Broadwell-E HEDT Processors Coming Soon!

bshagen wrote: freak77power wrote: I flashed ASRock x99 Extreme 4 with updated BIOS and re-flashed it back to older 1.30 because power management in new bios is seriously broken. Windows is reporting lot of errors in event viewer regarding to CPU  core 0, core 1 and so on and broken power state. http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/X99%20Extreme43.1/?cat=Download&os=BIOS X99 Extreme 4 USB 3.1 This might explain the problems I have overclocking on 3.20 on my OCF 3.1?  http://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2634&title=x99-oc-formula-31-issues-with-bios-update-320

Yes, I saw your post.

In the past, any time there was an Intel mother board and chipset system that can work with a new processor (such as X79 and the Intel six series chipsets (P67, Z68) boards, BOTH used orignally with Sandy Bridge processors, and later could use Ivy Bridge processors), the UEFI/BIOS update was NOT the only thing needed for compatibility with the new processor generation.

What was the other thing needed to complete the Sandy to Ivy Bridge compatibility update? A new version of the Intel Management Engine software, and a new INF/chipset file installation program.

If you check the download pages of any mother board manufacture's X79 and Intel six series chipset boards, the UEFI/BIOS update for Ivy Bridge compatibility also includes new versions of the IME and INF software. ASRock includes links to those things (and others) on the Ivy Bridge compatibility UEFI/BIOS update version download page.

While the Intel Management Engine (IME) software is usually seen by PC enthusiasts as only needed for its enterprise/business features (which IME does provide), that is not just the purpose of the IME software.

The IME software acts as the communication link between the processor's internal registers and the OS (Windows) environment. The UEFI/BIOS update for compatibility with a new processor generation contains an IME firmware update (the IME firmware is part of the UEFI/BIOS file), which is what requires a new version of the IME software we install in our Windows installation.

The function of the IME software and firmware I'm referring to is difficult to explain. Overall, what matters is I believe there will be (should be, must be) a new version of the IME software that will complete the Haswell-E to Broadwell-E processor compatibility update.

That is how it has worked in the past, why should that be different now? I might be wrong, but guess what the symptoms of not installing the new IME software version along with the Sandy to Ivy Bridge compatibility UEFI/BIOS update are? Strange issues like you are experiencing, plus things like over clocking failing.

That is why I believe new IME software and INF/Chipset installation programs will be needed for X99 systems for use with Broadwell-E processors, and the UEFI version that supports them, whether or not we have a Broadwell-E processor in our X99 board. It's the same thing we experienced in the past with X79, etc.

So where are the new IME and INF/Chipset installation programs for X99 and Broadwell-E? They come from Intel, and can only come from Intel. If they were available from Intel, mother board manufactures would have them available on our X99 board's download pages.

I just checked another mother board manufacture's X99 board's download pages for Intel IME and INF/Chipset software. I looked at their latest, top of the line X99 board. The IME software for Win 10 was a version older than what is available on my ASRock X99 Extreme6/3.1 board's download page. The files are dated July or August of 2015, so definitely pre-Broadwell-E. Same thing for the INF/Chipset software. The other manufacture's X99 board has a UEFI update to support Broadwell-E, classified as a Beta version.

So why are the Broadwell-E compatibility UEFI updates made available, if they require updated IME and INF/Chipset software? Probably for marketing and political/public relations reasons. Some ASRock X99 board users were asking not long ago when the Broadwell-E UEFI updates for their boards will be available. They are worried their board will be overlooked for some reason. If one mother board manufacture releases Broadwell-E compatibility UEFI updates, if the others don't as well that is perceived as strange and bad, something is wrong with those manufactures. Then false rumors begin when someone posts in a forum that "... the XYZ X99 boards are not getting UEFI updates for Broadwell-E...". Some people will read that and believe it, do no research of their own, and pass the false information on themselves.

We will see fairly soon if my theory is correct. I do know that after all the issues I have seen in mother board support forums caused by users updating their UEFI/BIOS to the version that adds compatibility for a new processor generation on their P67, Z68, and X79 boards, without also updating the IME and INF/Chipset software (when available), I would never update to the new UEFI version until everything has been sorted out. My X99 board does not have the Broadwell-E compatibility UEFI version installed, and I'm in no hurry to perform that update... if I ever do it.

Asus is the only OEM that I am aware of that does not need cpu, ram, hdd,  or gpu to flash mobo bios. Awesome feature really.

I wouldn't know what to do with 22 cores/44 threads 

... and on sale at Amazon... shipping date said to be the first week of April. (??) I hope not another Skylake-like launch, with availability questionable at best.

IMO, Broadwell-E might be... weird. Excluding Xeons, just the HEDT models.

I base that on the unusual nature of mainstream Broadwell processors. Very few SKUs, unusual types, 'R' and 'C', TDP-down frequency and TDP.

Unless Broadwell-E HEDT is HEDT as usual, which it must be, right?

One statistic from the Tom's review got my attention. Intel has 99% of the market for data center processors.

AMD, where are you?!?!?!

I guess we can keep this thread handy for performance figures become available.