Mainstream Or Hardcore? Two X58 Motherboards Compared
Table of contents
- 1. Purchasing A Motherboard Isn’t Always Easy
- 2. Mainstream: MSI X58 Pro-E
- 3. Hardcore Enthusiast: MSI BigBang Xpower
- 4. BigBang Xpower Features
- 5. Direct Comparison
- 6. Overclocking And Feature Comparison
You need Intel’s LGA 1366 interface and an X58-based platform in order to run the latest six-core processors, but which board should you pick? We're comparing a mainstream and flagship platform from the same company to explore the worth of high-end X58.
There are dozens of very similar motherboard products available for each processor interface, and the industry has blanketed the market with offerings to cover all possible segments from entry-level to uber-enthusiast and all niches in between. However, too many options can sometimes breed confusion and questions about true value. Does it make sense to spend money on a top-end enthusiast motherboard, or can most of the benefits be had for a fraction of the cost? We decided to compare MSI’s BigBang Xpower against the X58 Pro-E to find out.
The LGA 1366 platform, required for Intel’s fastest Core i7 quad- and hexa-core processors, is a costly affair. “Entry-level” X58 motherboards start at roughly $160. The majority of X58 products land above $200, and it’s easily possible to spend $400 on a premium X58 motherboard if you go for a Gigabyte X58-UD7 or UD9, Asus P6T7 SuperComputer, EVGA X58 Classified, or the BigBang Xpower from MSI.
Does it make sense to spend several hundred dollars just on the motherboard? Many people purchase an entire PC for this amount of money. Enthusiasts with deep pockets can leap first and look later since these motherboards offer tremendous overclocking capabilities and typically ship with a plethora of useful add-ons and features.
Performance-wise, though, don’t expect substantial differences beyond less-costly offerings, as the X58 chipset has little impact on overall performance. In the end, processor clock rate and core count have the largest influence on computing performance, followed by memory configuration. Since the memory controller is now part of the CPU, that's one less motherboard-based subsystem able to set platforms apart from each other. Unless (you guessed it) we dive into serious overclocking.
Let’s put the X58 Pro-E, MSI’s starter X58 offering, against the new BigBang Xpower.
- Performance PC,
- MSI,
- x58 ,
- core-i7 ,
- motherboard
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I always knew that ^^
Now tell me you guys what is the reason to buy "military class" that can work for 200 years if you are going to change all the system every 2~3 years?
there's a typo in the platform overclocking results table of the cpu. look into that.
Why is this article buried? This should be up top instead of 20 pictures of dumb heat sinks.
Would have preferred a better look at OC'ing, not just a single chart.
Why do people bother going around and rating everything negative? Oh well, reset your guys posts by giving them a thumbs up.
great article :~)
Some of us don't change our systems every 2-3y, I regularly go 5 or more years between MAJOR system upgrades, as if carefully built in the first place RAM, drive, and GPU upgrades will give you that effective life. i.e. I don't want electrolytic caps that are either faulty(hello Nichicon nice job stealing the wrong formula) caps or caps that "dry" out(electrolytic caps do eventually). There are also other benefits to the solid tantalum caps as well. So anyway that you look at it, NOT buying a mb (or other devices) w/solid caps is just plain stupid when you have the option to do so.
Also forgot to mention that I regularly press my old systems into service as servers, as even the old ones are sufficient for my uses esp if I am running *BSD or a linux distro on them.
Good informative and well illustrated article!
Good article but the answer to the question in the title is easy. Given the existence of the EVGA SR-2, any board currently running a single non xeon cpu is not hardcore.
So they simply overclocked via multi...and did not bother upping the bclk at all? That is kind of lame given the power circuitry for the northbridge is also a difference between the 2 boards and will effect this dimension.
I always knew that ^^Now tell me you guys what is the reason to buy "military class" that can work for 200 years if you are going to change all the system every 2~3 years?
True but then again some of us are pack rats and like old things to last. I am a true and shameless pack rat. Some of us pack rats still got vintage amiga and ibm rigs from the 80s that still run.
I always knew that ^^Now tell me you guys what is the reason to buy "military class" that can work for 200 years if you are going to change all the system every 2~3 years?
For me I typically build a new system for around $1,000-$1,200 every 5-7 years and only upgrade the Video and Storage as I need to. So when I built my i7 I spent the extra money for a EVGA x58 Classified for the better components and life time warranty plus the option for better video expansion and a hexacore CPU if I ever needed it. So yea having military grade parts that can last 100 years is a good thing for me and others who like to build systems that will last more then 2 years and be able to OC and run them 25/7 for the 5-7 years.
I really hate how toms chooses to display their data. The names on the left are always switching.
It can do SLI - bios needs to be updated to any version higher than 8
it can not only do SLI, the newer version also has usb 3 support.........
no x58 pro-e can
I agree with wanting systems that last longer. I wish I could afford to upgrade more often, but alas I can not. I'm still using my system that I built back in early '02, a dual-cpu Xenon w/1GB RDRAM (lol), but hey, when I built it it was cutting edge and would smoke the computers we used in college. Right now I'm starting a new build and holding off on buying the cpu/MB/mem to last. I'm still torn between 1366 or 1156 build as hopefully the new build will last 5+ years.
I always knew that ^^Now tell me you guys what is the reason to buy "military class" that can work for 200 years if you are going to change all the system every 2~3 years?
I suspect you "always knew" nothing, but had a belief to support feeling smug about the way you buy your parts. I'm not against saving money by purchasing main-stream parts of premium ones, not at all, but don't go around feeling like you're some superior being just because you do.
As far as your "question", I suspect you are merely trolling, but if you actually want to know I suggest you read some mil specs and study manufacturing theory and practices; your assumptions are inaccurate.
I have the Pro-E and expect it to last me 4-5 years, which is how long I go before major upgrades. It does SLI or Crossfire. The latest BIOS also allows for the Gulftown processors.
The only thing it's "lacking" in my opinion is USB 3.0, which wasn't fully out yet when I built the computer last year. I don't do serious overclocking, just mild stuff, so its feature set and price point were perfect for my budget.
Any well-built mainstream motherboard will last more than 2-3 years. It's really just the low-end entry level stuff that people need to avoid.