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Ultimate X79? Five $320+ LGA 2011 Motherboards, Reviewed
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1. Sandy Bridge-E And X79: The Best Intel Has To Offer

Value seekers are definitely appreciating the fact that Intel launched its most advanced desktop CPU technology in the mainstream space first. Meanwhile, enthusiasts with more exacting platform needs can breathe a sigh of relief now that X79 Express supports the same architecture at the high-end. If you haven't yet read about it, check out Intel Core i7-3960X Review: Sandy Bridge-E And X79 Express.

Perhaps we should replace the word “high” with “extreme,” however, since the cheapest LGA 2011-based CPU currently sells for about $600 bucks. It only stands, then, that exorbitant CPU prices would give way to expensive platforms. Fortunately, the connectivity enabled by Sandy Bridge-E and X79 Express is also more expansive than anything ever seen before from Intel.

A CPU-based quad-channel memory controller and 40 CPU-based third-gen PCIe lanes with built-in four-way SLI/CrossFireX support make X79 platforms stand above their Z68 siblings in the desktop segment, and we believe that anyone with the money for either a $600 or $1000 processor will also have the cash to spend on the best possible platform to support it. And yet, our announcement that the first X79 motherboard round-up would focus on flagship models to match Intel's introduction was met with a collective “What?!” by most manufacturers.

How could we expect the best products so soon after launch? With a little more time, a lot of vendors expected they could deliver a true masterpiece. But we were just as baffled by their responses, since most companies we talked to earlier in the year started X79-based motherboard development efforts last spring.

Most companies let us know that their flagship models were not finished, and that claim stood even after we announced a one-week grace period for late submissions. Imagine our surprise when several of those supposedly unfinished motherboards landed on Newegg before their manufacturers were willing to let them compete! What we ended up with was an interesting collection of premium (albeit non-flagship) models with high-end feature sets that help justify decidedly enthusiast-oriented prices.

