FOB(Fresh-Off-the-Boat)’s of the Intel X58 Motherboards
Hey everyone, this is Icarus here with another post. I’ve been reading up on the Intel X58 Motherboards that’ve been released during the November of 2008, and now I have more to write. This time, I’m going to talk about and explain what is new on this motherboard that no other motherboard has done.
Well, this motherboard chipset is obviously made by Intel. They’re the successors of the X48 series(which have not been too popular in the previous months) and the codename is “Tylersburg”. Yes, it is a weird codename, but a cool one nonetheless.
Now, onto the functions of the motherboard. There are three important things that have been added onto this motherboard. Here’s the list:
1. The motherboard uses the new Socket 1366 for the new Intel Core i7 processors
2. Support for Intel’s QuickPath Interconnec(QPI) system
3. Support for Triple-channel memory
Now, I know that a lot of this content does not make sense when you first see this list, but rest assured, all three categories will be explained in DETAIL. And, instead of writing with technological jargon that most people will not understand, these three topics will be explained in English that everyone will be able to understand. So, do not worry. Like I said in my other post, I am learning also, so I will be explaining explaining in my own words what all three categories do, and how they will affect you.
Well, that’s the overview of this series. Stay tuned, come back tomorrow to read on!
Comments are always welcome and appreciated. And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog! I will most likely be putting up a post every day, at least one! See you all later!
~| Icarus
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Analysis of NVidia 680i, 780i, and 790i Ultra Motherboards
Hey guys, Icarus here again with more of my thoughts. Yesterday, I spoke about the popular Intel P35, X38 and X48 chipset motherboards, so today I’m going to talk about the NVidia chipset motherboards.
The 680i NVidia motherboard, which was released a little over a year ago, was released as NVidia’s flagship motherboard. With 3 PCIe, PCI, and PCIe x1 slots, and its potential for graphics-based computers, the 680i SLI motherboard was one of the top motherboards indeed. For example, we will take the EVGA 680i SLI motherboard. It was extremely overclockable, same general features as the other 680i motherboards, and with a pretty nice price tag, the EVGA 680i SLI was one of the top motherboards on the list in its time. However, its ultimate downfall came when news was released that it is not compatible with Penryn Quad CPU’s. Ultimately, that ended its age.
After the “death” of the 680i SLI motherboard, NVidia released the new 780i SLI motherboard. This motherboard still utilized the older DDR2 RAM slots rather than the DDR3 RAM slots, and had the basic features of its predecessor, the 680i motherboard. However, the added advantage of the 780i motherboard was that it was more overclockable, and it officially supported all of the Penryn CPU’s, both dual- and quad-core CPU’s. The 780i is also the first NVidia motherboard to officially offer Tri-SLI options. This is the same thing as SLI, except now you can connect 3 GPU’s with a single bridge to maximize performance. However, there were still 2 mistakes that NVidia made: no official support for 1600MHz CPU’s and the fact that it still utilized DDR2 RAM. If NVidia released this motherboard as an enthusiast product, I believe that the 780i should be compatible with more enthusiast components.
Now comes the 790i Ultra motherboard. Released a couple weeks ago by NVidia, this was truly an enthusiast motherboard: basic features of the 780i motherboard, now with even more overclockability, more performance efficiency, added heatsinks around the CPU for the user to push the motherboard to its very edge, official support of DDR3 RAM, and last but not least, official support for 1600MHz FSB CPU’s. This motherboard was also built under NVidia’s ESA standard… put simply, it’s basically saying that all parts of the motherboard are made of the highest-class quality components so that motherboards last longer, and lets the user push the motherboard to its edge. But again, this is an ENTHUSIAST MOTHERBOARD. This is not meant for most mid-budget computer builders. It will not be worth it.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Good night everyone!
Icarus
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Discussion of Intel P35, X38, and X48 Motherboards
Hey guys, Icarus here with another computer issue.
Well, it’s been maybe a month since Intel released its X48 motherboard chipset as its top-of-the-line, flag ship chipset. Starting out, predictably, at pretty high prices ranging anywhere from $250 to $340 depending on whether the motherboard uses DDR2 or DDR3, the X48’s have gradually settled in as a favorable motherboard chipset. And as DDR3 RAM prices continue to plummit, the X48’s abundance in future machines grow at a slow but sure rate.
The Intel X38 motherboards are also continually growing in popularity as prices continue to decrease at a pleasant rate. The X38’s can now be recommended even for people with budgets between low- and mid-budgets, somewhere in the vicinity of $800 to $950. X38’s still support DDR2, so that is one of its reasons for its popularity. The other reason is the fore-mentioned growing popularity of DDR3 RAM. Many X38’s also support DDR3 RAM, so it is more likely to gain more popularity through DDR3 RAM.
