X58 To The Max: Three New Flagship LGA 1366 Motherboards
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Page 1:More Power!
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Page 2:Features Comparison
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Page 3:Asus Rampage III Extreme
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Page 4:Rampage III Extreme BIOS
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Page 5:Rampage III Extreme Utilities
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Page 6:Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9
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Page 7:GA-X58A-UD9 BIOS
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Page 8:GA-X58A-UD9 Overclocking Utilities
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Page 9:MSI Big Bang-XPower
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Page 10:Big Bang-XPower BIOS
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Page 11:Big Bang-XPower Overclocking Utilities
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Page 12:Test Settings
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Page 13:Benchmark Results: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Crysis
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Page 14:Benchmark Results: DiRT 2 Demo, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat
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Page 15:Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
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Page 16:Benchmark Results: Productivity
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Page 17:Benchmark Results: Synthetic
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Page 18:Overclocking
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Page 19:Power, Heat, And Efficiency
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Page 20:Conclusion
Test Settings
Test System Configuration | |
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CPU | Intel Core i7-920 LGA 1366, 2.66 GHz, 8 MB L3 Cache |
RAM | Kingston KHX16000D3ULT1K3/6GX (6 GB), DDR3-2000 at DDR3-1333 CAS 7-7-7-20 |
Graphics | Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1 GB, 725 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4000 |
Hard Drive | Western Digital Velociraptor WD3000HLFS, 300 GB, 10,000 RPM, SATA 3Gb/s, 16 MB cache |
Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
Power | Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850 W Modular ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold |
Software | |
OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 |
Graphics | AMD Catalyst 10.6 |
Chipset | Intel INF 9.1.1.1020 |
Kingston’s DDR3-2000 allows us to check each motherboard’s memory overclocking capability, though faster modules might have been in order had we used a newer processor. Stock-speed benchmarks are generated at an easier-to-replicate DDR3-1333 CAS 7.
Sapphire’s Radeon HD 5850 is powerful enough to reveal any PCIe shortcomings.
Rosewill’s FORT120 might have been retired as a product, but its high cooling capacity and small footprint have kept it on this bench.
High thermal performance, quick set-in, and slow evaporation make Zalman’s ZM-STG1 thermal grease a great solution for bench testing. The company supplied two bottles for each tester.
Benchmark Configuration | |
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3D Games | |
Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Very High Quality, 4x AA |
DiRT 2 Demo | In-game benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4x AA |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS) Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat | Call Of Pripyat Benchmark version Test Set 1: High Preset, DX11 EFDL, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, DX11 EFDL, 4x MSAA |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes | Version:9.0.2.25 x64 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC |
Handbrake 0.9.4 | Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from The Last Samurai (1 GB) to .mp4, High Profile |
TMPEGEnc 4.0 XPress | Version: 4.7.3.292 Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
DivX Codec 6.9.1 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search |
XviD 1.2.2 | Display encoding status = off |
MainConcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
Productivity | |
Adobe Photoshop CS4 | Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 | Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 9.0 | Version: 9.0.663, Virus base: 270.14.1/2407, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
WinRAR 3.90 | Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
7-Zip | Version 4.65: Format=Zip, Compression=Ultra, Method=Deflate, Dictionary Size=32 KB, Word Size=128, Threads=8 Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores |
PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1.0 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
SiSoftware Sandra 2010 | Version 2010.1.16.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
Summary
- More Power!
- Features Comparison
- Asus Rampage III Extreme
- Rampage III Extreme BIOS
- Rampage III Extreme Utilities
- Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9
- GA-X58A-UD9 BIOS
- GA-X58A-UD9 Overclocking Utilities
- MSI Big Bang-XPower
- Big Bang-XPower BIOS
- Big Bang-XPower Overclocking Utilities
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Crysis
- Benchmark Results: DiRT 2 Demo, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Benchmark Results: Synthetic
- Overclocking
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- Conclusion
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.
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?
http://www.guru3d.com/news/quad-sli-on-asus-rampage-iii-extreme-is-not-possible/
Awesome, thanks. Manufacturers don't actually discuss this stuff.
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.
I don't like any of the motherboards PCI-e layouts. Its a top range board but only assumes to run 2 cards well. Then confuses the user by placing a bunch of half/quarter speed PCI-e slots. X8 on x16 lane is fine, but x4 is not.
While the SR2 is nice, I have no need for dual socket. As nice as it would be.
The only thing the UD9 is missing is three more DIMMs (9 total). I know some server boards have 9 DIMMs per CPU, why not any enthusiast boards?
I want the UD9, put 12GB RAM in it, two 5870's, a nice sound card and a nice NIC (when going extreme, may as well go the full way right?).
Too bad I quit my job and can't afford it now.
Can we ever expect 7/8 way SLI/CF drivers? I, for one, would love to use 7 single slot 5770's.
Also, no mention was made of the superior Intel Ethernet adapter in the R3E vs the crappy realtek ones in the other boards