Intel's so codenamed "Braidwood" technology, which was touted to be a successor for Intel Turbo Memory, in which a supplementary high-speed, low-latency NVRAM module is used to speed up booting, application startup, and enhance system responsiveness in general, is shelved for now, and will not be part of Intel 5-series chipsets' feature-set, according to industry sources. As a result, Intel P57, a variant of P55 that officially supports it, will not be implemented, as Braidwood is the principal difference between it and P55. Several motherboard manufacturers already have the hardware-side of the technology ready, as several high-end LGA-1156 motherboards have been spotted with Braidwood NVRAM slots, or at least placeholders of the same. The software-side of it, however, seems to be the problem child, sources explained.

EVGA seems to have found its roots in Intel's 5-series chipset due to lack of chipsets from NVIDIA that support the latest Intel processors. In the process, EVGA gets to make Intel 5-series motherboards brandishing SLI support, as well as some pretty impressive enthusiast-grade features. With the X58 Classified series, EVGA took on the mighty ASUS to give out a full-featured motherboard for overclocking LGA-1366 processors. It looks like the company is working on another motherboard with similar credentials for LGA-1156 socket processors, based on the Intel P55/P57 chipset.

The EVGA 132-LF-E657 is a full-featured LGA-1156 motherboard focussed on overclocking. The CPU is powered by a lavish 12-phase circuit that makes use of DrMOS (driver-MOSFETs). The CPU socket further seats LICC (Low Inductance Ceramic Capacitors). Electrical stability is brought about by two 8-pin ATX CPU power connectors, a design first featured on the X58 Classified. Additional power stability for the expansion slots is brought about by a 4-pin Molex input. The four DDR3 DIMM slots are powered by a 3-phase circuit. Intel Braidwood technology is supported on this motherboard. The technology involves an NVRAM module that speeds up OS and applications loading. There are two clock generators on this board, perhaps to handle two independent clock domains that gives the user greater control over a few settings.

Now faced with delays, Intel's upcoming Ibex-Peak platform, a next-generation mainstream implementation of the Nehalem architecture, is an interesting mix of technologies, where Intel seeks to minimise the platform and energy footprints while delivering value and performance through a clever bit of rearrangement of system components. HKEPC has learned that Intel's 5-Series mainstream chipsets consists of five models: P57, Q57, H57, P55, and H55. The P57 and P55 are built for the consumer PC with discrete graphics. The H57 and H55 chipsets are built for processors with integrated graphics, with support for the Intel FDI. The Q57 is built for the business / enterprise-client PC, it supports a host of exclusive Intel technologies that make the machine easier to manage.