Single channel Nforce2 400 dethrones its dual channel stablemate

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Nic

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Single channel Nforce2 400 dethrones its dual channel stablemate

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" ... ENTHUSIAST SITE amdmb.com discovered this unexpected anomaly, which could have far reaching Socket-A repercussions.

Soltek's bottom dollar SL-NV400-64 motherboard, which is based on the single channel nForce2 400 chipset, is the cause of all this news. What is amazing is that it beat Asus' dual channel flagship product - the A7N8X Deluxe, in the majority of benchmarks. Ryan Shrout, the amdmb.com reviewer, who put Soltek's motherboard through its paces, suggests that its performance lead in UT 2K3 is down to the additional overhead that a dual channel system board has to deal with. Looking at the rest of the results, I would apply that comment as a general across the board statement.

Soltek's motherboard retails at a new egg price of $76 - the version without LAN will apparently be sold for under $70. Asustek's $130 flagship adds an additional $54, which would buy you a Thoroughbred 1700+ and its cooling kit. Will this more for less attribute drive more enthusiasts to buy Soltek's better performing solution?

Soltek's overall performance lead is not earth shattering, but like everything else in this industry, perception is everything. Of the 14 benchmarks that were run, Soltek's board won 11 of them, drew 2, and lost only one. For the record:

Quake 3: Evenly matched results
UT 2K3: 5.5 to 11.1% lead
3D Mark 2K1: Wins by a nose
PC Mark 2K2: Two out of three is good enough.
SiSoft Sandra 2K2: A win in memory, but ties in CPU
Cachemem: 5.7% to 9.3% lead
Business Winstone 2K1 & 2K2: A win in both
CC Winstone 2K1, 2K2, & 2K3: Soltek takes the Triple Crown
SPECviewperf 7: Asus' only win
ScienceMark: Pretty much a draw ... "
 
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