nForce4 Ultra Roundup: Charting the Mainstream
by Wesley Fink on July 5, 2005 10:28 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
ECS KN1 Extreme: Features and Layout
| Specification | ECS KN1 Extreme |
| CPU Interface | Socket 939 Athlon 64 |
| Chipset | nForce4 Ultra (single chip) |
| BUS Speeds | 200MHz to 400MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| PCI/AGP Speeds | Asynchronous (Fixed) |
| PCI Express | Fixed |
| Core Voltage | Normal, +25mV to +375mV in 25mV increments (to 1.875V on 1.5V CPU) |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 2.55V to 3.11V in 0.08V increments |
| Chipset Voltage | NA |
| Hyper Transport Ratios | Auto, 1X to 5X in 1X increments |
| LDT Bus Transfer | 16/16, 16/8, 8/16, 8/8 |
| CPU Ratios | Startup, 4x to 25x in 0.5x increments |
| DRAM Speeds | Auto, 100, 133, 166, 200 |
| Memory Command Rate | Auto |
| Memory Slots | Four 184-pin DDR Dual-Channel Slots Unbuffered ECC or non-ECC Memory to 4GB Total |
| Expansion Slots | 1 x16 PCIe Slots 2 x1 PCIe 3 PCI Slots |
| Onboard SATA | 4-Drive SATA 2 by nF4 2 Drives by SiS 180 |
| 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 PLUS 2 Drives by SiS 180 RAID 0, 1 |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | 10 USB 2.0 ports supported nF4 2 1394A FireWire ports by TI TSB43AB22A |
| Onboard LAN | Dual Gigabit PCIe Ethernet Gigabit PCIe by Marvel 88E1111 PHY 10/100 PCI by Realtek RTL8100C |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC850 8-Channel codec with 6 UAJ audio jacks, CD-in, front audio, Optical and Coaxial SPDIF Out |
| Other Features | AMD X2 Support with 1.1A or higher BIOS Slot LEDs, Power Transistor Fan and Duct |
| BIOS | Award 1.1A (6/02/05) |
ECS reserves the Extreme label for their top motherboards aimed at the computer enthusiast. While the Extreme boards have been very high on features, they have remained very affordable, often competing with boards that have much more modest feature sets. ECS decided some time ago that they wanted to go after the computer enthusiast; however, the path has been anything but a smooth one. As we have said in other reviews, it is one thing to aim for a board at the enthusiast market, but it is quite another to deliver the features and performance that enthusiasts really want.
Our last review of an ECS Extreme was in the Intel 915 roundup, where the ECS PF4 915P Extreme earned an Editors Choice in that huge roundup. For this roundup, we are taking a closer look at the ECS KN1 Extreme, based on the NVIDIA nForce Ultra chipset.
The ECS certainly has most of the BIOS options that an enthusiast is looking for. Memory voltage goes to 3.11V, which is significantly better than many top-name motherboards, which still have trouble supplying more than 2.8V as a memory voltage option. It would be better if options went to 3.5V, but in fairness, this range will provide the voltage needed for any memory except the high-voltage 2-2-2 OCZ VX and Mushkin Redline, which need 3.5V for best performance. Similarly, processor voltage options to +375mv are very adequate with today's CPUs, and the bus speeds to 400 and full range of processor ratios give users the option to make the most of the Athlon 64 capabilities. The only question that remains is whether or not the nice options mean anything on the KN1 Extreme; in other words, do they actually function?
Click image to enlarge.
There is nothing to complain about in the rest of the layout as ECS did a very good job on the KN1 Extreme. The ATX 24-pin and 12V 4-pin power connectors are on board edges where they belong. The IDE ports are in the ideal position, the 6 SATA ports fully clear the PCIe slot, and the additional connectors are on the bottom edge of the board, outside of the slot area.
ECS also thoughtfully included both coaxial and optical SPDIF out connectors on the rear panel, which also features dual-LAN (gigabit PCIe and 10/100 PCI) connectors. Perhaps manufacturers could label their dual LAN connections because even though I have a 50/50 chance, I seem always to plug the 10/100 when I'm looking for the Gigabit LAN. ECS also features a lime-green shroud with cooling fan for the power transistors, a feature more typical of Abit than ECS. All-in-all, the layout, feature set, and BIOS options are right on target for the audience that ECS hopes to attract.
We should mention in passing that, at first, we couldn't find the CPU ratios in BIOS. After complaining to ECS that there were no ratios, they pointed us to the Power Management tab, where Hammer FID controls were located. This certainly was not an intuitive placement for CPU ratios, although we do get the logic that Hammer FID or ratios are there because of Cool'N'Quiet, which is definitely related to Power Management. In any event, the ratios are there in Power Management, so we might save you a bit of searching.
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D: Overclocking and Stress Testing
ECS KN1 Extreme: 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.