EVGA’s Next Monster: X58 Classified
Hey everyone, Icarus here. Sorry about yesterday, my Internet was so slow that I could not even go on Google and research. But I am back, and my Internet is working with me, and I’m going to take advantage of it.
For years, EVGA has been a major competitor in the motherboard market, releasing consistently-efficient and high-quality motherboards sporting NVidia chipsets and the well-known EVGA logo. However, since NVidia agreed to allow Intel to go as far as enabling SLI between two graphics cards, many motherboard makers that have been loyal to NVIdia chipsets have had to somewhat go in between both Intel and NVidia, and start making motherboards of both NVidia and Intel chipsets. And EVGA has had to do the same.
Now EVGA has taken its first few steps in the X58 market, and according to many reviews of EVGA’s X58 motherboards so far, have come with guns blazing; like their previous NVidia chipset motherboards, they are doing amazingly well. But it’s EVGA, they don’t just stop at the “ordinary” level; they constantly strive for much higher standards for performance, ignoring price most of the time, to provide the best of the best in every aspect of the motherboard. And now, they have done it again.
According to rumors given by world-class overclockers, EVGA has recently been building a prototype motherboard of the X58 that exceeds far beyond the regular specs of normal motherboards. This, my friends, is called the X58 Classified. Now, traditionally, EVGA has been calling its step-up motherboards the “FTW”(For the Win); for example, the EVGA 780i FTW motherboard. Now, they have discarded this moniker(for now, forever, I don’t know for sure), and used the new moniker “Classified”. Now, the name itself is somewhat intimidating; when we think about the word “classified”, we think of something secret, something that may even be dangerous. And yes, this motherboard may be, indeed, a KILLER motherboard. Not for us, but for other motherboard vendors, because it may perform so well that it may leave all other motherboards in its dust.
So far, not much information has been released. However, I know this much; there are three full x16 PCI Express slots for Tri-SLI configurations, and still room left for x1 PCI Express slot for audio cards. Now, here’s the killer part; there’s another PCI Express slot. That means there’re a total of 4 PCI Express slots, all on one motherboard, and one left for the audio. This is, indeed, an enthusiast’s dream-come-true; you can have Tri-SLI, good audio, AND you can now have a PhysX card that further enhances your PC gaming/graphics experience. Can’t ask for more than that!
Now, unfortunately, there is not much released about its capabilities. But I know this: this is one motherboard that everyone will be dying for. This, just from the specs, is a Killer Motherboard.
Now, if I catch more on this motherboard, I will post them here, so sit tight. And hope I made up for the lack of a post yesterday by writing this post.
And please, comment away! Tell me what you think, because my readers, you are the most important to me. If you have any questions, any suggestions, or any topic you want covered, just leave a comment! I’ll be posting everyday, and a comment always makes my day that much brighter. And my posts better 
And don’t forget to subscribe! I will be posting quality articles everyday!
That’s all I’ve got for now. I’ve had school off this week(President’s Week off 
), but for those of you, actually most of you, who have been going to school and work, it’s Friday tomorrow. Relax, come back on my blog to read my post, and just enjoy your weekend. See you all later!
~| Icarus
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Overall Value of Intel’s X58 Motherboard
Hey guys, Icarus here. I’ve been talking a lot about the new features of the X58 motherboard lately, but tonight, I”m going to finish the series up and tie up some loose ends by talking about the overall value of the Intel X58 motherboard.
Some of the new features of the Intel X58 motherboard include Triple-channel memory, the addition of the LGA 1366 platform for the new Core i7 Nehalem processors, and Intel’s QPI(QuickPath Interconnect) system. All of these new features add flare to this new motherboard, and it also makes it a fantastic investment if you have the money.
However, this motherboard is not for everyone. There are three factors for this:
1. Money
2. Needs
3. The Future
I’m going to start off by talking about money. Now, just the motherboard and processor costs a minimum of 500 dollars(that’s if you get the cheapest X58 motherboard and the 920, the lowest Core i7 processor). Now, that’s just two components, meaning that if you have a low budget(anywhere under 1000 dollars), you’ve already spent half or more than half of your budget. And that’s just the beginning; you also need some memory(which is still somewhat expensive), and that takes you up to 600 dollars. Now, most people are in the low-budget and mid-budget range, and spending 600 dollars on just three components of their new computer is somewhat ridiculous. Now, if you’re one of the people in the high-budget range… go ahead, buy the combination. You will all watch us drool as we watch you put the computer together and watch how quickly and efficiently the computer carries out your wishes and commands.
