TechRadar Verdict
It's pricey, but for that you get a front-running motherboard... for now
Pros
- +
Excellent performance
Cons
- -
You pay for it
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Asus is clearly aiming to impress with its latest Intel motherboard. Open the box and you're presented with a remote control and a stylish antenna for the integrated wireless networking module. In addition, you've got a board powered by Intel's top-of-the-range 975X chipset - which costs a fortune, but does bundle a slew of features of its own, including HDA and SATA RAID support. It supports CrossFire too.
Because of Intel's voltage regulator issues, you have to boot the board using a Pentium D and flash the BIOS with an update to get it working with the Core 2 Duo, a flaw that Intel should fix shortly.
The 975X chipset leads the pack performance-wise, although nForce 500 for Intel could change this. There's no denying that this is an expensive motherboard, but the amount of features could make this a tempting solution - providing you actually need all of them.
