The nVIDIA nForce Motherboard
Chipset:
a different perspective
Last updated: 6/28/01
Bandwidth. Other
than the features already mentioned, what really sets this chipset apart
is connectivity and bandwidth. As mentioned above, it “talks” to
DDR memory through two 64-bit memory controllers. The IGP is connected
to AMD DDR CPUs with a 133 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) capable of 64-byte
DDR266 burst transfers. Meaning that data is transferred on both
the leading and trailing edges of the FSB clock pulse for an effective
266 MHz rate. Finally and not least, instead of hanging the Southbridge
off the PCI bus, with a theoretical maximum burst speed of 133 MBytes/sec.,
like most chipsets (the other exception being the SiS 735 single-chip solution--heretofore
the winner in benchmarks I have seen comparing DDR Athlon chipsets--with
it’s Built-in 1.2GBytes/s Multi-threaded I/O Link between its internal
Southbridge and Northbridge sections), the MPC is connected to the IGP
with AMD's HyperTransport technology. This
implementation of HyperTransport is 8-bits wide and has a total peak throughput
of 800 MBytes/second. According to nVIDIA this is more than enough
bandwidth for all of the Southbridge I/O functions to operate simultaneously
without interruption.
 Furthermore,
nVIDIA's StreamThru Networking/Broadband Architecture includes an advanced
isochronous transport system, which makes use of the HyperTransport and
features in the IGP and MCP to noticeably improve time-dependent applications
such as media streaming, file downloading and multi-player games. What's
that? Isochronous?
"A form of data transmission that guarantees
to provide a certain minimum data
rate, as required for time-dependent data such as video or audio. Isochronous
transmission transmits asynchronous data over a synchronous data link so
that individual characters are only separated by a whole number of bit-length
intervals. This is in contrast to asynchronous transmission,
in which the characters may be separated by arbitrary intervals, and with synchronous transmission."
Source: Free
On-Line Dictionary of Computing
What's it mean? Better networking
and music, and fewer, if any, buffer under runs when burning a CD.
So, even if
you are game fanatic with a GeForce3 plug-in display adapter, you may still
choose a motherboard with this chipset for it’s memory architecture, Northbridge/Southbridge
bandwidth, and sound capabilities. Others will probably find that
the IGP has all of the graphics power they need or that it is sufficient
to get them going until they are ready to upgrade to a higher-end graphics
capability.
The entire
chipset (graphics, sound, etc.) requires only one software driver from
one vendor.
Each of the nFORCE chips will come in
two flavors: IGPs with a single 64-bit memory controller or dual 64-bit controllers
and MPCs with or without the Dolby Digital 5.1 encoder. The nFORCE420
chipset will taste the best with a fully-equipped IGP and MCP. The
nFORCE220 will consist of the crippled chips, will cost about $10 less in
quantity than the 420, and may become a hallmark of cheap, all-in-one-computers.
Larry
IGP Features
MCP Features
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