Nvidia's nForce 680i SLI chipset for Intel processors has leaked out online, with a piccy of the part surfacing on a variety of websites. The chipset is expected to target the chip giant's upcoming quad-core processors, the 'Kentsfield' Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Quad.

Little is known about the board's feature-set, but the picture - as seen on Japanese-language site PCWatch, for example - suggests it's capable of taking three PCI-Express x16 cards.

That implies it's Nvidia's physics processing-oriented board: two of the PCIe slots are for SLI-connected graphics cards for visual rendering, while the third takes another graphics card that's dedicated to handling physical interactions between on-screen objects.

The reference board's pic shows a Firewire 400 port, six USB ports, a pair of Ethernet connecors - presumably Gigabit-ready - two PS/2 ports, two PCI connectors and two PCIe x1 slots. The chipset's the bit in the middle under the heatpipe connected heatsink. There are four DIMM slots.

The PCWatch suggests the 680i may be launched later today. ®