nForce4: PCI Express and SLI for Athlon 64
by Wesley Fink on October 19, 2004 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
nForce4 Reference Board: Basic Features
| nForce 4 Reference Board Specifications | |
| CPU Interface | Socket 939 Athlon 64 |
| Chipset | nForce4 Ultra single-chip |
| Bus Speeds | 200MHz to 250MHz |
| PCI Express Speeds | Synchronous or Asynchronous PCIe FIX at 100MHz to 145MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| Core Voltage | None available on Reference Board |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | 4x-25.5x |
| CPU Auto Tuning | Off to 15% |
| HyperTransport Frequency | 1000MHz (1GHz) |
| HyperTransport Multiplier | 1x-5x |
| DRAM Voltage | None available on Reference Board |
| Memory Async Latency | 10ns-4ns |
| AGP Voltage | None available on Reference Board |
| HyperTransport Voltage | None available on Reference Board |
| Memory Slots | Four 184-pin DDR DIMM Slots Dual-Channel Configuration Regular Unbuffered Memory to 4GB Total |
| Expansion Slots | 1 x16 PCIe Slot 4 PCI Slots 2 x1 PCIe Slots |
| Onboard Serial ATA RAID | nForce4 (4 Drives, 0, 1, 0+1, JBOD) 2 SATA Controllers to 3Gb/s |
| Onboard IDE/IDE RAID | Two Standard ATA133/100/66 (4 drives) Drives may be configured as IDE RAID |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | 10 USB 2.0 ports supported by nForce4 No Firewire - Must use additional chip |
| Onboard LAN | 1Gigabit Ethernet on-chip by nForce4 |
| Onboard Audio | AC '97 2.3 8-Channel Realtek ALC850 supported by nForce4 |
| BIOS Revision | Reference Board NF-CK804 10/05/2004 |
Reference Boards are normally quite different from the production boards that will later appear with the Reference Board chipset. While certain component arrangements may be retained from a Reference Board, the board is designed for testing and qualification, and generally not for production. They are also normally designed to be tested on the bench, out of any case.
Click to enlarge.
The introduction of the nForce3-250 chipset family moved nVidia to a leading position for Athlon 64 chipsets. nForce4 builds upon the nForce3-250 update with the addition of PCI Express. The rearrangement includes an x16 PCI Express graphics slot, 2 x1 PCIe, two SATA controllers capable of 3Gb/s speeds, and 10 USB ports.
nVidia has not had SoundStorm on any nForce3 chipset, so for the past year+ SoundStorm has been "missing" on any nVidia chipset for Athlon 64. We raised this issue for nForce3-150, then for nForce3-250 in nForce3-250 - Part 2. This has not changed with nF4. The nForce4 Reference board uses the AC'97 2.3 compliant 8-channel Realtek ALC850 codec. More information on the ALC850 can be found at Realtek ALC850 Product information.
Click to enlarge.
Fully decked out, nForce4 provides features currently available nowhere else, like on-chip 1GB Ethernet, on-chip firewall, 4-drive SATA RAID, and both SATA and IDE RAID that can be combined. The nForce4 SLI adds the option to combine two nVidia video cards in two x8 PCIe slots for a huge increase in video performance.
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SMT - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
GG putting DOOM3 on the DX9 page.R3MF - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
lol, i have an NF7-S too.somehow, despite all the good things about the NF3 250GB chipset i just wasn't compelled to go and buy an A64 rig, it may have had something to do with an adverse fear of Creative Scabs cards.
Araemo - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
#35, you may be right about their driver writers..but they still write better drivers than any other consumer-level audio I've used in quite some time. (Ensoniq had decent drivers in the day, but guess who bought them?)
Now isn't THAT a scary thought?
Granted, I'm currently using soundstorm on my NF7-S, but I dislike the limited hardware 3d channels. I've had usefull sounds in games(like the gun that is shooting at me) be silent, while I hear other sounds like my footsteps, and the other 30 guns around me..
Araemo - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
"So any chipset that supports pci-e should handle sli just fine, as long as the mobo maker puts two physical 16x slot connectors, regardless of their actual bandwidth."Negative.
a 1x lane w/ a 16x connector would not be enough bandwidth for the second card.
Yes, 4x is enough for most current games, just like noone currently needs AGP8x.
However, having one video card on a 16x lane and one on a 4x lane is a very screwy setup. What if that second video card temporarily needs the lions share of the bandwidth? Using two 8x lanes w/ 16x connectors seems like a much better way to me, if only because it balances the load between the cards better.
Speedo - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
Here's another one, dissapointed about no updated audio sollution. Going from an nForce2 sollution, slapping in an old SB Live card or something doesn't sound that exciting...knitecrow - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
I am not sure how NVIDIA came to the conclusion that audio was not a factor in buying decision. But it is the stupidest thing i have heard.If my memory serves, didn't NVIDIA originally say somewhere that they didn't see a need for audio based on the hardware reviews?
Anyway, the conclusion is all wrong. For those of us building media PC to hook up to an audio receiver, the original soundstorm on nforce2 was a great option.
For gamers who did not want to pay $100 for creative cards, sound storm provided a better solution than your typical mobo audio that didn’t have any DSP.
Many hardware enthusiasts love soundstorm. Anandtech is a hardware enthusiast site. I think it has a role to play in advocating consumer needs. Everyone made such a fuss over AGP/PCI bus locks (a feature that only interests overclockers, a minority) that NVIDIA and VIA had to put locks in.
I have to agree with #34
It does seem a bit draconian to make no mention of it at all. The criticism should be leveled against manufactures when required.
To say the issue has been dealt with or that it is old news, is simply being lazy.
The lack of soundstorm is a big problem. Its real, its relevant and it effects readers of Anandtech.
R3MF - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
and nor has any other preview made mention! what parts of the NDA have not expired, and when will they expire are questions i'd like the answer too.either nVidia has an ace up its sleeve, or it has nothing and structured the NDA in such a way that the initial wave of publicity across the web focused on the NF4's good points, and did not dwell on the lack of SS2.
i could forgive nVidia the lack of SS2, but not limiting audio to AC97. i loath Creative Labs gear with a passion, if only cos there drivers appear to be written by a bunch of howling monkeys jumping up and down in a skip full of broken keyboards, i do not want to be forced to buy one!
R3MF - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
but why did your preview make [b]NO[/b] mention of audio at all? to the point whereby it seems you are being arm-twisted to avoid the subject entirely?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
Audio Comments -nVidia has not had SoundStorm on any nForce3 chipset. This means that for the past year+ SoundStorm has been "missing" on any nVidia chipset for Athlon 64.
We raised this issue for nForce3-150, then for nForce3-250 at http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?... By now the change in nVidia audio on A64 is only news to those who are still using an nF2 motherboard.
nVidia has hinted that an updated audio solution is possibly in the works, which may come to market as a standalone card. But don't hold your breath. The data we have seen showed SoundStorm had little impact on the buying decision, which is one of the reasons nVidia dropped it for Athlon 64.
R3MF - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link
i swear the anand data-sheet on the CK8 chipset indicated that the sound would be some variety of high-definition audio, but on checking the link now (via nforcershq) the audio is only listed as just that, audio?