Asus P5WDG2-WS: Intel 975X goes to Work
by Gary Key on December 6, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Audio Performance
The BlueGears/HDA Mystique 7.1 Gold has the highest utilization rates of the audio solutions tested. BlueGears has confirmed a new driver release within the next 30 days that will offer improved performance in several areas. The RealTek R1.27 driver release continues to improve CPU utilization rates. The Sound Blaster X-FI has the lowest rates with the Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit and Realtek ALC882 solutions following closely. Let's find out how these results translate into real world numbers.
The ALC882 audio solution displayed excellent sound characteristics in music, video, and games throughout our testing and should seriously be considered as the main audio component if on-line gaming is not your priority. Specifications for the Realtek ALC88x audio family can be located here.
The BlueGears/HDA Mystique 7.1 Gold has the highest utilization rates of the audio solutions tested. BlueGears has confirmed a new driver release within the next 30 days that will offer improved performance in several areas. The RealTek R1.27 driver release continues to improve CPU utilization rates. The Sound Blaster X-FI has the lowest rates with the Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit and Realtek ALC882 solutions following closely. Let's find out how these results translate into real world numbers.
The ALC882 audio solution displayed excellent sound characteristics in music, video, and games throughout our testing and should seriously be considered as the main audio component if on-line gaming is not your priority. Specifications for the Realtek ALC88x audio family can be located here.
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Tujan - Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - link
Can you tell us what power supply was used on this Asus multi-layered board ? What kind of power muscle did get used. ? [ ]Thanks.Didn't see it right off in table of 'Setup.
Gary Key - Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - link
We used the OCZ Power Stream 520. It is our standard power supply for testing. I have listed in the overclocking setup but not in the regular test setup. I will add that line in the next article.Thank you.
Kensei - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Cool quote from the man often referred to as the first US psychologist. The psychology building at Harvard, where he was a professor, is also named after him. And I'm pretty sure he got that honor without giving them a ton of money.Kensei
Saist - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
just wondering how the board would compare using the Via Envy HT-S sound chip...Gary Key - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Would a Chaintech AV710 satisfy your question? ;->Hikari - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
I have some horrible 945G board (don't ask, I use a 7800GT lol), and I can't even run PC2-6400 over 667, nor will the computer not crash if I put the bus over 205. :(So when are the 975x boards supposed to come out? I see some of the Intel boxes listed now in froogle (not usually in stock though), but not from Gigabyte, Asus, or anyone else yet. :) I'd be happy if it is before the 21st (my birthday). This Asus board looks like it'll be exceedingly expensive, though.
rrcn - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Boards featuring the 975X chipset should hit retail stores sometime this week. We'll see...Gary Key - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
The 975x boards should be shipping in volume by the end of the year. We expect to see a small sampling of boards in the retail channel as early as next week but as always that could change.IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - link
Right... I am gonna overclock my workstation system by 30%...."I'll overclock my server by 20% when 4 million people depend on it NOT TO CRASH!!"
Gary Key - Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - link
:->I know the overclock testing was a bit much for a "workstation" board but it does give an indication to the quality of the components used on the board.