NVIDIA to Adapt AMD Chipsets to Enable CrossFire X Features on NVIDIA GPUs

[zekrahminator]

Things are indeed looking up for AMD as of late. NVIDIA recently unveiled plans to adapt the AMD MCP78S chipset into their motherboards, which will enable some CrossFire X features on NVIDIA chipsets. The first feature to run on these new hybrid motherboards is Hybrid SLI. Like Hybrid CrossFire, Hybrid SLI will allow for the dynamic switching of onboard and independent graphics. During normal operation, the computer will run off onboard graphics, saving energy. When the user pops in an extreme game, the machine will automatically switch graphics operations over to the much more powerful graphics card. These features will be stuck into select upcoming NVIDIA nForce 780i motherboards, which will support Socket AM2 and AM2+ CPUs over a 2600MT/s HyperTransport 3.0 bus, six 3Gb/s SATA drives, 12 USB ports and Gigabit Ethernet.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[insider]

Getting rather desperate now aren't they?

The reports about them refusing an SLI license for the new Intel boards might be true (since this will render nVidia boards useless on Intel platform), in response Intel is making it difficult for them to support their Yorkfield chips on their i6x0/i780 boards by not fully disclosing the required details, apparently...

 

[panchoman]

so basically nvidia's abandoning sli II cause it sucks and using CFX for nvidia gpus now?

 

[tvdang7]

man they take all of ati's spotlight. first they didnt want to have shaders in their cards now this. amd is allowing this? also that hybrid thing sounds really cool but it sounds prone to having problems throttling or switching.

 

[zekrahminator]

CrossFire X features. Not CrossFire X in it's entirety .


If NVIDIA were to turn around and buy CrossFire X, AMD would have a VERY merry Christmas.

 

[panchoman]

seems to me like they preety much bought CFX from amd since they're using the same AMD chipset that amd is, they may lock it down so that only part of CFX may be usable sort of the like p35 chipset, but like the p35 chipset, it'll probably be unlocked very soon from hacked drivers.

so basically in ever 780i board, it'll have the amd chipset on it too, so that nvidia can multi gpu using CFX cause SLI II flopped in their face.

 

[insider]

Intel seems to be squeezing nVidia out of their platform (shifting more of their own Intel chipsets), the only option for nVidia to start producing better boards for the AMD platform like the old days.

 

[panchoman]

well i'd like that, the 590sli is the last chipset that nvidia gave us at the amd side, and they never gave us the 680a that they promised us.

 

[insider]

IMO it's time for nvidia to start concentrating on graphics cards instead since ATI already produces decent AMD motherboard chipsets.

 

[panchoman]

basically, heres what i think nvidia is planning: well since SLI II can outperform CFX by a tad, lets keep SLI II, and lets buy all the features of CFX that we dont have, that we can build a chipset with the same features but it can outperform the cfx

 

[mdm-adph]

If NVIDIA were to turn around and buy CrossFire X, AMD would have a VERY merry Christmas.

Wouldn't be bad -- then, ceasing the fighting amongst themselves, they could turn on the right enemy: Intel!

 

[panchoman]

Wouldn't be bad -- then, ceasing the fighting amongst themselves, they could turn on the right enemy: Intel!

agreed 100%

 

[a111087]

in the end they will all win, nvidia sells their mobos, while amd sells video cards

 

[erocker]

The new AMD chipset is so good, why not adopt it? I'm not sure if Nvidia has the resources to keep producing newer chipsets? Allegedly the new Nvidia chipsets are power hungry heat monsters!

 

[DanielF50]

Meh, BS, why cant they build there own.

And if nvidia bought CrossfireX wouldnt that mean ATi wouldnt be able to make mobos that support 2 completely different graphics cards running in Crossfire?

Sounds suspicious to me.

Daniel

 

[panchoman]

The new AMD chipset is so good, why not adopt it? I'm not sure if Nvidia has the resources to keep producing newer chipsets? Allegedly the new Nvidia chipsets are power hungry heat monsters!

well they're basically putting the amd chipset as like a second southbridge, etc. for the 790i platforms if thats what you mean by adopting it

 

[erocker]

well they're basically putting the amd chipset as like a second southbridge, etc. for the 790i platforms if thats what you mean by adopting it

Seriously? They are using thier own southbridge, plus AMD's southbridge? It would make sense to just use one.

 

[panchoman]

NVIDIA recently unveiled plans to adapt the AMD MCP78S chipset into their motherboards, which will enable some CrossFire X features on NVIDIA chipsets.

reading that made me think that nvidia is planning to show amd's mcp78s chip into their platform. i would guess they'd make it a southbridge or something you know?

 

[keakar]

basically, heres what i think nvidia is planning: well since SLI II can outperform CFX by a tad, lets keep SLI II, and lets buy all the features of CFX that we dont have, that we can build a chipset with the same features but it can outperform the cfx

BINGO! give that man a cookie. sounds like thats exactly what they have up their sleeve.

 

[keakar]

Wouldn't be bad -- then, ceasing the fighting amongst themselves, they could turn on the right enemy: Intel!

except when your enemy is actually your biggest customer.

 

[insider]

Intel doesn't need nVidia, same can't be said the other way round.

 

[keakar]

IMO they are planning to eliminate the whole crossfire vs sli thing and merge them into one universal platform, which would result in nvidia being able to take more market share away from ati since platform would no longer matter.

 

[insider]

You think ATI would play ball since they own those patents?

 

[GLD]

Maybe AMD/ATi and nVidia are gonna buddy up now that Intel has spoke of producing their own discrete graphics solution. I am sure either red or green doesn't want old blue getting any more market share then it already has.

 

[insider]

The future is on-die graphics GPU cores integrated onto the CPU (AMD Fusion for one), the low end/budget market is where most of the sales are, Intel can obvisouly produce their own, so can AMD since they bought ATI.

That leaves nVidia on their own, sure high performance graphics will still only be available on stand alone cards for a good 5 maybe 10 years, but it's the high sales low cost budget sector (cheap integrated CPU/GPU chips) they will be missing out on, big time.

Intel doesn't need anyone, produces own CPU, own motherboard chips, own graphics cores, soon competitor to AMD's Fusion, AMD/ATI on the other hand needs all the help they can get!