ASRock Penryn 1600SLI-110dB : Penryn on the 650i, are you kidding me?
by Gary Key on February 15, 2008 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
E8400 4x1GB 9x435 -
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E8400 2x2GB 9x435 -
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E8400 8GB 9x435 -
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E8400 8GB 9x333 -
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The first two screenshots show a final setting of 9x435FSB with the E8400 dual-core processor. This results in a final CPU speed of 3.91GHz at 1.375V. We utilized a 4x1GB and 2x2GB memory configuration at DDR2-1044 with 5-4-4-12 timings on 2.2V. This particular CPU is a recent retail purchase that will reach 4.1GHz with 1.3625V on an X48 board. We could POST at 9x445 but Crysis reared its ugly head and prohibited us from running at a higher FSB rate even with reduced memory speeds or increased timings. We had to set VTT to 1.375V, GTLRef to High, HT Link speed to 800MHz, and SPP voltage to 1.382V for stability.
Unfortunately, we could not change the CPU multiplier with the current 1.00 BIOS so maximum FSB rates are not available. However, we believe this board will probably do around 450FSB which is perfectly acceptable considering this FSB range usually maximizes performance with the right memory settings on this chipset.
Our 8GB memory configuration also resulted in a 9x435FSB setting with memory at DDR2-1044 at 5-5-4-15 timings on 2.2V. We had to set VTT to 1.42V. GTLRef to High, HT Link speed to 600MHz, and SPP voltage to 1.382V. We wish the BIOS had a 2.25V setting to ensure a little extra headroom for stability. The next setting after 2.20V is 2.31V and is outside the voltage recommendations for this memory. Our board operated fine but the increase in VTT voltage and decrease in HT link speeds were required to pass the benchmark test suite. In the end, these settings and resulting performance on this chipset with 8GB installed is exceptional.
Once again the board exhibited very good Vdroop levels with idle around -.01V raising to -.03V under load. We have included a stock 9x333 screenshot as a reference point. Memory timings and performance results at stock settings were equal between the 4GB and 8GB setups.
Overall, the overclocking performance of this board with the E8400 and QX9650 is good, certainly not the best we have seen with the Intel chipsets, but perfectly acceptable given the board's target market. In all cases, once the various voltage and memory timings were dialed in, the board proved to be extremely stable. This is a very good indicator that ASRock can fine tune additional performance and hopefully address a few of our requests for improvements. They have already responded with a new BIOS release that we are testing currently.
Quick Thoughts -
ASRock is one of those companies that people tend to either love or hate. A lot of people wouldn't even consider purchasing a budget oriented motherboard, choosing to live by the old adage "you get what you pay for". However, based on what we have seen out of ASRock in the past few months, we would not hesitate to recommend this board for someone looking for a solid gaming platform, especially if SLI is important. We say this without showing the rest of our cards on the table, but this board is already a diamond in the rough for those looking to marry an E8400 with a couple of 8800GT's. How it will fair in the end against the likes of the abit IP35-E and Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L is something we will answer shortly.
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assassin8rr - Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - link
got this board and e8400 hoping to reach 4.0 like in review but cant get it stable with same settings so im reaching for 3.6 butt cant figure out right settings ive only got to 3.3 on stock settings while increasing fsb to 375 after that it locks up even adding more vcore tried settings from stock up to 1.3 whith 400 fsb memory at 4-4-4-12 and tried 5-5-5-15 anyone have any idea what i can try nextArnejoh - Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - link
I have recently had 3 top of the line Asus motherboard that has gone into an failed state. Two of this boards "work" a little bit and is based on intel 975x chipsett. The last and most recent board was the p5n32e-SLI. This board worked great with my q6600@3.4ghz and one 8800gt. But when i got the last 8800gt to run SLI it only survived two cod 4 games before i got the bsod and after that it wont work anymore at all. After reading about all the 680i problems i was allmost ready to give up SLI and get my self a god board based on the intel x38 chipsett.But then i read this article. I've only had one Asrock board before and it work well enuff. Since i did not want to wait for the rma of the other board i needed a cheap substitute. So i ordered this board, it looks good enuff, but there is several severe problems i have noticed over the last two days:
1. The volt regulators at the base of the mobo is whining like the old modems we had before when they connected. This is going on all the time, and the high pitch is driving me crazy.
2. This board really sucks regarding to overclocking my q6600, the old p5n32e-SLI could do 425 fsb stable, this board can do 425 with lower fsb, but fails when the cpu is pushed over 2.7ghz. This is the same with higher multi and the same cpy frequenzy. I have now wather cooled both gpus and chipset and temps are very low. Like 45 degree celsius with a lot of chipset volt. Even tried setting all volts on mobo to max just to try. Did not give me more stable speed.
