Thoughts
A number of factors take away from the present attractiveness of 900-series boards. Lacklustre performance at stock speeds is highlighted by comparatively poor performance against AMD's Athlon 64 setups. Overclocking potential, in the main, is significantly lower than present S478-based Springdale/Canterwood models, and there's not a whole lot of choice in compliant graphics cards and memory modules. That said, there is promise if and when Intel decides to boost core logic speeds.That's what DFI's LANPARTY 925X-T2 is up against if evaluated with respect to the so-called bigger performance picture. Previous LANPARTY boards have shone by taking the best parts of a core logic and augmenting it with carefully chosen extras, often creating the must-have motherboard. The intrinsic problem facing the £160 925X-T2, though, is from competitors who have caught up DFI in both features and bundle. ASUS' 900-series boards are a case in point. They out-specify the 925X-T2 in almost every area and the P5GD2 (i915P) Premium, priced at £135, matches Alderwood performance and offers extra goodies to boot.
There's plenty of decent 900-series boards doing the rounds right now, and DFI's 925X-T2 is decent. The problem is, as far as I can see, that other manufacturers now offer a better overall package at similar price levels.
The Good
CMOS Reloaded is always a nice touch
Classy packaging and decent bundle
Clean layout
The Not So Good
Mediocre performance when viewed from a platform point of view.
Unexciting overclocking potential.
A touch lightweight on non-logic-driven features.
The competition is intense and impressive.
Lightweight documentation on a premium board.
