Our testing methods
Today we'll be comparing the A8N32-SLI's performance with that of DFI's LANParty UT NF4 Ultra-D. The LANParty is one of our favorite nForce4 boards, and it's among the fastest Athlon 64 platforms we've tested.

All tests were run three times, and their results were averaged, using the following test systems.

Processor AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 2.4GHz
System busHyperTransport 16-bit/1GHz
Motherboard DFI LANParty UT NF4 Ultra-D Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
BIOS revisionN4D623-30804
North bridgeNVIDIA nForce4 UltraNVIDIA nForce4 SPP 100
South bridgeNVIDIA nForce4 SLI
Chipset driversForceWare 6.70ForceWare 6.82
Memory size1GB (2 DIMMs)1GB (2 DIMMs)
Memory type OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev 2 DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
CAS latency (CL)22
RAS to CAS delay (tRCD)22
RAS precharge (tRP)22
Cycle time (tRAS)55
Command rate1T1T
Hard drives Western Digital Raptor WD360GD 37GB SATA
AudionForce4/ALC850nForce4 SLI/ALC850
Audio driverRealtek 3.75Realtek 3.78
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT with ForceWare 81.85 drivers
OS Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS updatesService Pack 2, DirectX 9.0c

Our test systems were powered by OCZ PowerStream power supply units. The PowerStream was one of our Editor's Choice winners in our latest PSU round-up.

We used the following versions of our test applications:

The test systems' Windows desktop was set at 1280x1024 in 32-bit color at an 85Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests. Most of the 3D gaming tests used the Medium detail image quality settings, with the exception that the resolution was set to 640x480 in 32-bit color.

All the tests and methods we employed are publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.