EVGA X58 Classified Review @ Anandtech

EVGA X58 Classified Review @ Anandtech

We are proud to present the EVGA X58 Classified
motherboard our Gold Editors' Choice award. We debated heavily amongst
each other during the award process as the conveyance of this award for
a motherboard with such single-minded focus on overclocking concerned
us. Yet, that single mindedness by EVGA to develop and release a
motherboard specifically for the overclocking community is what won us
over in the end. In a market full of competitors all trying to outdo
each other with the same basic X58 blueprint, it is refreshing for a
manufacturer to step outside of the box and take a chance on a unique
product. Yes, this motherboard is expensive and over the top in many
ways, but you get what you pay for in this case. The EVGA
X58 Classified is truly an outstanding product from both usability and
engineering viewpoints. In addition, it also perfectly fits its market
niche along with having some of the best customer support and service
in the business. If your passion is subzero cooling, then we would
stake our jobs on the simple fact that no currently available X58
motherboard is going to beat the EVGA X58 Classified for outright CPU
clocking potential. The board is simply that good.

Now for the rest of us who utilize air- or water-cooling. You may
find a slight advantage with the X58 Classified in terms of reduced
system voltages and memory clocks over the mainstream motherboards. In
reality, the gains are very small when you compare final overclock
limits. Cooling is still king as always, and no board is going to
bestow a magical 3GHz overclock upon you if your cooling is not worthy.

The i7's integrated memory controller takes a lot of the onus away
from board level engineering until you really start to push very high
QPI frequencies. Under a 4.5GHz CPU core speed it's difficult to
discern any real differences between any of the enthusiast level boards
in outright overclocking potential. It is when you get to the fringe of
overclocking where a couple of nifty Classified BIOS functions that
extend signaling margins really come into play. It's using these
additional functions that has enabled us to benchmark our 920 D0
processor at QPI frequencies over 4.3Ghz under full eight thread loads.
Couple the BIOS tweaks along with the subzero boot up workarounds and
it is very difficult to look elsewhere when considering another X58
board designed for overclocking.

If we have to gripe (and we enjoy it at times), it has to be that
the stock board cooling requires the end-user to supply their own fan
before the board is really suitable to be used inside a PC case when
overclocking. A 40mm fan in the retail package would not have broken
the bank and would certainly earn the solution a few extra points. One
also has to consider if adding the NF200 has brought anything
worthwhile into the mix. Based upon our comparative benchmarks in the
preview article, we would have to say no at this point, although it
could help increase clock rates slightly.

The non-NF200
version is $50 less and based on the same board design and features. It
should provide improved 3D scores in most setups but the jury is out on
overclocking compared its big bother right now. Obviously, there is no
getting around the cost of either board, as you simply must be in a
different frame of mind to spend this much on a motherboard. However,
having had the chance to use it, if you asked us if we would buy one
we'd emphatically say yes. Simply because it is the only X58 board we
have used that can truly bring out the maximum unhindered overclocking
potential of the Intel Core i7. If that's what you're all about then
look no further than the X58 Classified. It really is something special.