X38
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| Intel X38 Express | ||
| Specifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| X38 GMCH | ||
| Supported Processors | Core 2 Duo | |
| Supported Sockets | LGA775 | |
| Supported FSBs | 1333MHz | |
| Memory Capacity | 8GB (4x2GB) | |
| Memory Type | DDR3-1066
DDR2-800 | |
| Memory Bandwidth | 17GB/s (DDR3)
12.8GB/s (DDR2) | |
| Graphics | PCI-E X16 (2) | |
| ICH9/ICH9R/ICH9DH | ||
| USB 2.0 Ports | 12 | |
| SATA Ports | 6 (ICH9R/ICH9DH), 4 (ICH9) | |
| eSATA Ports | yes | |
| RAID Support | ICH9R and ICH9DH only | |
| PCI-E Slots | PCI-E (6) | |
| Ethernet | Gigabit (1) | |
| Audio | HD Audio | |
Contents |
Introduction
The X38 Express chipset is the high-end offering in a lineup of next generation chipsets for Intel's Core 2 processors. Replacing the existing P975x chipset, the new X38 adds support for new technology such as DDR3 memory, a faster front-side bus and PCI Express 2.0 support. Additionally, the X38 chipset also offers native support for Intel Turbo Memory (aka Robson Cache) technology that allows a block of high-speed flash memory to be attached to the system to help improve performance.
Major Features
DDR3 Support
The most significant change in this chipset is the addition of support for DDR3 memory. This newer memory provides a number of improvements, that lead to both higher performance and lower power consumption. Since the communication between the chipset and memory is electrically incompatible, DDR3 DIMMs are keyed so that the modules will be mechanically incompatible with DDR2 slots. As such, support for this new memory will mean that existing RAM will no longer be compatible with systems supporting this new form of memory.
Current indications show improvements in memory bandwidth of approximately 10-15% over DDR2-based systems, so this new form of memory does have the potential to provide significant benefits to many workflows. This will naturally be contingent on the specific modules chosen by the user, however the newer memory standard provides significantly more headroom than it's predecessors. Please see the DDR3 article for more information on these benefits.
It is, however, important to note that the X38 chipset can also support DDR2 memory if desired, however the motherboard must be designed differently to support each type of memory. As such, most motherboard manufacturers will be providing users with the option of purchasing either DDR2 or DDR3 boards using this chipset. This will allow users to elect to stick with the older DDR2 memory that they may already have, however it will mean they will not be able to use the new memory without replacing their motherboards.
1333MHz Front-Side Bus
The second major improvement provided in this generation of chipsets is support for processors using a 1333MHz front-side bus. As the FSB is the link that connects the processor to the rest of the system, the additional bandwidth provided by this higher speed link helps to prevent bottlenecks from forming. Coupled with the higher bandwidth provided by the DDR3 memory, this allows the system to chew through large blocks of data at a faster rate than before.
PCI-Express 2.0
The X38 is the first desktop chipset to support the second revision of the PCI-E standard which provides a number of improvements over it's predecessor. The most significant of these is the doubling of the bandwidth available on each lane of the PCI Express bus (from 2.5Gb/s (320MB/s) to 5Gb/s (640MB/s)). When used with PCI-E cards supporting this revision, this will allow devices like graphics cards and RAID controllers to transfer data at much higher speeds. Additionally, it will also allow device manufacturers that don't necessarily need the additional bandwidth to reduce costs by using fewer lanes (ie a PCI-E x4 card may be suitable where a PCI-E x8 was necessary).
Intel Turbo Memory
The Intel X38 chipset adds the ability to use a bank of high-performance flash memory as a cache to help improve the performance of the system. When used with an operating system that supports this technology (such as Windows Vista), Intel Turbo Memory allows the system to store commonly used data on this bank of non-volatile memory. While this technology is unlikely to provide much improvement in image processing tasks, it does have the potential to provide significant acceleration to boot times and software loading times. While not a major thing, given the rapidly falling prices of flash modules this technology should provide a relatively low-cost way to make the system more responsive to the user.
Availability
The X38 chipset is expected to become available in the third quarter of 2007.
