Introduction

Our experiences with nForce boards in the past have left us with mixed feelings, there were some great nForce 2 models available and the occasional nForce 4 based product impressed us, but the last major release, the 680i series was a huge disappointment. Right from the start it was plagued with problems ranging from compatibility with CPU’s and memory, to issues with soundcards and hard drives. Thankfully after a large number of bios updates the 680i is a reasonably impressive product with the features, performance, stability (and for the most part compatibility) we would expect.

So with the launch of the 790i, will Nvidia get it right? Today we will find out ...

That is not all being launched today though. Also on our test bench is the 9800GX2, the latest in the G9x range of GPU’s. This card has been lingering for a while under NDA, and those of you who read Part 3 of our Cebit article a few weeks ago will have seen it, but today is the first time we have been able to publish an analysis. So without further ado, let's get on with it.