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Besides the IXP250, ATI offers two alternative South Bridges connected to the A-Link bus: IXP150 and IXP200. These two chips are simplified versions of the IXP250, featuring no power-saving functions. The IXP150 is also devoid of the network controller. ATI promises to release one version of the South Bridge with the so badly needed SerialATA support. According to ATI, it is going to appear in the first quarter of 2004.
Thus, it is only possible to build an inexpensive mainboard using the regular functionality of the RADEON 9100 IGP chipset. That’s in fact normal for a chipset with an integrated graphics core. IEEE1394 (FireWire) and SerialATA interfaces can be implemented on such mainboards by means of extra onboard controllers, but that would mean higher product cost.
At the same time, the ATI RADEON 9100 IGP is the second chipset with an integrated graphics core to claim for the title of “Its High Performance”, since it supports Hyper-Threading, the 800MHz QPB and dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM. These qualities make ATI’s chipset a direct rival to the i865G. Let’s compare their characteristics:
Intel 865G | ATI RADEON 9100 IGP | |
Supported processors | Intel Pentium 4/Celeron | Intel Pentium 4/Celeron |
Bus frequency | 400/533/800MHz | 400/533/800MHz |
Hyper-Threading support | + | + |
Number of memory channels | 2 | 2 |
Supported memory types | DDR400/DDR333/DDR266 SDRAM | DDR400/DDR333/DDR266 SDRAM |
Maximum memory capacity | 2 DIMM per channel / 4GB | 2 DIMM per channel / 4GB |
ECC support | - | - |
AGP slot | AGP 8x | AGP 8x |
Integrated graphics core | + | + |
CSA port for Gigabit Ethernet | + | - |
South Bridge | Intel 82801EB | ATI IXP250 |
The bus connecting the chipset North and South Bridges | Hub Link 1.5/266MB/s | A-Link/266MB/s |
Number of PCI Master devices | 6 | 6 |
IDE | 2 ATA66/100 channels | 2 ATA66/100 channels |
Serial ATA | 2 Serial ATA-150 ports (supporting RAID 0 and 1) | - |
USB ports | 8 USB 2.0 ports | 6 USB 2.0 ports |
IEEE1394 ports | - | - |
LAN MAC/PNA | + | + |
AC’97 | + | + |
The integrated graphics core is one of the trumps of the ATI RADEON 9100 IGP chipset. The architecture of the graphics core resembles the RADEON 9200 VPU and it makes the RADEON 9100 IGP look advantageous compared to integrated chipsets from other manufacturers.
Before we start discussing the 3D capabilities of ATI’s chipset, I would like to say a couple of words about 2D graphics. Thanks to the 400MHz RAMDAC, this RADEON supports a maximum resolution of 2048x1536x32bit with 85Hz refresh rate. A refresh rate of 100Hz is available in the more common mode, 1600x1200x32bit. This results in a superb 2D image quality (against many other integrated chipsets). The image is crisp and sharp even in the highest supported resolutions. Of course, the engineering team included support for hardware DVD decoding. The chipset features enhanced DVD playback options, including hardware iDCT and motion compensation. It should also be mentioned that the ATI RADEON 9100 IGP supports TV and DVI outputs without any additional chips or daughter cards.
