![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Sunday , November 23, 2003
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Chaintech ZNF3-150
A feature packed solution based on the nForce3 chipset, the ZNF3-150 puts the power of an Athlon64 754-pin CPU in your box. See how this Chaintech mainboard stacks up when it comes to stability and speed.
BIOS
Chaintech chose to use the Phoenix AwardBIOS as a basis for the BIOS implemented on the ZNF3-150. The BIOS contains various enhancements targeted towards the enthusiast crowd as well. Note that the BIOS used in testing was the release 1.0 BIOS, dated 10/03/03 and available from the Chaintech site. Furthermore, this version of the BIOS does not contain any memory timing configuration options. It has come to our attention that some reviews of this board do utilize a BIOS with memory timing tweaks but it is not currently available to the public. Seeing as we like to try our best to show the product in the retail state in which you would purchase it, we used the latest public BIOS for testing.
The Advanced Chipset Features menu contains various options for configuring chipset related functions, including the Hyper Transport and AGP buses.
The LDT Downstream Width option controls the bandwidth available for data movement from the CPU to the system, with the Auto option giving the most aggressive performance. The LDT Speed option configures the speed at which data traverses through the Hyper Transport channels. The link speed itself is determined by the CPU FSB setting and the frequency multiplier selected. The following link speeds result from the associated multiplier selection with the CPU FSB at default speed (200 MHz): 200 MHz (1x); 400 MHz (2x); 500 MHz (2.5x); 600 MHz (3x); and 800 MHz (4x). Barring system stability issues, the LDT Speed option should be set to 3x for optimal system performance. At a CPU FSB of 200 MHz, the 3x selection gives you a maximum link speed of 600 MHz, which is the LDT speed capacity of the nForce3 chipset.
The PC Health Status menu contains various system statistics pertaining to all BIOS monitored voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. The Shutdown Temperature option allows for user configuration of a CPU temperature threshold. If the CPU temperature exceeds the selected threshold temperature, the BIOS initiates an immediate system shutdown.
The Frequency/Voltage Control menu contains options for user configuration of the system bus speeds, with the exception of the LDT bus, and the various system voltages.
The DRAM bus configuration options are contained within the DRAM Configuration submenu. With the DDR Timing Setting by option set to Manual, all memory related settings become user configurable. Unfortunately, the only memory related option available is the Max Memclock (Mhz) option. This option controls the memory speed based on the default 200 MHz CPU FSB. The selection available correspond the to following dividers (DDR:CPU): 100 (1:2); 133 (2:3); 166 (5:6); 200 (1:1). Since no memory timing options are available for user configuration, the memory is configured by the BIOS according to the SPD module on the DIMM itself. Fortunately, there is no performance penalty incurred for running memory asynchronously with the nForce3-150 chipset, allowing for the memory speed to be removed as an overclocking bottleneck through the use of the appropriate divider.
The CPU OverClock in MHz option controls the speed of the CPU FSB, with an upper limit of 400 MHz. The AGP and PCI FSBs are controlled independent of the CPU FSB through the AGP OverClock in MHz option. This option allows for a hefty 100 MHz maximum FSB. While some AGP cards can be clocked that high, it is doubtful whether a PCI device could operate at the 50 MHz speed that the maximum setting would dictate.
The voltage settings becomes user accessible by setting the Voltage Fine Tune option to Enabled. The CPU Voltage Regulator option controls how much voltage is supplied to your power hungry Athlon64 processor, with a maximum allowable voltage of 1.70v. While this may not seem like much, considering the default voltage is 1.55v, it should be more than enough with the right CPU. The AGP Voltage Regulator option dictates the voltage provided to your AGP video card. The maximum allowed 2.2v is enough to fry even the hardiest GPU, but with the right cooling could lead to some massive overclocking potential. The memory voltage is controlled through the DIMM Voltage Regulator option. While the 2.9v maximum may not seem like a lot, it should be plenty when paired with the right PC4000 DRAM module for any overclock. The Chipset Voltage Regulator option controls the voltage provided to the chipset, with a maximum of 1.9v allowed. If you decide to increase this voltage at all, I would highly recommend replacing the included chipset heat sink unit with a more robust, and active, solution.