More ICH6 and LGA 775

One of Intel’s strengths is the foresight to innovate, even when it isn’t in the driver’s seat with regard to performance. Sometimes it takes flak for its decisions (think back to the adoption of RDRAM and the first reactions to its NetBurst micro-architecture). Other ideas pan out more favorably, like the adoption USB and hopefully, the push behind WiMAX. The ICH6 is evolutionary in nature, but it also incorporates a few features that make it much more attractive than competing south bridge solutions.

The first is of particular interest to budding audio enthusiasts, or anyone else with an affinity for high-definition sound. Traditionally, onboard audio is regarded indifferently; it doesn’t sound good or bad, and it often doesn’t support recognized standards. Intel’s High Definition Audio is different, though. It facilitates up to eight channels of surround sound, each sampled at 192kHz with 24-bit precision. And although it doesn’t include Dolby Digital encoding, like NVIDIA’s lauded SoundStorm APU, High Definition Audio is robust enough to support Dolby Digital EX, DTS, and the THX specifications, given the necessary decoding software.

Another integrated feature, which hasn’t received much attention for some reason, is the inclusion of wireless networking support in the ICH6-W and ICH6-RW south bridges (there are a total of four implementations of the ICH6). Not only does the wireless feature enable client support, but it also enables access point functionality and compliance with the 802.11b and g specifications, with a top speed of 54Mbps. Unfortunately, according to Daniel Snyder, Intel’s PR manager, there are three components necessary to expose the feature, including a compliant chipset, software, and a PCI add-in board. The add-in card is currently in development, and should emerge in the last half of 2004.

The ICH6 also emphasizes storage, apparent in the chip’s expanded Serial ATA support. Offering four channels (and only one parallel ATA interface), Intel is almost requiring the adoption of Serial ATA hard drives, simultaneously encouraging the transition for optical drives with ATAPI support. ICH6-R and ICH6-RW feature RAID 0 striping and RAID 1 mirroring support, too. A software adaptation, which Intel calls its Matrix RAID technology, allows for both types of RAID across two drives.

In augmenting its Serial ATA support, Intel also made a couple of improvements to the technology in the form of hot plugging support and native command queuing, which employs hard drives with similar support to attain better throughput by scheduling instructions for more efficient execution.

LGA775

Intel’s press release claims that LGA775, the socket interface accompanying its 925X core logic, provides headroom for future technologies and improves the motherboard’s electrical characteristics. It’s roughly the same size as the Socket 478 interface that it replaces, but pin density is obviously significantly higher. However, there aren’t actually any pins on the LGA775 processor. Rather, the chips themselves sport contact points, which touch pins on the motherboards themselves. A retention clamp secures the junction, simultaneously ensuring electrical integrity and relaxing the pressure applied by cooling devices.