May 2006
Volume 5 / Issue 2

Downloadable Version (.pdf format)
 
 In This Edition:
 

Welcome to another edition of the ASI Corporation Technical Newsletter! This newsletter features articles on the latest computer technologies and products offered by ASI CORP, a leading North American Distributor of computer components and whitebox systems. We are focused on helping our resellers and system builders be able to offer the very best technology solutions and this newsletter is a free tool so you can learn about current and next generation products. If you are an ASI customer feel free to call our Technical Support Staff if you have any questions or visit www.asisupport.com (general technical help), www.asiserver.com (server solutions) or www.asimobile.com (notebooks) for further information. Thank you.

  ATI Graphics Part 1: Xpress 3200 Chipset

ATi's first generation of the CrossFire chipset, the CrossFire Xpress 200, lacked true dual x16 PCIe lanes, which wasn't attractive in the video and computing gaming enthusiast world. However, ATI's next generation of the CrossFire chipset, the CrossFire Xpress 3200, aka "RD580" is going to change that view with a significant improvement in dual graphics performance.  The CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset was design from the ground up with the CrossFire platform and overclocking in mind and includes true dual x16 PCIe lanes with an unparalleled bandwidth of up to 8GB/s to each GPU.

The Xpress 3200 core logic was built by TSMC using a 0.11 micron low-k process, making it the smallest chipset in today's market.  The reduction of the core die allowed the Thermal Design Power (TDP) be reduced down to 8 Watts.  This achievement results in a low power and low heat dissipation from the chipset, which mean an active cooling, a sophisticated heat pipe, or water coolant solution are not required.
CrossFire Xpress 3200 (Single-Chip Solution)

CrossFire Xpress 3200 was loaded with 40 lanes of PCI Express in a single-chip solution. In theory, single-chip solution supposed to be more robust and faster throughput than two chips but only a series of benchmark can determine this claim.  Dissecting the 40 PCIe lanes, we have 32 PCIe lanes (dual x16) are dedicated for graphics only.  Four (x4) lanes are use to connects Xpress 3200 north bridge to a south bridge.  The south bridge can either be ATI SB450 (basic) or the more popular ULi M1575.  This leaves headroom for four (x4) lanes for a single PCIe slot or several x1 x2 PCIe lanes. 
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ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 (RD580) featuring:
  • True 2x16 PCI-Express single chip package
  • Total of 40 lanes of PCI Express: a true information highway
  • Enables high-end graphic solutions even without a 'CrossFire Edition' GPU
  • Allows for flexible modular multi-GPU solutions: start with one GPU and when performance demands it, add a second
  • Supports connector and connector-free CrossFire graphics cards
  • Enthusiast-friendly BIOS allows tuning of every possible motherboard component for maximum overclocking potential
  • High overclockability without voltage adjustments: default voltage setting on the platform offers high tunability without the need to increase voltage
  • No active cooling required: no need for complicated thermal solutions
  • Ready for the next generation CrossFire graphics cards

The battle for supremacy on dual graphics between NVIDIA nForce4 SLI x16 and ATI CrossFire is an ongoing trend.  The chipset data specification comparison between it's sibling CrossFire Xpress 200 and rival nFore4 SLI 2x16 clearly reviles that CrossFire Xpress 3200 is on the upper hand for high performance dual graphic solution.

Chipset Comparison Table

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  CrossFire Platform: Build-Your-Own Guide

 
a) Only three components required:
  1. a CrossFire Ready motherboard, ideally based on the ATI CrossFire™ Xpress chipset
  2. a compatible Radeon graphics card
  3. a related Radeon CrossFire Edition co-processor board.
b) NEW! Radeon X1300 and X1600 CrossFire Ready cards do not require an external connector. CrossFire mode is enabled via ATI’s Catalyst software and the cards communicate over the PCI Express® bus.
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ASI currently stocks the following ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 motherboard partners:

ASI SKU# 46255
A8R32-MVP Deluxe
Supports dual PCI Express x16 slots running at full speed to liberate graphics cards through ATI's™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200. Additionally AI Life Series features such as Precision Tweaker, AI NOS and PEG Link etc. are also inherited. For easy overclocking, the board comes with Q-Fan2 and Stack Cool2 to ensure quiet yet efficient cooling. With exclusive innovative designs that bring out the real potential of the ATI™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200 chipset, gamers can experience faster graphics performance and higher video quality today, and ready for video technology advancements of tomorrow.
 

