DFI nForce4: SLI and Ultra for Mad Overclockers
by Wesley Fink on February 5, 2005 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Overclocking: DFI nForce4
With DFI's reputation as an overclocker's board, and the incredible range of tweaking options available in the BIOS, everyone is expecting incredible overclocking performance with the new DFI nForce4 boards. They will definitely not be disappointed.
| Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed | |
| Processor: | Athlon 64 4000+ (2.4GHz, 1MB Cache) |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.55V (default 1.50V) |
| Cooling: | Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heatsink/Fan |
| Power Supply: | OCZ Power Stream 520W |
| Memory: | OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev. 2 (Samsung TCCD Memory Chips) |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE 8MB Cache |
| Maximum OC: (Standard Ratio) |
238x12 (Auto HT, 2-3-2-7, 1T, 2.9V) 2856MHz (+19%) |
| Maximum FSB: (Lower Ratio) |
318x9 (2862MHz) (Auto HT, 2.5-4-3-7, 2.9V) (1:1 Memory, 1T, 2 DIMMs in DC mode) (+59% Bus Overclock) |
The DFI nForce4 boards shredded all previous records with this CPU and memory - reaching the highest overclocks at stock speed and at a lower mulitiplier that we have ever tested with this combination. We have squeaked by the 300 CPU clock frequency (DDR600) in the past, but it always required a 2T command rate. This time, we reached an astounding 318 (DDR636) at 1T, at the rather aggressive memory timings of 2.5-4-3-7 with our standard OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev.2, which is based on Samsung TCCD chips. This is the highest DDR speed that we have ever reached with this memory or any other double-sided DDR memory.
What impact does 318 have on performance? Quake 3 ran at 642FPS and SiSoft Sandra 2004 standard memory bandwidth was 8,300 MB/s. The Sandra unbuffered memory bandwidth was at 4000 MB/s. All these results are new performance records in our memory testing. The very wide range of memory voltages to 4.0V is particularly useful in reaching the highest possible overclocks, along with a very complete set of memory tweaking options in the BIOS. There is still a huge reserve in the available memory voltage range as we only needed 2.9V to reach these performance levels. Those with exotic cooling will appreciate that the CPU voltage and memory voltage settings on the DFI will give them what they need to squeeze every bit of performance from their CPU and memory.
DFI delayed final release of both nForce4 boards to update some 20 components on the board and to make further modifications to BIOS timings. The goal was to improve memory compatibility and further improve the already stellar overclocking abilities of the engineering sample. Compared to the engineering sample board that we tested, the final retail board is a much better overclocker. The update certainly appears to be a success, and DFI tells us that all retail boards, the boards coming off the line, have the modifications and new BIOS.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
114 Comments
View All Comments
ShadowVlican - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
beautiful analogy #22for now i guess this is THE best AMD64 board money can buy... i wonder if Abit's AN8 will change the results...
PrinceGaz - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
Can hard-drives be installed in non-RAID mode on the Sil3144 sockets with this board?As far as I know, the additional controller on the Asus SLI Deluxe board requires SATA drives to be in a RAID configuration and does not support individual drives. Can you confirm if that is the case with the DFI board.
erios666 - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
#49 - Thanks much Wesley. I did actually see that. I still feel it doesn't answer the question of whether or not you can span all those monitors. It will work great for when I'm at work. Which I can accomplish with an AGP plus a PCI vid card. But I am hoping to get some "surround gaming" going in UT2004, HL2 and NFSU2. So *span* capabilites with a 3840x1024 res' I guess is what I'm looking for rather than a simple multi-mon.Zebo - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
This is what I call a "ten year board" ...a motherboard built to last (jap caps, mosfets, al cooled etc), with every feature imaginable... you DON"T have to be an overclocker to get this board. In fact it's probably the best mobo ever built for the price using componets found in high-end server boards costing hundreds more. You should buy this DFI reguarless if you plan to overclock or not.That said... it's overclcoking options leave me speechless..never has a board came with these kind of heavy duty options..2.1 Vcore..4Vdimm..fuggin incredible. And it shows...guys at xtreme are posting over 400HTT with this bad boy.
Just awesome..you'd have to bee a damn fool to buy any other skt 939 mobo, or any mobo for that matter over DFI...
Stiganator - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
Between the A8n-SLI and this DFI SLI board which would you choose?Wesley Fink - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
#48 - DFI has responded to your question."That's what we call "Dual Xpress Graphics" technology, supporting 2 video cards simulatneously and therefore 4 monitors. The DFI Ultra-D in normal mode will support up to 4 monitors off 2 video cards"
erios666 - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
Please please does anyone know if it will be possible to do a 3 monitor span on the Ultra-D?!I beg of you! I want to do something like a Matrox Parhelia but with more 3D power. I've already got all my lcds and now I'm just sitting and waiting to see how this all pans out.
nserra - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
Athlon 64 3200+ (Socket754) ALL 1003Athlon 64 3000+ (Socket754) ALL ALL
Athlon 64 3400+ (Socket754) ALL ALL
Athlon 64 2800+ (Socket754) ALL 1003
Athlon 64 3700+ (Socket754) ALL 1003
Sempron 3100+ (CG version) (Socket754) ALL 1004
Sempron 3100+ (D0 version) (Socket754) ALL 1005
Any one know how sempron 3100+ D0 overclocks?
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
Instead of answering emails, we asked DFI to name some vendors who would likely have boards this week. They suggested New Egg, Frys (and their outpost.com online store), NCIX, zipzoomfly, and Monarch Computer. DFI also says Tiger Direct and Microcenter will have them by next week.That's all we know and it's straight from DFI, so PLEASE stop emailing us asking where to buy. Thanks!
HardwareD00d - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
Onboard sound has pretty much always been crap, with a few exceptions (Sound Storm). I wasn't too impressed with Via Envy24 BTW. An add-in soundcard is the best way to go IMHO.* waits for Creative to get off there a$$ and make a PCI-e soundcard with Dolby Digital Encoding *