A series of motherboards for advanced gamers and ASUS enthusiasts "ROG" (REPUBLIC OF GAMERS), periodically replenished with new original solutions with unique capabilities and uncompromising acceleration potential, is already well known to many users. But for a long time, this series existed in a noticeable separation, even from the "top" versions of mass motherboards, which have Deluxe and Premium consoles. It is in order to fill the resulting niche, Asus developed a very reliable series "TUF" (The Ultimate Force), which is designed for productive systems intensively operating in 24/7. To guarantee the continuity of work, the models of this series are equipped with only very high-quality elements, which are very thorough testing before entering the fee.

At the time of this writing, the TUF series consisted of only two ASUS SABERTOOTH 55I models on Intel P55 Express system logic and on Intel X58 Express chipset. In particular, the last solution we are breathing today. Recall that not so long ago we tested a few solutions of the ASUS ROG series with the Intel LGA1366 processor connector: ASUS Rampage III Extreme and Asus Rampage III Formula. Therefore, in addition, we will have the opportunity to completely figure out what the differences between the ROG and TUF series are.

Motherboard specification:

Manufacturer
	Intel X58 / Ich10R
Processor connector
Supported processors	Intel Core i7 Extreme / Core i7
System tire	6400 MT / s, Intel QuickPath Interconnect
Memory used	DDR3 1866/1800/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC
Memory support	6 x DDR3 DIMM three-channel architecture up to 24 GB Non-ECC memory support and XMP profiles
Expansion slots	2 x PCIE 2.0 x16 (support x16 / x16) 1 x PCIE 2.0 x16 (x4 mode) 2 x PCIE X1 1 x PCI 2.2
Support Multi-GPU technologies	Supports NVIDIA 2-Way SLI and ATI Quad-GPU CrossFirex
Disk subsystem	Intel ICH10R chipset supports: 6 x SATA 3.0 GB / s with support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 JMICRON JMB362 supports controller supports: 1 x Power ESATA 3.0 GB / C 1 x ESATA 3.0 GB / C The Marvell 88SE9128 controller supports: 2 x SATA 6.0 GB / s
Sound subsystem	Realtek ALC892 High-Definition Audio codec supports: 192 KHz / 24bit BD Lossless Sound Optical S / PDIF on the rear panel
	The VIA VT6308P controller supports 2 ports 1394A
Support LAN	Realtek 8110Sc Gigabit LAN Controller
	24-pin ATX Power Connector 8-pin ATX12V power connector
Cooling	Ceramic cooling system
Connectors for fans	1 x for processor cooler 4 x for cabinet fans
External ports I / O	1 x PS / 2 ports for keyboard or mouse 2 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 port 6 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 port 1 x Power ESATA 3GB / C 1 x ESATA 3GB / C 1 x Optical S / PDIF 1 x IEEE 1394A 1 x LAN (RJ45) 6 audio connectors
Internal ports I / O	6 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 2 x SATA 6.0 GB / s 6 x SATA 3.0 GB / s 1x S / PDIF output 1 x IEEE 1394A 1 x com Audio front panel connectors System panel connector
	16 MB Flash Rom, Ami Bios, PNP, DMI2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, WFM 2.0, ACPI 2.0A Support EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3
Opportunities	Changing frequency: BCLK, PCI-Express, memory. Change voltage to: processor, memory and chipset
Branded technologies	"Tuf Engine!" POWER DESIGN: - 8-phase CPU power - 2-phase QPI / DRAM Power - 2-phase meal power Es.p.: Efficient Switching Power Design TUF Components (cast choke, Capacitors & Mosfet; certified by military standards) Ceram! X radiators Fan Xpert. EZ Flash 2. CrashFree BIOS 3. Q-Connector O.C. Profile Q-dimm Q-Slot. Q-led.
Equipment	2 x SATA cables 2 x SATA 6Gbit / s cable 1 x SLi Bridge A set of Q connectors (System Panel and USB) Instruction and guidance 1 x DVD with drivers and by Plug
Form factor Dimensions, mm	ATX 305 x 244 mm
Products webpage	Fresh bIOS version And the drivers can be downloaded from the support site http://support.asus.com/.

The ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard packaging is unusually stylish in metallic colors, which immediately attracts attention.

The facial part of the packaging is revealed. Unfortunately, there is no "windows", through which you can consider the appearance of the Maternal Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard, but it is listed all the main advantages. Since completely new unique technologies are implemented on the TUF series boards, we characterize them using information from the manufacturer.

Radiators of the motherboard cooling system have an innovative ceramic coating that allows you to increase the area of \u200b\u200bdispersion of the radiator due to micropores. In turn, the effectiveness of the radiators themselves also depends on the scattering area.

The next distinguishing feature of the TUF series is the implementation of the exclusive power scheme. Es.p. (Efficient Switching Power Design) Not only to optimize the power consumption of the processor, but also for other system components, such as a graphics card, RAM, PCI Slots and System Logic Circuits. The diagram approximately shows how much the efficiency of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is different from other motherboards.

Moreover, the ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard is equipped with reliable TUF components that meet high military quality standards. For example, the throtsels installed on the board are able to withstand the load in 40 A, which is 25% higher than the standard chokes used on mass boards.

But technology is often used on other ASUS motherboard models. It serves to accurately set up parameters. random access memory In case the system refuses to start with the current RAM settings due to incompatibility or redistribution.

On the back of the package, the appearance of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is shown and a part of its specification is shown.

The set of ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is actually standard for solutions on the system logic Intel X58 Express of this manufacturer:

• Two SATA cables;
• Two SATA 6Gbit / S cables;
• One bridge SLI;
• Instruction and user manual;
• DVD with drivers and software;
• Q-Connectors Set (System Panel, USB);
• Stub.

Despite the high product status, the delivery kit does not indulge the buyer with such a variety of accessories, as in more expensive solutions of the republic of Gamers series.

It is interesting to note that a certificate of reliability is attached, which lists all types of tests on military standards, which passed capacitors, choke and MOSFET. The test list consists of the thermal stress of the test, checking on the moisture resistance and exposure to salts, vibration tests, as well as tests for strength in mechanical effects.

ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 Layout as a whole is devoid of disadvantages - the main part of the ports and all the power connectors are located on the edge, so it will be conveniently connected to them.

All radiators on the motherboard are covered with a rough to the touch with a ceramic coating. The area of \u200b\u200bdissipation of radiators due to large and long ribs on the northern bridge and the MOSFET already very large, even if we compare it with the coolers of the ROG series coolers. One of the radiators on the MOSFET in addition is also combined with a heat pipe with a radiator on the North Bridge. To all of the time, on the radiator of the northern bridge is provided with a slice, so on the compatibility of the motherboard with long PCIE X1 extension cards can not be worried.

The smallest scattering area has a radiator on the South Bridge of the Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard, which, although performed figurine, but without noticeable fins.

The South Bridge Intel ICH10R supports six SATA ports with the possibility of organizing SATA RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10. In addition, there is another SATA controller JMICRON JMB362, which supports external ESATA ports 3 GB / C and Power ESATA. Two internal ports of the new SATA 6.0 GB / C interface are highlighted in white and operate due to the Marvell 88SE9128 controller. In addition, from the internal ports of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard, you can note the presence of six USB 2.0 and one IEEE 1394A port. From outdated interfaces on ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 there is only a COM port, but support FDD, LPT and even IDE on it.

To install graphic accelerators, the Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard has three PCIE X16 connector, but only four PCI Express lines are connected to the bottom slot PCIE X16. Therefore, on SLI or CrossFirex technology, only two video cards can be combined, but in the most productive configuration x16 + x16 PCI Express 2.0. In addition, to install an expansion card on ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 there is one PCI slot and two PCIE X1.

The ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 sound subsystem is based on the 8-channel HDA codec of the REALTEK ALC892 with the ability to play without loss of the quality of the Blue-ray 192 kHz / 24 bits. The audio connector front panel of the sound subsystem supports HDA and AC`97 formats, which improves compatibility with various enclosures.

ASUS's RAM Slots are traditionally devoid of latches on the bottom, so the modules will be extracted easier. Near the RAM slots is the technology activation button, and in the corner of the motherboard there is a jumper allows you to increase the processor power supply setting limit from high 1.7 V to extreme 2.0 V. Another similar jumper, relieving the restriction on the supply voltage of the RAM Modules , allowing you to increase the limit from 2.1 V to 2.46 V, is at the bottom of the motherboard.

The processor power stabilizer on ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 is made according to an 8-phase scheme. Two more chokes of a smaller value are elements of the two-phase QPI / DRAM power supply node. As it should be in productive solutions, the processor power connector has an 8-pin version.

Each stabilizer phase includes four MOSFET. The radiator on the motherboard takes heat not only from semiconductor elements, but also from the PWM controller. This is very rare.

As the PWM controller of the 8-phase processor power unit, the EPU ASP0800 microchip is performed.

On the back side of the Motherboard ASUS SABERTOOTH X58, the cooling system is fixed in part with spring-loaded screws and partially simple plastic latches.

The following ports are displayed on the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 Motherboard Panel:

one Combined PS / 2 port for keyboard or mouse,

• optical S / PDIF,
• six USB 2.0,
• two USB 3.0,
• iEEE 1394A port,
• one ESATA port,
• one POWER ESATA port;
• rJ45 connector for network connections,
• six connectors for 8-channel sound.

To connect the fans, the Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard has enough impressive opportunities. You can connect four cabinet fans and processor cooler to it.

The ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard BIOS is based on AMI code. In the top line of the BIOS, you can see the name of the motherboard and current version BIOS.

All settings concerning overclocking are assembled in the table:

Parameter	Menu name	Range
Processor technologies	C1E, CPU TM, Intel Speedstep, Hardware Prefetcher; Execute Disable Bit; Virtualization Tech, Intel HT TECHNOLOGY, Intel TURBO BOOST TEACH, VIRTUALIZATION
Processor multiplier	CPU Ratio Setting.
Frequency system Tire, MHTS
PCI Express Tire Frequency
Divider for memory		800/1066/1333/1600/1866/2133/2400
Frequency UClk.
QPI tire multiplier	QPI Link Dats Rate	SLOW MODE, 4800 MT / S, 5866 MT / S, 6400 MT / S
Delay RAM		Cas Latency, Ras To Cas, Ras Pre, Ras Act, Ras to Ras, Ref, Write Recovery, Read To Pre, Four Act Win
	CPU Differential Amplitude	700mv, 800mv, 900mv, 1000mV
		100 - 1500 ps
Tension on the processor, in		0,850000 - 2.1 V
	QPI / DRAM CORE Voltage
Stress on memory	DRAM BUS Voltage.
	IOH PCIE VOLTAGE
Southern Bridge
	ICH-PCIE VOLTAGE

The memory multiplier on the Intel Core i7-980x processor is unlocked, so its frequency can be increased from 800 MHz to 2400 MHz, but with other processors in the nominal mode of operation, the efficiency of the modules will be limited at the DDR3-1333 level.

As usual, the BIOS is the ability to configure timings (delays) and foundations (secondary delays) of RAM. The value of current timing is very conveniently displayed directly in this submenu and this is a big plus.

The voltage range in the power settings of the components is not as wide as in the ROG series models, but it should be enough for even extreme acceleration. The step in some power settings is also not very pleased, but only if you compare these parameters with solutions specifically completed for overclocking. For most standard boards, a similar set of settings would be "for happiness".

Processing technology management settings are collected in a separate section "CPU CONFIGURATION".

The monitoring capabilities on the Maternal Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard allow you to follow:

the temperature of the processor, the Northern and South Bridge;

speed of rotation of five fans in the system;

voltage on the processor and the main lines of the power supply of 3.3V, 5V and 12V.

In the same section, BIOS has settings for ASUS Q-FAN technologies automatic control of the rotational speed of the processor cooler and two body fans.

Branded utilities

Unfortunately, there is no ASUS TURBOV EVO asus to overclock from under the operating system among the proprietary software for the Motherboard ASUS SABERTOOTH X58, which is designed primarily for overclocking from under the operating system. Monitoring the main parameters of the system can be carried out using the PC Probe II utility.

Using another ASUS FAN Xpert branded utility, you can create your own profile by which the speed of rotation of the processor cooler or body fans will be adjusted.

