ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus: NVIDIA's 650i goes Dual x16
by Gary Key on April 2, 2007 3:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Overclocking - QX6700
Needless to say, quad core overclocking on this board is slightly better than most of the 680i platforms but is a disappointment when compared to the recent EVGA 680i LT SLI. Our board reached a final 360FSB at stock or lower multipliers. We were able to POST and enter XP at 372FSB but could not complete our benchmark testing. In comparison, the 680i LT SLI was able to reach 10x362 and 8x432 FSB speeds.
Just like the 680i LT SLI board we had to set our processor voltage to 1.4750 in order to maintain system stability at 360 FSB. Our processor normally will run in the 3600MHz range at 1.4125V. The reason for this is that Vdroop was just acceptable on this board with a quad core processor. We would see drops as high as .05V under load testing with the average drop being around .02V during game testing. Since our quad core results with the ASUS and MSI 650i/430 boards are very similar, we believe the 650i SPP is the limiting factor in overclocking this processor.
Test Setup
A 2GB memory configuration is standard in our XP test beds as most enthusiasts are currently purchasing this amount of memory. Our choice of mid-range OCZ Flex XLC PC-6400 memory represents an excellent balance of price and performance that offered a very wide range of memory settings during our stock and overclocked test runs. We also utilized our Corsair XMS2 Dominator (Twin2x2048-9136C5D) memory on this board to verify DDR2-1066 to DDR2-1200 compatibility with another memory type.
We are currently completing testing several other memory modules ranging from Transcend, TwinMOS, and WINTEC DDR2-800 down to A-DATA DDR2-533 for compatibility and performance benchmarks in our 680i roundup article. Our memory timings are set based upon determining the best memory bandwidth via MemTest 86 and test application results for each board. We only optimize the four main memory settings with sub-timings remaining at Auto settings.
We are utilizing an MSI 8800GTX video card to ensure our 1280x1024 resolutions are not completely GPU bound for our motherboard test results. We did find in testing that applying a 4xAA/8xAF setting in most of today's latest games at our standard resolution did not really change performance. Our video tests are run at 1280x1024 resolutions for this article at High Quality settings. We also tested at 1600x1200 and 1920x1200 4xAA/8xAF for our NVIDIA SLI results that will be presented in our MSI P6N Diamond article.
All of our tests are run in an enclosed case with a dual optical/hard drive setup to reflect a moderately loaded system platform. Windows XP SP2 is fully updated and we load a clean drive image for each system to ensure driver conflicts are kept to a minimum. We were able to run our memory test modules at 3-4-3-9 1T for our benchmark results.
| ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus Quad Core Overclocking |
|
| Processor: | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad Core, 2.66GHz, 8MB Unified Cache 1066FSB, 10x Multiplier |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.4500V (default 1.3500V) |
| NB Voltage: | 1.35V |
| 1.2V HTT Voltage: | 1.30V |
| SB Voltage: | 1.50V |
| CPU VTT: | 1.40V |
| Cooling: | Tuniq 120 Air Cooling |
| Power Supply: | OCZ ProXStream 1000W |
| Memory: | OCZ Flex XLC PC2-6400 (2x1GB) |
| Video Cards: | 1 x MSI 8800GTX |
| Hard Drive: | Western Digital 150GB 10, 000RPM SATA 16MB Buffer |
| Case: | Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 |
| Maximum OC: | 360x10 (3-4-3-9 1T, 800MHz, 2.25V), CPU 1.4500V 3600MHz (+35%) |
| . | |
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Needless to say, quad core overclocking on this board is slightly better than most of the 680i platforms but is a disappointment when compared to the recent EVGA 680i LT SLI. Our board reached a final 360FSB at stock or lower multipliers. We were able to POST and enter XP at 372FSB but could not complete our benchmark testing. In comparison, the 680i LT SLI was able to reach 10x362 and 8x432 FSB speeds.
Just like the 680i LT SLI board we had to set our processor voltage to 1.4750 in order to maintain system stability at 360 FSB. Our processor normally will run in the 3600MHz range at 1.4125V. The reason for this is that Vdroop was just acceptable on this board with a quad core processor. We would see drops as high as .05V under load testing with the average drop being around .02V during game testing. Since our quad core results with the ASUS and MSI 650i/430 boards are very similar, we believe the 650i SPP is the limiting factor in overclocking this processor.
