Supplied by dfi
DFI has raised the bar! The LanParty series of DFI motherboards puts an impressive
package into the hands of the consumer including the FrontX device, 6-channel
audio, Serial ATA, round cables and UV-reactive components on the motherboard
PCB. DFI is out to get attention and they have stomped onto the market with
a hefty hardware package. The “one upmanship” between manufacturers
continues and DFI is the latest to raise the bar yet another notch.
Specifications
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CPU
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CHIPSET
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SYSTEM MEMORY
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BIOS
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POWER MANAGEMENT
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HARDWARE MONITOR
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AUDIO FEATURES
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LAN FEATURES
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ATA RAID
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PCI IDE INTERFACE
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SATA IDE INTERFACE
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IEEE 1394A INTERFACE
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CPU SOCKET
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ACCELERATED GRAPHICS PORT (A.G.P.)
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REAR PANEL I/O PORTS
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I/O CONNECTORS
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EXPANSION SLOTS
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PCB
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The notable “new” that DFI brings is 2 onboard LAN ports previously
found only on NFORCE2, and RAID 1.5 which integrates the RAID 0 (striping) and
RAID 1 (mirroring) with only two drives. RAID 0 traditionally divides the data
over two drives and RAID 1 requires a third for mirroring. DFI’s RAID 1.5 technology
allegedly combines the speed of RAID 0 with the security of RAID 1 requiring
only 2 drives.
EZ ON and EZ TOUCH are onboard power and reset switches therefore no PC case
switch hardware is required. This really only appeals to reviewers and hardcore
overclockers who literally test the motherboard right on the bench.
KT400A; Big names and little differences
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The KT400A is, more or less, the same chipset as the KT400 with the most notable
difference being FastStream64. It’s a very slick name given to the improvements
in the memory controller. VIA states that “FastStream64 Technology enables
the single channel 64-bit memory controller of the KT400A to out perform the
NFORCE 2 Chipset in 128-bit mode.”
This is marketing-speak for “we made the memory work faster with less
latency”.
Just like the KT400 the KT400A supports 200/266/333 MHz Front Side Bus and
200/266/333/400 MHz memory. Both support an AGP8x peak bandwidth of 533MB/s
and 2.1 GB/s of dedicated bandwidth for the GPU. Essentially VIA “tinkered”
with the KT400 North Bridge and made it better hence the “A” of KT400A.
Our reaction to the VIA KT400A chipset has been somewhat lukewarm. The KT400A
appears to be an interim step towards the KT600 in this day of ever-shrinking
product cycles. The stumbling block in the KT400A is its inability to support
400 MHz front side bus speeds. An AMD 3200+ 400FSB processor will not boot on
a KT400A motherboard at 11×200 MHz settings. The blame lies with VIA rather
than the motherboard manufacturers.
What’s in the box?
Inside the LanParty box are 5 smaller boxes each containing goodies
of their own and, of course, the motherboard itself.
Touring the board
The DFI LanParty KT400A features a horizontally mounted socket which is preferable
as this makes for easier installation/removal of a heatsink. A power supply
which is usually immediately above would make for tight spaces with a vertically
orientated socket. Note that there are only 3 DIMMS.
The processor front side bus speeds are controlled by a dip switch but is important
to remember that the KT400A chipset will not support 400 FSB XP processors.
EIDE 1&2 and the floppy header are smartly positioned near the top of the
board.
“Left” of the headers and across the DIMM tracks is the North Bridge
passive heatsink.
There are many that contend passive heatsinks are not good for overclocking
but the the user always has the option of mounting their own active heatsink
or just modding a fan onto the stock passive heatsink. Remember the passive
heatsinks are 2-3 times larger than the active heatsinks seen on other boards.
Some manufacturers say that active or passive…it makes no difference.
DFI used a generous amount of thermal paste on the KT400A North Bridge chipset.
Travel back across the DIMM tracks and head south to the RAID headers. DFI
included RAID 0, RAID 1 and introduces RAID 1.5 which literally combines the
speed of RAID 0 with the security of RAID 1. Raid 0 requires two drives and
RAID 1 requires 3 or 4 drives. RAID 1.5 accomplishes its magic with only two
drives.
