Nvidia 680i Update: Penryn CPUs Are Still Out of Discussion

Bad news everywhere about Nvidia's 680i chipset motherboards. Word of mouth has it that all current Nvidia nForce 680i SLI boards will not be able to support the new family of 45-nanometer processors from Intel. Since 2004, the LGA775-enabled motherboards have caused trouble with processor updates and they have permanently required updates and renewals. Well, nothing has changed since the Nforce4 SLI release and the situation is still far from brightening up a notch.

Nvidia powered boards feature the P31 BIOS that allegedly provides better overclocking options for the 65-nanometer quad-core Kentsfield. There's no mention of the BIOS update having addressed the essential issues regarding compatibility with Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650, although Nvidia has promised to answer them with the BIOS fix.

From this perspective, the situation looks as if a software update won't do the job and the only hope for seeing a Penryn processor saddled on a Nvidia nForce 680i SLI motherboard would be a hardware change. But, what about those who have already stuffed their money in the 680i chipset motherboards? The answer is plain and painful: if they want a faster CPU, then they should start thinking first about a motherboard update.

Nvidia's response to the situation came bluntly. "The 680i MCP fully supports both dual core Wolfdale and quad core Yorkfield, but at the board level, a motherboard circuit change is required for quad core YF," a Nvidia spokesperson said. If that is the case, then Nvidia will get away with it and it won't be them to take the fall, as it seems that they have kept everything under the key until the last moment, and the motherboards holding Penryns lack the required circuitry to support them.

All in all, the situation has turned dramatically for Intel. After witnessing Nvidia's declaration, the verdict can be: Intel are far from being sabotaged. Instead, they have committed suicide.