The purpose of this section is list recent Intel chips according to microarchitectures since P6 for reference. (A microarchitecture is the design and layout of a microprocessor.) In-depth expositions of each microarchitecture and each CPU family are found in articles in References.
P6 Microarchitecture
The P6 microarchitecture is the sixth generation x86 architecture of Intel released in 1995, which lasted until 2000, then revived in the mobile microarchitecture in 2003 with the release of the Pentium M line of processors, which was in turn succeeded by the Core microarchitecture in 2006. (x86 or 80x86 is the generic name of microprocessor architecture developed by Intel since the Intel 8086 processor in 1978.) This was a completely new architecture featuring implementation of the RISC technology, on-die L2 cache, etc. The chip families based on this architecture are:
Pentium Pro, used mostly in workstations and servers
P6, released on November 1, 1995, 500 nm and 350 nm processes, Socket 8
Pentium II, actually low-end Pentium Pro, but re-branded
Klamath, released on May 7, 1997, 350 nm process, Slot 1
Deschutes, released on February 26, 1998, 250 nm process, Slot 1
Pentium III
Katmai, released on February 26, 1999, 250 nm process, Slot 1
Coppermine, released on October 25, 1999, 180 nm process, Slot 1/Socket 370
Tualatin, released on June 19, 2001, 130 nm process, Socket 370
Celeron (a value desktop CPU line), Xeon (a server CPU line) and Mobile Pentium II/III (mobile CPU lines) were also introduced based on Pentium II/III cores.
By the way, the brand name Pentium first appeared in the fifth generation x86 architecture (codenamed P5) in March 1993.
Intel NetBurst Microarchitecture
The Intel NetBurst microarchitecture is the successor to the P6 microarchitecture introduced in 2000. The architecture features deep pipeline, higher clock speeds, larger die size, etc. Intel expected 10GHz with this architecture, but eventually abandoned it because of increasing power dissipation with higher clock speeds. The chip families based on NetBurst are
Pentium 4
Willamette, released on November 20, 2000, 180 nm process, Socket 423/478
Northwood, released on January 7, 2002, 130 nm process, Socket 478
Prescott (the last processor identified by a clock speed), released on February 2, 2004, 90 nm process, Socket 478
Prescott (500 Series), released on June 21, 2004 (with the 915 Express chipset), 90 nm process, Socket 775
Prescott 2M (600 Series), released on February 20, 2005, 90 nm process, EM64T, Socket 775
Cedar Mill (6x1 Series), released on January 18, 2006, 65 nm process, Socket 775
Pentium D is the first announced dual-core desktop processor.
Smithfield (800 Series), released on May 26, 2005, two Prescott cores on a single die, 90 nm process, Socket 775
Presler (900 Series), released on January 6, 2006, two Cedar Mill dies on a single package, 65 nm process, Socket 775
There are also Extreme Editions, Celeron, Celeron D (single-core!), Xeon, Mobile Pentium 4 and Mobile Pentium 4 - M based on Pentium 4 and/or Pentium D cores. Intel is releasing NetBurst-based Dual-Core Xeon 7100 Series (Tulsa) that may be the last NetBurst-based CPU line.
Intel's Mobile Microarchitecture
Intel's mobile microarchitecture was first implemented in the Pentium M mobile processor released in March 2003. Pentium M is not a low-power version of Pentium 4 but a modified version of Pentium III Tualatin optimized for power efficiency. It runs at a lower clock speed than Pentium 4 but with a similar performance. Then came Intel Core in January 2006 that brought dual core into notebooks with 65 nm technology. That was also a preliminary step to the next desktop Intel Core microarchitecture.
Pentium M
Banias (vanilla and 705), released on March 12, 2003 as part of the Centrino mobile technology, 130 nm process, FSB 400MTps, Socket 479
Dothan (700 Series), released on May 10, 2004, 90 nm process, FSB 533MTps, Socket 479
Core Duo (Yonah), released on January 5, 2006. Dual-core, 65 nm, [VT, EIST, XD Bit], Socket M (479 pins, but different layout from Socket 479)
Standard Voltage, FSB 533/667MTps, 31W
T2050: 1.60GHz = 133MHz x 12, 2MB L2, [no VT]
T2250: 1.73GHz = 133MHz x 13, 2MB L2, [no VT]
T2300E: 1.66GHz = 166MHz x 10, 2MB L2, [no VT]
T2300: 1.66GHz = 166MHz x 10, 2MB L2
T2400: 1.83GHz = 166MHz x 11, 2MB L2
T2500: 2.00GHz = 166MHz x 12, 2MB L2
T2600: 2.16GHz = 166MHz x 13, 2MB L2
T2700: 2.33GHz = 166MHz x 14, 2MB L2
Low Voltage, FSB 667MTps, 15W
L2300: 1.50GHz = 166MHz x 9, 2MB L2
L2400: 1.66GHz = 166MHz x 10, 2MB L2
L2500: 1.83GHz = 166MHz x 11, 2MB L2
Ultra Low Voltage, FSB 533MTps, 9W
U2400: 1.06GHz = 133MHz x 8, 2MB L2
U2500: 1.20GHz = 133MHz x 9, 2MB L2
Core Solo (Yonah), released on January 5, 2006. Single-core (the same die as Core Duo with only one core active), 65 nm, Socket M
Standard Voltage, FSB 667MTps, 27W, [EIST, XD Bit]
Celeron M (400 Series, Yonah-based), released in April and May 2006. Single-core, 65 nm, [XD Bit], Socket M
Standard Voltage, FSB 533MTps, 27W
410: 1.46GHz = 133MHz x 11, 1MB L2
420: 1.60GHz = 133MHz x 12, 1MB L2
430: 1.73GHz = 133MHz x 13, 1MB L2
440: 1.86GHz = 133MHz x 14, 1MB L2
450: 2.00GHz = 133MHz x 15, 1MB L2
Ultra Low Voltage, FSB 533MTps, 5.5W
423: 1.06GHz = 133MHz x 8, 1MB L2
There are also Celeron M 300 Series based on Banias and Dothan and Dual-Core Xeon LV/ULV based on Yonah.
Intel Core Microarchitecture
The Intel Core microarchitecture is the current Intel microarchitecture, previously known as Next Generation Microarchitecture (NGMA). This is the direct successor to Intel's mobile microarchitecture and has little in common with the NetBurst microarchitecture. It features relatively low frequencies but improved other functions such as smarter prefetch and cache, resulting in increased performance and increasing energy efficiency. The current and near-future processors based on this microarchitecture are:
Desktop - Socket 775
Core 2 Duo (Allendale), first leased on Jan 21, 2007. Dual-core, 65 nm, FSB 800MTps, 2MB L2 cache, [EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
E4300: 1.80GHz = 200MHz x 9, 65W
E4400: 2.00GHz = 200MHz x 10, 65W
E4500: 2.20GHz = 200MHz x 11, 65W (July 22, 2007)
Core 2 Duo/Extreme (Conroe), first released on July 27, 2006. Dual-core, 65 nm, FSB 1066MTps, 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
E6300: 1.86GHz = 266MHz x 7, 2MB L2 (half the cache disabled), 65W
E6320: 1.86GHz = 266MHz x 7, 65W (Q2 2007)
E6400: 2.13GHz = 266MHz x 8, 2MB L2 (half the cache disabled), 65W
E6420: 2.13GHz = 266MHz x 8, 65W (Q2 2007)
E6600: 2.40GHz = 266MHz x 9, 65W
E6700: 2.66GHz = 266MHz x 10, 65W
E6800: 2.93GHz = 266MHz x 11, 75W (Q2 2007)
X6800: 2.93GHz = 266MHz x 11, 75W, unlocked multiplier
Core 2 Duo/Extreme (Conroe) to be released on July 22, 2007, FSB 1333MTps, 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit, TXT]
E6540: 2.33GHz = 333MHz x 7, 65W [no TXT]
E6550: 2.33GHz = 333MHz x 7, 65W
E6750: 2.66GHz = 333MHz x 8, 65W
E6850: 3.00GHz = 333MHz x 9, 65W
Core 2 Quad/Extreme (Kentsfield), first released on November 2, 2006. Quad-core (two Conroe dies on a single package), 65 nm, FSB 1066MTps, 2 x 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
Q6600: 2.40GHz = 266MHz x 9, 105W
Q6700: 2.66GHz = 266MHz x 10, 105W (July 22, 2007)
QX6700: 2.66GHz = 266MHz x 10, 130W (to be replaced by Q6700)
QX6800: 2.93GHz = 266MHz x 11, 130W (April 9, 2007)
Core 2 Extreme (Kentsfield), to be released on July 22, 2007. Quad-core (two Conroe dies on a single package), 65 nm, FSB 1333MTps, 2 x 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
QX6850: 3.00GHz = 333MHz x 9, 130W (Q3 2007)
Pentium (E2000 Series, Allendale), to be released in June 2007. Dual-core, 65 nm, FSB 800MTps, 1MB L2 cache, [EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
E2140: 1.60GHz = 200MHz x 8, 65W
E2160: 1.80GHz = 200MHz x 9, 65W
Celeron (400 Series, Conroe-L), to be released in June 2007. Single-core, 65 nm, FSB 800MTps, 512KB L2
430: 1.80GHz = 200MHz x 9, 65W
