Intel Sli boards reviewed!

[FarFarAway]

MSI and Gigabyte have got P4 boards out and Bit-Tech has gone and done some nice reviewing

The NForce 4 SLI Intel Edition chipset is very much like its AMD sibling in all that it supports: four SATA2 connectors, two IDE ports, ten USB 2.0 ports, two PCI-Express x16 interconnects for SLI, physical layer Gigabit Ethernet and unfortunately AC’97 audio. Obviously, there have been some changes made to reflect the differences between AMD and Intel architectures – the NForce 4 SLI Intel Edition supports all current Intel LGA775 CPUs including dual core and 1066FSB extreme editions, dual channel DDR2 667+ and a northbridge/southbridge configuration instead of a single MCP.

So there ya go - just like the nforce 4 chipset - seemd to be pretty good IMO

Specs for MSI:



Main Feature Overview:

* Complete support for all Intel LGA755 processors, including 533, 800 or 1066FSB bus speeds;

* NForce 4 SLI Intel Edition northbridge and NForce 4 MCP southbridge;

* 1066MHz FSB;

* 4x 240-pin dual channel DDR2 memory slots supporting up to 16GB with EM64T processors;

* 2x PCI-Express x16 slots, 1x PCI-Express x1 slot, 2x PCI expansion slots - one doubles as a PCI communications slot;

* 2x ATA133 ports, 6x SATA 2 ports and 1 eSATA port (bracket supplied optionally);

* 4 (plus 6)x USB 2.0 ports;

* 1 (plus 2)x IEEE1394 Firewire 'A' ports;

* 8-Channel Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit audio chip with S/PDIF RCA and optical based output ports;

* Dual Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet Controllers.

Specs for Gigabyte:



Main Feature Overview:

* Complete support for all Intel LGA755 processors, including 533, 800 or 1066FSB bus speeds;

* NForce 4 SLI Intel Edition northbridge and NForce 4 MCP southbridge;

* 1066MHz FSB;

* 4x 240-pin dual channel DDR2 memory slots supporting up to 16GB with EM64T processors;

* 2x PCI-Express x16 slots, 1x PCI-Express x1 slot, 2x PCI expansion slots;

* 2x ATA133 ports and 6x SATA 2 ports;

* 4 (plus 6)x USB 2.0 ports;

* 0 (plus 2)x IEEE1394 Firewire ports - one Firewire 'A' and one Firewire 'B' port;

* 8-Channel AC'97 audio chip with S/PDIF RCA and optical based output ports;

* Dual Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet Controllers;

* Gigabyte Dual BIOS;

* Gigabyte U-Plus DPS (Universal Plus Dual Power System).

So SLi makes not a jot of difference when enabled for general performance:

As we can see, SLI makes little or no difference to general performance when it is enabled, while the the NForce 4 SLI chipset is faster than Intel's 925X in general performance scenarios. The GA-8N-SLI is slightly faster in SuperPI with the 3.73EE installed, but falls behind in our unbuffered memory bandwidth test.

and it seems the real-world gaming is comparible to an Intel chipset??:

Our tests are not quite as GPU limited as they could be - if you are looking towards an SLI system, you are most likely going to be looking at running with 4xAA in every every game at 1280x1024. The differences between the two boards are very small when playing at realistic gaming resolutions. The Intel D925XCV is no slouch in real-world gaming either and you would be hard pushed to see the difference between the two chipsets. Unless you are planning to add a second video card, your 925X-based motherboard will perform just fine in real-world gaming scenarios.

It also seems the Nvidia's Intel chipset doesn't hold up as well when OC'ing either

overall the chipset isn’t as friendly out of normal operating parameters as Intel's 955X chipset, or even the 12 month old 925X for that matter. We managed to pull a set of results from the Gigabyte board at the ever so slightly faster speed of 1200MHz bus speed, but it still wasn’t prime95 stable

So not too good. But then this is nvidia's first go at DDR2 platforms and SLI on Intel...

