Finally, we may get another mATX SLI board

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ND40oz

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http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10229&Itemid=1

Thanks to one of readers, we got a tip on some pictures of what is the first MCP7A-GL motherboard we've seen. The official name for the chipset is expected to be Quadro FX470 and this isn't the first time Nvidia has done a Quadro branded IGP chipset.

The MCP7A-GL differs slightly from the MCP7A-S and MCP7A-U (the Geforce 9300 and 9400) and as you'll see on the pictures this specific board which appears to be from Asus, has a x16, x4 and x1 PCIe slot as well as a PCI slot due to the mATX form factor. However, the chipset is meant to offer support for a pair of PCIe x8 slots and can as such do SLI.

Another advantage of this chipset is that it you can use two displays at once with it and as such the board in question has two DVI ports. We have a feeling that they're limited to single link DVI, so you won't be able to go super high resolution.

The board goes under the model name of P5N-VM WS and it works with all Core 2 based processors on 1,333MHz bus and below. For those looking for extra performance, Asus offers two different SAS cards that slots into the x4 PCIe slot.
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We just need someone to release it configured that way...
 
other than being [H] i dont see the need for multi-gpu setups right now....

games are very playable at max settings with single GPU setups, we need better games before multi-gpu setups will be necessary again....

the 8800 series cards still can play most games at full candy let alone the 280 or such
 
Adidas4275 said:
other than being [H] i dont see the need for multi-gpu setups right now....

games are very playable at max settings with single GPU setups, we need better games before multi-gpu setups will be necessary again....

the 8800 series cards still can play most games at full candy let alone the 280 or such
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Uh, what res are you playing at, certainly not 1920x1200?
 
Seriously... Cards out now are still midrange performance compared to the games. GTX280 would have been considered upper mid-range, with a doubly expensive price tag, a few years ago.

Well at least this is something, but I am not holding my breath. It generally seems to take them at least 6 months to develop the board after the chipset is released.
 
I'm hoping ASUS and Gigabyte jump onto the mATX CF/SLI bandwagon but I havent seen anything mentioned from them yet. Still, its early. I think it depends on how well DFI does with their offerings.
 
Asus doesn't care about mATX hardcore enthusiasts anymore. All they care about is the HTPC crowd.
 
MassiveOverkill said:
Asus doesn't care about mATX hardcore enthusiasts anymore. All they care about is the HTPC crowd.
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That doesnt necessarily rule them out making a CF/SLI mATX though. I think the HTPC crowd has helped get some of these good mATX mobos we have been seeing in the last year or so. But time will tell.
 
I'd like for an SLI motherboard to happen... look at all the buzz around the DFI board, it only makes sense that it'll happen.

I hope they do make one for LGA775 though because I don't want to upgrade to Nehalem just yet.
 
MassiveOverkill said:
Asus doesn't care about mATX hardcore enthusiasts anymore. All they care about is the HTPC crowd.
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Yeah, sure. I wish they did, they have no HTPC centric boards at all. MSI has a nice one, their DIVA boards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130212
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130206

So yeah, I wish Asus cared about the HTPC crowd. Would make things easier for me.

Also yeah, I'd love to see someone other then DFI take a stab at an MATX SLI/CF board. I love my little Lanparty Junior but I would also love it more if it did SLI too (at x16 support too) (still happy with my 4850).
 
mrmylanman said:
I hope they do make one for LGA775 though because I don't want to upgrade to Nehalem just yet.
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Unfortunately Intel wants you to so we're watching the sun set on S775. I would imagine there will be lots of options with the i7, I've always thought that there weren't so many options with the P45 because it was released too close to the i7 launch.
 
Too bad the X58 chipset is for i7 processors. I'm sure that once the i7s come out the prices will fall like a rock on, say... the Q9650 lol.

I'd like to pick one of those up as an upgrade at some point if the price was right, however the Q6700 cost as much as those do now until the 45nm processors came out, then dropped to around 270 I think.

When that happens, I'm getting a new processor, haha.
 
Hell, forget SLI, I want this Asus P5N-VM WS for a Micro ATX workstation.

That x4 PCIe slot cries out for a raid card. :D
 
I did notice that. Good call on ASUS's part. Unfortunately a lot of the better RAID cards are on x8 slots :(

I have an Areca ARC-1200 that is good but it only supports 1 and 0. I have 0 but I want more security, so I want to upgrade to RAID5 one day.
 
mrmylanman said:
I did notice that. Good call on ASUS's part. Unfortunately a lot of the better RAID cards are on x8 slots :(

I have an Areca ARC-1200 that is good but it only supports 1 and 0. I have 0 but I want more security, so I want to upgrade to RAID5 one day.
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It's open ended and a lot of x8 raid cards work in x4 slots.
 
Man, I had one of the jetway/EVGA sli boards, it was a DOA, then they stopped selling them!!
It's hung on my wall right now, like a picture, but better!
 
ND40oz said:
It's open ended and a lot of x8 raid cards work in x4 slots.
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Didn't know that. I mean I knew the bandwidth would be fine. Just didn't know that it would physically fit. Well then that's cool. Another choice for me then, since I am unhappy with my board right now. (Intel DG35EC. I got it cheap but it has almost no options at all).
 
The K8N NEO4-F had one like that,
2q8xdvt.jpg

Yay! Posting a pretty useless, and crappy picture!
[sorry for the liquid electrical tape on it, I used the board for phase once, and killed it. :(]
 
Yeah, I know for sure that Areca's card will down lane to x4, and as best pointed out, the x4 slot is open ended, meaning x8 cards will fit. I have tried an Adaptec 5805 in an x4 slot like this, and it does not seem to work like the Areca's do.
 
I'm real happy with how my ARC-1200 works, so I think when I buy another RAID card it'll definitely be from them.
 
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