Opportunities

The clock frequency of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is air-cooled with an Intel Core i7-980x Extreme Edition processor, as well as with the Intel Core i7-930 quad-core processor, it was possible to raise to a value of 216 MHz, which can be considered a fairly good indicator.

Testing

To check the capabilities of motherboards, the following equipment was used:

CPU	Intel Core i7-980x Extreme Edition (LGA1366, 3.33 GHz, L2 1.5 MB, L3 12 MB)
	NOCTUA NH-U12P + LGA1366 KIT
RAM	3X DDR3-2000 1024 MB Kingston Hyperx. KHX16000D3T1K3 / 3GX.
Video card	MSI R4850-2D1G-OC (Radeon HD 4850, 1 GB GDDR5, PCI-E 2.0)
HDD	SAMSUNG HD080HJ, 80 GB, SATA-300
Optical drive	ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA
Power Supply	Seasonic SS-650JT Active PFC, 650 W, 120 mm Fan

Test results:

According to the performance of performance testing, the Maternal ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is not allocated among the solutions of this class.

Energy consumption

General energy consumption of test stand:

The energy consumption level The Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard did not surprise, although it turned out to be 30 WW from the system collected on the Motherboard Asus Rampage III Formula.

Testing of the sound path based on the codec REALTEK ALC892

General results (RightMark Audio Analyzer)

16-bit, 44,1 KHz

The built-in audio codec REALTEK ALC892 showed good test results, so its capabilities will be enough for most ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 fee owners.

conclusions

A unique Motherboard ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 TUF series can be used to build very productive workstations and playing PCs with two video sources, as well as for overclocking. Moreover, for the latter, ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 has quite great opportunities, starting with powerful processor power facilities and ending with a large set of settings in the BIOS required to increase the frequency and achieve stability. Of course, the range of changes in the supply voltage is not so big as similar solutions of the ASUS ROG series, but the available opportunities will be sufficient in most cases, if you do not extremal with the "Dewar" of liquid nitrogen. But by the number of supported branded technologies, the Maternal board ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 is noticeably different from the solutions of the ASUS ROG series for the worse, although it affects mainly on the convenience of overclocking. But the cooling system with a ceramic coating on Asus Sabertooth X58 we liked even more than radiators on ASUS Rampage III Extreme and Asus Rampage III Formula, because It has better fins and is only therefore effective.

Testing the motherboard ASUS Sabertooth X58, we almost completely made sure that this is a really high-resolution solution intended for long and stable operation. The functionality of ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 is also at a very high level, responding to all modern requirements, which confirms the presence of high-quality audio codec, as well as supporting new interfaces SATA. 3.0 and USB 3.0.

Advantages:

support NVIDIA SLI and ATI CROSSFIREX;

increased reliability and durability;

highly efficient cooling system with ceramic coating;

support for new SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces;

powerful processor power stabilization node;

high overclocking potential;

the possibility of an extreme increase in voltage.

Disadvantages:

• lack of support for new ASUS brand utilities;

In November 2008 intel. Announced a new processor microarchitecture, a new family of processors with this microarchitecture and a new socket for these processors. About the details of the total you can read in our special review dedicated to the NEHALEM output. Here we mention that only senior processors based on Nehalem, having 4 physical cores with SMT technology (Simultaneous Multi-Threading, is a well-known Hyper-Threading technology that has been present at Pentium 4 processors), which provides 8 virtual nuclei. Such a kernel produced on a 45-nanometer technical process is called Bloomfield. In addition to the natural restructuring of the processor microarchitecture (changes in the cache hierarchy, SMT, new processor instructions, etc.), the announced models also distinguishes an integrated memory controller - now it moved from the chipset closer to the main consumer. In the previously released other Bloomfield kernel, a three-channel memory controller, designed for DDR3-1066, and expected in the second half of 2009 junior nuclei based on Nehalem - Havendale (with an integrated graphics core initial level) And Lynnfield - will have a two-channel controller, familiar to today's chipsets.

Also, the Havendale and Lynnfield will contact the DMI bus chipset (which in current solutions are connected by Intel chipsets), but Bloomfield uses the new QPI bus developed by Intel to communicate processors (sockets) with each other - functionally this is an approximate analog of the Hypertransport bus widely used in AMD solutions. To install, new processors announced under the trademarks of Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Edition require, of course, a new socket - Socket 1366 (instead of the current Socket 775). It is quite expected, most of the new contacts in the socket are needed to ensure the connection of the processor with memory modules; Also significantly increased their representation of food / land and some reserved contacts (probably responsible for the second QPI channel, the required server models based on Nehalem).

Naturally, new chipsets will be required to support all new processors (since the former connected to the FSB bus processor). In this article, we consider the top X58 Express, a beginner line of Intel 5X chipsets and intended paired to processors on the Bloomfield top core. Since freshly empty Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Edition models are not so much, but the new socket will not be the only new one, such a solution is quite logical: manufacturers total Now they got the opportunity to make money on enthusiasts. Well, by the time of the arrival of Nehalem in the mass segment of the Intel market, the chipsets will also release more democratic and capabilities, the boards on which will use a new socket (after all, those processors will have a two-channel memory controller and another tire for communication with the chipset) - Socket 1156.

Intel X58 Express

The North Bridge of the Chipset is no longer possible to call MCH ( Memory. Controller Hub), Intel had to use IOH abbreviation (INPUT / OUTPUT HUB), although, frankly, the name of the Southern Bridges of the Company (ICH) means the same - I / O Controller Hub. Well, however, we will continue for unambiguously call this block of chipset by the North Bridge and take a look at its key characteristics (which remained so little left!):

• support for new processors (presented at the time of the announcement of the Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Edition families) based on the Nehalem microarchitecture when connecting to these processors over the QPI bus;
• 2 PCI EXPRESS 2.0 X16 graphic interfaces, with the ability to split each into two graphical interfaces with half speed or even four at the fourth speed;
• annex interface PCI Express 2.0 x4, with the ability to split it into two interfaces at half speed;
• dMI tire (with a bandwidth of ~ 2 GB / s) to the southern bridge ICH10 / R.

Note that quite traditionally released the first topical chipset of the new line uses the old south bridge, and the new will appear only at the time of the exit of the average level chipsets. However, currently there are no need for new peripheral interfaces (except USB 3.0 has already appeared at least on the horizon), so that the use of ICH10 / R is not even for the top chipset. We also recall the functionality of the southern bridges used:

• up to 6 ports PCIEX1 (PCI-E 1.1);
• up to 4 PCI slots;
• 6 ports Serial ATA II on 6 SATA300 devices (SATA-II, second generation of standard), with support aHCI mode and functions like NCQ (ICH10 performance of this mode is guaranteed only under Windows Vista), with the possibility of individual disconnection, with support for ESATA and port splitters;
• the ability to organize a RAID array (only for ICH10R) levels 0, 1, 0 + 1 (10) and 5 with the Matrix RAID function (one set of disks can be used immediately in several rAID modes - for example, on two disks you can organize RAID 0 and RAID 1, for each array its own part of the disk will be highlighted);
• 12 USB 2.0 devices (on two EHCI host controllers) with the possibility of individual disconnection;
• MAC controller Gigabit Ethernet and Special Interface (LCI / GLCI) for connecting a PHY controller (I82567 for implementing Gigabit Ethernet, i82562 for implementing Fast Ethernet);
• support Intel Turbo Memory (ICH10R only);
• HIGH DEFINITION AUDIO (7.1);
• binding for low-speed and outdated periphery, so on.

Now let's talk about changes and new technologies in the chipset.

With regard to processor support, everything is very simple: the chipset has a QPI port, and any processors using this tire (the current Bloomfield kernel), in charges based on Intel X58 earn. True, the maximum bandwidth of the QPI port may differ: 4.8 or 6.4 GT / S (billion shipments per second), which corresponds to 9.6 or 12.8 GB / s each of the two directions at the same time. The difference in bandwidth is determined by the type of processor used (more - for Core i7 Extreme Edition), and the larger throughput is provided not due to the increased base frequency (as it was in the former Quad-Pumped Bus FSB), and by increasing the multiplier relative to the basic BCLK (133 MHz).

The X58 graphical interface provides in the maximum configuration for today: 2 independent PCI Express 2.0 x16 ports. True, the maximum - does not mean unique: the x38 and x48 have exactly the same capabilities, and the senior NVIDIA chipsets are, but, of course, under Nehalem, this is the first chipset with such characteristics. Moreover, for Bloomfield, this is not only the first, but, most likely, the only chipset is generally: Intel Junior products in the 5X line will be released only to support Havendale and Lynnfield. NVIDIA also abandoned the idea of \u200b\u200bdeveloping a chipset under Bloomfield (although it seems to have a license for the QPI bus, so technically able to do this), but promises to release a new lineup for junior processors of Nehalem microarchitecture.

An important consequence of this NVIDIA refusal was the long-awaited news for many: for the first time, a third party chipset was licensed to support SLI. True, this permission is furnished by a number of conditions: the license will have to receive a specific manufacturer on a specific model of the motherboard, which provides for a special complex procedure with the implementation of identification information in the BIOS. An alternative solution that NVIDIA recommends is to install the NForce200 (or even two bridges) fees (from NVIDIA). However, considering the already very high cost of motherboards under Socket 1366, the number of solutions with NForce200 is expected extremely low. Next, since it is not going anywhere and support to Intel chipsets CROSSFIREX configuration, Intel X58 becomes an absolutely unique chipset - the first in the world with official simultaneous support for SLI and CrossFirex!

And now we remove a little from the specified specifications and take a look at the picture as a whole. In essence, the northern bridge of the X58 chipset is one large PCI Express controller to connect external graphics. Yes, it is still engaged in the data arbitration from / for the peripheral controllers of the southern bridge (but it is only an excess link in the chain), and also, simply "so that the place does not disappear," has extra 4 PCI-E 2.0 lines for connecting the periphery. It would seem logical to convey the function of providing a graphical interface to one of the other logic blocks, and the connection of the processor + chipset to cut up to two elements. (Recall that the system logic sets consisting of a single chip, regularly demonstrated in the past NVIDIA.)

Why is such a solution not implemented? Well, firstly, this path is not at all necessary: \u200b\u200bthe current perfectly felt in the market the AMD chipsets use a two-way scheme with such a distribution of functionality when the northern bridge is needed only as a graphical bus controller. Secondly, in addition to the need to redo the South Bridge of the ICH10 to support a large number of PCI Express 2.0 lines, remember also about the heat dissipation: bridges responsible for two PCIEX16 ports are hot enough for their integration to create a number of problems.

The current Intel solution looks like this: x58, as a top chipset that supports 36 PCI-E 2.0 lines, will be double, with traditional architecture, but for mid-level platforms that will be available in the second half of 2009, single-chipped P55 will be released (and His younger fellow). At the same time, the PCI-E 2.0 controller (though, only 16 lines, as, in general, and should be in the status of the average level platform) will be integrated into the former southern bridge, but in the then processors (with a new socket). These processors will be delivered from the need to contain a hot productive QPI bus - now it is needed to exchange data with video sources, because the bandwidth of one PCIEX16 port (2.0) is 16 GB / s, which is not much less than that of QPI when working with Core i7 processors Well, for the simultaneous full boot of both graphics ports, the QPI bandwidth is not enough when working with Core i7 Extreme Edition. (Another thing is that at the current time there are no solutions that ensure the full load of two PCIEX16 ports (2.0), but this is not required, since such a giant bandwidth is not in demand by video cards.)

Since the subsequent Intel chipsets (at least a medium level) will be slightly modified the current South Bridge (and would well deserve the name ICH11 instead of P5x), then the connection with them will support the DMI tire friendly, so it will be quite correct to us To say that the northern bridge of the chipset is fully moved to the processor.

The heat dissipation of X58, of course, decreased in comparison with the previous intel top chipsets, due to the removal of the memory controller, but in general, it is not so strong (again, we will not forget about QPI). The data on the latest Intel chipsets we reduced into a single plate, although they do not create an unequivocal picture: the heat generation additionally affects the process of microcircuit production, which, starting with P45, has changed to a 65-nanometer.

