Abit's AG8 motherboard: Abit gets its 915P groove on
 

ALTHOUGH DISCUSSION of Intel hardware lately tends to degenerate into Prescott-bashing, the company's new 900 series chipsets really are the bee's knees. Released several months ago, the new chipsets boast plenty of PCI Express for peripherals and graphics, Native Command Queuing for Serial ATA hard drives, support for DDR2 memory, and support for Intel's High Definition Audio spec. With companies like VIA only just beginning to preview PCI Express chipsets, Intel is way ahead of the game when it comes to support for next-generation standards.

While the Athlon 64 world waits on PCI Express, a wide range of motherboards based on Intel's 900 series chipsets have flooded the market, and they're more affordable than you think. For only $132, you can get your hands on Abit's 915P-based AG8, which serves up PCI Express graphics, all the integrated goodies in Intel's ICH6R south bridge, and support for DDR400 memory so you don't have to resort to high-latency DDR2. With recent price cuts making LGA775 processors like the Pentium 4 520 2.8GHz available for as little as $160, boards like the AG8 could be perfect for video editing enthusiasts, Hyper-Threading fetishists, and those with a deep longing for PCI Express. Read on for an in-depth look at the AG8's features and performance.

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