440: 2.00GHz = 200MHz x 10, 65W
Server - Socket 775
Dual-Core Xeon 3000 Series (Conroe), first released in October 2006. Dual-core, 65 nm, FSB 1066MTps, 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
3040: 1.86GHz = 266MHz x 7, 2MB L2, 65W
3050: 2.13GHz = 266MHz x 8, 2MB L2, 65W
3060: 2.40GHz = 266MHz x 9, 65W
3070: 2.66GHz = 266MHz x 10, 65W
Quad-Core Xeon 3200 Series (Kentsfield), released on January 7, 2007. Quad-core, 65 nm, FSB 1066MTps, 2 x 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
X3210: 2.13GHz = 266MHz x 8, 105W
X3220: 2.40GHz = 266MHz x 9, 105W
Server - Socket 771
Dual-Core Xeon 5100 Series (Woodcrest), released on June 25, 2006. Dual-core, 65 nm, FSB 1066/1333MTps, 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
5110: 1.60GHz = 266MHz x 6, 65W
5120: 1.87GHz = 266MHz x 7, 65W
5130: 2.00GHz = 333MHz x 6, 65W
5140: 2.33GHz = 333MHz x 7, 65W
5150: 2.66GHz = 333MHz x 8, 65W
5160: 3.00GHz = 333MHz x 9, 80W
LV 5128: 1.86GHz = 266MHz x 7, 40W
LV 5138: 2.13GHz = 266MHz x 8, 35W
LV 5148: 2.33GHz = 333MHz x 7, 40W
Quad-Core Xeon 5300 Series (Clovertown), first released in November 2006. Quad core (two Woodcrest dies on a single package), 65 nm, FSB 1066/1333MTps, 2 x 4MB L2 cache, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
L5310: 1.60GHz = 266MHz x 6, 50W (Q1 2007)
E5310: 1.60GHz = 266MHz x 6, 80W
L5320: 1.86GHz = 266MHz x 7, 50W? (Q1 2007)
E5320: 1.86GHz = 266MHz x 7, 80W
E5335: 2.00GHz = 333MHz x 6, 80W
E5345: 2.33GHz = 333MHz x 7, 80W
X5355: 2.66GHz = 333MHz x 8, 120W
Mobile - Socket M
Core 2 Duo (Merom), released on July 27, 2006. Dual-core, 65 nm, FSB 667MTps, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
Celeron M (500 Series, Merom-based), to be released in H1 2007. Single-core, 65 nm, [EM64T, XD Bit]
Standard Voltage, FSB 533MTps
520: 1.60GHz = 133MHz x 12, 1MB L2 (January 2007)
530: 1.73GHz = 133MHz x 13, 1MB L2 (Q2 2007)
Mobile - Socket P
Core 2 Duo (Merom), to be released in Q2 2007. Dual-core, 65 nm, FSB 800/667/533MTps, [VT, EIST, EM64T, XD Bit]
Standard Voltage, FSB 800/667MTps
T5500P: 1.66GHz = 166MHz x 10, 4MB L2
T7000: 1.80GHz = 200MHz x 9, 4MB L2
T7300: 2.00GHz = 200MHz x 10, 4MB L2
T7500: 2.20GHz = 200MHz x 11, 4MB L2
T7700: 2.40GHz = 200MHz x 12, 4MB L2
Low Voltage, FSB 800MTps
L7300: 1.40GHz = 200MHz x 7, 4MB L2,
L7500: 1.60GHz = 200MHz x 8, 4MB L2
Ultra Low Voltage, FSB 533MTps
U7500: 1.06GHz = 133MHz x 8, 2MB L2, 11W
Next Generation Microarchitecture 2 (NGMA2)
Intel's manufacturing process is currently shifting to 45 nm. Penryn (the successor to Merom), Wolfdale (the successor to Conroe) and Yorkfield (a "true" quad-core processor, the successor to Kentsfield) based on the 45 nm process are set for launch in H2 2007. They will be the last cores of NGMA. Then Nehalem core will succeed Penryn and a new microarchitecture, NGMA2, based on Nehalem will appear in 2008. Nehalem will take the 45 nm manufacturing technology from Penryn and applies it to the new Nehalem microarchitecture (= NGMA2). The transition will be similar to that from Mobile microarchitecture to NGMA with Penryn being "Yonah". Nehalem-C core, still based on the Nehalem microarchitecture, will be a die shrink from 45 nm to 32 nm with a radically new lithography process, EUV.
Intel's T's or *T's
Some of Intel's T's (Technologies) or *T's (star T's, Advanced Technologies) and other technologies embedded in today's microprocessors are:
Hyper-Threading Technology (HT) enables one physical processor to appear and behave as two virtual processors to the operating system. Currently none of Core 2 cores supports this technology.
Virtualization Technology (VT) enables one hardware platform to function as multiple "virtual" platforms.
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency, which can result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production. An equivalent of AMD's Cool'n'Quiet Technology.
Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T) is Intel's name of the 64-bit microprocessor architecture developed by AMD.
Execute Disable Bit (XD Bit) segregates instructions and data in memory to prevent certain classes of malicious software from taking over computers. The same as No Execute Bit (NX Bit) or Enhanced Virus Protection (EVP) in AMD's term.
Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) will be introduced in 2007 and is designed to protect sensitive information from software attacks.
AMD was founded in 1969 as a manufacturer of integrate circuits. AMD produced clones of Intel processors from 1975 to 1995. But with reverse-engineered clones, AMD was always behind Intel in x86 evolution and the introduction of the 5th generation x86 processor Pentium (released in 1993) threatened to widen the gap. AMD (and Cyrix, NexGen) began working on a processor that was x86-compatible but whose internal designs were independent.
K5 Processor
The "K" stands for Kryptonite or Krypton (Intel = Superman). The project started in 1992 as AMD's top priority. The processor was released belatedly in 1996, over a year later than the original plan. The K5 was technically better than the Pentium with larger primary caches, a better superscalar design (more execution units), with modern features such as out-of-execution and a RISC-like core. However the K5 did not succeed commercially because it was released just too late and it had several problems (low clock rates, poor performance in several applications).
SSA/5, released on March 27, 1996, Clockrate: 75-100MHz (AMD-K5 PR75-PR100), FSB: 50-66MHz, 500 or 350 nm process, Socket 5/Socket 7
5k86, first released on October 7, 1996, Clockrate: 90-133MHz (AMD-K5 PR120-PR200), FSB: 60/66MHz, 350 nm process, Socket 5/Socket 7, improved internal designs with lower clock speeds and better performance
K6 Processor
The K6 processor was introduced in 1997. Despite the name implying a design evolving from the K5, the K6 is a totally different design that was created by the NexGen team (and in particular Vinod Dham, the father of the Pentium) and adapted after the acquisition of NexGen by AMD in 1996. The processor has a powerful six issue RISC core including Multimedia Unit with Intel's new MMX supported. It became the first processor to truly challenge Intel's dominance since the launch of the Pentium and allowed AMD to recover after problems with the K5 processors. The first iteration AMD-K6 gained the performance crown before the release of the Pentium II. The second iteration AMD-K6-2 and the third AMD-L6-III competed very well against Pentium II, Celeron, and Pentium III. Overall the K6 (in particular K6-2) became very popular and dominated the retail PC market.
AMD-K6
K6, released on April 2, 1997, Clockrate: 166-233MHz, FSB: 66MHz, 350 nm process, Socket 7
K6 Littlefoot, released on January 1998, Clockrate: 200-300MHz, FSB: 66MHz, 250 nm process, Socket 7
AMD-K6-2 (Chomper), first released on May 28, 1998, Clockrate: 233-350MHz, FSB: 66/100MHz, 250 nm process, Super Socket 7, 3DNow! (a floating point SIMD instruction set)
AMD-K6-III (Sharptooth), first released on February 22, 1999, Clockrate: 400/450MHz, FSB: 100MHz,250 nm process, Super Socket 7, on-die L2 Cache
K7 Processor
Work on AMD's 7th generation x86 processor, known as K7, started in 1995 with the mission of beating Intel's next generation CPU. The K7 was built from scratch by the design team led by Dirk Meyer (a leading engineer of the DEC Alpha, now the president of AMD). It was given a new name Athlon (derived from the word "decathlon"), and released in June 1999. It featured better and larger functional units (a fully-pipelined FPU, 3 fully-pipelined IEU, 3 fully-pipelined AGU), implying a larger die size, deep pipelines (so a higher clock speed), superior instruction decoder and control unit, the EV6 DDR point-to-point bus architecture (vs. Intel's GTL+ shared bus), that also meant the Athlon needed its own chipset (first AMD 750, then VIA, ALi, SiS) unlike K5 and K6. The Athlon processor family surpassed Intel in every way and became an enormous success.
