The Intel ICH9R South Bridge is an excellent solution for home servers. Intel Southbridge ICH9R is an excellent solution for home servers HUAWEI introduces Sport Bluetooth Headphones Lite wireless headphones

All three chipsets provide a comparable feature set, and you won't notice much of a difference in performance unless you do some in-depth benchmarking. RAID support for the three chipsets is the same, each of them issues a visual alert if one of the hard drives fails. All three chipsets lack professional features such as email alerts, as they require a local mail server installation.

nVidia nForce 6 is without a doubt the most attractive chipset for Intel-based computers in terms of functionality. It provides a rich set of features including six SATA ports, 10 USB 2.0 ports, two Gigabit Ethernet ports with many tasty features. And all this with a very user-friendly interface. But that doesn't mean the nForce 6 is the best choice for everyone.

Although the Intel ICH7-R southbridge has been on the market for more than a year and a half, it provides very decent performance. It is inferior to the newer ICH8 and nForce 6 MCP in terms of I/O performance, but this is still not a reason to change the system to ICH7. Intel chipsets with ICH7 and ICH8 support Matrix Storage technology, which allows you to install multiple RAID arrays on a single set of hard drives.

The ICH8 was a real surprise, although the technical specifications are not very different from the ICH7: there are 10 USB 2.0 ports instead of eight, and six Serial ATA ports instead of four. But the performance of this southbridge has increased. Transfer performance slightly exceeds the ICH7 in almost all tests, with the Southbridge winning most I/O tests and our USB 2.0 throughput test. The ICH8 is the only bridge in our testing that provides excellent transfer speeds even when connected to two high-speed USB 2.0 devices simultaneously. And taking into account the fact that motherboards based on P965 and ICH8 are cheaper than products based on nForce 680i SLI, choosing one or another chipset becomes more difficult.

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 the standard), with support for AHCI mode and functions like NCQ (for ICH9 this mode is guaranteed to work only under Windows Vista), with the ability to individually disable, 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 2.0 devices (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 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 southbridge still integrates a Gigabit Ethernet MAC controller, 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 like them, connected via PCI Express bus turns out to be cheaper.

At the same time, users of corporate vPro systems 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 the new series of south bridges is the support for 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 the contacts for an external USB port).
Windows Vista users will benefit from Turbo Memory, 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 a hard drive - for linear read-write operations there cannot be much gain here (flash memory is slower than a hard drive), so the benefits of ReadyDrive will be observed with regular operations of exchanging small pieces of data, which are typical for reading and updating the paging file (the access time of flash memory is noticeably less than that of a hard drive).

An additional advantage is the reduction in 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 saves energy - of course, this is a real benefit only for mobile devices devices.

ReadyBoost expands the available amount of memory for preliminary reading and caching of data (from the hard drive), and although flash drives cannot compete with RAM in speed, they still read not from the hard drive, but from flash memory with its low random access time allows you to significantly 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 using the same 90nm process technology and more complex logic, the 3x series chipsets consume noticeably less power than their predecessors: P35 - 14.5 W (P965 - 19 W), G33 - 16 W (G965 - 28 W) .
Moreover, the difference is so noticeable that it can be easily determined even by touch, although the chipset heatsinks for those P35 boards that we saw are no longer larger.

This is a very pleasant trend, because after the hot i965 and scorching nForce 600i, it seemed that we would soon have to develop new standards for chipset cooling devices.

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AOC presents the G2 line of gaming monitors: IPS matrix, refresh rate up to 144 Hz, response time 1 ms

AOC, one of the world's leading brands in the monitor market, introduces the new G2 line. The series consists of four models with Full HD resolution (1920x1080 pixels): 27-inch (68.6 cm) 27G2U and 27G2U5, as well as 23.8-inch (60.4 cm) 24G2U and 24G2U5. All models feature an aggressive, modern design with red accents on the front and back, and feature a 130mm height-adjustable stand for better ergonomics.

The future is beyond limits: the NEX 3 series of smartphones offers users the ultimate 5G experience

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Transcend Information Inc., a global leader in multimedia and storage products, is hosting a photo contest with the theme “Summer Dream”, which will consist of two stages: “Landscape Photography” and “Creative Photography”. Post your photos on Transcend's Facebook and VK pages for a chance to win valuable prizes from Transcend.

Profitable printing formula: pull a ticket with cashback

Until the end of September, buying printers with CISS of the PIXMA G series is doubly pleasant. Firstly, these are reliable and easy-to-maintain devices that provide high productivity and low printing costs. And secondly, you will receive cashback and a chance to win a certificate for a family trip!

