Chipset Layout:

With the 61xx series, NVIDIA has gone back to a two-chip solution. If you recall, NF3 and NF4 were both typical AMD boards with only a south bridge on the board. But with 61xx, however, NVIDIA has now gone back to using two bridges, which is traditionally a slower way of doing things.

Credit: NVIDIA

Of the two chipsets, the 6150 is definitely meant for the entertainment segment with support for TV Encoding, TMDS/DVI Output, HD video playback and additional PCI Express slots.

Since boards will be available starting early October, we can’t comment much on their performance, but from the looks of it, it seems a reasonable performer. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of media center devices using 6150 based boards as encoding, decoding and multiple display outputs in addition to HD support would fit snuggly with media centers.

The fascinating thing here is the way NVIDIA has positioned these products. According to NVIDIA, its products are ‘pin compatible’ which means that motherboard manufacturers can hybridize the combinations and enter the market at different price points, thereby enabling them to shake up the already fiercely competitive market.

It could be that NVIDIA is looking at going beyond the PC; therefore, they want to increase the potential of the market they cater to. Since digital home entertainment is perhaps one of the hottest markets at the moment, it possibly makes sense for NVIDIA to ferociously enter this particular segment.

At the end, we would like to reiterate that these chipsets are not a gamer’s dream come true. If you are even remotely serious about quality gaming, you can forget about this chipset and the boards based on it. However, the chipsets, 6150 in particular, are spot on for digital entertainment with support for desirable features and attractive prices.