Intel Skulltrail Motherboard Sneak Peek
A few months ago, at the fall Intel Developer’s Forum, we got some hands-on time with an Intel Skulltrail system and were able to snap a handful pictures and document a few benchmark scores. At the time, Skulltrail was still in it the pre-production phase as Intel had a few changes in store for the platform, but it was mature enough for the company to show off what Skulltrail had in store.
As we mentioned in our initial look at Skulltrail, the platform is built around an Intel server-class motherboard tweaked for the enthusiast market. It also features dual 45nm quad-core processors for a total of eight cores, and because the Skulltrail mobo is outfitted with a pair of NVIDIA-built chips, it would support SLI as well. In our article from IDF we had a couple of pictures of a Skulltrail system, but because it was fully assembled and featured dual graphics cards, it was tough to see the foundation of the system – the motherboard – in all its glory.
;)
What we have for you here, however, is an up close and personal look at the Skulltrail platform's D5400XS Intel ATX motherboard from a couple of different angles. As you can see, the Southbridge and dual NVIDIA nForce 100 MCP chips are actively cooled by a large fan-sink cooler. Our pics of Skulltrail from IDF showed a trio of small heatsinks, so things have changed a bit. The motherboard has four PCI Express x16 slots and dual standard PCI slots. Aluminum heatsinks cover the Northbridge and some of the components around both LGA771 Xeon CPU sockets.
As for I/O, the board has six internal SATA ports, a single IDE port, and headers for additional USB and Firewire ports. On the IO plate, no legacy connectors are to be found, but it does have six USB ports, dual eSATA ports, single Firewire and Gigabit Ethernet jacks, and analog and digital HD audio inputs / outputs.
We should know more about Skulltrail in the coming weeks. When we have more information regarding installation, overclocking, performance, pricing and availability, we’ll be sure to post the details.
Comments
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Freakin' awesome!!! |
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Hi All, I want one!!! |
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What many gamer enthusiasts do not even foresee when they purchase this gaming motherboard is that they will forced to buy everything on the high end, this means high-end graphic cards, 2 Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9750 CPU's; the graphics will cost you about $400 a piece; The Intel D5400XS "Skull Trail" will cost you at about $650; 2 Western Digital Rapor X 159GB HDD's or 2 Seagate Barracuda 1TB which are way up there in price. Consider the other components, such as Case, Monitor,PSU, Optical Drives, workmanship, softwares also do not come for free, this gaming station will surely surpass the $10,000 dollar mark, making perhaps the most expensive gaming motherboard in history. This is for the serious enthusiast, gamer and gaming programmers who may have the cash. |
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The Intel Skull Trail will not be Compatible for lower models of CPU's such as the Core Duo's, Core 2 Duos; not even the Quad's will be compatible with the exception of the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9750. |
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Hi All, What do you think Recovering, is this the Motherboard or what! I wonder how much it'll cost? |
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I'm jonesing for this one too. I must be out of my mind. I gave it to Marco to cover. I should have at least rock-paper-scissors for it! |
lol It's not something I'll likely ever own, but It'd be fun to play around with a souped up system built on 1!!! |
Davo:|
So, Id love this motherboard in my system but if the rumor price of 500 plus dollars is true it probably wont happen. |
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Considering it would be a waste to put anything less than the best components in this beast, $500 would make this MB the least expensive component. |
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Pretty much, but it sure would be nice... wonder if I could do some freelance hits for the mob to make some extra cash??? |
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This is a prime example of how fools and thier money are soon parted. An 8 core gaming rig, yup, great idea. Lets put as many cores as we can to run an app that is notoriuosly single threaded. Hell..you could play Quake 4, Crysis, Half Life 2 and encode a DivX file all at the same time and still have lots of CPU cycles left over for Folding at Home. Before the flaming starts...this would be one hell of a high end video editing comp and also great for the multi..multi..multi tasker. But as a gaming rig..a HUGE waste of money. Then again this is just my opinion. As a side note, this thing would make a great VISA/MC commercial. |
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Your totally right WiFuzzy, this is absolutly overkill for gaming, some "nextgen" games take advantage from dual core systems but NOT from a octo-core, you would have at least 6 cores free!! Indeed this would be a great video/compositing system and an even better rendering system. The only thing that bugs me it's that this is a LGA771 Xeon class board: It will only run on Xeon pcu's and those dont come cheap :s ( I wich it was 775, because with 2x Q6600 and 500€ you'd had a 8 core Killing machine :D ) |
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I would have to agree here as well Fuzz. You really don't need an octal-core rig to game, you need more GPU throughput and even then, you can reach diminishing returns at a certain level. I personally think 2-way SLI GeForce 8800 Ultras right now are the sweet spot but if you have money to burn and don't mind a louder system with proper cooling, 3-Way is pretty sweet if you're into overkill. |
That's all I was tryin to say. |
Video Editing is exactly what I would do with a system like this. Though even with video editing you would not be able to use all the cores. But for multi-tasking and such a system like this would be great to have the extra cores to use for many different programs running while your working. A system like this would be a perfect match for the video editing I currently do and I could get into even HD video editing with the extra power as well. |
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God...BEASTTTTT. Video editing would indeed be a dream, along with 3d modeling as well ^_^. The render power is just massive...Also coupled with the SSE4 instruction set, SSE4 capable encoding applications must seriously fly. Regarding the HD Video, only issue would be hard drives, need a raid solution in order to deal with massive HD files. Afterall, hard drives are the biggest bottle neck in systems =P...That is unless you have a Fusion IO =P.
