There isn't any surprise here. The 75KV2 X performs as good as the 75KV and ranks in the performance scales remain similar. This is certainly what we expect considering similar design (and similar Northbridge). What we are still very impressed about is that that it comes in very close to performance levels of the Asus A7V.

Audio Quality

For those motherboards equipped with an AC97 Audio CODEC, I normally refrain from commenting about its audio quality as it is taken for granted that AC97 are for those not too serious about sound quality. In fact, with Soltek's SL 67KV, I came across some very harsh and noisy audio output. To my surprise, the audio output of the SL 75KV was quite pleasant. At any volume level, the sound was crisp and most importantly it was very clear. So much so that I had even removed my PCI sound card as I was quite satisfied with what the CODEC could do.

However, the problem of "soft audio" is the fact that a good number of CPU cycles are consumed. Hardcore gamers will shun AC97 anyway as they cannot afford the drop in frame rates.