X58 To The Max: Three New Flagship LGA 1366 Motherboards

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Supporting Intel’s highest-performance processors with twice the bandwidth of its mainstream counterpart, the X58 chipset proves the staying power of good ideas. We take a closer look at what makes the latest generation of premium motherboards special.

GA-X58A-UD9 Overclocking Utilities

Gigabyte’s EasyTune6 utility for Windows provides several status and overclocking menus to adjust CPU, memory, and graphics performance.

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The EasyTune6 Tuner menu is where the excitement happens. Choosing the Quick Boost option allows the board to attempt an automatic overclock to the frequency of a higher-model processor, while Easy mode brings up an array of manual options that are mostly blocked-out. Advanced mode unlocks its settings, beginning with base clock and memory ratio.

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The Ratio tab is limited to CPU clock only, while the Voltage tab offers a far broader selection of adjustments that mimic those found in BIOS.

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It’s unusual to find a basic graphics card overclocking utility in motherboard tuning software, but Gigabyte is also a video card manufacturer. This utility should work with most recent Gigabyte cards, but our Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 threw its fan settings way off.

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The EasyTune6 Smart menu doesn’t report drive status, but is instead the only method Gigabyte provides for altering its automatic fan-speed control. While this level of control is annoyingly not found in BIOS, the software method works extremely well.

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Hardware monitoring includes a full set of alarm controls to notify users if any problem occurs.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
67 Comments Comment from the forums
  • one-shot
    No EVGA SR-2? :(

    Ok, Hold on. Three Flagship LGA 1366 Boards and no overclocked power consumption results? These boards are obviously made for overclocking and those results would be very interesting to see.
    Reply
  • Tamz_msc
    A good 250$ X58 board is enough for most people.
    Reply
  • Lmeow
    9498281 said:
    No EVGA SR-2? :(

    The EVGA Classified SR-2 is based on the Intel 5520 chipset and uses Xeons, so it's not an X58 board technically speaking which is why it doesn't qualify. ;)

    If I could spend that much on a motherboard I'd have chosen the Rampage III Extreme, not only does it have good features it also has the best colour scheme. ^^

    Does anyone know why I try to submit a comment it doesn't show up, and I have to use the forums instead to post a comment instead?
    Reply
  • lashabane
    I want more.
    Reply
  • sudeshc
    I am totally impressed by ASUS they always come up with best solution in every category, but the price is a killer for me :(
    Reply
  • rottingsheep
    IMO, the only interesting part about motherboard reviews is the overclocking and power consumption portion.
    Reply
  • avatar_raq
    Nice article..I have only catch: Of all the mobos tested, Quad SLI is not possible on the ASUS R3E, courtesy of nVIDIA's drivers
    http://www.guru3d.com/news/quad-sli-on-asus-rampage-iii-extreme-is-not-possible/
    Reply
  • dragonfang18
    Whats the point when Intel will come out with new processors with different sockets next year?
    Reply
  • Crashman
    avatar_raqNice article..I have only catch: Of all the mobos tested, Quad SLI is not possible on the ASUS R3E, courtesy of nVIDIA's drivershttp://www.guru3d.com/news/quad-sl -possible/Awesome, thanks. Manufacturers don't actually discuss this stuff.
    dragonfang18Whats the point when Intel will come out with new processors with different sockets next year?That's what people like you were saying months before LGA 1156 was released. We see which direction that went.
    Reply
  • dragonfang18
    That's what people like you were saying months before LGA 1156 was released. We see which direction that went.

    Yeah... they are changing 1366 to some socket R... Well... At least I can look forward to these motherboards going down in price by next year when they go to Socket R's for performance than 1366's. I guess ill be happy with 1366's. Hopefully they go down by at least $100.
    Reply