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I'd have to figure out what to do with it after I wiped up all the drool. For a while at least there'd be a market to box it up and carry it around to different tech functions which I'm sure you could manage to get paid for. Then while your there hook up with the booth babes and tech ladies. That alone would make it worth it. |
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hhhhaaaaaaaaahhhhhaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhaaaaa!!!WiFuzzy .. u gotta warn me the nex time.. u almost killed me here.. |
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2 x penryn Q9650 $2200 |
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More power !!! /Grunt |
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Would this work with the 3-way SLI? |
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Benchmarks have shown that tri-sli (gtx or ultra only may apply) will give you only 25 fps in Crysis maxed out. Spend 6 grand for 25fps? I don't think so. That is why the possible game of the year has not sold. I bought Flight Sim X when it released and have put it back in its box until I can get minimum 30fps maxed. Thank our game god for Bioschock. I set Bioshock at max |
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Tell me this will work with penryn (not xeon) and I can quad any Nvidia board (gts will overclock to gtx speed) and I'm IN. My next upgrade will be in 2015AD. |
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It will work with Xeon and Extreme Processors only (QX9750). |
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ppl, ive lots of comments about rigging this mobo with 2x qx9650 cpus but let me tell you that penryn desktop cpus (LGA775) will not work on this mobo. Only the the penryn xeons and the qx9775 (LGA771) will work on this mobo |
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~retracted, but without apology~ |
I can't agree with this at all Recover, sorry. I think there is some valuable input here from a lot of new folks and I for one, welcome them. I'm not saying I agree with every comment but every one has a different opinion and that's what makes the world go-round. That's my 2 cents anyway. |
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What ev. |
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That's right Sheep, this is a Xeon-based workstation board. Notice the reference to LGA771 for the socket and not LGA775? Good points all around. |
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I don't know about you but my first reaction upon seeing the dual LGA771 sockets is, "The only way anyone is going to be able to purchase one of these is to bow down at the alter of Steve Jobs and pay up at the Apple store for a $4-5K Mac Pro." When is the Mac World Expo again... |
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I would choose a Mac Pro over this any day... |
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Just to let you guys know that "Zsdad", "freman", and "Isadobereaderfree" are all the same person. its really intresting when you get to see the IP's for everyone, some people make some really intresting coversations with themself...lol |
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I for one have no intention of becoming a sharecropper on Steve Jobs's plantation. |
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I have to agree all around to the various disparaging remarks here. If you maxed with all 8 cores and you ran QUAD SLI here, the slowest hardware in the box is ur hard drives. And further, you have to consider the limitation of socket 771 instead of 775, and the debilitating effect of the RAM sys on the D5400XS - with 4-channel memory, you get hellaciously fast writes, but the reads get beat by quality DDR2 and DDR3 RAM. So if I were going to start spending all the money it would take to soup up something like this SkullTrail, I would have to look more at GigaByte's Quad-X48 system wwhich is also Quad-SLI capable.
