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Nvidia Corp.’s inability to negotiate with Intel Corp. regarding Quick Path Interconnect license is starting to show its disadvantages. One of the company’s partners plans to launch a mainboard based on non-nForce core-logic and it appears that this will not be the only mainboard product without Nvidia onboard.
EVGA, one of the most loyal partners of Nvidia Corp., plans to drop exclusivity to the Santa Clara, California-based graphics chip and core-logic designer and introduce a mainboard based on Intel X58 chipset. This is a departure from EVGA’s traditions and it will hardly be the only non-Nvidia-based motherboard in the company’s arsenal, still, according to reports, some of those platforms will feature an Nvidia PCIe hub chip to enable multi-GPU SLI support, claims journalist Theo Valich in his blog.
As reported earlier this year, EVGA had hired engineering team from now-gone Epox company and is now able to develop its own motherboards in a bid to offer lower price or better functionality. EVGA is primarily known for its graphics cards and it remains to be seen whether the company will become a high-profile name on the market of mainboards, where competition is even tougher compared to the market of add-in graphics boards.
The first EVGA non-Nvidia platform based on Intel X58/ICH10R core-logic that will support Intel Core i7 chips with triple-channel memory controller will feature advanced overclocking capabilities as well as very solid design. The motherboard will feature digital pulse-width modulation (PWM) with 10 power phases, solid-state capacitors, rich overclocking capabilities and sophisticated cooling. The mainboard will have three PCI Express x16 slots to enable 2-way, 3-way and 4-way ATI CrossFireX or Nvidia SLI configurations.
In addition, the EVGA X58 motherboard is projected to feature lifetime warranty, which is unprecedented on the mainboard market, as well as EVGA’s usual 90-day step up program, under which end-users can upgrade with discounts.
According to the blog post, the EVGA’s Intel X58-based mainboard, which is due in mid-November, will be followed by the “ultimate motherboard” due by Christmas.
