Since the last Gigabyte extreme motherboard we reviewed, GIGABYTE has not only introduced an Ultra Durable 3 series, but has also introduced motherboards based on Intel’s new X58 chipset, mainly the EX58-Extreme which we have here and the EX58-UD5 board for those on a slightly lower budget.
The Extreme, as always, tops the enthusiast range. If history is anything to go by, there should be other variants introduced at a later stage, including the DQ6 version for gamers, but as it stands only two versions are available at present.
The EX58-Extreme we have here is a board tailor-made for overclocking above all else. It is indeed one special motherboard. Not only did this motherboard claim the world record for 3DMark Vantage courtesy of Xtremesystem’s owner and veteran overclocker FUGGER, yours truly managed to claim a new 3DMark Vantage record locally, and third place (at the time of writing) in the world rankings with the same
motherboard.
While Intel’s Nehalem CPU tweaking is still in its infancy as far as the enthusiast community is concerned, GIGABYTE seems to have managed to make its board stand out by bringing in the Ultra Durable 3 technology into the new platform. Since the new boards from the company were doing so well, we did not expect any different from the EX58-Extreme, and indeed it lived up to our expectations.
While the only other motherboard we may have tested based on the X58 platform isn’t directly competing with this board, it served as an indication of what could be expected from motherboards based on the chipset. We were able to achieve a 215MHz BCLK frequency on the motherboard, but it was far from stable in any 3D Benchmark.
The clock had to be lowered to 160MHz before it would complete a single 3DMark06 run. On the EX58-Extreme, however, we were able to do multiple runs of 3DMark06 at 200MHz. Even more could be achieved from this board, but due to time constraints we were not able to do any further testing.
The most impressive part of the overclock was that it was achieved in a triple-channel memory configuration compared to the dual-channel setup on the previous X58 motherboard. Given that the architecture is new and so are the motherboards and compatible CPUs, the overclock seems to be in line with what the old 975 chipset was capable of when the Intel Core 2 CPU was released in 2006.
Where clock efficiency is concerned, there are so many variables to consider when dealing with the EX58-Extreme that one could literally write pages upon pages on the most optimal configuration for single, dual and triple channel setups.
With the MCH located in the CPU in the i7, it’s gotten even more complicated when it comes to tweaking the system. The BIOS options on the EX58-Extreme alone are enough to scare even the most experienced overclockers but, surprisingly enough, overclocking the motherboard is simple enough when using the most basic settings.
Where features are concerned, there really isn’t anything missing from this motherboard; from three-Way SLI support, four-way CrossFire support, and everything in between, the EX58-Extreme has it covered. POST LED, power, reset and CMOS clear functionality on the motherboard itself and, of course, Dual BIOS support, which is a must-have for any motherboard catering for enthusiasts.
Aesthetically, again the motherboard is impressive. The new colour scheme introduced with the Ultra Durable 3 P45 based motherboards is present here as well, but manages to make even more of an impression, and could very well be the best lookingmotherboard to ever come from GIGABYTE.
The pricing is steep, as one would expect, but right now there aren’t any X58 motherboards on the market that can claim to be better than the GIGABYTE offering.
Tech Specs
Chipset: Intel X58
Memory Banks: 6x DDR3 184-pin (6x2GB Maximum)
CPU Support: Intel Core i7
Slots: 3x PCI-E 16x, 1x PCI-E 4x, 2x PCI 2.2
Connectore: SATA 3GB/sec, 8x USB 2.0, Gigabit Ehternet, Firewire
Score: 5/5
Price: R5840
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