X79 Express Motherboard Features
 ASRock
X79 Extreme9
Asus
P9X79 Deluxe
Asus
P9X79 WS
Gigabyte
G1.Assassin2
Gigabyte
X79-UD5
PCB Revision1.041.031.031.01.0
ChipsetIntel X79 ExpressIntel X79 ExpressIntel X79 ExpressIntel X79 ExpressIntel X79 Express
Voltage Regulator16 Phases20 Phases10 PhasesNine Phases14 Phases
BIOSP1.40 (11/17/2011)0802 (11/15/2011)0603 (11/14/2011)F4 (11/02/2011)F3 (11/01/2011)
100.0 MHz BCLK100.0 MHz (+0.00%)100.1 (+0.10%)100.0 MHz (+0.00%)100.0 MHz (+0.00%)100.0 MHz (+0.00%)
Internal Interfaces
PCIe 3.0 x165 (x16/x0/x16/x0/x8 or x8/x8/x8/x8/x8)4 (x16/x8/x0/x16 or x16/x8/x8/x8)6 (x16/x0/x4/x16/x4/x0 or x8/x8/x4/x8/x4/x8)3 (x16/x8/x16)3 (x16/x8/x16)
PCIe 2.0 x16NoneNoneNoneNoneNone
PCIe x1/x41/02/00/02/02/0
Legacy PCINoneNoneNone11
USB 2.02 (4-ports)4 (8-ports)2 (4-ports) +1 (1-port)3 (6-ports)3 (6-ports)
USB 3.02 (4-ports)1 (2-ports)1 (2-ports)1 (2-ports)1 (2-ports)
IEEE-13941None1None1
Serial Port1None1NoneNone
Parallel PortNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
SATA 6.0 Gb/s64446
SATA 3.0 Gb/s44444
4-Pin Fan26653
3-Pin Fan4NoneNoneNone2
FP-Audio1 (On Riser)1111
S/PDIF I/OOutput OnlyOutput OnlyOutput OnlyOutput OnlyOutput Only
Power ButtonYesYesYesNoYes
Reset ButtonYesYesYesNoYes
CLR_CMOS ButtonNoYesNoNoNo
Diagnostics PanelNumericNumericNumericNoneNone
I/O Panel Connectors
P/S 21None211
USB 3.046222
USB 2.06488 (2 shared w/eSATA)8 (1 shared w/eSATA)
IEEE-13941None1None1
Network1 (+1 On Riser)2211
eSATA22None2 (USB-Powered)2 (USB-Powered)
CLR_CMOS ButtonYesNoNoYesYes
Digital Audio OutOptical/Coaxial RiserOpticalOpticalOpticalOptical
Digital Audio InNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Analog Audio4 (On Riser)6655
Other DevicesNoneBluetooth/Wifi Module
USB BIOS Flashback
USB BIOS FlashbackBluetooth/Wifi Card
Dual BIOS Switch
O/C Button
Bluetooth/Wifi Card
Dual BIOS Switch
O/C Button
Mass Storage Controllers
Chipset SATA2 x SATA 6Gb/s
4 x SATA 3Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
4 x SATA 3Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
4 x SATA 3Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
4 x SATA 3Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
4 x SATA 3Gb/s
Chipset RAID Modes0, 1, 5, 100, 1, 5, 100, 1, 5, 100, 1, 5, 100, 1, 5, 10
Add-In SATA88SE9220 PCIe
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
3 x 88SE9172 PCIe
4 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x eSATA 6Gb/s
88SE9128 PCIe
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
ASM1061 PCIe
2 x eSATA 6Gb/s
88SE9128 PCIe
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x 88SE9172 PCIe
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x eSATA 6Gb/s
3 x 88SE9172 PCIe
4 x SATA 6Gb/s
2 x eSATA 6Gb/s
USB 3.02 x TUSB7340 PCIe3 x ASM1042 PCIe
1 x VL810 4-Port Hub
2 x ASM1042 PCIe2 x FL1009-2Q0 PCIe2 x FL1009-2Q0 PCIe
IEEE-1394VT6315N PCIe
2 x 400 Mb/s
NoneVT6315N PCIe
2 x 400 Mb/s
NoneVT6308P PCI
2 x 400 Mb/s
Gigabit Ethernet
Primary LANBCM57781 PCIeWG82579V PHYWG82579V PHYKiller E2100 PCIeWG82579V PHY
Secondary LANBCM57781 PCIeRTL8111E PCIeWG82574L PCIeNoneNone
Audio
HD Audio CodecCore3D PCIe DSPALC898ALC898X-Fi CA20K2 PCIeALC898
DDL/DTS ConnectNot SpecifiedDTS ConnectDTS ConnectDDLNot Specified
Warranty
3-Years Limited (all brands)
2. ASRock X79 Extreme9

The X79 Extreme9 uses eight memory slots, five graphics card slots with four-way SLI and CrossFireX support, oversized cooling, and Creative’s latest Core3D PCIe audio DSP in its latest push for premium motherboard market share.

Four front-panel and four rear-panel USB 3.0 ports compliment the twelve SATA and two eSATA ports to make this one of the most drive-focused designs we’ve seen, yet the audio/network combo card is the Extreme9’s biggest departure from ASRock norms.

Creative’s Sound Core3D PCIe module is combined with a Broadcom BCM57781 PCIe module on one PCB, complete with a shield running down the center to prevent crosstalk, on a PCIe x1 card.

The need for an open PCI Express slot will restrict the user’s selection of graphics cards however, since some now use coolers that are more than two slots thick. Anyone who wants to use a pair of Asus Mars cards in conjunction with ASRock’s audio module, for example, will find that configuration impossible to accomplish, and even moving to a three-way graphics configuration with familiar dual-slot cards requires the use of an eight-slot case.

Most users will find it easy to get around the X79 Extreme9’s slot restrictions, and the remaining layout is almost perfect. Both USB 3.0 front-panel headers are situated well above the top graphics card, for instance, and all twelve internal SATA ports face forward to tuck their cables behind the drive cages of modern ATX performance chassis.

Realizing the limits most users will encounter with the X79 Extreme9’s slot layout, ASRock includes one three-way and one two-way SLI bridge. Unfortunately, they weren't included in our box, though Newegg’s photos clearly show that buyers will receive these parts.

