The NF4 ultra D will never run 4dimms 1t, it needs a hardware change to do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by cantankerous
i will have a bios that does the REAL cas1.5 on the NF4....the one thats there now is actually cas2 it seems.
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The NF4 ultra D will never run 4dimms 1t, it needs a hardware change to do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by cantankerous
i will have a bios that does the REAL cas1.5 on the NF4....the one thats there now is actually cas2 it seems.
For the READING challenged. LOOK AT THE LITTLE RED BARS, they are the tests with the 6800 Ultra. This is the same card used in testing every other board on the chart.Quote:
Originally Posted by situman
The gold bars are the 7800GTX results. They are in the review for those who would complain otherwise "Why are you testing with the 6800 Ultra when it's obsolete. I don't care if all your Socket 939 board tests are also with the 6800U". The purple bars are the Crossfire X850XT, just to see if it worked. THE GOLD AND PURPLE BARS ARE FOR REFERENCE.
All this is explained, as always, in the Test Setup.
What I really want to know, and you say this board will be similar to the "expert" is how it does with the high voltage, low latency rams relative to the nf4 boards out already!
Just the sameQuote:
Originally Posted by Weee
Our standard motherboard test suite does NOT include Sandra or Everest, though I do use both in Memory reviews. Therefore there was not a database of Sandra and Everest to compare to other motherboards. I ran the tests for myself, but an isolated test result is an advertisement and not a review. You need to compare to other boards for a review. There are already plenty of web sites who test an isolated board, post great results in a vacuum, and give it an Editors Choice. That is the real joke in your comment.Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyMouse
Reviewing is about consistent comparison, which is why our standard memory results are currently TCCD on the A64. Tony and I did test and find OK Infineon 1GB, TCCD, BH5, Ballistix 51MB, and VX (CH5). The only problem memory was Hynix, which is not much used any more. However, to report results for any of these, without comparison numbers, would not have been a review. I also just received Crucial Ballistix 2GB, and since Oskar used the Ballistix 1GB dimms to test and tweak the board we have every reason to expect they will perofrm great on the RDX200. This is like TCCD was used by Oskar for the DFI nF4.
Mr. Icee is now doing some reviews for AT. Why don't you email him and ask him about our test suite at AT. He can tell you more about the time it takes for testing, and what we do in testing to assure comparability of results.
Since you're so loudly disappointed I have a challenge for you. Email me your shipping address and I'll provide you the full AT test suite on 7 DVDs for your testing. If you publicly agree to accept this challenge we can arrange with DFI to ship you a RDX200 on loan for testing. You then have a little over 24 hours, like I did, to test the DFI RDX200, and then return the board. Since it's an exclusive review and boards start selling Tuesday morning there are no other review results for Reference and you can't use the ones from my review. Then post your review and we will critique it. LOL
EDIT: flame removed
-saaya
Stop the flaming before this very helpful and informational thread gets locked....please.
Whatever you two have to say to each other, take it up through PMs.
So does this mean you decline the challenge?Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyMouse
hey Prom :)
curious why did DFI send the board to Anandtech/you so late and only give you 24hrs to test ???
hope there's a planned follow up part 2 ??
it's called frustration.
The more intense this conversation gets, the higher expectation people had before with this new MB.
*** Watching ***
Ive noticed something happening here at XS, something which I dont like, which I was hoping would just go away. But it isnt and it is getting worse. What am I talking abt? It is the 'banter' which is taking place between certain individuals which for me is making XS feel like a 'playground' for peeps ego's.
I dont want to take sides, I would like these things to stop, but I dont think this will happen. It is very easy to critisize, especially in the medium we have available to us. What isnt easy to do, is constructivly create a piece of work tht a review needs to be. If 'you' really feel tht such a poor job was done of the review, then buy the board and do it yourself. Its so easy to say 'do this' and 'do that', please stop posting negative comments, and expect everything you want to be done.
We all have gripes abt certain companies/individuals but at the end of the day, they are the ones who create the products and they are the ones who will lose out if what they produce isnt up to scratch.
