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Exclusive: 'Nehalem' at 2.9GHz and X58
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In April this year, Intel announced a number of next generation products, including the 45-nanometer Nehalem micro-architecture and Tylersburg platform design. With the announcements came much talk about Intel’s upcoming X58 chipset, which at this time is still going through its initial sampling stages with motherboard manufacturers.
Today, we have the exclusive look at a full fledged X58 system. The new chipset will be the foundation 
for Nehalem and Intel already indicated to us that the new platform will deliver a large boost in performance across all applications compared to currently available products.
With X58, end users will also start anew. Gone is the front-side bus, which is replaced by QuickPath on the X58. Those who are accustomed to overclocking their motherboards using the FSB, will have to start over and learn the new system. Similar to AMD’s HyperTransport, the QuickPath architecture will feature an integrated memory controller on the CPU and provide direct links between the CPU and system memory.
Intel will launch the X58 chipset with the same ICH-10 family of southbridges currently used on its P45 platform. ICH-10 supplies up to four PCI Express x16 paths, of which two, are PCI Express 2.0 paths. Other possible combinations are: one x16 path, two x16 paths, four x8 paths, and one 16 path and two x8 paths.Because of QuickPath however, we’re able to realize far better performance with wide bandwidth and very low latency. According to Intel, Nehalem will initially come with a 20-bit wide 25.6 GB/sec. QuickPath link, which gives a theoretical 2x performance increase in bandwidth over the 1600MHz FSB currently available on the X48 platform.
Memory support will come in the form of DD3 with support for 800MHz, 1066MHz and 1333MHz frequencies initially. Total bandwidth will be 32GB/sec. with support for up to 24GB of total system memory initially. X58 motherboards will provide up to 6 slots of memory but will require that the first slot (DIMM0) be populated.
Our sources indicated that Intel will release Bloomfield, the first of the Nehalem family at 3.2GHz, 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz and on an LGA1366-pin platform. 
Our test system used the 2.93GHz, but we can confirm that significantly higher clock frequencies are available.
On hand today, we have Foxconn’s Renaissance X58 motherboard. Foxconn’s board will be the a reference board for many others, with minor differences here and there. On the board, we find the X58 MCH and the ICH10-R south bridge. Power connections include a standard ATX connector as well as an 8-pin CPU power connector.
Other features of the board are ultra-low resistance, crystal, ferrite salt-core inductors, and solid ultra-low SR capacitors. This board in particular uses a six-phase power circuit design but we can expect other manufacturers to introduce variances in the power department.
The two blue PCIe slots on this board indicate that the slots are PCIe x16 2.0. There are also two black x16 1.0 slots. Other features include an Intelsil ISL6336 power management chip which supports the 6-phase switch power design, 2 FireWire IEEE 1394a ports provided by a TI TSB434B22A chip, and a Broadcom BCM5786KMLG chip for Gig-e support. Realtek’s ALC888S audio codec supports full 7.1 discrete analog output and optional Dolby Digital Live, DTS Connect, and Dolby Home Theater for real-time encoding of audio signals to an external processor or receiver.
The board also features vertical SATA connectors, although many manufacturers are now featuring angled slots for better cabling. Debugging LED lights and a clear CMOS button round out the rest of the board.
Speaking to other board manufacturers, X58 motherboards are about half-way through testing and validation and by the middle of this month, new revisions may be coming. Judging from what we were told, other board manufacturers already have board designs with features that are better than the Foxconn board we briefly looked at today. This isn’t really a problem since the board we looked at today is a typical reference design.
Unfortunately, NDAs prohibit us from publishing performance benchmarks, but those will definitely come later when Nehalem nears its launch.
Source : Tom's Hardware
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Suddenly, my P35 chipset, Q9450 and DDR2 seem horribly inadequate.
i feel the same way
welcome to the world of technology.
lol, same.
^+1. Good artical THG!
january = upgrade time for me
new nehalem quad core 2.66 ghz then OC it =D
ddr3 ram
4870 X2... or the die shrink of gtx 200's...
x58 mobo
woohoo
big step over my current core 2 duo e6420 @ 3.2 ghz, 8800 gts 640 and 2 gb of 800 mhz ram
looking forward to it
EZ guys, I wouldn't get too excited until we see some actual benchmarks. The article basically just said, "Hey guys, we have the new Intel CPU, which now includes all of the same features that AMD have had for the past 5 years, but we can't tell you how fast it is..."
The fact that the NDA does not allow benchmarks makes me very skeptical of Nehalem's performance, what on earth is the point of sending samples to the media if they can't benchmark it? Is it normal to do this?
I thought Intel is going to put forward the 8 core/16 threads "extreme" edition Nehalem chip first, like they did for earlier generations. Good for us, I guess.
I so want one of these, but I will wait for the bugs to shake out and the chipset prices to come down a bit
I wouldn't worry about the performance Intel has had years to watch AMD and look for ways to make it better... Hyperthreading on 4 cores thats gonna be fun.
EZ guys, I wouldn't get too excited until we see some actual benchmarks. The article basically just said, "Hey guys, we have the new Intel CPU, which now includes all of the same features that AMD have had for the past 5 years, but we can't tell you how fast it is..."The fact that the NDA does not allow benchmarks makes me very skeptical of Nehalem's performance, what on earth is the point of sending samples to the media if they can't benchmark it? Is it normal to do this?
