Nvidia has confirmed that the nForce 2 graphics chipset is in production, timing the announcement to coincide with today"s big CPU launch, the AMD Athlon XP 2800+ with the 333 frontside bus (FSB). A data throughput improvement of "up to 25 per cent" is promised by AMD for its new CPU. nForce 2-powered mobos should be heading their way in to retail by the end of this month.
VIA today also issued a press release pointing out that it already has two chipsets, the VIA Apollo KT400 and VIA Apollo KT333, which support AMD"s 333 FSB. So it can provide an upgrade path for gamers who want to install a new 333FSB Athlon - so long as they have the right board of course.
But today"s chipset PR thunder belongs to Nvidia. After all, VIA makes so many chipsets and manages to launch most of them when when it says it will. Unlike Nvidia which is several months late with nForce 2.
nForce 2 mobos will mesh performance GeForce graphics chips with performance Athlon XPs, to produce the AMD gaming experience du jour. Nvidia is keen to see nForce2-based mobos paired up with fast DDR memory. Inhouse, the company is running compatibility tests with DDR400 memory and it has also teamed up with Advanced Validation Labs and Computer Memory Test Labs to run nForce 2compatibility tests for the "widest possible selection of DDR memories, including DDR333".