The two push button switches are POWER and RESET. DFI included these to appeal
to reviewers and overclockers. The motherboard can be operational outside of
a PC case with no need for the PC case power/reset hardware or the board can
be powered up or reset without having to reach around to the front of the case.
Tucked in at the top of the EIDE RAID header is the SATA RAID header.
The AGP locking clip requires work. Once a video card is inserted it is awkward
to release it.
The VT8235 South Bridge chip.
Down on the bottom right edge of the motherboard are the front power/reset
hardware connections, a fan header and the WOL connection. The blue jumper for
clearing CMOS can be seen at the upper right.
The KT400A can support three 1394 (Firewire) connections but the package only
comes with one port for the FRONTX device. An inclusion of a PCI 1394 bracket
would have been a thoughtful inclusion.
There are five PCI slots and the included PCI bracket game port plugs in at
the lower left edge of the motherboard.
There are two connections where the pins are bent. The top is S/PDIF in/out
and the bottom is IrDA. The pins are bent purposely to allow for connections
to sneak under any PCI cards that may be installed. It’s a clever and simple
move on behalf of DFI.
The blue jumpers control frontx audio and the onboard 4-channel sound. For
6-channel sound the S/PDIF PCI bracket has to be used. This is not Dolby Digital
5.1 sound though. The black and white CD and AUX in connections are just above.
THe backplane connections; PS/2 mouse and keyboard, parallel and 2 serial,
4 USB and 2 RJ45 LAN, Mic in, Line In and Line Out. The benefit of 2 LAN connections
is that a second system can loop through the DFI motherboard for Internet/LAN
connection.
The power connections may inconvenience some but not bother others. Some may
feel that the PSU trunk cable looping across the top of a heatsink will “disrupt
” airflow. Route cables properly and this won’t be a problem.
The motherboard package includes user manual, a features manual, install disc,
quick assembly guide, a HighPoint RAID driver floppy and InterVideo’s WinCinema.
The paper manuals are not as extensive as the PDF manuals on the install disc.
Accessories
The rest of the boxes were ripped open like a child at Christmas revealing
a bounty of accessories. The first was the ACCESSORY box.
It contained:
- Backplane guard
- PCI Gameport bracket
- S/P DIF PCI bracket
- 2 x USB PCI bracket
- 1 x SATA cable
- 1 x SATA power cable
The round cable box disgorged two 24 inch EIDE round cables and one floppy
cable.
The cables are high quality with UV reactive casing and a braided wire casing.
The TRANSPO box contains a heavy duty PC Case harness that is very adjustable
and the convenient way to pack a PC case to a LAN party.
Last but not least is the packet of silicone heatsink paste.
FrontX
DFI joins the front panel war with FRONTX. The FrontX panel is one of the most
versatile seen to date. The package include one 1394, two audio/mic and two
USB connections.
The FRONTX panel takes up a single drive bay and it features a flip up/down
door panel.
The FRONTX is so versatile and innovative due to the configuration possibilities.
Each section has a slide out “panel” that allows for a connection
device to be inserted.
Modders will really like the FRONTX design. With all the component removed
it is safe to paint to match the PC case. Even the faceplates themselves can
be removed from the hardware for safe painting.
BIOS
BIOS explanation in the printed manual is non-existent at best.
DFI needs to address this in the next manuals or include a rather large and
obvious note pointing users to the PDF manuals on the install disc for more
detailed explanations.
Novice overclockers will have to experiment to determine what
settings will work best as there isn’t a simplistic “go faster” setting.
It is recommended to take a careful look at the BIOS settings
to ensure that they are correct. The default BIOS is quite conservative.
HALT COMMAND DETECT? Yes…it looks like the return of the CPU
Halt Command to help cool down the processor. Those of you may remember the
WPCRESET and WPCREDIT tweaks to enable this on other motherboards such as the
KT133 and KT133A series.
DRAM timings can be MANUAL, BY SPD and PERFORMANCE plus a host
of other settings, some common and some not, are available. Unfortunately the
DFI printed manual is no help to the BIOS illiterate. Better explanations are
available on the install disc in PDF files.
