ASUS P5NSLI: Core 2 Duo and SLI on a Budget
by Gary Key on August 22, 2006 5:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Basic Features: ASUS P5NSLI
The BIOS layout and configurable options are representative of a mid-range performance system. We would like to note that if the second X16 PCI Express slot is not utilized for a GPU then it will operate as an X1 PCI Express capable slot. The P5NSLI certainly does not offer the same level of controls as the upcoming 590SLI Intel boards or that of current upper-end Intel P965 or 975X boards. However, the options available allow enough control over the BIOS and subsequent performance of the board as not to hinder the user except for one setting.
The one major issue we have with the BIOS is the lack of memory voltage controls over 2.1V. Although this board is targeted to the value performance segment, the lack of voltages over 2.1V for DDR2 memory is unacceptable considering higher performing DDR2-800/667 memory requires around 2.2V for stable operation at the low latency memory timings. This issue will be raised again in our initial overclocking and memory tuning tests. Our belief is that the typical user who is going to spend money on a SLI capable motherboard and SLI GPUs will typically purchase a higher grade memory.
| ASUS P5NSLI Specifications | |
| CPU Interface: | LGA775-based Pentium 4, Pentium 4 XE, Celeron D, Pentium D, and Core 2 Duo processors. |
| Chipset: | NVIDIA nForce 570SLI - SPP (C19-A3) NVIDIA nForce 570SLI - MCP (MCP51-A2) |
| Front Side Bus: | 1066 / 800 / 533 MHz |
| Front Side Bus Speeds: | Auto, 533MHz ~ 1600MHz in 1MHz increments |
| Memory Speeds: | Auto, 400MHz ~ 1200MHz in 1MHz increments |
| Memory Timings: | Auto, CAS, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, tRC, Command Rate |
| PCI Bus Speeds: | Fixed |
| PCI Express Bus Speeds: | Default, 100MHz ~ 150MHz in 1MHz increments |
| Set Processor Multiplier: | Auto, (1X step increments for EE or X series) |
| LDT Multipliers: | 1x, 2x, 3x, 3.5x, 4x, 5x |
| Core Voltage: | Auto, 0.8375V to 1.6000V (in 0.0125V increments). |
| DRAM Voltage: | Auto, 1.8V to 2.1V (in 0.1V increments) |
| SPP Chipset Voltage: | 1.4V. 1.5V |
| CPU Termination: | 1.25V, 1.35V |
| Memory Slots: | (4) x DIMM, max. 4GB per DIMM max. 16GB total system memory DDR2 667/533, non-ECC, unbuffered memory |
| Expansion Slots: | (2) x PCI-E X16 (operates in X8+X8 mode for SLI) (3) x PCI-E X1 (2) x PCI 2.3 |
| Onboard SATA: | NVIDIA nForce 570SLI: (4) x SATA II |
| Onboard IDE: | NVIDIA nForce 570SLI: (2) x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33 |
| SATA/IDE RAID: | NVIDIA nForce 570SLI: (4) x SATA II RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5 |
| Onboard USB2.0: | (8) USB2.0 ports |
| Onboard LAN: | Marvell 88E8001 PCI 10/100/1000Mb/s Ethernet LAN |
| Onboard Audio: | ADI 1986A, 6-channel capable HD Audio |
| Power Connectors: | 24-pin ATX 4-pin ATX 12V |
| Back Panel I/O Ports: | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Parallel (LPT) 1 x Serial (COM 1) 1 x S/PDIF Coaxial Out 1 x Audio I/O Panel 1 x RJ45 4 x USB |
| Features: | AI Tuning - Manual, Auto, Standard, AI Overclock - 9 options System Clock Mode - CPU only, Memory Only, CPU/Memory |
| BIOS: | Award 0601 |
The BIOS layout and configurable options are representative of a mid-range performance system. We would like to note that if the second X16 PCI Express slot is not utilized for a GPU then it will operate as an X1 PCI Express capable slot. The P5NSLI certainly does not offer the same level of controls as the upcoming 590SLI Intel boards or that of current upper-end Intel P965 or 975X boards. However, the options available allow enough control over the BIOS and subsequent performance of the board as not to hinder the user except for one setting.
The one major issue we have with the BIOS is the lack of memory voltage controls over 2.1V. Although this board is targeted to the value performance segment, the lack of voltages over 2.1V for DDR2 memory is unacceptable considering higher performing DDR2-800/667 memory requires around 2.2V for stable operation at the low latency memory timings. This issue will be raised again in our initial overclocking and memory tuning tests. Our belief is that the typical user who is going to spend money on a SLI capable motherboard and SLI GPUs will typically purchase a higher grade memory.
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techkn0w - Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - link
I just got back my mobo from Asus RMA (I sent it in due to memory errors) and it's still giving memory errors. This just sucks and I read some websites that many users are getting errors too. Just thought I should put it out here so you guys know. Ok, back to checking the Asus forums.redpriest_ - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
You mention the 590 SLI chipset, can we get a comparison versus that too?Gary Key - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
The 590SLI Intel is under NDA currently. The 590SLI production boards will be different than the reference board we previewed earlier.
Napyan - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
Sorry, kind of an idiot question but I've read the article 3 times now trying to figure it out. If the board doesn't support DDR2-800 how was it tested on it? Overclocking?Gary Key - Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - link
The chipset officially supports DDR2-533/667 although it will "unofficially" support DDR2-800 if bios support is provided by the supplier. Anything about DDR2-800 is overclocking and to a certain extent so is DDR2-800 although it is a very gray area. I apologize as this statement was in my original text and I removed it during the edit process. I will update the article.
Gary Key - Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - link
Where is the edit button? Anything above DDR2-800......Napyan - Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - link
Thank you for clearing that up for me.JarredWalton - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
It does support DDR2-800. The problem is that it becomes wonderfully unstable if you push things too hard, i.e. 3-3-3 timings.JarredWalton - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
Soon - as soon as we get it.yacoub - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
Funny how your original look at NForce5 (as linked on page 2 of this article) showed 570 was supposed to also include DualNet, yet this board does not. :[