Thoughts, HEXUS.awards and HEXUS.right2reply
The introduction of NVIDIA's nForce4 SLI chipset for Intel processors was met with a mixture of acclaim and puzzlement by most commentators. On the one hand, here was an Intel-matching chipset, in performance at least, that served up some tasty on-chip feature goodness. The impressive feature-set was only blighted by poor onboard audio; a fate that has also befallen AMD's nForce4 SLI, too. More importantly, perhaps, it opened up the way for LGA775 users (and I'm thinking of the likes of Dell here) to offer SLI support for the first time, months after it was available for AMD's S939 CPUs.The SLI performance problem that the likes of Dell would inevitably gloss over, but has been graphically (pun intended) shown on the previous few pages is squarely down to Pentium 4s' relatively weak gaming performance that's exhibited at lower resolutions and/or with games that rely on masses of subsystem grunt. With respect to SLI'd gaming performance even dropping in an Extreme Edition would do little to help bridge the gap between equivalent Intel and AMD CPUs. That's why, purely objectively, SLI doesn't make the greatest deal of sense for LGA775.
Coming back to MSI's P4N Diamond and taking due note of the performance limitations imposed by the choice of platform, it has done a decent job in designing a feature-rich Intel-based motherboard. Layout is good, the BIOS is reasonable, and the feature-set, augmented by excellent onboard sound, dual Gigabit LAN, 6-port SATA2 and FireWire, is impressive. Being critical, I'd like to have seen better fan control within the BIOS and FireWire800 (1394b) specified as standard. If nothing else, MSI has proved that there's now more than one LGA775 chipset that can match Intel's current best in most departments, and the P4N Diamond's dual x16 PCI-Express slots still offer the fastest gaming fun to be had this side of S939. It will be interesting to see just how it compares against a retail SLI-capable i955X Express board. We won't have to wait long to find out. There's already one on the way to HEXUS Labs.
In summary, then, MSI's taken on NVIDIA's nForce4 SLI Intel Edition chipset and incorporated a sensible array of features that make the P4N Diamond into a true deluxe mainboard. General performance is good and SLI performance, too, is about as good as it's going to get with LGA775 as platform base. It's recommended as a fast LGA775 board with all the trimmings, but it can't be recommended as the SLI board of choice - no Intel board can. SLI and overall gaming performance belongs to AMD.
HEXUS Right2Reply
Commenting under the HEXUS Right2Reply initiative, John Inwood, Product Marketing Executive, MSI UK, had this to say:Hi David
I am glad Tarinder had a chance to explore the P4N Diamond in such detail. As shown from the results it is a strong contender against the 925XE chipset with the added benefit of SLI capability. MSI has made this model a Diamond edition, and much like the AMD equivalent it boast’s full spec and added features to satisfy even the most extreme enthusiast. The inclusion of the digital SLI switch which HEXUS reported on a number of weeks ago is ground breaking technology in our industry, and its début on this board has set the standard for all manufacturers in future.
Tarinder mentioned this is an early version of the board, we hope to have a much newer BIOS by the time this board is released which should iron out any bugs and increase the performance significantly. For our internal testing we have found overclocking on this board to be very good, and by the time this board is released it should be outstandingly capable for both mainstream and enthusiast alike!
Best Regards,
John Inwood
