August High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 3

Pentium 4 Motherboard: ASUS P4P800 Deluxe

Current Cost: $135
Months on list: 3
Price Change: +$1

The Intel 865PE chipset is still our chipset of choice for 800MHz FSB-based Intel processors. The chipset is built upon the 875P, and is geared for mid to high-end users who want the performance of the 875P, but at a lower price. The 865PE chipset supports dual-channel memory in addition to the new 800 MHz FSB Pentium 4 processors.

The ASUS P4P800 is our top motherboard pick for the third straight month. The board features the 865PE chipset, and supports an 800MHz FSB, dual-channel 400MHz DDR memory, and Serial ATA. The P4P800 also includes a wealth of overclocking options and BIOS tweaks such as Vcore adjustments and fine FSB controls. As with most hardware this month, the ASUS board did not see much price action other than an increase of one dollar, but at $135, it's still a bargain.

Athlon XP Motherboard: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 Motherboard

Current Cost: $119
Months on list: 4
Price Change: -$3

On the eve of the Athlon 64 release, there's little doubt that motherboard manufacturers will be slowing down their development of new Socket A-based technology. As a result, the nForce2 Ultra 400 is the top bet right now, and we're once again recommend the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe board this month for the AMD side. This board sports dual-channel DDR400 memory, and a 200MHz FSB. The deluxe version of the board adds in Serial ATA, extra USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394a ports, as well as an extra 3COM Ethernet controller. The ASUS A7N8X Deluxe also comes with the most powerful version of the nForce2 Southbridge, MCP-T which includes the NVIDIA SoundStorm APU.

Most A7N8X boards currently in stores are the second revision of the board with the nForce2 Ultra 400. Older versions of the board have had known problems reaching 400MHz FSB (200MHz double-pumped), meaning that you'll want to make sure you check the retail packaging for the nForce2 Ultra 400 or 400 MHz FSB notations, or simply check that the revision number printed on the board is 2.0 or higher.