The architecture and testing of the motherboard of Intel D925XCV

Interfaces of peripheral devices

·         Eight ports USB 2.0,

·         One serial port,

·         One parallel port,

·         Four interfaces Serial ATA IDE,

·         Two ports IEEE1394,

·         One interface Parallel ATA IDE with support of UltraDMA 33 protocols and
ATA-66/100,

·         the Interface of the floppi-drive,

·         keyboard and mouse Ports PS/2.

Input/output system

·         the Controller of input/output LPC.

Slots

·         one PCI slot Express x16,

·         two PCI slots Express x1,

·         four PCI slots.

Form factor

·         ATX,

·         the Sizes 12.00”h 9.60”.

Features of the architecture of Intel D925XCV

The motherboard of Intel D925X is created according to referens-design which by tradition develops and the manufacturer of a chip set gives, in this case is a corporation of Intel.

Considering the architecture of the given card, it is necessary to remind, that rather recently Intel corporation has passed to the new standard of tank processors and its plug — LGA 775. It has found the reflexion and in the architecture of the motherboard of Intel D925X.

Fig. 6. Processor LGA 775 plug and resources of cooling of chips of a chip set i925X

High efficiency of modern processors is accompanied considerable teploobrazovaniem. It demands appropriate resources of active cooling that has found reflexion in resources of cooling of the processor and a chip set (a Fig. 6). Thus for the processor the powerful cooler in which the heat sink with radial layout of edges and a copper interposing in the underplate is used is used. For chip set cooling passive resources of cooling are used. All it together with hardware-software resources of regulation of speed of rotation of the fan of a cooler of the processor depending on a degree of computing load has allowed to provide considerable lowering of level of acoustic noise.

It is necessary to mark, that the solutions created on the basis of the motherboard of Intel D925XCV differ rather a noise low level even at usage of powerful models of processors of Intel of Pentium 4 with processing technique Hyper-Threading and the bus of 800 MHz providing reaching of a maximum level of productivity.

The productivity high level is promoted by a two-channel subsystem of dynamic storage DDR2 SDRAM. Thus the functional mode of memory modules can not only two-channel, but also one-channel. However the two-channel mode allows to receive the system completely balanced on informational streams.

The following important unit of the computer system giving the considerable contribution to productivity — a graphics subsystem. Graphics solution PCI Express used in the architecture x16 provides speed to 4 Gbytes/with in each direction. And it, as is known, exceeds high-speed performance of the best external graphics adapters with interface AGP 8X.

One more novelty in the architecture of motherboards of current generation is a processing technique of Intel Matrix Storage. This processing technique realised in a chip of a chip set, responsible for resources of input/output and ICH6R component presented to Intel D925XCV, provides high efficiency at usage both one hard disk, and a RAID-file of disk drives.

Increases productivity of hard disks by means of processing technique RAID 0 and protects data by means of processing technique RAID 1, applying them on the same disks. Interface AHCI raises productivity thanks to integration of sequence of commands and provides support of hot installation and changeover of hard disks.

The processing technique of Intel Matrix Storage helps to protect data, simultaneously raising productivity in comparison with systems with one hard disk. And it is important, that supports transition from a pattern "RAID ready" with one hard disk on array RAID 0 or RAID 1 without OS reinstallation.

Estimating possibilities of a subsystem of disk memory, it is necessary to mark, that the motherboard architecture incorporates four ports Serial ATA 150 (four arrangements) and one port Parallel ATA-100 (UltraDMA 100/66/33, two arrangements IDE). The increase in number of ports Serial ATA and abbreviation traditional Parallel ATA-100 testifies to step-by-step transition to consecutive, more perspective interfaces.

From features of the architecture it is necessary to mark as well an audiosubsystem realising processing technique of Intel High Definition Audio. It provides considerable improvement of playback of a multi-channel sound 48 kgts in comparison with traditional solutions AC ' 97. As the audiocodec as a part of the motherboard of Intel D925XCV chip Realtek ALC880 is used. With its help possibility of hooking up of audiosystems under the standard 7.1 is realised.

Estimation of key parametres of the built in audiosubsystem

It is necessary to mark, that the network controller Gigabit Ethernet realised on a chip of controller Marvell Yukon 88E8050 PCI Express, and also popular buses of consecutive data transfer IEEE is built in the architecture of the motherboard of Intel D925XCV 1394a (FireWire, chip Agere FW323-06) and USB  2.0. Hooking up of maps of the extension is carried out by means of the traditional bus PCI having capacity in 133 Mb per second, and perspective solution PCI Express x1, providing speed more than in 500 Mb per second.