Six SATA cables are adequate for most high-end builders, and ASRock even includes its famous USB 3.0 bay adapter and 2.5” SSD adapter tray.

3. X79 Extreme9 Firmware

Early on, we figured out why so many of ASRock’s competitors were unwilling to send a sample this soon. Most companies spent months developing firmware for Intel’s C0-stepping pre-production processors, only to uncover overclocking issues after installing the retail C1 versions of the same model CPU.

We've heard that changes in thermal and possibly current protection have made Intel's C1 processors more difficult to overclock, and have even seen some of this in the particularly bad sample delivered to us by Intel. Even at a moderate 1.35 V core and modest sub-60° (Celsius) temperature, the processor did not want to go past 4.4 GHz. The Extreme9 made tuning even more difficult by not rebooting when set to any multiplier beyond those supported by the Core i7-3960X' stock Intel Turbo Boost scheme.

Ed.: Prior to this story going live, I took an ASRock X79 Extreme4-M motherboard and updated it to firmware version 1.4, which makes an update to the board's CPU code. Dialing in a 4.3 GHz overclock, just as a test, was as easy as picking a 43x CPU multiplier. It seems that the same overclocking issue affecting the X79 Extreme9 might have already been fixed on some of ASRock's other platforms.

Further complicating matters was that we did not find any explicit boot strap controls. This was something we discussed with ASRock prior to this piece, but it wasn't until after it went live that we learned this feature operates automatically. Jumping straight to a 125 MHz base clock normalizes the PCI Express and DMI buses. The same goes for 166 MHz.  It turns out that the boards are set to increase boot strap automatically to 125 MHz when BCLK is set beyond 112 MHz, and to 166 MHz when BCLK is set to 150 MHz. Now that we've documented it, ASRock promises to as well.

ASRock does offer a good selection of power and ratio controls that lay the foundation for future firmware improvements however, and it even equips the board with dual EPS12V connectors to handle the extra load. We could have given up and used the C0-stepping CPU that we know works very well, but that wouldn't have made any sense because it’s not available for purchase. We instead were forced to start with a 125 MHz BCLK and work with lower CPU multipliers to achieve our final overclocking results.

A full set of voltage controls help users to push the limits of their processors. We found that Load-Line Calibration level 4 kept our voltage consistent, while lower-numbered settings forced higher-than-set voltages under load.

Primary and secondary timings can be keyed in directly, eliminating the former annoyance of having to dial in manual mode first.

4. Asus P9X79 Deluxe

Asus caters to the high-end market’s connectivity needs with six USB 3.0 ports on the P9X79 Deluxe’s rear panel, in addition to two front-panel ports, four internal USB 2.0 headers, and four rear-panel ports. If that's not enough, one of the always-deluxe dual gigabit Ethernet network connectors is fed by Intel’s reputable PHY.

Asus’ BT Go 3.0 module adds both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to the I/O panel, plugging between Asus’ USB BIOS Flashback switch and the first set of USB 3.0 ports. USB BIOS Flashback allows BIOS to be updated from a USB flash drive (in the white USB 2.0 port) with nothing more than power cords connected.

The blue PCIe x16 slots each feature a full set of pathways connected directly to the CPU, spaced four slots apart for perfect graphics cooling, even with triple-slot cards. We did find a problem in the manual, however, which lists the wrong slot order. The two x16 slots in the middle are visibly wired for eight lanes, and the second of those two borrows its lanes from the bottom slot whenever a card is installed there.

That means three-way CrossFireX and SLI are possible within a standard seven-slot case, given x16-x8-x16 transfers, with each card spaced two slots apart. Quad-card arrays could be possible with single-slot cards, but the only single-slot boards you'll find with two bridges are high-end liquid-cooled parts.

The P9X79 Deluxe’s remaining layout is fairly good, with the front-panel audio cable moved forward along the motherboard’s bottom edge for easier cable reach, and the front-panel USB 3.0 header placed above all expansion slots on the front edge. The eight-pin ATX/EPS 12V header’s latch is on the top, which could cause a little difficulty removing the cable if the builder wraps it around the back of a motherboard tray.

