September 08, 2009

Intel showed off a number of new computer systems and at least 40 new motherboards built by partners for new Intel microprocessors that officially launched on Tuesday, nearly a month after the chips were first spotted at computer markets in Taipei.

The company launched three new quad-core processors formerly codenamed Lynnfield, and aimed at desktop computers, as well as the new Xeon 3400 series processors aimed at low-cost servers. The chips use Intel's new Nehalem architecture.

One special note to the event was the P55 Express chipset from Intel, the first ever from the company that is only one chip instead of two, said Navin Shenoy, general manager of the Asia Pacific region at Intel, speaking at a news conference in Taipei. In a news release, Intel called it the most revolutionary design change for the chipset since the early 1990s.

Chipsets are the pair of chips known as the northbridge and southbridge inside a computer that regulate the flow of data traffic between the microprocessor and other components, such as graphics and memory. Intel was able to turn the P55 Express chipset into a single chip by transferring some of its workload directly onto the Lynnfield microprocessors, such as giving them integrated memory controllers. The chipset is a sign of the future because Intel and AMD are working on putting more and more chipset and graphics functions directly onto the microprocessor.

Dozens of new motherboards built for the new Lynnfield microprocessors, the Core i5-750, Core i7-860 and Core i7-870, were on display at the Intel event in Taipei, launched by the leading makers, including Asustek Computer, Gigabyte Technology, Micro-Star International (MSI), Elitegroup Computer Systems and Foxconn Technology.

Source:-http://www.pcworld.com