However, by and large, the most important consequence for us is that there are no special requirements for cooling X58, this chipset at the middle P45 level is heated, although there is no doubt that maternal manufacturers will try to surpass themselves in the design of cumbersome and pompous cooling systems. on their top boards.

Conclusion

It is impossible to say that Intel X58 introduces some useful innovations, because of which we recommend for buying boards based on this chipset. At the same time, of course, such fees will inevitably be bought, because alternatives for systems under Socket 1366 simply do not exist. Thus, if you burn the desire to assemble a computer on the top processor with Nehalem microarchitecture (the current Bloomfield kernel), the choice is obvious, and on reading this article you also imagine what basic features will have a purchased fee. We cannot voice any serious complaints to X58: this is a very decent top-level chipset, which has a unique feature - simultaneous support for SLI and CrossFirex. The only disadvantage of Socket 1366 Socket Systems will be inadequately high price (even despite the pretty democratic value of the younger core processors i7), but this is an attribute of top configurations. Recall that mass systems based on Nehalem we will see only in the second half of 2009.

Introduction

Sometimes it makes sense to be patient and wait. When in November last year appeared high-End Intel Core i7 Processors Supporting their motherboards were expensive and were relatively "immature" compared to today's models. Many manufacturers applied the following approach to introducing support for the X58 architecture: the most expensive models come to the market. And buyers who do not mind sacrifice some functions will discover that the last "mass" motherboards are more reliable than their high-end predecessors.

We observed this development process when testing first high-End Platforms on the X58 chipset cost from $ 300 and then motherboards from medium price category ($ 200-300) , and hoped to see further progress in "budget" models worth within $ 200. But the circumstances make adjustments to our plans: prices slowly crawled up.

Testing the possibilities of overclocking seven motherboards has been dragged for several weeks, but during this time the price fluctuation has not stopped. A recent increase in prices for some motherboards would exclude two models from our platform view cost within $ 200 if this price increase occurred before testing. One of the companies even provided us with two models, and the fee we chose, exceeded the price limit, and the second is not. Since we have been forced to add such a reservation, we accurately appreciated the productivity ratio and value of these models.

comparison table

	ASRock X58 Extreme (Revision 1.01)	ASUS P6T SE (Revision 1.01G)	ECS X58B-A (Revision 1.0)
North Most	Intel X58 Express	Intel X58 Express	Intel X58 Express
South Most	Intel Ich10r.	Intel Ich10r.	Intel Ich10r.
Voltage regulator	8-phase	8-phase	6-phase
Bios.	1.0 (06/11/2009)	0403 (05/19/2009)	080015 (03/23/2009)
Basic frequency 133.3 MHz	133.9 MHz (+ 0.425%)	133.6 MHz (+ 0.20%)	133.3 MHz (+ 0.00%)
Clock generator	ICS 9LPRS918JKLF.	ICS 9LPRS918JKLF.	IDT CV193CPAG
PCIE 2.0 x16	3 (x16 / x16 / x4)	3 (x16 / x16 / x4)	2 (x16 / x16)
PCIE X1 / X4	2/0	1/0	2/1
PCI	2	2	1
USB 2.0	2 (4 ports)	3 (6 ports)	3 (6 ports)
IEEE-1394.	1	1	1
Serial port	1	Not	1
Parallel Port.	Not	Not	Not
Drive	1	Not	Not
Ultra ATA-133	1 (2 drives)	1 (2 drives)	Not
SATA 3 Gb / s	6	6	6
4-pin for cooler	2	1	2
3-pin for fan	3	3	2
	Yes	Yes	Yes
Login CD Audio.	Yes	Yes	Yes
S / PDIF.	Only exit	Only exit	Only exit
Power button	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reset button	Yes	Not	Yes
CMOS cleaning button	Only jumper	Only jumper	Only jumper
Diagnostic display	2-sim	Not	2-sim
PS / 2.	2	2	2
USB 2.0	7	6	6
IEEE-1394.	1	1	1
RJ45 Ethernet	1	1	1
esata.	1	1	2
CMOS cleaning button	Yes	Not	Yes
Digital sound output	Optical + coaxial	Optical + coaxial	Optic
Digital audio input	Not	Not	Not
Analog audio ports	6	6	5
Drive controllers
Intel Ich10r.	6x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s	6x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s	6x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s
RAID modes	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Additional SATA	JMB380 PCIE 1x ESATA 3.0 Gb / s	JMB363 PCIE 1x ESATA 3.0 Gb / s	JMB362 PCIE 2x ESATA 3.0 Gb / s
Additional Ultra ATA	VT6330 PCIE	JMB363 PCIE	Not
IEEE-1394.
	VT6330 PCIE 2x 400 Mbps	VT6315N PCIE 2x 400 Mbps	VT6308P PCI 2x 400 Mbps
Net
Main Network Controller	RTL8111DL PCIE	RTL8111C PCIE	RTL8111C PCIE
Second network controller	Not	Not	RTL8111C PCIE
Sound
HD Audio codec	Alc890b.	ALC1200.	Alc888s.

	FOXCONN FLAMINGBLADE (Revision 1.0)	Gigabyte EX58-UD3R (Revision 1.6)	Jetway BI-600 (Revision 1.0)	MSI X58 Pro-E (Revision 3.1)
North Most	Intel X58 Express	Intel X58 Express	Intel X58 Express	Intel X58 Express
South Most	Intel Ich10r.	Intel Ich10r.	Intel Ich10r.	Intel Ich10r.
Voltage regulator	6-phase	6-phase	6-phase	5-phase
Bios.	P05 (04/13/2009)	FB (05/04/2009)	A03 (05/15/2009)	8.2 (04/20/2009)
Basic frequency 133.3 MHz	133.7 MHz (+ 0.28%)	133.0 MHz (-0.25%)	133.0 MHz (-0.25%)	133.8 MHz (+ 0.35%)
Clock generator	ICS 9LPRS139AKLF.	ICS 9LPRS914EKLF.	ICS 9LPRS139AKLF.	ICS 9LPRS133BKLF.
Connectors and interfaces on the board
PCIE 2.0 x16	2 (x16 / x16)	2 (x16 / x16)	4 (2x x16 or 4x x8)	3 (x16 / x16 / x4)
PCIE X1 / X4	1/1	2/1	0/1	2/0
PCI	2	2	1	2
USB 2.0	2 (4 ports)	2 (4 ports)	2 (4 ports)	3 (6 ports)
IEEE-1394.	Not	1	Not	1
Serial port	Not	1	1	1
Parallel Port.	Not	Not	Not	Not
Drive	1	1	1	Not
Ultra ATA-133	1 (2 drives)	1 (2 drives)	1 (2 drives)	1 (2 drives)
SATA 3 Gb / s	6	8	6	7
4-pin for cooler	1	2	1	1
3-pin for fan	2	4	2	3
Front panel sound connectors	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Login CD Audio.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
S / PDIF.	Only exit	Login + output	Only exit	Only exit
Power button	Yes	Not	Yes	Yes
Reset button	Yes	Not	Yes	Yes
CMOS cleaning button	Yes	Jumper	Yes	Yes
Diagnostic display	2-sim	Not	2-sim	Not
Connectors and interfaces on the I / O panel
PS / 2.	1	2	2	2
USB 2.0	6	8	8	6
IEEE-1394.	Not	1	Not	1
RJ45 Ethernet	2	2	2	1
esata.	2	Not	2	1
CMOS cleaning button	Yes	Not	Yes	Not
Digital sound output	Optic	Optical + coaxial	Coaxial	Optic
Digital audio input	Not	Not	Not	Not
Analog audio ports	6	6	6	6
Drive controllers
Intel Ich10r.	6x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s	6x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s	6x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s	6x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s
RAID modes	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Additional SATA	JMB363 PCIE 2x ESATA 3.0 Gb / s	JMB363 PCIE 1x ESATA 3.0 Gb / s	JMB363 PCIE 2x ESATA 3.0 Gb / s	JMB363 PCIE 1x SATA 3.0 Gbit / s 1x ESATA 3.0 Gb / s
Additional Ultra ATA	JMB363 PCIE	JMB363 PCIE	JMB363 PCIE	JMB363 PCIE
IEEE-1394.
	Not	TSB43AB23 PCI 3x 400 Mbps	Not	JMB381 PCIe 2x 400 Mbps
Net
Main Network Controller	RTL8111C PCIE	RTL8111C PCIE	RTL8111C PCIE	RTL8111C PCIE
Second network controller	RTL8111C PCIE	Not	RTL8111C PCIE	Not
Sound
HD Audio codec	ALC888.	ALC888.	ALC888.	Alc889.

Unlike the previously tested motherboard X58 SuperComputer , ASRock X58 EXTREME can support up to two video cards in SLI or CrossFire mode. Both slots get the full bandwidth of PCI Express 2.0 x16.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Such a combination provides the X58 Extreme motherboard amazing flexibility for expansion, because many modern competitors sacrificed with such seven design. ASRock even took care that the Northern Bridge's radiator does not interfere with the installation of a long map X1 into the top slot, although you need to be attentive and make sure that the protruding parts of the card (for example, a resistor) are not in contact with the radiator.

Due to the movement of the memory slots, both nesters and multiple front panel connectors closer to the front top edge of the board, the X58 Extreme model could have the most convenient layout of those that we have seen over the past few years, with a disadvantage one only: the drive connector is located in A completely uncomfortable lower back corner. But Windows XP users will definitely need a drive to install RAID drivers during the installation of the operating system.

The two-minute diagnostic display of the PORT-80, as well as the power and reset buttons are located in the front bottom corner. Although these elements will not be available in a fully assembled system, they are very helpful during testing. The CMOS ASRock cleaner button has rendered an I / O to the rear / output panel so that it can be easily useful even after installing the X58 Extreme motherboard into the case.

Bios.

The main frequencies and multipliers can be configured to the "ChipSet Settings / Chipset Settings" submenu on the Advanced tab, although the selection of the XMP profile (Extreme Memory Profile) does not produce the expected effect. Information from the profile is convenient to use during manual configuration.

Enabling the "Flexibility Option" option will allow the motherboard to neglect the memory speed settings. The option "ASRock VDrop CONTROL" is much more useful to overclockers, because it increases the CPU voltage whenever high loads cause it to fall.

The "DRAM TIMING CONTROL" menu is not as confusing, like some of the ASRock competitors, although most users need unless the four main values \u200b\u200bof delays. It is important that the automatic mode for each setting allows you to configure only those timings with which the user is familiar.

CPU voltage can be added by adding to a standard processor voltage or specify directly. The list of custom elements is small, but contains all the settings that most overclockers are needed.

The BIOS of the Motherboard ASRock X58 Extreme allows you to store three separate user profiles in "User Defaults".

Accessories

Click on the picture to enlarge.

ASRock X58 Extreme Accessories Set is one of the few pointers to the fact that this motherboard is only $ 170 (from 7 thousand rubles in Russia). ASRock included only four SATA cables in the package of its six-port board, but the SLI bridge added.

Using the same printed fee as the model P6T. From the average price range, ASUS P6T SE removed very few functions, but added significant money savings.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

ASUS P6T SE motherboard layout is as good as the model P6T. But we still believe that the fee would have won if ASUS placed two (blue) PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot away from each other at least another number of slot. White long slot is still limited to the x4 bandwidth, but it is ideal for a low-performance video card or for a high bandwidth RAID controller.

We, as before, do not agree with the traditional location in the lower back corner of the connector for sound ports of the front panel, as this very complicates the cable laying to the top compartments of the tower enclosures. Some ASUS competitors, fortunately, have already moved away from this tradition.

ASUS is one of the few companies that provides support for processor coolers both LGA 1366 and LGA 775. This can be a particularly valuable addition to all those users who want to move from the LGA 775 socket and not spend large sums Money to replace the already existing water cooling system.

Bios.

All frequencies, voltages and delays BIOS are indicated in the generalizing table in the "Acceleration" section.

Using the same pCBthat the more expensive model P6T allowed P6T SE to use the same BIOS, although ASUS has updated it since as we tested P6T .

Intel XMP Profile works exactly as we expected all the ASUS motherboards tested by us, which you will not say about some competing models. However, overclockers even with little experience can easily set the memory voltage and manually delay.

