NForce 2 samples readying

If indeed the boards do sneak over the horizon, it could mean a launch date for the controversial chipset is less than a month away, depending, of course, on how much work the engineers are forced to do to get their samples working smoothly, of course.

We originally expected the chipset in July, shortly after it was announced, but has been held up because Nvidia are having trouble getting it to work, we intelligently surmise.

The chipset will integrate GeForce 4 MX graphics with support for AGP 8x graphics cards; Firewire 1394 and USB 2.0; an ATA/133 interface; high-speed HyperTransport and an extension of the original nForce's dual memory controller technology, aka TwinBank, that will support DDR 400, as Smitty told us back here.

DDR400 support is likely to be one sticking point, as the failure of JEDEC to ratify the standard is giving other mobo makers cold feet, we learn. µ

See also:
Nforce 2 boards rejected by AMD
Nforce 2 cutting edge, or cutting corners?
Nforce 2 to beat Via's DDR 400 by 20%