Nvidia nForce4 SLI Intel Edition to cost US$80

[Apoptosis]

nVidia SLI Intel Edition Chipset = $80
nVidia SLI AMD Edition Chipset = $50 (or less)
Intel 925XE Chipset = $50
Intel 955X Express Chipset = $50

Looking at the above figures it is interesting to see that the SLI Intel Edition Chipset is priced 60% higher than the new Intel 955X Express chipset. Our performance benchmarking shows that in single card configuration the two chipsets are nearly the same performance wise.

It will be interesting to see how the market pricing is on the Tier 1 versus Tier 2 boards also since nvidia is giving Tier one mobo makers a chipset discount, while enthusiast favorites like ABIT and DFI have to pay full price.

Nvidia’s nForce4 SLI (scalable link interface) Intel Edition chipset will be priced at about US$80 per unit, 60% higher than Intel’s most expensive chipsets from its 9xx series, motherboard makers indicated yesterday.

First-tier motherboard makers may be able to receive a discounted unit price of US$65, but that would still be higher than Intel’s US$50 price for its 925XE chipset or its dual-core supporting 955X chipset, the makers pointed out.

In addition, Nvidia’s nForce4 SLI MCP (media and communications processor) for the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 64 platform is currently priced at less than US$50, the makers noted.

Despite the high price, motherboard makers express a high level of interest in Nvidia’s new chipset, the makers said. The nForce4 SLI Intel Edition will be aimed at the high-end of the market, which accounts for about 10% of the Intel market, according to Drew Henry, general manager of Nvidia's media and communications processor (MCP) business, at the company’s press conference in Taiwan yesterday.

The new nForce4 for the Intel platform will be applied into mainstream motherboards within one year, Henry anticipates. Currently, the solution only targets high-end motherboards that will be priced at more than US$150 each, according to Henry.

Source: Digitimes

What do you guys as enthusiasts think about discounts for Tier one makers only? Do you think it is fair practice or harming the smaller Tier 2 board makers?

[gvblake22]

Well, nVidia is the only manufacturer of their own new technology right now they really kindof (infortunately) do have a right to charge whatever they want for their products. But do I think its ok, NO. We definately don't need another Micro$oft in the hardware world....

I can understand that nVidia feels all big and powerful with all their shiny new SLI stuff, but they should try not to turn into a

As far as giving discounts to the board makers, there should be no discrimination and if a discount is given for whatever reason to one company, there is no reason why they should play favorites and not discount other companies. It ruins the whole idea of competition in the marketplace and is just plain not cool.

So I guess nVidia can charge whatever they want for their chipsets, but they should not make it harder for one board partner to build than another...

[LVCapo]

I am actually surprised we don't see more people upset regarding things like this, since it seems to fall under unfair business practices....... but, like M$ holding off on 64-bit WinXP until Intel was ready to release their CPU....its all in the proof.
Looking at it from another point of view, NVIDIA is just capitalizing on a hot hand right now. After all the press the NForce 4 got, they are going to maximize their profits while they can. Look at it this way, if a company tells you their product is the best, and charges accordingly, of course some people are going to believe the hype and buy into it....
I'm still not totally buying into SLI, part of me still feels its a marketing gimmick that will pass

[teqguy]

It just goes to show you that politics is an underlying concept in everything.

Nvidia obviously has their hand in AMD's back pocket, who in turn has their hand in IBM's back pocket.

This is definitely going to hurt Intel's business on multiple levels, because

A) Those who decide to stick with Intel will prefer the Nvidia chipset.
and
B) Those who decide the Intel based Nforce 4 motherboards are too expensive will obviously opt for AMD based systems over an Intel i955 chipset.


So, I think Intel enthusiasts should boycott Nvidia chipsets until this gets resolved.

[infinitevalence]

Im sorry but i have to dissagree with both of you. If nVidia makes a better product than Intel and wants to charge more for it, fine. Im sure that nVidia will eventualy make the price simmilar. But my guess is that your paying for the extra silicon and development that went into the intel version. Remember this one has to have a memory controler since its not built into the CPU and has to have a DDR2 memory controler, something that nVidia most likly had to desnign from scratch. My guess is that the price difference is inflated but no more than the AMD version. They are both probably marked up 25% over cost.

[teqguy]

Okay, yes, the memory controller would add to the overall cost. But an additional $30 or more?

That's ludicrous, considering you're talking about a slab(I wouldn't even call it a slab, but for lack of a better term, I'll go with it) of silicon that is no larger than .004 microns x .003 microns.

As far as R&D is concerned, the processor manufacturer typically has a hand in setting up a structure, and then the chipset manufacturer takes over from there.


The only two explanations for the price difference have to be:

A) The Intel version of the Nforce 4 is vastly superior to the AMD version
or
B) They're factoring in the cost of both the northbridge and the southbridge

In either case, the cause for concern is that the chipset costs are going to reflect onto consumer costs, which would turn people off from Intel all together.

Furthermore, Nvidia probably intentionally named the chipset Nforce 4, so that any motherboards based on it would be directly compared with the much less expensive AMD based Nforce 4 motherboards.