<@Kubicki> OK hi everyone, we have the channel muted right now so we can see the response from ASUS and Intel for all of your questions <@Kubicki> Who is here from ASUS right now? <+ASUS_PM> Hello, it's Sharon, ASUS motherboard product manager. <+ASUS_PCF> This is Alex, the ASUS BIOS engineer. <+AS_George> George, team leader of RDMB1 dep. <@Kubicki> Hi Sharon, great to see you again! It looks like Joseph just got disconnected, hopefully he will be back very soon. <@Kubicki> OK, and who is here from Intel as well? <+Ala_intel> Hi Ala, Rebecca and Shaun from chipset product marketing are on the line <@Kubicki> excellent! <@Kubicki> OK, well lets just jump right into some questions from our users <@Kubicki> Several of our readers would like us to talk a little bit about MOD . Mobile on Desktop. <@Kubicki> Can Intel perpahps give us a little bit of introduction to what is MOD, and maybe some of the long term goals? <+Ala_intel> Sure <+Ala_intel> Intel is moving toward a platform oriented company with a focus on Digital Home and Digital Office. <@Kubicki> So for mobile on desktop, will we see motherboards and processors geared mostly for entry level components? Or will there be enthusiast devices as well? <+Ala_intel> We see the MOD systems as a Digital Home platform. There are segments within the DH such as an entertainment PC or All-in-One that are best served by small form factors that leverage mobile features in a desktop FF <@Kubicki> ASUS, how will MOD impact new products at ASUS? Any future plans? <+ASUS_PM> For motherboard maker's point of view, MOD will be a new product line <+ASUS_PM> No matter solution slike mobile socker adapter like our CT479, or MB with mobile socket <@Kubicki> Ala: Roto asks if this new Digital Home platform will still be an ATX-based platform. Or will we see BTX more here? <+Ala_intel> The platform is designed for a specific segment within the digital home called Mini Platforms. End users however are free to implement these platforms as it applies to their needs <@Kubicki> Ah very good. <+Ala_intel> We expect more platforms in the future to migrate to BTX. This is Intel's direction also <@Kubicki> ASUS_PM: Speaking of the CT479, will this product continue to stay viable with Yonah? Or, will users who already have an adaptor need a new adaptor for Yonah? <+AS_George> Not support! The pin definition are different between Centrino & Yonah! <+AS_George> & the IVMP revision is not the same! <@Kubicki> OK :) Thank you George! <+ASUS_PM> For Yonah, we will provide product with mobile chipset and CPU socket onboard <@Kubicki> Intel, Tuan asks about TPM integration onto new Intel chips. Can you help us understand Intels position there? <@Kubicki> While Intel is working on that one, ASUS can you tell us more about BTX plans? Are there any specific motherboards we will see BTX revisions of? <+Ala_intel> TPM is supported on Intel chipsets today. We expect this to be focused primarily on Digital Office applications where security is a bigger focus. <@Kubicki> Ala, OK great :) some of your competitors are just catching on to TPM right now, it looks like they have some catching up to do <+ASUS_PM> We are planing BTX solution based on the upcoming Broadwater chipset in 2006. <@Kubicki> .Jan Schultz. from email says: .There have been several websites that say Antec power supplies do not work correctly with many motherboards, including the ASUS A8N-SLI. Why is this a problem?. To expand on that - is this just a specific example of poor power supply build quality? <@Kubicki> Are specifications harder for the power supply manufacturers to follow? ASUS or Intel, can you provide us with some insight as to why we are hearing more and more cases of interoperability problems with power supplies. <@Tuan> (for those curious what TPM is, it stands for Trusted Platform Module, and is typically implemented at the hardware level by a chip or integrated into the chipset, and assists software authenticate whether the system is authorized to run that particular piece of software or not) <+AS_George> Yes! Actually The story is long enough! <+Ala_intel> Intel is working with the industry to help decrease overall platform adders for TPM based solutions. Typically it take some time for other players to join in & then platform costs come down <@Kubicki> Ala: A lot of our readers look at TPM as an "evil" technology -- can you help us understand some of the long term goals of TPM? <+AS_George> About power supply problem, the most cases are relative to power balance, unbalanced power delivery makes power supply fail on regulation. <@Tuan> (an example of TPM being used in the real world is with Apple's upcoming OSX x86, which relies on TPM to authenticate the system) <@Kubicki> George: so the fault of motherboards failing with certain power supplies - is it directly a problem with the manufacturers of the power supplies or the manufacturers of the motherboards? <+AS_George> I think both MB & PS maker should solve this problem together. <+Ala_intel> We don't have the right people in the room to