Voltage parameters are more detailed than you can expect from the board on the X58 chipset cost within $ 200, but most of the added settings are rarely used. Extreme overclockers will like it, but the settings of other components are not so detailed.

In the "DRAM TIMING CONTROL" menu, we see unusually extensive memory settings. Fortunately, the user can set some settings manually, and the rest leave automatically.

ASUS EZ FLASH 2 supports the BIOS firmware update using its own interface, eliminating the need to use boot disks. In contrast to this useful feature, the EXPRESS GATE function is automatically enabled, which increases the boot time without adding functionality. Nor P6T SE, nor P6T has an Express Gate module.

Accessories

Click on the picture to enlarge.

The P6T SE package does not include CrossFire bridges or SLI bridges, and there are only four SATA cables.

Note: ASUS recently updated information on its website about the P6T SE board, leaving SLI compatibility links.

Before writing our review, the ECS X58B-A motherboard cost within $ 200, and now in online stores it can be used for about $ 220 (from 6.5 thousand rubles in Russia). We still included this model in today's review, because it was already tested. We hope that the price will again fall below $ 200.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

A quick look at the X58B-A model showed that from a typical motherboard with the Core i7 architecture no more than $ 200, it differs only by the presence of a second network controller, although two more fees can be distinguished by this criterion. Other enthusiastic oriented features such as a two-speed diagnostic display of the PORT 80, the power and reset buttons on the board and the CMOS cleaning button on the I / O panel are still found in several competing models.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

ECS got rid of some hereditary components that are still found on most motherboards, for example, from the Ultra ATA interface and a drive connector. From Ultra ATA in new builds there is no intersection, and the disposal of money saves money and space on the board, but the drive still needs Windows XP users to install RAID drivers when installing the operating system. It is also worth noting that the drive interface practically does not entail any costs, since the corresponding controller is still present in the Multi-I / O chip.

The location of the northern bridge X58 Express limits the X58B-A six slots of the extension, and on the site of the highest slot is an additional power connector. This allowed to push the CPU socket and memory slots about a centimeter from the top edge of the board, although the only advantage of this location, in our opinion, can consist in a more easy laying tracks and in the additional space between the large processor cooler and the power supply installed at the top.

Thirty-six PCIE 2.0 lines of the northern bridge are separated between two x16 slots with full bandwidth and one slot X4. Slots X16 are apart from each other at a distance of two slot positions to ensure greater ventilation of video cards. The X4 slot becomes more practical if you can insert a long expansion card, but ECS disappointed us with the use of slot with a "closed" end. If there was a "open" slot X4, then it could be connected to the X8 RAID card or a third video card in X4 mode.

The lack of the Ultra ATA interface and the drive connector leaves less reasons to complain about the X58B-A layout, but we still do not like the location of the connector for sound ports of the front panel in the lower far corner. In addition, we must once again recall that the SATA ports deployed at an angle of 90 degrees to the surface of the board can be blocked by the lower compartments of the traditional design cases, although in most ATX buildings this problem has already taken into account and corrected.

Bios.

All frequencies, voltages and delays BIOS are indicated in the generalizing table in the "Acceleration" section.

Menu "M.I.B II" Motherboard ECS X58B-A contains a rather short list of settings for overclocking, but some of them are confused. For example, the increase in the parameter "Performance LEVEL / performance level" can actually reduce the speed of the processor, since the "ULTRA" option reduces the CPU multiplier to 12x and fixes the CPU voltage by 1.25 V.

In fact, changing the "Performance Level" value is generally the only way to change the CPU multiplier, and we have been forced to use this setting to evaluate the possibilities of overclocking the X58B-A system tire.

X58B-A provides a complete set of memory settings, but the value of the above DDR3-1333 requires manually to increase UNCORE RATIO so that its value is at least twice as high than the memory frequency. In addition, the fee is not loaded at a memory frequency below 1600 MHz, if "Extreme Memory Profile" is selected, and the use of one of them increases the memory voltage to dangerous for CPU 1.76 V! The X58B-A model is one of the entire two motherboards on the X58, which we had to be tested with DDR3-1600 instead of DDR3-1866, usually used in Core i7 boards.

Accessories

X58B-A supports both SLI and CrossFire, but the CROSSFIRE bridge is surprisingly included. The reason for our surprise is that video cards with SLI support rarely (if at all) are supplied with the SLI bridge, while CROSSFIRE support video cards usually go to bridges.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

We were still surprised that the package includes the entire set of six SATA cables and an ESATA cable. Most of the manufacturers of the boards of this price range are removed for the purpose of savings, several cables are removed.

The inexpensive accelerated Foxconn motherboard is available in two versions: the one we took on testing, and the cheaper "FlamingBlade GTI". Foxconn granted us the opportunity to choose any version of the board for our review, but it seems that we have made the wrong choice, since the price of the model tested us increased from $ 199 to $ 210 to 7.1 thousand rubles in Russia).

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Like the ECS board, Foxconn FlamingBlade supports two video cards that will be located at a distance of two slots from each other, which increases the air flow to the top card cooler. Like ECS, Foxconn uses the X4 slot with the "closed" end, which means that it cannot be connected to the third video card or X8 RAID card in X4 mode. Unlike Ecs Foxconn left an Ultra ATA interface and a drive connector, sacrificing IEEE-1394 FireWire to reduce costs and save space.

Long time, we have not seen Foxconn connections SATA connectors, "looking" directly. This allows the use of FlamingBlade in the close ATX buildings, in which the hard disk compartment is located close to the front edge of the motherboard. Foxconn placed SATA ports so that they do not interfere with the connection of long video cards: above the center line of the top slot X16. This arrangement limits the length of the X1 slot cards to 20 cm, although this is usually quite enough.

The presence of fasteners for both LGA 1366 and LGA 775 makes the FlamingBlade motherboard with the best choice for the upgrade of old High-End systems.

However, there is no not only FireWire support. FlamingBlade supports only three memory modules, the manufacturer removed the second set of three DIMM slots, which has most competitors. Simplified wiring tracks can affect the speed of memory, so we are waiting for excellent speed in the tests for overclocking.

Speaking about the layout, it is impossible not to mention possible problems Installations. The FlamingBlade board has two problems: the front panel connector for the front panel and the drive connector are located in the far bottom corner, which makes it difficult to pull the cables.

Bios.

All frequencies, voltages and delays BIOS are indicated in the generalizing table in the "Acceleration" section.

The Quantum BIOS menu contains CPU settings, memory delays and voltage levels distributed by different submenu; The main frequency settings are on the main page. The "OC Gear" submenu provides eight profiles to save the Custom BIOS configurations. The only basic function that we did not find is setting the PCI Express frequency.

FlamingBlade provides automatic options for all memory timings, so the user can customize only those that know.

To configure voltage, automatic values \u200b\u200bare not provided, however, the default values \u200b\u200blisted on right panel, can help those overclockers who have chosen an incredible value by negligence.

Accessories

Click on the picture to enlarge.

The FlamingBlade package includes one angular and three SATA direct cables, but no cable for a drive. Invested documentation only with the appearance makes the kit more complete.

With three FireWire ports, four slots for memory modules and seven expansion slots, the Gigabyte EX58-UD3R motherboard is very similar to the high-end model class CORE 2. However, the LGA 1366 socket for Core i7 processors hints at what we are completely different. " the fruit".

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Both PCI EXPRESS 2.0 X16 slots support full bandwidth. Gigabyte even provides an "open" slot X4. Unfortunately, the battery does not allow you to insert into this slot with an "open" card longer than x4. It is a pity that, unlike the EX58-UD3R, the X58B-A and FlamingBlade boards are not equipped with such a slot, because they have a place for long X4 interface cards, while EX58-UD3R has no place.

Another problem concerns the X1 slot: it is blocked by the radiator of the northern bridge X58 Express, so it would seem that the sevenotoval fee in practice turns out to be a six-hundredth, at least, while someone will not release a PCIE X1 card for 7 cm long, which will fit there.

Windows XP users who need to install RAID drivers during the installation of the operating system will present that another manufacturer unlocked the connector for the drive to the long-range corner. There is also a complaint that the Ultra ATA connector is located too low on the board so that the cable can be reached to the top compartment for the optical drive, but the Ultra ATA interface is not so relevant.

The remaining connectors are well located, including a connector for sound ports of the front panel, which is immediately located in front of the audio connectors of the rear input / output panel.

Instead of Esata Gigabyte placed additional SATA ports on the fee ahead. This allows the assemblers to choose between ESATA front panel connections and a "pigtail" with SATA on ESATA. However, closing ahead, let's say that this time the package of EX58-UD3R such "pigtail" is not included.

Bios.

All frequencies, voltages and delays BIOS are indicated in the generalizing table in the "Acceleration" section.

The MB Intelligent Tweaker menu provides access to a wide range of frequencies and voltages, which can satisfy the requirements of most overclockers.

The "Advanced Clock Controls" menu contains the "Drive Strength" and "Clock Skew" settings.

In the "Advanced Dram Features" menu, there is a "XMP Profiles" setting, which does not work as we expected, but you can finely configure the memory manually. Memory Delay Customizable, but if you want to save time, automatic values \u200b\u200bare provided for you.

Extended voltage settings include popular now (among producers) reference stresses of memory, although we doubt that they will need to be needed to many users.

Accessories

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Like other motherboards cost within $ 200, the supplies of EX58-UD3R could also be easily described, calling what is not there. The board is supplied only with basic accessories, and those who want to get ESATA will be very lacking "pigtails" with SATA on ESATA.

The cheapest motherboard in this review with two gigabit network ports - JetWay BI-600 is the only one of the three, the cost of which did not go beyond $ 200 after the recent increase in prices. Another unexpected function is the two ESATA ports (instead of one), although JetWay has removed FireWire for savings.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Thus, the user receives a variety of graphic options: from using a full bandwidth of 16 PCIE 2.0 lines for one or two video cards (including Crossfire and SLI modes) to X8 lines in 2.0 mode for four video cards (including QUAD SLI and CrossFirex modes) and up to support A huge number of monitors with five cards. You can use different combinations, since this high bandwidth PCIE technology also applies to High-End RAID controllers and other expansion cards. The collectors only need to be borne in mind that each black long slot X16 divides the line with a red slot located above it, therefore, if you do not use a black slot, then all 16 lines will be given to the corresponding red slot.

We are surprised how Jetway can afford to use all these PCIE lines switches, without increasing the cost of the BI-600 card, because none of the competitors did not. It doesn't seem that the manufacturer saved on other components, since the BI-600 is equipped with a six-phase voltage stabilizer, six memory slots, the PORT 80 diagnostic display and the power / reset buttons / cleaning CMOS on the board.

In the layout there is one oddity: a large distance between the CPU socket and the North X58 Express bridge, which would seem to be made to provide an additional place for the ring-shaped heat pipe. The socket was moved closer to the top edge of the motherboard, which you can not say about memory slots; There are concerns about the ability of this fee to maintain high-speed memory above the letter of the maximum DDR3-1333. Overclocking we paid a lot of time, and support for DDR3-1866 is the minimum requirement of obtaining the same performance that previously tested motherboards on x58.

All our complaints about the layout concern the lower edge of the board. Let's start from a long-range: connector for sound ports of the front panel causes difficulties with connecting a cable in the housings where ports are located on top panel. Next, the connector for the drive is so far from the typical location of the external 3.5 "compartments that many cables simply do not reach out. And finally, the Ultra ATA connector is located under the lower slot X16, and therefore the cable will have to stretch around the video card connected to this Slot. The Ultra ATA connector is unlikely to be involved in new systems, but Windows XP is still used on some machines, so you need a drive to install RAID drivers.

Bios.

All frequencies, voltages and delays BIOS are indicated in the generalizing table in the "Acceleration" section.

BIOS BI-600 motherboard is the most modest in this review: there is no CPU Uncore voltage setting. Due to the absence automatic settingThe "Uncore Frequency" value must be manually set by twice the "Memory Frequency" value so that any change in memory frequency is effective.

No Uncore voltage setup makes it impossible (or almost impossible) Output beyond the limits of the DDR3-1600 on the BI-600 board. The CPU voltage is more than 1.275 B, as it turned out, overloads stabilizers of the motherboard voltage, which is why the CPU has a hardware reset of the system. However, even 1.275 in it was impossible to be obtained on the CPU core, since the actual voltage was 0.20 in the installed voltage.

