Asus A8N-VM CSM: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Finally Arrives

Audio Performance

Since this is the first NVIDIA implementation of HD audio, we tested to see how it compared with HD audio implementations from ATI. For audio testing, we used Rightmark 3D Sound CPU utilization test Version 2.1. This benchmark measures the overhead or CPU utilization required by a codec or hardware audio chip. Since we found that Version 2.1 yields different results from the earlier 1.24, we have only included test results with version 2.1.

None of the onboard audio solutions were quite as low in CPU utilization as the hardware Creative SoundBlaster Live! chip, which we have tested on both AMD and Intel top-end boards from MSI. However, ATI's High Definition Audio on the ADI Soundmax used on the Asus turned in excellent performance in all the utilization tests. Results were in every case almost the same as results from the ATI chipset Asus A85-MVP, which uses the same ADI codec with the ATI Crossfire chipset. Azalia HD is demanding of CPU power, but CPU utilization remained below 5%, even in 3D audio rendering as tested with RightMark 2.1.

It is very important to point out that NVIDIA only provides HD audio for high-end AMD Integrated Graphics solution like this A8N-VM CSM board. There is no current NVIDIA HD option for nForce4 or nForce Dual x16 discrete chipsets for AMD processors. We are happy to see NVIDIA offering HD audio on the GeForce chipsets, and we hope that they will soon offer similar or better solutions for their discrete chipsets.

Ethernet Performance

Asus used the hooks in the 430 Southbridge to provide Gigabit LAN on the A8N-VM. Since this was the first time we had seen the Marvell 88E1111 PHY, we decided to test the performance of the on-board Ethernet.

The Windows 2000 Driver Development Kit (DDK) includes a useful LAN testing utility called NTttcp. We used the NTttcp tool to test Ethernet throughput and the CPU utilization of the various Ethernet Controllers used on the AMD motherboards.

We set up one machine as the server; in this case, an Intel box with an Intel CSA Gigabit LAN connection. Intel CSA has a reputation for providing fast throughput and this seemed a reasonable choice to serve our Gigabit LAN clients. At the server side, we used the following Command Line as suggested by the VIA whitepaper on LAN testing:

Ntttcps -m 4 ,0,‹client IP› -a 4 -l 256000 -n 30000

On the client side (the motherboard under test), we used the following Command Line:

Ntttcpr -m 4 ,0,‹server IP› -a 4 -l 256000 -n 30000

At the conclusion of the test, we captured the throughput and CPU utilization figures from the client screen.

As you can clearly see, the Marvel 88E1111 PHY performs about the same as the top PCIe Ethernet Gigabit LAN solutions. True PCIe Gigabit LAN is capable of about 35% faster speed than the PCI Gigabit LAN used on some boards. In practical terms, this won't matter to most users, since high-speed internet barely taxes a 10Mb/s connection. The speed difference may be important if you routinely transfer many large files on a full 1 Gigabit network.