ASI SKU# 44970
AT8 32X
Exclusive ABIT Engineered motherboard technology designed for unprecedented power, convenience, and control over your PC. Through this unique ABIT Engineered heat-pipe Silent OTES™ design, heat generated by the chipset can be efficiently and noiselessly conducted to the back panel.
-ATI Graphics Part 2: X1K Family / X1900XT Video

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ATI's new Radeon® X1000 video chipsets are out! The X1300, X1600, X1800, and X1900 series graphics cards deliver unique quality-enhancing features offered exclusively by ATI. This new series has basically four families, each one for a distinct market segment: Radeon X1300 for the entry-level market, Radeon X1600 for the mid-range market and Radeon X1800 for the high-end market, and the Radeon X1900 for the extreme performance market.

The most powerful Radeon X1K family video card is ATI Radeon X1900XTX Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which features dual DVI-I ports, 512MB DDR3 video memory, two HDTV outputs, 650Mhz core clock, and supports a 2048x1536 maximum screen resolution. The X1900XTX supports the finest in graphics technology, including Avivo Video and Display Engine, CrossFire multi-VPU (video processing unit) technology. It is built using an amazing 384 million transistors on 90nm fabrication with an architecture Ultra-Threaded Shader Engine Support for Microsoft® Direct X®9.0 Shader Model 3.0.

ASI SKU# 44972
RADEON X1900XTX (DDR3 /2DHTV/ 512M)
This high-end performance graphic card supports the finest in graphics technology, including Avivo Video and Display Engine, CrossFire multi-VPU technology, Ultra-Threaded and Shader Engine. Combined with unique ASUS innovations such as SPLENDID Video Intelligence Technology for intelligent video enhancement and interactive gaming features, the all-new ASUS card delivers the ultimate in computer visual enjoyment.

:: ASI # 1 Choice for Performance Graphic Card (Single or Dual) ::
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ATI Radeon X1K Family Matrix

Model

 Year Code-name Bus interface Memory max (MiB) Core clock max (MHz) Memory clock max (MHz) Pipes x TMU's x VPU's Fillrate max (MT/s) Memory
Bandwidth (GiB/s) Bus type Bus width (bit)
Radeon X1900 XTX Jan 2006 R580 PCIe x16 512 650 1550 (775 DDR) 16(48)x1x8 10400 (31200) 49.60 GDDR-3 256
Radeon X1900 Crossfire Edition Jan 2006 R580 PCIe x16 512 625 1450 (725 DDR) 16(48)x1x8 10000 (30000) 46.40 GDDR-3 256
Radeon X1900 XT Jan 2006 R580 PCIe x16 512 625 1450 (725 DDR) 16(48)x1x8 10000 (30000) 46.40 GDDR-3 256
Radeon X1900
All-In-Wonder
Jan 2006 R580 PCIe x16 256 500 960 (480 DDR) 16(48)x1x8 8000 (24000) 30.72 GDDR-3 256
Radeon X1800 XT Oct 2005 R520 PCIe x16 512 625 1500 (750 DDR) 16x1x8 10000 48.00 GDDR-3 256
Radeon X1800 XL Oct 2005 R520 PCIe x16 256 500 1000 (500 DDR) 16x1x8 8000 32.00 GDDR-3 256
Radeon X1600 XT Oct 2005 RV530 PCIe x16 128 590 1380 (690 DDR) 4(12)x1x5 2360 (7080) 22.08 GDDR-3 128
Radeon X1600 Pro Oct 2005 RV530 PCIe x16 128, 256, 512 500 780 (390 DDR) 4(12)x1x5 2000 (6000) 12.48 GDDR-2 128
Radeon X1300 Pro Oct 2005 RV515 PCIe x16 256 600 800 (400 DDR) 4x1x2 2400 12.80 GDDR-2 128
Radeon X1300 Oct 2005 RV515 PCIe x16 128, 256, 512 450 500 (250 DDR) 4x1x2 1800 8.00 DDR 128
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ASI currently stocks ATI Radeon X1K Family line card partners:

