NVIDIA is planning to launch its Intel-based nForce 780i chipset in December this year, however mass shipments will not occur until January next year. The nForce 780 SLI chipset will be available to two forms, the nForce 780i SLI (C72 XE) supporting Intel and nForce 780a SLI (C72 P) supporting AMD. The nForce 780i will target Intel's X38 chipsets as its major competitor. It will support PCI Express 2.0 and 3-way SLI technology with three PCI Express x16 slots. Motherboard pricing will be around US$200. With most of the features of the 780i similar to those of the X38 with the added benefit of 3-way SLI, some motherboard makers expect the chipset to have a good chance of performing well in the market. The chipset will also feature NVIDIA's ESA (Enthusiast System Architecture) to monitor the PC hardware status. In related news, NVIDIA's support for DDR3 will show up in the first quarter next year.