Conclusion
What can I say, the SK8V is possibly my favourite motherboard in a long time. Most of that is down to the processor support, FX-51 is mighty fast and I do notice the extra speed over my usual Model 3200+ and K8V combo in some applications and games. Not all, but some.Good layout, excellent features, the possibility for flexible disk setups by virtue of the VT8237 and Promise PDC20378 controllers, FireWire, all 8 USB2.0 ports and the WiFi port are all plus points.
The need for registered DIMMs on the processor is moot, if you can afford FX-51 you can also afford nice modules like the XMS3500R I used for testing.
If you're new to the market and know you want FX-5x (53 is out soon), wait for the K8T800 Pro version if you want to overclock. If you don't, the SK8V is probably the best enthusiast level Socket 940 board on the market.
ASUS are hitting the spot just now, SK8V, K8V and the P4S800 that featured in the benchmarks are all excellent.
Highly recommended.
Score
Pros
Excellent performanceWiFi slot
Good features, 4 SATA, 8 USB2.0, 2 FireWire and S/PDIF all stand out, AD1985 is very good
Good presentation
Good BIOS and enthusiast tweaking options
Flexible disk setups possible
Very good layout
Not very expensive
Cons
Doesn't lock PCIK8T800 Pro version out shortly
Thanks
ASUS for the sample.Corsair for the XMS3500R.