Huami presented two new products and one concept product at IFA 2019

Technology company Huami held a successful presentation at the IFA exhibition in Berlin. Following its international debut at MWC earlier this year, at IFA the company announced the launch of two new products - the Amazfit GTS watch and the Amazfit Stratos 3. Another recently launched product, the Amazfit GTR watch, received the IFA Product Technical Innovation Award 2019. Finally, Huami also introduced a new technology that will be used in future Amazfit smartwatches - a curved HD screen. Huami announced the release of new products at a press conference, the slogan of which was “Intelligent Movement.” The press conference was attended by representatives of almost 70 media from around the world.

HUAWEI introduces Sport Bluetooth Headphones Lite

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The first ever high-end audio-video exhibition Hi-Fi & High End Show URAL starts this week!

This week the first ever high-end audio-video exhibition Hi-Fi & High End Show URAL starts. What you need to know and cannot miss: Aalt Jouk van den Hul himself, the founder of the Van Den Hul brand, is coming, Mikhail Borzenkov, Oleg Lyugin, MMS-Cinema, Pult.ru will give lectures. Prizes will be drawn: Yamaha WXA-50 network compact preamplifier, Yamaha YAS-108 Black soundbar, KEF M500 headphones, Ruark R1MK3 compact radio. For the first time in Russia they will show the Olympica NOVA and Minima Amator II acoustics from the Italian company Sonus Faber, the Jamo C 97 II from the updated Concert series, the Cambridge AX line, the Thorens TD 148A vinyl player and the Q Aciustics Concept 300 acoustics.

Donor Day LG Electronics AND TH "KIRGU"

Taking the baton of goodness from the city of Makhachkala, the social project #LGKirguMarathon of Goodness arrived in Khasavyurt, becoming the 101st donor day for the LG company and the second joint with the Kirgu Trade House. A large-scale event with the support of the FMBA of Russia, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Dagestan and the Republican Blood Transfusion Station was held at the modern Sports Palace named after. Hamida Hamidova. The event was attended not only by local residents and representatives of both companies, but also by honored guests, including the Minister of Industry and Energy of the Republic of Dagestan Umakhanov Saygidpasha Darbishevich, as well as the head of the city of Khasavyurt Okmazov Zainudin Dadabegovich, chief physician of the State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Dagestan "Khasavyurt Central City Hospital named after R.P. . Askerkhanov" Khiriev Titalav Khairullaevich, Hero-Afghan Bulakhanov Umaroshab Abdulaevich, People's Hero of Dagestan Omarov Zaibodin Laduevich.

Over the past six months, Intel's newly launched LGA775 processor platform with support for the latest technologies like DDR-II and PCI Express has been receiving completely polar reviews from consumers. Dissatisfaction is mainly caused by the fact that, in total, state-of-the-art components do not have high enough performance to warrant significant bonuses, given the hefty costs of purchasing new hardware that is almost incompatible with the previous generation. Reasons for dissatisfaction include the high latency of current DDR-II memory, the slight difference between graphics performance under PCI-E x16 and AGP 8x, core and system bus clock speeds comparable to the previous generation of Pentium 4 processors, and much more.

In turn, opponents emphasize the real novelty of the platform, the great potential for its development, especially against the backdrop of the exhausted capabilities of the same DDR-I or AGP. Yes, they agree, at the current stage the possibilities inherent in theory are implemented in practice in a somewhat “raw” form, however, this is only the beginning and in any case there will be no return to the old, as well as alternatives, and prices are already gradually becoming more civilized view. As for the further evolution of the platform, please, nothing stands still, and the recent announcement of the Intel Pentium 4 EE 3.46 GHz processor with the new 925XE Express system logic, supporting a 1066 MHz system bus, is direct proof of this.

Need I once again mention which way the wind is blowing: very soon support for FSB 1066 MHz will migrate from Extreme (Xtreme) Edition versions of chipsets and processors to mass platforms, DDR-II 667 memory will receive certification and support, the market will be saturated with affordable video cards, and finally it will be possible to talk about the fact of the transition from the Socket 478 connector to Socket 775. Those who want a new one right now will have to spend a lot without clear prospects; those who want to purchase with an eye to a subsequent upgrade, it would be wiser to wait six months. But one way or another, if we are talking about processors from Intel, in any case you will have to work with the LGA775 platform.

Okay, the nightingales are fables... Today we will talk about exactly what awaits us in 2005, namely the new generation of Glenwood/Lakeport chipsets with a series of ICH7 southbridges, replacing, respectively, the current Alderwood/Grantsdale (i925X/ i915) with ICH6, as well as about new processors and a little about the corresponding system wiring of new PCs.

Everyone knows Intel's penchant for giving fancy names to ongoing work projects. There was also a new name for the platform based on Glenwood/Lakeport chipsets, although, like almost all of the company’s current projects, the idea is being promoted within the framework of the “digital home” concept. So, for 2005, Intel plans to promote the East Fork (EF) strategy, which, in addition to the traditional set of processors and system logic, will be related to the development of network controllers and related software.