Normally I would say exactly my friend. On another site they actually did do some benchmarks on this CPU with a crude board and netted in the neighborhood of 30-40% better performance than the current best offerings. Not sure about the motherboard but the CPU is for real.
Some GOOD Things, Affordable, with smallest at ~$379 & Bandwidth at 32 gb/s. This means most futuremark reference tests will approach 32,000, as basicly its bandwidth test. Which is 1/3 more than Todays Best.
HYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART VON DRASHEK M.D.
It is too bad rd8800 chipset coming ('9) from AMD is based upon two year old retail design, nvidia? 8800 gtx basicly moved to chipset,yet at least its based on TOP of Line from Way Back Then & thus Pre Ultimate, How Long Must We Wait? X58 is for Whoopper, yet same size 700 million transistors Desktop/workstation class CPU.
Signed
I am curious to see what effect the launch of the x58 and Nehalem will have on the prices of current procs and mobos. Hopefully they will drop enough to entice me into a build! I have heard opinions that the price drop will not be significant, but a guy can dream, right?
does nehalem support ddr2 and a x38 mobos? and HA HA HA HA, a "true" quadcore...
Wonder how the war between nehalemn cpus and am3 will look like......
Jay-D on-die memory controllers and HyperTransport obviously weren't needed for Intel to smack AMD around for close to two years now, so I'm little confused with your bragging. AMD blew its load metaphorically with those two features and hasn't came out with a competitive chip since. Tying a 16 month old q6600 while using more power is pathetic. Superior engineering means nothing if your competition is flying circles around you using yesterdays ideas.
am3 - lol!
am2 is am1.1 and am3 is am1.2 really amd is so far behind
nvidia stock is at 12 and we see why intel has its stuff together big time no rumors of delays - no braggin like amd "true quad" disaster
nehalem wil facilate a big upgrade cycle - what a ride!
This new hardware will only be useful for people working with heavy duty tasks, like 3D and video editing HD content. Gaming will still depend on your graphics card, and a few seconds less loading Vista isn't something to get wet dreams about. For me it's NOhalem.
I sense this generation intel Nehalem wont be as revolutionary as the core 2, the improved performance around 30% disappoints me... Did I see some review saying nahalem should be 2x faster than core 2??? I will keep my core 2 instead or wait and see AM3
If this is not enough for you, then you must be living in a dream world.
I don't think that Nehalem will impact the mainstream prices when it's released because it is likely to be an enterprise platform for half a year or so...
a new chipset and a new cpu, there's nothing to get excited about
This looks excellent, cant wait for those benchies
I'm more interested in this brand new DD3 memory standard they mention in the preview.
From what i hear the GTX280 is more cpu limited atm so this will help, and as for AM3 - does anyone remember the 939 to AM2 hype - i hope there isn't a repeat of that indecent.
I get the feeling x58 within months will look like an old Pentium 4 chipset like the i850 and will seem obsolete after working out a few performance leaps etc.
I see alot of people winging about "30 - 40% boost" as if its not enough - thats a huge leading edge over any AMD and its insufficient? wtf! even a Q6600 towers over any AMD, if AMD is lucky they might get that 30% boost and break even with a Core2 system, and i don't find having to replace ram, motherboard and cpu for a in-superior platform either - AMD better make AM3 count.
On the other hand since app and game designers design most things for current generation hardware, equally AMD etc i dont see a need to upgrade for a while since my hardware will be sufficent (Q6600 @ 3.5ghz) - ill wait for the "tock" version of this new Intel design.
This new hardware will only be useful for people working with heavy duty tasks, like 3D and video editing HD content. Gaming will still depend on your graphics card, and a few seconds less loading Vista isn't something to get wet dreams about. For me it's NOhalem.
People running Supreme Commander Forged Alliance could put that extra power to use in a heartbeat.
Can't wait to see Nahelam benchmarks!
532 FSB LOL..
Here's what I want to know... if you have a triple channel DDR3 controller, does that mean you need a matched pair of 3 DIMMS?
Has anyone else read detailed info about this?
Also, has anyone else dreamed of bumping up that 133 to 166, with the 22x multiplier, and getting 3.6 gigahertz out of that 2.93GHZ stock chip?
3.6 GHZ Nehalem!! The overclock seems too easy to be true.
Nice micro, but when are they going to change their retention clips for the coolers, they are Sh*** (it seems they are gonna use the same old system).
Sorry for my bad english XD
Yes you will need 3 matched pairs to get triple channel. I am sure there will be three DIMM matched sets from all the memory companies.
The OC seems easy but we have to wait and see. Although every time they have been previewing Nehalem Intel seems to state its OCing is easy and higher than normal.
I am anxious to see the benchmarks as well and see if THW comes out to the same results as Anandtech did. If they do then it will be nice. A boost in performance like that would be awesome.
Also I just noticed but .86v for 2.9GHz? Maybe its just cuz CPU-Z is not set for Nehalem chips yet but if it is truly that low at that frequency then the OCing could potentially be great. Lets just hope.
Hope Nehalem boosts GPU performance and gets rid of those damn bottlenecks
You know, I'm actually a bit sad -
This is going to sound stupid, but I've had my heart set on 8 GB of RAM in my Nehalem build...
BUT ITS NOT A FRACKING MULTIPLE OF 3!! Six just seems wrong, and 12 is too much... isn't it?