X58 In 2010: Four LGA 1366 Boards With USB 3.0 And SATA 6Gb/s

[avatar_raq]

Nice article, but a bit late! I bought the P6X58D premium already and I didn't notice that the 3rd GFX card will block the PSU fan in my antec 902..I was hoping to use the 1st and 3rd PCI-e slots to CF 2 5870s..Shit.

 

[spoofedpacket]

[citation][nom]omoronovo[/nom]I very recently decided to take the plunge in an i7-based build, and I chose the UD3R for it. I couldn't be happier - this little monster pushes my i7 to 4ghz stable on stock vcore.One thing I haven't seen anywhere though, but would like to, is the overclocking variance added through differing ram capacities. Even though I reached 4ghz on stock vcore, I had to push my QPI to 1.35 to keep the system stable with 6 modules installed. With 4 modules, this was reduced to 1.28, and with 3 it was around 1.24 and with only 2 I could run the QPI volts at 1.2.Perhaps an idea for an in-depth article at some point in the future Toms?[/citation]

You should be able to get vcore down to 1.18 @ 4Ghz if your chip is half decent. No epeen wagging, though.

[citation][nom]gwolfman[/nom]Why didn't you test USB3.0 performance? USB3.0 can be (and probably is) implemented differently on each of the boards.[/citation]

Like USB 2.0 is so different from x58 board to x58 board? Get real man.

 

[youssef 2010]

Good article but why didn't you use Gulftown when you're writing this article in light of recent X58 related events?

 

[thejerk]

Too bad you weren't able to get another board from ASRock before publishing the article.
No one hauls off and builds something that performs THAT badly these days.

And, who's the dickface that is randomly giving people thumbs-down around here?

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]youssef 2010[/nom]Good article but why didn't you use Gulftown when you're writing this article in light of recent X58 related events?[/citation]

2 things: Getting a historic overclocking record, and...someone else was using the Gulftown.

 

[dirtmountain]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]Yeh, X58 is obviously exceeds your needs but there hasn't been much news on the Via Apollo Pro front.[/citation]
I think he's talking more about the fact that THW has done at least 21 reviews of P55 motherboards, and only 2 articles on AMD motherboards. I'd like to see some reviews of the out for sale already 890FX, 870/SB850 and reviews of non- Asus, Gigabyte and MSI 890GX motherboards.

 

[treefrog07]

I've been waiting and waiting for an X58 board. I like DFI, but it looks like they are no longer on the bleeding edge. Thank you for this review. I guess I'll have to download the Gigabyte X58A-UD7 manual now.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]dirtmountain[/nom]I think he's talking more about the fact that THW has done at least 21 reviews of P55 motherboards, and only 2 articles on AMD motherboards. I'd like to see some reviews of the out for sale already 890FX, 870/SB850 and reviews of non- Asus, Gigabyte and MSI 890GX motherboards.[/citation]

It takes time to put a roundup together, some of the 890FX boards aren't ready yet and Tom's tries to include as many brands as possible. You'll probably see the roundup a few weeks after the last few samples arrive, since it takes a couple weeks to test a group of motherboards.

Now, I wonder who will be the first to -1 an unbiased response?

 

[boletus]

The photos of the 4 mobos together had me going for a second too. My initial reaction was pain. Try to imagine using the owner's manual for that mobo, with the poorly translated text, low-res photos, and randomly arranged tables we have all grown to know and love from mobo suppliers.

 

[Pei-chen]

Where is MSI and EVGA?

 

[ta152h]

[citation][nom]dirtmountain[/nom]I think he's talking more about the fact that THW has done at least 21 reviews of P55 motherboards, and only 2 articles on AMD motherboards. I'd like to see some reviews of the out for sale already 890FX, 870/SB850 and reviews of non- Asus, Gigabyte and MSI 890GX motherboards.[/citation]

I'm with you on the P55. It was like we were in the Twilight Zone for a while, not just Tom's but all the sites tried to convince us that pig could sing. From a purely technical perspective, it was ugly and so full of compromises, which is fine, except Intel was trying to convince people it was a high end platform. It was very confusing, and I think the market segmentation was a nightmare for Intel. I know it sold much worse than they expected, but that is a few months old data. I still don't know why they positioned it there - companies normally want their product segmentation pretty clear. Think of an average person going into a store trying to decide between an i7-870, and a 930 or 950/960. Very, very strange.

Looking back, maybe it was just an attempt to get the socket going. Kind of like RDRAM for the Pentium III. The 32nm processors on that platform make a lot of sense, and in that segment it's terrific. I just couldn't understand i7 based LGA 1156. I'm glad we're not get bombarded with that anymore.

But, x58 I think is still a very viable platform, and very interesting for a lot of people looking for the top of the line platform. Prices have come down, and it's got new features on the motherboards (USB, SATA), so I think a review is not only appropriate, but maybe overdue.

There are some sites doing the 890FX and 890GX reviews, if you look. I don't want to post links, because I think it's inappropriate, but I'm sure you can find them. I would also be interested in seeing the reviews on them, but I'm a little disappointed with the 890GX. I was hoping for a stronger GPU, and it hasn't really improved much.

I'd also love to see more stuff on the Nano platform. Centaur just released some new chipsets (which you can't find a motherboard for though!), and some new ultra-low powered Nanos. They don't get reviewed often. Maybe because their market share is so low, but, when you think that way, it gets kind of circular, since more reviews would probably boost sales.

