Intel's Lynx Point 8-Series chipset models for next year's Shark Bay platform have been revealed and detailed. The Shark Bay platform which comprises of the 8-Series Lynx Point chipset would allow compatibility with the LGA-1150 Haswell processors which are slated for launch in first half of 2013.

The Lynx Point based 8-Series chipsets come in various models for consumer andbusinessneeds. The desktop platform would getZ87, H87 and Z85 andbusinessplatforms would getQ87, Q85 and B85 chipsets. For the Xeonoriented Haswell processors, TheC228 chipset would be released replacing the current 7-Series basedC216 chipset.

Some new features would show up in the 8-Series chipsets such asnative support for USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s, support for Quad speed SPI Devices and an updated rapid storage technology which would allow users to switch there SSD/HDDs in three different settings -three different settings, power efficiency, maximum performance and balanced mode. The Z85 chipset would lack support for Raid though that's not much of a loss.

Furthermore, reports suggest that mass production of Haswell beings in Q4 2012 and launch is slated between March-June 2013, More details here.