Gamers have been waiting for a satisfactory Nforce board since the line was released. Unfortunately, up until now the boards have suffered irritating bugs. But this latest release from Asus marks the Nforce’s renaissance.

The Asus Striker Extreme 680i features an updated Northbridge, ensuring that it’s ready for even the fastest of Intel’s processors without any hacking or risky overclocking procedures. It’s also packed with nifty improvements that might not seem so obvious. There are LEDs built into the motherboard to light up those tight spots, which is exciting both for folk who love to show off their components and for those who struggle to put machines together because of pervading darkness.

You’ll find a separate daughterboard for sound and a noise cancelling array microphone, which is perfect for games that are heavy on vocal communication. But most importantly, this Asus motherboard offers full support for Nvidia PCI Express cards running in SLI, which is the dream setup until the eighth generation of motherboards gain any steam.