nForce4 SLI Roundup: Painful and Rewarding
by Wesley Fink on February 28, 2005 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
MSI K8N Neo4/SLI Platinum: Overclocking and Stress Testing
FSB Overclocking Results
| Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed | |
| MSI K8N-Neo4/SLI | |
| Processor: | Athlon 64 4000+ (2.4GHz, 1MB Cache) |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.55V (default 1.50V) |
| Cooling: | Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heat sink/Fan |
| Power Supply: | OCZ Power Stream 520W |
| Memory: | OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev. 2 (Samsung TCCD Memory Chips) |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 120GB 7200RPM SATA 8MB Cache |
| Maximum OC: (Standard Ratio) |
235x12 (Auto HT, 2-3-2-7, 1T, 2.85V) 2820MHz (+18%) |
| Maximum FSB: (Lower Ratio) |
312x9 (2808MHz) (Auto HT, 2.5-4-3-7, 2.85V) (1:1 Memory, 1T, 2 DIMMs in DC mode) (+56% Bus Overclock) |
MSI has a much more limited range of overclocking controls than the top-performing DFI, but that doesn't seem to limit much the overclocking abilities of the SLI. The K8N Neo4/SLI continued the MSI tradition of top Athlon 64 overclocking by reaching a CPU speed of 312 (DDR624), just slightly short of the DFI record of 318. We would likely have been able to push the MSI even higher were it not for the limitation of a 2.85 top memory voltage, compared to 4.0V on the DFI.
At stock multipliers, MSI was also an excellent overclocker, reaching 235. This is just shy of the 238 reached by the DFI. All-in-all, the MSI was a great performer and extremely so in our testing. The MSI K8N Neo4/SLI was much easier to overclock than the K8N Neo2, which is a recent Editor's Choice among Socket 939 motherboards.
Memory Stress Test Results:
Our memory stress test measures the ability of the MSI to operate at its officially supported memory frequency (400MHz DDR), at the lowest memory timings that OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 modules will support. All DIMMs used for stress testing were 512MB double-sided (or double-bank) memory. To make sure that memory performed properly in Dual-Channel mode, memory was only tested using either one dual-channel (2 DIMMs) or 2 dual-channels (4 DIMMs).| Stable DDR400 Timings - One Dual-Channel (2/4 DIMMs populated) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 200MHz |
| CAS Latency: | 2.0 |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 2T |
| RAS Precharge: | 7T |
| Precharge Delay: | 2T |
| Command Rate: | 1T |
Using two DIMMs in Dual-Channel 128-bit mode, the memory performed in all benchmarks at the fastest 2-2-2-7 timings, at default 2.6V voltage.
Tests with 4 DS DIMMs on an AMD Athlon 64 system are more demanding, since AMD specifies DDR333 for this combination. However, most AMD Athlon 64 motherboards combined with recent AMD processors (the memory controller is on the AMD CPU) have been able to handle 4 DIMMs at DDR400.
| Stable DDR400 Timings - 4 DIMMs (4/4 DIMMs populated) |
|
| Clock Speed: | 200MHz |
| CAS Latency: | 2.0 |
| RAS to CAS Delay: | 2T |
| RAS Precharge: | 7T |
| Precharge Delay: | 2T |
| Command Rate: | 2T |
Tests with all four DIMM slots populated on the MSI K8N Neo4/SLI board required a 2T Command Rate with 4 DS DIMMs in two dual channels. This is the pattern seen on other top-performing Socket 939 boards, and is a limitation of the AMD on-chip memory controller. Additional voltage did not help and DDR400 with 4DS DIMMs still required a 2T Command Rate as we have seen on other nF4 boards. We are hopeful that the upcoming Rev. E Athlon 64 chips will at least allow a 1T Command Rate with 4 DS DIMMs.
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chucky2 - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
Typo on Page 20: I don't think you hit F3, it's F6.Chuck
ajmiles - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
Wesley, would it be possible to get a reply to the comment #6 i wrote? ASUS worked closely with you to resolve the dual 6800 ultra issue, but they just stonewall me and everyone else regarding the overclocking at 1T issue.Perhaps if someone with some "muscle" in the hardware reviewing world were to push them for a response you could get one out of them?
Thanks, Adam Miles
teng029 - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
#52 - i don't envy what you have to go through. i've had the misfortune of trying to get tech support from asus sometime ago and it was like pulling teeth.#29 - i agree. while i would love to have two 6800 ultras or GTs in SLI, the fact of the matter is i can't justify the cost. so instead i'm going with two 6600GTs. although this is apparently not a very popular choice, the fact remains that this configuration is still going to be substantially faster than my current setup using a 9700 pro and it costs about the same as my 9700 pro when i bought it.
teng029 - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
giz02 - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
I just noticed that the MSI board lacks additional PCIe boards, where the DFI board has an additional 1x and 4x slot. Anyones opinion on the importance of this?roostercrows - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
I just have to mention to my fellow anandtech members that I have an ASUS A8N-SLI board and I have been trying to get through to their "tech support" Friday and all Monday morning with absolutely no luck whatsoever! You can't even get through to anyone. So, when considering a motherboard keep this in mind. My experience with their "tech support" has been the worst you can imagine. Well...at least they weren't rude or incompetent.... they just aren't there.drewski - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
too bad the non-sli from MSI doesn't use the SB audiohttp://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/m...
giz02 - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
Sorry page 5-11giz02 - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
Heinrich,Did you configure the settings as per page 5-12 in the manual to passthrough on the decoder?
THILE - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
How did you make the Gigabyte run 4x dimms at 200mhz?I have this new motherboard GA-K8NXP-SLI and 4x of kingston hyperx pc3200 (KHX3200UlK2).
And running a new AMD athlon64 3500+ 90nm
I use SPD settings for the memmory. T2 is enabled.
Do I then force 200 mhz it just frezes.