We should also mention that four of the P9X79 Deluxe’s rear USB 3.0 ports are shared on a VL810 hub, a fact that might be noticed by anyone who tries to ram 20 Gb/s of data through its constrained 5 Gb/s connection.

We really love that Asus includes eight internal SATA cables with the eight-port P9X79 Deluxe, along with a Wi-Fi antenna, a flexible SLI bridge, and a rigid three-way SLI bridge. CrossFire users should find the appropriate bridges packaged with their cards.

5. Asus P9X79 WS

Though the WS moniker implies a workstation target market, many of these boards have become preferred solutions for gamers and traditional power users. The P9X79 WS follows that tradition by facilitating six PCIe x16 slots, keeping the Deluxe model's Intel gigabit network PHY, and upgrading its second gigabit Ethernet controller from Realtek to an Intel PCIe model.

Even more traditional are two PS/2 ports and the lack of Asus' Deluxe model’s Bluetooth/Wi-Fi module. The WS also loses four of the Deluxe’s USB 3.0 rear-panel and four of its front-panel USB 2.0 ports favor of traditional FireWire and serial connectors. WS users do get one of those USB 2.0 ports back, however, in the form of an external port mounted internally for use with thumb drives. Did someone say ReadyBoost?

The P9X79 WS keeps the Deluxe version’s USB BIOS Flashback feature, along with its MemOK button and TPU/EPU switches. MemOK automatically underclocks RAM to help get through the boot process with poorly programmed modules, TPU enables Asus’ pre-defined automatic overclock settings, and EPU enables Asus’ power-saving CPU voltage reduction routine.

The P9X79 WS is specifically designed for four-way SLI, switching its blue x16 slots to x8 mode whenever its black x16 slots are filled. The included three-way SLI bridge is spaced for x8-x8-x16 transfers, and the grey slots each use four of the LGA 2011 package’s eight remaining PCIe lanes.

The P9X79 WS moves its front-panel audio connector several inches northward from it expected location, where it rests slightly forward of the rear audio jacks. While that does sound like a break from tradition, this placement makes it far easier to use with Thermaltake’s older cases (which had notoriously short front-panel cables).

Our only layout concern is that an upward-facing latch on the eight-pin CPU power connector could be difficult to reach when this board is installed with its cable wrapped over the top of a motherboard tray.

Two, three, and four-way SLI bridges are included in the P9X79 WS installation kit, along with eight SATA cables and even a serial port breakout plate. The mix of old and new might make this the perfect board for elder geeks, but we’ve yet to see how it performs!

6. Asus’ UEFI

The P9X79 Deluxe and P9X79 WS use the same UEFI GUI, and both have the same settings and ranges for performance tuning. Settings begin with overclocking modes that can be set to automatic, manual, or X.M.P.-based, with additional manual adjustment available.

Our XMP 2200 profile was treated as DDR3-2133 to stay within the BCLK limitations of Sandy Bridge-E processors. Asus adds CPU straps at stock (100 MHz), 125, 166, and 250 MHz to ease overclocking, even with partially-locked processors.

CPU core and CSA voltage can be adjusted in either offset or manual modes. Offset mode allows some of Intel’s power-saving methods to function in an overclocked system, but we chose manual mode to achieve the same fixed voltage across every motherboard during our overclocking comparison.

The same three DRAM reference voltage levels are repeated four times, once per channel, to allow mixed memory sets to be individually tuned.

We found that a CPU core voltage setting of 1.34 volts with Load-line Calibration at Ultra High provided the 1.35 V we sought at full CPU load.

Though power limits could be set numerically higher, we encountered a message that stated 255 W was the actual limit. We tried setting various super-high limits before finding that they weren’t beneficial at our moderate voltage levels.

Primary and secondary memory timings are grouped for all channels, but tertiary timings are broken into per-channel settings on both the Deluxe and WS version of Asus’ P9X79 series motherboards.

7. Gigabyte G1.Assassin2

Evidence that Gigabyte listens to gamers is found throughout its Assassin motherboards, beginning with the usual, “Give us a stripped-down overclocking board with plenty of slots to mount our high-end NICs and audio cards.” But wait. Aren’t those network and audio jacks we see?

