14 DAY TRIAL // Nvidia has just introduced its nForce 790i SLI and 790i Ultra SLI chipsets, that are alleged to wash the company's sins for the previous 780i series. The newest addition to Nvidia's chipset portfolio comes with plenty of new features, such as native support for the DDR3 memory.
In fact, Nvidia's nForce 790i is the first chipset to offer support for the new memory standard, running at clock frequencies of up to 200MHz. It can also work with Intel's LGA775-based processors (highly optimized for the Penryns) with 1066, 1333 or 1600 MHz Front Side Bus. Gaming enthusiasts can now enjoy the full power of three-way or even quad-SLI links, thanks to the refurbished northbridge chip that now comes with 32 PCI-Express 2.0 lanes.
The nForce 790i SLI and 790i SLI Ultra come with the same basic feature set, which makes them more difficult to differentiate. However, while the nForce 790i SLI version is capable of "driving" memory modules running at 2.0 GHz, the Ultra version can work with higher-frequency memory modules, which makes it the ideal pick for enthusiasts and overclockers. The nForce 790i SLI also features 10 USB ports, ESA, Media Shield, and First Packet support.
Motherboards based on the nForce 790i will come with built-in high-definition audio, six SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, two Gigabit Ethernet connections and up to 10 USB 2.0 slots.
The nForce 790i seems to be hotter than the previous 780i chipset, and motherboard manufactures are paying extra attention to cooling. Given the fact that the 790i-based motherboards will come with an indecently high price tag, a heat popped-out chip is the last thing you would expect.
As you can see in the picture, the XFX 790i Ultra SLI motherboard comes with plenty of heatpipes and aluminum fins to dissipate the heat coming from the northbridge. The design is extremely efficient, as it uses the airflow coming from the CPU fan to dissipate the collected heat.