Onboard Devices
| Northbridge | Intel X48 Express MCH |
| Southbridge | Intel ICH9R |
| Voltage Regulator | Five Phases |
| BIOS | 1554 (05/01/2008) |
| 333.3 MHz (FSB1333) | 333.3 MHz (+0.0%) |
| Clock Generator | Silego SLG505YC256BT |
| Connectors and Interfaces | Row 6 - Cell 1 |
| Onboard | 2x PCIe x16 (Modes: Two x16: One x4) |
| Row 8 - Cell 0 | 2x PCI |
| Row 9 - Cell 0 | 2x USB 2.0 (2 ports per connector) |
| Row 10 - Cell 0 | 1x IEEE-1394 FireWire |
| Row 11 - Cell 0 | 1x Ultra ATA (2 drives) |
| Row 12 - Cell 0 | 6x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s |
| Row 13 - Cell 0 | 1x Front Panel Audio |
| Row 14 - Cell 0 | 1x S/P-DIF Out |
| Row 15 - Cell 0 | 1x High Definition Audio Link header |
| Row 16 - Cell 0 | Front panel CIR receiver (input) header |
| Row 17 - Cell 0 | Back panel CIR transmitter (output) header) |
| Row 18 - Cell 0 | 1x Internal Power Button |
| Row 19 - Cell 0 | 2x Fan 4 pins (CPU/Chassis) |
| Row 20 - Cell 0 | 3x Fan 3 pins (Chassis/Chipset) |
| IO panel | 2x External SATA |
| Row 22 - Cell 0 | 8x USB 2.0 |
| Row 23 - Cell 0 | 1x IEEE-1394 FireWire |
| Row 24 - Cell 0 | 1x RJ-45 Network |
| Row 25 - Cell 0 | 5x Analog Audio (7.1 or 5.1 ch. out, 2 or 4 ch. in) |
| Row 26 - Cell 0 | 1x Digital Audio Out (S/P-DIF Optical) |
| Mass Storage Controllers | Row 27 - Cell 1 |
| Intel ICH9R | 6x SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0,1,5,10) |
| Marvell 88SE6121-NAA1 PCI-E | 1x Ultra ATA-100 (2-drives) |
| 2x SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0,1, JBOD) | |
| Network | Row 31 - Cell 1 |
| Intel 82566DC (GLCI) PHY | Gigabit LAN Connection |
| Audio | Row 33 - Cell 1 |
| IDT STAC9274D5 | 7.1 + 2 channel Multi-Streaming Output |
| FireWire | Row 35 - Cell 1 |
| Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A | 2x IEEE-1394a (400 Mb/s) |
Intel provides the full range of controllers we’d anticipate for any high-end board, including even the old IEEE-1394 FireWire interface, but the rear panel ports are a bit of a surprise:
In a not-so-bold move to eliminate legacy “junk,” Intel has eliminated PS/2 ports from the rear panel just as it removed the floppy cable header from inside. Two eSATA ports take their place, while a total of eight USB 2.0 ports provide more than enough connectivity for the average set of peripherals.
One other thing Intel has eliminated from its rear panel ports is any secondary Ethernet port. Intel is probably the biggest fan of Intel integrated controllers, and the chipset only directly supports one of those.
The 82566DC GLCI PHY accesses the ICH9R’s integrated networking capability, and being an Intel part we’d expect to find one on most of its desktop motherboards.
Intel gets its legacy Ultra ATA and modern eSATA connections from a single chip, the Marvell 88SE6121 PCI-Express to ATA controller.
From Ultra ATA, the next closest thing Intel has to legacy parts on its board is the Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A two-port IEEE-1394 controller.
Intel might be the “Leap Ahead” company, but it decided to “think different” about its audio solution. Formerly known as SigmaTel’s “Red River” audio controller, The IDT STAC9274D5 supports Dolby Home Theater for soundstage expansion (Dolby Headphone, Dolby Virtual Speaker) and on-the-fly analog to digital conversion (Dolby Digital Live), plus advanced features such as an integrated 12-band parametric equalizer and multi-streaming of separate 7.1 surround speaker and 2-channel headphone outputs.
