Wednesday, February 11th 2009

NVIDIA SLI Technology Now Available For Intel Branded X58-Based Motherboards

NVIDIA Corporation today announced that Intel Corporation has licensed NVIDIA SLI technology for inclusion on the Intel DX58SO motherboard for the Intel Core i7 processor. As a result, customers with Intel X58-based motherboards and the Core i7 processor can now equip their PCs with any combination of NVIDIA GeForce GPUs, including Quad SLI, for the ultimate visual computing experience.

"The addition of NVIDIA SLI technology to the Intel DX58SO motherboard has been a welcome addition," said Clem Russo, VP and General Manager of Channel Desktop Platform Group at Intel Corporation. "The pairing of our new Core i7 processors on our Extreme Series motherboard and NVIDIA GeForce graphics has resulted in some of the world's fastest consumer gaming PC platforms. For playing any of today's hottest PC titles, this is one awesome combination that our customers have been asking for."

As a result of today's announcement, NVIDIA SLI technology is now available for all consumer PC platforms, including the Intel Core i7, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors, as well as those based on the AMD Phenom II CPU. In addition to raw graphics performance, NVIDIA GeForce GPUs also provide gamers with additional capabilities not found on any other discrete graphics solutions, including NVIDIA PhysX technology for deeper gaming immersion, stereoscopic 3D gaming with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, and support for CUDA, a revolutionary new computing architecture that harnesses the power of the NVIDIA GPU to accelerate everyday computing applications including video transcoding, physics calculations, and high-definition video playback.

"The Intel X58 'Smackover' board is excellent, with fantastic build quality and great performance, and now with the inclusion of SLI it is full steam ahead," said Kriss Pomroy, Commercial Director at Novatech. "We are extremely excited that we can now spec Intel motherboards in many of our systems and capitalize on the awesome performance of NVIDIA SLI technology. It is what we have all been waiting for here at Novatech."

"Finally, the Intel Smackover experience is complete. At Paradigit we've been using this board since launch, but we thought that this may not last long because of the lack of SLI support," said Niels Van Echteld, Purchasing Manager for Paradigit. "Now this board is ready for the best of both worlds--Intel's newest Core i7 CPU and the power of NVIDA GeForce in SLI!"

"The ability to have SLI, PhysX, and CUDA on an Intel chipset is a great move for the market," said Elan Raja III, Director of Scan Computers. "The combination of technologies will break all the existing performance barriers raising the standard for the power user. The wait is finally over!"

"There's no doubt about it... our customers love SLI," said Randy Copeland, CEO of Velocity Computers. "With this announcement, we have the ability to build them any Intel i7 platform they want, and know that whatever motherboard we choose, we can populate it with multiple NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. This gives our customers the greatest flexibility in purchasing the world's fastest gaming PCs."

"NVIDIA SLI has proven to be the industry's only stable, scalable, high-performance multi-GPU platform, and we are excited that customers with Intel branded X58 motherboards will be able to take advantage of this processing power," said Ujesh Desai, vice president of GeForce desktop business at NVIDIA. "Gamers know that the best way to experience their games is with GeForce GPUs, and now they will be able to harness the power of multiple GPUs for even more performance and immersion features."

For more information on NVIDIA SLI technology, please visit: this page.
Source: NVIDIA
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42 Comments on NVIDIA SLI Technology Now Available For Intel Branded X58-Based Motherboards

#1
Assimilator
I guess this is the definitive signal that nVidia won't be making a Core i7 chipset. Pity.
Posted on Reply
#2
jbunch07
btarunr“NVIDIA SLI has proven to be the industry’s only stable, scalable, high-performance multi-GPU platform, and we are excited that customers with Intel branded X58 motherboards will be able to take advantage of this processing power,” said Ujesh Desai, vice president of GeForce desktop business at NVIDIA. “Gamers know that the best way to experience their games is with GeForce GPUs, and now they will be able to harness the power of multiple GPUs for even more performance and immersion features.”



Source: NVIDIA
Are we forgetting something here? :confused:
Posted on Reply
#3
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
Simply put, Intel DX58SO gets the SLI support it's been lacking all this while.
Posted on Reply
#4
alexp999
Staff
AssimilatorI guess this is the definitive signal that nVidia won't be making a Core i7 chipset. Pity.
Thats a good thing IMO. Leave the chipsets to thoose good at it, and the graphics to thoose who are good at that.

NVIDIA need to stop making chipsets, as Intel needs to give up on graphics.
Posted on Reply
#5
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
jbunch07Are we forgetting something here? :confused:
Hehe, that's NVIDIA PR-team for you.
Posted on Reply
#6
ZoneDymo
alexp999


Now thats just a stupid thing to say.
Posted on Reply
#7
KBD
AssimilatorI guess this is the definitive signal that nVidia won't be making a Core i7 chipset. Pity.
most likely yes. though we'll prolly be seeing something for the i5 or whatever they call their mainstream platform.

I gotta say this, but i think nvidia really messed up by giving SLI to Intel, that was the only leverage they had. So thats why i think it makes little sense for them to make their boards for i7. Intel is just using them until they can make their own GPUs (the Larrabee), whether they are a success or not, at this point they have definately outplayed nvidia.
Posted on Reply
#8
jbunch07
btarunrHehe, that's NVIDIA PR-team for you.
figures, I bet there are some poor people (newbies) that would believe that too.
Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Nvidia, just their marketing team. That statement is just false. :ohwell:
Posted on Reply
#9
Solaris17
Super Dainty Moderator
alexp999Thats a good thing IMO. Leave the chipsets to thoose good at it, and the graphics to thoose who are good at that.

