Intel Chipset To Support SLI and CrossFire

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Just when ATI thought CrossFire was comfortably hitting its groove and nVidia had snuggled down to the safe bet that its SLI technology represents, along comes Intel to induce panic attacks with a chipset that supports both of them.

The name of ATI and nVidia’s living nightmare is the 975X. It the follow up to the 955X (diagram below) and will come with a built in PCIe x16 interface, meaning third parties can design mobos with two PCIe x8 slots. While the CPU giant has reached licensing agreements for both SLI and CrossFire technology (could either really say “No” to Intel?).

Other than this innovation, the 975X remains largely identical to the 955X. 65nm fabbed processors are supported, along with DDR2 memory, High Definition Audio, SATA II and all the usual bells and whistles.

Arrival time is expected to be in Q1 2006, which should create a global deluge of Buyer’s Remorse as we stare disappointedly at our Christmas purchases and cold Turkey sandwiches.

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[linkout: Intel UK]