansion slot setup that is commonly seen on just about every ATX motherboard on the market with a single AGP4X/8X slot, and five PCI 2.3 compliant slots. The AGP slot for the PX875P Pro is blue in color, with a long, white locking mechanism. This is probably my favorite type of locking mechanism for the AGP slot in that instead of having to push down on a tab, all that is needed is to slide the lock to the right and unseat the card. Granted, both measures are simple, but when there are capacitors around the tab, things can get a little too close for comfort at times. This isn’t an all too common implementation, but I enjoy it when I do find a board that is equipped in such as manner. The first set of components that we find located within the expansion slot portion of the PCB are the Winbond W83627THF and the Realtek ALC655 chip. The Winbond chip holds the responsibility of providing the motherboard with legacy connection support, such as the Serial, Parallel, and PS/2 ports, along with handling the temperature, and other system health related readings. The Realtek chip provides the PX875P Pro with six-channel audio support, along with some additional digital audio features that are enabled via a rear expansion bracket, an optional accessory. We’ve experienced some quality sound from boards featuring these Realtek chips, and the PX875P Pro didn’t fail to disappoint.

The next two components that we come across are the 3Com Marvell 10/100 Ethernet controller chip, along with the system BIOS. One feature that seems to be missing from the package of the PX875P Pro has to be an option for Gigabit Ethernet support. Given that the bulk of home users will never be able to fully use or attain Gigabit transfer rates, it doesn’t truly hamper the PX875P Pro all that much, though some users may look over the board if they need Gigabit Ethernet type capabilities. The PX875P Pro is outfitted with a Phoenix BIOS chip covered with the usual holographic labeling sticker.

Along the bottom edge of the PCB, we find the remaining core components for the PX875P Pro that are located in the expansion slot portion of the board. We find that the front panel audio, IrDA, S/PDIF, and CD-In audio headers are all located in an excellent position. I would’ve preferred to see the CD-In header located farther up the PCB, but the front panel audio header is just where I like it to be, low on the PCB and out of the way. The S/PDIF header is also in a nice position as those who opt for the external audio bracket can simply load it in the bottom slot

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

and find they only need to run the cable a miniscule distance to engage the ports.

..:: PX875P Pro Layout: Southbridge Area ::..

As we progress over towards the Southbridge portion of the PCB, we next find several headers and other similar items oriented along the bottom edge of the PCB. This positioning is excellent as it allows for easy routing of wires and gives the board a much neater look overall, not to mention makes findings a header a much easier task on the fly. The main headers that are in this portion are two of the three USB 2.0 headers, a three-pin power connector for a front chassis fan, and the front panel header for all of the necessary system LED’s, switches, etc. Located above this long string of headers, we next find the one thing that I don’t particularly care for as far as the design of the PX875P Pro goes, the location of the onboard floppy connector. This connector is far too low on the board for anyone with a larger case. We’ve been seeing a trend of manufacturers moving the floppy connector farther and farther down the PCB. Granted, I don’t use a floppy drive, nor do most users that I know with updated hardware, but nevertheless for those who do need it, an extra long cable might be needed to reach the connector. And let us not forget the problems with airflow that this could cause, especially given that the board supports the “Prescott” core Pentium 4 processors.

The area around the ICH5-R Southbridge is quite clean. The two SATA connections that are natively supported via the ICH5-R are located along the right hand side of the chip, along with the system battery and a bright red jumper. This jumper is for clearing the CMOS should you “accidentally” overclock the system a little too far, set some memory timings that are a wee too aggressive, or some other mishap. To the left of the ICH5-R, we find the last USB 2.0 header. This isn’t in a stellar position, but given the amount of ports supported by the rear I/O and expansion bracket, it likely won’t end up in use in most cases anyway. Near the system battery, we find a block of two inductors, as well as two identical capacitors for each of the inductors.

The last corner of the PCB is the portion around the DIMM slots. As we can see from the image

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

above, Albatron has chosen a rather unique color scheme for the DIMM slots. One channel is represented by a lime green color while the other is represented by purple. These DIMM slots are located high enough on the PCB surface that they will not interfere with the installation or removal of a RAM due to the graphics card. From our experience, due to the location of the four-pin 12V power connector, removing RAM from the first DIMM slot can be a bit difficult. The IDE connectors are oriented vertically along the side of the board, and are in an ideal position as is the main ATX power connection located just above them. This positioning will allow for better airflow over the processor portion of the motherboard since the thick cabling doesn’t need to be routed around.

Overall, for our first experience with the design of an Albatron motherboard we were quite pleased. Aesthetically, we feel it needs a little work but to each his own as far as appearance goes. Layout wise, the only really disappointment we came across was the location of the floppy connector way on the bottom of the PCB. This has the potential to make those users with large cases lives a little rougher than they should be, and adds to the problem of blocking airflow into the case and over the processor. Due to the heat output of “Prescott” and the fact the PX875P Pro supports it, this issue of heat is ever more important. With this exception, we found the general layout of the PX875P Pro to be excellent, better than many that we have seen enter our hands as of late.

