The backwards compatibility issues with the DDR2 memory was easily corrected as the newer Intel chipsets such as the i915P were able to support both DDR1 and DDR2 on the same motherboards (just not at the same time). Even the transition from Parallel ATA to the newer Serial ATA drives is going very smooth due to their ability to co-exist on the same motherboard (they are able to work at the same time). Unfortunately, while all PCI Express motherboards do still support a small number of PCI slots, AGP support has been neglected. This meant that for users who had already purchased expensive AGP graphics cards would be stuck with their current system till it became too outdated.

However, a large number of motherboard manufacturers decided to offer the older i865PE and i875P chipsets on new LGA775 motherboards. This of course sacrificed a number of new features and technologies such as DDR2. On the other hand users did not have to sacrifice their expensive AGP graphics cards, only to replace them with similar performing PCIe parts. Thankfully, motherboard manufacturer Albatron has been working hard to build a strong reputation and along the way developed what is now known as AGPe. The inclusion of the AGPe port on this Albatron PX915P-AGPe created a lot of attention for this motherboard.

The introduction of such a design is very innovative and Albatron should be proud of their efforts. While there are a few drawbacks to the design of AGPe, it is still going to make for a very flexible upgrade path. The key issue with AGPe is that for it to work Albatron has to design the motherboard so that it believes the AGP port is actually a PCI slot. The down side of course being that AGPe is limited to the same 33MHz 33-bit PCI interface that any other PCI device would be. This will sacrifice the performance of high-end graphics cards in particular. The up side however is that both PCIe and AGPe graphics cards can be installed together for quad monitor support.

This dual graphics card configuration will not boost the graphic performance of the system as the two cards will not be working together. On the other hand you can use quad monitors without a huge performance loss. For example, if a racing car game was to support this feature one graphics card could render the view from the front windscreen on two monitors. Then the other could render the view from the rear windscreen on the other two monitors without a performance loss. Furthermore this quad monitor is ideal for multimedia and graphics applications for work station computers.

The combination of PCIe and AGPe on a single motherboard certainly is incredible and gives users a great deal of flexibility. Another impressive aspect of this motherboard is the modest price tag of just $125 US. At this price the PX915P-AGPe is a steal as it offers the majority of features found on any other i915P motherboard with the added luxury of AGP support. However, I am surprised to find no support for DDR2 memory. This is very surprising given the steps Albatron took in order to make sure that this was a highly flexible motherboard. Nevertheless, let's continue with the review to discover all there is to know about the Albatron PX915P-AGPe motherboard.