Nehalem boards will include SLI support

Nvidia will enable SLI on X58 with an nvidia bridge chip like on skulltrail.
Foxconn also has plans to make an X58 board with SLI support.

Source: An Anonymous SMS to my mobile phone ;)

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High-end platform vacancies will be nForce 200 + X58 programme to bridge the bench, made in the Intel X58 motherboard to join a code BR04 to bridge the nForce 200 chip, for the X58 SLI motherboards provide technical support to replace the chip to provide high-end home Intel SLI platform.

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Source
Translation

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Originally Posted by hixie

Nvidia will enable SLI on X58 with an nvidia bridge chip like on skulltrail.
Foxconn also has plans to make an X58 board with SLI support.

Source: An Anonymous SMS to my mobile phone ;)

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:woot::eek2::shock2:

Hmm well this mystery source better be right or we are going to fry your butt! :p:

:party:

I'll believe it when I see it. The same thing was argued for months about X38.

i dont want nv crap on my intel board. :p:

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Originally Posted by Hornet331

i dont want nv crap on my intel board. :p:

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ditto, hopefully if it's true that this is how it's going to work, they make boards without the bridge casue that thing was a power sink on skull trail.

meh
if it performs like skulltrails it's a total waste

That would be awesome..... if true....

@dinos22

I don't think it will perform like skulltrail this time since the memory subsystem is much better. :D

i don't think it was memory that was really holding it back

The chipset itself? hehehe

Needs more proof.
And SLI can work fine without that brige chip.

So if X58 supports SLI and crossfire...does this mean Nvidia wont make any more motherboards?

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Originally Posted by ForcedInduction

So if X58 supports SLI and crossfire...does this mean Nvidia wont make any more motherboards?

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hopefully :up::rofl:

nice move from nvidia.

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Originally Posted by jabski

hopefully :up::rofl:

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why :shrug:
don't you guys want more competition
nvidia chipsets keep improving by much bigger margins than Intel chipsets do

hell they started off real buggy and with lots of performance/efficiency issues/............and now we've got literally the fastest SuperPi chipset and pretty much 3D chipset out there

there are still things they can work on like some of the finnicky behaviour that plagues the boards while overclocking and probably some more accessible vdroop would be nice but overall things really improved a LOT since they changed from Nforce4 AMD platform to Intel.....i can't comment on reliability as i don't know what sort of percentages we are looking at but all these things are subject to change with any manufacturer hungry to capture a larger market share

what about Intel >>> i honestly don't think that imrovements were as great from P965 to P45 including X series and everything else

i am talking about the overall improvements

nvidia, given an opportunity, will have a leading chipset for Intel with very few bugs by next gen or two

that's how long it took for nforce AMD boards to get there eventually anyways

if you hand over intel the reins what do you get

lots of chipset revisions for every new CPU generation, overpriced chipsets and lack of effort to make any real change for generations

i love my intel boards now but hey don't think for a second that these boards are as such because they felt like making the best of the best boards......it takes pressure from competitors in terms of market expectations and slight changes in sales to drive motivation from a giant like Intel to excel. .............

no competition = you are screwed
that's how you have to look at it dude

this does not apply to Intel......this is something every company is challenged with and only decent competition can make the industry healthy in terms of product development and offering on the market

Most interesting.. is this stupid bridge chip required though or is this just a way for Nvidia to get a piece of the pie?

Dinos22, a great point most of us overlooked but I think there is quite a difference in price between a top tier nVidia mobo and a top tier Intel mobo. In fact at last glance this was over $100 AUD. Yes nVidia has come a long way but would you buy an Intel mobo or an nVidia mobo? I don't think most people would pick the nVidia mobo.

PS : Promotional material doesn't count ;)

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Originally Posted by [XC] gomeler

Most interesting.. is this stupid bridge chip required though or is this just a way for Nvidia to get a piece of the pie?

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More like Intel to get a piece of the SLI pie.

Interesting rumor... shady source. Why can't you tell us the source? :shrug:

I agree with Lowfat... there were countless threads of such rumors for X48 too. Don't hold your breath.

At any rate, it would be great for people to have choice, but I will not build another SLI system in the near future. NVIDIA chipsets are just too flaky. Maybe this will be simple enough that they won't screw it up but I'm skeptical.

-Chris.

