2CPU.com » News » February 2003 » Dual AMD with nForce?

Kyle over at the HardOCP has put up an interesting item on his front page.

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? In this case it very might well be. We came into possession of the below graphic this weekend. It shows a dual Socket A board sporting the "nForceFX chipset". The board layout is obviously an Asus board as the "BlueMagic PCI Slot" is present on the board. Dual channel DDR is present as would be expected but the board is unique in several respects compared to boards we see today.

Reality or just an idea? What do you make of it? Take a look here.

10/06/2002 09:16 AM: Micro ATX dual AMD! by dadmin
IPoX, a division of EPoX, have a tasty morsel for you: a micro ATX dual AMD board - the M762U/VN. A single 64/66 PCI slot, onboard LAN, onboard video, inline processors and a micro ATX formfactor shou...

07/22/2002 10:13 PM: Five Board Dual AMD Roundup by Hooz
I'll save the crappy translation and just point you to this article over at ComputerBase.de that pits dual AMD boards from Epox and Gigabyte against the Asus, MSI and Tyan boards....

05/28/2002 07:31 AM: Abit's WA-2A dual AMD board not for retail? by dadmin
One of our readers has been trawling the forums (brave, brave soul) and chanced upon a post with bad news for all you 0v3rcl0cx3r types. It seems Abit will not be retailing the WA-2A anytime soon. On...

05/10/2002 09:29 AM: Chaintech now has a dual AMD board by dadmin
Chaintech looks set to release their own MPX board. A Korean site, Brainbox, has a juicy news page with some details of the new board. Warning: Babelfish translation ahead:Only the bay it knows Promis...

06/01/2001 03:45 PM: MSI's dual AMD board for $200 by duke
Viahardware is reporting that the MSI K7D will retail for around $200. Hey, thats almost within my price range!...

05/04/2001 08:06 PM: Dual AMD/Xeon Blurbage by nitro_fish
The guys over at x-bit labs has some news blurbage concerning both Dual AMD and Dual Xeon/Fosters. These will be only the server and the mobile processor versions. The desktop Palomino is to come a b...

11/19/2000 12:39 AM: Dual AMD Motherboard? by nitro_fish
Guess we missed this one :-( Scott sent this one in looks like Tyan has a Dual AMD motherboard in the works that will be comming out soon. PC Stats has got more on what we can expect. Well it looks ...

TheOtherPhil train hard, fight easy Posts: 729 Joined: 2001-10-21

#21526 Posted on: 02/24/2003 03:28 PM Very nice....and it will more than likely support 166fsb. [size=1][url=http://www.thegenomecollective.com/index.php?referrerid=1]TheGenomeCollective - Home[/url] ::: [url=http://www.thegenomecollective.com/forum/index.php?referrerid=1]TheGenomeCollective - Forums[/url] In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.[/size]

ReMeDy train hard, fight easy Posts: 12521 Joined: 2001-02-10

#21527 Posted on: 02/24/2003 03:32 PM :yawn: |[size=1][url=http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=279831#post279831][color=yellow]FAQ's[/url][/color][/size]|Heatware-Remedy{WcS}|Dual760|Beerology|

lwells SMP Newbie Posts: 9 Joined: 2002-04-14

#21528 Posted on: 02/24/2003 04:05 PM Well, I have my fingers crossed. I actually wrote nvidia a rather lengthy email about 4 months ago arguing for a dual AMD solution based on nForce. Fingers crossed it becomes a reality. Lucien.

n0_key I'm a port, man... Posts: 58 Joined: 2002-08-17

#21529 Posted on: 02/24/2003 04:08 PM Poohaa! If this is real, my K7D with MP1800's is going out and this board with 2800's is entering my duallie heaven! Yeah baby, this stuff gets me overly excited. Where are my pills! MTV, woh, makes me wanna smoke crack, fly out the window, never coming back... All your wench are belong to us!

Calum Running on empty Posts: 1916 Joined: 2002-10-11

#21530 Posted on: 02/24/2003 04:09 PM Hmmm, if it's real, I'd buy one! But I'll believe it when I see it... My Computers|2CPU.com SETI@Home Stats|My eBay feedback|My Heatware|Have you seen the future?

