• Clean Layout (ATX power connector placement is optimal)
• Performance (marginally faster than a Tyan Tiger MPX)
• Support for unbuffered DDR memory in the first two DIMM slots
• Staggered 64-bit/66MHz PCI slots
• Integrated Components (Intel NIC, Promise RAID/ATA, Useable audio)
• Easily accessible jumpers to enable and disable integrated components if desired

Downs

• I'm not 100% confident in the Promise RAID controller + AMD 760MPX combination
• While the integrated AC97 audio is useable, I think we'd rather see another solution or nothing at all
• The name. It's completely non-memorable. Change your naming scheme Gigabyte!

After testing three different 760MPX boards, I'm really starting to get a feel for the platform. Gigabyte has brought an excellent solution to market with the GA-7DPXDW+. It's quite a stable board, crashing only three times over the last couple months of testing (those three crashes were RAID-controller related too). It brings the features that most enthusiasts want in their dual boards at present; a great NIC, a popular IDE RAID controller that can double as a simple ATA controller if RAID functionality isn't required and a workable audio solution. The layout is about as good as you'll find and the board isn't oversized like the Iwill MPX2 so you shouldn't have any problems fitting this in the majority of mid -> full tower cases.

At the time of this writing, the board seems to be priced in the ~240-250USD range (based on pricewatch). This is pretty competitive when you compare it with the Iwill MPX2s and Tiger MPXs of the world and considering you'll get the addition of integrated audio, IDE RAID and an Intel NIC. Overclockers will want to opt for either the afformentioned Iwill MPX2 or MSI's K7D Master-L. Those of you who are in the market for a solid workstation board without the need for the fancy whiz-bang voltage adjustments present on other boards should at the very least consider the Gigabyte GA-7DPXDW+.

Jim Kirk

2CPU.com gives this motherboard 8.5/10 CPUs