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Originally Posted by MomijiTMO

Dinos22, a great point most of us overlooked but I think there is quite a difference in price between a top tier nVidia mobo and a top tier Intel mobo. In fact at last glance this was over $100 AUD. Yes nVidia has come a long way but would you buy an Intel mobo or an nVidia mobo? I don't think most people would pick the nVidia mobo.

PS : Promotional material doesn't count ;)


More like Intel to get a piece of the SLI pie.

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reference design is always first choice for Nvidia chipsets anyways

they are definitely not more expensive than some decent X48 boards from Gigabyte or Asus

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Originally Posted by [XC] gomeler

Most interesting.. is this stupid bridge chip required though or is this just a way for Nvidia to get a piece of the pie?

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my guess is nvidia is contracting mobo manufacturers to make sli models of x58 mobos to make nehalem use sli without giving it to intel. intel may speaks nicely :D with mobo manufacturers not to do this then we again may wont see sli on x58 and this will be another rumor :yepp:

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Originally Posted by MomijiTMO

More like Intel to get a piece of the SLI pie.

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They already have the whole Sli pie. lol.

Maybe a X58 Skulltrail Version and other mobo stays the same.

need credible news ... bro
might be fake

Alternative source provided additional information.
See first post

now we just need cards worth SLI'ing... lol i couldnt help it ^^ j/k

I guess we ll have to wait and see, how it plays out, nvidia needs to open sli up, or it will cost them market share even moreso, if they re excluded on nehalem.

@ those that had doubts: Did you think i would post news that did not come from a credible source? (even though i had to censor out his/her name) :p:

Thanks Cooper for providing the alternative source :up:

It's ATi time! So who gives a damn about the SLi support. :D

Considering you could just slap an MCP bridge chip on its easy. Its just a 5$ chip and not a 50$+ chipset. But I would hate to have such extra garbage on a board.

Chip itself may be cheap, but the should also be SLI license fee.

Yay for the done deal even though I do not have or want SLI :D

So Intel practically gets SLI on one of their chipset without paying a cent.

I wonder why NVIDIA simply didn't just give SLI to Intel, without any cost and focus upon the increased revenue from GPU sales.

It works somehow for AMD...

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Originally Posted by Seraphiel

So Intel practically gets SLI on one of their chipset without paying a cent.

I wonder why NVIDIA simply didn't just give SLI to Intel, without any cost and focus upon the increased revenue from GPU sales.

It works somehow for AMD...

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I guess you misinterpreted the article. x58 does not get SLI. Motherboard vendors can implement SLI support using nforce 200/400 chips

1 Extra hot chip, 1 extra heatsink, 1 truckload of issues and so on for absolutely no reason. No wonder the environment is going t the bollocks. And pay more for...the same...

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Originally Posted by Cooper

I guess you misinterpreted the article. x58 does not get SLI. Motherboard vendors can implement SLI support using nforce 200/400 chips

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No, Intel didn't get SLI but in effect they kinda did. Intel benefits from vendors implementing SLI nonetheless, without paying for it themselves. They'll sell more chipsets because of this.

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Originally Posted by Seraphiel

No, Intel didn't get SLI but in effect they kinda did. Intel benefits from vendors implementing SLI nonetheless, without paying for it themselves. They'll sell more chipsets because of this.

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OT: yo man i swear to god ur avatar freaks me out everytime i see it... if im not mistaken to me it looks like a 9 year old girl with too much make-up and an 80s sweater about to go to a disco...

on topic: i agree with you, but i swear if there are driver issues i won't hesitate for one second to switch over the ATI because nvidia is being a :banana::banana::banana::banana:... i love there products but at what point does corporate responsibility come into play?

just another article here, may be with the same source as OP:
http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=299867

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As we already know, SLI technology is nothing other than disabling support using software means. NVIDIA, by enabling SLI support with a so called hardware chip is just going to add more costs to manufacturers who intend to develope Intel X58 boards that supports both CrossFire and SLI.

