Intel x58 chipset. Review of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard. Features of operation and overclocking
The ASUS “ROG” (Republic of Gamers) series of motherboards for advanced gamers and enthusiasts, periodically updated with new original solutions with unique capabilities and uncompromising overclocking 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-produced motherboards, which have Deluxe and Premium prefixes. It is in order to fill the resulting niche that ASUS has developed a very reliable “TUF” (The Ultimate Force) series, which is designed for productive systems that work intensively 24/7. To guarantee uninterrupted operation, models in this series are equipped only with very high-quality elements, which undergo very thorough testing before being put on the board.
At the time of writing this article, the TUF series consisted of only two ASUS SABERTOOTH 55i models based on the Intel P55 Express system logic and the Intel X58 Express chipset. We will delve into the specifics of the latest solution today. Let us remind you that not long ago we tested several solutions from the ASUS ROG series with an Intel LGA1366 processor socket: ASUS Rampage III Extreme and ASUS Rampage III Formula. Therefore, in addition, we will have the opportunity to fully understand what the differences are between the ROG and TUF series.
Specification motherboard :
|
Manufacturer |
|
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Intel X58/ ICH10R |
|
|
CPU socket |
|
|
Supported processors |
Intel Core i7 Extreme/Core i7 |
|
System bus |
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 |
|
Expansion slots |
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (support x16/x16) |
|
Support for Multi-GPU technologies |
Supports NVIDIA 2-Way SLI and ATI Quad-GPU CrossFireX |
|
Disk subsystem |
Chipset Intel ICH10R supports: JMicron JMB362 controller supports: Marvell 88SE9128 controller supports: |
|
Sound subsystem |
Realtek ALC892 High-Definition Audio codec supports: |
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VIA VT6308P controller supports 2 1394a ports |
|
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LAN support |
Realtek 8110SC Gigabit LAN controller |
|
24-pin ATX power connector |
|
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Cooling |
Ceramic cooling system |
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Fan connectors |
1 x for CPU cooler |
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External I/O ports |
1 x PS/2 ports for keyboard or mouse |
|
Internal I/O ports |
6 x USB 2.0/1.1 |
|
16 Mb Flash ROM, AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, WfM 2.0, ACPI 2.0a |
|
|
Overclocking options |
Frequency change: BCLK, PCI-Express, memory. |
|
Proprietary technologies |
"TUF ENGINE!" Power Design: EZ Flash 2 |
|
Equipment |
2 x SATA cables |
|
Form factor Dimensions, mm |
ATX |
|
Products webpage |
The latest version of BIOS and driver can be downloaded from the support site http://support.asus.com/. |
Mother packing ASUS boards SABERTOOTH X58 has an unusually stylish design in metallic tones, which immediately attracts attention.
The front of the package opens. Unfortunately, there is no “window” through which you can see the appearance of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard, but all its main advantages are listed. Since the boards of the “TUF” series implement completely new unique technologies, we will characterize them using information from the manufacturer.
The radiators of the motherboard cooling system have an innovative ceramic coating, which allows you to increase the radiator dispersion area due to micropores. In turn, as is known, the efficiency of the radiators themselves depends on the dissipation area.
The next distinctive feature of the “TUF” series is the implementation of an exclusive power circuit E.S.P.(Efficient Switching Power Design) not only to optimize the power consumption of the processor, but also for other system components such as graphics card, RAM, PCI slots and system logic chips. The diagram approximately shows how different the efficiency of the power supply units of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is from other motherboards.
Moreover, the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is equipped with reliable TUF components that meet high military quality standards. For example, the chokes installed on the board can withstand a load of 40 A, which is 25% higher than standard chokes used on mass-market boards.
But the technology is often used on other models of ASUS motherboards. It is used to fine-tune parameters random access memory in case the system refuses to start with the current RAM settings due to incompatibility or overclocking.
The back of the package shows the appearance of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard and contains part of its specifications.
The kit of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is actually standard for solutions based on the Intel X58 Express system logic from this manufacturer:
- Two SATA cables;
- Two SATA 6Gbit/s cables;
- One SLI bridge;
- Instructions and user manual;
- DVD with drivers and software;
- Set of Q-Connectors (system panel, USB);
- Stub.
Despite the high status of the product, the package does not spoil the buyer with such a variety of accessories as in more expensive solutions from the Republic of Gamers series.
It's interesting to note that the kit comes with a reliability certificate that lists all the military standard tests that the capacitors, inductors and MOSFETs have undergone. The list of tests consists of a thermal stress test, a test for moisture resistance and exposure to salts, a vibration test, as well as tests for strength under mechanical stress.
The layout of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 is generally devoid of drawbacks - the main part of the ports and all power connectors are located along the edge, so you can conveniently connect to them.
All heatsinks on the motherboard are covered with a ceramic coating that is rough to the touch. The dissipation area of the radiators due to the large and long fins on the north bridge and MOSFET is already very large, even when compared with the coolers of ROG series boards. One of the MOSFET heatsinks is also combined with a heat pipe on the northbridge. In addition, the northbridge heatsink has a cut-out, so you don’t have to worry about the motherboard’s compatibility with long PCIe x1 expansion cards.
The radiator on the south bridge of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard has the smallest dissipation area, which, although it is made figuratively, does not have noticeable fins.
The Intel ICH10R south bridge supports six SATA ports with the ability to organize SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. In addition, the board also has a JMicron JMB362 SATA controller, which supports external eSATA 3 Gb/s and Power eSATA ports. Two internal ports of the new SATA 6.0 Gb/s interface are highlighted in white and operate using the Marvell 88SE9128 controller. In addition, the internal ports of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard include six USB 2.0 and one IEEE 1394a port. Of the outdated interfaces, the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 has only a COM port, but it does not support FDD, LPT, or even IDE.
To install graphics accelerators, the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard has three PCIe x16 connectors, but only four lines are connected to the bottom PCIe x16 slot PCI Express. Therefore, using SLI or CrossFireX technology, only two video cards can be combined, but in the most powerful x16+x16 PCI Express 2.0 configuration. In addition, for installing expansion cards on the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 there is one PCI slot and two PCIe x1.
The audio subsystem of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard is based on the 8-channel Realtek ALC892 HDA codec with the ability to play Blue-Ray 192 kHz/24-bit tracks without loss of quality. The audio connector on the front panel of the sound subsystem supports HDA and AC`97 formats, which improves compatibility with various cases.
