Gigabyte P4 Titan 667 Ultra

Let's face it, when it comes to PCs we like big numbers, particularly when they're associated with processors. And while the biggest number doesn't necessarily translate into the fastest processor, there's no denying that Intel's latest 2.6GHz and 2.8GHz CPUs are real flyers. With Intel's 3GHz CPU on the way, it seems like a great time to upgrade to a Pentium 4. This appears to be Gigabyte's thinking too, as its new P4 Titan 667 Ultra motherboard not only features Intel's latest 845PE chipset, but support for 3GHz CPUs as well.

The 845PE chipset is more of a revision than a real leap forward. It retains the same ICH4 south bridge controller as the 845E, featuring USB 2, two UltraATA/100 channels and support for up to six PCI slots. The new 845PE north bridge controller is the only real change, adding proper support for PC2700 memory. The P4 Titan 667 also supports possible future Pentium 4 chips with a 667MHz FSB (front side bus) (166MHz quad pumped), although there's no official word as to when or if this new CPU will arrive. Intel's forthcoming 3GHz and faster CPUs will all use the current 533MHz FSB speed.

Unfortunately, aside from PC2700 memory support nothing much has been added. There's no AGP 8x support, for example, and, although PC3200 is still in its infancy, it's surprising that Intel's new chipset release doesn't officially support it.

Gigabyte attempts to soften the blow by adding a host of extra features. These include software six-channel audio courtesy of Realtek's ALC650 and an Intel 10/100BaseTX Ethernet MAC. This Ultra version also includes a backplate with four extra USB 2 ports and an audio backplate. This boasts optical and coaxial S/PDIFs and offers provision for various optional media card readers.

It's also good to see a Promise PDC20276 RAID controller, supporting ATA/133 and RAID-0 and -1 arrays. Although this is a nice feature, there's no support for Serial ATA, though, which would have been more forward looking.

To test the P4 Titan 667 Ultra, we added a 2.4BGHz Pentium 4, 512MB of PC2700 memory from Crucial Technology, a GeForce4 Ti 4400, a 40GB UltraATA/100 hard disk and installed Windows XP Professional SP 1. Application-based performance in our 2D benchmarks was fast, scoring 1.38, even beating MSI's 648 Max (see Reviews, issue 97, p137), which scored 1.36. This is the fastest DDR-based Pentium 4 platform we've seen so far.

Gaming performance was top notch too, scoring a blistering 9,367 in 3DMark2001 SE at 1,280 x 1,024 in 32-bit colour using Nvidia's latest drivers. Regardless of whether your interest is work or pleasure, the 667 Ultra has it covered.

If you're thinking of buying a new Pentium 4 or simply migrating your current CPU to a new platform, the P4 Titan 667 Ultra is a fine choice. However, the 845PE chipset isn't a great leap forward, with the only significant addition being PC2700 support. The ability to run at faster FSB speeds currently isn't important. The lack of Serial ATA and particularly AGP 8x is also disappointing. That said, there's no doubting the P4 Titan 667 Ultra's performance - if this is your main priority, it's unmatched.

Author: Gareth Ogden