Intel Compatible MB Chipset FAQ

Intel Compatible MB Chipset FAQ


Please post the differences, functions and performance attributes of each Intel based mother board chipset. Please try to keep it simple enough so that folks not familiar with them will have a better understanding of each part.
Please add on as new chipsets are introduced.

Thanks
-TBP

Quick Comparison:

Intel 945P/ICH7 or ICH7R -Supports only 4GB of ram. Chipset only supports DDR2 667 and below. Overclocks ok, often used on lower end boards.

Intel P965/ICH8 or ICH8R -Supports 8GB of ram. Overclocks well, and supports ATi Crossfire in a x16x4 or x16x1 configuration. Uses new ICH8 and ICH8R south bridges.

Intel G965/ICH8/ICH8R/ICH8DH -Supprts 8GB of ram. Overclocks ok, and supports PCIe x16x4 or x16x1 configuration. Uses new ICH8, ICH8R and ICH8DH south bridges. Chipset also includes GMA3000 graphics chipset. (Crossfire support unknown, but should be possible)

Intel Q965/ICH8 or ICH8R -Supprts 8GB of ram. Overclocks ok, and supports PCIe x16x4 or x16x1 configuration. Uses new ICH8 and ICH8R south bridges. Chipset also includes GMA3000 graphics chipset. (Crossfire support unknown, but should be possible)

Intel i975x/ICH7 or ICH7R -Supports 8GB of ram. Only officially supports DDR2 667 and lower speed memory, but the Core 2 Compatible boards have all been modified to allow DDR2 800 and greater memory speeds. Overclocks well and supports ATi Crossfire in a x8x8 configuration, and can be used in a x16x4 configuration if desired with no hardware changes.

nVidia nForce 4 SLi x16 Intel Edition -Great chipset, very stable, runs too hot and overclocks like crap.

nVidia nForce 570SLI Intel Edition -Runs too hot, stable, and overclocks worse than any chipset the world has ever known.

nVidia nForce 590SLI Intel Edition -Poor overclockability, and outstanding feature set. Chipset was replaced quickly by the 680i.

nVidia nForce 650i SLI Intel Edition -Same as the 570SLi, but with improved overclockability.

nVidia nForce 680i SLI Intel Edition -Outstanding features, and excellent overclockability. This chipset is every bit the equal of the i975x and supports two full speed PCIe x16 slots and one x8 PCIe slot with a mechanical x16 form factor.

ATI/AMD Crossfire Xpress 3200/SB600 (For Intel) (More info coming later)

More detailed comparison:

The only Intel chipset that was designed for Core 2 Duo support is the P965 Express chipset. It officially supports DDR2 800 memory, and all the boards made with it work for Core 2 Duo. The problem is the lack of an x8x8 or 16x16 PCIe configuration for dual video cards. Though Crossfire does work on boards with this chipset.

The i975x and 945P Express chipsets do not officially support DDR 2 800 memory and only officially do DDR2 667. Though i975x has been adjusted on newer boards to use the higher speed ram and of course only the newest boards using this chipset are Core 2 Duo compatible. This is due to differences in voltage designs on newer boards vs. older ones. The main thing about this chipset is the x8x8 PCIe slot compatabiity for Crossfire.

Though the i975x is essentially hacked, alongside 945P, the i975x and 945P chipsets are VERY stable and work perfectly with Core 2 Duo. The performance is there, and the features they have all work properly.

On the nVidia side, only the 570SLI and 590SLI chipsets were designed to work with Core 2 Duo. Even still, the 570 runs excessively hot and overclocks like crap. The 590SLI is not out yet so I'll reserve judgement on that chipset, though it is likely to mimic the 570SLI.. The nForce 4 SLI x16 Intel Edition chipset wasn't designed for Core 2 Duo, but as with i975x, some boards are popping up that have been altered to work with Core 2 Duo. This is a very proven and reliable chipset, but the feature set is getting long in the tooth, and the chipset doesn't overclock very well at all either. Certainly getting past 350FSB with that chipset is a challenge. In comparison the Intel P965 and i975x can usually do over 400FSB in most cases.

