Intel has some serious plans for Q3 2009. It plans to launch a new chipset and new platform previously codenamed Ibex Peak and now branded as P55. Intel doesn’t really takes any chances when it comes to chipset branding.
P55 supports both Lynnfield 45nm Nehalem-based quad-cores and IGP dual-core Nehalem codenamed Havendale. It looks that Lynnfield will launch in Q3 2009, while Havendale will slip to Q1 2010. The chipset supports one PCIe 16X or two eight-speed PCIe cards and it is a single chip architecture. It is pin compatible with future Intel 5 series chipsets, but we are not sure if it’s also compatible with the X58.
When it comes to input / output capabilities we are talking about support for 14 USB 2.0 ports with integrated USB 2.0 Rate matching hubs, 6 SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports and an integrated Gigabit LAN. The chipset also supports Integrated Clocking Buffer Through Mode, provides Thermal Sensor Data via SMBUS for discrete Fan Control Solutions and Intel Matrix Storage Technology 9.0.
New Intel matrix storage has a new user interface for managing all storage related tasks, support for RAID 0,1,5 and 10, Rapid recover technology and FIS-based port multiplier support on 2 SATA ports.
As you can see graphics is not part of the chipset; but if you use P55 with Havendale, you will get the IGP from the CPU. Leaving the graphics out of the chipset will significantly reduce the cost of the chipset and its size.