Intel X38 Express chipset reviewed

Geoff from The Tech Report has published an in-depth review of Intel's new X38 chipset which is the first to offer support for PCI Express 2.0.

Topping the P35 Express won't be easy, but Intel has a few tricks up its sleeve with the X38. Chief among them is next-gen PCI Express 2.0 connectivity—a first for desktop chipsets—with enough lanes for dual-x16 CrossFire configurations. As is customary for its high-end chipsets, Intel has also rolled out memory controller optimizations that promise faster performance and support for higher DDR3 memory speeds.

To find out whether these perks are enough to elevate the X38 Express over its blue-collar P35 sibling, we've run the first X38 boards from Asus and Gigabyte through a relentless series of memory controller, application, and peripheral performance tests. Read on to see how the X38 fares and what you can expect from the first wave of motherboards based on this new chipset.

You can read his report over here. The motherboards they tested performed pretty well and they say it's definitely the best chipset for the Core 2 Duo platform. However, they can't really recommend it because of the high price: motherboards costs $300 or more and DDR3 memory isn't really cheap either.