Athlon, first released on June 23, 1999, Slot A
K7 Argon, first released on June 23, 1999, 500-600MHz; 650, 700 MHz, FSB 200MT/s, 250 nm process
K75 Pluto, first released on November 29, 1999, 550-750MHz; 800, 850 MHz, FSB 200MT/s, 180 nm process
K75 Orion, released on March 6, 2000, 900-1000MHz, FSB 200MT/s, 180 nm process
Athlon Thunderbird, first released on June 5, 2000, Slot A/Socket A, 256KB on-die L2 Cache
Slot A, 600-1000MHz, FSB 200MT/s, 180 nm process
Socket A, B-models, 650-1400MHz, FSB 200MT/s, 180 nm process
Socket A, C-models, 1000-1400MHz, FSB 266MT/s, 180 nm process
Athlon XP, first released on October 9, 2001, Socket A, optimizations to the core design resulting in 20% decrease in power use
Palomino, first released on October 9, 2001, 1333-1733MHz (1500+ to 2100+), FSB 266MT/s, 180 nm process
Thoroughbred, first released on June 10, 2002, 1400-2133MHz (1600+ to 2600+) with FSB 266MT/s and 2083-2250MHz (2600+ to 2800+) with FSB 333MT/s, 130 nm process
Barton, first released on February 10, 2003, L2 Cache doubled, 1833-2083MHz (2500+ to 2800+) with FSB 333MT/s and 2100, 2200MHz (3000+, 3200+) with FSB 400MT/s, 130 nm process
Thorton, first released September 2003, the same core as Barton but half the L2 Cache disabled, 1667-2200MHz (2000+ to 3100+), FSB 266/333/400MT/s, 130 nm process
There were also Athlon MP (supporting multiprocessor for workstation/server), Athlon XP-M (mobile Athlon XP featuring PowerNow!), Duron (reduced 64KB L2 Cache, based on the Thunderbird/Palomino/Thoroughbred cores) and the first generation Sempron (based on the Thoroughbred/Thorton/Barton cores).
K8 Processor
The K8 processor (codenamed Hammer) is the eighth (current) generation of AMD's x86 processor. The core design evolved from the K7 with a few changes or improvements. The major difference is the ability of 64-bit computing, called the x86-64 technology (or AMD64 for the AMD platform, and EM64T for the Intel platform as Intel adopted the technology later). There had been several microprocessors with 64-bit computing. The only 64-bit processor with x86 32-bit compatibility at that time was Intel's Itanium, but that ran x86 32-bit applications only with significant speed degradation. AMD64 gained recognition because of its ability to run 32-bit application without speed penalties as well as 64-bit applications. Other features are an on-die memory controller and the implementation of an extremely high performance point to point bus architecture called HyperTransport.
The first of the AMD64 processors was the server processor Opteron (Socket 940) released in April 22, 2003. Then the desktop processors Athlon 64 (Socket 754; restricted to a single-channel memory controller) and Athlon 64 FX (Socket 940; marketed to hardware enthusiasts) were released on September 23, 2003. The Athlon 64 with Socket 939 (supports a dual-channel memory controller) was released on June 1, 2004. The on-die memory controller was designed from the ground up to be able to support multiple cores and, after manufacturing processes matured, the first dual-core Opteron was released on April 21, 2005 and the dual-core desktop Athlon 64 X2 followed. The K8 cores first supported DDR, then migrated to DDR2 with the new Socket AM2 (desktop), Socket F (1207) (server) and Socket S1 (mobile) since May 23, 2006. A low-end processor family was branded Sempron (the same name as the last low-end Socket A processor family, but with entirely new cores). In the Athlon 64 FX family, the AMD Quad FX platform was introduced in November 2006, that features two dual-core processors with upgradability to two quad-core processors in future. The manufacturing process was 130 nm, then 90 nm (the Winchester core and all the subsequent cores) and currently 65 nm (the Brisbane core).
All the processors in the K8 family except a few low-end Sempron models support all of MMX, SSE, SSE2, Enhanced 3DNow!, NX bit, AMD64 and Cool'n'Quiet (PowerNow!). The support for SSE3 was added later (since the Venice core). The support for AMD Virtualization was added to Socket AM2, Socket F (1207), and Socket S1 processors.
Desktop Processors
Desktop processors are distinguished from server processors in that they support only
Unbuffered memory
Single HyperTransport link
The available socket types are:
Socket 754: The original desktop socket type released on September 23, 2003; supports only a single-channel memory controller and a single HyperTransport 1.0 (800MHz) link.
Socket 940: The original server socket type; used for only a few initial high-end desktop processors to support dual-channel memory
Socket 939: The successor to Socket 740 released on June 1, 2004; supports a dual-channel memory controller and a single HyperTransport 2.0 (1000MHz) link.
Socket AM2: The successor to Socket 939 released on May 23, 2006; supports DDR2 memory
The main core revisions for the desktop processors are:
September 2003/January 2004
ClawHammer (C0/CG): Socket 754, 130 nm, 1MB L2
Newcastle (CG): the 512KB L2 version of ClawHammer
June 2004
ClawHammer (CG): Socket 939
Newcastle (CG): Socket 939
September 2004
Winchester (D0): 90 nm, 512KB L2
April/May 2005
Venice (E3/E6): 512KB L2, an enhanced memory controller, SSE3
San Diego (E4/E6): the 1MB L2 version of Venice
May 2005
Manchester (E4): dual-core, 2 x 512KB L2
Toledo (E6): the 2 x 1MB L2 version of Manchester
May 2006
Windsor (F2/F3): Socket AM2, dual-core
Orleans (F2/F3): Socket AM2, single-core
November 2006
Windsor FX (F3): AMD Quad FX platform
December 2006
Brisbane (G1): 65 nm, dual-core
Lima (G1): 65 nm, single-core
Desktop - Socket 754
The first iteration of the desktop processors features Socket 754, a single-channel memory controller and HyperTransport 1.0 (800MHz).
ClawHammer (C0/CG), first released on September 23, 2003, 130 nm process, 1MB L2 Cache, 89W
Paris (CG), first released on July 28, 2004, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, 62W, no AMD64, no Cool'n'Quiet
Sempron 3000+: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3100+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2
Venice (E3/E6), first released on April 5, 2005?, 90 nm process, 512KB L2 Cache, SSE3
Athlon 64 3000+: 2.0GHz, 51W
Athlon 64 3200+: 2.2GHz, 59W
Athlon 64 3200+: 2.4GHz, 67W
Palermo (D0/E3/E6), first released on April 15, 2005, based on the Winchester/Venice core, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, 62W, some CPU technologies disabled
Sempron 2500+: 1.4GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 2600+: 1.6GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 2800+: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3000+: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3100+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3300+: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3400+: 2.0GHz, 256KB L2
Desktop - Socket 940
Socket 940 was designed for the server platform, supporting a dual-channel memory controller but accepting only registered memory. AMD originally planned only a single-channel desktop processor. OEMs/enthusiasts demanded a dual-channel solution for the ultra high-end desktop part. Thus AMD simply took their existing dual-channel design (Opteron, Socket 940) and rebranded it as a desktop processor. The main drawbacks were that it required registered memory and there was no upgrade path.
SledgeHammer (C0/CG), first released on September 23, 2003, 130 nm process, 1MB L2 Cache, 89W
Athlon 64 FX-51: 2.2GHz, released on September 23, 2003
Athlon 64 FX-53: 2.4GHz, released on March 18, 2004
Desktop - Socket 939
Socket 939 was introduced in June 2004 as a replacement of Socket 754 and Athlon 64 FX Socket 940. It supports a dual-channel unbuffered memory controller and has a single HyperTransport 2.0 (1000MHz) link.
ClawHammer (CG), first released on June 1, 2004, 130 nm process, 1MB L2 Cache, 89W
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz, 512KB L2
Athlon 64 4000+: 2.4GHz, released on October 19, 2004
Athlon 64 FX-53: 2.4GHz, released on June 1, 2004
Athlon 64 FX-55: 2.6GHz, released on October 19, 2004
Newcastle (CG), first released on June 1, 2004, 512MB L2 cache, 89W
Athlon 64 3000+: 1.8GHz
Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz, released on June 1, 2004
Athlon 64 3800+: 2.4GHz, released on June 1, 2004
Winchester (D0), released in September 2004, 90 nm process, 512KB L2 Cache, 67W
Athlon 64 3000+: 1.8GHz
Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz
Venice (E3/E6), released on April 4, 2005, 90 nm process, 512KB L2 Cache, 67W, an enhanced memory controller, SSE3
Athlon 64 3000+: 1.8GHz
Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz
Athlon 64 3800+: 2.4GHz, 89W
Palermo (E3/E6), based on the Venice core, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, 62W, no Cool'n'Quiet
Sempron 3000+: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3200+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3400+: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3500+: 2.0GHz, 256KB L2
San Diego (E4), first released on May 2, 2005, the 1MB L2 cache version of Venice, 89W
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz, 512KB L2, 67W
Athlon 64 3700+: 2.2GHz
Athlon 64 4000+: 2.4GHz
Athlon 64 FX-55: 2.6GHz
Athlon 64 FX-57: 2.8GHz, released on June 27, 2005
Manchester (E4), first released on May 31, 2005, 90 nm process, dual-core, each core based on Venice, 2 x 512KB L2 Cache, 89W
Athlon 64 X2 3800+: 2.0GHz
Athlon 64 X2 4200+: 2.2GHz
Athlon 64 X2 4600+: 2.4GHz, 110W
Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz, single-core (with one defective core)
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz, single-core (with one defective core)
Toledo (E6), first released on May 31, 2005, the 2 x 1MB L2 cache version of Manchester, 110W
Athlon 64 X2 3800+: 2.0GHz, 2 x 512KB L2, 89W
Athlon 64 X2 4200+: 2.2GHz, 2 x 512KB L2, 89W
Athlon 64 X2 4400+: 2.2GHz, 89W
Athlon 64 X2 4400+: 2.2GHz
Athlon 64 X2 4600+: 2.4GHz, 2 x 512KB L2
Athlon 64 X2 4800+: 2.4GHz
Athlon 64 FX-60: 2.6GHz
Desktop - Socket AM2
Socket AM2 is the successor to Socket 939 released on May 23, 2006. It supports DDR2 memory and AMD Virtualization.
