DFI trust in nvidia MCP7A by releasing the LP JR GF9400-T2RS

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pvhk

Gawd
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DFI will launch it's next LP JR for C2D: the upcoming DFI LP JR GF9400-T2RS
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http://www.dfi.com.tw/Upload/News/US/arch514.jsp
Based on nforce730i(nvidia MCP7A), it will feature the missing dual channel on its previous nforce630i & an excellent onboard GPU for those who intend to mount an high end HTPC rig...
Although having 2 pcie slots, only one will be fully 16x, the second one being @2x due to chipset limitation...

There will be 2 versions of the board:
-DFI LP JR GF9400-T2RS
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-DFI LP JR GF9300-T2RS
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The only difference will lie on the gpu clocks..

Both share the same 16 Shader Cores, but the clock speeds will be different:
The GeForce 9400 will run GPU core @ 580MHz and Shaders @ 1.4GHz,
whereas the 9300 will runs GPU core @ 450MHz and Shaders @1.2GHz.

It will introduced a debug LED module ,3 pwm connectors (4 pins) + 3 others fans connectors (3 pins) & all the previous usefull accessories already available on the DFI LP JR P45 (EZ switch,Heatpipe cooling thermal design...)
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With those new models, it will be possible at last to mount a TRUE in the upright position without any mod, the space around the s775 socket has been rearranged compared to the LP JR P45...
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Knowing the works of DFI engineers, one can expected lots of bios settings (in particular voltages settings...) for the enthusiast users!!!

The ABS tools will also be included!

Once available, be assured this board will be in my hands for "complete dissection"....
 
Good to hear, pvhk. Looking forward to your dissection. I'm thinking most people will go for the GF9400 version over the GF9300.
 
In term of fsb wise, it will probably not outperform the LP JR P45 but that's not a pb for me...
 
Does anyone know if the onboard GPU will support dual-link DVI for 2560*1600? I believe the 9400 supports it on paper, but I'd like confirmation. :)
 
Subscribed.

Actually, I'm trying to get hold of one of these myself. However, since I'm in Portugal, I'll be lucky if if becomes available before X-mas...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: motherboard manufacturers should release products at least one month earlier...

Btw, anyone knows how well/bad the current 9300-based boards are faring, OC-wise? I'm building a new rig, and since I'm going uATX this time, I'd like it to be a "juicy" board...

Cheers.

Miguel
 
pvhk said:
the MSI P7NGM can hit up to fsb@425 with an e8500:
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/geforce9_msi_p7ngm_digital/18.html
while the asus P5N7A_VM hit up to fsb@375 with a quad (q9300):
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=627&type=expert&pid=17
So, I feel confident with the DFI board...
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I really hope that Asus board came out a dud... It's weird, to say the least, for a "standard" board (with solid caps) to only hit 350MHz, while its non-standard "Digital PWM", without that many solid caps to hit 400+ MHz on the FSB...

Thank you for the links, pvhk.

I do have to say, though, that I'm not that fond of MSI (really crappy board back on the P4 era for my brother, I got chilly with MSI since then...), and that layout is simply HEDIOUS... I mean, I want to be able to actually USE some SATA ports... If I put a GTX260 there (which I will, btw... lol) and a dedicated sound card on the bottom slot, I'll be hard pressed to have a couple of ports available... I sure hope the guy who designed that board got fired... Even the odd 4+2 config on the Zotac board is better...

Cheers.

Miguel
 
There is no downgrade to switch from my i-n73hd (nforce630i) to nforce730i!
And testing brand new promising matx board has always been one of my big passion....;)
 
pvhk said:
There is no downgrade to switch from my i-n73hd (nforce630i) to nforce730i!
Click to expand...
Since you were the guy who brought us the F-I90HD, the GA-G33M-DS2R, the P5K-VM, the P5E-VM, and I think the P5Q-EM, if I remeber correctly, he probably thought one of those would be in your uATX rig... :p

Actually, I thought that, too... :eek:

Btw, even if your board was a P5Q-EM, I really don't think you would be downgrading if you switched to the P5N7A-VM... Sideways in terms of OC, perhaps, but not on features. However, since the GA-G33M-DS2R, P5K-VM and P5E-VM, there wasn't really a good "OC-friendly" uATX board :( (with the probable exception of the DFI P45 JR... hehe)

Cheers.

