• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Intel Officially Launches Skulltrail Platform

Jimmy 2004

New Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2005
Messages
5,458 (0.78/day)
Location
England
System Name Jimmy 2004's PC
Processor S754 AMD Athlon64 3200+ @ 2640MHz
Motherboard ASUS K8N
Cooling AC Freezer 64 Pro + Zalman VF1000 + 5x120mm Antec TriCool Case Fans
Memory 1GB Kingston PC3200 (2x512MB)
Video Card(s) Saphire 256MB X800 GTO @ 450MHz/560MHz (Core/Memory)
Storage 500GB Western Digital SATA II + 80GB Maxtor DiamondMax SATA
Display(s) Digimate 17" TFT (1280x1024)
Case Antec P182
Audio Device(s) Audigy 4 + Creative Inspire T7900 7.1 Speakers
Power Supply Corsair HX520W
Software Windows XP Home
For those who crave more performance than what four processing cores and a single graphics card can deliver today, Intel Corporation has introduced the Intel Dual Socket Extreme Desktop Platform. Formerly codenamed "Skulltrail," this is one of the first enthusiast desktop platforms to support two Intel quad core processors for a total of eight processing engines and a choice of multi-card graphics solutions from either ATI or NVIDIA.

"When it comes to delivering innovation to the ultimate enthusiast, our new 8-core desktop platform is a winner," said Jeff McCrea, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Home Group. "The ground-breaking Intel Desktop Board D5400XS enables the flexibility to pair a variety of quad graphics solutions with two of our fastest desktop processors. The result is stunning PC performance."

The Intel Desktop Board D5400XS, when paired with two Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processors, forms the foundation of the Intel Dual Socket Extreme Desktop Platform. Hardcore gamers will welcome the opportunity to enjoy multiple simultaneous graphics card solutions featuring either NVIDIA SLI or ATI Crossfire for today's latest graphics-intensive titles. And the performance of eight processing cores is especially welcomed by the 3-D animators, digital audio artists and high-definition video editors behind the coolest games here at the Game Developers Conference.

"For the team creating world-class games here at id, time is one of our most valuable assets," said Robert A. Duffy, Programming Director, id Software. "Having eight powerful Intel cores in a single machine helps our team create and test our latest titles at record speed. We have seen one of our most time-consuming asset generation processes cut from over 4 hours to under 20 minutes by utilizing all eight cores and threading the generation code. Long term this translates to better games on the market faster than previously possible."

As high-definition video becomes more prevalent than ever, encoding and editing is a task that more power users are looking to their PC to do for them. Such workloads are handled with ease by this new platform, and video developers such as DivX are excited about the possibilities.

"By optimizing our codec to take advantage of these eight cores, we're seeing very impressive performance gains in our labs," said Jerome Vashisht-Rota, co-founder of DivX Inc. "Natively supporting eight core technology allows us to significantly accelerate codec performance for processor intensive applications like the encoding of high-definition video on the PC so that we can continue to offer our users the high-quality digital video experience they have come to expect."

Each Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9775 offers 12MB of L2 cache, a fast 1600 MHz system bus and four cores running at a brisk 3.2 GHz. When paired on the dual-socket Intel Desktop Board D5400XS, this platform breezes through modern benchmarks and advanced workloads. For experienced enthusiasts who desire more capability, the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor bus ratio locks (overspeed protection) have been removed. This offers added technical flexibility in customizing the system so OEMs can unleash even more performance.

"This dual processor platform is the fastest desktop PC we've ever tested in our labs, reaching a score of 6481 on 3DMark06 CPU and 20,160 on Cinebench 10 even while running at the standard 3.20 GHz frequency," says Shervin Kheradpir, director of Intel performance benchmarking.

