NVIDIA announces native SLI for Intel X58 chipsets

It may not have produced quite the onslaught of news that Intel's recent Developer Forum did, but it looks like NVIDIA's NVISION08 conference was at least able to pull one big rabbit out of its hat, with NVIDIA itself dropping word that it's going to allow Intel's X58 chipset to natively support SLI. For those not following the ins and outs of the NVIDIA / Intel relationship, NVIDIA had previously said that it would let its nForce 200 chip to be implemented by board manufacturers to allow SLI support, but that idea never exactly caught on, leading to this new, more accommodating solution. As PC Perspective reports, the native SLI support will also be far from limited, with motherboards with as few as two PCIe x16 slots and as many as four PCIe x16 slots able to support an array of SLI configurations, including a 3-Way SLI with a fourth graphics card for a PhysX boost.

[OneLove @ Aug 28th 2008 11:43AM]

Also, why not just make "multi gpu" switchable via bios (cards are already plugged in) throw away the bridge. Just a thought.

[Skyride @ Aug 28th 2008 11:45AM]

Hm..... This looks bad.

Id rather have an nForce 200 chip thanks.

[Muhammed @ Aug 28th 2008 11:45AM]

I was doing some math the other day, and unless you want the highest of high end performance its cheaper to get one good card, than it is to get 2 mediocre cards and run them in sli.... and it wasn't a little cheaper, it was about $100 cheaper, and the single card got better performance.
(i compared two 7800gt cards to one X1900XT)

[Tired_ @ Aug 28th 2008 2:11PM]

My thought for the usefulness of SLI was to buy one high-end card now, and then SLI a second one in in six months when the same card is much cheaper.. That will keep you at a decent performance level (in theory) with breaking the bank on the second upgrade. An 8800GT I bought at Christmas time for $229, plus one I can get now for $99 on clearance, should be enough for decent gaming (for example).

[Jay @ Aug 28th 2008 4:01PM]

Uh... they still sell 7800gt's?

[Abuzar Baloach @ Aug 28th 2008 5:23PM]

By the 'other day' he means three years ago.

[Muhammed @ Aug 28th 2008 8:42PM]

@ Tired:
I mean for people who actually will buy 2 cards, but what you say is fine "about using your old card", what I mean is, unless you're SLI-ing two high end graphic cards you wont feel the difference.

@Jay: that's why I said they were "mediocre" as they're far less than current graphics standards.

[xcrunk @ Aug 28th 2008 12:08PM]

So, is NVidia out of the chipset business? Is this for sure? Can anyone confirm?

Also, with X58 being just announce recently, and it being the high end chipset...are we to expect X48 or an X38? And if so, no sense in holding off a new build as these chipsets probably won't see the light of day till maybe something 1st qtr 09.

[Skyride @ Aug 28th 2008 12:26PM]

There is already an X48 and X38. They have both been available for months.

[xcrunk @ Aug 28th 2008 12:35PM]

My bad...you're right. I just checked:
http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/chipsets/index.htm?iid=chipsets_body+dt_all

In that case, we're not to expect a mainstream desktop version for quite some time. The X58 is the introduction to the new socket and it's not even out yet. New boards aren't expected till late 08 if we're lucky. Those mainstream chipsets that will replace P35 and P45 won't be here till 09 at their earliest. That sucks. Oh well.

[Jagannath A @ Aug 28th 2008 12:12PM]

gr8 newz for ppl who hate nvidia boards but want SLI

[wickedpheonix @ Aug 28th 2008 4:47PM]

You mean besides the fact that Intel will also put Crossfire support on the board? Talk about flexibility, the X58 is looking like it's going to be THE killer product of the year.

[futurepastnow @ Aug 28th 2008 4:26PM]

Holy crap. They gave up on requiring the nForce 200 chip? That's great news for everyone, except mobo makers who've already designed boards around it.

[StasD @ Sep 8th 2008 1:38AM]

Do not understand the need in SLI for Intel - with Lucid Hydra 100 they may quite nicely do withput (with better performance).

What is bad is that Intel seems to postpone it coming to the market till their new graphic cards will be ready.