AMD 9 Series Chipset Exposure

To coincide with the new "Bulldozer" Zambezi processor, the AMD chipset will be updated again next year and upgraded to the next generation of the 9 series to form a new "Scorpius" (Scorpius). )platform.

The motherboard of AMD 9 series chipset will use Socket AM3+ processor interface, and can continue to install the existing Socket AM3 processor, but the reverse is not, that is, AM3 motherboard can not install AM3+ bulldozer processor, and the new motherboard will also support Turbo Core 2.0 second-generation multi-core dynamic acceleration technology.

The biggest highlight of the new chipset is support for IOMMU (input and output memory management unit). The traditional MMO is used to convert the virtual address of the processor into a physical address. The IOMMU maps the visible virtual address of the device to a physical address, which provides a secure, flexible, and high-performance I/O virtualization for the server and the desktop. Program.

In fact, in the field of servers, IOMMU already has a relatively wide range of applications. It will be the first time that IOMMU is introduced to the desktop. It may help to improve the performance of the CPU+GPU heterogeneous computing architecture.

The AMD 9 series chipset still consists of two parts, the North and South Bridges. Among them, the North Bridge has 990FX, 990X, and 970 models. The difference is mainly the number of PCI-E 2.0 slots and the difference in bandwidth, but there is no integrated graphics core.

−990FX: Supports two PCI-E 2.0 x16 full-speed slots and can be split into four PCI-E 2.0 x8 half-speed slots. Two-to-four-way CrossFireX can be built, and one PCI-E 2.0 x4 slot is also supported. Six PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots.

−990X: Supports one PCI-E 2.0 x16 full-speed slot and can be split into two PCI-E 2.0 x8 half-speed slots to form a two-way CrossFire and another six PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots.

−970: Supports one PCI-E 2.0 x16 full-speed slot and cannot be split. That is, CrossFire is not supported.

South Bridge has two models: SB950 and SB920. The main difference lies in the RAID technology, and there is no native USB 3.0.

− SB950: Supports four PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots, PCI bus, 14 USB 2.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbps ports, RAID 0/1/5/10, and 990FX, 990X, and 970.

− SB920: Supports four PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots, PCI bus, 14 USB 2.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbps ports, and RAID 0/1/10.

The above chips will begin shipping in the second quarter of 2011 and will officially be released at the end of the quarter with the Zambezi processor.