..:: PX875P System BIOS ::..

As far as the PX875P Pro’s BIOS goes, Albatron has opted to go with a Phoenix Award BIOS setup, a setup that is more familiar in the OEM world than what we normally come across here in the enthusiast community. This BIOS setup is also common on Intel brand motherboards, which are, of course, geared more towards the mid-range consumer than an enthusiast. When the BIOS is initially entered into, there is a horizontal selection of menus ranging from the standard “Main” where simple selections are shown, to “Defaults” which allows for selection of setting to Normal of performance settings. These settings are similar, if not identical, to what we see in other BIOS’ only presented in a new way. Let’s take a look through these menus to see what the PX875P Pro has to offer. The first menu that we’ll be diving into is labeled as “Advanced”. Upon entering this menu, we

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

find a wide array of settings as well as four submenus available. The top setting selections are typical of this portion of the BIOS, as they control both boot order and boot priority for the given devices. There are four available submenus, each covering one specific aspect of the PX875P Pro’s capabilities. These submenus are labeled “Advanced BIOS Features”, “Advanced Chipset Features”, “PnP/PCI Configurations”, and “Frequency/Voltage Control”. Within the BIOS feature submenu, we find that here the user is given the option to enable an array of options for the PX875P Pro. Some of these options are whether to enable or disable the on die L1 & L2 Cache, Hyper-Threading Technology, Quick POST, and HDD S.M.A.R.T. capabilities. The advanced chipset features submenu houses all of the oh-so-important memory timing options. While Albatron allows for the standard memory timings to be manually adjusted, there are no other tweaking options available that would make the PX875P Pro a standout for tweaking options. Albatron offers the standard CAS, RAS to CAS, RAS to Precharge, and Precharge timing selections. Some of the more advanced timings can be adjusted with the P.A.T. Mode option. This setting allows for adjustment of how aggressive the internal memory settings will be configured at. Four our testing purposes, we ran with this setting at Auto, although we did experience instability and were unable to boot at times with higher settings, likely due to RAM. The last submenu that we’ll be covering from the “Advanced” portion of the BIOS is the “Frequency/Voltage Control” submenu. This portion of the BIOS will be home to the overclocker, although some aspects might be a little disappointing to some. To start things off, we have the CPU Host Frequency, also known as the FSB. Wisely, Albatron has offered the typical wide array of available options that are more than enough to suit the overclocker. Albatron claims the board to support up to a 1.2GHz FSB, and the FSB options certainly seem to back it up on the BIOS end. The next option deals with the DDR:CPU ratio. Here we find that not only does Albatron offer the typical 1.33X, 1.60X, and 2.00X options, but they also allow for the DRAM to be run with a “Turbo” setting at ratios of 2.00X and 2.50X.

Just below the memory ratio options, we find the AGP/PCI/SATA clock settings. Since the i875P chipset features the capability for a locked bus speed, Albatron offers an incredible range of preset speeds for each of the busses. The last three items it the Frequency / Voltage window allow for adjustment of the AGP, DRAM, and CPU voltages. The CPU voltage settings are weak to say the least. The only options that were made available were +.1V, +.2V, and +.3V. No undervoltage options, nor more overvoltage options were provided. The AGP and DRAM voltage settings were all typical of what can be normally seen, a 1.60V AGP max, and a 2.90V DRAM max.

Next up, we have the Peripherals menu. I can’t really address this menu all that much as it is self explanatory. The peripherals menu houses all of the options to control enabling or disabling integrated devices such as LAN, Audio, Serial Ports, Parallel Ports, and on the occasion the kitchen sink as well. Okay, maybe not quite that much but you get the point. If you wish to

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

enable or disable any feature of the PX875P Pro, this is where you’ll need to head in order to do so. Sound good? Let’s move on.

The last menu that we’ll be covering is yet another window that really need no introduction, that being the HW Monitor menu. This menu has two options available for a warning signal when the case has been opened, and another for the CPU FAN temperature. This window shows off the various temperature readings given by the motherboard, as well as fan RPM and voltage readings. As you can see, the PX875P Pro gives off a high temperature value for our 3.20GHz “Prescott” processor we’re using for our tests. We found that this number wasn’t all too accurate as it wouldn’t fluctuate nearly as much as it should when the system was strained, so take it with a grain of salt.

