NVIDIA'S NFORCE4 SLI chipset has been out for about a year now, so it's due for a refresh. That refresh comes in the form of the nForce4 SLI X16, a new chipset that addresses one of the main criticisms of the original nForce4 SLI: the fact that it only provides eight lanes of PCI Express to each graphics card in SLI. The new SLI X16 chipset provides -- you guessed it -- 16 lanes of PCI Express to each graphics card in SLI, with enough lanes to spare for additional PCI-E slots and peripherals. Support for RAID 5 has also been added to the nForce4 SLI chipset for the new X16 edition, bringing NVIDIA's K8 platform up to feature parity with its Intel Edition chipset.
Asus' A8N32-SLI Deluxe is the first nForce4 SLI X16-based Athlon 64 motherboard to hit the market, and it's more than just a simple refresh of Asus' nForce4 SLI design. The A8N32-SLI is equipped with a swanky new heat pipe cooler that keeps its VRMs and chipset cool without making a sound. It's also loaded with extra peripherals and eight-phase power. Oh, and it overclocks like mad, too. Read on for more on NVIDIA's nForce4 SLI X16 chipset and Asus' excellent implementation in the A8N32-SLI Deluxe.
@ The Tech Report
Monday Web Reviews:
HARDWARE
Athlon 64 X2 4600+ and 4200+ Review @ Sharky Extreme
XFX GeForce 6600 GDDR2: GeForce 6600 Rejuvenated. @ xbitlabs
Evercool F-117 Nighthawk Watercooler @ MadboxPC
ASUS Extreme N7800 GTX TOP @ 3DAvenue
Silverstone NT03 CPU Cooler @ XtremeComputing
Abit AW8-MAX v1.0 (i955X) @ Phoronix
Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 PCIe motherboard Review @ OverClocked inside
Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 @ hardwarezone
SilverStone PSU Muffler @ Techgage
OCZ PC4000 (2GB) Gold Edition Memory Review @ The Overclocker Cafe
Apricorn Ez Bus Portable Backup System 20GB @ ThinkComputers.org
XG Viper ATX Blue/500W review @ NordicHardware
Cooler Master Hyper 6+ @ ExtensiveMods.com
Epox EP-8NPA SLI Review @ PC Modding Malaysia
MIPS RAM Freezer @ techPowerUp!
Flexiglow Fg-500w-ez Power supply @ Rbmods
Thermaltake Power Station 520W PSU @ Bigbruin.com
Corsair Expands Flash Voyager Line Up, Begins Shipment of New 4GB Ultra-Durable USB2.0 Drive @ Corsair
XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 512 XXX Edition @ TweakPC
Terratec Cinergy 2400i DT twin DVB-T tuner @ TrustedReviews
ATI All In Wonder X1800XL Review @ motherboards.org
ZyXEL ZyAIR AG-225H WiFi Finder and USB Adapter @ TrustedReviews
OCLabs Monoblock 6 @ InsaneTek
AIW X1800XL @ Bjorn3D.com
GeIL ONE Winbond BH5 1GB Dual Channel Kit Review @ NGOHQ
Evercool Neon Crab & Spider Fan Filter @ Techniz
Coolmax CXI-600B PSU Review @ PC Modding Malaysia
Accessories
Saitek Cyborg Evo Force Joystick @ ThinkComputers.org
HP Photosmart 422 @ TrustedReviews
Icemat 2nd Edition mousing surface @ Hardware-Review.net
Editorials
Holiday Wishlist 2006 @ XYZ Computing
Talk Back: When Will Analog TVs Go Dark? @ Designtechnica
How To Clean Up Your MP3 Collection @ The TechZone
Talk Back: TiVo, Yahoo! & The Power Of The Portal @ Designtechnica
2005 Holiday Gift Guide @ WindowsAtoZ.com
Technology Pretensions @ PC Mechanic
DivX Makes Contribution to Independent High-Definition Filmmaking @ Futurelooks
Dracos 2005 Christmas Wish List @ ThinkComputers.org
The Ultimate Techie Gift Guide - When Price Is No Object @ The TechZone
Software
nVidia ForceWare 81.94 Performance Analysis @ TweakTown
Microsoft Office 12 Beta 1 Review @ WindowsAtoZ.com
Emergency Spyware Guide Posted! @ Adrian's Rojak Pot
Kubuntu v6.04 (Dapper Drake) Flight 1 @ Phoronix
Events
Destination Nokia 2005 in Sydney @ hardwarezone
BlizzCon 2005 Coverage @ techFEAR
Dreamhack Winter preview @ bit-tech.net
World Cyber Games Results @ The TechZone
[Day 03] World Cyber Games 2005 Grand Final @ Singapore @ HardwareZoom
Contests
Intel and ECS Contest @ InsaneTek
Electronics
Edifier MP300 2.1 Portable Audio System @ hardwarezone
ViewSonic N3250w 32 Inch LCD Television Review @ XYZ Computing
Games
Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection review @ Strategyinformer
Call Of Duty 2 (PC) @ driverheaven
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee @ Bytesector
Xbox 360: Project Gotham Racing 3 @ Bytesector
The Matrix: Path of Neo (PC) review @ Strategyinformer
Xbox 360: Perfect Dark Zero @ Bytesector
Civilization IV PC computer game review. @ A1 Electronics.net
Crazy Duck Hunter Announced @ GamersHell