Characteristics:
The difference between the i946GZ and G965 is the latter’s support for DDR2-800 memory, the possibility of being equipped with a new south bridge ICH8 (not ICH7) with a corresponding difference in the sets of integrated controllers and technologies, as well as the presence of a different graphics core - GMA X3000 (support for ClearVideo technology) and technology working with Intel Fast Memory Access memory.
i946PL
Difference from i946GZ: lack of an integrated graphics core. Otherwise, all possibilities are similar.
Intel has introduced budget modifications to the i945 chipset, which supports dual-core Pentium D processors.
Discrete 945PL It features support for processors with FSB 800/533 MHz, has a dual-channel DDR2-533/DDR-400 memory controller and a PCI-Express x16 graphics port.
Integrated 945GZ contains the Intel GMA 950 graphics core, supports processors with FSB 800/533 MHz, is equipped with a single-channel DDR2-533/DDR-400 memory controller, and does not have a PCI-Express x16 port.
The 945/955 series is built on a two-chip design: the chipset consists of two controllers - system (MCH) And peripheral (ICH) , connected via a dedicated high-speed bus. This approach provides flexibility when building motherboards. The 945 series chipsets use exactly the same bus (DMI - 2 Gbps) as the 915/925 chipsets; board manufacturers can create different combinations of MCH and ICH bridges.
The 945/955 chipsets support dual-core Intel processors. Previous chipsets are not compatible with them. The 945/955 chipsets officially support the 1066 MHz bus.
MCH North Bridge.
Memory controller practically unchanged compared to the 915/925 chipsets, but Intel completely abandons DDR support and adds a frequency of 667 MHz. As before, the memory controller supports two different modes of operation of two memory channels - alternation, when addresses are distributed in turn between both channels in 64-byte increments, and asymmetric mode, when addressing the second channel begins immediately after the first. The first mode provides speed and simultaneous access to both channels, the second provides complete flexibility. Now it is no longer necessary to fill both channels with the same modules - it is enough that the memory capacity in both channels is the same (this rule must be observed only for the interleaved mode).
South Bridge ICH.
Received serial number “7”, supports interface for hard drives Serial ATA with a throughput of 3 Gbit/s (300 Mb/s).
Support RAID and all the features of Serial ATA (interface ACHI) is implemented only in ICH7R - a special version of the south bridge, which will be installed only on expensive motherboards. Level 10 (combination of 0 and 1) and Level 5 (storing information for checking and restoring integrity on a separate disk) modes have been added to the list of RAID versions. Two ports have also been added to the ICH7R PCI Express x1– now there are 6 of them.
Built-in Network Controller does not support gigabit networks, built-in wireless network or FireWire never appeared, compatibility with older codecs remains AC'97 along with HD Audio.
Integrated Graphics
The integrated Intel GMA950 (945G) graphics has virtually no changes compared to the GMA900, the previous generation graphics. There is no hardware processing unit for vertex shaders and even T&L geometry, but there are 4 rendering pipelines and support for pixel shaders version 2.0, plus the clock frequency has increased - from 333 to 400 MHz, and the graphics core has been further optimized.
As before, when installing an external video card into the PCI Express slot, the integrated graphics are disabled. Their simultaneous operation is impossible. However, using a special ADD2 module, you can expand the capabilities of the integrated graphics - add TV outputs and a digital DVI output. At the same time, it is possible to operate two independent screens, and now (a feature of the 945G) the “Dual Display Zoom” mode has been added - enlarging part of one screen on the other.
The 945 series includes: 945P without integrated graphics and 945G with an integrated video core.
Chipset characteristics (in comparison with 955 are as follows):
Characteristic | |||||
Memory channels | 2, dual channel mode |
||||
Memory type | DDR2, 667/533/400 |
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Slots/volume | |||||
ECC control | |||||
| No | |||||
| Flex Memory | |||||
| Graphic arts | No | Intel GMA 950 | No | ||
| PCI-E x16 | 1 | ||||
| PCI-E x1 | |||||
| Drives | SATA II 4 ports, EIDE 1 port |
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| Matrix Storage | NCQ, RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 | ||||
| Scheme | 82955X | 82945G | 82945P | ||
| I/O hub | ICH7/ICH7R | ||||
Chipsets i945G/i945P
The integrated i945G chipset differs from the separate i945P only in the presence of the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 graphics core. Otherwise, both chipsets are identical. The new south bridge (IHC7R) received two additional PCIe 1x lanes (there are now 6 of them instead of 4); introduced support for SATA II instead of SATA (4 ports); the dual-channel memory access bus increased bandwidth from 8.5 GB/s to 10 GB/s (FSB 1066 MHz support); Added the ability to use DDR memory, DDR2 only.
Intel 945G
Block diagram of Intel i945G chipset
Structurally, this is the same i945P, to which the GMA 950 graphics core was “glued”. Therefore, if you do not take into account the built-in video, all the characteristics of the named chipsets are absolutely identical.
| Comparative characteristics of chipsets with integrated graphics | ||||
Characteristic | Intel 945P Express | Intel 945G Express | NVIDIA GeForce 6100 + nForce 410/430 | ATI Radeon Xpress 200G |
North Bridge | ||||
Intel Celeron D, Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition | AMD Opteron, Athlon 64 (FX/X2), Sempron |
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FSB, MHz | ||||
Memory controller | dual-channel DDR2-400/533/667 controller with support for up to 4 DIMM modules with a total capacity of up to 4 GB | |||
Graphical interface | ||||
GPU frequency | ||||
Pixel pipelines | ||||
Vertex processors | ||||
DirectX support | ||||
South Bridge | ||||
PCI Express, lines | 20/22* PCI Express x1 | 20/22* PCI Express x1 | 17* PCI Express x1 | 22** PCI Express x1 |
PCI, lines | ||||
Parallel ATA, channels | ||||
SerialATA, ports | 4 x 3 Gbit/s, NCQ | 4 x 3 Gbit/s, NCQ | 2/4 x 3 Gbit/s, NCQ | 2/4 x 1.5 Gbit/s |
RAID support | 0, 1, 0+1 (10) and 5 of SATA drives | 0, 1/ 0, 1, 0+1 (10), 5 | 0, 1 of SATA drives |
|
USB 2.0, ports | ||||
Sound | Intel | High Definition Audio (7.1) or AC"97 (7.1) | High Definition Audio (7.1) or AC"97 (7.1) |
|
* 16 lanes are used by PCI Express x16 port
** 16 lanes are used by the PCI Express x16 port and 2 are used as a bus for connecting the north and south bridges.
The GMA 950 graphics core has twice the performance in 3DMark05 tests of Intel's previous integrated solution - GMA 900 (i915G). There is support for HDTV up to 1080i resolution. Looking at the table, it is quite difficult to determine which IGP is stronger - GMA 950, Radeon Xpress 200G or GeForce 6100 On the one hand, the first two have a larger number of pixel pipelines: 4 versus 2, but not a single vertex pipeline, entrusting the task of calculating shaders to the central processor, while NVIDIA's brainchild has one vertex unit. Radeon Xpress 200G operates at a significantly lower frequency than competing solutions. On the other hand, the number of rendering lines, as well as the core frequency, are rather controversial criteria for assessing accelerator performance in 3D applications. Especially when comparing solutions from different developers. The GMA 950 and Radeon Xpress 200G support Shader Model 2.0 in hardware, while the GeForce 6100 can handle version 3.0.
