Not too long ago, the NVIDIA enthusiasts processor platform was the nForce2 SPP (System Platform Processors).  Now, it has a new name, the nForce2 400 or nForce2 Ultra400.  Both chipset are very similar.  The main difference between the two is that the nForce2 400 lacks a dual channel DDR controller and it does not support the MCP-T south bridge.  Without those two features, the nForce2 400 is relegated to the mainstream level of the performance market.  On the other hand, the feature rich nForce2 Ultra400, which supports dual channel DDR and either the MCP or the MCP-T south bridge is designed to reach to the enthusiast level of the performance market.  Another interesting thing to note, about these chipsets, is that as of now, there is no version of these platform processors with integrated graphics. Therefore, for integrated graphics users, you'll still be looking at the original IGP or the optimized version, which was named nForce2 with GeForce4 MX Graphics.

According to NVIDIA, their ultimate mainboards will now feature "nForce2 Ultra400 + nForce2 MCP-T".This solution is for extreme gamers, over-clockers, multimedia enthusiasts and power users, and it is set to compete with the Intel 875 chipset.  On the other hand, "nForce2 400 + nForce2 MCP" was targeted towards average home PC computing, and is in competition with the VIA KT600, VIA KT400A, and SiS 748.

Another unique feature about nForce processor platform is it's Unified Driver Architecture.  The UDA comes in one complete package that automatically installs the audio driver, audio utilities, network driver, GART driver, SMBus driver, memory controller driver, IDE driver, and the display driver.  The nForce UDA driver supports the Windows 9x, ME, 2K, XP, and Linux Operating Systems.

Today it seems like there is a myriad of form factors in computer chassis design. Sometimes it isn’t an easy task discerning the difference between all of them. Fortunately, form factor not also describes the general layout of a case, but also helps us in selecting the correct components.

ATX Form Factor:

Initiated by Intel in 1995.  It has been the most widely used form factor for some time

ATX can accommodate either ATX motherboards, (12”x9.6” Max Size), or any boards that are smaller in dimensions.  ie: MicroATX .

MicroATX Form Factor:

Technically this is a motherboard form factor, and not a chassis one, but manufacturers have created smaller chassis to accommodate these smaller boards. A lower output power supply form factor called SFX was created to be used with not only MicroATX, but also ATX chassis. Note that most  MicroATX chassis can also be used with an ATX power Supply

The MicroATX motherboard maximum dimensions is 9.6”x9.6”

FlexATX:

An even smaller design than that of the MicroATX form factor, the maximum FlexATX motherboard dimension is 9"x7.5". The Flex ATX uses the same mounting holes as in the MicroATX format. This might be of little interest to more serious system integrators, as such a small system design allows little room for expansion and flexibility in component choices.

Minimal expansion room limits the component selection for the FlexATX cases, but their small footprint and style keeps them popular.

WTX Form Factor:

Geared toward larger and higher performance server systems. The maximum WTX motherboard dimension is 14"x16.75". This allows for systems with multiple processor configurations and generous space for support of storage devices and other high-end components.

Motherboards as large as 14"x16.75" can fit into a WTX form factor case.

Extended-ATX Form Factor:

This is similar to the ATX form factor, but can have motherboards of up to 12"x13" in size. This is a very popular choice for entry level server systems as well as high performance workstation systems. It not only allows for E-ATX motherboards, but also for system boards that adhere to the ATX standard.

With all of the choices available these days you're sure to find a chassis that suits your needs. Please feel free to contact ASI technical support for any assistance that you may require.

The FX5900 (NV35 GPU) was built upon the power of the FX5800 (NV30 GPU), adding in some new features and revamping other areas entirely from the ground up making it the fastest graphic accelerator on the market. Other enhancements of the NV35 over the NV30 include:

• 256-bit Memory Interface - Increased amount of memory bandwidth.
• CineFX 2.0 Engine - Doubles the performance of floating-point pixel shader operations.
• UltraShadow Technology - Accelerates computations associated with shadows that originated from multiple light sources and interactions of those shadows with objects.
• High Compression Technology (HCT) - Up to 50% increase in the likelihood for successful compression of color, texture, and z data.  Improvements in antialiasing techniques and anisotropic filtering algorithms.
• Anisotropic Filtering - Significant increase in performance when Quality (tri-linear) is used.
• Runs Quieter - The FlowFX cooling system has been eliminated.

NVIDIA newest GPUs utilize the latest Detonator FX driver (Unified Driver Architecture) for increased performance. It is backward and forward compatible across all NVIDIA GPUs platform.  It is supported in the Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2K, XP, Linux, and FreeBSD Operating Systems.

The FX5900 comes in two flavors, the moderate performance base model FX5900 comes with 128MB DDR RAM and the "extreme performance" FX5900 ULTRA comes with 256MB DDR RAM.

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 (NV30)