nForce 4 SLI X16: Full Speed PCI Express
by Derek Wilson on August 8, 2005 1:56 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Introduction
Ever since its launch in the fall of last year, nForce 4 has brought us SLI capability. Configurations for PCI Express slots in nForce 4 SLI motherboards must be selected by using a paddle that can be flipped to allow for either 2 x8 connections or full bandwidth for one with the other disabled. There is added flexibility on an nForce 4 SLI motherboard, but this flexibility comes with some limitations. Today, NVIDIA sheds the shackles of the paddle selector and limited bandwidth with the new nForce 4 SLI X16 chipset.
In addition to the increased bandwidth and ease of use come quite a few extra niceties. Boards based on nForce 4 SLI X16 will have more I/O options on top of the added PCI Express bandwidth. The introduction of a new enthusiast part will also push prices down on existing products and NVIDIA will begin selling its current nForce4 SLI solution at mainstream prices. Aside from cheaper being better, this should increase adoption of the SLI platform giving the mainstream user some reason to care about SLI. With this also comes value for options like 6600 and 6200 SLI. Everything seems to be coming up roses for NVIDIA's dual GPU business right now with ATI's Crossfire still waiting in the wings.
With this introduction also comes quite a surprise from Dell. NVIDIA will be supplying core logic to the previously Intel-only volume computer manufacturer, making nForce4 SLI X16 the first non-Intel chipset for dudes to get in their Dells. This is quite a big announcement and will really help to boost NVIDIA's already successful chipset business. This announcement also gives some glimmer of hope for Dell as non-Intel hardware on the motherboard may mean that Dell is capable of making good decisions in the processor department as well. While it is unlikely that we will see AMD based Dell systems anytime soon, it's nice to know that the thin line between volume discounts and unfair business practices is clear enough to allow Dell to make the right choice for performance once in a while. At least, now one of their chipset vendors supports AMD as well as Intel.
Unfortunately, we don't yet have a board to test for performance numbers on the new configuration, but that won't stop us from talking about what's new under the hood.
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DerekWilson - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
I'm sure they'll be coming along at some point. We'll try to look around and see if we hear anything on that front.R3MF - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
cheers. :)i'm sure my next PC will be a Silverstone SG01, i just need a decent M/B!
KenRico - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
Think we will see a ASUS A8N32-SLI sooner rather than later !Some cards like MATROX QID series (supporting 8 Displays with a pair of cards) REQUIRE individual x16 slots...they are not SLI, but you can only load one card without going to Opteron nFORCE Pro currently.
Kudos to nVIDIA to bring the advantages of professional chipset to the desktop...at current price point and driving down current SLI based mainboard's prices accordingly!
Last note...having two PCI-ex x16 slots will also allow single card user to pick slot to use without having to drop down to x2 or x4 slot like currently shipping solutions...hopefully allowing the use of aftermarket chipset cooler like Zalman or Water cooling without having to go to a shorter video card.
Fluppeteer - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
Re. the QID boards - really? How rude. I thought the PCI-e spec required cards to be able to negotiate down to a lower number of lanes.It *would* be nice if more manufacturers would put longer slots on their motherboards, even if the lanes aren't hooked up, though. (Otherwise it's a case of taking a hacksaw to the bottom of the card and hoping it doesn't pull too much power for the socket.)
Calin - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
Now this is a great reason to buy such boards. However, the people that will buy dual PCI-E x16 mainboards for this reason will be much lower than the number of people that buy the mainboards for their "speed" advantage.The reason to buy such mainboards? Better/more slots/connectors (PCI-E, SATA, USB, Ethernet), having the flagship board, bragging, better support for the flagship boards than for the mainstream ones. There are reasons enough for people to buy (even if very few of the reasons are justified from an economic standpoint)
bob661 - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
If this offers more performance over current SLI, I may just upgrade to this or wait till next year and do DDR2.shoRunner - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
this will offer absolutely no performance increase, since cards aren't anywhere near using 8x bandwidth, yet another worthless upgrade.bob661 - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
How do you know? Do you have one of these sitting in front of you?MrSmurf - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
Did you read the article?Rock Hydra - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
Yeah. I don't think this will have a very big impact. The increase in performance from 4x AGP to 8x was minimal. So, I think this one on't be that great.