FIRST LOOK: Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI
by Wesley Fink on November 24, 2004 9:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Our Take
Just when it looked like we'd all be waiting breathlessly for the lone Asus SLI board sometime in December, Gigabyte has delivered a very capable SLI board that will likely be available in the market at about the same time. Our experience with the K8NXP-SLI was extremely positive. The board was exceptionally smooth in performance and trouble-free in our benchmarking with both single and SLI nVidia video cards. We had no issues at all with memory and the BIOS adjustments were exemplary.The best way to look at the Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI is to see it as the SLI version of the regular and great performing K8NXP-9. The board offers the same features, the same BIOS options, the same basic layout, the same performance with a single video card, and the same outstanding overclocking that you will find with the K8NXP-9. We were definitely impressed with the Gigabyte K8NXP-9 and the SLI version is just icing on the cake.
The only problem that you will have is trying to decide which flavor of the Gigabyte nForce4 you want, since the only real difference in the 9 and SLI is the SLI option. Whichever you choose, we think that you will be very pleased with the features, flexibility, and performance you will find. Gigabyte is definitely back in the Athlon 64 market with the K8NXP-9 and K8NXP-SLI. We won't know exactly where these boards stand in the nF4/SLI hierarchy until some dust settles. However, we are very impressed with what we see in both these Gigabyte boards right now. Both boards are faster than the nForce4 Reference board and both were a real pleasure to use. The overclocking capabilities of both versions will give any enthusiast a lot of pleasure. When you consider the possibilities with the SLI version, the math of potential gets very exciting. The only fly in the ointment is the disappointing DIMM voltage adjustments provided. However, even this may be patchable with something like the OCZ DDR Memory Booster to boost voltage ranges.
As we were finishing this review, we also learned that MSI will have both their nForce4 and nForce4 SLI boards available for review in the next week to 10 days. That will provide even more choices - and more competition - for your holiday dollars.
We can certainly recommend either Gigabyte nForce4 motherboard for your system. We don't foresee any surprises on the horizon and both these boards are very capable. One of these boards is going into our memory test bed in the near future. But we have the same problem that you will have - we just can't decide which one!
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
58 Comments
View All Comments
instant - Thursday, February 24, 2005 - link
You should play games in 3520x1024 resolution with a SLI setup. :-)Can you do Multi-Monitor with SLI?
BenSkywalker - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
"What do you think you are gaining by trying to harass Wes."It is not an attempt to harass anyone, it is pointing out A flaw with the review(emphasis on A).
"Does it make you feel like more of a man to try and point out flaws in his motherboard review?"
Why on Earth would it? If enough people point out the same issue perhaps it will bring home the fact that the higher resolutions are desireable information.
"This was NOT an SLI performance review. This was a motherboard review. In all honesty all that needed to be said of SLI in it is "Yup it works on the board" and BAM he has fulfilled his requirements for a motherboard review."
Not quite. The mobo must be capable of handling the load splitting in terms of the PCI-E lanes properly and there is the risk of issues with particular implementations being less then optimal along with the normal issues of early BIOS headaches that could become apparent for SLI adopters. There are also increased power demands at the highest resolutions.
"It's fine if you disagree with what he wrote but to say that he wrote a pointless review and then troll and try and take pot shots when he responds is just idiotic."
Not clarifying my points would be idiotic. Creating a summation of every particular reason why higher resolutions should be tested would run numerous pages, so I hold back and only point out those which I find to be most relevant. If a counter-point is offered then I rebut that issue.
"There is a reason he gets new hardware first and you well..."
That reason is he works for AT.
"If you think you can do better than please by all means start a website."
I used to handle reviews and other random things for a couple of different sites(mainly GameBasement) but the cost and time put into it wasn't worth it and I certainly wasn't going to go with an ad based site as then your credibility is too frequently in doubt.
When someone pointed out an element they felt I should have included in a review be it either hardware or software I took the time to add it in every time. If you consider authoring for a review site a service to your readers, then you try to do everything honest and accurate that needs to be done to service the readers.
