For the last month or so the hot discussion in the computer enthusiast community has centered around motherboards based on the Intel P35/ICH9R chipset. The hype for these products has been nothing short of phenomenal. In discussions that we've read on various enthusiast forums a few of the many primary reasons we could ascertain for this fervor were: (Note: We paraphrased for brevity's sake.)

The P35 supports the 1333MHz version Core 2 Duo processor
The P35 has better support for the current quad processors in the Core 2 Duo lineup
The P35 has support out of the box for the forthcoming Intel 45nm dual-core Wolfdale and the quad-core Yorkfield processors
The P35 uses Intel based components as opposed to those offered by NVidia
The P35 is faster and easier to overclock
Some manufacturers are making P35s which support DDR3
The P35 is more stable than the other options that are available
The P35 is a great board and it would be perfect if it only supported SLI ...
I'm off for the next few days and need a new project, so I bought a P35

We're certainly not going to try to either support or dispute any of the rationale used by our enthusiast brethren in making these statements. In our own testing we have found the P35 boards to be quite capable. We're also well aware that the release of any new product coupled with the marketing hype that surrounds it can readily turn today's hot property into yesterday's news. All of us that adorn the enthusiast title are guilty of wanting and in many cases getting the latest and greatest as soon as possible after the product hits the market.

If everything you've said thus far is true then why even bother to bring all of this up? Good question! First, we were extremely curious why the NVIDIA 680i based motherboard which 60 days ago was the 'holy grail' of overclocking lost so much popularity in the enthusiast ranks, seemingly overnight. Secondly, we were curious to see if the 680i as advertised truly supported the new 1333MHz standard and if so how it performed in a head-to-head comparison against the P35. For the record, this is an article for informational puposes and not a review thus we will refrain from scoring any products being tested.