Speculation & Poll on Nvidia's intel SLI chipset.
OK, So Nvidia just throws an 16X SLI chipset for intel Conroe and says nothing about Woodcrests.
I think that alone is interesting a few days before WWDC.
Here is the diagram, and a link to the article pointed out by mjteix here
Here is the speculation. Does anyone think it is possible that the reason there has been no Woodcrest version shown yet (4 days before WWDC) is because we are in for the Mac Pro of our dreams with an Nforce based chipset at WWDC, and Apple will be the first to ship it?
If you doubt the Apple Nvidia relationship thing might I remind you that Apple, and Nvidia have debuted nvidia's highest level graphics cards first on a Mac in the past, and Apple has always maintained a good relationship IMO with nvidia. Even their last PowerMac revision saw a new (new to Mac) graphics card for Macs that we never thought we would ever see. The professional level Quadro.
So I'm just going to throw this out there. Apple likes surprises. Wouldn't you be surprised if Apple shipped the ultimate 3D workstation, and the best performing gaming machine before anyone else?
Mac users wouldn't be the only ones who were surprised.
That would get you some serious free press, and all in the same day you show off the best OS on the planet for the first time. Talk about a sales pitch! BAM! OMG WWDC OMG!
I think that alone is interesting a few days before WWDC.
Here is the diagram, and a link to the article pointed out by mjteix here
Here is the speculation. Does anyone think it is possible that the reason there has been no Woodcrest version shown yet (4 days before WWDC) is because we are in for the Mac Pro of our dreams with an Nforce based chipset at WWDC, and Apple will be the first to ship it?
If you doubt the Apple Nvidia relationship thing might I remind you that Apple, and Nvidia have debuted nvidia's highest level graphics cards first on a Mac in the past, and Apple has always maintained a good relationship IMO with nvidia. Even their last PowerMac revision saw a new (new to Mac) graphics card for Macs that we never thought we would ever see. The professional level Quadro.
So I'm just going to throw this out there. Apple likes surprises. Wouldn't you be surprised if Apple shipped the ultimate 3D workstation, and the best performing gaming machine before anyone else?
Mac users wouldn't be the only ones who were surprised. That would get you some serious free press, and all in the same day you show off the best OS on the planet for the first time. Talk about a sales pitch! BAM! OMG WWDC OMG!
Comments
I'd REALLY like to see the 8800 GTX as a BTO option along with an announcement from Nvidia.
I also need 4 hard drive bays or an external SATA card.
SLI doesn't matter much to me. I will be getting 2 video cards in my Mac Pro, regardless.
I also need 4 hard drive bays or an external SATA card.
If there isn't SLI your not going to running them at full speed? Why not just get one and run it at 16X then? Do you need the 2 extra monitors, or something?
Nvida chips are not set up for FB-DIMM and on the amd side the cpu take care of the ram.
In systems with 2 or more Opteron chips Nvida uses 2 chips each linked to a cpu or each linked to 1 cpu and each x16 lane + other lanes and io comes form each chip.
Look at the block map in the Motherboard Manuals
http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/mo...NL-H8QC8_E.pdf
http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/mo...MNL-H8DC8i.pdf
http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/mo...-H8DCE-HTe.pdf
If there isn't SLI your not going to running them at full speed? Why not just get one and run it at 16X then? Do you need the 2 extra monitors, or something?
Yep, 2 extra monitors.
Apple might use nForce in the low-end Mac Pro, but I suspect the high end will use the Intel 5000 chipset.
The "ultimate 3D workstation" would require Woodcrest, but the nForce does not support Woodcrest's dual independent buses. There is no secret DIB nForce chipset, because there are no secrets in the x86 world.
Apple might use nForce in the low-end Mac Pro, but I suspect the high end will use the Intel 5000 chipset.
You obviously didn't even read my post. Funny you can have an opinion about it. No harm in it, but I would have preferred your read my speculation before you stated your opinion.
If Apple can get a dual-socket SLI mobo somehow, they'll have at least 3 Mac Pro models on it to get the price down a bit via volume. Nvidia won't makes something unless it'll sell a lot of it, so I think SLI and dual socket are tied together if they come across the whole line.
How hard is it to rig up an FSB to HT switcher? I mean, combine the two FSBs before they reach the Northbridge, and have the sockets communicate through that, but run a HT from this polar bridge to the northbridge. (yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about).
If Apple can get a dual-socket SLI mobo somehow, they'll have at least 3 Mac Pro models on it to get the price down a bit via volume. Nvidia won't makes something unless it'll sell a lot of it, so I think SLI and dual socket are tied together if they come across the whole line.