Now, the second factor is needs. Right now, the X58 motherboard in combination with the Core i7 and triple-channel enabled memory will absolutely rip apart any competition it has in its way. Now, if you’re out for the best of the best and you have no concern about money, then that’s no problem. However, we also have to think about over-performance. Over-performance is basically where your computer is too good for whatever you throw at it(programs, multitasking, etc.), having more power than you need. Now, if you’re going to play some games and do some Internet-surfing, then you would obviously not need the combination; the processor itself can handle up to 8 threads, and you’ll probably just use one, two threads max. Now, if you’re constantly video-editing, Photoshop-ing, high-quality gaming, and many things at once, then you may want to invest in this combination.
Now, the future. When I talk about “future” I mean in terms of what Intel will be releasing, and when Intel releases new things. I also include things like price and performance. How much longer until Intel releases a new, better processor and motherboard(reformed version)? How much will this new technology cost? Will it fit in your budget? How will these new releases perform compared to the current Core i7 Nehalem processors and X58 motherboards? Well, that’s in store in the future, we will not know until Intel tells us.
Well that’s all for now, and that’s the end of the Intel X58 Motherboard blog series! Hope you guys thoroughly enjoyed it. For my next post, I am thinking about researching some press releases on rumors and new technology. I’m sure you guys will all enjoy a breath of fresh air.
And don’t forget to comment about my blog posts, and what you want covered! And also, subscribe to my blog, I will be writing at least one quality article every single day.
Well, that’s all for tonight. See you all later!
~| Icarus
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Feature of the Intel X58 motherboard: QuickPathInterconnect(QPI)
Hey guys, Icarus is back again with more on some of the new features of Intel’s new X58 motherboard. Today, I’m going to be talking about another feature: the QuickPathInterconnect(QPI) system.
One of the new features that makes this processor interesting is Intel’s new QuickPath Interconnect(QPI) system. The QuickPath Interconnect, or QPI, was created by Intel as a competitor to the HyperTransport system, a similar system AMD uses on its AMD processors and motherboards. Much of the features of the QPI system is similar to that of the HT(HyperTransport) system.
Simply put, the QPI system provides an efficient and quick path between the processor(Core i7 series only) and the motherboard(Intel X58 motherboards only). By providing this link, the QPI system helps the computers save power, operate at tremendous speeds, and allow the Core i7 processors to efficiently work out threads that have been assigned to each core.
The link between the processor and the motherboard is also crucial, because that also means that other components have access to other components connected to the motherboard; for example, the graphics card will have a connection with the processor, the memory will have connection to the HDD, and so on. Because of this, there is much less room for errors; each component connected to the motherboard will have access to other components via an efficient network that allows other components to help fix small, and maybe even large, errors. Also, the QPI system assumes that the memory controller is inside and under the control of the processor.
Now, how does this effect the hardware itself? Well, according to benchmarks with the X58 motherboard and the Core i7 processors, the combination outscored the best processor of its predecessors. Now, does this mean that the QPI system had an effect on it? Probably so. But how much the QPI system affected this performance gap is unknown. It may have been the processor; it may have been the circuit design of both the Core i7 and the X58. But this much is known; the QPI system is a new feature that can make a difference, small or large.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for tonight. Keep coming back, I feel as if I’m on a roll with one comment(Thank you Georgia Stath for being the first comment!!). And I really, REALLY appreciate comments, I love replying to them also. And don’t forget, you can request subjects you want covered through comments!! And don’t forget to subscribe, because I”m going to be writing at least one good article a day to help all of you!
So, see you all later, and have a great President’s Day weekend!
~| Icarus
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New Feature of the X58 #1: The Core i7 Platform, the Drawbacks
Hey this is Icarus here again with more details on the Core i7 processors. In this article, I will be talking about some drawbacks of these processors.
Now, there is no piece of technology out there that is ABSOLUTELY perfect, so don’t take these drawbacks like “Oh my God this is so bad… I’m not going to buy this” because, to be honest, this is still new technology. Drawbacks are common in all pieces of technology, and especially prominent in hardware that have just been released, just like some newly-released games have major bugs that get fixed as people play the games.