With SLI potentially consuming a bunch of slots, Gigabyte improved upon the concept suggested by those requests (which go back as far as any of us can remember) by placing the high-end NIC and audio processor on-board. Here we find a Killer NIC E2100, complete with cache, along with the full hardware set of Creative’s 64 MB X-Fi Titanium HD.

The best memory latencies are usually accessible by placing only a single module on each memory channel, so Gigabyte docks the board to a mere four slots. The only thing really missing from making this the ultimate gaming-only platform is the absence of four-way CrossFireX or SLI support. But Gigabyte had to put that audio and network hardware somewhere. And besides, there's always that pistol-shaped chipset heat sink to admire.

Gigabyte finally listened to a few editors too, placing a BIOS selector switch on the I/O panel right below its automatic-overclocking OC button. Hidden beneath both of those is a rear-panel CLR_CMOS button.

Fewer connectors leave the G1.Assassin2 with fewer potential layout issues, and the board should fit nearly any ATX case designed for forward-facing SATA cables. Gigabyte paid special attention to the USB 3.0 header by moving it above the graphics cards—where its competitors usually place it—to avoid a repeat of past criticisms.

Yet, just when some might have thought this to be a perfect layout for gaming systems, Gigabyte throws in an added feature that can’t be used in conjunction with most three-way graphics builds. Its Bluetooth/Wi-Fi PCIe card requires a x1 slot that’s usually covered up by the heat sinks of high-performance graphics cards. The space that might have hosted a x1 slot non-obtrusively is filled by the Killer E2100 NIC, and x16 slot spacing issues that could cause the top card to run “hot” add to a package that’s best-completed with only two cards installed.

The G1.Assassin2’s installation kit includes CrossFire, SLI, and three-way SLI bridges, along with four SATA cables, the Wi-Fi kit, and a sheet-metal USB 3.0 drive bay adapter.

8. Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5

Anyone who doesn't feel the need for Killer's NIC or Creative's on-board X-Fi components can get more of just about everything for a lot less money in Gigabyte’s X79-UD5. The I/O panel, for example, adds FireWire without losing its OC button, BIOS switch, or semi-hidden CLR_CMOS button.

X79-UD5 buyers also get twice as many memory slots, two more internal SATA 6Gb/s ports, and power and reset buttons compared to the scantly-clad G1.Assassin2, along with nearly twice as many voltage regulator phases. Gigabyte even switches its X79-UD5 voltage regulator to the solid capacitors so heavily favored by one of its competitors, helping to clean up the space around the CPU interface.

On the other hand, the lack of a Killer NIC to get in the way leaves us disappointed not to find a PCIe x1 slot at the top of the X79-UD5. That’s because Gigabyte includes the same Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo card found in its other bundle, with the same problem of graphics cards potentially covering up all of the board's PCI Express slots.

Most users who don’t need three-way CrossFireX or SLI will find the X79-UD5’s layout nearly perfect, though a front-panel audio header placed far into the lower-rear corner is out of reach for the somewhat-short cables of some ATX enclosures.

While the other Gigabyte board was meant to be a bit Spartan in its cable kit, we were a little bummed to find only four SATA cables included with the more broadly-featured X79-UD5. We do, however, find the same CrossFire, SLI, and three-way SLI bridges, along with Gigabyte’s Wi-Fi/Bluetooth solution and a USB 3.0 bay adapter.

9. Gigabyte’s UEFI

Gigabyte uses the same UEFI design and performance adjustment ranges for both the G1.Assassin2 and X79-UD5. Though some of the menu layout is carried over from its earlier Hybrid UEFI, this is our first experience with a full UEFI from the firm.

We still start out with an M.I.T. main menu that carries over key information from its other monitoring menus, such as frequency, core, and DRAM voltage levels.

Gigabyte provides the CPU straps also present in Asus’ competing boards, but labels them “Gear Ratio.” It also lists “Host Clock Frequency” as the true host clock, but tuners can find the resulting internal clock rate in the “BCLK/PCIe Clock Evaluation” report two items down.

