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To shake things up, we are going to review the X58 motherboard in our maximum overclocked state. Many people today considering this product will be wanting even more performance than the stunning new Core i5-2500k and Core i7-2600k can deliver, even when overclocked. How much faster is a 980X when overclocked than the brand new Intel Core i7 2600k @ 5.1ghz for instance? We will answer this, and more today.
Intel won't be updating the current six core ultra high end processors (Core i7 970 and 980X Extreme Edition) until later in the year, so this is the most viable reason for an enthusiast to purchase an X58 motherboard. We will be testing with one, two and three Sapphire HD6970's and we will also use the Sapphire HD5770 Flex Edition in CrossfireX for our productivity testing earlier in the review.
We are using the excellent 80 Plus Gold Certified Enermax Modu87+ 700W power supply for the majority of our testing today. We switch to the Corsair AX1200 for the 3 way CrossFireX testing later in the review.
Later in the review we will be giving the Pure Black X58 a thorough workout when gaming across a single, then three screens.
To build our system today, we are using the Core i7 980X – Intel's most expensive commercial consumer processor in their line up. We are partnering this with 6 GB of Kingston H20 memory.
For our 980x cooling, we have opted for the Noctua NH D14, or the ‘Austrian Sandwich' as we affectionately call it. There is no better air cooler on the planet, so we can always be sure that it won't be the deciding factor when we hit our top clocks.
The bios will be familar to many Intel users already. It is well laid out and offers a ton of options, without looking cluttered.
There are plenty of options for configurating the hardware, voltages, multipliers and ram settings are all accessible via the ‘performance' menu. We will look at little more at this on the next page.
The bios not only offers two settings on the motherboard via a switch, but you can save up to four profiles in each of them, for quick retrieval of the settings.
What a fantasic product, any ideas of a price?
I wonder who the maker is. Foxconn? Still, hell of a release from Sapphire, certainly put them on the map in 2011, but I wonder if it will sell well due to the new socket which gives mega performance for a fraction of the price
Nice board design not much to fault, apart from the medicore bundle. When is it released? I could never get the sapphire power supplies here, so ill be curious to see availabity.
Class name too, instead of DU-23723 V12 like you see with many makers, we need catchy, memorable names. Sapphire always do this, ‘toxic. etc.
This kind of setup is way out of my price range, ill be aiming for 2500k in a few months.
really nice review, mega testing. gotta love the noctua NH D14!
any chance I could get that system mailed over to me? ill cover postage.
Good board layout and cant see much wrong with it. Id like a CMOS button on the back of the board though for easy pressing if needed.
Hey zardon, I know you love the noctua NH D14, but how far would this CPU go on the mobo with something a little less expensive? im curious
I wonder how often they will update the bioses on these boards. I doubt they make them, so im guessing the bios update situation might be a ‘second’ priority for the motherboard originator
Where did this come from? I never read any announcements about it. Hell of a good OC on air there guys. will be curious to see the pricing.
way 2 go sapphire, but why not an AMD board !
‘why no amd board?’
They probably know that an intel board like this will sell much better than an AMD product. its a high end enthusiast product and unfortunately AMD cant compete. probably why dirk meyer is collecting an early pension. I hope it changes.
oh yeah, great review Z.
Well I am rather impressed with this product. Have you any ideas on the availability date yet >?
Most excellent. great overclocking results. I cant get my 980 past 4.1ghz on my asus board.
Noctua NH D14 FTW. great review!
I’ve had enough of apple and all their difficulties. It’s one scandal right after another with their products. No more will I fall into apples marketing propaganda which is all hype. Don’t believe the paid bloggers on here who defend or deny the many countless problems of apple products.