Intel Communications Streaming Architecture to double Ethernet performance

WHEN INTEL RELEASES its 865x (Springdale) and i875P (Canterwood) chipsets, which isn't very long away now, one of the benefits it will claim is far better Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) networking.

That is, if you use Intel's own technology.

This comes under the heading of CSA (communications streaming architecture) and it claims throughput will increase from 930Mbps with PCI to a staggering 1.675Gbps using CSA.**

If the claims are true, perhaps we should re-name it communications steaming architecture, instead.

How will it do this? Intel claims that CSA will allow direct access to system memory, with GbE traffic given priority, coupled with a low latency design and 266MB/s given exclusively to networking IO (input/output).

It's an Intel proprietary architecture and has a dedicated GbE port, and that means SIS and Via will have additional pressure on their chipsets. You don't get CSA without an Intel chipset, so posing the question of whether these chipset makers will bung GbE onto their south bridges pretty soon now. Essentially, it will give full performance on desktop Intel chipsets.

It will also relieve the strain on the CPU, promises better management of simultaneous data streams, and the 1.5 volt interface will also ease the power overhead.

Intel also claims that because, for example, the 865G will have a dedicated network bus, this is going to help overall. It also claims that hyperthreading technology, which will be run through its entire series of Pentium 4 desktop CPUs in the second quarter, will help performance even more, though the jury is still out on this.

As Intel will position the 865G as a corporate mainstream chipset, it's easy to see where the chip giant is coming from here.

It is directly appealing to IT managers who already have enough problems with Ethernet traffic and wouldn't mind doubling up the performance on a mobo itself. µ

* IF YOU MISSED the pictures of Springdale and Canterwood Asus motherboards, see the Hardware Roundup, today.

** CORRECTED FROM Mbps to Gbps. Apologies.