|
Advice Beginners BIOS Guide CPUs Links Mainboards Memory Network Storage Video/Sound Cards Contact Forum SiteMap Sponsors WebNews Home |
. | . |
|
Prices: CPU Intel P4 2.4C-800 P4 2.6C-800 P4 2.8C-800 P4 3.0-800 P4 3.2-800 AMD AthlonXP XP 1700+ XP 2000+ XP 2400+ XP 2500+ XP 2700+ XP 3000+ XP 3200+ Athlon64 Athlon64 3200+ Athlon64 FX-51 Opteron Opteron 240 Opteron 242 Opteron 244 Opteron 246 Memory Corsair Crucial Kingston Mushkin OCZ |
LOSTCIRCUITS
|
|
| ASUS A8R32 MVP Deluxe Overclocking vs. Performance? | |
|
(Review by MS, May 7, 2006) |
| AMD Athlon64 x2-3800+ |
Summary
ATI's line of chipset is the latest buzz in the menagerie of core logic. An insane overclocking potential, combined with 32 PCIe lanes dedicated entirely to graphics processing are the main charms enticing the novice along with the hard-boiled overclocking fanatic. Crossfire in the purest form includiung the possibility of using two ATI X1900 XT processors complements the platform by taking advantage of a 16 MB/sec path for feeding the graphics monsters with data and inter-GPU communication for coordination of the different workloads.
On paper, all this and more seems like a perfect solution but what happens in reality? In most systems we have looked at, increasing the bus speed also increased system performance - even if we kept the overall CPU clock speed the same. So what are we to expect if we are taking advantage of the insane clocking potential of the chipset without raising the CPU clock? Or rather, are the benchmarks going to tell us something about the tricks that ATI/ASUS used to enable the speed demons. Think wait states, think skews - and by the end of the day, there is still the possibility of overclocking the PCIe bus to make the hard disks spin faster than their rated 7200 rpm and turn a Barracuda into a Raptor! -- Or maybe not?
Actually, the latter only works with the BIOS that was never released....
About 3-4 years ago, the word chipset was automatically associated with no more than four different companies. In no particular order those were Intel, ALi, SIS, and VIA Technologies. When the first rumors of the Crush K7 chipset surfaced, it was greeted with abundant skepticism about whether nVidia as a graphics company could possibly compete in the core logic world. Accordingly, the initial feedback on the long-anticipated nForce chipset seemed to prove that this was just another attempt along the lines of Micron's Copperhead and Samurai chipsets - nice but so what, and consequently aimed for oblivion.
History shows otherwise and there is very little question that currently nVidia's chipsets hold the leading position in the world of core logic, at least with respect to performance, whereas ALi, SIS and VIA have diminished to volume outfitters of inexpensive OEM computers. Interestingly enough, the chipset development parallels the development of the graphics market - gone are Trident (ALi) and SIS; Matrox is still hanging on live-support and there are some feeble attempts by XGI (SIS spin-off) and S3 (now owned by VIA Tech) in the form of the Volari and DeltaChrome line-ups to add at least a bit of confetti to the market.
The only real competition for nVidia in the graphics world is ATI and for a number of years both companies have exchanged savage blows, on silicon and on paper. Quite honestly, we need to thank the PR departments of both companies for some of the best soap operas the PC industry has ever witnessed, spiced with lies and cheats - for all we know, the sex was missing - so it maybe wasn't that good after all.
Still, it is a natural consequence of the di-polization of the graphics market that ATI simply had to enter the chipset market. Had they not, nVidia would have run off with SLI technology and, by virtue of their core-logic technology destroyed any other graphics competitor with respect to performance.
| AMD Opteron 275 |
|
Foxconn NF4SK8AA-8EKRS |
next page: => The 8/16/32 Lanes Conundrum =>
If you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful, please consider making a small donation to LostCircuits.