Meaning of nForce2 letters

[juppy]

Okay people, I'm confused (like that's something new!)
I was checking out some new motherboards and when I noticed the ones with the nForce2 chipset there were several different letters behind the name. Things like SPP, IGP, MCP, MCP2, 400, and Ultra 400. What do these mean and are any of them a better/worse feature to look for?

Also, after seeing the stickied thread by avx at the top of this forum about the various problems the nForce2 chipsets are having, I got to wondering....is the nForce2 still considered one of the better chipsets, or is something like the Via KT400 better?

[Alfie]

The specfic letters,I don't know,I do know the 400 is for single memory controller with a fsb of 200(400) and the ultra is with a fsb of 200(400) with dual memory controllers.
The Nvidia chipset is good,numerous boards had problems with the bios,bios getting corrupted,motherboard not booting,bios needing replacing,etc.
Some of these problems still exist,but for the most part have been worked out.
The other option is the Via 600 chipset.
The Via chipset is very good,as it has built in support for sata,as opposed to onboard support.
Side by side you would notice no signifigant difference between the 2.
The Nvidia chipset will overclock a little better than the Via,as the pci and agp fsbs are locked on the Nvidia boards.
The Via 600 boards are selling at very reasonable prices and offer a lot of bells and whistles,so it comes down to what features you're looking for and what your budget allows.

[kissfan]

SPP = No onboard graphics and everything controlled on 1 bridge.

IGP = Onboard graphics processor

MCP and MCP2 = The sound processor built onto the board, obv MCP2 is a later revision, better than the AC '97 and capable of 5.1 output, but not dolby.

400 and Ultra400 = as in Alfie's post above.

I am sure thats right, but someone will correct any errors, I have made.


HTH

[Surge1243]

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nppa.html

This explains the IGP, SPP, and MCP.

[juppy]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I think I'm a little clearer on it now.
Hey Surge, nice link. With that link, I used the search feature and found a press release that told what the 400 and Ultra 400 are too. Basically, from what I understood anyway, it just means the board supports the new 400 MHz front side bus processors like the Athlon 3200+. Thanks again guys! :)