ASUS RAM slots traditionally do not have latches on the bottom, so it will be easier to remove modules from them. Near the RAM slots there is a technology activation button, and in the very corner of the motherboard there is a jumper that allows you to increase the processor supply voltage setting limit from a high 1.7 V to an extreme 2.0 V. Another similar jumper that removes the limitation on the supply voltage of RAM modules , allowing the limit to be increased from 2.1V to 2.46V, is located at the bottom of the motherboard.
The processor power regulator on ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 is made according to an 8-phase circuit. Two more smaller chokes are elements of the two-phase power supply unit of the QPI/DRAM controller. As expected in high-performance solutions, the processor power connector has an 8-pin design.
Each phase of the stabilizer includes four MOSFETs. The heatsink on the motherboard removes heat not only from the semiconductor elements, but also from the PWM controller. This happens very rarely.
The proprietary EPU ASP0800 chip acts as a PWM controller for the 8-phase power supply unit of the processor.
On the back of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard, the cooling system is secured partly with spring-loaded screws and partly with simple plastic latches.
The following ports are located on the interface panel of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard:
- 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 audio.
one PS/2 combo port for keyboard or mouse,
The ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard has quite impressive capabilities for connecting fans. You can connect four case fans and a processor cooler to it.
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 the current BIOS version.
All settings related to overclocking are collected in the table:
|
Parameter |
Menu name |
Range |
|
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Processor technologies |
C1E, CPU TM, Intel SpeedStep, Hardware Prefetcher; Execute Disable Bit; Virtualization Tech, |
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|
CPU multiplier |
CPU Ratio Setting |
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|
System bus frequency, MHz |
|||
|
Frequency PCI buses Express |
|||
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Memory divider |
800/1066/1333/1600/1866/2133/2400 |
||
|
Frequency UCLK |
|||
|
QPI bus multiplier |
QPI Link Data Rate |
Slow Mode, 4800 MT/s, 5866 MT/s, 6400 MT/s |
|
|
RAM Latency |
CAS Latency, RAS to CAS, RAS PRE, RAS ACT, RAS to RAS, REF, WRITE Recovery, READ to PRE, FOUR ACT WIN |
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|
CPU Differential Amplitude |
700mV, 800mV, 900mV, 1000mV |
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|
100 – 1500 ps |
|||
|
CPU voltage, V |
0.850000 – 2.1 V |
||
|
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage |
|||
|
Memory voltage |
DRAM Bus Voltage |
||
|
IOH PCIE Voltage |
|||
|
Southbridge voltage |
|||
|
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 nominal mode operation efficiency of the modules will be limited at the DDR3-1333 level.
As usual, the BIOS has the ability to configure timings (latencies) and sub-timings (minor delays) of RAM. The value of the current timings is very conveniently displayed right 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 to carry out even extreme overclocking. The step in some power settings is also not very encouraging, but only if you compare these parameters with solutions specifically made for overclocking. For most standard boards, such a set of settings would be a blessing.
Processor technology management settings are collected in a separate “CPU Configuration” section.
Monitoring capabilities on the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard allow you to monitor:
temperature of the processor, north and south bridge;
rotation speed of five fans in the system;
voltage on the processor and main lines of the power supply is 3.3V, 5V and 12V.
In the same BIOS section there are settings for ASUS Q-Fan technologies automatic control rotation speed of the processor cooler and two case fans.
Branded utilities
Unfortunately, among the branded software for the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard there is no ASUS TurboV EVO utility, which is intended primarily for overclocking from under operating system. Monitoring of key system parameters can be done using the PC Probe II utility.
Using another proprietary utility, ASUS Fan Xpert, you can create your own profile, which will be used to regulate the rotation speed of the processor cooler or case fans.
Overclocking options
Clock frequency of the system bus of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard at air cooled with the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, as well as with the quad-core Intel Core i7-930 processor, it was possible to raise it to 216 MHz, which can be considered a fairly good indicator.
Testing
The following equipment was used to test the capabilities of motherboards:
|
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 unit |
Seasonic SS-650JT Active PFC, 650 W, 120 mm fan |
Test results:
According to the performance testing results, the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard does not stand out among solutions of its class.
Energy consumption
Total power consumption of the test bench:
The ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard did not surprise us with its level of energy consumption, although it turned out to be 3-5 W more voracious than the system assembled on the ASUS Rampage III FORMULA motherboard.
Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC892 codec
Overall results (RightMark Audio Analyzer)
16-bit, 44.1 kHz
Built-in audio codec Realtek ALC892 showed good results testing, so its capabilities will be sufficient for most owners of the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 board.
conclusions
The unique ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 TUF series motherboard can be used to build very productive workstations and gaming PCs with two video accelerators, as well as for overclocking. Moreover, to carry out the latter, the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 has quite a lot of capabilities, starting with powerful processor power units and ending with a large set of settings in the BIOS necessary to increase the frequency and achieve stability. Of course, the range of supply voltage changes is not as large as that of similar solutions from the ASUS ROG series, but the available capabilities will be sufficient in most cases if you are not extreme with a liquid nitrogen “dewar”. But in terms of the number of supported proprietary technologies, the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard noticeably differs from the ASUS ROG series solutions for the worse, although this mainly affects the convenience of overclocking. But we liked the ceramic-coated cooling system on the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 even more than the radiators on the ASUS Rampage III Extreme and ASUS Rampage III Formula, because it has better fins and for this reason alone it will be more effective.
Having tested the ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 motherboard, we are almost completely convinced that this is truly an ultra-reliable solution designed for long-term and stable operation. Functionality ASUS SABERTOOTH X58 is also at a very high level, meeting all modern requirements, which confirms the presence of a high-quality sound codec, as well as support for new SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces.
Advantages:
support for 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 unit;
high overclocking potential;
possibility of extreme voltage increases.
Flaws:
- lack of support for new ASUS proprietary utilities;
The LGA1366 platform has already entered our IT life, and the corresponding Intel processors firmly established itself at the top of the performance charts in almost all applications. The problem is that these systems are still quite expensive. It would seem that the novelty of the new processor architecture has already faded, and manufacturers have skimmed the cream and had to switch to producing cheaper and more accessible products. This is happening, but not as quickly as we would like. Firstly, the range of the family Core processors The i7 has remained unchanged for a long time, and the cheapest model (Core i7 920) costs more than 10 thousand rubles. Secondly, prices for motherboards are also not pleasing to the eyes of buyers and exceed the same 10 thousand rubles. The reason for this is that only one Intel X58 chipset has been released for the LGA1366 platform, which in most cases determines the high price of the finished board. In addition, to assemble this system you will need a good LGA1366 cooler, as well as a set of DDR3 memory. Moreover, DDR3 memory itself is already quite affordable, and for a system on X58 you can get by with not the fastest DDR3-1066 memory. But there is one feature - for this system, Intel recommends a set of three modules with the same characteristics. Accordingly, memory manufacturers take advantage of the opportunity and set slightly inflated prices for three-channel kits. However, if we leave marketing nuances aside, for systems with Nehalem processors it is quite possible to use cheaper dual-channel RAM kits, and you will not see a significant drop in performance.
