Asrock chipset intel g31. Motherboards. History of Intel chipsets

We already know about Intel's plans to start deliveries of budget chipsets P31 and G31 in the third quarter of this year. These chipsets are designed to replace the i945x series chipsets in the long run. The boards based on the new chipsets will support 45 nm Intel processors, but it would be wrong to attribute this feature to the merits of the chipsets themselves. The Intel P31 and G31 chipsets will initially support 1066 MHz bus processors, and will be allowed to support 1333 MHz bus in the first quarter. Manufacturers motherboards they are already implementing support for 1333 MHz bus for those chipsets that do not have this capability. The Intel P31 and G31 chipsets will be pin-compatible with the i945x series chipsets, the southbridges will remain the same - ICH7 and ICH7R, which will provide native support IDE interface, still in demand in the public sector. In a word, the new chipsets do not offer any special innovations, besides the integrated graphics of the Intel GMA 3100 class for the Intel G31 chipset. They are introduced in order to unify the range of chipsets - already in the fourth quarter of this year, every second desktop chipset supplied by Intel will belong to the x3x family.

advertising

DigiTimes reported yesterday that Intel started shipping the P31 and G31 chipsets on July 4th. The wholesale cost of each of the chipsets is $30. Note that i945x series chipsets are offered at the following prices:

i945GT -> $39;
i945G -> $37;
i945GT -> $33;
i945GC -> $25;
i945GZ -> $24;
i945PL -> $23.

advertising

Thus, the Intel G31 and P31 chipsets, costing $30, join the friendly ranks of the i945x series chipsets. Note that this will not help i945x series chipsets leave the market faster - even in the first quarter of 2008 their share will be close to 35%. In the second quarter, the chipsets of the "third series" will be replaced by new chipsets of the Eaglelake family, and the i945x series chipsets will move to the lowest rung of the hierarchy, replacing the i865x series chipsets. Please note that by the first quarter of 2008, the share of i965x series chipsets will be measured by a few percent, and x3x series chipsets will unconditionally dominate (almost 60%). By the way, in the current quarter the cost of the Intel P35 chipset will be reduced from $34 to $33, but this will hardly affect the retail price of motherboards.

After the release of new processors of the Intel Core 2 family in the market of budget motherboards, focused on working with these processors, confusion began. The fact is that the release of new chipsets designed to build low-cost computer systems based on the presented processors is scheduled for a much later date, and motherboard manufacturers tried to fill the gap with solutions based on Intel 945 Express chipsets. As a result, a number of low-cost motherboards with support for Intel processors Core 2 Duo, but... only budget models of these processors operating at 800 MHz FSB (in this case, chipsets from the Intel 945 Express family are often used, which do not support the system bus at 1066 MHz). Such motherboards also have one more disadvantage: since these solutions are focused on building low-cost PCs, most of them are based on chipsets with integrated graphics (Intel 945G Express, Intel 945GC Express, Intel 945GZ Express), but their graphics core is Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (Intel GMA950) does not meet the requirements for working with the Windows Vista Aero interface (recently this criterion has become one of the main criteria for assessing the performance of integrated graphics solutions). But now, with the release of the new Intel P31/G31 Express family of chipsets, which replaced the Intel 945 Express chipsets, everything is falling into place. GIGABYTE UNITED has expanded its line of budget motherboards with new solutions based on the Intel P31/G31 Express family of chipsets. In this article, we will talk about the capabilities of two of them - Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 and Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L motherboards.

Systemic Gigabyte boards The GA-G31MX-S2 and Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L, which have expanded the range of GIGABYTE UNITED S-series solutions, are designed to work with the entire range of Intel processors made in the LGA775 form factor and operating at a system bus frequency of 800, 1066 or 1333 MHz, including the new quad-core Intel Core 2 Quad and Intel Core 2 Extreme processors, as well as the upcoming Penryn-based processors, which will be released using a 45-nanometer process technology.

The Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 motherboard is made in the microATX form factor (dimensions - 24.4x21.5 cm) on a dark blue textolite, traditional for GIGABYTE UNITED products. It was based on the Intel G31 Express chipset (Intel G31 Express + ICH7), the capabilities of which are complemented by the ITE IT8718F I/O controller.

To install system memory modules (it is assumed that unbuffered memory modules of the DDR2 SDRAM 533/667 or 800 standard will be used), the board provides two DIMM slots. The memory subsystem can operate in both single- and dual-channel modes. The maximum amount of system memory supported by the board is 2 GB.

The Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 motherboard has an integrated graphics core Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 (Intel GMA 3100), which fully supports API DirectX 9c and OpenGL 1.4 and meets all the requirements of the new operating system. Windows systems Vista to work with the Aero interface. If the capabilities of this integrated graphics solution are not enough for the user, then the PCI Express x16 slot is at his service, where you can always install a discrete graphics card that meets his needs. By the way, in addition to this slot for installing additional cards that expand the capabilities of the motherboard, there are two more PCI slots and one PCI Express x4 slot.

For organization network connection Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 provides the user with a Realtek RTL8110SC gigabit Ethernet controller. The “sound” here is implemented by a combination of the HDA (High Definition Audio) controller integrated into the ICH7 and the Realtek ALC888 audio codec, which provides the ability to play 7.1 sound. There are six audio connectors on the motherboard output panel for connecting external audio devices.

In addition to the mentioned audio connectors, the output panel of the board has two PS / 2 connectors (for connecting a mouse and keyboard), parallel (LPT) and serial (COM) ports, a D-Sub video connector, an RJ-45 connector, and four USB port 2.0.

In total, the Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 supports eight USB ports: four more, in addition to the four available on the output panel, can be implemented using additional expansion brackets, for which the board has two connectors (two ports per connector).

To build a disk subsystem, the board has four SATA II ports, one PATA connector that supports connecting up to two devices with an ATA 100 or ATAPI interface, and an FDD connector.

The system components are powered by a three-channel VRM unit.

To cool the microcircuits of the north and south bridges, plate light-alloy radiators are used. Note also that this motherboard has two four-pin connectors for connecting the processor (CPU FAN) and system (SYS FAN) fans. These fans are speed controlled using Gigabyte's Smart Fan technology, which is part of the Smart feature set. By the way, it is worth talking about the set of functions implemented in this motherboard separately. Like all GIGABYTE UNITED S-series motherboards, the Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 motherboard has a set of proprietary innovations - a set of S-functions. In this case, this kit includes a set of Smart and Safe functions (which is what the S2 combination in the model name means). The Smart feature set includes a number of smart utilities that make it easier to use the system and automate certain actions. Among them:

Download Center - an intelligent utility that allows you to find and download the necessary drivers and utilities from the official GIGABYTE UNITED website;
@BIOS - a utility that allows you to automatically find and download BIOS firmware from the official GIGABYTE UNITED website and update the BIOS code in a Windows environment;
Q-Flash - a low-level utility (accessible from the CMOS Setup Utility menu) that allows you to flash the BIOS without loading any OC;
Xpress Install - a utility that provides automatic installation of drivers and utilities necessary for the operation of the motherboard;
Boot Menu - allows you to select the device from which the boot will be performed without changing the settings in the CMOS Setup Utility;
Smart Fan - technology intelligent control cooling fan speed.

