<s>
The	O
nForce4	B-Device
is	O
a	O
motherboard	O
chipset	B-Device
released	O
by	O
Nvidia	O
in	O
October	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
chipset	B-Device
supports	O
AMD	B-Device
64-bit	I-Device
processors	O
(	O
Socket	O
939	O
,	O
Socket	O
AM2	O
and	O
Socket	O
754	O
)	O
and	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
Pentium	I-General_Concept
4	I-General_Concept
LGA	B-Device
775	I-Device
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
nForce4	B-Device
is	O
the	O
second	O
evolution	O
of	O
the	O
Media	B-Device
Communications	I-Device
Processor	I-Device
(	O
MCP	O
)	O
and	O
incorporates	O
both	O
Northbridge	B-Device
and	O
Southbridge	B-Device
on	O
a	O
single	O
die	O
(	O
the	O
first	O
was	O
nForce3	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Socket	O
754	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
board	O
has	O
the	O
HyperTransport	B-Device
link	O
clocked	O
to	O
800	O
MHz	O
(	O
6.4	O
GB/s	O
transfer	O
rate	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Motherboards	O
based	O
on	O
early	O
revisions	O
are	O
mostly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
nForce4-4x	O
"	O
(	O
relating	O
with	O
their	O
ability	O
to	O
handle	O
HT	O
speeds	O
of	O
4x	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
20	O
PCI	B-Protocol
Express	O
(	O
PCIe	O
)	O
lanes	O
(	O
up	O
to	O
38-40	O
lanes	O
for	O
the	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
x16	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
10	O
USB	B-Protocol
2.0	I-Protocol
ports	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
4	O
SATA	O
and	O
4	O
PATA	B-Protocol
drives	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
linked	O
together	O
in	O
any	O
combination	O
of	O
SATA	O
and	O
PATA	B-Protocol
to	O
form	O
a	O
RAID	B-Architecture
0	O
,	O
1	O
,	O
or	O
0+1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nvidia	O
RAID	B-Architecture
Morphing	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
conversion	O
from	O
one	O
RAID	B-Architecture
type	O
to	O
another	O
on	O
the	O
fly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nvidia	O
nTune	B-Device
,	O
a	O
tool	O
for	O
easy	O
overclocking	B-Application
and	O
timing	O
configurations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Full	O
1000MHz	O
speed	O
on	O
HyperTransport	B-Device
(	O
8	O
GB/s	O
transfer	O
rate	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nvidia	O
ActiveArmor	B-Device
,	O
an	O
onboard	O
firewall	O
solution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Does	O
not	O
support	O
Windows	B-Device
98	I-Device
or	O
Windows	B-Device
Me	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ultra	O
version	O
contains	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
nForce4-4x	O
version	O
with	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	O
processing	O
for	O
the	O
ActiveArmor	B-Device
to	O
reduce	O
CPU	O
load	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enthusiasts	O
discovered	O
early	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
nForce4	B-Device
Ultra	O
that	O
the	O
chipset	B-Device
was	O
identical	O
to	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
other	O
than	O
a	O
single	O
resistor	O
on	O
the	O
chip	O
package	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
modifying	O
this	O
resistor	O
as	O
the	O
SLI	B-Device
is	O
configured	O
,	O
an	O
Ultra	O
can	O
be	O
turned	O
into	O
an	O
SLI	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SLI	B-Device
version	O
has	O
all	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
Ultra	O
version	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
SLI	B-Device
(	O
Scalable	B-Device
Link	I-Device
Interface	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
theoretically	O
double	O
framerates	O
by	O
splitting	O
work	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
GPUs	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
a	O
standard	O
(	O
non	O
x16	O
)	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
