Nvidia to unlock SLI for AMD 990 series chipsets [vr-zone]

[hdfxst]

http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-to-unlock-sli-for-amd-990-series-chipsets/11778.html

Maybe an early april fools joke?Could a mod add vr-zone to the title please?I forgot and i can't change it

Updated thread title at OP's request.

Super Moderator BFG10K.

Thank you

 

[badb0y]

Great news!

 

[digitaldurandal]

i don't believe it. No press release or even any quotes from sources at all.

 

[hdfxst]

After i posted the link i thought about the date and did a quick edit

 

[Creig]

Even if it is true, how is this so great? Nvidia would simply be removing the artificial restriction they've put on SLI for a "certification" fee. The same thing they did with Intel boards.

 

[taltamir]

the article in question has a bunch of factual errors.

for example.

For so long, AMD enthusiasts have to resort to unofficial patches to make SLI work on their boards

There were never unofficial PATCHES... there were CRACKS... for the DRM... that nvidia put in their drivers. nVidia sells an encrypted set of keys which are stored in the bios of dual slot boards at a cost of 5$ per mobo sold. Their driver's then include DRM that turns off SLI if the keys are missing, unless the drivers have been cracked... no different really then any cracked game or program you download online. This is not the only DRM that their drivers have BTW, they also prevent you from using an nvidia card as a physX card only if an AMD card is detected in the system.

It is very good to see nvidia finally cave on this issue and allow everyone to use SLI. although you can be sure this is a calculated economic decision. (they figured they can make more money by lifting said limitation then they can from the 5$/mobo...)

As mentioned by people before me, this article has no source to back it up. So I wouldn't celebrate just yet

 

[Rifter]

If true this is good news, the main reason i switched to intel was so i wasnt GPU locked to one vendor for multiple GPU setups.

 

[notty22]

The graphic does a good job of explaining.

 

[Arkadrel]

Bulldozer with Nvidia SLI

was not expecting that... good news for users, that want to run SLI on a BD.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Nvida probably wants to undermine Fusion set ups by actually giving options. Maybe next GPU PhysX on secondary Nvidia card with a AMD main card.

 

[Arkadrel]

Maybe next GPU PhysX on secondary Nvidia card with a AMD main card.

If it sells more nvidia card not? I always thought it odd that nvidia doesnt do this, to help spread PhysX as well. It is odd they lock it away if prime isnt a nvidia card, for no reason.

 

[OCGuy]

Cool.

 

[bryanW1995]

Nvida probably wants to undermine Fusion set ups by actually giving options. Maybe next GPU PhysX on secondary Nvidia card with a AMD main card.

I think it's that nvidia is worried that a lot of traditionally amd gamers will finally go back to them once BD releases. Remember, before conroe came out nvidia + amd was an extremely popular combination. If BD actually is competitive with SB then I think that these AMD/sli systems will sell extremely well.

 

[Dark Shroud]

If it sells more nvidia card not? I always thought it odd that nvidia doesnt do this, to help spread PhysX as well. It is odd they lock it away if prime isnt a nvidia card, for no reason.

Nvidia seems to use the my rules or I take my ball & go home strategy more often than not. I don’t know why they do this either, there are only a few games that use this feature anyway. I do know that I won’t buy Nvidia video cards again until they stop this practice.

If BD actually is competitive with SB then I think that these AMD/sli systems will sell extremely well.

It will be very nice for the midrange price point that's for sure.

 

[3DVagabond]

I think it's that nvidia is worried that a lot of traditionally amd gamers will finally go back to them once BD releases. Remember, before conroe came out nvidia + amd was an extremely popular combination. If BD actually is competitive with SB then I think that these AMD/sli systems will sell extremely well.

I think nVidia doing this means that they believe that Bulldozer will be competitive with Intel and don't want to loose that part of the pie.

Maybe just wishful thinking on my part?