Overall, the Albatron PX875P Pro ships with a decent BIOS, excelling in some aspects, while in others it is a bit dry. We initially didn’t find many more advanced options for memory tweaks, although once we toyed with the options for controlling the P.A.T. mode, as well as setting our memory to “Turbo” 2.00X for the DRAM:CPU ratio, we found that all of these settings were merely hidden underneath others. The most disappointing aspect of the BIOS had to be the CPU voltage settings, or sever lack thereof. I was hoping for some better options, although given the fact this board can be used with the “Prescott” core Pentium 4 processor, it is understandable that Albatron would want to limit the VCore options to protect themselves. Albatron isn’t the first to do this, and somehow I doubt they’ll be the last. I was hoping for some actual undervoltage options as we have found a drop of .1V can yield a nearly 6-7C loss of load temperature with the right heatsink / conditions.

..:: PX875P Overclocking ::..

Now comes the time that most of you start to pay more attention, heh, overclocking results. Well, we saw that Albatron claims support of up to a 1.20GHz FSB, and we set out to determine if this was fact, or marketing. What did we find? We found that it was marketing, and that this board also has a love for hard drive corruption when overclocked too far. We were able to reach a roughly 1.00GHz FSB speed with maximum stability, which is enough for most users out there, but the 1.20GHz was a no go. Actually, anything about 1.04GHz or so was a no go…and corrupted our hard drive. Repeatedly. Needless to say, if you’re looking for a solid motherboard for overclocking, although this board allows for a good amount, I just don’t trust it enough to

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

recommend it to the heavy OC crowd until Albatron can address the hard drive corruption issues.

..:: SiSoft SANDRA ::..

Now that we’ve seen the physical layout and BIOS aspects of the PX875P Pro, it’s time to see how well all of those features intermix to build the performance of the product. To start things off, let’s take a look at the results obtained through the various benchmarks within the SANDRA suite. For out Arithmetic results, we see the PX875P Pro coming in with the highest ALU performance, but it ends up lagging behind a bit when it comes to FPU performance. The next results were from the Multimedia benchmark. Here, we see results that are nearly identical across the board, and we also see similar results as with the Arithmetic benchmark. The PX875P Pro pots a small lead in ALU performance, but lags behind a little when it comes to FPU performance. The real strength of the PX875P Pro that we found in the SANDRA suite was with the memory bandwidth results. Here, we see that PX875P Pro besting both the D875PBZ and the PT880Pro-FGR.

..:: MBReview PriBench ::..

Using our very own in-house benchmark, MBReview PriBench uses a computationally intensive algorithm to compute several hundred millions of prime integers. Unlike other synthetic benchmarks which rely on additional components within a computer system like the hard drive, PriBench does not rely on any of these exterior devices for the tests. PriBench is a system level benchmark, solely utilizing the performance of the processor and memory subsystem. It also focuses on comparing processor architectures and technologies and then seeing how much a core clock and/or FSB speed increase can be beneficial to the system. Our program is extremely accurate as we have witnessed time fluctuations of approximately .05 - .10 seconds.

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

If we take a look at the results we obtained through our strenuous testing with PriBench, we find that the PX875P Pro comes in ranking behind both of the competing motherboards by a slight margin. The interesting fact is that as the computations became more intensive, the PX875P Pro eventually caught up to, and surpassed both the D875PBZ and PT880Pro-FGR. In the most intensive benchmark, we see the PX875P Pro take a slight lead.

..:: ScienceMark 2.0 ::..

For our ScienceMark 2.0 benchmarks, we decided to take a look at the performance results achieved with three of the built-in programs, those being MemBench, and MolDyn. We’ll start off with the MemBench results. The MemBench bandwidth tests told a different story than that of SiSoft SANDRA. Here we find the PX875P Pro bringing up the rear for memory bandwidth. The most interesting item we found through our ScienceMark testing was that the latency times for the PX875P Pro were much less than that of both competing motherboards. Clearly, Albatron has been able to enable some stronger internal memory timings and configurations in order to decrease latency times. In the MolDyn benchmark, we see similar results as with PriBench, as the PX875P Pro bring up the rear, right in line with the general performance of the D875PBZ, another i875P based motherboard.

..:: SPECviewperf 7.0 ::..

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

In the SPECviewperf 7.0 benchmarks, we chose to relay results to you from four of the various benchmarks that are embedded within the benchmarking suite. In the SPECviewperf benchmarks, we see that the PX875P Pro tends to oscillate between being ahead of the game, and lagging behind. For the DX and 3DSMax benchmarks, we see the PX875P Pro holding a small lead over the competing boards, while for the DRV benchmark it falls back to second, right behind the D875PBZ. When it comes to the Light benchmark, things change. This benchmark shows the PX875P Pro lagging sorely behind both the D875PBZ and PT880Pro-FGR.

..:: Quake III Arena ::..