DracoDan Witty text Posts: 331 Joined: 2001-09-11

#21531 Posted on: 02/24/2003 04:28 PM reasons I think this could be real: 1. Its well known that AMD is trying to get out of the chipset market 2. AMD still needs someone to take over chipsets for dual systems (the only amd chipset still produced) 3. AMD needs a dual 333fsb platform to fill the mid-range server market 4. It would make little sense to make a 266mhz barton core cpu. yet the 512KB of cache would seriously help servers. 5. the way the components are layed out doesnt seem typical, as you would probably see if some 16yr old just made this up. reasons I think this could be fake: 1. The pic came from [H]ardocp. 2. The pic came from [H]ardocp. 3. The pic came from [H]ardocp. 4. most chipset makers are looking at making athlon64 chips 5. AMD wants people to invest in new opteron chips for servers as thats where they will make more money. Heatware Ebay feedback

MichaelMR2 Eve Sucks :) Posts: 1904 Joined: 2001-07-02

#21532 Posted on: 02/24/2003 04:49 PM This could be sweet..just imagine the Nforce northbridge was able to give the CPU's completely separate data channels..for example a 4 slot set of ram for each CPU(DDR2700 of course) now, add to this if they included the feature to unlock your chips without needing to paint(as I've heard is common in their single CPU boards) as well as a few good overclocking features. Do we need to continue imagining..? Workstation: Q6600@3GHZ|Asus Striker Extreeme|4GB DDR2 800|4 x 15k5 73GIG Raid 0|Adaptec 32105|XFX 8800GTX x 2|1000w Galaxy DXX Servers: 1 x 3.0GIG P4|1GB mem|3ware 7500|11 x 200GB in Raid 5 2 x AMD 252|4GB mem|Areca 1260|16 x 400GB in Raid 5

ReMeDy Eve Sucks :) Posts: 12521 Joined: 2001-02-10

#21533 Posted on: 02/24/2003 04:50 PM 1. The pic came from [H]ardocp. 2. The pic came from [H]ardocp. 3. The pic came from [H]ardocp. 4. most chipset makers are looking at making athlon64 chips 5. AMD wants people to invest in new opteron chips for servers as thats where they will make more money. This is exactly why I yawned at it in the first post. Why didn't 2cpu get this news before HardOCP did? This is where the dual processor market discussion is disucssed. Why wait 2 years to introduce a chipset that will be out shined by AMD's flagship processor in the upcoming weeks? To grab the low end market? That just doesn't make sense. Considering those former SGi engineers over at nVidia are clever like this, i wouldn't doubt such a design phase was thought of. But AMD already has 333FSB for the mid range, which was a64. I haven't read anything in the documents that denotes A64 couldn't support 2way. So quite possibly it ran out on the roadmap as; Opteron 2 -4way DC333FSB A64 2-way 333FSB Barton 2way@266FSB All processors supporting 512KB cache as a mininum from their launch. edit: I just looked at the picture again. Is it me, or does anyone else notice that the diagram is full of shit? Look at the drawing lines around the Northbridge. Or even better, why would any company use a pencil and Mead Fivestar notebook paper to illustrate a Technical diagram without using some kind of software such as Visio2002?:confused: :rolleyes: |[size=1][url=http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=279831#post279831][color=yellow]FAQ's[/url][/color][/size]|Heatware-Remedy{WcS}|Dual760|Beerology|

lwells SMP Newbie Posts: 9 Joined: 2002-04-14

#21534 Posted on: 02/24/2003 05:30 PM It could just be a proof-of-concept in the sense that Nvidia may want to have SMP-enabled Opteron solutions, and a little practise on tried and tested hardware (plus, I am guessing AMD would be quite happy to help out) may not be a bad thing... /end of speculation. Lucien.

