P55 chipset
P55 chipset block diagram (courtesy of Intel)
A new architecture requires a supporting core-logic, right? We made mention that the LGA1156 chips use a) a different form-factor and b) have built-in PCIe lanes for graphics.
Note that there is no northbridge on the chipset - indeed, it's not a set of chips at all - because the new processors amalgamate the memory-controller and PCIe lanes into the CPU package. Present X58 is termed an IOH (input/output hub) and its main raison d’être is channelling a greater number of PCIe expansion lanes.
Other notable differences include a dual-channel memory architecture and DMI interface to the system. The bottom half of the block diagram shows the ICH10R southbridge, which we've seen on a number of Intel chipsets before.
Whilst Intel has been coy about the existence of LGA1156 chips, motherboard partners have paraded P55 boards for months now. We took a preview look at an MSI P55-GD65 in July, alongside the ASUS P7P55D EVO and Gigabyte's P55M-UD4 - a mATX-sized board. All three motherboards had clean, decent layouts, helped by having to locate a single chip.
SLI and CrossFireX - the two multi-GPU technologies from NVIDIA and ATI - are supported, intimating that NVIDIA probably won't be designing a large number of nForce-branded LGA1156 boards itself.
Current X58 boards, suitably for Core i7 900-series processors, etail from £130 up to £250. We expect the P55 pricing structure to start at £90 and rise to £200 for the 'kitchen sink' model.
Intel shipped us one of its own retail 'EXTREME' motherboards, the DP55KG. It will also retail the lesser-specified DP55B (mATX) and DP55WG mainboards, too. Here's a quick look at the DP55KG.
The full-ATX board ships in standard EXTREME colours. You got to love the skull on the left-hand side.
Interestingly, the board uses Dr.MOS technology - as found on MSI boards - for, Intel says, better power regulation.
The CPU socket looks - and is - much smaller than LGA1366. We like the debug LCD.
Four slots offer dual-channel running with a maximum 16GB of memory. DDR3-1,600 is supported.
As is two-card SLI and CrossFireX. The PCIe Gen2.0 lanes negotiate down to x8 when two cards are in situ.
eSATA, FireWire, 13 USB2.0, and high-quality audio makes the DP55KG a high-end board. We doubt it'll etail for less than £150.