ASI SKU

Brand

 Model Memory Bus interface Crossfire Enabled
(can be master card)
44972 ASUS EAX1900XTX/2DHTV/512M 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
46279 ASUS EAX1900XT CROSSFIRE/2DH 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
44974 ASUS EAX1900XT/2DHTV/512M 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
43038 ASUS EAX1800XT/2DHTV/512M  512MB PCIe x16 Yes
44533 ASUS EAX1600XT SLNT/TVD/256 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
45036 ASUS EAX1600PRO/TD/512M 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
44538 ASUS EAX1600PRO/TD/256M 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
44546 ASUS EAX1300PRO/TD/256M 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
44547 ASUS EAX1300/TD/128M 128MB PCIe x16 Yes
44766 ATI X1900XTX 512M DDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
44955 ATI X1900CF 512M DDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
44764 ATI X1900XT 512M DDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
45545 ATI AIW X1900 256 DDR3 Retail 256MB PCIe x16 No
42366 ATI X1800XT 512M DDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
41765 ATI X1800XL 256M DDR3 Retail 256MB PCIe x16 No
43365 ATI AIW X1800XL 256M Retail 256MB PCIe x16 No
45541 ATI X1600Pro 512M DDR2 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
45543 ATI X1300Pro 256M DDR Retail 256MB PCIe x16 No
43853 ATI X1300 256M DDR Retail 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
45033 GigaByte X1900XTX 512 DDR Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
45037 GigaByte X1900XT 512 DDR Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
44734 GigaByte X1600XT 256M Retail 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
45201 MSI X1900XTX 512M DDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
45205 MSI X1900XT 512M DDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
43579 MSI RX1600XT-T2D256E PCI-E 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
43578 MSI RX1600PRO-TD256E PCI-E 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
43577 MSI RX1300PRO-TD256E PCI-E 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
46423 PowerColor X1900XTX 512M DDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
46432 PowerColor X1900CF 512M GDDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
46430 PowerColor X1900XT 512M GDDR3 Retail 512MB PCIe x16 No
43594 PowerColor X1600XT 256M GDDR3 Retail 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
45914 PowerColor X1600XT 256M GDDR3 Retail 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
44707 PowerColor X1600PRO 256M DDR2 Retail 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
44706 PowerColor X1300 256M DDR2 Retail 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
44768 Sapphire X1900XTX 512 DDR3 Bulk 512MB PCIe x16 No
44954 Sapphire X1900CF 512M DDR3 Bulk 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
44767 Sapphire X1900XT 512M DDR3 Bulk 512MB PCIe x16 No
42642 Sapphire X1800XT 512M DDR3 Bulk 512MB PCIe x16 No
46417 Sapphire X1800XT 256M DDR3 Retail 256MB PCIe x16 No
43854 Sapphire X1600XT 256M DDR3 Lite 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
43427 Sapphire X1600PRO 512M DDR2 Lite 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
43426 Sapphire X1600PRO 256M DDR2 Lite 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
42967 Sapphire X1300PRO 256M DDR Lite 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
42640 Sapphire X1300 512M DDR2 Lite 512MB PCIe x16 Yes
42448 Sapphire X1300 256M DDR Lite 256MB PCIe x16 Yes
 
AMD Multi-Core Processor Update
Multi-core processors are the future of personal computing and AMD is a leader in the field.