All this is superimposed on Russian reality, which is characterized by a high exchange rate of both the euro and the US dollar. But there is also encouraging news. In particular, in recent months, motherboards based on the Intel X58 chipset costing about $200 have appeared on the market, and one of these boards is included in this comparative testing. By the way, the purpose of this review is both to sum up the first results on motherboards based on the X58 chipset (we have been testing them for almost six months), and to determine some guidelines by which all subsequent models will be evaluated.
But, before moving on to the boards, let's say a few words about the Intel X58 chipset itself. From a technical point of view, the X58 northbridge is much simpler than its predecessors, the X48 and X38. The fact is that this chip does not have a built-in memory controller, which is integrated into LGA1366 processors. Instead, the X58 introduced a QPI bus controller for communication with the processor. As for PCI Express v2.0 bus support, there are no fundamental changes in this area - X58 supports only 36 lanes and supports 2x16, 4x8, and some intermediate configurations. This allows developers to integrate technology support into motherboards AMD CrossFire. In addition, a long-awaited event happened - some motherboards with the X58 chipset now have support for NVIDIA SLI technology. However, the merits of Intel engineers are not here, since SLI support is implemented in graphics NVIDIA drivers and some enthusiasts were already running SLI on the X48 a year ago by using modified drivers. As for X58 boards, almost all boards presented in this review officially support SLI. Although there is one board that does not mention SLI in its specifications, this little detail did not stop us from launching it in this mode.
The X58 north bridge is equipped with an ICH10(R) south bridge, 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 will only briefly list:
- support for six SerialATA II channels
- 12 USB 2.0 ports
- Gigabit network connection support
- High Definition Audio sound subsystem.
Comparison table of motherboard characteristics
| Name | ASRock X58 Super Computer | ASUS P6T Deluxe/OC Palm | ECS X58B-A | |||
| Chipset | Intel X58+ICH10R | |||||
| Number of DIMM slots | 6 (DDR3) | |||||
| Chipset cooling (points) | Passive (3+) | Passive/active (5-) | Passive/active (5) | Passive (3+) | Passive (5-) | Passive (3) |
| PCIE x16/PCIE (>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 scheme | 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 |
| Number of capacitors | 13x 820 µF and 4x 270 µF | 15x 560 µF 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 board | ALC888S | ALC889A | ALC888S |
| Net ( Gigabit Ethernet; tire 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 channels SATA/SAS (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 (embedded/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 | 0.84375 V to 1.6 V (0.00625 V) | 0.85 V to 2.1 V (0.00625 V) | 0.85 V to 2.5 V (0.00625 V) | 0.5V to 1.6V (0.00625V) | 0.5 V to 1.9 V (0.00625 V) | |
| Vmem | 1.53 V to 2.451 V (0.015 V) | 1.5 V to 2.46 V (0.02 V) | 1.5 V to 2.5 V (0.01325 V) | +0 to +0.63 V (0.01 V) | 1.3V to 2.6V (0.02-0.1V) | 1.2 V to 2.77 V (0.01 V) |
| Vsb/Vsb-io | 1.12 V to 1.56 V (0.02 V) | 1.1 V to 1.4 V (0.02 V) | 1.1 V to 2.0 V (0.01325 V) | +0.05 V to +0.15 V (0.05 V) | 0.92 V to 2.38 V (0.02 V) | 0.7 V to 2.13 V (0.01-0.05 V) |
| Vtt | +0 to +0.3 V (0.1 V) | 1.2 V to 1.9 V (0.00625 V) | 1.2 V to 2.5 V (0.00625 V) | +0 to +0.63 V (0.01 V) | 1.075 V to 2.015 V (0.02 V) | -0.32 V to +0.63 V (0.01 V) |
| Vioh | 1.11 V to 1.49 V (0.12 V) | 1.1 V to 1.7 V (0.02 V) | 1.1 V to 2.2 V (0.01325 V) | +0 to +0.63 V (0.01 V) | 1.1 V to 2.0 V (0.02 V) | - |
| Vpll | 1.82 V to 2.5 V (0.02 V) | 1.8 V to 2.5 V (0.02 V) | 1.8 V to 2.5 V (0.01325 V) | - | 1.8 V to 2.52 V (0.02 V) | 1.0V to 2.43V (0.01-0.05V) |
| QPI; MHz (step) | 100 to 300 MHz (1) | 100 to 500 MHz (1) | 100 to 500 MHz (1) | 133 to 511 MHz (1) | 100 to 1200 MHz (1) | 100 to 400 MHz (1) |
| Real overclocking (Core i7 920), MHz | 180 | 200 | 212 * | 180 | 200 | 200 |
| Dynamic overclocking | - | - | - | - | 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) |
| Equipment (features) | 4+ | 4+ | 5 | 2+ | n/a | 2+ |
| Number of FANs | 5 | 5 | 8 * | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Peculiarities | Combi eSATA/USB port; BIOS profiles (3) | AI Proactive support (AI Overclock, AI Net 2, OC. Profile (2), EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MyLogo 3); ASUS Express Gate; Power and Reset buttons; | AI Proactive support (+); there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel, no PS/2 for a 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; | Supports DualBIOS, EasyTune Center, FaceWizard, @BIOS, BIOS profiles (8); Power / Reset / CMOS buttons; seven-segment POST indicator; | Supports Dual CoreCenter, LiveUpdate, DigiCell; Power / Reset / CMOS buttons; there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel; |
| Average price according to Market.3DNews, rubles: | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data |
In the table, we used the symbol * to indicate a feature or record value. Before moving on to the tests, let's look at the features of the participants in this summary review in a little more detail.
ASRock X58 SuperComputer
The first impression of the ASRock X58 SuperComputer board was quite positive. Firstly, I liked the box, and even more - its contents, which include connecting bridges for both AMD and NVIDIA video cards. The kit includes two CrossFire “bridges”, which allows you to combine three into an array AMD video cards. And if the user has two or three NVIDIA video cards, then he can also combine them into an SLI bundle using the appropriate “bridges”. Since SLI technology with two video cards can operate in several slots, the box contains connecting “bridges” of different lengths (the total number of SLI “bridges” is three pieces).
Thus, we smoothly move on to another distinctive feature ASRock X58 SuperComputer board - it has four PCI Express x16 slots. Of course, the total number of PCI-E bus lines remains unchanged, but the user has a unique opportunity to use three video cards for a powerful graphics subsystem + the ability to operate a fourth video card.
