Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe: NVIDIA Dual x16 for the Athlon 64
by Wesley Fink on November 6, 2005 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Gaming Performance
SLI
Single Video
Since the DFI and Asus were both tested with the same CPU, memory, video cards, and video drivers, let's compare performance in SLI mode as a percentage increase in the six tested games.
Using the same video drivers and components, the Asus Dual x16 was 1% to 8.1% faster than the DFI Dual x8. These increases are small enough that we took a closer look at single card performance to see if the real difference was Dual x16 or something else.
In single video card mode, we were completely surprised to find performance increases on the Asus as high as 17.3%. This is an even higher performance increase than SLI mode, but in this case, both the DFI and Asus are running a single card in x16 mode. How is this possible? We re-ran benches several times and attained the same results. It is also interesting that while there is almost no increase in single mode in "older" games, the newest and most demanding titles show the biggest increases.
Perhaps the MCP51 is more efficient than the older nF4 SLI chip, or perhaps the design of the AMD Dual x16 improves video performance across the board. Or maybe the 8-phase Asus design really makes a difference. We won't know the true answer until we do much more testing on the new Dual x16 boards. Whatever the explanations that will be found, it is clear that the Asus A8N32-SLI is slightly faster in older game titles in both single-video and SLI modes. In newer and more demanding games, the Asus can be 8% to 17% faster than the best of the current dual x8 solutions.
SLI
Single Video
Since the DFI and Asus were both tested with the same CPU, memory, video cards, and video drivers, let's compare performance in SLI mode as a percentage increase in the six tested games.
| SLI - NVIDIA 81.85 Drivers, 6.82 Platform | |||
| Game | DFI nF4 SLI-DR (2 x8) | Asus A8N32-SLI (2 x16) | % Increase |
| Aquamark 3 | 86332 | 87813 | +1.7 |
| Far Cry | 74.3 | 78.3 | +5.4 |
| Doom 3 | 95.0 | 95.9 | +1.0 |
| Splinter Cell-Chaos Theory | 76.0 | 77.7 | +2.2 |
| Quake 4 | 94.5 | 102.1 | +8.0 |
| F.E.A.R. | 74.0 | 80 | +8.1 |
Using the same video drivers and components, the Asus Dual x16 was 1% to 8.1% faster than the DFI Dual x8. These increases are small enough that we took a closer look at single card performance to see if the real difference was Dual x16 or something else.
| Single Video - NVIDIA 81.85 Drivers, 6.82 Platform | |||
| Game | DFI nF4 SLI-DR (1 x16) | Asus A8N32-SLI (1 x16) | % Increase |
| Aquamark 3 | 82608 | 84089 | +1.8 |
| Far Cry | 47.3 | 47.5 | +0.4 |
| Doom 3 | 53.3 | 53.3 | 0.0 |
| Splinter Cell-Chaos Theory | 40.5 | 47.5 | +17.3 |
| Quake 4 | 70.1 | 78.3 | +11.7 |
| F.E.A.R. | 49 | 56 | +14.3 |
In single video card mode, we were completely surprised to find performance increases on the Asus as high as 17.3%. This is an even higher performance increase than SLI mode, but in this case, both the DFI and Asus are running a single card in x16 mode. How is this possible? We re-ran benches several times and attained the same results. It is also interesting that while there is almost no increase in single mode in "older" games, the newest and most demanding titles show the biggest increases.
Perhaps the MCP51 is more efficient than the older nF4 SLI chip, or perhaps the design of the AMD Dual x16 improves video performance across the board. Or maybe the 8-phase Asus design really makes a difference. We won't know the true answer until we do much more testing on the new Dual x16 boards. Whatever the explanations that will be found, it is clear that the Asus A8N32-SLI is slightly faster in older game titles in both single-video and SLI modes. In newer and more demanding games, the Asus can be 8% to 17% faster than the best of the current dual x8 solutions.
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Phantronius - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Holy shit!!! $250 for one of these boards via newegg!!????Capt Caveman - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Newegg = ScreweggMwave has it for $195 in stock. And Mwave will call you to let you know that it shipped.
Zebo - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Mwave rocks I'm not even sure why people screw around with newegg anymore. I've ordered my last six or so mobo+cpu combos from mwave always cheapest and a free something... game.. app..etc.Asus appears to be back after lackluster non-existant NF3 and recent NF4 boards! I may get this and I don't even run Sli.. $200 is a little hard to swallow with DFI ultra for $120 but I like silent setup.
Jedi2155 - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Wat about Monarch?bob661 - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Monarch has it for $249 last I checked. I wouldn't buy from Mwave. Like the other dude said their customer service leaves a LOT to be desired. I'll buy from Newegg. Customer service is top notch and their shipping is super fast. I'll also buy from ZZF. Their customer is also pretty good although shipping a bit slower than Newegg.Leper Messiah - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
See, I've had both good and bad expierences with mwave, their customer service is crappy (can't understand asians who have been speaking english for a month tops.) but their prices are good. Too bad newegg gouges on Fedex shipping now.BTW, whats going on with the forums? Haven't been able to log in for a while...
xsilver - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
thats a bit racist isnt it?they have a totally different pronounciation format in their language so they never get the english accent totally right
conversly, even if you learned chinese for 20years your accent would still sound funny
sxr7171 - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
When SLI was first introduced last year, we were told that 8x was more than enough bandwidth and that currently video cards can't even come close to saturating that bus. Now we have all this dual x16 hype - for what? Were they lying then or are they lying now? I guess it's good for future-proofing and progress is good, the consumer must be aware of it.ElFenix - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
if they're claiming a goodly reduction in energy usage due to the 8 phase design i'd like to see if it bears out.SnakeJG - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
I would really love to see you guys test this out by comparing the power draw of different SLI systems, and seeing if the 8-phase design actually saves noticable power.