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What may confuse people is that although the MCP may support all the fancy APU features, you might not get all of them without the necessary hardware. SoundStorm is actually the name of an addon card that will plug into the nForce2's ACR slot...
You'll be able to have access to all the hardware features of the MCP-T, as well as physical connections for Dolby Digital encoder, speakers, mic-in, headphones and more.
Industry Support
When we first looked at the nForce at the beginning of this year, we were only able to obtain the MSI K7N420-Pro. If asked, I'd be hard pressed to name other nForce manufacturers other than Abit and Asus. This proved to be a problem for nVidia getting market penetration. There will be six partners to assist the launch in a couple months, so expect boards by Abit, Asus, MSI, Chaintech, Leadtek and Epox.
OEMs and system builders will likely be major supporters, as the integrated IGP/MCP would be very appealing to those looking for a budget integrated solution.
Another player recently announced is Shuttle. I'm pretty sure most of you are aware of their Small Form Factor (SFF) barebone PCs. One complaint (well, other than a lack of AGP slot) is the substandard graphics solution. Audio was acceptable, but with the nForce2, the Shuttle SFF PC can look to be the entertainment hub or LAN rig people may have been waiting for.
Personally, I think this will probably help put the SFF PCs into the mainstream, although for true power users, let's hope that Shuttle includes the AGP slot. You can read the press release about this partnership .
Final Words
If nVidia can execute on schedule, I think the nForce2 would be worth a look upon release. Of course, I'm just speculating at this point, given there still isn't any silicon in reviewers hands, but on paper, the features alone certainly look interesting.
For those of you who need it, the IGP will certainly be the most powerful solution on the market. Even if you don't, it's good to see nVidia develop the SPP. With two choices for the MCP, board manufacturers can make "budget" nForce2 boards, or "performance" nForce2 boards.
If there is a downside to all this, it's the availability and pricing of DDR400. nVidia isn't hiding the fact that DDR400 will get you the most out of your Athlon, and if the recent history of DDR333 holds steady, expect to pay a premium for it.
nVidia is making a lot of bold claims about the performance of the nForce2. Until the boards are released, we'll reserve some enthusiasm until we see final boards. Hopefully, the nForce2 won't pull a Parheli....
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