The Safe feature set includes a number of utilities that increase the reliability of your computer system. Among them:

Virtual DualBIOS - utility Reserve copy BIOS (a backup copy of the BIOS code is created in a private disk partition with the possibility of automatic recovery in the event of a BIOS crash);
BIOS Setting Recovery - a utility that allows you to restore custom CMOS Setup settings;
C.O.M. (Corporate Online Manager) is a utility that allows the system administrator to remotely receive comprehensive information (versions of installed drivers and software of the client machine) about the configuration of user PCs on which the client part of the software is installed, as well as to monitor a number of subsystems of these computers in real time (temperatures processor, fan speed, power supply voltage);
Xpress Recovery2 is a utility (loaded before the OC is loaded and does not depend on it) that allows you to create backup systems with the possibility of subsequent recovery from the created image;
PC Health Monitor - provides monitoring of the main operating parameters of the computer system through the CMOS Setup utility or EasyTune.

If the Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 is an excellent option for building compact computer systems with an integrated graphics core, for example, HTPC (Home Theater PC) class systems or office PCs, then the second of the considered motherboards - Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L - is already a solution that is more focused on creating productive home systems, in particular PCs for computer gamers, although this may seem strange when it comes to a budget-level motherboard. Unlike the first model, the Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L motherboard is made in the ATX form factor (dimensions - 32.4x21.5 cm). It was based on the Intel P31 Express chipset (Intel P31 Express + ICH7), the capabilities of which are complemented by the ITE IT8718F I/O controller.

In this case, four DIMM slots are equipped to install system memory modules (it is assumed that unbuffered memory modules of the DDR2 SDRAM 667 or 800 standard will be used), so the maximum amount of system memory supported by the board is 4 GB.

Motherboard output panel
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L

Since this model does not have an integrated graphics core, there is only one way to build a video subsystem - using a discrete graphics card, for installing which the Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L has a PCI Express x16 slot. In addition to this interface, there are three more PCI slots and three PCI Express x1 slots to accommodate additional expansion cards.

Just like the Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2, the Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L motherboard has a Realtek RTL8110SC gigabit Ethernet controller and an audio controller, which is implemented by a combination of the HDA (High Definition Audio) controller integrated in ICH7 and the Realtek ALC888 audio codec.

The possibilities of building a disk subsystem of this motherboard are similar to those described for the Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 model.

The output panel of the Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L motherboard contains two PS / 2 connectors (for connecting a mouse and keyboard), parallel (LPT) and serial (COM) ports, a D-Sub video connector, an RJ-45 connector and four USB ports 2.0, a set of six audio connectors, as well as optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs.

The system components are powered by a four-channel VRM unit. By the way, when creating the Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L motherboard, the manufacturer used proprietary Ultra Durable technology, in which only high-quality solid-state capacitors are used in the electrical circuits of this solution, which have better characteristics and a much longer service life than electrolytic ones.

To cool the microcircuits of the north and south bridges, plate light-alloy radiators are used. To connect the cooling system fans, the motherboard has three connectors: two four-pin connectors for the processor (CPU FAN) and system fan SYS FAN2 and one three-pin connector for the system fan SYS FAN1.

Like the motherboard described above, Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L has a kit proprietary S-functions, but this time, in addition to the Smart and Safe kits, it also includes the Speed kit, which includes such well-known overclocking utilities as EasyTune and M.I.T. (Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker).

Summarizing the above, we note that although the motherboards Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 and Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L are built on related chipsets, they are oriented towards different categories of users. At the same time, both these models are undoubtedly united by the fact that they combine the promising solutions based on chipsets of the new Intel 3x Express family and the availability of motherboards based on the Intel 945 Express chipset (the price of these motherboards, according to price.ru, is about $100). .) and can be an excellent solution for building low-cost computer systems with an eye to the future.

The chipset is an important component of a computer because it contains all the important interfaces and largely determines the system's feature set.

For example, all modern chipsets contain many interfaces for expansion cards (PCI Express or PCI), a dual-channel memory controller (on the Intel platform), several USB 2.0 controllers (two ports per controller), an HD Audio controller, gigabit network controllers, and modern storage controllers Serial ATA with four to six ports. Some chipsets also include remote controllers.

Chipset Intel G31 Express

The Intel G31 chipset is an entry-level chipset and consumes minimal power. The G31 falls under the category of mainstream desktop chipsets for "mainstream computing". This means that this chipset is completely unsuitable for high-end systems and does not support any advanced features. The G31 chipset has been designed as a value for the average user. Therefore, it is aimed at processors such as Core 2, Pentium Dual Core or similar Celerons based on the Core 2 microarchitecture.

The G31 chipset is limited to 4GB of memory, while the G33 and G35 support up to 8GB. The low-end chipset only supports dual-channel DDR2-800 memory (although this is not a downside compared to DDR3) and works with an ICH7 southbridge instead of an ICH8, ICH9, or ICH10. As a result, the G31 only supports four SATA/300 ports, but provides two more UltraATA/100 channels, while newer chipsets support either one legacy ATA channel or none at all. The G31 with the ICH7 Southbridge provides eight USB 2.0 ports, HD audio, traditional PCI slots, and as little as a 100Mbps network controller. If you need a faster Ethernet connection, then look for a motherboard that comes with a PCIe network controller to provide gigabit Ethernet. And finally, although the G31 chipset has one x16 PCI Express upgrade slot, it is not compatible with PCI Express 2.0.

Motherboards with the G31 chipset usually have one analog D-SUB15 display output, and sometimes a DVI digital output. Since the GMA3100 is not suitable for HTPC (Home Theater), motherboards do not have HDMI outputs; you should also not expect two digital outputs from such boards.

The G31 chipset doesn't have a single feature that makes it special. It doesn't support DirectX 10, doesn't provide 3D performance that's good for gaming, and is limited to 4GB of memory. However, all these limitations are not so critical for a basic PC for everyday work. The G31 chipset is cheap, supports all Core 2 processors, including quad-core models, and accepts any high-end graphics card, so it's almost as suitable for gamers as the high-end chipset. It was motherboard manufacturers who turned the G31 from a "loser" for the mass market into a chipset for efficient platforms.

