ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA Review Benchmarks

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ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA Review Benchmarks - Conclusion
Bluetooth 19 Nov 2006

Pricing of
ASRock 775Dual-VSTA

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Conclusion

In our benchmark tests, we used the Quad Core QX6700 processor and compared it with the Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 mainboard paired up with the same amount of DDR2 module (but run at DDR2-800). Compared to the board, the 4CoreDual-VSTA have its shortcomings. Firstly, it is the PCIe slot which runs at 4x. This results in a slower graphics performance as the PCIe lane is the bottleneck. Secondly the chipset used which is the VIA 8237A south bridge does not support SATA II, GbE interfaces. So what is the difference between the 775Dual-VSTA and this board. Basically, nothing is changed except the north bridge. The VIA PT880Ultra is certified to run 1066 processors while the PT880Pro does run 1066, but it is via overclocking.

The highlights of this board would be the compatibility for older components like the DDR and AGP support. For those who have invested a few hundreds for an expensive graphics card or 2GB of DDR400 module, this board is definitely the way to go for a quad core system. Third party PCIe based SATAII controllers or GbE controlelrs can always be added on via add on cards to speed up the system.

Just like any ASRock board, the package comes with sufficent accessories to get the board up and runninng. The multilingual manual is a plus for many users in Europe. Although I wouldn't say that everyone will rush out to buy a high end Conroe processor, but I am sure that the E6XXX lower end series would be good fits for this board.

Performance wise, we can see that running DDR or DDR2 at aggressive timings gives you more or less similar results, just a few fps lower which is really negligible. In comparison with the 965P, graphics performance is definitely not good enough due to the PCIe x4. In terms of internal data manipulation, I don't see that the VIA PT880Ultra is anyway inferior to the Intel counterpart.

The board has some basic overclocking features with adjustments of the AGP voltage, CPUCLK, ASync settings, ram timing adjustments. You can check the gallery for more details. In our test, the max we can reach is 290Mhz x 10 = 2.9GHz on the QX6700 processor.

Overall, we did not have any issues with the board pairing it up with the highest end processor and graphics card we have on hand. This board is definitely a choice for budget users who needs the processing power of the Core 2 Duo/Extreme or even the Quad Core. It is definitely a recommended choice for those going for ray tracing and HD and video editing. IF you still have DDR400, AGP cards lying around and want to tap the power of Core 2 Duo/Extreme or even the Quad Core QX6700, this board is definitely worth considering. On a side note, if ASRock would replace the SB with 8237R+ or a newer southbridge, that would make this board even better.

Pricing from
various
vendors
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Pricing

Discuss

Pros

8 USB 2.0 ports
Dual Memory type supported DDR / DDR2 selection
Core 2 Duo support
Dual AGP 8x and PCIe graphics interface
Surround video

Cons

Limited memory up to 2GB for DDR or DDR2
No 1394
No SATA II
No Wi-Fi
No GbE

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10 stars.

Category	Score
Performance	7 / 10
Features	7 / 10
Ease Of Installation	8 / 10
Overclocking Features	7 / 10
Documentation	8 / 10
Packaging	7 / 10
Overall Rating :	7.3 / 10

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