However, in the face of all this it’s still find it hard to fault NVIDIA considering it’s their first generation DDR2 and Pentium 4 chipset, compared to having produced a 5th generation AMD and 3rd generation Athlon 64 in the NForce 4. The general rule of thumb for all chipset manufacturers is that first generation chipsets should be taken with a pinch of salt, like the NForce 3 150 for AMD Athlon 64 or the NForce 1 for AMD Athlon for example, but considering their very powerful stock performance it’s still hard to complain. OK, overclockers and enthusiasts may be turned off at the poor overclocking results but lets face it - they would probably have bought an AMD Athlon 64 SLI system already, so you’re left with a larger general market who don’t tend to ever indulge in overclocking but want a state of the art SLI chipset and powerful Intel gaming computer/RAID server/home theatre/workstation.

And just as a final note:

f you are looking to build an Intel-based platform for hardcore overclocking and powerful gaming at the same time, you might be better looking at the 955X chipset with a single 7800 GTX, as NVIDIA's NForce 4 SLI Intel Edition chipset doesn't appear to be the be all and end all in terms of overclockability. There is no doubt that these two motherboards are two of the fastest gaming-orientated motherboards supporting Intel's full range of desktop processors at the moment. We are anticipating that ATI's CrossFire platform will give these motherboards a run for their money if and when it appears on the market with stable drivers.

So looks not too bad...just a few minor improvements to this chipset for the next rev and nvidia could well be onto a winner...now lets see DFI make one of these

Full article @ Bit-Tech

 

[ionicle_old]

looking good! MSI and gigabyte are finally gettin some good boards out...

 

[NickS]

Ionicle, your showing your lackith of knowledge again so shutit.

MSI & Giga-Byte make great boards for people like you if your catching my drift.

i.e nubish

 

[balilu]

if you look at msi's board there isn't that switch between pci slots that you have to change when using one card or two. it's done on it's own by bios

 

[PV5150]

Ionicle, your showing your lackith of knowledge again so shutit.

MSI & Giga-Byte make great boards for people like you if your catching my drift.

i.e nubish

Oh I understand completely now NickS_, I finally see the light. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways My MSI motherboard is noobish, why did you preach the gospel according to Gigabyte for so long, my Gigabyte this, my Gigabyte that...now they are only good for noobs???? Lemme guess, Enermax will only be for noobs next month, Geil the month after???? Your mouth is writing cheques that your brain can't cash lol!!!! Perhaps some peeps can only afford MSI or Gigabyte, I personally have never had any trouble with MSI. Gigabyte as a motherboard, imho, have problems with voltage fluctuations when overclocking, but hey you loved them!!!! I plan on purchasing a DFI in the very near future, but as an addition to the current systems I have running, both on MSI boards (875P NEO, K8 Diamond SLI), I might add!!!!

Both of the previously mentioned setups have performed faultlessly, and the 875P NEO has enabled my P4 2.8C to be overclocked to 3.5Ghz on air. I don't mind you voicing your opinion, but the double standards annoy the hell out of me

PV :ban: :damn: :argue: :whack:

Sorry for the flame, I feel better now!!!!

 

[FarFarAway]

Wow PV flamed someone

I do agree. The reason I would not get a MSI is due to the DOA boards I've had. BUT they do maike great boards and almost stand up to DFI on the overclocking front.

All the reviews I've read about MSI boards have been good. That was why I tried to get an nforce 2 for my XP + Barton...shame it was DOA cause it had some great features

Ah well...still in shock about PV's flame...he's so nice usually But then I totally agree...Nick try balancing your opinions and not contradicting yourself

 

[PV5150]

Thanks kempez, I surprised you lol

Like I answered to NickS' post, I don't mind people having preferences and voicing their opinions, but a balanced approach is always best. Being balanced doesn't ruffle the feathers of other members, it allows for freedom of speech but retains courtesy and respect for other users. 'The best policy' imho

 

[NickS]

MSI's arent cheap!!?! Most of their boards are more expensive than others! They're packed full of features, thats why.

Okay, so newbsih was a harsh term :halo:

Many of their board's are great overclockers, like yours PV5150 .