Four PEG slots are the main advantage of this board, since all other participants in the review have, at best, three PEG slots.
The remaining expansion capabilities of the ASRock X58 SuperComputer correspond to the high-end level of the board and include two Gigabit network controllers, built-in HD audio, USB ports and FireWire, as well as support for seven SerialATA II channels.
ASRock engineers have always been famous for their non-trivial approaches to the development of motherboards. They distinguished themselves this time too. In particular, installed on the board additional controller JMB362, 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, this port is physically and electrically compatible with the USB interface. Thus, this connector can be used to connect both SATA and USB devices. Another oddity is the use of a rather rare VIA VT6330 controller, which provides support for the ParallelATA interface and the FireWire serial bus.
With the BIOS settings, everything also turned out to be a little different from other manufacturers. For example, to get into the BIOS, you need to press not the usual Del key, but for some reason F2. As for the interface and grouping of settings, in this regard the ASRock X58 SuperComputer board is a great original. However, the main functions are easy to find, such as memory settings and system monitoring.
As for overclocking functions, they are present on the board:
And they work quite well. In particular, we have achieved a frequency of QPI=180 MHz. However, there is also a drawback, which is that with optimistic settings the system freezes completely. In this case, it only helps full reset CMOS. However, this shortcoming is somewhat compensated for by support for CMOS profiles:
We also note a fairly good processor power converter, the power elements of which are located under the additional radiator.
Preliminary conclusion - in general, the ASRock X58 SuperComputer board is a very interesting product based on the Intel X58 chipset. However, its main advantage - four PCI Express x16 slots - is, apparently, the only one. The fact is that ASRock set a fairly high price for this board, which is comparable to similar ASUS boards. As a result, we have come to the conclusion that the ASRock X58 SuperComputer is a niche product and we recommend it only to those users who absolutely need an LGA1366 platform with four PCI Express x16 slots. Pros:
- 8-phase processor power supply;
- the presence of four PCI Express x16 v2.0 slots;
- SerialATA II/RAID support (seven channels; ICH10R + JMB362);
- support for one P-ATA channel (VIA VT6330);
- a wide range of proprietary ASRock technologies (OC Tuner, IES, CMOS profiles, Quiet Fan, etc.);
- passive cooling system for the chipset and power module.
- overcharge.
- there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel;
- combined eSATA/USB port.
ASUS P6T Deluxe/OC Palm
As befits a leader in the motherboard market, ASUS has the widest range of products based on the Intel X58 chipset, which includes nine (!) models. Two of them belong to the professional series (Professional), two to the gaming series (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 the advanced ASUS technologies. The company's engineers tried to make the board as versatile and interesting as possible.
Let's start with the package, which includes the OC Palm module, which is the already familiar ASUS ScreenDUO device, which we reviewed in detail a year and a half ago. However, the board does not fully utilize its potential - only overclocking functions are implemented. The package also includes a pair of SAS cables, and the board itself supports two corresponding channels using an additional Marvell 88SE6320 controller. In total, the board supports nine SerialATA channels, six of which are implemented using the capabilities of the ICH10R “south bridge”, and another one (the corresponding port is connected to back panel) - using the 88SE6111 controller.
SAS technology stands for Serial Attached SCSI and is a transitional interface from parallel SCSI to a more convenient and productive serial one. The main difference between SAS and SATA is two independent channels for data transfer, but SAS is backward compatible with SATA. This means that you can easily connect SATA drives to the SAS controller.
The board has HD audio, two gigabit network controllers, and a FireWire serial bus controller on board. Separately, it is worth mentioning the support for the USB 2.0 bus, the number of ports of which, in most cases, is determined by the capabilities of the south bridge. For the ICH10R, this number is 12, but ASUS engineers “used up” two ports to install the ExpressGate hardware module (an embedded stripped-down version of Linux), and the number of free ports was reduced to ten, which is completely unacceptable for a high-end board. Therefore, an additional NEC 720114 controller is installed on the board, which supports four additional USB port 2.0.
As for the graphics subsystem, the board has three PEG slots:
Another PCI Express slot has four lanes, and its rear wall is cut out. Theoretically, this allows you to install a fourth video card, but in practice the card will run into the cooling system.
A special feature of the rear panel is one PS/2 port, which allows you to connect either a corresponding mouse or keyboard.
We also mention the power and reset buttons, which are located near the “south bridge”.
The memory settings section will please computer enthusiasts big amount timings:
The system monitoring section, on the contrary, contains only a standard set of sensors and functions.
We can talk about the BIOS of the ASUS P6T Deluxe board for a long time. There is a function for saving/loading CMOS profiles (OC Profile), and technology disaster recovery firmware (CrashFree BIOS 3), and the EZ Flash 2 utility. The story about the energy-saving EPU hardware and software technology may take even more time. But we’d better move on to overclocking:
The board's overclocking potential is quite high, which is not least explained by the rather powerful 16-phase power converter.
Moreover, the memory controller built into the LGA1366 processor has an independent 2-phase converter, which also increases stability at non-standard frequencies. In practice, we achieved a stable frequency QPI = 200 MHz, but with latest firmware BIOS this result may be 10 MHz higher.
Preliminary conclusion - the ASUS P6T Deluxe/OC Palm board is a computer analogue of a universal swiss knife, and in any field this product is among the leaders. The only thing that seemed unnecessary to us on the board was the OC Palm module. Therefore, if you have a choice, we recommend purchasing the board without it, unless the board is purchased as a gift.
Pros:
- high stability and performance;
- 2-phase power supply circuit for the memory controller;
- SAS/SerialATA II/RAID support (nine channels; ICH10R+Marvell 88SE6320+Marvell 88SE6111);
- support for one P-ATA channel (Marvell 88SE6111);
- High Definition Audio 7.1 sound + two Gigabit Ethernet network controllers;
- support for USB 2.0 interface (14 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
- a wide range of proprietary ASUS technologies (PC Probe II, EZ Flash 2, CrashFree BIOS 3, MyLogo 3, Q-Fan 2, etc.);
- additional set of AI Proactive technologies (AI Overclock, OC Profile, AI Net 2, etc.);
- passive/active cooling system for the chipset and power module;
- Power and Reset buttons;
- support for ASUS Express Gate technology.
- not detected.
- there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel; PS/2 combo connector.
Version Extreme boards ASUS Rampage II fully lives up to its name - it is truly “extreme”. Firstly, it is the largest (269x305 mm) and, thanks to the massive cooling system, the heaviest. Secondly, it is the most expensive of the products reviewed ($350-370). Thirdly, the board allows extreme overclock the processor and reach its technological limit. In particular, we reached FSB frequency = 212 MHz, and also overclocked the test processor to 4.0 GHz.
