Asus P5N32-SLI: Dual x16 - What Dreams Are Made On . . .
by Gary Key on October 27, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
SLI Gaming Performance
Overclocking Performance
The overclocking performance graphs have been added to the standard benchmark test suite and should allow for a better comparison on the overclocking capabilities of tested boards. For more details on the specific overclocking abilities of this board please refer to the Overclocking and Memory Stress Test section in the Basic Features section.
We benchmarked F.E.A.R. with the newly released NVIDIA 81.85 WHQL driver set, based upon recommendations from NVIDIA about further optimizations for SLI-AA and Dual Core processors that would show marked improvements for the x16 product at higher resolutions over the x8 product line. The Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe indicated an almost 3% gain over the MSI P4N Diamond in the previous 1280x960 benchmark. As the resolutions increased in the standard AT benchmark settings, the ability of the MSI P4N Diamond with its x8 SLI configuration fell behind the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe by upwards of 11% in this application. Once we changed the standard benchmark settings to include 2x AA and 16X AF, the benchmarks ended up favoring the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe by 25% indicating the 81.85 driver set makes a significant impact at these settings. Based upon these results, we can conclude that the additional 8GB/second of bandwidth afforded by the additional 16 PCI Express lanes and the 81.85 driver optimizations allow a great deal of headroom potential at the higher resolutions with today's hardware.
Overclocking Performance
The overclocking performance graphs have been added to the standard benchmark test suite and should allow for a better comparison on the overclocking capabilities of tested boards. For more details on the specific overclocking abilities of this board please refer to the Overclocking and Memory Stress Test section in the Basic Features section.
The front side bus overclocking results were very impressive for the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe and exceeded those of the Gigabyte 8N SLI Quad. The FSB results of the Abit NI8 are disappointing but its memory performance actually evens the field in most synthetic benchmarks where it was able to maintain a 1T command rate up to a 770 fsb compared to a 2T command rate for the other nForce 4 boards.
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Gary Key - Sunday, October 30, 2005 - link
Asus will be clarifying the supported range of CPUs with the Lock Free setting. I noticed a difference this weekend on the retail board and bios with a CPU stepping range I thought was fully supported. I know the EE series all work properly, the balance I am not sure of at this time.
Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
It will allow you to go down to 14x only in my testing. I did not have an issue with the dual core cpus down to 14x or raising the 820D to 16x. However, I have a single core cpu coming and will verify the settings with it. Please email me so I can repsond to you directly.Spacecomber - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
I think a more to the point intro would have been to ask whether a $250 motherboard can make up for the shortcomings in the current line of Intel desktop processors and make them more attractive to the computer enthusiast.Then again, maybe people who are sticking with their Prescotts really are dreamers.
Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
Good point and one that Intel finally understands but we will have to wait until next summer to see the results. :) However, this board does make up for some of the current Intel CPU shortcomings and is truly an enthusiast board for Intel customers.tuteja1986 - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
Asus were leader once and i think are going to take the leader crown again: )They have been getting good success with:
Dual GPU 7800GTX
Now This motherboard
Also they are working on 7300 go
Good work and keep it up
Bozo Galora - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
reads like an ad for asuswho the hell would use a current Intel cpu?
not the 80% of the people who come to AT
I'll take the upcoming (delayed again) DFI NF4 Expert mobo, thank you
Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
If it means anything, I purchased a pair of these boards after I completed the initial testing to replace a couple of systems in our household. I am that confident in the board and its ability.
About 80%+ of the buying public currently although the numbers are greatly skewed in their favor by large OEM and Retail sales. Actually, the newer Intel products are decent performers at a good price point. However, I completly agree that AMD owns the performance market and should receive wider credit for their efforts over the past couple of years.
Agreed, but sometimes it is good to visit the other side of the fence. A few short years ago your statements would have held true for people with AMD systems. ;-)
An excellent choice but while you are waiting you could purchase this board now. :-)
karioskasra - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
Dreams are made on an Intel platform? Did I miss something here...Gary Key - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
If you have an Intel CPU, then no, you did not miss anything. ;->I fully understand the performance and cost advantages the current AMD64 platform has over Intel. However, this should not dismiss the fact that the NVIDIA nForce4 SLI platform along with the implementation of it by Asus is an excellent solution regardless of CPU choice.
I personally own several AMD64 platforms but in reality you would be hard pressed at this time to tell the difference in performance between the two without benchmarks. I realize there will be a small population that can but overall an current Intel based system is fine for gaming and applications.
ksherman - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link
I REALLY like the fan less northbridge cooling setup... Wish my DFI had one like it. Esp. since my Zalman 7700 will keep those heasinks nice and cool...