Introduction
Chaintech Summit SK8T800 VIA K8T800 MotherboardAMD's Socket-754 Athlon 64 lineup is looking good right now. An OEM Model 3000+ can be purchased for £135. Our benchmarks have shown just what a potent performer it can be. The problem with S754 is the inability to source cheap motherboards. Most respected firms usually tack on a feature count that bloats price. Chaintech's decided it's high time cheaper boards were available to the consumer. That means using a chipset's inherent abilities to the maximum, reducing the number of discrete controllers, being frugal with the bundle, yet keeping performance up there with the more expensive models.
A sub-£200 Athlon 64 CPU and motherboard bundle sounds good to us. Chaintech obliges with its SK8T800. Don't expect any superfluous features of gratuitous extras. This is one lean, mean motherboard that's driven by price. Time to take a closer peek.