This board belongs to the Republic of Gamers series, which is becoming more and more aimed at overclockers. The previous generation of this series had several key features. In particular, the expansion capabilities were somewhat weaker than those of similar high-end ASUS boards, the equipment was slightly richer (including a disk with a popular game), and the cooling system was much more powerful. Almost half of the boards from the ROG series had a built-in water block on the “north bridge” of the chipset, which was perfectly combined with very powerful overclocking functions.
As for the Rampage II Extreme board, it is worth noting some changes to the ROG concept. Firstly, in terms of expansion capabilities, the board is almost as good as the P6T Deluxe. Secondly, the game disc is excluded from the package and thirdly, there is no water block.
The last point is explained by the fact that the thermal load on the X58 northbridge is much lower and is not so critical for overclocking, since the memory controller has moved from the chipset directly to the processor.
However, ASUS engineers left the technical possibility of installing a liquid cooling system. But for overclocking this is not the main thing - the design of the PCB, the corresponding overclocking functions and power converters are much more important. In particular, the PWM of the processor is made according to a 16-phase circuit, and the power converters of the memory controller, the memory modules themselves and the “north bridge” are made according to a three-phase circuit.
Let's list the expansion possibilities - two gigabit network controllers, two FireWire ports and an additional SerialATA/ParallelATA/RAID controller.
We also note support for 12 USB 2.0 ports and an 8-channel audio subsystem on a separate SupremeFX II card. 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 have completely abandoned support for LPT ports and COM ports. There is also no PS/2 connector for connecting a mouse. But there are plenty of USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, a SATAII port, a button for resetting CMOS settings (works only when certain position switch CLRTC_SW), as well as a connector for connecting an LCD Poster.
In addition, the board has buttons for turning on the system and rebooting, as well as a joystick and a couple of buttons for the LCD Poster.
We also mention the jumper for forcing the selection of the BIOS chip. The fact is that the board has two BIOS chips installed and, if necessary, the user can set the active one.
For overclockers who constantly experiment with different BIOS firmware, a 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 of the processor and system temperatures, the temperatures of the “north” and “south” “bridges,” as well as temperatures from three additional temperature sensors that are included in the kit. In addition, the board monitors the voltages and rotation speeds of all eight fans, six of which support the Q-Fan2 function to adjust the rotation of the cooler depending on the temperature of various components.
In addition, ASUS Rampage II Extreme can save all BIOS settings in memory and load them when necessary. It supports eight (!) independent profiles:
Overclocking capabilities are concentrated in the "Extreme Tweaker" section and are free of any disadvantages:
On the ASUS Rampage II Extreme board, we achieved stable system operation at a record (for our testlab) frequency QPI=212 MHz.
To summarize, we can compare the ASUS Rampage II Extreme motherboard, with a Formula 1 car, which is designed to achieve highest speed. However, in our case, this car is equipped with air conditioning, a TV and a trunk for bags of potatoes, and can also cook borscht. In other words, you can use Rampage II Extreme to build a computer for any task, and in any case this board will perform best side. However, its main purpose is overclocking and stable operation at ultra-high frequencies. That is why it costs $70 more than the almost identical ASUS P6T Deluxe board. Pros:
- high stability and performance;
- 16-phase processor power supply;
- 3-phase power supply circuit for the memory controller, north bridge and memory modules;
- support for NVIDIA SLI/3-Way SLI and AMD CrossFireX technologies;
- SerialATA II/RAID support (eight channels; ICH10R+JMicron JMB363);
- support for one P-ATA channel (JMicron JMB363);
- High Definition Audio 7.1 sound (on a separate card) + two Gigabit Ethernet network controllers;
- support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
- a wide range of proprietary ASUS technologies (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 on-board controls;
- DieHard BIOS technology (two BIOS chips);
- overcharge.
- powerful overclocking functions and excellent results;
- there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel, no PS/2 for a mouse;
- non-standard dimensions of the board.
ECS X58B-A
When we received and tested the ECS X58B-A board, we concluded that this product is a good implementation of the potential of the Intel X58 chipset.
The board has quite powerful expansion capabilities, which include two Gigabit network controllers, HD audio, two FireWire ports and an additional dual-channel SerialATA controller.
As the latter, ECS engineers used the JMB362 chip, with the corresponding ports located on the rear panel of the board. And let’s immediately note that the board does not support ParallelATA and FDD interfaces.
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 reset the CMOS settings. In addition to it, the board has a couple more buttons - Power, Reset, as well as a seven-segment POST code indicator.
By settings BIOS board The ECS X58B-A is somewhat inferior to its competitors. This applies to both RAM settings,
So does the system monitoring section.
The overclocking capabilities are implemented more efficiently, which, despite the rather modest power converter, allowed us to increase the QPI bus frequency to 180 MHz.
Before this board appeared in open sale We assumed it would be a cheap alternative to the high-end boards of the Big Three. However, at the time of this comparative testing (end of April 2009), it turned out that there are cheaper X58 boards with similar technical characteristics. Pros:
- presence of two PCI Express x16 v2.0 slots;
- support for NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFire technologies;
- SerialATA II/RAID support (eight channels; ICH10R + JMB362);
- High Definition Audio 7.1 sound + two Gigabit Ethernet network controllers;
- support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
- passive cooling system for the chipset and power module;
- Power and Reset buttons; Reset CMOS button;
- seven-segment POST code indicator.
- not detected.
- there are no LPT and COM ports on the rear panel;
- no support for ParallelATA, FDD.
Traditionally, high-end motherboards from Gigabyte have had the best expansion capabilities, which is why they have received our awards more than once. In this regard Gigabyte board EX58-UD5 may well continue this tradition.
Let's start with the fact that the board has a record number of SerialATA channels - ten. Six of them are implemented using the capabilities of the ICH10R “south bridge”, and the remaining four are implemented using a combination of a Gigabyte SATA2 controller (JMB363) and two JMB322 controllers. This scheme provides users with significant flexibility in organizing RAID arrays and, in particular, allows the implementation of very interesting SAFE50 and SAFE33 modes. Total - you can connect 12 to the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 board hard drives(ten SATA II + two PATA).
Approximately the same can be said about the number of FireWire bus ports - there are three of them. This is not a record, but still more than that of competitors. The rest of the features are almost standard - two gigabit network controllers, 12 USB 2.0 ports and built-in HD audio.
The slot configuration is richer than standard - three PCI Express x16 slots, a pair of PCI slots, one PCI Express x4 slot and one PCI Express x1 slot.
