Serial ATA Finally Here
The following table gives you a short overview on all four available dual-channel chipsets for DDR400 and Intel's Pentium 4.
| Northbridge | VIA PT880 | SiS655FX |
|---|---|---|
| Southbridge | VT8237 | SiS964 |
| FSB | 800/533/400 MHz | 800/533/400 MHz |
| Hyper Threading Support | Yes | yes |
| Memory Types | DDR 400/333/266 (w/ECC) | DDR 400/333 |
| Maximum RAM | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| AGP | 8x | 8x |
| Connection Northbridge/Southbridge | Ultra V-Link (1 GB/s) | MuTIOL 1G, 1 GB/s |
| Audio | AC'97 5.1 | AC'97 5.1 |
| Serial ATA | 2 ports, w/ RAID 0, 1, JBOB | 2 ports, w/ RAID 0, 1, JBOB |
| Parallel ATA | UltraATA/133, 2 channels | UltraATA/133, 2 channels |
| USB | 8 USB 2.0 | 8 USB 2.0 |
| Network Interface | 10/100 MBit | 10/100 MBit |
| PCI | 6 slots | 6 slots |
| Northbridge | Intel 865PE | Intel 875 |
|---|---|---|
| Southbridge | 82801ED | 82801ER |
| FSB | 800/533/400 MHz | 800/533/400 MHz |
| Hyper Threading Support | Yes | Yes |
| Memory Types | DDR 400/333/266 (w/ECC) | DDR 400/333/266 |
| Maximum RAM | 4 GB | 2 GB |
| AGP | 8x | 8x |
| Connection Northbridge/Southbridge | Intel Hub Architecture (266 MB/s) | Intel Hub Architecture (266 MB/s) |
| Audio | AC'97 5.1 | AC'97 5.1 |
| Serial ATA | optional2 ports, w/ RAID 0, 1, JBOB | optional2 ports, w/ RAID 0, 1, JBOB |
| Parallel ATA | UltraATA/100, 2 channels | UltraATA/100, 2 channels |
| USB | 8 USB 2.0 | 8 USB 2.0 |
| Network Interface | 10/100 MBit | 10/100/1000 MBit (CSA) |
| PCI | 6 slots | 6 slots |
There is one feature of the new chipsets that we believe to be more important than all the common performance considerations: The presence of integrated Serial ATA controllers. Most of you are aware of this new post-UltraATA standard.
It certainly won't help us much to increase overall system performance, since today's hard drives still are clearly below the 100 MB/s of UltraATA or even 150 MB/s of Serial ATA. However, the benefits are meaningful and convenient: Cables can have a maximum length of one meter and won't disturb the airflow inside the computer. In addition, they are small and easy to handle. Since there is only one drive per connector, the master/slave hassle will finally be gone as well.
Integrated Serial ATA controllers do entail virtually no extra costs, since the development efforts are controllable and mass production usually absorbs all related costs. Integrating them makes a huge difference to drive manufacturers, as they can count on a wider basis of systems than can easily make use of their drives.
