Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe: NVIDIA Dual x16 for the Athlon 64
by Wesley Fink on November 6, 2005 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Overclocking
Maximum overclock data was added to our Performance graphs beginning with the nForce4 SLI roundup several months ago. The overclocking performance graphs allow a better comparison of the overclocking capabilities of tested boards. For more details on the specific overclocking abilities of a specific board, please refer to the Overclocking and Memory Stress Test section of individual board reviews.
It should be pointed out that even at these very high overclocks, the A8N32-SLI remained much cooler than other boards that we have tested for overclocking abilities. Those willing to spend some time with this Asus will be likely rewarded with ever higher performance than what we achieved.
Asus claims cooler operation and greater OC abilities with their 8-phase power and Stack Cool 2 design, and we have no reason to argue with that claim. This board is remarkably stable no matter how hard you push it.
When you compare 310 with the poor overclocking that we found on the earlier Asus A8N-SLI, it is remarkable how much progress Asus has made on the AMD front. Asus is one of the best regarded brands for Intel motherboards, but their AMD designs have not recently shown the same design finesse that made several Asus Intel designs almost legendary performers. We clearly can’t count Asus out in AMD any more. The A8N32-SLI Deluxe is a terrific board!
Performance of Features
If you look closely at the auxiliary chips used on the Intel version of this board (the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe), you will see that they are exactly the same as those used on this AMD version. Base NVIDIA chipsets are also all but identical.
After running a few tests of feature performance, we found performance of the A8N32-SLI features virtually the same as those detailed in Asus P5N32-SLI: Dual x16 - What Dreams Are Made On... This should not be surprising to anyone. With that reality in mind, we decided not to repeat detailed results of features performance. If you want to know more about how the features of the A8N32-SLI perform, please refer to test results beginning on page 11 of the recent Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe review.
Maximum overclock data was added to our Performance graphs beginning with the nForce4 SLI roundup several months ago. The overclocking performance graphs allow a better comparison of the overclocking capabilities of tested boards. For more details on the specific overclocking abilities of a specific board, please refer to the Overclocking and Memory Stress Test section of individual board reviews.
It should be pointed out that even at these very high overclocks, the A8N32-SLI remained much cooler than other boards that we have tested for overclocking abilities. Those willing to spend some time with this Asus will be likely rewarded with ever higher performance than what we achieved.
Asus claims cooler operation and greater OC abilities with their 8-phase power and Stack Cool 2 design, and we have no reason to argue with that claim. This board is remarkably stable no matter how hard you push it.
When you compare 310 with the poor overclocking that we found on the earlier Asus A8N-SLI, it is remarkable how much progress Asus has made on the AMD front. Asus is one of the best regarded brands for Intel motherboards, but their AMD designs have not recently shown the same design finesse that made several Asus Intel designs almost legendary performers. We clearly can’t count Asus out in AMD any more. The A8N32-SLI Deluxe is a terrific board!
Performance of Features
If you look closely at the auxiliary chips used on the Intel version of this board (the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe), you will see that they are exactly the same as those used on this AMD version. Base NVIDIA chipsets are also all but identical.
After running a few tests of feature performance, we found performance of the A8N32-SLI features virtually the same as those detailed in Asus P5N32-SLI: Dual x16 - What Dreams Are Made On... This should not be surprising to anyone. With that reality in mind, we decided not to repeat detailed results of features performance. If you want to know more about how the features of the A8N32-SLI perform, please refer to test results beginning on page 11 of the recent Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe review.
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Phantronius - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Holy shit!!! $250 for one of these boards via newegg!!????Capt Caveman - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Newegg = ScreweggMwave has it for $195 in stock. And Mwave will call you to let you know that it shipped.
Zebo - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Mwave rocks I'm not even sure why people screw around with newegg anymore. I've ordered my last six or so mobo+cpu combos from mwave always cheapest and a free something... game.. app..etc.Asus appears to be back after lackluster non-existant NF3 and recent NF4 boards! I may get this and I don't even run Sli.. $200 is a little hard to swallow with DFI ultra for $120 but I like silent setup.
Jedi2155 - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Wat about Monarch?bob661 - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
Monarch has it for $249 last I checked. I wouldn't buy from Mwave. Like the other dude said their customer service leaves a LOT to be desired. I'll buy from Newegg. Customer service is top notch and their shipping is super fast. I'll also buy from ZZF. Their customer is also pretty good although shipping a bit slower than Newegg.Leper Messiah - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
See, I've had both good and bad expierences with mwave, their customer service is crappy (can't understand asians who have been speaking english for a month tops.) but their prices are good. Too bad newegg gouges on Fedex shipping now.BTW, whats going on with the forums? Haven't been able to log in for a while...
xsilver - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
thats a bit racist isnt it?they have a totally different pronounciation format in their language so they never get the english accent totally right
conversly, even if you learned chinese for 20years your accent would still sound funny
sxr7171 - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
When SLI was first introduced last year, we were told that 8x was more than enough bandwidth and that currently video cards can't even come close to saturating that bus. Now we have all this dual x16 hype - for what? Were they lying then or are they lying now? I guess it's good for future-proofing and progress is good, the consumer must be aware of it.ElFenix - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
if they're claiming a goodly reduction in energy usage due to the 8 phase design i'd like to see if it bears out.SnakeJG - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link
I would really love to see you guys test this out by comparing the power draw of different SLI systems, and seeing if the 8-phase design actually saves noticable power.