The 680i chipset has the outstanding feature set of the 590SLI chipset, combined with the overclocking prowess of an Intel chipset. Truly this is the chipset the Core 2 Duo has been waiting for. It brings SLi compatbility, and a complete set of enthusiast worthy features.

The ATI/AMD Xpress 3200 has a fairly basic feature set as it's combined with the SB600 south bridge. The chipset has support for 4 SATA devices and one PATA channel. USB performance and drive performance is not quite to the performance of the Intel and NVIDIA solutions, but it is within 1-3% of the competition. PCIe functions for Crossfire are delivered in dual x8 slots instead of dual x16 slots like NVIDIA's 680i chipset uses. The Xpress 3200 only supports 1066MHz FSB speeds and DDR 800MHz officially.

I am working on it, I'll finish this out and clean it up a bit more later. I will have to do a little research, but this should help out some people.

Cool Thanks!

I have also posted a Duplicate Version in the AMD MB Forum too.

Thanks!!

Wow, Dan, excellent work!

oozish said:

Wow, Dan, excellent work!

Click to expand...

Thanks, but there is much more to do. I will continue when I get home.

Thank you so much for this comparison.

This only confirms what I have experienced with the last 2 nForce series boards I have owned. I will never again purchase one because of the lack of over clocking and I agree that they are very stable.

Rembrandt said:

This only confirms what I have experienced with the last 2 nForce series boards I have owned. I will never again purchase one because of the lack of over clocking and I agree that they are very stable.

Click to expand...

Did you own Intel Edition nForce boards or did you have AMD compatible nForce chipsets? The AMD compatible ones overclock fine, it's the Intel Editions that don't.

Updated. 11/13/06.

Dan, you answered pretty much all my questions about the differences between these chipsets. Thank you much

Wow.. The 680i Looks to be quite the Chipset! thanks for the run-down!

TheBluePill said:

Wow.. The 680i Looks to be quite the Chipset! thanks for the run-down!

Click to expand...

It really is. Though the performance is about 1-3% less than it's i975x counterparts, it does have quite a few features that make up for this shortcoming. Additionally, the 680i chipset officially supports SLi, and overclocks better than the i975x does. (Generally speaking of course.) With more overclocking headroom, that 3% of performance advantage the i975x has gets eaten up quickly.

...change with the D975XBX2? The Intel web site says "Support for DDR2 800, DDR2 667, or DDR2 533 MHz DIMMs" for the Badaxe2.

coachjohn said:

...change with the D975XBX2? The Intel web site says "Support for DDR2 800, DDR2 667, or DDR2 533 MHz DIMMs" for the Badaxe2.

Click to expand...

No change. The i975x originally did not support DDR2 800. The modern boards that do have been altered in some other fashion, but not on a chipset level as I understand it.

It'd be nice if this FAQ included some form of "chipset roadmap". I am terribly curious to see what chipsets are lined up for the intel platform as well as their features and some approximate release dates. It's fine if this info were from other websites if the [H] is under NDA.

drizzt81 said:

It'd be nice if this FAQ included some form of "chipset roadmap". I am terribly curious to see what chipsets are lined up for the intel platform as well as their features and some approximate release dates. It's fine if this info were from other websites if the [H] is under NDA.

Click to expand...

I would do that if I had that information. In the rare instances I have advanced knowledge of an upcoming product, I have to abide by whatever restrictions are placed on me having such information. So even if I do know about a chipset coming out soon, I can't necessarily talk much about it.

For example, I knew about the Xpress 3200 in advance, but only by a little over a week. I knew about the 680i in advance, but only by about two weeks. I rarely know about these things before the internet community does. The only difference is that what I know is generally more accurate. *IF* such informaiton was shared with me.

I was wondering why I couldn't get my Corsair 8500 c5d ram to run on the asus P5WDH motherboard at it's rated speed. All this hype about the i975 and it doesn't support higher ram speeds, and the way Asus bios revisions go, I don't see any help in the future. But I am hoping the version 1901 bios might help since it's supposed to support 1333 mhz FSB speed. In your opinion what is the best of the intel fsb chipsets ? thanks Dantrax

Dantrax said:

I was wondering why I couldn't get my Corsair 8500 c5d ram to run on the asus P5WDH motherboard at it's rated speed. All this hype about the i975 and it doesn't support higher ram speeds, and the way Asus bios revisions go, I don't see any help in the future. But I am hoping the version 1901 bios might help since it's supposed to support 1333 mhz FSB speed. In your opinion what is the best of the intel fsb chipsets ? thanks Dantrax

Click to expand...

