Motherboards. Intel begins shipping budget P31 and G31 chipsets Intel g31 chipset

The Intel G31 chipset is designed for creating low-cost office computers. Motherboards built on its basis usually have the MicroATX form factor and basic expansion capabilities. The integrated Intel GMA 3100 graphics core is designed exclusively to work with office applications, as well as with simple three-dimensional programs. We also note that budget motherboards do not have overclocking functions, and the few exceptions to this rule are not popular with computer enthusiasts.

In our today's review we will take a look at two boards based on the Intel G31 chipset. One of them is manufactured by Foxconn, which has a fairly strong position in the budget sector. The second board was developed by abit, whose products have almost completely disappeared from store shelves. And, sad as it may be, but most likely abit I-G31 is last fee once famous company.

Specifications

Boxes

Foxconn Packaging Design:

We received the Foxconn product in a completely serial version, but the abit board came to our laboratory in a test version - only the board itself in the package, therefore, we will not be able to evaluate its configuration.

Equipment Foxconn G31MG-S

The package package of the Foxconn G31MG-S board cannot be called rich, but for a product costing $45 it includes all the necessary components.

Boards

Developing a budget product limits engineers to fairly strict limits, so motherboards of this type have exactly the same characteristics as competing products. This can be clearly seen from the tested motherboards: both development teams were given the task of “creating a board on the G31 chipset that costs less than $50.” The result is almost identical boards:

To cool the north bridge, massive radiators are installed on the boards:

They are necessary, among other things, because the North Bridge has a GMA 3100 graphics core built into it, which increases the overall level of heat dissipation. It should be noted that the Foxconn model has a radiator installed on the south bridge, but abit saved on this detail.

The boards have two 240-pin DIMM sockets for DDR2 memory modules, and the maximum amount of supported memory is 4 GB.

Each board has one PCI Express x16 slot, one PCI Express x1 slot and a pair of PCI slots.

Now let's talk about expansion possibilities. Both boards have four SerialATA II channels, but the ability to create RAID arrays is not provided. The fact is that the boards use one of the cheapest versions of the ICH7 south bridge.

Here we note that the “south bridge” ensures the operation of one ParallelATA channel. Next, both boards have eight USB 2.0 ports. The port configuration is the same for both boards: four ports on the rear panel and four additional ones. Now - a few words about the High Definition Audio sound subsystem. The abit board has the Realtek ALC662 (5.1) codec installed, and the Foxconn board has the ALC888 (7.1) codec. Both boards have high speed network interfaces- the abit board has a Realtek RTL8111C controller, and Foxconn has an RTL8111B controller.

The Foxconn G31MG-S motherboard is equipped with one COM and one LPT port, while the abit I-G31 board does not support these interfaces.

BIOS

The boards' BIOS is based on the Award BIOS Phoenix version.

The main memory settings of the Foxconn board are in the overclocking section ("Fox Central Control Unit"), and the abit memory settings are in the "Advanced Chipset Features" section:

An important parameter that affects performance is the memory frequency setting.

Now let's look at the system monitoring sections.

Both boards display the current processor and system temperatures (abit also determines the PWM temperature), as well as operating voltages. The boards determine fan rotation speeds (Abit - three, Foxconn - two) and have the function of adjusting the rotation speed of the processor fan depending on the CPU temperature. On the Foxconn board this technology is traditionally called Smart Fan, and on abit - FanEQ:

The boards provide the user with access to all the latest Intel technologies.

Moreover, on the Foxconn board, energy saving settings are placed in a separate section (“Green System Mode”)

The boards also allow you to adjust the amount of memory allocated to the needs of the built-in graphics core.

Overclocking and stability

Before moving on to overclocking, let's look at power converters. The PWM of the abit I-G31 board has a three-phase circuit, in which two capacitors with a capacity of 820 µF are installed, four with a capacity of 680 µF and another four with a capacity of 1000 µF. The power supply module of the Foxconn board also has a three-phase design, in which six capacitors with a capacity of 820 μF and three with a capacity of 330 μF are installed.

On the Foxconn board, all overclocking functions are concentrated in the "Fox Central Control Unit" section:

Moreover, there are relatively few functions, and they are scattered across numerous subsections.

As for the abit board, its BIOS does not have any overclocking functions at all.

However, the overclocking capabilities of the Foxconn board have little practical effect. In particular, the maximum stable FSB frequency is 350 MHz.

In recent years, the motherboard market has seen a steady upward trend in the popularity of solutions with an integrated graphics core. This circumstance is quite understandable. Personal Computer gradually moves from the category of luxury items to the category of such ordinary, but practically vital items in the household, such as a television. If ten years ago buying a PC in connection with entering university was considered simply crazy happiness, today the practice of purchasing a “digital friend” for a primary school student is almost the norm. And not for fun, but because it is necessary. Naturally, not every parent/grandparent can buy the most powerful car for their child, and not everyone needs it. For studying, mastering the basics of programming, music, films, simple toys and getting to know the world of digital technology in general, the performance of the built-in graphics core of modern chipsets is quite enough. At the same time, the absence of the need to purchase a discrete video card reduces the cost of the system unit by at least 70, or even $100, that is, by about 25-30%. According to demand, supply also increases. If earlier motherboards based on a chipset with an integrated graphics core were rare, today in some stores they make up up to half of the entire assortment. However, this circumstance is also due to global trends. As soon as the hype about ATI's purchase by the second largest processor manufacturer, AMD, had died down, it was presented with its own chipset, and only in a version with built-in video. The world's first processor giant Intel was not long in coming, presenting along with a new line of chipsets for Core processors 2 Duo with a 1333 MHz bus solution with an integrated graphics core Intel GMA 3100 – Intel G31 Express. We already looked at the features of this chipset when we got acquainted with the line as a whole, and today we have the opportunity to get acquainted with the first motherboard based on it. Meet FOXCONN G31MX-K.

