We have Asus’ new P9X79 Deluxe
motherboard that we’re going to be reviewing but first let’s have a look
at the new X79 Express Chipset from Intel. This is Intel’s latest
enthusiast level chipset that will replace the venerable X58 chipset.
This new chipset adds quite a few new
features and that are sure to make this new chipset a must-have for the
enthusiast and hard-core gamer alike. First off this new chipset adds
support for Intel’s latest socket of processors, the 2011 socket. We
tested this particular board with their new flagship processor, the
3960x six core that runs at 3.3 Gigahertz and also has Hyperthreading.
This new processor is manufactured on Intel’s 32nm process and features
support for quad channel memory. These processors currently retail for
about 1050 dollars and aren’t sold with any heat sink or fan from what
we’ve seen from the online retailers. Our processor came with an
all-in-one liquid cooling solution that is very similar to Corsair’s H50
water cooling unit.
One of the first things that stand out when you first see one of these
new boards is that there are memory slots on either side of the
processor. This particular board has a full eight slots for memory
expansion which allows for a total of 64 gigs of ram to be installed.
Quad channel is meant to make it easier for the CPU to address memory
for the applications that need it and this should also increase
performance. Our benchmarks will show if this actually adds up to the
performance that it’s meant to. There is a drawback to this design
though. If you are using taller memory you may have a problem with some
CPU heat sinks. With the lack of motherboard real estate there could be
some clearance issues with taller memory sticks and some of the larger
heat sinks. This new memory architecture is also supposed to support
speeds up to 2400 MHz of DDR3 with overclocking.
Another feature that Intel has added to this new chipset is that it
features their Express Platform Controller Hub technology. This isn’t
all that new for Intel but it means that instead of having a traditional
south bridge and north bridge configuration there is just a single chip
that relays information from the motherboard’s peripherals to the
processor. This has the potential of reducing heat generation and power
consumption. It also frees up valuable real-estate for other features
like debug LEDs and switches for power, system reset, and BIOS reset for
example. From our testing we noticed that none of the heat sinks on the
board became too hot to touch during our testing. So it would appear
that this technology actually does reduce overall temperatures. This
chipset also features support for 40 PCI e 2.0 lanes and 8 PCI e 3.0
lanes for graphical and expansion cards. PCI e 3.0 isn’t supported yet
by any of the current graphics cards but will hopefully be implemented
in the next generation of cards.
This motherboard comes with a whole host
of amazing features that are going to help to set this board apart from
the competition. Now that we’ve gone over the main features of the
chipset let’s go over the specific features that this new motherboard
from Asus brings to the table.
This board is very well laid out and has
really nice looking heat sinks that cover the hottest areas of the
board. There is also a heat pipe that helps to direct the heat away from
the hottest areas in order to make the board last longer and run more
stable. At the bottom of the board you’ll find a debug LED to help
troubleshoot boot errors and there are also switches for power, reset
and clear CMOS.
These boards support the new quad
channel memory architecture for installing up to 64 gigs of DDR3 memory
up to 2400MHz with overclocking. These slots will also support Intel’s
XMP technology for automatic speed settings that will make installation
as simple as possible. This new architecture simply allows the processor
to address four channels of memory at once for improved performance. As
I stated above, the only drawback to this might be installing larger
processor heat sinks that give the necessary clearance for taller memory
sticks. This is something to keep in mind when purchasing an
aftermarket cooler for your 2011 socket processor.
Asus has nicely laid out the PCI e slots
on this board. If you are running one or two cards you’ll get the full
x16 bandwidth. When running more than two cards you’ll get x16, x8, and
x8. These are spaced in accordance with Asus dual spacing policy so that
you can run three cards in a multi-graphics configuration. Asus has
made this their policy because spacing has been a problem in the past
and not everyone is going to water cool their graphics cards just so
that they can use them in single slot spacing. This shows that Asus has
been paying attention to what their customers want and this particular
spacing will even give you the option to run triple slot cards in dual
card configuration. You will need to make sure that your case supports
at least 8 expansion slots for this to work.
This is the section of the review that
gives Asus the chance to show how their board stands out from the
competition. Most competitors will only include a few of their features
but for the most part the board is mainly Intel’s design with their
brand on it. There are those that will go above and beyond and Asus has
stood out from other competitors by doing just that. This board is
loaded with some amazing features that are sure to make it one of the
best choices for this chipset.
An amazing feature of this board made
its first appearance on a ROG board. This is Asus USB BIOS flashback
utility. On the I/O port you’ll find a white USB port that looks like a
legacy USB port. This is actually where you’ll be able to connect a USB
drive to recover your BIOS. In fact it isn’t even necessary to have a
processor or memory installed to recover your BIOS. This is can be a
tremendous time and money saver. I have had to purchase or borrow an
older processor in order to flash my BIOS and enable use of a new
processor. This won’t be necessary with this board. Asus once again
demonstrates their commitment to their customers by including such an
incredible feature that really makes this board stand apart from the
competition.
