Intel® X38 Express Chipset

Desktop PC platforms based on the Intel® X38 Express Chipset, combined with either the Intel® Core™2 Duo, Intel® Core™2 Quad or Intel® Core™2 Extreme processors establish a new standard for performance. Designed with headroom and engineering passion, the Intel X38 Express Chipset supports new dual-channel DDR3 memory technology, next generation dualX16 PCI Express 2.0 and Intel® Extreme Tuning to unleash exceptional performance in today's gaming applications With the growing imbalance between CPU and memory performance, it is critical to optimize the memory controller design to obtain the maximum possible performance from the memory subsystem. The redesigned Intel X38 Express Chipset Memory Controller Hub (MCH) architecture significantly increases overall system performance through the optimization of available bandwidth with the new 1333 MHz system bus and reduction of memory access latency with Intel® Fast Memory Access. These technology breakthroughs result in optimized system architecture with built-in intelligence, greatly improving system memory performance. The updated MCH also includes support for Intel 45nm next-generation Intel Core 2 processor family and wider internal data buses that support dual-channel DDR3 memory technology at 1333 MHz.

Features and benefits

1333/1066/800 MHz System Bus	Supports the Intel® Core™2 Duo and Intel® Core™2 Quad processors with Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT)◊1, Intel® Pentium® processor, and Intel® Celeron® processor.
PCI Express* 2.0 Interface	PCI Express 2.0 delivers up to 16GB/s bandwidth per port, double that of PCIe* 1.0. It provides leading-edge graphics performance with dual X16 graphic card configuration.
Intel® Fast Memory Access	Updated Memory Controller Hub (MCH) backbone architecture that improves system performance by optimizing the use of available memory bandwidth and reducing the latency of the memory accesses.
Dual-Channel DDR3 memory support	Delivers up to 21.2 GB/s (DDR3 1333 dual 10.6 Gb/s) of bandwidth and 8 GB memory addressability for faster system responsiveness and support of 64-bit computing.
Dual-Channel DDR2 memory support	Delivers up to 12.8 GB/s (DDR2 800 dual 6.4 GB/s) of bandwidth and 8 GB memory addressability for faster system responsiveness and support of 64-bit computing.
Intel® Flex Memory Technology	Facilitates easier upgrades by allowing different memory sizes to be populated and remain in dual-channel mode.
Intel® High Definition Audio◊2	Integrated audio support enables premium digital sound and delivers advanced features such as multiple audio streams and jack re-tasking.
Intel® Matrix Storage Technology◊3	With a second hard drive added, provides quicker access to digital photo, video and data files with RAID 0, 5, and 10, and greater data protection against a hard disk drive failure with RAID 1, 5, and 10. Support for external SATA* (eSATA*) enables the full SATA interface speed outside the chassis, up to 3 Gb/s.
Intel® Rapid Recover Technology	Intel's latest data protection technology provides a recovery point that can be used to quickly recover a system should a hard drive fail or if there is massive data corruption. The clone can also be mounted as a read-only volume to allow a user to recover individual files.
Serial ATA* (SATA) 3 Gb/s	High-speed storage interface supports faster transfer rate for improved data access.
eSATA/Port Multiplier	SATA interface designed for use with external SATA devices. Provides a link for 3 Gb/s data speeds to eliminate bottlenecks found with current external storage solutions. Intel also supports natively port multipliers. Combining port multipliers, eSATA, and Intel Matrix Storage Technology provides great flexibility and expandability for external storage solutions.
SATA* Port Disable	Enables individual SATA ports to be enabled or disabled as needed. This feature provides added protection of data by preventing malicious removal or insertion of data through SATA ports. Especially targeted for eSATA ports available on the outside of the system.
USB* Port Disable	Enables individual USB ports to be enabled or disabled as needed. This feature provides added protection of data by preventing malicious removal or insertion of data through USB ports.

Packaging information

Intel® 82X38 Memory Controller Hub	1300 Flip Chip Ball Grid Array (FCBGA)