So which comes first? The chicken or the egg? We can't have a review of the ASUS P9X79 Pro Intel X79 motherboard without a new Intel Sandy Bridge-E processor, can we? Of course we can't launch the new Intel X79 Express chipset without a review of the LGA2011 processor! So, while Nate has been working hard on the processor review of the Intel Core i7 3960X which he has so eloquently put together for us here, we will be taking a look at one of the first Intel X79 motherboards from ASUS, the ASUS P9X79 Pro! The work Nate is doing is focusing more on the performance of the new Intel Core i7 3960 Sandy Bridge E processor, while we will be focusing on the performance and features of the ASUS P9X79 Pro LGA2011 motherboard and the Intel X79 chipset. We will be taking a look at the performance scaling in NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX as well as the performance of the integrated SATA III 6Gbps and SuperSpeed USB 3.0. Since this is the first Intel X79 to pop up on our radar, we are going to compare it to a handful of systems from both AMD and Intel! In the tradition of ASUS, they will be releasing a number of LGA2011 motherboards right out of the gate. Each of them will have a different feature set as well as a different price point. The entry level ASUS motherboard will be the ASUS P9X79 and will have a suggested retail price of $299.00. The ASUS P9X79 Pro is the first step up and will retail for $329.00; the Deluxe version of the ASUS P9X79 will have an expected retail price of $399.00. The TUF series of motherboards isn't being forgotten about for the Intel X79 chipset; ASUS will have a Sabertooth X79 available for $339.00. If you are looking for the ultimate board and are willing to spare no expense, ASUS is releasing their new Republic of Gamers Rampage IV Extreme at $459.00