AW8D, has Intel 975x northbridge, is it Core 2 compatible?

[kc8omg]

I'm looking at the Abit AW8D Pro mobo and i'm curious as to it's ability to support Core 2. It has the 975x northbridge obviously paired with the ICH7R south bride, which is the same north bridge several other manufacturers boards use for Core 2 (Asus P5W DH, Gigabyte GA-G1975X, etc) but is not listed on newegg.com or the ABit website as being Core 2 compatible. Any ideas if that's true or not? Also, is the P965 northbridge newer that the 975X? It's rather confusing how close Intel's numbers are because that would make the progression something like: ...925X, 955X, 975X, P965... wierd.

 

[kc8omg]

Was just looking through the Intel site and they're saying any 97X chipset is Core 2 compatible. I also foung the 925X, 955X, and 975X chipsets are on the Intel site as "Performance Chipsets" whereas the P965 and some others are listed as "Mainstream Desktop Chipsets". If anyone has any more explanation or insight in to all this it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[yyrkoon]

I'm looking at the Abit AW8D Pro mobo and i'm curious as to it's ability to support Core 2. It has the 975x northbridge obviously paired with the ICH7R south bride, which is the same north bridge several other manufacturers boards use for Core 2 (Asus P5W DH, Gigabyte GA-G1975X, etc) but is not listed on newegg.com or the ABit website as being Core 2 compatible. Any ideas if that's true or not? Also, is the P965 northbridge newer that the 975X? It's rather confusing how close Intel's numbers are because that would make the progression something like: ...925X, 955X, 975X, P965... wierd.

Check the ABIT CPU compatability list on ABITs site.

 

[kc8omg]

That's the first thing I did, but they don't even list the Core 2 as an option, so it wasn't particualrly helpful.

However i did find a review of the motherboard saying that it wouldn't support Core 2 because it needed a new "PWM". From what I was able to find that's "Pulse width modulation" and as somthing to do with voltage regulationa dn the way power is physically delivered to the CPU socket. Which means it's not a chipset problem, but something to do with the way the board power mangment is designed.

So long story short, no, the Abit AW8D will not support the Core 2 (Unless someone can find something to the contrary🙂.

 

[yyrkoon]

I personally would just consider buying this, and is actually what I've been thinking about buying lately.
anyhow.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127004

 

[BUFF]

AW8D is a great board but it isn't Core 2 compatible (VRM design so they can't just do a new BIOS).
AW9D due during August is the Core 2 975X board

 

[phreejak]

Abit is putting out two 975x chipset conroe compatible boards in late August - the AW9D-MAX (for overclockers) and the AW9D- Fatality (for gamers).

Intel refers to the 975x chipset as their "highend" chipset. The 965 chipset is different in that it uses the ICH8 Southbridge (where the 975x uses ICH7) and doesn't allow for use of PATA (IDE) devices. Motherboard makers had to use thrid party PATA/IDE chipsets to allow for their usage. The 965x chipset also allows for more SATA and USB ports (moreso than the 975x chipset).

 

[yyrkoon]

Abit is putting out two 975x chipset conroe compatible boards in late August - the AW9D-MAX (for overclockers) and the AW9D- Fatality (for gamers).

Intel refers to the 975x chipset as their "highend" chipset. The 965 chipset is different in that it uses the ICH8 Southbridge (where the 975x uses ICH7) and doesn't allow for use of PATA (IDE) devices. Motherboard makers had to use thrid party PATA/IDE chipsets to allow for their usage. The 965x chipset also allows for more SATA and USB ports (moreso than the 975x chipset).

The AB9 pro board is out NOW, and honestly I dont see how a 975x board is going to be better. But hey, thats me . . .

 

[phreejak]

Yes I know the AB9 Pro is out now, as is the AB9, but the designation of the 975x as their highend chipset is the same reference across the board - for Giga-byte, ASUS, MSI and others. It was Intels call, that's how they referenced it. Possibly what they mean by the 975x being the "highend" chipset is the fact that there aren't any 965 boards that are crossfire or SLI enabled. Also, the 975x chipsets are getting the higher marks in testing (as in faster chipset) shown in Anandtech a few weeks ago - over the 965 chipsets. However, their testing, to me, was suspect in that they didn't test all the premium 965 chipset boards against their 975x counterparts. It also appears that the 975x boards have more overclocking potential as the major manufacturers made their gaming and overclocking boards from the 975x chipset.

 

[xgas]

The 975x chip may be the fastest chip, but it doesnt support the new direct memory access feature as the 965 chipset does, its like AMD's HTT link for Intel procs.