Intel X38 High End Chipset Launch and Benchmarks

MojoKid writes "Though many leaks of the product have been circulating for some time, Intel officially took the wraps off and launched their new X38 Express chipset for the high-end desktop motherboard market. With this launch, the Intel desktop chipset line-up gets a new flagship. Intel's new X38 chipset encompasses all of the technology advances that have made the P35 a success and adds a slew of new features designed to increase memory and graphics subsystem performance, like PCI Express 2.0 SerDes and Intel Extreme Memory technology in the new X38 MCH. The Asus motherboard tested by HotHardware even features an embedded Linux-based OS that boots in a matter a seconds."

Comments

Re:I thought high end meant Xeon?

[phantomcircuit]

It's a high end Desktop chip, Xeon are server chips.

ok, but will it run...

[crowbarsarefornerdyg]

Windows AfterVista®?

Re:Apple next?

[Joe The Dragon]

we more likely to see a g33 / g35 system from apple to replace the mini with on board video and x16 and x4 pci-e slots.

And apple will making a dumb move by going with over priced DDR3 that is not much faster then much cheaper DDR2 ram.

Re:I thought high end meant Xeon?

[caffeinemessiah]

3 words: Quad core Xeon. We run a reasonably big single-CPU quad core server and although its got dual CPU sockets, the thing doubles as a reasonably good space heater.

DDR3 ECC supported!

[DigiShaman]

It's about damn time. I've looked all over the net to find an official answer. Not even Intel's webpage mentions anything about the X38 supporting ECC. So, I downloaded the manual for the Asus P5E3 Deluxe board. From page 2-13 of the PDF document.

You may install 512, 1GB, and 2GB unbuffered ECC, non-ECC DDR3 DIMMs into the DIMM sockets.

To Intel and vendors: How bloody hard is to include "supports ECC" in your online product summary?

Re:DDR3 ECC supported!

[Anonymous Coward]

It may support ECC DIMMs, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll use the ECC feature of those DIMMs.

Re:DDR3 ECC supported!

[morgan_greywolf]

Mod parent up, informative! My cheapass motherboard supports ECC DIMMs, but does not make use of the ECC features. There's no way to know whether it'll use the ECC feature unless you either A) try it and see (hard to do), or B) Intel tells you it does (in which case you have to accept their word for it.)

It seems to me that a high-end motherboard chipset should support ECC features, but that doesn't mean that it does.

Re:DDR3 ECC supported!

[Agripa]

Intel's chipset comparison page and datasheet are somewhat informative. Apparently, the X38 chipset supports ECC when using DDR2 but not when using DDR3.

Re:DDR3 ECC supported!

[DigiShaman]

You sir, would be correct. I found the documentation on Intel's website. Found in 31846901.pdf section 3.3 titled ECC Support.

For DDR3 the X38 Express Chipset does NOT support ECC, does not support ECC unbuffered
DIMMs, and it does not support any memory configuration that mixes non-
ECC with ECC un-buffered DIMMs.

For DDR2 the X38 Express Chipset does support ECC and ECC un-buffered DIMMs but
it does NOT support any memory configuration that mixes non-ECC with ECC unbuffered
DIMMs.

Damn, that blows. And shame on Asus for false documentation!

Intel and Linux

[Simon (S2)]

I just love Intels commitment to linux lately. They release open source drivers for their chipsets, and now an integrated linux os on the firmware of this mobo. The last notebook I had was all Intel chips (IPW2200 for wireless, GM945 graphics) and just everything worked out of the box without proprietary drivers. Really, thanks Intel, I am a happy customer.

Re:Intel and Linux

[Justus]

Although Intel's Linux driver support is pretty good on the whole, the integrated OS is a feature of the ASUS motherboard and isn't a product of Intel's good will toward Linux.

There was a previous Slashdot feature specifically covering that, if you want more information.

Re:I thought high end meant Xeon?

[morgan_greywolf]

No. Xeon is the name of the processor chip used in both high-end desktops and servers. X38, FTFS, is a chipset.

Cool, but...

