BEST CPUAsus P5W DH Deluxe
What, were you expecting an
nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition moth-
erboard? We were too, but
Nvidia’s lustworthy 590 chipset
remains a no-show. No problem.
Asus’ P5W DH Deluxe board is
here to save the day. The board
features beefy heatsinks, wire-
less capability, and a driverless
RAID setup. Even without SLI
support, you can still slot a GeForce
7950 GX2, a Sound Blaster X-Fi, and any other PCI
card of your choosing. Combine that with Intel’s new Core 2 Extreme
QX6800 quad-core processor and stand back, mama! A dual-GPU
machine with quad-core processing makes us happy campers, indeed.
(Reviewed October 2006) $250, http://www.asus.comIntel Core
2 Extreme
QX6800
We were split on our choice
for top proc: Intel’s Core 2
Extreme X6800 features a
2.93GHz clock speed but has
just two cores, while the Core
2 Extreme QX6800 sports four
cores but runs at just 2.66GHz.
Despite the dual-core Core 2
Extreme’s better performance
with most of today’s applica-
tions and games, we decided
we’d have to have rocks
for brains to pass on four
execution cores for a two-core
design. That’s because today’s
games and apps, which are
mostly single-threaded or
support just two threads, will
eventually be multithreaded.
So buy the quad-core CPU
today—it will actually get
faster as future applications
utilize more cores.
(See story on page 48)
$1,000, http://www.intel.comCool and quiet—two traits that are
absolutely crucial in an aftermarket
CPU cooler. That’s why we love the
CNPS9500 LED; it’s one of the qui-
etest coolers we’ve tested, yet it
delivers kick-ass cooling perfor-
mance. By spreading the cooling
fi ns in a tunnel around the fan, the
CNPS9500 LED achieves astounding
temperatures and whisper-quiet opera-
tion, just the way we like it.
(Reviewed October 2005) $50, http://www.zalmanusa.comDanger Den Custom
Whether you’re looking to water-cool your rig to minimize noise or
maximize your overclocking potential, Danger Den has the
parts for you. The beautiful thing about Danger Den is
that you aren’t constrained to the parts included in
one particular kit. Although the company does sell
several good universal kits, you can also mix
and match the exact water block, pump, radia-
tor, and tubing you’re looking for to get the
perfect confi g for your rig.
(Reviewed July 2006)
Price varies, http://www.dangerdenstore.comDECEMBER 2006 MAXIMUMPC 41
Cool and quiet—two traits that are
absolutely crucial in an aftermarket
CPU cooler. That’s why we love the
CNPS9500 LED; it’s one of the qui-
etest coolers we’ve tested, yet it
delivers kick-ass cooling perfor-
mance. By spreading the cooling
fi ns in a tunnel around the fan, the
CNPS9500 LED achieves astounding
temperatures and whisper-quiet opera-(Reviewed October 2005) $50, http://www.zalmanusa.comCNPS9500 LED achieves astounding
temperatures and whisper-quiet opera-(Reviewed October 2005) $50, http://www.zalmanusa.com2006
Intel Core
BEST MOTHERBOARDBEST AIR-COOLINGZalman CNPS9500 LED
BEST WATER-COOLINGcard of your choosing. Combine that with Intel’s new Core 2 ExtremeDanger Den Custom
Whether you’re looking to water-cool your rig to minimize noise or
maximize your overclocking potential, Danger Den has the
parts for you. The beautiful thing about Danger Den is
that you aren’t constrained to the parts included in
one particular kit. Although the company does sell
several good universal kits, you can also mixBEST WATER-COOLINGDanger Den Custom
Whether you’re looking to water-cool your rig to minimize noise or
maximize your overclocking potential, Danger Den has the
parts for you. The beautiful thing about Danger Den is
that you aren’t constrained to the parts included in
one particular kit. Although the company does sell
several good universal kits, you can also mixAsus P5W DH Deluxe
nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition moth-remains a no-show. No problem.support, you can still slot a GeForce
7950 GX2, a Sound Blaster X-Fi, and any other PCIAsus P5W DH Deluxe
nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition moth-support, you can still slot a GeForce
7950 GX2, a Sound Blaster X-Fi, and any other PCI