All Aboard! P4 with 200 MHz FSB and the i875P Dual DDR400 Chipset

Northbridge 82875P

Northbridge 82875P.

Die of the 82875P Northbridge

The 875P Northbridge supports AGP 8X (specification 3.0), and with this Intel is finally meeting the demands of graphics card manufacturers. The chip is produced using 250 nanometer technology. Currently, rival NVIDIA offers only 350 nanometer technology with its nForce2. With 1005 soldering balls on its underside, the Intel chip achieves another milestone in the desktop sector.

Here's a bit of comfort for manufacturers: the dimensions of the chip packaging will remain at 37.5 x 37.5 mm, so there's no need to go out and purchase new automatic assembly machines. The Springdale chipset, which is generally based on the same silicon as the Canterwood, requires fewer pins because ECC memory support is not being planned. Again, as a point of comparison: the older generation, i845/ Brookdale with single-channel DDR, has 788 pins, while the i850E/ Tehama has only 615 pins, due to its serial RDRAM memory technology.

In unideal conditions, the smaller but chunkier model achieves a power dissipation (TDP) of approx. 11 watts with an FSB of 200 MHz. At least the Canterwood Northbridge has only passive cooling. However, some motherboard manufacturers still prefer to use fan-cooled solutions.

Passive cooling on the Intel D875PBZ.

Active cooling of the Northbridge on the MSI 875P Neo.