AMD 64 processors were designed from the start (since 1999) to add a second core and AMD was the first processor manufacturer to release dual core CPUs on the market, first the dual core Opterons and then quickly followed by the X2 series of dual-core Athlon 64. This move improved an already popular and impressive line-up which has continued to grow. We will be taking a closer look at both desktop and server market and the choices available to PC system builders. First we will take a look at how AMD's dual-core technology directly compares to Intel's.
AMD versus Intel
There are several major design differences between how AMD and Intel implement multi-core technology. While it is difficult to directly compare the two in every situation (with so many processors and different types of systems it must be an individual decision) here are some general comparison insights.

Intel dual-core processors combine two cores into a single package, each with their own Level 2 cache, and communication between the cores is done via the Front Side Bus (FSB). AMD's dual core processors are based on DCA or Direct Connect Architecture which helps reduce bottlenecks of system architecture because everything is directly connected to the CPU including the IO and the memory controller.

Intel still has raw clock speed advantages over AMD and has recently moved to the more efficient 65nm cores with the Pentium D 900 series but AMD has a solid architectural platform which was designed from the beginning for multi-cores and performs well in many benchmarks. More details on AMD dual core (opens interactive flash animation). To compare more features see chart below:
Desktop Dual-Core Competitive Comparison
  AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor Intel Pentium D™ Dual-Core Processor
Infrastructure
Socket 939
Socket LGA775
Process Technology
90 nanometer, SOI (silicon on insulator)
90 nanometer / 65 nanometer
Core Clockrate  2.0 GHz up to 2.6 GHz 2.66 GHz up to 3.73 GHz (the 965 Extreme Edition)
Number of Transistors
154 to 233 million
230 million
64-bit code
AMD 64 Instructions
Enhanced Virus Protection Yes (with OS support) Execute Disable Bit (with OS support)
System Bus Technology HyperTransport™ technology up to 2000MHz, full duplex Front Side Bus @ 800 MHz, half duplex (1066MHz for PEE)
Memory Controller Integrated memory controller, 128-bit + 16-bit ECC unbuffered PC3200, PC 2700, PC 2100, or PC1600 Chipset on motherboard determines memory support (DDDR1 or DDR2 up to 800MHz)
Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth HyperTransport technology: up to 8.0 GB/s

Memory bandwidth: up to 6.4 GB/s

Total: up to 14.4 GB/s

 Total: up to 6.4 GB/s (on 800 FSB)
3D & Multimedia instructions 3DNow!(TM) technology, SSE2, SSE3 SSE2, SSE3
Chipset support NVIDIA: Nforce4 Series chipsets

ATI: Radeon Xpress 200 Series chipsets

VIA: K8 Series chipsets

SiS: 75x Series chipsets or greater

 Intel: 945/955/975 Series

NVIDIA: Nforce4 Series chipsets
Total Designed Power (TDP) 89W or 110W 95W or 130W (90-nanometer)
Athlon 64 X2 Goes Mainstream + New Socket Preview
In less than a year the dual-core AMD Athlon 64 X2 series has moved into mainstream price points and will eventually dominate a large portion of the desktop market as consumers realize the many benefits of dual core technology such as improved multitasking. Now is the time for PC system builders and resellers to really utilize and feature this technology on their systems.

In a related note there will soon be released the new AMD processor socket known as AM2. The AM2 socket is a next generation desktop processor interface which will bring DDR2 memory support to the Athlon 64 processor with DDR2-compatible on-die memory controller. The sockets are NOT backwards compatible with current processors. Of course all the major motherboard manufacturers will probably have at least one AM2 Socket board out shortly after launch. The official launch will be around June so you will have wait a little while for more information and available products.

The chart below shows current Socket 939 product. AM2 processors will be revealed in a future issue.
SKU CPU Model Socket Speed L2 cache Product Code
39118 Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Socket 939 2.0 GHz 512KB per core ADA3800BVBOX
37941 Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Socket 939 2.2 GHz 512KB per core ADA4200BVBOX
37942 Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Socket 939 2.2 GHz 1024KB per core ADA4400CDBOX
37943 Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Socket 939 2.4 GHz 512KB per core ADA4600BVBOX
37944