Miguel
 
you are right for most board except the G45 that i did not intend to test at all and will NOT...
 
Sounds like the 9300/9400 core really wants to be a prescott CPU at heart :(
 
CrimandEvil said:
Too bad on the PCIe slots though. :(
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Seriously, that layout is perplexing. Looks like it has enough caps on it to support any power requirements, so why would they shoot themselves in the foot like that? Maybe they didn't want it competing with a full ATX board.

Anyway, still waiting on my T3RS... :rolleyes:
 
Meaker said:
Sounds like the 9300/9400 core really wants to be a prescott CPU at heart :(
Click to expand...
What makes you say that? I don't remember any review saying the 730i was too hot...

Obviously, it's not the super-small 780G/790GX NB, or the 780G/790GX+SB7x0 combo for that matter, but you do have to keep in mind that the 730i needs to have a memory controller on-board, AND the SB is actually integrated on the same chip. Temps are expected to be higher than any single chip on dual-chip solutions...

sleepeeg3 said:
Seriously, that layout is perplexing.
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Remember, the second PEG slot is only 2x electrical. PCIe 2.0, sure, but still only 2x. Which is just about the limit on the 730i, since you already have another PCIe 1x slot, and something like the Firewire controller on the last PCIe lane.

Keep in mind that the 730i is a 16+4 lane PCIe 2.0 part, and you can't split the PEG slot lanes (unfortunately). So I really doubt DFI was aiming to a dual card solution with that board, because of the bandwidth limitations. Probably that slot was designed, at most, for one of those really long drive controllers (which are PCIe 4x or 8x and have the 16x "dent" to install on a 16x slot; or to be able to have a dedicated PhysX card (dedicated GPU, that is), though that's weird, since you can get that through the IGP already.

As for the placement, I believe DFI still considers the PCI bus not dead. There are quite a few new items on that bus, so they could be giving them a little breathing room. Or that's an NVIDIA requirement for uATX boards (oddly enough, just about EVERY SINGLE 730i board I've seen has the same slot layout, with the exception of the slot just below the PEG slot, and even there DFI is the only one different...)

Flyboat said:
what happen to next generation: displayport.
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I've seen quite a number of new items with DisplayPort, actually. Mostly graphics cards (most of them from ATI), and the odd TV or monitor.

The thing is, there aren't that many people that need to daisy-chain monitors. Also, with the exception of the sound path, you're still pretty much within the bandwidth limits of the DVI/HDMI link. Lastly, the only real problem with DVI/HDMI (HDCP handling, especially injecting audio streams on an HDCP-encrypted link) isn't that much of a problem for the most part.

So in the end, manufacturers say "Yes, that's a good interconect", promptly followed by "but simply there isn't that great of a market demand, nor there will be on a near future", and they end up only offering DisplayPort on a select few items.

Maybe those "select few items" with that "extra" may become the norm a couple of years down the road. I for one would love to see only one A/V interconnect, period. HDMI seemed it could be the one, but it was just poorly planned from the get-go. Too many revisions too quickly, not enough bandwidth, etc.. I tell you, Firewire makes more sense every passing day. Simple, small, fast, compatible (though lacking content protection and bandwidth). Just create a VERY fast multi-purpose link already! So you can handle like ten generations increase in bandwidth on the video link side, and raw 20.1 channel audio data.

Ok, /RANT. Sorry about that.

Cheers.

Miguel
 
200F and 170F, thats 77C and 73C, my P45 gets to 45-50C max at 30% higher clocks.
 
That's not a pb knowing the efficiency of the DFI heatpipe cooling solution!
 
