SLI on Intel mobos?

Sources hints NVIDIA have already got Intel QPI license, but they won’t hush to unveil any high end mobo, because it is already too late since X58 is just around the corner of 08′Q4. The company did not expect too much high end user will choose the high end Bloomfield CPU when it is still in the early stage.

Rather than high end mobo, NV will only focus on Intel Lynnfield CPU, try to debut a LGA 1160 board. That’s because LGA 1160 still keeps DMI we currently use to link to south bridge but no QPI, it will be more easier to design a LGA 1160 mobo then QPI supported LGA 1366 boards.

That doesn’t means NVIDIA will just hand over the high end market to AMD easily. It is said NV have already gave out SLI permit to Intel X58, by selling their BR-04 chips, just like what they did to the Skulltrial.

But even they give permit, it doesn’t means you can see lots of SLI enable X58 everywhere after Q4. First of all, The chip BR04 is as expansive as $30 USD, and secondly a reference X58 can not add BR-04 by not changing the PCB layout, that means if a mobo maker want to make SLI and non-SLI X58, they need two different PCB layout. All these just keep the mobo production cost rising, so we can expect second tier mobo maker may not going for SLI enabled X58.