Intel Core i7 "Nehalem" 920, 940 & 965 XE Processor Review

X58 Express Chipset Examined

As mentioned previously, along with the Core i7 processors, Intel will be launching the X58 Tylersburg northbridge, now known as the IO Hub (IOH). This reclassification has occured because of the fact that the memory controller has been integrated into the processor. As result, the IO Hub is now solely responsible for implementing PCI Express lanes and linking to the I/O Controller Hub (ICH) southbridge. Since the front side bus is no more, the X58 communicates with the processor via the new hyper-fast QuickPath point-to-point link, and it is connected to the ICH via the traditional Direct Media Interface (DMI). The southbridge is the venerable ICH10 found on all P45 Express motherboards.

The X58 supports 32 PCI-Express 2.0 lanes, which means that it supports two PCI-E x16 slots. CrossFire support is still present, and some X58 motherboards have been certified for NVIDIA SLI, which is something that enthusiasts the world over have been waiting for with great anticipation.

This Intel chipset is manufactured on the venerable 65nm process, it measures 37.5mm x 37.5mm, and it has a high 24.1W TDP. With these specifications, it is no surprise that it is one fairly hot running chipset and you will be seeing fairly hefty chipset cooling solutions by motherboard manufacturers.

Here are some of the features and functionality that Intel has added to the X58 chipset.