XFX N780-ISH9 (NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI)
Performance tests
Interestingly, XFX N780-ISH9 is quite precise at setting the nominal FSB speed:
During the performance tests, we compared XFX N780-ISH9 versus ASUS Striker II (NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI) and Gigabyte X48-DQ6 (Intel X48).
In our test setup, we used the following hardware:
Let's first take a look at the results of synthetic benchmarks.
Now on to the gaming benchmarks.
Tests of application software.
Video encoding (DivX, Xvid) was measured in seconds, i.e. the less the better.
Data compression (WinRAR) was measured in Kb/sec, i.e. the more, the better.
Final Words
To start with, the board of NVIDIA's reference design allowed us to make the final conclusions regarding the nForce 780i SLI chipset. From the functional viewpoint, there are no complaints about this chipset: it offers good expansion options, superb support for the SLI and excellent overclocking capability. As regards the way NVIDIA increased the number of PCI Express lanes and implemented support for the v2.0 specification, this is a medal of two sides. The circuit engineer may call installation of an additional nForce 200 bridge non-optimum, inefficient, and expensive a technical solution. The user is neither hot nor cold about it - if the board works fine, let it work on. But frankly, the user may be hot about that: the chipset heats up like an oven and burns the radiator red hot. So we recommend to install the bundled fan right at the installation, even if you don't plan for overclocking. During the overclocking, it is useful to arrange additional cooling.
Conclusion
Pros:
- excellent stability and performance;
- support for SLI, 3-way SLI (3 PCI Express x16; 2x16 v2.0+1x16 v1.0 slots);
- support for SerialATA II (6 links, RAID);
- support for ParallelATA (1 link);
- two Gigabit LAN controllers and integrated 8-channel High Definition Audio;
- support for USB2.0 (10 ports) and Firewire (2 ports);
- passive/active system for cooling the board;
- perfect package bundle;
- reasonable price.
Cons: The board's specific features:
- superb overclocking capability (FSB ~ 530 MHz);
- Power, Reset buttons;
- diagnostic POST indicator.
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