quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
W
ith the Phenom reception going
phenomenally badly (see our feature
story on page 42), Intel is adding to AMD’s
misery by launching its fastest quad-core
desktop processor yet—and a fi ery new
chipset to go with it.
Intel’s new Core 2 Extreme QX
coughs up just 200 more megahertz than
its previous fastest proc, the 3GHz Core 2
Extreme QX9650, but it also ups the front-
side bus from the standard 1,333MHz to
1,600MHz. Until the release of QX9770,
Intel’s Xeon has been the sole supporter of
1,600MHz FSB speeds on Intel chips.
The QX9770 is the second 45nm
Penryn-family CPU from Intel, and even
though you won’t be able to buy it until
February or March, Intel has been pimping
the CPU to anyone who will listen. Whyunveil a chip months before it will be avail-
able? There are two prevailing theories:
Intel wants to really emphasize the under-
whelming performance of AMD’s Phenom
processor, or the company needs to get
as much life out of its 45nm Penryn CPUs
as possible before the next-generation
Nehalem arrives later this year.
Like Penryn, Nehalem will be based on
a 45nm technology, but it will adopt a host
of features that have long been in AMD’s
domain, such as an on-die memory control-
ler and direct chip-to-chip communication.
The QX9770 doesn’t arrive alone
though. Intel will pair the new processor
with its X48 chipset. A replacement for
the X38 chipset, the X48 will bring offi cial
1,600MHz FSB support, support for Intel’s
XMP memory profi les (think Nvidia EPPprofi les) for higher speed modules, and
higher voltage output to run overclocked
memory modules.
The X38 chipset, however, will not be
immediately mothballed. Intel will continue
to offer X38 chipsets for computers need-
ing ECC RAM support and DDR2. It’s not
clear if X48 will support only DDR3, but
Intel is reportedly leaning that way.
Enthusiasts will likely welcome the
arrival of Intel’s new 1,600MHz FSB
processor, but they’re also likely to be
confused by the timing of the X48 chip-
set. Coming just a few months after the
debut of the X38 “performance, enthusiast
chipset” and offering only minor improve-
ments, it’s enough to make you wonder
if the X38 should have existed at all.
Wouldn’t it have been better to come out
with one chip-
set?
Intel says
that in a perfect
world, yes,
but it’s just
responding to
the demands
of enthusiasts.
According to
Intel, enthu-
siasts want
1,600MHz FSB
CPUs, and they
want chipsets
that support
them.quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
Intel Turns
the Screws
1,600MHz front-side bus
support and a new chipset
are sure to put the hurt
on AMD
08 MAXIMUMPC | FEB 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
INTEL’S ENTHUSIAST CHIPSETS AT A GLANCE
CHIPSET 975X Express X38 Express X48 Express
SOCKET LGA775 LGA775 LGA
CODE-NAME Glenwood Bearlake X Bone Trail
RAM SUPPORT Dual-channel
DDR2/667-Dual-channel DDR2/667,
1066 DDR3/1333,
DDR3/1600 XMP supportDual-channel DDR3/1333,
DDR3/1800+XMP supportFSB SUPPORT 800/1,066 800/1,066/1,333 800/1,066/1,333/1,
DUAL-GPU SUPPORT x8/x8 x16/x16 x16/x
SOUTH BRIDGE ICH7R ICH9R ICH9R
PCI-E SUPPORT PCI-E 1.0 PCI-E 2.0 PCI-E 2.
RELEASE DATE Nov 2005 Nov 2007 Mar 2008Intel’s X48-based enthusiast mother-
board will add more voltage and memory-
ratio controls to its top chipset.