GA-8I945GMH
GIGABYTE introduced the first motherboard for systems with Intel Viiv technology. The model has been certified by Intel for compatibility with the Viiv platform.
Technical characteristics of GA-8I945GMH:
- Chipset: Intel 945G Express/ICH7-DH;
- Form factor: Micro-ATX;
- Buses: PCI Express x16, PCI Express X1, two PCI;
- RAM: four slots for DDR2 667, up to 4 GB;
- Network: Intel Pro 1 Gbps;
- Interfaces: four SATA II ports, one PATA, eight USB 2.0;
- Audio codec: eight-channel Intel High Definition Audio.
In the last issue we talked about the chipset Intel 955X, today it's time to talk about Intel 945P and motherboards based on it. One of the main innovations in it is support for dual-core processors Pentium D and already familiar Pentium 4 with system bus 533/800/1066 MHz. Naturally, support for video cards remains in place. PCI Express x16, expansion cards for PCI Express x1 And PCI. Interestingly, many of the tested boards also have a second slot. PCIE x16, which in the future will allow using two video cards simultaneously (we are talking about SLI And CrossFire). At the moment this has not been officially announced, however, there is evidence that CrossFire support is almost guaranteed for boards based on Intel 955X, most likely, this will extend to the Intel 945P. More likely, NVIDIA There will be no choice but to enable SLI support on third-party chipsets. But everything has its time, we already have a board based on Intel 915P with two PCIE x16 slots and unofficial drivers with SLI support.
Another interesting feature of the Intel 945P was its support Serial ATA II- data transfer speed on the bus has increased to 300 MB/s. All boards have a gigabit network controller, and sometimes two. Traditionally, a codec is used as built-in audio HDA-class, memory subsystem supports DDR2 SDRAM with frequencies 400/533/667 MHz. It is worth saying that if previously this memory standard was more expensive than classic DDR-memory, now the situation has changed to the opposite.
In our review we present seven motherboards based on the Intel 945P chipset from ABIT, ASUS, ECS, Foxconn,GIGABYTE And MSI.
ABIT AL8
The motherboard opens our review ABIT AL8. What immediately catches your eye is that it has three PCI Express x1 slots. This is a step into the future; unfortunately, the PCI slot was sacrificed - there are two left. With the current prevalence of PCI devices, it is quite possible that the user will not have enough slots. The board implements typical ABIT system monitoring and overclocking tools: chip mGuru andscreen POST-code. There is one installed on the board IDE-channel and six SATA-ports. Four of them are standard for the southbridge ICH7R, two additional ones are implemented using a chip from Silicon Image. Built-in High Definition Audio codec supports systems up to 7.1 . The rear panel provides both standard outputs and S/PDIF.
The radiator on the northbridge cools a small fan; it operates at high speeds - the noise of its operation is noticeable. The connectors for DDR2 memory are located close to the PCIE x16 slot, so you should install the memory chips first and only then the video card. FDD-the connector is located directly behind the PCI slots, which is not very convenient, and in some cases the cable length may not be enough.
In addition to standard options such as disks, instructions, and SATA cables, the package includes a dual power adapter for SATA disks. An additional panel with two USB-ports and pair FireWire-ports.
ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe
ASUS introduced a new high-end product - a motherboard ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe. When you first see the board, you immediately notice two PCI Express x16 slots, and the package includes a special bridge. This is probably a hint at SLI support, although the P5LD2 Deluxe does not officially support SLI mode. We can only wait for mercy from NVIDIA and the green light to support the promising SLI technology; however, the same applies to ATI (in this case, a bridge is not needed). The P5LD2 Deluxe has an additional power connector, which is needed to stabilize the power supply of the motherboard itself.
In addition to the main four SATA II connectors, the board has two more. One of them is located on the rear panel for hot-plugging hard drives, the second is on the board itself, not far from the rear panel. Both bridges - north and south - are cooled only with the help of radiators, so the motherboard does not produce any noise. P5LD2 Deluxe received certification from Dolby Laboratories, so the built-in codec supports Dolby Prologic IIx, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Headphone, Dolby Virtual speaker, Dolby Digital Live. The design of the board is as successful as possible - all connectors are located at a sufficient distance from each other and do not interfere with the installation of components.
The delivery set turned out to be large-scale, there is no other way to say it: as many as six SATA cables, power cables, cables for IDE and FDD, additional panels with Game, USB, FireWire and COM ports, availability WiFi-adapter and TV tuner for PCI slot and corresponding antennas. The tuner also comes with a remote control with a receiver and batteries. We've never seen anything like this before, and the performance is also impressive.
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ECS PF5 Extreme
ECS PF5 Extreme is an inexpensive and fast high-end option. |
Long time company Elitegroup produced budget motherboards, but recently has been trying its hand as a manufacturer of high-end products. ECS PF5 Extreme belongs precisely to this class of boards. By tradition, it has blue LEDs installed on it, so if you have a case with a window, it will look impressive.
As in the case of ASUS, this board has two PCI Express x16 slots, but there is no bridge included in the package. Interestingly, if you connect two video cards, PCIE x1 will no longer work. The design of the board is successful: the IDE and FDD connectors are located behind the memory slots, and between them there is a power connector - in certain cases, the cable from the power supply can interfere with the installation of the FDD cable. The board has four SATA II connectors and two more regular SATA connectors.
The Southbridge is cooled using a radiator and a small and quiet fan. Above the rear panel, directly in front of Socket 775, a fan and a guide casing are installed - this solution allows for more efficient cooling of the processor.
