7. ICH6-M With SATA, Express Card Support And High-Definition Audio

In terms of the range of functions, the new Southbridge is similar to the desktop versions of the ICH6. This means there will be no I/O controller hub named ICH5-M; Intel jumped directly from ICH4-M to ICH6-M.

The new I/O controller hub supports, among other things, the operation of up to four SATA drives. You might think this means Intel also brought RAID functionality into the notebook at the same time, but if so, you will be disappointed. We should also point out that there are not many compelling advantages for going to SATA in a notebook at this time. There is no performance benefit because 2.5" notebook drives don't support native or tagged command queuing, which provides a burst of performance with some SATA desktop hard drives. Also, the advantage of SATA's simple cabling does not apply to notebooks because notebook hard drives are more or less plugged in directly to the notebook's motherboard. To make matters worse, SATA 2.5" hard drives are relatively rare in the market and, compared with corresponding PATA models, they're expensive.

The chipset now supports up to eight USB 2.0 ports and - this is a novelty - four PCIe-x1 ports. Some people will naturally wonder, "where the heck are you supposed to install PCIe cards in a notebook, and why would you want to?" One possibility is using the slots for PCIe variations of connections similar to those that already exist in many notebooks for Mini-PCI WLAN and Mini-PCI Modem modules. Much more important, however, is that appropriate solutions will be offered that will be based on a new I/O card standard for notebooks and desktop PCs: Express Card .

This logo denotes the new generation I/O cards

The I/O cards based on the Express Card standard will be available in two types: Express Card|54 and Express Card|34. The number denotes the card's physical width.

From left to right: Card-Bus-PC card, Express Card|54 and Express Card|34

The cards communicate with the chipset either via PCIe or USB. The slots for the cards resemble the PC card slot, but have been renamed PC Express Card slots. The Express Card standard is expected to replace CardBus in the medium term.

Due to the high bandwidth that a PCIe-x1 lane offers, HDTV or Dual-TV tuner solutions for notebooks, for example, will be possible. Because the Express Card communicates directly with the chipset via PCIe, no expensive bridge chips are required. Consequently, Express Card solutions should in theory be not only faster but less expensive than corresponding CardBus products.

Last but not least, we should point out that the chipset family now also supports Intel High Definition Audio . As with all of the above-named options, the notebook producer alone decides whether the notebook is fitted with it or falls back on the well-tried and inexpensive AC97 solution. For customers who assign importance to this equipment feature and such functions as audio multi-streaming, then check to make sure this option is provided on the notebook you are considering.