FOXCONNG31 MX- K

The key feature of the board, in addition to the increased performance of the graphics core, is compatibility with the new Core 2 Duo processors based on the Penryn core with a system bus frequency of 1333 MHz. Despite the fact that the official set of frequencies supported by the Intel G31 Express chipset ends at 1066 MHz, the G31MX-K specification also includes a value of 1333 MHz. Otherwise, the characteristics of the FOXCONN G31MX-K look quite standard. Networking capabilities are due to the use of the Realtek RTL8111 gigabit controller, which directly interacts with the chipset via the PCI Express bus. The sound is based on the six-channel Realtek ALC662 codec, a simplified modification of the popular eight-channel Realtek ALC888 chip.

Since the Intel G31 Express chipset uses the old ICH7 southbridge, the maximum DDR2 memory frequency supported by the board is officially limited to 800 MHz. However, there is nothing wrong here. Today, DDR2-800 modules with a capacity of 1 GB are the most profitable purchase in terms of price/performance ratio, but the cost of a gigabyte DDR2-1066 module can exceed the cost of the board itself. One of the positive aspects of the ICH7 chip is the presence of a built-in single-channel IDE device controller, which eliminates the need for the manufacturer to use additional chips. In conditions of a strictly limited budget, this significantly affects the cost.

Packaging and equipment

The FOXCONN G31MX-K motherboard is packaged in a box corresponding to its size, the design of which is dominated by dark tones.

The equipment is standard. There is everything you need to assemble a basic level system, and nothing more. Specifically, the box with the FOXCONN G31MX-K contained the following accessories:

80-wire IDE cable;

cable for FDD;

Serial ATA cable;

adapter from Molex power plug to two SATA;

plug for I/O panel on the rear wall of the case;

CD with drivers and software for Windows XP and Vista;

manual;

quick assembly guide poster.

As you can see, there are no excesses.

Design and Layout

The FOXCONN G31MX-K motherboard is very tiny. Made in the Micro ATX form factor, the width of the board does not reach the maximum size specified by the standard, as much as 36 mm. However, the layout of the elements was practically unaffected by this.

One could complain about the block for the floppy drive that has “slipped” into the central part of the lower edge of the PCB, but we have already talked about its practical uselessness in our time more than once.

The latches of the DIMM slots will certainly be blocked by even the shortest video card, but it is quite possible that the board will never “see” this device. So this circumstance should not be considered a disadvantage. But as for the number of DIMM slots for DDR2 RAM, I would like to see four of them instead of two, since having bought two 1 GB modules today, expand the memory capacity to 2 GB by purchasing two more “slats” tomorrow, alas. will not work. You will have to get rid of the old ones and buy new, more capacious modules.

The set of slots for additional devices looks quite logical. In addition to the PCI Express x16 connector for an external video card, one PCI Express x1 and two PCI slots are soldered onto the PCB.

The layout of the remaining elements is well thought out, and no problems are expected during assembly. Everything is quite convenient and compact.

The processor's switching power converter is made according to a standard three-phase circuit. As practice shows, with high-quality implementation, this is more than enough to ensure stable nutrition modern processors both in standard modes and with moderate overclocking, even if we are talking about a quad-core Core 2 Quad. In normal modes, the power MOSFET transistors, which perform the main work of voltage conversion, do not heat up by more than 44 "C. During overclocking, their temperature at times reached 50" C. Because for of this type elements the maximum permissible operating temperature is 105"C, we can say that the MOSFETs of the board in question have a double margin.

We see that when creating the G31MX-K, FOXCONN engineers completely abandoned the use of newfangled capacitive elements based on solid polymer. However, the electrolytic capacitors soldered on the board are produced only by trusted manufacturers, so there is no doubt about their quality. Practice shows that if you take care of the ventilation of the system unit, high-quality electrolytes can serve until the very moment the PC is sent for scrap as obsolete.

The chipset cooling system is completely passive. The Northbridge is cooled by a large aluminum radiator.

What is installed on the southern one is more like a heat sink, but as a series of measurements using a MASTECH MS650 digital thermometer showed, this is more than enough.

The temperature of the south bridge radiator (at room temperature 26"C) did not exceed 36"C, and the north bridge - 39"C. So, the main sources of air heating for a PC system unit built on the FOXCONN G31MX-K will most likely be the processor and hard drive The board itself does not require any additional cooling or airflow.

The back panel of the FOXCONN G31MX-K looks quite traditional. The following ports and connectors can be found here:

two PS/2 for connecting a mouse and keyboard;

four USB 2.0;

one D-SUB (VGA);

• one network RJ-45;

  three three-pin inputs and outputs sound card(mini Jack).

Perhaps it would not hurt to add a digital output to a DVI standard monitor to this set, since today this connector has begun to appear even on budget models of LCD monitors. But regarding its absence, claims should be made not to the board manufacturer, but to the chipmaker, since this interface is not supported by the Intel G31 Express chipset.

Having finished studying the elements and their arrangement on the board, we assemble test bench and let's start studying the BIOS.

Test bench configuration,BIOSand overclocking

To immediately clarify the issue of the equipment used, let’s take a look at the configuration of the test bench:

processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, 2133 GHz (8x266), 2 MB L2;

cooler: Scythe Ninja Plus with 120 mm fan at 1500 rpm;

RAM: 2 modules of 1024 MB each, Apacer DDR2-800, 4-4-4-15 400 MHz;

hard drive: Seagate ST3160811AS, 160 GB, 3 Gb/s SATA, 8 MB Cache, 7200 rpm;

power supply: FLOSTON 560 W (LXPW560W).

