This review has been a long time coming. When Intel launched the P35 chipset we lined up an MSI Platinum motherboard which supported Core 2 Duo with DDR2 memory. The two key changes in P35 compared to P965 are support for the next generation of 1,333MHz FSB Core 2 Duo processors and a revised memory controller that supports either DDR2 or DDR3 memory.

Unfortunately we didn't have a 1,333MHz Core 2 Duo at that point in our saga and, as we were using 800MHz DDR2, the Platinum was no better than a P965. Things were looking up when we got our hands on a development Platinum D3 that supports the new DDR3 system memory, but it was flaky in the extreme so we gave up on that approach.

And then we hit pay dirt with the P35 Diamond, which is essentially a Platinum D3 with the addition of an X-Fi riser card. We have to be entirely honest here and say that our review sample didn't come with the audio card so what we effectively got was a Platinum D3 that works.

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Both the Platinum and Diamond employ an intricate cooling system that links passive coolers on the Southbridge, Northbridge, power regulation hardware and a slender cooler that stands between the CPU socket and innermost memory slot with heatpipes. That's a common solution on high-end motherboards but MSI has taken it a step further than normal by looping the heatpipes like a roller coaster to increase their length and it has also added fins to raise the surface area.

This system works well as a method of cooling a motherboard that deserves to be used for gaming, but it also raises a few doubts. The most obvious is that the Southbridge cooler is tall enough to interfere with a chunky graphics card installed in the top-most PCI Express slot. The P35 chipset is intelligent enough to redirect PCI Express support to whichever slot you use for graphics, so you can use the lower slot easily enough, however the design effectively means that it's impossible to use a pair of high-end ATi cards in CrossFire configuration.

The eight-pin ATX 12V connector is surrounded by heatpipes and, while it's easy enough to connect the cable, you can expect fun and games when you want to release the securing latch. The final point is that the cooling hardware surrounds the CPU socket on three sides which makes it awkward to install and remove a standard Intel heatsink, let alone a more exotic water cooling system.

The rest of the layout pretty much passes without comment as it is all good, solid MSI design. The single IDE connector is located at the edge of the board and is laid down for easy access. The four SATA connectors are spaced apart from each other and are easy to reach, while the various header connectors are neatly located together in one corner.

Moving on to the I/O panel things get slightly more unusual. There are no legacy Serial or Parallel ports but you do get a pair of PS/2 ports, which seems thoroughly sensible as they take up so little room. There's a single Firewire port, Gigabit LAN, two eSATA ports and a total of six USB 2.0 ports, but these have a layout that we haven't seen before.

Two of the USB ports are stacked under the LAN port but the other four are arranged in a square pattern with serious amounts of space between each port. You can plug in, say, a TV tuner and USB key side-by-side so, unlike many other motherboards, all six ports are available at all times.

The Diamond performs better than the Platinum because the DDR3 runs at an effective speed of 1,066MHz compared to the 800MHz of the DDR2. The problem is you pay a hefty premium of £150 for the new memory and you'd get the same performance from a P965 or P35 motherboard that supports 1,066MHz DDR2. It's not the type of memory that matters here - it's all about the Megahertz.

As things stand the P35 Diamond is an expensive motherboard that appears to offer little over a £70 P965, and you have to shell out large wedge on DDR3 memory. True enough, but the Diamond supports the new 1,333MHz FSB and would make a fine basis for a new gaming PC that has the potential for a CPU and memory upgrade in a year's time. No hardware is future-proof but the P35 Diamond is at least future-resistant.