A new addition to some may be the ENABLE/DISABLE setting for V-LINK
8x Support. V-Link architecture is not anything new but 8x bumps the connection
rate between the North Bridge and South Bridge up to a peak bandwidth of 533
Mb/s. Reasons for disabling it would be those of stability by peripherals in
PCI slots or on the EIDE headers.
The GENIE BIOS screen is the second area where overclockers will
spend the most amount of time. CPU clock settings are available in 1 MHz increments
up to 255 MHz and multipliers are available up to 22.5x. DDR DRAM Clock can
be set BY SPD or by locking in settings at 200, 266, 333 and 400 MHz. CPU voltage
settings range from 1.10v to 2.00v in 0.25 increments. AGP voltage is 1.50v
– 1.80v in 0.10v increments and Chipset and DIMM voltages can be adjusted in
0.10v increments from 2.5v – 2.80v. The DFI voltage settings are not the most
extensive seen in a BIOS.
It is important to note that the KT400A like the KT400 and NFORCE
chipsets allows for T-BRED B and BARTON multipliers to be unlocked without having
to make physical changes to the processor.
Each LAN port can be enabled/disabled as well as USB 2.0, RAID
and 1394.
Benchmarks…the horse race continues
The DFI KT400A LanParty test system.
- AMD 2600+ 333 FSB
Processor - KT400A
LanParty motherboard - ATI 9700 PRO Video Card
Catalyst 3.2 drivers (Default settings w/VSYNC disabled) - 2 x 256 MB Corsair PC3200 DDR RAM
- Sony 52x CD
- LG 40x CDRW
- 60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive
- Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors
- USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse
- Globalwin CAK4-76T HSF
- AMK SX1000
modded PC case (window, fans, cables, loom) - Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU
- Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1
The Gigabyte 7VAXP-A Ultra test system.
- AMD 2600+ 333 FSB
Processor - Gigabyte
7VAXP-A Ultra motherboard - ATI 9700 PRO Video Card
Catalyst 3.2 drivers (Default settings w/VSYNC disabled) - 2 x 256 MB Corsair PC3200 DDR RAM
- Sony 52x CD
- 60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive
- Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors
- USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse
- Globalwin CAK4-76T HSF
- AMK SX1000
modded PC case (window, fans, cables, loom) - Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU
- Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1
The CHAINTECH 7NJS test system.
- AMD 2600+ 333 FSB
Processor - CHAINTECH 7NJS
Zenith motherboard - ATI 9700 PRO Video Card
Catalyst 3.2 drivers (Default settings w/VSYNC disabled) - 2 x 256 MB Corsair PC3200 DDR RAM
- Sony 52x CD
- 60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive
- Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors
- USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse
- Globalwin CAK4-76T HSF
- AMK SX1000
modded PC case (window, fans, cables, loom) - Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU
- Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1
The ASUS A7N8X v1 Deluxe test system.
- AMD 2600+ 333 FSB
Processor - ASUS
A7N8X motherboard - ATI 9700 PRO Video Card
Catalyst 3.2 drivers (Default settings w/VSYNC disabled) - 2 x 256 MB Corsair PC3200 DDR RAM
- Sony 52x CD
- 60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive
- Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors
- USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse
- Globalwin CAK4-76T HSF
- AMK SX1000
modded PC case (window, fans, cables, loom) - Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU
- Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1
Programs used
Sisoft Sandra 2002- MadOnion
3DMark 2001 SE - Quake
III Arena - Commanche
4 - GL
Excess - SpecviewPerf 7.0
- Serious Sam SE
- Unreal Tournament 2003 flyby benchmark
- Adobe Photoshop 7.0
- PS Bench
- Adobe After Effects 5.5
- SoftimageXSI 2.0.1
- KirbiBench
All tests were run at default video card settings with VSYNC disabled. Bios
was optimized for system but not tweaked for any performance settings requiring
specialized knowledge of overclocking. In other words the BIOS settings were
standard as far as anyone can set the time and date, ensure the ram is 2 or
4 way interleave and at CAS 2 and AGP is chosen as the first boot video card
(8x). The BIOS settings were kept as close to conservative or default value
or as otherwise specified. The ASUS A7N8X memory settings were set to OPTIMAL
and AGGRESSIVE as disclosed. Memory was kept at DDR333 settings for synchronous
timing with the 2600+ 333FSB processor. Individual performance will vary with
any particular or specific timings or tweaks enabled by you.