The appearance and structure of the utility for configuring the basic input/output system FOXCONN G31MX-K, built on the basis of the AWARD Phoenix BIOS 6.00PG microcode, is quite standard.

All settings necessary to configure the system are presented in full. Among a number of submenus with familiar names, one stands out, called Fox Central Control Unit. We have already seen a similar submenu on a number of FOXCONN mid-range motherboards. price range, but this is the first time it has been seen on a budget board based on a chipset with integrated graphics. Here, BIOS developers have collected a number of settings used to overclock the system. For novice overclockers, there are three system acceleration modes: Step 1, 2 and 3, where all overclocking parameters are predefined by the developers. In particular, in Step 3 mode, the FSB frequency increases to 287 MHz, the voltage on the processor - by 0.1500 V, on memory modules - by 0.3 V.

At the same time, the test model Core 2 Duo E6400 will be overclocked to 2300 MHz, and RAM to 860 MHz. Considering the overclocking potential of the E6400, let's face it: the acceleration is minimal. Moreover, with such a weak overclock, increasing the processor supply voltage by 0.15 V is completely pointless. In any case, in manual mode the results can be much more impressive. Fortunately, such an opportunity is provided.

By switching to manual mode, the FSB frequency can be changed in the range from 266 to 600 MHz in 1 MHz steps.

The processor supply voltage can be either lowered or increased in the range from -0.0500 to + 0.2500 V in steps of 0.0125 V.

The voltage on DIMM slots can be increased by 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 V.

The user also has access to settings for RAM addressing delays and its frequency. The four main timings can be changed either together or individually, entrusting the selection of the rest to the system algorithm. This feature can be useful for beginning overclockers.

There are only two coefficients used to calculate the frequency of RAM. With standard FSB 1066 MHz clocking, they will comply with DDR2-667 and DDR2-800 standards.

Practical testing of the board's overclocking capabilities began at 333 MHz, which in terms of Quad Pumped Bus format is 1333 MHz, that is, it corresponds to the bus frequency of the new Core 2 Duo processors based on the Penryn core. The FOXCONN G31MX-K coped with this task easily.

However, further testing ended quite quickly - at around 340 MHz. When this threshold was exceeded, although the system did not freeze, it also “refused” to operate at the specified frequency, and it did this in a rather unique way: the board simply reset the FSB clocking to the nominal 266 MHz. Therefore, conclusions regarding the overclocking capabilities of the G31MX-K are not entirely clear-cut. On the one hand, the overclocking potential of the board is low and is not suitable for serious overclocking. On the other hand, FOXCONN G31MX-K is a product designed for low-cost home and office systems, and a real opportunity to get from one of the most available models Core 2 Duo, the older E6700, and even operating at the bus frequency of the newly minted Penryn, looks extremely tempting. So, overall, considering the price and specifics of the product, the overclocking capabilities of the board look quite decent.

To complete our introduction to the features of the FOXCONN G31MX-K BIOS Setup, let’s take a look at the PC Health Status submenu.

Here we see quite rich system monitoring capabilities that allow us to control the voltage values ​​of key power circuits, processor temperature, air temperature in the system unit and fan speed. In addition, the user has access to control of Smart Fan technology, the task of which is to automatically adjust the rotation speed of the processor fan impeller depending on the temperature values ​​​​received from sensors built into the CPU cores.

Having become acquainted with the main features and capabilities of the board in question, we move on to the test part.

Testing

In this case, the main objective of the testing is to find out how the performance of the new Intel G31 Express chipset, and especially its GMA 3100 graphics core, differs from the previous Intel G965 Express with the GMA 3000 accelerator. The G965 chipset is represented by the motherboard ASUS board P5G-V.

Memory subsystem

Obviously, the memory controller of the Intel G31 Express chipset is better optimized. As a result, the FOXCONN G31MX-K board is immediately ahead.

Complex tests

The most serious and "advanced" package for comprehensive testing system today is the updated SYSMark 2007 package from BAPCO. The main feature of SYSMark 2007 is the fact that it uses only real-life and widely used applications to test the system. The ones that run on their PCs every day and are used by millions of people around the world for work. The package consists of four scenarios, each of which includes a number of operations performed by a specific set of applications specific to a specific area of ​​​​PC use.

In the overall standings, when tested with the SYSMark 2007 package, the FOXCONN G31MX-K motherboard is noticeably faster.

The advance in speed is consistently observed when examining each scenario separately in detail.

Next comes the popular PCMark 2005 test suite. Unlike SYSMark, it only simulates the operation of real applications, but, nevertheless, at the moment it is capable of giving a completely adequate and comprehensive assessment of system performance.

Here the differences between the performance of the tested boards are more noticeable. The memory controller, graphics and disk subsystems work faster. The result is a landslide victory for the Intel G31 Express.

In the following CINEBENCH 9.5 test package, based on the professional software for creating 3D scenes - CINEMA 4D, the built-in graphics core GMA 3100 is many times superior to its predecessor.

Mathematical and scientific calculations

The ScienceMark 2.0 program emulates scientific calculations performed on a computer, such as determining the kinetic and potential energy of molecules in a metal crystal lattice at different temperatures, calculating nuclear and electron charges, and other complex mathematical calculations.

This test does not see any difference between the boards (chipsets). Only when calculating the potential energy of a silver molecule does the ASUS P5G-V lose to its rival by one second.