The reason why the Intel i975x chipset is so highly sought after is it's superior clock for clock performance compared to other chipsets. At stock speeds it's faster than all other chipsets in some instances. When paired with a lower end Core 2 Duo like the E6300 or E6400 it isn't the best overclocker and often gets beaten by the overclocking abilities of the P965 Express chipset. Fortunately the i975x chipset based boards overclock well enough when combined with a CPU that has a higher multiplier. This is because the ultra high FSB speeds aren't needed for such CPUs.

However, the i975x chipset originally only supported DDR2 533 and DDR2 667MHz modules. This later revision was altered to support DDR2 800MHz modules. I am not 100% clear on if the change was a revision to the i975x silicon or is due to a change in implementation on the part of the motherboard manufacturers.

Bear in mind that no chipset aside from the NVIDIA 600 series chipsets officially support memory speeds over DDR2 800MHz. With that said, most chipsets including the i975 can handle higher frequency memory settings when overclocking is involved.

Dan D, I picked up 2gb Crucial Ballistix ddr2-800 ram on the QVL list for the p5dh and installed that instead of the Corsair memory. New ram still wasn't recognized by bios v.1707 but I was able to set speed & timings in bios & run mem-test ok & boot ok. I'll save ddr2-1066 ram for 680i mobo if they ever get the heavy kinks out of that chipset. Dantrax

Dantrax said:

Dan D, I picked up 2gb Crucial Ballistix ddr2-800 ram on the QVL list for the p5dh and installed that instead of the Corsair memory. New ram still wasn't recognized by bios v.1707 but I was able to set speed & timings in bios & run mem-test ok & boot ok. I'll save ddr2-1066 ram for 680i mobo if they ever get the heavy kinks out of that chipset. Dantrax

Click to expand...

I think the 680i is good enough for consideration these days. Almost all the issues have really cleared up now and the performance and stability are right where they should have been in the first place.

I've had great luck with my Striker Extreme (Aside from some early teething.), and I've assembled a couple of boxes that use the eVGA 680i chipset and their owners report good luck so far with them.

nVidia nForce 650i SLI Intel Edition -Same as the 570SLi, but with improved overclockability

Click to expand...

I'm not sure that this is a very good description for this chipset and maybe should be updated .

As far as I can make out, nVidia follows the following model with it's Intel "chipset" designs (using the 600-series as an example):

* North Bridge - (System Performance Processor - SPP)

This chip handles FSB and memory controller duties, along with primary GPU PCI-E lanes and a few extra PCI-E lanes (block diagram on this page). On the 600-series chipsets (680i, 680i LT, 650i, 650i Ultra), this chip is the C55. Since this chip handles FSB and memory controller duties and is used in all above configurations, overclocking should be 'similar' on each chipset (all other things being equal).

* South Bridge - (Media and Communications Processor – MCP)

This chip handles all other chipset functions, including support for additional PCI-E lanes/links, and IO support for things like Audio, SATA/PATA, USB, LAN and PCI slots. This chip, in effect, defines the resulting 600-series "chipset".

For the 680i SLI, this chip is the MCP55PXE and the block diagram linked above shows it's details. With the extra PCI-E lanes this chip provides, the total goes up to 46, allowing for full 16x16 SLI, an x8 electrical slot and a few left over.

For the 650i SLI, this chip is the MCP430 (also known as the C51 part, according to MSI, at least). A block diagram of this chip can be found here. Note that it doesn't include any additional PCI-E lanes, so this "chipset" flavor only has the 18 lanes from the NB (in either 16, 1, 1 or 8, 8, 1, 1 configurations). Other differences include fewer SATA ports, fewer USB ports, one less LAN and one additional PATA/IDE connector (2 more IDE devices).

I hadn't seen good details on the 680i SLI LT or the 650i Ultra yet, but the 650i Ultra is likely a 650 SLI in disguise (one link artificially removed from the NB, so only 16, 1, 1 configuration is possible). The 680i SLI LT may use a crippled MCP55PXE SB, or may have some new chip in it's place.