Windsor (F2/F3), first released on May 23, 2006, 90 nm process, dual-core, 2 x 512KB or 2 x 1MB L2 Cache, 89W
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.0GHz, 2 x 512KB L2
Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.0GHz, 2 x 1MB L2
Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.2GHz, 2 x 512KB L2
Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.2GHz, 2 x 1MB L2
Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.4GHz, 2 x 512KB L2
Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.4GHz, 2 x 1MB L2
Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.6GHz, 2 x 512KB L2
Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Energy Efficient 65W: 2.6GHz, 2 x 1MB L2
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Energy Efficient Small Form Factor 35W: 2.0GHz, 2 x 512KB L2
Orleans (F2/F3), released on May 23, 2006, 90 nm process, single-core, 512KB L2 Cache, 62W
Athlon 64 3000+: 1.8GHz
Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz
Athlon 64 3800+: 2.4GHz
Athlon 64 4000+: 2.6GHz
Athlon 64 3500+ Energy Efficient Small Form Factor 35W: 2.2GHz
Manila (F2), first released on May 23, 2006, based on Orleans with 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, 62W, HT 800MHz, no AMD Virtualization
Sempron 2800+: 1.6GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3000+: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3200+: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3400+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3500+: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3600+: 2.0GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3800+: 2.2GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3000+ Energy Efficient Small Form Factor 35W: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3200+ Energy Efficient Small Form Factor 35W: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3400+ Energy Efficient Small Form Factor 35W: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3500+ Energy Efficient Small Form Factor 35W: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2
Brisbane (G1), first released on December 5, 2006, 65 nm process, dual-core, 2 x 512KB L2 Cache, 65W
Athlon 64 X2 3600+: 1.9GHz
Athlon 64 X2 4000+: 2.1GHz
Athlon 64 X2 4400+: 2.3GHz
Athlon 64 X2 4800+: 2.5GHz
Athlon 64 X2 5000+: 2.6GHz
Athlon 64 X2 5200+: 2.7GHz (Q2 2007)
Athlon 64 X2 5400+: 2.8GHz, 76W (Q2 2007)
Athlon 64 X2 5600+: 2.9GHz, ?W (Q3 2007)
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Energy Efficient 35W: 2.0GHz (Q2 2007)
Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Energy Efficient 35W: 2.1GHz (Q2 2007)
Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Energy Efficient 35W: 2.2GHz (Q2 2007)
Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Energy Efficient 35W: 2.3GHz (Q3 2007)
Lima (G1), to be released in Q1 2007, 65 nm process, single-core, 512KB L2 Cache, 45W
Athlon 64 3500+: 2.2GHz
Athlon 64 3800+: 2.4GHz
Athlon 64 4000+: 2.6GHz (Q2 2007)
Sparta, to be released in Q2 2007, 65 nm process, single-core, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, 35W
Sempron 3400+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3500+: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2
Sempron 3600+: 2.0GHz, 256KB L2
Sempron 3800+: 2.2GHz, 256KB L2
Desktop - Quad FX Platform
The AMD Quad FX platform is a dual-socket, multi-core PC platform consisting of two Socket F (1207) called Socket F (1207 FX) (also called Socket L1) and a pair of Athlon 64 FX processors (identified as Opteron by CPU-Z). Socket F (1207) is used instead of AM2 to support three HyperTransport links for multiprocessors. However Quad FX accepts only unbuffered memory. It is reported that Opteron 2200-series processors (Santa Rosa) work with the Quad FX platform without problems ( DailyTech - AMD Opteron 2200-series Works in Quad FX Motherboards ).
Windsor FX (F3), first released on November 30, 2006, 90 nm process, 2 x dual-core processor, 2 x 2 x 1MB L2 Cache, 2 x 125W
Athlon 64 FX-70: 2.6GHz
Athlon 64 FX-72: 2.8GHz
Athlon 64 FX-74: 3.0GHz
Athlon 64 FX-76: 3.2GHz (Q2 2007)
Server Processors
Server processors feature:
Registered memory
Three HyperTransport links
1MB L2 Cache for the single-core and 2 x 1MB L2 Cache for the dual-core
Exceptions are 90 nm 1-way processors (unbuffered memory, a single HT link) that are actually Athlon 64 (X2) desktop processors. The available socket types are:
Socket 940: The original server socket type released on April 23, 2003
Socket 939: Used for 1-way processors
Socket F (1207): The successor to Socket 940 released on August 15, 2006; support for DDR2 memory
Socket AM2: Used for 1-way processors
The main core revisions for the server processors are:
130 nm, Single-Core, HyperTransport 1.0 (800MHz), since April 2003
SledgeHammer (B3/C0/CG): Socket 940, 1 to 8-way processors
90 nm, Single-Core, HyperTransport 2.0 (1000MHz), SSE3, since December 2004
Venus (E4): Socket 939, 1-way (the same as San Diego)
Troy (E4): Socket 940, 2-way
Athens (E4): Socket 940, 8-way
90 nm, Dual-Core, since April 2005
Denmark (E6): Socket 939, 1-way (the same as Toledo)
Italy (E6): Socket 940, 2-way
Egypt (E1/E6): Socket 940, 8-way
90 nm, Dual-Core, DDR2, AMD Virtualization
Santa Ana (F2/F3): Socket AM2, 1-way, since August 2005
Santa Rosa (F2/F3): Socket F (1207), 2 & 8-way
The model name is in the form
Opteron XZW for Socket 940 and Socket 939 processors
Opteron XYZW for Socket F (1207) and Socket AM2 processors
where
X = 1: designed for uniprocessor systems, having one HyperTransport link
X = 2: designed for dual-processor systems, having two HyperTransport links
X = 8: designed for dual-processor systems, having three HyperTransport links
Y = 2: DDR2 (currently no other values are assigned)
ZW: an indication of the speed of the CPU; 60 or higher indicates a dual-core model for Socket 940/939
Server - 130 nm Single-Core Processors
The first iteration of the sever processors featured Socket 940, 130 nm process, single-core, and HyperTransport 1.0 (800MHz).
SledgeHammer (B3/C0/CG), first released on April 23, 2003, Socket 940, 1 to 8-way
Opteron 140: 1.4GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 142: 1.6GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 144: 1.8GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 146: 2.0GHz, 89W
Opteron 148: 2.2GHz, 89W
Opteron 150: 2.4GHz, 89W
Opteron 146 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 55W
Opteron 140 EE (Energy Efficient): 1.4GHz, 30W
Opteron 240: 1.4GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 242: 1.6GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 244: 1.8GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 246: 2.0GHz, 89W
Opteron 248: 2.2GHz, 89W
Opteron 250: 2.4GHz, 89W
Opteron 246 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 55W
Opteron 240 EE (Energy Efficient): 1.4GHz, 30W
Opteron 840: 1.4GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 842: 1.6GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 844: 1.8GHz, 84.7W/82.1W
Opteron 846: 2.0GHz, 89W
Opteron 848: 2.2GHz, 89W
Opteron 850: 2.4GHz, 89W
Opteron 846 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 55W
Opteron 840 EE (Energy Efficient): 1.4GHz, 30W
Server - 90 nm Single-Core Processors
The second iteration of the server processors features 90 nm process, single-core and HyperTransport 2.0 (1000MHz). The support for SSE3 was added.
Venus (= San Diego, E4), first released in August 2, 2005, Socket 939, 1-way
Opteron 144: 1.8GHz, 67W
Opteron 146: 2.0GHz, 67W
Opteron 148: 2.2GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 150: 2.4GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 152: 2.6GHz, 104W
Opteron 154: 2.8GHz, 104W
Opteron 148 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 55W
Troy (E4), first released in December 2004, Socket 940, 2-way
Opteron 242: 1.6GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 244: 1.8GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 246: 2.0GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 248: 2.2GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 250: 2.4GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 252: 2.6GHz, 92.6W
Opteron 254: 2.8GHz, 92.6W
Opteron 256: 3.0GHz, 92.6W
Opteron 246 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 55W
Opteron 248 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 55W
Opteron 250 HE (High Efficient): 2.4GHz, 55W
Opteron 842: 1.6GHz, 85.3W
Athens (E4), first released in December 2004, Socket 940, 8-way
Opteron 844: 1.8GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 846: 2.0GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 848: 2.2GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 850: 2.4GHz, 85.3W
Opteron 852: 2.6GHz, 92.6W
Opteron 854: 2.8GHz, 92.6W
Opteron 856: 3.0GHz, 92.6W
Opteron 846 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 55W
Opteron 848 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 55W
Opteron 850 HE (High Efficient): 2.4GHz, 55W
Server - 90 nm Dual-Core Processors
Almost at the same time as the release of Athlon 64 X2 Processors, dual-core server processors were released.