It cannot be said that the new chipsets are designed exclusively for work in desktop PCs; such a clear division in Intel's chipset strategy has long since disappeared. The same Lakeport will appear in the third quarter of 2005 as part of the Napa mobile platform (a new version of Centrino) called Calistoga, with an ICH7-M south bridge and will be tailored for processors with Yonah/Merom cores, support for DDR2-667 memory and the Serial ATA-300 interface . It is already known that specific versions of the Lakeport chipset will work with server versions of the Xeon series chips. Today we will not delve into these jungles and will limit ourselves only to options for desktop PCs.

Judging by the currently known rumors/leaks, the release of new versions of chips with the Prescott core will be completed this year; the oldest with a maximum frequency of 3.8 GHz for the NetBurst architecture will remain the Pentium 4 570J, which has an 800 MHz FSB, 1 MB of L2 cache and NX bit support. The next core, Prescott 2, which will be implemented in the Pentium4 630, 640, 650, 660 and 670 models, at first will differ little from its predecessor - the same frequency barrier (3.8 GHz), the same socket (LGA775), the same FSB (800 MHz) and the same technical process (90 nm), only the L2 cache will be increased to 2 MB, support for EM64T instructions, EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology) technology and possibly Vanderpool/LaGrande will appear. Although I strongly doubt the latter, the time for hardware and software support for these technologies has not yet come.

By mid-2005, the release of a 2-core processor with the Smithfield core is being prepared. The processor will be available in three versions. One, for the performance systems sector, will be supported by the Glenwood chipset, the other two versions for mainstream systems will work with the Lakeport chipset. In the second half of 2006, Smithfield will move to the 65 nm process technology.

For now, we will have to be content with processors of the Pentium 4 series with the Prescott core and for some time with the Prescott 2 core. But the Glenwood and Lakeport chipsets with the ICH7 south bridges, which will be presented very soon, may well outlive all versions of Prescott, and maybe even and the NetBurst architecture. :)

Glenwood/Lakeport North Bridges

If we think from the point of view of generational continuity, then the Glenwood/Lakeport chipsets can be called direct evolutionary heirs of the Intel 925/915. There are changes, but they affected mainly clock frequencies. Now each of them (not just the new i925XE) will support FSB 1066 MHz. For the first time, support for 2-channel DDR2-667 memory will debut, and the south bridges will acquire standard support for Serial ATA 300.

Expected characteristics of the new generation of chipsets

Chipset Glenwood Lakeport-G Lakeport-P

The integrated controller's support for 2-channel DDR2-667 will increase the peak performance of the memory subsystem from 8.5 GB/s for DDR2-533 to 10.8 GB/s. Please note that the notorious Turbo memory operating mode, which gives about 3% - 7% performance gain, first introduced in the i875P (PAT) chipset and then migrated to the Intel 925X, will also remain in the new Glenwood version.

The "flagship" chipset's support for an 800 MHz system bus is not a tribute to compatibility with older Pentium 4 or Celeron processors. Rather, it is aimed at supporting the first processors with the Smithfield core, which, due to the 2-core architecture and related issues of increased power consumption, will initially still only support 800 MHz FSB. And, as has been repeatedly stated in print, with lower clock speeds than modern P4s.

As for the replacement for the Intel 915, both chipsets expected at the time of announcement will support the PCI Express x16 slot (and no AGP!). Two versions will remain traditional - the discrete version Lakeport-P and Lakeport-G with an integrated graphics core, but nothing has been heard about the GV/GL options yet. It's not surprising, since even the i915GV/GL appeared recently and is sold mainly to system integrators. They say different things about the graphics integrated into Lakeport-G, but it looks like it will be either the current DirectX 9 GMA 900 core with a clock frequency of 333 MHz, or its “overclocked” version. As for ADD2 expansion cards, which can support a second display with CRT, LCD, TV and HDTV formats, there is talk of further expanding the feature set and video output capabilities with something like ADD2+.

At the stage of launching a new generation of chipsets, Intel is finally and irrevocably abandoning support for DDR1 memory. In return, DDR2-667 certification appears, manufacturers promise samples of which by the first quarter, and mass quantities by the second quarter of 2005, right in time for the start of deliveries of boards to Glenwood/Lakeport. The step, of course, is bold, since the cost of DDR2-533 modules is still slightly higher than the prices for DDR400. However, perhaps Intel believes that by the time Lakeport chipset deliveries begin, prices for DDR400/DDR2-533 will already be equal.

