AMD - 4x4 motherboard and patent infringements
Here are a couple of AMD related stories that didn't seem to get much coverage last week.
ASUS L1N64-SLI WS Motherboard
The first is that details are starting to emerge about the ASUS L1N64-SLI WS. This will be the first 4x4-enabled motherboard to hit the stores.
Here's the spec:
- 2 x CPU sockets
- 4 x memory slots (2 per CPU)
- 2 x nForce 680a MCPs
- 12 x SATA (+ 1 eSATA)
- 4 x PCI Express x16
- 1 x PCI Express x1
- 1 x PCI
- Dual Gigabit Ethernet
- eATX form factor (so it's not going to fit into small cases)
- MSRP of $480
Hi-res images available here.
[poll id=37]That's certainly a sweet sounding motherboard. I have to admit that despite the high prices, I really like ASUS boards and have used their boards in a number of my PCs and been very pleased with them (especially when it comes to overclocking stability and ease of recovery should something go wrong). However, liking the board doesn't make me like the whole 4x4 concept.
MicroUnity Sues AMD
The second AMD-related story is news that it has been threatened by MicroUnity Systems Engineering. The lawsuit filed with the US District Court for Eastern Texas MicroUnity is claiming that AMD CPUs which support 3DNow! and provide compatibility with Intel's SSE technology infringe on some dozen patents that it holds. This follows on from MicroUnity suing Intel back in March 2004 for much the same reason. Intel settled the case for $300m in 2005. AMD will probably have to follow suit.