Tom's Hardware > All Reviews > Components > Motherboards > The Pentium Elite, Part 2: 955X versus nForce4 IE

The Pentium Elite, Part 2: 955X versus nForce4 IE

1:05 PM - September 26, 2005 by Patrick Schmid

1. 955X Or nForce4 IE?
2. Abit AW8-MAX 3rd Eye II: Large Case, And A Lot In It
3. Abit AW8-MAX 3rd Eye II, Continued
4. Abit AW8-MAX 3rd Eye II, Continued
5. Asus P5WD2 Premium: Optional TV Card
6. Asus P5WD2 Premium, Continued
7. Foxconn 955X7AA: On The Right Path
8. Gigabyte 8I955X Royal: Luxurious Overclocker
9. Gigabyte 8I955X Royal, Continued

10. Intel D955XBK
11. Intel D955XBK, Continued
12. Test Setup
13. Benchmark Results
14. Audio
15. Synthetic
16. nForce4 IE Vs. 955X
17. Summary: There Is No Perfect Premium Board
18. Configuration Table

In the first part of our big socket 775 Premium comparison test, we presented several products based on the nForce4 Intel Edition chipsets. These clearly showed that NVIDIA's Pentium chipset can also compete in practice with the until-now unrivalled market leader, Intel. Which products, however, are best in the final analysis? And is it the chipset or the motherboard manufacturer that is the real winner?

Those interested in a motherboard for a gaming PC would in most cases be content with the NVIDIA. The reason for this is the firm's own Scalable Line Interleave (SLI) technology, which enables the parallel operation of two graphics cards in the GeForce 6 or 7 series. In the ideal case, this almost doubles 3D performance.

It is true that Intel also plans to enable two graphically compatible x16 PCI Express slots rather than just one in the next chipset generation, each running at PCIe x8. Still, the question of compatibility with regard to dual graphics - CrossFire from ATI or SLI from NVIDIA - has not yet been settled.

We'll now take a look at five current 955X motherboards, and finally clear up which manufacturer offers the best product in the Premium class.