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In the Forums... |
Posted: October 31st, 2004
It would not be a complete launch for a new processor supporting a higher level FSB if it wasn't for an equally capable chipset. With this intention comes the birth of the new 925XE chipset from Intel. The word "new" however should be used sparingly as it is in fact only an evolution of the previous 925X chipset. The main difference is official support for the 1066MHz FSB and as it happens the Extreme Edition 3.46GHz is the first to use it. What is interesting to note is Intel's official statement confirming that users are no longer given a choice between mainstream and enthusiast level chipsets when choosing a motherboard with official 1066MHz support. The 925XE will be the only chipset to support the new bus speed and no new or revised 915 series Intel chipset will deliver this feature, at least not officially. This knowledge shouldn't cause reason for grief as in our opinion anyone destined for top performance will choose a motherboard focussed around the specific market segment for their processor, and a few extra dimes will generally be a non-issue. Unfortunately for those who have already purchased a 925X based chipset board they will need to upgrade once again or overclock their existing platform however the latter will remain the option which doesn't always guarantee such level of functionality. On the notion of overclocking Intel has recently been known to enable similar such features on their enthusiast level motherboards and have called it "Extended Burn-in". Supporters of Intel motherboards will be excited to read that this trend will continue and as a result Intel's newest D925XECV2 1066MHz FSB compliant platform will offer owners the ability to overclock by up to 10%. This new motherboard should appear in retail outlets ready to buy almost immediately but for those interested in seeing it first we include some images of our sample.
 Click images to enlarge.
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