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motherboards

DFI NF4 SLI Infinity

· by John Chen
Manufacturer: DFI · Price at review: $122.00 (≈$206 in 2026)

Introduction

Nvidia’s SLI performance can be beneficial depending on your system setup. If you are running two low end video cards, there will definitely be a performance boost. If you run two high end video cards, there will also be a performance boost, but not as much as you would like. Video cards are so powerful these days that the CPU and display have become the bottleneck. Still, enthusiasts always look to have the best possible, whether it be additional performance help or just plain bragging rights.

Our previous visit with DFI was their budget solution NF4 Ultra Infinity. The inexpensive motherboard packed surprising performance and overclocking headroom. DFI’s Infinity series does not end with just the nF4 Ultra chipset. Our look today will be the DFI NF4 SLI Infinity, an affordable SLI solution for the mainstream gamers.

DFI NF4 SLI Infinity Package

With a budget price in mind, the motherboard package is nothing special. Just like the NF4 Ultra Infinity, the NF4 SLI Infinity only comes with the necessities to setting up your motherboard. What you get in the package are all the common necessities. There is a simple user’s manual, drivers CD, IDE and floppy cables, SATA cables, SATA power connector converter, back I/O plate, and the SLI bridge.

Motherboard Layout

Unlike the NF4 Ultra Infinity, the NF4 SLI Infinity comes in a full ATX size. DFI seems to believe that placing the DIMM slots horizontally at the top of the motherboard provides best performance. There has to be a reason why they continue the trend. The DIMM slots are color coded blue and black to indicate dual channel capability. Because the DIMM slots are located at the top, the CPU socket is forced to move down. It is not a big issue, but DFI designed this motherboard similar to the NF4 Ultra Infinity. Connecting the ATX power connector and floppy might be a little hard when large aftermarket CPU coolers are used. Although it is a tight squeeze, it is still good that DFI placed those connectors at the right edge of the motherboard. The 4pin 12v connector is located at the top left corner of the motherboard, right next to the black DIMM slots. Unlike the NF4 Ultra Infinity, this connector has ample space around it for easy access.

Using the nF4 SLI chipset means having two PCI-E x16 slots. For those who like to slap on large aftermarket GPU coolers like the Arctic Cooling Silencers, be cautious of the limited space between the two slots. There is definitely enough room to fit the cooler, but the space might be a bit too tight for proper airflow. There are two PCI-E x1 slots, one in between the PCI-E x16 slots and one above the first PCI-E x16 slot. There is a 4pin floppy connector next to the first PCI-E x1 slot. Instead of a regular 4pin Molex connector, this smaller 4pin power connector provides additional power to the motherboard when running SLI. There are three regular PCI slots for your add-on needs. To the right of the slots is the nForce4 SLI chipset. The chipset has active cooling and the cooler does at good job at keeping things running nice and cool. The fan does make some noise when running at full speed though. For those who want to quiet things down, the BIOS allows options to quiet things down. The four SATA ports are grouped together towards the right corner of the motherboard, out of the way to avoid cable clutter. The front I/O connectors are nothing special. They are not color coded for easy access, but they are labeled.

Motherboard Layout Continued

At the back I/O are your standard connections. There are the keyboard and mouse PS2 ports, parallel port, single serial port, SPDIF In/Out, single IEEE 1394 port, four USB ports, one RJ45 Ethernet connection, and audio jacks. The onboard audio is powered by none other than Realtek’s ALC655. It provides 6-channel surround sound and will be more than adequate for the average enthusiast.

If four USB ports at the rear are not enough for your needs, there are three more USB headers on the bottom of the motherboard. The nForce4 chipset provides support of up to ten USB devices so these are not uncommon. If you also need more than one IEEE 1394 port, be glad to know that there is a header for another IEEE 1394 device.

BIOS

The strongest feature of current DFI motherboards is the BIOS. Their BIOS is outstanding and provides top notch options and adjustments. The look may be different from the LANParty nF4 series, but all the options are still there. The BIOS of the NF4 SLI Infinity is the EXACT same as the NF4 Ultra Infinity. There is absolutely no difference whatsoever.