Denmark (= Toledo, E6), first released in May 2005, Socket 939, 1-way
Opteron 165: 1.8GHz, 110W
Opteron 170: 2.0GHz, 110W
Opteron 175: 2.2GHz, 110W
Opteron 180: 2.4GHz, 110W
Opteron 185: 2.6GHz, 110W
Italy (E6), first released on April 21, 2005, Socket 940, 2-way
Opteron 265: 1.8GHz, 95W
Opteron 270: 2.0GHz, 95W
Opteron 275: 2.2GHz, 95W
Opteron 280: 2.4GHz, 95W
Opteron 285: 2.6GHz, 95W
Opteron 290: 2.8GHz, 95W
Opteron 260 HE (High Efficient): 1.6GHz, 55W
Opteron 265 HE (High Efficient): 1.8GHz, 55W
Opteron 270 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 55W
Opteron 275 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 55W
Egypt (E1/E6), first released on April 21, 2005, Socket 940, 8-way
Opteron 865: 1.8GHz, 95W
Opteron 870: 2.0GHz, 95W
Opteron 875: 2.2GHz, 95W
Opteron 880: 2.4GHz, 95W
Opteron 885: 2.6GHz, 95W
Opteron 890: 2.8GHz, 95W
Opteron 860 HE (High Efficient): 1.6GHz, 55W
Opteron 865 HE (High Efficient): 1.8GHz, 55W
Opteron 870 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 55W
Opteron 875 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 55W
Server - 90 nm Dual-Core Processors with DDR2 Memory Controller
With the migration to DDR2 memory, Socket F (1207) was introduced. Dual-core processors only. AMD Virtualization was added.
Santa Ana (F2/F3), first released on August 15, 2006, Socket AM2, 1-way
Opteron 1210: 1.8GHz, 103W
Opteron 1212: 2.0GHz, 103W
Opteron 1214: 2.2GHz, 103W
Opteron 1216: 2.4GHz, 103W
Opteron 1218: 2.6GHz, 103W
Opteron 1220: 2.8GHz, 103W
Opteron 1220 SE: 2.8GHz, 125W
Opteron 1210 HE (High Efficient): 1.8GHz, 65W
Opteron 1212 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 65W
Opteron 1214 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 65W
Opteron 1216 HE (High Efficient): 2.4GHz, 65W
Opteron 1218 HE (High Efficient): 2.6GHz, 65W
Santa Rosa (F2/F3), first released on August 15, 2006, Socket F (1207), 2 to 8-way
Opteron 2210: 1.8GHz, 95W
Opteron 2212: 2.0GHz, 95W
Opteron 2214: 2.2GHz, 95W
Opteron 2216: 2.4GHz, 95W
Opteron 2218: 2.6GHz, 95W
Opteron 2220: 2.8GHz, 95W
Opteron 2220 SE: 2.8GHz, 119.2W
Opteron 2210 HE (High Efficient): 1.8GHz, 68W
Opteron 2212 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 68W
Opteron 2214 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 68W
Opteron 2216 HE (High Efficient): 2.4GHz, 68W
Opteron 2218 HE (High Efficient): 2.6GHz, 68W
Opteron 8212: 2.0GHz, 95W
Opteron 8214: 2.2GHz, 95W
Opteron 8216: 2.4GHz, 95W
Opteron 8218: 2.6GHz, 95W
Opteron 8220: 2.8GHz, 95W
Opteron 8220 SE: 2.8GHz, 119.2W
Opteron 8212 HE (High Efficient): 2.0GHz, 68W
Opteron 8214 HE (High Efficient): 2.2GHz, 68W
Opteron 8216 HE (High Efficient): 2.4GHz, 68W
Opteron 8218 HE (High Efficient): 2.4GHz, 68W
Mobile Processors
Mobile processors are basically low-power versions of desktop processors:
Unbuffered memory
Single HyperTransport link
Low power consumption
Lidless (no heat spreader)
The available socket types are:
Socket 754: The same as the desktop Socket 754; in particular, supports only a single-channel DDR memory and HyperTransport 1.0 (800MHz)
Socket S1: The successor to Socket 754 for laptops released on May 17, 2006; 638 pins; support for dual-channel DDR2 memory, dual-core mobile processors, HyperTransport (800MHz), and AMD Virtualization
Mobile - Socket 754
ClawHammer (C0/CG), first released in September 2003, 130nm process, 1MB L2 Cache
Mobile Athlon 64 2700+: 1.6GHz, 512KB L2, 81.5W
Mobile Athlon 64 2800+: 1.6GHz, 81.5W
Mobile Athlon 64 3000+: 1.8GHz, 81.5W
Mobile Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz, 81.5W
Mobile Athlon 64 3400+: 2.2GHz, 81.5W
Mobile Athlon 64 3700+: 2.4GHz, 81.5W
Mobile Athlon 64 2800+: 1.6GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 3000+: 1.8GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 3400+: 2.2GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 2700+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2, 35W
Odessa (CG), first released in January 2004, 512KB L2 Cache
Mobile Athlon 64 2800+: 1.6GHz, 81.5W
Mobile Athlon 64 2700+: 1.6GHz, 35W
Mobile Athlon 64 2800+: 1.8GHz, 35W
Mobile Athlon 64 3000+: 2.0GHz, 35W
Dublin (CG), released on July 28, 2004, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, no AMD64, no PowerNow!
Mobile Sempron 2600+: 1.6GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 2800+: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3000+: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 2600+ Low Power: 1.6GHz, 128KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 2800+ Low Power: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2, 25W
Oakville (D0), released on August 17, 2004, 90nm process, 512KB L2 Cache
Mobile Athlon 64 2700+ Low Power: 1.6GHz, 35W
Mobile Athlon 64 2800+ Low Power: 1.8GHz, 35W
Mobile Athlon 64 3000+ Low Power: 2.0GHz, 35W
Georgetown (D0), first released in May 2005, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, no AMD64, no PowerNow!
Mobile Sempron 2600+: 1.6GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 2800+: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3000+: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3100+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3300+: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Sonora (D0), released in November 2004, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, no AMD64, no PowerNow!
Mobile Sempron 2600+ Low Power: 1.6GHz, 128KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 2800+ Low Power: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 3000+ Low Power: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 3100+ Low Power: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2, 25W
Newark (SH-E5), first released on April 14, 2005, 1MB L2 Cache
Mobile Athlon 64 3000+: 1.8GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 3200+: 2.0GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 3400+: 2.2GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 3700+: 2.4GHz, 62W
Mobile Athlon 64 4000+: 2.6GHz, 62W
Albany (E6), first released on July 15, 2005, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, no AMD64, no PowerNow!
Mobile Sempron 3000+: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3100+: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3300+: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3400+: 2.0GHz, 256KB L2, 62W
Mobile Sempron 3600+: 2.2GHz, 128KB L2, 62W
Roma (E6), first released on May 17, 2006, 128KB or 256KB L2 Cache, no AMD64, no PowerNow!
Mobile Sempron 2800+ Low Power: 1.6GHz, 256KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 3000+ Low Power: 1.8GHz, 128KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 3100+ Low Power: 1.8GHz, 256KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 3300+ Low Power: 2.0GHz, 128KB L2, 25W
Mobile Sempron 3400+ Low Power: 2.0GHz, 256KB L2, 25W
Lancaster (E5), first released on March 10, 2006, 512KB or 1MB L2 Cache
Turion 64 ML-28: 1.6GHz, 512KB L2, 35W
Turion 64 ML-30: 1.6GHz, 1MB L2, 35W
Turion 64 ML-32: 1.8GHz, 512KB L2, 35W
Turion 64 ML-34: 1.8GHz, 1MB L2, 35W
Turion 64 ML-37: 2.0GHz, 1MB L2, 35W
Turion 64 ML-40: 2.2GHz, 1MB L2, 35W
Turion 64 ML-42: 2.4GHz, 512KB L2, 35W
Turion 64 ML-44: 2.4GHz, 1MB L2, 35W
Turion 64 MT-28: 1.6GHz, 512KB L2, 25W
Turion 64 MT-30: 1.6GHz, 1MB L2, 25W
Turion 64 MT-32: 1.8GHz, 512KB L2, 25W
Turion 64 MT-34: 1.8GHz, 1MB L2, 25W
Turion 64 MT-37: 2.0GHz, 1MB L2, 25W
Turion 64 MT-40: 2.2GHz, 1MB L2, 25W
Mobile - Socket S1
Richmond (F2), released on September 1, 2006, 512KB L2 Cache
Turion 64 MK-36: 2.0GHz, 31W
Taylor (F2), released on May 17, 2006, dual-core, 512KB L2 Cache
Turion 64 TL-50: 1.6GHz, 31W
Trinidad (F2), first released on May 17, 2006, dual-core, 1MB L2 Cache
Turion 64 TL-52: 1.6GHz, 31W
Turion 64 TL-56: 1.8GHz, 33W
Turion 64 TL-60: 2.0GHz, 35W
Turion 64 TL-64: 2.2GHz, 35W
Keene (F2), first released on May 17, 2006, no PowerNow!, no AMD Virtualization
For those who are interested in building a Core 2 system, I collected a list of motherboards (ATX and microATX), supporting Core 2 chips. This part begins with a preliminary section: a brief overview of chipsets for the Intel platform. Then a list of motherboards follows. Motherboards are classified by chipset families and then form factors. Each motherboard is hyperlinked to the manufacture's website. A brief description of specifications is included. To make the description concise and readable, I adopted the following method. The specifications below are fairly standard in recent desktop motherboards:
FSB 1066MTps (= 266MHz)
Dual-channel DDR2-800 up to 8GB (4 slots)
1 x VGA for a microATX board
1 x PCI Express x16 (16 lanes), 1 x PCI Express x1, 2 x PCI
1 x PATA, 4 x SATA at 3.0Gbps
RAID 0/1/01 or 10/5, NCQ, Hot-Plug
8 x USB 2.0 (or more)
1 x PCI Express Gigabit LAN
7.1 Ch. HD Audio
1 x coaxial S/PDIF out and/or 1 x optical S/PDIF out
2 x IEEE 1394
Specifications that meet the above criteria may not be mentioned. Specifications inferior to the above are written in bold letters. Onboard controllers that could cause issues in Linux systems are also mentioned in bold letters. So if you see no bold letters, the board comes with all the features in the above. I also included a few overclocking options in BIOS for those who are interested in overclocking the system. Links to review sites and user forums are also included if any. Information on the actual availability in US retail stores is included. The link to Newegg.com is often included for your convenience.
