Technical specifications Intel D945GNT and D945GTP. New Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Platform

Compared to the revolutionary changes in the capabilities of the desktop platforms that provided the output of Intel 915/925 Express chipsets, the appearance of a new line of i945 / 955 Express chipsets (as well as a slightly modified version of the latter - i975X) looks very modest. Minor improvements affected, in fact, only support b about faster speeds of the interfaces, the main task of the new products is to provide a basis for the newly announced dual-core Intel processors and ATI CrossFire technology. This material contains only information on the functionality of the i945 / 955/975, and performance tests, in which the i925X and i955X represent their generation of chipsets, were submitted in, since 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 to support older solutions, with several features typical for high-performance systems), integrated (i945G) and basic (i945P) . Let's start by seniority:

• North Bridge 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 throughput ~ 2 GB / s) to the south bridge ICH7 / R;
• 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, the 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 disks;
  • 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-megabyte network controller Intel 82562 series;
  • strapping for low-speed and obsolete peripherals, etc.

Since south bridges are common for the whole family, we restrict ourselves to the functionality of the i945G and i945P north bridge:

• Northbridge 945G:
  • pCIEx16 graphical interface;
  • integrated graphics core GMA 950;
• North Bridge 945P:
  • support for Intel Celeron D, Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition processors with a frequency of the system bus 533/800/1066 MHz *;
  • dual-channel DDR2-400 / 533/667 memory controller with support for up to 4 DIMMs without ECC with a total capacity of up to 4 GB;
  • pCIEx16 graphical interface.

  * UPDATE:  shortly after the release of processors 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 the 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 and differences of the new chipsets from each other and competitors. The i955X is deprived of support for “low-speed” processors (with a 533 MHz bus) and memory (DDR2-400), while it supports more memory, ECC and proprietary memory acceleration technology (Memory Pipeline). i945G - the same i945P, only with integrated graphics. Compared with previous Intel chipsets, support for DDR2-667 memory (whether it is needed is a separate issue) and a bus frequency of 1066 MHz (although it appeared already on the i925XE) was added.

None of this chipset family has the ability to "split" the graphic interface into 2 PCI Express ports, however, the work of two video cards in a pair (NVIDIA SLI / ATI CrossFire) is still possible. To do this, the PCIEx4 port is organized by the PCI Express peripheral ports of the south bridge, to which a second PCIEx16 form factor slot is connected on the motherboard. However, NVIDIA does not allow organizing SLI on chipsets of other manufacturers, so, excluding the case of hacking drivers, Intel chipsets are limited to a couple of video cards from ATI. But CrossFire is officially allowed only on the i955X (of course, purely for marketing reasons), and mid-range chipsets for this technology only fit ATI's own production.

The new line of south bridges is represented by only two models (last year’s experiment with wireless support failed). ICH7 is different from ICH6 only about the lower Serial ATA interface speed is now 300 MB / s, as in the SATA-II standard, but without AHCI. The ICH7R version adds RAID support for SATA hard drives, and this support is expanded compared to ICH6R: now in addition to RAID 0 and RAID 1, levels 0 + 1 (10) and 5 are available. In addition, the ICH7R option has 2 extra PCIEx1 ports, which can be useful considering the possibility of using 4 core slots for PCIEx4 (which can be useful for combining two PCIE video cards in SLI).

Compared to competing solutions, the most interesting of which is the 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 not so successful SLI mode organization scheme. On the plus side is HDA support, integrated graphics for the i945G, more interesting RAID modes (with less flexibility in choosing devices for combining into a RAID array).

Intel 975X  Express

At the end of 2005, Intel announced a new chipset that cannot be described otherwise than the i955X version. In fact, absolutely all the characteristics of the i975X, except for one, coincide with those of its predecessor:

• 975X Northbridge:
  • 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 DIMMs with a total capacity of up to 8 GB (modules with and without ECC can be used);
  • pCIEx16 graphical interface or 2 PCIEx8 graphical interfaces.

Moreover, in the only inconsistent paragraph, 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 GUI into two x8. Of course, this is necessary, 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 models of south bridges - ICH7 / R, the chipsets are the same.

However, it is worth noting that, due to the difference in the timing of publication, the i975X supports processors of the new generation Intel Core 2 Duo / Extreme. From samog about   the chipset doesn’t depend on anything here, but the official support for Core 2 was granted by marketers to only one top-end solution, as well as the first quad-core processors should officially earn only in boards based on i975X. The motherboards on the i955X are not compatible with the processors of the new microarchitecture.

Before we move on to testing the HP DV1000T, I need to introduce you to Intel "s new 945PM / GM chipset technology. This will help you better appreciate some of the tests that are to come. Again let me note that we will be publishing a more detailed look at the 945GM chipset soon.

The two key aspects of Intel's Centrino Duo Mobile technology are Core Duo mobile CPUs and the 945PM Express and 945GM Express chipsets. The 945PM is used in mobile computers with discrete graphics processors - graphics processors that are external to the 945 chipset - and provides all chipset functionality but the graphics functionality provided by the discrete graphics processor itself. The 945GM, which also supports discrete processors but is not as cost effective as the 945PM if a discrete processor is used, includes an integrated graphics processor, the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (GMA 950). Aside from the graphics differences, the two chips are identical.

The following table shows the characteristics of the two chips. It is based on Intel specifications data.

The HP DV1000T has the 945GM Express chipset and borrows up to 128 MB of system memory for graphics processing. The N6410, with a separate ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics processor (128 MB of dedicated memory and the ability to use up to 128 MB of shared systen memory) uses the 945PM Express chipset. Both graphics processors can do 2D and 3D graphics. As you will see the ATI processor is the better performer of the two.