I was pleased with the delivery set; it has its own special feature: a chip Top Hat Flash, which allows you to restore the BIOS at the hardware level, and then everything is as usual: a pair of SATA cables, the same number of IDE cables, a LAN cable, a panel with additional USB and FireWire ports. It is designed so that it can be installed with equal success both on the rear panel and in a 3-inch compartment on the front of the case.
The ECS PF5 Extreme showed a decent level of performance, although we were unable to run the memory from Corsair with minimal timings for it (3.2.2.8).
ECS 945P-A
ECS 945P-A- a simplified version of the older ECS PF5 Extreme. The motherboard is made on the same PCB, but some of the controllers and microcircuits on it are not soldered, and are used as a south bridge ICH7. This time both bridges are cooled using radiators, there are no additional SATA connectors, now there are four of them, one gigabit network adapter remains, the FireWire port and LEDs have disappeared. There are two PCIE x16, one PCIE x1 and three PCI slots.
The ECS 945P-A package is minimal - the box contains only a disk with drivers and one IDE and SATA cable.
Foxconn 945P7AA-8EKRS2
Foxconn 945P7AA-8EKRS2 made a very good impression on us. Its design is well thought out. All connectors are grouped in such a way that connecting components inside the case is not difficult. The IDE connectors are located at the bottom, the FDD is located near the power connector, so getting to it is not difficult. Getting to the SATA ports is also easy. The north and south bridges of the board are cooled by massive radiators. In general, I liked the layout of the board; the capacitors and filters guarantee stable operation.
Foxconn 945P7AA-8EKRS2 allows you to create RAID arrays not only through SATA ports, but also through IDE. This motherboard is one of the few equipped with two gigabit network adapters. However, the board only has one PCIE x16 connector. Among all the boards based on Intel 945P + ICH7R, Foxconn's creation is the cheapest, although the performance is at a very good level.
GIGABYTE 8I945P-G
It's unusual to see an inexpensive motherboard from GIGABYTE, in most cases we get expensive solutions with high performance and a solid package, let's see what it's like GIGABYTE 8I945P-G.
The board has four connectors for DDR2 memory, one PCIE x16, two PCIE x1 slots and three PCI. What is unusual about the 8I945P-G is that while the north bridge is cooled by a radiator, the south bridge is not at all, although the board has two holes. So it is possible to install the radiator yourself - this may come in handy if you decide to overclock the system. The board has room for four SATA II connectors and three IDE channels, two of which can be used to support a RAID array. One FDD and a standard IDE connector are placed quite standardly and thoughtfully. To reduce the price, the developers abandoned support for FireWire, a second gigabit network adapter and a second PCIE x16.
The delivery set is also modest, but it contains everything you need: a SATA cable and power supply for it, IDE and FDD cables, a disk and detailed instructions for installing the system in Russian.
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MSI 945P Platinum
A feature of MSI motherboards is the presence of an intelligent chip CoreCell, which is responsible for monitoring and overclocking the system. Could not have done without him MSI 945P Platinum. In addition, it has a proprietary dynamic acceleration system. D.O.T.3.
Declared support for DDR2 memory with frequencies of 533 and 667 MHz, Matrix Storage provides the ability to use RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5 and 10, two additional IDE channels also support RAID arrays (0, 1, 0+1, JBOD) . An audio codec is installed on the board Realtek ALC882, which supports 7.1 format acoustics and DTS-effects. The rear panel provides standard optical and S/PDIF connectors.
Otherwise, the 945P Platinum is a completely standard option with a rich set of supplies: a pair of twisted IDE cables, SATA cables, an additional panel with USB ports, etc. In general, a very high-quality and solid product with excellent overclocking capabilities.
Testing
We carried out testing in synthetic packages PC Mark 04, 3D Mark 05 from FutureMark and also in the game Far Cry. The latter was launched in resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1024. Before each test, the latest BIOS version at the time of testing was installed on each board.
Particularly noteworthy is the ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe board. It came out quite confidently in synthetic tests, but also showed its teeth in Far Cry. Second place deservedly went to MSI 945P Platinum, not far behind the favorite. GIGABYTE 8I945P-G is the final member of the top three, despite its modest price.
We also note the high performance of ABITAL8, excellent results from Foxconn 945P7AA-8EKRS2. She showed high performance.
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Conclusion
It’s worth saying right away that the Intel 945P chipset itself is nothing revolutionary - it mainly adds support for dual-core Pentium D and DDR2-667, and that’s all. A distinctive feature of some boards was the presence of two PCIE x16 slots at once, which we have never seen in motherboards based on Intel 925X And Intel 925XE, much less in Intel 915P. It is very likely that support for SLI and CrossFire will appear in the future; everything is in the hands of NVIDIA and ATI.
The ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe showed excellent results; its price turned out to be the highest, but for this money they offer you an simply incredible package, which contains not only all the necessary cables and cables, but also a WiFi module and a TV tuner in addition. The MSI 945P Platinum had equally impressive speeds. The Foxconn 945P7AA-8EKRS2 was only slightly behind the leaders; considering the use of the ICH7R south bridge and low cost, it looks very tempting. I was pleasantly surprised by the budget motherboard GA 8I945P-G from GIGABYTE. We can’t help but highlight ABIT AL8, which pleased us with its good speed and the presence of such unique features as m Guru and the POST-code screen. It was also unusual to see that the inexpensive ECS 945P-A has two PCIE x16 slots installed at once, which may come in handy in the future.
The Intel 945P chipset is good in all respects, but if you already have a system based on the Intel 915P or Intel 925X/XE, then you probably shouldn't think about replacing the motherboard. In other cases, our recommendation will be this: forget about the old chipsets and choose a new generation of system logic, which will become a worthy basis for a modern computer.
We thank the following companies:
Corsair(www.corsairmemory.com) - Twin2X 1024A-5400UL;
Russian representative office ABIT(www.abit.ru) - ABIT AL8;
Russian representative office ASUS(www.asus.ru) - ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe;
Russian representative office ECS(www.esc.com.tw) - ECS PF5 Extreme;
Russian representative office Foxconn(www.foxconnchannel.com) - Foxconn 945P7AA-8EKRS2;
Russian representative office GIGABYTE(www.gigabyte.ru) - GIGABYTE 8I945P-G;
Russian representative office MSI(www.microstar.ru) - MSI 945P Platinum;
representation Sunbeam(www.sunbeamtech.com) - NUUO 500 W;
3Logic(www.3logic.ru) - ECS 945P-A;
USN Computers (www.usn.ru) - Intel Pentium 4 670, Sapphire Radeon X850 XT, Seagate Barracuda 7200.7, NEC ND-3540A.