As individuals we have the choice to buy something or not to buy it. Please leave your EGO's out of this forum and let XS return to how it was
Please......
One could wish for interrogating the board design engineer(s). :slap:
Always nice to hear from you, Eva. I've missed your thoughtful questions since the old days at Asuboards/ABXZone/BleedinEdge but I still see a comment from you once in a while at AT.Quote:
Originally Posted by eva2000
Oskar made improvements to the board after the initial shipment to the US DFI office. He was still tweaking the boards in Taiwan as late as Wednesday of last week. The revisions were locked last Wednesday and my sample was shipped direct from Taiwan. Overnight from Taiwan takes 2 days to the US and UK. We received boards on Friday afternoon for me, and Friday evening for Tony.
In the meantime DFI California was modifying boards to the final Oskar specs for delivery to New Egg, who was to begin sale of the RDX200 on Monday. This is unusual as we usually have at least a week or two to test new launches like this board, but I worked all weekend and slept 3 hours Sunday night to get the major testing done and the review written and to our web editor. The board is super stable, but the memory timings and options are not at all like the DFI nF4. It took a lot of calls, Oskar Saturday night, Tony, and RGone to get things working properly to bring you decent info in such a short period.
Frankly, the AT audience is not really xtreme - I often refer those readers here to xtreme in my reviews - but I still try to bring you at least the OC basics which can provide a starting point for going much deeper as most of you do. That means I will not likely do a follow-up Part 2 on this board very soon.
Part of the reason is there are several other very interesting RD480 boards that will appear shortly, and we will likely concentrate on those before we return to the most promising boards. Asus, MSI, and Abit will all have enthusiast-level boards using the ULi M1575 southbridge, which is why it is taking them a bit more time to get to market. They are not DFI, of course, but they could have some very interesting boards if they were otherwise faithful to the Reference design.
I wont get into "how XS was" or "the good ol days"...But whenever there is a release of a revolutionary new product (and it is in many respects), there will be those that embrace it with open arms, those that wait for a more affordable option, and those that believe it isnt any different than what already available - converting those few in the third group isnt an easy task and Tony is doing his best to do so, so pls do recognize that.Quote:
As individuals we have the choice to buy something or not to buy it. Please leave your EGO's out of this forum and let XS return to how it was
On the other side, Jason has some valid points (lol deja vu xs news :p: ), but ppl seem to mind when those points are repeated over and over again. IMO the features arent there, and will not be there in the **read it** FIRST CROSSFIRE MOTHERBOARD to be released retail...so there will always be room for improvement, and look for future crossfire-based motherboards by DFI and other chipset partners to make those improvements.
Debates and arguments happen and will continue to happen as long as there'll be those pushing for a better product, but for now lets stay on topic, look at the board for what it DOES do and wait and see what else Tony has instore for us. Thx for the change in tone btw Prometheus.
Thx.
Perkam
How ironic - this coming from the guy who posted this in my preview of the E6 San Diego :rolleyes: :Quote:
Originally Posted by mongoled
...Quote:
Originally Posted by mongoled
This is the first RD480 Retail board, and the first always expects to be rewarded with a premium price. My guess is the DFI will settle around $180 if you are willing to wait - most xtreme users don't like waiting though :D
The SB 450 is actually even better than nF4 in IDE and Sata performance as I found in the Sapphire and ATI Crossfire chipset launch review. In fairness SATA1 on SB450 is actually faster than SATA2 on nF4.
As I also showed in the ULi M1575 review, the ULi southbridge is also fast, even faster than SB450 in all the storage controllers, with USB performance near but a bit lower than nF4, and with full support for 4 SATA2 drives, RAID to 5, and NCQ (which the M1573 also supports but not the SB450). Always nice to hear form you. http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2562
The practical reality is almost no one will notice the slow USB and missing SATA2/NCQ. However, I can think of better-performing extra SATA controllers than the Sil3114 used on the DFI.
While it doesn't really matter much in performance I still don't get why ATI didn't think USB performance and SATA2/NCQ were important enought to fix. We first pointed it out a year ago. This is a new chipset and the competition is nVidia. nVidia has had zippy USB2, SATA2 and NCQ from their first 939 chipset.
