DFI NFII Ultra: Mean Green Dream Machine

Performance Test Configuration

Performance Test Configuration
Processor(s):	AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (400MHz FSB)
RAM:	2 x 256MB Corsair PC3200 TwinX LL (v1.1) Modules (SPD rated at CAS 2-2-2-6)
Hard Drive(s):	Maxtor 120GB 7200 RPM 8MB Buffer Western Digital 120GB 7200 RPM Special Edition (8MB Buffer)
Bus Master Drivers:	NVIDIA nForce version 2.03 (January 30, 2003) VIA 4in1 Hyperion 4.47 (May 20, 2003)
Video Card(s):	ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB (AGP 8X) MSI GeForce4 Ti 4600 (AGP 4X)
Video Drivers:	ATI Catalyst 3.6 NVIDIA Detonator 44.03 (May 14, 2003)
Operation System(s):	Windows XP Professional SP1
Motherboards:	DFI NFII Ultra LanParty (nFoce2 Ultra400) @ 201.35 MHz FSB Gigabyte 7VT600 1394 (KT600) @ 202.78MHz FSB Gigabyte 7NNXP (nForce2 Ultra 400) @ 202.77MHz FSB Epox 8KRA2+ (KT600) @ 202.44MHz FSB

All performance tests that ran on nForce2 Ultra 400 motherboards utilized two 256MB Corsair TwinX LL PC3200 (v1.1) modules, set to SPD (CAS 2-2-2-6) timings in dual-channel DDR400 mode.

All performance tests that ran on the KT600-based motherboards used two 256MB Corsair TwinX LL PC3200 (v1.1) Corsair modules in DDR400 mode. KT600 memory timings were set to SPD 2-2-2-6-1T timings, Ultra timing mode, and 4-bank interleave.

Performance tests for the DFI NFII Ultra LanParty were run with the ATI 9800 PRO 128MB video card with AGP Aperture set to 128MB with Fast Write enabled. Performance tests run with the 9800 PRO card have an asterisk. All earlier benchmarks were run with a nVidia Ti4600, AGP Aperture set to 128MB, with Fast Write enabled.

Additions to Performance Tests

Benchmark testing is dynamic, and we have added several new benchmarks to our standard Test Suite.

1) ZD Labs Internet Content Creation 2003 – this benchmark has just been updated by ZD Labs and includes many new features in the Benchmark Suite such as Media Encoding. It also uses the most up-to-date versions of Multimedia Creation software, which is rapidly changing as new software tools are released.

2) ZD Labs Business Winstone 2002 – ZD Labs Business Winstone has been around for many years and is a widely quoted Benchmark for measuring system performance. It basically provides a similar benchmarking suite to Sysmark 2002 Office Productivity.

3) Gun Metal DirectX 9 Benchmark 2 – This demo/benchmark from Yeti Studios is one of the first DX9 game-based benchmarks available. Unlike some older benchmarks (e.g. Quake 3) that generate insane FPS ratings in the 300’s, we see performance numbers in the 30 to 40FPS range with current DX9 cards.

To give AnandTech readers a feel for how some of the newer benchmarks compare to the more familiar benchmarks used in past reviews, we have posted results for both the new benchmarks and Sysmark 2002 and all the games that have been a part of our standard benchmark suite.

New Hardware

With the release of DirectX 9 late in 2002, the availability of Benchmarks to test DX9, and the availability of DX9-supporting video cards from both nVidia and ATI, we have added the ATI Radeon 9800 PRO to our test hardware. AnandTech is still in the process of determining the DX9 video card that will be standard for future tests.

Many benchmarks show widely different results with different video hardware, so we have indicated benchmarks run with the ATI Radeon 9800 PRO with an asterisk. Benchmarks without an asterisk were run with the nVidia Ti4600.