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so this is the disgusting part: NVidia could just "allow" SLI to run on X58 boards by not disabling it with software (drivers) means; but instead, they want to force mb vendors to still buy their bloody chip and implement it on Intel chipset mobos, like they did on the Skulltrail, which will make the cards obviously more expensive for us users :rolleyes: Wonder what stops them from making complete boards for Nehalem if they really acquired QPI..maybe a cheaper deal with Intel happened...anyone?

edit: source here is OCW

edit again: When are these guys (@ NVidia) going to finally give up that dishonest mess and let SLI run just as it should on Intel boards :confused: this is going to make them more and more unpopular...I hope :D . One last thing: couldn't NVidia be sued for such a marketing policy? I'm surprised this hasn't happened yet. Answer is probably that Intel makes much more money with licensing...they're all bastards :D...

I'm starting to believe that an association of consumers could sue NVidia - and may be Intel as well...- about this SLI story. Only thing is to prove - and from what I've read it's been already proven - that SLI can technically run on Intel Chipset boards without any NVidia crap.

Bring on X58 SLI is all I can say.

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Originally Posted by dinos22

why :shrug:
don't you guys want more competition
nvidia chipsets keep improving by much bigger margins than Intel chipsets do

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Too bad their quality control hasn't. Competition is healthy no doubt, but Nvidia don't really learn much from their past mistakes. 680i was buggy as hell....so what did they do ? Release one of the major causes of the bugs (the Southbridge from the 570i) onto the 780i. I'd rather competition from a company that is actually trying to improve their product rather then a company who thinks because it has SLI on it, it will sell regardless of how crap the actual board is.

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if you hand over intel the reins what do you get

lots of chipset revisions for every new CPU generation, overpriced chipsets and lack of effort to make any real change for generations

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You get boards that work out of the box a lot more then any Nvidia chipset, for one.

Overpriced ?

Hmm 750i = $240 AU or P45 P5Q Pro = $150 AU

780i = $290 or X38 = Under $200 (of comparable quality)

790i = $462 or X48 (Gigabyte X48t DQ6) = $330

Lack of change ? See my first point. Not to mention why does Intel need to change when there chipsets worked really well with there CPUs ?

Anyway, in it's current state, Nvidia's chipset business isn't putting pressure on Intel to innovate because of the small market share they have and there constant release of buggy chipsets that aren't ready for retail. With Nvidia there or not, makes no difference to Intel regarding chipsets.

GPUs on the other hand are a different story..but that's not for this thread.

yep...CPU init error on 680i...data corruption on 790i...fsb issues + Raid issues as well on 780i...sounds like NVidia can't afford risking losing customers by making crap motherboards again...less risky for them to sell PCIe bridges for X58...hope this will not make the boards unstable...

Right, we wouldn't be talking about all this now if their GPUs were not that good...

Well since SLI and dual monitors works on quadro - you know that's another "marketing" inability on regular SLI systems and Gforce gpu's.

Nvidia really is just a marketing company. And as the veil wears thin - you can see it more and more.

Anyway they should both enable SLI on X58 AND work on making chipsets that are much more solid. If they made a good, solid chipset at a competetive price, they would sell, even without SLI.

Hehe, regarding the Quadros. You need a SLI board to get SLI with a pair of 8800 cards. But with the same GPU, memory etc. It works flawlessly on X38, X975 etc if there is a quadro sticker on.

Buy giving them "SLI on a chip", nvidia is still able to exert some control over how SLI is implemented.

But according to what I read, it seems that since the NF4 chipset, nvidia's chipsets have been doing downhill. What is the status on the supposed 'data corruption' seen in the 6, 7 series of chipsets?

i've owned 3 680i's and never came across data corruption???

fill me in?

boards being
asus p5n32e-sli, p5n32e-sli plus, and an evga 680i A1

i dont think this is such a good move from Nvidia they should just concentrate on improving their own motherboards hell they just keep getting better and better from where they started off

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Originally Posted by nosboost300

i've owned 3 680i's and never came across data corruption???

fill me in?

boards being
asus p5n32e-sli, p5n32e-sli plus, and an evga 680i A1

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http://www.nforcershq.com/nvidia-nfo...pset-problems/

I'd agree with dinos22 on the "competition" issue. Its a good thing, and it works both ways. With the next gen Intel x58 having access to SLI Nividia will have to step up its quality and price competitively. I probably would have have given 590 a try if the big bang/buck P45 hadn't roared just as ATI started to flex its muscle. I still might since my 680i has provided nothing but smiles, but pricing will have to come down a bit more on 590 and new 200 series cards. :D

So is this a quid pro quo deal wherein now Nvidia will full cooperation with Intel in developing their own chipset for Nehalem?