It's probably no secret that silicon giant Intel occupies a leading position in sales of chipsets with integrated graphics. The fact is that such solutions are most in demand in office machines, where the performance of the video subsystem in 3D applications is of no practical importance. Intel processors, which once conquered this market, are to this day unconditionally chosen by system administrators as the heart for these “workhorses”. Not long ago, Intel began to develop a new direction for using its products, promoting the concept of the so-called “digital home.” One of the key points of the idea is to have a second or Nth computer at home, which is the basis of a home theater, music center, DVD player-recorder, etc., in which there is also a place for integrated solutions. Really, who needs a DVD player with a GeForce 7800 GTX as an image output device? Therefore, Intel's practice of releasing a modification of the basic chipset with integrated graphics as part of the next line of chipsets has already become a tradition. One of the company's newest integrated solutions is the i945G logic. It is this chipset and two boards based on it that we will consider today.
ChipsetIntel 945 G
The i945G chipset is a modification of the basic i945P solution.
Structurally, this is the same i945P, to which the GMA 950 graphics core was “glued”. Therefore, if you do not take into account the built-in video, all the characteristics of the named chipsets are absolutely identical. Along with the previously existing ATI Radeon Xpress 200G, just recently the i945G has another rather strong competitor from another leading video accelerator manufacturer - the integrated solution NVIDIA GeForce 6100. The confrontation is also intensified by the fact that the GeForce 6100 and ATI Radeon Xpress 200G are designed to work together with processors from AMD - Intel's eternal competitor. Well, despite the significant difference in the architecture of the chipsets, let's try to compare their characteristics.
|
Characteristic |
Intel 945P Express |
Intel 945G Express |
NVIDIA GeForce 6100 + nForce 410/430 |
ATI Radeon Xpress 200G |
|
North Bridge |
||||
|
Supportedprocessors |
Intel Celeron D, Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition |
AMD Opteron, Athlon 64 (FX/X2), Sempron |
||
|
Supported Connectors |
Socket 754, 939, 940 |
Socket 754, 939, 940 |
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System bus frequency, MHz |
||||
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RAM controller |
dual-channel DDR2-400/533/667 controller with support for up to 4 DIMM modules with a total capacity of up to 4 GB |
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Graphical interface |
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Integrated GPU frequency , MHz |
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Number of pixel pipelines |
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Number of vertex processors |
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Supported DirectX Version |
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South Bridge |
||||
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PCI Expresslines |
20/22* PCI Express x1 |
20/22* PCI Express x1 |
17* PCI Express x1 |
22** PCI Express x1 |
|
PCIlines |
||||
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Parallel ATAchannels |
||||
|
SerialATAports |
4 x 3 Gbit/s, NCQ |
4 x 3 Gbit/s, NCQ |
2/4 x 3 Gbit/s, NCQ |
2/4 x 1.5 Gbit/s |
|
SupportRAID |
0, 1, 0+1 (10) and 5 of SATA drives |
0, 1/ 0, 1, 0+1 (10), 5 |
0, 1 of SATA drives |
|
|
USB2.0, ports |
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Sound |
Intel |
High Definition Audio (7.1) or AC"97 (7.1) |
High Definition Audio (7.1) or AC"97 (7.1) |
* 16 lines are used by the portPCI Express x16
** 16 lines are used by the portPCI Express x16 and 2 are used as a bus to connect the north and south bridges.
As you can see, the functionality of the chipsets in question has some differences. Of course, the main one is support for microprocessors from different manufacturers. The Xpress 200G and GeForce 6100 northbridges do not have memory controllers, since AMD processors for Socket 754, 939, 940 have their own.
There is a noticeable difference in the number of PCI Express lanes, of which the creations of Intel and ATI have significantly more than those of NVIDIA. The Radeon Xpress 200G is inferior to its competitors in terms of support for drives with the Serial ATA interface, having at its disposal only a 1.5 Gbit/s controller that does not know about NCQ technology and is not capable of working with RAID 10 and 5 arrays.
The GMA 950 GPU integrated into the i945G is a modification of the previous GMA 900 core shared with the i915 and has undergone only minor changes. Looking at the table, it is quite difficult to determine which IGP is stronger - GMA 950, Radeon Xpress 200G or GeForce 6100. On the one hand, the first two have a larger number of pixel pipelines: 4 versus 2, but, at the same time, not a single vertex pipeline, entrusting the calculation task shaders per central processor, while NVIDIA's brainchild has one vertex unit. Radeon Xpress 200G operates at a significantly lower frequency than competing solutions. On the other hand, the number of rendering lines, as well as the core frequency, are rather controversial criteria for assessing accelerator performance in 3D applications. Especially when comparing solutions from different developers. The GMA 950 and Radeon Xpress 200G support Shader Model 2.0 in hardware, while the GeForce 6100 can handle version 3.0. Although, speaking about integrated graphics today, the ability to work with Shader Model 3.0 should not be considered a serious advantage.
Thus, only testing can show the real balance of power. But before moving on to this part of the review, let's return to the i945G chipset and look at two modifications of Intel motherboards based on it - D945GNT and D945GTP.
SpecificationsIntelD945GNT and D945GTP
The first of the boards under consideration, D945GTP, in the best traditions of solutions with built-in video, is made in the MicroATX format. The other, the D945GNT, is, on the contrary, a full-size ATX. Meanwhile, despite the fact that the products have different form factors, their functionality is almost identical.
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Supported processors |
Intel Celeron D, Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition with 1066/800/533 MHz system bus frequency and Hyper-Threading technology in LGA775 package |
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North Bridge |
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South Bridge |
|
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Memory slots |
4 DDR2-667/533/400 slots (two channels), maximum total module capacity - 4 GB |
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Expansion slots |
D945GNT:1 x PCI Express x16, 2 x PCI Express x1, 4 x PCI D945GTP:1 x PCI Express x16, 1 x PCI Express x1, 2 x PCI |
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1 channel Ultra DMA 33/66/100, implemented on a controller integrated into ICH7 |
|
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SerialATA |
4 3 Gbit/s ports implemented using a controller integrated into ICH7 |
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RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and RAID 5 (from SATA drives only), Intel Matrix Storage |
|
|
Graphics core |
|
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Ethernet |
1 port 10/100 Mbit/s on Intel 92562GZ |
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Integrated sound |
Intel High Definition Audio (7.1) on SigmaTel STAC9223DS codec |
|
8 ports (4 on the rear panel) |
|
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IEEE-1394 |
3 IEEE 1394a ports (1 on the rear panel), implemented on the TSB43AB23 controller |
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System monitoring |
Monitoring voltages on components, fan speeds and processor temperatures (using the built-in thermal diode). |
|
Additional features |
Intel Rapid BIOS Boot |
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Intel Platform Innovation Framework for Extensible firmware interface |
|
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Form factor |
D945 GNT: ATX, 245mm x 305mm (12" x 9.6") D945GTP: MicroATX, 245mm x 245mm (9.6" x 9.6") |
By and large, the products differ only in size and the presence of additional slots on the D945GNT: one PCI Express x1 and two PCI. The boards are based on a combination of an i945G north bridge and an ICH7R south bridge. The fairly high functionality of the ICH7R is expanded with additional controllers.