It is confusing, and I don't think what's been posted is inaccurate so much as vague.

There is a C55XE which is paired with the MCP55XE (a.k.a. 590SLI MCP). There is also a C55 SPP, and MCP55P (a.k.a. 570SLI MCP). The MCP430 is also known as C51.

From what I've gathered, the main difference between the C55XE and C55 is the PCIe lane configuration. The C55XE has more physical PCIe lanes than the C55 does. I haven't really looked at any 650i SLI or 650i Ultra boards yet, so I am not that well versed in them.

Yes, it is confusing - and the 650i is still pretty new. I guess my emotional objection was not so much the accuracy, (although I'm not sure the 570 feature-set is the right comparison) but had more to do with the impression your summary gives...

Dan_D said:

nVidia nForce 570SLI Intel Edition -Runs too hot, stable, and overclocks worse than any chipset the world has ever known.
...

nVidia nForce 650i SLI Intel Edition -Same as the 570SLi, but with improved overclockability.

nVidia nForce 680i SLI Intel Edition -Outstanding features, and excellent overclockability. This chipset is every bit the equal of the i975x and supports two full speed PCIe x16 slots and one x8 PCIe slot with a mechanical x16 form factor.
...

Click to expand...

...so the 570SLI is the worse chipset on the planet for overclocking (and gets panned more below there) and then the 650i is "Same as the 570SLI, but with "improved" overclockability". Meanwhile, the 680i is outstanding features, excellent overclocking, every bit the equal, etc. Kinda makes the 650i chipset out to be the red-headed step-child of the family .

And yet, they both use the SAME NB chip - which most overclocking is related to (FSB, memory) and while the 650i has fewer features than it's bigger brother on the SB side of things, it's also feature-packed, etc.

I just wanted to provide more info on what's turning out to be an excellent chipset.

Spanki said:

Yes, it is confusing - and the 650i is still pretty new. I guess my emotional objection was not so much the accuracy, (although I'm not sure the 570 feature-set is the right comparison) but had more to do with the impression your summary gives...



...so the 570SLI is the worse chipset on the planet for overclocking (and gets panned more below there) and then the 650i is "Same as the 570SLI, but with "improved" overclockability". Meanwhile, the 680i is outstanding features, excellent overclocking, every bit the equal, etc. Kinda makes the 650i chipset out to be the red-headed step-child of the family .

And yet, they both use the SAME NB chip - which most overclocking is related to (FSB, memory) and while the 650i has fewer features than it's bigger brother on the SB side of things, it's also feature-packed, etc.

I just wanted to provide more info on what's turning out to be an excellent chipset.

Click to expand...

No they use different north bridge chips, the south bridges are the chips that are unchanged. They did a decent job with them and there was no need to change them.

Dan_D said:

No they use different north bridge chips, the south bridges are the chips that are unchanged. They did a decent job with them and there was no need to change them.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I think we're talking about two different things...

Yes, the NB chip changed from the 500-series to the 600-series.

What I'm refering to is the difference between various flavors of the 600-series "chipsets". As far as I can tell, ALL of the 600-series chipsets use the same NB (the C55) but different SB chips (MCP55xxx or MCP430, a.k.a. the C51).

Since the 680i and 650i use the same C55 SPP, they overclock similarly-well.

...(although I'm not sure the 570 feature-set is the right comparison)...

Click to expand...

I'm still not exactly sure what the feature-set is on the (intel) 570 chipset, but I did find references that confirmed that that chipset did use the MCP430 for the SB, so off-hand, that does sound right.

Delete me..
Double post...

Wow, great work Dan!

That's the shortest and most comprehensive list of recent motherboard architecture, computability, compatibility, stability and overclock-"ability" I've seen yet.

It also has the ability to aptly twist your tongue into ab-livion.

One quick question. Do you happen to know of, or where I can find, information about the 975 motherboards which were 'officially adapted' to use with Core 2 Duo's, from 667mhz-800mhz headroom? I know I saw this info somewhere but can't remember for the life of me where it went to..

I have a D975xbx revision 306 if that helps.

What did you want to know about those i975x boards?

I know of a few of them off hand, but specifically, what are you asking about them?