We liked the back panel for its functionality. In particular, it has eight (!) USB 2.0 ports, optical and coaxial SP-DIF outputs, a FireWire port and a CMOS reset button.
Also on the board there are buttons for turning on and rebooting the system. However, Gigabyte's marketers spared a couple of cents for the latter, and its pitiful appearance spoils the impression of the entire board. This little detail is more than compensated for by the presence of a seven-segment POST code indicator on the board, as well as extremely extensive RAM settings.
System monitoring, on the contrary, is much more modest.
In particular, we did not like the lack of information on voltages +12 V and +3.3 V. But we liked that the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 board allows you to save all BIOS settings in memory and load them if necessary. In total, it supports eight independent profiles:
The overclocking capabilities are implemented well, without any significant drawbacks:
This was confirmed in practice when we reached a stable frequency QPI=200 MHz. And, concluding the topic of overclocking, we note two significant points. Firstly, the board has a fairly powerful processor power converter, which is made according to a 12-phase circuit.
Secondly, the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 board is the only one of the tested models that implements a dynamic overclocking mechanism.
In general, this board is made at a fairly high level, has no significant flaws, but has the best expansion capabilities in its class. I was very pleased with the retail price, which at the time of testing was around $275, which is $25 cheaper than the ASUS P6T Deluxe board. Pros:
- high stability and performance;
- 12-phase processor power supply;
- 2-phase power supply circuit for the north bridge and memory modules;
- presence of three PCI Express x16 v2.0 slots;
- support for NVIDIA SLI/3-Way SLI and AMD CrossFireX technologies;
- SerialATA II/RAID support (ten channels; ICH10R+2 x JMicron JMB322);
- support for one P-ATA channel (Gigabyte SATA2);
- High Definition Audio 7.1 sound + two Gigabit Ethernet network controllers;
- support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; three ports);
- a wide range of Gigabyte proprietary technologies (C.I.A2, EasyTune 6, FaceWizard, @BIOS, etc.);
- support for Ultra Durable 3, Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced technologies, BIOS profiles;
- passive cooling system for the chipset and power module;
- Power and Reset buttons; CMOS reset button;
- seven-segment POST code indicator;
- Virtual Dual BIOS technology (two BIOS chips).
- not detected.
- powerful overclocking features and excellent results;
- no support for LPT and COM ports.
So, we move on to the latest, but very interesting board - MSI X58 Pro. First of all, it attracts with its price of $200, and externally the board gives the impression of a more expensive product.
That’s right, MSI engineers saved money “secretly” - they installed only one gigabit network controller and software “disabled” NVIDIA SLI technology. This is either childish naivety or a subtle marketing calculation, since SLI technology is “turned on” back by flashing the 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.
Other expansion options include the already mentioned network controller, two FireWire ports, an additional SerialATA/ParallelATA/RAID controller (for a total of eight SATA channels + one PATA channel), as well as 12 USB 2.0 ports and built-in 8-channel audio.
The rear panel configuration does not contain legacy LPT and COM ports. However, one COM port is implemented using a bracket that is not included in the kit.
There are no traditional jumpers on the MSI X58 Pro board, and the corresponding button (located on the left edge of the board) is used to reset the CMOS settings. There are also buttons for starting and rebooting the system, as well as a block of three dip switches that are responsible for the starting frequency of the QPI bus.
As for the BIOS, we had no complaints about the RAM settings,
as well as to the system monitoring section.
We especially note that the MSI X58 Pro board allows you to save all BIOS settings into memory and load them if necessary. It supports four independent profiles:
Overclocking turned out to be surprisingly good - the board worked stably at QPI=200 MHz. And this despite the fact that this MSI board has the most modest cooling system for the chipset and power converter, and the PWM itself is made using a cheap 5-phase circuit.
Separately, we note that the successful launch of SLI will not be reflected in the conclusions in any way, since it is a non-standard function of the MSI X58 Pro motherboard. However, this product is good even without SLI, since it matches the characteristics of most X58 motherboards and at the same time costs $200, which is noticeably cheaper than other competitors, the price of which starts at $250. Pros:
- high stability and performance;
- presence of three PCI Express x16 v2.0 slots;
- support for AMD CrossFireX technologies;
- SerialATA II/RAID support (eight channels; ICH10R + JMB363);
- support for one P-ATA channel (JMB363);
- High Definition Audio 7.1 sound + Gigabit Ethernet network controller;
- support for USB 2.0 interface (12 ports) and IEEE-1394 (FireWire; two ports);
conclusions
Summing up the results of comparative testing is complicated by the fact that there was no comparison as such, since all the presented motherboards are in different price categories. The exceptions are the ASRock X58 SuperComputer and ASUS P6T Deluxe models, the average price of which is $300. In this case, the choice between them is 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 the ASUS P6T Deluxe is the Gigabyte EX58-UD5, which has slightly better expansion capabilities and costs a little less (about $275). There is no fundamental difference between the boards, and we find it difficult to choose the best one. Most likely, the choice should be made based on personal experience and preferences, as well as taking into account the need for additional proprietary technologies (ASUS has a slight advantage here).
For the next board - ECS X58B-A, we did not experience any fluctuations. At a price of $250, we do not recommend purchasing it. The fact is that the MSI X58 Pro board with almost the same technical characteristics and a price of only $200 is widely available.
The differences between them are in the details - the MSI board does not have a second network controller, and the ECS board does not support ParallelATA and FDD. In addition, the MSI board overclocks better and shows results comparable to the Gigabyte EX58-UD5 and ASUS P6T Deluxe.
And since we're talking about overclocking, let's move on to the most expensive board - ASUS Rampage II Extreme, costing $350-370.
In fact, this is the best motherboard designed for overclocking. There are also very good X58 overclocking boards made by DFI and EVGA, but they are not available in Russian stores. We also note that overclocking is the main advantage of Rampage II Extreme, but it is far from the only one. And in all other areas this product is very, very competitive. But we cannot forget about one drawback - it is a very stingy package. For $360, the box with the board should be large and heavy, and the list of components should take more than one page. In addition, this board belongs to the Republic of Gamers series and just because of the name it simply must be included in the kit popular game(all previous ROG series boards were equipped with the game STALKER or Company of Heroes).
General conclusions for all boards - among the models we reviewed, we did not find an outright bad product. And even those boards that we do not recommend buying are technically quite suitable for use. But the problem is that they cost much more than their direct competitors - i.e. The problem is not in terms of stability or functionality, but in the "wrong" pricing. In addition, manufacturers do not reduce prices simultaneously, but based on their own plans. And it is quite possible that in a couple of months other models will become more attractive in terms of price/quality ratio.
