Intel Skulltrail Part 1: The Power of 8 Cores

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Expensive And Large - Intel D5400XS Motherboard

Intel developed the D5400XS motherboard specifically for the Skulltrail system, and it seems like it is still a work in progress. It looks as though this will also remain the sole board for Intel's new platform. The large motherboard makers such as Asus, MSI and Gigabyte currently do not have plans to produce a Skulltrail board, due to the prohibitive cost.

Intel's D5400XS motherboard from above

The back of the Intel D5400XS board

The most important features of the D5400XS motherboard are its two CPU sockets, a quad-channel memory interface and four PCI-Express slots. Each of the PEG slots has a full 16 lanes at its disposal.

Bert Toepelt
3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • white1widow
    I agree that the Skulltrail rig with two QX9775's is hands down the most incredible thing as of late. with a dual 9800gx2 SLI option its the gamers dream and could devour any game. As far as 8 core dual proc setups its the most powerful and obviously the most expensive. Being the most powerful means that everyone wants it and being the most expensive means that only the few, dedicated and rich enthusiast will have it... The rest of people who realize the power of a dual quad system will go Quad FX - the drasticaly cheaper route. I paid $600 for two FX72 at 2.8ghz and the quadfather motherboard. And I get incredible performance not far behind what skulltrail benchmarks indicate. I can multitask and an astounding level using XP64bit and a 5 drive raid + 4gb DDR2. So basically my point is this: Intel has created the most incredible rig (skulltrail), but nobody can afford it. thats not bringing power to the masses, its ripping folks off. That is why whenever Intel comes out with something awesome, I will always go and purchase the immensesly comparable AMD alternative at 1/4 the price. Dual FX72's is more than any nerd will ever need, if need be, I will simply upgrade to dual quad opterons and ECC memory.
    Reply
  • xcorat
    Hi
    So does anybody have a recommendation on a northbridge fan I can use?
    preferably easy to install?( I really hate to take the motherboard out on that monster.)
    Reply
  • IBMSYSADMIN
    I agree W1W, Performance and Value have to balance for most of us these days....
    Reply