Asus P6T Deluxe Intel X58 motherboard ~ salfarworld

Having just recently examined the new Intel Core i7 processors, the timing seems perfect to also show you in detail a motherboard designed to take advantage of these CPUs. The Asus P6T Deluxe sports the new Intel X58 chipset and is one of the first production Core i7 motherboards available in the market.

With the Core i7 just becoming available this month, you can expect to pay premium prices not only for the processors but also for the mainboard that goes along that purchase. Initially we expect the P6T Deluxe to retail for a little over $300, making it an expensive alternative.

Because of the added cost inherent of moving to a new platform, building a new Core i7 computer is going to be quite steep. The base model Core i7 processor will set you back an initial $284, which is not too bad, but combined with a $300 motherboard and a triple-channel DDR3 memory kit, that should add up to around $800 just for the guts of a Core i7 system.

Yet, given the blazing fast performance offered by this new platform, justifying the price tag may not be too difficult for those who can afford it. After all, a few years ago you could end up paying $1,000 for a 'top of the line' Pentium 4 that heated up like crazy. Today's cheaper alternative winds up being the Core 2 Duo which is no slouch, so stepping into Core i7 territory right now can be considered a luxury.

But back to the P6T Deluxe, there may be a few good reasons to dish out some extra cash for this new motherboard. Besides the obvious stuff like Core i7 and triple-channel memory support across six DIMM slots, this Asus motherboard has something else very exciting on offer.

The Intel X58 is the first chipset to offer universal support for multiple graphics cards. In other words, it can handle both ATI Crossfire and Nvidia SLI technologies. That doesn't mean all X58 motherboards will necessarily support both, but the P6T Deluxe certainly does.

It's also worth of mention that Asus offers an even more extreme gaming-oriented version of the Asus P6T Deluxe called the Rampage II Extreme, which we hope to show you at a later time. The P6T Deluxe on the other hand is more of an all-rounder, designed as a high-end Core i7 motherboard for anyone making the move to this platform.

Much has changed with the Core i7 processors, and these have impacted the chipset and motherboard design as well.