This is the interface used to modify the characteristics of the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor.

Before we leave our discussion of the 945GM / PM chipset, I need to call your attention to one of the rows in the above table, the one labeled "# SO-DIMMS / Max Memory." Check out the phrase in each column "(use with 667 MHz memory not validated)." Say what? Well at least one reason for the caveat has to do with system memory clock specs. It turns out that system memory clocks in some 945GM / PM based systems don "t or at least at one time didn" t meet DDR2 667 MHz DRAM device jitter requirements. This can cause problems with DDR2 667 MHz memory timing, if the memory doesn’t meet all of the other requirements for DDR2 DRAM from Intel and JEDEC, the semiconductor engineering standardization body of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). Intel claims that no functional memory failures have been observed.

Characteristics:

The difference between the i946GZ and the G965 is the support of the latest DDR2-800 memory, the possibility of being equipped with a new south bridge ICH8 (not ICH7) with the corresponding difference in the sets of integrated controllers and technologies, as well as the presence of a different graphic core - GMA X3000 (support for ClearVideo technology) and technology work with memory Intel Fast Memory Access.

i946PL

Unlike i946GZ: lack of integrated graphics core. Otherwise, all the possibilities are similar.

Intel introduced a budget modification of the i945 chipset, which supports dual-core Pentium D.

  Discrete 945PL  It features support for processors with FSB 800/533 MHz, has a dual-channel memory controller DDR2-533 / DDR-400 and a graphics port PCI-Express x16.

  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 according to a two-chip scheme: the chipset consists of two controllers - system (MCH)   and peripheral (ICH) connected using a dedicated high-speed bus. This approach provides flexibility in building motherboards. Series 945 chipsets use exactly the same bus (DMI - 2 Gb / s) as the 915/925 chipsets, board manufacturers can create various combinations of MCH and ICH bridges.

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.

Northbridge MCH.

Memory controller  practically has not changed compared to the 915/925 chipsets, but Intel completely refuses to support DDR and adds a frequency of 667 MHz. As before, the memory controller supports two different modes of operation of two memory channels - alternationwhen addresses are in turn distributed between both channels in increments of 64 bytes, and asymmetric modewhen the addressing of the second channel begins immediately after the first. The first mode provides speed and simultaneous access to both channels, the second - full 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 interleave mode).

ICH Southbridge.

Received serial number "7", supports interface for hard drives Serial ATA  with a bandwidth 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. The modes of Level 10 (a combination of 0 and 1) and Level 5 (storage of information for checking and restoring integrity on a separate disk) are added to the list of RAID versions. Also added two ports in ICH7R PCI Express x1  - now there are 6 of them.

Built in network Controller  does not support gigabit networks, the integrated wireless network or FireWire did not appear, compatibility with old codecs is maintained AC’97  along with HD Audio.

Integrated graphics

The integrated Intel GMA950 (945G) graphics has practically no changes compared to the previous generation GMA900 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 grown - from 333 to 400 MHz, further optimization of the graphics core has been carried out.

As before, when an external video card is installed in the PCI Express slot, the integrated graphics are disabled. Their simultaneous work is impossible. However, with the help of a special ADD2 module, you can expand the capabilities of the integrated graphics - add TV outputs and digital DVI output. At the same time, the work of two independent screens is permissible, and now (feature 945G) the “Dual Display Zoom” mode has been added - enlarging a part of one screen on another.

The 945 series includes: 945P without integrated graphics and 945G with an integrated video core.

The characteristics of the chipsets (compared to 955 are as follows):

Chipsets i945G / i945P

The integrated i945G chipset differs from the separate i945P only in the presence of the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950. Otherwise, both chipsets are identical. The new south bridge (IHC7R) received two additional PCIe 1x lines (there are now 6 instead of 4); Added support for SATA II instead of SATA (4 ports); the dual-channel memory access bus increased throughput from 8.5 GB / s to 10 GB / s (support for 1066 MHz FSB); The ability to use DDR memory, only DDR2 is now displayed.

Intel 945G

Intel i945G chipset block diagram

Structurally, this is the same i945P, to which the GMA 950 graphic core was “glued”. Therefore, if you do not take into account the integrated video, all the characteristics of these chipsets are absolutely identical.

* 16 lanes used by PCI Express x16

** 16 lines are used by the PCI Express x16 port and 2 are used as a bus for communication between the north and south bridges.

The GMA 950 graphics core doubles the performance of the previous integrated Intel solution - GMA 900 (i915G) in 3DMark05 tests. There is HDTV support up to 1080i. Looking at the table, it's pretty difficult to determine which IGP is stronger - GMA 950, Radeon Xpress 200G or GeForce 6100 On the one hand, the first two have a greater number of pixel pipelines: 4 versus 2, but at the same time, not a single vertex, assigning the task of calculating shaders to the central processor, while the offspring of NVIDIA has one vertex unit. The Radeon Xpress 200G runs 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 evaluating 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 also handles 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 Specifications GA-8I945GMH:

• Chipset: Intel 945G Express / ICH7-DH;
• Form Factor: Micro-ATX;
• Tires: PCI Express x16, PCI Express X1, two PCI;
• RAM: four slots for DDR2 667, up to 4 GB;
• Network: Intel Pro 1 Gb / s;
• Interfaces: four SATA II ports, one PATA, eight USB 2.0;
• Audio codec: eight-channel Intel High Definition Audio.