Since motherboards with 1366 socket have been on the market for about two years, in order to interest buyers, manufacturers have to come up with something newer than the inscriptions on the box “super-capacitors” or “mega-overclocking”.
ASUS decided to move away from glamorous trinkets with colorful lights and began producing TUF (The Ultimate Force) series motherboards. All solutions in this series are positioned as devices with increased reliability due to the use of military standards. The first motherboard in this series is the famous ASUS i55 Sabertooth. Of course, the flagship line couldn’t stand aside, and therefore, we meet – ASUS X58 Sabertooth. It was supposed to inherit all the best from its younger sister on i55 logic and, quite possibly, add something exclusive to 1366 processors.
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I will try to study the board from different sides, test it for overclocking in comparison with competitors, identify strong and weak sides. Let's see if the new product has the right to belong to the TUF series.Packaging and equipment
Let's start our review of the motherboard by examining the packaging and accessories.
In November 2008, Intel announced a new processor microarchitecture, a new family of processors with this microarchitecture, and a new socket for these processors. You can read about the details of all of the above in our special review, dedicated to the release of Nehalem. Here we will briefly mention that so far only older processors based on Nehalem have been announced, having 4 physical cores with SMT technology (Simultaneous Multi-Threading is a well-known Hyper-Threading technology that was present in Pentium 4 processors), which provides 8 virtual cores. This core, produced using a 45-nanometer process technology, is called Bloomfield. In addition to the natural restructuring of the processor microarchitecture (changes in the cache memory hierarchy, SMT, new processor instructions, etc.), the announced models are also distinguished by an integrated memory controller - now it has moved from the chipset closer to the main consumer. In the Bloomfield core, which was released earlier, the memory controller is three-channel, designed for DDR3-1066, and the junior cores based on Nehalem - Havendale (with an integrated entry-level graphics core) and Lynnfield - expected in the second half of 2009 will have a two-channel controller, familiar to today's chipsets .
Also, Havendale and Lynnfield will communicate with the chipset via the DMI bus (which in today's solutions connects the bridges of Intel chipsets), but Bloomfield uses for this purpose the new QPI bus, developed by Intel for connecting processors (sockets) with each other - functionally this is an approximate analogue of the HyperTransport bus , widely used in AMD solutions. To install on the board, the new processors announced under the Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Edition trademarks require, of course, a new socket - Socket 1366 (instead of the current Socket 775). Quite expectedly, most of the new contacts in the socket are needed to ensure communication between the processor and memory modules; Power/ground contacts and some reserved contacts have also significantly increased their representation (probably responsible for the second QPI channel needed by server models based on Nehalem).
Naturally, to support all new processors, new chipsets will be required (since the old ones were connected to the processor via the FSB bus). In this article we will look at the top-end X58 Express, which is the beginning of the line of Intel 5x chipsets and is intended to be paired with processors based on the top-end Bloomfield core. Since there are not so many newly released Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Edition models, and the new socket will not remain the only new one for long, this decision is quite logical: manufacturers Total Now we have the opportunity to make good money from enthusiasts. Well, by the time Nehalem enters the mass market segment, Intel will release chipsets that are more affordable in price and capabilities, the boards on which will use a new socket (after all, those processors will have a dual-channel memory controller and another bus for communicating with the chipset) - Socket 1156.
Intel X58 Express
The northbridge of the chipset can no longer be called MCH ( Memory Controller Hub), Intel had to use the abbreviation IOH (Input/Output Hub), although, to be honest, the name of the company's south bridges (ICH) means the same thing - I/O Controller Hub. Well, be that as it may, for the sake of clarity, let’s continue to call this chipset block a northbridge and take a look at its key characteristics (of which there are so few left!):
- support for new processors (presented at the time of the announcement of the article by the Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Edition families) based on the Nehalem microarchitecture, when connected to these processors via the QPI bus;
- 2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 graphic interfaces, with the ability to split each into two graphic interfaces at half speed or even four at quarter speed;
- additional PCI Express 2.0 x4 interface, with the ability to split it into two interfaces at half speed;
- DMI bus (with a bandwidth of ~2 GB/s) to the ICH10/R southbridge.
Note that, quite traditionally, the top-end chipset of the new line, which was released first, uses the old south bridge, and a new one will appear only when mid-level chipsets are released. However, at the moment, there is objectively no need for new peripheral interfaces (unless USB 3.0 has already appeared at least on the horizon), so the use of ICH10/R is not a disadvantage even for a top-end chipset. Let us also recall the functionality of the used south bridges:
- up to 6 PCIEx1 ports (PCI-E 1.1);
- up to 4 PCI slots;
- 6 Serial ATA II ports for 6 SATA300 devices (SATA-II, second generation of the standard), with support for AHCI mode and functions like NCQ (for ICH10, this mode is guaranteed to work only under Windows Vista), with the possibility of individual shutdown, 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 in several RAID modes at once - for example, RAID 0 and RAID can be organized on two disks 1, each array will have its own part of the disk allocated);
- 12 USB devices 2.0 (on two EHCI host controllers) with the ability to individually disable;
- Gigabit Ethernet MAC controller and a special interface (LCI/GLCI) for connecting a PHY controller (i82567 for Gigabit Ethernet implementation, i82562 for Fast Ethernet implementation);
- Intel Turbo Memory support (ICH10R only);
- High Definition Audio (7.1);
- harness for low-speed and outdated peripherals, etc.
Now let's talk about the changes and new technologies in the chipset.
Regarding processor support, everything is very simple: the chipset has a QPI port, and any processors using this bus (the current Bloomfield core) in boards based on Intel based X58 will work. True, maximum throughput QPI port may differ: 4.8 or 6.4 GT/s (billion transfers per second), which corresponds to 9.6 or 12.8 GB/s in each of two directions simultaneously. The difference in throughput is determined by the type of processor used (more for Core i7 Extreme Edition), and greater throughput is provided not due to an increased base frequency (as was the case in the previous Quad-Pumped Bus FSB), but due to an increase in the multiplier relative to the base BCLK (133 MHz).
The X58 graphical interface provides the maximum configuration for today: 2 independent PCI Express 2.0 x16 ports. True, maximum does not mean unique: the X38 and X48, as well as older NVIDIA chipsets, had exactly the same capabilities - 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 at all: Intel will release low-end products in the 5x line only to support Havendale and Lynnfield. NVIDIA also abandoned the idea of developing a chipset for Bloomfield (although it seems to have a license for the QPI bus, so it is technically able to do this), but promises to release new line for low-end processors of the Nehalem microarchitecture.