If SB600 were here or makers used M1575 we would all only be talking about the first board to use Azalia HQ on the A64, the great IDE and SATA2 performance compared to nF4 instead, and the incredible overclocking performance and stability of this 6-layer board. Instead we are debating USB and SATA instead of talking about truly important features. You don't introduce a new chipset and not expect a DIRECT features comparison. You just get the checklist stuff right so reviewers and users will concentrate on the unique stuff.
remember the lanparty nf4 was over $200 when it came out too...
Thats a question you need to ask DFI, not Wes or myself. We were issued with an exclusive, just llike the NF4 and the 250GB as DFI trust us to test and report faults...the only issue here is we had 24 hrs and not the 2 weeks we had with the other 2 motherboards.Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyMouse
Somthing you guys don't know is when the NF4 was lauched by DFI the bios it shipped with was a CPU killer, i killed an FX53 and Rgone killed a cpu also within hrs of us first testing. We brought this to DFI's attention and numerous bios files were written to eliminate the issue and bring performance back.
Now, its better for me to kill my cpu's etc on a pre release board than you lot lose your new FX etc on a shipping board, this is part of the service i offer to DFI and it helps them keep their boards at the top of the pile with the enthusiast.
This is why I usually get boards early, I also ask that I can post about the boards to bring to the public a sneak peak at what the boards do and what to expect from them.
Now with the constant bashing i have seen here DFI may take away my right to post early, so in future you may have to wait for the official reviews....for me this would be a bad move but i would understand if DFI took it.
nevermind....I better stay outta those criticism, would love to see more screenie and result of this board eventhough I'm still going to stick with the NV. :D :D :D
I don't think people bash because it is a bad product. People are just expressing their opinions based on the initial results. The NF4 Lanparty series set the overclocking bar (quality wise-so so) so high that whatever comes next has to at least match or exceed the previous gen products. There's always going to be obvious questions being asked but I guess it was directed at the wrong people. Most questions should have been directed towards DFI. No one knows why the price is so high yet feature wise its a generation behind except DFI. No one knows why DFI is going to essentially release an updated board (BT) in the near future even though it follows the ATI reference design. These are questions DFI needs to answer, not Tony or the Anandtech guy.
Just for the "neutral bytstanders" keep in mind the people who tend to argue the loudest are usually (usually means not always) those with financial stakes in the success or failure of a product. I tend to take what they say with a grain of salt. While I am sure they try hard to be neutral, it's not always possible.
Reviews are great and all, but what I want is a thread with 50,000 reads and 1,000 posts of you guys tweaking and breaking this board. What the funded reviewers say doesn't mean much really, though it's usually a good read.
There are always exceptions; When you have industry reps like Tony who have always been straight up on their positions and actively given BACK to the community (BT BIOS mod's anyone), you can be sure he is saying what he believes to be the truth or he'd keep his mouth shut.
Some just come to whine. They brag about their own results but do nothing to help others get them.
In any case, play nice before the thread goes the way of the dodo bird and we all lose out.
UnG
Quote:
Originally Posted by perkam
You can say tht again, lets keep it on topic, just wanted to say my piece.Quote:
Originally Posted by perkam
Ive been hearing tht the raid0 performance isnt too bad. Not seen any real numbers yes, but im sure we will have some results soon. I strongly believe tht this mthbrd will drop in price to make way for a feature rich mobo. Ive got a feeling tht this mthbrd being the first of its kind will be the base for later revisions, it will be the first sample of mass produced Crossfire mobo in circulation. Does anyone believe tht they could get the mthbrd perfect straight away? I think i may skip this one, im sure the 'real deal' will be arriving in the next few months.
Well said.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ugly n Grey
...Yet if any other board had these problems bar the DFI RDX200 CF-DR,they would have been slated straight away? ;)
Im gonna sit on the fence,but i just cant see myself shelling out for this overpriced 'wonderboard',no matter who's involved in it,its not personal,i just dont think it's that good.
Peace :) :)