Reviews Tom's Hardware US - Components - Motherboards

Components - Motherboards

Seven $260-$320 X79 Express Motherboards, Reviewed With 40 lanes of PCIe 3.0 connectivity to host all of our high-bandwidth devices, LGA 2011 certainly qualifies as a premium processor interface. Today we examine seven X79-based motherboards that offer high-end features at a more palatable price. Ultimate X79? Five $320+ LGA 2011 Motherboards, Reviewed Our flagship motherboard comparison announcement was answered with an interesting selection of models, along with a bunch of ?not ready yet? responses. Today we examine a few samples from companies bold enough to step up to the plate during launch week. Five $160 To $240 990FX-Based Socket AM3+ Motherboards Forty-two PCIe lanes give the 990FX a clear connectivity lead over competing Intel chipsets. We compare five class-leading products using AMD's FX-8150 to see which offers the best combination of performance, overclocking, integrated features, and value. Man Vs. Machine: Four Automatic Overclocking Techs, Compared Targeting inexperienced tuners with easy-to-use buttons, several motherboard vendors now provide one-touch overclocking technologies that take away the guesswork. We examine the ease, effectiveness, and safety of methods provided by four major brands. Round-Up: Four Z68 Motherboards From $220 To $280 A real enthusiast chipset deserves a real enthusiast motherboard. Today we're comparing four feature-packed platforms that most folks who call themselves hardcore (and informed enough to know what hardware meets their needs) can actually afford. Six A75-Based Motherboards For AMD?s A8 And A6 APUs Advanced on-board graphics put AMD?s Llano-based APU far ahead of Intel?s Sandy Bridge architecture, at least when it comes to 3D apps. But you?ll still need a new motherboard to support the Socket FM1 platform. Today we test six affordable contenders. From $100 To $160: Five Z68-Based Boards, Compared Value-oriented system builders celebrate new-found performance and features as Intel continues pushing its mainstream platform towards the high-end. Today, we draw a line in the sand and consider five motherboards priced between $100 and $160. The Brazos Round-Up: Eight AMD E-350-Based Motherboards AMD?s Brazos platform, driven by the Zacate APU, offers a lot of performance per watt. It comes up short on features, though. Eight manufacturers try to change that perception by adding slots, controllers, and even overclocking in a couple of cases. Tom's Hardware Visits Intel's Motherboard Team We first covered Intel's Hawthorn Farm campus two years ago. A return visit with a video camera gives us the opportunity to film inside and ask some new questions about the company's efforts to design more enthusiast-oriented motherboards. The 990FX Chipset Arrives: AMD And SLI Rise Again AMD is laying the foundation for its Socket AM3+, Bulldozer-based Zambezi processors with the 990FX chipset, functionally identical to 890FX. The big news is that motherboard vendors are licensing SLI again, and we want to compare performance to Intel.