The fact that PCI Express standard is the future of computing industry and is moving forcefully towards its designated position in both high-end server/workstation and consumer end systems is not a secret. Therefore, it makes sense to move upcoming high-end components, such as GPUs and boards, in that direction. While NVIDIA offered its Quadro FX 4400 in PCIe form a while back, it was a surprise to see that NVIDIA didn’t have chipsets to complete its PCIe line. After somewhat of a delay, if you perceive to see it that way, NVIDIA has launched its two MCPs (Media & Communications Processors) for AMD’s Opteron microprocessors. Apparently, AMD is requesting its partners to design and develop chipsets for its Opteron microprocessors rather than AMD introducing its own, like the chipmaker has done in the past.

Whatever the reason maybe, NVIDIA’s nForce Professional 2200 and 2050 MCPs are feature-rich with a promise for upgradability, performance and scalability. Out of the two MCPs, NVIDIA’s 2200 is the high-end server MCP while 2050 is more for mainstream to mid-range hosts.

We will start off by discussing the common features packed into both NVIDIA MCPs, then we will move to their differences and finally sound off with interesting tidbits that can be accomplished by pairing both 2200 and 2050 chips on a single board.

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