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nForce2 Preview
An anonymous submitter writes "I noticed that a review of NVIDIA's nForce2 chipset has been posted here. From what I can gather the chipset contains two 10/100 ethernet controllers, six USB 2.0 ports, UltraATA133 support, three 1394 ports, five PCI slots, and an integrated GeForce4 MX core including NVIDIA's nView technology and a TV Tuner." Tom's Hardware and NVNews also have looks at it.
NVIDIA is set to introduce its second iteration of its nForce series of integrated solutions soon. The nForce2, as it is called, will contain several features not found in the current line of nForce chipsets, and a few unexpected surprises. First a brief history of nForce is in order. NVIDIA released its nForce series of chipsets to gain market share and realize another venue for revenue. NVIDIA's chipset knowledge gained from developing the chipset on the XBox, and its familiarity with graphics enabled it to entice many motherboard manufacturers, OEMs, and even consumers. Today, the computer market has dried up, and NVIDIA must realize new revenue streams, and by taking a bigger piece of the chipset pie, which Intel and VIA both claim a high chunk of, they may increase their bottom line. With this in mind NVIDIA knew they had to develop a chipset that would not only sell, but would be state of the art, aimed not only towards the high end but the mainstream. With the nForce2 they may have done just that. First of all the graphics in the nForce should be discussed. Of course, NVIDIA being the graphic company they are, would certainly opt to include their own technology in this product. They chose to use the GeForce4 MX core, which should not be confused with a GeForce4 since it contains none of the Pixel/Vertex shaders, actually it should be considered a modified GeForce2. However, this chip does contain a few differences from a GeForce2. It contains the Light Speed Architecture - a bit toned down however for its needs, Accuview Antialiasing, a TV Tuner, and just like the GeForce2 MX nView will make a return. This covers the IGP, or the integrated graphics processor, contained in the nForce2. Interesting to note however, is that NVIDIA will provide a lower end model, very similar to the nForce2, except lacking this chip. Instead of forcing manufacturers to contain NVIDIA graphics they have opted to allow it not to be bundled with the rest of the chipset. Most of the time companies would not go for such a move, but NVIDIA already holds a dominant market share in the desktop graphics market and with the nForce it has one thing in mind -- to capture market share in the chipset business. The chipset business is seeing renewed interest, as competition has been higher than it has been in years in this market, but at least NVIDIA does not have to go up against Intel with this line which should make for a little bit of an easier time. The nForce2 will be fully compatible with AGP8x, making it highly attractive to consumers who are planning to purchase an AGP8x enabled video card this fall or for those who plan on purchasing a SIS Xabre graphics card. It will contain USB 2.0 support and double-data-rate SDRAMs at 266/333 and 400 MHz support, among a slew of other features. The MCP-T, NVIDIA's high end model of the nForce2 series, should contain two 10/100 ethernet controllers, six USB 2.0 ports, UltraATA133 support, three 1394 ports, and five PCI slots. This feature list should have most users salivating over it, but one thing to remember is that most of these features will become mainstream in most newer chipsets soon enough. A downsized MCP will also be available, which will strip the MCP of its 1394 and audio capabilities, and also strip the chip of one ethernet port. This one, like its big brother, will also feature 5 PCI slots.
It must be a reference to this article. "A mouse can be just as dangerous as a bullet or a bomb". Sheesh.
Hey kids, there's only 5 days left 'til Yak Shaving Day!
The GeForce4 Ti XXXX cards are the ones you want, and the XXXX number after is linearly proportional to the clock speed. Everything else is FUD and I have no idea why they do this. It's as bad as Apple changing the specs on iMacs and not giving them different version numbers-- developers have to say things like "our product runs on green and orange iMacs with DVD drives" because users don't know what the graphics card or RAM level is.
-m