 

[taltamir]

The graphic does a good job of explaining.

ah, that does make sense... and also means that they really haven't lifted the limitation... they are still getting a per mobo payment.

 

[RobertPters77]

My guess is Nvidia either knows Bulldozer's IPC or has a very good hint about it. And if BD succeeds Amd can promote it's Gpus much more easily. Meaning loss of revenue for nvidia.

Think about average Joe Schmo who walks into bestbuy and wants to buy a PC. Amd 8 core Cpu + Amd Radeon Gpu, Is alot easier to sell than Amd + Nvidia or Intel + Amd/Nvidia. The average consumer will automatically associate a heterogeneous Amd system as less likely to crash and have less compatibility issues because 'it's all Amd.' Same with llano. Apu is fancy talk for Cpu+Gpu. To the consumer it means 'I get both for the price of one.'

BD may not beat Sandy, but I bet Amd will probably use every avenue it can to make consumers aware about the stability that comes with using 'all Amd.'

 

[Dice144]

+ Good news. Always wanted to try SLI or X fire. Tho micro stutter does not sound fun. But that being said options are a big plus for us little guys.

 

[taltamir]

My guess is Nvidia either knows Bulldozer's IPC or has a very good hint about it. And if BD succeeds Amd can promote it's Gpus much more easily. Meaning loss of revenue for nvidia.

Think about average Joe Schmo who walks into bestbuy and wants to buy a PC. Amd 8 core Cpu + Amd Radeon Gpu, Is alot easier to sell than Amd + Nvidia or Intel + Amd/Nvidia. The average consumer will automatically associate a heterogeneous Amd system as less likely to crash and have less compatibility issues because 'it's all Amd.' Same with llano. Apu is fancy talk for Cpu+Gpu. To the consumer it means 'I get both for the price of one.'

BD may not beat Sandy, but I bet Amd will probably use every avenue it can to make consumers aware about the stability that comes with using 'all Amd.'

I agree, this does seem to be the case

 

[happy medium]

So here is the million dollar question.

Will we be able to take the 990fx "key" and patch/hack it into all existing AMD boards so all new Nvidia drivers reconize our boards as a 990fx and allow sli?

That would be great!

 

[3DVagabond]

So here is the million dollar question.

Will we be able to take the 990fx key and hack it into all existing AMD boards so all new Nvidia drivers reconize our boards as a 990fx and allow sli?
__________________

You can already hack sli on AMD boards.

 

[happy medium]

You can already hack sli on AMD boards.

I know, I allready did it, but this hack would no longer need a update, correct?

Hack the key one time and use all newer Nvidia drivers.

Hmmmm the web site I got the hack off of is no longer allowed?
Can you find it?

 

[tweakboy]

Does this mean I could play ?

 

[OCGuy]

My guess is Nvidia either knows Bulldozer's IPC or has a very good hint about it. And if BD succeeds Amd can promote it's Gpus much more easily. Meaning loss of revenue for nvidia.

Think about average Joe Schmo who walks into bestbuy and wants to buy a PC. Amd 8 core Cpu + Amd Radeon Gpu, Is alot easier to sell than Amd + Nvidia or Intel + Amd/Nvidia. The average consumer will automatically associate a heterogeneous Amd system as less likely to crash and have less compatibility issues because 'it's all Amd.' Same with llano. Apu is fancy talk for Cpu+Gpu. To the consumer it means 'I get both for the price of one.'

BD may not beat Sandy, but I bet Amd will probably use every avenue it can to make consumers aware about the stability that comes with using 'all Amd.'

Except the average consumer could do this now with a 4 or 6 core....and isn't.

 

[TerabyteX]

BD many not beat Sandy in terms of pure performance, but gaming performance didn't increase a lot from Penryn to Nehalem to Sandy Bridge, except in exotic Multi-GPU solutions where FSB was the performance limiting factor. Considering that the Phenom II has good gaming performance close to the i7, BD may close that gap further.