The only task performed by the Super Pi program is to determine the value of Pi (3.14) with high accuracy. That is, this is a mathematical problem in its purest form. In our case, the calculation was performed with an accuracy of 1 and 8 million decimal places.

The system calculates the number Pi with an accuracy of 1 million decimal places equally quickly, but the G31 coped with eight million decimal places two seconds faster.

Coding of video and audio data

The next set of applications includes the tasks of encoding DVD video with the most popular codecs - DivX and XviD, as well as converting it into something understandable to the vast majority mobile phones The 3gp format loads the processor and memory subsystem, so here, thanks to a better optimized controller, the FOXCONN G31MX-K works consistently faster.

The same applies to the task of compressing an audio stream using the Lame 3.97 codec into the popular MP3 format.

Image processing

Adobe Photoshop is the most popular and functional raster editor. To measure the performance of systems in this task, a script was used to process five-megapixel photographs in uncompressed TIF format (about 15 MB each) with more than 30 filters.

The Panorama Factory program is designed for stitching panoramic images from separately captured footage. The application is characterized by very high stitching accuracy, but, as a result, high resource consumption. Eight five-megapixel photographs were processed.

The G31 represented by the FOXCONN G31MX-K handles raster graphics significantly faster.

Data archiving

The WinRAR archiver is one of the most popular and effective data compression programs.

Here the unconditional advantage is again on the side of the G31.

Semi-synthetic gaming tests

In semi-synthetic gaming tests, the GMA 3100's integrated video is definitely faster, but the advantage is negligible. Perhaps more attention should be paid to the overall performance advantage here.

In games the situation looks a little better, but it is still not possible to seriously say that the GMA 3100 is suitable for games 2-3 years old.

Interface throughput and power consumption

The speed characteristics of USB and SATA controllers are almost identical.

The power consumption level of the systems was measured using the power indicator of the FLOSTON LXPW560W power supply.

In terms of energy efficiency, the G31 is definitely better. The amount of energy consumed by the FOXCONN G31MX-K is noticeably lower.

Audio quality

The audio path based on the Realtek ALC662 HDA codec was tested using RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.5 in 16-bit, 44 kHz mode using a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 SE sound card.

The final rating of “very good” allows us to say that the ALC662 audio codec installed on the board is inferior to the popular ALC888 only in the number of channels, but certainly not in sound quality.

conclusions

As testing has shown, there is definitely progress as a result of updating the Intel GMA 3000 graphics core to version 3100. However, in quantitative terms, it is too small to justify the need for a new chipset to appear on the market. The situation could be corrected by adding new functionality, but the Intel G31 Express cannot boast of this either. The chipset uses the old ICH7 south bridge; the north bridge does not officially support the 1333 MHz bus frequency, which means the new Core 2 Duo processors based on the Penryn core. Naturally, support for DDR3 is also out of the question here. On the other hand, the G31 is still suitable for the role of a slightly more productive replacement for the Intel G960 Express chipset, since the price tag for Penryn and DDR3 memory modules are far from the budget. Moreover, the advantage of the G31 over its predecessor lies not so much in the graphics subsystem, but in subtle optimizations of the memory controller and various buses, which significantly increased the performance of the chipset in all applications. For them, Intel has prepared two more products with integrated video - G33 and G35.

In turn, the FOXCONN G31MX-K motherboard is a good, solid implementation of the Intel G31 chipset. Having qualitatively implemented all the capabilities of the chipset, the developers went further, adding the ability to increase the system bus frequency to 1333 MHz. Of course, it’s still pointless to buy Penryn and put it on the board because of this, it’s too expensive for it, but the G31MX-K definitely has room for overclocking regular Core 2 Duo. The FOXCONN G31MX-K also has a number of other advantages listed above. Of these, first of all I would like to highlight low level heat generation. The board is really “cold”, so it is well suited for miniature, or cramped, cases. This is also facilitated by a well-thought-out design.

Photos were taken in the TECHLABS studio, photographer Dmitry Filatov

Thank you companyFOXCONN for the fee provided for testing.

The 775th socket 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 them all. It will probably be much easier to indicate which motherboard chipsets have support server processors Intel Xeon. In simple terms, you should find out which chipset is installed on your motherboard in order to understand whether Intel Xeon will want to run on it or not.

Purchase

All the necessary hardware was purchased from our “narrow-eyed friends” on the Internet site https://ru.aliexpress.com at “ridiculous” prices (). Also used THIS CASHBACK SERVICE , which allowed additional savings of 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, returns from 1 to 30% from every purchase.

Compatibility table

Below is a small but quite comprehensive table on chipset compatibility and Xeon processors LGA771.

Well, one more table. If you are confident that the motherboard is fully compatible with the chipsets listed in the left half 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 and flash it, taking into account the following:

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

Problems may arise with Intel motherboards. Problems very rarely arise with motherboards from MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS. This may be caused by Intel motherboards having their own BIOS, which is practically impossible to manually flash.

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

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 i9xx series of chipsets. Let us remember that at that time the following were added to desktop systems at once: a new type of socket and a new power connector, DDR2 memory, 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 families of processors (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’s logical to start reviewing the 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 previously the model number of a top product was specified by an increased numerical index (i915 - i925), but now a top product can be easily distinguished by the X prefix, which at Intel is responsible for any general improvements (not only for chipsets, but also for processors and video accelerators) . The following block diagram lists the key characteristics of the X38:

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

It is clearly noticeable that all the key characteristics of the chipset have been changed. Let's look at the innovations point by point.