Overclocking to find the highest stable full-load speed demands that we set a fixed multiplier, but getting there with Gigabyte’s firmware requires us to set each Turbo Boost ratio to the same setting. The old trick of disabling Turbo Boost and relying on the firmware to actually use the fixed ratio we set no longer works.

In fact, not much of anything worked when it came to overclocking our C1-stepping CPU sample, unfortunately, as we couldn’t push the multiplier beyond 38x. Gigabyte’s only hope for any overclock whatsoever was for us to set the CPU base clock to 125 MHz and manipulate the multiplier from there. And even then, altering CPU clock beyond setting the 125 MHz strap made both of these boards unbootable. Hours of frustration ensued with these boards inexplicably not booting after even the tiniest change.

Gigabyte spreads its voltage controls across three submenus, stepping away from the idea of simplicity, though providing every required setting.

We reached our target 1.35 V at full CPU load by selecting this voltage from the CPU voltage menu and then setting Vcore Loadline Calibration to +6.00 in Gigabyte’s 3D Power Control menu. Is that 6.00 Volts? Millivolts? Though Gigabyte did not document the setting in time for this review, it appears to be 6.00 percent.

Setting DRAM Timing Selectable to Quick in the Advanced Memory Settings menu allows the user to program all channels simultaneously. Primary and secondary settings are present.

10. Test Settings
Test System Configuration
CPUIntel Core i7-3960X (Sandy Bridge-E): 3.60 GHz, 15 MB Cache, LGA 2011, Turbo Boost enabled
CPU CoolerSwiftech Apogee GTX, MCP 655b, Triple Fan Radiator Kit
RAMG.Skill F3-17600CL9Q-16GBXLD 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) DDR3-2200
Benchmarked at 4 x 4 GB DDR3-1600 CAS 9 defaults
GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX 580: 772 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4008
Hard DriveSamsung 470 Series MZ5PA256HMDR, 256 GB SSD 
SoundIntegrated HD Audio
NetworkIntegrated Gigabit Networking
PowerSeasonic X760 SS-760KM: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold
Software
OSMicrosoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
GraphicsNvidia GeForce 285.62
ChipsetIntel INF 9.2.3.1020

A couple years have passed since I thought I needed a liquid cooling kit to overclock processors at safe voltage levels. But reports of high current loads at moderate settings forced me to reconsider my options. Previously mounted into a test station and left to languish over the same period, Swiftech’s Apogee GTX kit was resurrected and repurposed using nothing more than an LGA 1366 top bracket and a set of LGA 2011 mounting screws left-over from other projects.

G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3-2200 allows us to test the overclocking capabilities of each motherboard using one module per channel, and the basic performance of each board at default DDR3-1600 SPD values. The firm sent a second set for our eight-DIMM tests, using the same ICs but different XMP values.

Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 580 pushes our CPU limits under games.

Samsung’s MZPA256HMDR 256GB SSD keeps load times and idle power low.

Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
DiRT 3V1.01, Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml
Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA
Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA
Metro 2033Full Game, Built-In Benchmark, "Frontline" Scene
Test Set 1: DX11, High, AAA, 4x AF, No PhysX, No DoF
Test Set 2: DX11, Very High, 4x AA, 16x AF, No PhysX, DoF On
StarCraft IIVersion 1.4.1.19776, Tom's Hardware custom map
Test Set 1: Medium Details, No AA, 8x AF
Test Set 2: Highest Details, 8x AA, 16x AF
Audio/Video Encoding
iTunesVersion 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format 
Lame MP3Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLIVersion 0.95: "Big Buck Bunny" (720x480, 23.972 FPS) 5 Minutes, Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 000 Hz, Six-Channel, English, to Video: AVC Audio: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile)
MainConcept ReferenceVersion: 2.2.0.5440: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Productivity
Adobe Photoshop CS5Version 12.1 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080
WinZipVersion 15.5 Pro: THG-Workload (464 MB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r"
WinRARVersion 4.01: THG-Workload (464 MB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3"
7-ZipVersion 9.22: THG-Workload (464 MB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5"
ABBYY FineReaderVersion 10.0.102.82: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
11. Benchmark Results: 3D Games

Though we didn’t see any blatant manipulation of Intel Turbo Boost ratios, ASRock’s X79 Extreme9 falls a little behind at our CPU-bottlenecked lower-resolution DiRT 3 settings.