To implement support for the IEEE 1394 interface, a three-port TSB43AB23 controller manufactured by Texas Instruments is soldered onto the boards.
Built-in audio, based on the eight-channel (7.1) Sigmatel STAC9223D5 codec, complies with the Intel High Definition Audio standard.
The networking capabilities of the products are based on the Intel 82562GZ chip. The maximum data transfer rate supported by the chip is 100 Mbit/s. Today, when space on the PCB is increasingly given to gigabit controllers, this speed no longer seems insufficient. But, nevertheless, for average home and office tasks, 100 Mbit/s is quite enough.
The boards have only one Parallel ATA connector, which is due to the limited capabilities of the south bridge to support devices with this interface. Meanwhile, PATA drives are becoming less and less common on sale, and their price is only slightly lower than that of SATA. That's why today Parallel ATA channels are usually occupied by optical drives. Well, four Serial ATA lines are quite enough to build mid-level systems.
In general, the boards provide a fairly good set of functions, somewhat redundant for the office and quite sufficient for building a multimedia system.
Packaging and accessories
Motherboards D945GNT and D945GTP are supplied in original boxes of familiar sizes. In the boxes you can find the following set of items:
- one 80-wire IDE cable and one FDD cable;
- two SATA cables;
- a plug on the rear wall of the case for the I/O panel;
- floppy disk for the RAID controller built into the ICH7R;
- two disks with drivers and proprietary utilities;
- instruction manual and assembly guide poster.
Of course, the delivery package looks a little sparse. But don’t forget that the boards are positioned as the basis for relatively inexpensive PCs. In this sector of the market, price is quite important and healthy savings are always welcome. This number of items is enough to assemble an average system. If necessary, the missing brackets and cables required to use all SATA, IEEE 1394a and USB ports can be purchased separately. At the same time, I would like to note that the amount of software supplied with the products significantly exceeds the unspoken standard. But more on that below. For now, let's "touch" the boards themselves.
Design and Layout
Minimal differences in the functionality of the products in question are not accidental. The D945GTP, made in MicroATX format, is the base model, and its ATX modification, D945GNT, was obtained by increasing the size of the textolite base. Figuratively speaking, a piece of PCB was “glued” to the D945GTP, resulting in the D945GNT.
Intel D945GTP
The additional area accommodates two PCI slots and one PCI Express x1, as well as a three-pin header for connecting a fan. The main part of the additional space remained completely “naked” and not used for any controllers. As far as I know, such a “trick” is practiced only by Intel.
The socket for Intel processors in the LGA775 package has four power channels.
A similar scheme, when building boards based on 9xx series chipsets, was implemented by the vast majority of manufacturers, and we have already seen it more than once. Except that high-frequency filter elements (chokes) are more often found in packaging rather than “naked”. Before we get distracted from the game of “find XX differences”, let’s pay attention to one more point - the D945GTP does not have 4 power regulators wired: one per phase. Perhaps this is only due to the fact that the board sent for testing is an engineering sample. However, even in this case, no instabilities were identified during testing. By and large, this is where the differences between the boards end, so next we will consider the D945GNT, and everything said will be true for the D945GTP.
The processor is powered via a +12 V line connected to a four-pin ATX 12V connector. Compatibility with eight-pin EATX 12V plugs found in new power supplies is maintained.
The main 24-pin connector is located in the most suitable place for it - the upper right corner of the board. Next to it we see Parallel ATA and FDD pads. Four Serial ATA ports are located a little lower.
To install DDR2 RAM modules, there are four 240-pin 1.8 V slots connected to two controller channels. The maximum amount of memory supported by the logic is 4 GB.
The chipset's northbridge cooling system is passive, which makes the product absolutely silent. A large needle-shaped aluminum radiator is used. It is attached to the PCB at four points using latches of the original design, and a fairly powerful wire spring is used to increase the pressing force against the crystal. The ubiquitous thermal gum is used as a heat-conducting interface.
Due to the limited free space on the PCB, in the basic version (D945GTP), the heatsink is located quite close to the PCI Express x16 slot, and can become an obstacle to installing video adapters with bulky double-sided cooling systems. However, for a board based on a chipset with an integrated graphics core, this is not a significant omission.
The southbridge does not have forced cooling.
During testing, it turned out that in this case, even after many hours of load, its temperature regime does not cause concern.
The following ports and connectors are located on the I/O panel:
- two PS/2 sockets for connecting a mouse and keyboard;
- four USB 2.0;
- network RJ-45;
- one VGA;
- one IEEE 1394a;
- one parallel (LPT);
- one serial (COM);
- five sound card inputs and outputs (mini-jack);
- optical S/PDIF output.
At the bottom of the board there are connectors in a row for connecting two IEEE 1394a ports and four USB 2.0, as well as LEDs and case buttons. The plastic backing of the Front Panel connector pins is divided into groups and painted in different colors, which facilitates the process of connecting elements of the system unit.
In general, there are no complaints about the design of the boards. Everything is quite well thought out, and there were no problems when assembling the system.
BIOSand software
The motherboards in question use the original version of the microcode from the manufacturer, called the Intel Platform Innovation Framework for Extensible firmware interface. It is noteworthy that the graphical interface used to configure the firmware is displayed with a resolution of 800x600 instead of the usual 640x480, which allows you to fit more useful information on the screen.
The user will not suffer from a lack of settings: all BIOS Setup items are worked out very thoroughly. All necessary information about the components used is also displayed in full.
The system monitoring section displays the readings of the thermal sensors built into the processor and motherboard, the actual voltage values on the processor and the +12, +5 and +3.3 V lines, as well as the rotation speed of fans connected to three connectors soldered on the PCB.