Setting the JetWay memory delays is carried out according to the "All or Nothing" principle, since the BI-600 does not provide automatic values \u200b\u200bfor individual timings. If you are afraid to touch the parameters such as TRD and TRFC, you will need to leave everything in automatic mode.

Accessories

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Three Slots X16 PCI Express 2.0 support two cards on full bandwidth and third card in X4 mode. Unlike similar layouts of ASUS cards, MSI has distributed its X16 slots according to the X16-X4-X16 scheme to provide additional ventilation of two large video cards in the total bandwidth slots.

As with the ASUS board, MSI X58 Pro-E does not have a port 80 diagnostic display.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

MSI removed the "free" disc connector, but left the "cost" Ultra ATA controller despite the fact that Windows XP is still popular in new builds, unlike Ultra ATA drives. MSI also added one ESATA port through the JMICRON JMB363 controller, but if ASUS has no connectivity for this additional internal port, then MSI is located right behind the Ultra ATA connector.

On the Motherboard, the X58 Pro-E connector for sound ports of the front panel is located in an uncomfortable place (in the far corner, where cables from ports located on the top of the enclosures are not reached). MSI has added the ability to hardware tire frequency control using three switches, leaving overclocking and via BIOS. However, the X58 Pro-E does not support LGA 775 hereditary coolers, which can cause difficulties in some users with water cooling systems.

Bios.

All frequencies, voltages and delays BIOS are indicated in the generalizing table in the "Acceleration" section.

MSI has never been a leader in BIOS functionality, but, taking into account high competition in the market, it is not going to infringe on its inexpensive fee in the capabilities of the setup. Most settings encountered in the best MSI models are transferred to an inexpensive X58 Pro-E fee.

"Cell Menu" among others contains most important voltage settings (Vcore-uncore-Dram-IOH). Here you can find key frequencies and speeds.

The memory delays turned out to be basic, but you can configure several extended functions, switching to manual mode In advanced settings.

X58 Pro-E can save up to four Custom BIOS profiles, and the individual menu allows you to save copies of the BIOS and update it without boot disks.

Accessories

Click on the picture to enlarge.

MSI has included additional documentation in the package to visually improve its basic kit. In the X58 Pro-E specifications, SLI support is indicated, but there is no SLI bridge among accessories. Crossfire Bridge is included in the kit, but it usually does not need it, since most CROSSFIRE video cards are already supplied with it.

We have completed several old tests and used the former test configuration so that the results can be compared with the results of testing previous motherboards on x58.

System hardware
CPU	Intel Core i7 920 (2.66 GHz, Cash 8 MB)
CPU cooler	SWIFTECH APOGEE GTZ Liquid Cooling
Memory	Kingston KHX16000D3ULT1K3 / 6GX (6 GB), DDR3-2000 in DDR3-1866 CAS mode 7-8-7-20
Video card	Xfx. GeForce GTX. 285 XXX EDITION, 670 MHz GPU, GDDR3-2500
HDD	Western Digital WD5000aaks, 500 GB, 7200 rpm, SATA 3 Gb / s, cache 16 MB
Sound	Built-in HD Audio.
Net	Built-in gigabit network controller
Power Supply	CoolerMaster RS850-EMBA, 850 W, ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V
System software and drivers
OS.	Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate X64 SP1
Graphic driver	NVIDIA GeForce 181.20 WHQL
Platform drivers	Intel Inf 9.1.0.1007

Kingston DDR3-2000 memory is no longer the fastest of the one that we have, but it is these modules that we have in stock in the number of two three-channel sets for testing six-module memory configurations. In addition, the use of Kingston DDR3-2000 modules allowed us to compare the results of this acceleration of memory with the results of testing previous boards.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

The Zalman ZM-STF1 thermal panel was selected due to excellent thermal characteristics and a convenient method of application.

In order to achieve the overclocking limit of our Core i7-920 processor, excellent cooling is necessary. Cooling head SWIFTECH APOGEE GTZ quickly removes heat from CPU using a powerful MCP-655B pump and a heat exchanger with three 120-mm fans.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Tests and settings

Call of Duty: World At War	Patch 1.1, Fraps / Saved Game, High Textures, No Anti-Aliasing (AA) / No Anisotropic Filtering (AF), VSYNC OFF, Ultra Textures, 4x AA / Max AF, VSYNC OFF
Crysis	Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit Executable, Benchmark Tool, Test Set 1: High Quality, NO AA, Test Set 2: Very High Quality, 8x AA
Far Cry 2.	DirectX 10, Steam Version, In-Game Benchmark, Test Set 1: High Quality, NO AA, Test Set 2: Ultra High Quality, 8x AA
World in Conflict.	Patch 1009, DirectX 10, Timedemo, Test 1: High Details, NO AA / NO AF, Test 2: Very High Details 4x AA / 16X AF
Audio
iTunes.	Version: 7.7.0.43, Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min, Default Format AAC
LAME MP3	Version: 3.98 Beta 3 (05-22-2007), Audio CD "Terminator II" SE 53 min, Wave to mp3
Video
TMPEG 4.5.	Version: 4.5.1.254, Import File: "Terminator 2" SE DVD (5 Minutes), Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16: 9
DivX 6.8.3	Encoding Mode: Insane Quality, Enhanced Multi-Threading Enabled Using SSE4, Quarter-Pixel Search
XVID 1.1.3.	Display Encoding Status \u003d OFF
MainConcept Reference 1.5.1	MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264 / AVC Codec, 28 SEC HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-bit, 224 KB / S), Mode: PAL (25 FPS)
Autodesk 3Ds Max 9	Version: 9.0, Rendering Dragon Image AT 1920x1080 (HDTV)
Grisoft Avg Anti-Virus 8	Version: 8.0.134, Virus Base: 270.4.5 / 1533, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of Zip / Rar Compressed Files
WinRar 3.80.	Version 3.70 Beta 8, Compression \u003d Best, Dictionary \u003d 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
WinZip 11.	Version 11.2, Compression \u003d Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (139 MB)
3DMark vantage.	Version: 1.02, GPU and CPU Scores
PcMark Vantage.	Version: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive Benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
SISOFTWARE SANDRA XII SP2	Version 2008.5.14.24, CPU Test \u003d CPU ArithMetic / Multimedia, Memory Test \u003d Bandwidth Benchmark

Test results

Tests are sorted by descending medium results, so it is not surprising that the fastest motherboard with the highest test resolution has a higher average result, rather than the card with the highest frame rate per second with a low resolution. The Gigabyte motherboard displaced Foxconn in the Call of Duty game dough, despite the fact that Foxconn dispersed a bit of its basic CPU clock frequency.

With maximum quality settings, Foxconn bypassed Gigabyte, but only a difference in the clock frequency of the processor. It is noteworthy that all other motherboards in this test are far behind. Repeated testing did not help reveal the reason, but the difference in the BIOS can explain everything: all thanks to the implementation of the Intel Turbo regime.

The CRYSIS test results are almost opposite to the results of Call of Duty: ECS and ASUS are struggling with varying success.

Asus is leading in all Far Cry 2 tests, but impressive ECS ability to hold second place without using the overclocked basic CPU clock frequency.

In the World In Conflict game test, the boards are changing all the time, but ASUS remains on leading positions.

Apple iTunes inexplicably favored ex58-UD3R. If it were not for the oddities of the BIOS, we could expect that all today's samples will encode our audio track for 1 minute 11 seconds.

In the LAME encoding, the same result was shown by three leaders, but Gigabyte mysteriously fell on the penultimate line. It should now be obvious that the Jetway BI-600 does not support Intel Turbo mode - technology that enhancing CPU multiplier to one (multi-core operations) or two (single-core) steps at high CPU load.

In the video encoding in TMPGENC, the Gigabyte motherboard reached the leaders again.

In MainConcept H.264, the ASRock and Asus boards showed the same result as Gigabyte.

In the 3DS Max 9, Gigabyte and ECS motherboards ranked second after the fourth of leaders.

In the AVG application, the ECS fee has gave out up along with Foxconn, while ASUS for incomprehensible reasons fell even lower than JetWay without Turbo mode. We doubled the P6T SE twice to make sure the result is correct.

In WinRar, the difference in the performance of motherboards is the largest.

In Winzip, the results do not differ so much as in WinRAR: only the BI-600 board has not been lagging behind the motherboard with the support of Intel Turbo regime.

In the 3DMark Vantage synthetic test, there is not a big difference between motherboards on x58.

EX58-UD3R has displaced competitors in PcMark Vantage. We once again tested P6T SE to double-check the result, but it turned out to be the same.

In the Sandra Synthetic Test on the CPU performance, three main leaders follow in the order reflecting the difference in the basic clock frequencies.

A small separation of the Gigabyte motherboard in tests on memory bandwidth can explain some of the victories of this board in other tests. ECS and JetWay were in a disadvantage due to the use of DDR3-1600 memory, since both fees could not work normally with DDR3-1866 at a safe voltage level.

Due to the lack of support for Intel Turbo Boost technology, as well as due to weak voltage stabilizers, restraining the acceleration of the board, Jetway BI-600 was the first in our tests to power consumption.

The Gigabyte fee has the lowest temperature of voltage stabilizers, but the ECS X58B-A and ASRock X58 Extreme are truly hot.

Since efficiency is measured as a performance per unit of energy before calculating the average efficiency, it is necessary to determine the average performance. According to the overall performance, the Gigabyte fee leads, despite the CPU clock frequency under stipper, while Asus ranked second, despite its original acceleration by 0.20%. The ASRock motherboard was initially dispersed more than all (by 0.425%), but took only the third place in general performance.

Thanks to the lowest power consumption of JetWay BI-600, it became the most effective fee despite the lagging in performance.

Basic Frequency CPU	100 - 300 MHz (1 MHz)	100 - 500 MHz (1 MHz)	133 - 511 MHz (1 MHz)
Multiplier adjustment	Yes	Yes	Not
Memory frequency	Bclk x6 - x16 (x2)	Bclk x6 - x16 (x2)	Bclk x6- x12 (x2)
Frequency PCIe	50 - 150 MHz (1 MHz)	100 - 200 MHz (1 MHz)	100 - 200 MHz (1 MHz)
CPU VCORE	0.84 - 2.00 V (6.25 mV)	0.85 - 2,10 V (6.25 mV)	0.50 - 1.60 V (6.25 mV)
Uncore Voltage	1.20 - 1.90 V (70 mV)	1.20 - 1.90 V (6.25 mV)	+481 mV (12.5 mV)
	1.10 - 1.49 V (6.25 mV)	1.10 - 1.70 V (20 mV)	+693 mV (11 mV)
	1.12 - 1.56 V (20 mV)	1.10 - 1.40 V (10 mV)	+150 mV (50 mV)
Memory voltage	1.56 - 2.00 V (15 mV)	1.50 - 2.46 V (20 mV)	+945 mV (15 mV)
Cas delay range	6 - 11	3 - 11	3 - 11
tRCD.	3 - 15	3 - 10	3 - 15
tRP.	3 - 15	3 - 10	3 - 15
tras.	9 - 31	3 - 31	9 - 30

Frequency and voltage in BIOS (for overclocking)
Basic Frequency CPU	66 - 500 MHz (1 MHz)	100 - 1200 MHz (1 MHz)	133 - 500 MHz (1 MHz)	133 - 400 MHz (1 MHz)
Multiplier adjustment	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Memory frequency	Bclk x6 - x16 (x2)	BCLK X6 - X18 (X2)	Bclk x6 - x16 (x2)	Bclk x6 - x16 (x2)
Frequency PCIe	Not regulated	90 - 150 MHz (1 MHz)	Not regulated	100 - 200 MHz (1 MHz)
CPU VCORE	+1260 mV (10 mV)	0.50 - 1.90 V (6.25 mV)	0.80 - 1.55 V (10 mV)	-0.32 - +0.63 V (10 mV)
Uncore Voltage	+1260 mV (10 mV)	1.08 - 2.02 V (20 mV)	Not regulated	0.88 - 1.83 V (10 mV)
Northern Bridge Voltage (IOH)	1.10 - 2.36 V (20 mV)	1.0 - 2.0 V (20 mV)	1.10 - 1.25 V (50 mV)	0.80 - 2.35 V (10 mV)
Southern Bridge Voltage (ICH)	1.40 - 1.80 V (12 mV)	0.92 - 2.38 V (20 mV)	Not regulated	0.70 - 2.13 V (10 mV)
Memory voltage	1.50 - 2.86 V (10 mV)	1.30 - 2.60 V (20 mV)	1.50 - 1.65 V (25 mV)	1,20 - 2.477 V (10 mV)
Cas delay range	5 - 15	6 - 15	3 - 18	6 - 12
tRCD.	5 - 15	1 - 15	3 - 15	3 - 15
tRP.	5 - 15	1 - 15	3 - 15	3 - 15
tras.	10 - 31	1 - 31	9 - 30	9 - 31

Most enthusiasts do not want to put up with the desire of manufacturers to sell their products at as far as possible, for them the main criterion - the fee must ensure stability after overclocking (and, it is desirable, it costs as cheaper as possible). Let's see how cheap motherboards will be shown.

