14 DAY TRIAL // The newest chipset in Intel's X family, the X48, is close to completion and is supposed to become publicly available in January 2008. The chipset's specifications are no longer a secret and have been subject to speculations since the first test-systems were shipped to the OEMs.
X48-based boards will sport up to four DIMM slots, divided into two channels, and only two 1600MHz, 1.8V DIMMs can be installed on the system at the same time. Intel documents show that the X48 will not support DDR 2 memory and will feature a front side bus clock frequency of 1600MHz.
Although the company made it clear that the new chipset will be substantially more expensive and will compete in a different class than the X38, the X38 motherboards have suddenly become obsolete and thus, refused by buyers. This might be a problem for the motherboard manufacturers who have piled serious amounts of X38 chipsets they can not sell anymore. Although the X38 is new, buyers have ceased taking interest into the boards built with it and would rather wait for the newer and more powerful X48.
Rumor has it that motherboard manufactures have asked Intel to delay the product launch scheduled for January next year, and wait a few more months, until they clear out their stock. Intel usually release their products on time, but the motherboard manufacturers' pressure might result in the chipset being available in the second quarter of the next year.
The only scenario that would make the delay possible will be Intel's deciding to postpone the release of the QX9770, the 1600 MHz quad-core processor line. However, this will be a major drawback, since AMD is going to release the fixed version of their Phenom in Q1, which will force Intel to unveil the QX9770 as their competitive product.