SiS releases 661FX chipset, first to support single-channel DDR 800MHz FSB

Taiwanese chipset maker Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) on July 1 released the SiS661FX, the first integrated Pentium 4 motherboard chipset supporting a 800MHz FSB (front-side bus) and single-channel DDR.

The 661FX comes with SiS’s Real256E embedded graphics core and is paired with the SiS964 south bridge chip, which supports two internal Serial ATA (SATA) 150 ports, RAID and eight USB 2.0 ports.

Mass production of SiS661FX will commence in August, and motherboards adopting the SiS661FX chipset should be available on the market by September, said SiS.

“Integrated chipsets are moving forward to a new era that requires high-end performance. The advanced FSB 800MHz specification and the well-designed interface enhance the applications of the PC platform,” said SiS president and CEO Michael Chen. “SiS is now ready to extend the new design of the FSB 800MHz platform beyond the desktop PCs to notebook PCs.”

The SiS661FX will be targeted at computer buyers who do not require high-end graphics and dual-channel DDR performance, but want good performance and graphics on a reasonable budget.

SiS will have a head start on Intel, ATI Technologies and VIA Technologies, which are all trying to enter the budget-driven P4 single-channel DDR market.

About the SiS661FX

The SiS661FX supports an 800MHz FSB (front-side bus), providing 6.4GB/s transferring bandwidth, stable high-speed computing function and multiple RAM formats such DDR400/333/266. Adopting SiS’s Ultra-AGPII Technology and Real256E graphics core, the SiS661FX is able to achieve a VGA throughput of 3.2GB/s with DDR400, significantly transcending the former 2.1GB/s standard speed provided by AGP 8x. The SiS661FX’s ECLK and 1,600×1,200 high resolution can support UXGA TFT LCD output and high quality images for 3D games.

Source: SiS, compiled by DigiTimes, July 2003.

Article translated by Henry Chang and edited by Isaac Chang