Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1321
nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400Gb: Fast LAN, Firewall, SATA, RAID for Athlon XP
by Wesley Fink on May 13, 2004 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
When nVidia launched the nForce3-250Gb chipset last month, we were very impressed with the feature set that nVidia had built into the chipset. The nForce3 basically went from the worst feature set for Athlon 64 (nForce3-150) to a leading edge checklist of unique features like on-chip Gigabit LAN, on-chip Firewall, and "Any-Drive" RAID that could combine SATA and IDE drives. You can see those details in our 2-part article on the nForce3-250:
nForce3-250 - Part 1: Taking Athlon 64 to the Next Level
nForce3-250 - Part 2: Taking Athlon 64 to the Next Level
nVidia told us at the nF3-250 launch that we would also see an update to the nForce2 chipset for the Athlon XP. This sounded good, but we were skeptical whether or not nVidia would really invest in updating the nF2 to the nF3-250 feature-set with all of the future movements aimed at Athlon 64. Perhaps the impetus was VIA's recent launch of their dual-channel KT880 chipset. nVidia has dominated the Athlon XP chipset market since the launch of nForce2, and it is clear that both VIA and nVidia believe that there will still be many sales of Socket A motherboards.
Whatever the push, nVidia has done exactly what they promised. The new nVidia Socket A chipset is called nForce 2 Ultra 400Gb, and it incorporates all of the major features first introduced with the nForce3-250Gb chipset. For Socket A lovers, this is very good news. It means that the very reasonable Socket A Athlons can now find a home in a motherboard that gives up very little to the top Athlon 64 chipsets.
A Closer Look at nForce2 Ultra 400Gb
The nForce2 is so well known that it makes little sense repeating features, and the new chipset uses the same familiar nForce2 Ultra 400 SPP that we have seen for many months.
This proven dual-channel SPP chip is combined with one of the new MCP (Media and Communications Processor) chips to add the additional capabilities. There are actually 2 versions of the newest second generation nForce2 chipsets, depending on which MCP is used.
nForce2 Ultra 400Gb is the high end version and uses the nForce2 Gigabit MCP with the nforce2 Ultra 400. The nForce2 Gigabit MCP features on-chip Gigabit Ethernet, on-chip NVIDIA Firewall for system security, Serial ATA (SATA), and the NVIDIA "Any-Drive" RAID technology that allows IDE and SATA drives to be combined in RAID arrays.
The nForce2 Ultra 400R is the mainstream or value product, and combines nForce2 Ultra 400 with the new NVIDIA nForce2 RAID MCP. It features the same SATA and "Any-Drive" RAID technology, but it does not have the on-chip Gigabit LAN or nVidia Firewall. You will see the R version used in boards designed for a price point. It is particularly interesting that both VIA and nVidia will provide RAID as an option even on entry-level motherboards.
Sound Storm Audio is not a part of either new MCP. nVidia has chosen to provide an audio codec that can be paired with a number of audio chips to provide 5.1 or 7.1 audio capabilities.
The new 4.24 version of the nVidia Platform drivers replaces the Sound Storm Control Panel with a new nVidia Mixer. nVidia says that there are many Audio Driver improvements in the new unified platform driver:
- Improved AC '97 / Soft Audio driver - adds EQ, speaker cloning, and speaker wizard support
- Speaker Wizard with all NVSwap features, to ensure correct speaker setup on analog or digital speaker systems
- Cinesurround - a virtual 5.1 mixdown to headphones or 2 speakers
- New Environments - simple, preset driven sound environments
- Enhanced ASIO support and added support for AC '97 / Soft Audio systems
- User adjustable "rear channel creation" support - adds off, clone, reverb and delay
- Support for Realtek ALC655 codecs, Realtek ALC658 codecs, and 7.1 support for Realtek ALC850 codecs
- Support for WMV-HD audio streams and WaveFormatExtensible calls
- Improved playback of mono content
- Fixed audio performance issues in numerous games and applications that were problems with past nVidia Platform Audio drivers
Basic Features: nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400Gb Reference Board
Reference Motherboard Specifications | |
CPU Interface | Socket A (462) Athlon XP |
Chipset | nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400/nForce2 MCP-Gb |
Bus Speeds | 200MHz to 465MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
PCI/AGP Speeds | Auto |
Core Voltage | 1.60V - 1.75V |
DRAM Voltage | 2.6V - 2.8V |
AGP Voltage | 1.5V - 1.7V |
VAUX Overvoltage | 1.675V - 1.75V |
VID Override | 1.1V - 1.85V |
Memory Slots | Three 184-pin DDR DIMM Slots Dual-Channel Configuration Unbuffered DDR Memory |
Memory Speeds | Auto, 50%-200% |
Expansion Slots | 1 AGP 8X Slot 5 PCI Slots |
Onboard Serial ATA | 2 drives by MCP-Gb |
Onboard IDE | Two Standard MCP ATA133/100/66 (4 drives) |
Onboard RAID | Up to 6 drives - combined SATA and IDE |
Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | 8 USB 2.0 ports supported by 8237 No Firewire |
Onboard LAN | MCP-Gb on-chip Gigabit LAN |
Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC655 codec AC '97 2.3 6-Channel with NVSwap |
Reference Boards are designed for testing and qualification and will not likely see production as a retail product. However, the nForce2 is a mature product and that shows in a very full-featured Reference board with a wealth of fine-tuning controls for voltage and memory. The only things missing are ratio or multiplier controls and a wide FSB range above 400, which would be useful for testing overclocking. However, you will likely see these options on production boards.
