EVGA X58 Classified - Trophy Board
by Rajinder Gill on May 8, 2009 3:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Specifications and Features
| EVGA X58 Classified | |
| Market Segment | Enthusiast and Extreme Benchmarking |
| CPU Interface | LGA-1366 |
| CPU Support | LGA-1366 Nehalem i7 Series of Processors |
| Chipset | Intel X58 |
| BCLK Speeds | 133~500 MHz in 1MHz increments |
| DDR3 Memory Speed | 800, 1067, 1333, 1600, 1867, 2133, 2400, 2667, 2933 Frequency Ratios |
| Uncore Frequency | Full i7 Processor IMC multipliers supported, Options available as per CPU |
| PCIe Speeds | Auto, 100MHz - 140MHz in 1MHz increments |
| Core Voltage | Auto, 1.00V to 2.24V in 0.00625V increments |
| CPU Vdroop Compensation | Enabled, Disabled |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Dependant on Processor, all available multipliers supported |
| DRAM Voltage DDR3 | Auto, 0.70V ~ 3.39V in 10mV increments, 1.50V standard |
| DRAM Timing Control | tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, + 17 additional timings + Chipset Configuration |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1T, 2T |
| IOH Voltage | 1.10V - 1.875V in 25mV increments |
| ICH Voltage | Auto, 1.05V ~ 1.825V in 25mV increments |
| CPU VTT (Uncore) Voltage | Auto, 1.17V ~ 2.17V in 25mV increments |
| CPU PLL Voltage | Auto, 0.60V ~ 2.70V in 75mV increments, 1.80V Base |
| IOH PLL Vcore | Auto, 0.60V ~ 2.70V in 75mV increments, 1.80V Base |
| QPI PLL Vcore | Auto, 1.10V ~ 1.875V in 25mV increments, 1.10V Base |
| IOH/ICH Voltage | Auto, 1.50V ~ 2.275V in 25mV increments, 1.50V Base |
| NF200 Voltage | Auto, 0.70v~1.075V in 125mV increments, then 1.20V~2.70V in 25mV increments. 1.20V Base |
| Memory Slots | Six 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots Triple-Channel Configuration Regular Unbuffered DDR3 Memory to 12GB Total |
| Expansion Slots | 4 - PCIe 2.0 x16, Supports up to NVIDIA 3-way SLI Technology + PhysX 1 - PCIe (1.x) x1 1 - PCI Slot 2.2 |
| Onboard SATA/RAID | 6x SATA 3.0Gbps Ports - Intel ICH10R Hot Plug and NCQ Support, RAID 0, 1, 5 RAID 0+1 Support and Intel Matrix Technology Support |
| Onboard IDE and Additional SATA | 2xJMicron JMB363 PATA (up to 2 UDMA 133/100/66 devices) 1 External eSATA port + 3 Internal JMB363 SATA Ports |
| Onboard USB 2.0 and IEEE-1394 | 10 USB 2.0 Ports - (8) I/O Panel, (2) via headers 1x 1394a Ports - (1) I/O Panel, (1) via header |
| Onboard LAN w/Teaming | Dual Realtek RTL8111C PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Controllers |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC 889 - 8 Channel HD audio codec |
| Power Connectors | ATX 24-pin, Dual 8-pin ATX 12V |
| I/O Panel | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x eSATA 1 x SPDIF - Coaxial Out, 1 x Toslink Optical Out 1 x IEEE 1394 2 x RJ45 6 x Audio Out 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 |
| Fan Headers | 1 CPU + 4 Additional Headers |
| Fan Control | Full Fan speed Control Via BIOS |
| BIOS Revisions Used | IX58S21R |
Overall layout is excellent with everything accessible enough even when the board is fully loaded. The ECP panel allows remote positioning of power, reset, hex code, and PCI-E disable jumpers as well as VCore boost options in 0.1V steps totaling a maximum 0.3V overvolt on-the-fly. There are only four fan headers available (three with fan control via the BIOS) on the board, but positioning of each one is reasonably good and allows access in all configurations.
Slot layout is a big feature of the X58 Classified board, allowing multiple GPU configurations and a discrete soundcard to be used in tandem. When loaded fully, the NF200 provides the following lane allocation to the PCI-E slots: with three of the x16 mechanical slots loaded the lane allocation is 16x-16x-16x; with all four x16 slots loaded, the allocation is 16x-16x-8x-8x.
