The Boards - DFI Infinity 975X/G

DFI's layout is extremely clean and tidy - after all, this board is intended to be a high-powered overclocking monster for the Core 2 family. The PCB is a green colour with a 30x30cm profile, which is full ATX size. The power connectors are located on the left side of the board behind the Stereo audio ports. While this is a little annoying, you can route the cables along the top of the case to avoid the CPU area. The single IDE and FDD connectors are on the right side of the board behind the DIMM sockets.

The CPU layout is also clear of large components, making it easier to install larger than stock default heatsinks. 6 phases are used to deliver power to the CPU which is more than adequate to provide power to the CPU.

Now to the rear I/O and your expansion possibilities. 2 PSI ports are standard with 1 Toslink SPDIF out, 1 RCA SPDIF out, 1 Parallel, 1 e.SATA, 4 USB, 1 Firewire, 1 Gigabit RJ-45 and 6 stereo audio ports.

Expansion slots are extremely important. Two PCI Express x16 slots are provided for ATI Crossfire compatibility. When two Crossfire cards are inserted, the PCI Express x16 slots transform into x8 slots. A single PCI Express x1 slots resided above the primary PCI Express x16 slot and a PCI Express x4 slot sits between the PCI Express x16 slots. Two PCI legacy slots are included to give your older PCI cards some room.

As for additional extras, a VIA VT6307 Firewire controller gives you a couple Firewire ports - one on the rear I/O panel and one header on the board. The e.SATA is controlled by a JMicron PCI Express controller chip. Lastly is a Realtek PCI Express x1 Gigabit LAN controller.