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Intel® 946PL/946GZ Express Chipset

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Intel® 946PL Express Chipset     Desktop PC platforms based on the Intel® 946 Express Chipset family, combined with either the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor or Intel® Pentium® D processor, deliver innovative capabilities and usages for everyday computing. Exciting improvements bring new capabilities to everyday value conscious users.

The Intel 946 Express Chipset family continues the Intel chipset legacy and extends it to new levels with purpose-built capabilities designed specifically to address the key needs of the home user.With advancements in graphics (available only on Intel® 946GZ Express Chipset), responsiveness and data protection, the Intel 946 Express Chipset family allows your PC to be the center of everyday computing and communication.

Product Information

Features and benefits

800/533 MHz System Bus Supports the Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor with Intel® Virtualization Technology, Intel® Pentium® D processor 900, Intel® Pentium® 4 processor with Hyper-Threading (HT) Technology† and all other Intel® processors in the LGA775 socket.
PCI Express Interface The PCI Express x16 graphics interface supports the latest high-performance graphics cards. The PCI Express x1 I/O ports offer up to 3.5X the bandwidth over traditional PCI architecture, delivering faster access to peripheral I/O devices.
Dual-Channel DDR2 667 MHz Memory Support Delivers up to 10.7 GB/s of bandwidth and 8 GB memory addressability for faster system responsiveness and support of 64-bit computing.
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 (Available only on Intel® 946GZ Express Chipset) The Intel 946GZ Express Chipset 3D enhancements enable greater game compatibility with software based transform & lighting (T&L), and improved realism with support for Microsoft DirectX* 9.0c, OpenGL* 1.4, and floating point operations.
Intel® High Definition Audio (Intel® HD Audio) Integrated audio support enables premium digital sound and delivers advanced features such as multiple audio streams and jack re-tasking. The Dolby* PC Entertainment Experience¹ is available exclusively on systems with Intel High Definition Audio.
Intel® Matrix Storage Technology On systems with 2 or more hard drives, provides quicker access to digital photo, video and data files with RAID 0, 5, and 10, and data protection against a hard disk drive failure with RAID 1, 5, and 10.
Serial ATA (SATA) 3 Gb/s High-speed storage interface supports faster transfer rate for improved data access.

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Packaging Information

Intel® 82946PL/GZ Graphics and Memory Controller Hub 1202 Flip Chip Ball Grid Array (FCBGA)

† Hyper-Threading Technology (HT Technology) requires a computer system with an Intel® Processor supporting HT Technology and an HT Technology enabled chipset, BIOS, and operating system. Performance will vary depending on the specific hardware and software you use. See www.intel.com/products/ht/hyperthreading_more.htm for more information including details on which processors support HT Technology.

¹ The Dolby PC Entertainment Experience Initiative* is only available on systems based on the Intel® 965, 975, 955, 946, 945, 925, 915 or 910 Express Chipset. Only boards with either Dolby PC Sound Room Ready* or Dolby Home Theater Ready* or Dolby Master Studio Ready* logo and, systems with either the Dolby Sound Room*, Dolby Home Theater* or Dolby Master Studio* logos are capable of supporting the Dolby PC Entertainment Initiative.