What is the difference between north and south bridges for INTEL and AMD

In the case of Intel, the chipset is represented by the northbridge, which is located next to the processor and is "responsible" for all high-speed devices (processor, video card, RAM), and the southbridge, which coordinates and connects low-speed interfaces (hard drive, audio, PCI slots, USB, etc.). The bridges are also interconnected using various bus implementations such as VIA's V-Link.

There is only one chipset in the AMD platform, since the memory controller is built into the processor itself, and the connection peripherals assigned to the analogue of PCI-E - proprietary Hyper Transport bus.

History of Intel chipsets

There have been many Intel chipsets released in recent years. We decided to summarize the data in a table that reflects the most important stages in the development of split graphics chipsets, starting with the first SDRAM chipsets for the Pentium 4 (2001).

Chipset	Intel 845	Intel 865/875	Intel 915/925	Intel 945/955/975	Intel 965
release date	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006
code name	Brookdale	Springdale/ Canterwood	Grantsdale/Alderwood	Lakeport/Glenwood	Broadwater
Socket	478	478	LGA775	LGA775	LGA775
Processor Support	Pentium 4, Celeron	Pentium 4, Celeron	Pentium 4, Celeron	Pentium 4, Pentium D, Celeron D	Core 2, Pentium 4, Pentium D, Celeron D
Processor generation	130 nm Northwood	130nm Northwood, 90nm Prescott	90nm Prescott	90nm Prescott, Smithfield	90nm Prescott, Smithfield, 65nm Conroe
FSB frequency	FSB400, FSB533	FSB533, FSB800	FSB533, FSB800	FSB533, FSB800, FSB1066	FSB533, FSB800, FSB1066
Memory controller	PC133 SDRAM, DDR266	Dual DDR333, DDR400	Dual DDR400, DDR2-533	Dual DDR2-667	Dual DDR2-800
GUI	AGP4X	AGP 8X	PCI Express x16	PCI Express x16	PCI Express x16
Max. Memory	2 GB	4 GB	4 GB	8 GB	8 GB
south bridge	ICp (82801BA), ICp (82801DB) - 421 pins	ICp (82801EB) - 460 pins	ICH6 (82801FB) - 652 pins	ICH7 (82801GB) - 652 pins	ICH8 (82801HB) - 652 contacts
Number of USB ports	4x USB / 6x USB 2.0	8x USB 2.0	8x USB 2.0	8x USB 2.0	8x USB 2.0
UltraATA/100	2 channels	2 channels	2 channels	1 channel
RAID Support	Not	RAID 0	RAID 0, 1 (ICH6-R)	RAID 0, 1.5 (ICH6-7)	RAID 0, 1.5 (ICH8-R)
Serial ATA	Not	2x Serial ATA/150	4x Serial ATA/150	4x Serial ATA/300	6x Serial ATA/300
Sound	AC97 2.1	AC97 2.3	HD Audio	HD Audio	HD Audio
Net	Via PCI	Via CSA or PCI interface	Via PCI Express	Via PCI Express	Embedded at 1 Gbps
Model options	845D (DDR memory), 845G/GL (with graphics), 845G, GE, PE, GV (DDR333)	865G (with graphics), 865PE (FSB800), 848P (one memory channel), 865GV (with graphics only)	915G (with graphics), 915PL (max. 2GB DDR400), 915GL (max. DDR400 with graphics), 915GV (with graphics only), 910GL (FSB533 and graphics only), 925XE (FSB1066)	945G (with graphics), 945PL (max. FSB800), 945GL (max. FSB800 with graphics), 945GZ (max. FSB800 and graphics only)	G965 (with graphics), Q965 (with graphics, controls)

The chipsets that came out after the 915 and 925 did not feature any revolutionary features, but they were still better than the previous models. The 925XE was the first chipset to support the FSB1066 bus (266 MHz physical frequency) required by the first Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processors. 945 and 955 (Lakeport and Glenwood) increased the DDR2 memory frequency to 333 MHz (DDR2-667), and ICH7 added two more PCI Express lanes (six instead of four), and the SATA controller was upgraded to Serial ATA/300. RAID support now includes a RAID 5 array, but Intel has dropped the two legacy UltraATA/100 interfaces. Dual-core Pentium D processors required the 945 or 955 chipset.

ICH8 became the current southbridge for the 965 (Broadwater) chipset line, which, together with the 975X, became the foundation for the promotion of Intel Core 2 processors. The 965 chipset lost its UltraATA controller, and the AC97 interface was removed in favor of HD Audio solutions (which today can be called the standard ). The ICH8 supports SATA 2.5 including external SATA (eSATA) ports and contains a gigabit Ethernet controller. The base model ICH8 supports four SATA ports, but the RAID version ICH8-R supports six.

Each generation of chipsets has a number of models that use the integrated graphics core, using part of the RAM for the frame buffer. The 915G and 910G chipsets use the GMA900 graphics core with four pixel pipelines running at 300 MHz, support for MPEG2 and DirectX 9 hardware decoding. The 945G chipset has an updated graphics core, the GMA950 frequency increased to 400 MHz, but it still did not receive full support for Shader Model 3 (DirectX 9.0c). But the GMA950 at least supports HD video. Finally, the 965 line has the GMA3000 graphics core, with eight programmable pipelines, which runs at 667 MHz when running video or graphics calculations.

Intel P45 chipsets

The P35 (Bear Lake) line was replaced by the P45 line, codenamed Eaglelake. The new line of chipsets consists of four different models (two of them with integrated graphics) and brings the PCI Express 2.0 standard to the mass market.

New P45 Chipset Features: Supports PCI Express 2.0 graphics, effectively doubling the throughput per PCI Express lane from 250MB/s to 500MB/s per lane (in one direction). However, to benefit from the higher bandwidth, the PCI Express 2.0 interface requires a PCIe 2.0 compatible expansion card (such as a graphics card).

The PCI Express 2.0 bus requires more power, so the P45 chipset is less power efficient than its predecessor, despite the fact that the P45 is manufactured using Intel's 65nm process.

The P45 is the first mainstream Intel chipset to support 16GB of memory, while the P35 is limited to 8GB.

Intel P45 Express chipset block diagram

All motherboards based on the P45 chipset have the following features.