Pricing and Availability

The Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9775 is available now at an MSRP of $1,499 each. Estimated street pricing for the Intel Desktop Board D5400XS is $649. Platform components are sold separately. Several enthusiast PC manufacturers plan to offer systems based on this new platform starting today and over the next 30 days, including Armari, Boxx Tech, Digital Storm, Falcon Northwest, Maingear, Puget Systems, Scan, Velocity Micro, Vigor Gaming, Voodoo, @Xi Computers and others.

Intel Game Demo Contest Enters its Third Year

On Feb. 15, Intel launched the third Intel Game Demo Contest to showcase the latest creations from professional, aspiring and student game developers. The games will be judged in three categories: best threaded quad-core game, best game-on-the-go and best game on Intel integrated graphics.

The contest will award prizes valued at more than $100,000 in cash, tools and services, including a marketing support kit worth more than $20,000 to help jumpstart the success of the winning games. The contest also offers exposure to key game developer communities and software distribution opportunities. Visit http://www.intel.com/software/gamecontest for official rules and full details.
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at http://www.intel.com/pressroom.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
2,490 (0.40/day)
Location
Your house.
System Name Jupiter-2
Processor Intel i3-6100
Motherboard H170I-PLUS D3
Cooling Stock
Memory 8GB Mushkin DDR3L-1600
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1050ti
Storage 512GB Corsair SSD
Display(s) BENQ 24in
Case Lian Li PC-Q01B Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair 450W
Mouse Logitech Trackball
Keyboard Custom bamboo job
Software Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Finished Super PI on legendary mode in only 13 hours.
You know, strangely enough, this is one situation where getting a Mac Pro is actually a cheaper solution... :wtf:
 

ktr

Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
7,404 (1.13/day)
You know, strangely enough, this is one situation where getting a Mac Pro is actually a cheaper solution... :wtf:

lol, i have to agree with you there.

Btw, can you put PC based gcards in a Mac, or do they still have mac specified versions?
 
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
2,490 (0.40/day)
Location
Your house.
System Name Jupiter-2
Processor Intel i3-6100
Motherboard H170I-PLUS D3
Cooling Stock
Memory 8GB Mushkin DDR3L-1600
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1050ti
Storage 512GB Corsair SSD
Display(s) BENQ 24in
Case Lian Li PC-Q01B Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair 450W
Mouse Logitech Trackball
Keyboard Custom bamboo job
Software Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Finished Super PI on legendary mode in only 13 hours.
Which doesn't support SLI.

Well, get one of them there 9800 GX2 whatchamacallit's that all you Nvidia boys are raving over, and take care of that. ;)

lol, i have to agree with you there.

Btw, can you put PC based gcards in a Mac, or do they still have mac specified versions?

I've heard you can use PC-based gcards just fine, if you eschew the MacOS and just install Windows onto it like any other PC.
 
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
3,767 (0.63/day)
Location
WI
System Name MUFFIN_MACHINE
Processor i7 920
Motherboard E760 Classified
Cooling cooler master gemini II
Memory 6gb ddr3 crucial ballistix
Video Card(s) TFIII 6950
Storage 500gb wd, samsung spinpoint t series 500gb, 2 tb samsung somthing or other
Display(s) syncmaster 940bw 19"
Case Corsair Carbide Series 500R
Audio Device(s) X-fi extrememusic
Power Supply Corsair HX 850W
Software windows 7 64bit
Benchmark Scores i can drink a pint in 5 seconds flat.
to bad its not $50
 
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
2,490 (0.40/day)
Location
Your house.
System Name Jupiter-2
Processor Intel i3-6100
Motherboard H170I-PLUS D3
Cooling Stock
Memory 8GB Mushkin DDR3L-1600
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1050ti
Storage 512GB Corsair SSD
Display(s) BENQ 24in
Case Lian Li PC-Q01B Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair 450W
Mouse Logitech Trackball
Keyboard Custom bamboo job
Software Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Finished Super PI on legendary mode in only 13 hours.
So there is OSX support for pc based gcards?