If you are ready to accept some restrictions, such as support for the maximum of three memory modules, the Foxconn FlamingBlade will provide you with exceptional acceleration. If you are looking for more traditional functions, then you will enjoy the MSI X58 Pro-E fee, which, according to the results of the acceleration, was in second place with a slight margin from the leader. As a result of overclocking JetWay BI-600, the restrictions affected which we have already talked in detail.

The difference in 2 MHz separates ECS X58B-A from most competitors at the maximum basic frequency.

The Foxconn and Gigabyte motherboards have had the highest memory frequency, but because of their inability to maintain six memory modules, they found themselves on the lower line of the table. Any of these motherboards will be good choice For those users who are going to use only one memory set, but in the configuration with six memory modules, the MSI X58 Pro-E board leads.

Conclusion

The first acceleration motherboard Foxconn FlamingBlade is inferior to the MSI X58 Pro-E board, which took second place, if more than three slots of memory are required. If you compare functionality, FlamingBlade supports the second gigabit network port, and X58 Pro-E allows you to connect the third x16 card through the X4 slot. Both boards support two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots with full bandwidth, but this can be said about any motherboard on the X58 chipset.

If you are more interested in performance, not top acceleration, then you should pay attention to the Gigabyte X58-UD3R fee with its eight-phase voltage stabilizer and two oznes of copper in layers that help to work with a smaller temperature. It costs as much as the X58 Pro-E model, although it provides a little less space for memory modules and expansion cards, but the lower operating temperature makes it a reliable board at high loads.

Perhaps most of us surprised the ASRock X58 Extreme board, which ranked third both acceleration and performance, although it is cheaper than everyone in the international market. Compared to the MSI X58 Pro-E model, the X58 Extreme is not enough functions, but ASRock has made a greater emphasis on the lightweight of the installation, placing the front panel connectors over the central motherboard line. ASRock even left a drive connector to facilitate the installation of RAID drivers during the installation of the Windows XP operating system. In addition, in contrast to the X58 Pro-E, the X58 Extreme fee has a diagnostic display of Port 80.

Supporting up to five video cards The Jetway Bi-600 motherboard provides the best combination of functions and cost. In addition, this fee is the most effective at the ratio of performance and power consumption, but only when using the CPU voltage below the declared one. From the point of view of functionality, this is a very profitable fee, however, we cannot recommend it until Jetway has been seriously working on my BIOS, and we hope that the manufacturer will fix the problem with tension.

Since the BI-600 fee came out of the game, the "Site recommends" awards we are awarded the ASRock X58 Extreme motherboard for a combination of excellent acceleration capabilities, good performance and the lowest cost.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Since the motherboards with the 1366 connector on the market for about two years, then to interest the buyer, manufacturers have to come up with something newer in the box "Super-capacitors" or "Mega-acceleration".

Asus decided to move away from glamorous ribbons with multi-colored lights and began to produce the TUF series motherboards (The Ultimate Force). All decisions of this series are positioned as devices with increased reliability due to the use of military standards. The first motherboard of this series is the famous ASUS i55 Sabertooth. Of course, I could not stay aside and the flagship line, and therefore we meet - ASUS X58 SABERTOOTH. She had to inherit all the best from the younger sister on the i55 logic and, it is quite possible to add something exclusively for processors 1366.

advertising

I will try to explore the fee from different sides, check it on acceleration in comparison with competitors, identify strengths and weaknesses. Let's see if the novelty has the right to refer to the TUF series.

Packaging and equipment

Let's start an overview of the motherboard with the study of packaging and configuration.

The LGA1366 platform has already entered our IT-life, and the corresponding Intel processors are firmly settled at the top of the performance ratings in almost all applications. The problem is that the system data is still quite expensive. It would seem that the novelty of the new processor architecture was already faded, and the manufacturers "removed the cream" and had to go to the release of cheaper and affordable products. This happens, but not as fast as we would like. Firstly, the range of family of processors Core i7 has long remains unchanged, and the cheapest model (Core i7 920) costs more than 10 thousand rubles. Secondly, the prices for motherboards also do not please the eyes of buyers and exceed the same 10 thousand rubles. The reason for this is that the LGA1366 platform has been released one single Intel X58 chipset, which in most cases and determines the high price of the finished board. In addition, it will take a good LGA1366-cooler for assembling this system, as well as a DDR3 memory kit. And by itself, the DDR3 memory is already quite accessible, and for the X58 system you can do without the highest possible memory DDR3-1066. But there is one feature - for this system, Intel recommends a set of three modules with the same characteristics. Accordingly, memory manufacturers use the case and set to three-channel sets of somewhat overestimated prices. However, if you leave the marketing nuances aside, then for systems with Nehalem processors, it is quite possible to use cheaper two-channel sets of RAM, with a significant drop in performance you will not see.

All this is superimposed on the Russian reality, which is characterized by a high course of both the euro and the US dollar. But there are encouraging news. In particular, in recent months, motherboards appeared on the market on the basis of the Intel X58 chipset worth about $ 200, and one of these boards participates in this comparative testing. By the way, the purpose of this review is to summarize the first results by motherboard at the X58 chipset (we test them almost six months) and in the definition of some landmarks for which all subsequent models will be evaluated.

But before switching to the fees, say a few words about the Intel X58 chipset itself. From a technical point of view, the "Northern Bridge" X58 is much easier than its predecessors - x48 and x38. The fact is that this chip does not have a built-in memory controller, which is integrated into the LGA1366 processors. Instead, the QPI bus controller appeared in X58 to communicate with the processor. As for the support of the PCI Express V2.0 tire, then there are no cardinal changes in this area - x58 supports only 36 lines and supports configurations 2x16, 4x8, as well as some intermediate. This allows developers to implement AMD CrossFire technology to motherboards. In addition, a long-awaited event happened - some Motherboards with X58 chipset have acquired support for NVIDIA SLI technology. However, the merits of Intel engineers are not here, since SLI support is implemented in graphic Drivers NVIDIA and some enthusiasts have tried SLI on X48 a year ago by using modified drivers. As for the boards on the X58, almost all of the board presented in this review support SLI officially. Although there is one board that does not have a mention of SLI in its specifications, but this little thing did not interfere with us to launch it in this mode.

The "North Bridge" X58 is equipped with the "South Bridge" ICH10 (R), with which it is connected via the DMI bus. And since the characteristics of this chip are already well known, we will not dwell on them in detail, but only briefly list:

• single Six Serialata II Channels
• 12 USB 2.0 ports
• gigabit Network Support
• sound subsystem High Definition Audio.

In addition, ICH10 (R) supports six PCI Express lines that motherboard developers can manage at their discretion.

Comparative table characteristics of motherboards

Name	ASRock X58 Super Computer	ASUS P6T DELUXE / OC PALM		ECS X58B-A
Chipset	Intel X58 + ICH10R
Number of Slots DIMM	6 (DDR3)
Cooling chipset (points)	Passive (3+)	Passive / active (5-)	Passive / active (5)	Passive (3+)	Passive (5-)	Passive (3)
PCIE X16 / PCIE (\u003e X1) / PCIE X1 / PCI	4/0/0/3	3/1 (x4) / 0/2	3/0/2/1	2/1 (x4) / 2/1	3/1 (x4) / 1/2	3/0/2/2
AMD Crossfire / NVIDIA SLI	+ / + (16+0+16+0; 8+8+8+8)	+ / + (16+16; 16+8+8)	+ / + (16+16; 16+8+8)	+ / + (16+16)	+ / + (16+16; 16+8+8)	+ / ? (16+16; 16+8+8)
Power circuit	8-phase	16-phase; 2-phase memory controller	16-phase; 3-phase memory controller	6-phase	12-phase; 2-phase memory controller	5-phase
Power connectors	24 + 8	24 + 8	24 + 8	24 + 8 + Molex	24 + 8	24 + 8
Capacitor	13X 820 μF and 4x 270 μF	15x 560 MKF and 4X 270 μF	12x 560 μF, 2x 270 μF and 1x 1000 μF	11x 820 μF and 4x 270 μF	17x 820 μF and 4x 270 μF	11x 820 μF and 4x 470 μF
Sound	Alc890b.	AD2000B.	AD2000B on a separate scarf	Alc888s.	Alc889a.	Alc888s.
Network (Gigabit Ethernet; Type Type)	2x Realtek RTL8111DL (PCI Express X1)		2X Marvell 88E8056 (PCI Express X1)		2x Realtek RTL8111C (PCI Express X1)	Realtek RTL8111C (PCI Express X1)
Serialata.	7: 6 channels ICH10R + 1 channel (JMB362)	9: 6 channels ICH10R + 2 SATA / SAS channel (Marvell 88SE6320) + 1 channel (Marvell 88SE6111)		8: 6 channels ICH10R + 2 channels (JMB362)	10: 6 channels ICH10R + 4 channels (JMB363 + 2 x JMB322)	8: 6 channels ICH10R + 2 channels (JMB363)
Parallelata.	1 channel (VT6330)	1 channel (Marvell 88SE6111)	1 channel (JMB363)	-	1 channel (JMB363)	1 channel (JMB363)
USB2.0 (built-in / optional)	7 / 5	8/6; (NEC 720114) *	6 / 6	6 / 6	8 / 4	6 / 6
IEEE-1394 (built-in / optional)	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 2	1 / 1
Size, mm.	245x305.	245x305.	269x305	245x305.	245x305.	245x305.
Bios.	Ami Bios.	Ami Bios.	Ami Bios.	Ami Bios.	Award Bios.	Ami Bios.
Vcore.	From 0.84375 V to 1.6 V (0.00625 V)	From 0.85 V to 2.1 V (0.00625 V)	From 0.85 V to 2.5 V (0.00625 V)	From 0.5 V to 1.6V (0.00625 V)	From 0.5 V to 1.9 V (0.00625V)
Vmem.	From 1.53 V to 2.451 V (0.015 V)	From 1.5 V to 2.46 V (0.02 V)	From 1.5 V to 2.5 V (0.01325 V)	From +0 to +0.63 V (0.01 V)	From 1.3 V to 2.6 V (0.02-0.1 V)	From 1.2 V to 2.77 V (0.01 V)
VSB / VSB-IO	From 1.12 V to 1.56 V (0.02 V)	From 1.1 V to 1.4 V (0.02 V)	From 1.1 V to 2.0 V (0.01325 V)	From +0.05 V to +0.15 V (0.05 V)	From 0.92 V to 2.38 V (0.02 V)	From 0.7 V to 2.13 V (0.01-0.05 V)
Vtt	From +0 to +0.3 V (0.1 V)	From 1.2 V to 1.9 V (0.00625 V)	From 1.2 V to 2.5 V (0.00625 V)	From +0 to +0.63 V (0.01 V)	From 1.075 V to 2.015 V (0.02 V)	From -0.32 V to +0.63 V (0.01 V)
Vioh.	From 1.11 V to 1.49 V (0.12 V)	From 1.1 V to 1.7 V (0.02 V)	From 1.1 V to 2.2 V (0.01325 V)	From +0 to +0.63 V (0.01 V)	From 1.1 V to 2.0 V (0.02 V)	-
VPLL	From 1.82 V to 2.5 V (0.02 V)	From 1.8 V to 2.5 V (0.02 V)	From 1.8 V to 2.5 V (0.01325 V)	-	From 1.8 V to 2.52 V (0.02 V)	From 1.0 V to 2.43 V (0.01-0.05 V)
QPI; MHz (step)	From 100 to 300 MHz (1)	From 100 to 500 MHz (1)	From 100 to 500 MHz (1)	From 133 to 511 MHz (1)	From 100 to 1200 MHz (1)	From 100 to 400 MHz (1)
Real acceleration (Core i7 920), MHz	180	200	212 *	180	200	200
Dynamic overcloking	-	-	-	-	C.I.A 2.	-
Memory subsystem (points)	3+	5	5+	3-	5+	3+
System Monitoring (Points; Fan-Control)	4 (QUIET FAN)	5- (Q-FAN 2)	5+ (Q-FAN 2)	3 (Smart Fan)	4 (Smart Fan)	4 (Smart Fan)
Complete set (features)	4+	4+	5	2+	n / A.	2+
Number of FAN	5	5	8 *	4	6	3
Features	Combi ESATA / USB port; BIOS profiles (3)	Support AI Proactive (AI Overclock, AI Net 2, OC. Profile (2), EZ Flashfree 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MYLOGO 3); ASUS Express Gate; POWER and RESET buttons;	Support AI Proactive (+); There are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel, no PS / 2 for the mouse; Power, Reset, CMOS buttons; Probeit; Tweakit; LCD POSTER module; Diehard BIOS;	Power / Reset / CMOS buttons; seven-segment post indicator; There are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel;	Support for Dualbios, EasyTune Center, FaceWizard, @BIOS, BIOS profiles (8); Power / Reset / CMOS buttons; seven-segment post indicator;	Support Dual Corecenter, LiveUpdate, Digicell; Power / Reset / CMOS buttons; There are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel;
The average price according to Market.3DNews, rubles:	There is no data	There is no data	There is no data	There is no data	There is no data	There is no data