Test Setup
| Standard Test Bed Performance Test Configuration |
|
| Processor: | Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4GHz, 4MB Unified Cache) |
| RAM: | OCZ Flex XLC PC2-6400 (2x1GB) 2.20V, 3-4-3-9 (1T where applicable) |
| Hard Drive: | Western Digital 150GB 10, 000RPM SATA 16MB Buffer |
| System Platform Drivers: | Intel - 8.1.1.1010 NVIDIA - 9.35, 8.43 ATI - 6.10 |
| Video Cards: | 1 x MSI 8800GTX , 2 x MSI 8800GTX for SLI |
| Video Drivers: | NVIDIA 97.92 |
| CPU Cooling: | Tuniq 120 |
| Power Supply: | OCZ ProXStream 1000W |
| Optical Drives: | Plextor PX-760A, Plextor PX-B900A |
| Case: | Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 |
| Motherboards: | ASUS Striker Extreme (NVIDIA 680i) - BIOS 1002 ASUS P5N-E SLI (NVIDIA 650i) - BIOS 0401 ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus (NVIDIA 650i - BIOS 0602) ABIT AB9 QuadGT (Intel P965) - BIOS 1.1 B06 DFI LANParty UT ICFX3200-T2R/G (AMD RD600) - BIOS 12/22 EVGA 680i LT SLI (680i LT) - BIOS Award 721N0P01 GIGABYTE GA-N680SLI-DQ6 - BIOS F4B Intel D975XBX2 (Intel 975X) - BIOS 2333 MSI P6N SLI Platinum (nForce 650i) - BIOS 1.22 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| . | |
A 2GB memory configuration is standard in our XP test beds as most enthusiasts are currently purchasing this amount of memory. Our choice of mid-range OCZ Flex XLC PC-6400 memory represents an excellent balance of price and performance that offered a very wide range of memory settings during our stock and overclocked test runs. We also utilized our Corsair XMS2 Dominator (Twin2x2048-9136C5D) memory on this board to verify DDR2-1066 to DDR2-1200 compatibility with another memory type.
We are currently completing testing several other memory modules ranging from Transcend, TwinMOS, and WINTEC DDR2-800 down to A-DATA DDR2-533 for compatibility and performance benchmarks in our 680i roundup article. Our memory timings are set based upon determining the best memory bandwidth via MemTest 86 and test application results for each board. We only optimize the four main memory settings with sub-timings remaining at Auto settings.
We are utilizing an MSI 8800GTX video card to ensure our 1280x1024 resolutions are not completely GPU bound for our motherboard test results. We did find in testing that applying a 4xAA/8xAF setting in most of today's latest games at our standard resolution did not really change performance. Our video tests are run at 1280x1024 resolutions for this article at High Quality settings. We also tested at 1600x1200 and 1920x1200 4xAA/8xAF for our NVIDIA SLI results that will be presented in our MSI P6N Diamond article.
All of our tests are run in an enclosed case with a dual optical/hard drive setup to reflect a moderately loaded system platform. Windows XP SP2 is fully updated and we load a clean drive image for each system to ensure driver conflicts are kept to a minimum. We were able to run our memory test modules at 3-4-3-9 1T for our benchmark results.
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37 Comments
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yacoub - Sunday, April 29, 2007 - link
Just curious about the audio CPU usage test usually done on boards...Leinad - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
In the FAQ for this board on the Asus website, the board is listed as a 680i board. Newegg lists it as a 650i board, and Anandtech likewise calls it a 650i board. Nice to finally see an explanation.Looking forward to the Motherboard roundup!
goinginstyle - Thursday, April 5, 2007 - link
Any chance of testing some cheap memory?sWORDs - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
I'm really disappointed by this review, it's not up to the usual Anandtrch quality. Let me explain why:You can not call this a 650, because there is no nForce 430 southbridge.
Calling the southbridge a AMD570 is a bit misleading, because NB 570AMD = NB 590AMD = SB 590AMD = SB 590i = SB 680i.
Further more there might not even be a difference in the northbridge even if it has 8 lanes disabled, those aren't connected with the "real" 680i's either. They appear as a hidden link, the links on the Hybrid also have a missing #1 port, so it's there, not sure if it's cut or disabled. The only bord that appears to use it isn't here yet, it's the MSI Diamond with 4 PEG ports.
Besides this, you failed to notice that the pcb is actually a Striker Extreme (just peak under de Plus sticker). So any difference between this bord and a Striker Extreme are caused by difference of Bios, or between individual bords. You can't compare one Striker and one Plus and One Evga and make chipset conclussions, two Strikers might end up on different FSB speeds.
"680i SLI chipset utilizes the nForce 590 SLI MCP and 680i SLI MCP." That should be 680i SPP.
Memory timing differences should be caused by bios difference. THe Striker has a 1004 bios ready did you use that?
Dainas - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Great, so theirs only one PCI slot(rendered useless if you SLI) and the only PCIe 1x is rendered useless if you put a decent videocard in this machine.Not that any friggin SLI/Crossfire LGA board on the market can be considered much better should you want to have more than a soundcard installed.
sWORDs - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
It has two PCI slots and only one would useless when using SLI with double sized cards. The only PCIe 1x is useless when using a double sized card.yacoub - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Btw this board gets some horrid reviews over on NewEgg. Sure, the user reviews there are known to be pretty tough because anytime someone has a bad experience they're ten times more likely to write about it than someone who has a good experience. But still, compare the reviews of this board with the reviews of the MSI board Anandtech reviewed last week.I wouldn't consider buying this Asus board seeing how many DOAs and other problems folks are reporting with it. The MSI, which doesn't overclock as well, seems much more likely to at least be a 100% functioning product.
How sad that the motherboard market has become this unreliable. I remember when Asus was a board you'd pay just a little more for because it would be solid.
kilkennycat - Monday, April 2, 2007 - link
.. 0501 has an extensive list of 23 fixes over 0402 !!The current latest is 0602 BETA.
See the Asus website. Make sure that you search for the PLUS version of the P5N32E-SLI.
Tuffrabbit - Monday, April 2, 2007 - link
It is interesting that the "budget" 650i board draws a whopping 47 more watts at idle than even the Flagship D975 Intel board ???Tuffrabbit - Monday, April 2, 2007 - link
Correction: Make that 57 watts...