ULi M1697 single-ASIC chipset update
by Brandon Hill on December 8, 2005 2:14 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Today ULi announced it is expanding its reach in thelow-end market with the release of its PCI-Express single-chip M1697 core logic. The M1697 provides full support for Socket 754, 939, 940 and M2 processors and comes loaded with all the features you would expect from a modern AMD chipset. Several weeks ago we divulged ULi's internal roadmap with details on the M1697 chipset, but to reiterate the specifications:
- Two PCIe x1 lanes
- One PCIe x16 lane that can be reconfigured into two PCIe x8 lanes for dual graphics.
- USB 2.0/1.1 PHYs
- Four SATA or eSATA 3.0Gbps interfaces
- 10/100 integrated Ethernet PHY
- 7.1 HD Audio / AC'97 Audio
- TPM 1.2
The new M1697
supports integrated 7.1-channel High
Definition (HD) Audio, SATA/eSATA 3.0Gbps (NCQ supported) and TPM
(trusted platform module) technology. Looking at the features, the only
thing really missing that may be of interest to enthusiasts are two
true x16 lane, GbE and more aggressive hardware RAID support. On the
other hand, ULi is hoping the single chip packaging will actually help
bring the cost of the chipset down, similar to the way NVIDIA's single
chip northbridge did. However, during our chat with Asus a few weeks
ago, we asked them whether or not there was a significant cost
difference between a single-chip chipset or one that uses two and Asus
said that there wasn't a cost difference. That being said,
representives from ULi are confident in their new chipset and have the
backing from industry heavy-hitters to prove it.
By bringing advanced technologies into one single chip,
manufacturers are presented with a solution that enables them to built
motherboards with high-end level of quality and features at a very
competitive price point, said Alex Kuo, President of ULi.
The M1697 breaks the
barriers
in performance, scalability, features, and cost, greatly positioning
ULi to become a preeminent supplier of AMD64 - based
platforms.
ULi's new M1697 will be featured in motherboards from ABIT,
Albatron, ASRock, ASUSTeK, DFI, EPoX, Giga-Byte, Jetway, and MSI by
the end of Q1 2006. We have working samples of M1697 based motherboards
on the way to
our labs so stay tuned for more coverage.
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Furen - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
TPM? Does that mean it's a socket M2-compatible chipset? I must say that the single-chip design is nice.DigitalFreak - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
TPM is Trusted Platform Management, I believe. Stuff that can be used for evil DRM purposes... :-(Furen - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
I know it'll be used for DRM purposes among other things. It'll also be used for authentication, encryption keys, etc. The key point is that M2 CPUs will support presidio, which will need a TP module for "full functionality."VIA's M2 chipset will support TPM but besides that it looks to be completely identical to current chipsets.
bersl2 - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
You're endorsing an updated version of the PIII serial number, where a unique key identifies each machine in hardware. Do you wish to continue arguing in support of "Trusted" Computing?
None of this is about having confidence in the user, as a user is not necessarily tied to any one machine; it's about having confidence in the hardware and software---specifically, confidence that the hardware has not been tampered with (read: modded) and unauthorized software has not been run (but unauthorized by whom? not the user of the machine, that's for sure, for that would defeat the whole purpose). And if it has, the hardware's key can be put on a revocation list, and bannination from using any service that utilizes the list (banks, stores, etc.) from that machine may ensue.
You've already seen this in action in the form of the Xbox. Now imagine what would happen if it were more than Xbox Live that depended on such a list?
Is this what you want?
Furen - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
I never said I liked TPM, I'm just saying that it has other uses besides the ones you hear about (which will probably be abused insanely). The problem is not the technology itself, but the use the content providers put it to. Microsoft, Intel and AMD want to be part of the "digital home" thing and they would be marginalized by all the content providers if they did not use DRM technologies pervasively. If you want to blame someone, blame the the government for allowing content providers to take all "fair-use" rights from consumers.Regardless, I was asking if any TPM-supporting core logic will support socket M2 (which is where TPM will come into play on the AMD side) since only presidio and pacifica will differentiate a current s939 A64 from an M2 one with regards to the core logic (DDR/DDR2 is attached onto the CPU so that has nothing to do with the chipset).
Bull Dog - Thursday, December 8, 2005 - link
Cool, I aways liked ULi's work, but never owned thier chipset due to their lack of features. However tht company offers some pretty neat features/innovations.