Despite the surfeit of Intel X48 and nForce 790 boards on the market, the old P35 chipset has remained the weapon of choice for those dedicated to Core 2 overclocking antics.

The P45 follow-up in this mid-price Foxconn board is thus a powerful last gasp for DDR2 and Intel chips. It's pretty much neck and neck with the DDR3- powered X48, making it a solid bet if you're looking to build a cheap but punchy DDR2 Core 2 system while you wait for Core i5.

The sub-£100 price means it's no frills, but if you want to get CrossFire support then you can pick up the two PCI-e x16 slot P45A for a few bob extra. Do remember that the cramped board layout is far less forgiving for fatboy 3D cards, however.