1024 MB page file moved to D: partition. Temporary Internet files moved to
K: partition at end of drive. OS installed to C: and programs installed to
E:. All programs were benchmarked at 1024×768@75Hz with the exception of SoftimageXSI
which requires 1280×1024 resolution.
All motherboards were test “right out of the box”. No special
BIOS timings were set except for the time and date, boot order and health monitor
features. The BIOS was purposely kept to the factory conservative settings to
provide a base comparison. From there is only up.
For all tests an AMD 2600+ 333FSB processor and two sticks of Corsair memory
were used.
These may result in lesser or greater scores dependent on variations in system
components and settings. Avoid smoking and excessive amounts of alcohol. Wait
at least 12 hours after scuba diving before flying or driving over 1000 feet
above sea level. Void where prohibited by law. No animals, especially my cat,
were harmed in the making of these benchmarks.
3D Mark 2001 SE
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The KT400A Gigabyte 7VAXP-A Ultra outscores them all.
Codecreatures
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In reality this could be called dead heat.
Commanche 4
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Commanche 4 manages to put the NFORCE2 Chipset in the lead.
GL Excess
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The DFI KT400A LanParty takes the win for GL Excess.
Quake III high quality
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NFORCE2 boards have the edge with the Quake III benchmark veteran.
Serious Sam
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UT2003 Flyby
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The KT400A chipset on the Gigabyte system manages to pull ahead.
Sisoft Sandra CPU Arithmetic
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The Gigabyte KT400A manages to squeeze out a win followed by
the Chaintech NFORCE2 offering and DFI is a very close third.
Sisoft Sandra CPU Multimedia
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Sisoft Sandra Memory Benchmark
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The Gigabyte 7VAXP-A KT400A and DFI KT400A Chipsets have shown
definite memory controller tweaks.
Specviewperf 7.0
SpecviewPerf still grounds itself in the manipulation of 3D graphics
on a business application level rather than on a gaming performance level.
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The following two tests are targeted mainly towards CPU performance and will
show if any “flaws” are in board design affecting the ability of the
CPU to crunch through the data. While in render mode the two test programs virtually
bypass ram and GPU.
KribiBench
The Kribi engine is 100% software rendering (a pure CPU benchmark) and makes
heavy use of SSE instructions and SMP.
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Adobe After Effects 5.5
Adobe After Effects is a tool to produce motion
graphics and visual effects for film, video, multimedia and the web. It is primarily
a 2D application using imported graphics or digital footage or self generated
effects. A project was created that was a combination of many video footage
files, resizing and rasterizing effects, text animations and multiple layer
effects. This “average” combination was felt to best demonstrate advantages
and/or disadvantages that a real world user may experience rather than isolating
and benchmarking a particular effect.
There is no official benchmark for After Effects
but tasks can be timed to show specific results. Rendering, or the task of building
and compiling frames, is mainly CPU intensive and After Effects generally bypasses
the video card and relies solely on the processor for speed. The time taken
to render 900 frames basically shows how fast the processor is working on the
given task.
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KT400A appears to be a better with CPU rendering performance
on some boards than others. This is most likely due to BIOS tuning by the manufacturer.
Softimage XSI can simply bring
any computer to its knees. It’s an incredibly powerful 3D animation program
that has the ability to become so complex that single processor systems have
been known to “think” for days when rendering an animation. Softimage works
on somewhat similar principle to After Effects. A faster and more powerful video
card will translate to a smoother interface where complex scenes can be manipulated
in real time. Note that Softimage does not have an interface to real-time preview
a finished frame as unlike After Effects. Users can manipulate objects in a
choice of views from wire frame mode to simulated real-time shading mode. In
order to look at a finished frame a user must render the frame to disk which
bypasses the GPU. A faster processor will result in the faster render. The amount
of RAM is not as great an issue as the user is working frame by frame and the
graphics card is doing the bulk of the work while working within the GUI.
This is a most basic overview and there are specialty
hardware components that can enhance the speed and interactivity of complex
3D scenes and programs. The designers working on the test system use Softimage
on a less complex level to provide enhancements and elements to commercials,
promos and station ID elements. Though their work is quite complex to some it
a far cry from that of special effects in major film productions.
