16 Intel X79 Socket 2011 motherboards round-up @ Hardware.Info

It isn't uncommon for a hardware site to acquire a large number of motherboard samples, so many in fact that it may not seem possible to review them all in the short window between when the product launches and when other hardware sites get their reviews posted.

Because of this some sites "bank up" their samples and do the reviews required to satisfy the advertisers and leave the rest to a large roundup article posted sometime after the dust settles.

At the end of last year, Intel released its new generation high-end processors under the codename Sandy Bridge-E. The Core i7 3960X and 3930K feature six cores, up to 15 MB L3 cache, a quad channel DDR3 memory controller, and a PCI-Express 3.0 controller with 40 lanes.Our review showed that the new processors ensure Intel's comfortable lead on the CPU market. Since the architecture changed a lot compared to Intel's previous high-end processor, the manufacturer could not avoid creating a new socket and chipset for the Sandy Bridge-E CPUs. That new socket is called Socket 2011, and the chipset has been christened X79.

The new platform has now been around for more than half a year and in that period we have tested a total of 16 motherboards with Intel X79 chipsets. Time for a round up!

The list is rather extensive too with a few designs that we have already looked at.

ASRock X79 Extreme4-M
ASRock X79 Extreme9
ASUS P9X79 Pro
ASUS P9X79 Deluxe
ASUS P9X79 WS
ASUS Sabertooth X79
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme
ASUS Rampage IV Formula
ASUS Rampage IV Gene
Foxconn Quantumian 1
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5
Gigabyte G1.Assassin 2
Intel DX79SI
MSI X79A-GD65 (8D)
MSI Big Bang XPower II

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