AMD has recently dominated the gaming segment, thanks to NVIDIA, their nForce4 SLI chipset, and the power of the A64 FX processor. During that time, the Intel camp has had little to cheer about, with Intel gamers forced to rely solely on single graphics card solutions. They could only watch as AMD users walked on by in fps performance. NVIDIA recently shook up that status quo by introducing NVIDIA SLI to the Intel market.

Abit recently introduced the NI8 SLI based on NVIDIA's C19 + MCP-04 nForce4 chipset, and with it, the innovations that come with the Abit Fatality label. The C19 based boards now being introduced to market are feature-packed, making the "everything a gamer could want" Fatality a natural for this market. Intel's dual core processors generated some excitement about Intel for gaming again, and the NVIDIA's C19 stepped up with x2 support. As we have since learned, there are some limitations in regards to dual core support inherent in the Intel nForce4 chipset at this time. At stock settings utilizing an Intel D840EE, the 2 cores and all 4 logical processors were recognized as per specification, but when dropping the multiplier to 14, the chipset only recognizes one CPU core. This issue has been reportedly corrected in the most recent top-line Dual x16 NVIDIA Intel boards. But gamers are not necessarily overclockers, and if the Abit NI8 SLI is fast at stock speeds, it will satisfy many gamers.

Abit fans expect that if anyone can make a worthy Intel gaming board, it will be Abit. Their BIOS' have been tuned, in particular, towards gaming performance. Their current Fatality line of boards is a testament towards that gaming market, which has always held high regard for the Abit brand.

In the last year, much has been written of Abit's financial woes and re-organization, but despite the new challenges, they continue to engineer and introduce new products as the technology evolves. Let's see if the NI8 can help Abit to recapture some of their past glory.

ABIT NI8 SLI: Feature set
Comments Locked

19 Comments

View All Comments

  • TheInvincibleMustard - Saturday, October 8, 2005 - link

    Thanks for clearing that up, Wesley ... here I was thinking that AT had gone off their rockers for a moment :D

    -TIM
  • jojo4u - Friday, October 7, 2005 - link

    A new Forceware was also used in the gaming tests.
  • smn198 - Friday, October 7, 2005 - link

    Agreed. This is not a motherboard test.
  • TheInvincibleMustard - Friday, October 7, 2005 - link

    QFT ... what's the point in testing a new board while conveniently slipping a new processor into it as well? That's akin to "Let's compare this Accord versus this Corolla, oh and by the way, the Accord has nitrous, aftermarket shocks, aftermarket brakes, aftermarket muffler ..."

    Thanks for an article that shows that dual-core is better than single-core in multi-threaded applications ... funny, I thought Anandtech did one of those articles a while back ...

    -TIM

    PS -- WTF is up with no Firewire on this board? Mobos http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">less than $80 shipped have IEEE1394 connectivity for cryin' out loud ...
  • TheInvincibleMustard - Friday, October 7, 2005 - link

    Err ... well ... I tried to QFT, but apparently it didn't work? Whatever, I still agree with you guys.

    -TIM
  • ksherman - Friday, October 7, 2005 - link

    Man, I REALLY like the passively cooled chipset... wish DFI did that in the nF4 boards...
  • mongoosesRawesome - Friday, October 7, 2005 - link

    eh, not so impressed myself. what ABIT did looks expensive and it doesn't get the job done adequately. DFI includes temperature controlled fans in their BIOS, which makes their fans bearable. A nice thing about Nforce 3/4 boards is that you really only have one chip to cool.

    Who exactly is Abit targeting with this board? Who games with Intel? A64s are cheap, nforce 4 boards are cheap, and they perform better. I realize that in the corporate world, there are people out there that only use Intel, but I figured gamers were different. I just can't see this board really being that popular.
  • KristopherKubicki - Friday, October 7, 2005 - link

    ASUS did it first with the "Premium" series stuff.

    Kristopher
  • emc2-1955 - Sunday, August 29, 2010 - link

    I got an Abit NI8 SLI with an extreme processor and 4 gig of ram. The problem is that to takes forever to load. I've tried it with windows xp pro and windows 7 can anyone tell me what I chould check any tips

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now