ECS KN1 Extreme NF4 SLI motherboard Review

Benchmarking continued

CINEBENCH 2003

CINEBENCH 2003 is the free benchmarking tool for Windows and Mac OS based on the powerful 3D software CINEMA 4D R8. The tool is set to deliver accurate benchmarks by testing not only a computer’s raw processing speed but also all other areas that affect system performance such as OpenGL, multithreading, multiprocessors and Intel’s HT Technology. CINEBENCH 2003 includes render tasks that test the performance of up to 16 multiprocessors on the same computer.

ScienceMark 2.0 Final:

Science Mark 2.0 is an attempt to put the truth behind benchmarking. In an attempt to model real world demands and performance, ScienceMark 2.0 is a suite of high-performance benchmarks that realistically stress system performance without architectural bias. Lower results (time in seconds) represent better performance. All of our testing was completed on the 32 Bit Final benchmark version that is dated March 21, 2005.

Super PI

Super Pi is a program a lot of enthusiasts use to benchmark overall system performance, as the program is capable of calculating pi up to 33.55 million digits on a timer. Many overclockers and enthusiasts are in a battle to get the lowest 1M Super Pi time possible

Doom 3

Doom 3 is one of the most system taxing games available. Its popularity also makes it a great choice for system benchmarking. I like to use Time Demo 1 with resolution set to 1024×768 with detail set to high.

Far Cry- Volcano

Far Cry is another super popular FPS title that seriously taxes your systems graphics. HardwareOC developed this specialized benchmarking utility that automatically runs the test twice and averages out the score. V 1.41 was used here, with a resolution of 1024×768 and detail levels set to high.

From the testing, you should definitely notice that the socket 939 motherboard market is really hitting its stride. Not much at all seperates these boards, and in the end what should be a determining facotr for those of you looking for a good, inexpensive motherboard might just come down to something as simple as the bundle.

Next up we’ll look at some overclocking with the Kn1 Extreme SLI, and see how it fares against the DFI Infinity SLI. Will it suffer the same fate as the KN1 Extreme Ultra, or will it rise to the occasion and put itself on the radar of people looking for a high quality, inexpensive SLI solution?