In the table we used a symbol * to designate any particular feature or record value. Before proceeding to tests, consider the features of the participants of this summary review several more.

ASRock X58 SuperComputer

The first impression of the ASRock X58 SuperComputer fee was quite positive. First, I liked the box, and even more is its contents, which includes connecting bridges for both AMD video cards and NVIDIA. In the Complete Two "Bridge" Crossfire, which allows you to combine three AMD video cards into an array. And if the user has two or three NVIDIA video cards, it can also combine them into the SLI bundle using the corresponding "bridges". Since the SLI technology with two video cards can operate in several slots, respectively, in the box are connective "bridges" of different lengths (the total number of "bridges" SLI is three pieces).

Thus, we smoothly go to another distinctive feature of the ASRock X58 SuperComputer board - it has four PCI Express X16 slots. Of course, the total number of lines pCI-E tires It remains unchanged, but the user appears a unique opportunity to use three video cards for a powerful graphics subsystem + the possibility of operation of the fourth video card.

Four PEG slots are the main advantage of this board, since all other review participants have three PEG slots at best.

The rest of the ASRock X58 SuperComputer extension features a high-end board level and include two gigabit network controllers, built-in HD sound, USB and FireWire ports, as well as support for seven serialata II channels.

ASRock engineers have always been famous for non-trivial approaches to the development of motherboards. They distinguished themselves this time. In particular, the Additional JMB362 controller was installed on the fee, which supports two Serialata II channels. But at the same time, only one port is implemented, which is located on the rear panel of the board.

Moreover, physically and electrically this port is compatible with the USB interface. Thus, this connector can be used both to connect SATA- and for connecting USB devices. Another oddity is to use a rather rare VIA VT6330 controller, which provides support for the Parallellata interface and FireWire serial tire.

With the BIOS settings, everything turned out to be a little bit like other manufacturers. For example, to get into the BIOS, you must press the non-usable DEL key, and for some reason F2. As for the interface and grouping settings, in this regard, the ASRock X58 Supercomputer board is a large original. However, the main functions are without difficulty, as, in particular, memory settings and system monitoring.

As for the functions of overclocking, they are present on the board:

And it is quite acceptable. In particular, we reached the frequency qpi \u003d 180 MHz. However, there is also a disadvantage that is that with optimistic settings, the system is tightly "hangs." In this case, only a complete reset of CMOS helps. However, this flaw is somewhat compensated by the support of CMOS profiles:

Also note a rather good processor power converter, the power elements of which are located under an additional radiator.

Pre-conclusion - in general, the ASRock X58 Supercomputer board is a very interesting product on the Intel X58 chipset. However, its main dignity - four PCI Express X16 slots, is, apparently, the only one. The fact is that in Asrock installed a fairly high price for this fee, which is commensurate with similar ASUS boards. As a result, we came to the conclusion that the ASRock X58 SuperComputer is a niche product and recommend it only to those users who necessarily require the LGA1366 platform with the presence of four PCI EXPRESS X16 slots. Pros:

• 8-phase processor power scheme;
• the presence of four PCI Express X16 V2.0 slots;
• support Serialata II / RAID (seven channels; ICH10R + JMB362);
• support for one P-ATA channel (VIA VT6330);
• aSRock's wide range of branded technologies (OC TUNER, IES, CMOS, QUIET FAN profiles, etc.);
• passive chipset cooling system and power module.

Minuses:

• overcharge.

Features of the board:

• there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel;
• combined ESATA / USB port.

Detailed review of the board ASRock X58 SuperComputer

ASUS P6T DELUXE / OC PALM

As it is the leader of the motherboard market leader, ASUS has the widest range of products on the Intel X58 chipset, which includes nine (!) Models. Two of them belong to the Professional Series (Professional), two to the game (Republic of Gamers) and as many as five models are intended for the rest of the users. Of these, the P6T Deluxe / OC Palm board is the most powerful and functional and is the embodiment of all advanced ASUS technologies. The company's engineers tried to make a board as universal and interesting.

Let's start with the configuration that includes the OC Palm module, which is an already familiar ASUS ScreenUo device, which we considered in detail a year and a half ago. However, the fee does not fully use its potential - only overclocking functions are implemented. Also in the configuration there is a pair of SAS cables, and the board itself supports two relevant channels using an optional Marvell 88SE6320 controller. In total, the board supports nine Serialata channels, six of which are implemented by the capabilities of the "Southern Bridge" ICH10R, and one more (the corresponding port is derived to the rear panel) - with the 88SE6111 controller.

SAS technology is decrypted as Serial Attached SCSI and is a transitional interface from parallel SCSI to a more convenient and productive sequential one. The main difference between SAS from SATA consists of two independent data channels, but at the same time SAS is compatible with SATA. This means that SATA disks can be completely safe to the SAS controller.

The board has on board HD-sound, two gigabit network controllers, as well as a FireWire serial bus controller. Separately, it is worth mentioning the support of the USB 2.0 tire, the number of ports of which, in most cases, is determined by the capabilities of the "Southern Bridge". For ICH10R, this quantity is 12, but ASUS engineers "spent" two ports for installation hardware module ExpressGate (Built-in trimmed version of Linux), and the number of free ports has decreased to ten, which is completely unacceptable for the high-end board. Therefore, an additional NEC 720114 controller is installed on the fee, which supports four additional USB 2.0 ports.

As for the graphic subsystem, three PEG slots are installed on the board:

For another PCI Express slot, four lines are highlighted, and its rear wall is cut. Theoretically, it allows you to install the fourth video card, but in practice, the card will strengthen the cooling system.

The feature of the rear panel is in one PS / 2 port, which allows you to connect either the corresponding mouse or keyboard.

We also mention about the buttons on and reboot, which are located near the "Southern Bridge".

The memory settings section will delight computer enthusiasts with a large number of timings:

The system monitoring section, on the contrary, contains only a standard set of sensors and functions.

About BIOS ASUS P6T Deluxe Boards You can talk long. Here and the CMOS (OC Profile) profile (OC Profile) feature, and the Firmware Emergency Recovery Technology (CrashFree BIOS 3), and the EZ Flash Utility 2. Even more time may take a story about EPU energy-saving hardware and software technology. But we will get better for acceleration:

The potential of the overclocking board is quite high, which is not least explained by a rather powerful 16-phase power converter.

Moreover, the memory controller has an independent 2-phase converter, which also increases the stability on non-standard frequencies, is also built into the LGA1366 processor. In practice, we have achieved a stable frequency of QPI \u003d 200 MHz, but with the latest BIOS firmware, this result may be 10 MHz above.

Pre-conclusion - the ASUS P6T Deluxe / OC Palm board is a computer analogue of a universal Swiss knife, and in any area, this product is among the leaders. The only thing that seemed excess on the board is the OC Palm module. Therefore, if you have a choice, we advise you to purchase a fee without it, with the exception of the situation when the board is purchased as a gift.

Pros:

• high stability and performance;
• 2-phase memory controller power circuit;
• support SAS / SERIALATA II / RAID (nine channels; ICH10R + Marvell 88SE6320 + Marvell 88SE6111);
• support for single channel P-ATA (Marvell 88SE6111);
• sound High Definition Audio 7.1 + Two Gigabit Ethernet Network Controllers;
• support for USB 2.0 interface (14 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
• aSUS's wide range of branded technologies (PC Probe II, EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MYLOGO 3, Q-FAN 2, etc.);
• additional AI Proactive Technology Set (AI Overclock, OC Profile, Ai Net 2, Other);
• passive / active chipset cooling system and power module;
• pOWER and RESET buttons;
• support for ASUS Express Gate technology.

Minuses:

• not detected.

Features of the board:

• there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel; Combined PS / 2 connector.

Detailed review of the boardASUS P6T DELUXE / OC PALM

The extreme version of the ASUS Rampage II card fully justifies its name - it is really "extreme". First, it is the largest (269x305 mm) and, due to the massive cooling system, the hardest. Secondly, it is the most expensive of the products considered ($ 350-370). Thirdly, the board allows extreme dispersed the processor and achieve its technological limit. In particular, we reached the frequency FSB \u003d 212 MHz, and also dispersed the test processor to a frequency of 4.0 GHz.

This fee belongs to the republic of Gamers series, which is becoming more and more overclocker-oriented. The previous generation of this series had several key features. In particular, the expansion capabilities were somewhat weaker than that of similar High-End-Boards ASUS, the equipment is almost richer (including a disc with a popular game), and the cooling system is much more powerful. Almost half of the circuit boards from the ROG series had a built-in wrapper on the "Northern Bridge" chipset, which was perfectly combined with very powerful acceleration features.

As for the Rampage II Extreme fee, it is worth noting some changes to the ROG concept. First, according to expansion capabilities, the fee is practically not inferior to P6T Deluxe. Secondly, the configuration is excluded a disk with the game and thirdly, there is no winch.

The last moment is explained by the fact that the thermal load on the "Northern Bridge" X58 is much smaller and not so critical for overclocking, since the memory controller moved from the chipset directly to the processor.

However, ASUS engineers left the technical ability to install a liquid cooling system. But for overclocking it is not important - much more important than the design of PCB, the corresponding acceleration functions and power converters. In particular, the PWM processor is made according to the 16-phase diagram, and the power controller power transducers, the memory modules themselves and the "Northern Bridge" are made according to a three-phase pattern.

We list the extension capabilities - two gigabit network controllers, two FireWire ports and an optional Serialata / Parallelata / RAID controller.

Also note the support of 12 USB ports 2.0 and the 8-channel audio subsystem on a separate SUPREMEFX II scarf. In addition, the board has three PCI EXPRESS X16 slots, two PCI Express X1 slots and one PCI slot.

As you can see, ASUS engineers completely abandoned the support of the LPT port and COM ports. There is also no PS / 2-connector for connecting the mouse. But in excess, there are USB 2.0 ports, there is a FireWire port, the SATAII port, the button to reset the CMOS settings (only works when the CLRTC_SW switch position is determined), as well as the LCD POSTER connector.

In addition, there are buttons on the board to turn on the system and reboot, as well as a joystick and a pair of buttons for the LCD POSTER.

We also mention the jumper for forced choice bIOS microcircuits. The fact is that the board installed two BIOS chips and, if necessary, the user can specify active.

