nForce4: PCI Express and SLI for Athlon 64
by Wesley Fink on October 19, 2004 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Performance Test Configuration
If you are interested in more information comparing the Athlon64, Athlon64 FX, Prescott, P4, and P4EE, please see our in-depth comparisons in the recent launch reviews:.09 Athlon 64: Value, Speed and Overclocking
AMD Sempron: A Fresh Take on Budget Computing
Intel's 925X & LGA-775: Are Prescott 3.6 and PCI Express Graphics any Faster?
Intel 925X/915: Chipset Performance & DDR2
Socket 939 Chipsets: Motherboard Performance & PCI/AGP Locks
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ and FX-53: The First 939 CPUs
The Athlon 64 FX-53: AMD's Next Enthusiast Part
Intel's Pentium 4 E: Prescott Arrives with Luggage
| Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor(s): | AMD Athlon 64 FX55 (2.6GHz) Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 FX53 (2.4GHz) Socket 939 |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 OR 2 x 512MB Corsair 3200XL XMS3208v1.1 |
| Hard Drive(s): | Maxtor 250GB 7200RPM SATA (16MB Buffer) |
| Video AGP & IDE Bus Master Drivers: | nVidia nForce 6.11 Beta (nForce4) nVidia nForce Platform Driver 4.24 (nForce3 Ultra) |
| Video Card(s): | nVidia 6800 Ultra (PCI Express) nVidia 6800 Ultra (AGP 8X) |
| Video Drivers: | nVidia nForce 61.81 Beta (nForce4) nVidia nForce 61.77 (nForce3 Ultra) |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
| Motherboards: | nVidia nForce4 Ultra Reference Board MSI K8N Neo2 (nVidia nForce3-250Gb) |
ALL PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS WERE MADE WITH THE FX53 (2.4GHz). Test results with the FX55 were included for comparison and are clearly identified as FX55.
Tests used either OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 or Corsair 3200XL XMS3208v1.1 memory modules. Both memories use Samsung TCCD chips and perform virtually the same in our benchmarks at stock speed. Since the nVidia 6800 Ultra AGP was used for testing in the 939 chipset launch, we used the PCI Express 6800 Ultra for all testing with the nForce4. Resolution in all benchmarks is 1024x768x32 unless otherwise noted.
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Zac42 - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
I think that it has to be two Nvidia cards with an SLI connector. You are thinking of the alienware video array, which theoretically can use two different branded cards.GhandiInstinct - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
Wesley,So in SLI, I can put any two video cards together? No matter the spec difference or maker difference? New and old? Future and past?
microAmp - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
I take it the SLI benchmarks from nVidia were done at about 1600 x 1200 resoultion?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
Kris -Anand and I got some hands-on time with the SLI system while we were visiting nVidia. The benchmarks we ran confirmed the numbers reported for the 6800 Ultra single and SLI. The test system was an Asus SLI motherboard with a 4000+ CPU. While we did not personally run benchmarks with the 6600GT SLI or the 6800GT SLI we have no reson to doubt nVidia's numbers based on what we did confirm.
The Reference board is NOT SLI, which is why SLI testing was limited to our time with nVidia.
KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
#6 those are NVIDIA's benchmarks, not actual 3rd party confirmed benchmarks.Kristopher
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
#2 and #4 -SLI Performance tests are in a table on page 3. Two 6600GTs don't outperform a 6800 Ultra, but they do outperform a 6800 GT.
ksherman - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
#4, from what ive heard, it is probablyh likely that two 6600GTs would definetly cream the 6800 ultra. I do agree that we need some SLI benchies!!!ariafrost - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
*Drool* Anyone know how much of a performance boost would come from SLI yet? I'm wondering if two 6600GTs would outperform a 6800 ultra.glennpratt - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
Page 2"While nVidia was not ready to ship nForce4 SLI reference boards for review, they were demonstrating a major manufacturer's nF4 SLI board with a pair of nVidia 6800 Ultra video cards. We also got to play with the SLI system with an Athlon 64 4000+ CPU, confirming benchmarks that were supplied by nVidia."
Jincuteguy - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
why didn't anand did any SLI performance test? i thoguht this board suppose to have SLI.