ASUS today announces the launch of a new motherboard series based on the Intel H57 and H55 chipsets. The ASUS P7H57D/P7H55 Series supports the new Intel Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, and Pentium processors with feature laden ATX and micro-ATX models to provide the best value and performance on the new LGA1156 platform. Featuring exclusive GPU Boost technology, the series delivers a rich visual experience and smooth video performance with Intel's latest HD capable integrated graphics capable processors. Built with Xtreme Design features, the P7H57D/P7H55 Series delivers optimized performance while being very energy-efficient. The ATX based P7H57D-V EVO also supports next-generation USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s technology for faster data throughput and better storage performance.

EVGA seems to be ready with two of its first motherboards based on the Intel H55 Express and H57 Express chipsets, supporting processors in the LGA-1156 package, along with support for Intel Flexible Display Interface to make use of the iGPU embedded in some dual-core Pentium, Core i3, and Core i5 processors. The two look nearly similar - infact seem to have the same PCB layout. The LGA-1156 socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots for dual-channel memory support. There are two PCI-Express slots (x16, x4), and three PCI slots. The EVGA H57 model further packs two PCI-Express x1 slots.

The H55/H57 chipset provides six SATA 3 Gb/s ports, all of which are assigned as internal ports. A JMicron-made storage controller provides additional two SATA 3 Gb/s ports, along with an IDE connector to support two devices. Display connectivity on both models includes DVI and D-Sub. Other features include 8-channel audio, gigabit Ethernet, Firewire, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The H55 model has two internal ports less, along with other internal features that the chipset lacks, such as Remote PC Assist, and Rapid Storage Technology. More details will be out soon.

After giving its socket LGA-1156 quad-core processors a flying start, Intel is poised to release not just a couple of more processors in Q1-2010, but as many as 17 new models on January 7 alone, reports suggest. Among these are chips based on the company's new 32 nm manufacturing technology, which gives the manufacturer headroom to up features and performance, while maintaining low thermal and energy footprints.

This is when the company completes its triad of new generation Core family processors, with the Core i3 series of entry-level thru lower-mainstream processors. This triad starts with Core i3 as an entry-point for "smart performance", with Core i5 in the middle delivering "smart performance with Turbo Boost Technology", and Core i7 at the top, delivering "the ultimate in smart performance".

The third motherboard vendor in the league to be ready with products based on the Intel H5x Express chipset is ASRock, whose first wave consists of one ATX, and two micro-ATX form-factor motherboards, based on the H55 Express chipset. The H55 Express chipset is known to bring along the Flexible Display Interface, which handles the connectivity of the embedded graphics processors Intel's upcoming Core i3 and Core i5 "Clarkdale" processors feature, completing Intel's portfolio of processors based on the Nehalem/Westmere architectures across all segments. H55 Express is a toned-down version of the H57 Express chipset, it lacks support for technologies such as Remote PC Assist, Rapid Storage, and has slightly lesser number of USB 2.0 ports and lesser PCI-Express lanes in its local hub.

The two micro-ATX motherboards from ASRock are the H55M Pro and H55M. These boards are nearly same, in having 4+1 phase CPU VRM, display connectivity that includes DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI, expansion slots which include a PCI-Express 2.0 x16, a PCI-Express x16 (electrical x4), and one each of PCI-Express x1 and PCI. Both feature high-grade DuraCap solid-state capacitors, 8-channel audio, gigabit Ethernet, and eSATA. The two differ with the H55M Pro being slightly broader to accommodate four DDR3 DIMM slots, while the H55M has two, the H55M Pro has five out of six SATA 3 Gbps ports from its PCH assigned as internal ports, with one eSATA, and features FireWire, while the H55M has four internal SATA 3 Gbps ports, two ports are assigned as eSATA, and FireWire is absent.

Over a month ahead of its launch, the first wave of Intel's 32 nm based Core i3 and Core i5 series dual-core processors have been listed on German online store HPM-Computer. The pricing and specifications disclosed by these listing confirm the information that surfaced as early as in July, this year. The series starts with Core i3 500 series processors whose clock speeds range between 2.93 to 3.06 GHz, and continue with Core i5 600 series dual-core processors ranged between 3.20 GHz and 3.43 GHz. While both series feature HyperThreading Technology to give the operating system four logical processors (threads) to work with, the Core i3 processors lack the Turbo Boost feature which the Core i5 chips have.

According to the new listing in which the chips are priced in Euros, the 2.93 GHz Core i3 530 processor is priced at 103.90 EUR, and 3.06 GHz Core i3 540 at 120.90 EUR. The Core i5 600 series lineup includes the 3.20 GHz Core i5 650 priced at 160.90 EUR, 3.33 GHz Core i5 660 and 661 priced at 175.90 EUR, and lead by the 3.43 GHz Core i5 670 priced at a premium 252.90 EUR point. All prices include a 19% applicable tax. The IGP clock speed (750 MHz vs. 900 MHz), differentiates Core i5 660 from 661. It is likely that the price of one of those seems to have entered incorrectly. With these processors, Intel may also introduce the Intel H57 Express chipset, and motherboards by various vendors will soon follow. These processors, however, have the same LGA-1156 socket the "Lynnfield" quad-core processors have, which are currently in the market. They may run on existing P55 Express based motherboards too, according to a recent report.