Conventions
A name in italic letters like Bearlake is a codename. In motherboard lists, I used various abbreviations:
Specs
Active/Passive cooling means that the cooling method of northbridge is active (that is, a heatsink with a fan) and that of southbridge is passive (heatsink only), etc.
PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 2@(16,4)/1/3* means that there are two PCI Express x16 slots, each of which can run at the maximum speed of x16, x4 respectively (but may not run at that speed concurrently), one PCI Express x 1 slot, and 3 PCI slots, and one of the PCI slots cannot be used when a two-slot video card is installed, etc.
PATA/SATA/eSATA: 1/4/2 means that the number of PATA controllers is 1, that of SATA is 4 and that of external SATA is 2, etc.
RAID implies NCQ and Hot-Plug and vice versa for Intel and NVIDIA chipsets. So I won't write them for brevity. SiS, Uli, VIA southbridges are different. I did not mention RAID capability of additional storage controllers.
No S/PDIF means no onboard S/PDIF header. No S/PDIF (need an optional bracket) means that there is an onboard S/PDIF header, but a bracket is not included in the retail package.
BIOS
FSB: 600MHz means that the maximum FSB frequency available in BIOS is 600MHz, etc. The default value is 266MHz (= 1066MTps) for Core 2 Duo desktop processors and 166MHz (= 667MTps) for Core 2 Duo mobile processors. The front side bus transfers data four times per cycle (the technology called QDR, quadruple data rate, or quad pumping), thus FSB can be expressed in two units
MHz (mega hertz)
MTps (mega transfer per second)
with the simple conversion formula: MTps = 4 x MHz. (Needless to say "T" is not an SI unit.)
CPU: 1.725V means that the maximum CPU voltage available in BIOS is 1.725V, etc. The default CPU voltage is around 1.3V, depending on each CPU core.
DRAM: 2.1V means that the maximum DRAM voltage available in BIOS is 2.1V, etc. The default voltage by the JEDEC DDR2 DRAM specification is 1.8V.
NB: 1.251.65V means that the northbridge voltage can be adjusted from 1.25V to 1.65V in BIOS, etc. The default voltage depends on chipset and motherboard.
Max FSB: 300MHz (E6400, x8, VR-Zone) means that the maximum stable FSB reported in VR-Zone is 300MHz, with Core 2 Duo E6400 and multiplier x8, etc.
FSB: means that there is no FSB adjustment option in BIOS, etc.
FSB: ? means that I have not been able to confirm FSB yet, etc.
Spreadsheet
You can also view a list of motherboards in the Excel worksheet format:
__________________________________________ 1. Overview of Recent Chipsets for the Intel Platform ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Intel
Intel has been producing chipsets for its own chips. Each Intel chipset consists of the traditional two chips:
MCH (or GMCH): (Graphics and) Memory Controller Hub, so called northbridge, that includes CPU interface, DRAM controller, external graphics interface (and internal graphics controller).
ICH: I/O Controller Hub, so called southbridge, that includes the PCI and PCI Express interface, PATA, SATA, LAN, Audio, USB and other I/O functions.
Desktop Chipsets
Recently a new desktop chipset family is introduced every year, around June. Chipset families that may support Core 2 are:
Intel 865 with ICH5, with or without integrated graphics Extreme Graphics 2
Released in May 2003. Features FSB 800MTps, dual-channel DDR, AGP 8X, and integrated SATA. There is an extreme version Intel 875P.
Intel 915 Express with ICH6, with or without graphics media accelerator GMA 900
The 1st generation of Express chipset family released in June 2004, along with the new socket LGA (Land Grid Array) 775. Introduced revolutionary technologies: dual-channel DDR2, PCI Express and HD audio. There are two extreme versions, Intel 925X Express and Intel 925XE Express.
Intel 945 Express with ICH7, with or without graphics media accelerator GMA 950
The 2nd generation of Express chipset family launched in June 2005. Supports the higher FSB 1066MTps and the higher DRAM frequency DDR2-667. There are two extreme versions, Intel 955X Express (enhanced memory controller) and Intel 975X Express (two PCI Express graphics controllers supporting ATI CrossFire Technology).
Intel 965 Express with ICH8, with or without graphics media accelerator GMA X3000/GMA 3000
The 3rd generation of Express chipset family launched in June, 2006. Supports Core 2 chips, DDR2-800 and native Gigabit LAN. Intel 946 Express, launched at the same time, is considered as its value segment. There will be no extreme version Intel 985X according to DailyTech .
Intel 3 Series (codenamed Bearlake) with ICH9, with or without graphics media accelerator
The 4th generation of Express chipset family to be launched in Q2 and Q3 2007. FSB 1333MTps. They will support 1333MHz FSB Core 2 processors to be released at the same time.
Northbridge of each family usually includes
xxxG or Gxxx: an integrated graphics chipset
xxxP or Pxxx: a discrete graphics chipset
xxxX: an extreme edition, discrete graphics
where xxx is a three-digit number like 965 and G = "graphics", P = "performance" (perhaps because it is coupled with a performance external graphics). Southbridge comes in four flavors
ICHx: ICHx Base
ICHxR: ICHx RAID
ICHxDH: ICHx Digital Home
ICHxDO: ICHx Digital Office
where x is the generation number like 7, 8. All of ICHxR, ICHxDH and ICHxDO support RAID. More details come in later sections.
Mobile Chipsets
Mobile processors are used in the notebook PC. However Intel also chose them instead of desktop processors for digital entertainment center ( Intel Mobile on Desktop, MoDT ) combined with Intel Viiv technology because of low power consumption and heat dissipation and hence reduced system noise. Although high power consumption and heat dissipation do not apply to the new desktop processors Core 2 any longer, Intel is pushing this trend further in the next year. So I have included Intel mobile chipsets and motherboards.
A new mobile chipset family is usually introduced half a year later than the latest desktop chipset family. It is a low power consumption version of the desktop chipset (that implies lower FSB, lower frequency of internal graphics and lower SATA speed). Recent mobile chipsets are:
Mobile Intel 855 with ICH4-M, with or without graphics media accelerator Mobile Extreme Graphics 2
Part of the 1st-generation Centrino platform (Carmel) launched in March 2003. FSB 400MTps.
Mobile Intel 915 Express with ICH6-M, with or without graphics media accelerator Mobile GMA 900
Part of the 2nd-generation Centrino platform (Sonoma) launched in January 2005. FSB 533MTps.
Mobile Intel 945 Express with ICH7-M, with or without graphics media accelerator Mobile GMA 950
Part of the 3rd-generation Centrino platform (Napa) launched in January 2006. Supports Core Duo/Solo (Yonah), Celeron M (Yonah), Core 2 Duo (Merom). FSB 667MTps.
Mobile Intel 965 Express with ICH8-M, with or without graphics media accelerator (Mobile) GMA X4000
Part of the 4th-generation Centrino platform (Santa Rosa) to be launched in Q2 2007. New Socket P. FSB 800MTps.
Northbridge of each family includes
xxxGM: an integrated graphics chipset
xxxPM: a discrete graphics chipset
where M = "mobile" obviously. Mobile southbridge comes in three flavors:
ICHx-M: Mobile ICHx Base
ICHx-M DH: Mobile ICHx Digital Home
ICHx-M DO: Mobile ICHx Digital Office
Integrated Graphics Device (IGD)
Intel is the largest graphics manufacturer because most Intel systems come with integrated graphics. However the performance of Intel IGD has been poorer than IGDs from ATI and NVIDIA. The performance of the latest IGD, GMA X3000, is unknown yet. Besides that, one needs to notice the following facts:
Intel IGD provides
1 x VGA
2 x SDVO (Serial Digital Video Out)
An SDVO port can support a variety of display types including DVI, HDMI, Analog CRT, TV-Out, but requires a third-party external SDVO device such as ADD2 card that occupies the x16 PCI Express connector. You may find a retail ADD2 DVI card. Other than that implementation of SDVO ports is up to the motherboard's manufacturer. As a matter of facts all the motherboards with Intel integrated graphics chipsets except for MoDT motherboards come with only a VGA port.
