Test Motherboard: Intel D975XBX

Once again we used Intel's 975XBX motherboard, because this was the first retail product for which we could get a BIOS update.

As this is a new silicon revision, a BIOS update is required to add the the Extreme Edition 965 to commercially-available motherboards.

We expect all motherboard companies to release their updated BIOS versions with Presler C1 support over the next two weeks. As the new prior will not be available before April, this should not be a problem.

If you buy a Socket 775 motherboard and intend to run an Extreme Edition 965 on it, make sure that a suitable BIOS version is installed. As you cannot even boot a non-C1 BIOS with the new processor, you would need a B1 stepping processor (or one that is older) just to flash the BIOS.

From a platform point of view, three chipsets support the Intel double-core Extreme Editions: Intel's 955X, Intel's 975X and the Nvidia nForce4 SLI X16 Intel Edition. The requirements are the pinout for dual-core support (this is not available with older platforms) and support for 1066 MHz FSB system speed.