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Originally Posted by Shintai

http://www.nforcershq.com/nvidia-nfo...pset-problems/

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perhaps its cuz i never used raid.. who knows, maybe i'm just lucky? :shrug:

first 680i i ever ordered was doa.. returned it and got a gigabyte ds3-R.. lol

..



http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=65448

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Bloomfield + SLI: Possible

Industry sources indicate that NVIDIA has acquired a QPI license to manufacture desktop core-logic (chipset) for the upcoming Nehalem-based processors. NVIDIA looks at a quick-fix solution to offer SLI support for the upcoming LGA-1366 motherboards. It's too late for them to prepare a full-fledged chipset since X58 is dressing up to go to office and that's slated for as early as Q4, 2008. The quick-fix solution is that NVIDIA offers a certain chip that can be used on X58 motherboards that allows those boards to support NVIDIA SLI. This solution is in many respects similar to the Intel D5400XS "Skulltrail" board, where two NForce 200 (BR-04) chips were used alongside the Intel 5400A northbridge that allowed 2-way SLI. The NVIDIA BR-04 chip costs US $30 for motherboard manufacturers.

As for Lynnfield, NVIDIA will try to debut a full-fledged LGA-1160 motherboard since there is ample time to work on that. The quick-fix ensures that when LGA-1366 X58 does come out, and NVIDIA doesn't have a chipset ready, the advantage of multi-GPU doesn't go to ATI since X58 supports ATI Crossfire and is already touted to support 4-way ATI Crossfire X technology. LGA-1160 boards lack QuickPath interconnect as a chipset bus. Since NVIDIA lacks access to QuickPath technology, it can continue to use its competitive HyperTransport link which it's been using since the NForce 2 days.

Don't expect too many of these SLI LGA 1366 boards soon though. Reason being that each BR-04 chip costs $30, requires motherboard makers to re-design their motherboards (since most vendors seem to be ready with their X58 board designs), and a redesign would push back entry by a few months (for release of these SLI supportive boards).

http://www.techpowerup.com/img/08-07...nehsli_thm.jpg

Expreview

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http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/1673/bta108ze9.jpg

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regards

@ mascaras: very nice post, thanks for all the infos :up:

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Originally Posted by cegras

What is the status on the supposed 'data corruption' seen in the 6, 7 series of chipsets?

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According to 780i and 790i members here it is fixed [yay].

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Originally Posted by rockqc

You get boards that work out of the box a lot more then any Nvidia chipset, for one.

Overpriced ?

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That's what I said as well on page 1. I know which board I would buy [Intel].

X58 to ICH10R is DMI btw, not QPI. And there is no Southbridge or QPI on Lynnsfield. The Ibexpeak(New southbridge) is connected via DMI. And its actually 5GT/Sec if we have to use that term. (4GB/sec, 2GB/sec each direction).

And most Lynnsfield boards will be 1 x16 and not 2 x8.

if this is true, that means nvidia knows its future isn't looking very good since the rv770 is raping them price/performance and can do ray tracing, and they don't have an x86 license. Not to mention, in general what intel wants, intel gets, so we're probably going to go with ray tracing and x86 gpus

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Originally Posted by Shintai

1 Extra hot chip, 1 extra heatsink, 1 truckload of issues and so on for absolutely no reason. No wonder the environment is going t the bollocks. And pay more for...the same...

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The bridge chip?

It isn't a furnace unlike the 780i chip and unlike any other nvidia mainboard chip it actually does what it is supposed to do without any problems.

I wouldn't mind seeing one on my to-be-x58 board if it means I can use sli.
I currently have a 780i board and it is the buggiest, hottest, piece of crap I've ever bought. Now my laptop, an m1730 has an intel chipset but uses a bridge chip to allow sli. Unlike the 780i board which just seems to have an endless list of problems the arrangement in my laptop works properly.
Sure it would be better if we didn't need a chip to provide the key to the drivers to allow sli on non nvidia boards but we all know that is very unlikely.

nvidia seem to be unable to make a stable, quick (and overclockable) mainboard for intel so it's better like this. It also means if they do ever make one that they have some serious competition to fight.

lol Intel pwn'd NV - they essentially forced nv to hand over a 'sacrficial offering' :rofl: - I love it :D
Intel took the whole carcass, & threw nv a tiny bone :ROTF:

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Originally Posted by Shintai

X58 to ICH10R is DMI btw, not QPI. And there is no Southbridge or QPI on Lynnsfield. The Ibexpeak(New southbridge) is connected via DMI. And its actually 5GT/Sec if we have to use that term. (4GB/sec, 2GB/sec each direction).