Softimage performs its best on a dual processor
system and by far the recommendation for heavy 3D rendering is a dual processor
AMD system.
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Chaintech NFORCE2 pulls out in front completing the project 2 minutes ahead
of the pack. The Gigabyte KT400A chipset pulls in second but the overall scores
are acceptably close.
Overclocking
THe DFI LanParty KT400A has its nuances like any other enthusiast motherboard.
Overclocking is an art and a skill that takes patience with trial and error
settings. In less than 5 minutes of BIOS adjustments the 2.08 GHz AMD 2600+
333 FSB processor was able to make it to 2.25 GHz roughly equivalent to a AMD
2700+.
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In the same amount of time with the Chaintech 7NJS the same processor was able
to hit a 400 MHz Front Side Bus speed for 2.5 GHz.
The overclock was stable and produced a score of 13909 3D Marks at 1024×768
which is almost 500 3D marks more than stocks settings.
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All A-Glow
It had to finally be done by one manufacturer and it is amazing how long it
took to do it. DFI took the plastic of the motherboard and added a UV reactive
substance. Those that it appeals to will love it. The following images are from
the DFI press kit as they do better justice than our imagery. It does glow quite
well under UV lighting conditions…cables too.
Conclusion
The DFI KT400A LanParty is rivaled by the Chaintech 7NJS Zenith NFORCE2 package.
Both are within a few dollars of each other. DFI has produced a produced a very
attractive package for the enthusiast and LAN gamer though it is recommended
to look to the DFI NFORCE2 LanParty offering if higher AMD performance is the
goal.
DFI adds a lot of convenience with the FRONTX media port. It is configurable
and it can be easily painted to match a PC case without risk of painting the
actual connections. Overclockers will have to use their knowledge and skill
to get the most out of the DFI BIOS. There are no simple settings to achieve
better performance. Some time will have to be spent in experimentation to find
the best groove for the motherboard.
The paper manual is extensive enough for a good overview but it is highly recommended
to refer to the PDF manuals on the install disc. DFI and all motherboard manufacturers
could put more information into their BIOS setting descriptions specifically
what the overclocking functions would or could affect.
The obvious is that the DFI LanParty series is meant for gaming enthusiasts.
Dual Lan is a benefit. The UV PCB is a cool attention grabber. RAID 1.5 brings
hard drive performance and security into one without the extra cost of 3 or
4 drives. It is the best of both worlds. The KT400A chipset has limitations
by not supporting the 400 FSB of the Athlon XP processor but this is not fault
of the motherboard manufacturer but of the VIA chipset itself.
Xear sound lacks Dolby Digital 5.1 support but DFI was thoughtful enough to
include a S/P DIF interface. Digital Dolby 5.1 isn’t high on the list for gaming
as games use a different sound engine and converting that to Dolby Digital 5.1
would diminish the overall quality of positional audio. Music or DVD movie audiophiles
would be best advised to look to a 3rd party PCI sound card.
The final decision may come down to price and the best way to look at the value
of this package is to add up the cost of the extras and tack that onto another
motherboard you may be considering. The LanParty bundle will most likely be
the best value.
Our thanks to DFI for
their support of this and many other sites.
| Attribute | Score | Comments |
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| Bonus items & software | 8.5 | The LanParty Bundle is literally stuffed with goodies. |
| Design & layout | 9 | A well designed board. Some may disagree with the power connection placement. |
| Documentation | 7.5 | The paper manuals should have been as extensive as the PDF manuals or at least made an obvious reference to the PDF manuals. |
| Features & options | 9 | Dual Lan, RAID 1.5, SATA…a lot! |
| Fine-tuning features | 8.5 | The BIOS has many features to play with. |
| Overclocking features | 8.5 | A good overclocking BIOS but could have been better. |
| Performance & stability | 8.5 | The KT400A chipset may soon be eclipsed by the KT600 but NFORCE2 still has the crown. The test system did not fault during any test during non-overclocked settings. |
| Presentation | 9.5 | Outstanding! |
| Price / value | 8.5 | A good value when you consider all the extras. |
| Total score | 77.5/90 | 86.1% |
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