The noticeable performance differences evaporate as we move into more graphically-intensive games and settings. Metro 2033 is particularly bound by GPU performance, which remains consistent regardless of motherboard selection.

The X79-UD5 stumbled a little at StarCraft II’s lowest settings, though that does happen by chance occasionally. We retested to confirm that the mediocre results lingered, though they don’t persist into the higher settings most users would play with a GeForce GTX 580 installed.

12. Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding

ASRock jumps ahead of the competition in iTunes encoding, while Gigabyte falls slightly behind in Lame.

The P9X79 WS edges out competitors in HandBrake, while Asus and ASRock battle for top position in MainConcept. The actual differences are actually less than half of a second, with rounding accounting for the slightly inflated charts.

13. Benchmark Results: Productivity

The P9X79 WS continues its battle with ASRock’s X79 Extreme9 for top position in Photoshop.

We re-benched the X79 Extreme9 three times to confirm that it falls slightly behind the pack in 3ds Max and WinZip. Wins elsewhere could negate these tiny losses in our final evaluation.

Tied for top place in our OCR test, the P9X79 WS begins to look like a potential overall performance leader.

14. Power, Heat, And Efficiency

We set all motherboards to their default settings and enable any disabled power-saving technologies prior to benchmarking and taking power measurements. Charted values include power supply loss and off-board devices such as the 39 W liquid cooling system!

The P9X79 WS is by far the most miserly, so we also expect it to be the most efficient. Perhaps the CPU voltage regulator is part of this equation?

The draft from our liquid cooling system was enough to keep these voltage regulators at safe temperatures. We thought a fan might be needed during our overclocking tests, and the second measurements taken prior to that test emulate the cooling benefit of a downward-facing CPU cooler.

Efficiency compares work done to energy consumed. We calculated the average performance of each motherboard relative to the other motherboards in this comparison and found an average difference of less than 1%.

The term relative in our efficiency chart refers to the average of all systems. For example, the P9X79 WS consumed 96.28% of the average power of all systems and achieved 100.48% of the average performance. Dividing the second number by the first reveals a 104.4% efficiency rating.

Of course nothing is 100% efficient. Moving the baseline from 100% to 0% is as easy as subtracting one from the results, allowing the chart to show how much better or worse is each system’s efficiency compared to average. The P9X79 WS takes first place here, while the P9X79 Deluxe drops to the bottom. Asus blames the Deluxe version’s added features and voltage regulator components, and that sounds like a viable explanation to us.

15. X79 Overclocking
BIOS Frequency and Voltage settings (for overclocking)
 ASRock
X79 Extreme9
Asus
P9X79 Deluxe
Asus
P9X79 WS
Gigabyte
G1.Assassin2
Gigabyte
X79-UD5
Base Clock90-300 MHz (1 MHz)80-300 MHz (0.1 MHz)80-300 MHz (0.1 MHz)80-333 MHz (0.01 MHz)80-333 MHz (0.01 MHz)
CPU Multiplier12x to 60x (1x)12x to 57x (1x)12x to 57x (1x)12x to 59x (1x)12x to 59x (1x)
DRAM Data Rates800-2400 (266.6 MHz)800-2666 (266.6 MHz)800-2666 (266.6 MHz)800-3200 (266.6 MHz)800-3200 (266.6 MHz)
CPU Vcore0.60-1.52 V (5 mV)0.80-1.70 V (5 mV)0.80-1.70 V (5 mV)0.80-1.74 V (5mV)0.80-1.74 V (5mV)
VTT Voltage0.86-1.71 V (13 mV)1.05-1.70 V (6.25 mV)1.05-1.70 V (6.25 mV)0.72-1.61 V (5mV)0.72-1.61 V (5mV)
X79 PCH Voltage0.73-1.91 V (13 mV)1.10-1.70 V (6.25 mV)1.10-1.70 V (6.25 mV)0.87-1.98 V (5 mV)0.87-1.98 V (5 mV)
DRAM Voltage1.20-1.80 V (15 mV)1.20-1.99 V (5 mV)1.20-1.99 V (5 mV)0.83-1.51 V (5 mV)0.83-1.51 V (5 mV)
CAS Latency4-15 Cycles3-15 Cycles3-15 Cycles5-12 Cycles5-12 Cycles
tRCD4-15 Cycles4-15 Cycles4-15 Cycles5-31 Cycles5-31 Cycles
tRP4-15 Cycles4-15 Cycles4-15 Cycles5.15 Cycles5.15 Cycles
tRAS9-63 Cycles4-40 Cycles4-40 Cycles5-63 Cycles5-63 Cycles


