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Introduction
Introduction
:
I
think it's fair to say that the introduction of the
original nForce chipset was considered by some to
be a bit of a letdown. Not because it didn't offer
innovative features and great performance but more
because people naturally expected to see the same
kind of insurmountable performance delta that NVIDIA
so often display with the release of a new GPU. nForce
was and is a very good motherboard chipset and though
it lagged a little behind VIA's KT266A it was certainly
in its slipstream.
Although
there are some similarities it should be stressed
that designing a fast, efficient and fully functional
motherboard chipset is a very different game to designing
a new GPU, particularly when you're a newcomer to
the game and on this score we really do need to view
nForce1 as a complete and utter success that has very
much laid the foundations for what we're looking at
today.
What
is Nforce2? :
nForce2
is a the natural evolution of nForce1 but rather than
just add a tweak or two here and there NVIDIA have
done what they know best, stepped back and asked themselves
what the most demanding PC user wants from a quality
motherboard. nForce2 will appear in various configurations
all built around two "North Bridges" and
two "South Bridges". These four chips will
form the core of what looks like being an incredibly
flexible and capable system that will allow motherboard
manufacturers to offer a bewildering array of features
and bundles positioned at a broad range of price points.
Main
Architecture Features :
Demands on The Modern PC
Regardless
of the chipset combination NVIDIA have redesigned
the whole nForce platform with a range of much wanted
features and improvements designed to take it well
into the next era of motherboard design. The most
obvious omission however is that of Serial ATA, something
NVIDIA didn't feel the market was ready for yet and
they're probably right. For at least another 6-12
months Serial-ATA will be a small, niche market accounting
for a very small percentage of PC users and by the
time it does become mainstream we'll no doubt be writing
the previews for nForce3 or nForce4.
The
main architectural features available to nForce2 users
include ~
DualDDR™
Memory Design
Twice the Bandwidth – Half the Latency
Although
it's essentially very similar to the TwinBank DualDDR
memory architecture seen on nForce1 boards NVIDIA
have added new and optimised pre-fetching and pre-processing
memory request algorithms designed to keep the workload
flowing through its twin 64bit memory controllers.
NVIDIA have concentrated particularly on synchronous
memory performance and nForce2 now features full support
for DDR333 and DDR400.
By
using twin 64bit memory controllers rather than a
single 128bit controller NVIDIA have targeted the
problems of memory latency often encountered with
rival chipsets. These two controllers work concurrently
so while one may be reading or writing data across
to main system memory the other can be setting up
for the next access which theoretically cuts latency
in half. Combine this with restructured write buffers
and draining algorithms and NVIDIA are clearly hoping
nForce will feature the most advanced memory architecture
in the business.
By
combining DDR400 with nForce2's dual memory controllers
nForce2 will offer an incredible 6.4GB/sec. The great
aspect of this though is that NVIDIA have completely
decoupled the internal clocks when the SPP (non integrated
graphics) North Bridge is used which means that CPU,
AGP and memory can all function asynchronously with
none waiting on the other. It also means that the
AGP bus, memory bus or CPU FSB can each be overclocked
independently. Bring it on!
Although
both memory controllers are architecturally identical
their control and timing parameters are independently
programmable and as a result it's possible to utilize
three DIMM slots with an increased maximum capacity
of 3GB and a slot limit of 1GB. Many had assumed we'd
see nForce2 offer four DIMMs but the flexibility added
to the new architecture means DualDDR can simply adjust
to the lowest common density that will facilitate
128-bit bandwidth, allowing a wide variety of different
DIMM combinations to operate reliably regardless of
the individual density and latency characteristics.
DualDDR also adds a third address bus to the system
to reduce loading and to ensure all three DIMMs operate
at DDR-400, in addition to DDR-333 and DDR-266, all
the time.
AGP8X
:
Like
AGP4X before it AGP8X offers the same 32bit wide bus
offering data transfers of up to 2.1GB/sec running
at 533MHz. AGP8X is fortunately backward compatible
with ealier AGP standards.
Hypertransport
for maximum system throughput :
As
expected North and South bridges communicate using
AMD's HyperTransport™ technology which offers
a throughput of 800MB/sec.
Let's
look at the specific chipset features ~
The
"IGP" or "Integrated Graphics Processor"
will head up NVIDIA's new and vastly improved assault
on the integrated graphics sector. Onboard is a GeForce4
MX420 level GPU along with the various features that
the standalone NV17 has to offer including Accuview™
Antialiasing, Multiple Display Combinations (nView),
Integrated encoder for TV Support and of course the
Video Processing Engine (VPE). The VPE has a full-hardware
MPEG-2 decoding engine that puts into silicon the
technology to process and decode MPEG-2 video streams
meaning high quality full speed DVD handling without
the need for additional decoders or graphics cards.
Hardware features include includes inverse quantization
(IQ), inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT), motion
compensation, color space conversion (CSC) functions,
as well as hardware subpicture alpha blending.
