MSI: SLI Plus Eight

FSB Overclocking Results

Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed
Processor	AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (San Diego) AMD Opteron 170 (Denmark)
CPU Voltage AMD Athlon 64 4000+ AMD Opteron 170	1.550V (1.400V default) 1.550V (1.350V default)
Memory Settings	2.5-3-3-7 1T - (12x) 2.5-3-3-7 1T - (10x) 2.5-3-3-7 1T - (9x)
Memory Voltage	2.8V
HT Multiplier	4x - 250HTT ~ 285HTT
Memory	OCZ PC4800 Platinum Edition
Cooling	Tuniq Tower 120
Power Supply	PC Power and Cooling 850 SSI
Maximum CPU Overclock AMD Athlon 64 4000+	251HTT x 12 (3008MHz) +25%
Maximum HTT Overclock AMD Athlon 64 4000+	284HTT x 9 (2557MHz) +42%
Maximum CPU Overclock AMD Opteron 170	284HTT x 10 (2841MHz) +42%
Maximum HTT Overclock AMD Opteron 170	282HTT x 9 (2543MHz) +41%

Our 4000+ CPU posted very good results in the stock multiplier overclocking test. We were able to reach a very stable overclock of 251HTT x12. We were also able to boot Windows with a 256HTT x12 setting but could not complete our entire test suite.

Unfortunately, our maximum HTT speed attained was 284HTT x9. The board could POST at 292HTT x9 but was not stable. We were unable to POST at 300HTT or higher, though this processor has completed testing at a 330HTT x9 setting in the past.

We have contacted MSI engineering at this time and hopefully our results are due to a below average board as end users and other websites have exceeded the 300HTT level with the 3.0a BIOS. 284HTT isn't terrible, particularly when using higher CPU multipliers, but neither is it exceptional. Also, voltage levels remained consistent throughout testing. We did not notice any abnormal or out of range voltage fluctuations with this board.





Our Opteron 170 posted excellent results at the stock CPU multiplier settings but was hampered once again at the lower multiplier setting. At these overclocked settings the system was able to complete all of our benchmark test suites three consecutive times and run Prime95 for a minimum of four hours without issue. Overall the board would make an excellent platform for overclocking if the maximum HTT settings are improved.

Memory Stress Testing

Memory stress tests look at the ability of the MSI K8N Diamond Plus to operate at the officially supported memory frequencies of DDR-400 at the best performing memory timings the OCZ PC4800 Platinum Edition will support.

MSI K8N Diamond Plus Stable DDR-400 Timings - 2 DIMMs (2/4 slots populated - 1 Dual-Channel Bank)
Clock Speed	200MHz
CAS Latency	2
RAS to CAS Delay	2
RAS Precharge	2
RAS Cycle Time	5
Command Rate	1T
Voltage	2.7V

The MSI K8N Diamond Plus was superbly stable with 2 DDR modules in Dual-Channel mode at the settings of 2-2-2-5 at 2.7v. We were able to operate the memory at this configuration up to a 227HTT x12 setting. We will now install all four available memory slots that results in more strenuous requirement on the memory subsystem than testing 2 DDR modules on a motherboard.

K8N Diamond Plus Stable DDR-400 Timings - 4 DIMMs (4/4 slots populated - 2 Dual-Channel Banks)
Clock Speed	200MHz
CAS Latency	2
RAS to CAS Delay	2
RAS Precharge	2
RAS Cycle Time	8
Command Rate	2T
Voltage	2.75V

The MSI K8N Diamond Plus was extremely stable with 4 DDR modules in Dual-Channel operation at the settings of 2-2-2-8 but required the command rate be increased to 2T along with a voltage increase to 2.75. We tested memory modules from several different suppliers with the same results.