An external PCI Express x16 graphics card cannot work concurrently with IGD. This is in marked contrast to NVIDIA and ATI IGPs.
NVIDIA
NVIDIA entered the chipset business with the nForce chipset series for the AMD platform in June 2001. However NVIDIA chipsets came into the Intel platform only lately when NVIDIA and Intel signed a cross-license agreement in November 2004.
nForce4 for Intel with discrete graphics (codenamed Crush 19 or simply C19)
The first NVIDIA chipset family for the Intel platform released first in April 2005 for SLI, then SLI X16 and finally SLI XE and Ultra in January 2006.
nForce 500 Series for Intel with discrete graphics
Released in June 2006. Full support for Core 2 Duo along with a bunch of new features. Only SLI versions are available.
nForce 600i Series with discrete graphics
Released in November 2006. Support for Kentsfield. Overclocking abilities are greatly improved. True dual x16 SLI as well as dual x8 SLI and non-SLI (Ultra) versions are available.
GeForce 7050/nForce 630i (codenamed MCP73)
To be released in June 2007. A single-chip solution featuring integrated graphics. NVIDIA was once developing an IGP for the Intel platform, codenamed C60, along with the GeForce 6100/nForce 400 series chipset for the AMD platform ( AnandTech ), but canceled it later ( the Inquirer ). NVIDIA resumed the project as customer demand is increasing and the merged AMD-ATI is leaving the IGP market for the Intel platform, thus creating a void to be filled.
Just like Intel chipsets, every NVIDIA chipset for Intel, except for MCP73, consists of
SPP: System Platform Processor (northbridge)
MCP: Media and Communications Processor (southbridge)
This is in contrast to the single chipset solution for AMD. As the Athlon 64 chip includes a memory controller, the only functions of the northbridge was the CPU and graphics interface. So NVIDIA chose to combine the northbridge and the southbridge into a single chip in nForce3 and nForce4. This trick has not worked for the Intel chips that have no memory controller and NVIDIA had to go back to the traditional solution and developed a northbridge codenamed C19 that is used in all of nForce4 and nForce 500 chipsets. C19 is aging with limited support for newer DRAM and poor overclockability. Hence a new northbridge codenamed C55 was developed and used in the latest nForce 600i Series chipsets. On the other hand southbridge is common to both AMD and Intel, a stripped version of MCP-04 (nForce4), MCP51 (nForce 430) or MCP55 (nForce 500). Unlike Intel chipsets, NVIDIA northbridge and southbridge are called only by codename that makes it difficult to see what chips are actually used. I will explain NVIDIA chipset codenames later.
ATI-AMD
ATI had produced integrated graphics chipsets called Radeon IGP & IXP family for value to mainstream desktop and notebook PCs both for AMD and Intel since 2002. (IGP = "Integrated Graphics Processor", northbridge, IXP = "Integrated Communications Processor", southbridge) They were geared toward the OEM market. A shift occurred in late 2004 with the release of ATI Radeon Xpress 200 Series for AMD K8 processors. The current chipsets for the Intel desktop platform are:
Radeon Xpress 200 for Intel Processors with Radeon X300 graphics core
The first Radeon Xpress chipset for Intel released on March 11, 2005.
Radeon Xpress 1100 for Intel Processors with Radeon X300 graphics core
The same as Radeon Xpress 200 apart from a process reduction from 130 nm to 110 nm.
Radeon Xpress 1250 (for Intel) with Radeon X700 graphics core
CrossFire Xpress 3200 (for Intel) with discrete graphics
Supports dual PCI Express x16 graphics.
These are northbridges and are coupled with southbridge ATI SB450 (or IXP 450), Uli M1573 and now ATI SB600 (or IXP 600). However these chipsets may be the last ATI product supporting Intel platform ( HKEPC Hardware ) and moreover Intel has been putting pressure on Taiwan motherboard companies not to produce Xpress 3200 based motherboards ( DailyTech ).
SiS
Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. (SiS) has been producing chipsets for Intel since 1990 and for AMD since 1999 (?). The current desktop chipsets for the Intel platforms are
Northbridge SiS6xx with southbridge SiS96y
where xx = 48, 49,...,72, y = 2,3,...,8. They come with/without integrated graphics. They are considerably cheaper than Intel chipsets with less features. SiS662 or above supports Core 2 Duo.
VIA
VIA has been producing chipsets for AMD and Intel for a long time. The current VIA chipset series for the Intel platform is
P4 Series northbridges with VIA southbridges
They are considerably cheaper than Intel chipsets with less features. However they support Core 2 and they are unique in that some of them support both DDR and DDR2 and both AGP and PCI Express graphics.
References
References for each chipset are given in later sections. A chipset comparison article is
Specs: 865PE + ICH5. Passive/No cooling. FSB 1066/800/533MTps, DDR-400/333/266 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x AGP, no PCI-E x16, no PCI-E x1, 5 x PCI. PATA/SATA: 2/2, SATA at 1.5Gbps, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 7.1 Ch. AC'97 audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: 300MHz, CPU: , DRAM: High, NB: Low-High, Max FSB: 300MHz (E6600, x9, a user)
Specs: 865G + ICH5. Passive/No cooling. FSB 1066MTps for external graphic, FSB 800MTps for internal graphic, DDR-400/333/266 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. 1 x AGP, no PCI-E x16, no PCI-E x1, 3 x PCI. PATA/SATA: 2/2, SATA at 1.5Gbps, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, CMI9761A 5.1 Ch. AC'97 audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: 300MHz, CPU: , DRAM: High, NB: Low-High, Max FSB: 278MHz (E4300, x9, a user here )
Specs: 865GV + ICH5. Passive/No cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR-400/333/266 up to 2GB (2 slots)[/b]. 1 x VGA. 1 x AGP, no PCI-E x16, no PCI-E x1, 3 x PCI. PATA/SATA: 2/2, SATA at 1.5Gbps, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, CMI9761A 5.1 Ch. AC'97 audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: 865G + ICH5. Passive/No cooling. FSB 1066MTps for external graphic, FSB 800MTps for internal graphic, DDR-400/333/266 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. 1 x AGP, no PCI-E x16, no PCI-E x1, 3 x PCI. PATA/SATA: 2/2, SATA at 1.5Gbps, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, AD1888 5.1 Ch. AC'97 audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
VGA: 2048 x 1536, DVI/TV (1080i/p) via an ADD2 card
Intel 945GC Express chipset, designed specifically for Pentium E1000 family, will replace the existing 945G and 945GZ chipset and will be defined as model for entry level in early 2007.
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/2*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945PL + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/2*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need a bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: ?, CPU: ?, DRAM: ?, NB: ?, Max FSB: ?
Notes: This is identical with 945PL-A7A (8.0) except that it supports FSB1066MTps and the audio is HD.
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 2@(16,4)/0/3*, supporting GLI (Graphics Link Interface) and unofficially supporting ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, 5.1 Ch. AC'97 audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 2@(16,4)/0/3*, supporting GLI (Graphics Link Interface) and unofficially supporting ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. AC'97 audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: 350MHz, CPU: +0.3875V, DRAM: 2.1V, NB: +0.3V, Max FSB: 321.6MHz (the BSEL modded E4300, x9, a user here )
Notes: The only difference between EP-5P945C and EP-5P945C GLC is Fast LAN vs. Gb LAN.
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 5.1 Ch. HD audio (need an optional bracket for 7.1 Ch.), no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Notes: The difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0 is the heatsink on the southbridge for rev. 2.0 and audio codec (ALC883 vs. ALC888) and the available audio channels (5.1 Ch. vs. 7.1 Ch.).
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945P + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945PL + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (4 slots). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 5.1 Ch. HD audio (need an optional bracket for 7.1 Ch.), no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Notes: The difference between rev. 1.0 and rev. 2.0 is VRM, heatsink on the southbridge for rev. 2.0, audio codec (ALC883 vs. ALC888) and the available audio channels (6 Ch. vs. 8 Ch.).
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 5.1 Ch. HD audio (need an optional bracket for 7.1 Ch.), no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. No PCI Express x16, PCIe x1/PCI: 1/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA, 1 x DVI-D with the bundled ADD2 DVI card. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 1333/1066/800/533MTps, DDR2-667/533 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA, 1 x DVI-D with the bundled ADD2 DVI card, supporting HDCP. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 2/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7DH. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 2/4, RAID 0/1/10/5, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394. Support for Intel Viiv
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1@4/1/2* (PCIe x16 is x1 only when PCIe x1 is used). PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: ?, CPU: ?, DRAM: ?, NB: ?, Max FSB: ?
Notes: This is nearly identical with I945G-M7 (V2.x) except that LAN is PCI Gb and audio is HD.
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: ?, CPU: ?, DRAM: ?, NB: ?, Max FSB: ?
Notes: The only difference between SE and TE is audio codec, AC'97 vs. HD.
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1@4/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: ?, CPU: ?, DRAM: ?, NB: ?, Max FSB: ?
