Nvidia has just announced that Intel Corporation and other Intel motherboard manufacturers including Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte, and MSI, have all licensed Nvidia’s multi-GPU SLI technology for upcoming motherboards based on Intel’s Core i5 and i7 platforms with an LGA1156 socket. This announcement updates Nvidia’s SLI support to include all consumer PC platforms, including Intel’s Core i7, i5, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo platforms, as well as new AMD systems based on the AMD Phenom II CPU.

Nvidia’s SLI technology allows users to connect up to four identical graphics cards onto a single SLI-supporting board to share the graphics processing load for increased performance and smoother framerates on 3D games and HD movie playback. Aside from SLI support, Nvidia GeForce GPUs also add support for the company’s latest 3D technologies, including PhysX tech and 3D Vision for deeper gaming immersion.

Zotac’s newest Nvidia ION-based package isn’t a ready-to-use computer, but they do offer builders a single platform to build a mini-HTPC around. Simply tagged as the ZOTAC ION, the new platform promises a compact, power-efficient system that’s able to handle high-definition Blue-ray playback and games and apps that support DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.1, and Nvidia’s PhysX and CUDA technologies.

The tiny mini-ITX motherboard fits a pair of DDR2 667/800 memory sticks, 3 SATA connections for hard drives or optical drives, Gigabit Ethernet and an optional Wi-fi connection, and integrated 5.1-channel audio. The Nvidia ION integrated GPU features 16 stream processors, and a 1100MHz shader clock for handling 2D and 3D graphics processing, and an HDMI connection gives it HD connectivity as well as 7.1-channel audio.

The chipset also supports Nvidia’s PureVideo HD tech that uses the GPU’s 16 stream processors for HD decoding. What do you get? Smooth HD playback on a tiny, energy-efficient system.

The Zotac ION comes in two variants, a basic kit that comes integrated with an Intel Atom N230 processor, and another that’s fitted with a dual-core Atom N330 for better performance.

Technical Details

The X58 Pro-E has the same DrMOS and APS power supply design as the Eclipse boards, which saves power while keeping your system on high performance. It’s equipped with a Split Thermal System as well, which now uses metal screws in place of push pins – a set-up that dissipates heat more and keeps the motherboard from getting fried.

This board brings dual full-bandwidth x16 graphics, and an additional x16 PCI Express slot will give you maximum bandwidth for 3-way graphics. MSI’s Easy OC switch adjusts CPU frequency and clock speeds without tinkering with the BIOS. The X58 Pro-R also comes with true Blu-ray audio decoding and 7.1 audio channel support with the ALC889 audio chip.

MSI

MSI has just unveiled a follow-up to the premium Eclipse motherboard that runs on Intel’s Core i7/ X58 Express Chipset platform. Dubbed the Eclipse Plus, this high-end board is still based on Intel’s X58 Express chipset that runs Core i7 processors and triple channel DDR3 memory (24GB max), but MSI added a few more features to push the performance further.

This board features true 3-way SLI x16 graphics through the addition of an Nvidia nForce 200 chip to give it maximized performance with a multi-GPU setup. A fourth PCI Express x16 slot gives maximum 3D graphics performance when a dedicated PhysX GPU is added to the system.

The Eclipse Plus is also built with a split thermal system for keeping temperatures down. This system entails separate heat pipes and large thermal fins, instead of the usual single pipe that runs across the entire system. The board also comes with a Drive Booster that makes it easy to set up a RAID configuration, and a packaged Creative X-Fi audio card to give it hardware audio decoding and premium audio clarity.

NVIDIA announced that Intel has licensed the company’s SLI technology for running a multi-GPU configuration on Intel’s new X58-based motherboards that run on the Core i7 processor. This gives enthusiasts and power-gamers the option to equip their X58 systems with any combination of GeForce GPUs (up to Quad SLI) for more pixel processing power.

NVIDIA’s SLI tech is now supported on Intel’s own enthusiast-class DX58SO board, which also features four DDR3 memory slots (for up to 16GB), as well as ATI’s own CrossfireX multi-GPU technology, and 8-channel audio.

MSI today announced its most affordable board based on Intel’s X58 Northbrodge chip, the X58 Pro. The new board offers a new architecture that adopts the latest Intel X58 Express chipset for Intel’s Core i7 processor, ultra-high bandwidth QPI (Quick Path Interconnect) transmission system and high-speed 3-channel DDR3 memory.

Actual pricing has yet to be announced, but the promise of an affordable X58 board is always pleasant. As it is, the X58 Pro also comes with the rest of MSI’s proprietary tech, including their Gen.2 DrMOS feature (first introduced by MSI on their earlier P45 series), which improves power efficiency up to 93%. This, along with BIOS-level Active Phase Switching (APS) technology for better energy-saving, provides for a stable stream of power for the CPU’s high bandwidth operations.

For graphics performance, the X58 Pro is equipped with three x16 PCI Express graphics slots for multi-GPU setups such as an ATI 3-way CrossFireX configuration. The X58 Pro is capable of two full-bandwidth x16 connections, with one more x16 PCI Express slot for creating the maximum bandwidth on 3-way graphics. The X58 Pro also comes with an onboard eSATA 3Gb/s interface for plug & play storage through an I/O port at the rear.