Processor support. Here 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). Lack of support due to unchanged characteristics processor bus, but by the new standard for creating FMB motherboards (specifically, the VRM processor power module), which provides support for future processors created according to 45-nanometer process standards, instead of old ones produced on the basis of 90 (or more) nanometer technology. Of course, there is no direct connection between the chipset used and the power subsystem on the motherboard, but manufacturers, in the vast majority of cases, follow Intel design standards, so it seems extremely unlikely that we will see a significant number of Intel 3x models supporting processors from the pre-Core era 2". Not to mention boards that simultaneously support Prescott and Penryn.

As for Core 2 support, things are going very well for the X38: all current and future chipsets will officially work with this chipset. Core models 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme (including quad-core versions), all of which will support a 1333 MHz bus. Of the younger families of new processors (Celeron 400 and Pentium E2000), everyone will be able to work on the X38, although for marketing reasons, Celeron 400 support for the top chipset is not announced.

Memory support. The DDR2 controller capabilities of all new chipsets have not changed (in fact, no development in this area is expected, everything 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 arises is whether it is possible to support DDR2 and DDR3 simultaneously? 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 is stopping motherboard manufacturers from doing this on their own. Our readers who regularly view the news are undoubtedly already familiar with several models of combined motherboards, and we carried out today's testing on one of these (however, we are unlikely to see combined models on the X38). Note that simultaneous Job DDR2 and DDR3 memory is of course impossible: at startup the board will initiate work with memory of one or another type.

In the context of assembling systems, 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 confuse the DDR2 and DDR3 slots on combined boards. As you already know, DDR3 is expected to operate at frequencies up to 800 (1600) MHz, and X38 will allow you to immediately use almost the fastest option - DDR3-1333. The situation with the availability and timings of available memory at the time of launch of Intel 3x is terrible. DDR3 modules are not yet widely available 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, since over time, of course, prices will fall and characteristics will increase. In the meantime, analysts predict that DDR3 will reach 50% of market presence 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 look at what they are offering us to overpay for.

PCI Express 2.0. Here Intel strikes a pre-emptive strike, not only by finally creating a chipset with support for two full-speed PCI Express x16 interfaces, something that the top products of its competitors have been boasting about for a long time (there is no real tangible benefit to speak of from such a configuration in the vast majority of cases, but the principles are more expensive), but also by implementing the host controller of the second version of the standard. In practical terms, the use of PCI Express 2.0 will not interfere with the use of older video cards, since the same connectors are used and compatibility is maintained in both directions. When applied to a graphical interface, the innovations of PCI Express 2.0 will most likely not be very interesting, with two exceptions. First, the performance of each PCI Express lane (lane) has been doubled, so that a connection with one lane (PCIEx1) now has a throughput of 500 MB/s in each direction at the same time, and for a 16-lane PCIEx16 interface the total throughput will be 16 GB /With. We emphasize that in the foreseeable future the systems will not receive any practical benefit from this.

Secondly, the power supplied via the bus has been 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. (The question immediately arises of how these “extra” watts will get to the bus - will there be a special additional power connector on X38 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 (the bus 75 W was not enough), and now top video accelerators only look condescendingly towards power from the PCIEx16 connector, offering, 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 the top video cards that are primarily designed for pairing, and if one theoretically can still have enough power on the bus, then the second video accelerator, thoughtlessly deprived of its own power connector, simply cannot to start in such conditions. As for the possibility of combining a pair of Intel X38 video cards, everything is the same: 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 south bridge from the ICH9 family; we will consider the functionality of this family in detail below.

Intel P35 Express

Let us briefly list the main functional characteristics of the northbridge of this chipset:

There are fewer innovations here, with only DDR3 being the most significant. Support for processors is limited to the same models based on the 65nm and future 45nm process technology, but for the reasons described above (for P35 boards a simplified FMB design is assumed), Core 2 Extreme models (especially quad-core) will not work in P35 boards. The chipset also lacks support for DDR3-1333 memory (in fact, it lacks a divider for setting such a memory frequency). Instead of PCI Express 2.0, the now standard PCI Express x16 (version 1) graphical interface is used, and, like the P965 and earlier chipsets, the P35 does not allow flexible configuration of this interface to support CrossFire. 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 south bridge for this chipset is also one of the ICH9 family.

Intel G33 Express

The main integrated chipset of the new family bears the somewhat 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-end X38. So, the G33, which is a variant of the P35 with an integrated graphics core, has the following architecture:

Let us briefly list the main functional characteristics of the northbridge 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 memory controller DDR2-533/667/800 or DDR3-800/1067 with support for up to 4 DIMM modules with a total capacity of up to 8 GB (without ECC) and Fast Memory Access and Flex Memory technologies;
• PCI Express x16 graphic interface;
• integrated graphics core GMA X3100 with support for Clear Video technology;
• DMI bus (with ~2 GB/s bandwidth) to the new south bridge ICH9/R/DH.

Let us repeat, this chipset differs from the P35 only in the presence of integrated graphics.

Integrated GMA X3100 Graphics. Let's hope that video drivers for the X3100 will be ready quickly, and we will finally see everything that was promised to us since the days of 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 carry out all the tests. For now, let us remind you 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 to support playback of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs; we will look at the details after testing the boards on the G33.

Intel G31, G35, Q35 Express

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

G31 - integrated chipset entry level, it’s a stretch to call it new. In fact, its functionality is at the level of the 945G chipsets, which it is intended to replace. Even the south bridge of this chipset is the same old ICH7/R - thus, at the same time, the leapfrog with PATA support, which is not at all desirable in the corporate sector, which has been going on since the days of ICH8, has been resolved. The G31 supports Core 2 Duo (but with an FSB frequency of no higher than 1066 MHz) and memory up to DDR2-800.

