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: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
The Asus A8N32-SLI set a new stock speed overclock record with this CPU at 246. This is likely a result of the excellent 8-phase power regulation of the Asus board, which greatly contributes to cool operation – even when pushed hard.
Lowering the multiplier to reach the highest CPU clock also yielded excellent performance – at 310 among the highest that we have tested. This Asus has an outstanding assortment of memory timing and voltage adjustments for overclocking, but they are somewhat unfamiliar. Given more time with this board, it is likely that we could achieve even higher reduced multiplier timings as we become more familiar with the memory adjustments. In general, the HyperTransport performs well when left on Auto, letting the board handle the HTT adjustments.
Other top overclockers like the DFI nForce4 series have extensive adjustments for tRef and Driving Strength. Best overclocking performance is often achieved on the DFI by reducing DDR Driving Strength with Samsung TCCD. The Asus has more limited Driving Strength and tRef adjustments, but it offers an extremely wide range of DDR Skew adjustments, which are missing from many enthusiast boards. The point is that Asus has taken a little different approach to controls, and it will take time to learn what works best with the available memories.
Asus also offers full Auto settings for those who do not wish to delve deeply into the BIOS for overclocking. There are even Auto Overclocking options in the BIOS where the board will set all parameters for best overclocking. These work well, but like other Auto OC options, the Asus can be pushed furthest with intelligent manual overclocking.
We were really unprepared for what a great overclocker the Asus turned out to be. The dual x16 is about graphics, and we really didn’t expect the excellent overclocking that this board delivers. It should be pointed out, however, that best overclocks are achieved with a single video card. While we reached 310x9 with a single 7800GTX, the best OC that we could achieve with a 7800GTX SLI setup was about 275.
| Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Overclocking Testbed | |
| Processor: | Athlon 64 4000+ (2.4GHz, 1MB Cache) |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.45V (default 1.40V) |
| Cooling: | Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heatsink/Fan |
| Power Supply: | OCZ Power Stream 520W |
| Memory: | OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 (Samsung TCCD Memory Chips) |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 120GB 7200RPM SATA 8MB Cache |
| Maximum OC: (Standard Ratio) |
246x12 (Auto HT, 2.5-3-3-7) 2952MHz (+23%) |
| Maximum FSB: (Lower Ratio) |
310 x 9 (3x HT, 1T) (2790MHz, 2 DIMMs in DC mode) (+55% Bus Overclock) |
The Asus A8N32-SLI set a new stock speed overclock record with this CPU at 246. This is likely a result of the excellent 8-phase power regulation of the Asus board, which greatly contributes to cool operation – even when pushed hard.
Lowering the multiplier to reach the highest CPU clock also yielded excellent performance – at 310 among the highest that we have tested. This Asus has an outstanding assortment of memory timing and voltage adjustments for overclocking, but they are somewhat unfamiliar. Given more time with this board, it is likely that we could achieve even higher reduced multiplier timings as we become more familiar with the memory adjustments. In general, the HyperTransport performs well when left on Auto, letting the board handle the HTT adjustments.
Other top overclockers like the DFI nForce4 series have extensive adjustments for tRef and Driving Strength. Best overclocking performance is often achieved on the DFI by reducing DDR Driving Strength with Samsung TCCD. The Asus has more limited Driving Strength and tRef adjustments, but it offers an extremely wide range of DDR Skew adjustments, which are missing from many enthusiast boards. The point is that Asus has taken a little different approach to controls, and it will take time to learn what works best with the available memories.
Asus also offers full Auto settings for those who do not wish to delve deeply into the BIOS for overclocking. There are even Auto Overclocking options in the BIOS where the board will set all parameters for best overclocking. These work well, but like other Auto OC options, the Asus can be pushed furthest with intelligent manual overclocking.
We were really unprepared for what a great overclocker the Asus turned out to be. The dual x16 is about graphics, and we really didn’t expect the excellent overclocking that this board delivers. It should be pointed out, however, that best overclocks are achieved with a single video card. While we reached 310x9 with a single 7800GTX, the best OC that we could achieve with a 7800GTX SLI setup was about 275.
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GliderPilot - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link
Well i have finally gotten my replacement board, and again i have a major issue with it. It seems that in some fit of wisdom, one of asus's underpaid engineers placed a heatpipe right in the way of the x4 PCIe slot. You might not have a use for them, but i certainly do. I have a PowerColor Theatre 550Pro x1 TV Tuner that is right now occupying an x16 slot. While i dont intend to do SLI, i would dearly like to have dual tuners without having to have one on pci, the other on PCIewbloon - Sunday, December 18, 2005 - link
I'm not a big gamer. But I currently drive 2 monitors and with the new system want to drive at least 3 monitors and possibly a TV.So my question is can I drive two video boards but not in SLI mode, since it is my understanding that SLI will only drive one monitor.
I understand that I could get away with a board like the DFI Ultra and have 16 lanes to one card and 4 lanes to another and that would probably meet my needs but I'd like stretch the envelope where ever possible because the future keeps coming despite my best efforts.
Terry Clark
GliderPilot - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link
unless you are gaming on both cards (which probably wont) having 4 lanes is more than sufficient. The bandwidth would be comparable to AGP4 in the downstream. This solution is about as future proof as it gets. To answer your question, yes this board basically has 2 full bandwidth X16 slots, what you do with them is up to you. Buying this board soley for the extra 16 lanes is really a waste of money, unless there is some other reason you like itBibbidyBobidyBoo - Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - link
I recently purchased this motherboard and an Antec NeoHe 550W PS and the combo worked great for about 5 to 10 min and then the computer spontaneously shuts down. The issue is with the PS not the MB. The Antec TruePowerII 550W PS works just fine. I believe the incompatibility is from the amount of current supplied on the 12V and 5V lines, it may match the ATX2.2 spec however it is not completely backwards compatible with this Asus MB.Beware this issue has also been noted on other Asus MB’s.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp...">Newegg Customer Reviews">http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp...
JNo - Thursday, November 10, 2005 - link
Can someone confirm to me that no single x16 video slot version of this Asus motherboard exists? I get the impression that none does. Also, anyone know if the latest zalman CPU coolers fit? Finally, I know most here wouldn't care for the Asus automatic overclocking results but for someone like me, can you please inform me, Wesley, as to how much of a boost does the inbuilt Asus overclocking facility provide please?Many thanks
Capt Caveman - Monday, November 14, 2005 - link
Umm, this new chipset is for SLI, thus the chipset name x16 SLI. The pci-e video slot is already x16 on every single video slot socket 939 pci-e motherboard. Up til now, SLI motherboards had to split the x16 into two x8 pci-e graphic slots. Thus, you will never see a single slot video care motherboard using this chipset.And yes, it has been confirmed by current users that the Zalman coolers fit.
Due to the fact that Asus's Overclocking Utilities lack a number of settings that are available in the bios, ie. memory settings, you'll only be able to get a small overclock before the system becomes instable. Overclocking via the bios is the only way to go to ensure a stable overclock.
qquizz - Sunday, November 6, 2005 - link
Whatever happened to BF2 benchies?huges84 - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
Quoted from page 7
DieLate - Sunday, November 6, 2005 - link
Wesley, any chance of a measurement of northbridge & "stack cool" heatsinks? If you or someone else with one could measure how high off the motherboard they rise, that would be great.I'm hoping the Thermaltake Big Typhoon or Thermalright SI-120 would fit, as they have somewhere around 2" raised off the board (though the heatpipes might still hit the northbridge heatsink :( ).
DieLate - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
Nevermind.I have confirmed elsewhere the TT BT fits without any issues.