nVIDIA nForce 4

nVIDIA first started there 64 bit chip computing era with the nForce 3, with new things such as a built in hardware firewall support. but technology moves, and that's where there nForce 4, ultra, and SLI came into play. they will be fathering amd's first pci express chipset for the 64 bit family. other features of the nForce 4 chipset include the ability to use SLI with supporting nVIDIA graphics cards, easy performance optimizing of your pc, and also mehods in which to store electronic info safely. something not seen on these chipsets are DDR-II and SoundStorm. but currently, the memory controller is integrated into AMD's cpu's, so it will be limited to DDR-I. it's not going to be a huge knock on AMD for now.

For anyone thinking about getting these boards, note that you cannot carry over your AGP graphics card, but the nForce 3 250gb will still be supported by nVIDIA if you do not want to step up to the newest technology just yet. nVIDIA has always had a pretty firm grasp on how to make good quality, stable, and high performing chipsets for the AMD platform... some of the features sound quite promising such as the ActiveArmor networking security, dual disk controllers for the SATA drives, and the myriad of options afforded by the nTune software. For anyone planning to get this system ALSO note you will have to drop a pretty dime as you would need a new processor (there boards support both socket 754 and 939) and video card (PCI-E are pretty new as well, so vid cards alone are going to be expensive) but the nForce 4 chipset started selling during mid-december and is probably sold out on major computer sites such as new egg, same with pci-e video cards, so good luck!

millzz-

Wonderfully said.

nForce 4 also supports SATA2.
I am looking forward to ATI's New Socket 939 chipset. I think there will be good competition with both NVIDIA & ATI.

Both companies have there advantages & disadvantages.

ATI Advantage
More time to better there chipset.
Will be the Best OC?ing chipset in the market.
All ATI Graphic Cards are Pure Native PCIe 16x (ATI will soon bridge some of there PCIe 16x into AGP)

ATI Disadvantage
nForce 4 has taken market share.
No AMR (ATI?s SLI) for the first batch of chipset?s (That is what I was told by a professional)

NVIDIA Advantage
Early into the Market with a strong hold.
SLI has boosted nForce 4 sales.

NVIDIA Disadvantage
nForce 4 SLI is expensive.
All NVIDIA Graphics Cards are AGP Cards, bridged to PCIe 16x (Loss of performance)

i'm an nvidia person myself....

down with ati!!!

and 64bit processors were mad expensive when they came out....it's all the same with new technology, and w/the SLI...you get what you pay for

My Opinion, NVIDIA came out with SLI to divert & slow down ATI. ATI was working on Dual Core VPU's, and didn't think SLI was a solid route to go. But because of the release of the SLI (Which was attempted many years back & failed), ATI has to come out with something to counter attack which is called the ATI Multi Rendering AMR.

SLI & AMR are going to say around for a little wile, that's it.

ATI's AMR is better than NVIDIA's SLI, because with ATI, you don't need the exact same Graphics Cards like you need with SLI. Plus with SLI both Graphics Cards need a connector to connect both cards & they also share one 16x PCIe bandwidth.

ATI's AMR:
You can use any two PCIe 16x Video Cards (ex: X800 XL & X700 XT).
Each card will have its own 16x PCIe bandwidth.
You don't need a connector to connect them together.

NVIDIA's SLI:
First to the Market.
You need two identical Video Cards
They have to be connected together to work
Lack of Driver support
Both run @ 8x PCIe (sharing 16x PCIe)

Though I think right now nForce Rocks.

I like to see what ATI's chipset will be like?

P.S. I like both ATI & NVIDIA.
The best Graphics Card to get \"RIGHT NOW\" with NVIDIA is the GeForce 6600GT (Out performs the 9800 XT).

ATI has none right now that intrest me in Price/Performance.

But there X800 XT will be a 16 pipeline monster outperforming the 6800GT 100% & the 6800 Ultra in most cases.

It's price tag is about $350.

eh..even with all of this...what games out there would require a high end video card?? the rule of thumb is if you have a good processor, you don't need an amazing graphics card, but if you have a mediocre comp/proc then a high end video card would suit you well rather than replacing everything...(thank you techtv...lol)

damnit..why'd i have to buy my nforce3ultra board n msi5700le card early december...i KNEW nf4 was coming out...but my friend wanted my old board n processor like asap...so i had no choice....now i'm like hitting myself over it...

Last edited by Super XP on Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:43 am; edited 1 time in total

Don?t' worry about it. nForce 3 is great.

Well according to many review sites, High end CPU's ONLY can be partnered with Low, Mid-range, to High End Video Cards. These systems perform quite well.

A low end CPU like the P4 2.4GHz to P4 3.2GHz & Athlon XP 1400+ to Athlon XP 2200+, can only be partnered with low to mid range Video Cards. Even mid range Video Cards is pushing it quite close to terrible performance.

The problem with having a High End Graphics Card (i.e.: X850XT PE, X800XT PE, X800Pro, 6600GT, 6800GT or 6800 Ultra) with a slow CPU is that you will be sucking the life out of the Video card, and therefore, render it useless. The Video Card will not perform the way it was meant to perform.

If the High End Graphics Card was to give you 6000 3D Mark 05 points in Ideal conditions, then with a slow CPU, you will be lucky to get yourself over 4000 3D Mark 05 points.

And therefore, people start complaining about bad drivers and such, but yet it's there systems setup.

AMR will be better than SLI,

Reasons as stated above is that AMR don't need two identical Graphics Cards, and they don't need a connector connecting them together. And with AMR, both Graphics Cards will have there own PCIe 16X lanes. Don?t ask me how ATI will achieve this, but they are doing it. And it's already in the testing phase.

SLI was designed & used by 3Dfx if I am not mistaken, so it?s not new, and it didn?t last long back then either.

The Problem was that they eventually had problems with synchronization of the two Graphics Cards or something which eventually ran into stability problems and with 0% performance benefits.

And doesn't NVIDIA have many employees from 3Dfx?

Personally i think that ATI can still be spotted, but NVIDIA are pure. Mircosoft is makng a newer one.

Well, you may have something there \"NVIDIA are pure\".

Both companies are technology leaders, with ATI being around longer than NVIDIA.
Let's see what both companies have in mind in 2005, like cheaper high performance Graphics.

Nice Name, Bill

If a few buck make you happy, then it is wise to spend it. Oh and I ask them, there say that GeForce 6200 TurboCache, i suggest not buyying this one, newer one will be out soon. :)

well, get reasonable, it IS great technology and only computer buffs would purchase board w/SLI...no games out require THAT much graphics power right now...lol but about the AMR, sure ati probably always comes out with more powerful cards and better technology, but nvidia started it with SLI, as amd started the 64bit processors, and intel is soon to follow with a more powerful one, nvidia = amd, ati = intel

i wouldnt buy anything till end of the year. There is a new line of CPU's and boards coming out. All the old stuff will drop in price by half.