Nevertheless, give me one of these rigs and THAT would shut me tfU LOL ;P
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This motherboard is incredible. I can't wait to try one out. The best thing is that it is up for grabs here at this forum. :) Hopefully one of use will be lucky enough to bring happyness and joy to their life. :) |
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If the Skulltrail doesn't give you Motherboard Wood then you might need Viagra. LOL |
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When I saw no legacy ports, my heart just fell. I wouldn't be able to fit this into my Iogear 4 port crunching complex! This was going to displace the last AMD in my farm, the FX-60. Perhaps someone else will make this board with some PS2 ports? |
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Admittedly, we all have little pieces in our system(s) we cherish, the use of which over time has become so ingrained that we hardly notice we're reaching out and using them until they fail, OR won'tplug in anywhere. But that is also the beauty of so many different manufacturers andvendors, with wide varieties of specialized products. My personal qualm with many newer boards is the single or non-existent IDE connector, as I still have many IDE hard disc and dual-layer DVD drives, still under warranty even! However, there are always work-arounds to be had: USB/FireWire enclosures for 3.5" and 5.25" drives, and for those with multi-PS2 requirements there are USB-adapters; I am using one such cable adapter right now for both mouse and keyboard :D One of my personal pet peeves for a couple three four years now has been one of the most primally DINOSAURIC devices still around, the FLOPPY DRIVE. I can't stand them, and when I have to repair a system that has one I can feel not only its slowdown effect on that PC but its creepy tentacles grabbing at MY ankles too! ;( So I am glad there is no floppy connector onboard, but with 1000s of folks out there cherishing this and that essay from college on their collection of 1.44MB diskettes, I can understand why Intel integrated a floppy controller via a 3rd-party I/O chip. While there are certains aspects of this system any of us might ppick upon, the whole shlameel is certainly the heart of a PC that I wouldn't have to upgrade for YEARS, no matter what killer game or app just hit the scene. So, thanks Intel, and thanx HotHardware for giving the most of us the chance to win and play on one of these gems! HOO-AH!!! |
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The Skulltrail is very tempting but it is hard to justify it when just around the corner a whole new platform looms. The lower power consumptions, higher performance, and new pin patterns make this the last dance for the 771. |
True, but you "ALWAYS" have something around the corner and this is especially true with computers. So, you can wait for the next best thing....and wait....and wait....and wait.....or you can go with what you can get or afford at the time. 2 to 6 months later what you buy today even if it is THE THING to get it will be outdated. Buy the newest platform and it will soon be outdated. Always! Welcome to the computer age! |
That may be true, but you can't relate it to nehalem. This is a entire platform change, grab a skulltrail board and you can't upgrade to anything. That isn't very convenient. The something around the corner mindset only relates to products of the same platform..But a complete platform change is something else. Especially considering the massive performance gap between core and Nehalem. I stated it in another thread, if this was speaking in regards of having 65nm core and 45nm penryn around the corner...I would agree..But not when a new platform that will kill all prior chipsets and sockets.... |
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EXACTLY! Bring on the Skulltrail! |
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I would dearly love to have a Skulltrail, that much horsepower and overclocking ability is a dream come true. |
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If I had 8 cores at my disposal, there's no way I'd let them go to waste. A person should have a certain willingness/eagerness to try & learn new things inherently, but a machine like that would certainly be 1 heck of a motivator!!! |
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Davo: I wasn't stating I'd be waiting for...lol...Anything is better than this 3.2 prescott! ROFL. But yea...if I had enough money to get a new rig, I'd probably grab a q6600 or q9450 rig right now, than when nehalem is released and the reviews are out on boards and overclocking potential, i'd pick up a new board and a nehalem cpu, and drop the prior quad into a spare rig for 24/7 folding goodness =D. But yea guys, the difference between skulltrail and nehalem?..Skulltrail will cost you a arm and a leg, where as nehalem will be a more affordable platform =P...but time is an issue...But once again though, there is always something good around the corner, but when it's a completely new socket that kills everything off, you just can't relate it to that argument. Anything you buy now, you can't upgrade, you buy nehalem, atleast you can upgrade to the 32nm shrink or other related cpu's for 2 years down the road =P. |
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While true again, there will always be new platforms after nehalem as well. I see your point though, but things change all the time. Platforms, sockets, ect. Sandy Bridge confirms this as true. So, should a person wait till Sandy Bridge to upgrade or should they go with what they can get and afford now? For me, let me have a skulltrail now and I won't "need" to upgrade for a LONG while. There are faster computers out there now than what I am running, A LOT faster and also will be, but to have a skulltrail now that would be AWESOME! Besides reading up on Intel's plans they plan to change platforms every two years. That's fine by me. Doesn't mean I have to upgrade each and every platform. |
Being on the bleeding edge of technology is not for everyone. Nor can everyone afford to do so. Sure, there is always something better around the corner as I said before and when that something comes out then the prices for the others come down. Even though nehalem is so great not everyone will be able to jump on the bandwagon, besides its a while before nehalem gets here anyways. Skulltrail is NOW! ;){kind=link}
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According to Toms Hardware, it will not support DDR 2 Memory, only DDR3. |
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Actually. . . "Since the D5400XS motherboard is equipped with the 5400 workstation chipset, which supports neither DDR2 nor DDR3 memory,the Skulltrail system can only be equipped with FB-DIMM modules. Fully buffered modules were originally developed for use in workstation and server systems and were never meant to find their way in desktop computers. At their core, FB-DIMMs are a refined type of DDR2 memory that uses a serial data connection to the memory controller instead of a parallel one. This makes it completely incompatible with standard DDR2 and DDR3 memory." found here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-skulltrail-part-1,1768-12.html |
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