stmok SMP Veteran Posts: 490 Joined: 2001-06-25

#21535 Posted on: 02/24/2003 06:17 PM Hey LW, fancy meeting you here! Things of note... *8 USB connectors at the back (I don't know why one would need this many) *Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet controller *Realtek 100Mbit Ethernet Controller *2 PATA connectors *2 SATA connectors *2 SATA connectors FOR RAID (Third Party chip) Although its an ASUS one, which has got me a little worried. (ASUS and Dual AMD CPUs...Checkered past...) I'm gonna stick with "I believe it when I see the actual mobo in a retail box sitting at my local PC store" The power connectors arrangment make it seem a little suspicious. (leaning to the "Its a HOAX" mob) Otherwise...Its off to Opteron land I agree with LW, it ' COULD BE ' be a "proof of concept" design using existing components that are available "Off the shelf" to save cost. Probably showing AMD, that ASUS can create something for the DIY/enthusiasts market. 2x PIII 1Ghz (100Mhz FSB) + BX|2x PIII 933Mhz + i840|1x Celeron 500Mhz + BX for now

Big B Psychic or Psycho? Posts: 3631 Joined: 2001-07-03

#21536 Posted on: 02/24/2003 06:31 PM Personally, I'm all for it, but I'd like an actual PCB shot before I get my hopes up too high. I think it'd be a great idea for an nForce platform to have SMP support. Hardware Forums|2CPU|My DVD's|Heatware=BigB Gigabyte NF650SLI|2GB OCZ PC6400|Pentium E 2160|GF7900GS (SLI)...XP SP2 MSI P965 Neo-F|1GB SuperTalent PC2-5300|PentiumD 920|Radeon X1650...XP SP2

nater SMP Rower Posts: 1009 Joined: 2002-02-27

#21537 Posted on: 02/24/2003 07:20 PM Originally posted by ReMeDy This is exactly why I yawned at it in the first post. Why didn't 2cpu get this news before HardOCP did? This is where the dual processor market discussion is disucssed Well, This is in no way an offical press release, and I am sure kyle has more people that feed him info like this than we do. Not to mention that 2cpu is very good about not being the first to report rumors... Paragon: Iwill MPX2 | 2x1600MP | 512MB | GF4 4200 | 475W | 15k SCSI | 480 gig Raid 5 Paradigm: Tiger MPX | 2x1700XP(TBred) | 512MB ECC DDR | GF2 GTS | 400W |

Jizzler Multi-Core Zealot Posts: 2066 Joined: 2000-10-28

#21538 Posted on: 02/24/2003 07:31 PM unF unF unF unF unF unF!

ReMeDy Multi-Core Zealot Posts: 12521 Joined: 2001-02-10

#21539 Posted on: 02/24/2003 07:46 PM Can someone explain to me why kyle has a big "H" over the diagram?:confused: Laff, rumors being posted and to think it's in the news forum.:rolleyes: |[size=1][url=http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=279831#post279831][color=yellow]FAQ's[/url][/color][/size]|Heatware-Remedy{WcS}|Dual760|Beerology|

invi[tus Has Cat5e On The Brain Posts: 40 Joined: 2001-05-21

#21540 Posted on: 02/24/2003 07:47 PM sigh... after looking over it for a few minutes... there are really 2 ways you can go with this pic a. asus is now designing boards with MS paint. b. its a fake . examples below: nice pins: nice pins again, nice line work too... nice round leds.. air pressure is alittle low on the left hand tire.. do i need to say anything ? The Itanium -"Most expensive disaster in the history of high tech." - Sun Microsystems Inc.

ReMeDy Has Cat5e On The Brain Posts: 12521 Joined: 2001-02-10

#21541 Posted on: 02/24/2003 07:55 PM That's exactly what i posted above in my 2nd post. Who would use a non TD software tool such as MSP to put out a diagram? Can't believe this one slip through the gates here onto the front page. |[size=1][url=http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=279831#post279831][color=yellow]FAQ's[/url][/color][/size]|Heatware-Remedy{WcS}|Dual760|Beerology|

stmok SMP Veteran Posts: 490 Joined: 2001-06-25

#21542 Posted on: 02/24/2003 08:04 PM *Sarcasm* Stop it! Stop it! Please no more! Its hurting my eyes! *Sarcasm* "Can someone explain to me why kyle has a big "H" over the diagram?" => Its so basically, people won't take their picts and reuse them for their own websites and claim it their own. (I think) 2x PIII 1Ghz (100Mhz FSB) + BX|2x PIII 933Mhz + i840|1x Celeron 500Mhz + BX for now

