Chipset features compared
So you can understand how the 875 compares to its competition, I've whipped up a back-bracking, mind-numbing core-logic chipset comparo table. I've tried to include all the latest Pentium 4 chipsets with support for DDR memory and at least a 533MHz front-side bus.
| Intel 845PE | Intel 845GE | Intel 850E | Intel E7205 | Intel 875P | SiS 648 | SiS 655 | SiS R658 | VIA P4X400 | |
| Max. bus speed | 533MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz | 800MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz |
| Memory type | DDR | DDR | RDRAM | DDR | DDR | DDR | DDR | RDRAM | DDR |
| Max. effective memory clock speed | 333MHz | 333MHz | 1066MHz | 266MHz | 400MHz | 333MHz (400MHz unofficial) | 333MHz (400MHz unofficial) | 333MHz (400MHz unofficial) | 333MHz (400MHz unofficial) |
| Memory bus width | 64 bits | 64 bits | 2 x 16 bits | 2 x 64 bits | 2 x 64 bits | 64 bits | 2 x 64 bits | 2 x 64 bits | 64 bits |
| Peak theoretical memory bandwidth | 2.7GB/s | 2.7GB/s | 4.2GB/s | 4.2GB/s | 6.4GB/s | 2.7GB/s (3.2GB/s) | 5.4GB/s (6.4GB/s) | 4.2GB/s (4.8GB/s) | 2.7GB/s (3.2GB/s) |
| Maximum addressable RAM | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | 4GB | 4GB | 3GB | 4GB | 4GB | 3GB |
| Max. AGP mode | 4X | 4X | 4X | 8X | 8X | 8X | 8X | 8X | 8X |
| North/south bridge interconnect | Accelerated Hub | Accelerated Hub | Accelerated Hub | Accelerated Hub | Accelerated Hub | MuTIOL | MuTIOL | MuTIOL | V-Link |
| Interconnect clock speed | 266MHz | 266MHz | 266MHz | 266MHz | 266MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz | 533MHz |
| Interconnect bus width | 8 bits | 8 bits | 8 bits | 8 bits | 8 bits | 16 bits | 16 bits | 16 bits | 8 bits |
| Peak theoretical interconnect bandwidth | 266MB/s | 266MB/s | 266MB/s | 266MB/s | 266MB/s | 1.06GB/s | 1.06GB/s | 1.06GB/s | 533MB/s |
| Disk interface support up to... | ATA/100 | ATA/100 | ATA/100 | ATA/100, Serial ATA 150 | ATA/100, Serial ATA 150 | ATA/133 | ATA/133 | ATA/133 | ATA/133 |
| USB mode support | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| USB controllers/ports | 3/6 | 3/6 | 2/4 | 4/8 | 4/8 | 3/6 | 3/6 | 3/6 | 3/6 |
| IEEE 1394 controllers/ports | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2/6 | 2/6 | 2/6 | 0/0 |
| AC97 audio channels | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Network interfaces | 10/100Mbps Ethernet | 10/100Mbps Ethernet | 10/100Mbps Ethernet | 10/100Mbps Ethernet | CSA | 10/100Mbps Ethernet 1/10Mbps HPNA | 10/100Mbps Ethernet 1/10Mbps HPNA | 10/100Mbps Ethernet 1/10Mbps HPNA | 10/100Mbps Ethernet |
The 875P is unique in its support for Pentium 4 chips with 800MHz front-side bus speeds, and it's the only chipset so far with native Serial ATA support. Although it's not listed in the table, I also believe the 875P is the first core-logic chipset with support for RAID.
Beyond the 875P, a few of these chipsets are worth mentioning in more detail, because we haven't looked at them previously. The weird bird of the bunch is the SiS R658, a new chipset from SiS with a dual RDRAM memory interface. We actually have an R658 motherboard here in house, but we weren't able to include it in our testing because we don't yet have the appropriate RIMM4800 memory modules. We'll try to do an article about the R658 once we get our hands on the right modules. The R658 looks like it will take up the RDRAM mantle alone once Intel stops selling its venerable 850E chipset.
The other SiS chipset of note is the 655, which supports dual channels of DDR333 memory and a host of other advanced features. We're testing it today, as we are the Intel E7205 chipset, for which Canterwood is a direct replacement. The E7205, also known as Granite Bay, offers many of the 875P's features, including dual-channel DDR memory, but its memory tops out at DDR266 speeds.