 

[ta152h]

[citation][nom]pei-chen[/nom]Where is MSI and EVGA?[/citation]

Taiwan.

 

[DoPe]

Was hoping to see the X58D Premium on here, on the fence between that and taking a shot on one of these (guessing the UD3R going by this article). Is it just a price range comparison or are the X58D Premiums considered to be universally better than these selections?

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]TA152H[/nom]I would also be interested in seeing the reviews on them, but I'm a little disappointed with the 890GX.[/citation]
Did you read Tom's Hardware's 890GX review, or is your disappointment coming from general information?
[citation][nom]DoPe[/nom]Was hoping to see the X58D Premium on here, on the fence between that and taking a shot on one of these (guessing the UD3R going by this article). Is it just a price range comparison or are the X58D Premiums considered to be universally better than these selections?[/citation] Did you read the description on the P6X58D-E? It tells you what the difference is between it and the P6X58D Premium. The Premium was last year, Asus sent the -E to keep things fresh and for most people the -E is probably a better value than the Premium.

 

[ta152h]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]Did you read Tom's Hardware's 890GX review, or is your disappointment coming from general information? Did you read the description on the P6X58D-E? It tells you what the difference is between it and the P6X58D Premium. The Premium was last year, Asus sent the -E to keep things fresh and for most people the -E is probably a better value than the Premium.[/citation]

With anything new, I try to get at least three different reviews, hopefully five, before formulating opinions. So, to answer your question, yes, to both. Tom's is always one of the reviews I read when there's new hardware out. The consensus is that it's very similar to the 790GX in GPU performance, albeit with 10.1 support, which is nice. Most consider the SB850 a greater differentiator.

I guess it's more understandable when put in the context of AMD's efforts with their Fusion technology, and the fact they are using the same lithography for both GPUs (unlike Intel's Clarkdale). So, probably if I thought about it more, I would have had more realistic expectations, but I was hoping for something like a 25% improvement.

 

[fisshy]

That first picture had me all excited, darn...
Imagine a quad i7 MOBO setup... That would use enough power to power a GTX 480

I'm happy the Gigabytes came out tops.
Nice review

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Interesting article and benchmarks.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]fisshy[/nom]That first picture had me all excited, darn...Imagine a quad i7 MOBO setup... That would use enough power to power a GTX 480 I'm happy the Gigabytes came out tops.Nice review[/citation]
well u can get a dual xeon 5520 system with 24 or 48gb memory reasonably cheap if you need that sort of system

 

[Guest]

I found this article interesting since the Asrock I ordered last week will arrive in a day or two . I also had read several other positive reviews, have had good luck with Asrock boards in the past and Tom's did recommend the earlier Asrock X58 Extreme board. But, "That's poker folks...".

The bios tested was 1.40, and the Asrock site shows the latest bios to be 1.50 (4/14).

Turning off the USB 3.0 (for now) is OK for me since I don't have any 3.0 devices yet. Hopefully there will be a bios fix.

 

[oxbcat]

Doesn't anybody proofread anymore?

 

[georgekn3mp]

I bought the P6X58D-Premium in January, and based on this I am glad I only spent the $300 for it rather than opting for the much more expensive Gigabyte UD7 board. Based on this and experience, the Asus board was a good choice.

Well that plus it has been running stable at 4001 Mhz for 4 months on Asetek water cooling...200x20 Bclck has been running great!

And now the same mobo (missing Expressgate but oh well I have never used it...) is even cheaper.... just waiting to get a SATA-III Crucial C300SSD for a perfect combo!

 

[vic20]

It blows me away that any reputable websites still continue to review ASRock boards and compare them to premium brands. I have built and serviced thousands of PCs over the last decade and I'm ripping out dead ASRock boards of every model, generation and platform at least once a week. We stopped selling ASRock boards years ago as almost every single one we sold or installed died within 2 years time.

I've owned a few myself and they were all flaky, unstable and picky with RAM. I have a pile a dead ones next to me that are waiting for the recycling company we use to pick up.

As a reputable website thats been around for quite some time, it should be known to your staff that ASRock is sketchy, bottom feeder brand that was created by ASUS to compete with ECS. Anyone familiar with PC Chips (and the over 7 shady brand names they sold their crap under) would also know that ECS would not be a brand you would want to consider spending over $40 on either.

Just because you test something for a few hours or days, or a decent model comes out it doesn't make it right to even consider recommending a company with such a terrible track record.

If I can offer here any advice, if you have an outstanding order for an ASRock board CANCEL IT NOW

 

[stecman]

I bought the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R about a month ago for my upgrade to i7 (along with 9GB Corsair Dominator 1600Mhz RAM [3x1gb + 3x2gb], and a 930 i7) and it is total EPIC awesomeness @ 4GHz! I'm really pleased how the board did in this review - good to know my part judging is up to scratch.

 

[stecman]

I bought the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R about a month ago for my upgrade to i7 (along with 9GB Corsair Dominator 1600Mhz RAM [3x1gb + 3x2gb], and a 930 i7) and it is total EPIC awesomeness @ 4GHz! I'm really pleased how the board did in this review - good to know my part judging is up to scratch.

 

[Clinker42]

Ok, so for us guys that bought the ASROCK X58 Extreme, who here would sell it and change to the X58A-UD3R