Images
Are Clickable
Combined
with some of the advanced connectivity features we'll
look at in a moment nForce2's integrated graphics
and advanced architecture make it a perfect choice
for live, real-time video effects. In the image below
a live video stream is converted to a fully interactive
3D water effect allowing it to be distorted and rippled
as if it were a real water surface.
As
you've probably guessed the SPP or System Platform
Processor is the non integrated graphics version of
the IGP. Architecturally identical in every other
respect this is no doubt the North Bridge choice that
most enthusiasts will be opting for and it's good
to see a non integrated video version available from
launch.
- NFORCE2
SPP/IGP SPECIFICATIONS
NVIDIA DualDDR Memory
Architecture
-
Two independent 64-bit memory controllers
- 3 separate address busses
- 2 separate data busses
- Supports
64-bit or 128-bit memory busses
-
Concurrent simultaneous accesses optimized
for system and graphics
performance
- Supports
DDR400/333/266/200
SDRAMS
- Supports 2.5V 166/133/100 DDR SDRAMs
- Supports 2.6/2.65V 200 DDR SDRAMs
- Supports 64MB, 128MB, 256MB,
512MB, and 1.0GB modules
- Support
for up to 3.0GB Memory
Integrated GeForce4 MX GPU (IGP)
- Integrated
256-bit 3D and 2D graphics accelerator
-
NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer with 24 of
26 DX8 pixel shading functions and full
set of OpenGL® 1.3 pixel combiner operations
-
32-bit color with 32-bit z/stencil
- Digital
Vibrance Control™
-
nView multi-display
- Resolution
support up to 1920x1440
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- Integrated
NTSC/PAL TV encoder supporting resolutions
up to
1024x768
- DVD-ready
and HDTV-ready MPEG-2 decoding up to 1920x1080i
ATSC
Format
- MPEG-2
hardware decode, including
Inverse Discrete Cosine Transform and
Motion Compensation
AGP 8X Interface
- Compliant
with AGP 3.0 8X and 4X, with Fast Write data
transfers
- Supports
AGP 2.0 for 4X, 2X, and 1X modes
-
Multiplexed with external DVI interface
signals
Integrated TV Encoder (IGP)
-
Support for various worldwide formats
- Composite
and S-video output modes
-
Display resolution up to 1024x768
- Full
Macrovision™ 7.1L1 encoding for
DVD compatibility
- Fully
programmable 5-tap horizontal and vertical
upscaling and downscaling to TV resolutions
External DVI Interface (IGP)
- Clock
speeds up to full DVI specification of 165MHz
(up to 1600x1200 at 60MHz in single link mode,
up to 330 Mpixels
per second in dual link mode)
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-
Multiplexed with AGP 8X Interface
Integrated Clock Synthesizer
-
Supports all FSB and memory bus asynchronous
frequency combinations
-
Independent overclocking of CPU, MEM, and
AGP clocks
Power Management
- Power
On Suspend (POS) or ACPI S1
- Suspend
to DRAM (STR) or ACPI S3
- Suspend
to Disk (STD) or ACPI S4/S5
- Supports
C0, C1, and C2 states
- Support
for shut down of internal DAC
- ACPI
2.0 compliant
- PowerNow!™
HyperTransport
-
High Speed (800MB/sec.)
- Low
Voltage
-
Differential
- Low
Pin Count Interface
- Isochronous
Link between SPP/IGP
and MCP
CPU Interface
- Supports
AMD Athlon/Duron CPU
- 133/100/66
MHz FSB Clock
- FSB
clock and memory clock can be operated asynchronously
- DDR400/333/266/200
Support 64-byte
(cache line) data burst transfers
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nForce2's
MCP or Media and Communications Processors will also
be available in two versions as mentioned earlier.
The "value" version of their North Bridge
chip will be simply known as MCP its more fully featured
big brother will be known as MCP-T. Bothe the MCP
and MCP-T are pin compatible meaning motherboard manufacturers
should be able to quickly and easily inegrate both
chips into their board range.
The
full feature list is printed below but the key features
are no doubt the support for USB 2.0/1.1 (up to six
ports) and ATA-133 although the merits of the latter
are somewhat questionable at the moment. Alongside
this comes 10/100 Ethernet and AC97 audio handling.
Both
the MCP and MCP-T offer HomePNY 2.0 support (Home
Phoneline Networking Alliance) offering a "no
new wires" telephone line networking option with
speeds up to 10mbps and between systems spaced up
to 1000 feet apart.
