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Shooting Star SiS 648 for P4″ —>
SiS 648: Alternative to Intel 845G
This Taiwanese chip maker is making great strides, as opposed to its other competitors in Taiwan. After SiS came back on the market with its 735 chipset for the AMD platform over a year ago, other interesting new developments followed in quick succession.
In addition, VIA is stuck in a difficult situation with its chipsets for the P4 platform: the manufacturer has no license to sell its chips to motherboard makers, as is the case with the P4X series. This leaves them with no choice but to offer corresponding boards under its own label.
SiS 648 reference board with DDR400 support for Pentium 4: excellent performance along with good stability.
SiS has the better starting position: this company acquired a license for the P4 platform early on. Our lab results show that SiS currently offers the best memory interface for the P4 platform in terms of performance. Not even Intel’s 845G chipset with DDR333 memory can stand up to the competition from Taiwan, even though the 845G already offers good performance to begin with. However, it’s not just the pure performance scores that impress at first glance. SiS sent us a reference board with the 648 chipset, which contains new features.
Reference board with the SiS 648 chipset.
Block Diagram of the SiS 648
Below is a block diagram of the 648 chipset, which consists of a Northbridge (648) and and a Southbridge (963). Interestingly enough, SiS decided against single-chip technology, which it had implemented with its 735 chipset.
The block diagram shows the basic architecture of the SiS 648 chipset.
Northbridge of the SiS 648 chipset.
Southbridge SiS 963 of the 648 chipset.
Top-Notch Functions: DDR400, AGP 8x and USB 2.0
Ports on the SiS 648 reference board.
Helpful for overclocking freaks: «reset» and «on» buttons integrated on the board.
Currently, SiS is able to provide modern features that you can’t find with its competitors (Intel, VIA and Ali), not even on paper, and not even if you’re willing to spend extra money. Although VIA had also sent us a board wit DDR400 support, there were problems during the test. Therefore, an important unique feature of the SiS 648 is its functioning DDR400 support. In the test, we used PC3200 memory modules with CL2.5 (Twinmos equipped with Winbond modules). The access time of the module is 5ns, meaning that, theoretically, a clock speed of up to 200 MHz is possible. Some brief information about AGP 8x: at the moment, only ATI and SiS offer such graphics chips. USB 2.0 is pretty self-explanatory — it has established itself as a standard and replaces the previous 1.1 specification.
SiS 648 for the Mass Market: The First Motherboard from Shuttle
The first mass-produced motherboard with the SiS 648 from Shuttle (AS45 V1.2) for the mass market.
Shuttle introduces its production line version of the SiS 648 motherboard, just in time for the launch of the chipset. In addition to DDR400 support, AGP 8x and USB 2.0, the AS45 v1.2 has two additional features to complete its functionality: two FireWire (IEEE1394) interfaces as well as two Serial ATA ports. Other features include an AGP Pro slot, five PCI slots, a RAID controller from Highpoint (HPT 372) and three DIMM slots. In light of these mega-features, the AC’97 sound chip (6-channel, ALC 650) seems somewhat out of place. Two helpful buttons have been integrated on the board especially for friends of overclocking. The BIOS offers many settings options: the CPU core can be set between 1.1 Volt and 1.825 Volt, the VDDO between 1.525 and 1.675 Volt and the DIMM voltage between 2.5 Volt and 2.75 Volt. The initial tests showed that the Shuttle board nearly reaches the same performance as the SiS reference board.
Full features with the Shuttle AS45 V1.2: three FireWire (IEEE1394) ports and four USB 2.0 ports.
A glance at the BIOS shows a memory clock of 200 MHz (DDR400) with the Shuttle AS45 V1.2.
FireWire and USB cables are included in the package.
Reset and power buttons integrated on the motherboard.
Premiere with Shuttle: Serial ATA Interface
The Shuttle AS45 V1.2 is the first board to have two Serial ATA interfaces. In addition, there are the conventional IDE interfaces.
Parallel and serial cables compared: 80 wires vs. seven wires — the future has just begun!
The Shuttle AS45 V1.2 is the first motherboard in the Tom’s Hardware lab with a Serial ATA interface. In addition to a serial controller, the board offers four IDE interfaces for a total of eight devices. The advantages of Serial ATA are plain to see: serial data transfer allows for a reduction in the number of wires from 80 to seven wires. This means that the width of the cable alone shrinks from 5 cm to 8 mm. We’ll bring you an extensive test of Serial ATA in two months at the latest, when hard disks with this new interface arrive on the market.
The two chipse for Serial ATA on the Shuttle AS45 V1.2.
DDR400 Comparison: VIA P4X400 Not Able to Run
The reference board from VIA with the P4X400 chipset does not run with DDR400.
Even the slowest timing doesn’t help: the VIA P4X400 still didn’t work with DDR400 memory.
