Can you have nForce 680i SLI performance with dual x16 SLI, at a nForce 650i SLI price? The chaps over at HotHardware took Asus' hybrid "Dual X16 SLI" based P5N32-E SLI Plus and pitted it against Abit's nForce 680i SLI based flagship IN9 32X-MAX and had some interesting results. Here's a snip:

The performance of both boards was excellent. The P5N32-E SLI Plus, powered by its hybrid chipset, surprised us by defeating the nForce 680i SLI based IN9 32X-MAX in all of our gaming related tests and our SLI tests. Ultimately the performance gap between the two boards is negligible, but we have proved that ASUS' hybrid chipset is able to keep pace with the nForce 680i SLI in both single-card and SLI performance.

So if we can get nForce 680i SLI level performance at a nForce 650i SLI price, why would we want to spend an extra $100 for a premium nForce 680i SLI based board like the IN9 32X-MAX? Simple, because premium boards like the IN9 32X-MAX offer features and packages you simply can't get with cheaper boards. Ultra high-end premium motherboards like the IN9 32X-MAX can never be replaced by cheaper boards, even if the performance gap is negligible. With their comprehensive accessory bundles, extreme overclocking options, and over-engineered design, these boards will always appeal to a certain bracket of the enthusiast market looking for the best gear.

The IN9 32X-MAX quickly makes you forget about the hit your wallet just took with its excellent overclocking performance. Even though we only overclocked it at stock voltages with all stock cooling, we were able to achieve an impressive frequency of 435MHz (1740MHz effective). Some boards can't even reach those numbers with water-cooling. Without a doubt, Abit's IN9 32X-MAX is an excellent motherboard. The only complaint we can leverage against it is its rather modest chipset voltage settings. Although even that is a rather moot concern since there usually isn't much point in pumping huge voltage into your board's components, when a modest voltage bump will do.