X58 On A Budget: Seven Sub-$200 Core i7 Boards

[Crashman]

With our $300+ and $200-300 Core i7 motherboard comparisons distant memories, it’s time for a sub-$200 roundup. Recent price fluctuations have pushed two contenders over the mark after we tested them, but readers get to see those as well.

X58 On A Budget: Seven Sub-$200 Core i7 Boards : Read more

 

[midnightgun]

If I am not mistaken, the reason the Asus P6T SE is so cheap is because it does not support SLI, only supports Crossfire. Is that not correct?

 

[Crashman]

If I am not mistaken, the reason the Asus P6T SE is so cheap is because it does not support SLI, only supports Crossfire. Is that not correct?

At the time the review was written, the P6T SE web page read that it supported SLI. Perhaps Asus changed the web page following a complaint?

The big difference between the P6T SE and the P6T is the missing Jmicron SATA multiplier. By removing it, Asus killed the pathway that went to it, leaving the JMB363 controller with a "dead port".

 

[midnightgun]

Perhaps. I have had my eye on this board since I started planning my eventual upgrade to i7/i5 architecture (MSI and Gigabyte as well). I know on ncix's forums (canada's equivalent to newegg in the states) the P6T SE had been listed as only crossfire since at least mid May.

 

[midnightgun]

Anywho, thanks for the review. Interesting read.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]midnightgun[/nom]Perhaps. I have had my eye on this board since I started planning my eventual upgrade to i7/i5 architecture (MSI and Gigabyte as well). I know on ncix's forums (canada's equivalent to newegg in the states) the P6T SE had been listed as only crossfire since at least mid May.[/citation]

I never trust a seller as a source: Asus listed the P6T SE as having SLI support as little as four weeks ago, and now has a completely different page for it. They weren't the only company that advertised SLI capability and leave out the bridge, but it now appears the former P6T SE web page must have been an error, probably from the company copying its P6T page and editing it for the P6T SE, but missing one detail.

 

[anamaniac]

Personally I will (atleast attempting to now) head straight for the Foxconn Bloodrage with a i7 920 and 3 ddr3 1333 sticks (and give them good timings, ignoring bandwidth and attempting a lower voltage) and a 4870 1gb (due to them being quite cheap now). =D
Though first on my priority list is a better monitor (and rent).

Neat article regardless.

 

[ceteras]

What an inspiring name for the Foxconn mainboard... looks like it's a corporate culture thing.

I've skipped the Foxconn page, wouldn't buy from them anyway.

 

[Onus]

Interesting read. If I were going to build an i7 rig for myself, that ASRock would probably be my choice. I'm not thrilled about the VRM heating up so much, but I only do low-moderate overclocks so it ought to be ok. The feature set of that board looks suitable.

 

[gxpbecker]

I am kinda surprised that the ECS board held its own against these "sronger" boards. From my past experieces ECS has been the walmart brand of mobos.

 

[Ryun]

Question: Is the Asrock board able to go into S3 state/Standby mode? The one board I got from Asrock would not and after emailing their tech support they responded by saying that their boards do not support S3 state.

 

[Aerobernardo]

This is just the perferct article for me. And the timing couldn't be any bette with i5 just sround the corner. As soon as it's reviews comes out, we will now be able to compare performance and price of i5's and i7's rigs.

Thank you Tom's. Reminds me why this is my home page since 2001.

 

[Proximon]

That's a whole lot of work. I agree the ASRock is maybe too hot to be my first choice, but I can't quibble on the award. Good work.

 

[dman3k]

Tom's should take a stand and don't even feature any Foxconn products in any reviews.

 

[Guest]

I would like to disagree with all this talk about useless IDE connectors, I still use it for optical drives as it is still fast enough. Most systems only come with 6-8 SATA ports, why would i waste one on a crappy optical drive when i need them for faster HDDs.
Give parallel ATA a break! it still has a valuable place on the mb!

 

[randomizer]

[citation][nom]scott314159[/nom]Give parallel ATA a break! it still has a valuable place on the mb![/citation]
A very large valuable space mind you. Not to mention the air space

The X58 Pro-E doesn't seem to like S3 sleep. The power and HDD LEDs turn off but the fans are still going and I think the HDDs might be as well. I've made it turn off completely once, but then USB didn't work right once it woke, so I had to restart anyway.

 

[Kill@dor]

[citation][nom]Aerobernardo[/nom]This is just the perferct article for me. And the timing couldn't be any bette with i5 just sround the corner. As soon as it's reviews comes out, we will now be able to compare performance and price of i5's and i7's rigs.Thank you Tom's. Reminds me why this is my home page since 2001.[/citation]

I don't think there will be too much difference between the 2.

 

[Shadow703793]

[citation][nom]ceteras[/nom]What an inspiring name for the Foxconn mainboard... looks like it's a corporate culture thing.I've skipped the Foxconn page, wouldn't buy from them anyway.[/citation]
Agreed, the Foxconn boards are fine (actually quite good) for one time things on LN2 etc, but reliability for 24/7 is lacking.

 

[Shadow703793]

[citation][nom]scott314159[/nom]I would like to disagree with all this talk about useless IDE connectors, I still use it for optical drives as it is still fast enough. Most systems only come with 6-8 SATA ports, why would i waste one on a crappy optical drive when i need them for faster HDDs.Give parallel ATA a break! it still has a valuable place on the mb![/citation]
Agreed. However, they should eliminate floppy, Parallel,MIDI/GAME ports.

 

[freak77power]

Better purchase then board with LGA1156 socket.

 

[kaydee]

I've been using the MSI pro-e sli since the initial launch of this mobo. Anyhow, I've used both of the x58 pro and pro sli, and the northbridge temnperature IS a problem for both of the boards. When the PC full loaded (tried using prime, everast stability test) the NB temperature rises up to 114 degrees C. With a thermal paste and a small fan work, the temperature is lowered to 70 dC. at max, but still, it really concerns me. OC ability is at top notch. With air cooling, it is OCed at 3.2Ghz. (150Mhz) no problem what so ever. With the 3R system's prima boss 2 heatsink and enermax 120mm fan, the temperature is at 30 dC. under normal load, and 35 at max load.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]Shadow703793[/nom]Agreed. However, they should eliminate floppy, Parallel,MIDI/GAME ports.[/citation]

You think they should keep the IDE but lose the floppy? What kind of backwards logic is that? Some people like XP and, without slipstreaming drivers onto a CD-R of the original installation CD, many will NEED a floppy to install AHCI or RAID drivers.

So, some people NEED a floppy, even in an "all new hardware" build. Nobody needs Ultra ATA when their using new drives.

And it gets worse for your argument: Floppy is FREE where Ultra ATA costs money. I haven't seen any companies remove the Multi-I/O interface controller, which already has floppy function.

 

[freak77power]

EIDE and Floppy should be removed. If you're going to install Windows XP on x58 board then you're an idiot, generally speaking.

 

[freak77power]

I believe also that parallel and serial port should be removed, heck even PCI slot. PCIE slots is only what we need.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]freak77power[/nom]EIDE and Floppy should be removed. If you're going to install Windows XP on x58 board then you're an idiot, generally speaking.[/citation]

Legacy free boards are OK for some people. But for boards that do have legacy function, Floppy should be considered just as valuable as IDE. And Windows XP is still a viable OS.