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Intel X58 To Be First Non-NVIDIA Chipset To Get SLI
Vigile writes "In a somewhat surprising move from a company that is used to holding its proprietary technologies close to its chest, NVIDIA has announced that it is opening up a 'certified SLI motherboard' program for boards using the upcoming Intel X58 chipset. The X58 is Intel's core logic offering for Nehalem/Bloomfield processors and many people wondered how NVIDIA would support SLI on a platform for which they had admitted to not developing a chipset. At first, NVIDIA was pushing the use of their dedicated nForce 200 chip, but have instead decided to open up the SLI technology to X58 motherboards that meet certain NVIDIA requirements. This leaves a lot of questions about NVIDIA's previous SLI statements, how the pricing of the certification affects partners, and if NVIDIA's chipset business is truly at its end now."
Sounds to me like Nvidia has something up their sleeves. Or maybe not. Being a participant in the Intel Chipset might just mean they are trying to keep their foot in the door. they probably have a better grasp on whats going to happen in the future. Being compatible with intel chipsets (i think) is a big step in keeping their dominance in the Graphics adapter world. Without Intel acceptance, they might have problems with market share in the future when Intel releases their GPU. Way to go Nvidia, for keeping your pants on.
Maybe they got a CSI interconnect license from Intel in return for the SLI technology.
that's exactly what was reported during IDF, Intel wouldn't license CSI interconnect unless it was part of a cross-license for nVidia SLI.
Different technologies that accomplish the same thing:
Sure, it "changed dramatically", but don't all technologies change over time? 3dfx just didn't make it and especially since most of its IP was acquired by Nvidia, I'd say that 3dfx introduced SLI, not Nvidia.