nForce4 Ultra Roundup: Charting the Mainstream

Chaintech VNF4-Ultra: Overclocking and Stress Testing

FSB Overclocking Results

Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed
Chaintech VNF4-Ultra
Processor:	Athlon 64 4000+ (2.4GHz, 1MB Cache)
CPU Voltage:	1.55V (default 1.50V)
Cooling:	Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heatsink/Fan
Power Supply:	OCZ Power Stream 520W
Memory:	OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev. 2 (Samsung TCCD Memory Chips)
Hard Drive:	Seagate 120GB 7200RPM SATA 8MB Cache
Maximum OC: (Standard Ratio)	237x12 (4X HT, 2.5-3-2-7, 1T, 2.8V) 2844MHz (+18.5%)
Maximum FSB: (Lower Ratio)	245x11 (2695MHz) (4X HT, 2.5-3-3-7, 2.8V) (1:1 Memory, 1T, 2 DIMMs in DC mode) (+22.5% Bus Overclock)

The Chaintech VNF4-Ultra turned out to be a pale performer compared to the earlier Socket 754 nF3 Chaintech. While the VNF4 was excellent at overclocking at stock multipliers, its top end at reduced multipliers was a disappointing 245 clock speed, or 22.5%. This compares to over 300 clock speed with the top boards in this roundup.

That is not to say that the Chaintech is a poor overclocker. At stock multiplier, it can reach as high as just about any board in this roundup at a 18.5% overclock. However, if your approach to overclocking is to get the most from your memory by lowering multipliers and cranking up the memory speed, then you should choose another nForce4 Ultra motherboard.

Memory Stress Test Results:

Our memory stress tests measure the ability of the VNF4-Ultra to operate at its officially supported memory frequency (400MHz DDR), at the lowest memory timings that OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 modules will support. All DIMMs used for stress testing were 512MB double-sided (or double-bank) memory. To make sure that memory performed properly in Dual-Channel mode, memory was only tested using either one dual-channel (2 DIMMs) or 2 dual-channels (4 DIMMs).

Stable DDR400 Timings - One Dual-Channel (2/4 DIMMs populated)
Clock Speed:	200MHz
CAS Latency:	2.0
RAS to CAS Delay:	2T
RAS Precharge:	7T
Precharge Delay:	2T
Command Rate:	1T

Using two DIMMs in Dual-Channel 128-bit mode, the memory performed in all benchmarks at the fastest 2-2-2-7 timings, at default 2.6V voltage.

Tests with 4 DS DIMMs on an AMD Athlon 64 system are more demanding, since AMD specifies DDR333 for this combination. However, most AMD Athlon 64 motherboards combined with recent AMD processors (the memory controller is on the AMD CPU) have been able to handle 4 DIMMs at DDR400.

Stable DDR400 Timings - 4 DIMMs (4/4 DIMMs populated)
Clock Speed:	200MHz
CAS Latency:	2.0
RAS to CAS Delay:	2T
RAS Precharge:	7T
Precharge Delay:	2T
Command Rate:	2T

Tests with all four DIMM slots populated on the Chaintech required a 2T Command Rate with 4 DIMMs in two dual channels. This is the pattern seen on other top-performing Socket 939 boards. There was no problem running 4 DS DIMMs at DDR400 at the same aggressive 2-2-2-7 settings, which worked well with 2 DIMMs.