There is the Intel D975XBX and Intel D975XBX2, ASUS P5W DH, ASUS P5W64-WS Professional boards that all fall into the Core 2 Duo compatibility category. There are more I'm sure, but those are the better ones that I can think of right now.

Dan_D said:

[snip..]


Intel i975x/ICH7 or ICH7R -Supports 8GB of ram. Only officially supports DDR2 667 and lower speed memory, but the Core 2 Compatible boards have all been modified to allow DDR2 800 and greater memory speeds. Overclocks well and supports ATi Crossfire in a x8x8 configuration, and can be used in a x16x4 configuration if desired with no hardware changes.

[snip..]

The i975x and 945P Express chipsets do not officially support DDR 2 800 memory and only officially do DDR2 667. Though i975x has been adjusted on newer boards to use the higher speed ram and of course only the newest boards using this chipset are Core 2 Duo compatible. This is due to differences in voltage designs on newer boards vs. older ones. The main thing about this chipset is the x8x8 PCIe slot compatabiity for Crossfire.

Though the i975x is essentially hacked, alongside 945P, the i975x and 945P chipsets are VERY stable and work perfectly with Core 2 Duo. The performance is there, and the features they have all work properly.

[snip..]

Click to expand...

Specifically, I was wondering which revision of the BadAxe1 (D975XBX, not D975XBX2) boards were 'unofficially' dubbed "Core2Duo" compatible, with the 'unoffical' increase to 800mhz memory support; as in the revision numbers 300-306(+?)? And if so, do you know of any place I can find 'unofficial' documentation?

Not that your word isn't good enough, it's just driving me crazy I can't find it, again.

Thanks for your time, Dan_D!

And thanks again for the quick comparisons, I've already sub'd this thread!

dot_Zen said:

Specifically, I was wondering which revision of the BadAxe1 (D975XBX, not D975XBX2) boards were 'unofficially' dubbed "Core2Duo" compatible, with the 'unoffical' increase to 800mhz memory support; as in the revision numbers 300-306(+?)? And if so, do you know of any place I can find 'unofficial' documentation?

Not that your word isn't good enough, it's just driving me crazy I can't find it, again.

Thanks for your time, Dan_D!

And thanks again for the quick comparisons, I've already sub'd this thread!

Click to expand...

I don't have that information on the specific revisions of the boards. Typically, Intel makes this information in some of their technical PDFs on their website. Usually they will tell you which versions of the board are compatible by serial number.

Additionally, I think that all the D975XBX's are Core 2 Duo compatible. If I am not mistaken, they had another i975x chipset based board out there before that wasn't compatible with the Core 2 Duo. It may also be a case of all of the D975XBX's being compatible, with only a BIOS update being made. In any case a little research should get you the answers you need on Intel's website.

If I knew for certain, I'd tell you off hand, but unfortunately I don't know for sure.

Hey, no worries Dan!

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately they've either pulled those or I'm just not hitting the right search terms; but I'll keep looking!

I look forward to your upcoming bearlake (or possibly another DDR3/C2Quad-compatible chipset?) workstation board reviews, if ya have any!

dot_Zen said:

Hey, no worries Dan!

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately they've either pulled those or I'm just not hitting the right search terms; but I'll keep looking!

I look forward to your upcoming bearlake (or possibly another DDR3/C2Quad-compatible chipset?) workstation board reviews, if ya have any!

Click to expand...

Currently, I can't comment on Bearlake as it's not out yet. As for workstation boards, I know that many people would like us to do them, and I'd certainly love to evaluate those types of boards. I work in IT primarily and I have alot of experience with enterprise class hardware in large data centers, as well as having experience with high end graphics workstations so I have a hardon for that type of hardware. Unfortunately, I have no idea if and when the [H] will do reviews on that class of motherboards. I just write reviews part time, and I have no control or knowledge of what Kyle's plans are concerning that type of review material.

I would however say that if and when sufficient demand for those types of reviews becomes apparent, I wouldn't be surprised if that type of content began appearing on the site. Again that's only my opinion and a guess about what Kyle might do if he saw enough demand for workstation/server board articles. Even with that said, sometimes things we'd all like to see on the [H] aren't neccessarily feasable from a business standpoint.