New Boards For Socket 775: Biostar, DFI, Epox

Intel's self-purported "digital revolution" is in full swing. And while there are no performance improvements worth writing home about, the 915/Grantsdale and 925X/Alderwood platforms still offer a number of features that make the Socket 775 architecture at least interesting. On top of that, the Socket 775 doesn't require expensive DDR2 memory. These positives have not gone unnoticed by the mobo makers, a number of which introduced new boards based on this platform during the normally quiet summer months.

Among those in the latest Socket 775 crop, Biostar sent us a sample of its feature-laden P4TAW Extreme (925X) mobo with its generous interface options. The new LANParty boards from DFI offer a choice of the 915P or 925X chipsets, although only the 925X offers the wide range of features we have now come to expect. Epox, with its 915G-based EP - 5EBA model, also has possibilities.

To answer the steady stream of readers' questions about the 925XE chipset, Intel intends to release this device within the next few weeks to ramp the system clock up from 200 MHz to 266 MHz . Compatible processors are expected to appear in the form of a new P4 series with 2 MB of L2 cache and 700 model numbers. An Extreme Edition is also in the works. Although the XE chipset and matching processor may be the best choice from a performance point of view, it will be an expensive option - too expensive for many users during the first few months following its release. A similar situation exists with the small number of systems based on AMD's Socket 939.