Difference between SLI and Ultra boards

[lordsaytor]

I was reading Anandtech's report named "nForce4 SLI Roundup: Painful and Rewarding"
They were mentioning something about SLI and Ultra boards. What is the difference exactly? And yeah I've seen video cards named Geforce 6800, 6800GT, 6800 Ultra
What does Ultra really mean?

I've been wanting a new computer lately and I've really been confused by the reviews' terminology. I usually just skip to the end to see what kind of overall grade that was given.

 

[martinez]

I bought the Gigabyte K8N Ultra SLI, so I'm sorry I can't help you hehe. Basically you just need to look at the overall feature set, aswell as the chipset and decide if that is adequate for your needs. Their probably isn't a huge difference between Nforce4 boards.

Ultra generally denotes faster or better tech. But this isn't always the case. Take my mobo for example. It is the cheapest SLI board Gigabyte make, yet it is called an Ultra. Best to do some thorough research before buying these key components of your system. For me this board was more than adequate for my needs.

 

[zerocool84]

Isn't the only difference between Ultra/SLI boards is that the SLI has SLI on it and Ultra doesnt???

 

[Sylvanas]

I'm pretty sure that SLI board allow your two GFX cards to run in 8x/8x PCI-E modes, and Ultra boards limit the socket speed to 16x/4x (not as good as the 8x/8x). SLI is the high end Chipset and Ultra is just below it.

 

[Acanthus]

Its the exact same chip, with SLI disabled.

The same drivers, the same hardware, the same layout, the DFI boards even use the same BIOS.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Don't confuse video cards with motherboard chipsets. The 6800 Ultra is the top-end card of the 6800 lineup, and the nForce 4 Ultra is a Nvidia PCI-E chipset without SLI support.

 

[knyghtbyte]

i would imagine that Ultra mobo was at one point their top mobo model, but as times gone on its value has gone down because newer models come out...
this may just be speculation, but its probable....

 

[Bona Fide]

Originally posted by: knyghtbyte
i would imagine that Ultra mobo was at one point their top mobo model, but as times gone on its value has gone down because newer models come out...
this may just be speculation, but its probable....

No, I think the nForce4 Ultra and SLI came out at nearly the same time. The Ultra is a midrange chipset, and the SLI is the top-end. The only real difference is the presence of SLI support.

 

[martinez]

How does that explain my Mobo then. It's an Ultra SLI. Basically it doesn't mean jack squat for motherboards.

 

[lordsaytor]

 

[lordsaytor]

Originally posted by: martinez
I bought the Gigabyte K8N Ultra SLI, so I'm sorry I can't help you hehe. Basically you just need to look at the overall feature set, aswell as the chipset and decide if that is adequate for your needs. Their probably isn't a huge difference between Nforce4 boards.

Ultra generally denotes faster or better tech. But this isn't always the case. Take my mobo for example. It is the cheapest SLI board Gigabyte make, yet it is called an Ultra. Best to do some thorough research before buying these key components of your system. For me this board was more than adequate for my needs.

Thanks for input Martinez. I was checking out two motherboards for my new computer. The Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe and the Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI. I was planning to buy an SLI motherboard the whole time anyways. If your mobo is called K8N Ultra SLI, maybe it means it's the top of the line of Gigabyte's SLI motherboards. But then thats just my wild guess.

 

[lordsaytor]

Originally posted by: StrangerGuy
Don't confuse video cards with motherboard chipsets. The 6800 Ultra is the top-end card of the 6800 lineup, and the nForce 4 Ultra is a Nvidia PCI-E chipset without SLI support.

And thanks StrangerGuy for your input as well, that sort of clears up a bit of the confusion I have with video cards. But I doubt I'm gonna go and buy an ultra card. I've already decided to go on a 6800GT now with plans to get another 6800GT when I get my bday money comes.