ASUS P5NSLI: Core 2 Duo and SLI on a Budget
by Gary Key on August 22, 2006 5:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Memory Performance
We are testing our motherboards at the fastest stable timings we can achieve and still pass our benchmark test suite. By increasing the memory voltage on the ASUS P5NSLI we were able to run our TwinMOS modules at 3-3-3-9 at DDR2-533. Using memory ratios our CPU speed remains the same at 1.86GHz in the test platform with memory speed being varied.
Our memory settings were derived from extensive stress testing with a variety of applications. While certain settings that allowed lower latencies worked well with certain applications, the final settings we arrived at had to work with all applications. All results on this page are generated with our E6300 and 7600GS component selection.
The Sandra bandwidth Unbuffered memory performance of the NVIDIA 570SLI chipset is the lowest of our group at DDR2-533 (1:1 ratio) and is second to last at DDR2-667 (4:5 ratio). The Unbuffered scores of the 570SLI chipset increase by 5% when going from DDR2-533 to DDR2-667 which equals the same increases as the 945P. However, both the P965 and 975X scale at a rate of approximately 15%. The buffered memory scores are very competitive with the other solutions but we usually find these scores do not correlate well with real performance in most applications. The 570SLI actually scores very well in our SuperPI 2M tests where it leads all solutions and places second in the latency tests.
Our ASUS P5NSLI results are 28% lower in the Sandra Unbuffered test compared to the P965 chipset, although its buffered scores are higher than either Intel chipset. As we have been saying for years, however, the Buffered benchmark usually does indicate true performance capability in actual applications. The Unbuffered result turns off the buffering schemes, and we have found the results correlate well with real-world performance as we will see shortly. The huge difference in the Unbuffered scores could be generated by running the MCH at a much lower timing (overclocking the MCH) in the BIOS. We will investigate this further in an upcoming article. A very good guide to understanding how the chipset, memory, and CPU relate to each other on Intel chipsets is located here.
We are testing our motherboards at the fastest stable timings we can achieve and still pass our benchmark test suite. By increasing the memory voltage on the ASUS P5NSLI we were able to run our TwinMOS modules at 3-3-3-9 at DDR2-533. Using memory ratios our CPU speed remains the same at 1.86GHz in the test platform with memory speed being varied.
Our memory settings were derived from extensive stress testing with a variety of applications. While certain settings that allowed lower latencies worked well with certain applications, the final settings we arrived at had to work with all applications. All results on this page are generated with our E6300 and 7600GS component selection.
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| Click to enlarge |
The Sandra bandwidth Unbuffered memory performance of the NVIDIA 570SLI chipset is the lowest of our group at DDR2-533 (1:1 ratio) and is second to last at DDR2-667 (4:5 ratio). The Unbuffered scores of the 570SLI chipset increase by 5% when going from DDR2-533 to DDR2-667 which equals the same increases as the 945P. However, both the P965 and 975X scale at a rate of approximately 15%. The buffered memory scores are very competitive with the other solutions but we usually find these scores do not correlate well with real performance in most applications. The 570SLI actually scores very well in our SuperPI 2M tests where it leads all solutions and places second in the latency tests.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Our ASUS P5NSLI results are 28% lower in the Sandra Unbuffered test compared to the P965 chipset, although its buffered scores are higher than either Intel chipset. As we have been saying for years, however, the Buffered benchmark usually does indicate true performance capability in actual applications. The Unbuffered result turns off the buffering schemes, and we have found the results correlate well with real-world performance as we will see shortly. The huge difference in the Unbuffered scores could be generated by running the MCH at a much lower timing (overclocking the MCH) in the BIOS. We will investigate this further in an upcoming article. A very good guide to understanding how the chipset, memory, and CPU relate to each other on Intel chipsets is located here.
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Calin - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
I wonder if the FSB wall (the 320-321 MHz) the mainboard run into is real or an engineering trick... Conspiracy theory, but I think that the top-end chipset might reach a much higher FSB, luring overclockers to pay a handfull of dollars for the premium chipsetGary Key - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
On the previous C19A boards we hit 268FSB with a Pentium 4. We were starting at a 200FSB level. We are now starting at a 266FSB and hitting around the 320FSB level which is actually lower from the base. The Intel NVIDIA chipsets have never been good overclockers and our sample will not even post past 325FSB. We are expecting our final NF590SLI sample this week so it will be interesting if there is a cap although I doubt it.
shabby - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
321 max fsb? Who in their right mind would buy this mobo when the gigabyte ds3 hits speeds over 500fsb?bob661 - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
Because this board costs $120 or lower and has more features (SLI). Not everyone OC's their motherboard. Besides, the DS3 has questionable stability. Why would I or other non-OCers would want to pay $140+ for a board (DS3) that has less features and less stability? Also, DS3's are NOT hitting 500 fsb regularly. A fortunate few are getting 500 fsb but not everyone.DigitalDivine - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
i thought asus would have phased out their signiture gold puke color by now. that board is probably the ugliest i've seen come out of asus, it's not subtle, but bright!!!! black is a very nice color... stick with black... or go platinum silver (i miss my soyo dragon)...the sad part in all of this is that their low cost subsidiary "asrock" offers a very tasteful blue color for their boards.
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This board will be excellent for when i buy a conroe though, maybe i'll wait to see what other manufacturers will be able to put out.
R3MF - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
why does the Intel version of the 570SLI have only 20 PCIe lanes when the AMD version of the 570SLI has 28 PCIe lanes?Gary Key - Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - link
They are not utilizing the same chipset. The 570SLI for Intel Edition is just updated marketing language for the existing C19A+/MCP51(nForce 430).