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Foxconn Quantum Force X48 BlackOps Motherboard Review
Author: Dennis Garcia
Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Conclusion
We have reviewed quite a few Foxconn motherboards over the years and the high end boards tend to have a lasting impression on us. In most cases performance is exceptional, design and style are outstanding, but the real shining star is the included goodies. Our first experience with this was with the Foxconn Winfast NFPIK8AA. The board came packaged in a hard cardboard box complete with magnetic latch and a physical cable for each connection found on the motherboard. In most cases these cables may have never been used but for once when you needed an external Firewire cable is there.
The Quantum Force BlackOps is following in this tradition but in a slightly different direction and focusing on what overclockers have been demanding. For us the single best feature on the BlackOps is the 4 in 1 motherboard cooling solution, it is obvious that watercooling was the primary reason for the heatsink design. Active and passive aircooling are less than ideal due to airflow constraints and the extension tower is just an easy way to keep super cooled substances in a central location.
Overall system performance was outstanding however the big surprise was having our Q6600 running at 4Ghz with very little effort at all. In fact the process seemed so easy we purposefully reset the CMOS just to see if we could replicate everything.
The Quantum Force BlackOps is following in this tradition but in a slightly different direction and focusing on what overclockers have been demanding. For us the single best feature on the BlackOps is the 4 in 1 motherboard cooling solution, it is obvious that watercooling was the primary reason for the heatsink design. Active and passive aircooling are less than ideal due to airflow constraints and the extension tower is just an easy way to keep super cooled substances in a central location.
Overall system performance was outstanding however the big surprise was having our Q6600 running at 4Ghz with very little effort at all. In fact the process seemed so easy we purposefully reset the CMOS just to see if we could replicate everything.
Aegis Panel
We actually prefer to do our overclocking via the BIOS since that will give us a good indication on if a particular setting will work long before the OS has time to load. However for those of you that enjoy overclocking from Windows the Aegis panel may be a near perfect tool for you. From here you can monitor all of the major system components and even overclock using a single click of your mouse.
Now for the ever popular list of Good things and Bad things.
Now for the ever popular list of Good things and Bad things.
Good Things
Dual 16x PCI Express Slots
Excellent Overclocking Experience
4 in 1 Motherboard cooling solution
Cool name, amazing results
Multi phase powersupply
Extensive included package of goodies
Excellent Overclocking Experience
4 in 1 Motherboard cooling solution
Cool name, amazing results
Multi phase powersupply
Extensive included package of goodies
Bad Things
Motherboard color scheme is kinda, plain
4 in 1 cooler is not good at aircooling
Reset and CMOS Clear buttons easy to confuse
PCIe slots have the annoying style of retention clips
Had so much fun tweaking and testing almost forgot to write the review.
4 in 1 cooler is not good at aircooling
Reset and CMOS Clear buttons easy to confuse
PCIe slots have the annoying style of retention clips
Had so much fun tweaking and testing almost forgot to write the review.
Ninjalane Rating
I would like to thank Foxconn for helping to make this review possible.
