Hybrid SLI day comes and goes
Hardwired You can stop holding your breath now
AT LONG LAST Nvidia has brought to the fore its latest generation of chipsets with AMD CPU support. Nvidia is calling it the “best of both worlds” although we aren’t sure which worlds they refer to. These chipsets are the 780a SLI and 750a SLI – and finally we get to the hybrid graphics solution that has been delayed so many a-time. Actually the Hybrid SLI feature is called GeForce Boost – and that lets you mix the 780a/750a with a low-end discrete chip.
Seriously, what do you get when you cross a 780a and an 8400GS? A GeForce 8500. The awkward part is that Nvidia gets its mix-match GPU solution’s head served on a platter by AMD’s 780G solution (performance-wise). It does perform well in HD decoding, though, with less CPU use...
So what’s good about this solution? Well, you finally get to experience Quad-SLI on a Phenom-based computer, and depending on the implementation (aka: mobo maker) you are limited (or not) in your choice of LCD, as some makers went with a single-link solution (not that you’d be gaming at 2560x1600 with a GeForce 8500). Other mobo makers allow you to stick in Quad-SLI and get the full-blown experience. It’s all down to the implementation.
So, for your information and entertainment, here is a wide range of opinions &reviews on what these Nvidia chipsets are really worth. In no particular order:
Planet 3D Now.de (English here)
The world isn’t made of GPUs, and there’s plenty of interesting articles floating around on the world wide wibble. You can set your browser to this PC Games Hardware (in Germany) has published their benchmark of no little no less than 30 current CPUs. So if you’re keen on knowing where yours is, or which one you’ll buy next, head on to the PCGH site here (or here, in English).
Although you’re probably fed-up with mobos this and mobos that, Intel’s last chipset update before Nehalem is about to be launched, and with that a trickle of reviews start popping up on the web. Nordic Hardware caught a P45-based Asus P5Q3 Deluxe mobo and benched the heck out of it. Numbers are pointing towards X48-class mobos, which is quite interesting, although the chipset itself carries less PCIe lanes to plug your graphics in. It isn’t extremely expensive like Asus+Intel combos are... just 200 €urobucks. Catch a P45 here.
Xigmatek is breaking in their new CPU cooler – the Achilles S1284 – at Benchmark Reviews (it actually looks a lot like Noctua’s own products with its heatpipe+fins with massive fan attached). It’s based on Heatpipe Direct Touch technology which according to Olin, is leading the way when it comes to cooling efficiency. Xigmatek has built the cooler quite well, it seems and performance is up there with the best. There’s a little room for improvement it seems, but once Xigmatek gets those right they should have something to deliver serious competition. Read it here. µ
