Although there have been some reports of Intel's X48 chipset shunning support for DDR2 memory, this isn't the case at all. In fact, Intel has improved the memory controller on this chipset to enhance DDR2 support.

The updated memory controller should provider better performance when DDR2 memory is used with the X48 chipset. We doubt that Intel has decided to enhance its memory controller for no good reason, as DDR3 memory is still much too expensive, even for those who are spending this kind of money on an expensive motherboard.

Expect to see DDR3 and DDR2 versions of X48 boards from the usual suspects, just as we did with the X38 chipset. There might even be some combo boards, but we're not so sure about this, as the trace lengths from the chipset to the memory modules are much shorter on the X38/X48 chipset than on, for example, the P35 chipset.

It seems that Intel is holding back the launch of the X48 chipset, although expect to be able to purchase boards early next year. This should be good news to those holding off buying an X38 based board.