Gb stands for the on-chip Gigabit LAN that is provided by the MCP-Gb chip. Functions are the same as the nVidia Gigabit LAN introduced on the nF3-250Gb chipset. That is, LAN is off the PCI bus, which removes a potential bottleneck to LAN performance. Details of the nVidia Gigabit LAN can be found in our nForce3-250Gb review.
The on-chip Firewall is another feature that has migrated from the nF3-250 to the nForce2 Ultra 400Gb. nVidia Firewall is a driver-based, hardware-optimized personal Firewall that is integrated directly into motherboard silicon. The Firewall is controlled by an Internet Explorer based Utility that allows complete adjustments and customization of the Firewall. The "Firewall Wizards" capture should give you a better idea of the capabilities of the on-chip Firewall. More information on the firewall can be found here in our nF3-250Gb review.
nVidia's RAID was introduced on nF3-250 and is now implemented in both the Gb and R versions of Ultra 400. The RAID is unique in that IDE and SATA drives can be combined in RAID configurations. Where the nForce3-250GB provided up to 4 SATA drives, nF2 Ultra 400Gb/R provides support for just 2 SATA drives.
nVidia does not have built-in provisions for Firewire in the nForce2 Ultra400Gb, but this can be added by board makers with additional chips. 8 USB ports are available, with 4 rear connectors on the Reference Board.
System Utility
nVidia introduced their System Utility last fall, which could be used for controlling overclocking within Windows on motherboards with the BIOS hooks to support the Utility. The nForce2 Ultra400Gb fully supports the latest System Utility 1.08.05.Basic Overclocking is much more than the name suggests. FSB, AGP bus, vCore, voltages, memory timings, and fan speeds can be controlled and monitored in the Basic screen.
The Info screen gives very complete details of your system.
Advanced Overclocking gives even finer control of OC with drop-down menu adjustments. Even boot sequence and AGP aperture can be adjusted using the Advanced controls.
nVidia will be introducing a completely updated System Utility 2.0 in the near future. The new System Utility is designed to provide even greater control over the new capabilities of the nForce3-250Gb. The Ultra 400Gb will be fully supported in System Utility 2.0.
Performance Test Configuration
Performance Test Configuration | |
Processor(s): | AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (2.2GHz, 400MHz FSB) AMD Athlon64 3200+ (2.0GHz) |
RAM: | 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3500 Platinum Ltd OR 2 x 512MB Mushkin PC3500 Level II |
Hard Drive(s): | Seagate 80GB or 120GB IDE 7200 RPM (8MB Buffer) |
Video AGP & IDE Bus Master Drivers: | NVIDIA nForce version 4.24 SiS AGP 1.17 (10-07-2003) VIA 4in1 Hyperion 4.51 (12-02-2003) |
Video Card(s): | ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB (AGP 8X) |
Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 4.4 |
Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
Motherboards: | nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400Gb Reference Board MSI K8N Neo (nVidia nForce3-250Gb) AOpen AK89 Max (nVidia nForce3-150) nVidia nForce3-250 Reference Board AOpen AK86-L (VIA K8T800 3200+) ECS 755-A2 (SiS 755 A64 3200+) SiS 755 Reference Board (A64 3200+) Abit KV8-MAX3 (VIA K8T800 A64 3200+) ChaintechZNF3-150 (nForce3-150 A64 3200+) MSI K8T Neo (VIA K8T800 A64 3200+) DFI NFII Ultra (nForce2 U400 Athlon XP 3200+) |
Tests on Socket 754 Athlon 64 motherboards and Socket A Athlon XP (462) used either Mushkin PC3500 Level II or OCZ PC3500 Platinum Ltd memory modules. Both memories use Winbond BH5 chips and perform virtually the same in our benchmarks.
