MSI K8N Neo4 nForce4 Ultra

[darkeyed]

I have the XP90 and I love it so far. Nice and quiet and my machin runs at 32c most times with a mild overclock. We will see when I turn things up some.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: HecDTec
Okay I've just about F*#@ing had it. I've got me one these boards a week ago with a A64 3200+ 939 pin 90nm, (2) 512MB PQI Turbo PC4000 (500Mhz) memory and started it off at 260 Mhz FSB and 4x Hypertransport Multiplier. I can not get Prime 95 Torture Test to run without errors. I've adjusted Cpu & Memory voltage in all configuration, then at default voltage with 250Mhz FSB, 8X CPU Multiplier that way the memory is running in its rated speed of 500 Mhz as well as the cpu rate speed of 2.0 Ghz. What the hell gives.

prime95 has been known to go crazy with a64 boxes. as long as windows is stable and you can run games etc. etc. then dont rely on it.
if you really want to tax the memory do it with a bootdisk running memtest on startup.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

I wish Anandtech would review this board. I have to order a new motherboard TONIGHT!

How good is this board compared to the Neo4?

How about the DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 ULTRA-D?

 

[xjoe]

From what i understand, the gigabyte board only has a HTT of 4x as opposed to the 5x speed of the MSI board and others.

Never really researched it enough to see what the performance differences were, but i doubt it would make it better than the MSI.

As far as the DFI boards are concerned, they were just released within the last few days, and ive had my board for a week, so again, it's a newer type of deal. If you have time to wait im sure there will be some more reviews on the DFI boards (there are some already) to help with your decision.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Well, I have the Neo2 right now, it's great, and looks cool. The DFI boards look like child's toy, or candy, or something.

The DFI board is more expenisve. Ahh, I think I'll just get the Neo4, I'm sure I be very pleased with it.

 

[Painman]

As far as NF4 Ultra boards go, the DFI seems to be getting the most attention but I couldn't go with it. No, not so much because it makes me think of bad acid trips it's because it's only got 2 PCI slots and the MSI has 4. I only use 2 PCI cards right now, but I don't like having to stuff cards into adjacent slots if I can avoid it, and who knows, I may end up wanting/needing something else on the PCI bus. Options = Good.

 

[davidtran007]

no com or parallel port on the dfi board... i think its missing something else also. so im sticking with my neo4

 

[tmchow]

From my research, for an HTPC here is the rundown on the socket 939 NF4 boards:

DFI Lanparty Ultra-D:
Pros: magnetic levitation chipset fan VERY quiet
Cons: only 2 PCI, no comm or parallel. Poor placement of chipset, but stock fan is quiet.

Asus A8N
Pros: Placement of chipset allows replacement of noisy chipset fan with aftermarket solutions, parallel
Cons: ONly SLI version avail (unneeded cost if you aren't using SLI)

MSI K8N Neo4
Pros: 4 PCI, paralel and comm
Cons: Poor placement of chipset, stock fan reported NOISY


Is it true that the stock chipset fan is noisy? If it's true, then this board is going to be a no-go for HTPC use since you can't replace it due to the poor placement (anything taller will hit the video card)

 

[HecDTec]

I just want to pass along some information from PQI about the MSI K8N Neo4 and its ability to do DDR500 clock. Is there anyone here who can reach 250Mhz or higher FSB and memory speed.

The following are emails between myself and PQI support.

=========================================================
From: Ricky Chung [mailto:rickychung@pqimemory.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 12:45 PM
To: Hector Sanchez
Subject: Re:Re: PQI4000-1024DP

I just talked to the technician, and find out that this problem cause by the motherboard itself, because the motherboard may not support DDR 500. In another words, the motherboard may not allow you to run stable for overclock situation. That's why this problem occur.

----- Original Message -----
From: Hector Sanchez
To: 'Ricky Chung'
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 3:45 PM
Subject: RE: PQI4000-1024DP


Set to automatic and notified on the bios screen 3 ? 4 ? 4 ? 8 T1




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Ricky Chung [mailto:rickychung@pqimemory.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 12:45 PM
To: Hector Sanchez
Subject: Re: PQI4000-1024DP
Importance: High



What is the latency you put when you set to 250mhz?

----- Original Message -----

From: Hector Sanchez

To: support@pqimemory.com

Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 4:47 PM

Subject: PQI4000-1024DP



I purchased your PQI4000-1024DP memory which I installed on an MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum motherboard. I can not even run this memory at 250 Mhz FSB, 4X HT and 8x CPU (A64 3200+ 2.0 ghz). I test it using Prime95?s torture test. It seems to run without a problem with 200 Mhz default FSB and default voltage. Do you have any suggestions.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: HecDTec
I just want to pass along some information from PQI about the MSI K8N Neo4 and its ability to do DDR500 clock. Is there anyone here who can reach 250Mhz or higher FSB and memory speed.

im over 270fsb with 2.5-3-3-10-T on a 3200+ and 3200ddr.

 

[xjoe]

Originally posted by: kindest

Originally posted by: HecDTec
I just want to pass along some information from PQI about the MSI K8N Neo4 and its ability to do DDR500 clock. Is there anyone here who can reach 250Mhz or higher FSB and memory speed.

im over 270fsb with 2.5-3-3-10-T on a 3200+ and 3200ddr.

yeah, im over 250 as well ... 254, i think

 

[xjoe]

btw, kindest, what HTT mult are you at? 3x?

