When it comes to fast, Intel
delivers!
Intel's X48 Express is the final chipset for the socket
775 line of processors. It's not radically different from the X38, P35 or P45
chipsets that have come before it, but it does gives support for PCI Express 2.0
and official support for 1600 MHz memory and FSB speeds.
As we've seen today, MSI's X48 Platinum motherboard has
a lot of high end features for a significantly discounted price - we've found it
for as low as $270 CDN ($250 USD, $130 GBP). The four physical PCI Express x16
slots, dual Gigabit lan, dual disk controllers with RAID 0/1/5/10 and JBOD
support are all features that you only find on premium motherboards, the kind
you'd expect to cost $350 and above.
The MSI X48
Platinum is very a user friendly motherboard, we particularly liked the four
digit POST display, extra clearance for PCI Express cards in Crossfire and even
the widely spaced USB I/O panel. Just another indication of MSI's attention to
enthusiast demands. The on-board power, reset and clear CMOS buttons also make
this board very enthusiast-friendly too.
Overclockers might want to watch out though, MSI's X48 Platinum
motherboard has plenty of voltage, memory timing and divider ratio options for
overclocking. The E6750 CPU used in our tests only reached 475 MHz FSB, and
while this is certainly a respectable boost in performance and operating
frequency, the Foxconn DigitalLife X38A was able to reach speeds up to 555 MHz
FSB, and remains our recommendation for socket 775 overclockers.
The MSI X48 Platinum's performance was above average in
our benchmarking tests, showing good 3D performance and excelling in benchmarks
that could take advantage of its higher-frequency DDR3 memory. DDR3 memory is
still relatively expensive compared to older DDR2 modules, so make sure to
factor that into your spending before you decide to take the plunge.
MSI'S X48 Platinum is a motherboard that gives several
exotic features at prices that the mainstream can afford. It's not quite as fast
as the extreme offerings from Asus, and it doesn't
overclock quite as well as Foxconn's X38 offerings, but its great expansion
capabilities and native support for faster DDR3 memory make it a good choice for
enthusiasts who are looking for a new home for their favourite Intel Core 2
Duo/Extreme processor!
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