[grogi]

CrossFire Comparison: Intel X38 vs. P35
"Being the inquisitive individuals we are here at bit-tech, we decided to try and provide our awesome readers with an answer to the ageing question about PCI-Express bandwidth.

Actually, it was between one of our many congregations around someone's PC at work, watching the latest amusing Internet video and stuffing our faces with tea and confectionery, that the idea shot out into the open and was promptly skewered to the calender, like the donkey getting its tail back from a six year old.

Our office shenanigans aside, I'm sure you've read the latest rumours about RV670 making their way around our beloved Internet. They suggest that RV670 might be the hottest thing since sliced bread, and you are therefore contemplating your next upgrade.

With all due respect to our good friends at AMD, the Radeon HD 2900 XT's uptake isn't particularly strong based on statistics from programs like 3DMark and Steam. However, during chats with AMD, the company is insistent that it is selling everything it makes - either it's not making all that many chips, or the opt-in surveys aren't telling the whole story.

Intel being the flavour of the uh... last 15 months with the enthusiast crowd in love with Conroe and are expected to fall in love with the Cornish tourism killer that's also known as Penryn, as its launch is within touching distance now. Because of this it might be a good idea to test CrossFire on various Intel platforms, right?

First we had the Intel 975X, then DFI released a board based on RD600, ATI's last Intel chipset, at the beginning of the year - both of which had two PCI-Express x8 lanes for multi-GPU, but it wasn't until X38 launched (officially just a few days ago) that we have the a pair of full-bandwidth PCI-Express x16 slots for ATI CrossFire on an Intel platform. Of course, P965 with its unbalanced x16 and x4 has been around for a while longer, but that's no good because it's limited by the x4 slot that's routed via the southbridge... at least that's what you'd think right? Or is there more than enough bandwidth anyway and the whole issue is completely blown out of proportion by our friends in marketing?"

ASUS P5K Premium Motherboard Review
"Yes, it's that time again. The terrible upgrade schedule of an enthusiast is a never ending cycle. As soon as a piece of hardware is scienced out, it's time to move on to the next latest and greatest toy. Video cards, system memory, motherboards, power supplies, they all end up falling into the cycle. So the idea is there, the question now is what to buy. Since we are enthusiasts, not just any motherboard will do. Performance is usually the deciding factor when it comes down to pulling the trigger and pushing the buy button. Is the Asus P5K Premium Black Pearl edition motherboard the right one for you? Let's see if she is. The board has an amazing array of options and performance enhancements to satisfy even the most demanding in the enthusiast crowd. These features include native support for DDR2 1066 memory, zero failure fanless design on the motherboard heatsinks, support for the latest processors (including the next wave of 45nm products), 8 channel High Definition sound, ATI crossfire support, and an Intel P35 chipset. There is so much more that makes this board an enthusiast's dream. Follow along as we dig deeper into the bowels of the "Black Pearl" special edition P5K!

"ASUS, a technology-oriented company blessed with one of the world's top R&D teams, is well known for high-quality and innovative technology. As a leading provider of 3C (computers, communications and consumer electronics) total solutions, ASUS offers a complete product portfolio to compete in the new millennium.""

GIGABYTE GA-P31-DS3L Motherboard Review
"Intel has two chipsets in the P3x family, the Intel P35 Express and the P31 Express. The P35 Express is designed for higher performance platforms, with support for DDR2 or DDR3 memory and the ICH9 series Southbridge. The P31 being tailored for budget systems, only supports DDR2 memory and features Intel’s older ICH7 series Southbridge. However the P31 has one major advantage price. Today I’ll be reviewing Gigabyte’s GA-P31-DS3L platform based on the Intel P31 chipset. Let’s dig in and see how this board stacks up."

ASRock 4Core1333-Viiv
"While most of the rage these days for Intel hardware is about the P35 and X38 Chipsets, for those looking at an economically-minded motherboard that may not support all of the latest and greatest features but can still work well as a Linux desktop, Intel's P965 remains a great option. One of the motherboards fitting this criteria is the 4Core1333-Viiv from ASRock, which utilizes the Intel P965 + ICH8DH while is still compatible with Intel Core 2 Quad 1333MHz processors. Through ASRock's AGI Express, ATI CrossFire support is also possible using this budget motherboard. But how well does the ASRock 4Core1333-Viiv work under Linux? We'll tell you in this article as we do our usual compatibility and benchmarking roundabout."

MSI P6NGM (NVIDIA GeForce 7150/nForce 630i)
"The MSI P6NGM motherboard is one of the first NVIDIA GeForce 7-series based mGPU boards we've received for testing. Based on the GeForce 7150/nForce 630i, the P6NGM represents the flagship of NVIDIA's new mainstream chipset line. And as a mainstream oriented motherboard, the MSI P6NGM follows closely with NVIDIA's reference model, with slight modifications here and there. Still, the board offers all the features that one would need from any modern PC. Check out the full technical specifications below before we delve further into the review."