PCI Express 2.0: One Better than Its Predecessor
IN FOCUSPCI-E 2.0 is exactly what it sounds like: a sequel to the phe-
nomenally successful PCI-E 1.0. In a nutshell, it doubles the
bandwidth of PCI-E 1.0, so an x16 slot goes from 8GB/s to
16GB/s. To take advantage of the extra bandwidth, you need
a newer PCI-E 2.0-compliant videocard, such as the Ge-
Force 8800 GT or the Radeon HD 3870. And with double the
bandwidth you can expect faster graphics, right? Of course
not. Given today’s games and 2.0 graphics cards, the addedcapability doesn’t pay huge dividends. It’s best to think of
PCI Express 2.0 the way you thought of SATA 3GB or any
other newfangled infrastructure upgrade. You lay the road
before it gets choked with cars. Newer applications and
newer cards will eventually consume that bandwidth. We’re
not yet at the point where PCI-E 2.0 support is a make-or-
break deal, but regardless, you’d be hard-pressed to fi nd a
new high-performance board that lacks it.Intel
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This just might be the ultimate motherboard
Asus Asus Striker II ExtremeStriker II Extreme
If the EVGA nForce 790i board is a Shelby Cobra—a bristling big-block
V8 with drum brakes and leaf springs—Asus’s Striker II Extreme is
a high-tech, twin-turbo, all-wheel-steering Nissan Skyline GT-R
R35. In other words, the Striker II Extreme is a spectacle of bells,
whistles, and doohickeys. So much so that you actually won’t
mind shelling out $450 for it. Heck, it’s plumbed for optional
chipset water cooling, a riser board for the audio codecs, an
externally mounted BIOS POST display that explains what
the board is doing in plain English, and even a smattering
of LED arrays—one, for example, lets you know if your
overclocking eff orts are “Normal,” “High,” or “Crazy.”
Overclocking was clearly a factor in the Striker
II Extreme’s design. Of the four boards here, it pro-
duced the most impressive results, taking a 2.5GHz
Q9300 up to 3.7GHz under stress with a 2GHz FSB.
We were also able to push the EVGA’s front-side
bus to 2GHz, but we had to lower the multiplier
a notch to get it to run reliably. We think we
could have teased out similar performance
from both boards given time, but with the Striker II,
overclocking was nearly eff ortless.
What else does $450 buy you? A backlit I/O shield, a toggle
switch to reset the CMOS, and a full copy of Company of He-
roes: Opposing Fronts. In benchmark performance, the Striker
traded top spots with the EVGA board in most tests, but oddly,
it had the poorest scores of all the boards here in Quake 4 and
FEAR. Still, given its higher overclocking scores and its plethora
of value adds, the Striker II is worth the crazy money Asus
wants for it, especially for hardcore PC tweakers.Fancy LEDs, a water block,
and an external LCD
display make the Striker II
Extreme unique.42 | MAXIMUMPC | JUL 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
VERDICT$450, http://www.asus.com^9
ASUS STRIKER II EXTREMEThe Striker II Extreme features a button (with arrow) that lets you reset the CMOS should an overclocking adventure get too, um, adventurous.