Enthusiast-Oriented motherboards for Intel processors have traditionally been more expensive than those built for AMD chips, and that's nullified some of the Core 2 Duo's advantage over the Athlon 64 X2. Boards based on Intel's P965 Express chipset aren't that cheap if you opt for ones equipped with the ICH8R south bridge, and prices climb even higher if you want a second PCI Express x16 slot. Compare that to the Athlon 64 platform, where you can find scores of enthusiast-class mobos with CrossFire or SLI support for less than $150, and it's easy to see why some have opted for Socket AM2.

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