In-Brief: The Intel E7505 Chipset
By flung
WhiningDog.NET
5/10/2003

Quick Overview of the E7505

The Intel E7505 is Intel’s workstation chipset which brings together the Intel XEON platform with AGP 8X and Dual Channel DDR 266 support. This chipset replaces the former high end XEON chipset – the i860 which supported AGP 4X and RAMBUS memory. This article will delve into some of the features of the E7505 and what it offers to dual processor junkies such as myself.

So what exactly does the E7505 bring to the table you might ask? Well first off here’s a summary of features:

• Supports the socket 604 Intel XEONs with the 533 Front Side Bus. These XEONs like the older 603 Prestonias have Hyper-Threading and the E7505 easily supports HT.
• 533 Front Side Bus support provides up to 4.3 GB/s System Bus Bandwidth
• The Dual Channel DDR 266 support provides 4.3 GB/s Memory Bus Bandwidth support. The chipset supports both Unbuffered or buffered DDR memory
• AGP 8X interface with the Memory Controller Hub (MCH) allowing for 2.1GB/s bandwidth throughput.
• USB 2.0 Support with up to 6 ports.
• The new Intel Hub Interface 2.0 (Intel® 82870P2) allows for 1GB/s I/O bandwidth to two independent 64 bit PCI-X segments.

The E7505 chipset consists of three core components:
1. The Intel® E7505 Memory Controller Hub (MCH)
2. The Intel® 82870P2 64-bit PCI/PCI-X Controller Hub 2
3. The Intel® 82801DB I/O Controller Hub (ICH4)

The MCH

The Memory Controller Hub is the central interface by which all core system components communicate through. This includes data from the CPU’s system bus, data from the DDR bus, data from the AGP 8X interface, and data from the various other hubs that govern the PCI/PCI-X bus and the integrated peripherals.

The Controller Hub 2

This component connects to the MCH through a point to point 16 bit interface and provides over 1.0GB/s of I/O bandwidth to two independent 64 bit PCI-X segments.

The ICH4

This component also connects to the MCH through a point to point interface and offers up bandwidth to I/O intensive peripherals. The ICH4 provides 6 integrated USB 2.0 ports, 6 channel sound, integrated LAN controller, energy saving “sleep mode” and support for the Intel Application Accelerator.

Summary

Currently (Q1/Q2 2003) the E7505 is the very latest in Intel chipsets for the XEON processor family. With the introduction of the 875 chipset, the desktop processor line now has a more capable chipset. Expect to the see a new XEON chipset in the horizon which will bring Serial ATA and other goodies to the XEON platform.

For more information on the E7505 chipset, check out Intel’s website links here:
Intel E7505 Information