Wha you guys think of the ASrock x58 Extreme LGA1336 MOBO?

[ComputerNovice]

Wha you guys think of the ASrock x58 Extreme LGA1336 MOBO? It's selling for only 169.99 on Newegg and it also has really good reviews on Newegg as well, it also says Tomshardware gave it a "Recommended Buy"...

I'm building a i7 920 system and if you look at my signature you'll see that so far I have my case and my PSU as well as the Intel Core i7 920, and today I finally have enough money to order my MOBO and my RAM. I read a review on the ASrock x58 Extreme on AnandTech and they said it was a really good board and had lots of good features considering its price point etc etc. But the thing is I just want to get some opinions from some people from this forum, because I do plan to overclock and I don't want my MOBO making my ability to do so any harder than it has to be because I've O'ced before but I'm not very experienced at it by any means.

Basically I'm stuck bewtween these 3 seperated boards, and It would be nice if you guys could tell me if the ASrock x58 is the best choice or these two other boards I'm looking at.

ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard 169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163


EVGA 121-BL-E756-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX SLI Micro Intel Motherboard - 209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188051

ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - 219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131386

Or if anyone else has any suggestions please let me know.

 

[El_Capitan]

I use the ECS x58B-A for my i7 920. That and the ASRock X58 Extreme will only be able to have a stable 3.6 GHz overclock. Some have gotten lucky getting to 3.8 GHz, but I wouldn't expect anything higher than 3.6 GHz for overclocking. However, from a price point of view, it's pretty good. Plus, Arctic Silver 5 (and lapping your stock heatsink), you can overclock to 3.6 GHz without needing any after market heatsink and fans.

EVGA and ASUS are both good. If you want to spend the most including after market heatsinks and fans, the EVGA 760 Classified can overclock your i7 920 to 4.0 GHz - 4.2 GHz 24/7 stable. The Asus P6T Deluxe can overclock your i7 920 to 3.8 GHz - 4.0 GHz 24/7 stable.

The EVGA 121-BL-E756-TR and ASUS P6T SE will probably be in the 3.8 GHz range for 24/7 stability.

They're all good motherboards, it all depends on what you want your system to do, and how much you're willing to spend.

 

[mikengail]

I managed 4ghz using the EZ OC overclock profile in BIOS with an I7 920 D0 B-Batch CPU. I've only tested OCCT for an hour, but so far so good. Board was refurbished from Newegg and had the P1.40 BIOS. I still had to re-flash with the latest P.140 BIOS from Asrock's website to get it stable though. Weird. Anyway, it idles at mid to high 30's temp range. Load temp varies from high 40's to low 60's depending on the game or program.

 

[El_Capitan]

I managed 4ghz using the EZ OC overclock profile in BIOS with an I7 920 D0 B-Batch CPU. I've only tested OCCT for an hour, but so far so good. Board was refurbished from Newegg and had the P1.40 BIOS. I still had to re-flash with the latest P.140 BIOS from Asrock's website to get it stable though. Weird. Anyway, it idles at mid to high 30's temp range. Load temp varies from high 40's to low 60's depending on the game or program.

Seriously? I've got the same stepping on my CPU. I might have to try that. What were your EZ OC settings? I might try and re-create that manually.

I'm not seeing a version called P.140, I'm wondering if you have the x58B-A2 version. Did you flash using a floppy (or USB these days), or eJIFFY?

 

[mikengail]

Seriously? I've got the same stepping on my CPU. I might have to try that. What were your EZ OC settings? I might try and re-create that manually.

I'm not seeing a version called P.140, I'm wondering if you have the x58B-A2 version. Did you flash using a floppy (or USB these days), or eJIFFY?

I don't remember what the exact settings were. I'm not near my system right now and won't be for a couple of days. I just cleared the CMOS with the PSU unplugged for about 30 seconds to get the default base configuration and then selected 4ghz in EZ OC and hit enter. I noticed that a lot of detailed BIOS settings changed, so I saved; exited and rebooted. Like I said, worked like a champ.

I think one key was the re-flash with the downloaded BIOS from the ASROCK website. I used the old fashioned boot floppy method.

As for board version, I think it just says version 1.02, but there may be more. I will try to verify later in the week. Oh, by the way, the BIOS version is listed as 1.40 on the website, but most information programs that can report it call it P1.40 when it is installed and running.

 

[El_Capitan]

I don't remember what the exact settings were. I'm not near my system right now and won't be for a couple of days. I just cleared the CMOS with the PSU unplugged for about 30 seconds to get the default base configuration and then selected 4ghz in EZ OC and hit enter. I noticed that a lot of detailed BIOS settings changed, so I saved; exited and rebooted. Like I said, worked like a champ.

I think one key was the re-flash with the downloaded BIOS from the ASROCK website. I used the old fashioned boot floppy method.

As for board version, I think it just says version 1.02, but there may be more. I will try to verify later in the week. Oh, by the way, the BIOS version is listed as 1.40 on the website, but most information programs that can report it call it P1.40 when it is installed and running.

Thanks, let me know. It'd be interesting if it's that BIOS version or maybe the EZ OC is a better overclocker than I am.

 

[mikengail]

Thanks, let me know. It'd be interesting if it's that BIOS version or maybe the EZ OC is a better overclocker than I am.

OK, here's some of the more important settings that were changed automatically merely by selecting 4ghz in EZ OC:

Overclock Mode = Manual
BCLK Frequency = 200
PCIE Frequency = 100
Boot Failure Guard = Enabled
Spread Spectrum = Auto
CPU Ratio Setting = 20
QPI Frequency = 7.200GT
Uncore Frequency = Auto
DRAM Frequency = 600mhz (DDR3 1200)
XMP Technology = Auto
DRAM Timing Control = All settings were "Auto", which resulted in 9-9-9-23-68-10-5-5-5-24 1T
ASRock VDrop Control = Without VDrop
CPU Voltage = Overdrive Offset
Voltage Offset = + 0.21875v
DRAM Voltage = Auto
IOH Voltage = Auto
VTT Voltage = 1.480v
ICH Voltage = Auto
IOH CSI Voltage = Auto
IOH/ICH PCIE Voltage = Auto
CPU PLL Voltage = 1.90v

CPU Ratio Setting = 20
Enhanced Halt State = Enabled
Intel Virtulization tech = Enabled
CPU Thermal Throttling = Enabled
No-Execute Memory Protection = Disabled
Intel HT Technology = Enabled
Active Processor Cores = All
A20M = Disabled
Intel SpeedStep tech = Enabled
Intel C-State tech = Disabled

Intelligent Energy Saver = Disabled
CIR10 Field 1 = Enabled
PCIE Max Payload Size = 128
Intel VT-d = Disabled

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[El_Capitan]

Ah, you were talking about the ASrock x58 Extreme. Was wondering how your BIOS had an EZ OC, lol. A friend has been trying to get past 3.6 GHz, will forward to him. Thanks mikengail.