Intel P35: Intel's Mainstream Chipset Grows Up
by Gary Key & Wesley Fink on May 21, 2007 3:45 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Features Comparison
While P35 and G33 are said to target the same segment, the likely target markets are quite different. Enthusiasts will generally opt for the P35 desktop chipset, or perhaps the upcoming G35 if their application requires integrated graphics. The G33 will more likely be found in machines by HP or Dell. Despite the differing end users a closer look at features shows Intel Series 3 features that are universal throughout the line.
All new series 3 chipsets support DDR3 or DDR2. With DDR3 prices currently double or greater than DDR2 you will likely see DDR2 used in mainstream and OEM computers. For now DDR3 will most likely be limited to high end computers. As we saw in DDR3 vs. DDR2 the performance of DDR3 and DDR2 were virtually the same on the P35 at the same speed and timings, and DDR2 was faster on P35 than on the current P965. Therefore end users will likely want to migrate to the new 3 series chipsets for added performance, but it doesn't matter right now whether the memory is DDR3 or DDR2. In the future, when DDR3 prices drop and DDR3 timings get faster, DDR3 will be the better choice.
It is interesting that the DDR2-1333 speed is supported on the new 3 series chipsets, as this will likely spur development of even faster DDR2 for the new boards. Any of the new ICH9 MCH chips can be combined with G33 and P35, but you will more likely see the ICH9R used with P35 and the cheaper ICH9 in the G33 boards.
Like the P965/975X chipsets that preceded them, the new 3 series only supports a maximum of 8GB of memory. This is somewhat surprising when year-old AMD AM2 chipsets officially support 16GB. While not an immediate limitation, it may become one if the adoption of Vista is accelerated with a "must-have" DX10 game. For those who have asked, please note that Intel says all new Series 3 chipsets are 45nm Penryn ready. We would take this to mean that earlier P965/975X boards are not likely compatible with the upcoming Penryn, although just like we've seen a few specific boards using older chipsets with Core 2 we may see some exceptions.
Key Innovations
GAMING - X38
- Support for all Intel multi-core processors
- First DDR3 memory and PCI Express 2.0 chipset support in the industry
- Gain additional performance benefits with chipset overspeed protection removed
BUSINESS - Q35 and Q33
- Reduce IT costs, increase security and simplify manageability with Intel vPro processor technology platforms
- Lower TDP and idle power for greater energy efficiency, enhanced acoustics, and SFF
- Continue to support Energy Star2 specifications
- Enhance platform stability & improved asset deployment success with Intel SIPP
CONSUMER - G35
- Experience sharp HD DVD & Blu-ray content, high-definition video quality & usability with improved Intel Clear Video Technology
- Play the latest games with enhanced 3D compatibility with DX10
- I/O enhancements with new Intel Matrix Storage Technology features
- Support Intel ViiV processor technology
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Wesley Fink - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
Early boards will be expensive, just like always. The prices will likely drop to the same levels as current P965 boards they replace, with a broad range for P35 boards from basic to "Asus Commando" level gaming boards. It is too early to be discouraged.Comdrpopnfresh - Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - link
I'm willing to bet we'll see them replacing the older boards quickly too. If intel and other manufacturers really want DDR3 to go through, you'll see DDR2 boards disappearing quickly. Its like what happened to s939. Basically the same chips were used for AM2, but the boards and chips quickly dried up and disappeared. The same can be said or PCI-e. In the beginning there wasn't much of a real world benefit, just the theoretical bandwidth increase. Because developments in AGP ceased, we might never know if the switch was necessary.Comdrpopnfresh - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
If something other than NAND flash could be used, it would be very interesting to see a pci-e 1x board that can house DDR2 memory for use in turbo memory. That way, when people upgrade their ~35 boards to DDR3 when performance and price changes, the DDR2 can be used further. This would make a lot of sense too, because unlike Gigabyte's i-RAM device and logical ramdrives, the high speed, low latency properties of RAM could be used for turbo memory as a way around the 8gb limit of RAM on these cards. And since they are not used for storage, merely access, no redundancy on power supply is needed as with the i-RAM. Someone should start development on this...Comdrpopnfresh - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
Why would the TDP on the P35 higher if it has no integrated video? Will third-party manufactures implement their own SLI into the P35 given that the reference model only had on x16 pci-e slot? Also, when can we expect to see pci-e2 and more than 4 dimm slots on intel mobos?yacoub - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
Including a jumper to change the strap setting for the fsb is a nice feature on the MSi board. A little disappointed in the memory comparison test that that board had the lowest bandwidth and most latency. Is that something BIOS updates can improve or is that generally hardware (i.e. board design related)?Gary Key - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
It is all BIOS tuning in regards to the MSI board. Our first results with the board had the memory performance being equal to the 945P boards. Two BIOS releases later and the improvements have been remarkable. I think MSI is about two BIOS spins behind ASUS and Gigabyte now. Gigabyte finally caught up but ASUS still has the better feature set and options in my opinion.michal1980 - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
hardocp, seems to take a 180 different outlook on these boards. so werid.skaterdude - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
What's so weird? Kyle is an extension of AMD's marketing department. He has not cared for Intel in a very long time, at least since he was caught cheating on some Intel benchmarks and was hung out to dry for it. Personally, it is alright to have a favorite company to root for but to do so in such an open and bias way is wrong if you are not running a company specific website. I would not have an issue at all if it was called HardAMD, at least you know what you are viewing is not tainted by free trips, booze, products, and general hostility against a company.
Back on subject....The P35 is a nice upgrade and it may not set the world on fire but it appears Intel listened and improved on a chipset they could have let ride for a lot longer. DDR3 will be interesting and at least the kinks will be worked out by the time X38 and the new processors get here. If I had not already bought a 965 board then P35 would have been the one. I am still miffed about not having a native IDE port as JMicron just plain sucks most of the time.
strikeback03 - Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - link
the P35 does not have native IDE either, and why use an IDE drive anyway?Spoelie - Monday, May 21, 2007 - link
ahum, AMD biased? After reading some of their recent gpu reviews, I thought it was the other way around... Check yourselfanyway, not a worthy upgrade, but a worthy new board. Which is what you could reasonably expect.