talk to TPM goals. We understand that there are some concerns with technologies that store data and this concern can be likend to "evil" technology <@Kubicki> Haha, yes, but specifically - should our readers be getting a new motherboard or a new power supply when problems like this arise? <@Kubicki> Hi Ala, no problem! Maybe we can squeeze some more about this in the 4th session :) <+AS_George> MB maker should add some loading on +5V & PS maker should increase the range of +5V minimized loading. <+Ala_intel> OK - we'll ask around :-) <@Kubicki> The Dempsey launch just occurred a few weeks ago. The new FB-DIMM has several of our reader.s attention including Viditor who asks: .Will there be Benseley platforms that use standard DDR2 dimms (e.g. for 1u servers)? If so, what performance difference do you expect between it and the FBD version?. Perhaps more generally, can you help us understand the role in FB-DIMM? Is it here to stay permanently, or will it exist only for a niche market? <+ASUS_PM> Sorry, I have no idea about the compatibility issue of Antec PSU and A8N-SLI board. <+Ala_intel> Sorry - we do not have server experts in the room <+AS_George> other than power balance problem, some power supply may have abnormal behavior on power on sequence. <@Kubicki> ASUS, perhaps you can help us with some light on the FB-DIMM market? <+ASUS_PM> Nether do ASUS teams... <@Kubicki> haha OK! Well thats OK we have other questions too <@Kubicki> Several of our readers are interested about integrated wireless on the motherboard. .Hacp. writes: .When, if ever do you see integrated wireless becoming a standard feature [on] today's desktop motherboards?. Will wireless become as cheap and prevalent as RAID has? <+ASUS_PM> ASUS should be the 1st MB maker to make wireless (wifi-g) on motherboard in 2004. <+ASUS_PM> And it really got good feedback from users <@Kubicki> ASUS, outstanding! So this will actually be integrated onto the motherboard and no longer an adaptor? Is interference an issue? Also, can you disclose which chipset you plan to adopt? <+Ala_intel> Currently the cost of integrating wireless on desktop platforms exceeds what the desktop market can bear from cost perspective. <+Ala_intel> In addition, there are cheaper add in solutions that are very convenient in market today (ie. USB adaptors) <+ASUS_PM> We think wireless (with AP function) is the key factor to make "digital home" come true, surely we will provide more product with wireless onboard <+ASUS_PM> And it's chipset or platform free, we will choose some product lines to do it <+Ala_intel> What companies like ASUS are doing is exactly the momentum we need to proliferate integrated wireless on the desktop <@Kubicki> Speaking of digital home, what about high end audio? The audion Intel chipsets today is quite good, but are there thoughts on raising the bar to compete with some of the high fidelity chips right now? <+ASUS_PM> High definition audio is still the mainstream for our new product lines. With S/PDIF out connector, and Dolby feature on some products, users could enjoy good audio quality with onboard CODEC. <+Ala_intel> Intel High Definition Audio provides a high quailty/low cost solution today that rivals many high end discrete solutions. In fact, Dolby has selected Intel HD Audio as the HW audio component for their Dolby PC Entertainment Experieince program which delivers Dolby sound experience to the PC <@Kubicki> Very cool - <@Kubicki> To change pace a bit: <@Kubicki> .Googer. from our forums is interested in the Quad Channel Memory demonstrations that Intel showcased a few years ago. To Intel specifically: What has come of this? Are there any new details you can tell us about it? <+Ala_intel> And Dolby has very high standards for endorsing any audio solution as they are one of the leaders in this field <@Tuan> in terms of maintaining fidelity in the Intel HD audio solutions, does Intel define the requirements for other important components such as the DACs on the motherboard or does Intel leave that up to the board manufacturers? <+Ala_intel> We demo many different technologies to see the potential and acceptance in the marketplace. But not all these technologies make it to market. We have not heard of additional plans for quad channel memory. <@Kubicki> I didn't think so either Ala - It's very hard to migrate technologies like that on a whim. Maybe we will see some more stuff in a few years or at IDF :) <+Ala_intel> We have Intel HD Audio specs for our customers that they can design to. Intel HD Audio is standards based. <@Kubicki> ASUS, we went over this a little bit in the last few conferences, but can you give us some more info. What is the purpose of releasing a Crossfire supported BIOS for teh P5WD2 Premium? Oyster asks specifically, "which cards are supported by this bios, and in what lane configuration?" <@Kubicki> Also, has there been definitive word from ATI to accept drivers for this? <@Tuan> (In otherwords Intel defines the minimum spec to allow for enjoyment of HD audio but the manufacturers are free to add even