And most Lynnsfield boards will be 1 x16 and not 2 x8.

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Cracks up laughing!

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Originally Posted by tiro_uspsss

lol Intel pwn'd NV - they essentially forced nv to hand over a 'sacrficial offering' :rofl: - I love it :D
Intel took the whole carcass, & threw nv a tiny bone :ROTF:

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Anyway, nVidia will still be gaining money with every board that has SLI support, so I think they always win :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Luka_Aveiro

Anyway, nVidia will still be gaining money with every board that has SLI support, so I think they always win :rolleyes:

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thats the tiny bone i mentioned ;)

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Originally Posted by tiro_uspsss

lol Intel pwn'd NV - they essentially forced nv to hand over a 'sacrficial offering' :rofl: - I love it :D
Intel took the whole carcass, & threw nv a tiny bone :ROTF:

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Missed again!

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However, the motherboard industry, nForce 200 chip to bridge every 1,000 unit price of U.S. $ 30:down:, substantially increase the cost, and can not be reached with a single PCB Layer SLI and non-SLI version of the nForce 200 + X58 is not optimistic about the programme to bridge , Coupled with SLI increasingly attractive market downturn, a great chance to give up BR04 + X58 development.

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No thanks in Protest=P

@Cooper. You don't need a license to use a commodity! I've said many times Intel can buy and place this chip on any motherboard they like. Some 3rd parties like Foxconn and Asus can do the same. It is a "Finished Part" and acts almost like a "DRM ROM". Intel is right to then charge them for each QPI install on each of their motherboards. Guys, this is old news.

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Originally Posted by tiro_uspsss

lol Intel pwn'd NV - they essentially forced nv to hand over a 'sacrficial offering' :rofl: - I love it :D
Intel took the whole carcass, & threw nv a tiny bone :ROTF:

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I think someone already sucked the marrow out of it also. LOL

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Originally Posted by tiro_uspsss

thats the tiny bone i mentioned ;)

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I didn't got that one the first time I red it :p:

You're right ;)

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Originally Posted by Luka_Aveiro

I didn't got that one the first time I red it :p:

You're right ;)

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:rofl: its cool! :up:


:toast:

Sooo if it works like skulltrail method it means that can't run 3-way either?

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Originally Posted by Blacky

Sooo if it works like skulltrail method it means that can't run 3-way either?

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it's gonna be a new PCIe bridge chip revision, not the one used on the Skulltrail.

nForce 200 bridge chip (BR04))....Correct me if I'm wrong anyone...

mascaras, Lynnfield doesn't have QPI or a southbridge - it has DMI from Ibexpeak to the CPU, and PCI-E from the CPU to PCI-E devices.

Also, X58 has DMI between X58 and ICH10, not QPI.

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Originally Posted by Logos4

it's gonna be a new PCIe bridge chip revision, not the one used on the Skulltrail.

nForce 200 bridge chip (BR04))....Correct me if I'm wrong anyone...

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isn't the nForce 100 chip the skulltrail has? (two of them for sli enable?) and the nForce 200 the ones on nf 700 series?

please correct me if i'm wrong

They can simply open the SLI through the driver, why they need to force us into buying an Intel chipset MoBo equipped with their bridge chip ? There's no ATi bridge chip on Intel chipset MoBos for XFire configuration today.

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Originally Posted by spursindonesia

They can simply open the SLI through the driver, why they need to force us into buying an Intel chipset MoBo equipped with their bridge chip ? There's no ATi bridge chip on Intel chipset MoBos for XFire configuration today.

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'cause they like our bank accounts :mad: This is almost robbery...

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Originally Posted by Blacky

isn't the nForce 100 chip the skulltrail has? (two of them for sli enable?) and the nForce 200 the ones on nf 700 series?

please correct me if i'm wrong

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Yup.

The nF 100 is pci-e 1.1 and the nF 200 is pci-e 2.0.