For overclockers, constantly experimenting with various BIOS firmware, the backup chip is a big plus.

As for the BIOS itself, the board boasts a very large set of RAM settings.

System monitoring is also performed at a very high level. In particular, the board displays the current values \u200b\u200bof the temperature of the processor and the system, the temperature of "northern" and "southern" "bridges", as well as temperatures from three additional thermal sensors that are included. In addition, the board monitors the voltage, the speed of rotation of all eight fans, six of which support the Q-FAN2 function to adjust the rotation of the cooler depending on the temperature of the various components.

In addition, ASUS Rampage II Extreme can save all BIOS settings in memory and, if necessary, download them. She supports eight (!) Independent profiles:

Overclocking opportunities are concentrated in the "Extreme Tweaker" section and are deprived of any drawbacks:

We have reached a stable operation of the system on a record (for our testlab) at the ASUS Rampage II Extreme (for our testlab).

Summing up, we can compare the ASUS Rampage II Extreme motherboard, with the Formula 1 car, which is designed to achieve the highest speed. However, in our case, this car is equipped with air conditioning, a TV and a trunk for bags with potatoes, and also knows how to cook borsch. In other words, you can use the Rampage II Extreme to build a computer for any tasks and in any case this fee will show yourself from the best side. However, its main purpose is overclocking and stable work on ultrahigh frequencies. That is why it costs $ 70 more than an almost similar ASUS P6T Deluxe board. Pros:

• high stability and performance;
• 16-phase processor power scheme;
• 3-phase power controller power controller, "Northern Bridge" and Memory Modules;
• support for NVIDIA SLI / 3-Way SLI and AMD CROSSFIRX technologies;
• support Serialata II / RAID (eight channels; ICH10R + JMICRON JMB363);
• support for one channel P-ATA (JMICRON JMB363);
• sound High Definition Audio 7.1 (on a separate handkerchief) + two Gigabit Ethernet network controllers;
• support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
• aSUS's wide range of branded technology (PC Probe II, EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MyLogo 3, Fan Xpert, etc.);
• additional set of AI Proactive technologies (AI Overclock, OC Profile (eight profiles), AI NET 2, TURBO-V, EPU, etc.);
• probeit technology; Tweakit technology, LCD POSTER module and board controls;
• diehard BIOS technology (two BIOS chips);

Minuses:

• overcharge.

Features of the board:

• powerful acceleration functions, and excellent results;
• there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel, no PS / 2 for the mouse;
• non-standard dimensions of the board.

Detailed overview of the board

ECS X58B-A

When we received and tested the ECS X58B-A fee, we concluded that this product is a good realization of the potential of the Intel X58 chipset.

The board has quite powerful extension capabilities that include two gigabit network controllers, HD-sound, two FireWire ports and an additional two-channel Serialata controller.

As the last ECS engineers used the JMB362 chip, and the corresponding ports are displayed on the rear board panel. And immediately, we note that the support of the interfaces Parallelata and FDD is not at the board.

In addition, the board has two PCI Express X16 slots, two PCI Express X1 slots, one PCI Express X4 slot and one PCI slot.

The rear panel of the board has the following configuration:

Pay attention to the button designed to zero the CMOS settings. In addition to her on the board there are also a pair of buttons - on (POWER), reboot (reset), as well as a seven-segment POST code indicator.

According to the BIOS settings, the ECS X58B-A board is somewhat inferior to its competitors. This applies to both RAM settings,

So the section of system monitoring.

Overclocking options are more qualitatively implemented that, despite the rather modest power converter, allowed us to increase the frequency of the QPI tire to 180 MHz.

Before this fee appears in an open sale, we assumed that it would be a cheap alternative to High-End Places "Big Troika". However, at the time of this comparative testing (the end of April 2009) it turned out that there are cheaper boards on X58, with similar technical characteristics. Pros:

• the presence of two Slots PCI Express X16 V2.0;
• support for NVIDIA SLI and AMD CROSSFIRE technologies;
• support Serialata II / RAID (eight channels; ICH10R + JMB362);
• sound High Definition Audio 7.1 + Two Gigabit Ethernet Network Controllers;
• support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
• passive chipset cooling system and power module;
• pOWER and RESET buttons; CMOS reset button;
• sevegment indicator Post codes.

Minuses:

• not detected.

Features of the board:

• there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel;
• no support for Parallelata, FDD.

Detailed overview of the boardECS X58B-A

Traditionally, the Gigabyte high-end fee has had the best expansion options, due to which our awards have received more than once. In this regard, the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 card may well continue this tradition.

Let's start with the fact that the card has a record number of Serialata channels - ten. Six of them are implemented by the capabilities of the "southern bridge" ICH10R, and the remaining four - using the bundle of the Gigabyte SATA2 controller (JMB363) and two JMB322 controllers. Such a scheme provides users with significant flexibility in organizing RAID arrays and, in particular, allows you to implement highly interesting SAFE50 and SAFE33 modes. Total - 12 hard drives can be connected to the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 card (ten SATA II + two PATA).

Approximately the same can be said about the number of ports of the FireWire tire - three of them. This is not a record, but still more than the competitors. The remaining features are practically standard - two gigabit network controllers, 12 USB 2.0 ports and built-in HD sound.

Slots configuration is richer than standard - three PCI Express X16 slots, pair of PCI slots, one PCI Express X4 slot and one PCI Express X1 slot.

The back panel liked us with its functionality. In particular, it set eight (!) USB 2.0 ports, optical and coaxial outputs SP-DIF, FireWire port and CMOS reset button.

Also on the board there are buttons for switching on and rebooting the system. However, the last marketers of Gigabyte regretted a couple of cents, and her pathetic look spoils the impression of the entire fee. This trifle is more than compensated for by the presence of the seven-step POST-code indicator on the board, as well as on the rarity extensive settings of RAM.

System monitoring, on the contrary, much more modest.

In particular, we did not like the lack of information on voltages +12 V and +3.3 V. But liked that the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 board allows you to save all BIOS settings in memory and download them if necessary. In total, it supports eight independent profiles:

Opponation Opportunities are not well implemented, without any significant drawbacks:

This was confirmed in practice, when we reached a stable frequency QPi \u003d 200 MHz. And, completing the topic of overclocking, we note two significant points. First, the board has a rather powerful processor power converter, which is made using a 12-phase diagram.

Secondly, the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 fee is the only one of the tested models, on which the mechanism of dynamic overclocking is implemented.

In general, this fee was performed at a fairly high level, it does not have significant flaws, but it has better expansion opportunities in its class. Very pleased with the retail price, which at the time of testing was around $ 275, which is $ 25 cheaper ASUS P6T Deluxe boards. Pros:

• high stability and performance;
• 12-phase processor power scheme;
• 2-phase power supply diagram "Northern Bridge" and Memory Modules;
• the presence of three PCI Express X16 V2.0 slots;
• support for NVIDIA SLI / 3-Way SLI and AMD CROSSFIRX technologies;
• support Serialata II / RAID (Ten channels; ICH10R + 2 x JMicron JMB322);
• support for one P-ATA channel (Gigabyte SATA2);
• sound High Definition Audio 7.1 + Two Gigabit Ethernet Network Controllers;
• support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; three ports);
• wide set of Gigabyte branded technologies (C.I.A2, Easytune 6, Facewizard, @BIOS, etc.);
• ultra Durable 3 Technology Support, Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced, BIOS profiles;
• passive chipset cooling system and power module;
• pOWER and RESET buttons; CMOS reset button;
• sevegment indicator POST codes;
• virtual Dual BIOS technology (two BIOS chips).

Minuses:

• not detected.

Features of the board:

• powerful acceleration and excellent results;
• no support for LPT and COM ports.

Detailed overview of the board

So, we go to the latter, but very interesting board - MSI X58 Pro. First of all, it attracts at its price of $ 200, and the appearance of an exception to the product.

So, MSI engineers saved "secretly" - only one gigabit network controller was delivered and programmatically "turned off" NVIDIA SLI technology. This is either children's naivety, or a thin marketing calculation, since SLI technology "turns on" back by firmware BIOS from the MSI X58 Pro SLI model.

So, the board has three PCI EXPRESS X16 slots, two PCI Express X1 slots and two PCI slots.

The remaining extension capabilities include the already mentioned network controller, two FireWire ports, an additional Serialata / Parallelata / RAID controller (total eight SATA channels + one PATA channel), as well as 12 USB 2.0 ports and a built-in 8-channel sound.

The rear panel configuration does not contain outdated LPT and COM ports. However, one COM port is implemented using a plank that is not included.

On the MSI X58 Pro board there are no traditional jumpers, and the corresponding button is used to reset the CMOS settings (located on the left edge of the board). There are also the buttons for starting and rebooting the system, as well as a block of three DIP switches, which are responsible for the start frequency of the QPI bus tire.

As for the BIOS, there were no complaints about the RAM settings for us,

as with the section of system monitoring.

We specifically note that the MSI X58 Pro board allows you to save all BIOS settings to memory and download them if necessary. It supports four independent profiles:

Acceleration was surprisingly good - the board worked stably at the frequency of QPI \u003d 200 MHz. And this is despite the fact that this MSI board has the most modest cooling system of the chipset and the power converter, and the PWM itself is made on a cheap 5-phase pattern.

Separately, we note that the successful SLI launch will not be reflected in the conclusions, since it is an abnormal function of the MSI X58 Pro motherboard. However, this product is good and without SLI, since it corresponds to the characteristics most boards on the X58 and it costs $ 200, which is noticeably cheaper than the rest of the competitors, the price of which begins with a $ 250. Pros:

• high stability and performance;
• the presence of three PCI Express X16 V2.0 slots;
• aMD CROSSFIREX technology support;
• sERIALATA II / RAID support (eight channels; ICH10R + JMB363);
• support for one channel P-ATA (JMB363);
• sound High Definition Audio 7.1 + Gigabit Ethernet Network Controller;
• support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);

conclusions

Summing up comparative testing is complicated by the fact that as such a comparison did not work out, since all the motherboards presented acts in different price categories. The exception is the ASRock X58 Supercomputer and ASUS P6T Deluxe models, the average price for $ 300. In this case, the choice between them is carried out quite simple - if there is a need for four PCI Express X16 slots, then we buy asrock. In all other cases, the ASUS board looks preferable.

The next alternative to ASUS P6T Deluxe is the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 model, which has a little better expansion opportunities and it costs a little cheaper (about $ 275). There are no fundamental difference between the boards, and we find it difficult to choose the best. Most likely, the choice must be carried out on the basis of personal experience and preferences, as well as given the need for additional branded technologies (there is a slight advantage for ASUS).

At the following board - ECS X58B-A, we did not have any oscillation. At a price of $ 250, we do not recommend it to the acquisition. The fact is that at a wide sale there is a MSI X58 Pro card with almost the same technical characteristics and at the price of only $ 200.

Differences between them in the details - the MSI card has no second network controller, and the ECS card has no support for Parallelata and FDD. In addition, the MSI board is better accelerated and shows the results comparable to Gigabyte EX58-UD5 and ASUS P6T Deluxe.

And since we started overclocking, we turn to the most expensive board - ASUS Rampage II Extreme, worth $ 350-370.

In fact, this is the best motherboard designed for overclocking. There are also very good overclocking fees on X58 production DFI and EVGA, but they are missing in Russian stores. We also note that overclocking is the main advantage of the Rampage II Extreme, but far from the only one. And in all other areas, this product is very and quite competitive. But we cannot forget about one disadvantage - it is very buying equipment. For $ 360, the box with a fee should be big and heavy, and the list of configuration should take not one page. In addition, this fee refers to the republic of Gamers series and only because of the name is simply obliged to have a popular game complete (all previous boards of the ROG series have been completed with the play of Stalker or Company of Heroes).

General conclusions on all charges - among the considered models we did not find a frankly bad product. And even those fees that we do not recommend buying are in technical terms quite suitable for use. But the problem is that they are much more expensive than their direct competitors - i.e. The problem is not in terms of stability or functionality, but in the "incorrect" pricing. In addition, manufacturers reduce prices not at the same time, but based on their own plans. And it is quite possible that after a couple of months, other models will become more attractive at the ratio of "price / quality" ratio.