Support for the entire Core 2 family of processors, including Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme in 45nm and 65nm, Pentium Dual Core, and typically Celeron.
Support for ATI CrossfireX configurations with multiple graphics cards.
PCI Express 2.0, up to two slots physically capable of supporting x16 cards, but on eight lanes each.
Additional PCI Express 1.0 slots.
Six Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports.
Gigabit Ethernet with different PHY chips.
RAID 0 and 1 (requires ICH10R southbridge to support RAID 5).
AHCI SATA 3Gb/s with Native Command Queuing (supports SATA optical drives and hot swap).
eSATA interface (if available): all SATA connectors can be brought to the back of the motherboard and used as eSATA.
High Definition Audio (HD Audio): From a motherboard based on the P45 chipset, you can expect at least a simple audio codec that will do all the audio processing with the CPU.
Boards do not support Windows 98 and Windows ME

3x line chipsets (Bearlake)

The 3x line chipsets (Bearlake) consist of four variants: G33, G35, P35 and X38. All chipsets still use the 775-pin Intel Land Grid Array (LGA775) socket.

Pay attention to the new southbridge ICH9. While the ICH6, ICH7, and ICH8 southbridges were packaged in a 652-pin BGA package, ICH9 is packaged in a 676-pin Ball Grid Array package, with the southbridge containing 4.6 million transistors and manufactured using a 130nm process technology. Although there are more transistors than in the ICH8, the TDP is still 4W. The ICH9 provides six full-featured Serial ATA/300 ports with NCQ (Native Command Queuing), and also supports eSATA and port multipliers that allow up to four SATA devices to be connected to a single SATA port. As we found, the performance of USB 2.0 and ICH9 southbridge RAID is superior to ICH8 and ICH7.

Thus, if a motherboard based on the 965 chipset supports VRM 11, it will technically be possible to install 45nm processors on it. The VRM 11 programs the power lines using 8-bit Voltage IDs (VIDs), which gives a step of 0.00625 V. The minimum operating voltage is no longer 0.8375 V (as in the VRM 10 specification), it has decreased to 0.5 V The VRM 11 also allows the load to be shared across more phases, and the lines support what's called dual edge modulation, which allows the regulators to drive multiple pulses to the transistors using smaller capacitors. The goal is not only to reduce voltage steps and lower operating voltage for 45nm processors, but also to provide enough power at different voltage levels that can change frequently. All this is done together with a more stringent specification of the voltage rise level.

Socket 775 is far from new. Over the entire period of its existence, a huge number of motherboards have been released, it is simply impossible to list all of them,. It will probably be much easier to specify which motherboard chipsets support Intel Xeon server processors. In plain language, you should find out what kind of chipset is installed on your motherboard in order to understand whether Intel Xeon wants to work on it or not.

Purchase

All the necessary hardware was purchased from our "narrow-eyed friends" on the Internet site. https://www.aliexpress.com at "ridiculous" prices (). Also, used THIS CASHBACK SERVICE , which further saves up to 15%.

If you plan to buy in domestic stores, then pay attention to CASHBACK SERVICE LETISHOPS . It is not so profitable for Aliexpress, but there are many stores there, it returns from 1 to 30% with every purchase.

Compatibility table

Below is a small but rather capacious table on the compatibility of chipsets and Xeon LGA771 processors.

Intel Xeon which is compatible with the chipset
motherboard chipset	Xeon 5xxx	Xeon 3xxx	Intel 45nm	Intel 65nm
P45, P43, P35, P31, P965 G45, G43, G41, G35, G33, G31 nForce 790i, 780i, 740i, 630i GeForce 9400, 9300	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Q45, Q43, Q35, Q33 X48, X38	Not	Yes	Yes	Yes
nForce 680i and 650i	Yes	Yes	Possibly (need to be checked)	Yes

Vidia 680i
nVidia 650i	Compatible with all 771 Xeon's
nVidia 780i	Compatible with all 771 Xeon's
nVidia 790i	Compatible with all 771 Xeon's
P35	Compatible with all 771 Xeon's
P45	Compatible with all 771 Xeon's
G31	Compatible with all 771 Xeon's
G41	Compatible with all 771 Xeon's
X38
X48	Compatible with X33 series Xeons only

Well, one more table. If you are sure that the motherboard is fully compatible with the chipsets listed on the left side of the table, you can safely select the processors listed on the right side.

During the installation process, you need to pay attention to the fact that in the vast majority of cases you have to update the BIOS, flash it, taking into account the following:

the 5xxx series are all Intel Xeons whose model numbers end in 5xxx. They can be combined with motherboards that support one or two physical central chips.

Problems can arise with Intel motherboards. Very rarely there are troubles with motherboards from MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS. This may be due to the fact that Intel motherboards have their own BIOS, which is practically not amenable to manual flashing.

Nforce 680i and 650i chipsets from Nvidia, according to the official version, do not work with 45nm process processors. It all depends on luck. Some motherboards with these chipsets were compatible and functioned normally with 45nm Xeon for 4 cores, and some did not. To find out how it will be for you, see the list of boards that have successfully passed the test.

Zeon's power and system bus frequency must be supported by your computer's motherboard.

So, Intel has paused for almost three years since the release of the revolutionary series of i9xx chipsets. Recall that then desktop systems were added at once: a new type of socket and a new power connector, DDR2 memory, a PCI Express bus (including an option for connecting video accelerators) and High Definition Audio. Then, over the course of two generations of chipsets (i945/955/975 and i965), only increases in FSB and memory frequencies followed, as well as support for new processor families (first dual-core, and then Core 2).

Now we are meeting a new generation of chipsets, which, along with a radical change in numbering, offers an update of such important architectural characteristics of the system as the general purpose bus and memory type.

Intel X38 Express

It is logical to start considering a new family of chipsets with its top representative, which, however, has not yet been released to the market and will appear only in the third quarter, like the entire second wave of new chipsets. Note that earlier the model number of a top product was specified by an increased numerical index (i915 - i925), but now a top product is easy to distinguish by the X prefix, which in Intel is responsible for any general improvements (not only for chipsets, but also for processors, video accelerators) . This block diagram lists the key features of the X38:

support for "new" processors of the Celeron and Pentium families, as well as all processors of the Core 2 family (Duo/Quad/Extreme) with a system bus frequency of 800/1066 MHz, including future models with a system bus frequency of 1333 MHz;
dual channel DDR2-533/667/800 or DDR3-800/1066/1333 memory controller supporting up to 4 DIMMs up to 8 GB in total (with ECC) and Fast technologies Memory Access and Flex Memory;
2 graphics interfaces PCI Express 2.0 x16;
DMI bus (~2 GB/s throughput) to the new ICH9/R/DH/DO southbridge.

It is clearly visible that all the key characteristics of the chipset have been changed. Let's break down the innovations point by point.

