![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Mr. Bluntman
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2007
- Messages
- 7,088
Greetz!
Some of the retro computing enthusiasts may remember a thread I did about three and a half years ago on NV35, testing and benchmarking with some games. Unfortunately, the platform I was using was far from what I would consider optimal. Now, I have some new friends...
The first nForce3 250Gb motherboard to market, the MSI K8N Neo Platinum. The AnandTech review gives it a solid recommendation, but in practice MSI's then spotty QC let to many users having stability, overclocking and voltage/multiplier issues. I can safely say after some initial teething pains this configuration is now fully stable. The latest BIOS was already flashed when I received the board. Until I get a properly functioning period PSU, the TX 650 from my Sandy Bridge i7 PC will be employed here or until testing is complete. As a bonus, I will also offer insight on how this PC fares as a daily driver today doing basic web tasks and video. Whee! Installed is this CPU:
The legendary C0 Clawhammer Athlon 64, 1MB L2 variant. Lest you forget, while the 3400+ you see here is clocked at a modest 2.2GHz it still packs a wallop compared to most of Intel's Pentium 4 Northwood lineup at the time. This is what I will be using for most of my testing. 2.4GHz Clawhammers in socket 754 are about as hard to find as a virgin in a maternity ward, and when you do, usually they are priced at Ivy Bridge i7 levels, to give a point of reference. That's not to say there isn't a surprise in store for some fun later...
Next up, is the GPU we will be using. It should be fairly obvious at this point if you're observant.
NV40 in 6800 GT flavoring. Manufactured by PNY, they opted for a nice blue PCB that contrasts nicely with the dark brownish-violet (almost black) of the motherboard it is installed in, but replaced the stock blower shroud artwork with Nalu for one that is as boring, bland, and uninspired as a case of generic bottled water. But really, what matters is the silicon powering this card, it's features, and performance in DX7, DX8, and DX9 SM2/3 with a couple different driver revisions. And that's what we will be getting to here soon enough. Obligatory screen cap with system info:
My next post will be a recap of the NV40 architecture and overview of the system in detail before we get to benchmarks. Stay tuned, more to come soon! Until then, it's time to start installing the games and getting everything ready.
Some of the retro computing enthusiasts may remember a thread I did about three and a half years ago on NV35, testing and benchmarking with some games. Unfortunately, the platform I was using was far from what I would consider optimal. Now, I have some new friends...
The first nForce3 250Gb motherboard to market, the MSI K8N Neo Platinum. The AnandTech review gives it a solid recommendation, but in practice MSI's then spotty QC let to many users having stability, overclocking and voltage/multiplier issues. I can safely say after some initial teething pains this configuration is now fully stable. The latest BIOS was already flashed when I received the board. Until I get a properly functioning period PSU, the TX 650 from my Sandy Bridge i7 PC will be employed here or until testing is complete. As a bonus, I will also offer insight on how this PC fares as a daily driver today doing basic web tasks and video. Whee! Installed is this CPU:
The legendary C0 Clawhammer Athlon 64, 1MB L2 variant. Lest you forget, while the 3400+ you see here is clocked at a modest 2.2GHz it still packs a wallop compared to most of Intel's Pentium 4 Northwood lineup at the time. This is what I will be using for most of my testing. 2.4GHz Clawhammers in socket 754 are about as hard to find as a virgin in a maternity ward, and when you do, usually they are priced at Ivy Bridge i7 levels, to give a point of reference. That's not to say there isn't a surprise in store for some fun later...
Next up, is the GPU we will be using. It should be fairly obvious at this point if you're observant.
NV40 in 6800 GT flavoring. Manufactured by PNY, they opted for a nice blue PCB that contrasts nicely with the dark brownish-violet (almost black) of the motherboard it is installed in, but replaced the stock blower shroud artwork with Nalu for one that is as boring, bland, and uninspired as a case of generic bottled water. But really, what matters is the silicon powering this card, it's features, and performance in DX7, DX8, and DX9 SM2/3 with a couple different driver revisions. And that's what we will be getting to here soon enough. Obligatory screen cap with system info:
My next post will be a recap of the NV40 architecture and overview of the system in detail before we get to benchmarks. Stay tuned, more to come soon! Until then, it's time to start installing the games and getting everything ready.
Last edited:
