In an attempt to boost its revenues in the enthusiast segment further, Nvidia Corp. is shipping its high-end Nvidia nForce 4 680i SLI core-logic for an unprecedented price of $120, which exceeds that of Intel’s most expensive desktop chipset by more than two times, according to an information reveled by French media.

Given that Intel Core 2-series processors generally demonstrate higher performance in gaming applications that competing offerings from Advanced Micro Devices, gamers and performance enthusiasts are looking forward to install the new chips by Intel Corp.

However, currently there are not a lot of chipsets that may appeal to the enthusiast community that support Intel Core 2 processors on the market: Intel 975X, P965 and Nvidia nForce 680i SLI, 650i SLI and 650i Ultra, therefore, enthusiasts do not have much choice.

Obviously, introduced less than a month ago Nvidia’s nForce 680i SLI offers much more advanced specifications and many innovative technologies, including support for processors with 1333MHz processor system bus, SLI multi-GPU, MediaShield, FirstPacket, high overclocking potential and so on. The most important one for computer enthusiasts is support for SLI, as Nvidia bans the use of its multi-GPU tech on non-nForce-based mainboards.

The Nvidia nForce 680i SLI supports Intel processors with up to four cores and up to 1333MHz processor system bus (PSB), dual-channel PC2-6400 memory controller (with possibility to use up to PC2-9600 memory at 1200MHz), 46 PCI Express lanes (PCI Express x16 – 2, PCI Express x8 – 1, PCI Express x1 - 6) with capability to support up to three physical graphics cards, 6 Serial ATA-II ports with RAID capability, 2 Parallel ATA ports with RAID capability, 10 USB 2.0 ports, two Gigabit Ethernet controllers, 5 PCI slots as well as 7.1 high definition audio.

The Intel 975X supports Intel processors with up to four cores and up to 1066MHz PSB, dual-channel PC2-5300 memory controller, 22 PCI Express lanes (PCI Express x16 – 1, can be shared between two physical graphics cards; PCI Express x1 – 6, supported by ICH7R) with capability to support up to two physical graphics cards, 4 Serial ATA-II ports with RAID capability, 1 Parallel ATA port, 8 USB 2.0 ports, optional Gigabit Ethernet controllers PCI slots as well as 7.1 high definition audio.

Nvidia nForce 680i SLI chipset apparently costs mainboards makers about $120 per two chips – the Nvidia 680i SLI media and communication processor (MCP) and the Nvidia 680i SLI system performance processor (SPP), according to a news-story by Clubic.com web-site. By contrast, Intel Corp.’s most advanced performance-minded customer-oriented Intel 975X core-logic costs mainboard makers $50 when paired with appropriate I/O controller, whereas such core-logic sets as Intel P965 are priced for even less amount of money.

Given that Nvidia has the fastest graphics card – the GeForce 8800 GTX – the company has pretty comfortable position for selling its chipsets that support two of such boards at a premium. Provided that the company manages to supply a significant quantity of such chipsets to the market, its core-logic business unit will again post singificant revenue gains.

But even though nForce 680i SLI may offer an array of features aimed at enthusiasts, not all the enthusiasts are likely to be able to acquire a mainboard based on the new chipset from Nvidia. EVGA, a close retail partner of Nvidia in the U.S., charges $299 per its nForce 680i SLI 775 mainboard (122-CK-NF68-AR), according to its web-site. Even though some online retailers already charge roughly $250 for the EVGA mainboard, motherboards powered by Intel 975X cost starting from $127, according to Pricewatch search-engine.

In fact, the Nvidia nForce 680i SLI-based mainboards by BFG Technology, Biostar, Elitegroup Computer Systems, EVGA and XFX are actually produced by a manufacturing partner of Nvidia and then resold to those companies by the Santa Clara, California-based chipset designer. Meanwhile, leading mainboard producers, such as Asustek Computer, Abit, DFI, Gigabyte Technology and MSI are working to design their own motherboards featuring the new core-logic.

Currently there are no mainboards based on less expensive Nvidia nForce 650i SLI and 650i Ultra mainboards and it is unclear how much Nvidia plans to charge manufacturers for such chipsets. Since Nvidia has not announced plans to outsource production of nForce 650i SLI and 650i Ultra-based motherboards, those are expected to be available later from Asus, Abit, Gigabyte, Jetway and MSI. Until then, enthusiasts wishing to have premium gaming platform should pay $250 - $300 for a mainboard and $599 - $649 for a graphics card.