Processor Support. It should be noted right away that officially all 3x series chipsets do not support processors of the Celeron D, Pentium 4 and Pentium D families (as well as their Extreme Edition versions). The lack of support is due not to the changed characteristics of the processor bus, but to the new FMB motherboard standard (specifically, the VRM processor power module), which provides support for future processors created according to the 45-nanometer process technology, instead of old ones based on 90 (and more) - nanometer technology. Of course, there is no direct connection between the applied chipset and the power subsystem on the motherboard, but manufacturers, in the vast majority of cases, follow Intel development standards, so it seems extremely unlikely that we will see a significant number of models based on Intel 3x supporting processors of the "pre-Core" era. 2". Not to mention boards with simultaneous support for Prescott and Penryn.

As for Core 2 support, the X38 is doing just fine: all current and future Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme models (including quad-core versions) will officially work with this chipset, and for all of them there will be supported bus 1333 MHz. Of the younger families of new processors (Celeron 400 and Pentium E2000), everyone will be able to work on the X38, although Celeron 400 support for the top chipset has not been announced for marketing reasons.

Memory support. The capabilities of the DDR2 controller have not changed for all new chipsets (actually, no development is expected in this area, everything available in the specification has already been implemented), but boards based on Intel 3x will be able to work with DDR3 memory. The features and theoretical performance of the new type of memory have already been discussed in a separate article on our website, but here we will limit ourselves to considering practical aspects. The first question that usually comes up is is it possible to support DDR2 and DDR3 at the same time? Here the situation is no different from the transition from DDR to DDR2: Intel does not officially test such combinations and does not check them for compatibility, but no one bothers motherboard manufacturers to do this on their own. Our readers, who regularly watch the news, are undoubtedly already familiar with several models of combined motherboards, and today's testing was carried out on one of them (however, we are unlikely to see combined models on the X38). Note that the simultaneous Job DDR2 and DDR3 memory, of course, is impossible: at startup, the board will initiate work with memory of one or another type.

In the context of system assembly, DDR3 is good for everyone: less heat dissipation (the supply voltage is lowered, so even DDR3-1066 will emit less than DDR2-800), a different location of the key in the connector will not allow you to mix up the DDR2 and DDR3 slots on combo boards. As you already know, DDR3 is supposed to operate at frequencies up to 800(1600) MHz, and X38 will immediately allow you to use almost the fastest version - DDR3-1333. Here, with the availability and timings of available memory, the situation at the time of the launch of Intel 3x is terrible. DDR3 modules are not yet widely represented on the market, and in such conditions even "elite" manufacturers (like Corsair) allow themselves to sell modules with frankly mediocre characteristics at an insane price. We recommend that all our reasonable readers wait, because over time, of course, prices will fall and performance will grow. In the meantime, analysts predict that DDR3 will reach 50% of its presence on the market only in 2009, and by the end of 2007 this type of memory will hardly gain even 10%. And of course, in the practical part of the article, we will see what we are offered to overpay for.

PCI Express 2.0. Here Intel delivers a preemptive blow, not only by finally creating a chipset with support for two full-speed PCI Express x16 interfaces, which top-end products of competitors have long been boasting about (in the vast majority of cases it is not necessary to talk about a really tangible gain from such a configuration, but the principles are more expensive), but also by implementing the host controller of the second version of the standard. In a practical aspect, the use of PCI Express 2.0 does not interfere with the use of old video cards, since the connectors are the same, and compatibility is observed in both directions. As far as the graphical interface is concerned, the innovations of PCI Express 2.0 are not likely to be very interesting, except for two. First, the performance of each lane (lane) of PCI Express has been doubled, so that a connection with a single channel (PCIEx1) now has a bandwidth of 500 MB / s each way at the same time, and for a 16-lane PCIEx16 interface, the total bandwidth will be 16 GB /from. We emphasize that in the foreseeable future the systems will not receive any practical benefit from this.

Secondly, the power supplied via the bus was increased by the same 2 times: the PCIEx16 slot of the first version of the standard provided up to 75 W, but now the video card can receive 150 W. (Immediately the question arises how these "extra" watts will get to the bus - will there be a special additional power connector on X38-based boards?) However, immediately after the launch of the i915/925 video cards for PCI Express began to appear, but with their own power connector on board (bus 75 W was not enough), and now top video accelerators only look condescendingly towards the power supply from the PCIEx16 connector, suggesting at best to abandon one of the two on-board power connectors. However, here, of course, the “merit” of SLI / CrossFire is great: it is top-end video cards that are primarily designed for pairing, and if theoretically one can still have enough bus power, then the second video accelerator, thoughtlessly deprived of its own power connector, simply cannot start under such conditions. As for the ability to combine a pair of video cards based on Intel X38 into a bundle, everything is still the same here: CrossFire is officially supported, SLI is not officially supported and will not be in the foreseeable future.

Also paired with the X38 will be a new southbridge from the ICH9 family, the functionality of this family will be discussed in detail below.

Intel P35 Express

Let's briefly list the main functional characteristics of the north bridge of this chipset:

Here, the number of innovations is already smaller, of the most significant only DDR3. Processor support is limited to the same models based on the 65nm and future 45nm process technology, but due to the reasons described above (a simplified FMB design is expected for P35 boards), Core 2 Extreme models (especially quad-core ones) will not work in P35 boards. Also, the chipset lacks support for DDR3-1333 memory (in fact, it lacks a divider to set such a memory frequency). Instead of PCI Express 2.0, the currently standard PCI Express x16 (first version) graphics interface is used, and, like the P965 and earlier chipsets, the P35 does not allow flexible configuration of this interface for CrossFire support. However, as before, this fact does not stop motherboard manufacturers - they create solutions for CrossFire based on the P35, connecting the second slot to the south bridge (where PCIEx1 peripheral interfaces go to it). The southbridge for this chipset is also one of the ICH9 family.

Intel G33 Express

The main integrated chipset of the new family bears the slightly illogical name G33, while in terms of functionality it is on par with the P35. The reason is that in the third quarter, Intel will release another integrated chipset (now G35), with an improved graphics core, and it was necessary that the newcomer not be equal in number to the top X38. So, the G33, which is a variant of the P35 with an integrated graphics core, has the following architecture:

Let's briefly list the main functional characteristics of the north bridge of this chipset:

support for "new" processors of the Celeron and Pentium families, as well as Core 2 Duo/Quad processors with a system bus frequency of 800/1066 MHz, including future models with a system bus frequency of 1333 MHz;
dual-channel DDR2-533/667/800 or DDR3-800/1067 memory controller supporting up to 4 DIMMs up to 8 GB in total (non-ECC) with Fast Memory Access and Flex Memory technologies;
graphic interface PCI Express x16;
integrated graphics core GMA X3100 with support for Clear Video technology;
DMI bus (~2 GB/s throughput) to the new ICH9/R/DH southbridge.