Quake III Arena has been around for quite some time, and has been amicably used for benchmarking purposes even since its inception. As time has progressed, less and less importance has been placed on this benchmark due to the ever increasing age of the software and graphic engine. When it comes to real world performance, we see that the PX875P Pro is able to hold its own against the D875PBZ, a motherboard that we have seen put up strong performance numbers since it first entered our hands nearly a year ago. Both of the i875P motherboards are easily able to best the PT880 based PT880Pro-FGR.

..:: Unreal Tournament 2003 ::..

Last up for today we have yet another real world performance benchmark for our motherboard reviews, Unreal Tournament 2003. We are using the built-in benchmarking utility with custom .ini files to make sure all settings are at high quality to allow for optimal benchmarking results for comparison. In the Unreal Tournament 2003 benchmarks, we see results that are very much in

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

line with that of Quake III Arena. Once again, the PX875P Pro is able to keep up nicely with the D875PBZ, and both are able to best the performance of the PT880Pro-FGR. The PX875P Pro actually manages to take a minor lead in the BotMatch FPS, but factoring in error, the boards run identically.

..:: PX875P Conclusion ::..

Ahh, the most read page of the entire review, heh. Well, for those of you just looking to get the down low on the Albatron PX875P Pro, this is the section we like make a large conglomeration of our various conclusions throughout the review from the various sections. To start off, we’ll quickly cover system stability which was quite good. The only times we had any problems were under heavy overclocking whereas we’d just end up with a corrupted drive. I guess that cures the instability issues now doesn’t it? In all seriousness though, this board performed solidly at stock speeds and at a moderately overclocked speed as well.

The PX875P Pro’s package has strong points, as well as weak points. From a hardware item standpoint, we were a bit disappointed at the lack of some minor items such as a second SATA data / power cable set, as well as the rear I/O panel. These are minor items that won’t cause the end price to skyrocket, so I would’ve liked to see those included to make the PX875P Pro a better bang for the buck. The documentation that Albatron has included on the other hand is superb. All of the various inclusions that Albatron has chosen to make provide a well rounded and detailed look at the capabilities and layout of the PX875P Pro and will make even a first time builder’s life a little easier.

For our first experience with the design of an Albatron motherboard we were quite pleased. Aesthetically, we feel it needs a little work but to each his own as far as appearance goes. Layout wise, the only really disappointment we came across was the location of the floppy connector way on the bottom of the PCB. This has the potential to make those users with large cases lives a little rougher than they should be, and adds to the problem of blocking airflow into the case and over the processor. Due to the heat output of “Prescott” and the fact the PX875P Pro supports it, this issue of heat is ever more important. With this exception, we found the general layout of the PX875P Pro to be excellent, better than many that we have seen enter our hands as of late.

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Albatron PX875P Pro Written by Stephen Friday, 04 September 2009 10:48

The PX875P Pro ships with a decent BIOS, excelling in some aspects, while in others it is a bit dry. We initially didn’t find many more advanced options for memory tweaks, although once we toyed with the options for controlling the P.A.T. mode, as well as setting our memory to “Turbo” 2.00X for the DRAM:CPU ratio, we found that all of these settings were merely hidden underneath others. The most disappointing aspect of the BIOS had to be the CPU voltage settings, or sever lack thereof. I was hoping for some better options, although given the fact this board can be used with the “Prescott” core Pentium 4 processor, it is understandable that Albatron would want to limit the VCore options to protect themselves. Albatron isn’t the first to do this, and somehow I doubt they’ll be the last. I was hoping for some actual undervoltage options as we have found a drop of .1V can yield a nearly 6-7C loss of load temperature with the right heatsink / conditions.

We saw that Albatron claims support of up to a 1.20GHz FSB, and we set out to determine if this was fact, or marketing. What did we find? We found that it was marketing, and that this board also has a love for hard drive corruption when overclocked too far. We were able to reach a roughly 1.00GHz FSB speed with maximum stability, which is enough for most users out there, but the 1.20GHz was a no go. Actually, anything about 1.04GHz or so was a no go…and corrupted our hard drive. Repeatedly. Needless to say, if you’re looking for a solid motherboard for overclocking, although this board allows for a good amount, I just don’t trust it enough to recommend it to the heavy OC crowd until Albatron can address the hard drive corruption issues.

Overall we were pleased with the first Albatron motherboard to enter our graces. We’ve been informed by Albatron that this motherboard will be running for a price in the $125 range, give or take a little between resellers. This price is quite good for what you get, although the few additional items we mentioned in the package portion of the review could only help the PX875P Pro become a more attractive buy for budget buyers and those looking for some bang for their buck. Performance was solid, and the PX875P Pro kept up nicely with the boards that we placed it against. It falls right in line with the rest of the i875P motherboard we have worked with as far as “Prescott” support goes. The PX875P Pro is a solid solution for any budget to mid-range consumer, but if you plan on overclocking to the max, beware the hard drive corruption issues.

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