The Results- ATI, Matrox, and S3
ATI cards
Unlike NVIDIA based cards, where multiple manufacturers make the cards, ATI's ability to produce their own products provided for standardization around the board. Take a look at the table below, noting that each card comes with SBA enabled.
Card
|
SBA
state
|
133
MHz
|
148
MHz
|
133
MHz SBA off
|
148
MHz SBA off
|
Enabled
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
|||
Enabled
|
Pass
|
Fail
|
Fail
|
||
All In Wonder 128 Pro |
Enabled
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
|
It seems that ATI cards are a bit less picky when it comes to working in overclocked systems with SBA enabled. The only card which failed our 148 MHz FSB test was the Rage Fury MAXX. At this speed, one of the two processors onboard the MAXX appears to have failed, as only 1/2 of the Quake III Arena scenes were being rendered. This made for quite an interesting display.
Matrox cards
Although Matrox cards are not considered the ideal solution for gamers, many still hold on to them for their superior 2D quality. Let's take a look and see how these cards perform in overclocked systems.
Card
|
SBA
state
|
133
MHz
|
148
MHz
|
133
MHz SBA off
|
148
MHz SBA off
|
Enabled
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
|||
Enabled
|
Pass
|
Fail
|
Fail
|
||
Enabled
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
|
It is nice to know that the most game worthy of the Matrox cards, the G400 Max, seems to have no problem running in overclocked systems.
S3 cards
Of all the cards tested, we experienced the worst results with the Savage 2000. This card refused to boot when at 148 MHz or 133 MHz This is one card you don't want to put in a BX-133 system.
Card
|
SBA
state
|
133
MHz
|
148
MHz
|
133
MHz SBA off
|
148
MHz SBA off
|
?
|
Fail
|
Fail
|
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