CPU/Mobo Nvidia Nforce4 SLI 16X HTT issue

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Darklord

Darklord

Galvanizer
Ok this is related to the 8 Bit HT Bus between the CPU and Northbridge of the Nvidia Nforce 4 16X SLI chipset.

Now there has been too much discussion going on about this.

Here's something that has bewildered me.I hope the Pros here on TE can enlighten me.I seek their help.:huh:

Ok here it goes,

1] The Nvidia Nforce4 SLI 16X Chipset is a 2 chip solution as you all know.

2] The Northbridge and Southbridge have a 16Bit HTT Bus between them,thats for sure.

3] Now in the BIOS of my board,the NB <---->SB HTT width is by default 16Bit upstream n downstream.

4] Now the K8[CPU] <------> NB is 'Auto' by default.

5] There are 2 Options here, 8Bit upstream n downstream and 16Bit Upstream n downstream.

6] I selected 16Bit obviously duuh...:P

7] System booted properly,no issues.

8] Problem is ,how do i verify if both the links are 16Bit or no ? tried finding it out through Everest but no go.Shows every damn thing but doesnt show these important things..:@

9] i downloaded VIA Hypertransport Analyser V2.0 Tool and ran it.

Result is below -



This tool is ok for earlier chipsets but the NF4 SLI16X is pretty new one,so donno if this is correct.

I am also aware that many review sites have specifically mentioned that its 8Bit,my question is HOW did they find it out ?

If it was 8 Bit,why did Asus keep the 2 options of 8 n 16 Bit ?

Any Clues guys ???
 
xbit review comments said:
Now, about the Bios Settings.

K8 to NB: Works right in x5(1000) and 16up and 16down. I didn't understunt why in the review said that CPU to NB comunication is 8bit.
Click to expand...

"To ensure high-speed communication between the chipset’s North and South bridges, NVIDIA had to reduce the width of the HyperTransport bus the chipset connects to the CPU with and to use two 8-bit channels instead of the ordinary nForce4’s two 16-bit channels there."

Are you sure this is not a BIOS setting? I think you can change it to 16-bit. see http://www.amdzone.com/pics/motherboards/asus/a8n32-sli deluxe/sbtonblinkwidth.jpg
Click to expand...

What's with this BS about "narrow HyperTransport"???

They come 16up 16 down straight out of the box. Even the Nvidia website lists both the SLI and SLI X16 as being "16x16" on their tech specs page.
Click to expand...

I just don't understand why you're saying that the CPU to Northbridge hypertransport link is operating in 8 bit mode, thus being a bottleneck... To my knowledge you can configure it to be 16 bit wide...

The only evident bottleneck (if you want to call it that way) is the northbridge to soutbridge hypertransport link that is imposing a small delay when communicating with the second PCIe 16x slot.
Click to expand...

I think you can reconfigure it to 16 * 16, maybe it was done later by a bios update, i think the reviews were of reference or first lot of boards.

 
Also darky what video card are you running? It'd make sense to have the same video card and a normal NF4 Ultra/SLI board to get consistent results.
 
Also darky what video card are you running?
Click to expand...

Asus Geforce 6200TC 64Mb onboard [256MB supporting] 128Bit Thats my card

Ok Here are the screenies,
At these settings,


I get a score of -



Chipset related settings in BIOS -
 
Hm... pretty big diff between harshal's and darky's results if u ask me. however the faster 7800gt could potentially skew the results. Anyone have an SLI/Ultra board and a 6200/6600/6800?
 
I will install my 6200TC today.

I talked to darky and we will have almost identical setup.

He will reduce his pultiplier to 9 and run cpu at 1.8ghz rest everything stock.

I will run my 165 at stock.

It will be almost same system then except mobo. then we will see what results we get :P
 
Posting just for a comparo,

Ok, i have NVIDIA nForce4 4X m/c with a 6200 tc/tdh card 16MB(shared 128) its a 64 bit card.

Here's the screenie, i got high of 127 fps with b/w of 680 Mb/s which keeps on increasing.



Also, the card b/w would play a role, 64, 128 or 256 bits on the score.
 
i have 6800ultra and nvidia a8n sli premium.
when i ran it it showed 4566fps
i then pressed T
it showed arpund 142 fps and bandwidth was around 700~722per sec
but when i keep "T" key pressing down the score increases gradually so i think pressing t once is right and sore is around 715 mbps and 142 fps
 
Well when I ran mine..many of the programs were running including itunes which was updating my ipod.... (yeah I know nice show off :P) but will try one more time when I reach home after restart and minimum programs to check if it shows any difference.
 
ok here is mine with the Ultra-D and 6600GT



the HTT speed is 290*3. lazy to bring the m/c to stock.
 
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