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

Q35 (and its simplified version Q33) is the basis for Intel vPro business systems, an integrated chipset with disabled gaming capabilities. The most interesting will be the combination of 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. The Q35 also does not support DDR3 memory.

Intel ICH9 South Bridges

New chipsets get updated south bridges. Quite comparable to its northern brothers, 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 south bridges:

• 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, second generation of standard), with support AHCI mode and functions like NCQ (for ICH9 this mode is guaranteed to work only under Windows Vista), with the ability to individually disable it, 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, RAID 0 and RAID can be organized on two disks 1, each array will have its own part of the disk allocated);
• 12 USB devices 2.0 (on two EHCI host controllers) with the ability to individually disable;
• Gigabit Ethernet MAC controller and a special interface (LCI/GLCI) for connecting a PHY controller (i82566 for Gigabit Ethernet implementation, i82562 for Fast Ethernet implementation);
• Intel Turbo Memory support;
• High Definition Audio (7.1);
• harness for low-speed and outdated 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 the ICH9R, but the first of them offers 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) .

Minor evolutionary changes include the increased number of USB 2.0 ports to 12, the implementation of the eSATA function and port splitters (which is relevant specifically for external eSATA connectors) for chipset SATA ports, and SATA connectors are now (like USB, starting with ICH8) subject to individual customization shutdown. An alternative to creating RAID arrays for data safety could be new technology 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 recover data if the first hard drive is damaged. The southbridge still integrates a Gigabit Ethernet MAC controller, but we haven't seen it used in any i965-based boards - presumably for regular desktop systems Network Controller from Marvell, Broadcom, Realtek and others like them, connected via the PCI Express bus, turns out to be cheaper. At the same time, users corporate systems vPro will certainly appreciate the functions of the proprietary Intel controller. It would be strange to expect the return of PATA support after abandoning it in ICH8, and it really did not happen - Intel considers this issue closed despite the abundance of problems with “replacements” for chipset PATA.

The most intriguing thing about new series The south bridges appear to support Intel Turbo Memory technology (under development known as Robson Technology). Its essence is to install a module with a certain amount of NAND flash memory on the board (to begin with, 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). Benefits 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 cache memory for the hard drive - for linear read-write operations there cannot be much gain here (flash memory is slower hard drive), so the benefit of ReadyDrive will be observed during regular operations of exchanging small pieces of data, which are typical for reading and updating the page file (access time for flash memory is noticeably less than that of a hard drive). Additional benefit consists in reducing the number of accesses to the hard drive (data is merged onto the disk in batches, during idle moments, and reading is not performed at all if the necessary data is available in the Turbo Memory cache), which allows saving energy - of course, this is a real gain only for mobile devices.

ReadyBoost expands the available memory for pre-reading and caching data (from the hard drive), and although with RAM Flash drives cannot compete in terms of speed, yet reading not from the hard drive, but from flash memory with its low random access time allows you to noticeably speed up loading applications 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 a number of rewrite cycles on the order of a million (possibly several million), which, even taking into account some capacity reserve, can lead to loss of drive capacity long before the end of the PC’s service life, in which it is installed.

Heat dissipation. The heat dissipation of the new chipsets deserves special mention. Despite being manufactured on the same 90nm process and with more complex logic, the 3x series chipsets consume noticeably less than their predecessors. Thus, the TDP for the P35 is 16 W (for the P965 - 19 W), and this despite the fact that the TDP of the new chipset is calculated based on increased FSB frequencies (1333 MHz) and memory (1066 MHz DDR3), that is, in equal conditions the difference is much more than 3 W in favor of the P35. Likewise, the new chipsets have noticeably lower maximum idle heat dissipation (5.9 W for P35 and 10 W for P965), although here a small concession is allowed for newcomers: idle measurements are carried out for the case of 2 DIMMs, and not 4, as before . The G33 is, in principle, 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 as a reference: idle - 5.75 W (versus 13 W for the G965), and TDP is 14.5 W (G965 has a record 28 W).

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

As a result, the difference is so noticeable that it can be easily determined even by touch, when touching the chipset radiators. By the way, the reduced heat emission, of course, entailed a redesign of the standard cooling system, and Intel documentation provides a recommended version of the chipset cooler, with a significantly lower weight and surface area. Fortunately, those P35 boards that we saw (including models from Intel itself) retained the same type of radiators (used for the i945/965 chipsets), and top products from all manufacturers, of course, will continue to be equipped with powerful designs using heat pipes - the situation is obligatory, although now this will only become relevant in case of serious overclocking. As a result, we have a turning point in an extremely unpleasant trend, when after the hot i965 and scorching nForce 600i it seemed that we would soon have to develop new standards for chipset cooling devices.

Performance Research

Test bench:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4 GHz)
• Motherboards:
  • MSI P35 Neo Combo(BIOS version V1.0B16 dated April 20, 2007) on Intel P35 chipset
  • Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 (BIOS version D25) on Intel P965 chipset
  • EVGA nForce 680i LT SLI (BIOS version P03) on the NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI chipset
• Memory:
  • 2 modules of 1 GB Corsair XMS3-1066C7 (DDR3-1066)
  • 2 modules of 1 GB 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
  • XviD codec 1.0.2 (08/29/2004)
  • SPECviewperf 8.01
  • Doom 3 (v1.0.1282)
  • FarCry (v1.1.3.1337)

Test platform

Thanks 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 compare on one platform (P35), 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 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 nForce 680i SLI either in speed or functionality, and we had at our disposal a board based on nForce 680i LT SLI).

