Intel launches 4-series chipsets

Computex 2008 With working driversno less!

INTEL JUST LAUNCHED four new chipsets, the G45, P45, G43 and P43. The firm now has most of the mainstream markets covered with 45nm chipsets.

The specs are pretty well known at this point, 16 PCIe Gen2 lanes, 2x8 on the P45, 1x16 on the rest. All support 1333FSB chips, DDR3-1333 on the 45s, 1066 on the 43s. If you want official 1600 support, you need to move to the big brother X48.

The big news is that the G45 actually gets out of it's own way in graphics, enough to run Me II in a tolerable way. The initial numbers are around 1000 in 3DMark06, maybe a little more if you use DDR3. There is word of an upcoming hot driver drop as well, but we will have to see if this affects more than 3DMark.

The G45 includes HD video support, and is fully DRM infected. It can do everything including VC1 in hardware, so this basically completes the video work until a new standard comes along. The chipsets also have Displayport in hardware, a really really good thing, this to me almost balances out the DRM infection that runs over it. The G43 basically has the HD functionality fused off, but is otherwise the same chip.

This time around, Intel not only promises DX10 support but has drivers that function at the launch. While this may seem like a "well duh, why wouldn't they?" thing, bear in mind that the previous generation launched a year ago just got working drivers last month. The generation before that simply never worked right for it's entire lifespan. Lets hope Intel keeps up the trend of working on day one.

There were two neat tools that Intel was briefly showing off this time around, the Extreme Tuning tool and Extreme Memory. The Extreme Tuning is basically a clone of AMDs overdrive utility without some of the elegance. The demo included a reboot to change stats, unnecessary in the AMD version. That said, it is a really good thing, you can change BIOS settings on the fly and the autooverclocking tool is nice to get the gross settings down with no work on your part.

The other new tool is for memory, extremely so. It works with the Intel spec XMS memory, and can pin apps to settings in the NVRAM on the DIMM. Basically, your memory becomes app aware, and can be set to change profiles based on function. It is a good idea, let's see how well it does in practice.

The last interesting bit was Intel talking about chipsets getting smarter and more functional. Vpro has a small embedded CPU in the chipset, and that trend is going to continue with more smarts taken up by the chipset with each passing generation. Not a bad idea, but how long are chipsets going to exist for? Two, maybe three years?

Last up was a humorous note. There was a slide at the show that listed all the 4x series chipset partners. They had board partners and two sections for 'other'. In the first other were things like memory and board partners, and it had one standout, a Crossfire logo. Crossfire is an AMD branding term that is fully supported by Intel on these chipsets, but there was no AMD logo on the slide. We wonder why?