Chrono Detector

Looks like a very impressive board. Gigabyte usually appeals to me with their high end motherboards.

DarkstarX10a

Its called I believe a Platform Chipset Hub or something to that effect, it combines both south and northbridge tasks. Sans memory channels and PCI-E x16 lanes, on the lynnfields it seems that the both memory and GPU/PCI-E 16 lanes are directly connected to the CPU. This should be I believe the first Intel setup that doesnt have a northbridge of old. Its now similar to an AMD platform layout.

But I digress there is no northbridge of the old, just a platform chipset that handles all the other lanes that goes to the CPU. On the i7's there is still technically a northbridge even on the plaform for X58 series (x58- northbridge, ICH10R-southbridge) chipsets, just the memory controllers are now located in the CPU die.

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Gr33n Machine

K3VL4R

That is what I thought too. The yellow power eSATA on the bottom looks correct but the ones above do not have the side cut outs like the esata connector in the second photo I posted.

Anyway, it is not a big deal, maybe they just look off because of the angle of the photo. I was just wondering if it were a new type of connection.

scottath

Those 2 headers are the following:

Firewire
USB
Esata

and
Mini-firewire
USB
Esata

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T3h_Ch33z_Muncha

Yeah i know that, and the PCH is now positioned where the SB of old was, so that "NB" heatsink should, theoretically, be covering nothing...

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Please don't call me Muncha, as cheese is not the only insinuatable munchable object; Ch33z will suffice. Oh, and i almost forgot to express my love for Heru
Planned upgrades (kind of in order): 22" Monitor, Goliathus Omega (mousepad), new chair, Windows 7, CM 690, new desk, Ideazon ZBoard MERC, Sennheiser HD201, bong, DX 11 card(s)+necessary PSU
Epic things happening in 2010: Toy Story 3, new H.I.M album, Supreme Commander 2, MechWarrior, The Elder Scrolls V, Mafia II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Bioshock 2, Crysis 2, Iron Man 2

DarkstarX10a

That "northbridge" heat sink should be the P55 pch, I think that chip where the southbridge is just one of em supplementary chipsets for sata 3

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Gr33n Machine

T3h_Ch33z_Muncha

no, those jmicron or whatever brand chips are a lot smaller and more basic than an entire chipset hub, i have one on my UD3P... every previous P55 board i've seen has a blank space where that heatsink is, and a massive-area heatsink in the SB area..

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Please don't call me Muncha, as cheese is not the only insinuatable munchable object; Ch33z will suffice. Oh, and i almost forgot to express my love for Heru
Planned upgrades (kind of in order): 22" Monitor, Goliathus Omega (mousepad), new chair, Windows 7, CM 690, new desk, Ideazon ZBoard MERC, Sennheiser HD201, bong, DX 11 card(s)+necessary PSU
Epic things happening in 2010: Toy Story 3, new H.I.M album, Supreme Commander 2, MechWarrior, The Elder Scrolls V, Mafia II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Bioshock 2, Crysis 2, Iron Man 2

DarkstarX10a

If that's the case could be just a "cold" side for the MOSFET heatsink. Assuming it's blank underneath it. Not unless they placed a fairly hot chip where the heatsink is.

I logically assume they placed the PCH close to the CPU, where the old northbridge would be. Also I was working under the notion that P55 pch might run fairly hot and needs more than a SB heatsink

Edit:
It's possible they might have moved it seeing this is a gaming board that could possible support multi gpu. And a massive sb heatsink might put a damper on things

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Gr33n Machine

T3h_Ch33z_Muncha

yeah that's usually why they have a huge (but not high) SB heatsink... like on that gigabyte EX58 board (forget which one) which had a huge heatsink just for the ICH10R...

__________________
Please don't call me Muncha, as cheese is not the only insinuatable munchable object; Ch33z will suffice. Oh, and i almost forgot to express my love for Heru
Planned upgrades (kind of in order): 22" Monitor, Goliathus Omega (mousepad), new chair, Windows 7, CM 690, new desk, Ideazon ZBoard MERC, Sennheiser HD201, bong, DX 11 card(s)+necessary PSU
Epic things happening in 2010: Toy Story 3, new H.I.M album, Supreme Commander 2, MechWarrior, The Elder Scrolls V, Mafia II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Bioshock 2, Crysis 2, Iron Man 2

vicious_fishes

more i5 benchies plox.

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