Tech Link (Motherboard): Foxconn 975X7AB - FOX ONE and Digital VRM

I used to be a fan of LostCircuits when they are very objective and not subjective and seemed to be oblivious as to what the industry is trying to push on the "marketing" and they are focusing on "what's really in for the technology". Over time, I feel that this has changed, and I also began going away from the site.

I always wish I'd give the site the same reverence I used to give it to, but I just can't help but wonder if they really deserve it. But hey, it's just me, so you may have a different perspective and outlook on the way they post their articles. Have a look see, they have a new motherboard for the new Chipzilla processor on the test bench.

Summary

The probably hottest newcomer in the motherboard scene is Foxconn, who has recently set new standards of how to build motherboards based on nVidia and Intel chipsets. One thing we love about that company is that there is always one board where it seems that all stops have been pulled, examples have been the Winfast NFPIK8AA as well as the C51XEM2AA but both were aimed at AMD CPUs - understandable at the time of their introduction but things have changed. Intel's Core2 processors have conquered the enthusiast community by storm and - who might have guessed - Foxconn is following with the appropriate board, based on Intel's 975X chipset and displaying the inspiring name 975X7AB.

What the name lacks is made up by the feature set. A digital voltage regulator module borrowed from server class motherboards in combination with an auto-overclocking ASIC supported by proprietary software are the hi-lights but there is more in the form of Azalia audio and Dual Gigabit Ethernet. Having the features is one thing, having them working together is another issue and overclocking is yet a third issue since getting into Windows with enough stability is not the same as ramping the performance accordingly. So how does all of this pan out in the grand picture? Especially when we test with SLI instead of CrossFire?

Source:Foxconn 975X7AB - FOX ONE and Digital VRM