Because you couldn't rig up a switcher that'd run at 333MHz. The nForce4 couldn't go above 250MHz, and I don't see the nForce5 doing any better. Now, there's rumors blowing that nVidia will let SLI run on Intel chipsets. That'd be what we're looking for. The nForce 4 for Intel sucked anyway.
How hard is it to rig up an FSB to HT switcher? I mean, combine the two FSBs before they reach the Northbridge, and have the sockets communicate through that, but run a HT from this polar bridge to the northbridge. (yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about).
If Apple can get a dual-socket SLI mobo somehow, they'll have at least 3 Mac Pro models on it to get the price down a bit via volume. Nvidia won't makes something unless it'll sell a lot of it, so I think SLI and dual socket are tied together if they come across the whole line.
You have a good point about Nvidia not making it unless they an sell a lot of them. But I can't imagine them not "designing" an Nforce chipset for such a high profile processor. Which is what sparked this thought to begin with.
You have a good point about Nvidia not making it unless they an sell a lot of them. But I can't imagine them not "designing" an Nforce chipset for such a high profile processor. Which is what sparked this thought to begin with.
They made one for the Opteron, but it's because of the bus limitation. They simply can't get HT and FSB to work at 333MHz.
Now, there's rumors blowing that nVidia will let SLI run on Intel chipsets. That'd be what we're looking for.
Pre-AMD/ATI, I wouldn't have believed that, but Nvidia has to be a little more open now - it may have to license SLI to Intel, or let someone make a SLI/Crossfire chipset that can do both (but obviously only one at a time)
You obviously didn't even read my post.
I did read it, but honestly I didn't understand it. So I just went ahead and offered my opinion anyway. 8)
How hard is it to rig up an FSB to HT switcher? I mean, combine the two FSBs before they reach the Northbridge, and have the sockets communicate through that, but run a HT from this polar bridge to the northbridge. (yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about).
If Apple can get a dual-socket SLI mobo somehow, they'll have at least 3 Mac Pro models on it to get the price down a bit via volume. Nvidia won't makes something unless it'll sell a lot of it, so I think SLI and dual socket are tied together if they come across the whole line.
They will also need to deal with ram someing they don't have to on the amd side.
In the duel opteron board they use 2 chips. If amd's up comeing 4x4 they may use one chip but the HT is going form cpu to cpu beforce hiting the chip set.
look at the block maps.
How hard is it to rig up an FSB to HT switcher? I mean, combine the two FSBs before they reach the Northbridge, and have the sockets communicate through that, but run a HT from this polar bridge to the northbridge. (yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about).
If Apple can get a dual-socket SLI mobo somehow, they'll have at least 3 Mac Pro models on it to get the price down a bit via volume. Nvidia won't makes something unless it'll sell a lot of it, so I think SLI and dual socket are tied together if they come across the whole line.
They will also need to deal with ram someing they don't have to on the amd side.
In the duel opteron board they use 2 chips. If amd's up comeing 4x4 they may use one chip but the HT is going form cpu to cpu beforce hiting the chip set.
look at the block maps.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...n/untitled.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2.../untitled3.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2.../untitled2.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...ewPicture2.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...NewPicture.jpg
look at the manuals hear http://www.tyan.com/support/html/manuals.html and hear for better pics. http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/motherboard/
They will also need to deal with ram someing they don't have to on the amd side.
In the duel opteron board they use 2 chips. If amd's up comeing 4x4 they may use one chip but the HT is going form cpu to cpu beforce hiting the chip set.
look at the block maps.
Yes Joe it's obviously an engineering issue, but it doesn't mean it's not possible. It just means that no one has announced that they have done it yet. Which was what my first post speculates on.
And hey. it's a toss up in the poll ight now.
[sigh] Onlooker, I see you're hoping to the very end for SLI in Mac Pros. Good luck.
I'm not hoping for anything goof-ball. it's temporary insanity duh... You throw out a wild speculation based on factual occurrences, and wonder. It's not a matter of what I would like, or what you would like. It's a matter of does it fit into the realm of possibility based on known facts presented. It's like trying to put two, and two together without having two to begin with. It's all circumstantial events that you piece together, and try to make it fit. I'm not saying. "Oh I believe this, or that is what's going on." All I'm saying is "Here's one for you"
Most Mac rumor sites do this with their headlines year round. I think MOSR still does, they were the worst, but I have not been there in a few years so I don't know. But get a hold of your self man. It's not a prediction.
...It's like trying to put two, and two together without having two to begin with....
Who you're calling goof-ball?