Network Interface Tests
Our network tests use the ntttcp application distributed by Microsoft for testing network controller’s efficiency. The program creates a number of threads from a server machine to spit data at the test machine at up to Gigabit speeds. Both maximum throughput and CPU utilization are tested.
Network Interface Test — Max Throughput
Network Interface Test — CPU Utilization
Here I tested both of the network connections on both XPress 3200 retail motherboards to show you what the difference is between the pair. You can see that the primary Gigabit Ethernet connection that goes over the PCIe bus on both the ECS KA3 MVP and the MSI K9A Platinum is up to speed. The second NIC on the ECS board is a 10/100 card based on the PCI bus that is only able to push 93 Mb or so and the secondary PCI-based Gigabit connection on the MSI motherboard can push up to 484 Mb. While the MSI board has the better overall throughput, the dual Gigabit NICs on the nForce 590 SLI motherboards are obviously better performers if you have a need for GigE speeds.