About two weeks ago, we had planned to test the VIA P4X400 chipset, which is also supposed to support DDR400. However, during the test, problems emerged with a memory clock of 200 MHz: even in the slowest CL3 mode, the P4X400 board was not able to boot, and the system hung with the port 80 error «C1» (memory error). So we weren’t able to test the P4X400 at 200 MHz memory clock (DDR400). The Soltek SL-85ERV brings us new hope, and we expect to take a close look at it in one of the up-coming tests.
Northbridge of the VIA P4X400 chipset
Southbridge VT8235 of the VIA P4X400 chipset, with USB 2.0 support.
Comparison: Chipsets for Pentium 4
| Chipset | Intel 850E | Intel 845G | Intel 845E | SiS 648 | SiS 645DX | SiS 645 | Intel 850 |
| Introduction | May 2002 | May 2002 | May 2002 | July 2002 | March 2002 | November 2001 | January 2001 |
| Processor Plattform | Socket 478 | Socket 478 | Socket 478 | Socket 478 | Socket 478 | Socket 478 | Socket 423/478 |
| Supported CPU | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 |
| Chipset Northbridge | Intel KC82850E | Intel RG82845G | Intel RG8245EES | SiS 648 | SiS 645DX | SiS 645 | Intel KC82850 |
| Chipset Southbridge | Intel 82801 BA | Intel 82801 DB | Intel 82801 DB | SiS 963 | SiS 961 | SiS 961 | Intel 82801 BA |
| Front Side Bus Clock | 100/133 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100/133/166 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100 MHz | 100/133 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 400 MHz/533 MHz | 100/133/166 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100/133/166/200 MHz | 100/133/166/200 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 400 MHz |
| Asynchronous Memory Clock | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| FSB-Overclocking | up to 166 MHz | up to 166 MHz | up to 166 MHz | up to 200 MHz | up to 166 MHz | up to 133 MHz | up to 133 MHz |
| max. # DIMM-Slots | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| max. Memory | 2048 MB | 3072 MB | 3072 MB | 2048 MB | 3072 MB | 3072 MB | 2048 MB |
| SDRAM Support | no | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | no |
| DDR SDRAM Support | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| VC SDRAM Support | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| RDRAM Support (Rambus) | yes | no | no | no | no | no | yes |
| Dual RDRAM Support (Rambus) | yes | no | no | no | no | no | yes |
| Ultra-DMA/33/66/100 | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes |
| Ultra-DMA/133 | no | no | no | yes | no | no | no |
| Max. # USB | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Max.# PCI Slots | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Integrated Graphics | no | yes | no | no | yes | yes | no |
| AGP 1x / 2x / 4x | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes |
| AGP 8x | no | no | no | yes | no | no | no |
| ACPI Features | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Chipset | Intel 850 | Intel 845D | Intel 845 | VIA P4X333 | VIA P4X266 | VIA P4X266A |
| Introduction | January 2001 | December 2001 | July 2001 | May 2002 | August 2001 | December 2001 |
| Processor Plattform | Socket 423/478 | Socket 478 | Socket 423/478 | Socket 478 | Socket 423/478 | Socket 478 |
| Supported CPU | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 | Intel Pentium 4 |
| Chipset Northbridge | Intel KC82850 | Intel 82845 | Intel 82845 | VIA P4X333 | VIA VT8753 | VIA P4X266A |
| Chipset Southbridge | Intel 82801 BA | Intel 82801 BA | Intel 82801 BA | VIA VT8233A | VIA VT8233 | VIA VT8233A |
| Front Side Bus Clock | 100/133 MHz | 66/100/133 MHz | 66/100/133 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 400 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100/133/166 MHz | 100/133 MHz | 100/133 MHz |
| Asynchronous Memory Clock | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| FSB-Overclocking | up to 133 MHz | up to 166 MHz | up to 180 MHz | up to 200 MHz | up to 180 MHz | up to 180 MHz |
| max. # DIMM-Slots | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| max. Memory | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 3072 MB | 4096 MB | 3072 MB |
| SDRAM Support | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| DDR SDRAM Support | no | yes | no | yes | yes | yes |
| VC SDRAM Support | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes |
| RDRAM Support (Rambus) | yes | no | no | no | no | no |
| Dual RDRAM Support (Rambus) | yes | no | no | no | no | no |
| Ultra-DMA/33/66/100 | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes | yes/yes/yes |
| Ultra-DMA/133 | no | no | no | yes | no | yes |
| Max. # USB | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| USB 2.0 | no | no | yes | yes | no | yes |
| Max.# PCI Slots | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Integrated Graphics | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| AGP 1x / 2x / 4x | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes | yes / yes / yes |
| AGP 8x | no | no | no | yes | no | yes |
| ACPI Features | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
The table above lists all the chipsets currently available for the Intel Socket 478 platform. Older chipsets with SDRAM support (e.g., Intel 845) are not included here because these chips haven’t been available on the market or haven’t been produced for a while.
