Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Corsair’s Memory Overclocked to 1.0GHz Speed. 1000MHz Memory Speed Milestone Reached

9:48 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

Legit Reviews has conducted an experiment in the course of which specialists from the web-site managed to overclock Corsair XMS2-5400UL memory module kit to the speed of 1000MHz, hitting the milestone for both DDR2 and DDR memory types. The experimentation was carried out on a mainboard powered by Intel’s forthcoming 955X core-logic and Intel’s dual-core Pentium Extreme Edition 840 processor.

“When I hit 1GHz on the memory I was actually shocked how easily it was done and the fact an Intel reference board was used. Usually the Intel reference boards are not known to be good overclocking boards, but that is not the case on the latest i955X boards. The new memory controller design that is being used on the Intel 955X Express Chipset is by far better for overclocking that then one seen on the i925X and i925XE boards.  The Intel reference board (D955XBK) only allows voltage options up to 2.08V, but talking to tier one motherboard makers it seems as if most of the retail enthusiast boards will go up to at least 2.2V on the DIMM’s.  I imagine that as the enthusiast boards start to hit the retail market seeing overclockers reach DDR2 1000Mhz will be something that is expected,” said Nathan Kirsch of Legit Reviews web-site.

• Legit Reviews: LR & Corsair Break the 1GHz DDR2 Memory Barrier.

NVIDIA’s First Core-Logic for Intel Processors Reviewed. The Media Investigates NVIDIA’s nForce4 SLI Intel Edition

3:57 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

For years NVIDIA Corp. has been creating powerful and feature-rich core-logic for computers based on processor for Advanced Micro Devices, which sometimes gave users of AMD-powered machines advantages over those who use “Intel Inside” PCs. But the situation is going to change, as NVIDIA is beginning to roll-out its chipsets for Intel processors, bringing multi-GPU SLI technology as well as hardware-based firewall security, advanced storage solutions and Gigabit Ethernet networking.

Here is what the media thinks about reference nForce4 SLI Intel Edition mainboards by NVIDIA Corp.

“Like the Intel 925XE chipset, the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition will support a 1066MHz front side bus (FSB) and dual channel DDR2. As you would expect, the socket is Intel’s latest, the LGA775. Additionally, the board supports NVIDIA’s RAID and ActiveArmor firewall. One of the biggest impacts of this announcement and launch is the availability of SLI to Intel users. Now, AMD and Intel fans can enjoy the highest gaming performance available,” writes Bjorn3d.com.

“Due to, perhaps, the need to design a memory controller for LGA775 processors, NVIDIA has resorted to a traditional two-chip northbridge/southbridge design that’s connected via a high-speed HyperTransport link. That’s in stark contrast to the single-chip models for AMD. The nForce4 SLI Intel Edition will support all LGA775 CPUs, including the recently-introduced dual-core Smithfield. However, purchasers of retail motherboards will need to ensure that the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition board they’re considering do indeed support the Pentium D and XE 840 models, as partners may elect to produce more than one model on this chipset,” informs Hexus.net.

“NVIDIA’s nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition performed very well throughout our battery of benchmarks. Whether our nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition’s system memory was clocked at DDR2-667 or DDR2-533 speeds, it performed on-par with, or slightly better than, a similarly equipped system that was outfitted with an enthusiast-class motherboard based on Intel’s i925XE chipset,” claims HotHardware.

“Official high-speed memory support is another addition. Intel’s 925XE officially supports up to DDR2 533Mhz but the nForce 4 goes one step higher to DDR2 667. There is also an emphasis on low latency DDR2 modules. NVIDIA has been working together with Corsair to validate high performance memory for the nForce 4 for Intel with timings of 4-4-4-4 and 3-2-2-2. There seems to also be an implication that the nForce 4 is the only current Pentium 4 core logic chipset that allows for 1T timing - neither the Gigabyte 925x board or the ABIT 925XE based boards that we have allow for 1T,” writes Neoseeker.

“Although I have only used this system during the past six days, I threw a lot at the SLI setup by using 16X antialiasing, high quality texture filtering, and resolutions up to 2048x1536 (in Half-Life 2 no less). The system has been stable and the end results are impressive. Hard-core gamers that prefer Intel processors need to look no further than NVIDIA’s nForce4 SLI to deliver the best gaming experience on the market today,” concludes nV News.

“Despite the fact we used an early production board, the product was rock solid and should translate into a very reliable product once 3rd party manufacturers put their boards out. Obviously many of the teething pains associated with the chipset and SLI have been worked out during the past several months over at the AMD SLI side of things and the end result is very good news for Intel fans,” concludes Viperlair.com.

• Bjorn3d.com: NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition.
• Hexus.net: NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition.
• HotHardware: NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition.
• Neoseeker: NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI for Intel.
• nV News: NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition Preview.
• Viperlair.com: NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI - Intel Edition.

AMD Discloses Plans for Future. Web-Site Talks to AMD's CTO Fred Weber

3:14 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

AnandTech has published an interview with AMD’s CTO Fred Weber. During the interview were discussed such questions as AMD’s plans for singe core chips evolution, dual-core and multi-core implementation and possibilities of incorporating hyper-threading technology into AMD-made central processing units (CPUs). Some additional facts were told about AMD’s Turion 64 processor as well as intentions to develop a special CPU architecture for portables..

“What can we expect from AMD going forward? We can expect the K8 execution core to remain relatively unchanged. Its successor may be deeper pipelined, but for the most part, the core itself appears to be mostly done evolving. We can expect future AMD chips, beyond 65nm, to be large groupings of cores, but the focus will continue to be on making them all general purpose, however with varying individual strengths (symmetric and heterogeneous), ” concludes AnandTech.

• AnandTech: Interview with AMD’s Fred Weber - The Future of AMD Microprocessors.

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