Jan 10, 2011 20:31 GMT  ·  By

Now that Sandy Bridge was finally released and has become available all over the world, it's time for Intel to concentrate on the high end LGA 2011 platform that is supposed to debut in Q3 2011 with the Sandy Bridge-EP processor line, the very first images depicting such a motherboard making their way onto the Web.

Built by MSI, the board is based on Intel's upcoming X68 Express chipset that is essentially a PCH (platform controller hub), featuring a similar design to that of the P55 and P67.

This means that the 32-lane PCI Express controller and other northbridge components were transferred to the CPU die, the X68 PCH featuring only a PCIe hub, a storage controller, an LPCIO controller, USB and HDA controllers, and the DMI link to the processor.

In the pictures provided by the Zol.com.cn website, the LGA 2011 socket as well as the PCH chip can be clearly distinguished although all the other components are blurred out.

However, by taking a look at the images, one can see the four memory slots that are placed left and right of the CPU socket.

This arrangement was preferred since the upcoming Sandy Bridge-E processors will support quad-channel memory, further increasing the memory bandwidth available to the CPU.

Other board features include on-board power, reset and OC Genie buttons, at least 6 SATA ports, power use indicator lights and a couple of USB 3.0 ports.

When it becomes available in Q3 2011, LGA 2011 is going to replace LGA 1366 as Intel's highest performing platform and will support 6, 8, and 12 core Sandy Bridge-EP and Sandy Bridge-EX processors.

LGA 1366 was one of Intel's longest lived platforms as it was introduced in November 2008, together with the Bloomfield CPU line, and, currently, is the only socket to support the company's six-core Gulftown processor series.

Photo Gallery (5 Images)

MSI Intel X58 LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge E motherboard
MSI Intel X58 LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge E motherboard chipsetMSI Intel X58 LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge E motherboard buttons
+2more