The addition of boot straps (chipset to CPU base clock ratios) to the LGA 2011 platform should have made overclocking easier compared to multiplier-locked LGA 1155-based CPUs, and yet every manufacturer appears to have figured out a way to make the process more difficult. ASRock, for example, make it clear where the ratios take effect as you scale up and down the base clock range. Altering Gigabyte’s base clock control by only 0.1 MHz caused boot failures with both motherboards when used in conjunction with higher-than-stock (33x) CPU ratios, leaving 100.00 and 125.00 MHz as our only overclocking options.

Asus’ limits were least-intrusive and appeared to be caused by changes in C1 core stepping power controls (a lower thermal throttling limit is one change that's easy to identify). We tried maxing out all of the settings we knew might help, but to no avail. Even still, 4.4 GHz at a mere 1.35 V core is nothing to be ashamed of.

We retested with a C0 Core i7 and shot straight to 4.7 GHz. We won't bother breaking down the settings we used to achieve that frequency because we don't want anyone to form expectations about a processor they can't actually buy. We'll instead keep testing whatever production-era samples we can get in hopes of finding a better example of Sandy Bridge-E's potential.

Once we figured out how ASRock's automatic adjustment worked, we were able to push our processor to a similar frequency as those achieved on both Asus boards. ASRock had also contacted us to say that it discovered the same C1-oriented multiplier problem in one of the 40 CPU samples it tested, credited a competitor with finding a workaround (we like that kind of honesty), and further stated that its team has developed a similar workaround we should have access to in mid-December. Since that's when the testing starts for our next round-up, we'll have a good opportunity to hold ASRock to that promise and report back to you.

Gigabyte’s results don’t look bad, but we were unable to overclock beyond stock Turbo Boost limits using multiplier adjustment alone. We were instead forced to use the 1.25x boot strap with a 34x multiplier and leave the 100 MHz base clock well enough alone.

Intel’s P67 X79 chipset still has the same 107-108 MHz limitation we've endured from mainstream Sandy Bridge platforms for the past 11 months. Boot straps multiply that range by 1.25x (and higher), though we were not able to reach the 166 or 250 MHz straps with our processor.

Asus has the best DRAM data rates, its P9X79 WS and P9X79 Deluxe taking first and second place.

16. Which High-End X79 Motherboard Is Best?

Our highest-priced X79 motherboard comparison was intended to highlight the feature sets of over-the-top products, with price being used only as a tiebreaker should any two products emerge as best-of-the-best. So, where are the flagship products?

It appears that everyone was caught off-guard by minor changes between the C0-stepping processors they received during the summer and C1-stepping products that Intel used for the launch. Of the participants, it appears Asus had the quickest firmware turnaround. Everyone knew that we'd use C1 silicon to test, and it makes complete sense that they might not want firmware teething issues to affect their highest-priced parts.

Though we had a reasonably broad selection of candidates, firmware issues left us considering only the two products that came closest to our expectations. Asus’ P9X79 WS had the best performance, best overclocking, lowest power consumption, and greatest number of expansion slots. Meanwhile its P9X79 Deluxe followed closely behind the WS version, but added a bunch of lifestyle-oriented features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a greater number of USB 3.0 rear-panel ports (even though several ports share bandwidth). The added features are surely worth a little more than the miniscule differences in performance. And yet both boards are priced the same.

Torn between the best board and the board with the most to offer, we decided to give both products our “Approved” award and let each buyer independently determine which of these is more deserving of the ultimate honor: a purchase.