DFI nForce4: SLI and Ultra for Mad Overclockers
by Wesley Fink on February 5, 2005 9:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Final Words
DFI set out to create the absolute best nForce4 boards that an enthusiast could find on the market. After spending several weeks with engineering samples and now the final retail boards, we believe that DFI has succeeded in their goal. There are other very good nForce4 boards that compete well at stock speeds, overclock well, or perform well in SLI mode, but no other board that we are aware of does so many things so well as the DFI LANParty nForce4 boards. Looking at the boards as they ship, it would be hard not to be impressed with the feature sets, performance, record-setting overclocking, and stability of the new DFI nForce4 motherboards.
If you then throw in the fact that all the DFI nForce4 boards from the $140 UT Ultra-D to the $200 LANParty nF4 SLI-DR are based on the same PCB and use the same BIOS, the story becomes even more interesting. Those simple facts mean that all of the DFI boards perform the same, overclock the same, and contain the same pair of x16 PCIe slots. This allows even the bottom-of the-line Ultra-D to run 2 PCIe video cards in x16/x2 mode at about 90% the performance of full-blown SLI. Perhaps even more impressive is that a simple mod with a #2 pencil turns the Ultra-D into an SLI board, allowing any nVidia drivers to work in full x8/x8 SLI mode. When this is factored into the formula, we have to say that no current nForce4 board - SLI or Ultra - can deliver the value that you get with the DFI LANParty UT Ultra-D.
For many buyers, the UT Ultra-D will be the start and end of their search. A $140 board that performs like this one does, overclocks like this one does, and that also can do SLI is an incredible bargain in today's market. Keep in mind, however, that the price spread from the Ultra-D to the SLI-DR is only about $60 once the prices settle down. Those who are afraid to mod may find the additional $60 for the SLI-DR to be well worth the cost. You also get a full-blown LANParty package with the top board, and the Front-X box, UV cable sheathing and carrying harness for your system do add value.
Last, but clearly not least, the overclocking results will put a smile on any user's face. Memory voltage to 4.0V, the huge array of voltage adjustments, a slew of memory tweaking options, and vCore to 2.1V are all impressive features, but they are even more impressive when they really do enable higher overclocks. On the DFI nF4 boards, that is certainly the case. We reached 318x9 at 1T Command Rate - performance that demolished our previous best of 295 1T with this same memory. We also were able to reach the highest overclock that we have ever seen at stock ratios with our 4000+ CPU, reaching a stable 238x12. Enthusiasts will love this board, and the designers deserve our admiration for the solid design work that went into the DFI nF4 series.
This does not mean that the DFI nForce4 boards are perfect, but they are certainly close. We could wish for High Definition audio on the Karajan Audio Module, and we might wish for an easier means to switch from "normal" to "SLI" mode on the boards. The 6 jumper blocks are clumsy to set to SLI, even with the included chip extractor. But if jumpers were the trade-off to give us an SLI selection on the Ultra-D, we will take them. We also wish that DFI could find some means of reaching an agreement with nVidia to provide the "dual-video" bridge with the Ultra boards. In the larger scheme of things, however, these are mostly minor complaints.
It is rare that we test a board and feel completely satisfied, but to be honest, that is exactly the feeling that the DFI nF4 boards leave with us. Yes, there are a few warts, but the complexion is much clearer of imperfections than we usually find. This is one motherboard that has just earned a spot in my personal setup and it will take something very special to displace this one. This board is a keeper - whether you mod the $140 Ultra-D or spring for the full-blown SLI-DR!
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chevas - Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - link
Did I miss something? Why do I not see the A8N-SLI deluxe included in these tests?!?Penth - Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - link
NO SLI Bridge? What am I to do with my Ultra-D now?beany323 - Monday, February 7, 2005 - link
bigtoe36 - Monday, February 7, 2005 - link
many companies have applied chipset tweaks with Asus pioneering PAT on 865PE boards from the onset...seems all of a suden the tier ones are being made to tow the line???ViRGE - Sunday, February 6, 2005 - link
Wesley, that's certainly a very believable story. Though Asus is a very good mobo company, they're also who I would suspect any such complainer to be. They're the most powerful tier 1 last I checked, and most likely to lose SLI sales due to semi-SLI, in part because it wouldn't be like them to release their own semi-SLI board. I'd hate to think that someone is trying to kill the modding community like that though.bbomb - Sunday, February 6, 2005 - link
Nvidia is going to kill off SLI before it even gets off the ground by making it the most insanely difficult and expensive thing for computer users to do. Why cant they make it so that you can just slap in any two nvidia cards and get SLI to work? Why do they have to make it so that motherboards now cost over $250 retail for an SLI version?I pray to god that ATI's version is half the price of Nvidias and allows any two ATI cards to work in an SLI fashion just top put Nvida back in their place. I bet the Nvidia prevents any ATI cards from working in SLI mode on any Nforce chipset should ATI get that to work.
This is what happens when graphics card companies use their chipsets to restrict what computer users can do with that companies video cards. I do belive that Nvidia said that they were two separate businesses but now they must have combined them to place the most restricitons possible through drivers to prevent affordable solutions from coming out.
F you Nvida it's all ATI and Via for me now.
Wesley Fink - Sunday, February 6, 2005 - link
#93 - There was no press at all on the MSI "semi-SLI" Ultra - just a couple of posts on Forums - and nVidia was all over it. MSI said they canned the idea and the nVidia drivers were quickly changed so "semi-sli" would not work with current drivers on the Ultra.I doubt it was the press that caused this to happen. Ultra chip shipments were still going to all the manufacturers after the "mod" article went up on January 18th and there was not one word from nVidia until Friday February 4.
The best we can figure is that a powerful tier 1 manufacturer complained loudly to nVidia late this week that they were losing SLI sales to DFI because of the "illegal" SLI. nVidia was forced to act due to the political clout of this manufacturer.
Of course nVidia had other options as well. They could have decided to lower the price of SLI and discontinue Ultra, which is what we thought would happen.
bigtoe36 - Sunday, February 6, 2005 - link
#93It was all over the forums MSI had a semi SLI board and NV came down on them hard...nothing was in the "official press" though.
I have a feeling a tier 1 has moaned here as DFI are tier 2 and probably had no help designing the board...so pretty much went it alone and designed the board how they wanted to.
I would have thought the best move would have been to lower the cost of SLI and remove the "branding tax" and drop the Ultra chipset.
Still NV make the decissions here not us.
arfan - Sunday, February 6, 2005 - link
likes what i say, nvida is not stupid, i hope via can make sli mobo with cheap pricestephenbrooks - Sunday, February 6, 2005 - link
It's time for another "The message is clear:" thing.If chip manufacturers want to sell different products at different prices they should make sure they use DIFFERENT CHIPS! Nobody can pencil mod across a submicron trace. Why oh why do they do this and then put the lock in software?! I suspect it's because they wanted to be able to make a load of generic chips and brand them as the market demands.
Still... it's stupid! I remember reading AT's article on that pencil mod and had to blink a few times to make sure I was reading it right... :)