Intel details "Broadwater" chipset

Intel today will disclose plans of its next-generation Core2 microprocessors, as well as a new low-voltage Core Dup chip that will be featured in thin-and-light notebooks, according to ExtremeTech. The company will also introduce its Intel P965 or "Broadwater" chipset, which is expected to ship by August and signals the end of older parallel ATA disk drives and IDE storage within notebooks and desktops in favor of newere Serial ATA connections for faster storage access. At the Computex show in Taipei, Intel's senior VP Anand Chandrasekher will debut the company's Broadwater chipset, which will be paired with Intel's new Core2 Duo processors, according to the report. It eliminates both parallel ATA connections and the IDE interface and "will support DDR-2 DRAM at 800-MHz speeds (PC6400), a capability which was first introdced in boutique PCs in April 2005.

The new chipset will also include an improved Memory Controller Hub component with a faster interface, which Intel is calling Fast Memory Access." A similar chipset, the G965 Express chipset with integrated graphics-- used in low-end notebooks such as the MacBook and entry-level desktops such as the Mac mini--will launch at a later date.

According to the report, all of the 965 Express chipsets will include Intel High Definition Audio and Intel Quiet System Technology to reduce system noise and heat as well as the ability to add an external drive for security purposes.

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