Asus A8R-MVP: Mainstream Rocket
by Wesley Fink on November 23, 2005 1:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Overclocking Comparisons
Maximum overclock data was added to our Performance graphs beginning with the nForce4 SLI roundup earlier this year. The overclocking performance graphs allow a better comparison of the overclocking capabilities of tested boards. For more details on the specific overclocking abilities of a specific board, please refer to the Overclocking and Memory Stress Test section of individual board reviews.
No one, least of all this reviewer, expected this kind of overclocking with this mainstream Asus board. Once in a while, you run across a mainstream or value board that surprises you with its capabilities. This board is one of those surprises. Frankly, the Asus A8R-MVP may be the best thing to happen to ATI's new Crossfire chipsets.
ATI has made tremendous progress in board design since we looked at the initial Bullhead board last November. Asus definitely went their own way in the design of the A8R-MVP, but the simplicity of the board more than likely contributes to the great overclocking that we experienced.
It is very important that users change the default 2T Command Rate to 1T for best performance. Asus ships the A8R-MVP with 2T enabled to satisfy some memory manufacturers. The board has no trouble running 1T with quality memory, but you have to set the 1T Command Rate manually. All overclocking was performed with the Command Rate at 1T and the Command Rate was verified in AMD Tweaker.
Maximum overclock data was added to our Performance graphs beginning with the nForce4 SLI roundup earlier this year. The overclocking performance graphs allow a better comparison of the overclocking capabilities of tested boards. For more details on the specific overclocking abilities of a specific board, please refer to the Overclocking and Memory Stress Test section of individual board reviews.
No one, least of all this reviewer, expected this kind of overclocking with this mainstream Asus board. Once in a while, you run across a mainstream or value board that surprises you with its capabilities. This board is one of those surprises. Frankly, the Asus A8R-MVP may be the best thing to happen to ATI's new Crossfire chipsets.
ATI has made tremendous progress in board design since we looked at the initial Bullhead board last November. Asus definitely went their own way in the design of the A8R-MVP, but the simplicity of the board more than likely contributes to the great overclocking that we experienced.
It is very important that users change the default 2T Command Rate to 1T for best performance. Asus ships the A8R-MVP with 2T enabled to satisfy some memory manufacturers. The board has no trouble running 1T with quality memory, but you have to set the 1T Command Rate manually. All overclocking was performed with the Command Rate at 1T and the Command Rate was verified in AMD Tweaker.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
74 Comments
View All Comments
Wesley Fink - Friday, December 9, 2005 - link
The PCIe giagbit cards should deliver the same performance as on-board PCIe Gigabit Ethernet. They generally use the same chips as on-board or variants f those chips. You can use the x1 PCIe slot with Crossfire IF your cards are single width. If the video cards are double width the PCIe x1 is blocked.We have a Syskonnect PCIe Gigabit Ethernet card and it uses the Marvel 88E8052 chip.
Ryan Norton - Monday, December 5, 2005 - link
...just wrote them basically begging for availibility info on this board. Anand's article has gotten me very very hyped for this product as a cheap SLI replacement for my MSI Neo4 Ultra -- HALF the price of an A8N32 seems like it can't be beat. For all that's worth, however, I still haven't found a single user experience with this board -- have the lucky people who have it (if there are any) forgotten about the internet?imaheadcase - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
It is now in stock at neweggYellowWing - Monday, November 28, 2005 - link
This board looks good for a HTPC, but I have one question about the HD audio, you do not mention if this board will do a real time encode of Dolby Digital on that coaxial SPDIF port. My minimum requirements for a HTPC main board include passive cooling and Dolby Digital out either optical or coaxial to connect with my home theater receiver. I would appreciate a standard line in each motherboard review that makes the Dolby Digital out capability of each main board clear.Keep up the great work.
imaheadcase - Monday, November 28, 2005 - link
Man all these sweet deals at newegg but don't have this board yet :(ElFenix - Saturday, November 26, 2005 - link
thanks for all the updates, wes!rjm55 - Friday, November 25, 2005 - link
This looks like the perfect Socket 939 board. It's fast, passive-cooling, great overclocker, and cheap!! Even uses the ATI chipset and is built by the biggest board maker in the world, so how could I go wrong. Just put 2 on order at Buy.com. At $105 each they seemed like a perfect board for some Christmas builds.Zebo - Saturday, November 26, 2005 - link
Is'nt most of chipset in AMD CPU these days? I would'nt worry about that.xsilver - Thursday, November 24, 2005 - link
does asus ship this board with overclocking software for overclocking while booted in windows? what other mobo companies offer this? (I find this feature very handy on my abit)its most convienient to boot up and surf and run stock speeds and then overclock to play a game and then change back when you're finished
I know utilities like rmclock and cpucool can do this but they dont work for all mobo's
Wesley Fink - Thursday, November 24, 2005 - link
Yes, Asus includes some very good windows-based OC software with the A8R-MVP. AI Booster allows the control of OC in windows, and PC Probe 2 allows fan control and voltage/temperature monitoring. AMDZone descibes these software utilities in their A8R-MVP preview at http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?op=modload&...">http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?op=m...q=viewar...