NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition Performance Preview

**MIG-31** · Apr 5, 2005, 03:35 PM

After years of providing chipsets for AMD processors only, today NVIDIA officially unveils their first chipset for the Intel Pentium platform: the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition. As its name implies, this new chipset is based on the same fundamental technologies found in today's nForce4 SLI chipset for the Athlon 64, including GigE with firewall, Serial ATA II support, 7.1-channel audio, 10 USB ports, and of course, 20 lanes of PCI Express for SLI! But how does this new chipset perform? Find out in today's article!
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Preview: Firingsquad

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MSX · Apr 5, 2005, 05:10 PM

I was very tempted to buy one of these systems and only install one pci-e card now and get the other later. Then I remembered the marginal gains with the SLI system.

SLI theoretically should quad the performance. Each card is only rendering half the screen and so its using half capasity. To render the half screen again it uses the unused clocks. Which equates to 4 times the performance. I know its not as simple as that, or else 3dfx would still be around.

Sadly in most cases the performance does not even equate to double. Thats the main reason I didint buy it.

Zelig · Apr 5, 2005, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSX

I was very tempted to buy one of these systems and only install one pci-e card now and get the other later. Then I remembered the marginal gains with the SLI system.

SLI theoretically should quad the performance. Each card is only rendering half the screen and so its using half capasity. To render the half screen again it uses the unused clocks. Which equates to 4 times the performance. I know its not as simple as that, or else 3dfx would still be around.

Sadly in most cases the performance does not even equate to double. Thats the main reason I didint buy it.

I see how you might come to that conclusion (4x), but it's never been advertised as such, and shouldn't give that improvement, even under the best of conditions. At best, SLI should give a 100% (double) boost to performance.

Apr 5, 2005, 03:35 PM	#1
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,854 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition Performance Preview After years of providing chipsets for AMD processors only, today NVIDIA officially unveils their first chipset for the Intel Pentium platform: the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition. As its name implies, this new chipset is based on the same fundamental technologies found in today's nForce4 SLI chipset for the Athlon 64, including GigE with firewall, Serial ATA II support, 7.1-channel audio, 10 USB ports, and of course, 20 lanes of PCI Express for SLI! But how does this new chipset perform? Find out in today's article! _______________ Preview: Firingsquad Additional articles from around the web Viperlair PC Perspective Sudhian Hothardware [H]ard\|OCP Hexus Neoseeker __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here Last edited by MIG-31; Apr 5, 2005 at 06:22 PM.

Apr 5, 2005, 05:10 PM	#2
MSX Burning the frozen... Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,201 Rep Power: 0	I was very tempted to buy one of these systems and only install one pci-e card now and get the other later. Then I remembered the marginal gains with the SLI system. SLI theoretically should quad the performance. Each card is only rendering half the screen and so its using half capasity. To render the half screen again it uses the unused clocks. Which equates to 4 times the performance. I know its not as simple as that, or else 3dfx would still be around. Sadly in most cases the performance does not even equate to double. Thats the main reason I didint buy it.