Comparisons between the two types of memory proved more difficult because pre-sale BIOS version MSI boards turned out to be practically unprepared 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 by the standard DDR2 circuit, so it was impossible to set the values ​​for the main timings more than 6). At the same time, the Corsair modules we had in DDR3-1066 mode did not agree to work with timings lower than 7-7-7, so the board had to be launched in the mode of setting timings using SPD. Additional problems were created by the novelty of the platform, which did not allow checking the accuracy of timings (and other memory parameters) using numerous Windows utilities. Fortunately, latest version CPU-Z already understands both the P35 chipset and DDR3, so, with discounts on everything said above, it was possible to bring some clarity.

In DDR3-1066 mode (SPD timings), according to CPU-Z, the timing scheme turned out to be as follows: 7-7-7-20. Since the board did not allow us to set the main timings above 6, we ran DDR2 memory at 1066 MHz with timings of 6-6-6-18 to get the results as close as possible. At the same time, at 800 MHz our DDR3 modules unexpectedly easily agreed to work even with timings of 4-4-4-12, which made it possible to compare this configuration with the P965 and nForce 680i LT SLI in their standard mode with DDR2-800@4-4-4-12. Since we didn’t have a P965 board at hand that would allow us to run our memory in DDR2-1066 mode, only NVIDIA products represent previous generations of chipsets in this mode (remember, in tests it is extremely close to i965).

Now, before moving on to presenting 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 using a new type of memory can only relate to modes with lower timings at high frequencies. Indeed, in terms of absolute timing values, the DDR2-800@4-4-4-12 and DDR3-1600@8-8-8-24 modes are equal, so if memory manufacturers manage to produce low-latency modules, DDR3 may be more efficient even in " normal" conditions.

Second possible advantage DDR3 is enhanced bandwidth, since this memory can work on b O higher frequencies. Unfortunately, this gain can only appear on future processors, since at a FSB frequency of 1066 MHz, the throughput of this bus is only ~8.5 GB/s, which corresponds to the throughput 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 sufficient for future processors with a 1333 MHz bus, while current processors are neither DDR3-1066 nor Moreover, DDR3-1600 is not needed.

Test results

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

Let us remind you that despite the similarity of speed indicators in real applications, the NVIDIA and i965 chipsets look very different in the synthetic RMMA test, so we will not focus on this difference.

The 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) operates at 1066 MHz, its performance is higher than in DDR2-800 mode, although the nForce 680i LT SLI performs decrease slightly. Let us leave this fact, which is poorly consistent with our theoretical reflections, for now, and turn to other relationships. 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 magnitude of the differences here, since it would be hasty to estimate percentage differences before moving on to actual tests.

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

Finally, a test of memory latency, and here the first surprise is the implementation in the P35 memory controller of a technology similar to NVIDIA's DASP - when during pseudo-random reading from memory (without going beyond one page), the latency is reduced radically, by several times. Obviously, we are dealing with the same caching buffer with prefetching. Nevertheless, even in such a successful test of pseudo-random reading from memory, the P35 is significantly inferior to its competitors (in this case, the nForce 680i LT SLI). In a 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’s curious, but here too the transition to a memory operating frequency of 1066 MHz leads to acceleration, although the ratio of absolute timing values ​​should have led to the opposite: taking into account the clock cycle, 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. Firstly, the correspondence between the bus frequencies of the Core 2 Duo E6600 and the DDR2/3-1066 memory is noteworthy: perhaps such a synchronous operating mode 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, which allows you to get a small gain from running the memory at any higher frequency.

Well, now let’s move on from considering theoretical aspects to real tests, and here, with numbers in hand, we’ll evaluate the advantages of certain configurations.

So, based on the real results, we can already draw the first conclusions. On the one hand, all the ratios we noted earlier have been preserved: the P35 is slightly (now we can say specifically - up to 7%) inferior to the P965 and nForce 680i LT SLI, DDR2-800 on the P35 is faster than DDR3-800 at equal timings (by 3%) , and DDR2/3-1066 on the P35 is faster than the same type of memory at a frequency of 800 MHz (it is impossible to give an exact estimate here, since the timings of DDR2 and DDR3 are different), and without a discount for a significantly lower O longer timings. On the other hand, it is worth noting that a 7% difference is observed in only one test, and working with DDR2-800 is obviously not the P35's strong point. Concealing the differences even further is the fact that DDR2-800@4-4-4 is memory with almost extremely low latency, while DDR3-1066@7-7-7 is the standard option, which Corsair and company are sure to use very soon they will offer an alternative with significantly lower timings.

But let’s not rush to a conclusion, let’s look at the results of other tests.

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

In the SPECviewperf package of professional 3D applications, only NVIDIA chipsets manage to shine, which is quite likely due to their optimized graphics bus controller, since different memory operating modes (and even different types memory) affect speed only nominally.

We don’t see anything new in games either; the only thing worth noting is that in one of the Doom 3 modes (for the first and last time during today’s testing), the P35 emerges as the absolute winner (and of course, with memory running at 1066 MHz). 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 less - about 2%. In FarCry, the spread of results is a little more significant, up to 4%, but all three patterns we noted today remain valid.

conclusions

It is difficult to evaluate chipsets that introduce several revolutionary innovations at once. In this case, the announcement turned out to be smoothed out, because PCI Express 2.0 will appear only in the third quarter, with the release of X38, and there are also compatibility problems due to the transition to new version no standard expected. The second new product, DDR3 memory, did not make much of an impression on us with its speed characteristics, but, fortunately, at least in the first generation of chipsets, a choice between DDR2 and DDR3 will be available, so you can safely wait for the prices to drop and the characteristics of the new type of memory to improve. Support for new processors is probably the main trump card of the Intel 3x series. True, by the time these new processors become available, it may turn out that other chipsets also support them, including products from competitors, of which at least the nForce 600i series claims support for FSB 1333 MHz, but 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 reaching a verdict.