Test Setup and Details
| Hardware | |
| CPU | Intel Pentium 4 2,5 GHz (2533/133 MHz) |
| Memory 1 | 2 x 256 MB, RDRAM, Kingston 533 MHz, 32 ns, PC1066 |
| Memory 2 | 2 x 256 MB, RDRAM, Kingston 533 MHz, 35 ns, PC1066 |
| Memory 3 | 1 x 256 MB, DDR-SDRAM, TwinMOS/Winbond 200 MHz, CL2.5, PC3200 |
| Hard Disk | 40 GB, ATA100, 7200 U/min, 5T040H4, Maxtor |
| Graphics Card | MSI GeForce 4 Ti 4600 Memory: 128 MB DDR-SDRAM Memory Clock: 300 MHz Chip Clock: 650 MHz |
| Motherboards | |
| I850 E | Gigabyte GA-8IHXP Rev.: 2.1 |
| I845 E | Asus P4B533-E Rev.: 1.02 |
| I845 G | Asus P4B533-V Rev.: 1.01 |
| P4X400 | P4PB400 Rev.: A |
| SIS 648 | Reverenz Board |
| Treiber & Software | |
| Chipset Driver | V4.00.1009 Aplikation Accelerator V2.20 |
| Intel Graphic Driver | V6.13.01.3091 |
| VIA DIE/AGP | VIA 4in1 V4.40v |
| SIS IDE Driver | r1.01.13 (Windows 2000) |
| SIS AGP Driver | 1.10.03 (Windows 2000) |
| Graphics Driver | Detonator 4 Serie V28.32 |
| DirectX Version | 8.1 (English) |
| OS | Windows 2000 SP 2, Bulid 2195 (English) |
| Benchmarks und Einstellungen | |
| Quake III Arena | Retail Version 1.16 command line = +set cd_nocd 1 +set s_initsound 0 Graphics detail set to ‘Normal’, 640x480x16 Benchmark using ‘Q3DEMO1’ |
| ViewPerf | Version 7 1280x1024x16x85 |
| mpeg4 encoding | Xmpeg 4.5 + DivX 5.02 Pro Compression/quality: Fastest Data Rate: 780 Kbit Format: 720×576 Pixel@25 fps 150 MB VOB-Datei, no Audio |
| WinACE | V2.11, 178 MB Wave-Datei, Best Kompression, Dictonary: 4096 KB |
| SiSoft Sandra 2002 | Professional Version 2002.1.8.59 |
| Cinema 4D XL R7 | Version V7.303 Rendering: 1024×768 |
| PCMark2002 Pro | only CPU and Memory Bench |
| Lame | Lame 3.92 MMX, SSE, SSE 2, 3DNow! |
Benchmarks under Windows 2000
| OpenGL Performance | Quake 3 Arena «Demo 1» and «NV15 Demo» |
| 3D Rendering | SPECviewperf Suite 7.0 |
| 3D Rendering | Cinema 4D XL 7.0 |
| 3D Rendering | 3D Studio Max 4.2 |
| DirectX8 Games | 3D Mark 2001 SE |
| DirectX8 Games | Comanche 4 |
| MP3 Audio Encoding | Lame mp3 Encoder 3.92 |
| MP3 Audio Encoding | mp3 Maker Platinum |
| MPEG-4 Video Encoding | XMpeg 4.5a and DivX Pro 5.02 |
| Archiving | WinACE 2.1 |
| CPU and Multimedia Bench | SiSoft Sandra 2002 Pro |
| CPU and Memory Bench | PC Mark 2002 |
We wanted to avoid the automatic resource management feature integrated in Windows XP, so as in the past, we opted to use Windows 2000 to test these motherboards. The only reason for choosing Windows 2000 over Windows XP is that the newer version of Windows optimizes how background applications run. This new feature would have prevented us from obtaining accurate benchmarking results.
We performed a total of 22 different benchmark tests in order to obtain the most complete, well-balanced view of how the SiS 648 chipset performs. Four different Quake 3 tests were used to determine OpenGL performance. The different MPEG-encoding benchmarks provide a comprehensive testing environment — mp3 Maker Platinum and Lame MP3 Encoder were used to encode a 178 MB WAV file into «MPEG-1 Layer 3 format.» Still a classic, our MPEG-4 test converts a file from a commercial DVD-ROM into MPEG-4 format using Xmpeg 4.5 and the DivX 5.01 codec. A regular in our list of benchmarks is determining rendering performance using Cinema 4D XL version 7.303. We also ran WinACE Packer 2.11 to test how well the CPU performs when archiving files, a common application in the computing world. PC Mark 2002 is used to analyze the performance of the CPU and memory. The new SPECviewperf version 7 offers an extensive suite of 3D benchmarks. The Sysmark 2002 benchmark was used to determine office performance. DirectX 8 gaming performance was tested using 3D Mark 2001 and Comanche 4. The synthetic benchmark SiSoft Sandra Pro 2002 was also used.