Meaker said:
200F and 170F, thats 77C and 73C, my P45 gets to 45-50C max at 30% higher clocks.
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:eek::eek::eek:

That IS hot... Auch... I wonder how much those temps will influence OC ability. If they stay put as OC increases, it won't be a major problem. But I really doubt it... :(

Cheers.

Miguel
 
those chips + quad core + highend graphics are 1 going to need a decent PSU and 2 Need GOOD case ventilation.
 
__Miguel_ said:
Remember, the second PEG slot is only 2x electrical. PCIe 2.0, sure, but still only 2x. Which is just about the limit on the 730i, since you already have another PCIe 1x slot, and something like the Firewire controller on the last PCIe lane.
Click to expand...
2x? Why do we need this board then? MS isn't even officially supporting nVidia or ATI's onboard solutions in Vista or Windows 7.
 
the pcie slot 2x is clearly useless...It's as if the board had only one working pcie 16x
For those who intend to buy an nforce 730i board: there are then lot's of choice:
asus P5N7a-VM or gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H...but for me it will be the DFI (better bios for sure...EZ switch, specific heat pipe cooling) :D
 
damn, was hoping for a Nvidia SLi mobo...guess I'll stick w/ my P45 for a little while longer
 
__Miguel_ said:
Since you were the guy who brought us the F-I90HD, the GA-G33M-DS2R, the P5K-VM, the P5E-VM, and I think the P5Q-EM...
Click to expand...

FYI - I've owned the F-i90HD, EVGA 630i, Asus P5K-Vm, P5E-VM, P5Q-EM, and now the Asus P5N7A-VM...

If you want an OC board, stick with intel X/G chipsets like the P5E-VM or P5Q-EM...much more overclock friendly with great BIOS support and solidity

If you want a good IGP, 9300 is the way to go, even if the product is really in its BETA phase...immature BIOS / Driver support. My Asus P5N7A-Vm is a really crappy overclocker going up to ~380MHz FSB and with no support for different Mem:FSB ratios other than 1:1. The voltage and memory controls are really bad as well as VDroop (250mV-400mV).
 
But for a basic HTPC where you don't want a graphics card in there its the best integrated solution.
 
Meaker said:
But for a basic HTPC where you don't want a graphics card in there its the best integrated solution.
Click to expand...

It's the best, if you don't mind no frills, default everything with some crappy BIOS/Driver support, but it does have the best BD playback audio/video wise. When/If they fix these issues, it will be the best bar none.
 
Asus boards used to have important vdroop so it' not a big surprise with the P5N7A-VM! But with this last one, it will be hard to find a vdroop mod like the p5k-vm/p5e-vm...One other reason for me to have choosen the dfi (minimal vdroop w/ lp jr p45)
About the G45, i don't see why one on would recommand this chipset...supposely better than the g35 but finally not that good...
 
sleepeeg3 said:
2x? Why do we need this board then? MS isn't even officially supporting nVidia or ATI's onboard solutions in Vista or Windows 7.
Click to expand...
As I've said before, the 730i chipset only has 20 lanes, and 16 of those are not splittable. The extra PEG slot is just that, an extra. Usefull for those of us who might want to use a disk controller card, or even a PhysX card (either the PCIe version, or an 8x00/9x00/200 series card).

Every 730i board I see brings me closer and closer to firmly believe DFI couldn't put the 2x slot anywhere else. All of the 730i boards have the same layout, except for the slot right below the PEG...

So far, Microsoft has yet to even natively support SLI and Crossfire on an OS, so that's not really something to be worried about. Manufacturers will simply port the SLI/CF drivers to the new OS, and be done with it, like until now.

Btw, Microsoft actually said HybridSLI and HybridCF were not even on the short list for implementation. I've written about that on another post, and as I said there, it was to be expected. HybridCF/SLI is still too young and "iffy" to be reliable, and M$ is not touching unreliable stuff even with an 100-feet pole, since they have enough stability problems already...

S_T said:
FYI - I've owned the F-i90HD, EVGA 630i, Asus P5K-Vm, P5E-VM, P5Q-EM, and now the Asus P5N7A-VM...

