Let's talk about X38 vs. Eaglelake

Kindly correct me and fill in the blanks.

Intel X38 chipset :
• available Q4 2007
• PCIe 2.0
• Supports both DDR2 & DRD3; 1333MHz FSB and PC2-6400 (DDR2 800) and PC3-1333 (DDR3 1333) memory support.
• ICH9 southbridge:
(what does ICH9 have?)


Eaglelake chipset :
• available mid 2008
• PCIe 2.0
• DRD3 only (I'm guessing) 1333Mhz FSB with DDR3-1333 memory
• ICH10 southbridge:
integrated Wi-Fi controller alongside a 10GB network controller,
reduced CPU overhead and power consumption,
built in hardware firewall.

ICH10 removes support for PS2 and LPT ports.

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OK, no big deal about LPT but PS2 is needed to run mouse and keyboard from non Windows programs such as when you boot Drive Image, right?

Will there be a card that could have PS2 ports for keyboard & mouse that would work when you boot from a CD/Floppy (yes floppy) using Eaglelake chipset?


I guess the question can be turned into: are there PCI cards today that have PS2 ports on them that would allow you to use PS2 keyboard/mouse when you boot from CD/Floppy and your keyboard/mouse is connected to the PCI card?


Also, could you post a word or two about practical differences between PCIe 1 & 2 and other X38 vs. Eaglelake info.

I don't even get what the difference between "PCIe" and PCI-express is to be honest. :S

lol, copy pasted wrong info without looking or thinking, so they'll both have PCIe 2.0.

I like the integrated wi-fi, northbridge probably has more pcie lanes. Other than that probably better ddr3 bandwidth. I see no point in waiting for eaglelake. However i will be waiting for x38 to get pcie 2.0 before buying.

PCIe and PCI-express are the same thing.

PCIe 1.x is 16x, and I think PCIe 2.0 is 32x. The X38 also allows full bandwidth on each PCIe channel (16x [or higher?] on each connector) making SLI and Crossfire feasible. Not sure if they'll be officially supported, though.

ICH9 or at least ICH9R is a very powerful RAID solution. Check out the Matrix RAID thread in the storage section! 6 raptors or barracudas in a Matrix RAID 0/5...600+MB/s STR!!! I think the ICH9R can handle up to 750MB/s if their was HW to give it that (maybe iRAM RAID?). I can only assume ICH10R will be equal or better.

Loss of PS2 ports is saddening. I think it may cause issues like you pointed out. I don't even like that some current MoBos only have 1 PS2 port. Maybe these legacy ports are holding back performance on these newer chipsets?

DDR3 ram prices will be lower by next summer not mentioning they modules must improve a lot by then.

• Can't let go of the PS2 connector: This can be tested today I suppose by connecting the keyboard & mouse to a PCI card with PS2 connectors then outside of Windows firing up an old program with no USB support.


Anyone work in a repair shop with these cards on the shelf that can test this for us?


Can a mobo manufacturer still decide to add PS2 or is this something that once it's crossed out by design, it's gone?


• "Reduced CPU overhead and power consumption": reduced enough to practically affect overclocking, care to speculate?

• What do you think about future Intel CPU compatibility with X38 vs. Eaglelake, is the Nehalem CPU a nice big step up we're waiting for, what's the ETA on that?

• Built in hardware firewall is listed as an Eaglelake feature, is X38 also scheduled to have it? Does it make a difference if you're using a router firewall?

• Do you think there'll be DDR3 only X38 boards, allowing extra space for other features on those boards?

c627627 said:

Can a mobo manufacturer still decide to add PS2 or is this something that once it's crossed out by design, it's gone?

Click to expand...

I'm sure there's still time to change it, but I wonder if it something inherent in the chipset that prevents its implementation.

c627627 said:

• "Reduced CPU overhead and power consumption": reduced enough to practically affect overclocking, care to speculate?

Click to expand...

I tend to think this makes things more efficient allowing you to have better stability at lower voltages. If the rise and fall times of the signals can be reduced then you don't need as much voltage to keep a given frequency stable (assuming your Vcore is high enough above the threshold voltage). I do hope this is part of what they're referring to.

c627627 said:

• What do you think about future Intel CPU compatibility with X38 vs. Eaglelake, is the Nehalem CPU a nice big step up we're waiting for, what's the ETA on that?

Click to expand...

Not sure.

c627627 said:

• Built in hardware firewall is listed as an Eaglelake feature, is X38 also scheduled to have it? Does it make a difference if you're using a router firewall?

Click to expand...

Not sure if X38 has it, but it shouldn't cause any problems if you also have a router firewall. You can probably disable it in the BIOS as well.

c627627 said:

• Do you think there'll be DDR3 only X38 boards, allowing extra space for other features on those boards?

Click to expand...

I'm sure of it. It'll probably be similar to the P35 boards out now w/ just DDR2, DDR2 & DDR3, and just DDR3 flavors being available.

Dreaming for ICH10R to come with built-in XOR engine, higher bandwidth to NB and 12 sata ports !

Anyone know anything about the "unlocking bus speed" on the X38