Desktop Desperation
Z97 (May 2014)
The z97 was, as the z68 had been, a refinement and enhancement of existing technology though this time, barely anything appeared to distinguish it from what it was to supplant. There was official support for the M.2, an interface compatible with the imminent generation of mobile SSDs, but very little, if anything else.
Another Average Joe 1: Mr Intel I couldn’t help noticing this new chipset of yours, it seems so very similar to the last, what possible reason could you have for bestowing it upon us.
Mr Intel: What use would my resplendent assemblage of fresh CPUs be without am elegant chipset to accompany them?
Another Average Joe 1: More new processors?
Mr Intel: Of course, known as the Devil’s Canyon two stunning quad core Haswell thoroughbreds, each with unlocked multipliers, a fresh coat of polymer thermal interface on top, a sprinkling of extra capacitors underneath. The i7 4790k is undoubtedly a marvel, one of my finest ever, a base frequency of 4ghz!
Another Average Joe 1: The same socket as before.
Mr Intel: Absolutely.
Another Average Joe 1: So I could go and upgrade right now, just drop it into the your board, remember the one? The DZ87-KLT or will I need a BIOS update.
Mr Intel: No…I won’t be providing a BIOS update, these processors will not be officially supported by your board. I’m afraid my motherboard days are over and I intend to apply my genius solely to other imminent chipset and prolific processor projects aswell as various completely original and indispensable creations I’ll divulge when the time is right. Goodbye.
Another Average Joe 2: Excuse me, Mr Asus, I’ve just heard about these new Processor’s….
Mr. Asus: The Devil’s canyons?
Another Average Joe 2: YES, that’s right.
Mr Asus: Don’t worry, we have a BIOS update in hand and ready for downloading.
Another Average Joe 2: Oh, fantastic, I was afraid I would have to shell out for one of your z97 boards, I assume you have plenty.
Mr Asus: Indeed and I should imagine your friend will be shelling out for one before too long. Mr Intel. He should have stuck to chipsets from the outset, one less rival to fret over, motherboard mastery, that’s always been my game.
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The sad and cruel truth is that this was not the first time Mr. Intel had neglected the loyal customer. Complacency, careless oversights and misleading marketing techniques were also palpable amidst his Enthusiasts, where the x58 chipset had began our story on such a positive note. It’s “Sandy Bridge” successor, the x79 had emerged from the den of dies at the end of 2011 with its own duo of 6 core “Sandy Bridge-Extreme” purse pilferers – to which a further two were added the following year – and whilst initially boasting notable advantages over its mainstream counterpart (40 PCI Express lanes, and quad channel memory being the most seductive), it was Intel’s main stream users that were granted two new chipsets (the z77 and Z87) in addition to the chance of acquiring “Ivy Bridge” and “Haswell” architecture before the x79 was given a second glance.
Moreover, the confusion regarding PCI Express 3.0 that had so vexed our average Joes was again manifest, with Mr. Intel boldy asserting his chipset and processors faithfully delivered a double helping of bandwidth to any multi GPU configuration but old Giant Green Eyes (that’s nvidia) refusing to guarantee his brand new video cards would utilize it due to a “variation in signal timing generated by your chipset and processors”. A patch was subsequently handed out for customers to apply at their own risk.
The second glance referred to above, was to eventually bring forth a trio of “Ivy Bridge Extreme” processors but no complementary chipset refresh and in falling so far behind the mainstream product line’s pace, these enthusiast class CPUs appeared adopt the “Haswell” naming convention, perhaps leading to some suggestions of misleading advertising. The final noteworthy negative was Mr. Intel’s prompt and all too familiar dissertation of its very own renditions, the DX79SI and DX79SR, both flagship motherboards aggressively aimed at our eager enthusiasts, would now never be officially compatible with these new CPUs.
To any and all reading this, I attempt to remain in the past tense for good reason, it saves money and preserves relevance. The next one will be shorter! X99 anyone?