Akira1224 - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
I am going to comment on the article in a moment but first I have to ask Ben a question.Ben - What do you think you are gaining by trying to harass Wes. Does it make you feel like more of a man to try and point out flaws in his motherboard review? This was NOT an SLI performance review. This was a motherboard review. In all honesty all that needed to be said of SLI in it is "Yup it works on the board" and BAM he has fulfilled his requirements for a motherboard review. It's fine if you disagree with what he wrote but to say that he wrote a pointless review and then troll and try and take pot shots when he responds is just idiotic. There is a reason he gets new hardware first and you well... don't. If you think you can do better than please by all means start a website. Start the www.benskywalkerhardwaretech.com Be careful with the skywalker name I have a feeling there’s a trademark on it. The bottom line to all this is that he did not include 16X12 because this was not about the cards or the processor. It's about the boards performance. If you want to see extreme resolutions then go check out an SLI vid card roundup. Or write one yourself and let us know the results. Please do us all a favor and stop. You reek of "seventeenism".
Ok sorry about that. With that said great review. I was hoping to see the board against the Asus board but I imagine that you all will do one once the retail boards hit the market.
cryptonomicon - Monday, November 29, 2004 - link
I think we will see plenty of 1600 and 2048 benches in reviews to come. Everyone right now is just going nuts trying to figure out the performance ceiling of SLI with the limited benches run. I'll be waiting patiently for the review of the next NF4 production board :DBenSkywalker - Sunday, November 28, 2004 - link
Wesley-"A 19" CRT has a real screen diagonal of about 17". I find 1600x1200 on a 17" display far too small for anyone to really see what 1600X1200 actually adds to the game."
I would have someone set up a double blind test for you, if you honestly can't see the difference then you should set yourself up an appointment with an optometrist. It sounds as if you have some fairly serious issues with your vision.
PrinceGaz - Sunday, November 28, 2004 - link
Wesley- any idea if SATA hard-drives limit overclocking on nForce 4 boards, whether using the integrated controller or sockets connected to an additional onboard controller?And as the hardware-firewall is one of the features nVidia are pushing in the nForce 4 Pro, it would be nice to have some review coverage of it. All we've had so far is the official nVidia gumf about it.
Wesley Fink - Sunday, November 28, 2004 - link
#51 - A 19" CRT has a real screen diagonal of about 17". I find 1600x1200 on a 17" display far too small for anyone to really see what 1600X1200 actually adds to the game. Playing 1600x1200 on a 17" screen is more about bragging rights, IMHO, that it is about visible performance. 1600x1200 is decent on a 21" to 22" CRT, as it is on a 20" LCD. LCD screen sizes are real, so a 20.3" dsiplay is actually a 20.3" diagonal. That 21" to 22" CRT will actually be about the same screen size as a 19" to 20" LCD.SonicIce - Saturday, November 27, 2004 - link
The best 19" CRT money can buy won't breakmuch more than $300. It would be able to do 1600x1200@85Hz easy. Why would this be uncomfortable or ugly?Executor6 - Saturday, November 27, 2004 - link
Hey, Anand, are you planning on reviewing that Tyan dual-Opteron SLI motherboard anytime soon? ( http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4... ) The interesting thing about that MB is that both PCIe slots for the graphic cards are 16x, rather than the 8x on regular MBs, hence you would be able to tell if the available bandwidth has any impact on SLI performance.PrinceGaz - Friday, November 26, 2004 - link
A couple of questions about the nForce 4 chipset, not specifically the Gigabyte board:Is overclocking limited if SATA hard-drives are used? If so does this only apply when using the SATA sockets off the nForce 4 chip, or also if SATA drives are connected to sockets from an additional onboard controller?
What are your impressions of the nForce 4 hardware firewall and configuration software? Does it provide all the configuration options you'd find in personal firewalls like ZoneAlarm or Kerio?
Otherwise a good review. Even though I've got a monitor which can do 2048x1536 @ 85hz and I would run it at that in games with a high-end SLI configuration, those sort of benchmarks (along with 8x AA benchmarking) belong in graphics-card reviews rather than motherboard reviews.