Notes: The only difference between SE and TE is audio codec, AC'97 vs. HD.
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GC + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 2@(16,4)/0/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1@4/0/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945PL + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). No VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: , CPU: , DRAM: , NB: , Max FSB:
Notes: The difference between rev. 1.1 and rev. 2.1 is that rev. 2.1 supports FSB 1000MT/s by overclocking and audio codec (ALC883 vs. ALC888).
Specs: 945PL + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). No VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 5.1 Ch. HD audio (need an optional bracket for 7.1 Ch.), no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: , CPU: , DRAM: , NB: , Max FSB:
Notes: The differences between S2 (rev. 1.0) and DS2 (rev. 2.0) are all solid capacitors, the heatsink on the southbridge and 7.1 Ch. audio for DS2.
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: , CPU: , DRAM: , NB: , Max FSB:
Notes: The differences between GM-DS2 (rev. 2.0) and GME-DS2 (rev. 2.0) are the number of DIMM slots and LAN controller.
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: , CPU: , DRAM: , NB: , Max FSB:
Notes: The difference between rev. 2.0 and rev. 3.0 is the LAN controller (Marvell 88E8001 vs. RTL8110SC).
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 5.1 Ch. HD audio (need an optional bracket for 7.1 Ch.), no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket)
BIOS: FSB: , CPU: , DRAM: , NB: , Max FSB:
Notes: The difference from GA-945GM-S2 (rev. 1.0) is the addition of IEEE 1394.
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket)
BIOS: FSB: , CPU: , DRAM: , NB: , Max FSB:
Notes: The difference from GA-945GM-DS2 (rev. 2.0) is the addition of IEEE 1394.
Specs: 945GC + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 1066MTps for external graphic, FSB 800MTps for internal graphic, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GC + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 1066MTps for external graphic, FSB 800MTps for internal graphic, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 1066MTps for external graphic, FSB 800MTps for internal graphic, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1@4/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 1066MTps for external graphic, FSB 800MTps for internal graphic, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1@4/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1@4/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio (need an optional bracket for 7.1 Ch.), no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, STAC9220 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/0/3*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: 300MHz?, CPU: , DRAM: ?, NB: ?, Max FSB: 220MHz (E4300, x9, a user at Newegg.com)
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945G + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533/400 up to 4GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GC + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 945GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-533/400 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. No PCI Express x16, PCIe x1/PCI: 1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
It is a successor to Intel 945GZ/945PL Express and positioned in the value segment of the Intel 965 Express chipset family. It features:
946GZ/946PL MCH
Core 2 support
FSB 800/533MTps
DDR2-667/533 up to 4GB
1 x PCI Express x16 Graphics
ICH7
GMA 3000 (946GZ only)
It is a bit hard to distinguish 946GZ from 945GC, both of which support FSB 800MTps. The differences are that 946GZ supports DDR2-667 up to 4GB with GMA 3000, while 945GC supports DDR2-533 up to 2GB with GMA 950. So 946GZ is better than 945GC.
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/3*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. FSB 800/533MTps, DDR2-667/533 up to 2GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/2*/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 4GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533/ up to 4GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 4GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1/2*. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 4GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, STAC9227 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-800/667/533 up to 4GB (2 slots). 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, STAC9227 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: , CPU: , DRAM: , NB: , Max FSB:
Notes: The difference between AB and IS is the support for DDR2-800 in IS and the LAN controller (82562GX vs. 82562G).
Specs: 946GZ + ICH7. Passive/No cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 2GB (2 slots). No VGA (VGA must be disabled for CPU with FSB 1066MTps). PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, 10/100Mbps LAN, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Dual PCI Express graphics interface supporting either one PCI Express graphics card at x16 or two PCI Express graphics cards at x8, x8 supporting ATI CrossFire. Total 16 PCI Express lanes.
Specs: 975X + ICH7R. 8 phase power. Passive-heatpipe/Passive cooling. Support for ECC. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 2@(16,8)/2*/3, supporting ATI CrossFire. PATA/SATA/eSATA: 2/6/1, RAID 0/1/10/5, dual PCI-E Gb LAN, wireless LAN, support for Dolby Master Studio, coaxial & optical S/PDIF outs. ASUS Digital Home
Notes: D975XBX2 differs from D975XBX in support for EPP memory, Marvell SATA controller supporting 3.0Gbps, STAC9274D audio codec, 2 ports IEEE 1394 (vs. 3 ports in D975XBX) and better overclocking BIOS options.
Specs: 975X + ICH7DH. 4 phase power. Passive/Passive cooling. Support for ECC. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 2@(16,8)/2*/2, supporting ATI CrossFire. PATA/SATA: 2/5, RAID 0/1/10/5, support for Dolby Master Studio, coaxial S/PDIF out. Support for Intel Viiv
VGA: 2048 x 1536, DVI/TV (1080i/p) via an ADD2 card
As ICH8 lacks PATA controllers, almost every motherboard (including Intel's own) with this chipset has an additional storage controller to support PATA devices. Intel has neglected the fact that 99% of the current optical drives are still of the PATA interface. This will cause problems when installing Linux from an optical drive.
A remark on G965: In order to protect the operation of the X3000 graphics engine, Intel instituted a hardware lock in the chipset that turns off asynchronous memory timings. This means the boards are not going to be overclocking any where near their P965 counterparts. ( A comment by Gary Key )
Specs: P965 + ICH8. Passive-heatpipe/Passive cooling. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/2*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/6, no RAID, support for Dolby Digital Live, optical S/PDIF in & out
Specs: P965 + ICH8. Passive-heatpipe/Passive cooling. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/2*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/6, no RAID, wireless LAN, support for Dolby Digital Live, optical S/PDIF in & out
Specs: P965 + ICH8. Passive/Passive cooling. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 2@(16,4)/2*/2. PATA/SATA: 1/6, no RAID, PCI Gb LAN, coaxial S/PDIF in & out, no IEEE 1394
BIOS: FSB: ?, CPU: ?, DRAM: ?, NB: ?, Max FSB: ?
Notes: The PCB design is completely different from the original version.
ASUS P965 motherboards
There are many ASUS P965 motherboards. Roughly there are three PCB designs: the P5B vanilla-type, the P5B Deluxe-type and Commando. The main differences of the P5B vanilla-type and the P5B Deluxe-type are
P5B vanilla-type: 1 x PCIe x16 slot, the total 7 expansion slots, Realtek or Attansic LAN, VIA IEEE 1394 controller
P5B Deluxe-type: 2 x PCIe x16 slot, the total 6 expansion slots, Marvell LAN, TI IEEE 1394 controller, Stock Cooler 2 (additional metal layer), Power LED
The motherboards belonging to each type are:
P5B vanilla-type: P5B, P5B/TeleSky, P5B-E, P5B-Plus, P5B-Plus Vista Edition
Notes 1: The difference between P5B and P5B-E is that in P5B-E the southbridge is ICH8R, the LAN controller is Attansic L1 and IEEE 1394 is added.
Notes 2: Revision 1.01G comes with either C1 or C2 stepping, that does not allow MCH/ICH voltage adjustments. Revision 1.02G comes with C2 stepping and allows MCH/ICH voltage adjustments.
Notes: The revised version of P5B-E. The difference between P5B-E and P5B-Plus is that in P5B-Plus the PCB color is black, the capacitors are all solid, and TPM is supported, but the HD audio header ADH was removed.
Notes: The difference between P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP and P5B Deluxe apart from WiFi-AP is that CHA_FAN4 and CHA_FAN5 are available only for the WiFi-AP version.
Notes: All solid capacitors. The board supports ScreenDUO, AI Remote, ASAP, AP Trigger and TPM. USB 2.0 ports 3 and 4 are reserved for ScreenDUO and IR receiver, USB 2.0 ports 9 and 10 for ASAP.
Specs: Q963 + ICH8. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 8GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. No PCI Express x16, PCIe x1/PCI: 3/3. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, STAC9227 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Specs: G965 + ICH8. Passive/Passive cooling. 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCIe Mini/PCI: 1/2*/1/1. PATA/SATA: 1/4, PAATA shared with an SATA connector, no RAID, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), FW3226-100 IEEE 1394 controller
Notes: The board is the same as G9657MA-8KS2H except for southbridge and IEEE 1394. Overclocking is achievable when the PCIe clock is raised by the same percentage as FSB.
Specs: Q965 + ICH8DO. Passive/Passive cooling. 1 x VGA. PCIe x16/PCIe x1/PCI: 1/1*/2. No PATA, 6 x SATA, RAID 0/1/10/5, no S/PDIF (need an optional bracket), no IEEE 1394
Specs: Q963 + ICH8. Passive/Passive cooling. DDR2-667/533 up to 8GB (4 slots). 1 x VGA. No PCI Express x16, PCIe x1/PCI: 1/2. PATA/SATA: 1/4, no RAID, STAC9227 5.1 Ch. HD audio, no S/PDIF, no IEEE 1394
Notes: The only difference between the GA-G33M-S2 and the GA-G33M-DS2R is that the DS2R is all solid capacitors and its southbridge is ICH9R with 6 SATA ports. The available memory multiplier is only DDR2-667 and DDR2-800 (1.25 and 1.5 for a FSB 1066 processor and 1.66 and 2 for a FSB 800 processor).
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