Taking Intel's Processor to the max with Abit's AW8D motherboard ...

INTRODUCTION

When we reviewed Abit's AN8-32X (socket-939)motherboard, we thought they did a really good job. They produced a motherboard that not only performed well, but also offered great features and a good overclocking BIOS with rock solid stability. Their uGuru overclocking feature in the BIOS along with th silent OTES cooling solution really made this motherboard stand out from the rest.

Abit have now released the AW8D motherboard designed for the socket-775 platform for Intel processors. It incorporates all the above features found on the AN8-32X with an added bonus ... it offers ATi's Crossfire compatibility using two Radeon X1xxx cards. Please note that the Abit AW8D is not actually based on the ATi Crossfire 3200 chipset, but rather Intel's own i975X chipset and offers 800/1066FSB and also DDR2 ram support.

Many enuthusiasts and Intel lovers have grumbled about the performance of Intel's recent dual core offerings, namely the 820, 830, 840 (based on the Smithfield 90nm core) and more recently the 920, 930, 940 and 950 (based on the Presler 65nm core). The high operating temperatures along with poor performance against the much cheaper Athlon64 processors, really made even die-hard Intel fans shy away.

I'm not surprised ... I would be as well. It's a shame because the technology behind Intel's dual core 65nm processors is one of the most advanced. However, this is NOT yet over, as youi read this Intel's already working on their next instalment which is based on the same 65nm technology ... the Conroe core, which will be released third quarter, 2006. In recent preliminary tests and previews, it actually out performs even the latest flagship processor from AMD ... the Athlon FX62.

   

That's the future, what about now? Well, believe it or not Intel's entry level and the cheapest of the dual core processor, the PentiumD 805 is making a lot of headlines all over the internet. Although it's based on the older Smithfield 90nm core operating on a FSB of 533 (133Mhz) ... it will actually overclock to 800FSB, turning this humble processor which runs at 2.66Ghz into a beast running at a whopping 4.0GHz ... all on air-cooling! Don't expect the benchmarks on a PentiumD 805 clocked at 4.0GHz be as good as a FULLY spec'd Intel 955 or 965 Extreme Edition. Remember, the cost of the PentiumD 805 is nearly 6-8 times cheaper then the Extreme Editions which are are their hundreds.

Intel's new Conroe core processors (which will be called Core 2 Duo when released) are probably one of the most anticipated releases of the year. One question on everyones' mind is ... Does the AW8D support the Conroes? Well, unfortunately ... no. According to Abit, a new motherboard with a PWM refresh is required for these new Conroe pocessors. However, the good news is that it will support ALL current Intel processors ... upto the 965 Extreme Edition @ 3.6GHz (1066FSB).

 OK, enough talking ... let's see what the Abit's flagship motherboard for Intel processors has to offer ...