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NVIDIA
NFORCE2 MCP
SPECIFICATIONS
- NVIDIA
Communications Suite
- USB
2.0
- Single USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
Interface (EHCI) / Dual USB
1.1 Open Host Controller Interface
(OHCI)
- Support for up to 6 ports- Supports transfer
rates at high speed
(480 Mbps), full speed (12 Mbps),
and low speed (1.2 Mbps)
- Dynamically configures slower devices
for best utilization of bandwidth
- Allows USB concurrency
-
NVIDIA IEEE 802.3 MAC (Media Access
Controller)
- HomePNA
2.0
NVIDIA StreamThru
-
NVIDIA IEEE 802.3 MAC (Media Access
Controller)
- Supports 10/100 BaseT Ethernet/
Fast Ethernet
- Supports HomePNA 2.0 PHYs
- ACR and CNR Interface Support
-
Isochronous Controller Paired with
HyperTransport Results in Fastest
Networking Performance
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- Dual
Fast Ultra ATA/133 Disk DriveControllers
- Supports
Ultra DMA modes 6-0 (Ultra
DMA-133/100/66/33)
-
Industry-standard PCI bus master IDE
register set
-
Separate independent IDE connections
for 5V-tolerant primary and secondary
interfaces
HyperTransport
- High
Speed (800MB/sec)
- Low
Voltage
-
Differential
- Low
Pin Count Interface
-
Isochronous Link between SPP/IGP
and MCP
AC ’97 2.1 Compliant Interface
-
Supports 2, 4, or 6-channel audio
- Dual
AC-Link – Supports up to two
CODECs
-
16-bit or 20-bit stereo output and
16-bit input streams
-
Supports input, output, and GPIO
channels for host-based modems
-
Separate independent functions for
audio and modem
-
Supports ACR and CNR interface
-
SPDIF Output (Stereo or AC-3 Output)
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The
MCP-T which NVIDIA refers to as the "Digital
Media Gateway" however is a very different and
really quite exciting beast. To begin with it features
an industry first dual networking facility dubbed....wait
for it......DualNet. In addition to the the standard
NVIDIA 10/100 Ethernet/Fast Ethernet port there's
also an integrated industry standard 3Com 10/100 Ethernet/Fast
Ethernet port and both ports are capable of concurrent
operation. The Integrated SOHO Gateway truly does
make this the industry’s most versatile and complete
networking solution for the PC.
Also
present on the MCP-T is IEEE-1394a/Firewire support
but unlike the original nForce which implemented FireWire
over PCI which can't actually offer latencies in line
with IEE1394 standards, NVIDIA have now moved support
on-chip so it's hardwired to run natively thus bringing
performance back on track. This is of course in addition
to the USB 2.0/1.1 support.
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NVIDIA
NFORCE2 MCP-T SPECIFICATIONS
- NVIDIA
Enhanced Communications Suit
- IEEE-1394a/Firewire
- Fully compliant with IEEE-1394a/Firewire
specification release 1.1 OHCI and with provisions
of IEEE 1394-1995 and IEEE 1394-2000
- Compatible with Microsoft Windows Plug-and-Play
(PnP)
-
USB 2.0
- Single USB 2.0 Enhanced Host
Controller Interface (EHCI)/Dual USB
1.1 Open Host Controller Interface
(OHCI)
- Support for up to 6 ports
- Supports transfer rates at high speed
(480Mbps), full speed (12Mbps),
and low speed (1.2Mbps)
- Dynamically configures slower
devices for best utilization of
bandwidth
- Allows USB concurrency
- NVIDIA
IEEE 802.3 MAC (Media Access
Controller)
- 3Com
IEEE 802.3 MAC
-
NVIDIA DualNet
- Concurrent
operation of two 10/100
BaseT Ethernet/Fast Ethernet Ports
- NVIDIA
IEEE 802.3 MAC (Media Access
Controller)
- Supports 10/100 BaseT Ethernet/ Fast Ethernet
- Supports HomePNA 2.0 PHYs
- ACR and CNR Interface Support
- 3Com
IEEE 802.3 MAC
- Supports 10/100 BaseT Ethernet/ Fast Ethernet
- 3Com commercial networking feature
set for corporate environments
- StreamThru
- Isochronous Controller Paired with
HyperTransport Results in Fastest
Networking Performance
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-
NVIDIA Audio Processing Unit (APU)
- Dolby
Digital Interactive Content
Encoder
- Hardware
DirectX 8.0 Audio Processor
- 256
Total Voices
- 64
3D Voices
- Downloadable
Sample Version 2
Acceleration (DLS2)
- 32
Bin Mixer (8 voice volumes
mapped to each bin)
-
Dual Fast Ultra ATA/133 Disk Drive
Controllers
- Supports
Ultra DMA modes 6-0 (Ultra
DMA-133/100/66/33)
- Industry-standard
PCI bus master IDE
register set
- Separate
independent IDE connections
for 5V-tolerant primary and secondary
interfaces
-
HyperTransport
- High
Speed (800MB/sec.)
- Low
Voltage
- Differential
- Low
Pin Count Interface
- Isochronous
Link between SPP/IGP
and MCP
- AC
’97 2.1 Compliant Interface
- Supports
2, 4, or 6-channel Audio
- Dual
AC-Link – Supports up to two
CODECs
- 16-bit
or 20-bit stereo output and
16-bit input streams
- Supports
input, output, and GPIO
channels for host-based modems
- Separate
independent functions for
audio and modem
- Supports
ACR and CNR interface
- SPDIF-output
(Stereo or AC-3 Output)
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One
thing we haven't mentioned yet is nForce2's groundbreaking
new integrated sound option. Their new APU (Audio
Processing Unit) offers never before seen features
to the nForce2 MCP, so much so it needed a page all
to itself!
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