Following Intel's launch of the new socket LGA-1156 platform with quad-core Intel Core i5, Core i7 "Lynnfield", and the P55 Express chipset to drive the platform, Intel is preparing to drop another chalk in Q1 2010, with dual-core socket LGA-1156 processors that use the Core i3 and Core i5 brand identifiers. A feature unique to these processors is the integration of a graphics controller into the processor package. On the platform side, core-logic must support the Intel Flexible Display technology, which handles connectivity for that graphics controller. The chipset which will drive this would be Intel's upcoming H57 Express chipset, codenamed "Eagle Lake".

Motherboards based on the H57 chipset typically feature display connectors such as DVI, D-Sub, or HDMI. While intended to cover the mainstream segment, H57 can also be used to drive high-grade motherboards, as is shown by ASUS with its newest motherboard based on the chipset - the P7PH57D-V EVO. The ATX motherboard resembles the P7P55D Deluxe in many design aspects. It supports all the high-end features its cousin does, including support for SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 along with full-bandwidth PCI-Express 2.0 interfaces for the controllers.

Intel's socket LGA-1156 quad-core processors are closely trailed by the company's first processors based on the 32 nm manufacturing process: Core i5 and Core i3 "Clarkdale" dual-core processors. Engineering samples of these processors were evaluated as early as Q2 2009, but one of the first attempts to show the processors' overclocking potential using air-cooling was made very recently. Even prior to that, a low-voltage overclocking feat by Coolaler showed how engineering samples didn't particularly struggle reaching clock speeds close to 4.00 GHz with vCore as low as 0.832V. Romanian tech community Lab501. Lab501 community leader "Monstru" tested the overclocking headroom of a Core i5 650 LGA-1156 dual-core processor (engineering sample) with air-cooling.

The test-bed included a Gigabyte P55 motherboard, the Core i5 650 processor was cooled by a Noctua NH-U12P, onto which a Coolink SWIF 2 120P fan was strapped. A clock speed of 4.70 GHz (25 x 188 MHz) was achieved (nearly 50% over the stock clock speed of 3.20 GHz). A core voltage of 1.424V was used. A point here to note however, is that the retail Core i5 650 will come with an upwards-locked bus frequency multiplier of 24 (24 x 133 MHz = 3.20 GHz). The processor at 4.70 GHz, was Prime95-stable for over 30 minutes. With an ambient temperature of 24 °C, the two cores heated up to 77 and 68 °C, not to forget that the processor was being air-cooled. Although with the use of an engineering sample (since the retail launch of this processor is tentatively three months away), the scope for inference of this feat is limited, it gives you a coarse indication that Intel is keeping the trend of ferociously fast dual-core processors alive. High(er) overclocking headroom on air-cooling is the fruition of the 32 nm process. Slated for Q1 2010, the siblings (and cousins) of the Core i5 650 include Core i5 660/661 (3.33 GHz, HTT), Core i5 670 (3.46 GHz, HTT), Core i3 540 (3.06 GHz, no HTT), Core i3 530 (2.93 GHz, no HTT), and Pentium G6950 (2.80 GHz, no HTT). Details of the series can be found here.

At the IDF 2009 event, Intel showed of the fruition of the platform component rearrangement socket LGA-1156 strives for, by relocating the northbridge to the processor package. On display was the company's newest mini-ITX socket LGA-1156 motherboard that is full-featured, complete with Intel Flexible Display Interface support. Based on the Intel H57 chipset, the motherboard supports Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors based on the socket. Its two DDR3 DIMM slots provide dual-channel memory interface.

The sole expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x16, which can be used for any PCI-Express addon card. Located at the north of the board, the H57 chipset provides four SATA 3 Gbps ports, and requires a small heatsink to stay comfortable. The rear panel sums up the rest of the feature-set, it includes display output via DVI and HDMI, Ethernet, six USB ports, eSATA, and 8-channel audio with optical SPDIF. In the second picture below, it's placed to the left of a mini-ITX G45 motherboard by Intel.

Intel's foundries have commenced mass production of the company's first processors based on the 32 nm second generation high-K metal gate (HKMG) technologies. With these the company's next-generation Westmere architecture becomes retail-grade. The first products will include dual-core processors compatible with the recently introduced socket LGA-1156 platforms, and will carry the brand identifiers (and model number schemes) Core i5 600 series, Core i3 500 series, and Pentium dual-core series.

The desktop-grade parts are based on the "Clarkdale" core, and notebook-grade ones "Arrandale". The latter will be introduced first among the two, with the first Arrandale chips slated for Q4 2009, while the desktop chips arrive a little later in Q1 2010. Intel will focus on this transition to the Westmere architecture in the upcoming Intel Developer Forum event.