Again, this chipset differs from the P35 only in the presence of integrated graphics.

Integrated graphics GMA X3100. Let's hope that video drivers for the X3100 will be ready soon, and we will finally see everything that we have been promised since the X3000 (G965). In fact, the new video core has not undergone major changes compared to the GMA 950 (i945G), so it is significantly inferior in architecture to the X3000; we will analyze the differences when / if we can fully conduct all the tests. In the meantime, we recall that Clear Video technology is designed to hardware accelerate and improve the quality (deinterlacing + color correction) of video playback (including HD), as well as provide digital video interfaces (including HDMI) for image output. Of course, full support for the Aero interface in Windows Vista is promised. The GMA X3100 also claims support for HD DVD and Blu-ray disc playback, we'll look at the details after testing the boards on the G33.

Intel G31, G35, Q35 Express

Let's say a few words about other chipsets of the new line. All of them will be released to the market in the third quarter of 2007.

G31 is an entry-level integrated chipset, it can hardly be called new. In fact, its functionality is at the level of 945G chipsets, which it is intended to replace. Even the southbridge of this chipset is the same old ICH7/R - thus, at the same time, the mess with PATA support, which is completely undesirable in the corporate sector, which has been going on since ICH8, is solved. The G31 supports Core 2 Duo (but with FSB up to 1066 MHz) and memory up to DDR2-800.

The G35 is an interesting integrated chipset with a redesigned graphics engine that Intel promises will be the first [integrated] solution to support DirectX 10. Of course, we'll talk more about the G35 (and its GMA X3500) in due course. In all other respects, the G35 promises to be very similar to the G965 (note that this also applies to integrated video), and architecturally it will have in common with Intel 3x chipsets only support for 45nm Wolfdale and Yorkfield and the new Core 2 Duo with a FSB frequency of 1333 MHz (memory DDR3 is also not supported). The old ICH8/R/DH will be used as the southbridge for the G35.

Q35 (and its simplified version Q33) - the basis for Intel vPro business systems, an integrated chipset with disabled gaming capabilities. The most interesting combination will be the Q35 with the ICH9DO (Digital Office) southbridge, which will provide support for technologies such as AMT (Active Management Technology) 3.0, Trusted Execution Technology and Virtualization Technology. Q35 also does not support the use of DDR3 memory.

Southbridges Intel ICH9

New chipsets - updated southbridges. Quite a match for its northern counterparts, ICH9 has a number of evolutionary improvements compared to ICH8, and also supports (only ICH9R) one technology that can be considered revolutionary. Let us briefly list the main functional characteristics of the new family of southbridges:

up to 6 PCIEx1 ports;
up to 4 PCI slots;
4/6 (4 for ICH9, 6 for ICH9R) Serial ATA II ports for 4/6 SATA300 devices (SATA-II, the second generation of the standard), with support for AHCI mode and functions like NCQ (for ICH9, this mode is guaranteed to work only under Windows Vista), individually disconnectable, with support for eSATA and port splitters;
the ability to organize a RAID array (only for ICH9R) levels 0, 1, 0 + 1 (10) and 5 with the Matrix RAID function (one set of disks can be used in several RAID modes at once - for example, two disks can organize RAID 0 and RAID 1, each array will have its own part of the disk);
12 USB 2.0 devices (on two EHCI host controllers) with the ability to individually disable;
MAC controller gigabit ethernet and a special interface (LCI/GLCI) for connecting a PHY controller (i82566 for Gigabit Ethernet implementation, i82562 for Fast Ethernet implementation);
support for Intel Turbo Memory;
High Definition Audio (7.1);
binding for low-speed and obsolete peripherals, etc.

ICH9R traditionally differs from ICH9 in the presence of support for RAID arrays, as well as two extra SATA ports. Special versions of the southbridge ICH9DO (Digital Office) and ICH9DH (Digital Home) are based on ICH9R, but the first of them offers the additional functions of Active Management Technology 3.0, Trusted Execution Technology and Virtualization Technology, and the second - Viiv Technology (the positioning of both of these variations is obvious) .

Of the minor evolutionary changes, we can note the number of USB 2.0 ports increased to 12, the implementation of the eSATA function and port splitters (which is relevant for external eSATA connectors) for SATA chipset ports, and SATA connectors now (like USB, starting with ICH8) are subject to individual shutdown. An alternative to creating RAID arrays for data safety can be the new Intel Rapid Recover Technology, which allows you to create a disk image on another hard drive, quickly update it without touching unchanged files, and quickly restore data if the first hard drive is damaged. The Gigabit Ethernet MAC controller is still integrated into the south bridge, but we have not seen its use in any i965-based board - apparently, for ordinary desktop systems, a network controller from Marvell, Broadcom, Realtek and others connected via PCI bus Express is cheaper. At the same time, users of corporate vPro systems will certainly appreciate the features of the proprietary Intel controller. It would be strange to expect the return of PATA support after it was abandoned in ICH8, and it really did not happen - Intel considers this issue closed despite the abundance of problems with chipset PATA "substitutes".

The most intriguing thing in the new series of southbridges is the support Intel technologies Turbo Memory (under development known as Robson Technology). Its essence is to install a module with a certain amount of NAND flash memory on the board (for a start, it is planned to produce variants with 512 MB and 1 GB). Basically, apparently, the module will be installed in the PCIEx1 slot, although, in principle, other connection options are possible (for example, to contacts for an external USB port). The benefit from Turbo Memory will be received by Windows users Vista, and unlike, say, USB key fobs with flash memory, the module integrated on the board can be used by the new Microsoft OS for both ReadyDrive and ReadyBoost.

Briefly, in the first case, we get the opportunity to use a flash drive as a cache memory for a hard drive - for linear read-write operations there cannot be a big gain here (flash memory is slower hard drive), so that ReadyDrive will benefit from regular small data exchange operations that are typical for swap file read-updates (flash memory has noticeably less access time than a hard drive). An additional advantage is the reduction in the number of accesses to the hard disk (data is merged to the disk in batches, during idle times, and reading is not performed at all if the necessary data is in the Turbo Memory cache), which saves energy - of course, this is a real gain only for mobile devices. devices.

ReadyBoost, on the other hand, expands the available memory for pre-reading and caching data (from the hard disk), and although with RAM flash drives cannot compete in speed, yet reading not from a hard drive, but from flash memory with its low random access time can significantly speed up application loading and opening files (numbers are called up to 2 times). The disadvantage of Turbo Memory is the potential fragility of flash drives, the best of which are characterized by the number of rewrite cycles of the order of a million (possibly several million), which, even with some reserve capacity, can lead to loss of storage capacity long before the end of the life of the PC, in which it is installed.