The RAM configuration menu offers a choice of three operating frequencies for the modules: 400, 533, 667 MHz (DDR). A set of basic timings is also available here:
- CAS# Latency (Tcl): 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0;
- RAS# to CAS# delay (Trcd): 2-5;
- Row Precharge Time (Trp): 2-5;
- Min RAS# active Time (Tras): 10-15.
Traditionally, on boards manufactured by Intel, the options necessary to change the voltage values on components and overclock the processor are absent. The boards in question were no exception.
The products come with a fairly “weighty” set of OEM versions of commercial software, consisting of:
- InterVideo Home Theater Silver;
- InterVideo MediaOne Silver;
- Musicmatch Jukebox;
- Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album 5.0;
- NTI:CD-Maker;
- Norton Internet Security 2005;
- Norton AntiVirus;
- Farstone RestoreIT Gold;
- Farstone Gamedrive;
- Kaspersky AntiVirus Business Optimal;
- ABBYY Lingvo 9.0.
In addition, the disk contains two proprietary utilities. The first of them - Intel Desktop Utilities - is a set of tools for displaying system information, monitoring fan speeds, temperature sensor readings and real voltage values on components. The other, Intel Audio Studio, is a set of effects achieved by applying audio filters to the audio stream.
Testing
When testing the D945GNT and D945GTP motherboards, the following set of components was used:
- processor: Intel Pentium 4 531 (Prescott E0), 3000 MHz (15 x 200);
- RAM: 2 x 512 MB DDR2, Corsair XMS2-5400 (SPD 4.0-5-5-15 667 MHz);
- hard drives: Seagate ST3200822AS 200 GB SATA 7200 rpm and Seagate ST3120827AS 120 GB SATA 7200 rpm;
- power supply: FSP 550 W (FSP550-60PLN);
- cooler: Thermaltake Big Typhoon 1300 rpm;
- operating system: Windows XP Professional SP2 (ENG).
It is noteworthy that the boards are equipped with almost ideal quartz oscillators: the system bus frequency is clocked extremely accurately.
To study the performance of products when working with an external accelerator, an ATI Radeon X800XT video card was used.
The chipsets competing with the i945G - ATI Xpress 200G and NVIDIA GeForce 6100 - were represented in our testing by MSI RS480M2 and ASRock K8NF2G-SATA2 boards. The first board from the named pair was used in conjunction with an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (200x11) processor, the second - with an AMD Sempron 2500+ 64 bit (200x7).
In the oldest semi-synthetic gaming test in our package - 3D Mark 2001SE - the i945G chipset is the undisputed leader.
After passing real gaming tests, it becomes clear that the integrated Intel GMA 950 core is slightly weaker than its competitors from ATI and NVIDIA. But, given the overall level of performance of the integrated graphics of all three manufacturers, the lag behind the Intel solution does not seem to be significant. At the same time, when considering the performance of ATI logic, we should not forget that during tests it worked in conjunction with the AMD Athlon64 3500 processor, which is a much more expensive and productive solution than the Intel Pentium 4 531.
A further set of tests was carried out on the D945GNT and D945GTP boards with an external video card.
The results quite eloquently indicate that the i945G works well with discrete accelerators. In this case, the performance of the chipset is completely identical to that of the i945P.
conclusions
The Intel 945G chipset is quite an interesting solution. Positioned as the basis for low-cost office and multimedia computers, the logic supports all modern Intel processors, has good functionality and high performance. The speed characteristics of the built-in GMA 950 core are only slightly lower than those of IGP competitors. At the same time, we have already noted that performance in 3D applications is far from the most important characteristic of integrated video.
Motherboards D945GNT and D945GTP are quite standard solutions from Intel. The products are based on a well-thought-out PCB design, are equipped with an excellent set of software, are distinguished by good functionality and traditionally high quality. We should not forget that by buying a motherboard made by Intel, the user takes a step towards the technical integrity of his computer. Indeed, in this case, the three most important parts of the machine - the motherboard, the chipset and the processor - will be developed and produced by one manufacturer - Intel.
motherboardsIntel D945GNT and D945GTP provided for testing by the Moscow representative office of the companyIntel
Compared to the revolutionary changes in the capabilities of desktop platforms that the release of Intel 915/925 Express chipsets provided, the appearance of the company's new line of i945/955 Express chipsets (as well as a slightly modified version of the latter - i975X) looks very modest. Small improvements affected, in fact, only support for b O higher interface speeds, the main task of the new products is to provide the basis for the newly announced dual-core Intel processors and ATI CrossFire technology. This material contains only information about the functionality of the i945/955/975, and the performance tests in which the i925X and i955X present their generations of chipsets are included in , since the testing was completed later.
Intel 955X/945P/945G Express
Like the first generation of the Intel Express chipset series, the new line is represented by three products: top-end (i955X - without integrated graphics, with reduced capabilities for supporting older solutions, with several features characteristic of high-performance systems), integrated (i945G) and basic (i945P) . Let's start in order of seniority:
- Northbridge 955X:
- support for Intel Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition processors with a system bus frequency of 800/1066 MHz;
- DMI bus (with ~2 GB/s bandwidth) to the ICH7/R southbridge;
- Southbridge ICH7/R:
- up to 4 (for ICH7)/6 (for ICH7R) PCIEx1 ports;
- up to 6 PCI slots;
- up to 2 devices (1 channel) ATA100;
- up to 4 Serial ATA ports for 4 SATA300 devices (SATA II, second generation of the standard), with support for AHCI and functions like NCQ;
- the ability to organize a RAID array of levels 0, 1, 0+1 (10) and 5 from SATA drives;
- up to 8 USB 2.0 devices;
- High Definition Audio (7.1) or AC"97-audio (7.1) and MC"97-modem;
- a special interface for connecting a proprietary 100-megabit network controller Intel 82562 series;
- harness for low-speed and outdated peripherals, etc.
Since the south bridges are common for the entire family, we will limit ourselves to the functionality of the north bridge of the i945G and i945P:
- Northbridge 945G:
- PCIEx16 graphic interface;
- integrated graphics core GMA 950;
- Northbridge 945P:
- support for Intel Celeron D, Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition processors with a system bus frequency of 533/800/1066 MHz*;
- dual-channel DDR2-400/533/667 memory controller supporting up to 4 non-ECC DIMMs with a total capacity of up to 4 GB;
- PCIEx16 graphical interface.
