The MCP

The MCP

Paired alongside the SPP is NVIDIA’s nForce4 SLI Intel Edition Media Communications Processor, otherwise known as the MCP. The MCP handles the traditional I/O and storage duties of a conventional South Bridge with aplomb, sporting such features as support for Serial ATA II (3Gb/sec), GigE with a built-in hardware-based Firewall, 7.1 audio, and more. Ironically enough, the pathway between the MCP and the SPP is none other than AMD’s own HyperTransport link.

Storage

As we just mentioned, the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition features robust storage support. The MCP utilizes dual controllers providing support for up to four Serial ATA hard drives (or four conventional IDE drives) and also supports native command queuing for improved disk performance.

All the cool features found in the storage subsystem of NVIDIA’s AMD platform are migrated over for the Intel chipset, including MediaShield Disk Alert, which can not only warn you when a drive fails, but also tells you exactly which Serial ATA connector the failed drive resides on. You’ve also got cross-controller RAID support, which allows you to build a RAID array consisting of both Serial ATA and parallel ATA hard drives, and RAID morphing, a feature which allows you to setup and build a new RAID array without having to format your hard drive and reinstall all your old applications.

Speaking of RAID, the chipset supports RAID Levels 0, 1, 0+1, and bootable RAID 5, as well as JBOD.

Networking and audio

Like Intel’s chipsets, NVIDIA’s MCP features Gigabit Ethernet support. A dedicated 2Gbps bi-directional link is used, maximizing the full potential of the controller. NVIDIA’s familiar hardware-based firewall (ActiveArmor) is also present, protecting your PC from spyware and hackers.

On the audio side of the equation, the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition supports 7.1 channel audio via AC’97 CODEC, it’s important to note that this isn’t Soundstorm, nor is it Intel’s High Definition “Azalia” audio. According to NVIDIA, motherboard manufacturers didn’t want Azalia audio support integrated into the chipset in order to keep costs down. They also argued that most enthusiasts who will be purchasing an nForce4 SLI Intel Edition motherboard will likely already have a high-end dedicated sound card. Considering that Audigy2 cards can be easily found for well under $100, this argument is definitely true, but likely to come as a disappointment to those of you who are still hoping for Soundstorm to make a return someday.

Besides the storage and networking duties, other I/O features supported by the MCP include up to 10 USB 2.0 ports, and 5 PCI slots. The chip is built on a 0.15-micron manufacturing process and contains 21 million transistors.