X38 Intel specs and data sheets are up.

[BillParrish]

For those of us that can read.

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/X38/index.htm


Some clues as to what the issue that delayed release:

1. PCIe 1.1 cards in PCIe slots off the MCH lead to boot failures.​

Problem:

The Intel® X38 Express Chipset sets the TS1 Ordered Set - Symbol 4 Bit[6] to 1b when

a PCIe 1.1 card is plugged in. This is a reserved bit which is used in PCIe 2.0 to

broadcast support for selectable de-emphasis. PCIe 1.1 Specification states that Bit[6]
should be set to 0b. With some 2.5 GT/s PCIe 1.1 I/O cards of widths x8/x4/x1, system
restarts and hangs were exhibited during PCIe link initialization when populated in MCH
slots.
Implication: ​

System unable to train some 2.5 GT/s PCIe 1.1 cards that don't comply with the PCIe

1.1 Specification. Failures have occurred across multiple vendors and different types of

PCIe 1.1 cards.
Workaround: ​

Contact your Intel field representative for the latest BIOS information. Modification to

the Link Stability/Recovery Algorithm will fix this issue when using non-compliant cards

but customers should continue working with their card vendors for PCIe 1.1 Spec
compliancy.
Status: ​

No Fix. For affected steppings, see the Summary Table of Changes.​

2. Intermittent IERR# hangs during cold boot does not detect PCIe

cards.
Problem: ​

During cold boots, the MCH may hang during power-on and assert IERR or may not

detect PCIe cards off the primary port or secondary port. The 1.8V on-die voltage

regulator which powers the PCIe & DMI PLL may not be stable when powering on,
causing above issues.
Implication: ​

PLL not operating correctly could result in not detecting PCIe cards or DMI may not

operate correctly, resulting in system hang and IERR# assertion.

Workaround: ​

Motherboard designers are required to implement board changes:

• Require 1.25V through LC filter on MCH VCCAPLL_EXT (Ball A20) & VCCAPLL_EXT2

(Ball AR10).
• Require 1.25V on MCH VCC_EXP_PLL (Ball AB13).
• BIOS must disable 1.8V on-die VR. Contact your Intel field representative for the
latest BIOS information.
Status: ​

No Fix. For affected steppings, see the Summary Table of Changes.​

That first one is probally not a big deal as we will be putting 16x video cards in 99% of the time. The second one probally resulted in several large piles of worthless PCBs, ouch.

 

[DaNotoriousDOM]

I always thought that the additional power for PCIe2.0 will come from the bus itself. Now I read that 2.0 cards will take advantage of the 8pin PCIe connector on the card itself instead of the current 6 pin. So I'll have to upgrade the power supply since mine only have dual 6pin connectors. That really sucks as I just bought a new 650W Antec Trio. I guess there is no point in getting a X38 mobo for me and just stick with a P35 until I want to overhaul most of my system(new mobo, DDR3, new PS, new 2.0 video card).

 

[BillParrish]

I did read somewhere (still digesting those new data sheets) and if memory does not fail me, the PIC-e2.0 will have the ability to supply 75W of power on the board, up from 50W. How that would help with a particular video card I have no idea.

I am sure there will be adaptors available for 6 to 8 pin PCI-e, if the power supply has the "omph" available its only a question of the proper connector.

edit: I cant find it, I think 75W was the old spec, several references to the 2.0 spec allowing for higher power to the slot but I cant find the actual values and you have to be a pcsig member to actually download the spec grrrrr.

edit again:

I was all wet, wrong etc. this is what I read and did not remember correctly, my bad. from anandtech.

The 8-pin PCIe power connector is capable of delivering up to 150W of power compared to the 75W limit in the 6-pin PCIe power plug. The PCI Express x16 slot on the motherboard is still limited to 75W. In total, up to 300W is available for each x16 PCIe slot on the motherboard, and hopefully we will not reach the day where that capability will need to be increased