Realtek's ALC 889 fills the role of onboard sound here - nothing special, but it does work reasonably well in Vista. Hardcore gamers tend to veer towards the Creative Labs range or vendors like ASUS and Auzentech for alternative solutions. That said, the ALC 889 is clear enough and offers decent detailed audio in games and music, but lacks the wide midrange and bass punch of a dedicated soundcard. It is also a little low in maximum signal gain but not too bad compared to other onboard solutions. Microphones needing higher levels of gain or lower impedance headphones will lack a bit of clarity and overall volume when driven by the onboard Realtek solution.
The lower power rails (such as PLL circuitry) are all supplied by linear regulators, which offer low noise and clean power into sensitive circuitry. This does result in a higher overall heat dump into the motherboard PCB, but such side effects are expected on a board that attempts to break down all potential barriers for achieving high processor clocks with subzero cooling. Included in the hardware bundle are SATA/IDE cables, USB/FireWire extension headers, the ECP panel, three different SLI bridges for multi-GPU setups, and SATA to Molex converter cables. Packaging is excellent and both of our boards arrived from overseas shipping locations without any component or motherboard damage.
EVGA's excellent E-LEET software is part of the Classified's repertoire. We think this software is the best OS tweaking utility currently available from a manufacturer. A simple and clean interface based upon the CPU-Z GUI allows software level control of voltages and bus speed manipulation with minimal system overhead. This means you will not be hindered in achieving maximum overclocks due to system loads imposed by unnecessary graphical fluff and light shows. All of our heavier overclocks were obtained using E-LEET, saving us a tremendous amount of time compared to the set and reboot process. Temperature monitoring is also offered, although it's curiously lacking a temperature report for the IOH, which given the need for active cooling would be an appreciated addition. If EVGA could devise a way to offer memory tweaking then E-LEET would be close to our personal favorite, abit's wonderful uGuru program. Of course, EVGA is still in business so we can let that slide for now.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
40 Comments
View All Comments
takumsawsherman - Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - link
Which video cameras have a better interface than firewire? Which audio recording devices? Even removable hard drives benefit from the extremely sturdy Firewire 800 connector. eSATA shows it was designed as an afterthought. As to why bother, they obviously bothered with Firewire 400, but couldn't spend the extra $5 to give the board everything. The same reasoning seems to be why there is no PS/2 mouse port.Of course, you are coming from a perspective of someone who doesn't know people who dabble in audio or video unless they own a mac. But there are plenty of audio people who use a PC. Why should they get the short end of the stick if they buy a $450 motherboard when the lowliest Mac buyer does not?
Rajinder Gill - Sunday, May 10, 2009 - link
The fact remains that most people game and overclock are not intrested in Firewire. If there were a demand for such things on boards like these it would already have been 'upgraded'. Fact is most people who are serious about music editing/development will prbably not be spending $400 on a overclocking or sub-zero cooling oriented motherboard - they'd excercise far better intelligence by looking at a dedicated solution.takumsawsherman - Sunday, May 10, 2009 - link
Well, this board has firewire. It just has the cheap version. Again, considering the difference in cost (minimal) and considering the huge price of this board, why cheap out when it comes to peripherals?In my opinion, this board is useless whether or not it as FW800. I just find it disturbing that some are willing to accept paying a premium and getting a product that doesn't even upgrade to the port that's been around for 5 years and is found on $600 computers aimed at Grandma. It's shameful and cheap.
Rajinder Gill - Sunday, May 10, 2009 - link
The people that would buy this board care about sub-zero and i7 over 5GHz the way you do about Firewire..lolRajinder Gill - Friday, May 8, 2009 - link
hi,We're in the process of intorducing someone new to that segment of reviews. The frequency of articles has been a bit lop-sided at times simply becasue we've been spread a little thin. The high-end perf stuff is my end of things so you've see stuff going up a little more frequenctly as a result (there's less of this stuff in general making it a little easier). Hopefully we should be up to speed on the more everyday stuff soon. I know Gary's working on another round-up, so please beare with us.
regards
Raja
Busboy2 - Friday, May 8, 2009 - link
I think you should see how far you can push an i7 965 on liquid nitrogen.... I really want to see those results... I figure if someone is spending this much on a board they are going to get the best processor.bupkus - Friday, May 8, 2009 - link
Will newegg carry it? I want to enter an automated notification for when the price reaches $79. ;)hemipowered - Friday, May 8, 2009 - link
If you are talking about the classified, It is already there bought mine like a month ago.Elenseel - Friday, May 8, 2009 - link
You might have to wait a while for this one...hemipowered - Friday, May 8, 2009 - link
I bought a Silver Stone ST850 power supply, It worked very well with my X58 Classified