Nope, for the most part. But you don't need it -- just wipe the drive and install windows as the main boot. Your Mac Pro will now be a "PC Pro," or whatever. Use whatever video card you want at this point. (Mind you, this is all hearsay.)

Forget OSX, seriously. If I want a bubbly-looking *nix OS, I'll install Ubuntu. :p
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
4,267 (0.70/day)
Location
Sanford, FL, USA
Processor Intel i5-6600
Motherboard ASRock H170M-ITX
Cooling Cooler Master Geminii S524
Memory G.Skill DDR4-2133 16GB (8GB x 2)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte R9-380X 4GB
Storage Samsung 950 EVO 250GB (mSATA)
Display(s) LG 29UM69G-B 2560x1080 IPS
Case Lian Li PC-Q25
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC892
Power Supply Seasonic SS-460FL2
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech G110
Software Windows 10 Pro
LOL, why get the Mac Pro in the first place, if it wasn't for the OSX support? :)
 

ktr

Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
7,404 (1.13/day)
Nope, for the most part. But you don't need it -- just wipe the drive and install windows as the main boot. Your Mac Pro will now be a "PC Pro," or whatever. Use whatever video card you want at this point. (Mind you, this is all hearsay.)

Forget OSX, seriously. If I want a bubbly-looking *nix OS, I'll install Ubuntu. :p

If i am not mistaken, you still need bootcamp to run XP or ubuntu...which means you still need osx.
 
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
2,490 (0.40/day)
Location
Your house.
System Name Jupiter-2
Processor Intel i3-6100
Motherboard H170I-PLUS D3
Cooling Stock
Memory 8GB Mushkin DDR3L-1600
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1050ti
Storage 512GB Corsair SSD
Display(s) BENQ 24in
Case Lian Li PC-Q01B Mini ITX
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair 450W
Mouse Logitech Trackball
Keyboard Custom bamboo job
Software Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Finished Super PI on legendary mode in only 13 hours.
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
4,267 (0.70/day)
Location
Sanford, FL, USA
Processor Intel i5-6600
Motherboard ASRock H170M-ITX
Cooling Cooler Master Geminii S524
Memory G.Skill DDR4-2133 16GB (8GB x 2)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte R9-380X 4GB
Storage Samsung 950 EVO 250GB (mSATA)
Display(s) LG 29UM69G-B 2560x1080 IPS
Case Lian Li PC-Q25
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC892
Power Supply Seasonic SS-460FL2
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech G110
Software Windows 10 Pro
I mean vs. buying or building a "PC" dual Xeon ;)

Without the need for OSX, could build with your choice of case, motherboard, etc.
 
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
574 (0.09/day)
Location
Melbourne, Australia
System Name beast
Processor 3930K
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3
Cooling Noctua NH-U12P SE2011
Memory 16GB Kingston Value DDR3 1333Mhz CL9
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Aorus Elite RTX3060 12GB
Storage 1x 120GB Intel 520 and some spinny bois
Display(s) 3x DELL S2721DGF
Case Antec P182
Power Supply Corsair 750w
VR HMD Oculus Quest 2
Software Windows 10
u can run two qx9650's in the skull trail right? your not limited to only xeons, or am i mistaken, cos ive seen screenies and am pretty sure it can be done.
altho i still wonder why fb dimm ram. plus its a shame that their will only be a limited number of these boards made. if only intel chipset mobos with sli over a ht bus and two nvidia mcp chipsets were a standard for premium motherboards... :ohwell:
 