Heat dissipation. The heat dissipation of the new chipsets deserves special mention. Despite being manufactured using the same 90nm process technology and more complex logic, the 3x series chipsets consume noticeably less power than their predecessors. So, TDP for P35 is 16 W (for P965 - 19 W), and this despite the fact that the new chipset TDP is calculated based on the increased frequencies of FSB (1333 MHz) and memory (1066 MHz DDR3), that is, in equal conditions, the difference is much more than 3 watts in favor of the P35. Similarly, the new chipsets have noticeably lower maximum idle heat dissipation (5.9 W for the P35 and 10 W for the P965), although here a slight indulgence is allowed for beginners: idle measurements are taken for the case of 2 DIMMs, and not 4, as before . The G33 is basically characterized by the same consumption values, but since this chipset can be used without an external video card, we will give its heat dissipation for this case for reference: idle - 5.75 W (against 13 W for the G965), and TDP is 14.5 W (G965 has a record 28 W).

compare the reference heatsink for new chipsets and the one used by MSI

As a result, the difference is so noticeable that it is easily determined even by touch, when touching the chipset heatsinks. By the way, lower heat dissipation, of course, led to the reworking of the standard cooling system, and the Intel documentation contains a recommended version of the chipset cooler, with a significantly lower weight and surface area. Fortunately, the motherboards based on the P35 that we saw (including models from Intel itself) retained the heatsinks of the previous type (used for the i945/965 chipsets), while the top products of all manufacturers will, of course, continue to be equipped with powerful designs using heat pipes - the provision obliges, although now it will become relevant only in case of serious overclocking. As a result, we have a turning point in an extremely unpleasant trend when, after the hot i965 and scalding nForce 600i, it seemed that we would soon have to develop new standards for chipset cooling devices.

Performance Study

Test stand:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4 GHz)
Motherboards:
- MSI P35 Neo Combo (BIOS V1.0B16 dated 04/20/2007) based on Intel P35 chipset
- Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 (BIOS version D25) based on Intel P965 chipset
- EVGA nForce 680i LT SLI (BIOS P03) on NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI chipset
Memory:
- 2 x 1GB Corsair XMS3-1066C7 (DDR3-1066) modules
- 2 x 1 GB modules Corsair CM2X1024-9136C5D (DDR2-1142)
Video card: ATI Radeon X1900 XTX 512 MB
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 (SATA), 7200 rpm

Software:

OS and drivers:
- Windows XP Professional SP2
- DirectX 9.0c
- Intel Chipset Drivers 8.2.0.1014
- NVIDIA Chipset Drivers 9.53
- ATI Catalyst 6.8
Test applications:
- RightMark Memory Analyzer 3.72
- 7-Zip 4.10b
- WinRAR 3.41
- codec XviD 1.0.2 (29.08.2004)
- SPECviewperf 8.01
- Doom 3 (v1.0.1282)
- FarCry (v1.1.3.1337)

Test platform

Due to the fact that we received several MSI motherboards based on the P35 chipset for testing, including one with simultaneous support for DDR2 and DDR3, as well as a set of DDR3 memory modules from Corsair, today's testing will help answer two questions at once. Firstly, we will find out how the speed of DDR2 and DDR3 on the same platform (P35) correlates, and secondly, we will compare both versions of this platform with other chipsets on the market today. As the latter, it is logical to take the P965 (which is just being replaced by the P35) and the top chipset of the latest NVIDIA series - nForce 680i LT SLI (we have already found out that there is no difference between the nForce 680i LT SLI and functionality, and we had a board based on nForce 680i LT SLI).

Comparing the two types of memory proved to be more difficult, since the pre-sale BIOS versions of MSI boards turned out to be practically not ready for DDR3: the BIOS of the P35 Neo Combo model did not provide the ability to set the normal (for DDR3) supply voltage (1.5 V) and timings (they were limited to the standard DDR2 scheme, so it was impossible to set values greater than 6 for the main timings). At the same time, the Corsair modules we had in the DDR3-1066 mode did not agree to work with timings below 7-7-7, so the board had to be launched in the SPD timings setting mode. Additional problems were created by the novelty of the platform, which did not allow checking the correctness of setting timings (and other parameters of memory operation) by numerous utilities under Windows. Fortunately, latest version CPU-Z already understands both the P35 chipset and DDR3, so, with allowances for everything said above, we managed to bring some clarity.

In DDR3-1066 mode (SPD timings), according to CPU-Z, the timings scheme was as follows: 7-7-7-20. Since the board did not allow setting the main timings above 6, we ran DDR2 memory at a frequency of 1066 MHz with timings 6-6-6-18 for the maximum possible approximation of the results. At the same time, at a frequency of 800 MHz, our DDR3 modules unexpectedly easily agreed to work even at 4-4-4-12 timings, which made it possible to compare this configuration with the P965 and nForce 680i LT SLI in their standard mode with [email protected] Since we didn't have a P965 board at hand that would allow us to run our memory in the DDR2-1066 mode, the previous generations of chipsets in this mode are represented only by the NVIDIA product (recall that it is exceptionally close to the i965 in tests).

Now, before proceeding to the presentation of the test results, let's consider the issue theoretically. Under equal conditions (at the same frequency with the same timings), DDR3 cannot be noticeably faster than DDR2, and the main hopes for acceleration from the use of a new type of memory can only apply to modes with lower timings at high frequencies. Indeed, according to the absolute values of the timings, the modes [email protected] And [email protected] are equal, so if memory manufacturers manage to produce low-latency modules, DDR3 may be more efficient even in “normal” conditions.

The second possible advantage of DDR3 is the increased bandwidth, since this memory can run at about higher frequencies. Unfortunately, this gain can only manifest itself on future processors, since at a FSB frequency of 1066 MHz, the bandwidth of this bus is only ~8.5 GB/s, which corresponds to the bandwidth of a dual-channel DDR2-533! As practice shows, in such cases, usually increasing the memory frequency “by one step” can still bring a small gain, but in reality even DDR2-800 will be enough with a margin even for future processors with a 1333 MHz bus, while current processors neither DDR3-1066 nor , especially since DDR3-1600 is not needed.

Test results

Traditionally, let's start with a low-level study of the potential of memory using a test developed by our programmers.

Recall that despite the closeness of performance in real applications, the NVIDIA chipset and i965 look very different in the synthetic RMMA test, so we won't focus on this difference.

