Intel delays X48 chipset because of X38

[AKHandyman]

I suspected there was going to be a problem with the launch of the X48 chipset, but not because of the glut of X38 chipsets ...

Intel was originally going to launch the X48 chipset in January next year, however the company may postpone the chipset launch by 1-2 months because one of the first-tier motherboard makers still holds a large volume of X38 chipset inventory, according to sources at motherboard makers.

The motherboard maker fears that the X48 chipset will slow down clearance of its X38 chipset inventory and has negotiated with Intel to delay the launch of its X48 chipset. However the delay is expected to hurt makers who do not have an overstock X38 chipsets.

Each motherboard maker has already received X48 A1 test samples from Intel and sent back 10 motherboards for debugging. The original mass production schedules were set between the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008.

In addition to DDR3 1600 memory support, the X48 chipset will also support Intel XMP (extreme memory profile) technology, to automatically optimize performance with memory modules that support XMP.

I can bet that there will be a major price reduction on ALL X38-based mobos within the next month or so ... you think?:p

[Zefram]

I can bet that there will be a major price reduction on ALL X38-based mobos within the next month or so ... you think?:p

And the saving attained from the price reduction would be offset by the premium you pay for DDR3 :p

It would took some time before the public accepts DDR3, the same history of DDR2 repeats itself again. Its not till the DDR2 speed shows noticeable performance increase over DDR(1) and the price drop down to be even cheaper than DDR(1), then we see mass acceptance of DDR2

So, the platform would be determined much by the type of RAM it supported. I would consider X48 if it support DDR2, or if at that time DDR3 had massive price drop and shows considerable performance increase over DDR2 ;)

[AKHandyman]

...I can bet that there will be a major price reduction on ALL X38-based mobos within the next month or so ... you think?:p...
I should have said, all X38-based, DDR2 motherboards ... :p DDR3 $$$ is slowly coming down, but not nearly as fast as some motherboard makers would like ... but as you said Zef, it will come down only as the need for it rises ... :)

[Zefram]

I should have said, all X38-based, DDR2 motherboards ... :p DDR3 $$$ is slowly coming down, but not nearly as fast as some motherboard makers would like ... but as you said Zef, it will come down only as the need for it rises ... :)

With most of the memory maker still churning out DDR2, it would take some time before they switch production to produce DDR3. DDR3, for now, had unhealthy heat issues (lol) and it would take some time before memory maker optimizes and shrunk the die for cooler memory

[AKHandyman]

I agree on the heat issue, but overall, Intel with the X38 and X48, have improved the DMI bus so that it uses less voltage, hence less volts needed to the DIMMs ... less volts, less heat. But that does not always translate in better performance ... right now with the Intel X38 Bonetrail mobo, I still have to pump 2.0 volts to get that DDR3 Corsair Dominator to even post ... :( and i haven't had the time to tweak the timings yet ... so I am thinking there won't be much improvements in the real near future ... :curse: