Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail

10 thoughts on “Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail”

1. Review by j-rob-82 for Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail
   Rating:
   First off their is no IDE or PS/2 connections so be ready for that. After I got everything in my computer put together and ready to go I went to plug in my keyboard and it was usb only. So just find yourself an a adapter or get yourself a new keyboard. The price of DDR3 is cheap so its not so much a big deal to invest in. There is one PCI slot and now with the newer BIOS update its SLI compatible which is great since when I read the description it says that its only Crossfire ready. If you want to go with something beyond two way SLI than you may want to go with the EVGA model which has more DIMM slots as well. I was going to go with EVGA but my new case would not allow it and I don’t have the budget for three cards. I like the way the board is situated with DIMM slots running vertical and looks like everything is closer to the processor than on other boards I have seen. I guess when everything is moving at light speed a smallest measurement closer makes a difference on a motherboard. Install is a cinch just make sure you take your time and don’t rush and make a stupid mistake. I have found that in my experience I mess up on stupid things instead of something big. Overclocking has been a little more simplified on this board which is what you should probably do if you invest in these boards. Overall this board has everything that I need with lots of SATA and USB ports and its super fast with my i7 920 along with my 6 Gigs of Corsair Dominator DDR3. All I can say is I can’t wait to get my hands into some overclocking when I get the free time. Keep in mind only 64 bit Vista will see anything above about 3 and a half gigs so if you don’t want 64 than just be ready not to see what you put in. One minor issue is the setup of the PCI Express slots since I have an 8800 GTS (one of the fatties) and a Creative X-Fi sound card it doesn’t leave room for another 8800 GTS without me having to remove my sound card. Its not that big of an issue though since I plan on getting a smaller newer card anyways. Though if you have a fat card like me and something in the PCI slot and want to run SLI you might run into trouble so that is worth noting in my mind. Is this board worth it though I would have to say absolutely yes.

   According to Intel sticking in a fourth stick will cause a degrade in performance so since most ram that’s DDR3 come in three packs its not so much a big deal. Also when it first came on and I entered BIOS everything was recognized but I could not get the thing to boot my ROM drive and it would just sit there with a black screen and then it would ask me to select cd drive type 1 or 2. After about three hours or so it all of a sudden worked after I selected 1 it booted finally and everything was installed (operating system). The next problem was it would not restart and as soon as my computer would go off and come on again it would be a black screen going nowhere. Then I remembered update your BIOS dummy and I read all the notes and a lot of issues I had was fixed in the BIOS update including my restart problem. There was an issue also with my type of ROM drive not booting when put first in priority and that is the issue I had with trying to get it to boot to install my operating system. Now everything runs perfect and I could not be happier. The reason I put all this in my review was it did not go as smooth as I thought it would and someone else might have problems. If you do have issues just drop me a comment and maybe I can help you out just from what I had to do.

2. Review by PDX Viking for Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail
   Rating:
   Just built my Core i7 system using this Intel DX58SO board and it’s so fast!!!! I’ve never been a big overclocker because I’m not that experienced at overclocking and keeping everything stable. However, this board has an overclocking utility that makes it so easy. You’ll want to update the bios first from the intel site. Also zoom in on the picture of this board…the DDR3 memory slots are horizontal and next to the processor. I’d never seen this before, all other boards have the dimm slots running vertical. I read a review that the new orientation of the memory allows it to stay cooler as the air flow is improved and the trace route to the processor is shorter making it faster. Well all I can say is my new system rocks.

   Core i7 – 920, Intel DX58SO, Corsair 6gb 1333 DDR3, VisonTek HD4870

3. Review by Kurt L. Rozek for Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail
   Rating:
   I purchased an i7 processor and wanted to match it to the board. The only glitch was that I had purchased a power supply without the 4×2 connector required by this board. I ended up needing more power for my video card anyway so it all worked out. You will need to watch the case that you put this in since heat is an issue. Everything is larger — the powersupply, the heat sink, and the video board that you will want to match to this kind of horsepower. I have a total of nine fans in this computer and it warms up my home office. The blue LEDs off of the fans adds a bit of bling. I am impressed with the overall performance.

4. Review by Jose Robaina for Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail
   Rating:
   I have been purchased the first DX58SO MOBO on february 20 with the i7-920, then few weeks I received them at my place (I live in Venezuela).

   Firts all work nice and well at firts boot. The Windows XP SP2 was installed without problems (in 18min). Only have 3GB detected from 4GB installed, but not problem at all.

   All drivers was installed without problems. The BIOS was updated as well.

   Well, around 2h of work with the system (DX58SO Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail + I7-920 Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU BX80601920 + CORSAIR H50 Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H50 All in One High-performance CPU Cooler CWCH50-1 + CORSAIR XMS3 4GB Corsair XMS3 4 GB PC3-12800 1600Mhz Dual Channel Core i3 i5 i7 DDR3 Memory Kit CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 + ATI 5770HD + THERMALTAKE 750W + THERMALTAKE ELEMENT G CASE + WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB HDD + LG DVD-RAM) installing the “Dirt 2” game, I was put the headphone cable on rear chassis connector and PUF!. The video goes out! The fans spin go at full speed and the two red leds on MOBO turns on.

   Then, no recovery BIOS work, the MOBO state was unrecoverable.

   So, I was chat with Intel tech room. They told me to return the MOBO to the seller (Amazon.com). I did it and have the MOBO replaced some weeks after. Nice returning items department Amazon! Very gentle attention and rapid response, but again…

   So, I work in with the new on MOBO, installed all things in place. But again the poor quality and untested MOBO prior to box it from Intel, as the MOBO just turned on the fans. There was no video or boot was not possible to perform BIOS recovery.

   So, I was chat with Intel tech room for second time. They told me to return the MOBO only, without any of it parts (cables, manual and box) to them, using their UPS account.

   At this moment, the second MOBO replacement (the third unit at my hands) is on way home. Hope to receive it today or tomorrow

   I will edit this review when I have it on my hands and will see… Again.

   ***************

   Edited at May/16/2010

   Well… I received the third (yes the 3!!!) MODO on friday morning, I din`t test it until that night.

   I didn’t like to writte because I’m very dissapointed, very upset, very bother and very boring with Intel, ¡A company that show us for many years how a nice and stable PC will be built!

   This MOBO run exactly equal that second one (returned to Intel). Don’t boot. No video at screen. BIOS recovery don’t work. No beeps without memory installed. Only fans runs at normally speed and that’s all.

   I don’t know if the CPU was damage with the first MOBO when the two red leds on board turn on. Then the same leds didn’t turn on at the others MOBO’s tested (two already). I will chat or call to Intel call services to resolved this at monday. They doesn’t work on weekends! But the problems!

   I don’t like this DX58SO anymore. I like get money back, to buy and try with another MOBO builder, like MSI. I’m bother and boring with intel. 3 month from the first purchase and still didn’t have the system stable and working.

   Now the problem is: this MOBO is the one that Intel gave me in RMA. They send to me the invoice, but I wasn’t charged for it. But now… If I want a money back from Amazon (where my first dx58so was bought), I can send this RMA MOBO from intel to amazon? Nice question intel!!!

   So… sunrise and see.

5. Review by Peter Ahern for Intel DX58SO Extreme Series X58 ATX Tri-Channel DDR3 16GB SLI or CrossFireX LGA1366 Overclocking Utility Desktop Board – Retail
   Rating:
   This motherboard will allow only two SLI graphics cards. This is fine if that is all you need. Others can take 3 cards. Be careful if you select a card that takes two slots… you lose a PCIe-x slot (the short one). Also, note that it is better to add the CPU cooler while the board is not mounted, if you use a Cooler Master case. You can’t reach one of the four attachment bolts. Taking it all apart again is a pain. The utility from Intel will allow overclocking, and it has a automatic increment capability. Nice board. No other issues. The included fan works well on the IO Hub.

6. Review by kelvinator for Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU BX80601920
   Rating:
   Pros:
   
   It’s my first build and coming from a Pentium 4 3.4 ghz in my Dell to this processor is simply amazing. I can now play Oblivion and L4D in the settings I want! Everything else it pretty much cuts through it like butter. It get a Windows 7 WEI of 7.6 3dmark Vantage CPU score P42500+ and I have it overclocked to 3.67 with blck of 184 vcore 1.225 with vdroop. Coupled with a Cooler Master V8 it’s prime 95 stable (small ffts – 2 hours, large – 2 hours, blend – 9 hours) and LinX stable (max memory 10 runs) 75 degrees C max. Ambient 80 F

   Cons:
   
   None

   Other thoughts:
   
   If you are new to overclocking like I was here are some simple steps for a modest overclock:
   
   WARNING: It is entirely possible to burn your CPU! Don’t go crazy and set a high base clock from the start. Follow the steps!

   1) download Realtemp.exe, cpu-z, prime 95, and LinX (google em)
   
   2) go into your bios and increase the base clock by 5 (or 10 if impatient but remember my warning)
   
   3) Load Windows and breath a sigh of relief if it does. But thats only 1/5 of the battle.
   
   4) Run CPU-z to verify your overclock, close it then run realtemp.
   
   5) Run LinX max memory, 3 runs. If it blue screens, restarts or errors then you’ve gone too far and you need to dial it down to keep your machine stable. Your last setting is your max overclock without adding vcore (cpu voltage).
   
   6) If it passes with no errors and your max temps aren’t above 85 C (some people use 80) then you’re good, and you can add more base clock.
   
   7) Go back to step 2 rinse and repeat.

   8)Once you get to a speed you’re happy with and it passes LinX, and is below 85 C, run prime 95 stress test for at least 6 hours of blend, 2 hours of small ffts, and 2 hours of large ffts. If it survives that then you’re good for gaming and most everyday apps. If it survives p95 blend for 24 hours (no errors, < 85 C) then you're rock stable ready for mission critical or server work. You can run Linx for more passes or folding@home SMP for further stability testing. Finally don’t expect much if you’re using the heatsink that came with the processor. Good luck. If I made a mistake somewhere please correct me in the comments. BTW my motherboard is the EVGA X58 vanilla. The folks at the forums in their website are the most helpful and supportive folks you can find. Really thats the stuff that money can’t buy, I strongly recommend their motherboards just for that. They have guides for more serious overclocks and guides explaining voltages, guides on optimizing Vista etc. All the info about overclocking and stability testing comes from the stickied threads on the EVGA forums

7. Review by Nathan Beauchamp for Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU BX80601920
   Rating:
   I upgraded to the i7 from an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400. The main reasons I made the upgrade were:

   1. Low power consumption (significantly lower than a Q6600 which is about $100 cheaper than the i7)
   
   2. 8 logical cores available (quad core + hyper threading)
   
   3. The ability to play cutting edge games that take advantage of all 8 cores.
   
   4. The potential ability to load share between CPU & GPU once Windows 7 is released.

   The upgrade might have been a bit premature, as the primary reason to buy an I7 processor won’t be possible until Windows 7 is released. Windows 7 will allow load sharing between GPU (graphics card) and CPU. This will enable some really nice performance gains in games, or other graphic intensive applications like video editing software. Allegedly, games like Crysis will get a 20-30 percent performance increase. However, I heard that before when Windows stated that Vista would provide significant performance gains for DirectX10 games, which has not proved to be the case.

   Regardless, the i7 920 is truly an amazing CPU. I’ve yet to experiment with overclocking much, but I do have it running at 3.12ghz stable and with a core temperature of 41C at idle and around 60C under load. I’ll likely push things further in the coming weeks, and I’ll give updates on temperatures and performance when I do.

   Combining this card with two 4870hd 512mb graphics cards in Crossfire mode produced a 3DMark06 score of just over 19,000! That is a 5,000 point gain from my previous rig, and is in about the top 4% of all systems out there. That is pretty phenomenal performance. In Crysis with all settings at very high and DX10, I average over 50 frames at 1980×1200. This CPU is a gaming beast.

   If you plan to overclock this card even a little, invest in an aftermarket heat sink and some Arctic Silver thermal compound. The heatsink provided with the retail package is small and ineffective at cooling an overclocked card. I recommend this Zalman Cpu Cooler for moderate overclocking. It is a very quite and very effective fan.

   If your in the market for a ‘future-proof’ processor, this is a great option at a reasonable price point. The ceiling speed of processors is growing increasingly unimportant as multi-thread programing become the norm in both games and applications. You could spend a lot more for a higher GHZ CPU, but you’re not really gaining as much performance as the jump from 2 to 4 cores, and then quad core to octo core. This processor will eat anything you throw at it and come back for more. Just make sure your mother board supports i7 chips before you buy one.

8. Review by AJF for Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU BX80601920
   Rating:
   Excellent performance; you will not be disappointed. The processor is highly overclockable – with a decent aftermarket cooling solution, it can easily be clocked over 4ghz. Even with the stock cooler, I was able to reach 3.3ghz with safe temperatures (fan at 100%) under normal usage (but prime95 stress test would push the temps a little too high at this speed). Even without overclocking, I noticed an improvement in speed and multitasking ability over my core 2 duo system. Highly recommended, particularly for those building a new rig. I use the core i7 primarily for gaming and general computing.

   Cons – stock fan is somewhat loud to me even at low speeds, though I strive for silent computing. Invest in a quality aftermarket heatsink/fan (plus it will enable you to push performance well beyond the stock 940 at less expense).

9. Review by David Wilson for Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU BX80601920
   Rating:
   I got my second Core i7 920 here on Amazon in early November, and received the D0 stepping. You can tell by looking for a sSpec number of SLBEJ on the box. (SLBCH was the C0 stepping.) You don’t need to unseal the Intel box to know what you’re getting, so you could just return it if you didn’t get the D0. Not that that’s likely anymore. I initially wasn’t impressed by the D0, using the same overclock settings I’d zeroed in on for the C0. If anything, it seemed to run even hotter. Then I learned the secret. You can turn the core voltage WAY down, which is the key to heat. I was at 1.30 volts to run the C0 stable at 3.7ghz (air cooled with Coolermaster V10). I’ve been able to turn it down to just a hair over 1.20 volts with the D0. With the bclk at 194, multiplier at 21, I’m now running over 4.0 ghz. That’s running Prime95 all night on all eight threads, with max core temps at 73 C or below. To summarize, the big improvement with the D0 stepping is being able to run with much lower voltages, which in turn allows higher overclocks with safe temps.

10. Review by Yowei Liu for Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU BX80601920
    Rating:
    Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz 8M L3 Cache 4.8GT/sec QPI Hyper-Threading Turbo Boost LGA1366 Processor

    I was contemplating about writing the review for this chip since there are so many people write about it already. But if you’re still deciding what chip to get or if you’re not sure if you’re got the right chip then I’ll give you my thought on this.

    I know for most people, funding is a major part of their deciding factor, at least for me that is. Everyone wants the best performance for the best value that they can get for their spending, because of this reason, my review is totally base on performance and value. So, let’s compare i7 920 with other Intel high end desktop level chips.

    First, let’s compare performance –

    One of the quick and fast to test processing performace on the chip is using wPrime.
    
    On […], someone ran wPrime with SkullTrail and 2 x Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Quad-Core Processor got it down to 3sec 790ms with Liquid Nitrogen cooling.
    
    With i7 975 Extreme they’ve got down to 4.2 Sec (Liquid Nitrogen cooling)
    
    And with 920, 4.6 Sec (refrigeration cooling system, Over-clocked to 5.1 GHz)
    
    Just so you know about wPrime – I remember way back then, I ran wPrime on my PIII 1.3 GHz, it took 3 min and the half for the test.

    Now, on to pricing –

    The Skulltrail motherboard costs $[…] and each Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Processor cost $[…] each, and 2 would cost $[…]. To build a complete system would probably cost $[…]. To build a complete i7 975 Extreme would probably somewhere around $[…]. And i7 920 would be around $[…]

    So, 2 QX9770 @ 3.8 Sec. = $[…]
    
    i7 975 @ 4.2 Sec. = $[…]
    
    and i7 920 @ 4.6 Sec. = $[…]

    I don’t know about you, but for .8 second, I don’t think it’s worth it to spend $[…] this slide margin of performance increasement. I understand these numbers for the performance are base on the best of over-clocking, and even though is unpractical to use liquid nitrogen cooling, but at least you know what this chip is capable of. This is the main reason why I think is the best performance chip you can get for the price. This chip still has edge even compare to the up coming Socket 1156 i7 and i5 chips, because they cannot support triple channnel memory like this chip.

    Just in case if you wonder – I got the chip over clock to 4.2 GHz stable (Air cool with cooler master V8) and wPrime to 6.7 seconds. For daily use, I am running at 3.6 GHz.

    If do you decide to get this chip, be sure the S-spec on the box is labeled SLBEJ

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