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and can not be reached with a single PCB Layer SLI and non-SLI version of the nForce 200 + X58 is not optimistic about the programme to bridge

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It's hard to understand the terrible English in that quote but is it saying something along the lines of 'we can't use single layer boards with the nF 200' ?
I thought boards were multi layer anyway and have been for years.

SLI and non-SLI version of the nF 200? :confused:

Now I'm totally lost :p:

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Originally Posted by spursindonesia

They can simply open the SLI through the driver, why they need to force us into buying an Intel chipset MoBo equipped with their bridge chip ? There's no ATi bridge chip on Intel chipset MoBos for XFire configuration today.

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They could, but they won't.

Really, I am fairly uninterested. It seems ATI is back in the game. Their roadmap is filled with R800 and R900 with finalized specs as well. Couldn't care less about SLI, I don't want these mini-heaters cluttering my X58 board. :p:

I hope there will be plenty of X58 boards without this bogus chip. I don't want to pay the Nvidia tax for functionality that is already there, just locked out through drivers.

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Originally Posted by Frodin

I hope there will be plenty of X58 boards without this bogus chip. I don't want to pay the Nvidia tax for functionality that is already there, just locked out through drivers.

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the NVidia tax...very precisely how it ought to be called, well said Frodin!

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Originally Posted by Frodin

I hope there will be plenty of X58 boards without this bogus chip. I don't want to pay the Nvidia tax for functionality that is already there, just locked out through drivers.

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I second what Logos 4 said. It's an nVidia Tax on someone else's product. It is NOT needed. Just a few weeks ago, nVidia Fans were defending them on this. Geesh, shouldn't they be happy enough some one bought two of their Cards?

The bridge chip, especially one that is 2.0 is a decent solution. Remember, before thinking total death to Nvidia chipsets, that the Mem controller will now be on the CPU and thus Nvidia chipsets may improve greatly, simply by concentrating on other areas.

Let's get SLI on both (finally fix that dual screen on SLI limitation by releasing the Quadro technology to normal 200 series) and get down to quality and competition from both Intel and Nvidia.

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Originally Posted by Anemone

The bridge chip, especially one that is 2.0 is a decent solution. Remember, before thinking total death to Nvidia chipsets, that the Mem controller will now be on the CPU and thus Nvidia chipsets may improve greatly, simply by concentrating on other areas.

Let's get SLI on both (finally fix that dual screen on SLI limitation by releasing the Quadro technology to normal 200 series) and get down to quality and competition from both Intel and Nvidia.

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The bridge chip isn't needed though. It's more like DRM than anything:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by dinos22

meh
if it performs like skulltrails it's a total waste

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+100000000000000

Before R700, this would have mattered. Now.... who cares?

Extelleron, by the time nehalem is out in full force, R700 will be replaced by faster parts... So, if you think just because of one part(which btw, I don't think ANYONE wants to headaches of quad-fire(or quadsli for that matter)) people are suddenly not going to want SLi ever again during the course of nehalem's lifespan... That's just out-right crazy talk... That's like thinking during the R300 days that NVidia would never make another good card.

As for NVidia forcing a chip added to intel mobo's, while it sucks, it's really not a surprise. I mean, intel's pretty much forcing them out of the chipset game to make sure they get SLi on intel chipsets, NVidia has to make something profit wise if they're going to essentially leave the chipset market completely. They'd be stupid not to. On a side-note, this is probably going to cause quite a jump in NVidia stock, seeing as how that means NVidia will profit on a lot of intel boards with very little money spent.

NVidia tax pictured :rofl::rolleyes:

well this sucks.

I read it would most likely not be implemented in the first X58 cards shipping in December, as most manufacturers have already completed and frozen the design of their first boards. So that will be probably a bit later in 2009...

:p: :D :up:

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Originally Posted by Logos4

NVidia tax pictured :rofl::rolleyes:

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:rofl:

I think this is a good business move for nVidia, they wont be loosing too much money, in fact they probably will gain more money because intel chipsets sell alot better than nvidia's do.

There will probably be more than 1 SKU from Mobo manufacturers.

I doubt you are forced to buy one that has the bridge. This is good for consumers - more options

Ok clear this one up for me. If that chip was "useless", why would it be even on the 7 series chipsets and the 9800GX2? Is it just a marker chip to say "hey it's ok to allow SLI on this system"? That seems like a costly way to go about that.

