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Why we may never see a Core i7 Apple machine
With the recent crop of new Apple desktop hardware - The Mac Pro, iMac and Mac Mini (all of which we reviewed in Personal Computer World) - we noted the use of Intel's older Core 2 Duo processor rather than the newer and more powerful Core i7 chip. The Mac Pro is an exception, but Apple's high end workstation doesn't use Core i7 either, as it's built around Intel's Xeon 5500 processor (which is similar, but not identical, to Core i7)
It's a certainty that Apple will upgrade its range to use Intel's newer processors at some point, but it may be the recently announced Core i5 and Core i3 that it chooses rather than Core i7.
If you haven't been following Intel's roadmaps, Core i5 will use a completely different socket to current Core i7 processors, using 1,156 pins rather than 1,366, meaning if you want to use a Core i5 processor, you need to fork out for yet another new motherboard. Intel's decision to bring another socket to the market has been met with confusion and some disappointment from those who have already invested in Core i7.
The good news is that Core i5 processors and components should be much less expensive than Core i7, but still offer high performance, partly thanks to an integrated memory controller that gives better memory performance than its predecessor.
This leaves Apple with a choice of processors for its next mainstream desktop line. We'll bet on them choosing Core i5 for the iMac, Core i3 for the Mini and sticking with Xeons in the Mac Pro, meaning LGA 1366 Core i7 processors end up never used in an Apple computer.
Of course, Apple hasn't even announced a new desktop line, and Core i5 processors aren't on the market yet, making this little more than speculation on our part. However, as long as Core i5 is relatively affordable and offers a reasonable performance boost, we'll call this an educated guess on what Apple's next move will be.
Win a motherboard
Yoyotech is offering a 5 percent discount to PCW readers who purchase a motherboard at an event it is holding this Saturday (May 24) at its store at 30 Windmill Street, just round the corner from Piccadilly Circus and five minutes walk from the computer shops of Tottenham Court Road.
Central attraction will be Foxconn’s Black Ops motherboard, designed for overclockers, that can be cooled by liquid nitrogen. Visitors also get a chance to win one.
Core 2 Duo and Crossfire
Taiwanese manufacturer MSI has released a motherboard today, the MSI P965 Platinum, which is the first based on the Intel P965 Express chipset to support Crossfire, ATI's dual graphics card setup.
The P965 is designed for dual core processors and while it supports Pentium D is clearly intended for use with Core 2 Duo. The 965 family was launched in June and there are two other variations, the Q965 and G965 which form part of Intel's vPro and Viiv platforms respectively.
This MSI board has two PCI Express x16 slots and supports Crossfire directly. Gamers looking for maximum performance will look towards an Intel Core 2 Extreme as processor and those who favour ATI will now have the opportunity configure a dream system.
VIA annouce new Intel chipset
VIA have released details of their latest chipset for Intel Processors; the P4M890 IGP. The new chipset supports 1066,800, 533 and 400MHz FSB Pentium 4 and Celeron CPUs and provides both DDR1 and DDR2 support up to a maximum of 4GB.
The P4M890 also supports up to two x16 PCI-E ports as well as x1 PCI-E ports and Integrated graphic support is also available, based on VIA’s UniChrome Pro graphics core with a 200MHz engine clock.
The chipset supports up to four SATA devices, which can be set up in RAID 0, 1, 0+1, or JBOD arrays thanks to the integrated V-RAID technology.
ECS unveils its first Intel SLI board
ECS have unveiled its first Intel based motherboard that supports SLI technology.
The C-19-A SLI is based around nVidia’s nForce4 XE chipset and also incorporated ECS’s own S.D.G.E. (Scalable Dual Graphic Engines) technology.
All of the rest of the usual goodies are there; FSB 1066, Intel Pentium processor Extreme Edition support, dual DDR2 667 memory up to 16GB, four SATA II slots supporting RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, Gigabit LAN, and eight channel high definition audio.
All this for a remarkable RRP of £55 and available from mid Feb.
Abit asks customers to help shape its products
Abit wants to know what you think of its motherboards and is asking its customers and PC enthusiasts to take part in its online survey.
Anyone who fills it in is automatically entered into a competition with $10,000 of prizes. It is, says Abit, your chance to influence their products.
The survey comes in three sections, and for each section you complete, you'll get a raffle ticket, plus there are three additional sections, with a top prize worth $500. If you are motivated by the thought of free products, be warned the prizes range from the rubbish (ATI pens, Intel magnets) to decent stuff like Abit's motherboards.
The survey closes on 10th February, so if you're interested, get cracking.
ECS unveil world's first 955X Crossfire board
ECS have announced the PF22 motherboard which supports both Intel’s advanced i955X chipset and ATI’s CrossFire technology.
It features ECS’ Scalable D.G.E (Dual Graphic Engines) architecture as well as an overclocking feature called Instant Overclocking Controller (I.O.C.).
The PF22 should be available from November with a RRP price of around £140 ex VAT.
Two new boards from ASUS
ASUS has just announced two new SLI motherboards which provide dual true X16 PCI Express graphics support and use an 8-Phase power design to lower heat generation and fan-less cooling to provide quieter running and better overclocking stability.
The A8N32-SLI is the AMD based board supporting Athlon 64FX/Athlon 64 X2/Athlon 64 and Sempron CPUs, using the nVidia nForce 4 SLI X16 chipset and will be available in two models, the A8N32-SLI Deluxe and the A8N32-SLI Deluxe/WiFi. The P5N32-SLI is based around nVidia's Intel SLI solution chipset, the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition. It supports Intel's Pentium EE, Pentium D, Pentium 4 and Celeron CPUs and like the A8N32-SLI will come in two versions the Deluxe and WiFi.
A8N32-SLI
ECS launch new card for the PF88 Extreme
ECS has announced a new converter card for their PF88 Extreme Hybrid motherboard.
The A4S SIMA card features AMD’s Socket 754 and is it aimed at users who want to run the latest AMD Turion 64 mobile CPUs in a desktop PC. The card comes with a SIS756 North Bridge, up to 1600MT/s HyperTransport speeds, and two DIMM slots which can take up to a maximum of 2GB of DDR400 memory.
The A4S SIMA is priced at £27.99 (ex VAT) and is available from http://www.pcnextday.co.uk/
ECS announce CrossFire ready motherboards
ECS have announced two motherboards that support the upcoming CrossFire technology from ATI
The KA1 Extreme is the AMD based board, supporting Socket 939 Athlon64 FX and Athlon 64 CPUs while the PA1 Extreme is the board for Intel processors, supporting Socket 775 Pentium 4 and Pentium D CPUs with FSB speeds up to 1066MHz.
The PA1 Extreme (pictured) should be available from the end of September with the KA1 Extreme coming a month later.