Before moving on to performance evaluation, I would like to note that we are waiting, firstly, for confirmation of the speed level shown MSI boards. Indeed, all three boards we received 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 new firmware for the P35 Platinum, which slightly (by several percent) increased the speed this model. In addition, although we cannot say that combined solutions are inferior in speed to “dedicated” ones, general concerns of this kind remain, so it is 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 bus, the picture may change further. However, having performed a significant amount of testing, it would be foolish not to draw any conclusions based on it. Our conclusions are as follows: taking into account all the listed and implied reservations, the new series chipsets 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 for the P35 it is better Memory operating at 1066 MHz is suitable, regardless of the timings.

Speaking globally about the fate of new chipsets on the market, X38 will undoubtedly find its, albeit few, fans of top-end solutions, being one of the best chipsets on the market in terms of functionality. P35, after exiting the early start streak, should show a decent level of performance, and its high-quality functionality, low heat dissipation, support for promising processors and memory types allow us to recommend buying boards based on the new chipset today instead of solutions of a similar class from competitors and old chipsets itself O th company. Turbo Memory technology, with a clear demonstration of all the promised properties, can become another very powerful argument for Intel 3x. We promise to talk about integrated options separately later.

After the release of new processors of the Intel Core 2 family on the budget market motherboards, focused on working with these processors, confusion began. The fact is that the release of new chipsets designed for building 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 the help of solutions based on chipsets of the Intel 945 Express family. As a result, a number of inexpensive motherboards with support for Intel Core 2 Duo processors have appeared on the market, but... only budget models of these processors operating at an FSB frequency of 800 MHz (in this case, chipsets from the Intel 945 Express family are often used, which do not support the system bus with frequency 1066 MHz). Such motherboards have one more disadvantage: since these solutions are aimed at building inexpensive PCs, most of them are based on chipsets with integrated graphics (Intel 945G Express, Intel 945GC Express, Intel 945GZ Express), but their graphics core Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (Intel GMA950) does not meet the requirements to run the Windows Vista Aero interface (in Lately it is this criterion that has become one of the main ones when assessing the performance of integrated graphics solutions). But now, with the release of the new family of Intel P31/G31 Express chipsets, which replaced the sets Intel chips 945 Express, everything falls 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 - the Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 and Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L motherboards.

System Gigabyte boards The GA-G31MX-S2 and Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L, joining GIGABYTE UNITED's S-series portfolio, are designed to work with a full range of processors Intel, 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 processors Core 2 Quad and Intel Core 2 Extreme, as well as the upcoming Penryn-based processors, which will be produced 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 PCB, traditional for GIGABYTE UNITED products. It was based on a set system logic Intel G31 Express (Intel G31 Express + ICH7), the capabilities of which are complemented by the ITE IT8718F I/O controller.

To install modules system memory(it is assumed that unbuffered memory modules of the DDR2 SDRAM 533/667 or 800 standard will be used) the board has 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 the DirectX 9c API 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 do not seem sufficient to the user, then a PCI Express x16 slot is available, where you can always install a discrete graphics card that meets your 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. “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 reproduce 7.1 audio. To connect external audio devices, there are six audio connectors on the output panel of the motherboard.

In addition to the mentioned audio connectors, the output panel of the board 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 2.0 ports.

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 strips, for connecting which there are two connectors on the board (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, as well as a connector for connecting FDD.

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

For cooling microcircuits of northern and south bridges Light alloy plate radiators are used. Note also that this motherboard has two four-pin connectors for connecting the processor (CPU FAN) and system (SYS FAN) fans. The rotation speed of these fans is controlled using Gigabyte's proprietary Smart Fan technology, which is part of the Smart feature set. By the way, it’s worth talking about the set of functions implemented in this motherboard separately. Like all S-series motherboards from GIGABYTE UNITED, 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 (this is what the combination S2 in the model name means). The Smart feature set includes a number of intelligent utilities that make it easier to work with the system and automate certain actions. Among them:

• Download Center is 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 GIGABYTE UNITED official website and update the BIOS code in Windows environment;
• Q-Flash low-level utility(accessible from the CMOS Setup Utility menu), which allows you to flash the BIOS without loading any OS;
• Xpress Install is a utility that provides installation of drivers and utilities necessary for the operation of the motherboard, in automatic mode;
• Boot Menu - allows you to select the device from which to boot without changing the settings in CMOS Setup Utility;
• Smart Fan - technology intelligent control rotation speed of cooling fans.

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

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 motherboards under consideration - Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L - is already a solution more focused on creating productive home systems, in particular PCs for hobbyists computer games, although this may seem strange if we are talking about 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). The basis for it was the Intel P31 Express system logic set (Intel P31 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 667 or 800 standard will be used), in this case there are four DIMM slots - thus, 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 installation of 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 combining the HDA (High Definition Audio) controller integrated into the ICH7 and the Realtek ALC888 audio codec.

The capabilities of constructing the 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, within which electrical circuits This solution uses only high-quality solid-state capacitors, which have better characteristics and a much longer service life than electrolytic ones.

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

Like the motherboard described above, the Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L has a set of proprietary S-functions, but this time, in addition to the Smart and Safe sets, it also includes a Speed ​​set, which includes utilities that are well known to fans of GIGABYTE UNITED products overclocking like EasyTune and M.I.T. (Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker).

To summarize the above, we note that although the Gigabyte GA-G31MX-S2 and Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L motherboards are built on related chipsets, they are aimed at different categories of users. At the same time, both of these models undoubtedly have in common the fact that they combine the promise of solutions based on the new Intel 3x Express family of chipsets 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.