CPUs & Motherboards

The DFI LANParty JR 790GX-M3H5 is a mATX AM3 motherboard utilizing the AMD 790GX chipset. DFI is known for the high level of BIOS controls to satisfy overclockers, but it's also an asset for silent PC enthusiasts.

Intel markets the Q9550S quad core processor as an energy efficient variant of the Q9550. Our comparison seeks to answer two basic questions: Is the Q9550S' power savings enough to justify its much higher price, and how does it compare to an undervolted Q9550?

Zotac is the first to market with a real flesh-and-blood ION motherboard, the IONITX. The version under review, the IONITX-A, is a mini-ITX board with an embedded dual-core Atom processor, Nvidia's ION GPU (based on GeForce 9400M) and a comprehensive feature set. It promises to be an all-in-one solution for small, energy efficient computing with versatile multimedia capability including full 1080p Blu-ray playback.

AMD's newest processors, the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition and the Athlon II X2 250, priced aggressively at $102 and $87 respectively, are aimed squarely at the bread and butter value segment of the desktop processor market. We take a look at their non-gaming and energy efficiency performance, and compare them against likely Intel competitors.

The Asus M4A78-HTPC/RC is one of many AM2+ motherboard based on the 780G chipset. Asus has thrown in a few extras to differentiate it from the crowd - as you can guess by the model number, the board is aimed specifically at the HTPC market.

The GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi is not just Zotac's flagship product, it is THE flagship product for mini-ITX. This is the board that small form factor enthusiasts have been waiting for — a mini-ITX motherboard with full support for Core 2 processors (including high TDP quad cores), good quality integrated graphics, a PCIe 16X expansion slot, and wireless connectivity. On paper, the board has no rival.

The Phenom II processor was a step in the right direction for AMD. It generated more performance per clock and allowed for higher frequency chips. Priced aggressively, the Phenom II X4 920 and 940 Black Edition were price-competitive alternatives for Intel's Core 2 line. AMD had, in essence, caught up. The X4 920 and 940 however are AM2+ processors, and AMD is currently transitioning to the AM3 socket with DDR3 memory support. Today AMD unveils the newest AM3 members of the Phenom II family: The X4 945 matches the X4 920's 3.0 GHz frequency while the X4 955 Black Edition becomes AMD's new flagship CPU, clocked at 3.2 GHz.

The Asus M4A78T-E is an AM3 ATX motherboard based on the 790GX/SB750 chipsets. It is another feature-rich board with integrated graphics, CrossFireX, and support for AMD's newest AM3 processors. We will be using a X3 720 Black Edition processor for testing and we'll also plop it into a comparable AM2+ board to see if AM3/DDR3 results in any real-world improvements over AM2/DDR2.

The KA760GM is a simple mATX motherboard from MSI based on AMD's 760G chipset. As a budget version of the venerable 780G chipset, one would expect 760G to run a bit slower with perhaps a slower clock speed or less a shader or two, but surprisingly 3D performance was not compromised.

The Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H and MSI DKA790GX Platinum motherboards are based around the same AMD 790GX and SB750 chipsets and sport similar features. Which board will prevail in this head-to-head contest?

AMD hopes to wipe the slate clean and re-draw the desktop processor battlefield with its new Phenom II. The X4 940 is a 45nm 125W processor with 6MB of L3 cache and a clock speed of 3.0GHz - much higher than the original Phenoms. Does it compete with Intel Core i7?

Finally, an affordable mini-ITX motherboard for the AM2/AM2+ socket. The Zotac GeForce 8200-ITX is priced well, powered by the formidable GeForce 8200 chipset and they even threw in WiFi. Does it deserve your hard earned lucre?

nVidia has been the laggard in chipsets for Intel processors, but their GeForce 9300 may help them turn things around. We checked out the 9300-based Asus P5N7A-VM, and we liked what we saw.

The PG35 chipset P5E-VM HDMI was one of the best LGA775 mATX boards of the last generation. With so many features it made an excellent ATX replacement and stood alone in its class for almost a year. Now, poised to replace it is the Asus P5Q-EM. Sporting a similar feature-set, but based around the new G45 chipset, it has some big shoes to fill.

Core 2 has dominated desktop processors for the last couple of years. Now comes Core i7, Intel's next gen architecture with the capacity to scale up to eight Hyper-threaded cores. What does the new platform bring to silent computing?