motherboard	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
to	O
provide	O
an	O
x16	O
slot	O
for	O
one	O
graphics	O
board	O
or	O
twin	O
x8	O
slots	O
for	O
the	O
SLI	B-Device
configuration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
AMD	O
Athlon	O
64	O
sibling	O
,	O
the	O
Intel	O
Edition	O
is	O
an	O
older	O
chipset	B-Device
as	O
it	O
has	O
both	O
a	O
northbridge	B-Device
and	O
southbridge	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
the	O
older	O
nForce2	B-Device
chipsets	B-Device
,	O
Nvidia	O
calls	O
the	O
northbridge	B-Device
the	O
"	O
System	O
Platform	O
Processor	O
"	O
(	O
SPP	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
southbridge	B-Device
the	O
"	O
Media	B-Device
and	I-Device
Communications	I-Device
Processor	I-Device
"	O
(	O
MCP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
change	O
in	O
design	O
was	O
necessitated	O
because	O
,	O
unlike	O
the	O
Athlon	O
64/Opteron	O
,	O
the	O
Pentium	B-General_Concept
4	I-General_Concept
does	O
not	O
have	O
an	O
on-board	O
memory	O
controller	O
thus	O
requiring	O
Nvidia	O
to	O
include	O
one	O
in	O
the	O
chipset	B-Device
like	O
in	O
older	O
nForce2	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
supporting	O
Pentium	B-General_Concept
4	I-General_Concept
processors	O
(	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
a	O
1066MHz	O
FSB	B-Architecture
)	O
the	O
chipset	B-Device
includes	O
support	O
for	O
DDR2	O
SDRAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
like	O
Nvidia	O
's	O
older	O
chipsets	B-Device
,	O
the	O
MCP	O
and	O
SPP	O
communicate	O
through	O
a	O
Hypertransport	B-Device
link	O
,	O
in	O
this	O
case	O
only	O
at	O
(	O
1.6	O
GB/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
transfer	O
rate	O
)	O
Apart	O
from	O
these	O
differences	O
,	O
the	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
Intel	O
Edition	O
shares	O
the	O
same	O
features	O
as	O
the	O
regular	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
oddity	O
of	O
the	O
Intel	O
Edition	O
is	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
while	O
it	O
works	O
with	O
the	O
Pentium	B-Device
D	I-Device
830	O
(	O
3.0GHz	O
)	O
and	O
840	O
(	O
3.2GHz	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
Extreme	B-Device
Edition	I-Device
of	O
the	O
840	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
work	O
with	O
the	O
Pentium	B-Device
D	I-Device
820	O
(	O
2.8GHz	O
)	O
because	O
the	O
820	O
has	O
a	O
much	O
lower	O
current	O
draw	O
than	O
the	O
830	O
and	O
840	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
X16	O
supports	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
x16	O
has	O
similar	O
features	O
to	O
the	O
nForce4	B-Device
SLI	B-Device
,	O
except	O
it	O
now	O
provides	O
16	O
PCI-Express	O
lanes	O
to	O
both	O
graphics	O
cards	O
in	O
an	O
SLI	B-Device
configuration	O
(	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
only	O
8	O
lanes	O
per	O
graphics	O
card	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
SLI	B-Device
chipset	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
nForce4	B-Device
for	O
AMD	O
processors	O
that	O
has	O
a	O
separate	O
northbridge	B-Device
and	O
southbridge	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
comprises	O
the	O
existing	O
nForce4	B-Device
MCP	O
for	O
the	O
southbridge	B-Device
and	O
a	O
new	O
AMD	O
nForce4	B-Device
System	O
Platform	O
Processor	O
(	O
SPP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
two	O
chips	O
are	O
connected	O
via	O
the	O
HyperTransport	B-Device
link	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
solution	O
provides	O
38	O
PCI-Express	O
lanes	O
in	O
total	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
divided	O
over	O
7	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
for	O
Intel	O
processors	O
,	O
whereby	O
it	O
provides	O
40	O
PCI-Express	O
lanes	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
divided	O
over	O
9	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
nForce400/405/410/430	O
refer	O
