nForce4 Ultra Roundup: Charting the Mainstream
by Wesley Fink on July 5, 2005 10:28 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D: Features and Layout
| Specification | DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D |
| CPU Interface | Socket 939 Athlon 64 |
| Chipset | nForce4 Ultra (single chip) |
| BUS Speeds | 200MHz to 456MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| PCI/AGP Speeds | Asynchronous (Fixed) |
| PCI Express | 100MHz to 145MHz in 1MHz increments |
| Core Voltage | Auto, 0.8V to 1.55V in 0.025V increments (Normal) PLUS *104%, 110%, 113%, 123%, 126%, 133%, 136% (Special - to 1.85V) |
| CPU Startup Voltage | Startup, 0.825V to 1.550V in 0.025V increments |
| DRAM Voltage | 2.5V to 3.2V in 0.1V increments (3V jumper) 2.5V to 4.0V in 0.1V increments (5V jumper) |
| Chipset Voltage | 1.5V, 1.6V, 1.7V, 1.8V |
| Hyper Transport Ratios | Auto, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 |
| LDT Bus Transfer | 16/16, 16/8, 8/16, 8/8 |
| LDT Voltage | 1.2V, 1.3V, 1..4V, 1.5V |
| CPU Ratios | Auto, 4x to 25x in 0.5x increments |
| Cool'n'Quiet MAX FID | Auto, 8.0 to 13.0 in 0.5x increments |
| DRAM Speeds | Auto, 100, 120, 133, 140, 150, 166, 180, 200 (Plus DDR433, 466, 500 with Rev. E Processor) |
| Memory Command Rate | Auto, 1T, 2T |
| Memory Slots | Four 184-pin DDR Dual-Channel Slots Unbuffered ECC or non-ECC Memory to 4GB Total |
| Expansion Slots | 2 x16 PCIe Slots 1 x4 PCIe 1 x1 PCIe 2 PCI Slots |
| SLI Setup | Six 16-pin Jumper Blocks |
| Onboard SATA | 4-Drive SATA 2 by nF4 |
| Onboard IDE | Two Standard NVIDIA ATA133/100/66 (4 drives) |
| SATA/IDE RAID | 4-Drive SATA 2 PLUS 4-Drive IDE (8 total) Can be combined in RAID 0, 1 |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | 10 USB 2.0 ports supported nF4 2 1394A FireWire ports by VIA VT6307 |
| Onboard LAN | Dual Gigabit Ethernet PCIe by Vitesse VSC8201 PHY PCI by Marvel 88E8001 |
| Onboard Audio | Karajan Audio Module based on Realtek ALC850 8-Channel codec with 6 UAJ audio jacks, CD-in, front audio, and coaxial SPDIF In and Out |
| Other Features | AMD X2 Support with 5/10/2005 or higher BIOS Diagnostic LEDs, Power and Reset momentary switches |
| BIOS | Award 7/01/2005 Release |
The DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D was tested when it was launched in DFI nForce4: SLI and Ultra for Mad Overclockers. We also included the DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR in our SLI roundup in nForce4 SLI Roundup: Painful and Rewarding. This is significant because the designs of the Ultra and SLI versions of the DFI are exactly the same. Both board layouts are essentiallly the same - the only difference is the SLI chipset on the SLI and Ultra chipset on the Ultra. As we detailed in Morphing nForce4 Ultra into nForce4 SLI, the SLI and Ultra chipsets are exactly the same, with the SLI features turned on in the SLI chipset. NVIDIA has modified the nForce4 chipset, making it more difficult to convert the Ultra to nF4, but the principles are still the same.
For more information on the features or layout of the DFI, please refer to any of these aforementioned reviews.
Chaintech VNF4-Ultra: Overclocking and Stress Testing
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D: Overclocking and Stress Testing
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yacoub - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
#33 - Wesley, that's awesome news. Can you post that somewhere more important so buyers know to be on the lookout for it? =)kyparrish - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
Good article!I'm seriously considering dumping my DFI S754/NC 3200+ setup for that Epox board and a cheap S939 A64 :)
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
#29 and #31 - UPDATE: I have talked with contacts in the Memory Industry and Samsung TCCD is now available again from Samsung. TCCD disappeared for a few months but production didn't really stop. TCC5 is DDR466 and TCCD is DDR500, but both chips come off the same line and are binned for speed grade. Samsung stopped binning for DDR500 grade until recently - and left this job to the memory makers.Recently Samsung has told memory makers they are binning once again for DDR500/TCCD and the TCCD chips are available again. It will take a few weeks for the pipelines to fill but TCCD is not dead. Some companies are staying with TCC5 at a lower cost and binning for the top performance unless the yields start to go down.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
#24 - The base nForce4 is sometimes called the nForce4 X4 and runs at 800 HTT, while the Ultra and SLI run at 1000HT. When 1000HT was first introduced we found no real difference in performance at 800HT and 1000HT. What the 1000HT did provide was quite a bit more overclocking headroom. A reader may have an example of where 1000HT outperforms 800HT but the real world difference is negligible.#28 - There are now more than 60 BIOS releases for the DFI nF4, many customized for particular memory types. Only 3 have been posted to their website. For the latest DFI nF4 BIOS a good place to check is www.xtremesystems.org or the BIOS Files Forum at www.bleedinedge.com. There is now a 7/04 BIOS that is reported to be more stable in upper memory ratios (433,466,500) with Rev. E chips.
#29 - You are overstating the TCCD situation. Corsair still sells TCCD, as do several other memory vendors. There is no doubt TCCD is drying up everywhere but Corsair, and that will continue. New TCC5 dimms that are said to perform like TCCD are in process in at least one memory company. We have requested these new TCC5-based dimms and will share our findings as soon as we receive the memory. There are also some new BH5 dimms that we thought were gone forever. We have even seen the new BH5 binned and advertised as DDR500 2-2-2 at higher voltages around 3.3V.
yacoub - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
Well, while this review -has- convinced me to go with the DFI board over the Chaintech, that is purely due to the audio CPU usage issues of the onboard vs daughterboard. I'm shocked at how much difference that makes.That said, most of the memory testing (and thus most of the review) was meaningless to me (and everyone else who doesn't have access to TCCD memory anymore). =/
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
#17 - Thanks for pointing out the errors. They have been corrected. Do you want a job proof reading :-)yacoub - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
Regarding the tRAS recommendation:Can we petition Anandtech to stop using memory that the consumer can't get anymore? (Namely TCCD-based Plat Rev2.) Go pick up some TCC5 and do your tests with what the consumer is actually going to be receiving so your tests actually mean something.
mongoosesRawesome - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
What BIOS version did you use with the DFI? It reads: "Award 7/01/2005 Release" in your list of features for the DFI, but I could not find that BIOS release on their website.AsiLuc - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
Sorry I meant: GA-K8NF9http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Prod...
AsiLuc - Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - link
I'd liked to see the Gigabyte GA-K8NP9 reviewed, because it has passive southbridge cooling (silence :) ) and is cheap.