P35, which is noticeably inferior to both competitors in terms of data read speed, demonstrates a very interesting effect: when memory (both DDR2 and DDR3) is running at 1066 MHz, its performance is higher than in DDR2-800 mode, although nForce 680i LT SLI decrease slightly. Let us leave this fact, which is weakly consistent with our theoretical reflections, for the time being, and turn to other relations. Actually, it remains for us to note that DDR3 looks noticeably worse than DDR2 even with equal timings. We deliberately do not indicate the exact size of the differences here, since it would be hasty to estimate the percentage differences before moving on to real tests.

When testing the write speed, we are not interested in the limit values achieved using the direct data storage method, since they will be the same on a processor of the same architecture. In terms of actually achievable memory write speed, the picture roughly corresponds to that when reading: the new chipset is noticeably slower than its competitors, DDR3 is slower than DDR2 (especially at 800 MHz), and the transition to a memory frequency of 1066 MHz still speeds up the P35 with both types of memory, but slows down the NVIDIA chipset.

Finally, the memory latency test, and here the first surprise is the implementation in the P35 memory controller of a technology similar to NVIDIA's DASP - when pseudo-random reading from memory (without going beyond one page) latency decreases radically, by several times. Obviously, we are dealing with the same prefetch caching buffer. Nevertheless, even in such a successful test of pseudo-random reading from memory, the P35 is significantly inferior to its competitors (in this case, nForce 680i LT SLI). In the comparison of DDR2 and DDR3 on the P35, the old type of memory again wins, this difference is especially noticeable in the DDR2 / 3-1066 mode, where DDR3 has higher timings.

It is curious, but here the transition to the memory frequency of 1066 MHz leads to acceleration, although the ratio of the absolute values of the timings should have led to the opposite: taking into account the clock time, CL4 for DDR2 / 3-800 corresponds to 10 ns, and CL6 for DDR2-1066 - 11.25 ns (not to mention CL7 for DDR3-1066 - 13.13 ns). Why is that? Two possible explanations come to mind. First, the matching of the bus frequency of the Core 2 Duo E6600 and the DDR2/3-1066 memory attracts attention: perhaps such a synchronous mode of operation provides some advantage. However, the absence of such an effect in the NVIDIA chipset suggests that some internal optimizations of the memory controller also have an effect, just like in the i965, allowing you to get a small gain from running the memory at any higher frequency.

Well, now let's move on from consideration of theoretical aspects to real tests, and here, with numbers in hand, we will evaluate the advantage of certain configurations.

So, according to the real results, it is already possible to draw the first conclusions. On the one hand, all the ratios we noticed earlier have been preserved: P35 is slightly (now we can say specifically - up to 7%) inferior to P965 and nForce 680i LT SLI, DDR2-800 is faster on P35 than DDR3-800 at equal timings (by 3%) , and DDR2/3-1066 on the P35 is faster than the same type of memory at 800 MHz (it is impossible to give an exact estimate here, since the timings of DDR2 and DDR3 are different), about higher timings. On the other hand, it's worth noting that a 7% difference is observed only in one test, and working with DDR2-800 is obviously not the P35's forte. Further obscuring the difference is the fact that [email protected] is a memory with almost extremely low latency, while [email protected]- a standard option, which Corsair and the company will most likely offer an alternative with significantly reduced timings very soon.

But let's not jump to conclusions, let's look at the results of other tests.

There are no surprises from testing for video encoding speed (measured according to our open method), here, as usual, all competitors look the same, since processor performance is the limiting factor.

In the SPECviewperf package of professional 3D applications, only NVIDIA chipsets succeed, which is probably due to their optimized graphics bus controller, since different memory modes (and even different types of memory) only nominally affect the performance.

We don't see anything new in games either, only the fact that in one of the Doom 3 modes (for the first and last time during today's testing) the P35 is the absolute winner (and, of course, with a memory running at 1066 MHz) deserves to be stated. However, the difference between the chipsets in Doom 3 is generally small, no more than 3%, and the losses due to the use of DDR3 instead of DDR2 on the P35 are even smaller - about 2%. In FarCry, the spread of results is slightly more significant, up to 4%, but all three patterns we have noted today remain in force.

conclusions

It is difficult to evaluate chipsets that bring several revolutionary innovations at once. In this case, the announcement turned out to be smooth, because PCI Express 2.0 will appear only in the third quarter, with the release of X38, and compatibility problems due to the transition to new version standard is not expected. The second novelty, DDR3 memory, did not make much impression on us with its speed characteristics, but, fortunately, at least in the first generation of chipsets there will be a choice between DDR2 and DDR3, so we can safely wait for price reductions and improved performance of a new type of memory. Support for new processors is probably the main advantage of the Intel 3x series. True, by the time these new processors become available, it may turn out that they are also supported by other chipsets, including products of competitors, of which at least for the nForce 600i series support for FSB 1333 MHz is announced, and no one can yet declare actual support for 45-nanometer models. The new southbridge is moderately progressive, adding a little here and there, and its main intriguing feature, Intel Turbo Memory, needs hands-on testing before a verdict is reached.

Before proceeding to the performance evaluation, I would like to note that we are waiting, firstly, for confirmation of the speed level shown MSI boards. Indeed, all three motherboards that came to us demonstrated absolutely the same level of performance when working with DDR2 (two of them support only this type of memory), however, just before the end of the tests, we received a new firmware for P35 Platinum, which slightly (by several percent) increased the speed this model. In addition, although we can't say that the combined solutions are inferior in speed to the "dedicated" ones, general concerns of this kind remain, so it's too early to put an end to the issue of DDR3 performance. If we take into account the release of [inexpensive, that is, mass-produced] processors with a 1333 MHz FSB, the picture may change further. However, having performed a significant amount of tests, it would be foolish not to draw any conclusions based on it. Our conclusions are as follows: taking into account all the above and implied reservations, the chipsets of the new series still look a little slower than the old ones (both i965 and NVIDIA nForce 600i), DDR3 memory under equal conditions can lead to a loss of 2-3% of performance, and P35 is better suitable memory operating at a frequency of 1066 MHz, regardless of the timings.

Speaking globally about the fate of new chipsets on the market, the X38 will undoubtedly find its fans, albeit not numerous, of top solutions, being one of the best chipsets on the market in terms of functionality. P35, after leaving the early start strip, should show a decent level of performance, and its solid functionality, low heat dissipation, support for promising processors and memory types make it possible to recommend buying motherboards based on a new chipset instead of solutions of a similar class from competitors and old chipsets today about th company. Turbo Memory technology, with a clear demonstration of all the promised properties, can become another very weighty argument for Intel 3x. We promise to talk about integrated options later separately.