Intel to Replace LGA1366 Socket in 2011

Intel’s current high-end socket for consumer processors, best known as LGA1366, is supposedly set to be replaced by a new part in 2011. According to information obtained by Bit-Tech, the new socket would come in the second half of 2011 and with it several new features to accommodate future processors. Along with the new part, Intel will inevitably be releasing a new chipset to be at the center of the new platform.

If manufacturer Intel stands true to its actual naming scheme, the new chipset should be called X68. Sources indicates that the new silicon is expected to implement more PCI-E lanes than the current X58, although it is still unclear if those lanes will be of the 2.0 or 3.0 type. The new platform is also rumored to have four memory channels, evolving from the triple-channel memory design of the X58. The new quadruple-channel memory system should allow for only one DIMM to be installed per channel to allow for maximum bandwidth. New motherboards will therefore be built with only four memory slots.

The new X68 chipset and its accompanying unnamed socket will mark the end of the LGA1366 domination as the high-end socket for consumers systems. Introduced in late 2008, it will have seen more than three years of service. The new platform will most likely be released at the same time as Intel’s upcoming processors featuring eight physical cores, capable of sixteen threads thanks to Intel’s hyper threading technology.

Source: Bit-Tech

– dostov