* UPDATE: shortly after the release of processors based on the Core 2 core, the information on the manufacturer's website (Intel) was updated, and the i945P/G chipsets retroactively received official support for Core 2 Duo processors (which de facto also means support for Core 2 Extreme/Quad and Celeron on the core Core 2).
Now briefly on the characteristics, as well as the differences between the new chipsets from each other and from competitors. The i955X lacks support for “low-speed” processors (with a 533 MHz bus) and memory (DDR2-400), while supporting more memory, ECC and proprietary memory acceleration technology (Memory Pipeline). i945G - the same i945P, only with integrated graphics. Compared to previous Intel chipsets, support for DDR2-667 memory has been added (whether it is needed is a separate question) and a bus frequency of 1066 MHz (however, it already appeared in the i925XE).
None of this family of chipsets has the ability to “split” the graphical interface into 2 PCI Express ports, but the operation of two video cards in a pair (NVIDIA SLI/ATI CrossFire) is still possible. To do this, a PCIEx4 port is organized using the peripheral PCI Express ports of the south bridge, to which the second PCIEx16 form factor slot on the motherboard is connected. However, NVIDIA does not allow SLI to be implemented on chipsets from other manufacturers, so, barring the case of driver hacking, Intel chipsets are limited to a couple of ATI video cards. But CrossFire is officially allowed only on the i955X (of course, purely for marketing reasons), and mid-level chipsets for this technology are only “suitable” for ATI's own production.
The new line of south bridges is represented by only two models (last year's experiment with wireless network support failed). ICH7 differs from ICH6 only in b O Higher speed of the Serial ATA interface - now 300 MB/s, as in the SATA-II standard, but without AHCI. The ICH7R version adds RAID support for SATA hard drives, and compared to the ICH6R, this support is expanded: now, in addition to RAID 0 and RAID 1, levels 0+1 (10) and 5 are available. In addition, the ICH7R version is given 2 extra PCIEx1 ports, which may be useful considering the possibility of using 4 main ones for the PCIEx4 slot (which can be useful for combining two PCIE video cards in SLI).
Compared to competitors' solutions, the most interesting of which is NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition, the i945/955 is inferior in the number of supported ATA devices (and this is still important for many), USB ports and has a less successful SLI mode organization scheme. The advantages are HDA support, integrated graphics in the i945G, more interesting RAID modes (with less flexibility in choosing devices to combine into a RAID array).
Intel 975X Express
At the end of 2005, Intel announced a new chipset, which can only be described as the i955X version. In fact, absolutely all characteristics of the i975X, except one, coincide with those of its predecessor:
- Northbridge 975X:
- support for Intel Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors with a system bus frequency of 800/1066 MHz;
- dual-channel DDR2-533/667 memory controller with support for up to 4 DIMM modules with a total capacity of up to 8 GB (modules with and without ECC can be used);
- PCIEx16 graphic interface or 2 PCIEx8 graphic interfaces.
Moreover, in the only point that does not coincide, the i975X does not cancel, but expands the capabilities of the i955X: the new chipset allows you to create 2 graphics ports by “splitting” the original PCIEx16 graphic interface into two x8 ones. Of course, this is needed, first and only, for faster CrossFire operation (well, there are still more free PCI Express ports in the south bridge). Otherwise, including the same supported south bridge models - ICH7/R, the chipsets are the same.
However, it is worth noting that, due to the difference in release dates, the i975X supports the new generation Intel Core 2 Duo/Extreme processors. From Samog O
Nothing depends on the chipset here, but official support for Core 2 has been granted by marketers to only one top solution, just as the first quad-core processors should officially work only in motherboards based on the i975X. Motherboards based on i955X are not compatible with processors of the new microarchitecture.
New generation of "mobile" system logic Mobile Intel 945 Express to work in conjunction with Intel Core Duo/Solo processors, replaced the Mobile Intel 915 Express series and was known during the development of the Napa platform under the working name Calistoga.
Currently, the family of new chipsets includes two versions of the northbridge - discrete Mobile Intel 945PM Express and integrated Mobile Intel 945GM Express. The chipsets are equipped with a mobile version of the south bridge - ICH7-M, and are improved, modified, cost-effective versions of the Intel 945G/P chipsets for desktop PCs introduced in May last year.
The new generation of mobile system logic has a power-optimized system bus operating at a clock frequency of 667 MHz, support for the PCI Express x16 bus and up to 4 GB of 2-channel DDR2 400/533/667 memory. Chipsets have power management features Intel Rapid Memory Power Management, allowing you to save power consumption of the chipset and DDR2 DIMMs by putting the memory into a state with reduced power consumption while maintaining display activity.
Also worth mentioning is technology support Intel Display Power Saving 2.0, which reduces the power consumption of the display backlight with minimal visual effect for the user, which allows for longer battery life; technology Intel Automatic Display Brightness, automatically adjusting the intensity of the display backlight in accordance with the ambient light level, technology Intel Matrix Storage with function Link Power Management, which allows you to improve performance, manage energy consumption and ensure information protection in data storage subsystems.
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 4-pipeline graphics core integrated into the Intel 945GM chipset ( GMA 950) represents the Gen 3.5 generation of Intel graphics and supports DirectX 9. The clock speed of the GMA 950 chip has increased from 200 MHz in the Intel 915GM to 250 MHz in the Intel 945GM, plus hardware support for VLD/iDCT has appeared.
Additionally, I would like to note the technology support Intermediate Z, which removes non-displayable polygons in 3D applications; full hardware MPEG-2 decoding (SD & HD); support for D-connectors of all types (D1-D5) and any TVs, including HDTV; adaptive line scan control, which eliminates some visual artifacts when viewing broadcast TV on progressive scan displays, as well as COPP/HDCP/CGMS-A technology, which allows you to view protected video of excellent quality while ensuring the protection of the content being viewed.
Along with the above, the Mobile Intel 945 Express family of chipsets supports 7.1-channel Intel High Definition Audio technology with 32-bit/192 KHz resolution; up to eight USB 2.0 ports DMI (Direct Media Interface), LVDS interface, built-in TV output, independent outputs for two displays (Dual Independent Display), support for drives with Serial ATA interface.
It is expected that budget versions of the Mobile Intel 945 Express series chipsets - Intel 945GMZ, Intel 945GMS and Intel 940GML - will be presented in the second quarter. Version Intel 945GMS It is interesting due to its ultra-compact design - only 27 x 27 mm, which determines its use in ultra-compact laptops and mini-laptop class models. Chipset Intel 945GMZ is a stripped-down version of the Intel 945GM, deprived of support for the external PCI Express x16 bus. Finally, the chipset Intel 940GML with integrated graphics and FSB support of only 533 MHz, it is clearly designed to work with Celeron-class chips, but already based on Yonah cores.