higher quality components if they choose to) <+Ala_intel> Thanks Tuan - great answer! <+Ala_intel> ASUS is one of those companies who takes the standard spec and adds additional value for its customers <+AS_George> On P5WD2 Premium, we support crossfire (actually said ATI support it) with X800 series & X1K series card. <@Kubicki> George: the X1300 and X1600 do not need any special master cards for Crossfire - I assume these cards also work with the motherboard? <+AS_George> The lan configuration is always with 1 16X & 1 4X lane. <+ASUS_PM> Intel and ATI achieved license agreement of Crossfire support on Intel 955 and 975 chipset <@Kubicki> ASUS_PM: but no license agreement yet for NVIDIA SLI, right? <+ASUS_PCF> To have a BIOS to support crossfire on P5WD2 is just showing our commitment to our customers: if possible, we will keep our products updated and support the newest tech. <+AS_George> For P5WD2-E, the configuration can be 2 8X. <@Tuan> >> Hi Everyone, in 20 minutes will will open up for questions from users in the channel, please message Kubicki if you have something you would like to discuss. Thanks! <@Kubicki> George, you say "can be" -- does that mean we can reconfigure it? <+ASUS_PCF> No, you could not reconfigure the lane width. It's automatically configured. <+Ala_intel> There is no license needed to support SLI or Crossfire. The discrete graphics card companies must have drivers to support either solution. <+ASUS_PM> As to SLI, currently no VGA driver support on Intel chipset <+AS_George> As I know at least it can configured as 1 16X & 2 8X. <@Kubicki> Ah, thank you for clearing that up Ala. <@Kubicki> ASUS: Aleon from our forums just asked: <@Kubicki> Is there a chance to see the 8 phase being used on a non SLI s939 board in the near future? <+ASUS_PCF> Yes, if you plug only one x16 card, it's x16. If you added two in 975, then you have 2x8. <+ASUS_PM> 8-phase solution is targeted for high power-consumption chipset, and currently only nForce4 SLI series chipsets are selected to support it. <+ASUS_PM> We will expand this design to more products in the future, including different CPU socket. <@Kubicki> So will wee see the 8-phase on more boards? <+ASUS_PCF> Yes <@Kubicki> Intel: Ribbon13 from our forums asks: We will see complete removal of PCI slots soon? Are there legacy-free broadwater motherboard designs? <+Ala_intel> With legacy technologies such as PCI that is so previlant in the market, we expect it to stay around for a while <@Tuan> I agree with that as well. ISA was around for a very long time, and PCI has an even greater market establishment than ISA did. <@Kubicki> Well that is reassuring <+Ala_intel> Broadwater chipset supports PCI. However mobo manuf can implement what they want <@Kubicki> Ala: there is some speculation about Broadwater not supporting PATA, can you help clear this up? <+ASUS_PM> For ASUS, we will keep PCI design in 2006 projects, since it's still generally adopted now. <+Ala_intel> We can't comment about specific BW features yet. Intel will continue to drive SATA transition. <@Tuan> Ala, to expand on some questions about PCI and its derivatives, when PCI Express was still called 3GIO, there were specifications for modular (externally plugable) PCI express components that could exist and function outside of the traditional PC box. Will we be seeing a realization of this part of the PCIe spec in the near future? <@Kubicki> Understood - <@Tuan> (I originally understood that whole systems could connect to each other via an external PCI Express bus, the way Fiber Channel does) <+Ala_intel> We do not have the right people to respond on the external plugable PCI Express <@Kubicki> Ala, anything specific you would like us to talk about before we open the channel back up to our readers? <@Tuan> OKay no problem. :) <@Kubicki> Penth just asked: Until formed the UEFI http://www.eufi.org organization to replace the aging BIOS. What progress is being made with that? Is UEFI something we will see more of in the future? <+Ala_intel> We really appreiciate these forums & the questions that come from these chats. For more information, please visit http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/. We (Ala & Rebecca) really enjoyed talking to our end users through this forum!! <@Kubicki> Oyster also has another question for everyone, "Do [they] see more than 2 x16 lanes for PCI graphics in the future?" <@Kubicki> Thank you so much Ala! <@Kubicki> ASUS, do you have anything you would like to add before we open the channel up? <+Ala_intel> Thanks! <@Tuan> I guess they are on a tight time constraint <@Kubicki> Now that Intel has signed off, who wants to ask some fun questions to ASUS? <@Kubicki> :) <+ASUS_PM> Thanks a lot! <+ASUS_PCF> Thanks for concerining about the future of BIOS. We see UEFI is just one other BIOS. <+ASUS_PCF> And the replacement of aging BIOS by UEFI, maybe it is just like we saw Windows replacing the DOS. <@Kubicki> haha - good analogy PCF :) > One week from today, we'll have our final chat with Asus and Intel at 6pm EST. Anand will