Now, that leaves us with the old but trusty P35’s. You now might wonder: Are they still valuable? Will they still be used as abundantly as they used to be before the release of the X38 and X48 Intel Chipset Motherboards?
Well, they will still be valuable, but will be targeted naturally at more low-budget computer builders. As X38’s and X48’s become more abundant, the prices of the P35 motherboards will also decrease, because there are now newer, better chipsets. The P35 will continue to exist as an excellent chipset with excellent features, but will now retire to the lower-budget field. That does not necessarily mean it has lost its overall value. It simply has inherently shifted its position in the market.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Happy Monday!
Icarus
P.S.: Well, I have noticed that there are more visitors coming here now, so I have a quick question for you all. What would you like for me to talk about more? More about a specific component?
And don’t worry, I will put more hardware reviews up as soon as I get new toys.
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Why Haven’t Motherboards Changed?
Hey guys, Icarus here again with more of my opinions on the future of Computer hardware. Today I’ll be talking about the motherboard.
Motherboards have been on the same standard size, created by Intel, the ATX form-factor motherboard. From there, they have somewhat expanded into the Extended-ATX, or made the motherboard smaller for a more compact design, like the Mini-ATX motherboards. They occasionally use newer chipsets when chipset companies release them. But all in all, motherboard manufacturers have been staying on the same form factor for a very, VERY long time. When will they ever change?
Well, for one, it may change with the release of the new Nehalem CPU’s from Intel. The Nehalem will use a completely-new socket on Intel motherboards, and possibly a new standard. One reason that manufacturers may have stayed on the same form-factor for so long is because everything else has been molded around the form factor of the motherboard.
One extremely apparent component molded around the motherboard size is the computer case itself. The holes on the motherboard tray are drilled exactly in the same positions as the holes in the motherboards for the screws to keep the motherboard in place while the case is tilted vertically.
Can you see one of the large main reasons manufacturers stay on the same form-factor for so long? Think about it: a lot of the components of the computer are molded around the motherboard. So if a manufacturer uses a different form-factor, those other components will have a larger chance of being incompatible with the motherboard.
Yes, you’ve guessed right: if a manufacturer uses a new form-factor, they lose their compatibility with many other components, and lose their share in the market. Large manufacturers are all about gaining profit through minimal means; staying on the same form-factor for a motherboard is a significant one. However, it does bore us, the consumer, if they stay on a single thing for a long time. After all, we are in an age where the attention span of a normal person is very short.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Have a great Saturday!
Icarus
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Motherboards: Which One should I Buy???
Hey guys, Icarus here again. Today I want to talk more about motherboards, because a friend has recently asked me this seemingly-simple question: If I’m buying a motherboard, which chipset should I choose? What should I look for on a motherboard? What should be my priorities?
Well, let me tell you, there’re many answers to that question, but only one summarizes it well enough: It depends on what you want to do with your computer. However, here’s something you have to consider even before choosing a chipset for your motherboard: your budget.
If you have a small budget, you can’t go with a motherboard like NVIdia’s enthusiast chipsets, because you won’t have enough money to buy all of your other components! Just think logically. If you have a smaller budget, go with Intel’s P35 chipset. If you have higher budgets, then start considering the Intel X38 chipset, and on and on and on.
So, after you have your budget, here’re some categories that you must consider when you’re thinking about what you’re going to use your computer for:
1. Gaming: Well, in a gaming computer, you need some storage, and a bit of everything else. However, the most important things you need are graphics power and a speedy CPU. For graphics power, you may go with an NVidia SLI chipset or Intel’s P35, X38, or X48 chipsets for Crossfire and CrossfireX. Depending on your budget, the cheapest chipset you can get is Intel’s P35 if you still need a dual-GPU setup(which, I don’t think you should get if you’re going with an Intel P35 chipset)
2. Work: Well, you’ll need lots of storage, CPU power, RAM, and a bit of everything else. The key factors are in storage, CPU, and RAM. That means you won’t need an NVidia chipset motherboard, because you won’t be using SLI. That points you to an Intel chipset, and all 3 chipsets, the P35, X38, and X48 are all extremely stable with many SATA ports for those numerous harddrives and have enough power to let that CPU and RAM do its magic freely.
Rather simple isn’t it? Well, it is! It just seems hard because motherboards have many components, and it all seems mind-boggling. All you need to do is sit down, think for a bit:
1. What is my budget?
2. What will I be using this computer for?
Answers to these questions should and will lead you to the right motherboard.
I hope that explanation helps you get on the right track for the right motherboard for you. If you have any other questions on motherboard selection, please feel free to leave a comment. Good night!
Icarus
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