All performance tests were run with the ATI 9800 PRO 128MB video card with AGP Aperture set to 128MB with Fast Write enabled. Resolution in all benchmarks is 1024x768x32 unless otherwise noted.
Additions to Performance Tests
We have added PCMark2004 to our General Performance tests. This is in addition to Veritest Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004 and Veritest Business Winstone 2004 for system benchmarking. Some earlier board tests used the earlier Winstones 2003/2002, which are not results comparable to Winstone 2004 and those results have been dropped from our graphs.Content Creation, General Usage, and Media Encoding
No one would claim that the Athlon XP 3200+ is at the same performance level as the Athlon 64 3200+, but it is still an excellent buy. This is particularly true since many 2500+ Barton chips, with the same 11 multiplier as the 3200+, will run at 400FSB (3200+ speed), and yet cost only about $70.
In 2004 Winstones, the 3200+ performs at about 90% of the performance of the Athlon 64 3200+. The XP architecture is not the best choice for media encoding, since Athlon 64 3200+ is 20% to 30% faster in our 2-pass encoding benchmark. PCMark 2004 uses encoding as part of the PCMark bench and shows the 3200+ XP at about 85% of the Athlon 64.
Considering the low prices of the Athlon XP, and the fact these will drop even more when Socket 939 appears next month, you still get a lot of bang-for-the-buck with Athlon XP. However, Athlon 64 is the clear performance winner by a wide margin.
Gaming Performance
Gaming Performance repeats the performance patterns that we saw in General Performance benchmarks, with Athlon XP 3200+ at 80% to 90% of the performance of the Athlon 64 3200+. The Athlon XP is certainly not the top gaming performer, but it does provide an outstanding price/performance ratio.
Workstation Performance
nForce2 Ultra 400Gb manages about the same performance as Athlon 64 3200+ in light, dx, and 3dsmax, while it trails in drv, proe, and ugs. Since the nForce2 Ultra 400 SPP is the same chip that we have seen in 400FSB nForce2 chipsets, performance should be about the same as we have previously seen on nForce2 Ultra 400. 400Gb is performing much better in some benches than we have seen with past 400 chips, and much poorer in others. This is likely the result of the updated nVidia Platform drivers.
Final Words
Socket A Athlon has not received the attention that the newer Athlon 64 chips have gotten in recent months, but the motherboards still sell in very large numbers for nVidia. That is undoubtedly the reason why nVidia decided to bring their leading-edge nForce3-250Gb chipset features to the nForce2 chipset. The nForce2 Ultra 400Gb uses the same proven nForce2 Ultra 400 SPP (or Northbridge), but is combined with a brand new nForce2 MCP-Gb to add on-chip Gigabit LAN, on-chip Firewall, nVidia SATA/IDE RAID, and 8 USB ports.With this revised nForce2 Ultra 400Gb, shoppers for Socket A boards and Athlon XP processors have a choice of motherboard features that is just as up to date as the top Athlon 64 motherboards. This was also the message of the recently introduced VIA KT800 chipset.
No one would claim that Athlon XP performs as well as Athlon 64, but at a much cheaper price, you can normally reach 80% to 90% of the performance of an Athlon 64. For those on a tight budget or those who value "bang-for-the-buck" above all else, the Athlon XP is a great buy. Combined with the latest 400Gb, you can build a great system with top-of-the-line features with a Socket A CPU.
There is no doubt, in the long run, that Socket A will fade. AMD even plans to hasten this with the introduction of Socket 754 versions of Athlon XP. Socket 754 is slotted to fill the value segment for AMD down the road. However, nVidia has still shown their interest in Socket A with the new nF2 Ultra 400Gb, as has VIA with the KT880. The good news is that you can now get all the top features on a Socket A motherboard. The better news is that prices of these boards will likely be declining when Socket 939 is launched and Socket 754 is moved to value.
For a value shopper, Athlon XP is still a good choice, and nForce2 Ultra 400Gb provides a full feature list for the Socket A shopper. Socket A buyers will love this chipset unless they are looking for Sound Storm audio. Sound Storm remains in MCP-T, but it has been removed from both 400Gb and 400R MCP chips. The replacement audio supports Realtek 5.1 and 7.1 audio codecs with a new NVMixer for enhanced audio performance. We like NVMixer with Realtek as a reasonable on-board audio solution, but we are certain that there are some who will complain loudly that Sound Storm is headed for the exit.