ScienceMark & Pifast
Starting off our analysis with a look at memory bandwidth and latency. Let's see just how good Hyper Path 2 really is.
It's interesting to note that the supposedly lesser chipset, i915P Grantsdale, manages to keep up with i925X Alderwood, yet both are some way behind AMD's dual-channel Athlon 64 3800+, according to ScienceMark.
More proof that ASUS' Hyper Path 2 is working equally well on both chipsets. This brings me back to the question that was never fully answered during i865/875 days, that is, if ASUS can pull PAT-like performance from a lesser chipset, what need or reason does a potential buyer have in choosing the more expensive model. What makes that question even more difficult to answer is in the near-identical feature set on these two premium boards. Of course, running through an off-chip memory controller ensures that both CPUs are given a resounding thrashing by AMD's Athlon 64 lovelies.
Again, very little difference in performance, Hyper Path 2 elevates i915P to i925X performance status, In fact, if anything, i915P is ever-so-slightly ahead.