Subsystem
Testing
The
first thing we'll check is the audio. We downloaded and installed
Right Mark 3D Sound 2.2 to test its CPU utilization.
CPU utilization on the Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe was minimal throughout
the DirectSound 2D and DirectSound 3D tests. With an average CPU
utilization of 3.25% and 9.85% respectively, the Asus did a nice
job of delivering HD sound. By comparison, the RealTek ALC850
solution on the Gigabyte motherboard handled 2D sound just fine,
at 4.36%. When we jump to 3D performance however, oh my, 31.71%
is a bit much, especially when today's games tend to play HD audio
as well as video...
Hard
Drive Performance
Gigabyte
GA-K8NF-9 left, Asus A8R32MVP-Deluxe right
Interestingly, this isn't even close, the Asus far outperforms
in SATA-II performance. Burst transfer on the A8R32-MVP Deluxe
is nearly 66MBs higher then the GA-K8NF-9. The nF4 does keep the
CPU levels lower with a CPU load at 5%, while the ULI M1575 uses
7%. Score this one a pretty clear victory for Asus...
Network
Performance
We
used DU Meter to test the networking speed, and Windows Task Manager
for CPU usage. With gigabyte NIC's installed in these systems
I am getting hard pressed to actually make them work, you need
a lot of files. First things first, you need to make sure you
have connected the Marvell Yukon 88E8503 NIC, as it is the PCIe
based one, and the one that will give you the best performance.
Using an enterasys Networks 1G582-09 (enterprise class 10/100/1000
switch) I copied a variety of files totaling 1.9GB, varying in
size of 300kb to as much as 150MB per file from the machine under
test to my Linux server. The upload was limited to a single machine,
the download, however, I copied files from my Linux server and
from the alternate testing machine. Testing pointed out that multiple
machine uploads caused a reduction in traffic throughput. I then
performed the same test with a 3.7GB ISO image. This test was
performed at stock CPU speeds. I then took the mean score as shown
here (note, 1mB/s = 8mb/s).
|
|
UL
Speed / CPU %
|
DL
Speed / CPU %
|
|
Gigabyte
GA-K8NF-9
|
47.23
|
34
|
72.30
|
29
|
|
Asus
A8R32-MVP Deluxe
|
45.78
|
40
|
58.53
|
38
|
As
you can see, Gigabyte has the upper hand here, surprising as
that may be, as both motherboards are using the Marvell Yukon
10/100/1000 NIC. It appears as though Asus / ATI have some ground
to make up in this category.
Testing
Synopsis
Overall the Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe faired well, there is room for
improvement, but from what I have read of the RD480 chipset, they
have made up a lot of ground already. The only outstanding issues
I see, when comparing to the nF4 chipset, is that of the NIC.
Other then that it performs very well indeed.
Overclocking
Manual
Overclocking got me to a maximum of 290MHz HTT, this was done
with the Opteron's normal 11x multiplier set to 8x. I increased
the VCore to the maximum of 1.45 with the over voltage at 200mV,
then stepped the multiplier as high as I could go and she started
failing at 10x, netting me 9.5x @ 290 stable, or 2.775GHz. I
proceeded to find out where I could get the 11x multiplier to
work properly, and settled on 265MHz, or 2.915GHz. 715MHz (32.5%)
is not a bad showing for only allowing me a 0.07 VCore increase.
Manual
overclocking is rather tedious with this board as every time the
system does not boot, due to a bad overclock, the power MUST be
shut off, then restarted. If you have a USB hub installed, it
is even more painful, as the system almost appears to hang (my
monitor usually has my mouse plugged through it). Also of note,
when you are using USB KB/Mouse, they do not work until the USB
is finished loading from BIOS, so you need to be rather timely
in your key press.
Overclocking
with Asus AI NOS, the Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe motherboard and a
AMD Opteron 148 (2.2GHz Stock) yielded a result of an 2.554GHz.
Not a bad overclock for an automated program, showing there is
something to this NOS solution. NOS actually got there by doing
nothing more then increasing the FSB. There was no VCore or Memory
Voltage increase. The maximum overclock AI N.O.S allows is 30%.
Overclock
Numbers
A
quick couple of graphs that show what 2.915GHz buys you over the
2.2GHz stock speeds.
PiFast
TMPGEnc
A
nice little improvement in PiFast and TMPGEnc, granted we have
increased the clock by over 30%.
Final
Words
Asus are well
known for high quality and performance, a hard combo to attain
much less maintain on a constant basis. With the A8R32-MVP
Deluxe, Asus once again shows us a motherboard that not only
is built well but one that also performs very well. Overclocking
is only hampered by a limited voltage range on the VCore adjustment,
and possibly the complexity of all of the available options. Utilizing
Asus built in
AI NOS, achieves simplistic enablement of Overclocking for the
beginner. Add to that, HD audio, silent heat dissipation, dual
GB NIC's (albeit one is PCI based) and Crossfireâ„¢, you have
one board that is, in this reviewers opinion, keeping nVidia engineers
looking over their shoulder. It hasn't caught them yet, but they
can hear the footsteps.
Little things like intelligent riser / connector positioning as
well as forward thinking eSATA-II support help lift the A8R32-MVP
Deluxe to new heights. The price is right, often you get what
you pay for, I see this as an exception to that rule. If your
looking for a Socket 939 solution that performs, look no further,
you want Crossfire with that, boy are you in luck today.
I posed the question earlier, did ATI listen to the feedback from
the RD480 lackluster deployment? I say they did so, and then some!
ATI has given the motherboard manufacturers a chipset they can
rule the day with, it is up to the motherboard manufacturers to
enable that possibility.
If
you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
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