The reason I ask is really because of the 9800GX2 presence. Chip counts on a graphics card are done sparingly, so it seems that the chip is more intended to actually form the bridge between two cores in SLI rather than "Nvidia DRM". Even AMD has been hard at work upgrading the bridge on it's X2 series because the communications lag between the 2 GPU cores affects the performance of CF as well.

I'll grant you that I may have gotten confused in all this but I did think it served a purpose. So SLI "works" without it, but performs better with the BR4 chips.

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Originally Posted by NeedMoMegaHurtZ

There will probably be more than 1 SKU from Mobo manufacturers.

I doubt you are forced to buy one that has the bridge. This is good for consumers - more options

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All the high end boards will most likely have them. And you know how the Mobo Companies work, a new chipset comes out and they release a semi high end board, then 1-2 months later they release a High end one, then that same time later they even sometimes (Asus) release "the real high end" one.

For that price it almost doesnt make sense to have 2 separate lines now, since 1 board with the chip will give all options. They would probably lose more money making 2 separate high end board lines with that little add on chip being the only difference.

Works for me, was planning on Jumping to the new Platform soon after release, postponing it just long enough to grab the second generation board that usually has alotta fixes from things they learned from the first, but couldn't implement due to the design being pretty much frozen.

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Originally Posted by Logos4

NVidia tax pictured :rofl::rolleyes:

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I wonder what the actual size is. Seems like a whole lot of silicon for a stupid key.

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Originally Posted by Aberration

I wonder what the actual size is. Seems like a whole lot of silicon for a stupid key.

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now to be honest, like another poster said in this thread, I've also wondered whether this PCIe chip is just an NVidia "kinda have you got the CD in the drive" chip, or if it makes SLI work better (knowing from misc sources that SLI could work on any Intel Chipset board, with no additional chip, if the Nvidia drivers "allowed" it)...never read anything on the topic actually...

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Originally Posted by Shintai

Hehe, regarding the Quadros. You need a SLI board to get SLI with a pair of 8800 cards. But with the same GPU, memory etc. It works flawlessly on X38, X975 etc if there is a quadro sticker on.

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Is it only software difference? Anyone tried softmodding to quadro and sli'ing some cards?

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Originally Posted by Anemone

Ok clear this one up for me. If that chip was "useless", why would it be even on the 7 series chipsets and the 9800GX2? Is it just a marker chip to say "hey it's ok to allow SLI on this system"? That seems like a costly way to go about that.

The reason I ask is really because of the 9800GX2 presence. Chip counts on a graphics card are done sparingly, so it seems that the chip is more intended to actually form the bridge between two cores in SLI rather than "Nvidia DRM". Even AMD has been hard at work upgrading the bridge on it's X2 series because the communications lag between the 2 GPU cores affects the performance of CF as well.

I'll grant you that I may have gotten confused in all this but I did think it served a purpose. So SLI "works" without it, but performs better with the BR4 chips.

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SLI worked with PCI-E 1.0 back on the i975. No Bridge Chip was needed. It was broken in drivers and nVidia had the nerve to try and blame Intel for chipset instability LOL! The real use of the Bridge Chip for SLI, is because unlike Intel and AMD, the second PCI-E 16X slot is routed through the South Bridge or MCP part of the Chipset. Even after nVidia moved to 32X they needlessly held on to the BC. Some folks wondered why, now we know.

Since nVidia, Intel and or AMD don't need to route through the lower-end of the chipset, there ZERO need for the this chip other than DRM or a nVidia Tax for SLI. For two 16X slots, hell even nVidia doesn't need it, see for yourself?

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...0i_ultra_sli/1

No one else routes any of the PCI-E like nVidia does.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...pset_preview/1
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=13268
http://www.firingsquad.com/media/art...ge.asp/2127/01

Newer or older, none of them uses any kind of Bridge Chip. NO Fan but nVidia's should see this as OK since it is a tax on all of the market. Even when folks build nVidia boards, they'll have to pay for an un-necessary part.
I man geesh, a whole new way to squeese the consumer, NEW Intel or AMD co processor that serves no purpose but must used to boot up the processor.:down:

Ok first off, in the back of my mind I'm thinking $30 diff in cost of a mobo these days isn't the end of the world. I think many folks spend more than that on tubing...