3. Slow poster, after i upgraded to bios 1.3 it got a lot slower to get over post screen.
4. Problems using my to extra sata disks when raid is enabled.
So my rating is very low...it works but so does allmost every normal 650i card at the same price range. And the extra cpu support is the only real charming ting for me as for now, and the fact that sli is stable. But sli on a quad at only 2.4 ghz is waste. It gives me a 4000-5000 point lower score in 3dmark06 then i had with 680i and the same cpu@3.4ghz. So with loosy overclocking this is realy holding me back...if it was not so cheap i would return it instantly.
Arnejoh - Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - link
I have recently had 3 top of the line Asus motherboard that has gone into an failed state. Two of this boards "work" a little bit and is based on intel 975x chipsett. The last and most recent board was the p5n32e-SLI. This board worked great with my q6600@3.4ghz and one 8800gt. But when i got the last 8800gt to run SLI it only survived two cod 4 games before i got the bsod and after that it wont work anymore at all. After reading about all the 680i problems i was allmost ready to give up SLI and get my self a god board based on the intel x38 chipsett.But then i read this article. I've only had one Asrock board before and it work well enuff. Since i did not want to wait for the rma of the other board i needed a cheap substitute. So i ordered this board, it looks good enuff, but there is several severe problems i have noticed over the last two days:
1. The volt regulators at the base of the mobo is whining like the old modems we had before when they connected. This is going on all the time, and the high pitch is driving me crazy.
2. This board really sucks regarding to overclocking my q6600, the old p5n32e-SLI could do 425 fsb stable, this board can do 425 with lower fsb, but fails when the cpu is pushed over 2.7ghz. This is the same with higher multi and the same cpy frequenzy. I have now wather cooled both gpus and chipset and temps are very low. Like 45 degree celsius with a lot of chipset volt. Even tried setting all volts on mobo to max just to try. Did not give me more stable speed.
3. Slow poster, after i upgraded to bios 1.3 it got a lot slower to get over post screen.
4. Problems using my to extra sata disks when raid is enabled.
So my rating is very low...it works but so does allmost every normal 650i card at the same price range. And the extra cpu support is the only real charming ting for me as for now, and the fact that sli is stable. But sli on a quad at only 2.4 ghz is waste. It gives me a 4000-5000 point lower score in 3dmark06 then i had with 680i and the same cpu@3.4ghz. So with loosy overclocking this is realy holding me back...if it was not so cheap i would return it instantly.
miklaszewski - Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - link
Hi guys! I just got one of those with a e8200 and 2x2gb ddr2 800 5-5-5-15. I'm having some difficulty overclocking, since it's my first time at it. I started to increase the FSB, but @2.8, 3.0 mhz, the pc freezes. I thought it might have been the fact that the ram speed also increases and cant handle the clock speed, but again, i'm new at this. I also cant find the memory ratio on the bios (its updated to the last version). Should i look at other things such as increasing or lowering voltages or messing with the memory timmings? I even tried lowering the memory speed to 667 so that it remained at 800 with the increased FSB, but no success. Pc freeze @2.8 and above.(got a thermaltake typhoon cooler, cpu temp aroung 30º)
Thanks a lot, hope you can help.
petran - Friday, March 14, 2008 - link
all those of you who just comment... how many boards have you ever used?well i've used quite a few from every posible brand.tha bigest problems that i have ever come across with whwre with asus boards.regarding asrock and ecs they have always been proved stable and reliable.nowdays prices tend to closely much so my advice to you is to bye what you get more for the same price.YES i ve become an Asrock fanLoghic - Sunday, February 24, 2008 - link
I think, the asrock penryn1600sli-110dB looks very interesting. I’m considering to buy this board, but now I read, that asrock is going to launch a nforce 680i mainboard with Tripe-SLi, Penryn and FSB 1600 Support.http://www.pc-treiber.net/thread.php?threadid=8130">http://www.pc-treiber.net/thread.php?threadid=8130
ap90033 - Friday, February 22, 2008 - link
Great news but where in the world can I get a good SLI board like thsi???rudolphna - Monday, February 18, 2008 - link
Has a very clean layout and look to it. too bad its an ASrock board. i dont trust them. imo they are cheap ripoffs of ASUSEnder868 - Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - link
You are aware that Asrock is a division of ASUS correct?kalrith - Monday, February 18, 2008 - link
It states "Get to the numbers aleady" instead of "Get to the numbers already". This displays on the link at the bottom of page 2 and on the drop-down menu.