to	O
nForce4	B-Device
based	O
southbridges	B-Device
which	O
are	O
used	O
together	O
with	O
GeForce	O
6100/6150	O
series	O
northbridges	B-Device
to	O
form	O
a	O
chipset	B-Device
with	O
integrated	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
combination	O
is	O
a	O
follow-up	O
to	O
the	O
popular	O
nForce2	B-Device
IGP	O
chipset	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nvidia	O
offers	O
nForce4	B-Device
chipset	B-Device
driver	O
downloads	O
for	O
NT-based	B-Device
Windows	O
versions	O
from	O
2000	O
up	O
to	O
and	O
including	O
Vista	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Legacy	O
"	O
product	O
type	O
category	O
on	O
their	O
download	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
official	O
support	O
for	O
Windows	O
7	O
or	O
newer	O
,	O
but	O
Windows	O
7	O
has	O
a	O
built-in	O
driver	O
for	O
the	O
nForce	B-Device
6	O
chipset	B-Device
,	O
which	O
is	O
very	O
similar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nvidia	O
's	O
nForce4	B-Device
chipset	B-Device
suffers	O
from	O
several	O
unresolved	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ActiveArmor	B-Device
hardware	O
firewall	O
is	O
nearly	O
non-functional	O
,	O
with	O
many	O
unsolved	O
bugs	O
and	O
potentially	O
serious	O
instability	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Installing	O
ActiveArmor	B-Device
can	O
cause	O
BSODs	O
for	O
users	O
of	O
certain	O
software	O
,	O
especially	O
peer-to-peer	O
file	O
sharing	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
programs	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
μTorrent	B-Application
,	O
go	O
so	O
far	O
as	O
to	O
have	O
warning	O
messages	O
about	O
using	O
Nvidia	O
's	O
firewall	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
their	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ActiveArmor	B-Device
also	O
has	O
a	O
high	O
probability	O
of	O
causing	O
corruption	O
of	O
file	O
downloads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nvidia	O
has	O
been	O
unable	O
to	O
solve	O
these	O
issues	O
and	O
points	O
to	O
hardware	O
bugs	O
within	O
the	O
chipset	B-Device
itself	O
,	O
problems	O
which	O
they	O
are	O
unable	O
to	O
work	O
around	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
nForce4	B-Device
chipset	B-Device
has	O
also	O
been	O
blamed	O
for	O
issues	O
with	O
PCI	B-Protocol
cards	I-Protocol
,	O
relating	O
to	O
Nvidia	O
's	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
PCI	B-Protocol
bus	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
RME	O
Audio	O
,	O
a	O
maker	O
of	O
professional	O
audio	O
equipment	O
,	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
latency	O
of	O
the	O
PCI	B-Protocol
bus	I-Protocol
is	O
unreliable	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
chipset	B-Device
's	O
PCI	B-Protocol
Express	O
interface	O
can	O
"	O
hog	O
"	O
system	O
data	O
transfer	O
resources	O
when	O
intense	O
video	O
card	O
usage	O
is	O
occurring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
the	O
effect	O
of	O
causing	O
audible	O
pops	O
and	O
clicks	O
with	O
PCI	B-Protocol
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamers	O
have	O
noticed	O
this	O
effect	O
,	O
especially	O
with	O
Creative	O
's	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
X-Fi	I-Device
and	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
Audigy	I-Device
2	I-Device
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compatibility	O
issues	O
between	O
these	O
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
and	O
nForce4	B-Device
motherboards	O
have	O
been	O
ongoing	O
,	O
including	O
reports	O
of	O
serious	O
and	O
irreversible	O
damage	O
to	O
crucial	O
motherboard	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Latency	O
issues	O
are	O
more	O
readily	O
apparent	O
with	O
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
than	O
other	O
addon	O
cards	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
direct	O
user	O
feedback	O
the	O
audio	O
problems	O
demonstrate	O
.	O
</s>