[niteice]

does it run...oh

Re:I thought high end meant Xeon?

[tjstork]

It's a high end Desktop chip, Xeon are server chips.

You can have a Xeon desktop. Hell, I have a dual Opteron desktop. It would be called a "workstation".

Re:Icarus

[Anonymous Coward]

lack of any useful office applications. If you need to touch Word/Excel/PowerPoint more often than once a month, your job sucks.

Express Gate appz

[Kensai7]

If you launch the Express Gate applications, which are comprised of a web browser and Skype at this time, the embedded Linux-based OS is launched from a ROM and seconds later it's available for use. We found the Express Gate technology easy to use and quite handy. Say, for example, you need to download a driver or BIOS file and the hard drive-based OS isn't functioning properly. With Express Gate you can now access the web and integrated peripherals even if the system's full blown OS has a problem.

This might me be quite handy when the shit hits the fan. I hope more manufacturers implement mini-OSes like this one.

Benchmark result:

[imsabbel]

Same performance as any other board (inside the margin of error).
Seriously, why even bother benchmarking?
You buy those boards for compatibilty, or for their features, but not because they are _faster_....
(extreme overclockers excluded. Some board may be better suited for FSB overclocking).

Intel's X48 to Come in Just Another 5 Weeks !!

[Zymergy]

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Intel-039-s-X48-to-Come-in-Just-Another-5-Weeks-67604.shtml
http://www.dvhardware.net/article22289.html
It appears the X48 chipset is actually the X38 chipset without the ECC support and for DDR3 Only? Great, just when we weren't confused!

Here's another X38 review: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3120
A chipset comparison graphic: http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/chipsets/intel/x38-launch/memory-lg.png
And another review: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/26/intel_x38_chipset/

Re:I thought high end meant Xeon?

[D4MO]

Dell precision workstations

A Gamer's Dream?

[abirdman]

Observations from reading the article:

1. The two MB's they reviewed are going to be incredibly expensive (over $300) when they hit the streets,
2. the only one that survived overclocking the already insanely fast CPU (the other one died and could not be revived), takes ridiculously expensive DDR3 memory, and
3. when run at their max (optimal, i.e. stock) settings showed no difference in performance from their "hopelessly outdated" predecessors, the P35 chipset boards.
4. Only one game benchmark (F.E.A.R.) showed any measurable difference at all from one to the other.
5. All the video and audio encoding benchmark results were identical, which only proves those tasks are processor bound (all the test systems used the same CPU-- only the chipsets and/or memory differed).

I find it odd the reviewers even recommended the board (the survivor-- they were skeptical of the dead one). I don't understand the attraction of a board/chipset like this! It's going to take another generation of hardware to take advantage of the 32 simultaneous 32 bit video data "lanes" on each PCI-E (or X or whatever) slot. And eventually, maybe DDR3 will drop in price when there's some demand for it. And all the I/O (8 USB 2.0 ports and external SATA ports and optical and coax digital AV) seem like they could come in handy. But seriously, why are they making these now? Is it for the quad-core support? Do other chipsets support quad-core Intels? Or is it because they allow plugging in not one but two $500+ dollar video cards?

I look forward to lots of serious gamers buying these, devising new benchmarks to prove their efficacy, and bringing down the cost for this point of entry into the market for the rest of us. But gamers! Read the review and benchmarks. This chipset does not, at least based on this review, demonstrate a big leap forward.

Re:I thought high end meant Xeon?

[dreamchaser]

Gee...I guess that's why Intel's own page for the Xeon has big bold letters that say Server and Workstation Processors.

Intel has always marketed the Xeon as a high end CPU for server and workstation applications. If you're going to try to be pedantic, at least be accurate about it.

Re:Apple next?

[p0tat03]

The same Apple that has stuck with DD2-667 even on their high-end workstations, despite there being faster DDR2 clocks? Apple doesn't look like they're the type to cash in on the newest buzzword-tech, which is sometimes good, and sometimes bad (I do wish the Mac Pros would ship with something a tad faster than DDR2-667...)