Intel?s Bearlake X and Bearlake Q chipsets ...

[renethx]

The Bearlake chipsets will feature ICH9 input/output controllers (I/O controllers), which are also referred to as south bridges, will provide improved network controller that will rely on microprocessor less than predecessors, support hardware-based firewall, but will lack PS2 and LPT ports used today to connect keyboards, mice, printers, scanners and some other peripherals. (X-bit labs)

That means the removal of the LPC (Low Pin Count) interface? Then how can a super I/O chip be connected to the southbridge?

 

[gorka]

i was hoping this would come out in Q2.

Anyways, the hell with PS/2. No offense, but USB is a superior technology platform in every way/shape/form and will cut manufacturing costs.....I think the people still holding on to PS/2 are the same people who were hanging on to ISA as well. Let's move on!

 

[NoobyDoo]

The initial P965 BIOS releases suffered from a few issues, will there be similar problems with the Bearlake chipsets ?

The Bearlake-P/G are basically 1333MHz versions of the 965 chipset, I think. So there should not be any BIOS probs. But what about the X/Q versions ? And, DDR3 versions of mobos ?

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: n7
15% boost because of a new chipset

I'd say more like because of the increased FSB/RAM speed...but i guess we'll see.

Seems a bit too good to be true though...

Used to happen back in the AXP/Pentium 4 days, but since the Core 2 Duo is still based on the same quad FSB the P4 used, I'd imagine it's pretty well optimized by now.

Most likely the performance is due to the higher memory speed along with any other optimizations, and is not an across the board increase. However, it is the first "Designed for Core 2 Duo" chipset, so perhaps there's some things Intel can do with it over the P4 architecture still.

BTW, I could still use the PS/2 port, I use a decent PS/2 keyboard, but if I ever buy another one I guess it would be usb.

 

[PhlashFoto]

Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
No PS/2 ports sucks.

First, Logitech UltraX keyboard only comes with PS/2 port, and there is no way I'm abandoning that keyboard, it simply rules. Two, I'm using KVM switches, and PS2 versions are dirt cheap ranging from $50 down to $10 for two port versions. USB KVMs are waaaay more expensive.

The KVM issue is what I have a problem with as well. Otherwise I use USB mice on standalone systems. But I guess I am (we are) in the minority on this one. The USB KVMs are higher price yet seem lower quality to me. Plus I want one that rackmountable.

 

[ChunkyBarf]

I have a soft spot for the PS/2 and LPT ports simply due to driver stability. USB is nearing its 10th year in existence and only know do I feel that USB drivers are solid. My large plotter printer has USB and LPT ports and I gladly sacrifice the speed of USB for the reliability of 20+ years of driver debugging. The same goes for my PS2 ports, I like knowing that they work and work well.
Having said that, I think from a manufacturing and tech support standpoint it makes a lot of sense for vendors to go strictly with USB. A lot of people cried foul when Apple eliminated the floppy port with the introduction of the iMac, but in retrospect they were making a good move. USB hubs are incredibly small, easy-to-find, and most of all - cheap.
It is possible that the "platform" as a whole will be faster in the I/O department due to all internals operating at similar speeds (i.e. 33Mhz or 66Mhz) and less overhead for PS/2 and LPT ports on the SouthBridge controller. As much as I liked the legacy ports, now is as good a time as ever to move ahead.

Nice Find NoobyDo

Take care,
ChunkyBarf

 

[Farmer]

I think PS/2 should probably be kept a little longer. There is no way that PCI 2.2 is going to be abandoned; there are too many peripherals for PCI 2.2 and not enough for PCI-E X1 or X2.

 

[VirtualLarry]

First they came for the PATA ports, and I said nothing.
Next they came for the PS/2 and LPT, and still I said nothing.

Eventually, they're going to remove the whole damn computer!


I still use PS/2, LPT, and COM ports, along with my PATA and floppy, thank you very much.
This "legacy removal" bullshit has to stop, it's not "legacy" if people are still using it!

You still need a real floppy drive to install SATA/RAID/non-native PATA drivers under NT-based OSes.

You still need a PS/2 port for running my nice IBM clicky M13 trackpoint keyboards.

You still need PATA ports to run most existing CD/DVD reader/writers.

I still use a COM port for my external hardware modem, backup in case the DSL goes down.

I still use an LPT port for an external scanner too. I can also use it for a PSX-LPT interface, the LPT port is the lowest-latency interface on the PC.


Oh yeah, I have to "reset" (unplug) my USB peripherals, including my mouse, fairly often when that interface screws up and hangs. USB is NOT the wave of the future, it's more like a punishment. Cheap, ubiquitous, and crappy as all hell.

Considering how much modern "high-end" motherboards cost - the portion of that cost that "legacy interfaces" occupy, is far, far less than the profit margins on the chipsets used in the mobo. IOW, those extra PS/2 ports hardly cost anything additional to mfg. Most of the Super-IO chips are also the ones that do the hardware monitoring nowadays, afaik, so you wouldn't even be saving on the number of chips onboard.