Partners for Prescott: Part 2: Determining Which of Intel’s New 9xx-Series Chipsets Is Right for You
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Intel 915P Express Chipset
The Intel 915P Express chipset, code-named Grantsdale-P during development, is the mainstream chip in the Intel 9xx series. Thus, it's not surprising that more motherboards use the 915P than the others. The 915P's features are similar to the 925X's in some ways:
Support for 800MHz and 533MHz front-side-bus Pentium 4 and Celeron 4 processors
Dual-channel DDR2 memory running at 533MHz or 400MHz or dual-channel DDR memory running at 400MHz or 333MHz
PCI-Express x16 video card slot
Other features as specified by the ICH6 I/O Controller Hub used (see Part 1 of this series for details)
The 915P omits the enhanced memory controller, ECC memory support, and EMT64 Technology support found in the 925X. Although these features are important for workstation performance, real-world performance as measured by AnandTech shows little difference between the 915P and the more expensive 925X in typical benchmarks.
Intel motherboards which use the 915P include:
Intel Desktop Board 915PBL (ATX, DDR2 memory, four PCI slots, one PCI-Express x16 slot, and two PCI-Express x1 slots, 10/100 ethernet LAN, IEEE 1394 ports, Matrix Storage) http://developer.intel.com/design/motherbd/bl/index.htm
Intel Desktop Board 915PCM (microATX, DDR2 memory, two PCI slots, one each PCI-Express x16 and x1 slots, 10/100 ethernet LAN) http://developer.intel.com/design/motherbd/cm/index.htm
Intel Desktop Board 915PCY (ATX, DDR2 memory, four PCI slots, one PCI-Express x16 slot, and two PCI-Express x1 slots, optional 10/100 ethernet LAN) http://developer.intel.com/design/motherbd/cy/index.htm
Intel Desktop Board 915PGN (ATX, DDR memory, four PCI slots, one PCI-Express x16 slot, and two PCI-Express x1 slots, optional 10/100 ethernet LAN) http://developer.intel.com/design/motherbd/gn/index.htm
Intel Desktop Board 915PSY (microATX, DDR memory, two PCI slots, one each PCI-Express x16 and x1 slots, optional 10/100 ethernet LAN) http://developer.intel.com/design/motherbd/sy/index.htm
Many third-party motherboards which use the 915P chipset offer support for both DDR and DDR2 memory on the same motherboard. Although you can't run DDR and DDR2 at the same time, motherboards which support both memory types enable you to use existing DDR memory now and move to the faster DDR2 memory at a later date. Some of these motherboards include:
ASUS P5GDC Deluxe http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socket775/p5gdc-d/overview.htm
GigaByte GA-8GPNXP Duo http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-8GPNXP%20Duo.htm
GigaByte GA-8I915P Duo Pro-A http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-8I915P%20Duo%20Pro-A.htm
GigaByte GA-8I915P Duo-A http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-8I915P%20Duo-A.htm
GigaByte GA-8I915P Duo Pro http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-8I915P%20Duo%20Pro.htm
GigaByte GA-8I915P Duo http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-8I915P%20Duo.htm
MSI 915P Combo-FR (MS-7058-010) (DDR2 and DDR memory) http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=915P_Combo-FR&class=mb
Many third-party motherboards add features such as faster memory support, additional PCI-Express x1 slots, third-party Wi-Fi Wireless-G, and others to the basic features provided by the 915P chipset.