Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
ICH) replacements detailed in
Table 4.20
.
Intel 925X Family
The Intel 925 chipset family includes two members: the 925X and the 925XE. The Intel 925X chipset,
code-named Alderwood, was released in 2004. It was designed to replace the 875P Canterwood
chipset. Unlike the 915 series of chipsets, which continued to support older DDR memory, the 925X
supported only DDR2 memory. The 925X also supported ECC memory, providing a fast and accurate
platform for mission-critical applications. To further improve performance, it used an optimized
memory controller design.
The 925X supported the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition and the Pentium 4 in Socket 775 form factors. It
also includes PCI Express x1, PCI Express x16 (video), and PCI version 2.3 expansion slots. The I/O
controller hub used the ICH6 family of South Bridge replacements detailed in
Table 4.20
.
The 925XE was an updated version of the 925X, adding support for 1,066MHz FSB speeds;
however, it dropped support for the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processor and for ECC memory.
Intel 945 Express Family
The Intel 945 Express chipset family (code-named Lakeport) was released in 2005 and included three
members: 945G, 945P, and 945PL. These chipsets, along with the 955X and 975X, were the first to
support Intel's new dual-core Pentium D processors, but they also support Pentium 4 HT Technology
processors using Socket 775.
The 945G and 945P were aimed at what Intel refers to as the “performance PC” market segment.
They offered FSB speeds up to 1,066MHz and up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR2 memory (two pairs)
running at up to 667MHz. Both featured PCI Express x16 support, but the 945G also incorporates
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 integrated graphics.
The 945PL—aimed at what Intel refers to as the “mainstream PC” segment—supported only two
memory modules (one pair of dual-channel modules) running at up to 533MHz and a maximum
memory size of 2GB. It also supported PCI Express x16.
4.20
. The ICH7 family differs from ICH6 in the following ways:
• It has support for 300MBps Serial ATA.
• It has support for SATA RAID 5 and Matrix RAID (ICH7R only).
• It has support for two additional PCI Express x1 ports (ICH7R only).
Figure 4.22
compares the features of the 945G and 915G chipsets.