NVIDIA's recent announcement of extending all its multi-GPU technologies to Intel chipsets-based socket LGA-1156 motherboards, even as the company reportedly plans its own chipset, comes in at no better time than this, when rival AMD has a decent lineup of GPUs, processors, and desktop platform technologies, all of which well-oiled. To beat AMD in the game, and propagate its own GPU and multi-GPU technologies, some sort of loose alignment with Intel is inevitable, especially considering ATI CrossFireX has been freely available to motherboard makers for several product generations now.

In a recent presentation circulated to sections of the media, NVIDIA put forward a sort of quasi-platform to rival AMD Dragon, although it isn't named or defined, NVIDIA refers to it as "Power of 3". Part of its key components include Intel socket LGA-1156 processor (from the Core i3/i5/i7 series) running on a motherboard with Intel P55 chipset, Windows 7, and two or more NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. To deal with two or more GPUs, NVIDIA defines its existing "NVIDIA SLI Ready" marker and the seemingly new "NVIDIA PhysX Ready" marker. The difference between the two is that the latter lets you install a second (or third) graphics card that is dedicated to PhysX.

Intel's upcoming "Clarkdale" is special for two reasons: it is the first 32 nm based processor from Intel, and that it's the first processor that comes with a graphics processor built in, something AMD conceptualized a long time ago. Under the hood (read: integrated heat-spreader), Clarkdale is a busy package, that holds a CPU complex die (that houses the main processing cores, cache, a dual-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller, and a Quickpath interconnect controller, that connects the die to its neighbor, a northbridge-iGraphics die that houses most northbridge components including a PCI-Express 2.0 root complex, the star-attraction IGP and a DMI connection to the "platform controller hub (PCH)".

Intel is weeks away from letting loose its first socket LGA-1156 processors, starting with a series of quad-core models, namely Core i5 750, Core i7 860, and Core i7 870. According to the latest roadmaps, dual-core derivatives of the Westmere architecture, will arrive in early 2010. IT168 sourced details of the model numbers Intel chalked out, based on roadmap excepts. An older report detailed all six models based on the "Clarkdale" core, including three in the Core i5 series, two in the Core i3 series, and one in the Pentium Dual-Core series. Let's try to make sense of this branding structure.

"Clarkdale" is the codename for Intel's upcoming dual-core processors derived from the Nehalem/Westmere architecture. The move marks a leap for Intel in two ways: introducting the first commercial-grade 32 nm microprocessor, and implementing a radical new design that involved relocating the platform's northbridge component entirely to the CPU package. Slated for Q1 2010, Clarkdale will go by three brand indentifiers to grade it according to a performance and feature scale. You have the Core i5 class that enables the entire feature-set of processor, there's the Core i3 class that offers some features, excluding Intel Turbo Boost technology for example, finally there's the sub-$100 Pentium part (yes, Pentium lives on), which offers a smaller feature-set. HyperThreading technology is disabled on this one.

Chinese tech-site IT168 published a comprehensive performance (p)review of the 3.06 GHz Clarkdale part. In the article, the 3.06 GHz Clarkdale was pitted against the 3.00 GHz "Wolfdale" Core 2 Duo processor. The memory (Dual-channel DDR3-1333, 4 GB) and graphics hardware (ATI Radeon HD 4870, 1 GB) were kept common between the two test-beds. Tests ranged from memory and CPU internal bandwidth tests, math-intensive tests, synthetic multimedia and 3D tests, and finally, modern 3D games.

Intel's upcoming dual-core derivatives of the Nehalem/Westmere architecture, codenamed "Clarkdale" seems to have some interesting electrical characteristics. The CPU component of the chip is built on Intel's brand new 32 nanometre process that facilitates higher transistor densities, and in the process, intends to bring down TDP. An overclocking feat by Coolaler.com seems to suggest one of two things: either these chips have naturally low vCore voltages, or that the overlocking headroom at low-voltages is exceptional. Coolaler used a pre-release engineering sample of the Core i3 Clarkdale processor on a compatible platform, and achieved 4 GHz of clock speed with the vCore at 0.832 V. The frequency multiplier of the CPU was set at 25.0x, and a bus speed of 160 MHz used. Intel will be ready with these processors by the end of this year.

Last week, Intel sketched out its strategy in dealing with its client processor brand Core, and placing its different kinds of processors in series of markers (such as "i3", "i5", and "i7"), on the merit of performance and features they offer, and not necessarily a segregation based on core type and socket type. This raised a big debate in our forums, on who is really going to benefit from this kind of branding.

Chinese website INPAI.com.cn sourced information which explains what factors go into determining which brand marker a processor gets. The table elaborates on how different kinds of Intel processors (determined by core and socket types) cross different lines, with a few features toggled or enhanced. It is sure to throw up some surprises.