This board also features Asus exclusive
EPU and TPU switches for controlling energy consumption and setting
performance profiles. These switches are not only on the motherboard but
can be found in their AI Suite II software so that users of any level
can access these features. This is how Asus is able to continually stay
ahead of their competition and remain the premier motherboard
manufacturer. It’s important to note though that if you’re using their
TPU you will need to disable the EPU energy saving feature. TPU will
allow you to either use the pre-configured settings or set up your own
performance profiles. EPU, on the other hand, is Asus energy saving
software that safely reduces your voltages in order to save power.
Another feature that I want to get into
is also a carryover from their ROG line of extreme motherboards. For
those of you that have been living under a rock for a while, Asus ROG
(Republic Of Gamers) line is targeted at the extreme enthusiast that
wants to be able to push their hardware to the limit. These boards
aren’t for the faint of heart or wallet and they are also Asus way of
funding their research and development. So for this board to have a
carryover from their ROG line is pretty cool. I’m talking about their
Digi-Power technology. This is a feature that allows for much tighter
controls and restrictions on voltage fluctuations and thus allows for
much higher and more stable overclocking. This is actually Asus 7th
generation of Digi-Power design and it features a digital 16 + 4 power
phase design for the CPU and a 2 + 2 power phase design for the DRAM.
This ensures that your processor and memory are getting the power that
they need and they’re getting with as little fluctuation as possible.
A feature that Asus actually first
developed on their P67 boards was their SSD caching technology. This
feature is included on this board and this is great because Intel
doesn’t support their popular Smart Response Technology on the X79
chipset. Asus SSD caching technology is actually more robust than
Intel’s SRT because you aren’t limited in terms of the storage capacity
of the SSD that you want to use. Intel limits your storage capacity on
your SSD to 60 gigs or less. This can leave you needing to change out
larger software files due to this limitation and this can be quite a
headache. Asus doesn’t have this limiting factor and therefore will make
your use of their technology a little easier in that regard. Asus SSD
caching technology is also easier to set up and install than Intel’s and
also tends to perform better. Being able to use a larger SSD will also
make a storage system like this last longer. Being that MLC is still the
dominant format as opposed to SLC due to price, the smaller drives will
tend to go through their write cycles faster.
Heat is an unfortunate byproduct of the
high end hardware that is currently being produced and Asus has come
with a great way to address this issue. Asus has developed their Fan
Xpert software that allows for user controls of up to five fans via the
fan headers on the motherboard. On this board these headers are very
strategically placed to allow for optimal airflow monitoring and
control. Their AI Suit II software is designed to be easily used to
control and monitor the motherboard’s temperature zones. With this
software you can set temperature controls that will increase your fan
speeds based on the temperature of a particular zone. When this software
is properly used with all of the motherboard’s headers populated, you
will have the ability to stress your system without having to worry
about hardware failure due to overheating. This is great news for those
that are really planning to push their clock frequencies and voltages
for optimal performance.
This is something that Asus has been
working on for a long time and it really shows. When you first start to
use this new BIOS it really takes you by surprise. If you find
yourself a bit overwhelmed or just lost all you need to do is hit the F3
key and a table of contents will be displayed. This table of contents
has all of the most used options clearly laid out so that you won’t
have any problem navigating to the section that you’re looking for.
Asus has also split this BIOS into two
categories. There is an EZ Mode and an Advanced Mode. In the easy mode
you’ll find the areas that will get your system up and running and
there are even some performance options. In the Advanced Mode are all
of the different areas that you will be able to tweak to get the most
out of your hardware. The tabs at the top will direct you to the areas
to change your settings. Just be sure to monitor your results so that
you don’t run into overheating issues. In the Monitor Tab you’ll find
that this is very easy to do and it will even give you the ability to
change your fan speeds and set temperature profiles.
This board really posted some amazing
scores for its price range. We stressed this board with several
benchmarks in order to give you the best understanding of how it will
perform under similar conditions. Our test bench consists of this board,
an Intel 3960x processor, 8 gigs of DDR3 1600 MHz in quad channel, an
XFX HD 6950 with 1 gig of memory, and Intel’s included all-in-one liquid
cooling unit for the processor. Aside from the X58 that we also used
for out testing, all of our X79 boards were tested with this same
hardware.
It’s important to note that this board
will be coming in at approximately 380 to 400 dollars. This does put it
in the upper level of X79 boards in terms of pricing. This board though
does have some amazing features and did give some very impressive
benchmark scores. As you can see from our results this board did beat
their Sabertooth board in quite a few scores. The Sabertooth is priced
as a more mainstream board so this was to be expected. What wasn’t
expected is how closely this board compared to Gigabyte’s Assassin 2.
That board goes for about 20 to 40 dollars more depending on the
retailer. Asus has demonstrated that they not only can stack the deck in
terms of features but can also deliver outstanding performance.
In my opinion and from the results of our benchmarks and testing, this
board is simply amazing. It’s priced a little lower than Gigabyte’s OC
board but the performance difference doesn’t really justify the increase
in price. The only real advantage of the OC board is that you can use
up to four dual-slot graphics cards. The OC board also has only half the
memory support of the X79 Deluxe. With the way the OC board is set up
it’s really only going to appeal to the extreme overclocker and
enthusiast. That’s great but the rest of us want a little more
flexibility for our money and that’s what the X79 Deluxe provides. It’s
easy to install and the laundry list of features is fantastic. This is a
serious motherboard for those that are serious about quality and
performance.
source :http://www.motherboards.org
