DFI NFII Ultra: Mean Green Dream Machine
by Wesley Fink on July 30, 2003 6:25 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
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.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
46 Comments
View All Comments
Anonymous User - Thursday, October 16, 2003 - link
I have been considering this mobo for some time and I read the reviews here and at Tomshardware. Both seem to be based on boards tweeked by the mfgr. I also looked at the forum at Amdmb.com recommended by Angry Games. What a mess. This board, like so many others using Nforce2, seems to be extremely fussy about memory timings. Several brands of memory strips lock up during posts. I say the reviews should be redone with retail versions after initial bios fiddling has settled down. And the question of stability at various timings should have as much importance as performance speed.Anonymous User - Friday, September 19, 2003 - link
I'm having a hard time figuring out the difference between the NFII Lanparty Ultra and the NFII Ultra-AL.The Ultra-AL seems to go for about half the price.
Do they perform/overclock the same?
Anonymous User - Sunday, August 31, 2003 - link
Its a cool mobo...whats all the fussLonyo - Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - link
640x480 for game tests would make most sense, then it's mostly CPU limted not GPU limited.1024x768 is silly if you're comparing motherboard using different graphics cards.
And doing a graph showing one board is pointless.
You should have delayed this review until you'd done another one with the same testbed setup.
Anonymous User - Sunday, August 17, 2003 - link
i myself was skeptical about the whole raid 15 deal, that just seems like marketing scheme to me as well. this does seem to be the case doesnt it? well i do believe these benchmarx are quite abbreviated, being that they lack a a7n8x! and a few others, and while on this topic, very disappointed with the whole video card fiasco...please review and update this article guys....sryque
ATConundrum - Saturday, August 16, 2003 - link
I could be wrong, but this comment board is for the review on the mainboard, not the performance/build of the AnandTech.com website itself. Send those comments to the webmaster instead, and do the respectable thing and post constructive comments about the review here.Anonymous User - Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - link
Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
Just another anonymous post...I think he did a fairly decent job of reviewing the board, and the choice of an Radeon for the benchmarking due to directx 9 compatability is understandable. If you wanted to wait longer for them to dig out all of the other mobos, rebuild them in to systems, then retest each one again so that you could have your nice little benchmarks... sorry.
Just wait, either they will re-do the other benchmarks again, or do the new benchmarks using this card. I've already seen tomshardwares guide showing 10 mobos with this chipset, and the bechmarks between them were so similar that they didn't make any difference in my buying descision.
next to last: I agree with the previous plugin complaint, as I also use Mozilla. Is there ANY advantage in using flash over JPG of GIF for the benchmark results? Also the flash banners are annoying as... but I guess they pay the bills.
Finnally, I know I'm not spelling well either due to no spell check, stiff keys on this keyboard, and I ran out of give a care juice about 45 minutes ago.
Anandtech is still all good.
Anonymous User - Sunday, August 10, 2003 - link
just to add to my comment in 37 if you had a post for pics i could have placed a pic on just to show you i does look smart and others have started making enqiries to my tower AND LANPARTY motherboard tower from www.thermaltake.com take a look if u dont know the case im talking aboutthermaltake tower + lanparty motherboard = 1 smart looking system
Anonymous User - Sunday, August 10, 2003 - link
hey wesley 1 point of interest for u m8 when you made the board why didnt u make the IDE cables longer as i have a thermaltake tower so when i saw your board and read the speck i was impressed and imediately boutght it only to be dissapointed in the cables as i cannot connect from the raid connectoins to my HD=2off + dvd rom and dvd-re writer as the cables are too short this post is for ALL u tech wizzards that make motherboardsGIVE US LONGER CABLES FOR GOD SAKE now im stuck with using normal IDE connections AND NO im not reverting back to the old cable strips it takes the look away from a promissing motherboard when you add in a uv light to light up the inside