Estimating the newest processing techniques and the perspective architectural solutions embodied in the motherboard of Intel D925XCV, it is necessary to mark, that their usage does not eliminate usage of the previous developments which were extended in the previous products from Intel. So, for example, it is possible to find in Intel D925XCV both the quick start, and the control of speed of rotation of cooling fans, monitoring of hardware, etc. In BIOS Setup is realised a number of the customisations providing rise of productivity of the major computer subsystems: customisation tajmingov memories, possibility of change of the frequency divider for bus PCI/PCI-E x1, a choice of frequency of operation of memory, change of the power submitted on memory modules, and even change of frequency of the processor bus from-2 % to +4 %.

As to power supply of units of the motherboard of Intel D925XCV it is carried out through system of impulse stabilising devices. Thus except the traditional converter which is ensuring functioning of the processor, on the card there are additional converters of supply voltage PCI Express  x16 and dynamic storage units.

Estimation of productivity of Intel D925XCV

At performance of numerous, durable tests the card of Intel D925XCV worked steadily as it usually and is characteristic for products of this corporation. Level of productivity of the systems, which basis motherboards IntelD925XCV, IntelD875PBZ, and also three models of processors IntelPentium  4 with clock rates of kernels made  of 3,0 GHz and 3,4 GHz, it is possible to estimate on the basis of presented below data.

In testing three packages of the computer accessories working under OCWindows XP used.

Package N1:

·         Motherboard IntelD875PBZ (a chip set i875, memory DDR),

·         Processor IntelPentium  4 with clock rate of a kernel of 3,0 GHz (Socket  478, kernel Northwood, the bus of 800 MHz, processing technique Hyper-Threading),

·         Dynamic storage DDR of 400 MHz, two units on 512 Mb, two channels,

·         ASUSRADEON 9600XT Videoadapter (chip ATIRadeon 9600XT, bus AGP 8X),

·         Hard disk Seagate of 160 Gbytes (7200 about/with, ATA-100).

Package N2:

·         Motherboard IntelD925XCV (a chip set i925X, memory DDR2),

·         Processor IntelPentium  4 with clock rate of a kernel of 3,0 GHz (LGA 775, kernel Prescott, the bus of 800 MHz, processing technique Hyper-Threading),

·         Dynamic storage DDR2 of 533 MHz, two units on 512 Mb, two channels,

·         ASUSEXTREME AX 600XT Videoadapter (chip ATIRadeon X600XT, bus PCI Express x16),

·         Hard disk Seagate of 160 Gbytes (7200 about/with, ATA-100).

Package N3:

·         Motherboard IntelD925XCV (a chip set i925X, memory DDR2),

·         Processor IntelPentium  4 with clock rate of a kernel of 3,4 GHz (LGA 775, kernel Prescott, the bus of 800 MHz, processing technique Hyper-Threading),

·         Dynamic storage DDR2 of 533 MHz, two units on 512 Mb, two channels,

·         ASUSEXTREME AX 600XT Videoadapter (chip ATIRadeon X600XT, bus PCI Express x16),

·         Hard disk Seagate of 160 Gbytes (7200 about/with, ATA-100).

Results of tests SiSoftware Sandra 2003.1.9.31

Fig. 7. Results of test CPU Arithmetic Benchmark (ALU)

Fig. 8. Results of test CPU Arithmetic Benchmark (FPU)

Fig. 9. Results of test Cache and Memory Benchmark (Mb per second)

As to dependability on the basis of testing of one given copy it is difficult to estimate this parametre. However it is known, that products of the given manufacturer are characterised by high dependability. Nevertheless, for reception of concrete numerical estimations of the given parametre for the card of Intel D925XCV it is necessary to access or to the computer corporations realising this product, or it is direct to the manufacturer of mother chamber — Intel corporations through its representations.

However, despite of everything it is possible to mark that circumstance as the important fact, that on the motherboard of Intel D925XCV high guarantee period — is installed three years.

The high-powered card of Intel D925XCV can be recommended a wide range of the users interested in steady and a safe operation of accessories from known manufacturers.

The motherboard of Intel D925XCV is given by representation of corporation of Intel