be joining us for this final chat, so be sure to attend. Make sure to post any questions you still might have for Asus and Intel @ http://labs.anandtech.com/asusforum.php so that we can prepare for next week's webchat. Will Asus be as dedicated with future AMD products as you were with the A8N 32 SLI Deluxe? Its been awhile since we've seen such a massively tweaked board from Asus for an AMD platform low power consumption is my top priority (cost & noise reduction!) Asus: one of your guys mentioned earlier within this forum about a revision in the pipeline for the already available A8N32 what progress will You deliver ? a new revision now we have boards with raid, hd-audio, g wi-fi, 8 phase, external sata ports, etc etc whats going to be the next big thing on motherboards? Looks like its back to a normal open chat then, without special corporate representatives I read that the UEFI bios replacement is supposed to require Trusted Computing on computers at the most basic level. I'm not sure I like it ASUS: Do you see major performance gains for Intel's upcoming chips? Specifically, do they perform better than AMD's flagship processors? <@Kubicki> ASUS, can you help me asnwer this real quick <@Kubicki> Micha asks: Peple with X2 CPUs on A8N32-SLI can't get voltage over 1.58V, while ones with single core CPUs get over 1.7V. Does BIOS on this mobo somehow restrict voltage for duals to max 1.58V Here's one, how long do you see it being before PCI-E starts replacing PCI for peripherals other than video cards? Asus - most peple with A8N32-SLI and X2 CPUs can't get over 1.58V core voltage, while ones with singles get over 1.7V. Is it some kind of BIOS restriction? ANANDTECH: I know we have one more similar chat session, but can we do this more frequently? With other companies? <@Kubicki> lol Micha you beat me to it :) <+AS_George> To oyster, personally I don't see performance gaining with Intel's new chipset. Will we see any Asus branded boards with ULi chipsets? <@Kubicki> Oyster: We have several manufactures lined up laready, we might do this once a week with various companies, not just limited to motherboard people either That chipsets will implement asus in its motherboards with the Socket M2? I would also like you guys to interact more with your users on these channels Id love to have one with AMD, Tyan, DFI, ATI, Nvidia, and others that way we can have a live channel 24/7 <@Kubicki> Roto: we might have some US merchants as well Ronin` I know there has to be peripherals, but not all of us update our motherboard every six months ;) <+AS_George> to Micha, I believe the restriction is due to proetct the lifetime of chipset. <@Kubicki> CHteam: NVIDIA MCP55 AS_George: 4any dates for ATI's RD580? And AMD's support for DDR2? DDR 2 is coming out on M2 in mid 2006. thats already known. <+AS_George> AMD do support DDR2 memory in their M2 CPU roadmap. RD580 probably wont be around for another two months minimum <@Kubicki> CHteam: Check this out: http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2584 Asus, as a manufacturer, do you prefer some technologies over others? ASUS: Are you seeing very big performance gains with the switch to DDR2 and Socket M2? ^^good question^^ <+AS_George> To Dangler, that's really a big question to me. We're trying best to provide new ideas. <@Kubicki> Penth: I think the silicon is too early to tell performance as well. We have a very early M2 chip here, but it isn't stable enough to test with Asus you need to rearrange the PCI slots on the new A8N32 i know you were constrained because of the xtra chipset and the heatpipes .. but im sure you can over come this04 Some people with chilled water or phase change really hates it - any chance for bios revision for them. If they fry their CPUs it's not your responsibility (but I may be wrong there...) I suppose shoving more voltage up the transisters isnt helping either Kubicki <+AS_George> To Penth, In the early stage, I don't think there's too many performance gain for M2. AS_George: 4this is a good one: you came out with your own solution of a TV Tuner card on P5WD2 Premium. Do you see the support for HDTV, especially now that you have the bandwidth of PCI-X, in your future boards? my friend have a A8N-SLI Premiun and have some temperatures problems, its is really? an AT article showed minimal performance gains when running at DDR500. Definitely nowhere near the increase in memory speed from DDR400 to DDR500. That's why I'm thinking there won't be a great increase in performance right at first <@Kubicki> Penth very true - there is some speculation as to the memory multipliers changing around <@Kubicki> we will have to see how that affects things does x16 or x4 matter because they cant uses the full bandwidth anyways Idea: can you make a secondary channel called, say, #asuschat_chat that we can carry on chatting in while this rooms moderated? X16 makes no difference over X8 cooler: that's the reason i wanna see how they perform X4 might be a bit different but this is X4 yeah but thats effort Because its about AGP 8X