Sound Tests - Subjective Listening

The 8-channel Realtek CODEC is on par with our previous experiences with the same chip. We found the CODEC acceptable for DVD and gameplay and with the more popular games using their own sound engine, it should not be a factor in most cases.

Sound Tests - Performance in Gaming

We fired up UT2003 and ran through the Inferno demo and collected numbers at 640x480 (Min detail) and 1024x768 (Max detail).

At the lowest resolution, we see the CPU take the hardest hit, losing about 20 frames per second with the onboard sound enabled. A loss of about 15 frames occurs at 1024x768, which is not as bad as at the highest resolution, but is still a large hit on performance using onboard audio.

Network Performance

We used to test the networking speed, and Windows Task Manager for CPU usage. We a number of game patches and driver updates, totaling 758MB to and from the ASUS A8N-SLI using its nForce MAC, to our ASUS P5AD2 Premium machine. We also performed the same test with a folder zipped to 761MB.

Both systems were connected via a CAT-5E crossover cable, which should prevent any bottlenecks that would arise with our standard 10/100 router.

Small Files Test - 758MB Total

	Time to Copy	Ave Transfer mB/sec	CPU %
Upload	0:23.7	34.78	9
Download	0:25.2	29.21	10

Large File Test - 761MB Total

	Time to Copy	Ave Transfer mB/sec	CPU %
Upload	0:21.8	36.12	9
Download	0:23.9	33.11	9

The nForce 4 MAC proved sufficient in its tasks. The ISO image was faster to upload and download as well as scoring a slightly lower CPU usage during the upload tasks. We also tested with the Marvell secondary controller and witnessed similar results, though CPU usage was a point or two higher.

SLI Performance

We're working on getting a full review of a couple 6800GTs done, but in case you're curious on how SLI performs at 1600x1200 resolution, here's our Doom 3 Timedemo Demo1 and Unreal Tournament 2004 AS-Convoy results:

Doom 3

UT2004

Since Doom 3 is under NVIDIA's supported SLI list, the improved performance is expected. UT2004 on the otherhand is curently not supported, hence we see no difference between a single 6800GT and two 6800GTs in SLI. We were impressed with the 6800GT's lone performance as it fares well against ATI's most powerful VPU, beating it in Doom 3 and trailing by about 5% in UT2004. Granted, Doom 3 has traditionally performed better with NVIDIA hardware, but there's no denying that SLI will give a nice boost if your games can make use of it.

Overclocking

We inserted the A8N-SLI into our Koolance PC3-720SL and turned on the fans to the max. We were able to take the system to a very nice 302FSB overclock, but in order to do so, we needed to run only one 6800GT. In SLI mode, we had some issues at that speed, but lowering the FSB to an even 300MHz remedied that issue. We should also point out that we were only able to hit the 300MHz range with the board running two sticks of 512MB Corsair PC3200XL. With four sticks, the system only reached 222FSB.

Final Words

ASUS did a fine job with the nForce 4 SLI with their ASUS A8N-SLI Premium motherboard. The A8N-SLI was very reliable for the most part, and performed quite nicely. Add all the extras ASUS puts into the package, and the board becomes quite a bargain.

To get the downsides out of the way first, our test sample was very picky with the hard drives we used. Our typical setup procedure for testing is to first install Windows XP (slipstreamed with SP1, post-SP1 hotfixes and DirectX 9C), followed by the chipset drivers, then the video drivers and sound drivers. On our Seagate 7200.7 120GB and Maxtor 120GB SATA (first-gen) drives in single drive mode via the NVIDIA SATA1, at totally random intervals, the system would blue screen during the boot process. Once in Windows, things ran fine, but one out of every three or four boot or reboot attempts, the system would blue screen. We did not experience these issues with a PATA based Western Digital SE and a SATA Seagate 7200.7 160GB, so we're at a loss to explain why we had these problems. We're still awaiting an answer from ASUS on this matter, but be sure to checkout their support forums to see if your primary hard drive is being reported as troublesome.

Other than the hard drive issues, we experienced no problems with the board. Once up and running, the A8N-SLI handled all our stress tests with aplomb in a stock and overclocked state. What we were able to do with the A8N-SLI which we were never able to do with our K8T890 boards was to run four 512MB sticks of ram at once. The ram modules were Corsair PC3200 ProSeries, and although the memory controller is integrated into the CPU die, we've found getting all the modules to work at once has always been a crapshoot. Not so with the A8N-SLI Premium, though overclocking was limited with this ram setup.

While we'll be posting a more detailed look at SLI very soon, we have to say that we're sold on this technology. Yes, not all games support SLI (that is, not all of them get a boost), but NVIDIA is committed to increasing support with each new driver release. Furthermore, for games that do support SLI, the improvement in performance is very impressive. We also liked the retention tab for the SLI bridge as it does a good job of keeping the SLI configuration secure.

We did not talk much about some of the other features, such as ActiveArmor and NVRAID as we've covered them in our nForce4 AMD and Intel overviews, but for those who are concerned with security (and who isn't), the A8N-SLI's network and storage features will make your PC one of the most secure at the next LAN party, and the SLI component will make it one of the fastest.

Pros: Great performance, ActiveArmor, impressive storage options, SLI, good overclocker and stable. Good software utilities.

Cons: May have some issues with first gen SATA drives. Status still unknown.

Bottom Line: In single card mode, the race is close with the A8N-SLI Premium taking most of the application tests, and flip flopping with the K8T890 in the gaming tests. Turn on SLI though, and the race will not even be close provided your games can make use of it.

If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.

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