But back on the subject at hand. Whether it's microstuttering or simply scaling with 2-4 gpu's there are performance issues that I "think" the chip was meant to deal with. Said differently, SLI works without this chip on any chipset, but has issues that in the past we didn't pay any attention to. Now, when SLI/CF "issues" are getting more attention this chip is meant to help out. Tech Report indicated that it was supposed to reduce traffic over the FSB bus by replicating certain commands.

I'm not really able to find lots more on the chip...yet...

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It includes the same two technologies: the Posted-Write Shortcut (PWShort) that allows the GPUs in SLI to remain in sync with fewer commands, cutting out the need to visit main memory, and GPU Broadcast, which the CPU only has to send the data once to address multiple GPUs.

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Those are the commands being referred to.

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Originally Posted by Anemone

Ok first off, in the back of my mind I'm thinking $30 diff in cost of a mobo these days isn't the end of the world. I think many folks spend more than that on tubing...

But back on the subject at hand. Whether it's microstuttering or simply scaling with 2-4 gpu's there are performance issues that I "think" the chip was meant to deal with. Said differently, SLI works without this chip on any chipset, but has issues that in the past we didn't pay any attention to. Now, when SLI/CF "issues" are getting more attention this chip is meant to help out. Tech Report indicated that it was supposed to reduce traffic over the FSB bus by replicating certain commands.

I'm not really able to find lots more on the chip...yet...

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Nehalem boards will include SLI support

Sure but Nehalem will not have a FSB and really questionable where the chip will be installed?

LOL, you can run SLI config on Intel MoBo, heck, even on ATi MoBo, with hacked/modded driver, so it's quite clear that SLI is truly software based, and that bridge chip is just another mean by nVidia to extort some money from enthusiast users, because their Intel chipset bussiness is basically dead with the emergence of Nehalem CPUs generation.

sounds like this chip is gonna make them still more unpopular than NForce chipsets did...:D Even if the additional cost is minimal on a mobo, the chip being basically useless, it's just unacceptable :down:

http://bp1.blogger.com/_kttUtY0Z_zw/...bloomfield.gif

According to that diagram those commands would instead have to go back through the IOH, back through the core and thenst to the controller to memory, and then back again. Seems to me even 2 regularly used commands to synch SLI operating gpu's would be aided by not going through that entire path.

Am I just out in left field?

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Originally Posted by spursindonesia

LOL, you can run SLI config on Intel MoBo, heck, even on ATi MoBo, with hacked/modded driver, so it's quite clear that SLI is truly software based, and that bridge chip is just another mean by nVidia to extort some money from enthusiast users, because their Intel chipset bussiness is basically dead with the emergence of Nehalem CPUs generation.

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Er. We ALL already know this. Nvidia can't make mainboards properly so this is the closest thing to them building an sli capable board, without them actually doing it.

They make money from the bridge chips, we don't have to suffer the useless crap they box up, overprice and then sell to us. Everyone wins. :D

What I'm not clear on is whether anyone has tested a performance difference between getting SLI to "work" on another chipset without the bridge and a chipset WITH the bridge. The distinction I'm trying to make is that getting something to "work" and getting similar performance out of that method compared to the official method are two different things. Up till now, the only thing we've ever been worried about is getting it to work. What if that "working" was pretty pathetic but we never knew it?

Go back to the beginning days of CF and SLI and no one cared as long as it worked and you got FPS out of it. Now the subtleties, the "issues" if you will on image quality and performance/$ are coming out and we are becoming more concerned with "how" the product works, not just THAT it works.

*the fine print*
Take these thoughts with a strong dose of salt. SLI could work with multiple screens. SLI could work on other chipsets. At least 50% of my mind is utterly sure this is marketing BS, but I'm asking the questions because that may not be 100% of the story.

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Originally Posted by Anemone

What I'm not clear on is whether anyone has tested a performance difference between getting SLI to "work" on another chipset without the bridge and a chipset WITH the bridge.

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that's just what I was talking about in one of my above posts: I've never read any comments or tests on the topic. No test, nothing...

edit: only platform where it would have been possible to test easily, but expensively, is the chipset 5400, as the Intel Skulltrail version has the NVidia chip, and the Asus one doesn't...

Expensive test but yes that's the kind of thing we'd have to do.