ATI's Radeon 9100 Pro IGP Takes Aim at Intel's Chipset Launch

ATI Radeon 9100 Pro IGP

Only few differences distinguish the pro-version from the Radeon 9100 IGP, and the graphics core remains unchanged. ATI's enhancements with the Pro version capitalize on improvements with AGP performance and memory compatibility, which are of critical importance to OEM customers.

Another principal feature is a new Southbridge, called IXP320. Also added are two more USB ports (for a total of eight) and two Serial ATA ports. The 100 MBit 3COM MAC is part of the Southbridge, while the chipset does not offer gigabit Ethernet capabilities.

An even better equipped version named IXP400 is supposed to follow within a few months (four SATA ports), while versions with PCIe are not expected to see launch this year. This makes sense because of the A-Link interconnect that binds the Northbridge to the Southbridge component. Otherwise, there would instantly be a huge bottleneck for PCIe cards with a limited bandwidth of 266 MB/s.