If you want an OC board, stick with intel X/G chipsets like the P5E-VM or P5Q-EM...much more overclock friendly with great BIOS support and solidity.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info.

I'm actually considering something 9x00-based because there are too few options for what I want. I'd like a PCIe 2.0-ready (energy management and extra bandwidth) uATX board with 4 memory slots, one full-speed PEG slot (I'm not going to have more than one GPU, too expensive, loud, and suffering from micro-stutter...) and RAID (AHCI might do it, too, but I preferr the whole package), for a 400MHz FSB OC max (if I'm feeling lucky... I think I never got above 333MHz, even with my E6400...).

If you look at those requirements, the only boards left are 9x00 and G4x-based, plus the P45 JR from DFI.

The P45 JR is automatically out, since DFI didn't implement the two PEG slot approach right, and you're stuck with two PCIe 8x slots instead... :(

Then just about every G43 board only has two slots AND/OR only gets the ICH10 SB, meaning not an option there, too...

G45 are another big laugh... Only one worth considering is the P5Q-EM, which is impressively expensive, is not that OC-friendly AND still manages to suck big time on the layout side (front-mounted, non-GPU obtrusive SATA ports anyone?).

Then you have the 9x00-based boards. Not sure on how they will fare OC-wise, but at least the Asus and DFI boards nailed it on the layout part (not so for Gigabyte, same problem as the P5Q-EM).

So, with all that in mind, plus the fact most likely getting myself a GTX260+ with the board, what would you recomend? And since you're at it, Q6600, E7300 or E8400?;):eek:

Cheers.

Miguel
 
__Miguel_ said:
I'm actually considering something 9x00-based because there are too few options for what I want. I'd like a PCIe 2.0-ready (energy management and extra bandwidth) uATX board with 4 memory slots, one full-speed PEG slot (I'm not going to have more than one GPU, too expensive, loud, and suffering from micro-stutter...) and RAID (AHCI might do it, too, but I preferr the whole package), for a 400MHz FSB OC max (if I'm feeling lucky... I think I never got above 333MHz, even with my E6400...).
.....
So, with all that in mind, plus the fact most likely getting myself a GTX260+ with the board, what would you recomend? And since you're at it, Q6600, E7300 or E8400?;)
Click to expand...


Miguel, from the sounds of your requirements, the nVidia 9300 boards are up your alley, since they have everything you want, except for one thing: 400MHz FSB overclock. The best you will be able to do so far is around 375MHz or run a 333Mhz 5:6 FSB/Mem divider. The RAID on the 9300 is a step down from the ICH10R (about 33% less from my experience), but is still sufficient for everyday server/streaming use.

However, this is strictly speaking in terms of HTPC / limited gaming use. If you're a real gamer (sounds like it from your GTX260+), I would probably look at P5Q-EM, but you don't like its layout. You could conceivably go back to P5E-VM also, but lose out on some of the newer feature sets, however that board was one helluva overclocker. And since it seems you're a gamer, go E8400 EO and get 4.0GHz goodness! :)
 
Any idea when these will be shipping and prices? The Gigabyte board is damned expensive in the UK (£120 for the GF9400).
 
yes, the gf9400 seems rather promising when one looks at the gigabyte result!

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When the DFI will hit the shelf it will be the king! :)
 
Soon, soon...
JRGF9400-1l.jpg

JRGF9400-4l.jpg

JRGF9400-7l.jpg

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JRGF9400-5l.jpg

http://www.dfi.com.tw:8080/portal/C...g=false&action=e&windowstate=normal&mode=view
:)

According to DFI slide: the 2 pcie slot will be both 8x using 2 pcie graphic cards, instead of 16x & 2x as previously mentionned!!!

"2 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots - Hybrid SLI® - combination of the integrated graphics and a discrete graphics card in a PCIE slot (16-lane port). - Two graphics cards support SLI®; each operating at x8 (8-lane ports) bandwidth"
 
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