Gigabyte 7NNXP (nForce2 Ultra 400): Gigabyte Goes nForce
by Evan Lieb on July 5, 2003 10:53 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
FSB Overclocking Results
For FSB overclocking, the following setup was used on the Gigabyte 7NNXP:
| Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed | |
| Processor: | Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton Core) |
| CPU Vcore: | 1.650V (default) |
| Cooling: | Volcano 7+ HSF |
| Power Supply: | Enermax 350W |
The above overclocking setup allowed us to reach a stable FSB of 222MHz. This is not to be unexpected from an nForce2 Ultra 400 motherboard, especially one from a top tier motherboard maker such as Gigabyte. Having examined dozens of KT400, KT400A, and a select few KT600 motherboards, we can confidently say that nForce2 Ultra 400 motherboards are the only choice for overclockers. In general, we were quite pleased with the tweaking and overclocking options the 7NNXP BIOS afforded us, and so running at 222MHz FSB (8X multiplier) was a joy.
The multiplier range of the 7NNXP BIOS allowed us to isolate the FSB to see how hard we could push the 7NNXP without other factors interfering. Fortunately, there are multiplier adjustments available in 0.5 increments from 5.5 to 12.5, and up to 20 in scattered increments.
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Anonymous User - Tuesday, July 8, 2003 - link
Yes, uhm, can we go back to GIF? I hate Flash. Look, I'm on dialup, and I'm lagged a LOT by big downloads, but I still prefer GIFs to Flash (which seems to load a tad faster). My friends all agree, and most of them are dialuppers too. Please, at least put up a poll or something so you can see how we all really feel about this stupid Flash stuff.NovaPolice - Monday, July 7, 2003 - link
It looked very good on paper but it hated every brand of ddr I had on hand. I went through a couple gigs of sticks before deciding to send it back.Anonymous User - Monday, July 7, 2003 - link
I have tested both this board, and the MSI K7N2Delta. The MSI board was FAR MORE stable, and a bit (7%) faster. I wonder why in this test the Gigabyte board is compared with an EPOX via board: Just to let it outperform, which is otherwise not possible?Anonymous User - Monday, July 7, 2003 - link
They say that CPU voltage is adjustable only up to 1.85v and that chipset voltage is adjustable by 5, 7.5 or 10%. I believe this to be wrong however. What the reviewer believes to be chipset voltage is actually CPU voltage also!! Check out the review over at Digital Daily and they show how voltage up to 2.035v is possible using a combination of these 2 seperate CPU voltage controls! Quite a large difference and large overlook by the reviewer.WooDaddy - Monday, July 7, 2003 - link
Evan, are you or anyone at Anandtech going to discuss the differences between the Ultra 400 and the standard nForce 2 chipsets? Maybe a general review with reference boards? Is there a big performance difference or limiting factor for future upgrades?Anonymous User - Monday, July 7, 2003 - link
The review does not include information on the presence of Heat Sink Mounting Holes. Suggestion, add info on mounting holes or lack of to all motherboard reveiws.Anonymous User - Monday, July 7, 2003 - link
It appears that the performance test results in the Gigabyte 7NNXP review are presented in Macromedia Flash Player 6.This is unfortunate, since I am among the many web users who dislike the Flash format, and resent the numerous pop-up "ads" requesting that version 6 be installed.
I regret that I will be unable to view these results, to find out what additional complexities required them to be displayed in Flash, rather than a standard, multi-platform/browser form such as GIFs. And I hope that this is not an indication that future results will be Flash-formatted, since I am a frequent AnandTech reader and will miss whatever informative content is Flashed.
Thanks.
Anonymous User - Sunday, July 6, 2003 - link
The Anandtech review claims Gigabyte replied in 33 hours..I Wonder who in Gigabyte Should I contact ,Or what e-mail address i should mail to,
To get a Reply in ANY time frame.
CrystalBay - Sunday, July 6, 2003 - link
Nice evaluation...However perhaps the six phase power DMS prolongs the overall life of these boards, rather than inherently more stable overclocking...Replacing a board thirteen months, two or three years down the line (If lucky) is common place...I like to see more board makers produce the bare bones 400's like Solteks NV400-64L...Why because these boards can be thrown away once a year or so...