The X58 Boards You Can Afford
The X58 Boards You Can Afford
Our past two articles on Intel X58 motherboards had been written more for the high-end enthusiasts. As it should be, since the Intel X58 chipset remains the platform for those who wish to have the top Intel processor, like the Core i7-980X. Today, we look at the more affordable X58 motherboards out there, though 'affordable' is a very subjective term here when it comes to these motherboards.
At least you'll know that the boards reviewed here will not cost up to S$800 like the ones we have seen. However, you will still have to fork out anywhere from S$300 to more than S$400 for them. All of these boards are updated, refreshed models that support the Core i7-980X out of the box, without requiring a BIOS update. They also come with the latest SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 features. While not as extreme as some X58 models, multi-GPU technologies like SLI and CrossFireX are supported on these boards, along with a wide range of features and proprietary technologies from their respective vendors.
Here then are the three boards from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI and their specifications:
ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI X58 Boards Compared
|
ASUS P6X58D-E |
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R |
MSI X58A-GD65 |
CPU Support |
Support for Socket LGA1366 Core i7 processors |
Chipset |
Intel X58 and ICH10R |
Graphics |
Support for 3-way NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFireX |
Support for 2/3-way NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFireX |
Support for 3-way NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFireX |
Memory |
- Supports 6 unbuffered DIMM of DDR3-2000 (O.C)/1333/1066MHz SDRAM
- Triple-channel memory architecture
- Supports up to 24GB memory size
|
- Supports 6 unbuffered DIMM of DDR3-2200/ 1333/1066/800MHz SDRAM
- Triple-channel memory architecture
- Supports up to 24GB memory size
|
- Supports 6 unbuffered DIMM of DDR3-2133/1800/1600/1333/1066/800MHz SDRAM
- Triple-channel memory architecture
- Supports up to 24GB memory size
|
Storage |
- Southbridge
- 6 x SATA 3.0Gbps
- Support AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 configurations
- Marvell 9128 controller
- 2 x SATA 6Gbps ports
- Supports EZ Backup and SuperSpeed functions
|
- Southbridge
- 6 x SATA 3.0Gbps
- Support AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 configurations
- Marvell 9128 SATA 6Gbps controller
- 2 x SATA 6Gbps ports
- Support for SATA RAID 0 and 1
- Gigabyte SATA2 controller
- 1 x IDE connector supporting up to 2 devices
- 2 x SATA 3.0Gbps that support SATA RAID 0, 1 and JBOD
- JMicron JMB362 controller
- 2 x eSATA 3.0Gbps connectors at the rear
- Support for SATA RAID 0, 1 and JBOD
- iTE IT8729 controller
- 1 x floppy drive connector
|
- Southbridge
- 6 x SATA 3.0Gbps ports
- Support AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 configurations
- Marvell 9128 controller
- 2 x SATA 6Gbps ports
- Support for SATA RAID 0 and 1
- JMicron JMB362 chip
- 2 x eSATA 3.0Gbps ports (rear panel)
- Support for SATA RAID 0, 1 and JBOD
|
Audio |
Realtek ALC889 HD CODEC |
Realtek ALC889 HD CODEC |
Realtek ALC892 HD CODEC |
Networking |
Marvell 88E8056 PCIe Gigabit LAN controller |
Realtek RTL8111E Gigabit LAN controller |
Realtek RTL8111DL Gigabit LAN controller |
IEEE 1394 (FireWire) |
- VIA VT6308 controller
- Up to 2 x IEEE 1394a ports (1 rear, 1 header)
|
- T.I TSB43AB23 controller
- Up to 3 x IEEE 1394a ports (2 rear, 1 header)
|
- VIA VT6308 controller
- Up to 2 x IEEE 1394a ports (1 rear, 1 header)
|
Rear I/O Interface |
- 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
- 1 x RJ45 LAN port
- 6 x audio jacks
- 1 x optical S/PDIF output
- 1 x coaxial S/PDIF output
- 1 x IEEE 1394a port
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
- 1 x PS/2 mouse port
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
|
- 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
- 2 x eSATA/USB combo ports
- 1 x RJ45 LAN port
- 6 x audio jacks
- 1 x optical S/PDIF output
- 1 x coaxial S/PDIF output
- 2 x IEEE 1394a ports
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
- 1 x PS/2 mouse port
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
|
- 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 2 x USB 3.0 ports
- 2 x eSATA ports
- 1 x RJ-45 port
- 6 x audio jacks
- 1 x optical S/PDIF output
- 1 x coaxial S/PDIF output
- 1 x IEEE 1394a port
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
- 1 x PS/2 mouse port
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
|
Internal Connectors |
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 2 x SATA 6Gbps connectors (gray)
- 6 x SATA 3Gbps connectors (blue)
- 5 fan connectors
- 1 x S/PDIF output header
- 1 x IEEE 1394a header
- 24-pin ATX power connector
- 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
- MemOK! button
- Power button
|
- 3 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 8 x SATA 3Gbps connectors
- 2 x SATA 6Gbps connectors
- 1 x IDE connector
- 1 x floppy drive connector
- 6 fan connectors
- 1 x S/PDIF output header
- 1 x S/PDIF input header
- 1 x IEEE 1394a header
- 24-pin ATX power connector
- 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
|
- 3 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 6 x SATA 3Gbps connectors
- 2 x SATA 6Gbps connectors
- 4 fan connectors
- 1 x IEEE 1394a header
- 1 x S/PDIF output header
- 1 x TPM module connector
- 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector
- 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
- Power and reset buttons
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
- 1 x Over-voltage switch
|
Expansion Slots |
- 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (x16/x8/x8 or x16/16/x1)
- 1 x PCIe x1 slot
- 2 x PCI slots
|
- 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots @ x16
- 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots @x8
- 2 x PCIe x1 slots
- 1 x PCI slot
|
- 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots
- 2 x PCIe x1 slots
- 2 x PCI slots
|
Special Features |
- ASUS Xtreme Phase
- MemOK!
- ASUS EPU
- Express Gate
- ASUS EZ Flash 2
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS Q-Shield
- ASUS TurboV
|
- @BIOS
- Q-Flash
- Xpress BIOS Rescue
- Download Center
- Xpress Install
- Xpress Recovery2
- EasyTune 6
- Dynamic Energy Saver 2
- Smart 6
- Auto Green
- eXtreme Hard Drive
- ON/OFF Charge
- Q-Share
- OV-Alert LED
- Cloud OC
- Hotkey OC
|
- M-Flash
- Easy OC Switch
- Active Phase Switching
- DrMOS
- LiveUpdate 4
|
PCB |
ATX Form Factor: 30.5 x 24.4cm |