Editor's Note: After receiving feedback and commments on this article both in the forums and through email, we will be issuing a complete re-test and re-write to better give an idea of the Nforce2 performance. Our current tests are missing 2 key elements that would give a totally different performance picture. Namely, we had not yet done DualDDR testing @ the clockspeed of the processors, and we did not use a 333FSB chip to compare against the 266FSB chip. The Nforce2 will perform significantly better when both those conditions are met, and we hope to revise this article to show what we find in our labs. Until that time, please keep in mind that the Nforce2 performance in our tests will not look as appealing as they should.
Nvidia is best known for their video technologies, but the graphics giant has
lately set their sights on core chipsets for mainboards. Thus was born the Nforce
chipset. The original Nforce chipset got off to a delayed and shaky start. And
the much anticipated Nforce 2 was also delayed - we were already reporting about
the Nforce 2 features back in mid-2002.
The K7N2 (MS-6570) uses the Nforce 2 SPP (System Platform Processor) North
bridge, and the MCP2 South Bridge. There is NO integrated graphics core in our
test sample.
Features of the Nforce2
Because this is our first Nforce 2 review, let's look at a list of the noteworthy
features that this chipset provides:
- Dual DDR Memory Architecture: dual independent 64-bit memory
controllers providing 6.4GB/s on DDR400 memory ("double" the bandwidth).
This dual architecture is also intended to reduce latencies by having each
controller operate together to "hide" latencies. To take advantage of DualDDR you should set your DDR speed to the same speed as your FSB (eg: DDR266 for Thoroughbred A chips, DDR333 for Thoroughbred B chips) and have 2 sticks of RAM, the second one running in the bank set aside for DualDDR.
- Official DDR400 and DDR33 Support
- AGP8X support in the Nforce 2SPP
- ATA133 (provided by the MCP southbridge)
- HyperTransport: 800Mhz interconnect between North and South
bridges
- DualNet Ethernet controllers: Provides up to 2 Ethernet
ports
As you can see, the features are quite robust, and also very well placed against
the Via KT400 chipset. Note that of the features, the K7N2 does NOT make use
of DualNet, as it provides only a single Ethernet port.
K7N2 Specs and Layout Notes
The K7N2 is mostly an entry level Nforce2 board. The MCP that it uses lacks
some of the advanced audio features such as on the fly Dolby Digital encoding
that Nvidia has been pimping for their MCP-T. (The MCP-T also adds IEEE-1394a/FireWire
support).
Our K7N2 came with a D-bracket and S-bracket; the former is the familiar MSI
diagnostics bracket that includes a USB port. The optional S-bracket adds center/subwoofer
and rear left/right jacks to the 3 audio jacks onboard. It also adds SPDIF and
output jacks. Audio is provided by Realtek's ALC650 6-channel chip, which provides
6 channel analog output.
The MSI K7N2 has a very nice basic layout design that's marred by what can
only be described as some mysterious layout quirks. The CPU socket is oriented
so that your heatsink clip will face the uppermost edge of the board, which
means that if you don't have a slide-out motherboard tray you will likely have
to mount your heatsink before mounting the board, or else you will have a tough
time reaching the heatsink clip. The IDE slots are lower on the board and quite
close to the PCI sockets; this is inconvenient because your IDE cables will
invariably get in the way of even your half length PCI cards. Below the PCI
slots you might have noticed the blue ACR (Advanced Communications Riser slot).
Right now it's pretty much useless, and we think for hobbyists it will continue
to be useless as these types of slot architectures come and go with little fanfare.
The circuit layout of the DIMM slot area shows a split between DIMM slots 1/2 and 3, which is to allow easy differentiation when using DualDDR. The DIMM slots are nicely spaced from the AGP slot,
and even using a large video card like the Ti 4600 will not hinder you from
easily accessing your RAM. Things like this put smiles on our lips.
The board requires a 4 pin ATV12X connection from your power supply for additional
power to the CPU - both power connectors are close by to the CPU socket (this
turned out to be a frustration for us, when we had to change PSUs during part
of our tests). The CPU socket area lacks the extra holes necessary to mount
extreme coolers, but at the least we found there was enough clearance around
the socket to mount regular large coolers like the Volcano 9 in our pictures.
MSI wins big points for their use of all passive cooling on this board - you
can see that the heatsinks are both large and graceful looking, and I can assure
you they are quiet ;); plus they won't run the risk of failure from use or too
much dust.
The rear I/O panel provides 4 USB 2.0 ports (remember, the D-bracket provides
a 5th USB 2.0 port), an integrated Ethernet port, 1 serial/1 parallel port,
and 3 audio connectors, which as we mentioned above, are boosted with the S-bracket's
own extra audio jacks.
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