An important consequence of this refusal by NVIDIA was the long-awaited news for many: for the first time, a third-party chipset received a license to support SLI. True, this permission is subject to a number of conditions: a specific manufacturer will have to obtain a license for specific model motherboard, for which a special complex procedure is provided with the introduction of identification information into the BIOS. An alternative solution that NVIDIA recommends is to install an nForce200 bridge (or even two bridges) on the board (from NVIDIA itself). However, given the already very high cost of motherboards for Socket 1366, the number of solutions with nForce200 is expected to be extremely low. Further, since Intel chipsets still support the CrossFireX configuration, the Intel X58 becomes an absolutely unique chipset - the first in the world with official simultaneous support for SLI and CrossFireX!
Now let’s step back a little from the specifications given and take a look at the big picture. Essentially, the northbridge of the X58 chipset is one large PCI Express controller for connecting external graphics. Yes, it also arbitrates data from/for the peripheral controllers of the south bridge (but is only an extra link in the chain), and also, just “so that space doesn’t go to waste,” it has an extra 4 PCI-E 2.0 lanes for connecting peripherals. It would seem logical to transfer the support function GUI one of the other logic blocks, and the processor + chipset combination is reduced to two elements. (Recall that system logic sets consisting of a single chip were regularly demonstrated by NVIDIA in the past.)
Why has this solution not been implemented? Well, firstly, this path is not at all necessary: the current AMD chipsets, which are doing great on the market, use a dual-bridge circuit with precisely such a distribution of functionality when the north bridge is needed only as a graphics bus controller. Secondly, in addition to the need to redesign the working ICH10 south bridge to support a large number of PCI Express 2.0 lanes, let’s also remember about heat dissipation: the bridges responsible for two PCIEx16 ports are themselves hot enough that their integration creates a number of problems.
The current one Intel solution looks like this: X58, as a top chipset supporting 36 PCI-E 2.0 lanes, will be a two-chip, with a traditional architecture, but for mid-level platforms that will become available in the second half of 2009, the single-chip P55 (and its younger brothers) will be released . At the same time, the PCI-E 2.0 controller (although only 16 lanes, as, in general, befits a mid-level platform) will be integrated not into the former south bridge, but into the processors of that time (with a new socket). These processors will, however, be spared the need to contain a hot performance bus QPI - now it is needed for data exchange with video accelerators, because the throughput of one PCIEx16 (2.0) port is 16 GB/s, which is not much less than that of QPI when working with Core i7 processors , well, to simultaneously fully load both graphics ports, the QPI bandwidth is not enough when working with the Core i7 Extreme Edition. (Another thing is that at the moment there are no solutions at all that ensure full load of two PCIEx16 (2.0) ports, but this is not required, since such a gigantic bandwidth is not in demand by video cards.)
Since subsequent Intel chipsets (at least mid-level ones) will be a slightly modified current south bridge (and would well deserve the name ICH11 instead of P5x), the processor will communicate with them via the DMI bus that is very familiar to us, so it will be quite correct to say that the northbridge of the chipset has moved entirely into the processor.
The heat dissipation of the X58, of course, has decreased compared to previous top-end Intel chipsets due to the removal of the memory controller, but overall not so much (again, let's not forget about QPI). We have summarized the data on the latest Intel chipsets into a single table, although they do not create an unambiguous picture: heat dissipation is additionally affected by the chip production process, which, starting with the P45, has changed to 65 nm.
However, by and large, the most important consequence for us is that there are no special cooling requirements for the X58; this chipset heats up at the level of an average P45, although there is no doubt that motherboard manufacturers will try to outdo themselves in designing bulky and pompous cooling systems on their top boards.
Conclusion
It cannot be said that the Intel X58 introduces any useful innovations, which is why we recommend purchasing a motherboard based on this chipset. At the same time, of course, such boards will inevitably be purchased, because there is simply no alternative for systems for Socket 1366. Thus, if you are eager to build a computer on a top-end processor with the Nehalem microarchitecture (the current Bloomfield core), the choice is obvious, and after reading this article you can also imagine what basic capabilities the purchased board will have. We cannot voice any serious complaints about the X58: it is a very worthy top-level chipset with a unique feature - simultaneous official support for SLI and CrossFireX. The only drawback of systems with the Socket 1366 socket will be the inadequately high price (even despite the fairly affordable cost of junior Core i7 processors), but this is an attribute of top-end configurations. Let us remind you that we will see mass-produced systems based on Nehalem only in the second half of 2009.
The well-known version of the Chinese motherboard produced by Huanan is positioned as the most a budget option for assembling a system on socket 1366. Although the board is made on the Intel X58 chipset, it lacks three-channel memory (only 2 slots) and some other advantages. The main advantage is the price. Compared to most other boards for this socket, Huanan is almost 2 times cheaper.
Characteristics
In fact, several similar models of Chinese mothers are sold with this name. Which of them is the original Juanan and which is his clone is now almost impossible to understand, but they are all very similar, both in appearance and in specifications.
The most popular clones are labeled x58 v311 and v108. No significant differences from the original could be found.
The parameters are not at all outstanding, but for home use this will be enough. Here's what the manufacturer says:
4 or 6 (for x58 v311) phases are responsible for powering the processor, and power is supplied through an 8-pin connector. Support for both four and six-core processors is declared, including , but it is not recommended to install anything more powerful than 95 W on Chinese products.
The equipment is not rich: a disk with drivers, instructions in Chinese and a sata cable
The cooling in the form of two radiators is rather weak; it is recommended to place at least 1 small cooler in the center of the board. By the way, there are only two connectors for them: 1 processor and 1 for a case fan.
Rear Panel Connectors
With the rest of the connectors everything is quite standard for budget boards: 1 pci-e x16, 1 pci-e x1, 4 sata second version and 1 pci slot. There are as many as 10 USBs, of which there can be up to 2 USB version 3.0 (again, on the revision with dark radiators). The number of slots may vary in different versions.
Version with yellow radiators, 4 phases and a different arrangement and number of slots
For RAM, as mentioned above, there are only two connectors, but there is support for ECC strips. Supports ddr3 frequencies 1066/1333/1600 and a total of maximum 16 gigabytes of RAM.
Bios and overclocking
The board runs on the usual BIOS from American megatrends, but there are practically no settings for overclocking. In this case, it would be reasonable to install a processor with a fairly high stock frequency in the board, for example.
Bios boot screen
There are no complaints about the work itself, Windows 10 itself selected all the necessary drivers, and no errors were found in testing. The throttle whistles a little, but over the noise of the coolers this is almost inaudible. The video card from Nvidia was detected and worked quite correctly, but with AMD there may be problems.