Also, what are your sandra scores, im just curious because i have the same ram as you ... mine is:

SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 6471 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 6384 MB/s

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 6519MB/s
Scaling : 6511MB/s
Addition : 6438MB/s
Triad : 6419MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 80% (estimated)

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 6502MB/s
Scaling : 6509MB/s
Addition : 6290MB/s
Triad : 6237MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 79% (estimated)

Performance Test Status
Run ID : JOE-A64 on Tuesday, February 08, 2005 at 10:16:08 PM
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1016MHz (2032MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 8128MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Speed : 2x 254MHz (508MHz data rate)
Width : 128-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 8128MB/s (estimated)

Features
(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : No
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : No


Just want something to compare against, as we have almost the exact same setup, with the exception of processor (i have 3000) and hard drive (i have wd raptor 74 gb)

Also, what are your 3dmark scores?
(or are you even doing benchmarks?)

Thanks again

 

[kindest]

ill install sandra.

the only test i did was aquamark
i got a 63,xxx

 

[darkeyed]

Hey xjoe What is your voltage settings? Are you prime95 stable? I have something that limits my system and I am tring to figure out what it is. My memory runs fine with memtest so I dont think that is the issue. I am only up to 1.41 volts and my system seems fine at 230 with htt 4x.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: xjoe
btw, kindest, what HTT mult are you at? 3x?

Also, what are your sandra scores, im just curious because i have the same ram as you ... mine is:

SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 6471 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 6384 MB/s

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 6519MB/s
Scaling : 6511MB/s
Addition : 6438MB/s
Triad : 6419MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 80% (estimated)

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 6502MB/s
Scaling : 6509MB/s
Addition : 6290MB/s
Triad : 6237MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 79% (estimated)

Performance Test Status
Run ID : JOE-A64 on Tuesday, February 08, 2005 at 10:16:08 PM
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1016MHz (2032MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 8128MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Speed : 2x 254MHz (508MHz data rate)
Width : 128-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 8128MB/s (estimated)

Features
(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : No
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : No


Just want something to compare against, as we have almost the exact same setup, with the exception of processor (i have 3000) and hard drive (i have wd raptor 74 gb)

Also, what are your 3dmark scores?
(or are you even doing benchmarks?)

Thanks again

SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 7130 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 7063 MB/s

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7164MB/s
Scaling : 7183MB/s
Addition : 7090MB/s
Triad : 7086MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7186MB/s
Scaling : 7196MB/s
Addition : 6968MB/s
Triad : 6904MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes

Performance Test Status
Run ID : TIFFANYT-BB01F1 on Tuesday, February 08, 2005 at 7:44:30 PM
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 56MHz (112MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 448MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Width : 128-bit

Features
(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : No
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : No



hmm how come my frontside bus is way different?

 

[xjoe]

darkeyed:
Here is a screenshot of my cpuz shite

 

[xjoe]

Originally posted by: kindest
hmm how come my frontside bus is way different?

not so sure, but your scores kinda ream mine .. what was her HTT multiplier?

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: xjoe

Originally posted by: kindest
hmm how come my frontside bus is way different?

not so sure, but your scores kinda ream mine .. what was her HTT multiplier?

i have cpu 9.5, fsb 270, HT=4.
i can boot with same all the way up to fsb 285 but ill lock up after an hour or so.
i havent fooled around too much with in between 270-285 to see my optimum.

 

[xjoe]

oh, so you're over the 1000 mhz HTT speed? is it prime stable? i've been kinda reluctant to go any higher, but then again i work a lot and dont get much time to play with it.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: xjoe
oh, so you're over the 1000 mhz HTT speed? is it prime stable? i've been kinda reluctant to go any higher, but then again i work a lot and dont get much time to play with it.

i guess iam.
i was told to keep it approx. 1000.
1080 is close isnt it.

i dont think it isnt prime95 stable but damn ive been up and running for days now, gaming, mp3ing, hdtving, etc and havent had a issue.
ive read prime95 isnt a good indicator for amd64 boxes.
what do you think

 

[xjoe]

close enough i spose, maybe tomorrow i'll try and up the ante, we shall see, got a pretty good wednesday lined up, gotta go to office depot, [insert other corny store here] ... dont know if i'll have enough time

 

[kindest]

up it baby uppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp it!

 

[kindest]

ok on pc set to 10x , 260fsb, ht=4 i scored a little better and my bus thing fixed itself.

SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 7221 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 7128 MB/s

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7262MB/s
Scaling : 7266MB/s
Addition : 7186MB/s
Triad : 7173MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 87% (estimated)

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7254MB/s
Scaling : 7266MB/s
Addition : 7042MB/s
Triad : 6951MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 86% (estimated)

Performance Test Status
Run ID : TIFFANYT-BB01F1 on Tuesday, February 08, 2005 at 8:57:07 PM
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1040MHz (2080MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 8320MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Speed : 2x 260MHz (520MHz data rate)
Width : 128-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 8320MB/s (estimated)

Features
(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : No
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : No

 

[Jeraden]

I don't think you really need to worry about having a low HTT if that keeps you stable. There's benchmarks somewhere I was looking at the other day that showed the difference between 600HTT and 1000HTT to be pretty negligible. Like 1% difference between 600 & 800, and 1% difference between 800 & 1000.

 

[kindest]

oh for real.. didnt realize.
new score even higher, FSB 265, HT=3, CPU = 10

SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 7355 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 7266 MB/s

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7388MB/s
Scaling : 7403MB/s
Addition : 7320MB/s
Triad : 7309MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 87% (estimated)

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7388MB/s
Scaling : 7401MB/s
Addition : 7176MB/s
Triad : 7101MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 86% (estimated)

Performance Test Status
Run ID : TIFFANYT-BB01F1 on Tuesday, February 08, 2005 at 9:11:55 PM
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 795MHz (1590MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 6360MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.5-3-3-3CL 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Speed : 2x 265MHz (530MHz data rate)
Width : 128-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 8480MB/s (estimated)