As shown in the table above, the older Glenwood chipset supports up to 8GB of memory in 4 slots. By the time boards appear on it, along with modules on chips with a capacity of 256 Mbit and 512 Mbit, versions on 1 Gbit chips will be quite widely available. Nothing is really known yet about support for EM64T (AMD64) instructions, but most likely systems on the Glenwood chipset will be designed for 64-bit instructions.

South bridges ICH7

The new ICH7 family of southbridges, upon closer inspection, are also improvements to the ICH6 with the same 2.0 Gb/s Direct Media Interface (DMI) interbridge connection. As you know, by adding and/or combining RAID and Wi-Fi support, it was assumed that in addition to the basic ICH6, versions ICH6R, ICH6W and ICH6RW would appear on the market. It ended up that the last two remained on paper, and the public, puzzled by the integration of wireless networks into a desktop PC, had to purchase external Wi-Fi devices or kits from manufacturers with an included PCI card.

Meanwhile, the East Fork strategy will still support Wi-Fi, at least in part of the digital home platforms. So far, Intel does not promise new south bridges with Wi-Fi support. There are already some leaks coming from manufacturers in Taiwan on this topic; they say that when the first samples of chips with the Smithfield core appear, a special IEEE802.11a/b/g Caswell 2 module will be presented. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the end will do without integrating elements of wireless controllers into the south bridge, it is already hot enough without it. :)

The list of new south bridges includes five versions of ICH7. This refers to the basic ICH7, ICH7DH (Digital Home, basic for family entertainment PCs), ICH7DO (Digital Office, SOHO-class digital office), ICH7DE (Digital Enterprise, something very productive with support for RAID levels 5, 0, 1 and 10 , for enterprises) and the trivial ICH7R, with support for RAID levels 0, 1 and 10.

New south bridges of the ICH7 series:

Of course, the first thing that catches your eye is the increase in the number of PCI Express x1 slots (or buses, that is, lanes) from four in ICH6 to six in some versions of ICH7. This fact will allow advanced motherboard manufacturers to make their own versions of SLI motherboards on Intel desktop chipsets.

Another improvement is more interesting: now there is support for Serial ATA 300 (Serial ATA II) with the same number of integrated ports. And the most significant difference between the new south bridges and each other is the set of RAID levels that changes from version to version. True, RAID5, which appeared for the first time, will be typical only for the ICH7DE version.

Only the ICH7DE southbridge is planned to support Intel AMT (Intel Active Management Technology) software technology. This cannot be described in a nutshell; technology implies a new level of active management and control of enterprise resources, from operational diagnostics and administration to resource development strategy planning, etc. Even such miracles as remotely turning on client PCs, upgrading the operating system, data recovery and much more will be available. AMT was talked about a lot at the latest Intel Developer Forums in San Francisco and Moscow; those who are interested can read briefly about this technology. I haven't delved into this in detail yet, but according to Intel management, implementing AMT could give the company an annual 10% cost savings on enterprise resource management.

EnergyLake technology, which will appear as part of the ICH7DH southbridge for “digital homes”, involves development on the currently pressing topic of energy saving. I don't know the details about this technology yet.

But we can already say that simultaneously with the new Glenwood/Lakeport chipsets, two LAN chips for the PCI Express bus will debut: Tekoa with support for Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) and Ekron with support for Fast Ethernet (100BASE-TX). The Tekoa chip with the PCI Express bus, among other things, is interesting in terms of reduced power consumption compared to the previously promoted Northway GbE chip, as well as support for iAMT technology.

The remaining functionality of the ICH7 family is practically known to us from the previous generation. Of course, Intel HDA (High Definition Audio) technology will be fully present with support for 7.1 audio codec, Dolby Digital/DTS systems and VoIP (Voice-over-IP) technology. Eight USB 2.0 ports will remain unchanged.

A few words about what will follow the Glenwood/Lakeport chipsets in the future. The Internet is already telling scary tales about the Broadwater North Bridge paired with ICH8. The chipset will support the mythical Allendale/Millville chips with DSB 800/1066 MHz, a new DMI bus with a bandwidth of 1 Gb/s in both directions, 2-channel DDR-2 533/667 and DDR3-800 memory, and its integrated version will have fourth generation Intel graphics. However, all this is still in the eerie prospect, since the release of Broadwater is not planned until the end of 2006.

In conclusion, we can guess a little about the timing of the start of deliveries of Glenwood/Lakeport chipsets and motherboards based on them. Rumors from Taiwanese OEMs say that trial shipments of new A0 stepping chipsets will begin towards the end of the 4th quarter of 2004, that is, before the New Year. I would not be surprised if the East Fork strategy, complete with new chipsets and processors, will be announced with pomp at the spring Intel Developer Forum, which traditionally will be held in February. So, if nothing goes wrong, the first samples may appear in the news and reviews before March, and we will see enough mass samples of boards at the CeBIT exhibition. All that's left is to survive the winter. :)