QuintLeo SMP? How do you want it? Posts: 1863 Joined: 2002-06-07

#21543 Posted on: 02/24/2003 10:21 PM *IF* it is real, I would bet on 400FSB support - like the current nForce2 single CPU chipset has. Officially or otherwise.... 2xCel500 (oc600) on a BP6 and 2xCel533 (oc600) on another BP6 | 2xXP1800+ on a s2460 and 1xXP1800+ (so far) on a s2462

Sleepy (not a cowboy) Posts: 59 Joined: 2003-02-24

#21544 Posted on: 02/24/2003 10:25 PM The not-quite-straight lines are nothing unusual; it often happens when converting a vector drawing to a bitmap. The best way to do it is convert it to a bitmap that's 3 or 4x bigger than what you want, and then scale it down (this makes most lines straight and also gives you antialiasing). If anything, those "errors" make it less likely that this is a cut & paste job. No less likely to be a fake, though. The main reason why I would say this is a fake (besides the ones pointed out above) is the position of the Aux1 connector. Where it is, it would almost certainly be blocked by the PCI3 card, or vice-versa. It also doesn't make much sense to me to have only 2 SATA RAID connectors. The "H" is srom Hardocp's logo, and it's there to add credibility to the image.

Lupus Registered User Posts: 24 Joined: 2003-01-17

#21545 Posted on: 02/24/2003 10:42 PM Its a pretty lame picture TBH. Any one could alter or simply draw such a picture, getting the chip names from PRs. If it was a photo of a mobo then it still could be fake, but this little doodle is so pathetic it doesnt even get to the "it could be real" level. Lupus

bascheew He who rarely posts. Posts: 24 Joined: 2001-05-11

#21546 Posted on: 02/24/2003 10:43 PM An update here... http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7957 "Nvidia denied such a project for a long time but obviously they figured that there is not much competition around that that some extra bucks could be made in this market segment. " This statement is false.

knight0334 Lord Vader Posts: 354 Joined: 2001-08-01

#21547 Posted on: 02/24/2003 10:44 PM It'll never happen. So dont go holding your breath.. AMD would have to get off their Chipset Highhorse to allow such a thing to happen. Heatware= knight_0334 | eBay= knight0334 Graybeards Outdoors

Jim_ Administrator Posts: 3464 Joined: 2000-03-15

#21548 Posted on: 02/24/2003 10:50 PM It seems a little late in the game for this one. I'll believe it when I see the boards. Furthermore, that image looks like it was done in Paint by my 10 year old cousin. I know some people have been calling it a "proof of concept" image but for the love of God... [url="http://www.2cpu.com"][size=1]2CPU.com[/url] - Because two are always better than one! [url="http://www.jimkirk.org"]jimkirk.org[/url] - Not a Myth any Longer. Just a Dad.[/size]

Sleepy (not a cowboy) Posts: 59 Joined: 2003-02-24

#21549 Posted on: 02/24/2003 11:26 PM I really don't see how the quality of the image is relevant for its credibility. If the lines were perfectly straight and impeccably antialiased, would that make it more credible...? For all we know, that image could be a bitmap made from a trace made from a scan. And while I think the image is a fake (mainly because of the 2 SATA RAID ports and the Aux1 position), I wouldn't be surprised if nVidia / Asus really were working on a dual AMD solution. There are a lot of people who have been delaying their next purchase due to the Athlon 64's & Barton's successive delays. A (good) dual Barton platform would sell pretty well. But only if they managed to get it out of the door within the next three months or so. Unless, of course, Microsoft delays XP64 yet again (and AMD won't launch the Athlon 64 alone, because they can't really afford the marketing).

Vuke69 Bitpimp Posts: 377 Joined: 2001-03-16

#21550 Posted on: 02/24/2003 11:28 PM Got to be fake, look at whats going on by the parallel port, it looks like whoever was drawing this couldn't decide if they should put serial ports, or audio, under the parallel port. So they put audio jacks, and labled them COM1 & COM2. It would be nice though if someone other than AMD came out with a dual chipset for the Athlon. And Nvidia has proven themselves up to the task of making a decent chipset. Hell I'd buy one...

2CPU.com » News » February 2003 » Dual AMD with nForce?