Thursday, April 26th 2018
Intel Confirms Z390 and X399 Chipsets in Official Documents
Intel unintentionally confirmed the existence of two of its upcoming client platform chipsets, the Z390 Express, and the X399 Express. The latest release-notes documentation of its Rapid Storage Technology driver, mentions Z390 and X399, alongside the CPU micro-architectures they support. The Z390 supports current-generation "Coffee Lake" and upcoming "Cannon Lake" processors, while the X399 supports HEDT derivatives based on the two architectures, namely "Coffee Lake-X" and "Cannon Lake-X," with no mention of "Skylake-X."
What happens to the X299, you ask? The table mentions the chipset as supporting SKL-X (Skylake-X) and KBL-X (Kaby Lake-X), but it's not clear if Intel is only referring to the forgettable i7-7740X and i5-7640X with "KBL-X." The Z390 is rumored as being Intel's next top mainstream-desktop chipset, with a long overdue update to onboard audio standards, in being a departure from the "Azalia" HD audio specification, onward to the new Programmable Quad-Core Audio with new SoundWire digital audio interface. The chipset is also rumored to feature 10 Gbps USB 3.1 ports.
What happens to the X299, you ask? The table mentions the chipset as supporting SKL-X (Skylake-X) and KBL-X (Kaby Lake-X), but it's not clear if Intel is only referring to the forgettable i7-7740X and i5-7640X with "KBL-X." The Z390 is rumored as being Intel's next top mainstream-desktop chipset, with a long overdue update to onboard audio standards, in being a departure from the "Azalia" HD audio specification, onward to the new Programmable Quad-Core Audio with new SoundWire digital audio interface. The chipset is also rumored to feature 10 Gbps USB 3.1 ports.
26 Comments on Intel Confirms Z390 and X399 Chipsets in Official Documents
FTW INTEL... such an innovation.
Where's the new PCIE?? The main thing... if it doesn't have this chipset is already EOL POS.
I mean, sure, someone down the line may have suggested "you know what would be funny? what if we upend Intel with the chipset numbering scheme by using the same lettering but one larger number?". The thing is, the first manager to hear of this should've shut it down by saying "that's not even funny. what use would that have? we should come up with a new naming scheme to assert who we are"
Seriously, I wanna give a good smack on the back of the heads of those executives who went for this kindergarten level crap...
Saying that Intel has a right to X399 is like saying Apple is the only one how can have rounded corners on their phones (which they actually have a patent for!).
I can tell you want AMD where thinking: why don't we use nomenclatures that are already established so that our customers instantly know where are products stand.
Do you realize how long it would have taken to build up customer awareness if AMD didn't tier it's processors using R3 R5 R7 and didn't name it's chipset with A, B, and X? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yes, the document lists CNL and CFL with the X399, but it also specifically mentions that X399 is only supported on SKL-X (which is also known as Skylake-X). There is no mentions of "CNL-X" or "CFL-X" either, even though there obviously should be if there would be any CNL or CFL CPUs for X399. Instead it looks like the 2nd CPU to be supported by X399, in addition to Skylake-X, will be Cascade Lake-X (which will probably appear as CSL-X or CCL-X)