Memory Benchmarks
Memory tests let us check that the memory controller is allowed free reign in Athlon 64 systems, since the memory controller is on the CPU. We're not testing the chipset or motherboard explicitly, only its ability to run the CPU correctly. Pifast first, to see if nForce3 250 does that properly.
The short answer is yes. It does fine versus K8T800, and with performance in Pifast on Athlon 64 entirely down to the CPU, we can conclude that nForce3 250 is a decent working base.
Sciencemark give us a breakdown of how Pifast was able to work.
Again, with the memory controller on the processor, there's little that the chipset can do to affect the bandwidth score. Both chipsets are fine, nForce3 250 actually bringing home a slight win.
Repeat the above statement, replacing the word bandwidth with latency, but with nForce3 250 a little slower going out to main memory, due to the reported memory latencies. CPU to main memory accesses are the best in the business with Athlon 64, nForce3 250 doesn't hinder that fact.
