RAM | Reseller Advocate Magazine: Issue 57

By Chris Angelini

You already know that the V in VAR stands for value, but it shouldn't always be your responsibility to add it. More than ever, resellers are getting plenty of help from vendors eager to convince customers that not all hardware is created equal. In the CPU world, 64-bit processing, dual-core technology, and hardware-assisted virtualization set one chip apart from another. Graphics cards include Shader Model 3.0 support, right down to the sub-$100 models giving budget-conscious customers access to the latest photorealistic eye-candy. And the storage companies keep on top of standards in that field too, granting 3 Gbps signaling speeds and ancillary extras such as hot-swap hard drive support.

But motherboards and their underlying chipsets are even more integral to the value equation, though decidedly less glamorous. They're the enablers behind dual-card graphics arrays and the platforms on which 3 Gbps SATA drives are able to run in RAID 5. Understanding the technology in today's chipsets gives you the power to leverage integration and offer features that would have required pricey add-on cards in the past. Do more and save money at the same time? Sounds like a solid game plan.

In general, there are two components that determine a chipset's utility. One is the northbridge, commonly tasked with coordinating communications between graphics cards, processors, and memory. The other, naturally, is the southbridge, responsible for I/O, peripheral scalability, and multimedia. While both are equally important, overall system performance is most dependant on a highly-optimized northbridge.

Intel: VAR-Friendly Innovation

As a chipset vendor, Intel consistently leads the pack in pushing new northbridge technology by regularly refreshing its product line. The recent Core 2 Duo launch once again gave it an opportunity to debut fresh core logic, dubbed P965 Express, for the powerful processor. The new chipset standardizes on a 1066 MHz front side bus, which was previously exclusive to high-end Extreme Edition CPUs. The chipset also adds a feature called Fast Memory Access, encompassing a quartet of efficiency-oriented extras that maximize throughput.

The New Hotness
Although Core 2 Duo is backwards compatible with Intel's 975X chipset, the P965 MCH and ICH8 enable newer functionality for mainstream desktops.

Admittedly, the P965 MCH is only a small step forward—nothing significant enough to compel an upgrade, that's for sure. But Intel's accompanying ICH8 controller hub will attract much more attention, especially in IT departments eager to axe legacy technologies. Parallel ATA, still commonly used to attach IDE disks and optical drives, makes it formal exit, as does the aging AC'97 audio architecture. High-definition audio lets your customers send different audio streams to different devices, game in full 5.1-channel surround sound, automatically re-task audio jack functionality, and output up to a 192 kHz/32-bit signal. AC'97 maxes out at 48 kHz/20-bit playback in multi-channel mode, so Intel's decision to shed it is quite welcome. PATA's fall from grace should be equally well-received amongst system builders sick of bulky IDE cables, though the move is likely to affect resellers with limited access to serial-based optical drives. (By popular demand, Intel has added a discrete PATA controller on many 965 motherboards.) Two 3 Gbps SATA ports replace the PATA interface for a total of six featured on the ICH8 controller. There are also six PCI Express lanes rather than four, which, according to Intel, can be configured into x1 or x4 slots. The package is rounded out by up to 10 USB 2.0 ports and Quiet System Technology for reducing fan noise.

NVIDIA: From Enthusiast to Value

Even though Intel is claiming backwards compatibility between Core 2 Duo and the enthusiast 975X chipset, P965 is the more modern solution for most of your desktop customers. The platform isn't optimized for multi-card rendering, though, so when it comes time to build enthusiast boxes, you'll probably find yourself looking to a third party for help. Fortunately, NVIDIA recently unveiled a high-end platform called nForce 590/570 SLI covering Intel's Core 2 Duo processors and the AM2 Athlon 64 interface.

The nForce 590 is the only model employing two physical components on the AMD side—a northbridge of sorts used to deliver 16 lanes of PCI Express connectivity along with a richly featured southbridge, laden with another x16 slot, dual Gigabit Ethernet controllers, high-def audio, six SATA 3 Gbps connectors, 10 USB 2.0 ports, and four PCI Express x1 slots. Single-chip offerings from the same family include NVIDIA's nForce 570 SLI, the nForce 570 Ultra, and nForce 550. All four chipsets yield gobs of functionality, with even the least expensive including Gigabit Ethernet, plenty of PCI Express, and SATA 3Gbps connectivity.

