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All Aboard! P4 with 200 MHz FSB and the i875P Dual DDR400 Chipset

07:00 - Monday 14 April 2003 by Uwe Scheffel

1. Generation Change In Chipsets; Data Traffic In The Fast Lane
2. 875P/ Canterwood Chipset: Rambus, Adieu!
3. Northbridge 82875P
4. 6.4 GB/s Memory Bandwidth: Infrastructure For The Future
5. Memory Bandwidth And Requirements For Dual Channel
6. Overview Of Memory Bandwidths
7. We Save Everything! Images Of The Latest 875P Boards
8. Gigabit-LAN: Northbound
9. Southbridge 82801EB/R (ICH5)
10. The Basics: Serial ATA
11. Serial ATA Configuration: With Or Without RAID
12. Windows Installation With Serial ATA
13. Installing RAID 0 Later: Any Time!, Continued
14. Higher Performance With Serial ATA?

<nobox>

It has been a long time since Intel has simultaneously launched a new processor and a new platform. The last time was the launch of the Pentium 4 in November 2000, to be exact. Today, two and a half years later, it's that time again: whoever wants the very latest in technology needs a Pentium 4 with 200 MHz Quad FSB and a suitable platform for Dual DDR400. The technological progress is noteworthy. Intel has increased the clock of the Front Side Bus from 133 to 200 MHz - that's a boost of 50%. As a result, the bandwidth likewise increases, from 4.2 to 6.4 GB/s.

In order to use the processor optimally, you need a motherboard with the 875P/ Canterwood chipset, which will replace the 845PE/ Brookdale and the 850E/ Tehama. The Canterwood is Intel's first desktop chipset for Dual DDR400 memory, which also functions in dual-channel technology. The need to completely change platforms for the P4 with 200 MHz FSB notwithstanding, the user at least gets a few nice goodies that sweeten the deal: Serial ATA is now integrated into the chipset; the AGP 8X interface for graphics cards is also meant to be a persuasive argument for purchase. Up till now, it was difficult to tell customers why Intel initially offered AGP 8X to the workstation segment and not to the mainstream market.