NVIDIA need to stop making chipsets, as Intel needs to give up on graphics.
i love nvidia chipsets they've always treated me well.
Posted on Reply
#10
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
If NVIDIA wasn't making a Core i7 chipset, there would have been no need for it to have access to the QuickPath Interconnect technology.

For Core i5/i4/i3, the "chipset", doesn't have a QPI connection to the CPU complex, only a DMI and FDI link (no QPI). With Ibex Peak, NVIDIA may design a chipset that connects to the CPU using DMI and also takes in 16 PCI-E lanes from the CPU to give out 32 PCI-E lanes (BR-03 style) for 2-way or even 3-way SLI.

As for Core i7, the very fact that NVIDIA secured access to the technicals of QPI shows it is working on a Core i7 chipset.
Posted on Reply
#11
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
Good for the board, but I really think nVidia should just release SLi to be used by any motherboard that supports it, older intel boards included.
Posted on Reply
#12
KBD
btarunrIf NVIDIA wasn't making a Core i7 chipset, there would have been no need for it to have access to the QuickPath Interconnect technology.

For Core i5/i4/i3, the "chipset", doesn't have a QPI connection to the CPU complex, only a DMI and FDI link (no QPI). With Ibex Peak, NVIDIA may design a chipset that connects to the CPU using DMI and also takes in 16 PCI-E lanes from the CPU to give out 32 PCI-E lanes (BR-03 style) for 2-way or even 3-way SLI.

As for Core i7, the very fact that NVIDIA secured access to the technicals of QPI shows it is working on a Core i7 chipset.
What you say makes logical sense, i just havent heard anything that would indicate nforce i7 boards. It would be nice if they released them though, it would be mean some competition for the X58 chipset.
Posted on Reply
#13
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
KBDWhat you say makes logical sense, i just havent heard anything that would indicate nforce i7 boards. It would be nice if they released them though, it would be mean some competition for the X58 chipset.
The problem is that nVidia waited way to long to secure the license to the QPI tech. They are working on an i7 chipset, they just started way too late to have out near the launch of the i7 processors.

This is why they had to move to requiring the BR-03 chip to enable SLi on x58 motherboards, and eventually dropped the BR-03 requirement entirely also.
Posted on Reply
#14
KBD
newtekie1The problem is that nVidia waited way to long to secure the license to the QPI tech. They are working on an i7 chipset, they just started way too late to have out near the launch of the i7 processors.
yea, i remember reading about that, i guess they were just in the process of deciding what to do about i7 and SLI. I just hope their new chipsets wont come out too late, they were late twice already in the past 3 years: with their chipsets for Core2 and AM2+.
Posted on Reply
#15
CStylen
So when is SLI going to be available to X38/48, P35/45, etc. chipsets?
Posted on Reply
#16
alexp999
Staff
Solaris17i love nvidia chipsets they've always treated me well.
ZoneDymoalexp999


Now thats just a stupid thing to say.
Its just my opinion, but Nvidia chips have never been as stable as Intel's. I have had problems with every nvidia based board I dealt with bar one. (so far). I was so happy when we found out that you would no longer need an NVIDIA chip to run SLi.
Posted on Reply
#17
Wile E
Power User
Solaris17i love nvidia chipsets they've always treated me well.
They were great on AMD, but they never really made a truly good chipset for the Core2 series. They always had issues.
Posted on Reply
#18
Coolowski
CStylenSo when is SLI going to be available to X38/48, P35/45, etc. chipsets?
According to Theo, very soon:
theovalich.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/nvidia-unlocks-sli-technology-for-everybody/

edit:
As a result of today’s announcement, NVIDIA SLI technology is now available for all consumer PC platforms, including the Intel Core i7, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors, as well as those based on the AMD Phenom II CPU.
www.nvidia.com/object/io_1234353747819.html
Posted on Reply
#19
AlCabone
alexp999Thats a good thing IMO. Leave the chipsets to thoose good at it, and the graphics to thoose who are good at that.

NVIDIA need to stop making chipsets, as Intel needs to give up on graphics.
Intel sells more GPUs than nVidia and ATI together.
Posted on Reply
#20
DaedalusHelios
AlCaboneIntel sells more GPUs than nVidia and ATI together.
Because it comes free in platforms which is a loaded statement.

When enthusiasts talk about GPU's we are talking about powerful ones and not freebies found onboard.
Posted on Reply
#21
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
AlCaboneIntel sells more GPUs than nVidia and ATI together.
Quantity =/= quality
Posted on Reply
#23
Weer
Did I miss something? Hasn't SLi, nay Quad SLi been working on X58 boards since their release?
Posted on Reply
#24
Wile E
Power User
WeerDid I miss something? Hasn't SLi, nay Quad SLi been working on X58 boards since their release?
Only on SLI certified boards. Not all X58 board are SLI certified.
Posted on Reply
#25
Assimilator
@Weer: not on Intel's own Smackover board.
Posted on Reply
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