One of the main drawbacks of the Core i7 is its lack of support of ECC. ECC, or Error Correction Code, is a feature that is supported by the predecessors of the Core i7 processors. When computers are running, there are many small errors in the code created by computing errors, hardware malfunction, or other reasons. What Error Correction Code does is that the system replaces the coding error with correct data and keeps the computer running. That’s why most computers of today run very well with very few errors causing Blue-Screen-of-Deaths. Now, the Core i7 does not support memory(RAM) with ECC anymore; thus, the Core i7 is slightly more vulnerable to small errors building up into a BSOD. However, there have also been rumors that the Core i7 supports ECC only when someone enables the feature on the computer. This, however, is not confirmed.
Another thing that may be a drawback is its overclockability. In earlier tests of the Core i7 processors, tests showed that the Core i7 processors were not ideal for consumers who like to take their processors to the edge in overclocking. However, there have also been recent reports that this processor is EXTREMELY overclockable. So what does this mean? Nothing really, just that, like any other piece of hardware, every hardware is slightly different even when machines make them, and that small physical difference can make a huge difference in overclocking.
Well, that’s all for now. Tomorrow, I will put my analysis of the current value of the Core i7 processors in terms of what your budget is, and what you will use the computer for. But overall, I conclude that this processor is looking fantastic. Look out for more to come from this series.
Oh, and please, please give me some feedback in the form of comments. Those are always EXTREMELY appreciated. If you have any questions, leave them in comments and I will answer your question as soon and as best as I can!
And also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog! I’ll be writing one big article everyday, and I promise you, you’ll like it! Stay tuned for some articles on new hardware that hasn’t come out yet. As soon as I hear something, I will post the rumor here, and I will analyze things for you all.
Good night, and see you all tomorrow(in my blog )!!
~| Icarus
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New Feature of the X58 #1: The Core i7 Platform, the Good Side
Hey guys, this is Icarus again. I promised a series of articles on the X58, and here’s the first feature I listed: the Core i7 platform.
Now, I can probably write dozens of articles from the amount of things I’m learning everyday now(I’m frequenting computer forums, reading up on this new technology, and typing it up for you all to enjoy). But here’s the first article for the Core i7 platform.
The Core i7, codename Bloomfield, was released in November 2008 along with the X58 motherboards. The Core i7 is based on the new Socket 1366 that is only available on the new X58 motherboards. The Core i7 series is a part of Intel’s new Nehalem series of CPU’s, and the first to come out during November of 2008. All Core i7 CPUs are quad core(four cores).
Now, here’s one of the coolest features of this new series that no other CPU has ever had(and succeeded in the market): the on-die memory controller. Basically, what this means is that, instead of having the memory controller on the motherboard control memory like older motherboards and processors, the processor itself will be controlling the memory. This means that the processor will have direct links to the memory itself, and there is no hassle when you want to run things quickly, say, overclocking. When you overclock the memory, you’re most likely overclocking the memory with it. The Core i7 processors also support triple channel memory, but I will explain that in later articles.
Another cool feature of this series is Intel’s new Turbo Boost system. From the name, you can somewhat tell that it’s going to somehow boost the processor’s performance. Well, it does exactly that. The Turbo Boost technology allows these new processors to “overclock themselves” in safe incraments as long as the temperature and electrical limits are kept. What this means is, if you’re running multiple programs that require a lot of processing power(let’s just say Photoshop, three games, debugging your computer, and whatever else comes to mind), the processor can overclock itself to work more efficiently and with more processing power. When the load is off the processor, it can clock itself down to its original clock speed. The Core i7 can also turn off one of the four cores if it is not needed. So the computer can save energy for you!
The Core i7 processors also carry on an older but awesome technology, the Hyper-Threading Technology(HTT). This system allows each core to take on two threads at a time. What does this really mean? It means that when each core is processing two threads, the computer seems like it has EIGHT cores! Which means, when you look at your computer information when all four cores are processing two threads, it’ll look awesome! Eight cores. Yes, you heard that right. That’s ultimate processing power right there.
Well, that’s all the juice I have in my head for now. Tomorrow, I may continue on with a passion about more of the pros of the Core i7.
Oh, and please, please give me some feedback in the form of comments. Those are always EXTREMELY appreciated. If you have any questions, leave them in comments and I will answer your question as soon and as best as I can!
And also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog! I’ll be writing one big article everyday, and I promise you, you’ll like it! Stay tuned for some articles on new hardware that hasn’t come out yet. As soon as I hear something, I will post the rumor here, and I will analyze things for you all.
Good night, and see you all tomorrow(in my blog )!!
~| Icarus
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