Intel confirms DDR-400, 800MHz boxed motherboards

UPDATE We hear that things change so fast at the Mighty Intella that the firm has changed the codename for the Shiprock -- already -- to Bonanza. Shiprock was the name until this week. Bonanza is a small town in southern Oregon, and we suppose the name has been changed instead one of those wicked people that work at the STINQuirer start calling it Shipwreck...

WHILE SOME US sites still seem to doubt that Intel will introduce an 800MHz front side bus (FSB) for the Springdale chipsets it's currently testing, resellers familiar with the firm's plan confirm that's exactly what's happening with the Pentium 4.

Further, the firm has also told its resellers and distributors about the "Canterwood" chipset, as first revealed here last week.

Again, Intel will completely rid itself of Pentium 4s supporting the 400MHz system bus in 2003, and have also told the resellers of the introduction of DDR-400 for its platforms.

The firm has also unveiled the names of its own boxed motherboards which will support the 800MHz buses and DDR-400, further confirming our original story.

These come in four flavours, and are codenamed Shiprock (SK), Rock Lake (RL), Bayfield (BF) and La Cross (LC).

Shiprock includes support for dual DDR-400, AGP 8X, ICH 5 and Serial ATA, while Rock Lake is a similar board.

Bayfield supports dual DDR-400 too, but has integrated graphics and AGP8X, while a microATX motherboard, the La Cross, also supports integrated graphics but has AGP8X.

The current boards using the 850E and the 845PE chipsets, the D850EMV2, the D850EMD2, the D850EMVR, the 845PEBT2 and the D845PESV morph into Shiprock and into Rock Lake in Q2 next year.

Bayfield and La Cross take over from the D845WN/HV, the D845GEBV2 and the D845GERG2 in the same time period.

The D845GLAD2, the D845GLAD and the D845GLLY are slated to continue with Celeron support throughout 2003.

Although there doesn't appear currently to be any support for Intel own motherboards and the 2.40GHz hyperthreading Pentium 4s which it will also release in Q2 of next year, there's little doubt it will offer its own boxed mobos for these chips too.

Springdale PE and Springdale P both offer hyperthreading support.

Intel has plans to offer 802.11b on its desktop products beginning the first half of next year, and thinks its resellers will offer machines without a PS/2 port, an FDD and a serial port round about that time. µ

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