Final thoughts
Gigabyte has been one of the first big-name manufacturers to release an Intel i975X chipset-based motherboard to the market. The chipset change from i955X to i975X has resulted in explicit multi-GPU support straight out of the box, with ATI's CrossFire technology certified to run on i975X without a hitch. NVIDIA's SLI, however, is still specific to the nForce4 chipset, and only time will tell if driver support will appear for Intel's chipset.Apart from obvious multi-GPU and upcoming 65nm Pentium CPU support, there's nothing much to get excited about. Strip away those two features and the sample motherboard benchmarked in i955X-like fashion. Gigabyte has realised that Intel's new chipset will replace i955X in the near future and has thus designed a premium motherboard that will appeal to a broad cross-section of users. Features a-plenty will keep the GA-G1975X competitive against its rivals and customised cooling, dubbed TurboJet, helps in heat dissipation , especially when overclocking.
The introduction of the Intel i975X chipset renders the current i955X as obsolete; the newer chipset supports all i955X features and adds some of its own, including, crucially, multi-GPU support, although only from ATI and not NVIDIA. The problem with the gamer opting for an LGA775 setup still remains as apparent as it did with the i955X; equivalent AMD CPUs simply provide more performance punch, and there's scant little a chipset tweak can do about it.
The bottom line is that if you're considering opting for an LGA775 setup and had your eyes on an i955X motheboard, wait for the i975X. It does everything the i955X does and then some. Gigabyte'sthe GA-G1975X is a commendable motherboard in light of the fact that it's first to market. We'll be looking at the i975X again, from a gaming viewpoint, against ATI's CrossFire and NVIDIA's SLI-certified motherboards in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled for that!