The voltage options are excellent once again. Although VDIMM only goes up to 3.2v, it is still more than enough for the average enthusiast. It is also enough to overclock some good Winbond UTT to roughly 250MHz. The only lacking option here would be the LDT voltage. There simply is none. From experiences with the Ultra-D, increasing the LDT voltage does help stabilize overclocks. Let us just hope that it does not hinder our results.

Software

DFI was never known to impress with in-Windows utilities or any software programs. Their only good tool is the Smartguardian, which is a utility to report voltages, fan speeds, and temperatures. The drivers CD provides all the necessary drivers to install the motherboard and does not come with much else.

Test Setup and Overclocking

Test Setup:

Overclocking:

The NF4 Ultra Infinity was quite an impressive overclocker and was able to hold its own when compared to a higher end motherboard like the DFI LANParty series. The NF4 SLI Infinity showed the same astonishing overclocking headroom. The first test will be conducted with the memory divider at 1:1. The second test will be with a divider, so that the RAM wouldn’t pose as a bottleneck. All memory timings were left at 3-4-4-8 2T and the LDT multiplier at 1x and CPU multiplier at 6x. I made sure that nothing would bottleneck the chipset and motherboard potential.

The maximum for the NF4 SLI Infinity seemed to be pretty much the same as the NF4 Ultra Infinity. I seriously think increasing LDT voltage would have yielded a higher overclock. Come on DFI, there is only one BIOS option you’re missing. Give it to us.

Results

Sysmark 2004

Sysmark2004 is a very common benchmark used to measure a system’s potential in performance. It goes through long and grueling tests that include compression and decompression and office intensive programs.

3DMark2001SE

3DMark is probably the overclocker’s favorite benchmark. Unlike 3DMark2003, which stresses mainly the video card, 3DMark2001SE tests all of the system’s main components. Increasing the CPU speed, memory speed, and video card speeds will result in higher results in the final score.

PCMark2004

The PCMark2004 system benchmark puts the entire system to work.

PCMark2002

PCMark2002 is older than PCMark2004 but still very similar.

Results Continued

Everest Home Edition

Everest Home Edition is a good benchmark for testing memory performance. Since the motherboard’s overclocking potential and memory bandwidth is closely related, I find this benchmark to be trustable.

SiSoft Sandra

Like Everest Home Edition, SiSoft Sandra memory bandwidth tests the motherboard’s memory bandwidth performance

Super PI

Since the value of PI is an infinite value, Super PI is a speed test to find the digit you’re looking for. In this case, we chose the millionth digit. Super PI benefits greatly from higher FSB as well as low latencies.

PiFast

PiFast is similar to Super PI and the results can be greatly affected by a slight adjustment to the memory megahertz and latency.

Unreal Tournament 2004

Unreal Tournament 2004 is a very popular game that is highly effected by the system’s performance. Testing was done under the resolution of 640x480 to minimize the dependency of GPU and CPU power.

Conclusion and Thoughts

DFI can add another winner to their list. The NF4 SLI Infinity is no joke when it comes to performance and overclocking. The bundle might be light, but with an inexpensive price of under $125, you certainly cannot go wrong with this motherboard. It costs less than the LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D! I encountered no problems or compatibility issues when running in SLI mode. Performance in SLI mode is just the same with any SLI capable motherboard. The major point is that there were no compatibility issues. As mentioned before in the NF4 Ultra Infinity, the physical layout of the motherboard components might be the only thing that put the Infinity series at a disadvantage. Enthusiasts will certainly have to be careful when choosing the right CPU cooler. The cooler will fit, but if it is too big, it will limit the access to the ATX power connector, floppy connector, and even some DIMM slots.

Gamers will certainly be happy. DFI has provided a solution that fits within a gaming system budget that will not disappoint. The bland colors will trick you into thinking that there is nothing special about the board. What many enthusiasts fail to know is that there are secret powers behind this motherboard that will brighten your eyes.

Pros:

  • Great performance
  • Superb overclocking
  • Very affordable
  • Great BIOS options

Cons:

  • CPU socket needs to be away from the ATX power connector
  • No LDT voltage options

We would like to thank DFI for providing us the sample. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit us up in the forums. You can also check out more of our latest reviews on the front page.