A few words about further prospects for the development of mobile south bridges of the ICH7 series. All laptops, as mentioned above, will come with the standard ICH7-M series, while solutions for the Viiv desktop platform will come with both the ICH7-M version and the variant ICH7-MDH, which has additional support for six PCI Express x1 slots and RAID functionality. It is possible that RAID support will also be implemented in the Napa platform - say, in the second or third quarter of 2006.
Wi-Fi in Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG version
Next generation wireless network adapter Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, previously appeared under the working title Golan, supports advanced functionality that improves the communication capabilities of application systems and reduces their response time. The adapter supports IEEE802.11a (5 GHz/54 Mbit/s), IEEE802.11b (2.4 GHz/11 Mbit/s) and IEEE802.11g (2.4 GHz/54 Mbit/s) standards.
Among the key characteristics of the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG it is worth noting:
- Improved AP Selection feature, which is an intelligent access point selection tool based on connection quality parameters such as signal strength, data rate, channel congestion and connection errors, and allows you to automatically select the access point that provides the best performance when using any of the supported protocols of the 802.11x family
- Flexible roaming- the ability to indicate the need to switch to using a particular access point. For example, an access point with a faster connection speed may be selected if additional bandwidth is required when downloading large files, or with a higher signal strength if a more stable connection is required (for example, while playing a game)
- Standard support 802.11e QoS- latest specification 802.11e, which regulates the quality of service in wireless networks when transmitting content in real time, for example, when transmitting voice over IP networks ( VoIP) or watching streaming video over a wireless connection
- Software Intel PROSet/Wireless Software version 10 Provides a user-friendly graphical interface that simplifies troubleshooting
- Plastic bag Business Class Wireless Suite Enables new collaboration applications and enables powerful wireless LANs
- Wake on Wireless Local Area Network technology ( WoWLAN) allows IT staff to wake a client system from a low-power state if that system is connected to the same access point, install a security-critical software update, and notify of an incoming IP phone call even when the laptop is powered off
- Noise reduction filter Detects signals from other non-802.11 clients (such as from a microwave oven or cordless telephone) and prevents receiver overload, allowing you to maintain high throughput under adverse conditions
- Specification Support Cisco Compatible Extensions(LEAP, EAP-FAST and CKIP)
- Support for operating systems: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Linux
The Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Wi-Fi adapter is available in a mini-card form factor for the PCIe bus (PCI Express x1, 1/2 mPCI format), which allows you to create thin and light laptops. With Intel PROSet/Wireless software version 10 available, enterprise customers can take advantage of a new IT administration tool and API designed to provide 802.11e quality of service (QoS) for IP telephony.
About the performance and efficiency of the Intel Centrino Duo platform
So, having understood in detail the components of the new Intel Centrino Duo platform, it’s time to evaluate its capabilities. Unfortunately, at the moment our laboratory does not have the results of testing a real system based on the Napa platform, and we will have to limit ourselves to a few slides obtained as a result of testing systems by the Intel laboratory. It was on the basis of these graphs that the company’s official press release announced “an increase in performance up to 68% due to the use of new 2-core processors, an extension of battery life to 28%, and so on. Well, for now - only official data, but in the near future we will definitely delight our readers with tests of real retail systems.
The final touch in the description of Intel Centrino Duo technology is a selection of information on the energy consumption of components of new generation mobile systems. According to preliminary information from Intel's OEM partners, the total power consumption of systems based on the Napa platform is lower than that of the previous generation Sonoma. Preliminary data on the average (not peak, maximum, but average) power consumption of components of the Intel Core Duo platform are shown in the table below, where they can be compared with similar characteristics of the Sonoma platform.
Approximate energy consumption of elements |
|||
Sonoma |
Napa |
||
| CPU | 1.1 W | 1.1 W | |
| Northbridge chipset | Integr. (GM) | 1.5 W | 1 W |
| Discrete (PM) | 1 W | 0.39 W | |
| South Bridge | 1.5 W | 0.6 W | |
| Wireless LAN | 0.1 W | 0.055 W | |
| Total | 4.2 W | 2.8 W | |
Given the similar average power consumption of the Core Duo and Dothan chips, note how the power consumption of the Intel 945GM and Intel 945PM chipsets has decreased compared to their predecessors, the Intel 915GM and Intel 915M. As a result, with half the power consumption of the wireless adapter and the south bridge, the average power consumption of Napa platform components dropped to 2.8 W versus 4.2 W for Sonoma. A successful choice of an economical display, storage drives and other “gluttonous” components of a laptop will certainly allow developers to achieve new records for the battery life of systems based on the Napa platform.
As a striking example of a model based on Intel Centrino Duo technology, I will cite the recently introduced Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop, which will go to retail before the end of January. The new product is equipped with a Core Duo T2500 processor clocked at 2 GHz, Intel 945PM Express, discrete graphics NVIDIA GeForce 7800 Go with 256 MB of graphics memory, 2 GB of RAM, 100 GB of hard drive, and a luxurious 17-inch 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) screen .
The model also includes a DVD±R/RW burner drive, an ExpressCard/54 slot, slots for SD, MMC, MS PRO, xD-Picture Card cards, six USB 2.0 ports, an IEEE 1394 port, DVI output, and TV output, pre-installed Windows XP Home Edition (SP2). The dimensions of the new product are 394 x 288 x 41.5 mm and weighs 3.49 kg. To be fair, it is worth noting that all the leading companies in the industry have released similar products, so we won’t have long to wait for new items on our shelves.
Once again we will have to agree with the immortal Kozma Prutkov: “you cannot embrace the immensity.” In addition to the most interesting details about the architecture of the components of the Intel Centrino Duo technology, such interesting details as, for example, the approximate specifications of the next generation of the Intel mobile platform - Santa Rosa based on Core Duo/Merom chips, Crestine chipsets and Gaston Wi-Fi modules, were left outside the scope of this material. We have to admit with regret that an attempt to include in this story software and hardware details about a completely new direction for Intel platforms - MacBook Pro laptops and iMac desktop systems from Apple Computer based on Intel Core Duo processors, the material would grow to monstrous proportions.
Therefore, all the details and continuations will be in the following episodes, where we will get to know both the new technical details of the new platforms and the results of their practical tests.
