January 2005 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 3

Intel Motherboard: ASUS P5AD2 Deluxe

Current Cost: $197
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

This month, the move to an LGA775 processor and PCI Express video card necessitates a motherboard upgrade. Intel's high-end LGA775 chipset, the i925X, natively supports PCI Express, 800/533MHz FSB, dual-channel DDR2 memory, and SATA, all in one high performance package. When it comes to i925X motherboards, our pick of the litter is the ASUS P5AD2 Deluxe. Sporting the i925X Northbridge and ICH6R Southbridge, the P5AD2 Deluxe has everything we could possibly ask for in a motherboard. The motherboard is rather expensive at $197, but support for bleeding edge technology never comes cheap.

The P5AD2 Deluxe has a wealth of onboard features, including Wireless LAN, Gigabit LAN, 8-channel high definition audio, IEEE & USB 2.0, SATA RAID, dual-channel DDR2, one PCI Express x16 slot, two PCI Express x1 slots, and three standard PCI slots. ASUS continues to impress by using high quality parts, designing the board layout with enthusiasts in mind, and supplying each motherboard with a high quality overclocking-friendly BIOS.

AMD Motherboard: ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe

Current Cost: $188
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

In the last edition of this guide we moved to a Socket 939 interface and used a relatively unexciting nForce 3 Ultra-based motherboard. Thanks to the recent introduction of the NVIDIA nForce 4 line of chipsets, most notably the nForce 4 SLI, we're looking at some truly exciting motherboard choices. The nForce 4 SLI has support for all the latest and greatest technologies, including SATA2, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, dual-channel DDR, NVIDIA Firewall, and Socket 939 processors.

Of course, the most exciting feature is the support for SLI (Scalable Link Interface) video, which allows for two matched GeForce 6 series PCI Express video cards to run in tandem for up to twice the 3D performance. Users of the old 3dfx Voodoo 2 line of cards will remember the simple upgrade path this offers, whereby you could buy a single GeForce 6800GT now, and then upgrade to SLI performance by upgrading later on. Not everyone may need the power that SLI offers, but it never hurts to be ready just in case.

At this time, there are slim pickings as far as nForce 4 SLI boards go, with Gigabyte and ASUS being first to market. This month we chose to go with the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe, as it offers the best combination of value and features. However, running on the bleeding edge of technology still comes at a price as the $188 price tag of the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe attests.

ASUS also continues to improve the product through a frequent BIOS update program. Like any new motherboard, if you're experiencing problems it's always a good idea to check for BIOS updates as more often than not they can fix common problems. Overall, we love the features and performance of this motherboard, and the thought of adding a second GeForce6 6800 GT down the road gets us all hot and bothered.