OpenGL Performance: Quake 3 Arena
In the four Quake 3 Arena time-demo runs, the SiS 648 positions itself ahead of all other chipsets with DDR support. Together with DDR400, SiS almost reaches the performance scores of the Intel 850E chipset with Rambus PC1066 (533 MHz). Rambus’s days are numbered.
MP3 Audio Encoding: Lame MP3
Lame MP3 Encoder was used to convert a 178 MB sound file from a WAV format to a «MPEG-1 Layer 3» format. The chart shows that there are no differences between the candidates.
MP3 Audio Encoding: mp3 Maker Platinum
Mp3 Maker Platinum was used to convert a 178 MB sound file from a WAV format to a «MPEG-1 Layer 3» format. In this test, SiS takes the top position.
MPEG-4 Video Encoding: Xmpeg 4.5a and Divx Pro 5.02
SiS 648 is still way ahead, even in MPEG-4 encoding, outclassing even the fast Intel 845G with DDR333 memory and CL2. The Intel 850E with PC1066 memory lands a precarious first place.
3D Rendering Performance: SPECviewperf 7.0
The results of the SPECviewperf benchmark suite are clear: Intel 850E and SiS 648 take turns leading in the tests.
Archiving: WinACE 2.11
Archiving is a very practical application. WinACE 2.11 was used under Windows 2000 to archive a 178 MB WAV file while the clock was running. Because of the strong I/O performance of the Intel 850E, PC1066 (Rambus) lands first place, followed by Intel 845G with DDR333. SiS 648 with DDR400 takes third place.
DirectX 8 Games: 3D Mark 2001
3D Mark 2001 determines DirectX 8’s Direct3D performance under Windows 2000. The results show that SiS 648 places second.
DirectX 8 Games: Comanche 4
The new gaming benchmark from Comanche 4 uses the DirectX 8 interface. Here, SiS 648 with DDR400 takes second place. Intel 845G with DDR333 follows close on its heels.
SiSoft Sandra 2002 Benchmarks: CPU and Multimedia
In this benchmark, both the Intel 845G chipset with DDR333 (CL2) and the SiS 648 with DDR400 show high performance levels compared to PC1066 memory (CL2). However, all results should be taken with a grain of salt.
3D Rendering: Cinema 4D XL 7
In this benchmark, the SiS 648 chipset leads the pack.
CPU and Multimedia Performance: PC Mark 2002
In the CPU test, SiS takes first place; in the memory test, it takes second place behind Intel 850E with RDRAM (533 MHz).
Conclusion: SiS 648 Surprises with DDR400 and AGP 8x
The signs are auspicious — SiS might be able to land a great hit on the market with its 648 chipset. Compared to its competition (Intel and VIA), the manufacturer leads the way with numerous advantages: the 648 offers modern functions such as DDR400 support and AGP 8x, which are not to be found at all with its competitors.
Intel isn’t even planning to tackle DDR400 support and AGP 8x until the start of next year. In addition, the Intel 845G chipset is only meant for DDR266 at the moment, followed by DDR333 in August.
VIA is in a different situation: the chip maker has no license for the P4 platform, which means that motherboards with the P4X400 chipset are not to be expected from the major manufactures. Also, the P4X400 reference board (final version) ran against many problems during the test, because even their hand-picked DDR400 modules didn’t work with a 200 MHz memory clock.
Because SiS has obtained a license for the P4 platform, it can bring its 648 chipset to the market without anything getting in its way. Our benchmark tests show that in all categories, the SiS 648, together with DDR400 (CL2.5), is only marginally slower than the Intel 850E with Rambus (PC1066, 533 MHz). The explanation is simple: Intel hasn’t changed its 850 chipset for almost two years, which pretty much means that Rambus technology will become increasingly rare.
The only real competition to expect for the SiS 648 is the Intel 845G, which is already very fast with DDR333 memory. Also, insiders are saying that SiS will soon be offering its own Rambus chipset for P4. Here, the question is whether this chipset will be able to surpass the performance of the factory-restrained Intel 850E.
The Shuttle AS45 V1.2, already equipped with the SiS 648 chipset, is especially noteworthy. In addition to DDR400 support, AGP 8x and USB2.0, there are FireWire and Serial ATA interfaces. Initial tests show that this motherboard nearly reaches the performance levels of the SiS reference board.
Our general conclusion: the SiS 648 is a reasonably priced alternative to Intel 845G, and it also offers more features. The board is garanteed to be stable. VIA remains defeated with its P4X400, which still doesn’t have a license for the P4 platform.