Mainstream Value
Many of the features on NVIDIA's nForce 570 SLI should look familiar to resellers who sold nForce4-based motherboards in the past. Refreshed for Intel's Core 2 Duo, the 570 SLI is still a great platform for enabling an upgrade path to SLI at a mainstream price point.

NVIDIA's Intel offerings differ in that they come with a DDR2 memory controller supporting speeds up to 667 MHz, necessitating a dual-chip implementation. The flagship nForce 590 SLI is most decked-out, sporting similar features to the AMD variant, while NVIDIA's nForce 570 SLI sheds a Gigabit connection, some USB connectivity, and a couple of SATA ports. Because NVIDIA keeps its multi-card technology proprietary, customers interested in SLI have to pick one of the company's AMD- or Intel-based platforms. Fortunately, nForce core logic offers value at every market segment—even at the mainstream level where SLI support isn't as much of a priority.

ATI: Back in the Game

Much of ATI's chipset portfolio revolves around CrossFire technology, the answer to SLI. Consequently, the most popular ATI platforms are geared towards enthusiasts buying AMD processors. Customers taking the Core 2 Duo route are given the option of snagging a double-slot Intel 975X-based motherboard, also compatible with CrossFire.

The CrossFire Xpress 3200 northbridge sits atop ATI's chipset stack with two x16 PCI Express interfaces enabled through a single piece of silicon. According to representatives at ATI, the value there is low-latency when a pair of graphics cards communicates, compared to competing solutions forced to talk between separate chipset components. The lower-priced CrossFire Xpress 1600 offers many of the same features, only with two PCI Express x8 slots that halve bandwidth to the graphics cards—a perfect compromise for platforms wielding mainstream Radeon X1600 or X1300 boards in tandem.

Though the company's CrossFire and integrated northbridges show extremely well in enthusiast and mainstream circles, its former flagship southbridge, SB450, lacked some critical check-mark features, such as SATA 3 Gbps support. Moreover, USB 2.0 performance was found somewhat lacking compared to competing models. Most customers probably never noticed, but the resulting bad PR scared most motherboard vendors into using ULi southbridges since ATI designed the chipset to work with a handful of alternatives.

Now ATI is hoping those manufacturers go back to using its southbridges, partially because NVIDIA purchased ULi and partly because it fixed the shortcomings of SB450, rolling the improvements into a new southbridge, the SB600. Several new storage features help modernize the flagship, including SATA 3 Gbps support, native command queuing (NCQ), and RAID 10. High-definition audio is there, as is a ten-pack of USB 2.0 ports.

Enthusiast Appeal
The nForce 570 SLI is your best bet for inexpensive SLI support in an Intel-based platform. Stepping up to the nForce 590 SLI buys additional PCI Express lanes, additional SATA ports, and one more Gigabit controller.

ATI's solution catches the company up to an industry immersed in adding inputs and outputs, all the while reducing costs. The SB600 works nicely in the enthusiast realm, mated to a CrossFire northbridge and complemented by add-on Gigabit Ethernet. And because ATI's chipset lineup gravitates toward accommodating AMD-based platforms, you can expect to see it go head-to-head against the offerings in NVIDIA's nForce 500-series.

VIA: Satisfying the Mainstream

As Intel, ATI, and NVIDIA do battle over bragging rights at the high-end, VIA is focusing on more budget-oriented customers with its PT890 and P4M900 chipsets, simultaneously addressing the discrete and integrated graphics markets.

If only because chipsets with built-in video speak more directly to the mainstream, VIA's P4M900 looks to be the real winner. Fully modernized with Core 2 Duo support, representatives of the company claim P4M900's integrated Chrome9 graphics processor is ready for Windows Vista Premium and Microsoft's Aero Glass user interface. You'll also get a full complement of value-adds, such as VIA's own high-def audio codec, Gigabit Ethernet, SATA 3 Gbps, and RAID support.

There's a Lot to Like

Whether it's the back-to-school season or just a big processor launch, resellers are getting access to new core logic from virtually every chipset vendor. Though the speeds and feeds can get repetitive, you'll find a lot of new value in those refreshed platforms. For example, Intel is offering unprecedented integrated graphics performance and an attractive legacy-free ICH8 southbridge. NVIDIA's lineup gives VARs access to SLI graphics at several different price inflections. And the ATI SB600 southbridge contributes much needed balance to a high-performance chipset known best for enabling CrossFire multi-card rendering.