ShadowFold

New Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
16,918 (2.85/day)
Location
Omaha, NE
System Name The ShadowFold Draconis (Ordering soon)
Processor AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8ghz
Motherboard ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870
Cooling Stock
Memory Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3-1333
Video Card(s) XFX ATi Radeon HD 5850 1gb
Storage Western Digital 640gb
Display(s) Acer 21.5" 5ms Full HD 1920x1080P
Case Antec Nine-Hundred
Audio Device(s) Onboard + Creative "Fatal1ty" Headset
Power Supply Antec Earthwatts 650w
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Benchmark Scores -❶-❸-❸-❼-
u can run two qx9650's in the skull trail right? your not limited to only xeons, or am i mistaken, cos ive seen screenies and am pretty sure it can be done.
altho i still wonder why fb dimm ram. plus its a shame that their will only be a limited number of these boards made. if only intel chipset mobos with sli over a ht bus and two nvidia mcp chipsets were a standard for premium motherboards... :ohwell:

Its S771 so yes, only Xeons.
 
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
574 (0.09/day)
Location
Melbourne, Australia
System Name beast
Processor 3930K
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3
Cooling Noctua NH-U12P SE2011
Memory 16GB Kingston Value DDR3 1333Mhz CL9
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Aorus Elite RTX3060 12GB
Storage 1x 120GB Intel 520 and some spinny bois
Display(s) 3x DELL S2721DGF
Case Antec P182
Power Supply Corsair 750w
VR HMD Oculus Quest 2
Software Windows 10
fair enough, my mistake. can anyone tell me why intel cant make a board that bridges the fsb to ht for sli on an x48? or eqivilant, so quad extremes can be used?
 

imperialreign

New Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
7,043 (1.15/day)
Location
Sector ZZ₉ Plural Z Alpha
System Name УльтраФиолет
Processor Intel Kentsfield Q9650 @ 3.8GHz (4.2GHz highest achieved)
Motherboard ASUS P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi; X38 NSB, ICH9R SSB
Cooling Delta V3 block, XPSC res, 120x3 rad, ST 1/2" pump - 10 fans, SYSTRIN HDD cooler, Antec HDD cooler
Memory Dual channel 8GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 @ 1800MHz @ 7-7-7-20 1T
Video Card(s) Quadfire: (2) Sapphire HD5970
Storage (2) WD VelociRaptor 300GB SATA-300; WD 320GB SATA-300; WD 200GB UATA + WD 160GB UATA
Display(s) Samsung Syncmaster T240 24" (16:10)
Case Cooler Master Stacker 830
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro PCI-E x1
Power Supply Kingwin Mach1 1200W modular
Software Windows XP Home SP3; Vista Ultimate x64 SP2
Benchmark Scores 3m06: 20270 here: http://hwbot.org/user.do?userId=12313
I can see how this platform would be tickling game devs right now; I think the quote from ID Software kinda put that into perspective:

"For the team creating world-class games here at id, time is one of our most valuable assets," said Robert A. Duffy, Programming Director, id Software. "Having eight powerful Intel cores in a single machine helps our team create and test our latest titles at record speed. We have seen one of our most time-consuming asset generation processes cut from over 4 hours to under 20 minutes by utilizing all eight cores and threading the generation code. Long term this translates to better games on the market faster than previously possible."

aside from that, though - I don't really see the average Joe-enthusiast stouting one of these setups





Although, the Skulltrail will go a long way in one's quest to turn a PC into a microwave.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
4,267 (0.70/day)
Location
Sanford, FL, USA
Processor Intel i5-6600
Motherboard ASRock H170M-ITX
Cooling Cooler Master Geminii S524
Memory G.Skill DDR4-2133 16GB (8GB x 2)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte R9-380X 4GB
Storage Samsung 950 EVO 250GB (mSATA)
Display(s) LG 29UM69G-B 2560x1080 IPS
Case Lian Li PC-Q25
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC892
Power Supply Seasonic SS-460FL2
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech G110
Software Windows 10 Pro
fair enough, my mistake. can anyone tell me why intel cant make a board that bridges the fsb to ht for sli on an x48? or eqivilant, so quad extremes can be used?

Because that would cut into nVidia's sales of 600 and 700 series chipsets, so they'd rather not license it out.
 
Top